Destined

Chapter Thirty-One

It had been three days since my birthday party at Ivelyn's. The attack had been played off as people getting too drunk and a fight breaking out. The gunshots were quickly dismissed as an over-exaggeration of teenagers. The police weren't investigating it. After they took our statements, they made a public announcement that a party had gotten out of hand. That was their excuse for the dozen teenagers that had gotten hurt this Halloween. As bad as it sounded, the Coven and I were grateful for the lack of professionalism with the Salem Police Department. It wasn't their fault, but we were glad they weren't investigating it further. How were we were supposed to explain what happened? None of us knew it was magic-related or something more sinister -- human. Had one of Ivelyn's guests decided to take fire on the rest of us? It depended on who you asked. If you asked me, it was probably one of Ivelyn's college people she invited. Ivelyn was dead set on it being an attack from the DAs. There wasn't enough proof to prove either scenario. What we did know is it wasn't an accident. It wasn't just a fight gone wrong. We had been attacked and gunned down, but no one was talking about that. The people that had seen the guns or heard gunshots chalked it up to an overactive imagination. Ivelyn had lied about the extent of her injuries. After the rest of us left, she and Kate had made a spell to heal her gunshot wound. She kept calling it a near-miss, but I had been there. I saw the blood, and she had been shot. Typical, Ivelyn to avoid the truth. Then again, maybe that was something we shared as sisters. I hadn't been able to talk to Elise about what happened. Late Tuesday night, she had sent me a message that our Wednesday training session was canceled. She didn't give me a new date or a reason why our session had been canceled. It didn't look good, especially when the Coven asked me about it. It was getting harder to defend Elise, but the others didn't know her as I did. They wanted answers. I had told them I would talk to Elise, but when would that be? It was Thursday, and no word from her. It was looking bad, mainly because the Coven thought she had something to do with the attack. There was only so much I could do to stop them from thinking that. If they just trusted her like I did, then we wouldn't be in this predicament. It didn't help that the whole school was talking about Halloween at Ivelyn's. I couldn't avoid it no matter where I ran to. My mom knew about the attack even at home and was furious I hadn't told her sooner. Technically, it wasn't my fault -- I thought the police had called her that night to say to her. Instead, she had to find out by watching the news. That didn't help my cause. I was trying to prove I was mature and responsible enough to take care of a house by myself. My mom and Zack were getting married this month and moving out soon. I had to prove myself to her. She couldn't think I was going to get in trouble while she was gone. On top of that, she had found Erik in my bed the morning after my birthday. Technically, I was eighteen now, and she shouldn't be worried about Erik spending the night, but I hadn't told her, so she was pissed. Three days later and she was still upset about Erik in my bedroom. I hadn't had him over since then, but it made my nightmares worse. I was finding it difficult to make my mom happy while keeping my nightmares at bay. If only my mom knew what kind of nightmares I was having, then maybe she would be more lenient with Erik staying over. Or perhaps if she knew how much he was over, then she wouldn't care as much. We were careful and safe, so what did matter? At school, the hallways were filled with talk about my birthday. Technically, everyone was talking about Halloween at Ivelyn's, but that was the same thing. The college kids Ivelyn had invited mysterious to everyone, but I guess not to Ivelyn. The rumor went that Ivelyn was dating this guy named Dylan. I assumed that he was the same guy she had been talking to after the police left. She told me he had been heroic at the party. He had pushed her out of the way when the shooter first came for her. I had to admit, that was pretty heroic of him, especially considering he didn't know anything about the Supernatural. He was just a human trying to save a Witch. It was almost poetic. Knowing Ivelyn, he would be last week's news soon enough. Then again, Ivelyn stopped liking a guy the second he fell in love with her. Commitment issues were another thing Ivelyn, and I shared as sisters. As I walked through the halls, I clutched at the diamond pendant around my neck. I hadn't taken it off since my birthday when Erik had given it to me. It had been his mom's, which made it extra special. It was a perfect size, resting at the center of my throat. The necklace went with everything I owned, as did most diamond necklaces. It meant so much to me that Erik trusted me with a chain that was his mom's. Every time I touched it, and it made me smile. I knew since his mom passed, it was hard to let things of her go. Every time he saw me wearing the necklace, it made his day. He told me it made him happy to see me wearing the necklace. I didn't want to take it off, knowing how much it meant to him. My fingers wrapped around the cold diamond, warming in my hand. The bell rang, and I headed to my Art class. It was the class I shared with Addison. She kept reminding me her birthday was less than a month away. Her birthday, November thirtieth, was precisely one month after her mind. I always remembered her birthday, who could forget a Sagitarrious, especially one like Addison. Pushing myself to my next class, I thought about gifts to give Addison. This year, she said she wanted gifts that were made and from the heart. That limited the things I could give her. My best idea was to paint her my favorite memory of our friendship. The hard part was limiting it to one moment. There were a lot of moments I could think of that reminded me of our friendship. I wanted to paint something authentic and genuine. One memory that came to mind was when I went to her house for the first time and how Silvia had approached me. It was one option, but I wanted to think of something better. I wanted my art to mean something to someone. As I walked into Art class, I found my spot next to Ads quickly. She was wearing a black cardigan with a summer dress underneath. Her brown hair was curled in a half-updo. Her make-up was pretty bare compared to what I was used to seeing her in. I smiled at her as I sat down, pulling up my canvas. "Hey, how are you?" Ads asked, staring at her own painting skeptically. I smoothed my skirt before I sat, trying to find something to say. I pushed a strand of red hair behind my ear. "I'm okay," I answered quickly. Ads gave me a look, making me falter. I sighed, not able to hide anything from her. "Okay, I'm thinking about my birthday." I finally admitted. "I feel so bad like it was my fault." I stared at my hands. How was I supposed to make art when my hands had managed to get my friends hurt on more than one occasion? I felt so guilty, and it was eating me up. That didn't help with my nightmares. "You shouldn't feel bad," Ads warned, her tone lathered with sympathy. Ads had been there at the party, experiencing her own PTSD as gunshots still rang in both our ears. It was only a few days after the innocent, and we were all expected to go back to regular school. "It's not like you meant for any of that to happen," Ads smiled at me, trying to make me feel better. I didn't deserve her niceties. "I do -- I do feel bad. If it weren't for me, maybe they wouldn't have attacked, to begin with. The others are so sure it was an attack from the DAs." I sullenly stared at my blank canvas. I didn't deserve to be in Art class, having fun and painting. I wasn't sure what I deserve, but it wasn't to be happy. This was all my fault. "But are you sure? Do you think it was them?" Addison's hazel eyes filled mine. Her question brought up a lot of uncertainties. I wasn't sure of anything, especially who was in on the attacks. I hadn't had a chance to talk to Elise, which only further brought up more worries. The Coven was so sure Elise was behind it all, or at the very least, it was DA initiated. I wasn't sure about anything, least of all Elise's corporation in any of it. I had trusted Elise. I mean, I trusted Elise. "I'm not sure about anything," I finally confessed. It was the most truthful I had been since the beginning of any of this. I didn't have proof one way or another about the attack. As far as I knew, anyone could be behind it. I wanted to talk to Elise, and until I did, I tried to remain open-minded. As the days went by, it was harder and harder to do that. "And that's okay." She shared a smile with me as the period winded down. I still had a bare canvas, which wasn't going to improve my grade. "Is it?" I stood up, and my books clutched to my chest. My last class was in the computer lab, away from anyone else. It was my time to reflect on my day by myself. I hurried out of the room before Addison could say anything else. She wanted to help me, but this time around, she couldn't help me. This time, I had to do this my own way. On my way to the computer lab, I thought about the night of my birthday. There was so much going on, and I hadn't put everything together. Ivelyn had brought up a good point -- the people that had been attacked had been wearing redhead wigs or naturally had red hair. Except, that night, I had worn a black wig. What would have happened if I had my natural hair that night? I kept kicking myself for what happened that night. Once in the safety of the computer lab, alone from everyone else, I tried to focus on math class. It wasn't much of a class since it was just me, but I did my best. I finished my quiz early and ended up leaving class twenty minutes before the final bell. I couldn't wait to go, and I even sped on my way home. My mind was otherwise occupied, trying to piece together that night. There was so much I didn't understand. When I finally got home, Di and Dy were sitting at the kitchen table. They had been pouting since my birthday. They were upset they hadn't been invited to the party. Or at least Dy was more upset he wasn't invited than Dione. It was hard to tell while Dione was upset -- there were so many reasons. When I set my backpack down on the floor by the stairs, I caught their gaze. I had been avoiding this conversation long enough. Sighing, I went to the kitchen and joined them at the table. Dione's wardrobe had changed drastically since she got a full-time job as a teacher. Unlike Dy, Dione was in full swing as a teacher. Dysseus was still a janitor for our school. His outfit changed the second he was home, back into his all-black ensemble. Secretly, I think Dione liked her sweater and slacks better than her warrior outfit. Not that I would ever say that out loud around her. I shivered from Dione's coldness. She was scary where Dysseus was inviting. I still couldn't forget that she had eaten poison from my garden and survived. That was something not even a Witch could do. "Hey guys," I muttered as I shifted my weight on the seat. There was a lot of homework I had to do. I had been putting it off this week and only had a few more days to finish it. That could wait; I couldn't avoid the twins any longer. "Finally, come to talk to us?" Dione's tone was bitter, but what was new? It didn't surprise me anymore about her attitude. She was a lot like Ivelyn when we first met. I wasn't going to hold it against Dione, though. I'm sure she would get used to me after a while. "What she means is, how are you?" Dysseus interrupted, smiling from ear to ear. He was always happy. Their red-brown hair blew in the breeze, making them seem almost angelic. Despite their large, muscular sizes, their smile was so pure. Even their voices gave off an angelic harmony. I wondered if they could tell? "I'm conflicted," I sighed as I said this. "I'm sure you heard about the party at Ivelyn's," they nodded in agreement. "Do you think it sounds like a DA attack?" If anyone knew what a DA attack looked like, it would be the people sent to protect me from them. It was my last chance to ask them if they recognized the attack technique. I had wanted to ask Wuidrow about it when he visited me in my dream, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tell anyone about that. Like most of Wuidrow's visits, they were secret. He didn't like people knowing where he was. I wasn't surprised he had teleported into my dream to give me my birthday gift. It was a pen that was enhanced to increase any spell that was written with it. At first, I was confused by the present, but now I understood. Wuidrow had seen something like this happening and wanted me to be able to protect myself. If I used the pen to write a spell, it would increase its effectiveness. I hadn't tested it out yet, but I'm sure I would soon. I kept the pen on me at all times, just in case. Wuidrow's visit and gift had made me more aware of my surroundings. Especially after what happened at my birthday party. I needed to be mindful of what was going on and protect myself and my friends. The grown-up twins took a moment to share a look. I recognized that second-guessing. They didn't want to tell me bad news, so they were avoiding it. My heart sunk. What if the Coven was right, and this was an attack from the DAs? What did that mean for my relationship with Elise? It didn't change what I believed about her, but it did make me scared if Elise had been wrong, raising a whole new set of worries in me. "Well, it doesn't look like something the DA wouldn't do," Dy trailed off, not wanting to tell me bad news. It was enough of a confirmation that it made me question what Elise had told me. This wasn't Ivelyn or the Coven wondering out loud about something, and this was the twins confirming my worst suspicion. The DAs had lied to Elise about them leaving Salem. "Do you guys think they did it?" The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them. I trusted them to tell me the truth. They were known for their secrecy on specific topics, but this is something they wouldn't keep from me. "You should have had us there, and we could tell you for sure either way," Dione crossed her arms over her chest, staring at me with disdain. Her dark blue eyes narrowed at me. I sighed, not wanting to revisit this now. "How many times am I supposed to apologize for that?" I rolled my eyes, annoyed. Multiple times I had apologized for not inviting them to my birthday party at Ivelyn's. At the time, I hadn't thought it mattered. Then, I wondered how I was supposed to explain why a teacher (Dione) and a janitor (Dysseus) were at my high school party. It didn't make sense at the time. Obviously, I hadn't anticipated an attack at my eighteenth birthday party. "No use in apologizing when it's already over with," Dione's dark blue eyes stared forward, holding no remorse. I stared down at the ground, unsure of what to even say to that. "Did you see any of the shooters? Maybe we can help identify them for you?" Dy offered helpfully. I was gracious for him being there. "Yeah, I saw a few of them. They all wore dark clothes with hoods, almost like cloaks or something. It was so dark and happened so fast, but-- I trailed off, not sure of what to say. "And you said they all had guns?" Dy asked me gently. I thought about this. I had seen them all have guns, the weird ones with the engraved words on the side. I didn't know much about guns, so I wasn't sure if that was normal or not. I nodded briefly. "That's not really Divinus Angelus protocol to use weapons instead of magic," Dione met Dy's gaze with a shared look. It was getting annoying -- like they had twin telepathically or something. "What magic do they have?" I thought back to the dark figure in my nightmare and his powers to take away my magic. It made me shiver just thinking about it. "Technically, they're your cousins, so they have the same powers as Witches. Usually, their main power has something similar to Dorcas -- the first Witch of the split divide." Dione prattled off, sounding arrogant as she spoke. I looked to Dysseus to explain. "What she means," he gave her a brief glare. "Is that they're just like you. Dorcas' powers were to talk to animals-- "No, it wasn't," Dione glared, her eyes narrowed down at her twin brother. "You're telling it wrong-- Dione cleared her throat, resting her elbows at her side. The room darkened as she settled into her story-telling voice. I waited, ready to hear the truth about Dorcas. "Your ancestor, Sarah Good: had two children: Dorcas and Mercy. Dorcas was several years older than Mercy and unbeknownst to most, and they had different dads. Dorcas' father traveled with Sarah Good to the new world when they moved to America. Neither Dorcas nor her father knew the real reason Sarah Good moved them to America from London. It was to follow Levi, the demon." She cleared her throat, continuing: It wasn't known by many, but Levi was Mercy's father. Since he was a Demon, all other Witches believed that made Mercy evil. Of course, it was due to Dorcas hating her younger sister and making the rumor fill through the town that Mercy was evil. In actuality, this was due to Dorcas' jealousy that Mercy was a stronger Witch. After all, Sarah Good had risked her life to save Mercy, not Dorcas." That was deafening. I couldn't imagine my mom only saving one of her children and not both. What kind of mother did that? Although, that didn't change that what Dorcas had done was clearly wrong. "In the end, it had caused Dorcas' so much hatred for her only sister that she let her children create a Coven of Witches to kill Mercy and her children. That group of Witches had culminated into the Divinus Angelus. Witches who thought they were better than Mercy (and her descendants). Hence, why the DAs hate you so much -- you appear to be a greater Witch than even Mercy. Power is something all Witches want, but it makes the others scared when one Witch has more." Dione looked down at her own hands. I wondered if she was thinking about the poison she had ingested from my garden. Did other Witches hate her and her brother because of their power? I didn't understand how someone could hate their sister that much. Hundreds of years later and we were still dealing with it. "You said Dorcas' power was to talk to animals, but you said that wasn't true?" I tried to get the twins to clarify what they meant. "That's what Dorcas told the Witches of Salem at the time -- they were so stupid they believed her. The truth is that Dorcas was more conniving than anyone thought. Her real power is manipulation," Dione let that settle in the air. "Wait, what? Manipulation as in, taking someone's powers away?" I thought back to the dark figure and how my magic hadn't worked around him. Was that like Dorcas gift? "It's purposely vague. Dorcas died a long time ago, and it's hard to know the extent of her power, but I guess it could be turned into blocking others' magic." Dysseus shrugged, stealing a glance from Dione. She nodded, confirming what he said. "So, basically, the DAs could have a whole range of powers we don't know about?" My voice shifted, almost cracking under pressure. The twins took a long time to answer, but eventually, they both said: "Yes," at the same time. "Great," I sunk into my seat.