Predestined (20 page)

“But... but you said my death and
Wyatt’s death were to be the tragedies this school year. That would
mean Wyatt’s death was fate.”

“I lied to you. I wanted you to be
angry at Dank. I could feel your pain and I knew you were staying
away from him.”

Lies. Leif only seemed to know how
to live by lies. He wanted me with him so he’d lied every way he
could to get what he wanted. And now, his father was going to kill
innocent people I loved if I didn’t give in. Who would be next? My
mom? Miranda? I couldn’t wait and find out. This would not happen
again. Dank had said he was bigger than this. He could end this but
it was too late now. Wyatt had already lost his life because of me.
I couldn’t sit back and wait for someone else to die. The pain and
guilt would be worse than an eternity with Leif. I let go of the
tight grip I had on the steering wheel and my shoulders sagged in
defeat.

“Okay. I’ll go with
you.”

Leif didn’t respond right away. The
car started and it pulled back out onto the road. I watched in a
haze as it drove itself toward the bridge. Instantly, my head
slammed back on the headrest from the speed of the car and I
reached frantically for the steering wheel and began pumping the
useless brakes.

“Leif! Help me!” I cried and the
steering wheel made a sharp turn to the right as soon as we were on
the middle of the bridge.

“I got you Pagan,” Leif’s voice was
calm and even as the car broke through the railing and we went
careening out over the ocean waters below us. There wasn’t even
time for me to scream before everything went dark.

Dank

Gee appeared in front
of me stopping me from going any further on my pursuit of voodoo
spirits in their main mecca of New Orleans. I knew they had a
portal here somewhere that led to Vilokan, the voodoo spirit
afterworld. Only three places in the world had a portal. Over time
New Orleans had become the most popular portal for the spirits. The
humans here welcomed and celebrated them. Even the Catholics began
accepting them and integrating them into their religion
here.

“We have a problem,” Gee’s words
weren’t laced with sarcasm or humor. She was serious. Which meant
whatever the problem was, it involved Pagan.

Bracing myself I asked,
“What?”

“I went to check on her like you
said. There were cop cars at her home. Her mother is very close to
an emotional breakdown, if she hasn’t already suffered one, and
there are rescue boats, helicopters, and ambulances swarming the
East Gulf Bridge. Pagan’s car was found a mile or so down the
river. There are skid marks on the bridge and a car sized opening
on the railing where her car crashed through.”

“She’s not drowned,” I stated,
knowing Pagan’s body was not dead. I’d not been
summoned.

“Of course she isn’t. But they all
think she has. She brought Miranda home last night and Miranda was
drunk. Leif helped get her to the house according to Miranda’s
mother. They’re now guessing that she was probably intoxicated too
and of course Leif is also missing, again, and they think both of
them were in the car when it drove off the bridge.”

“Vilokan,” I growled. Leif had
taken her to Vilokan. It was known to be an island under the water.
But only voodoo spirits could enter through the bottom of the sea.
The portals were the only way for anyone else to get in.

“That’s what I thought too but he
couldn’t take her if she refused to go.”

He’d told her. Leif had told her
about Wyatt and of course she went. She’d do anything to save those
she loved. I’d seen her give herself up for me without question. My
beautiful soul was once again sacrificing herself. Damn Ghede. He’d
pay for this. He’d pay for it with the extinction of Voodoo. His
world would be sealed off from this world. I’d make him wish he’d
never come near Pagan.

With a roar of fury, I shoved the
lamp post beside me hard enough to send it flying forward toward
the center of the busy street. Glass shattered and people ran
screaming as car horns blared.

“Brilliant move, Hulk. Go and kill
somebody that isn’t meant to die today, why doncha? As if the
Creator isn’t pissed enough right now.” Gee grumbled before shoving
past me and stalking away angrily.

I hadn’t killed anyone. The most
I’d done was caused some damage to a few cars and the lamp post.
The chaos I’d created hadn’t been intentional but it would come in
handy.

Chapter
Nineteen

Pagan

Black chiffon floated above my head
as I opened my eyes. This was familiar. I’d done this before.
Blinking several times until I could focus, I studied the delicate
fabric draped over my head. It was lovely yet creepy. Candles on
all different kinds of silver candle holders filled the furniture
around the room. Flames filled the room with a soothing glow. I’d
been here before. Trying hard to concentrate I sat up and took in
my surroundings. Stone walls surrounded me giving the large room an
even darker feel. A large crystal chandelier hung in the center of
the room. The ceiling was high and made of stone just like the
walls. Slowly, my mind began working and I remembered this was
Leif’s room. He’d brought me here before. I was in New Orleans.
This was good. There was a hidden door somewhere along this wall
that would put me out onto Bourbon Street. I’d get out there and
call for Dank. He’d come get me; I’d be fine.

I stood up and froze as more
memories began to flash in my mind. My car flying down the road.
I’d been unable to control it. Leif had been controlling it. He’d
turned the wheel and we’d crashed through the railing and then
we’d... then we’d...

“You’re up,” Leif’s voice broke my
concentration and I spun around to see him entering through a
hidden door. It was on the other side of the room. Not the same one
I remembered. How many doors were in this room?

“We. You, ran us off a bridge. Over
the ocean.”

Leif’s easy smile fell some and he
nodded slowly. He looked regretful at least for driving us over
into the Gulf of Mexico.

“Yes, I did. I’m sorry but that was
the quickest way to get us here without my having to apport you.
Last time it really exhausted you but I had to bring you here in
your human form. Trying to extract your soul would be impossible
considering Death would never do that to you so I had to bring you
to Vilokan via the closest route.”

“Vilokan? What’s Vilokan? Aren’t we in New Orleans? And
driving me off into the ocean is the closest route to
where
?”

Leif chuckled and sat down on the
edge of the bed. I wanted to be angry with him but something in the
back of my head that I was supposed to remember didn’t allow me to
blame him. “I’m sorry. Vilokan is my home. It’s the spirit world in
the voodoo religion. It’s located under the water. It’s a beautiful
island. I can’t wait to show it to you.”

Shaking my head, I walked over to
the door that last time had lead straight onto Bourbon street.
“I’ve been out that door. I know what’s out there. We aren’t
underwater. We’re in a building on Bourbon Street.”

Leif stood up and walked over to
the wall and pushed on it, “No door, see.”

“But I’ve been out that door,” I
insisted.

“Yes, when I made a door there you
went out of it. But unless I make a door there then there isn’t
one. You went through a special portal that only voodoo spirits can
create. We have three. One in New Orleans, one in Haiti, and one in
Togo in Africa. All of those locations have the largest populations
of believers. Our spirits are called there and we have the portals
to bring humans or souls from those cities into
Vilokan.”

“Are you keeping me here?” The
realization that this time I might be stuck in this underwater
island began to sink in.

Leif frowned at me then
understanding seemed to dawn on his face. “You don’t remember. I
should have guessed the travel would have messed with your head a
little. It’ll all come back to you but I won’t make you sit around
and wait for that.”

Standing up, Leif closed the space
between us and I started to back up when he placed his hands on
each side of my head. Warmth radiated though my skull and slowly
images began flashing in my eyes. Then, as if a movie screen was
set up behind my eyelids, I remembered everything. Every awful
detail.

Stepping back out of his grasp I
covered my face with both my hands. I was here. Forever. Wyatt was
gone because of me. Miranda had lost both of us because of me. And
Dank, he’d never know what happened to me. Could he even find me
down here?

“I’m sorry, I had to remind you.
Last night you only had to deal with this knowledge for a few short
minutes before we went under. In time you’ll heal from this. I
promise,” Leif’s soothing tone was so out of place with the words
that were coming out of his mouth. Did he even realize he’d just
told me that I’d get over the fact my friend was DEAD because of
ME? There was no getting over that. There was no getting over the
fact I was stuck here for eternity with him while the guy I loved
walked the Earth searching for me. My mother would mourn me.
Miranda... ohgod I didn’t want to think about Miranda. She wasn’t
emotionally stable. This wasn’t something she was going to handle
easily.

“I know it’s a lot to take in right
now. But all those things are of that world. You have to let go of
the life you knew.” Leif flashed a bright smile and spread his arms
out wide as if offering me the world, “Pagan you can live here as
you have never lived before.”

I had no response for that. He
truly didn’t understand. The humanity I’d always thought he
possessed, even in small amounts, really had all been an illusion.
Leif’s emotions and thoughts weren’t that of a normal human. He
believed he was offering me this wonderful world that was far
greater than the world he’d taken me from. But I was a prisoner.
I’d always be a prisoner. I was here because I couldn’t allow his
father to take any more souls. It was my soul that had been damned.
It was my soul that would pay.

“Come with me. Let me show you the
island. It’s beautiful here. You’ll love it. It’s like no other
paradise you could have imagined. We’ll walk along the whitest
shoreline and the water is a crystal clear blue. Then there is my
father. He wants to officially meet you. And--”

“I’m not leaving this room.” He may
have the power to force me to stay here but that didn’t mean I had
to appease him. I wasn’t a freaking pet he could play with. I was
staying right here. Maybe I’d lose my mind and start talking to
imaginary friends. That would be much more preferable than
reality.

“Pagan, please don’t be this way.
You’ll grow so bored in here. I want to show you all the things
there are to love about Vilokan. It’s your home now. Please, come
with me.”

No way in hell. I shook my head and
walked over to sit down on the bed. “Do you have any books here?
I’m doubting my iPhone works,” I reached into my pocket to see if
my phone was where I’d last stuck it. But, of course, it was
gone.

“We have an entire library. Full of
anything you could possibly want to read. Come with me. We’ll get
you so many you can’t carry them all.” The hope in his voice only
ignited my fury more.

Shaking my head I snarled, “No
thanks. I’ll just sleep,” I informed him, laying down on the black
satin sheets, I turned my back to him. I wasn’t going to be able to
go to sleep but maybe if he thought I was I’d be able to get rid of
him for the time being. Having him here wasn’t helping me cope with
things. The door behind me opened and closed and I let out a sigh.
Rolling onto my back, I stared up at the black chiffon and tried to
imagine my eternity. It looked very bleak. Hopefully, insanity
would claim me quickly.

I must have drifted off to sleep
because the sound of the stone door moving startled me awake.
Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and watched as Leif walked into the
room.

His smile was tentative when his
eyes met mine. Good, I’d made him nervous to approach me. Maybe I’d
be the worst “companion” ever and he’d let me go and find a new
playmate.

“You feel any better after your
nap?” he asked, stopping at the foot of the bed.

No, I’d never feel better again. I
didn’t even give that question a response it was so ridiculous.
Leif accepted my silence without much concern. He was dealing with
my attitude entirely too well. And why was he wearing a
tuxedo?

“Father would like for you to join
us for dinner.”

“No.” Not ever.

“Pagan, you can‘t refuse Ghede. I
can’t protect you from any punishment he might decide you require.
Please don’t disobey him.”

He has got to be kidding me. I’m
stuck in the voodoo version of Hell and he thinks I care if I piss
off his stupid daddy. “No,” I repeated.

Leif’s cool resolve began to crack
a little. I could see the frustration in his eyes and I wondered if
I actually could annoy him until he was begging to get rid of me.
Of course he might not send me back to earth but throw me in their
fiery pit or something. Did they even have one of those?