Shattered Souls (12 page)

Chapter 13

“The fairies always serve their own purposes before all others,” I said, sitting in the oversized chair near the fireplace. We had dumped off a few runs of our belongings at the new home, and even though there were scattered boxes that we hadn’t unpacked yet, it felt nice to be here. And it felt safe.

“Right…
” Jenny replied, shrugging her shoulders. ‘That would make sense. I think that’s how the little guys have survived for so long.”

“I’m sure they’d love hearing you
call them that.” I laughed. “But I think we’re taking that need to survive for granted.” I reached for a chenille throw to toss over my legs and repositioned a pillow behind me. It was nice to have Jenny back for the holidays. I looked out the window, and the porch light caught beautiful white glitter in its rays as the evening’s snowfall began. I hoped Logan would hurry and get back. The first few snowfalls in Seattle always led to crazy driving.

“What are you saying?
” she asked, pouring tea for both of us. The teacup clanked on the saucer as she handed it to me, and the caramel-colored liquid sloshed around in the cup, reminding me of how unsteady my hands still were.

“I’m not sure yet.” I sighed. “I’m thinking…”

“Yeah?” Her brow arched.

“That they may not only be fighting for our side.” I sipped on the warm liquid and felt it soothe my throat, hoping that it would bring me some
tranquility. Logan was out with his mom helping her find a place to live, and I couldn’t help but worry.

“So you think that they aren’t actually trying to help us?” she asked, confused.

When she repeated what I said, I felt silly for saying it.

“I’m not saying that, but what if we’re
not the only ones they want to help? I’m starting to wonder if they’re playing both sides of the fence,” I said. “You know, stick with whoever wins at the end?”

“I guess anything’s possible, but that seems like a lot of work…helping you while simultan
eously helping the Praedivinus Order?”

“That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” I shook my head.

“Not crazy just unlikely.”

“I don’t know. I’m going to keep chewing on it for awhile,” I said.

“You do that,” Jenny said, winking.

“I think I’m onto something,
just not the right thing, maybe,” I said, smiling. “So when do you think Angela is going to get here?”

“Her plane’s supposed to land in an hour. She said she was going to dump her stuff off at home and then come over
, since her parents are still at work…” her voice trailed off.

“And?”

Jenny twisted her long hair into a clip and fastened the strands on top of her head, avoiding my stare. She shoved herself back into the couch cushion and twisted her lip. She was definitely hiding something.

“Spit it out. You suck at this secret thing,” I teased.

Jenny looked over at me and stuck out her tongue.

“Real mature,” I laughed.

“I promised her I’d let her tell you,” she argued.

“Alright. Alright.” I raised my hands into the air admitting defeat. “At least give me a hint.”

“You know if I give you a hint, I’ll wind up telling you everything.”

“Fine.” I reached for a book on the table next to me an
d opened it up to a random page to ignore her.

“Seriously?” she said, laughing.

“What?” I asked innocently.

“Who’s being immature?” she countered.

“I’m just reading,” I said, skimming the pages.

“Since when have you been into aerodynamics?” she laughed
, and I couldn’t help but join in until a gnawing feeling began digging away at my stomach.

“You don’t look so hot,” Jenny said. “Are you okay?”

“Angela wants to become one of us, doesn’t she?”

Jenny avoided looking at me and turned her head quickly toward the flames, nodding without hesitation.

“How’d you know?” she asked.

“Just a hunch,” I whispered
, thinking back to the dream I’d had. “I know I should be excited about this, but I’m not. Our world is in such turmoil and…”

“I know. I’ve been struggling with it as well,” she agreed.

“How long have you known about it?” I asked.

“She’s been dropping hints all quarter
, and when I came back from one of my trips to help with things, she wouldn’t stop asking questions.”

“I guess we’ll just take it one step a
t a time,” I said, feeling the need to wrap myself more securely in the blanket. “Is there any particular reason that you can think of that’s making her so interested?”

Jenny blushed and wriggled
uncomfortably under my gaze. “She’s going to kill me. Absolutely kill me for not letting her talk to you about it.” She bit her lip and sat up straight. “Okay, so there is something else pushing her interest. I can say that for sure. Well, it’s not a something. It’s a someone and only recently.”

My brow furrowed as I tried to think who would possibly
intrigue Angela enough to make the switch.

“Trevor?” I asked, almost choking out the name.

Jenny’s full lips went from a pout to a grin in an insta-second now that I guessed it, and she didn’t
officially
tell me.

“Yep. You got it,” she said, allowing her body to relax again. “Can you believe it?”

I really couldn’t. I mean they never showed an interest during high school. But, somehow, I was relieved — really relieved. There was always that part of me that was worried that he wouldn’t detach from me; like somehow that spider spell would haunt us for the rest of our lives.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked
, mistaking my relief for something else.

“Oh, totally. I’m kind of relieved to hear it, to be honest.” I bet Logan would be too.
“Should I act surprised when she tells me?”

“Yes
, because that always works so well,” Jenny said, rolling her eyes.

“If love is driving her curiosity to switch
, it’s pretty much a done deal. No talking any sense into her then,” I said, smiling. “Do you think Trevor feels the same?”

“Pretty sure. The calls were pretty
incessant between the two and considering everything we’ve been through, I was surprised Trevor was always so willing to fit her in. You know how she can be,” Jenny said.

I cringed a little with that minor jab
toward Angela. Even though the three of us had been best friends for as long as I could remember, there was always this odd competition between the two of them. Thankfully, I never seemed to be part of it, but I also never knew what the root cause was. It was true that Angela tended to need a little more nurturing than some, but Jenny had her days too.

“Is it kind of weird to be here?” Jenny asked, sensing my discomfort, as she looked around the room.

“Well, not until you said something,” I said, throwing a pillow at her. She laughed, and I thought about how much I would miss her, miss everything, everyone once the
Divinus
spell completed its course.

Her laughter subsided and she got up from the couch and stretched. “I should get going. I’m sure
my parents are already bemoaning the fact that I came here before heading home. It’s not like I haven’t seen them with everything going on. Do you think parental guilt trips will ever go away?”

I shook my head. “Doubtful.”

The front door clicked open, and I heard Logan and Ellsy laughing as they came inside our home.

“Ellsy?” I called
, springing up from my chair. Relief instantly spread through me.

“Surprise,” she shouted,
splaying her arms out.

“I’m so happy you’re here.
Does my mom know?” I asked, meeting her in the foyer.

“We were going to surprise her
too,” Ellsy said, squeezing me. “That fire looks glorious. It’s freezing outside.”

“Let’s hope for snow,” I said, watching Ellsy walk into the family room to greet Jenny.

“Guess what I heard?” I whispered to Logan, gently tracing my finger along his neck.

“What?” he asked, his eyes glinting
with mischief.

“Trevor and Angela.” I announced.

“You’re kidding,” Logan laughed.

“You didn’t already let the cat out of the bag, did you?” Jenny hollered from the other room.

“Well, that explains his sudden disinterest in you,” he whispered.

“What’s going on?” I heard Ellsy ask Jenny in the other room
, and a wave of comfort spread through me. This was how things were supposed to be. Family and friends gossiping about supposed relationships and possible romances, not devising plans for survival or destroying other covens.

“You okay?” Logan murmured, dipping his head toward me.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just going into la-la land again.”

Logan smiled and gently nudged me into the room
full of laughter. Jenny had sat back down on the couch, and Ellsy was sitting next to her chatting away.

“Nice isn’t it
,” Logan whispered, surveying the scene.

“Y
eah, it is.” I nodded and smiled. I sat in a rocking chair and pushed off with my feet.

“Do you remember that chair
?” Ellsy asked.

“How could I forget it?” I tapped the scar along my hairline.

Logan started laughing. “I totally forgot about that. That should have been my tip-off about your lack of coordination.”

“Hey, I’ve grown out of it… some,” I joked.

“What happened?” Jenny asked, intrigued.

I pulled my hair back and ran my finger over the thickened skin. “I don’t know if you can see it, but I cracked my head when I was attempting to fly.”

“You jumped off a rocking chair?” Jenny asked, raising her brow. “I would generally give you more credit than that.”

“It was an off moment for me
, and I was like ten years old.”

“That didn’t help your case,” Jenny said, rolling with laughter.

“The jump went fine. It was the landing that was the problem.” I scowled.

“The chair actually rocked into her. What are the odds?” Logan said, winking at me.

“Well, I’m glad my serious injury can provide such comic relief.” I crossed my arms and kept rocking in the chair. “And there were like fifteen stitches or something. So no laughing matter.”

“Look what you two can look forward to when you hav
e kids,” Jenny chirped. Ellsy and Logan traded glances quickly, and in that moment, I realized Ellsy knew I was a
Divinus
witch. I wondered what else Logan might have talked to her about, and why she was actually here. My stomach twisted in knots and I pushed away the tears, smiling instead.

Chapter 14

“I thought you’
d feel better if your mom had some company in the Witch Avenue home,” Logan said quietly. “And I didn’t want my mom to be home alone in Illinois for the holidays.”

We were hauling Ellsy’s luggage up to the guest room in my mom’s house
, while Ellsy began dinner. Vieta was rounding up my mom’s things back at her house and planned on bringing my mom over to the Witch Avenue home tonight for an impromptu surprise party of sorts. Even though my mom hinted that she was looking forward to coming back to her home, I think she was dreading it equally as much. This little push and mix of company would be perfect for her.

“It was really sweet of you because you guessed right. The thought of my mom being home all by herself hasn’t been
a pleasant one.”

We opened the door to the guestroom and dropped
Ellsy’s luggage off when the doorbell rang.

“Can someone ge
t that?” Ellsy’s voice sang. “I’m busy stuffing manicotti for an army.”

“Why so much pasta?” I asked suspiciously.

“Maybe there’s more to tonight than you know,” he replied coyly.

Logan and
I raced down the stairs, but I beat him to the door. I suddenly felt like I was twelve but didn’t mind one bit as I shoved him aside with my hips. I looked out the peephole to see Angela staring right back at me and a surge of excitement ran through me. It had been far too long since I’d last seen her.

“How’d Angela know we were here?” I asked, turning to Logan.
“I gave her the other address.”

“Not a clue,” he said,
shrugging. But his mischievous eyes said something completely different as I flung open the door.

Angela squealed and stepped inside, giving me a big hug. “Surprise!” she said, releasing me and stepping aside
to reveal a much larger crowd of people standing behind her, waiting to be invited in. I noticed Angela’s parents in the crowd and gave a quick wave. Aunt Vieta, my mom, Trevor, Jenny and her parents, Meredith, and Jenna were all standing in front of the crowd, smiling widely.

“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“I thought we were surprising my mom. Why does it feel like I’m the one being surprised?”

“You’ll see,” Logan
replied, inviting everyone in.

My mom was glowing as she walked through the front door to
her Witch Avenue home, exactly where she belonged. She clasped her hands together and walked through the entryway, leading the way for the crowd, and everyone followed right behind her.

“You look wonderful,” Meredith said, carrying a large bouquet of flowers from our shop. “Your mom had me
make a few holiday arrangements for you to take back to your house. They’re in the car keeping cold. Don’t let me forget to give them to you.”

“Thanks, Mer,” I said, realizing how much I missed working in the floral shop with the girls.

Trevor slid his arm around Angela’s waist and led her down the hall, and Jenny seemed awfully bouncy, smiling and laughing with Angela’s parents. I started to shut the door when Dace and Bakula fluttered between the small crack.

“Geesh,” Dace complained
, brushing himself off. “Almost got clipped.”

“Oh,
sorry!” I said, doing a double take before I attempted to close the door the second time.

Music turned on
in the back of the house, and laughter filled every crevice. I had no idea what was actually going on, but I was completely intrigued.

“Are you just going to hang out by the door all night?” Dace asked, aggravated.

“Not at all,” I said, looking over at Logan who always got a kick out of the fairies’ bluntness.

“Right this way,” Logan said, looping his arm t
hrough mine, and leading me down the hallway.

Once we reached the kitchen, I realized that something way bigger was going
on. Every inch of the counter space and kitchen table had been filled with trays of food. There were beautiful arrangements and tea lights scattered around as we made our way into the family room. Maybe it was my mom’s way of redoing the festivities she missed out on?

Ellsy and my mom were in the far corner talking quite animatedly, and it dawned on me that they were wearing similar outfits
, and each wore a miniature rosebud bracelet. Something very suspicious was going on, and I was pretty certain I was the only person who didn’t know what it was.

I slipped my arm
away from Logan’s and began to step away, but he grabbed me before I could leave. We were in the center of the room and the lights dimmed. The music quieted to a slight hum, and Dace and Bakula were surrounded by more of their fairy friends who must have slipped in. The flecks of the fairies eyes flickered throughout the room, creating a gorgeous smattering of silver, and I could feel the excited buzz in the air. More people from the coven wandered into the room, smiling and waving.

Logan brought me into him, cradling me in his ar
ms. “I know what we’re facing,” he whispered next to my hair. “But there are a lot of people willing to fight for the same cause as you, myself included.”

My heart
sputtered as he took a step back from me. The pounding in my ears turned to a muffled quietness. I felt lightheaded as I looked around the room, everyone waiting for what was about to happen. I saw my mom and Ellsy take a step forward, holding each other’s hands, as they both beamed from ear to ear. Was this really happening?

“I wanted to bring everyone here to show you that you’re not alone,” Logan said. “No matter how hard it might seem or lonely it feels, just know how many people are on your side.
Everyone here has brought something for you. But the coven asked me to tell you that no matter what you need, all you have to do is ask.”

I looked around the room at all of the friendly faces
and felt tears of joy begin to form. And then felt silly for thinking that this gathering might have been for another reason, like an engagement. Now’s not the time. I’m just glad I didn’t stick my foot in my mouth.

“
Thank you for coming to show support. It couldn’t have come at a better time. I think the Praedivinus is cracking, but they may not be the only ones we have to worry about. If we stay vigilant and continue reporting anything suspicious, it will help tremendously. You all have given up so much to get our way of life back, and I can’t thank you enough for your help,” I told everyone and then turned to Logan. “It would be impossible without you.”

The room erupted into applause and
whoops as Logan held me.

Aunt Vieta waved at us as she chatted with Angela’s parents
. The voices grew louder as the music was turned up. I saw Trevor making his way over, and I squeezed Logan’s hand. “Be nice,” I teased Logan.

Trevor walked up to us and gave me a big hug, with Angela hopping up and down behind him. “I’m really proud of you,” he whispered.

“Thanks, Trev. It’s been a trip so far. Thank you for everything.”

He took a step back and grabbed my hand. Opening it up, he placed something very tiny inside and folded my fingers over the gadget.

“And here’s a little something that might help you guys with checking up on some people or organizations,” he replied.

“Nice,” Logan said, nodding. “That will come in very handy.”

“Come sit down, dear,” my mom said, ushering me to the couch. “It’s going to be a long night, and you don’t want to be caught standing the entire time.”

“Thanks,” I replied
to my mom. I glanced back at Logan who was discussing the gadget with Trevor.

“You look a little blue,” my mom whispered.

“Oh no. Are you serious?” I asked, mortified.

“You do,” she confirmed, sitting next to me on the couch. “Were you expecting something else tonight?”

I flushed and stared at the floor, feeling absolutely ridiculous. “No. Well. Maybe. It didn’t even cross my mind until maybe two minutes before he started talking, and then my mind jumped there and then…”

“Ellsy and I both caught it,” she whispered.
“But don’t worry. We were the only ones.”

“
You’re sure no one else did?” I asked, my heart pounding of embarrassment.

“Doubt
ful. Sometimes men have no idea the clues they’re giving along the way,” she said, squeezing my hand. “But not to worry, your secret is safe with us.”

Dace and Bakula were on their way over, zipping
through the crowd, leaving the rest of the fairies behind. Bakula shrugged her shoulders as she landed on my knee, and I knew I was in for it.

“Don’t know what to say, my dear,” Bakula said. “I thought he was gonna pop the question.”

I hung my head in my hand and started laughing. “Glad no one else thought that, mom,” I replied.

“I think the whole room thought he was going to whip out a ring, dear. It wasn’t just you,” Bakula continued.

My mom and I both couldn’t stop laughing as we caught the attention of Logan, who looked over and smiled and waved, completely oblivious.

I waved back and watche
d as Angela’s parents wandered over. Natalie, Angela’s mom looked nervous, which was very unusual for her. Then again, this was probably her first time in a room full of witches.

“We’
re very new and unfamiliar with everything and have only heard about things through Angela,” Natalie began. “And since things look serious with Trevor, we know we need to get up to speed.”

I smiled.

“Anyway, what Angela doesn’t know is that her great grandmother had a bit of a spirited side. I never knew what to do with this, but it seems fitting for you now.” She opened up her hand and a large opaque blue stone sat there.

“It’s
beautiful,” I said.

“That’s
blue chalcedony,” my mom said. “It offers protection from evil lore. Wow. That’s very interesting.”

“So it might be helpful?” Natalie asked, smiling.

“Absolutely. Thank you,” I said, giving her a quick hug.

People had begun lining up with their gifts and a swell of emotion hit me. This was what community was about and this was
what we were fighting to keep.