Two Halves Box Set

by Marta Szemik

  “And what will you do about this?” He pointed at the sphere mark on her wrist.

  “I’ll use a more ‘human’ technique to cover it up.” She laughed. “Makeup!”

  “Clever, but what if it rains or you have to wash?”

  Xela felt her new nose twitch the way Aseret’s did. She wasn’t impressed with this addition.

  “I suggest a more semi permanent solution,” he said with a sly smile.

  Xela frowned and took a deep breath before asking, “What do you propose?”

  “Scarring it; removing it from your wrist. It will hurt quite a bit.”

  “It’s not the pain I fear, Aseret. This is who I am.” She pointed to the mark. “I was born with it. Without it, I will never be treated with the same respect in the underworld again!” Xela didn’t want to admit he was right. She wanted to turn her back to him but knew better than that.

  “Not to worry. It will reappear once you remove the spell. Besides, when we’re successful, I’ll gain more respect than the mark itself earns.” He squared his bony shoulders, exuding confidence.

  “We will gain,” Xela corrected with a scowl.

  Aseret’s nose twitched and he handed her a moist piece of fabric. “Take this cloth. Once it’s done, wash the scar and the imprint will find its body.” He looked into her face. “Will you be able to heal it in time?”

  Xela pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, walked to the fire crackling in the hearth in the center of the hall, and picked up a chunk of charcoal. She used it to write on the paper.

  “Get these ingredients to my cell as soon as I’m there.” She handed the list to Aseret. Then she extended her left wrist. “Do what you must.”

  Aseret held his hand up, palm toward her. A thin stream of red flame shot out to sizzle against her skin. It seared Xela’s birthmark, leaving a reddened, bloody wound. She clenched her jaw, biting through her lower lip with her new teeth, but did not move. A tear rolled down her new face, though not from pain. That was over.

  Aseret snapped his twig-like fingers. Two seekers were standing at his side before he let his hand drop. “Take her down to the first cell. Treat her as a prisoner.” He paused before adding, “But make sure she’s well fed.”

  The demons took Xela by her delicate arms and led her down to the dungeon. She didn’t speak another word.

  Bonus Chapter 2

  Mira and Xander wait for Sarah and William at The Grill.

  The siblings sat at a table set for four. The Grill was packed, as it was most Saturday nights, but Michael, its owner, squeezed them in at the last minute. Mira and Xander watched the Funky Boys set up their equipment on stage, preparing for an after-dinner performance. The blue and red floodlights that illuminated the band’s equipment flickered once in a while.

  Mira inhaled the spreading aroma of chicken wings and barbecue sauce. “They’ll be done to perfection tonight.”

  “Not quite, but almost.” Xander took a whiff. “Undercooked by a minute.” If there was anyone who knew food better than the chef, it was Xander. He skimmed the crowd toward the front door and frowned

  “Tone it down, Xander, or you’ll shift,” Mira whispered, glancing around the packed restaurant.

  His gaze met hers. “I don’t understand how you can remain so calm.”

  Someone dropped dinner plates back in the kitchen. The heads in the restaurant turned toward the crash of the shattering crockery, but the siblings didn’t flinch.

  “I think I’ll add on a couple of years,” Mira replied. “Once Sarah knows the truth, we’ll be able to date again. Seriously date.”

  “You’d date a human?” Xander swung his head around, as if trying to find a suitor but Mira knew he was looking for their late company.

  “Yes. Stop fidgeting.”

  “What about ‘lover-boy’?” Xander asked.

  “It’s been too long.” Mira picked up the spoon to check her lipstick in its reflection.

  “You mean he can’t sneak in to see you? Wow, surprise, surprise.”

  “Shut up. We’re both under oath. He can’t step away from his, and I can’t ask him to.”

  “And you’d find time to date a human?” Xander grinned with doubt.

  “If Ekim doesn’t need us anymore, then yes, I would date a human. I can deal with a shorter life span.”

  Xander gave his sister a confused look. “Why?”

  “Why not?” She leaned in, clenching her teeth. “We’ve been around them enough. I know how they work. They don’t disappear at the flick of a finger.” She sat back on a sigh. “Look at Michael.” Mira pointed to the blond owner, wrapping a damaged extension cord with electrical tape. “He’s pretty hot—”

  “And gay.” Xander laughed under his breath.

  “If anyone could make him straight, I could,” she said.

  “How? By shifting into a man?”

  “No, by using my charm. That’s not the point. I don’t want to go back to the forest alone. Besides, I see how you’ve always looked at Sarah.” She winked. Xander had a secret crush on the half-breed since childhood, but their oath to Ekim and the prophecy negated any advances he could make. And he never got over his true love.

  Ahh, star-crossed lovers, Mira thought.

  “Sarah’s not human. She’d understand.” Xander shifted his focus to the younger of the band members tuning her guitar.

  “Sarah’s also spoken for.”

  Xander leaned in toward his sister. “We don’t know that for sure.”

  “Oh, come on, Xander—he’s just like her. And she knows him already, without knowing him. You’re sunch a bonehead Xander.” Mira turned her attention to the waitress who came for the drink order. “An iced tea, please.”

  “Very mature, Mira. Add about a decade to your behaviour as well, will you?” Xander sneered, then placed his order. “Perrier with lime, please.”

  Frowning, Mira gave him a dirty look. “This battle is taking its toll on father. I hope whatever Sarah and William can do to help happens soon.”

  “I know what you mean.” Xander sighed, suddenly serious, until his eye slid to the blonde hostess who had greeted them at the door.

  “Hypocrite,” Mira muttered.

  He dropped his gaze to the menu where they stayed. Almost nothing could break Xander’s concentration where food was concerned.

  Mira stared at the listed selection of dinner combinations, indecisive. Her nerves hadn’t let her eat all day. She licked her lips. Today she felt more human than ever. Once Sarah knew the truth, Mira hoped they could be the friends she had always wanted to be, without any secrets. She smiled, straightening her back. For Mira, this was the beginning of a new life: shared secrets and double-dates.

  I can do this—I can really have a life.

  Then, Mira slouched.

  Who am I kidding?

  Sarah was part of a larger plan of which she had no knowledge, a plan that had to come first. She had to stop the extinction. The siblings had to protect her.

  Maybe we could take her to the forest for a while. Maybe we could go with William and her to their safe haven. We should go with them.

  But then we’d be tracked. Ugh, I have to figure out a way!

  “You know she didn’t work today,” her brother interrupted her thoughts.

  “I know.” She sighed.

  “So, where is she?”

  “Maybe she’s home getting ready. I told her there’s someone I’d like her to meet. Except she probably thinks it’s someone for me, not her.” Though Mira secretly hoped it could also be someone for her, she knew the siblings’ promise was more important. Their oath to guard Sarah would last until she didn’t need protection anymore.

  “I don’t know if she was home, Mira. I missed both my jogs because of you. Did you really need a new dress? Couldn’t you have gone and picked it up yourself?” Xander moaned, obviously irritated by the change in his daily routine.

  “I had to get my nails done—you know, the way humans get them don
e. Sometimes you worry too much.”

  “And you not enough,” he growled quietly. At least he was smart enough to be discreet about their shape-shifting nature, which could instantly morph their personalities from loving “angels” to savage beasts.

  “That’s why we work well together.” Mira smiled.

  “So where is she now?” he asked again.

  “She’s probably running a little late.” Familiar waves of instinct ran through Mira, and she put the menu down. Scanning the restaurant, she hoped to see Sarah weaving between the tables toward them, but she didn’t. “Although Sarah’s never late.”

  There was something strange about today: the clouds had suddenly covered the bright sunrise this morning, and an odd stench had overwhelmed the fresh air, a stench of mold and mildew so strong it became acidic.

  “And where is William?” he asked.

  Xander has a point. Perhaps I overlooked something I shouldn’t have.

  Her instincts once again took over. “Xander, I’m getting a funny feeling.” She patted her belly just below the navel.

  “I’ve had it since this morning. Call her,” he ordered.

  Mira speed-dialled Sarah’s number and let the phone ring four times before closing it. “She’s not picking up. She always picks up my calls.”

  “Let’s go.” Xander was up and heading for the door, moving quicker than he should have in a public place. People turned their heads, frowning at their sudden exit.

  “I’m sorry, Mike, there’s a family emergency.” She pressed three one-hundred dollar bills into the palm of The Grill’s owner to cover the dinner and the inconvenience.

  The darkness hid the siblings as they ran faster than was humanly possible down the street, then ducked into side alleys to get to Sarah’s house. The closer they got, the more potent the mouldy stench became.

  Xander stopped in front of Sarah’s house. “Look.” He pointed to the glowing orange skid marks on the road. They confirmed the sibling’s worst fears.

  Mira almost threw up. They could only hope William had gotten Sarah out in time.

  “They couldn’t run far in daylight. They had to have taken a car.” She inhaled deeply. Mira didn’t relish taking in the stench from the underworld, but she’d smelled worse. And she was searching for another scent, one that they already knew: William’s. “He wasn’t here. He didn’t help her!” She panted.

  “Hold on, Mira.” Xander’s steady voice calmed her panic. “Then where is William? He would have told us if she was taken.”

  Their eyes met in understanding, and the shapeshifters took off, sprinting toward Sarah’s store.

  The evening cooled. The seeker’s stench was more difficult to detect here, away from Sarah’s house, but it still present. The siblings should have recognized; it should have registered, even though the memory of it was lost in their minds. They were born for this, after all, but they had not smelled the odour in more than twenty years and it had changed a little, which put them at a disadvantage. The filth left an extra layer of salt and bitterness on their tongues reminding them of socks that had been worn for over a week in wet shoes. As they got closer to the store, the smell intensified.

  Xander pulled on the handle of the closed door and it opened. They tiptoed inside.

  The interior had been turned upside down. Crushed plants, shredded papers, smashed vases were scattered everywhere; water collected in puddles around the ruin on the floor. Sarah would have fainted had she seen it. Even her favourite orchid lay limp on the floor by the counter. Mira picked it up and tucked it back in its pot.

  The store’s phone flashed two new messages. Xander pressed the play button.

  “Sarah, it’s Kirsten. I’m sorry, but I’m down with a fever. I can’t make it today.” A cough. “I’ll call you later if it breaks.”

  Beep.

  “Sarah, it’s me again. I hope you’re doing okay at the store. I’m really ill. Please call me.”

  The blinking light stopped. The siblings looked at each other, inhaling in tandem, their chests expanding to their deepest capacity. They let the particles still in the store flow into their lungs to give them a better sequence of time during the past day’s events.

  “Kirsten never showed up. Sarah was here this morning, with William. Her and William’s scents are mixed, combined into one. He got her out.”

  A hint of relief covered Xander’s voice. His sister sensed anger, panic translated into rage and she shared his pain, his fear for their friends.

  “She’s safe for now, but . . .” Xander trailed off.

  “The seekers won’t stop now. They got too close,” Mira finished for him. “We have to follow—”

  “The seekers have started concealing Sarah’s and William’s scent. It’s—”

  “Dissipating.” Mira nodded. “It’s slowly being taken over by the odour.”

  “We’ll follow the seekers until we know Sarah and William are safe.”

  The siblings let their innermost instincts take over. The smells told a story they could use.

  “We’ll be a full day behind, at least.” Xander’s body vibrated with eagerness.

  “We won’t catch up in time, unless we’re lucky. Maybe the seekers won’t find her.”

  “We can take a shortcut. Get Harlow to take the lead.”

  The sibling’s falcon usually kept close to the shapeshifters.

  “Yuck!” Mira knew the odour would start burning their nostrils soon, but it couldn’t stop them.

  The siblings looked knowingly at each other. There would be no time for goodbyes, no time for rest. This was what they were born to do, and they couldn’t fail.

  Mira ripped her new dress from the hem up to her crotch and tied the ends at the knees. Then she searched the black sky for their beloved falcon. Harlow could follow the seekers and lead them in the same direction by a shorter path. He would communicate with others of his kind until the siblings found Sarah. They could only hope they were not too late.

  * * *

  The seekers lost Sarah’s and William’s scent and headed south. The siblings couldn’t understand why William had led them toward the demon lands.

  Harlow left signs. He sent word back through others, telling the shapeshifters where to go. It didn’t look like it would be a quick search, especially not on foot.

  Mira and Xander ran most of the night, when no one could see their supernatural speed of a vampire, the fastest creature on earth. They rested during the day. Once the siblings hit open, uninhabited land, they took the chance and didn’t slow again. A week of nonstop running brought them to the border of Mexico. Crossing over wasn’t a problem; no human could spot them when they moved at their fastest.

  Sarah’s and William’s scent had disappeared a few days back. The shifters’ one consolation was that the seekers couldn’t find it either. Harlow had told the siblings they were using other means to find the half-breeds, which puzzled the shifters. They could only follow the smell of dirty socks—the seekers’ trail.

  Bonus Chapter 3

  Mira and Xander go to the hill to pick up their mom, while Alex plots to steal Sarah’s body.

  “Ma! We’re here!” Mira called, the first to step through the door at 21 Front Street.

  “I know, I know.” Ma bustled forward to hug her kids as if she had not seen them in years. “How are you?” she asked, kissing each on the forehead. “I heard you had quite an ordeal. Here.” She took their jackets and hung them on the hallway hooks. Ma was the best kind of mother. She’d iron Mira’s dresses, cook Xander’s favourite food, and she would never use her magic to scold them. To her, they would always be her little “monsters.”

  “No big deal.” Xander shrugged. “I knew we could handle them.” He picked up one of the two glasses of orange juice Ma had waiting for them atop the hall table.

  “Right, you against three hundred seekers—no big deal,” Mira teased.

  “Three hundred?” Hannah raised her eyebrows and frowned. “Your dad skip
ped that part.”

  “Is Dad still here?” Mira asked.

  “No, he had to go to Spain to speak with Drake and Gabriel about a spell no one seems able to break through. He said you’d come to get me.” She used her cuff to wipe the rings of condensation the glasses had left on the tabletop and muttered under her breath, “No easy task, to break someone else’s spell. It’s nearly impossible.”

  “Nearly?” Xander asked.

  “Unless you have their permission, it’s impossible. Now, what brings you two home?”

  “We found Sarah and William. They’re at the hill with their parents. You’re coming back home, Ma!” Mira chirped, eagerly jumping up and down.

  “But you guys love it here,” Hannah protested. “I can’t uproot you again.”

  “We’re not children anymore,” Mira said. “Besides, it’s where we want to be—in the woods.” She gulped her drink quicker than her brother, keeping her eye on him while the juice disappeared.

  Laughing, Hannah handed Xander a tissue to wipe the orange juice from his chin. “Slow down or you’ll choke.”

  “You’re not safe here, Ma.” Xander insisted. “It will be better if you come with us.” His voice grew wheedling. “It will make us feel better. Please?”

  “Sarah and William need your help with a spell,” Mira added.

  “I cannot take it off,” Hannah explained.

  “But you’re a powerful witch,” the siblings said together.

  “If I interfere, an imbalance will occur. From what your father said, this could be Aseret’s curse.”

  “But can’t you lessen its effect?” Mira suggested. “Or paralyze it?” The hope that Sarah and William could get close to one another ignited her own heart. At least two soul mates could be together.

  Hannah capitulated with a sigh. “I can try. Get your stuff—only the necessities. We’ll leave as soon as we can. I’ll check the pot.” She headed down to the basement, most likely to stir her pot-full of magical ingredients and look for signs of danger. Mira knew it was something she did before any journey she took. Five minutes later, Hannah called up. “Come on down, it’s ready!”