Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (12 page)

Colton groans, but steps out of the way. His inner turmoil hits me. He’s u
pset that Dravin got to me and angry that I got hurt. Soon after, his relief hits me. He’s relieved I was able to get away without any serious injuries, and he’s confused as to why I won’t tell him what happened. He knows I won’t reveal anything until I do the enchantment. “Thank you,” I whisper to him.

Without looking at anyone, I close my eyes and
feel the magic around me. “Magic come forth, I call you to me, protect our home from danger so evil cannot see,” I start as the magic moves through the room, hitting every available surface, covering everything with magic—hiding the home from danger. I envision the magic coating everyone in here too. I see myself holding each of their hands as I say the spell like I did in the past. The magic flows into them. As I continue with the spell, I hear a couple loud intakes of breath. They can feel my magic covering them…protecting them. “I call you to me during this time of need to protect those within from anger and greed; protect our home from danger so evil cannot see.”

When I finish the spell, I open my eyes back up and look around the room. Everyone is watching me
curiously. Mixtures of awe and confusion flood into me. I mix the emotions with my magic and push them out. If I keep everything in my body, I’ll start to tire out again.

Colton walks up to me. “Are you okay? Are you tired?”

“I’m fine, Colton. You worry too much,” I tell him. I turn toward everyone else. “Do you feel any different? Did it work?”

“Yeah, I could feel your magi
c surrounding me,” Chris answers. “It was amazing.”

“
Good, now that that’s settled…what’s new?” I say as I sit down on the edge of the bed.

“Ryanne…” Colton starts.

“Ugh, fine,” I say as I turn and look at him. “I don’t see why you want to know everything. Nothing really happened.”

“Humor me.”

“I was thrown into another cell in Dravin’s compound. I really need to work on my entrances. They’re not as smooth as I would like them to be. We talked. I insulted. You know how it goes with him. He tried to use his voodoo mind thing on me, but I threw a shield up around me. Oh, I could use my magic there. He didn’t know that I could use my magic. Apparently, there was a spell on that room to stop magic use, but I broke through it. He…um, he told me about how his parents were murdered in front of him by humans. His parents were good mages, but their death caused Dravin to oppose the idea of humans and mages working together. He wants revenge, so he basically formed the Gadramicks to get it.”

“How is that any different from what he’s doing now?” Colton asks.

“Well, when I asked him that, he choked me, so it’s not any different. He just doesn’t want to think of it like that.” Colton clenches his fist, and his appearance starts to fade. I jump up off the bed and walk over to him. “Hey, hey, hey. Listen to me.” I grab his chin and force him to look down at me. “When he let go of me, I hit him with a ball of energy. He fell to the ground injured, and I came back. I hurt him worse than he hurt me. It wasn’t that bad. I’m okay now.” I hate watching Colton struggle with his power. I know that he goes invisible whenever he gets upset or angry. I don’t know what specifically causes it, but it takes him a while to come back. He flickers once more and then sighs loudly. Hugging me to him, he buries his face in my neck.

“I’m going to
kill him if I see him again,” he whispers to me.

I pull back and look up at him.
“Then, I think we better train.”

“Okay, here’s another question. In an epic battle of magic, which wizard would come out victorious: Gandalf or Dumbledore?” Logan asks.

“Gandalf,” I say without giving it a second thought.

“Dumbledore,” Chris replies. We both turn and glare at each other. We’ve been arguing like this all night.

“How can you think that Dumbledore would win in a battle against
Gandalf?” I ask.

“How can you think that Gandalf would win against Dumbledore?”

“There would be no competition. Gandalf is a beast. Dumbledore would run away scared at the sight of the Gandalf. When Gandalf died, he found a way to come back. Can Dumbledore say the same thing?”

“
How about we say that it’s a tie. Both wizards are equally as awesome as the other,” Logan says. We stare at Logan for a couple of seconds before turning back to glare at each other. Honestly, I like both of them, but arguing with Chris is pretty fun. “Okay, how about this one, Smeagol vs. Yoda?”

“Yoda,” I say at the same time as Chris
says Smeagol.

“Guys, this could go on all night. Ryanne’s
the prophecy girl, so her picks win,” Incendia says. “Sorry Chris.” I stick my tongue out at Chris and high five Incendia.

“Just because she’s the prophecy girl doesn’t mean that she should win all the time.
I’m just as awesome on a less magical level,” Chris retorts.

“You’ll have to do a whole lot more to reach my level of awesomenes
s, Chris,” I tell him. I lean against the back of the couch. Colton leans over and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I smile up at him before turning back to Chris. Colton’s amusement briefly hits me before I push it back out.

“
You must have to brush your teeth a lot to clean your mouth of all the crap you’re spewing,” Chris says.

“Ouch, Chris. That hurt,” I tell him.

Colin, Tom, and Mr. and Mrs. Howick walk into the entertainment room. Tom turns toward Colton and nods. What’s going on? Colton turns and tightens his grip around me, but returns his attention to the TV. “What was that about?” I whisper to him.

Colton looks down at me and feigns confusion. “What are you talking about?”

I narrow my eyes at him, but let him off for now. I’ll investigate later. Curling into his shoulder, I watch the movie on the screen. I don’t recognize this movie or any of the actors in it. When I see someone get shot in their head, I turn and bury my face into Colton’s shoulder. I’m okay with action sequences, but I hate gore. Colton pulls me closer to him and kisses my temple.

“She loves superhero stuff, but hates violence?”

“I hate all the blood and gore,” I mumble against the fabric of Colton’s shirt. When I hear the shooting stop, I look at the TV. Nothing’s happening right now. I angle myself toward it and watch again.

Thirty minutes later, the lead actor in the movie is driving in a car with his wife, arguing. They have a green light, so he starts driving. She turns
toward him in the car to yell at him again, but screams when she sees the headlights of a large truck coming toward them. The screen starts moving in slow motion. My mind flashes back to a year ago when I was in a similar situation. The scar on my stomach starts to tingle, and in the back of my mind, I can see the truck moving toward us—the bright headlights blinding me. I watch as my mom turns and looks at me then turns the wheel. The world around me spins and blurs together as the car flips and metal and glass debris rain in.

“I’m…umm…going to go do…something,” I say as I push away from Colton and rush out of the room. I can’t watch that movie anymore. Running into the hallway, I turn to the left. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I can’t stay in that room surrounded by everyone. I expected Colton to follow me, so I’m surprised when I turn around and see Chris standing outside of the door.

“It’s not uncommon to relive an experience when you witness something that triggers a specific memory.”

“How did you know that’s why I ran out of the room?”

Chris walks toward me. “I was there, Ryanne. I saw the accident. I saw all the damage.” He pauses and looks down the hallway. “My mom was killed in a car accident too. I was thinking about her when I saw that scene, so I knew you would be reliving what happened to you as well. Your experience is much more recent than mine.” I lean back against the wall and watch as Chris stops in front of me. “I’m sorry about your mother, Ryanne. There was nothing we could do to help her.”

I lean forward and hu
g Chris. “I know. It’s just hard.” I feel Chris’s arms wrap around my back. “I was supposed to die in that accident. I have to live with the fact that my mom sacrificed herself because she loved me. I used to be so mad at her. I still want to be mad at her, but I’m not,” I bunch my hands in the fabric of his shirt.

“M
others always think about their children before themselves. It’s a maternal thing,” he says. “It shows that they love you. Someday, you’ll appreciate what she did for you.”

“I’ve talked with her,” I say as I lean
backward and look up at him. “I’ve talked with my mom. She helped me get over some of my problems. She told me that she was proud of me and wouldn’t change a thing.” He nods and brushes some of the tears off of my cheeks. I wasn’t aware I had been crying.

“You okay?” he asks. I nod and try to smile. I know it comes out as more of a grimace. Chris looks over at me
toward the door and steps away. I know that Colton is standing there, but I reach forward and grab Chris’s arm. He stops and looks down at me again.

“I’m sorry about your mom, Chris.” He nods and walks back into the entertainment
room, patting Colton’s shoulder as he passes. Colton starts walking toward me. Instead of letting him walk the whole way, I meet him halfway. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I envelope myself in his familiar scent.

“
I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was a scene like that in the movie.” I shake my head and look up at him.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I don’t know what came over me,” I tell him.

“Come on,” he says as he pulls me down the hallway.

“
Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“Close your eyes,” Colton tells me as we near the back of the house. I look up at him. He’s serious. I close my eyes and wait for his word. I hear the sound of a door opening and the cool night air brushes against my face.

“We’re going outside?” I ask.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

I do as I’m told. “This reminds me of the forest. Do you remember that? The bench?”

“Of course I remember that
, Ry,” he says—his voice low and husky. A warm feeling shoots through my body at his tone. Colton chuckles at my response and continues pulling me forward. “Watch out, there are two steps coming up.”

Colton slows down and helps me down the stairs.
“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Be patient, Ry. We’re getting close,” he tells me. I groan, but let him pull me forward. Where could he be taking me? I hear the sound of water running somewhere close by. Are we near a lake? I’m surrounded by the sound of crickets chirping and wind rustling the leaves of the trees.
The ground below me is uneven. It feels like I’m walking on a stone or brick path. I stumble forward on a loose rock and collide into Colton’s chest. “You’re so graceful,” he laughs as he continues pulling me forward.

“Hey, you can’t say anything until you’re the one walking blindly on an uneven path,” I m
umble. Colton stops moving, and I walk into his chest again. He lets go of my hands and steadies me. “Can I open my eyes now?” I ask.

I arch my head up
toward him and wait for his response, but it never comes. Instead, I feel his lips brush against mine. Colton’s arms wrap around my waist and he slowly pulls me closer. I press myself into his body and wait for him to kiss me. His breath hits my cheeks as he lingers in front of me. Oh, just kiss me already.

Colton gently presses his
lips to mine, kissing me slowly. I melt into him. My knees feel weak, my heart rate increases, and I can’t think straight. Colton means so much to me that it scares me sometimes. I’m slowly pushing my insecurities back everyday—telling myself that I am good enough for him. This perfect man kissing me is my soulmate. We’re destined for each other. It’s taken me longer to realize it, but I’m beginning to see it now. Colton pulls back and rests his forehead against mine. “You can open your eyes now,” he whispers.

I slowly open my eyes and look up at Colton
, getting lost in his green gaze. He’s watching me, waiting for my reaction. Seeing twinkling lights out of the corner of my eye, I turn to the right. My mouth falls open as I look at the scene around me.

I’m standing in the middle of a large garden. Tall flowering plants surround me. A small fount
ain is located in front of me with water cascading over small ornamental stone angels, leading into a koi pond with lights on the bottom of it lighting up the fish and giving the angels an ethereal glow. Potted plants, shrubs, and ferns cover everything in sight. A stone path leads further into the garden in front of me. Small LED lights line the path showing the way. The twinkling lights around me are fireflies lighting the night sky. Lights wrap up the bases of all the large trees in the yard and get lost under the mass of leaves.

Colton reaches over and gently closes my mouth. I draw my eyes from the garden and look up at him. Hugging him to me, I say, “It’s so beautiful. Thank you for showing
it to me.” Colton starts walking backward. I let go of my grip around his waist and follow him. He sits down on a cushioned swing and pulls me beside him.

“While you’ve been working with Colin, Tom, David, and I have been coming down here to clean up the garden and add all the lights.
The Howicks helped finish everything up tonight while we were upstairs.”

“Why would you do that? We’re not staying here for much longer…”

“Because I wanted to see that look on your face—that surprised, completely awed, totally beautiful look.” I feel a blush rising on my cheeks from his compliment. “And then the blush that accompanied me telling you that,” he laughs.

I lean i
n his side and continue to admire the scenery around me. “Thank you, Colton.”

“There’s no need to thank me. You’ve been working really hard lately. You deserve a little break,” he tells me.

I rest my head on his chest and curl my knees up. My eyes follow a firefly in front of me. I reach out and catch it. Opening my fist, I watch as it crawls across my fingers, choosing not to immediately fly away. It’s little legs brush against my skin as it moves onto the back of my hand. I feel Colton’s eyes on me the entire time. Tearing my gaze away from the little bug, I look up at him.

“What?” I ask him when he continues to watch me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the firefly fly off, but I don’t look away from Colton. He shakes his head and looks over toward the fountain. A small smile forms as he stares ahead. “What are you thinking about?”

“Us,” he answers. “The future.”

“What about it?”

“I don’t know.
Nothing. Everything. I think about it all. What I want to happen…how I hope things play out.”

“What do you want to happen?” I ask him. Colton tears his eyes from the fountain and looks down at me.
He brushes a strand of hair away from my face and leans back on the swing. Using his legs, he gently starts moving it back and forth.

“I want us to get through all of this alive,” he starts. I watch him as he speaks. He’s
trying to keep a smile at bay. “I want to wake up to you in the morning and not worry about whether or not you were attacked in your sleep. I want to watch you open your eyes and look over at me and whisper a good morning as you sit up and stretch and then try to tame your unruly hair.” He laughs and turns toward me. “I love your crazy hair,” he says as he grabs a curl and twirls it around his finger.

“I want to get down on one knee and propose to you
and watch you say yes as tears stream down your face,” I scoff at the tears comment even though I know it’ll probably happen. “I want to watch you walk down the aisle in a ridiculous white dress and listen to you say I do. I want to go on a honeymoon and finally be able to love you as my wife,” he says.