Chapter 20

Normally I like to talk when in a car. If nothing else, it’s something to do as I travel. After everything that happened with House Vikkor, I was feeling all talked out. So, for the better part of the drive back to the apartments, Rachel and I sat in silence.

I didn’t know what Rachel was thinking about. Part of me worried that my outrage with Jacquelyn might have put more than just a dampener on the night’s mood. The part of me that had not cared about what she thought was very quiet now. There was nothing but the dark quiet of the car between us. In other words, the only reason we weren’t talking was that neither of us wanted to.

There was also the fact that my headache had throbbed back to life. I’d forgotten about it during dinner, but it hadn’t gone away, just took a back seat to the discussion I was so focused on.

Finally, I looked over at her. She didn’t look angry and her aura was just on the soft side of neutral. She wasn’t angry and that was more of a relief for me than I had known. However, the nagging in the back of my head made me ask, “Do you think I did the wrong thing by leaving?”

“No,” she said. “I wondered why we hadn’t left sooner. Like right after that so-called duel.”

I nodded slowly, understanding that she had been staying only because I was, but I had wanted to know what Jacquelyn’s powers were.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I glanced at her again. Concern was etched in her aura. “Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”

“Another headache?” she asked.

I nodded and closed my eyes again. The headlights from oncoming traffic weren’t helping. “Something happened during that so-called duel. I did something new.”

“I didn’t see anything else happen,” she said.

“It wasn’t visual. I think I made Charlie lose his voice for a while. I remember being irritated by the crap he was saying when a headache spike hit. After that, I think he had trouble talking.”

“He was quiet all through dinner,” she said with a slight smile.

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter how beneficial it was, it’s the fact that another power has manifested.”

“You sound like you’re worried,” she said.

I nodded. “I am worried about that, but other things are bothering me too.” I turned and looked at her. “Jacquelyn was the woman in the alley.”

“What?” A car passed us. The headlights lit up her face and I could tell that her expression matched the astonishment in her aura. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I’ve never seen an aura lit up like hers before.” I closed my eyes against another car’s lights. “I’ll have to call the police in the morning, to tell Detective Stanfield.”

“Why?” she asked.

“He wanted me to call him if I happened to run into her,” I said.

“You said you never saw her face,” she said. “How could he expect you to know you’ve run into the same person?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure, but I do know he suspected I was holding something back.”

“Did you?” she asked.

“Only the fact that I saw her aura,” I said. “How could I tell him about that and not sound like I’m crazy?”

“True and he might think you had something to do with what happened,” she said.

I shook my head. “How?”

“Well, you told him you didn’t see her face and suddenly you know who was in the alley.” She shrugged. “He might think you knew who she was all along.”

My head throbbed as I remembered the conversation I’d held with Detective Stanfield. “But I told him that I had only been in town a few days. He’s already confirmed that.”

“Then how are you going to explain how you know it was Jacquelyn in the alley?” she asked.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t know, but I know what I saw. What I don’t understand is her power. I only saw part of her marks while you were putting your dress back on, and none of them seemed dangerous enough to kill anyone as quickly as Anthony Hoyle.”

“Maybe you didn’t understand her marks,” she said.

I shrugged. “That’s possible, but there was also the fact that her marks hid from me at first. It was like the sparkle of her aura came from her at first, not from her marks. Then they just came out and I could tell they lit up her aura.” I shook my head. “And there was something else there too, I just couldn’t define it.”

After another minute I asked, “Did Alexandria say anything to you when you went back to get your dress?”

She glanced at me as we pulled into the parking lot of our apartment complex. “She tried to apologize for Jacquelyn’s behavior. I told her that she had been a perfect hostess and that Jacquelyn should apologize for her own rudeness.”

“So, it was Alexandria’s place?” I asked.

Rachel nodded.

“Maybe she knows where Jacquelyn lives,” I said.

“Ral, don’t worry about that,” she said. “Tell the police whom you saw and leave it at that. If you try to offer anything more they may decide to take you in for questioning anyway.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Besides, just because Jacquelyn was in the alley doesn’t mean she killed him. She might be a bitch and have no respect for the members of her House, but that doesn’t make her a murderer.”

I nodded. “You’re right. One does not make the other. I just haven’t been able to take my mind off that night.” I looked at her again. “While you were getting ready to show everyone your wings, Jacquelyn and the others all started asking about the shooting.”

“Alexandria said they’d all seen the video and news reports,” she said. “What kinds of things did they ask?”

“Jacquelyn was interested in why I got involved,” I said. “I didn’t want to tell them that I had to solve it. That would have brought up Mr. Shepherd.”

“So what did you tell them?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It was a case of the moth drawn to the flame.”

“Was that all?” she asked.

“Well, you remember Alexandria warning me not to let Jacquelyn know that I hadn’t learned control over my abilities?” I asked and she nodded. “It was too late. I’d already told them how my powers had manifested. And it was Jacquelyn who put two and two together to figure out that I’m a Natural Psychic. She knew one of the main traits is lack of control.”

“Damn,” she said softly.

“Yeah.”

“So they didn’t ask about the shooter or anything?”

“No, but they brought up one good point, what would I have done if that shield hadn’t manifested?”

I watched thoughts cross Rachel’s face before she said, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I don’t think Mr. Shepherd did either. He was only going by what the vision showed him.”

She nodded. “He might have warned you to stay away if you were going to be shot.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s over with.”

Rachel shook her head. “No, not as long as those videos are out there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Jacquelyn brought up the Gold Dragon,” she said.

I sat up and looked at her. “Do you know whom she was talking about?”

“Not the person specifically, just stories,” she said. “The Gold Dragon is the head of those teams I told you about. The ones who help make sure we aren’t exposed to the public?”

I nodded.

“From my understanding, the Gold Dragon has only gotten involved in a few issues,” she said. “I don’t know the details, only that he is scarily good at making sure we’re protected.”

Another car pulled into the parking lot. The headlights flashed in the side mirror just right. My head burst with pain and I was shaking with fear. Something was about to happen. Something dangerous. I slid down in the seat, holding my head and trying to look out the windows.

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked reaching for me.

I grabbed her wrist. “Get down, get low.”

“What? Why?”

I looked directly into her eyes. “Please, get down.”

Rachel glanced out the windows and scooted down too. “What’s going on Ral?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Something’s wrong though.”

We stayed there for a few minutes waiting in the dark. Nothing stirred. A slight breeze played through the leafy trees near the car. The lights of the apartments cast long shadows, but nothing was moving.

Just as suddenly as the feeling came, it was gone. I sat up slowly, looking around with wide eyes. “Let’s get inside.”

Rachel sat up too and nodded. We got out and moved quickly to the light of her minuscule front porch. She already had her key in hand and opened the door while I cast one more look around.