Mesmerized (16 page)

Holding the gun up higher, the man advanced towards Gregory. The guard gestured with his gun and ordered, “Move!”

Gregory stood there.

“Dad,” Lily whimpered, not wanting her dad to get hurt.

The man reached Gregory and pointed the gun directly at his chest. “Move or I shoot.”

Gregory raised his hands in mock surrender. It happened in a blink of an eye. Her dad slammed his wrist into the guard’s wrist and disarmed his gun. Gregory now had the gun aimed at the man. 

Lily's mouth hung open. How did her father know how to do that? 

John turned and shot one of the guards. At the same time, Jake lunged at the guard closest to him, knocking him over. The gun went off, the bullet pierced through his shoulder. Jake cursed. John easily took that guard down. Only two guards left. Adam and the one that Gregory had under control. 

Adam still had a hold of Lily. She looked like she was in shock. Her face was pale, and her eyes unfocused. 

The door opened and Sandra walked out. She looked down at the dead guards in distain.

Slowly she walked up to Adam. "Why do you have a gun on my daughter?"

Adam squeezed Lily's arm tighter. Her mother’s power could be felt throughout the room. All eyes were on her. 

"Stay back or I will shoot her," he stammered.

"I don't think so." Sandra locked eyes with Adam. "Let go of my daughter and hand me your gun." 

As if in a trance, he released Lily, and handed the gun over. Lily ran towards Jake. 

"I'm afraid this was all a waste of time. Henry is dead," Sandra announced.

"Dead?" Pain flashed through Adam's eyes. 

"Yes, Camille didn't care for him."

Camille walked out the door her head held high and met eyes with Adam. "He could not live. That man had too much evil in him. He would have continued harming innocent children."

Adam looked off into the distance as if he was recalling a memory. "You're right. But, he was like a father to me."

"I know, child."

"Can I see him?" His voice was strained. 

She pushed open the door and Adam entered first. The guns were put away. Camille was more dangerous than any weapon they could own. Adam stared silently at the man that had taken him in when he was a misfit teen. "What do we do now?"

"Bury him I suppose," Camille said lightly.

"We need to clean this mess up." Sandra looked over at John.

"Don't worry we'll take care of it. Take your daughter home." 

Jake held Lily tightly, not ever wanting to let her go. Seeing her with a gun pointed at her, he had really feared for her life. Placing his finger under her chin, he lifted her face up and very gently kissed her. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too.”

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I've been better.” Lily touched his shoulder. “How’s your arm? I can't believe you got shot.”

“It’s fine.” He grimaced in pain.

“Really? I'm sure it hurts like hell.”

“Don’t worry about it right now. We have to get that house burned down.”

“Not with that shoulder!” Gregory raised his eyebrow. “Camille, can you fix that?”

“Of course I can. I’ll need my herbs to make it heal completely. We'll take care of his wound, and then deal with the house. It's not going anywhere.”

They watched as Camille ground down herbs and infused them with oil. She held her hands over the concoction mumbling under her breath. 

"Get over here, Jake." 

 Jake took his shirt off and sat down in front of her. 

Camille put her hands over the wound and closed her eyes. She chanted "What was done, be it undone." She repeated it three times before he actually felt the bullet inside of him move. It wasn't exactly painful, but it felt strange and made his stomach roll. A minute later, it was at the surface and Camille grabbed it. She let it drop to the table where it bounced and rolled. Lily thought it was going to fall off the table, but it came to a sudden stop. 

Camille soaked a white cloth in the herbal remedy and carefully put it over the open wound. Bright red spread through the cloth. She closed her eyes and Jake felt a tingling throughout his shoulder and chest. At first there was an intense heat, and then the pain dissipated and his shoulder was pain free. 

"Wow. You are amazing." He looked in awe at Camille. 

"I've heard that before." 

They all laughed. 

With that, Jake turned to the rest of the room. “Thank you all so much. I'm sorry you had to go through this for me. I can never repay you."

"It's not over yet. We need to destroy the house." Gregory rose to his feet. 

An hour later, they were standing in front of Henry’s mansion. It was a clear cool night, not a cloud to be found. Camille took a step forward and closed her eyes. She raised her hands to the sky. 

“Ashes to ashes, 

flames to lightening, 

Rise together and become one. 

Banish this evil from all the harm it has done.” 

Lily jumped when thunder crashed and a bolt of lightening hit the house. She saw a flicker of orange on the roof and soon flames poured out of the windows. She was in awe at how quickly the flames spread. They watched as the house burned to the ground, thankful it was secluded enough not to draw attention.

Jake felt the tension leave his body as the huge house crumbled to the ground.  His whole life he had been running from these people and if this truly was the end of it, he’d be free. He quickly wiped a tear from his cheek.

“Let’s go home,” Sandra said to the group. She draped her arm over her daughter’s shoulder. 

Lily looked up at her mother and mouthed the words. "Thank You." 

She wondered what would happen now that everything was over. Would they go back to school? Would her parents send her to a new one or homeschool her? And what would happen with Jake? Her mind raced.

Camille looked over at her. "Child, you worry too much. Everything will be fine." Camille slung her bag over her shoulder. "I'll be leaving now. Always a pleasure to see you, Sandra. Let's not let so much time pass before our next meeting."

"Hopefully, our next visit will be more pleasant."

"It ended well. What more could we ask for?"

"Can I ask where you are going? It wasn't easy to track you down."

"I have some loose ends to tie up here, and then who knows? Wherever the path takes me. If you need me, I'll be there." 

They hugged and said their goodbyes. 

Sandra watched as the most powerful woman she had ever known slid into a taxi and drove off into the night. 

***

Adam stared at the gold key in his hand and twirled it in his fingers. Henry had left everything to him. A few words from a lawyer, and he'd gone from a homeless kid on the street to a man that held so much power. He had loved Henry like a father, but he had always known he was evil to the core. Henry had fought it on a daily basis, but the evil always won out. Adam could still hear the screams from the young girls, and cleaning up after. They lawyer had handed him a key to a safe deposit box with a note. ‘You are like a son to me. Continue the tradition.’ 

Adam sank back in the plush chair. Henry had wasted his whole life searching for the key to immortality. He never found happiness. He was driven to find something that was always out of his reach. Adam had been given a new lease on life. Did he really want to waste it chasing after a crazy dream? He hesitated briefly, tossed the key in the trashcan, and walked out of the room. 

Camille was standing at the bottom of the step. "I knew you would make the right decision." 

Chapter Twenty

It wasn’t until later that Lily really felt the ramifications of the past couple of weeks. She was sitting alone in her room when the tears started coming. She couldn’t stop them, they poured down her face. She had come close to killing a boy, been kidnapped, tracked down a mad man, and almost died. 

Her body shook as she sobbed. She lay down on her bed and cried into her pillow. Images flashed through her mind as her emotions ran wild. She felt angry and sad. 

There was a soft knock on her door. Lily didn’t even have the energy to call out. 

The door opened, and Jake walked in. Seeing Lily lying there on the bed—her  whole body shaking—broke his heart. He quickly went to her and sat down on the bed. Rubbing her back, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She responded by crying harder and gasping for air.

“Lily? Are you okay?” Jake asked concerned.

Lily rolled over. “No. I’m not! We were both almost killed! I am not okay with that…I…I…” she stammered.

Jake pulled Lily into his arms. “We’re safe now. I’m sorry…so sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in danger or worry you.”

Lily buried her face in his chest and soaked his shirt with her tears. “I can’t lose you. I just found you.”

He cradled her face in his palms. “I know. I’ve only known you for a short amount of time, and I know I want to be with you forever. And now we can be. Lily, it’s over. The fear of being caught is gone. We’re both safe and we can be together.”

The crying subsided as she looked into his eyes and realized he was right. They didn’t have anything to worry about anymore. She pressed her lips against his and drew him into a long, overdue kiss.

He could taste her salty tears as they kissed and he held her closer, running his hands down her back. What he would give to be alone with her right now. He wanted to show her they were safe and he loved her. But, he couldn’t do that in her parents’ house. 

She bit his lip a little and pulled it back, then let it go with a smile. 

“You’re a tease,” Jake said.

“I know.”

“I wish we were alone right now.”

“Me too.” She kept her eyes locked on his. 

Jake brushed the hair out of Lily’s face. She was all blotchy from crying, but she was still as beautiful as ever. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “I want you so bad.”

Lily couldn’t resist her own feelings. She pulled him down on the bed with her and began kissing his neck. Her body tingled as it always did when she felt this way. Her body knew what it wanted. 

A strong voice from downstairs yelled, “Lily!”

Lily stopped kissing Jake and groaned. How did her parents always know when they were fooling around? “This has got to stop!”

Jake laughed, but immediately quieted when Lily shot him a look. He gave her a crooked grin.  "It is your parents' house. Their rules." 

She pouted and threw a pillow at him. "Fine, let's go downstairs."

Jake laughed and snatched the pillow in the air. He stood up and extended his hand.

Her parents were sitting at the marble kitchen table looking somber. Uh oh, now what? Her mom looked up and patted the table for Lily to sit next to her. 

Her father cleared his throat. "Lily, we want you to have as normal of a childhood as possible. You've been through a lot in a short amount of time. We have debated homeschooling you. It would probably be the safest for everyone involved.”

Sandra turned in her seat and touched Lily's arm. "We've decided to let you go back to school, if you want to. You shouldn't be locked away because of who you are. However, you are going to have to take extra precautions."

Lily's eyes lit up. She never thought she would miss school, but she had started to like Emerson Academy. Mainly, she missed Hannah. "Can I go back to the boarding school?"

Her parents glanced at each other. “Do you really want to?”

“Yes.”

"You seemed happier there than any others. So, if that is what you want, we can smooth things over with the school for the time missed."

"What about Jake?" She felt panic rise in her chest at the thought of being separated from him.

"That's up to him. I don't see a problem with him going back either. You only have one more year so his age won't be noticeable." 

Lily clapped her hands together and smiled at Jake. Then she threw her arms around her mother. "Thank you! I promise I won't let you down." 

"I know you won’t. Camille left you this." Sandra held out a multi-colored stone bracelet. “She said if you wear this, your powers would be greatly dampened. It will almost be like you are a human. Of course you are attractive so you will always attract attention. It will just stop boys from turning into complete fools around you. You won’t be able to compel anyone if you have this on."

Lily grabbed the bracelet and ran her fingers over it. It was beautiful. Almost normal. She had longed to be normal. A small part of her couldn't help but be worried if she put it on Jake would no longer be attracted to her. Maybe it really was her powers that he was drawn to. 

Later that night, she lay in bed thinking about the bracelet and Jake. What if he wanted nothing more to do with her when she put it on? What if she became just an ordinary girl? Ordinary. No guys tripping over their own feet anymore. No boys fumbling over opening something for her. No one trying to kiss her when she didn’t want to. 

Her thoughts wandered back to Jake. Would wearing the bracelet be worth it? There was only one way to find out. She’d have to put it on and see what happened. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take it off if she hated it. Would she want to be with Jake if she found out it was only her power he was drawn to?

She picked it up off her nightstand and slipped it on her wrist. Then she waited. “Ridiculous,” she muttered to herself. What was she waiting for? She didn’t feel any different. It wasn’t like some switch had been turned off. Rolling over, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

She got up early the next morning and made a cup of cocoa, which she took with her to the back patio. It was a nice morning, chilly, but the sun shone on her face and kept her warm. 

“Lily?” Jake’s voice was soft.

This was the moment of truth. Very slowly she turned around and faced him. He was standing at the doorway looking out at her. Her eyes met his and she tried to read him, but she just couldn’t tell how he felt. Did he still feel the same way about her? Or was the connection gone when she wore the bracelet?