Strange Supes

by Gray Holborn

While I suspected her words were meant to encourage me, they only solicited an agonized groan from. Still, I followed and allowed her to have her way with me.

  All complaining aside, I had to admire El’s eye. She chose a burgundy dress that was tight up top but tapered out and was otherwise tasteful. While the right arm had a full sleeve, the left side of the dress was strapless—something I wasn’t fond of until El overcame all odds and showed me a small lingerie bag containing the first comfortable strapless bra I’d ever encountered. To be honest, I didn’t think a useful strapless bra existed, making El’s find one of the greatest of the decade. Maybe even the greatest of the century.

  She left my hair down in large, voluminous curls, before fastening her own up in a complicated bun. Under her instruction, I painted my lips with a deep burgundy stain, keeping my eyes simple with some winged liner and mascara. All things considered, I was done and decent-looking in a more timely manner than I’d anticipated.

  Knowing that the odds of her being denied a fun night out after shopping and convincing us to change were slim, El shoved me out of our room, giddy from the anticipated release of her cabin fever.

  When we entered the common area, Soren was the only one ready, most likely the first to snag the bathroom El delegated as belonging to the boys. He was lounging on a chair, his legs dangling over an arm while he sipped a glass filled with several fingers of a light brown liquid, likely whiskey, and rubbed a finger over the bridge of his nose as if wiping away a headache.

  “This might be a record. You guys finished before the guys. Granted, they got caught up watching some sports game and spent ten minutes arguing over who had to shower first and miss the final ten minutes.” His eyes remained closed while he spoke to us, as if he were recovering from one of the most difficult battles he’d faced. Then again, knowing Soren and his distaste of all things human and all things Luis, listening to him and Jax bicker over a game probably ranked pretty high.

  While his eyes were closed, I allowed myself a second to admire his outfit—a tightly fitted burgundy button-up with thin black vertical stripes was already rolled up to his elbows and tucked haphazardly into a pair of fitted black pants. His hair was combed back in its usual style, but since he’d let his beard go a week without a trim, the combination added an enticing mix of debonair rebellion to the ensemble.

  “I don’t know, Sor, Sam has me almost liking basketball if I’m being honest. You scoff now, but a few more months in the human world and you’ll be cheering in the other room along with them,” El said. She grabbed the drink from his hands and took a sip before wrinkling her face in disgust. “Ugh. I can’t even pretend to like the taste of whatever that is. It’s like drinking rubbing alcohol.” She made her way to the bar, clinking bottles aside as she scavenged. “Don’t worry, Dess. I’ll fix us up something decent.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Soren was probably drinking bourbon, so I just laughed at the racket she was making and turned back to Soren just as he opened his eyes. The increasingly familiar gray hue deepened, and I thought I almost heard a low growl. My hand smoothed unconsciously over my bellybutton, and I sent a silent prayer that the noise I heard wasn’t my own angry stomach.

  He didn’t say a word to me, but his body tensed as he stood up from his reclined position, took a step towards me, and sat back down, ramrod-straight. I blushed at his unblinking stare, and tried unsuccessfully to break eye contact when I felt uncomfortable butterflies fluttering around in my midsection.

  After a few long moments, I could feel the heat radiating off of my skin, heat that disappeared when El cleared her throat standing less than a foot away from me. Her eyes travelled between me and Soren several times with barely disguised intrigue while she arched a brow and handed me a cocktail. “Here.”

  I sipped the murky brown liquid. If El’s proximity wasn’t enough to disrupt the connection between Soren and me, her drink was. I spit my sip back into the glass, but not before the offensive drink had enough time to coat every single one of my taste buds. “Oh my god, El. This is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

  “That’s what she said.” Jax stumbled out of the bedroom, smirking at his own joke. He glanced from me to El, his amusement growing into a more genuine smile. “Damn, ladies. Don’t you both clean up nicely.” He walked over to me, grabbed my glass and lined his own mouth to the stain left by my lipstick. Without breaking eye contact, he took a sip and winked. He must have missed the part where I spit back into it. The moment broke as soon as he started coughing and sputtering. He wiped his mouth on his shirt and shoved the glass into El’s hands. “That was supposed to be way more seductive than it was. I don’t know what you did to that drink, El, but there is some foul magic brewing in that glass.”

  Without a word, Soren surrendered his glass to Jax who gratefully took a generous sip.

  “Better?” Soren asked, his voice low and more gravelly than usual.

  Jax nodded his head. “Yo, Luis, let’s hurry it up. I know you were last for the shower, but I need food. Like two hours ago.”

  Luis pushed into the common area doing up the last few buttons of his shirt. “You supes really grate on the nerves, don’t you?” He came up short when I fell into his line of sight and I watched his eyes languidly devour me from top to bottom and back up again. I was unable to meet his stare, afraid that what I’d find there would cross the dangerous line between friend and something, well, else.

  Instead, I took in his outfit, realizing that all three of them were dressed similarly but with different colored shirts. Luis was in a deep purple and Jax in blue. After a quiet moment, while everyone awkwardly assessed each other, I burst out laughing, a laugh made more embarrassing by its punctuation with a snort.

  A frown creased between El’s eyes. “What? Do they not look okay?”

  “They look great.” I paused, trying to regulate my breathing through the laughter. “It’s just they kind of look like an adult version of the Ninja Turtles.”

  Luis looked from himself to the other two before a huge smile broke out over his face. “You’re right. We’re just missing orange. Does this mean we get to go for pizza?”

  Jax and Soren merely looked on in confusion and, eventually, in mortification when Luis, El, and I broke out in a poorly-tuned recitation of the TMNT theme song, complete with choppy dance moves.

  ✽✽✽

  There was something strangely exhilarating about stuffing your face with greasy pizza when you were wearing a fancy dress—like you were deliberately breaking the rules of polite society. While cheesy-goodness could never be bad, I’d be lying if I said that contrast didn’t make the meal go down even more smoothly than usual. And when five people with appetites like ours were satisfied with a meal, plan making was a piece of cake. I was nervous, but ready for Rennix’s gathering tomorrow.

  Like expected, while we walked off our pizza and beer El managed to steer that walk into a night district that opened into a giant street fair. I let out a breath of relief, happy that she at least wasn’t dragging us to a club tonight. We were absurdly overdressed compared to the rest of the fair’s patrons, but that somehow added to the charm and theme of our night. My mouth watered at the smell of fair food, which was problematic seeing as my dress felt exponentially tighter with each piece of pizza I’d shoved into my mouth. When all this was over I needed to binge on some vegetables.

  Luis and Jax raced to a water shooting game with their typical, competitive fervor, while Soren scanned the perimeter looking for threats. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his shirt, tugging him in the direction of bumper cars. “Come on, Soren. Don’t be such a buzzkill. We aren’t even in San Francisco. Try to have fun for one night.”

  He didn’t say anything, but raised a brow and allowed himself to be led into the line. El was practically hopping back and forth with excitement. I stared at her shoes, unable to figure out how she’d manage driving one of these rust buckets in her stilettos.

  Whi
ch was a mistake, because El totally dominated both of us and spent most of our run blocking Soren into a corner while she repeatedly rammed into his car with infectious peels of laughter. She climbed out of her car gracefully and grabbed each of us by the hand. “Come on, let’s do that janky rollercoaster ride next. I saw one in a Final Destination movie and I’ve wanted to ride one ever since.”

  Because who wouldn’t want to be reminded of a freak death scene right before hopping on rusted metal? “You’re kind of a lunatic, aren’t you?” I whispered.

  She stopped short, forcing me to awkwardly trip while trying to avoid running into her. “I’m perfectly sane, thank you very much.”

  “Oh, you’re totally sane,” I said through a smile. “You know, except for that whole completely crazy thing you have going on.”

  “And also the insanity,” Soren added.

  With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me towards the death trap.

  When we exited the rickety machine, luckily unscathed, my hands rested on my stomach, trying to gently calm the slush of beer and pizza the rollercoaster had me too aware of.

  “Odie, I beat Jax. You can have this, I don’t want it.” Luis shoved a plush koala with a giant unicorn horn into my hands without looking at me. He pointed to the fun house for our next stop and tried not to draw attention to his gift, but I knew him well enough to catch the light blush flushing his cheeks. Luis hated calling attention to himself when he was being sweet.

  Not wanting to embarrass him in front of the group, I nodded in agreement, whispered an awkward thanks, and directed our party to the fun house—even though the creepy mirrors had a tendency to make me nauseous. Which probably wasn’t a good idea after already feeling gross from the food and rollercoaster.

  I was at the end of the line, ready to follow Soren into the house of mirrors, when I caught sight of what looked to be a purple bird’s nest on top of a short woman’s head. At the push of excitement in my gut, I turned to follow the odd hat instead of Soren.

  The woman walked deceptively fast and I found myself practically jogging to catch up to her as she wove through the maze of laughing teenagers and kids. When I reached the back exit of the fair, I lost track of her. As I strained my eyes, trying to spot the purple nest in the shadow of night, a wrinkled hand clasped over my lips.

  I jumped and prepared to scream when Charlotte’s familiar face appeared before me, a chubby finger pressed to her own mouth.

  “Shh, girl. Don’t scream, we need to talk.” She turned away and began walking towards a small patch of trees until she noticed I hadn’t followed. “Well, come on now. I don’t have all night.”

  Unable to find words, I followed Charlotte silently until we reached a small, isolated park.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Charlotte sat down on a wooden bench and pet the space next to her. “Well, sit down girl. Let me get a good look at you.”

  I did as she asked, smiling at the warmth her presence provided. With everything going on the past few weeks, I hadn’t realized how worried I was about Char. She was a steady fixture in my life since moving to Seattle, like the grandmother I never had growing up. I chuckled softly at her ridiculous hat—it was indeed a bird’s nest. Instead of housing a few plastic birds, there was a small stuffed dragon perched on the side.

  Her hands ran over my arms, until she pulled me to her in a fierce hug. “I’ve worried about you a great deal, Odessa Black. I’m glad to see you safe and in one piece.” She drew her magnifying glass up and peered at the stuffed unicorn koala, examining it thoroughly and shushing me anytime I deigned to open my mouth. “That is a ridiculous talisman, girl. I don’t understand youngsters these days.”

  “It’s a stuffed animal. From Luis.” I blinked, failing for the life of me to understand how anyone who dressed as Charlotte did could find something ridiculous or unusual about much of anything. “I’m happy to see you too, Char. But how are you here? And how did you know I’d be here? And why weren’t you surprised when Michael turned out to be a supe back at the house?” Her wrinkled finger once again pressed softly into my lips, silencing my stampede of questions.

  “We don’t have time to discuss everything tonight, dear girl. One day, I promise we will. But at the moment, there are blocks on my memory that only allow me to know the bare essentials.” She drew her finger away, confident now that I would shut up and let her speak. “I was a little overzealous to be completely honest, could’ve given myself a bit more to work with,” she mumbled to herself.

  Since she wouldn’t have my words, I silently drank in the sight of her. While her outrageous hat and bright orange Halloween sweater fit well with her usual style, there was something slightly ragged in her expression. It was as if she had aged over the last few weeks and grown weary in her skin. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked old. But also weirdly awake in a way she hadn’t been before.

  She rubbed absentmindedly at her knuckles and stared at our surroundings with a focus that suggested she was both appreciating the view and assessing the perimeter for eavesdroppers. But the park was quiet and we were surrounded only by trees and a rusted swing set. Finally, with a long exhaled breath, she turned back to me. Her deep, wise eyes stared into my own, calculating. “I’m not really sure where I want to start with all of this, girl. I need you to make me a promise before I do—” she paused, waiting for my nod. “You cannot interrupt. This situation is complicated enough and I need to get this all out before I let you ask questions that will take us in unhelpful directions. My memory has been hindered, so the thoughts I want to give you are slippery and unsure.” Her words were firm but not unfriendly.

  I tried to silently rectify this version of Charlotte with the one I’d grown to love over the last few years. She wasn’t aloof and grandmotherly tonight. No, she was powerful and infused with a quiet strength I hadn’t noticed before. Her long, straight hair pulsed in the wind like she was summoning it around her, the power of a goddess.

  “Agreed.” I gestured with a nod for her to start.

  “It was no accident that I became your neighbor, Odessa Black. I was a friend to your mother.” She paused for a second at my gasp, blinking sternly when I opened my mouth to speak. Slamming my lips together, I begged her wordlessly to continue. “I was sent to find you if there arose a time when she was gone and you had left the protection of your father. You don’t know the particulars of your mother’s death, but she was hunted by those who would wish you a terrible fate. She died ensuring that your abilities would be blocked and make you invisible to the supernatural world. To protect you as much as she could. It was no easy feat, you see?”

  “Abilities?” My mouth was dry, the word barely able to leave my lips. “You mean that I can see auras? It comes from my mother?” I knew Char asked me not to interrupt, but the compassion in her eyes told me that she understood how hard this would be for me to process. And it was. My mother was someone I thought about all the time and never—an idea I grasped onto, with no real way to possess.

  “I don’t think that is what she meant by your abilities being blocked. They are strong, girl, and couldn’t be blocked in all capacities. It is perhaps even a built in safety measure—that you can identify those who might wish you harm. I do not know. There are some elements of your story, and hers, hidden in my memory for safe keeping. You know of prophecies?”

  The question in her voice alerted me to speak. “Yes, I’ve heard of them. But nobody really believes in them, right? El and the others seem to brush the idea of fortune telling off as a useless parlor trick.” I stared at a lone swing a few feet away from us, it’s brother long ripped from its chains, and found myself unsettled by an irrational need to hop on and kick away from the ground. A need to do something besides sit here as I processed her words and their implications. I dug my feet into the grass, to keep me planted next to Char. Why was it that we always wanted answers to our questions when we couldn’t have them, but almost never when we c
ould?

  “They are complicated. There are some things that I, and you, can’t know yet. That is why I made sure your mother told me the minimum I needed to know, and why I layered my own memories so that I would never know more than I should at any given moment. And, more importantly, so that you never know more than you should at any given moment. Knowledge is powerful, girl. And having too much of it can be a bad thing should one of us be compromised. Besides, I’m not meant to be a major figure in your story, girl. This journey is not mine to travel.” At the question in my eyes she chuckled, a deep warm sound that reverberated in my bones. “I’m, as you and El would term, a supe. A memory-manipulator, to be specific. We are quite rare, not that I mean to brag.” She winked and the wrinkles along her face deepened with her answering smile.

  I bit nervously at my bottom lip. How had I spent so much time with this woman and never really known her? Never really seen her? “I’ve never seen an aura around you. Why did you hide your ability from me? Why tell me now?” Hearing the accusing tone in my words, I added a soft apology.

  “You didn’t need to know before now, and after my cookie experiment with that medical boy of yours, it should be obvious. I am able to disguise and reveal abilities. Energy can be manipulated beyond an energy user’s individual ability.” She paused, her eyes darting back and forth between mine, reading something on my face. “I didn’t hide that boy’s ability, Odessa. It is important that you know that. I am not the only one who is capable of infusing energy manipulation into objects or food.” She chuckled softly to herself. “Though it is a rare gift and one of the reasons your mother wanted me to watch over you. To ensure you’d never be tracked through supernatural means. Something about the boy’s energy rubbed me the wrong way. He was pretending to be human, but there was a power there, hidden beneath the surface. I could see it in the way he moved...in the way he studied you girls, so alert.”

  Kind of like how she pretended to be human, disguising her power? But I bit back my retort. “So why did you leave? Why not tell me this when Michael’s aura revealed itself? And how did you find me now?” My fingers bit into the splintered wood of the bench. I was sure the others would be worried about me by now, but I couldn’t leave without knowing more and I didn’t have a way to contact them. “Please, just help me understand this.”