“Okay . . . I’m listening,” Emily whispered.
“Think about it. Anastacia has been hiding in plain sight all these years. She’s even claimed to be a supernatural. The vigilantes have nothing on her. The only reason they ran her out of town was because my dad asked them to, not because she was encouraging the practice of the supernatural arts.”
“Wait, your dad did that?” Emily was beginning to dislike Joanna’s father.
“Later on that.” Joanna waved her hand absently. “Anyway, my point is, she must be incredibly powerful to have fooled everyone. Just like the rove, that warlock that was in your house fooled the whole street into believing your house was in order when, in fact, he’d vandalized the hell out of it.”
The girl is brilliant, I have to give her that, Selena mused.
“If Anastacia would come clean to us, we can get her to do whatever she did for herself for you.” Joanna was talking faster now. “Be it a cloaking spell or a deception spell or whatever it is they call it these days. She can make you invisible to the warlock. He won’t be able to touch you.”
That’s not a bad idea, Selena concurred.
“But won’t that mean I’ll have to leave my house?” asked Emily. “Maybe even change schools? I can’t do that.”
“It’s either that or you die at the hands of the warlock!” Joanna shook her arm dramatically.
“Christ, Jo, do you really have so little faith in me?”
Joanna shrugged. “The only other option is the Adoption, which is exactly what the rove wants. He needs an Adopted Owl with a brother or sister warlock to unleash you know what. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to give him what he wants? Hmm?”
Emily couldn’t fault Joanna’s logic. “Even if I cloak myself and go into hiding, won’t that just be delaying the inevitable?”
Joanna had no answer for that one.
Selena, however, did: It would be.
31
On a whim, Joanna decided to spend the night at Emily’s house. Although she made Emily swear to drive her home very early the next morning so she wouldn’t be late for school the next day.
They both slept on the same bed like when they were kids. They purposely didn’t talk about any of the crazy things happening in their lives. They talked about school and about boys and about their future.
Emily told Joanna about catching Jamie with Kendra and how she’d reacted. Joanna finally told Emily about her dad’s comment when she’d told him Emily was at the gate. Apparently, Joanna’s dad didn’t like Emily that much, simply because her mother had been a shifter.
It turned out that Joanna’s dad funded the vigilantes because he hated supernaturals with a passion. In fact, it was a sport for him to go hunting with the vigilantes sometimes. Other times, he was involved in their killing. Like he lit the match or ripped the first layer of flesh or whatever sick killing method they used that particular time.
Emily didn’t say much after Joanna’s revelation. Maybe it was because she’d always suspected it. Perhaps she couldn’t blame Joanna or her dad. Joanna seemed pretty upset about her father’s stance, which was good. It meant that she thought her father was being a tool. But she didn’t blame anyone.
Emily figured everyone had a right to believe whatever they wanted to believe. It was a fundamental human privilege. Knowing that, why should she be vexed by another person’s beliefs knowing they had a right to those beliefs?
It was one of the things that was wrong with their society. Everyone wanted everyone else to believe the same thing. It just couldn’t work. There was strength in diversity. Variety was the spice of life. It was only in totalitarian regimes where everyone believed in the same thing. And as history has shown, totalitarian regimes were just the worst.
Imagine if Hitler had won the second World War. What would the world be like? Imagine if Al-Qaida managed to take over the world. How would that go?
No, Emily didn’t fault Joanna’s dad, or anyone for that matter, for hating supernaturals. If they believe we’re freaks, let’s leave them to their beliefs.
Isn’t that being a little too pacifist? Selena questioned.
I don’t think so. Emily didn’t even realize she was responding in her mind smoothly, instead of having to speak out loud as she usually did from her human form. Maybe it’s because I just don’t like getting into trouble or anything.
Selena sighed.
From there, the conversation with Joanna turned to lighter notes. It turned to Rina and what she might do when they finally got done with the warlock.
“You mean if we survive?” Emily said with a chuckle.
Joanna beat her on her arm. “It’s not funny! Your life is at stake. Be serious!”
Joanna was of the opinion that Rina was going to report on everything they did or said or found out when it was all over. Emily, however, felt that deep down, Rina was a good person and that she would do the right thing.
“You’re just being naïve,” Joanna huffed.
Emily didn’t mind being naïve. If that was what it took to believe in the good that she saw in others, then she would accept the charge of being naïve.
They spoke well into the night until Joanna nodded off. Emily remained awake for a few more minutes wondering what it would mean if Aunt Anastacia was really a rove. She thought back to when she’d first brought Dad to the cottage. Aunt Anastacia had noticed something about Dad that she hadn’t noticed before. She’d said something about the warlock.
If Aunt Anastacia was a rove, Emily didn’t know whether to be enraged or impressed. It was on this ambivalence that she, too, fell asleep.
Emily half expected to snap out of her sleep from a terrible nightmarish vision. But she didn’t. She slept very peacefully and woke up to Joanna’s gentle taps. After getting ready for school, Emily drove Joanna to her house.
This time, she was admitted into the house but chose to wait in the car while Joanna went in to get her things ready for school. Joanna was back out in five minutes but with her father yelling at her to come back. Joanna yelled back and kept on walking. Soon, her mother joined her father, crying for her to return. But Joanna kept walking.
She plopped into the car, slamming the door. “Drive.”
Emily obeyed posthaste. In the rearview mirror, she could clearly see the fuming expression on Joanna’s dad’s face as well as the smeared mascara on her mother’s face from tears. She could see it clearly even after she’d passed through the gates because of her Owl vision.
Emily could even sense the scorn emanating off Joanna’s dad. What was that all about? She repressed the desire to ask Joanna about it, even though she had become an accomplice by driving her away from the house.
But it turned out she didn’t have to ask.
“They wanted me to stay away from you,” said Joanna after a while of silence. She harrumphed. “I don’t know what’s with them these days. I mean, they always loved you. It’s as if someone’s poisoned their minds against you.”
Joanna’s revelation cut right through Emily’s heart.
Hmmm . . . , Selena muttered.
Now’s not the time for ‘Hmmms,’ Selena, Emily cautioned.
“It’s totally weird,” Joanna went on, her voice breaking. “I told them you were my best friend, and that they’d have to pry you away from my cold dead hands.”
“Uh, that’s a bit much.”
“Is it?” Joanna raised an eyebrow. “Well, I think it’s not nearly enough. That’s when my mom started crying. That’s when Dad went ballistic. I walked out on them.”
Emily remained silent. She didn’t want to encourage Joanna to rebel against her parents. Still, she didn’t want to lose her best friend. Not now.
They got to school with only a few minutes to spare. By the time they walked into the class, first period had already begun. It was Algebra class, and Mr. Alonzo was nice and patient. He waved them to their seats without breaking his introduction.
Jamie sat in his usual spot in the b
ack with his friends. He may have tried to catch her attention, but Emily couldn’t be sure; she was too busy ignoring him. She had nothing to say to him and wouldn’t anytime soon.
She didn’t notice the new guy until she was situated in her usual place and saw him sitting right next to Michael. The thing that caught her attention was his hair—ebony black, but almost shimmering. He didn’t look at Emily all through the class, even though Emily couldn’t take her eyes off him.
He was dressed like one of the geeks, yet he had this commanding presence around him. Even though she only caught portions of the sides of his face, she could tell he was gentle.
Joanna leaned in to whisper to the girl on her right—it was Nikki, one of the cheerleaders—who leaned in to her in automated response. “Who’s the new guy?”
“No one knows,” replied Nikki as squinted her cat-like eyes. “He was the first one in class, though.”
“Well, aren’t we getting an introduction?” Emily joined the conversation. At that, the guy turned around. Their eyes met, and Emily felt her heart flutter. Those eyes. Emily could swear they flashed a fierce orange color. Odd. The guy gave her a slight congenial smile and returned to looking at Mr. Alonzo.
“He’s so cute!” Nikki purred. Emily had always found Nikki’s features and mannerisms to be extremely feline-like.
Emily hissed at Nikki’s exuberance and reclined back on her seat. Algebra was a double period, so Emily had to wait until the last ten minutes of class when Mr. Alonzo wrapped up on his topic. When he finished, he asked the guy to come up to stand in front of the class to introduce himself.
The guy was tall and muscular. He was the perfect combination of power and beauty. His raven hair perfectly contrasted his sharp eyes that still startled Emily. He exuded confidence; there was no uncertainty or shyness to him.
He stood before them like he was some sort of supreme commander. He feared them not. Completely unbothered by the excessive staring.
Clearing his throat, “Hello, everyone.” His voice deep and masculine. “My name is Marion Alfred. My family and I moved to New Haven this weekend. I’m going to be joining you all for the rest of the semester.”
He never wavered. He never stammered. His voice never stumbled. He was the very definition of an overconfident, pompous jock. Yet, he had style. Grace. Poise. One couldn’t claim a commanding persona came from a calm and welcoming demeanor, but it wasn’t exactly off-putting either. In fact, he was perfect, and that was the problem.
I don’t like him, Selena said.
Yeah? Emily replied. Well, you and me both.
32
Throughout the whole week, Emily avoided the new guy. Something about him just unsettled her. He was too intense. He seemed proud, yet everyone loved him. Before long, he was the most popular guy in school. In fact, there was even talk of him being voted school president. For the first time in a long time, Emily had a rival for popularity.
She didn’t like that. And if she was honest, it wasn’t because he was becoming as cherished as she was. Frankly, she believed people’s fascination with him was a result of his newness to town and to the school. Perhaps because his family lived in the mysterious castle-like structure at the end of Main Street.
The house spooked everyone. There was this dark and brooding presence there, and nobody even approached it. Plus, the Alfreds never came out or interacted with anyone in town. For all intents and purposes, it was somewhat understandable because they were still strangers. But new additions like them usually made at least some effort to get to know people—to make friends.
Leave it to idle minds—theories about who they were began to circulate. First in school. Then around the town. Theories about who they really were. Theories about the haunted house they lived in. Theories about their being vampires because they never came into the light. They were never seen outside, except Marion, who people believed was either a normal human being or a cross between a vampire and something else who was somehow able to walk about in the light.
These were, of course, still rumors because the vigilantes had yet to go knocking on the Alfreds’ door. Or was it because the Alfreds were cozying up to the Russos, Joanna’s family? Joanna had told her sometime during the week that once or twice her dad had gone to visit the Alfreds. Her mom even went with him one of those times.
Since Joanna was still having issues with her parents—they had become very vocal and fierce about her relationship with Emily since the Alfreds arrived in town—she didn’t go with them on any occasion.
Anyway, bottom line was, Emily didn’t fancy Marion at all. She knew she was being like Rina by judging the guy before getting to know him. However, she didn’t have time to meet him, nor did she want to cozy up to the new guy in school.
She was totally consumed with getting some answers this weekend. Every evening since Monday, she’d driven out of town with Joanna and spent a couple hours training. She was ready. At least she felt ready—Selena didn’t think she was ready. Selena wanted her to spend another week in training before they attempted to solve this mystery which would undoubtedly lead to facing the rove. But Emily didn’t think she could wait one more week. Already, she was fighting off anxiety. If she played her cards right, she could have her dad back to normal, defeat the rove, and prevent Nadarog Maragog. And be home in time for supper.
Easy peasy, right?
Keep dreaming, came Selena’s voice through her mind.
Emily ignored Selena and looked at the text message on her phone. It was from Rina. She’d finally been able to get the information she needed from Michael. She’d asked to meet today at her office, somewhere close to the mall.
Emily knew the street. She’d been there once or twice. Oddly enough, Rina was a no-show in school, though. Emily had been hoping to ask her why they couldn’t have met in school. More curious was the fact that Michael had been missing from school for three days in a row.
Emily tried not to put too much thought into it. She was sure if there was a problem, the cops—in fact, the whole town—would know. Everyone was silent, going about their daily work. So, no problem, she assumed.
During last period, while the English teacher went on and on about run-on sentences, Emily kept her attention glued to her phone. Rina’s message sounded urgent. My office. 23 Park View Av. After school. Come alone. Quick!
What was she up to? What had she discovered, and how had it affected coming to school? The questions raced through her mind as she looked at the text.
Emily had confirmed with Joanna—she had received a similar text from Rina, too. They had agreed that after the class they would go over to Rina’s. Thank God it was Friday. First thing in the morning, they’d go over to Aunt Anastacia’s house.
Soon, the bell rang, bringing the class to an end. It was time for extracurricular activities. Emily called her assistant squad leader, Kendra, aside.
Emily and Kendra had made up after the whole Jamie situation. As it turned out, according to Kendra, Jamie had been the one to approach her. When Emily confronted Jamie about it, he didn’t deny the accusation, which was all the confirmation Emily needed. The conversations had been brief, earlier that week, and Emily had too much else on her mind to bother with the situation. She barely spoke to Jamie after that and couldn’t care less about it. She assumed they were broken up, but she had more important things to worry about for the time being.
Emily certainly didn’t fault Kendra either—she was an ambitious lady, and going out with Jamie would certainly improve her popularity. While she might have had a stronger opinion if not for current events, the two cheerleaders maintained a civil-but-surface-level “friendship.”
“I want you to handle cheerleading practice today,” Emily whispered to Kendra.
Kendra didn’t look at all pleased about the situation. “Where are you going?”
“None of your business,” Emily retorted. Kendra might be very ambitious, but Emily was still the leader of the squad. In fact, she ruled the group w
ith an iron fist. Everyone was subservient to her, including Kendra.
Kendra did not have enough clout to challenge Emily’s authority either—not yet, anyway. Not ever, even, because Emily monitored Kendra’s rise up the ranks. Especially as it related to Marion. She’d seen her cozying up to Marion a lot in the cafeteria.
Kendra shrugged. “What are we doing today?”
“Calisthenics.” That was all. She let Kendra go and returned to her seat to pack up her things.
“Can I have a word with you?”
At first, Emily ignored the voice, thinking it was addressing someone else. But then it spoke again, and this time it included her name.
“Emily, can I have a word with you?”
Emily looked up and into the sharp eyes of Marion Alfred. Instantly, her heart climbed into her chest. She was sure she wasn’t breathing at that moment. It might have been because of the guy’s intense eyes and his invasive presence. It wrapped around her like a rogue vine.
She realized she was staring and looked away—gasping softly—and cleared her throat.
“Uh, what for?” she said in her most officious tone.
“Can we talk somewhere private?” Marion looked over his shoulder at the many eyes that snuck peeks at them. For once, he looked genuinely vulnerable.
“Right,” Emily said. She packed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She could see Kendra fuming in her peripheral. Serves her right.
“Let’s meet at my car in ten?” Emily said to Joanna, who simply gave her a nod. To Marion, she said, “Come with me.” She was loud enough that everyone close by heard her. And when Marion followed her without question, her dominion in the school’s ranks was reestablished.
They walked out of the class and down the crowded hallway until they came to a deserted staircase. Emily climbed the staircase to the third level, which was empty. She stopped there and turned to face Marion.
Adopted by The Owl: The Owl Shifter Chronicles Book One Page 16
