Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1) (15 page)

The sun hung low over the nearby hills as I walked outside. Robert and Matthew stood by my car chatting away. Neither one of them looked in my direction as I approached.

“Hey, Matty, I thought you’d be gone by now,” I called out, using the nickname Robert had given him.

“Hey, no way are you allowed to call me that,” he said, finally looking in my direction.

“Oh, and he gets to?” I motioned toward Robert and kept a playful smile on my face as I approached them.

Robert eyed me but didn’t say anything. Instead, he leaned against my car and watched the banter between Matthew and me.

“He’s practically family. I barely know you,” Matthew said as he bumped his shoulder against mine.

Practically family? That’s interesting. Maybe he did know something about The Waker.

“And I thought we bonded today,” I said, pretending to pout.

“Don’t even give me that, Miss I’m afraid of being alone with someone I barely know,” Matthew countered.

I saw Robert stiffen ever so slightly out of the corner of my eye.

“That’s different and you know it,” I said, lightly hitting him in the arm.

“Yeah, yeah. You still can’t call me Matty no matter how hard you hit me.”

“We’ll see about that.” I stepped away from the boys and unlocked my car.

Robert walked around to the passenger side and said to Matthew, “We’ll talk more later. Are you going to be around this weekend?”

“I was thinking about it, not sure yet though. We’re pretty busy around here with the opening in a couple weeks,” Matthew explained.

“Alright, I’ll be in contact.” Without another word, Robert opened the passenger side door and climbed in.

“See you later, Matty,” I said, laughing and waving as I got in the car.

He just stood there shaking his head at me as I started the engine.

“You two seem to get along,” Robert finally said as I put the car in gear and backed out.

“Yeah, he’s nice and he was really helpful today.”

Robert didn’t respond so I looked over at him. He stared out the windshield with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“So, how do you know Matthew?” I asked. I couldn’t bring myself to mock him when he wasn’t around to defend himself.

“Old family friend,” Robert answered, though he refused to look at me.

“He doesn’t happen to know Brett, does he?” Curiosity, apparently, had gotten the best of me.

“Yes, they know each other.” Robert shifted in his seat and I had a feeling they knew a little more of each other than Robert was comfortable with.

“And what about the Deardons?” I asked.

“Same. Our families are close.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why do you think something’s wrong?” he asked, tearing his eyes from the dashboard.

“Because you’re being short with me.” I turned to face him as we approached a red light.

“I’m sorry, Violet, I don’t mean to be. It’s just been a long day,” he explained with a heavy sigh.

The light turned green and I stepped on the gas without saying anything else. Why did I even care that he was short with me? Who was I to question him? But I couldn’t help myself; there was still so much I didn’t know about Robert or about my situation and I didn’t know who else to ask.

“Robert?” I asked.

“Hmm.”

“What did you need to talk to Meredith about?” I wasn’t sure if he would answer my question, but it was worth a try.

He sighed and said, “You.”

“Me?” I asked, frowning as I turned onto the highway.

“About who you are.”

“Who I…Oh, you mean that I’m the…”

“The Waker, yes.” He let out a heavy sigh. His attitude surprised me but I tried not to take it personally and pressed on with more questions.

“So Meredith’s like you then?” I asked.

“Yes, both she and her husband are Magical,” Robert answered.

“Is Matthew like you too?” I bit my lip.

A small smile played on his face. “No, he’s not. He’s a Promised One.”

Great, I thought, he’s not like Robert, but something else. When did this craziness end?

I swerved into the left lane to pass a slow-moving minivan and stepped on the gas, wanting to be home already.

“What’s a Promised One?” I asked after a minute, suspending reality and just going with it for the moment. Robert seemed more willing to talk when I wasn’t arguing against everything he believed in.

“Matty is human. He isn’t like me or the Deardons, but he was born with the ability to sense Magic. His soul is promised to the Magical world,” Robert explained.

“What does that mean?”

“There are some people in this world who are born to protect Magic but don’t possess any Magic themselves. Matty is one of those people. There are many others just like him. For as long as anyone can remember the Promised Ones have helped keep the Magical world a secret.”

“So what do they do for you exactly? I asked.

“Anything they need to in order to protect our way of life. Promised Ones have infiltrated every facet of the economy and use their influence to hide our Magic in plain sight. Unfortunately, there are some people, both Promised Ones and Magical, who believe our world shouldn’t be kept a secret. We think your attacker might be a human who works for someone against Magical secrecy.”

The mention of my attacker made my stomach drop.

“But why would someone care if Magic was a secret or not?” I asked, balking at my casual use of the word Magic. I still wasn’t even sure if I bought into any of this. The more I learned, the more I realized Robert probably wasn’t making any of it up, but I still hadn’t written off my dream theory. Maybe, if I was lucky, I just might wake up from all of this. The thought made me pinch my leg, but nothing happened. I continued to cruise down the highway with Robert by my side as we discussed Magic.

“Could you imagine what people would do to us if they found out what we could do?” Robert asked, his voice breaking my train of thought.

I could feel his gaze on me so I turned to look at him. The concern etched into the lines of his face was overpowering. He looked sullen, worn, like he had the world on his shoulders and he was crumbling under the enormity of what was at stake. I tore myself away from his heartbreaking expression and focused on the road. I could imagine what might happen if people discovered what Robert could do. My heart lurched at the thought of anyone hurting him. Regardless of what I might think about everything, one thing I knew for sure was Robert was a good person and he didn’t deserve to be hurt in any way.

I looked back over at him but he was staring out his window. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. I swallowed my own feelings and pushed forward with more questions.

“What does someone like Matthew gain by helping you?” I asked.

“Well someone in the know, like Matty, is a part of the Magical world and therefore reaps the benefits of Magic without having any himself,” Robert explained after taking a breath to compose himself.

“But Matthew works at a winery. How is he helping the Magical world stay secret?” I asked, not sure how someone like Matthew was helping hide Magic from the rest of humanity.

“Do you remember what I told you last night about the first men who heard the prophecy about you?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do… Deardon, that’s where I’d heard that name before.”

Robert let out a low chuckle. “Matty helps draw attention away from them. His family is very influential and they are able to cover up any exposures that might occur.”

Did Matthew sense something in me? Did Meredith already know who I was? Was that why she wanted Matthew to show me around all day? And why was Robert so quiet? What had happened today that changed his attitude so much? Was he giving up on me already? Did I care if he gave up on me? I did care, I suddenly realized.

“Ugh,” I said with an audible sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Robert asked.

“Nothing.” I kept my eyes on the road, refusing to look at him.

“Violet, talk to me.” His voice was soothing but I could hear the frustration hidden behind his tone.

“I just don’t know what to do with all this.”

“I know,” he said, placing his hand on my knee. “It’s okay.”

My knee tingled at his touch. I looked over at him but he just stared out his window again. Something was clearly bothering him. I decided to let him be with his thoughts and not ask any more questions for now. I’d been so wrapped up in my life being turned upside down I never thought about what it must be like for him. His whole world had been wrapped up in finding me and now that he had I became just a pain in the ass who never believed anything he said.

“I’m sorry.” I sighed.

“For what?” he asked. His hand remained on my knee and he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“That I’m not what you expected to find.”

“Violet, don’t.” He took his hand off my knee and touched my cheek.

“But, Robert…” I looked at him and he brushed my hair behind my ear.

The feel of his skin on mine was intoxicating.

As I opened my mouth to speak he shook his head and said, “No.” I turned my eyes back to the road and tried to make sense of everything I was feeling. Aside from being blindsided by the knowledge that Magic was real, I could feel myself falling for Robert and that was just as terrifying as being called The Waker. Every time I let someone in, I ended up with my heart broken and I honestly didn't know if I could handle any more pain in my life.

We spent the rest of the ride in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. I turned onto my street a little over an hour later and found a parking spot along the curb. I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and put my hand over my stomach to muffle a growl. Robert grabbed my camera bag and computer for me and I pulled my purse out from under the passenger seat. We walked inside and I headed straight for the kitchen.

“Where do you want me to put your stuff?” Robert yelled from the entry way.

I threw a square plastic tray into Chef Mike and punched in two minutes and thirty seconds.

“Sorry about that. Here, I’ll take it,” I said, reaching for my bag. He handed it over and I walked into the living room to set everything down by my desk. “Are you hungry?”

“No, I ate before Annabel dropped me off at Caltome. Thank you though,” he answered and followed me into the living room

“Ok, well I’m gonna eat real quick and then I’ll get out of your way.”

“You’re not in my way.” Robert sat down on the couch.

“Still, I'm going to head to bed after I eat. It’s been a long day.” I wasn’t tired, though. I would probably just read for a while, but I wanted to give him his privacy.

“Yes it has.” He gave me a small smile.

I ate the microwaved meatloaf and mashed potatoes alone in the kitchen to give us both some much needed space. I didn’t know what was bothering Robert and felt bad that I didn’t know how to cheer him up. I couldn’t help but think I was the reason for his melancholy attitude.

When I was finished eating I walked back out to the living room to say goodnight. Robert was still sitting on the couch but his head was bent over his lap. I tiptoed over to him and noticed he had a journal open on his lap. He didn’t hear my approach, or if he did he was ignoring me, so I took a moment to drink him in. I knew I shouldn’t, knew that letting even a piece of him in wasn’t a good idea, but I couldn’t help myself. There was this need somewhere deep inside me that ached to be close to him.

As I moved closer, I watched as his fingers traced the tiny handwritten words scrawled across the page.

“I’ve read this journal a million times,” he said with a thoughtful sounding voice, like his mind was a million miles away.

I guess he did know I was there. I walked around the couch and sat down next to him. He took a deep breath and sat back, relaxing into the cushions.

“But it was just words until we found you,” he noted. Robert angled his body so we were facing each other and a melancholy smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

His eyes pulled me in. I hadn’t seen him this unguarded since he saved me. He wore every emotion written on his face: anger, sadness, awe. The control he always seemed to have shattered before me for the first time since that night.

“There was a part of me that never thought we’d find you,” he said, placing his arm across the back of the couch and turning to face me. “That maybe they had already found you.”

Without consciously telling my body to move, I shifted on the couch, bringing my leg up under me so I was facing him. My heart started to beat a little faster. His eyes never left mine and I felt a mix of emotions radiate off him.

“And then when we did find you, I almost lost you.” He shook his head and looked back at the journal in his lap.

This must be what’s been bothering him, I thought.

“But you saved me. Without you, I wouldn’t be here,” I said. I leaned a little closer to him and placed my hand on his chest. He was so warm and my fingers itched to pull him closer.