“Will things get easier for Helaine?” I asked him.
“In time,” he said.
I smiled at him, and for the first time I could remember, Stan seemed encouraging, a total turnaround from this morning. Even though I couldn’t say Stan trusted me, I knew he was there to help me. The only problem was that he was as wildly unpredictable as my element.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
A Bite
Helaine
When Onyx warned me that I’d have a difficult time with water because my mum never practiced it as spirit, we were both surprised at the massive bubble of water that was floating above our heads in the living room. I held my hand so steadily over my head that my arm started to ache, just as it had during my first few weeks of making vertical slices with a sword. We laughed when the Grandmaster told us that we wouldn’t even be able to pick up a teacup the next day, but it had been the absolute truth. I should have practiced more in the courtyard during the past few months.
Regardless of my burning arms, it was a beautiful bubble that refracted light in an oily rainbow.
“You know what that means, right?” Onyx asked me.
“I’m not sure of the gravity, but it is pretty.”
“Combined, the witches can make a pure beam of light that will bend to their will and take shape of whatever they need. It’s true alchemy. The rainbow in your bubble is a testament to it,” Onyx told me. “Most witches don’t see that until after they have been inducted permanently.”
“You mean I’m ahead of Rose?” I asked competitively.
“From what I understand, yes. I don’t believe her elemental powers have integrated with her Changeling ones yet. Fire still isn’t sure about her.”
I let the water bubble pop overhead, and just as Onyx and I thought we were going to be soaked in my element as it rained down, I dispersed the water, causing it to evaporate into thin air.
“Next up, ice,” I said, “I mean if you think I’m ready for it.”
“The temperature will soon drop enough for us to find out,” Onyx said.
Secretly, I knew my ice would be problematic since I had conjured it once out of jealousy. Water was an emotional, intuitive sign, and I wanted to get deep into it. Rose knew a thing or two about ice as well, so soon, we could begin training together.
“Isn’t the rainbow in my water a sign that I have integrated, even though I’m just a witch?”
Onyx chuckled.
“No witch is just a witch. Remember that you descended from one of the three Paradigms, the originators of all magical abilities. One of your senses will integrate.”
“But don’t the colors mean I’ve fully integrated?”
“No. It shows me that the other elements are present in your magic. I won’t be able to see or experience your integration. Worry not, grasshopper. Every element is different.”
“This gentle water is the type I do best with,” I said in defense, wondering if my integration would come from practicing the more aggressive type.
“The tidal waves will come,” Onyx said. “I think that’s it for a few days, just keep practice. As for the rest of the lesson, I think we should leave the house today.”
“Brilliant!” I approved. “I want to visit mum before I see her at the Christmas holiday.”
“Deal.” He grinned.
On the train ride to the tattoo shop, Onyx said he’d give me a moment to visit mum by myself, but that he was definitely coming in to see her and say hello. I promised him that I wouldn’t run into any of my old school mates who wanted to pick fights, and he didn’t make a big deal about leaving me alone.
When I entered the shop, Mum was standing behind the counter talking to one of her apprentices. A handful of people were browsing the walls and display cases.
“Helaine!” She yelled. She ran out and tackled me in a hug, kissing my hair. She was a little shorter than me, but her grip was strong.
“I missed you too,” I said. “I was hoping you’d have a spare moment.”
“You’re not traveling by yourself are you?”
“Mum, we’ve gone over this,” I reminded her, waving hello to one of the artists I knew and an apprentice I had not met yet. “I’m a second-degree black belt and I do know better. Onyx is outside, he’ll be here in a moment.”
“Don’t waste any time then! Tell me how things are going,” she said, and then she looked around, remembering that she probably shouldn’t be saying anything out in the open. “Back here.”
We went to the break room to talk. She pulled out a yellow chair for me as if I had forgotten how. I always preferred her job to my dad’s on take your child to work day, and he’d always burst into laughs when I came home with temporary face tattoos.
“What are you learning?” she asked.
“I made bubbles out of water today, and Onyx said it’s good that they have a rainbow sheen to them.”
“Wow,” she said, “That means… Helaine, you’ll breeze through induction.”
“I know,” I said with a cheesy smile. I spied a picture of Brittany on the wall. “How’s Brittany?”
“She’s at her friend Sammy’s house a lot, that girl your age.”
“I see. Sammy with the patio rooftop right next to her bedroom window.” I sat back in the yellow chair so it creaked. “I hope they have fun with dancing, boys, bars, and dropping out of college.”
“She’s going through some things, Helaine,” mum reminded me. “You just have to let her get through them. She always comes back.”
“When she needs a place to live and remembers we’re half her family,” I muttered.
“Helaine,” she lectured. “Half sister or not, she’s been your full sister your whole life.”
I refused to believe that Brittany wasn’t a Laurence. I refused to believe that she would one day leave me and my dad just as her mother left her. Even though my parents would never say it, we all feared that little bits and pieces of that woman were in Brittany too.
“You’re right,” I said clearing my throat. “She’ll come back.”
“It’s cold outside. Do you want to go get Onyx?”
“My thoughts too.” I smiled.
Onyx had wandered into the main room of the shop by the time we left the break room.
“My old friend,” mum said with a smile, hugging him. “And Helaine’s new one.”
“She’s quite the student.”
“So I’ve heard. Want to go get a bite?” Mum asked us.
“It’s on me,” Onyx agreed. “I would never let two of my friends who happen to be women pay for their own meals when I’m around.”
“Ah, palace rules again?” She teased.
“Yes. I’m a little less known these days, but I can’t take any chances. Plus, if my mum were still talking to me, she’d insist too.”
I nodded with a smile, following them out of the shop, still wishing my big sister was here. I wanted everyone who was in my life to get along, and the one thing I dreaded more than anything else was Mirella coming back and reminding Brittany that the two of them were family. Every year the distance between Brittany and Mum grew bigger, and I hated that my mother had to see that. I had to be there for her, and I would be, no matter what. She had two daughters, but I had to love her enough for the both of us.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Christmas
Rose
On Christmas evening, Helaine and I left the mews house together to go celebrate with our families—almost all of them. This year the rotating Christmas party was at Helaine’s parents. Brittany had already visited in the morning and would not be at dinner. There’s no way I was even thinking about her today and how she was skipping out on the tradition.
We were celebrating with about twenty people, the same ones we would have seen every month at family dinner, had we been permitted to leave the house in the last three months.
Entering the Hallowed Locus after months of being away from it made me unusually nostalgic. I attended
school here on the third floor with a small class. Senior year, I was allowed to spend less time at school and more time training in martial arts. Our last year of school was designed with work and interning opportunities in mind, and its secondary purpose was to incubate our maturity to get us ready for college.
The main door was still unlocked when we arrived, and the first-floor lobby now housed a huge Christmas tree. Green and red velvet abound. Lights, garland, and bows decked the room, and I was swept up in how I missed my family, and how much Helaine wanted to see hers again too. I missed my home, but The Hallowed Locus and the Dojo were close contenders.
Helaine buzzed through the door within the mirrors, and before I knew it, we were in the stairwell of the apartment complex.
“It feels weird to come in here and not grab the mail,” Helaine said, “though I’m sure I get a decent amount of hate mail at this address too.”
“Maybe so, but they’re probably being more lenient because of the holidays.”
I followed her up the stairs to the fifth floor. The door to the flat was unlocked, and there was no security on duty (no eye candy, as Helaine used to say). When our families were in a room together, no security was needed.
“Oh, Jaime’s here?” Helaine said as we walked into her house. “Those are his red shoes, I know it.”
“He’s always been nice to me,” I said. “He bought me shots the other day.”
“Let’s not forget the piano exercise,” She fired back.
“Maybe it’s my empath thing,” I explained, “I can make anyone seem like sugar, or at least act that way toward me.” I had no idea why I was defending him.
We kicked off our shoes at the door and ended up in the living room with everyone else. I always loved my second home. The warm tones and exposed brick made it feel like a home magazine spread that you’d gladly walk into. Imogen’s Christmas tree was adorned in gold bows, and it was rare to see a living tree these days, but she insisted upon the pagan tradition.
Familiar faces were everywhere, but two I hadn’t seen in some time were Idra and her daughter, Bliss.
“Rose, Helaine!” Idra yelled the moment she saw us. “Congratulations!” and there were hugs all around.
Idra was a Spriggan, a wise and all-knowing creature who hailed from Ireland hundreds of years ago. She was also stunning, with dark brown hair and smoldering eyes to match. She didn’t look a day over thirty-five. Her daughter, however, was another story.
Bliss stood awkwardly alone in the corner. She had mousy brown hair that wasn’t blonde or brown, was skinny as a rail, and wore braces and thick glasses that magnified the dullness in her eyes. She was in the same grade as my brother and Esper, but looked much younger. Spriggans took longer to mature than other paranormals, and the reward was infinite wisdom. None of the other kids were talking to Bliss and I had to do something.
“Hi Bliss.” I smiled. I imagined her anxiety like a string, and I pulled it invisibly from her ear with my mind, a whitish, gossamer thread that broke into smoke the more I stretched it.
“Hi, Rose,” she said. Her tone of voice was anything but melodic. “I’m allowed to call you by your first name, right?”
“Here you are, at home. So you’re going to school with Esper and Gray now?”
“Yeah… mum thought that it was time for me to leave The Hallowed Locus and go to public school.”
“There’s a big advantage to that,” I said. “Classes are smaller here, so you’ll meet more kids at regular school.”
That was the truth. I figured I didn’t have a reason to date because I never met the right guy in school. Being able to focus on my studies did get me a great scholarship, damning my passionate fire element to hell and all.
“I’m not… well, I don’t have too many friends,” Bliss admitted. I wasn’t sure this was a conversation for family holiday dinner and felt her lack of self-confidence envelop me.
“It’s never too late to make some new ones.”
I’d have to beg Emmy to be her friend, but I knew Emmy would never do anything she didn’t want to do. I would work on that today.
“Jaime,” Helaine said with a straight face.
“Helaine, not Laurence,” he said before walking away.
“What is with him?” Helaine whispered to me.
“He can’t be within two feet of a Coven witch since we’re the authority and all,” I said. “But I guess I’m alright sometimes.”
Helaine feigned a happy smile as we went to sit around the joined card tables. We picked at the appetizers splayed across the lace tablecloth.
I said hello to all of the parents and kids, and noticed that Jen and Kalista weren’t present. I hoped they would be late.
I took a sip of my wine, remembering what Stan said about getting drunk and hungover, and set it back down. Helaine, on the other hand, was two glasses in by the time we started our meal.
Jaime had been listening instead of talking, trying to check our dynamic. Emmy barely said a word to him, as I suspected, and Esper was still trying to figure it out, despite Jaime being able to get him served at Seven’s.
“Jen’s not coming?” Helaine asked Emmy.
“It seems that I’ve replaced the ex-wife,” Jaime said, “Figure that one out.”
“They’re here actually,” Emmy added, not even glancing towards Jaime. “Mum’s in the gymnasium with Auntie and Meghan serving Christmas dinner, but they’ll be up later for dessert. Too bad Everett is studying abroad. It would be a shame to miss this.”
Emmy cast a snide grin to her new older brother. He ignored it.
“So, Jaime, are you enjoying moving into everyone’s life after coming from wherever the hell you’ve come from?” Helaine asked, heavy on the wine. No one could stop her from saying anything anymore. Our parents happened to be in a conversation at the other end of the table anyway.
“Yes and Canada,” he retorted. “Dad just bought a new house and we’re all going to be moving in.”
“Everyone is moving in,” said Esper. Jaime didn’t seem that bad, but the twins weren’t giving him a break.
“Shit happens, get over it,” Emmy told her twin.
“Maybe saying ‘replaced’ earlier was a little harsh,” Jaime nearly apologized. “Why should we be mad anyway for the circumstances others put us in. It’s Travis’s whole mess anyway.”
“Fuck off,” Travis yelled.
The whole room got quiet. We didn’t think Travis was paying attention to our conversation on the other side of the table.
“I don’t appreciate you using that kind of language in front of my child,” Idra chided. Bliss shrugged as if she had heard it before. “And I also don’t approve of you talking to your own child that way, whether he’s an adult or not.”
“Yeah, dad,” Jaime said. “Thank you, Idra, was it?”
“Yes.” She smiled at Jaime, digging the hole Travis was in deeper. I never said he didn’t deserve it.
“Don’t talk to my boy,” Travis told Idra. I glanced over at my dad and knew he was close to intervening. He was also the only one who could say something to Travis without him getting offended. “And you, Jameson. Don’t you sass me with that ungrateful attitude and call my life a bloody mess,” Travis said standing up, as Jaime did on his side of the table.
I looked at Helaine. She was right that Jaime was nothing but trouble, and I could almost feel an “I told you so” coming from her as its own emotion.
I saw a ruby glow surrounding both Jaime and Travis, it was faint, but their paths of energy started to intermingle from across the table. That’s what Stan was talking about with my powers integrating. The subtle white string I imagined coming from Bliss’s ear must have also been my powers. Anger—or maybe it was all intense passion—was red, and nerves and anxiety were white.
My power was now manifesting itself in color. I smiled, which probably horrified everyone at the table given the current mood in the room.
“You are a ‘bloody mess’,” Jaim
e said, imitating his father’s accent perfectly, “and what are you going to do about it?”
My father stood up, and worry rained down on the both of them, an emotion that I could feel but not see. I had never heard my father yell once in my life because he never needed to.
“Look, it’s Christmas. I haven’t seen my daughter in three months and forgot that her hair was blue when she walked in here today. Some of us want to spend time with each other. Why don’t you two go out for some air? This isn’t my home, but I’m not asking.”
Travis looked down a moment, and then back at Jaime.
Yves looked like he wanted to laugh, and I saw Imogen give him her signature warning glare using one eye.
“Let’s go have a smoke, Jaime,” Travis finally said.
Jaime followed Travis out the door, and it was unclear who was bumming a cigarette off of who tonight. Red emotions followed them into the hall.
“You know I don’t like him,” Emmy said, “but I’m worried just the same. You know what else? I really want that pie you make with those imported graham crackers, Row.”
“I brought two over,” my mom responded. “Grandmara sent those graham crackers, so next time she sees you and threatens to adopt you, you can thank her.”
“Will do.” Emmy smiled.
“I’ll help you, Row,” my dad said, as they both got up and went into the kitchen.
Yves and Imogen moved to clean things up, and Idra picked up her empty glass of wine to get a refill in the kitchen, leaving us kids at the table.
“I don’t see how he could forget that your hair was blue,” Gray told me.
Bliss giggled.
“Me either, it’s hot. Literally,” Esper said.
“Blue fire is my specialty,” I commented, unfazed. Esper didn’t exactly like girls, but his infatuation with Helaine was strange to me, and he’d start liking women the second she showed interest—except it was never going to happen.
“Who wants to play a game?” Helaine asked, in line with our usual holiday schedule.
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