I shook my head. “No, you wouldn’t.”
Kitty gasped and placed a hand on my knee. “God, Stella, I didn’t think. I’m so sorry. I know they attacked you. I’m so dumb sometimes.”
“Not at all, and I was agreeing with you, I would not want to be anywhere the Brotherhood is.”
“Thank God they’re not here, right?”
“Right.” Watching the news wasn’t a big deal in the house but every so often, a newscast would flick on the television or someone would bring in a paper or the radio would mention it. No one made a big thing about it, but the square-set shoulders and the thoughtful expressions made me sure that everyone was waiting to hear what the Brotherhood were doing. So far, they had stayed across the ocean. At least, there had been no reports of any suspicious activity here. I thought things would be a lot worse if they made that geographical leap. Right now, I could feel relatively safe here, with their threat thousands of miles away. If they were here, I was sure we would have known about it by now.
Kitty indicated to turn into the driveway and she parked next to Marc’s car. It had moved from where it was parked when we left, so he must have been out somewhere, but if Kitty noticed, she didn’t mention it, so neither did I.
We grabbed our bags from the back seat and went inside. It was late afternoon and the house was quiet.
“Hullo-o,” Kitty called and David ducked his head around the library door. “Where is everyone?”
“Headed down to the beach,” David answered, repositioning his glasses on his nose. “I might head over that way myself soon. Hey, bring a swimming costume!”
“You swim in the sea?” I asked Kitty as we went upstairs.
“Sure,” Kitty was rummaging through her bags. “It’s a good job we got you that bathing suit. I’m quite ready to sunbathe. It seems a good day for it.”
In my room, I snapped the tags off my bathing suit, changed out of my clothes and slipped it on. It was white with belted bikini shorts and a halter neck top and I thought I looked pretty snazzy in it, plus the pure white didn’t show up my pasty skin too badly. I pulled one of the dresses over the top. It buttoned up the front so it would be easy to get on and off at the beach. I swapped my flats for sandals that were better for the sand and went to knock on Kitty’s door. She waved me in and I leant against the doorframe while she finished rummaging in her closet. At last, she sprang up, gold sandals dangling in her hand and slipped them on her feet.
“Let’s go!”
We veritably skipped our way out of the house and across the lawn. I could hear laughter from the beach and we followed it. By the time we got there, blankets had been spread out and cool boxes sat to one side, anchoring the fabric to the sand. Christy and Clara had taken towels and were sunbathing on their fronts. Jared was talking to Seren and Étoile in his usual animated way; Evan was reading a book, pausing occasionally to add to the conversation. It was Étoile who spotted us first and waved us over.
“It’s like Spring Break,” said Kitty gleefully, skipping towards them.
“Where’s Meg?” I asked as we crossed the beach, the sand sifting through the straps of my sandals.
“She won’t be out ‘til later, if at all,” Kitty replied, waving to the group. “She has this, um, skin condition and the sun bothers her.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.” I guessed it explained her preference for nighttime walks.
“She doesn’t make a big thing out of it.”
I settled down on the blanket with Kitty flopping in between me and Étoile. I looked wistfully at Evan’s book and wished it had occurred to me to bring a book too. Reading on the beach would be pleasant. Evan folded down the corner of the page and closed the book, setting in down. I gestured to it. “May I?”
“Of course.” He handed it to me and I turned it over to read the back cover synopsis, my elbows propping me up as I lay on my stomach, before passing it back. “Have you read the other books already?”
“One of them and I’m half way through the second.” It was a whodunit set in the thirties and the dialogue was very witty. I said as much. “I hardly ever see you without a book.”
“I like reading and there isn’t a whole lot of entertainment out here.”
“What would you do if you weren’t here? At home or...?” I couldn’t think where else Evan would be.
“I’d go catch a movie or attend a sports game. Basketball preferably, but I’ll take football or baseball, too.”
“I have no concept of American sports,” I confessed which led to Evan trying to give a lengthy explanation of the rules of baseball.
I couldn’t remember what it was that Evan said that made me laugh so hard but it gave me the kind of ache in my ribs that I hadn’t had in a long time. Marc was crouched beside me in an instant, his hand on my elbow as the laughter came to a spluttering stop in my throat.
“Hey.” I smiled, a smile that faded as I realised Marc looked thunderous. I hadn’t even realised he’d come to the beach.
“Come for a walk,” he said, his face stern.
“Um, sure.” I scrambled to my feet and looked back at our small group. Seren and Kitty were taking turns slathering on sun lotion, even though the sun wasn’t really all that hot. Evan had turned his head and was unscrewing the cap from his soda bottle. I could tell he was listening. He wasn’t making too much pretence not to.
Marc led me away from the little group and for a few minutes we walked, until we reached the part of the beach where it twisted back on itself and headed back inland before stretching out almost as far as I could see.
“What’s going on?” Marc snarled the question.
“Huh?”
“Back there.” Marc jerked his head back to the group.
“We were just joking around, having fun. Goodness knows we’ve needed it these past weeks.”
Marc rolled his eyes. “C’mon! I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
“Who? Evan?” I involuntarily turned my head and caught Evan’s eye as he looked over at us. He held my gaze steady for a moment before turning away and tossing a juice box over to Kitty who caught it in one hand.
“Who else? What’s going on between you two?” Marc jutted his chin toward Evan.
“Nothing.” I shrugged my shoulders and the breeze gently lifted my hair and fanned it across my back.
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Marc repeated, sounding for all the world like a jealous boyfriend.
I gaped at him. “He’s my teacher,” I hissed. “He’s looking out for me. He’s helping me.”
“He wants to help himself to you.”
“What do you mean by that?” I’d had enough of the scowling and the conversation was taking a turn for the worst. Plus I couldn’t pretend I didn’t feel something for Evan. It was there, all right, every day a bit stronger.
“You know what I mean. He’s had his eye on you ever since I brought you here. He’s interested in you and you sat there, flirting with him.”
“I did not!” Did I?
“Well that’s not how it looks from here. You’re practically making out.”
“Marc!” I was incensed. What business was it of his who I was talking to? He hadn’t staked a claim and even if he had, it was still a free world. I could talk to whomever I liked. Besides, I could hardly ignore my teacher. Not that Evan being my teacher was the problem.
“How do you think that makes me feel?”
“I would have thought that me making friends here would be good.” I didn’t even think to add: for us. There hadn’t been any hint of an “us”. It was a topic that never arose and besides the kiss in New York, I had to remind myself that nothing had actually happened. Even though we’d spent plenty of time together since talking about everything and anything, which was what made Marc’s behaviour all the more puzzling. He hadn’t made any moves on me, and I hadn’t encouraged any.
“It’s like he’s got a spell on you.” Marc looked at me quizzically and I realised his allegation was serious. I was as
tonished he’d even had such a thought, never mind spoken it. Magic on others was absolutely forbidden as I already knew. Spell casting to make someone attracted to another was strictly punished as David had mentioned when he was running though some rules during a class. Marc knew the rules better than I.
“Are you sleeping with him too?”
“That’s out of order, Marc. You know I’m not.”
Marc sighed and kicked the sand dune. A spray of sand shot into the air. He ran a hand through his thick blonde hair and his shoulders seemed tense. Before, I might have reached out and gently kneaded them, or given him a hug, but right now, I was furious at his accusations and didn’t want to touch him, not as a friend or as anything else. Instead I folded my arms and waited.
Marc took a deep breath and inclined his head towards me. “I have to go away for a while,” he said at last, abruptly changing the subject. “I’m needed in New York again. There have been some developments.”
“Is it the council?”
Marc nodded and his face showed he was unhappy. “Kinda.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since this morning, pretty much right after I got back. I should have just turned round and gone straight back.”
“Well, good of you to tell me. I wouldn’t have wanted to get up and find you gone again,” I snipped. I could have pinched myself. He owed me nothing. He was just sent to deliver me here. That was it.
“I’m sure you would have found somebody to keep your bed warm,” Marc spat like a spurned lover, his face clouding as he looked over at Evan. I didn’t follow his gaze so I didn’t know if anyone else could hear. I imagined not from this distance, but who knew what superhuman talents I didn’t know about with this crowd of weird and wonderful people?
“Hold on!” I raised a hand to him in a stop sign, palm flat towards him. “What”s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh hell, Stella.” Marc was getting more agitated and his toe was digging at the sand again. “Evan, he’s ... he’s not like us. He shouldn’t even be thinking about it. You should stay away from him.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Marc sighed. “You’re a free woman. Do what you want but don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll see you when I get back.” He turned on his heel and strode back along the beach to the steps that would lead him to the house.
I stood still, watching him retreat, the breeze gently caressing me as I tried to assess what had just occurred. Marc acted like a jealous boyfriend, or someone who wanted to be more than friends, not that he actually said that at all. Or had he assumed there was something between us? I hadn’t even had a chance to ask what he meant but it seemed clear. I was a free woman, all right. If he’d been thinking about making a move, he seemed to have scrubbed the idea away. Whatever feelings could have been had ceased existing the moment he stomped away. I watched Marc finish climbing the steps and disappear into the garden. I hadn’t even begun to address what he said about Evan.
It felt like I stood there forever when Kitty came over and slipped her arm around me. If she had been a bit taller, I would have rested my head on her shoulder. Instead, she put another arm around my front, linked her hands together and hugged me. I breathed deeply, more puzzled than ever.
EIGHT
Kitty unlinked her hands and turned me around so that she could take me by the shoulders and look at me with her beautiful almond eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.
I nodded, mute.
“Marc can be an idiot. Rash and foolish and sometimes he really doesn’t know what he wants. It’s not a reflection on you.” Kitty kept her hands on my shoulders but without pressure. “I’m going to tell you some things that you might not want to hear and some things that you don’t know yet. You’ll probably wonder why, but I have to tell you these things because I want to be your friend and I want you to be mine. If I don’t tell you these things and we talk about Marc, and you find these things out later, you’ll wonder if I’ve been malicious. I want you to know that I’m not like that and I don’t want to interfere where I’m not wanted.”
“Okay,” I agreed, curious. She had been friendly to me since my arrival and I wondered what it was that was important enough to make her look so solemn.
Kitty smiled, nodded, and took her hands off my shoulders. She slipped her arm through mine, patted my hand and led me off down the beach, away from the party. The first thing she said should have shocked me.
“I know I said Marc and I grew up together, but what I didn’t say was that we were once together-together too. It seems like a long time ago now. We were quite young and it lasted for several years. We were getting to grips with the things we, well, I could do and we naturally drifted towards each other. He was very handsome and charming even then.” Kitty smiled to herself but didn’t look at me. “I loved him very, very much and thought he loved me too. We broke up two, no, three years ago.”
“Why did you break up?”
“He had a roving eye,” Kitty said simply. “We both had to follow different paths. I had to learn to get my talents under control and Marc needed to learn other things, like how to defend our kind. I think he also had some problems dealing with his lack of magic. I thought faithfulness was implicit, even though we were so young. Perhaps we were too young. I don’t think his parents ever thought I was quite good enough either. Anyway, regardless of the reasons, Marc slept with other women and I found out the hard way.”
“I’m sorry. Did he break up with you?”
Kitty laughed and I was startled. “No. No. I broke it off with him. He was very upset and said he would change, but I’d had enough. I think he genuinely meant to change, but the damage was already done. I loved him for a long time and he tried to prove himself to me for a long time afterwards. I’ll grant him that. It was very hard and so awful and, to be perfectly honest, we’re still not too happy with each other.”
I absorbed this information. It made sense. They were civil to each other but never alone together. “Why are you telling me?”
“So that you understand why Marc is how he is. So you can make your decisions wisely.”
I nodded and understood that Kitty was implying that she didn’t want me to get hurt as she had. I would have my eyes wide open if I wanted to pursue Marc. Thing is, I wasn’t sure I wanted to in a romantic way. I wanted him to be my friend. As far as trees went, Kitty was barking up the wrong one. Clarity hit me like a ten tonne truck and I embraced it like an old friend.
“After we split up, and Marc gave up trying to win me back, he started seeing other people but never really dated. You’re the first girl he’s been interested in for a very long time and he told me that he cares for you a lot. Don’t be startled, we don’t discuss you. That would be too weird, but he mentioned one night how much he cares for you.” Kitty squeezed my hand. “However, Marc is still Marc and can still be a dumbass. A jealous one, too. You get that, right?”
I nodded, feeling more confused than ever. “I think so.”
“Marc isn’t the easiest person when it comes to relationships. I don’t know what he wants. I’m not entirely sure he knows what he wants.” Kitty shrugged her shoulders. “But if you’re hanging around wishing and waiting for him to sort himself out, and I’m not saying you are, well, that isn’t right or fair to you or him. I don’t want him to mess you about since you’re a bright and beautiful girl who deserves honesty and love and faithfulness.”
“We’re not together,” I blurted out. “I knew Marc liked me, I guess, and I like him too, but nothing’s happened. Just now, he was acting like an ass and then he warned me off Evan.”
We stopped walking and Kitty gave me a sympathetic look. We altered our course slightly and headed down to the water edge. Kitty tiptoed in the water and waited for me, the waves lapping over her feet. “It’s warm,” she said, and after a moment added, “sort of.”
I slip
ped off my sandals one at a time and followed her in. The lukewarm sea felt delicious against my skin. We stood there for a while looking out at the horizon and I let the peacefulness of the scenery wash over me and calm my insides until I got to the point where I no longer harboured vaguely violent thoughts towards Marc anymore.
Kitty held my hand as we walked back towards our beach and I felt relaxed, strolling through the shallows with the girl that I knew was honestly my friend.
“That’s Marc for you,” she said. “He doesn’t know what he wants, but he wants to make sure you’ll still be around when he makes up his mind. I’m sorry if you’re hurting.”
“I’m confused. I thought we were friends and maybe there might have been something.” It felt weird to be spilling about Marc to his ex; I just had to remind myself that Kitty was my friend too. “But he just snapped. He asked me why I was flirting with Evan and got all cross; then told me I could do whatever I wanted and he would soon be gone for a while. I don’t quite know what to make of it.”
“Were you flirting with Evan?”
“No. I don’t know. Maybe.” I sighed. Of course, I was flirting with him, but there was no way I was going to tell Kitty that Evan made my heart flutter like a million butterflies awakening every time I saw him. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together. Well, we have to, he’s my teacher, but I do like him. What did he mean about Evan not being like us? I keep getting hints and I don’t know what it means. And if Marc is so interested, why doesn’t he just make a move?”
“You could go ask Marc,” Kitty suggested. “Go up to the house. Everyone else is down here.”
Ahead of us, our patch of beach was back in view. Someone had strung up a volleyball net and a game was starting up. The ball sailed through the air and I saw Seren leap up to smack it back over the net. She hadn’t struck me as the athletic type but I revised my opinion when I saw her long, lean limbs.
Illicit Magic Page 16
