Flames in the Midst (The Jade Hale Series)

by Reckenwald, Sarah

  “C’mon,” Stefanie beckoned, “It’s time for you to meet my mother.” I stared up at the house, which seemed to tower above me like a watchtower. They may have placed a spell on the car to make it appear more modern and fresh-off-the-lot new, but the house did not appear to have any spell on it. An older home, it had been awhile since anyone had painted it. It had once been white, with a brown trim around the windows and doors, but the paint cracked and peeled at every knot or splinter in the wood. It looked as if you could simply peel away the paint like sunburnt skin.

  I followed Stefanie onto the steps of a wrap-around front porch. The steps didn’t audibly creak, but I could feel them bend to the pressure of each step in protest of too many years of use. I ran my hand over the porch railing and watched as flakes of paint fluttered to the ground like ashes. I shuddered, remembering the smoke and later, a memory not quite so fresh, the smoldering remnants of a place that was once a safe haven turned tomb.

  Before we reached the front door, it opened and a familiar face appeared in the doorway.

  “Jade, we are so glad to finally have you here,” Madilyn greeted me. She looked older. I had only placed my child self in her arms hours ago, and although I knew I looked exactly the same to her, she had aged over the years that had passed since that moment. Still, she looked much the same. Her deep brown eyes had not changed. Her hair had an auburn tint to the brown it had been, but it looked like a dye to add some pizzazz to her normal hair color. She couldn’t have been more than twenty or so when I first met her, so she was probably in her mid to late thirties now. How strange. We met for the first time only hours ago, and we were roughly the same age. Now she was older than me. Yet another surreal effect of time travel.

  My resolution ebbed slightly. It was easy to imagine denying a group of strangers my help, but much more difficult to deny the last person my mother had tried to help. I forced a smile so as not to reveal the conflict I felt.

  “Hello, Madilyn. I would say it has been awhile, but it doesn’t feel like it.”

  Madilyn smiled and touched my shoulder with compassion. She knew what the last twenty-four hours of my life had been like. Her rose-colored aura matched Stefanie’s almost exactly. I wondered if Stefanie was younger than me or if Madilyn never got around to revealing she had a daughter that first night. She may not have known whether Stefanie would be safer wherever she was that night rather than in a bar full of strangers revealing themselves to be witches trying to protect her.

  Madilyn kept her hand on my shoulder and ushered me into the house. Sunlight filtered into the living room through lacy curtains. There was no television. Several mismatched couches and chairs made a circle in the living room, incorporating an old fireplace. I secretly laughed every time I saw a fireplace in Florida; they served more as a novelty than a necessity. At least in a house of witches it might be useful.

  Amy stood up from a couch covered in floral print. I recognized her immediately. Her blond hair only skimmed her shoulders now, and she, too, had aged, but she still resembled the girl I had last seen being dragged from the burning barroom. Her eyes held the same compassion as Madilyn’s touch held. She, too, knew what I had just been through, and even though it had been years ago for her, I could see the night my mother died still held pain for her as well.

  Stefanie came in behind us and closed the door. Only the four of us stood in this room, but I could hear other people elsewhere in the house. Amy approached me and wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t want to, but the tears came against my will. Before I knew it, I was sobbing into Amy’s shoulder with Madilyn calmly rubbing my back. Although my mother had died when I was only three, she also died just last night. Almost as devastating, seeing my aunt one last time brought up all the emotions I had been suppressing for almost two years now since her death. So I stood there, crying alternately for my mother, for my aunt, and for the position I now found myself in. A double orphan. A witch. Alone. Both burdened and driven by a mission of revenge.

  I have no idea how long I stood there sobbing. Madilyn and Amy simply stood with me. They didn’t try to console me with empty words. They didn’t try to convince me that my crying was a waste of time or try to change my mood. They didn’t try to rush me or even move me from where I stood. They were sentinels of protection while I let my pain and sorrow rush out. As I began to compose myself, I realized now it would be even more difficult to turn them down. This just wasn’t the life I wanted. They would have to understand.

  “Thank you,” I managed as I lifted my head from Amy’s shoulder. Stefanie stood in front of me with a box of tissues. I took the box, and Madilyn guided me to the floral couch Amy had been sitting on when I walked in the door. I sat down and wiped my face with three or four tissues.

  “I don’t know what came over me,” I offered as a meager apology.

  “It’s okay,” Madilyn consoled in a soothing voice, “you’ve been through a lot recently. Take as much time as you need.” Madilyn patted my shoulder one last time and sat to my right on a blue and white striped couch. Amy sat next to me on the couch and handed me a glass of water. I had learned recently not to drink things I hadn’t prepared, but I felt so at ease here I knew not to worry about my safety. I sipped the water, and as I watched Amy recite an incantation, a small end table slid in front of the couch. I set the glass down and finished wiping the tears from my face.

  “I’m sure Stefanie has probably already said too much,” Amy began, looking at Stefanie who sat on an overstuffed armchair across the room. Stefanie busied herself with tracing the pattern of the fabric with her finger.

  “At any rate,” Amy continued, “We don’t have to talk about everything all at once. Why don’t you take some time to rest, and then we can talk?”

  I didn’t want to rest. I wanted to get back to my apartment and start planning my next steps. However, resting after a good cry seemed to be the only thing I had energy for at the moment. I couldn’t imagine trying to take in whatever Amy and Madilyn wanted to talk to me about with any coherence. I took another sip of the water.

  “Okay,” I agreed, my eyes already heavy and ready to give in to the mere suggestion of sleep. Between my argument with Stefanie in the car and my emotional volcano a few minutes ago, I felt drained. Amy stood and let me lay down on the floral couch. I was afraid they would want me to move to another room, and I didn’t think I had the strength for that. As I gave up the fight with my eyelids, I saw Amy’s lips moving in one last incantation and felt the warmth of an afghan materializing around me. What a way to be tucked in. I imagined my mother using this spell as I drifted off to sleep. I was almost certain she had used it during the few years we spent as a family.

  Chapter 6

  In my sleep, I returned to my peaceful lagoon. Once again, I swam through the cool, crisp water, diving beneath the surface and emerging again to the warmth of the sun. Here, all the world stood still and waited on me to finish my swim. Cameron, too, waited for me to finish my swim. He sat on the smooth, flat rock at the end of the lagoon, sunning himself and apparently unaware of my movements through the water. I wanted to be angry and let the hate I housed for him bubble to the surface of the water and char the rock he sunbathed on, but I could not bring myself to feel those emotions in this serene place.

  I swam back and forth, staring at him, willing him to incinerate on the rock, but nothing worked. I could not summon my hatred for him. I stopped swimming and began treading water about five feet away from the rock. I should have been furious I could not destroy him. I should have been furious he had invaded my private lagoon, my calm in the midst of the storm my life had become. I should have been furious with him, but I couldn’t bring that emotion up. It was as if this place could not hold anything negative, and yet, he sunned himself on the rock.

  Without making a sound, I swam up to the edge of the rock, away from where he lay, and pulled myself out of the water. I quickly pulled on a sundress that had been waiting for me. I could feel its warmth drying my
skin and radiating through my body. Cameron did not turn and look at me until I had finished dressing.

  “Hello,” he greeted, as if we were old friends, his copper skin glistening in the sun.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, expecting venom in my voice but hearing softness like honey instead.

  “Waiting for you, of course,” he answered, “Why else would I be here?”

  My heart actually skipped a beat. I could not be happy he waited here for me, but it felt like the greatest thing in the world—like my life could not be complete if he were not waiting for me.

  “Well, to be truthful, I’m not actually here. Not this place exactly, but you know where I am,” he added knowingly.

  “Salem?” I asked, confused about the feelings rushing through me. Cameron played a part in my mother’s death, whether he intended to or not. He took my abilities from me that night. He prevented me from saving her. Still, I could not bring my feelings of hatred to the surface. I wasn’t sure what I felt. Compassion? Sympathy? Pity? Or was it something else entirely? Something I couldn’t bring myself to articulate or even think.

  “Yes, Jade,” he continued, sounding calm and patient, his voice matching the surroundings of my oasis. When he said my name, I felt transfixed by his words. “Salem. I am waiting for you. Where are you?”

  “I’m,” I hesitated, unsure if this wasn’t more than a dream. If it was more than a dream, I couldn’t give anything away. It could be a trap. That could be why he sounded so caring and I felt so hooked on his every word. This could all be a part of a spell to find out where I was hiding.

  “I’m somewhere else. Getting ready,” I managed to respond.

  “Good. You should be getting ready. But don’t take too long, okay?” He leaned in towards me.

  “No problem. Will your father be waiting with you?” I didn’t move towards him, but I also couldn’t bring myself to move away.

  “My father will be waiting, too.” Now he leaned back. Father was the only word holding the venom I had expected from both ends of this conversation. The rest of his words remained soothing to my ears.

  He stared into my eyes for several minutes. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I found myself powerless against his gaze. Finally, he looked away and stood up. He looked down at me one last time.

  “Be prepared. Come and find me. Salem, 1692.” He plunged into the clear water and dove deep to the bottom of the lagoon, and then he was gone. I looked down into the clear water, but I only saw the pebbles, the sandy bottom, and a few fish flitting through the refreshing coolness of the lagoon and weaving through the ribbons of sunlight filtering through the water.

  I woke to the smells of barbeque and chocolate cake wafting through the living room and permeating the strange circle of couches where I slept. The empty room carried a feeling of safety with it, but the calming atmosphere of my lagoon did not reside here. The air was charged with urgency and worry and the plans of those who were fighting a losing battle. The sunlight no longer filtered through the curtains. I wondered if an afternoon thunderstorm brewed outside, but when I forced myself to leave the warmth and comfort of the afghan and the floral couch, I realized, gently pushing the curtains back from the window, that darkness had fallen outside. I had slept away the entire day, a day I could have used to plan my next steps. Oh well, there was no getting back lost hours. Besides, I hadn’t eaten all day, and the smells coming from the kitchen were too tempting to resist.

  I heard voices coming from further back in the house. I found a hallway with pictures lining the walls and followed it towards the sound of the voices and the smell of the food. The hall continued with closed doors and pictures until it opened into a bright, eat-in kitchen. Someone had painted the walls yellow, like sunshine, and decorated with sunflower printed towels and sunflowers stenciled on the walls.

  The eat-in part of the kitchen was furthest from me, and at first, no one noticed my presence. On the counters, I took in the overwhelming sight of barbeque ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, fresh ears of corn, a bowl of rolls, and another bowl of salad. A pitcher of lemonade sat on the counter next to a half-eaten chocolate cake.

  I stepped into the kitchen and stared longingly at the food. As certain as I was that I was a welcome guest here, I did not have the boldness to help myself to this feast without an invitation. Finally, Amy looked up and noticed me salivating and staring at the countertop covered with food.

  “Jade, you’re up,” she announced my presence to the rest of the room. Everyone turned and looked at me; for a moment I felt like I was standing on an elementary school stage for the big school play, but I forgot my lines.

  “Yeah,” I stammered, “I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”

  “No problem, Jade,” Amy continued, “Why don’t you grab a plate for dinner and I’ll introduce everyone after you sit down.” That cued everyone else to go back to their chocolate cake and avert their eyes from the new spectacle. Relief washed over me both for my momentary reprieve from the spotlight and for the invitation to eat. I quickly grabbed a plate and piled it high with a little bit of everything. Amy stood up, poured me a glass of lemonade, and put a small slice of chocolate cake on a smaller plate. She helped me carry everything back to the table where everyone sat.

  No sooner did I get comfortable, Amy began the introductions. I could hear my stomach rumble under the sound of Amy’s voice, and I hoped no one else heard.

  “…and this is Paul, Madilyn’s husband, and you’ve already met Stefanie. And finally we have Chase, another one of our future Guardians,” Amy finished. I was so preoccupied with concealing my hunger that I missed most of the names. Chase stared at me now with a mixture of emotions I couldn’t quite make out. His aura glowed a soft yellow color that reminded me of a moonlit beach on a clear night when the stars and the full moon loomed on the horizon coloring the waves and the sand. He did not seem dangerous, but he looked angry as well as afraid and awed. I couldn’t imagine why I would bring out those emotions in someone. I wondered if it was something as simple as the fact Stefanie seemed all consumed with my arrival instead of focusing her attention on him.

  “Jade,” Amy continued, “I know you may not understand this, but we have been waiting for you for a long time. I’m sorry if everything is happening quickly and if this is overwhelming, and we can give you a little bit of time to adjust, but it is important for you to understand all of the facts.”

  I set my fork down and stared at Amy. This seemed like a very personal conversation to have in front of all of these people whose names I hadn’t yet committed to memory. As I tried to choose my words carefully, not yet sure how to let them down without causing a scene, Amy must have realized the awkwardness I felt.

  “I don’t mean that we need to talk now or that you need to make a decision this minute. Most of us are done eating. We’ll clean up and meet you back in the front meeting room when you’re done eating. I want you to hear us out, and then take a few days to think about everything. I know all of this is sudden for you, but you will have to understand we are in the midst of a war. None of this is sudden for the rest of us,” Amy finished and stood up. She had a no-nonsense maternal spirit to her despite the absence of a husband or children. It was obvious she was in charge here. As she picked up her plate, everyone else began to do the same, smiling awkwardly at me as they did. Only Stefanie stayed at the table. I saw Amy give her a stern look, but Stefanie looked away and pretended not to notice. Despite myself, I kind of liked Stefanie at this point.

  As dishes were scraped and washed and leftover food was put away, the kitchen slowly cleared until it was just Stefanie and I sitting at the table. I attacked my plate with the ravenous hunger of someone who has not eaten in days and has no idea how long the mirage of food will last and continue to taste real before it disappears forever. Everything tasted heavenly, and I didn’t mind Stefanie watching me eat as long as everyone else was gone. When I slowed to gulp down half my glass of lemonade, Stefanie finally spoke
.

  “I’m sorry about earlier today,” she started with a quiet voice. “I’ve heard all about you my whole life. I guess I was just more excited to finally meet you than I realized.” I set my glass down and looked at her carefully.

  “What do you mean you’ve heard about me your whole life?” I asked without the anger I had for her earlier.

  “Your Aunt Lynn and my mother kept in touch ever since,” Stefanie hesitated before she continued in a gentler tone. “The fire.” She looked down.

  “It’s okay,” I assured her. I felt better after my cry and long nap. It happened just last night, but in reality, it all happened fifteen years ago. There had never been anything I could have done to change the outcome. I was only there to make sure I got out safely to be raised by my aunt.

  “Your aunt knew you would need other witches. My mother has been prepared to look out for you once your aunt died. Only, your aunt knew you couldn’t be ready until after last night. We had to wait to approach you until then.”

  “Why didn’t we ever meet? Why didn’t she tell me about this and about all of you?” I asked while I moved on to pick at my chocolate cake. My hunger no longer had the best of me.

  “Like I said, you weren’t ready. Plus, you and she had to live in hiding. There are other witches who know about you. It was too dangerous even for my mother to have too much contact with your aunt. Your aunt made the decision to keep you safe above all else. She gave up being a Guardian to make sure you had family to take care of you. I think she made an amazing sacrifice, but some people don’t agree.”

  Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear all of this, I was beginning to like Stefanie more and more. She was like accessing an Entertainment News Internet Site. She had the scoop you were looking for and even dished out the dirt you didn’t know you were interested in finding out.