Destined Magic (3 page)

“Leave me alone,” Gabriella screamed at him. “Go away. I won’t help you. How can you ask this of me? What if it was your sister?”

“I would know that she had to pay for her crimes. I would feel horrible about it, but I would hunt her down and turn her over to the council. That is exactly what I’m going to do to your sister.” Garrett turned and left the room, locking the door behind him. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with Ella right now. She was too traumatized by the loss of her powers to think clearly at the moment. He only hoped that she would come to her senses.

“You didn’t really think she would betray h
er sister, did you?” Damek leaned casually against the wall in the hallway.

“She must. I can’t return her p
owers until her sister is found.” Garrett glared at his cousin. Damek stood slightly taller than Garrett, but he had the same Amhurst nose and lavender eyes that showed he belonged to the earth witches bloodline. His dark hair was in disarray from running his hands through it, and Garrett realized that Damek was as upset over the situation as he was.

“Let’s port over to
her apartment. Maybe we will find a clue,” Damek suggested.

§

Gabriella stared at the door and released the tears she had been holding back. She couldn’t stop shivering. She reached down and pulled the covers over her head, then turned and curled into a ball. Hoping the blanket would muffle her sobs, she let herself cry. What could she do?

It wasn’t long until the house grew quiet. Was she alone? Slipping from her bed
, she wiped a hand across her eyes. She still wore her clothes from last night, so Garrett hadn’t undressed her.

She
checked the door but was not surprised to find it locked. Next, she went to the window and pulled back the drapes. A large expanse of lawn gave way to a gravel drive. Down from the drive, behind a screen of trees, Ella glimpsed a car going past.

She tried to open the window, but whether
from age or being locked from the outsid
e
,
it wouldn’t budge. Because she was on the second floor, she had no hope of jumping without injuring herself. Still, if she could get the window open, she could make a rope from the blankets and lower herself to the ground.

She pulled and tugged
on the window before finally giving up and plopping down on a chair. What else could she do to escape? Turning, she studied the room. The large bed was situated against the back wall. There were a small chest of drawers and a door that was partially open. From the white porcelain tile that she glimpsed behind the door, Gabriella assumed it opened into a bathroom. At least, they wanted her to be comfortable.

S
everal photographs sat on the bureau, and Gabriella walked over to inspect them. They seemed to be from a wedding. Two young girls stood next to a woman in her wedding gown, while Garrett and another older man stood proudly on each side. Garrett was the only one in the picture with red hair. Was this his family and the girls his sisters? All their eyes were the same color, an unusual shade of lavender.

Next
, there was a picture of a red-headed young boy holding hands with a man and a woman with hair the same shade as the boy’s. Garrett’s parents? The last picture was of a bride and groom, and from the dress and age of the picture, Ella decided they must be Garrett’s parents. He was sentimental, and she assumed that his family meant a lot to him. Could he possibly understand why she couldn’t betray her sister?

She opened the drawers and found male clothing. Garrett had locked her into his own bedroom
. Why would he do that? She should be locked in a nullifying cell at the Guardian’s headquarters. Thinking about it made the cold and trembling start again. Her powers were gone. She felt as if a piece of her soul was missing. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she tried to control her shaking. How would she survive?

§

Garrett opened the door to the apartment over the bar and looked around in surprise. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but the sunny yellow walls and bright floral upholstery didn’t seem like Gabriella. He wandered through the living room, fingering the knickknacks sitting on the tables and gazing at pictures of sunset beaches and lighthouses on the walls. When he turned the corner into the bedroom, he found a large aquarium filled with tropical fish. He’d have to make sure they were fed. He didn’t want Ella coming home to dead fish.

Unlike the living room, her bedroom
colors were soft blues and purples with sea-foam-green walls. Pictures of mermaids and dolphins were hanging on the walls. Now, this was what he would expect of a water witch.

O
n her bedside table was a picture of two young girls smiling at him and a deck of tarot cards carefully wrapped in silk. He fingered the cards, feeling Ella’s energy covering the package. He slipped them into his pocket. Next, he picked up the picture and recognized a younger Gabriella. He assumed the other girl was her sister Brenna. He gazed at the picture while sadness swept over him. What happened to the young girl who looked so innocent in the picture? Why had she turned to blood magic? What was missing in her life that caused her to destroy it so readily?

He placed the picture back on the table and started opening drawers, rummaging through Gabriella’s things. He needed to find something to point him to where her sister might have gone. He could hear Damek looking through
drawers in the small kitchen.

When he opened the drawer full of nightgo
wns, he fingered the lace while picturing Gabriella wearing them. A punch of lust went through him. She was so beautiful, and she was meant to be his.

Sighing, he pulled several things from the drawer and laid them on the b
ed. Gabriella would need something to wear. He would pack a bag full of clothes to take back to the house with him. Moving into the bathroom, he grabbed her toiletries and added them to the pile.

“Any luck?” Damek asked from the door as Garrett located a case to hold the items he had selected.

“No, you?”

“I found an address book, but her sister is listed at the apartment we raided last night
,” Damek said. “There are several other names listed. I’ll bring the book with us, and we can do some background checks. Gabriella’s desk was a mess, things tossed here and there. I think someone beat us here. I’m not sure what they were after, but several bank statements were scattered about.”

“We’ll have to put a freeze on her finances. M
aybe one of her friends will know where Brenna ran off to.”

“I’ll get Tolya and Haytham
to interview the neighbors, find out if they saw or heard anything.”

“Elise should
be finished looking into Brenna's financials. Let’s head over to headquarters and see what she found out.” Garrett added a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts to the case.

“
You taking that stuff to Gabriella?” Damek asked, smirking.

“She’ll need clothes while she’s staying at my house,” Garrett said defensively.

“Oh, sure. Kill her with kindness, but don’t think she won’t run if you let her.”

“I’m hoping she will realiz
e helping me is her only option.” Garrett led the way into the living room.

A key
holder on the wall caught his attention. He put down the bag and flipped the tags identifying the keys until he saw one labeled “Basement.” Picking up the key, he showed the tag to Damek.

“Before we go, let’s check out the basement.”

§

The sound of the door opening
made Gabriella jump with surprise. She had been dozing on the bed. She sat up as two girls with lavender eyes and blond hair walked in carrying a tray of food and a stack of books. Because they looked like the young girls in the photo with Garrett, Gabriella realized they were his twin sisters.

“We thought you might be hungry,” the girl holding the tray said cheerfully. “I’m Chelsea and this is my sister, Eileen. We had to c
ome over to meet our brother’s Destined One.”

“We heard you were under house arrest, so we brought you some books to read,” Eileen added
, putting the books on the table.

“Thank you for the food. I am hungry,” Gabriella admitted.

Chelsea hurried over to the table next to the bed and placed the tray within Gabriella’s reach before climbing onto the foot of the mattress. Eileen soon joined her.

“So
what was it like meeting your Destined One?” Chelsea asked. “Did you know him right away? Did your heart beat fast? Did you want to kiss him?”

“Chelsea,” Eileen interrupted. “Give her a minute to answer before you ask any more questions.”

Gabriella looked from one twin to the other. Their faces were so bright and innocent, their expressions so welcoming. Her heart hurt to think of Brenna and who she had become. There was a time when she was just as innocent.

“Well, yes
, I knew him at once. I had seen him in a vision that has been recurring. But even without the vision, there seemed to be a magnetic pull between us. I think Garrett felt it as much as I did.” Gabriella reached for half the sandwich on the tray.

“Wow! T
hat is so romantic.” Chelsea rubbed her thumb over her magic-house tattoo.

“You have visions? Is that because you are a water witch?” Eileen asked.

Gabriella nodded as she swallowed her food. “Yes, visions are one of the gifts of the Ainsworth house.” She shuddered when she automatically reached for her magic and found it missing.

“Are you cold?” Chelsea asked
, alarmed.

“It’s a reaction to my powers being nullified. As long as I don’t think about it, I’m okay. But when I reach for my magic
, all I find is emptiness.”

“I’m sorry.” Chelsea pa
tted Gabriella’s knee. “I’ll ask Dad to petition the council and make them give you back your powers. You weren’t doing blood magic.”

“I’m afraid it’s a little more complicated than that,” Gabriella murmured, her heart warming
at Chelsea’s quick defense.

“It must be hard to have a sister who would do blood magic,” Eileen said.

“Yes, I love my sister. But I couldn’t stop her from ruining her life.”

“But it’s her life, not yours,” Eileen pointed out.

“Aren’t you ruining your life by trying to protect her?” Chelsea asked.

Gabriella stopped eating and looked at
the girls.
Is that what I’m doing? Ruining my life to protect my sister? Did Garrett send them in to wear her down?

“Does Garrett know you’re here?” Gabriella asked
, trying to hide her sudden feelings of distrust.

“No. He’ll probably be mad when he finds out we came,” Chelsea said
, frowning.

“We should go before he gets back. I don’t w
ant to listen to him lecture us.” Eileen rose from the bed.

“It was nice meeting you, G
abriella. Welcome to the family.” Chelsea followed her sister to the door.

“Once you’re free from house
arrest, come over and meet Papa.” Eileen knocked at the door.

The door opened
, and a man looked in. Gabriella didn’t recognize him. He had soft blue eyes and brown hair. He looked slightly younger than her twenty-six years. She had to admit he was handsome. But she didn’t feel the kind of attraction she felt for Garrett. She assumed he was her guard.

“Hey, Calder, we’re ready to go,” Chelsea said.

He ushered the girls out before closing the door. The sound of the lock clicking into place echoed in the room.

Gabriella ran to the window and watched as the man escorted the girls outside.
Each girl gave him a hug, as he ruffled her hair. The girls got into a small car and drove away while he waved.

Thinking quickly, Gabriella grabbed the silver tray from under the food dishes and flung it at the window. The sound of
breaking glass shattered the calm. She pulled air into her lungs and screamed.

Gabriella pressed herself against the
part of the wall that would be hidden when the door opened. After only a few moments, she heard someone running up the stairs and unlocking the door. The man ran into the room and, not seeing her, ran to the window. Gabriella crept from behind the door and into the hall. The man turned and, at the same moment, she shut and locked the door.

Not knowing what kind of magic the man had, she r
aced down the stairs and to the back of the house. He might be able to blow open the bedroom door. Finding a sliding glass door in the library, she quickly slipped outside and ran for the road. It wouldn’t be long until reinforcements were on the way.

§

There was only one way into the basement, and that was through a door on the outside of the building. Garrett started to open the lock, but after pulling the door slightly, it swung open with a loud squeak.