Chapter 62: Violet

I turned away from him; I was the first to break eye contact. I stepped out the door and out into the wide open. The air was brisk, a pleasant change from the toasty house. With each step I took, it felt like there was a pulling in my heart. I glanced over my shoulder and Simon was there, he leaned against the guardrail up to his house, watching me walk away. I gave a little wave and continued to walk to my cabin.

I entered the forest, the leaves were rustling against each other, a true sign of fall. My favorite. This time of year, the earth smelled different as it prepared to go into hibernation until spring. This smelled like an ending. I passed the stone that looked like an altar.

A twig snapped in the distance. I turned back to Simon’s house, from where the sound came. I waited to hear another sound, a rustle, footsteps. Anything. But there was only silence. I turned back around and there in front of me was a hooded figure. The same hoods that Eli’s henchman wore. I couldn’t see who they were under the hood. I wasn’t going to wait to find out. They found me, and where one was there must be others.

I quick stepped past him. I disappeared from my original spot and was one hundred yards closer to my cabin. I need to get there and grab the book and the money, and I can run. The thought of running away made my heart drop. I would be running away from Simon. I quick stepped again. I was at the base of the stairs of my cabin.

“Hey wait!” I heard from behind me. The hooded figure followed me. Running rather than quick stepping. He didn’t have that power.

I didn’t wait for them to get closer. I ran up the stairs, quick stepped to my loft to grab the duffle bag of money and quick stepped back into the kitchen, shoved the book into the bag and approached the front door when a hand grabbed my arm. My blood ran cold. My breath caught in my throat.

“Violet. It’s me!” With the hooded figure’s free hand, he pulled down his hood to reveal Tomas.

“Oh my god, Tomas. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry!” He laughed. “I have been looking for you ever since you left. When I figured out where you were, I had to be careful in case Eli followed me.”

I walked back to the dining table and set the bag down and sat in a chair. I motioned for Tomas to do so as well. “Did you want anything to drink?”

“I can’t stay long. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes.” He sat down across from me.

“How is everything?” I didn’t know what else to ask. It felt like a question that needed to be asked though.

“Chaos. If I’m being honest.” He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. “After you left, Eli became even more unhinged.” He leaned closer to me and whispered. “I think he’s going to do something bad.”

I stared at him for a moment. “What do you mean bad?”

“I mean, he’s dabbling in stuff that you can’t come back from.”

I knew what Tomas was saying. When selling your soul was involved, you couldn’t get it back. Sometimes a witch would do that to gain ultimate power, but an ultimate price.

He sat straight and continued. “He has been sending out his men to find you. I already had an idea of where you would be. Good job on the protection spell. They came about twenty-five miles from here and went in the other direction. That’s when I knew you must be in this little town. When I got a chance to explore on my own, I was able to track you here. Did you know this town is overrun with werewolves?”

“Yeah, very friendly werewolves.” I said with a small smile and thought of Simon.

“I see you went through the turning. Very powerful already.” He gave a half smile. “When did you learn the quickstep?”

“Just something I picked up from the book. It’s almost impossible to learn all my powers by myself.”

“That’s going to be useful.” His face dropped. “I came to warn you, Eli is not going to stop until he finds you. He’s been on a destructive path and anyone who gets in his way he destroys on the spot. Men, women, children. It’s gotten worse.”

“I’m going to save the coven. I have to.” Tears threatened to come out of my eyes.

“I know you will.” He pulled out his hand from his robe. He held a crystal ball the size of a softball. “I also came to give you this.”

“A crystal ball?” I grabbed it. “What is this going to do?”

“A lot more than you think. How else do you think I found you? It can show the past, the present and the future. It may come in handy when you declare war on Eli.” He tucked his hand back into his robe.

“With a friend like you I won’t need to have a crystal ball.”

His face got serious again. “This is the last time you are going to see me.” He frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw my future, and it’s not bright. Only a few days left for me. Eli finds out about me coming here.”

A sob escaped my lips. “Then why risk it?”

“Because me coming here will give you an edge that you need to save the coven. And that’s more important than my life.”

I looked down at the ball that sat in my hands. It didn’t look like anything special. Some witches had the power to scry and see the future. I hadn’t tried so didn’t know if I was one of the lucky ones.

“You should really look into your future. It is rather interesting.” He took his hand and covered mine holding the ball. “I think you will really like it.” His head jerked to the back door. “I have to go. I have already risked too much time here already.”

He stood and walked to the back door.

“Violet, I know you are going to save our coven and I am gladly sacrificing my life to help you attain that. You were a great friend, even in the midst of a shit show.” He opened the door and walked out and ran in the opposite direction of where we came.

I looked down at the ball in my hands. He wanted me to scry. From what I remember, you put energy into the ball and stare into it and it will reveal what you ask of it.

“What is my future?” I stared into the ball, pushing my energy into it. The ball started to glow purple. It lifted from my hands and hovered in front of me. A picture of two little kids, about four or five, were running in a field laughing, being chased by a man. “Simon.” I breathed as he grabbed the little boy and threw him above his head laughing. The little girl circled back around and clung onto his leg, laughing as well. Simon held the boy against his hip and started walking with the little girl still clinging to his leg. He was walking toward a woman—me. He leaned over and kissed me as if he had done it a million times before. Close up I could see the little boy had purple eyes and the little girl had golden eyes. They must be our children. With his free hand he grabbed mine and we walked through the field.

The ball dimmed and floated back into my hands. This connection I felt with Simon was more than just a coincidence. This was a bond that I was too dumb to figure out. I felt happy tears sliding down my cheeks. I continued to stare at the ball, waiting for it to come back to life and say just kidding then go to my worst nightmare and say this was my future. But it didn’t.

My back door burst open. Simon was in the door frame looking around, ready to fight. I looked at him. “Where is he? I’m going to rip him apart.” Simon strode toward me looking around for my visitor.

“He’s gone.” I shook my head.

He was next to me now. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?” He knelt down and grabbed my shoulders gently looked me over, trying to see if he had harmed me in any way.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was a friend from my coven. He came to deliver this.” I held up the ball in my hand.

“A glass ball?” He looked down at my hands. He was my future. Simon was my future. My heart swelled. “Why are you crying?”

“It’s a crystal ball.” I said. “It told me my future.”

Simon’s eyes became frantic, looking at each eye separately, trying to figure out what I had seen. “What is your future?” He paused. “If it’s bad, I can protect you.” He continued to hold onto my shoulders.

I could only stare into his eyes. Realization hit me. This is what he couldn’t tell me. That he had made the others not say. “You are.” I whispered.