by J. L. Weil
She wrung her fingers around a mug of hot tea. “Good, because I would love to hear it.”
I scuffed my boot on the kitchen floor, wondering if I lied or told her the truth. I had known the time would come sooner or later, and I’d had enough of lies. The deceit would feel like sandpaper on my tongue.
A purple strand of hair fell over my eyes. Shit-on-a-broomstick. I had forgotten to say the words to remove Sophie’s charms. How in hell was I going to explain this to my aunt?
Wait a second.
Why wasn’t she freaking out? “You know it’s me?” I asked.
She scoffed. “Of course I do. I know my niece when I see her.”
That’s what she thinks…
Or did she?
I scrambled for a logically explanation, but as I looked at her face, I realized that it wouldn’t make a difference.
Reality was a bit sobering.
“How long have you been using magic?” she asked, staring at the tea in her cup.
Bam. I was hit with one shock after another tonight.
I froze. “You know about that?” I asked in a breathy tone.
The corners of her lips tipped in a weak smile. “I’ve always known what you were capable of. The gifts you inherited.”
For the second time today, I had the rug swept out from underneath me. I didn’t know how I was going to find my balance again. Sinking down into a chair at the end of the table, I dropped my head into my hands. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I wanted to, many times, but your mom made me promise that I would not tell you. She was worried for your safety and trying to protect you. I had to honor her final wish.”
I knew how hard she had taken the death of my mom, and I totally got why she had kept the truth from me. Like my mom, they both loved me and didn’t want me to get hurt, but none of their efforts had changed the outcome.
She took a sip of her tea. “Are you okay?”
No. I was not okay. I was far from okay. “I don’t know. It’s been a roller coaster of a year, and I am still processing.”
Confusion flickered over Aunt Clara’s pretty face. “Are you at least going to tell me why you are dress like that? Are you in trouble?”
Crap. I was so exhausted I kept forgetting about my trashy look. Glancing into her concern eyes, all the words—the truth about where I’d been—got ensnared in my vocal cords. Things were complicated. If I started talking, I would have to tell her about Gavin, about Lukas and I just didn’t have the energy in me tonight.
“I went to a club,” I said, yawning. It was the most truth I could give at the moment.
She stood up, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “We’re both tired. Let’s get some sleep and we can talk in the morning.”
I think I nodded. I would have agreed to anything as long as it got me into my bed. Holding onto the banister, I pulled my dragging butt upstairs and into my sanctuary. With a sense of sadness, I crossed the room and caught my reflection in the mirror. I hadn’t bothered to flick on the lights, but even in darkness, I looked like a hot mess. Mascara streaked down my cheeks. I was seriously rocking the world’s messiest do. And my outfit was laughable.
Screw it.
I tore off my close and body slammed the bed. Burying my face into the pillow, I inhaled the familiar scent of my life. So many things were spinning in chaotic noise in my head. There was this falling downward feeling inside me. And by the time I understood what it was, there was no stopping it.
I was being summoned.
Chapter 20
“I didn’t think you were ever going to close your eyes,” Morgana’s voice sounded from behind me, slightly miffed.
I spun around, facing her and angled my head to the side. “Do you watch my every move?”
“Usually.”
I gave her a bland look.
Dark waves of hair spilled over her shoulders as she looked at me with eyes that were anything but innocent. “What? There’s not much to do on the other side, and you amuse me.” She walked around the room, occasionally running her finger along the back of the couch or over the woodwork.
She looked so strange inside my house. Speaking of strange…I glanced down at myself and sighed. For once I wasn’t dressed in some sheer flowing dress or half naked. I had on my favorite tattered jeans, my coffee solves everything shirt, and pink polka dot socks. I couldn’t have been happier.
Until I remembered all that had happened.
My face fell.
“Oh shoot. You didn’t know if it was going to be me or him summoning you.” Morgana’s violet eyes missed nothing. “Grab me a drink, love. I’m parched. All this dreaming traveling and spying stuff wears me out. And we have a lot to catch up on.”
She was right. I watched as she sauntered toward the porch like she was walking the red carpet, her hips swaying. Shaking my head, I grabbed two cans of sodas from the fridge and followed her outside. There was something stunningly beautiful about the sky. Reddish oranges and pinks smeared across the horizon. Hidden crickets sung from the overgrown brush and the woodlands surrounding my house.
It made me miss summer, so much tranquility and quietude. The perk of dreams was you could make it any season you wished. In the real world, summer was still a few months away, which meant graduation was that much closer.
She was sitting on the old porch swing staring off at the sky, much like I had. I sat down beside her, the wood creaking under my weight and handed her a drink.
“I miss this the most,” she said, uplifting her face. “The feel of the sun.”
Morgana may be many things, including sometimes a bitch, but she knew what I needed when I needed it. She knew when to push me, when to console me, and when to be my friend or a shoulder to cry on. For the first time, I saw the woman sitting next to me as family. “I think I will miss the ocean the most.”
With a flicked her wrist the porch swing started swinging on its own. “We each have an element we connect with. It is no surprise that yours is water. Do you plan on going somewhere, dear?”
My brows scrunched together in confusion. “No.”
“You said will miss, not would.”
My feet stopped swinging over the side.
She took a sip of her drink and winced. “How do you stand this stuff?” Waving her hand over the drink, I felt the swirling of magic. “There. If Jesus can turn water into wine, I can turn whatever this into something just as sweet.”
The idea of alcohol turned my stomach.
A secret grin appeared on her lips as if she knew that just a small whiff would have me puking over the edge. “You think because of what happened last night that you are doomed, is that it?”
Did I?
There just seemed to be so many strikes against me. If I managed to live and survive the attacks on my life, my soul still had shards of darkness, and they weren’t getting any smaller. If anything, they were growing, and it would only be a matter of time before the light was snuffed out.
“I am here to tell you that there is still hope.”
She was able to cut through my bleak thoughts. “How?” I asked.
Hesitating, her expression sobered. “When the darkness becomes too much, you will find reprieve in the one thing you keep close.”
That was eerie familiar, like I’d heard it before. I turned toward her, twisting the moonstone necklace in my fingers. “What is that supposed to mean? For once could you just spell it out for me?” The guessing games were ancient, kind of like her.
Her crimson nails tapped on the aluminum can. “Ah, if only the universe worked that way. I have every confidence that you will figure it out. You are of my blood after all.”
I rolled my eyes. If that was what she was banking on, then we were both in deep poo-poo. “Your blood or not, I have a giant target on my back. And as much as I wanted you to be wrong about Lukas and Gavin, you were very much right. One of them betrayed me.” Just thinking about Lukas brought on a fresh wave of pain that slice
d across my heart. Water gathered at the corner of my eyes.
“Boys, can’t live with them, can’t live without—Well, that’s not really true as I haven’t had a man in centuries. Come to think of it, the male species has always proven to be just a pain in my ass.”
Morgana oozed independence. She didn’t need to depend on a guy or rely on one to protect her. She was a get-shit-done-kind-of-witch. I wanted to be more like that. I wanted to exude badass confidence, woman empowerment. Maybe her mojo would rub off on me the longer we were together. “We’re cursed when it comes to men.”
“There is probably truth to that. Although, haven’t you already chosen your prince charming.”
My eyes widened. “You weren’t watching the other night…” I couldn’t say it.
She winked. “I never kiss and tell.”
Gross. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” I muttered.
Her laugh was silky. “I see the truth has revealed itself to you. Yet you shed a tear for the traitor?”
I sighed, my chest squeezing. “He hurt me, deeply,” I whispered. And now that I’d had a moment to digest what Lukas had done, my heart splintered. “Why did he do it?”
“Because he is a d-bag,” she stated matter-of-factly.
I let a short, unflattering giggle that was almost a snort. The fact that she knew what a d-bag was shouldn’t have surprised me. Morgana was not your usual grandma. Hell, she didn’t even look like a grandma, not a single gray hair in sight. “Total douchebag,” I agreed.
It was so unbelievably normal, having a cold drink with my great grandma on a sweltering summer night. Swaying on an old white wicker porch swing and bashing men. I almost laughed, because the conversation was anything but ordinary. One bright spark in the otherwise black misery of my life gave me hope.
“And why are you grinning?” she asked, suspiciously.
I shrugged, twirling the cola in my hands. “I was just thinking how normal this is, us sitting here watching the sunset.”
“Hmm,” she pursed her lips. “We better enjoy it, because it won’t last.”
That’s comforting.
A faint glimmer of sunlight shaded the outline of her form. “Let me give you one last piece of advice. As mouthwatering as your choice may be, I am not ready just yet to be a great, great, great—you get the picture. Use caution and your head. Don’t let your hormones rule your life.”
I turned shades of pink. “Uh, sure,” I said intelligently.
How did this turn into such an awkward conversation?
We sat on the porch talking about nonsense until the sun set. It could have been hours or minutes, time was irrelevant. My problems forgotten, we sipped on our drinks and got to know one another on a different level. She was relaxed in a way I’d never witnessed. It made her more human. When I woke up, Lunar was purring in my face, his whiskers tickling my cheek.
Chapter 21
It was Saturday. Someone please tell that to my body. Ugh. I had awakened at an indecent hour, so of course the first thing I did was reach for my phone. After checking my emails, stalking twitter, and opening every app on my IPhone, I finally gave into what I had wanted to do since I glanced at the clock on my nightstand.
He answered the phone on the third ring in an inaudible grumble that had fireflies fluttering in my belly. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey yourself, sunshine,”
I adored the grogginess in his voice. “Did I wake you?” I asked, though I knew that I had. No one said my brain was functioned intelligently this early.
“I’m glad you did. I missed you. Even in sleep.”
Dear God. His sleepy voice was the sexiest thing on earth. I might be sneaking into his room at five o’clock in the morning. My heart skipped. “I saw Morgana last night,” I blurted, and then face palmed my forehead. I had wanted to tell him about the dream, but I hadn’t planned for it to be the first thing out of my mouth.
“What did she say?” He instantly lost the hot gruffness and became golden retriever alert. I could picture him bolting straight up in bed, shirtless, with the covers gathered at this waist and a hand shoved in his hair.
What an image.
My mouth watered.
I needed a cold shower…or something.
It was no secret that my boyfriend and my grandma hadn’t gotten off on the right foot. They hadn’t exactly made up either. “She told me that craziness in my life isn’t over…” I replied, checking my hormones.
He made some kind of low growl in the back of his throat.
“And she told me that she approved of my choice.” I smiled into the phone.
“About?” he prompted.
I had never told him about her cryptic messages regarding my love life. “Picking you over d-bag. Her words, not mine.”
“I knew I liked that crazy bat.”
“Hey.”
“At least she has good instincts.” There was a smirk coming through loud and clear from his side of the phone
I snuggled into my pillow. “There is that.”
“And so do you,” he added.
I wanted to kiss him just then—full on dirty girl. “That’s debatable.”
“Since you got me out of bed, do you want me to come over?” His voice was husky.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to hurry, but then I remembered my aunt. I groaned. “Crap,” I swore. “I almost forgot. My aunt knows I’m a witch.”
There was a pause. “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes.”
I could always count on him to make me laugh, even in the most ridonkulous situations. “Tell me about it. She was waiting up for me last night when I got home, and I thought at first I was being busted for curfew.” Not that I really had one. “Then I realized that I was still dress in incognito.”
He snickered. “I would have loved to have been there to see your face.”
Speaking of, my eyes flew down, scoping out my hair. I exhaled as I stared down at my drab auburn hair. “Trust me. It wasn’t pretty,” I mumbled.
I heard him shift on the bed. “So Aunt Clara has a few skeletons of her own.”
“It appears so.” I nibbled on one of my fingernails. “We didn’t really get a chance to hash out the how’s and why’s. I was still a little woozy.”
“I just bet you were.”
If we had been in the same room, I would have thrown something at this head. “Whatever. I’ll see you tonight?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said.
Immediately I missed the sound of his voice as I hung up, but I had more pressing matters than my longing heart. Flopping onto my back with oomph, my body was too jazzed to stay in bed. So I swung my legs over the side and decided I needed some fresh air. Last night I watched the sunset with Morgana, this morning I would take in the North Carolina sunrise, alone.
Discarding my cell phone on the nightstand, I went to toss on some clothes and brush my teeth. Ten minutes later, I sat in the middle of my backyard, soaking up the sun. It was the perfect temperature. Warm enough in just leggings and a shirt without any sticky humidity and a gentle breeze that always carried the scent of the sea. All morning I thought about my dream with Morgana. How could I not? On top of everything, a part of me was afraid that I would not see her again.
Inside, my aunt was still snoring z’s, so very unlike her to sleep in, even on a Saturday. I figured maybe it had something to do with what I put her through last night. She needed her beauty rest, and we needed to have a heart to heart.
But it could wait.
Stretching out on the plaid blanket, I opened a book that I had brought with me. A mindlessly story about someone else’s life, what a perfect diversion. Halfway into chapter three, I heard the soft crunch of grass. Startled I looked up just in time to see Aunt Clara sit down next to me.
She handed me a mason jar filled with black coffee, her hair pulled back off her face. “You were up early,” she said.
I took a long whiff of the bitter aroma.
God, she was a lifesaver. “I’ve been having unsettling dreams.”
She crossed her legs at her ankles. The sunbeams picked up the dark blonde highlights in her hair. “I bet. Do you want to tell me about them?”
Impatient, I took a sip from my cup and was rewarded with a burnt tongue. I wondered just how much she knew about my powers. I gathered that she knew I was a witch, that I wielded magic, but did she know just what kind of power? Or how dangerous I could be? I smiled sheepishly. “This is so surreal,” I admitted. “I thought by hiding this part of myself from you, I was protecting you.”
Never had she ever looked at me with anything but love—even now—her eyes glistened with pride. “It looks like we both had the same idea. You don’t have to hide who you are from me.”
Averting my eyes, I glanced down at the steam rising from my coffee. “I might have been the teeniest bit afraid that you would kick me to the curb.” Being rejected and homeless at one time had been a real fear, although realistically, my aunt wasn’t the type of person to abandon family.
She snorted. “You are the only family I have, Brianna. There is nothing that will change that. Nothing. You can’t get rid of me that easy.”
I manufactured a smile. “What about Chad?”
“You’ve been mine since you were five. No one is as important to me as you,” she said, lightly brushing the hair off my shoulder.
Inhaling, I asked, “So you knew that my dad was…a witch?”
A wistful look passed over her expression. “I did. Your mom told me everything. And I mean everything. She didn’t know what TMI meant.”
I laughed. “How did you keep such a big secret?” It had been less than a year since I found out what I was and keeping such a gargantuan secret had eaten me up inside. The people who meant the most, Tori, Austin, and my aunt had been the ones I wanted to confide in.
She looked me directly in the eyes. “I wanted to tell you almost every day.”
Because I could relate, I found that I wasn’t angry she hadn’t told me sooner. Essentially we had been doing the same thing—shielding each other. “I know the feeling,” I muttered. “Why did you decide to last night, besides the fact that I came home looking like Sideshow Bob?”