by Shay Cabe
This makes me smile and I almost dislike myself for it. Almost.
This is why the guys are happy in the mornings, their mom. Her mood is contagious and I swear she’s using magic but I don’t feel it or smell it in the air. I think this is what a houseful of love feels like. I’m envious really. When my mom was alive, and around—she was busy a lot, but still made as much time as she could for me—life was great. She would read to me or play with me, explain life to me. With dad, there was none of that. I was lucky to have more than an occasional one sided conversation with him—him doing all the talking of course.
Despite where the Hazard boys came from they were fortunate in where they ended up, and I hope they always remember that. Watching them talk with their mom and the affectionate banter between them makes my eyes burn. I blink and look away. Grabbing my lunch bag and backpack from beside the door I head out to my car, only to stop dead at what's sitting on the hood.
There’s a dead, gutted deer laying across it. Its glassy eyes are wide in fear and the morbidity of its tongue lolling out, almost like it was crying out to be saved in the last moments of its life, hits me in the gut.
“What the f—” One of the guys says from behind me. I drop my backpack and lunch bag to the ground and cross to my jeep.
“Did one of you do this?” I turn and ask angrily.
“Nope, wasn’t me,” Hez immediately says. Followed by similar protests from his brothers. I turn back to the poor deer.
Killing something for survival is completely different from what happened to this animal. Someone enjoyed killing it, the claw marks on its back and legs that serve no purpose other than to cause pain speak to that. She ran hard but was stalked and tortured because her killer enjoyed themselves.
People like that make me sick; and we all know it was at least something resembling a person. This is the work of a shifter.
“Oz go put that thing in the woods, I’m sure our local wolves will make use of her,” Ms. Hazard orders from behind us. “Barrett get the hose so we can rinse off her car.” I hear her walk up to stand beside me. “Such a waste of life.”
Over the years I’ve studied everything about shifters that I could find. Lore, written history, anything I could get my hands on, and because of that I know exactly what this is.
A courting gift.
“I can’t smell what it is, the scent is wrong… somehow,” Oz says as he picks the deer up easily and slings it over his shoulders. He jogs towards the back of the house.
I ignore the conversation behind me and focus on what I can smell and see. There’s the burnt smell of tainted magic and the lingering smell of musk—Oz was right about that, but it’s not the same kind of smell the guys have. Shifters can’t use magic, not even the guys, other than the special abilities they have. Only a witch turned shifter can use magic like this person did. I run my finger through the rune drawn on the hood of my car that was previously hidden under the deer. The spell snaps with a small puff of smoke and dissolves. My safeguards protecting me from it.
“It's because it’s like me,” I say breaking the sudden silence. Shifters who were witches first are incredibly rare. The ones who survive the mesh of physical change magic—which is what shifters have—and energy magic, usually don’t survive the change or are killed by the council. That’s not the only problem. Half of the ones who do survive go mad. It’s why the council passed the law to have them put down.
I'm fortunate, I’m edgier than I was, easier to anger in some cases—definitely stronger, but I’m not cray-cray. This one, because it’s def a he, smells of madness and soiled magic. He’s dark and dangerous. Now the biggest question of all is, why the hell is he leaving me courting gifts?
“You’re telling me there’s another that escaped the council?” Ms. Hazard asks wrapping her arm around my shoulders.
“Yes, I’m sure of it. But this one is… dark.”
“I know that you and the boys are still working your shit out but you’re not going anywhere alone. Don’t even try it young lady, I’ll slap a wall spell on your ass so fast your head will spin,” she says worriedly and with a seam of steel underlying her words.
I don’t tell her I can probably break her wall spell, but because she’s older than me and knows more stuff, she’d whammy me with something I can’t break. Besides, I don’t mind being around the guys, I just don’t want to play anymore stupid head games.
“We told her we were sorry, Mom,” Hez says coming to stand to her right.
“Do you honestly think saying you’re sorry is enough to make up for being an asshole, Hez?” she demands. I bite my lip to keep from smiling. She’s smarter than all of us combined.
“Well, I thought—“ he begins.
“No, you didn’t think, and that’s why you made a mess. It’ll take more than words, Hezekiah.” She sighs and says, “I’m not even sure you should go to school, if there’s a bitten roaming around then someone is hiding them.”
“Day off?” I ask, hopefully.
“There’s no exams today and no practice,” Barrett says breaking his silence.
“Fine, go inside. I’ll deal with the wards and look up what we can do to stop this from happening again.” I turn and look at her. Courting gifts aren’t uncommon with shifters, but when you have one that’s clearly off their rocker that changes things. There’s only one way to deal with a bitten that’s yeeted off the cliff of sanity.
You gotta kill them.
The first thing I did was hide in my room and crawl into bed. I’m tired, a nap will do me good. If only my brain felt like cooperating, instead of playing everything over and overlooking for the holes in everything. The dead deer, the guys, the lady from ‘children's services’, dad skipping town.
Okay brain, you win. The dead deer is rather simple, for the moment. Some crazy bitten is wandering around town and decided to kill something and put it on my car to tell me I’m pretty. Unfortunately, with them being a witch it means they can also hide their identity; I do. We need to find out who it is. I’m not entirely sure where or how to start so I’ll wait and see if there’s another poor dead thing left for me.
I don’t mind being bait.
Then there's the mess with the guys, or former mess, depending on how you want to look at it. They took me in that first day, made me feel welcomed and cared about and then bam hit me with their stupid ego trips. Then Phoenix decides he’s done, he finds out about the whole bitten thing because I lost my cool and got girl cray on him. Story comes out, they do a one-eight and want to start back where the good stuff left off. I’m hesitant, for obvious reasons, but against my better judgement I’m also hopeful. They were a huge part of my life and will be as long as I breathe. I don’t want conflict and petty crap getting in the way of that.
Well, they’ll have to be patient with me, but I’ll get there.
Dad has stumbled into something bad, again. The first time it cost mom her life because he ran his mouth. I’ve always suspected but now I know for sure. Being truthful about who he is, I don’t know if he did it on purpose with some kind of malicious intent towards my mother but I do think he ran like a coward when he suspected they would come after her. He was strangely absent. Just like he ran with me claiming it was for my protection. I’m not sure how I feel about him truly, but I have at least a certain affection for him in that way all kids have for their parents, even the bad ones. I don’t like him much, especially after the confirmation of doubts I’ve had about him my entire life. I know I’m never going to live with him again. But I don’t want to hurt him or seek some type of stupid revenge against him. There’s no point to it and hurting him won’t make me feel better.
I think this time I’ll let him figure out his own way. No help from me. I’ll talk to Ms. Hazard tomorrow about it.
The council is a major problem and one I’ve been working out for the last few years. I know things about them that I’ve gleaned over this time and I’ll continue to gather any and all information on th
em until I’m in a place to actually act on it. The ones who hurt my mother will have their day to be judged and I can train twenty-four hours a day, every day, but I’m not ready to face that kind of power.
Not yet.
Taking a step back I see things I need to change in my plans. It’s not me alone anymore. I have a bond with four incredibly powerful witch-born, possibly the strongest in existence. This is something I need to eventually discuss with them, when I feel like they’re trustworthy. I won’t drag them into something without them knowing what it is. That’s not fair to do to anyone.
Feeling like I’ve worked some things out I roll over and stare at the wall. My eyes grow heavier and I blink slowly, relaxing so sleep can have me.
The last thought that’s clear in my mind is the most important one.
I’m not alone anymore.
Chapter Twelve
Instead of only snoozing for a few hours, I end up sleeping until around nine-thirty p.m. Crawling out of bed, I wash my face and dress in my workout clothes before sneaking down to the training room. I know the guys are sleeping because I checked at each of their doors. I discovered that Barrett snores in the process. Cookie appears beside me as I open the door and after giving her a cursory look, I get right into warming up. It feels good to stretch my muscles out and feel the good burn of not holding back.
Cookie woofs at me and I stop to look at her.
“You wanna practice with me?” She woofs again and I shrug. Part of the training can be adapted for a canine companion. I only need to put my own twist on it. So we start ducking and weaving, attacking our invisible enemies and the dummies set up around the room. Cookie gets a little happy with one and rips the arm off. I laugh and sit on the floor chugging my water. I pour some in my hand for her to drink a couple of times and then laugh when she flops down with a big sigh.
“I had no idea you were so talented Cookie, we’ll have to keep practicing that,” I tell her patting her back.
I smell her before I see her. Ms. Hazard quietly opens the door and steps inside. She smiles at me when I turn to her.
“Did you have a nice all day nap?” she asks coming to sit next to me on the mat.
“Yeah, kinda wasted the day away.”
“I managed to keep them out to leave you in peace. Since they’ve dropped their big plan, they want to be near you. It’s something you’ll have to get accustomed to and also get them used to your own personal boundaries. Unfortunately, they don’t quite understand how to respect them.”
“I don’t mind actually,” I say speaking the truth.
“They missed you. The last five years have been rough on them and I imagine you too. If you were less of a person they’d walk all over you but I have faith that you’ll keep them in line.” After that we fall into a brief companionable silence. Most people don’t respect those and it’s nice to know that she’s okay with them. That’s also what prompts me to ask what I’m thinking.
“Do you think it’d be okay if I stayed here with you until I graduate?”
She studies me before answering, “If that’s what you want, yes. I’m guessing some of this has to do with our conversation yesterday?”
I shrug. “Somewhat. To be honest, I’ve been looking for an escape from my dad for a long time. I care about him and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him but I don’t feel like it’s safe or good for me to stay with him.” Those words are harder to say than I expected them to be. Leaves my throat a bit tight with emotion but I manage to not become a leaky faucet because of them.
“God, you’re an old soul. I’ll never understand how he helped make you,” she says smiling. “I’ll call the lawyer tomorrow and get the paperwork started. He’s not going to be happy about it, it’ll completely cut him off from you financially.”
I shrug again. “He should’ve spent his money more wisely. I want to sell the house too, I bought it and it’s in my name.” I don’t ever want to go back there, even though it's not the same house it has the same kind of atmosphere. Something that could be because of dad or not but either way, I want it gone.
“You know you’ll have to follow my rules,” she cautions.
“That’s fine, it’s not like you're a jailer.” I give her a small smile. “I think that maybe I can have some semblance of normalcy living here. Especially with this thing the guys and I have.”
“A rare thing, being bonded to witch-born. Once upon a time it was considered a high honor, and the recipients were treated like royalty. Now the council calls them threats and tries to annihilate them.” She sighs and says, “Life won’t be easy for you, but I think you already know that.”
“Yeah, I never thought it would be.” I ask her something I’ve never asked another living soul. “Did they catch the shifter who killed her?”
She’s shaking her head as she says, “No, someone with a lot of power hid the trail. I couldn’t find it even with his blood.” A tracking spell using blood is the most powerful way to track or find someone, the fact that she couldn’t tell me the council protected him. “I called in every favor, spent thousands of dollars and still no one would talk. The only lead I got was at a dive bar in town and when I got there, the informant was dead. Suicide they claimed. He was in the parking lot with his throat ripped out which makes me doubt their determination.”
“How many of them are corrupt, Ms. Hazard?”
“You need to start calling me Maggie, Nora. Ms. Hazard makes me feel old.”
“I’ll work on it but no promises. Lifetime habit and all.”
She laughs and leans back on her hands her face turning serious. “There’s a group of witches and shifters who stand against the council but they won’t let you near them until you’re older.”
I want to ask her if she’s part of this group but instead I say, “Sounds like my kinda peeps.”
“Maybe. Worry about getting stronger and working with the boys. You’ll need their help when the time comes.” Which can mean she saw something or it could simply be sound advice.
“I don’t want to drag them into a mess, Ms. Haz—Maggie.”
“Psh, you won’t drag them into anything they won’t willingly follow you into. But as a team you all have quite a bit of work to do. With your skills and your relationships.”
I blithely ignore the talk of relationships and focus on the part I’m more comfortable with. “What kind of training have they had?”
“I’ve tried to keep life as normal as possible for as long as possible—something I’m starting to think was a mistake but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy experiencing that freedom with them. Still, I knew that one day their childhood would get cut short, so I couldn’t have no training for them at all. To date, their training has mostly been judo and karate. They started weapons training this last year.”
“Good.”
“From what your dad said, you’ve taken every bit of training you could get. Don Gregory was your weapons trainer too… so I heard.” Ms. Hazard—Maggie—has been keeping tabs on me. I’m okay with it. “He thought it was a waste of your time but I don’t think it was. How far in his program did you go?”
I wipe the sweat off my face and look over at her. “I graduated.”
“Sticks, Nora. No one has ever graduated from his program, how did you pull that off?”
“I did what he told me to do.”
“He used to train the witch-born once upon a time. The rumors when I was in school was that he was incredibly selective and only chose students he thought would be the best.”
I don’t say that it took me sitting outside of his house for three days in the rain without moving that made him accept me as a student. The training was hard, and I finished it up only just before we moved here. Don is not a gentle teacher or a patient one; I have the scars to prove it.
“It’s a miracle that you pulled that off, it's not something I’d share with many either. Jealousy is a wicked creature.”
“He’s a complete asshole, but he’s g
ood.”
“What were his requirements to graduate?”
“You have to beat him.” I don’t add anything else to it. It was one of the hardest moments of my life and I could only see out of one eye and had the use of only my right arm when I finally managed to bust his face. We sparred for over two hours and exhaustion was making me sloppy but I pulled on that thing lurking inside of me and somehow got that last hit in.
It was the only time he ever gave me praise or what resembles it. He simply said, ‘Good, you’re still standing’. After that he said I was done and he couldn’t teach me anything else, told me not to die and left. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. He did punch my dad when he first met him and called him a pussy. It’s what made me almost like the guy.
“I think maybe we should get better trainers for the boys,” is all she says.
Chapter Thirteen
Somehow I manage to get back to sleep around two in the morning. I even managed to read a good, happily sappy novel about vampires. It was quiet and lovely and lulled me into a restful sleep. I’m not even sure I dreamed. When my alarm went off I woke up, wide awake and for the first time in a while, not ready to rip anyone’s head off.
After getting dressed in my normal jeans and T-shirt, I head downstairs for breakfast. Bacon and french toast, I can smell it cooking as I walk down the stairs. My favorite breakfast twice in one week, Ms.—Maggie is awesome. When I go through the swinging door into the kitchen, I freeze in my tracks. Hez is manning the stove, rather expertly if the way he’s flipped the sausage patties around is any indication. Oz is cooking the french toast and both of them are wearing aprons with comic book characters on them.
Standing there staring, I force myself to move towards the table but I keep looking at the two guys who are in turn looking at me.
“You know how to cook?” I blurt out.