Magic's Mark

Chapter 21

"I thought I had lost you for today," I snapped back, turning and walking away from him.

"When will you stop to realise you can't keep walking around on your own?"

I felt the anger swell up within me, sick of his efforts to control my life, "What would you have me do then? Call you each time I have to go out in public?"

His blue eyes fixed on me, as he grabbed my arm to stop me from walking away.

"I don't think so," I scoffed.

"You need to stay protected," he insisted.

"And you think you're the person to do that?"

He was about to open his mouth to agree, but I cut him off, "What about your fiancé? What is she sees us?"

His hand squeezed harder around my arm.

I pushed him away from me, "If she sees us, it would put us all in danger. So why are you here?"

He closed the distance between us again, his eyes taking in every part of me.

"I don't trust anyone else to look after you."

I opened my mouth to argue back but the serious look in his eyes stopped me. 

His hands squeezed hard around my arms as he looked at me, "Aaron might not be openly hunting you anymore but what the Grimstaw family seems to have forgotten is that it's not the only way to kill someone."

I stayed silent, studying his face and for a second I thought I actually saw fear dance across it.

"I guess you could walk me home," I let the words hang in the air, the closest to a truce we would ever reach.

We turned the corner to my street, thankfully Lucas had been wise enough to walk me home in silence. My fingers closed around the keys in my pocket at I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His demeanour had a hint of tension to it, as if he was waiting for something to happen.

"What did you mean by what you said earlier?" the question had slipped out before I could stop myself.

"Cara, I have told you over and over how dangerous this situation is," he sighed.

"What's changed?"

"Nothing's changed," he cut off.

I looked at him for a moment, searching for an answer in his stone like face. There's no point in trying to understand him. The look he was wearing was telling me I better drop it.

"So I'll see you around," I threw the words over my shoulder as I unlocked the door.

Lucas spun me around, his eyes pinned me down as he breathed, "Call me before heading out on your own."

It was an order, not a request and from his facial expression I could tell that he expected to be obeyed.

I shrugged my shoulders and backed towards the door, as I closed it behind me I heard his words echo, "I'm not joking."

~*~

The steam from the shower hung in the air like a protective mist around me as I let the warm water run down my back. My mind was calmed by the warmth, a steady feeling of resolution bloomed within me. Today was going to be a good day. I was going to get this done today.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around me and reaching for the hairbrush. As my hands were moving on their own accord through my hair, my mind was making a list of all the things I should do for work today. I felt my hands freeze as I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the mark on my shoulder blade. It didn't look like it had grown, but with Lucas worry about safety multiplying by the day... Why haven't I figure this thing out yet? Today is a good a day as any. I put down the hairbrush and went off to grab my mobile phone.