by R. M. Webb
“How about,” says Luke, “you stop trying to dress this all up and tell us what’s going on.”
Beside me, Noah nods and leans back, his shoulder brushing mine and I have a moment where I’m excited that he’s touching me and yes, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s absurd to have that thought right now. “I’m with Luke,” says Noah, “and that’s saying a lot.” He shifts just a little, creating more space between us.
Daya takes a long breath in through her nose and lets it out through her mouth. “A war is brewing.” She folds her hands in her lap. “A war between the supernatural creatures of the world. Although I suppose it’d be more apt to say that war is eminent. It’s upon us.”
Daya’s earlier confused little speech about blacksmiths makes sense. “And we’re the weapons? Me and Noah and Luke?”
Daya nods. “You were the hardest to forge. Everything hinged on creating you in such a precise way. The men were easy. They’re the points of the trinity, the opposing forces. Good,” she nods towards Noah, “and evil.” She jerks her head towards Luke.
“And me?”
“You are the balance between them. The counterweight. You are equal measures of both.”
“Then is Lucy on our side? Is that why she hid me? So she could further your cause? Make it easier to ‘create me in such a precise way?” I’m boiling. If she’s saying she manipulated my entire life so I could be some pawn in her war… My jaw clenches and I clamp my lips into a thin little line.
“No, my dear,” she says and her tone is unctuous enough to make me question my closed mouth. “Lucy is most definitely not on our side. Let’s just say, pretend for a moment, that I wanted a witch who could change death into life and life into death, but she had to live a life that kept her balanced on the knife’s edge of morality. And I couldn’t create that balance if I raised her with all the other witches and warlocks I was trying to raise to be either good or evil but nothing in between. And let’s just say that I leaked enough information about our plans that Lucy thought the best way to render our plan useless was to keep you alive and powerless.”
“So you are behind …” I hold my hands out, not sure what words sums up the entirety of my life. “...all this.”
“Yes, my dear. And now, because of all this,” Daya waves her hand in an approximation of my earlier movement, “I have the weapons I need to win this war.”
I’m not sure if I’m offended or mortified or vindicated. Maybe I’m a little bit of all three. So many lives were lost to create us, Daya’s weapons. All the children of the ranch, Bo and those who lost themselves to the darkness, Celine who spent decades trapped here. Becca. My birth parents. Carter. All those people I killed in front of the movie theater. All the people Luke killed over the years…
I say all of this to Daya, just let my thoughts loose in a flurry of words and emotions, everything that I have bottled up is pouring out of me, years of conflict released in a torrent of half formed sentences until she finally holds up a hand.
“This war threatens the lives of many. Innocent people will die.”
“Innocent people have died.”
“You have to look at the grand scope of the thing.”
“How can I look at the grand scope when it’s been hidden from me up until now? All I know is that there’s some war brewing and you played God, engineered our lives, exploited our experiences so we’d be just exactly the right mixture of good and bad. And now you expect us to what? Thank you and ask for our orders?” I’m suddenly aware that I’m standing and sit down.
“Lucy plans to take over the supernatural world. She and Albert are trying to combine their two species, the vamps and the weres. They’ve been working to breed shape-shifting vampires, immune to sunlight and able to command humans with nothing more than thought. They’ll take over the world and we can’t let that happen. So, yes. I do expect you to say thank you and accept your orders with a smile. You’re going to save us all.”
All the little things that have been hinting at Daya’s larger plan click into place and I suddenly understand my role, understand the weapon I’ve been forged into. “You’ve taught me to entwine life and death, to take one and give another. You want me to make the vampires human again.”
Daya nods. “And Luke will kill them. And Noah will protect you while you do it.”
*******
Moments of great change aren’t always met with fanfare and thunderous applause. Cast as people of great importance, weapons to win the war that will cripple the world, Noah, Luke and I are simply returned to Windsor Manor where I’m unceremoniously expelled for breaking a multitude of witchy rules. We’re told to get an apartment. Just one. Where all three of us will live. Together. We’re told to get jobs, but unimportant ones so that when we inevitably lose them, it won’t be that big of a deal to get a new one.
We have to submit to twice weekly check-ins with Daya. She shows up at our apartment, barely containing her disdain the cheap furniture our minimum wage jobs can afford, and asks us a bunch of questions. At some unappointed time in the future, her boss will show up and we’ll have to pass some series of ever more challenging tests to prove our worthiness. Sometimes, when I imagine him, he’s old and bent and has a long beard and wise eyes. Other times, his dark hair is slicked back from his face, highlighting the hard angles of his cheeks and jaw, and his eyes pierce me with intensity.
Neither Noah nor Luke know what he looks like, but they know his name: Barnabe Withers. And when they say it, they whisper and look over their shoulder and I don’t really think they even know they’re doing it. All I can gather from that is Barnabe Withers is one scary dude.
Despite our tight budget, we choose a three bedroom apartment because none of us are willing to share a room with anyone else. And despite the fact that I feel immensely more calm and centered when we’re together, and I think they feel the same, there’s this awful tension between us. We’re connected. Stronger when we’re together. But right now, I don’t think we like each other very much.
Well.
Let’s back up.
I don’t think they like me very much.
And I know they don’t like each other very much.
Me? When I look at Noah, I see Celine and it breaks my heart and makes me happy all at the same time. On top of that, I also see all the things he’s done for me, all the reasons to let myself love him, the reasons to admit I already do love him. I can only assume that when he sees me, he sees a selfish bitch who used him for her own gain. Someone he’s attached to through duty now, but will never let into his heart again.
And I get that. Even though I don’t like it.
I’ll just prove to him that I am a good person. That I am worth letting back into his heart. I’ll be patient while he learns to trust me again because I know he’s worth the wait.
As far as Luke goes, I’m not going to lie. The room is electrified when we’re together. He’s just charged with this sultry heat that I can’t look away from. He’s the embodiment of all my vices: the dark magic, the lack of control, the huge biceps and beast-man voice. I don’t think those things will ever stop calling to me, but I’m bound and determined not to ever let them overcome me. I will not fall into the darkness.
*******
It’s been another day of too much espresso and too much time on my feet and too many people ordering too many complicated drinks. I still hate coffee, but after getting a job at Sir Perks-A-Lot (ya, the name is unforgivable but I only work there) I’ve learned to appreciate the benefits of caffeine. Why can’t all these coffee lovers just drink coffee instead of coffee flavored milkshakes?
I walk home, mostly because I like to walk, but also because there’s no way I can afford the gas to drive to and from work. We don’t live in the greatest of neighborhoods. If Noah thought my old apartment was in a bad part of town, I can’t even begin to imagine what he thinks about where we live now. He works at the bookshop next to Sir Perks-A-Lot and our hours often overlap, but he n
ever offers to walk me home.
Sometimes, I try to placate myself by saying he doesn’t walk me home because he knows I’m a badass witch now and could steal the life force of any jerk who tries to molest me, but if I’m honest, I really just think he doesn’t like to be around me anymore. It bothers me…
Hell.
Let’s call it like it is.
It hurts. A lot. I’d love him to care enough to want to protect me, to keep me company, to want to be with me. But I’ll be patient in this. I’ll push that hurt aside and just keep proving to him that I’m worth his attention. One day, when he’s ready, he’ll be there.
Every window but mine is lit up in our little apartment as I walk up the broken walk towards the door. Those guys don’t understand energy conservation. Once inside, I hang up my coat and nod to Luke, who’s constructing some monster of a sandwich in the kitchen while his dragon hops around on the counter, studying the process intently. My tiger flares into existence, glad to come out now that we’re home, and ambles into my bedroom.
“Hey,” says Luke, just before cramming the sandwich into his mouth. “You smell like coffee.” He manages to get the words out without bits of food flying out with them, so I have to give him kudos for that.
“So you’ve said. Many times.”
Noah wanders into the living room, gives me a little nod, and plops down on the couch in front of the TV. I smile at him, but I don’t think he noticed, so I say my goodnights and head into the bedroom. Being the only female, I managed to get myself the master bedroom because it has its own separate bathroom attached, using threats of hair products and make up and … ummm … girl products to make sure they didn’t want to share a bathroom with me.
I shower ‘cause Luke’s right, I do smell like coffee. After drying my hair, I climb into bed and wait for sleep to come. My thoughts slow down and my breathing settles and just as I cross the line of consciousness, I see a little girl, blonde hair streaming behind her and sparkling in the sunlight as she bounds towards me, a smile stretched across her sweet face and a huge wolf following behind.
********
Wanna be notified about new releases by R. M. Webb? Please sign up for her Reader’s Group by going to: http://eepurl.com/2-sr5.
Reviews and word of mouth are essential in helping an author succeed. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t have to be much, just a few lines sharing your thoughts with other readers. Every little bit helps!
As always, thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read!
Books by R. M. Webb
Witches and Warlocks series:
Speak
Hush
Roar
Howl
Whisper - coming soon!
Immortal Memories series:
Façade
Unleashed
Reclaimed – coming soon!
Also in the Immortal Memories Universe:
Til Death
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
