by H G Lynch
“…and then the kid started screaming, and his mother tried to calm him down, but the brat just wouldn’t shut up. When she tried to give him his bottle, he shook it and squirted it everywhere, and I, the innocent bystander, got soaked in baby milk. The mum, of course, got upset and tried to apologise to me, but I just walked up to the kid in the trolley and growled at him, and he shut right up. Dropped his bottle onto the floor, so I picked it up and handed it to the mother, and she was like, ‘Oh my God, thank you! I haven’t been able to get him to settle all day.’ I just shrugged and walked away, but it’s hard to look cool and heroic when you’re dripping milk from your hair,” he explained, his eyes on the tomato he was chopping.
I sipped the orange juice he’d poured, smiling bemusedly while he cooked. It felt strange to have someone else cooking for me like that, in a pleasant, friendly setting. Normally, when they cooked for me, they just thrust a plate into my room and came back to collect it an hour later.
Tearing my mind away from dark thoughts, I refocused on the cute boy making me breakfast in the sunlit cabin, and the delicious smell of bacon frying next to the tomato slices under the grill making my stomach rumble. The golden light coming in through the windows caught in Dominic’s curls, turning the strands a bright red-brown. His dimple flashed when he caught me staring at him, my chin resting on my palm.
“Admiring, are we, Miss Tilly?” he said, half-turning from the pan of scrambled eggs.
I tilted my head. “Maybe. Actually, I was just thinking that I’ve never had a boy make me breakfast before. It’s a new experience. I like it.”
Dominic flicked me a look under his lashes as he poured the scrambled eggs onto a plate, and I realised I was flirting with him. I blushed, ducking my head. I didn’t mean to flirt, I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. He was just so easy to be around, and I hadn’t spent enough time around guys to know how to act with them. Hopefully, he’d understand I was just playing about.
I was already in so much trouble without adding a possible boyfriend to the mix, especially since I knew I couldn’t stay there forever. At some point, I’d have to move on. The thought made my chest constrict painfully, as if I’d been punched, so I shoved the idea aside brutally. I wouldn’t think about it right then.
Dominic slid a plate in front of me, and I inhaled the warm scent of the scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and grilled tomatoes. Scooping up the first bite of scrambled eggs, I chewed while he grabbed a plate for himself, piled food onto it, and stood at the counter to eat it.
Swallowing the eggs, I looked at him and said, “You were right, Dom. I love you. And you are totally making me breakfast every morning from now on.”
He just beamed at me, and I smiled back, thinking that when I did leave, I was going to miss him most of all.
When I woke up in my dark room that night, I didn’t know if I had been woken by a nightmare or the stifling heat. I groaned, feeling sweat on my skin, and rolled over to stare at the ceiling, rubbing at my eyes. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand, and its little glow in the dark hands told me it was almost four am. I’d only been asleep for a few hours, but once I was awake, I wasn’t tired enough to go straight back to sleep. I tried, though, pulling off my t-shirt and socks and closing my eyes, I was still too hot. I tossed and turned for a few minutes, before giving up. I sighed, sitting up, and went to the bathroom to grab a glass of water. Even after drinking the whole glass in one go, I was still roasting. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went to the walk-in wardrobe and found a clean t-shirt, pulled it on and retrieved my trainers from the front door.
Once I had the key in my hand, I remembered Dominic’s serious warning not to go out at night, no matter what, but Dominic didn’t know about my power. He thought I was a harmless little human girl, and I wasn’t. Whatever was out there, I could handle it. Even if that black wolf came back for me, I was pretty sure I could take it. I just couldn’t stay in the cloying heat of the cabin anymore. I shoved the key in the lock, twisted, and heard it click open. I stepped out into the wonderful crisp chill of the night air and sighed in relief as it slid over my overheated, damp skin.
Locking the door and tucking the key into my bra, I loped down the steps as quietly as possible. I watched for the light of Dominic’s cabin, but the woods were dark and still. The quiet was broken only by the gentle who-who? of the owl, and the whisper of the breeze through the boughs of the trees. I couldn’t hear the babble of the stream and didn’t know which direction it was from there, but I decided to look for it anyway. I imagined the feel of the cold water flowing over my skin, and I started walking, brushing the strands of pale hair that flew into my eyes back behind my ears.
As I walked, the soft dirt muted my footsteps, and I avoided the twigs and crispier leaves. I wandered, directionless, but with a target in mind, somehow instinctively knowing where to go. Soon enough, I heard the pattering rhythm of the stream bubbling over rocks, and I moved faster, catching my hair in branches and my jeans on bushes, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get to the stream and feel the water, listen to it so it could wash away the dark worries as I thought.
When I reached the water, I saw I wasn’t alone. I was unsurprised to see Spencer there at the stream. The slight tightening in his posture said he knew I was there, but he didn’t look up.
He did, however, speak. “Couldn’t sleep again, Tilly?” he asked with just a hint of mocking in his voice.
It banished my nervousness, and I stepped forward, joining him next to the stream. I sat down in the grass, hesitating only a moment before beginning to unlace my trainers. “Too hot. Thought I’d get some fresh air,” I said as curtly as I could, setting my trainers aside with unnecessary care and then sliding off my socks.
He was looking at me, and I felt oddly exposed, as if I’d taken off my t-shirt instead of just my socks. Unnerved, I rolled up the hems of my jeans and plunged my feet into the water. The shock of the icy water enveloping my feet up to the ankles made me gasp, but I swallowed it, and the smooth water flowing over my toes began to soothe the uncomfortable heat on my skin. I sighed in relief.
“Hmm…me too. It’s definitely warm tonight,” Spencer said, tipping his head back to the sky, a smile curving his mouth.
I shrugged casually, and murmured, “I guess so.” I splashed my feet in the water a little, watching the waves ripple out around my ankles.
Spencer glanced at me, blue eyes flashing and his smile widening, as if I’d said something funny.
I scowled at him, confused. “What’s so funny?” I mumbled, unnerved. I didn’t know what it was, but something about him just threw me off balance, even when he wasn’t saying anything. I tried not to notice that he actually had a really nice smile, when he did deign to use his mouth for something other than pouting or snarky remarks.
His t-shirt was dark green, rather than black, and again he wasn’t wearing shoes. He sat on the grass with his legs folded, leaning back on his hands. My eyes automatically traced the curve of his body, and he noticed, his eyes flicking over my body in return.
“What’s funny is that I can’t tell if you genuinely hate me, or if you’re just pretending. It’s…” He paused, searching for the right word.
“Annoying?” I pitched unhelpfully, giving him a bland smile.
His brow furrowed, and he shook his head. His eyes caught the glint of the water. “I was going to say unnerving. I’m normally pretty good at reading people, but you…you I don’t understand,” he said it while looking at me as if I were a puzzle he couldn’t quite put together, but he sounded like it surprised him that he couldn’t figure me out.
I was glad he couldn’t. I doubted he’d be so calm and composed if he knew I could raise demons and knock full-grown men on their asses. Once again, I shrugged casually, thinking of the irony. He thought I was unsettling, yet he was the most unsettling person I’d ever met, and that included the witches.
The witches were scary and cruel, but I knew where I stood
with them—I was dirt. With Spencer, I had no idea if he hated me, scorned me, liked me, or anything. He barely spoke to me. I never saw him during the day, but for some reason, I kept finding him there at the stream. I didn’t mean to look for him, my feet just sort of took me to him.
“You’re not good at listening to advice, are you?” Spencer said abruptly.
I turned to glare at him. He just seemed more amused by my glower than anything else. I kind of wanted to hit him—again.
Curling my fingers into the grass, I asked in a sharp tone, “What do you mean?”
He tilted his head again, blinked, his eyes strangely flat for a second, like the stare of an animal considering whether something in front of it was prey. I swallowed nervously. I really didn’t want to become this guy’s prey—whatever that would entail.
“Well, both Dominic and I have warned you that it’s dangerous to be out here at night by yourself, and yet here you are. Again.” He waved a hand toward me in a sweeping gesture, his expression an odd mix of curiosity and exasperation. At least he didn’t look irritated. That was a mild improvement.
I lifted my chin, kicking at the water a little viciously and soaking the hems of my jeans. “And I told you, twice now, that I can handle myself. Also, I’d just like to point out that I’m not alone. You’re here…for whatever that’s worth.” I tacked on the last bit under my breath, but I suspected he heard it anyway. He didn’t comment on it, though. His face lost all its humour, and I thought I’d managed to annoy him again after all.
In a low voice, he said, “How do you know I’m not what you need protecting from?” His eyes were steady on my face, but I couldn’t meet his gaze.
“I don’t,” I said quietly.
My answer seemed to please him in some obscure way, and he smiled slightly, nodding as he turned his gaze back out to the twinkling stream. “Good. Keep that in mind, Tilly.”
I wanted to ask what he meant by that, suddenly a little scared, but a breeze swept past us, raising goose bumps on my arms and lifting the hair around Spencer’s face. He abruptly went still and as tense as a rabbit in the sights of a hunting dog. I saw his throat move as he swallowed, and suddenly he was on his feet, so quick I hardly even saw him move.
He seemed to remember I was still there, looked down at me for a second, his eyes hidden by his hair flopping forward. “I have to go. You should go back to your cabin. Now,” he said tersely, barking out the words like a command. Then he turned and ran into the trees, eerily fast and silent, blending into the shadows like smoke.
Startled by his sudden departure, and most definitely annoyed by his command, I stubbornly stayed exactly where I was. I did take my feet out of the water, though, because I was shivering, and I didn’t think it was just because of the cold water or the breeze. Distantly, I wondered if I was actually scared of Spencer. At what point did unsettled turn into scared? Where was the line in the sand that separated one from the other? Was it before, or after, a guy subtly threatened you?
How do you know I’m not the one you need protecting from? If anyone else had said it, I would have thought they were flirting. When Spencer had said it, it had sounded like a threat. Maybe it had just been his dark voice, and the way his eyes had glinted when he’d said it. Maybe he’d thought he was being alluring and had just failed. I doubted it. Spencer struck me as the kind of guy who knew exactly how to seduce a girl.
I shook my head, mentally smacking myself for even thinking about it. It was stupid. I didn’t even like the guy, and if I really was scared of him, how could I possibly be attracted to him? Plus, just like with Dominic, I knew a relationship would be a bad idea, almost impossible, since I was leaving eventually.
Yes, I told myself sternly, I am going to leave…just not yet. Not quite yet. And anyway, if I was going to even consider a relationship with any of those boys, it should be with Dominic. It would be with Dom. Again, it was pointless, because I was leaving.
Fed up with my own frustrating, circling thoughts and quite cold, I wrestled my socks onto my damp feet, shoved on my trainers without bothering to lace them properly, and stood up to brush grass off my jeans. I heaved a sigh and walked back into the trees, hoping I could remember the way back to my cabin. I hadn’t been paying attention to which direction I’d taken I was regretting that as I wandered between spidery branches and clumps of waving ferns, trying to recognise something familiar in the gnarled trunk of a beech tree or the half-crumbled log lying on the ground next to a patch of sleepily drooping snowdrops.
Just when I was starting to think I really was lost, I heard something that made my panic level rocket up several notches. A growl. The low, guttural growl of a large animal, like, oh I don’t know…a wolf? My heart jammed into high gear, pounding like the hooves of a racehorse on the track, and I froze. Around me, the woods had gone even more silent than before, and even the muted hooting of the owl had ceased. My eyes roamed the darkness, looking for a slinking shape or crouching shadow. I heard the growl again, ending in a high whine, as if the creature was in pain, and I realised the sound wasn’t as close as I’d first thought.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was running through the trees, feeling ferns and branches whip at my arms and legs. I had a sickening flash of déjà vu from the night I’d run away from the witches. Terror slamming into my ribs and tears slicking my face, I pumped my legs desperately to get as far away as I could as fast as I could.
The howl of the wolf sent chills skittering up my spine, and brought me back to the present with a jarring jerk. I pushed leaves out of my way, twigs scratching my palms, and I realised I wasn’t running away from the howling—but toward it. The wolf was in pain. I had to help it. Somehow, I knew, I just knew, it was the black wolf. The wolf I’d saved from the hunter the other day, and I had to save it.
Up ahead, I saw a flash of light and a snarl erupted through the trees. I picked up my pace, bolting into a small clearing and nearly slamming into the midnight black wolf, hunched low against the ground in an aggressive, tightly coiled crouch. The wolf was so dark, I hadn’t even seen it until its brushy tail whacked against my legs as I burst into the clearing. I squealed and skidded to halt, stumbled back a couple of steps.
The wolf—my wolf—jerked its head around as I bumped into its swishing tail. Its golden eyes fixed on me with what could have been surprise, if wolves could express surprise. It didn’t look hurt, but a slight shifting on the other side of the clearing, made its head snapped back around.
It bared its teeth at the figure that I hadn’t noticed before, its snarl ripping through the calm night air. Swallowing my racing heart, I lifted my eyes to the person the wolf was growling at…and nearly turned to run again as the copper taste of terror rose on my tongue. Unfortunately, fear paralysed me, tightening my muscles like the strings of a guitar, until they were so tight, I was shaking. My teeth ground together hard enough that I thought my jaw might shatter, and my skin ran with goose bumps.
Oh God, Oh God no, please no, I begged silently, tears springing to my eyes reflexively. I breathed in short, choppy gasps that verged on hyperventilation, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the woman on the other side of the clearing.
She was tall and slim, with frost pale hair even lighter than mine, a sharp feline face, and glass green eyes. In most peoples’ opinions, she would be seen as beautiful, but I knew better. Just under that flawless skin and angular face, there was a soul as black and viscous as tar.
In my eyes, she was ugly, hideous. She was a merciless smile, a slapping hand, and a whip sharp voice of command. A nightmare. My nightmare, or at least one of them. Her pale green eyes fixed on me, cold and vicious, and her rosy lips parted in a deceptively enchanting smile. A flare of triumph showed on her face, and I swallowed, every cell of my body pulling at me, telling me to run. I wanted to, but my feet were rooted to the spot, and I knew she knew it.
Her voice, almost a whisper, sent ice into my bones as she said, “Hello Matilda.”
C
hapter Eight
** Tilly **
At the sound of my full name coming from her lips, I flashed back to the hundreds of times she’d said it before. The times she’d commanded me, berated me, threatened me, and taunted me. Always calling me by my full name, knowing how much I disliked it. I could feel her magic, prickling and icy, slithering along mine, searching for a way into my head and into my will. The feeling made me nauseous, made me want to fall to the ground and retch, but I locked my knees and held her malicious gaze, while she tried to break me down into pieces she could cart off.
Through the tightness of fear clotting in my throat, I choked out in a rasping voice, “Hello Olivia.”
The woman who had adopted me when I was six stared back at me with savage delight, while the wolf between us continued to bare its fangs. It was no longer snarling, but its hackles were raised and its ears flattened back against its skull, and I prayed it stayed where it was. I felt safer with my wolf there, confident that it wouldn’t attack me. After all, Olivia was the greater threat here.
“I see you’ve found yourself a pet. Nice guard dog. It tried to attack me just before you showed up, and when I smacked it with a Deflection Spell, it just came back for more. Stupid animal, really,” Olivia said with a tone of disgust, glaring at the wolf. She shook back her perfectly straight blonde hair and planted her hands on her hips, returning her gaze to me. “Maybe not as stupid as you, though, Matilda. You shouldn’t have come to rescue your little pet dog, but then you’ve always been too softhearted when it comes to animals.” She sighed.
I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on her, waiting for her to strike.
Seeing that I wasn’t going anywhere, she took a step forward, and my wolf growled at her again, a sound so rough and loud it made my ribs rattle. Olivia pursed her lips, eyes narrowing at the wolf, and the growl cut off in a whine. I didn’t know what she was doing to it, but the sound of the wolf’s whimpering unthawed me from my fear enough to drop to my knees next to it. I threw my arms around the animal’s neck, pressing my shields out and encompassing the wolf in the warding that had protected me so far. I knew it wouldn’t hold up for long, not when the witch was so close. I lifted my head to glare at the woman, who was smirking thinly as if my show of affection for the wolf were both amusing and contemptible to her.
