by D. N. Hoxa
I had no answer. Sienna had been crying most of the time the first few days she was with us. Then, at Mathias’s house, she’d spent a lot of time alone in the room, thinking. Coming to terms with what she’d learned. We never really got to interact, but she’d seemed fine when we left with Oscar. Perfectly fine, and not at all like the woman leading us inside the small door. I had to crouch to get to the other side, and Ax and Grover had to walk in sideways.
The room she took us in had a very high ceiling, an empty fireplace, an old drawer, a rocking chair with book piles on the floor all around it, and the two lamps on either side of the chair. The right side of the walls was completely made out of glass windows, looking out at the field, probably, which was now swallowed in darkness. The dogs’ barking could barely be heard in there. There were two sofas close to the normal sized door on the other side, which I suspected led deeper inside the house. Origami decorations were on the lone shelves mounted on the walls with no obvious pattern, and flowers without vases were placed in almost every corner.
It was a strange place but in my mind, it fitted Sienna’s persona perfectly.
“Have a seat,” she said and took off her brown cover. The rocking chair creaked under her weight when she sat. There was nothing in there that made me think of danger, and now that the light from the lamps fell on her face, there was no doubt in my mind that this was really Sienna.
“What happened to you?” I asked before I could help myself. She was the same, yet so…different. People didn’t change so drastically, not in a month’s time.
But Sienna refused to answer my question. “Make yourselves comfortable. This is my room and nobody ever comes in here except me,” she said, somewhat sadly.
That didn’t make me feel any better, but I pretended to sit straighter on the sofa. Ax was just as tense, sitting on my left, but Grover seemed perfectly at ease.
“I know you want to know why we’re here, so I’ll skip the small talk and get right to it,” Ax started after clearing his throat. He was right. We could see she was fine, and she could see we were okay. No reason to waste time. “After we left Mathias’s house that night, the ECU held us prisoner, but we weren’t the only ones. Twenty-seven others like us were there, and after an attack by those creatures everyone is calling demons, they disappeared.”
“The demons took them,” I clarified.
“And Elisa and Scarlet freed them. You remember Elisa, right?” Grover said.
“Yes, I do. Is she okay?” Sienna asked.
“She’s fine.” Though all alone with Eddie. I didn’t doubt that she could take care of herself, but once she told Eddie that I’d escaped, he wasn’t going to want to hear the part where I promised I’d go back to him, right after the Carnival. She would be all alone to face his wrath.
“The ECU almost caught them, and they had to separate, but Scarlet and Elisa have come up with a plan to stop the ECU from hunting people like us down,” Ax continued. Sienna’s face didn’t change, not a single emotion reflected in her eyes. “There’s this Carnival being held tomorrow in Manhattan, and they’ve put up signs everywhere in the city to try to get as many witches like us together as possible. We’re going to face the ECU together in the Carnival, because everybody will be there. All the leaders who we suspect don’t know about what’s going on with us.”
“We want to make them see that we’re just the same as they are,” I said. “That there aren’t just a few of us scattered around the world, but there’s a lot of us, and we’re willing to stand against them, if need be.” Though I still had no idea what we were going to do if the ECU actually decided to fight us right at the Carnival.
“When we escaped from the ECU, we went back to Mathias to find you, to send you on your way here, but you were already gone,” Grover said.
“Yes, I left when Mathias found out that you were captured,” Sienna confirmed.
“On our way out, we met a man,” said Ax, swallowing loudly. “He said something…something about you.”
Raising her brows like she was expecting him to say exactly this, Sienna sighed. “I met Karim, too.”
No. Fucking. Way.
“Is there anyone out there who hasn’t met him?”
Have you, by any chance, met Karim, too?
I realized I’d said that out loud when they all turned to look at me. “Sorry. Just that this is seriously creeping me out. What are the odds that all four of us met him when we did?”
“It’s as if someone arranged for it to happen,” Ax whispered. Glad we were on the same page. “What did he tell you?” he asked Sienna.
“A lot of things, but I’m interested to hear about what he told you.” Maybe she was always like this, but when we found her, she was too terrified about the entire world coming down on her head, because even her voice sounded so much different from before. So much more powerful. It was hard to think that this girl in front of me was the same one who’d been screaming her guts out in that alley.
“He told us that we needed to find our leader. A woman who was raised away from our world, and who had everything to teach and everything to learn,” Ax said in a breath. “And we believe that woman is you.”
“Unless you know any other witch like us, who grew up with humans.” Could be that there were others out there, and we just didn’t know about it. But Sienna shook her head. My curiosity spiked. “By the way, how does that even work? Humans can’t perceive us. I’m sure Fallon told you all about it.”
“I’m not sure,” she said, looking at the floor in confusion. “It’s been like this all my life. My parents found me in their barn when I was a baby. A few days old, they suspect. They’ve always been able to see me, to remember me, but not everyone else.”
“What did everyone else behave like, around you? Was it like with the rest of us?” I realized this wasn’t important right now, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d wanted to know ever since I’d met her.
“Not exactly. They always knew me, remembered my name, but they sort of were surprised I was there, every time they saw me. Like my friend Tuana, who kept telling me what she did on spring break over and over again because she couldn’t remember she already had. It was just that one story, though. Or my cousin Charley, who sent Christmas cards to my parents and my siblings, but somehow always forgot to send one for me. Or my teachers, who seemed to forget I was there and part of the school program. My mother got used to sewing my costumes herself by the third grade.” Sienna laughed but it was forced. “It was all here and there, bits and pieces, but nothing concrete. Nobody missed me, and nobody realized I wasn’t in the room, except for my parents. But nobody treated me badly or spoke about me behind my back, either, so that was a plus.”
That sounded so lonely. No wonder she had all that room to herself. She probably spent most of her time in there as a kid, and as an adult.
“I’m sorry,” I heard myself say. It was a hard life to live on your own, but at least she’d had her parents. For whatever reason, I was glad about that, as if I knew this girl all my life.
“Don’t be. It all makes sense now. I don’t blame anyone. It’s not their fault,” Sienna said. “It’s just nature.”
“So what do you think?” Ax asked her. “About what we said.” Straight to the point. I elbowed him in the arm as gently as I could. The girl had just told us her life’s story and he wanted to get back to Karim again? He was so cold.
“I think what you’re doing is right. We shouldn’t be hunted because of our nature. Nobody should,” Sienna said with a nod.
I flinched. “But what about the part where Karim said you’d be our leader?” Fuck, that must have been so hard on her. One day she woke up and surprise! You’re not human. You’re a witch! And then just when she thought this was over, another surprise! You’re not just a witch. Some crazy Bone witch said you’re supposed to lead a brand new kind of witches to…what?
I hadn’t gotten that far yet.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but the
Carnival is tomorrow. We’re on a time strain here. We don’t mean to rush you, but it’s very important that you come with us,” Ax said, dragging himself closer to the edge of the sofa.
I watched closely for a reaction on Sienna’s face but saw none.
“This could all be bullshit, you know. It’s something you have to think about. We could be wrong and you’re not the person Karim was talking about, or it could be that that witch is full of shit. Even sent by the ECU to mess with us for all we know.” This time, Ax elbowed me in the gut but I ignored him. Sienna needed to know all of her options. She could have a quiet life here on her father’s farm. She could live a long life hiding among humans. “Things could get ugly at the Carnival. People could die.” You could die. I couldn’t make myself say it out loud.
“But you could also make a difference,” Ax said. “We need someone to speak for us, and Karim said—”
“We don’t even know who that guy is!” Even magic had limitations, and no matter what they said about Bone witches, it was really hard to believe that he was telling the truth.
“Mathias did. Karim’s grandfather was the strongest Seer in the world in his time. Powers like that don’t just disappear. I don’t doubt that Karim really saw what he said he saw.”
Just when I was about to tell him that Mathias thought Oscar was trustworthy, too, Sienna cut me off.
“Karim is not lying.”
“He’s not?” How would she know?
“I will come to Manhattan with you. I will speak for you at the Carnival. I will lead you, but I cannot do it myself.”
“Hold on just a second…” What the hell?
Why wasn’t she freaked out by what we said?
Why was she speaking like she’d thought about this for a long time?
Who the hell was this woman?
“The world is quickly changing, and none of us really have a choice. We either adapt, or die,” Sienna continued, leaving me breathless. “Being recognized by others should be our priority, as it is. I wasn’t expecting anything so big, to be honest, but very well done.”
“What exactly did Karim tell you?” I stood up because I needed to release some energy. I got closer until I could see every inch of her face.
“He told me that my time had come. That my people need me.” She said it so simply, it was impossible to understand the gravity of her words. My people.
“So you’re going to leave all of this behind, just because a stranger told you so?” That made me want to laugh.
“Scarlet, for fuck’s sake!” Grover complained, but he should have been suspicious of this whole thing, too. Or was I crazy for being so?
Sienna turned to the windows on her side, looking at the darkness outside as if she could see right through it. “This life is a beautiful life, but it isn’t mine. It never was.”
“What else did Karim tell you? You’ve changed a lot since we last saw you,” Ax said, reading my mind.
“He awakened my powers,” Sienna said.
“And how did he do that?” Someone awakening someone else’s powers? I’d never heard of anything like it in my life.
“He didn’t, not exactly. He showed me how to do it. Where to look.” My God, she had no idea how to answer a question properly! “Do you have a plan of action?” She looked right at me.
“Our plan is to gather as many people at the Carnival and to show ourselves to everyone there. To tell everyone about how we’re being hunted, and to demand they stop killing us, or else,” I said in a rush. Suddenly, that didn’t sound like a very good plan anymore.
“We need to show them that we can handle ourselves. That there’s a lot of us. If we can gather around fifty people, the public is going to see that this isn’t a joke. Only they have the power to change how the ECU looks at us,” Ax said.
“And if they don’t, we can always fight them.” Grover grinned, his lip piercings coming to attention.
“Of course, it’s going to be tricky. We don’t even have spells that work with our magic, but we have a better control of it in its raw form than any other kind of witches. It’s going to work,” I said, but I didn’t sound very convinced. “It has to.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Sienna said, making me flinch. “What about after?”
“What about after?” After, we’d live happily among paranormals and humans, just like it always should have been.
“The Carnival isn’t the end. We need to protect ourselves until we make sure we’re not in danger,” Ax said. “We need a place to stay, somewhere where we can keep our eye out for one another, and be ready if the ECU attacks.”
“You’re talking about fifty people!” Grover said. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I really wanted to believe that fifty others like us would show up at the Carnival, too. “Where are you going to find a place to fit us all?”
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be one place. It can be a neighborhood,” I said, thinking about Crystal. We were going to follow her to Newark, and stay in two separate motels. It was the best chance we had, and who’s to say we couldn’t do the same with almost twice as much people?
“It would have to be away from Manhattan, that’s for sure,” Ax said. He was right about that.
“Tell me more about the demons,” Sienna said, surprising me a bit.
“She can kill them,” Grover said without missing a beat. Aware of the dragon around my hand, attached to my now acid-burned skin, I looked down at the floor and said nothing.
“In fact, we all can.”
There it was, another one of those hold on a sec moments.
It had occurred to me, too, that we all could kill them if we all had a life-sucking dragon on our hands. But no. Only I had been the “fortunate” one.
“They feed off our powers. The first time I met one, he worked so fast, I barely got a look at his face,” Ax said angrily.
“But our powers can kill them, in some way,” said Sienna. She wasn’t sure about it, either.
“If we all had one of those, maybe…” Grover nodded at me, and all their eyes fell on my left hand—and the dragon.
“Well, you don’t, and trust me, you don’t want this thing on you. It’s like having a miniature, dragon-shaped demon stuck to your skin.” Even worse sometimes.
“That weapon is Scarlet’s destiny,” Sienna said. “There can only be one dragon girl.”
Laughter bubbled from my chest. “Dragon girl?” Was she high? “Just so you know, you’re freaking me out when you talk like this. It’s like you’re from another world.” I was pretty sure she knew it, too.
“I don’t mean to freak anyone out. I’m still learning all of this myself,” she said. “But Karim told me about you.”
“Yeah, he told me about me, too.” Unfortunately. He’d called me her protector.
“Okay, let’s get back to where we’re going to go after the Carnival,” Ax said. Thank God.
“Pull out the map and we can choose a town. Whichever town,” Grover said.
“Preferably resided by humans.” It would be the easiest way to tell what was happening at all times.
“But we’ll need protection,” Ax said, but I’d already planned an escape like this with Elisa and the others before.
“The families of the people who are like us are going to help us. We’ll ask them. All we really need is weapons to protect ourselves with, and Pretters.”
“Then what? Are we going to be stuck in one neighborhood, preparing to fight for our lives?” Grover said. “Doesn’t sound like freedom to me. More like The Walking Dead.”
“Then, we shape ourselves,” Sienna said. “Just like the other witches have.”
“You mean into a coven?” It was the ultimate dream, so ultimate I hadn’t dared to give it any serious thought.
“I have no idea about the ways of your world. You’re going to have to teach me how covens work.”
“To become a coven, we have to gain the support of the other covens,” Ax said.
“So we’ll learn how to do exactly that.” She was so sure about it, she sounded naïve. But that was just because she didn’t know how covens really worked. It all came down to the money and the power, no matter what others might have you believe.
“It’s not going to be so easy.” Even surviving the Carnival, now that we were less than a day away from it, was looking very problematic.
“Why don’t you tell me who we’re going to face on our way back to the city?” Sienna stood up. She went by the old drawer next to the mantel and pulled out a blue bag. My jaw hit the floor.
“You’re just…you’re just going to go?”
“Yes, Scarlet.” Grover rolled his eyes. “We just talked about it.” Eagerly, he stood up, and so did Ax.
“Wait, wait, wait, this is a very unrealistic turn-out of this conversation.” It really seemed that way to me.
“Is that why you came all the way here? For her to say she was staying?” Ax asked and it sounded like a genuine question. Had I?
“I’m ready when you are.” Scarlet put the blue bag around her shoulders and waved for the door. Grover high-fived her.
“You had your bag packed already!” I looked at Ax. Didn’t he think that was strange?
“I told you I was waiting for you.”
“Did Karim tell you that, too?!”
“He didn’t. I can sometimes see time now.” With that, she turned around and walked out.
“See time?” I asked in half a voice, but Grover was already gone, and Ax looked just as confused as I did. “Are you serious? This stinks too much, you’ve got to see it!”
“How about we talk to her first before we make any assumptions?” he said.
“How can I not?” I walked closer to him just in case Sienna was out there listening. “Ax, she’s a completely different person. Did you really expect her to say yes to our crazy proposal?”
Ax flinched. “I didn’t expect her to say no, either. You’ve got to admit it’s strange that we all saw Karim when we did. She, too. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. We were meant to meet him.”
Meant? As in, it was our destiny? Call me crazy, but I wasn’t very keen on believing that. “What if she’s not who she says she is?”