PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “That’s great, Jazzy!” Henry beams. “Do I get to see this painting?”

  “Henry, you’ll love it!” Skeeter says, appearing out of thin air. “It looks just like you’re sitting in your backyard.”

  “Yea, but I need to get some of my other paintings from the old house tonight. And Skeeter is coming with us,” I tell Henry. He nods and walks away as Seth comes over to Skeeter and me.

  I hope Henry gets over, whatever this is, soon. It’d be nice to not have to force him to be near my friends.

  ***

  Seth walks with me out to the student lot after study hall. I lean into him and close my eyes, just letting him guide me.

  “That nightmare last night has drained my energy,” I mumble to Seth.

  “If there’s ever a next time, I’ll bring you some energy drinks and coffee,” he says quietly.

  “Hey, Jaz, which one is . . . ” Skeeter trails off. “I guess the shiny black Charger that’s surrounded by the ditzy queens is your brother’s car?”

  Seth snorts, and I crack one eye open.

  “Yep,” I snort.

  She groans. “You deal with this every day?”

  I nod. “I don’t get the dirty looks anymore since Henry mentioned I was his sister,” I chuckle. “They used to give me the death stare, now they’re sickly sweet.” I roll my eyes.

  Skeeter grins. “Think I’ll get the death stare?”

  “I know that look,” Seth rolls his eyes.

  “Don’t be such a downer,” she snaps at him.

  She skips over and squeezes past two of the girls surrounding Henry and leans into him. Curiosity gets me and I sneak closer to them.

  “Thank you for the ride,” she smiles sweetly. Two girls storm away from the group, and the rest give her the death stare.

  “Take your rank breath and get out of here, nerd,” one of the girls snaps at her.

  “Oh sweetie, I think that’s you. That perfume could peel the paint off a bulldozer,” she quips.

  Just as a blonde opens her mouth, Henry steps up. “Enough!” he barks. “Let’s get goin’.”

  “I call shotgun!” Skeeter laughs and jumps in the front seat.

  I smile and turn to Seth, he smiles at me before pulling me close to him. My arms snake around his neck as my lips meet his. His hands tighten on my waist and his emotions flood my senses. He’s amused and happy.

  The blare of a car horn behind me causes me to jump and shriek. I spin around and see Henry smirking.

  I shoot him a dirty look. “Annoying buffoon . . . ”

  “Hey, call me when Skeeter leaves,” Seth tells me, before kissing my forehead.

  I nod and say goodbye before climbing into the backseat.

  “Really funny,” I say and smack the back of Henry’s head.

  He just laughs at me and starts driving towards our old house. I let them chat while I try to remember where all of my artwork is, and figure out which ones I want to bring in for Mr. Becker.

  Once we get to the old house, I rush through gathering the pieces I want to take tomorrow. I ask Henry to grab the quill and ink bottle drawing I made for Dad. It’s in his office and I’m not ready to go in there yet.

  When we get home, Miss Jaynie and Alex are waiting for us on the porch. Henry grabs my stuff and heads inside.

  Miss Jaynie stops him. “Henry, can you take Alex out back and wear him out for me?”

  “Sure. Come on, little dude. Let’s go on the slide!” Henry says excitedly, and Alex squeals.

  I’m jealous. I want to play, too. But, I need some answers first.

  “Miss Jaynie, can I ask you something about the mental communication thing?” I ask feeling a bit silly, but knowing she understands so I’m not worried about sounding like an idiot.

  “Go ahead,” she says.

  I sit in the wooden chair next to her, and Skeeter sits in front of us, on the floor.

  “How do I respond to something mentally?” I look to my lap as my cheeks heat. She might understand, but it’s still strange.

  “It gets easier to share things when you want to as the relationship strengthens. Intimacy will strengthen your relationship, and that makes it easier to hold a conversation.” I stare at her wide eyed with, I’m guessing, flame-red cheeks, but she ignores me. “You’ll never be able to control everything that gets shared. And you can’t go snooping around in his thoughts or him in yours. It’s just what crosses your mind currently, even after you two have been with each other for a hundred years, you still won’t know every thought.

  “The Ancients thought it perfect to have no secrets at all or close enough. I find that it’s a pain in the you-know-what,” she huffs. “If there’s a way to block it, we haven’t found it.”

  I never thought about telepathy being a burden, but I can definitely see where it would be a problem.

  “Strengthening doesn’t happen overnight. Ya’ll just need to be patient,” Miss Jaynie says with a smile.

  “So for now, we just work on strengthening our relationship?” I ask for clarification.

  She nods. “Ya’ll are old enough to know about ‘being careful’ in a relationship, and to wait until you’re ready. Don’t you dare let him pressure you into anything,” she says sternly.

  My jaw drops, and Skeeter starts laughing.

  Miss Jaynie continues. “Just think of something that has a powerful emotion associated with it. Love, hate, fear. Those are some strong emotions, so think of things that link with those for now.”

  “Uh, I . . . ” I stutter like a fool. Skeeter is still laughing. I guess if I could see the look on my face right about now, I’d laugh, too.

  “Sugar, calm down. You can wait as long as you want. Make me a happy woman, and tell him “no” until you’re fifty,” she pats my leg and laughs. “Don’t think of him as a life sentence, or even as your soul mate. Just think of him as your boyfriend,” she shrugs. “Go on dates, sneak kisses, and surprise each other while you can!”

  I give her a one armed hug. “You’re the best, Miss Jaynie. Thanks!”

  She just gave me permission to not think of Seth as my soul mate, I could kiss her! I’m still not comfortable with that title.

  “Jazzy! Your face just now was priceless!” Skeeter giggles.

  Miss Jaynie shoots her a look, and she struggles to quiet her laughter. “Anything else on your mind?” Miss Jaynie asks, looking at me now.

  I nod. “It’s probably just me being paranoid.” I blow out a quick breath. “When I’m at school, I keep hearing footsteps, but when I look, no one’s there. I can feel eyes on my back, and I hear the footsteps, and it’s really creepy. It’s crazy, I know. But I feel like I’m being stalked. Do you think the school’s haunted?”

  I brace myself for their laughter, but that’s not the reaction I get.

  I look at Miss Jaynie, she looks furious. Skeeter looks almost terrified.

  What the hell is going on?

  Chapter 8

  Protection

  “You’re going to meet a few Elders tonight, dear,” Miss Jaynie says as the three of us pile in her car.

  “Okay,” I squeak.

  “They’re not bad. Just old and boring,” Skeeter says.

  “Delilah,” Miss Jaynie scolds, and Skeeter rolls her eyes. “Jazzy, they’re going to help. You don’t need to be afraid of them.”

  I take a deep breath. “Okay,” I say sounding closer to calm. “Why do I have to meet them?”

  “Because this is a situation where you need help, more help than I can offer,” Miss Jaynie says, with concern.

  When we park, I spot Seth’s car, along with a few other cars parked along the road. I take a deep breath and try to ignore the growing anxiety.

  As soon as the front door opens, I want to turn around and run to the other side of the lake. There are more people in there than I originally thought. Miss Jaynie said a few Elders. Not ten people! And that’s only who I can see in the front room!

  I start backing my way to t
he door. My chest is heaving and my palms are sweaty. I really hate meeting new people.

  I need Henry.

  Realization hits me and my vision starts getting cloudy as tears come to my eyes.

  It has to be really bad for this many people to be here! Is this more than a whacked out ghost?

  Scratch that! I do not want to know! My back hits the door. I turn around and reach for the doorknob. My movement is frozen abruptly by a hand clamping on my shoulder. My hand flies to my mouth and I bite my tongue to halt my scream.

  “Calm down, Jaz,” I hear Seth’s soft voice in my ear.

  “I’m f-fine,” I lie.

  “No, you’re not.” He gives me a pointed look, reminding me that he receives my thoughts and feelings.

  I take a deep breath. “I . . . ”

  “I know,” he whispers.

  I was going to say that I’m afraid. I don’t do well in large groups anymore, and I really don’t like that in this large group, I’ll be center of attention. It’s like being under a microscope.

  I suddenly feel really bad for bugs and parasites.

  Seth hugs me to his chest, and my arms instantly go to his waist as I listen to his heartbeat and breathe in his cologne.

  After a minute or two, Seth rubs my shoulders lightly. “Come on, there’s a few people I’d like for you to meet.” I nod and grab hold of his hand with a vise grip.

  He tugs me into the kitchen and we stop in front of a woman, who looks remarkably like Miss Jaynie, with less gray hair, and a man with jet black hair and ice blue eyes.

  “This is Joe and Becca, Skeeter’s parents. This is Jasmine Williams, my soul mate.” He beams, and my stomach flip-flops. Joe and Becca each give me a hug, and as I peer over Becca’s shoulder, I spy Seth’s mom.

  My stomach drops to the floor and my mind starts spinning out of control. What if she doesn’t like me? What if she thinks I’m not good enough for her son?

  She comes over and gives me a big hug that quashes my fears.

  “Jasmine, I’ve heard so much about you! I’m Claire, Seth’s mom. This is my husband, Luke.” He hugs me, too.

  “It’s wonderful to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances.” He pats my arm, and before I can do more than nod at either of them, Miss Jaynie rushes over.

  “Sugar, this is my husband Gregory. Gregory, this is Jazzy.”

  She’s the only one who uses my nickname, and she doesn’t even use her own granddaughter’s nickname. I shake hands with Gregory.

  “Well, there, that wasn’t so bad now was it? You’ve met all the important ones formally. The rest of them, well, you don’t need to worry about who they are. They’re stuffy,” Gregory says with a smile. I giggle.

  “Hey you old coot, I’m important too!” A young man walks over. He has brown eyes, brown hair, and an oddly familiar smile. “You must be the girl I keep hearing about, Jaz. I’m Sam, Seth’s older brother.”

  Seth’s what?

  I look over to Seth, and he’s glaring at Sam.

  “Hi, Sam. It’s nice meet you,” I say uncertainly.

  The tension is thickening around me again.

  He smirks. “I’m not surprised Seth didn’t mention me yet, no worries, I’m sure you’re going to be seeing a good bit of me now. What, with this devux after you and all.”

  There’s a what after me?

  “Umm . . . ” I start.

  Then I remember what Seth said about the devuxen. A devux has been stalking me, and it wants my soul.

  My lungs seem to be shrinking because I’m not getting enough air.

  What started out as simple introductions is ending with me freaking out.

  “Jaz, calm down. Nothing is going to happen to you,” Seth wraps his arms around me.

  I’m not going to lie, I usually feel safe being in his arms. But right now, it does absolutely nothing to chase away the fear for my soul.

  “Thanks, Sam. I didn’t tell her yet,” Seth spits out.

  “You didn’t tell her a lot from what I’m hearing,” Sam fires back.

  “I’m sorry, Jaz. I was getting ready to tell you, but I wanted to get the introductions out of the way, and I’m sorry for not bringing up my brother before.”

  I just nod. I don’t trust my voice.

  How do you stop a devux from eating your soul? Is it possible?

  I numbly follow everyone into another room, where Seth’s mom is yelling.

  “She’s new to all of this, Vanessa! How did a devux single her out on her first day of school? How is there one in that school, and no one knows about it?!”

  I wasn’t introduced to Vanessa. I wonder what her part in all of this is. There are three other men in the room, too. One of them stands and addresses Claire.

  “We need to keep a level head to help her with this,” the man says, with a hint of a southern accent. Claire sits down stiffly. “I’ve contacted the alpha of the pack of shifters here. They’re having a pack meeting as we speak. The alpha has agreed to help us because this affects everyone, including them. They are going to be a part of the protection for the girl, and helping us figure out exactly who is after her.” He pauses and looks at me for a second before speaking again. “The last devux problem any of us had was nearly eighteen years ago. Some of you will remember, they asked us for help, and we gladly helped them.”

  “Is that necessary, Athan? Does she need more protection than we can give her?” Skeeter asks.

  “It would be suspicious to her family, as well as the general public, to have us surrounding her at all times. The protection the shifters are offering will allow us to find out the answers to the questions, why, who, how many, and where. Then get rid of them,” Athan replies.

  “Do ya’ll think her family will be in danger?” Gregory asks.

  My eyes go wide and I feel bile rise in the back of my throat.

  I put my family in danger?

  A short, gray haired man with wire rimmed glasses begins speaking. “Kiron, Phil, and Ped are on her uncle’s team, Jaynie’s with the boy, and her brother is at the same school, he’ll have her protectors near him. Is there anyone else?”

  “Yes, my mother,” I squeak.

  A tall man with bright, almost orange hair speaks to me. “That’s right. Yolie and Sandy are her nurses. They’ll watch out for her. I will inform them as soon as the meeting is over, don’t worry about a thing.”

  My panic escalates as I shrink into Seth more. He squeezes me tighter.

  I breathe in a lungful of Seth’s clean, spicy scent, and after a few minutes, start feeling myself calming down.

  The Elders are discussing various tactics on figuring out who the devux is. From following me to seeing what happens if I’m pulled out of school for a week.

  I can tell you what would happen if I missed that much school. My uncle would freak, my brother would go ape shit on everyone, and I’d end up losing my A-B average. I like my GPA at 3.2, I’d prefer it higher, but sometimes History kicks my ass.

  The doorbell rings, and Sam gets up to answer the door.

  I hear someone shout, and my eyes go wide. I know that voice!

  What are they doing here?

  “I knew there was something off about you!” Tony yells at Seth, and then turns his glare towards me. “Why didn’t you listen to us, Jaz?”

  “Don’t worry, Pretty Boy. We can handle this and protect her,” Barry says.

  “You okay, Jazzy?” Flynn asks me.

  I stare at them dumbly. “What are you doing here? And why are you making a scene?”

  “Alpha sent us here to hash out this devuxen problem. We’re your protection,” Barry explains.

  What? The giants, my brother’s friends, are Shape-Shifters.

  “Oh, my God,” I whisper, and then everything goes black.

  ***

  I wake up alone in a dark room.

  Being alone is the last thing I want right now. I feel the panic rising, bringing bile up with it, again.

  I try t
o sit up, but my spinning head forces me to lie back down.

  “It’s been ten minutes, Jaynie,” Flynn says.

  “She’ll be fine once her mind protects itself. Just be patient,” Jaynie says.

  “She’s had a lot to process lately. She needs time.” I can’t be sure but that sounds like Sam, Seth’s brother.

  This is definitely not a dream.

  It was all real.

  Barry, Flynn, and Tony all turn into some kind of animal, my boyfriend is my Amaranthine soul mate, and I’m going to die at the hands of a demon.

  My breathing is shallow again and the dizziness is making me feel like I’m on a boat, even though I’m lying on a stationary bed.

  “She’s awake. Jaynie, let me through,” Seth says.

  The door pops open.

  “Shield your eyes. I’m turning the light on,” he says softly.

  I cover my eyes, and he turns it on. I feel the bed dip, and slowly test my eyes against the light.

  I blink rapidly. “Did you know? About the guys?”

  “I had my suspicions about them, like they had of me, but I wasn’t certain.” I’m not sure if I like this not being told things and having a giant shock all at once. I hope this doesn’t continue.

  “Were you going to tell me?”

  “It’s not my information to share but I would have, had I known they would show up here tonight. If they would’ve known for sure I was an Amaranthine, they would’ve tried harder to keep us apart. It’s not that the shifters don’t like the Amaranthines, or any other being. They just understand how dangerous our world can be. They’re protectors. It’s in their nature to protect themselves, our world, humans, and other beings as well.”

  Protectors. Well, they are protective, that’s for sure, but they’re also giant asses.

  “So, they won’t hurt me, or you, or my family?” my lips tremble. Seth scoots closer to me and wraps his arms around me. I move to sit on his lap.

  “They’re protectors, they protect and defend. They won’t hurt you or anyone that’s not a threat.”

  “What do they change into?” I ask quietly.

  “Their other form is a wolf. I know you’ve seen movies with werewolves, and have seen the wolves in zoos, but they’re much larger.”