Chapter One

         Clouds drifted apart slowly as the sky grew darker and the rain began to pour down, the pounding growing louder on the roof tops as it gradually fell stronger. The air was cool and dry, no ray of sun could be seen far off in the distance, though it was about time for it too rise. The atmosphere was like one of those days where all you wanted to do was tear the plug out from your alarm clock and sleep the day away. But today just wasn't one of those days. Especially for eighteen year old Velvet.
         The red numbers on the rectangular screen of her alarm began to glow, as it rang in an annoying high pitched voice from some popular all girls rock band off of the morning radio station. Her eyes drifted open and slowly focused onto the flashing numbers. It read 7:00. When she comprehended the time she just read "sh*t," was the first thought that ran through her mind, before she threw the sheets off her bed, and ran to her mahogany wood dresser. Drawer number one; undergarments, drawer number two; plain black cotton shirt, and drawer number three; a pair of blue jeans. She quickly ran a brush through her hair, before tying it up into a ponytail and turning her attention to the mess atop her desk. Papers and worksheets were scattered around her laptop, which was still left on throughout the previous night, one book was open to the nights previous section review, while her workbook was under her sleeping cat.
         "Oh great," she mumbled, mentally kicking herself for passing out from all the homework the teachers piled up on her. Now was no time to beat herself up. Shoving her books and papers into her backpack, she flew down the staircase to the first floor of her Manhattan penthouse  before reality struck her and she sprinted back up to her bed room.
         She flopped herself back on her Egyptian cotton sheets and screamed into her pillow. How many times a month could she possibly wake up, rush out of bed, get her books together, and run out the door before realizing that it was Saturday. If she didn’t have to attend her mothers dinner parties every night she would have plenty of time to get her schoolwork done. But in the glamourous life of her mother, Alexandra Romanus’s, being the center of the social life was more important than any academic one.
         Velvet pulled herself away from her pillow when she heard a soft knock at her door. Only one person was actually awake this early in their party penthouse and that was Lucy, the head maid.
         “Morning, Miss Velvet,” said the small, grey haired woman, as she entered the room, holding a large silver tray,
         “Is today really Saturday?” Velvet asked, walking over to the oval table in the center of her room and taking a seat.
         “Yes, miss. You’ve been studying far too hard. You need to rest.”
         “I wish I could Lucy. But I can’t fall back asleep.” her body was already up and running from having to rush so much. If she tried to go back to sleep she’d only end up staring at her ceiling. “Thanks for the breakfast, by the way.”
         “You mean, “Thank you very much for the meal,” “corrected Alexandra, leaning against the doorway in her satin robe, cigarette in hand.
         “Mom, it’s to early for lady lesson’s right now,” said Velvet, taking a bite of her eggs benedict, knowing perfectly well her mother would throw a fit at her eating something other than a granola bar. “How are you even awake right now.”
         “I have a meeting soon and– NO!” she yelled, grabbing the fork out of Velvet’s hand. “You know your supposed to be on a diet, a size four just became the new eight. Lucy why are you bringing her this? I specifically said, absolutely no carbs.”
         “Don’t yell at her mom, I asked her to bring me it.”
         “No matter. Leave us Lucy.”
         Alexandra sat down across the table and glared at her daughter, as she waited for Lucy to leave the room.
         “If I see or have the slightest feeling that carbs have entered your mouth, I’m going to get rid of every black article of clothing inside your closet.”
         “Mom you wouldn’t.”
         “Yes, Velvet. I would.”
         “Hitting my achilleas heal is pretty low.” She knew her mother wasn’t bluffing, but seriously, how far the woman would go to get her way was amazing. Everything in her closet was black and she wasn’t about to start dressing like her mother. Bright and strapless wasn’t her style. Velvet just saw herself as not having grown into her color loving stage yet. “But whatever. No carb’s.”
         “Good girl. Now hears some good news. I found the most gorgeous dress for you to wear tonight.”
         “What’s tonight?”
         “How could you forget? I told you this last Sunday during brunch!”
         If she was referring to the Sunday brunch with her Aunt’s, Velvet never heard a word during the conversation. Her ipod headphones were in her ears during the whole meal. Good thing her hair was long, otherwise she would actually have had to sit and listen to her mother chat with her aunts about the latest upper east side gossip.          
         “Ummm...refresh my memory.”
         “Well, Maxwell Gregari just opened up another Garden Villa hotel, just a few blocks from 5th Avenue and he’s throwing a huge party tonight for his grand opening.”
         “Do I have to go?”
         “Yes. Don’t be silly. You can’t miss this. You’ll absolutely kill in the dress I picked out,” her mother boasted. She took every chance she could to try and shove velvet into the social light. If Velvet became as popular as her mother, Alexandra would dominate all the high class females. Dominating was definitely her mother’s favorite sport.          
         “What color is it?”
         “Black of course.”
         “How short.”
         “We can negotiate.”
         “I get to wear my crystals or no deal.”
         “But they’ll clash.”
         “Mom.”
         “Fine,” her mother agreed, pouting her lip. “I’ll call Christian and see if he can squeeze you in today.”
         “Mom, I have plans today. But I’ll make sure to be home early to get ready.”
         “Plans? Plans with who?”
         “Lilith.”
         “Velvet, you know I don’t approve of her,” her mom stated, lighting another cigarette she retrieved from her robe pocket. Her mom was getting agitated.
         “We’ve been through this a million times. I’m done talking about it.”
         “Home by six,” said Alexandra, leaving her seat and making her way towards the door. “And I don’t want her coming in this house, Velvet. Your going to get ready without distractions.”
         “Bye, mom,” said Velvet, as her mother shut the door behind her.
         Velvet let a light sigh escape her lips as she got up and turned on her iMac. She opened up her AOL instant messenger and sure enough there was “Lilithbabez” online. She sent her a message asking her if she was planning on doing anything interesting. Velvet didn’t have anything planned at all, but she wasn’t about to tell her mother that. If she did, she’d only end up being stuck in the salon all day. That was the last thing she needed. Christian Milan degrading her style, making rude comments at how she applied her make up, and scrutinizing her outfit choices. It wasn’t that she didn’t like dressing in designer outfits or getting dolled up every once in a while. But when her mother demanded it of her, she just didn’t want it even more. While her mother concentrated on the future of her position in the social hierarchy, Velvet was more interested in her families past.
         The Romanus family lineage could be traced back to when the pilgrims first settled in America. Velvet was more interested in a diary she found belonging to one of her great to the tenth power grandmother’s, who lived during the Salem witch trials. She wrote how she was had magical and unexplainable powers. To Velvet it was like reading a novel. She loved reading how she discovered she could do strange things, how she could make plants grow abnormally fast and sense what animals were feeling. It was such a page turner, Velvet ended up bringing the book to class one day. That was how she first met Lilith. She peaked over Velvet’s shoulder and immediately made conversation with her.
         Lilith was the first to get her interested in Wiccan and Celtic arts. It was such a intriguing subject, Velvet couldn’t help but let herself get engrossed in it. It made her feel like she was living in a little fairy tale. Not the glamorous princess tale like her mom would have wanted, but a tale she would envision herself living in when she was a little girl. To people like her mom, Velvet’s and Lilith’s fascination was just something that seemed strange and weird, like they were living in a make believe land. Her mother told her that magic didn’t exist and it was pointless, but to Velvet it just felt right. At least when her mother wasn’t being supportive she always had Lilith. 
         An instant message popped up on her screen with a loud bell ringing noise.

Lilithbabez : Hey, What’s up? I’m planning on going to China town to pick up some things. Do some shopping and just hang out.
VelvGirl89 : Mind if I tag along for a bit. Mom’s making me go to another party tonight.
Lilithbabez : That stinks. But yeah, definitely come.
VelvGirl89 : Lol. Alright. See you in a bit.
Lilithbabez : Meet me outside the Jasmine house.
VelvGirl89 : Okay. Ciao.

*****Velvet’s taxi pulled up along the curb in front of a small Chinese shop, known as the ‘Jasmine House’.  As she exited from the cab, Lilith ran up and gave her a big hug.
         “Hey. Wow, I love how you did your nails,” said Lilith, picking up her hand and admiring her black tipped, french acrylics.
         “Thanks. My mom actually thought I’d let them put a white tip on my nails.”
         “Oh no, she’s really trying to play more clueless these days, huh?”
         “Clueless doesn’t cut it,” said Velvet, as she gave the cab driver a hundred dollar bill. “Keep the change.”
         Lilith just broke out into a light giggle.
         “If you can’t stand your mom so much why don’t you move out?”she stated. “You are eighteen you know.”
         “I’ll consider that.” But then again, she would feel weird just leaving her mother all alone. Her brother was off in law school and her father was dead, Velvet was all Alexandra had.  Though her mother had an annoying way in showing that she cared, Velvet decided that it would be best to just stick around for now. “So hey, new subject, I see you tried that new Garnier hair dye.”
         “Yup, I think its so cool,” said Lilith, running her fingers through her straight black hair.
         “I like how it shines blue in the light.”
         “Thanks-Hey I think we should get inside it looks like it’s going to pour again.”
         The girls looked up at the sky just as a ray of lightening erupted in the clouds, and thunder began to rumble.
         “Good idea,” said Velvet, as the two rushed inside the small tea shop.
         “Nihao,” greeted an elderly Chinese woman from behind the counter.
         “Greetings, Mai,” said Lilith, walking up to the front counter. “Got everything on my list?”
         “Yes, right here,” Mai said, leaning under the counter as she retrieved a large wood basket, containing tea bags in clear packages and boxes of herbs.
         “What would I do without you Mai?” asked Lilith, as she ran her fingers over all the tea like it was a glistening pirates treasure. “How much is my total?”
         “One hundred and twenty three dollars.”
         “Lilith, how do you afford this from making frappuccino’s all day?”asked Velvet. Another main reason on why Alexandra hadn’t approved of Velvet’s friendship was because of Lilith’s social class. Middle just wasn’t good enough for velvets mother, it was high class or nothing. But from working forty hour shifts a week at Starbucks and having bills to pay, it was amazing she would actually splurge on something like tea.  Velvet usually offered to pay but that only made Lilith annoyed, so she stopped offering.                                                                                          
         “Oh, shush with you. I got my mom into the tea’s, so she contributes to my  tea fund.”
         “What are you spending so much on anyway.”
         “Well there’s some Jasmine here, and Oolong in the green packets. Their yummy, you should try some.”
         “I’m more of a coffee person.”
         “Suit yourself,” said Lilith, sticking out her tongue, as she handed Mai her Bank of America debit card. “So Mai, you promised to show me something interesting today.”
         “Patience, Lilith. One moment,” said Mai, as she excused herself and went to the back of the store, through a red beaded curtain, A mixture of voice could be heard from the back. Lilith tried to lean over the counter to listen in, but it was no good, she couldn’t make out a word.
         When Mai emerge from behind the curtain, she was accompanied by a skinny Chinese woman with long, cascading, black hair.
         “Lilith, meet my granddaughter, Meilin.”
         “Nice to meet you,” said Meilin with a small bow.
         “Nice to meet you too. So what’s the big surprise?” said Lilith, clapping her hands in excitement.
         Velvet couldn’t help but think that every time she went out on an normal outing with Lilith, something always came up. When they went to get some lunch, they ended up going to a flea market sale. When they went to run a few errands, they ended up going to the metropolitan museum instead. One thing with Lilith, always leads to something completely random. But that exactly what Velvet enjoyed, the unpredictability.
         “Come right this way,” said Mai, opening up a door to the right side of the register. She lead Velvet and Lilith up the staircase to a small hallway. The shop was one of the types with the store on the ground floor and apartments for the family to live in on the top. Mai ushered the girls into a room, at the far end of the hall.
         The room had a low circle table in the center, with a stick on incense burning. The lamp in the corner made the whole room glow a dark red.
         “Please have a seat,” said Meilin, sitting down on a cushion at the table.
         The two girls took a seat opposite the table from Meilin.
         “You girls have fun now,” said Mai, as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
         “Oh, I know what this is!” shouted Lilith. “I was talking to Mai about this Chinese fortune telling thing last week.”
         “Yes, she let me know you were interested in having your fortune done.”
         “You want to get your fortune done?” asked Velvet, skeptically. She didn’t see how looking at someone’s palm and asking them a few questions could possibly tell someone’s future. Velvet watched one to many fake fortune telling shows, having hers done seemed like a waste of time.
         “Velvet, here, doesn’t believe to much in divination,” said Lilith, rolling her eyes. “Do her fortune, instead of mine. Make a believer out of her.”
         “I’ll try,”said Meilin, reaching under the table for her bamboo cylinder.
         “So, what do I do?” asked Velvet. “So we drink tea, and interpret the leaves or something?”
         “No, no. Nothing like that,” Meilin said, with a giggle.
         “First we start with face reading. Each face is a map of the past, present and future. Then I analyze your palm lines. And lastly I interpret your Chichi sticks.”
         “Chichi sticks?”
         “I shake the bamboo cylinder and a modified incense stick comes out. I analyze the symbols on the stick for you.”          
         “Hmm, sound’s interesting.”
         “Lets do it. Let’s do it,” said Lilith, growing impatient,
         First Meilin took Velvets face into her hands and examined her features. Then she took her palm and examined her love and personality lines. After the shaking of the bamboo cylinder, Meilin told her she could ask her either about her love and personality reading or about her destiny-path and pre-determined faith. Lilith automatically picked the second option for her.
         “Your path is that of both a leader and a follower. You follow a supernatural trail, one turn can lead you into danger, while the other can lead you on a path of discovering things about yourself you never knew. In the shadows lurks a secret that will be revealed in due time. Your destiny is intertwined with two. One is present at the moment, while the other you have soon to meet. Beware, for they may bring a twist you don’t expect and History of death,” said Meilin, with a smooth voice.
         “Wow, that sounds exciting,” said Lilith, her big, brown eyes glowing with excitement at Velvet’s reading.
         “Yeah. That sounds like something that’s never going to happen,” said Velvet. She almost had a heart attack when she looked at what time it was. “Lilith its five, I have to start heading home.”
         “Alright, you want me walk you out?”
         “No. Don’t worry about it. I’m just going to go outside and grab a cab,” said Velvet, picking up her bag from the floor. “Thanks for the reading Meilin. It was nice meeting you.”
         “You too, Velvet. Remember be careful,”said Meilin, with a knowing smile. It looked like she was in on a secret that Velvet herself should have known, but didn’t.
         “I’ll give you a call when I get home!” yelled Velvet, as she exited the room and hurried down the stairs. She quickly said goodbye to Mai and caught a taxi outside. She told the man to speed up as fast as the speed limit would let him, if she ended up being even a second later, her black wardrobe would be at stake. But for some reason she didn’t feel her nerves were rushing from the fear of being late. The reading Meilin did was really getting to her. ‘It’s just a bunch of Hocus Pocus’ she tried to tell herself, but in the back of her mind she was really shaken up about it.
         As the taxi drove down the street, the wind blew around Velvet’s dark auburn locks around her face. She tried to let the cool air calm her thoughts, but all she could think about was the reading. It just felt to real, like something was about to happen. ‘We’ll see’ she thought to herself. ‘We’ll see’