Unforgiven (Wanderers #3) (25 page)

“Mom it’s beautiful, I love it.” I leaned over to
give her a hug, forgetting just how much I sometimes really missed
her.

“Why am I sensing you’re not telling me the whole
truth? Do you really like the dress or you just trying not to hurt
my feelings?”

“No I do. I just wish I could hide my blue streaks so
they wouldn’t clash with the dress.”

“Ella, when are you going to learn that they are a
wonderful gift?”

I rolled my eyes.
Gift my ass.
“Hey, how come
I didn’t know about the engagement party? And why did they pick
today of all days,” I said a little disappointed.

“Because I didn’t know where to send the invitation,”
Xander said, coming back into the room.

“Oh,” was all I could manage.

“And Jasa picked the date. She said June would be a
good time to have it and this was the first weekend she was
available. She’s been very busy with work.”

I picked at the tablecloth wondering if Xander really
knew what today was. Even though I didn’t want to celebrate, it was
still nice to be acknowledged. I thought about peeking inside his
head, but then I reminded myself it wasn’t right and took my dress
upstairs to my room.

It was so nice to be back in my
own
room, in
my
own
bed. Ginger greeted me as soon as I walked in. “I see
someone was keeping my bed warm for me while I was gone,” I said,
scratching her ears. “So this is where you have been hiding? I
don’t blame you.” I sighed, falling on the bed face first on my
pillow only to have a small box slide down and hit me in the head.
I grumbled and sat up. There was no card. I shrugged and opened
it.

Inside was a gorgeous, white gold, charm bracelet.
“It was my mom’s,” my dad said from my doorway.

“It’s beautiful.” I held it up to the light and when
I did I swear I saw a flash of blue.

I flinched, almost dropping it.

My dad laughed and made his way over to the bed to
sit next to me. Ginger groaned in protest and he shooed her away.
“It’s a protection charm,” he said, turning his attention to me.
“The blue light shows how much power it holds. This here,” he
pointed to a shamrock. “This was your great, great grandmother’s.
It was passed down through every generation. And this here,” he
said, pointing to the Griffin. “Your grandmother added this when I
was born. It stands for strength. The water dragon was added for
Xander and Dean which stands for courage and the unicorn I added
after you were born,” he smiled. “Which also stands for –”

“Strength,” I finished for him. I held the bracelet
up, examining it again. There wasn’t much room left for many more
charms. There was the traditional claddagh symbol, the eternity
Celtic knot, which symbolizes never ending circle of life, the
Celtic knot shield for protection, and the Druidic threefold sister
goddess – maiden/mother/crone – three spirals that connect in the
middle from a small triangle. I knew this because of what Ms. Kraft
had taught us. It was a Wiccan symbol. The bracelet itself was
linked together by double spirals. Double spirals represent the
equinoxes when day and night are of equal length.

“It’s also a sign of balance,” my dad said.

“I thought you said other mind readers couldn’t read
each other’s mind?” I eyed him.

“Mine is different. I can only get through by touch.
Maybe it makes an exception.”

Just great.

He laughed. “Don’t worry Ella I won’t invade your
privacy. I am impressed with all the knowledge you have of these
symbols. I guess you were paying attention after all,” he
winked.

“Can you help me put it on?” I asked him. The second
he clasped it on my wrist I felt the power and it made me
shiver.

“With each new charm it was blessed again and again.
So there is a whole generation of McCallister magic on there,” he
said. “You must be very careful that this does not fall into the
wrong hands,” he warned.

“I wouldn’t,” I shook my head.

He cupped my hand, kissed me lightly on the forehead
and said, “Happy birthday Ella.”

“Thanks Dad,” I said, feeling a warm tingling inside
me.

After he left, I closed the door without even getting
out of bed. That power was one I was really starting to enjoy. I
pulled the covers up, cuddled up next to ginger, and took a much
needed nap.

Cameron had woken me up about two hours later. “Oh my
god, Cameron I am so sorry. I totally forgot –”

She held up a hand to stop me. “No worries. I
actually just got back. I helped Danni set up everything for the
party.”

“Really?” I asked surprised. I would have expected
her to be sitting by the pool sipping margaritas.

“Don’t act so surprised,” she said, nudging me. “And
boy, Danni does not like your brother’s fiancé. What’s the deal
there? Is she like a haggard bitch or something?”

“Long story,” I said, sitting up.

“Oh, nice bracelet,” Cameron said, reaching out and
grabbing my wrist. “Ouch,” she pulled back. “It shocked me.”

“Huh, that’s weird.” I looked at her and then the
bracelet. Danni distracted me when she came into the room and fell
on my bed. “Danni, what’s wrong?”

“You really have to ask?” she mumbled into my
comforter. I let it go, understanding. She lifted her head to look
at me. “Hey that’s pretty. Where did you get that?” she asked,
brushing the charms with her fingertips. I looked at her confused.
I half expected her to flinch like Cameron did, but nope,
nothing.

“Wait, you can touch it?”

“Well duh, I’m touching it right now,” she said like
I was crazy.

“But when Cameron touched it, it shocked her.” We
both looked at Cameron suspiciously.

“What?” she said, pulling back. I got up off the bed.
“What’s going on?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” I said
accusingly.

“Is everything okay in here?” my mom asked, looking
at our worried faces. That was one time I was happy about her power
invading my space.

“The charm bracelet dad gave me shocked Cameron when
she touched it, but not Danni?”

My mom smiled as she walked into the room. “That’s
because it’s a family heirloom. When Cameron touched it, it didn’t
recognize her so it’s power kicked in and Danni, well, Danni’s been
family for a long time,” she said, grazing her cheek.

“So anyone who’s not family it will shock them?”

“Yes and no. The purer the heart and intentions
someone has will save them from the shock.” I looked at
Cameron.

“What?” she shrugged. “I never said I was an
angel.”

I rolled my eyes and let my mom continue. “Only when
someone is truly evil touches it, it will show their true
nature.”

“How so?” I asked.

She grabbed Cameron’s hands and turned them over.
“See Cameron has no mark from the shock. An evil being it will
shock and leave a burn scar.”

“That’s good to know,” I said, running my fingers
over the dangling charms.

“And good to know I’m not evil,” Cameron winked.

“I knew you weren’t evil.” Cameron eyed me. “Okay,
maybe a little bit,” I confessed. She threw me a half smile and I
giggled.

“Okay girls, we only have until six before we have to
leave for the party so that gives you an hour to get ready,” my mom
said. “Chop, chop,” she clapped her hands leaving the room.

“If you want you can raid my closet for something to
wear while I take a shower,” I told Cameron. I already knew my mom
had bought Danni a dress for tonight.

“Sweet,” Cameron said, jumping off the bed.

I stepped into the bathroom and went to empty out my
pockets before I got undressed when I found Josie’s heart charm. I
had forgotten I put it in there when I tore off Tristan’s watch.
Before we left Ireland I had taken it off and mailed it back to his
grandparents. I didn’t want anything that reminded me of him. I
still had the star necklace he gave me, but that’s only because I
couldn’t bear to take it off. I could feel my heart start to break
all over again and the tears in my eyes. I gripped the sink and
pounded my fist down, hard. I would not let him get to me. I will
not let him take me down again. I managed to get a grip and got
undressed.

After my shower, I got dressed, and dried my hair.
Cameron had chosen the purple dress I wore to the initiation at the
sorority house. I thought I had gotten rid of it along with a lot
of things from that nightmare time, but I guess that one must of
have slipped through the cracks. I told her she could keep it. It
looked better on her anyways and brought back too many bad
memories.

I put on the finishing touches and told everyone I
would meet them down stairs. I went to put the charm bracelet back
on, but before I did I decided to add my own little addition. The
second I hooked on Josie’s charm there was a bright, blue flash and
a blast that threw into my closet, knocking the wind out of me. My
eyes fluttered as I tried to stay conscious.

I heard what sounded like a herd of elephants rushing
up the stairs. Everyone came barreling into my room to see what
just happened. “Ella, Ella,” I heard my dad say.

“Is she breathing?” my mom asked.

“Back up, everyone back up and give her some room.” I
blinked and saw my dad bending over me. He lifted me up and carried
me over to my bed. “Ella honey, Ella,” my dad said gently.

I looked around at everyone hovering around me. “Geez
um, I’m not dead people. Could you back up so I can breathe a
little?” My dad chuckled and everyone gave me some space. I sat up
and grabbed my head. “OOohh, my head.” I pressed my palms to my
temples while everyone stood there and watched me expectantly. “I’m
okay. You can stop staring now.”

“What happened?” my dad asked concerned.

“I’m not sure. I was putting the heart charm from
Josie on the bracelet and the next thing I knew I was blasted back
into the closet.” I looked over at the bracelet on the floor. I got
up to get it.

“Ella, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” my dad
said, just as I picked it up. He looked at me and then at the
bracelet.

I held it up and this time I saw blue, silver, red,
and purple flashes. “Well that’s new.”

My dad came over to me and took the bracelet. “I
think we should figure out what happened before you put this back
on,” he said a little worried.

“It’s not hurting me or you.”

“Liam, I don’t see the harm in her wearing it for
now. I think it will be fine and we’ll see your mother tonight so
we can ask her what happened.”

“I guess, but I do want to find out what caused it to
act that way. Maybe there’s something wrong with the spell?” He
wrinkled his forehead, deep in thought. “Maybe we need to redo it?”
I held out my wrist for him to help me put it on. He hesitated
before he snapped the bracelet around my wrist. The moment he
closed the clasp he took a step back, eyes wide.

Everyone was staring at me, mouths open. “What? Great
is my hair a mess? Do I have something on my face?”

“Ella…you’re glowing,” my dad said in awe.

“Ah crap, not again.” I looked down at my hands, yep,
glowing.

“This has happened before?” I nodded. Dean and
Cameron were the only ones who had witnessed my glow before. Both
looked unimpressed. “How do you make it stop?” Xander asked,
squinting at the bright light.

“Hello?” Jasa called from the bottom of the stairs.
Everyone froze, not sure what to do. We heard her come up the steps
and Xander quickly jumped off the bed and closed the door behind
him before Jasa entered. He convinced her to head out to the party
while letting her know the rest of us wouldn’t be far behind.

When we knew they were gone, my dad turned to me and
asked, “Ella, do you know how to stop it?”

“I think so, just give me a minute.” I closed my eyes
and tried to remember what Ms. Kraft had done to help me last time.
Think happy thoughts, I said to myself and then Peter Pan and
Tinker Bell flashed into my head. Okay, that wasn’t going to work.
I took a breath and let it out trying to clear my head and of
course the first thing that came to mind was Tristan. My anger
instantly flared and I could feel myself getting hot.

“Um Ella, you might want to try something else,” my
mom suggested. I opened my eyes and saw that I was glowing even
brighter than before.
Damn it.
I closed my eyes and tried
again. Think calm thoughts –
family
. I could feel my body
start to relax and calm down.

I opened my eyes and my dad was smiling. “Good job
honey,” he said, resting a kind hand on my shoulder.

“You think you’ll be okay to go to the party?” my mom
asked.

“Yeah, it only seems to happen when I channel a lot
of power, but I didn’t channel any power?” I scratched my head
looking at the bracelet. “Oh no…I don’t…oh God…do I?” I threw my
hands to my head and ran to the mirror in the bathroom. I sighed
relieved when I saw my normal streaks in the front – two on each
side. Cameron came up behind me and handed me another mirror, and
then turned me around. Yep, there it was, another blue streak down
the back. “Damn it!” Cameron tried to hide her smile. I glared at
her.

“It’s not that bad.”

“Is everything okay?” my mom asked concerned.

“Fine,” I mumbled, getting an
‘oh,’
gasp when
I walked past her.

“Well that’s new,” my dad said

“Yeah, I’m getting used to it,” I sighed, falling on
the bed.

“Does this mean you got a new power?”

“No, just a new streak. I glow, I get a streak,” I
pointed to my hair.

My dad rubbed his chin and looked at me like I was
some kind of science experiment. Sensing an inquisition I wasn’t
ready for, Cameron came to my rescue. “How about we worry about it
later?” She linked her arm through mine pulling me off the bed.
“I’m in the mood for a party.”

When we got to the car, my mom pulled me aside. “Are
you sure you’re okay? If you’re not up to it you can stay home. I’m
sure Xander will understand.”