KISS (18 page)

“
Okay, Layla you are perfectly
sane. There is nothing wrong with you. Everything that has happened
is just a figment of your imagination,” she told her reflection.
Her sky blue eyes stared back at her wide eyed and petrified. She
scrubbed her face and her mind of all dark thoughts. If she really
wanted to get to the bottom of things she need to find Ryu and make
her talk, with that plan in mind she felt much better.

The king spent most of his time in the old
archives. He needed to find out everything he could about earth. He
spotted a book that looked unfamiliar and yet it was covered in
dust and occupying a spot in their archives; maybe someone else was
interested in earth as well, or maybe it was a sign. He was just
glad it was there. He grabbed the book and began to
read.

Earth is the third planet from the
Sun. It is the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in
the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four
terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the world or
the Blue Planet.

He was excited about that. It would seem that
they shared something in common. While in his realm there were two
suns that mirror each other, this place called earth only had one.
He hoped that wouldn’t be a problem for her. He continued to
read.

Over seventy percent of Earth's
surface is covered with water, with the remainder consisting of
continents and islands which together have many lakes and other
sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere.

As he continued to read, he began to frown.
Would his future queen be able to survive on his planet? He was
sure that two suns mirroring each other would contribute to a much
higher temperature than she may be accustomed to. If she was going
to be his mate he needed to ensure that his realm was safe for her
to visit. He wasn’t too worried about her species, the fates
wouldn’t give him a mate he was incapable of mating with, it would
defeat the purpose. Maybe it was time for him to schedule a trip to
this place called earth. He was quite sure once he made it to
earth, he would be able to find his mate by her scent alone. She
was already dreaming of him. He smiled as he recalled her eyes.
They were brilliant like the sky that adorn the realm he was in. He
sighed, he knew he couldn’t do this without Onyx. He needed him. He
closed the book and decided to seek Onyx; maybe his friend would
know more about earth.

When Layla came downstairs, her father was in
the kitchen cooking as usual. Ryu was nowhere to be found; which
was quite unusual for her, especially this close to dinner
time.

“
Hi Daddy,” she said as she took a
seat on the bar stool to observe him while he cooked.

“
Hi sweetheart, are you okay,
you’ve been sleeping all day.” He said looking at her. Layla knew
this would be the perfect opportunity to tell her father about
everything that was going on, but she wasn’t sure if she was
hallucinating. She wanted to confirm everything with Ryu first. She
just needed to get a grip on reality. Magic surely couldn’t exist.
It was ludicrous. She felt a little like Alice down the rabbit hole
only this time, she was still falling.

“
Layla?” he questioned.

“
Dad, I’m fine. I just need to talk
to Ryu a bit. You know girl problems. Boys and all,” she said
avoiding eye contact. She was such a bad liar. She could never look
her dad in the eye and lie. She waited for him to call her out on
it, but was surprised when he came around the kitchen island and
gave her hug instead.

“
I’m not going to press you right
now sweetheart, but I want you to tell me the truth when you’re
ready,” he said kissing her on the forehead. “Just don’t take too
long because I worry about you,” he said letting her go. Layla felt
so guilty. She wanted to blurt everything, but at the same time she
needed to hear from Ryu that she wasn’t crazy.

“
Deal,” she said as she began to
eat her meal.

The next day Layla found herself standing on
Ryu’s porch debating whether or not she should knock on the door.
Ryu parents were always traveling abroad and she was always left
alone. It was one of the reasons she spent so much time with her
and her dad. Layla was just grateful she didn’t have to deal with
them. It would’ve been awkward. Why she was so scared? She’d never
been afraid to approach something in her life. She always tackled
things head on. She squared her shoulders and ignored the uneasy
feeling in the pit of her stomach and knocked on the
door.

“
Ryu! C’mon I know you’re in there.
Open up! Let’s talk.” She waited a few minutes and still hadn’t
heard anything. Then she heard a crash come from inside. Layla
tensed putting her ear to the door. She couldn’t hear anything. She
closed her eyes and focused, straining to hear anything from
inside. She ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach, when she
realized she could hear the sounds from inside; that wasn’t normal.
Her thoughts were forgotten once she heard crying on the other side
of the door.

“
Who is she?!” a voice demanded.
Layla had heard enough. She quietly backed away and pulled out her
cell phone. She promised her dad she would call when she was ready
to talk. She didn’t care how crazy she may seemed, Ryu was in
trouble.

“
Dad, I’m bringing Ryu,
home,”

“
What’s the matter?”

“
I don’t know but I know she’s in
trouble, dad. I’m going to call the police.”

“
Wait, don’t call. I’m on my
way.”

Layla didn’t have time to wait around for her
dad or speculate why he didn’t want the police involved. Ryu was in
trouble and she needed help now. Instead, she crept around the side
of the house. There was a tree next to Ryu’s bedroom that they
climbed up and down when they were younger. Layla hadn’t climbed
the tree since she fell out of it. She really didn’t remember much
of it. She swallowed her trepidation, using the branches she pulled
herself up. Now that she was up the tree, she was nervous about
going into the house. She had no weapon or anything. What was she
going to do, talk her way out of danger? She snorted at this.
Adrenaline coursed through her veins giving her a small thrill. She
almost fell out the tree when a voice reverberated through her
mind.

“
What are you doing?”

“
Nothing, now is not the time for
this. I have to get to my friend,” she told the voice
exasperated.

“
Friend?”

“
Yes, she’s crying and she’s in
trouble,” she palmed her face angry for continuing to answer the
voice in her mind questions.

“
Are you in danger?” the voice
asked

“
I have no time for
this.”

“
You must not endanger yourself,”
the voice demanded. Layla ignored the voice when she heard the cry
get louder.

“
Get your hands off her!” she
shouted launching herself through the window into Ryu’s room. She
raced downstairs, to see the boy from the mall leaning over Ryu.
She had her hands over her ears and her eyes were sealed tight.
Instead of dark chocolate brown eyes, the sclera of his eyes were
completely black. He was no longer the nice guy from the mall,
instead he was a predator.

Layla grabbed a lamp off the end table and
slammed it across his back. It shattered against his body.
Immediately, the voice in her mind started to hiss.

“
Get away from her,” she growled
viciously. He let Ryu go and turned towards her.

“
Ah, little mouse, I’ve been
waiting for you. Just the person I wanted to meet,” he said
approaching her. Layla backed away. He backed her up against the
wall. She stared boldly into his eyes. She hoped her dad would make
it in time. She didn’t understand why a high school student would
be after Ryu or asking questions about her. Layla couldn’t hear
anything above all the hissing and snarling in her mind.

“
I think it’s time I marked you, so
all know who you belong to,” he whispered sinisterly in her ear.
Layla’s body broke out into a sweat. There was a flow of magic in
his hand, it was red, but there was something wrong with it as if
it was tainted. The red was slowly being consumed by the black that
flowed on the outer edges of his magic. Nonetheless, terror flowed
through her bones.

“
Magic, isn’t real. It’s just a
nightmare. I’m going to wake up, and this will all be over. There’s
only science and illusion,” she muttered to herself. Zacharias
laughed at her foolishness.

“
I’m going to show you, just how
real magic can be,” he said holding her against the wall. She tried
to break his hold but it was futile. There was something about her
that drew him to her. He tried to brand her with his magic but a
flash of bright light prevented him from doing so. He was thrown
against the wall by another stronger and powerful force of magic;
He groaned as he tried to get up. Blood poured into his eye, he
tried wiping it away. A groan escaped his lips as he felt the gash
above his right eyebrow. He felt drained.

Layla could hear her dad screaming her name
and kicking in the front door. Where were the police? The
ambulance? Why were all these strange things happening to her?
Layla didn’t know the force that repelled Zacharias was none other
than her own magic. Her eyes were glowing bright fuchsia instead of
their normal sky blue as she tried to catch her breath. Zack heard
the others coming, in that moment he had to have her, the magic
running through her veins could be his, and together they could
conquer the world.

“
Beautiful. I will have you,” he
whispered before disappearing. Layla tried crawling over to Ryu,
but she was completely spent. She was just glad Ryu was
okay.

“
Are you hurt?”

“
No, just tired,” she said. The
voice in her mind sounded worry. She wanted to ease that
worry.

“
I’m coming for you,” it
said.

“
How can you? You’re not real,” she
told it before succumbing darkness.

Layla’s father stormed the house, just in time
to see the warlock cutting a rift into the dimension before
disappearing. Seeing the dragger he used, fury filled him. The
dagger was a dragon’s claw. Clearly not given to the warlock
willing—the coven was back and they were on the move. He wanted to
chase after the warlock, but he fought his dragon telling himself
Layla and Ryu were more important. Onyx would have his ass if
anything happened to his daughter. It was time he told Layla the
truth, well maybe partial truth. It was no longer safe for her to
remain in this realm. He had to get to the bottom of this. He hated
to move. He would give anything to be able to contact his general
at this point, but he could not. They’d remain hidden for so many
years that he’d become complacent. He grabbed both girls and
returned home. There was one good thing that came out of this mess,
Ryu could live with them full time, instead living alone and
pretending she had parents at home. He wondered how Layla would
feel about him once she discovered the truth. His heart plummeted
in his chest. He had come to love her as his own flesh and blood.
He was terrified of her reaction. He would settle for her sleeping
face for now.

Chapter 4: The Chase
Begins

Zack cursed as he escaped using the dragon
claw into another dimension. He knew there was something fishy
about the girl, such powerful magic. Her magic was seductive and
elusive. He’d never seen anything like it. Zack’s dark brown eyes
became black as his magic rushed through his veins. He fell to the
floor as his body convulsed. Just what kind of magic did she wield?
He could feel its lingering residue in his bones. It was time to
call in some reinforcements. Zack looked out around him, this
dimension was unfamiliar. There were two suns high in the sky and
the heat was unbearable. It zapped him of all his strength further
weakening him. It was best he returned to the human realm at this
point. He needed to find a place where he could hide and
recuperate. Soon he would have to report to the covens. He wanted
the girl, no he wanted the magic that followed through her veins.
He could hear it, whispering, and calling him. He stepped once
again into the opening. This time mountain terrain greeted him. The
moon was high in the sky filling him with its luminescence. He
closed his eyes sending his magic out. He felt it spilling out of
him, slinking over the terrain like ink searching for any
intruders. Zack wanted to ensure there were no others in the
surrounding area. Once satisfied, he hobbled over towards an
opening at the base of the mountain.

“
Little bitch,” he muttered to
himself as his breathing became ragged. The ground was wet, muddy,
and difficult to navigate through. He thought about using more
magic, but the reminder of his body convulsing again stopped him
dead in his tracks. He was glad to finally make it to the cave. It
was deep, dark and exactly what he was looking for. He grunted one
last time as he created a fireball to light the space and keep him
warm. He placed a keep away spell at the entrance of the cave to
prevent unwanted visitors from entering. Closing his eyes he
drifted asleep.