by A. N. Sage
“Drumroll please…” Peyton made an air drum motion with her imaginary sticks. “The Claytons!”
“Who the heck are the Claytons?”
“No one important. Man, that came out wrong. I meant no one we run with.”
“Run with? Who are you right now?” I laughed.
Peyton shook off her shoulders and beamed a smile my way. “Sorry, I had like twenty capps this morning so I’m totally vibing. The Claytons live about fifteen, twenty minutes from River. Normal peeps and they have two kids.”
“So two kids could be in danger?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “Jillian is away in college but Clay is a student here in Shadowhurst. First-year.”
“I’m sorry, his name is Clay Clayton?”
My friend’s grin widened and she chuckled under her breath. “Yep. You can’t make this shit up.”
A group of girls pushed their way past us and we backed up to the grassy knoll to give them a wide berth. Peyton shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, the loose lace fabric of her seventies-inspired rocker shirt rolling up to reveal a bluish bruise. The closer I looked, the more I realized it looked like a handprint; like someone had grabbed her too hard and didn’t let go.
“Peyton! What happened?” I shrieked and pointed to the bruise.
Without meeting my eyes, Peyton lowered her sleeve and brushed it down. “I’m an idiot is what happened,” she answered, still refusing to look at me. “Walked into my dresser last night.”
Her eyes shifted from side to side and a knot formed in my stomach. She was lying.
“Um, kay…” I whispered.
I had no clue why my best friend had to lie about a bruise. If someone hurt her, I’d be the first one she should be telling. The idea of someone hurting Peyton made my blood boil and I imagined myself letting my power loose on whoever it was and returning the favor. Which is why she didn’t tell me, right? RIGHT? I couldn’t tell. Whatever reasons Peyton had for lying, she clearly thought it was best I didn’t know. Maybe she was trying not to worry me or maybe—
My head pounded and I had to suck in a sharp breath. Maybe whoever hurt her was someone she knew and was trying to protect.
I was yet to meet Peyton’s parents but just thinking that one of them could have done this made me sick. Peyton had always spoken so highly of them, her father especially, but what if that was just a coverup?
“You sure you’re okay?” I asked again.
“Yeah, girl. Totally cool. Nothing to worry about.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “So?”
“So what?”
“What do you think about Clay?”
I peeled my gaze off her arm and forced myself to face her. “Oh, right. Yeah, good catch! I’ll tell River and the others.”
“Sorry, what?”
Peyton’s face scrunched and I remembered I haven’t talked to her all day so she didn’t know that I met the other hunters or that I was on my way to River’s house right now. “I met the other witch hunters,” I admitted.
“SHUT UP!” My best friend slapped my shoulder, her eyes wider than oceans. “Tell me everything!”
“I will,” I said and turned to walk away. “I promise I will but not right now. I have to go meet them and I don’t want to be late.”
Before I could rush off, Peyton grabbed my hand and placed something inside. It filled her eyes with worry and she looked everywhere but at me. When she pulled her hand away, I saw a braided, pink bracelet resting in my palm.
“I made you this. It’s like a friendship bracelet or whatever.”
My heart exploded as I ran my finger over the pink threads. It wasn’t anything special and not as expensive as the jewelry most of the other girls wore around school but to me, it was perfect. I’ve never had an actual friend before and definitely not one that made me a friendship bracelet. “I love it,” I said and tied the strings into a knot around my wrist. “It’s beautiful.”
“Girl, you a savage!” Peyton laughed. “It’s literally string. Don’t act like you’ve never seen string before.”
My eyes watered and guilt enveloped me in its agonizing cocoon. This was the same girl I had doubted and despite the sweet gesture she just made, I knew I couldn’t fall for it. Not yet, at least.
“Thanks, really,” I said. “But I’m super late. I’ll call you later, kay?”
Without looking back at her, I bolted for my ride. There was still so much about Peyton I didn’t know and I couldn’t risk telling her anything I might regret spilling later. My friend was keeping something from me and until I found out what it was, I had to keep her at an arm’s length. My feet hit the pedals and I zoomed out of the parking to River’s house. The wind hit my face and sent chills down my spine as I rolled down the streets of Shadowhurst to my first witch hunter meeting. Never in my life did I imagine this would be where I ended up but somehow, it felt like where I belonged.
Cars lined the curved driveway in front of River’s house by the time I pulled my bike in. I tossed it to the side of the house, not bothering to lock the chain, and sprinted for the front door. As I reached my hand to ring the doorbell, the familiar pull of the garden rocked me gently. Under my skin, my magic blossomed and I stood still for a good few minutes before shaking it off.
The doorbell echoed through the house and I stepped back from the porch, shielding my eyes from the sun to see inside the attic windows.
“You made it!” River said from the doorway.
I jerked my eyes to him and cleared my throat. “Yeah. Looks like I’m late.”
River looked around the driveway and smiled. His green eyes twinkled and his full lips curved into a half-smile. My body roiled with excitement and I took a few brave steps to close the distance between us. I could seriously jump his bones right here on the porch.
Ew! WHAT? Why are you like this?
“Everyone’s already in the kitchen. Come on.”
He tugged at the sleeve of my flannel shirt and I followed him inside. We walked past the pictures in the hallway and my eyes latched onto the one of him in a bathtub. Choking down a laugh, I sped up to catch up.
River led me through the living room which looked as cozy as ever with the plush sectional positioned in front of a massive stone fireplace in the center of the room. The mantle was full of more picture frames and I didn’t fail to notice the few crystals carefully arranged around them. My magic reached for their elements and I had to shake my fingers to keep it in check. Thank the Goddess, the crystals were too small to make a dent and those damn lights stayed hidden so I could keep my balance. Behind the sofa stretched a wall-sized bay window with a variety of planters full of every kind of flower I could imagine. It looked like River’s mother liked the garden so much she brought it indoors. My smile widened and I turned back to River, my face colliding with his back. I was so in awe of the living room I didn’t notice that he stopped in his tracks.
In front of me, River cleared his throat and chuckled before stepping aside.
“Told you she’d make it,” he said to the rest of the group.
I looked around the triumphant island that sat in the focus of a French-inspired kitchen and counted off the hunters in the room. They were all there, including Savannah who sat with her arms crossed at the far end of the island. She tapped her long, light blue nails on the quartz countertop and scowled.
“Lovely,” she breathed out, “can we start now?”
Morgan and Tyler’s eyes snapped my way and I breathed in deep before shaking off Savannah’s annoying attitude to join everyone in the kitchen.
“So what do we do?” I asked, genuinely interested. I had no reference to witch hunters and was eager to get as much information on their dealings as I could.
“We follow leads,” River answered.
My shoulders dropped. “That’s it? We sit around and go through notes?” I looked over the stacks of file folders and books spread out on the table. “Isn’t there like training or something
?”
Everyone laughed. Everyone except Savannah, of course.
“I don’t think you’re ready for our training yet.” Morgan smiled. “Think of this as initiation. If we like what you offer, we might let you play.”
The way she said the last word made me shiver. I could only imagine what kind of playing they’d be up for if they found out who I was. Probably something involving a lot of blood and torture. “Training?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, dude,” Morgan said. “You don’t think we just sit around reading all day, do you?”
I kinda did but kept my mouth shut.
“So bring us something good and you can come to the farm.”
The way she said it made me think of some old mafia movie and I suddenly had an image of being buried in cement at said farm. “What farm?”
“Savannah’s place. It’s perfect for training! Right?”
Morgan looked to her friend but got nothing but an icy glare in return. “It’s all right. I guess.”
“Stop underselling it,” Abigail piped in. “Your place is bomb! Plus your parents never being around is perfection. Too bad their wine cellar is locked down like a freaking vault or I’d never leave!”
Beside her, Savannah’s smile dropped and she folded her hands into her lap. Something about what Abigail said snagged a cord and her body grew as rigid as stone. “Whatever. It’s a house on a farm, no big deal.” Her eyes found mine. “You said you had something?”
“Oh, right,” I said, cluing into the topic change a little too slow. “I found something that can help. Or my friend Peyton did.”
“Oh, god,” Savannah growled, “now she’s bringing more people into this.”
Beside her, Abigail looked up from the notebook she was doodling in and met my gaze. “Actually,” she said, oblivious to her friend’s glare next to her, “I want to hear this.”
I shot a smile her way and let my jaw relax. This might not go so badly after all. Abigail has not spoken a word to me since the first day we met so for her to be interested in anything I have to say was a monumental step in the right direction. I might get these jerks on my side sooner rather than later. Sure, Savannah would always be a problem but she could be the High Coven’s problem as far as I was concerned.
“We think we know who the next target is. Clay Clayton?”
“Clay? Really?” River asked.
“That guy?” Jayden added.
I nodded. “Turns out he could be one of the fae families we found before.”
“I still can’t believe this town has fae ancestry,” Abigail said.
“Girl, be more worried about the fact that fae exist,” Morgan exclaimed. “Cause that’s the part that’s blowing my mind!”
She brought her hands to her flaming, red hair and made a bomb motion before grinning from ear to ear. I liked this girl. Something about her was fun and easy and I could see her and Peyton getting along.
My fingers twirled the loose strings of the friendship bracelet on my wrist.
As soon as I thought of Peyton, my mouth dried and my vision blurred. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with my best friend and I wished I could help her. More than that, I wished she’d be honest with me and tell me what was going on. Why would she tell me about Clay if she was the witch? It made little sense. Unless it was a trap and she was trying to steer me away from her next kill. My stomach turned and I was very aware of how hot it was in the kitchen. Sweat poured down the curve of my lower back and I had to pry my shirt away from my skin to cool off.
“I’ll be right back,” I said and backed up into the living room. “I left something in my bike basket.”
Turning to leave, I heard Savannah make a crack about my ride, and River snap at her to stay quiet. Her words never reached me and I was on the front porch before I knew it. The air outside wrapped itself around me and I breathed it in, letting the elements of the garden’s florals invade my senses. My eyes opened and closed as I counted to ten while forcing any thoughts of Peyton being the killer from my mind. At my chest, the amethyst cooled and sent calming vibrations into my heart.
Something moved in my peripheral and I snapped my head in its direction.
I was met with nothing but trees and bushes but I could tell that I wasn’t alone. There was someone else here and whoever it was, they had magic. I could feel their energy in the surrounding elements. It was faint, but it was definitely there. I stepped down from the porch and followed the tingle that grew over my skin. Each shaky step I took made me want to turn around and run back. This was dark magic I could feel, so dark I couldn’t breathe.
“You coming back?” River yelled out and I jumped at the sound of his voice.
My neck turned from him to face the scuffle I heard but I still couldn’t see anything. What was worse, River’s presence seemed to have scared off whoever was there and I could no longer sense their magic in the air. I looked around once more to make sure before running back to the porch and into the house.
All of a sudden, being locked in a room full of witch hunters wasn’t the worst thing I could imagine.
Heaven
Meeting the hunters was surprisingly useful. Tyler’s dad was a police officer and got him copies of all the case files on the dead students without so much as a hassle. I started to understand that most of the hunter’s parents were just like River’s mom; pushing their kids into the role mercilessly. As Abigail and Tyler counted off the possible magical items in the crime scenes while the other hunters took notes, I let myself drift off. The group I was smack dab in the middle of seemed like regular kids. They joked and teased each other and I often found myself laughing along without having to force it. I wondered how much fear someone had to have to push their children into something as dangerous as witch-hunting and hated the hunters’ parents for putting that pressure on them. Then again, it likely never crossed Beatrix’s mind the dangers she was putting me in when she first started training me as a witch. And the High Coven only quadrupled that danger when they put me on patrol.
Perhaps the hunters’ parents were not so different from everyone else in my life; we were all just scarred in the end.
After a few hours of explaining to everyone what I knew about ritualistic magic such as the one at the crime scenes, all under the guise of an overactive imagination, we could put together a plan. We decided it was best not to warn Clay since he had no clue of the danger he was in. Instead, each one hunter and I would take turns keeping a close eye on him. We paired off into groups of two and I tried to hide my excitement from ending up with River. Without surprise, Savannah complained the entire time but finally let it go, stating she didn’t need a partner and wasn’t a scared little wussy like the rest of us. Her words verbatim.
From all the hunters I found Jayden to be the easiest to be around. He didn’t give off the same privileged attitude as the rest and it surprised me to find out that talking to him did not leave a nasty taste in my mouth. The entire time we were in River’s kitchen, Jayden must have made me laugh at least a dozen times and I had to accept that I was enjoying his company.
He had just finished telling some dumb joke about a rabbi and a priest that sent me into a whirlwind of laughter when River pushed his way between us. His eyes were darker than usual and I could see his nostrils flaring when he stared Jayden down. Wait, is he jealous?
My stomach flipped and my cheeks flushed at the thought.
“It’s getting late, y’all,” Abigail announced and collected her sparkly, pink notebooks off the counter. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have plans for this one tonight.”
She brushed a finger over Tyler’s lips and he grunted in approval. I was getting the impression that since Tyler was the quiet, brooding type; Abigail took full advantage. There was no question in anyone’s mind about who wore the pants in that relationship. Or in Abigail’s case, the barely-there mini skirt.
Her finger traced down his chin and around his chest
and Tyler growled and kicked his leg like an excited puppy. Most of the hunters groaned and rolled their eyes. Jayden made a barfing motion with his finger before turning to wink at me.
“Get a room!” He shouted, “Ain’t no one here that needs to see your foreplay right now! Gross!”
My eyes watered and I let out a loud belly laugh that soon spread around the kitchen island. Tyler blushed but Abigail seemed oblivious to the other people in the room and fondled his pecs some more. This girl is something else!
I was still smiling like a tool when River leaned on the counter next to me. “Mind sticking around for a bit?” He whispered.
“Uh, suuuuurrrreeeee…” I said in more of a question than a statement.
“We’re first to watch Clay tomorrow so I want to make sure we have our ducks in a row.”
“Bruh! Who talks like that?” Jayden chuckled before fist-bumping River and heading out. “Watch out for this one, B!”
As the rest of the hunters cleared out of the kitchen, I could feel Savannah’s glare on me. Though this time, instead of brushing her off like I normally would have, I inched myself closer to River. I arched my back and leaned into him before aiming a smile and a wave her way. Behind us, Savannah cursed under her breath and stomped out, slamming the front door behind her.
“That was vicious,” River noted.
“Ha! Just a little revenge for how she’s been treating Peyton and me.”
I winked and backed away to put some distance between us and missed the warmth of his skin immediately. River’s eyes clouded with confusion but it only took him a second to rebound and he was back to his usual, calm self.
“So how do you feel after your first hunter meeting?” He asked.
I thought about his question. How did I feel? I wasn’t sure anymore. I expected to have spent the evening trying not to reach for my dagger and slice their throats but it turned out not to be as bad as I imagined. In fact, I even enjoyed myself a little.
“It wasn’t bad,” I answered truthfully.
“I knew it!” River exclaimed. “I knew you’d like being a hunter!”
