Chapter 15

I fiddled with the pencil in my hand as I stared blankly at the crazy mashup of childhood fantasy and teenage angst that was my room. I put the pencil down and began tapping my dark purple nails on the blank notebook atop my Rainbow Bright bedcover. The textbook sat open but still unread, despite the multiple times I"d scanned the same paragraph.

I couldn"t get Arya, the school, or my untapped powers off my mind. My own school had been distractingly dull since I'd lost my only friend to the coolest school I could imagine. And I"d been rejected by said school—twice.

But wallowing wasn"t going to fix anything—I'd been doing plenty of that, and it was a miserable pity party. No, I needed a plan.

Gram"s head popped into my doorway. "Time to wrap up. Dinner"s going to be ready in ten."

I nodded, my eyes still glazed over from overthinking.

"Is everything okay?" Gram asked, her brow creased. She came all the way in and sat on the edge of the bed.

I sat up, rubbing my face. "I guess. It"s just..."

I stared at her for a moment, trying to decide if I wanted to risk getting in trouble again. Life in this house was just getting back to normal after our last fight. But I had no one else to talk to about this stuff, and if I had to keep it all bottled up any longer, I'd implode.

"Do shifters hate us?" The words rushed out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Gram"s mouth hardened into a thin line. Great. I winced as I braced for another lecture.

Instead, Gram sighed. "Oh, Shea, where would you get an idea like that?"

I turned away, guilt seeping through me. I hated lying to her, but I hated being excluded even more. I wanted to take my place in the supernatural world and find the magic that had been stolen from our family. To be so close but not part of it nearly killed me.

"I don"t know. You keep me away from it all the time. I thought, you know, maybe shifters hated us or something." That was as close to the truth as I was willing to stray.

Gram"s arms wrapped around me, and I snuggled in, letting out a contented sigh. As a little girl, I'd wondered if maternal hugs were laced with magic.

"No, not hate, really. Distrust, certainly, but not hate."

I had definitely caught hate vibes from Celeste. I wondered what that woman had against witches.

I pulled away from Gram"s embrace to look her in the eyes. "Why, though? Why would anyone hate or dislike us?"

Gram looked at the ceiling. "Do you remember the origin stories I used to tell you?"

I nodded. They were stories of war and hatred. About how the vampires were created to dominate the other races and then shifters to combat the vampires. I never understood why humans turned on the shifters afterward, but something had driven them into hiding. Of course, the Hunters might have something to do with that.

"What I"ve never told you was that witches were the ones that helped turn armies into the shifters and vampires we have today."

My brows spiked into my hairline. That was some seriously powerful magic.

Gram nodded. "Many of our kind leaned on transformation magic in order to blend in with the shifters, but it"s not quite the same." She ran a hand through her long silver hair, suddenly looking weary beyond her sixty-some years. "But all magic comes with a price. And without the grimoire..."

I leaned forward, stilling my breath. Would today be the day she finally opened up?

The faint sound of the oven timer chimed, piercing the moment more effectively than a scream.

Gram stood up. "Right. Dinner. Wrap this up, and come on," she said, waving at my homework.

I slumped. "Right."

Gram stopped at the door. "You"d tell me if any shifters or vampires were harassing you, right? After what happened to your friend Arya and her poor mother…"

I pasted on a smile. "Yeah, Gram. Sure."

She hovered there, searching my face. The oven timer wailed again.

My phone started ringing, vibrating toward the edge of my nightstand. Relieved for the distraction, I grabbed it, my eyes lighting up as I scanned the screen. Arya.

"Gotta take this."

Gram pursed her lips but nodded and closed the door.

"Ahhh, I"ve missed you!" I squealed into the phone when I swiped the answer button.

Arya laughed. "Missed you more. That"s actually why I"m calling. There"s going to be a shifter party tomorrow night."

"At The Dome?" I wasn"t sure I should try my luck again so soon.

"No, a were's house. We"re all headed topside for it. You should come. We need to catch up."

My grin started to fade as I remembered Gram, Caesar, and Celeste.

"Do you think...? I mean, would it be okay, me not being a student and everything?" And I"m a witch, which no one seems to like, I wanted to add.

Arya hesitated a moment. "I don"t see why it wouldn"t be okay. And it"s not like we"re all going to be walking around in shifter form. I think. Anyway, if anyone asks, just tell them you're new and haven"t gotten the hang of shifting yet. I've got a new friend, Ashlyn. She's a phoenix who can"t shift, and she"s been here a few months."

My smile came back in full force. "Ooh, fire." An idea was forming. I jotted down the details as Arya rattled them off. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

I checked my closet for something to wear. Jeans and t-shirts—quirky as they were—didn't feel quite right. But I didn't want to wear a dress. And not one thing felt fresh or exciting. What exactly would shifters wear to a party? I laughed at myself. Yeah, like there's some dress code for people who look like animals part-time.

I fingered through my all-too-familiar outfits, then gave up with a sigh. Maybe I'd have time to get a new outfit before the weekend hit. Then again, I didn't want to look like some thirsty chick vying for attention.

"Shea, come on! Dinner!" came Gram's voice from down the hall.

I sighed. There was one other thing I needed to do before I could officially pose as a phoenix. Fire. The spell was simple enough—and one of the few I knew—but I couldn't remember the word. Something like...

"Turn on," I mumbled, though I knew it wasn't right. Fire wasn't one of my usual tricks, not after that incident in first grade. I stuck to unlocking and moving stuff. Moving was especially useful for pranking people, so long as they couldn't see my eyes when I did it.

Despite Gram's insistence that I not play with magic, my mother had demanded that I at least know a few spells to defend myself. Before she… Anyway, I wasn't much of a candle girl, so I rarely had much reason or opportunity to burn anything.

I snapped my fingers repeatedly, trying to jar my memory. "Kat? No. Kit? Unh, uh. Ummmm."

"Shea?" Gram called again.

"Just a minute!" I called back. I could always ask her, though I didn't want to raise any suspicions. "Oooh! Khet— Ow!" I shook my hands as the burning sensation dissipated from my fingertips. I was on the right track.

"Food's getting cold!"

I groaned, my shoulders slumping. "Coming," I grumbled to myself. Maybe it was time for a refresher course.

I went down the hallway to the dining area, our small table and four chairs nearly filling the space. It was just off a cramped galley kitchen, and opened right into the living room, all decorated in a kitschy-country manner. Gram was sitting at the dining table, scarfing down the delicious meal she'd prepared without waiting.

I plopped into the seat opposite her, inhaling the warm, comforting aroma of spaghetti. "Ah, Gram, you outdid yourself."

She laughed and shook her head. "I make potpie, and you don't bat an eye. But throw some noodles in some water?"

"And don't forget the frozen meatballs you cooked in the oven."

I slurped up the noodles, then grabbed a napkin to wipe my face. "While we're on the topic of magic and such," I began.

"Uh-oh," Gram said, setting down her fork.

"What's the spell for fire again?"

Gram grilled me with her eyes. "Why do you need to know?"

"You know, just in case the vampires that were after Arya come sniffing around here," I hedged. It wasn't a total lie. That could totally happen, and unlocking or moving objects wouldn't really help in that scenario. "They're sensitive to fire, and I just want to make sure I can protect myself."

Gram hesitated for a moment, a shadow falling over her face. I hadn't told her the whole truth about Arya. Nothing about her being a shifter and going to a school for her kind. Just about the vampire attack.

"Kapet-khet," Gram said finally, and my napkin lit on fire.

I yelped and threw it at my glass of water, and Gram laughed and muttered something else under her breath that extinguished the flame.

"Didn't I tell you?" Gram asked in a wry tone. "Magic comes with a cost."

"That's not exactly fair," I countered, fighting a giggle. "You were the one who used magic, and I had to pay the cost."

"Magic doesn't always work the way you expect it to. That's why you must have the utmost respect with its usage. I just hope I raised you to be responsible enough not to abuse those powers."

I spun my fork in the spaghetti, the amusement of the moment waning. I hated that she kept so much from me, hated that she hadn't even tried to rebuild what had been lost. But I couldn't say any of that—at least, not this time. I needed to be on my best behavior if I wanted permission to go to the party.

"How is Arya?" Gram asked.

I swallowed my water down the wrong pipe and ended up coughing on it.

"Good," I croaked out. One more cough did the job, and I cleared my throat. "Sorry. Yeah, she had to transfer schools since her mom, you know... So I'm not able to see her as much."

Gram sat back. "Oh, no. Poor girl. I'm sorry, honey. I know you really liked her."

I half-smiled. "Yeah, but it's not like she's disappeared off the face of the planet. She's actually in Chicago. We'll keep in touch." Mostly true. "And actually, there's this party this weekend, and Arya invited me."

Gram's jaw paused mid-chew.

"I don't know, honey. It's so soon." She was referring to the vampire thing. I had a feeling that might be a tough work-around.

"I'll be extra careful, especially since you taught me the fire spell. And maaaaybe, you could teach me a spell to protect against any otherworldly beings?" I batted my lashes for dramatic effect.

Gram groaned and shook her head. "I don't know. It's just—"

"I know," I said. "The spell is higher-level stuff. But it's just this one thing. We can practice tonight and all day tomorrow."

Gram sighed, looking at me. "Fine. You get the hang of that spell, and I'll let you go to the party." She held up a finger, and I bit my lip to keep from squealing. "Only if you promise me to be home by midnight."

"Aw, Gram. What am I, Cinderella?"

"Promise me."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I promise."

"Good," Gram said, a glint in her eye. "Finish up your dinner, and we'll get started."