My Sister, The Chosen One

Forty-One

BORNS- Past Lives

Sasha:

"She knows Solace Payne?" I laughed.

Solace Payne is a ghost. One of the funniest assassins in the game. He always leaves some kind of riddle or some smart-ass remark. He and his girlfriend are the reason why I have an eighty-percent success rate. We have a deal. As long as they stop stealing from Aldrich, I won't go after them myself. Now that I think about it, he does remind me of Lilly. They're always laughing and are extremely clever. Alsahara, she's the serious one of the two. Sesshomaru showed up late in the afternoon to distract me from my work and talk about how we're going to get rid of Aurora. His newfound respect for Elder Redwood is cute. I am glad my favorite Elder made the impression I needed him to.

"Yeah, apparently he's her brother," he placed the pucks with all of the paintings on the coffee table in my office. Once I was done with my list of things to do today, I went over to him.

"We should start looking for her," I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm going to tell him,"

"Why would you do that?" he asked abruptly. "What if-"

"Hey, if it's not meant to be, it's not. I'm not going to lie to him out of fear of losing him. It's not like I'm in love with him and ego wouldn't allow me not to tell him," I scoffed. "I pushing my boundaries,"

"You're either really cocky or you really are dead inside," he smirked. "Who do you want on this?"

"Lilly,"

"Lilly? Really?" he huffed.

"Yeah, she's the best military detective in the realm. Finding things that don't want to be found is kind of her thing. She found you," I pointed out. He glared at me. "You had a good talk with him, didn't you?"

"I see why he caught your attention. The man likes to pry. Just like you,"

"He actually does it in a way that just makes you vomit," I agreed. He nodded.

"All right. Lilly and Highwind,"

"They hate each other," I disagreed.

"Only because they're complete opposites," he shrugged. That's true. "One hides the other one seeks. It'll be fine. Until I can replace Debora, we're going to have to share the good Elder,"

"You're going to have to get her to like you. She likes me and she likes Ericson. She doesn't know you,"

"The buyers are all friends with my old man. They kind of all went into hiding when we took over. I've got eyes on three pieces,"

"Good work. Where are we with the transports?" I asked.

"Transports is my thing," he smirked. "Everything is on schedule. You're starting to headline,"

"I am," I reached for today's paper. "Six articles in the Aldrich daily. The cover on Air's Elite and Business Usual,"

"Who is running press?"

"Elias,"

"Elias?" he laughed. "I have a bad habit of underestimating that kid,"

"Yes, you do and I appreciate it if you pay more attention to him. He's slick and he does what he wants when no one is looking. You and he have that in common. I'm not going to be coming in tomorrow. With the full moon tonight, I'm going to be kick-starting the library with Bre. It's going to drain me. Ericson is going to be here with Elias. My jackets are on the move. We're getting the big shipment of Devotions you lost to Aurora back. I don't have them on that because right now they're all gunning for her. We also have no idea where she is,"

"What do you think of Solace?"

"We don't know him. We have an assignment coming up. Tell Lilly I want an introduction. I'll take him with me, test the waters and get in his head a little bit,"

"Perfect," he smiled.

"You're in a good mood,"

"I'm nice to you once and you accuse me of s**t," he smirked. I laughed.

"Touche. This feels good. We're on the same page. We've always made a good team, Sess. I want us to be friends,"

"Which is why I'm here. My girlfriend is obsessed with you and your boyfriend thinks of her as his little sister. We have to compromise. I'm nothing if not flexible,"

"You? You're flexible?" I scoffed.

"I'm learning," he smirked.

"Good. We're going to need that. I've been up all night thinking about the kid," I handed him a file. He opened it up and skimmed through it.

"You want to buy him a house?"

"No, it's for all of you. It's big enough for all of you to have space and still be under the same roof. That particular location is across the lake from my house,"

"Do you just take one look at something and jump twenty years into the future?" he tucked it under his arm. I laughed.

"Yes, always. That was going to be a wedding gift anyway,"

"A what?" he glared at me.

"I can show you my planning puck or you can pretend that I never said that,"

"I don't know how I was ever attracted to you," he sighed. "You're a nightmare,"

"I'm a hot goth girl," I shrugged. "The only reason I was attracted to you was the hair. You cut it off and showed your true color,"

"What color?" he grinned.

"Exactly. I love colors. You're not one of them,"

"I don't remember you being this bitchy but it works for you. A house?"

"A house. Remember what you said after your ex cut your dad up into pieces?"

"I never want to be like him,"

"Exactly, it starts with the kid. He's going to need you after everything that's happened. Not to mention that he's a player on the board whether we like it or not,"

"I don't know what to do,"

"He likes Breeze. The kid is a chemist. She doesn't have one of those,"

"You want to keep him in your little box? He's my kid. He's going to have fun learning from her for a bit but then he's going to teach her and you're not going to like that,"

"I liked when you taught me," I shrugged.

"That was different. You wanted this. Breeze is a princess, not a soldier. I'm putting his ass back in school. He can have his little play dates with your sister and his uncle but that's the extent of it. He's mine. Not yours,"

"Okay," I nodded.

"I'm serious. That's not an option. I like the house," he nodded. "Who designed yours?"

"That's all included in the file,"

"Stay insane, Spade," he bumped my head before heading out. A sense of familiarity flooded through me making me smile. I began to put my things away to head out. We do make a good team. I pulled out my phone and called Breeze.

"You have reached Breezeington McGee, what it do girl?"

"Falcon," I laughed.

"You're on speaker," Breeze laughed.

"I'm also here," Dylan spoke up.

"Hey, guys. How was your day?"

"This kid is a genius," both Breeze and Falcon answered at the same time. I walked out of the elevator to hear someone clear their throat. I looked up to see Sesshomaru with his hands on his head.

"I am going to have to call you guys back in a minute. Breeze, get ready for tonight,"

"Oh, my winds. I almost forgot," the line went dead.

"Aurora," I greeted her. There she is. I didn't think she was this stupid. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Don't f**k with me, Sage. Where's the kid?" she pointed her handgun at Sesshomaru.

"You're never going to see him again," I shook my head. "Even if you shoot his dad,"

"I told her that," Sesshomaru spoke up.

"Give me the boy!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Now!'

"Oh, no sweetie. You are not going to come in here and talk to me like that," I put my things down. "If you want to talk like an adult, I am right here. Anything other than that, I will obliterate you for. Do you understand me?"

"Sasha," Sesshomaru shook his head when they all pointed their rifles at me.

"Give me the boy, Spade. I will not be asking you again. You're locked in here with us," she threatened.

"Oh no, baby. It's you who's locked in here with me," I looked over at him. "Don't move a muscle,"

"Sasha, this isn't what we talked about. If you kill her-"

"She's not giving me much of a choice is she?" I asked him. "If you die here, I'm f****d,"

"Think of Dylan. If you kill her, he'll hate you. Your little pucks are going to mean nothing to him if she dies by your hand,"

"You're right," I got down on one knee.

"Don't move," one of her guards pointed their guns at me.

"Don't move a muscle," I repeated. I pointed at the ground. He slowly lowered his body.

"Give me the boy," Aurora repeated. A sword materialized in her hand.

"Anyone ever tell you not to bring a sword to a fairy fight?" I laughed. I placed my hand on the floor. "Eclipse," the lights all flickered before they shut off. As soon as the darkness surrounded me, I moved. The only sound in the darkness was their panting and the moving of their guns.

"What the f**k?" Sesshomaru blurted out.

"Where are you?" she called out.

I reached out with the void inside of me and completely covered her with it as I climbed on top of the receptionist's desk. They're all looking around trying to see where I went. I released the lightning inside of me one last time. The bolt lashed out curving with the movements of my hands. In that one bolt, I used what was left of the lightning. The sound of it is loud. A whirling, whipping sound. None of them knew what hit them. The bolt cut through their flesh like butter. The temporary black-out spell faded and the lights came back on. I sat down on the desk.

"What the hell?" Sesshomaru looked up at me.

"I told you. I'm not the same as before," I jumped down going over to the black orb of void. "What do you want to do with her?"

"Do you even- are they all dead?"

"Yeah,"

"That was anti-climatic. You took the fun out of murdering people," he stood up. "Let's dump her outside of her little castle,"

"She's screaming in there," I laughed. I poked her side to see the void around her shift around as she tried to escape. "I can't believe you would cheat on me with this thing,"

"I was hoping I'd kill her," he admitted.

"The ice thing? Still?" I asked, picking up my things. I stopped and looked back at him. "Have you not with Lilly?"

"That's none of your business,"

"Sess, she's a blossom fairy. Earth fairies are more resilient than other fairies. You put a fire fairy and an earth fairy together and what do you get?" I asked. He looked me over questioningly. "A lava fairy. The earth adapts to its environment. Blossom dust fairies are half floral half earth. The blossom dust absorbs. It's why we get high on it. Why it's lethal. It sucks up the magic. The more it takes, the stronger it is and fortunately for you, she's also part air fairy. She can give it back. How long have you been interested in her?"

"Too long," he sighed. "Now that we've settled this," he turned around to completely face me. He's wounded. "I was shot,"

"You i***t," I groaned.

"Yes, that is the reaction I was going for," he rolled his eyes.

"Did you bring your car and driver?"

"I did,"

"Come on. I'll stitch up in the back seat. Just like old times,"

"f**k, I hope not," he scoffed. I laughed remembering the last time we were in the back seat of a car together.

We put Aurora in the trunk. I cleaned the area around the wound. He frosted it enough for me to pull the bullet out. Once I stitched it up he relaxed into his seat. I sat back fixing my skirt. I'm covered in blood which means I have to go home and change. On the bright side, the agitation I've been feeling since taking the lightning is gone. The silver shimmers in my skin are no longer the dark gray shade they had been. I wonder how much of the other elements we're going to need to combine in order to feel normal again.

"Hello?" Elder Redwood answered on the second ring.

"I need a clean-up crew at the office. Just the lobby," I sighed.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"Aurora, she shot Sesshomaru but we're fine,"

"I'll have it taken care of. You didn't kill her did you?"

"No, I can't be the one to do it,"

"Are you on your way back?" he asked.

"We're taking her home,"

"You're letting her go? I think you should bring her here. You have a dungeon,"

"You have a dungeon?" Sesshomaru laughed.

"Yes, I have a dungeon. I always wanted one to collect my really scary targets," I rolled my eyes.

"No," they both growled at me. I laughed.

"Jokes on you. I have my first piece in the trunk,"

"We can't lock her up," Sesshomaru turned away. "You made sure of that in your stupid little contracts,"

"I can. The military can't. Even if they send out a search team," I smiled.

"Fine, let her go. Let her regroup. We'll think of something. For now, the kid stays here," Elder Redwood hung up. Sesshomaru and I looked at one another.

"He has a temper," he huffed.

"And it's scarier than yours," I admitted.

"Is it?"

"Mhm, I don't know how he does it but even his aura changes. His eyes, his magik. All of it, like a flip of the switch. Whatever it is that tries to overwhelm him, he has complete control over it. Do you know what kind of fairies do that?"

"All of them?" he chuckled.

"No, Spirit Chiefs. I'm not the only one that needs to train to become what I'm supposed to be. Ericson needs to reconnect with his tribe. I want to see how much scarier he can be,"

"You're insane,"

"I'm not. I'm just not like everyone else. It happens," I shrugged.

"Have you ever met anyone else like you?"

"Four," I nodded. "Don't stop, just slow down,"

I climbed into the trunk as his driver slowed the car. I opened the trunk and kicked the bundle out into the street. I sat at the end pulling the void back to me. She gasped for air before she looked up at me. I waved at her and shut the trunk before sitting back. We have one last void fairy to recruit.

"Do you really not care that I'm with someone else?" Sesshomaru asked out of the blue. I sat up and jumped into the seat next to him.

"Do you care that I want to be with someone else?"

"Yes, it bothers me how utterly perfect he is for you," he admitted. He lifted his right leg and rest it on his thigh. He let his head fall back. "I think about it more than I should,"

"All right, I admit that it did hurt when I first found out. It made me angry. I knew about the girls, Sess. I could always smell it on you despite you taking a shower beforehand. I guess I always knew it wasn't serious just like you knew Rey and I weren't serious. But Lilly is perfect for you," I cleared my throat. "A little part of me regrets that I couldn't be the one to warm you but the biggest part is really happy that there is someone who actually can. We bring the worst out in each other. The fae world doesn't need us at our worst. It needs the best of us,"

"It feels good," he sat up. "To do more than what we were doing. To be helping instead of making things worse. I know what we did was to survive but-"

"I know," I placed my hand on his ankle. "It doesn't feel meaningless anymore. Thanks for the ride,"

"No, Sasha. Thank you," he pinched my index finger and moved my hand away from him.

The car came to a stop. I opened the door and jumped out. I looked him over for a second. Without saying a word I went up to the gate and scanned my bracelet. The guards let me in. None of them said a word about me being covered in blood. I went inside and showered. I put something comfortable on and brushed my hair getting ready for tonight.

"Are you okay?" I turned around to see Elder Redwood outside of my doorway.

"Yeah," I waved him in. I have a few hours before midnight.

"You used the last of the lightning," he noticed.

"I did. I had to. She was going to kill him,"

"How badly was he injured?"

"It was a bullet wound. With his abilities, it wasn't too serious. I stitched him up,"

"You seem a little-" he looked my face over. "Relaxed. Like you weren't just covered in blood when you walked in. Everyone saw it,"

"It's just that I-" I paused looking him in the eyes. This has the be the right decision even if it hurts. It has to be a risk I'm willing to take or it'll sit in the back of my head for the rest of my life. I'll be reminded of it every time I have him this close. "I didn't think he had anything else to teach me but he has and I need to embrace it. I have something to show you and tell you and I was scared to. I am scared to because despite me denying it to myself and others. I can't help but feel what I do.

"When I first met Sess, my parents were still alive. He was the son of one of the guys that my mom tried to prosecute but she couldn't. I thought I could see the evil in his eyes the moment I shook his hand but it wasn't evil. What I was mistaking for evil was pain and I figured that out when I saw the same look in my eyes after my parents were gone. I didn't want to see him ever again and when we met again, I think he saw it too. The difference.

"I became selfish and I've done a lot more things I'm not proud of than things I am. I don't care about the consequences anymore. They don't matter to me as long as the end result is what I need it to be. The moment I saw you in the court, something changed and I want to be completely selfish and I want to keep you all to myself," I reached into my pocket and pulled the puck out. "But I can't knowing that you don't know the whole truth.

"My paintings, they come from my magik as an air fairy. As a sage. I showed sage traits since I was a little girl. My paintings are images of violent dreams I had. Things I didn't know I was the one doing them in the future. My first was the rose fairy collection. When my parents died. I left my sister with Rey's family and I went to High Rise where I met Rosetta Caspian. She trained me for a whole year. She taught me things I felt I already knew. It was like reliving what she was teaching me.

"My last painting was the one behind Sesshomaru's desk. I didn't know what or who it was when I painted it. I don't even remember painting it. With the big paintings, I always went into a sort of trance. I'd wake up and they'd be there. I want to show something and I know your first instinct is going to be denial but I've seen most of the paintings come to pass. None of them have changed,"

"What is it?" he asked. I handed him the picture. The one of him and his wife. He looked down at it as I pressed the button on the puck. I placed it on the ground. He looked it up at the image. It took him a moment but I think he understands what I'm trying to tell him. "How?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what it means. The only one that can tell us is her. She's alive, Ericson. One thing I know about my paintings, is that those who appear in them, they change my life. They show me something and my path always changes. For better or for worse,"