A few hours passed since I was woken up from that dream. It was not the first time I had it, ever since I was 10, the dream would haunt me every so often. Lately, it has been different, its been happening more often then I would like to admit. From once every other month, to every month, now I have it a few times every week. My body gets shaken up since I am able to feel my skin intensely burning even after waking up, making it extremely difficult to sleep again. I took over the driving and gave Derek the excuse it was so he could get some rest, but in reality, it was to keep my mind busy.

There was no set location, but Derek did mention to just head to any city since we needed the heat on us to cool off. With that bit of information, I just picked the closest city I knew of and took in its direction. My phone vibrated and held it up high enough to allow me to view the road and phone.

“Emily, are you alright? I had Evan go check on you, but then found out about the explosion downtown where you mentioned you were at.” -Francis

A smirk crossed my lips as I read the text message Francis sent me. He always worries, but he does for good reason. I have been known to get myself in a tight situation.

“Yes Francis, I'm okay. Michael found out I was working with Derek and decided to cut ties with him. I’ll message you when we come up with a plan” - Emily.

After placing down the phone, my stomach growled, giving me a clear indication that my body needed some sort of substance. I drove further down the high until the much-awaited billboard appeared, a rest stop in the next 2 miles. I couldn’t stop myself from pressing down on the gas pedal to reach the exit quickly. The exit left you off in front of a small diner, nothing fancy, but good enough to fill this bottomless void that is currently my stomach. A bump in the Diner's parking lot caused Derek to shift around signifying he was waking up, Derek sat up, looked around and then just stared at me.

“What are we?” Derek asked

“I'm hungry” I plainly replied to him

“Emily, we can't do these random stop. We don't know how far Michael’s influences reach.” Derek said in a groggy voice.

“If one of Michael’s men happens to be down here, then we will handle it. I want to eat something, and you are probably hungry as well,” My mind was set, and there was no backing down.

“I'm not hungry at all, and I don't ne…” Derek’s stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.

“It is settled then, we are eating then we can get back on the road,” I said, getting out the car, not giving him a chance to reply.

Walking up the ramp, I stopped midway to enjoy the cool breeze that was hitting my skin. The temperature has been high these past couples of days. If it weren't for the fact that we are being chased out of the city by a crazy mafia leader, I would have probably been enjoying this. I turned my head and saw Derek getting out of the car with an unsatisfied smile.

“Do you not want to eat?” I asked him.

“I ate some small snacks in the car” he responded

“Are you kidding me? Why did you not tell me?” my tone sounding upset

“You never asked,” He said walking past me.

“I never asked my ass,” I said to myself walking up the ramp and through the door.

Derek and I waited a few minutes by the front entrance before a hostess finally came up to us, asking us to follow her. The walk to the table was done in complete silence, but that was expected since we had just met. There was plenty of things we didn't know about each other. I could use this as a chance for Derek and I to deepen our partnership, as well as asking him about his magic. The hostess placed the forks on our table and walked away, allowing the waitress to come to us.

Looking around the diner, I found that it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. Tables were kept clean, floors mopped and had a little shine from the wax. Nothing looked out of place, besides there only being a total of six people including Derek and me. My gaze had been directed at Derek and letting my mind wander into figuring out the best way to start a conversation.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” I asked.

“You just did.”

“Shut up, you know what I mean,” I said a little more loudly than I should've. “ How long have you been able to use magic?”

Derek gazed at me with a questioning look on his face, as if he was wondering if he should tell me. With a simple shrug of his shoulder, he leaned forward, making sure to lock eyes before answering.

“It has been about a year and a half.”

“Oh, so you haven't been involved in kind of life for long. Is that when you joined Michel?” I asked with more interest

“No, I been working as a hit for Michael the last few months” He responded

“That right! You never told me what kind of magic you use” My voice sounding enthusiastic.

Derek let out a groan and looked around the diner before holding out his hand, letting a small flame appear above his palm.

“I can use fire magic, but I don't have much control over it or enjoy using the magic,” he said

“An elementalist?” I said in a state of awe “Those are rare, most people I have met aren't able to control an element outside of a chant.”

Derek dispersed the flame “Yeah, well don't expect me to use it a lot.”

“Why not? Using your magic will increase the control you have over it” I retorted

He looked at me rather irritated before letting out a breath of air “ Okay if we are going to be working together, I guess telling you the truth is the way to go.”

Running his hand through his hair and put his forehead on the table before raising it back up to look at me.

“I didn't come from a family of users, nor did I have magic from a young age,” Derek said

I glared with skepticism “Then how did you obtain magic, Derek?”

“I made a deal with this women name Eleena. I let her live in my soul, and she helps me.”

Confusion overtook my mind at what Derek had told me. Derek had told me he was not involved with any demons, but yet he is telling me he struck a deal with some entity.

Derek tone got serious “I can tell by the look on your face that you think I have a demon in me. No, while I may be a host, I can guarantee she is not a demon.”

“You expect me to believe that why?” I asked as if had grown two heads

“Because I wouldn't have risked my life helping you, that's why.”

We glared at each other for what seemed like hours, not moving our sight from each other's eyes. We were only interrupted when the waiter came up to us.

“Good Afternoon, Can I start you off with drinks?” An older lady in her late thirties asked.

Derek broke eyesight first “Orange juice, thank you.”

“Coke” I gave a quick respond

The waiter left after writing on her notepad.

“Okay, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. What is Eleena and why did you accept her?” I asked him

Derek appeared to be a bit nervous this time around “In a sense, she is own entity but can live outside for long periods. We had made a deal that she will live in my soul, in exchange, she gave me the power to find my parent’s killer. ”

I didn't respond right away, only thought about what Derek just said. Why hadn't I thought that of course, someone would take a deal like that. Being giving the opportunity to find your parent’s killer is a deal not a lot of people would pass up.

When Derek finish answering my question, the waiter had made her way back with our drinks “Here you go, are you ready to order?”

We placed our order with the waiter and waited for her to leave before returning to over the previous conversation.

“Okay, I can see why that can be a good deal considering what had happened to you.” I leaned in “ But if she is not a demon, then what?”

“Wish I knew that myself” He responded sheepishly

“What about your magic? I noticed the only time you had to use it was when I strapped you to the chair”

Derek turned away and held his gaze at the table.

“Well, that because a few months after turning eighteen, I lost control of my magic.”

“Alright Derek, everyone has lost control of their magic at some point” I tried to be reassuring.

He rubbed his temple and kept looking everywhere but me.

“Yeah it's okay until a person you care for gets injured,” Derek said leaning forward and placing both of his hands over his face

“Derek I'm sure it was an accident, you didn't mean it” I tried to comfort him.

“That's not the point!” he said, slamming his fist on top of the table causing some flames to erupt and disperse leaving behind the table slightly burnt. “My powers are tied to my emotion. The more of my magic I use, the harder it get to control my emotion which led to my practically exploding.”

I had tried to reach my hand over, but an immense heat hit me.

“What caused you to lose control?” I asked him

“This young girl who had entered the orphanage a few months before I left came to see me. It was her birthday and decided to come to see me since I was her only friend. Unfortunately, on her way to me, someone had kidnapped her.” Derek began to tell his story.

“So you lost control because of the kidnapped her?”

“No” He looked down at the table “ That week, I spent it looking for her and found her before anyone.”

“Isn't that a good thing?” Confusion clear in my voice

“I mentioned before my magic is tied to my emotions. I was in turmoil the whole week, so when I did find her, I saw red” The heat coming off him was starting to become unbearable “Fire had started burst out and burn everything around me. It had been the first time I killed someone, but I knew that from the moment I went into the building. The little that I struggle to find, she was caught in my outburst.”

By this point, I saw a tear escape from Derek’s eye as he continued to remember every single painful memory. He had begun shaking uncontrollably, crying, and his hand dripped a bit of blood from clenching it too tightly.

“I had burned her. She was in worse condition then what the kidnappers had her in.” He breathed in “After that, I gave an anonymous tip to the police and left without telling anyone.”

Derek stayed still lost in thought before I spoke up to him.

“Is that the reason why you joined Michael?”

Derek looks at me with a spectacle look “No, that was later on after leaving my hometown.”

I didn't say anything else, but Derek knew what I meant.

“I attempted to have a normal life, but somehow I ended up as a courier for Michael. Few things happened, and I was chased after some rivals, so I did the only thing I could think of for my safety.”

“You killed them?” I interrupted him

He stared back “Yeah, it was the only option. That is when Michael’s impression of me grew and started offering me a job as a hit.”

The waiter came back and started placing the food down on our table. We had begun to eat in silence, putting Derek’s revelation behind us for the moment. Derek’s eyes would wander around the diner before ultimately landing back on me. While I was taking note of his actions, I decided against bringing it up.

“Hey, I meant to ask but what is that tattoo on your hand supposed to be?” Derek said breaking the silence

I looked at the small tattoo my hand “It’s just four circles interconnecting.”

“Interesting design, but why is one of the circle filled out while the other arent?” He asked while leaning closer to get a better view.

“I don't know honestly, the tattoo artist suggested it,” I replied with a small laugh

“I doubt that he knew what he was talking about but whatever” Derek went back to eating

We stayed like that for another five minutes before Derek spoke up again.

“Want me to hear about the time I had got discovered at a rivals base?”

“Sure”

After what seemed to be a rocky start to lunch turned out to a good ending of telling a story about past things we have done. Derek about times he messed up and ended up having to do something ridiculous to get out, while I talked about some of the idiotic tasks Francis had me do during initiation.

We had left the small diner and were back the road. Derek had gone back to sleep, while I let my mind go myself start wandering about what Derek had said. Whatever is inside must have never told him the risk, since he didn’t realize his magic was tied to emotions. While there are a few people who have to go through the same thing, usually they are able to keep it controlled. I am safe to assume whatever is living inside him is directly affect more than he realizes. Eleena, the women Derek had made a deal with. She grants him power in exchange, he allows her a dwelling within his soul.

Quickly snapping out of my thoughts, I pulled the side of the road and smacked the sleeping person next to me on the head, earning a small yelp as a form of response. “That woman you made a deal with, you said her name was Eleena, correct?” I asked Derek

Derek looked at me blankly before leaning his head back on the door and returned to his slumber.

‘Are you kidding?’ I thought to myself, feeling a bit of annoyance.“Derek!”

That must have done it because he just sat back up and stared at me with annoyance written all over his face. If I attempted to guess what he was thinking right now, it would probably be along the lines of. 'Why am I here again?'.

“I asked a question idiot, is Eleena, the person you mentioned before? She the women you were talking to before” I asked again.

I felt something tracing my jawline and warm air hitting my right ear. At first, I heard a soft and quiet whisper that belong to a female voice, I didn't understand it at first, but after a couple of seconds, her words had become clear as day.

“So what if I was.”

My whole body shivered at the sensation, making me turn around to find out who was in the back seat but instead found nothing. Returning to my previous position and turning my head to the side face Derek, but he had already gone back to sleep.

‘man this guy is going to be the death of me’ after the thought process through my brain a soft chuckle came from Derek’s direction. ‘did he hear my thoughts?’

I drove further down the road and finally stopped at a small motel. Relief had started to wash all over my body, I don't know how much more driving I would be able to handle before snapping from insanity. I turned into the parking lot and parked the car out of sight as a precaution. Derek would not wake up even after being shaken a couple of times, he would let out groans and kept on sleeping.

‘Okay you don't want to wake up that fine with me, but now I can get back at you for all the little jokes you did earlier’ I thought to myself.

I moved closer to him and in a panic tone said ‘Derek get up, they found us’ in his ear, and it seemed to have worked. Never have I seen anyone stand up straight inside a car as incredibly fast as Derek had just done now. Derek banged his head against the ceiling of the vehicle, leaving a dent in its place where the impact had occurred a couple of seconds ago. He groaned while rubbing the top of his head.

“What was that for Emily?” he asked

“Payback hurt doesn’t it? But besides that, I stopped at a motel so that we can clarify what we are going to do now,” I had not stayed in the car long enough to hear if he had responded.

A set of footsteps followed behind me shortly after, quickly catching up to me. Walking into the office, I was greeted with a rather dull atmosphere that was not helped by the scent that brought an unpleasant feeling to my nose. Moving up to the desk and I proceeded with buying a room that Derek and I would be able to share. Midway through signing a few papers that were required by the receptionist, when I felt someone glaring at me. I turned my head slightly to see Derek coming in through the door while never taking his eyes off me.

“What wrong?” I mouthed innocently, causing Derek to shut his eyes momentarily.

"That will be a hundred and twenty dollars," The older gentlemen said as he gave us our room key.

"Okay thanks, my boyfriend here will be happy to pay," I said grabbing the keys and giving Derek a small kiss on the cheek.

Derek facial expression changed from irritation to confusion before understanding dawn on him on what I had just down. A grin was currently present on my lips, as I went through the doors again and begun walking to our room.

A few moments later a voice came from a running Derek "What was that about, I am certainly not your boyfriend and you left me to pay."

"Oh don't be such a crybaby, you have money to spare, right?" I said smiling.

“Well yeah, but that's not the point.”

The room was located in the furthest area of the motel, so it took a few minutes to reach our door. Derek and I joked around on the way to the room, making him laugh alongside me instead of having that sour face he tends to have. We got along better then I had imagined, even when the conversation turned heavy, we were able to quickly bounce back to a light mood. Something about him is relaxing, pleasant, and let me be myself in a way that I haven't been able to feel with anyone lately. I have always hated girls who wanted to fix guys, make them nice again, but Derek isn't broken. He became who he is today because of his past, and I like the man in front of me. I don't want to fix him, but instead, to embrace him, let him know he is safe with me.

“Hey, you know what happened that day wasn't your fault. Everyone loses control, even I have lost control before and hurt some people," reassuring him about that day

“Don't even start this kind of conversation, and I can see what you are trying to accomplish.” He said ultimately rejecting the topic.

“You can't live the way you are right now, you made one mistake everyone messes up once and awhile. You have to learn from your mistake and get better the next time. Running away from it won't solve anything, it will just hinder your progress” Even if it sounds stupid or idiotic to say, there was some truth to it.

"Emily I said no already, there is no reason for this conversation to even be happening, now stop pushing it," Derek said as we reached our room.

I used the key to open the door and opened it without any problems. Without a moment of hesitation, Derek moved straight towards one of the beds and automatically lied down. I walked past his bed and sat on mine, facing him in the process.

“You can't just ignore the fact that you'll have to learn how to control it,” I said.

Derek just turned away from me and didn't say anything else. After a couple of minutes of silence, I got a response, but not from who I expected it to be.

“The insane girl has a point, you won't get anywhere without magic" a mysterious woman phased into reality next to Derek.

I was able to feel my face turn into many different expression as I sat there looking at the women who magically appeared before my eyes. Without a second thought, I moved towards Derek’s bed, letting some of my power slip by as my clenched hand gave off a soft glow. My fist hit empty air, the red-haired women who had been sitting on the bed moments ago was gone. Confusion overtook my mind as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on until I heard Derek tell someone to come out. Once again the woman appeared but this time on my bed instead.

“Emily this is Eleena, she is the one I was referring to earlier” Derek said never moving from his spot

“I was expecting you to be more…”

“Scary? Gross? Evil?” Eleena interrupted me midsentence

“Yeah, something along those lines” I responded

“What do you want Eleena?” Derek asked

“I’m helping Emily convince you to use magic,” Eleena said getting more comfortable on my bed. “Stop being so afraid of losing control. For someone that is able to use internal and external mana, you sure a waste of a magic user.”

“Internal and External?” Derek and I asked out loud.

I have heard of many ways to fuel a spell or an ability, but never the way she just explain. There was nothing unusual about Derek to have to think he uses magic differently. Eleena caught my attention when she stood up from my bed and walked in past Derek and me, not giving us a second look as she did. I followed her with my eyes, being vigilant of every bit of movement she did, making sure that she doesn't do anything out of place. Eleena just kept walking around the room, inspecting her surroundings, almost as if our existences did not matter. Finally getting tired of just watching her wander around the room aimlessly, I called her out on what she said had earlier.

“What do you mean he uses his internal and external mana to fuel magic, I have heard of many ways, but never like that?” I asked.

Eleena turned around after checking some flowers that were meant for room decorations. She moved in front of Derek, who had sat up by now, and placed a hand on his chest.

“Yes, while he may seem like normal elementalist, in reality, he is quite different.” she waved her hand in a circular motion on his chest

“Meaning?” My tone laced with interest

Eleena cracked a smirk “Emily I know you aren't stupid, you have already questioned the nature of his magic. Earlier you found it weird how Derek’s magic was connected to his emotion.”

“But that normal for a lot of people” I interrupted her this time

“Yes, but not to the extent it goes with Derek” Eleena ran circular motion on Derek’s chest. “Any person who uses magic typically uses external mana energy.”

I nodded my head “You're explaining magic 101, we draw in mana from the air and into our body or directly into the spell.”

“Let me finish deary” Eleena chuckled softly “than there are others who uses directly from inside their body and can not draw it from the air. These usually aren't able to create spells outside their body and fall amongst the body enhancement.”

Rubbing my chin I responded “Okay, so im guessing that what you meant by internal.”

Eleene nodded her name “Yes, and Derek here is a rare person who can draw from both at the same time. Mixing these two can cause it to become extremely chaotic and lose control. It becomes worse with his emotions”

I sat back down on the bed and stared at Derek with an expression of disbelief. Derek, on the other hand, looked between Eleena and me with slight confusion.

“Thats good how?” He asked

“The more energy one uses during the start of a spell, the stronger it is. Your base magic is twice as strong as any other human” I rubbed my temple

“Exactly, so his emotional state affects his magic more. He can lose control quickly, especially when he gets angry.

“What are you anyway? If you're not a demon, then what?” I asked Eleena “I still haven't been able to sense your magical energy.”

Eleena pulled a chair that was close to her and sat while crossing her legs. She stared into my eyes while a happy grin spread across her lips. The look she was giving me made me feel uneasy.

“I would be surprised if you sense my magical energy, Emily." Eleena had said. “I have something you would consider divine energy.”

"Divine energy? Like a God?" I asked

"No, more of something that had transcended the normal kind of mana regular mortals use," she said nonchalantly.

I gave a dull expression “That still sounds like a God.”

Eleena let out a heartful laugh “I can see where you might get that from, but I am no God.”

"Then what are you that you are considered transcended?" I asked putting emphasis on the word transcended

"Well I used to be an Archangel, but I fell with my idiotic brother. "