Legally Red

by A. A. Albright

  Being shy in this way was a whole new thing for me. New as in incredibly new. The last few weeks I’d been feeling far less confident than usual. I put it down to my bad luck in finding a job, but the constant insults from the She-Wolves were hardly helping matters. Whatever the reason for my current lack of confidence, I hoped I could get over myself sharpish.

  It was a good night for a ride. The moon might not be full, but it was still big and bright, and a light breeze and gentle drizzle cooled us down as we travelled. Princess was purring away behind me, happy to be up in the air.

  Any cat lovers will know just how well their moggies can balance, but familiars brought that natural balance to a whole new level. They were able to share the magical bond that a witch made with their broom, and ride away to their heart’s content. I’d even heard of a familiar in Riddler’s Edge who rode a broom without his witch being on it.

  Occasionally Princess paused in her purring to tell me about all the mice she was going to torment once we reached Mack’s. Being able to communicate with your cat isn’t all sweetness and light, is it? Truthfully, she’d probably stalk the sides of the lake for half an hour and then curl up in the comfy bed Mack had bought for her. But she liked to plan big.

  ‘Hey.’ She stopped talking about torturing small creatures and nudged my back. ‘What’s going on down there?’

  I glanced at the area below. In a perfect circle surrounding Mack’s house, there were at least three hundred people. I recognised a few of the She-Wolves, but there were other fans, too, and some photographers and journalists taking snaps of the house.

  ‘That shouldn’t be happening,’ said Princess. ‘Mack has the place warded so the fans can’t see it.’

  ‘Maybe it shouldn’t be happening, but it is,’ I said. ‘I’m going to magic us inside instead, okay?’ I clicked my fingers, concentrating on the coordinates for Mack’s living room, but nothing happened.

  ‘I can’t finger-click in, Princess. I don’t know what’s going on.’ I could hear the panic in my voice. What if Mack really did regret his words in that interview? What if he’d locked me out of his house because he was in there with one of the many supermodels who wanted him?

  ‘You’ll have to make a landing,’ Princess said softly. ‘And phone Mack to let him know we’re here. No matter what’s going on, he will want to make sure we get inside safely.’ Hmm. Why did I get the feeling that she knew exactly what I was thinking?

  ‘Okay,’ I said nervously, dipping my broom and aiming my landing carefully so that I’d break through as close to the door as possible, dialling Mack’s phone as I flew.

  ‘It’s me,’ I said breathlessly as he answered. ‘I’m outside, but I’m not sure how I’m–’

  I broke off talking as one of the She-Wolves pulled me to the ground.

  ‘It’s the girlfriend!’ she shouted. ‘If we tie her up, Mack will have to come out and see us.’

  ‘You forget that the girlfriend is a Wayfair,’ I grumbled, sending a silent freezing spell at her and the three others who were helping. They stilled at once, but more fans were coming. Princess was hissing and scratching at them, and my poor broom had already been taken and snapped in two.

  As yet another hand reached out to grab me, I turned and pointed my finger, collapsing in relief when I saw that it was Mack and a team of security guards.

  ‘Leave off her!’ Mack bellowed. ‘Or else I’ll never write another record again!’

  The crowd slunk back, but I could still hear the clicks of cameras and camera phones, as Mack and his team rushed me into the safety of the house.

  ≈

  I looked around at the burly team in shock. Mack didn’t do security. He drove an old car, stayed away from celebrity haunts, and did his best to live his life like a normal guy.

  ‘Why couldn’t I travel in with magic?’ I asked.

  Mack nodded to a short, skinny guy who was walking around the room, whispering incantations and waving a wand. ‘He’s the best guy my security company has, but even he hasn’t figured out how to fix the wards outside yet. So all he could do was make sure no one can get in in the meantime, unless I let them in through the door.’ He looked concernedly at me. ‘Oh, my poor sweet Red, they really did a number on you out there. You look so pale and tired. It must’ve been a real shock, arriving in the middle of all of this.’ He nuzzled my hair. ‘How can I make it better? Will a brandy perk you up?’

  For a moment I let the simple relief of being around him warm me up. Every time he called me Red, I melted on the inside. ‘Yeah, I guess it might help,’ I said as he led me to the couch and sat me down. ‘Wait, how are the wards broken? And isn’t it just a matter of redoing them?’ It seemed pretty ironic to me that they should be broken today, after I told Marion I wished she’d be able to stake out Mack’s house for a change instead of mine. The phrase Be careful what you say to nutty She-Wolves sprang to mind. Sure, I knew it wasn’t a well-known phrase yet, but if the She-Wolves kept going on the way they were, then there would soon be a lot of sayings about them.

  The witch who was working on the wards gave me an annoyed glare. ‘Did you just ask why I can’t simply redo the wards? You want to have a go? I mean, I’ve only been doing protection spells for the past fifty-five years, but what do I know?’

  I cleared my throat. ‘Sorry. I’m sure you’re doing your job as best you can.’

  ‘He really is – but that doesn’t give him an excuse to be rude to my girlfriend.’

  Hearing Mack’s comment, the witch rolled his eyes and carried on working.

  Mack moved to the drinks’ cabinet and poured me a large brandy. ‘I don’t know what’s going on. The security company have been working around the clock all day, ever since the first She-Wolf turned up this morning.’ He nodded towards the five burly men. ‘And this is only a quarter of the security team. The rest of them are patrolling outside, trying to keep the She-Wolves from the door.’

  ‘Anyway.’ He handed me the drink, then sat down next to me, pulling me into his chest and kissing the top of my head. ‘I’m just glad you’re okay, Red. I was about to call you and tell you what was going on, but I thought you wouldn’t be done with dinner at Wayfarers’ Rest for a couple of hours at least.’

  I sank against him, breathing him in. ‘I didn’t stay for dinner. Cassandra was there.’

  ‘Your great, great, great … I mean, your granny? What did she want?’

  ‘Oh, y’know, just to teach me how to be a proper vampire. Well, sod that. I’m not a vampire. I’m a witch. So she can go sit on a stake and swivel for all I care.’

  He pulled back, looking down at me with worry. ‘You still look pale, Red. I think you could do with some serious cheering up. And luckily, I’m just the man to do it.’ He glanced at the security staff. ‘Can you guys go patrol somewhere else or a while? I’m gonna cook my girlfriend some dinner, and we’d like a bit of private time while we eat.’

  ≈

  For a werewolf who liked to eat his meat with a side of meat, Mack sure did make an amazing vegetarian chilli. He made an amazing everything, in fact. It had been a bit of a shock to me to find out how much he loved to cook. I’m not sure how I imagined him spending his weekends, but it sure wasn’t flipping pancakes and baking muffins. Everything about him was a surprise to me. A good surprise, too. If only he didn’t have the gaggle of crazy ladies following him wherever he went, he might well be the perfect man.

  ‘So how was the new boss?’ he asked as he replaced my empty chilli bowl with a blackberry crumble.

  I dug in straight away. The enormous serving of chilli hadn’t been nearly enough to satiate me, so I hoped that the dessert would do the trick. ‘Ugh! That’s about all I have to say on the subject of Miles Master.’

  He toyed about with his own crumble, glancing up at me every now and then. ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he said eventually. ‘I know how much you wanted it to work. So em … did you happen to catch my interview on Magic Music?’

 
; I felt my cheeks begin to flush. ‘Yeah, I caught it. It was quite an in-depth interview.’

  ‘Yeah. Priya asked some pretty personal questions. I em … I hope you don’t mind that I gave her one or two quite personal answers.’

  I looked up at him, wishing my skin would stop burning. At least it was better than being told I was pale, I supposed. But if I felt my best, I’d have no problem seizing this moment and telling Mack that I felt exactly the same as he did.

  Sensing my mood again, my clever little cat left her warm bed and sprang onto my lap, purring against me. I don’t know what it is about her purrs, but I swear they’ve got a little bit of magic in them. Because for the first time all day, I began to feel confident. I opened my mouth, about to admit just how happy I was about what he’d said, when something behind him caught my eye.

  There was a pile of mail atop the kitchen island. Most of it was unopened except a card on top of the pile – a card with a love heart on it.

  ‘You don’t normally get fan mail at the house,’ I said.

  ‘Oh.’ Mack’s skin turned bright pink. ‘That’s not … it’s just something that came through my agent.’ He stood up and snatched it from the pile, moving towards the bin. I put Princess down and followed him there.

  ‘What is it? Why are you hiding it? Is it from one of the She-Wolves? Did they say something even nastier than usual about me?’ I grabbed the card, gasping as I read. No, it wasn’t from one of the She-Wolves. It was from Julie Rayn – the werewolf supermodel who called herself Mack’s biggest fan. My eyes scoured the words:

  Hey Mack, I really enjoyed our little talk the other day. I’d love to get together again. You have my number, so call me any time.

  Julie Rayn

  XXX

  He ran his hands over his short hair, shaking his head and looking pleadingly at me. ‘It’s not what you think, Red. I swear. The little talk she’s going on about was only me signing her record and telling her thanks for being a fan. That was it. No more. And I’ve already screamed at my agent for passing it on to me.’

  I put the card down and squared my shoulders. ‘That’s okay. I believe you.’

  ‘Do you though? I mean, you haven’t been yourself lately, Red. You look so pale. And you’re losing weight, too.’ He took my face in his hands, looking sincerely at me. ‘Sometimes I don’t think you know that you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, Melissa Wayfair. You don’t need to change a thing for me. I love you exactly the way you are.’

  Oh dear goddess. He thought I was on a diet? ‘You think I’m losing weight for you? I’m not losing weight for anyone. Wayfairs don’t do diets. We love our food, and woe betide anyone who gets in the way of it. I’m just … I’ve been a bit stressed lately, that’s all.’

  He sighed. ‘Yeah, well I think I can figure out why that might be. Red, this isn’t working out, is it?’

  I swallowed. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean you and me.’ He nodded to the windows. ‘Not while all of them are around, anyway. I think it’s time I put a halt to the whole thing.’

  ‘Oh. Oh, well …’ I couldn’t really finish that sentence, what with my heart being a little bit broken and all. So much for me being the one. It was then that I knew there was definitely something up with me. Because instead of letting fly and calling him all the names under the sun, I just stood there waiting for whatever he was about to say next.

  ‘I’ve already spoken to the others about the possibility. They’re not happy about having to find a new singer, but they’ll cope.’

  ‘Wait … what?’

  ‘I’m talking about me ending my time with the Call of the Wild. What did you think I was talking about?’ He gave me a small smile. ‘This isn’t fair on you, is it? The She-Wolves have been getting worse and worse as the weeks have gone on. Now they’ve even managed to take away our one little refuge. And as for Julie Rayn … I have no idea why all of these models and actresses think I’d even give them a second look. I don’t want that kind of life. I never did. I like writing songs and singing but as for everything that goes with it?’ He shook his head. ‘It’s just not for me. Especially not if it’s making you miserable.’

  All of that would have sounded like the most romantic thing in the world, if it weren’t for the fact that it was a steaming pile of horse crap. Mack might like the simple life during his spare time, but he liked performing just as much. Scratch that – he loved performing. He came into his own on stage. The band had never broken the top one hundred before he joined, and now they made it to number one with every single song.

  ‘You can’t leave the Call of the Wild. I won’t let you. You are that band.’

  ‘No. No I’m not. I’m me. Mack. Mack who loves Melissa. Mack who wants you to be as happy as you can possibly be. And if that means leaving the Call of the Wild, then that’s what I’ll do.’

  I stepped away from him. ‘So it is just for my sake, then? If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t even dream of giving up your job, would you?’

  He scratched his head. ‘No. Yeah. Does it matter? Red, all I want is to make you happy. Please, just let me do that. Think of how good it’ll be. We’ll be able to be alone, just the two of us, without all the madness that comes with my job.’

  I took another step away, and Princess leapt back into my arms. A hundred thoughts ran through my mind. Like the fact that I really did love Mack. Or the fact that I wanted time alone with him more than anything. Mack without the Call of the Wild would be a blessing for me.

  But it would be a curse for him.

  Now, when you read what happened next, you might come away with the impression that I’m some kind of martyr. Well I’m not, trust me. It was just that I could see exactly where this road would take us. Sure, we’d be in blissful heaven for a while. But then reality would set in. Mack would be itchy to perform again. To write songs and make music. And when that happened, maybe he’d begin to blame me for being the one who made him leave it all behind.

  I glanced outside. One of the She-Wolves had burst through the security guards and was pressed up against the kitchen window, blowing kisses at Mack. He stomped across the room and closed the blind. Then he rushed around, shutting all of the curtains and blinds in the house.

  ‘Melissa,’ he said when he’d finished, ‘I get the feeling lately that you’ve been trying to push me away. And I think I know why you’re doing it. It’s hard for you. You never saw yourself with someone like me. But I’d do anything for you. I’m serious when I say I’ll leave it all behind for you. All you have to do is say the word.’

  As he stepped in my direction again, I stepped even further away. ‘Good goddess, no! That’s not what I want, Mack. I told you, I don’t want you to leave them. Before you they used to change members more often than they changed underwear. They’d fall apart without you.’

  He gave me a so-what shrug. ‘They’re big boys. Look at this, Red.’ He opened the blind for a moment before shutting it again. ‘Look at how crazy this has gotten. It’s no life for you. You don’t have a say in this. It’s my decision, and I’m quitting. We’ll take off somewhere far away from all of this. Get a house that’s ours. Settle down. I want to be with you forever, so why don’t we start that forever now?’

  Princess’s purrs grew louder and she snuggled into my chest. For a moment I didn’t answer Mack. I just kissed the top of my familiar’s head, hoping I could draw just a little bit more confidence. And if not confidence, then at least some resolve.

  I drew myself tall, trying to think of a way to convince him that I meant what I said. Which was a little bit hard to do when all I really wanted was to magic him a thousand miles away and disappear with him forever. Go to that house of our own he was talking about. Start our forever and settle down.

  ‘I … Mack, the problem isn’t just the She-Wolves. The problem is everything. I’m twenty-two, and you’re talking like you see us as some old married couple. I … I wish you’d just stop it sometimes. Stop being
so serious about me.’

  ‘I’ll never stop being serious about you, Red. I can’t.’

  ‘You can, Mack,’ I said, looking him in the eye. ‘And you will. You’ll stop being serious about me because you have to. The Call of the Wild is important to you and I’m not going to let you give that up. You and me … we’ve barely been going out five minutes.’ I paused for a moment, concentrating very hard on pulling back my tears. ‘Now, can I click out of here or do I have to arrange something with the security team or what?’

  He nodded distractedly. ‘Yeah, out is fine. You just can’t click in. But … wait, what? You want to leave? Red … you can’t leave. And you can’t be saying what I think you’re saying. You can’t.’

  I looked at him again, growing weak at the knees. I wanted to take it all back so much. But what I wanted didn’t really matter. Me and Mack might feel like the most perfect match in existence, but no one else seemed to share that joy. And as much as I loathed the naysayers … what if they had a point? Mack might actually be better off without me.

  ‘Yes. I am saying what you think I am. It’s over, Mack. Forget me. Forget you ever even met me in the first place. Go out on the town with the band and have some fun for once. Go out with Julie Rayn. In fact, why don’t you go out with a dozen supermodels? Because you and me … it’s just not going to work.’

  6. Head it Like a Boss

  I don’t think you’ll be surprised to hear that I had a pretty unpleasant night. I didn’t sleep much. Instead, I raided the fridge and the cupboards, eating nearly everything in the house. When I almost ate Dizzy’s mangoes, I knew it was time to stop. For one thing, Wanda’s bat would kill me if I ate his food. For another thing … all the food in the world was never going to fill me. Maybe I wasn’t even hungry. Maybe this was what people talked about when they said they ate to fill a void.