Bella Vita (24 page)

“It's just so hard, ya
know. I was right there. They coulda taken me. Why her?” His eyes
had turned a stormy gray and tears were pooling in them.

“I don't know.” I didn't
know who had taken his sister, but I could only guess. The one
thing that often fought against us- the werewolves. I could easily
see how there was a clear divide amongst our people. There were
those that were touched by the werewolves in a negative way and
those that hadn't dealt with them at all. Hate and indifference
were running the way the vampires saw the werewolves, and I knew I
was going to be the one to change this. I was going to start with
this boy.

“They destroyed her, for no
reason. She was just turned. Hadn't even learned to control her
fangs yet.” Snot dipped off his nose along with the flood of tears
that was breaking free.

I took his hands in mine. I
knew he wasn't aware that I was about to heal that darkness out of
him. But I could only hope that once it was gone that he would heal
and come to see things in a different light. The darkness was still
very strong and easily found. When I realized how much of him it
filled, I doubted if I could heal it all in one go. But that only
lasted about five seconds.
I can do this
and I will do this
. I was never the one to
back down from a challenge and this was a huge one.

I started to pull it from where it clung to
him. Once it broke loose it was easier to disperse. Eventually I
had it all free. It swirled around inside him, trying to reattach
itself to anything- including me. I directed my energy at healing
it away and mending the damage it had done. I could feel my
physical body shaking with the amount of energy I was using- I
didn't care as long as I was able to heal this poor kid. To me, he
represented part of the future. I felt the darkness leaving
Charles. Soon there were only traces of it left. With the last bit
of healing energy I had left, I sent a powerful healing light
throughout his entire being. When I finished, I knew that the
darkness had left him as well. I faded back into my body.

I was covered in sweat. Charles was holding
me. He looked really worried.

“Oh my fucking god, are you
okay?” He saw my eyes focus on him.

“How are you feeling,
Charles?” I blinked at him.

“What? I thought you were
having a seizure or something and now you're gonna ask me how I
feel?” He looked incredulously at me.

“Yep.” I smiled at him, I
could feel my body regenerating energy- I knew I would have to feed
more than usual tonight to try and make up for what I had
done.

“I feel...” Charles face
lit in surprise- it seemed that he was too busy worrying about me
to notice the change within himself.

“Well?” I tried not to ask
him a million questions at once.

“I feel... so much better.
The anger and sadness are gone. What did you do?” He looked at me
accusingly.

“I healed you. Something
you might be able to do yourself if you were trained properly.” I
beamed at him.

“I could, I could do this?”
He looked at his hands like they belonged to a different
person.

“Yes, you could. I saw that
inside you earlier today. I could help you learn how to do such
things.” I smiled at him again.

“I would like that. And
please, call me Charlie. She would've wanted me to be happy- not
the way I was.” His smile was like the sunshine itself.

“Okay, Charlie.” I knew I
had gotten through to him. Things were going to change and the
future wasn't lost.

I met Dominic outside the big castle and
waited for my car to be pulled around. He looked grim and I didn't
know why. It was strange having a life completely outside of him,
but it seemed like I was creating just that for me.

“What's wrong?” I smile at
him.

“Just a rough day. Why did
you need to stay late today?” I could see him try to push away
whatever was bothering him.

“Oh, I found several gifted
students in my mental training class. One of them needed some
help.” It gave me a warm feeling to think I helped
Charlie.

“See it wasn't so bad! And
I'm glad that you have found something to take your mind off
things.” His smile was genuine.

“Yeah, me too. I need a
favor.” My face became as sweet looking as I could make
it.

“Oh, yeah.” He laughed as
my car pulled up.

“Yep. I need a meeting with
the school head. I want to propose a class, and possibly suggest a
screening to see how many other people have fallen through the
cracks that are special.” I batted my lashes at him.

He sighed. “Emma. I'm not certain that he'll
see you again. Besides classes are typically presented before the
board after they've been approved by Spawling. Perhaps, if we could
skip him altogether...” He was suddenly lost in thought.

“Dom? You mean it's
possible to just skip him?” I squealed and hugged him tightly
before I raced over to the driver's side and threw my stuff in the
back.

“Possible? Yes. Getting it
done? Very hard. I'll have to use all my contacts. Perhaps you
should talk to your grandpa too, he has a lot of sway at this
school.” He winked at me.

“Grandpa?! Of course!
Sometimes I forget the most obvious stuff.” I sped off towards
home.

“So do you still want to do
a teaching tonight, you're looking mighty tired,
mia bella
.” His eyes
were rich as pine trees but darkened with concern.

“Maybe you're right.
Healing Charlie took a lot out of me.” I sighed, I was still glad I
had done it.

“Charlie? Hmm. Do you mean
Charles?” Dom looked at me in shock.

“Yep. I know he doesn't or
didn't look like anything special, but sometimes you have to polish
the stone for it to become a gem. I could merely see pass the
surface to what was inside.” I beamed at him.

He rubbed his jaw and went back to his
thoughts.

“What?” I looked over at
him quickly.

“Well, I mean, since his
kid sister was killed by a werewolf attack a few years back, he's
been really shut down, and dark. I mean there is no other word for
the kid- he is just dark. And Charlie? Yeah right, when his sis
died, that name died with her.” He was still thinking.

“Yes, I realize that. But I
healed the darkness out of him. I couldn't heal his pain, but he'll
heal now. The dark part of him was his despair... it had taken him
over in a way. He is better now. And I'm going to train him.” I was
proud of my work.

“You healed him?” Dom
looked confused.

“When I went to discover if
he had any special gifts, I found a darkness inside him. I healed
part of it right away, but I needed to heal more. So he met with me
tonight. It took a bit, but I was able to heal it out of him. He
will heal now. You'll see.” I tried not to be annoyed by his lack
of belief in my abilities.

“Emma, don't think that I'm
doubting you or anything, but I think that kid is just evil.” He
shook his head.

“Think what you want. But
you'll see. He'll be different.” I dropped the topic.

The drive home fell into silence. We were
both lost to our own thoughts. I kept wondering how I was going to
help the students I had discovered in my class, and what I would
say to the Board to get them to let me teach a class. I knew I was
new to all of this, but I was capable of teaching them so much and
finding those that had natural specialties.

As soon as we were inside, I was on the
phone with Grandpa. Things were going to happen, and I was going to
make them. Dominic went to the library and started shifting through
his papers. It looked like everything was getting sorted out and my
idea was an actual possibility. I was excited.

Chapter
five

Life was changing quickly. Grandpa had
talked to the board and they agreed to support my new class. It was
to begin the following week. I was also instructed to start slowly
working my way through the student body to see if I could find more
special abilities. They had given me the week off to get everything
sorted out. I decided that this would be my week to go to Ireland.
My time was becoming limited, but it was something I needed to do.
Sometimes life isn't about what you have to do, but more about what
you need to do- this was one of those things.

The plans were already in place, all I
needed was to add in the date. Dominic wasn't happy about my going-
he wasn't able to take the time to come with me. Things were too
busy with his classes and getting his side of the details for our
wedding worked out. He was also working with Grandpa to start the
process for our move to the castle-palace thing that would occur
after the wedding. Things were moving so quickly. When I stopped to
think about it, my pulse kicked up to what would be considered
normal if I was still human.

I packed up my bag, I would
leave tonight.
I'll figure out everything
and come back and be peaceful for my wedding.
So I kept telling myself. With all the plans in order, I
suddenly felt very unsure. I wasn't sure if I was doing the right
thing anymore.
Surely I can't live with
the what ifs for the rest of my damn life.
I knew I couldn't, it wasn't something I could deal with.
With my bag packed, I laid down on my bed. My thoughts wandered in
all directions, and slowly I fell asleep.

I really hated the feeling when you wake up
and you think that it's nighttime, but you've only fallen asleep
for a quick nap. The feeling of panic and disorientation that came
along with it was horrible, and to think that something as simple
as a nap could do that to you. When I woke up, my mouth was dry, my
eyes felt heavy and thick, and I wasn't sure where I was or what
time it was. It took me a few minutes to figure out what was going
on. I blinked the sleep away and tried without much success to
unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth.

When my eyes were able to focus, I found
Dominic sitting in my room. I blinked hard to make sure I wasn't
imagining it.

“
Hey you. I was just going
to look for you.” I smiled at him.

“
Where are you
going,
mia bella
?” He was worried.

“
Oh...” I laughed. “ I'm
going to Ireland while I can before life turns to chaos.” It
must've looked worse to him because when I told him he let out a
long breath.

“
Okay. Do you need a ride
to the airport?” He smiled at me but sadness replaced the
worry.

“
Yes, of course, I want a
ride to the airport! And stop looking like someone just killed your
favorite pet, I'm going so life is easier for us when I get back.”
I sighed and shook my head.

“
I know, my Little Emma
Bird, but it still hurts that you have to do this trip in the first
place. I wish we never left and moved here.” He turned from
me.

“
If you hadn't moved I
would've never had the chance to fall in love with you as an
adult.” I walked over to him and stroked his cheek.

His cheeks flushed just enough to let me
know that I had smoothed over some of his hurt. I knew I would
never be able to fix it all, but it was one of the things that he
had accepted when he decided that I was going to be his queen.

“
Okay, so I'll meet you
downstairs in about thirty minutes so we can eat before we leave.”
He walked over to the door.

“
Okay. I'll shower and
switch into traveling clothes.” I headed over to my closet. I
pulled out a pair of bright green chucks- not neon, a pair of black
yoga pants, and a black tank top. My Jack Skellington grey
sweatshirt was on the bottom of my bed. I sighed and went into the
bathroom.

I was downstairs about thirty minutes later.
My bags sat by the door. I was planning on being gone the entire
week- even if I wasn't spending most of that time with Mike, I
needed the time to think. And I couldn't think of a better place
than Ireland. Dom was in the kitchen with a cup of cocoa for me and
some tasty looking sandwich. I plopped myself down in front of
it.

“
Thanks!” I beamed at
him.

“
I had to make sure you ate
well before you left. And to remind you of my mad skills in the
kitchen.” He winked at me.

I laughed and bit into the sandwich.

The ride over to the airport was nice and
quick. I had made the arrangements with our private jet this time.
No secrets and nothing to hide. Dominic drove me in his sleek black
sports car. The world zoomed by and we drifted in and out of easy
conversation.

The small airport came into view from the
tree lined road and I felt pangs of worry coming off Dom.

“
I'll be back before you
know it.” I punched him in the shoulder lightly.

“
I know. And you know that
you can come back before you're scheduled to, the pilot never minds
that.” He tried to smile.

“
Yes, I know.” I tried not
to stiffen, but it was difficult.

“
Let me help you with your
bags to the plane.” He quickly parked the car and got
out.

He's just nervous I won't
come back, he's trying to help me do what I need to do. I need to
remember this.
I took a deep breath and
got out of the car.