Fated

Chapter 18

“What happened now?” Lucas exclaimed.

“I entered a memory of Alashia’s while she was sleeping.” Asher still couldn’t believe it. It must be tied to her ability, but what was her ability?

“Is her ability dream manipulation? Dream walking?” Lucas asked, staring at him as though he knew.

“No one knows what her ability is, it’s been kept secret all this time.”

“I’ll head to the hub in Art Alley, and start researching. If she’s this strong as a human, what must she be like as a vampire?” Lucas pondered, displacing from view.

Asher leaned back in the bed, remembering the sensation of being pulled towards her. The moment he touched her, he felt himself being pulled into her mind.

Seeing her there, helpless, dying, watching the king walk away and leave her there... The rage had his fists clenching at his sides. “I don’t want to die feeling this way.” Her plea was so heartfelt.

When he and Chase got to her, she was dying. Her semi-tanned skin was paling, her heart rate slowing. Chase and the boys were pulling on her, trying desperately to wake her, and he felt a pull towards her. When his hand touched hers, he was in her mind.

Apparently, her ability could manifest what she saw happening. To be this strong as a human... she would always be in danger from his kind.

With a sigh, he got up from his position and went into the bathroom. A quick glance in the mirror startled him. His eyes were constantly flickering red. His anger and fear for his Beloved had him behaving much younger than he actually was and that chilling fact had his eyes returning to normal. If he lost control, his abilities would wane. The tolerance of the sun, his ability to find things, and displacing to small shadows would become impossible. Age was the main contributing factor to vampires' abilities, but control was the second factor. Many weren’t aware that the two worked together hand in hand, but those who did were much more careful. He was always one of the best, and if he wasn’t careful, he could lose that title, and with it, his Queen’s life.

He stripped and went into the shower, calming himself and meditating to regain the composure that had frayed.

Tomorrow was his last day with them here in Niagara Falls. He would enjoy the day, exchange information, and stay in touch. He would need to be here a bit longer, tying up loose ends with Winchester, researching Alashia’s ability, and subtly building an alliance with the Witches to protect Alashia at all costs. For now, though, he needed to calm himself and rest. He would make sure there was time to complete his tasks after they were gone.

*****

The next morning, the small group arrived at the Aquarium of Niagara. Initially, they drove right past it. Alashia couldn’t but feel disappointed. Seeing as they lived in the Greater Chicago Land Area, they were used to aquariums like the Shedd, so they were all a bit disappointed.

However, they particularly liked the young penguins, brother and sister, who came right up to the boys and mirrored their behavior. Ricky was especially excited.

The seals and sea lions were also very cool, the conservation efforts exciting. Alashia was over the moon to find a snow globe at the gift shop and immediately bought it.

They were all also able to touch the stingrays.

Heading back to the hotel, the family decided to separate from Asher, going for some family swimming time on their last day. They agreed to meet for an early dinner before they got ready to leave in the early morning.

Asher used the time to visit Minerva and Lucas; they both had been pouring over any and every mention of the Queen to discern what, exactly, her ability was.

Several hundreds of tomes in, Asher found one singular note, at the bottom of the page. It was written in, not a solid answer, but a question, “Queen’s Ability, Manifestation?”

The group all exchanged looks. “ It would make sense. You mentioned she may have had a glass of water next to her appear. You felt drawn to her the moment she and her husband decided to open their marriage to other people. You were drawn to her for comfort when she thought she was dying, and she almost manifested her death with the dream.” Minerva pondered over this for a while.

“I need to look into this more, figure out if there are more times that this has happened, or if it’s specifically when she’s near you.” she glanced at Asher. “Are you able to keep away for at least a week, maybe two, so I can find out how safe, or not, it is for her to be near you?”

“I have to clean up and verify any possible loose ends with Winchester, Lucas and I also need to meet with the king while he is here next week, to go over our reports. We also need to falsify the documents for said reports, to make it seem like we haven’t found her. I’m sure that will take some time.”

Minerva nodded. “I will help with that over the next two days, then I will follow her home, see what else I can find.”

“Why is it so important to know the extent of her abilities as a human? I thought we don’t develop our abilities until we are a hundred or so?” Lucas was trying to understand what was going on and why Minerva and Asher were looking terrified.

“We don’t develop our abilities until our hundreds. The fact that she is, means her soul is getting angry. It keeps dying in these brutal ways, causing her to manifest what she needs to survive. If she’s this strong now, imagine what she would be like when she wakes as one of our kind. Her soul bond may not be enough to keep her sane. She could easily wipe out half of the supernatural world.” the group quieted, thinking about what that could possibly mean for the sweet mother who loved and protected her children. If she could manifest life and death, that would be a hell of an ability.