Foretell (4 page)

I scanned the table, looking at each of them. Apart from their exotic features, they certainly didn’t fit the description of what I thought was a gypsy. They wore crisp, modern clothes. Lola’s were a bit eclectic, but half the women in L.A. dressed the same way.

“So you’re like, travelers, right?” I asked. “When I hear the word gypsy, I picture fortune tellers, con-artists, thieves. Those people you see at carnivals.”

Gabe laughed, lighting up his dark gray eyes. “Some of us are known for that, yes. Your assumptions are stereotypical though.”

With a wave of her hand, Lola said, “But certainly not without merit. There are many responsible for smacking us with some of the more unsavory titles you mentioned. It’s unfortunate but true.”

Gabe explained, “Her father is known for being a scandalous con-artist and thief, among other things. He is one of those ‘some’ she is talking about.”

“
And
he is a profitable troupe leader and manager to a famous belly dancer,” Lola added. She turned to Gabe, narrowing her eyes on him. “Funny how you left the respectable titles out.”

“Oh, because he’s such a reputable, decent sort of Rom and has been for the last millennium?” Gabe countered. The hints of a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. He clearly enjoyed arguing with his fiancé. I would’ve thought it was funny if I weren’t so overwhelmed.

I caught Lola rolling her eyes as she turned away from Gabe, ignoring his comments about her father. “There are certain things that set us apart from everyone else,” she told me.

“Like what?”

“Well, many gypsies have a second form of sight. For instance, you can see what people want and how they can obtain it.”

“Can you do that, too?” It surprised me, hearing the inkling of hope in my voice.

Lola chuckled. “No, definitely not. Your sight is far greater and more powerful than any we’ve ever crossed before.”

“So what do you all…see?” Part of me was intensely curious about them. I think maybe I wanted the reassurance in finding out there were others like me. Maybe I craved it.

Gabe spoke to me now, explaining, “Sight differs with all gypsies. For instance, I can see my present surroundings within a few miles radius.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed to the far end of the street. “See that corner, over there?”

I leaned forward and nodded.

“In just a few moments, a woman in a black dress will come around it carrying a vase full of purple tulips.”

I waited a few moments in suspense, keeping my eyes locked upon the street. Just as he’d said, the woman with the tulips turned the corner. I sucked in my breath in disbelief.

“How did you do that?”

“Let’s just say my vision stretches a lot further than yours,” he said.

I stared at Lola and Rex in wonder. “Can you both see things too?”

Lola answered first. “Unfortunately, I don’t possess any unique sight. However, Rex here has something we hope will protect you until we can figure out what to do next. He--”

“Otherwise, we wouldn’t have brought him along,” Gabe interjected dryly. “My brother isn’t the most friendly person, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Rex said as a lazy grin spread across his face.

Ah, so Rex and Gabe were brothers. It made sense, I supposed. They practically mirrored one another in appearance.
Olive skin, dark hair, strong noses.
The only exception was their eyes. Gabe’s were a cool shade of gray while his brother possessed that warm amber color that dazzled me earlier.

Lola looked pointedly at her fiancé. “Don’t start with the childish banter, okay?”

Gabe kissed her on the tip of her nose affectionately. “Sorry,” he offered lamely.

Rex gagged out loud, a thoroughly repulsed noise. I couldn’t help but laugh, it was so ridiculous.

Lola turned her attention back to me, smiling at my laughter. She seemed pleased to see me relaxing. At that moment, I decided I really liked her. I still wasn’t so sure about her companions though.

I took a bite of fettuccini, feeling my appetite return. Despite the topic of conversation, I began to feel a sense of comfort. It was something I hadn’t felt since first meeting these people.

“
Any
way,” Lola moved on. “Rex’s unique sensory blocks out intruders. For whatever reason, mind readers can’t track his thoughts. He also lets us know
who
we can trust. That’s how he knew you were lying earlier.”

I arched a brow at Rex, swallowing my food. “Oh. And here I thought I was just bad at it.”

“You are,” Rex said. “Trust me, it doesn’t take any special sight to see right through you.”

I dropped my fork. It clinked loudly against my ceramic plate.

Wow
. This guy took candidness to a new level. “Has anyone ever told you how charming you are?” I asked him, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

“Again with the compliments.”

Lola cleared her throat, treating Rex to a disapproving glare. She mouthed the words
stop now
, just the way a mother scolded a child.

“Let’s get back on track,” she told me sweetly. “And from now on, feel free to ignore him.”

“Noted,” I replied, before swallowing a giant gulp of iced water.

“There is one thing every gypsy has in common. We can all remember our past lives.”

“Past lives?” I sighed. “I don’t know how much more of this I can handle.”

She patted my hand. “I know. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I don’t remember any past lives,” I told her. “Are you sure I’m a gypsy?”

“Yes, and neither did I up until recently,” she said. “We’re the exception. We were meant to forget everything.”

“But why?”

Lola’s voice turned ominous. She seemed to stare at me without seeing. “For our protection.”

“I don’t think I understand. Are you linked to me somehow?”

Gabe and Lola glanced at each other warily. “I think we should save some of the explanations for later,” Lola said. “You have so much to process already. The most important thing you should know is that we have to leave California immediately. There are certain gypsies, mind readers, who will hunt you, probably already hunting you. They will use you as their tool towards power. And you have the capability to tell them how to get whatever they desire. No doubt, they’ve read my mind and are on their way here as we speak.”

“Mind readers?” I asked, afraid to believe such a thing was possible.

“It’s another form of sight,” Lola explained. “Our thoughts become frequencies. If a mind reader picks up on your frequency, it leads them straight to you.”

“If that’s the case, why haven’t these mind readers found me yet?”

“They never knew they were looking for a person before. The legend of you led everyone to believe you were a crystal orb, not a human being.”

I exhaled, shaking my head. “I can’t just leave,” I told them. “I have graduation coming up, and then college.”

“Trivial things that mean nothing if you’re captured,” Gabe stated somberly. “Your only chance at freedom is to come with us. If you stay, you’ll become a prisoner. Not only in this life, but they’ll make sure they own you for the rest of your existence.”

I bit my lip, feeling the full impact of their words. It was heavy, this feeling of hopelessness. I looked out at the darkened street, watching the passersby as they hurried home with their shopping bags. They moved briskly, energetically…freely. I envied them a little. They owned their lives, were responsible for their choices.

“Where would we go that would be safer?” I eventually asked them. There was a shaky twinge in my voice. I hoped they hadn’t heard it, too.

Rex turned and looked directly at me, as if he were gauging my emotion. I caught his gaze for just a moment,
then
quickly turned away.

His eyes appeared all too knowing.

“I have a friend who can help,”
Lola
answered me. “She can see the future. And not just the future,
but
the immediate future. If a tracker shows up looking for you, she’ll know at least an hour before hand. We need to go to her until we decide our next move.”

“You’re asking me to simply trust you blindly.” I looked around the table, scrutinizing each of their expressions. “For all I know, your intentions could be no better than the other gypsies you mentioned.”

“True,” Gabe replied. “But you do know. When Lola asked you how to gain your trust earlier, you knew immediately you could give it to her.”

He was right. I hadn’t known I could do that until then. If I couldn’t have trusted Lola, I would’ve acknowledged that it wasn’t possible.

It made me think of the time my sister jokingly asked me how to obtain world peace. The beast inside me told her it couldn’t be done. We both held our breaths for several minutes afterwards. Later, she asked me why I wasn’t able to give her an answer. The truth was, I didn’t know. I figured either her desire for world peace wasn’t real or it simply wasn’t possible. Either way, it was one of the only times my will didn’t bend to give an answer. I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or heartbroken.

It got me thinking about possibilities. There were so many things on this earth that were possible. I could probably bring the world to destruction with my capabilities, and yet I could never bring about world peace. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I eventually realized they were all waiting for my answer.

Should I go with them blindly? Or stay and be someone’s tool for the rest of my life?

I didn’t know them, but I knew I trusted them. Maybe, just maybe, they would be able help me find some answers.

“You should know,” Rex warned. “You don’t really have a choice in the matter. You can either
come with us quietly
,
let us help you
. Or we’ll force our help on you.”

The others didn’t contest what Rex had said. They seemed prepared to take me with them whether or not I put up a fight. Guess that settles that then.

“I’ll come with you,” I said tightly. “Just give me some time to pack a suitcase, say goodbye and stuff. I can’t tell my mother I’m going with you, obviously. But I would like to see her before I leave.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Rex said in an exasperated voice. “We didn’t have time for this dinner, much less to waste even more. We should’ve been on the road hours ago, and would’ve been, if you didn’t live amongst the rich, famous and highly over-protected.”

“Rex,” Lola pleaded. “It’s her
family
.” She said the word like he should understand what that meant.

“Yeah, well I doubt she’s as concerned with them as she claims,” he mumbled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked indignantly.

“What do you think it means, babe? I can see right through you, remember? Your sincerity isn’t exactly at an all-time high. And we shouldn’t waste more time on people you don’t even like.”

Lola gasped in an obvious outrage over Rex’s words. “You’re an awful beast, you know that, Rex? What gives you the right to say whether or not she does or doesn’t want to say goodbye to her family?”

“It’s not an assumption, Lo. It’s a fact. Ask her for yourself.”

Lola turned to me now, her eyes glittering with anger in the candlelight.

“It’s true,” I admitted. “They’re not my favorite people…but it doesn’t mean I don’t care about them.”

Lola sighed despondently. “We’re here to help you, Estelle,” she told me. “More than that, we’re here to help the rest of the world, too. Please don’t play us for fools.”

“I’m not trying to back out,” I swore to her. “I believe you are who you say you are. And I’ve always kind of known how lethal I could be if someone with bad intentions ever found out about me. I wouldn’t ever want that to happen. Just…at least give me enough time to write a note. I don’t want my mom thinking something happened to me.”

Lola tightly nodded her approval. “Go,” she said. “But hurry. Our train leaves soon.”

“Okay,” I said, and then thought to ask, “Why are we taking a train? Why aren’t we flying?”

“Not safe. We need to stay on the ground where we can manage to flee if need be. There’s nowhere to run when you’re up in the air.”

Right, that made sense. Stay on the ground where there are places to hide. Lola’s sense of danger was finally beginning to impart itself on me.

There were people after me. People who knew I could give them whatever they asked for.

It was a difficult concept to swallow.

“You’re
not
bringing the dog.”

“Well I say the dog is coming.”

Both of us crossed our arms, chins jutted out stubbornly,
determined
to win this battle. We were currently at a standstill. Abby’s puppy dog eyes darted back and forth between our faces while she stood on the sidelines, waiting for her fate to be decided.

“Oh, give in already, Rex,” Lola said. She took the one bag I’d packed out of my hands and winked at me. I smiled.

“She packs light,” Gabe noted, taking the bag from Lola and placing it within the trunk of their SUV. “Great habit shared by most fellow Roms.”