“It's called Cinder. It turns anything it touches to ash,” Robert answered with grave seriousness.
Hiccup. “And you were planning on hitting, Lila,” I said, mortified.
He nodded, "It's not something I ever like to summon, but there was no way I was going to let her lay another finger on you."
Hiccup. I stared up at him, a dozen emotions running through me. Shock was at the top of the list as another hiccup erupted from my throat.
“Why don’t we lay off the liquor.” He took the almost empty glass out of my hand.
“Okay.” I smiled sheepishly. “Robert?”
“Yeah?”
“What happened in my room?”
He brushed my hair behind my ear and said, “It was a silencing spell, meant to suspend sound so she could get to you without me noticing.” He smirked. “It was an amateur move.”
Hiccup.
Unable to process any of this and really starting to buzz, I decided it was time for bed. “I think I’m going to try and get some sleep,” I said, rising from the couch.
“Wait, I want to give you something, if that’s alright. I wanted to give it to you earlier, before we were interrupted. I think it will help you see the truth.”
“Umm… sure.” I furrowed my brows, hesitant.
He walked back over to the coffee table, picked up the journal and handed it to me.
“What is this exactly?” I finally asked. I had assumed it was his own personal journal when I saw it earlier.
“Just open it,” he insisted.
I opened the front cover and the binding crackled in protest. An inscription was scrawled on the inside cover in tiny, delicate letters:
To My William
With all my love, Constance
“Who’s William?” I asked.
“He was the very first Maxwell to hear the prophecy about you,” Robert answered.
“Maxwell, is he…”
“Yes, he’s my relative.”
“And Constance?”
“She was his wife. Although, when she gave him that journal she was engaged to another man. It was quite the scandal, but it all worked out in the end.”
“What’s so special about it?”
“There is powerful Magic stored in that journal and only those who are meant to see it can have access to it.” Robert smiled.
“So it’s like a spell book?”
He laughed. “You watch too many movies.”
“Don’t laugh at me,” I scoffed. Hiccup.
“I’m sorry,” he said, rearranging the smile on his face. “What I mean is, this journal…” He touched the corner of the page. “It belonged to some very powerful people. Their words are meant to guide you.”
“People? This belonged to more than one person?”
“It’s been passed down through the generations. I’m able to access it because it belongs to my family.”
“What exactly do you mean by accessing it?”
“It’s different for me than it will be for you. My ancestors’ blood runs through my body, so I feel and experience things when reading the journal, but I don’t know what will happen to you when you read it.”
“You said it’s meant to guide me?”
“Every word in the journal carries the essence of the author. Their souls have lingered on the pages, if you will. When you start reading, you’ll feel a pull deep inside that will help guide you in the right direction.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked, feeling overwhelmed.
“It’s all in the journal,” he explained.
My thumb held down the corner and let page by page flip by.
“Thanks, I guess.” My emotions flew all over the map and I just wanted to crawl into bed.
“I’ll let you get some sleep now.” His eyes caught mine for just a second and the heat coursing through me felt like a lightning bolt. Ugh, how could I want him right now? I’d nearly been killed, again, and one look from Robert made me what to forget all of it and jump into his arms. Maybe I did drink too much, I thought sheepishly.
“Right,” I said, shaking him off. “Night then.” I turned and headed straight for my bedroom.
I flipped on the light. The night stand and its contents were strewn across the floor. I picked up the overturned piece of furniture and as I set the journal on top of it, the room turned upside down.
A field of lush green grass appeared under my bare feet. A woman stood in the distant with her back turned to me. Cautiously I took a step toward her, unsure of where I was or what was happening. The breeze ruffled her hair, but otherwise she stood unnaturally still.
As I got closer, I noticed that she was holding a sword in her left hand and blood dripped from the fingers on her right hand.
“Violet,” someone yelled from behind me.
I turned and Robert ran past me to the woman with the sword.
Following him, I got within a few feet of her, and realized she looked familiar, she looked like me.
“Violet, are you alright?” Robert asked the woman standing before us both. “Oh God.” He hesitated and then reached a tentative hand toward her.
Her head, my head, moved like a bird inspecting a worm.
I circled around myself, so that I was standing face to face with her. Neither of them noticed me or paid me any attention as I stared at myself in horror.
It was like looking in a mirror, except for the eyes. Her eyes, my eyes, were no longer green. The iris had been turned the color of amethyst and the glistened in the sunlight.
The field faded but the image of my amethyst eyes staring back at me sent a shiver down my spine. What the hell was that? Was I actually starting to lose my mind?
I didn’t have the energy nor was I in the mindset to deal with anymore Magical phenomena tonight. I quickly changed my clothes, grabbed the comforter and a pillow off my bed and headed for the living room.
“You can have my bed if you want, but I’m not staying in there tonight,” I said as I walked straight toward the soft carpet in front of the television.
Robert frowned. “Take the couch, I can sleep on the floor,” he said. “I’ll make sure your room gets cleaned up first thing tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I said, dropping my blanket on the couch, “for everything.” Tears stung my eyes but I pushed them back as I crawled under my comforter.
“You’re very welcome, Violet.” Robert turned off the lights and I fell asleep to the sound of his even breathing.
Chapter 11
I stared at the ceiling when I woke up, unable to stop running through everything that had happened yesterday. The assault left me physically drained and I wasn’t doing much better emotionally. Everything Robert had told me about the Promised Ones got me thinking about Matthew and how normal he seemed. A pang of sadness touched my heart. Was nothing what it seemed anymore?
Last night had definitely been an eye-opener. I couldn’t deny what had happened but I couldn’t bring myself to think about what that meant for me and the prophecy. My life was changing and no matter how hard I fought against it, change was inevitable. Take it one day at a time, I chanted to myself.
I swung my legs over the side of the couch and stretched my hands over my head. Robert lay fast asleep on the floor, one hand on his chest, the other above his head. My heart gave a gentle tug at the sight of him and the memory of how intimate our conversation had been the night before. What was going on between us was something my nerves couldn’t deal with at the moment so I got up and headed to the bathroom. Ignoring the disaster that was my bedroom, I shed my cotton shorts and t-shirt and hopped in the shower. The warm water washed over me and helped pull my head out of the fog.