Fire and Fantasy: a Limited Edition Collection of Epic and Urban Fantasy Read online

  “Will you kids simmer down?” her mom said so calmly that I could hardly make out the words.

  “No,” Liana stated confidently. “I’m sick of being the one to clean up after these two around here.”

  I heard her father mutter something back, but I couldn’t make it out. I tried my best to stifle a laugh. Liana was really getting her brothers going.

  “Stop blaming us,” one of the boys said. I pictured him sticking his tongue out at her. For teenagers, you’d think they would have grown out of childish teasing like that, but they hadn’t.

  “Shut up,” Liana bit back.

  “No.”

  “Shut up.”

  “No.”

  Her parents’ attempts to calm the situation got lost in the shuffle of voices.

  “Shut up!”

  “Make me.”

  “Oh, I’ll make you, you little twit.”

  And that’s when the true chaos erupted.

  One of her brothers—I still wasn’t sure which one—shouted so high pitched you’d think he was a little girl. The sound of shuffling feet echoed throughout the house. Liana yelled incomprehensible insults at her brother as he continued to scream at the top of his lungs. The pounding of their feet made their way through the living room and then the den before coming dangerously close to the door Noah and I sat behind.

  On their way back toward the kitchen, a loud thud came, the sound of a falling body. Liana cried out in pain. If I didn’t know she was only acting, I would have been concerned myself. She shouted a few curses in her brother’s direction, but other than that, the house had gone silent.

  I locked my lips tight, but my body convulsed in laughter. Keep it in. Keep it in, I told myself. I’m not supposed to make any noise.

  Noah’s body shook in similar rhythm to my own. If we weren’t trying so hard to be quiet, we might both be curled up in full-blown laughter at the moment. When Noah covered his hand with his mouth to stifle his laugh, I copied him, hoping it would help. It did to a small extent.

  “Tyler!” Liana’s mother scolded. “What did you do to your sister?”

  Tyler sounded honestly concerned. “I didn’t mean to! It wasn’t my fault.”

  “Sure it wasn’t,” Liana bit at him sarcastically. She continued sucking in long breaths that hissed between her teeth.

  “Let me see.” Her mother’s voice carried down the hall.

  “No,” Liana cried. “It hurts too much.”

  “What happened?” her mom repeated.

  “She ran into the door frame,” Tyler explained, sounding horrified.

  “Yeah, because I slipped on your sweat that you smeared all across the floor because you won’t change your stupid stinky socks.”

  “They’re not stinky! You’re stinky.” The concern had fled from his voice.

  Noah’s laughter had died down by now. “You don’t think she’s really hurt, do you?”

  I shook my head confidently. “I’ve seen them have this sort of fight enough times. She’s practically a pro at making her brothers feel guilty by now.”

  Noah nodded in understanding and amusement. “See, wouldn’t it be fun to have siblings?”

  My brows shot up. “I don’t know if this sounds like fun.”

  “I think when we have kids—”

  “Whoa,” I stopped him before he could finish his thought. The way he ordered his words caught me completely off guard, and the memory of my dream resurfaced.

  “Oh, God, no,” he laughed. “I meant our generation. When people our age start having kids, I feel like we’ll all have fewer of them. I kind of want a lot. That way they’ll have siblings, and once I get my magic back, I can pass it down to them.”

  There were a lot of ways I could have responded to that, but I found myself focusing on one statement. “What did you mean by, ‘Oh, God, no’?”

  Noah looked shocked for a moment, and then a blush rose to his cheeks, but it was gone almost as quickly as it came. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just—”

  The bedroom door swung open, interrupting him. Both of us jumped at the sound of it, but we relaxed when seeing it was only Liana.

  A wide grin was plastered on her face. “Stage one, complete.”

  Twenty

  “What now?” I asked.

  Liana waved her hand. “I’ll go back out there before they all leave and complain that it still hurts. They deserve a guilt trip every now and then anyway. Maybe now they’ll think twice about leaving their hair in the drain. You know, I actually did find a clump in there this morning. It was like, this huge, long—”

  “Okay, ew,” I stopped her. “I don’t need a detailed description.”

  “It’s still pretty early. What do you guys want to do in the meantime?” She crossed her room to the window and pulled the curtain across it. It was only a thin piece of fabric, so the light still filtered through, but it kept prying eyes from looking in. “Sorry,” she said, turning back to us. “I’d like to keep your presence as secret as possible.”

  “Understandable,” I said back. “I guess showering is out of the question this morning?”

  “You can shower in a bit. My parents will be leaving for work soon, and then my brothers will head down to the beach like they do every day. You won’t have to worry about them. They’re usually not back until dark.”

  “Usually?” I asked with uncertainty.

  “They’re never back until dark,” she amended. “Does that help?”

  After a silent beat, Noah caught Liana’s attention. “Hey. You didn’t hurt yourself for real, did you?”

  “Nah. I actually did punch the door frame—had to make it look real—but it only hurt for a minute. No broken bones.” She held her hand up and wiggled her fingers as if to prove it.

  I only shook my head in amusement. “You’re too funny. Hey, do you have anything to drink?”

  “Oh, sure. I can go get you both some waters. Just give it another minute or two.”

  Once the minutes she’d suggested passed, Liana put herself back in character and stepped out of her room. She tiptoed down the hall with uneven steps and even added a groan of pain for the show.

  “You okay, sweetie?” her mother asked from the kitchen.

  “I don’t know,” Liana said in a groggy voice. “It really hurts.”

  “Should we take you to the emergency room?” Her mother’s voice suddenly filled with concern.

  “No. I think I just need to put some ice on it. I can go to the doctor’s myself if it doesn’t stop throbbing in the next hour or so.”

  “It’s throbbing?” her mother asked in concern.

  The laughter began to bubble up inside of me again, and I noticed the same happening to Noah.

  “If she keeps this up,” he whispered, “I’m afraid they’ll find out we’re in here.”

  “Right?” I agreed before biting off the end of a fresh granola bar.

  I could sense the hum of the freezer as Liana opened it for ice. She returned another minute later with two bottled water and an ice pack she didn’t need.

  “Is your mom going to come in and check on you?” I asked.

  “Nah, it’s fine. She gives me my space when I need it.”

  “Yeah, but she sounded awfully concerned.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said with another wave of her hand.

  It seemed like hours waiting for her family to leave the house, but it was really only about another half hour before we were alone.

  “Okay,” I announced, running my fingers through my unwashed hair. “I’m ready for a shower. Mind if I steal some of your shampoo and stuff?”

  Liana looked up from the mirror, where she was applying her makeup. “Go ahead.”

  I crept down the hall, paranoia following me the entire way. It didn’t feel right to be sneaking around like this, and I was suddenly afraid I’d be caught. I knew it was a silly fear; Liana’s family would be gone all day, but my senses became heightened as if I thought someone w
ould round the corner and spot me.

  Once I stepped into the shower and the water began to cascade over my back, my nerves began to ease. I set the water to cold and began to scrub down. The cool temperature felt refreshing on my skin. It reminded me of the ocean. The thought sent a twisting sensation to settle in my gut. Just yards away, beyond the confines of this wall, the ocean water was lapping ashore. Not much farther down the beach, everyone was beginning to gather in the calm waters for their daily swim. If only I could be out there with them. If only none of this ever happened. I thought about where I’d be if that were the case. I’d probably be right here in Liana’s house, only for different reasons. We’d be planning for our college dorm and talking about hot guys on TV while we prepared to head down to the beach.

  A knock came at the door, startling me. The hair on my arms stood, and not because of the chilly water. I swallowed hard, wondering if I should respond.

  “You almost done in there?” Noah’s voice called through the door.

  I relaxed, and the hairs on my arms fell back to their normal position. I hadn’t realized how long I’d already spent under the water.

  “Yeah, I’m almost done,” I called back.

  After rinsing myself a final time, I climbed out of the shower and dried myself down. At the mirror, I noticed for the first time how worn out I looked. My eyes seemed dark and sunken in, and my lips turned down into an involuntary frown. I didn’t want to know what I looked like before I got into the shower. I realized for the first time that I hadn’t brought any extra clothes into the bathroom with me. I had no other choice but to wrap a towel around myself. In the hall, Noah was waiting outside the door for his turn with the shower. Our eyes met for a second, but his expression remained neutral. I ducked my head and hurried toward Liana’s room.

  Liana turned from her mirror when I entered. “What are you blushing about?”

  I raised my head and did my best to relax my face. “What? I wasn’t blushing?” The lie was evident in my tone.

  “Jeez,” she teased, standing. “Put on some clothes.”

  She picked a t-shirt up from the pile on top of her dresser and tossed it my way. I caught the shirt in one hand and threw it back at her as she made her way across the room.

  At the door, she turned back to me. “I’ll give you some privacy for a minute.”

  I dug into my bag and found a clean set of clothes. Once fully dressed, I knotted the towel around my head to help dry my long hair.

  “I’m done,” I announced, and Liana reentered the room. “Do you mind if I use some of your makeup?” I turned to her desk and picked up a tube of mascara and inspected it.

  Liana knitted her brows as she returned to sit in front of her mirror to finish her makeup. “Why do you need makeup? No one’s going to see you.” A split second later, her expression relaxed. “Well, except for Noah.”

  I didn’t like the teasing tone to her voice. Most of the time the teasing was familiar and comforting. But this? Accusing me of wanting to impress Noah? That was just so wrong.

  “Don’t even go there,” I warned as she handed me her foundation. “I’d like some makeup for myself, thank you very much. I certainly don’t care what Noah thinks about me.”

  Liana looked uncertain. “You sure about that?”

  After the dream I had last night, I honestly wasn’t sure. I pushed the idea out of my mind as quickly as it entered it. “Yes, I’m sure.” I turned to the mirror, ignoring her stare.

  Liana called early that morning to make an appointment with Dr. Sloan to “check on her finger.” That left us with a few hours’ wait. I spent some of that time lying on Liana’s bed, staring up at the ceiling. In that moment, I wished I had my phone with me to scroll through it and see what was up with everyone. I wanted to see what my mom had posted, to see how she was doing. I wanted to text her and tell her how much I missed her. The urge to walk home and just pull her into my arms overcame me, but I had to remind myself that one, I didn’t want her to know I was back, and two, she was at work anyway. That helped ease the pull toward my own house. I almost considered asking Liana if I could get on her computer to check Facebook, but I refrained from doing so. Checking on everyone would only be a form of torture. Or so my psychology teacher would have said. He always liked to psycho-analyze me. He was practically my own cost-free therapist, at least up until graduation.

  I hated being alone with my thoughts. It only made me antsier as the day went on. Eventually, I hopped up from the bed and began pacing around the room.

  “Is it time to go yet?” I asked anxiously. “I don’t know why I have to wait for you two.”

  Noah shrugged. He sat in the rocking chair across the room listening to something on his MP3 player. He gently pulled the earbuds from his ears. “You can go ahead if you really want, but I need Liana to keep Dr. Sloan distracted. And honestly, it’s best if she drives you so there’s less of a chance anyone will notice you.”

  I hated when he was right. He was always right. I took note of that. I didn’t like it, though, because when he was right, it meant that I was wrong.

  As Liana’s appointment time approached, I thought more and more about what I was going to do on my mission. Where would I look to find the key—any key? Did he have a home office he might keep the keys in? Maybe a cabinet for hiding them away? What if that cabinet had a key for it? I again considered the possibility of just breaking into the building, but as Noah had pointed out, this was our best bet at going unnoticed and keeping anyone from coming after us right away. A set of missing keys didn’t exactly set off the same alarm bells as a broken lock did. Still, it all seemed a bit too complicated to me.

  “Ready?” Liana’s voice cut through my thoughts.

  Adrenaline surged through my veins. After sitting here for so long doing nothing, I was more than ready to put our plan into motion. My heart rate increased in excitement when I realized that if everything went according to plan, I would have my magic back by tonight, and that would make this entire trip worth it.

  “Let’s do this,” I said confidently, turning on my heel and heading out to Liana’s car in the garage. It was actually her mom’s car, but her parents carpooled downtown for work most days.

  “You forgot your hat,” Liana said in the hall, getting my attention.

  I turned back to her to see her holding a navy blue baseball cap in my direction. “What’s that for?”

  “It’s to keep people from recognizing you. Don’t worry. Noah gets one, too.” She handed him a gray cap. “And I have a couple pairs of sunglasses in the car.”

  I flipped the hat around in my hands. “You think this is going to help anything?”

  She shrugged. “Well, it’s not going to hurt anything, at least.”

  I turned my nose up at it as I brought it to my face. “Yuck! It stinks.”

  She rolled her eyes and then headed past me down the hall. “It’s my brother’s. What do you expect? Oh, here.” She pulled a hair tie off her wrist and handed it to me. “In case you need it.”

  “Wow,” I said sarcastically. “You’re so generous.”

  She let the sarcasm pass and smiled proudly. “I know. That’s what makes me so great.”

  She pushed into the garage, so she didn’t catch the eye roll I sent her way. Noah, however, noticed and responded with a stifled laugh. I shot him an amused expression in return.

  I eased into the back seat of Liana’s car, letting Noah take the front, and donned my disguise. It admittedly wasn’t the best disguise in the world, but at least I wouldn’t stick out as much. It wasn’t exactly uncommon to see people roaming town in hats and sunglasses on a sunny day. As Liana pulled out of the garage and into the street, I gazed outside toward the rising sun. I was glad it was sunny out. It brought that warm, comforting sensation back to my heart. As quick as the comfort came, it was replaced with a sinking feeling. As much as I felt like I was back home, I had to stop thinking of it that way. This wasn’t my home anymore. It would nev
er be my home again, and I had to let it go. That frown I’d become so used to returned to my face. As much as I wanted to simply escape with my magic and forget this whole thing ever happened to me, a part of me wanted to stay, to stay near the sea, near Liana and my mom and all my other friends. It was familiar.

  And it was also evil. I had to continue reminding myself of that. It wasn’t as difficult when we pulled in front of Carson Ray’s house. It was one of the biggest ones in town, and it reminded me so strongly of him that I suddenly felt sick. Luckily, crime was so low in Sea Haven that we had no need for security cameras. I don’t think I’d ever heard of a break-in here my whole life, but I’d seen enough TV shows to have an idea of what I was doing.

  Yeah, Bree, I mocked myself. You’re practically an expert. The heavy sarcasm in my own inner voice almost made me ill myself. And that caused a sense of confidence to settle over me. My snark had finally reached a new level. Congrats, I told myself before another voice countered with, Jeez. Settle down, would ya?

  “Good luck,” Liana said, turning to me from the passenger seat.

  “Here,” Noah said, shoving his phone in my direction.

  I took it warily. “What’s this for?”

  “In case you need to contact us,” he said simply.

  Right. I hadn’t even thought of that. Good idea ditching your phone, I told myself with another heavy hint of sarcasm. Why was my inner voice so rude?

  “Thanks.”

  “I already put Liana’s number in,” he told me.

  “It’s okay,” I said with a smile. “I had her number memorized ages ago. I’ll see you guys soon.” I slipped the phone into my pocket, but it felt strange. I’d never owned a flip phone before, and it seemed oddly small and bulky at the same time.

  I quickly slid out of the car. Staring up at the big brown house, I took a deep breath and prepared for the next step in getting my magic back.

  Twenty-One

  As soon as Liana drove off, I headed around the side of the house. I didn’t think anyone was around to see me, but I didn’t want anyone catching me, either. Only after I reached the back of the house did I realize that as long as I strode through the front door with purpose, there was a good chance no one would suspect anything. Like I said, break-ins didn’t exactly happen in Sea Haven, but that didn’t mean the people around here hadn’t seen the same TV shows I had and would suspect something.