Kristie Cook - Purpose

“Okay,” I said, although I didn’t feel okay at all. My insides squirmed with anxiety.

Tristan twisted his hand and shot a bolt of fire at the boat’s engine. It ignited, large flames building on the fuel. No turning back now.

And then we both heard another boat engine approaching quickly. Too quickly.

“They’ll go by—I hope,” Tristan muttered. We had little time with the flames growing larger by the second and we certainly didn’t need someone coming to help before we flashed.

“Got ’em,” the horribly familiar yet beautifully musical voice chimed in my head. I felt the blood drain to my feet.

“Vanessa,” I barely croaked.

Tristan spun around and eyed the approaching boat. He swore under his breath, his fists clenching at his sides.

“Now what?” I mouthed, unable to get the words out.

His body relaxed as he turned to me. “Stick to the plan. She won’t be able to get us.”

“Will she follow us, though?”

“She won’t know where we’re going and she won’t get close enough to follow our trails.” Tristan’s eyes cut to the fiery engine. “We have to go.”

He grabbed my hand but I couldn’t bring myself to stand up. I watched the other boat approach from the back and swing around to the front of ours.

My insides contracted tightly with panic. What if I screw up and don’t go with Tristan? What if I get stuck here alone? Can I fight her? I thought I could, but I wasn’t positive. And Vanessa had back-up. Her brother drove the boat.

“Come on, ma lykita, we’ll be okay,” Tristan said softly. “Trust me.”

Those last two were the words I needed to hear. I stood up and nodded. Holding hands, we ran up the bow and jumped.

Barely in time. The boat engine exploded.

Vanessa stood right below us at her bow, grinning as she looked up at us. Her brother stood behind the wheel, also gazing at us. They seemed to be waiting for us to land right into their laps.

And then we flashed.

But not before I caught the gleam of the sun hitting a silver circle with a red stone in the center, dangling from Vanessa’s gloved hand, as if taunting me.

We landed on the island and I sucked in a deep breath as Tristan surveyed our surroundings.

“We’re good from now on,” he said.

I turned around, though, and started stomping away as if that was the way back to Vanessa. “Stupid, evil, thieving vampire bitch.”

Tristan’s arm immediately encircled my waist, holding me motionless. “I know, my love. I saw it, too.”

“Then let’s go get it!” My anger overshadowed the fear I’d just felt when I first heard her thoughts.

“Don’t worry, we will. Just not right now. We need to get home.” He pressed me tighter against him.

I stopped struggling. As strong as I was now, intensified more by my anger, I was still no match for Tristan. And he was right. There would surely be plenty of opportunities to get my pendant back in the future. Because she—and the Daemoni—would not give up.

Which became obvious immediately. I heard her thoughts again first and then her boat as it quickly approached the little island.

“Son of a bitch,” Tristan muttered.

“How does she always know where we are…?” My voice trailed off as I realized the answer. “Oh! Oh, no! Tristan…my blood. My blood is in her!”

His arm dropped from my waist and I slid to the ground.

“Shit. Why didn’t I think of that?” He kicked a boulder the size of a soccer ball and it sailed across the water before dropping with a ker-plunk.

“How far until we’re safe?” I asked.

He took me back into his arm and walked to the edge of the water. He nodded at another island, again about three miles away.

“The shield goes one mile out from that island.”

“Can we flash into water?”

“I can, but I don’t know about you,” he said. “It takes practice—you can’t inhale like you do or your lungs will fill with water. And we have to get the distance just right, close to the shield, because they’ll be right on top of us. There’s no room for error.”

Vanessa’s boat came around to our side of the island, slowing down as it approached the beach, aimed for right where we stood.

“Then we fight or we try. Unless you have any better solution?” I asked.

Vanessa stood at the tip of the bow, ready to jump. The adrenaline coursed through my veins and my heart picked up speed.

“We’ll give it a try,” Tristan said as he lifted me against his body. He spoke quickly while wading into the water. “We’ll do both. I’ll hold you. You keep them back. When I say, take a deep breath and I’ll flash.”

“Can you do it with me again?” Flashing with someone was very different—and nearly impossible—than leading someone, as we had practiced.

“I’ve done it twice now. We’re going to try. Ready?”

“I’m not getting my pendant, am I?”

“Sorry, my love, but not this time. We will get it back, though. It can’t be in their hands.”

Vanessa jumped right for us. I shot an electric bolt at her, sending her back to the other side of her boat. Tristan held me and swam. Vanessa’s brother seemed to be lost, his head swiveling between her in the water and us.

“Get them, you jack ass!” Vanessa screeched.

Suddenly they were both in the air, about to land on top of us. I started to reach my hand out, remembering at the last second that I could move objects with my mind. But it was already too late.

“Now!” Tristan bellowed. Forgetting my necklace for now, I shot wildly at them while inhaling my last breath.

We appeared in deep water, the light of the sky far above us. I fought the natural urge to inhale after flashing and continued to hold my breath while kicking upwards.

“Nice job,” Tristan said when we surfaced.

I looked around as I tread water. “Are we close?”

“Not really. We’ll have to swim from here, though. And fast. I hear them coming.”

“Alexis, I got them. You two get to shore.” Owen’s voice shouted in my head.

“No, it’s not them! It’s Owen! He’s going after them.”

“Then swim!”

So I swam. The sea felt cold but it didn’t bother me—my body adapted and maintained my normal temperature. We swam fast and I didn’t tire at all, but it seemed to take a decade. Especially after Tristan said we’d crossed the shield and were safe, because then the excitement built up inside me. I was going to my real home. I was about to see my baby. He was about to meet his daddy. And I was about to finally learn the secrets kept from me my entire life. My heart raced, not from exertion, but from anticipation.

As soon as the water became shallow enough to wade through and my feet touched the ground, an intense feeling of power and magic overcame me. Tristan took me in his arms and kissed me.

“Welcome home,” he murmured. We walked out of the water hand-in-hand.

Mom and Rina stood on the beach waiting for us with towels and robes, both smiling warmly. My wet skin chilled in the cool breeze—a feeling I noticed, although it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, just there. Still, I welcomed the warmth of the thick, soft robe. As I rubbed the towel around my hair, something crashed through the trees lining the top of the beach. I expected an elephant to break through.

“Mom!”

Dorian burst onto the beach, running full speed. I ran to him and swept him into my arms, spinning around and kissing him all over his sweet, little face.

“I missed you so much!” I said, squeezing him tighter. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and inhaled his tangy little-boy scent.

“Wow, Mom, you got strong!” Dorian mused. He touched my face, then kissed my cheek. “And very beautiful.”