by Noree Cosper
She snorted. "Don't matter. The Fates chose you, just like they chose all of us."
"Screw the Fates. Why do we have to listen to them out of all the gods and spirits? They should be hunted first."
She turned pale. "Girl, stop speakin' that way. There's no fightin' the Fates."
"Well, I can damn well ignore them." I crossed my arms. "I'm not going back."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Do I need to remind ya again that the Pyrrha's payin' for everything here? You defy her, and yer out on yer ass."
I squeezed my hand into a fist. "I'll find a way to survive."
"Until ya get grabbed by a daimon. Killed at best, worn at worst.” She gritted her teeth. "Anyway it goes, yer done here."
My heart dropped to my stomach. This had been my last year. Covering the project would have substituted for my Thesis. Now I had to leave it all behind and return to the gilded cage to be let out only when it was time to find a new spirit to trap. I had no future but one of either death or worse. Even if I ran from her and managed to make some sort of life, the ending would be the same. I hadn't even gotten to make up with Serenity. I'd never see Mercer again. I tried to swallow the lump clogging my throat. My dream, so close, was slipping away.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Please give me another chance."
"We've been through this beggin' before."
"I know." I shook my head. "I'll come to your training. I'll do whatever you want. Just don't take me away yet."
She glared at me for several moments before sighing. "I never could refuse that look of yes."
Hope, that little deviant, blossomed in my chest. "So, I can stay?"
"Ya better meet me at dawn tomorrow. If ya don't, we're takin' the first flight home."
10
The next morning, if you could call anything before dawn that, I drove with Aunt Jo to a small Karate dojo. Texas dojos weren't what came to mind when I heard the word. This one was in a strip mall, sandwiched between a Subway and a smoothie shop. My headlights reflected off the darkened windows as I parked in front.
"How'd you even talk the owner into giving you a set of keys?" I asked.
Aunt Jo raised an eyebrow. "The school’s not the only place we got our fingers in. Freddy owes us a favor."
"I swear," I said. "Our family seems more like the mob every single day."
She snorted. "We've been around longer."
"How long are we doing this?"
"Till dawn. Freddy's first class starts at eight. He wants us out before then."
"Let's get this over with."
I helped Aunt Jo in her chair, unlocked the glass door, and wheeled her inside. The front room, which could be seen from the outside, was large and open with pale wood floors. Several mats were rolled up on the side. The scent of old sweat permeated the air.
"We doing this out here for everyone to see?" I asked.
She nodded to one of the two doors in the back. "There's a room for private sessions."
Her chair squeaked as I wheeled her there. It was half the size of the front room with racks of practice weapons lined along the walls and a mat spread across the middle.
"So how are we starting this?" I asked. "Warm up katas? Jazzercise?"
She snorted. "Nope. We're not doing any fightin' today. Gonna focus on those blocked Chakras."
I scrunched my mouth to one side. She wanted to jump right to the source of the problem. Why had I even hoped we would start off easy? Most people thought that chakras were an Eastern thing, which is sort of true depending on where they were from, but there was a similar belief among the Greeks. The clearest idea came from Plato, who taught that there were seven points that connected the soul to the body. Little did he know that gods possessed the seven points as well. The pandorans learned these points as a way to take resonance from them.
"Help me out of my chair and on the mat," Aunt Jo said.
I wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled her from the chair. Either I'd gain some strength, or she'd lost some weight. After several moments of me grunting and her sharp instructions, she was in a lotus style sitting position. I ended up lying with my head on her lap, my legs stretched out, and my hands resting at my sides with my palms down. She placed her index, middle fingers, and thumbs on my crown and the spot between my eyebrows.
"Take a deep breath," she said. "This is gonna burn a little."
Yeah, I remembered that part. The burning had remained hours afterward and no amount of rubbing or ice would make it stop. As a child, my mother had kissed both chakra points with a smile. She'd told me we all had to endure this and this was one of life's little lessons. It never prepared me for the hardest lesson I'd ever had to face.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. It started out as a small sting, like small pinpricks where Aunt Jo's fingers touched me. The feeling spread and formed into heat. The burning began to swirl clockwise along my chakra points. I scrunched up my forehead eyes and gritted my teeth.
My mother's face came into view. Her blue eyes crinkled at the corners as her face lit up in a smile. She held her arms out to me. Dance with me, Cassi. An orange light flashed behind my eyelids as a pressure built up in in head. I saw my mother again. This time she rested her hand on the handle or our front door with a pained frown. She'd been about to leave on another mission. I begged her to stay and to send someone else. Didn't she have that power? She was the Pyrrha, after all. She'd ruffled my hair and told me that we all had our duty.
And look where your duty got you, Mom.
A dark purple light flared, and I gasped. My whole head sizzled, and the pressure rose in my mind. It had to break. If it didn't, I would burn into nothing. I wrenched away from Aunt Jo's fingers and sat up. My momentum sent her toppling over on her side. She propped herself up on one elbow and glared at me. My nails dug in the rubber mat, leaving indents, as I panted with sweat dripping from my face.
"Now we're gonna have to start all over," Aunt Jo said.
"Today?" I croaked.
She shook her head. "Not enough time. Yer endurance is shit."
"I don't understand," I said. "I shouldn't have a problem with it."
"Endurance isn't just physical, Cassi girl."
"What do you mean?"
She tapped her head. "Whatever's blocking ya, is up here. Ya need to deal with it."
"So, what? You're looking for me to sit on a couch and talk about my traumatizing childhood?"
"If that's what you need to do to stop being all but useless, yeah."
I bit the side of my cheek and slid my gaze away from her.
She sighed, pushing up to a sitting position. "Look, I know what happened to yer mom was hard. Hell, it was pretty hard for all of us. She was the best in our family. Of our kind."
I turned my head to hide the tears threatening to spill. "I doubt Aunt Dahlia feels that way. Once Mom was out of the way, she jumped to become the new Pyrrha."
Aunt Jo sighed. "Ya gotta understand. This don't stop. Dahlia was doin' what she thought was right. She mourns yer mom in her own way."
Two days after I'd lost my mother, Aunt Dahlia had moved her family into our house. I'd been forced into a smaller bedroom, while her twin daughters, Hadley and Lacey, had taken over mine. I understood the logic of it all now, but back then I'd felt a little like Cinderella. That, along with her cold bitch attitude, made sure that neither of us saw eye to eye.
I stood. "We should get going."
I lifted Aunt Jo back in her chair and pushed her out of the dojo. Her face remained pinched with disappointment during the ride back to her hotel. She wanted me to open up to her, but that wasn't happening today. I'd already scraped at the old wounds enough. Dawn hadn't broken the horizon, and I wanted the day to be over. I pulled into the handicap parking space and helped her out. She gave me one last frown as she wheeled toward the sliding doors of the lobby.
"Same time tomorrow?" It would rock if she had a meeting or something.
She glanced back with a ra
ised eyebrow and pinched mouth.
"See you tomorrow then." I hunched my shoulders and climbed back into my car.
I drove home humming one of those catchy tunes I didn't know the name of and tried to push the last two hours from my mind. The whole day lay ahead of me with classes and friends. And maybe a chance meeting with Mercer.
I sighed. I hadn't seen him since my fight with Serenity last weekend. Of course, I still hadn't seen much of Serenity, either. I needed to talk to her, to apologize, but she'd kept a locked door between us since the argument. I would be patient. She couldn't avoid me forever.
I parked my car in front of my apartment and hopped out. The first rays of the sun pierced the sky, turning it to a mix of orange and purple. A shower and a cup of coffee would help wash the remnants of the morning away.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Someone was watching me. Again. I scanned the parking lot with narrowed eyes. Had that creepy janitor found out where I lived?
The bushes in front of the dumpster shook with a violent rattling. I reached in my backseat and pulled out a metal baseball bat. Even though I excelled at hand to hand combat, it was always a good back up plan to have a weapon. After all, dogs were harder to fight with bare hands.
I crept to the shrubs with the bat raised. The stench that surrounded the trash clogged up my nose. This went beyond the sickly sweet smell of rotten food. Death and decay permeated the air. I took a step back and gagged, pressing the back of my hand to my mouth. The bushes shuddered again, followed by a metal bang as something hit the trashcan. I crashed through the shrubbery with a warrior princess cry, only to find...nothing.
I scowled. What the hell?
A movement beyond the chain-link fence flashed in the corner of my eyes. Someone had disappeared behind the alley. The morning light shone down at something clumped among the shrubbery. I squatted down for a closer look.
Auburn hair lay caught in the branches along with a bit of rotten scalp.
11
“Why are you crouched in the bushes?"
I jumped up and spun around with my bat in swing position. Serenity stood a few feet away with a trash bag in one hand. She took a couple steps back with her arms and eyebrows raised. I lowered my bat and let out a long breath.
"Don't scare me like that," I said.
"Have you decided to start a one-woman neighborhood watch or something?" she asked.
"No, I thought I heard someone snooping." I scanned the alley behind the fence again.
She walked to the dumpster and tossed the bag in, keeping her sanity-questioning gaze on me. "Right. Why would anyone be hiding in the bushes at dawn?"
“I—“ I bit my lip. Would she even believe me? "I thought someone was watching me."
She smirked. "You know the world doesn't revolve around you."
"This isn't a joke," I snapped. "First there was this creepy janitor at school. And someone was here."
She frowned as she studied my face. "You think he found out where you live?"
I glanced down at the hair, its auburn strands gleaming in the morning light. "No, I don't think it was him this time."
She crossed her arms. "You have two people stalking you?"
Maybe telling her wasn't such a good idea. I couldn't really explain that whatever was after me was a badass evil spirit from myth. I stood straight and shook my head with a forced laugh.
"Sounds dumb when you say it out loud," I said. "I'm probably imagining things."
She snorted and turned back to our apartment. I caught up with her after a few feet, sticking my hands in my pockets as we walked across the cracked asphalt to the stairs. I'd wanted a chance to make up with her, and here we were with no doors between us.
"So, how are things?" I reached for anything to restart the conversation. "How is the project coming?"
"It'll be a lot better if James shows up today," she said. "He's ditched all weekend, and we were supposed to catch up."
"I saw him yesterday," I said. "He was acting weird."
"You're saying he wasn't an ass?"
"It would take the end of the world or something for him not to be an ass to me." I crossed my arms. "More like he was depressed and upset you were better than him."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm so tired of their whining. They need to get over it and just do their damn jobs. Whatever."
I touched her arm as we reached our door. "Hey...I'm sorry for before. I am here for you, and I'm not taking anyone's side over yours."
She sighed and pushed a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. "I know that you don't intend to. It's just he has a habit of turning people to his side."
I lower my head as heat rose to my cheeks. "Yeah...he's just got that magnetic personality."
"You have no idea." She shook her head. "Look, I'm not going to tell you who to date, but I've seen what happens after he's moved on. And trust me, he will move on."
I bit my lip as my heart constricted. Serenity had always been my voice of reason, but this time she may have been too late. Thoughts of Mercer hovered in the back of my mind throughout the day and my stomach fluttered at the sight of him. However, after the project was over, he'd leave and probably wouldn't look back, which would rip me to pieces If I got any closer. Either way, it would hurt. I leaned my forehead on her shoulder.
"Already?" she asked. "Oh babe, I'm sorry."
I gave her a sad smile. "Not completely. It'll be worse if I let things go on."
She patted me on the back. "I'll buy some ice cream, and we'll spend tonight playing video games."
"What about the project?"
She shrugged and opened the door. "Screw it. I've done most of the work. If it's late, it's late."
I chuckled. "I'm sure your teammates will be panicking. All right, it's a date."
She grinned. "Dibs on the shower."
"Ugh! Sneak."
I kept my mock outrage up as she raced to the bathroom and shut the door. After several minutes, the water started. Now was my only chance before more people emerged. I grabbed a Ziploc baggie and a pair of tongs and headed back downstairs.
The parking lot remained empty in the early morning as I strode to the shrubs. Trying not to gag, I snatched the clump of hair from the bushes and sealed it in the bag. The tongs landed in the dumpster with a thunk. Serenity wouldn't even notice they were missing. I flipped open my phone and dialed Aunt Jo's number. It rang once and switched to voicemail.
"This is payback for ignoring your calls, isn't it?" I said after the beep. "I think there's a daimon following me. I found something...completely disgusting near my apartment. Call me."
I raced up the stairs. Serenity was still in the shower. I dug around the kitchen until I spotted the mini cooler we'd bought for a road trip last summer. In went the bag of gross followed by most of the ice in our freezer. I stood with my hands on my hips and admired my work. This wasn't going to last. Even though it was late September, the heat would melt that ice within a few hours.
What the hell was I going to do with this thing? I couldn't leave it in the car, and the fridge and freezer was right out. I could just see Serenity opening it up. The running water stopped, and I stiffened. I grabbed the handle of the cooler and shut myself in my room.
I needed to get it to Aunt Jo. She would figure out what we were dealing with. Screw it. I would take it with me and slip over to her hotel during the break between my first and second class. I slipped on a sundress with red and pink roses, ran a brush through my hair, and headed out the door with the cooler. Today was a no makeup day.
I tapped on the steering wheel as I waiting on the light near the university, glancing in the rearview mirror for the twentieth time. Was that a cop car? Little pricks danced up my spine, and my heart raced. I pulled into the college's lot and let out the long breath I had trapped in my chest. I grabbed my backpack and hurried on the quad.
"Cassi." Mercer's voice traveled across the lawn.
I stopped, gripping my book bag and bli
nking in the bright morning light that blazed behind him. The first few buttons of his shirt were open, hinting at the hard lines of his pectorals, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He sprinted in my direction with a wide smile on his face. I licked my lips as my stomach fluttered.
"Hi." Did that sound squeaky?
He grinned. "Hey. Long time no see."
"Just the weekend," I said. "Before was the retrospective."
"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "About that, I want to apologize. I don't want to get in between you and Serenity."
I snorted. "I think that's the only thing there's mutual agreement on."
He cleared his throat. "So am I forgiven?"
I shook my head. "You've done nothing wrong to me. All that is between you and Serenity."
"Then we're good." His smile returned. "Then, are you free this Saturday? There's a concert being held at one of the parks nearby."
"The one by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra?"
"Yeah, I thought it might be something we both enjoy. I'll even bring dinner."
I glanced away from his eyes before I became too lost in their depths. Serenity's words echoed in my mind. As much as I wanted to, this was going nowhere. At the end of the year, I would return home with my aunt, and he would head back to California. By fall, he wouldn't even remember the college girl he'd wooed, no matter how special he swore I was. I glanced at my car. Besides, I had bigger problems to concentrate on.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said softly.
He tilted his head. "Is this because of Serenity?"
"No," I said. "Maybe. A little."
He followed my gaze across the parking lot and back to me. "Is something wrong? You seem nervous."
"Nothing." I licked my dry lips and straightened up. "It's just things aren't going to work out between us."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You decided this after one semi-date?"
"And a few other things."
"You just said you weren't angry." He crossed his arms.
"I'm not, but this isn't going anywhere. I don't want to be another girl you leave behind."