by LeAnn Mason
Because, of course, it was protected by magic, hiding it from the eyes of plain old mortals like me. That did explain why no one knew it was there though.
My sisters had been relieved I was alive and well but upset that I couldn't come back just yet. It wasn’t like I had a home to come back to, and being underage, I couldn't rent a room. I told them I was safe with friends and would be back in Winchester by Tuesday morning. They acquiesced soon enough, and we said our temporary tear-filled goodbyes so they could get things moving. Jess would keep Tanya on track.
I smiled at the thought. We could fight and scream like banshees, but at the end of the day, we were sisters, and we loved each other.
Voices tugged at my mind, rousing me from my awkward sleep and reminding me of all my aches, adding a kinked neck to the list. Cracking an eye open, I felt almost like a voyeur as I watched Jason tend to a newly wakened Allya, bending to give her a tender kiss… before she pulled away.
What? Why?
“Well, yeah, okay. Uh, I’ll leave you alone. Let me know if you want a new trainer,” Jason said. More than a little hurt colored his tone as he spun to race from the room.
“What? Why? Why are you leaving?”
Even I knew that one…
“You didn’t want to kiss me. I crossed a line. I’m sorry. I underst—”
Allya looked truly horrified by the explanation, and I had to work to maintain my facade just a little longer. I couldn’t very well admit to being awake during this, now could I?
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for weeks! Well, when you weren’t being a total asshat.”
That’s my girl.
“Then, why?”
“Well, mainly because, not five minutes ago, I vomited. Didn’t really want you to taste that. I mean, I didn’t want to taste it.”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. This was just too good. “I think she’s got a good reason, Wolf.”
My outburst had Allya’s wide amber eyes shooting to where I sat. “You’re awake!” Throwing off the covers, she twisted and writhed in an attempt to leave the bed. “Omigod, Mae… what are you doing here?”
I pushed out of the chair, sending it rocking back and forth as if possessed by a ghost. The closer I got, the harder it was to hold back tears. Seeing her awake reminded me of others who wouldn’t be. “They’re gone. When the guy, your dad—”
“Not my dad,” Allya muttered vehemently, her voice almost a growl. It seemed to bother her damaged throat, and she cleared it before continuing, “Just the sperm donor.”
“You’re right. That’s not fair. They came to my house while I was at work. There… there was nothing I could do.” Maybe if I said it enough times, it would become true. There had to have been a way to save them, but I sure hadn’t seen it. I tried to hold in my grief, my chin wobbling with the effort, but the water of tears filled my eyes before spilling over the rims.
“I’ll go tell the others you’re awake,” Jason murmured, obviously uncomfortable with the heavy topic and all the girly emotions.
“I am so sorry, Mae. I didn’t mean to drag you into this. I didn’t think he even knew about you. How could I have been so stupid?”
I couldn’t let her take that on, and I hastily moved to squish myself next to her on the bed. I needed to hug my friend. “No. It wasn’t your fault.” I would wrangle these stupid tears into submission. I flicked a stray bead from my cheek. “I had no idea that these things existed in the world. I thought they were just fiction from my favorite stories. Not real. Not my best friend.”
I realized my poor phrasing only after Allya flinched at my words.
“I’m sure you can go back to Winchester. What about your sisters? You don’t need to stay here. I understand.” The hurt, the fear in her voice nearly broke me all over again. How could she think I’d leave her? How could she think I’d turn away from her because she was different? She was amazing. I was only now realizing that her awesomeness ran much deeper than I ever knew.
“You understand nothing, Al. You did nothing. He did.” I couldn’t even bring myself to acknowledge his name. He didn’t deserve that recognition. “But he’s gone now. You saved me. Let me repay you. And my sisters know that I am all right. I’m old enough to be emancipated, and they are in no position to take me. They’re both in college, no better off than me. We’ll meet for the funeral and go our separate ways.” It was true even if I hadn’t expressed such things to them yet. “You need a friend, and I need my best friend. I can’t imagine dealing with… all of this… without you. Please don’t make me.”
That was just plain selfish of me, but again, truth.
And now, my tough friend was nearly crying with me. Luckily, we were saved from our emotions by a soft knock. Elsie’s gray-haired head poked through the slight opening, a smile lighting her face as she set eyes on Allya. “May we come in, dear?”
At Allya’s nod, she pushed into the room with gusto. “They missed you. So much,” Elsie said reverently, looking past Allya to a spot around her nightstand. I turned to peek but didn’t notice anything amiss, let alone anything that would have missed Allya… “Your mother and Grams. They are able to be with you—and me—now.”
But her family was dead.
“The Spirit Warriors…” Allya whispered. “I didn’t hallucinate Grams’ voice?” She began patting around herself frantically, and I pushed myself from the bed, in case I was in the way of what she searched for.
“No, dear. No hallucinations. Well, not that time. My magic freed them from the binding spell Seth had placed on their spirits. It’s why I never knew they had died. Their spirits couldn’t travel from him.”
I was so lost. Spirits? Wait. Shamans were like psychics, right? So, could Elsie commune with the dead? She hadn’t mentioned that particular talent in her supernatural explanation earlier.
“Can I talk to them? Can I see them?” The hope in Allya’s voice was so fragile like she waited for the rest of her world to come crashing onto her. My world hadn’t been the only one destroyed lately. Seth had been at it for a couple of decades.
“I think there will be time for it. I’m pretty sure they won’t be leaving just yet. There’s time, but it takes a lot of energy and maybe some more privacy,” Elsie hinted gently.
I was still feeling like a voyeur to all these personal conversations and emotions bleeding all over the place. I wasn’t great with said emotions. Probably another reason I hadn’t been well received by my peers. Maybe I should make a quick escape before they realized I’d been privy to all the family talks.
After all, I wasn’t family. I was the cause of Al’s current condition. After all, she’d been coming to rescue me. When they pointed out the scarring that couldn’t be magicked away, I wanted to crawl under a rock, or at least slip out the door, but Jason still barred that exit point. She’d always carry those marrings on her throat, might always have it reflected in her voice, because of me.
When the room suddenly went silent, I tuned back in wondering what had turned the mood to match my own.
“Ryan is in a coma. Has been since we got back early yesterday morning. The Witch didn’t have enough power to kill the King of the Shifters. Hopefully, in time, he will come out of it. But for now, we can only wait. Gloria and the coven are doing what they can.” Elsie paused and visibly gathered herself before continuing, “Nick… hasn’t been found.”
Ryan, I remember that name being mentioned. He was a Shifter, so an animal. The animal who’d clamped on my shoulder… I grabbed the offended flesh as the reminder pushed a throb through my muscles. He was in a coma now. And another of their friends hadn’t been found. Was he dead?
“Has anyone looked for him? I will look for him.” She even tried to get out of bed to get started right then.
“We have started our search, but so far… nothing. I know you will search, and I’ll be right there with you, Red,” Jason said confidently. “Every step.”
“Can’t shake you, huh?”
; “Nope,” he said, the popped ‘p’ making light of the heavy topic.
“I have a feeling your partnership will be full of bite,” I mused, my tone having a bit of bite in itself. Why, I had no idea. Maybe the whole situation was taking its toll, my body and mind still not recovered from… everything.
Allya didn’t miss a beat. “More than you know. Biting is absolutely in the forecast.”
Jason’s response was just as swift and just as leading. “Bring it, Red.”
“After I get Mae settled.” Allya declared, her new golden eyes moving to catch my own. “After all, there are all manner of beasts here.”
CHAPTER 7
“Ryan's still out? What does that mean?” Allya asked, worry plain on her face.
“It means his son better step up,” Jason grumbled nearly inaudibly.
“Can I see him?”
“They aren't letting anyone other than the healers near him while he's vulnerable, and even they cause wariness,” Elsie answered, scuttling to the dresser along the back wall and proceeding to put away neatly folded clothes from a white basket she'd brought back in with her.
I sat mute, still processing the fact that the spirits of Allya’s mother and grandmother were among us. Was it cold in here? I twitched at a perceived brush along my arm, flinching again when I realized it was only a folded article of clothing Elsie was putting away. Not the touch of a ghost, Mae. Calm down.
The thought of ghosts was kinda freaking me out. Maybe because I couldn’t see them. I couldn’t tangibly experience their existence. Well, I probably could if they directed their attention my way. That freaked me out as well. How would I ever know if there was a spirit around? I shivered again as my mind completely ran away with the “what ifs”.
“Wait a minute…” Like a lightbulb illuminating above my messy head, something Elsie said last night cut through my haze. ‘Your parents. They do not want you to be sad. They are just happy you are all right.’ “Oh my… Elsie!” My heart pounded with the promise of my revelation. The three of them had been talking, but I hadn’t heard any of it, stuck in my mind as I’d been.
“Yes, Mae?” I noticed her eyes cut over my right shoulder when she turned her attention toward me. Further confirmation as far as I could tell.
“Are… Are my parents here?” I couldn’t help looking toward where I noticed Elsie’s attention shift a moment ago. I saw nothing other than a curtained window bright with filtered afternoon sunlight. I’d bet the pane was warm with saturated heat, but that was only a distraction from the answer poised on Elsie’s lips.
“Yes, child, they are.”
And the dam broke. A hiccupping sob escaped my lips as tears fell from my eyes like twin waterfalls, blurring everything beyond the lenses. Reflexively, my hands moved to shield my display from the room, grasping the plastic frames instead of reaching skin. I needed to do this in private. I dropped my hands and shoved off the chair, leaving the wood to rock as I fled its confines and hurried toward the only place I figured held solitude—the bathroom—hoping to hide in my overwhelming grief for just a few moments.
They were still with me. I didn’t know if I could face them. What would they say? Why were they still here? Shouldn’t they be in a better place?
Sitting on the closed toilet, I rocked, head in hands. I missed them so much already. The truth of it was… I was scared of what they’d say, of what they’d think of me staying here. Because that’s what I wanted. I didn’t want to return to the normal grind, explore things that had already been explored. Grimm Hollow and the world of the paranormal and supernatural were real, not things of fiction. That little truth had me clamoring to learn more, to unravel the secrets that I did not yet understand. Maybe I’ll fit in better here…
Pressure formed against my tear-slicked cheek, rounding to cup the flesh almost like… a hand. The perfect size and comfort that my mother’s would provide.
“Mom?” The phantom pressure increased at the recognition. When the sensation changed to add a light rub like a thumb moving toward my mouth and back again, my tears dried. She was here with me right now, soothing away my tears just like she had since I was a child. The thought that I could see and talk to my parents, even after death, suddenly made the idea of ghosts much more appealing.
I could say goodbye.
“Elsie!” The force with which I threw open the door caused it to thud against the wall. Hopefully, it wouldn’t leave a mark, or if it did, Elsie would forgive my impertinence. I ran the few steps back to Allya’s room only to find the blue confines empty of inhabitants. “Elsie!” I called again, detouring toward the wooden stairs. I’d need to take more caution in my descent or the slick surface of the steps would surely cause me to fall. I swore a large hand wrapped around my biceps—I could feel each, individual finger indent my skin—keeping me from going headlong down the flight in my haste.
Dad.
“In the kitchen, child,” Elsie finally called back from below. I slowed my pace and finally released the breath I’d held since I called out her name. Clad in socks, my renewed momentum sent me sliding through the entry and into the little eating area.
“What’s wrong, Mae? Are you okay?” Allya rushed to me from the place she was seated at the dining table, leaving a half-eaten sandwich and chips on a plate where she’d vacated the scarred wood table. Worried golden eyes roved me, looking for what had me so worked up.
“Those eyes are going to take a while to get used to, my friend.”
“Yeah, but you’re the only one who even knows they were different.” She winked playfully at me, remarkably unperturbed by anything. “Come sit, eat. I’m starving, so forgive me if I just dig in. Ebony takes a lot of food to upkeep.”
“Ebony?” I moved into the room and took the seat that Jason pulled out next to Allya at the table.
She looked at me cautiously, biting her sandwich, she took a moment to elaborate. She looked… worried. “Ebony is my wolf. I am now a Shifter and a Shaman and, a Witch.” she laughed without mirth. “What I am is a mess.”
“I think you’re a glorious mess, and I wouldn’t want another partner,” Jason chimed in helpfully, to which Allya rolled her eyes before shoving at him playfully.
“It’s nice to see you so… light,” I mused, watching their banter. She’d never been like that at home. She’d always been closed off, timid. More like me.
“You don’t think I’m a freak? You’re not scared of me?”
“You’re still my bestie, Al. Nothing you’ve done or are will change that. Give me more credit,” I chided, adding my own playfulness. “So… can I meet her?” The thought of my best friend morphing into a completely other form was mind-bending. The process alone would be amazing to witness.
“Oh, uh, maybe give it a few? We’re still kind of recovering, and I want to get our bearings a bit,” she hedged.
“You mean, you don’t want to scare me?”
“I mean, it can be…”
“Amazing?” I broke in.
“Intimidating,” she deadpanned.
“You rang, dear?” Elsie interrupted, setting a sandwich matching Allya’s on the table in front of me. A subtle poke to get me back on track. Maybe my mom or dad had asked her to?
“Can I see my parents?”
Allya dropped what remained of her bread as if her fingers refused to hold the weight with the new subject.
“I can facilitate a few minutes if you’d like?” She smiled softly again. But the room was silent. No chatter from Allya or Jason, no shuffling, no chewing. All activity in the room just stopped, waiting with bated breath for my answer.
“Yes, please.”
Lost in my own thoughts, I followed absently behind Elsie, ascending to the second floor and to a room I'd yet to enter. Looking around the sparse but clean room, I took a moment to gather myself. My attention roved from the quilt-laden bed to the little nightstand nestled against the wall at the head of the bed closest to where we'd entered, dragging to the antique-whi
te dresser along the opposite wall.
“Are you ready, child?”
I wasn't backing out, but I couldn't make my mouth form any words, so I rolled my lips and nodded in the affirmative. I wanted this… but it worried me, too. What if they blamed me?
A gentle touch molded to my shoulders, allowing some of the tension to drain from them. Something about Elsie was comforting to me. I nodded again, this time with a reassuring smile.
She returned the gesture before taking a step back. “I can give you a few minutes where you will be able to see, hear, and touch your parents. However, it takes a lot of energy, and a few minutes is all I can grant you. Do you understand?”
“Yes ma'am,” I returned, shifting my weight back and forth, from foot to foot, as nerves ramped up with anticipation.
Elsie closed her eyes and lifted her arms, palms up. A low, murmuring chant began to fill the room, pressure swelling like a rising storm. My eyes frantically searched the space, looking for the figures I longed to see just one more time.
To say goodbye.
CHAPTER 8
My emergence from the room occurred when my parents’ images finally faded to nothing. Their voices becoming nothing more than whispers on the breeze blowing through the stale room as the last vestiges of sunlight faded from the horizon and with it, my tears. I felt lighter, more confident in my choices, in my path, even if I looked a ragged mess. I had sobbed through the entire reunion. My eyes were now gritty with dried salt and sensitive to both light and the slightest brushes of the air still swirling through the cracked open window.
“Feel better, dear?” Elsie asked kindly, moving from her spot near the head of the stairs. No doubt, she’d heard the entire conversation, but she’d done her best to give us the privacy of a final goodbye, though maybe it wasn’t so final.