King 03 - Restless (27 page)

Marica had resumed her pacing, but now she had added some vague Romanian mutterings to the mix. I couldn’t hear her thoughts—I never could unless she specifically wanted me to—but I could feel the intensity of her concentration. And every time I even tried to shift on the sofa, she blasted me back against the cushion.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. There had to be a way out of this. Did she really intend to spirit me off to Romania? Did she seriously think she could pull it off?

I took a mental inventory of who knew where I was. I had told my parents that I was stopping by school to pick up my books on the way home. They would never guess that I was here. Rafe had left before I could tell him. Amber knew, and I had promised to call her when I got home, but in the hospital, what was she going to do? By the time she was released and wondered where I was, I could be half way to Eastern Europe.

I wished now I had been honest with Detective Lawrence this afternoon. He was part of one of the old carnie families, and I had a sense that he had seen more in King than he let on. If I could manage to get away from Marica, he was going to be the first person I’d call.

Tentatively I leaned forward, only to feel the pressure of the energy she was pushing toward me. 

“Don’t test me, Tasmyn. I’m trying to work out details.”

“What kind of details?” Maybe if I got her talking, she’d calm down and be reasonable. I had never seen her this agitated, and it spooked me as much as being held against my will.

“Travel plans. We’ll drive first, of course. Go to one of the larger airports, where no one will notice us. If we leave shortly, we can be far away before anyone knows you’re gone.” She lifted a curtain and glanced out the window where the sunlight was waning.

“But now you know I don’t want to go with you. You can’t think you can take me out of the country against my will.”

Marica sat down and leaned forward, elbows on her knees. “Tasmyn, the fact that you think you don’t want to go with me is not a worry. I know once you are back where you belong, you’ll be happy. And the travel—that is easily accomplished. It’s all just the timing, working it out perfectly so that there aren’t any… complications.”

“Please… Marica, don’t do this. Let me go home now, and that’ll be the end of it. I know I’m partly responsible. I thought this—the power—was what I wanted. I thought I could handle it. But I can’t. This isn’t the life I want.”

“You speak as though it is a choice.” Marica’s words were icy now. “It’s not. It is your destiny. You are my daughter, and you are going to return home with me, and you will take your place in our family. You have a great destiny to fulfill.” 

“I’m not your daughter!” Fear rose in my voice. “Your daughter—she died. Eighteen years ago. Whatever you believe, I’m not her. I don’t want to be her replacement. And my destiny isn’t in Romania.”

Marica leaned over me, and her intensity made me shrink back into the sofa. “Oh, yes, Tasmyn.
Tasmyn
. Did you never wonder about your name, about its meaning? Your name means ‘twin’. My daughter’s sacred twin. You were born on the date that should have been her birth date. Your future is entwined with mine, with my people. You are going to be our savior.”

I sucked in a breath. “Savior? What are you talking about?”

“You read the history. For years, my people have lived in subjugation to a society that doesn’t understand us or accept us. We’ve been little more than slaves, treated with contempt. You, with your power, are the fulfillment of the prophesies, and you will lead us out of our bondage.”

It finally sunk into me how truly mad Marica was. So this had been her plan all along. This was the purpose of all the teaching and the training. I was supposed to reverse years of history for a people I didn’t even know, with power I couldn’t control.

“Marica, no. I’m not the one in the prophesies. They’re not talking about me. I don’t want any part of it. I want to go home, to my parents. You’re not my mother. You’re nothing to me.”

Rage sparked in her eyes. She stood, seizing my arm and dragging me down the hallway into the small room where we had had our early practices. The door slammed and locked behind us, although she didn’t touch it with her hands.

With one flick of her eye, she threw me into the straight-backed wooden chair across the room. The energy in the air crackled, and all of the items on the table beneath the window began to vibrate. 

I remembered the first time we had balanced the pink crystal orb between us, and as I thought about it, the orb began to rise, reminding me that I still had my power. I had thrown someone across a courtyard this afternoon; why couldn’t I harness that to get away from Marica?

I focused on controlling the orb, lifted it and with a mental shove, sent it sailing toward Marica’s head. She waved her hand through the air and the orb dropped.

“Don’t imagine that you have the ability to fight me, Tasmyn. You have only begun to see the tip of your powers.  If you come with me, I can teach you everything you’ve always longed to know. If not…” 

On the table, another item began to tremble. The athame rose and hovered, a ray of the late afternoon sun playing off the intricate carvings on the handle. I caught my breath, my heart pounded in my ears, and I felt that same old sense of dread, of powerlessness.

I saw Marica’s eyes glitter, and I knew she was playing with me as the knife turned slowly, just at my eye level. It was near enough to my face to make me fear for my eyes, but my arms were bound in some way; I couldn’t move at all. 

In a flash, the athame was in her hand, and then she was at my side. 

“Don’t worry, Tasmyn,” she murmured. “I can stay to the lines Nell so kindly left me. It will be over fast.” She ran the flat side of the knife over my throat. “Don’t make me do this, Tasmyn. Tell me you’ve changed your mind. Tell me we’re going home.”

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Marica.” 

The voice was eerily familiar. Marica whirled, holding the athame out in a defensive stance. 

Nell stood across the room.

Tas… I wish, for just a minute, I could be close to you again. I mean, right now. I know it’ll happen again, but right now, I just wish I could tell you that you’re strong, and that I love your strength. Hold on. Believe in us. I love you. Call me.

For just a moment, I believed I had finally lost my mind. 

Nell’s mouth twisted in a smile, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked at me. 

“Amazing the lengths I’ll go to just to say I told you so, Tasmyn.” She shifted her gaze to Marica. “And look who’s joined the party this time. If it isn’t my old mentor, my good friend, my… how do you refer to her, Tasmyn? My mother figure? Well, she does seem to have a sort of hang up there, doesn’t she? Hello, Marica.”

Next to me, Marica was trembling. Her face had paled, and her eyes were wide.

“Nell…” she breathed. “How are you here? You’re not… you can’t be.”

Nell laughed, and she walked closer to us. Fascinatingly, she seemed to flow as she moved; each step was a ripple.

“Marica, wasn’t that the first thing you taught me? Very little of what appears to be impossible actually is.”

“Nell. You don’t understand. I need to take her. We have to go home. Her training—we have to complete it.”

Nell sighed and shook her head. “Marica, it’s time to let go. Accept that you’ve lost. Let Tasmyn leave.”

“NO!” Marica’s voice rose to almost a howl. “I’m taking her home. To our family.”

Nell tilted her head. “You know, Marica, I’m hurt. That’s one thing you never offered to me. No European tours for the two of us. You pulled me in, made me think you cared for me. And then you dropped me. Discarded me. You didn’t need me anymore and that was the end of it.”

“That’s not true, Nell.” Marica shifted the athame from hand to hand. “I always cared for you.” Real madness gleamed in her eyes now, and I shivered. 

“What’s that you’re holding? Ah, is that the infamous athame? I haven’t seen that since… well, since Tasmyn and I shared a tender moment in the Lake Rosu clearing.” 

Marica’s eyes were fastened on Nell. I sat immobile, just relieved that the knife was no longer at my throat. 

Nell was wearing the same white pajamas as the last time I’d seen her, in my dream. Her hair was even longer now. What struck me most though was the peace in her eyes. She no longer seemed as tormented as she had the last few times I’d seen her… had it been in my dreams? I wasn’t sure anymore.

Marica reached out a hand as though to touch Nell, and Nell took a step backward.

“Ah, ah,” she reproved, shaking a single finger. “Watch it. Call me paranoid, Marica, but I’d be much more willing to talk if you weren’t holding the athame.” 

Marica looked down as if she had forgotten it was in her hand. She moved carefully around Nell and laid the knife on the table.

Nell smiled. “Now isn’t this nicer? The three of us here, together. A little girl talk, perhaps?” She caught my eye while Marica was turned and flicked her glance toward the door.

I was out of the chair before Marica realized it. I fumbled with the lock on the door and pulled it open, only to feel a blast of energy jerk it from my hand. But this time I countered; focusing my own power, I pushed against her just long enough to get out of the room.

The door slammed behind me, and I heard Marica scream my name. I didn’t even hesitate. I ran down the hall, yanked away the chair that blocked the front door and turned the deadbolt with shaking fingers. My heart was pounding, and my fingers were slippery. 

And then Marica was there, behind me. The chair slid into me, knocking me off balance, and I stumbled against the wall. 

“Don’t move, Tasmyn.” The knife was back in her hand, and she came toward me, slowly. Over her shoulder, I could see Nell. Her eyes connected with mine, and she turned her head meaningfully toward the kitchen.

I was confused for only a minute. And then I was amazingly calm.

I closed my eyes and focused on the water. I called to it, picturing the dancing columns and flumes from Lake Rosu. But this time, I asked the water in the pipes to come to my defense. I implored with all of my strength, and to my relief, I heard a rumble below us. 

A wall of water exploded in front of Marica. She cried out and stepped back, and I could only vaguely see her beyond the gush. I took advantage of her distraction and grabbed for the doorknob. This time it turned in my hands. I glanced back, looking for Nell, but I couldn’t make out anything for all of the water now spouting from the floor and dripping from the ceiling.

  Once outside, I sprinted toward my car, thankful for once that I never bothered to lock the doors. 

I sat for a moment in the front seat, shaking and waiting for Marica to come storming out. It took me several tries to turn the key in the ignition, but once the car was started, I peeled off from the curb. 

I didn’t know where I was going. I just needed to get as far away from Marica as I could. Keeping my eyes on the road, I pulled my cell phone out and dug in my pocket for Sam Lawrence’s business card. I broke every promise I’d ever made to my parents about driving safety as I punched in his number and hit send.

His short answer—“Lawrence”—was one of the loveliest sounds I could remember. 

“Detective Lawrence—it’s Tasmyn. Vaughn. I—there’s trouble. And you said to call.” My voice was high-pitched and shaking.

“Where are you, Tasmyn?” I could tell that he was trying to be calm, but there was tension in his voice.

“Driving.” I glanced around. “Past Lake Rosu. Away. I was at Marica’s house—Ms. Lacusta—my chemistry teacher—”

“I know who you’re talking about,” he interrupted. “I know where she lives. I’m heading out now. Keep talking to me. Tell me what happened.”

In halting words, I managed to tell the story. “I know it was wrong. What I was doing. But I was trying to end it. She-she wasn’t going to let me. She had the knife—” Nausea rose up and I felt dizzy. I turned down the first road I saw and pulled over.

“Are you hurt?” Detective Lawrence asked tersely.