Faithless

Chapter Nineteen

 Candice was firing a million questions a minute at Jasmina, but she had no idea what to say. On the one hand what Aiden had done for her was sweet, thoughtful and she could hardly deny that she liked the dress, but at the same time she couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that Aiden had a hidden agenda, one that would come back to bite Jasmina at some point.

It also occurred to Jasmina that she had no idea how Aiden found her. She hadn't told anyone she was going out today because she knew they would argue with her about it. The only way Aiden would know how to find her was if they had been watching her and that thought made Jasmina feel uneasy to say the least.

As the girls left the shop Jasmina couldn't help when she started to search the crowds for Cam. Using her powers she started trying to reach out for him. It was something she had done in training when there were only four of them there, but she had never tried it in a crowded area before. Everyone kept saying how powerful she was, and how she just didn't know it yet, so Jasmina decided to put their words to the test and see if she could find Cam in a busy shopping mall using nothing but her mind.

Jasmina felt that Aiden was still close by but chose to ignore him for the time being. As much as she loved the dress, she knew she would have to give it back eventually. Instead she carried on searching, starting with the ground floor first. Once she was satisfied that Cam wasn't there, she moved on to the first floor. She knew she could feel him there but she couldn't quite pinpoint where exactly.

Candice wanted to go and find Logan so Jasmina made her excuses and headed for the first floor trying to track Cam down. She had never managed to use her powers like this before and it was intoxicating to her. She couldn't help but push more and more until Jasmina could see exactly where Cam was standing in her mind. Distracted, she ran in his direction, doing her best to make him jump by leaping in front of him.

"Found you!" She grinned from ear to ear, crossing her arms behind her back. Cam smiled at first but there was something in his eyes that wiped Jasmina's grin off her face. She started to try and reign in her magic but it was too late. She had already let everyone else's thoughts in, in the middle of a busy mall on a Saturday no less.

Jasmina covered her ears, trying to rebuild the brick walls in her mind but it was no use. Cam grabbed her arm, leading her into the first quiet shop he saw. He headed straight for the shop assistant, looking the poor girl dead in the eye. She couldn't have been much older than Maxine.

"My friend is having a panic attack, can we please use your store room until she calms down?" Can begged pleading with his eyes. The young girl looked at Jasmina who was still covering her ears and shutting her eyes tight and took Cam's word.

"Just don't tell anyone or touch anything okay?" She said quietly, leading them out back. "I hope she feels better soon." The girl said as she closed them in.

Cam turned to Jasmina now, bringing all her focus on him.

"Jasmina I know you're in pain, but you need to concentrate. If you can't concentrate on building your walls, concentrate on me. Listen to what I'm thinking and no one else." Cam instructed. Jasmina whimpered as the pain in her head grew. She took a deep breath then looked Cam in the eyes. She started with his immediate thoughts. His worries for her and the situation they were now in. She could still hear all the thoughts from outside so she delved deeper into Cam's memories instead.

She saw a flash of pain over his face but once he stopped resisting her advance he loosened up. Cam couldn't ignore the sense of being violated and Jasmina could hear it in his mind, but his determination to help her out weighed any reservations he first had.

Jasmina saw his early memories of his real mother. How happy they had been right up to the day she died. Then something else took over. There was suddenly this darkness in their lives. Their father went on a rampage, killing any hunters he could get his hands on. His coven hadn't just split up to become guardians of younger witches and warlocks, it had been destroyed by hunters. Jasmina hadn't known that before. Their father carried on his rampage until the day he saved Monica's life. She had been the light in the dark for him and the boys finally got their father back, something they desperately needed after the loss of their mother.

Jasmina could feel Cam's pain as he relived the memories with her, so she moved on to something more recent. She saw Cam, standing in Tyler's study with Tyler. They both stared into the mirror intently and Jasmina was shocked to see herself in the reflection. It was on the day she and Candice had put their names down to volunteer and Candice was talking about sneaking back and taking their names back off again. Jasmina was smiling, but even she could see it didn't quite reach her eyes at the time.

"Are you sure it's her?" Cam asked Tyler who just nodded. "And she really has no idea?" Tyler nodded again. The troubled look on Cam's face was clear to see. He knew then that he was going to be the one to turn her life upside down and he wasn't looking forward to it. But even then he was sure it would be for the best. Hunters were closing in even at that point and Cam had known it for a while. Finding other witches and warlocks was the only reason they hadn't moved on yet.

Jasmina hadn't noticed that she could no longer hear the rest of the mall. It was only when Cam ran his hand through his hair and Jasmina felt it as if his hand had ran through her own hair, that she finally snapped back to reality.

I hope she's okay. Cam pleaded.

"I am." Jasmina said breathlessly.

Wait can you hear me? Cam asked.

"Of course I can." Jasmina frowned looking to Cam.

"Jasmina I wasn't talking out loud." He explained and Jasmina froze.

"So I'm still focused on you right?" She asked timidly, but Cam had other ideas running through his mind.

"This is different." Cam mused, tilting his head. "I can hear your thoughts too."

"How is that possible? I'm not in your coven."

"This is stronger than the coven link anyway." Cam murmured. "I don't know how but you've linked us somehow."

"I don't understand." Jasmina said quietly, but she could feel it too. Everything Cam thought was running through her brain as if it were her own and he already confirmed he could feel the same.

"It must have been the surge of power. You had all that power coming out like a loose cannon, then you've concentrated it into me and it's left a mark." Cam tried his best to explain but he was just guessing.

"I'm sorry." Jasmina said weakly, keeping her head low in shame. It was her own fault. Why did she think she could handle her powers in the middle of a busy mall anyway?

"It's okay." Cam reassured. "Let's just get out of here." He opened the door and led Jasmina out of the shop. Holding her close. He thanked the shop assistant on his way and Jasmina did her best to make it look like she was still recovering, which didn't take much acting on her part.

They headed straight for the exit and it was only when Candice jumped in front of the pair that Jasmina remembered the reason she was at the mall in the first place.

"Hey, I was looking for you." Jasmina lied, doing her best to look normal and happy.

"Right." Candice said, shooting Jasmina a suspicious look.

"Hey, I'm Cam, nice to finally meet you." He said, holding out his hand which Candice shook. "Actually it's my fault Jasmina got distracted, I have some family in town and I was really hoping they could meet Jasmina before they go again, is it okay if I steal her away?" Cam asked while trying to shoot the most genuine smile he could muster up. Candice's eyes darted between the two for a moment then she finally sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But you owe me Jas." She glared, then gave Jasmina a quick hug and disappeared into the crowd to find Logan again. Jasmina just breathed a sigh of relief and they kept walking outside and over to Cam's car.

The drive back to the house the Covens were staying at felt as if it was taking forever. Jasmina sat quietly, biting at her fingernails which she only ever did when she was truly nervous. Cam tried to convince her not to worry but it was no good, not now that she could very clearly hear the worry in his thoughts. Aiden had driven the motorcycle to the mall and therefore wasn't in the car with the pair which Jasmina was relieved about. She had dropped the bag with the dress in it somewhere in the mall and part of her was glad it was gone. The last thing she needed was Aiden trying to stir up yet more trouble.

Now that Cam had free access to everything Jasmina thought about, she knew that he already knew what Adien had done and he wasn't happy about it. He was still annoyed that Jasmina had spent the day with him and it took every bit of willpower he had to not take a peak at exactly what they had gotten up to. What made it worse was the more Jasmina heard him fighting his own temptation to find out, then more she couldn't help but think about it. Nothing bad happened. She had gone out, they had fun and it was one of the best days out she had ever had, which only served to hurt Cam more.

Once they reached the house Cam looked for his father and the pair explained to him what had happened. He listened intently, taking in everything they explained then mulled it over in his mind. The longer it took for Ewan to think, the more nervous Jasmina got. Cam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly.

"Well it's not the worst thing that could have happened." Ewan finally shrugged. Cam just rolled his eyes. "I'm being serious. You're both linked now whether you like it or not and at least now, Cam you can help Jasmina control her powers. Also with Jasmina living at home, at least she will have a direct link to the rest of us now if she does get in any trouble." Ewan explained. Cam nodded in understanding and Jasmina could feel that relaxed almost instantly. She did her best to think of what she had done as a good thing, but she wasn't so convinced just yet.

"Well Jas might not be living away from us for much longer." Cas pointed out.

"Really?" Ewan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As long as you'll have me, without me having to join a coven yet." Jasmina pointed out. Ewan just muttered under his breath and refused to give an answer. Jasmina had heard enough and walked out of the house and back out to the fresh air. She took a seat on the steps outside and thought about what she was going to do next.

"He'll get over it." Cam offered. "You don't have to join a coven yet if you don't want to and he had a duty to protect you no matter what you decide." Cam explained. Jasmina just nodded, but she didn't really believe Cam. Something told her that his father would do whatever suited him and to hell with the consequences. "He's really not that bad." Cam smirked. Jasmina just groaned.

"How long until we get sick of this?" Jasmina groaned. Cam just smiled.

"I could get used to it." He shrugged, and Jasmina could tell he was serious which she had to admit made her feel a little better.