"Your father is right." Mom enters the room and sits on the couch. "One thing about being a leader is understanding there are times when you have to take care of yourself. There is only so much you can give away before there is nothing left to give. That's what you did. You did nothing wrong. You'll be stronger for it."
Thank God I came here. They're right about why I left. I was getting overwhelmed and needed space. Maybe I shouldn't feel guilty about it after all.
"So, I've heard you were at the mansion yesterday." Mom raises her eyebrows. "What's going on there?"
"What?" How did she know that? I hadn’t told her I was back in town.
"Oh, don't be so naive." Dad chuckles. "We may not be important anymore, but we still have friends that are. We knew you were back and were waiting for you to find time for us. We know you're busy."
Well, all right then. "Luke called me in. He wanted to teach me a new trick with my abilities."
"Luke?" Mom tilts her head and her forehead wrinkles. "Who is that? I thought the woman who died was teaching you."
"Margaret was training me, but apparently it was her dying wish for me to be trained. So her husband, Luke, has decided to take me on as his apprentice. So, despite her passing, the council is still focused on me."
Her eyes light up. "Oh, really? That's great news."
Nope, not happening. I can already see where this is heading and I'm putting an end to it here and now. "If you think this is a way for you to get back in the council's good graces, it's not happening."
"What do you mean?" Her mouth drops open.
"I'm going to do what's right." I will not be another minion for the council. "I will do what I believe in and not bow down to them. My goal isn't to get you and Dad back in good standing with them and get your status back. I'm going to stand up for my beliefs, which is something the both of you have never been good at. I'm not going to sell my soul for material things." I've got to get out of here before I say something more that I'll regret.
"Christina, listen..." She reaches out for me.
But I stand up and take a step to the door. "I've got to go. I'll see you both around."
"No, don't go like this. Your mother didn't mean…" Dad holds up both hands as if in surrender.
It's a lie. We all know it. They need to come to grips that this is their life. "Do you guys really want to go back to that? Do you not like what we have going here and now?” I motion between us. “’Cause if you were to go back to that, this would change." I pull my keys out of my pocket and step closer to the door. "I'll see you guys later." And I turn my back on them and walk out the door.
10
Pulling out of the driveway, I have to force myself not to burn out. I don't know if I'm jumping to the wrong conclusion, but at least they know where I stand. My knuckles are white from how hard I'm clutching the steering wheel. I take a deep breath in. I need to calm down; getting this riled up is pointless.
The more distance I put between them and me, the more rational I begin to feel. Maybe there is something to this distance thing. I'm sure Mom was curious since they never got to work with the Elders like I'm getting to, but it worries me. I don't want to go back to the way things were. Hell, I'm not going back. Not after what I’ve seen they are capable of. I need parents, not overbearing assholes.
Well, that little diversion wound up not killing a lot of time. Hell, I have nowhere to go so I guess it’s time to head back home. Of course, nowhere in this town takes more than fifteen minutes to get to. From what my parents told me, the original council planned our town that way in case there were any disturbances that popped up. Quick and easy to get to.
When I make it back to my place, I close the door and lean my head back against it. Too much time to myself is not a good thing. I glance at the kitchen. Shit, I left a mess in the kitchen. I clean up the dishes and run the dishwasher.
Great, that killed around ten minutes. I've got about six hours to go before Charlie gets back. I need to go train, but I'm sore all over, even with my faster than normal healing. I need to take a day off or I'll regret it.
What I can do is practice my transporting skill like Luke showed me. It’ll come in handy if I can master it. I bite my lip and breathe out. Where should I go? I don't know. I don't want to go back to my parents or the councils, and I don't need to show up at Charlie's work. You know what, if I can't get in touch with Becca, then I'll just show up where she lives. I need to find out more about Hell anyways and who better to get it from than Damien. For goodness sakes, he wants the flame anyways so he better start helping.
I locate Damien using my tracking abilities and lock in on him. Recalling what Luke told me, I remove all the barriers so it seems as if it's a straight shot between us. My body relaxes into the soft breeze as the air begins to thrum to life to around me. As I begin to pull myself out of the apartment, the wind churns
