by Lainy Lane
“And now,” he spoke between deep breaths, “you should be thoroughly satisfied for a minute. So, let’s go get some work done.”
I wanted to be irritated, but all of those emotions had subsided in the pleasure that coursed through my blood. For the first time in days, I smiled and willingly agreed to something.
“Hey, Ethereal,” I chimed as we entered into the living room where she was sitting on the couch. She seemed taken aback by my cheerfulness. “Can you make some super concentration tea, please? I think I’ve got an idea of how to finish this vamp potion up!”
I practically danced into the living room where we had been keeping the actual cauldron, not the teapot cauldron of course. We were using Ember’s fire engine red cauldron for this experiment. Energy coursed through me, far more than I had felt for a while. It was invigorating, and I had confidence, for the first time since we’d begun working on the potion, that I knew how to finish it. Hopefully, once we finished, we would also be able to figure out the next step in the plan of how to undo what we were doing.
“Ember,” Ethereal called down the hall, “come quickly before Acqua turns into a crazy person again!”
Did she just sass? That was very unlike Ethereal.
Ember didn’t miss a beat; she came walking in, looking suspicious. I was sitting in front of the cauldron, mixing the currently blue liquid and demanding new ingredients from Phoenix, who seemed lost. Luckily, Ethereal was listening in and immediately began thumbing through the cabinets. Ember sat down and seemed to instantly pick up the path I was on regarding the potion. Ethereal came over with the teapot steaming with an incredible smelling tea. I felt a sense of accomplishment from merely smelling it.
I could feel Phoenix smiling over us. It was the most peaceful the three of us had worked together in days. I felt the serenity that I hadn’t been able to feel since having first discovered I had become the thing my species had been at war with for decades. Life certainly wasn’t comfortable. This was still an awkward stage, but being back with my sisters, and working together again, reminded me I was home. I was where I belonged. No matter what was going on outside these walls, above our little abode, we were in this together, and as long as that remained true, nothing would stop us.
Only a few hours later, and several batches of the minty concentration tea Ethereal had developed, we had finally finished the potion which was now a dark magenta color. In about thirty-six hours, I would be meeting with Vulcan to hand him a vial of the pink liquid and give him back the very thing I’d stolen from him.
“So,” after a long while of working in silence, I felt like it was deafening me, “now all that’s left is to figure out how to undo all of this after Vulcan changes my parent's memories to the story I’ve written.” I sighed and leaned against the couch as I lit a cigarette.
“I think I might have an idea regarding that,” Ember's eyes brightened excitedly. All of the animosity we’d been passing amongst each other the last several days was completely forgotten. “Ethereal, what if we infused a Mimosa Pudica with the potion to administer it to Vulcan?”
Ethereal scratched her head, seemingly intrigued. “Interesting idea.” She ran off to her room and returned moments later with a small pot that held a purple flower with fern looking leaves protruding from it. She directed her explanation to Phoenix and me, knowing we were the ones who weren’t following the ingenious idea yet. “You see, this plant is known to shy away from things, so to speak.” She reached out and placed her finger on one of the long leaves with small fibers sticking out of both sides. It took several moments, but the plant eventually retracted from her touch. One by one, each strand folded into itself until it was completely unrecognizable. I watched intently as the benefits that plant held to our situation unfolded.
“So, you’re saying,” my brain was working well tonight, and the pieces were fitting together comfortably, “if we were to infuse the potion into one of these plants, we could inject Vulcan with the Vampirism and be able to take it back?”
Ethereal smiled. “I would have to play with it and figure out exactly how to trigger the release and retraction, but it’s certainly the best idea we’ve had.” She continued toying with the plant, the wheels still turning as she watched the leaves unfold and retract.
“Great.” I smiled. “Let’s figure that out after we get out of the house.” I stood up and stretched my legs. “It’s been a while since we just spent a night out on the town. Let’s get out of this cave, shall we?” I wasn’t sure anyone else was as desperate to get out as I was. I had a feeling Ember and Ethereal might look forward to a night of Phoenix getting me out of the house versus going out with us.
“Well, seeing as the last time we were out we came home with him,” Ember pointed at Phoenix, who had been keeping to himself while we worked on the potion, "I'm not real sure it's worth the risk." She rolled her eyes to drive her point home.
“Fine. I promise not to bring another vampire home.” I smiled.
I found myself hoping Ember and Ethereal were feeling as lighthearted and relaxed as I was now that developing the potion was off of our plates. We deserved a few hours to reward ourselves for the accomplishment. Our minds and emotions could use a bit of a break as well.
“Well, are we allowed to bring anything home?” Ember asked, her smile looking very she-devilish.
“No more vampires, though,” Ethereal laughed, “I think we’ve had our fill for at least one lifetime.”
“I’m offended,” Phoenix spoke up for the first time since we’d left my room.
“Me too!” I laughed, the change of pace setting my heart at ease for the first time in weeks. “Where to, girls?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I could boldly remember a time when the name of the bar The Cauldron would have prevented me from going to it; probably because that time had been until about ten minutes ago. This was a place that Ember and Ethereal had frequently visited before I joined their group. To me, it wasn’t only corny, but distasteful and disrespectful. They had insisted we needed to go there, and since I was already in such a good mood, I gave in and allowed them to lead Phoenix and me there. There was an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach as we walked to it that I attempted to ignore.
Supposedly the place was run by humans who were oblivious to the fact that witches actually existed in worlds outside of books and TV shows. Naturally, they didn’t mean anything by the name; it was more of an advertising gimmick than anything. The sign outside the bar had a large black cauldron silhouette with a long nose and pointed hat-wearing figure stirring it. Was that really what humans thought about all witches? If I could remember back to my childhood that I’d worked so hard to block out, I’m sure I would’ve come up with the answer to that as being a big fat yes. It was sometimes rather humorous how oblivious humans were to the reality of the supernatural. They had no clue that most of the creatures they watched on TV or read about in books were truly walking among them. They were unaware that most supernatural beings looked and acted nothing like the legends they’d created over the years.
We strolled up to the bouncer, dressed to the nines and looking the role of party goers. My feet were already beginning to ache in the black glittery stiletto heels I'd decided to wear, but I was pushing it all aside for tonight. Ember and Ethereal had accepted me back into their good graces, and I wasn’t about to let anything ruin that. Not tonight at least. I would be on my best behavior; there had been so little about my life of late that I’d been able to control. Tonight was one thing I was taking the reins on, come what may.
My tight midnight blue strapless dress was giving me the confidence that seemed to have gone into hibernation recently. Ember and Ethereal were also wearing their favorite colors, those that matched their affinities. Ember’s dress was bright cherry red, it was long sleeve and high necked, but barely long enough to cover much else. Ethereal wore a mermaid style dress that was a mixture of gold and emerald. Personally, I found it hideous, but Ethereal
was an odd combination of things, so it fit her nicely. I had even forced Phoenix to wear a pair of black pants instead of his usual ripped blue jeans. He still insisted on wearing a plain t-shirt, so I asked that he at least wear his brown leather jacket over it to dress it up a bit.
“Sorry guys,” the bouncer said after looking us over for several, tense moments. He was a buff, bald man that you knew was a total tool just by looking at him. “We’re at capacity for the night.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he was raising the rope guard for a group of guys who waltzed right in the door.
“Really?” I scoffed, “and they’re what? Janitors?”
He shrugged his shoulders. He was obviously not willing to give off any more information, and I wasn’t going to let the situation go without one.
“Listen, dude. I’m going to need you to tell me exactly what is going on because I’m not stupid.” I placed my hands on my hips to further iterate my irritation. A side thought occurred to me that I had committed to behaving well tonight, and I was already off to a bad start.
“My girlfriend is a witch,” he stated simply and returned to his blank stare into the night like there was something great happening out there. Why did bouncers find it necessary to stand like that? Stiff as a board, looking like a statue of a guard dog, that’s what all bouncers looked like to me. It made me uncomfortable. I guess that was probably the point.
“And?” I pushed.
“And, you are a traitor.”
Was there some bulletin I'd never been made aware of; a witchly newsletter that sent out all the gossip about those of our kind? If so, Ember, Ethereal, and I had never received an invitation to receive it. Regardless, where did a human get off being so brazen with a group of witches and vampires? He may have the muscles of a club bouncer, but he was still human. Maybe no one had ever explained to him that supernatural creatures also had supernatural powers and strength. It was probably his girlfriend’s way of not taking away his superiority complex. Either way, my blood was boiling, and I had a strong desire to bite him just for spite.
“Come on, Acqua,” Ethereal barely spoke above a whisper, “let’s just go. No trouble tonight, right?”
Everything inside of me wanted to beat this prick to a pulp. I wanted to show him how wrong he was for talking to me like I was nothing. I wanted to show him what traitors were capable of, to prove my case. However, I wasn’t willing to risk getting back to the silent game Ember and Ethereal had been forcing upon me before tonight. Phoenix grabbed my hand to encourage me further and, with my willpower reiterated, I walked away without another word. For the sake of my sanity, I did play out me shutting him up once and for all in my head. It helped a little.
“There’s another place just a block away,” Ember said.
None of us spoke of the words the bouncer had said to me as we strolled to the next club. I attempted not to replay them in my head, afraid it would get the best of my emotions if I did so. Despite the drama, I was still feeling giddy and enthusiastic over the night we had set out to pursue. I followed after my sisters while holding Phoenix’s hand as we walked to the place Ember had in mind. It was the same bar we had gone to the night we’d found Phoenix. He hesitated for a moment at the sight of the dark brick building. There were no windows, only a solid black door with the words “Brick by Brick” painted in gold across the top.
There was no bouncer at this bar, so there was no one to deny us access even if they wanted to. We strolled in and walked straight over to a few open seats at the bar. A young coal haired boy took our drink orders and immediately headed off to prepare them. We all relaxed against the backs of our stools and took a deep breath. After the issues at the first place we’d gone to, I was relieved to begin our night out finally.
“Excuse me,” a high-pitched voice caught me off guard as we made small talk while waiting for our drinks. “I’m sorry, but you’re not welcome here.” The girl was petite with dirty blonde hair, and nowhere near enough clothes.
“Really?” I dared. This was just getting ridiculous. Since when was it illegal to go to a bar with friends? “Says who?”
“Us,” the girl replied, her voice was reminiscent of Minnie Mouse, and it irked me to no end. She pointed to a corner booth several feet away filled with the kind of girls you would expect someone like her to hang around. They were probably her little worker bees. The sight actually made me nauseous. I hated crazy girls and everything about this group of girls spelled c-r-a-z-y.
“And you girls are—?”
“A coven that doesn’t betray our own.” She smiled. “If you’d like to discuss this further, I suggest you meet us out in the ally. There’s no cause to make a scene.” She walked away.
What she had just done was challenge us, without speaking the words. We were outnumbered, which wasn’t unusual. Most covens consisted of at least five to six people while larger covens reached up to twenty or more. Our coven was unique at the size of only three, and even more unique now that we had a vampire and a hybrid included. That wasn’t the point. The point was that, regardless of our size or even our members, she had challenged our coven. One thing witch covens were notorious for was not backing down from a battle. Of course, there were times when that left us vulnerable, but that knowledge still didn’t prevent us from taking each and every challenge personally.
Ember, Ethereal, and I immediately headed to the ally. Phoenix, after reading my thoughts to figure out the reasoning, followed, though he was still reluctant about doing so. The crazy girl coven was already waiting for us, and I couldn’t figure out when they had slipped out of the bar unnoticed. I looked at the dark ally, the place where my whole situation had first turned complex, and now it was getting to be even more so. I made a note that we should probably never return to this particular bar again, it obviously didn’t fancy my presence.
“We know what you are,” the lead crazy girl said. She was staring at me with a glower that had flames seemingly kindling behind it; a look I'd often seen in Ember. I knew immediately that her affinity was fire.
“And that is?” I challenged her. If she was going to have the nerve to cause this kind of drama, she better have the guts to, at the very least, call me by the name of what she assumed I was.
“A traitor,” she spat the word out.
“Try again,” I spat back at her, “I don’t answer to that.”
“You should. We all know who you are and what you’ve done.” Her lips curled into a snide smile.
“Well then,” I smiled as Phoenix took my hand in his, warning me that I was getting ready to cross a line, but I didn’t care, “please, go ahead and tell me what it is you think you know about me.”
“You fell for his schemes,” she pointed to Phoenix, “and then let him turn you into one of them.”
“Yeah,” I shook my head sarcastically, “that’s exactly what happened. It’s like you were there.” Anger was rising inside of me. I knew I was going to be to the point of no return very shortly. I couldn’t stand it when people spoke of things when they didn't have the correct amount of knowledge to speak. The only thing that disgusted me more than that was judgmental people. These girls were the type that didn’t know how to do anything other than to judge. If they ever quit pointing out the flaws of others, they might actually be forced to see their own issues.
“What you should really be ashamed of,” she didn’t miss a beat in continuing her verbal attack on me. “Is shunning your coven because you let your hormones get the best of you. More than apologizing to your kind for worsening our war and yet not having a side to stand on, you should be apologizing to them for taking them down with you.”
“She doesn’t have to take us anywhere,” Ember surprised me by being the first to speak up. “Unlike you and your little followers there, we’re a team. We’re not just blindly led by a leash. We follow each other because we stick together no matter what.”
My heart swelled, but I couldn’t allow the smile to appear on my face. It woul
dn’t look good for my reputation. What I needed right now was to appear fierce and unaffected by her threats.
“Well, you’ve led yourselves, as well as the rest of us witches straight to the slaughter, so I’m glad you’re at least standing by each other. No one else will.” She turned and walked away with her crazy girl posse following after her.
“Mean girls,” I responded after they had disappeared around the corner. “They feed off of putting others down to build themselves up.” I shrugged it off. We had far more important things to stress over.
“Well, one thing is for certain,” Ethereal said sadly. “We are apparently on our own in this war now.”
She was right. We’d turned the civil war of the ages into a three-party war, and we were all alone and beyond outnumbered. We didn’t stand a chance.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I awoke with the worst migraine, which meant Phoenix had been blessed with one as well. He probably wished he could turn off the bond until when we slept so he didn’t have to deal with my night terrors. Ethereal suggested the nightmares were likely due to stress, and she was already working on a batch of tea to help cure me. I lay in bed with my eyes shut as tightly as was possible. The scenes from the previous night were continuously flooding, unwelcomed, through my mind. I felt dizzy and nauseated. The world was crashing down around me, I could feel it. All because of who I’d, entirely unintentionally, managed to fall in love with: Phoenix.