Witch Way to Turn

by Karen Y. Bynum

  Breena reached over for the paper towel dispenser, keeping her focus on the blonde in the mirror. There were no other souls in the restroom besides Jenny. Blondie must’ve realized it, too. Breena hoped she’d leave before Jenny finished up.

  Just then, the toilet flushed and the door swung open.

  Damn.

  Breena dashed between Jenny and the preternatural.

  A sinister grin tugged at the tall woman’s lips. “It’s not the girl he’s after. But it’s good to know you have weaknesses.” She poofed out of the restroom.

  “Bea, her glow scared me.” Jenny stood frozen in place.

  “It’s okay, short stuff, I won’t let her hurt you.” Granted, Breena wasn’t exactly sure how she would’ve fought the blonde, but she sure would’ve tried.

  “Is she like Orin?” Jenny inched over to the sink and washed her hands.

  “Yeah, she’s a preternatural.” Breena handed her sister a paper towel. She still hadn’t told Jenny about her half-and-half status. Part of her wanted to, but she just didn’t know where to begin.

  Myles stood directly across from the ladies room entrance. They walked in silence out of the restroom and into the throb of people. Breena couldn’t help but notice that a couple of those people didn’t make a sound–no hum–but they did seem to migrate in her direction, to mirror her movements. One girl in particular brushed past Breena and looked as though she wanted to say something but Myles caught Breena’s elbow and guided them to the waiting area before she had a chance to figure out what the deal was.

  Probably just her imagination.

  “I thought I might have to come find you two,” Myles joked.

  “Nope,” Jenny said, bouncing along beside him. “Bea took care of the pre.”

  “Jen.” Breena gave her sister a scolding glance.

  Jenny huffed and shot it back.

  “What’s a ‘pre’? Breena, what happened?” Myles seemed to hold back some of his panic, probably for Jenny’s sake.

  “Preternatural. Nothing. It’s fine.”

  “Somebody’s after Bea, and I’m a weakness.”

  Breena rolled her eyes. The girl couldn’t keep her mouth shut to save her life.

  “Flight 130 to Addison now boarding,” the announcement blared overhead.

  “Come on, Myles, we need to go.” Breena took Jenny’s hand and walked away.

  Myles trailed after them but Breena could tell he wasn’t happy about it.

  Chapter 19

  Waves of heat wafted upward the moment they disembarked from the plane. They walked across the practically steaming tarmac into the airport and followed the signs to baggage claim. This airport was tiny in comparison to the Dallas-Fort Worth hub, so they didn’t have far to go. Once their bags came around the belt, they headed to a waiting area next to the sliding double doors.

  A girl, a little younger than Breena, watched them approach, her gaze intent on Breena. The girl wore black leather pants and a lime green tube top with matching green stiletto heels. Breena had never seen anyone look good in leather pants, but this chick rocked ’em out. Her long black hair hung in a thick braid over her smooth brown shoulder and, when they got closer, Breena couldn’t help but stare at her pale gray eyes.

  She walked directly to Breena, like a magnet to a fridge, except Breena didn’t know the girl from Adam. They stood in silence, facing each other in a strange stand-off.

  Myles eased past Breena to lay a hand on the tanned girl’s shoulder.

  With bright eyes and a straight face, she said, “Master, you’ve arrived.”

  Myles just shook his head and gave her a patient smile. “Dandelion.”

  The girl turned to Breena and spoke before she could be too jealous of whatever connection he shared with Gray Eyes. “You must be Breena Cross. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Dandi.”

  Dandi. Right.

  Damn, she was hot.

  Something about her made you just want to drool all over yourself. So of course, Breena gave Myles her best you’ve-got-some-explaining-to-do look before turning back to the gray-eyed girl. “Strange, Master hasn’t told me anything about you.” Was Dandi the reason Myles kept pulling away?

  “We can do backstory later. Right now the president is waiting.” Myles nodded toward the glass doors.

  Maybe if Breena stared at Gray Eyes long enough, she could figure out some of Myles’s secrets. Her gaze didn’t waver, and neither did Dandi’s.

  “Screw the president.” Gray Eyes addressed Myles, but kept her gaze dead-set on Breena.

  “Dandelion Peace Camp, do you really want to live forever in Addison, Texas?” Myles scolded.

  Dandi cut him a snide look with squinted eyes and pursed mocha lips. It reminded Breena of a look Jenny sometimes gave her.

  “Funny name.” Jenny chimed in.

  “Jennifer Doe.” Breena flicked her sister’s arm. The game of eye-chicken with Gray Eyes had come to an end.

  “Hey.” Jenny pouted and rubbed her arm.

  Dandi laughed. “You’re okay with me, squirt. It is a funny name. My dad was a hippie and my mom was Cherokee.”

  “Are they dead?” Jenny swung her arms back and forth.

  Breena’s eyes widened at her sister’s question.

  “To the point. I like it. I can see we’re gonna be good friends.” Dandi ignored Breena’s obvious shock. “Yup, they’re dead as a doornail. Myles is my only family now.”

  “We need to go.” Myles made a circular herding motion for them to move along. “Dandi, where’d you park?”

  “Out front, of course. You don’t expect me to walk far in these heels, do you? You’re gonna love my new ride, Myles,” she prattled on, not taking a breath.

  “What did I buy you now?” He smiled at Dandi as they followed her outside.

  She pointed to the fire-engine red Hummer parked partially on the sidewalk to fit into the narrow spot behind a row of parked cabs.

  Myles just shook his head. Even though he acted annoyed, he wasn’t. Breena felt it in her blood. He watched Dandi like a dad looking at his kid with a new toy, amusement in his eyes.

  A cop waited for them by the passenger door of the Hummer. The girl sashayed up to him, swinging her hips–an impressive feat in leather pants–and batting her eyelashes. They didn’t hear what she said, but Breena knew Dandi wouldn’t get a ticket. If anything, they might score a police escort to wherever they were going.

  “To the Betty Lou compound,” Dandi announced as the cop padded off down the sidewalk wearing a stunned grin.

  * * * *

  Myles caught Breena before her face had a chance to plow into the pavement.

  Stupid Hummer, Breena grumbled mentally, feeling absurdly like Dandelion had bought the car just for a chance to humiliate her.

  The vamp’s hands gripped her shoulders a second too long. Then he apologized at the same time as she said thank you. Awkward didn’t cover it.

  “Ick. No PDA, pa-lease.” Dandi made a yak sound while she opened the back door to get out the luggage.

  Breena wiggled her way past Myles to grab her bag and hand Jenny hers.

  Aware Dandi was watching her every move when it came to Myles, she hung back with the black-haired girl as the other two moved ahead. Breena grinned as she watched Jenny take Myles’s hand. They walked side by side, swinging their arms. A wave of contentment washed over her, until it was pulled away from the shore by the force of Dandi’s glare.

  Skipping, Jenny chattered away about the flight and how much fun she was having. Guess she’d already forgotten about the crazy preternatural in the bathroom. Breena hadn’t. Who was she? Had the pre, to use Jenny’s term, been talking about the same he the wolf had mentioned?

  An enormous building, resembling a pyramid with windows, lay ahead of them. “Is this where we’re staying? It doesn’t look like a hotel.” Breena glanced at Dandi.

  “Looks are deceiving. Take me for example. I seem petite and fragile, right? But try to starve me and this
vamp will drain a two hundred pound cowboy in three minutes flat.” Dandi stuck out her tongue, followed promptly by a flash of fang.

  Okay, so Myles had a vampire…friend. Breena noticed something shiny pierced through Dandi’s tongue. The same smooth copper as Myles’s ring. What was up with the jewelry? She carefully tried to scan the vamp’s fingers, neck and ears for any other sign of bewitched jewelry without her noticing.

  Subtlety fail.

  “Like what you see, Ash?” Dandi licked her fangs.

  “Ash?”

  “Your hair color. Ash brown, right?”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  Fashion seemed to hold a high-ranking position in Dandi’s heart so it didn’t surprise Breena that she’d chosen something so superficial as her nickname. She kind of liked it, though. At least she wasn’t calling Breena “dimples.” Lord help Dandi, if she did.

  It didn’t take long for Breena to realize that straightforward would be the best way to go with Dandi. “What’s the deal with your tongue ring? Is that how the WC keeps track of you?” It was the only reasonable thing she could think of.

  “Somebody’s observant.”

  “Somebody has to be when she’s being hunted,” Breena snapped. The chill inside her stirred despite the heat of the afternoon.

  “Yeah, Myles has kept me up to speed.” Dandi flicked her braid off her shoulder.

  “Glad to be the topic of conversation.” Even she flinched at the sound of her sarcastic tone. She tried to level it out. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

  “Says who?”

  She nodded toward Myles.

  “He’s got too many damn secrets.” Breena huffed.

  When she glanced to the side, she noticed Dandi had stopped. As they faced each other, Dandi’s gray eyes hardened. What was that all about? It’s not like she had said something offensive. At least she didn’t think she so. Whatever. Took two to play the stare game. She crossed her arms, cocking her head at the vampire.

  Dandi closed the distance between them. “Hey, cut Myles some slack. It’s hard to watch someone grow up then fall–”

  “Enough.” Myles zipped between them like a lightning bolt.

  Dandi sighed. “Yes, Master.”

  Breena was surprised Dandi let him cut her off. And why did she keep calling him Master? Did he have a god-complex she didn’t know about?

  When Breena caught up to Jenny, they walked the rest of the way to the building in silence. Once inside, they followed Myles across the smooth white-marble floor. The sound of their shoes tapping across the floor joined the melody of other clicks. Straight ahead stood four glass elevators, the shafts ten stories tall.

  Beauty consultants dressed in black skirt suits, like the cleaning crew, bustled in and out of the lobby. A few men in suits, and some normally-dressed folks, scurried about. Breena wanted to ask questions, but every time she opened her mouth to form the words she shut it again. Tight.

  Weird.

  Myles pushed the button for the elevator, and Dandi looked like she’d struck-a-pose as she watched people–particularly the pretty ladies–walk by. Breena’s cell vibrated in her pocket, but she ignored it. Draping an arm around her sister’s shoulder, she held Jenny close.

  Jenny snuggled into Breena’s waist. “It glo–”

  “Jennifer.”

  “What? Doesn’t matter. Couldn’t finish sayin’ it anyway.” Jenny rolled her eyes.

  “Why?” Seemed strange that Breena’s always-speaking-her-mind sister couldn’t say something.

  Jenny shrugged. “Dunno. Just couldn’t get the word out. Gl…” She humphed.

  “Stop it.” Breena squeezed her arm as they stepped into the elevator after Myles and Dandi.

  Jenny tossed a pout up at Breena.

  Looking away from her sister, she tried to say “Glow,” just for the heck of it. Nope. Jenny was right.

  A few moments later there was a high-pitched ding, followed by the slippery silence of the doors gliding open. Once they’d walked off the elevator and into the hallway, Breena said “Glow,” under her breath.

  Her lips loosened, and the word floated away like a weight lifting. “What’s the deal?”

  Myles headed down the hall.

  “Silencing ward.” Dandi pinched her lips together like a duck.

  “What?” Breena grabbed Jenny’s hand and followed Myles’s lead.

  “The WC put a spell on the lobby and elevators so no one could talk about supernatural stuff.”

  “Why?”

  “Humans frequent The Gathering either as employees, visitors or food. Either way, the WC is all about secrecy.”

  “The Gathering? New one on me.” Breena shrugged.

  “Basically it’s the supernatural hierarchy. The WC and directors make up the voting part.” Breena noticed she didn’t say the WC was the head. “Then there’s family, friends and…” Dandi rolled her eyes, “…prisoners.” Her voice itched with contempt.

  Hadn’t one of the Betty Lou consultants at Norma’s mentioned something about Myles’s sentence?

  At the end of the corridor they faced a giant window. Breena had been lost in her own thoughts and hadn’t paid attention, but as she glanced back down the hallway, she noticed there were no doors or windows along either side of the corridor. The strange thing was, people passed the entrance to the hallway they stood in as if it were just another part of the wall. It seemed like a Hogwart’s kind of moment. “Does this hallway move or something?”

  “No. It’s an invisibility ward,” Dandi answered.

  “The tassel.” Myles pointed to the bright pink curtain pulled to the side by a black satin tie-back.

  Breena let loose of Jenny’s hand to walk over and pull the rope. She half-expected the hallway to disappear and leave them standing in the middle of an orchard or in a castle with students wearing pointed hats. But the curtain only fell in front of the glass. “What now?”

  “Push it to the side.” Myles nodded.

  “Well, duh, why didn’t I think of that, Sherlock?”

  “Maybe if you spent a little less time on questions and a little more time trusting me–”

  “Can we move past the lovers’ quarrel already? Some of us would like to eat,” Dandi said.

  Ignoring her, Breena yanked the curtain back. The window had vanished and a beautiful wooden door with inlaid panels and a long wrought iron handle stood before them. She opened it.

  Another corridor stretched ahead of them. The smell of magic wafted up her nose like a cool breeze. At least it didn’t smell like lemons this time. More like a crisp fall day.

  They followed Myles down the new hallway and to another elevator. The ride to the top floor was a quiet one, and not because of a silencing ward.

  The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and they stepped out. Light flooded the hallway.

  “Go to the end of the hall. The president’s apartment is the only door on the left.” Myles pointed.

  “You’re not coming with me?” Breena tried to keep the anger out of her voice.

  “No.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “We’ll take Jenny and get supper in the cafeteria.” Myles looked at Jenny and Dandi. “Come on girls.”

  “Hey, wait a second. Where the hel…heck am I supposed to go after this?” She realized she sounded a little harsh, but something wasn’t right. Darkness crept around in the depths of her mind…clawing, climbing its way out.

  “Go to the lobby in this building, not the lobby through the hallway. I’ll wait for you there.”

  “Later, calculator!” Jenny chirped.

  “After awhile, turnstile,” Breena replied only half-heartedly, hoping her sister didn’t notice.

  Breena watched them go down the hall and heard the elevator doors close as she walked to what she hoped was the president’s apartment. She knocked and, a moment later, a young woman with bright green eyes and long silver hair answe
red the door. Despite her hair color, Breena figured her for mid-thirties.

  The woman wore a blank expression and only gave a slight nod to indicate that Breena should follow her. The green-eyed lady walked ahead of her through the foyer, down a short hall, and into a large open room surrounded by a wall of windows leading to a balcony.

  “Have a seat.” She gestured to the white couch in front of the fireplace. “The president will be with you shortly.”

  The young woman’s eyes held her gaze for another beat before she stalked out of the room. Breena knew her from somewhere. But where?

  Whatever.

  She just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Even though she didn’t feel worried about meeting the president, she grew more anxious by the second.

  What’s wrong with me?

  She looked down the hallway to see shelves flush against the wall, filled with hardcover books. The kitchen and living room melded into one large room, only separated by a bar. Breena could see the black granite countertops gleam, even from where she sat on the couch.

  On the wall outside the kitchen hung a large piece of art, which displayed the four elements: earth, wind, fire and water. She recognized the symbols from senior year biology. Breena stood then walked over for a better look. The art blended copper, glass, wood and silver seamlessly.

  “Breena Cross. I’ve waited a long time to see you again.”

  Again?

  Breena turned to face the voice. The green-eyed lady stood next to an older woman with snow-white hair cut into an A-line bob.

  “Leave us.” Ms. Snow-white nodded.

  “Is that wise?” Green Eyes didn’t move.

  “Don’t question me, Rae.”

  “As you wish.” Rae slunk away like a wounded pup.

  “Please, have a seat, dear. Would you like some tea?”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.” Breena headed back to the couch to sit down. The older woman sat in the oversized matching chair across from her, the massive square mahogany coffee table between them. Ms. Snow-white’s bright violet eyes met Breena’s.

  “Your eyes…they look like mine.” Typical Breena. Speak first, think later.