A giggle snuck out of me. It was the happiest I’d felt in more than a month.
“Ready to have some fun?” Troy’s head whipped around so I could see one dark eye. He winked.
“Sure. If you think you can have fun,” I said in mock sarcasm.
“Psssssh. Hang on tight.” He tucked his wings close to his sides and then spun us in a tight spiral, like a rocket shooting from Earth.
The feeling was amazing and I laughed. “More.”
He pulled us out of the spiral and then popped his wings. Like a kite caught in a sudden wind burst, we shot upward and then just floated. Where a moment ago we’d been going fast as lighting now we coasted, a bronze cloud in the night sky. It was nice. Relaxing. I knew I’d missed flying but until that moment I didn’t realize how much.
Without thinking I rested my head against the top of his, closing my eyes, savoring the sensation. There was something like a humming deep within his body, almost like purring.
“This is nice,” Troy said, after we’d been floating a while.
“It is,” I agreed, taking a deep, cleansing breath. “Exactly what I needed.”
“Tough day?” he asked.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin.” I let my hands droop on either side of his neck.
“Just spit it out.”
“Let’s see. Maleficent ripped the very essence of who I am away when she took my wings. Drake and his gross buddy tried to hurt me after school. Then an elf woman showed up and killed Drake, like right in front of me. The guy I thought I really cared about is sweet, but we kissed…” I paused, remembering. It’d been wonderful, better than I’d ever imagined my first kiss could be.
“You and Laeddin kissed? Isn’t he like a thousand years old or something?”
I smacked Troy on his scaly face. “Yeah, but it isn’t like that. It’s… Never mind,” I huffed.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah. The elf lady told me that the Mistress is out to get me and the people I thought were my friends are actually my parents.” At that, I shuddered. I still couldn’t wrap my mind about it. The whole idea that they had disguised themselves to stay close to me so they could keep tabs on me was creepy and way too over protective.
Troy growled. “I’m glad you finally know. It was weird that I couldn’t tell you.”
“You knew?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah, I kind of found out when I overheard Grand Pops talking with them right after Laeddin brought you back. When I confronted them about it, they told me the truth. I wanted to tell you right away. It’s wrong when adults think they need to keep secrets. In fact it pisses me off.” He snarled and fire came out of his mouth.
“It sounds like you’ve had some personal experience. Want to tell me about it?”
He groaned.
“You don’t have to. It’s just I’ve noticed lately that you haven’t been yourself. Not since you and Professor Pops got back from wherever the two of you went.”
“We went to Utah to help a friend. While we were there, my brother Cole was…” Troy paused. I waited, feeling that he needed some time with his thoughts.
We coasted, heading toward the ocean. The air changed the closer we got. Troy took us along the shore and I listened to the waves, enjoying the salty water spray and the smell of the brine and sand.
After several long minutes Troy finally spoke. “Cole was sucked into another realm. I wanted to go after him, find a way to bring him home. But Grand Pops isn’t letting me, mainly because my father won’t let him let me.”
“Which of the seven brothers is your father?” I was curious why Snow hadn’t told me one of them was a dragon. Or maybe the dragon in Troy came from his mom’s side of the family?
Troy let out another trail of fire. “My father is a dragon by the name of Abernathy, not that he’s ever given a crap about me.”
Whoa. I’d heard of Abernathy. Of course. My mom had only good things to say about him. “Oh,” was all I said.
“Exactly. Without Grand Pops I would’ve been killed or worse. He has given me a home, a place to live, a family, and a purpose. But I was kind of lonely. Until Cole showed up. We clicked right away. And now that he’s gone I can’t sleep, I can barely eat, and I have zero tolerance for stupid high school drama, if you catch my meaning.”
I swallowed. Cole sounded like a brother as well as a friend to Troy. “I’m sorry, Troy.”
“Me too. It’s killing me not to do something to find him. The only thing that’s helped is going out Akuma hunting with Peter and Zoe. Without that I might have gone insane and eaten the local villagers.”
I chuckled bitterly.
“But enough about me. What about you? How can we solve your problems?”
I crossed my hands on Troy’s head and rested my chin on them. “No idea. And I think that’s what has me so irritated. I’m the one who made the wish to be like a normal teenager. I’m the one who wanted to come into the human world. Now that I am like a normal teenaged girl, I feel sick. I feel…”
“What?” Troy urged.
“Wrong.” Tears pricked my lashes, but I didn’t let them fall. Instead I cleared my throat and went on. “And as much as I disliked Drake, I didn’t want him to die. But he did, and there’s no way to bring him back. With the Mistress woman, I don’t know who she is or what she wants. Other than to kill me or some nonsense. The thing with Laeddin isn’t even worth discussing. I don’t know what that man wants. And my parents?” I snorted in frustration. “What can I say about that situation?”
Troy began flying us inland, back to Salem. I watched the houses and cars and people flit by almost as though we were in a dream. “Here’s what I’m thinking, if you want my two cents?”
“Yes, please.”
“Do you know where Maleficent is?”
“No. Laeddin has gone back to his realm several times. When he returns it’s always the same. No one has seen her. No one knows where she is. It’s like she disappeared. And trust me, if a woman with a creepy staff and my wings were flying around, his people would notice.”
“Agreed. So let’s put a talon in that. Finding her is a priority, but since we don’t know where to start, we’ll focus on something else.”
“I guess.”
Troy went on, “We know the Mistress is connected to the Akuma, so why don’t you come hang with us every night? Sooner or later one of them is going to know something.”
That reminded me of the one hundred and eleven days until total darkness. I told Troy my thoughts on the subject. “I think it’s possible the darkness is connected to the Akuma and the Mistress. We’ll have to hypothesize that it does because I don’t know what else we can do.”
I nodded. “Okay. What about Drake?”
“There’s nothing you can do about him either, right?”
“True,” I said. “Fine, smarty pants, what about my parents? What should I do about them?”
A deep rumbling shook Troy’s body. “They are good people and as Peter and Zoe you have the chance to truly get to know them. I think it would be cool. If I had any kind of chance of spending time with my parents, I would.”
I realized what a total jerk I was being about them. Troy was right. It was better to have them around than not at all.
I lifted my head. “You’re right,” I said softly, caressing his head. Telling him with my touch how sorry I was. The peculiar purring sound echoed through him again.
“Good. Then it’s settled. You, me, Peter, and Zoe—”
“You. Me. My mom and dad,” I corrected.
Troy snickered. “Let’s call them Peter and Zoe though since we’re going to school with them. Deal?”
“Fine.” I slammed by cheek against his head.
Troy kept laughing. “We’ll make our nightly rounds searching for Akuma, questioning the ones we find and capture. You’ll try to find a guy to date that’s around you
r age instead of one who’s old enough to be your great-great-great-great-great-great… well, you get the idea. The dude is old and you need one who’s closer to your age. And I’ll try to stay calm and trust Grand Pops knows what he’s doing when it comes to Cole. Maybe between the two of us we might be able to find some happiness.”
We’d arrived back in our neighborhood. Troy landed and walked back into the shadow of the tree.
“Are you with me?” he asked.
I climbed off his back, sad the flying was over, but so incredibly grateful he’d given me such a gift in the first place. “Yes,” I agreed, stepping off his tail.
Troy shook. “Cool. Now excuse me while I get naked again.”
“Oh.” I blushed as I quickly turned away. The ground shook slightly. A minute later I heard a jangling, and I knew he was putting his belt back on.
“You can turn around. I’m decent.”
I did and immediately saw that he was shirtless. The green shirt he’d been wearing hung in his hand. “Serious?” I asked. “Waiting for me to compliment you on your perfect abs?”
Troy smiled big. “You think my abs are perfect?”
I blushed again. Then tried to cover it up with a shrug. “They aren’t bad.”
He winked. “That’s good enough.” He pulled his shirt over his head.
I kept my eyes on the driveway until Troy stepped into my personal bubble and lifted my face with one of his fingers. His eyes were hazel. His lips were full and gorgeous, just like the rest of him. “Thanks for taking me flying. It was exactly what I needed.”
“Thank you, Jack,” he said, his voice hushed. He was so close I could smell his minty breath and the sandalwood scent of his skin.
“I didn’t do anything,” I shrugged.
“Oh, you did. I’ve needed to talk to someone for a long time, but there just wasn’t anyone who would understand. Until you.” He leaned down and I instantly realized that he was going to kiss me.
Did I want that?
I didn’t have a chance to debate it further because his lips were on mine. They were soft, light.
I thought I would be repulsed by a kiss from anyone but Laeddin, but as Troy’s lips moved against mine, the barrier I’d built around my heart slowly began to melt and I did something I never thought I would. I kissed him back.
Troy responded by grabbing the loops of my jeans, pulling me closer.
My heart raced and my body felt like it’d been shocked to life by an erotic electricity. I was buzzed, excited.
When Troy finally lifted his lips from mine, he smiled.
For some reason I thought of the girl he’d been making out with my first day of school. Their kissing hadn’t been like the one I’d just shared with Troy. Our kiss had been chaste compared to theirs. But I liked it.
“That was amazing, Jack. The whole night rocked. Thanks.” He kissed my cheek and took off toward his house. When he was nearly halfway there he turned back. “Totally rocked,” he yelled and waved good-bye.
A huge grin spread across my face. I waved back, enjoying the view as I watched him run the rest of the way home.
When I could no longer see him, I headed toward my house. It was time I had an honest talk with my mom and dad.
“Jasmine?”
“Who’s there?” I stopped, trying to see without my vampire abilities. It couldn’t be Troy.
“It’s me.” Christopher stepped into view, the vampire who’d bitten my mom all those years ago, the one who’d betrayed her. He’d been her Hunter and was now the seventh member of the council.
In Sharra he always wore the common dress, which was brown or black trousers made of soft, breathable material, boots that went to his knees, a long-sleeved linen shirt and a leather vest. Tonight he had on jeans and a tight white tee shirt, which said he was just another teenager. Even though I knew he was old. Totally gorgeous and old. If I hadn’t been nervous about him being at my house, I would’ve laughed.
“What do you want?”
“Something’s coming. It’s big. Last time,” he paused and glanced at the ground, “I chose Sharra because I wanted power and I thought she would win. This time,” he looked up, his features serious, urgent even, “I choose you. Since I met you on the road those many years ago, I’ve known we—”
“Jasmine?” Laeddin called from the front door. I hadn’t heard it open.
“We what?” I asked.
Christopher’s features looked pained, like he desperately wanted to say more. “Later,” he said and took off.
“Coming,” I hollered.
CHAPTER FOUR
When I got inside, Laeddin was back in the living room with Peter. He had a look on his face that said we would discuss what he’d just witnessed later. The TV was still on and Peter was focused on it. I glanced around, then remembered my mom had left. The serious conversation I had planned couldn’t happen tonight after all.
I thought about her in Sharra, curious about whether she changed back and forth between herself and Zoe. If not, she would totally freak out Ciana, the vampire who’d helped raise me. I loved Ciana. She’d taken care of me. We’d played together during my mom’s long meetings.
But she’d betrayed me. My mom and dad. Everyone. Our whole world. She was on Sharra’s side. My mom needed to know what I’d seen. She needed to know about Sharra and Ciana.
“I need to speak with Mom,” I said, walking over to Peter.
“Okay.” He pulled me into a hug. I let him hold me for a long time. It felt good to have his arms around me. “I’m glad you’re here, Dad.”
Peter sucked in his breath. “You are?” He held me away so he could read my face.
I remembered what Troy said and took his sincere words to heart. “Yeah.”
A giant smile spread over his face. “I’m so glad. We didn’t follow you because we didn’t trust you. Our only thought was keeping you safe.” He shook his head. “We didn’t do a very good job.”
“Oh, Dad.” I hugged him. “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I thought I could do it on my own. I thought I knew better.” The words caught in my throat. “I’m sorry.”
He gave me a squeeze and then shook my shoulders lovingly. “It’s okay. We’re going to get through this. Together. Deal?”
I nodded. “What about Mom? Is she gone for good?”
“I’m going to head up to bed,” Laeddin said, interrupting. He had a smile plastered on his face, but it was sad, laced with unresolved issues. I wanted to say something but held my tongue. He and I still needed to talk, but not while Peter was around.
I touched Laeddin’s arm. “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
I watched him walk up the stairs. When he was out of sight, I turned back to my dad, the handsome boy who looked nothing like my father. And I wondered how he’d done it. How he and my mom made it happen. Was it her magic?
Touching his face, I asked, “How is this possible? Is it an illusion?” I patted his cheek. It was scratchy. He needed a shave.
“It isn’t an illusion. It’s your mother’s magic combined with one of your aunt Cindy’s potions.”
“Ohhh.” Aunt Cindy was the queen of a realm called Polonias. She was also a very powerful witch and my mom’s best friend. “How long does it last?”
“These are our bodies until we take a reversal potion while your mom works her vampire magic.” Peter patted his stomach.
“So it could be permanent?”
He shrugged. “I suppose, though I definitely don’t want this body to be mine for good. I like my original.”
I nodded. “Agreed.”
Peter leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I’m going to go speak with your mom. Find out what she’s learned. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“K. See ya.”
After I closed and locked the door, I went upstairs. At Laeddin’s door, I paused and closed a hand in a fist to knock. But if Laeddin opened the door what would I say?
I kept going until I rea
ched my room.
I opened my eyes and immediately knew I was no longer in Salem, in my bed. All around me were the corpses of dead unicorns. There were dozens or hundreds. Too many to count. The land was dark, as though the realm were going through a lunar eclipse. Some light eked out. Enough to allow me to know I was flying above, seeing everything from the air.
My gaze swept the landscape. I took in the unusual forest of trees, several long valleys full of black flowers, and a large body of water.
I looked down and saw my reflection. The eyes staring back weren’t mine. They were those of Maleficent.
And as though she saw me, she smiled and started to laugh. “Young vampire, your end is near.”
Gasping, I jerked myself awake. But as soon as I realized I was in my bed, looking up at my ceiling, I began to relax and fall back asleep.
The next morning was Saturday so I threw my hair up in a messy ponytail, put on lip gloss and a little mascara. Then dressed in charcoal Zella fitness pants, a teal tank, a matching Zella jacket and matching gray running shoes. I absolutely loved the feel of the casual workout gear. The jacket had thumbholes at the cuff and the color matched the still slightly visible streak in my hair.
Laeddin was in the kitchen wearing loose-fitting jeans and a black tee that fit him like it’d been painted on his broad shoulders, muscled arms and chiseled abs.
“What you making?” I asked, going to the fridge and grabbing the orange juice and setting it on the counter.
“Fresh fruit and scrambled eggs with red peppers, onions, and cheese, and toast. You hungry?” Laeddin glanced over, turning slightly.
“Starved,” I said, grabbing two glasses from the cupboard and setting them next to the orange juice on the counter. He and I had created a morning routine, where he cooked, and I got everything ready. I took two plates down and set them on the counter next to the stove where Laeddin was cooking. Then I poured the juice, put the container away, grabbed the strawberry jam and the bowl of fresh fruit, and two napkins, and placed them all on the counter.
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