Shifting Shadows (Sparks Collide Trilogy)

by Kelly, Amanda

  I answered a shocked, “Ok.”

  “I’m going out of town for a few days for business. We’ll discuss this when I get back, just you and me.”

  “Ok”

  “Don’t do anything crazy, please. We both know this is your last chance.”

  “I…I know I-”

  He cut me off “My first provision is you need to thank Will for bringing this to my attention and then help him to move into your house.”

  I sat up, suddenly awake. “What? Dad, just, no. I promise you, this is a terrible idea. I don’t want this and I guarantee Will doesn’t want this.”

  His voice was back in stern territory. “You’re wrong about that but regardless I don’t care what you want. This is what’s happening. It’s what’s best for you. Trent and Logan already agreed and you have plenty of room. He’ll be there Monday. I suggest you start cleaning out a guest room today and tomorrow. You will make him feel comfortable.”

  I punched my headboard but said the only thing I could. “Sure.”

  “That’s more like it. Goodbye, James.”

  I didn’t respond but hung up after I heard the click from my father’s phone. I looked around my room. I was alone and I was lying here, starving, and in bloody clothes from the night before. What for? I wondered. For times that no longer existed? For people who were no longer there? It was stupid and pointless.

  Phone still in hand, I called the local pizza place and ordered two larges with everything, breadsticks, and a 2 liter soda.

  I called up Trent and he picked up on the first ring. “Jay, hey I’m really sorry, Dude. I couldn’t say no to your pops. Don’t be pissed.” I took my ear away from the phone and waited till his rambling began to wind down. “He’s the frickin Alpha, man. It’ll be ok, you’ll see. I doubt Will will ever be there, I mean he practically lives with Demi anyway and-”

  I placed the phone back to my ear. “Whoa, Trent, slow down. It’s whatever but that’s not why I’m calling. Who are you with?”

  “It’s just Logan and I. We, uh, tried to give you some space.”

  “Well stop that shit. Come home for lunch, I got pizza coming in ten. Plus you need to catch me up on that meeting. Then who knows, the day is young. ”

  “We’re in. Be home in a few but are you all right, man?”

  I noticed the rain starting up again, heavy as before. I answered honestly, “Hell no but I’m no longer excommunicated so we should probably celebrate.”

  “True. See you soon.”

  I hung up, stripped and took a much needed, hot shower. They say you’re not supposed to shower during a lightning storm but I was feeling pretty lucky.

  ************

  Kira

  Winterfat A.K.A White Sage, check. Cedar, check. Sweetgrass, check, Juniper Berries, check. All I needed now was an amethyst crystal that I could crush.

  It’d been a long, rainy day but it wasn’t over yet. I’d been to the bank, to the local grocery store where I happened upon the Sage, and home again to put that and the other groceries away. I’d found a garden and I’d bought the Sweetgrass there. I went to a vitamin shop and they had Cedar leaf oil which is kind of a substitution but it works well enough, as well as the Juniper.

  The girl who worked there seemed normal but I worried nonetheless. She had purple tipped hair, a nose ring and read a punk magazine behind the counter. She seemed more interested in the magazine than the fascinating world of vitamins so that convinced me more than anything that she was human.

  I hopped back in my car and noticed it had stopped raining finally. It hadn’t bothered me either way, though. I actually enjoyed driving around in the rain. It calmed me in some weird way.

  I was finally headed to my last stop, a craft store, and I was feeling good because I knew for certain that I would find the amethyst there as I’d gotten them from this store chain in Boston, many times. I bought several of them in a necklace beading set that was on sale, score, and headed home.

  I got into my apartment just as it started raining again. As usual all the wards of my apartment were secure and in place. I pulled all the curtains tight and made sure every window and door was locked.

  I took off my coat and grabbed a bowl and a mortar from the cabinets. I grabbed the deepest pot, poured water in it and placed it on the stove top to boil. Lastly, I hooked up my Ipod to Christina’s large stereo in the living room. An upbeat song about walking a dog from one of my favorite bands blasted through the speakers. It was time for a little magic.

  I danced around the room with growing excitement. As much as I craved normalcy, I couldn’t deny that I loved magic. It caused problems, deprived me of a standard childhood, and was the reason I had to watch my back constantly but it was a piece of me. It flowed through me and connected me to the earth in an amazing way.

  Instead of a black cauldron bubbling over a fire, I used electricity. It was easier and the intent was the same so it worked. I wasn’t your average folklore witch to begin with. My wand was pink for crying out loud. It was hidden in my room under every lock and ward and spell I could find but would be used in emergencies only.

  I sang along to the music and crushed a few amethyst pieces on a chopping board. I checked on the Sage to make sure it was dried and I double checked the Cedar oil to be certain all of the ingredients were pure. They were, thank Hecate. Then I began braiding the Sweetgrass in the way my mother had taught me when we lived in New Mexico.

  The song changed to a pumped up beat and it was all about partying and rocking out and I measured out enough Juniper Berries from the package. I heard the pot’s lid popping behind me and turned to see the water had boiled. “Double, double, toil, and trouble, indeed.” I smiled as I turned the temperature down to medium and took off the lid. I may or may not have did the song’s dance from the music video when the chorus came around.

  After that, I thanked the ingredients for their help and care and I thanked the earth for providing me it all. I poured some Cedar oil, added the braided Sweetgrass, and then the Juniper Berries, mixing it all the while. Then I added the Sage and took the chopping board to the pot and pushed in the amethyst dust.

  I thought of nothing but protection and safety, health and light. I spoke the words aloud in Latin. Magic can be done in any language but I like to throw in Latin every now and again because it had been passed down in my family for generations as the go-to magic language. Plus some things could get lost in translation. “Contego, Tutis, Salus, Lux”. I mixed it until the smoke turned blue, then white. I breathed in the beautiful scents of the ingredients and luxuriated in a potion making well done.

  There were several ways to make a protection potion especially if you wanted to make it specific to what you needed protection from. I found that this recipe worked well for me as general protection. After all, I wasn’t sure what those dark shadows in my mom’s vision could be. This particular potion’s results were unpredictable but at its base, it would ward off attackers one way or another.

  I went to my room and grabbed a few vials from my chemistry set. It was crazy how similar science and magic were once you understood them. When I came back into the kitchen the music had changed to an older song, about of all things Santeria. I laughed at the appropriateness.

  I took the vials and one by one filled them with the potion. When there wasn’t a drop left I turned off the stove and washed down the pot, the chopping board, the bowl, and the mortar, leaving no evidence behind. I placed all of the leftover ingredients into a box in the pantry for another time.

  While I couldn’t and shouldn’t do magic often, I figured I’d have to do it occasionally for my sanity. Magic was too important to live without. I was almost glad I got to have this excuse. Almost.

  I took one vial and slipped it into my purse and took the other vials to my room and placed them under my bathroom sink. They looked they could be soap bottles or something and if anyone used them accidentally, it wouldn’t harm them.

  I went back to the kitchen a
nd switched the Ipod for the T.V. so I could watch as I made myself dinner. I whipped up some pasta and a salad and settled on one of my favorite series’ marathons. It was a great night.

  Chapter 12

  Jay

  Monday morning and the sun had finally come out again. Logan, Trent and I pulled up to Will’s parent’s house. It was one of the largest houses in the entire neighborhood. A few boxes sat outside the porch, it didn’t surprise anyone that he only had a few possessions. True to his personality, he liked to keep things simple. We loaded the hummer in about two minutes and waited for Will in the car. He’d already brought his car over to our house and we drove him back here to get the rest of his stuff.

  His parents, standing at the doorway fighting displayed exactly why he didn’t need more complications. Jackie and William Pendleton Sr. were in short, awful people. William was the CEO of an investment firm. An investment firm that Jackie’s father created. Both of them were pushy, manipulative, and greedy. Neither was on my father’s council though and when they were wolves, unlike their son, they were nowhere near dominant. That happened sometimes but it was pretty rare. I suspected Jackie was stronger than she led on but she played the part of the vapid trophy wife too well to give it up.

  William was rarely home but when he was, he and Jackie fought nonstop. I’d witnessed it time and again when Will and I were kids. It appeared William Sr. had come home for the day to put one last performance in for his son as he moved out. We didn’t need our hypersensitive ears to hear him either.

  “Well, look what you’ve done. We finally get him back and you push him out. Good job Jackie. Was he interfering in your torrid affairs? Home when you wanted privacy?”

  “Don’t you dare put this on me, William. Maybe if you were around more, he’d want to stay. You ever think about that or did your seventeen year old looking secretary forget to schedule you to go home?”

  He got in her face “Oh, I bet you’d love that. Get me home so you can nag me to death. You’d probably spend my life insurance on shoes. I have an idea, why don’t you go shopping and buy yourself a clue.”

  Will stepped in between his parents with the last box and walked toward the car. He got in and didn’t even turn around. In truth, his parents probably only acknowledged his leaving so they could blame each other for it.

  I drove back to our house and we set Will up in one of the spare rooms downstairs. When that was finished, Logan went to work and Trent went to grab us breakfast from our favorite bagel place.

  I went to wait in the living room, giving Will space to move in when he came over to the couch and sat with me. “Thank you. I know you don’t want me here but thank you.”

  I looked at him, “I know you did it just to get away from the bullshit at home. I get it and I’m glad you’re away from them but let’s not pretend you’re not also here to baby-sit me.”

  He shook his head. “If that’s why I’m here then that’s your fathers plan but I’m not apart of it. I wanted to be here. I’m the one who mentioned it to him.”

  I couldn’t even begin to understand why he’d want to be here specifically but then again Trent and Logan were here so he was probably happy to be living with them. “Then you should know that my father ordered me to thank you… but I’m not doing it for him. You saved me from having to confront him about my mom and from having my Alpha status stripped away. So thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. I-” The front door opened.

  “Food’s here.” Trent said as he walked into the living room holding coffees in one hand and a bag of the best bagels in town in the other. “You guys are so lucky you have me, I charmed Priscilla into adding muffins into the order fo’ free.”

  I nodded, impressed. Priscilla was the woman who owned the bagel shop and she was one tough chick. “Sweet, you get chocolate chip?” I asked.

  “Dude, of course.” He did a little spin. “Bow down to the master.”

  Will and I rolled our eyes in unison. “Thanks, man” Will said. “I got to get to work so I’ll take mine to go. See you guys later.”

  “Peace” Trent said and I nodded, our standard greeting and goodbye.

  Trent turned toward me. “So, you ready to go surfing, it’s sick out there.”

  I laughed. That’s pretty much all he thought about, food, girls, and surfing and I don’t think it was in that order. “Sure. Why the hell not?” The drive was a little over an hour to the beach but it was summer, after all.

  ***********

  Kira

  Monday was pretty slow at work so Doc let me in on one of the emergency consultations. A man was in with his dog named Prince. Prince managed to swallow his owner’s house key. It was stuck in his stomach and was causing him severe pain. It hadn’t made its way into his intestines yet so our best bet was to help him throw it up. With my gift I could stop the pain and make it easier for his body to do what it should.

  My own intrinsic magic was the gift of healing. It didn’t require much on my part and it left almost no residual magic behind. It was the reason I wanted to be a veterinarian in the first place. My gift was too risky to use on humans but it could very easily be used on animals and I was great at it. Animals couldn’t talk so if they were miraculously healed, it’s not like they could tell anyone about it.

  I missed my pets at home in Boston but the apartment wouldn’t allow for them. I promised myself that after one year of Vet school, if I thought I could handle it, I would get a rescued puppy in need of a home. I’d get another cat but somehow my cat in Boston, Elvis, would find out and be angry about it. Cats always knew those kinds of things and they made you pay. For now, I satisfied myself with the animals at Bark n’ Bite.

  The little guy was whining and it broke my heart. I just had to get Doc and the patient out of the room briefly so I could get to work. In a stroke of luck, Doc wanted to move to the operating room and I volunteered to carry Prince. The owner who kept mentioning “he needed to get to work and his wife would kill him if she found out” didn’t seem to mind that I carry his dog. I took my time gathering Prince up, I didn’t want to jostle him too much as I let Doc and the man walk out in front of me.

  Once I had Prince in my arms, I pressed my hand to his stomach and then to his throat. Tiny sparks of heat flew from my palm and into the canine. In a flash the sparks disappeared and the whining stopped. I quickly caught up to Doc in his O.R. and placed Prince on the table. I pet his head and Prince licked me. No more than five minutes later, Prince expelled the house key. The man wasn’t as grateful as you would imagine but he paid without comment and left.

  “You must be a good luck charm, Kira.” Doc said. I smiled innocently.

  “I guess so. I’m just happy Prince is ok, a key could do some serious damage because its shape is irregular, right?”

  “That’s correct, very good m’dear. You’re going to be a great doctor one day. Thank you for your help.”

  “And thank you for allowing me to observe.”

  “Your welcome, I’ll be in my office in the back, please alert me when the next patient comes in.”

  The phone rang and I answered Doc “Will do” before picking up. “Bark n’ Bite Animal Hospital, this is Kira, how can I assist you?

  *************

  Jay

  Trent and I pulled into our garage, back from the beach around 6 p.m. We walked in to find Will and Demi watching T.V. on the couch. The second Will saw me, he took Demi’s hand and headed for his room. So this is how it’s going to be? He’s freaking ridiculous.

  I yelled loudly “Hey guys, how’s it going?”

  Neither responded.

  “Cool. Well I’ll see you two lovebirds later.”

  Trent looked to me and shrugged “I don’t get it, man. I thought you guys were good.”

  “Guess not.” I responded. Will’s non-reaction was probably the worst thing of all of it. He wasn’t some confrontation-shy nobody. He was a strong, kick-ass Beta Wolf. He’s never been much for talking but he’
s not the type to run from a fight either. He ignored me like he ignored his parents. He’d always said he did that because they weren’t worth his time. I clearly fell into that category now. He used to be my God-Damn best friend in the whole effing world, my brother from the moment we met as infants and now he couldn’t bother to tell me Hi. It started when my Mom died and he went away to school. He wouldn’t even talk to me, never mind let us fight it out. Whatever the problem was, I didn’t even know anymore. It messed us up so badly. I knew things weren’t perfect between but I at least thought we could be civil now. It made me so damn angry that I hit my boiling point again and felt numb.

  Trent placed his keys on the counter.

  I asked, flatly “You want to hit the pub?”

  “You know it. I’m-a shower and be down in a little.”

  “Same” I said.

  We got to the pub and met up with Annabella, Logan, Brandon, Max, and Mena. We all sat in our usual booth and Trent told everyone what happened with Will and Demi. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone but maybe it was better than letting them guess at the situation. I wasn’t even sure what the situation was and I was in it.

  No one seemed surprised so I just asked “Can anyone give me a clue as to their problem, exactly?” It wasn’t an order. I never ordered my pack to do anything because it was messed up to take away free will like that. I did, however, put enough authority into my voice for them to consider answering.

  Logan spoke first “So, you guys were good yesterday and now he’s playing the silent game?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” I said with more venom than I meant to.

  Logan put down his beer and said, “You should just talk to him.”

  Mena spoke up “Actually I think you should talk to Demi first.”

  My eyes snapped to her. “Why, did she say something?” “No but think about it, she’s never been quiet about her opinions before. Out of the two of them, she’s more likely to tell you what’s up.”