Enchantment (The Fae Sister Chronicles Book 1)

by Tanya Dawson

  “Thank you. Do I have any other Aunts or Uncles?” Olivia asked with enthusiasm.

  Wil, Ruby and I were silent, unsure if we should tell her about Uncle Tyler. I decided to let Ruby answer this one and flopped open a magazine to look at.

  “No. Just Wil’s family,” Ruby said with her back to Olivia. Perhaps if she didn’t see her face, she wouldn’t know she was lying.

  My mind went back to the trunk sitting in the driveway that I almost fell over. It was one that I thought I would never see again.

  “Is that your trunk in the driveway?” My voice was still stern. Why did she have to look so much like our mother?

  “Yes, it is.” She stammered as she looked towards Ruby, likely for back-up if needed. Ruby was the comforting one. When she was little, she was forever taking in animals that were wounded to take care of. Much like today.

  “Was it Mother’s?” I asked, fully knowing that it was. I flipped the pages in the magazine harder.

  “Yes, she got it from a grandmother or someone.” Olivia now looked at me almost seeking common ground. She shifted in her chair as I stared her down.

  “I recognize it.” I remembered watching Mother pack it frantically the night she left us. She didn’t know I was hiding in the closet, or she pretended she never noticed me. “It belonged to our Great-Great-Grandmother Whitby.”

  “It’s quite grand. There are lots of hiding places in it.” Olivia said eagerly.

  She reminded me of a small puppy, yearning to please. My mind drifted back to that trunk sitting in the driveway, and what it used to hold. The hours I spent playing with it as a child and what it meant to the family. Mother took it without even thinking of the damage she would cause.

  “It was meant for hidden things.” I stopped myself from giving away more as Ruby stepped closer to me, the look on her face warned of her entering my mind again.

  “Well, Olivia had quite a day of travel. I’m sure you would like to rest and see what your room looks like.” Ruby did her best to put Olivia at ease to cover for my misgivings. I was in no way agreeing with her staying with us, but it didn’t seem like I had a choice.

  “I would love to rest. It’s been a crazy two weeks for me.” Olivia said as she got up very quickly. My guess was that she would want to be anywhere that I wasn’t.

  “Did they find her body?” The words spilled out, and I hoped they stung.

  “We can talk about this later.” Ruby put her arm around Olivia and walked her towards the door, shielding her from me with her body. “It’s up the stairs to the left. The fifth door on the right-hand side. Oh, I’ve asked Skylar Duncan to come tomorrow to bring you to school. He can show you around and introduce you to his friends so that the first day won’t be so bad. I took care of the registration.”

  “Did you know that I was coming?” Olivia asked with confusion.

  “I had hoped.” Ruby placed her hand on Olivia’s shoulder to offer some comfort perhaps. Wil and I looked in any direction but hers. He understood what was ahead of us and how Olivia could ruin it all.

  “Couldn’t school wait a few days?” Olivia asked.

  “School will be good for you. Something to dive into so your mind can focus on something new.” Ruby used her brilliant smile to put Olivia at ease.

  “Thank you.” Olivia’s eyes darted from Ruby’s to mine, unsure if she wanted to leave Ruby’s protection. Little did she know all that she had to fear.

  “When will I meet Amelia?” Olivia turned back to us, and Ruby immediately stepped in front of me with an arm hanging back warning me to leave this one alone.

  “Amelia is away.” She grabbed her drink and took a larger than normal sip. “Perhaps you would like to see your room now?” Ruby’s voice was more forceful. Olivia nodded and turned towards the foyer.

  Ruby stood in the foyer watching as Olivia made her way upstairs. As soon as she was out of earshot, Ruby closed the pocket doors and gave me one of her looks.

  “She’s just a kid, Lily.”

  “It’s not a good time for her to be here and stay out of my thoughts.” I scolded her.

  “When would it be?” Ruby took a seat on the arm of the chair. “How did it go today?”

  “Not good.” I paced the floor dragging my feet glancing at Wil. He knew to stay out of our fights and was good about not taking sides.

  “We are losing allegiance.” Wil took the lead as he poured himself a glass of wine. “They are starting to have greater numbers than we do.”

  “So, it’s true,” Ruby asked setting her drink down softly. Her hand rubbed her temple, and I knew a migraine was coming on.

  “We have to inform the council and hope they will be on our side,” I said also knowing that we needed a miracle to happen. I would keep the details from Ruby as long as I could. Since mother left us, she hasn’t been able to deal with stress as she had been.

  “Should we call Amelia?” Ruby asked avoiding me and looking only at Wil.

  “You’re kidding right?” I gasped. How could she even suggest such a thing? Who knows where she is and with who.

  “It’s more power on our side.”

  “Who said she would be on our side?” Amelia had left us, as well. There were rumors about why, and it was anyone’s guess what the truth was.

  “We don’t know for sure.” Ruby got up and walked to the window irritated. Amelia was a sore topic between us.

  “On that note, I’ve got to take off. It’s chicken taco night.” Wil rubbed his belly and made his escape quickly.

  “Let’s just save that card for when and if we need it.” I took Ruby’s seat on the green chair and stared off into the distance. I wished I could be the one to disappear and not have this responsibility on my shoulders.

  “When does grandmother arrive?” Ruby asked sitting across from me.

  “Tonight, maybe. She has been extending her vacation. Something about wine and cabana boys.” I rolled my eyes at our eccentric Grandmother.

  Grandmother had been away for almost six months now. She took the vacation she said she always would when she retired, and I didn’t want her coming back to a mess. She ran the council with ease, and everyone trusted her judgment. Now things were going downhill fast, and fingers would be pointed towards me. This should have been mother’s job.

  “Is she aware things are amassing against us?”

  “My guess would be no, as they have been hiding it well. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because she isn’t leading the fae anymore. ”

  “Oh, Lily!” She grabbed my knee and squeezed it. “We sure as hell won’t let it happen during our reign.”

  “We have to get the younger members to be more active. If we leave it to the Elders, I’m not sure how much longer we will stay in power.” The council loved our grandmother, but the truth was, some of the elders didn’t want the Whitby’s to be in control because we only had a line of women left. They wanted a man at the top of the totem pole.

  “We’ll just entice them to go.” Ruby got up and went over to the secret wood panel and opened it, grabbing a bottle of old scotch, pouring two glasses. “We may need Olivia.”

  I rolled my eyes and fell back deeper into my chair. “We don’t know her, and we have no idea how she will pledge.”

  “What else could she pledge?” Ruby took a sip of her drink and pushed the other glass towards me.

  “You know damn well what she could pledge.” I took the glass and drank the scotch in it, in one gulp. The alcohol burned my throat, but I liked it. One thing I inherited from my mother that I was proud of.

  “She won’t.” Ruby leaned back and let out a long breath. “We won’t tell her.”

  “That’s sisterly.” I stammered.

  “It’s in her best interest.”

  I couldn’t sit still. Ruby hadn’t been there; she couldn’t feel the tension, the shift in the air. One thing was definite, as soon as they knew Olivia existed, they would come for her.

  CHAPTER 3: OLIVIA

  THE LA
ST THING I WANTED to be doing was starting a new school and meeting new people. After last night’s unwelcome party, I wasn’t sure what my next step would be. For now, I would take it one day at a time.

  Skylar Duncan had arrived promptly to pick me up that morning in his 1949 Ford F1. I mentally added a reminder to get a tetanus shot as I jumped in the rusted truck. He was a tall lad with dark brown hair and bright green eyes. I tried my best not to stare at his tanned, muscled arm when he shifted gears, the arm that extended to an equally muscular body that his white t-shirt could barely contain.

  “How has it been so far?”

  “Great, as can be, I guess,” I mumbled that last part. I had a roof over my head now. I turned to face the door and tried to focus on the scenery as we drove.

  “You may want to work on your convincing tone.” He smiled, and his dimples did a little dance. I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “It’s been a splendid time.” I over dramatized each word as we shared a long interesting side glance.

  “You will like Highclere Academy. Lots of social events, if you're into that kind of thing.” I could see him looking at me as he spoke, as I let my eyes wander in his direction.

  “Not really.” I let out a sigh. I assumed as soon as we arrived at school, he would dump me as fast as he could.

  “Me either.” He yelled over the noise of the motor as he switched gears.

  “You seem like you would be into that kind of thing.” I had anticipated him being some popular jock.

  “Why is that now?” He looked my way, and our eyes met. He smiled and narrowed his eyes at me in a suggestive way that made my face flush.

  “Just a guess.” I avoided his gaze again and turned my head just in time to see a red car speed up to beat a yellow light just as our light turned green. My hand braced the dashboard as Skylar slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the car as it pulled out in front of us with a turn, burning its tires on the road. The truck swung around to escape it from slamming into us, and the smell of rubber filled my nostrils. We finally came to a stop, and the car also stopped for a brief moment. The driver flips his sunglasses down on his nose and sent a wink our way before driving past us.

  “Sabean.” Skylar scoffed.

  “Sabean?” I asked as I watched his face tense up.

  “Nothing. Just a little road rage. We’re almost there. We have all our classes together, so you can just follow me.” The muscles in his arm tensed as he pulled the stick a little harder when shifting gears again.

  “Do you know that guy?” I asked as my stomach turned from our near accident.

  “Just some stunt. We should go straight to the office when we get there so you can fill out any forms they have for you.” He may be trying to change the conversation, but the look on his face never left. His hands clutched the wheel, and his fingers turned white from lack of circulation.

  “You may get bored with me after a while.” I laughed trying to lighten the mood, but all I could think of is why this person would almost cause an accident to piss Skylar off.

  “Never.” He turned to me and had the most sincere look on his face; I almost believed him.

  We pulled into the student parking lot, and the red car that cut us off was parked close to the entryway. A boy was leaning against the back of the car staring straight at me. His face looked pale in contrast to his jet black hair that was styled from the 1950’s. His leather jacket was just a little too tight and hugged his very muscular but slim torso, which I expected was on purpose. His body turned as we drove by him, and he flashed us a huge grin.

  “Is that the car that swerved in front of us?”

  “His name is Henry.” Skylar avoided looking at the boy and drove to the back of the parking lot.

  “He knows you and did it on purpose?” Was I hanging around the wrong people on day one?

  “He’s an asshole. Stay away from him. You’re just a new toy to him. Remember that.” He grabbed his bag from the back of the truck and walked towards the school’s main door, cutting through the grass to avoid the mysterious road rager.

  “Hold up!” I yelled at him and tried my best to keep up with his long legs. “I’m not a toy.”

  “He thinks you are.” He turned back to me but his eyes stayed lowered. I waited in awkward silence as he gathered his thoughts.

  “He’s an ass, Olivia. His whole family is. Just please stay away from them.” His face showed grave concern and a story he wasn’t going to share with me.

  “OK. I’ll stay away from them,” I put my hands up and gave in. Seemed a little over dramatic for high school. “Now, let’s go and get this over with, shall we?” I waved him forward and bowed at his majesty.

  “You’re weird.” He smiled at me, and I could tell he liked it.

  “I’m not the only one.” I gave him a friendly punch on the arm. Anything to change the mood. I’d determine later how bad the Sabeans were.

  We walked into the school, and I could tell it was very old. I wouldn’t be surprised if my great-grandmother came here. Several awards lined the hallways, and they were all dusted and shone brightly.

  “They take their sports seriously here.” I tried to see if I could see any Whitby names as we passed by.

  "Please don’t hold that against us.” He smiled, flashing his white teeth. I could get used to him sticking around.

  “Our first class is biology. It’s Mr. Kenneth’s class. Any late arrivals he sends straight home.” He said as we passed the classroom door. “We have half an hour before class.”

  We kept walking down the hall and made a turn to where the lockers were.

  “And here is your locker, with a lock.” He passed me the lock as he swung the door open. It was very shiny inside. I hadn’t ever used a locker before since my mother homeschooled me. It was better that way, so no one would be able to account for us, rather than for my best interest.

  “So you were homeschooled I heard?” He asked, like he could read my mind.

  “Yup. Never been to a public school before. So this should be interesting.” I began to unload the few things I had in my bag into my locker, including a mirror that Ruby had bought for me.

  “Sounds so not fun.” He poked fun at me as he leaned half his body against my locker door. It was hard to not stare at that tight t-shirt.

  “There’s pluses and minuses.” I had to admit I liked the solitude. However, it didn’t prepare me for social interactions like this one.

  “May I escort you to your first class?” He held his arm out for me to take. Instead, I closed my locker and awkwardly headed in the direction we came from.

  “You can walk behind me,” I smirked back at him.

  As we headed down the hall to our first class, I couldn’t help but notice the attention he was getting from most of the female population. All the looks and stares as we passed by their lockers. They swooned at him as we walked towards them, then gave me the stink eye as we moved past them.

  “I see you’re quite popular with the gal’s.” I teased as he looked confused. It was interesting to notice that he didn't see what I just saw.

  “Not really. I don’t have much of a dating card.” His face flushed a little as he picked up speed and walked a bit ahead of me.

  “I’m sure you could if you wanted to,” I said.

  “What about you? Got a boyfriend back home?” he said over his shoulder.

  “No. Never stayed in one place long enough to want to even try.” I shocked myself at how candid I was with him.

  “Shame.” He stopped, and I almost walked right into him. “Hopefully you will be staying here a lot longer.”

  I managed a smile as the conversation seemed to get a little awkward.

  “Here it is!” His arm waved in front of the door. “Your first public class. Are you ready Ms. Whitby?” He said in an awkward game host way.

  “I think I can manage.” I suddenly felt my stomach rumble in fear as we entered the classroom.

  The classroom was
organized with rows of wooden desks. It didn’t look like what I had seen on TV. The room was large with windows from floor to ceiling. Two walls were lined with black chalkboards.

  “This seems really old school,” I said as we entered.

  “Yes, it’s a sin to be modern here I’m afraid. My grandparents used these desks.”

  As I scoped out the room and looked for a seat, I could feel someone watching me. I scanned the room, and no one was even paying attention to me. I looked back to the door, and the Sabean kid was standing in the doorway.

  “Does he have class with us?” I asked Skylar, and he immediately became agitated.

  “No,” Skylar said, fully squaring his shoulders and standing straight as a board looking back at him. After a few moments, he stepped back into the hallway and Skylar pulled me by the arm to our seats.

  “There has to be something more between you two.” I tried again to see if he would let me in on whatever secret beef they had, but I was met with silence.

  “Some things run deep. You wouldn’t understand.”

  CHAPTER 4: HENRY

  I HATED THESE FAMILY meetings. I usually opted to not be within reach or forget, which they sometimes let me get away with. Instead, it’s Monday evening, and we are locked in a heated battle, with me on the losing end.

  “That little trick you pulled this morning with the car was reckless.” My father, Abram, shouted as he paced the floor. I knew better than to challenge him, so I just sat still and nodded in the appropriate places. He was the official head of the family, and it had to be his way. My brother, Walt, was his mini-me. Same jet black hair and sea green eyes. My other siblings Edwin and Hannah were more like me. We liked to have fun and didn’t care about the family business or what happened within The Stacks.

  “Henry, I will not have you destroying what we have been so diligently working towards within The Stacks.” He paced the room as his eyes darkened and his lips grew redder. His mood intensified as we all sat still not wanting to add to it.

  “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” It was best just to give in and then do what I wanted anyway. I was not part of the council and had no interest in whatever it was they were trying to accomplish.