“How can you say that, Tony? I was there, I didn’t move fast enough, I should have charged the second I got into that cabin and instead I froze. I always freeze.” She added angrily thinking back to her childhood.
“Then you would both be dead. They were going to kill her, they wanted you but because you were smart, you managed to not only single handedly take town a Brute, but also made it out alive.”
“Barely.”
“Still counts.”
“Gregory hates me.” The tears burned in her throat but she refused to let them fall.
“He does not.” Tony said astounded. “That man could never hate you Anastasia and you know that.” He squeezed her shoulder lightly and then released her. “Go home, get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
Anastasia walked towards the fence that surrounded the village. They had finally finished putting it up two months after Annabelle was killed. The men worked night and day to complete it. It was made of tall trees that had been sharpened to a point and tied together with rope. It reminded her of the fences she had seen in history class that had surrounded the old forts they had studied.
She headed for the training cottage but stopped to stare at the moon. She wondered what Dakota was doing. Was he happy? She prayed he was. She closed her eyes tightly wishing that he could have been there, she could have used his support although she wasn’t sure he would even recognize the person she was becoming. She missed him every single day and while she had thought it would have gotten easier, the emptiness in her heart had only grown.
“Pondering life? Or your guilt?” Maximus’s voice cut through the quiet and she opened her eyes to stare into his arrogant face. His eyes, if possible, seemed even colder than they ever had before.
She tried to push past him but he moved and blocked her again. When she turned to head back towards the village she saw that his two ‘lackeys’ as she called them, Alastair and Sebastian flanked her.
“Where are you going? Got someone else to get killed?”
She tightened her fists and tried to go around him again. She knew he was looking for a fight but she would be damned if she would be the one to give him one.
“What do you want, Maximus?”
“Oh we were just curious how it was you slept at night knowing that you have ruined the life of the only people who took you in. You deserved what you got growing up.” He spit at her and she suddenly felt something building inside of her.
She wasn’t sure what happened next, but one minute she had been standing in front of him and the next he was under her and her sword was pressed to his throat. A tiny trickle of blood crept down her blade and she watched it with fascination.
Maximus’s eyes were wide with shock and she saw the fear on his face. “You should be afraid.” She growled at him.
She wasn’t sure why but Dakota’s face came to her mind. She pictured him the way he had been when he had brought her meatloaf that night. The smile on his face as he climbed through her window. The thought of him pulled her back to reality and she jumped up and sheathed her sword.
“You have no right to speak of Annabelle or of Gregory and you have no idea what the fuck it is you are talking about.” She had very rarely cussed in her life but she couldn’t think of another word that would have packed the punch she wanted her words to have. “Maybe you should learn to keep your mouth shut.” She walked past him and headed for the training cabin.
As the cabin came into view she heard footsteps behind her and she spun expecting a fight. Gregory stood behind her, his arms crossed over his chest. She studied his face and saw the lines of grief etched all over them. The youthfulness his face had once held was gone, his beard had grown tremendously and now came down to his collarbone. His hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck and he wore dark pants with a grey robe.
“You almost killed him.” It was the first words he had spoken to her since Annabelle’s death and the pain in them felt like a punch to her stomach.
“I know.” The guilt began to settle in but the fact that he might be disappointed in her was what hurt the worst.
“You did well.”
The surprise at his words showed all over her face and she saw the ghost of a smile cross his lips.
“He taunted you. He had no right to say what he did.” The smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. “You had every right to attack and while I am mildly disappointed that you allowed your anger to take over, I am proud that you were able to get it under control especially under the circumstances.” He walked past her and she followed him into the cottage.
“I am sorry that I have not been reachable.” He rubbed his hand over his face.
“You don’t need to apologize. I'm the one responsible, I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me.”
“Oh Anastasia, is that what you think?” His eyes filled and he touched her face gently. “Oh child what happened is not your fault and I should have told you that months ago. Annabelle would not want you to blame yourself and neither do I. They would have killed her whether you had given yourself over or not. Only then, I would have lost you both.” He turned to stare out the window. “I should have been here for you. I was so wrapped up in my loss that I didn’t pay attention to the fact that you lost someone too. I know that you loved Annabelle and you must know that she loved you as well. You were so much more to her then you know Anastasia. To both of us.”
“Gregory, I-”
“What did you feel?” He interrupted.
“Feel?”
“Right before you attacked Maximus, what did you feel?”
“Anger.”
“Dig deeper, not so much an emotion as a feeling.” He searched for a word to describe it.
She thought back. She had been so angry. Angry for what happened, for what he was saying and for the fact that she believed it. But looking back on it now, it hadn’t been only anger that she had felt. She had felt power, a sort of humming in her veins.
“I felt powerful.”
He nodded and turned to face her.
“As if you had control over everything in that moment and yet, no control at all.”
She nodded.
“Its time for bed now, you will start training with me again in the morning.” He turned and headed for his room. Once in the doorway he stopped and turned. “If you need to talk to me Anastasia, please do. I will do my best to be here for you from now on.” Gregory disappeared into his room and the door shut gently behind him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dakota stood staring out at the Seattle skyline. Never had he seen a city so beautiful at night and yet it all seemed so empty to him. Then again everything had since Anastasia’s disappearance. It just seemed that ever since that night, things had only continued to get worse.
His father’s death had just topped it all off.
He looked down at the soda he was sipping on and then back into the house where the rest of his collage peers were partying the night away, as if there wasn’t a thing wrong in the world.
“Is that Dakota that I see out there? Dakota Parker?” The voice was slurred but he would recognize it anywhere.
“Gage.” He turned to face the son of his dad’s old partner.
“Well how ya doing boy?” He asked as he headed onto the balcony.
“Better than you are at the moment I suppose.”
“What do ya mean? I'm great.” He grinned and Dakota moved away when he smelled the liquor on his breath. “Listen.” Gage got closer to Dakota again and he tried to slide away. “I'm sorry about your dad.”
Dakota clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to talk about this now, maybe never, but especially not now and not with Gage.
“What happened to his dad?” One of the other intoxicated partygoers who had wandered out onto the balcony asked.
“He died. Was killed in the line of duty.” He held his cup up and Dakota had to remind himself that he was only drunk. He knew that Gage’s dad had been close with his own.
“Yeah, it was. I’ve got to go now.” Dakota said and started towards the door.
“It’s a shame they never found that chick.”
Dakota closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Her name is Ana.” He said without turning around.
“Whatever. You knew who I was talking about.”
“Who’s the chick?” The same drunk asshole asked again.
“Dude, she was this really hot chick who lived next to Dakota.”
“Stop it Gage.” He warned.
“But her dad used to beat the crap out of her.” Dakota could hear the amusement in his voice and the excitement that came from being the one with the information. “Like bad dude. One day she went missing and our-” He took another drink from his cup. “Dads were put on the case!” He said it as if it were some achievement of his own, as if Dakota’s entire life hadn’t fallen apart that night. “Anyways her dad said she ran away and his dad didn’t believe him so blah blah blah you know the end.”
Dakota clenched his fists at his side and did his best to control the anger that was rising in his chest.
“You ever bang her dude?” Gage asked and Dakota snapped.
“Are you serious?” Dakota spun and grabbed Gage by the throat. “Who the fuck are you to come here and start spreading my life out there like that? Not to mention disrespecting my father as well as my best friend who by the way is probably dead. Who the fuck are you?” He repeated. “You haven’t done a damn thing with your life other then live off of mommy and daddy’s dime. So do us all a favor,” he knocked the cup out of his hand. “Sober up and stop acting like an entitled asshole.” He threw him back and stalked out the door ignoring all of the ‘boohs’ that were headed his way.
Dakota angrily walked back to his car and then drove to his house. It was a long commute to school every day, but he would never have left his mother in his childhood house alone. Especially not with Mitch still living next door.
She was sitting at the kitchen table looking through old photo albums when he got home.
“Hey, mom.”
“Oh, hi Dakota.” She shut the album quickly and wiped the tears from her cheeks. It hadn’t even been a month since his father’s death. “I'm sorry, I wasn’t expecting you home for another hour or so. How was the party?”
“Boring.” He went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “How are you?”
“I'm fine honey. I just wanted to see his face before I went to bed. How are you doing?” She wore the concern plainly on her face.
“Sober. If that’s what you were worried about.”
“Dakota, I know you would never drive drunk so no that’s not what I was worried about.”
“I'm fine, mom.” He did his best to hide the anger in his voice. Lately, it was rare for him to feel anything but anger.
She nodded but didn’t look convinced. “I'm going to head to bed, early morning.”
“Are you sure you should be going back to work?”
“I have to move on with my life, Dakota. He wouldn’t want us sitting around wallowing.”
He nodded, a hand clenching his heart. He wasn’t ready to move one, wasn’t sure he ever would be. Not until they put Mitch away for good. It was no secret that everyone believed he was responsible for George Parker’s death.
“Night, mom.”
“Night, baby.” She kissed him on the head and then headed for the stairs.
The sound of sirens pierced the night and they both bolted for the door. They came out into the front yard and saw police and paramedics running into the Carter home. Dakota’s heart stopped. Had they found her? Had Ana come home? Or worse had she never left? They watched for what felt like hours until the first responders came back out.
“Oh, no.” Elizabeth exclaimed when she saw the body bag being wheeled out of the front door.
Dakota felt the dread deep in his stomach and for a moment he felt as if he could see her lying there. He swallowed his fear and ran for the nearest officer. “Who is it?”
“It’s not Anastasia, Dakota.” Mike replied. He had worked with Dakota’s father for years and had known all about the case.
“Monica.” He said without hesitation when he saw Mitch.
“I’ve got to head to the station.” He nodded towards Dakota’s mother who was standing with her arms wrapped around herself.
Mitch stepped from the house, grief plastered on his face for anyone to see but Dakota saw through it and when Mitch turned to smile towards him, Dakota knew that if he didn’t go down for this, then one day he was going to bring the bastard down for good.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Where is Maximus?” Anastasia asked the next morning as they met in the training room.
Gregory opened the windows to let some fresh air fill the musty room, and then turned to face her. “Maximus will no longer be training with us.”
“Why not?” A small twinge of guilt wrapped itself around her.
“He was a nuisance.” Gregory said it so nonchalantly that Anastasia’s guilt began to grow.
“If this is about yesterday Gregory, I attacked him first.”
“Because he cornered you. Anastasia violence is not something that should be taken lightly. You shouldn’t enjoy causing someone pain. Maximus enjoyed it and I will not be responsible for training a monster.”
She started to argue with him, but she knew he was right. Since the day she had met Maximus he had been doing everything he could to antagonize her into a fight. She saw the pleasure he had taken out of cornering her yesterday. Still, she knew he would only harbor an even larger grudge against her now.
Gregory moved to stand in front of Anastasia and she began unsheathing her sword.
“No, leave it. We are going to be trying something new today.”
Confused, she removed her hand and stood watching him. Something was different, he looked almost excited. There was a small light in his eyes that she hadn’t seen since Annabelle had been killed.
“Last night you said that you sensed power.”
“Yes, it’s hard to explain.”
“Do you recall how you ended up on top of Maximus? How you were able to take him down and have your sword pressed to his throat before either Alastair or Sebastian could get to you two?”
She thought back for a moment. “No, I guess I just saw red. He had been taunting me and the next thing I knew I had him pinned.”
“You used magic.”
Her jaw dropped. He had to be mistaking. A small fear crept into her mind that maybe Annabelle’s death had driven him mad, but with one look at his face she just didn’t see that as a possibility.
“I don’t have any magic. That’s not possible.”
“We are who we are, Anastasia, dismissing it will do you no good.”
“Gregory, there’s no way I could have magic. Mitch and Monica were normal,” weren’t they? Had either of them possessed any magic, she was sure she would have known about it. Even if all Mitch had done was use it to cause her more pain. “You told me that your magic was hereditary, neither of my parents had any.”
She saw the momentary hurt on his face but she pushed it aside, what he was saying was crazy! Wasn’t it?
“There is so much more to you then you know Anastasia. I watched you from the beginning to the end of your confrontation with Maximus, I know what I saw and you are going to have to accept it.”
“From the beginning?” His admission had shocked her. She knew he had seen the end of it, but how had he been watching her the entire time?
“I followed you from Tony’s every night. I had to make sure you were safe.” He closed his eyes and turned around to face the desk. “I couldn’t lose you, too.” He almost whispered it. “I just couldn’t face you after what happened.”
“Gregory, what are you talking about?”
“You look too much like her.” His voice was shaky and she couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the tears in
his voice.
“What?”
“I’m so sorry, Anastasia.”
“Sorry for what? Gregory you’re scaring me.”
He turned to face her now. His eyes were wet with tears and she saw the fear in them as he looked at her.
“We should have told you sooner. When she was still alive, but she was worried you needed time to get acclimated and before we knew it a year had passed.” He began pacing the small room. “We were going to tell you the night that, the night-” He stuttered and she knew which night he was talking about. “We were going to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“You asked me the night I brought you here whether I had children or not.”
She nodded staring at him as he faced away from her. “Annabelle and I had a daughter. Eighteen years, six months and four days ago she was taken from us. She was sent to live in another world by her uncle, my brother who feared her power. It was prophesized that she would be the one who would destroy him, bring an end to the darkness he would bring down onto Terrenia. He believed that he would only be destroyed because I refused to stand by his side and use my magic to further his goals, and he believed the reason I refused was because of my daughter. When he took her, he intended to kill her but couldn’t bring himself to destroy something so powerful. Even as an infant you could sense her strength. So instead, he sent her to a nearby world believing that it would force me to tap into my magic in order to find her. He believed that if I did that, if I got a taste of the power in my blood, then I would turn dark and we could rule together. He believed that I would raise my daughter to be like us, to use her great power to conquer the worlds he wanted so badly to control.”
Her heart had stopped. She was trying to listen to everything that he was saying, but it was all ringing so true that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t suspected anything before. Honestly she wasn’t even super surprised and it didn’t take long to piece everything together.
She thought back to all the times Mitch had made comments about being stuck with the ‘little brat’ and how he wished he had said no. She had always assumed he wished they had terminated the pregnancy, but as it turned out it must have been he wished they had never adopted her. Monica would always tell him ‘don’t worry it will all be worth it in the end’.
The Phoenix (The Prophecy #1) Page 5
