Touch of Darkness

Chapter 25: Birthday Surprise

Zedd disappeared after that, along with Alessia. For the rest of the week we didn't see either of them. The mysterious twins of the school were garnering even more curiosity. I tried not to think about them too much. It was difficult when I was in the office. I never realized that my few hours with Zedd in this tiny space had become a regular thing for me. The time used to pass by quickly, but now the silence was deafening. But every time I recall a moment we had together, I remember his betrayal too. And despite my heart aching a bit, I was also filled with anger at the both of them. Did they really leave just like that? Without another word? I shook my head. After everything you said, it really was all a lie. I don't matter to you. I wasn't even worth an explanation.

I held back a sigh. This was for the best, I can't keep brooding over this. What Zedd did was despicable. He lied to me so much; about who he was, what his powers were, and why he and Alessia were here. He knew what he was doing and did it repeatedly. Making them leave before any of us got hurt was the only way.

I'd just left school, starting to head home while thinking about what I should watch tonight. Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind, and before I knew it, I was on a familiar motorcycle.

"What the hell Cain?!" I shouted, "You scared the hell out of me!"

He plopped a helmet over my head and drove off immediately, "Consider it a part of the surprise."

"Surprise?"

"Just shut up and hold on tight."

He sped up even more and I did my best to cling on to the back of his leather jacket. When we were at a stop light, he still wouldn't answer anything I asked him about where we were going. He just reminded me to hold on when the light was green again, and pulled my arms to wrap around his waist more securely.

Soon we were back at our little neighborhood, and he stopped in front of my house.

I took off the helmet and fixed my hair, "Uh, thanks for the spontaneous ride home?"

"Come on already, don't tell me you really forgot?" Cain gave me an exasperated look.

I raised an eyebrow, and he took out his phone and showed me the calendar. My eyes widened as soon as I saw it. My birthday. I can't believe I forgot my own birthday. With the chaos that's been happening in my life lately, the days felt like a blur and I forgot what day it was.

"They're gonna kill me for ruining the suspense now," Cain took my hand and pulled me along to my house.

When we opened the door all the lights were off and the curtains were drawn, so it was almost completely dark after Cain shut the door behind us. He led me down the hall to the kitchen and as soon as we were there, an explosion of confetti came raining down as my friends jumped out of their hiding places.

"Surprise!" they all shouted, blowing on party horns and waving lightsticks around. Alice was in the center holding a decorated chocolate cake with candles on top which she placed on the counter in front of me. They all gathered around me in a group hug.

"Happy 18th birthday, Veronica!" Alice exclaimed.

"We had a feeling you forgot it this year, so we planned this to surprise you," Elijah grinned and teasingly blew the horn.

"It was Cain's idea," Chris added and was immediately met with Cain's arm around his neck.

I felt a huge smile on my face and laughed. How did they manage to cheer me up so quickly? Really, if it weren't for them, I'd have forgotten my own birthday and just watched TV all night.

"You guys are the best," I hugged them again, "Thank you all of this."

"Make a wish now," Alice said as she lit them.

I took a closer look at the cake while pondering what wish to make. And that's when I saw the decorations on the cake. Even though it was store-bought, the four of them had written their own birthday messages to me on the cake with a chocolate pen. My heart felt warmed from their birthday wishes. I knew what I wanted to wish for now. Taking a deep breath, I blew out the candles in one go.

They waved their party things around again and shouted another happy birthday to me. Elijah got the plates ready for cutting the cake, while Alice and Chris set out presents in front of me.

"We each got you something," Chris said, placing a blue gift bag in front of me, "This one's from me."

Moving aside the tissue paper, I pulled out a navy letterman jacket. It had our school mascot on it, as well as a V patch.

"V for Victoria," Chris grinned, "I got a custom one for you."

"I love it!" I said, putting it on and seeing how it looked on me. It fit perfectly and felt nice and warm, and the V on it made it feel special.

Alice pushed her present in front of me next; she was excited to see how I'd like it. She wrapped it so nicely I almost felt bad for opening it. She gave a beautiful leather journal with the words "My Journey" written in gold on the front. I gave her a hug, this journal was perfect for me right now. Elijah's present was a big stuffed dog. It was so soft and I could just imagine falling asleep on it. All of their presents were the best I could ever ask for.

Cain's present was the last. He looked a little unsure of it, but finally he placed it in front of me with some confidence. It was a simple small black box. I opened it, and inside was a silver bracelet with five gems set in a row on one side, and an engraving of "Victoria" on the other. Immediately I could tell what the five gems were. It was all of us. He was reminding me again that I wasn't alone in this.

I wrapped my arms around Cain in a tight embrace, "Thank you Cain."

He seemed surprised at first, but then hugged me back, "Happy birthday Victoria."

My mood had been so gloomy before, but just like that, they managed to turn it around. The wish that I made, was that I never wanted this feeling to end. I wanted to be in this moment of happiness forever. We hung around the kitchen stuffing ourselves with cake and the snacks that Alice and Chris brought, and dancing to music that Elijah set up, just genuinely having fun.

I excused myself to the bathroom and also went up to my room to put my presents away. I put them on my desk, and after a brief consideration slipped Cain's bracelet over my wrist. I admired it one more time, it was so pretty.

I was about to leave when something caught my eye. Something that shouldn't be there - a plain white package. How did this get here? A shiver ran down my spine. I heard my friends downstairs and wanted to run back to them. But the moment I saw that package, it was like my body wouldn't listen to me. Unwillingly, I reached for the package and opened it. As soon as the wrapping came off and revealed what was inside, I gasped and dropped it onto the table. It was that book from my dream. What was it doing here? It was real? There was no mistaking it. The black, worn leather and purple archaic engravings were unforgettable, and it gave me that same feeling of foreboding as in my dream. A card was on top of it that said, "For Victoria" in cursive. I felt another shudder and opened the card. Written in it was, "This book holds your destiny, and you cannot escape it, nor the wickedness that you are meant to become."

I wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment. Why is this book here? It's really full of evil, like I felt in my dream. Zedd was the one who had it then. Is this his doing again? Then he's really trying to turn me into something horrible. He's trying to use me for whatever he and Alessia have planned.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fist. I felt the cool metal of Cain's bracelet against my wrist and I looked down at it. The gems shone back at me. I made my way back downstairs, and as soon as my friends saw me they immediately became. From the look on my face it was obvious that something must have happened. My emotions were a mix of fear, confusion, and mostly, anger.

I was determined now. Alessia and Zedd weren't going to get away with this, and I wasn't going to handle them alone. My friends and I would make sure of that.