Flames in the Midst (The Jade Hale Series)

by Reckenwald, Sarah

  “Jeez, Jade,” Chase said with a little more compassion in his voice, “whatever it is you need to do tonight, can’t it wait for a day or so?”

  “No,” I answered simply.

  “Then I really do need to come with you.” I thought about this for a moment. Chase coming with me was at least better than Zach coming with me. I wouldn’t be able to explain any of this to Zach. Chase couldn’t do anything about me going after my family book. It belonged to me, and I was certain my aunt left it buried behind our old house. If Chase came along, he would just be a prop. An extra figure in the background just in case something went wrong. The end result would be the same. The book would still be mine at the end of the night.

  “Fine.” I turned back on my original path and picked up my brisk pace. Chase kept up with me and didn’t speak for the first few blocks. As we passed by the storefronts and picked our way to the Prince of Peace Church and the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, the crowds slowly dissipated. Soon there were only a few other people on the walkway with us. I wanted to be alone, but since I wasn’t, I had questions running through my head that might as well get answers.

  “So why did you mess with Zach like that?” I broke the silence without breaking stride.

  “It was just a simple little spell. It was entirely harmless, if you hadn’t gotten so worked up, anyway. How did you figure it out?”

  I could not explain to Chase that Zach’s aura being off gave me my first clue. I couldn’t explain just feeling something was off. I chose the most simplistic route I could.

  “He just sounded funny. Kept repeating things, and was really intent on me meeting this mystery guy when he has never had any interest in hooking me up with anyone.”

  “Oh,” Chase sounded defeated. “I guess I should have studied my subject a bit more, but it wasn’t really a big deal. It was just easier to check in on you with an introduction.”

  I had to laugh. The last time I saw Chase, he reamed me out for being dangerous because I didn’t know what I was doing, and now he made a mistake with something he called a simple spell. The irony amused me.

  “What’s so funny?” Chase didn’t look amused.

  “I was just thinking about the last time I saw you.”

  “I still think you’re dangerous,” Chase said with a hint of regret behind the chill of his words.

  “You’re the one who caused all this chaos tonight because you forgot to do your homework before casting a simple spell,” I accused. This whole conversation felt like déjà vu. We may have been arguing on a different day in a different city, but the argument was the same.

  “But if it hadn’t been me, if I hadn’t been there to help you,” Chase pressed on, “you would have hurt someone or everyone. You certainly would have ended up hurt yourself. I seem to know more about your gift than you do. I’ve done my homework.”

  I wanted to argue back. I wanted to place all of the blame on him, but this time I knew for sure the truth in his words. If Chase hadn’t been the one who had messed with Zach’s head, if Chase hadn’t been there to help me, the events of the night would have gone quite differently. I hated to admit it, but I owed him. It was like a test, and I failed miserably, but at least I knew what I had to work on in the event of a real emergency. If next time it was a Shadow Ruler I faced, maybe I would be more prepared—because of Chase.

  “Thank you for helping me avert a disaster,” I muttered under my breath, forcing myself not to remind him it was a disaster he had set in motion in the first place. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Sure. You’re the one who started this conversation,” he reminded me. “And you’re welcome.”

  We walked in silence past the shrine filled with ancient tombstones. I glanced up at the gargantuan cross standing like a sentry over the graves and the churchyard. The clouds were beginning to clear and the waning moon shone through the breaks in the clouds, flooding the ground with an eerie glow that lapped our path like the nearby waves lapping the shore.

  “Why are you here?” I broke the silence again.

  “I told you. I’m checking up on you,” he didn’t even look at me as he said it.

  “But why are you checking up on me? And why you? Why not Stefanie or someone else?” It didn’t make sense. He didn’t like me; I didn’t like him. Stefanie could have simply come for a visit. This game Chase was playing was not necessary. We finally reached Magnolia. I turned right on the sidewalk that took us past the Howard Johnson and towards the Fountain of Youth Park. Chase kept pace with me as he formed his answer.

  “It’s not that simple. Listen. I don’t agree with them, but Amy, Madilyn, Stefanie, all of them, they still have you as a part of their plan. They wanted to know if you were any closer to coming around. Stefanie wanted to come, but I volunteered. Well, I insisted. We argued about it for a few nights, and they finally decided to let me come.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. They know you don’t like me. Why would they let you come?”

  “The only one who thinks that is Stefanie. They know I think you are dangerous. Stefanie told them about our argument. She thought that would be her card to get to come out here, but I played it against her. I told Amy that was the reason I had to be the one. I wanted to apologize to you, and I knew you would never come back unless I apologized.”

  “So you lied?”

  “Sort of. I don’t hate you, Jade. I’m not sorry for our argument, but I am sorry I brought your mother into it. She wrote the most amazing spells. You lost someone very special, and I shouldn’t have used that against you.”

  There was an awkward silence between us. I felt a few tears well behind my eyelids. I blinked them away in the shadows cast by the moon. I did not want to talk about my mother.

  “Anyway,” Chase continued, “I still don’t think it would be a good idea for you to help our group. I care about all of them. They’re more than just a coven of Guardians. They’re my family. I have to look out for them. You haven’t been studying. You haven’t been practicing. You hardly know who you are. If nothing else proves my point, what almost happened tonight should. You’re dangerous. Like an un-detonated land mine.”

  I gulped back the lump in my throat. The truth hurts, right?

  “That was the worst apology I have ever heard,” I managed to get out.

  “You’re right. But still—”

  “Chase, enough,” I cut him off. “I get it. You don’t want me helping your family. I have no intention of helping them. Zach is my family. I don’t want you messing with his head. Okay?”

  Chase nodded, “Of course.”

  “Besides, I have my own agenda.” He didn’t ask me what that was. We walked along Magnolia, beams of moonlight breaking through the trees every now and then. The sound of fireworks—bottle rockets and amateur shows—reverberated through the night. The Fountain of Youth Park lay to our right. The tall, concrete walls looked as insurmountable as the task before me once I had my book and had to face the next steps in my plan. A variety of houses lay to our left, each as unique as the people living within them. Aunt Lynn had liked this area for that reason. She despised cookie-cutter neighborhoods like Zach’s where every third or fourth house looked the same. We came to a stop in front of a small, simple brick house.

  “We’re here,” I announced. I stood facing the house. All of the windows were dark, no cars in the driveway. It looked deserted, but I was sure the occupants were just out for the evening. With a deep breath, I plunged forward. I walked right up the side yard and into the back. Chase stood in the road for a minute longer, staring after me. He ran up behind me.

  “Jade, where are we? What are we doing here?”

  “I agreed to let you come along. I didn’t agree to give you all the details.”

  “Jade, I’m all for breaking and entering if it is absolutely necessary, but I really don’t need much more danger and adventure for the evening. Who lives here anyway?” Chase looked concerned, and I was surprised at how happy t
hat made me. Although I was nervous whoever lived here might come home, if I didn’t get to the family book, I didn’t know how to move forward with my plans.

  “Listen,” I spoke to Chase urgently, “I don’t know who lives here, but someone does. I don’t care who lives here. You don’t have to worry about breaking and entering. What I am here for is not inside the house. It’s in the backyard, and it belongs to me already.”

  Chase shut up for a few minutes. I searched the backyard with a quick sweep of my eyes. I had not been fully prepared tonight because I thought I was working all night. I’d have to thank Chase for ultimately creating this opportunity for me. On second thought, I didn’t need to thank him for something he didn’t realize he had done. A patio set took up most of the concrete slab behind the house. There were gardening tools, a bag of dirt, and a garden hose under the eaves

  I caught a glint of metal in the moonlight. Someone had left a shovel leaning against a tree in the backyard. It was exactly what I needed, and it was unusual I should find it waiting for me expectantly under a tree towards the west end of the backyard. For the second time that night, I felt I might be walking into a trap. Although it seemed too good to be true, I didn’t have the luxury to turn down good fortune. I approached the shovel with slight trepidation. Chase sat on the edge of the patio, glancing around for any unexpected interruptions.

  With the shovel in hand, I walked to the northwest corner of the yard. I wasn’t sure exactly where to start, so I picked a spot I felt was the furthest northwest. I plunged the shovel into the dirt, using both feet to break through the grass and push the shovel as deep as it would go. The occupants of the house could come back at any moment. I had three or four shovels full of dirt before Chase decided to leave his post and join me.

  “So, what are we digging for? Is there buried treasure here?” he asked, trying to make light of the situation.

  I plunged the shovel into the small hole I had started, ignoring him to the best of my ability. I didn’t know how far I would have to dig or how long I had. The dirt fell in a mound next to Chase. I couldn’t help myself as I caused a little of it to spill over onto his sandaled feet. He shook it off and sighed. Then he reached over and tried to take the shovel from me. I held it firmly.

  “If I’m going to be here with you anyway, you might as well let me help. Besides, the faster we dig, the sooner I get to find out what we’re digging for.” He tugged on the shovel again, and this time I let him take it. I backed up and let him continue.

  Within minutes, the sound of the shovel striking against something other than dirt reverberated through the backyard, joining the sounds of distant fireworks. I bent down quickly and reached into the hole, which was deeper than my forearm at this point. My fingers scrapped against a small box about the size of half a shoebox. This couldn’t be right. The book would never fit in a box this small. There had to be more. I lifted the box out of the hole and brushed the dirt off.

  “What is it?” Chase leaned on the shovel and stared at me and the box, but he kept his distance. He didn’t try to get a closer look or rush me to open the box.

  “There’s nothing else in there?” I asked, looking at the gaping opening in the yard, an abyss of mystery ready to yield forth other treasure. Chase resumed his shoveling. After four or five more scoops of dirt, he gave up.

  “That’s it. There’s nothing more, Jade. Should I fill it back in?”

  “Sure,” I heard myself answer, but I wasn’t really there anymore. I sat in the grass a few feet from where Chase worked and stared at the small box in my hands. This was not what I had expected. I needed the family book. Everything I had rejected throughout my childhood and my teenage years, I needed now, and it was not here. How could I train myself? How could I go after my mother’s killer without the proper tools? Nothing, not even training with Chase and the other guardians, could replace the family book, the book my mother had written in. I didn’t realize how significant the book was to my own identity. I felt lost and unable to find my way without it. I had no idea where else to search.

  Chase finished filling in the hole in the yard and patted the dirt with the shovel. He walked over to the tree and set the shovel back in place. He knelt in the grass next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. I could feel the tears streaming down my face. Everything I had planned was falling apart on the night I thought it would all come together.

  “Jade?” Chase spoke with a tenderness in his voice I did not think he was capable of. “Are you okay? What’s in the box?”

  “I don’t know,” I sobbed. My hands shook and the tears continued to flow as I lifted the wooden lid. I laid the lid in the grass and stared at a white envelope with my name on it. She left me a letter.

  “I really thought it would be here,” I said to the night. I felt Chase near me, but more than his physical presence could combat, I felt alone. A tide of emotion swept over me. I pushed it down and brought myself to focus on the moment. I could not let my determination end here.

  “What were you looking for?” Chase asked. I might as well tell him.

  “The book. My family book.”

  “You don’t have it?” Chase asked incredulously, but then he caught himself. This was not a moment for lecturing me about yet another way in which I was not a good witch. “So, we keep looking. Maybe she tells you where it is in that letter.”

  I stared at the envelope that was now in my hands. Tears had streaked through the neat lettering of my name on the front of the envelope. I turned it over in my hands, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it. Something about reading the last letter my aunt ever wrote me seemed too personal to do sitting in a stranger’s yard with Chase next to me. Some things were simply a private matter. Before I could explain all of this to Chase, someone else entered the yard, walking right up to us.

  We heard her walking across the yard, and before I could put the letter back in the box, we were standing facing the house, Chase in front of me, ready to protect the firestarter from whatever attack we were about to enter into. But I recognized the girl who walked up to us. I had seen her strange two-toned aura all summer. Tonight, her outer aura matched the glow of the moon exactly. I touched Chase’s arm to let him know we weren’t in any danger—at least I didn’t think we were. He must have thought I grabbed his arm in fear because he didn’t back down. Instead, he pushed me further behind him.

  I pushed back and tried to get in front of Chase. He grabbed my arm and practically hissed in my ear.

  “I don’t know what she is.” It occurred to me that not knowing actually frightened Chase. He seemed to be able to sense what I could see in her aura. I wondered for a moment if Chase could see auras like me, but I dismissed the thought quickly and focused on what was in front of me. From what I could see around Chase, the girl walked into the yard alone. She carried something with her, but it didn’t look like anything dangerous. I couldn’t quite make it out where she stood in the shadows.

  I pushed around Chase one more time. He didn’t let me get far in front of him, but I was able to move a few steps closer with Chase attached to my wrist and shoulder, trying to pull me back behind him.

  “I’ve seen you outside Kilwin’s,” I told the girl, although I’m sure she knew where she had been. She nodded.

  “Are you following me?” I noticed her dark features, but I couldn’t quite place them. She might be Native American or maybe Indian. Her facial structure and long dark hair were strikingly beautiful, and somehow she didn’t seem to fit in with our time. I thought briefly of the trend in vampire novels filling the bookracks at Barnes and Noble, but she didn’t fit the profile. Her skin was dark, not pale. She sat in the sunlight outside Kilwin’s everyday. I’d always known witches were real, being one and all, but I was pretty sure vampires were not. I didn’t have my mother’s skill at seeking out other witches, but I could usually tell by the quality or color of a person’s aura if he or she was a witch. This girl was not a witch.

  “I haven’t been
following you. Just waiting for you,” the girl replied. Chase tightened his grip and pulled me back behind him. The girl smiled.

  “I’m not going to hurt her. Jade and I are friends.” She stepped closer, but Chase obviously wasn’t convinced as he began to back up with me tucked behind him.

  “I brought you this,” she offered while she held out the object she had been clutching to her since she entered the yard. “I think you were looking for it.” She indicated the poorly filled hole and the shovel against the tree.

  I could feel Chase begin to let his guard down, but he still wasn’t entirely convinced.

  “How did you know her name?” he asked the question before I could.

  “I told you. We’re friends. This must be Chase?” she turned to me with her question, but this only put Chase more on edge. He went right back into defense mode. If he didn’t like that she knew my name, he hated that she knew his.

  “What are you?” he asked the question quickly while he continued to back us up, but I was interested in something other than what this girl might be. She held my family book in her hands, and she held it out for me to take.

  “I’m something different,” she told Chase very calmly, obviously undeterred by his uneasiness. He stopped and looked at her intently. That was all I needed to lunge away from him and grab the book from her. I heard Chase call my name in alarm, but nothing could stop me from getting to this girl and my book. She let go of it the minute my hands wrapped around it. I tucked the envelope from Aunt Lynn behind the cover and hugged the book to my chest.