Chameleon (Supernaturals) (15 page)

No one answered me so I answered the question for them. “Russ was right. You just want to use me. Well I’m not going to help you. I’m not going to tell you anything.”

The Supreme High Councilor towered over me and raised his hand as if he were going to strike me. I didn’t flinch. “Go ahead,” I hissed. “Hit me. The moment you do I’ll become a warlock again and then you’ll be sorry.”

“How did you know I was a warlock?”

“I can feel your magic. And I promise you I know how to use it. I’m powerful. I was more powerful than Alex, and I’d be willing to bet I’m more powerful than you too.”

The Supreme High Councilor looked outraged, but he lowered his hand and stepped back. He whispered an incantation and my hands were bound by magic to the chair I was sitting in.

“For my own protection, right?” I spat when I realized I was now a prisoner.

“Yes child,” the Supreme High Councilor said. His temper had calmed and he smiled again, but the smile was unsettling. “You do not understand your own power and you haven’t learned to control it. You know nothing of this world or your destiny yet.”

“I don’t believe in destiny!”

I couldn’t help glancing at Gabriel then, and he figured out my secret. “You didn’t see
me
,” he said. “You saw
us
.”

The room fell into silence.

The Supreme High Councilor squatted down to my level. “Is that true?” His anger was gone and for some reason he looked very excited by the Seer’s suggestion. He waited but the only answer he got from me was an offer for him to kiss my ass.

He stood again with a sigh. “My, but she’s a spirited little thing. I suppose that’s necessary if she’s to fulfill the prophecy.”

“I can never see my own fate,” Gabriel said to the Supreme High Councilor. “If my fate is tied to hers it would explain why I could not see her future.”

“Yes,” the Supreme High Councilor said. “Of course. Of course. Power attracts power and you are both pure. A perfect match.”

Gabriel stood in front of me again. The move was not antagonistic. He didn’t mean to make me feel inferior the way the Supreme High Councilor did. “Did you see us together?” he asked. “Is there a connection between us? Is that why you are afraid to tell us what you saw?”

He knelt down in front of me and gazed into my eyes with something like hope. It frightened me. “No,” I whispered and then looked at my lap.

I felt a hand come down on mine and I changed form. When I looked up, Alistair was smiling down at me. “Are you sure, my lady?” he asked. “That it was not you and the Seer together that you saw?”

I opened my mouth to deny it again and my voice caught in my throat. The words could not escape me. The more I tried to speak the more I felt my lungs seize up and it was painful.

When I started panicking Alistair asked, “Is there a problem?”

‘Yes!” I screamed and then stopped, surprised that the word flowed from my mouth. “How come I couldn’t speak before?”

Alistair smiled again. “At the moment you posses the traits of the Sidhe.”

“Sidhe?”

“Creatures of Faery.”

“You’re a
faery
?” I gasped.

“Indeed, my lady. And as such, I am physically incapable of telling a falsehood.”

“Faeries can’t lie?”

“I’m afraid not. So tell us again, did you glimpse a future in which you and the Seer shared one fate?”

Stubbornly I stayed silent, but I knew that was the same as an admission.

The Seer pulled my chin up to look into my eyes. Energy flared through me from his soft fingertips. “Do not be afraid of the visions,” he told me. “They come from the Creator and have only ever brought about good.”

My voice was a lot shakier than I cared for when I asked, “Do they always come true?”

“Yes,” Gabriel admitted. “Unless we interfere. If you know the future, Danielle, you have the power to change it. As another Seer, what you must decide is whether or not you should.”

I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer when I could still feel the effect of his kiss from my vision. I jerked my face from his grasp.

He rose to his feet again and spoke to the Councilor. “There is one thing I do not understand. How was she able to see this vision when a seer cannot ever glimpse their own fate?”

“As a warlock she casts spells without incantations,” Constance said. “As a werewolf she defeated a male second without any prior training, without even understanding what was happening to her. Perhaps she is even more powerful than you.”

“More powerful than the Seer?” Robert muttered.

He went to stand next to the Supreme High Councilor and whispered, “Think of the possibilities, Councilor. We have much to discuss here.”

The two of them looked me over, considering. Their eagerness made me sick. If my hands weren’t bound to my chair I’d have given them both the finger.

The Supreme High Councilor nodded to Robert, then turned to the rest of his companions. “Ponder what you have witnessed here tonight and get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll hold an all-council meeting.” He looked at Duncan. “Take her to the white room. Make sure she gets the things she needs.”

Duncan looked startled. “The holding cell, Councilor?” he asked. “Is that really necessary? She is not a prisoner. Is she?”

The Supreme High Councilor dismissed the notion as if it were foolish. “Just a precaution. It is the safest place I can think of for her at the moment where she will find a hot shower and a comfortable bed.” He smiled at me. “You must be exhausted, child. Go with Duncan now and get some rest. After our meeting tomorrow I will come to you. We should have some answers by then.”

“And then I can go home?”

The Supreme High Councilor smiled but didn’t answer my question. “Get some rest, dear one.”

. . . . .

“Well no one could ever accuse you of being boring,” Duncan said once we’d left the council behind and were roaming the dim halls of the consulate alone. “What’s the matter? Not going to speak to me anymore either?”

“Why should I? Are you, or are you not escorting me to my prison cell right now?”

“It’s not that bad. The Councilor is right about a place to shower and a comfortable bed. There aren’t many of those here at the consulate.”

We walked in silence until Duncan stopped and swung a large metal door open.

“Home sweet home,” I grumbled as I entered the room. “Why do I feel like I just flew over the cuckoo’s nest?”

Inside was an all white room with padded walls and plush carpet. To be honest it could have been worse. When Duncan said ‘holding cell’ I pictured a dark, dank prison with just a cot and a toilet in the corner. This place actually had a private bathroom and a real bed. There was even a bookshelf filled with books and games, and a table with some chairs.

I wrapped myself more tightly in my quilt from home and plopped down on the foot of the bed. “So, is this how I’m going to spend the rest of my life then? Locked up in this room reading romance novels and playing solitaire?”

“They’re not going to keep you locked up in here.”

I stared Duncan right in the eye and said, “Tell me the truth. Do you really think he’s ever going to let me go home?”

He sighed. Obviously the answer was no.

“Would
you
let me leave?” I asked him. “If you could?”

To his credit Duncan looked like he wanted to say yes but he stayed silent. I was surprised by how hurt I felt even though I’d already guessed that would be his answer.

“That’s what I thought.”

I lay down and turned my back to him.

“It’s not that simple Dani. You may not believe in the prophecy but I do. This is bigger than just you. I don’t like taking you away from your home, but you are the only person who can fulfill the prophecy and restore the balance. Without
you
, Evil will win.”

“Yeah, well, Evil might still win because I meant what I said. I’m not helping anyone. I’m not going to let people use me. Besides, how could I fulfill your precious prophecy when I’m under lock and key?”

“I’m sure that’s what the council is going to figure out tomorrow.”

“Great. A whole bunch of people sitting around deciding
my
future and I don’t even get to be a part of it.”

“They probably would have let you,” Duncan said, “if you hadn’t acted like a spoiled teenager in there. Was telling the Councilor to kiss your ass really necessary?”

I tried to hold out, but I cracked a smile. “Maybe not, but it sure made me feel better.”

Duncan laughed. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and I’ll see about getting you a change of clothes.”

By the time I got out of the shower there were several large bags sitting on the bed. “That was quick,” I said to Duncan who was sitting at the table and reading a book.

“I imagine Constance called ahead with your sizes when we stopped on the way here.”

I glanced at the labels on the clothes in the bags. I recognized some of them and couldn’t pronounce the rest. “Wow, I think my wardrobe just took a step up.”

“That would be Gina. No one loves to shop more than her. I imagine she had fun with the council’s credit cards.”

I rummaged through the bags and was glad to find a camisole and pajama shorts instead of some Italian silk nightgown. I pulled the PJs, a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush from the bag. “It looks like I have everything I need. You don’t have to stay any longer.”

“I’m staying here tonight,” Duncan replied without looking up from his book.

The thought of Duncan being here all night while I slept was slightly awkward. “That’s really not necessary.”

“Actually it is. If I left you’d be completely cut off from any supernatural energy. With an aura like yours, you shouldn’t be left alone. It would feel like torture by morning.”

“But I’ve been on my own before. I went almost two days until this morning without Russ or Alex. It was uncomfortable, but I could handle it.”

“You’ve been using your power a lot today. That takes a great deal of energy out of you until you learn to control it. That’s the reason you have the cravings. With your energy depleted so much, you’ll crave the energy of others more strongly.”

Duncan gave me a tired look. “There’s no need to make yourself suffer. I’ll stay with you tonight.”

“Fine, whatever.” So much for privacy. “But if you’re going to stay, you may as well make yourself useful and explain to me what they were talking about in there. What’s this other part of the prophecy?”

“Dani.” Duncan’s face was grim. “I really don’t think you want to go there. You’re not going to like it.”

“Please, Duncan? It seemed to matter a lot to them. I want to know what I have to look forward to tomorrow.”

Duncan sighed. “I repeat: ‘On the eve of that last great battle, there would rise up one more powerful than the world has ever known. Without her, Evil will win.’ I told you that much. The rest of it says, ‘Delicate she is, for she carries the power of both light and dark and could easily be swayed by those who would use her for harm. Nothing but the truest love will keep her an agent for Good.’”

“Oh, great. So they all think I’m going to go Darth Vader on them.”

“They have to be concerned after the way you acted so hateful toward them tonight.”

“Fantastic! Why don’t you just shoot me now? I’m never going to see the outside of this room.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see what the council says tomorrow. For now, there’s no use stressing about it. You may as well get some sleep.”

I ignored the suggestion to sleep. “They mentioned something about a resistance. Who are they?”

“They’re a group of supernaturals who oppose the council. Radicals who think they don’t need laws to live by.”

“Sounds like they’re just taking a page out of the council’s handbook if you ask me. I haven’t seen them living by any kind of laws. Seems to me the Supreme High Councilor does whatever he wants. Maybe there should be a resistance.”

“The resistance is dangerous. They believe that the supernatural people should come out of hiding. They want to expose us to the human world. Force people to accept us.”

“Would that be a bad thing?”

“It happens every now and then and always turns ugly. Surely you learned about the Salem witch trials in school. That started with a town learning of a single witch. Can you imagine what humans might do if they discovered the truth? There aren’t many of us left. Not enough to fight if the humans found out about us.”

“And that’s what the council believes will be the great and final battle?”

Duncan nodded. “If the resistance succeeds in their goal, it will be the end of all supernaturals.”

“And why does the council hate Alex so much? It’s not like he agrees with the resistance. He’s never told anyone about supernaturals. He never even told
me
about them and I am one.”