by Sara Stone
That's right! A truck had blown up, and yet no emergency personnel had shown up. Shouldn't someone have seen the flames or at least felt the shock of it? Not one firetruck or officer showed up, unless I had been out a lot longer than I thought.
"I have my own damn questions." I looked at Judson with my eyebrows raised. I was trying to channel Gram with her impenetrable stare that could crack the strongest of wills. He just stared back at me. "Why didn't the paramedics show up to help me? Surely all the neighbors saw. And why did your truck blow up?"
"The wards on your grandmother's house are strong."
Excuse me? Wards? The glare I gave him must have explained my thought process because he let out a sigh. They exchanged a silent conversation composed of shoulder shrugs and eyebrow lifts. My lack of understanding had my frustration mounting.
"The wards protect the whole yard and then some, but there are stronger ones around the house. It's why nothing hit the house. Had you been standing on the porch, you would have sustained no injuries."
Go figure. So, this guy was crazy, and somehow Jud over there was in on it. More witchy mumbo jumbo to add to my growing list of crazy. I was well over my quota. I wanted nothing to do with it. A truck.had.blown.up! Then I had these two who wanted to chat about magic.
"Lia, if you don't drink that, then it will take weeks for you to heal properly, and I don't have the time to sit around and baby you," Judson grabbed the glass vial, uncorked it, and held it out.
"How do I know it's not poison? And how is that sewage supposed to heal me anyway?"
He stood there regarding me for a moment before shoving it to my lips and dumping the swamp water into my mouth. I didn't even have time to react. I swallowed it before I could taste it and sputtered at the intense cooling sensation as it made its way down my throat. I smacked Judson on the arm as I coughed and gagged. There hadn't been an awful taste, but it wasn't the best either. My breath smelled like I had been licking Christmas trees. Ulric brought me out a glass of water, which I downed in two gulps, trying to get the taste out of my mouth.
"You are an asshat!" I squeaked at Judson. My throat was still tingling and betrayed the aggressive tone I was going for.
"I did what was necessary," he shrugged. He didn't even have the decency to seem apologetic. His usually stoic demeanor remained, even with forcing me to take medicine.
"Obviously not, or she wouldn't have been hurt," Ulric muttered, rolling his eyes. His pale face showed his irritation.
"Shut your mouth, Legolas," Judson growled back. What did he just call him? An elvish character from Lord of the Rings? I mean, he resembled him with the hair, but that's the best insult. Legolas was hot, thanks to Orlando and his drool-worthy self. Judson stood up, a few inches taller, making Ulric glare up at him. Men were so complicated and yet hilarious in their attempt to out man the other.
"Am I not stating the truth? Were you or were you not supposed to protect her? And Mabel, for that matter," Ulric challenged, getting toe to toe with him, not backing down from the seething rage crossing Judson's face.
"I don't know what in the hell you are talking about, but I need to rest! I have a pounding headache, and you two are squabbling like toddlers," I raised my hand in a stopping motion before one of them pounded on the other. Honestly, my money would have been on Judson for the sheer fact that he out-muscled Ulric, but then again, it was usually the scrappy, lean ones that finished the fight. "And if anyone gets to complain, it's me! I almost got blown to pieces in my front yard that is supposedly protected by magical wards." I rolled my eyes before continuing, "Then you had me drink that pond water, which is somehow helping me when I should actually be needing a doctor. None of this should even be possible!" My arms flailed about as I was hitting a point somewhere near hysteria.
They both stepped away from each other and looked anywhere, avoiding looking at me, embarrassed with their behavior, as they should be. I had a feeling this was an ongoing issue between the two of them. I wasn't hurting too bad anymore, but I would not tell them that. It had stopped their pissing match. Plus, the matter at hand was they had some explaining to do.
"Can one of you please explain to me why all this is happening?" I felt like I was interrogating them. Ulric sat gently at my feet, taking his face into his hands as if he had become exhausted. Judson started pacing the room, agitation rolling off him.
"Cars blowing up is not normal!" I couldn't think of any good reason that had happened. Crazy explanations ran through my head, but not the faintest idea made any sense. I didn't even like to watch those kinds of things happen in movies. This had happened right in front of me, and we all seemed to be dancing around the issue.
"We are looking into it," Judson said, slipping into the seat next to the couch.
"Ugh, what does that even mean? How are you looking into it?" Patience is not one of my virtues. The actual list of virtues I had was limited to who you asked.
"We just are. We can't explain it to you yet," Ulric added gently, "You wouldn't take it well." Oh, okay, because I was going to accept that little tidbit.
"Why would I not take it well?" My heart started racing as I thought of all the possibilities. I couldn't decide if I was madder that they wouldn't say anything or more scared that all this stuff really had just suddenly landed in my lap.
"I think we should just take her tonight, and she will have to understand," Judson said, crossing his bulging arms across his chest. I was sure if he flexed any harder, his sleeves would rip open. The muscles were glorious as if the gods had sculpted him.
"I agree," Ulric nodded. With that, he packed up his bag and headed for the door, "See you tonight."
"Wait! I still don't have my answers, and now we have plans? Where are you taking me tonight? Who said I want to go?"
Judson made sure I had another glass of water and was feeling well enough for him to leave. I agreed that if I needed anything I would call him, after complaining up a storm that they had left me stewing on what all this could be. He was coming to pick me up later tonight to take me somewhere where he said I could get the answers.
He left me so I could shower. When I had looked in the mirror, I looked like a train wreck with soot and debris stuck in my hair and covering most of my exposed skin. The burning metal had singed holes into my camisole, so I tossed it in the trash. I'm just lucky that when I got blasted onto my backside, one of my boobs hadn't popped out of the thin pajamas. The thought had the skin at my neck, crawling with embarrassment. The hot water pelted my skin until it was pink, relaxing the rest of the tension out of my achy muscle. It was the most glorious, relaxing thing I had done all week.
After I had showered and dressed, I had already lost the morning, and it was well into the afternoon. I guess an explosion would do that to a girl. I grabbed my purse and headed out. Although I had casseroles galore, I needed something to combat my arteries' clogging with all the gravy and cream of mushroom soup used in the making of such delicious food. Salads weren't my favorite, but I needed something on the healthy side.
Shopping was uneventful, but by the time I had unloaded some junk food and premade salad, it wore me out, and my muscles were aching again. Maybe I needed more of that Christmas crap to keep me going. I snorted at the thought. That's a big no for me.
I contemplated where Judson would take me, and if jeans and t-shirt were too casual. Couldn't help but overanalyze it. I was getting nervous like it was a date. Not a date. Not even close. I knew full well that wherever he was taking me, it didn't bode well that he wouldn't tell me, while the illogical girly side of my brain had me going upstairs to put makeup on.
I framed my green eyes in charcoal black eyeliner, then took it off. I was way overthinking again. I opted for some mascara and lip gloss. If I did any more, it would look like I was trying too hard, and that's not the look I was going for. I ran a brush through my damp hair, hoping to contain the frizzy waves that were undoubtedly sure to come. Slipping a hair tie on my wrist before heading back down
stairs, I was sure I needed to get a life, like a real social life, where I went out and hung out around people occasionally.
As I was sitting around doing absolutely nothing there was a honk from outside. I went to the window, and sure enough, it was Judson sitting in a brand-new pickup. I scooped up my purse and keys then headed outside. I hopped into the passenger side, unsure of what to say, as he slid the truck onto the street and headed towards the edge of town.
"Nice truck," I said, checking out the black leather seats, still shiny and new.
"Thanks, I had an issue with my last one," he smirked. Oh, so he's got jokes.
"I would call that more than an issue. I had to pick pieces of it out of my hair." I grumbled, still bent that his vehicle blew up, of all things.
"Can you tell me where we are going yet?" It intrigued me. After the town's limits, there was nothing for miles and miles. We headed towards the west, passing the last gas station and leaving Eastcliff altogether.
"Do you really want to know?" He peered at me from the corner of his eye, steering the truck with one hand, feigning casual calmness.
"Yeah, that's why I am asking." My sarcasm rang through loud and clear.
"We are going to a coven meeting. There's an emergency, and they needed to get everyone together to announce it." I was waiting for him to crack a smile or laugh at his joke, but his expression stayed serious. My eyebrows hit my hairline as I repeated what he had said in my head a few times before I could muster up a response.
"A coven meeting? As in the Coven of the Crosswinds?" I inquired, trying for nonchalance, but it came out tight and unyielding. My disbelief showing through.
"Crossroads." That was it. He didn't elaborate or even check to see my reaction. He just left it hanging there between us.
He turned down a desolate stretch of road with trees canopying both sides in a dense cover. I couldn't help the butterflies bounding in my belly. In the past 48 hours, I found out my gram claimed to be a witch in a long line of witches in our family. She left me a book which I couldn't open. I was a hair's width away from being blown to smithereens in my front yard, and now I was on my way to party with the town crazies.
"So, is it going to be like a meeting where they have treats and horrible coffee?" I asked, peering over at him to gauge his reaction, and he gave me nothing. Just stared at the road ahead. When I get nervous, I spout nonsense to lighten the mood. It was like my version of a nervous tic.
"Hi, my name is Lia, and I found out I was a witch two days ago. I think this is a bunch of looney toon nonsense." Way to be eloquent, Lia.
That got a reaction out of him, but not a good one. He turned in his seat to full-on glare at me. I wanted to laugh but was too busy yelling at him to watch the bumpy road we were following. My joke wasn't worth hiking out of the woods because he took his eyes off the road.
"Don't look at me! Keep your eyes on the road!" I shrieked, grabbing the Oh-Shit bar and hanging on for dear life. My head whipped between watching the road and watching if he was watching the road. It made my neck ache.
"You still do not understand what I do, do you?" he asked, rolling his eyes and focusing back on the road.
"Yeah, you are a handyman, and somehow Gram pulled you into all this nonsense," I said, as I peeled my white-knuckled hands off the handle and clasped them together in my lap. I had been hanging on so tight my hands were going to sleep with the lack of blood flow. His oh so poignant response came out in the form of a snort at my answer, and then he continued to brood in the driver's seat. Obviously, that had been a rhetorical question.
The trees opened as we rounded on a gravel driveway with a few other cars parked around it. No house or building in sight but there was a tall cast-iron fence covered in climbing ivy that wrapped around a massive lot. He hopped out of the truck and came around to open my door. Usually, I would appreciate the gesture, but as I sat taking in the surroundings, I got a glimpse of what sat just inside the fence. An old, dilapidated cemetery that had been out of use for years. No chance I was going spelunking around over someone's gravesite. I locked the door before he could grab the handle. It became a rather childish game as he would try to open it, and I'd click it before he could open the door. He finally stood there scowling at me as I yelled through the window at him to take me home. He clicked the lock open again and had me out of the truck before I could protest.
"Stop being a baby. The house is just on the other side." He grabbed my upper arm and started walking along the path through the heavy gate. I had an intense feeling of spiders crawling over me. I didn't like it here. The energy just felt off, making me want to turn around and run. The crisp cool breeze blew around us, raising goosebumps along my arms, making me wish I would have brought along a sweater. It felt like late fall when really it was early summer.
"It's the spell. Nothing is coming out of the bushes to get you," he said sharply.
"A spell for what?" I asked while stepping carefully over cracked and crumbling headstones that had fallen onto the walkway. I was paying extra close attention to where I was going since my greatest achievement is usually falling flat out for no reason other than I tripped over my own feet.
"To keep normals out of here. It makes them feel like they shouldn't be here, and most of the time, they leave." He half shrugged like that completely explained it all. I had more than a feeling that I shouldn't be here. It felt like we were not alone and needed to get out of dodge. I wasn't handling it well.
"That's kind of handy, I guess. It's giving me the willies. Does that mean I'm normal and can go home now?" I asked, hoping the answer would be yes. The longer we walked, the worse the feeling got. If he had let go of my arm, I would have made a run for it, even though I knew I was ridiculous.
I'm not a wimp by any means. I lived in a big city where you hold onto your purse, or it gets jacked. The kind that has streets you avoid at all costs, yet I made the walk down them every day to my hole in the wall apartment after parking my car two blocks away in a monitored parking garage even though it wasn't a fancy new car. It was either that, or I'd find only the frame in the morning. No joke. I'd seen it happen. Yet here I was shaking in my boots for no real reason, other than someone said some words, and BAM! Instant horror house feeling. This so-called magic was not a joke. If someone could make you feel something your brain knows you shouldn't be. I couldn't have been more scared if I had just binge watched a bunch of horror movies in a dark house all alone then started to hear bumps in the night.
"No, you cannot. It's only affecting you because Mabel put that protective charm on you."
"Wait, why do you know that? I just found out about all this myself!" I stopped walking and crossed my arms, waiting for him to answer me. I mean, it would make sense that he would know this, given he was taking me to a coven meeting, but still, that brought up the fact I had been the only one unaware of what was going on.
"I know that because she told me." He had turned around to study my reaction, and I tried hard to conceal it.
"Why would you need to know that?"
"Because Lia, I just do." No explanation. That was it. He left it hanging there.
When nearing the walkway's end, we came upon an utterly run-down house with an overgrown yard and no path to the porch. The shutters were hanging off, and some were even just lying on the ground with shingles from the roof. The paint may have been white, but years of weather made it a sickly gray. The porch Judson was walking up appeared like it would collapse with the slightest breeze. The poles that held it up were cracked through and riddled with bug holes eating it away. I was sure he would be taking me to the hospital when I fell through, landing on old rusty nails and whatever other gross stuff was under there.
I stopped myself from fighting his grip on my arm as we stopped at the front door, which had seen better days. He used the old gargoyle knocker to bang on the door three times. I sat there watching it patiently, expecting it to drop off, but instead, the door swung inward, seemingly by itself. He
walked in, and I hung back, trying to figure out how that had happened. No one had been near it.
At least fifteen people were sitting around on couches and chairs eating off snack plates. The house’s furnishings resembled those my gram had; they were aged but well taken care of. My stomach rumbled. A long buffet table called my name, but Judson walked towards a leggy blonde in the corner. A pang of jealousy threw me off. Why would I be jealous? I rolled my eyes at myself and walked towards the food.
I loaded my little plate full of teeny BBQ weenies, cute cucumber sandwiches cut into little triangles, and my favorite of favorites, chocolate-dipped bite-size eclairs. Shut the front door. These people knew how to keep people coming back to the meetings.
I walked over to an empty chair and glanced around. Every so often, I could feel eyes on me, but when I would look around, people would look away. The murmuring was clear that they were talking about me. There was a coziness to the place that had me feeling at home, instead of like a complete outsider.
Judson walked over with the blonde close on his heels. He took the spot on my right, assuming she would sit next to him. Again, I couldn't figure out why I was so bothered by it. She ended up taking a seat on my left. To my surprise, the leggy blonde was Hattie from the Roast.
"I'm surprised to see you here," she smiled, putting some of my nerves at ease.
"I didn't really have a choice," I said, turning my head and giving Judson a pointed stare. He sat stoically, pretending not to hear me.
An older lady with streaks of gray in her black hair asked everyone to grab their seats. She stood in front of the room with an air of importance, all the seats making a horseshoe shape around her. Her face was kind yet serious, in a no-nonsense type of look. I elbowed Judson in the side, giving him a reminder of my joke from the drive over. It was like some sort of strange AA meeting, after all. I expected her to announce her name, once everyone was paying attention, but she didn't, much to my disappointment. He shook his head slightly, and she noticed the jab, giving me a motherly look that told me to knock it off.
