Son of a bitch!
♦ ♦ ♦
I stormed back into my house, all thoughts of marriage gone from my head for the moment. It was immediately apparent that Mom was back, especially since Chris was in the living room eating a slice of pizza.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, slurping down some cheese. “Forget to put on your skank-off today?”
“Don’t start with me, you little twat,” I growled, stalking past him to find the kitchen empty.
“They’re upstairs in their room,” Chris called from the living room.
“Thanks.”
“Pretty sure they’re both in a mood, too.”
“Join the club,” I replied under my breath.
I headed up and, without thinking, barged over to their bedroom and opened the door.
Thankfully, they hadn’t been in the middle of a repeat performance from the other night. Not sure I could have handled that. They were both fully clothed and apparently in the middle of a discussion.
Three guesses who it was about, and the first two don’t count.
“We knock in this house, Tamara,” Mom said crossly.
Yeah, right. She’s lucky I didn’t knock the damn door off its hinges. “I have a question.”
“We were just discussing...”
“Not that.” I interrupted. “We can get back to that later.” I turned to glare at my mother. “Did you purposely overdose me during state’s my senior year?”
I had to give her credit. She was cool as a cucumber, didn’t even miss a beat in answering. “Overdose is a strong word, don’t you think? I merely ensured that you were well within the threshold of a normal girl your size and build.”
“You purposely sabotaged me.”
“I’m not the one who pinned you out there on the mat.”
“You cost me a...”
“Don’t pretend to play the victim here. You’re still attending the same school you would have otherwise.”
“I would have gotten a full ride!”
“Yes, so instead you have a mostly full ride and we’re covering the rest. What’s the difference?”
“I would have made the papers. They’d have plastered my face from here to the West Coast.”
There came a crackle of energy from my mother’s eyes, lighting them up for a moment and causing me to back up a step. If she was trying to intimidate me, she was doing a pretty good job. “That is precisely what we didn’t want to happen. How many times must we explain it to you? This was for your own safety. We supported you from day one, but we also realized that going too far, knocking down too many barriers, was dangerous. That kind of attention could have turned questioning eyes your way. As you saw earlier, that’s something we’d sought to avoid.”
“For my own safety,” I repeated without much fire.
She put her hands on my shoulders. “Exactly. Please try to understand that.”
I nodded.
“Good,” Dad said. “It’s not much different with what I had to agree to with your uncle...”
“You don’t get off that easily,” I fired back, stepping past Mom to jab a finger into his chest. “State’s is over and done with. Ancient history. Hard to get pissed off about something I can’t go back and change. But this? Marrying Jerry the wart-dicked werewolf? Not happening.”
Mom, rather than admonishing me for my language as was her usual wont, held up a hand and snickered into it, drawing a glare from my father.
“You don’t have a choice. It’s already agreed upon,” he said.
I turned to Mom. “And you?”
“I don’t like it. Not one bit. But, for the moment, your uncle sort of has us over a barrel.”
“Not us, you,” I said with finality. “In fact, that’s why I came home. I decided I’m heading back to school early. High Moon has gotten a bit too crazy for my tastes. I think everyone needs to chill out a bit and move on to other items of importance, find new trees to sniff, that sort of thing.”
I turned away, but Dad caught me by the arm. “You can’t.”
“Sure I can.” I pulled free from his grasp. “I can get a job, work my way through school. If Jerry shows up, I’ll call security on him. If that doesn’t work, I’ll beat his head against a car door for an hour or two.”
“Your father’s right,” Mom said. “It’s bigger than you now.”
“Why? If that wart-covered dickhead wants a girlfriend, he can get a Tinder account, or maybe Petfinder. Who cares?”
“You’re not understanding, sweetheart,” my father said, his gaze intensifying. “Your uncle called me after you left.”
“Yeah, and?”
“And, it seems he was thinking the same thing you are. He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that if you tried to run, he’d kill everyone in High Moon.”
♦ ♦ ♦
I let that sink in for several seconds. “Excuse me? How did we go from an arranged marriage to threats of Armageddon? I mean, he looked ticked, but...”
Dad nodded grimly. “The revelation here, it caught your uncle by surprise. He had to think on his feet.”
“Not one of his better virtues,” Mom added.
Dad looked sidelong at her for a moment, but then said, “Your mother’s not wrong. But after leaving, he had some time to mull it over and came to the conclusion that this is ... a bit more important to the pack than he initially thought.”
“A bit more important?” I asked numbly. “Understating it much? We’re talking hundreds of people here. What did they ever do to him?”
“It’s not them, it’s High Moon itself. This town, it exists as a buffer between our two races, mine and your mother’s. We both have claims to territory close by, some of it dangerously close.”
“So, it was decided, long ago,” Mom continued, “that we had a choice. We could either go to war, decimate both sides along with anyone else who got in our way, or we could forge a truce, establish High Moon as a sort of demilitarized zone between us.”
“Kind of like the Romulan Neutral Zone,” Dad said.
“What?”
“Star Trek? No? Fine, go with your mother’s example then.”
“Still not following.”
“Craig is threatening war. Well, not all-out war, but he’s making the argument that your mother and I have ... tainted the spirit of the treaty, and as a result, we’ve likewise forfeited the lands the treaty encompasses.”
I turned to Mom. “Won’t your people step in and do something?”
She shrugged. “Unlikely. We can hem and haw about it, lodge official protests, that sort of thing, but if we actually make a move to stop them then...”
“War,” I concluded.
“Yes. It would be the same on their end if the Draíodóir decided to act. Neither of the sides, outside of our immediate family, has a true claim within this town. If the other decided to cleanse it, for lack of a better term, we’d most likely let them so long as it didn’t spill over into our territory.”
“That’s totally nuts!”
“Is it?” Mom asked. “You have no idea what a war would do. Yes, it would start out small, localized, but it wouldn’t stay that way. Both races have family, clans, around the world. It would potentially escalate and, if that happened, then there’s little chance we’d remain a secret. Mankind would join the fray and, at best, we’d be looking at the total annihilation of at least one of our races, if not both.”
That ... didn’t sound good. Mind you, the threat of mutual destruction was a classic standoff technique. I’d learned as much in my history classes. Once one side gained the advantage, though, there wasn’t much to keep them from acting. Right now, Craig’s side had that advantage by knowing more about me than the other side. Maybe we needed to change that, level the playing field again.
What that meant for me, I had no idea. But perhaps it was time to find out.
“Why don’t we tell the Drai ... the witches? Your side, Mom.”
“What?” her and Dad asked together.
“Yes, and he’s sworn to secrecy on pain of death.”
“Pain of death?”
Dad shrugged. “Your mother doesn’t fool around with these things.”
“Not where my family is concerned.”
I waved my hands dismissively. “Okay, fine. So why not bring in the rest?” I thought about it for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “How about Aunt Carly? She always liked me. Or are you going to tell me she’s the only person I’m related to who isn’t a part of this in any way?”
“Oh no, Carly is a skilled aerokineticist,” Mom replied. “But you’re not grasping the situation. My people won’t react any better than your father’s.” She turned to him and sighed before addressing me again. “If anything, they might take it even worse.”
“Why? I saw what you did to those wolves at the diner. No way am I messing with a whole family of that.”
“It’s not even remotely that simple,” Mom said.
“Try me.”
“Honey,” Dad warned, but Mom was already stepping away from him.
“Sorry, but some things need to be shown, not told.”
“What?” I asked. “Is this some...”
“Dorn an bháis!” she screamed in that weird triple echo voice of hers. A black tendril of energy shot from her outstretched hand and slammed into my chest.
The collision pushed me back into the wall, almost knocking the breath out of me. “What the hell was that for?!”
“Do you see?” she asked, breathing hard as if she’d just run a mile.
“Yeah, I get it. You can do far worse.”
Mom threw up her hands in frustration. “No. You’re not understanding. I can’t do worse, not by much anyway. That spell I just hit you with would have sheared a truck in half. It would outright kill anyone, man or wolf.”
I blinked stupidly as I took in what she was saying, then glanced over to my father who simply nodded.
“That was black magic, killing magic,” Mom explained, “something my people are taught to never use against another living being unless they have no choice.”
“But you just used it against me!”
“That’s because I knew what would happen. Don’t you get it, Tamara? You have a resistance to offensive magic that is ... unparalleled. Nothing, and I mean nothing, I have ever encountered, including some pretty powerful undines, has that kind of immunity.”
“I d-don’t get it,” I sputtered. “Earlier, you tied me to that chair. And what about that magic potion crap you guys have been feeding me all this time?”
“That was defensive magic earlier,” Mom said. “It couldn’t have hurt you if I tried. It was just meant to calm you down. Believe me, I put a lot into it, and it just barely held you as long as it did.”
“And my meds?”
“They bypass your external defenses, go straight into your digestive tract. And even then, it’s potent stuff.” She stepped forward and put a hand on my arm, actually looking embarrassed. “Why do you think I didn’t immediately bring us back home from the diner? It wasn’t because I wanted to drive out of there in a blaze of glory. It was because I couldn’t.”
I backed away from her, letting this sink in. “And if your family found out I can’t be hurt by magic...”
She shook her head. “Your unique abilities are part of why Craig is so desperate to bring you into the fold. But the Draíodóir, when presented with the existence of someone against whom their magic is essentially useless, I fear they will react far worse. There will be no sham marriages, no offers of reconciliation.”
She looked me deep in the eye and held my gaze. “They will demand your death and, as their queen, they’ll expect me to lead the charge.”
CHAPTER 20
“Mmm, that’s nice.”
“You like that?”
“Oh yeah. Think I’ll like this even more.”
Slam!
“OW! FUCK!”
Shit! “Are you okay?” I stepped away from Gary, reluctantly disengaging as he doubled over holding his back. Guess I’d been a little too forceful shoving him against the wall of the closed Quick Lube station. I’d been trying to be playful, see where that led us, but had gotten a bit too into it, forgotten myself. The last thing I wanted to do was accidentally put him in the hospital with foreplay-related injuries.
“Y-yeah. Just kind of wrenched my back.” He looked up at me and let out a pained chuckle. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
I laughed with him, but there was little humor behind it. Though the Quick Lube wasn’t exactly my idea of a romantic getaway, I’d been hoping that maybe tonight we could seal the deal, so to speak. The truth was, I’d have gladly jumped in the sack with him after our first date, about three weeks back but, much to my chagrin, he’d turned out to be a gentleman.
Just my luck – the one guy in rural Pennsylvania who wanted to get to know a girl before getting into her pants, and I had to choose him.
Under different circumstances, I might have found it cute, but with impending nuptials less than a week away and me more on edge every day, I really could have done with some stress relief that wasn’t battery-operated.
“I have an idea,” I said, trying to salvage things. “Why don’t we go back to your place. I could rub your back ... maybe you could rub mine.”
He tried to straighten up, then winced again. “Think I’m gonna call it a night, Tammy. I have the early shift tomorrow and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to ice this for a while.”
I smiled despite inwardly cringing at his nickname for me. Oh, he was so lucky he was cute, otherwise I’d have wrapped a tire iron around his neck and showed him the true meaning of pain.
No! That wasn’t nice. I stepped back and pushed those thoughts from my head. Aside from Riva, Gary had been the best thing about this summer.
After learning that it was either get married or watch my town be wiped out by monsters, I tried to lose myself in various distractions, but it wasn’t easy. Going to the gym was pointless, as maxing out the weight machines did nothing except turn curious eyeballs my way. Hanging out at the lake was made more difficult since some of our old high school foes, including Darla McIntyre – former queen bitch of the cheer squad – had been spending their days loitering there. I also reached out to a few of my college friends via Skype, but the conversations fizzled quickly once I realized that I had to dance around the truth or sound like a nutcase.
Ironically enough, it was all that crap and more which had finally given me the push to go for broke and ask Gary out – taking the minivan in for an oil change and then subtly suggesting we grab coffee afterward. Then bringing it back a few days later after my first attempt went right over his head.
Cute and oh so sweet, but perhaps not the sharpest tool in the Quick Lube garage. He was my tool, though, and I wasn’t about to let him go so easily.
We stepped outside, he locked the doors, and then we headed toward his pickup. It was time to put all my cards on the table. Damn it all, but I had some wild oats to sow before my wedding and I planned on sowing them good and hard. “Look, I like you, Gary.”
“And I like you, Tamm...”
“I know. And I want to get to know you better.”
He smiled at me, so cute I could feel my panties growing moist. “I want to get to know you better, too. Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you pop by during my lunch hour tomorrow and we can hang out?”
Argh! Guess I needed to spell it out in big neon letters. “Let me just put this out there. If we go back to your place, you can do whatever you want to me. Whatever sick fantasies you have in that head of yours, I’ll make them all come true.”
Before he could reply, I threw my arms around his neck, pulled him dow
n, and shoved my tongue as far back into his throat as I could. Hopefully that was enough of a hint, because, if not, my next step was probably sending an engraved invitation asking him to shut up and fuck me already.
He returned the kiss, and damn he could kiss, too. It was all I could do to keep from shredding our clothes right there and taking him on the hood of his truck. He tried to pull back, but he wasn’t getting away from me that easily. I held him tight, and there was no way he was breaking out of my...
Headlights illuminated us as another vehicle pulled into the otherwise empty lot. My first thought was a cop coming to check on things. Annoying, but easy enough to deal with, unless they were in a mood to give us shit. But then I noticed the shape – too big to be a car and definitely not an SUV.
A minivan.
You have got to be kidding me!
The van parked alongside us and the window rolled down, revealing my mother.
“Tamara,” she said cheerfully, “I thought I saw you standing out here. Figured I’d check to see if you needed a ride home. Hello, Gary.”
“Hi, Mrs. Bentley,” he replied in that clueless tone of his.
“You saw me here?” I asked. “Behind the building, from out on the street that’s in front of the building?”
“What can I say? A mother knows her own. Hop in, we can grab some ice cream on the way home.”
“Ice cream? That’s okay, Gary and me were just...”
“It’s fine, Tammy,” Gary said, causing my left eye to twitch. “Like I said, I have the early shift tomorrow. I’d better go home and get to bed.”
Exactly what I was trying to do!
Before I could say anything else, he bent down and gave me a polite kiss on the cheek, like I was his grandma or something.
I turned toward my mom and debated toppling the minivan over onto its side. Wasn’t entirely sure I could, but in my current mood, I wouldn’t have bet against me either.
“Goodnight!” Gary called from behind me.
I numbly waved to him over my shoulder, then walked around and got into the passenger side of the van.
Mom gave Gary a wave and pulled out of the parking lot.
Get Bent! Page 14