Aconite (The Elektita Series Book 1) (10 page)

"It’s not
me." I felt down her body in the dark for her hand. I squeezed, hoping
that she would hear the true meaning behind my words. A cool mist swirled
around us, rendering the mounting storm silent. I could almost bet if something
didn't end this madness soon my heart was going to burst out of my chest. It
may be me who had created this madness, but it wasn't me who was escalating it.

"Okay."
Her exasperation let me know she understood but wasn't happy about it.

Jonathon must have
understood as well. His knuckles brushed mine sending pleasure coursing through
my body as he passed by us both in the direction of the door. The fog and mist
swirled around the room, sending unanchored supplies crashing into the walls.
What was I thinking sending him away? I didn't want him to go; I needed him to
stay. A tear slid down my already damp face. I had to let him go. I was the
coals, and he was the spark. Jonathon's presence now would only fuel the fire.

When I heard the
door shut I whirled around, slamming my fist into the wall. Sheetrock carved
into my flesh as my fist sank through, coming to rest in the insulation
beneath. My reaction to his departure was strong and fierce. I couldn't handle
him near or from afar. I relished in the pain as I pulled my hand from the
wall, opening new wounds in my flesh. I deserved the pain it caused.

Wind whipped
around me as I screamed for what I had been denied, for my lust, and for all
pain that filled my soul. Jo grabbed my arm but if she was saying something my
rage held her plea back. I was drowning within myself and I didn't think she
could pull me back. For the second time I heard wolves beckoning in the
distance.

"Do you hear
that?" I screamed over the storm brewing all around us. I couldn't hear
her reply. I was only able to garner brief glimpses of her face. She was
shaking her head back and forth as she said something. How could she hear me
but yet I was unable to hear anything but the renewed pounding of the storm.

Jonathon's arms
wrapped around me enveloping me within the warmth of his embrace.

"I couldn't
leave you." His words played against the storm that both raged inside and
out. He held on tighter as the winds began to die down and the rain turned back
into mist. But it wasn't his return that had ended the storm. The cry of the
wolves had been the true savior.

"Do you hear
them?" My voice was strained. I couldn't hold myself up anymore. My body
crumpled, sending us crashing to the floor.

When I was finally
able to focus on his face I was shocked at what I saw. This Jonathon was
different; the sadness that shown through weighted heavily on my heart. He
searched my face seemingly unable to find what he was looking for.

"Not
anymore." With his answer the howls, only heard by me, transformed into
growls so loud pain rang through my head.

"Jo, you
cannot hear it either?" I hoped with all my heart that her answer would be
different. That she could hear what no one else seemed to.

"No, Alexis,
I don't." My heart sank further. It was me.

Jo's clothing that
I had admired so much hung in a soggy mess. The rain soaked skirt must have
weighed a ton. What had I done by coming here? The office was destroyed and I
couldn't find a good way to spin the development of a storm within a building
that would comfort the town’s curiosity. I'm sure just like any other small
town, news traveled fast.

My question didn't
cover only why I had come here, to the cafe today, but why I ended up in this
town. I had no clue as to what drew me to Reedsport, Oregon; population
everyone knows everyone. The only answer I had was a dumb postcard from a dumb
truck stop that I had stopped at on my stupid quest to find out what I wanted
to do with my life. Look how that turned out. Jonathon held me on the wet floor
letting me mentally berate myself. He ran his hand through my hair trying to
comfort poor little Alexis. I let him continue even though it was far more
irritating than helpful.

"Would either
of you happen to have a bottle of liquor stashed away some place." Alcohol
wasn't generally my go-to when I was stressed, but I think what had just
happened warranted something that would numb me inside just a little.

The look on Jo's
face would have been amusing under different circumstances. Even now it had me
cracking a slight smile.

"I thought
you wanted answers?" Her voice sounded just as rough as mine. I never once
heard either of us scream but our voices begged to differ.

"After all
that, I don't think I could handle answers straight away. Mind numbing medicine
and then answers sounds like a better plan."

Jonathon's chest
rumbled against my back with silent laughter. Laying here was nice. It felt
normal, and right about now I could definitely use a dose of normal. He lifted
me with the care you would give a child and placed me back on the floor. All
the chairs in the office were flipped and strewn haphazardly all over the room.
My chair still sat just as I left it. I really wish he would have sat me in it
instead. I had no strength to move myself all on my own.

"I think I
might have something." He too was battered from the storm. The pristine
suit was now disheveled, hanging haphazardly on his chiseled frame. The silver
clip must have been violently ripped from its place in his hair. Even storm
weathered Jonathon was stunning.

"Could you
manage to locate something without laughing?" I yelled as his laughter
began to fade to the front of the cafe. The request only caused the opposite.
Jo's feminine laugh now married with the deep baritone sounds that traveled
down the hall. He must have a secret cache of liquor that I was unaware of
because the cafe wasn't licensed to sell it. Either that or he drove around
with alcohol in his car for special occasions such as this.

"Here let me
help you with your arm," Jo said as she cradled my marred arm in her lap.
I had completely forgotten my arm with all the other pain that wracked my body.
Jagged cuts and scrapes marked up my fingers and arm. I watched with detached
interest as trickles of crimson slid down my skin, running pink onto the floor.
Jo pulled a small tube from her purse. She squeezed a bit of its brown gritty
contents between her fingers and slathered the thick paste against my wounds.
It stung for just a bit before giving way to a blissful numbing effect.

"This version
of you is absolutely the most entertaining by far," Jo choked out as she
worked. I could hear it in her tone that she was trying with little success in
holding back her laughter. Her slip reminded me of how she called me the wrong
name during the storm.

"Alexandria,
you called me Alexandria during the storm." Her invitation sent my mind
careening straight into the questions that I needed to avoid.

"Who is
Alexandria and what do you mean by this version?" She had let something
crucial slip and by her sudden cold disconnect it was something I wasn't
supposed to know. She had finished with her work and placed the tube back where
she had pulled it from. I examined my arm, extending it back and forth. I
couldn't feel the pain that I knew accompanied the stretching that my marred
flesh did with each extension. Instead of answering my question she began
fidgeting nervously with her clothing. The state of her attire could not be
fixed by a few fluffs and pats. She was avoiding me. She didn't strike me as
the submissive type but her behavior only confirmed that someone else was
pulling her strings.

I struggled to
pull myself up off the floor. My body felt foreign; my limbs, unwilling
participants to my brain's command. My will and returning adrenaline helped me
finish out the motion. I was slow and clumsy as I closed any remaining gap
between us.

"This
version?" My voice refused to rise into the scream that so desperately
wanted to escape but the heat behind my words sent renewed tears down her
cheeks. Cool salty air rose all around us.

"What in the
hell happened now?" Damn Jonathon and his ninja silence. He let a bottle
clink against my desk but my focus remained on Jo. She needed to make a choice
of her own but her eyes slid in Jonathon's direction. He was her puppet master.
Her wide eyed gasp let me know the minute she realized how very wrong her
choice was. Rain poured from the sky that manifested once again in the room.

"Stop this!
With magic there comes a price and your life is set as collateral. This could
end you!" Those last four words resounded within me. This could end me; I
couldn't ignore how right that sounded. I shut my eyes and took in the salty
mist and let the rain die away with each breath I took. The need to know who,
when, or what I was had become so strong that even the smallest hint at
knowledge sent me spiraling further into insanity. I began to chant my now
regular mantra reminding myself that this was not really me until finally I was
again grounded to the here and now.

"What version
am I? I could still feel the growing unrest within me but for now I could hold
it back.

"Version?"
Jonathon looked almost as puzzled as I felt.

"Yes,
version. Jo said this version of me has been by far the most entertaining. I'd
just like to know what version am I. Am I version 2.0? 5.0? Do I have a make or
model and where I can find my serial number? Is it magically tattooed under my
tongue because if it is my parents would have had some explaining to do."

I jerked the
bottle of who knows what off the table and took a huge swig before slamming it
back down before their laughter could grow even more. I was tired of being lied
to, laughed at, avoided, and only getting information when someone let it slip.
Silence once again descended all around us. Neither spoke even though it would
work out better for all involved if they did.

"Jo does not
know when to keep her mouth shut." Jonathon's anger filling each word till
I thought it would become its own entity.

"Alexis,
there are no other versions of you out there. You are the one and only Alexis
Davis." His tone was clipped and matter of fact.

"Then who is
Alexandria?" A theory began to sprout deep within me and I wanted him to
rip it out and kill it like the weed I hoped it was. I stared at him willing
him to do just that.

"History."
His answer was accompanied by a deep pain filled sigh. Jesus, I was really
beginning to hate this man. This was all so utterly pointless. Questions
answered with more questions. Answers given with half-truths and avoided lies.
I snatched up the bottle and took a slow drink of the unfamiliar liquor. I
welcomed the slow sweet burn as it slid down my parched throat.

"I'm
done!" Bottle in hand I stormed out of the empty cafe. I had meant it. I
was done, done with the cafe. Just as I had grew tired of Richland and his
avoidance in answering anything. I had grown tired of Jonathon and this whole
damn place. Neither of them made a move to follow me which had me both sad and
grateful. I pressed the bottle to my lips and let in even more of the sweet
liquid as I waited for the light to signal that I could cross. There was no
warning, no sounds of footfalls, as Jo slammed into me at full speed. Landing
me millimeters from becoming road kill.

"Oh Gods. I
am so sorry, so very sorry." Her apologies came out as more of a wheeze.

"What for?
Being Jonathon's little bitch or almost getting me killed?" I spat out. I
didn't even flinch as I watched the hurt my words caused will her face. The
light turned green, and I continued without a backward glance.

"There are
things you don't understand," she called out keeping pace just behind me.

"I don't
understand anything." My wet clothes and rain flattened hair didn't do
well to keep the breeze from bringing teeth chattering cold, but I couldn't
stop. I need to get as far away from here as possible.

"There is a
lot you shouldn't know. Is that better?" No, it wasn't better. I renewed
my speed needing to get further away from her. How odd was it that I was
finally getting somewhere and yet here I was running away. I didn't know what
their goal was in keeping me from myself but today my mind began to piece
together everything that had happened from my childhood to now. I was beginning
to form my own conclusion and I wasn't sure I would like what I had ended up
with.

"Watch
out!" Her warning came far too late and my run away thoughts had me
slamming into something yet again. I ran into the body of a dark blue BMW with
yet another unwanted memory behind the wheel.

"Fancy
meeting you here." I turned and began heading the opposite direction
before he could finish his thought. Now I wasn't sure which was worse, the cafe
or a delusional asshole who kept popping up everywhere I went. Jo still hadn't
given up her need to recover whatever we had, keeping right on my heels and
Richland now crept along beside me.

"We need to
talk," Richland said.

I let out a
frustrated scream which sounded more like a dying cow. Talking must be the
theme of the day.

"What if I
told you I could answer all your questions" The statement stopped me dead
in my tracks. The mind numbing cold fell back just enough to hear what he had
said.

"But the
issue is: will you give me any?" His smile was instant. He knew he had me
hook, line, and sinker.

"No!"
Anger crashed through Jo's answer. They were hiding something and Richland was
willing to bring it to light. I took a quick drink from my bottle, gave Jo a
wink and hopped in the car, shutting the door before she could stop me. The
roar of the engine drowned out whatever she was screaming all I could do was
watch her rage filled face quickly disappear from the side view mirror.

"Well, it
looks like we just made her evening." His boyish grin flashed in the
mirror as we headed out of town yet again.

"I'll take
the blame for that." I smiled, just happy to be moving further away from
town. I recognized the road we were on as the same stretch of highway that we
were on the night before. I cranked up the heat without asking if it was okay.
Frankly, I didn't give a damn if it was okay anyway. I was freezing and in pain
I really didn't need to get sick on top of all this madness. He didn't argue
which was a good thing. I was sick of arguing as well.

This trip his eyes
stayed glued to the road. I rubbed my ice cold fingers together in front of one
of the vents. The bloody cuts that marred my arm were almost completely healed.
They looked to be days old, covered in thick pink flesh. I ran one of my warmed
fingers along the deepest one. The pain didn't even register. I quickly added that
to the rapidly growing list of what the fuck is this? type questions.

"Are you
really my brother?" I took no time at all taking him up on his offer of
information. His fist clinched around the steering wheel, all the blood
draining from his knuckles. He didn't like my opener. Maybe he thought I would
have forgotten his confession.

"I was."
His voice was staunch and wooden.

"That is not
an answer." The car had become silent. The purr of the engine was the only
noise left.

"Would it
surprise you any if I told you I am a tad worried about answering any of your
questions in my car?" He had a point after what happened the last time we
were here it made sense he would be a little worried.

"I promise I
won't do that again." I couldn't truly promise not to stop his car again
since I had no idea how I did it before but at this point I would say anything
to get one answer that wasn't shrouded in fortune cookie lingo.

"I was
Alesiya's brother." His confession gave way to great sadness wiping away
that boyish demeanor he carried around.

"Then how are
you my brother?" Could anything possibly get more confusing?

"You may not
be Alesiya now but I still remain your brother."  Apparently so; Jo had
called me Alexandria and now Richland believes me to be Alesiya. At least that
is what I took from what he had said.

"Who is
Alexandria?" Maybe if I asked a not so personal question I would be less
likely to get fortune cookie answers.

"Where did
you hear of her?" His eyes flicked momentarily in my direction.