The Unknown Thief

Part 21

Chapter 21

Nathaniel glanced towards Alin before looking back at Aubrey.  “Do not do this,” he demanded.

She turned towards him with a smile, and it took all he had to stay still.  With the power swirling around her, she attracted people so much, that he could see Alin inching towards her slowly.  “I have too, Nate.  Do you not understand that?  I cannot live my life as I am.  I cannot face the fact that every time I attempt to get close to someone, I have to pull away.”

“What about Ainsely?”

Confusion crossed her face.  “I told Daisy to send him back.”

He let out a frustrated groan.  “You let him close.  Your brother knows all your secrets, and you know all his.  How many times have you betrayed him?  You have had one bad experience.  That makes your past more clean than others.”

“Have you ever killed a man?” she whispered, with that same smile on her face.  “It’s horrible, and I hated it.  There was nothing I could do to change the fact of my actions.  There was not a single way to alter the future.  It was the worse experience of my life, and without this curse, it would not have happened at all.  How do you think that feels, Nathaniel?  If you can tell me you would cower behind stone walls while your curse ruled your life, I will turn around.  I shall head home, but if you cannot tell me honestly that you would be doing the same thing as I, let me do this.”

Nathaniel opened his mouth before closing it in resignation.  Her words rang true. If he were in her situation, he would do the same.  He would do anything he could to break the curse.  Sighing, he smiled back at her.  “What do I do?”

She let out a laugh.  “She’s mine.  I do not know who she is, but she is after me for a reason.  I will handle her, but the man.  He needs to be saved.”

“Saved?”

Beside him, Alin shook his head as if he were waking from a dream.  “The man was under a spell of some sort.  The devotion he feels for her is not real.  Free him of that spell, and he will be a great ally.”

“Very future telling of you,” Aubrey mumbled with a grin.  “Did Cora whisper things into your ear before we left?”

He gave a sheepish shrug.  “The woman cannot leave well enough alone.”

Aubrey opened her mouth to reply, but Nathaniel felt something odd shift in the air.  Something was happening that he could not explain.  However, as chills ran down his spine, he acted without thought.  Flinging his body into hers, they barreled towards the ground.  She took the brunt of the fall, but having her breath stolen momentarily was better than her being on the other side of the large ball of fire that flew past them.   

“Well,” she gasped.  “That was a fantastic introduction.”

He let out a tiny laugh as he rolled off her.  “Now, we will end this small little part of your journey.  When this is done, we are going where you need to and ending this for good.  No more, Aubrey, you’re not being this reckless with your life.”

“Who sounds like my father?” she joked as she hopped to her feet.

He smiled up at her, but their moment was interrupted with a crackle in the air.  Next to them, lightening flashed to the ground.  Glass formed in the sand, but as beautiful as it was, Nathaniel was more worried about the woman who was throwing lightening at them.

“Get off the ground,” she said with a smile while throwing a shield around him.

He jumped to his feet with a smile firmly in place.  Even with the chaos around them, she thought about his safety.  Surely, that meant something. It had to mean that she cared for him at least a small amount.  “How do I break the spell that controls the male?”

She regarded him for a moment before shrugging.  “You have the power inside of you, use it.”

As the words left her mouth, a man ran towards him with a determined expression on his face.  The first shock was the fact that the man was either the same age as Nathaniel or younger.  Never had he thought someone his age would be under a controlling spell.  The second shock was the fact that, although the man looked to be Nathaniel’s age, he could probably throw Nathaniel a few feet in each direction.  The man was enormous.

“You are under some type of spell,” Nathaniel mumbled as the man took a swing at him.  Looking up, he searched for Alin, only to see the man having a stare off with a line of snakes.  He was definitely happy he was not the soothsayer in the group.  Snakes or a large man to fight, he would go with the non-serpent choice every time.

The man swung at him again.  Nathaniel let out a loud, dramatic sigh.  “You are under a spell,” he articulated each word slowly, hoping the man would catch on.

The same dazed expression was in his eyes, and Nathaniel knew he was going to have to do more than just talking to the man.  Focusing his energy, he threw some at the man.  His eyes widened as he was flung into the air.  Again, Nathaniel felt helpless.  He attempted to move the man only slightly, but now, he was in the middle of a battle between two very angry women.

Nathaniel took a step towards them before halting.  Maybe this was the perfect solution.  Leave the man there, and the two of them can handle him.  As Aubrey shot him a look, he knew the option was out.  He was going to have to figure out a way to stop this man from killing him with his bare hands all the while he found a way to undo a spell.  Nathaniel shrugged; it was just like every other day with Aubrey.