by Patti Larsen
Now we were attracting interest. I had to get her out of there, but I had no idea what to do. All I had were my own shields but when I tried in desperation to wrap them around Meira she just squealed like I hurt her.
I was trying to come up with something else when Quaid appeared beside us.
“Let’s go,” he hissed, tossing money on the table. He bundled Meira up against him, keeping her shielded from the people in the diner, hurrying her to the door and outside onto the street.
I waved at the waitress, pointed at the money and followed.
Outside, Meira struggled not to cry but was still startlingly herself. One kid, who happened to be walking by, grinned.
“Cool costume,” he said.
Meira ran.
“Meira!” I called after her. Before I could follow her, though, Quaid caught my bare arm. He spun me around to face him. I felt a huge jolt of energy exchange, a connection between the two of us taking my breath away and freezing us both. My anger and fear drained away as the connection tightened before easing into something warm and wonderful.
“What the…” I could barely speak. From the light in his dark brown eyes, I knew he was as shocked by the event as I was.
“No idea,” he answered, voice soft and a little vulnerable.
All of a sudden he was wide open to me, the deliciousness of his energy pouring over me like a waterfall of yummy. My demon instantly started to purr and soak it up, reaching back with equal enthusiasm. I found myself moving closer to him, hands pressed to his chest, lost in his eyes and the magic that surrounded me.
I knew his pain, then, understood his loneliness and longing for a place to belong. My demon let him in, gave him what he needed without reservation, accepted the lost boy inside him even as his own magic stripped away the judgments I had for myself and the confusion I felt about just being me. I’d never felt anything like it before and didn’t want it to end.
I think we may have stood there forever if a passing group of teenagers hadn’t broken the connection with their giggling and kissing noises. It was enough of a distraction I was able to snap myself back, pulling against him, feeling a surge in response. My demon tried to fight me even as his magic recoiled in a burst of rejection and hurt. When our power let us go, I stared at him while the pain in his face turned to a dose of protective anger.
Quaid grabbed me again, his hand blocked from my skin by the thin fabric of my T-shirt. I could still feel a subtle vibration passing between us, but ignored it.
“What is your problem?” He snapped at me.
I may have understood him moments before but my worry for my sister was much more important. “What’s yours, jerk?” I snarled back. “Let me go, I have to get Meira.”
“Didn’t see you caring enough to help her get her disguise back up,” he said. “Nice job, Syd. Ruin it for everybody.” I knew this attack was fed by his vulnerability and the fact he hated I’d gotten in. But I couldn’t help myself. Even while my demon begged for more I shoved him away.
“At least I don’t tattle to my parents every second,” I threw back at him.
“Maybe if you kept yourself under control, I wouldn’t have to,” he said.
I would have hit him if I thought I had the time. Instead I said a very bad string of words to his face before tearing off down the street after my sister while my demon howled in despair.
While what I told him to go do was physically impossible, I’m pretty sure he got the point.
I tried to forget the strange exchange of power between us, the way he now felt inside me no matter what he did on the outside. I had to focus on Meira. I could figure that crap out later, but at the moment, my sister’s run for home alone and in her condition made my heart pound with fear.
I didn’t catch her until the end of the driveway. Mom ran from the house by then to meet her. Our mother scooped her up. Meira’s little arms latched on like she would never let go. She sobbed, barely able to catch her breath, face streaked with tears, whole body shaking.
I followed them into the house, not knowing what to say, what to do.
Mom turned on me, face furious.
“What happened?” She demanded.
I was not going to be the one to break our little truce. I took a deep breath and kept my voice steady.
“We were at the diner having ice cream,” I explained, “and Meira’s disguise started to fade. She couldn’t get it back in place so we left.”
“She’s never lost control in her life,” Mom said. “Why today?”
“I don’t know, Mom, honestly,” I answered, as stumped as she was. “It was weird. And the strangest part is she didn’t know it was happening.”
Meira calmed some. She snuffled against Mom’s shoulder.
“Meira, honey,” my mom said. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know,” she wailed. “I’m scared, Mommy! It was gone and I couldn’t get it back!”
“Why didn’t you help her?” Mom asked me.
“How?” I said. “Mom, I would have, really, but Meira didn’t even know what was going on. What could I do that she couldn’t?”
Mom drew a deep breath and started rocking my sister who had quieted.
“You’re right, Syd, honey, I’m sorry,” Mom said, voice tired. “It’s not your fault. Or yours,” she said to Meira. “Something is going on and I need to find out what it is.”
“What do you mean?” I asked her. She gave me a pointed look that said not in front of your sister.
“I think someone needs a nice hot bath and a great bed time story,” she said instead, resting her cheek on Meira’s hair.
“Can I sleep with you, Syd?” My sister’s huge amber eyes were undeniable. Mom and I exchanged a moment over her mass of curly hair.
“Sure, Meems,” I said. “But you’ll have to run it by Sass first.”
Mom set Meira on her feet and patted her on the bum.
“Run up and find your jammies,” Mom said. “I’ll be right there to draw your bath.”
“'Kay,” Meira said. She came to me. I picked her up.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to eat your ice cream,” she said.
“Are you kidding?” I rolled my eyes. “Can’t stand the stuff.”
She leaned in, her lips almost on mine. “That boy thought I was in a Halloween costume,” she whispered, fresh tears welling.
“Meems...” I felt so bad for her, knowing how that one innocent statement from an admiring boy could scar her for the rest of her life. “He thought you were cool.”
“Really?” She sniffed and pushed at the tears.
“Yup,” I said. “He even said so, didn’t he?”
She thought it over for a second and smiled at me.
“He liked it,” she said.
“What’s not to like?” I asked.
Meira hugged me hard. I caught my mother’s silent swipe at her own tears.
“Go on,” I said, “faster you tub, faster we get a story. Hit it.”
Meira tore off for the stairs, repaired, recovered and a happy kid again.
If it were really only that simple, this world would be a much easier place to live in.
“So,” I said to Mom as she rose to follow. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Mom paused and turned to me, face creased in worry.
“I wish I knew,” she said. “But I don’t, Syd. I have no idea. And that scares me. Too many things have been happening for them all to be a coincidence.”
“Since there’s no such thing...” I trailed off. “I take it there was no evidence at the Vegas’?”
She shook her head.
“You are way too smart for your own good sometimes. Ignorance can be bliss, Syd. But if you really want to know...”
“I do, Mom. If I’m going to be taking responsibility for my power from now on, I think I deserve to be in the loop.”
“Fair enough,” she said. And laughed. “I’ve been wanting to include you in
coven business for years and you refused. Now that things are getting dangerous, you decide to poke your nose in. I’m glad, Syd.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said.
“Story in fifteen,” she smiled at me and left the kitchen.
I sat back in my chair and heard the rustle of the paper in my pocket. I pulled out the crumpled invitation and smoothed it out on the tabletop. Seriously, did I need any more trouble? Who knew the real reason Page invited me? Even if her motives were pure, were Suzanne’s? Did I want to risk humiliation, torment or worse yet, their attempts to make me one of their—gag—BFF’s?
I dismissed the orange and black bit of paper. I climbed to my feet and pulled open the closet door. I tossed it on the trash before going upstairs.
Guess I’d rather hear a bedtime story.
***
Chapter Twenty One
By the time Mom whisked Meira in and out of the tub, dried off and in her pajamas, more than an hour had passed. Shadows deepened and lengthened, sighing into darkness as night took its turn. It didn’t take much convincing to prop my sister up into her own bed. I curled up next to her in her big pink four-poster in her frilly pink room that always made me feel slightly nauseated in daylight. We listened as our mother told us a fairy tale. Even Sassy joined in the fun, finding a comfy place for himself on the satin bedspread between us. Meira blinked slowly, worn out from the earlier excitement. It didn’t take long for the rhythmic sound of our mother’s voice droning out a story to bring on huge yawns.
Mom folded up the book and bent over Meira, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Night, sweet one,” she said.
“Night, Mommy,” Meira answered. Mom gave me a steady gaze full of meaning before leaving the room.
I slid down the bed, almost missing Meira sneaking her hand under her pillow and to her mouth.
“Meems,” I said, “tell me you don’t have chocolate under there.”
Meira grinned, teeth covered. I shivered a little. It reminded me of Gram. What was it about Hayle women and chocolate?
“Meira,” I went for the candy and took most of it. “You know not to eat sweets after you brush your teeth.”
She made a face at me. Meanwhile, Sassy pawed at her, humming under his breath. She handed the impatient cat a piece. He dove on it, tongue swiping it over and over, contented purring rumbling out of him.
“Fine,” I said, “whatever, you two. Enjoy.” I went to the door and reached for the light. I turned back, watching them slurp up the last of it.
“Oh, Sass,” I called to him.
He continued to lick the chocolate, ignoring me completely.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “When you puke, try not to do it on Meira’s bed, okay?”
His huge yellow gaze focused on me.
“I’ll be in your room by then,” he purred.
Nice.
I walked the hall to my mother’s door and knocked.
“Come in,” she said.
I eased the door open and found her sitting very still in her wrought iron vanity chair waiting for me. I took a seat on the black satin comforter, shadowed by the canopy of the huge bed, reverting to childhood for a moment as the scent of lilacs embraced me. I collected a small clump of silver cat fur from the silver embroidered runner and rolled it into a ball. Mom was the picture of poise, legs neatly crossed, hands still in her lap. Whenever my mother went into coven leader mode, it made me nervous.
“So?” I said.
“So,” she answered.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” No way was I letting her off the hook.
“Nothing Louisa or Martin did caused what happened,” Mom told me. I saw a flicker of something in her face most people would miss. But she was my mother, and I knew when she was worried.
“So it was an attack,” I said.
“Not necessarily,” she rubbed her eyes with one hand. I saw how tired my mother looked. I hadn’t exactly been helping the last few days. Sudden guilt and a surge of protectiveness washed over me. This was bigger than my whiny self-absorption. If my family was in danger, I needed to suck it up. Being in constant battle state with Mom wasn’t helping either one of us.
Time for change.
“What does that mean?” I asked. When she hesitated, I made a face. “Mom, come on. Be straight with me, please. If we’re in danger…”
“I don’t know, honey,” she said so softly I had to lean forward to hear her. “And it worries me.”
Okay, now she had said it. Way worse.
“Can I do anything to help?” I wanted to go to her and put my head in her lap like I used to when I was little so she could stroke my hair and make me feel better. Having the most powerful witch around confused and afraid wasn’t comforting at all.
“I don’t know, Syd,” she said. “Tell me again about what you felt at your grandmother’s door.”
We spent the next hour dissecting every event I had been involved in. When I mentioned the two times the green tinted magic affected me, she took a moment to have another peek in my head but admitted quickly she couldn’t find any trace of it and had no idea what it meant. By the end of her exploration, neither of us had any answers despite the fact I felt like I just wrote a killer final exam. Part of me was pretty sure I failed.
Mom finally sent me off to bed with a hug, a kiss and an "I love you". As I scrunched under my covers in the dark and quiet of my room, I pored over and over the last week, struggling to come up with something that might help Mom figure out what was going on.
In the middle of it, I must have fallen asleep.
***
I dreamed about fire and a desolate place of rock and heat. The sky burned yellow and orange, faint light flickering over the horizon. I walked a long, narrow path at the top of a cliff of dull, black rock, looking down over a chasm so deep there was no bottom in sight. The rift made me very afraid. I didn’t know why except whatever waited at the bottom was my deepest fear and greatest hope and I wasn’t ready to face either.
I felt someone close by. A demon stood next to me, dressed in a black robe, her ebony hair pooling around her in a curtain of gloss. Her amber eyes flashed fire. I realized with a start she was me, or the demon me. We stared at each other. Her face had no expression. That total blankness terrified me. I reached out for her, wanting to touch her, to make sure she was real.
As I raised my hand, she pushed me.
I stumbled back toward the edge of the chasm, fear driving my heart’s pounding so fast I was sure it would burst. I reached for her but she simply watched, still emotionless, as I lost my balance and fell.
and fell and fell and fell
***
And woke up, gasping. I hated falling dreams.
Something close to me growled. Disoriented, still overwhelmed by the dream, I located Sassafras at the bottom of the bed. He hissed and spit at my door, fluffy tail twice its normal size, thrashing and thrashing against the quilt.
“Sass,” I whispered. “What is it?”
He turned to face me. His yellow eyes glowed with demon fire.
“I don’t know,” he snarled, “but something isn’t right, Syd. Something isn’t right at all.”
I climbed out of bed and eased to my bedroom door. I opened it a crack and peered out. The hallway was dark and quiet. Nothing stirred in the house. I jumped a little as Sassy’s fat cat body brushed over my leg, his tail hitting me once on his way out. He vanished down the stairs so fast I almost missed the blur of him as he bounded into the darkness.
“Sass!” I hissed. “Where are you?” I went to the top of the stairs. The house was no longer pitch black. It was very close to dawn. The coming sun began to thin the night.
I eased down the steps after Sassafras, listening for him. But the house was quiet. I briefly debated two things, both of which made total sense under the circumstances: wake my mother so she could check it out or go back to bed and hide under the covers. Instead, I kept going into the growin
g light and followed the hallway to the kitchen.
Sassy was nowhere to be found. I walked past the kitchen to the back door and glanced out.
The black dog stood on the other side of the screen. This time he snarled at me, his huge eyes burning red.
My demon tore through my surprise and took total control. Before I knew it, we hurtled after him. We flew out the back door as he turned tail and ran across the grass, huge feet silent, disappearing around the side of the house. We made it to the corner but he vanished.
Dog gone, my demon went with him, her power draining away as she backed off and returned to hover in my mind, grumbling to herself. The whole thing left me shaking and nauseated and more than a little afraid to be standing out there in the semi-dawn alone with who-knew-what waiting in the shadows. This time, though, I listened to what my demon tried to tell me all along. This was no ordinary dog. Time to tell my mother about it, kicking myself that I’d failed to understand the dog was important enough to bring up in our conversation last night. Frustrated, I stomped my bare foot in the dew dampened grass. I felt something soft under my toes. I glanced down and my heart dropped in fear.
A familiar shape lay crumpled and broken on the wet grass. I collapsed to my knees, terrified. Sassafras! I reached to lift the limp form of my friend, fingers brushing the long, soft hair, tears welling in my eyes at the coldness, the empty feeling of it.
I had to get Mom. She would know what to do. Sass couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t!
But as I tried to lift Sass’s lifeless body into my arms, the solid form dissolved into a loose pile of fur. I sifted through it, blinking back my tears, confused. There was no Sassafras, no poor dead cat body, only a large pile of silver fur.
I stood up, hands full of damp cat hair, confused and scared. I brushed the clinging stuff from my fingers, wiping them on my pajama pants as I turned and ran back to the house. I went inside, aware only then somehow the door was unlocked.
As I passed through the back entry, I fought a brief dizzy spell. I heard the distant roar of my demon for a heartbeat, like a warning or a challenge while a familiar thread of power tinted green slid into my mind, the feeling so much a part of me I allowed it to spread itself thin before it faded away. My demon suddenly fell silent. I had a shifting feeling, like déjà vu only a lot more intense. I froze on the threshold, shaking my head. Why was I downstairs? I came back to myself when the back door, spring loaded, bumped my back as it eased closed.
