by D. N. Hoxa
“How old are you, Lynn?” Julian said after what felt like ages. I bit my tongue to keep myself distracted.
“Fifteen,” Lynn mumbled. She looked at him like she wanted to turn him inside out and look at every inch of his body.
“So you’re in high school.” He sounded so casual, like just minutes ago we hadn’t discussed that guy Galladar and how he’d destroyed the fairy realm. “Mind if I ask what you’re doing here?”
Lynn didn’t speak for a long second. I could practically see her mind working, trying to come up with the perfect answer. It was so much easier to focus on her, rather than Julian.
“I’m here for Winter,” Lynn said. “I’m here to learn how to become like her.”
“I like your judgment,” Julian said, half a smile on his face. “I imagine you still haven’t come to your powers?”
“I don’t need my powers,” Lynn said. “Winter doesn’t have magic. She managed to kill six Hedge witches without it.”
Ah, shit. See why I fucking hate lies? In those moments, I felt like the smallest person in the planet.
Julian slowly turned his eyes to me. “Hedge witches?”
“Long story,” I mumbled. He knew I had magic. He probably knew I’d used it, too, against the Hedges. That made me feel even worse because now he knew I was a fake. Nobody knew about me—except my aunt and Bender. The rest of the world had no idea what my true face looked like.
“I thought they were extinct,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why are you here?” Lynn asked all of a sudden, and made us both look at her. She wasn’t even kidding. Wasn’t she just fifteen? Because to me, she looked ten years older, at least.
“For the same reason you are,” Julian said. “I’m here for Winter.”
Lynn turned to me, and the gesture alone asked the question she wouldn’t voice. “Like I said, don’t tell Bender about Julian. Don’t tell anyone about Julian.” That was the only answer she was going to get from me.
“Why, because he’s a fairy?” Lynn asked.
Shivers washed down my back. Even though Julian hadn’t bothered to wear a mask like before, I didn’t even notice his pointy ears or the color of his eyes, which only served to make me think that his memory—not the real him—had my heart.
“Because she killed me,” Julian said. “At least that’s what the whole world thinks.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Lynn said without missing a beat.
I stood up and went to the kitchen. “Lynn, can I talk to you?” I called, and though Julian could still hear us perfectly, I still felt the need for some privacy. The thin wall in the middle of the room would have to do.
“I know what you’re going to say,” she said when she was behind me. I even turned the faucet on and pretended to wash a glass in hopes it would somewhat drown the sound of our voices.
“I have some things I need to do with Julian. I won’t be here for a while.”
Only after I said the words did I realize that I’d already decided that I would help Julian. It wasn’t fair—almost like my own self snuck up on me with the decision—but it was definite. No matter how hard I thought about it, I would still come to the same conclusion: if Julian needed me, I would be there.
“I promise you, I can help,” Lynn said, and it sounded like she was begging me.
“I know you can, but where I’m going is no place for you. You will be back here as soon as I am done with this—and that’s my promise.” I had only known the girl for a day, but I still felt like shit for having to kick her out, because I’d promised myself I’d give her at least a week to get bored and leave on her own.
“What if you need help?” Lynn asked.
I was thankful I wasn’t forced to look at her face. It would have made this conversation much more difficult, so I just kept washing the already clean glass.
“You’ll know if I do,” I whispered.
That was a lie, and she knew it. No matter how she behaved, she was still just a kid. I would never put her in danger, not for any reason. I expected her to say something else. I expected her to demand I honor the agreement I signed, but instead, all I heard was the door to my office open, then close again. When I turned around, she was gone.
Cursing under my breath, I turned the faucet off and dried my hands. Why was I feeling so guilty when I knew that this had been the right thing to do? Why did I feel so filthy for having disappointed her?
But that didn’t matter anymore. She was gone. She was safe. And I was going to the fairy realm with a man who didn’t even resemble the one I knew before. Facing Julian and looking into his eyes again was hard, but impatience strengthened what little courage I had.
“Whenever you’re ready,” I said as I looked down at him, at the face I’d dreamed of a thousand times in the past few months, both with my eyes open and with them closed.
Julian looked at me for a while as he chewed the last of his food slowly. Then, he rose to his feet and faced me. Before I knew it, the tips of his fingers touched my jaw, so lightly I barely felt it.
“You’ve changed,” he whispered. A laugh escaped me. I’d changed?
“I can say the same thing about you.”
Julian’s thick brows narrowed as he searched my face. “Winter, you owe me nothing.”
I leaned my head back in surprise. “I don’t.” I already knew that.
“I don’t want you to come to help me because you think that.”
“I really don’t,” I assured him.
“And I don’t want you to do it because you feel sorry for me.”
“Julian, I don’t feel sorry for you. I don’t owe you shit. I just want to help you because you asked.” Why was he making this so much more complicated than it already was?
His hands were at his sides one second, and the next, they framed my face. I couldn’t move away even if I wanted to, because the warmth of his touch melted me all the way to my bones.
“I can’t accept that,” he finally whispered against my lips.
What? “I don’t understand.”
“There’s no passion in your eyes anymore,” he said. “If you don’t believe that you should be helping me, than I can’t accept it.”
Laughing dryly, I finally managed to break the connection and step away from him. Turning to the door made it easier for me to say what I wanted. When his eyes were on me, the world changed and my own mind began to work against me. I couldn’t afford that. Not after everything that had happened.
“You speak to me about passion, when you came here, into my home, and you didn’t even take a second to look at me! You didn’t ask me how I am, what I’ve been through, if I…” If I had missed him. Maybe I was naive for expecting something like this, but I thought about what he said to me in the fairy realm the last time we saw each other, for hours at a time. If all he said hadn’t been a lie, he should have at least hugged me. Made me feel like he missed me because I had missed him like crazy, and I’d been dying to tell him that.
“I’m sorry,” Julian whispered. I couldn’t even turn to look at his face. God, what the hell was wrong with me? “Winter, my home is on the brink of complete destruction. Almost everyone I knew is dead. I want to give you all the time in the world, but I can’t. Not now.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t feel worse, there he went and told me how childish and unreasonable I was being. He was right. My thoughts, my imagination, my expectations were way out of line. If I were in his place, what would I have done? Would I have asked him if he missed me?
I guess I wouldn’t know.
Gathering all of my willpower, I made myself swallow the tears and turn around to face Julian. I had no right to ask of him more than he was willing to give me when I found him half dead in my office just the night before. The time for romance had passed. Now, we were just two fairies, trying to figure out how to put a stop to some lunatic’s killing spree.
“I understand,” I said, though the two words burned my throat c
oming out. “You don’t need my passion, Julian. You need my help. I’m offering it to you, and if things are as bad as you say they are, we should really get going.”
Julian seemed hurt, like I’d slapped him instead of talking. Instinct wanted me to run to him and wrap my arm around his neck to comfort him, but I held my ground. No matter what I’d thought seeing him again would be like, this was the reality.
“I didn’t want it to be like this, Winter,” he said, shaking his head, regret written all over his face.
“Me, neither.” It was the sad truth.
“Don’t you want to know more?”
Unfortunately, I didn’t. I simply took his word for it. “You can tell me everything I need to know when we get there. Now, let’s go kick some psycho fairy ass.” I even threw in a smile to try and break the ice that was suddenly in between us, but I’m not so sure it worked.
“Where is the powder?” Julian asked.
I narrowed my brows. “The powder?”
“The dragon blood,” he clarified.
I squinted my eyes because I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not. “I gave the dragon blood to the ECU, remember? It’s why I took it from you in the first place.” It had been my ticket out of being hunted for the rest of my life.
Pure shock registered in Julian’s face. “You gave it to the ECU,” he whispered, as if he was just remembering.
“Yes, Julian. I told the whole world I killed you, and I gave them the powder so they’d believe me and get off my back.”
He wouldn’t even blink. Oh, no. This looked bad. This felt really bad, too.
“Winter, I can’t go back without the blood,” Julian said.
I was so wrong. This wasn’t bad. This was terrifying.
In a second, the image of a crazy fairy guy with pointy ears and really huge muscles breathing fire down Geraldine Street took over my mind. I was back in that awful dream I’d had all over again. Until then, I hadn’t even really thought about what Julian said. Now, my hands began to shake. A fairy that had destroyed both fairy Courts? Holy shit, imagine what he could do to Earth. The gravity of the situation hit me hard and the room began to spin. The Hedge witches I’d fought months ago almost killed me. What would I be able to do against a fairy?
“But you have your powers. You were able to open the portal to get back here without the blood.” My voice broke. Hope made me say those words, but I already knew what Julian’s answer would be.
“Because I was in the fairy realm. Back here, my magic is no better than a strong witch’s, if that.” He stepped in front of me, eyes wide with panic. “Winter, I can barely stand on my feet.”
“Then you need to rest. You need to get your strength back.”
“There’s no time for that,” Julian whispered.
“What about me? Maybe I can do it,” I said halfheartedly.
“We could try, but it took me years to properly shape my magic into the spell. Even with the dragon blood, it took me days to get it right, if you remember.” I did remember all the tests. I also remembered how I’d charged the portal with my energy. I’d just unleashed my magic to it. I definitely hadn’t tried to shape it into anything.
“So what now?” Afraid of the answer, I looked away from Julian.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m going to call the guy who sold it to me the first time. I just need your phone.”
Without hesitation, I took the phone out of my pocket and handed it to him. My heart was still in my throat as I watched him dial the number then turn the speaker on. I should have been relieved by then, but I wasn’t. Something in my head kept whispering…
The number was disconnected. The lady on the speaker said so, loud and clear. Julian narrowed his brows at the phone. He hung up and then dialed the number again. Disconnected.
When he looked at me, it was the first time I saw that much fear in his eyes. “It can’t be,” he whispered.
“Don’t you have another number?”
“No. He always picked up the phone.”
“Do you know anyone else who…” The words died on my lips. Suddenly, I couldn’t even see Julian or anything else around me. James’s face came to my mind. Oh, shit. “What was his name?” I breathed.
Julian hesitated. He looked at the phone again and reluctantly dialed the number for the third time. Same answer. “Blake Powell.” The name rang clearly in my ears.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course! How did it not occur to me before? James told me himself: the dead guy who was found down the street was the one who’d given Julian’s package to James’s friend, before he gave it to me to deliver it. The package was the dragon blood.
“He’s dead,” I said. My voice sounded stronger than it should have, considering that my heart beat so fast, it shook my whole body.
“Powell’s dead?” A dumbfounded smile stretched Julian’s lips.
“Just last night,” I said with a nod. “He was left in the middle of the street, not very far from here.”
“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Julian said, clenching his teeth. He already knew the answer. I didn’t need to even shake my head.
Suddenly, he began to curse under his breath and slammed both his fists on my desk. “I’m fucked,” he hissed.
Yes, I wanted to say. You’re fucked.
But something held me back. Something that looked like the memory of the greasy-haired woman who had come to ask for my help not twenty-four hours ago.
Dena Waldorf. I spoke so fast, I was left out of breath in seconds.
“Yesterday, a Blood witch came to my office. She asked me to beat down a guy—her ex boyfriend—who’d stolen things from her, things her grandfather left her.”
Julian turned to me, looking completely lost.
“Okay?”
“The guy’s name was Blake Powell.” Could it be…
It took a while for my words to register in Julian’s brain, and when they did, his whole face lit up with surprise and with hope.
“He took it from her,” he said.
“Did he tell you where he got the dragon blood from?”
“No, he didn’t. And I didn’t ask,” Julian said. “I didn’t care.”
“I don’t think there are two Blood witches by the name of Blake Powell who had dragon blood powder in their hands,” I whispered.
“No, there aren’t.” Julian sat down on the chair again with a loud sigh. Even though he’d just eaten, he looked paler now. Exhausted.
“You need to rest. I’m going to do another healing spell on you before you sleep.”
But Julian shook his head. “Do you know where to find her? Maybe she has more. Maybe we can buy it from her.”
Exactly what I’d thought. “I’ll find her, but let’s get you settled first.”
He looked up at me like I’d completely lost my mind. “I’m settled just fine. Let’s find the girl first.”
Couldn’t say I blamed the guy. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep right now, either, even if I was weak as a toothpick. So I didn’t push him. Instead, I sat behind my desk and opened my laptop.
The application I used to find people took a while to load after I turned my laptop on. The blue circle going in rounds while the page loaded was irritating as fuck, but I kept my eyes on it the whole time. It was better than looking at Julian.
“Hedge witches?” he said after the longest and heaviest silence in history. I’d had no idea it could ever be that awkward between us.
“Yeah…” I whispered, begging the application to open already.
“What happened?” Julian asked.
I shrugged. “They attacked the Bone coven eleven years ago. They tried to do the same with the Green coven in January.”
“Really?” he whispered, and I nodded. “Is that why the Bone coven broke apart?”
“They’re back together now. My aunt finally gave in and is now one of the leaders,” I said proudly.
Julian fell back on his chair. “That’s amaz
ing, Winter.” It really was.
“The covens have also signed a treaty. They’re sharing inside information with each other now.”
When he laughed, goose bumps broke out on the skin of my arms. I’d missed his laugh so much. Listening to it, it was like time hadn’t passed at all, and we were back in my aunt’s house in Bloomsburg, hiding from the world.
“And you did that all by yourself?”
“Oh, no. No, no, I had help. I teamed up with Eli Bender. He used to be in charge of the investigation when the Bone witches were killed. We also had help from all the covens, and from Finn’s agents, too.” If we hadn’t worked together, I would have probably been dead by now.
Silence stretched between us again. I could feel his eyes on my face like flames licking my skin, but I refused to look away from the annoying blue circle. Why would the damn application not start already?! Couldn’t it see how uncomfortable I was?
“I really did m—”
“I’m in!” I shouted, way too loudly. My finger shook as I brought up the search function. I knew what he was going to say. I didn’t want to hear it. Not now. So I spoke. “Her name is Dena Waldorf. She claimed Blake Powell had stolen things her grandfather had left her, though I have no idea where her grandfather would have gotten dragon blood.”
Julian looked at the door. “Me, neither.”
“The program I have isn’t the best, but…” I let my voice trail off when I hit search on the application. Pretending I couldn’t tell that he was uncomfortable, too, worked perfectly fine. A good plan. I’ll stick to it.
In less than a minute, two results filled the screen of my laptop. Dena Waldorf from Florida, and Dena Waldorf from New York. I clicked on the latter. I was sent directly to a Facebook page. God bless people who use Facebook. It makes life so much easier. The second I saw the profile picture, I knew I’d found the right person.
Dena Waldorf looked a lot better on the screen. Her hair shone and fell in waves all the way to her shoulders. Her eyes were bright, as was her smile. She looked much more healthy in the pictures.
“Got her,” I said and entered her profile on the address provider. The location would be sent directly to the map application on my phone. She lived in Westbury, very close to some sort of a golf park. The good news was that her house was only an hour away from my office.
