Healed by Fire (4 page)

“I have my ways, female. So, you found her
at last, did you Theseus?”

Theseus growled. “You know that I have to
kill you now, right? I can’t let you report back to Maurice.”

The name Maurice sounded familiar and a
headache began in the front of my skull. I rubbed at it and took a
step back, hiding slightly behind Theseus instead of standing
protectively in front of him as I had been.

I felt Selene’s presence growing closer and
hoped she would be in time.

“Has she found herself yet?” the vampire
asked.

“It seems we are all full of discoveries
tonight. One of which is that I have a break in my barrier,” said
Selene as she finally arrived. The vampire hissed at Selene, but
she only laughed and said, “Oh, you poor stupid vampire. Did you
really think you could come into my coven and threaten one of my
sisters? I think your kind has grown cocky.” She raised her hands
and then sunlight covered the vampire. He screamed once and then
disintegrated into ash.

Theseus stared at the pile of ash in shock.
“I’ve never seen that spell before.”

Selene smiled and put her arm around my
shoulders. “Chandra discovered it.” She looked at my pinched face
and her smile disappeared. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“My head hurts,” I said softly.

Selene looked at Theseus. “You swore you
wouldn’t reveal anyone’s name!”

He swallowed. “I did not mean to. It was a
name I thought she would have heard already.”

Selene looked at him. “Who?”

“The vampire king,” he said softly.

“Maurice,” I whispered and then screamed in
pain as my head throbbed and an image of a large winery in some
foreign place and a handsome man whose smile was pure evil clouded
my vision. “Why does it hurt when I say his name?”

Selene placed her hands on my head and
started chanting. Theseus picked my hand up in his and then placed
his wrist under my nose to distract my senses. Ten minutes later
the pain was finally gone. Selene glared at Theseus. “You will
remember next time. We cannot afford to lose her nor have her
powers released.”

Theseus bowed. “I apologize. I will
remember.”

Selene walked briskly away without looking
back. I started to stand up, but Theseus picked me up instead. I
looked at his face and frowned. “You look familiar, like I’ve met
you before.”

He shook his head. “That’s not
possible.”

“Maybe I know a relative of yours then?”

Theseus shrugged. “Perhaps.”

I waited for him to tell me his parents, but
he just walked in silence as he carried me back towards the main
building. “Who are your parents?” I finally asked.

He sighed. “Chandra, I cannot say any names.
You only heard one name of a person you aren’t even tied to and it
caused you pain. What do you think hearing a name of a person you
are tied to will do?”

“You know my true name, don’t you?”

Theseus sighed. “I hope Draco-Blu comes back
soon. You ask too many questions which could kill you or everyone
else.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you are a
dramatist.”

~~~

Trying to work with the children was
impossible with Theseus around. For one, they couldn’t take their
eyes off of him. The girls were mesmerized by his beauty while the
boys were mesmerized by his masculinity. Second, my classroom had
been transformed from a children’s introduction to magic class to a
coven’s introduction to halfbreeds class.

Did it bother me that they wanted to learn
more now that Theseus was here? Yes. Why wasn’t I interesting
enough for them to analyze? Or was it because I didn’t know my past
or how I’d learned my powers, while Theseus did?

Theseus stood at the front of the room
shirtless with his back to us, his body shining as he called his
power and released his wings. Those who were gathered watched
intently as he pulled his wings out and put them back again and
again.

“Does it hurt?” one of the girls asked.

He shook his head. “No, it feels good
actually. Like when you have a spot in your back that needs to pop
and then you turn just the right way and it pops.”

“Unless someone forces your wings out. That
hurts,” I said quietly as I remembered the painful event.

He turned and looked at me in shock. “Who
did that to you?”

“A full blooded Sidhe who likes to annoy
me,” I answered vaguely. I was not about to tell him it was
Dionysus. As much as he annoyed me, he had kept my true lineage a
secret.

“Can you show us the process of shifting to
warrior form?” James, the smallest but most intelligent boy in my
class asked.

What would the werewolf prince’s half shift
look like?

Theseus closed his eyes and his glow faded.
I pushed myself off of the wall I had been leaning on and walked
out of the classroom. Obviously my services were not needed
here.

I walked north and entered the arched hedge
which led into the rose garden and the mini labyrinth Selene had
created. The witches had a spell on the garden which kept the
flowers constantly blooming. Once I entered it no other scent
except roses filled my nose. Bees hummed loudly as they pollinated
the roses and went about their business. The bees never bothered
us, even when we entered the labyrinth so we never bothered
them.

I made my way through the small labyrinth,
running my hands along the thick bushes. The first time I’d entered
the maze I’d gotten lost and it had taken me an hour to find my way
back out. I knew I could have just flown out, but I was determined
to find my own way. Now, the path was as familiar to me as walking
up to my room in the house.

I finally made it to the center of the
labyrinth, which was a rectangular clearing about twenty square
feet wide. I sat and ran my hand through the cool green grass. A
small rabbit hopped out from underneath the nearest shrub and
stopped in front of me, twitching his nose and moving his ears to
pick up any sounds. Reaching out slowly, I began to stroke the
rabbit’s ears as I drifted off into my trance.

My thoughts always strayed to the prince and
the strange connection I could feel in me. It was like a cord, one
which if I focused on hard enough could be followed to him. But
that was impossible, or it should have been. I also felt a second
connection to someone or something, but I couldn’t figure out what
it was or what it meant.

If he was my mate then why had I been alone
as a wolf for so long? Why had he not found me until now? If he was
really my mate then he should have been able to find me twenty
years ago, or more. And why couldn’t I remember anything?!

I had no idea how long I’d been a wolf
because my mind had deteriorated into simple animal urges and
instincts at some point and I would still be there if it hadn’t
been for Selene finding me and rehabilitating me. I knew that I’d
gone through several generations of one wolf pack before leaving
them for a new one and going through several additional generations
with that pack, but I couldn’t count the number of years. I was
almost afraid to. I did and didn’t want to know how old I was. I
looked about twenty, but preternaturals age much slower than humans
and in varying scales depending upon the race.

Maybe the prince didn’t want me? No, I
couldn’t believe that. It hurt just thinking that.

I still vividly remembered the goddess, or
Sidhe woman as I understood now, who was my earliest memory. I had
tried to find her again and the place we had been at, but was
unsuccessful.

My irritation was growing and the rabbit’s
fur twitched beneath my tense hands. My stomach growled in hunger
and for a fleeting moment I thought about eating the rabbit.

“Chandra?” Theseus called.

“In here,” I answered softly as I shooed the
rabbit away, closed my eyes and started humming softly to
meditate.

I felt his wolf as he sat down in front of
me. It was strange to be able to
feel
someone like I did
now. Had the interaction with the werewolf prince unlocked some of
my powers?

I opened my eyes and asked, “How did you
find me?”

He tapped his nose. “Scent trail. Are you
feeling well?” he asked softly.

“Headache,” I whispered. “I hope Blu returns
with news from the Council soon.”

“How long until your dragon friend
returns?”

“I do not know. It depends on how quickly
the Council makes a decision.”

“Would you like to go for a run?” he asked
cheerfully.

I shook my head. “No, I think I’d just like
to sit here for a moment.” I started humming again and slowly
slipped back into my meditative trance.

At least I was in my trance until a cold
hand touched my face. “The dark approaches. Fire will consume and
restore, happiness and pain must be experienced collectively. Death
for three will be the end.”

I opened my eyes and looked up at Margenta.
Her eyes were opened wide, but only the whites were showing. A
prophecy. Margenta was using her power of prophecy on me. “Who are
the three?” I asked softly so as not to awaken her from her
trance.

“Starlight, twice stars and moons. Those are
the three.”

“When?”

No response.

“Can the path be altered?”

“Fate can always be changed. Decisions must
be made. But the death is unchangeable. Death requires the lives
and Death will not be denied.”

“Can another life be traded?”

“Death will not be denied the three. A
decision will be made, but not by thee.”

Margenta’s eyes closed and then she gasped
in a huge lungful of breath and dropped to her knees beside me.
“What happened?” she asked.

“Prophecy,” I whispered.

Her eyes widened in shock and she looked at
me in horror. “No, oh no. Chandra I am sorry.”

I smiled and patted her hand reassuringly.
“Your Sight is a gift and I thank you for using it on me. You
should take a lavender bath to calm yourself.”

She nodded her head and walked on wobbly
legs out of the rose garden.

“I need to relay this to the ones who sent
me,” Theseus said.

I nodded my head and stood up, brushing my
backside off. “I need to seek Selene’s advice as well.”

“Are you alright?” he asked, concern evident
in his voice and eyes.

I smiled and nodded my head. “Yes, I have
heard many doom prophecies since coming here. I expected one day to
hear my own.”

He didn’t seem convinced, but he left. I
sagged to the ground and held my head in my hands. Why me? Why now?
What the hell did it mean?

“Are you alright, Sister?”

I looked up and took Selene’s extended hand.
“No.”

“Margenta came to me very distressed. Would
you care to enlighten me as to what has happened?”

I exhaled and asked, “Could we go to your
office first?”

Selene smiled and put her arm around my
shoulders. “Of course. And when we get there I will brew you some
relaxing tea.”

“A shot of whiskey might be better.”

Selene laughed and my despair lightened
slightly. She could always lift my mood. Of course since she said I
was surrounded by despair and darkness, that wasn’t a difficult
task. We walked into the main building and to her office in the
east wing on the first floor. I sat down and watched Selene boil
water and add leaves. She waved her hand and a pen and a piece of
paper appeared in front of me. “Write down the prophecy and any
answers she gave you to questions you asked.”

I did as she asked and then flipped the
paper around so that she could read it when she sat down. She set a
cup of steaming tea on the desk in front of me and then sat down in
her chair. I sipped my tea and looked around the room. The walls
were painted black and aside from the desk and three chairs, only a
small overhead light adorned the room. It was the perfect room for
a witch to perform spells and meditate in privacy.

Selene’s cup shattered as it fell to the
floor, making me jump up out of my chair.

“Selene?!”

She bent down and started picking up the
broken pieces. “I’m alright, Chandra. I’m sorry I startled you.”
Our eyes met and she swallowed nervously. “Her prophecies have
never been wrong.”

I plopped down in the chair and sighed. “I
know.” I could smell Selene’s fear and it made me worry. I’d never
known the witch to be afraid. “Selene, why are you so frightened?”
I asked.

“I need to do some research. You should
return to your room and rest. I’m sure this has taken a lot out of
you.” She stood and walked to the door, opening it for me.

I had never been dismissed by Selene like
this before. “Very well,” I whispered as I walked passed her.

I walked to my room and sat down on my bed.
My room was small, just big enough for my dresser and bed, but it
had its own bathroom and since only I lived in it, it was fine for
me. It was like a little den where I was safe and could curl up in
the dark, away from all of the scary things which hunted when the
light disappeared.

Divinations were always tricky to decipher
because sometimes they meant exactly what they said while other
times they were metaphors. Plus you couldn’t figure out what it
meant until it was happening and by then it was too late.

I could feel Theseus’ approach before he
walked in. He stopped in the doorway and looked at me with a
carefully neutral expression on his face. “What did Selene
say?”

I was still unaffected by his appearance,
which was strange. It seemed unnatural for a woman not to be
affected by him. I could see that many of the witches were, so why
wasn’t I?

“Nothing. What did the werewolf prince say?”
Just the thought of him sent my heart twisting. How could a man I
didn’t know affect me like this?

“He said quite a few swear words and then
broke a few things. Then his second in command took the phone and
told me that they would contact us if they deciphered anything.” He
sat down on the bed beside me and wrapped his arms around my
shoulders. “Are you alright?”