Phantoms of the Otherworld (In Spiritu Et Veritate)

by Reed, Zoe

  “Kyla, please, we can talk about something else.” Amber stood, and carefully tried to stop me as I made my way to the door.

  Taking a deep breath to try and calm myself, I turned. “Look, I’m sorry I yelled, but you really don’t understand. I need to leave.” I could see my counselor’s face riddled with confusion, but I didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, I flew out the door.

  Mrs. Hunter would probably label me bipolar. Throwing fits, apologizing, and then storming out. To my surprise, I didn’t care one bit. I guess I was glad that I was able to get everything off my chest. I did feel slightly bad for using Mrs. Hunter and then leaving her without any real answers, but it didn’t matter. I deserved a break. Deserved to do at least one thing the way I wanted. Besides, today was already going so horribly, I couldn’t imagine how it could get any worse.

  “Abby!”

  Abby immediately recognized the shouting voice as her friend Madelyn’s, and stopped and turned, waiting for her to catch up. Their classes for the day had just finished, and she’d been hoping to get back to her dorm room for some peace and quiet. As a telepath, not only was the school day mentally stimulating, it was exhausting, and the thing she looked forward to most every day was getting back to her room where she could put in her headphones and enjoy the serenity of her own mind.

  “God, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Madelyn’s bright blue eyes glittered with excitement, and her black ponytail bobbed as she grabbed Abby’s arm and started pulling her in the opposite direction she wanted to go.

  Abby tried to pick her friends thoughts to see what she was so gleeful about, but there was so much going on in that erratic teenage head that she couldn’t figure it out. She settled for giving her friend an exaggerated eyebrow raise.

  “Stephen Harding just told me that he’s going to ask you out.” The accomplished grin on Madelyn’s face made Abby cringe. She’d begged her friend about a million times to stop trying to instigate relationships for her, but every time she did Madelyn’s selective hearing kicked in. “You don’t look happy about it.”

  “Where on earth would you get the idea that I wanted to date Stephen Harding?” Abby sat down on a bench in the cold, stone courtyard, pushed her dirty blonde hair behind her shoulders and zipped her jacket up.

  Aw man, I forgot my jacket in class. Abby held back a laugh as Madelyn watched and remembered she’d left her own jacket, rubbing her arms for warmth. “Why wouldn’t you want to date him? He’s tall, dark, and handsome. And kind of smart.” Madelyn put emphasis on the ‘kind of’ part, like that was a good thing. “And didn’t you hook up with him at The Orchid?”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Abby shook her head, emphatically waving her hands in front of her to assert that she hadn’t. “There’s a huge difference between hooking up and dancing. Dancing doesn’t imply or ensure that I’m going to date him – ever.”

  You’re so picky. Her friend sighed as she mentally complained. “What’s wrong with him? You always find an excuse.”

  “He’s a pig,” Abby said simply, remembering the night she’d danced with him.

  They’d all gone to The Orchid, a club that wasn’t concerned with age and the place most of the kids from her school went whenever they left campus. After the hundredth time of him asking her to dance she finally gave in and said yes. It didn’t take long until she’d recalled why she didn’t want to in the first place. Abby knew she was attractive, and being a telepath she’d grown accustomed to hearing the kind of thoughts that passed through most men’s heads. The music at The Orchid was always too loud for her to hear anyone’s thoughts, but Stephen’s hands were just as relentless as she imagined his mind to be. She wasn’t opposed to slapping a guy, but if she didn’t have to she liked to avoid making a scene. That night she’d simply walked away, but she didn’t know where he would get the idea that she liked him, and was even a little offended by it.

  Abby studied her friend, as she seemed to contemplate Abby’s claim. Oh well, maybe he’d like to go out with me sometime…

  “Abby Johnson, please report to Miss Reins’ room. Abby Johnson to Miss Reins’ room.”

  Abby withheld a sigh of relief at the announcement from the loudspeaker. Standing up she turned to her friend, who was still daydreaming about Stephen. “You’re too good for him, Maddie. You know, I think Alex kind of likes you. He’s a nice guy.”

  She’d heard Alex thinking about Madelyn during English class multiple times. He wasn’t what Maddie would consider ‘popular’, but Abby liked him. She laughed when Madelyn made an apathetic face, and said ‘bye’ before heading off toward Miss Reins’ room. It was all the way on the other side of the campus, but since school had ended it was starting to empty, and she didn’t have to push through crowds of students to get there.

  Abby walked across the large courtyard, her feet crunching over the fresh snow, before passing under a tall stone archway and pushing through the double doors of the main hall. Going so quickly from the cold air into the warm building, her nose and ears started to burn, so she unzipped and removed her jacket. The main hall was an enormous two-story entranceway that stemmed off into corridors lined with classrooms. She walked across the worn slate floors and to the beginning of the stairs. She smiled at a student from one of her classes as she reached the top, and then took a right down one of the long halls. Despite the school’s updated plumbing and electric lighting, its high, tapestry-decorated stone walls still gave off a sense of antiquity. Her footsteps echoed as she walked down the corridor, and finally reaching the fifth room on the right she pushed open the large wooden door.

  “Abby.” The teacher was removing papers from each of the desks when she looked up to greet Abby with a smile.

  “Lahni,” Abby smiled back as she walked to the front of the long room and sat at the edge of the older woman’s desk.

  “How was your day?” Miss Reins continued to add to the stack of papers in her arms as she started to go through a typical greeting with Abby.

  “It was good, just a normal, boring day. Senioritis is already kicking in.” Abby listened hard to Lahni’s thoughts, and even though she could tell that the woman was terribly uneasy, all she got were the names of the students who’s papers she was picking up. Years of practice, and maybe a little bit of magic, had made Lahni an expert at omitting the things she didn’t want Abby to hear. “What’s wrong?”

  Lahni picked up the last assignment, made her way to the other side of her desk, set the papers on the corner of it, and sat down in her chair. Vampires. The thought immediately got Abby worrying.

  “You’ve heard about the kidnappings?” Lahni asked, and Abby nodded. “They’re getting closer and closer to the school.”

  “But no students have been taken, right?” she questioned, pulling from her memory the various news articles she’d read about all the missing persons.

  “No, but,” Lahni’s bright green eyes gained a reminiscent glaze as parts of her visions came back. Her thoughts were scattered as several images and thoughts clouded her mind. There was too much for Abby to focus on.

  “You’ve seen something?” Abby had gotten drifts of the psychic teacher’s visions before, and while she could never make out what they were or what they meant, they were easily distinguishable from conscious thought.

  “Yes, but not much.” Lahni was trying hard to organize her vision into manageable facts, but was having a difficult time of it. Her eyebrows furrowed with concentration, and she took deep, calming breaths. “There’s a vampire, and a werewolf. Both allies. The wolf is in danger.” Abby was about to ask who the wolf was when Lahni answered her question. “I don’t know who the wolf is. There’s just the silhouette, and dark, frightened eyes.”

  “There are a few werewolves at this school. You don’t have anything else to go off of?” Abby thought of the werewolves she knew of. The American Pack lived nearby and three of the young ones went to school with her, but if she was going to help keep an eye on them then she needed to
know which one to watch. Lahni shook her head ‘no,’ and Abby sighed. “And I don’t trust vampires either.”

  “Yes, well, if you can succeed in keeping this thing under wraps, it would secure your place on the board. The Supernatural Council could greatly benefit from your ability.” The teacher leaned back in her seat, the images of each of the board members flowing through her mind one by one.

  “That’s if I wanted a seat on the board. My abilities would be better utilized in the field.” Abby set her face sternly. She’d had this conversation before, with multiple people, and they all treated her the same way. Like a kid who didn’t and wouldn’t know what was best until she grew up. But she’d been in the minds of adults since she was young, and she knew better than most of them how the world worked. They were all just being stubborn. If she defied her father, the leader of the Supernatural Council, then she was an irresponsible child. If she succumbed to his wishes, she was a closed-minded robot.

  “Your father–”

  “My father,” Abby interrupted, “Is a lazy old warlock who runs his sect with outdated politics. He hasn’t cared for innovation since he was voted in as Director.” Lahni constructed her face to disagree, but she let her thoughts slip to slight concurrence. “I’ll play soldier, you know as well as I do where my loyalties lie, but I won’t participate on the council.”

  Lahni nodded. “I know, but I have to try with you sometimes. Your father’s orders.” She winked.

  Out of all the board members, Abby had the most respect for Lahni. She’d never treated Abby like she was incapable or juvenile, and whenever she unfairly fell into the habit of partiality against her father’s diplomacy, Lahni carefully reminded her who was in charge.

  “Is there anything else I need to know?” Abby stood up and pulled her jacket back on.

  “Something big is coming, Abby. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it. Just be careful.” Even if Abby couldn’t feel the fear from the older woman, she could’ve seen it on her face. What few age lines she had deepened with worry, and the corners of her mouth turned down in a frown.

  “You know I’m always careful.” Abby smiled at the woman and turned to leave.

  She was off to complete step one. Find whichever werewolf it would be her job to protect.

  “Camille, where are you going?” Luna looked up from her dinner at the kitchen table as I passed by the doorway, snapping her fingers to emphasize that she wanted my attention.

  I stopped and backtracked into the kitchen as I finished pulling on my jacket. “You know where I’m going.”

  She patted the spot at the table next to her while shaking her head, and waited for me to sit down. “Do you really think Kyla’s going to be pleased when she finds out you’ve been spying on her every night until we run?”

  “I’m not spying on her,” I growled defensively, but I lowered my head in embarrassment. I’d told Luna I was going a few times, but I didn’t know she was aware I went every night.

  “Then what are you doing?” She raised an eyebrow expectantly. “We wouldn’t have let her go home is she wasn’t ready, and we’re running every night. Even I’m starting to get too tired to Change easily. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”

  “I know she’s ready. I just get this bad feeling sometimes.” I tugged at my jacket, anxiously zipping and unzipping it. “I’d never be able to forgive myself if something happened.”

  “You’re so weird,” Luna laughed, but when she realized I wasn’t smiling she studied me. “You’re really that worried?” When I nodded, she stood and walked to the hallway, coming back in a minute later with another coat. “Here, take a thicker jacket, it’s really cold out.”

  I smiled my thanks and replaced the jacket I was wearing with the bigger one Luna gave me. I then grabbed the keys off the counter and hopped into the Jeep, making my way to Kyla’s house. I wasn’t spying on her, but I wasn’t exactly keeping an eye on her solely for her benefit. Everything in the house – the couch, the stairs, the car I was sitting in, and worst of all my own bed – everything smelled like Kyla. Everything reminded me of the fact that she’d broken up with me. It was bad enough I had to put aside the heartbreak and help her adjust. Now that she wasn’t around all I had to do was wallow in what I didn’t have. I just figured I might as well keep an eye on the real thing instead of brooding.

  I could see Kyla’s driveway coming up on the road, so I turned off the headlights and pulled onto the dirt shoulder to park the car. As I got out, I was glad Luna had given me a thicker jacket. Even though it was only six o’clock it was already dark, and every breath I let out created a thick fog in the frosty air. Zipping the coat a little bit more, I started my walk up the long driveway to Kyla’s house.

  When I was about two hundred feet from the house I watched the leaves on the trees to figure out which way the wind was blowing. North. The best place for me to stay so Kyla wouldn’t catch my scent was behind the house. I slunk into the trees to my left and slowly made a circle to the back. Once I got there I took a few steps farther into the orchard, far enough that if someone came out they wouldn’t see me, but close enough that I could hear a lot of what was going on in the house – the distant clatter of dishes in the sink, the mumbling chatter from someone watching TV.

  Hearing that the house was quiet and safe, I sat and leaned my back against one of the small trees. Taking in a deep breath of the oranges that surrounded me I remembered the first time I’d ever seen Kyla. I’d been on a run passing through these fields when her sweet scent carried to my nose. Ever since that night I’d been in love with the girl, and now that same scent only haunted me.

  I pushed away the memory and closed my eyes, laying my head back against the trunk. Every night that I’d been coming to Kyla’s house this was mostly what I did for five hours. Sit where I knew I wouldn’t be seen and take a small nap until it was time for either Luna or I to run with her. My sleeping patterns had been so screwed up lately anyway that I welcomed the few hours I got to rest.

  A while later my head jerked forward, pulled out of sleep by some new sounds. I checked my cell phone and then put it back in my pocket. 8:30. I was surprised I’d dozed off so easily. I stood up and listened hard for the sounds that had woken me. Two sets of footsteps. I lifted my nose to the air. Kyla and Jeremy. As swiftly and silently as I could, I followed the pair, making sure to stay in the cover of the trees. Kyla and Jeremy had gone into the barn, so I took a couple strides forward in order to hear better. I could sense the horses growing extremely restless with Kyla’s presence, and Jeremy didn’t sound too happy either.

  “Kyla, you might have only been caught once, but I know you’ve been sneaking out every night.”

  “You’ve been spying on me?” Kyla sounded frustrated, and I instantly felt guilty that she was being confronted about it. That must have been what she was talking about earlier when she said that not even I could understand. She’d been right. I could never understand what it was like to hide a secret like this from family.

  “No, but I’ve been checking in on you, every night while you’re not in bed. Where do you go?”

  “I don’t go anywhere.”

  “Do you have any idea how much it hurts Mom and Dad when you act like this? How much it hurts me? I’m your brother, I thought you could talk to me about anything.”

  Even though Kyla’s voice sounded agitated, I could hear the despair mixed in. She knew exactly how much it hurt, but thanks to me she didn’t have a choice. “I can talk to you, but not about this. This you would never understand.”

  “You’ve changed, Kyla. Ever since you met Camille.”

  “This is not Camille’s fault!” The sudden way that Kyla yelled made even me flinch. Over the past month she’d yelled a lot, but it was always at me, never defending me, and I couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised.

  “It’s drugs isn’t it? I think you’d be surprised how much I can understand what you’re going through.” Jeremy tried a different, more sympatheti
c tactic, but to no avail.

  “You don’t know the first thing about what I’m going through!” I could hear Kyla getting more and more upset, and I took a couple steps forward, feeling in my gut that things were about to take a turn for the worst.

  “You’re not going out any more,” Jeremy said with resolve, voice starting to grow angrier and louder with Kyla’s defiance. “I won’t let you sneak out. I won’t let you hurt Mom and Dad anymore.”

  “Goddammit, Jeremy, just get out of the way! You don’t get it!” I took a few more steps forward. I knew what was coming. I knew how tired Kyla was, and how hard Changes were for her to control. “Let go of me! Just let go!” I pressed on, worried that if Jeremy was trying to restrain Kyla then he was putting himself in a dangerous position. “Jeremy, get away from me. Please!” The second I heard those words I started sprinting toward the door of the barn. There was no way Kyla would be able to stop the Change, and this was the exact reason I’d been so worried about her going home.

  I reached the entrance of the barn right as the huge, honey-colored wolf burst out of Kyla’s skin. I could see Jeremy’s terrified and utterly confused face, his eyes wide with horror as he was flung away from her. The wolf crouched, preparing to pounce, and I ran as fast as I could to reach them. And I did. Just as the wolf leapt I threw myself into it, knocking it against the side of a horse stall before it could take a swipe at Jeremy. The wolf sprung off the ground, furious at being hit and ready to snap at me, but I stood my ground between it and Jeremy, peering hard into its eyes, daring it to try something again. A few seconds passed while Kyla and I stood in a stare-down, and then her eyes grew wide and filled with water. Tears. The anger was subsiding, and she’d realized what she’d almost done.

  My expression softened with sympathy. “Kyla,” I reached out to touch the large canine, but it backed up, letting out a strange, sob-like whimper, and then took off, darting out the door.