Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (7 page)

“I sure was thinking it.”

“Okay, well since you’ve been traveling all day, I’ll show you to your rooms. If Tom’s not too tired, he can catch me up on everything.” Tom nods, agreeing with him. Colin heads up the right set of stairs, waving everyone up. Slowly we follow. This house is big, but is it large enough for all of us?

“I’m seeing a
few couples in your group,” Colin says. “I don’t know how you do the sleeping arrangements here.”

“I trust them,” Tom says as he glares at each of us. A silent warning.

“Ok, well the Hobbit and her soulmate can have this room,” Colin says as he opens one door. Ryanne glares at him after hearing the Lord of the Rings comment.

“Since you’
re being kind enough to let us stay in your humble Hobbit Hole,” Ryanne says with a smirk, “I’ll graciously ignore that comment.”

With a smile,
Colin motions for Liam and Natalie to take the room next to us. Natalie blushes a little, but goes along with it. Does Colin know that Liam is Ryanne’s protector? He gives David and Emma the room across the hall. Colin motions between Bragden and Incendia, who are standing next to each other, asking if they’re together. Incendia’s eye widen as she takes a wide step to the side. Colin smiles at her reaction, but doesn’t say anything. Bragden remains unmoving with a slight smirk as Colin moves on to Logan and Lily. Unlike Bragden, Logan shakes his head at the same time as Lily blushes and moves to the side. With that confirmed, Colin divvies up the remaining rooms amongst everyone left.

“I don’t really know what a large group of kids like you all eat, so I guess I’ll just order pizza or something,” Colin says.

“You don’t have to…” Ryanne starts.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those girls that won’t let anyone buy her stuff,” Colin asks. He takes a step
toward her and narrows his eyes. “Are you shy, little Hobbit?”

Ryanne opens her mouth to reply when everyone else answers for her. “I am not shy,” she says as she starts to blush. I
can feel Ryanne’s magic crack around us as everyone laughs. That’s my cue.

I start to push Ryanne into the room
. “I think now would be a good time to rest.” Turning to Colin, I say, “Ryanne’s a vegetarian, so make sure to order something for her.” I hear Ryanne start mumbling something from inside the room, but I ignore her.

Colin laughs
, but nods. “Get some rest. I’ll come around when the pizza is here.” I close the bedroom door and turn around to face Ryanne. She’s standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, and glaring at me. Her nose is crinkled in that cute way she always gets when she’s upset. I try to hide my smile, but I know that she can feel my emotions.

“I’m no
t shy,” she says.

“You are a little,” I tell her as I take a step forward. “Not as much as you used to be, but you still are.”

“I’m not shy,” she repeats.

I sit down on the edge of the bed and use my index finger to motion her
in my direction. Keeping her arms crossed, she slowly walks to me. Standing in front of me, she says, “I’m not shy.”

“Maybe,” I tell her. “Maybe not. One thing’s for sure though. You’re cute when you’re upset.”
I loop my index fingers through her belt loops and pull her the rest of the way. She comes willingly, but continues to glare at me. The amusement in her eyes doesn’t match the anger in her expression.

“You’re lucky I like you,” she whispers as I
rest my hands on her hips. The anger slowly fades from her face as a new expression takes over. She reaches forward and pushes my hair to the side. “You need a haircut.”

I slowly move my hand up her arm, grabbing the strands of hair falling past her elbows. “Don’t cut your hair,” I tell her.

“I was actually thinking about shaving my head. Long hair is kind of a hassle,” she says as she takes another small step. Her eyes flicker down to my mouth as she leans forward slightly.

“Don’t,” I tell her.
She looks up in my eyes and smiles. Stepping away from me, she walks across the room and grabs the television remote. Stubborn girl. Giggling, she turns the TV on. I continue staring at her. “That’s just mean,” I tell her. She sits down on the bed, crosses her legs, flips through the channels, and gives me her innocent smile. “You said don’t when I was about to kiss you.”

I sigh and lean back against the bed, lying down beside her. I open my a
rms and let her scoot over. She regards me warily, but comes closer. I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my chest. She turns on her side and continues flipping through the channels.

I can tell by her steady breathing that she’ll fall asleep soon. The
hand with the remote falls against the side of the bed limply. With a sigh, Ryanne curls into my side. She’s already asleep. I take the remote from her and turn the television volume down.

Thirty minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. I glance down at Ryanne. She’s lying on my arm, so I can’t get up. “Come in,” I whis
per yell, hoping that whoever is on the other side of the door will hear me.

The door opens slowly and Tom enters. “The pizza’s here if you guys are hungry,” he trails off when he sees Ryanne sleeping. “Since she
’s sleeping, I’ll put some aside for the two of you.”

“Thanks Tom,” I say.

“Is she alright? On the surface, she seems fine, but she’s pretty good at hiding her feelings when she doesn’t want attention.”

“She’s fine until multiple people get angry or upset
, I think. She can’t push all those feelings back. She starts experiencing them. She’s worried that she’s going to explode under all the emotions streaming into her.”

“We’ll see if Natalie can help her get a better handle on it.”

“Thank you for everything.”

He
nods, understanding the meaning behind my words. Tom has basically dropped everything to help us. He originally came to us to help David and me train Ryanne. When Claire died, he attempted to fulfill her guardian-like role. Tom keeps everything and everyone in check. He
tries
to keep us out of danger. Ryanne loves Tom like a father; I can see that every time she looks at him, and I know that he looks at her like a daughter as well. We’re a large family now.

Ryanne rolls over and opens her eyes. Seeing Tom in the room, she slowly sits up. “What’s g
oing on?” she sleepily mumbles.

“The pizza’s here if you’re hungry.”

“Colton’s hungry,” Ryanne announces as she crawls over to the edge of the bed. “Come on, big guy. Let’s go fill that tummy of yours,” she says as she holds her hand out for me.

Tom laughs. “You’re never going to be able to hide anything from her, Colton. She’ll always be a step ahead of you.”

“Yep, so don’t try anything,” Ryanne says as she pulls me out of the room.

“I
am
hungry,” I tell Tom as we pass him. Ryanne walks out into the middle of the hallway and then stops.

Looking up at me, she says, “I actually have no idea how to get to the kitchen.”
I turn around and look at Tom. I don’t know where the kitchen is either.

Tom laughs as he walks past both of us. “Follow me. I’ll be your tour guide for the night.”

“
So, Ryanne. I hear that you can be pretty scary when you get worked up,” Colin says.

“I don’t know who you’re hearing these stories from,” I say as Emma shoots her hands up into the air, “but I’m not scary. Do you really think some 5’3” girl could be all that scary?”

“Oh, she totally can be. Go after someone she loves and you won’t know what hit you. When Dravin sent men to go after Jane and Ross, Ryanne totally…”

“Just don’t go after someone I love,”
I warn as I smile sweetly and bite into my slice of pizza. Colin shakes his head at me, obviously amused. I hear everyone else try to hide their laughter.

“Anything else I should
know?” Colin asks.

“She’s too stubborn for death,” Bragden says.

“How did you find that out?” he asks me.

“Well, you die twice,
come close a couple other times, and live to tell the tale,” I say as I take another bite.

“Oh, well you
know those Hobbits were a little stubborn, so that doesn’t really surprise me.” I turn and glare at Colin. It’d be so easy to blast him with some magic, but he’s letting us stay in his home, so I refrain myself.

“Whoa, I totally know that look,” Bragden says. “You’re walking on a thin line, Colin. She won’t be able to
hold back for too much longer.”

“I’m cu
rious to see what will happen if I egg her on,” Colin says while looking at me.

“With all these emotions running through me, I don’t really think you want to know,” I say as I finish the pizza. Colin continues to watch me, but doesn’t say anything.
Shaking his head, he gives his attention back to everyone else.

“Well, if you guys are bored, there’s a pool, a game room, an entertainment room. There’s a music room upstairs also. I hear a couple of you are musically gifted,” Colin says as he looks at me.
“Just rest tonight. We’ll start training tomorrow.”

“Ryanne, you have to play something for us,” Emma states.

I start shaking my head. “I’m not really feeling it right now,” I say as I get up and place my plate in the sink. I look back behind me at Colin, who’s shaking his head.

“I have someone who
does that, Ryanne. Come sit back down,” he says.

“Fine,” I shuffle back to the table. I was hoping to waste more time than that.

“Please. Please. Please,” Emma begs. “Travis, Incendia, Colin, Lily, and Mr. and Mrs. Howick have never heard you sing before.”

“And I’d kind of like it to stay that way,” I say.

“Girl,” Emma sits up and stares at me, “I may not have any magic, but I can be very persuasive when I need to be. You know of what I’m capable of.”

“You wouldn’t,” I say as I stand up and face Emma.

“Oh, I would.”

“Fine, where is this music room?
” I’d rather not find out what Emma has in mind. She can be plenty creative when something doesn’t go how she wants it to.

When I move to take a step, the room starts spinning. Without warning anyone, I fall into another vision.

I’m standing in the middle of an unfamiliar room in Dravin’s compound. There is a large wooden desk in the middle of the floor, cluttered with stacks of paper. Random medical supplies are scattered throughout the room. A stethoscope is strewn across the back of a chair, and a roll of gaze is located on the window sill. A box of Band-Aids is spilled on the floor, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide is lying on a small coffee table—also cluttered with more paper. This room is a complete mess.

It’s obvious that they can’t see me, because I’m literally standing ri
ght beside Dravin.

“I’m doing the best I can here,” Dr. Arden says. “Extracting magic without harming the individual is a
complicated process. I know I said I was prepared to do it before, but I won’t risk harming her. It’s not perfect yet. It has to be perfect.”

“You will do it when I find her whether
you are ready or not. I won’t risk her getting away again.”

“I will not risk killing my daughter because of you. I’ve seen what you’ve done to her already. I will not stand for any
more. You need me Dravin, but if you harm another hair on her, I’ll quit. If I knew that Maureen was pregnant, I never would have walked away and you know that.”

“
Maureen is dead, so get over that. We have a blood promise, Jedrek. I keep you alive. You help me. You can’t quit. You’re stuck here. Do you really want the Fates to come after you? The fact that the girl from the prophecy happens to be your daughter is just a random turn of events. It’s a coincidence. It doesn’t change anything. I saved your life. You owe me. If you have to repay that debt with your daughter’s life, then so be it. You WILL find a way to give me her magic. It’d be a shame to waste such a pretty thing, but if I have to kill her to get her powers, I will. There’s NOTHING you can do about it. Is that clear?”

Jedrek Arden
stands up and glares at Dravin. I take a step back even though I know neither of them can see me, but Jedrek looks very menacing. With wide large brown eyes and flared nostrils, he says, “I will not let you kill Ryanne. End of story.”

“Not the end, my friend.” Dravin says as he turns to leave the room. “
We’re just now getting to the rising action. The climax is coming. Ryanne’s a threat. If you can’t extract her magic, I’ll just kill her, and that’s certainly not the ending you want. It’s your choice,” Dravin’s threat lingers heavy in the air after he has left the room.

Jedrek
stares at the empty doorway for a few moments before he jumps up, pushes all the paper off his desk, and starts pacing the room as the sheets rain down around him. Stopping in front of the brick wall, he brings his arm back and punches the wall. I wince and move toward him. He clenches his fist and then slowly opens his hand, revealing a long jagged scar running along his palm. He turns around and leans back against the wall. I take a small step toward him.

There’s so much emotion in his expression.
His dark eyes are widened and glistening with memories while his nostrils are flared, and his mouth is set in a straight line. He seems very conflicted. With a sigh, he turns and looks directly at me. “I’m so sorry, Ryanne,” he whispers.

“You can see me?”I ask.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’ll find a way out of this. I won’t let him hurt you again,” he says quietly. He can’t see me, but he knows I’m listening. “I promise, I’ll do something. I’m so sorry about all of this.”

I open my eyes and look around the room. Groaning, I sit up. My head is throbbing. I actually landed on the hard floor this time. Colton is sitting right beside me.
“What? You couldn’t catch me?” I tease him.

“I’m sorry,” he says as he
helps me stand up. I sway a little and lean back against Colton’s chest. Whoa, the room is spinning. I feel hands wrap around my forearm as the dizziness fades. I blink the room back into focus and meet a pair of worried blue eyes. “Thank you,” I tell Logan.

“What did you see?” he asks me.

I step away from Colton and sit back down in the chair. “I saw Dravin and…Dr. Arden talking. I think the conversation already happened through.”

“What were they talking about?” Tom asks.

“Me,” I whisper. I explain the vision to everyone in full detail. I don’t leave out any information. I’m not sure of the significance of it all, so I need those with mage information to help me.

“The Fates are after Jedrek?”
Tom asks.

“What does that mean
exactly?”

Colin turns
toward me and explains, “It means that Jedrek is supposed to be dead. Dravin knew that he’d need Jedrek at some point, so he made him promise his life to him. A blood promise is permanent. You can’t break them without dying.”

“When
Dravin left the room, he said ‘I’m so sorry, Ryanne.’ At first, I thought Dr. Arden could see me, but I know he couldn’t. He promised that he’d find a way out of this, and he wouldn’t let Dravin hurt me again.”

“You can’t start to feel something for him, Ry. There’s a chance that something could happen to him in the upcoming days,” Colton says.

“You didn’t see the look in his eyes, Colton. I’ve only ever seen that look in your eyes before,” I tell him. “He doesn’t want to work for Dravin, but he literally doesn’t have a choice.”

“
Let’s not think about that now. We’ll worry about that later. We can try to come up with a way to save him, but with the blood promise, it’s tricky. It sounds like Dravin was the one who initiated it. As long as Dravin lives, Jedrek lives. If Dravin dies, so does Jedrek.”

“Does that work both ways?” I ask.

“No, if anything happens to Jedrek it won’t affect Dravin.”

“Why would he agree to a blood promise then?”

“He’s supposed to be dead, Ryanne, but he’s not. It was his time to die, but he turned away from death and found a plan B,” Colin explains. “People will do anything to fight death. Immortality is very sought after.”

“No one can live forever.”

“That means nothing. If you could live past your expiration date, wouldn’t you try?”

“I’ve died twice
, Colin. I
am
living past my expiration date.”

“No, you’re not. You obviously weren’t mean
t to die those times, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You’re soulmate saved you once. You only get one healing. You were given a second chance because it wasn’t your time to die. You still have time. Jedrek doesn’t. That’s why it’s hard. His blood promise with Dravin is the only thing keeping him alive right now. If he wasn’t tied to Dravin, the Fates would find him.”

“What
are the Fates exactly?” I ask.

“That’s a
lesson for another night. It’s a long and complicated story,” Colin says as he stands up. “Now, weren’t you going to sing for us?”