Spirit Guide (Myth-Series Book 2)

by Angela K. Crandall

  Maine rested her head on Molly’s shoulder, “Sounds romantic, don’t you think Moll?”

  “It does, “Molly sighed, putting her arm around Maine loosely.

  “Should we drop you two off at the lodge, or...”

  “Sure. I... We don’t want to intrude on your alone time,” said Maine gesturing to herself and Molly. “Earlier I was concerned. You left the dance so suddenly without Jenson. Then Molly told me, you’ve had a lot going on, with college and family.”

  “It’s been pretty crazy. I’m grateful to have a first-class support group to get me through the rough patches.”

  “I bet. I’m just going to grab our coats, Molly.” Maine inhaled her punch and then handed her the empty cup. “Thanks, I’ll be right back.”

  “So how’s it been going?” I asked.

  Molly blushed. “Butterflies, sparks, and thank goodness only a few glares and stares,” she confided. “I wish you two could have spent more time with us. I’d like you both to get to know, Maine.”

  “I know, clan stuff,” I whispered.

  “Kind of figured that. If you need me for anything, especially the healing part I’m your girl,” said Molly.

  “Whose girl, I thought you were mine,” intercepted Maine. She’d come back with their coats.

  “Sorry, awkward. I was just telling Starla if she needed me due to family stuff I’m here for her.”

  “That goes for both of us,” Maine chimed in. She helped Molly with her coat, then put her own on. “You're not going to let your girl, go out in that frigid weather, without her jacket are you?” asked Maine.

  “No, he’s not,” answered Owl. “I grabbed these off the chair where you left them. I had to dance with Melina. I couldn’t help it. She’s amazing on the floor, smart, sassy, and loves to read,” he smirked.

  Jenson and I burst out laughing.

  “Well, she is,” he persisted.

  “Owl that’s why we were laughing. Good luck, and thanks for bringing us our coats,” I told him.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, waltzing off as they announced the last dance.

  “Alone, at last,” said Jenson. He laid out the blanket underneath an old oak tree. We’d picked up our smorgasbord of goodies and were ready to devour a massive amount of nachos.

  “I’d be ecstatic about us being alone too, but I’m famished,” I said, sitting down. Jenson set down our nachos and the two chili dogs we’d purchased joining me on the blanket.

  “Now, no monkey business mister,” I warned him.

  “Are you going to fill me in what happened tonight? I would have asked earlier, but...”

  I took several large bites of my chili dog washing it down with the cherry Slurpee. After wiping my face with a napkin, I replied. “Nayla signaled me because Minder was attacked. She’d convinced Kaya to let her feed the bandits. She was planning to interrogate Sika. She thought maybe we could avoid the trial.”

  “Did it work?” he asked, between bites of food.

  “No, and Nayla was acting unusual. When I got there, I found out she’d signaled mom. Of course, she totally freaked. Dad came instead. They’d been at the house when she got the buzz,” I explained.

  “Training, when does it start?”

  “Next week sometime, but it could be sooner,” I replied.

  “Here or I’ll end up finishing them,” he said, giving me the few nachos that remained.

  “Thanks, no more clan talk, OK? Let’s just savor the rest of the evening.”

  “Sure thing,” he replied, tousling my hair. I pushed him back, and he stopped. Then started picking up the remainder of our late night snack. I tossed the trash into the bag and handed it to Jenson. He set it aside without a word taking me in his arms. I leaned back to look up at the sky. It was perfect, millions of tiny lights sparkled above us.

  “You good?”

  “No, I’m perfect,” I answered.

  Chapter 14

  (Sunday, March 28)

  (Dan)

  I pulled up to the curb and parked my car. It was rather bright out. The sun hit the snow reflecting back at me. I shielded my eyes taking the keys out of the ignition. Maybe I should have called before showing up. I looked down at my watch. No, it was ten fifteen-ish. Opening the car door, I noticed Megan, milling about on the front stoop. She looked tired and grumpy. Tri must have let her stay up late watching movies or television.

  Once she saw me, she raced down the sidewalk. I pushed the car door open, then got out of the car slamming it shut behind me.

  “Hey dad,” said Megan grabbing my arm.

  “Hi there, is your sister up yet?”

  “I tried to get her up. You know Starla, always wanting five more minutes.” Megan rolled her eyes. “Jenson dropped her off a little after two this morning.”

  “I see. Did you and mom stay up watching movies all night?”

  She shook her head no, and we strolled towards the apartment entrance.

  “I woke up when she came home. Mom and I watched a few Hitchcock films. I fell asleep after that “Vanishing Lady” one. It was weird,” she said, scrunching up her face. We walked up the steps to the entrance. I reached for the door handle, but Megan grabbed it first and held it open for me to enter.

  “Dad, let me get your coat. I’ll hang it up for you,” she offered.

  I gave it to her, then stood off to the side. She hung it up, then shut the door behind us.

  “Go ahead,” she said, motioning towards the kitchen. “I’ll go get Starla, up.” She turned to walk upstairs.

  “No, you won’t. I’m already here!” Starla peaked her head out of the kitchen doorway. A smile spread a crossed her face.

  “Oh, come here! Besides the interruption, how was your date last night?” She stood there silent. “Well?” I pressed.

  “That’s kind of, personal. If you have to know... Dad, we’re good. We had a nice time. Just me, Jenson and some yummy nachos. A quick ride around town before heading back home. It’s not as if we had anywhere to go,” she replied.

  I could feel my face turning a beet red. Starla turned away from me entering the kitchen. Megan giggled at the astonishment on my face. Jenson and yummy nachos do-not put a friendly-image into a father’s mind. I shook it off. The smell of freshly baked Lemon muffins sifted into my nostrils. I had forgotten about those. Tri always made them with real lemon zest, scrapped off of the lemons and squeezed some of the juice into the batter. There would be orange juice, coffee, and perhaps a mixed fruit salad. That is if she was feeling energetic. I turned off dad mode and entered.

  Megan followed me. She pulled out a seat at the table where Minder was setting down a basket of muffins. I went to grab one. She slapped my hand aside with her human-like paw. I pulled my hand away, taking a seat next to Megan. She didn’t appear afraid of Minder. Tri must have introduced them upon her arrival.

  “How have you been since the attack?” I asked her.

  “I'm doing alright. There is a slight limp on my left leg. It should heal soon. Cavin put ointment on it last night. Afterward, Kaya said a prayer to the gods.”

  I nodded, “Glad to hear it wasn’t as bad as it appeared.”

  “Thank you. Um, by the way, Nuria, and Cal might be late. I left them with Nayla. They were discussing training. Cal’s a bit unsure about it. Are you excited, Starla?”

  “Of course! I only want to know what I’ll be learning.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nayla shows up with them. You know Tri. She’s been going on and on about how we need you,” Minder gushed.

  “I know, I’m not happy about it. I filled you in this morning on why before the girls got up.”

  Tri walked over placing a pot of coffee on the table, then grabbed the fruit bowl from the counter. She handed it to me, and I set it down.

  “OK, that should do it. Now we just require Nuria, Cal, and Eva,” I added.

  Tri was just about to sit down when a loud banging came from the back entrance. Fritz bolted o
ut of the laundry room. Then proceeded to bark and jump at the door.

  “It’s Cal! I got this,” said Starla. She hopped up from where she sat rushing to the door. “Fritz, get out of the way,” she said, gently pushing him aside. Then opened the door for them. Cal gave Starla a quick hug. Then spotted Fritz.”You have a dog. I love doggies.” She bent down, and Fritz began his examination. As this went on Nuria, and Eva made their way to the table.

  “How’s everything? Did the meeting go as planned?” I asked. I could hear the girls whispering about the dog. Megan had gotten up to chat with them.

  “Fine, Nayla was concerned regarding when training should start. Cal just started her studies, and Starla is finishing the semester. So you see she is taking into consideration other things, besides clan concerns,” stated Nuria raising an eyebrow.

  “I would hope so,” Tri replied, pouring the coffee for each of us. I took the cup from her adding in the cream. Not bad, I thought placing it back on the table.

  “Can you pass me the fruit,” asked Minder.

  “Sure,” I said, reaching a crossed the table.

  “No pancakes,” asked Cal as she sat down.

  “Sorry, I forgot about them. Please come eat, we have affairs to discuss,” Tri insisted.

  I finished handing the fruit mix to Minder, and she handed it back.

  “Who’s having an affair?” Megan asked intrigued. She sat back down beside me. Then took the fruit bowl out of my hand dishing herself some up onto her plate. Afterward passing it to Starla, who declined. Instead, she reached over and took a muffin out of the basket.

  “No one. The affair is Cal and Starla’s instruction.” Minder paused. Starla had begun to nibble on her muffin. I grabbed one myself almost knocking over my coffee. Oops.

  “Cal, has Nayla discussed with you your duty to Starla?” asked Eva.

  “Wh--Wh-at? You have a duty to me, but how?” Starla interrupted.

  “Nayla told me we’re connected. Our moms are best friends. They’ve had each other’s backs for years. When Tri, your mom was a part of the clan, they shared a gift that tied them together. When they’re united, they can protect one another. You know how witches can create a safe circle. It’s something like that. It requires us both,” said Cal.

  “You’re my best friend. It doesn’t make you my slave. You don’t owe me anything,” said Starla.

  “No, but we owe it to each other. If it can protect us, it will help you as a guardian, defend our clan,” replied Cal.

  I shifted in my seat and gulped down some more coffee. Then looked at Starla. Megan pushed around the fruit on her plate. Minder started drumming her fingers on the table as usual. Eva got up, removing a few of the plates pushed aside.

  “Do you want to be tethered to me for life? What does it entail? You don’t have to follow me everywhere I go. Do you? Not that I wouldn’t want you to attend college with me,” Starla suggested.

  Eva turned around facing her. “Your rambling. You both only tether to each other during combat. Which I’m sure you won’t be engaging in anytime soon.”

  “That’s true Eva, but why is Nayla so gun ho about getting started? Why not wait til the semester is over for Starla. And Cal is closer to finishing her education?” Tri asked.

  “Because, Nayla is Nayla. She’s paranoid. She has this gut feeling that something is going to go down, during the trial,” Eva answered.

  “Which means we should prepare for the worst. It will put her at ease and allow us breathing room.” I paused for a minute. Then wondered why Jensen wasn’t here. “Starla, why isn’t Jensen here?”

  “Dad, Mom would never let him stay over.”

  “Don’t get smart with me. He should be here.”

  “Dan, he had to return the VW bug to his grandfather this morning. I spoke with him last night. Starla was exhausted from the fiasco with the clan. I wasn’t going to keep her waiting while he and I talked. You can meet later,” suggested Tri.

  “You’re right. I’ll contact Owl too,” I noted.

  “Cal, and I want to catch up. Can we nix this clan stuff for now?” Starla asked.

  “Go ahead. We’ll clean this up. Your dad and I need to talk. Oh, and Megan, please do your homework. You promised me if I let you stay up last night you’d finish those math problems.”

  “OK, but it won’t take long. Remember, I helped Starla with her homework.”

  “Stop bragging,” shouted Starla from the hall.

  I laughed, shaking my head, “How do they ever get along?”

  “I don’t know, they just do,” Tri replied.

  Chapter 15

  (Starla)

  Cal and I hurried up the stairs, stopping once we’d reached the top. I put my hand on the railing. Then started down the hall.

  “This hallway is rather narrow,” she observed. “Which room is your’s?”

  “It’s on the right, like five feet from here. Megan’s down the hall a ways. I can usually sense when she’s about to invade my space,” I replied.

  “Ah, Okay” Cal answered.

  “Here we are,” I said, opening the door to my room. I stared at the messy bed. I hadn’t bothered to make it this morning. What had I been thinking?

  “This is it, my room. Please ignore the chaos.”

  “It’s cool. Pretty bare for a room. I do like your poster of Buffy,” she commented.

  “Yeah, she’s sort of my hero,” I replied, tidying up my bed so we could sit. Cal, however, began to explore starting with my bookshelf.

  “So,” she drawled rifling through my collection. “What have you been up to, you know before you saved me?”

  I sat crossed legged on my bed. She picked up my copy of Little women and started reading the back cover.

  “Just the usual. I had college orientation and finally got to meet Molly and Jensen. We were friends online first. Sometimes I contemplate if someone set that up.” I shrugged. “Then, of course, Shellena and Lance came to visit me. Did I know who the hell they were at the time? No, no one ever told me anything back then. It all came at once. I mean, how did you find out? Did your mom tell you? Where’s your dad?” I stopped mid sentence. Maybe the bandits had gotten him. I hadn’t heard Cal, or Eva, mention her father at all.

  Cal set the book back down on my shelf. She came over to the bed.

  “Scoot, let me sit. K?” She giggled a bit, then got serious. She laid her hands in her lap and then looked up at me. “To be honest, I’m not sure where my dad is? You know when I wandered away that day? Mom and I had gone to visit him at his office before it happened and he wasn’t there. They’d had an argument earlier that day. I’ve been trying to recall what it was about for a long time. I had-- a while since I was with Minder. It wasn’t bad you know.” She sighed, “just a lot of manipulation to make me think the clan was evil. Even though I knew about our clan, I hadn’t met anyone there. Not really. I was a baby when Cavin fawned over me. He said you and I would do great things. Mom recently confided it to me. I’ve always known I was half fox at least. She warned me not to tell you. She said we needed to be kept safe. I’m not sure how she kept me quiet. Do you remember the day we both were goofing around? You almost found out! Mom nearly had a heart attack when I told her. She said I could never encourage you to let that part of yourself come out again. We were little. I still ponder how I understood half that crap back then.”

  I pushed myself against the headboard and leaned back. “You OK? Being back and all?” Then I scoffed, “That entity was pretty crazy. I thought he’d kill Nayla. I have a lot to learn.”

  “We both do, Nuria was more help than any of us.”

  “Yes, but without all of us, I don’t think we would have escaped,” I admitted.

  “After Shellena and Lance visited, did your mom tell you?” she asked.

  “It was complicated. I didn’t even tell my mom I turned. They knew it would happen. I’d find out eventually.”

  “What about Megan?” she asked, leaning over closer to m
e.

  “Mom says she has different gifts. That now and then, a Kitsune fox and humans, have a child with no abilities to transform. Megan’s super smart. That’s why she brags so much about Math. She must get it from my dad.”

  “Yep, super smart, detective,” she replied.

  “What happened when you were with the bandits?”

  “What do you want to know?” asked Cal.

  “Did they exhibit any weirdness or odd behavior? Did you ever hear them making plans to kill Du-Vance? If so, you need to speak up about it. You know, Jensen’s supposed to be helping my dad. He hasn’t included him in anything yet.” I got up off the bed and walked over to my closet. Opening it, I grabbed my green coat.

  “Are we going somewhere?” asked Cal.

  “I thought maybe we’d head over to the park. I want to interrogate the bandits.”

  “First, let me answer your question. Sit, and after that, we’ll see if Cavin will allow it.”

  “OK, dish, but I wasn’t going to ask permission,” I said joining her back on the bed. I threw my coat down beside me. “I don’t suppose they would let us interrogate them, after what happened to Minder? We should just do it.”

  “Starla, you’ve always been pretty wild. Although, you usually don’t break rules. When I was with the Bandits, they were careful about what they mentioned around me. They manipulated me into believing the clan had planned to sacrifice me to the gods. I’d never met anyone from our group besides your family. I hadn't a clue what happened at gatherings. Thus, it was terrifying to hear it from strangers.”

  “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you. During the investigation, I read that the bandits were caught and questioned, after you were captured. How did they do that, if you were with them? Did they keep you locked up somewhere?”

  Cal played with her shoe laces, then rubbed the sole of her shoe before answering me. “They had to go into town for food, supplies and such. Often they would leave me with Minder. The detectives questioned her separately. I only know because she and Sika got in a fight over it. He was afraid she’d break down and give them information. Why do you want to know? It doesn’t matter does it?” she asked, clenching her shoe.