Chapter 21
The assembly started ten minutes ago. I’m bathed and dressed in a floor--length white cotton sundress. My hair is pulled up behind my ears and braided down my back. Damien has cast the circle with salt. It runs six feet in diameter inside my bedroom. Twenty--five feet from the center he places stones in all four directions.
There are candles lit all around the edge of the circle. I’m standing in the middle glancing at my watch again. The ceremony is now fifteen minutes in, and my knee is throbbing again. We need to hurry this up. Just then, Damien enters, closing my door and joining me in the circle.
“Are you ready to get started, Lay?” He asks, laying his hands gently on my shoulders.
“Yes, how long will it take?” I’m anxious to get started. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand on my knee without crying out in pain. My face twists more with each passing second.
“Not long, about ten minutes. Let’s get started.” He takes a few steps back and picks up a grimoire. He begins reading in a language that I can’t understand. I am pulled in by the way his voice ebbs and flows, the way his eyes are lit with the candle light.
He looks so handsome. Passion begins to well up inside me. I am going to be joined to him for eternity.
He reaches a stopping point and hands me a dagger. “This is the tough part, Layla. You will have to make a cut over your heart and let the blood drip into the circle. It will activate the Joining, and when I say your name, it will be complete.” He hands me the dagger. It’s the same one that I saw him wield when we were attacked by the Morphon. Gosh, it seems like forever ago when we were attacked by the shifter.
I take the handle, trying to hide the fact that my hands are shaking. I place it over my heart and press. I can feel the sting of the blade as it slices open my tender flesh. Hot blood drips down my breast. I collect it in the cup that Damien handed me and, as he had directed, scatter it around the circle.
Without touching, Damien looks into my eyes.
“Layla,” Damien calls me.
“Layla, are you okay?” I hear a pounding on the door at the same time. Both my eyes and Damien’s eyes grow wide as I feel the rush. We are connected. All of our emotions are out in the open. It’s like a book; I can read his thoughts. I can feel his power. It takes my breath away.
I realize then that I am feeling a worry feeling that isn’t coming from me. It’s coming from him and from someone else. My powers really are stronger now. The task of finding the Pendant is a little less daunting now.
The banging comes again. “Layla, I know that you’re in there. I can feel it. Answer me.”
I take a step to answer the door, and my knee starts throbbing again. This time it’s shooting pain up my thigh. My medicine has worn off; I need some more.
Damien is there by my side, able to feel what I’m feeling. A soft glow lights his eyes from our mixed powers.
“Layla, I know that you are hurt, open up. I just want to make sure that you’re okay,” Zeke says.
I can see Zeke standing outside my door. I can feel the frustration rolling off him. My new-found abilities bring a smile to my face through the pain.
Damien, answer the door, please. I would like to talk to Zeke.
Without a word, Damien walks over and unlocks the door. Zeke stands up a little straighter when he sees Damien. I can feel everything that they are feeling. As Damien steps back, I can feel Zeke’s surprise turn into anger. I can feel equally powerful anger coming off Damien for being disturbed. It’s all giving me a headache.
Zeke rushes to the bed. He looks at the blood dripping down my chest, staining the gown crimson. “Are you all right? What happened?” he asks.
Although his question is directed at me, Damien answers. “She’s fine. We just completed the Joining ceremony. If you will move, I will heal her knee and hand.”
Now Zeke’s anger isn’t just directed at Damien, but at me too. I can hear it in his thoughts.
How could you let him claim you? You didn’t give me a chance. I could have been right for you. I know it isn’t meant for me to hear, but I can’t stop listening.
The hurt is there too, although smothered by the anger. I touch Zeke and pull back when I feel the warmth, more than there was before. I thought that once I was joined with Damien that I wouldn’t connect with other Protectors anymore.
I can definitely feel the same connection that I had when I touched Damien. And it’s hot, like melt--your--skin--off hot. I think Joining has made my connection to other protectors worse.
Damien holds his hands above my leg, and I can feel our magic mixing. I can feel each cell shifting into place, the cut on my chest and the gash in my hand closing. I feel whole again.
I take a second to stand up and stretch out. Man, it feels good to be on my feet again. I should head back to the doctor’s office first thing tomorrow to get cleared for classes. I can’t believe that I can heal that easily, with help of course.
“Damien, would you mind getting the stones? I need a few minutes alone with Zeke,” I ask. Damien gives me a weary look before turning to walk out. I can feel his anger dissipating the further he goes.
I trust you, Layla. We are joined now; he won’t touch you.
As soon as Damien walks, out Zeke pounces. He fists my hair in his hand and yanks my head back. He’s not slow and smooth like Damien. This is more primal, more urgent. His lips crush my mouth. His tongue pries open my lips and takes what he wants.
His other hand pulls me closer and runs down my back. I can feel my body’s response to his assault. It betrays me by responding. I force my way out of his arms.
“What are you doing? I am joined with Damien.” I turn my back to him. The hunger in his eyes is too much. My emotions are a mess right now. I need to get this under control.
“It didn’t work. If it did, then we wouldn’t have a connection,” he says. What is he talking about? Of course I am joined to Damien. I was there. I can feel everything with him. I could feel our powers mixing. I don’t know what went wrong, but clearly there is something going on here.
“Yes I am.” I’m not sure why I feel the need to argue. “I can feel it. We are joined. I could feel him using my powers to heal me. He can only do that if we’re joined.” It doesn’t make sense.
I try to feel for anything that’s going on. I can sense Damien outside, giving me time to talk to Zeke. I can feel Zeke right in front of me. I can feel his power. I can feel his emotions. I can feel his heart. I can actually hear his heart. Who knew I would get crazy senses once we were joined?
High on conjoined powers, I glare at him, daring him with my eyes to explain it.
“We have a connection too. I can feel it,” he says. “I can hear your heartbeat, Layla, I can hear your thoughts and the ones that you don’t keep balled up. I can feel your power. I can tell that you are confused. That wouldn’t happen if we weren’t joined; it didn’t happen before . . . .” His thoughts trail off. I can feel the truth; I just don’t understand how I can be projecting my powers onto him.
“This has to be a misunderstanding. You shouldn’t have my powers. I can feel them on you. How is that possible?” I look him up and down.
His eyes are glowing. Zeke’s eyes are glowing. They shouldn’t be glowing with my power. Damien’s eyes only started glowing with my power after we were joined.
Zeke and I were joined too. How is that possible? It’s the only explanation. He said my name at the same time as Damien. Zeke was within the stone circle, but he wasn’t in the candle circle. It’s impossible to be joined to Zeke.
I can see my thoughts in Zeke’s head. I can see the shock registering, confusion, and, after a moment, I can see the joy. He wants a chance; he wants to prove that he can protect me just as well as Damien.
I can see his story like a book. It takes far less energy than pulling thoughts from Damien.
I am the first Suppliant that he has met. He has felt an attraction to me from th
e moment he laid eyes on me. I can see the scene replaying in his head. I’m sitting in the courtyard on orientation day. I look lonely. My eyes light up at our conversation. He wants to reach out and touch me.
I feel Damien making his way back into the building, pulling me out of Zeke’s memory.
Please go. I need to be the one to tell Damien, I plead. He nods his head in understanding and leaves.
How am I going to tell Damien? How am I going to handle this?
I have known Damien a lot longer than I’ve known Zeke. Damien was there with me when my world was rocked by my parents’ admission. He’s a friend to me and has helped me through all of the life changes that have happened since.
Then there’s Zeke, who I just met. I get the feeling that Protectors are not very common either, so I feel like I should at least give him a chance to protect me.
I guess it doesn’t really matter now; I am joined to both of them. Thoughts of uncertainty are flying all around. I know that as soon as Damien gets close enough, he’s going to see everything, so I reinforce my mental wall.
“You look tired. We can clean the salt up in the morning,” he says. I could get used to him being able to read my feelings. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until then. I give Damien a nod and a feeble “good night.”
I can feel Zeke back in his room. I didn’t know that his room was that far away. Our new connection is causing an aching feeling in my chest. It doesn’t really hurt; it’s just annoying. Zeke is going to have to move closer.