Taurus: Book 3 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series)

by Rachel Medhurst

  We shared a mutual laugh. I grew quiet when he pushed a baggie towards me.

  ‘This will show you the truth.’

  The truth. No one really knew the truth. Not one hundred per cent. Religious people claimed to know the truth. I just laughed at them. Spiritual people were a bit more open but still not right. Atheists. Men and women like me. We were the closest to reality. We didn’t live in a fantasy land where we believed in things that couldn’t be seen.

  ‘This drug will take you on a ride unlike any you’ve ever been on.’ Nick flicked open one of the packets and stuck his finger into the white powder.

  ‘How do I know you’re not trying to kill me?’

  It could be anything. Anthrax. Poison. Did I care? Not really. If I was going to die, it might as well be from a drug overdose.

  ‘Well, you know that I can’t kill you.’

  ‘No, I don’t. I think that’s just a ploy to make us feel safe. We’re just human, of course you can kill us.’ My fingers reached out for the packet without my consent.

  Sophie was gone. What did I have left to live for anyway? It wasn’t like my life was an amazing mass of excitement.

  ‘How can you believe that when you can bend trees?’

  The one flaw in my reasoning was our powers. Pisces could breathe underwater. Aries and Leo could create fire. Cancer turned into water. Every single one of my siblings had a power and I had seen them all.

  ‘Let’s do this,’ I said, ignoring his question.

  The white powder called to me more than trying to prove him wrong. I would do that later.

  He gestured towards the drugs, so I opened the bag that was on the table in front of me. The powder poured onto the surface of the table.

  ‘Use this.’ Nick handed me a credit card and a rolled up bank note.

  I glanced at the name on the card. It was a random name I hadn’t heard before. Cutting the powder, I formed a line. When I looked at Nick, I saw that he was doing the same.

  ‘You take drugs?’

  His smile was crooked. ‘I need to come with you. To show you what you want to see.’

  My hand froze. It gripped the rolled note, ready to be used.

  ‘No. Show me the truth. Not just what I want to see.’

  Nick nodded once. ‘You’re more intelligent than they give you credit for.’

  ‘Just do it,’ I snapped.

  He bent to his line and sniffed it up in one go. I flicked my cap off, letting it land on the floor. Bending to the table, I put the rolled note up my nose and inhaled the white powder into my nostril. The sting caused tears to come to my eyes. Blood started to pound with my heartbeat throughout my body. It didn’t feel good like the times before. Why didn’t it feel good?

  ‘I told you, this isn’t a normal drug. Just relax and we’ll soon be on our way.’ Nick’s voice sounded distant. As if he was somewhere far away.

  My eyes rolled into the back of my head. I couldn’t keep control of them as I tried to focus. Ribs vibrated as my heart thrust itself against them continuously. Bang, bang, bang.

  ‘Here we go,’ Nick said in a loud whisper.

  The sound of a chair hitting the floor filtered through the hum of the organs in my body. I was cradled in soft arms. I relaxed into them, waiting for the answers to come.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘It feels light, doesn’t it?’

  The warmth that surrounded me was unlike anything I had ever allowed myself to feel. The earth spun in front of us as we sat on the cool surface of the moon.

  ‘How are we here?’

  The bright blue and green colours of the earth’s surface caught my eye. I couldn’t look away from the beautiful world. There was no air up there, but I wasn’t breathing.

  ‘Don’t think. There’s no need to think.’

  He was right. I didn’t have the urge to question everything.

  ‘This is where we come from.’

  ‘The moon?’

  I couldn’t see him. I could hear him, but I couldn’t see him.

  ‘Don’t try to see, just know.’

  I wasn’t a body. Neither was he. The flow of feeling was stronger than I had ever felt in my life. It was good. It was a calm, nice feeling. There was nothing other than the feeling.

  ‘It’s time to show you,’ Nick’s voice said.

  ‘How do—’

  A sucking sensation pulled at me. My body landed in a heap. My face was pressed against cool dewy grass.

  Opening my eyes, I focused on the tree in front of me. The sound of a fire crackling nearby made me lift my head.

  ‘Father, do you have any berries?’ a young girl called as a tall man came into the clearing.

  The wooden hut behind her was built solidly. A suckling pig roasted on a fire in front of it.

  ‘I have a few,’ her father replied, throwing his roughly made bag on the ground. ‘Why do you have to be so picky about eating the pig?’

  His rasping words were said lightly. The young girl threw her arms around his broad shoulders and squeezed him tight.

  Pushing into a sit, I looked down at myself. My hands were meaty and my thighs were rock solid. If I had thought I was fit in 2015, I was well beyond it wherever I was now. It was a good dream. Very realistic.

  ‘Nicklaus, you’re awake!’ the young girl called, coming over to me.

  Her dress touched my knee as she stood over me. She rubbed a hand over my hair affectionately. ‘Not long now. Only three days until the ceremony.’

  My chest exploded with an emotion I had never felt before. The corners of my lips lifted into my cheeks as she bent to kiss my forehead. Something wasn’t right. The emotion didn’t feel like my own.

  ‘All right, that’s enough. You’ll have to restrain yourself,’ her father called from the fire.

  The scent of cooking meat made my stomach gurgle noisily.

  ‘Someone’s ready for their dinner,’ my beloved laughed. ‘Don’t give me that look with those grey eyes!’

  I watched her. Every move she made was precious. Every word that came out of her mouth, I wanted to hear. I was besotted. Grey eyes? She said that I had grey eyes.

  ‘Nicklaus, come eat!’ my future father in law called.

  Stretching my whole body, I stood and joined him by the fire. The warmth flicked over my face as I accepted the torn off pork leg.

  I was Nick in a past life. I was seeing his memories from his soul’s point of view. That would explain why I felt so different.

  ‘You’ve not said a word since you awoke. Are you well?’

  My beloved came to stand by me. All I could do was smile. Her sweet smell wafted around me as she stroked my cheek. Soon, she would be mine.

  ‘There is an errand I need you to run before the ceremony,’ the man said before ripping meat from the pig’s bone with his teeth.

  ‘Father, please don’t make him leave. Not now.’

  Her plea went ignored. A woman’s desire was not important in that time. Their opinions were worthless. It would be a long time from now until that changed.

  ‘You will travel north. I want you to collect something for me.’

  I nodded at him. I didn’t know what to say. I was Nick, but I wasn’t. I was Taurus, but I wasn’t. It felt real. The touch of my woman’s hand on my shoulder as she stood next to me. The caress of warmth from the fire after the cool wet cradling of the grass. It was so real.

  ‘Time to go.’

  The voice was my own. The young girl looked at me, her eyebrows creasing together. I blinked as my heartbeat rocked my whole body.

  ‘We’re back.’ It was Nick’s voice.

  Opening my eyes, I lay my hands on the squared lino and pushed myself up. The kitchen in modern day London was the same as when we had left it. Or when our consciousness had left.

  ‘That was an interesting way of doing it. I can never tell how it’s going to go when we time travel—’

  ‘Time travel?’ I spluttered, clambering to a stand.

 
I was unsteady on my feet. The drug made me feel woozy.

  ‘Well, it’s not time travel. Not when time doesn’t really exist. It’s just a human thing. But we went back to a time that has already played out.’

  Nick was sitting at the table. His eyes were bloodshot. I rubbed a hand over my stubbled jaw. My vision was blurred as I lowered myself into a chair.

  ‘We’ve not finished. We come back to reality to make sure we don’t get trapped there.’ Nick laid his head on the table and closed his eyes, so I did the same.

  ‘It won’t work.’

  The man was huffing from the effort of trying to undo the rope. I was jumping from one foot to the other.

  ‘I have to get back to her. We’re supposed to be getting wed today.’

  I scratched at my unwashed hair, feeling the slick grease that lined it. She would kill me. She would think that I didn’t want to be her husband. Her father had set me up on purpose. My errand had taken days to complete. He had said that I was to fetch a wedding gift, but when I arrived, there was nothing at the allotted inn. Not an innkeeper. Not a soul. It was abandoned.

  ‘Cut the rope, man!’ I snapped, handing a knife to the older male.

  He was a local farmer. I had persuaded him to lend me his only horse. I had to get back to my beloved. She would never forgive me for being late or not turning up at all.

  Once the rope was free, I kicked the horse’s sides. It sped away, almost toppling me off. I was at least a day’s ride from our home. The ceremony would be taking place in three hours from now. I would never make it.

  ‘Why did he do this to me?’ I whispered to myself as I whizzed past the trees in the forest.

  I leant forward on the horse as my head started to bob up and down. No matter how hard I tried to fight sleep, it took me anyway.

  ‘Nicklaus!’

  Her sharp tone brought me round again. I was hanging off the side of the horse. She stood in a clearing just north of our home.

  ‘My love!’ I exclaimed, falling to the ground when I let go of the mare’s mane.

  I rushed to my feet and took her hands in my own. Her eyes were red and swollen.

  ‘Where were you?’

  She took her hands away and tucked them under her dress. I frowned as she looked at the ground, unable to meet my gaze.

  ‘Your father sent me on a fool’s errand. There was nothing there!’

  A deep chuckle came from behind me. I turned to see my new enemy standing with a sword in his hand. ‘Nothing there? Why, my son, what about the inn?’

  I rubbed a hand over my face to clear away the sleepiness. My beloved watched her father with tears sitting on the edge of her eyes.

  ‘It was empty!’

  He shook his head as he chewed on his dry lips. ‘Of course it was empty. It was supposed to be your new home.’

  What was he talking about? He had sent me away, knowing it would make me miss the ceremony.

  ‘I must admit, it was a test. I wanted you to prove your love for my daughter,’ he said, raising the sword and inspecting the blade. ‘If you made it back in time, I would assume that you didn’t care about a gift. You would have proved that you loved my daughter more.’

  ‘That’s hardly fair! I would never abandon an errand set by my father in law!’

  His eyebrows rose as his sword came to his side. ‘Not even for the love of your own beloved?’

  I realised my mistake too late. He was a solider of old. He always completed the missions his master set him, but when it came to his wife, she had his full and total devotion. Even over his master.

  ‘Nicklaus!’

  I turned to my beloved and looked her in the eye. I had failed her. I was not worthy of her love or her hand. ‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered.

  ‘Father, please don’t do this,’ she pleaded, running to him and tugging on his arm.

  My heart cracked into a thousand tiny fractures. It was time for me to leave my home and start again. I had to leave her behind so she could marry a man that deserved her.

  ‘The inn is yours,’ the man that had ruined my life called.

  The horse stayed still as I swung my leg over its back.

  ‘No, please, Nicklaus! Please, Father!’

  Her cries went ignored as I kicked the horse into a trot. My beloved would never see me again. She deserved someone better. She would marry someone that could follow his heart. Not his head.

  *

  The coughing woke me.

  My cheeks were wet from the tears that lingered on them. I couldn’t remember the last time I had cried.

  ‘You loved her.’

  I couldn’t lift my head. Nick’s grief was still reverberating through my bones.

  ‘More than life itself.’

  His words were mumbled.

  ‘Boss?’ someone called through the kitchen door.

  He shuffled, so I raised my head and looked him in the eye. The grey iris was as familiar to me as my own eye colour.

  ‘You see. I’m not some evil man that has never felt a thing throughout our lifetimes together.’

  He scrubbed his face and pushed back from the table.

  ‘Boss!?’ The shout was louder.

  ‘What is it?’ he called back.

  The door opened and one of his men came in. He was a young man, about my age. He wore the typical black outfit. Trousers and a jumper. His hair was cropped short. He kept a straight face as he glanced at the drugs on the table.

  ‘I need to report something,’ the man said.

  He stood straight, but the wobble in his voice showed that he was new to the job. What was Nick building? Why so many men for only a few of us?

  ‘Go ahead.’ Nick poured two small glasses of vodka and handed me one.

  The young man glanced at me before frowning.

  ‘I said, go ahead!’ Nick had been calm and collected. A spark of aggression showed as he glared at the young man.

  ‘Aries has been spotted in the vicinity. He’s with Gemini. They’re searching for Taurus. We have no idea how he knows we’re on this street.’

  Nick nodded and gestured for the man to leave. I downed my drink. My face screwed up as the burn woke me up.

  ‘Are you ready to go home?’

  Nick had been heartbroken. I didn’t know how he manipulated the scene to show it being historic. I didn’t know how he had made it seem as if I was in his body but something was clear. His heart had turned to stone as he rode away from the woman he loved.

  ‘I still have many questions.’

  He smiled and rose from his seat. ‘Of course you do. And now you know where to find me.’

  ‘You’re going to let me leave? And come back?’

  Holding out his arms, he gestured to the kitchen around us. ‘You have free will, Taurus. I’ve never seen the point in keeping any of you against your will. Other than Pisces, of course, but I’ve learnt my lesson from that. You want answers. I’ve got them. I have you at an advantage.’

  Picking up my cap from the floor, I placed it on my head. He was right. The trip was the best one I had ever had, although the emotion that came from it wasn’t that pleasurable.

  ‘Lead your friends away from here. I’ll see you again soon.’

  I got up from the chair and turned to go. He was right. He would see me again soon.

  ‘Taurus,’ he called when I reached the door. ‘Don’t take any more drugs. Come to me for this.’ He gestured at the white baggies that still lay in front of him.

  ‘Even cannabis?’ Could I really go without anything?

  Picking up a bag, he offered it to me. ‘Yes, even cannabis.’

  My hand was on the handle of the door. If I walked out without taking the drug, whatever it was, I would carry on with my life. I would still take the same stuff and be the same person. But I didn’t have Sophie to go dancing with. I didn’t have her to roll a joint for me when I was feeling lazy. She had only been in my life for a tiny time, but she had made a big impact.

  ‘Ok
ay,’ I said as I stepped back and snatched the bag from him.

  ‘I’ll see you soon, Taurus.’

  I left him behind, ignoring his men as they escorted me to the front door. I had to be careful not to be seen by the others. I didn’t want them to know where I had been. Could I keep another secret from my siblings?

  Sneaking behind the building, I climbed over the fence and landed in an alleyway. The cars ahead beeped in the busy London street. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialled Aries’ number as I slunk into the crowd.

  ‘Taurus! Where are you?’

  ‘I’m not sure. They just dumped me on a busy street. It looks like…hold on…’ I ran to the end of the pavement and gave Aries the name of the road.

  ‘I’m in the next street along. Stay there.’

  The phone went dead. I thought about the expression as people pushed past me. Dead. What a weird way of explaining what happened when someone hung up the phone. Sophie was dead. She didn’t beep.

  It was dark. I hadn’t noticed before I looked up and counted the car lights as they drove past me. Why was London always so busy? Even at night time?

  ‘Taurus!’ Aries called as he approached me. ‘Where the hell have you been?’

  I blinked as both he and Gemini came into view.

  ‘Into the past,’ I muttered, believing for the first time in my whole life that maybe I had been wrong.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘What happened when you were there?’

  Aries fiddled with the bolt on his implant. He had taken off his metal leg to polish the aluminium. Natalie stood by his side, holding the other leg in her hand.

  ‘Not a lot. We spoke a bit, then he left. Next thing I knew, they dragged me back out to the car.’

  I didn’t want to lie to him. My brother was looking out for me. He couldn’t give me what I needed, though. He couldn’t help me to understand why I was the way I was. Always searching for a way to escape the reality I found myself in.

  ‘Could you tell where you were? How far did they drive?’

  I shook my head. Apparently I had been missing for four hours. I didn’t realise how quickly the time had gone when I had been off my head.