Luminescence (Luminescence Trilogy) (18 page)

I didn’t know what to do, but I knew that if I didn’t do something he was going to kill th
em both. I couldn’t let their
blood
be
on his hands. Not even to save me.

“Gavin,
” I said his name. He didn’t budge at my voice. Taking a step closer to him, I repeated his name. The two guys were now gurgling as the last few bre
aths began to leave their body.

Reaching his side, I put my hand on his arm and yelled. “Gavin stop!” The second I touched him I was jolted with
a quick shock
. Jerking my hand away, he dropped the spell at the same time. His eyes still had the eerie burning glow and were glossy – like he didn’t see
me
.

“Gavin its okay.”

Ever so slowly his eyes cleared and focused on my face.
For the corner of my eye, a
ll three of the g
uys
were lifeless but I didn’t think any of them were dead.

“Let’s go,
”
he ordered.
So
me
of the coldness had left his tone. Seizing my arm he started walking us once again to his car.
There was no protest from m
e. Obediently I got into the passenger seat
and buckled my seatbelt. This was going to be a bumpy rid
e
if his mood was any warning.

He tore out of the parking lot, peeling
his tires and t
he car fishtailed before bolting down the street.
It wasn’t until we were safely speeding down the rode that they effects of what happened hit me like a bulldozer.

One thing was certain, I wasn’t going to cry. Not now.
Perhaps
later when I was alone, but right now I was going to hold it together.

He had both hands gripping the steering wheel. His knuckles white from the pressure. “Are you okay?”

I ran an unsteady hand through my hair. “I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry I lost control. I…” He paused and took a deep breath.
“I couldn’t let them hurt you.”

“It’s okay.” His expression said he didn’t believe me. “Really I’m okay. I promise.” And it was true. I was going to survive another day and I was prett
y sure those guys weren’t dead.

Pulling up to my house, I was never so happy to be home. The perfect dated ended in the date from hell.
There was an entire side to Gavin that I had never witness before – his darker side. It should have frightened. It should have sent me packing. It should have concerned me. The only thing it did do was soften my heart.

“
Come over
tomorrow? I know Sophie would l
ove to see you,” he added.
He was worried I was going to fall apart.

“Sure.” I was pathetic, jumping at any excuse to see him
regardless that I had jus
t
witness the kind of darkness that lived deep inside of him
.
Lukas might have been right. Gavin may be capable of evil things when pushed t
o
o far.
Yet I thought the
same could be said for me
, thinking about my own anger issues
.

None of it stopped my heart from wanting him.

Chapter 19

“I DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE ever going to get here,” Sophie
said the moment I walked in the door.
Apparently her patient level was thin and sh
e was really excited to see me.

I started thinking of her as the little sister I never had, except she was gorgeous. “Sorry, Gavin never told me when. He just said to come
anytime
.”

“He’s such an idiot,” she said, clearly annoyed.

“Is he here?” I asked,
worried about him and
slightly disappointed he didn’t answer the door.

She started down the hall, with me at her heels. “
I think he is upstairs. He knows you’re here,” she informed in her harmonious matter of fact voice.

Following the swish of her floral skirt we walked into the expansive kitchen, the sheer sophistication of the room
was
mindboggling.
I wouldn’t even know where to begin cooking in here. There were more appliances and gadgets then I knew what to do with; I’d probably end up losing a finger in the process.
The kitchen was flourished in beiges, golds and dark blues. Impressive paintings hung
on
display around the room. I assumed they were all done by Lily
, who was standing in the kitchen
.

She
was at the granite island nibbling on a feast of snacks she created.
A spread of
salsa, guacamole, some kind of cream cheese dip and a few others I couldn’t identify. Plus an arrangement of chips, it looked like
Food Network
in here.
I hoped she hadn’t done this all for me. Not to me
ntion if she kept cooking like this
, I was going to g
ain an insane amount of weight.

“Hi Brianna.
”
Lily smiled
warmly at me
.
I
couldn’t help
but
grin back. “
Have something to eat,
”
she offered.

Taking a seat with Sophie next to me
I munched away.
“Thanks.”

“Can I get you something t
o drink? Sophie?” she asked us.

Setting two cans of
soda
in front of us, she mixed a bowl filled with what looked like spinach dip.
“
So
Gavin
mentioned
that he told
you
about us
,” Lily said as I was putting a pretzel in my mouth.

Crap. I had completely forgotten.
With everything that happened last night it had completely slipped my mind.
This was the first time I’d seen his family since he told me
their secret – they were witches
. Thank goodness that it didn’t occur to me earlier or I would have stressed myself crazy. I swallowed the chip
.
“
Ummm, he did,” I replied feeling a little uncomfortable. I didn’t want them to think I’d tell anyone.

“
I just want to make sure that you are okay and to let you know that if you have any questions… any questions at all, you can ask me
. Any of us
,” Lily offered in a soothing motherly tone. “I can’t imagine what you are thinking about all this. It has to be an enormous
shock
. I can’t pretend
to
un
derstand what it would be like, w
e’ve always known
.
I just want
you to know that we will
be here to help
.”

H
oly cow
. I have no idea what I deserved to
receive
such honest welcoming, it was almost disconcerting. I didn’t want to disappoint any of them.

“Why did he tell you?” Sophie asked next to me. She was swinging her feet under the bar chair. “Don’t get me wrong, I am so glad he did. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep it from you. I don’t keep secrets very well from my friends,” she
confessed between sips of her coke.

“Honey you can’t keep a secret at all. Remember that Brianna. Sophie is the last person you tell if
you want
to keep a surprise,”
Lily
said
with a joking twinkle
.

Sophie
rolled her eyes.

How did
I
tell
Gavin’s
mom that her son
exposed himself to
save my life?
Not once but twice.
I don’t think there was any easy way to put it.
“He used magic to save my life,” I
warily revealed
, waiting for some kind of astonished reaction
.

“Ahh my brother the hero,” Sophie
teased and popped a tortilla in her mouth

Not exa
ctly the response I was expecting
, but so Sophie.
Remembering
Halloween
night
and trying to forget last night
I thought about the look the
y
shared.
I asked, “How did you know he was going to tell
me?
”

“Magic,” she said with
vivacity
. “Part of my power is the future. I always knew he was go
ing to tell you,
but the timing was different and he was upset with himself. I didn’t know what changed.
I
also
kne
w
that
you and I
were going
to be
come fast
friends.”

Whoa
that
was a
more than a little weird
. “You can see the future?” I asked completely dumbstruck by the idea.

“Sort
of. It doesn’t exactly work that simple.
”

Nothing ever does.

She continued, “I
see images, places or people. They are never clear and precise. The future is always evolving based on decisions and circumstances. Nothing is set in stone, which makes it so hard to decipher
. I only get glimpses
,” she explained
.

Alright that sounded far more complex than I realized magic
could be. There was so much I didn’t know or understand. I was beginning to feel afraid that I wouldn’t be able to fit in or belong to this world – Gavin’s world. If I couldn’t exist here what hope would I have with
him? Like everything lately, my world
revolved around him.

Sophie shook her head. “Stop worrying. You will always be a part of this and magic will be a part of your future.”

I stared at her. She had read my mind or gotten inside my head. I remember what Gavin had said about his sister the night we had coffee. I wasn’t sure I liked her in my thoughts – okay it
freaked me out. My thoughts didn’t
feel
safe.

“Did you just read my mind?
” I accused.

“No, I can’t read your mind, but I can see your aura and you
project your feelings very loud.
Auras are my specialty.
”
You could see the passion on her face. She truly enjoyed her powers.

I gave her a,
what are you talking about loo
k
.

“Very loud,” Lily
grinned,
echo
ing
Sophie’s words.

Just great. Even in magic standards I was odd.

“Everyone has an aura that is dependent upon mood
s
and feelings. Some people are more difficult to read than others.
This is
my
realm of ma
gic
– aura’s, more so than the little of glimpses of the future I sometimes get
.
I think my ability to see the future opens the channel to
tap into it. The closer I am to the person the easier
they are
to read.
Each emotion is identi
fied by a color, sometimes
colors can blend if there are conflicting or multiple feelings.
Your emotions are such a part of you
that y
ou not only show them, you project them
– loudly.
”

Great – I needed to work on that somehow.

There was movement from the stairs in the other room and moments later Gavin walked into the kitchen. “Hey Bri,” he said and sat down on the other side of me
, carefully eyeing me
. He plunked a chip from one of the bowls and popped it in his mouth.

His lip ring moved with the movements of his chewing and I found it extremely sexy. “Hey,” I answered smiling. Trying not to stare, which was harder than it sound
ed.
I toyed with pop tab on my coke can
, anything to distract myself
.
I wanted him to know I was okay and he didn’t have to tiptoe around my emotions.

“Right now your aura just went through the roof
,” she giggled.

I wanted to
bury my head in mortification and
I
seriously hopped she was the only one in the family with that ability or I was in big trouble.
They were all grinning at my apparent discomfort.