Healed (3 page)

It would not matter. I needed all my strength
in order to find the runaway Djinn and the intriguing Valentine.
While they were missing, I would research at their house, waiting
for their return. Hopefully, my position here in the house would
also stop any other paranormal from getting too close to what was
mine.

Chapter 4 –
Valentine

That had to be the most horrid experience
ever. My stomach was still turning. It felt like my body was
splitting apart only to come back together again. When we first
reappeared, the first thing I did was lean over and empty my
stomach of bile. Ami just stood tall and elegant like it was no big
deal. She realized what I was doing and moved to pull my hair
back.

“That is so fucking gross. I can’t believe
you are hurling; it really isn’t that bad.”

I turned to glare up at her.

“Oh don’t give me that shit look. I was
going to say I was sorry. Damn, maybe not so much now.” Ami
narrowed her eyes slightly but I turned back to the ground.

My hair felt sticky with sweat and I
couldn’t stand properly. I was still so weak from healing Mr.
Miller. Thinking about him, I had a vision. I noticed a small smile
as he slept peacefully. I always like that; I would have one last
vision of the person I saved. It was like my mind was reassuring me
that I did the right thing, that they deserved a second chance. I
would always believe that but Ami and her parents were always very
adamant that I had to be careful who I saved, I was no God, and
some people were just meant to die.

As I waited for the vision to fade away, the
Wraith showed up. My heart began to pound when I knew I was somehow
stuck in the vision. I knew, deep in my bones, that I did not want
to see what was about to happen. His eyes were completely black,
and I knew he was coming back for the kill. He was death, and he
was coming to wrong what I had set right.

Watching him hover casually next to the bed,
I thought perhaps I was wrong. My nose started to tingle with the
oncoming tears. Maybe he was as curious as I was about my gift.
Maybe as a Wraith he would be able to figure out what sort of magic
I used.

Then that all changed. His body
straightened, not a muscle even ticked. Black spilled from his
eyes, nose, and mouth. Not quite a smoke texture, more solid
looking, almost like tar. The tar spilled out of him and into Mr.
Miller.

I felt it. I felt every horrible caress. It
was as if I could feel Mr. Miller’s pain. Again. Once was enough,
but I couldn’t escape it this time around either. This time it was
worse, so much worse. My body felt like it was becoming overfull,
my insides pressing against my skin as if seeking an escape. I
thought for sure my heart would give out, but it kept pumping away.
Beating faster and faster, as cloudy apparitions began to form in
front of my eyes.

These were Mr. Miller’s memories, not mine.
I had to remember that this was his body and his thoughts, not
mine. It was too much. I watched as his children were brutally
murdered before his eyes, over and over again. I, no,
he
called out, screaming for mercy. It went on. His wife loved other
men, how they forced themselves on her, and then she too was
killed. His body felt too full, stretched to the max, and it
started to change. It was like the blood was being leached from my
veins, sucked from my steadily beating heart. Everything that was
keeping me alive was dying. I was dying in the most painful
way.

A voice was calling to me but I could barely
hear it over the echoing screams of Mr. Miller. He was trapped in
his body and dying. I was being pulled away, and I saw the Wraith’s
tar like form moving through the air back to his body. Once
beautiful green eyes were staring at me, completely void of life
but when the Wraith settled back in the body, they were washed away
by his blackness. Then he walked away, as if it was nothing.

I was gasping, my lungs couldn’t possibly
ever get enough air again. I felt Ami’s hand on my back as she
tried to push me into a seated position so that I could breathe
easier. Tears were pouring from my eyes and I couldn’t stop. I
looked up at Ami, knowing she was watching them fall.

My tears weren't normal,
and I tried my best not to cry because of it. However, this time, I
couldn't stop the diamond like tears from falling down my face.
When a drop fell to the ground, a flower grew in its
place.

I could still feel Mr. Miller’s death
coursing through my veins.

“He killed him, Ami. He killed Mr. Miller.”
My voice was cracking, and I could barely breathe. Ami held me
close as I cried. My heart was breaking. I could feel the utter
pain his soul was in before he left his body. I could see how, even
though life wasn’t perfect before, he was trying. He wanted to do
so much more for his family. He was going to turn his life around.
I could tell that with this second chance he was granted, he would
have done beautiful things. Now, he would leave behind a wife and
two boys. Oh the two boys, just thinking about them brought up a
memory of Mr. Miller’s. How could I have left him?

“Gods, for such a little beauty, you are the
ugliest fucking crier I have ever seen. Like seriously, snot
everywhere, puffy blood-shot red eyes, ugh, just gross. You really
look like shit,” Ami said, pulling away from me slightly.

I knew what she was trying to do. I could
see the twinkle in her eye. She was trying to make me feel better,
and while I felt my lips lift slightly, it really wasn’t there. The
pain would last for a very long time. I grabbed her hand and
squeezed.

“Thank you.” I licked my lips, tasting the
evidence of my tears. I tried not to cry, but when I could feel the
pain of others almost all the time, it was hard to hold in. Ami
always made fun of me and told me that it was okay because I cried
for her. She had been dry-eyed and unemotional during her parents’
funeral.

“Come on you, let’s get you home.” She
pulled me up and wrapped her arms around me. The purple smoke
surrounded us, taking my breath away and making me feel sick. I
didn’t like this at all. It was like I was becoming nothing, being
torn apart particle by particle only to be put together again.

When we arrived back in our living room, I
felt terrible. I had been weak already, but going a couple days
without eating, it was killing me. Ami seemed to notice and ran
into the kitchen to get me some food. She brought out a mixture of
nuts and smaller fruits. I found out very early in life that my
stomach could not handle any type of meat. I couldn’t even eat
fish. Much to Ami and her family’s dismay because when I started to
use my powers to heal, and passing out for hours at times,
sometimes a day, I would always come out starving and needing
protein and a good hearty meal, as Ami called it.

I ate the food she offered, feeling more
famished than normal and went to get another helping. Ami watched
me from the other side of the island. Her violet eyes were looking
at me but I could tell she wasn’t entirely there. I was about to
poke her to see what was bothering her when she blinked hard. She
had decided something.

“Right, we have to get the hell out of here.
I have a friend in the Long Clan that could probably hide us for a
while. After that, we are going to be shit out of luck and are
going to have to find a place where no clan resides.” She scoffed
at herself. “Like that will be easy.” Ami had a habit of talking to
herself as if someone was answering. I learned to accept it a long
time ago, knowing it was just how she was.

“Long Clan? What are you talking about?” I
asked, watching her closely, knowing that her family had kept
things from me. I accepted it because I figured they would tell me
in time.

“Well, my friend just happens to be a
fucking Long himself.” She waved her hand at me as she moved around
the counter. “I still don’t understand what a Wraith from the York
Clan would want with you. Damn, I don’t think he knows what you are
either. I mean, hell, my parents and I could never figure it
out.”

Normally, I think someone would apologize
for being rude but she just kept going. Ami was very
unapologetic.

“What are these clans?” I demanded, which
probably sounded more like an exhausted question.

“Oh, just the families that run and rule the
paranormal world. Sort of like a government. They usually only come
after you if you did something to piss off another family. I don’t
understand why the hell they would send a fucking Wraith, though. I
mean, I know I haven’t pissed off anyone…well not too much lately,
but none have been paranormal. And he clearly stated he was after
you. I know you didn’t give someone the stink eye, so what the hell
is this about?” She continued to pace. She stopped suddenly, her
purple hair flying as she stared at me.

“Fuck, they know what you are!” she
practically screeched.

I started to twist my fingers together. I
knew what she was thinking; why else would he be after me? I wasn’t
any more special than Ami. I had the power to heal. Ami explained
that Djinn or Witches could heal like me. She also told me that
many paranormals healed faster than humans.

“Maybe then we should go with him then…” I
whispered. I hated to say it because I knew he was the one that
killed Mr. Miller. I knew that I should hate him with every fiber
of my being, but I couldn’t hate someone. I didn’t like him, but I
couldn’t hate him.

“No!” Ami yelled at me. When I looked up at
her, her eyes were wide with fear, and I could see the death grip
she had on the counter. “Hell no! Absolutely not! The Yorks will do
unimaginable things to you. My parents have been hiding from them
for years! Our only friends right now may be the Longs and only
because they are mostly Asian descent paranormals. Damn lucky I
fall into that category; unfortunately, they aren’t too keen on
half human Djinn’s so keep your mouth shut about that. Gods, this
is such a fucking mess!” She kept pacing as she bit her thumbnail
and looked annoyed.

“Alright, you start getting packed. We will
lock up the house, and I will put up protective wards and do
something to make it seem like we are still here. The house will be
fine, and we can come back to it once this mess is over. While you
pack, I will call my friend, and we can transport to him. Wait, oh
for fuck sakes! I can’t, never mind. Damn the Longs and their crazy
protective magic spells. We will have to drive.” I started to head
up the stairs while she continued to mutter to herself.

When I got upstairs, I didn’t even think to
look around. I headed straight toward my room but before I got
there, a body wrapped around me. One hand covered my mouth while
the other arm trapped me close to their chest. I screamed behind
the hand, trying to do anything to dislodge myself but the arm was
like steel. I never resented my size as much as I did right
then.

“I will not harm you.” His voice again was
bitterly cold. I could feel the raise of memories of Mr. Miller and
his last moments. The pain he went through, the pain I lived
through with him. My body started to spasm erratically. He dropped
with me but he didn’t remove his hold. I turned my head to look at
him, my eyes starting to fill with my odd tears. His hand slipped
away.

“Why would you do that?” I whispered
harshly.

“Do what?” His head cocked slightly.

“You killed him, tortured him. How do you
live with yourself?” I asked disgusted, trying to pull away from
him. “You are horrid!” I started to open my mouth to scream for Ami
once again.

“You have his memories.” The Wraith didn’t
sound shocked, or even surprised. He spoke so completely flat I
would have thought it was a known fact.

I was thrown off track and stared at him. I
felt as if he was baiting me, as if he was waiting for me to
confirm. And I couldn’t resist, I had to know.

“Yes, of course. I felt you in there. I felt
what you did to him!” I was on the verge of tears again. I was safe
within the house, nothing could grow from the carpets but they
still shimmered in an unnatural way.

“Then you know.” He was baiting me again.
Stating a fact, but leaving it open so that I had to ask. That I
would let my curiosity rule my tongue once again.

“Know what?” I demanded. I was sick of these
games.

“I did what was right. He was thinking things
about you. You would not have approved. Yet you fight so willingly
against my decision to torture him before I killed him.” The Wraith
sounded so hardhearted.

Chapter 5 –
Elijah

There were tears brimming in her eyes. I
watched as they got brighter and brighter. The glimmer of her tears
told me only that she was a supernatural. I had never encountered
anything quite like those tears. I could not seem to stop staring
at them as they moved down her flawless pale cheeks. She could have
been rather startling to look at with her pale hair and pale skin
but with her ruby red lips and gem colored eyes, she was far from
disquieting. She was intriguing. As I played this game with her, as
I baited her in, getting her focus off her Djinn friend, I knew
something else was irritating me. I felt the need to clench my
fist. For some reason, her knowledge of the man I killed, the man
she so foolishly saved, and of his last moments perturbed me.

“Know what?” she demanded.

“I did what was right. He was thinking
things about you. You would not have approved. Yet you fight so
willingly against my decision to torture him before I killed him.
Did you have access to his last memories? Were you aware of his
thoughts? His thoughts of you.” I knew that I should have just
stated what I meant but I found a small amount of pleasure from her
nose flaring slightly and her teeth clenching.

“No, all I know was that he wanted to make a
better life for him and his family. You killed him, and now his
wife will be without a husband and his children without a father.
Are you so heartless that you do not even care for their sakes?”
she demanded, her tiny frame shaking with anger.