PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  Seth snorts, and I shoot him a dirty look. “I promise Caine. Rhenata is out of my league. I don’t want to be near her, but I need to know Avan and Bo are okay. And I’ll be damned if you two leave my sight while she’s running rampant!”

  Caine rolls his eyes. It’s only a second, but it’s still a glimpse into who he is as a person. He might have all this intimidation going on, but he’s still a person. And he’s a person that I care about. I’m not sure why, considering he still scares the crap out of me.

  ‘He’s a good guy,’ Seth agrees.

  “Jasmine, I don’t think you understand. I’m not leaving this car anywhere near where they’re fighting. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Caine, I swear to everything you’ve taught me. If you leave me miles from where you’re going, I will catch you, pluck your pretty little feathers, and cook you like a Thanksgiving feast,” I threaten.

  He snorts. “I’d like to see you try. Don’t make me call Charlotte to seal the doors. Fane wouldn’t appreciate it,” he mutters as he speeds down the highway.

  “I’ll stay out of the way, I’ll stay hidden. I just want to see,” I beg.

  Caine looks to Seth for help, and they frown at each other. “Dammit,” Caine growls and slams his fist on the steering wheel.

  ***

  A fireball whizzes past the window.

  “How is all this going unnoticed?” I ask in complete shock. We’re in downtown Lupiterra and people are walking and driving by like nothing’s going on. I don’t see how it’s possible.

  “That’s what Charlotte’s taking care of,” Caine says and points to the left. I twist around to see Charlotte sitting Indian-Style on top of a tow truck along the street. “Magic.”

  “Weird,” I mutter. I can’t see Avan or Rhenata anywhere. I see the random fireball, light streak, and whatever else, but I don’t see them. Caine parks behind a Hummer and cuts the engine.

  “Seth, ready?”

  He nods. “Let’s do this,” he says, and turns around in the seat to face me. “If anything happens down here, just let me know.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead before jumping out and following Caine.

  I watch in amazement as Caine takes the form of his Firebird, a brilliant orange, gold, and completely huge bird. Seth hops on his back and then Caine flaps his large wings. They fly up, to the roof of the several story high buildings and vanish.

  “Well, this is just dandy,” I mutter to myself. “You’ll be able to see it, he said. Sure I will.”

  ‘It’s okay Goldilocks. You’ll have front row seats in a minute.’ Seth laughs in my head. What the hell does that mean?

  I look out the window and up as far as I can see. There’s nothing. Just the damn ledge of the roofs. I growl and look out the windshield. Why couldn’t I have gone up with them? Oh, right, Rhenata would likely kill me.

  Something red falls into the roof of the Hummer in front of me. It only takes a minute for me to see that it’s Rhenata. She slowly stands, rigidly. Her mouth opens and a loud screech blasts my ears.

  ‘Duck!’ Seth and Caine scream into my mind. I’m completely confused how I can hear Caine, but I do as I say and put my head between my legs. The windows of the Expedition shatter over me. I scream.

  “You can’t end me Avan!” Rhenata laughs maniacally. I crouch to the floor behind the driver’s seat. She can’t know I’m here. Caine will kick my ass.

  I hear a thump on top of the Expedition and clamp my teeth on my tongue to stop my scream.

  ‘It’s Avan,’ Seth informs me. It makes me feel somewhat better, but also panics me more knowing that I’m literally sitting in the middle of a magical demonic fight.

  “You need to be put to rest, and you belong sitting beside Hades,” Avan screams. Footsteps jostle the vehicle and suddenly it feels like an explosion.

  ‘Jazzy! Jazzy!’ Seth screams in my mind.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’re okay!’ he shouts, panicked.

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ I ask confused.

  ‘Because Rhenata just bombed the Expedition!’

  This has to be a joke. I lift my head and see that I’m sitting next to Charlotte on the roof of the tow truck. She’s got her eyes closed but she’s chanting something intelligible.

  ‘I’m with Charlotte on the tow truck,’ I tell him and look around to see Fane’s Expedition up-side-down in the middle of the road. I have no idea what the drivers see, but it’s obviously not the torched Expedition.

  I find the Hummer, completely unharmed, but Avan and Rhenata are in a fist fight on top of it. I watch in horror as Rhenata forms a blade of some sort in her hand and it flies towards Avan’s head.

  My scream is paused by a hand. “Don’t, you’ll draw attention to yourself and Charlotte,” Bo says. I nod slowly and look at him. He immediately blushes and ducks his head.

  My eyes fly back to the fight and I see Seth jump off the roof of the Hummer. My heart stutters and my mouth goes dry. What is he doing so close to them?!

  Rhenata turns on her heel and points a finger at him. Seth freezes mid-step. I stand and prepare to lunge off the roof, but two hands grab me. Avan swings his arm and blood flies. Seth drops to the grassy patch below his feet. I scream at the top of my lungs and search our bond.

  “He’s fine,” a voice I can’t place says.

  ‘Seth!’ I shriek. I feel pain, his pain.

  ‘I’m okay, she didn’t do much,’ he heaves. His head lifts from the ground and my shoulders sag in relief.

  I glance back the Hummer and see Avan hunched over, holding his knees. Rhenata’s bloody body lying in front of him and a red trail leading to the street. My eyes follow the trail until I see her head.

  “Oh, my god,” I whisper, and turn my entire body towards Bo.

  “Are you okay?” He asks slowly.

  My head spins and my stomach churns for what feels like the hundredth time. I shake my head and cover my mouth with my hand. My eyes glance around wildly looking for an escape from this carnage and I choke on a sob.

  Bo pulls me into his side and shuffles us off the tow truck. He pushes me to sit on the bench and gently shoves my head forward to rest between my knees again.

  “Just breathe for a minute. It should help,” he says, and I faintly hear his footsteps walking away.

  ***

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask Seth, again.

  “I’m fine,” he whispers and kisses my head. I squeeze him tighter.

  “Good,” I whisper.

  We’re sitting in the lot waiting for everyone to show up so we can go home. Fane isn’t going to be too happy about his Expedition. I shiver.

  “You kicked ass!” I hear Tony laugh from somewhere in the trees.

  “Shut up, I was sloppy and that slippery demon got away,” Henry growls back to him.

  “You did great for havin’ no training,” Flynn yells.

  “Shut up!” Barry screams. The crunching of leaves and twigs fills the silence. “Caine!” Barry hollers. “What the hell?”

  Caine stands and crosses his arms. “What’s your problem?”

  “Do you realize how stupid you are for taking Jazzy with you?” Barry screams as he walks right up to tower over him. “That was . . . ”

  “Sit down and wait for your father,” Caine growls, not giving Barry a chance to finish his sentence.

  “No! You’ve got some explaining to do!”

  Caine sighs, but before he can respond Barry is raising his fist.

  “Barry!” Flynn and Tony both yell and rush to catch his arms.

  “Stop!” Flynn yells in his ear.

  “He could’ve caused Jazzy to be killed!” Barry freaks and spittle sprays over Caine.

  “Why are you freaking out? You’re not her mate!” Caine yells.

  Barry freezes and closes his eyes, chest heaving. “You think I don’t know that?” he says in an icy calm. “This isn’t about being her mate, or having a bond. This is about you doing stupid shit, not think
ing, and almost causing harm to someone I care about.”

  ‘Don’t,’ Seth says in my mind. I look at him, confused. ‘You want to say something, don’t. Let them work it out.’

  ‘But it’s not Caine’s fault,’ I defend.

  ‘Barry has replaced the emptiness he feels from loss of his sister with you.’

  I smile sadly and watch Barry. He’s a great person, and I don’t like seeing him this way.

  “Just because she’s not blood doesn’t mean he’s got feelings for her if he cares about her,” Tony defends.

  “Her brother isn’t flipping out, and her mate was there. I’m trying to figure out what his problem is,” Caine explains.

  “You trained her with a charmed knife, that she killed two demons with, and then took her to watch Rhenata get beheaded,” Barry says flatly.

  “Look, I’m not happy about a single thing that’s been happening. I’m concerned with getting Jazzy home, now,” Henry growls at all of them and walks over to me.

  “She’s going to be screwed up in the head. She’s got too much on her plate. Forgive me for worrying,” Barry shouts sarcastically.

  “Barry, calm down. You and I will be there for her, just like Seth will. We don’t need to fight amongst allies.” Henry, the odd-ball voice of reason.

  Barry takes a deep breath. “Sorry. Today just . . . ”

  “I know,” Caine cuts him off. “Me too.” He nods. “Listen, she wanted to come.” He shakes his head. “I failed in that I should not have allowed her to come, but there was no way to leave her behind with no protection.”

  Barry blows out a breath. “I understand. But dammit, next time tell Chase to explain his shit before he blurts things out. Jackass,” he mutters.

  Caine laughs. “That’s Chase for ya. He’s young.”

  Henry pulls me away from Seth and hugs me tightly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” I squeeze him back and ignore the pain swallowing my body. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  He sniffs. “Me, too.”

  Right there, in the midst of a stupid argument, I let loose the tears that I’ve been fighting off all day.

  “Come on, let’s go home,” Henry says and helps me to his car.

  Chapter 25

  New Normal

  ‘I’ll see you in thirty minutes,’ Seth says telepathically as I walk to the park.

  He knows I want to write for a little bit, and then he’ll come hang out with me.

  It’s been four weeks since the fight with the devuxen. Four weeks since I murdered a classmate and one of his buddies. Four weeks since I killed demons, who snacked on humans like they were Pringles.

  A whole month.

  I went from victim to murderer.

  I try not to focus on that so much, with Avan helping me, and so has Seth. I guess everyone helps me cope in their own ways. Henry’s there all the time, checking on me, being the annoying big brother and best friend he is, and making sure I don’t shut everyone out, again. Barry and the guys are there to always make me smile. Miss Jaynie was right. Your friends and family only know when to hold you up if they know they should. Lately, I haven’t had to say anything, because they’re just there.

  Barry moved back home but he’s with us every day, so there’s really no difference there.

  Henry joined Fane’s pack officially. Until he graduates he will live at home, but he must be available if and when the Alpha needs him. He also has duties defending the territory, plus, football and school. He seemed overwhelmed at first, but he said, “Hey, if Barry, Tony, and Flynn can do it, why can’t I?” I had to agree with him on that one.

  Caine and Sam decided I need to train more, so that’s usually what Caine and I do two times a week, plus Sundays.

  I finally took my driver’s license exam. I passed, but was docked points for a “stale green light.” Whatever, I can drive legally. My mom and Leland got me a car, not as fancy as Henry’s but I love my Focus. I would’ve already had my license by now, but I wasn’t in any hurry, and then the accident, move, and just everything else seemed to get in the way.

  Since I’m no longer being hunted, I finally took a look at the SD card Seth gave me for my birthday. The sneak got a few good pictures of me and I found out something else about him. He’s very talented with words. He wrote four poems for me. He claims they’re not very lyrical or good, but I don’t care. I love them.

  I sit down under my favorite tree in the park and watch the kids playing on the playground for a while. My mom gave me a thick blue journal for my birthday. I remember tossing the journal aside. Mom had walked in just then and saw my actions.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “Mom, I’m not the kind of girl who keeps a diary. I don’t know what I’ll do with it. Maybe I’ll just use it for school, take notes and what not,” I shrug.

  “That’s fine. I didn’t give it to you to have it be used as a diary. I have one of these. In group, at the hospital, they gave us these little notebooks.” She picks up the journal and holds it delicately in her soft hands. “The counselor told us that those booklets were whatever we wanted them to be. It could be a diary, a dream journal, the start of a bucket list, or something more personal. It’s the place where you can write out what you can’t say. You can write to someone, and you don’t ever have to show it to them. You only show it to who you want, when you want. I write to your dad. That’s what helped me. I thought, maybe if you had something like that, then you would be ok. I know you don’t like admitting when you need help. So much like your father...” She looks away and hugs the journal to her. “I’ll tell you, the journal they gave us, I filled it pretty quickly. I was angry, but I had to get it out. I couldn’t take it out on anyone else. So I wrote it all down. I will go to their graves when I’m ready, and when I do, I’ll talk to them. For now, I have my journal.”

  I understand what she means now. I don’t know how to express certain things or who to tell them to. I guess I’ll start with what happened with the crash. I will forever miss Dad and Sophie. I know that nothing will bring them back, but I can’t dwell on what has been lost any longer, or I’ll miss what’s here and now.

  I’ll move forward and keep them in my heart always.

  ***

  “We have a whole eight hours all to ourselves. What should we do with them?” Seth asks me on Saturday as we pull away from my house. Mom allows Saturdays for Seth and I to do as we wish, without leaving the county, state, or country.

  “How about we start with food?”

  I smile, “I think that’s doable.”

  He smiles back, heading in the direction of my favorite little diner, Grandma Benny’s. They have the most amazing French toast I’ve ever had in my life.

  “So, has your mom mentioned the vacation you guys are taking this summer yet?” He asks casually.

  I peer at him. “Yes, she brought it up last night. Why?”

  He smiles. “It just so happens that my mom brought up our vacation as well.”

  My stomach flips. “When is yours?”

  “The end of July, for two weeks.” I can see the amusement in his eyes at the same time I’m assaulted with his thoughts, too. It only takes me a minute to catch up.

  “Oh, I see. Our moms talked and thought it would be best to vacation together.” Then I remember the dates. “Oh! We’ll miss Skeeter’s transformation!”

  He glides a finger over my knuckles before returning to the gear shift. “Not completely. Remember it doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll get to see it start and finish. You won’t miss much.”

  I pout. “But I want to see it all. When will I have this opportunity again?”

  I feel warmth and love through our bond, desire following closely.

  “When we have a child, you’ll see everything and more,” he says sweetly, and I suck in a breath.

  A child?

  What?!

  I haven’t even officially said the “L” word yet!

  My hands tigh
ten on my seat. He strokes my knuckles again. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. We can talk about that another time,” he says.

  I assess him through our bond. I’m worried I’ve offended him with my overreaction, again. He isn’t offended or upset at my reaction. My heart silently sings his name.

  I take a deep breath and decide the conversation needs a topic change. So I blurt out the first question I can think of. “Do you like video games?”

  He laughs. “Yes, actually I do, mostly war games.” He glances my way. “Before you say it, no, I am not obsessed with Call of Duty.”

  “Good,” I nod. “I think I’d have to call all this,” I say, wagging my finger between us, “off, if that were the case.”

  He shrugs. “At least I know how to get rid of you when I get bored.”

  I widen my eyes and school my features. “When you get bored? Gee, thanks!” I feign insult, put my hand on my chest, and stick out my lower lip like a child. The look on his face at seeing me in such a state makes me burst out with laughter.

  We play our question game while we eat. Mostly random things but at the same time we also learn other things. Like, the fact that every time someone would scrape their fork or knife against their plate, he would cringe. He learned that I hated sitting within spitting distance of the bathroom, so he asked for us to be seated by the windows on the far side.

  After we eat, we walk around downtown for a couple hours. Wandering through the streets, looking in shop windows, and going into a few stores, then we play mini golf. When I beat him, Seth chooses what we do next, meeting up with our shifter friends for lunch.

  It was a really good day. I’m not ready for it to be over yet, so I just stay still in his arms and try to shut everything out except the sound of his heart and breath.

  “I don’t want you to leave,” I mumble.

  “I know,” he says.

  I groan. “Can’t you sneak in later?”

  I feel his chest rumble with laughter. “No, Goldilocks. That would get us both in trouble.”

  I grumble silently about him following rules. I pout. “But I miss your heartbeat putting me to sleep.”