A Lying Witch

by Odette C. Bell

  Reality sped up again. It was so quick, so impossibly fast that my head tugged back as if I’d just been in a car crash.

  Just as I had seen in my previous vision, something opened up before me. An earsplitting crack echoed through the air, louder and more piercing than anything I had ever heard. It felt like it ruptured my eardrums. And the smell? Oh, the smell was deadly. 10 times worse than the overpowering sulfur still wafting through the street. But none of that, none of that was as bad as the heat. It buffeted against me, slammed against my cheeks, ate into any exposed flesh. I tried to shift back from it, but there was absolutely nothing I could do. Nothing I could do….

  Just before I could give up all hope, I saw an opportunity. I saw it play through my mind. And I followed, for I had no option.

  There was a latch on one of my chains. Nothing more than a link that had become slightly loose. If I were 10 times as strong, maybe I’d be able to wrap my fingers around it and pull the link apart completely. But I wasn't 10 times stronger. And I didn't need to pull the link apart completely. All I needed to do was snag it on something.

  Just as this fell creature dragged me towards that gaping hot hole in the pavement, I saw something. Just along the lip of the hole. A pipe that had been chopped in half. It was strong, it was jutting upwards, and if I was just quick enough….

  With another one of those awful creaking hisses, the creature pulled me through the hole. I had a split second. No, who was I kidding? I had the tiniest micro fraction of a second.

  I wasn’t usually a lucky girl. I believed wholeheartedly that you made your own luck. Luck wasn't about hanging around and waiting for good things to happen to you. Luck was about getting out there and forcing the world to give you what you wanted. Right now, I had to change my opinion. Because somehow, just at the last moment, I managed to reach up, to shift around, and to push the weak link in the chain over that lip of metal.

  Time slowed down. To a crawl. I felt as if I could see every single atom draw to a standstill before my frightened mind.

  I saw that loose chain link snag against the hole. I felt the monster tug at me one last time. And as it did, he broke the chain.

  The monster let out a rattling shriek as it fell.

  Just before I could lose hold and be tugged down with the broken chain, I reached up and wrapped a hand over the metal pipe the chain had snagged against. I got a good enough grip that I managed to keep myself from being tugged down to hell. However, the pipe, like the hole around me, was superheated. As soon as I wrapped my hand around it, blistering pain powered through my palm and ate through my fingers. I shrieked, god knows I shrieked. But I did not for the life of me let go. I reached up with all my strength and wrapped a hand around the edge of the pavement. Then, finding strength I absolutely did not have, I pulled myself up onto the road.

  I didn't lie on the pavement, catching my breath. I twisted forward, pushed to my feet, cradled my hand against my chest, and I ran. It was still dark. And I didn't get far. Nope. I smacked into something hard and unyielding. Something that hesitated a moment before it wrapped strong arms around me.

  I screamed, trying to push back. That's when I heard an unmistakable brogue rumbling by my ear. “You're safe. It's just me.”

  … You're safe… it's just me.

  Those words were like a light illuminating the darkness. Max. God, it was Max.

  Despite the fact I’d just met this guy. Despite the fact I truly hated him and this entire incident had been about running away from him, I crumpled forward. Unashamedly, I nuzzled the big Scottish fairy’s chest. And, surprisingly, he didn't push me back. Showing the blessed strength of his form, he pulled me up and carried me away.

  …

  To be honest, it was all a bit of a blur until we got back home. Though I really didn't want to admit this, the second we returned to my grandmother's house, was the second I truly began to relax. There was something about this place that made me feel safe. Even if this place had been the start of all my troubles.

  Max didn't say a word to me in the car. Not a word. He didn’t ask me what had happened, how I'd escaped. Instead, he paid only a scrap of attention to the road as he used the rest to watch me.

  I cradled my blistered hand and tried to let my terror wash over me.

  Though I was in no state to appreciate this, this changed everything. Even a scientific skeptic wouldn't be able to deny what I’d just faced. Some kind of fiendish monster had tried to drag me down to Hell. And my nascent ability to see the future had been the only force to save me.

  Though I was kind of okay to walk, Max wouldn’t let me. As soon as we pulled up in front of the house, he reached around, plucked me out of the passenger seat, and carried me in.

  And, no, I was certainly not the kind of girl who preferred to be carried when she could walk. Or at least, on any day but today.

  I settled into the reassuring feel of his arms around me, the subtle beat of his breath across my cheek, the rumple of his t-shirt against my arms.

  Slowly, I started to appreciate the fight was over.

  Or was it just beginning?

  Max took me into the lounge room and, hesitating a single second, rested me down on the couch.

  He took a step back and crossed his arms. He'd been all sweetness and light up until now, all caring and chivalrous. But now? Oh, that changed in a snap. “I warned you,” he said, brogue dipping down low like far-off thunder.

  Instantly, my hackles rose. “I was just—” I couldn't find my words, couldn't find my voice. It felt like it was lodged down in my trembling heart.

  “Attacked. By a pixie,” he explained.

  Though a second ago I'd been determined to scream at him, that little gem derailed me entirely.

  I blinked my eyes and shook my head. “What? Pixie? No way. It couldn’t have been a pixie. It sounded like a hawk, had this chain, was dragging me down to Hell—”

  Max snorted. Snorted! I'd almost been killed, and this prick thought it was funny?

  You’d think being pissed off would be the last thing my body could manage right now. It was still overcome from the fight for survival, my hand still burnt to a crisp. That, however, didn't stop the bile from rising through my throat.

  Max simply raised an eyebrow at this. “It was a pixie. And it wasn't taking you down to Hell.” His accent became thicker on the word Hell.

  I opened my mouth. He didn't give me the chance to object.

  “It was taking you back to face punishment for your family's crimes.” As soon as he mentioned my family's crimes, it happened again. I swore his shadow elongated, became more intense, more real somehow.

  I found myself swallowing.

  “What exactly is it going to take for you to take this situation seriously?” he asked, somehow managing to squeeze his arms even tighter across his chest. I swore if he managed to clutch them any harder, he’d squeeze his head right off, and his indignant frown would roll all over the carpet.

  Though that was a mildly amusing thought, I stifled it. Any smart girl would. Just as a smart girl would turn, shove off the couch, and run a mile.

  I didn’t exactly have that option. I shrunk back, the cushions squeaking behind me as I continued to cradle my hand.

  God did it hurt. I usually had a pretty good pain threshold, but, hello, I’d burnt my palm and fingers on the superheated tunnel of a pixie.

  In my mind, pixies were tiny little mischievous creatures, kind of like garden gnomes. But the thing that had attacked me? I hadn’t gotten a good look at it, but I’d heard it. It had been massive, heavy, and had carried around a huge metal chain.

  Though my mind kept flitting from thought to thought, Max never shifted. Nor did he let up on his grip as he clamped his arms even tighter around his middle. “So, Chi, you taking this seriously yet?”

  I jerked my gaze up to his. “You’re an asshole, you know that, don’t you? Do you have any idea how much pain I’m in? Do you have any idea what I just went through?” Th
ough my voice cracked on the word idea, I still managed to push my words out. And it was a good thing, because this – the anger welling through my gut – it was the only thing that could counteract the fear.

  “Sure, I know exactly what you went through. I saw most of it,” he revealed.

  I… stopped. Kind of froze. It wasn’t the same immobilizing sensation I’d experienced when I’d heard the pixie dragging its chain towards me through the dark. Nope, this was completely different. This was pausing as reality shot you in the head. “You watched? You stood there and watched? You stood there as—” I couldn’t take it anymore. I reached behind me, and even though all I could grab was a cushion, it didn’t matter. I chucked it right at Max’s head.

  Though I knew full well Max had the reflexes to get out of the way, he didn’t bother. The cushion thumped against his face, tumbled down his crossed arms, and fell against his camel-colored leather shoes.

  “You total freaking asshole,” I screamed as I reached for another cushion and chucked it at him.

  Again, he didn’t move. He watched me with the kind of disappointed look that told me I was a complete waste of space.

  I didn’t stop throwing things at him. When I ran out of cushions, I reached towards the coffee table. I clutched at the remote and threw it right at that sanctimonious frown.

  This time, he reached up, and with lightning skills, caught it.

  That didn’t mean I stopped.

  “You total bastard,” I shrieked, finally jumping to my feet. “Now get the hell out of my house.” I pointed towards the door.

  He didn’t move. He just watched me. Somehow, when he wanted to, he could make his eyes glitter. Now I swore they glinted like light running along a freshly forged blade.

  I kept my arm held out, one long, stiff, bloodless finger pointed at the door. “I said get out,” I shrieked.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Chi. Neither are you,” he said as he took a step to the side, positioning himself roughly in the middle of the lounge room, giving himself all the time he would need to obstruct either door.

  I stiffened again. A burst of adrenaline rushed through me. Except, it was completely different to the fear that had seen me save myself from that pixie. Nope, this adrenaline just led to more blistering anger.

  I stood there, facing him, shoulders as stiff as an A-frame as I curled my hands into fists. It didn’t matter that one of my palms was so damaged it felt like it would have permanent scarring. “Where the hell do you get off? It this amusing to you? You left me there to die. Why, to make some stupid point? That I need you to protect me? Well, don’t know if you noticed, jerk, but I got out of that situation on my own.”

  … I got out of that situation on my own.

  What I was saying struck me.

  I’d seen the future again, and it had saved me.

  Though that thought was powerful, I kept my expression even. And, by even, I mean totally pissed. I wasn’t going to let this jerk know what I was thinking.

  “You think you don’t need me?” he said after a considerable pause. The kind of pause that brought attention to just how stiffly he was standing, to just how angrily he was gazing my way. “And you think I would have let you die? I was there. Waiting. If you hadn’t used your ability to save yourself, I would have stepped in. You have my word on that.”

  There was something about the way he said word, something about the way his voice shook. And, more than anything, something about the way he suddenly made direct eye contact. The kind of direct eye contact ordinary people don’t make. Because ordinary people are too full of themselves, too distracted, or too damn polite to stare you right in the eye like they were going to walk through the doors of your soul.

  I was ashamed to say that look derailed me. For like half a second.

  I spluttered, indignation still shaking through me like a violent storm. “Oh, that sure is reassuring. You would have stepped in if I’d needed it. When, exactly? When I’d been dragged down to Hell to burn to a crisp?”

  “I would have stepped in if you’d needed me,” he repeated once more, using one of those infuriating calm tones that told me I was overreacting. Problem was, I wasn’t overreacting.

  This jerk had left me to die.

  Though I was usually pretty good with confrontation, all I wanted to do was either force Max out of the house, or run away myself.

  Yet, as I turned hard on my foot and jerked towards the kitchen door, he was there. Right in front of me. Don’t ask me how he did it. It was magic, of course.

  He was close enough that all I had to do was reach a hand out, ball it into a fist, and strike it on his chest.

  I usually didn’t strike out. With my words, maybe. With my intelligence, definitely. With my fists? Hello, I was better than that.

  Ordinarily.

  As a pang of anger and the leftover dregs of fear spiraled through me, I snapped. I pushed forward and struck him right on that wall of a chest.

  He did nothing.

  His arms were crossed again, and he didn’t even bother to unhook them to catch my wrist.

  He just stared at me, gaze deadly even.

  Which just made me all the more pissed off.

  “You bastard,” I spat again as I struck him once more.

  It did nothing.

  So I struck again. I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks, dribbling down my neck, touching my collar. My shirt was all rumpled, torn in places, covered in grit and dirt. I’d been dragged down the street, after all.

  And this guy? He didn’t care.

  So, as the tears streamed even harder, I balled up my other hand – the one that was badly burnt – and I thumped it against his chest. Except, this time, he reacted. Showing that god-given speed once more, he reached forward and grabbed my wrist. He closed his fingers around it, locking it in place with that large, rough thumb. It was not, however, a violent move. It was almost like he was trying to contain my wrist, not break it.

  “Stop,” he said, that brogue shaking through the room. “You’re injured, remember?”

  For the first time, that dead-even expression cracked. Just a glimmer of actual concern parted his lips, softened his jaw, and flickered in his gaze.

  Which made me all the more pissed off.

  How dare he act concerned for me now. He stood there and watched as a terrifying monster dragged me down a darkened street. I didn’t care if it was some pixie, I didn’t care if Max thought he’d been in control – no one should have to go through a terrifying experience like that.

  The tears completely soaked my cheeks now. I was surprised I still had that many to cry – I thought I’d gone dry after all the bawling I’d done when the pixie had attacked me.

  I tried to yank my hand back, but Max wouldn’t let me. As I took several steps back to gain the purchase I’d need to pull my wrist out of his delicate grip, he just walked with me until he was standing there – right in front of me, leg pressed up against mine, chest a bare half centimeter from my own, and face right there – close enough to kiss.

  Close enough to kiss. With any other guy, in any other moment, that would have been an appropriate thought. Now? It should be the last thing on my mind.

  “Chi, you’re injured. And let me repeat once more – I would have stepped in if you’d needed it. You didn’t. Because you saw the future, right? And you acted on it, right?”

  I wanted to jerk back and hit him again. Instead, I was kind of stuck there, staring up at his face. No, I wasn’t stuck because of his perfect jaw, because of his high cheekbones, because of those glittering eyes. I was stuck because of something far deeper. That same connection I’d felt when he’d first arrived on my doorstep.

  “Just calm down,” he added in a low, quiet tone. “And realize what you just did. You used the same ability you did to stop me. You saved yourself from that pixie, Chi. And let me tell you, that’s quite a feat.”

  “I… I don’t care,” I said, trying to hold onto my anger. My anger? It was
slipping away like water through parted fingers.

  “Yes, you do. Though you’re a liar, I think you’ve always wanted to tell the future, right? There was a time you actually believed it was possible, wasn’t there?”

  I shook my head vigorously. “Absolutely not—”

  He snorted. “You’re like an open book, Chi McLane. You may think you’ve got a good poker face, but not against a fairy.”

  I clenched my teeth, deliberately letting my gaze darken. “I do not care what you think about me. Now let me go.”

  “Why? So you can storm out of the house and get into more trouble? Haven’t you even asked yourself why that pixie was after you?”

  I opened my mouth. I stopped.

  Like it or not, that was a seriously good point.

  Though I didn’t want to show any sign of weakness around him, I couldn’t stop myself from swallowing.

  Though momentarily his gaze looked victorious, that expression shifted to one of controlled concern. “It was the curse, Chi. I told you this would happen.”

  I shook my head, but it was a weak move. “You’re lying. That pixie…” I trailed off.

  What? Just saw me walking along the street and thought I looked like a pretty good target?

  I didn’t know how pixies operated, because I didn’t have any idea what a pixie was.

  I started to feel overwhelmed. At first, it was slow. Just a cold sensation spreading through my chest. Just a few prickles at the base of my spine, just my heartbeat quickening. Then? It hit me. I had no idea what was going on.

  I started to shake, I felt sweat slick across my brow, and all at once, I felt just how damaged my hand was.

  My mother would be disappointed in me if she could see me now. To her, you never showed weakness. You saved face no matter the situation, because face was the most important thing in the world.

  Right now, I lost it, as I literally broke down.

  Though a second before my knees had been standing just fine, now they buckled as if I’d aged a hundred years.

  I did not, however, fall flat on my face. Instead, showing that same other-wordly speed, Max the fairy pushed in, wrapped a hand around my back, and pinned me there. Sure, it meant I didn’t fall over. It also meant he was practically embracing me.