Fated Truth (The True Witch Saga) (10 page)

“I have to. I have to keep up with
my gorgeous soul mate.” I smiled, closed my eyes, and leaned in to brush my lips across his. When our lips touched, I felt a jolt of energy that ran the length of my body. Lights, the color of jade mixed with moonlight, exploded behind my eyes. I pulled back in astonishment and looked into Jaxx’s eyes and saw that he was just as stunned as I was.

“Is that normal?”
I whispered in awe.

“I wouldn’t know
, pretty eyes. Our kind stays celibate until we find the one that completes us,” he whispered softly.

We we
re both jolted out of our private bubble as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. I started to sulk because we were going to be going our separate ways again. “We are going to have to find a way to deal with this. It hurts to be away from you,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He pulled me into his massive chest, holding me just as tightly as I held him.
MMMM! I don’t think I will ever get over how lucky I am,
I thought.

“We’
ll figure it out. My uncle will know what to do. I promise we can make this work.”

We go
t up from the table and followed my friends out the door. As we separate to go to our different lockers, I detoured to the restroom. After I took care of business, I crossed to the sink to wash my hands. I jumped when the bathroom door was thrown open so hard that it banged into the wall, and I looked up to see Sabrina walking in alone for once and she looked furious.

“
Awww if it isn’t the little bird. And all alone, too. I bet you aren’t so tough when you don’t have your band of freaks with you,” she sneered as she sauntered up to me.

I
tried to ignore her and finish washing my hands, because I was already feeling the drain of being away from Jaxx. I just didn’t have the energy to deal with her. As I reached for a paper towel to dry my hands, she grabbed me by the back of my head and clenched her hand in my hair. The next thing I knew my head was heading toward the sink.

My forehead made
contact with the rim of the sink, and I saw stars and blacked out for a moment. When I came to, my vision was graying around the edges.

“I warned you
, bitch! No one takes what’s mine and gets away with it.”

Since I was
still doubled over, holding onto the sink, trying not to fall over, it made me an easy target for her to shove her knee into my stomach. When her knee impacted I slipped to the floor and lay there dazed.
What the fuck just happened?

I fe
lt a surge of anger, so black and deep, that I couldn’t control it. I felt myself flowing to my feet, as if I were another person standing up. The black void that was swirling inside me continued to grow. Mirrors started shattering and someone screamed as glass exploded outward. I just stared and couldn’t comprehend what was happening. The stall doors started to slam on their own, the sinks started to rattle, and glass from the broken mirror was swirling around me like a sphere of refracting light. I heard screaming, but it didn’t register until I looked down and saw Sabrina on the floor with blood streaming down her arms and legs. The broken glass from the mirrors had cut her as they’d imploded outward. It had all taken place in a matter of seconds. As fast as the surge came on, it was over. I slumped to the ground, not far from where Sabrina was struggling to get to her feet.

“You fucking freak! What are you?
I’m going to tell. Don’t think that I won’t! You will never be able to show your face in this town again you…You…
Witch
!” With that she stumbled her way out of the bathroom, trailing blood in her wake.

I didn’t know how long I sat there, just blank. I didn’t know what happened. I had
never hurt anyone in my life. There were so many thoughts and feelings running rampant through me that I couldn’t cope. I started to shake and couldn’t stop. I felt so cold all of a sudden. I scooted backward until I could cocoon myself in a corner as I wrapped my arms around my knees. I rocked silently, trying to come to grips with what had just happened.

Jaxx busted into the bathroom and stopped
short at what he saw. There were splashes of blood on the floor, shards of glass scattered about, and me rocking pathetically in a corner like a toddler.

When I
saw him I started to sob. The shaking got worse with each sob, but I was still numb. I felt nothing but the cold that was spreading inside me.

He
strode quickly over to me, slid down the wall and gathered me into his arms. He held me tightly and rocked me until I started to calm down.

I could
feel the warmth from his skin leaking into mine. An eternity later I started to hear the words that he was murmuring to me.

“Baby
, it’s okay. Just try and breathe. That’s right just breathe. I’m here now. Nothing will ever hurt you again. I swear it. I’m so sorry, little raven. So sorry,” he murmured.

I look
ed into his ice blue eyes and believed him. I didn’t know what had happened exactly, but with him I was home. I was safe. I slowly started to come back to myself. The shaking stopped along with the numbness leaking out of me.

“Can you tell me what happened
, pretty eyes?”

“I don’t know
, Jaxx. I was washing my hands one minute and the next Sabrina stormed in and started to bang my head against the sink. She was screaming about me stealing what was hers. Then she kicked me in the stomach. I think after that I blacked out. When I came to it was like I wasn’t even in my own body. Just this anger. This huge pit of black anger had taken over. Everything went crazy after that,” I said. I told him about the shower of glass, the doors and sinks shaking and moving on their own, and what Sabrina said as she left.

“Okay first let’s get you cleaned up. Then we will figure everyth
ing else out. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I thought for a moment, assessing myself, and then nodded.
“Surprisingly, yes. Nothing hurts now. Every time we touch I feel nothing but comfort.”

“That’s part of the mating bond,” he said with a smile.
“We are each other’s other halves.”

“Mating bond?
” I started to ask, but then thought better of it. “You know what? Never mind. We’ll just talk about it later when we get this shit sorted.”

“There
is that fire that I love so much.”

I look
ed up at him at that. Startled slightly at his choice of words. “Do you?”

“Do I wha
t? Love you? Yes. With all that I am. I was waiting to tell you. I sure as hell didn’t want to do it in a destroyed bathroom. Not the most romantic setting is it?” he chuckled to himself and pulled me into a firm hug.

I pull
ed back a bit and looked at him with my heart in my eyes. “I know we have a lot to learn about each other. I also know it’s fast. Really fast, but I feel you in here.” I took his hand and held it over my heart. “I feel you deeper than that. I feel you in the very essence of me.”

“What are you trying to say
, Ella?”

“What I’m
trying to say, before I start rambling , is that I love you too, Jaxx. Completely.”

He grabbed me roughly by the upper arms, dragged
me to him, and really laid one on me. The kiss started out rough, but quickly turned gentle and coaxing. The man tasted good. Like mint and Jaxx. A newly formed snowflake in the midst of a blizzard.

“We can’t
do this here.” He pulled back breathing hard. I blindly tried to follow his lips with mine wanting more. He chuckled as he tucked my head under his chin and held me until my breathing returned back to normal.

“Wow,
” I mumbled into his chest.

“My thoughts exactly.” He smiled down at me and then looked
around at the mess I had created in the bathroom. “Time is running short, Ella. We have to fix this and get out of here before Sabrina brings someone back to witness this.”

“How
do we fix this? It’s a disaster.” I looked around bewildered.

“Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and picture what the bathroom looked like when you first walked in. Picture the mirrors as whole, the floors clean of blood, and the cracks in the sink sealed. Now
, open your eyes and will with all you have for it to be so.”

I open
ed my eyes and watched as the mirrored glass on the floor floated back to the wall and melted into full sheets once more. I stared as the blood dried and flaked away into the air around the puddles and splashes, and I watched the sinks seal themselves before my eyes. I looked at Jaxx in total astonishment. “I did that? I really just made that happen?”

He rubbed
his nose against mine. I loved his gentle side, the side that he only let out when he was with me. He appeared so fierce with everyone else. “Yes, it was all you. You are a natural. So very strong. Stronger than you think, little raven. I think you could accomplish anything you wanted too.” He leaned down to kiss me again just as several people rushed into the restroom.

I turn
ed out of Jaxx’s arms and saw Sabrina gawking around the bathroom. Several teachers crowded in behind her as she stopped short.

“What
is this?” the principal asked. He had to have come in last, because I didn’t see him standing there until then.

I blush
ed and hid my face in Jaxx’s chest.

Jaxx looked
around the crowd meeting everyone’s eyes. “Sorry, sir. My girl was upset due to some bullying and I came looking for her. I found her in here crying.” I stiffened at that, but he just winked, encouraging me to play along.

“That doesn’t explain why you two children were necking when we arrived.”

“I got carried away comforting my girl. Can you really blame me Mr. Boyd? I mean look at her.” Jaxx actually had the nerve to smile at the man. Some of the teachers lightly laughed at that and Mr. Boyd looked a little pink in the cheeks.

“We got a complaint that
Arabella was mistreating Ms. Gardener here.”

“As you can
see sir, Ella is still upset. From what I have gathered in the short time I have been here, she has never bullied or bothered anyone in this school.”

“Well that
seems to be true enough. Obviously this has been a misunderstanding, but I still have to have all of you come to the office to call your parents and discuss this at length.”

“Of course
, sir. Lead the way.”

Chapter Seven

Barely Concealed

With that we all file
d out of the bathroom and followed Sabrina and the Principal to the front office. When we arrived the principal asked me for my parents’ home number.

“
I’m sorry Mr. Boyd, but I have recently left my parents’ home. I’m a legal adult and responsible for myself.”

“And you Mr. Royce?”

“Same.” Jaxx answered absently.

Sabrina s
uddenly exploded. “This is all bullshit. That freak sitting there acting all innocent just made glass fly at me and...and… made the doors open and close by themselves!”

“That’s enough!” Mr. Boyd shouted at Sabrina. She fell
back into the seat she had taken when she entered the office.

“Now young lady
, we will get to the bottom of this. I assure you, but there was no broken glass. There wasn’t any damage to the lady’s restroom at all.”

Sabrina started to sob. “But…. s
he had a tornado around her. Her feet didn’t even touch the ground!” She jumped up and pointed her finger at me looking demented. “She worships Satan! She’s a witch! She was using her dark powers on you to make you believe her!”

Mr.
Boyd looked like he was boiling from the inside out by the end of her rant. “I will not have this craziness spouted in my school. You will be silent or I will have you escorted off the school grounds.”

Sabrina sat
back down with a huff and glared at Jaxx and I.

“Now I know what Ms. Gardener said happened
, but I want to hear from your Ms. Reese. In your own words. What happened in the girl’s bathroom?”

“I was washing my hands after lunch when Sabrina stormed into the bathroom and grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. She accused me of stealing from her and threatened me,” I said calmly.

“Liar! She’s totally lying Mr. Boyd! I can’t believe you are even listening to her! She’s a witch!” Sabrina interrupted, jumping from her seat again.

Mr. Boyd gave her a sour look and she sat back down, crossing her arms over her chest. “Go on, Ms. Reece, what threats did she make?”

I told him about the verbal threats and what was written on Jessa’s locker and car. “And she sent disgusting things to my friend Devon’s house, and his parents have involved the police.”

“You are such a liar! I didn’t do that! She’s a member of some
satanic cult, Mr. Boyd! Just look at her! She’s a witch! She’s probably doing some kind of voodoo magic right now!” Sabrina shrieked.