Haunted by the Immortals

Chapter 19

Nat

There was nothing I could really do. Apart from sit like a sack and wonder how the hell Xavier had told Cami that he was my cousin when not even my own mother had said a single word about the guy being her nephew. It just didn't make any sense.

I tried to recall the moments of my childhood with him: there weren't very many that were either nice, or ones to remember. He was a weird sort of guy since the minute I met him, he had that tingly feeling that your conscious screamed to you that he was really odd, and to be fair, he was. Mostly creepy and crazy, I mean.

And he looked exactly the same as he did then, of course he would have aged, he wasn't a vampire, but the resemblance was incredible. It was like he had purposely created his future appearance a replica of what he looked like when he was twelve. He'd told me everything to know about myself, Mom, himself, and the Witch World when I was only six years old and he was double the age. It was scary thinking back now how close I had gotten to him during my four years of witch training. And the last I saw of him was the day of my graduation – me finally acing Witch School – him my professor and mentor – along with all my friends.

Grace was a different matter. She'd been my friend since my first day at Witch School and she had looked after me in those early days. She had been to the school since she was four, because her parents decided to tell her everything early. And once a child knew, it was the law to put the child into Witch school. So all the teachers knew all the ins and outs of Grace Carlyle, and I was happy that I had the opportunity to get to know the only girl in the entire school, who not just had one of the most powerful powers, but had also been training since the age of only four.

By the time we were graduating, our bond was so tight that we had even started reading each other's thoughts and communicating through telepathy. She was the only girl in which I had ever shared my thoughts towards, and to the only one in which I knew I would be spending my life with – then.

She was pretty, almost as pretty as Cami, but what really turned me on was her gorgeous red hair. I could still remember now how it used to shine like flames of fire in the sun when I would be chasing her in the woods. And her eyes...God, they were big, and round and as deep as the ocean – they had the color of it as well. It didn't bother me the least that she was a year older than me. I loved her too much to care about a silly thing like that.

It was during High school when I asked her out. I remembered the day like it was yesterday:

She was standing next to her friends by her locker, her laugh full, her bright, ginger-red hair tied back into a loose braid. I was standing next to my locker, measuring myself up to the boy she liked. She'd never told me his name, but she had described him with blonde hair and green eyes.

Zed brought me back to reality: shaking me by the shoulders, roughly. "What's up with you? You look like you've been run over by a trash truck."

I looked at him. "You know, Zed. It's her. I can't–"I shook my head, "I can't think, I can't sleep, I can't even practice!"

He sighed. "You're gonna have to tell her."

"I know," I said, ignoring his comment, "I'll tell her now."

"Dude, what? What're you gonna even say to her? I know how she is: she's my sister for Pete's sake."

"You just wait and watch." I clutched the handle of my backpack hard, and walked towards her. I could hear the small whispers of her friends, wondering what the hell I was doing. She looked at me, her deep blue eyes widening as I said, "Hi, Grace."