Hunter Moon

by Joanne Mallory

  By the third try she was about ready to hex him when he finally answered.

  “Jason! Thank the gods. Adam’s been in an accident, I’ve got to fly out to get him.”

  “Jess! Slow down. Where are you?”

  She took a breath, holding it for a second to still her racing heart.

  “Still in London. Adam’s broken his leg, in Greece. He asked for help.”

  Jason’s softly muttered ‘It must be bad’ made her laugh around the sudden lump in her throat.

  “That’s what I thought.” The whispered words scratched as tears stung her vision. “I know I’m working this week, but—”

  “Jesus, Jess, this is your family. Are you boarding?”

  “No, just coming out of London now.”

  “Right then—get out there and let me know when everything’s alright, okay?” He slightly paused before adding, “Did you enjoy last night’s gala?” The thread of humor in his voice was designed to distract, and she closed her eyes, leaning back, thankful for the best friend she could’ve asked for.

  Her laugh sounded watery even to her own ears. “You sod. Leaving us to sit with that motley crew.”

  His snicker was a balm to her wired nerves.

  “I try. Keep in touch, Sweetheart.”

  She sighed and shut her eyes as the cab trailed through the early morning rush-hour, heading for the airport.

  Chapter Four

  Jess arched her back. Three weeks of traveling, hotels and hospitals had taken its toll. The thick coating of packed waiting rooms, departure lounges, and vending machine coffee had seeped into her skin. Exhaustion had settled deep, and she couldn’t remember what silence felt like.

  Adam sat next to her in the cab, his blue eyes closed, his amber lashes splayed against the dark circles that had taken up permanent residence. The cast encasing his left leg was awkwardly perched on the seat in front of him.

  Two surgeries and a wonderful doctor had kept them in Greece until he was convinced that Adam was safe to fly. Never had she been so pleased to be on a plane circling the Thames.

  But the cab they were in was leaving London behind, heading out of the city, ever southbound.

  Pulling her phone from her pocket, she stifled a yawn as she texted Jason, letting him know they’d landed and were heading home. She closed her eyes for what felt like seconds when the phone vibrated in her palm.

  Get some rest, and that’s an order ;)

  Take your couple of weeks’ holiday. I’m bound to have work that you can do there and you can stay on a bit longer.

  We’ve got everything under control here.

  Jase x

  Seb’s smiling face raced across her mind, she wanted to ask Jason to let him know that everything was okay, she’d wanted to talk to him countless times over the last weeks, but it sounded daft to her over-tired, over-worried brain. She’d just have to wait and see what happened when she went back to work.

  Staring out of the window, she let her mind drift. The motorway was far behind, and the orange streetlights streamed down, glaring into the windows, making her flinch with each pass. If her energy was at an all-time low, she had no idea how Adam was still functioning; his ward had been packed with people, the constant coming and going of nurses and gurneys, all through the night.

  Scrunching her tired eyes at the thought, she rolled down the window as quietly as could, not wanting to disturb what little rest he could get.

  The London cab rolled across the single lane bridge onto the Island, doubtlessly looking out of place against the rural backdrop. The few remaining posts of the old train bridge rose from the sea, running parallel to them as they drove, barely visible against the night sky.

  Jess stared out of the back window. Langstone Bay lay behind them. The lights from the pub reflected onto the water, the little village where their sister lived was all battened down. The pub would have only a few regulars sitting at the bar on this quiet Wednesday night.

  A ghost of a smile touched her lips, as she watched the pretty pub fade into the misty night. Give Adam a few days to rest up, and maybe they could have dinner there. Just the three of them.

  The yearning for her family hit her so quickly she caught her breath, and rapidly blinked away silly, weary tears.

  Turning her face into the September breeze, she breathed in the peace, and the salt and pine tinged air. The gentle tide polished the pebbles as it crept up the beach and the road weaved through the darkness, traveling deeper onto the Island.

  As they left the sea behind, horse fields surrounded them, leading to little roads with bungalows. They passed the stables where they’d learnt to ride, the farm shop that would soon be full of pumpkins. The past bled into her, and the silence she’d been longing for slowly started to seep into her soul.

  The taxi pulled into a quiet road lined with a handful of cottages and cherry trees.

  Jess sat up straighter, loving the gentle feeling that swept through her at the sight of her home. The white walls and low slate roof were softly illuminated by her outside lights, and Thea stood in the shadow of the open front door, her soft blonde curls haloed in the porch light.

  More stupid tears filled her vision as she leant over, grabbing Adam’s hand. “Hey. You awake? We’re home.”

  His bright blue gaze mirrored the joy in hers, as he struggled to sit up and caught sight of Thea.

  Easing her aching body from the cab, Jess leant down so that Adam could brace himself on her shoulder, as he balanced on one leg, placing his plastered foot softly to the ground, all the while cursing the crutches.

  She’d barely got him standing up when Thea was on them.

  She was inches shorter than the pair of them, but that didn’t stop her wrapping them up, her own unique scent of jasmine swirling around them.

  Her soft laughter was watery with emotion as she hugged them.

  Adam’s voice sounded gruff as he spoke, his grip tight around the pair of them. “Gods, it’s good to be here.”

  Sniffing, laughing and dashing at more tears, Jess maneuvered him indoors, as Thea hurried back and forth pulling in their luggage.

  Awkwardly stumbling, Jess finally got him to the couch, and with an unceremonious twist she let his weight bring him to the sofa, before rolling her eyes at him. “Dude, you’re going to have to get better at this.” Humor lit her gaze as he politely told her to sod off, until the low whine brought her attention whipping round.

  Murphy sat perfectly still in front of the patio doors, his black ears hanging low with worry.

  Jess stepped back as she watched him come to his paws and pad across the hardwood floor, before slowly getting onto the sofa where he sat down, next to Adam, his solemn Labrador eyes studying his owner, searching for himself that everything was okay.

  The lump swelled in Jess’s throat as Thea came to stand beside her, reaching for her hand, watching the exchange.

  “Hey there, Murph.” Adam’s voice was hardly a whisper as he reached up to stroke Murphy’s face. “You don’t need to look at me like that, fella, it’s just a broken leg.”

  Murphy slowly eased his front paws across Adam’s thighs. Laying his head down in his lap, he gave a huff and closed his eyes. He had clearly decided Adam needed guarding.

  “He’s been okay all summer. We’ve had great fun while you were off gallivanting, but once he knew you were hurt…” Thea’s equally soft voice trailed away.

  Jess smiled as she bent, smoothing his ears and gently readjusting his collar, working her voice past the lump in her throat. “That’s because he’s a very, very good boy.”

  The over-emotional state of the pair of them fired Thea into action, and Jess found herself route-marched off to bed, with instructions to get a good night’s rest.

  The gentle sun warmed the side of her face, slowly tugging her from sleep. Opening her eyes, Jess lay still, her own white sheets and duvet wrapped around her. The sun beamed in through the lace net curtains, making shadowy shapes on the soft white ceiling.


  She’d hadn’t bothered with the full curtains last night, she’d barely got her clothes off before collapsing into bed, safe in the knowledge that Thea was handling everything.

  The ornate mantel clock next to her bed said it was after six. Jess stretched, before kneeling up to look out of the window above her bed. Moving the net out of the way she opened the window, staring out. Her little garden had no back fence, only a short white wall with a gate, that lead straight to the beach. The yellow grass and peaks of the sand dunes drawing the eye to the calm ocean, and further, all the way to the horizon.

  Pulling in huge lungfuls of clean air, she pushed her hair back from her face. She felt amazing, like she’d slept for a week. Arching her back, she found no aches and pains left over from hours sat in waiting rooms; no tension left across her neck from worry and waiting.

  Shaking her head, she came to a stop as she padded round her room. At the foot of her bed was a pretty selenite spiral, softly glowing with the hue of magic.

  Carefully picking it up, she felt her sister’s energy radiating from the crystal as she turned it towards the light; Thea’s magic had clearly become much stronger, she could feel it pulsing against her palms. The mending and rejuvenating spell was a bolt of pure healing energy to her senses.

  Placing it on her bedside table, she gathered Adam would have one too, so he should wake feeling a hell of a lot better than yesterday.

  Keeping her fingers crossed that a good night’s sleep would help his mood, she pulled on her white kimono dressing-gown, smiling as she headed out into her home. The early autumn sun streamed in through the windows, bathing the hardwood floors and surfaces. The warmth beneath the soles of her feet lifted her spirits even more, as did Murphy’s welcoming bark as he came to greet her, nudging her thigh.

  “Hey there, did you sleep okay?” Kneeling down, she took his face in her hands, nuzzling his velvety head.

  Pulling back, she waited as he looked at her, checking her over before giving her a toothy grin.

  “You’ve clearly had a good night’s rest too, Murph.” As she stroked down his head she found a small piece of selenite, encased in a spiral holder, hanging from his collar. The worry had disappeared from his aura, and Jess breathed a sigh of relief; her equilibrium was settling back down. Thea had been very busy indeed.

  Entering the kitchen, she found her brother and her sister sitting at her little table, his leg propped up on a chair.

  “And I thought I was up early.” Knowing it would annoy him, Jess ruffled Adam’s red hair as she walked by, getting just past the reach of his crutch as he went to jab her with it. “Now-now, I came all the way to get you. Be nice.”

  Grinning at him, she squeezed Thea’s shoulder as went, before flopping down into a chair and reaching for the teapot. Gesturing between them with her cup, she raised her brows at her brother. “Oh, and I had a fabulous night’s sleep. How about you, Adam?”

  He turned curious blue eyes to Thea, and nodded, as Thea squirmed in her chair. “Funny that, me too. Must have been some pretty powerful mojo. What did you do, Thea?”

  Jess kept her eye on Thea as she poured her tea. It had been a year or so since she’d last been home, and Thea had been knee-deep wrapping up her PhD.

  When the magic had come into them, Thea had been hit the hardest. She’d been home for the summer, getting ready to head back to uni for the autumn term when it happened—maybe the constant overload of energy, from the masses of people in London, had been too much for a new witch to handle. Jess didn’t know. But Thea had barely been able to finish her degree, before coming back to the bay.

  Jess and Adam had watched her struggle just to leave the house at first. It had taken months. But as Jess studied her sister, it was clear all that had changed.

  “Just gave you both a little boost, that’s all. The selenite is a great conduit for that.” Her wide brown eyes glanced between them over her cup, and Jess slitted her vision at all she wasn’t saying.

  Placing both elbows on the table, Jess pinned her sister with a look. “Okay. Spill it.”

  Adam nodded in agreement, leaning into a more comfortable position.

  Letting out a puff, Thea blew her curly bangs from her eyes, shrugging off their curiosity. “Truthfully? I’m still working it all out. I’ve been trying to find a way to create a barrier for myself, so that the energy of others doesn’t drain me as much. And the process of doing that has meant I’ve put in some hard study hours.” She placed her cup down, neatly folding her palms in front of her.

  Jess waited, until it become obvious that she wasn’t going to add anything else. “And?”

  “The side effect of which has been my spell crafting has got good, and that’s made my magic stronger… Quite a bit stronger.”

  Jess watched Adam tap his finger against the side of his cup. She felt his curiosity rising when he said, “But have you managed to barrier others’ emotions?”

  “Yes.” Thea held up her hands, as they both leant forward, ready to pepper her with questions. “I mean, I couldn’t move back to the City or anything—I wouldn’t want to anyway now. But yes, I have found, as the magic has grown it’s helped me too. I was unconsciously holding it at bay, and the more I’ve opened up and let it in, the more it’s protected me.” She waited a beat before adding, “And heightened my senses.” Clearing her throat, Thea’s brows furrowed as she frowned at them, and Jess waited, knowing a telling-off was coming their way, just not sure why.

  “For instance, don’t keep things from me. I bloody know the pair of you concocted some story to supposedly ‘protect’ me while all this has been going on, and I won’t bloody have it.”

  Looking guiltily at Adam, Jess gave him a mental poke as she frowned at him. I told you! Before turning to Thea, her apology dying in her throat as she watched an emerald green swirl through her sister’s brown eyes.

  “Thea! Your eyes!”

  Waving her hand she shushed her, and Jess snapped her mouth shut, sitting back in her chair.

  “Don’t go changing the subject, Jess. I’m bloody cross.”

  Adam cleared his throat, struggling to hide his grin, and Jess hurriedly looked down into her lap, smothering her own smirk. They’d never been able to take Thea’s temper seriously; she’d always been the one to wade in and stop their battles, she’d always been their anchor.

  Taking a big sip of his coffee, amusement swirled in his gaze as he looked over at Thea, and Jess was surprised to see the absolute relief in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I asked Jess not to worry you.” He put down down his cup and grasped Thea’s hand across the table. “But Sweetheart, I’m so pleased for you. If your eyes are finally changing, you really must be getting stronger…” His voice trailed away as he waited for Thea to explain, and Jess wondered, not for the first time, how much more Adam knew about their magic that he wasn’t sharing.

  Turning a warm smile on her brother, Thea laughed. “I am stronger, and I have been for a long time, but we just haven’t all been together in so long, that I haven’t been able to tell you.”

  The flood of guilt hit Jess’s system, but she’d didn’t get to voice her thoughts before Thea turned on her.

  “And don’t do that—no guilt. Our lives are busy and hectic and all over the place. I should’ve just told you, but I was keeping it like a secret—a wonderful secret that I wanted to share with you both, when we were all together.”

  Jess sighed, holding Thea’s free hand, and taking Adam’s in her other hand, she linked them.

  The bolt of magic raced between them, making her laugh at the force of it. “No guilt. And no secrets. You’re right, I’m sorry.” Giving Thea a wink, she squeezed her hand. “How often are your eyes changing?”

  Breaking the circle, Thea rubbed her temple as she rolled her eyes heavenward, the brown and green depths still swirling together.

  “Ugh, it’s all the time! I tell you, a little bit of emotion and…boom. It’s bloody hard to explain away too
.”

  Jess laughed with delight as Adam frowned. So there really was a man on the scene! She’d thought so when they’d last spoken, but they’d all had this broken-Adam business to deal with, and she hadn’t had time to go digging for the story.

  Jess barely held the giggle in, sitting on her hands to stop herself from rubbing her palms together. She couldn’t wait to see Adam deal with this one.

  Getting up from the table, she rummaged through the cupboards, looking for food. Coming out with a loaf of bread and some waffles, she looked at Thea. “Try contact lenses.”

  “Well, that’s what I said to Marc… That’s what I said when it happened, but it’s a bit lame, Jess.”

  Watching Adam’s head snap up as Thea stammered over the mention of a man, Jess kept her laughter buried deep. Good for Thea.

  “No, you loon. Not as an excuse. Actually get some brown contacts, that’s what I do.”

  Thea’s laughter bubbled up as she came to help in the kitchen, “Oh. Of course! I get you.”

  Catching her brother now frowning heavily at both of them, she offered him a little grin. He couldn’t protect them from everything.

  Chapter Five

  Three weeks later

  Jess stared out of the window and wished she was sat on the pebble beach. She’d wrap her arms around her bent legs as the tide lapped the shore and the sun beat down.

  But it wasn’t going to happen.

  The supposed amazing summer that she’d hardly seen a glimpse of had passed-by while she wasn’t looking, and now the sad, grey rain tapped against the glass and dripped down to the old wooden frame, blurring the beach outside.

  Adam’s need to stay with her had ended, and he’d taken his bad mood and moved back to his own house: a house that, unlike her bungalow, had stairs leading to the first floor and down to the sea. She let a little-sister smirk cross her face; she could picture him cursing that cast, as he thumped about his house.

  Resting her forehead against the cold window, she thought about the nineteen hours in airports and on planes it had taken to reach him in Greece, and a week of rowing with him that he couldn’t fly for seven days after such major surgery, before she’d even been able to attempt the nightmare that getting him home had been.