Jeremy looks at me, “You’ll have to rest for a few days, but after that you should heal totally.”
Hugh says thank you to Jeremy as we stand to leave the house. I need to get away from this place, too many horrors here. Jeremy’s death was just the beginning.
I turn to Jeremy as we hit the last stone step. “Did you know?”
“Know what? That Madame could heal? Well yes, some ghosts have special gifts. If you have some abilities in life they become stronger in death. But…”
I cut him off, “No, I mean did you know that Malsumis was the man in the black coat? The one who set the fire?”
His face hardens, “Not until tonight. We used as much energy as we could to help you, but some of the younger ones got scared when they saw the blood. When they broke the circle, the control we had over him went as well. Alo has taught us some magick to protect ourselves, only when we come together fully does it help others. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you kill him. I certainly don’t want to see him live for another fight.”
“We understand and we thank you for your help.” Hugh nods as he throws my arm over his shoulder and practically carries me to my car. He puts me on the ground only momentarily to open the passenger’s side door, before placing me inside. He even buckles my seatbelt, I must look really bad.
After we’re both in the trusty Civic, Hugh rolls down the window.
“Jeremy,” he says, “go tell my father we’re safe, for now. Malsumis will have to heal before he can come after us again.”
Jeremy turns on the spot and he and Madame depart.
Hugh drives us to his apartment to get cleaned up. I call my mom and tell her I got sick at school, but didn’t want to disturb her during finals. I explain that Hugh came to pick me up. She says she understands and that as soon as I’m feeling up to it to drive home and go to bed.
I text Olivia, so she knows to go by a similar story. I tell her to not worry, Hugh is fine. He’s just super sick with the flu and needed me to take him to the health center on campus. She buys my story and tells me she’ll get my homework and drop it off later.
When we arrive at his place I immediately strip and go stand in the shower. I feel like I need to wash this whole day away and I let the water crash down on me for almost an hour. The heat makes my muscles feel at ease, but I’m just so sore. It feels like I just ran a marathon. Finally Hugh comes in and says he should take me home.
I dress in clothes I left here about a week ago. Just some sweats and a hoodie, perfect for being pretend sick. But with how I feel right now, I could have a really horrendous bug. My whole body aches and my head is still pounding even though the massive cut is closed. I examine it in the mirror, hardly even a shadow of a scar, she does good work.
I fight with Hugh but he still carries me up to my bedroom and puts me to bed. He stays until my mom gets home and apologizes again for not calling her sooner. He charms her as usual and she thanks him for taking care of me.
I sleep for two days. I hardly think or eat. I just want my eyes to be closed, I feel so much better when they are. Both Hugh and Olivia come visit multiple times, they take shifts with my mom watching over me. It’s really sweet. Hugh explains to her he must have given me the bug he had. She believes it easily knowing how much we’re together.
Even Chad hangs out with me for a while. He explains how he won’t get his DNA results back for about four more months and I breathe a sigh of relief. I can’t put him in danger. No one can know Chad might be a cryptid too.
Once I’m finally feeling better and back to normal I go to school and life falls into a routine again. Hugh says that Malsumis won’t strike for a while and that Alo is helping Wendy get her father back to our plane. Everything feels calm for the first time in months. I relax and focus on my last two months of high school.
The dress for Senior Shuffle comes in a few weeks later. I had totally forgotten about it until it arrived on my doorstep. I immediately call Olivia to gush about how absolutely perfect it is. We make plans to go to a party at her house after the dance. It’s going to be awesome.
Weeks go by and all I do is spend time with Hugh. I didn’t return to track after my “illness” because I was too sore. My mom said she understood and I got a job at the library to fill my time. Hugh quit his security job and works at the library now too. He said they’ll keep him all on summer. Hugh visits home while I have finals and his mom sends back a beautiful painting of Mosi for me.
“I had no idea she was an artist!” I squeal as I hang the picture above my bed, where the little gray furball is currently napping. She meows at me as I disturb her sleep.
Hugh laughs, “She only paints for certain people. It’s her way of saying thanks, for what happened that day, how you saved us.” He looks down to the floor.
We haven’t spoken about that day since it happened. I finally feel like I can ask a question I’ve been dying to know.
“Hugh, why did you turn into a jaguar with me?”
He blushes, “Ever since we spent that night together there’s a connection between us. A force if you will, we’re permanently tied together now, we’re a mating pair. When the stronger Mosi of a mating pair feels imminent danger and they shift, so does their mate. You have the ability, when you really want to, to turn into a jaguar. I asked my parents about it and they even consulted the elders, we have no idea why you can do that. Or why I could. They think perhaps your tribe was from a land where jaguars run free and were used in the sacrifice, but no one knows. And the only explanation they have as to why I turned into one is because we fulfill the prophecy. The one that says our pairing will be like no other that has come before it.”
All I can do is nod my head. There is still a lot to learn, but now I feel like I have the time to learn it.
Chapter 29
Graduation goes by without a hitch, except for the kid who mooned half the stadium, but I guess he wouldn’t call it a hitch since he planned to display his ass to the world. The valedictorian, who beat me out by one measly tenth of a point, reads our names and our principal, Mr. Victor, hands us our diplomas and shakes our hands. I don’t feel much of anything really. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for almost two years and I can hardly contain how bored this whole process makes me. But in the crowd there are people who love me; Chad, though looking like he might be sleeping, my mom, tearing up I’m sure, and Hugh, already dressed for tonight and thus, has about five married women staring at him. It feels good to know I have a family, a real one that loves me no matter what happens in my life.
We throw our caps into the air as Greenday’s I Hope You Had The Time Of Your Life is blaring through the speakers. I meet my family on the football field for pictures, posing with Hugh and Olivia, smiling bigger each minute. I can’t help but think it’s almost time to party.
Hugh drives me to my house to get changed for the dance. I hate his old pickup truck, but I know he’s proud of it so I don’t say anything. He actually washed it for tonight and everything. Besides we left my car at Liv’s so we could drive home separate tomorrow. Hugh has to go to work and luckily I get to sleep in at Olivia’s.
Hugh looks dashing in his black suit with matching thin black tie. He has his hair slicked to one side which highlights his chiseled face. I notice he’s wearing green contacts tonight, my favorite color on him. The gold beneath makes them appear a light green, different than anyone else. We are different from everyone else.
I run upstairs to change quickly; we only have an hour to get ready before Senior Shuffle starts. I reach into the closet and pull out the black short feather dress Olivia and I picked out in early spring. It has huge stones on the top and ostrich feathers all through the bottom, leading eyes to my nicely defined runner’s legs. Even though I left track, my awesome legs remain.
I heat up a curling iron as I do my makeup. Purple compliments my semi-gold eyes well, so I pull the color straight across my eyes. I start to attempt to curl my hair, but the Mosi straightness returns
after mere minutes so instead I decided to pull it on top of my head and to the side and go with a spikier look. Chad is definitely going to say I look like apocalypse princess tonight. I grab the huge heels Olivia let me borrow and sit on the floor to put them on.
Mom yells up the stairs, “Shay, it’s time to go!” I take one last look in the mirror and practically fall over. There is no way I’m getting down carpeted steps in these things! I quickly take them off and grab some flip flops; I’ll put them back on in the car.
I head down the stairs and my mom snaps about a hundred pictures before she realizes I’m carrying my shoes. “Shay Tafford, is that any way to greet a gentleman?” She puts a hand on her hip, the other still holding the camera.
Hugh smiles at me, “I don’t see any gentleman here Mrs. Tafford.” She eyes him suspiciously and so he continues with, “All that I see is the most beautiful girl in the world.” He’s won her over again and she smiles as she nods and pushes us together for pictures.
Chad casually leans on the door frame to the living room, he whispers to me as I pass, “You look awesome Shay. Dad would’ve been proud.”
I look at him briefly taking a deep breath, “Bye guys,” is all I say as we get back into the truck and head to the dance.
The drive back to the school isn’t awkward, no time with Hugh is anymore. We talk about summer plans and who we think will show up with whom. I remind him he’s coming with me next week to pick out colors for my new dorm room. “I don’t see why I have to go, you and your mom have excellent taste.”
“Flattery won’t get you outta this one buddy, but nice try.”
He laughs, “It was, wasn’t it? How is she taking the switch by the way?”
I just told Mom last night that I wouldn’t be going to James Madison in the fall. Instead I’ll be going to Eastern Virginia University to be with Hugh. I thought she’d be disappointed, but instead I think she was a little relieved. I think she’s just glad to see me staying close to home, not to mention free schooling as long as I keep up my grades.
“She did better than I thought. She’s happy I’m staying in the dorm for the first semester, I won’t spring on her that I’m moving in with you until Christmas. It’ll help her process.”
He laughs, “Ah yes, it’s all about the process with her isn’t it?”
We arrive to the school just in time, about fifteen minutes late. Walking in it looks just as I imagined, crappy. Crepe paper draped off the basketball hoops and a disco ball hanging in the center of the gym. The music is already blaring and I can see Olivia dancing close with the football captain, Josh Cole. He’s a cute guy, blonde hair with deep green eyes. He’s wearing a suit, I’m sure at Olivia’s request, but he should be glad he listened to her, he looks hot.
Hugh sees where my eyes are focused and he leans in to whisper in my ear “He’s just OK. Should we show them how it’s really done?”
I half smile at him, he knows I love to dance. I have rhythm in my blood. I guess I know where my flexibility comes from now. I raise an eyebrow as he leads me to the dance floor. His feet and hips start to move with the change in tempo as Party Rock Anthem blasts through the speakers. I don’t even realize I’m moving as I fall into the beat. I wave to Olivia and Josh as I really start to move, my hips shaking as I break into a shimmy. Hugh looks suddenly impressed, a hunger in his eyes I’ve learned can produce some pretty strong feelings for later on in the night. He brings me close and as we dance his hands wrap expertly around my body. He touches me in ways that feel like we’re the only two in the room. I close my eyes and just feel the music and his breath in my ear.
“Did I tell you how absolutely gorgeous you look tonight?”
I respond, “Only about a million times.”
“Well, that’s not enough, so how about a million and one?”
I laugh as he spins me around. We rock out to the song and then it changes into a slower tune. We dance close, but he raises my hand and I think we start to waltz. I am not a waltz type of girl, so I don’t even know if that’s what it is, but it makes me feel classy. A guy who makes me feel like a classy gal, how did I get this lucky? I see Olivia giving me a thumbs-up out of the corner of my eye. I smile broadly; this is exactly what I’ve always wanted.
When I first met Hugh on that bench in the Quad I knew something was happening but I didn’t realize I had met my soul mate or my cryptid mate, someone I would be with forever. It’s so weird that just a few months ago I knew I was different, but I never realized how different, or as Hugh would say how special, I am. Now I have a whole race depending on me. I feel like I’m having that dreamy moment that I thought was stolen from me the night my dad disappeared. I know that the fight is not yet over, but as I enter college this fall, I know I’ll have Hugh by my side. We’ll conquer our new adventures together and I feel strong knowing that. As Hugh looks into my eyes he suddenly spins me out and then close to him. He looks to me and says “I love you Shay.” As I go to respond, I hear a voice in my head, a voice I never thought I would hear again.
“Shay. Run. They are coming. Shay! Go now!”
My face must go white because Hugh looks at me so concerned that his mouth is open. He brings me closer to him and we become still.
“We have to go, NOW!” I start panicking looking around wondering if they’re already here, coming for us.
“Shay, how do you know? What are you talking about?” Hugh searches my eyes desperately while he holds my hands in his.
“My dad just told me.” His eyes grow wide and with that, the lights go out and the screaming begins.
About the Author
Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.
Connect with Brina:
http://brinacourtney.blogspot.com/
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Table of Contents
Cryptids
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About the Author
Table of Contents
Cryptids
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About the Author
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