Rory’s heart pounded as she took in how he was staring at her and then at the food. “How did you know that Nutella crepes are my favorite.”
“I’ve been telling you and will continue to tell you that I’ve known you most of my life. This has been your favorite food for as long as the spread has been in stores.”
Rory sat at the breakfast bar so she could watch him finish cooking. “Thank you. Have you really been watching me all this time? Figuring out who I am?”
Michael started at the beginning, recounting how his alien race was in charge of watching over the universe or controlling time to keep the various planets and galaxies from fighting with one another. He explained how some planets were aware of these guardians, while others like Earth lived their lives in the dark. “For a while, you work as part of a team. You watch these planets that know of our existence and step in if things start to get crazy. When you are old enough and they think you are worthy, they send you to one of the smaller ones that are oblivious, or they’ll make you watch another race of alien that might not be following the rules,” Michael explained. “That’s how I ended up with Earth. They said the Dark Society of Nebula Six was sending warriors to Earth and that I was to look into it.”
“Dark Society of Nebula Six?” Rory repeated, never hearing the words before.
Michael ignored her as he continued his story, putting her crepe on a plate and placing it in front of her. “When I arrived, it was during your Middle Ages. I have the ability to change my form so I can blend into my surroundings so I became David Baker. I made the baker believe I was his apprentice so I was able to watch and see what the Dark Society would do. I also have the ability to be pulled toward trouble. That night I saved you, I would have known where you were even if I was following you. I would have felt the disturbance in the night and come to your rescue regardless.”
Rory tried to keep track of all of Michael’s names and various powers in case she would need to remember them later. She nodded a few times before he continued his story. He described the day he met her for the first time. She was a daughter of a noble named Rosetta who was slated to be someone important if the King took notice. “Just like I feel a pull whenever the Dark Society is around and whenever there is trouble, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew where you were at every moment. At first, I thought it was because you were part of their people but I could find no darkness in you. It was the opposite. You were human, but you were of the light. You were my destiny.”
“Of the light?” Rory found that everything he told her was making her have more questions than answers.
“There is one person in every world,” Michael said seriously. “They are the chosen savior of their people. It is their destiny to work with the guardian of their planet to bring peace. It was your destiny to save Earth from the Dark Society of Nebula Six. No one told me that I would fall in love with you, but once I saw you and then I talked to you I knew that I had to be with you. I’d follow you for the rest of my days.”
Rory remembered the visions he’d shared with her; of a beautiful girl in various forms. But one thing was always the same, the girl always looked at him like she had never loved anyone more. She had felt it a few times when she looked at him without his mask, when he had made love to her. “What happened to me? Why do I feel like I remember you, but it’s still not crystal clear?”
“You have always awakened when you are about to face members of the Dark Society. That first time, when you were Rosetta, you were able to assist me in sealing them away temporarily. But then it backfired. The people were supposed to be thankful but instead they accused you of witchcraft. They were going to burn you, but your father was so ashamed that he strangled you before I had the chance to rescue you.”
Rory stared at him dumbfounded as he explained how after several years of being alone and distraught over losing her he’d feel the pull of the Dark Society rising again. Not long after that, he felt her presence in another country. She was a child somewhere else and he decided that they would start fresh. It would throw off the enemy if they didn’t recognize his face so he’d become someone else. When the Dark Society would continue to terrorize the human race, he’d find her and they would fall in love all over again. Sometimes they had happy lifetimes together; she lived long enough for them to be married and have children. Other times they weren’t so lucky. There were times when the Dark Society would fatally wound her, or the human race would strike back because they were scared of the power she and her alien guardian possessed. He would change his identity and begin to search for her all over again.
“I felt the pull that you were in the United States probably around the time you were born, but I didn’t come here until about five years ago,” Michael explained. “That was when the enemy made their move. I followed the feeling until I saw you leaving your apartment one day. You had been reincarnated in a variety of ways, but you’d never been in such horrible conditions before. I felt responsible for not coming here sooner.” He looked at her sadly but his eyes shined with hope. “I promise to make up for all of it. If you believe me of course.”
Rory tried to process everything he had told her and how she had her own part in this strange tale. “We’re soul mates,” she mused aloud.
“You could call it that.”
“You’ll keep looking for me even if something happens in this life?”
Michael walked around the breakfast nook and cupped her face in his hands. “I will never stop. Even if I have to tell you this story a million times.”
Rory felt tears welling in her eyes. Even though she couldn’t see the memories from her point of view, that feeling of nostalgia was filling her chest. “Where is the Dark Society. I want to find them so I can regain my memories. So I can remember our past.”
Michael looked at her sadly. “It’s dangerous. Are you ready for that already?”
Rory nodded. “I’m sick of being bitter and cynical. If this is my destiny, don’t you think it’s time that I remember?”
“Then we go tonight,” he assured her, “I promise.”
Chapter 7
Rory felt weird as she sat in Michael’s car wearing her own mask. She truly felt like a sidekick as he drove around the city, telling her that he could feel the enemy’s presence somewhere on the Upper East Side. All the while, her pulse was racing because she might have powers just like Michael did. Wasn’t she just making fun of people for having conspiracy theories and reading too many comic books? It sounded like she had been a strange sort of superhero for nearly half a millennium.
“We’re getting close,” Michael announced as he parked the car on the curb by a small park. “It’s best that we walk from here.”
Rory looked down at her outfit, It was a short little dress that had magically appeared when she’d asked Michael if she could use his gigantic bath tub. When she walked back into the bedroom, it was laying out just as the robe had been when she woke up. Before she could wonder if he’d use some sort of power to create it or had his receptionist go fetch it she couldn’t help but feel like she’d seen the design somewhere before. There were swirls and loops all over the fabric that seemed to never end.
It wasn’t long before Rory noticed that things seemed different. The air was thick and she felt like something was watching her from the shadows. She reached for Michael’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Something’s here.”
He nodded. “There are a few here. They’ve targeted a human for energy.” He pointed toward a woman lying on her back in the middle of the park. “Here they come.”
Rory had to cover her mouth to cover the scream that erupted from her throat. Reminding her of black monsters or phantoms, shadowy figures crept out of the darkness and stood over the victim. Rory sometimes recalled seeing similar creatures in her nightmares.
Suddenly it was like a lens was cast over her eyes and she could see clearly for the first time. She saw herself facing those vile creatures all those years ago because they threa
tened to destroy her home. She saw her beloved David Baker standing beside her as she attempted to seal them away, white energy coming from a staff instead of an umbrella. She felt tears spill from her eyes as she saw herself again and again, holding her hands in front of her as she prepared to save the world and all the while her love stood by her in various forms, lending her strength in one way or another.
She was the Earth’s chosen one and Michael Venture or whatever his true identity was the love of her life spanning centuries. For the first time in this lifetime, and for the first time since she arrived in New York City, her life made sense. It finally had meaning.
“Members of the Dark Society of Nebula Six!” she called in a voice that almost didn’t sound like her own. Michael turned to look at her, not realizing that she would regain her memories so quickly. “Leave that innocent human alone!”
The aliens turned to face her, surprised that she was there to interrupt their plans of world domination again. They didn’t speak aloud but she heard a voice in her mind that caused her jump out of her skin and grasp Michael’s hand tighter. We knew it was only a matter of time before he found you again.
“Leave my planet!” she exclaimed. “Let us be in peace!”
We’ll leave when he does. They replied simply with their voices combining into a drone.
Rory looked up at Michael and realized that she had a power that he did not possess. He merely tried to look encouraging. He did not hear what they were telling her. She decided to see if her ability worked further. No, she answered, Now that I know what my fate is I’d like to enjoy my time with him. When the members of the Dark Society looked offended that she was singling them out, she knew she’d been successful.
“I just spoke with my mind,” Rory hissed excitedly.
Michael smiled at her. “Just wait until you can see what else you can do.”
Chapter 8
The Dark Society members abandoned the woman they had been feeding on and now turned their sights on Rory and Michael.
“What do I do?” she hissed. “How do I seal them?”
“You asked them to leave. You are always supposed to ask them to leave first. What did they say?” Michael reminded remembering all the protocol he had been taught to follow.
“They told me they will only leave if you go too.”
Michael smiled. “They always say that.”
“And I always told them hell no,” Rory replied. It was all coming back to her, flowing through her like it had never been missing.
“Then follow your instincts,” he said, “It will take less time than if I explain it to you.”
Rory took several steps forward; her brain feeling terrified even though her heart guided her. I don’t want to fight you. She thought toward her enemy. But I will if you won’t leave my people in peace.
Once more their voices melding into one. We will never leave you in peace. We want this planet added to our collection of places we have laid to waste. We have waited hundreds of years to acquire it. We will continue to fight you in various lifetimes until we finally get the upper hand. We know now what we must do.
“You leave me no choice,” Rory said and placed her hands in front of her like she had seen herself do in her memories. But before she had the chance to do more, the Dark Society of Nebula Six did something she wasn’t expecting. They did something horrible.
They moved so quickly that before she could process having her hand ripped from Michael’s, he was already being held hostage from them. Their shadowy limbs binding him.
“Michael!” she exclaimed as he struggled.
It took us almost five hundred years to learn that he is the reason why you keep on finding us. He is the one that protects you and this world from our power. If we take him away, the human race has no chance.
“NO!” Rory exclaimed, thinking of how the last few days had changed her and made her better. She recalled how happy she had been in Michael’s memories, how happy she had felt in her own. Now that she knew who she truly was, she could not lose him, no she would not lose him.
Attack us if you dare. But you will destroy us all.
“Aurora listen to me!” Michael exclaimed. “Don’t worry about me. I know what you are capable of. If you hesitate they will kill you! You have power, I know that you can use it to save me!”
If Rory’s mind wasn’t made up before, his words tipped her over the edge and she concentrated more than she ever had before. Something was telling her focus and that the answers would be provided for her. The Dark Society was trying to injure her beloved, she could see that they were trying to use his energy just like they would a normal human when Rory saw his umbrella lying on the ground beside her. She thought of the man that had tried to mug her. It already felt like a long time. She recalled the way Michael had been able to freeze him in place. She prayed that she had the same sort of strength.
She picked up the umbrella and pointed it at the Dark Society and Michael. “I order you to freeze,” Rory shouted and she was shocked when ice shot out from the umbrella and enveloped Michael in a cold casket.
Foolish girl. You will be his murderer.
“We’ll see about that,” she retorted and began to smirk when the aliens tried to pull their hands away and they were stuck in the ice with her beloved. She almost felt wicked for what she was about to do next. “I order the powers that be to remove your hands from him.”
Even though the Dark Society could not speak out loud, the noises they made when something invisible cut all their hands off were awful and Rory had to do everything she could to not cover her ears. She knew it had to be this way. She had to seal them away for good this time so that this time there would be peace. Michael was unconscious in the ice and though she knew she was temporarily safe from the phantom aliens, she knew she should still move fast.
Intoning words that she hadn’t said in this lifetime but that she still knew by heart, Rory thrust her hands out in front of her. “Oh, evil spirits, wicked fiends, I demand that you be gone from this place. I command you to leave my sight but this time I am ordering you to leave this planet and never return!”
The Dark Society screamed agonizing cries again, as though they were fighting her orders. Rory continued as hot light came from her fingers she raised her voice. “This world is not your plaything. It belongs to my people. LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!” she pushed the energy away from her, sending it spiraling towards the Dark Society of Nebula Six and vaporizing them to ashes. Rory was temporarily blinded as she stomped through the park to Michael who was still encased in ice. “I command that this ice become water.” She panted and she fell over his body, hoping that she wasn’t too late.
Chapter 9
Michael’s body was cold when the last of the ice melted away and searched his body for anything that could have been a fatal wound. He didn’t look harmed, but she had seen his face when the enemy was holding onto him and she prayed that she wasn’t going to discover the truth about herself just to have it snatched away again.
“Please,” she whispered as she leaned down and kissed him. “Please come back to me. You spent your whole life saving me and now I want to say that I saved you.”
Several painful seconds passed before he gasped for breath and his eyes fluttered open. Rory practically sobbed tears of joy to see that he was alive.
“You did it,” he said with a weak smile, body shivering since he was damp from being encased in ice. “I knew one day we’d finally be able to seal them away for good.”
“They’re really gone?” Rory wasn’t sure if she could believe it.
Michael nodded. “I’ve had that feeling in my bones for hundreds of years. It’s not here. It’s nowhere to be found.”
Rory hugged him so tightly she thought she might break him. “You need to warm up. Come back to my place. It’s not far.” She probably should have been embarrassed for him to see how meagerly she lived but right now she was just so happy that he was alive that she didn’t care. She usher
ed him the few block to her building and up the stairs.
She wrapped him in every blanket she owned and made him hot chocolate on the very small range she had in her studio apartment. She hadn’t been here for almost three days and didn’t really miss it. It might have been hers, but it never had that charm she had wanted because she was too busy trying to make ends meet. Michael still looked around in interest and she wondered if her interests and personality were different in every lifetime. It must have been, because so much time separated one version of herself from the next.
“You are very quiet,” she said as she handed him a steaming mug.
“I... I think something's happened to me,” he answered honestly.
Rory looked at him concerned, She began to touch his arms and shoulders seeing if she missed a wound on them that wasn’t there before. “Where are you hurt?”
“It’s not like that,” he tried to explain, “Before tonight I could feel your presence whether you were two feet in front of me or a whole continent apart. Now you stand before me and I feel nothing. Obviously, we are both alive and well. I just... I just can’t explain it.”
Rory thought of what it could be, of why he could be feeling that way. “Could it be that now that I’ve sealed them away for good that there is no longer a need for you to be ageless. You don’t need to constantly know where I am because the enemy is defeated?”
“Maybe,” Michael considered. “All I know is that I’m never letting you go again. Come live with me and I’m still going to be good about my promise of letting you go to college.”
“We can figure that out tomorrow,” she assured. “It’s late and I want to be as close to you as I can.”
She had Michael lie down on the bed and she gingerly touched his body until she reached a part of his body that was not harmed by their run in with the Dark Society. Rory was determined to make him as comfortable as possible. She carefully wrapped her hand around him and began to stroke him up and down until he shut his eyes and seemed to relax.
A Sugar Daddy’s Secret: Billionaire Romance Page 41
