Alix's POV:
Strobe lights flashed while pulsing hypnotic beats blared in my ears. Flamboyant women with sparkling wings danced on top of the tables while men lurked in the shadows, searching for their latest prey. I sat quietly in the VIP section as the familiar tingles of a vision ran up my back. Seconds later, the club disappeared as the distant reality the forefront of my mind.
A girl with platinum hair and bright blue eyes was running through a group of people. They seemed to be fighting. She launched a ball of fire as black as night into the air before collapsing onto her knees. Looking to the sky, she pulled out a small dagger and-
I blinked my eyes rapidly and the vision disappeared. A cocktail waitress with pearly white fangs approached the booth where I sat. I grabbed a fruity cocktail from the silver tray and scarfed it down. For the past month I've had reoccurring visions of a girl I've never met. As a psychic, visions were natural, but this had never happened before. There were limits to my power, I had to at least know the person in order to see their future.
I threw the small glass to the ground .The witches and warlocks that sat around me stared. Rolling my eyes, I walked away from the mess. Leaning against the black railing that wrapped around the VIP section, I thought about the girl.
Did I see her in the grocery store? No, I would have remembered a girl that beautiful. Did she go to my school as a child?
Again the answer was no; her name would have been ingrained in my head. I'm one of the most powerful witches in New York, and yet, I couldn't remember one measly girl's name. As the dull ache in my forehead began to increase I decided that I needed a distraction. My sharp gaze scanned the crowd, every low life and criminal in the supernatural community seemed to be at the club tonight, but my eyes focused on a hunched figure hidden in the shadows.
I broke away from the safety of the VIP section and entered the lion's den. Clawed creatures with forked tongues hissed in anticipation as I made the descent towards them. Several of them had gruesome scars covering their faces from years of fighting. The air was tainted by their putrid body odor and alcohol. My fingers glowed with magic as I parted the dancing bodies like Moses parted the Red Sea. A beautiful djinn who assessed me with her eyes while she played with her hair. I smirked.
It was amazing what a little makeup and a short dress did for a woman, or a girl in my case. I'm positive everyone in the club would be shocked to know that I am only fifteen. All supernatural beings are naturally attractive, especially witches. I hadhigh cheek bones, full lips and all-knowing emerald green eyes. I was beautiful and that meant nothing to me.
Being a witch left me a lifetime filled with endless possibilities. With my magic and beauty, I could get anything I wanted, but that gets boring after a while. Sometimes, I wondered what it would be like to be mortal for a day. To work for everything and never know what your futuret holds. Once I reached the edge of the club, I snapped my fingers and the dancers went back to their usual business. The hunched figure tried to disappear into the crowd until I reached out and touched his arm.
"Don't go," I purred. "I'd like to do business with you."
The hunched figure froze and hesitantly turned to me. He released a low strangled hiss asnd he reached into his pocket. A smirk played on my painted lips whenas I saw the small bag in his hand. Under the hood of his cloak, reptilian eyes dilated with hunger. His long forked tongue escaped from his mouth and wrapped around my wrist.
Oh no.
I looked at the bottom of the dealer and was horrified to see a snake's tail. Glycon's had the head and torso of a human with the bottom of a snake. They were also known for hypnotizing their prey and sucking them dry. I was dead if I couldn't get free. I tried using my magic, but his large hand covered mine, blocking my magic. The glycon straightened his back. The cloak slipped off of his muscular shoulders revealing an extremely attractive specimen.
"How about we make a deal," he hissed seductively in my ear.
I thrashed violently against his hold, but he was too strong. His eyes glowed as he tried to pull me in to his trick. I turned my head and closed my eyes,I silently praying that someone help me.
"I'll give you the pixie dust for free, if you let me have a little taste."
I wanted to vomit when he nestled his head in the crook of my neck.
"Please let me go," I whimpered.
I was one of the most powerful witches in New York and a glycon had me trapped. I'm sure my parents would rather deny my existence then accept that their daughter was killed by a stupid reptilian monster. I was about to offer him an alternative deal when a vision flashed before my eyes.
I smiled gleefully when a familiar voice spoke from behind us, "I'd put her down if I were you. You wouldn't want to deal with the over-protective brother, right?"
The glycon whirled us around, grabbing a better look at the person that dared to challenge him. I smiled in relief when I saw my brother, Jaxon, crouched in a fighting position. The glycon wouldn't stand a chance against my brother. Jaxon heard every thought in my head. His dark brown hair was well styled, he had strong masculine features and muscular build. As his green gaze met my own I knew even if I survived the glycon I would not survive the wrath of my brother. He would try to kill me for sneaking out and going to a dangerous club.
"Put her down, or deal with me." He gritted out, as a vein in his forehead bulged.
When we were kids, I always knew Jaxon was close to blowing my head off when his little vein popped out for a visit.
Stop socializing and get me out of this mess! I yelled in my head, knowing that he'd hear me. Jaxon gave me the slightest nod before his hands started to spark and glow. Seconds later I fell to the floor, and the glycon was thrown into a neon sign by an invisible force. The music abruptly stopped, every person in the club stared at us. Jaxon marched towards me. His fists were clenched. I could practically see the steam coming from his ears.
"Let's get out of here," he muttered and towed me out of the club with my arm in an iron tight grip.
"Ow! Let me go you big oaf! I have rights, you can't just manhandle me like this," I shouted as we passed by the eerily silent groups of people.
"Oh you have no rights at the moment," he snarled. "You are in so much trouble young lady. I'm tempted to tell mom."
"No! You can't do that," I pleaded., "Jax she'll send me to the swamps. I'll have to give Uncle Philip's pet Rougarou a sponge bath."
A Rougarou was a hairy beast with webbed feet. It faintly resembled the movie version of werewolves except they preferred to live in the swamps. I shuddered as I remembered the last time mom sent me to the swamps for punishment. I had to wait on that gruesome beast for a whole week. I had scars and bite marks to prove it. Jaxon's face softened when he realized how difficult mom would make my life. He was mad at me, but that didn't mean he hated me.
"Alix you're fifteen years old, you can't go to clubs."
I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest."You did when you were my age."
He ran his hand through his hair and chewed on the side of his cheek as he tried to come up with an excuse. I tapped my heeled foot impatiently against the asphalt. He threw his hands in the air and tilted his face towards the sky as if he was looking to God for help. A triumphant smile came across my face.
"You didn't win this one! Two wrongs don't make a right," he yelled, but his tone wasn't as harsh. His resolve was crumbling.
I laughed at him."You sound like mom."
A horrified expression crossed his face. "Take that back right now young lady!"
"Now you sound like dad!" I gasped in between my hysterical giggles.,"Nox Haven turned you into an adult."
"Shut up," he growled. A dazzling smile transformed his face as he looked at me through mischievous eyes. "You know you'll be going there next year too. I can't wait to tell all my friends how my sister was almost killed by a pathetic glycon. This just proves that I'm the better warlock!"
My eyes narrowed. I would be the laughing stock of the supernatural community if that got out. We walked down a deserted ally way in the middle of Manhattan. Shadows danced in the pale moonlight, crumbling buildings turned to mystical ancient ruins as the night time added mystery to this tired part of town. His shoulder bumped against mine as we walked close together.
"I'll kill you," I mumbled under my breath.
"Like how you killed that glycon? Oh, wait. That was me," he said with a wink.
Jerk, I thought in my head.
"I heard that," he said in a sing-song voice.
Stupid mind-reader.
"I heard that too!"
I rolled my eyes and punched him in the arm. "Yeah I know."
It would make my life so much easier if he couldn't read my mind. Between my ability to see the future and his ability to read minds there were no secrets between us.
"I blocked all tracker spells. How did you even find me?" I asked.
The moonlight illuminated my brother's features as we walked. His expression turned sour as I spoke, "You may have blocked all spells, but you didn't turn off the tracking device in your phone, idiot. Just be glad that I found you before you became that glycon's meal." I bristled at his words but didn't respond. I hated that he was right. If he hadn't have found me I would have been as good as dead.
"Why were you even fraternizing with a glycon? Any smart person would stay in the VIP section," he questioned., I could sense that he had already formed his own suspicions but wanted to hear it from my lips.
"I was going to buy pixie dust," I mumbled in a hurry rush.
Jaxon made a disapproving noise and shook his head. "That stuff is highly addictive and can make you go insane. Why on earth would want to buy it?"
I hung my head in shame and stopped walking. We still had to trudge through half the city and I was in stilettos. Jaxon stood in front of me, his arms were crossed, his face was contorted with anger and impatience.
"I thought if I loosened up my visions would be clearer," I begrudgingly admitted, "My visions are so confusing. I'm only seeing bits and pieces. I feel completely blind."
"You'd only be blind if you couldn't see anything at all," Jaxon corrected me. "Drugs won't solve the problem."
I knew that, my subconscious hissed. If I would have been thinking clearly I wouldn't have approached the glycon. But I hadn't been thinking clearly because all I could think about was a pretty little blonde that didn't exist. I stomped my foot like a child and accidentally broke my heel.
Jaxon sighed and steadied me with his hands. "It's going to be fun lugging you through the streets of New York."
I pushed him away and dug my clutch purse out of my cleavage. Jaxon whined about how unladylike that was, but I couldn't care less. My dress was not made with convenient storage space, so I had to improvise. Desperate times called for desperate measures. I opened the clutch and pulled out my miniature spell book.
I placed the tiny spell book on the ground and whispered, "Crescere."
The tiny spell book grew three sizes until it was back to its original length. I picked up the book and skimmed through the pages. My brother stood by my side. He had read my thoughts and knew what I was about to do. When I found the right spell, I placed the spell book back on the ground.
"Subtraxerim utilium," I whispered and the spell book reverted to its tiny size. I placed the book back in my clutch and grabbed my brother's hand.
My brother squeezed my hand reassuringly and I whispered, "Volare."
I concentrated on feeling weightless. Like I was a bird drifting through the sky. My mind imagined the warm air blowing my hair back as I flew into the night. Suddenly, my feet lifted from the ground. I continued to think weightless thoughts until I was soaring high above the city lights. Jaxon held my hand tightly as we flew through Central Park. He picked a leaf off a tree and twirled it in his free hand before letting it go. I tilted us upwards as we reached the skyscrapers.
We flew around the Empire State Building as if we were a tornado. When we reached the top my brother hollered in excitement. I loved flying, it was more thrilling than anything in the world. The Christians said Jesus could walk on water, but I could walk on air. Soon enough we landed on my bedroom balcony. Our family lived in the most sought out penthouse in New York. As I looked out at the New York skyline, I thought I could understand why my parents paid so much money for it.
"I'm going to bed," Jaxon yawned., "Try not to get into anymore trouble."
He left without another word. Silently, I wished him goodnight and flopped onto my bed. The sound of crinkling paper kept me from falling asleep. I sat up and saw that a white envelope with the Nox Haven emblem sat on my pillow. My lips twisted with distaste; it was too early for them to be sending out acceptance letters. I opened the letter, reading the words over and over again. I slumped back onto my pillow. The letter was still in my hand. This was going to change everything.
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Dear Miss Slade,
As everyone knows, I have been searching for my heir for the past fifteen years. I am ecstatic to announce that I have found the lost princess. She will be attending Nox Haven Academy next year, as will you be. From your family's records, I have gathered that you are a powerful witch with the ability to see the future. I'm sure you can understand how valuable that gift truly is. When my heir is brought out of hiding she will be in danger from all possible threats. I cannot explain to you what those threats are, but I will tell you that starting this September it will be your responsibility to make sure she is never in danger. I hereby decree that you, Alix Marie Slade, shall be my heir's Guardian. Shall you fail or reject this position you will be sentenced to death.
Sincerely,
The Dark Witch Lady Bose
**Alix isn't having the best day... Imagine coming home after almost dying at a club, and then discovering that you have to babysit a political figure's child or else you'd be killed- I don't know about you guys but I would have changed my name and moved Thailand to become a rice farmer. Maybe Alix would have done the same if only she knew exactly how much trouble she'd be getting into later with the heir.
Thank you again for reading, I hope you liked the second chapter,
XOXO,
Ro.**