Read Perfection of Destiny :: Chapter One: Part 1

November 30, 2001

“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.” -unknown

They walked into the new house side by side, Marcus’ arm around Zeake and Nicolle walking beside them, connected at the hip with Shaine. They had two bottles of wine, a couple pizzas, and matching smiles bright enough to last a lifetime. Zeake had never seen Nicolle as happy as she had been that day, with Shaine’s tan hand resting gently on her expanded stomach.

They spent the day with Marcus and Nicolle discussing when the baby shower would occur. Nicolle and Shaine could barely keep their hands off of each other, caught no less than three times in the bathroom together. Zeake was disgusted at the sight of his older sister and her husband making out. Nicolle had blamed it on the pregnancy hormones, but they all knew better. The two male warriors, along with the warlock, carried the furniture in and all around the house until Nicolle told them it was perfect. They spent all day there, all of them completely exhausted from the physical labor. After moving Nicolle and Shaine into their first house together, Marcus and Zeake had gotten a cab back to their own apartment to pass out from the exertion. Back then, their lives had been much more simple and Zeake was still capable of a genuine smile. About 14 years after that day, Zeake got a phone call from his sister’s choked voice asking him for the biggest favor of his life.

The sound of a phone ringing hardly managed to get Marcus’ attention away from his beautiful husband. He planted another loving kiss to those familiar lips and tightened his grip in the other’s dark hair, causing a content sigh. Zeake smirked up at the other, gently pushing him away from his position of pinning the warrior to the kitchen counter with his own lithe body. Zeake chuckled softly and pressed a quick kiss to his jaw when he sensed the familiar pawing at his feet. He looked down at their obese pug they had adopted a couple years ago and rolled his eyes. The dog was currently giving Marcus the eyes he always used to get what he wanted, and Marcus couldn’t seem to help but fall for it every time. Whether it was asking Zeake to carry the dog up the stairs or giving him more food than he clearly needed. Marcus spoiled the dog more than anything, but Zeake couldn’t help but love him for it, along with many other things.

“Tater-tot, you do not need more food,” he said to the dog and walked to the living area of the apartment to pick up his Nokia cell phone off of the coffee table. Seeing the picture of his sister on the screen and pressed the green button to accept the call.

“Hello?” the warrior asked with what he hoped sounded like an even tone. Nicolle, Shaine and their two kids, Rylan and Kyle, were supposed to be going out that night to celebrate Rylan’s birthday and Christmas Eve. Rylan was turning fourteen, while Kyle was thirteen.

“Zeake,” came the quiet voice that was undeniably his sister, with a hoarse voice. “I need you.” The broken sounds from the other line was like nails on a chalkboard. Muffled high pitched sobs could be heard as well as quiet voices.

“Nicki, where are you? Are you okay? What happened?” the warrior asked quickly, his voice rising in worry and his posture growing tense. He had never heard his sister sound like this. She sounded weak and vulnerable, and Zeake was sure he heard sniffling come from the other line.

“We are on Fifth Avenue,” he heard her attempting to remain calm in what was obviously a heartbreaking scene. He felt a lump in his throat. “We need you now. Zeake, the kids, they- Shaine! Baby, wake up, please! Shaine, no! Just hurry.” Upon hearing this, Zeake heard a low, concerned voice from behind him. He turned to see the tall, handsome warlock leaning against the doorway with a serious look on his face.

“Love, is everything alright?” his husband asked. Zeake turned to face him and nodded. He tried his best to hide his panic, but knew Marcus could always read him better than that.

“I will be there as soon as I can, Nicki.” He silently prayed to every entity that his family was going to be okay. They had to be. He ran to peck his lover on the cheek quickly before giving what he hoped seemed like an apologetic look, rather than a concerned one. “Rogue Experiment attack. I have to go. I will be back in time to finish celebrating, though.”

“It’s snowing, so be extra careful. I love you.” Marcus smiled softly and helped Zeake put his coat on so he wouldn’t freeze in the cold winter night. He opened the door to see snow falling to the ground, covering it in white, like an angels’ tears were freezing in midair and falling from above.

“I love you, too,” the warrior said back quickly, attaching his conveniently placed weapons belt and running out the door. Little did he know the web of lies this first lie would lead to. Zeake knew exactly where he was going: the direction of Central Park. He ran and ran, and even when he was out of breath, he kept running faster, harder, hoping with every fiber in his body that he’d find his sister’s family in good health.

Arriving on Fifth Avenue, Zeake almost stopped from the sudden shock of the stench of something sour- gasoline. He inhaled and ran faster, looking around to see if he could pinpoint where they were. He forced his legs to keep running in the direction that he heard sound coming from. He looked in front of him far enough to see a disaster area. A completely crushed car smashed into a giant tree with now broken limbs. There was thick smoke escaping the top of the car in gray swirls into the white-flaked sky, mixing with the snow. Zeake’s eyes widened in horror at the sight. Of course he’d seen worse. He was a warrior. They all had. But this, seeing it like this, was worse. He denied that it was his family in the car when he heard muffled sounds come from within. He ran to the right side of the vehicle and immediately saw a familiar face in the passenger seat window, like a pale ghost through the glass. He opened the door carefully, though it took more effort because the door was banged up. He ripped it off and saw the horror scene that would haunt his dreams forever.

“Nicki! Fuck,” he said loudly, taking in the crash all at once. Nicolle was covered in blood in the passenger seat, beside her was Shaine, who was unresponsive. When he looked into the backseat of the car, Zeake saw poor Kyle was unconscious- at least he hoped to God he was - and Rylan sitting against the seat with dark blood splatters on her once white dress and wide eyes, wailing loudly with tears streaming down her petite face. “Is he-” he started to ask her, but she interrupted him with a wet whisper.

“He is-” Nicolle started.

“Daddy!” Rylan screamed at the man in the driver’s seat. “Daddy, please! Wake up!” Zeake swallowed hard as he saw the raw heartbreak flash on his sister’s face.

“Nicki, are you hurt? Rylan, sweetie, you have to get out of the car.” Rylan shook her head and kept crying for her dad to wake up, to please open his eyes.

“He is dead,” Nicolle whimpered with a wet cough, red liquid dribbling down her pale chin. “Shaine, he is-” She coughed again and more blood appeared, but she seemed unable to wipe it away. “The kids are okay, but Shaine is-” She seemed to release a broken sort of heart wrenching sob, but it only came out as another cough.

“Shit shit shit. Nicki, listen, are you okay? Are you hurt? I need to get you guys to a hospital. Better yet, I can call Marcus and-” he couldn’t stop the cascade of words and looked from Shaine to Nicolle to Rylan and Kyle. “Rylan, hon-”

“Daddy! Why is daddy not waking up?” The girl yelled, tears still streaming down her face.

“No. They cannot know, Zeake. Promise me you will not let anyone find out that-” Nicolle took in a shuddering breath, “that Kyle is not mine. No one can know, Zeake. Promise me. Please.” Her eyes fluttered and her breathing seemed slower. Zeake looked back at the kids, who were covered in splatters of blood, with unshed tears and nodded vigorously at his sister.

“I promise, Nic-” he said. She smiled sadly.

“Take care of them, Zeake. I love you so much. I love you all so much. Rylan, honey-” she coughed and took a minute to finish, “I love you so much, Rylan, my baby.” Rylan sobbed harder as she didn’t know what to say.

“Mom- I love you, too. Just let Uncle Zeake help you! Mommy, please!” she said. The tears finally fell from Nicolle’s darkened blue eyes.

“I am so sorry,” she mumbled as her eyes fluttered closed for the last time and her breathing stilled.

“Mommy! No!” Rylan screamed at her mother.

“No no no, Nicki! Nicolle, damn it, wake up! Nicki, please just-” he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. Looking at Rylan and Kyle, he wiped his eyes viciously and pressed a gentle kiss to his sister’s forehead. “You will be remembered, Nicolle Kennedy, beloved wife, mother, and sister. I love you, Nicki,” he said hoarsely. He looked at Shaine and Nicolle one last time with silent thoughts whirling around his head. When he turned his attention back to the kids, Kyle was still unconscious and Rylan looked at him with angry, teary eyes.

“Why did you save not her? You could have saved mommy! You killed her!” She hissed at him. Zeake opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn’t find it in him to argue with the innocent child. He walked to her door and tore it off the hinges, letting her out. She sat there and shook her head violently.

“Sweetie, please. You have to get out.” He pleaded with her.

“No no no! I do not want to go with you!” she cried quickly.

“Rylan, the car is burning. I need to get you and your brother out. Come on. Please. Let me help you,” he pleaded with her. People were starting to surround the crash, he had to hurry. She gave him a look and finally let him help her out of the vehicle. He lightly set her feet on the ground, leaving his arm around her. Looking down at the girl, he asked, “Can you walk?”

As soon as she nodded in silent reply, Zeake ran to the other side of the car and tore the other door off, throwing it aside. He took off his coat and wrapped it around the boy carefully. He gently put his arms around the boy to pick him up.

“Kyle? Kyle, can you hear me?” he asked once he had the small boy in his arms. Sighing in worry, he looked down and noticed he had a small amount of blood coming from his head. He bit his lip and vowed silently to protect these kids forever. He looked at Rylan and saw how vulnerable she was.

“Hey, Rylan.” He started, the girl looked up to him. “We are going somewhere to get help, okay? I am going to take care of you guys no matter what.” Zeake held an unconscious Kyle in one hand and the hand of Rylan with the other.

“Can you please turn your coat inside out quickly, honey? Do you trust me?” The girl didn’t respond, only did as he asked quietly. He pulled out his cell phone from his pants pocket and dialled a familiar phone number. He decided to call the only person he could imagine going to with this situation. He took a deep breath and pressed the green call button.

Looking over at the man on the other side of the bed with mixed emotions, Winnie heard her phone continue to ring. She supposed that she should probably answer it. Sighing slightly, Winnie sat up on the bed and pulled the covers around her body.

“What can I do for you?” She picked up the phone and demanded. The man stared at her with emotions in his eyes that she couldn’t seem to read properly as she waited for an answer on the other line.

“It is Zeake. It is- uh, it is important. I need your help.” Winnie’s eyes widened in worry.

“Is it Marcus? Is he okay? What’s going-” she said.

“No. It is not Marcus. Marcus is fine.” After a moment of pause, he continued, “Can you do a memory spell? It’s a long story, but I think it’s for the best. I will pay you, I jus-” Hearing the desperation in the man’s voice, she obliged.

“Yes, I will help you, but I won’t require payment. Are you on your way to my apartment?”

“We are about to get a taxi,” he said.

“Alright. I need to retrieve the proper spell book for a spell so intricate,” she said, planning for what was to come. Whatever this was, it was bad. If Marcus’ husband was calling her at this time sounding desperate as she’d never even imagined him sounding, she would do everything she could to help. If anything, she owed Marcus that.

“Thank you so much, Winnie,” he said.

“Anything for a friend.” Once she hung up, the warlock stood up quickly and started her search for her clothes. She found her underwear under one of the pillows that had somehow been thrown from the bed. “Daniel, I need a favor.”

“You always need a favor. What is it this time?” he teased, smirking gently. Her mouth twitched into a small smile and she turned to him, putting on her pants.

“I need that book,” she said.

“You mean the memory book?” He gave her a look of concern mixed with confusion. He knew their time was about up, as it always seemed to be, and he would never admit it, but he would miss this. They had broken up almost a hundred years ago, but had spent that long fighting and hooking up and had even gotten back together a few times, only to break up again. It had led to Winnie hating herself for not having the self control to stop wanting Daniel so much. She wanted only for them to be able to be together for real, for him not to constantly break her heart, for him not to be what he had never had a choice in, but she blamed him anyway. At least, she tried desperately to blame him, but found she was blaming it on herself. She pulled on her shirt and nodded, starting to put on her socks and shoes.

“That’s the one,” she said.

“You know how dangerous the spell is, right, what can happen?” He had seen many warlocks break from the pressure of this spell in his 532 years. This spellbook was known to have memory spells and other dangerous spells most power warlocks wouldn’t even consider to attempt. Most warlocks who tried these spells broke from the inside and become corrupt. The experiment had been witness to many losing their sanity and themselves. Those were the powerful warlocks. The less powerful warlocks who tried these spells could die instantaneously. That wasn’t to say Winnie was weak at all. In fact, Daniel knew personally just how powerful she was, in more ways than one. He shifted his gaze down, before feeling a gentle hand on his chin, making him look into her azure blue eyes. She had finished getting dressed and was sitting in front of his lap so they were touching.