Prelude 8

Maureen

"I'm sorry Maureen, but I've run every diagnosis known to man, the supernatural, and even mystical. I can't figure out what's making you so sick." I'm told.

"There must be something you can do to slow down the process," I desperately pleaded with Grace.

Shaking her head, Grace removes her glasses. "Maureen, the injections that were given to you after you'd given birth, are the only thing that's keeping you alive up until this day," she explains. "I think it has something to do with you giving birth to a healthy, hybrid child."

"H-how?" I stutter, stumbling to my feet, ready to make a run.

"Maureen, I was there when you first found out about Destiny, I delivered her. Do you believe I didn't feel her aura?" She asks as her slender figure slumps backward into the swiveling, black leather chair, her eyes reflecting hurt.

"I'm sorry Grace, please understand that she's a secret." I coaxed, knowing damn well I'd never fully discuss the entire truth with her.

"I know, and that is the reason why I keep her original birth papers, dental and medical information under the safeguard of my coven. We're not that important for the Crystals, so I thought it was the safest bet in keeping her identity hidden. Besides, only Destiny can access the records." Grace responded.

"What's the name of your coven?" I inquired.

Smiling, Grace leans forward with her elbows on the desk and her fingers laced together. "The Scarlet Coven," she answers with pride.

"The goddesses of the fire element," I retorted, gasping a little in amazement.

"I wouldn't say that, but yes." She confirms.

"My mother told me stories about your coven, you're the first and only ones to acknowledge the element as a living thing." I rambled on.

"It is, but enough of that." She suddenly becomes serious. "Whatever happens Maureen, we'll stand behind you and help protect your daughter from any threat. It's about time we witches earned the right to be free again." Grace declared as a small color of orange started dancing around her normally brown iris.

Outstretching my arms, slicing it with the small pocket knife I always carry around. "Let's make it more than just words," I challenged.

Raising from around her desk, Grace stands in front of me, duplicating my actions. "I, Amiyah Grace Scarlett, leader of The Scarlet Coven, pledge my allegiance to the Hawthorne Heir, now and forever," she declares.

Joining our bleeding arms together, she engulfs me in flames, while I transformed into water. The mixture creates a beautiful diamond-like light. Once we turned back to our natural selves, the wounds heal, sealing the deal. "Thank you, Grace, for everything you've done," I tell her.

"It's an honor to be friends with a Hawthorne," she gushes. A friend, she said. I only now realize how true that is, since my very first checkup. With my guard always up, I failed to notice until now.

------------

"LEFT! RIGHT! BLOCK!" Arturo barked instructions at his trainees. He scares me a bit, however, he's got an odd fascination with Destiny.

It's as if she worships him the way she yaps nonstop about how awesome Arturo is. The only other man she talks about in such a manner is Blue.

"Ah, Miss. Hawthorne, come to pick up my stellar student along with her runt." He rhetorically inquires, I only nod. "Come along, you won't find her here with these pups."

Confused, I follow him around the corner, leaving the small six-year-olds in the care of his assistant. What I see has me in awe and total amazement. My hands cover my mouth, suppressing my shock once the door of the room is opened. Armed with a spear, Destiny's in full fight mode with Arturo's son, Miguel Vargas, the next alpha of the Red Moon Pack.

"Squirt, give up," Miguel growls teasingly, pinning her down. "This is big boys' stuff, not child's play," Miguel taunts, as the rest of the class snickered. My protective instincts kick in, and I'm about to slap the brat for making fun of my baby, however, she's got other plans.

"F-f-funny, I was going to say the same thing," she retorts right before Miguel gets bitten by Demon on his leg, allowing Destiny to free herself. Only for the future alpha to get blasted away by a force, clean through the wall. "I never give up," Destiny mumbled, crashing to the floor as the force surrounding her slowly disappeared.

Racing towards her limp, small body, her pulse is strong. I guess she's just exhausted from whatever power that was.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Arturo exclaimed, astonished. "Halfpint, here, is tougher than I thought. I might just train her myself," he mutters to himself.

"Will she be alright?" I asked, brushing her hair, that's covered in sweat aside.

"Don't worry, a good night's rest and some food are all she needs." Arturo reassures me, "Can't say the same for my son here. Destiny got him good," he adds as we look at the muscular teenage boy still knocked out cold on the ground.

Imagine a four-year-old beating someone like him. The idea that it's my four years old brings a smirk to my face. Picking up an exhausted Destiny, I cradle her to my chest. "We'll see you tomorrow, sorry about your son," I say, lying about his injured, cocky brat. "Come on boy," I call out to Demon, who flicks his tail at Arturo.

Chuckling, we stride out of the training room with our heads held high.

"Amazing!" Sara exclaims once I've finished recalling Destiny's action to her.

"I know, you should've seen her. It was like watching a small goddess, the way she took down that cocky little shit, earning the respect of the entire room." I explain giggling, only for me to start coughing.

The familiar metallic taste that I've been tasting regularly for the last few weeks now, invades my taste buds for the third time today. "Here, rinse your mouth with this." I'm handed a bottle of purple liquid. "It'll keep the taste of the blood out of your mouth," Sara sadly explains.

"Hey, none of that. I want us to pretend nothing's happening, I don't need Destiny worrying about things like this okay," I insist.

"Okay, Sweetie," Sara agrees reluctantly. "How about you go rest, and I'll start dinner for you," she suggests, sending me off to bed like a child.

Some shut-eye doesn't sound so bad, so I just nod, yawning in the process. Taking a peek into Destiny's room, she's sprawled out in the middle of the bed with Demon on the left side of her body. Needing her comfort, I go inside, crawling under the sheets with her. Snuggling closer to me, she sighs in contentment, falling right back into a deep slumber.

------

For some reason, I'm woken wide awake by force just in time to transform myself into the water to avoid the dagger aimed at my heart. The hooded figure leaps off the bed, chanting in a forgotten language I barely remember, conjuring my body back into a human state causing me to gasp in shock. "Did you think you'd be hidden forever," the person taunts.

"Actually, yes she did," Grace's voice says, as the hooded figure screams because of the fireball that's thrown at them. Creating a vortex, I put out the fire as the person crumbles to the ground moaning in pain.

"Who sent you!" I yell, unmasking the figure, who turns out to be... Samantha.

"Complements of the Crystals, you, whore!" She shrieks before igniting right before my eyes, but it gets observed entirely by Grace before it can spread.

"Grace!" I catch her falling form.

"Mommy, we-" Destiny runs into the room excitedly, "what's wrong with Aunt Gracie?" She questions with a deep frown.

"We were playing tug of war baby," I lie through my teeth. "Aunt Gracie's just tired because I won, sorry we destroyed your room honey." I force myself to laugh.

Giggling, "Yay! That means I get to sleep with you tonight," Destiny rambles on, before fleeing the room. Probably to jump up and down on my bed.

"SARA!" I holler, knowing full well Destiny's too distracted to care about my tone of voice.

Within no time she appears, staring wide-eyed at the room, glancing at the unconscious body in my arms. "What happened?" Sara asked.

"I was attacked by someone from back home...She was a Crystal,” I answered.

"What, are you sure?" She asks, astonished.

"Yes, she is," Grace groans.

"Take it easy," I warned her, helping her to sit up straight.

"I'm okay, just out of practice that's all," Grace explains as I help her sit on the bed. "They're regrouping, and recruiting young witches to their cause. Some by force, others by free will," she briefed us.

"Something happened for them to regroup like this," Sara adds.

"How so?" I inquired curiously.

"The original crystal members, together, they're a force of nature at its best. They'd never need anyone's help," Sara explains.

"So...What happens now?" I ask.

"We regroup as well," Sara replies. "Grace, gather your coven, explain the situation to them as frankly as you can, and restart their training." She orders.

"They already know the risk we're taking standing with you," Grace retorts. At times I forget how bad our reputation is, we're marked as slaves after all.

"Even better! Maureen, pack your bags. We're going to Barbican, the best chance we have is currently jumping in glee in your bedroom. We protect her as long as we can, along with preserving a normal childhood as much as possible. The greatest thing is, we're two steps ahead of them." Sara says, confusing us.

"How so?" Grace's the one to voice doubt.

"They don't know about Destiny, and probably assumed their assassin was successful." She smirks.

Grasping the situation, she's indeed right. No one knew about my pregnancy but Blue and Martha. And they'll die before giving me up. With agreements to meet up at the border of GreenBay, Grace takes her leave, while Sara and I busy ourselves scrubbing our magical existence clean of the house.

*****

"Mommy, why are we moving?" Destiny asks for the tenth time.

"Destiny not now alright, keep your head down." I sternly instruct her, keeping my eyes on the road.

We've been driving in turns within the last 48 hours. The journey to Barbican by flight would've been five hours flat, but we didn't want to take the chance of me getting spotted with a child who shares my resemblance.

Grace stayed behind with her coven, thinking it was best to not draw suspicion to herself with our sudden disappearance. Destiny doesn't complain or grumbles, she only does as she's told, for once not being stubborn.

It takes another full five hours before we pull up to the beautiful, stone path with the 'Welcome to Barbican' sign.

Twenty or so minutes into the town, the car gets surrounded by three abnormally enormous wolves. Shaking Sara awake, she jerks forward in her seat startled. "What's the matter?"

"We're about to be mauled alive," I hissed.

Looking confused for a moment, recognition finally sinks in. "Wait here." Unstrapping her seatbelt, she gets out. "My name's Natalie Sara Lightwood, a friend of Alpha Arturo Vargas." She introduces herself to the growling wolves with an arrogant air of authority.

"The phoenix dies," says one of the wolves who shifts into a muscular, bald man with tattoos covering his entire upper body.

"To rise from the ashes," Sara replies. The guy nods to another younger guy, making the rest clear the road. "Let's go," she says calmly, putting her seatbelt on as if nothing happened.

"What was that all about?" I finally voice my question.

"Let's just say, the Vargas has their secrets," she replies curtly, dropping the subject.

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Nostalgia hits the pit of my stomach. I've been here before, running to survive. This time is a bit different, I've got protection.

"Look, Mommy, I caught a butterfly, she's so pretty," Destiny says, cooing at the creature's multicolored wings.

"How can you tell it's a she?" I chuckle in amusement.

"She told me so," she answers, shrugging. Even though I shouldn't be amazed anymore by her abilities, it's hard not to, when she says or does something wonderful like this. In the few hours we've been here, she's overly hyperactive, already pissing Miguel and his friends off.

Looking at my daughter I sigh. She's a beautiful, forbidden, creation that Dante and I made together out of love. When she matures into her powers I know she'll be a force you cannot renounce. She'll face many struggles and obstacles, but I believe those hardships will build her into an amazing young woman. I just wish I could be there to help her.

"Ancestors protect my daughter," I silently prayed to the ancestors while holding my necklace.

Destiny will make an awesome alpha given the chance and I'm not just saying that because she's my daughter. I'm saying that because she's destined to do great if not wonderful things. I truly believe she is the promised child.

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