by Shay Cabe
One of them clearly wants to get away from me but the other squares her shoulders and opens her mouth, “You think you’re a badass because your dead mommy was the coven leader?”
“Does this normally work at making people afraid? You ganging up on them because none of you know how to deal with your problems on your own?” I step forward as I talk, getting right in her face. “I won’t be your victim, but if you keep fucking with me you will be mine.” I say the last part low enough that only she hears me. Her brown eyes widen and I see the moment she truly accepts that I’ll carry through with what I’m saying. She steps back from me.
“Don’t get in the way, they’re already claimed,” she says but the confidence in her voice is wobbly.
“No one claims the Hazard boys, they claim you.” True words.
“Who the hell are you?” she demands.
For a full two-seconds I consider answering her with something stupid then change my mind and say, “A pissed off girl with dead mommy issues.” I turn my back to her and unlock my car door. She can throw curses all day long but none of hers are strong enough to do anything to me and she knows it.
I hear the sounds of them walking away and let out the breath I’m holding. Yes, I can truly and thoroughly kick her ass but I don’t want to. I’d rather just go about my day and deal with everything else going on versus the whole cheesy bully thing. The fact that it still happens speaks volumes about human evolution.
“What’d you say to her to make her so afraid of you, Nora? I could smell it across the parking lot,” Hez’s voice startles me and I bitch at myself for letting him—them, the other three are right there with him—sneak up on me.
At first I consider ignoring them and leaving anyway, they’re being dicks and I don’t want to deal with it. Instead, against my better judgement, I turn to look at them.
“The truth,” I answer and turn back around.
“Nora,” I know from the tone of his voice he’s not talking about the mean-girl anymore. “It’s only fair.” Hez started this little war and now he’s looking for justification, maybe even understanding. I’m not going to give either to him.
“No, no, it's not. I didn’t leave to punish you, no matter what your stupid egos would like you to believe. I didn’t have a choice, ask Phoenix.”
“Wait, what? What the hell do you know bro?” Hez demands of his brother. Apparently, Phoenix didn’t share that tidbit of information.
“She’s different, Hez.”
“No shit, I know that but that’s not what she’s saying.”It’s almost laughable listening to them bicker and for a second takes me back to better times.
“Nora, explain what that means?” Hez demands.
“The only thing I’m going to tell you is to fuck off, Hez.” If they hadn’t played the whole nice-nice game when I first got back, I’d be more forgiving but they tricked me. They lured me in and made me believe that everything was okay, that I was wanted.
Then threw it in my face.
When I look over my shoulder, Hez puts his headphones on and stomps away.
“Evanora,” Oz says my name with the same tone that used to make me smile. I look at him and raise my middle finger as a long claw pushes out of the tip of it. I’m in the Jeep and am pulling out of the space before any of them can react, even Phoenix who had an idea looks shocked.
Serves them right.
Barrett comes from nowhere and jumps in my path. Instead of swerving or stopping I step on the gas, forcing him to leap out of the way at the last minute. Why he thought that would work, I don’t know. He can survive getting hit by a car at fifteen miles an hour mostly intact. Shifters like them heal fast; even before they shifted for the first time, they healed fast.
And I’d only feel a little bad for it. Maybe.
Turning up the radio I roll the window down and take a drive, there’s no reason for me to go straight to Ms. Hazard’s house. I text her at the stoplight just to be sure, no reason to worry her or get grounded—because she can do that now.
There’s a place I haven’t visited in years and I need some fresh air.
When I was little, my mom used to take me to the only lake in town. Decades ago it was just this big hole left over from a magical mine that was once brimming with minerals and precious gems for spells. This land was enriched with magic and produced gobs of it but everything has its limits. When the mine ran dry they left this empty hole in the middle of the forest that some witch decided would make a good lake.
Greta Green Lake was born. Named for the witch who created it, Greta Green—totally original, right? Parking the Jeep at the crest of the largest hill overlooking it, I get out and walk to the edge to look down at the supernaturally blue water. All types of magically created creatures swim in its depths. Each one is beautiful in their own unique ways and found only in this lake. To a witch or a shifter, they’re harmless but a human wouldn’t be safe in these waters.
I spent many of my childhood days here with my mom and the boys. Picnicking, swimming and on cooler nights we’d sometimes build a fire and kick back on the beach to watch the stars above us. The lights of the moon crabs in the water below giving it an ambience that made a kid like me dream of bigger things.
Dreams I no longer have.
Sitting down, I let my feet dangle over the cliff with those memories fresh in my mind, enjoying them despite the tinge of sadness they always carry. Below me, the occasional ripple on the otherwise calm surface gives away the curiosity of the polka-dot bass that are abundant in these waters. They live up to their name. A witch decided during the 1960s that the bass needed to be bigger and smarter and obviously, more colorful. They also have these two antennae coming out of their head that are used to light up the waters in search of food.
Since it was the sixties, I’m guessing there were some drugs involved because they have legs and arms and human like lips. They’re notoriously curious and tend to get caught easier because they want to know what’s going on in the world above them. Their creator didn’t clearly think things through.
I think they’re sweet.
Cookie pops in beside me and rests her head on my lap.
“Must be nice to come and go anywhere, right?” She huffs at my question and her ears flick back and forth. “You know, I’ve spent so much time alone that I forgot how nice it is to have someone around, but it also makes me realize how lonely I’ve been.” I sigh and continue, “I missed them so much that I didn’t realize how empty my life was without them and when they were so nice and welcoming it felt like coming home. It was all bullshit, of course but the feeling was nice for as long as it lasted. Which way do you think they really feel, Cookie? Are they glad to see me or happy that they get to try to pull their stupid revenge scheme?”
Cookie lifts her head and looks at me but because she’s a familiar, can’t answer me with words. Instead, she licks my face to comfort me. Familiars are always animals and unlike most movies and books, don’t talk. They’re a manifestation of your magic and only exist because you do. They’re not a true separate being. It’s almost like having a piece of yourself looking back at you. I can’t help but wonder what piece of me she is.
Their specific purpose is to hold stores of magic for you to use or to even cast through and maybe to give a witch the occasional comfort. The downside is, if you do not bond with your familiar, they cease to exist—which is what I thought had happened.
Glad that she’s here, I hug her big neck and lean against her. I stay that way even when I feel a familiar presence slink up behind me.
“You always used to come up here to hide. I told them that, but they went to look elsewhere.” Phoenix’s voice cuts through the brief peace this place was giving me but I’m not mad about it. Despite the crappy game they’re playing I love being around them again. It soothes a good bit of the restlessness that’s plagued me since the moment I left here.
“Why bother looking for me?” I think it’s a valid question. He sits down besi
de me and I lift my head from Cookie’s soft fur and look over at him.
“You’re a lot different from what you were before,” he says instead. “I think I was expecting the girl who laughed at everything and tripped over air.”
“That was dumb.”
He scoffs and says, “What else is different about you, Nora?” The first word that pops into my head is ‘everything’ but I don’t say that. Instead, I shrug. “I don’t think I’m going to follow the plan anymore,” he adds after a few moments of silently staring at me.
That’s interesting, I didn’t expect any of them to give up already.
“I have a new plan now,” he says it with a smile that gives me goosebumps.
Uh-oh.
“What, you gonna pull my hair and call me names?” I say trying to lighten the heavy feeling in my stomach.
“Na,” he says not giving me any sign of what exactly he’s up to now. “That knife thing you did was cool. What else can you do?”
Phoenix is the king of the subject change, he was always hard to get answers out of. He’s the reason the word enigmatic exists. It’s annoying.
Well, since he wants to know what’s changed with me, I’ll give him a taste. My hair stirs and his butt leaves the ground. He floats out over the water; I hold him there with a smile on my face.
“Nora.”
“What’s your new plan, Phoenix?” I ask moving him farther away from the cliff.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Another avoidance. I raise an eyebrow and climb to my feet.
“I’ve never been good at waiting, you should know that,” I say and let him fall. His smile is big, and he has the audacity to wave at me before he tucks his arms and hits the water feet first. When his head breaks the surface seconds later he paddles around in a circle looking up at me with that smile still on his face.
Cookie growls as a chill skitters up my spine. Looks like the others have joined the party. My hair raises as my hands do and the other three brothers yell as they’re lifted into the air.
“What the hell, Nora?” Hez yells right before I throw all three of them over the cliff into the water. They’re not as chill about it as Phoenix who’s laughing at them as they all surface sputtering. His laugh echoes up at me. I sit back down and watch all four of them. Oz is staring at me with a smile twitching his lips, Barrett is beside Phoenix, smiling. That leaves Hez who is glaring at me but also fighting a smile.
“You looked like you needed a bath after that workout you had earlier,” I yell down at them.
“What workout?” Oz asks.
Phoenix pops him on the back of the head and says, “She’s talking about the girls, idiot.”
“Are you jealous?” Oz turns to me and yells a satisfied smile on his smug face.
“Nope. I just don’t like the smell of cheap,” I shout down and watch his smile dim. Serves him right for being so cocky. Standing, I walk back towards the Jeep. It’ll take them a while to swim across the lake to a place they can get out.
Or not.
“Where are you going?” Oz demands right before he grabs me. Smiling, I go limp and twist as I fall in his suddenly loose grasp. Landing on my back I look up into his surprised face and roll backwards coming to my feet. Holding my hand out in front of me I send him flying backwards over the cliff and back into the water. Turning, I start to get into my car and at the last second change my mind.
Fuck it.
Running I head for the cliff and leap at the last second with Cookie at my side. I can enjoy this moment, they might be few and far between.
Wrapping my arms around my knees I yell, “Cannonball!”
Chapter Seven
Phoenix is waiting for me outside of my door. For the third time I thank Ms. Hazard in my mind for giving me a room with a bathroom. These guys like to wait outside of doors and creep around and stand in front of them. There are some things they don’t need to hear with their super hearing.
Standing there looking at him I wait for him to say something. Instead, he smiles that big adorably cute smile of his and grabs my hand. Dragging me downstairs he sits me down at the table and puts a plate of french toast in front of me with a flourish.
I love french toast, it's my favorite breakfast, and Phoenix remembers.
“Thank you,” I say, genuinely meaning it and grab the syrup. He sits down beside me with his own plate of food and we sit in companionable silence as we stuff our faces. Occasionally I smile at him—for whatever unknown reason—and he smiles at me.
We look kind of derp but that’s okay.
When I’m finished, I rinse my plate off and head towards the door so I can go to the bedroom to grab my backpack and brush my teeth. Phoenix is leaning against the counter watching me and I notice the distinct absence of the other guys for the first time.
“I’m riding with you to school… if that’s okay?” I stop and blink at him a few times. Did he ask permission?
I shrug. “Sure, I guess? But I’m leaving in less than ten minutes,” I duck out of the kitchen and almost trip over the other three Hazards sitting on the bottom of the stairs looking like someone peed in their cheerios. I get varying frowns and a grunt or two as I move around them up the stairs.
Why were they sitting there instead of coming to eat breakfast?
I’ll never completely understand guys.
After I get my things and brush my teeth I head back downstairs, I almost expect the guys to still be sitting there giving me dirty looks but they’re gone. Shaking my head, I go outside and find Phoenix leaning against the passenger side of the Jeep. I press the unlock button on the key dongle and get in.
“All I ask is that you don’t kill me. I’m too young and pretty to die,” Phoenix says as he buckles his seatbelt. The laugh comes out of me reluctantly but genuine. Damn him for being funny. He made me breakfast, too.
“This all part of your new plan, Phoenix?” I ask with a smile still on my face.
“Oh babe, I haven’t even started yet,” he says sounding so smug that I chance a look at him while pulling out of the driveway.
“What sounds good for lunch?” he asks after a few minutes of silence broken only by the noise of the radio.
“Shit, I forgot my lunch.” I almost turn back around but we’re cutting too close till first bell to do that.
“That’s okay, my treat today. We’re allowed to leave the school at lunchtime now and they have this restaurant in town that has the best cheeseburgers. Lots of big, greasy meat in your mouth.” The last part pulls my attention back to him. Meat in my mouth? Oh, my god.
“I bet you love having a full mouth of meat,” I counter. The smile on his face dims and then he frowns when he realizes what I’m implying. That’s what he gets for making a dick joke.
His smile returns full blast and he says, “If it's a mouthful of you, yeah.”
The blush on my face surprises me and I turn away. Give me weapons and I’ll fight all day long with a smile on my face. Have someone flirt with me and I’m an idiot in two-seconds. Especially when it's a Hazard.
I’m not one to give up though.
“A mouthful of my foot maybe,” I say and his chuckle is evidence that I surprised him. Good.
I pull into an empty spot and put the car in park and shut it off. I expect Phoenix to get out right away but he doesn’t. Uncomfortable question inbound.
“What do you change into, Nora?”
I sigh and look over at him. Lying won’t get me anywhere. “I don’t know. So far all I can change is my nails and teeth.” I grip the steering wheel and continue, “I can feel it inside of me, watching or sleeping. I know it's a predator—whatever it is. But that’s all I know.” Telling him the truth isn’t a bad thing. He might even have answers for me that no one else would have. Him or his brothers.
“It's almost like when we were kids. We got those basic traits first. A natural shifter can’t change individual parts like that until they’re adults. Only witch-born shifters can do those
things. Which means whatever you are is like us.”
I suspected as much but now that I’m being told by someone who understands the shifter anatomy in ways I don’t, getting answers makes it more real. As if it knows I’m talking about it the creature inside of me stretches. For the last five years I’ve thought of it as a separate entity and in some ways it is, but since it involves magic, you can never be sure either way.
So I ask, “Does yours have its own personality?”
“Kinda, but only in the beginning. Once you accept it into yourself then no. But,” I hate when someone adds a ‘but’ to an answer. “You need to get to that stage and I don’t think you’re there. Until then you’ll have what feels like a second person in your head.”
“How do I get to the accept it part?”
He shrugs and says, “When you’re ready.”
“That’s not helpful,” I grumble and open the car door. The rest of it was though, and that makes me stop and turn back to him. He’s standing outside of the car staring at me with a weird look on his face. “Thanks though.” I say and head towards the school. I appreciate the answers but I don’t trust his motives. Yet.
I get that he’s done playing the revenge game but how do I know it's not some other stupid game? I can’t just let my guard down again and get my feelings hurt, again. Because that’s what happened. I felt accepted and welcomed and happy and it was all some asinine game. I stop and look over my shoulder at Phoenix who is dawdling behind me with a frown on his face.
He’s picking up on my emotions. Scent is something that you have a hard time hiding, but there are ways. Mumbling a few words under my breath the smell of lavender fills the air. Now, I smell like a flower shop but it’ll also keep his sensitive nose from snooping.
“Nora,” he protests. I say nothing as I duck inside the door, but I do smile a little.
Through the morning classes I ignore the guys, mostly. Phoenix is being super attentive and charming—which can wear anyone down, he’s good at being charming. The other three are mostly silent and wearing their angry, pouty faces. It’s hard not to stick my tongue out and say, neener-neener. Phoenix will have his own mess to deal with if the angry looks Hez is giving him is any sign, I’d rather not add to it. Despite the fact that I’m a little bit tempted to.