by V. Vaughn
“That was fun.” I ask my sister, “Did you like to go?”
She answers in an even tone. “Yes. Especially since Henri would take me out to breakfast afterward.”
I can feel the ice in the way she calls our father Henri instead of Dad. “Nice,” I say. I’ve heard that twins like similar things and decide to take a chance. “Did you order blueberry pancakes? Because that was my favorite thing to have when I was young.”
Henri says, “She did. And none of that horrible fake syrup either. It was the real thing or nothing at all.” He glances at Caitlyn. “Remember?”
She squints the slightest. “That’s a luxury I haven’t been able to afford for some time.”
Wow. Her resentment isn’t reserved just for me. I try to diffuse the situation. “Yeah. When I went to school I didn’t get the real thing either.”
“Boat-building, right?” asks my twin.
A glass of lemonade appears in front of me, and I thank Grace. She and Izzy are doing their best to be invisible, but I know they’re both watching Caitlyn like a hawk considering she’s still a prisoner.
I say, “Yes. It’s weird how that trait was passed down to me even though I had no idea who my father was.” Caitlyn raises her eyebrows at me in what I take as criticism. I certainly didn’t mean to play poor me, but I can’t help her prejudice so I plod on. “My-- our grandfather used to take me to the docks, and when I was really young he’d tell me about the boats. But as I got older I began to tell him about the different features each design had.” I chuckle even though Caitlyn is now glaring at me. “I was rather obsessed.”
“Cute,” she says. But I’m sure from her cold stare she doesn’t think so.
“What did you love as a kid?”
Caitlyn shrugs. “Nothing special.”
“That’s not true,” says Henri. “You were a talented artist.” She glances at him as her eyes widen, and he says, “I have one of your watercolors hanging in my office.”
“You do?” She huffs as if he’s crazy, or maybe because she doesn’t believe him.
He nods, “I saved all your sketch books and paintings if you’d like to see them.”
She shakes her head and stares at her glass as she drags a finger down the condensation on it. “I wasn’t very good. You shouldn’t have bothered.”
I recall the watercolor of ocean waves I saw in Henri’s office when I worked with him. While it did look like a child’s painting, I liked it, and I say, “I saw it. I thought it was really good.”
Caitlyn’s practically shooting daggers at me with her gaze. “You have terrible taste.”
What do you say to that? I can’t think of a thing, so I change the subject. “What would you like to do now?”
She leans back in her chair and lifts her feet up, and they thud on the table. It’s so rude that I frown before I realize she’s trying to be. “I don’t know. I like to kill, so maybe I’ll become a warrior.” She stares at Izzy.
Henri says, “You’ll take your feet off the table and show some respect to your prima, Caitlyn.”
“Yeah? And if I don’t?”
Izzy asks, “More lemonade, Caitlyn?” She smiles and reveals her fangs. I stifle my gasp as Caitlyn’s face pales to the color of a sheet. The prima lifts the pitcher and liquid splashes as she refills Caitlyn’s glass. “I do love Grace’s lemonade. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and tart.” She thumps the pitcher down harder than necessary. “Don’t you agree?”
Caitlyn scrambles to remove her feet as she trembles in fear. I want to tell Caitlyn Izzy won’t hurt her, but when I glance at Henri he shakes his head the tiniest bit to warn me to stay out of it.
Izzy says, “You don’t know much about me. But I can assure you that whatever you experienced, I’ve survived worse.” She lifts her glass and takes a long sip of her drink. She swallows hard before she says, “Be a survivor, Caitlyn.” She sighs as she glances at her lemonade and licks her lips. “Victims make terrible warriors.”
I’m cringing on the inside for Caitlyn, while I’m in awe of Izzy. We sit in silence for a moment before Henri stands and says, “The tide’s out, and I know the best spot for oysters. Who’s coming with me to dig them up?”
I get up to join him, and watch as Caitlyn rises too. She doesn’t speak as we follow Henri to the trail. Our feet thud softly on the ground as I watch my twin walk in front of me. I imagine the unspeakable horrors she must have experienced, and I hug myself when I think about the possibility she was damaged in ways I can’t even comprehend. I realize I’m such a princess in comparison, and vow I’m going to be the sister she should have always had. I think Caitlyn needs a friend, and while she acts like she doesn’t want it to be me, I’m going to stand by her until she accepts that I won’t give up on her, no matter what.
29
Tally
The mosquitoes have arrived for the summer. The impending storm does little to drive them away, and I swat at another that has already bitten me and sigh. The welt itches, and I scratch as I think about going inside to spell a repellant, but since I’m finally out here weeding my garden I’m going to stay. I don’t do this often, and I need to go with the urge when it comes. I yank at something I hope is a weed, and when it lets go, dirt flies and splatters my face. I huff before I swipe it off. It’s only two more days until I can touch Marcel, and I should be excited. But too much else is going on for me to focus on happiness. I can’t shake the feeling that something big is going to come along and ruin everything.
Julie is still out there, and my gut tells me she’s not going to run away and leave the life she stole a baby to have. While Henri wants nothing to do with her, she has two fourteen-year old children who love her, and friends in the clan that could very well be swayed to see her side.
“Crap!” A bulb comes up with the stalk of something I pulled, and sandy soil scratches at my fingers as I dig a hole to stick it back in. My hand thumps lightly as I pack down the earth around it. The other concern weighing heavy on my mind is sorting out who spelled the protein powder Marcel received. The supposed sponsor is no longer answering phone calls, and when René contacted the company, they had no idea what he was talking about. Somebody purposely wanted me to be sucked into another place and leave my clan in a precarious magical position. It has to be a witch with a plan, and my money is on Tokala. But Kimi, who knows him best, isn’t so sure. Which is the main reason I’m on my way to another girls’ weekend with her at Bella’s house tonight.
At least I’m supposed to be, but it interferes with the day I can finally be with Marcel. The end of our untouchable phase is Saturday, and my job requires I be knee-deep in spells with Bella and Kimi in Maine instead of another kind of deep that involves Marcel and me naked. I manage to pull up another bulb, and this time I swear as I throw it as hard as I can across the yard. Jace is keeping his distance, but he rushes over to see if I’m safe. I glare at him. “I’m fine. Go back to lurking like a stalker.”
“You know--”
He shakes his head as he thinks better of telling me what he really wants to say. But I’m in a mood to fight, so I yell to his back as I call him on it. “What? What should I know?”
Jace stops, and I watch as he clenches his fists before extending his fingers and turning back to me with a calmness that’s eerie. “I get it. You and Marcel are like rabbits in heat and want to be together. I know the witch meeting couldn’t happen at a worse time, but think about it. The clan is in danger and you could be the key to saving us from an evil warriors can’t fight.” He takes a deep breath and says, “One more day without sex won’t kill you, but not finding out who’s behind spelling the protein powder could.”
Jace just spoke more words than I’ve heard from him in the two months he’s been guarding me. And man, do they pack a punch. He just spoke the truth of my situation, and I feel like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. The clan’s safety is my number one concern, and I’m letting my love life get in the way? He turns to walk away.
“Jace.” He keeps walking so I speak louder. “Jace!”
When he finally stops and turns to look at me I say, “You’re right.”
A hint of a smile pulls at his lips before he nods and walks back to his vantage point. A moment later something thuds next to me, and I smile when I pick up the bulb he threw back. The earth I dig up is damp in my fingers as I make a space for the daffodil that will see another spring. And when I finish, I get up to go inside and pack my bag.
* * *
My drive to Maine is miserable. Rain pelts down in sheets as the wind blows it, and my Subaru struggles to stay on the road while my windshield wipers thud with a steady beat. Jace and Xavier bickered over the music until I spelled the device into silence to punish them like little boys. The trip takes longer than I expected, and I’m mentally spent when I arrive at Bella’s house.
The mood is somber when I’m greeted with the serious version of the Robichaux witch. Bella isn’t wearing any makeup, and her usually styled hair is pulled up in a messy bun. I slip out of my sparkly purple rain boots and hang my wet jacket up on a hook before she brings me into the kitchen that doubles as her potion room. Flames dance in her old-fashioned fireplace designed for cooking, and I notice Kimi stirring something in the caldron hanging over the fire. She’s gone old school, and the stark reality of that sends a shiver down my spine, because it means we’re definitely dealing with black magic.
I wrap my arms around myself as cold from more than the rain seeps into my bones. Bella says, “I’ll make you some tea.” She trembles too as we exchange a gaze that tells me she’s as scared as I am.
I walk over to stand next to Kimi. I say, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the cauldron.”
Kimi doesn’t bother to offer a fake smile. “It was dusty, and there was rust in the bottom of it. I had to season it before I could use it.”
The fact she’s making small talk makes ice run through my veins. My voice shakes when I say, “You know something you haven’t told us yet, don’t you?”
Her eyes are usually a deep brown, but today they appear black as she asks, “Have you ever been to a magic show?”
“Yes.” I frown as I wonder what she’s getting at.
She turns her attention to the contents of the cauldron. “We’ve been focused on the smoke and mirrors.” Kimi reaches into the pocket of her skirt and removes a tiny cloth bag held closed by a drawstring. Her fingers are surprisingly nimble as she unfastens it and reaches inside. She tosses a pinch of something into the cast iron pot, and the contents immediately bubble up. The putrid shade of yellow-green liquid threatens to spill over making me step back in surprise. I grimace, thinking about how awful that’s going to taste later. Kimi says, “It’s kept us from seeing the real danger.”
When she looks at me she sets her jaw and speaks with a cold fierceness that’s frightening. “It stops now. Tonight we find out what we’ve been missing. Tomorrow we figure out what to do about it.”
Bella steps beside me and presses a warm mug in my hands as she asks, “How much longer?”
Kimi says, “We’re about to get started.” She tilts her head toward the front door. “I’ve spelled your bodyguards so they won’t remember a thing. No sense getting them involved if we don’t have to.” When she turns back to her pot she says, “Bella, let Lucian and Leanne in.”
Lucian and Leanne are twin witches from a kingdom in Massachusetts. Their powers are legendary since they can tap into their twin connection to multiply the effects. Last I heard, they were still fighting like cats and dogs as they struggled with sharing their role for one clan. This makes them difficult to work with, and I wonder if maybe they’ve gotten better. When a knock sounds, I wonder how Kimi knew they were here. She couldn’t have heard them pull up. Realization dawns on me. Her black eyes should have tipped me off to the fact she’s already opened up to an altered state in preparation for tonight. When Kimi is like this, she can tell if a witch has been spelled or possessed. Does she think the danger lurks in me or Bella?
Voices come to us before Bella and the twins do. “According to my watch we made it here within a minute of my prediction,” says a male voice I assume is Lucian.
“You reset it to win.” The petulant tone has to come from Leanne.
“Did not!”
The two brunettes with willowy figures enter the kitchen, and Kimi speaks softly as if they’re not arguing, “So nice to see you two. We appreciate your willingness to help.”
Leanne whispers, “Did too.”
Kimi glares at them, and Lucian switches gears to give me his attention and his charm. “Tally.” He takes my hand and kisses the back of it. “You’ve got a glow about you.” He gasps dramatically. “You’re in love!”
I can’t help the blush that heats my cheeks. “I am.”
An annoyed huff comes from Bella, and Lucian attends to her ego. “Bella, my love, you’re as delicious looking as ever.” He scans her with his gaze. “Remind me why we don’t have a thing?”
She slides her hands down the sides of her body as she cocks her hip and purrs. “You couldn’t handle this.”
He chuckles. “Maybe not, but I’d sure like to try,”
Leanne rolls her eyes and directs her words to Bella. “We’re here to help. Tonight would be good.”
Bella glares at her briefly before I catch the twins up on what’s been happening with the Ouellette clan concerning the spelled protein powder and the portals. Lucian revisits the story of his friend who is trapped in someone else because she crossed over one too many times, and the seriousness of my situation settles in. While we don’t know who’s behind what’s happening, we all fear that I’m only the tip of the iceberg. Black magic is being used to put me out of commission, and the implications of that are so huge something must be done to stop it, because the danger extends far beyond the Ouellette clan.
Kimi stands at the head of the table and leans on her hands as she gazes at four of the most powerful witches on the east coast of North America. She says, “What we find out tonight will change the course of our history, and most likely begin an epic battle that could change the dynamics of clan witches world wide. We’re dealing with a band of witches using black magic.” She pauses before she adds, “We’ll need to employ it too, in order to win.”
I glance around to see everyone’s eyes are as wide open as mine are. Kimi says, “This fight has to take precedence over all aspects of your life. Do you each understand that? Because if you can’t make that commitment I need you to leave right now.”
The image of Marcel and his sexy smile as he gazes at me flashes in my mind, and my heart throbs with the pain of what losing him would feel like. I wonder if maybe our love isn’t meant to be after all. I pledged myself to the Ouellette clan over a decade ago, and I would be a worthless witch if I didn’t take my vow seriously. My desires have just become trivial, and I nod at Kimi with conviction. My job is to keep my clan and werebear a vibrant force on earth, and that might mean giving up Marcel in order to keep him, and his kind, alive.
30
Kelsey
My phone rings with the song that indicates it’s my mother. I’m lying awake in Val’s bed, but I’m too lazy to get out yet. I stretch my legs out like a cat as I answer, “Hey, Mom.”
“So I’m at this cute little cafe about thirty miles down the interstate from you, and while I was going to surprise you with a visit, I think you need to come join me here for lunch instead. They have the most amazing desserts.”
“That sounds wonderful. Let me change my plans with Val. Where is it?”
“Oh.” She lets out a quick laugh. “Good question. I have to get that for you. Call me when you’re on the road, and I’ll give you directions.”
“Okay.” I frown because my mother’s not usually scatter-brained. But then, she made this plan on a whim so I say, “I’m so happy you called. I’ve missed you.”
“Me too, sweetie. Now go get ready, I’m not sure how long I can wait before
I have to have the pecan pie.”
I chuckle. “I’ll call you soon. Bye.”
Val went to the gym this morning to workout while I slept in. We planned to spend the afternoon on his boat, but I’m sure he won’t mind me canceling to see my mother instead. I text him. Meeting my mom for lunch. Can we postpone the boat until tonight? I slide out from under the covers of his warm bed. My feet pad softly to the bathroom as my cell buzzes with Val’s reply.
No problem. See you tonight.
I smile to myself as I decide to get him a take-out treat from the cafe for later. After a quick shower, I comb through my wet hair and throw on last night’s shorts and T-shirt to go meet my mother. It rained heavily yesterday, and I notice stray twigs and leaves on the road as I make my way to the interstate. The bright sunlight makes everything seem greener than it was before. I crack open the roof, and wind whistles in. Once I’m on the highway I use my phone’s voice activated system to call Mom.
She gives me the exit and quick directions to the cafe. I sing along to the radio as I drive, and think about how wonderful my life is now that I’m in love. It occurs to me I haven’t been this far from Safe Harbor since I moved to Canada. I also realize I’m no longer in Ouellette territory, and I wonder if that’s something I should have shared with Val. It’s a concern I haven’t had to consider before. But my thoughts of telling him disappear when I notice my exit, and I focus on finding the restaurant.
A small white building with bright red trim appears on the right where Mom told me it should be, and I pull into the parking lot. I search for her car so I can park near her, but I don’t see it. Huh. I wonder if I’m at the right place, but she said Carol’s Cafe, I’m sure of it. So I get out and make my way to the front door. It’s still a bit early for lunch, and when I enter the restaurant it doesn’t take long for me to spot my mother among the few customers sitting at tables.
