Chapter 13

Some much-needed honesty.



My two teachers didn't stay long after that. We arranged another training session and just as I was about to ask if I could go with them to see Ella, my lids became heavy and darkness shaded over me.
It was late morning when I woke up. The nurse came in again to check on me. I told her that I felt much better, but I had to wait for the main healer to be discharged. It was clear that the early morning visit actually took place. I was eager to sneak out and see Ella because I was desperate for news.
That didn't happen because as soon as I was out of bed, Dad stepped into my room looking more serious than ever.
"And where do you think you’re going?" he asked folding his bulky arms together.
"To check on Ella."
I was planning to go into her room just in case, but I wanted to see her face to make sure she was going to make it. Tron and Alex used their own energy to help with the healing process. After all, Alex was her fairy father, even though she’d never met him.
"Hon, stop being so stubborn. Sit down and listen to me. I’ve got something important to tell you," he said with an unusual tone of voice. Then I remembered his conversation with Quentin and my stomach sank. Was he here to tell me that he’d discovered the truth? That I was his main suspect?
"What it is Dad?" I asked quietly. All of a sudden, my life was a mess. I couldn't even remember how I hurt Ella and now my own father had come to arrest me for murder.
"Jennifer was the one who broke into your apartment."
My throat went dry in an instant and beads of sweat gathered on my forehead. Dad never could sit calmly in one place, this time he was pacing around my hospital room. I could tell that he was in quite a shock. Me on the other hand, well, I wasn't quite understanding what he said.
"Jennifer, the one who was found murdered in La Caz Pharmaceutical?" I repeated in a whisper.
"Yes, my unit found my mother’s magical artefacts in her apartment. I don’t know if she was acting alone, but the evidence points to her."
The hole in my stomach didn't stop growing. Jennifer worked for McGregor and she was ready to burn me to death. I didn't have any important possessions in my home and those artefacts that went missing, well, they were priceless.
"I don’t get it. This doesn't make sense," I said speaking aloud.
"I was hoping you would tell me. When she was fired from Paranormal Personnel, she got a job with that other one, Spell or something—"
"StaffSpell, she got a job with StaffSpell?" I hissed feeling like I needed more air all of the sudden.
"Yeah, that’s the name, I meant to write it down," he muttered taking out his notepad. Now I was ready to leave the hospital right that minute, but Dad was here, and I had to act as if I had no idea what was going on.
"I sent Stewart to have a chat with a couple of guys from there, but they all said that Miss. Griffiths was an excellent employee. She was hired straight after she left the hospital."
"This is all very suspicious." I was baffled.
He asked me a few more questions about the rival agency but I only told him what was necessary. Our conversation was interrupted by another group of paranormals.
"Surprise! We thought it was time to see how our dear friend was doing!"
Dad muttered something about being on call when he saw Kelsie, Nicky and Kate at the door. He gave me a quick kiss and left in a hurry, ready to throw himself into this whole case once again.
At first, I was gobsmacked seeing the girls in my hospital room. Then I started crying like I’d never cried before. I didn't know what was wrong with me, the tears just started pouring out of me. The girls surrounded me, asking what the hell was wrong with me. My meltdown lasted for about five minutes but as time passed, I felt more hopeless and ruined than ever before.
"Julia, pull yourself together, you silly woman and tell us what’s going on!" Kelsie shouted. Okay, maybe this was a sign of weakness, but I needed a good cry. There was so much I wanted to tell them, but I wasn’t sure where to start.
I looked at Nicky standing in front of my hospital bed all tanned and fresh. We hadn’t seen each other for ages.
"So, I guess you’ve all met?" I sobbed. They all laughed.
"I dreamed about you being in the hospital last night. You had stranger around your bed and when you didn't answer, I decided to call your mother," Nicky explained, eyeing me suspiciously.
There was no point dragging this out any longer. I had to tell my friends that my life had turned over hundred and eighty degrees and I wasn't sure what to do anymore. I started right from the moment when I blacked out while being with Quentin in my kitchen. I had to come clean and Kel, Kate and Nicky were my friends. Tron and Alex needed to understand that I couldn't keep this away from people who cared about me. My father or my grandmother, well, they were directly connected with this whole mess, but I needed my friends. I went through my unsettled power, the visit from Tron, and my first training session. I didn't miss my encounter with Nathaniel and Kelsie’s ex- boyfriend and lastly, the blackout that left Ella spellbound, oddly similar to what happened with Quentin.
There were no more tears by the time I finished talking about my dad’s investigation with Jennifer’s murder and the fact that she was closely tied to McGregor and StaffSpell.
After I was done, a long silence stretched for several minutes. Nicky was shaking her head looking at me with concern. Kate wore a similar worried expression as did Kelsie. Well, she mostly looked scared. More or less, she was never scared but this time she was beginning to understand just how serious this entire situation was, or maybe she was scared that I might unintentionally do something to her. After all, my blackouts were unexpected, so I never knew what might happen.
"So, how is Ella? She’s going to wake up, right?" Nicky asked, ignoring her ringing mobile phone.
I sighed. "Ella’s stable at the moment and as far as I know she’s in some kind of magical coma."
"Julia, I think you need to tell your dad,” Kate said in a serious tone. “You weren’t yourself when you did all those things. Maybe it’s better that he knows. You need help and clearly that fairy prince and the other guy aren’t doing a very good job with your training."
"Okay, ladies, let me recap. So, your best childhood human friend is the daughter of some royal family. You’re like a ticking time bomb that can explode at any moment. And on top of that, your hot, hot, hot and rich ex-boyfriend is probably still pining over you?"
"Kelsie!" Kate shouted.
"What?" Kelsie shrugged with an innocent expression on her face. "I'm not surprised that she’s falling apart. One person can only handle so much!"
"Don’t listen to her. Let’s concentrate on the facts: La Caz isn't your problem at the moment," Kate said firmly, giving Kelsie a look that could kill.
"I don’t know, I think I have to stay away from Ella until I figure out how to control my magic. I'm still worried about that nightmare; the fire and my mother. What if I'm cursed and what if Nathaniel caused that outburst of magic?" I asked thinking about all the times when we were together. When I was younger I always had problems with tingling fingers and smoke in my hair, but Nathaniel was actually making it worse.
The girls looked at each other exchanging silent thoughts. They had no idea what to make out of it, not that I did either.
"You two had an explosive relationship, but your magic? This is different. We need to help you somehow; the blackouts and Jennifer? That’s what we need to focus on. Nathaniel, well, he’s just your ex," Kate said trying to think on her toes as usual. My mind was completely tangled.
"Kel, what happened with Craig? Has he been around?" I asked looking at my crazy best friend. Kate flinched, and Nicky looked curious.
"No idea, he hasn't shown up at my place after sweet Michael kicked his butt," Kelsie said smiling dreamily.
"I know that look," Kate said, pursing her lips with annoyance. “What have you been up to, Kel?"
"Yeah, I would like to know, too. I shouldn’t have introduced you to him. It’s been days and you’ve probably already broken his heart."
"For your information, Miss. Smarty Pants, we haven't had sex yet and I really like him."
Nicky raised her left eyebrow shooting me a questionable look. I was planning to introduce her to the group, but she was always so busy with her kids.
"Bloody hell, Kel. This is a first for you. You really like him."
Kel started looking at her nails not paying attention at us.
We teased her about her new relationship for the next five minutes before switching back to the subject of my problems. Nicky was worried, I could see it on her face, she couldn't quite believe that Ella was half fairy. When Kate and Kelsie left, she stayed with me for a couple more minutes. She told me that there was only one royal family of fairies. They lived separate from other paranormals, and they were never involved with others. They ruled in certain parts of Britain but these days, no one cared who was in power.
It wasn't long after the girls left when Quentin showed up to take me home. Nicky was in heaven when I finally introduced them. She went to see Ella while I was getting ready.
"How are you feeling now? You know, without your magic?" I asked him when we were alone. He brushed his hand over his brown hair, then kissed me passionately before he gave me an answer.
“I tried to use it the other day but that hollow feeling in my chest is still there."
I felt incredibly guilty. It had been at least four weeks and Quentin’s magic was still absent. What if he’d lost it forever and I was the cause? We didn't talk about it anymore and I finally left the hospital. When I got home, my mum called.
She demanded that I bring Quentin over for dinner soon and as usual, she wasn't taking no for an answer. Normally she would have given me a lecture about the fact that I hadn't told her about him, but Ella was still unconscious, and my mum knew that she would’ve been insensitive.

***

Over the next couple of weeks, I stayed away from the hospital but bugged Nicky to give me updates. Ella’s mother wasn’t in very good shape and she probably hated me for not visiting her daughter.
I showed up at Tron’s posh home a few days after I was released from the hospital determined to get a handle on my magic. Alex wasn’t there, and I felt a little overwhelmed practising alone with Tron.
His training was all about concentration. He wanted me to learn how to capture tiny sparks of energy when the power rolled but my reflexes were off. Every time I tried to create the same bolt of lightning something exploded. The spell I used on Craig worked but I hadn't progressed any further.
"Your mind is somewhere else. You’re not talking to your magic!" Tron shouted after I shattered everything made of glass all around the room. That was the fifth time that I’d tried. My magic was all over the place, electrifying my hair and burning my skin.
"I'm trying but you’re not telling me how do it!" I yelled back swallowing my tears. Tron muttered something under his breath.
"Calm down and listen to your body, feel the power boiling inside of you."
I closed my eyes, focusing on the tiny warmth that filled my stomach, pulling my body and lifting my hands. I stood there for about a minute feeling haunted and useless. In the end Tron asked me to leave. He said that I wasn't trying hard enough, and my thoughts were clouded.
When his driver dropped me home later that evening I had several messages from Nicky.
"Ella woke up and she’s been asking for you," Nicky informed me after I returned her phone call.
My heart fluttered in my chest and a long tingle passed over my arms.
“That's wonderful! Is she okay?"
There was a slight pause.
"She seems to be. She’s still angry with me but asked why you weren’t with me. She looked upset when her mother told her that you never came to visit her."
"Nicky, I can’t go and see her. It’s better if I stay away. She’s vulnerable and I don’t want her to end up like Jennifer." I sighed as that sorrowful feeling in my stomach came back. Alex asked me to keep my distance until we knew how to stop the blackouts. I could have called Ella, but this wasn’t a conversation that could be carried out over the phone. My best friend was probably confused and regretted that she’d ever forgiven me, but I had no other choice.
"What should I tell her?"
"That I can't see her now and tell her that I'm sorry. Just say that it’s better like this for now."
After all, Nicky understood, although she didn't approve of my course of action, she agreed to pass the message on to Ella. I wanted to question Alex and ask him how long he was planning to wait before he was going to talk to her. After all these years he’d never talked to or seen his family, and I understood that he was trying to protect them, but at some time, everyone deserved happiness.
The next few days and weeks were hectic and apart from intensive magical training sessions with Tron, I wanted to look into Jennifer’s involvement in my life more closely. Some nights when Quentin was around, thoughts of Nathaniel would slip through, making my heart ache. Lucinda didn't mention him when I talked to her and no one broke any more news about the wedding. Kate was watching me more closely at work, like she was afraid I might start killing the clients. I wasn’t angry with her; I knew she meant well, but I felt hopeless and even more depressed.
It had been five weeks since my encounter with my ex-lover and my last blackout. Quentin came to the office when my shift was coming to the end, showing up unexpectedly. After I ended up in the hospital, he hadn’t brought up our conversation about moving in together. At that time of the day I was ready to leave, but Rufus came in five minutes early asking for some paperwork.
"Julia, who’s that giant by the door?" my regional manager asked, eyeing my boyfriend suspiciously.
"He’s the guy I'm currently seeing," I breathed out, my voice high. Rufus narrowed his eyes looking uncomfortable.
"Right, you may go. I’ll be fine here."
I nodded not making another comment. Rufus wasn’t just my boss, he was also a good friend. My love life shouldn’t be any of his business, but he always looked out for me and even warned me about Nathaniel. Actually, everyone warned me it wasn't a good idea to get involved with a vampire, but I didn't want to listen, so now I was suffering the consequences.
"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to wait for me at home?"
"I have a surprise for us." He smiled. "It’s the weekend and the weather will be glorious. We’re going to Brighton. You’ve had a tough few weeks and you deserve a break."