Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1) (11 page)

“What he said before he left,
‘no parents, no siblings, no husband, you’re all alone.’
It sounded like a threat.”

“He said that to you?” She nearly shot out of her seat. Now she was concerned.

“And he asked me how well I knew the Maxwell family.” I couldn’t keep it in. I knew I couldn’t tell her the whole truth about the Maxwells, but I needed someone to talk to.

“The Maxwells? What do they have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know, he seemed to think I was close to them for some reason.”

“Are you?”

“No, you know that,” I snapped, surprised she’d even ask.

“I don’t know, ever since the wedding you’ve had a wall up. If something happened with them, with Robert, you know you can tell me.”

I frowned. I knew it was a bad idea to bring them up. “Nothing happened. They just…” I paused, unsure how to finish that sentence. I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell Becky anything more.

“Violet, talk to me,” my friend pleaded.

I let out a heavy sigh. “They helped me after I was attacked. That’s all.”

“And you think Ian knows something about that night, is that what you’re getting at?”

“I think so. Why else would he pry into my life and ask about my connection to the Maxwells? It can’t be a coincidence.”

“I don’t know, Violet. This all sounds crazy. I think you’re still shaken up after everything and I'll admit, maybe pushing you to go out with Ian was a bad idea.”

“We can agree on that. And maybe you’re right, maybe I’m just making connections where there aren’t any,” I said and shook my head. I hated that I had become so paranoid and grunted with frustration, though the fear remained.

“And maybe you were right about me meddling in your love life.” Becky’s comforting smile returned. “I’ll try not to push you too much anymore.”

"Uh oh, are we talking about Violet's romantic endeavors?” Aaron announced as he walked into the living room, sat down next to me and turned on the TV

“No, we’re not,” I said, stretching my legs across his lap.

“I just want to see you happy, you know that right?” Becky asked, ignoring my attempt to end the subject.

“I know.” I smiled back. “When I'm ready I'll find someone, I will." A small part of me thought of Robert, but I pushed his image out of my mind.

“At the rate you’re going, you’ll end up a crazy cat lady,” Aaron laughed, trying to ease the tension as he scrolled through the guide on the TV.

I tossed my head side to side in mock laughter and kicked him. “All I need is the bathrobe,” I said.

“And curlers,” Becky added, standing up, “Anything to drink?”

“I’ll take some water.”

Aaron selected a channel and the news blared to life, “
Four people were found dead in San Francisco this morning with what appeared to be some sort of markings on their foreheads.”
I looked at the TV and a drawing of the marking they were referring to replaced the newscasters face. An underlined triangle came into focus first, then a fancy ‘M’ with a dash through the middle line sat below the triangle “
Anyone with information is asked to contact the San Francisco police.”

“I hate the news, it’s always so depressing,” Aaron said changing the channel. A familiar cartoon character bounced across the screen, “Much better. So tell me, Miss Evans, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” He gave me a hopeful grin.

“Depends, what did you have in mind?” I returned his mischievous smile but the image of the triangle and ‘M’ made me feel uneasy. In the shadows of my mind I felt like I’d seen it before but couldn’t recall the memory. Nick, my ex had shown me weird markings and symbols that he used in his ‘group’ to purify themselves, but this looked nothing like what he’d shown me.

“Well, seeing how this is technically my vacation, I thought we could go to the beach, maybe do some surfing.”

“You know I can’t surf,” I laughed and tried to focus on the here and now. Whatever the marking was, it wasn’t my job to figure it out. I had enough on my plate at the moment without worrying about some ritualistic murders.

Aaron had tried to teach me to surf a few years ago and it was a disaster. I never stood up once and even took him out a couple times.

“Hah! This is true. It’ll be nice to get out of the house though, and you and Becky can hang on the beach.”

“As long as you don’t try to get me on a board, I’m down.”

“Deal.”

Even though it was late in the day, Aaron was still able to get a few good waves in. Becky and I relaxed on the shore as I got some much needed work done. I looked over my notes for the Caltome Vineyard shoot I had coming up as Becky sunbathed in a two piece that was more dental floss than a bathing suit. I was excited to have my next big shoot at a winery and it was nice that my life was getting back to normal. Being in the sun and breathing the fresh ocean air made me feel lighter. It was the perfect way to unwind after my morning with Ian. I almost felt normal again as I sipped some of Becky’s famous homemade lemonade and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my skin. Maybe my life could get back to normal after all.

I unlocked the front door of my studio, anxious to get some work done. I had a lot to catch up on and really needed a day without interruption. The mail had piled up on the floor beneath the little metal slot in the door and I collected it onto my desk to sort through as I entered my office.

An envelope with just my name scrawled in perfect cursive made it to the top of the pile. I set everything else down on my desk and flipped it over. No return address, no stamps, weird.

I held it up to the light, peering at the contents and wary of white powder, but I couldn’t see anything through the envelope. I shrugged and tore it open. Only one way to find out who it was from.

              Violet -

              Meet me at the end of the pier. 12 o’clock.

              I think it’s time we finally had that talk.

                                                        -Robert

My heart bottomed out somewhere in the pit of my stomach. So he was back. I wasn’t sure this was a good thing or not. I had just started putting what happened behind me and getting back to a normal life; I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet him.

I glanced at the clock. It was eleven, which meant I had an hour to drive myself crazy. To go or not to go?

I paced around the studio trying to decide what to do. I desperately wanted answers to what happened that night, but couldn’t decide if those answers were worth opening still-fresh wounds. Spending time with Becky and Aaron had lifted me out of the fog and back into my life before the attack. Did I really want to rehash everything and start the healing process all over again? I thought about calling Becky, but what would I say to her? I was keeping so much from her these days she probably wouldn’t be able to give me any advice.

Back and forth, back and forth. I wore a path in the wooden floors. I looked up at the clock again: eleven-thirty. Time seemed to be in fast-forward, closing in on me to make a decision. Every reason to blow him off I came up with felt foolish and immature, but that fear always remained, keeping me in an ever-present state of indecision. I knew I wanted answers, but deep down I was afraid of what those answers might be. I wish I had someone to talk to, someone who could offer support. Unfortunately Robert was the only one I could speak openly with, without fear of ending up in a straight jacket.

And with that, I made my decision. I needed to face this head on. Hiding from the truth would get me nowhere.

The pier was only half a mile away and I still had thirty minutes, so I decided to walk and try to catch my breath. A million questions floated in and out of my mind as I stumbled down the street. Turning the corner a fresh ocean breeze crashed into me and sent my hair flying in every direction. The musty aroma of salt-laden humidity filled my nose clearing all the doubts from my head. I could do this. I was going to get answers and I was going to be okay. I’d been through hell and back when I lost my parents; nothing Robert would say could shake my resolve.

A newfound strength came over me when I reached the pier, stepping along the boards with purpose as I searched for Robert. A lone figure sitting on a bench facing the water soon came into view. I knew it was him. I took another breath to steel my nerves and made my way to the end of the pier. He stood as I approached and turned to face me.

“I see you got my note,” Robert said with a smile. “I’m glad you came. I wasn’t sure you would.”

“I wasn’t sure if I would either,” I remarked, shuffling my feet.

“Have a seat.” He gestured to the bench and ran his hand through his hair, his smile turning into a nervous grin. What did he have to be nervous about?

“So, you wanted to talk.” I sat down and looked out over the water. I needed to stay strong but for some reason my resolve always crumbled like stale pound cake around him.

“Straight and to the point, huh?” A slight chuckle escaped his throat.

“Yep.” I kept my focus on the ocean, wanting this over as quickly as possible.

“Well, I have some information on the man who attacked you. I don’t know how helpful it is, though.” He stared at the horizon.

“What kind of information?”

“I talked to the boys back home and they confirmed who sent your attacker.”

“Who was it?” My nails dug into my thigh.

“His name’s Aiden Patridge.” His jaw clenched into a hard line.

“Now that we have a name, we can go to the police.”

“No we can’t. This isn’t a problem they can solve. Aiden, he’s different…” he hesitated and licked his lip, “like I’m different.” His brow raised as he looked at me and I nodded in understanding. 

“Okay, so what then?” I brushed the hair out of my eyes.

“It’s complicated, Violet. Aiden’s a dangerous man and now that he knows I healed you-”

“Healed me?” My heart pounded like a battering ram against my chest as I interrupted him. This was it; he was going to tell me how he saved me.

“Yes, you see,” Robert said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “He needed confirmation that you’re The Waker. When I healed you, it was all they needed to know to move forward.”

“Yeah, you’ve called me that before but I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Rolling my eyes I shook my head.  

“That’s not important right now,” he said, finally looking at me. An anxious expression furrowed his brow as his lips formed a hard line.

“So let me get this straight. We don’t know who attacked me, but we know who sent them. And they didn’t kill me because they wanted you to heal me and confirm I’m The Waker?” I uncrossed my legs and counted on each finger the new pieces of information.

“Exactly.” Robert smiled with relief.

“Robert, what the hell are you talking about?” I threw my arms in the air. Maybe I was wrong in coming here. Clearly I wasn’t going to get any real answers out of him.

“You’re special and because of that, you’re at risk. We both are now,” Robert said, as if that clarified anything.

“All the crazy aside, you’re saying someone actually wants to hurt me?”

“No, they want to kill you.”

“But why? I don’t understand?” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“You’re meant to do great things, Violet.” Robert gently pulled my hand from my face. “But some people, like Aiden, will stop at nothing to make sure you can’t interfere with his plans.”

Chills ran over my skin at the harshness of his voice. I sighed and tried to think rationally about everything he was telling me. “Alright, so how did they confirm that I'm The Waker,” I rolled my eyes at the title, “just by you saving me?”

“Because if it wasn’t you, I wouldn’t have exposed myself.” His shoulders stiffened and he fiddled with his fingers.

“You would have let an innocent person die?”

“Violet, you have to understand…“

I stood and took a few steps away from the bench. “Answer the question.” My voice and body shook with anger.

“Yes,” he said and stood, closing the gap between us. “Because you’re all that matters. You’re all that’s mattered for hundreds of years.” He wrapped his hand around my elbow and guided me back to the bench. “Now please sit down so we can talk.”

“But how can you stand by and watch someone die when you have the ability to save them?”

He groaned and said, “I can’t just go around stopping death. There are consequences for saving a life.”

“What kind of consequences?”

“By saving you, someone else has to pay the price. The world has a way of balancing it’s self out, a life for a life.”

“So, someone had to die so I could live?” My eyes widened in horror.

Silently, he nodded.

I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at him, trying to make sense of everything. No matter how I turned it over in my head it didn’t make any logical sense that I was important enough to murder.

“Robert, I think you’ve got the wrong person,” I tried to explain. The muscles in my body coiled like a snake ready to spring. “How can this have anything to do with me?”

“I’ll explain everything in time. For now, all that matters is we found you and now we can keep you safe,” Robert said, his voice calm once more.

“But how can you be sure I’m the person you’ve been looking for?”

“It’s you, without a doubt.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, I know this isn’t easy for you.”

We sat in silence for a long moment. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d gotten any answers out of him. Nothing he said made sense and I had even more questions than before. How was I supposed to cope with the fact that someone was actively trying to kill me?

“He’s really still out there isn’t he?” I whispered.

Robert placed his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “We won’t let anything happen to you,” he vowed. His voice oozed with sincerity.

I didn’t want to live in fear, always looking over my shoulder. I tried to think about every detail of that night, if maybe I had seen something that would help us identify my attacker. But just like every other time I thought about that night, I came up empty handed. I glanced at Robert and could tell he was trying to let me sort things out for myself, but he grew more anxious with each passing second of silence.

“I can’t live like this, we have to stop him before it’s too late,” I declared.

“Don’t worry, he’ll come to you,” Robert said.

“So what, I’m bait? I’m just supposed to lie in wait until death knocks on my door?”

“Violet, relax. We’ll do everything we can to find him. But I have no doubt he will come after you again.” He gave my knee a reassuring squeeze. “The only difference, is that this time we’ll be ready.”

Tears filled my eyes but I stared straight at the horizon, determined to not let them spill over.

“Violet,” he said and put his hand on my cheek, “don’t be afraid. We have a ton of people on this. We’ll find out who he is and soon.” He wiped a tear from my face.

“What do you mean you have a ton of people on this?” I asked, hating myself for letting Robert see me cry.

“There are a lot of people who don’t want anything to happen to you.”

I opened my mouth to say something but he raised his finger to my mouth to stop me.

“I know you don’t believe you’re The Waker but there are a lot of people who do, and they’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe,” Robert explained. “So if nothing else, you can take comfort in the knowledge that you have a lot of people who are looking out for you.”

“How many people?” I asked.

“That's not important,” he said under his breath, turning away from me.

“Does everyone know who I’m supposed to be except me?” I started to pant, feeling like I was going to have a panic attack at any second.

Robert laughed. “Of course not. There’s only a small group of people who know we found you and that you’re not just some distant hope anymore. The Prophecy can be fulfilled now.”

“Prophecy?”

“Right, you don’t know about that either. Let’s take it one step at a time.” He looked at me and offered a hopeful smile.

“No, I want to know.” I was tired of him doling out information at his discretion. I wanted to know everything and I wanted to know it now.

The hope in his eyes faded as he realized dealing with me wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

“Look, Violet. I’m sure this is a lot to handle and I don’t want to put anything more on your plate until you’re ready,” he explained.

“And what, you think you get to decide when I’m ready to deal with more of this bullshit?” I yelled at him.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just, look, calm down, I know how hard this must be and I don’t want to put any more stress on you. Let’s just take baby steps, okay?”

“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms and looking out over the water.

I let the conversation drop for the moment. I needed to convince him to tell me everything about this prophecy and Waker nonsense and it was clear he didn’t want to divulge anything. But sooner or later, he’d have to explain.

I looked over at him as he took his hand off mine. How infuriating he was, sitting next to me all smug and playing the protector role. I was a grown woman. I didn’t need him to protect me from the world. I’d made it through plenty without him by my side and I would make it through this. Screw the prophecy. Screw being The Waker to a bunch of people I didn’t know or care about. And screw Robert.

Working myself up into a blind frenzy all I wanted was to get away from him, to get away from all of this. Without a word, I rose from the bench and headed back up the pier.

“Violet, wait,” Robert called after me. I kept walking. “Violet!” His voice came closer but I still didn’t turn around. “Would you hold on a second?” He grabbed my arm.

I pulled out of his grasp and turned to face him.

“Just leave me alone,” I nearly shouted. My voice was shaky and didn’t sound as threatening as I would’ve liked.