When he was silent for a beat, I twisted slightly to be able to look back at him. He ducked his head into my neck so I couldn’t see anything except his wealth of black hair.
“Are you embarrassed right now?” I shook my head with a laugh and pressed my butt against him to get him to pull back enough for me to roll over.
“I’m not embarrassed,” he said incredulously, though I would argue he was incredibly glad it was dark in the room so I couldn’t see much of the look on his face. “It’s just… a story I didn’t think I’d have to talk about ever again.”
“Well, now I need to know. Please tell me? I know you can’t see it right now, but I’m definitely giving you eyes that would be hard for you to resist.” I tried to keep a straight face but snorted out a tiny laugh anyway.
“Shh, you’re going to wake everyone up, and then the real big bad wolf is going to kick me out of your room.” Atohi kissed me softly. “Do you really, really want to know?”
I could tell he was reluctant, but I desperately wanted to hear it. “You know my red thong story, so I feel it’s only fair I get a story of equal caliber.”
“All right, fine. But only because you did tell me that.” Atohi moved, settling over me with his weight supported on his forearms beside my shoulders and his hips pressed against mine. “So, I think it was a party for Be—Johannes, you know, before he was an old fart.”
I rolled my eyes. They were both technically old farts, but whatever. “When did you even learn 'old fart'?”
“Chesca let me use her phone and showed me this internet page that had all new words,” he said excitedly. “Bae, yeet, stan…”
Oh God. “Back to the story, wolf man.”
Atohi laughed.
“We were all having a good time, enjoying being together. It was the first birthday any of us had outside the school in years, so we were all really going hard, but I saw Carlyle leaning against the wall of the dance hall twiddling his fingers and looking over at her. Zella’d been making eyes back at him all night just waiting for him to make a move.”
I clung to his every word. It was so exciting to be getting this recounting of such an important piece of family history. With my father turning Grandma Maggie away, I missed out on so many stories that most people got to share. How their grandparents met, what they were like when Coke bottle-style glasses and large hair were in, just little quirks you only got to hear from growing up.
“So, how did you give him a boost?” I asked curiously.
“I stood next to him and said, ‘She’s pretty cute, right?’ thinking that he’d agree, and I’d tell him to go make a move. Well… that didn’t go as planned. He, uh, gave me this really determined look and said he was real sweet on her and he’d go toe to toe with me if he had to.”
I bit my lip so hard I was afraid it would bleed, and my eyes watered as I pictured the scene. My grandpa was definitely not a large man by any means. He was maybe five-foot-seven and weighed a hundred and twenty pounds on a good day. Atohi Hayecha was the exact opposite of Carlyle Barlow.
“See, you’re going to laugh,” he practically whined. “I tried to think of what I could do to make him feel like he could go up to her if he was so willing to fight me for her. So…” He mumbled something I couldn’t hear.
“What was that?”
“I challenged him to arm wrestle,” Atohi said louder.
He clasped his hand over my mouth right as the smile curled my lips. This was the best story I’d ever heard in my life.
“My arms are, like, bigger than his head, so I knew I had to throw the fight. If I beat him, he’d get discouraged. Word got around and a huge crowd surrounded us.” He finally took his hand away while he spoke.
“Mm, why do I think Johannes had something to do with that?”
I could briefly see Atohi’s face in the light of a car passing the house from the street. Vaguely in the back of my mind I wondered about someone driving around so late, but it was quickly shoved to the side as I refocused on my storyteller.
“I guarantee it was him. He’s always lurking around somewhere, listening, plotting… He’s probably listening right now, just waiting to pounce on us.” Atohi shook me with a laugh. Where was the lie? Johannes always seemed to know things whether it had anything to do with him or not. “While we were wrestling, Zella shook her head at me like she couldn’t believe what I was doing, but… I saw the way they looked at each other. In the end, I threw the battle valiantly, and the rest is history.”
“Why were you so embarrassed? That’s such a sweet story.” I tucked some of his hair behind his ear. “I mean, technically if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here,” I teased.
“I guess you could say you owe me your life,” he taunted back. “I am truly amazing. I was setting up my future without even knowing it.”
My heart thumped heavily at him saying I was his future. Atohi said my name, and it dripped from his lips with such a sweetness that it made my chest ache all the more.
I cleared my throat. “Yes?”
He leaned closer to whisper, “I can feel the heat from your blush.”
I groaned and pushed his face away. Atohi rolled over but took me with him. I settled in, content to listen to the soothing thrum of breathing and his heart.
“Atohi?” I waited for his indication that he was listening. “Thank you for being so kind to Ben. I'm sure it's really hard for you to even think about it at all, but you still treat him like...”
“My family?” I nodded and Atohi wrapped his strong arms tighter around my body. “He is my family. I may be hurt and upset about how he was conceived, but he did nothing wrong. Plus, it's nice to have someone look at me with such excitement.”
“He has a way of making you feel like you're his whole world, doesn't he?”
“Even without his looks, that's how you can tell he's Zella's.” Atohi sighed, as if remembering the old times with her.
“Is that what she made you feel like?” The question came out before I could think to stop it.
Atohi stilled briefly before answering. “Yes. That’s what it felt like even just being around her. I was so scared when I was taken from my family, my tribe, and sent to stay with the other Magus children. But she was like a ray of light in all of that darkness.”
The pang of jealousy that ached in my chest made me feel guilty. The way he spoke of her—the happy lilt to his words, the warmth that surrounded them… Would he ever be able to think of me that way?
As if he sensed my distress, one of Atohi’s large hands cupped my chin to tilt my head up to look at him. “Hey, what’s running through that mind of yours?”
Oh, just thinking that maybe I don’t measure up to my grandmother. That perhaps you care for her more than you’ll care for me. I mean, normal things that people usually deal with, right?
I bit my tongue. It felt silly to be upset about what their relationship was back then, but the tingling webs of doubt still spun in my mind.
Atohi gripped my waist to tug me up closer, our faces now hovering so close I would just need to lean down to press my lips to his.
“Kiss me, Alice. Please?” He whispered the words sweetly against my lips.
I obliged without hesitation. Atohi cupped my cheek, his long fingers tangling in my hair. With my hand on his chest, I could feel how quickly it was beating, and I found comfort in the idea that maybe he was as anxious about this as I was.
When we parted, he asked, “Will you talk to me?”
I nodded. “I will, promise. I just… need to get some water. I'll be back.”
He pulled me back against him before I could get too far. “Have I said something wrong, Alice?”
“You've done nothing wrong, Atohi.” It's me, not you. I left it unspoken, but I could feel it hovering, heavy in the air.
With reluctance, he relinquished his hold on me. I pressed a kiss to his lips and made another promise to return shortly, then pulled on my pants and crept down to the kitchen. I felt li
ke a coward running away like that, but I wanted to sort things out in my mind before I even tried to vocalize them.
It took an embarrassing amount of time to finally find a glass in Johannes’s large number of cupboards. Sue and I would have been in serious trouble had we had to search all of them for Johannes’s house keys instead of just the fruit bowl. After taking a long drink, I set the glass in the chrome sink with a small clink.
Moonlight streamed onto the kitchen tiles from the window over the sink. I looked outside, over Johannes’s pristine landscaping, and beyond it, the tall trees waved gently in the night breeze. It called to me with its sweet serenity that I desperately wanted.
Atohi and Johannes had said I shouldn't go out alone, but maybe just being on the porch would be okay. It would only be for a minute or two.
I pulled on a jacket from the coat-hook near the door and slipped my shoes on. A brief shiver traveled down my spine when the first burst of cool air brushed my face. It seemed drastic compared to the warmth of Johannes’s home.
I shut the door as quietly as I could behind me, then sat on the chilled wood of the porch, leaning against the thick railing that surrounded it.
It felt nice to be enveloped by quiet. There was only myself and the plump grey bunny that munched on something he’d managed to find in the immaculate landscape of Johannes’s yard. I lost track of time as I sat there and watched the hungry animal. I was sure it was only a matter of time before Atohi came to find me, but this moment was so nice.
I had nearly dozed off when the rabbit perked up, sitting high on its back feet. It darted off as a car pulled up and started heading down Johannes’s long driveway with no lights on.
I stayed out of sight and unmoving, pressed to the porch railing, so I could watch what they were doing. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to be making the drive; it was very obviously a residential property and not a side street. Two people exited the car, the smaller immediately grabbing something from the trunk while the other lit a cigarette.
“Really? Grab the rest of the stuff,” the woman snapped in a harsh whisper as the man took a deep drag of his cig.
“I wouldn't need a smoke break if you would let me light up in the car,” he fired back before finally pulling a large duffel out of the car and dragging it into Johannes’s front yard.
I couldn’t shake the dread that was crawling up my spine. Could these people be the ones that were kidnapping the Magi? I knew I needed to get Atohi and Johannes out here.
“Is this bitch seriously worth all of this?” the man asked as he continued to set something up that I wasn't able to make out in the dim moonlight. He had an accent that sounded British.
“Boss said we'd make five times what we did at the last auction,” the first one snapped.
“Seriously? Hell yes, let's get this over with. She's pretty weak, yeah?”
“Apparently. Now, will you shut the hell up? No wonder you got your last partner killed.”
He scoffed. “Bastard got himself killed because he got soft when that Faerie brat started bawling her eyes out. Can't trust a single one of them.”
“Help me with this. It's heavy.”
Together they unpacked the bag. I could see the metallic shine of a thick pole. The man grunted as he brought over a flat base that he dropped onto the earth in front of the woman. The noise from the crunch of the grass made the woman punch his arm.
“Hey, you said it yourself that it was heavy.”
“After this job, I’m never working with you again.” I didn’t have to see the eye roll to tell from her voice that she was clearly exasperated.
“Well, if what you said about the pay is true, we won’t have to see each other for quite some time anyway.” He finally took the pole from her and screwed it into the base. He pushed on it a few times, presumably testing the durability. “Grab the sign I made. It’s in the bag.”
She did as he said and scoffed. “What the hell is this? ‘Janafield Witch Trial’?”
My blood boiled as soon as I heard her say those words. But… if they were to know about that, they had to be someone from town. Who else would know what was written on that sign in my classroom?
“Boss said it’d send a message that she’d understand. I didn’t ask any questions, I just made it. Now help me get that girl from the trunk.”
“You should be used to pulling around dead weight seeing as you’re completely useless.”
“Oh, ha ha. You’re a proper comedian.” He moved to the trunk of the sedan and each of them grabbed an end of the bag.
My mind blanked as soon as they pulled a body out and began dragging it toward the pole. This can’t be real. The way the body draped, though, I knew it was real. This was happening. My stomach started to churn. They were heading towards the pole they'd set up.
I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to do something. I shot up so fast my head rushed.
“What do you think you're doing?” I shouted so loudly that I shocked even myself. My fists were clenched. I could feel the crescents forming in my palms from my nails.
I bounded down the stairs, nearly missing the bottom one in my haste.
The man gave a deep sigh before dropping the end of the body he carried, his back still to me.
“I was hoping there'd be at least a little fun tonight.” He reached behind him, flashing something I assumed to be a gun.
A quick glance around me for anything I could use as a weapon yielded nothing except a small, decorative flower pot containing a plant that had clearly seen better days. With little else for options, I grabbed it, fully prepared to hurl it in self-defense.
That was when I realized the woman had disappeared.
I swallowed heavily to relieve my dry mouth and throat. I couldn’t look to find her without taking my attention off her partner.
“Whatever it is you're doing, you need to stop.” I said it with such utter confidence.
He laughed and turned around. All at once, any sign of joy melted from his face.
“David, hurry up!” The woman pulled up near him in the lawn with the car.
He sneered but wasted no time hopping into the car before they sped off, the perfectly manicured grass being kicked up in their wake.
I was filled with a sense of satisfaction at my ability to make them leave. I turned to place the pot back down, only to fumble it and scream as I was met by the sight of a towering skeletal beast looming on the porch.
It took the sight of the galaxy-like magic swirling through the bones and the expensive silk pajama pants slung low on its—his—hips for me to realize it was Johannes.
Unfortunately for the little green pot, it was a belated realization. The sad remnants of its plant lay at my feet, surrounded by shards of ceramic.
“Alice, are you all right? What happened?” Atohi ducked around Johannes and grabbed my face to force my gaze to him.
In my moment of terror, I hadn't realized the brothers had been standing together on the porch.
“I'm fine, but they brought a…” I trailed off as Johannes, now back in his flesh-covered form after a black magic light coated him during the transformation, walked passed me to scoop up the body lying still in the grass.
He was silent all the way through the house, to the living room, where he lay the body on the table, heedless of the expensive silk tablecloth or the fine china he shuffled out of the way to make room for the body. His mouth was set in a grim line.
As I approached, I could see the woman didn't look human. Her skin was lilac-tinged and unnatural-looking. Her ears were long and pointed. They stuck out through her cascade of silvery-white hair, though the undoubtedly once-luscious strands were clumped together now with dirt and oil.
“Johannes,” I called out, but he walked away, shrugged me off and tucked himself into his office. I scrubbed a hand down my face as I imagined him pouring himself a drink.
“Alice, you shouldn't look.” Atohi tried to guide me from the woman, but I yanked away from
him.
“She’s dead because of me.”
Atohi shook his head. “You can't think that way.”
“You didn’t hear them out there. They brought her here for me. I heard them mention Janafield Witch Trials… They did this to get to me.” Tears streamed down my face even after I struggled so hard to keep them away.
“Stop. Please, Alice.” His expression was pleading.
“My loves, what is happening?” Atohi and I both swung around to see Chesca coming down the stairs, hair askew and her silk nightie hardly covering her.
We shared a look, and then Atohi moved out of the way so Chesca could see the body. “Two people left her here. They were planning to… display her in the front yard.”
Chesca gasped sharply at the sight of the woman. Tears had gathered in the corners of her glassy eyes.
Oh, no. It was sad, of course, but the way Chesca was looking at the body… Chesca shook her head, then spoke, confirming my fears. “It's Evangeline.”
I pulled Chesca close and wrapped my arms around her. She clung to me tightly. “Chesca, I’m so sorry.”
“Evangeline…” She took a deep breath and released it. “I’m sure you’ve been told of Johannes’s powers of being able to absorb Fae. She, as others have, came seeking an end to her life. She hails from the Seelie Court, where they are very strict. But he saw something in her, something that told him that death wasn’t what she truly wanted. So, he gave her a choice. She could go back to the Fae village she came from and live out her life, or she could stay and he would teach her how to integrate herself into society.”
“Does Johannes… kill people often?” My words wavered as I spoke them, but I wanted to know the answer.
“As tough and scary as Johannes seems on the outside, he has a huge heart that he keeps tucked away. He doesn’t do it unless they truly feel there’s no other choice for them. For certain, he has not done it since Benjamin came into his life.” Chesca leaned heavily on me as she spoke. “But Johannes shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I'll check on him.” Atohi squeezed my hand before following down the hall after his brother.
“I need some air,” Chesca said, with one last glance at the body. She slipped out the back, leaving me standing there, alone, swimming with disorganized thoughts.
Eyes Like Autumn (Seasons of the Magi Book 1) Page 21