Witch Road to Take (9 page)

“You’re right. I’m glad they’re going to be
there, and we’re going to kick ass on that stage. I’m not holding
myself back for anyone.”

I wrapped my arm around him and rested my
head on his shoulder. “Jonas?”

“Yeah?”

“You really need something else to wear. I
have an idea.”

“I don’t have time for the mall,” he
said.

“I know, but what if the mall comes to
you?”

“How you gonna pull that off?”

***

Gavin stood with arms across his chest, his
stance rigid and his mind made up. “I’m going to tell you for the
last time, I’m
not
using my magic to clothe Jonas.”

“You’re going to let your friend walk out on
stage looking like something that the cat dragged in?” I asked, my
hands on my hips.

“Jonas is fine. That’s his trademark
look.”

Jonas finally stood up from the bed.
“Actually dude, I’ve had those clothes since I was in ninth grade.
My parents didn’t have a lot of money, so they bought me what they
could. I’ve worn this stuff because it’s what I know. I guess I
don’t have a sense of style.” Jonas walked into his closet and
pulled out a red striped t-shirt and pair of black polyester pants.
“But I understand where you’re coming from.”

I dramatically dropped the sides of my lips
down and batted my eyes. “Ninth grade. How sad.”

“Oh, all right! You two are hopeless.
Nothing outrageous or over the top and this one time ONLY.”

I clapped my hands, excited.

“Red!” Gavin said sternly, “This is one time
only. Don’t get any funny ideas.”

“Deal. Tell you what, you supply Jonas with
a new outfit for tonight and that will be your birthday gift to
me.”

Gavin huffed. “What is he going to
wear?”

“Jonas?” I wanted him to pick something. He
needed to learn fashion but it had to have his twist.

“I’ve always wanted to wear a pair of
well-fit blue jeans with a white button-down shirt and a pair of
brown leather boots.”

“Nice! You do have a sense of style,” I
exclaimed.

Gavin glared at me. “Are you feeding him
thoughts?”

I laughed. “Who me? Never!”

“Lying doesn’t suit you, Dhellia.”

Jonas smiled. “Keep giving me clothing tips,
Dhellia. I think I’m gonna look hot.”

Instead of sending thoughts to Jonas, I
said, “Okay, and a black sports blazer that he’ll leave open. Get
busy, magic man, we’re running out of time.”

I saw Gavin roll his eyes and I inwardly
chuckled. I grabbed styling gel from my bathroom and ran it through
Jonas’s hair, giving him the messy, sexy look and Gavin presented
him with a gorgeous ensemble that would set him apart from anyone
else.

I have to admit, I was proud.

Gavin and I watched
from
back stage as Jonas’s band, Disastrous Grace, played like a
top-notch rock band, ready for the big league. The crowd was riled
up, the music slammin’ and we looked fantastic.

I threw on a cute pink dress with a thick
black belt around my waist and a pair of four-inch open-toed heels
with a pink-heeled bottom and black overlay. My makeup was perfect
and my hair was braided down my back.

“What are they doing here?” Gavin leaned in
and yelled in my ear above the music as he nodded toward the seats
where Jonas’s parents were sitting.

“You know them?”

“They kicked Jonas out on the street six
months after he was turned. I found him two nights after that.”

His parents looked so much alike, they could
be mistaken for brother and sister. They both had dark hair,
glasses and scowls on their lips. The face of the teenager sitting
next to them had piercing holes in his nose, lips, eyebrows and
tats up and down his arms. That was all I could see of them because
of the rowdy group in front.

“Where did you find him?” I asked.

“At an underground club. I was helping Gan
Zeng find his daughter and we were directed to that club.”

“Gan Zeng?” I yelled over the band into
Gavin’s ear.

“A Chinese wizard. Powerful. But his
daughter had a spell placed on her that would keep her father from
finding her. Sort of like you. He contacted me.”

“So, how did you end up befriending
Jonas?”

“He was a kid, lost and alone. He was dirty
and he hadn’t had blood in a couple of days. Every time he tried to
drink the blood of a human, he swelled up, so he wasn’t sure what
he should eat. When he lived with his parents, his father brought
him animal blood from his veterinary clinic. So, he didn’t realize
he was allergic to human blood until he was on his own.”

“And you took him in.”

He nodded. “He’s a good guy, Dhellia. I
figured it couldn’t hurt me in the karma department. Statistically,
speaking…”

I put up my hand. “You’ve been doing so good
refraining from using statistics in your interactions with us,
let’s keep that record going.” I winked at him.

We both turned our attention back to the
last song that Disastrous Grace had planned to play for this
evening.

***

We made our way through the crowd of
groupies and snuck up on Jonas. He was signing some autographs,
mostly for women, but he stopped when he saw us.

“What’d you guys think?” he asked
excitedly.

“You were amazing. I didn’t know you could
sing like that and play the guitar. I’m so impressed. Loved the
songs.”

Gavin shook his hand and pulled him in for a
hug. “You rocked it, man.”

Jonas smiled. He was pleased with their
performance and at that very moment, I could tell that he felt as
if he were on top of the world. Then his face changed.

“Hi, son,” his father said.

“Hey, Dad.”

The people were clearing out, the noise had
died down and they didn’t have to yell to greet each other.

“Hey, Mom,” Jonas said as he leaned in and
gave her a hug. She sheepishly hugged him back.

“What’s up, bro?” Jonas addressed his
brother.

“You guys rocked the house, Jon. I was
thinking you guys should be on stage with Poets of the Fall or
Seether.”

“Oh wow, thanks, Jacob. That’s a huge
compliment.”

“How have you been, son?” his mother
asked.

Jonas smiled. “I’m great. I wanted to
introduce you all to my very close friends and roommates. This is
Gavin and this beautiful woman is Dhellia.”

Jacob cut through everyone’s greetings and
went straight to shake my hand. “You are an angel from the
sky.”

“Quite the contrary, Casanova.” I winked at
him.

Apparently, that must have excited him
because the next thing I knew, he was standing by my side, pressed
against me like an annoying growth that I needed to have
removed.

Jonas leaned over and grabbed his brother.
“Leave her alone, Jake. She’d go to jail if she dated you.”

“Sometimes, true love has to hurt.” He stuck
out his tongue in slow motion to show me the two piercings right in
the middle. I cringed. Jonas pulled him back by his mother.

“Dad, I wanted to thank you for keeping up
the payments on the studio.”

His father looked confused. “Payments? I
stopped those right when we…well…right when you moved out.”

Jonas cocked his head. “I didn’t move out,
Dad. You kicked me out and the landlord said the payments have
continued. I just assumed it was you.”

“Not me, son, but I’m glad you have
somewhere to go in order to get out of the cold. Your mother and I
have worried.”

I saw Jonas narrow his eyes at his father.
“Parents that worry, Dad, make an effort to look for their kid.
Plus, I have a home. Remember, I have roommates?”

“Yes, that’s right. Geno and Donna.”

“Gavin and Dhellia, Dad.” Jonas was upset.
He whispered under his breath, “Hopeless.”

“Well, son, we really have to go. Thank you
for sending us an invitation to your shindig and we’re happy to see
you’re doing well.” His father leaned in and half patted him on the
back.

“Let’s do lunch sometime,” his mother said
and then immediately cupped her hand over her mouth realizing, I’m
sure, that Jonas didn’t eat lunch anymore. He drank it. “I’m sorry,
we’ll do tea or chat on the phone.”

“Right, Mom. Sounds good.” When Jonas leaned
in to hug her, it all just seemed entirely too awkward.

Jacob blew me a disgusting kiss from where
he was standing and I leaned to my right to make sure that it
passed me by. He pouted on his way out.

Jonas grabbed his guitar, said goodbye to a
few more people as he stormed out of the establishment.

“Are you okay?” I asked, following behind
him.

“Fine.”

“Can you slow down? Running in four-inch
heels isn’t fun,” I asked breathlessly.

Jonas kept moving. Gavin walked behind me
with long strides.

“Stop.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him to
a halt. He glared at me. “Jonas, remember what I told you in your
room. You had an amazing performance. You didn’t do it for them;
you did it for yourself and your band.”

He stared at me, a soul-deep saddened look
on his face. He released air from his lungs. “You’re right. We did
good out there, didn’t we?”

My heart ached for him. I knew what it was
like to feel like you didn’t belong where you should belong. I
smiled sincerely. “You guys kicked ass.”

“Serious ass,” Gavin said.

“I love you guys.” Jonas leaned in and
hugged us. It was at that moment that I realized that a vampire was
actually teaching me about compassion.

My twenty-first birthday
was finally here, but I could hardly get out of bed. My stomach
ached; my body was wet with sweat, and I was overall sick.

I heard Jonas and Gavin bantering back and
forth in the living area while Jonas played the guitar, but their
muffled words sounded like a slow motion commentator at a
basketball game.

I pulled the covers over my head to mute the
sunlight coming in through my blinds. I wanted to open my eyes but
the pain of lifting my eyelids kept me from doing so.

My mouth was parched and I desperately
needed water. I wondered if Gavin could read my mind from a
different room in the house. It couldn’t hurt to try.

Gavin, it’s Dhellia. I need water.

Nothing.

Magic man, get your ass in here, I’m
dying.

Still nothing.

Window Licker, I’m going to throw off the
solar system, make the planets collide and take out humankind and
it’s going to be your fault.

I groaned, “And that wizard thinks he’s
powerful? He can’t even hear my mind in the next room. He’s a
fraud.”

I could fall out of bed and crawl my way to
the door or I could attempt to yell for them, but with Jonas
playing his guitar in the living room, they’d never hear me.

I reached for my cell phone. The pain in my
fingers to push the buttons made my body shiver. I laid the phone
on the bed, under the covers, next to my head and listened for
Gavin to answer. “Come on, Gavin. Please.”

“Hello.”

Oh my hell! Finally.
“Gavin, I’m
sick.”

That was all I needed to say. My bedroom
door opened and Gavin ran over to my bed and pulled the covers from
my head down to my neck. He rested his hand on my forehead.

“You’re burning up. What’s wrong? What
hurts?” His voice was frantic.

“I’m sick.”

“I know, Red. I need more info than that.
What hurts?”

“Everything,” I managed to say, opening my
eyes and squinting against the sunlight. “The light hurts my
eyes.”

Jonas pulled the blinds shut. “I hear
ya.”

Gavin turned to Jonas who stood at the edge
of my bed. “You have to call her brother. I don’t know what’s wrong
with her, but she’s hotter than any person should be.”

Jonas didn’t move. He stared at me with a
horrified look. “Gavin, what’s that?”

My eyes were finally adjusting to the room.
A red glow illuminated under my covers. I threw the covers down and
sat up against my body, screaming out in pain. “What’s that?” I
screamed out, holding my palm open.

Under my flesh, under the surface of my skin
was something that resembled a triangular birthmark—a beacon of
sorts that pulsated and glowed under the surface of my palm.

Gavin slowly stood and took two steps away
from me. “Oh my Gawd.”

“Did
He
do this?” I moaned.

Gavin looked from my hand to my face.
“Dhellia.”

“What? Gavin! What’s wrong with me?” My mind
told me it was the worst thing possible. I was going to die.

“You’re a key.” The look on his face
resembled that of a soul who realizes for the first time that
they’re going to Hell.

The temperature of my fever was rising;
sweat dripped from my hairline at my temples, ran down my cheeks,
and then disappeared into the material of my pajamas. “A key?
What’s that mean? Give me answers, Gavin, please,” I begged.

He swallowed loudly. “Jonas,” Gavin said
calmly, keeping his eyes on me. “Dhellia’s brother’s cell phone
number is in my phone. Call him. NOW!”

Gavin followed Jonas out of the room and
returned with a cold, wet washcloth. He pressed the cloth on my
forehead, down my face and onto my neck and upper chest.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the thing
pulsating in the center of my palm. It moved in rhythm with the
beat of my heart. I lifted my eyes and stared at Gavin.

He was concerned, scared even, and his kind,
caring nature was something I wasn’t used to. At that moment, I
knew I was lucky to have both Gavin and Jonas in my life, not only
as roommates, but as friends.

“Is it alive?” I asked.

“You really don’t know what you are?”

I shook my head. The pain in my neck limited
my range of motion even though I was again lying on my side with my
head nestled into my feathered pillow.

“You’re a key, Dhellia. You’re one of the
seven keys.”