Seventeen
“You’re finally up!”
Sami stood on the other side of the door, hands on hips, and greeted Aric and me with a glare the next morning.
“Yes, we’re finally up,” I said, smiling. “I’m okay. There’s no reason to worry.”
Sami made an exasperated face. “I’m not worried.”
“Oh, well, I can feel the love.”
Aric chuckled as he moved ahead of me and grabbed Sami around the waist, slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her into the kitchen. Rafael was gone, probably back to wherever he stayed while here, and Paris and Kelsey buzzed about as they focused on breakfast preparations.
“Something smells good.” My stomach growled, making me realize I was famished. “Did you cook breakfast?”
Paris bobbed her head, her dark ponytail dancing. “I figured you’d want some eggs, hash browns, toast and bacon.”
“I always want all of those things.” I rubbed my hands together as I approached the table, keeping half an ear on Aric as he rocked back and forth and caused Sami to squeal.
“Stop it!” Sami attempted to dislodge herself from Aric’s grip, but he was too strong. She didn’t put much effort into it anyway, instead giggling as Aric bounced around. “You’re going to make me throw up if you’re not careful.”
Aric finally relented, flipping Sami back over his shoulder and resting her on the floor. Even though he clearly enjoyed playtime with his child – he was running out of that time because her teenage years were almost upon us – he had a sober look on his face when he locked gazes with Sami’s fiery eyes.
“You should be nicer to your mother,” he chided. “She was sick last night. You should be sweet instead of salty for a change.”
Sami rolled her eyes. “I knew she was fine.”
“How did you know that?”
“Because you were there to take care of her,” Sami answered honestly. “You won’t let anything happen to her. You never do.”
Aric pursed his lips, pleasure at the words flitting across his handsome features. “I’ll never let anything happen to either of you.”
“I know that.” Sami stared at him a moment, something unsaid passing between them, and then glanced at me. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
I ruffled her hair, amused. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Yeah? Well, don’t get used to it.” Sami flounced around my chair and plopped into the open one on my right. She seemed to be in a good mood despite what happened the previous evening. “You guys slept late. I was starting to get a little worried.”
“You just said you weren’t worried,” Aric pointed out, sitting to my left and reaching for the coffee carafe. “You can’t have it both ways.”
“I wasn’t worried about Mom being sick. I was worried you were … kissing and stuff.”
“Ah.” Aric smirked. “We thought we would save the kissing until we could do it in front of you.”
That wasn’t entirely true. There was a little kissing when we woke. Aric seemed keen to touch me as much as possible, as if reassuring himself I really was okay after burning down the Alpha Chi house. I was happy to prove my stamina, although the thin walls allowed for only a few whispers and quiet smooches.
“Oh, you’re so funny,” Sami intoned, rolling her eyes in dramatic fashion.
“Speaking of that, you’re all over the news,” Paris interjected, causing my heart to roll.
“What?”
“Not you specifically,” Kelsey clarified. “The house burning down is big news. They had live footage on three different stations, kids watching from the sidelines with wide eyes and stuff. They’re saying it was a gas leak.”
I let loose with a very unladylike snort. “That figures. I see the Covenant College public relations machine is still in full effect.”
“What does that mean?” Sami asked. “Do you want them to tell people you blew up the house?”
“Not particularly. It’s just … when we were here the public safety department worked in conjunction with the area cops. They went out of their way to cover up supernatural crimes.”
“I don’t get it.”
“People would disappear and the cops would say they ran away,” Aric supplied. “People would die and the cops would call it accidents. Once or twice would be understandable, but this campus is thick with supernatural beings. We found out later that the public safety department and the local police department were working together to hide crime.”
“Oh.” Sami’s expression was thoughtful. “If they’re still doing it, does that mean the cops are bad?”
“No,” I answered automatically. I took a moment to consider how to respond after the fact. “That doesn’t mean they’re trustworthy either. It’s hard to know who to trust on this campus.”
“I can see that,” Sami said sagely. “It’s like how you don’t trust that Brittany woman and her annoying husband, right?”
“I don’t distrust them,” I corrected. “I simply … don’t like Brittany.”
“Zoe.” That one word held warning as Aric sent me a firm headshake. “Your mother doesn’t hate Brittany. They’ve simply never gotten along. They have very different personalities.”
“That’s right.” I smiled as Paris slid a heaping plate in front of me. “My personality is warm and funny, and her personality is like spoiled milk.”
“Oh, well, that makes it so much better,” Aric muttered, making a face. “What a great thing to say to our daughter.”
I ignored him. “You can trust the people in this room,” I offered. “You can trust Rafael, too.”
“Yeah. He’s hot.” Sami grinned when she saw Aric make a horrified face. “In six years I’ll be old enough for him. Since he’s already old, he won’t have to wait very long.”
“You will not be old enough for him in six years,” Aric argued. “You’ll never be old enough for him. He’s a vampire. That means it’s creepy that he’s hanging around with college students. Never forget that.”
“Oh, I can’t tell the truth about Brittany, but you can say that about Rafael?” I challenged. “How is that fair?”
“Because Sami is my baby and she’s got a crush on a freaking old dude,” Aric shot back.
“I think he’s very handsome.” Sami has a tendency to recognize weakness in others and enjoys exploiting those weaknesses. That’s exactly what she did with Aric. “I don’t see why Mom chose you when he’s so much hotter.”
“Okay, that did it.” Aric gripped his fork tightly enough that his knuckles turned white. “You’re grounded for the rest of your life, and I’m going to rip off Rafael’s head next time I see him.”
Instead of being afraid, Sami chuckled. The sound was light and warm, filling the room with relief. “You’re so easy.”
“He is easy,” I agreed, mashing my eggs and hash browns together. “So, not to change the subject, but do we know what we’re doing today? I’d kind of like to take a look at the athletic building again. I have an idea how we can do it without being noticed.”
“Dome?” Aric asked, arching an eyebrow.
“And a glamour spell to make myself look younger.”
Aric smirked. “Keep that one handy for when we want to kiss and make Sami gag.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“We can certainly try it this afternoon,” Paris said. “You have an appointment this morning.”
I rolled my neck, confused. “Appointment? I think I’d remember an appointment.”
I didn’t miss the worried look Kelsey shot Paris before finding something interesting to stare at on the blank wall in the living room.
“What’s going on?” I pressed, suspicion washing over me. “What did you two do?”
“We didn’t do anything,” Paris replied, her tone calm. “It’s just … we got a call this morning and didn’t know what to do. We didn’t want to wake you before you were ready and it seemed like an opportunity you might
not want to pass up so … .”
“We accepted for you,” Kelsey filled in.
“Uh-huh.” Something told me I wasn’t going to like this at all. “And what did you agree to me doing?”
“Well … .” Paris licked her lips, mustering the fakest smile I’d ever seen.
“I’m going to hate this,” I hissed, my shoulders sinking. “I can feel it.”
“Oh, you’re going to hate it,” Sami agreed. “Brittany called and insisted you talk to one of her husband’s classes, and Paris agreed. You have to be there in an hour.”
Yup. I knew whatever they had up their sleeves would be terrible. Sadly, I didn’t think it would be this awful.
“I need to go back to bed and start this day over,” I said. “I must be stuck in a nightmare. There can be no other explanation.”
“DOES ANYONE have any questions?”
My speech in front of Roger’s class was hardly what I’d call enlightening, but if the staid professor was unhappy with my words he didn’t show it. He beamed at his students, who seemed curious but cautious when dealing with me. That probably had a little something to do with my obvious discomfort as I stood at the head of the room.
A blonde woman in the front row shot her hand in the air and I couldn’t help but internally cringe. She reminded me of Brittany, who stood in the back of the classroom with Aric, Sami, Paris and Kelsey. She seemed far more interested in keeping close to Aric than following the conversation. Of course, if I were in her shoes I’d be far more interested in crawling under a desk and sleeping than anything else, so I could hardly fault her for wanting to find a distraction.
“Destiny, go ahead with your question.” Roger nodded at the blonde.
“What kind of research do you do for your craft?” Destiny asked as I tried to decide what kind of parent could possibly name their child “Destiny” with a straight face. It had to be an evil woman. There could be no other explanation.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I replied, leaning against Roger’s desk and crossing my arms over my chest. “I do very little research before writing.”
“But you have to do research,” Destiny pressed.
“Not really. I imagine two people in my head, I make them both snarky and sarcastic, and give them an obstacle to overcome. Then I toss in a bunch of hot sex scenes while they’re running from danger.”
Destiny’s mouth dropped open. “But … that’s it?”
I shrugged. The book-writing thing was something of a fluke. I started it on a dare. When Aric thought the book was good and sent it to a friend in publishing, I was stunned that they picked it up. Now I added a decent chunk of change to the family coffers every month while testing my work on Aric whenever the mood struck. It was a comfortable world.
“That’s it,” I confirmed.
“Do you base your characters on real people?” one of the male students asked.
I considered the question. It was actually fairly interesting when broken down. “Yes and no,” I said finally. “My husband happens to think he’s the hero in every book, but that’s not really true. I take some of his finer qualities and weave them throughout the description. Heck, I take some of his bad qualities, too, because no one likes a perfect character.
“In truth, the characters I create are not really a representation of my husband,” I continued. “They merely share some attributes. The character becomes his own person as I’m writing. It’s not my husband, but the character isn’t completely separate either.”
“Is that your husband in the back of the room?” Destiny asked, giggling as she glanced at Aric.
I nodded. “He is.”
“I would make all my characters look like him if I were you.”
I didn’t miss the self-satisfied smirk on Aric’s face as he winked at me. “Yes, well, he thinks that’s a good idea, too.”
After a few more questions, Roger dismissed his class. Only the adults – and Sami, of course – remained. Quite frankly, the only thing I cared about was that it was over.
“You did a wonderful job,” Roger enthused, sitting in his desk chair and offering me a lazy smile. “The students liked you a great deal. You have an easygoing nature and you talked to them on the appropriate level.”
“Yes, well, I’ve always been immature,” I noted.
“I can vouch for that,” Brittany said, following Aric up the aisle. “I think the girls have a new fantasy thanks to this one, though.” She jerked a thumb at Aric as Sami made a disgusted face.
“Everyone fantasizes about him,” Sami grumbled. “It’s so gross.”
“I agree. He is gross.” I smiled as Sami slipped under my arm and studied Roger’s desk. It was mostly bare except for a stack of term papers that Roger collected at the beginning of class. “Are these assignments?”
Roger nodded, his eyes flashing with delight when he saw Sami’s interest. “They are. They’re creative writing assignments. The students who sign up for my class have to write something over the summer and turn it in on the first day of class so I can gauge their level of craft.”
“Huh. That’s neat.” Sami said the words, but I wasn’t sure she really believed them.
Something occurred to me as I ran the math through my head. “This was the first day of class?”
“It was.”
“I’m sure your students thought they were going to have an easy time of it instead of having to listen to me,” I said. “That was probably a bummer of a first day.”
“On the contrary,” Roger argued. “You’re a working author and you’re making a living at it. That’s important for my students to think about. Everyone has grand notions of being an author, but you must have realistic expectations if you expect to make a living doing this.”
He had a point. “Still, it was a rough day for them.”
“I think it was a rough day for you,” Aric corrected, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “You don’t like making speeches.”
“No one likes making speeches.”
“I do.” Brittany’s eyes were bright. “I love making speeches.”
Of course she does. “Um, well, if that’s all you need … .”
“Oh, of course,” Roger said, taking me by surprise when he patted Sami’s head before standing. It came across as an absent-minded gesture, and yet it bothered me. She’s not a dog. “I’m sorry to have taken up so much of your time. You were wonderful.”
“Yeah, well … great.” I slipped my hand into Aric’s as he headed for the door. I couldn’t get out of this classroom – and away from Brittany’s prying ears and eyes – fast enough. “It was a learning experience. I’m starving. Who wants lunch?”
Eighteen
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Aric stood watch at the back of his Explorer as I ran my magical hands over Kelsey’s face. Within seconds her narrow features were replaced with something much rounder, softer, and she looked twenty years younger. It was a jarring experiment, but I enjoyed it, especially after having to stand up in front of a bunch of insipid students while talking about myself for an hour.
“I think it’s the only idea I have right now,” I answered, leaning back as I studied Kelsey’s face. “There. I don’t think anyone will recognize you.”
Aric flicked his eyes to Kelsey, smirking when he saw the dark look on her face as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the rear window.
“I look like … someone else,” Kelsey muttered, unhappy.
“That’s the whole point.”
“I know, but … couldn’t you have made me look like a younger version of myself?” Kelsey didn’t bother to hide her grimace. “I was hot when I was twenty. Make me twenty again.”
“You’re still hot,” Sami offered. She was keenly interested in my process and watched as I ran my fingers over Kelsey’s hands, turning the fingernails a shade of violent pink. “How are you doing that?”
I shrugged. “It’s something I figured out how to do eventua
lly,” I replied. “We did a lot of undercover work at one time and everyone knew my face. I’m not really changing the way she looks. I’m simply changing the way other people see her.”
“But … how?”
Now that she was interested in the magic portion of her education I found I didn’t like being put on the spot, especially when I didn’t have the proper answers. “I concentrate and think what I want to happen. Then I let the magic out and it seems to do what it’s supposed to do.”
“Is that how you heal people, too?” Sami remained frustrated that she could cause damage, hurt people, but not fix them. I understood why she was so keen to be able to do something good with her magic. “You healed Dad again last night, right?”
I nodded. “The first time I healed someone it was your father.” I searched my memory. “I just remember being upset because he was hurt really badly and I wanted to be able to fix him. I didn’t realize what I was doing until I was in the middle of it. I’m sure it will be that way for you, too.”
Sami didn’t look convinced, and turned her attention to Aric. “What did it feel like when she healed you?”
“I was in rough shape that night, Sami,” Aric explained. “Before your mother showed up I was certain that I would die.”
Sami’s eyes widened. “Really? But … .” The idea was clearly something she had trouble wrapping her head around. “But how did it feel?”
“Cool.” Aric smiled as he ran his hand over Sami’s hair. “My skin felt like it was on fire because I’d been whipped. When your mother touched me everything went cool. Her eyes lit up like blue candles and – I know this is going to sound weird, but I swear it’s true – the second she touched me everything felt better. The burning feeling disappeared.”
“I wish I could heal someone,” Sami grumbled. “All I’ve been able to do is set things on fire.”
“You’ve done more than that,” I corrected, my heart going out to her. She was at a rough age. When you added in the magic, she was dealing with more than any person twice her age should have to grapple with. “Your magic will improve with time. You need to practice. It will come when it’s supposed to. I promise you that.”
Dying Covenant: The Complete Series Page 68
