The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters

by Devin Harnois

  “You’ve got it,” Phoebe said. He could hear the smile in her tone.

  It seemed… stable this time. Aiden slowly opened his eyes.

  “Perfect.” Her smile widened. She bent to pick up the mirror she’d brought.

  Aiden stared into it and his mouth fell open. Dylan looked back at him. Aiden held up a hand and the mirror-Dylan moved with him. A faint gold-green shimmer covered his body.

  Phoebe looked at the mirror. “Ooh, the spell is very strong. Good job. Weak glamours can’t be seen in reflections.”

  “This is so trippy.” Aiden watched Dylan’s mouth form the words.

  “Yes. It’s strange to look like someone else, especially someone you know.”

  Aiden tilted his head one way, then the other. “I wish I really could be him for a while. As strong as he is. As brave as he is.” He sighed, letting the spell go. The face in the mirror flickered and he was looking at himself. “But I’m not.”

  Phoebe set the mirror down against a tree. “You don’t have to be someone else to be strong, Aiden. You can be strong in your own way.”

  “I’m afraid all the time. That I’ll hurt someone, that someone will hurt me.” He closed his eyes, wishing he could go back to his old life.

  “I had an idea the other day.” Phoebe waited until he opened his eyes. “You’re very powerful, and you’ve learned a great amount of control over the past few months. There’s no reason you can’t defend yourself.”

  “But I don’t want—”

  She held up a hand. “I’m talking about deflecting, holding. Ways to stop an attack without hurting anyone.”

  He frowned. “I can really do that?” Aiden remembered the first match he’d had with Dylan, the way he’d used wind and an invisible barrier. His breath came faster, chest feeling tight.

  “Of course. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what you can do. Even I’m not sure how much you’re capable of.”

  Aiden’s head felt a little tingly. What if he’d reacted faster when Dylan threw fire at him that night in the woods? If he’d had more training, if he’d been able to put up a barrier, he might not have a scar on his chest. He might have avoided all this fear.

  Phoebe put a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

  Remember to breathe. “Yeah. Thinking about it makes me nervous, you know?” He was so tired of being afraid. “But I want to try.”

  She smiled. “Good. See, you are brave. So, did you learn any defensive spells in school?”

  “I know how to put up a barrier, but I haven’t done that in a while.”

  “Well, let’s try it out. You stand there, and I’ll throw things at you.” Her mischievous grin made her look more like a kid than a mom.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  It looked like half the town was gathered out in front of the house. Dylan glared at them from one of the second-floor windows. They’d brought torches— well, flashlights— but not pitchforks. Probably saving them for next time.

  “You should come with us,” Mom said.

  Dylan snorted. “And have people glare at me the whole time? No.”

  “It would be good for them to see you helping.”

  “No.” He wondered if they’d find the fairy ring. There was no sign left of what had happened there. The symbols were smeared out. New grass covered where the ring of fire had been. Even the residual magic was gone. Mr. Johnson had done something the last time he was here, wiping away the last trace.

  Dylan still worried that somehow they’d know. Find something he’d missed.

  His mom stood there, quiet for a moment. He shifted his gaze to watch her reflection in the window. Finally, she said, “If you’re not joining the search party, then you have to stay in the house.”

  A cage within a cage. “Fine.”

  He glared down at the crowd. How many of them blamed him, or at least suspected him? Shadow Valley wasn’t big. Conner’s accusations could have spread far and wide by now. When he was just shouting about Dalton’s disappearance being Dylan’s fault, he was easy to dismiss. But now three people had gone missing and the town was getting paranoid. Paranoia made it a lot easier to believe things.

  Dylan felt like Frankenstein’s monster in that old movie. Except if they trapped him somewhere, they certainly weren’t going to be burning him. He pictured crouching in dragon form on the roof, launching with a roar and breathing fire on everyone down there.

  “We’ll be back in a few hours,” Mom said.

  “Okay.” Dylan turned his back on the window and went to his room.

  * * *

  Aiden rubbed sweaty palms on his jeans. In, out. In, out. I can do this. “I want to try something different today.”

  “What?” Tiago faced him from a dozen or so feet away.

  “Attack me.” His heart raced.

  “Really?”

  He could change his mind. Wait to try this another time. But the longer he put it off, the longer it would take to get over this stupid fear. “Yeah. Run at me. Try to punch me or kick me or something.” His practice with Phoebe had gone really well once he got the hang of it.

  Tiago studied him. “Are you sure? You’re nervous as hell.”

  Could he see it in his face? Or could he hear his heart? Smell his fear? That made Aiden think about Tiago’s cryptic comment about secrets, and he got even more nervous. Aiden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I have to do this.”

  “Okay. I promise not to hit you too hard.” Tiago shifted his stance.

  Aiden reached for his magic. Tiago isn’t using his power, and I’m just going to stop him. No one gets hurt. “Ready.” Aiden’s tongue felt thick.

  Tiago looked a little uncertain, but a moment later he rushed toward him.

  Aiden sent his magic into the layer of gravel under their feet and the earth beneath that. Rock and soil moved under his command, and three feet away Tiago jerked to a halt, one of his feet sinking into the ground.

  “Huh?” His arms went out to catch his balance. He stared down at the muddy gravel surrounding his foot. Then he looked up at Aiden. “Nice trick.”

  The tightness in Aiden’s chest eased a little. “It worked.”

  Tiago smiled, which didn’t help Aiden’s heart rate at all. “Did you just learn that?”

  Aiden nodded. “I thought of it yesterday and practiced a little before you got here. I didn’t know if it would actually work or if I’d be able to do it… under pressure.”

  Tiago pulled hard and his foot came out, his shoe and the bottom of his jeans covered in mud.

  “Sorry about the mess,” Aiden said.

  “Don’t worry about it. Wanna try again?” He started backing away.

  “Yeah.” Aiden got nervous again, but it wasn’t as bad. He trusted that if he made a mistake or missed, Tiago wouldn’t really hurt him. And Aiden wouldn’t hurt Tiago more than maybe making him fall over. A normal person might get scraped up and bruised, but the werejaguar was tougher than that. Plus he had those cat reflexes.

  That thought could go down a naughty path, and Aiden cut it off before it could go too far.

  This time when Tiago ran at him, Aiden caught both his legs. It looked like he had gravel boots on.

  They went through it several more times before Tiago said, “Hate to rain on your parade, but you’re trying to get back into matches in gym, right?”

  “Yeah,” Aiden said warily.

  “Well, there’s no dirt or rock in those rooms. The floor is solid.” Somehow, splatters of mud had gotten all the way up to his face. Aiden hoped his foster parent or guardian or whoever was looking after him wouldn’t get mad at the mess.

  “I know.” He’d thought about that too. “I have some other ideas.”

  “Let’s try one of those then. What do you need me to do?”

  Aiden tried to hold back a smile and was only partially successful. Tiago was so eager to help. Well, Aiden was just as eager to help him with reading and homework. They were both making good progress. �
��Go farther back. Maybe twice as far. This spell is harder and it might not actually stop you.” Nervousness crept back in.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t hit you.”

  Aiden trusted him. Then a nasty worm of doubt crawled into his brain. He’d trusted Dylan not to hurt him. No, Dylan and Tiago had similarities, but they weren’t the same. Tiago didn’t revel in violence and destruction. And he wasn’t desperate to get out of Shadow Valley. In fact, he’d asked to get in.

  Oh, Dylan. I wish I could practice with you, have matches with you. I wish I could still trust you. Aiden had forgiven him and believed that Dylan wouldn’t deliberately hurt him, but the way Aiden panicked whenever Dylan drew on his magic was proof that deep down he didn’t trust his best friend.

  “This far enough?” Tiago asked.

  Aiden made himself focus and considered the distance. “Yeah.” A deep, slow breath as he reached for his magic. “Ready.”

  Tiago came at him, running faster than he’d expected. Aiden’s concentration fumbled for a moment, but he tightened his mental grip and cast the barrier. It had worked to stop fire months ago in gym class. If it could stop fire, it should be able to stop a person.

  Aiden opened his mouth to warn Tiago, but too late. The boy slammed into solid air and Aiden winced. Tiago stumbled back, blinking as Aiden dropped the spell. “Sorry! I’m so sorry!” Aiden’s stomach twisted and he hurried to check on him.

  Tiago rubbed his nose and laughed. “I’m okay. What was that?”

  “A barrier. It works to stop magic—”

  “And werejaguars, apparently.” He laughed again.

  Aiden studied him. Was he really okay or just being macho? There was no blood, no bruises, at least from what he could see in the dark. “I didn’t expect you to run so fast.”

  “Really, I’m fine.” He gave Aiden a friendly smack on the arm. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Aiden chewed his lower lip. “It might hurt someone else. I’ll have to find something different to use.” He sighed. “I’m trying to find ways to stop people without hurting them.”

  “In case those werewolves attack you?”

  “I was thinking more about matches in gym, but that too, I guess.” With Conner and the werewolves, he was much more worried about Dylan fighting them. Tiago would probably join in too, if it came to that. Thinking about it made Aiden queasy.

  “You’re really against violence, huh?” Tiago tilted his head.

  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Not me or you or Dylan. Not even Conner.” He’d love to see Conner get punished more, but violence wasn’t the answer.

  “How are you friends with Dylan? You two are so… opposite.”

  Aiden laughed. “I guess we are. He was nice to me on my first day of school, and we’ve been hanging out ever since.”

  “Kind of like you and me.”

  Why did that make his heart flutter? “Well, you met Dylan your first day too. I’m surprised you two don’t spend more time together. Why don’t you?”

  Tiago shrugged. “He’s not helping me with schoolwork.”

  Aiden considered that. Poor Dylan had been feeling left out lately. “Maybe we could all get together and do homework some night.”

  Tiago looked like he was going to laugh or brush it off, but then his expression turned thoughtful. “Sure, I guess.”

  Aiden smiled. “Cool.” He wondered if the three of them could practice magic together someday. The cold fear that rose up made him think it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Don’t dismiss it, you’re making progress, he told himself. “Let’s try something else.”

  If he could master this different style of combat, maybe everything would be okay.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Something slammed into Dylan, and he went flying into the wall. The impact forced a grunt out of him and he turned, realizing he’d been pushed.

  The demon kid stood glaring at him, the one with the missing mom. “Tell me where she is.”

  Dylan didn’t answer. He ran at the older kid, warmth flowing over his body. The glare turned into wide-eyed surprise and the kid ran. The crowd slowed them both down, kids scrambling to get out of their way. Dylan reached out, inches from grabbing the demon kid’s shirt, but he ducked into a classroom.

  Dylan stopped, considering if he wanted to go in there anyway and kick his ass. Right in front of a teacher. That would get him into even more trouble than fighting at lunch. With a huff of frustration, he turned to go back down the hall. Maybe the kid had learned a lesson about touching him.

  When he got to his locker, his simmering rage went back up to a boil. Someone had written “killer” across the door in red permanent marker. Too pissed off to think, Dylan had to try his combination several times before he got it right. He yanked the locker open and something fell out.

  Bending, he picked up a folded note. In rough, sloppy script, someone had written, “We know what you did, and you’re going to PAY!” Pay was written in all caps and underlined several times.

  Dylan crushed the note and it went up in flames. Did they want him to burn down the whole fucking school? In a moment, the paper was a charred scrap and he dropped it, grinding it into the floor with his shoe.

  He stared at his books, wondering if it was even worth bothering going to class today. He could leave, go to the pit before he had to start smashing people’s faces in. And let them think they chased me off? No.

  Shoving books into his bag, he told himself he had to make it through the day. The locker closed with a slam that echoed through the hall, and he turned to head for homeroom. Dylan didn’t look where he was going, trusting everyone to get out of his way. They did.

  * * *

  Hanna backed up until she bumped against the wall, clutching a book to her chest like a shield. That awful, choking fear filled her as Nolan loomed above her.

  “You think you can treat our alpha like that and get away with it?” he snarled.

  Would he hit her? Right in the middle of the crowded hall? Most of the kids were passing by, some of them looking, but no one came to help. They hurried past or pretended they hadn’t seen anything. As much as she desperately wanted someone to make Nolan go away, she didn’t blame them. She would have done the same thing. Getting involved meant maybe getting hurt.

  “Please leave me alone.” She drew tighter in on herself, not looking at him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? You’re not sorry yet. We’re gonna make you sorry.” He moved closer, stomach pressing against the book she gripped.

  There are hall monitors and teachers. Someone will see. They were backed into the space near a drinking fountain, lockers on either side. Not immediately obvious, but some adult had to walk by eventually and see they weren’t just talking.

  “What did I tell you?” The words were a roar, shocking a gasp out of her.

  Nolan turned, and she looked past him to see Dylan. His eyes were glowing green, fists clenched at his sides. The other kids in the hall scrambled to get out of the way.

  Hope leaped in her chest. Nolan blocked her with his body and growled at Dylan. “Come to rescue your bitch again?”

  Dylan moved so fast she almost didn’t see it. He hit Nolan from the left, slamming him into the lockers on the opposite side of the fountain. The crash was so loud that Hanna winced in sympathy. Even though Nolan was half a foot taller and at least twice as wide, Dylan grabbed his shoulders and smashed him into the lockers again.

  “Think this is a joke?” Dylan asked, heat radiating from him.

  “Let me go,” Nolan begged. Hanna was shocked to hear the panic in his voice.

  Dylan leaned close, and she wondered if he was going to rip the older boy’s throat out. “Run,” he said in a low voice before stepping back.

  Nolan did just that, fleeing down the hall.

  Dylan turned to her, eyes still glowing, fierce expression slowly softening. He looked like a warrior. Like a god. “You okay?”

  Her heart kept pounding, but not with fear a
nymore. “Yeah. He didn’t touch me.”

  Dylan stepped closer, looking her over as if to make sure. “So now Conner sends others to do his dirty work. Fucking coward.”

  She looked at him. Dylan would threaten others, hurt others for her sake. But he would never hurt her. No, never. Hanna’s gaze drifted from his green eyes to his lips. She shifted away from the wall. Oh God. Am I really going to do this?

  Hanna took a breath. Time to do something brave. They were almost the same height, so she didn’t have to lean up. Hanna bent toward him and pressed her lips to Dylan’s. He tensed but didn’t pull away. In the next moment he was kissing her back. His lips were softer than she expected, softer than Conner’s and not as demanding.

  What am I doing? They were in the middle of the hall, where everyone could see. And Dylan was Aiden’s friend…

  Hanna pulled away and saw her shock mirrored on Dylan’s face. Embarrassment heated her cheeks, and she couldn’t even make herself speak. Ducking around him, she hurried down the hall. Maybe she could find a rock to hide under for the rest of her life.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Aiden walked into the locker room, wondering if there would be matches today. They were happening almost every other day now as they got closer to the showcase. Aiden’s parents had wanted to come to watch him have a match against Dylan, but of course that wasn’t going to happen now. Aiden wasn’t even going to go to the showcase, let alone be in it.

  Dylan hurried up to him before he even reached their row. “I have to talk to you.”

  The look on his face made Aiden guess it wasn’t something good. “What’s wrong?”

  Dylan ducked into their row and paced for a moment before sitting on the bench. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more than it already was. “Hanna kissed me.”