‘I told you, I wanted to see you all. Spend some quality time with the family, have a catch up, you know.’
Tabitha took a sip of her latte and shook her head. ‘Really, Quinn, the real reason?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Quinn protested, but Tabitha only raised her eyebrows.
‘You’re about as good at lying as Aiden is. And you may remember, Quinn dear, that my son does not lie well.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know.’ Quinn gulped down her cappuccino and helped herself to another slice of carrot cake, shoving the whole thing in her mouth to buy some time.
‘You’re stalling, dear.’
‘I’m not,’ Quinn choked, ‘I swear.’
‘All right, I’ll stop pushing. But I’m on to you, young lady.’
‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
Tabitha smiled at her niece and waved the waiter over, asking him rather brusquely to fetch them their bill.
Tabitha Cunningham rarely smiled anymore, but she admired Quinn’s positive outlook on life. She’d always had a soft spot for the girl, and even though she barely saw her now, it was still there.
‘How’s Druanna?’ she said, and her tone changed dramatically. The way Tabitha felt about Quinn did not stretch to her sister.
‘Oh, you know Dru. Kinda hard to keep track of.’
‘I see,’ Tabitha said, almost whispering the words.
‘I’m sure she’s just the same old Dru–’
‘She’s not here, Quinn.’
‘What?’
‘Druanna. She isn’t here. I haven’t seen nor heard from your sister in a long time.’
‘I know. I didn’t think she was . . . well, maybe I thought she could have been but–’
‘What are you doing here, Quinn?’
The room was eerily silent, apart from the sound of Aiden’s footsteps pacing up and down, making Charley more and more nervous by the second.
‘Are you ready?’ he asked as Charley sat down looking petrified.
‘Not really.’
‘You sure you don’t want to go see a doctor?’
‘Positive. Just do it.’
Aiden nodded and gently took a hold of Charley’s shoulder, her face contorting as he touched it.
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, wishing there was some way to fix it without having to hurt her.
He knew there wasn’t.
Magic wouldn’t help, not if the injury had been caused by something supernatural in the first place. Something which was most likely a lot stronger than he was. Besides, it was a known fact that magicians weren’t allowed to heal people.
He knew he had to do it the old-fashioned way.
‘I’m going to count to three, okay? Then I’ll . . .’
There was a loud crack and Charley’s screams filled the room, the last bit of colour draining from her face as she tensed her body, trying to ease the pain.
‘You said you were going to count to three!’ she cried, a burning sensation emerging inside her.
‘I know.’
‘You lied!’
‘I know.’
‘Oh, God, that was excruciating.’
‘I know.’
‘Stop saying that! I can’t believe you tricked me–’
‘I’m sorry, Chambers. That really wasn’t fun for me.’
‘But it was a walk in the park for me?’ Charley barked, but she wasn’t really angry. In fact, although she was still in severe pain, she felt a huge sense of relief. At least it was done.
‘At least it’s over,’ Aiden said, mimicking her thoughts, and he pushed her hair back, kissing her gently on the forehead. ‘You were very brave.’
‘Well, now it’s your turn to be brave.’
Aiden rolled his eyes. ‘Yep, I guess so. Let’s go find mother dearest.’
Quinn’s hands started to shake and her mouth immediately dried up. She was about to start panicking when the café door swung open, Aiden striding in with Charley not far behind him.
‘Aiden, over here!’ Quinn yelled. ‘Your timing is impeccable.’
‘Isn’t it just?’ Tabitha muttered under her breath.
They made their way over to the table, Charley faltering slightly as she made eye contact with Quinn.
‘Hey, kitten, how are you?’ Quinn asked in a cheerful voice. ‘You don’t look too good.’
‘That’s because I just had to pop her shoulder back into place.’
‘What? Oh my God, what happened?’
‘Someone dislocated it,’ Aiden said, pulling a chair out for Charley who shook her head, saying it was more comfortable to stand.
‘Someone dislocated your shoulder? You poor thing, that’s awful. Who was it?’
Aiden glanced at Charley who just shrugged in return. ‘Apparently, it was you.’
Quinn frowned at them and then giggled. ‘I’m sorry, what?’
‘It’s a long story, one I’d rather not get into here. You think you could meet us back at the house when you’re done?’
‘We’re done,’ Tabitha said, interrupting Quinn who was just about to speak.
Tabitha collected her belongings and got up from the table so that she stood face to face with her son. She glanced at Charley, giving her a frosty look, and then let her eyes find their way back to Aiden’s. He held her gaze, both of them silent until she said, ‘I told you this would happen.’
Aiden scowled, his fists clenched at his sides. ‘Excuse me?’
‘I don’t know what trouble you’re in now and frankly I don’t want to. No doubt I’ll find out though, when I’m clearing up your mess.’
‘You’re unbelievable, you know that?’
‘No, Aiden, you are unbelievable. I told you to stay away from her, and with good reason, too. Not that I ever expected you to listen. Hear me now though, this will not end well. Finish it, before it’s too late.’
She tried to walk around him, leave after having the last word, but Aiden side-stepped, blocking her path.
‘Get out of my way, Aiden.’
‘There are a few things I’ll be putting a stop to, but my relationship with Charley isn’t one of them. Hear me when I say this, Mother: Charley isn’t going anywhere, so you better get used to her. And if you don’t want whatever it is you’re talking about to end in disaster, then you can stop being so bloody cryptic all the time and work with me for a change, instead of always making things so difficult.’
A few heads around the café turned to see what was happening, but no one moved apart from Quinn who jumped up from her seat, shouting enthusiastically that everything was all right. Charley began fidgeting nervously, wishing she was somewhere else. She still felt lightheaded and a little sick from earlier, and hearing Aiden’s mother stand there and criticise her was not an ideal start to the afternoon.
‘Well that’s me told then, isn’t it?’ Tabitha whispered.
Her voice was cold, ominous, and Aiden could tell there was hurt buried in there somewhere, albeit hidden well. He understood. It stung that he’d gone against her once again, picked Charley over her, his own flesh and blood. She felt betrayed.
Aiden understood how she felt, he just didn’t care.
‘It sure is,’ he said through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving hers. Tabitha nodded in return, her forehead crinkling as her eyebrows came together, forming a scowl. This time she succeeded in walking past her son and out the door, leaving the three of them – and the rest of the customers – unsure of what to do next.
Quinn shuddered involuntarily. ‘What the hell was that?’ she asked, looking at Aiden for answers as she brushed a stray hair from her face. In the café’s fluorescent lights, it looked almost white, a milky colour to match her chalky complexion.
‘That was good old Aunt Tabby,’
Aiden replied, raising his eyebrows at Quinn in an ‘I told you so’ way.
‘So what do we do now?’ she asked.
‘We go home and figure out what the hell’s going on.’
Charley jumped up when she heard the kettle whistling and rushed to the kitchen to make them all some tea, despite Quinn and Aiden both saying they didn’t want any.
Well, what Quinn actually said was, ‘I’ll have a brandy instead,’ but changed her mind at the frosty look her cousin gave her.
Charley made her way into the kitchen and raked around until she found three mugs, dropped a tea bag in each and filled them with water.
She was well aware no one wanted to sit around and drink tea. She wasn’t particularly thirsty herself, but at that moment she needed normality.
Unfortunately, as she was quickly learning, magicians didn’t seem to have that luxury.
Once she was finished making the drinks, she carried them through with one hand, the other still giving her grief whenever she used it too much.
‘Here you are,’ she said, setting them down on the table and taking a seat beside Aiden, who wasn’t paying attention to anything but the book in front of him.
‘Thanks, chicken,’ said Quinn, smiling as she pulled a mini bottle of bourbon from her jeans pocket and tipped it into her tea; the sobriety hadn’t lasted long.
‘Aren’t you supposed to do that with coffee?’ Charley asked.
‘Tea, coffee, juice. They’re all much the same to Quinn.’
‘Hey, don’t take it out on me, just because you’re no fun. I remember the days when you would’ve done anything for a laugh.’
‘Hardly, Quinn. I was a kid.’
‘Even so. You’re so serious now.’
‘That’s because I need to be,’ Aiden barked. ‘You should try it sometime. Life is just one big joke to you.’
Quinn’s playful smile disappeared. ‘You know that’s not true.’
‘Do I? If there isn’t fun involved, you aren’t interested.’
‘You think I’m here to have fun?’
‘I’ve no idea why you’re here because you haven’t told me. How am I meant to know if you keep me in the dark?’
‘You’re one to talk, telling me to stop messing around even though you haven’t shed a bit of light on what’s going on with Charley, how I’m supposed to have done that to her.’ Quinn gestured to Charley’s arm. ‘You’re such a hypocrite.’
‘I’m not . . .’ Aiden meant to go on but the words wouldn’t come. He knew he wasn’t being fair. ‘All right, I guess I am.’
‘You guess?’
‘I’m sorry, Quinn. I didn’t mean to snap. You just appeared out of the blue with no word of why you’re here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you. But I know you came for more than a family catch up.’
‘I didn’t–’
‘You don’t need to tell me. Just don’t treat me like an idiot, okay?’ Quinn looked at her feet and then nodded in agreement, some of the tension lifting as Aiden smiled in return.
‘So, what happened?’
As Aiden began to fill Quinn in on the day’s extraordinary events, her body turned cold. The more she listened, the more anxious she became, pacing the room in a fearful way.
‘No, no,’ she murmured, ‘this isn’t good.’
‘No, it’s definitely not good,’ said Aiden, ‘but if we can figure out what–’
‘It’s Dru,’ Quinn said, biting her lip until it started bleeding. ‘It has to be.’
‘Dru’s doing this?’
‘No . . .’
‘Quinn, what’s going on?’
Charley stood in the background watching the pair of them, pretty sure that if she left they wouldn’t notice, at least not for a while. She’d barely spoken two words since they’d arrived back at Aiden’s, and she felt slightly out of the loop – an outsider, almost. It was probably silly, but she couldn’t help feeling somewhat . . . unnecessary.
‘Aunt Tabby was right . . .’
‘What?’
‘You want to know why I came here? I came for Dru . . . I knew she probably wouldn’t be here, a part of me just hoped . . . God, I hoped she might have come back. It was stupid . . .’
‘So how is this connected to Dru? Has something happened? She’s not . . . you know?’
There was an awkward glance between the two of them and Charley realised they must be talking about something she wasn’t aware of. Something else she wasn’t clued up on.
‘Don’t mind me,’ Charley said whilst pacing back and forth, adrenaline building up as she got more and more annoyed. ‘It’s not like I’m the one that had the dream, that got battered and woke up as if it was all real. Don’t feel like you need to include me in your conversation.’
‘Chambers, what’s wrong with you?’
Charley dug her knuckles into her temples, grimacing in response as a sharp pain stabbed at her shoulder. ‘Quinn, Quinn, it’s always Quinn!’
‘What’s wrong with her?’ Quinn asked, pulling a face as Charley fell to her knees.
‘I don’t know,’ Aiden murmured. ‘Chambers?’
‘What’s . . . what’s happening?’ Charley cried, unable to control the visions that were flashing before her eyes.
‘Chambers . . .’
‘It’s always Quinn, always has been. Little ray of sunshine, never does anything wrong. What am I meant to do? I can’t even . . . it has to stop. All of it. But it can’t . . . I can’t. I . . . I need to go on living this, this torment–’
‘Chambers!’ Aiden grabbed her shoulders and began to shake her, desperately trying to bring her back from the trance she’d fallen into.
‘I just . . . I . . . I want everything to be quiet,’ Charley stuttered incoherently, ‘nothing’s quiet anymore.’
‘It’s Dru . . .’ said Quinn, bending down by Charley’s side as her head began to loll, her inconsistent ramblings lessening slightly.
‘Everything’s bloody Dru today,’ Aiden snapped brusquely, but then feeling bad he said, ‘What’s Dru done this time?’
‘She’s somehow connected to Charley, or rather, Charley’s connected to her. I don’t know who’s done what, but that isn’t Charley talking, it’s Dru.’
‘Are you insane?’
‘Listen to her, Aiden. Little ray of sunshine, it has to stop, nothing’s quiet . . . who does that sound like?’
Aiden thought about it for a moment. ‘Chambers wouldn’t know any of that stuff.’
‘Exactly. How could she? Dru must be in there somewhere; she must be using Charley to get to me, to speak to me.’
‘Why would she say that? Quinn, are you sure? None of this seems very plausible.’
‘You got a better theory?’
Aiden sighed. ‘I got nothing.’
After an hour of dabbing Charley’s head with an ice-cold flannel and listening to Quinn prattle on about her twin sister’s selfish and erratic behaviour, Aiden had had enough.
‘I’m taking her to the hospital,’ he said, scooping Charley into his arms.
‘They won’t be able to do anything for her.’
‘They’ll do more than I can. This is useless, Quinn, you said she’d be better by now. Look at her.’
‘Shorty, calm down. She just needs time to recharge, she’ll be good as new in . . . there you are, see.’
Aiden looked down as Charley started to come to, her eyes flickering open and slowly focusing on his face.
‘Aiden?’
‘I’m here,’ he said, setting her down on the couch. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Confused . . .’ She looked at Quinn. ‘I’m guessing the dysfunctional redhead is the other half of you.’
‘That’s one way to put it,’ Quinn shrugged.
‘She seems . . . nice.’
/>
‘Where is she?’ Quinn asked frantically. ‘What did she say? We could hear bits of your conversation but–’
‘I wasn’t talking to her. It was like I was . . . watching her past, her memories. I could feel what she was feeling . . . it was unbearable.’
Quinn looked disappointed. ‘So you don’t know where she is?’
Charley shook her head and then turned to Aiden. ‘I’m sorry. Was I meant to–?’
‘You weren’t meant to do anything,’ he said, quietening her. ‘You need to rest, get your strength back.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘No, you’re–’
‘Aiden, I’m fine. Tell me about Dru.’
‘What about her?’ said Quinn, almost slightly amused. ‘Where do you want me to start?’
‘Why is she in so much pain?’
The atmosphere in the room grew colder as Charley asked that question. Quinn sank back into her chair, her face deadpan, and Aiden cleared his throat, fetched the brandy bottle from the liquor cabinet and handed it to Quinn. Charley frowned, confused at his sudden tolerance of Quinn’s drinking habits.
‘She’s allowed,’ he said, giving Quinn a pitying look. ‘Trust me, for this one she needs it.’
Quinn unscrewed the cap and poured a generous measure into her empty teacup, draining it and then pouring another. She grimaced at the spirit’s pungent taste, yet it didn’t stop her drinking the next.
‘Dru and I have always been quite . . . different,’ she began. ‘I was always very outgoing, confident. A people’s person, you know? I liked to be surrounded by friends, have fun. Dru’s more of a private person, keeps herself to herself whenever she can. She’s never liked people interfering in her life, even when they’re just trying to help.’
She spoke the last few words with resentment, as if she had first-hand experience in that department.
‘It’s not that she wasn’t confident. She’s a sarcastic bugger most of the time.’ Quinn looked thoughtful for a moment, took a large gulp of brandy and continued. ‘Dru’s pretty good at taking care of herself, trust me. She just never seemed content. I don’t know if it was how we started out that first caused it. I think she’s always felt trapped in this world.’
Charley Chambers Page 17