Chosen Chapter 15: We Have History

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While a light rain fell down from the skies, a happy Billie walked hand in hand with Nick under an umbrella. They had gone out for dinner and a movie, their first official date and pretty much the first normal thing they had ever done as a couple. Now that they had both admitted how they truly felt and there was nothing standing between them, it felt good to go on an actual date. It let Billie forget about all the magical madness around them for a moment and just enjoy being young and in love.

"This is nice." Billie said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Good, I'm glad you had a good time." Nick replied.

"You mean didn't?" Billie asked with a frown.

"Is that a serious question after dragging me to such a chick flick?" Nick remarked.

"I liked it." Billie replied. "So are you saying this date wasn't fun?"

"No, I liked dinner." Nick said. "And I like spending time with you. Just let me pick the movie next time."

"Alright." Billie said. "As long as it's not some bad horror movie. We have enough of that in our lives already."

"Deal, then you can pick the restaurant." Nick agreed. "We're not going to become one of those boring couples, are we?"

"Us? Never." Billie said with a smile.

Billie kissed Nick as they continued walking. When they passed a coffee shop, Billie suggested getting some coffee. Just as they headed through the door, they nearly bumped into some people leaving the shop. When Billie looked at them, she saw it was Darcy and Hope. She instantly felt awkward and uncomfortable and quickly let go of Nick's hand. She had not seen Darcy since Nick had broken up with her a few days earlier. An awkward silence followed as Darcy glared at them.

"Hey." Hope said to break the silence.

"Hope, hi." Billie replied. "Darcy, how are you?"

"Are you serious?" Darcy asked as she crossed her arms. "You're asking me that after you just walked in here holding hands with him?"

"Look, Darcy…" Nick started to say.

"I have nothing to say to you." Darcy snapped at him. "I should have known you were bad news, but I expected more from you, Billie. I thought you were a good person."

"I'm sorry." Billie replied. "But none of us can change how we feel."

"That doesn't give you the right to cheat." Darcy said as she raised her voice, causing several people in the coffee shop to look at them. "You slept with my boyfriend while we were still together."

"We never meant to hurt you, Darcy." Billie said.

"Oh please, you were after him from the start." Darcy replied. "Just because you couldn't admit it, doesn't make it less true."

"Darcy, you're making a scene." Nick said. "I'm the one who cheated, not Billie."

"No, you both did." Darcy replied. "You are both horrible people and you deserve each other."

Darcy walked up to Nick and slapped him in the face before storming out of the shop. At that point, everyone was staring at them, much to Billie's embarrassment. Judging from the looks they were getting, it seemed that the casual observer was firmly on Darcy's side. The worst part was that Billie could not even blame them. Darcy was right, they had both cheated.

"That hurt." Nick noted as he rubbed his cheek.

"Sorry about that, she is still a little upset." Hope said.

"I completely understand." Billie replied. "I'm sorry. I know Darcy is your best friend, but I hope this doesn't affect our friendship."

"You're still my friend, Billie." Hope said. "But right now, I have to be there for Darcy. I think this will blow over in a little while. Just give it some time."

"Okay." Billie said reluctantly.

Hope smiled faintly and left the shop to chase after Darcy. With everyone staring at them, Billie suddenly lost her desire for coffee and dragged Nick out of the shop. Humiliated and a little upset, she began walking home. Their first official date had ended horribly and she just wanted it to be over.

"She will come around." Nick said. "We were never that serious to begin with."

"We still hurt her feelings." Billie replied. "Please tell me you at least get that."

"Of course, I'm not a complete idiot." Nick said. "She slapped me pretty hard though."

"You had it coming." Billie remarked.

"Yeah probably." Nick admitted.

When Billie and Nick reached the house, they stopped on the front porch as she searched for her keys. When Billie opened the door, Nick wanted to come inside with her, but she stopped him. Running into Darcy had killed the romance for the night.

"I think we'd better call it a night." Billie said. "I'm tired."

"Things between us are okay, right?" Nick asked. "You're not having second thoughts?"

"Of course not." Billie said. "It's just that the mood is kind-of ruined tonight."

"Okay." Nick replied. "I'll call you later."

Billie kissed Nick goodnight and headed inside. She put away her coat and kicked off her high heels. She felt bad for sending Nick away, but she could not forget about what happened with Darcy. She needed to find a way to make things right. When she entered the living room, she saw the others were still awake. Duncan and Nathan were cuddled up on the couch watching a science fiction movie, while Violet was reading a book in the chair next to them.

"You're back early." Violet noted as she saw Billie.

"Yeah, things ended on a sour note." Billie replied.

"Did my brother do something stupid again?" Nathan asked.

"No, we ran into Darcy." Billie said as she dropped down on the couch. "She screamed at us in a coffee shop. It was humiliating."

"Ouch, that sounds awkward." Duncan said as he paused the movie.

"Yeah." Billie said. "So let's just stop talking about it. What is going on here?"

"Well, I was planning on doing some research on the mayor…" Duncan said.

"But I decided that was boring and tried to get him to go out clubbing." Nathan added as he rolled his eyes. "We ended up settling for a movie."

"The mayor?" Billie asked. "Why?"

"I thought it would help to know more about her." Duncan said. "We're all focused on Ambrose, but the mayor was the one who created the virus. She could be just as big a threat. I want to find out why she hates magic so much. Maybe we can convince her it's not all bad."

"I think it's a good idea." Violet said. "Maybe we can resolve this whole thing peacefully."

"That would be great, but I'm skeptical." Billie noted. "She seems pretty determined to wipe us out and she doesn't seem the type to change her mind."

"Exactly." Nathan said. "So it's a waste of time."

"I'm going to do it anyway." Duncan said somewhat annoyed. "Just going to finish watching the movie first. It's pretty good."

"So what's going on with you, Violet?" Billie asked. "I haven't seen Arthur around for a while."

"No, me neither." Violet replied. "He has been working 24/7 to find a way to free the wizards of Atlantis. He wants to free them and learn about his culture. Plus he thinks they might be able to help us defeat his father."

"That would be nice." Billie noted. "After all, Ambrose is the real threat here."

"I know, but I wish Arthur would take some time off once in a while." Violet said.

"To spend time with you?" Billie noted.

"Does that make me a horribly selfish person?" Violet asked with a frown.

"No, it makes you human. And in love." Billie replied. "Arthur should spend a little less time obsessing about what he doesn't have and focus more on what he does."

"You think so?" Violet asked.

"Yeah, you should tell him right now." Nathan commented. "So we can finish our movie in peace."

"Huh, I guess being an ass really does run in the family." Billie remarked.

"Don't worry, I'm getting used to it." Violet said with a smile. "I was going to bed soon anyway. I'll go see Arthur in the morning."

"Yeah, I'm going too." Billie added. "I just want to shower, go to sleep and figure out how I'm going to solve this Darcy mess. I have to fix it somehow."

"Good luck with that." Nathan remarked.

Billie rolled her eyes as she and Violet headed upstairs, while Duncan and Nathan turned their attention back to the movie. After saying goodnight to Violet, Billie took a long, steaming shower. What Darcy had said kept playing in her mind. She was the one who did something wrong, so it was up to her to make amends. She needed to make peace, so they could all move on and be happy. The problem was that she had no idea how, or if Darcy even willing to forgive her.

Xxx

A few miles from Berkeley University stood a small centuries-old cemetery. As the rain continued to drizzle, two men appeared in the cemetery through a flash of orange light. Both were dark-skinned men dressed in sharp suits, one seemed in his late forties while the other was in his mid-twenties. The older man looked around cautiously to see if anyone had seen them, while the younger man was just annoyed with the mud getting on his expensive shoes.

"Let's just get this over with, Edgar." The younger man said.

"Be patient, Brandon." Edgar said. "This thing we're chasing is dangerous and elusive. We must not let it escape again."

Edgar reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small talisman with a skull figure on top. He shook it slightly as he held it up and closed his eyes. Brandon reluctantly followed him as he started walking across the cemetery.

"You know I have no interest in learning this stuff." Brandon said.

"It is your heritage." Edgar said. "Your father would have wanted me to teach you in his place. One day, you will be the head of our family."

"I will take over the family business, the club." Brandon replied. "This voodoo stuff doesn't suit me. I don't want to be a Witch Doctor."

"But you are." Edgar said strictly he turned to him. "You come from a long line of proud Witch Doctors. We have always safeguarded this world against evil spirits. It is our sacred duty to do whatever it takes."

"By any means necessary." Brandon replied annoyed. 'Yeah, I know. This is why voodoo has a bad name, you know. It's creepy and dark."

"To fight darkness you must embrace it." Edgar said.

"Until it kills you…" Brandon remarked distantly.

Edgar wanted to respond, but he was distracted by sounds coming from nearby. He held up the talisman and walked further. Suddenly he saw a pale glowing figure moving between the tombstones. It was a humanoid figure with long pale hair and a deformed, demonic face. It was floating around while making tortured wailing noises.

"Watch closely." Edgar told Brandon.

Edgar stepped forward and held out the talisman, firing a bolt of lightning at the ghostly figure. It screamed and wailed as the lighting surrounded it and began pulling it toward the talisman. A struggle ensued between the figure and Edgar, though the figure eventually managed to break free. It unleashed a wave of energy that knocked both men off their feet before floating away.

"Hurry, after it." Edgar said.

The two men jumped up and ran after the ghostly figure. It left the cemetery and faded away as it crossed the street. The two men stopped and looked around, but it was gone.

"Damn it." Edgar called out.

"What now?" Brandon asked.

"We need to track it down again before it…" Edgar started to say, though he fell silent as he heard voices coming closer.

Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, the two men went back to the cemetery and hid behind a small mausoleum. They waited and listened as two young women walked past them.

"Darcy. Wait." Hope called out as she hurried after her friend. "Let's just stop and talk."

"Please tell me you're not going to defend them, Hope." Darcy replied as she stopped and turned to face her.

"I'm not." Hope replied. "But we have to talk about this at some point, Billie is our friend."

"She is your friend, not mine." Darcy said.

"Then please don't put me in the middle." Hope said. "I don't want to have to choose between the two of you."

"Fine." Darcy snapped at her. "You won't have to choose. I'll do it for you."

Darcy turned and headed toward the cemetery. The Witch Doctors quickly faded away before she could see them and reappeared somewhere else behind some bushes.

"Darcy, this is crazy. Don't walk away from me." Hope called out. "Where are you going?"

"I'm taking a short-cut to my dorm room." Darcy replied casually. "Go home, Hope. I'm done talking about this."

"Fine. Call me when you're ready to be mature about this." Hope said annoyed before turning around and heading back the way she came.

Darcy took one last look at her friend and then continued across the cemetery. As she walked through the darkness with only her phone as a light, she felt a chill and rubbed her arms. Unknown to Darcy, the ghostly figure rose up from the ground behind her. Edgar raised his talisman in order to stop it. However, before he could, the figure leaped into Darcy's body and she fell down screaming. Brandon wanted to rush to her, but Edgar stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"We have to help her." Brandon called out.

"We can't, not right now." Edgar said. "It has taken possession and can only be expelled with the proper ritual. We need to prepare or else..."

Both men fell silent when Darcy got up from the ground and wiped the dirt off her pants. She picked up her phone and continued walking like nothing had happened.

"Or else what?" Brandon asked.

"Or it will kill her." Edgar said grimly. "You stay close to the girl and I will go to prepare the ritual. It will take time for the possession to take effect. Don't lose sight of her."

Edgar disappeared in a fading manner, leaving Brandon alone to look after Darcy. He quickly ran after her and followed her to the Berkeley campus. He knew hunting evil spirits was a bad idea. He wished he could abandon his so-called heritage and just focus on running his family's other business, the jazz club. Just good music, cool drinks and beautiful women. It was a much simpler life, with a lot less death involved. He just hoped that this would not result in another one of those tragic cases in his family's long and dark history.

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