by J. E. Cluney
He was weirded out by the bonding of our minds now, the link we shared. Each time he thought something, I knew it too. Like with Marcus. But I hadn’t gotten his whole life rundown like I had with Marcus.
We spoke about it for a while, testing our mind connection. It was similar to how Oliver spoke to us when in his shifted state, except we could pry a little deeper into one another’s minds.
We ended up cuddling, and I closed my eyes as I watched him envision moments he missed of soaring through the sky over Maple Grove.
Falling asleep in his warm embrace was just what I needed to keep the fear away, but I couldn’t stop my stomach from knotting with unease.
My dreams turned dark, but a gorgeous tiger appeared in them, guiding me back into a lighthearted dream with the boys.
“Hey.”
My head whipped around as Emma came up behind me as I waited outside the lecture hall for our pixie magic lecture. We were going to learn about lineages today, and then continue practice masking our magic and bringing things to life at will.
“Hey,” I mumbled, shifting uneasily as she drew up beside me. I hadn’t even gotten a message from her after last night, and I didn’t know how to feel.
“How are you? I’m sorry I haven’t called or anything, the reading took its toll on mom,” Emma said as she averted her eyes and played with the rainbow pentagram keyring stuck on her messenger bag.
I frowned at this piece of news. It had taken its toll on her? I was the one being hunted and having just found out my parents were supposedly murdered.
“How so?” I asked, holding back my frustration.
“She collapsed and passed out, has no memory of it, barely remembers meeting you,” Emma said softly. “I told her what she said in regards to the reading, but she’s drawing a blank,” Emma sighed as she reached up to toy with the end of her long white ponytail.
I didn’t say a word as I processed this.
“How are you? You seemed pretty freaked out, I wanted to message you, but I was worried you’d block me after last night,” Emma mumbled as those grey eyes finally met mine. They were filled with uncertainty and true worry.
I eased off a little. “Pretty freaked out. To hear I’m being hunted is pretty terrifying, and finding out my parents death wasn’t an accident is just the icing on the cake. Add in the fact that ‘death becomes me, it’s everything I am’, and I’m about ready to throw in the towel,” I admitted, feeling bad when she flinched at my words.
“I’m so sorry,” she said instantly, those pained eyes begging me for some reprieve.
“Ollie said Lucas went to see his father last night about it all, but he hasn’t come home yet,” I murmured.
“Mr Brady might have some more knowledge than us. What about your aunt?” she asked gently.
“Haven’t heard anything yet,” I shrugged. “I’m sorry your mom took it hard,” I added. Although I doubted it was as bad as the mindfuck I’d had.
“She’ll be okay, I’m more worried about you, what it means,” she frowned. “Mom gave some more insight, but it’s still vague.”
“Yeah, just enough to scare me,” I gave a sharp laugh before sighing. “I just wish I knew what it all meant.”
“Time will tell,” she murmured as students filed past us into the hall. “We should head in though.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, still uneasy about it all. Today had been difficult already, struggling to focus on my classes as my mind whirled. Ollie was a godsend, stuck to my side, and he was a lot more confident after last night. Holding my hand, sneaking a kiss at lunch. It left butterflies in my stomach, but my mind did drift back to Marcus. I’d seen him early in the morning, out the verandah as the sun rose.
He’d seemed pleased about my nightly escapade with Ollie, and yet he gave me a deep, long kiss before disappearing into his room.
Talk about confusing much.
But from what I was sensing from him, he was glad Ollie was there for me, but he still wanted to be with me too. Guess that made for an interesting turn of events.
We spent the first half an hour of our pixie magic lesson practicing masking our magic again and learning about some lineages of pixies that were renowned in history. Emma was proud of my progress, and our friendship settled back to normal after a short while. I couldn’t be annoyed at her, I was the one who wanted the reading from her mom.
“Next up, I want you to practice bringing something to life. Many of you will have an affinity for a certain type of object, be it food, electronics, materials, stationery. But you will all start with trying to bring a pencil to life. You may have affinities, but your power can animate anything. Pixie’s are underrated in the supernatural world, we are quite capable,” Miss Watson’s firm voice rang out. She was a petite woman with short brown hair with side swept bangs. She looked barely older than us, but she radiated authority in that dark brown suit and knee-high black boots.
She waved her hand over her laptop charger, a faint pink dusting floating down from her fingers.
I watched in amazement as the charger came to life, coiling up around her arm like a snake.
“We can animate things to use as weapons, or compel them to do our bidding, even if it’s as simple as making a broom sweep on its own for us. We share some of the same magic with strong witches, the magic they can wield to manipulate objects. Unlike strong witches though, and even warlocks, this magic takes a toll on us, so shouldn’t be overused.”
I watched as the charger returned back to normal as she withdrew the magic from it by closing her eyes and focusing.
We got to work, everyone pulling out pencils to work on.
“My grandmother could wield the witch version of this magic, animating things well, but my mom wasn’t so lucky, I’m just grateful my pixie side has given me the chance to use it,” Emma said as she willed her magic into the pencil.
It took her two attempts before the pencil floated over her notebook and began scribbling down notes.
She grinned gleefully as it did her bidding, and I looked down at my pencil with determination. If I was being hunted, I wanted to be able to defend myself. No relying on others to protect me. I knew my boys would, but I needed to be able to take care of myself. No damsel in distress here. Besides, I could turn into a wolf too. Something I’d neglected as of late. I’d barely ever shifted after learning I could do it, as it brought back memories of Derek.
I focused on my pencil, imagining my energy and power filling it and animating it.
“Just relax, you’re too tense,” Emma murmured softly, and I let out the breath I was holding.
I let the tension seep out from my body, the fears and worries pushed to the side as I put my mind to work.
I closed my eyes as I held my hand over the pencil, willing it to come to life.
I snuck a peek out one eye, and scowled at the unmoving pencil.
“Keep trying,” Emma urged me. Easy for her to say, she’d used her magic before, obviously. I was the only one here completely new to it all.
I kept trying, willing my magic forth, the tingling coursing through me and filling me with anticipation.
Nothing. It didn’t even roll.
I grumbled as I glared at the offending pencil.
I’d figure this out. Somehow.
“You animate things with emotions right, maybe you need to channel your emotions and magic all in one, combining them?” Emma suggested.
I just gave her a blank look. How would I even do that?
She just shrugged, and I pursed my lips as I focused back on the pencil. All right. Time to get emotional with a stick.
I imagined my worries and fear streaming into the pencil, willing it to become a protective creation for me.
I closed my eyes, picturing my pink dusting of magic shimmering over the pencil.
Emma squealed and my eyes shot open as the pencil soared through the air.
Other pencils were floating in the room, and mine was on a deadly trajectory.
It sliced through the other pencils, somehow harnessing my magic to give it a bladed head as it went on a destructive rampage.
Cries rose up at the monstrous flying pencil, hacking and slashing at all other pencils like a madman.
“Draw your magic back!” Emma said as she gripped my arm. “Before it gets someone!”
Great, that was just the thing I needed.
I reached out for my magic in my mind, capturing it and drawing it back. The pencil rocketed through the air towards Emma as I did this, and she let out a shriek as she threw her arms up with a green glow. My pencil fell short of her, the magic dissipating from it at the last second.
I watched quietly as it clattered onto the desk.
“Well, wasn’t that interesting,” Miss Watson said from the front of the room.
Heat rushed to my face as I realized everyone was watching me with accusing glares and utter shock. Why had no one else’s reacted like that? Was it because of the emotions I’d chosen?
“Allison, can you please see me at the end of class? I think you should go back to focusing on your masking magic for now and studying the textbook,” Miss Watson suggested, those bright blue eyes rather amused at the little scene.
I nodded as I sunk into my seat, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me. I hated being the center of attention.
“Well, I’ve never seen pixie magic do that before,” Emma murmured.
“Huh?” I frowned.
“Become like a true weapon, it had a mind of its own really. Pixie magic, when it controls itself rather than you, is only mischievous, that one was murderous,” she whispered.
“Great, so my magic is psychotic too,” I groaned.
“No, just more skilled. You saw how the head of it took on a knifelike appearance, right? That’s not something pixie magic can do, it can animate, give certain things legs and whatnot, but for the object to use the magic to manipulate itself into a weapon, that’s unique,” Emma explained.
“Awesome,” I sighed.
What else wanted to go wrong for me? What the hell did this mean?
Class ended, and Emma promised to meet me outside as Miss Watson pulled me aside. She waited until the door closed before frowning at me.
“You’re a halfling, correct?” she asked as she folded her arms. She stood almost the same height as me, and looked no more than thirty years old, if younger.
“Yes, pixie wolf,” I said as my fingers tightened around the strap of my laptop bag.
“That magic you infused into the pencil was not completely pixie magic, even your friend sensed that,” she said as held a curious finger to her chin.
“What else was it?” I asked, wondering if she somehow knew.
“I’m not sure, I’ve not felt that kind of magic before,” she said honestly as those blue eyes narrowed while she scrutinized me.
Great, I was the class freak.
“Have you seen Mr Brady at all?” she asked.
“No, but my housemate is his son, I’ll be seeing him this afternoon actually, he spoke to his dad last night about me,” I admitted. I hadn’t heard anything from Lucas today, no texts or messages. Ollie hadn’t heard from him either.
“Well, that’s good then. But until then, I suggest not trying to harness your pixie magic. It seems to not come out on its own, instead it’s mixed with something. Until we know what that is, it may be too dangerous for you to use your magic. I can manipulate other kinds of pixie magic, so I can normally stop any issues that arise, but I couldn’t draw out the magic in your pencil, which is a worry,” she sighed as she gave me a sad smile.
“What will I do in my classes then?” I muttered, annoyed at this development. Was I just a magnet for weird shit? Why was my world turning on its head lately?
“Study the textbooks, we will be doing theoretical work next week as well, but most of it will be prac. You will just have to observe for now,” she said apologetically. “And if you get any answers from Mr Brady, please let me know. My direct number is on the student portal, or you can email me with whatever you discover.”
I nodded as I chewed my lip.
We parted ways with a brief farewell, and I could feel her eyes on me as I headed out the door.
What the hell was I? What kind of freak was I truly? As if a halfling wasn’t enough.
“How’d it go?” Emma asked as she stepped beside me and we walked away from the building.
“I can’t practice my magic until we know what it is,” I groaned in frustration.
“That sucks.”
“I’ve never manipulated my magic before, it just happens with emotions, I was so excited to actually learn to use it,” I admitted. I’d been both nervous and excited about learning more about myself and my abilities, my powers. And now I was to be just an observer.
“Damn,” Emma sighed. “Well, maybe you can practice it at home? Lucas is a warlock, he can manipulate almost all magic, maybe it’d be safe to practice while he’s around?” she suggested.
I considered the idea. He’d be more than happy to help me. And surely he could handle my magic.
“Hey Ally!”
A smile crept over my face as Ollie jogged across the open grassy area to join us. “Hey Emma.”
“Hey Oliver,” Emma grinned.
“How was class?” he asked as he took up his position on my free side, his arm snaking around my waist and warming me inside. We’d never agreed for this to be exclusive or anything, but we were certainly closer than before. I couldn’t deny that I was loving the attention.
“Don’t ask,” I mumbled, and Emma helped me fill him in.
“Wow, so maybe that is the magic responsible for the weird bonding stuff?” Ollie wowed at the revelation.
“Maybe,” I mused. It was highly possible.
“Here’s hoping you get some answers soon,” Emma said as she looked out ahead, a scowl creeping across her face.
I followed her gaze and internally agonized.
“Ollie!” Glenda’s grating voice called out.
Where was that bloody pencil when you needed it?
Ollie tensed beside me, but I slid my hand down to hold his in place. Time to fuck with this little powderpuff.
Glenda strutted towards us in red heels and a short red skirt that I would never be seen dead in. If she so much as leant over, you’d see her arse for sure.
Her green blouse was unbuttoned one too many buttons, showing off the center of her black bra. Yep. Total fucking slut right here.
And for what she did to Ollie, I desperately wanted my warrior pencil to come to life and stab her in the knee.
The guy being dragged along with her looked distressed and embarrassed to be pulled over.
Ollie’s thoughts snuck into my own head, surprising me. So this was his cousin Grayson. A taller guy with broad shoulders, similar brown hair to Ollie, but a nerdy appearance otherwise. His glasses were large rounded ones, and he pushed them up the bridge of his nose as he gave Ollie an apologetic half smile, his bright emerald eyes tired and looking like he was ready to crawl into bed.
I didn’t blame him dealing with this bright little Godzilla.
“So you finally are flaunting your new side chick,” she smirked, and I wanted to thump her in the face.
“Shouldn’t you be off painting your nails or your face?” Emma said sweetly. “Looks like you need to do a retouch, everywhere.”
I caught the hint of a smile on Grayson’s face before he covered it. Was he an arranged partner for her? Like Ollie had been?
“Shouldn’t you be off terrorizing some poor kid’s mind?” Glenda shot back nastily.
Emma just scowled at her, but Glenda honed back in on Ollie.
“Why are you even here, Ollie? With that curse, how can you hope to pass your studies? With it going off sporadically and you being stuck as a poor little kitty cat, you’ll never complete it,” Glenda sighed as she inspected her nails, releasing her tight grip on Grayson’s hand.
He st
ood awkwardly behind her, like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
“He’ll do fine, he’s got great friends around him, and me,” I smiled, loving the way she tensed up and glared at me.
“Why are you bothering with him? Maybe he’s as good as a halfling like you can snag, both freaks and rejects,” she scoffed.
I wondered if I could will my magic to make her blouse tighten and eat her? That would be fun to watch.
“Glenda, let’s go, we promised your mom we’d meet them for afternoon tea,” Grayson murmured as he caught her arm. She shook him off and scowled at him before turning back to us.
“You should listen to him, Glenda,” I said her name with obvious distaste. “Before you get yourself into trouble.”
“Are you threatening me?” she hissed, stepping up to me, those stupid little pigtails bouncing on her shoulders. Was she trying to look like a little girl? It was a weird style choice, with the bra showing but the baby looks.
“Of course not,” I growled. Okay, maybe I was.
“Ollie’s too useless, needs his girlfriend to fight his battles. Pretty pathetic,” she sneered as she turned on Ollie. “Why I ever allowed us to be together is beyond me, you’re a joke,” she smirked.
Rage boiled up inside me as Ollie stepped forward. The look of utter pain across his face made my chest tighten painfully. How could someone who he once loved hurt him so much? I could feel his emotions, his agony.
“His curse is all because of you! If you hadn’t been a little bitch, that witch never would have cursed him,” I snarled at her, the anger flying forth.
Ollie’s raging emotions shot into my mind, fear followed quickly by realization. I felt the energy in my mind before I saw it.
Glenda looked taken aback at first by my outburst, but then the corner of her mouth pulled up into a sneer as she looked past me at Ollie.
I already knew what had happened.
Ollie’s distress flooded my mind, and I glanced back, my eyes falling to the ginger and white cat frantically pulling himself free from the pile of clothing.