He is going to lose his mind. I know he will hate me after he finds my letter. He’ll think I’m a horrible person to put him through this feeling. Although it isn’t painful, the feeling is a loss like I’ve never known, making me wish it was pain instead. It doesn’t even compare to when my parents died. I broke my Intended’s heart , and I am now completely and utterly alone.
***
Dear Gavin,
Before you continue reading this letter, I need you to go to Gram and ask her for some coleus herbs. I plan to take what is in the kitchen, but I know she has more. If you drink the tea every day, the pain of me being gone won’t feel so bad. At least, I hope it won’t.
I need you to know right now that I am going to be okay, and I will try everything in my power to come back to you and grovel like an idiot until you forgive me for betraying you. I have had such a hard time opening up about my feelings for fear of you getting killed, trying to be my hero.
You already are my hero, though. You’ve saved me on so many occasions, and not just physically. You have saved my heart. You have ended my nightmares that I thought I’d have to endure forever. And you have made me feel love like I never knew before.
I haven’t said it nearly enough, or at all recently. I love you so much, Gavin. I love every single thing about you and I want so badly to be by your side for the rest of my one hundred plus years. I want even more than that crazy amount of time with you.
Tonight, I am going after Barron. He has been visiting me in my dreams and he is determined to kill all of the people I love, and then me. I made a deal with him, and though he doesn’t know it yet, I have a trick up my sleeve.
By the way, I’m sorry I took your throwing knives, but with their help, I will be free of the rotten curse on my family, and be able to hold you again. Once more, I love you. Please don’t look for me.
Love always,
Your Aella
ISOLATED
Part 4 of the Intended Series
By: Abigail Grant
Chapter 1
It has been almost ten very long days since I left Oregon. I keep thinking that any minute I’ll find the evil demon who called me to this place, but Barron still hasn’t shown himself. He hasn’t been in my dreams either, which I’m grateful for, but incredibly confused. I don’t know how I’m supposed to confront the demon finally, without him actually giving me a single hint as to where he is.
“Meet me in Granbury, Texas,” he said that night. Hello, I’m here you jerk!
I have been staying at a small, antique-looking hotel in the town of Granbury called “The Oaks.” The place itself looks to be a hundred years old, with large cracks crawling up the outside walls and the constant stench of must. It hasn’t been terrible, but being alone is a feeling I am not comfortable with.
This town is cozy and even though each day gets a little colder, now that October is nearly over, the large lake and abundance of trees makes me feel warm and at home. Barron told me that my mother used to live here, and I wonder if she felt at home in this place, or if it was just another pass through for her and my father. I haven’t had the courage to ask around about her.
Today, I have just been walking around, as usual. I figure the more I explore, the sooner I’ll run into that crockety old demon. I decided to try walking by the old lake houses to see what I could find there.
I follow a dirt path between some smaller trees. They stretch over the trail, trying their best to reach each other like a family member coming home. A cold breeze comes from the trail making me pull my scarf higher around my neck. I pick up the pace, hoping that maybe I can run faster than I did a few days ago.
I don’t know what my speed was on the day that I ran on the beach, but it had to have been as fast as any car could go. It was amazingly freeing to run at those speeds.
As I round a large turn in the path, I push myself to a full run. My tennis shoes smack against the hard dirt, and the trees fly past me. I want to laugh at the exhilaration building inside me. I haven’t laughed in a long time.
I stretch myself even faster and the world around me blurs. I feel so strong, but that feeling is forced out of me before I can even blink. I slam hard into something that causes me to fall on my back and groan from the impact. My throbbing head makes my vision go fuzzy, and I can’t focus my eyes on the person standing over me on the trail.
“You were really something there for a moment, weren’t you?” the man says. His voice is unrecognizable to my ears, but something about the way he speaks is so familiar.
I shake my head, and my ponytail flops from side to side as I try to clear the fog. My eyes focus better on the tall man. He's dressed nicely in a cardigan and slacks. His arms seem too large for his lean body and the portion of muscle at the top of his back is so large that it frames his neck. I gasp when I see his face, or rather, his eyes.
The two deep pools of blackness watch me with a devious smirk resting below them. The demon steps closer and offers a hand to me. I refuse to take it.
“Who are you?” I ask him. I can’t imagine it is just a coincidence that I ran into a random demon in the same place I planned to meet Barron.
He waves a hand at me and clicks his tongue. “I am of no importance, but if you feel it necessary, then call me Titus.” He even bows slightly at me, like he has manners somewhere in his soulless body.
I stand shakily, and slowly walk backward. “Nice to meet you, Titus, but uh... I have a super busy schedule. I’d better get going.” I wave at him but his smirk only grows and he pushes his shaggy hair away from his face.
“You do not have a busy schedule, girly. I’ve been watching you for days. Your life is an empty and lonely one.” His words cut me. I don’t expect to bleed, though, because I really have become empty lately, without Gavin.
I continue to back away from Titus, but he follows my slow movements with his own. “Titus, I don’t want to fight you,” I say.
His high pitched cackle fills me with fear to my bones. I have never heard a sound like it. It’s so un-human that I stop moving.
“You won’t have to fight me, don’t worry. It’ll be so quick that you won’t have the chance to fight back.” His black eyes roam over my body, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand like spikes.
Instead of arguing with him, I try to calm myself, and pull the heat from my power to me. My body begins to fill with the warmth, and I keep it hidden from Titus as he continues to stalk me with slow movements like a lion circling its prey.
I hold my hands up in front of me and lie to him. “Please, I know I’m not strong and I have no power yet. But please, don’t hurt me.”
He shrugs and pushes out his bottom lip. “I don’t plan on hurting you, I was told to just kill you quick and get it over with.”
I know Barron had to have something to do with Titus. Why wouldn’t he just come here himself, though? I don’t have much time to think over the situation because Titus lunges at me in what would normally be a blur of a motion. With my new develop ments, I can see his lunge clearly and move out of the way in time.
He turns to me, almost amused. “Ooh, what a good little girl. You do have some power within you, and that’ll make this so much more fun.”
Titus crouches slightly, readying himself to pounce again. Before he moves though, I give him a little taste of my air power. I release a trickle of energy and flick my hand in the air. The movement causes a sharp wind to whip past Titus and spin him in a full circle.
I try to stifle a laugh at the ridiculousness of his unintentional twirl. “Beautiful, Titus. I love your form.” I clap for him.
His anger rises right before my eyes, and my fear kicks up a notch, but I’m not ready to get rid of my snark just yet. I smile at him and raise an eyebrow, calling him to me with a curl of my pointer finger.
Titus runs at me, kicking up clouds of dirt. I point to the ground and pull a rock up from the path, just in time for him to trip over it. He hits the ground with a hard thud, and
I laugh again.
The growl that comes from within him shakes the ground by my feet. I know I’m in trouble now, but I don’t care. I feel the need to fight.
Before I can even revel in my small victory, Titus leaps from the ground with the rock he tripped on in his hands. He winds his arms back and throws the large rock right toward my face. Instinctively my eyes close and my hands fly up to protect myself. So much for my cockiness.
I wait a moment, but only a crushing sound comes, and then I’m thrown to the ground by another figure coming to join the fight. I roll to fight whoever just pushed me, but I freeze just before my elbow connects to his jaw. A golden-eyed boy who I’ve never met jumps away from me and charges after the demon.
His short, golden hair matches his eyes, and he looks to be around my age with a lean, fit build. I watch as he crouches toward Titus in his tight jeans and sleeveless shirt. The two circle one another, but neither makes a move.
The Seer boy stops midway through circle three and places hands on his hips. “Come on, ya ever gonna make a move, or what?”
His New York accent surprises me all the way out here in Texas. I wouldn’t think any out-of-state Seers would be so far from home alone, except me of course.
Titus lunges at the boy, but the Seer is much faster. He dodges the demon with ease and quickly turns to land a blow against Titus’ ribs. Titus groans, but instead of fighting the boy, he turns to me.
I jump from the ground quickly and gather my strength again. Before Titus can reach me, I throw anything and everything I have into my hands. My hands feel heavy and so full that I need to release what is in them. My hands slam against his cold chest and there is a pulse that comes from the tips of my fingers.
His black eyes widen and his mouth drops open. He whispers something to me in an unknown language before the water in his skin is drained out, like the dripping water from a sponge. His skin goes completely dry and cracks all over the surface, causing him to bleed.
I pull away from him, completely shaken by the sight before me. As soon as he is released from my magic, he drops to the ground at my feet. Whatever I did to him didn’t kill him, but there is clear pain written across his withered face.
I turn to the Seer boy who stands watching me with fascination in his sparkling eyes. I try to find my words. “I… I don’t know what I did.”
He shakes his head and runs to me. He grabs my hands in both of his. “That was incredible. I don’t know who ya are, but I’m so glad I met ya.” He looks down at the suffering demon. “If you'd like, I can kill ‘im. You can turn around and don’t have to have any part in it.”
I nod, my head bobbing up and down too quickly. “Okay,” is all I say to the stranger. He turns me around and I walk a few paces before the sickening crack of the demon’s neck finds my ears. I flinch, and small bumps rise on my arms, but I know that Titus couldn’t have lived. He would’ve killed and tortured others forever if he had the chance.
Gentle hands fall on my shoulders. “It’s done,” he says.
I don’t want to turn around to watch the demon’s body dissolve into the ground, so I just stare at the large lake in front of me. I’ve only seen one other demon’s death in my life, and due to my prompt passing out, I missed the part where the body sinks into oblivion. I’ve heard the details from Lex, though.
“Thank you,” I say, and turn to see the boy release my shoulders and watch the lake with me.
I clear my throat. “I’m El.”
“Hey, El. I’m Neo.”
Chapter 2
The orange sun is setting over the lake, and the two of us have just been sitting in silence for a while. Neo seems like a capable fighter, and he is obviously a Seer. The golden eyes give it away. He is also really handsome. Even though I’m aware of his good looks, though, he doesn’t compare to my Intended. I can’t help but think of Gavin as I sit alone on a romantic beach with another man. I don’t want to be here, in this setting with Neo. I want Gavin.
It’s my fault that I don’t have Gavin with me, though. I chose to leave him, with only my written words to tell him goodbye. I still believe it was for the best to leave like I did, but each day without him is harder than the last.
The coleus helps. The invisible string that connects us has been dormant since I first took the herbs, and I continue to take them each day. I worry everyday that my stubborn Intended didn’t take the coleus after I left. If he is in pain, I might never forgive myself.
As I sit next to Neo, my thoughts of Gavin feel like they might overflow onto the soft sand, so I break the silence.
“So, Neo. What are you doing in Granbury, Texas?” I glance at him, forcing a friendly smile but I know my eyes squint just a tad too much.
He absently runs his fingers through the sand and raises a single shoulder. “I’ve kinda been everywhere. Granbury's only the latest. I do like it here though.” He smiles at me. “What about you, El?”
I toss a pebble into the lake and enjoy the sound of the soft thunk. “I’m on sort of a mission, I guess. It’s pretty stupid.”
He nudges my shoulder. “Missions ain’t stupid. Well, most ain’t.” He chuckles softly, but the sound is cynical. “I guess I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had no sort of path or purpose .”
I stare at the ripples spanning out from where I threw the pebble. “What about your family? Are they here with you?”
He shakes his head and waves his hand in the air, looking very New-Yorker with the “forget-about-it’ motion. “Nah. I don’t have any family. I know, I’m probably the first Seer on the planet to not be surrounded by family and perfectness.” He scoffs at the idea of family.
I raise my hand. “Hey, you’re not alone. Orphan over here. I lost my parents at a young age and have no family, other than my adoptive mother. Definitely not perfectness, but I’ve seen the Seer life. It can be pretty great if you do it right.”
Neo watches me closely. “It’s crazy that we ran into each other, ain’t it? Two Seer orphans meeting on a quiet path in the little ol’ town of Granbury.”
He has a point. “It’s actually really crazy. Without you showing up when you did, I’d have been killed by that demon.” I hold my hand out to him. “Thank you, Neo.”
He shakes my hand, and there is no tingle, no spark. Whatever sort of fate brought us together, who knows what it’s intentions are?
“No problem, El. I’m glad I was there.” He raises his eyebrows at me. “And how ‘bout those skills you had back there! Where did you learn to dry a person out like that?”
“Honestly, I have no clue what I did to him. I have learned a little bit about self defense and have been slowly coming into some elemental powers. When I say slowly, I mean in very sudden spurts out of absolutely nowhere.” I choke out a ridiculous laugh.
He laughs with me. “So, if ya grew up without Seers to train you, where did you learn about our kind? I had parents my whole life, up until about five years ago when I was fifteen.”
I almost don’t want to talk about the Cole family, and all they have taught me. At the same time though, all I want is to talk about them and brag about the amazing people that I love.
“Well,” I say and smack my lips, “I am originally from California, but I moved up to Oregon for college with my best friend. Before August, I didn’t know a single thing about Seers. I had some visions, but had no clue why.” That time feels so long ago now. “Shortly after moving, I ran into another Seer who was sharing the same visions as me. He introduced me to his family, and they kind of just took me in.”
He smiles gently. “That’s pretty amazing. I kinda don’t wanna ask why you left ‘em, but I’m also super curious.”
I raise a shoulder. “I found out a whole bunch of crap about my parent’s deaths, and some hundred-year-old vendetta of a really old demon.” I search for the right words, without relaying the whole story. “This demon has been after me, and he ended up threatening my loved ones, so I left. I planned to confront him and fight to the
death. His or mine.”
He shouts and points back to the trail we abandoned. “Was that him? The one who just attacked you?”
I shake my head. I wish it were that easy. “Sadly, no. That was basically just a minion sent by the real bad baddy.”
“Man. That sucks, El.” He reaches to me and grabs my hand.
I want to pull away, but I also don’t want to hurt his feelings. The touch is comforting, nonetheless. I gently pull my hand out of his and reach for another rock to toss into the water, hoping he can’t see through me.
I clear my throat. “Anyways, where have you been staying here in Granbury?” I ask him.
He grins again. “That’s the best part! It’s an old little house on the other side of the lake from here. The locals say it’s haunted, so it’s been abandoned forever.”
“That does sound pretty cool, honestly. Especially around Halloween,” I say and widen my eyes creepily.
He jumps up and gestures to where the house must be. “Wanna come see it?” he asks. “If ya don’t want to, that’s fine.”
I think about the possibility of having an actual house to sit in instead of that hotel room. And a good carefree adventure is something I haven’t had in a long time.
I nod my head. “I’d love to. It’s not like I have anything else to do while I wait for my impending fight to the death, right?”
We both laugh at the completely not funny situation. I stand, and we take off to see the “haunted” house.
Chapter 3
“So, here it is. My humble abode or whatever.” Neo and I stop at a long curvy driveway filled with gray and white gravel. In between the gravel rocks, sprouts of all sorts pop up leaving the road looking very unkempt. The driveway leads between dozens of tall evergreen trees to where I assume a house must be.
Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6 Page 25
