Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  “So you think I’m the chosen stillborn abortion human without a soul?” I summed up.

  “Yes. No. I’m not explaining this very well.”

  “No. You’re not.”

  He took a deep breath. “Okay. Here’s the deal. The People believe that when the Yatah comes, she will bring with her the Dumaya, a sort of savior. He’s supposed to save us.”

  “Well, then,” I said, “I can’t be your Yatah. I didn’t bring anyone with me. Except for my mom. And she’s not your Doo-my-a, she’s a mom. And a woman.” I shrugged. “Good, right? So now we can all go on and I can just forget any of this ever happened.”

  “You don’t understand,” Josh said. He finally looked at me, his silver-blue-green eyes intense. “You’re supposed to bring him into the world. As in, have him.”

  “Have him?” I squeaked. “Like having a baby?”

  Josh nodded, still staring at me intently.

  “I can’t have a baby!” I said. “I’m not even seventeen yet. Besides, I haven’t even ever . . .” I stopped speaking. I could feel myself turning bright red. “Oh, no,” I said as the pieces finally fell into place. “No. No, no, no.” This was much worse than Andrew giving me The Look.

  “Yeah,” Josh said miserably. “That’s the deal. One of us—either me or Mason—is supposed to be the father.”

  Oh, God.

  And I thought high school in Atlanta had been bad. At least there no one was trying to, you know, breed with me.

  Chapter 7

  “Oh. I think I need to go,” I said. “I feel sick to my stomach.” I stood up and swayed.

  Josh reached out and grabbed me, pulling me back down beside him. “You can’t go. Not yet. You’re in danger. We need to figure out what to do next.”

  “In danger. Right. From you and Mason, apparently.”

  He shook his head. “Not me, Laney. I promise, I’m on your side.”

  “How could you possibly be on my side? You’re not even sure I have a soul.”

  He sighed. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re the Yatah.”

  “How would you know?”

  “I don’t. Not for sure. But even if it is you, I can’t . . .” His voice trailed off.

  “Can’t what?” Okay. So was it weird that first I was offended that he might want to have sex with me, and then offended that maybe he didn’t?

  “Can’t put you in that position.”

  Clearly, my mind was in the gutter. “Um. What position?” I felt myself blushing.

  Josh’s eyes widened. “No! Not like that! I mean, I like you. A lot. And I don’t want to. . . I mean, I would like to, a lot, but not . . .” He put his head in his hands and cursed.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me all this so that we won’t have to . . .” I sorted through a number of possible words in my mind, but all of them seemed ridiculous to say out loud: mate, breed, reproduce, boink—and it got worse from there. Finally I said, “um, hook up. . . because you actually like me enough to really want to hook up?”

  “Yes.” His voice was muffled by his hands.

  And I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. Out loud. A lot.

  In a few seconds, Josh joined me.

  “Wow,” he said, after we’d caught our breath. “That went much better when I practiced it in my head.”

  “Really? Because I’m having a difficult time imagining any way that conversation could have gone well.”

  He laughed again. “You’re probably right.”

  “Okay, then. As long as we’re here, I’ve got some other questions for you.”

  “Shoot.”

  I reached into my backpack and pulled out the photo Mr. Carlson had developed for me. I handed it over to Josh, whose eyes widened as he took in the image.

  “Did you develop this yourself?” he asked anxiously.

  I shook my head. “No. Mr. Carlson did it for me.”

  “Did you tell him anything about it? Anything at all?”

  “No. He assumed it was some sort of trick photography or something. Said it was artistic.”

  “Good. If Bartlef finds out about this, we’ll all be in trouble. I don’t even know how you managed to catch this much on film.” He looked troubled. “So how did you know to go out there to get the pictures in the first place?”

  “This picture isn’t the first time I’ve seen the wings,” I said, skirting around the answer to his actual question.

  “Really? When?”

  “The first day of school. When you weren’t here. I thought I saw wings on Bartlef, just for a moment.”

  His eyes widened. “Wow. No wonder Bartlef thinks you might be the Yatah. Norms usually can’t see that sort of stuff unless we show them.”

  “So you can turn it on and off?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Would you be willing to show me?” I asked hesitantly.

  He looked around. “Nowhere this public.”

  I thought about going somewhere private with Josh and my heart started beating faster. I wasn’t sure if the idea frightened me because I was afraid of him or because I wasn’t. “Never mind,” I said quickly. “Maybe some other time.”

  That muscle in his jaw clenched. “Right,” he said. “Some other time.” He took a deep breath.

  “So what about Mason?”

  “I don’t know what to tell you. He’ll be pulling out all the stops to try to get you. He’s Bartlef’s boy.”

  “Then why involve you at all?”

  He smiled wryly. “Because of my grandfather. He was the Abba—our leader—before Bartlef. And the position only went to Bartlef instead of my dad because the Power skipped a generation. It does that sometimes—a lot more now than it used to. My dad doesn’t have it, not really. But Mason and I are the strongest two of our generation, and the Yatah’s . . . partner . . . has to have the Power. So Bartlef has to include me in any plans to bring about the Dumaya. He’s just hedging his bets, really. He’d like it better if Mason won.”

  That was about the longest speech I’d ever heard him make. I hardly knew where to begin, I had so many questions. “Power,” I finally said. “What kind of power?”

  Again, he looked around. A few kids had made their way out to the track below, but no one was close enough to hear us. Still, he shook his head. “I can’t show you. Not here.”

  “Can’t you just tell me?”

  “I don’t think you’d believe me.”

  “Really? Because I think after the whole wings thing, all bets about what I will or won’t believe are off.” I paused. “You do have wings, right?”

  He smiled his slow smile that made my heart stutter. It was really a good thing that he’d decided not to follow Bartlef’s orders. I don’t know if I could have held out against that smile.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I have wings.”

  “All the time?”

  “All the time.”

  “How do you deal with that?” I asked, trying to work out the logistics. “I mean, wearing clothes, sitting in desks, having people walk around behind you. Don’t they get in the way?”

  “No. That’s part of the Power. The wings are always there, but not always here, if that makes any sense.”

  “Nope. No sense at all.”

  “It’s kind of like . . . well, it’s kind of like there are two worlds, one right on top of the other. And I’m mostly in both of them, all the time. But I can fix it so that the wings are only in the other world. Oma Raina calls it the ‘ethereal plane’.”

  “I met her the other day,” I said. I shuddered.

  “Yeah. She’s the one who taught us how to use the Power when we were little. Taught us how to hide in plain sight, how to keep the Norms from knowing what we are.”

  “So how many of you are there?”

  He shrugged. “Here? Or all over the world?”

  My eyes widened. “There are more of you in other places?”

  He laughed. “Of course. Did you thin
k we all just hung out in Fairy, Texas?”

  “Well, somebody named the town ‘Fairy.’ I think maybe you can see how that might lead me to think that perhaps this was where you all lived.”

  “That name,” he said. “It was somebody’s idea of a joke.”

  “Okay. So. Power. Wings. Fairies in other places.” I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Or demons. Whatever.”

  He winced. “I hate that term. It’s just so negative.”

  “Oh. And ‘Fairy’ has so many positive associations. Especially for guys.”

  He smiled ruefully. “I know. We can’t win.”

  “But you have all the Power on your side.”

  “Which brings us back to you.”

  I leaned back until I felt the cool metal of the bleacher riser above me pressing against my shoulder blades. “So what can I do?” I asked. “How can I protect myself from the fairy-demons plotting to turn me into a human incubator?” I paused. “I’m sorry. Make that soulless human incubator.”

  “The easiest thing to do would be to prove that you’re not the Yatah.”

  “And how can we do that?”

  “I don’t know. I need to get some more information. The only way I know to be sure is to prove that you have a soul.”

  “Right. So all we have to do is run on down to the local hardware store and buy a good old-fashioned soul-o-meter. That’ll get rid of everyone.”

  “You don’t have to be sarcastic,” Josh said in a mild tone.

  “Well, how do you go about proving someone has a soul? I don’t even know if I believe that souls exist. But if they do, I’m pretty sure I’ve got one.”

  “That’s part of what I need to get more information about.”

  “Well, how were you and Mason supposed to prove that I was the Yatah?”

  Josh stared at me and a dark blush crept up his neck, staining his cheeks and ending up at his hairline.

  I squinched my eyes shut and shook my head. “Oh. No.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “That’s pretty much the only way to find out.”

  “So you were supposed to knock me up first, find out later?”

  He winced again at my choice of words. “Essentially, yes.”

  “So Mason’s going to be trying to . . .”

  “Pretty much. But don’t worry,” he hastened to add. “You have to be . . . you know, on board. Willing.”

  “So no date rape allowed? Well. I guess that’s a big plus in this whole mess.”

  “But he’s going to be using everything he’s got to get you to agree.”

  “Great,” I muttered. No way was I getting in his truck to go sell ads again.

  At that moment, the final bell rang. Dammit. I needed to find Kayla to see if I could beg a ride home.

  “I’ve got to go,” I said, gathering up my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder.

  “I could give you a ride home,” Josh said hopefully.

  I gave him a level look. “I think that would be a bad idea. I’m sorry, Josh. I know it took a lot for you to tell me all this, but I need time. And space. And to think about all of this.”

  “I understand.”

  Oh, I thought, I don’t think you do. Not really. After all, you’re a guy with bat wings attached to him in a parallel universe. We don’t even live in the same worlds. Literally.

  * * *

  Kayla wasn’t pleased to see me walking down the hall toward her. “What do you want?” she asked.

  “I kind of need a ride home,” I said.

  She turned to the group of girls standing with her and rolled her eyes. “See what I mean?” she said. She looked at me again. “Can’t you go catch a ride with Josh Bevington?”

  “I’d rather not,” I said quietly.

  She heaved a huge sigh. “Fine. But don’t think it’s for you. I’m only doing this because Dad would be mad if he found out I told you no.”

  “Thanks, Kayla.” I tried to sound sincere, but I don’t think it worked.

  * * *

  This time when we got home, John was waiting for us in the house. I was surprised—usually he was out on the ranch at this time of day.

  “Kayla,” he said, “could you give me a minute alone with Laney?” His voice was serious.

  “I’ll be in the kitchen,” Kayla said, flouncing out of the living room.

  “Have a seat, Laney,” John said.

  “Okay.” I drew the word out.

  “I got a call from the school today,” he said.

  “Okay,” I repeated. Where was this going?

  “Coach Laramie said that you skipped P.E. today.”

  I blinked. “Oh. That. Yeah. I went to see Mr. Carlson about some yearbook stuff.”

  John frowned. “Coach Laramie was concerned that you didn’t let her know where you were.”

  I frowned, too. “I was in the yearbook room. With Mr. Carlson.” I stood up. “So if that’s all. . .”

  “It’s not.” John shook his head. “I don’t know what it was like in Atlanta, Laney, but at Fairy High, you can’t just skip out on classes because you’d rather do something else.”

  “Fine,” I said. Now I was irritated. What was this, anyway?

  “I haven’t spoken to your mother yet,” John said.

  “All right,” I said. “I’ll tell her what happened. It’ll be okay.”

  “I’m not finished.”

  I sat back down. “What else?”

  “I think you need to know that there are consequences here, Laney. Your mother left you in my care. So until she gets back, you’re not allowed to go anywhere but to school and back.”

  “What?” I shot back up out of my seat. “You’re grounding me? For going to see the yearbook teacher instead of the gym teacher? I didn’t even leave school property!” I protested.

  “You’re grounded because you didn’t follow the rules,” John said.

  “You have got to be kidding me!”

  “Daddy?” Kayla leaned into the living room. “I wasn’t going to tell you this, but now I think maybe I should.” She blinked, her eyes wide and round and innocent. “I gave Laney a ride home from school today because she wasn’t out selling yearbook ads with Mason Collier like she was supposed to be. She spent all last period sitting in the bleachers with Josh Bevington.”

  “Thank you for your honesty, Kayla.” John turned away from her to look at me. Behind his back, Kayla smirked at me.

  “I’ll be in my room,” I growled.

  John nodded. “I know you’re angry with me, Laney, but this is for your own good. You need a little more structure in your life.”

  I fumed all the way to my room and managed not to slam the door, but only barely.

  Tears of outrage sprang to my eyes. I couldn’t believe that John was actually grounding me. No way would Mom let him get away with it.

  I was wrong about that, of course.

  “Laney, honey,” she said on the phone later that night. “It’s John’s house. We’ll talk about it more when I get home, but until then, you have to follow his rules. Of course, I expect you to fulfill your yearbook grade requirements,” Mom added. “So you can go with that Mason boy to sell ads. But I expect you to be home every day by four-thirty.”

  I could have screamed with frustration. The one good possibility in getting grounded was that I could have avoided spending time with Mason. But now Mom was mandating it.

  And I couldn’t even tell her why it was a bad idea.

  I handed the phone back to John, stomped to my room, and flopped back on my bed.

  I hated Fairy, Texas. Everything about it positively sucked.

  Chapter 8

  Much to my surprise, I actually slept soundly that night. I guess I was just worn out. I halfway expected to have long involved dreams about boys with bat wings. But instead, I woke up refreshed and ready to face the day.

  Until I remembered exactly what that day entailed.

  Ugh. How was I going to get through an entire school year o
f this? The year had barely started and already I couldn’t wait for summer break.

  “Morning, Grounded Girl,” Kayla sang out as she walked into the kitchen. I kept pouring my breakfast cereal and ignored her.

  I also poured myself a cup of coffee and drank it with relish, despite John’s giving me a pained look when he came in and dropped a kiss on Kayla’s head. He hadn’t grounded me from coffee. Probably only because it hadn’t occurred to him, but still. Too late.

  I was silent throughout the ride to school.

  “So,” Kayla said as she pulled into a parking space on campus. “I guess you’ll be needing a ride back home this afternoon?”

  “Actually, no,” I said. Ha! A chance to wipe that smug smile off her face. “I’ll be out selling ads until four-thirty. With Mason.” I emphasized his name. Never mind that I didn’t want to spend time with the guy involved in an elaborate plot to make me the mother of his unborn savior. I was perfectly willing to momentarily overlook that in favor of taking a cheap shot at Kayla.

  I smiled sweetly and slung my backpack over my shoulder. “See you later!” I called out as I walked toward geometry class.

  Josh caught up with me in the hall.

  “Hey,” he said, almost shyly.

  “Hey.”

  “So. . . “ he paused. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. All things considered.”

  “Good.”

  I lowered my voice. “Did you find out any more about how to tell if I’m . . . you know.” I looked around furtively, uncertain how many of the other students might be demons.

  And if you think that wasn’t a weird thought, you’re totally wrong.

  “Not really,” he said. “I can’t be too obvious about asking questions. I don’t want anyone to figure out what I’m doing.” He looked at me hopefully. “Maybe we can get together tonight and talk some more?”

  I grimaced. “Kayla’s dad found out I cut P.E. and yearbook yesterday, and grounded me. My mom backed him up. So I’m out of commission for a week.”

  “What about Mason?”

  “Oh, that’s still a go. Mom expects me to sell ads with him every day until four-thirty.”

  Josh wiped a hand across his eyes. “Oh, man. That sucks.”