"Back from your little vacation?"

Those were the first words Elijah said to me when I entered the drawing room. I was a little surprised to see that the curtains were pulled back and a stream of the afternoon light filtered through the windows, brightening the room. It made the otherwise eerie room look almost elegant, in an ancient sort of way.

"Clearly," I replied, throwing myself onto one of the couches.

"Have you had time to think about what Dominic told you about being the double agent?" he asked me, getting straight to business.

"About that..." I started, leaning forward. "I'm not entirely sure about how well I'd be able to pull that off. I'm not the best actress and my boyfriend can read me pretty well," I explained.

"Well, you really don't have a choice, Caley," Elijah said.

"Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I have all the choice in the world. You can't kill me. You need me," I said.

"No, I only need you if you will serve on our side. And that means as a spy. If you are not willing to do that, then I have no use for you," he replied viciously. I felt my heart pound in my chest.

Was he serious? He would kill me if I refused to act as a spy? I still wanted to work for him, but I didn't know how well I could play the role of a spy. I didn't know how to lie and deceive. I was a terrible actress. My father could very well read my mind and figure out Elijah's plan. Then everything would be ruined.

I relayed this concern to Elijah, but he shook his head.

"He won't find out because I will personally train you on how to shut your mind off to others. Trust me, by the end of the summer, your mind will be like a prison with impenetrable walls. No one will be able to get into it," he said.

I felt uneasy about Elijah instructing me himself. To be honest, Elijah scared me. He had overly pale skin and an overall sunken look to his face. It was almost as if he never walked outside to absorb sunlight. But I think above all what made him truly terrifying were his eyes. They were so incredibly and like my own, but at the same time, so completely different. There was a darkness behind them that was so easily masked that no normal person would be able to detect it. It sent chills down my back every time I glanced at his eyes.

"Ok, but what about Trey reading my facial expressions?" I asked.

"Trey should be the least of your worries," Elijah said. "By the way, why are you still with him?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I--It's because--he's my--I--" I stammered.

"You what?" he asked. "Love him?"

I felt my heart beat stop in my chest for a moment. This was the second time the concept of love was brought up in regards to Trey. I felt uncomfortable with the subject, partially because Elijah was the last person I would discuss matters of my feelings with, but mostly because I had no idea myself. I had no idea if I loved Trey. I had no idea what love was.

"What am I doing today?" I asked through gritted teeth, trying to change the subject. Elijah noticed my discomfort and smirked.

"You will be taught by Gianna today. She will teach you some new spells. Afterwards you will train some more," he replied. "Gerrard, if you wish you to be present with Caley while she undergoes her instruction, you may do so," Elijah added to Gerrard, who had been standing in the archway after dropping me off.

Gerrard nodded his head stiffly and Elijah smirked at something. I furrowed my brows in confusion. Gerrard had been acting different ever since he came to pick me up from my father's apartment. He seemed strangely distant, considering the happy note we had departed on. I wondered if someone found out about our kiss. I wondered if Elijah told him not to get too close to me.

"All right, off you go," Elijah said, standing up and walking out of the room. I stood up as well and went up to Gerrard.

"Where's Gianna?" I asked.

"She's setting up in the dungeons," he replied, not looking at me. He started to walk out, but I grabbed his wrist.

"What's your problem?" I hissed under my breath. He snatched his arm away from me.

"There is no problem," he replied.

"It sure looks like there is," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. He glared at me and I glared back.

"Now's not the time," he whispered. And then he took my hand in his and led me downstairs to the dungeons. I felt annoyed. He was being weird.

In the dungeons, Gianna was waiting for me. She had her dark brown hair tied up in a high ponytail and was wearing a black sweatsuit that hugged her every curve. She smirked at me as I walked in, trailing behind Gerrard. I felt a shudder run down my spine. Suddenly, I didn't feel very safe in the presence of this woman.

"You may go, Gerrard. You aren't needed," Gianna said, not taking her eyes off of me.

Gerrard stiffened and looked at me. I pleaded with my eyes telling him not to go, but he looked away. He glanced at Gianna, who had her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised, an evil smirk on her lips. I saw Gerrard's jaw square up and he looked back at me. Swiftly and quickly, he leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. I was startled at first and then immensely confused. Then he pulled away, his eyes not quite meeting mine. Without another word, he walked out of the dungeons.

I turned to look back at Gianna, who had a gleeful expression on her face. I was sure I looked extremely confused at the moment. Maybe she found amusement in that. But why did Gerrard just kiss me? We agreed not to talk about the other kiss with anyone, so why did he just do it again, and in front of Gianna?

There was something going on here. Gerrard was too distant and his movements were all so stiff and forced, rather than smooth and natural. I was going to have to talk to him later. I needed to know what was going on.

"Ready to learn?" Gianna asked.

I had never talked to Gianna before. I had no idea what her voice sounded like. But it was velvety and smooth. It almost sounded seductive to the ear, which wouldn't be so surprising considering how incredibly gorgeous she was. She was like the sexy, evil minion.

"I don't really have a choice," I replied. She smirked.

"That's true," she said. She tossed me a water bottle and a protein bar. "Eat and drink. You'll need your energy," she told me.

I caught them effortlessly and unscrewed the bottle. I eyed the water inside of it, wondering if it was spiked with poison.

"It's just water," she said, watching me. I jumped slightly and then drank some of the water. I chewed the dry and tasteless protein bar as well. Then I was ready.

"What kinds of spells am I learning?" I asked.

"You're learning one spell and that is Transport," she replied.

"What?" I asked.

"It's too big a hassle for us to send Gerrard to pick you up and drop you off. You need to learn how to do it yourself. And besides, it'll be more difficult once you get to University. You can't Transport on and off campus there. The security is tight and there is a spell that prevents anyone from doing so. The spell goes around the whole perimeter of the school. So you're going to have to get to the outer perimeter and Transport yourself," Gianna explained.

"Ok..." I said, nodding.

"It's an easy spell, but it's difficult to carry out. Just like with all other spells, focus is of the utmost importance," Gianna told me.

"I can do that," I said.

"Transport is one of the very few spells that can only be done in silence. Most other spells can be done by verbalizing them, although that is usually not a good tactic to use in intense battle. But Transport is one of those spells that can only be said within your mind," she said.

"What's the spell?" I asked.

"It's simply 'Transporto'," she answered.

"That's it?" I asked. She nodded.

"The spell itself is simple, as I said. But you need to focus on the exact location you wish you to go to. For example, if you wanted to transport here from your apartment, you would need to concentrate on the exact location of the mansion. That means either constructing a very precise image of the place in your mind or knowing the exact address," Gianna explained.

"Ok, but I don't know what the address here is," I pointed out to her. I thought that maybe she would tell me. I still had no clue as to where Elijah's mansion was. I knew it wasn't North America. The architecture of the home was too European. We had to be somewhere in Europe.

"Weren't you listening? You can construct an image of this house from your memory," she told me.

"Ok, well I have another question," I said. "What if you want to transport to a place you didn't know of?" I asked. "Like a city, but you don't know the exact town or street," I added.

"You have to be as specific as possible. If you didn't know where exactly in a city you'd like to go to, you would have to rely on the most exact piece of information you have. Then, the rest is up to magic. It will lead you to wherever it intends you to go," she answered.

I frowned and nodded.

"Ok, I think I got the theory down. Is there anything else I need to know?" I asked.

"Yes. You need to know about splicing," she replied.

"Splicing?" I asked. That didn't sound too nice.

"Yes, splicing. If you are not completely focused, you may accidentally leave a part of yourself in your departing location," she informed.

I felt my eyes widen in fear.

"So, I could lose a limb?" I asked. She nodded.

"That's why focus and concentration are so important. But the thing is, you can't only focus on the location you wish to go to. You have to be aware of your body and your being physically. What you have to think when transporting is that you want to move your body from your primary location to the location of your desire," she explained.

"This seems like it got a lot more complicated," I muttered.

I was starting to feel stressed out. Everyone--Trey's parents, Gerrard, my father--they made it seem like Transport was easy. But from what Gianna was telling me, it sounded dangerous and potentially fatal if I didn't do it right. It frustrated me that everything in magic required concentration. What if I was distracted one day? I could lose my arm.

"How am I practicing this, then?" I questioned.

"Well, see these mats?" she asked, pointing to three different colored mats. One was red, one was a dark blue, and the last was a deep purple color. I nodded. "You will stand on one and focus on another and then say the spell. If you fail, you can try again. If you get spliced, then I have a tonic that will fix injuries," she explained. I looked at her worriedly.

"A tonic?" I asked. She pulled out a dark brown glass bottle with a rubber dropper attached to it.

"It's a potion you will learn how to make, but it has healing powers," she told me.

She walked towards the blue mat and motioned for me to come over.

"You will stand on this one and focus on the red mat," she said. I nodded, looking at the bright red mat that was only a few feet away from the blue one. "You're going to clear your mind of all thoughts, focus completely on the mat and then when you think you're ready, say the spell--out loud at first--and then we'll see what happens," she instructed.

I nodded and gazed at the red mat. I tried to block all thoughts from my mind--Gerrard's odd behavior, how school was going to begin in about a month, how much I already missed Trey, how incredibly distant my father had gotten ever since I got back from the beach house--and focus solely on the present situation.

I am on a blue mat. It is navy blue and not very soft. I want to get to the red mat. It is a bright red color. It is approxiamately four feet away from the blue mat.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, further clearing my mind.

I am on a blue mat. It is navy blue and not very soft. I want to get to the red mat. It is a bright red color. It is approxiamately four feet away from the blue mat.

I opened my eyes and looked at the red mat again.

"Transporto!" I said in a loud and clear voice.

Nothing.

"Damn it!" I shouted, stomping my foot. I heard Gianna sigh.

"You can't break concentration!" she exclaimed. I clamped my hand over my mouth and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Sorry! I forgot!" I apologized. She rolled her eyes and gave me an annoyed look.

"Try again," she said. I nodded, letting my hand fall to my side.

I took a deep breath and focused again, trying to rid my mind of thougths of me being spliced in thousands of pieces. I shuddered at the grotesque image of my mutilated flesh.

"Focus, Caley!" Gianna barked from behind me. I jumped and nodded, looking at the mat again.

Once more, I concentrated on the exact location of the mat and the properties that made it that mat. Again, I said the curse, but to no avail. I tried again and again and again, but I couldn't do it. I was still in the same damn position I had started out on, on the blue mat. I found myself getting more and more frustrated.

"This is impossible!" I roared after the tenth failed attempt.

"Well, what did you expect? To get it on your second try?" Gianna asked. I could tell she was irritated. She was now sitting on a wooden chair she had conjured up from thin air, leaning forward with her fingers rubbing her temples.

"It shouldn't take this long, though!" I exclaimed.

"You are doing the kind of magic that others your age will be learning towards the end of your second semester at the University. By then most people will have had enough training to be able to perform the spell. You are learning it right now, without any previous training. So yes, it will be difficult. But it's also very possible," she told me.

I frowned. That didn't really make me feel any better.

"Why can't I just wait a year to learn it?" I asked.

"Because then it'll be too late and we have more difficult spells to teach you," she said.

I sighed loudly and turned towards the red mat again. Instead of focusing on the qualities of the mat, which I had memorized by now, I simply formed a picture of the mat in my mind's eye.

Ok, stupid red mat. I'm going to get on you whether you want me to or not.

"Transporto!" I cried out loud.

Suddenly, I felt a sickening suctioning effect all around me. I felt like I was being squeezed through those tubes in the McDonald's Playhouse; the ones that were meant for little five year olds. Just as I felt the breath being knocked out of me and my lungs becoming unable to support air, I landed. I looked down and to my great pleasure, I was standing on the red mat.

I felt around on my body and thankfully it was completely in tact. I turned towards Gianna with a wide grin on my face.

"I did it!" I exclaimed.

"Finally," she mumbled, rolling her eyes as I started doing a happy dance.

"I did it! I did it! I Transported!!!" I sang.

"Ok, that's enough. You did it once. Now do it again," she ordered. I frowned at her lack of enthusiasm, but obeyed her nonetheless.

For the remainder of my visit, I Transported from mat to mat, moving from blue to red to purple. As a challenge, Gianna moved the mats further and further apart so I would have to learn how to Transport at a distance. I only spliced myself once, and that was the last round that I was doing, when the two mats were on completely opposite ends of the room.

I felt completely winded and exhausted at the end of the lesson, so when she told me I had to run two miles around the track, I nearly broke into tears. I couldn't argue, though, because Gianna was quite the bitch and wouldn't listen to a word of my complaints. So I grudgingly jogged around the track, building up my strength and endurance. At the end of the day, I was both tired and weak. I just wanted to crawl into my bed and go to sleep.

"Ugh, I am so sore," I mumbled for the fifteenth time as Gerrard walked me outside the mansion. Gerrard didn't respond. Instead, he continued walking in his sullen mood, his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Ummm, Gerrard? What's wrong?" I asked, stopping.

He stopped, too, and glanced at the house behind him. Then he took my hand and Transported us to the woods behind my apartment complex. Once we landed, Gerrard stood in front of me, silent and not meeting my eyes.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" I snapped, growing annoyed. I was tired, I smelled bad, and I was hungry. He needed to hurry up before I passed out in front of him.

"You have to promise not to bring it up or say anything," Gerrard said, his voice low. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"All right," I said.

"Promise, Caley!" he exclaimed.

"All right! All right! I promise!" I said.

He took my hand and led me to a tree that threw off a long shadow. We stood in this shadow. Gerrard looked up at me, his icy blue-grey eyes glinting in the darkness.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Elijah wants you and me to get together," he said, his words coming out rushed and stumbled together.

"What?" I asked.

"I said, Elijah wants you and me to get together," he repeated.

"Get together? As in what?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"As in, fall in love," he replied.

I was so incredulous, I didn't know what to do. So I started laughing like a maniac.

"You have got to be kidding. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard," I said once I regained composure. "I mean, no one can just fall in love on command," I added.

"I know," Gerrard mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Why?" I asked.

"He doesn't like that you and Trey are together. And he wants me and you to get married so we can carry on the water-master line," he added.

"You're not 100%, though. How does he know that will even work?" I asked, finding the situation more and more ridiculous.

"I have no idea," he sighed, leaning against the tree trunk.

"Well, do you want to do it?" I asked.

"I don't have a choice," he hissed.

"Gerrard," I said, my voice completely serious. "Do you want to do it?" I asked. He looked me in the eye now, his own expression quite serious.

"No, I don't," he said.

"Then why are you?" I asked.

"Because I have to! He saved my life, Caley! I owe him everything," he exclaimed.

I was slightly taken aback by this outburst. Gerrard had never disclosed anything about his personal life to me. We always kept our conversations strictly business. Or at least he did. I could find myself blabbing about my problems to Gerrard, but he never told me any of his.

"What do you mean he saved your life?" I asked. He looked at me with an expression that read he had gone too far. "Ok, whatever. Don't tell me if you don't want to," I said. He loosened up a bit.

"I want to tell you," he said after a long silence. 

"You do?" I asked. He nodded.

"But not right now," he told me. I nodded, understanding.

"Ok, whenever you're ready," I said.

"Remember, you promised not to bring this up," he told me as he turned to leave.

"I won't," I said. "But we aren't done talking about it," I said.

"I know," he replied.

He started to walk away, but turned around. He hesitated for a moment before walking back to me. Then he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Get some rest, Caley. I'll see you in two days," he whispered. And then he was gone.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead with my knuckles.

Why was my life so complicated?

________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Yay! Slightly long-ish chapter!

What's the story with Elijah and Gerrard?

Thoughts on Gianna?

Leave me a comment and please, don't forget to vote!!!

XOXO