The Need (10 page)

“
I think so. What happened?” I feigned ignorance as I struggled to sit up. Perhaps if he thought I had no idea what was going on, he might let something slip.

“
Really you remember nothing?” I detected a note of disbelief in his voice. He gripped my elbow tightly as he pulled me into a sitting position. The grip bordered on painful but I bit back any sound of discomfort.

“
I remember sitting here. I was angry with you and I wanted answers. The next thing I knew I was waking up on the couch.”

Natasha who had remained silent held a glass out to me. The liquid was clear so I assumed it was water. The second it hit my taste buds I knew I was wrong. The bitter taste invaded my mouth and I fought hard not to gag. “What the hell is this crap?” I pushed the glass back towards her as I spoke. “I’m not drinking anymore of it.”

“
It helps with restoring your body. You have weakened yourself and so your power is useless now unless you restore your body. Once your birthday arrives, you won’t need to restore yourself quite so much. You will be stronger and much more able to withstand the use of your power.” She pushed my hand back towards me and indicated I should drink again.

Sitting back into the sofa I cradled the glass in my hands. If what she was saying was true perhaps I should keep drinking but my mouth was still insulted from the last mouthful I had taken. I watched Jackson step away from me and stand with his back to the fireplace. He observed me with cold brown eyes. It felt as though he knew I was lying but how was that even possible?

“
You were babbling about Jon. Is there anything you would like to share on this topic?”

“
I honestly don’t remember what happened. If I was talking about Jon can you blame me? He is missing and I need to find him. God only knows what those monsters have done to him.” I could feel the first tendrils of a headache beginning to ache just behind my eyes. Perhaps Natasha was right and I did need to restore my body. The power I had used was too much of a drain. Slowly I took another sip of the bitter liquid. It didn’t taste as bad the second time around but the after taste it left in the back of my mouth was something I could have done without.

“
Look Jackson, I need answers and you need answers. Perhaps by you telling me what you know it will jog something in my brain that I can share with you.”

He nodded and resumed his seat on the couch opposite me. Natasha hovered nervously as though afraid I might have another episode or just simply get angry and freak out.

“
Natasha has told you about the prophecy?” Jackson folded his hands across his lap. I nodded and waited for him to continue. “You and Jonathon are not the first of your kind. There were others like you. Powerful soulmates. The only difference was the prophecy did not speak of them bringing down the Hunters. Their magic was not suited for the job. Instead, the prophecy spoke of two who would not be brought up in the way of the Hunter or the Croí. They would hold all magic between them. The prophecy foretold of a love so strong that to separate the couple would bring ruin and damnation to all who fought to keep them apart. The woman would slowly lose her mind and become one of insanity and air. The man would lose his soul. All compassion and empathy lost until the only thing he knew was death.” Jackson paused and I stared at him open mouthed. A small part of my brain acknowledged he was talking about Jon and me but the larger part refused to believe anything he was telling me.

“
I’m going to lose my mind and Jon is going to become a murderer? There is no way I accept that.” I took another sip of the drink. My body was beginning to feel stronger at least I knew Natasha was on my side and what she had given me would help me.

“
I know you find it hard to take in Aisling, but the fact of the matter is you are already beginning to show the signs that the prophecy talks of. The episodes you suffered are signs of your mind giving up.”

“
Well forgive me if I have a few episodes because things have been a little crazy and stressful. That doesn’t mean I’m going to lose all my marbles.” The look of pity on his face made me angry. Who was he to tell me that I was losing my mind? Sure the thing in the hallway had freaked me out and I was worried about the state of my mental health but not because some prophecy said I was going to go mad.

“
Aisling, you are not listening to me. It is the prophecy. If you and Jon are not together then you will lose your mind and Jon will be little more than a killer. That is just what is going to happen. Now if there was any way you could contact Jon and force him to come to you then perhaps that part of the prophecy could be avoided.”

“
Force him to come to me? How would I do that? I don’t even know where they are holding him.”

“
You forget. You and Jon share a deep bond. Greater even than the will of the Hunters. If you truly needed Jon then he would have no choice but to come to you no matter the cost.”

Jackson’s words stunned me into silence. If that truly was possible, I could have Jon back. Of course, I needed him just as he needed me but how could I contact him? True, I had just had a vision of him but it wasn’t intentional on my behalf. What if it just occurred naturally and I couldn’t replicate the moment?

“
How would I make Jon come to me?” I swallowed the last of the drink and grimaced.

“
Well, I was hoping what you had experienced was a vision of Jon. Have you ever had a vision of Jon? It would make this process much easier.” Jackson studied my face carefully. I knew he was waiting for me to tell him I had seen Jon but there was something about his eagerness that unnerved me a little. I still didn’t know this man and I wasn’t willing to straight up trust him with the man I loved.

“
I’ve dreamt about him but I’ve never had a vision like you mentioned.” I watched as he pondered my answer. I hoped it was enough for him to go on.

“
Well it won’t be as easy to communicate with him. You see dreams are notoriously hard to control but it’s not impossible. You need to imagine him in as much detail as possible. Try to feel him, as soulmates your connection can be used almost like a thread. Feel what he feels through the thread that connects you. It might take you a few attempts to get it but it is all you have. Once you master that, the rest is easy and you will know what to do.”

“
So how soon can I try this out?” I tried to keep the impatience out of my voice but I failed miserably. He knew how desperate I was to have Jon back.

“
I would suggest you try it as soon as your strength is back. We do not know how long you will have between episodes and once you slip into an episode it will become harder and harder for you to keep the control needed to get Jon back with you.” His voice grew serious and for the first time I could see an edge of concern in his face. “It is imperative that you get Jon back Aisling. You cannot survive without him. No matter what happens, he must be with you when you come into your powers or you will lose yourself completely.”

Fear thrilled through me as his words sank in. I would go insane. I knew it was the truth, I could feel it within my heart. The way in which my magic was tangled up with Jon’s made it impossible for me to survive without him. If we did not get each other back, we would become shells of our former selves.

“
Is there somewhere I can lie down and try?”

Jackson nodded and indicated to Natasha. “Natasha, will show you where you can lie down. Try not to push it too hard Aisling, that may push you into an episode and we do not want that. Instead, do as I suggested... feel Jon. He is out there and he is just as lost as you are. Perhaps even more so. After all, you have the luxury of being surrounded by friends. Jon on the other hand is in the midst of the enemy. If they have taken him where I suspect, then he is very lost indeed. My only hope is that you can get word to him and show him a way out of all of this.”

I smiled nervously. “So no pressure then on my part.” I watched as Jackson looked confused for a moment. He struck me as the type who did not spend anytime in the modern world. He probably preferred to stay here cooped up with dusty piles of books. Searching through them for other young people caught up in prophecies so that he could ruin their lives too. “I was joking Jackson. It is just a turn of phrase, there is no need to look so worried.”

The look he gave me was halfway between a grimace and a smile. “You young people have too many jokes. How is one to keep up with them all?”

“
Watch more T.V.” I answered before getting slowly to my feet. I was still a little unsure about how steady I was but as promised the drink seemed to have restored my body. Tentatively I let go of the couch and made my way to Natasha who was standing waiting for me at the door.

“
I’ll keep a close eye on you Aisling. I want you to succeed and the Croí as a people needs you to succeed. Who knows how much more pain and suffering we can take at the hands of those monsters?”

Natasha opened the door and I slipped through it without answering him. Wordlessly we made our way back down the hall. I gave myself over to my thoughts. Truly there was something strange about Jackson. I could not see how he was my father and yet, I felt oddly drawn to him.

“
Are you sure this is a good idea?” Natasha’s question caught me off guard.

“
What do you mean?”

“
I know you want Jon back, but are you sure trying to force your power is the right thing to do? You’re not exactly stable as it is.”

Pausing in the hall I thought about what she had said. Deep down I knew she was right, but I couldn’t let Jon go. Without him I was going to lose my mind anyway, I may as well lose it getting him home safe.

“
I don’t have a choice Natasha. Without him, I’m going to go insane. At least this way I stand a chance of getting him home.”

Natasha nodded and walked down the hall ahead of me. I hurried to keep up with her as my mind mulled over my thoughts of Jon. Would I be able to contact him? And even if I could, how was Jon to escape those who kept him prisoner?

Natasha came to a halt in front of one of the many doors that lined the hall. She pushed the door open and I stared inside. Although it was dark, I could make out the shape of a bed in the middle of the floor. Natasha flicked the light switch and a soft glow filled the room.

“
Is it ok?” Natasha’s voice snapped me out of my own thoughts.

“
It’s beautiful, like everything else here.”

Natasha smiled and gestured for me to enter the room properly.

“
You’ll find fresh clothes in the wardrobe, they should be in your size. The room has been specifically prepared for you. The bathroom is through there.”

I shook my head, what did she mean it had been prepared specifically for me?

“
You’ve been keeping track of me all these years?”

“
But of course. Your father loves you. He never wanted this to happen to you but prophecy is unavoidable, as you have witnessed yourself.”

“
So you’re telling me that I was just left to struggle with my powers on my own. How much did you know?”

Natasha smiled sadly. “I didn’t know that much about the situation. I’m not the most powerful here. It surprised me when Jackson asked Jason and me to go and fetch you and Jon. We are... we were the most powerful soulmates left to the Croí. If we had a child, the power would have been unimaginable but that wasn’t to be our fate.”

I watched as she turned her back on me, the sound of her sobbing breath filled my stomach with dread. Natasha was as deep within the Croí as you could get so I wasn’t sure she could see exactly what my supposed father had done. Of course I couldn’t prove it but that didn’t stop my instincts from being right. The dread coiled tighter inside my stomach. It felt to me as though a snake had slithered into my body and was slowly wrapping itself tighter and tighter around my intestines. I rubbed my hand across my stomach in the hopes it would loosen the knot but nothing happened.

“
Natasha, I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t help but I am sorry.”

She turned back to me and scrubbed her hands across her face. “You see Aisling, you’re not the only one who has suffered.”

“
I know that. But at least you were given an opportunity at understanding everything. You were born into this. I wasn’t. I have always believed myself to be some type of freak. My only saving grace was that I had Jon and he was like me. Can you imagine growing up with all the normal people around you. I’ve spent my whole life trying to hide who I truly was. You’ve always known and you’ve had the support you needed. Jon and I only ever had each other.”

“
But aren’t you glad you had that chance at a normal life? Your father loved you enough to try to give you a normal life away from here, away from the Croí. Surely that counts for something?”

I sighed. She still believed that Jackson was good. She still believed that what he had done was for the best. I knew I didn’t have the proof I needed to show that everything he had done was for his own gain but I knew I would find it. My gut told me that something wasn’t right.

“
Look, I’m pretty tired and I still have to try to contact Jon so I’m just going to get some sleep, ok?”I watched Natasha shrug. She wasn’t the worst. Even though she had frightened me the first night with her show of power, I understood why she had done it. I liked her and I was hoping that if I got Jon back perhaps I could be real friends with her.

She headed for the door and I let her go. Right now I wanted to be alone with my own thoughts. Walking slowly over to the bed I sat on the edge of it as the door closed quietly behind Natasha. Listening to my heart I let my breathing slow down until it was barely rasping past my lips. Lying back on the bed I let my mind drift over thoughts of Jon. He was easy to picture in my head, but that was all it was, a picture. I wanted to be with him, to touch his skin and kiss his lips. I wanted to hear him whisper that everything would be alright.