Healing (Damaged Sequal)

Day of Eli

Jessica's POV:

        A knock woke me from my sleep. I groaned and moved to a more comfortable position to try and go back to sleep. But the knocking started again.

        “Oh little pup,” Elias sang on the other side of the door. “I hope you're not going back to sleep, little pup. It’s my day, remember?” He taunted me. Good thing I took a shower last night before going to bed. “Also, wear a casual dress, and makeup,” he said. That narrows down what I have to wear. I went into my closet and looked through my casual dresses. But nothing seemed to call to me. That's when I saw it. A dress I had bought on a whim without trying it on. It was a white, halter dress. I put it on and it went just past my knees. It hugged my body just below my breasts to my thighs. Then the skirt flared and went past my knees. There was a big white rose on the right of my dress on my thigh where the top part and the skirt meet. I found a pair of white, sandaled heels. The strap buckled over the front of my ankle to the outside. Two straps crossed over the top of my foot like an x and three straps went over the bottom part of the top of my foot. The heels were three inches high.

         I left my curly, blonde hair down. I used white eyeshadow lightly over my eyelids. Then I used liquid liner on the top lids, and used pencil eyeliner on the bottom. Then I used some mascara. I used some really light pink blush. Then I used nude lipstick on my lips. I used some clear lip gloss to make my lips shine.

        I looked into the mirror hoping the dress didn’t seem too formal. To me it looked formal, but with my hair down it helped. I have gotten better at walking in heels, because in college I wore them a lot. I ended up getting into a prestigious school on a scholarship. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t full of jerks.

        I walked out of my room to be met with Elias standing there. He looked me over and nodded in approval. He was wearing an actual suit. He wore a navy blue dress pants, vest, and blazer. He was wearing a white button down with a navy blue tie with white lines going diagonal starting up from right to left (going by his right and left). He wore black dress shoes that shined. Damn he looked hot.

        “So are you going to tell me what we’re doing today?” I asked curiously.

        “We are going to Chicago for some business. It would be nice to have you by my side. There's also another reason why you are coming on this trip, but I don’t want to ruin it by telling you,” he said casually. He held out his arm for me. I took his arm and he led me down the stairs and out to his Black BMW.  He opened the door, helping me in. Then he went to his side and we were off. Of course it was a long drive, but we just chatted about things. I told him about some of the things I experienced in my travels over the two years.

        “This trip must have made the bond between Jaime and you closer,” he said.

        “Yes. It was quite a trip. I did a lot of dumb things, and made some reckless decisions. But I don’t ever regret my decisions or what I have done. I’m not the same girl who first came here. I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles and I have felt better as a person. Jaime and I have worked so hard to get over our envy of each other. This trip helped the both of us too. It also helped to open our eyes that things are not okay in this world. Whatever comes our way we will fight it.”

        “Jessie, even though you have changed and became stronger mentally and physically I still see some of that girl you used to be. I know you have a heart and at dinner last night I saw anger in your eyes. Why were you so angry?” He asked.

        “It was the first attack. I was left in the village where it was all female run. Not a single male was in sight. I was having trouble connecting my elements to my Seacreel swords. I was working at a shop of a friend of teachers. I went to break to go and practice. I never want to see people killed in front of me. Women were being slaughtered by a level 100 demon. I did what I had to do. I faced it and found how I can connect my element to the Seacreel swords. It was my pain of seeing people being killed. My past pain. After I killed it. I knew someone had summoned it. I helped bury those who had been slaughtered during the attack. It didn’t stop there. More attacks in female witches kept happening. Whoever is doing this has a lot of hate for women. They have so much hate that they want to rid the world of them. That’s not okay. Life is very important to the world. Every life counts. I have a feeling that this will connect with me. That I will meet the person. I will make sure this person pays for the crimes he has committed. It sounds like revenge, but no. These people need the justice they deserve for their deaths. I have been figuring out the prophecy and what my real role is in this and one I am a mediator between the witches, warlocks and the Hunters, but I’m much more than that.” I paused for a moment. We were in the city now.

        “I am the protector of all. That is my true role,” I smiled as we came to stop. I will have to fight both councils in a right to bring our worlds together. Elias came to my side and helped me out of the car. We moved to the sidewalk and we were outside a three story building. It had a sign on the front of it. “The Wayward Restaurant.” He started walking toward it and I still clung to his arm. The restaurant was a brick building. On the bottom floor had big windows that covered the front. The middle floor had smaller windows and hanging outside those windows were box floors. The top floor was the same. The building looked old on the outside though.

        The double doors were glass with steel frames and handles. Eli opened the door for me and ushered me in. The inside had tables in the middle and along the walls were booths. The booths had a brick wall sitting between the seats for each set for more privacy. The seats had plush looking red seats and a red table. The square tables scattered through the restaurant were also red with black framed chairs and a plush cushion on each seat. The opening area could probably sit about fifty families.

        “Hi, welcome to The Wayward Restaurant, where would you like to be seated?” The Hostess with dyed blonde hair and brown eyes asked. Her roots were black her nose pointed and her lips thin. She had a small head. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail. She wore black pants, a button up shirt with her sleeves rolled up, black clogs, and a black apron tied at her waist and went below her knees.

        “We have a brunch meeting. My name is Elias Chlorah,” He said politely

        “Yes, right this way,” she led us upstairs and into the third floor. There was a big family table set up in the center of the room. The table was the color red and the chairs were the same as the first floor. The booths were the same setting as they were on the first floor.

        There were already a few men and women sitting there. I was the only one wearing a white dress. There were two women and two men. One man wore a faded gray suit. He had the same as Eli. Pants, vest and blazer, white button up and a silver tie. The other man wore a black suit, with just pants blazer and tie, and a white button up. 

        The woman next to the man in the grey suit had a green, cotton dress with wide straps. I can't see how long it is. The other woman wore a red, cotton and polyester dress. The dress had sleeves that went down to her elbows. They both showed enough cleavage. The men and women stood up as we came toward them. 

        The man in the grey suit had sandy blonde hair, green eyes, thin eyebrows, and small pink lips. The woman in the green dress had black hair and hazel eyes, she had a witches nose, and thinly plucked eyebrows. Her lips were painted red. Her hair was clipped halfway and her bangs covered her forehead. She looked to be in her twenties as well as the man next to her. 

        The man in the black suit had matching hair and steel gray eyes. His nose was round and he had thin but wide lips. He had a permanent frown on his face. He had bushy eyebrows. He looked to be in his thirties. The woman next to him had auburn hair, thinly plucked eyebrows as well, a rounded nose, dark blue eyes, plump red painted lips. Her hair was up in a stylish clip. They both wore pearls. Looked like they were dressed for a fancy party. 

        “Elias, it’s nice that you finally made it,” The black haired man said.

        “Who is the lovely lady angel with you?” The blonde man inquired. 

        “John, Theodore, this is Jessica Dulaney. Jessica, this is Theodore Straightmen and John Tailer. They are heads of very prominent Hunter families,” he introduced me pointing to the black haired man and then the blonde. I shook their hands. That's when the woman in the green dress gasped. 

        “I’ve heard of her. A few days ago they were having a council meeting with someone from the high council when they were attacked by demons. She is responsible for helping them. They say she was as quick as lightning and killed multiple demons. Not only that, but her grandmother is the high council member,” The woman said. They all looked at me quite surprised at this.

        “It’s true. If it was not for her vision, we would all be dead. She is also quite the tactician,” Elias bragged. I wanted to run out of there now. 

        “Sorry for Theo, but I am his wife Tallia, and John’s wife’s name is Felicity. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Jessica,” Tallia introduced. She has charisma. 

        “Likewise,” I said shaking her hand and smiled a little bit. 

        “Elias, don’t make the poor girl stand there,” said Tallia. I like her already. Elias put his hand on my lower back. Leading me to my seat next to his at the end. I was next to Tallia and across from Felicity.

        “I’ve actually heard much about you, Jessica” Tallia said.

        “Please call me Jessie. It’s a mouthful to say,” I said.

        “Well, Jessie, I had heard from a hunter from Australia that he had seen a beautiful girl with swords ablaze killing level 100 demons all by herself,” Tallia said.

        “That is true,” I said.

        “But if you're a Hunter, how can you harness fire,” she asked. That made me nervous. I looked at Eli and he twitched his mouth in a smile to the side. Meaning he trusts these people and I can too.

        “I’m not just a Hunter. I am also a witch who has dominion over the elements. My swords were made from a special type of stone metal, which is why they were ablaze. Someone is summoning demons and I was protecting witches from being killed by those demons.” They all looked concerned. 

        “Do you think the same person summoned those demons to the meeting?” Felicity asked.

        “I can’t be too sure, but I have this feeling it is the same person,” I said.

        “That’s quite interesting,” John said. 

        “I believe we should start our meeting now,” Theodore said.

        “Yes, I think so,” Elias replied.

        Mostly the meeting consisted of shares and all that. It was quite boring. I sat and thought to myself. If rumors like this are going around then maybe someone higher up will hear about me. I know the witches are all talking about me and word will spread of my presence. Then higher witches and warlocks will hear of me. Both high councils need to hear of me. I faded back into the meeting as they were coming to a close.

        “Another topic on the agenda. Jessica Dulaney, we have heard nothing about you and this new information about you must be told to the high council. The thing is, why is there no certificate of birth for the Hunters council?” Theodore asked. 

        “There wasn’t one because my mother never put in one. She is on the wanted list of Hunters. Julia Mary Post,” The table was silent. 

        “Do you know the whereabouts of your mother?” Theodore asked.

        “If I knew I would have dragged her before the council to pay for her crimes. She is no mother of mine. The reason there is no certificate of birth for me was because one was never made for me on both sides. I had been taken as a baby under the protection of my Uncle. My sister and I were raised by my nannies as ordinary people. Our powers locked away and we were hidden from both worlds we come from. Before I turned sixteen I had a sickness, which happens to those whose powers are released. A lot has happened in my life that has gotten me to where I am today,” I said.

        “How can I trust you?” He asked. I looked straight in his eyes.

        “I can’t make you trust me,” he looked taken aback. “I can’t make any of you trust me, but what good would that do you when at this point danger lurks around every corner. If I have to earn your trust I will do it for the good of all innocence in this world. I have trained harder and learned a lot in a short amount of time. My purpose is the same as yours. To protect the innocence from the evils in this world and from those that enter our world,” I said. I had never seen such a stoic man smile like this man just did. Tallia, Felicity, and John all looked surprised I could make such a man smile. Elias just sat there watching everything unfold. When everyone went back to how things were, we ordered food.

        “Jessie, I have a question to ask you?” Felicity asked.

        “You can ask me anything,” I said.

        “Your father is Adam Stone right?” She asked.

        “That’s correct,” I said and she looked quite worried.

        “Be careful of the head of your family. They say there is a curse on the family. Any woman married or born into the main family has died. The family you're in is one of the biggest families in the magical world. Your great great grandfather is in the high council of magic. It’s a rumor, but they say any person who dares to look in his eyes has had nightmares. They say he is evil. But it’s a rumor, still if you ever meet him, be careful.” Her warning rang in my mind and I realized why. I have had this feeling in my stomach the moment she said those words.

         A voice whispered in my ear. “He’s a murderer, his whole family are murderers,” My stomach flopped. Then My eyesight went into a vision. A sturdy man with Platinum blonde hair and green eyes just like dad stood in front of me. But he looked murderously angry at me.

        “You shouldn’t exist. Women should not be more powerful than men,” he spat. His hands went around my neck. I grabbed his wrists trying to pull his hands off, but it was no use, but he let go. “I’ll be seeing you,” he said with a sadistic smile. 

        Then I was pulled to a room of an old castle. A woman with dark brown hair and those same green eyes stood in the surrounded by warlocks. They were chanting something over and over again. The woman was chained to the floor, down on her knees. She was beautiful, but she was crying to be freed. But nobody listened to her pleas. 

        “That was me,” The woman stood beside me. 

        “What did they do to you?” I asked.

        “They feared me because I shared their power. I shared my family’s power and yet they said I wasn’t worthy of it. So they killed me and brought a creature to this world. The creature has a contract with my family, but everything is okay now that you have been born,” she smiled. I looked at her confused.

        “What do you mean?’ I asked.

        “You will find out in time,” She said, disappearing. I watched as they cut her throat and her body dropped to the floor still wrapped in those chains. The scene slowly faded away, and my vision slowly came back to me. I never had a vision like this and in the presence of strangers. I felt all eyes on me. Felicity looked scared and even Eli looked panicked. I took a deep breath out. 

        “Sorry about that,” I said.

        “What happened to you? One moment we were talking to you and then your eyes just went pure white,” Tallia said. She described me when I am having a vision. I guess I did. 

        “Sorry, I guess fate decided I had to have vision,” I said.

        “A vision?” Eli said.

        “Yes, it happens at random times or at times that has been preplanned,” can never tell which though. I’m okay though,” I said. It’s true. I have become accustomed to having visions just about anywhere. 

        “Is it anything important?” Felicity asked.

        “No, it’s one of those ones where it’s a wait and see kind of vision.”

        “That’s quite intriguing,” John said in fascination. Eli knew I was getting uncomfortable, but I was saved by being served food. Everyone else didn’t seem to eat a lot compared to Eli and I. We need to eat a lot to keep our stamina up. 

        We talked while we ate and then we left the restaurant. I traded numbers with Tallia and Felicity. Promising we’d stay in touch. 

        Eli took me deeper into the city, instead of taking me straight home. It was a nice sunny day and we went straight to the harbor. He paid some money at the booth and took two tickets. He held his arm out for me. 

        “Shall we milady?” He asked me. I did a half smile and took his arm. We walked onto a crowded plank and headed for the top of the ferry. It was a few minutes before the ferry started making its way onto the Great Lake. I stood on the side leaning over the banister. I stared into the dark water as the sun glistened off of it. 

        Eli came close to me and wrapped his right arm around my shoulders. I closed my eyes feeling the heat of the sun on my back.

        “We’ll be on the water for a couple hours,” Eli said as he walked over to a seat and sat down.

        “So, why did you want me to meet those people?” I asked Eli staring across the water.

        “Why does there have to be an ulterior motive?” He answered back with a question. This tricky bastard. I turned toward him.

        “With you it has to,” I said.

        “Well, your right. But not in a bad way. I wanted you to meet them because it would be good to have big deal Hunter families supporting you. A lot of people don’t know about the prophecy, so in this way you have back up in your endeavors. You don’t owe me anything either,” he said.

        “Good, I don’t like owing people,” I said, turning back to the water. It was quiet except for the few people up here and the people chatting below us. I felt at peace for a bit.

        I then sat next to Eli and we talked. He talked about the things that have happened while I was away.

        “When did you realize you were in love with me?” I asked him.

        “I would have to say the moment I actually met you,” he said. I lifted an eyebrow.

        “Yeah, you insulted me twice,” I said. He wrapped his left arm around my shoulders.

        “So calling you short and cute insulted you?” He asked mischievously.

        “Yes, I was average height and still am, you and your brother are just so freaking tall,” I said. 

        “I remember when I said you were beautiful, even though you were underage. You still are very beautiful,” he said.

        “I used to have self esteem issues. I have gotten past it, but I don’t think I’m that beautiful.”

        Well, you are. Nobody can say otherwise. You don’t see yourself like we see you. The day we were attacked you came in and it was the most amazing sight. On top of that you were bad ass in slaying that giant demon. You have become so strong and powerful now. You radiate light.” It became quiet again. 

        “Remember that time you came to visit me when I was in college?” He chuckled at that.

        “Yeah, I was making sure you weren’t dating anybody,” I looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

        “Even if I was I would have made you leave before you would threaten him,” I said.

        “Yeah, but then the guys there were making you uncomfortable. I could see it. I followed you around campus to let all the guys know you were not going to be theirs.” 

        “By pretending to be my boyfriend. You are quite annoying at times,” I shook my head laughing.

        “It worked though. After my visit you stopped getting harassed by guys.”

        “Yeah, but the girls were a different story. They were jealous that I had such ‘hot boyfriend’.” I said using my pointer and middle finger on both hands as quotation marks.

        “You didn’t tell me that,” he said.

        “For a good reason,” I said.

        “You should have instead you told Damien and he chewed me out.”

        “That’s because I told Damien what you did and said that instead the situation had become even worse than what it was. It wasn’t a lie though. These specific girls hired a private detective to track down him and then come to find out I lived with six ‘hunky hot men’. I never lived in peace after that. Even my roommate tried to f**k with me. I didn’t go too hard on her because I would regret it if I did.  But it wasn’t just you that came. Daniel showed up. David got to chew him out so you're not the only one. I’m not blaming you both because no matter what, those girls were going to try something with me anyway.”

        “What did Daniel do when he came to visit you?”

        “He followed me around to my classes acting the same way you did, but more possessive. He acted more seriously about it. A lot of the girls on campus became angry at this because what kind of girl has two boyfriends. I had tried to explain things, but the girls were not going to listen to me. After Daniel left, that's when s**t hit the fan. I wasn’t about to beat the s**t out of these girls because they were jealous and trying to get back at me. That's the reason I ended up getting an apartment off campus during the rest of the rest of my time at college.”

        “I didn’t realize that would cause you to become even worse,” he said.

        “Charlie was the one who suggested I get an apartment. I paid the three months of rent before I came back home. At least the tuition was much cheaper,” I joked.

        “Only you,” he chuckled. “And you didn’t pay tuition, you were there on a scholarship.”

        “I was really angry at both of you at the time though. When I came home I challenged Daniel to a sparring match. I beat his ass and David let me. If you had come at all during the summer I would have gone after you too. Be lucky for that. You can ask Daniel why,” I said with a sly smile.

        “I really should stop messing with you at times.”

        “Yes, you should,” I said. We sat silently for the rest of the ride on the ferry. It felt lighter now telling him that. A weight that has been lifted that shouldn’t have been there. After the ride we went home. I changed into pajamas and wiped the makeup from my face. I went downstairs to make dinner. Have some desert and then go upstairs to relax and then go to sleep. It was a good day.