atrick couldn’t sleep. He would lie down and breathe deeply to relax and his heart continued to race. So, he tossed and turned and got up to play a video game, and then check Facebook, and then he’d try to go to bed again. Xavier slept like the dead. In fact, to pass the time, he would lean over Xavier and check to make sure he hadn’t stopped breathing.
At around four in the morning, he went out into the kitchen to get some food. As he stared into the pantry, he felt a dark presence behind him. His already racing heart managed to race faster. But he forced himself to take a breath. He lived with five monsters, and sometimes they lurked in the dark. And he didn’t need to fear them…not really.
He turned around, and sure enough, he saw Evangeline standing in the middle of the living room. The only light on was above the stove, so he knew she could see him, but he couldn’t see her well. He could make out her pale skin standing out against the darkness, and her dark hair laying flat across her shoulders, but the darkness obscured her features. She looked like a little girl ghost from a horror movie. He reminded himself she was no ghost. She was his little sister. A normal, living person.
“Eve, could you turn on that lamp next to you, please?”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Just do it.”
She flicked on the little lamp, and the orange light bathed her in a comforting glow, making her look human again. She walked towards him, but left a good amount of space between them.
“You look scared,” she said. “Are you scared of me?”
Patrick didn’t know how to answer. The truth was, yes….so, so, so much. But he couldn’t admit his wispy, quiet little sister scared the crap out of him. When she had cursed him several weeks ago, he considered telling Mom and Dad, but he couldn’t bring himself to tattle on her for bullying him.
“I told you, I’m sorry I cast the spell on you. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“What other reason could you have?”
“I wanted to see what would happen.”
“That’s not better.”
“It must have been pretty bad, for you to still be this freaked out,” she said. “Was it bad?” she asked with a scientific curiosity.
“Yes. It was bad.”
“It was my magic. I was trying to give it to you.”
“It’s fine. I’m not mad. I’m going to go back to bed now, okay?” he said in a pacifying way, as a hostage negotiator might.
“I don’t think you’re hurt though. Not really. Getting hit with magic like that could really hurt most people. Make them crazy. Or really depressed. Emmy got a taste of Jude’s magic and threw herself down the stairs. What I gave you was much more than that. But you’re okay. That’s pretty special.”
“I don’t know if I’m okay.”
“Well, if you’re not okay, it’s not because of me. It’s for other reasons.”
“Why are you standing out here in the dark, anyway?”
“I was waiting for you.”
Patrick felt panic coming on. He looked around the kitchen to find the best way to get around Evangeline. She looked like a stiff wind could blow her over, but her magical presence took up the whole room. His hands shook. All right, he could admit it. She terrified him. He knew how she could make him feel, and he never wanted to feel that way again.
“What do you want from me?” he asked.
“Please don’t be scared of me,” she said.
“All right. Whatever you want. I’m not scared.”
“I wanted to talk to you when no one else was around.”
Patrick heard a crunch and realized he had dropped his box of crackers and then trampled on them backing away from her.
“About what?” he asked.
“Xavier told me about how you freaked out when dad showed you the picture of that missing girl. I thought it was weird no one asked you about it. Not Xavier. Not Dad. But then I realized. They were scared of what your answer would be. So, they didn’t ask the question. But I think that’s silly. Because, your answer couldn’t be scary. You’re not a scary person. But…you are hiding something.”
She pulled out a folded piece of paper and gently unfolded it. The creases looked worn. She lay the same flyer with a footprint on it that Dad had shown him on the counter. He averted his eyes and stared at a crack in the linoleum on the floor.
“Why don’t you want to look at her picture?” Evangeline asked.
“What do you all think? You think I had something to do with her disappearance? Is that what Dad thinks? And Xavier? That’s insane. How could they think that?”
“I agree. So, then tell me what you’re hiding. Do you know her?”
“I haven’t lied about anything. Before Dad showed me her picture, I had never seen her before.”
“Tell me the truth. I know you’re not a bad person. The truth can’t be that bad.”
“I told you, I’m not lying. I’ve never seen her before. But I think…I will see her.”
After a moment, comprehension flashed on Evangeline’s face. “Oh. You mean when Dad showed you the photo, you had a vision of the future.”
“I think so.”
“That’s incredible.”
“It wasn’t really.”
“What did you see?”
“I don’t like talking about my visions.”
“Maybe it could be useful. Maybe it could help find her. You should tell Dad.”
“It’s not useful. It’s horrible. What I saw, was…bad. Either she has, or she will be…tortured. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I’m sure her family is already imagining the worst. So, I don’t think it would be helpful for them to know they’re right.”
“I see.” Evangeline picked the flyer back up and stared at Julie’s face. “You should tell Dad. And Xavier.”
“Fine.”
“Have you seen anything else?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, even though he knew exactly what she meant.
“About the future.”
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“Just leave it alone. Please.” His “please” sounded so pathetic, so supplicant, he must sound pathetic enough to leave alone.
She shrugged.
“You know, maybe you should see a doctor. I think you have pre-traumatic stress disorder.”
“That’s not a thing.”
She shrugged again. “Good night, Patrick…sweet dreams.”
Her “sweet dreams” sounded so ominous, and he didn’t know if she meant to be a threat, or jab. But that’s just what people say.
manda pushed David’s laptop screen down so he had to look at her. She had a cup of coffee in her hand. It must have been morning. He had meant to go to sleep before Amanda woke up for work and discovered he’d stayed up all night, but he must have lost track of time. Her eyes looked more shadowed and creased than usual, as if she had been the one who hardly slept last night, not him.
“Oh good, you’re still with us,” she said.
“What?”
“I was talking to you, and you were ignoring me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
She must have noticed him looking her over, because she glanced away from him and tucked her hair behind her ear self-consciously.
“Are you all right? You look tired.”
“Of course I’m tired. It’s six-o-clock in the morning. And the man I share a bed with can’t lie still for more than two minutes.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep.”
Amanda opened his laptop again and turned it to face her. “I should have guessed,” she said, and sat down next to him at the kitchen table.
David had been scouring the Internet looking for traces of Leona and Caroline Prescott since four in the morning.
“How strange is it for teenage girls to not have any social media accounts?” David asked.
“Stop trolling Facebook for teenage girls.”
“Leona is still fairly young, and if she
went to a special school like Emmy said, maybe they aren’t allowed on the computer. But why not Caroline? She’s a twenty-year-old college student.”
“She’s also a witch. Wizards like to shun technology. Like how Evangeline and Xavier use their cell phones as paperweights.”
“Xavier uses his cell phone…just not to talk to people. And Evangeline drew that really cool owl on hers.”
Amanda laughed. “That’s not what I meant by ‘using’ the phone.”
“All the other Prescotts have Facebook accounts. John, Thea, Nathan, Lucas, Julie—and between the five of them I think they have 10,000 friends. I also found relatives of theirs on Facebook, cousins and such. They are probably wizards, and they use Facebook. Emmy won’t tell me how she found out about Caroline being overseas doing volunteer work, but I don’t think it’s true. None of the other Prescotts have posted anything about it. Isn’t that something a parent would want to share? And she would have graduated from high school two years ago, and the Prescotts were on Facebook then. No photos of graduation, prom, senior pictures, nothing. No Caroline.”
“Wow, you’ve been reading two years of Facebook posts? That is some expert level stalking.”
“Investigating. If they didn’t want me to know this stuff, they should haven’t shared it on Facebook.”
“True.”
“Are we out of half and half?” David asked. “I couldn’t find it.”
“I think we’re out. We should have enough money in the bank account for you to go to the grocery store today.”
“I can do that.”
“Wait until Emmy wakes up and then take her with you, otherwise she might bolt.”
“I was wondering…is there a wizard way to keep her from sneaking out?”
Amanda gnawed on her lip. “I’ve thought about that. I don’t know, maybe if we weren’t dark wizards. I can’t think of an appropriate curse that wouldn’t be borderline abusive. Even if I could think of something humane, we could make a mistake.”
“You’re right. Nevermind.”
Amanda pressed the laptop closed again. “At least you’re sparing some thought worrying about Emmy. You’re spending way too much time and energy worrying about other people’s kids.”
“Are you implying that I’m not worried about my own?”
Amanda chewed her lip again. “Have you been paying attention to Xavier?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t think there is anything strange about him?”
David chuckled dryly. “I don’t know how to answer that question, Amanda. He drank raw eggs for breakfast the other morning. He wore the same shirt for three days and didn’t even notice until I said something. He’s almost sixteen and doesn’t care about learning to drive. Yes, he’s strange. But considering what he’s been through, I’m impressed that he’s as normal as he is.”
“I’m just…I’m worried that he might be dead.”
“What?” David might have laughed if it hadn’t been so sick. “That’s a ghoulish thing to say about my son.”
“I’m serious.”
“Oh, you’re serious,” he said sarcastically. “Well, since hopefully we can both agree that he’s walking around and talking like a living person, what type of undead creature do you think he is? Is this more of a zombie or a vampire situation?”
“I mean that his soul could be dead, not his body.”
“Oh, that’s better.”
“Honey, I’m only saying this because I’m worried about him. I care about him. I don’t want it to get worse. Souls can die. We know this. That’s one of the most important dangers of dark magic. Especially magic that kills.”
“He has never killed anyone. What happened to his mother was an accident.”
“Still, causing death is dangerous for the soul. But that may not be the cause. He’s good at hiding from pain. He may have gotten lost behind the veil. Or perhaps his stepfather destroyed him, with dark magic, or otherwise.”
“I’m done with this conversation.”
“You know I’m right. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be so defensive. I’m just trying to help your son. My stepson. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.”
“I don’t understand what you want me to do,” he said. “Who do I call about this? The pediatrician? Or is missing soul more of a problem for the psychiatrist?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, then leave it alone.”
“I’m not saying I think it’s too late for him. But I’m worried. The psychiatrist calls it dissociation. But he’s a wizard, so it could be more than that. If he wanted to stop existing, maybe he could—if he wanted it badly enough. If anything else were to happen to him—”
“Why would he get worse? I may not have given him the perfect life, but I think everyone would agree that things are looking up.”
“Of course, babe. But that’s not how trauma works. It doesn’t go away just because the abuse has stopped.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I know how abuse affected you,” she said quietly.
“That makes one of us.”
Amanda sighed and stared at her coffee cup with glazed eyes.
“You want to know the truth?” David asked. “I’m more worried about Evangeline.”
“Why?”
“When a child has suffered that level of abuse, you expect them to have issues like Xavier does. Evangeline is so…well-adjusted. I find it unsettling. Something’s not right.”
“That’s a strange concern. If it makes you feel better, I think Evangeline is very unusual. And I’m happy that she’s doing well. Perhaps she’s just a strong person. Resilient.”
“Did you eat breakfast?” David asked.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’ve lost weight,” he said gravely.
“Thank you.”
He hadn’t meant it as an insult, but not a compliment either. She didn’t need to lose weight. He could see her collarbones more sharply than usual.
“You would tell me if something was wrong, right?”
“Nothing is wrong.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. “In fact, I feel better than I have in a while. Hopeful.”
As promised, David brought Emmy to the grocery store after Amanda left for work. Emmy seemed quieter, and more vigilant, constantly waiting for her punishment. David let her wander around the store while he shopped for groceries. Amanda would have kept a closer eye on her. But he knew she had a serious case of cabin fever. He doubted wandering the aisles of the HEB would help much, but he would at least give her that moment of freedom.
“David Vandergraff. As I live and breathe.” David’s hand froze over a loaf of bread. He turned around to see a woman he recognized from church. He couldn’t remember her name…Janet…Janice…something with a “J”. She was in her sixties, and had a pleasant face.
“Hello,” he said.
“We haven’t seen y’all at church recently. I hope everything is okay.”
“Yeah, everything is fine. We moved,” he said, as if somehow that explained everything. He wouldn’t mind if they went to church. He thought it would make Amanda happier, in any case. No one in the congregation of Mundanes would have any idea what they were, but he figured she still felt as if she didn’t belong anymore.
“I see. Well, we’d love to see you back,” Janice or Janet said with a bright smile.
“Yeah, definitely.”
“Oh, I saw your boy up at the outlet malls last weekend. He’s looking good.”
“What boy?”
“Jude, of course. Saw him shopping at The Gap with his girlfriend. They are an adorable couple. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so happy. And I can see why. She is a cutie, looks like a real sweetheart. You know, we have a Sunday School class for young couples, to help them strengthen their relationship and prepare for marriage. Oh, but listen to me, sticking my nose in. They’re young. Probably not thinking about that kind of thing.”
“What?”
>
“I’m so happy to see him doing well. I know Amanda was worried about him and praying for him. Looks like the good Lord has answered her prayers.”
“What?”
“So, where is he going to school in the fall?”
David stared at her. He had wandered in to an alternate timeline. A timeline where Jude had never turned to darkness and had continued to live the life David had expected him to. A place where Jude was happy and successful. An impossible place.
She gave him a concerned look as he continued to stare, so he played along.
“UT,” he said finally, happy to pretend for a moment. “He’s going to the University of Texas.”
As they got closer to home, the truck’s engine made a knocking noise, making Dad’s lie from before, true. That’s what he gets for lying. Emmy would have laughed, but the car breaking down had gotten old.
Emmy went in first, while Dad stayed outside glaring at the engine. She thought if he kept giving the engine that evil glare, he would end up breaking it more.
Emmy found Xavier and Evangeline staring at something on the kitchen counter as if it was an alien head they dug up in the backyard.
“What are you weirdos doing?”
“Look at this,” Evangeline said. “It’s like flowers, but it’s made of fruit. Isn’t that amazing?” She pointed towards an Edible Arrangement on the counter.
“Yeah…weird things impress you,” Emmy said.
“Look at this little daisy made out of a pineapple,” Evangeline said.
“Yeah, it’s a bouquet made of fruit,” Emmy said. “A normal thing. Where did it come from?”
“Someone brought it to the door,” Evangeline said. “It’s for Amanda.”
“What for?”
“I don’t know.”
Emmy snatched the note. It’s like they grew up on Mars.
“Can we eat it?” Xavier poked at a chocolate covered strawberry.
“No. It’s for Amanda,” Evangeline said.
Emmy read the card aloud. “Get well soon. Your friends at Vector Petrochemicals.”
“Is she sick?” Xavier asked.
“No, she’s fine,” Emmy said, although the card implied otherwise. She scanned the signed card full of co-worker’s platitude. We miss you…I hope your surgery goes well…Relax and enjoy your leave.
Watch Me Burn: The December People, Book Two Page 8