“I knew you’d come back for me,” Denver said, and with more gentleness than Anj would have ever imagined, he stroked Cheyenne’s hair.
She shivered and rubbed her arms. For a moment, Anj thought she would step away, turn around, and run. Instead, she held her ground. Odd. Usually she fights.
This wasn’t the first dream Anj had ever had of the two interacting. He’d had several dreams about them over the past summer, but at the time, he hadn’t known who Cheyenne was. All she had appeared as was a girl with a strange green aura. Denver repeatedly tried to take advantage of her, and she had overcome him every time, fought back, made him stop. Not in this dream. She was challenging Denver’s power but in a different sort of way.
It took a moment for Anj to figure out that they were talking inside the hotel, standing near the restaurant on the tenth floor. He was having another dream about the present. Either that or this exact same scene would be happening tomorrow night. It was too vivid to be of the future, though. Unless his powers were growing stronger by leaps and bounds, it had to be the present. Those dreams were always the clearest.
Denver stared at her, eyes narrowed slightly as if lost in thought, before motioning for her to join him at a table. “Well, thanks for coming up this way and meeting with me anyway.”
“You’re being awfully polite right now,” she commented, and followed him to sit down near a window overlooking the city. She picked up the menu and looked it over quickly before closing it and glaring at him. “What do you want?”
“Gee, if that’s the kind of attitude you’re going to give me, you can forget it. I thought we had a deal, remember? A semester of good grades, I give you some answers? Since you’re permanently attached to your boy toy’s hip, it’s kind of hard to do that these days.”
“He’s my boyfriend, not boy toy. And it’s what you do when you care about people. You keep them close.”
Denver stared across the table at her until she lifted her eyes to meet his. “And you push away the people you really want by your side. Is that normal too?”
“I never said I wanted you,” she mumbled.
“Funny, your heart sure is pounding rather lustfully right now. Did I mention I like the new womanly smell, Chey? Because I do. It’s hot. I’m kind of surprised, because I didn’t think Squeakers would have it in him.”
“And I did?”
“Oh, I’ve always known you’re a rebellious one. Once you move past your denial, you could be a lot of fun.”
Cheyenne sighed, and when the waiter came, she placed an order for shrimp fondue and a Shirley Temple. “So these answers you promised me. Mostly, I want to know why you keep biting me.”
“I stopped.” Denver sounded playfully terse, as though he were insulted by the accusation.
“For now.”
“Oh, so you’re giving me permission to have another go?”
“I didn’t say that.” She swallowed.
“But you’re thinking about it. Whenever you’re ready, I am too, baby.”
“Stop distracting me and tell me why!”
For a moment, Denver seemed taken aback by her outburst. Then he smirked and ate some of the bread that had been placed on the table. “Your blood has a unique kind of sweetness to it. I need it, and you need me to need it. I told you, you’re mine. It’s like everything about you was designed just for me. I’m still trying to figure out why that is. But I keep biting you because you’re basically screaming for me to with every heartbeat. Your wounds won’t heal because you need me to keep biting you because you need me to feel fulfilled, whole. Have you noticed that you’re stronger after it happens? If I could stop the pull you have over me, I would. I don't like needing people the way I do you.”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “Please, Denver. And you say I’m in denial? I think you are. You can’t accept the fact that I don’t want you, so you’re making things up.”
“I’m not making it up,” he said darkly, glaring across the table at her.
“Then prove it.”
“I can’t. Not yet, but I’m working on it.”
She sighed and shook her head. “This was a waste of my time.”
Denver reached across the table and held her hand, again with a lot more gentleness than Anj would have pictured. The guy was hardly ever gentle with anyone, let alone any thing. “Tell me you don’t want me to do it. Say it honestly. Then tell me I’m wasting your time.”
She stared at him silently for a long time. “I can’t.”
“Didn’t think so. Look, princess, that giddy euphoric feeling you get when I bite you? I get that way too. That’s not normal for either of us.”
“Dr. Warhol said—”
“She doesn’t know anything.”
Cheyenne averted her gaze to the table. “So now what?”
“I keep looking, and you decide if you’re going to let me give us both what we want or keep living in denial.”
“I-I have a b-boyfriend.”
“I’m not gonna tell you what to do or how to think about it. That’s not my style. I’m not a manipulator. The bite means whatever you want it to, babe. Just think about it.”
The dream faded, and the blue door appeared. Anj grabbed the knob and turned it, then stepped through the door. All three of the Elders stared down at him expectantly. If Anj was supposed to say something or have some kind of a reaction, he was clueless as to what that would be.
“Any thoughts?” Neil asked at last, leaning forward on his throne.
“On what exactly? Denver being a creep? This isn’t anything I haven’t seen him do before,” Anj said, doing his best to keep his temper in check. He wasn’t particularly in the mood to play games, however, so he had even less patience than usual.
“Anything else?”
Anj narrowed his eyes, peering at them in disbelief. “What other thoughts am I supposed to be having?”
“There is so much you need to learn about being a Fate,” Neil said with a shake of his head.
“Please, teach me then. You say that often,” Anj said in his best attempt at laying off the sarcasm. I must not make them mad. Answers would be nice to have for a change. And he hoped Neil was reading his mind then to hear it.
Neil sat back and folded his hands in his lap. “You’re right. We’ve been denying you answers, trying to see how perceptive you are on your own. Getting a read on how knowledgeable you are in your abilities without our instruction, so to speak. I’d hate to have to go over things you already know. That’s irritating to you, correct?”
“So is throwing me into the water and seeing if I know how to swim,” Anj said. “How about you start from the beginning, again, and when we get to something I’ve heard before we can move on to the next lesson?”
“That won’t be necessary. You know there are four different kinds of Fates, yes?”
Anj sighed. “Those who see the past, those who see the present, those who see the future, and those who see a combination of the three.”
“Continue.”
He wasn’t quite sure what the Elders wanted him to say, so he started rattling off all the information he had on being a Fate. “The most common Fate is the one who sees the present. The past is the next common, and the future next after that. Future Fates aren’t allowed to see solid details but concepts, possibilities, as nothing is set in stone. There are many ways to see — dreams, visions, touching objects. Outside of not being allowed to talk about whatever I see, there isn’t a whole lot more I’ve ever been taught.”
“Which is right where we want you to be as your next lesson begins. There’s no denying it. Your gifts are strong. Each time you come here, we can sense how your power has multiplied. It’s impressive and not something I’ve seen for a long time,” Neil explained.
“So what are you going to teach me now?” Anj asked with a furrowed brow.
Kale smirked. “How to hone your skills so you can get the most out of your visions. Over these past few years, we’ve been letting you get acquainted with your skills. Comfortable. Now that you’re at that stage, it’s time for you to really see.”
“Ten years, and you finally think I’m comfortable? That’s not a few years. It’s a long time,” Anj snapped, and immediately regretted it. Thankfully, the Elders didn’t react negatively.
“It seems like a long time, but a Fate of our level lives a lot longer than the average human. I’m not a thirty-year-old. I’m actually in my eighties. The same can be said for all of us,” Kale said with a nod, pointing to his comrades. “So yes, ten years seems like a long time right now, but soon it’ll be nothing but a blur.”
There was so much for Anj to take in from that one statement alone. “So I’m not going to age the same as my friends and family? And what do you mean when you say ‘a fate of our level’?”
“You will age as you choose to, depending on what you decide to do with your gifts. There have been others like you — strong, with a lot of potential — who decided to be as normal as possible,” Francis said gently. “Everything is your choice, just as it’s always been.”
“But I could choose to live longer, is what you’re saying? Why would I?” Anj didn’t even want to think about what life would be like watching his brother grow old without him. It wasn’t something that appealed to him in the least. They would always be the same age together, both physically as well as literally. But what about Jewl? The Divine aged differently than regular humans, as well. If they were supposed to be together, then how was that going work? We have time to figure it out.
Neil had a wide smile on his face. Anj instantly regretted thinking about Jewl just then. Giving the Elders more ammo against her wasn’t in his best interests.
“Let’s go back and make sure we cover all of these questions. Only one can be answered at a time, after all,” Neil said, maintaining his smug attitude.
Francis nodded in agreement. “You asked about being a Fate of our level. That means having the gifts of those worthy of being Elders. Not just anyone can be appointed one of us.”
“So you’re basically grooming me for your position?” Anj shook his head. “Not a job I want.”
“We didn’t say anything of the sort. Don’t get presumptuous, boy,” Neil said. “All that’s being said here is you have a great ability, and it is what sets you apart from everyone else. Allows you these other perks, so to speak.”
“Should I choose to use them.”
“Yes, should you choose.”
“But why? I thought only the Divine got to live an extended lifespan?”
Neil nodded. “Yes, they do, as well as their spouses on occasion. Given the purpose for our gifts, Fates are sometimes also granted the same longevity.”
Anj glared at him, waiting to be told what this purpose was, finally. If there was one thing he didn’t understand about Fates, it was why they even existed in the first place. What was the point of having such a great power if they weren’t allowed to tell anyone about it?
“You’re angry.” Kale frowned.
“Frustrated,” Anj corrected.
Kale smiled as if he understood. “Our purpose is balance. We keep the Divine in line, similar to the checks and balance system of the United States of America’s government. It’s what makes the Divine fear us. Obviously there is more to it, but that should be enough to suffice. The political aspects will be elaborated on once you know how to understand what you see. Your visions are worthless if they mean nothing to you.”
“Maybe I want them to be,” he whispered.
“They aren’t going to go away if they’re worthless. They’ll only torment you worse,” Francis said.
“Fine. Teach me how to hone my skills so I can understand more of what I see,” he said, agitated.
“Your homework for the weekend is to revisualize what you saw, study the body language and the words being exchanged. Really analyze what happened,” Neil said.
Anj groaned loudly. Not necessarily the smartest of reactions for him to show, but he couldn’t help it. Their assignment irritated him. “Why can’t you just tell me what to do and what I’m looking at?”
“This isn’t like history or math. We can’t tell you the right answers and have you memorize a bunch of facts. You have to see and experience your visions, live them, in order to understand on your own. Think about it some more, and we’ll discuss it on Monday.”
“Sure thing,” Anj said, and left the Elders, returning to a dreamless sleep.