by Ashley Meira
Damien finally agreed to drive me home if Adam would “stop being such a bitch about it.” It could’ve been the choice of words, but Adam seemed less enthused by that idea than I was. Stuck in a car with Damien? Talk about awkward with an extra serving of dangerous.
We eventually came to an agreement, which left me driving through Santa Fae’s darkened streets like a little old lady. Adam’s car was intimidating enough that people wouldn’t mess with me, but I didn’t want to get a single scratch on this thing. Especially since Damien told me how much it cost before shoving Adam into his Ferrari and driving him home.
I parked across the street from my place, and after scanning the surface of Adam’s car for scratches with my phone’s flashlight, I walked to the door. The little golden ‘4’ was crooked again. Instead of fixing it, I just stared, letting the red of our door blur into my vision.
I should be with Adam
Despite my insistence on never stepping foot inside his home, Adam had given me his address. I knew he wouldn’t be mad to see me, though Damien might flambé me if he was still there. It felt wrong to go home without checking in on him again. It felt wrong to go home without him, period. Urgh. I needed a slap in the face.
The door was wrenched open. Fiona’s cheeks were puffed out, and her hands were balled into fists against her hips. She looked ready to strike.
“Stop being rude to him.”
Raising a brow, I said, “I’m rude to a lot of people. Could you be more specific?”
She rolled her eyes. “Adam, you doofus. I understand why you don’t want to get involved with him. Really, I do. But you can’t just force him to wait for you outside.”
I looked over my shoulder at Adam’s car. “He’s not in there.”
“Oh,” she said before her eyes widened. “Then—”
“He’s not in jail either.” I reassured her. “Damien drove him home, which left me with the tank.”
“That’s a Hummer.”
“Was I the only one who didn’t know?”
“Probably. It does look bigger than a regular Hummer. I bet he had it decked out with armor or something.”
“He would,” I said with a fond smile.
“So, he’s safe?”
I nodded.
“And Sandra is….” She trailed off, pain overtaking her face.
“Yeah,” I said quietly.
“I called Ollie over for a friend’s night. Why don’t you wait until he gets here before filling me in.”
“Good idea.” I stepped inside and slipped off my boots with a sigh of relief. They might have been comfy, but an entire day on my feet could make even silk slippers feel like torture. “Any chance you called Adrienne, too?”
“Mhm. But she said she was going to meet Thomas. She flipped out when I told her about Sandra,” she finished quietly. “Blames herself for not being there.”
“Adrienne’s a mage, but she’s not a fighter,” I said, following her to our couch and plopping down. “If she’d been there, we’d have two more bodies instead of one.”
Fiona frowned at me, but nodded. “I hope Thomas can cheer her up.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in!” we said simultaneously.
The pleasant smell of fresh laundry followed Ollie in as he closed the door behind him. His hedge witch nature made it the perfect scent for his magic, and I always felt better when it surrounded me.
“I still don’t have key lime pie, sorry,” he said.
With an exaggerated frown, I said, “Is there a city-wide lime shortage or something?”
“If you can find a midnight fruit market, let me know,” he said dryly.
“Yeah, it’s called the gas station,” I said. “Twenty-four hours.”
“I’m surprised you even know what that is. You two never even drive that old clunker you have. Is Adam here? I saw his tank outside.”
“Ha!” I gave Fiona a huge grin. It wasn’t just me.
She slow-clapped, her face full of exasperation. “No. He gave it to Sophia.”
“Lucky you, and it explains how you know about the gas station.” He placed the cake boxes on our coffee table. Mmm, there was a chocolate cake in one of them. I could smell it. “They don’t sell fruit there, by the way. Not the kind you want to eat.”
“Adam lent me the car,” I said. “Now get over here so I can depress everyone.”
We’d eaten half a pecan pie by the time I finished filling them in on what happened at Sandra’s. Okay, I’d finished half a pecan pie while they each had a slice. The story wasn’t that long, but my constant chewing breaks dragged it out. Worrying about overprotective phoenixes worked up an appetite, it seemed.
Ollie was curled into a ball, his head against my shoulder. “Two innocent women in one night. Killer’s been busy.”
“Let’s hope he doesn’t get busier,” Fiona said, finishing her mug of wine.
Yes, a mug of wine. She and I had run numerous tests that led to one conclusion: boxed wine tasted better in mugs than glasses. And with ice. Actually, that was my personal opinion, but how could anyone drink that stuff straight?
“We’ll find him,” I said for myself as much as them. “Whoever they are. They won’t get away with this.”
“I’m surprised you let Adam get away with leaving you behind,” Fiona said.
“Yeah,” Ollie said. “Once, I started eating popcorn without you, and you bit my face off.”
“That was one time,” I said. “It was double butter, and I was hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” they said.
“Look who’s talking, Tinkerbell.”
“Hey!” Fiona huffed. “At least I don’t get violent.”
“Um, our last movie night ended with me hiding in the bathroom,” Ollie said.
“One, it’s not hiding if I know where you are. Two, you stole the last slice of pizza.”
“Speaking of pizza,” I said. “Isn’t it pizza Wednesday?”
“Mhm. And this time Ollie will know better,” Fiona said pointedly before standing up. “Hold on, though. We got a flyer from Blood Hut about some new stuff they have on menu. Let me find it.”
“I’m surprised she doesn’t have a shrine to Blood Hut in her room,” Ollie grumbled against my shoulder.
“How do you know she doesn’t?”
“Girls are scary.” He shuddered. “Should we call Adam over?”
“You can try, but Damien might shift into a dragon and eat you. What?” I said when I noticed him eyeing me. “Do I have crumbs in my hair?”
“No. Well, yes, but that’s not it,” he said. “Are you two dating?”
I stiffened. Quick, say something funny. “I knew it. You want to date Adam—”
“Bite me, shorty.”
“Your parents are about to be childless.”
He kissed my cheek. “I’m just asking. I know you weren’t comfortable discussing it before, but…. I don’t know. You two seem good together. He’s certainly smitten, and I’ve never seen you look so light and happy. It’s nice.”
Staring straight ahead, I thought back on the last eight years of my life. Fiona and I had our fair share of joys through the hardships we’d endured, but “light and happy” weren’t words I’d ever use to describe myself. And Adam? I knew he was interested—
No, interested didn’t feel like a strong enough word. Not for the way he’d been treating me. Smitten. My heart fluttered. That sounded really nice.
But would he still be smitten if he found out what I was? Would Ollie still want me to be happy when he learned I was an abomination?
What about Damien? He wore his distrust of me on his sleeve. If he figured out what I was or shared his suspicions with Adam….
It didn’t take much to sow a seed of doubt.
And Adam would be hurt by my betrayal. Hurting him was the last thing I wanted to do.
I rested my head against Ollie’s. “I like him.”
“So, what’s the problem
? Bad ex-boyfriend made you cautious?”
“It’s complicated.”
Ollie sat up, his features turned down like a confused child. “He likes you. You like him. You make each other happy. Neither of you are married. What’s complicated about it?”
“Found it,” Fiona called. “They have this new dessert ‘pizza’: cookies ‘n’ creme ice cream topped with cream cheese frosting, chocolate chips, crumbled cookies, and white chocolate,” she read off. “I think someone’s trying to take your dessert crown away, Ollie. And Sophia’s heart, if the drool slipping down her chin is any indication.”
Ollie glared at me. “You’re cut off.”
“I’m not drooling,” I said, swallowing back drool and wiping my chin. That thing sounded delicious.
“I thought we had something special,” he said.
“Okay, while you guys do that—” Fiona took out her phone “—I’m going to order.”
She had just unlocked her phone when the universe decided to serve us a reminder: a bad day could always get worse. Our front door shattered into a hundred pieces, and five mages stormed inside, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
Chapter Seven
They fired the first shot. A jet of ice flew toward us, covering half our living room in jagged white crystals. I knocked Ollie out of the way, feeling the spikes melt into my flesh. My Fire slurped up the magic as I absorbed the ice. Ollie had his face pressed against the floor, so I didn’t think he noticed.
Curving my finger, I summoned my sword. There was no Adam to force me to use magic, and there was a friend who didn’t know I was a mage. Good. I missed stabbing things.
“We need to get them out of here.” Fiona shrunk down to avoid a another jet of ice. The blast shattered our kitchen door and parts of the wall around it. “Now!”
“They’re blocking the door,” I said, flinging my sword at the group.
A blue bubble surrounded them. My sword bounced off it and fell impotently to the floor. One of them was a barrier mage. Fantastic.
A bolt of lightning shot through our TV set, causing both of us to let out inhuman cries. That was the most expensive thing in our house. We’d worked hard to get a nice entertainment center. Now, it was dust. Literal dust. Adrenaline boosted my rage.
“Get Ollie out of here,” I told Fiona.
If he was gone, I could charge through the magic and kill these guys. The magic I absorbed provided a temporary stamina boost along with a permanent magic boost — not to mention the high. I was more than a match for these douchebags, but I couldn’t do much with Ollie watching.
Fiona portaled away from another lightning bolt and appeared next to us in a flash of green. Before she could grab Ollie, a row of ice spikes split us up, like frozen harpoons. What was with people throwing spears at me today?
A flurry of sharp pebbles flew toward our attackers, forcing them back toward the staircase. We turned to Ollie. Not bad. Green witches were capable of creating poisons and potion bombs but didn’t possess any offensive magic. Goblins, however, were usually earth mages, sometimes wind. He shot off another round of rocks, clearing a path to the front door. They didn’t seem to be doing much damage, but they were flying fast enough to hold our attackers at bay. Tomorrow, I was sending his dad a fruit basket.
Ollie stood up, maintaining his assault. “Run!”
Winter winds buffeted our faces as we hit the streets. We lived in a quiet part of town, so no one was out this late at night. As long as we kept these guys away from any houses, everything should be fine.
“Hide,” I told Ollie, pointing to a space between two homes. He nodded and rushed to where I’d indicated.
Fiona stood by me, and we got to work. This was a dance as old as our memories. Some fairies had the ability to shrink themselves down and make their magic oscillate around them, allowing them to fly, but it was rare to find fairies who could do it as easily as Fiona did — and impossible to find one that could also open portals. It was usually either or. My sister was special. We wondered if that talent was the reason our kidnapper had taken her, but we didn’t know enough about fairies to confirm. The Fairy Courts didn’t share much information.
My sister flitted around in mini form, throwing Fairy Blasts at the mages. Pink dust splattered against the barrier, momentarily lowering it. Some of her hits got through, separating the group. Fiona grew back to normal, pink swirling around her hand. Now that the mages were split up, we could really get down to business.
I threw my sword, hitting the mage on the far right. He stumbled back, pulling the blade from his bicep before returning the favor with a lightning bolt. I rolled out of the way. So, he was the asshole responsible for ruining my TV set. Shame I didn’t have time to punch his face in. Biting my lip, I tried to chase that thought away. Self-defense was one thing, but I refused to give in to my darker nature, the one he’d instilled in me.
Calling my sword back, I dodged another hit and ran for him. One bolt hit me, grazing my shoulder. The stamina boost made me run faster, and I got to him in half the time. He leapt back as I slashed at him, but he wasn’t quick enough. Neither was his friend, apparently. A blue dome appeared two seconds after I took TV-Wrecker’s head off. Too bad, so sad.
Looking over, I saw Fiona was still facing off with two mages. The ice wielder from before and a fire mage. Where were the other two?
“Sophia!” Ollie yelled as he struggled in a muscled man’s arms.
Shit. None of his attacks seemed to faze the behemoth, who gave me a challenging look before shooting a lightning spear at me. Maybe he was the one I should’ve beheaded. I ran to him, sliding under the spell. He sent another blast of electricity at me before running off with his barrier friend.
“Go!” Fiona called, red hair sticking to her sweat-drenched face. “I got these two.”
“Portal away if you need to!” I yelled over my shoulder.
Lightning Bug’s magic guided me as I rushed through the well-lit streets. Despite his gargantuan size, he proved to be quick on his feet, and having Ollie slung over his shoulder meant I couldn’t throw my sword without putting my friend at risk.
Something hit the top of my head. I rolled away, sword at the ready. Nothing was there. I got hit again, then a dozen more times as the drizzle of rain filled my ears. Bad to worse to absolutely terrible. Thanks, universe.
I kicked myself up and continued running. Water soaked my feet, and I looked down to see a pair of rainbow-striped socks. How the hell had I missed not having any shoes until now? I chose to see my ignorance as a testament to my skill. Being shoeless hadn’t hindered me at all. I’m sure Ollie would be very proud — assuming I rescued him in time.
After another block, Lightning Bug and Barrier Dude finally stopped. We’d reached the edge of the city, where the buildings tapered off. Good — more room to fight.
“Let him go,” I called.
The rain was soft, which was little relief when you were fighting a lightning mage. Since it was magic, I’d absorb it instead of being electrocuted, right? I really hoped so.
Ollie and Barrier Dude were farther back, but there was a pale blue dome thrumming with magical energy around Lightning Bug. I’d absorbed the barrier on the Pyrenees, so I could sap this one too — and I doubted Barrier Dude was as strong as whoever made the barrier on the mountain, meaning I wouldn’t vomit and pass out after doing it.
But Ollie was here, and he wasn’t far enough to miss any weirdness on my part. A blinding light flew toward me. I rushed to the left, watching the water-covered ground crackle with purple light. I scowled at the barrier around him. My sword couldn’t penetrate it, and I couldn’t get to Barrier Dude without going through his giant bodyguard. What could I do?
Thinking back to the Pyrenees provided a solution. Adam had tried, and failed, to blast through the barrier blocking us from Snow. Since this barrier wasn’t as powerful, maybe I could break through.
But Ollie would see I had magic.
I looked at him. Hi
s sopping copper hair made him look like a drowned rat and red fingerprints covered his pale arms. I didn’t know how he’d react to my magic, but I knew he’d be happy to get out of this unscathed.
Lightning crackled around my fingers, sparking against the rain’s touch. I aimed at Lightning Bug. Two could play at this game. Taking a deep breath, I launched a ball of lightning at him.
I didn’t see it hit the barrier, but I felt the magic shatter. Lightning Bug’s gargantuan form went flying. Lightning surged where my attack landed, covering the rain-soaked pavement in crackling electricity. Barrier Dude staggered from the aftershocks of his barrier shattering. Ollie elbowed him in the gut and ran toward me, giving the lightning field a wide berth.
“You’re a mage?!” he yelled.
Before I could reply, Lightning Bug caught my attention. He’d gotten back up, and the ball of lightning in his hands was so big it felt like looking into the sun. His magic was thick on my tongue, almost choking me. But I was Fireborn. Magic attacks didn’t scare me.
Until I saw Ollie.
He’d gone around the lightning field and was heading straight toward me. Right in the way of Lightning Bug’s attack.
I called my sword back, but Barrier Dude had his barrier over them both. Any magic I used would hit Ollie too, so that was out. I could push him, but I wouldn’t be able to move myself out of the way in time. If he saw me absorb the magic….
The pressure of the situation wiped my mind. Everything was blank except the terror rushing through my veins and the pounding of my heart. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. All I could think was, “Stop! Make it stop!” I wanted Lightning Bug’s magic to vanish so it couldn’t hurt Ollie. I wanted it gone.
Power surged through my body, jolting me forward. As my knees slammed against the ground, I saw Lightning Bug’s magic vanish along with his friend’s barrier. The cement tore my jeans, but I didn’t pay it any mind as I looked at the pair. They were surprised. Had I done that? What even was “that”?