by LeAnn Mason
That answer made me want to argue. I was my own responsibility, able to account for my own safety and happiness… or so I liked to think. I narrowed my eyes at the blood relative who studiously ignored me across the worn table.
“Morning, Ms. Elsie. How are you this morning?” a bright voice chirped from my side, cutting off my impending retort. Then, the waitress turned her cheer my direction. “Hi, I’m Bianca. Are you a relative of Ms. Elsie’s? Oh! Are you a Shaman, too?”
The girl’s bright smile stretched across her porcelain face. Cherry-red lips and rosy cheeks accentuated the beauty that was Bianca. Her black bob sleek and straight, but her eyes held my attention. They were an almond shape that she showcased beautifully with a sweeping streak of eyeliner, making the ice-blue of the irises stand out even more. The color seemed to writhe and dance like they had a life of their own and were barely contained. They were unlike anything I’d ever encountered. The uniqueness matched her aura. A fiery blue halo encircled the girl that mimicked the color of her striking eyes.
I didn’t realize I stared until she blinked rapidly at me, her smile beginning to look strained as neither of us spoke. “Yes, Bianca dear. She is my sister’s grandchild and also a Shaman. She’ll be staying with me for a little while. You’re still at the high school, aren’t you?”
“I graduate this year!” The girl beamed, her aura flaring in her excitement. Maybe, Bianca was ready to get out of that school. It begged the question, Was I ready to be tutored there? I wasn’t so sure. Maybe I could talk them into just telling me what I needed to know about life in Grimm Hollow and then learn what I could from Jason, as promised, before buckling down on my plans to become self-reliant.
Until then... “I’ll just have a cheeseburger, please. Everything on it. Thank you.” Bianca wrote down our order, with drinks, and promised a short wait for our meal before striding smoothly away. She deftly maneuvered around another waitress who had an unsteady balance on her tray of food. The move looked graceful, natural.
“What is she?” I asked Elsie, not thinking it a rude question until she pursed her lips in a look I’d always considered disapproval. “I’m sorry. Is that rude? Are those things, like, rude?” But she’d asked about me earlier…
“It’s not necessarily rude…” she hedged. “It’s just that some people don’t like to disclose that information to people they don’t know and can’t trust. Bianca has always kind of played it close to the vest. If you asked her, she may tell you more. Maybe you could approach her. It may be good to have a friend your own age around.”
She wasn’t wrong. I’d probably need all the friendly faces I could find. I didn't think that showing up at Grimm Hollow High mid-year would allow me to escape notice. I couldn’t even do it at this diner. I had no hope of achieving it amongst the teens of the town. Gossip fueled those institutions, and I definitely qualified. The thought had the water I drank roiling in my empty belly.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Elsie left me to my own devices without pushing me to talk or spend the day with her. I appreciated it immensely, my heart softening toward her even more. In time, I’d succumb but wanted her to realize that I wouldn’t just jump because she was family.
I spent most of my time exploring. I didn’t wander too far from the little cottage, though, because I wasn’t sure I’d ever find the thing again. I didn’t need to go far to see things that I never knew existed. I watched as various animals, both predator and prey, flitted back and forth from the tree line. The house across the street housed a couple, probably mid-thirties, who walked around their front garden touching various plants. The ones they touched grew, bloomed, or bore fruit the moment their fingers connected. Every plant in the vicinity seemed to lean toward the pair.
It was remarkable. I was utterly transfixed, slack-jawed and staring from just outside their little picket fence until they turned their attention toward me with narrow-eyed confusion. “Oh, sorry!” I stammered, throwing a hand up, palm out, and backing away with cheeks that felt aflame with embarrassment. With the spell broken, I noticed that Ebony at my side. Her attention focused off to the left—past me, nearer the forest’s edge.
“Hi, Keri. Jim.” A shiver wracked my spine in tingles as that deep, soothing timbre rang out from the direction Ebony watched. Now, I knew what, or rather who, held the wolf’s attention. My eyes flitted his direction and flinched. “This here is Allya. She’s Elsie’s relative and new to Grimm Hollow. New to seeing Mage magic, I think,” Jason continued conversationally to the couple, who seemed to relax at his words.
With a quick farewell, Jason wrapped an arm around my shoulders and steered me back toward Elsie’s cottage. Or tried to. Once I’d recovered my wits, I pulled out of his hold and looked over at him again. His wolf’s head still there, superimposed over his human one. The effect just as disconcerting as the very first time I’d seen it. Jason kept walking and let me get my fill. He acted like he didn’t care about me one way or another as he kept his eyes forward and moved his hands to the pockets of his cargo shorts.
“Isn’t it a bit chilly for shorts?”
He cut his eyes to me in a double-take. “I’m sorry. Are you talking to me?” he asked in feigned surprise, pointing a finger at his chest with raised eyebrows above those too-bright hazel eyes. This time, the color was more green than gold. The wolf—gone.
“Shut up,” I returned, annoyed. “The wolf thing still freaks me out. I’m going to need time to retrain my natural reactions.” There. A good response, maybe a little haughty, but whatever. I didn’t actually turn my nose up at him—I didn’t think so, anyway—and Ebony was happy to have him around, trotting easily at his side. Her nose as close to his hand as I thought she could physically get it. I shook my head to clear the rambling thoughts. “What are you doing here?”
“I live near here and was getting ready to head out to patrol.”
“I wasn’t even talking. How’d you know where I was? Why were you coming to me?” My mind whirled. Was he coming to me? Or had I just stuck my foot in my mouth, again?
“Who said I was coming to you?” Yup, he’s totally calling me on my assumption.
“Were you?”
“Did you want me to be?” His question caught me off-guard, and my shoe caught on a crack when my head whipped up in surprise. A dark chuckle tickled my ears as Jason reached out with preternatural speed to snag my elbow and keep me on my feet. I hated to admit that he saved me from face planting into the sidewalk, but I ground out a begrudging thank you. “That really hurt, didn’t it?”
He would call me out, again, wouldn’t he? I decided not to answer and changed the topic instead. “Did you know that my agreement to stay in Grimm Hollow means that I get a tutor tomorrow?”
“How old are you?” He looked a bit taken aback. Why, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know if I looked older or maybe younger than he thought? Did something else lead to his reaction?
“Seventeen,” I answered, making sure to take in any changes to his features or demeanor. “Why?” If he tried making some comment about my needing to mature, I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from slapping him silly. I just stood there and glared. My foot may have tapped a bit as I waited. Realizing that my attitude was probably exactly what would be needing maturation, I quit and stood straight and tall, making sure to project a bit of haughtiness into my demeanor.
“You’ve experienced a lot in those years, haven’t you, Red?” The surprisingly intuitive comment deflated my indignation, causing my brow to furrow.
Was I that easy to read? A change of subject was needed. “I agreed to stay here so that I could be taught how to protect myself. How to handle any witches that decide to come after me. I did not agree to school. Speaking of agreements, when does ours start, and why did you bail on me at Gloria’s? I turned around and—poof!—you were gone.”
“School here isn’t like school on the outside,” the hunter returned, his tone definitely implying I was a child and did indeed need schooling.<
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“Oh, well, please. By all means, enlighten me.”
With a very teenage-like eye roll that had me reconsidering my assessment of his age, he huffed and pulled his arms tight across his chest, the new position making said chest and arms much more pronounced. I wanted to reach out and give his man-boobs a little squeeze.
Geez, Ally! Knock it off! I glared at the dark wolf panting at Jason’s side. This was totally her fault. She wanted to jump this gorgeous but infuriating specimen of wolfman. I just wanted to smack the smug off him. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.
“You can’t take me with your blade. There is no way you would stand half a chance to best me without one, so wipe that look off your face.” His comments only made me scowl harder. He was such an ass! “What they want you to learn at the school is about the supernatural world you stumbled into. Things that could save your life. Things that definitely do matter.”
“Why couldn’t you just tell me what I need to know while we train?”
“Because I have a job to do. I can’t spend all day, every day teaching you how not to die.”
“Pfft. Is there another teacher I could get? One who maybe had time to teach me what I need to know?” He was the one to propose that I train. Now, he tells me he doesn’t have time to do that? What the hell?! The glare returned, and I had to concentrate really hard to keep from tapping my foot in impatient annoyance. Why was I still walking with him? I wasn’t far from Elsie’s place and was reasonably sure that I could get myself back there without too much drama.
I pivoted on my heel, completely intent on leaving Jason in my metaphorical dust. Except, with my first step, I bounced off his rock-hard chest. Stumbling back a step, I jerked my head to look back over my shoulder to where Jason had been standing only a moment before. Just as I feared, he wasn’t there any longer. Slowly, I pivoted my head forward again. My eyes dragged up his chest and to his all-too-perfect face.
“How…?” I spluttered, watching a devilish smile stretch across his full lips. Little dimples popped at the corners, and a gleam lit the green of his eyes. I’d never seen a man move that fast without a spell, and very few times with one.
Jason’s gaze intensified, boring into me, making me tingle and itch. The predatory look he gave me pulled some kind of a reaction from deep within me, one I wasn’t sure I knew the meaning for. He must have seen the impending freak-out, because he suddenly stepped back and relaxed his posture, pushing his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts. “I can teach you plenty, only some of which is about your animal. She’s new to you, isn’t she?” At my hesitant affirmation, he nodded. “Shifters, especially hunters, are all faster than any human. You will need to learn to listen to your wolf. She is much more attuned and capable of sensing things than you.”
I tried not to take offense at his words. They were one-hundred-percent true. “Why does it burn like I’m being slowly devoured by a raging fire when I try to give Ebony control?” He finally imparted some useful information, and I wanted more.
“I haven’t experienced that. You’ve seen my change; it’s almost instantaneous. The only thing I can think of is that you two are fighting each other. For control. It is something we will need to experiment with, but I’ve known some Shifters who had troubles. I assume the animal and the man were not a cohesive unit. It usually falls to the human to work to change the mindset. I think this will be harder for you.”
“Why would that be harder for me?” I interrupted, unable to help being offended. He made it sound like I was defective or something.
“That’s not what I meant. Calm down. I just mean because you only recently acquired your wolf. I’ve had mine my whole life. There is also the fact that your wolf was once—very recently—a physical animal who existed as a wild animal. I can’t imagine that she is happy to have died and be tied to a human and her whims.”
“Oh, no.” I collapsed in a boneless heap on the sidewalk, coming face to face with Ebony where she stood across from me, next to Jason’s legs. “I’m so sorry, Ebony. You must hate me. I’m… I’m the reason you… died.”
I buried my head in my hands, letting my dark hair act as a curtain against the world. How could I have been so selfish? This majestic and competent animal’s life had been snuffed out and her spirit tied to me. I couldn’t do that to her. My head shot up, eyes locking with Jason’s.
“Is there anything I can do? Can I release her somehow?” I couldn’t help the pleading quality in my voice. I didn’t want to be the reason Ebony had died. To have forced her into my body and mind, even if I’d done so unknowingly, terrible.
“Hey, hey. I know you didn’t want this,” Jason soothed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from running away in abject horror of my misdeeds. “You did not kill her. It’s a horrible way for you to have gained an amazing gift, but it is a gift. I will help you learn how to use that gift when you come for your training.”
“About that… what are the details of this training?”
“I will teach you how to protect and defend yourself and others. How to survive.” He pressed closer, those intense eyes holding me captive as they hovered between their gold and green colors. “Teach you how to be one with your wolf. I hope you prove worthy of her.” And then, he started walking away, back out toward the woods. The place where he always found me. The place where he seemed most comfortable.
“Well, bye, then!” I shouted sarcastically after him. That man. He could lift me up with one sentence and then send me crashing into the mud with the next. It was infuriating. I had serious doubts about being able to learn under his tutelage. I grumbled my doubts all the way back to Elsie’s house and decided I needed some answers.
CHAPTER 16
“W hat would you like to know, dear?” Elsie asked lightly, a twinkle in her dark eyes as I reached her front door.
My foot missed the landing, sending me windmilling toward the little old Native lady crowding the doorway. Timber! My eyes were so wide, it felt like they were going to pop out of my head. I expected Elsie to hurry backward, out of the way of my flailing body, but she didn’t. She didn’t even flinch. I did enough of that for both of us, cringing as my face came closer and closer to hers. And then, it wasn’t.
I gasped when my feet left the ground swiftly. I lifted, as if by air, back to an upright position and placed lightly on my feet at the door’s open threshold.
“Wha—what just happened?” I couldn’t shake the feeling of hands on my body, and a reflexive shiver wracked my spine, my head shaking almost like a wet dog to finally expel the feeling.
“You’ve been touched by ghosts, my dear,” the old lady answered matter-of-factly as she turned and headed back into the bright little cottage. There were windows at every exterior wall, and the grayish wood floor lent to the warmth of the place. I already loved it.
“I’m sorry, what? Are you saying that ghosts kept me from smashing into you?”
“Exactly.” She gingerly sat in a padded rocker by the window of the sitting room near the door and patted the couch to her right, an invitation to sit and gain my answers. With where she sat, only a shadow against the brightness of the light streaming through the window at her other side, making her seem almost like one of the specters of which she spoke. The pale yellow of her aura surrounded her like a halo, making the weathered woman appear a little more angelic in nature. “Now, what would you like to know?”
“Oh, wow. Where to begin?” I laughed nervously. There were so many questions floating around in my noggin that they were tripping over themselves to be heard. I wanted to know about Shamans, Witches, Shifters… everything, but as I came to rest on the dark fabric, what came out was, “Tell me about my mother.”
Now that I sat near her, I could make out more details hidden by the light. Her eyes crinkled at the corners when a small, fond smile touched her lips. Her aged hands were folded on the armrest nearest me as she turned my way, sitting crookedly in her rocker. The chair moved back and forth minutely
as she made small pushing motions with a foot.
“Your mother was such a bright, sweet child. She took her Shaman abilities in stride from the moment they surfaced. She caught glimpses of the future in people she touched, you see. She never shied away or got upset that she had that particular gift, though it is a difficult one to shoulder. When she was young, she’d just blurt out what she’d seen, not realizing the impact it could have.” Elsie shook her head fondly at the memories of her niece. Her aura flared with a tinge of bright lemon as opposed to its normal buttery color, showing me that something inspired deep-seated fear.
“There are plenty of Shamans, but most people know them as psychics or clairvoyant. It basically encompasses magic tied to the spirit world. It cannot be learned by someone who does not have a natural gift. It can, however, be molded and honed by those who do.”
I sat in silence, trying to soak in what she’d said. I didn’t know there were so many Shamans, that legitimate psychics were in the same magical bracket I was. The tidbit about my mother seeing the future stuck out to me. Had she seen what would come? Had she known my birth would be her death? Had she known just what an evil bastard my—I couldn’t bring myself to call him Dad—sperm donor was? Had she seen anything about me?
A light touch jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts. The pat returned my focus to my only living family, at least on my mother’s side, that I had left. “I don’t know the answers to the questions running through your mind—”
“How do you know what I’m thinking? Are you telepathic as well?” That thought freaked me out more than anything else so far. I needed my head to be my own. Well, aside from Ebony, who was nowhere to be found and surprisingly quiet at the moment. The realization had me searching my mind for her presence. Once I started looking, she seemed to perk up and come into the fore. She seemed at ease. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t felt her. She didn’t see a threat in Elsie, so she hung back, catching a little metaphorical shut eye? Maybe that was a question I could get Jason to answer.