Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters Read online

  We made the minute walk back to the car in thirty seconds, all of us eager to get away. “We need to get out of here fast, no telling where that bastard went.” I took the keys out of my pocket and threw them in Ash’s direction, “You’re driving.”

  “All we wanted was a little gas,” I said to Ash as we both ducked down to get into the car. I looked off into a distant tree and saw something move in the shadows just before Ash had started the engine.

  “There‘s another station or something just twelve minutes from here, if you guys want to change there” Corey spoke up from the backseat.

  “There wouldn’t by any chance happen to be an invisibility power in store for me would there? That would be the most useful right now.”

  “Actually there is! How did you know?” Corey replied enthusiastically.

  “Really?”

  “No.”

  I pouted a little, but then smiled, she’d fit in nicely. Moving on to more important business, I let my next question for in my brain as nicely as I could make it; although being really upset about it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me your dad was like us?” I said, a hint of frustration building in my throat.

  “I don’t know,” she replied sincerely.

  I fastened my seatbelt and sat back in the seat and rested my head. “Well why did you decide to drive the truck into the store?”

  “If I would have used my powers, I’m pretty sure I would have killed him. Besides, that store was the basis for so much of my pain, I hated it more than I despised him.”

  I could understand that much after what I had just experienced firsthand. “Where do these powers come from?” I looked down at the brown mixture of my blood and that of Ash’s as it started to dry and began sticking to this newly developed scar, I slowly peeled the shirt away and looked down at it. “If I can heal, why do I have this scar?”

  “You’re your most vulnerable when exposed to wooden weapons. It’s like that for most of us. But at least for you all it leaves is a scar; the rest of us might not be so lucky. No one really knows where they come from, just be glad you have them.”

  “Obviously, they’re hereditary,” Ash responded, gripping the wheel as his encounter played in his head.

  I saw it just as clearly as he did and I couldn’t force the feelings away though I gave it my all. I stared down at the tear in his shirt and saw he didn’t share my scar. Not realizing I was holding my breath, I exhaled before I turned purple. “Don’t say I don’t love you,” I sighed.

  “Your love for me was never in question,” he smiled, reaching over to pat my knee.

  Emotions got the best of me as I realized if he would have died the last memory I would have of him would be rolling around over shards of glass and broken wood for a reason I didn’t care to remember. “Why is this happening, Corey?”

  “I can’t answer those questions for you, because I don’t know. Who left the juice for you guys to find and why did you decide to drink it?”

  Our minds raced, I hadn’t been the one to find the cursed juice so I stared at Ash. “Why’d you have to go and drink the juice?”

  He kept his attention on driving but I could see the frown on his face. “You drank it first! I only drank it because you did.”

  I squirmed in my seat, something was wrong with my back- a massage was definitely needed. “Shoot,” I mumbled, bending over to touch my toes in an attempt to stretch my back. “Does your back hurt?” I questioned Ash.

  “No, why?”

  A sharp jab hit my spine, racing all the way to my head. “Stop the car,” I whispered at first. When Ash didn’t hear me I yelled, “Stop the freakin’ car!”

  Immediately the car stopped in the middle of the street and I struggled to unlock the door. When I finally got it open ad was out of the door, my legs barely made it to the shoulder of the road as I stumbled to where the grass was. Everything came up, I felt like I was throwing up all of my guts as it spilled out into the grass.

  Ash was out of the car and ran over to hold my hair back. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing, I’m fine now,” I answered, getting up from the ground.

  “Doesn’t look like nothing to me. Want me to take you to a hospital or something?”

  “I’m good, I swear. Let’s go,” I said, getting back into the car.

  Corey sat quietly in the backseat looking out of the window. “An unfortunate side effect.”

  Somehow I felt like she was sitting on information, since I wasn’t sure what I was looking or what was even going on for that matter, I couldn’t exactly say what it was she was hiding. “Why the hell didn’t Ash spill his guts on the side of the road?”

  “Because I’m a man, I can handle my own,” he answered. “So how did you know I would be able to lift the truck? And Aliza, you owe me $20.”

  “I can sense other powers,” Corey replied plainly.

  “Now when you say ‘powers’ you mean that we have more than one?” Ash marveled.

  “Well yeah you two are the only other people besides my dad that I know with powers though. As you can probably tell, I don’t get out much.” She replied, staring out of the window.

  “So how many do we have?” I questioned.

  “Powers only show when they’re activated or triggered. The stuff in the bottles triggered the first and I see that as time has passed, three have surfaced for Alizarin and the same amount for you, Ash,” she replied.

  “You know, I always knew I was special,” he said smiling at the road.

  “Yeah- special ed,” I choked. I leaned my head against the window and looked at the surrounding trees. My sunroof was still open, only now the air that came through was less inviting. I felt dirty.

  Ash didn’t reply, just kept his eyes on the road. “So which three? Can I fly? Do I have laser vision?” he urged.

  I laughed at his apparent reference to Superman.

  “What’s so funny?” he responded.

  It was actually pretty damn hilarious that we were sitting here talking about this like it was a part of normal conversation; as if everyone we knew had consumed super juice and were later cursed with mutation. But for the sake of peace, I nudged his arm with my elbow and smiled. “Nothing Super-Dork.”

  “Don’t hate, appreciate,” he teased.

  I turned slightly around in my seat and faced Corey, she was writing something in a little blue worn out journal. “So what do these powers do?”

  She looked up from her notebook and smiled warmly. “Time will tell.”

  I shrugged and turned back around in my seat, beside me Ash was smiling from ear to ear, his no longer private thoughts consumed me; images of shock and confusion flashed in front of me and I exhaled sharply. “Why me?” I mouthed, shaking my head in disappointment of the powers that be. “By the way, consider me saving your life that solid and the $20 I owed you.”

  I let outside sound soothe me as I still forced fluids to stay in my stomach; not only did the person that left that poisoned juice ruin my life, they were killing me slowly, and if I ever found out who it was- I’d return the favor, gladly.

  Chapter Four

  Nikko

  Saturday April 10, 2010

  From the first moment I laid eyes on her, she kept my heart racing. Everything from the way she smiled to the way her long hair blows gracefully in the wind and even how her eyes twinkle when she’s excited.

  “She has to be the one,” I told Wade as we rummaged through the potions on Benjamin’s messy and cluttered shelves.

  “I trust you, bro. I’m just saying, I hope your right, or else a completely useless teenage girl is about to ride into a challenge only Ikuista can overcome,” he replied casually.

  “I’m telling you, once you see her, you’ll know.”

  I channeled through the rooms space and quickly found a large enough bowl to mix the potion in. “Besides, I think Centure would know her own granddaughter,” I continued.

  Wade stopped looking on the shelv
es and turned around to face me. “Oh my god! You filthy beast.”

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not what you’re thinking. She’s practically our cousin, pervert.”

  “The intentions never lie, my friend.”

  I bit the cork out of one of Benjamin’s vials and was about to pour it into the bowl when Benjamin limped into the room and stopped me.

  “Let me do that, young man. You have to be very careful with these things,” he said, prying the vial from my fingers and sitting it down on the counter, before manifesting a pair of gloves and putting them on.

  “How can we be sure she’s going to drink it?” Wade asked while walking over to stand by Benjamin to watch over his shoulder.

  “It’s a special blend of senses. I’m designing this especially for Ikuista, so that when she sees it, she won’t be able to resist.”

  “Smart idea,” I said, moving across the room to glance at some of the things Benjamin had accumulated in this shop over the past few years. “Where do you find this stuff?” I admired while picking up a small statute.

  “Places all over this world, and ours.”

  “I’ll be back,” I said before teleporting from the room.

  Even before I could decide on a destination, I found myself standing outside of the grey and red two-story home Alizarin resided in for now. On this side of the world the sun was setting, whereas where Benjamin and Wade were in Paris, it was the just the fade of dawn.

  When the wind picked up around me, I knew Centure was somewhere close- undoubtedly watching the house as she always did. It was all a part of her bond with Alizarin- a bond that could not be broken once formed. One I’d never be able to understand.

  I stood across the street, staring up at the wide bedroom window, noticing first that the light was still on at this time of night and also, an unfamiliar car was parked in the driveway.

  “She has company,” Centure allowed the wind to whisper softly in my ear without showing herself.

  “You know how much it creeps me out when you do that, Centure,” I replied from shock.

  When the front door of the house flew open, a man stepped out onto the porch, allowing the porch light to reflect from his face.

  “That guy,” I mumbled, realizing that it was only Joseph. I couldn’t help the jealousy as he got into his car and drove away.

  With my knowledge that only Alizarin was alone in the house, I teleported into the living room then quietly made my way up the stairs. The light was still on in her room and the door was left slightly open as I came as close as I could to her room. From the hallway, I could hear her crying and talking to herself as if trying to explain something away.

  “It couldn’t have possibly been that bad,” she sobbed.

  After quickly piecing the puzzle together, I soon found myself in the passenger seat of Joseph’s car. Upon seeing me, the car temporarily swerved on the road when he let go of the wheel.

  Using an electric pulse, I temporarily disabled the engine and snatched the keys from the ignition.

  “Who are you?” he asked, frightened for his life.

  Though I wasn’t here to kill him, I would teach him a lesson. I turned on the hazard lights of his car and briefly watched as a few other cars behind us drove around.

  “Do you make a habit of snatching up virginities and disappearing off into the night?” I demanded while coldly staring into his eyes. I dared him with every bone in my body to say something wrong- just one wrong word.

  But he didn’t reply, just looked at me with fear in his eyes and tears slowly falling to his cheeks.

  “W-what do you want from me?”

  At seeing his cowardice, I softened my face and smiled. “I want you to take a nice and long nap, my friend.”

  He flinched hard when I lifted my hand up, then fumbled with the door lock and handle as he tried to get out of the car. The bastard ran down the middle of the neighborhood and screamed for help.

  Suddenly in the mood to play ‘cat and mouse’ I allowed him to believe he’d actually escaped me for a minute- until a few porch lights flickered on. I swiftly ended the chase and grabbed him from the street and teleported him back into the driver’s seat of his vehicle.

  “Start the car,” I ordered calmly.

  “No,” he answered boldly. “I’m not going to drive myself somewhere where officers can’t find my body,” he continued.

  “Have it your way.”

  Instantly and effortlessly, I reached across the seat and sent a stun through him that will force him to sleep it off for three or four days. He slumped over across the middle of the seat seats and gradually began to snore. After pushing him off of me, I reached over and grabbed the steering wheel with one hand and the passenger door with the other, teleporting the car three hours away from town.

  Feeling a tad bit of emotion, I pulled a $10 bill from my wallet and crumpled it into his hand before heading back to Paris, where Wade and Benjamin still worked on the potion.

  “I’d have only left him $5 if it were me,” Wade announced when he saw me come into the room.

  “You should just be worried about not messing up when the time comes,” I answered.

  “Young man, you shouldn’t interfere into people’s private lives. You hate when Wade does it to you.”

  I nodded. To an extent he was right, but I felt my actions were justified. “He shouldn’t have done what he did,” I replied while falling back onto an old couch.

  ***

  Sunday August 22, 2010

  The potion worked- that’s a relief. Now the real problems start. I walked into my room and fell on top of the bed, thinking briefly about Alizarin.

  As soon as I found myself getting comfortable, Wade knocked on the door and walked in. “Am I not the man, or what?” he beamed from ear to ear as he obviously reflected on his display with Skylark.

  “Yeah, you did a good job. I almost believed it for a second myself,” I replied after sitting up on the bed. “But, your potion made her throw-up,” I continued.

  “Minor defect. You know something; I can’t help but wonder how did the guy discover a power? We only made one bottle,” he said, taking a seat in the chair across the room.

  “I don’t have all the answers, kid.”

  Truthfully, I’d wondered the same thing. Where’d the second bottle come from?

  Soon our mother tapped on the door twice before stepping in. “I’m assuming today was a productive day? Which powers has she discovered?” she questioned, moving through the room and kicking piles of clothes around with her feet. “How many times do I have to tell you, I am not your maid,” she continued.

  “The potion that Benjamin and I created initially triggered Stage One Telepathy, while Skylark and Thorne were able to uncover healing,” Wade answered with a sense of pride in his tone. “Needless to say, none of this would have been possible without me,” he gloated.

  I rolled my eyes. “Also, the blood of a Phoenix courses heavily through her veins- which means we also know the nature of her Beast,” I said.

  Wade beamed as he folded his hands behind his head and interlocked his fingers. “I honestly can’t wait to find out what mine is. I’ve waited long enough.”

  My mother came across the room and sat next to me on the bed then placed her palm on my knee. “Wade told me about your feelings toward her. Don’t worry, they are nothing to be ashamed of, after all, she is one of a kind,” she said softly as if telling me a secret.

  I cut Wade a dirty look then traveled from the room before I allowed myself to be embarrassed further. One day I’d have to teach Wade a lesson about minding his own business and keep his mouth shut.

  Instantly, I appeared on the private shore of a white-sanded beach and sat down in the warm sand as tiny waves, kissed my feet. Looking over the water, I allowed peace to wash over me. I always came here when I needed the perfect place to get my mind together.

  Somehow I couldn’t fight the feelings I had for Alizarin, my mother was right- sh
e was one of a kind. I realized at that moment that my mind wouldn’t let me rest until I had a piece of her, until she knew I existed and accepted me into her life.

  Taking a long sigh, I fell back and let my head rest tiredly on the sand. “I have to pull it together,” I whispered to myself as I watched a flock of birds fly over me.

  Chapter Five

  Alizarin

  Friday August 20, 2010

  The rest of the ride was silent, neither of us really had anything else to say. Corey had moved Ash’s bags to the floor under the seat and stretched out across the back seat to catch up on a nap. I had barely noticed that I had fallen asleep during the last hour of our journey as I opened my eyes and looked out of the window, expecting to see a lot more than what I saw. The trees had disappeared and vast areas of plowed land now surrounded us, there was one blade of grass here and another blade of glass over there.

  “We’re about ten minutes away, I’m glad you’re awake. I would have absolutely hated to have had to punch you in the arm.” He snickered.

  “This is just great,” I huffed sarcastically. “It should have been named New Desert, Alabama. Who would move to Alabama anyways?”

  Ash just smiled, “It’s a test area, and if you had done your research like I did you would have known that.”

  We left turned into the upscale neighborhood; most of the houses were beautiful, each sort of crafted into a uniquely different design. It was definitely a change from the ‘cookie cutter’ neighborhood we’d left. “So this is where they want their doctors and lawyers to live, huh?”

  “I’m pretty sure you can get into just as much trouble in the country as you can in the city.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right,” I replied, digging into one of my pockets for the gate remote.

  Ash drove until we had reached a white and black house with an iron black fence surrounding the perimeter. It was definitely gorgeous on the outside but what I really wondered about was what the inside of the shower looked like, I smelled like a working class man, and although unseen, I still hadn’t completely removed all of the blood stains from my body. But how could I, when we’d stopped at a string of portable restrooms.