Soon we found ourselves in the same coffee shop I had once discussed the Meliae with Gary. As it turned out, that wasn’t coincidence.
Gary and Julius were both waiting in a back booth, although Gary appeared to be trying to disguise himself, wearing sunglasses and a hipster hat while hunched behind his laptop. Nice try, Gare-bear, but you’re not fooling anyone.
Tempted as I was to tell Sensei to take me back home, I took a deep breath and sucked it up. This was going to happen eventually. A confrontation like this, especially with people who could zap into someone’s house at will, was inevitable. Best to rip that bandage off now.
Both dudes smiled sheepishly as I sat next to Sensei across from them. I turned to Julius first as, master spy or not, I got the feeling he was little more than a stooge in all of this. “Thanks for the straight-As and the cute boyfriend. You know, you really should consider a career in being a teenage girl. You’re better at it than I am.”
Before he could say anything to that, Gary spoke up. “You should know, my aunt has been recalled to New York for questioning.” He was trying to sound calm, but his voice cracked ever so slightly. “I may have called up some of the regional mentors, including Harry Decker, and told them what she’d done.”
“Why?” I asked flatly.
“Why did I rat her out, or why did this happen in the first place?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t getting anything but nasty Jess, no matter how many times he tried to say sorry.
“Jessie, I know this is hard, but please try,” Sensei said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Whatever Philomena may have done, Gary tried to stop her before it was too late. Why don’t we get something to drink and you can at least hear him out?”
“He lied to me . . . and I want a peppermint mocha.” My poor remaining kidney was not going to be happy, but screw it. The world was probably going to end anyway. I turned back to the two across the table. “I drink fast, so you might want to take that into account.”
Gary turned his laptop screen around and I immediately recognized the images on the screen. “You took the phone Mr. Keyne gave me, too?”
“Yeah, unless you’re going to tell me you picked up Ancient Greek in the last few weeks.” Gary returned my iciness snowball for snowball. I could respect that, as well as volley back.
Rolling up my right sleeve and pointing to the scars still etched there, I replied, “I learned that psevdí eikóna means false icon. How about that? Oh, and I want my sweater and necklace back.”
“They’ve been confiscated by the Salem Coven for research purposes. Besides, you could potentially have a reaction to any magical residue left on them.”
“That concoction Philomena gave you,” Julius added, “will probably linger in your system for a few weeks. Although Gary said he stopped her from exposing you to more of it at the hospital.”
Guess it wasn’t a dream after all. “Go Gare-bear,” I deadpanned.
“It was her last dose,” Gary said. “And Yush and the rest of the forest folk have been quiet ever since war was declared.”
War?! “So they managed to ruin it after all?”
Gary nodded. “The Freewill’s personal guard killed one of the war chief’s cubs in front of the entire—”
“Burp?!”
“No. It was Burp’s half-sister, Fume. No one could believe it. Turd declared war then and there.” He looked away for a moment before speaking again. “Dionaea was able to get me one last message. She said that the Meliae were going back into hiding. Ash ordered them to stay out of this mess, at least until their prophecy truly comes to pass.”
“Good. The less dryads I have to deal with again, the better.” That killed the conversation quickly.
Sensei returned a few moments later, having had the good sense to get mine in a to-go cup. “We should have stopped her, and we didn’t,” she said softly. “I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but I . . . we wanted to get you some answers. You deserve that much.”
I shook my head, staring at the steam rising from my coffee. “I don’t even care anymore what she did. I just want to know why. Why was it so important to drug me with some mystical flower of doom?”
Everyone looked uncomfortable. Good! I didn’t want to be the only one miserable in the room.
Finally, Gary said, “I didn’t know she really had the flos fatorum. I thought it was just a myth.”
I glanced from him to the other three at the table. “Anything else I should know?”
Julius responded by sliding an envelope across the table. “I had some free time while you were gone, and the fact that there were vampires at your high school kept bugging me. So, I dug a bit deeper.”
I didn’t answer. I just sat there staring at the envelope, knowing what I’d find inside and dreading it because seeing it now, while I was wide awake, would make it real.
“Nearly the entirety of Massachusetts is a vampire stronghold, Jessie,” he said. “Including Worcester. The local politicians, the police, they’re all part of it.”
“My father,” I whispered.
“I’m afraid so,” he replied. “I also wanted to apologize for scaring you that night. I thought if we planted the suggestion that you were chosen and stimulated adrenaline, your powers would awaken on their own.”
“That night? The one that terrified me . . . It was you?”
Julius nodded.
“And the girl that went missing?”
“A false report. Since your father was in a police department already infiltrated by the supernatural it was easy—”
I raised my hand to shush the Spy Who Used To Be Me. It wasn’t like I didn’t already know about Dad. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be at peace with it, but at least they hadn’t caught me by surprise with that one. I should have figured they were setting me up all along too. “So, what now?”
“Hard to say,” Gary replied. “Everything is . . . chaos right now. The vamps are frantically preparing for war.”
“Your Magi peeps?”
He shook his head. “No. We’re technically neutral in this. Which is a good thing, because right now every wizard on the Eastern seaboard is losing their mind over the Icon.”
“The real one, you mean?”
He didn’t avert his eyes this time and simply nodded.
A memory flashed through my mind. “That’s who Turd was talking about.”
“Turd?” both Jules and Sensei McAdams asked.
“The Sasquatch war chief,” I said, still focused on Gary. “The silver eyes. He wasn’t talking about the Meliae, was he?”
“No, he wasn’t. Silver eyes is just their name for Icons.”“
“He said they would be the end of your kind.”
“You’re talking about the prophecy, right?” Sensei asked.
“Which one?”
She looked confused for a moment, then replied to me, “The one which states that when the Icons return it will be the end of all of us, of the Magi.”
“My aunt thought that if she could find the Icon first and win them over, she could either convince them to be on our side—”
“Or neutralize them before they became a threat,” Julius finished.
“So . . . is that it? I’m a loose end now?”
“Of course not!” Gary said. “Do you really think I’d let that happen?”
“I don’t know anymore. You said it yourself, wizards are freaking out all over the place. How do I know you—”
“Because I’m an ex-wizard,” he snapped.
“What?”
Gary lowered his sunglasses and pulled off his hat. His eyes had bleached to a sickly pinkish-blue, and his hair was now almost pure white. “I mean it. Whatever few gifts I had . . . they’re gone. Ever since I saw that vision, the one I wasn’t supposed to see.” He pushed up his sleeves to show bleached patches on his arm as well. “Phil thinks I’m leeching out whatever magic is left in me. Soon, it won’t matter who I link up with. I’ll be as normal as—”
<
br /> “Me?”
“Everyone else.”
I took a deep breath, pity warring with the anger and sorrow already fighting for top billing inside me. “Look, I’m sorry, and I remember you trying to help me while I was in the hospital . . . but you lied and used me, and I think . . . I think we’re done, here and everywhere. Okay?”
He nodded, and I let Sensei lead me back out to her truck. Sitting in the front seat made every wound on my midsection ache, making my body reverberate with tiny pulses of pain.
“Jessie, you know your dad tried his best to have nothing to do with the local vampire covens, right?”
“How would you know?” I asked.
“He told me.”
“He told . . . you?”
She sat back and sighed. “I guess there’s some things you tell your girlfriend and not your—”
“Girlfriend?”
“Fuck, I’m shooting myself in the foot, aren’t I?” she asked. At my raised eyebrow, she tried to steer the conversation back on track. “What I meant to say is, he’s trying to protect you. You’re the most important thing in his world and he would do anything for you.”
I nodded, then asked, “So he talked to you about vampires?”
“He knows that I’m different, but he doesn’t know, you know, and I haven’t told him about you or anything that happened.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” I let out a long breath. “I guess Dad and I have one heck of a breakfast talk coming at some point.”
“I don’t envy you.”
“But first, I have a dance to get ready for. Think you can help me out with that?”
She smiled at me from the driver’s seat. “Hell yeah.”
♦ ♦ ♦
“Is this for real?” I looked at my X-rays one more time.
According to my doctor, my healing was progressing ahead of schedule, and she showed me the evidence. Not only was I getting a new, much more flexible cast, but I was cleared to go to the dance, albeit with the caveat that I stick to light activity. It was about time. I was due for some good news.
The next several days were all about getting through school, a strange prospect in itself. Gary made good on his word, keeping his distance. In the meantime, Tony was doing the opposite, finding every opportunity to chat me up in the halls or at lunch. Turns out Other Me had turned him into quite the Toonami addict. All the while I kept catching tons of stink-eye from Lindsey frickin’ Stallings whenever I’d see her.
All of it should have made me deliriously happy. Hell, I deserved to be happy. But I wasn’t. I had everything I ever wanted, yet that strange apathy that surfaced when Tony had visited me in the hospital refused to lift. I just couldn’t bring myself to be interested in him, despite him deserving better. Heck, he was perfect—polite, engaging, not to mention so fine to look at.
So it was that I found myself lost in thought at lunch one day, wondering what the hell was wrong with me, when my daze was interrupted by Lindsey. Seeing her anywhere but the popular table was rare enough, but watching her plop down across from me at my little oasis of wonkiness was downright unheard of.
“What really happened to you, Flores?”
“Accident,” I lied, willing her to find some other table to skank up.
“We both know that isn’t true, don’t we?” I narrowed my eyes but decided to let her take the lead. Why spill the beans until I understood how much she knew? “You know you can’t mess with them, right? Not without paying a price.”
“Charging people now, Lindsey? I hear Craigslist is a good place to advertise your services.”
“You know what I mean, ho.” Lindsey banged her fist against the tabletop. “You’re supposed to be dead, but somehow my uncle is instead. They said it was a turf war, that one of Wyatt’s dogs killed him, but I don’t believe it. You were there.”
There was no point in pretending anymore. “So you did send him after me.”
She smirked. “I don’t know what sort of basic-bitch Buffy you think you are, but you’re not gonna get away with it.”
I should have taken the high road, walked away and left her there, but all of the annoyance of the past several weeks seemed to come to a head as I stared at her self-satisfied, spoiled, stupid face. “I wouldn’t mess with me if I were you. Think about it. Your uncle attacked me, but I’m still here while he isn’t . . . and I’m more than happy to bet that I have friends who are higher up the food chain than yours. So, you better consider your next words carefully, because after everything I’ve been through, I’m not just gonna get you sent off to therapy with Counselor Flake. We clear?”
Her face turned red, almost the same shade as my hair had once been. But after a moment or two she got a hold of herself and smiled. “Enjoy your date with Tony . . . while you can.”
Then she stormed off before I could retort.
Whatever. I’d seen death otters. What could she really do to top that?
♦ ♦ ♦
I managed to avoid Lindsey for the rest of the week, and by then I was too busy working with Sensei to get dolled up. Though I still didn’t feel much enthusiasm for my date, I was hoping for . . . well, let’s be honest. I was hoping for some magic to happen. That moment where we’d be at the dance and it would all suddenly come rushing back to me, like a scene out of Dirty Dancing, maybe minus him picking me up over his head and, if he did, I wanted to look my best.
The dance itself was nice, I guess . . . so was Tony. He was the consummate gentleman, bringing me soda, staying by my side, and talking about stuff I really didn’t pay attention to. Instead of magic, however, I was simply bored. What I wouldn’t have given to be called out by an angry Sasquatch at that moment.
Speaking of which . . . I turned and saw Lindsey finally make her appearance. Unsurprisingly, she was dressed in a tiny black dress and stripper heels as if she was planning on turning tricks out on the corner once the dance ended. However, even if I was nonplussed by her appearance, her date made my jaw practically hit the floor.
Todd?!
Tony raised a brow. “Who’s that?”
“Someone I was hoping to never see again.” What the hell was he doing here with her?
Tony gave me one of those aha looks, probably thinking I meant he was an ex-boyfriend or something. He squeezed my hand. “Come on, let’s get some air . . . if you’re up for a limp outside, of course.”
“Yeah, I think some fresh air would be nice.” The gym suddenly felt oppressive, and it only got worse when I saw a stripe of white hair by the front door. Gary was definitely the lesser of two evils compared to a vampire douchebag, but I really didn’t want to talk to him either. “Let’s go out the back instead.”
Tony helped me get onto my crutches and out the back door in time to avoid both Gary and the vampire. In true Massachusetts fashion, snow piles lingered under every tree. Most of the sky looked clear, yet thunder rumbled on the horizon. Suddenly my arm itched something fierce.
However, I couldn’t linger on it too much as Tony took both my hands in his. “Listen, Jess, I wanted to talk. You seem different, distant. Is it something I did?”
I shook my head, prepared to give him at least a half-truth. “You didn’t do anything, Tony. I’ve just been through a lot, and it’s like I don’t know how to react to anyone anymore.” I squeezed his hands, and he must’ve misinterpreted it, because he pulled me close. I nearly tripped on my cast and had to keep myself from stumbling into him. Why couldn’t this have happened a month or two ago when I could’ve appreciated it?
“Jessie, you’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met. You’re different, special.”
Special? I tried to shake my head, but in the next second, he was kissing me.
Holy Hannah, the moment of way too many dreams had come and I just stood there, dumbstruck, unable to even enjoy it. Thunder rumbled again, despite the clear sky, and the itching in my arm multiplied, becoming almost maddening.
Tony pulled back, a wide-eyed expression on his face.
“Wow, Jess. I never thought . . . Ugh!”
Even without a cast, I would’ve had no chance of moving fast enough to stop the blur that knocked him to the side. Before I could so much as react, strong arms grabbed hold of me and flung me into the side of the building. Words could not describe the pain, atop all my other injuries. I slumped to the ground, landing on my broken leg and splitting the cast, waves of agony washing through me. When I was finally able to blink past the tears in my eyes, I saw Todd towering over me in all his asshole glory.
“All this fuss over nothing,” he spat. “I didn’t want to believe Wyatt had gone soft, but then I heard how he was wasting coven resources on a bitch like you.” He blinked and his eyes turned the color of tar. “Sorry, but that simply won’t do.”
He picked me up with one hand, as if I weighed nothing at all, then reached down and grabbed hold of Tony’s limp form. Todd began carrying us toward another cafeteria door further down. Despite the pain I was in, I wasn’t sure how this could get any worse, but then fate decided to answer that by having Lindsey fall in line behind her new bloodsucking boy toy.
He kicked open the door and Lindsey pointed. “There.” What a bitch. Bad enough she put her lot in with a vamp named Todd, but she wanted him to do whatever vile deed he had planned on my table. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Todd dropped Tony like a sack of potatoes and then slammed me down on top of the table, knocking the wind out of me . . . not that I had much left after the pummeling I’d already suffered.
“Make it hurt,” Lindsey said.
Todd glanced back at her, flashing his fangs. “You watch yourself, babe. As for you.” He leaned down over me. If I thought the Freewill was Smuggy McSmugpants, he had nothing on a vampire stuck in the 80’s. “There was a time when my coven master was feared throughout New England. The name Wyatt stood for anarchy, chaos . . . fun. No one doubted him and it was magnificent. Then you came along and, well, it’s like he’s suddenly defanged.”
“Yeah, I get it,” I wheezed. “So, what now? You going to kill me? You know, it’s kind of sad. A big, bad vamp like you versus helpless little me, willing to piss off your boss all because you’re jealous.”
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