It was January in Virginia and the middle of the night, so they knew it would be bitterly cold out. Alison was used to it, having spent a few winters in New York, but Izzie oddly couldn’t remember the chill of winter night air from her childhood.
When she was finished getting dressed, she grabbed their jackets and the two quietly snuck out of the room. Alison maneuvered down the hall to the staircase, walking as quietly as she could, listening to the sound of snoring coming from another room.
They crept down the steps and looked around, but no one was awake for a midnight snack. It wasn’t surprising, though. It was their first night back, and everyone was exhausted from their vacations. Well, everyone except Izzie and Alison.
Once they were outside, Izzie took Alison’s hand and the girls picked up speed, heading toward the fields. They laughed and giggled as they hurried across the frozen grounds, shivering from the cold. They held hands tightly, teeth chattering but finally able to talk freely.
“I think going to the islands for winter break would be amazing.” Izzie sighed. “I just don’t know if I could take that much one-on-one with Kathleen. I love her, don’t get me wrong, but she has a strong personality.”
Alison giggled. “I totally get it. I’m more of a silent take-it-all-in kind of girl. I think she could overwhelm me a bit, try to show me the sunset and not knowing I can’t see it.”
“Would you tell her?”
“Not sure. Some days I think I should but other times I don’t want to so everyone treats me the same.”
“They still would, either way. Being blind isn’t wrong, just different and we’re at the school for different teenagers.”
The girls laughed as they headed down the hills toward the woods. They slowed their pace and walked side by side, their warm breaths rising into the sky like clouds. Izzie looked down at the snow sparkling like diamonds under the light of the full moon.
“Mara was really nice while I was on vacation. She took me shopping and we cooked Christmas Eve dinner, but mostly she let me just kind of do my own thing.”
“Did you go to Austin?”
“No. Her granddaughter was out of town and her daughter had opted for a cruise with her husband, so we stayed here. She has a cottage on the grounds that she stays in during the week, and a house not far from here for the rest of the time. We stayed at the house except for the days we came to help Horace get the decorations down.”
“That sounds nice. I stayed with Shay and Brownstone and it was a bit awkward as usual, but entertaining. We had Christmas Eve ribs and a Christmas Day pizza. Brownstone had watched some Christmas movies and decided to try his hand at popcorn garlands. Let’s just say that by the end of it the floor was covered and he had gotten several puncture wounds in his fingertips from the needle, but no popcorn garland.”
They laughed, finding the joy and fun in those weird moments of their lives. Izzie looked at the night sky, wondering what it would be like to spend Christmas with her real family, even though she didn’t know who they were. Alison hadn’t always been an orphan. She had spent years with her family.
“What was it like when your parents were alive?”
Alison smiled. “There was always the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg. There was a tree that my father put in the corner so I didn’t fall into it, and I couldn’t stop running my hands over it to smell the fresh scent. I used to eat my weight in cookies every year.”
Izzie giggled. “Did you believe in Santa?”
“For a little while my father insisted, but when I got to be a little older, my mother told me the truth. She didn’t like to lie to me when I asked her a question. Always honest…to a fault I suppose.”
They both got quiet for a moment, the lingering sadness of their separation from the norm hitting them. Neither of them had thought about Christmas until it was there, and while for Alison it had brought up painful memories, for Izzie it was a haze of confusion. Everything seemed so familiar—the songs, the trees, and the traditions—but she couldn’t ever remember learning about or experiencing them. As they crested another hill, Izzie squinted.
“Horace is outside.”
“Oh, yay!” Alison smiled, and Izzie led her down to him.
He was sitting on an old wooden chair that looked as if he had constructed it himself, holding a steaming cup of hot coffee, petting a black and white marbled cat, and enjoying the fire and the winter night sky. Two other chairs were lined up around the fire as if he were expecting the girls.
He looked up at the sound of footsteps and smiled when Izzie and Alison came into view.
“Hello, Horace,” Izzie said excitedly. “We were out for a nighttime stroll, and I saw you down here.”
He grinned. “Welcome back, ladies.”
Alison bent down and stuck out her hand, running it across the cat’s fur as it mewed and rubbed against her. She tilted her head toward Horace as she sat down, seeing his calming energy in her mind. She smiled and nodded at him, glad to know he was doing well. She put her hands out, feeling the warmth and hearing the crackling of the fire. The smell of strong dark coffee wafted into her nostrils, warming her even without a sip.
“How was Austin?” Izzie asked.
“A blast. It was really nice being back home, seeing everyone and hanging out with my Aunt Estelle.” He stood up and opened his coat, revealing his sweater. “Aunt Estelle got me this sweater. It’s pretty sweet, right?”
Izzie stifled a giggle and described the sweater to Alison. “It’s green, large stitches, with the picture of a flamingo with a red Santa hat on its head.”
Alison chuckled. “That is a very fine sweater, Horace.”
“Why, thank you.” He beamed. “It was a lot warmer in Austin so I didn’t get to wear it, but I knew out here I would get some use out of the thing. Ms. Berens thought it was interesting, but she knows my Aunt Estelle, so it didn’t really surprise her.”
Alison rubbed her hands together as she listened to Horace. “What did you eat for Christmas?”
“Just about everything under the sun. I of course had to get tacos from the trucks while I was there, and Aunt Estelle cooked huge amounts of food at the bar like every day. She really gets into the holiday season with cakes and pies, and I think she killed an entire farm for the meat that was there. I actually slept every night I was there, probably because I was so full my body didn’t know what to do with itself.”
“Ha! That will happen,” Izzie pointed out. “Ms. Berens made a traditional Christmas Eve dinner with some touches from Oriceran that she had been cooking for years for her family. I think she really liked having another person there.”
“I’m sure she did. Her daughter is grown and her granddaughter is, well, Leira Berens, so I can’t imagine she sees them a lot. One thing I know about Mara…when you come into her life, she immediately treats you like family. There is no question about it.”
“She did that, for sure.”
Out of the darkness a deep howl echoed over the hills, and Izzie and Alison jumped and grabbed each other. Horace chuckled and poked the fire with a long wooden stick, causing twinkling sparks to float toward the sky. The cat sat down next to him and gave a disgruntled groan at the sound.
“Might be coyotes, or it might be a shifter or two. It’s hard to say. Listen for the answer.”
All three of them sat perfectly still, listening for a response. Others began to ring out from all different directions and Izzie relaxed, shaking her head.
“Okay, it’s shifters.” She twisted her hands for a moment, her cheeks turning redder though Horace didn’t notice. “Henry is a shifter. Maybe he snuck out.”
Alison turned toward Izzie, noticing small bubbles of pink floating through her energy as she talked about Henry. It was obvious there was some sort of crush going on there, but she didn’t say a word. It wasn’t her secret to tell. The cat, tired of standing in the snow, wandered over to Alison and jumped up in her lap, startling her for a moment. She ran her hand through its soft
fur and smiled before leaning down and bumping foreheads with it.
“That shifter sounded older. Probably some of the locals having a good full moon run in this winter wonderland. Full moons are big things for them. They love to run wild out there, and with the coyotes, no one notices an extra few howls. They just have to stay away from the houses. People out here tend to shoot at coyotes to keep them away.”
“Are they allowed to run in the forest on the school grounds at night?”
“They are.” Horace nodded. “But they tend to stay back when kids are in session. They don’t want any accidents or misunderstandings. You know how it is—even magical beings tend to look down on the shifters.”
“That’s dumb,” Izzie grumbled. “They are just like us, only their magic is a little different.”
“I think we have a full two-week course on shifters this semester,” Alison replied, trying to make the conversation more upbeat. “Personally, I’m excited about the gardening and plants section. That is something I’ve never known a lot about and would really like to learn.”
“Mmmm, that’s a good one, but I know what I will be doing most of the time. Studying for finals.”
Alison thought about Leo Decker, the head librarian. He was a grumpy little gnome, but she had grown quite fond of him during the first half of the year. She would have to stop into the library after class the next day to say hello. He would give her his usual grumpy grunt and bitch about the rules and the students, but inside he secretly enjoyed their friendship, as did she.
“You know what you have to look forward to next month, right?” Horace grinned.
“The Valentine’s Dance,” Izzie exclaimed excitedly. “Normally I’m not one for frills and dresses, but I have never been to a dance before. Not one that I can remember, anyway.”
“I’ve never been much of a dancer.” Alison smiled. “But it will be nice to hang out with everyone in one place. It will be interesting to see how the older kids interact with us since we are only together when we eat.”
“And when they are tormenting us in the halls.” Izzie groaned. “We’ll have to go into town soon and find dresses.”
“I think I should just cover my dress in paper cut-out hearts and give everyone something to talk about.”
Izzie laughed. “That would be terrifying.”
“It would lighten the mood, though. Horace, will you be doing amazing decorations for the dance?”
“Well, the seniors are in charge of most of it, but Mrs. Fowler and I have been cultivating some gorgeous roses in sections of the greenhouses. They are really coming along. I think it will be a nice touch.”
“I love how soft the petals on roses are. We had some when I was a kid, and I would rub the petals against my cheeks. My mother would know every time I snuck into the garden since I would come back smelling like an old woman’s perfume.”
The girls laughed, then let it fade into a calm silence. Izzie stared at the sparking fire, secretly hoping she wouldn’t be going alone to the dance. She didn’t know if Henry had even noticed her, but she hoped he had, and that he would ask her to go. There wasn’t a single memory in her mind of having a crush on a boy, but it didn’t seem that odd since she’d come from a girl’s orphanage. Still, the excitement of it all was a new concept for her, and she really liked it.
Alison caught the pink bubbles in Izzie’s energy again and turned her head away to hide a smile. She hoped that Henry had the same idea. She loved Izzie and thought she deserved a little fun and romance in her life. They both had such sordid pasts filled with dark and sad things, but here they were finally getting a chance to be real teenagers. They could have crushes, go on adventures, and not worry about all the things between. The school had become much more to Alison then just a place she went because she had nowhere else. It was more like a home than she had felt in a long time.
Everyone sat quietly around the fire, lost in their thoughts. Horace ran through the list of things he would need to do on the first day, Izzie dreamed of dances and Henry, and Alison gently stroked the cat’s fur and thought about the future. It was really the only time they could just sit in silence and not be interrupted by yelling students or loud laughter. It was almost like therapy for all three of them. The crackling of the wood in the fire drew Horace from his reverie, and he looked down at his watch.
“It’s late. You girls should head back. You have your first day of classes tomorrow, and you’ll want to be well rested for them.”
Alison ran her hand over the cat one last time before picking him up and nuzzling his face with hers. She set him down in the snow and pushed up out of her chair. Izzie put her hand on Alison’s arm to steer her away from the fire and the two buttoned their jackets tightly, preparing for the walk back to the house.
“It was good to talk with you again, Horace.”
“It was. I have missed our late-night walks through the wilderness.”
“We’re back now.” Izzie grinned. “And if I know us sleep will not come easy, so we’ll look for you when we’re out.”
“And I will keep an eye out for the two of you. Do you need an escort back?”
“No, thank you. Alison and I are pretty familiar at this point, and it’s only a short walk over the hills. Enjoy your coffee and fire.”
“Goodnight, then.”
“Night!”
Alison held onto Izzie’s arm until they were away from the fire and heading back toward the school. She could feel the chill of the snow crunching beneath her boots, and though she loved that time of year, she was ready to smell the sweet scents of spring, hear the birds chirping, and feel the warm breeze over the hills. It was her favorite season. So many things to occupy her mind, so many sounds and happenings around her. During the winter she was able to enjoy the silence with everything dormant around her, but in spring her senses came to life.
The girls headed over the hills and back down into the courtyard of the school. Izzie quietly opened the front door and looked around before leading Alison up the stairs. They took their boots off before going into the room, and Izzie put their jackets and shoes away. Alison reached out and grabbed Izzie’s arm.
“Thank you for that. It was a really nice walk.”
Izzie smiled. “Literally anytime, my friend. You know the dream world is far out of my reach.”
The girls climbed into their beds and pulled the covers up. While Izzie drifted off to sleep pretty easily, Alison just laid there, rested from her meditative state earlier. Her cheeks burned from the cold outside meeting the heat of the house. She thought about the dance and the upcoming semester and everything they had to look forward to before her thoughts drifted back to what she had seen in her trance. She shivered, and her hair stood up straight on her arm. Alison couldn’t help but feel the vision was some kind of warning.
4
Peter held up one of his uniform shirts from the semester before, lifting an eyebrow at the burn on the pocket. He hung it back in the closet and pulled out a new one, figuring the stained and crispy ones could be used later on in the semester. Starting fresh this semester was a better idea, and he knew Ms. Berens would frown at it if she saw the old one. He pulled on his shirt and buttoned it, sloppily tucking it into his trousers. He sat down on the bed and wiggled his feet into his already-half-tied sneakers. Ethan walked over and plopped down on the bed next to him, bouncing him up and down.
“How was your vacation, dude?”
“Interesting.” He sighed. “I did some experiments, mixing some of the magic we learned last semester with a couple of chemical compounds in my science area in the basement of my parents’ house.”
“Oh yeah? What happened? Did you create a black hole?”
“Hardly. More like a ball of fire and smoke.”
“Whoa!”
“Yeah, the fire went out, but the smoke filled the house, covering everything in a layer of soot. When my mom got back from the store, she almost killed me. I could see the explosion in her eyes and I th
ought, ‘Yep, she is going to murder me.’”
“Well, you survived.”
“Yeah, but I spent the rest of my vacation cleaning the house from top to bottom.”
“Better than death, my friend.”
“True.” Peter sighed. “How about you? How was your vacation?”
Ethan shrugged, playing with the string of his hoodie. “Okay, I guess. Ms. Berens sent me off with my aunt and uncle, who I really don’t know. My aunt has a slight obsession with cats and the color pink, so I slept in a lacy pink room with a white long-haired cat draped across my face the whole time. I tried to learn how to do a glamour to make the room more my style while I was there, but it ended in a broken decorative plate and a patch of hair missing from Ms. Mitzie.”
“I’m assuming Ms. Mitzie is the cat…or at least that’s what I’m hoping.”
“Yeah.” Ethan chuckled. “They weren’t too happy, but it ended up all right. There was at least a shit-ton of food. Like, the woman cooked the entire time.”
“Nice.” Peter nodded.
The door swung open, and Luke walked in wearing a towel and carrying his shower bag. Ethan jumped up and jogged over, slapping his hand.
“Dude, when did you get here? I didn’t hear you come in last night.”
Luke yawned. “It was late. Ms. Berens let me stay out with the family to do the full moon run.”
“Oh yeah, that shifter stuff. Did you get those legs stretched?”
“I did! It was pretty awesome. We must have run a hundred miles. My dad made a portal back for me, and I crept upstairs and passed out as soon as I got here.”
“I’m sure you were exhausted.” Ethan chuckled. “I couldn’t fall asleep last night, and I heard the shifters howling from the grounds. I figured you were out there somewhere scratching fleas and chasing down the wildlife.”
Bright Is Her Sight_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 3