Magical Tendencies (12 page)

Von's head immediately snapped back to Celeste's face. "She's coming out of it." He said. Their connection was still there.
Damn!

19

Celeste

It felt like a dream. I was free-falling and then I heard voices. The darkness cradled me as I listened to the voices of both Solomon and Von. What were they saying? What were they doing? What had happened to me? None of these questions were getting answered in the darkness behind my eyelids. It was frustrating to be limp but completely aware. I was aware.

The buzzing in my head began to clear slowly. At first it was a word here and there, but then I clearly heard Solomon as his arrogant voice said, "I don't care where you have been, Von. Your absence has been an absolute vacation for me, but I would prefer that you would stay out of my way as I woo Celeste."
What?! Had he actually just said that to Von?!

I always knew how Solomon Ryker had felt about me. He was always a thorn in Von's side because he appeared after Von and I had created our bond but always acted as if he had just been fashionably late to our entire relationship. Solomon lived to torment Von and he took every opportunity to point out that he was there, watching, waiting for the opportunity to squeeze Von out of the running for my affections.

Did I feel the same way about Solomon? My memories were slowly pouring back into the vessel of my conscious mind. There was definite attraction and affection. Was there love? I wasn't sure.

Was there love for Von? Yes, there was love, but it was nothing like the love we shared years before. We had become distant and he took more to the running of the politics of the kingdom than being a partner with me. He dove into the work instead of working on our stability and strength. It sort of drove me crazy to think of how far we had drifted away.
Was it my fault?
I had to think about that.

My hand twitched up to my head, damn it hurt. I heard a moan escape my lips.

"Celeste," Von's voice sounded truly concerned next to my ear. His hand was warm against my forehead as he brushed my hair away from my face. "Are you okay, my love?" That last part must have been forced because he sounded like he was whispering it. Why?

My senses reached out because my eyes wouldn't open yet. I didn't want to be exposed to everything all at once. I sensed Solomon in the room and a part of me felt relieved that I was not alone with Von. He knew that I was at a crossroads and now he showed up. It figured because he only liked the challenge and the thrill of the hunt. It really annoyed me that men considered it more interesting to chase a woman than to keep the woman happy to begin with. Now I was almost beyond his grasp and he wanted me again—a true challenge for his male hunter. GRRRR.

"Solomon." I raised my hand and instantly felt his cool hand clasp around mine. My eyes slowly opened to look upon him in all of his glory. He was standing in his blazer, white t-shirt and dark jeans. He was always a sight to see when he wore jeans. I smiled to him more with my eyes than anything else. Hopefully he had no idea what was running through my mind.

Solomon smiled back down at me with a little sparkle in his eyes. Darn, he was reading my emotions again. Forgot about that—I hadn't played the game for a very long while.

My eyes flicked over to Von. "Von," I breathed his name. I wasn't angry with him—just disappointed. I guessed that the magic had been gone between us for a while.

Solomon stiffened when I said Von's name but I squeezed his hand slightly. He was my friend. A very hot, interested friend.

"Where have you been, Celeste?" That was all that Von asked. That was all he wanted to know.

I pushed myself up on the couch. My body was still a ball of mush that I couldn't get to cooperate with my intentions. Solomon reached around me and placed cushions behind me. I looked up at him with appreciation in my eyes as he smiled down at me.

I sighed. This was not going to be easy. My memories, almost all of them, had returned and I was now fully aware of everything that I was doing, where I had been, what I had done. My mind ached with painful memories as well as with frightening revelations. They were not going to enjoy what they were going to hear. I wasn't sure how I felt about it either.

"I have been hiding."

"From what?" Von shook his head.

"From you, from the demons, from the future." I shook my head. It was all just so frightening.

"What for?" He didn't sound convinced that I wasn't being silly. I guessed that it
would
sound silly.

"Because of my dream." My head dropped to my chest. I wanted to cry—it was just so hopeless.

Solomon dropped down on one knee next to the couch. He looked like he was about to propose. My heart skipped a beat at the image. No one was allowed to propose to me—I was the queen. I chose who was to be next to me and we strengthened our connection through a bond that would have to be renewed every three years. It was like being elected to a position by my hormones. My mind was supposed to run the show but my hormones were what created the actual bond—crazy, stupid hormones!

"You had a vision," Solomon's voice wavered just a bit.

I nodded, looking down at my hands.

Von pushed up from the couch, hovering over me he crossed his arms looking stoic. "What was it, Celeste? What was the vision?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes tightly. There was no way that I was going to tell them what my vision was about without alcoholic aid. A mojito would be good right about now. I wanted to laugh at myself—I sounded like Tisha. By the way, where was she?

"Where is Mortisha?" I heard myself pronounce her full name. It sounded odd on my lips for some reason.

"Here," Tisha appeared from my bedroom.
How did she get in there?
I didn't remember her coming into the house since the other night. My head snapped around to find her approaching us and she smiled down at me as she quirked her head to the side, as if she were trying to get a straight view of me.

"I've been here since this morning, in meditation. I knew that you were going to need me." She waved at Solomon to move the chair for her and he did. She sat down on the edge of the chair and laid her fingers in her lap.

"Tish, I need mojito therapy." I sighed, "This is too much for me to take."

Tisha waved her hand and instantly a tall, frosted glass was in her hand. I saw the sprig of mint and the stick of sugarcane sticking out of the top.
God love that woman!
My hands shook as I took the glass and took a sip of liquid relaxation. I sighed as my head fell back and my eyes closed.

I could feel Von sitting down on the couch next to me, his weight causing my legs to drift towards him. "What is that? Is that medication?"

"Of a sort," Tish laughed as she smiled at me. "The queen has taken to enjoying the more modern human experiences. It was margaritas two years ago and mojitos now. Either way, she has had a lot to catch up on."

My lips quirked up into a smile as I reached out my free hand to grasp Tisha's. No matter what she was my friend before anything else. "True dat," I laughed at her as she chuckled.

"You go, girl." Tish waved her shoulders from side to side as I let out a giggle at how silly she looked.

Von shook his head like he just didn't get it. "What is wrong with you, Mortisha? What is wrong with Celeste? You are speaking another language and making motions that I just do not comprehend."

"Get with it, Von, this is 2013!" Mortisha snapped her fingers in the air and we both began to laugh boisterously.

"They are having fun at your expense," Solomon chuckled to himself. "It is the fact that you have been outside of this time that you are unaware of anything that is going on around you. They are making 'girl talk' but you know nothing of this because you are out of touch." He shrugged his shoulders as if it was a given that Von was out of touch.
Was he always out of touch, though?

Von looked at me and looked at Tisha. We continued to giggle and tried to quell the laughter, causing our giggles to sound more like we were choking instead of giggling. "I don't get it," he said as he threw his hands up and we began to laugh again.

Our laughter finally subsided and I took a fresh sip of my thawing mojito. Tisha looked deeply into my eyes and leaned in closer to stare me straight into the left eye. I knew better than to fight her about this—she was reading me and she was going to do it with my say or not. As for the left eye? Where people say that the eyes are the windows to your soul, Tisha always said that it was the
left
eye that held the secrets that we hide.

"Your vision. It was the future. I see that it is." Her voice hung there, reverberating through my body, waking every cell and touching every nerve.

I nodded and sighed. This was not going to be fun.

"Share with us what you saw in your vision." Tisha sounded like she was on the other side of the room even though she was sitting right next to me.

"I'm afraid that is not a good idea, Tish." I shook my head, "I don't think anyone is prepared for what I would share."

Tisha looked at me dubiously. She knew something was up and she wanted to pick through the mystery, that was apparent by the expression on her face. She looked up at both men, seeing that they were not moving and were more cemented in their posts than ever.

"I doubt seriously that anyone in this room is prepared to leave without hearing of your vision." Tisha scanned the men, giving them a menacing look of warning before she set her eyes back on me. Neither one of them would put their foot wrong around Tisha and we all knew it.

Closing my eyes, I shook my head. "I don't want to tell you. It's just all too confusing."

"This is absolutely childish, Celeste." It was Von's voice, "You must share the vision with us so that we know what is going on."

My eyes popped open as I heard and felt a large thump against the couch. Solomon had Von by the shirt and was grasping the cotton in his balled fists so strongly that I could hear the cotton almost creak with the strain.

"Don't you
ever
speak to Celeste like that again," Solomon hissed. My skin broke out in goosebumps as I watched the two men stare each other down.

"Really, Von. It's a bit much for me to take." I wanted to crawl under the couch as my feelings began to fluctuate into distinct waves. Happy, sad, frightened, concerned, confused, frustrated, etc., etc., etc. It was like having PMS all over again.

Tisha just nodded at me and laid a gentle hand on me. "It's okay, Celeste. Please, share your vision with us. We will watch ourselves and listen completely to allow you a chance to complete the vision." She glared back and forth to the two men in the room. Her neck snapped back and forth like she was watching an intense tennis match. It was almost funny.

Both men nodded sharply in response to Tisha. She finally laid her eyes back on me and gave me a reassuring smile. She wanted me to feel comfortable but what was I going to do about it?

I sighed one more time, finally sucking in a cleansing breath which lifted my shoulders. The breath escaped me in a low hiss as I closed my eyes and concentrated on retrieving my vision.

God forgive me.

20

I was standing on a shore. I was listening to the ocean as it sang to me through the din of the morning. Coming, going, coming, going. The ocean spoke to me in a low hum. There seemed to be a voice. A subtle and distinct voice was whispering to me.

"What did the voice say, Celeste?" It was Tisha prompting me.

"Come to me, Celeste. I have been waiting for you." The voice seems to be dancing on the waves. I know the voice.

"Whose voice is it, Celeste?" Tisha dug.

I am not quite sure but my heart races when I hear it. There is something special about this voice. "See me, Celeste," the voice speaks from directly behind me. I turn to see a figure, dark, and hidden in shadows although there is nothing to cause a shadow by the ocean. There is nothing to cast a shadow or to hide behind—just the water and the beach. My body reaches out to him and my heart sings. I am shaking with the fear that he will run away because he is shaking as well.

"What then?" Tisha pushed for more information.

He takes my hand and we plunge into the darkness, it bends around us as we appear in a cottage. Everything is covered in cloth. Every piece of furniture is covered in a drop cloth as if to protect from dust. He leads me through the side door to a garden full of hydrangeas. They are the right color—blue with purple, all of them.
I felt myself sigh with my love for the amazing flowers. My head is spinning from accessing the memories.

"Is that all?"

No, he tells me that…
I paused. This is where it got very sticky.

"What does he tell you, Celeste?" Tisha sounded a tiny bit frantic. She was just as frightened as I was.

He tells me that… I am going to have a child.

There was an audible gasp in the room. There hadn't been children in our kingdom for over two hundred years. It wasn't like we were dying out but the lack of children had everyone concerned that we would never have a rejuvenation of our species or extensions of our souls. We were stagnating, or so it seemed, until we just faded away.

"A child?!" Von's voice shook in the background.

"Von," Tisha's voice snapped in menace. Von fell silent once again. "Go on," Tisha coaxed.

A child. I was shocked and disagreed with him, "How can this be?! With whom am I going to have a child? Von?
The man shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't quite sure. "But I can only have children with my own species." I insisted.

That was a fact of life for us—the only ones that could procreate were of the same species. That made it a lot easier to select a mate because you would always make sure to select within your species if you wanted to have children, outside if you didn't. Of course, the fact that the kingdom was childless for two hundred years added to the fuzzing of the lines for mate selections. Some people didn't seem to care anymore now that we were tied by an ominous twist of fate.