Spearwood Book Two

by A. S. Oren

  Horace takes more macarons out of the oven. "I'm sorry things with your mom didn't work out. I know you were really excited to see her."

  Jakki shrugs. "This cupcake is really good, Sweetie. I’ll be as round as Violet from Willy Wonka by the end of the day with all this food to chow down on. Where's the others? I know you guys were trying to throw me a surprise party. Amr slipped this morning and said something about it.”

  Both Horace and I shake our heads. "That boy couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it," we say in unison before looking at each other. "Jinx! You owe me a Dr. Pepper."

  We laugh, and I shove Horace in the shoulder. Jakki tosses the empty foil cup in the trash. "You two act like you're in third grade."

  I stick my tongue out at him. "Maybe we are, mister two decades."

  He rolls his eyes. "Horace's birthday was just last week, then we have Den, Mav, and yours coming up. There's going to be a lot of cake and alcohol going through this house."

  I nod. "Bullock's birthday is in November. I want to do something small for him, something quiet."

  Jakki lifts an eyebrow. "He's a bit of a loner, isn't he? No rager for him then? Did he disappear with the others to go wherever?"

  I shake my head. "No, he's here in the library. He’d much rather have a quiet dinner than lots of people getting drunk around him. The others went to go get alcohol in London with Rian. I suspect they should be back any minute.”

  Footfalls thunder down the stairs.

  Jakki grabs a macaron before Horace can slap at his hand. He grins at the man with wire-rimmed glasses. "You must be psychic, Sweetie. You should open one of the psychic hotlines and make lots of the money off the Norms."

  I laugh and shake my head. "I have no desire to tell some random cat lady that Fluffy wants a blue bowl instead of his pink one."

  Maverick bursts through the door with brown bags in his arms. "I come bearing beer, wine, and Irish whiskey!"

  He puts it all down on the dining room table. Amr and the others walk in carrying bags of party goods and junk food. He stops when he sees Jakki leaning against the island. "You were supposed to be with your mother. What happened?" Amr puts the bags in his hands on the ground and goes to Jakki.

  Jakki shrugs. "She had work or something to do. She cancelled on me just as the food came. At least she lasted fifteen minutes this time."

  Amr turns Jakki to give him a hug. "Oh, Love, do you want to go talk about it?" He looks at me over Jakki's shoulder and motions around with his eyes to look around the room. He wants us to decorate while he keeps Jakki busy in one of the other rooms. Being a twin rocks sometimes.

  Jakki wipes away his tears. "Yes."

  Amr leads Jakki away to the upstairs.

  I turn on some rock & roll. "Okay guys, we need to get this place decorated in the next hour or so. I honestly don't know how long Amr will be able to keep him up there."

  Horace cocks his head to the left. "At least two hours. Our record is four, but that was with a small break in between."

  I shake my head. "I didn't need to ever know that."

  Paden claps his hands together. "I got this, Lon. You two keep baking. The rest of us can get this place put together pretty fast."

  I smile and return to making spiral peaks of frosting. Tonight’s going to be so much fun!

  "Happy birthday to you!" We all sing and clap as Jakki leans over the sheet cake to blow out the candles. At least two hundred people crowd the house. All of age. Most of them are friends from Spearwood and the camp, but a few are tagalongs.

  "Thank you, everyone!" Jakki, in his purple suit, smiles and waves to everyone. He does have a unique taste in clothes.

  I cut off the first corner slice and hand it to him on a mini paper plate, before working to divide the rest of the cake. I should've made a second cake, but I didn't think this many people would be here. Our normal birthday parties only get maybe twenty people, but Jakki’s popular, so it doesn't surprise me so many showed up.

  I cut off pieces and hand them back to people, until only one corner slice remains. I turn around. "Sorry people the corner piece is mine! We have other desserts over there if you still want something sweet to eat." I point in the direction of the dessert table. I doubt many of the people in in the back of the kitchen can see me or my hand. I swear I just need to carry a stepladder around with me.

  People groan but move away from the table and go back into the other areas of the house. Music blares through the speaker system Horace set up for us. No matter where we are, we can always have music playing. Except for the library, I drew the line there.

  Jakki never did touch his cake; it sits on the table while he nurses his fourth glass of red wine. He must be hurting from his mother ditching him on his birthday. Amr holds his hand. At least someone’s watching him. I put the last slice of cake on a mini paper plate and grab a fork and napkin before I go up the stairs to the library.

  I open the door to find Bullock sitting on one of the couches, a book in his hand. He glances up at me. "Is the party still going on? I tried to hang out for a little bit, but I didn't really know anyone there, and I’d rather be up here."

  I sit down on the couch next to him, so close our legs could almost touch. During training classes over the last few days, he’s become more used to me invading his comfort zone and doesn't seem to have as much of a problem with it now.

  I hand him the plate. "I saved you some cake. I wanted to make sure you got some. It's yours and Jakki's favourite, Devil’s food."

  "Thank you." He picks up the fork and takes a bite and swallows. "It's really good."

  I grin. "Good. I'm glad you like it."

  He stares at the piece of cake for a moment before glancing to me. "Did you get a piece of cake? There were a lot of people down there. More than what I think that cake could've served."

  I shrug. "It's okay. I should've made another one, but we weren't expecting that many people to come. I'm just glad you and the other important people to me got a slice."

  He cuts off a piece of the cake and holds it on the fork before offering it to me. He wants me to take it off his fork? I lean over and hold my mouth open. Will he feed it to me? He places it in my mouth, and I take the bite. It is a pretty good cake. "Thank you."

  Even in the glow of the fireplace, I can make out the flush that stains his cheeks. He sets the fork down. "You're welcome." He rubs at his cheek with the back of his knuckles.

  I stand. "I wish I could stay up here with you, but I have to make sure people aren't getting too drunk downstairs. I'm the mini hostess for tonight as well."

  He nods. "I understand. I hope you have fun."

  I pause before I close the door. "You have my number now. Text me if you need anything. Food or something to drink. I don't blame you for not wanting to go down into that horde of people. Our parties are normally like the one we had last week for Horace, small and not more than couple dozen people."

  He nods and holds up his book again. "I will."

  Closing the door behind me, I walk back downstairs and then head to the basement through the den, where some guys are playing video games. I guess it's okay with the others, because the guys would've hidden their precious game systems if they didn't want anyone playing them.

  Paden, Maverick, Rian, and Mirren stand around the pool table. Paden and Mirren hold beers in their hands whilst Maverick sips on a tumbler of whiskey. It's his new favourite thing. It makes him feel all dignified or something.

  Mirren puts down his beer and takes the shot. The cue ball gets pocketed. I hiss. "I hope you weren't betting money."

  "Shut up." It's basically all he says to me now after yesterday.

  I go around the table to lean into Maverick. The ice clinks in his glass as he puts an arm around me.

  "So are you guys hiding, too? I can't help but notice the lack of party goers down here."

  Paden nods. "We put a ward on the door, only the people who live here can come down here. We were going a bit nut
s with no walking room up there. Who knew Jakki was so popular? He never brought his school friends around us when he was hanging out with Amr.

  I rub my cheek against Maverick's chest, taking in the scent of his cologne of rich sandalwood spices. "Tell me about it. I like our little parties. Guess I'm not much of a college girl. I could never do a sorority." I turn in Maverick's arm, as Paden takes his shot, and grab his glass of whiskey so I can have a sip. I like drinking his whiskey when he puts it over ice.

  Maverick lets me hold onto his glass as he takes his arm back and prepares his shot.

  Lusk stares at me from the other side of the table. His silver eyes piercing into my soul and igniting that part of me that I wish it wouldn't. In the light from the overhead spotlights, the long scars running over his cheek appear angry. I still don't regret doing that to him. He hasn't done anything to prove to me it was a mistake. I stare at the table and sip at Maverick's whiskey.

  A crash bangs down onto the ceiling. We all jump before putting down our drinks and sprinting for the stairs. What the hell was that?

  We all go through the door and into the den. The video games have been abandoned and people stand around the entrance to the kitchen.

  Paden, Maverick, and Mirren shove their way through the crowd, making a tunnel for me to follow.

  Amr helps Jakki up off the floor; glass lays in shards around him. Several of the glass platters from the dessert table have broken for some reason. Jakki stands and sways on his feet. The wine must be getting to him. A shard of glass sticks into his hand and red blood drips down onto the floor.

  He looks at it, and Amr makes a sound in the back of his throat. The music has stopped. "Baby, don't touch it, I'll heal it." He takes the shard out; Jakki doesn't even wince. He must be pretty far gone. Amr heals it a second later as a white light surrounds their joined hands.

  Tears track down Jakki's cheeks before he lets out a sob. I frown. I don't think he's distraught just over his mother. She's been this way with him for as long as he can remember. I think this has to do with not allowing himself to be his true self. If only Amr would figure it out.

  I face the crowd of people. "Okay, the party is over. Get the fuck out of my house!"

  People groan and grumble, but one by one, they take a Void out of the house. After the fall of Rosemen and not having threats on the horizon, Edgar chose to lower his wards. Now people can come and go during the camp season. After camp, they may go back up, but who knows. We'll be the owners of the land by then.

  "Come on, Jak, it's been a long day, let's go to bed." Amr leads Jakki to the stairs.

  With everyone gone but us, I turn to Horace. "What happened?"

  He shakes his head, his eyes glassy. "We've been drinking for a good portion of the day, and I guess it just got to him. He was dancing and somehow fell into the dessert table. Glass went everywhere and here we are." He moves his hands and the air picks up in the room to swirl around the fallen glass and carry it up and over to the trash. I sigh, I still haven't made the feather even twitch, yet I can use air magic when I'm not thinking about it.

  I lean over to Horace and whisper in his ear. "You know the truth about Jakki, right? He needs to talk to Amr. I think he's developing a drinking problem.

  He nods. "I know. I can't get him to talk to Amr either. And he had me take a vow of secrecy when I told him I would talk to Amr.”

  I sigh. This will only get worse until he tells him.

  Paden comes to stand next to me. "What do you know about Jakki?"

  I shake my head. "That's not for me to say."

  "The dude wants to be a girl. It's pretty obvious." Mirren folds his arms over his chest as he takes a seat at the dining room table.

  I glare at him. "You had no right to share that information."

  He shrugs. "It's not like your brother is down here to hear it."

  I roll my eyes. He just doesn't get it.

  Paden sighs. "Let's get the place cleaned up. This mess will drive me nuts."

  Maverick throws an arm around Paden's shoulders. "Embrace the mess, Little Bro, we can clean tomorrow. Who wants to play Cards Against Humanity while getting drunk?"

  I have to return to training tomorrow, and the first person on my schedule is Mirren. "I'm game!"

  CHAPTER NINE

  Day Six

  "Watch me and then try it for yourself." Rian and I stand near the pond. He's my second tutor of the day, right after Mirren. We're still fighting over posture. No matter how I stand, he's never happy. It didn't help that we both have massive hangovers today. I was so tempted to skip him this morning and crawl into my bed. But I didn't want to get a lecture from Paden about responsibility and owing this to Edgar.

  A small stream of water rises up out of the pond and forms a spinning disc. Pulling his arms to the side, Rian pushes them forward and sends the water flying toward a tree trunk. It slices through the wood as if it's soft as butter and leaves behind a clean cut.

  "This is the first thing my father taught me when he was teaching me how to use water in fighting. It's not the best move to use if you're ever actually in battle. But it's a good move for a beginner to learn and master. It will help you learn what it feels like to control the water and get faster with your movements."

  I nod. I hope I can do this right now. The sun beating down on us isn't helping with the headache that wants to move to the front of my attention span.

  I move closer to edge of the water and turn my body so my feet face Rian, but my torso faces the water. With my palms toward the water, I pull up several bubbles and connect them to form one long stream of water. This isn't how he did it, but he says forming the bubbles first is something a lot of beginner students do.

  The stream of water hovers over the water and catches the sun. The reflection glints in my eye, and I have to look away. The stream crashes back into the surface.

  Rian clears his throat. "Is something wrong? You were doing well."

  I shake my head. "No, sorry. Last night's drinking is getting to me. I have a headache, and the glint from the sun was a bit much for me right now. I'll do it again."

  Rian holds up his hand. "Let's take a break. I admit I’m not feeling too hot right now either. You've done a lot so far this session. Throwing discs can wait until tomorrow.” He takes a seat in the grass, and I follow his example.

  Picking up a small rock, I toss it into the pond. I don't know why, but I still get a strange childish thrill out of doing that. "Thank you. I don't think I could've done much more, but I wouldn't have quit until you said something."

  He nods. "I get it. I don't usually drink like I did last night. Normally, I cut it off after a few beers, but with everyone getting drunk, it became addictive to be drunk with them. Though I don't remember too much after the strip poker."

  I smile. "You started making out with my brother after he came back downstairs."

  He covers his mouth with his hand and stares at me with wide blue eyes. "I did, didn't I? Shit, he probably thinks I'm a man whore or something now, doesn't he?"

  I laugh. "I doubt my brother would ever think of someone as a man whore or slut. He's too nice to be that kind of person."

  He shakes his head and laughs. "I probably shouldn't have been making out with him while at Jakki's party, but it felt so good to kiss him. I was all warm inside, and I don't think it was from the shots of tequila."

  I kick off my shoes. "Jakki was upstairs. And I don't think he would've minded, trust me. Has Amr talked to you at all about his..." I hesitate. "Relationship status?"

  He frowns. "Not really. I know you guys are all really open and free. It's interesting."

  I nod. "Well, we're something. I think you should talk to Amr though, let him know what you're feeling. I know he will be able to explain some stuff to you better than I can."

  He looks at me for a second longer before turning his attention to the water and nodding. "I get the feeling I'm in for something big here, but I'm okay with that. To be honest, I didn't
even know I liked guys until last night."

  I nod. "It's interesting how the Fates choose to have things play out."

  CHAPTER TEN

  Day Seven

  The ground trembles and cracks open as the red hot magma pours out onto the land. Sweat rolls down the side of my face; I have to focus hard in order to not let it burn the land and start a massive fire. Paden always made this look easy when we were children. But after a week of teaching me how to make sure the magma doesn't burn anything, he feels I'm ready to make a metal ball.

  "Good, now you just need a little bit, I don't want it to be bigger than a golf ball. So let some of it return back into the Earth."