Dateless and Deadly

Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

“Hello Cassandra.”

I felt weightless. Like I was floating on the lazy river at the water park. My feet and hands dangling in the cool water. Only here, there were no screaming children or sounds of rushing water from the suicide slide. Here, I couldn’t actually feel the water at all. I just had the sense of floating.

“It’s time to wake up now Cassandra. We don’t have long,” the voice was soft, female. I opened my eyes. I was in a vast, foggy room again. Only this time, the sun would sometimes break through the fog. This fog was white and pure in comparison to the gray and black tinged fog that Caine created.

“Who are you?” I asked as a woman walked towards me. She looked familiar with her long blond hair and striking blue eyes. I would place her in her thirties but I got the feeling that she was older.

“I think you’ll figure that out soon enough, dear,” she replied, smiling sadly.

“Okay,” I said, drawing out the syllables and injecting sarcasm. How very vague and mysterious you are.

She just smiled her sad little smile at me. “I’d like to tell you a story.”

Oh man, here we go. It was quite possible that I was lying unconscious on a battle ground right now while my sister was being carted away by a psycho.

“Um, is this a fast story, because I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I said, searching for a way out yet knowing that this was not really a physical world, that I would find no doors.

She just smiled and shook her head. I sighed as she began. “When I was younger, I met a man. He was very handsome but a little too headstrong and stubborn for my liking. We met while studying in Ireland. What we were studying had nothing to do with calculators and books but everything to do with that flame that burns inside of you, Cassandra.” I unconsciously placed my hand on my chest where I imagined that flame sat, waiting to be called upon.

“The two of us would always compete with each other. No matter what we tried, we’d always try to match the other. At first it was a rivalry but over time, it grew to something different. We fell in love.

“Our families were ecstatic because we were both very powerful. Our blood lines were strong and together, we’d discovered new types of magic. We were married at the age of 22 and by the time I was 23, I had a baby girl. She was beautiful and perfect.

“Shortly after my daughter was born, something started to change. My husband became more distant, colder. Something about him seemed off. People in town started talking about how he was having an affair with one of the women who practiced dark magic. I refused to believe them when they came to me with this accusation. I did not believe until she became pregnant and had a baby that she claimed was his. He did not deny it and after one look at the child, I could see that it was the truth.

“I was enraged. I kicked him out of the house and fell into a deep depression. He tried to come back to me claiming that he didn’t understand why he’d done it. He felt like he’d been powerless and later on, I realized that he had been. The woman who’d given birth to his child was incredibly powerful. She could call on energies that no one else could. Her family had set up my husband in order to produce the child.

“An old woman who had the gift of sight told the town that a dark day was coming. The fate of the world landed in the hands of two sisters with greater power than the magical world had ever known.

“After that, my husband and I decided to protect the two girls. We sent them with a friend. She did not tell us where she would take them and it was so hard to let them go, but we knew if they stayed with us, their lives would never be normal. A powerful block was placed on their powers by a witch that had lived in New Orleans for a very long time. After that, we had no idea where the two girls would be. Once the town found out about this deception, they were furious. My husband and I were forced to leave and while we were leaving, our car was hit by another and we were both killed.”

“Killed,” I squeaked, interrupting her story for the first time.

“Yes, Cassandra, I’m dead. I’m only able to do this through some very powerful magic.”

I nodded, deciding not to dwell on the fact that I was talking to a ghost. A ghost who I seemed to be somewhat related to...

“So, whatever happened to the girls?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

“They disappeared, just like we’d planned. A rumour was spread about the two sisters. About how they’d be the most powerful witches of all. Everyone wanted them but no one could find them. Until the witch from New Orleans passed away. All of a sudden, their guards were down and they were exposed.”

“I think I know this part of the story,” I croaked.

She nodded solemnly. “Yes, I think you know it better than I do. Cassandra, I wanted to tell you this because I think you should know where you come from. It doesn’t have to become a war between the two of you. You can stop that. Please, save my daughter.” She reached out and softly drew her fingers down my cheek. “You’re the only one who can.”

Then she was gone.

What the hell is going on with my bed? I thought as my bed bounced and jostled me.

“Ouch,” I mumbled when my bed jerked so hard that my head hit something. The wall?

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a female voice said, her words dripping with sarcasm suggesting that she was less than thrilled to see me again.

“Angela,” Stephen admonished, clucking his tongue. “Can’t you see she’s injured? She almost died out there!”

“We didn’t even notice,” James mumbled. How could I have not noticed? He thought, mentally beating himself up.

I was trying to shake the cobwebs out of my mind when I sat bolt upright.

“Whoa there,” Will said, grabbing my shoulders as my vision swam.

“Sam!” I yelled, seeing stars and spots and trying to blink them away.

“What? Jeez, do you have to yell? We’re in an enclosed space, just so you know,” she said from the seat behind me.

I spun around and winced at the pain in my side. “Are you okay?” I asked, searching for any injuries.

“I’m fine, stupid. We’re all fine. In fact, you got the worst of the injuries by far. Who knew Spencer was a frat boy freak?” She shook her blonde head sadly.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and grimaced as I turned back to face the front of the van. I was sitting in the middle row with Will and James on either side of me. Apparently, I’d been lying with my feet on Will and my head on James’s lap before I’d woken up.

Lucky me.

Very lucky me if I wasn’t dreaming and my sister hadn’t been taken by Caine and I’d managed to hold on long enough for him to give up.

“Sam,” I said, letting my head fall back onto the headrest, exhaustion overtaking me. “You sure you’re okay?”

She let out a pained sigh. “You’re the one we’re worried about here Cass. Not me.”

I tried to shake my head but I really only managed to move it to the side a little. “Mm Sorry,” I mumbled before falling asleep. I think one of the guys may have pulled my head onto their shoulder but I was too tired to think about it.