Fighting Destiny (Central Coven) (28 page)

“We don’t have costumes,” I pointed out, gesturing to our clothes.  “You have a wand,” Anita returned.  She smiled at me, practically bouncing with her impending win.  She read the acquiescence on my face. “Thank you,” she said before I agreed.  I faced Grey, looked deeply into his nearly black brown eyes, and leaned into him.  I wanted his opinion on what we should do.

“Yes,” he whispered in my ear.  I love it when he does that.  I pressed my body closer to his firm torso.  “What do you want to do?” I asked.  A familiar light flickered in his eyes, and he grinned mischievously.  “I have a few ideas,” he whispered, and twirled a lock of my hair.  I knew exactly what his “ideas” were when I felt his fingers trail down my neck.

“Should we leave then?” I whispered, stretching on my toes to reach his ear.  Grey isn’t as tall as Finn, but he is still quite a bit taller than I am.  I’m sure when Grey was born, which was still a mystery to me, he was considered very tall.  Damn, I’ve been daydreaming again. I can tell I was supposed to answer a question, because he has that look he gets when I’m not paying attention.

“Chloë, did you hear me?”  I shook my head no.  “Day dreaming again?” Grey asked amused. “Yeah, sorry. I’ll tell you what I was thinking about later,” I said coyly, and slid my hand up his shirt to touch the rippling muscles of his stomach.  He closed his eyes for a second.

“You should stop that. It has been too long since we were together,” he groaned.  “Grey, it’s been like three or four days,” I replied. “Definitely too long. Anyway, what I said was, I don’t want to be the reason your friends are disappointed.  What do you think about going out for a little while?  At the very least we should make sure my old friend is not up to anything tonight.” 

I pursed my lips and looked up at him through my long, dark eyelashes, “We are only going for a little while right?”  “Yes darling.  As soon as you want to leave we will go,” Grey answered smoothly.  “And if I want to leave right now?” I asked flirtatiously.  “Why would you want to do that?” Grey asked, playing along.  “Mmmm, I have a few ideas,” I said, copying him.  He laughed softly, tangled his hand into my hair, and kissed me gently.

His kiss felt soft and wonderful.  He had my heart was racing, and he wasn’t trying to prove anything.  I slowly slid out of Grey’s arms, and reluctantly took my eyes off of him.  My cheeks were rose red from blushing, when I turned to face my friends.  I was trying to compose myself quickly, but it wasn’t fast enough. 

One look and I noticed the hard set of Finn’s jaw. His eyes had cooled to a steel blue color. He was trying not to look at me.  Finn stood away from the rest of us.  He had his arms laced tight across his chest, in an effort to insulate himself from the pain I could see in his face.

Finn’s eyes always reflect his emotions. This cold, clinical steel color they were now signaled he was trying to detach himself from a strong emotion.  Our eyes met for a split second, and in an instant his demeanor changed.  Finn’s head snapped up, and he wore a half smirk on his face.  My eyes narrowed suspiciously, and then it occurred to me,
my eyes.
 

My large, dark brown, eyes popped open wide with the epiphany of what Finn was thinking, or moreover what he knew.  My eyes weren’t green.  When Finn kissed me, or even touched me my eyes flared a magical emerald green. 

It wasn’t that the color of my eyes never changed when I was with Grey, but that they
always
changed with Finn. He saw the awareness wash over my face, and he winked at me.  What could I do?  I might be in love with Grey, deeply, but I love Finn too.  I rolled my eyes at him, and focused on Anita.  I had to give her credit. She was waiting patiently.  Well, patiently for Anita.

That meant she periodically cleared her throat, made a few lude comments, and I believe I heard her whistle at one point.  “Finally,” she sighed, exaggerating and elongating the syllables of the word.  “You want me to conjure up some costumes?” I asked. 

“Duh,” Anita responded.  I laughed at her and called my wand into my hand.  “Can we avoid any of the cliché costumes I keep seeing tonight?” I asked hopeful.  “Damn, and I was really hoping I could be some sort of mega-slutty catholic school girl/prostitute/vampire/nun.  Did I cover them all?” Anita asked sarcastically.  “Yeah that covers everything.  But is dressing as a vampire really a ‘costume’ for you?” I teased.  “Mmm.  Good point.  Okay, leave everything else but scratch out the vampire part,” Anita said with a laugh.

I looked at all of us as a group.  To me Anita has always reminded me more of a pixie, a sprite, a woodland nymph, or some other kind of fairy than a vampire.  Dean reminded me of a Roman gladiator.  I could easily picture his heavily muscular frame in the leather protective gear that is characteristic to a gladiator.  I’m sure Anita, as well as every other breathing female, would also thank me for exposing that much of his beautiful body. 

Finn’s painfully handsome face, extremely sexy body, and confident manner had to be put on display, but how?  Many of the girls fantasized about him as some sort of prince charming, or knight in shining armor.  I didn’t want to see him dressed up as a wimpy Disney-esque prince in tights, but I could easily fantasize about him clad in chainmail and carrying a broad sword. 

Grey stood about five feet eleven inches tall.  He was shorter than both Dean and Finn, but for the time period that he lived he probably towered over his peers.  He is muscular, not as bulky as Dean, but twice as strong.  Grey’s nearly black hair and matching eyes, contrasted his bone white skin.  To me he was so obviously a vampire. I wanted to allow him to walk out in the open. 

He smiled, his lips curved in a half smirk.  I looked at him questioningly.  Then I noticed the feral glint to his eyes vampires get when they reveal themselves.  His smile broadened, revealing his fangs, which had protruded while I was studying him. 

This happened sometimes when he was excited, angry, lustful, happy, basically any strong emotion.  The more I learned about my world, I came to understand that powers in general were connected to the emotional center of the person.  The one who is most in control of themselves is the most formidable.  I am still a work in progress.
             

I couldn’t figure out what I was going to be.  I could take the easy way out and turn myself into a witch, or at least into some semblance of people’s idea of a witch.  That seemed like cheating.  As if on cue Anita piped up, “Ehem, I can tell you are sizing all of us up for what we are going to be. If you are picking our costumes don’t think you are going to get off choosing your own.” 

I wanted to laugh at the amount of attitude she layered into that statement. She had one hand placed on her hip, and the other was gesturing along with her words.  But I did not dare laugh, because she meant every word.

With fake sincerity, I said, “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.  I was about to ask all of you, what you thought I should go as.”  “Sure you were,” Anita was unconvinced.  “I would like to see you dress as a girl from a harem,” Finn suggested boldly.  Grey’s head snapped up, and his stare appeared lethal, but it quickly softened, “For once I agree with the el…I mean with Finn.  It could be amusing…later.” 

I decided against looking at either of them.  I wanted to remain out of their petty bullshit, besides Finn did start it.  Still, I was
not
going as a harem girl.  “Next,” I suggested, with my annoyance obviously apparent in my voice.  “Didn’t you say once that the Greek and Roman gods were really witches?” Anita pondered.  “Yes.  They had so much power; they decided that they could easily have mortals worship them.  Besides we live forever.  It wasn’t difficult,” I answered.  “So then, go as a goddess,” Anita suggested.  “Alright. I’ll go as my great-grandmother, Athena,” I responded. 

“What?” Anita, Dean and Finn asked astonished.  Grey stood by silently, knowingly.  I should have realized he was aware of my family’s history.  He has lived far too long not to know the true power of the Du Lac witches.  Hmm, I wonder if he realizes that my great-great grandmother is Hera?  Of course they all use other names now.  I have never met my great-great grandmother.  Her daughter, my great-grandmother, uses the name Sophia.  My mother explained it only seemed fitting that the goddess of wisdom chose a name that means
wisdom
.

I looked seriously at all of my friends and said, “I come from a
very
old family.  The fortune is only part of the legacy, inheritance, birthright, or what-have-you.  And it is only
part
of the destiny that I am not yet ready to claim.  Although I do not believe, as my mother also does not, that I am meant to be a goddess.  No matter what my family history is.”  I spun on my heel and left them standing open mouthed at my revelation.

I closed my eyes in contemplation of the magic I was about to perform.  I wanted to cast a glamour spell, and not actually transform my friends into the images I was picturing.  My jewel green eyes burst wide open.  I stretched my arms out wide to my sides with my fists clenched tight.  “Transform,” I ordered.  As I spoke the word aloud, I opened my hands and released a glowing green web of magic around myself.

The usual green haze of my magic swirled around me, beginning at my feet, caressing my legs, moving up my torso, cradling my face, and then returning to the web of magic around me.  When the mist finally pulled away, I stood in Grecian sandals, wearing a toga fit for a goddess, and a wreath of thin gold leaves in my hair.  My long hair was changed from being worn casually down to being ornately arranged atop my head with long barrel curls hanging down.

I released my magic a second time.  “Expand,” I demanded.  My friends, who were clustered together in a group, fell inside the net. The haze snaked around each one of them.  Anita was dressed in a long tan colored dress, covered with sheer iridescent material in shades of violet, blues, and pinks.  The skirt flowed freely, but the top was tight and had a laced bodice.  The center was a vibrant green.  She wore flowers in her loose curled hair.  

Dean and Finn simultaneously transformed into a Roman gladiator and a medieval knight wearing chainmail.  Grey, was expecting to go out tonight dressed as, well, himself, a modern vampire.  He had seen centuries of Halloweens, and was not really interested in the ceremony of going out as someone else.  I, on the other hand, had other plans.

When my magical mist pulled away from my friends (and my boyfriend? Was that the right word?) Grey was dressed as an English gentleman, from the seventeenth century.  It wasn’t as over the top as turning him into Dracula, and it gave him a bit of originality. He appeared as a vampire from the nightmares of Bram Stoker and his contemporaries. A dashing devil that seduced women to their doom. 

We stepped out from the shadows, and emerged onto the mall near Eighteenth Street.  A large crowd of costumed students had found their way to this spot, congregating, discussing which party to attend, and heading east toward the University Village apartment complex. 

Seeing the cluster of bodies heading in that direction, Anita and I turned to Dean, expectantly.  “Yeah, one of the guys from the team lives in that complex.  I’m guessing your lack of social exploration is what is bringing on that look,” Dean observed smugly.  He had us.  Neither Anita, nor I had friends outside of this small circle.  I don’t think Finn had made a single friend outside of us either. Perhaps a few females, but I don’t think that he was sharing much of his personality with them.

“Hey! We can make friends,” Anita exclaimed, offended.  Dean smiled unaffected, “I know that you
can
sweetie, I just don’t think that you
will
.  See the difference?  Anyway, you haven’t so I have to make all of the connections into the mortal realm for us.”
Mortal realm
, we don’t talk like that.  “Come on, we don’t talk about humans like that,” Anita scoffed. My best friend and I might share a brain on occasion. “But you do make the distinction,” Dean pointed out.  Anita shrugged. I guess she saw his point. Yeah, ok I did too.

Just like that it was as if we were back at the party only a couple of weeks ago, when Anita and I decided we needed to make an effort to have the complete college experience.  We were going to socialize, and make every effort to have a normal life, despite our abnormal origins.  And we would do it while hunting for a vampire and his evil hag.

Since that fateful party I had broken up with Finn, began dating Grey, and confronted Alexander and Simone a few times.  Here I am a little more than two weeks later, going to another party, trying to feel the “real college experience”, in costume, while simultaneously looking for real vampires and necromancers.  Why am I the only one who could see that this plan was a failure before we began?

Déjà vu, here we were again.  The same music, and probably the same forgettable people.  The apartment door opened and Dean greeted the host. They began talking a language of sports.  He introduced Anita, as his girlfriend, to his teammate, and she beamed brightly. 

Grey stepped out for a moment to inspect the surroundings.  Before he left he whispered, “If you need me, say my name and I will hear you.  I won’t leave you to fend for yourself among these cretins.”  I kissed him on the cheek and he sauntered off out the back door. 

Down the gray-carpeted stairs stumbled Cynthia, followed by two of her minions.  “So that was the mysterious ‘boyfriend’ you keep talking about.  What he couldn’t stay?” Cynthia slurred.  I felt the reassurance of cold fingers gently touching my neck, and I turned slightly to introduce Grey, but instead stared right into the pale brown eyes of Alexander.