Fated Truth (The True Witch Saga) (9 page)

“Don’t feel out of place here
, Ella. I didn’t decorate it. It has been in my family for ages. It’s a little much for my tastes also.”

I giggle
d at that. I couldn’t picture him comfortably in this place, in his biker boots and worn tees. He led me up the main staircase to his room on the second floor and the décor there was completely different. It had hardwood flooring, dark grey walls, and various band posters framed and mounted on the walls. “I can see you here.”

He turned and looked
at me with a puzzled expression. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean this area of the house
seems more like you. Comfortable, but with an edge. I don’t know what I’m saying. It’s just a guess. I’m going to be quiet now before I stuff my foot in it again.”

“No you’
re right. You are much more intuitive than you would have yourself believe. It must be one of your gifts, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Okay…
” I looked at him with so many questions running through my head that I didn’t even know where to begin.

“Okay why don’t we start with this? You tell me where you got your talisman
. How you came to be adopted, then I’ll fill you in on everything else. And, Ella,” he said with a grin. “There is
a lot
of else. So keep an open mind and open your heart. No matter what I tell you. Please don’t be scared or try and run.”

I sat in the nearest chair
and tried to process what he’d just said. It closely resembled what was written in my mother’s letter. I took a calming breath and began to tell him my story.

“I was dropped off outside my Uncle Dan’s door when I was three months old. It would have been November.
I was wrapped in a pink blanket and I had letter and my necklace tucked inside the blanket I was wrapped in. My uncle was barely eighteen at the time and he couldn’t keep me or care for me himself, but his sister was old and already married to a respected man in the community. So he took me to her and they adopted me. I grew up in a house hold where you didn’t speak unless you were spoken to. When I was three years old my adopted parents took me to a Catholic Priest claiming I had a demon inhabiting me because my eyes glittered when I got upset. The Priest laughed at them after he met me. When I was younger and I got upset, my eyes would glitter and glow. I actually remember that, I also remember that things would rattle and move when I was throwing a tantrum over not getting my way,” I paused wondering how to continue.

Jaxx waited patiently. With a smile he took my hand. “Go on,” he encouraged me.

I nodded and swallowed hard. “I was verbally and physically abused growing up,” I said tightly. “They called it beating the demons out of me. I was told I was a damned soul and only pain would cleanse it.” I looked up into Jaxx’s eyes which were filled with compassion. “That went on until I turned eighteen, a few weeks ago. Then I was legally old enough to leave and they didn’t want that. They wanted everyone outside our home to think that we had the perfect family,” I finished, staring at my lap. I was afraid to look at him again, afraid I would see disgust on his face, disgust for me, but when I finally looked at him, he had tears streaming down his cheeks. There was something else in his eyes, something I couldn’t quite explain, anger, maybe, but something more too.

“How did…why did you leave?” he asked softly.

“Last night, when you found me sitting alone after dark,” I started and he nodded, remembering. “My mother had just kicked me out of the house because Sabrina had called her and told her I was doing vile things with someone in the Caf. She slapped me and threw me out. After you left, my Uncle took me back to get some of my things…” I stopped, feeling the tears stinging my eyes. “She was burning them all in the backyard, Jaxx.” I finally broke down and started sobbing.

Jaxx moved quickly and pulled
me into his arms. “This is not your fault Ella. Norms are afraid of things they can’t understand. They react cruelly. That’s on them. Not you, never you, sweet girl.” He continued to rock me and whisper sweet things into my hair until I calmed myself down.

“
I’m good now. You can let go. I promise not to break down again. I hate crying. I never cry in front of anyone. Ever.”

“Never be afraid to show yourself to me
, little raven. You are mine. Just as I am yours. You can always be honest with me, in all ways,” he said softly.

I look
ed at him. I mean I really looked at him and read the truth of his words in his eyes. “Can you tell me what is going on now? I would really like to know that I’m not going crazy. And I’d like to know why I have always felt out of place with everyone around me.” I settled more into his arms.

“This isn’t going to be easy to understand
, Ella. You weren’t raised in this world, my world. There have always been our people in this world. We stay hidden because we are different from others. We stay hidden because, as you already understand, when people don’t understand something, they lash out and are most likely cruel to those who aren’t like them.” Jaxx shifted us over to the couch and snuggled me into his arms. “We are True Magic users. Most would call us Wiccans or witches, but we don’t need spells or incantations to work our magic. We just will it and if it’s within our personal gifts it will be. We have been around since the beginning of mankind. Once, a very long time ago, we were respected for our talents. We were seers, healers, and great warriors, but there are always those who hate. Who hunt us out of fear and jealousy. When one of our young was born she or he was given a talisman to guide and protect them.” Jaxx pulled a thick silver rope chain out from under his shirt. It had a large moonstone hanging from it. Wrapped around the moonstone was a thin rope of jade. “The seers in our clans make the talismans to guide us to adulthood. They also have a calming effect on us. It helps us control our gifts early on. We are also long lived. It takes a lot to kill us once we reach maturity.”

“If our young are so important that we are gifted with our own tali
smans to guide and protect us, why was I thrown away like yesterday’s trash?” I asked, feeling on the verge of tears again.
What was so wrong with me that my own mother didn’t want me?

“I just don’t know, little raven. I wish I could give you all that you
seek, but that isn’t my gift.”

“What
is your gift, Jaxx? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I draw my
strength from moonlight. I am faster and stronger than most, I can read the true intent of others, I can make myself mist when the moon is full, and I was put on this earth to protect and love my soul mate.”

I start
ed to pull out of his arms at that. “Your soul mate? Why are you holding me, if you have a soul mate out there waiting for you somewhere? I don’t want to start anything that we won’t be able to finish, Jaxx.”

Jaxx leaned down and looked
deeply into my eyes. “Open your heart. Open your soul, little raven. Tell me what you see in my eyes.”

I took
a deep breath and opened myself up to everything around me. I blocked everything out but him. His almost white eyes with just a hint of blue, eyes of ice, and I saw it. I saw the truth of what he was trying to tell me. He was mine, as I am his.

“We were born for each other
, Ella. I have searched centuries for you.”

“Is that why it’s a light show whenever we touch?”

“Yes, when our kind meets his or her other half, there are signs, such as the glow when our skin touches. It can, at times, be painful to be without the other, and reading each other’s feelings.”

I sa
t in silence, just absorbing everything that I had learned. I believed him. I knew that I would feel it if he were lying to me, but my thoughts were a whirl of wonder. I was special. I wasn’t trash, as I had been raised to believe. I belonged to someone and he belonged to me. I had a home. I looked up at Jaxx and smiled into his eyes. “Thank you, Jaxx. Thank you for everything.”

“There
is no need to thank me for anything, little raven. I’m always here for you. For anything at all, I’m yours. Now, let’s take a walk on the grounds. There is a full moon tonight and I want to show you some of our world’s splendor.”

He took me by the hand and opened
a floor to ceiling window. I looked at him like he was crazy. We were on the second floor and I wasn’t demented enough to want to become a pancake anytime soon. Jaxx stepped onto the window sill and held out his hand.

“Trust me. T
ake my hand and believe.” I took his hand and climbed onto the window sill to stand next to him. Before I could freak myself out and look down, I started to feel like I was floating. I was lighter than air. I could see nothing but swirls of grays, whites, and the lightest of blues. Moments later I was back on my own two feet firmly planted in the dewing grass. I looked at him in awe.

“What was that? I felt all
floaty, then we were on the ground again!”

“That’s walking on moonlight, t
urning into the mists of the night,” he said with a grin. “I can take someone with me if I’m touching them or if they are close enough to me. Come, there is much to show you.”

We
strolled hand in hand through the vast grounds of his estate. The back of the house looked huge. It was a beautiful Colonial Manor speaking of times past. We spoke of many things, never straying far from one another as I explored.

“Jaxx?
” I said suddenly as something he’d mentioned earlier came to mind. “If you are so old, why are you enrolled in my high school?”

He chuckled at my question. It was one of many I had
asked him tonight. “I couldn’t come up with any other way to get close to you. I had to know you, Ella. I am drawn to you. I’ve always known my other half was out there, that I just had to wait and be patient. When I first saw you sitting in that church, you looked so lost. So alone. Then something I did sparked something within you and you burned.” He laughed, probably remembering me flipping him the bird in a House of God.

I smiled, remembering it as well.
“What do you think my powers will become?”

“I don’t know,
” he replied, wrapping me in his arms. We just stood there and rocked back forth in the moonlight. “But if I had to guess, I would say telekinesis, clairvoyance, and probably empathy. From what I have seen from watching you and trust me, I have watched for a while. You have always been so kind to others, empathizing with even the worst type of person, going out of your way to put others first, always.”

I smile
d, thinking I was okay with those gifts.

“We can get through anything together
, Ella. You need not worry.”

I nodded.
“I would like to look for my birth mother when I’m more settled into myself,” I said softly.

“I think that’s a great idea.
I’m sure you have many more questions that she can answer that I can’t.”

I yawn
ed. I was completely wiped from the roller coaster of the night. Up and down, in and out. My mind was starting to shut itself down without my permission.

“Let’s get you to bed
, little one,” he said with a smile.

“
I’m not that little you know,” I said indignantly. “I’m quite tall for a woman.”

“But you are little compared to me. Are you not?”

I looked at him holding me in his arms and yes, I had to agree he was massive. “Whatev!” I said with a laugh. “I’m tired, but I don’t want to go home yet.”

“You can stay here with me. This
is your home now also.”

I didn’t know how I fe
lt about that, but I was too tired to even really focus on what he was saying. “Oh. Jaxx,” I said, recalling my letter. “In the letter that was left for me, my mother said I was a twin.” I yawned hugely, again. “A soul twin was what she called it. What does that mean, a soul twin?”

“We will talk about it in the morning
, little raven. You are too tired to even remember if I were to tell you what I knew.”

My eyes start
ed to close as I snuggled deeper into Jaxx’s arms. I felt all floaty again and the next thing I knew my head was hitting a very soft pillow and Jaxx was whispering sweet things in my ear. I fell asleep with a smile on my face and dreamt of ice blue eyes.

Chapter Six

Shedding of Old Skin

The sun shining through
the cracks in the curtains woke me. The first thing I noticed was that my head was lying on something rock hard, it was thumping in my ear, and there was something heavy thrown over my hip. I froze trying to remember where exactly I was. I remembered my date with Jaxx. Something shifted underneath me.

“Good morning, pretty eyes.”

“Holy shit! How did I get in your bed?” I shouted.

Jaxx chuckled at that
.

“Ella
, calm down. You passed out on me while you were still standing last night. So I tucked you in. Plus, I wanted to hold you in my arms.”

I blush
ed at that. I hadn’t even had my first kiss and here I was sleeping in a guy’s bed. Ugh. I bet I looked like a hot mess.

“You look enchanting when you sleep. Relax babe, everything
is going to be fine. Let’s get you up and showered and I’ll make us breakfast. We need to get you home soon so you aren’t late for school.” Jaxx left the bed and I assumed he was heading for the kitchen.

I go
t up and hunted down the first bathroom I came to and found an unopened toothbrush. After scrubbing my teeth I took the quickest shower known to man. I found Jaxx in the kitchen already showered and making toast and jam with glasses of OJ. “This looks good.”

“Yeah,
I’m not much of a cook so this is the best I could do.”

We sa
t down at the kitchen bar and I started devouring my toast. I guess I was hungrier than I thought. “Jaxx, when are you going to finish explaining everything to me? I have so many questions. You said that most of our kind have had guidance since they were born. I feel like I’m playing catch up and I don’t even know the rules.”

“Ella,
relax. Take a deep breath. We have all the time in the world. We have each other and eventually you will know all that I do and more. I was thinking that maybe you would like to meet my uncle after school today. He is kind of a historian for our people. He keeps our histories. You can ask him all the questions you want. I can promise you he will be excited to meet you. I swear he missed his calling to teach.”

I
chuckled. “What’s your uncle like? I feel like I know so much about you, but then again I know nothing at all. I’m really out of my depth here.”

“I promise this afternoon all your questions will be answered. Now we have to book so I can get you home. Do you want me to drive you to school?”

“Naw, I bought some new transportation yesterday. I can’t wait to drive it.”

We got up from the table and Jaxx took
our plates and glasses to the sink. I grabbed my purse off of the kitchen counter and we were out the door in a hurry.
Sheesh, I hate being late.
I thought. When we got to my uncle’s house, I reached over the console and gave Jaxx a quick peck on the cheek which earned me a smile.

“What was that for?”

“Just for being you.” I smiled at him before I threw myself out the car door and ran up the walk and through the front door. I quickly made my way up the stairs to my room to search for something to wear for the day. Pants. Yes pants since I was riding my new baby this morning. I looked around for the shopping bags that I’d dropped on the floor the night before but they were nowhere to be seen. I turned to my closet and saw that all of my new things were hanging there with a note attached to one of my new shirts.

You better love my ass
, beyotch!

Yes, Yes I d
o
. I thought with a grin. I quickly dug through my closet and found some new leather leggings, a Kelly green tunic top that hung off one shoulder and a silver chain belt. I paired them with a pair of biker boots that came up to my knees, had a four inch heel, and buckles running the length of them. I loved those boots. Today was a new day. A new me. No more hiding. If someone doesn’t like it, fuck ‘em all. That’s my new motto. I didn’t need to try and be normal anymore. Because I wasn’t, not even close. I was abnormal and damn it, I was going to rock it!

I ra
n a brush through my hair a few times to make sure it was tame. I had never bothered with much makeup before since it wasn’t allowed in my parentals home. So today I decided to go all out. A nice smoky eye, some bronzer on my cheeks, and some slut red lips and I was ready. On my way out the door, I grabbed my new leather riding jacket and helmet and headed for the garage to greet my precious. Yes, I know. I’m annoying with all the pet names for my Harley, but I have wanted this thing of beauty for what seemed like forever.

I
walked over to it swung my leg over the seat and kicked the stand loose. I started the engine and it rumbled to life. Yes, it was a thing of beauty. And it rode like a dream. The looks on the faces of everyone I knew when I pulled into the school lot were priceless, even Jaxx was transfixed. Jessa just looked smug. I parked my Harley beside Jaxx’s car and swung my leg free. Before I could even get my helmet off my head, he was there pulling me free of it.

“So this
is your new ride, huh? I have to tell you baby, it’s super, fucking hot!” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. I looked over his shoulder and saw Jessa and Devon walking over to us. I pulled out of Jaxx’s arms just in time for Devon to tackle me.

“WTF
, Bitch? You buy an industrial vibrator and don’t tell me?”

I just chuckle
d because my friends were always saying something crass. Jaxx’s cheeks are a little pink though. I wondered what was going through his pretty head. “I just bought it yesterday, I would have called you, but I figured you were still on lockdown because of the packages from Sabrina.”

“Yeah that cunt has been spewing shit all morning.
Enough about her.
Look at you
! What happened to my meek little kitten? You look like sex on a stick.”

“I decided to shed my old skin. There isn’t any reason to pretend anymore. So why
try?” Jaxx wrapped his arms around me from behind. Jessa was practically jumping up and down with something to say. “Okay Jessa what was it?”

“Sabrina has been telling everyone that will listen that she got into Jaxx
’s pants last night.” She blurted it out like it had been fighting to get out of her mouth all morning.

I fe
lt Jaxx stiffen at that news. I just shrugged and snuggled back into his embrace. I knew where he’d been all night. I didn’t have anything to worry about, so I just grinned.

“Okay. Why aren’t you foaming at the mouth?” Devon
asked.

I shrug
ged again. “I know where Jaxx was
all
night last night.”
Oh shit. That came out wrong.
I’m pretty sure I resembled a tomato right then. I could feel Jaxx chuckling behind me while my besties stared at me blankly. “Okay that came out wrong. We just slept. I was tired.” With that I turned and grabbed Jaxx’s hand firmly within mine and started heading toward the front doors of the school. As we passed the last line of cars in the lot, I noticed Sabrina surrounded by her usual fembots and she was shooting me one hell of an evil eye. I just smirked at her and walked on.

When we go
t to our locker, I turned to tell Jaxx that I would see him in English Lit and started to dig through my open locker for my book. All of a sudden I was shoved head first into my locker from behind. I turn and saw Sabrina standing there smiling sweetly at me.

“Sorry
, hun. You know how clumsy you are.” She giggled. “Ella I always knew you were pathetic, but taking up with my leftovers only the morning after is a new low for even a bottom feeder like you.”

I lean
ed in close to her and looked her in the eyes and let her see just how pissed I was, but I kept my face carefully blank. I whispered my words so only she could hear. “Sabrina I know exactly where Jaxx was last night. He was in his bed with
me
. And if you ever touch me again, I will personally make sure you won’t be walking up right for the rest of your retched life. Get me?
Hun
.” She looked scared for a split second before she started laughing really loud and sauntered away. Her clones trailing behind.

“Ells, did you have a lobotomy? What was that?”

“Devon I’m tired. Just so fucking tired of her shit. I can’t stand to play her victim. I already told Jessa. I’m done.”

“Chill
, baby girl, I get you!” Devon reached over, hugged me, grabbed his Lit book and trotted down the hallway to our first class of the day. He really was pretty for a guy. Everywhere he went eyes followed him. From both sexes. It was hard to believe he was perpetually single.

“Whew
! What a way to start a day, but serious props, bitch. I couldn’t have done that better,” Jessa said as she high-fived me.

I just shook
my head feeling really exhausted all of a sudden. Jaxx suddenly pulled me to him from behind and I felt a jolt of energy swarm me from his touch.

“Heard you
r conversation with Sabrina,” he whispered. “Proud of you, pretty eyes.”

I look
ed over my shoulder and smiled at him. We linked hands and made our way to class. I didn’t feel so tired anymore. I wondered if that was what he meant when he said it would be difficult for us to be away from each other. Just another question for me to add to my growing list.

English
, and the rest of my morning classes, rushed by like fast moving water. When I wasn’t with Jaxx I felt sluggish and when I was with him I felt like I was hopped up on a crazy caffeine high. There had to be a happy medium somewhere in there. When I got to the Caf, everyone was already at our table talking smack and gossiping. Main topic was my response to Sabrina’s attack earlier that morning, of course. Jaxx was sitting over to the side looking a little pale. Well paler than what he already was, which was saying a lot. I guessed the separation had been hitting him too.

I sa
t down next to him feeling too sluggish to even have an appetite. I leaned my head on his shoulder and wished I could just sleep right there.

He turned and looked
at me and his eyes widened. “You are drained aren’t you?”

“Yes, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Does it have something to
do with us being separated from another?” I asked quietly.

“I would assume that’s what this
is, but I just don’t know. I haven’t ever been through this before. We will have to ask my uncle as soon as school’s out.” Our conversation was completely private since everyone at our table was still yakking about what Sabrina would do next to get at me. “I don’t know if I told you this morning, but you look really stunning today, little raven,” he said, caressing my cheek.