Casted (Casted series) (7 page)

I watched as he collected himself before he left the kitchen and went in search of the girl who had so rudely put him in his place. He turned briefly and signaled for me to follow him. At the end of the hall, the clutter stopped and I smelled something citrusy floating along the air.

Dagger whistled between his teeth as he looked behind us. “That’s a pretty powerful enchantment you used.”

I turned to look back at the kitchen. It was spotless. The clutter was gone and all the surfaces gleamed.

The living room we stepped in held priceless pieces of art and antiques. The furniture was plush and looked inviting enough to take a nap on. The girl turned to us with a saucy smile. “Not bad... huh? You see my brother Carter thought it would be a good deterrent to have the first room you come into look so messy, it would keep anyone from coming further into the house.”

“And it’s worked so far?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Well, since you are the first visitors we’ve had in a very long time, I can’t say,”

Dagger went to a large bay window overlooking an open field. “We are in need of sanctuary.” He turned to look at the girl.

She cleared her throat. “Welcome to the West End House. My name is Julie Jameson. I do not do any sort of maid service. If you need something from the outside world, I will arrange for my contact to bring it to you. Your room is down the hall and to the left. Don’t break anything.” She plunked down into an overstuffed chair, grabbed a book and proceeded to ignore us.

Her attitude reminded me of Jessa. The little slice of happy I’d managed, shriveled up and died at the thought. I hoped Jessa and Rainy had made it to wherever they were going. I would question Dagger as soon as we had a moment to speak privately.

“We won’t need anything. Only a place to rest for a day or so, and then we will be on our way,” he replied as he turned to place his hand on my shoulder, guiding me to the other side of the room.

“Thank you, Julie,” I said over my shoulder. As soon as I knew she could no longer see us, I shook Dagger off my arm. I was starting to feel like a cavewomen with all the tugging and grunting coming from my protector.

“This is only temporary,” he told me as he found the room she instructed us to go to. It was one of two rooms in the small hallway. Dagger opened the door to the large room, which only had one bed. I rolled my eyes and darted across the hall to open the other door. I was slapped with the reality that there was only one bedroom on this side of the house. The door I opened led to a vintage looking bathroom complete with a large porcelain clawfoot tub. I let my head fall against the door jamb with a thud.

Damn it. Was the universe against me on everything?

I left the bathroom door open and forced myself to return to the bedroom. I had to put the sleeping arrangements behind me right now. There were too many questions that I needed answers to.

Dagger had slipped off his shoes and was fluffing a pillow under his head when I shut the door. I leaned back against it, feeling its sturdiness. It gave me a momentary reprieve as I let all the questions float around in my head. I wasn’t even sure where to begin.

“I can hear the gears grinding in your head from all the way over here,” Dagger said. He hadn’t even bothered picking his head up off the pillow as he spoke. His eyes were closed and he was rubbing his brow like it would relieve an oncoming headache.

“I don’t even know where to begin.” I allowed myself to admit at least that much.

He sighed and opened one eye before patting the bed. “Come sit over here and I will try my best to give you some answers.”

I glanced across at him. He looked a little pale. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Power backlash, that last transfer of energy was very intense,” he said as he winced.

I sat at the far edge of the bed. As the mattress dipped, he stiffened. “Do you need some aspirin or something?”

“I just need rest. It’s really the only thing that helps when you process too much energy,” he whispered.

“You said you needed to create a reaction out of me, but why kiss me for it?” Of all the questions bubbling around in my brain, that was the one I let slip out first. I officially wanted to kick my own ass now.

Dagger let a bark of laughter out, and then followed it with a groan. “Princess, don’t do that… it hurts.”

I reached out and slapped his leg. It was childish, but it made me feel better. He winced but caught my hand up with his and held tight.

“What are you doing? Let go!” I pulled my hand but his grip tightened. I felt a tingle of energy slide up my arm. It trickled through my body, growing with intensity. Perspiration dotted my brow. A soft hum began and the mattress vibrated underneath me. A gasp escaped my lips as Dagger released my hand.

I wiped my face on my sleeve and looked over at him. His color had returned and his eyes were open. One side of his lips curved into a sly smile. “Sorry, it was becoming a little uncomfortable keeping all that contained.”

“What was that?” I asked.

“I channeled some of the energy back into you. It’s kind of like venting off the pressure,” he explained.

I really had no idea what he meant, but I felt like he’d used me again for his gain and frankly, it was getting a little old being used for other’s purposes.

“Your power is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced before.” He stared at me in awe. “You’re like ten Witches all neatly packaged into one little body.” He rolled over to fully face me.

“Wonderful.” I started to get up, but he placed his hand on top of mine. It was a silent request to stay. I didn’t know what to make of him. He could infuriate me with one word and hold me in place with the slightest touch. I knew nothing about him, yet I felt like I could trust him with my life.

“I had to create a reaction from you. I kissed you, because I didn’t have enough power left in me to get us away from that Triad Enforcer. Any other day, I could have taken them on with plenty of power to spare, but I’ve been running on empty since the day we left my Coven’s safe house,” he said.

“Is it because of what happened when you came to get me?” I asked.

“No. That was really nothing, well not really nothing, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle on a normal day-to-day fight. I’ve been expending my energies in getting all the flash points ready. I had to expend nearly everything I had to create the different places and then ward them. It was a lot of magic in a very short period of time,” he said.

“What are flash points?” I asked.

“Flash points are door ways to other locations that can be created for the sole purpose of traveling from one place to another,” Dagger replied.

“How many flash points did you create?” I asked.

“Ten total. Six for us to use and then two for each group.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Guess it was a waste since there’s no way I’m going to take you through them now.”

“Why wouldn’t we use them?” I asked.

“They found us too easily on our first day. The other locations could already have Enforcers waiting at the other end. I can’t take that chance. Not with you anyway,” he replied.

“So what now?” I wasn’t sure how much more we could do on our own, if he wasn’t running at a hundred percent. And if I kept lending him my energy, they would catch up with us when he was recuperating.

“I’ll be fine by tomorrow. Letting off that little bit really helped and being here will give me time to figure out where to go next. If all goes well, we will meet up with one of the other Coven groups in a few days.” He covered his mouth as a yawn escaped.

I wasn’t ready for him to stop talking. I wanted more answers, but his eyes started closing and just like that, he was fast asleep. I knew the feeling. My body wanted so badly to lie down and give it a break, but my mind was too keyed up to truly relax.

I shifted myself closer to the floor and pulled off my boots. I stood up and placed them in the closet next to Daggers. I couldn’t fight it anymore, my eyes were beginning to blur and water. I grabbed a throw blanket off the small desk chair and carefully slid back on the bed, wrapping my body up and snuggling into the pillow.

The first rays of sunlight crept through the window and snuck across the floor. I can’t remember the last time I had slept so long and so sound. It must have been from all the energy I’d poured out of my body the day before. Perhaps for once, I felt safe enough to let my guard down.

The covers rustled behind me and I turned to find Dagger slowly coming awake. His hair was in complete disarray, which was roguishly cute. “Morning,” he said, stretching. I eyed him for a moment, pursing my lips to form one of the questions rumbling around inside my head.

“What am I to the Triad?” I asked.

Dagger groaned and threw his arm over his face, making his words mumbled. “It’s not just
what
you are, Jade, it’s
who
you are.” He moved his arm away and turned to face me. He propped himself up on his elbow and held a finger up to silence my next question.

“It’s unclear as to why Lorenzo wants you. There is no real explanation, beside the fact that you are his granddaughter. It’s possible that he sees your existence as a blemish to his bloodline and wants to make an example of you,” he stated.

“An example?” How confusing.

“Surely you can see? If he’s willing to execute his own flesh and blood, then anyone who acted out against him would receive a death sentence as well.”

“So all of this…this running and hiding is so that he won’t kill me?” Somehow I knew there had to be more to it. A man of such power shouldn’t be so concerned over a granddaughter, who had nothing to do with the magical community. Why try to make an example out of someone who meant nothing to anyone?

“That’s what everyone believes,” he said.

“But you don’t believe that? You think it’s something else?”

He simply nodded as my mind spun with more questions.

A flash back of my younger years was trying to resurface. The barren closet with one light bulb and the man who attacked me began to form before my eyes. I stood up, quickly shaking my head to clear the pictures before they could completely form.

“Why can’t we stand together and fight him?” I couldn’t imagine running for the rest of my life.

“There was talk of it years ago, while you were just a small girl. I remember sneaking in to the council meetings. Everyone was scared. Our Covens were hunted as ruthlessly as you were. The Triad captured and tortured Coven members because they thought we were hiding you. The Covens had no choice but to split in groups of five or less just to remain unnoticed. When the Triad disappeared from our world so suddenly, we thought they’d found you.”

Dagger got up and grabbed a clean pair of clothes out of the closet. I sat in silence, willing him to continue. He grabbed the door handle and started to turn it. With a soft sigh, he leaned his head against the wood. It looked like he was fighting against the words that wanted to be spoken.

“They sent me to you. My Coven did. Our Seer saw you in a vision.” He gripped the clothes tightly as if trying to search for the right words to his story.

“They sent me to you with a vial. I was to make you drink every last drop and make sure your heart didn’t stop beating. I was to wait three hours and no more. It was torture finding you the way you were. Getting that vial of liquid down your throat was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. You were so ready to give up…” He paused to scrub his hand down his face.

“I waited the three hours and then they called me home. One minute, I was kneeling at your side, brushing the blood-caked hair off of your face, and the next I was kneeling in the healers hut. I never knew what happened to you.” Dagger turned the door knob and walked across the hall, closing the bathroom door behind him.

I sat numbly on the bed. He’d seen my battered body when he had come to my aid. His Coven had saved my life, yet left me on my own. I was only a child. How dare the Coven come into my life now and tell me what to do, when they couldn’t be bothered to step in when I needed the protection the most.

I stewed on what he said until he came back from his shower.

“Am I supposed to be grateful now? Your Coven brought me back from the brink of death and then left me alone,” I snapped at him.

Dagger ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. “Listen, things were different back then, not like they are now-” He tried to explain but I cut him off.

“Don’t tell me to listen! I don’t want to hear your excuses for why I was left on my own. I was only a child and your precious Coven left me defenseless against an unknown enemy!” My chest heaved in and out from sobs that tried to break free. I wasn’t going to let the tears come. I wanted to hang on to the anger that lined my soul for all those years spent alone and scared.

“Damn it, Jade, I didn’t want to leave you! I was only a boy myself and the elders forbid us to further assist you.”

“What?”

“Our Covens elders wouldn’t allow us to take you in. They feared everyone would die trying to save you. It was a chance they were not willing to take,” he explained.

Hot tears burned the back of my eyes. Rage coated my throat, making it impossible to speak.

“Not all of us wanted to leave you on your own. My father fought the council at every turn to try and make them see the wrong they were doing. He kept pleading his case, only to be denied. Up until the last of the elders died, he fought for you. Then, and only then, was he able to step in and do the right thing by you.”

“Unfortunately, none of that changes the past. I won’t apologize for being angry and jaded for the way I was forced to grow up, Dagger.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive and forget. I wouldn’t. I just wanted you to know that we never stopped trying.”

All those years, I had someone fighting in my corner but never knew. How was I supposed to hold onto the anger that had fueled me this far, when all of those who refused to help me were dead? I had to push the past back to where it belonged. At least now, I had a little bit of an understanding as to who I was. It wasn’t much to go off of, considering I couldn’t remember much about my parents and everything else about my life was a mystery, even to those around me. All I could do was keep moving forward to make sense of it all.