From Scratch (Love Lines)

  From Scratch

  By Diana Nixon

  From Scratch

  (Evan Murray’s story)

  Summary

  Our lives are a cascade of events that pass faster than we would like them to. Time changes everything. Our habits, our views, our circle of friends. But there is one thing that remains the same over the years.

  Our memories.

  Through them we cherish the most unforgettable moments of our history. And they also retain some things that can't be forgotten….

  But one day you realize that yesterday should be left in the past. Because tomorrow your new life begins, and you go back to the drawing board.

  A love story of Evan Murray and Tara Mackenzie.

  A story that should last forever….

  But no one knows when forever ends….

  ISBN-13: 978-1477682838

  ISBN-10: 147768283X

  Copyright © 2013 by Diana Nixon

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author except where permitted by law.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover design by Jennifer Munswami

  Contents

  A Guide to the Love Lines Series

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  About the author

  Acknowledgements

  For Amina Black, Mary Smith and other fans of Evan:) Love you all. You guys rock!

  A Guide to the Love Lines Series

  The events of the story take place in modern Britain.

  There are people possessing various supernatural powers. They live in the world of humans, but there is one special place, where they get education and develop their talents. It’s a closed university called Dever.

  The Education in Dever

  People get invitations to become Dever’s students when they are eighteen.

  Their gifts determine their attachment to a certain faculty, named after one of the founding families of the university.

  Dever's Departments

  Fairey: faculty for the future Keepers – people whose main job is to protect the world of supernatural from the world of human beings. Its students possess the powers of fire and spirit.

  Feta: faculty for those who read people's fates. Its students use a palm-reading method to see someone’s fate. They possess the power of water.

  Meridin: faculty for the oneiromancers – people who interpret dreams. They know everything about prophetic dreams and its significance. Its students possess the power of wind.

  Ventura: faculty for those who can see into the future that has already been decided by someone. This differs Venturas from Fetas, who read only fate, but a person can change it, and this decision will be seen to any Ventura. Its students possess the power of water.

  Vero: faculty teaching those who are able to distinguish truth from falsehood. Its students possess the power of earth.

  Embry: faculty for those who have the gift to heal people. Its students know everything about all the plants and especially flowers, knowing the meaning of which, they can speak without words, using different combinations of flowers. They possess the power of wind.

  Wizardy: its students are taught to rule over magic. This department is a highest level of education in Dever. Only the best graduates from the previous faculties are allowed to enter this one.

  The education in the main departments takes four years and at the department of Wizardy – three years. All the graduates pass their final exams showing an individual performance using one of the nature powers they possess. These performances are the part of the program of the Festival of Arts that takes place every October.

  The main judicial authority for the wizards and those who possess other supernatural powers is the League of Keepers with the Council as its main body.

  Prologue

  I hated Christmas Eve – the day my parents died. For years I had been trying to avoid everything that would remind me about that failed family dinner.

  The unfortunate car accident that took away the lives of Dominic and Elizabeth Murray happened six years ago, two weeks before my eighteenth birthday.

  I would never have imagined that I would spend such an important day of my life all alone. No, scratch that, I wasn’t alone. I had very good company – a bottle of excellent long-aged whiskey from my father’s personal collection. And frankly, our small party was the only memory of that day I never tried to take out of my head (not that I remembered much, of course). Because everything that happened before and after it turned into one huge nightmare. Speaking of which, it still ruins my nights.

  It comes back to me every year, declaring the approach of another December 24th, every morning of which I wake up with the only thought in my head – “God, make this day end as soon as possible.”

  The events of the recent weeks, my trip to France and everything that followed it made me review my life, root and branch. And now I see even more lies, even less sense in everything I have been doing and even less memories that would make me smile.…

  Chapter 1

  That day was not supposed to be any different from my usual days of self-torture. I woke up pretty early, but stayed in bed without the slightest desire to step toward the upcoming day. The windows of my room were closed with dark heavy curtains, absorbing the light from the outside. But I knew it was morning. I always felt the dawn coming. I could tell up-to-the-second the moment the first rays of sun appeared from behind the mountains. Its energy filled my blood with power, making me live through another day of my life.

  I never considered myself a person that would get pleasure from moral tortures and emotional stress, but there was one habit I couldn’t get rid of.

  I kept a diary where every year I left just a few records about the most unforgettable moments of my life. I can’t say that all of them were happy. For the most part, it was a list of things I didn’t want to forget about. And some things I just couldn’t let myself forget….

  Just as every other Christmas Eve, today I hoped I would be able to stay alone, locked in my room, lost in my memories and my old diary’s company. But my expectations vanished the moment I felt Eileen’s presence behind my door. During the last month I managed to get used to being bound with her. Yet I couldn’t say the same about the consequences of our bond. Now we could feel each other so well that sometimes it seemed as if I loved everything she loved, or I would start thinking about the same things she was at that moment.

  We both tried to ignore all the above, but it was easier said than done. We didn’t know how our bond worked, but thank God, we knew only each other’s feelings, as our friend Amanda Fairey could also read our minds. Her gift was a real pain in my neck. Somehow the three of us got stuck, bound together for the rest of our lives. No one could break the bond. The only thing we could do was to make up our minds to accept our new lives and try to keep at least a part of it personal. And we actually succeeded. Well, sometimes.

  “Evan, I know you are there! So open this damn door before my patience wears out!” Eileen shouted, her every word accompanied by a loud knock.

  All I wanted to d
o was sink through the floor, where no one would be able to find me. And it wasn’t the first time that thought had come to my mind. The thing was, that the parents of my best friend, Christian Fairey, invited me to their family's Christmas dinner. As you may guess that was the last thing on my list of wishes. But apparently Eileen had her own point of view. Significantly different from mine.

  That’s why she tried her best to make me accept the invitation. And judging by the vibrations of her aura that I could feel even through the closed door, she wasn’t going to accept my negative response.

  I took a deep breath and opened the door. “Morning, Sunshine!” I said, smiling radiantly.

  “Jeez, Evan, why wouldn’t you put on some clothes?” she muttered, slipping into the room.

  “Actually, I am dressed.” I was pretty sure boxers could be called clothes. “And by the way, you’ve just dragged me out of the bed that I wasn’t going to leave in the near future.”

  “The only thing you should do in the near future is to do it to the best of your magical power, get dressed and drag your smart ass to Christian’s car,” Eileen said, trying not to pay attention to my appearance.

  I took a deep breath, getting ready to splash out another portion of my objections, but she stopped me before I could say a word.

  “Don’t even think about that, Evan! I know perfectly well everything you are going to say and I don’t want to waste our time on that logic-chopping. So please, be a good boy and don’t get on my nerves. Just get a grip on yourself, wash your sour face and come down to the car. Now!”

  “Eileen, I.…”

  “Twenty minutes, Evan!” she snapped, shutting the door behind her.

  Why on earth does she want me to go to Norfield? I groaned aloud. What is her deal anyway? Why is that damn dinner so important to her? Is it really that hard to leave me alone? At least for one day!

  I knew that arguing with Eileen was a lost cause. She never gave up, and I always wondered how Christian managed to control her, because sometimes it seemed that he was the only person able to stop whatever craziness crossed her pretty head. Of course, I shouldn’t have been afraid of any physical punishment but I knew that my refusal would upset Eileen. And I didn’t like it when she was upset. Besides, the idea of a centenary silent war that I was sure was coming along with my 'no' wasn’t thrilling. She was my friend after all, and losing her because of some nonsense wasn’t an option.

  Eventually, I was fully dressed, shaved and ready to celebrate another Christmas in about twenty minutes. Obviously, all of the above took me longer than Eileen expected, but seeing me sitting on the backseat of Christian’s car she smiled happily and the three of us left.

  Thank God, none of them was going to get on my nerves any longer, so I took my diary, opened it and started reading the first record I found.

  Chapter 2

  January 15th, 2005

  My first day in Dever.

  I felt like nothing on earth - insecure and somewhat dull. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact of my parents’ death. That’s why everything around me seemed unreal, as if it wasn’t my life, but a dream, or to be exact, a nightmare. I could barely think straight; I didn’t hear people talking to me, and my every move was shaky.

  But everything changed the moment I came to Dever. Crossing the border of that mysterious and new world I felt a surge of energy… and some inexplicable joy. The last thing, considering the circumstances, was quite unexpected. I immediately fell in love with this place. I had never felt so good before. Not even at my parents’ house where I used to spend most of my holidays.

  My new life was about to begin and no matter how frightening the prospect of my independent existence was, I looked forward to it.

  Unlike other students, my brother and I always knew about the existence of Dever. Usually people found out about this place the day of their eighteenth birthday. But in our family everything was different. Our parents never hid the truth about our origin and our father started teaching us magic almost from infancy. He always told us that we should be grateful to the fate for our supernatural talents. Of course we were not supposed to tell anyone about them, but we knew that one day everything would be different; we wouldn't have to hide our powers anymore, living among other gifted people.

  Kevin was older than me, that's why he came to Dever three years earlier. But today was my day. The first day of those seven years I would spend here.

  My room wasn't ready yet, so I left my baggage in Kevin's bedroom. He couldn't wait to show me the surroundings, so he gave me only ten minutes to take a shower after the flight from Paris, get dressed and meet him at the entrance of the Administration.

  Despite our age difference, Kevin and I looked much alike. We were dark-haired, broad-shouldered and quite tall men with crystal-blue eyes. But our appearance was the only similarity we shared. Our characters were completely different. We had a different point of view about everything. And frankly, in most cases I was more than glad to admit it.

  Oddly enough, we never talked about our parents' death. I don't know why, but neither he nor I felt good about discussing it with each other. Though I was more than sure he suffered as much as I did, we preferred to cope with our sorrow separately. Maybe if we were closer, everything would be different, but it was just the way it used to be most my life - he and I were strangers to each other....

  Taking a shower was just what I needed. Now I felt much better, more alive and self-collected. I wrapped a towel around my waist and went to my suitcase to find some clothes. My bags were tightly wrapped in a packing film they usually use at the airports to protect our baggage from being damaged. I sighed. Judging by the amount of cellophane on my suitcases, the customs officer had done his best to keep my belongings safe and secure. Now I needed to find something sharp to cut the transparent material and free my clothes. But I didn't have time to do anything of the above. I opened Kevin's wardrobe and took a pair of jeans and a sweater (thank God, we were the same size). I was just about to try the clothes when suddenly the bedroom door opened and warm arms locked around me.

  "Where have you been? I couldn't find you," said a woman's sweet voice behind me. The hands that just a second ago were on my waist were now sliding slowly up my chest and to my shoulders. A moment later they touched my chin, making me turn around to see my unexpected guest.

  She was standing there with her eyes closed. One of her palms was still on my shoulder and the other one touched my cheek.

  "Mmm, I like your shampoo," the girl said, inhaling deeply and smiling dreamily. And then she did something I could have never predicted - she kissed me on the lips. The moment her tongue slid inside my mouth and touched the edge of mine I stopped breathing, losing the remnants of my thoughts in the taste of that kiss. I don't know why, but I desperately wanted to kiss her back. I embraced the girl, pulling her closer to my chest and deepened the kiss, enjoying the sweetness of her soft lips.

  I had never gotten so much pleasure from a kiss. Every inch of my body was on fire, burning me slowly in the flames of desire, rushing through my veins. Damn, I had never met a girl who would be able to turn me on in seconds. And all I could think about at the moment was the amazing creature in my arms, driving me totally crazy with the closeness of her body, her touches and the mind-blowing scent of her skin.

  "You've never kissed me like this before," she said, breathless. Her eyes were still closed.

  I said the only thing I could come up with, "You've never asked me like this before."

  The girl's eyelids flew open and she froze, shocked. She had the most amazing gray-blue eyes I had ever seen. And then... well, then followed a very predictable slap in my face.

  "Who the hell are you?" the girl shouted. She was furious. "And what are you doing in Kevin's room? And how... how dare you touch me?" She took a few steps away from me. The situation seemed funny to me.

  "Shall I remind you that you embraced me and kissed me first?" I said, chuckling.

 
; "How dare you!" she flared up, turning red. "Don't come any closer!" she warned, as I took a step towards her. "Don't move or I will shout for help!"

  "I don't think you can shout louder than you already are." I deliberately took one more step forward. "Weren't you the one dying to find yourself in my arms just a minute ago?"

  "Stop!" she warned again. This time her voice sounded calmer. "Now, let's get back to the first question. Who are you?"

  "I'd like to ask you the same question," I replied, coming closer. She didn't see what I saw - the door behind her back. I pinned her to that door and put my hands on both sides of her head, asking her her own question, "Who are you?"

  "Oh, God!" she whispered, stunned; her eyes never left mine. "You are... Kevin's younger brother?"

  "I didn't know I was so popular! I think I already like being here."

  "Jeez," the girl groaned. "You should have stopped me!"

  "And break such an amazing kiss?" My glance swept from her eyes to her delicious lips. The truth suddenly burst upon me. "No, you must be kidding me... you are Tara, right?"

  "Nice to meet you Mr. Murray," she snapped in response.

  I burst out laughing. "My goodness, Kevin's going to have a heart attack!"

  "No! No way I'm gonna tell him!" Tara said, horrified.

  I stopped laughing, trying to measure the degree of her fear, and realized that she was really scared.

  "Don't worry, Honey, our small secret will die with me," I said, taking a step back.

  "Thank you and… I'm sorry for jumping on you. I thought you were him."

  "No need to apologize, Love. It was the first time I was actually glad to be taken for my brother. I don't regret a thing. It was nice to meet you, Tara," I said with a sly wink. I thought she would give me another slap, but the girl turned around and opened the door wordlessly. "Everything has its price," I called after her. She stopped abruptly."So has my silence."