by Cherie Marks
Yet, once we were there, seated, with our meals, the spicy smell of cumin, garlic, and cayenne filling the air, the real talk started.
Matt was one of the most solid men I’d ever met, and if he weren’t solidly gay, I’d probably make a play for him. He was good-looking, cool, and so very intelligent, but he knew what he liked, and it wasn’t girls. His first question voiced what was on all our minds. “So, how long will this one stay?”
I hoped less than a month, but I shrugged.
Selena had sexy curves and a sassy attitude that we couldn’t get enough of. She boldly explained, “Don’t know, don’t care. I’ve got a job to do, so I’m going to teach health, and I’m going to do it well. He can keep on doing whatever it is he does, as long as he doesn’t get in my way.”
Celia leaned in. “I don’t care how long he stays, as long as, someone gets a hot hook-up with the man. It’d be a waste not to ride that to a satisfying ending. What do you think, Evie? You up for it?”
“Hmm? No. No, thank you. Leave me out of that. The sooner he relocates, the better I’ll feel.”
Liz sighed. “Sure about that? The next one could be worse. At least, this one has a sense of humor.”
I couldn’t tell even my closest friends why I was so adamantly opposed to our new principal, but I could explain my plan. “I don’t like him. I don’t want him here. I’m thinking I’ll find a way every day to make his life a living hell. Sure, it’s not the high road, but I believe it’s quite necessary. Who’s with me?”
By the shocked look on everyone’s faces and the fact they were all staring at the space behind my head, I could only deduce one thing. Like I’d conjured him with my speech, Mr. Calvin was standing directly in arrears of me and had heard every word I said.
Liz, feeling the awkwardness of the moment, stood and pulled out an empty chair at our table. “Would you like to join us, Mr. Calvin?”
Yep! Foot in mouth moment, confirmed!
“As long as my life doesn’t become a living hell, I’d love to sit with you.”
Celia smoothly explained, “Oh, we weren’t talking about you. Evie has a thing against the garbage man in her neighborhood. Her trash bins always end up in front of her driveway, and she can’t even pull into her own garage. She’s writing a petition to the city.”
He walked around the table and took the open seat across from me. I felt his gaze on me, but I didn’t dare make eye contact. Instead, I busied myself with my cell phone. Even though we’d made a kind of rule that phones only came out for emergencies and to settle song wording disputes, no one said anything to me.
Out of my peripheral vision, I watched him lift his menu and pretend to peruse it. Maybe it was my imagination, but he continued to stare in my direction. Finally, I lifted my gaze and felt entranced for a moment in just how green his eyes were up close. They were like emeralds blinking from the bottom of a crystal sea.
“So, I’ve met Matt, who teaches English as I recall. And I’ve literally bumped into Ms. Ward. That was…magical, if not a little painful.” I dropped my gaze to the tabletop. My heart picked up, and I heard the blood rushing in my ears with each beat. Whatever he was doing here, I was more convinced than ever that it had something to do with me. “So, I wouldn’t mind introductions and a little about what you do at the school.”
Celia leaned in and said, “I’m Celia Henderson, and I pretty much cause chaos at the school, but I teach math in my spare time.”
Everyone laughed, including Mr. Calvin, and I risked a glance up to find his gaze had moved off of me for now. The tension from before seemed to have broken, but my suspicions were confirmed, even if he hadn’t said anything specifically.
“Liz Tribble. Like Matt, I’m in the English department.”
Selena gave a sexy smile, and I knew what was coming. “Selena Ortiz, and I teach the kids how to use birth control.”
We laughed again, but Matt clarified, “She’s a health teacher.”
Mr. Calvin looked directly at Selena as he said, “Of course. I’m incredibly appreciative of the work you do. Hopefully, your educational expertise sinks in.”
Celia lifted her glass of water. “I’ll drink to that. Where does the pollen go, right?”
Everyone lifted their glasses and even laughed harder, and I couldn’t help but let a smile slip onto my lips. As I let my gaze move around the table though, I again met Mr. Calvin’s intense one, staring at me over the rim of his glass as he took a long drink.
“I don’t know what you teach, Ms. Ward.”
“Chemistry.”
He reacted with a wide grin, “Of course you do.” I wondered what that could possibly mean.
“So, Mr. Calvin, where did you come from?” Liz drew his attention with her question, and I was thankful.
“I’ve mostly been in the business world honestly, but a few years ago, I had a change of heart and thought I wanted to make a bigger difference in the world. Some strange notion hit me that I might be able to impact lives in a classroom. Inspire and bring about real change in the next generation.” He shook his head with a sharp laugh. “How naïve! Once there though, I found it was where I felt the most motivated to get up and go to work each day. I enjoyed what I was doing. Soon, others were nominating me for leadership positions, so I took it to the next level and got my administration certification. I’ve been doing this now for a few years, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
We all stared in silence for a few seconds before Selena said, “I hope we can keep you here at Mount Shelley for a while. We need a good leader. Someone who can take us in hand and give us what we need…as a staff, of course.”
Celia coughed into her hand to hide her laugh. Once she’d gotten herself under control, she asked, “So, Mr. Calvin, are you dating anyone?”
For just the briefest moment, his gaze collided with mine before he cleared his throat and explained, “Not currently. Haven’t gotten to know the right woman yet.”
Matt grunted and his face fell. Celia must’ve passed on my hurried grumble about him possibly being gay. Apparently, Matt was out of luck this time.
“Well, there are a number of single women at Mount Shelley, so be prepared for the assault.” Living up to her role, Celia was stirring up chaos already.
“Assault? That seems extreme.”
“Does it? Just wait and see, Mr. Calvin.”
“Thanks for the warning. By the way, feel free to call me Dane.”
Liz giggled. “Okay. Dane.” Her tongue tested his name, but it came off clumsy and unsure to my ears. Sadly, it reeked of desperation. I figured if I spoke to him at all, I’d stick with calling him Mr. Calvin. Until I made him leave, of course.
Matt started stacking his empty food plates. “Probably should head back. I’ve still got so much to do before the students arrive on Wednesday.”
Everyone stood and began to gather their things. As we turned to head out the door though, a rail-thin man, glistening with sweat, stumbled inside. Immediately, I stopped and hung back as everyone else approached him. Something about him felt off, wrong somehow. Again, I sensed magic in him.
His hair was long, stringy, and looked like it hadn’t been washed in months. He wore a dark, heavy jacket, over a black shirt, which hung down over a pair of ratty jeans with holes in both knees. Considering it was still summer and blazing hot outside, it was another oddity about the man. When his eyes searched the room, I ducked behind Celia, who was much taller than me. I just knew he was dangerous to me and hoped I’d be able to get around him and out the door before he noticed me.
“Maybe you’d like to go out the back way?” I jumped as Dane Calvin spoke from behind me.
I swiveled and looked up into his face at the concern etched on his furrowed brow.
“Come on. I know another way out.”
But as much as I wanted to avoid the creepy guy at the front of the restaurant, I certainly didn’t trust Dane Calvin to keep me safe.
“I’m okay. I’ll be fin
e. Just…just worry about yourself.”
“Listen, Evie, we need to talk.”
I didn’t like how he used my name so freely, like he knew me. It reminded me that he had a familiarity when it came to our interactions that I didn’t quite understand and didn’t want any part of.
“Look, Mr. Calvin, I really don’t know you from…the mailman. Maybe you should just stick with calling me Ms. Ward and let’s keep it strictly professional.”
His eyelids slid closed slowly, and he swallowed before saying, “Knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I’m not the enemy, Ms. Ward. We should be friends. It’s the only way this is going to work.”
What was he talking about? I figured he meant our getting along was the only way we’d be able to make it through the school year and accomplish the educational goals of the school, but at this moment, I wasn’t thinking about my so-called life. I was thinking about my past catching up to me.
“Evie, you coming?” Celia had turned back and stood with her hands on her hips, impatiently waiting for me to get with the group.
I nodded and stepped to her side. “Let’s go.”
As we passed the creep at the door, his gaze locked onto me as his lips lifted in a grin full of rotten, blackened teeth upon seeing me. When I started for the door, he stepped in my way and growled…actually growled. I froze but thumbed the slim container of mace on my keychain. For the first time in a long, long time, I felt the warmth of magic begin to seep into my hands, and I worried about the consequences if I didn’t get out of there.
The next moment, Celia grabbed my arm and pulled me around the guy, and my shoulder brushed him, causing an involuntary shiver to rack my body like I’d just been dropped headfirst into an ice-bath. Just outside the door, I stopped and watched him watch me until the door closed and my view of him was obscured by the advertisements posted to the clear glass of the windows in the door.
Unusual characters populated Asscrack on a regular basis, but the vibe coming from this man was flat-out scary. He meant me harm, and there could be no doubt about that. The question was why were my long-suppressed magical powers rising to the surface once again? That spelled trouble all around because that was a sure way to get all the people I worked so hard to avoid rolling into town to try to make me toe their line. Or die.
That wasn’t going to happen though. Nothing would make me go back to that life. Nothing.
Chapter 4
The important thing about gathering all your essential possessions before making a break for the border was to do it fast and pack light, especially when you were doing it the mortal way—no magical intervention to fit big items into small spaces. The problem with sticking around too long in one place was that I’d accumulated too many essentials. I was going to have to leave so many awesome hair styling tools that turned my crazy mess of black, curly hair into sleek, soft waves. That shit wasn’t cheap, and it was very, very important.
To make matters worse, I couldn’t just magic up replacements wherever I eventually settled. Magic left traces—traces that could be followed. I’d been so careful not to use magic for so long, and it was really, really hard, so I was beyond pissed that they’d found me again.
“What’s up, pup?”
I jumped about three feet in the air, and the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles in my hands hit the floor with a heavy racket. I bent down and began gathering the plastic cylinders back up into my arms and coming face-to-face with a furry face with squinty green eyes.
“What the hell, Clooney? Scared the spells right out of me.”
He snuggled around my legs as I stood, cocked his head to the side, and did a kind of kitty shrug as he explained, “Yeah, sneaking up on people is kind of my thing. Sorry, can’t change that, but what’s the deal with the suitcases? Taking a trip?”
I sighed deeply and sat heavily on the bed. “They found us again.”
“What! Why are we even bothering to pack? Let’s go!”
“I’m kind of in panic mode right now. Can’t even think straight.” I covered my face with my hands as my chest seemed to sink in on itself.
Clooney jumped onto the bed and snuggled into my lap. I lowered my hands to rub my hand along his fur but stopped before I sunk into his fluffiness, my hand hanging in mid-air. Where there should’ve been a gray marbling color was a mixture of purples.
“What’d you do to your fur?”
“Like it? Thought it made me look younger.”
I couldn’t believe he’d just said that. Was that even a concern for cats? Of course, I didn’t even know his real age.
“How old are you?”
He turned his face toward a paw and began licking his fur, clearly ignoring my question. I’d probably insulted him by not saying he looked practically kittenish. He paused for a second and jumped back to the floor, then went back to grooming himself.
After a few more licks, he said, “I think we were discussing you, weren’t we? How do you know we’ve been found?”
I told him about Dane Calvin and the creep from the restaurant. Though I left out the part about my magic returning involuntarily, I made it clear how dire the situation seemed. Even if Karrena hadn’t sent either or both of them, they both knew more about me than they should have.
“They could be working together. Or the encounters could be totally unrelated, but the odds of that are slim.”
“Ugh!” I collapsed backwards on the bed, hitting my head on a straightening iron. “Ow!” I pushed the hard contraption out of my way and rubbed my head.
Clooney jumped back up and landed on my chest, staring me down a few seconds before settling himself on top of me.
“I don’t want to go, Clooney. I have friends here. Friends I really, really like. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I would actually miss Asscrack.”
“Yeah, sucks, doesn’t it? I’m not happy about it either. It’s hard to cultivate a harem of pussies everywhere I go. Not going to lie, I’m going to miss them this time too, but Karrena and her goons mean business. They’ll stop at nothing when it comes to you.”
“Okay, first…ooooo! Don’t ever share anything about your sex life with me again. Second, how long will running from them last? I mean, they seem to find us everywhere we go. Maybe we need to take a stand against them this time.”
“Probably a good point. Eventually, we’ll run out of places to hide. But, you’re not strong enough to face them alone, and I’m not the least bit confident in my ability to protect you.”
He turned his face away, and I knew he was remembering the forest clearing, my mother’s final moments, and his lack of power to do anything other than lay under a branch with a broken back and watch as our world fell apart.
I scratched his head and behind his ears until he looked at me again. “I wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t come for me. Never underestimate your abilities.”
“Ha! Take your own advice, woman.”
Now it was my turn to look away, uncomfortable with the turn the subject had taken. “I’m not my mother. That much is obvious. I could never be as wicked as she was.”
“Not wicked! Never wicked! That’s just Karrena’s brainwashing. But you’re powerful. Possibly more powerful than your mother.”
I sat up slowly, displacing him off my chest. I didn’t like this subject. It made me itch, on the inside, where I couldn’t reach it, could never soothe it.
“Doesn’t matter because the minute I use my powers, all Karrena’s forces will come crashing down on our heads. So, that leaves us running again.”
Without another thought, I stood up and began packing once more, but stopped mid-motion when the doorbell rang several times in a row. I glanced at Clooney. “Were you expecting someone?”
“Didn’t have any dates scheduled for today.”
As I cautiously approached the door, the doorbell ringing began to take on a rhythm, and it wasn’t half bad. Kind of musical in an annoying buzzing sort of way. Through the frosted glass of the
front door, I made out the silhouette of a female with long hair. Karrena!
I dropped to my knees and crept to the couch beside the door. Relief filled me that I’d had the presence of mind to twist the deadbolt when I’d finally made it home. Clooney hopped over me and crawled into the window to see for himself if we needed to sneak out the back door. Of course, if it was Karrena, she wasn’t alone. They’d have to battle their way through a few muscle-heads and magic-jockeys. Okay, since when did she refer to people as muscle-heads and magic-jockeys?
“Not Karrena.”
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I held and looked up at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. It’s not Karrena.”
“Who is it then?”
Suddenly the air filled with pink smoke, a loud pop sounded, and in the next instant, someone who hadn’t been there before stood over me, waves of powerful magic rolled through the air.
“Where’s the confusion? You want to know who I am? I’m not Karrena. That’s all you need to know, Evie.”
My gaze was drawn to the gorgeous, peep-toe heels on her feet first. Me want! But as I lifted my eyes, I began to get a different feeling about the fashion before me. Whoever this lady was, she had found her groove in the 1980’s, and she’d never let it go. She wore a fire-engine red dress with a ruffled, flouncy bodice with an off-the-shoulder neckline. Little rhinestones winked from the fluttering folds of the fabric. Her hair fell in faultless waves, feathered and poofy, and her make-up was done colorfully. She was the most stylishly stuck-in-the-80’s woman I’d ever seen.
“Like totally, dude.” The words came out before I could even censor myself.
“Well, thank you.” She gestured on each side of her hips. “It’s a Zandra Rhodes original, a British designer. Maybe you saw a similar dress on Jane Seymour. Of course, we know who wore it best.”
“Of course.”
“Well, say it.”
I widened my eyes. “But I don’t even know your name.”