Odd Melody (Odd Series Book 2) (5 page)

I blocked two hits and tried to knock him off his feet. He dodged and came around behind me to knock me off mine.

“Is this really this fun for you?” I sounded as bitter as I felt.

“No, I enjoy
this
.”

He pinned me beneath him. His entire body hovered less than an inch above mine. I held my breath. If I breathed deeply, I would bring us into contact. After an hour of torture from this man, though, I rightfully felt vindictive. He wouldn’t expect that. As he taught me, surprise could be a weapon.

I sucked in a deep breath, bringing all of me to touch all of him. At the same time, I lifted my head and tilted my lips to touch his in the barest whisper of a touch. I didn’t move away.

He froze, held in a push-up above me. He neither backed off nor closed the fraction of an inch of distance separating us.

He seemed to breathe in my scent, inhaling long and deeply.

I whispered against his lips, “Do you enjoy this?”

“I am not a toy.” His voice had gone deep, rough, and it scraped across my over sensitized nerves like a cheese grater on a hunk of mozzarella, leaving bits of me shredded and alone, yet he still didn’t move. “Your game.” His voice, little more than a whisper, sent an electrical fire sizzling down my spine, melting all the broken bits into a glob of desires I didn’t want to explore. “Your rules. You forfeit?”

I pushed him off me. “No. Why would you think that? We agreed the rules stop during training.”

“That wasn’t part of the training and you know it. Don't play with fire, Janie. I burn. I thought you had figured that out already.”

“Yeah, that’s why I have to do all this.” There was venom in my voice. “
You
decided I needed to be a siren.
You
decided I was your soul mate. Well, I’m sick of it. It’s my turn. Once I start making the decisions, you might be the one getting burned.”

“We both burn. Haven't you noticed? You keep kissing me, not the other way around.”

I glared at him. That was stupid. Wasn't it? I wasn't the one kissing him. He initiated the kissing. Didn't he? I would have to pay more attention—wait! There would be no more kissing, so it was a moot point.

“Let's just drop this. Thank you for feeding me and for the lesson. I gotta go.” I never felt like I came out ahead in debates with Chance.

CHAPTER Three

Back in the shop, I sat in the window seat and waited for Vickie. It was peaceful, except for the sneezing and sniffling. I peeked across the room at Mia. Two flags of red streaked across her pale cheekbones and coordinated nicely with her bright red nose. Her eyes stood out like storm clouds. Even her hair looked frazzled.

“Are you running a fever?” I nibbled a nail while I considered her.

“Yeb.” She sniffled.

“How high?” I reconsidered putting my fingers in my mouth as I was probably in a high germ zone.

“Id ib obly ode oh two.”

I translated her stuffed up mumble to mean, 'It is only one o' two.' “Maybe you should see a doctor.” I waved a hand in a vague gesture toward the door, and she reached for a tissue.

“I am a witch,” she shrieked, the protest clearly enough explanation in her mind.

“And?” I was tempted to laugh, but as I value my life, I stifled it.

“I can handle this!”

“Okay!” I huffed out a breath and slumped against the window in an attempt to get a bit further from my diseased friend.

As soon as Vic got off the bus, we escaped so that she would not be exposed to the plague any more than she had to be. I had a brilliant idea. “That’s it!”

“What's it? I'm hungry.”

“We can run through McDonald's.” I wasn’t really paying attention to my daughter, and I knew it. I thought aloud instead. “We can go see Old Mother.”

“Number one, I hate McDonald's. Number two, what is Old Mother?” Vickie stabbed me with one bony little finger, pulling my attention back to her.

I scowled at her.

She scowled back.

“Mia has something like the plague.” I said it in a rush, hoping it wouldn’t sound as bad.

“So take me to Grandma's while you go visit Old Mother. I haven't seen her since we got here.”

I bit my lip. It probably wasn't a good idea to tell her that her grandma may or may not want to kill us. That would probably traumatize a kid and scar her for life and all. “Grandma went to Florida for the holidays.” God forgive me. That was a whammy of a lie especially to a kid, I know. But I couldn’t guarantee her Grandma would play nice.

“Bummer.”

“Yeah.” I restrained a giggle.

After getting Vickie a fruit salad and a water, I called Julia. Julia’s voice was as husky and whispery over the phone as in person. “I’ll have Delores bring Old Mother over, but I’m not sure how much help she’ll be. Old Mother never answers questions so much as she offers mysterious stories that make little to no sense.”

I nodded and acknowledged silently that I wasn’t really sure why I suddenly had an urge to talk to Old Mother. But Chance said have faith in myself, so the hell with it. I got the address and headed over to that part of Ashtabula.

Julia lived in a squat, tan house that looked mundane from the exterior. That was about all I could tell through the falling and accumulated snow. Julia herself created a picture of contradictions. She served as the Maiden for the Circle of the Dawn, which is a big deal in the witch world, or so I was told. Maiden meant virgin, which provided the first of her contradictions—she worked as a stripper by trade. Her job paid tuition for architectural school. Go figure.

Julia answered the door, looking spectacular as always. She had fantastic, auburn hair that lay over her shoulder in a long complicated braid.

I wore my matted wig since I had Vickie with me and she had yet to see the new hair. I had tried to tame it, but I had largely been unsuccessful. Julia took it in, smiled, and embraced me anyway.

On top of being a virgin-witch-stripper, she also had some of the biggest breasts I have ever seen. I haven’t decided if they were real or a spell. Either way, I was truly jealous. Mine could hold their own, don't get me wrong, but hers mesmerized the male population, which explained her success with the stripper thing.

Her house welcomed guests in a witchy sort of way, but the moment the thought popped in my head, I wondered if I’d stereotyped her based on Mia’s habits. Wooden bookshelves displayed candles and books of mysticism while statues of fairies danced on the end tables. Obviously, she had never met one of the conniving little beings. Fairies sucked.

As we entered her living room, I saw Old Mother seated next to Delores, and a feeling of peace that I had been unable to find in the pumpkin rolls I’d consumed earlier settled over me. I sighed and smiled.

Old Mother smiled back. Her hair had long ago gone silver, and she wore an opal ring on one slender, wrinkled finger. Though wrinkled and worn, her skin felt as soft as a baby's when she reached out to catch my hand. Even with her short, old lady hair and eyes yellowed by time, she remained one of the most beautiful women I had ever met. Peace flowed in the air around her, and a feeling of reverence similar to that gained in an old church radiated from her. The entire effect soothed my frayed nerves. I adored Old Mother.

Vickie, who never knew when to shut up, sat down quietly and folded her hands in her lap. I blinked at my daughter in amazement.

Old Mother looked at her. “Hello, child.”

“Hello, Old Mother.”

“You hide your gifts and your wisdom. You hide your Sight. You wait with the patience of the ages. Be strong, as your mother is strong for you now. She fights today to make the battlefield easier for you tomorrow. Remember this, and love her when she comes home battle worn.”

Vickie smiled. “I do…mostly.”

“In the end, what she chooses, she chooses based on you. Hope that someday you can love so true.”

Vickie giggled. “She’s okay, but she eats like a rat.”

Old Mother laughed. Her eyes turned to me, and their soft gray calmed me. “You have questions that you would rather ask without her here?”

I nodded.

Julia stood and took Vickie's hand. “Do you like video games?”

“All kids like video games.” Vickie sounded much more like Vickie.

As she left, I turned to Old Mother. “She has gifts? The Fairy Council—”

“Is made up of a bunch of idiots who are losing their powers. Vickie is like you. The Fairies have forgotten that those who come late to power are always strongest. It is like this in all races, even the humans. Einstein frustrated the schools he attended and worked in a patent office. Those who learn to speak late often have the highest IQ's. Powerful witches come late to power. Weres who can't change until puberty are often not just one kind of were, but true Shifters. All of the races are like this. Fairies are fools.”

I nodded. That made sense, but it sounded like I should keep a closer eye on Victoria. And it did not bode well that none of this came as a surprise to my daughter.

That brat
.

Moving on to bigger and more pressing matters, I shifted forward in my seat. “I want to ask some questions about the soul mate principal and fate, and why Mia is sick, and what you know about the Harbor Hammer and—”

Old Mother laughed at me.

I took a breath. “Let me start over.”

“No, no, I think I got it all. I will answer your questions one at a time, but you may not like the answers on any of these topics. Understand?”

I nodded.

Julia came back from the bedroom.

Old Mother gestured to the chair Vickie had vacated. If anyone knew Old Mother’s actual name, no one had shared it with me. When I had first met her, after years of Mia describing her as a wise elder who had the ability to foresee the future, I had expected a wrinkled old crone. Although she was old, she looked like a grandma. “Sit down.” Her tone left no room for argument.

Julia glanced at me. “She’s playing a one player game.” She lifted her hands as she explained and smiled gently. “And I’d like to hear your prophesy.”

“This affects you as well, child.”

“Me?” Julia’s eyebrows shot up.

“I will answer the first question first.” Old Mother picked up her teacup and sipped before continuing.

I glanced at Julia and quirked a brow. Maybe she had a soul mate.

She shrugged.

She held her thumb and pinkie to her ear and lip in the universal girl symbol for 'I will call you later.'

We both turned to Old Mother like good girls.

Either she didn't see our exchange or ignored it because she sat the teacup down without comment. “The soul mate principal is ageless. The theory states that all souls are, at their origin, one perfect being, rent in two. Part of the challenge of life, according to old stories, is the search for your other half. This has been debated, and modern society has essentially negated it entirely. The modern theory insists that we are whole unto ourselves and do not need another to complete us. This may or may not be true and, regardless of its factuality, the mythology persists. Whether we need or want it, Fate remains and she will try to have her way. Usually going along with her is best, for she can see more of the picture than we can. We’re all in a crowded room, in life, but we can only see small bits of what is going on around us while some other creatures are gifted with a bit more sight. That said, you choose your destiny in the end. Free will, my loves, rules over all else.”

“So how do we get rid of a soul mate if we’ve found him?” I chewed a nail, but at Old Mother’s stern look, stopped as quickly as I started.

“You can't. It exists. You can choose to be with a person or not. Fulfill your destiny or not. Your life. Don't blame me. Don't blame fate. Don't blame chance.”

“Wait, do you mean, don't blame Chance the guy, or chance like–—I’m confused.” I scratched at my stupid wig.

“Obviously.” Old Mother huffed and shifted in her seat. “Only you modern girls would think of throwing away soul mates.”

“But I’m happy!” My voice came out in a squeak, and I covered my mouth guiltily.

“Are you?” At her murmur, I sighed. “Good to hear. Good friends are hard to find, and you have a very sexual nature.”

I gasped.

She laughed then sobered as she leaned toward me. “You kids think you invented sex. It’s so funny. You have feared what you are for your entire life. For nearly forty years, you have denied your true nature, certain you are a monster. Now you have met a monster that is not a monster. Now you have discovered yourself as a woman. You are coming out of your cave, coming to life. Welcome to the world. It is a painful place. You are going to get pricked. But the pleasure, I believe, will make it worth it.”

“But that doesn't tell me how to get rid of him.” Maybe if I kept drawing her back to the important bit, she’d let something handy slip.

“I mentioned you might not like my answers.” She looked at me serenely.

I blinked and sighed. She
had
mentioned that. I moved on. “Mia is sick and—”

“She is sick and will stay sick. I can't make her better. Her muse will come tomorrow. Until then, Vance will end up staying with her. Sorry.”

I blinked. Okay, I was striking out with answers that answered nothing. “What about the Harbor Hammer?” I didn’t have a lot of hope left that the answer was going to be what I wanted.

“On that one, you will like my answer. You will solve it before the month is out. It is a ghost.” Her words came out as simple prophesy although she looked serene, content with the response that still answered little.

“The ghost is in someone?”

“Yes.” She still looked quite calm.

“Who?” I leaned forward in my seat.

“Now, dear, I am not able to give you all the answers. You have to figure some of this out for yourself.”

All sense of serenity vanished in a gulp of tea and the words of an old woman.