by K. A Knight
“Come on, you little bastards, I need an eight,” I whisper, ignoring the others as they laugh at my weirdness. I throw them, then do a happy dance, bouncing up and down, throwing my hands in the air. Jason shakes his head and rolls his turn.
“Pay a bitch.” I point at Jason as he lands on my street with a hotel.
He frowns but grabs his remaining money. I’ve been slowly bleeding him dry all night, and he won’t last much longer. I guess I should have told them how competitive I am. He counts his money and hands over his last lot.
“You win,” he mutters.
I cup my ear with my hand. “Say it again,” I say loudly.
Ben sits up and watches us. Ezra leans forward, wrapping his arms around my waist.
Jason grits his teeth at me, working his jaw as he does.
“Say it!” I shout.
“You. Win.”
I dance in my seat and grab the fake money making it rain. “Yeah, I do.”
Ezra laughs behind me and pulls me onto his lap.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jason lose,” Ben says incredulously.
“Yeah, well...” the sore loser mutters, cleaning up the board and money where it landed.
“Movie time What do you want to watch?” Alexander helps Jason.
I tap my lip in consideration.
Ezra leans in closer and whispers in my ear, “Harry Potter.”
Jesus, I think I’m in love. “Harry Potter,” I declare proudly.
Ben groans and flops back down. “Not you, too.” He throws his arm over his face, and Nev jumps up and licks him.
“Don’t let him fool you, he loves it. I once caught him trying to unlock the front door by saying Alohomora.”
I laugh imagining Ben doing that.
Jason and Alexander stand up and head to the kitchen with everything. Alexander’s shirt billows out behind him, showing me his chiselled chest. I lick my lips when Ezra stands with me in his arms, then falls back onto the sofa with his legs sprawled out, me still in his lap. Ben jumps up to stop Nev licking him and sits next to us. Jason comes in and puts in the first movie, then sits next to Ben. Alexander comes back in, without a word, drops some cookies in my lap, then lays on the other sofa.
Oh, I thought I’d run out. I stare at the chocolatey goodness drooling.
“Can I have one?” Ezra rumbles.
I clutch them to my chest protectively. “My precious,” I hiss at him.
Jason falls off the sofa laughing, and Alexander has tears in his eyes as he chuckles.
“Did-did you just quote Gollum?” Ben asks.
“Duh.” I grab my first cookie and shove it into my mouth.
“Marry me,” Jason asks while staring me.
I swallow the cookie and go to grab another.
“Only if you make me cookies.” He nods and rights himself on the sofa.
I go to shove another cookie into my mouth when Ezra leans up and grabs a bite. I freeze and turn to face him, so I straddle his thighs. Pleased, he leans back, and everyone looks at us again.
Ben leans in towards him. “I wouldn’t do that, man. You saw what she was like with the burger.”
I glare at Ben and waggle my finger at Ezra. “Bad witch, no cookies for you.” I lean so I tumble onto Ben’s lap. He scoops me up and turns me around to watch the film.
Ezra leans back in his seat getting comfy again. Ben wraps his arms around me until I’m cocooned. I shove the cookie into my mouth, watching the film intently. I moan without realising. Ben wiggles beneath me when I do it again.
“Sunny, you gotta stop making those noises on top of me.” His pained voice makes me realise he really likes cookies too. Or, at least, that’s what I’m going with anyway.
We spend most of the night watching Harry Potter, and I fall asleep some time during Prisoner of Azkaban.
I wake up later in my bed with Nev on my feet, Alexander pressed up against my front, and Ezra pressed up against my back. Their heat soothes me, and I smile softly and go back to sleep.
I spin in shock when I realise where I am. It’s been a few nights since I’ve been here, and I’ll admit I missed our nightly conversations.
“You were right, Z Nation is amazing,” I gush and then drop to the floor in front of my dream dude.
He doesn’t reply, and I lean in closer. His head hangs down, his greasy hair obscuring his face. I kneel-walk closer, grab his hair, and gently pull his face up by it, heart in my throat the entire time. When I see his face, I want to cry.
He’s clearly passed out, and his face is covered in blood. His chest is also coated, and splashes mar his arms, vibrant against his pale skin. It looks like that scene from Carrie. I swallow past the lump.
“Mikael?” I whisper, but he doesn’t move. I stroke his face, ignoring the dried blood. When he still doesn’t wake, I glance helplessly around the room. It’s the same it always is. Four stone walls. Dirty stone floor. As I wait for him to come around, I continue to caress his face. When he doesn’t, I get worried.
“Okay, Aurora, think.” I nibble on my lips and stare at the unconscious man. With a deep breath, I allow a smidgen of power to escape its cage and rush to my fingers, eager to do my bidding. I lean forward again and grasp his limp hand. Closing my eyes, I run my power through his hand, seeking what, I don’t know.
“Rora?” The whisper is quiet and wispy. My eyes snap open, and I quickly pull my power back and slam the cage.
“Mikael?” My voice echoes around the room. He tries to lift his head, but it drops back down. I tilt it up gently. One of his eyes is bruised and swollen shut, but the other slowly blinks open. The usual tornado isn’t there. That, more than anything, worries me.
“It’s you—” his whisper cuts off halfway into a deep hacking cough, which makes him wince.
Watching him suffer is a knife to my heart. Sitting here night after night, talking, it was easy to ignore what was happening to him. But seeing that happy man reduced to this broken creature makes tears well in my eyes.
“What did they do to you?” My voice is thick with unshed tears.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” The pain on his face betrays his words.
“Let me help you,” I beg.
He shakes his head, then stops with a pained moan.
“Please.” My voice sounds as desperate as I feel.
He glances at me again. “You should go.” Determination laces his every word.
Keys rattle as another door unlocks, and footsteps head this way.
“Now, Aurora. I don’t know if he can see you, but I won’t risk it.” The urgency in his voice makes my heart speed up but determination hits me.
“No.” My voice is strong and sure. Panic and hopelessness fills his eye.
“Now, Aurora.” His voice is louder this time. His breathing picks up and so does mine as the footsteps get louder. They stop outside the door, and clicking echoes through the room as the bolt unlocks.
“Now!” he roars, and I’m flung back into my body.
“Aurora.” My name gets shouted again and again, and my body gets shaken.
It feels like I’ve been holding my breath, and when I breathe, it hurts. I blink open my eyes slowly and meet Alexander’s worried gaze. He leans over my prone form to my left with Ezra to my right. They both look worried. We are still in my bed. I try to lift my head, and Ezra shoots forward and grabs the back of it helping me. I smile gratefully at him and manage to get myself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard.
Nev sits on the bottom of my bed, his fur puffed up with Jason stroking his head. He and Ben stand there in nothing but tracksuit bottoms, their worry clear.
“Aurora?” Alexander says again.
“I’m okay.” My voice sounds weak, so I try again. “I’m okay.” It comes out a bit louder this time, but they all relax.
“I think it’s time we talked,” Alexander declares. The look he throws me dares me to argue.
23
- AURORA -
>
As we all sit around my dining room table, I clasp a cup of tea in my cold hands. The warmth never reaches me, which makes me frown.
“Sweetheart?” The soft voice brings my gaze up.
They all watch me with varying degrees of concern.
“I’m okay,” I repeat.
“Yeah, you said that, Sunshine.” Ben’s usual teasing voice is nowhere to be heard.
“Aurora, we couldn’t wake you. You were shaking and muttering—” Alexander stops and flashes a look at Ezra.
Ezra nods. “We couldn’t feel you.”
His voice sounds confused and, well, right back at you, buddy.
“What do you mean?” I raise my mug and take a sip of the tea.
“You were right there between us one minute, and the next, it was like you weren’t,” Ezra rumbles.
Still confused, I focus on Alexander.
“What he means is we could feel your body, but it was like there was nobody home. Like your soul had left your body.”
I drop my eyes to the table and clench the mug between my warming hands as I think. Is that true? Did I actually go to him? I always figured it was like a dream. That my conscious wandered there somehow, but how they are describing it sounds like walking. Dream-walking hasn’t been accomplished in centuries. I read about it once. Strong witches used to be able to channel their power through those they were connected to. It’s said they could reach across countries if needed. More questions than answers, again. I don’t have a connection to Mikael, at least not at first, so how would I? Surely, dream-walking would take time to master and wouldn’t just pop up like this.
A finger lifts my chin until I lock gazes with Alexander. Whatever he sees in my eyes pulls out a sigh, and his face softens. He gives a small grin and drops his finger.
“Okay, well whatever it was, it’s over. Let’s get back to the reason we are here.” Alexander’s voice rings out strong, and they all nod.
Wait... what? What reason? I glance around in confusion. “Reason?”
Ben winces and gawks at the table, Ezra stares at me defiantly, and Alexander locks his gaze with me again.
“Kitten, there was a reason we wanted to stay tonight.” He uses his soft voice again.
When his words sink in, my defences go up. So, they are just using me for something?
Softening Alexander’s words, Ben winks at me. “Other than the obvious reason that we want to be around you.”
“Yes. Aurora, when I was here the other day I felt something. Something dark, something powerful. I know you felt it, too.” Alexander fidgets for a second, breaking his typical cool exterior.
My mind wanders back to the other day when my power touched his. I reluctantly nod.
“Do you know what it was?” Jason asks this time.
“No, but I’ve felt it before.”
At this, they all sit up straighter.
“When?” Ezra demands.
“The other day, when you guys left. Nev started acting up, so I took a look.” I hesitate at telling them about my powers. It’s an unspoken knowledge between us what I am. “I felt the darkness.” Going with the truth, but a simple answer, I stare at them. I hold my breath for their reactions. It’s my first time acknowledging to them that I’m like them, too.
“So, it’s a safe bet that whatever it is, it’s hunting you.” Alexander’s statement doesn’t require an answer, and I let my breath out slowly. He drags his hands through his hair making it stand on end, his usual collected composure nowhere to be seen. “There’s too many questions. We need some answers. I understand you don’t want to, Aurora, but we need to know.”
I sit up straight in my chair at this. If they try to force me to tell them, they won’t like the answer.
“Is it what you’re running from?” Jason asks gently.
“No.” I clench my teeth, unwilling to say any more.
“Okay. So, this is a new occurrence?” Alexander questions.
I nod.
“It’s all too big of a coincidence that this is happening when we came to town.” This time, Ben looks stressed as he rubs his face hard, leaving red marks in his wake.
“I agree, but if it was hunting us, it had plenty of opportunity to follow me. It didn’t. It stayed with her, so it’s a safe bet that it’s Aurora it wants.” Alexander adds.
I nod again, feeling like a mute.
“Maybe it felt her the other night?” Jason glances around and carries on, “We all did the night at the pub. Your power drew us in. Maybe it felt her then?”
His logic makes sense. Fuck, he’s right. Ignoring my use of swearing because the situation warrants it. I try to recall that night in case I sensed anything out of the ordinary.
“Okay, so we have an unknown power, who we don’t know, hunting Aurora, who is probably running because she did some unknown thing that she won’t tell us about.” If his voice wasn’t gentle I would be angry, but Alexander just states the facts.
Either way, I get defensive and cross my arms under my breasts.
“I think so.” Jason nods.
“Fuck,” Ezra mutters.
“Pretty much,” Ben adds.
They all turn to me in unison. “Is there anything you are willing to tell us? Because right now, sweetheart, the secrets are piling up, and we can’t protect you if we don’t know what from and why.” Alexander tries to grab my hand, but I sit back, drawing away from him. He winces, but I ignore it. One problem at a time and for this conversation. I need my head clear and not clouded by his nearness.
“If I knew what it was, I would tell you. I keep my secrets to protect me. I still barely know you. It’s not like you’ve spilt all your secrets to me.” I harden my voice because my statement is true.
“She’s right.” Ezra’s voice is carefully neutral, and I want to kiss him for it.
“Okay, so why don’t we change that? You ask us a question, and we’ll answer if we can. You can do the same?” Alexander’s suggestion lands in silence as I think.
It’s a good idea, I could get to know the boys more and find out if I can trust them. Plus get some answers, but on the other hand, they could ask something I’m not willing to answer. Then, we are back to square one. My instincts tell me to trust them, so for once, I go against my nature and nod.
They all smile like I’ve just told them they can rub me in chocolate. Weird witches.
“Okay, why don’t you start? If we don’t want to answer or you don’t, we will just skip to the next question, agreed?” Alexander makes eye contact with everyone as they nod in understanding.
I immediately want to blurt out a question about the picture I found the other day, but that would be weird. I wrack my brain for a safe question.
“What do you mean you are drawn to me?” I glance between them.
They all take time to consider my question before Ben leans forward. “When I first saw you, my power drew me to you. I was driving past the restaurant, heading for food, when I knew I had to go into the pub. I saw you. You practically glowed. I don’t know about the others, but my power pulls me to you. When I’m with you, it’s like being home. It feels right.”
Ben’s answer makes me tremble. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t such an innocent question. Alexander lets me process it for a minute. I sigh and shake my head clear, filing the information away for later when I’m by myself.
“You didn’t seem surprised when we woke you up. That’s not the first time you have done whatever it was, was it?” Alexander’s question is a hard one, but I guess I should give them some answers.
His patient and caring expression makes me open up. “No. Pretty much every night, apart from when I stayed at yours, I have had the same experience.”
There, see? I can share.
He nods but looks more confused than ever. He gestures for me to go.
“When I saw that picture on the stairs, you told me about Mike. You said he was missing?” I stare at Alexander, knowing he remembers our conversation.
“Our turn.”
I start to protest, but one look in Ezra’s eyes makes me swallow it.
“Where’s your family?” Jason’s sweet voice rings out before anyone else’s can.
“Dead.” While it is technically true, I don’t classify that bag of dicks as my father anymore. My father died the night my mother did. I don’t want their sympathy, so I stare determinately at the table again.
“Your turn.” Ezra’s voice is his usual grumble, and I’m thankful he’s acting normal and not treating me like damaged goods.
“What did you mean he’s the reason you’re here?” I tilt my head back up and watch their reactions closely. They all seem either confused or blank, apart from Jason, who looks sad. Poor guy can’t hide his feelings.
“We tracked him to near here. It’s the last area we know he was. We came here to search for him.” The seriousness in Ben’s voice reminds me that behind his playful personality is a strong, male witch.
“What did you do the other night at the pub?” Ezra asks. An innocent enough question really if it was from one witch to another.
I debate what to tell them. “There was a man. He hurt his wife and kid. I saw it, and I couldn’t do nothing. So, I stopped him.” My answer is truthful albeit a bit thin.
“How?” Alex asks.
I shake my head. “My turn.”
He nods for me to continue.
“The other boy in the photo. Who is he? You never mentioned him.” Not what I wanted to ask, but I blurt it out anyway.
“A friend, like I said. He died a couple of years ago.” The utter heartbreak and devastation in Alexander’s tone smacks me like a ton of bricks.
“I used my powers on him to turn himself into the police for a previous crime.” My voice sounds desperate, anything to take that look away from his eyes.
He smiles, and it’s like the sunshine breaking through the clouds.
“Have you got any leads, or are you guys close to finding Mike?” They glance at each other.
“Honestly, no. We thought you were a clue at first, but it’s obvious you have nothing to do with it. I guess Mikael was here for another reason.” Strain weighs on Alexander’s voice.
