Love lines (43 page)

Evan dropped his hands and Christians did the same thing
gathering all the balls in one and making it disappear.

“Christian used the power of fire, I used the power of
magic to turn a real fire into the illusion, and you did the same thing,”
explained Evan.

“It can’t be true! Can I already use magic?”

“Yes, and tomorrow you'll be able to possess it in a
full force,” said Christian, nodding.

“Using your ability to control the power of fire, you
can create not only the flame but its illusion as well - without smoke and
heat. Depending on what you need, you can use this or that talent.”

“Can I create anything else?” I asked excitedly.

“You are not officially eighteen yet, so you can do
magic just with the help of the elements, because the elements, in contrast to
the magic, is what you already possess. As I have just said, everything else
you'll be able to show us tomorrow,” said Evan.

“How do you feel now?” asked Christian.

“Just great!” I said, still unable to believe that very
soon I would be able to posses magic.

“It looks like she liked it,” laughing pointed Evan.

“I can see that too,” Christian agreed, sharing my joy.
“Just be careful with that,” he added.

“Did Frederick tell you how to cope with too much
energy?” Evan asked.

“Yes. Unfortunately, he can’t attend the party. But he
promised to come to Dever later,” I said.

“Where did you get this medallion?” Evan suddenly asked
referring to the jewelry on my neck.

I had forgotten about the mysterious gift received in
the morning.

“It's... to be honest, some complicated story. It was
brought in the morning and in the attached note it was written that it was from
my father. Although how he knows where to find me, I still can’t understand,” I
said touching the smooth surface of the medallion.

Evan and Christian looked at each other.

“A beautiful gift,” in a strange voice said Evan.

“Look, for all my eighteen years I have never heard
about my father. I didn’t know who he was and why he left us when I wasn’t even
born yet. Now, someone gives me a symbol of Dever, and as if nothing has
happened, says that he is my father! What do you think am I supposed to do
now?” I flared up.

Until that moment I didn’t know that the morning event
caused so much conflicting emotions inside of me, and only now, having said all
that aloud, I realized how I really wanted to know who sent me that present. Christian
put his arm around my shoulders.

“Once the person has made the first step, then he also
wants to meet you. Are you mad at him because he left you many years ago?” he
asked in a gentle voice.

“I'm sure that there were some good reasons. I don’t know
how I shall treat him now, but I do really want to know him,” I replied.

“Let's hope that you’ll get such an opportunity,” said
Evan.

Christian kissed my cheek and we went out into the
street.

Unlike the previous few days, the weather was wonderful
today. It was sunny and quite warm, and the lack of rain could be a real gift
for my birthday. Christian referred to the fact that he had some urgent
business and left us alone with Evan.

“So how did you use to celebrate your birthdays?” Evan
asked.

We stopped at a bench under a huge tree, where the
squirrels usually jumped.

“I have always loved this day. Hardly waking up early in
the morning, I felt an extraordinary joy and excitement in anticipation of the
upcoming day. I don’t know why, but something very special was there. No other
day could bring the same emotions. Even on Christmas morning, the feeling was
quite different. I liked to receive congratulations, but most of all, of
course, I liked the presents. For the next few days I was usually admiring them,
thinking that one day for a birthday wasn’t quite enough.”

Evan burst out laughing.

“I've always wanted to have more than one birthday per
year,” he said still smiling.

“And I love to collect all the cards that were given to
me on this day and put them in a special box and then, after some time, reread
the words of congratulations and wishes. Oh, yes! I’ve always liked to blow out
candles on a birthday cake, and make a wish.”

“Did they always come true?” he asked

“I don’t remember,” I shrugged in response.

“Do you know what wish to make today?”

“Good question, I didn’t have time to think about it.”

Indeed, what could I wish? There was no problem to buy something.
The problem of having a full friendly family couldn’t be solved with a simple
wish. And a person whom I would like to spend the rest of my life with, was
already with me, unless...

“I think I know what to do!” I said.

“Will you tell me?” Evan asked.

“Of course, not! Otherwise it won’t come true.”

Evan laughed again.

“Okay, I won’t take your time any longer. You can go
now. Amanda is probably waiting for you.”

“Thank you Evan,” suddenly I said.

“For what?” He looked surprised.

“For everything. Tara was right, you help me a lot. So
thank you for this.”

“Not at all,” he said with a dazzling smile.

Amanda was actually waiting for my return.

“Eileen, do you have any idea
how much
we need to
do before tonight?”

“Do you need anything from me?”

“Of course! To be a good girl and let your beloved
friend make some magic over your appearance.”

“Maybe it was worth asking Evan about it? He is a better
specialist in witchcraft,” I said smiling.

“Not this time!” said Amanda categorically, seating me
in a round chair in front of the mirror.

I decided not to argue with her any longer and just rely
on her skills.

After at least two hours she finally allowed me to open
my eyes. In the mirror reflection there was a stranger looking at me. I’ve
never thought that such a combination of emerald green, pale pink and silver
eyeshades could befit me so well. In addition, makeup selected by Amanda, was
matching my dress perfectly. My hair was done in large curls.

“Excellent!” I said to my friend.

“Of course,” she muttered in reply raising curls in some
places.

“Can I already get dressed?”

“Yes. Just don’t ruin my work!” she warned strictly.

Knowing that I was born at half past five in the
evening, Amanda always made some surprises just at that time. So it was planned
today. Exactly at the appointed time we stopped, according to the fragrance of
flowers, near one of Embry gardens. My eyes were covered with her hands, so a
loud noise from somewhere was a complete surprise for me.

“And now, happy birthday!” all the guests said in one
voice when Amanda opened my eyes at last and I saw millions of lights of
beautiful fireworks in the sky. There were not just fireworks, but the whole
piece of art with a variety of colorful flowers.

“Evan!” I realized, enjoying the rain of lights falling
from the sky. Only he was able to create such a magical beauty.

I felt the gentle touch of lips on my cheek.

“This is for you,” said Christian handing me his
present. Inside the golden package, there was a very beautiful casket, the
entire surface of which was studded with multicolored stones. “It will help you
to keep the best of your memories,” he said. “All that you're going to think
about until it’s open, will remain here and no one could ever find out about
it, including those material things that you put inside.”

“Thank you,” I said, kissing him on the lips. I opened
the box and thought that this moment would be my first memory left there.

 Evan was the next to come to me.

“I thought the fireworks were your present!”

“It's a small addition,” he said smiling.

The addition was also very beautiful - a golden bracelet
with pendants in the shape of keys.

“Let them help you to open all the locked doors,” Evan
wished, hugging me. The fact that his gift would be symbolizing was obvious.
Judging by the warmth coming from the metal, it was also filled with magic.

Anna’s gift was a book about all sorts of plants, their
properties and how to use them to make different amulets. One of them also came
with the book - a small leather ball filled with flowers.

“To ensure that no one can unravel your true
intentions,” she said.

Darcy’s gift at first glance seemed to me a bottle of
perfume, but in reality it was much better than this.

“Elixir of courage,” she explained.  “Use when you need
it.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Lucas’s present was the most unexpected one – a globe
lamp that could change color depending on the mood.

Amelia, in turn, had chosen very beautiful turquoise
gloves and a scarf in the color of my eyes.

As I expected, a gift from Patrick was also practical –
a watch engraved with my initials and today's date.

“Unfortunately, we have no control over time and can’t
stop it,” he said, “but we can always calculate it so that to have time to do
all planed things.”

“Thanks,” I said taking the last gift.

“It's not all,” Patrick added pulling from his jacket
pocket a white envelope. “This is also for you.”

I took the envelope, which seemed to be surprisingly
heavy. There were some keys and a note written by Stephanie Mitchell:
“Let
now and forever you have your own home where you can return at any time. Happy
Birthday, Eileen! With love. Stephanie”.
Only after reading the note, I
realized that those keys were not to any house, but to my beloved house in
Norfield. And now it belonged to me!

“Thank you, Grandma,” I thought with happy tears in my
eyes. In addition to all the above I found in the envelope two plane tickets to
Paris.

“Arrange yourself some vacation and come to visit
us!”
was written in the note attached to it by my
mother. It seems that nobody has forgotten about my birthday.

“Did you like the presents?” Christian asked, removing
the rebellious strand of my hair.

“Very much!” I replied. “Didn’t expect that there would
be so many of them!”

“Shall we dance?” he asked when inside our beautifully
decorated garden began to play a slow tune.

“With pleasure,” I smiled.

That night seemed to be really magical. Starting from
Evan’s fireworks and ending with an incredibly beautiful cake with eighteen
candles, delivered specially by Amelia. There were a lot of pleasant words,
wishes and smiles. Everyone who was dear to me, shared that day with me.

Chapter 29. The power
of magic (
Christian)

“Christian, can you come here for a couple of words?”
Evan called when Eileen and I were about to leave.

“Is anything wrong?” she asked worriedly.

“Nothing, I just want to discuss something,” Evan said.

I stepped aside along with him.

“She shouldn’t wake up alone in the morning!” Evan said
quietly. “Frederick has already given her his power.”

“What? When?” a little louder than expected I asked.

“The medallion. He filled with it the jewelry, which he
gave Eileen. I felt his energy, not even knowing that this thing was his
present. If Eileen hasn’t taken over all this power yet, then this will happen
after midnight. And it shouldn’t catch her by surprise. So you must be there
for her.”

“Why couldn’t he do it later?” I asked worried.

“Because he didn’t have a choice, it would happen by
itself, but who knows how. Therefore, he has prevented it in advance.”

Eileen continued to cast anxious glances in our
direction. She clearly felt that something was wrong with me. I was simply
unable to control my emotions that were filling every inch of my body and mind.

“Calm down,” Evan said, “we have to be on the alert,
just in case.”

I couldn’t resist but to ask:

“Just in case, if
something terrible
happens?”

“Christian, you are the only person she would listen to.
I'll be somewhere near, and Frederick should be back soon, but you shouldn’t
leave her alone. I'll talk to Amanda. Let Lucas take her to his room. Ha! And
this is an excellent opportunity for them to make up!” changing the subject,
exclaimed Evan. “Okay, now go and don’t tell her anything.”

“Easier
said
than
done
!” I muttered.
Especially with our bond. I'll have to ask the permission to stay for the
night...