by Patti Larsen
Which meant I was alone again. Sure, there was Liam to chat with, and at least he knew all about my real life, so that was kind of comforting. But he seemed to have co-opted my dog. Galleytrot was usually in the Gate cavern with Liam and very rarely showed up at home anymore. His excuse was that I obviously didn’t need a bodyguard. And while I agreed with him, I still missed having him around.
And yes, I still had Beth too, sort of. Enough to say hello to in the halls at school, but that was about it. I did remember to tell my mother about Beth’s family problems and from the kind and gentle smile on Mom’s face and the hug she gave me, I doubted those troubles would last much longer.
Liam was kind of adopted by the coven. Only a couple of months from eighteen anyway, he decided to take his chances and dodge the authorities, something Mom agreed to help him with. Since the whole town was literally on his side because of the Gate magic, we all figured he’d get away with it no problem.
He’d taken to living in the Gate cavern where his grandfather once did. He confessed his mom sent him a letter, but he refused to open it and neither Galleytrot nor I were about to force the issue. We worried about him, of course, and the fact it was likely Sonja wasn’t on the happy list in Unseelieland, but the fact she sent the letter had to mean she was at least okay.
At least, I hoped so.
He’d settled into his new job really well, pouring over the endless pile of books in the chamber. Shaylee would have nothing to do with the Gate from then on so I couldn’t help him in his research because I didn’t read Gaelic. But I could feel the Gate now, loud and clear, and wondered why I’d missed it before, or the pull of the fairy realm. I was pretty sure I hadn’t seen the last of Thalion and worried every once in a while about what the Unseelie Lord Venemeth had planned next.
And what he would do about me, now that I was on his radar.
One bright spot in this whole mess. I learned so much about the history of Wilding Springs, I got an A on my history project. And our old Vice Principal was back, recovered from a mysterious ‘illness’ which meant no more Ms. Spaft. Though if I saw that woman again, she wouldn’t be handing out detention. Not after I was finished with her.
My deepest concern, to be totally honest, was Dad. After the morning we closed the Gate, he turned really dark and angry. Almost like he’d had enough of things happening around him and being unable to do anything about it. So angry, I actually asked Mom if we should take steps. And while she smiled it away, said he was fine, I was sure I wasn’t the only one with the niggling fear in the back of my mind.
What a way to start the school year.
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And now, check out the seventh installment
Of the Hayle Coven Novels
Flesh and Blood
Chapter One
“Say cheese!”
The witch behind the camera smiled encouragingly as I bent my body into contorted shapes in order to look ‘normal’ for my grad photo. And while her smile was lovely, I had no doubt mine was strained and uncomfortable.
It would have helped if this whole grad thing was my idea. I’d made it through the majority of my last year in high school without so much as a peep from Mom about the fact I’d be graduating only a month and a half from now. We’d had a nice, quiet fall, winter and spring since the Gate incident, though Gram remained absent, Uncle Frank’s search turning up nothing.
“Syd,” Remmie, the photographer witch Mom sent me to, said, “tilt your head a little further to the right.”
I obeyed, feeling a crick start in my neck as I did so. Blinding light flashed in my eyes. This was all Beth’s fault. If she hadn’t shown up at the house with one of her own pictures as a gift for me, I’m sure Mom would have went on in blissful unawareness. But Beth was so excited about graduating, she filled Mom in on all the pertinent details. And while my mother was aware of prom, since I’d gone last year with my old boyfriend, Brad, she had no idea that graduation was such a huge thing for normal teens. She herself was educated as a witch, and never experienced the frenzy of graduation.
I’m not sure why the idea of it became so romanticized for my mother, but from the moment Beth’s bouncy excitement hit her, Mom went nuts.
Honestly. Maybe if I still had the craving to be normal I would have been more behind the whole craze, but I’d chosen to accept my life with the coven, to take my place as Mom’s heir to the family magic.
She, however, had stars in her eyes and a melodramatic need to give me the best graduation ever.
While Mom bopped off to talk to Erica about the requisite items required, Beth happily filled me in on her news.
“A full scholarship!” She gripped my hands over a cup of tea at our kitchen table, late spring sunlight pouring over both of us. “And best of all, it’s to state college, the same school as Tim.” Beth blushed, a sweet rose flush rising to her cheeks.
“That’s fantastic,” I said.
“Funny thing, though.” Beth’s color faded as she frowned a little into her drink. “I don’t remember applying for it.”
It was so hard to keep from grinning. “Really?”
She bobbed her head, glossy hair swinging. “The Katherine Brindle Award for Excellence in Women. Quite the mouthful, isn’t it?”
Was it ever. And with good reason. Mom wasn’t the best at naming things.
“But the best news,” Beth gushed, leaning forward with a sparkle in her eyes, “Dad found a job! A start-up company, brand new to the area. They called him out of the blue and offered him the management position. He’s in charge of the whole thing!” Beth sat back, breathless. “My parents are so thrilled.”
Mom again, I was sure of it. I was just happy my friend’s troubles were so easily taken care of.
If only I was that lucky. When Beth left that Saturday morning, Mom returned with Erica in tow. They both looked at me with an odd kind of insane frenzy I found a little frightening. From that moment on, my entire life was about graduation.
Case in point. Here I was, only two days later, doing the photo thing. I’d already witnessed Mom and Erica choose my ring, my dress, my shoes, what I would wear to the ceremony, talk about hosting a party… I kyboshed the party idea immediately. First off, I didn’t really have anyone to invite anymore, aside from Beth and my friend Liam. And second, I could only imagine the pair inviting the whole school, meaning the party would either be a total embarrassing bust or turn into a rapidly spiraling mess.
I didn’t have patience or the nerve for either.
I heard Remmie sigh and I echoed her. I’d been here at least an hour. Couldn’t we just be done?
She forced a smile and leaned back from her camera, rubbing her lower back. Her short, spiky blonde hair looked mussed and I’m sure I was the cause of her stress. I winced. Of course she was stressed. Mom was her leader and I wasn’t helping any.
“One more?” I did my best to focus. “Sorry to be such a pain.”
Remmie’s smile came right back. “Not at all, Syd.” Her eyes lit up as I actually paid attention. “Hold that!” She dove for the camera. “Smile a little more?” I did my best as the flash went again. “Perfect!”
She backed away, looking relieved. “That’s the money shot, Syd. Great job.”
Finally. I shucked the school robe and left it on the stool. “Thanks, Remmie.”
At least one of us was happy.
I headed out with her waving me off, my backpack over my shoulder, shaking out the curls my hairstylist carefully created for the shoot, happy to be able to scratch my scalp. Hairspray always made me itchy.
I was only a few blocks from home, but I had one more stop to make before I could wash my hair and the makeup from my face. Liam was waiting for an answer and I couldn’t put it off any longer.
He’d really been the only person I hung around with since Alison left for New York to be with her parents. Beth and Tim
tended to travel in his friend’s circles, and I was okay with that. At least Liam knew everything about me, and had as complicated a life as I did. As the Keeper of the Sidhe Gate under Wilding Springs, he knew all about me and my family. For the first time, I had a friend who I could talk to about magic and not have to censor myself or lie to protect our weirdness.
I steered my Cooper Mini toward town hall while admitting to myself how much I missed Alison. She emailed every once in a while, texted. But she’d made new friends, even went back to school second semester in New York. She sounded happy. I saw her for a few hours over Christmas, but that was it. It seemed like both of us were kind of drifting away. She had her life, I had mine. And while I wished things could be different, I was just happy to hear she was pulling her crap together. When she’d left Wilding Springs the fall before, she was a shattered, brittle, suicidal mess.
I pulled up outside town hall, parking Minnie close to the side door before heading inside. As my skin came in contact with the door handle, I felt a shiver as the Gate’s magic welcomed me. It reminded me of Liam, and the question he waited for an answer to.
Which made me think of Quaid. And immediately deflect that thought. I couldn’t go there, couldn’t worry about him. I hadn’t heard a word from him since the night I found Celeste in my bedroom, on my computer. As long as the connection between me and him remained there, I knew he was alive and well.
Or that’s what I told myself. He made his choice, set off on his revenge vendetta against Batsheva and Dominic Moromond, using his family, the Dumonts, as a means to reach them. I hadn’t been able to stop him. So as much as worrying was natural, I found myself more often than not growing angry to hide my fear from myself.
I shoved all of that down and smothered it in resolve. I had a choice to make, pretty sure I’d already made it. Liam asked me to prom. As a friend. I hadn’t been able to give him an answer, holding out all these months, just in case Quaid came home.
Which he never did. And I was tired of using him as an excuse. It was time to let go of that hope, to live my life and let Quaid live his.
My friend deserved an answer.