by SL Perrine
I wandered in and out of each room in the house for about thirty minutes before I gave up and went to my room to change for the party. If something new was going on, it was safe to say I should find Ty and ask him if he knew anything about it.
I left my house and headed for Mike’s. Maybe Ty would decide a high school party was what he needed to fit in more. I doubted it, but it was the only place I could think to look for him. I was at his house not an hour earlier and I hadn’t seen him there. I was at his house and had talked with his uncles. I had to keep that pushed in the back of my mind. If he was going to be angry with me over it, let him. Right now, we had bigger problems than whether or not I’d gone and done something he didn’t want me to. After all, I never really promised not to go.
Chapter -10-
Mike's house was already overrun by teens from every class. I spotted Robin and Callie flirting their way to the back yard, where one could only assume a beer keg hid. Mike’s parents worked out of town a lot, and since he started his senior year of high school at the age of eighteen, it was no wonder he was always left alone.
I made my way to the back of the house and managed to locate the beer keg. With a red cup in hand, I joined Callie poolside. She stood next to the bar, biting the straw she had in her cup, but not really drinking from it.
“Where did Robin disappear to?” I asked her when I was within earshot, above the music and noise of the crowd. The entire basketball team did cannonballs off the diving board in an effort to see who could make the biggest splash.
“Over there with Brian.” She pointed in the direction behind me. I turned around and spotted her with a pimple-faced guy wearing braces. I couldn't recall who he was, but I doubted he had been on any of the sports teams. He looked like he spent his time in a computer lab or at a video game console. Whatever he did with his spare time, he was not Robin's usual type.
“Wow, Renee! You look great!” Callie said over the roar of the music.
“Thanks. So do you,” I managed to get out over sips of beer. My mother and brother had dark auburn hair, which basically matched anything they wore. Of course, I had to be the one born with bright red hair. It was almost as bright as the flames of a fire, which I always kept long since it grew in ringlets. Between my hair and my bright green eyes, my wardrobe color choices were limited, but I managed to find a green spaghetti-strapped shirt and covered it with my blue jean jacket. I slipped on a pair of blue jean capris and matched them with thin black-strapped sandals. I was very grateful I didn’t inherit my mother’s short stature. I assumed I got my height from my father. He was tall, blond, and slightly lean, but I had to wonder if I inherited anything from him at all, or if it was even possible to.
“Are you drinking?” Callie’s question caught me off guard, as did her glare at the cup in my hand.
“Yes, aren’t you?” I asked, a little more than confused.
“No, Robin forbade any cheerleaders from drinking tonight. The homecoming game is tomorrow. This is a Shirley-temple,” she said, raising her glass in my face to smell it.
“Since when? She’s usually the first one with a drink in her hand at a party if she can manage it.” I laughed.
“Come on, Renee. You know Robin does not drink.” Callie looked dumbfounded and stormed off. I was left there, stunned and confused for the second time in one night.
As the music played another round of cowboy country songs, I took another look around. Remembering what happened at my house, I had to pay attention to the details. I decided to give up when all I noticed was an average high school party. The basketball team congregated around the picnic table on the back side of the pool. They switched from yelling and drinking to arm wrestling.
“Hey, notice anything different?” I jumped a little as Ty spoke. I turned around and was face to face with him. He looked a lot like a high school jock who was there for the beer and babes. He didn't change for the party. Either nobody told him it was a normal teenage thing to do, or he didn’t care, which was also a normal teenage thing to do. He still wore his faded jeans and baby blue polo shirt, which showed off his muscular chest. His hair was wind-blown, like he’d rode in a convertible with the top down. All he was missing was his letterman jacket from the wrestling team. Someone from the arm wrestling table yelled over for him to join them, but he waved dismissively and looked at me.
“Yes, I’m noticing a few things that are different. Do you know what’s going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but it seems like someone is going through a lot of trouble to make the whole town different.” He ran his fingers through his hair, which only made it look better.
“Why would you think that?” I asked as I looked around. I paid closer attention to the crowd. Not many people were drinking. The music was loud, but not unbearable, and then I saw them. Mike’s parents were sitting on the rear balcony, which hung over the pool. His mom looked like she was reading a book, and his father looked over a copy of the Cherry Valley Times Union.
“That is weird.” Without thinking, I placed my cup in the garbage can and headed around the house, to the front yard. I didn’t hear him, but I felt his presence as he followed behind me.
“What else has changed?” He looked different in the moonlight. His skin looked like it glowed, and his expressionless face looked more at ease than it had before.
“Well, for one, my father and brother believe my mother just up and left us,” I pointed out. I could hear the hurt in my voice.
“Wait… Really?” He looked dumbfounded, and his facial expressions made me chuckle.
“Yes, and when I tried explaining about the passage and Pylira, my father told me to stop living in a fairy tale. All the magic books are gone out of my house. There isn’t even a speck of dust that used to be there,” I said, trying to remember everything.
“Someone is using some big magic to do this. I wonder how far this goes.” He scratched his head and looked around.
“Yeah, and when were you going to tell me you’ve been living in that house for the last ten years?” I laughed and he spun back to face me.
“That's a funny one,” he said after a beat.
“Apparently, that’s what everyone in town believes right now because that’s what my father told me after I tried to jog his memory of the day you 'moved' to Cherry Valley.” I used air quotes as I spoke and looked down at my feet. Looking directly at him made me uncomfortable, not that I knew why.
“Okay, this is officially magic related,” he said as he looked around at the neighborhood again. That's when I realized his actions made me uncomfortable. Did he sense danger?
“Renee!” I heard Robin yell from behind us.
“Hi Robin, did you get a dance with Mike yet?” I asked with a playful grin.
“Why would I dance with Mike? You know I have a boyfriend.” She gasped and looked back at Brian, who looked like he was lost without her, only separated by a few feet. “Anyway, Callie told me you were drinking,” she said firmly as she tapped her foot.
“You know what, Robin? I had one sip and she reminded me about homecoming tomorrow.” I gave her a fake pout and puppy eyes. “I tossed it right away... I promise.” I finished it off with my best innocent girl look and crossed my heart with my finger.
“Okay, but no more, or you can’t participate tomorrow. I don’t need hung over cheerleaders, thank you!” She finished in a high-pitched wail and spun around, eyes set on Brian. “It’s not a healthy habit, Renee,” she yelled back over her shoulder.
“Wow, you’re a bad girl,” Ty said with a laugh, which made me laugh as well.
“Something clearly is going on. I mean, who in their right mind would buy that performance?” He poked fun at my fake pouty lip and laughed some more. I couldn’t stop laughing either. It took us a few minutes to realize Ty’s brothers, Nolan and Chase, were running in our direction.
Nolan looked grumpier than usual and wasn’t who I would expect to see at a school function, even a backyard party
with a keg. Chase, on the other hand, was a straight “C” student; the bare minimum to fit in. The group of "slacker" friends he chose helped with that as well. However, all three of them were exceptionally smart. I guessed anyone alive for hundreds of years would be.
“What are you two up to?” Nolan asked as they got closer.
“We were having a good time at a party,” Ty told him as we both finally let the laughter die out. “It seems that there have been some alterations made today.”
“What do you mean?” Chase sat in the grass with his red cup and a bag of nachos. He didn't look like he was paying much attention to Ty. He seemed more interested in his snack.
“Well, everyone seems to have been given a new personality,” I answered.
“And anyone knowing about us, or magic, is delusional,” Ty added. “It’s like a bad episode of Pleasantville,” he finished.
“You got that right, but it is not affecting us. I wonder why not?” I pointed out.
“Maybe it’s because we are from another world,” Chase chimed in as he tossed another chip in his mouth. He looked up from his bag. “I thought something was off today. I was hanging out after school, shooting hoops with Mike. Then for no reason, he just said he had to go–middle of the game too. Said he had homework.” He popped another chip in his mouth. “Then before I knew it, everyone was walking off campus, like they were all programmed to act like a herd of sheep.”
“You didn’t think to say anything earlier?” Ty asked.
“This is the first time I’m seeing you. Besides, I didn’t really think much about it. I mean look around, things don’t look much different than usual.” Chase chugged the contents of his cup and tossed it on the lawn.
“Unless you’d taken the time to get to know them,” I added sarcastically.
“Well, if you ask me, the elders probably had something to do with it,” Nolan chimed in while studying a group of girls across the yard. “They keep saying something is coming. That it’s time.”
“Elders?” I asked.
“Our uncles are a part of a group back home, known as the elders. The group consists of the oldest living men of our clan,” Ty answered.
“Okay. That sounds plausible, but why now? That doesn’t make any sense,” I added. We all turned in the direction of the back yard. Even from the front of the house, we could hear the commotion and Robin’s high-pitched voice screaming.
Ty and I ran to the noise, with Chase following us after shoving another handful of chips in his mouth. I stopped for a moment to look back, and Nolan was obviously not bothered enough to stop what he was doing on his cell phone to follow. By the time I caught up with Ty, I could hear clearly what was going on.
“You don’t go to our school, which means you weren’t invited. You need to leave. Now!” Robin yelled at some unwelcome newcomers. I looked over to the balcony. Mike’s parents were still sitting there, doing their different tasks. It was as if they were inside of a soundproof bubble.
“Well, we heard there was a party in town tonight and figured it was a welcome party,” one of them said. I counted six new people I’d never seen. I looked at Ty and Chase, who were standing side by side, and noticed the looks on both their faces.
“Friends of yours?” I asked them.
“Not really,” Ty answered hesitantly.
“Are they mietitore?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
Chase looked at me. “They are, but they wouldn’t be anyone we would have hung out with. Let’s just say, compared to them, Nolan is little Miss Sunshine. These guys are nothing but trouble.”
“Thanks.” We hadn't noticed Nolan join us.
“Then this is bad?” I asked.
“Yes, this is bad.” Ty looked at me and grabbed my hand. He started to pull me back into the shadow of the house when one of them spotted him.
“I said you need to leave!” Robin wailed again. The group stood there, eyes fixed on Ty, Chase, Nolan, and me. They paid no attention to Robin, nor did they respond. One motioned to the rest and they turned around and left the yard. “About time.” Robin dismissed them and turned back to the party. “Someone, turn the music back on.” And like that, it was as if it never happened.
Ty squeezed my hand. “I think it’s time to go.” The electricity in my hand made it fall asleep again, but this time, I didn't protest when he kept hold of it. He led me to the front of the house.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Chase asked Ty.
“I’m thinking it’s time to speak with the elders,” Nolan piped up. As we turned the corner to the front yard, we noticed the new players in town were lying in wait.
“Hello, Tyson. What a pleasant surprise to see you here. Then again, we should have figured you’d get to her as soon as you could.” The one who had spoken to Robin stood in front of the small group.
“Hello, Zechariah.” Still holding my hand, he pulled me back as if to shield me with his body. “What are you doing here?” Chase and Nolan moved closer to Ty as if to block me from sight. It was suddenly very clear how much they didn’t trust the new group of people in our town.
“Oh now, you knew we’d all show eventually.” The smallest of the group stepped forward to speak. He looked like he was about eight years old, but I knew time was different where they were concerned. He looked a lot like Chase; dark hair, brown eyes, and the same menacing grin.
“What do you mean by 'all?'” Ty’s hand trembled.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” I whispered so only Ty could hear. His only response was a slight squeeze to the hand he still held. The electricity I felt from him wasn’t as sharp as it had been before. I was able to tolerate it more with each encounter, but my hand still felt as if it were asleep.
“That’s right,” Zechariah said. “All of us are meeting in this cute little town of yours.” He gestured around with his arms held out. “I didn’t realize why until I saw you here. They must think she is the key to unlocking the passage.” He pointed at me, and Nolan moved in front of us.
“Well,” Nolan said to the newcomers, “why don’t you go find the rest of your cohorts then. Let them know you’ve figured the whole thing out.”
“Nolan, stop.” Ty let go of me and grabbed Nolan by the shoulders. “Not now. Not like this, brother.”
“Better watch yourself, Ty,” the little one spoke again. “You're master of no one here.” The group turned to leave while hooting and howling. Some ran and some skipped down the street. We should have been able to see them half a block away, where the lamplight cast a yellow glow on the sidewalk, but they were gone.
Ty turned back to me. “I’m sorry for that. Are you okay?”
“Of course, but why would I be in danger from them?” I asked, suddenly aware of the feeling returning to my fingers.
“The curse put on our clan has made some of them, well, for lack of a better word, angry,” Chase summarized.
“The curse affects all three of you too, and in over a year here, none of you has wanted to hurt me for it,” I pointed out. “I still don’t get what it has to do with me anyway.”
“Don’t speak so quickly.” Nolan ran a hand through his hair. “Crap!” Looking thoroughly frustrated, he turned on his heel and walked away from us.
“What’s his problem?” I stared after him as he stomped away from us.
“He has always wanted revenge for the curse, but more than that, he wants to find a way to break it. It took some convincing, but he knows about the prophecy now, and he knows we need you in order to lift the curse.” Ty ran his finger through my hair and tucked it behind my ear.
“Oh, right. My impending marriage, which by the way, is completely ridiculous,” was the only thing I could think to say with him so close.
“Yeah, well we can discuss the ridiculousness of that later. Right now, we have to get you out of the open,” he said as he motioned for us to follow Nolan.
“Why? They're gone,” I said as I followed along.
&nbs
p; “Not everyone wants the curse lifted,” Chase added, and I quickly remembered his attempt to shield me too.
“Thanks, but I think I should just go home,” I protested.
Chase turned to face me. He looked worried and scared, like a frightened little child, which gave me pause. “I don’t know that anyone else knows of the prophecy, which can only mean they are here to use you in some way to break the curse themselves or get rid of you to keep the curse from being broken. They may even just think you are somehow responsible for the passage." He scratched his head and looked around. "There will always be those loyal to Ourobus, who would kill you rather than have the curse broken and Ourobus defeated. None of them are eager for you to marry anyone. So can we, for the sake of argument, agree to disagree right now and just get the hell out of here?” He lifted a hand and pointed ahead of us for me to continue walking.
“He’s right, Renee. We should go see the elders. If more are coming, it’s the only place in this whole town where you’ll be safe.” Ty reached out and grabbed my hand again. I couldn’t help myself and the feeling of being drawn to him, but I also couldn’t help but wonder if this was just him using magic on me to get his way. I pulled my hand away swiftly before he had a chance to touch me.
“Fine, let’s just go.” I reluctantly gave in and walked toward their house.
Chapter -11-
The house looked eerie in the evening. I realized I had never seen it at night before. The tall Victorian was painted gray with a maroon trim. The windows were cracked and coated with a gray film of dirt, so you couldn’t even see inside. The roof and rafters were all well beyond repair, yet when I was inside, I was impressed by the restoration of the molding and the furnishings. The outside wasn’t its defining glory. I guessed it was to keep those away who may have had a curiosity about it or its occupants. I glanced around the yard, which looked as though it had not been cared for in several years. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs as the others stepped up to the door.