Shadow Magic: Year 3

by Alexa B. James

  It would take me a minute to see why she’s so pissed if she wasn’t with Dirk, but one look at his pinstripe skinny suit, giant spiky bowtie, and white bald-cap with skull makeup, and I can see it. Dirk and Asher stare at each other without speaking, the two of them slightly altered mirror images. They’re obviously dressed as the same couple that my friends chose, although Bella’s ‘ragdoll’ dress is more like… A few scraps of strategically placed cloth to cover her nipples and a band of checkered cloth that could be either a wide belt or a skirt. It’s hard to tell.

  “At least she’s wearing a dress,” I say. “I have thongs that cover as much as what you’re wearing.”

  “No one wants to hear about your gross thrift-store underwear,” Bella says. “And last time I looked, I was in a monogamous relationship while you’re fucking every guy who’ll have you. So I don’t think you’re in any position to be calling me a slut.”

  “I didn’t call you a slut,” I say. “What you wear has nothing to do with who you’re hooking up with. I just happen to know what that costume is supposed to look like, and it’s that.” I point to Elowen’s patchwork dress, which hits just above the knee.

  “So sue me for being hot and not afraid to own it,” Bella says. “Now, you guys need to go take that off or we’ll never win the contest. Yours looks like trash, but it makes ours seem less original.”

  “Ours is original,” Asher says. “I spent hours doing our face paint, and Elowen handmade her dress. You obviously just bought yours off some lingerie website.”

  Bella huffs and stomps her foot on the ground, nearly flashing everyone her underwear in the process. Actually, that might be intentional to the design. “Dirk, do something,” she wails. “These two liars stole our idea!”

  “You know, it was sad enough when you had to have your whole posse for backup because you’re not strong enough to stand on your own,” I say. “But now you just think your man is going to rescue you? Have some self-respect, Bella.”

  “Says the whore who spreads her legs to get men to do her bidding,” Bella snaps back. “You know, if you weren’t bewitching them all with your magic, they wouldn’t give you the time of day. They’d see you for what you are—a power hungry janitor who can’t get a man without putting a spell on him.”

  I snort. “My magic is well under control this year. And I’m not the one who used it to bewitch them into fucking her. That was you.”

  “Oh yeah?” she asks. “If it was just your magic, then how come Ryker keeps calling whenever he needs someone who can take what he dishes out? Because I’m his equal, Jade, and you’re just a silly little girl with a crush.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and spins around, making sure her long locks smack me right in the face.

  Okay, that’s it. I’ve had it with her. I can take her bitchy attitude, but the minute she touches me, it’s on. I grab her hair and yank so hard she loses her balance on her ridiculously high heels and goes tumbling to the ground. She shrieks like a banshee and scrambles to get up, flashing the entire line in the process, since her dress barely covers her ass crack when she’s upright, let alone on her back. She’s wearing a g-string, which means that I’ve seen pretty much her entire pussy for the second time this year, which is two times too many.

  “Whoa, there,” says the doorman, a guy with a blond mane and a slow, southern drawl I remember from the last time I was here. Elowen was crushing on him then. He steps away from the front door and comes over to pull Bella to her feet. “Everything okay here?”

  “Macon, help!” Bella howls. “She attacked me. And her friend stole our costume idea. She’s stolen before, and now she’s stolen again!” She points to Elowen, her face red and blotchy.

  “Y-you made me do that,” Elowen says, but she shrinks besides Asher even as she speaks.

  “Lots of people go as Jack and Sally,” Macon says. “I’m sure it’s a coincidence.”

  “Ohh, sure,” Bella says, yanking her arm from his grip and spinning on Dirk, her eyes narrowing. “Like it wasn’t pillow talk between you two after you were fucking at some point.”

  I gape at her, my gaze going from Dirk to Elowen. I can’t see either of their expressions well through the painted makeup, but they both stand frozen.

  “What?” Elowen asks at last, her voice faint. “I wasn’t—”

  “Not you,” Bella says, casting a scathing, disgusted look at my friend before turning back to Dirk. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. I know you’ve been fucking Asher all semester. So save the fake outrage about me and Ryker.”

  We all gape at her as she turns back to me. “And for your information, Jade, Ryker can’t get enough of me. He calls me ten times a day. So if you think it had something to do with your stupid magic, get over yourself. It has to do with me being a real woman, not a frigid little prude who’s afraid of her own body.”

  I feel my face heating with both anger and humiliation. Is she right?

  “She’s losing it,” Asher singsongs quietly.

  I can’t answer, though, because Bella’s still ranting, spinning around to attack Elowen now. “And you,” she hisses. “How dare you think you could wear the same costume as me? You’re trash, and you look like it. Did you find those rags in a trash can when you were digging in there for food like a rat?”

  “Ma’am,” Macon says, reaching out but stopping short of touching her. “If you could just—"

  “Shut up!” Bella screams at him, shoving his chest with both hands. The crowd that was in line has gathered around to stare at the spectacle, and they all gasp when Bella raises a hand like she’ll strike the guy.

  “Whoa,” he says, holding up both hands. “No need for violence.”

  “What are you doing just standing there like an idiot when you should be throwing this lying, stealing, copycat out?” She stomps her foot and points wildly to the parking lot, her hair wild and her breaths coming short. “Throw her out or I will!”

  Before he can do anything, she lunges for Elowen, grabbing a fistful of her wig and ripping it off her head.

  Elowen lets out a little shriek, and Thorn steps between her and Bella. “Calm down,” he snaps at Bella while I put a protective arm around my friend.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, ma’am,” Macon says, stepping in front of Bella and backing her away from the crowd that has gathered to gawk as she hurls insults seemingly at whoever is in her line of sight at any given moment.

  She keeps screaming over the guy’s shoulder, her venom now aimed at Thorn. “Calm down?” she demands, lurching against the doorman, who is trying to restrain her from attacking. “Calm down? Don’t tell me to fucking calm down when you’re defending a girl who’s cheating on her boyfriend to even be on this date with you, and you’re too fucking dumb or blind or hypnotized to even notice!”

  “Bella, go home,” Thorn rumbles quietly, his voice just edged with a threat.

  “Fuck you, Thorn Cristofaro,” she screams, tripping and almost falling on her ass again. The blond guy catches her arm, but she shoves him away, hard. “What are you all staring at?” she rages, spreading her arms out as she backs away. “They’re the freaks here, not me!”

  With a final, “You’ll regret this,” she turns and runs off down the alley beside the bar, disappearing into the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty

  For a full minute, no one moves or speaks. Everyone is too shocked by seeing Queen Bitch have a complete breakdown over someone else wearing a Halloween costume, which, if we’re being honest, isn’t exactly the height of originality to begin with. She’s probably been throwing tantrums like that since she was two, and Mommy and Daddy probably swept in to solve all her problems.

  “So, that just happened,” I say after a minute, forcing a halfhearted laugh. It seems to do the trick though, and the tension is broken. Everyone starts reliving the moment, exaggerating the tale of Bella’s epic fit, and gossiping as if the others didn’t see the exact same thing. I feel a little bad for Bella, but I don�
��t have time to dwell on it right now because there’s other, more immediate drama to deal with.

  I turn to Asher, planting a hand on my hip. “Is that who you’ve been seeing all semester?”

  He and Dirk exchange glances and shrug. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he says at last.

  “And thank the gods she’s run off for the night,” Dirk says, sliding an arm around Asher. “Now I can spend the evening with the person I really want to be with.”

  “Oh, stop,” Asher says, but he’s grinning ear to ear.

  “Is she going to be okay?” I ask, glancing after Bella.

  “She’s harder to shake than an STD,” Dirk says. “I’m sure she’ll be back too soon.”

  “I thought you were her boyfriend?” I say, feeling weird about him trashing her when she’s not here. She’s not my favorite person, but it’s shitty for someone to talk about a friend behind her back.

  “Oh please,” Dirk says, waving a dismissive hand as we move forward in line. “That’s totally set up by our parents. It’s all for show. She’s been hooking up with Ryker since day one.”

  I can’t deny that, since I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I guess if they’re both okay with their open relationship or whatever it is, who am I to judge? I have the same thing with my guys—except I’d cut a bitch if she touched them.

  “And you didn’t want me to know you were seeing Dirk because he has a girlfriend?” I ask Asher.

  “Well, kinda,” he says. “You had your secrets, and I felt left out. So I had mine. And like he said, Bella knows about us.”

  “Okay,” I say, though I’m still unsure. I want Asher to be happy, and he seems happy. If he’s okay with it, and Dirk treats him well despite having an arranged-marriage type thing with Bella, I should be happy for him, too. I’ve seen him crushing on a guy, but I’ve never seen him actually with one. He looks so smitten, batting his eyes up at Dirk. They’re like a perfect pair of emo lovers, both dressed in the same costume. They stand together in line, shoulder to shoulder, each with an arm around the other’s lower back, talking quietly while the rest of us shuffle along behind them. Elowen is now on her own, so I pull her into my conversation with Thorn until we reach the entrance.

  Decked in holiday paraphernalia from floor to ceiling, Gideon’s has been transformed from a hole-in-the-wall to the premiere place for ghosts and ghouls to gather on Halloween. At first, I’m worried there isn’t enough room for us to slip in, but as we step inside, it’s almost like the bar’s walls push out for us. Thorn takes my hand and pulls me to a sign-up table where we scribble our names onto the clipboard for the couples’ costume contest.

  Everyone’s dressed to the nines tonight, with all sorts of single, group, and couples’ costumes on display. There’s a girl dressed as a busty pirate, with her partner wearing a glittering dress made to look like a treasure chest; a scantily-clad angel and devil whose tail and wings actually look like they’re alive from time to time; two halves of an avocado, one with the pit and one without. My personal favorite is a girl dressed as an electrical outlet while the guy is a fork. Gotta appreciate the dark humor now and then.

  “Want something to drink?” Thorn asks, leaning down to speak in my ear. His lips brush my earlobe, sending a warm shiver through me.

  “I’m nineteen,” I remind him. “They won’t serve me.”

  “I’m sure I can make it happen,” he says, reminding me that he has an arrogant side. “What do you want?”

  “Ah, right, you’re famous,” I say. “I’ll take some cider.”

  Thorn grins and pulls me along to the bar. I barely recognize the guy at the bar wearing a circus ringmaster’s costume, but I’m pretty sure it’s Gideon himself. The bar is packed, but he takes the time to lean across and say, “Don’t have too much fun this time,” before sliding our drinks across.

  So, it is the oddly ordinary-looking dude who stopped time itself last year. As much as I’d love to pick his brain, or even find out what sort of supernatural he is, we’re already being jostled out of the way. If I want to have a heart to heart, I’m going to have to come back on a slow night.

  Thorn clinks his beer against my cider. “To our first couple’s costume of many,” he says with a little smile. I smile back, hiding it behind my glass so I don’t look as ridiculously lovestruck as I feel.

  “To trying something new,” I add. “It’s actually pretty fun—besides seeing Bella completely lose her shit.”

  Thorn grimaces. “There’s a lot of pressure on magical progeny,” he says. “I know it doesn’t compare to the life you led, but… It’s not easy for any of us, Jade.”

  “Wait, are you defending Bella to me?” I ask.

  “I’m… No,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m here to have a good time with you.”

  “It sounds like you’re defending her.”

  He gives me a long look, like he’s trying to decide if he should tell me something. “I guess I am,” he says with a sigh. “You know I don’t return her feelings in any way, but I do understand. Her family is… Unimaginably horrid. I know how you feel about her, though, so I don’t want to make you mad.”

  “You know what, you’re right,” I say, sliding an arm around his neck. “You’re here with me, and I don’t really want to talk about Bella or let her ruin our night. Come on. Let’s dance.”

  The truth is, I don’t know Bella’s life at all, and it makes me a little jealous that Thorn knows her better than he knows me. Maybe I should be mad that he defended her, but I’m only more impressed by him, if that’s possible. He’d do the right thing, even if it risked angering me, and I have to respect him for that.

  Maybe it’s weird, but a man with strong morals is kinda hot, especially when he stands up to me and stands his ground. Sure, life would be easier if he did whatever I said, but I don’t want a pushover. Maybe I’m more like Ryker than I want to admit. I want—and need—to be challenged. After all, I have this crazy powerful magic. Someone’s gotta keep me in check.

  Thorn pulls me in, his grip strong and possessive, letting me know exactly who’s in charge here. The beat is positively infectious, and the minute we step onto the dance floor, I start swaying my hips. When I spin to face Thorn, he’s moving as fluidly as I am. We work our way closer, at first just teasing, until our bodies are intertwined as we glide across the floor. I feel the shimmer of magic increasing inside me as his thighs brush against mine, but he doesn’t pull me in and grind on me like last time.

  I don’t want to break the rhythm we’ve created, so I keep things sexy but not raunchy, spinning for him when he turns me, adding a little cha-cha step to match the Latin beat as I work my hands across his back, each muscle awakened by my touch. Before I know it, I look up and we’re the only two dancing, twisting and sashaying, bodies entangling and pulling apart.

  We finish a song, and Thorn dips me, cradling my back and smiling down at me. “Damn,” I say. “You can dance, too?” As he scoops me up, we get a few claps and catcalls before folks return to their own dates, their own magical night.

  “Where’d you learn to shake your ass like that?” I ask, grinning as we head for the bar.

  “My parents—” He breaks off, glancing at me with a frown and then back to the bar before continuing. “My parents wanted me to be a well-rounded man. There are certain occasions when a person in my position needs to know how to do the things society expects of me.”

  “You mean the prince needs to know how to dance at the ball?” I tease, resting my elbows on the bar after we nudge our way in.

  “Something like that,” Thorn admits.

  I run my hand along his forearm and over the back of his hand, linking my fingers with his. “I’m sorry about your dad,” I say. “If you ever want to talk about it…”

  “Thanks,” he says, leaning in and pressing his lips to mine gently. “The same goes to you.”

  “I will,” I say, realizing it’s true as I say it. “I do.”

  For a moment, we
gaze into each other’s eyes, the rest of the world dropping away. The noisy bar is gone, the garish costumes, and the spooky decorations. There’s only me and this man who makes my pulse race and my magic sing, who makes me want to tell him things I spent the last seven years of my life trying not to think about, let alone talk about. But with him, I know I don’t have to bear those burdens alone anymore. I don’t have to be tough all the time. I can be vulnerable, the way I want him to be with me.

  A dragon shifter—it’s hard to tell if it’s a real one or a costume—bumps into us, waving over my head to the bartender. I look down, startled to find that our drinks have arrived while we were too busy with each other to notice. We pick up our mugs and squeeze through the crowd, stopping when we bump into a pair of Jacks joined at the hip.

  “Where’s Elowen?” I yell over the music, hoping she’s not moping in some corner alone.

  “There,” Asher says, pointing to the dance floor. I turn in surprise and search the crowd until I find a tree of a Jean-Baptiste spinning a brown-haired Sally across the dance floor. She didn’t replace her wig after Bella snatched it, but it doesn’t matter. Her pale blue face is split by a giant smile, like she’s having the time of her life as Rocco tosses her around like a ragdoll to the music. My heart is so full it threatens to burst.

  Not only have my guys accepted my friends, but Rocco could dance with any girl here, seeing as how I’m on a date and every girl at the Academy and half the ones in Jacksonville would line up for even a chance to catch his eye. Instead, he’s pulling double duty, letting Asher hang out with his boyfriend and making sure Elowen doesn’t feel neglected by that. And he’s doing it all for me.

  “Come on,” I say, taking Thorn’s hand in one of mine and Asher’s in the other. “Let’s dance.”

  After that, we dance as a group and together as couples. It’s the perfect way to blow off steam and relieve stress after the tragic month we’ve had. I don’t think about Topher, or ogres, or Bella, or Ryker, or even Headmaster Darius. I just dance and enjoy what I have, knowing how lucky I am to have two guys who will dance with me at the same time, or take turns dancing with me while the other dances with my friends. Knowing I’m lucky to have friends who all get along, or hell, to have friends at all after the way I spent most of my high school years.