Irresistible

Chapter 6

The locket absorbed her drop of blood and filled each one of the stars adorning its face. After only a moment the stars started to light up and glow and the locket started to shake in the palm of her hand before elevating out of her hold and floating before her. Jade watched in wonder as the locket snapped open and projected a galaxy of stars before her.

She reached out to touch the star nearest to her and was surprised to see that she was indeed able to touch it. As soon as her fingers made contact with the star it started to spin rapidly and grow into a giant orb of light. She watched as an image of a beautiful girl started to appear within the orb. She had long dark flowing hair and a heart-shaped smiling face. She couldn't have been more than fifteen.

As Jade continued to watch the image of the beautiful girl became animated. She seemed to come to life before her very eyes. Jade watched with growing fascination as the girl unsheathed a small sword and began to spar with a young man who suddenly appeared in the orb with her.

Jade was surprised to find that not only could she see them, but she could hear them as well. She could hear their swords clashing and the sounds of their laughing teasing banter. "You're getting better Skyler, but we both know you cannot best me." the boy teased.

"Such modesty Bran. I can't help but wonder however does one with a head such as yours manage to fit through the door?" she teased back. The two continued in this manner, sparing and teasing one another until the young man won the day and the orb once again started to spin and shrink back into the shape of a star once more.

Jade was overcome with overwhelming feelings of sadness. She knew now with a certainty she would have loved her Aunt Skyler and she mourned at her loss. She could not stop the tears.

Jade's grandmother placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and Jade could see that she had unshed tears in her eyes as well. "I loved them both like daughters, Skyler and your mother. They would be so proud of the young woman you are becoming Jade."

Jade managed a half-smile. "I just wish I could have gotten a chance to know them," Jade says before letting out a deep sigh. "So how does this work? How do I access her most recent memories?" Jade asked, pointing to all the stars feeling a bit overwhelmed at how many there were. "So many memories, how will I ever be able to watch them all?" she thought to herself.

"It's categorized by color, brightness, and size." Her gram replied and Jade noticed for the first time the various sizes, colors, and degrees of brightness of the stars.

"The white stars are her earlier memories, the blue stars are memories that took place after her eighteenth birthday and are more recent memories. The bigger the star the longer the memory and the brighter the star the more recent." Her gram explained.

"What about the red stars?" Jade asked noticing the select few that were among the vast majority of white and blue stars. "The red stars are memories that Skyler marked as important. That large one there is from the night you were born. I must warn you it will not be easy to watch Jade."

Jade knew that she meant the memory showed her parents' deaths and the thought sent an icy chill straight to her bones. She recoiled at the thought of having to witness it firsthand.

"Perhaps now isn't the time for her to be witnessing the deaths of her parents. Maybe she should let all this sink in first. She has had quite a few bombs dropped on her today." Alec said. Jade could see his look of concern and knew he was trying to spare her the heartache. She appreciated his thoughtfulness but she knew that if she was going to survive what was to come she needed to know what she was up against.

She looked at Alec and said, "Thank you for your concern, but I think it's best if I get this over with." He nodded, letting her know he understood but she could see he wasn't too pleased with her decision by the concerned look in his eyes and the way he was clenching his jaw.