Behind Amethyst Eyes

Chapter 13- A Plan for Vengeance

Daniel's POV

    “Again.” I yell in a deep voice. Kara looks up at me, anger and frustration very evident on her face. She gets up, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and sets up in an almost perfect stance. We have worked all week on the stance as well as different defense techniques. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly she has picked up the skill.

    I stand a few feet in front of her and look her over. I detect her point of weakness and make a move to exploit it. No doubt her exhaustion and muscle weakness are playing a factor in her slouched gait, which will make it easy sweep her legs from underneath her. We circle each other, waiting for our windows to strike. I anticipate and bait her move before she even thinks it herself.

    Kara rushes at me sloppily, her tiny fist frantically swings for my face. I dip to avoid it as I swing my leg to swipe hers. To my utter surprise, she sees the move coming and jumps over the attack. Before I have the chance to counter, she straddles me, pinning my arms to my side with her legs and wraps her hand around my throat, giving it a slight squeeze. She grins widely, proud of her small achievement. Hell, I’m proud of her. She baited and played me for a fool, however, I have not tapped or passed out.

    I let her get her first taste of victory before I buck my hips upward, sending a stunned Kara over my head. She hits the mat with a squeal. I move to straddle her, but a right-hook lands on my jaw. It’s not enough to throw me off, but enough to leave a mark. I grab her wrists and forcefully pin them above her head, but her thrashing ensues. She kicks her legs and bucks her hips in a similar fashion to me, but I weigh much more than she does. Her attempts do little to throw me off. After a minute, she settles, admitting defeat.

    We’re both breathing heavily, our chests brushing together as I lean over her. Our hot breaths mingle in the little space between our lips as I gaze into her shining eyes. I’m all too aware of the jolts surrounding my entire body like static electricity. I feel every inch of her body under mine. The only thing separating the skin contact is her very thin sports bra. The tiny little buds in the center of her breasts harden as goosebumps ignite over her skin. She pulls that damn lip between her teeth again and I grow hard at the sight. I fight down the groan that threatens to escape and instead offer a cocky grin in triumph.

    Before I get too wrapped up in her spell, I roll off of her. As I stand, I offer her my hand. She takes it with force and springs herself up as I pull her up. The combined force causes her to lose her balance and crash right into me. I steady her in my arms as she braces herself by placing her hands on my chest.

    “Well, if you wanted the moment to last longer, you could have just said so.” I smirk at her, soaking in every second of the stolen embrace. Her face twists into a scowl as she pushes out of my arms. Cold air immediately replaces the warmth she took with her. I laugh much to her annoyance.

    I’m slowly breaking down the walls she built around her heart. I can feel how much she’s fighting her feelings for me. Her body wants me, but her mind is saying no. It’s only a matter of time before she gives us a real chance.

    I have tried to simply let things play out. I encourage her when we work with her powers. She hasn’t grasped them as well as everything else, but I think she works better under pressure. Sitting in a calm field isn’t exactly the most realistic of places to be working. She’ll have to learn to heal amidst a battle with her head constantly on a swivel keeping her defenses up. I plan to implement that next week.

    I’m hard on her during trainings. It truly pains me to yell and make her do things she doesn’t want, but it seems to be working. She’s progressing so quickly, much quicker than I had. Her stamina is stronger. We ran eight miles today and she was barely winded! We start training offensively next week, tying in some new defensive tactics.

    We talk all the time outside of training. It usually has something to do with training or finding the others, but it’s almost constant. I haven’t pushed her any further. I keep things as light between us as I can by just being myself. But, sometimes, it’s just unavoidable. Like with what just happened a minute ago.

    Kara is my drug. It’s being dangled right in front of me, but it’s always just out of reach. The way she moves. The way she talks. The way the light hits her eyes and makes them shine brighter. Her voice, her touch, her laugh, even her scent drives me wild. She is perfection in every sense of the word. One day, I’ll make her see how perfect she is. One day, she’ll know just how much I love her.

    While Kara is showering in the guest room, I walk into my father’s office. He has been burying himself in work trying to find out anything he can about guy from Seattle. His office is usually kept rather organized, however, right now, it’s anything but. Papers are strewn all over the desk. Plates and mugs are stacked in a chair next to him. The trash is overflowing. My father’s normally composed appearance is a mess. His hair is sticking up at odd angles from roughly running his fingers through. His shirt is wrinkled and unbuttoned with a coffee stain running down the middle. He looks like a frazzled mess.

    “Umm, is everything okay in here?” I ask after shutting the door. He looks up startled as he just now realizes he’s not alone.

    “Oh, Daniel. Yea-yes. Everything’s fine.” He says as he takes his glasses off and runs his hands down his face. Bullshit. I’ve never seen this man this stressed before. He was more put together when mom died. “What can I do for you?” He asks leaning back in his chair. I lock the door so we can speak without Kara walking in. The office is soundproof, so I don’t have to worry about her eavesdropping on our conversation.

    “Dad, come on. I know you’re lying. What’s going on?” I cross my arms and give him a look, so he knows I’m not messing around. He knows I won’t leave this spot until he tells me. He stares at me for a minute before deeply sighing.

    “I’ve been monitoring the news more closely since the Dhedra attacked Kara. It seems there have been several unexplained meteor showers all across the world in the last two weeks.” He pauses giving me a knowing look.

    “You think it’s the Dhedra?” He nods before continuing.

    “I think the ones Kara encountered only found her by chance. I think they were sent to scout out the life here on Earth. To try to find a way to blend in and live amongst the humans so it’s easier for them to break it down from the inside out.”

    “So, what does this mean? We still have time before they’re able to infiltrate right?” If they work by breaking down governments from the inside out, surely, they’ll need to build up to that. That could take years, decades even.

    “It won’t take nearly as much time as you think it will. The Dhedra have been perfecting this for millennia. Earth is probably the least advance planet they have come across yet. With all the greed and corruption surrounding the world, it’ll be easy for them to slip in.”

    “But we still have some time, right?” I ask, my confidence dwindling by the second.

    “The humans are easily one of weakest races in the universe. Their greed and segregation will make it that much easier for Devesh to waltz in. They also don’t have the abilities the previous fallen galaxies had to defend themselves. I fear they will begin to rise much quicker than I previously anticipated.” My father looks off solemnly. All of this has fallen solely on us for the last ten years. Since my mother died, my father has poured everything he has into making sure we were prepared. Without knowing if anyone else knows about their destiny, he feels like it rests on his shoulders to be the guardian for all of them.

    “We’ll figure it out, dad. You leave for Seattle in two days. Let’s not worry about it until then.” He nods with a heavy sigh. I can tell he’s still worried, but I know we can do this. We were destined for this.

    “Now what’s the real reason you came to talk to your old man?”

    “Well, I was wondering if you’ve given anymore thought on what to do about Marshall. I don’t want to go to Kara with this until we’re in a better spot and I have more to tell her.” I say to him. I sit up in my seat and lean forward, engaging fully in the coming conversation.

    “I’ve given it some thought and you’re not going to like what I have to say.” He starts, giving me a pointed look. “I don’t think you should be taking matters into your own hands. You should find a way to take this to the authorities. Dig into his police record or his wife’s hospitalization records. From what Kara told you, it doesn’t seem like this is the first time he’s done this. Build the evidence against him and set a trap.” My fists clench tightly causing my knuckles to turn white. His words make me want scream in frustration. I want nothing more than to crush his throat as I watch the life drain from his deplorable face. He doesn’t deserve the mercy of a fair trial. He doesn’t deserve his next breath. I squeeze my eyes shut and pinch the bridge of my nose to calm myself. Once I tame the storm, I let out a breath before looking back up at my father.

    “I don’t want this to affect her at all. I don’t want her to be dragged through a trial to see IF he gets put away. I need to quietly terminate him, so she doesn’t have to be plagued by that monster ever again.” My father nods in understanding. He understands my aggression and helplessness at the situation. I can’t protect my fated from her nightmares, but I can protect her from the scumbag that is still breathing.

    “I’ll talk to some of my contacts in the police and see if I can dig anything up. In the meantime, you should focus on Kara’s training and winning her over.” He finishes giving me a wink. I stand, knowing I won’t get much more from him right now, and head out to find Kara.

    I head upstairs to find Kara sitting in the guest bedroom surrounded by books. She’s hunched over with her brows pinched in a focused look. She twists her pen between her fingers and lips as she nibbles on the end. Her wet hair hangs around her shoulders. She is so immersed in the book that she doesn’t hear me, so I use it to my advantage.

    I lean against the door frame, taking in the beautiful sight before me. A smile kisses my lips when I notice she’s wearing one of my sweatshirts. Even with her tall frame, she is dwarfed by it, having it wrapped around her bare legs which are tucked underneath her. Despite being the middle of April bringing in the warm air, she has a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She shivers a little, so I send a rush of warm air around her. She reacts by visibly relaxing back into the chair with eyes closed. A look of ease washes over her and she sighs contently.

    “You waste no time, do you?” I ask her, breaking the silence. Her eyes shoot open as I startle her.

    “Was that you? The wind thing again?” I don’t give her an answer, just a smirk which annoys her. She pointedly rolls her eyes at me, only making me smile more.

    “What are you reading?” I ask.

    “One of the guardian’s journals. I have an idea about how we can start looking for the others. I think we should start mapping out each of the zodiac’s lineages. We can divide them between the two of us or three of us if Richard wants in and go through the journals of each zodiac. We write down new developments between the generations like what their powers were, how they learned to control them, how they were used. Things like that.” She shows me her list of notes and then grabs another journal. “I already started with Cancer, but here’s the first book on Pisces. You could start there.” She hands me the journal and looks at me expectantly. I take it from her hands and give her an astonished look.

    “When did you have time to think of this? I wasn’t gone very long.” I ask.

    “I’ve been thinking of a good system all week. I started reading and it just came to me.” She says with a casual shrug of her shoulders. This is just another reason why I’m falling hard for her. I smile and open the journal as well as the notepad sitting on the nightstand.

    “Sounds like a good plan.” I answer before leaning back against the pillows and getting to work.

    We both work for hours in silence. I’ve gone through three generations worth of journals in the Pisces line, but I haven’t figured much out yet. My notes are almost illegible as much chicken scratch fills the pages. Grabbing my laptop, I open it to start a spreadsheet, documenting each generation and the powers they have. The first generation of the Pisces line was able to heat water to boiling temperatures. She ended up boiling herself and another zodiac when they had their battle with the Dhedra. The second generation was able to freeze water. He taught himself how to freeze the water in certain shapes and use them as weapons. The third generation could create an air bubble allowing him to breathe in water. She could only make it last for a few minutes at a time. She described her power as weak and useless.

    I decide to learn more about Pisces and the origin of the constellation. It was said to have started with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros. She always had a great relationship with her children, unlike most other gods, but she was especially close to Eros. They had special abilities that allowed them to sense people around them and read their feelings. One day, they were leisurely lying about their home when they heard a thump. They could sense the danger behind this thump. Typhoeus was an Earth titan who was sent to destroy all the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. They immediately recognized this thump as belonging to him and fled together. They ran to the river Nile, desperate to find a way to evade the titan. As Typhoeus was getting closer, Aphrodite saw two little fish easily floating in the rapids coming off the mountain. She wondered how something so small could withstand the force of the raging water. She noticed the two fish had tied their tails together and were working in harmony to keep themselves afloat. Aphrodite then disguised herself and Eros as two fish with their tails tied together. Typhoeus was easily fooled by their disguises and left the two of them.

    Zeus witnessed all of this from above and was completely mesmerized by what happened. He thought crisis could sometimes create the most beautiful and lasting connections. After this realization, he heard his own heartbeat. He named the rhythmic beating Pisces and decided to immortalize the two fish as the constellation. Here, they are able to look down on the land and waters below so they can read their loved ones.

    I look up other characteristics of Pisces. I learn that Pisces are quick to run in times of crisis if encountered alone, but with a team, they were intuitively. Pisces are gentle and compassionate people who devote themselves to love. While they can be fearful for themselves but are fiercely protective of their loved ones.

    Pisces are born in late February and early March. Their element is water, and they have a strong affiliation to it. Our Pisces will most likely be drawn to the water, finding a way to incorporate it into their life. Their birth stone is aquamarine. The stone is said to protect the wearer from dangers of the ocean. I make note of the exact color of aquamarine. It’s a light blue green when polished as a gem, but sometimes is light blue with flecks of green scattered throughout the stone. The color of the stone reminds me of Katie’s eyes. I’ve also noticed her ring is aquamarine.

    Could Katie be the Pisces zodiac? I think back to the night I found Kara at the bar. She said they were celebrating Katie’s birthday that night. I take out my phone to find the picture I took that night with the other guys before heading to the bar. The date on the picture says March 16th. It’s likely her birthday was that night or a few days before, so she’s probably a Pisces. I also remember how protective she is of Kara. I had just assumed she was being a good friend. Could it be more than that?

    If Katie is a zodiac, why wouldn’t she know about us? Kara said she lived with Katie’s parents before college, so they are still alive. They would have told Katie at least. If Katie did know, why hadn’t she said anything to me? Surely if she knew, she would have known I was one by the color of my eyes. She would have known Kara was one as well, but why wouldn’t she tell her?

    None of this is making any sense. I need to find a way to ask Kara about her without giving away my suspicions. I don’t want Kara to run and ask Katie, especially if she isn’t actually one and the color of her eyes is just a coincidence.

    “Kara?” I call out to get her attention, breaking the silence for the first time in a few hours. “Do you want to take a break and grab some lunch?” As soon as I ask the question, a loud grumbling rips through the room. She looks up at me sheepishly after her stomach growled.

    “I guess. I am kind of hungry.” She says shyly. We neatly pack up our work and head down to the kitchen. Once we get there, I go to the fridge to take out everything to make my famous grilled cheese. Kara gets started on some tomato soup. We work seamlessly in silence. We move fluidly around each other, like we’ve done this a time or two before. I reach over her to grab the spices from the cabinet above as she reaches underneath me to grab cheese and cream from the counter. I stop and smile at the peaceful chemistry we have without even trying. She notices when I stop and offers me a small smile in return. My heart skips a few beats. Normally she would wrinkle her nose or scowl at me.

    We finish cooking our meal. I made an extra grilled cheese for my father. I grab it and a bowl of soup and take it to him. When I return, I dig in, letting us eat before casually inquiring about her best friend.

    “So, Kara, tell me about Katie.” She gives me a confused look, so I explain. “I’m just trying to get to know you. I’ve only met her a few times, but she doesn’t seem to like me too much.”

    “Katie is just really protective of me. I’ve never had a boyfriend before or even hung out with anyone guy other than Mike, her boyfriend. All three of us will hang out every once in a while. I think she feels bad because she doesn’t want to leave me alone. She thinks something is going on between us, but I keep telling her you’re just training me.” That hurt. I know what she means and understand where she’s coming from, but that doesn’t take the sting away. She sees the hurt look on my face before I can hide and quickly casts her eyes down to her soup, stirring it mindlessly. “Umm…we met in kindergarten and have been best friends ever since. She’s the sporty one and I’m the creative one. She’s wicked smart. She’s kindhearted and compassionate. She doesn’t like fighting with people, but if you mess with me or Mike, she has no problem telling you off.” I laugh at that.

    “Yeah, I definitely see that.” I say with a soft chuckle. So far, Katie seems like she could be one of us. It still doesn’t make sense why she doesn’t know about us though. “How did her and Mike meet?” I haven’t met Mike. Could he be another zodiac? Is he her fated?

    “They were both on the swim team, but they didn’t start dating until after I moved away. He seems nice enough. I don’t know if he’s right for her though. There’s just something…missing, I guess.” Hmm, so maybe not fated?

    “How long has Katie been swimming? Does she swim for college?” I ask.

    “She’s been swimming since before she could walk. Her mom use to call her ‘her little dolphin’ because she never wanted to get out of the water. She still swims every day, but she just finished her last season a month ago.” Is Katie a zodiac? Everything points to her being one, but how can I prove it?

    “She sounds like a good friend.” I offer. Kara nods in agreement. We clean up the mess we made from lunch in silence. After we’re done, Kara grabs another stack of journals and her gym bag before loading them in her car.

    “I’ll bring the coffee tomorrow morning. Is eight okay?” She asks.

    “Yes, that works. My father and I will have breakfast waiting when you get here and then you two can talk.” She nods. She gets in her car and waves before pulling out of the driveway.

    Katie is a zodiac, I’m almost sure of it. Kara should be the one to explain everything. We can't wait too long to tell her. The Dhedra are moving forward with their plan, so we should too. If Katie is one of us, we need to start training as soon as possible to figure out her power, and we need to find out why her parents didn't tell her.