Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Kas's POV

| can feel the lump in my throat give way into tears as Delilah comes into the apartment. She sets down

a leather bag that looks like an old time doctor's bag and takes my hands in hers.

“Kas, what happened?" she asks. Her face is fills with worry. Lenora is rubbing soothing circles on my

back. :

“| had a vision, Delilah, it was awful," | begin to sob and collapse against her. Delilah wipes my tears

with her sleeve as she shushes me, rocking me gently in her arms. Her movement makes me realize |

flinched when Bronx tried to do the same thing just a few moments ago. Why did | do that? Was it

because of the premonition? My heart aches thinking that | did that because of something Bronx didn't

actually do. It was just in my head. -

| look around and realize he isn't in the room. “Bronx?” | look around, "Where did he go?” “| think he

feels guilty for slapping you,” Lenora growls in annoyed tone. She has a hand on her hip taking a

judgemental stance. “Slap me? Don't be ridiculous. Bronx would never hit me, Lenora," | defend my

mate with a little growl. °

“Kas, | saw it. We all did.”

"| don't remember. | can't believe it would happen," | shake my head in denial.

“Okay, if you don't remember, that's probably for the best. How about you and Delilah sit down so you

can tell her what your premonition was, Kas. I'll mind link my brother and see if | can get him back

here,” Lenora reassures me, "Don't worry about him.”

| let Delilah lead me to the sofa while Lenora contacts Bronx.

“Alright, Luna lokaste. May I connect with your mind?" Delilah asks. She uses my formal title indicating

she needs to have control over my mind.

“Yes, please, before the memory fades. | already feel like | am starting to forget the details of it,” | sniff

away the last of my tears. “Alright. This will be easier if you close your eyes and concentrate on the

vision. I'm going to recite an incantation. The more | speak, the less you will be aware of your

surroundings. There is a possibility that you will feel like you're in that moment again. | know it will be

scary, but | need you to let yourself relive it. You may see me as a ghost in your peripheral vision if you

try to look around. This is normal. | will be observing details you may not be able to because of the

traumatizing nature of the event,” she explains.

Lenora comes over to the sofa, "Bronx is having a tantrum. He won't speak to me, but he's fine. We just

need to give him a little time, then | will send Milo and Reggie after him. They know how to talk to him

when he gets in one of these moods.”

“Beta Lenora, I'm going to perform magic on Luna lokaste. It may look scary, but whatever happens is

normal, | assure you. | don't know how long it will take, but | need you to make sure we are not

interrupted. Ending the link too early can be...well...bad.”

“You got it," Lenora says. She goes and locks the door to the apartment and comes back to observe

Delilah.

| nod and sit on the sofa cross-legged, facing the witch who has become my best friend and close my

eyes. | feel her hands press gently against the sides of my head and she begins to murmur words in a

language | don't understand. An odd sensation comes from her hands. Cooling and soft, making me

feel like I'm turning to jelly. Her unfamiliar words become a part of my mind.

| wake up in bed in a cold sweat. I'm aware that I'm in my premonition, but | can't stop the events from

playing out. | look around and | swear | see Delilah standing just out of my vision but turning my head to

face her doesn't work. She is always just out of my line of sight. | try to say her name but the word

disolves like dust in my mouth. Once again, | relive the horror as Saint possesses Bronx's body and the

last flicker of life leaves my body.

| gasp as | open my eyes wide, back in reality. Delilah looks at me with tears in her eyes. She pulls me

in for a deep hug.

"It's going to be okay, Kas. It may not seem like it right now, but it's going to be okay," Delilah sniffs

tears away.

“Are you girls alright?” Lenora is sitting on the floor next to the sofa looking up at us before looking at

her watch.

"I'm okay. Are you okay, Delilah? I'm so sorry you had to experience that," | soothe. It's my turn to wipe

her tears.

“Kas, please, let me take this fear out of your mind. | have everything | need to relay to my mother so

we can figure out how to keep you and your mate safe from, well, from whatever triggers that to

happen.”

“| won't remember at all?" | ask.

“You will remember, but it will just be an awareness. It won't feel scary like it does now,” she nods while

she is explaining, “It's complex magic and taking away someone's emotions kind of falls in the gray

magic area of light and dark but I think in this case, it's for the best. | am sure Lady Camille would

agree.”

“Alright, please take it away," | nod. | don't even have to think about it. | understand Delilah telling me

this is gray magic means it is going to take a lot out of her and she will need to have a cleansing

ceremony performed, but | trust her. She wouldn't offer it to me if she didn't believe it was necessary, "|

don't want to feel this way about my mate. He hasn't actually done anything.”

She and Lenora stand and go to the kitchen. | overhear bits and pieces of Delilah describing what

happened in the vision and Lenora mentioning PTSD. They come back with Delilah holding her

doctor's bag, placing it on the coffee table. She pulls out several bottles of liquid and pouches of herbs.

She hands Lenora an empty glass and starts filling it with the various components. As | watch her

skillfully concoct the potion, her ocean blue eyes turn darker and darker until they are almost navy blue.

As the last ingredient touches the rest of the potion, it turns from muddy brown to an acid green.

Lenora's eyes widen at the sight, holding the glass far in front of her, "What are you going to do with

this?”

“Kas needs to drink it," Delilah says, her voice so deep, it's almost unrecognizable. She takes the glass

from Lenora and hands it to me. | take a sniff and almost gag. It smells of filth and rot. It reminds me of

my former bedroom in the dungeon of the Silver Moon packhouse. Delilah stands up and moves

behind me.

“Kas, you are going to feel me touch your head. It is going to feel a bit like a heavy kiss. You need to

drink the liquid without stopping. Down to the last drop," she says with the altered tone in her voice.

“A-alright,” | sigh nervously.

“Go ahead.”

| feel a pressure against the crown of my head. It almost feels like something has passed through my

skull and is lapping at my brain. | pinch my nose closed with my free hand and start gulping down the

vile liquid. It is thick and chunky as | force it down my throat. When | am sure the glass is empty, | set it

down and start gagging. The pressure on my head dissipates. | feel better. | look at Lenora who looks

mortified. She is looking at Delilah with a mix of disgust and disbelief, maybe even a bit of fear too, but |

know Lenora doesn't fear anything.

| turn to see what she is looking at.

"NO!" they yell at the same time. Delilah puts her hands on my head pushing it back to face front.

| hear slimy gagging noises coming from behind me, then silence. Delilah lets go of my head and

flumps down on the sofa, finally letting me turn around.

She looks like all her energy is completely spent. | help her lean back on a pillow and grab my gray and

green blanket for her. It always makes me feel better when | am exhausted.

“l-is that what you actually look like?” Lenora asks, "Is what we see now a glamour? I-I'm not trying to

be disrespectful or anything, | just want to understand what | just saw, Delilah.”

“What you saw is what my soul would look like if | were to let dark magic consume me. |f a witch

succumbs to the enticements of dark magic, eventually, who she is on the inside manifests on the

outside, sooner or later, that is what you would see when you looked at me. An old disfigured hag,"

Delilah says sleepily, "It is temporary in this case. When | go home for a visit, we will perform a

cleansing ritual for my spirit.

“| see. Okay. Thank you for telling me," Lenora nods but still looks tentative.

“In other matters, that little Vulcan mind meld you two were stuck in, well, that took a long time,” Lenora

informs us.

“What do you mean by a long time?" | ask. "It's one-thirty in the morning," she looks at her watch.

“What? We were in there for over seven hours?" | ask in disbelief, "Where's Bronx?" “Take it easy, Kas.

He's going to be okay. Let's get James to take Delilah home, then | can take you to Bronx.”