by Kat Cotton
Ren sat up, the snarling lip curl returned to his face.
She stopped outside our door and waved. As her gaze moved from Ren to me, her hand stopped moving. It hung in midair, shock on her face.
Not for long, though. She opened the door and popped her head in.
I stared. I normally saw her in school uniform, which had been tailored to fit her body but at least covered everything it needed to cover. But her after-school outfit — people actually dressed like that to study? That teeny skirt and the cropped t-shirt? She really took advantage of the central heating.
A cloying perfume filled the air as she came in the door, like a million flowers had died in vain. I waved my hand in front of my face so I didn’t choke.
“We’re having a group study session.” She smiled, all fake sweetness, then stretched her arms up, arching her back. Her skirt hitched up even higher. I never needed to know that she wore black lace panties. “I’m sure you’d have much more fun if you joined us.”
Ren gave a half smile. “I’d love to but Papa insists I have a tutor.”
I almost snorted when he said ‘papa’. Who in the world called their father that? Although, after meeting Mr. Worthington, I wasn’t sure what I’d call him. Calling your father scary rich dude didn’t seem right. Instead, I bowed my head, not wanting Ren to see my grin.
“Oh, poor baby. That’s too mean.” Angela’s voice became a purr. “But come and find me you’ve finished slumming it and we’ll have some real fun.”
Ren smiled and nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
When Angela turned to leave, I scowled at her back. A big, angry puke face. Shock mixed with giggles when I saw the same expression on Ren.
“I thought the two of you were together,” I said when Angela left. That’s what all the school gossip said. Relationship status: unofficially together.
“That’s what Angela wants people to think.”
And Ren didn’t do anything to discourage those rumors as far as I could tell. Made no difference to me. What went on in rich people’s lives was none of my business.
Only five minutes left of the tutoring session and then I could go back to my room and maximize my time with that super comfy bed.
A thousand points for making it through the first study session.
I grabbed the exercises back off Ren.
“Hey, I hadn’t finished those.”
“Well it’s not like you’d get extra time in an exam.”
He grabbed for the notebook back. As he turned, his knee hit mine.
I jolted, flying back in my chair.
What the hell happened then? His touch hit me like electricity. Not “love volts to my heart” but literal electricity. No matter how he tried to hide it, Ren was not one of the human students and I’d do my best to find out exactly what he was.
Chapter 11
“Okay, all over, red rover.” I smiled in a way that totally ignored what had just happened. It’d been static electricity or something. That’s all.
“Ah, thanks.” He gave me one of those smiles that normal girls squeal over. “When you report to my father, and you will have to report, remember that I’ve been polite, even charming. I’ve gone out of my way to be nice to you.”
I knew there was more to Ren’s politeness than normal human decency. Still, if he wanted me to say that, I would so long as he stayed polite. Made my life much easier.
I nodded. “Sure.”
Ren checked his watch. “Time to go to the stables.”
“The stables? Like horse riding?”
That sounded dangerous. I needed to check that contract. If Ren died of natural causes, did I still get kicked out? People die riding horses all the time and I couldn’t control that.
“Yes, like horse riding. I need to get out into the woods.”
“People die riding horses. And people die in the woods. That’s a double whammy of danger.”
“Oh, you really care about me.” The smug smile returned.
“I don’t care about you... I just don’t want you to die. Or catch cold. It looks like it’s going to rain out there. Really not a good day for horse riding. You should stay inside, watch some Netflix or maybe play games. Yes, games are good. I’m sure you have all the latest games...” I knew nothing about games to be honest. Gaming was an expensive hobby and the one time I’d been given a console, I sold it.
Ren shook his head and walked out of the study room. I ran after him.
“What about Angela?”
He ignored me.
“And I heard the woods are off limits to students at the moment.”
“Not any more, remember?” Ren faced me with a frown. “You really are worried about this.”
“You’re putting yourself in danger. Stop thinking about yourself and think about me.” Shit, I didn’t want to say too much. “I’ve got a nice cushy job here and if you get injured, I won’t be able to tutor you.”
“So, come with me and make sure nothing bad happens.” The snarl on his face challenged me, like I wouldn’t be able to ride a horse.
Wait. I couldn’t, and horses scared the crap out of me. I calculated the risks in my head. If Ren died, I’d be out of school but if I died, that wouldn’t matter one bit. Damn it. But there had to be another solution. I pushed past Ren and ran to the elevator, heading down to the dorms. Technically, girls weren’t allowed in the boys’ dorms but I never let that stop me. The four scholarship boys shared a room so they could freely do paranormal stuff without worrying about being caught. That made it a handy place for training or other secret business.
“Tarragon? Tarragon?” I walked through the dorm. He had to be here somewhere. Unless he was somewhere else in the school.
Something stirred in one of the bunks. “What? Shut up. I’m sleeping.”
His face emerged from under a blanket.
“I need a spell.”
“Keep your voice down.”
“I need a spell.” I whispered this time. Tarragon was right. Someone, anyone could be lurking outside. “Have you got anything to stop someone going horse riding?”
The others didn’t know the exact terms of my contract to babysit Ren but they had some idea.
“I don’t just happen to have a cupboard full of spells for every occasion, you know. That sounds pretty obscure.” Tarragon sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Wait. I have a calming spell. That might work.”
“To calm me? It’ll take more than a spell to do that if Ren gets on that horse.”
“For the horse, idiot. I’ll soak some sugar cubes in it, you feed it to the horse and it’ll barely move. But, before I do that, let’s discuss what’s in this for me.”
Drat it, that’s why I never dealt with witches. Always with the “what’s in it for me?” Since I only had the bare necessities myself, I didn’t have a lot to trade.
“They have this awesome pudding upstairs. Like the most delicious custard pudding ever, in super cute little jars.” I had to hope that pudding was super delicious since I hadn’t actually got to taste mine.
“Yeah, I’ve heard about that pudding.”
“I can get you one.” I grinned. I had him hooked.
“One? I scoff at your one. I want half dozen or no deal.”
It’d be difficult to sneak out half a dozen of those puddings but time was a-ticking.
“I can’t get them all at once but over a few days, sure.”
“Deal.”
“Deal.”
“This won’t hurt the horse, will it?” As much as I wanted to stop Ren from getting killed, I didn’t any animal to suffer in the process. It wasn’t the horse’s fault.
“It’s a well-tested spell. It won’t do any harm.”
“Okay then, let’s get started. We don’t have time to waste.”
Tarragon swung his legs over the side of his bed, still covered by the blanket. “Ah, you might want to wait in the hallway...”
I was about to ask why then stopped myself. Whatever the hell
Tarragon had been doing under that blanket was his business and I really didn’t want to know.
“Sure.” I walked to the door. “Hey, sugar cubes, though. Where will get them from?”
“I’ve got some here. They’re a great way to administer spells.”
I nodded. That made sense, but I’d never accept food or sugar laden drinks from Tarragon again.
“Sure thing.”
I danced from foot to foot, wishing he’d hurry up. I still had to get to the stables before Ren.
Tarragon handed me a Ziplock bag with a bunch of sugar cubes in it. Now I just had to make the horse eat them. Or Ren, that might be easier.
I had an idea where the stables could be so I ran in the general direction, hoping I’d make it in time. I’m sure Ren would have to change into some fancy horse-riding clothes. With a riding crop. In my head, he most definitely had a riding crop.
I rounded a corner and could smell those horses. That old stone building had to be the stables.
I walked in and almost run straight back out. The place reeked. I pulled my t-shirt over my nose and went back in. There was no sign of Ren but plenty of signs of horse manure. Stinky, rotten horse manure.
Yikes, there were a whole bunch of horses in the stables. How did I pick which one was Ren’s? I didn’t have enough sugar for them all.
A couple of guys raked out one of the horse stalls. Stable hands? We had stable hands at this school? It seemed there was a whole heap of stuff going on that I never knew about in my first two years here. I guess if you barely leave your room, you don’t know about things like stable hands or people upstairs having ready access to puddings.
“Hey guys, which one of these horses belongs to Ren Worthington?” I asked.
One of them leaned on his rake. He gave me the once over. “Why do you want to know?”
Crap. I hadn’t thought this through. I needed a cover story.
I put on my best heart-eyed love-struck look. “Ren’s so awesome. I just want to be near something that’s close to him. Like a horse that he’s sat on. I’d just swoon.”
Maybe that was laying it on too thick but the guy rolled his eyes at his coworker like he’d heard it a hundred times before then pointed to a stall. They went back to their raking.
Poor guys. I complained about being a lowly scholarship student here but at least I didn’t have to shovel crap, well not of the horse kind. I hoped they got paid well for it.
As I approached the stall, the horse snorted. I jumped in the air and almost dropped my bag of doped up sugar cubes. Mostly, I loved animals but horses were a whole other matter. I might like them, in theory, but they had those teeth. And I’d have to put my hand near them. That could lead to all kinds of horrific accidents.
“Hey, horsey,” I whispered. I got out the sugar cube, sitting it on my flattened palm. I knew that much from watching movies. “Want some tasty sugar?”
That horse looked freakin’ huge. All midnight black with a glorious flowing mane. And those teeth were even bigger than I’d imagined. If I got too close, it could bite my whole arm off.
The horse shuffled over to the stall door.
I looked him in the eye and moved my hand closer but I shook so much that the sugar cube dropped onto the hay. With no time to be wimpy, I picked up that cube and moved closer to the big, scary horse.
It snorted, hot breath brushing my arm. I bit my lip and stayed my ground.
A howling from the woods reminded me of why I had to do this. Those woods held untold dangers and, if Ren had already been targeted, the best time to get him would be while he was out riding alone. Then I’d be living on the streets. Cold and hungry.
Maybe the school would give me one of those shit shoveling jobs to keep me alive. Maybe. If Ren’s father didn’t kill me first.
The horse’s tongue tickled my hand as it took the sugar cube from me. I tried not to flinch. Damn, I needed one of those cubes myself.
“Good horsey.” I held out another. That horse was a sucker for the sweet sugar.
The shuffling stopped and the horse’s eyes drooped in a happy daze. I gave him a third cube for good measure. Tarragon hadn’t actually said how many it’d take but that horse did not look it wanted to be ridden. It wanted to curl up on the sofa for a Netflix and pizza binge. It’d become so gentle that I reached up and stroked its mane while it chomped on the sugar cube.
“I hope someone brushes your teeth, horsey. You don’t want to get tooth decay.”
Footsteps? I jumped. I should’ve gotten myself well away before Ren arrived. If I ran out now, I’d be seen. Why wasn’t there a back way out of these stables? This might possibly be the most ill-conceived plan ever.
I jumped into one of the empty stalls, the only place I could hide, merging into the shadows.
“Are you taking Thunder out?” one of the stable hands asked.
“Just for an hour or so,” Ren said.
One of the horses neighed. I crouched down, hoping it wouldn’t take Ren long to decide Thunder wasn’t in a rideable condition, then he’d leave and I’d get out of this smelly stall.
His footsteps drew closer. Even if he had the ability to see me when I shadow-hid, he wouldn’t look in this empty stall.
“Need a hand mucking out the stalls?”
Huh? Ren asked that? High and mighty Ren offered to shovel horse crap? It didn’t even sound like he was mocking them. This conversation seemed wrong. Was it really Ren out there? It sure sounded like his voice.
“We’re nearly done. Go out and enjoy your ride.”
“Sorry about that. I’ve got tutoring sessions to schedule now.”
The stable hands laughed. “Hot tutor, huh?”
I clenched my hands tight, waiting for Ren to say something dismissive, but he didn’t reply. I had no idea of his reaction at all.
“I’ll just put Buttercup back in her stall then I’ll help you saddle up.”
I scratched my leg. All this hay made me itch.
The door to my stall creaked opened. Crapola, they were bringing the horse in here? Why? There were plenty of other empty stalls. I squished myself into the corner as best I could, hoping the horse wouldn’t trample me to pieces or bite me.
“What’s wrong with Thunder?” Ren asked. “He looks sickly.”
Surely he’d leave now. As the urge to sneeze came over me, I pinched the bridge of my nose. I couldn’t sneeze. One sneeze would ruin everything.
“Buttercup seems a bit spooked, too. Won’t go in her stall.”
Someone walked into the stall. I peered up making sure I wouldn’t get hurt. Ren stared back at me, contempt in his eyes. Any doubts I had about him being able to see me were dispelled when he waved me out of the stall.
“Run,” he hissed. “Get out of here.”
He didn’t need to tell me twice. I rushed out of the stables and back to school knowing when Ren saw me again, this shit storm would be bigger than anything those horses could brew up.
Chapter 12
I wanted to discuss this with Lucas but something told me not to mention it to him. Not yet. We had training tonight, official training with Mr. Norton, but I’d keep this to myself. Instead, I paced my room.
Bashing on my door interrupted my stressing. I tried to ignore it but that banging got louder and louder.
Ren was not happy. Not all red and puffy like me when I got angry but pretty-angry. His nostrils flared and the way he clenched his jaw only made it look stronger.
“How could you do that?” He stormed into my room. “You drugged my horse. Are you crazy? There’s definitely something wrong with you. He’d better recover from this or I’ll kill you.”
He didn’t mean kill as a figure of speech either. He’d backed me into a corner, his face right up in mine.
“It’s harmless.” I sputtered the words out, not daring to look at him. Crap. How did I explain this? I couldn’t tell him it’d been a spell, not drugs. “Herbal stuff.”
Ren’s glare burned into me.
If I’d thought his eyes were cold before, now they cut like the steel edge of a knife.
“I knew this was a rotten idea.” He spat the words out. “People like you don’t belong here.”
“I belong here, buddy. I belong here more than you’ll ever know.” I clenched my fists and did that deep breathing stuff.
“What do you mean by that?”
Ren backed out of my personal space, but studied my face in a way that made me shiver. I’d said too much. I needed to think quick.
“Just that I’m an academic achiever and you’re flunking out.” I ducked around him and dusted myself off. “Now, excuse me but I’ve got important things to do.”
Ren’s eyes narrowed and he leaned back against the edge of my desk. His earlier threat of killing me seemed more likely than ever.
If I could just explain... but nope, I had nothing. I thrust my hands in my hoodie pocket to hide their shaking. I wanted him out of my room, out of my personal space and preferably out of my life. I couldn’t believe that for a few minutes today, I’d thought he might be less than evil. Even if he was angry about his horse, it didn’t excuse him fuming at me like that.
“Fine, just fine. You stay here. We do the tutoring thing like they agreed but you don’t talk to me at any other time. You don’t come near me. You don’t touch my stuff. I can’t believe you’d take out your stupid girl revenge on an innocent animal. And for someone who thinks she’s so damn smart, huddling in a corner where anyone could see you was pure stupidity.”
My retort stuck in my throat. Anyone could see me? He thought that? I’d tested my powers extensively and no one, not one single person without paranormal powers themselves, could see me in the shadows.
Ren had powers. That much was certain. But this went deeper. Ren didn’t know he had those powers. He didn’t know I had powers. He just thought I was a nutcase. And the smartest plan of action was to let him keep on thinking that.
The sneer on his smug face annoyed the hell out of me. My fist twitched to knock that sneer right off his face. Maybe if I hit him, it’d reinforce his opinion of me as being a regular nut case.