Ignite (Circle of Light Book 2) (9 page)

I met my father at the designated place the wedding planner had planned for us to begin our march.  He was on one side of the huge double doors and I was on the other. We were supposed to walk out and meet each other to begin my long walk down the aisle when the doors opened. 

I couldn’t wait to grab onto him when I heard the doorknobs turn.  I was terrified that I was going to fall before I got to him, but I made it to him without tripping on anything.  I stood in place until the doors were completely opened, trying to gather all the confidence that I could.

The piano played and we walked toward each other with tears in our eyes.  When I got to him, I slid my arm through his and took the first step to my new life. 

The ceremony went by fast after my father gave my hand to Eric.  That had to be the most trying part of the moment.  I knew that it must have been hard for him to give me away to Eric.  I was his little girl, his only child. 

The church was decorated in such a way that it made me think that it had taken weeks to do accomplish it all, but I knew that it had been done overnight.  White rose bouquets hung on each of the outer sides of the pews.  Streams of crystal beads hung from the ceiling and that made it look like ice.  I wasn’t even able to see the walls or the ceiling because of them.  The feel of everything took me aback.  Nothing could have been as beautiful as this was.

Eric and I chose to include a rose exchange into the ceremony instead of saying the traditional vows.  We each promised to give the other a single red rose in trying times when an apology was in order and in the joyful times when we were at our best. 

The preacher talked for a moment after the exchange of roses.  He explained that love was the most powerful thing in the entire world and I have to agree with him on that one.

“Love can bring a person out of the strongest addictions and in itself can cause its own obsessions.  It is, solely, up to us to allow our love to do good and to never cause harm because of it.”  He said to the congregation.

His message touched my heart and I knew that I would never allow myself to cause Eric harm because of my love for him.  Our love is so deep that I believe it can change the world if we let it.

After Eric and I exchanged our vows, the preacher said, “Kiss your bride.”  He allowed only a short moment for us to kiss and then announced us to the congregation as Mr. and Mrs. Eric Gray. 

I couldn’t hide my emotions as we took our first walk together as a married couple.  Obviously, Eric couldn’t either.  I saw a few tears on his face as we reached to doors.  We stepped out of the range of everyone s line of sight and kissed each other passionately.

The guests began making their way out the doors and into the reception hall.  Each of them stopped and congratulated us on our marriage.  I don’t think I had ever been hugged so much in my life.  My cheeks were beginning to feel a little sore from all the kisses I had received.  I know this sounds bad, but I felt dirty after a while.  I didn’t like to be touched by people that I didn’t know.

Thankfully, the procession of people ended and I went into the room where I had got ready for the ceremony. I found a small linen closet and took a washcloth from it. Being the type of person that I am, I took a second to sniff the washcloth to make sure it smelled clean.  You never know if other people kept their things clean or not. 

While I was washing my face, I felt a pull on my mind.  It wasn’t t like the pull Eric had but different.  More aggressive in nature.  I shook it off and went to toss the cloth in the basket at the side of the sink, but the nagging of whoever was trying to get inside my mind grew stronger and more deliberate.  I gave in.

“Can I help you dear one?”  I asked the uninvited guest.  Silence filled my thoughts, but the distinct feeling of the intruder remained.  If you do not wish to make your reason for this apparent, please refrain from trying to annoy me.

“I am truly sorry, my Queen.” 

It was Silas.  He was such a troublemaker here lately and I was cautious about him now more than ever.  I prayed that he was only reaching out to me to give me some type of information and not for the purpose of antagonizing Eric any further.

“The Gin is near, my Queen.”  Silas announced.  He instructed me to do my best not to alert it that I knew about its nature, or I would surely die by its hands.

I thanked Silas and broke the connection he had with my mind.  It was hard because he was a very powerful vampire and I was still somewhat captivated by him.

The door to the room opened and I could hear the laughter of my mother followed by Eric’s mother’s.  They were excited and drying the tears from their faces when they entered the room closing the door behind them.

I asked them to help me out of the gown and into the dress that Mom had picked out for me to wear to the reception.  It was white satin and very form fitting at that.  At least it was not the kind that touched the floor.  Mom had had it altered to fall at my ankles.  It was surprisingly comfortable.

When I was finished getting dressed, we all went out to me Eric at the doors of the reception hall.  I heard the preacher announce us once again as Mr. and Mrs. Eric Gray as we walked in and took our seats at the main table.

Everyone was happy and talking amongst themselves.  The chattering of the guest presented me with the perfect opportunity to let Eric know about what Silas had told me.  He wasn’t pleased to find out that the Gin had made his way here so soon and worst of all, today.

He agreed that Silas was right about not acting like we knew what he was if we crossed his path.  It would be safer that way.  That was because the Gin was not able to distinguish the difference between humans and supernatural beings immediately on sight.  Only when the supernatural acted a certain way, was the Gin able to tell.  Mainly power being used against him or the other person running from him was the indicator. Because the Gin would look just like any other ordinary person.  With no reason to be ran from.

“He can’t harm us or anyone on these grounds right now.”  Eric said smiling.  The witch’s spell was meant to affect anyone wanting to disrupt the wedding.  I was glad of that. 

The time came for us to cut the cake.  I was nervous about it because I did not want Eric to rub it all in my face like I had heard everyone else talk about.  That just didn’t make any sense to me at all.  Why would someone want to smash cake in people’s face on their wedding day?

Eric placed his hand over mine and pushed the knife through the layer of cake.  He helped me cut it in half.  Each of us had a piece and I fed mine to him first, hoping that he would see that I wasn’t up for cleaning cake off my face.

I gently put the cake in his mouth and smiled. 

“I love you.”

Eric returned the favor by keeping my face as clean as possible.

The reception went by quickly and all the guests had begun to line up on the sidewalk outside the church.  Anxiously awaiting us to come out.  Mom had mentioned that she wasn’t going to use bird feed for the guests to throw at us.  She had purchased the small bottles of bubbles for everyone instead.

I wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.  I mean, birds need to eat and bubbles get your skin all sticky and slimy.

We made our way to the doors and opened them only to be blinded by the sunlight reflecting off the enormous curtain of bubbles flying through the air.  As we went down the steps, the bubbles popped on us, leaving a slimy coating on our skin.  I cringed at the thought of another one bursting on me, making me pick up the pace to the car.

We were almost at the end of the sidewalk when the bubbles cleared and I managed to look at the car for the first time.  It wasn’t one of the cars that I had expected to be leaving in.  It didn’t belong to either of our parents and it was certainly not my Explorer.

The car was bright red.  It seemed to be new, but I was not sure of that until Eric opened the door for me to get in.  The new car smell was overpowering and I could not even find a single speck of dirt on the carpet or any other part of the interior.  I was amazed.  The car was profoundly beautiful.

When Eric got in and closed the door, shielding us from the new blanket of bubbles, I asked, “Whose car is this?”   He smiled and handed me a card that had been laying on the dash.  I opened it to see my father s handwriting. 
Eric, A little something for you.  Congratulations.  Jim.

I was speechless.  My father had bought Eric a brand new Lexus as a wedding gift.  That had to be the most outrageous gift that I had ever heard of anyone getting on his or her wedding day.  I was proud, even though I thought it was a bit much.  My father thought of Eric as a son and was doing for him what he would do for the son he never had. 

My father’s actions had created an empty feeling in my chest for him.  I wasn’t even out of sight and I was homesick already.  And I miss my father so much right now.

Eric started the car and we waved goodbye to everyone.  I watched as my father mouthed a simple I love you to me from the road.  It saddened me, but it was the most heartfelt I love you that I had ever experienced.

I rode in silence all the way to the airport.  We had never discussed the honeymoon part of this.  I was expecting to just go to our new home and hide from everyone for a couple of days.  I guess I was wrong. 

Chapter 7

When we boarded the plane and found our seats, Eric handed me another envelope.  I carefully opened it and took out two tickets to Sea World. 

I gasped.  I had always dreamed of going there.  Everyone says the want to see something before death.  Well, this was what I wanted.  To swim with a dolphin.

My life seemed to be fulfilled at that very moment.  I had received everything I ever wanted.  Eric, the trip, everything, but the burning unresolved of the threat against us was never far behind.  It was always lurking in the shadows of my mind, waiting to trample on any moment of happiness that I might be having at the time.

Eric sensed that and said, “We are still under the witches protection my love.”

Even Eric saying that couldn’t bring me out of my troubled thoughts, but I tried my best to hide them and try to enjoy everything as much as I could.  I didn’t want to ruin our honeymoon by being upset.

We arrived at the hotel in record time.  That was surprising seeing that it was Christmas Eve.  The cabbie was a great driver and exceptionally knowledgeable about shortcuts.  Eric gave him a generous tip as we exited onto the sidewalk.

I looked at the hotel in awe.  I was a country girl and even though my parents were wealthy, I hadn’t had the chance to travel much.  All this was new to me. 

We walked into the most amazing foyer I had ever seen.  Nothing in any magazine I had ever read did this one justice.  It had been decorated gold and browns and everything was brass. 

Right in the middle of the room stood the biggest Christmas tree I had ever laid eyes on.  It was decorated to the max.  I went over to look at it while Eric checked us in and got the key to our room.

I was mesmerized by it.  Each ornament was different and was unlike the ones we had at home.  They must have been ordered especially for the hotel.  I must have stood there longer than I thought because Eric had walked up with the room keys and asked if I was ready to go up to our room.  I would have to make time to come back down later and finish admiring the tree. 

As we walked to the elevators, I glanced over my shoulder giving the tree a final look.  Seeing it made me fill with the Christmas spirit just like a small child would and feeling that made me miss my parents something terrible.

The bellhop carried our luggage in the room and left after Eric gave him a tip.  The room was magnificent.  I was expecting to walk into our room and see a bed, a television, and an entirely too small bathroom. 

That was not the case at all.  Our room wasn’t just another hotel room.  It was the size of an apartment.  It was furnished just like it would be if someone had actually lived here.   For goodness sake, it even had a completely functional kitchen.

I walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door to find it was loaded with food.  “Wow.  This is awesome!”  I said not being sure if I was telling myself or telling Eric.

He took our bags in the bedroom and began unpacking things and putting them away.  The bedroom was just as breathtaking as everything else had been.  I took a running jump from the doorway and landed on the bed with a thump.  My body relaxed as I sank down on the mattress.  It was so soft that you could probably have mistaken it for a cloud.  I could not help but laugh aloud at the silliness of it.

“You big dork.”  He said between taking a breath and laughing at me uncontrollably. 

“Thanks.”  I said smiling back at him.

I laid there and became lost in thought.  Although I tried to keep them positive, I could not shy away from the nagging question that was burning at my mind.  Are we not going to be with our families on Christmas?

Eric, picking up on my worry, quickly answered my thought aloud.   They will all be here in the morning.  If not tonight.

He explained that his mother had been so wrapped up on the wedding that she hadn't done any of her Christmas shopping and what better place to do it than in the city, I thought to myself. 

“That was exactly what she said.”  He laughed.

I still felt a little greasy from all the bubbles that had burst on me when we left the church, so I decided to take a shower and get into some clean, comfortable clothes. 

“That's a good idea.”  Eric said as he tossed me a pair of new pajamas.

The bathroom was flawless.  A gigantic garden tub sat off in the corner of the unusually large room.  Candles and decorative stones lined the ledge around it, but as tempting as it was, I used the shower instead.

When I was dressed, I went back into the bedroom to find Eric sitting on the bed with his clean clothes in his lap.  He had been waiting on me to come out so that he could take a shower.  I was thankful that he had given me the privacy that I had been worrying about getting since we were alone and now married.

Curiosity took over as I searched through the drawers to see what clothes I had.  I didn’t pack anything and I was guessing that my mom had bought everything new from the looks of it.  I didn’t recognize any of the articles of clothing that were mine.

Everything seemed normal except for the fact that I had felt something silky in the bottom of one of the drawers.  I took it out almost afraid to see what it was.  Low and behold, as I unfolded it I realize it was lingerie.  Black and see through at that.  I was embarrassed just to look at it. 

I thoroughly looked it over and decided that it would not hurt to try it on.  It wasn’t like I had plans on using it.  I was just curious about how I would look in it.

The plan was for me to try it on and have it back off and placed in the drawer before Eric came out of the bathroom, but it didn’t work out the way I had planned it.  Seems like nothing ever does here lately.

Eric came out of the bathroom before I could manage to take it off.  He stood their looking at me with a wild look on his face.  I had never been looked at by a guy like he was looking at me now.  Honestly, I was terrified.

Trying to play it cool, I went and grabbed my towel off the bed and wrapped it around me, but before I realized it, Eric was taking the towel off. 

“You are so beautiful.”  He said as he began kissing my face and then moving down to my neck.  One thing led to another and before I knew it, he had moved the both of us onto the bed.

We were both lost in the heat of the moment and I was outside my mind in love with him.  Passion consumed my entire body and I could tell that he was enjoying himself as well.  We made love several times and I knew that the feelings that I was having about it were stronger than they would have been if we had not been married.  I am so glad that we waited.

Morning came quickly.  We had been so involved in each other that we hadn't even slept.  Eric’s phone rang.  It was his mother.  She was calling to let us know that they were about twenty minutes from the hotel.  My parents had come down with them instead of driving separate cars.

I was very fortunate that our parents had taken to each other in such a wonderful manner.  We were all one big happy family now.  That had to be one of the most amazing things outside of mine and Eric’s relationship.

Eric and I rushed to take a shower and get dressed before they got here.  The anticipation of seeing my parents on Christmas morning was unbearable and the short twenty-minute arrival seemed to feel like hours even though I was breaking my neck to get myself, at least, presentable.

Finally, the knock on the door that I had been waiting so desperately for came, and I ran to open the door.  When I did, I wasn’t seeing my parents; one of the bellhops greeted me.  He held out an envelope to me and as I took it, he wished us a good day.  There was something different about his eyes.  They didn’t look like the eyes of a normal person. 

His eyes were empty and cold.  Almost looking right through me like I was not even there.  It sent shivers down my spine and raised every hair on my body on its end and I immediately became suspicious of everything and everyone.

The envelope was not addressed to anyone and that made me wonder even more about where it came from.  I didn’t t want to open it.  The last thing that I had received like this was when Raylan had sent us a gift, or I guess I should say warning of our impending deaths.  All that just made it worse, so I took the envelope to Eric and he opened it. 

Inside it was a small piece of paper, a note of some sort.  I watched Eric s face as he read it to himself.  His face went from a glowing tan and immediately to a chalky white color.  Something awful was about to happen and this little note was the conformation for us. 

I waited patiently for Eric to tell me what the note said, but he didn’t.  All he done was held it out to me so I could see it for myself.  Taking a deep breath, I read over the note. 
The Dark Union will wage a war against the Circle of Light.  Come Home!  Maggie.

“What are we going to do?”  I asked Eric. 

His voice trembled as he gave his reply.  “We are going home.  We have to be with the other members of our Circle or we will all surely die.”

As he was saying that, I knew it was true and there would be no other way to protect each other or our families.  The only thing I could do was grab our luggage and start packing.  Every minute that passed would be another minute the Circle would be vulnerable without us.

“But why would Maggie send a note?”  I asked Eric as I tossed his clothes in the bag.

The only reason that he could come up with was that the Dark Union didn’t know where we were and she was trying to keep it that way.  That was good enough of a reason for me, I thought to myself as I finished throwing everything into the luggage and scanning the room for anything that I might have missed.

Eric called his parents and he explained to them that we were going to go on back home to get things settled at the house.  He also suggested that they stay and enjoy the city and we would see them when they returned home later on tonight. 

“But, what about Christmas?  What about the Sea World tickets?”  I heard his mother ask him. 

The only thing he could say was that we had a surprise for them and we had forgotten about it until just a few minutes ago.  He told them that they should use the tickets or try to get a refund on them if they could. 

“We will try, but Jim will be so disappointed when I tell him.”

“Bailey will not be pleased if we don’t do this Mom.”  He told her in a sweet voice that flowed between his lips like velvet.

She argued a minute and then gave up,  “Okay.  But we may be late.  You know how we get when we are all together. “

“I know.  That will be fine.  We love you guys.”  Eric said then closed his phone. 

He immediately decided that flying back was a good idea.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the type of flying I thought he was talking about.  We were going to go home the same way we did the last time we had been together with the rest of the Circle.

I think it took all but ten minutes for us to be back in my house.  Everyone was there.  All the witches, vampires, and werewolves were in the main rooms of my house.  Better yet, what used to be my house.  They all were on edge, but welcoming as Eric and I came down the stairs.

Eric instantly went and spoke with several of the Vampires.  He had told me that he valued their opinions and had found that they were indeed trustworthy.  That notion was comforting at the time.

Maggie was in the far corner watching the crowd just as she always had.  She was my protector in a way.  I always listened carefully to whatever she had to say and I trust her as much as I trust Eric.

I made my way over to her, stopping along the way to greet some of the others.  As I did, they each pledged their loyalty to the Circle of Light.  I thanked them and moved on to the next person until I had finally come to Maggie’s side.  It took me a long time to get to her.

She had a look about her that I had never seen.  Even when she was feeling something terrible and it scared me. 

“Maggie, what is it?”

“The Dark Union wants to start the war slowly and to their advantage.”

“To their advantage?  How do you know this?”

“When my friend changed my powers, she failed to mention that she had given me the gift premonition.”  She said looking at me with a sadness in her eyes that was endless.

Obviously, her friend had known something was going to happen, but the laws of the spirit world had forbidden her to tell me.  I understood that in a way, but in a way, I didn’t.  I supposed everything is left up to destiny and I knew my fate was to save the Circle of Light.  Good had to remain here or else everything will turn into darkness and violence.  That was something I wasn’t about to allow.

I asked her to come to me if she had any other visions.  Even if they didn’t seem to be important.  I wanted to know about everything she was seeing because it could all be tied in together but coming in the wrong order to her.

I made sure to speak to each person that was in the house.  I did not want them to think that I was ignoring them and worst of all; I didn’t want them to think that I was all high and mighty and not open to any of their suggestions.  Because I truly needed every single member.  I think that we were going to need all the help that we can get.

Most of the Vampires offered their help by reaching out to their numerous contacts in the supernatural world.  They were working on gathering more of their kind to stand against our enemy.  That was great and all, but I needed the town to be protected as well.