Dateless and Deadly

Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Over the next couple of days, I spent any free time I had trying to figure out why all of this had come on so suddenly. I spent my free hours in the library even though I’d read every single word that had to do with shielding, I had moved on to power manifestation and sudden growth in power.

Everything I read corroborated the fact that those with very strong powers usually began to show signs at a very young age. Many powers could be learnt but those who were born truly gifted usually had those traits from birth.

So why is it that my powers had only made an appearance now? I mean, I’m a eighteen year old girl who could’ve passed for normal up to this point so what exactly changed?

For that matter, why did it take eighteen years for anyone to come after the two of us? If we really were that famous, how come no one had thought to track us down before? What made Caine go, oh hey, let’s just check the phone book...oh here we go, Cole. Perfect, now we have their address, well, let’s go pick them up!

There had to be something. Something that made it not only easy to find the two of us, but something that broke down the walls that were keeping the two of us from using our powers.

I was still scouring the books in the library when Dillon walked in.

“Cassandra! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?”

I glanced around at the many leather-bound books scattered across the table in front of me. Some of them were thousands of pages long. I smiled sardonically. “Just a little bit of light reading.”

He chuckled good naturedly and for some reason I felt a chill creep down my spine. What the hell was that?

“Well, that’s good to hear. I daresay your sister hasn’t taken nearly the same interest in the finer points of magic as you have.” He grimaced. “In fact, her biggest concern seems to lie with gaining more power. And boys, of course.” He chuckled again and I could see that his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I must admit, I’m a little discouraged by your sister’s displays of power.” I frowned and he hurried to continue. “Make no mistake, she’s very strong. The only thing is, when you two were born, we knew that you would be...extraordinary. We were expecting powers that had never been seen before. Though your sister can do some pretty difficult things, they’ve all been done before.”

His eyes were burning into mine and I had to look away. “Well, this is the first time she’s been exposed to magic. Maybe it’ll just take a bit of time for her to get used to it.” I said, fumbling with the spine of a book, avoiding his gaze.

He didn’t say anything for a really long time. When he finally spoke, I jumped a little. “You’re probably right! I’m just worried for her safety. I can’t send someone out there unprepared, you know?”

“Of course,” I mumbled. “Well,” I said, standing, “I better get going. It’s getting late.” I checked my watch then realized I didn’t wear a watch and hastily tucked my arm behind my back. I glanced at the loft-style window in the library and noticed that it was still light outside. The light coming in was the orange of sunset so I knew it wasn’t too late but I didn’t really care. I had the feeling that Dillon knew exactly what game I was playing only I didn’t want to stick around to find out for sure.

I walked to the door and had my hand on the handle when I felt a rush of electric energy. I dodged to my left just in time to see the metal door bend with the force of it. I looked back at Dillon, stunned. Had he just tried to blast me?

His eyes locked with mine and his mouth tilted up at the corners in a smug smile. “I thought so,” he murmured.

I broke eye contact with him and jerked on the handle. The abused door now made a loud creaking sound as it opened but it still worked. So maybe that blast wouldn’t have killed me but it still would’ve hurt! Clearly he wasn’t the type to teach by baby steps.