Of Flame and Light: A Weird Girls Novel

by Cecy Robson

  Celia parks along the curb when we reach one of the larger villas. Aric jogs down the stacked stone steps when he sees her, his pace slowing and his grin dwindling when he sees me sitting in the front. I smile and wave. But it’s not until he reaches Celia’s side, and apparently gets an extra whiff of me and his bestie’s hot night, that he realizes what’s happening.

  His head snaps back as if I brought my open palm down on his nose, making him stagger. His wide eyes shift from me to Gemini. “Taran?” he asks.

  “Hey,” I answer. “Wassup?”

  I don’t think our combined sex-worthy aroma quite reaches his nose a second time before he throws the door open and hauls Celia out, not that she’s complaining since she can’t seem to jump out of the car fast enough.

  He clasps her hand, shaking his head as he leads her away from us. “That must have been a fun ride up,” he mumbles.

  I scramble out. “Wait. You said you’d drive me to Camp Coven!”

  She steals a glance at Aric, my spine stiffening when the rear door slams shut and heavy steps stop behind me. “I think you guys need to talk,” she says. “I’ll give you a minute, and then drive you wherever you’d like.”

  “Thank you,” Gemini says, coming to my side.

  “Yeah. Thanks,” I mutter.

  She narrows her eyes. I narrow them back. “Don’t get pissy with me,” I tell her. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  It’s Aric who answers. “We are on your side,” he says quietly. He nods briefly to Gemini, then slides his arm around Celia and guides her into the building.

  I don’t want to do this, but Celia took the keys with her and it’s not like I can exactly walk off the mountain. But being so close to him, and not being able to touch him. You might say it sucks.

  My arm buzzes and shakes, my riled emotions stirring its magic and reminding me that the spell I conjured doesn’t have much time left.

  “What happens now?” he asks.

  I frown, unsure what he’s asking. “What do you mean?”

  He leans back on his heels, crossing his arms. “Between us, Taran.”

  “We go back to how we were,” I say. I mean to sound tough. But tough is one thing I can’t seem to be in this wolf’s presence, not when he grips my heart as easily as he lifts me in his arms.

  He rubs his hand along his jawline. “Do you mean before you left me, or before last night?”

  I cover my face with my hands. “Don’t do this to me.”

  “You’re the one who’s doing this to us,” he says, each word laced with frustration and hurt.

  I drop my hands away. “Don’t you dare put this on me,” I say. “Not after you spent the night making love to this perfect body, only to reject the first glimpse at the real me.”

  “This isn’t what this is about,” he says. “You are my mate—”

  “Don’t call me that!” I yell. “Mates are real. They’re Celia and Aric, Shayna and Koda. They are forever. You couldn’t even give me more than a couple of years—not after what happened. Jesus, Tomo, arm or not, whole or broken, I never would have walked away from you!”

  He stares at me breathing hard. “I never walked away, you told me to leave. You told me not to come back. You rejected me in every possible way. As a were, despite our matehood, despite our claim, I can’t be with someone who doesn’t want me. Our laws of nature forbid it, no matter who I’m bound to and how strong that bond is.”

  I whirl around ready to bolt, only to turn back and face him. “Don’t you blame me for this. Don’t you spend a night craving this body only to shove aside the one beneath.”

  “I didn’t shove you aside,” he growls.

  “You did when you rejected my arm.” I lift it slightly. “It’s a part of me. We’re a package deal. You can’t deny it, without denying me.”

  This time as I turn away, I mean to leave. To keep walking, toward the exit with the hopes I find Bren, Danny—anyone I know. But Gemini won’t let me go.

  Not this time.

  He yanks me to him in one smooth move, pinning me against Aric’s SUV and kissing me hard.

  As much as I should wrench away, once more my body surrenders, molding with his and returning his affections with equal passion. My fingers glide through his hair as he slides his palm along my neck, between my breasts, and to my belly. I moan as something very hard, long, and quickly expanding presses against my hip.

  I jolt when he nips the curve of my throat.

  “Don’t make me walk away,” he rasps against my ear.

  I jolt again as his hands grip my hips.

  But as my right hand shakes and a burn grows painfully beneath my sternum, I know my reaction isn’t a response to our desire, but rather the spell and my arm coming undone.

  Oh, shit.

  My volatile limb detonates like a bomb, sending Gemini soaring across the parking lot and me in the opposite direction. I crash land on the ground, my arm pounding the soil and sending waves of magic rippling across the Den.

  The earth rumbles, shaking the buildings. “Taran!” Gemini yells. I think he’s near and try to sit. But my spastic arm and the singeing pain coursing through my spine keeps me down.

  Strong arms grip my shoulders. Until they’re wrenched off, followed by a vicious grunt.

  I don’t know what’s happening, the forceful movements of my arm bouncing me along so brutally, all I catch are glimpses.

  “Celia, no. You can’t help her!” Aric yells over the sound of the quake.

  Growls erupt. “Everyone back!” Bren hollers. “Back away, now!”

  “Don’t touch her,” Gemini snarls.

  Flames, my flames, flare in and out. I scream, no, I roar from pain and the eruption of power. Like a rocket washed in fire, my magic launches into the heavens, lighting up the sky in giant flares of blue and white.

  “Call Genevieve,” Aric yells. “Gem, call her now!”

  The distinct howl from my wolf fills my ears as I continue to thrash and lose control, the crackles from the escalating inferno my arm has become, feeding the chaos around me. My stomach churns a sea of lava, sloshing along the sides as my body convulses.

  But I can’t stop it, any of it, even though I think I’m capable.

  God damn it, this is my body. I need to be the one in control!

  I clench my hands, determined to settle and pull back the burn spilling across my chest. But it’s no use. I’m helpless . . . until ethereal light as yellow as the summer sun appears like an angel.

  It’s soothing, beautiful, sweet.

  Until the bitch angel hits me with the magical equivalent of a bucket of ice water.

  I cough and sputter, freezing and abruptly snapping out of my shock. Celia and Aric stand to the side, near Bren and Gemini. Blue and white soot coat the wolves’ shoulders, the exception being Gemini who resembles someone who has spent the last hour rolling around in a pool of flour.

  A large crowd of students waits in the distance, cause if your leaders order you to keep away from the crazy chick experiencing the magical freak out, you stay away from the crazy chick experiencing the magical freak out.

  My right arm buzzes, the bind tightening as if scolding it for the rude outburst. But I can’t look at my arm then, or at Gemini, knowing our make-out session resulted in his ash-covered ass. I mean to glance away, but a small laugh, keeps me in place.

  Vieve lowers a wooden bucket at her feet as she glides to a stop beside Gemini. All right, she did douse me with magical ice water. But she’s not looking at me. She laughs again as her hand slides down his arm, leaving streaks from her fingertips along his caked skin.

  “You’re covered,” she tells him in true “you, poor, poor, thing” fashion, rubbing in my mishap and adding to my embarrassment. “What am I going to do with you?”

  She doesn’t wait for him to respond, gliding toward me as only Vieve can. The wind was blowing away from the stacked stone steps when we arrived. Now it’s blowing toward them, allowing her long hair
to flow like an endless ocean of black liquid silk. I wonder if she somehow shifted the breeze in her favor, to give her that look. It wouldn’t shock me, after all she has a spellbinding image to live up to.

  Today, she’s wearing a blood red maiden gown, the plunging neckline giving a generous view of her round, full breasts. And because that’s not enough, the color somehow accentuates her fair and flawless skin with a saintly glow while painting her full red lips with a touch of sin that promises pleasure to any male who has the honor of basking in her glory.

  Meanwhile, I’m lying in a pile of wet ash, wearing a dress that’s currently suffocating my breasts and cutting off my oxygen supply, now that the real me is back. The skirt is torn, I’ve lost a shoe, and I’m pretty sure I swallowed enough soot to spackle my teeth.

  “You’re late for instruction,” she says, calmly. Her smile is subtle yet smug, a reminder that she saved me, and everyone unfortunate to step in my destructive path, and by the way, you’re welcome.

  I push my dripping hair away from of my eyes. My face and body are soaked. My cheeks are likely wearing most of my mascara, and my eye makeup has likely taken residence along my forehead. I look like hell and she knows it. But there is something she doesn’t know.

  I grin with my ash-coated teeth. “My apologies, most Superior Sister. I was tired after spending all night fucking your boyfriend.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  My comment erased Vieve’s grin.

  And earned me a punishment disguised as a “very valuable lesson.”

  Her words, not mine.

  I barely had time to shower and thank Paula, Fiona, and Merri, before I shoved on my spare Lesser uniform and was brought before Genevieve.

  The breeze picks up again, lifting the strands of her dark hair elegantly away from her face while a stray piece of my hair smacks me in the eye.

  Yeah, the bitch is doing this on purpose.

  We’re standing in the large field closest to the rear of the house, along the rows of Adders Tongue we cultivated last week. The small green leaves are only starting to poke through. They’re not attacking or appear aggressive, unlike the snapdragons. Maybe because they’re supposed to stop slander and promote healing. It should be a good thing. But since it’s just me and Vieve, I have the feeling it’s going to lead to bad. Very, very, bad.

  “You passed your High Task,” she says, nodding to a Lesser who places a bucket filled with water at my feet.

  “I did,” I respond, watching as the Lesser takes off in a run.

  “You fooled your sister, and Aric,” she adds. “Well done.”

  Wait for it.

  “But you didn’t fool Gemini. Did you?”

  I laugh without humor. “No. But funny enough, that big hunk of wolf still couldn’t keep his hands off me.”

  Take that.

  She smiles with about as much warmth as I do. “Yet despite your efforts, and accomplishing such a complex task, a Mirror, you still lack control.” She folds her hands in front of her. “Your outburst at the Den demonstrates how far you are from mastering and unifying your magic, regardless of my sisters’ efforts, and our teachings.”

  She’s taking her jabs. I can’t deny they don’t hurt, or that there’s not a great deal of truth to them. No matter the bind, how hard I’ve worked, and what I’ve managed so far, my arm ultimately did what it wanted.

  “I think we need to start from the beginning.”

  “The beginning, beginning?” I ask.

  She sighs, in that patient yet not patient way of hers that’s one step shy of calling me an imbecile.

  “Your focus is what will ultimately secure your hold and help meld your powers. So often times to move forward, it’s essential you take several steps back.”

  “You’re going to make me chant, aren’t you?”

  The upward curve of her lips assures me that yes, there will be chanting, and plenty of it. Oh, and PS, I hope it kills you.

  “You will chant, for the next few hours until the plants compel you to stop. At that time, you will practice conjuring your fire.”

  “When the plants compel me?” I repeat, scanning all the little leaves surrounding me. Based on experience, I’m half expecting these little suckers to sprout clubs on their tips and mash my toes to dust. “What does that mean?”

  And there’s that patronizing smile again. “The air will shift, alerting you your task is complete and that the plants have had their fill of your energy and magic.” She motions to the empty stand we’ve used to perch scarecrows. Mr. Scarecrow is gone. What remains is a long silk ribbon anchored at each end of the pole by two nails.

  “Your goal is to light the tip at the end and gently singe the ribbon all the way to the top,” she explains. “If you set the pole ablaze, you fail. If the ribbon tears, you fail. It’s all about precision, patience, and command. All which you seem to lack.”

  I wonder briefly if this is how she insults everyone. Nah, I think I’m just special. “What happens if I fail?”

  “Then you will repeat the task every evening following instruction until you do,” she explains simply, seeing how it’s not her ass on the line.

  “All right,” I say, frowning when the tips of my breasts sharpen to points. What the hell? My eyes widen when I glance toward the rear terrace and see Gemini march down the steps.

  Vieve’s looking in the same direction, smiling. “Best of luck, Taran. I have every faith this is exactly what you need.”

  She’s speaking to me, but looking at him. Not that I blame her. He’s freshly showered, and shaved. His goatee trimmed perfectly, his body an awesome blend of grace and strength. God, he’s beautiful. Be it our night together, or whatever bond that remains, my body reacts to his.

  Heat builds along my breasts, but mostly my heart.

  I should feel that familiar sense of surging lust. Instead, my arms feel barren with the need to hold him.

  I’m not sure if he’s responding the same way. Not with Vieve gliding toward him in all her awesomeness.

  She stops, directly in front of him, drawing his attention. “Gemini,” she says. “Good to see you at your best.”

  In other words, let’s get naked.

  I sigh, jumping when the little leaves pull at my pilgrim skirt, demanding attention. “Give me a minute,” I whisper.

  “Thank you for coming when I summoned you,” he says.

  “I would have arrived sooner and apologize for the delay,” she adds sweetly. She laughs. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to prevent your condition and the fate of that poor unfortunate goose.”

  That’s the other thing. I accidently shot down a Canadian goose when my fire jetted into the sky. Thanks for the reminder, Vieve. You see, I didn’t feel bad enough for roasting an innocent creature.

  “You don’t have to apologize,” he says. “I’m grateful for your help soothing Taran, and so is the Pack.”

  The plants closest to me and further down stretch out their leaves several feet, tugging harder on my skirt. “I said, give me a minute,” I mutter.

  “May I have a word with her?” he asks, lifting his focus away from her, and onto me. “With everything that happened, I didn’t have a chance to speak with her after.”

  I start to walk toward him, trying really hard not to full-out dash into his arms, only to be hauled back by Vieve’s stupid little plants.

  “My apologies,” she says. Her back is to me, but as she lifts her hand, I just know she’s trailing it over her perky girls. “But Taran has been assigned a very important task. One that will help control her magic’s volatile nature.”

  “It won’t take long,” he says, frowning as he watches me kick at the plants and swear at them.

  “I’m certain it won’t. But just as it’s imperative your teachings not be interrupted, my Lesser witches can’t be disturbed either.” Her hands fall away as if it’s killing her to keep him from me. “I hope you understand.”

  The plants tug harder, pulling me ba
ck and twisting me to face the pole. It’s all I can do not to land on my ass. “All right,” he says.

  “God damn it,” I respond, slapping at the leaves when they elongate and tangle around my ankles.

  “Taran,” he calls. “I’ll wait for you until you’re done.”

  I crane my neck, watching as Vieve escorts him back to the terrace.

  A leaf from a smaller plant shoots up like a Chinese yo-yo, covering my mouth when I try to answer.

  An image of Vieve’s transparent face appears in my line of vision. “Focus on your task, Taran. For one who’s so easily distracted, this will be the greatest lesson I can teach you, and the best gift I may provide.”

  And then she’s gone.

  Here’s the thing about Vieve, she has this ability, gift if you will, to turn a punch to the boobs around and make it look like not only did you deserve said punch, but that you should be thanking her for jabbing your girls out of place.

  Urgent pulls from the leaves and an insolent slap at my ankles yank me back to the moment. After a few choice swears, I lift the bucket at my feet and cup the water in the palm of my affected hand, muttering the sacred chant as I moisten the leaves.

  “Skies above and sun most bright hear my pleas . . .”

  I can’t believe she wouldn’t let me talk to him.

  “Cast the light and nourishment upon this soil . . .”

  I mean, she knows we were together.

  “Feed it with your light . . .”

  Is that her goal to drive us apart?

  “Moisten it with your waters . . .”

  Of course it is.

  “Embrace it with your life.”

  She wants him now, and always has.

  “Nurture the young.”

  But he wanted me.

  “So it may age and feed us in return.”

  Last night and this morning, he kissed me. Against Aric’s ride, not caring who’d see us.

  “Harvesting our magic, and giving me power.”

  Is it possible he still loves me? I smile. Yeah. I think maybe it is.

  “Power,” I repeat. “Give me power.”

  My voice trails when I hear Vieve’s laughter drift from the terrace. There she is, sitting with Gemini. A small table dressed with beautiful white linens and elegant crystal is the only thing that separates them. But even though they’re mere feet apart, it seems too far for her tastes. She leans in close, speaking so low. He nods, listening intently as she moves her chair closer and loses the small space that remains between them.