Chapter 6
I hung my head over my book, pretending to read Shakespeare’s Hamlet in my English Lit class. My thoughts, however, kept drifting to the previous night.
I’d been inducted into the coven and watched with amazement as Grandma cast a circle of protection, and the whole group called the elements. Then a candle representing unity was lit in the center of the table. I was presented to the entire group again, only this time I called them by name in return and kissed their knuckles while whispering the Blessed Be incantation, before I was placed in my spot next to Vance. A chalice was passed around, and everyone took a sip of the wine inside.
“In the beginning, God created the Earth,” my dad said. He smiled, and I heard a few chuckles ripple through the group. He continued on. “God created the Earth, and we’re to respect the things on it, both spiritually as well as physically. When we use the things the Earth provides in a proper manner, we surround ourselves with the powers of creation and goodness. If we misuse the things we’ve been given, it calls forth a dark magic that can overtake us.”
Grandma patted his hand and stared pointedly at me. I knew this was all for my benefit, and I leaned forward a bit, listening intently. “We may believe in Christianity, but we also believe there is truth in everything. All religions, rituals, and magical practices have a higher law they support. We believe all these forces work together to create a whole. Mankind is the one who gives labels and restrictions to religious practices. We believe the universe operates as a whole and must answer to the scientific laws that have been placed upon it. Don’t allow yourself to be confused by names and labels—instead learn to accept things as they are. You are a special being, gifted with a higher power, which has been passed down since the beginning of time. Use your gift wisely and allow only good energy to flow through you.
“We’re blessed when we use good magic. Sometimes the consequences of our magic may not appear immediately, so we should always be careful in what we do, because the results of our magic can be far-reaching and have long-lasting effects on those around us. Be considerate of others. You would be wise to always live by the rule that what you put out comes back to you times three. If you conspire to do evil, that is what you’ll receive—but if you do what is positive and right, that’s what you’ll attract as well. Which would you rather live with?”
My mind was spinning with all the things I needed to learn, but I quickly shoved it all aside when the group began discussing Vance and his father. Apparently, a powerful warlock had raised Vance. The group chose not speak the name of his father, because they didn’t want to call his dark energy to them. My dad had been observing Vance’s dad from a distance, and he felt he was still desperately looking for Vance but hadn’t discovered his location.
Grandma explained in detail the story of how Vance manifested his magic at an early age. His father was delighted and began using him in their rituals. Over the next few years, Vance’s mother noticed his dad would often disappear with Vance for long periods, several times a week. She started to wonder what was going on and began to watch them closely.
His mom questioned Vance about what the pair of them were doing when they disappeared together. He would tell her about getting ice cream, or going to movies and such, and it seemed like father and son were having a great time bonding. But his mother couldn’t shake the premonition, so she decided to follow them on their next outing.
She tailed them to a wooded area on the outskirts of town, staying quite a distance behind to avoid detection as they walked through the trees to a small clearing. His mom watched as his father cast a circle and called dark elements in around him. Horrified, she saw her son put into a trance. Her husband took his athame and sliced into the young boy at the wrist. He filled a chalice with Vance’s blood before sealing the wound again. Then he drank the blood.
Vance’s mother ran back through the woods, jumped into her car, and raced home. Once there, she threw some of her and Vance’s belongings into a suitcase and placed it in the trunk of the car. Then she waited for them to come home, pretending she’d been busy cleaning.
His mom called out happily to them from a sink full of dishes when they returned. Vance bounded up to her, telling her about the great excursion they’d had to the zoo. His mother laughed at his stories and told him she was glad they had a good time. Vance’s dad gathered his briefcase, telling her he would be away at a work meeting that evening. She smiled and said she would try to have dinner ready for him when he got home.
As soon as Vance’s dad was gone, his mom asked if he’d like to go out to eat. He excitedly went and hopped into the car. His mother stopped at their favorite fast food drive-through and bought some burgers. Next they stopped at the bank where she cleared out her bank accounts. Then she started driving.
When Vance awoke the next morning, they were in a different city far from home. His mother had driven all night long. She checked them into a hotel with cash, trying not to leave a trail. She used her magic to show Vance what his father had really been doing to him. After that, they kept moving from city to city trying to avoid detection. His father came close to capturing them a couple of times, but they managed to get away. Finally, his mother met Marsha and begged her to take her son.
Grandma glanced at me. “Vance is a very powerful warlock, Portia, and by drinking his blood his father increased his own strength. This exchange was beginning to link Vance to the dark arts as well. We’ve performed many blessings and purification rituals over him, attempting to remove the unwanted attraction, and it is very important to surround him with good energy. If bad energy were to overwhelm him, it could turn him in a less than desirable direction, giving him the craving to harm others.”
Throughout the story, Vance stared at me, watching my reaction to everything.
I looked into his deep blue eyes. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say.
He didn’t reply, but he did reach out and briefly squeeze my hand.
The meeting ended, and Vance and I quietly left the room while the others were visiting. Neither of us said anything while we slowly made our way to his motorcycle. He leaned against it and watched me. I felt my skin growing warm despite the cool air, and I glanced up at the starry night sky in an attempt to escape his close scrutiny.
“So, how do you feel now you know I’m the coven’s big dark secret? That I’m the bad guy, so to speak?” he asked, folding his arms.
I snapped my stare back to him. “None of this is your fault,” I said, wanting to reassure him.
“That isn’t the point,” he replied. “The fact is, I’m the dangerous one. I’m the person who could be turned and destroy everything good about you and your family.”
I walked up to him and placed both my hands on either side of his face. “I don’t believe you’d ever hurt me, or any of us for that matter,” I searched his gaze. “The very fact you’re worried about us tells me the kind of character you have.”
For several long moments he looked at me before he reached out, mirroring my move, and placed his hands on the sides of my face, pulling me even closer.
“I hope you’re right, Portia.” He held me there for a few seconds before placing a light kiss on my forehead. Finally, he dropped his hands, hopped onto his motorcycle, and started the engine. “See you tomorrow,” he said.
I stepped away from the curb and gave a half smile and small wave as he drove off down the street.
He wasn’t at the school when I arrived with Shelly in the morning. I waited by the door for him, but he didn’t show before the warning bell rang. I brooded about him all morning long. I hadn’t seen him in any of the halls between periods either, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here. We often missed each other because our classes weren’t close together.
I decided to try and find him, telling myself I was only checking to make sure he was okay. I wasn’t quite ready to admit I needed to see him because it would make me feel better.
A sigh of relief escaped
my lips when I went into the front office between classes and stood at the counter—Mrs. Parker was working today. She liked me, and I’d recently earned a few brownie points after helping her with a school project.
“Hi, Portia! Can I help you with something?” she asked, looking up from her desk with a smile.
“I hope so,” I said, smiling sweetly. “My friend and I did homework together last night, and I accidentally left my assignment for next period in one of his books. I was wondering if you could tell me what his next class is so I can get it? I can’t find him, and I don’t want Mr. Perkins to drop my grade because it’s late.”
“Sure, no problem,” Mrs. Parker said, turning to the computer at her desk. “What’s your friend’s name?”
“Vance Mangum,” I said, trying to seem casual about it.
Mrs. Parker smiled while she tapped his name into the computer.
“I wasn’t aware you knew Vance,” she said casually. “He’s a cute kid. I’ve worried that he was a loner. Glad to hear he’s making some friends.”
“He’s a nice guy.” My heart was beating rapidly at my charade.
“Hmmm . . . I’m not finding him,” she said, staring at her computer with a frown, and I suddenly had visions of him fleeing into the night without a trace, his evil father chasing after him. “Oh, wait! Here he is! I forgot we had to transfer him into a new class this morning.”
“A new class?” Had something happened to him after all?
“Yes,” she answered writing on a piece of paper. “We realized his transcript didn’t have enough physical education courses for him to graduate this year. We had to drop him from one of his electives and put him in PE instead.”
“So he’s in PE now?”
“Yes, he should be.” She stood and came to the counter. “They’re out on the baseball field today, though, which will make you late for class, so I wrote a note to excuse your tardy too.” She handed me a slip of paper.
I flashed a warm smile at her. “Thanks so much, Mrs. Parker! I appreciate your help!”
“Any time,” she replied with a grin.
Quickly, I left the office and began making my way across the campus, down toward the baseball field. As I approached, it occurred to me I didn’t want anyone to see me since I didn’t actually have a real excuse to be there, so I snuck stealthily behind one of the dugouts. I peered around the corner and began looking through the uniform-clad boys who were out on the field, but I didn’t see Vance anywhere.
Shelly’s boyfriend, Brad, stood in front of the dugout with a group of guys, but Vance wasn’t there either. I was about to give up and walk away when I caught one of their voices.
“Dude, he didn’t even dress out,” the guy said, and I recognized him as Kurt, Brad’s friend.
I followed their gazes up the hill and saw Vance approaching. Massive relief flooded my heart, and I found myself releasing a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. I continued to watch Vance walk onto the field, to the coach, and hand him a slip of paper.
“Coach isn’t even saying anything about it,” Kurt continued to complain.
“Maybe he hasn’t had time to buy anything from the bookstore yet,” Brad replied with a shrug.
“I’m just sick of listening to all the girls rave about him,” a guy named Jeff piped up. “I went to see Sara after school yesterday, and she went on and on about him like he was God’s gift to women. I finally left and told her to go date him instead. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“Take the field, boys!” the coach’s voice called out. “Brad, you and Vance here can bat first. Ten pitches each. Try to work the field.”
“No problem, Coach!” Brad called back, and I saw Vance shrug out of his leather jacket and toss it over the fence, revealing his sculpted arms with their well-formed biceps. I could see tiny bits of ink poking out from under the edge of his short sleeves, and I wondered if I’d ever get the chance to explore them in more detail.
“Now’s our chance to show him what the guys at this school are really made of,” Kurt said with a grin, smacking his mitt against Brad’s arm before running out to take his spot on the pitcher’s mound. I could see he was planning on setting Vance up, and it made me kind of angry to think they’d gang together against him like that.
Brad went to the chain link fence where there were several bats of various sizes and weights hooked into it. Vance moved beside him to look at them too, and I had to step back a little farther behind the dugout so they wouldn’t see me standing there.
“Play much baseball?” Brad asked Vance casually.
“Haven’t really had the time,” Vance replied, reaching out to turn one of the bats.
“Well, pick a weight and length that feels good to you,” Brad said, grabbing a bat which was long and looked a little heavier weighted. “Then you can go stand over there and warm up while I hit. Watch your stance, keep your eye on the ball, and do the best you can.”
“I think I’ll just use the bat you’re using,” Vance said, leaning casually against the fence, folding his arms over his chest, and I couldn’t help noticing how it caused his arms to flex even more.
“Whatever floats your boat, man,” Brad said, shaking his blond head slightly. Stepping into the box at the plate, Brad dug his cleats into the dirt, got into his batter’s stance and nodded to Kurt who stood waiting. “Bring it,” I heard him say.
Kurt smiled and wound up. He threw a good pitch, and Brad swung, connecting easily. The ball soared far out into left field, where the fielder ran and caught it near the fence. Kurt pitched again, and Brad got another good hit toward center, which was caught. The process was repeated over and over, and he hit every single ball with ease, giving the fielders a very good workout.
“Batter up,” he said turning to Vance and handing him the bat when he was finished taking his ten pitches.
Vance moved away from the fence, taking the bat from Brad with a sigh and stepped into the batter’s box.
“Do the best you can, son,” the coach called out to him.
“Okay,” I heard Vance mutter under his breath.
Brad stepped back and looked at Kurt, who was positively grinning with anticipation. I knew Kurt was going to give him a bad pitch. Having watched a lot of baseball with my dad, I recognized when Kurt threw a sinker, and I rolled my eyes thinking Vance wasn’t going to stand a chance. I heard the crack of the bat against the ball.
I watched in amazement as the ball soared out over the far field fence. Homerun! I found myself stifling a giggle with my hand, my heart pounding excitedly when all the guys turned to look at Vance incredulously.
Kurt’s face slipped to one of angered determination as he bent to pick up another ball. He threw a curve ball this time. Vance hit the pitch with ease, the ball soaring over the fence once again. Coach and fielders alike stood and watched in amazement as Kurt fed him his entire arsenal, while Vance ate everything he sent like candy, knocking every single one out of the park. On the last pitch, I heard the wooden bat crack, and it split into two pieces as the ball left the field once again.
Vance walked out of the batter’s box toward Brad.
“Sorry, bro,” he said handing the remaining bat to Brad. “I guess I broke your bat.”
Brad stared at him in amazement, looking completely dumbfounded.
“I said I hadn’t had time to play. I didn’t say I couldn’t,” Vance added, cocking an eyebrow at him before he walked to the fence where he’d left his jacket.
“How about going out for the team, son?” the coach called after Vance.
“Not a chance,” Vance replied, and he walked out the field gates while we all stood there watching.
My teacher didn’t complain at all about my extreme tardiness when I handed him the note Mrs. Parker had given me. I slid silently into my seat and dutifully did my class work, but I was happy when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class period and time for lunch. I met Shelly out in the corridor next to her locker.
br /> “What do you want to eat today?” she asked, completely unaware of the current infatuation who refused to leave my thoughts.
That’s when I saw him leaning casually against my locker farther down the hall. He gave me a nod of invitation, casting his eyes toward the door.
“Um, Shelly?” I said, not able to take my eyes off him. “Would you mind horribly if I skipped lunch with you and Brad today?”
Shelly looked at me puzzled for a second before turning to follow my gaze.
“Oh,” she said, and then the realization hit her. “Oh! No, not at all. You go have fun!” she said with emphasis. “And you better call me later,” she added under her breath.
“Thanks, Shelly,” I replied laughing. “You’re the greatest.”
I walked toward Vance and was amazed when he popped my locker open, took my books from me, and placed them inside.
“How’d you do that?” I said, my eyes wide.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Magic, remember?” His soft breath caressed the side of my face.
“Oh, yeah,” I said, unable to keep myself from smiling at him.
He reached down to grab my hand, interlocking our fingers together, and I felt the ever-present tingling at his touch. We began walking down the hallway. This action caused quite a stir among our classmates, and many of them stopped to stare, some even pointed. I could hear the whispers behind our backs as we passed.
“Silly, isn’t it?” I said when we stepped out the door into the bright sunshine.
“Not at all,” he replied. “Now the whole school knows you’re my girl.”
My heart started pounding in my chest, and I stopped dead on the sidewalk, squinting up into his face through the sunlight.
“Is that what I am?”
He turned to look at me, moving so we were standing face to face. “That’s what you are,” he replied. His voice was husky with some sort of emotion I couldn’t quite identify, his eyes holding mine with a meaningful look. He lifted my face to his with both of his hands and proceeded to kiss me full on the lips, claiming me as his own right there for the whole world to see.
In retrospect, I think I should’ve been mad at him for declaring me as his instead of asking me if I wanted to belong to him first. But I couldn’t bring myself to care much as I sat across from him in the booth at one of the local fast food joints. He was holding my hand across the tabletop, stroking the back of my fingers with his thumb, while we waited for our order. Ever since we’d shared that kiss on the sidewalk, we hadn’t been able to stop touching each other.
I sighed again, unable to keep my thoughts from drifting to that moment. I’d kissed my fair share of boys, and some of those had been good kisses, but nothing had compared to what I’d experienced with Vance. I couldn’t decide if he kissed like a god or the devil, or maybe even a bit of both. It was sweet and sensual, soft at first and then deeper, tender and then rougher, heavenly and more than slightly carnal too. There was most definitely something between us, and I, for one, was eager to find out what it was.
My thoughts drifted once again to his comment about it being like we were soul mates, and I began to truly wonder if there was some validity to his statement. I was drawn to him like a magnet, and I could already feel my heartstrings reaching out to wrap around him. It was both scary and exhilarating. I’d never felt so easily attached to someone before. Suddenly, everything about him was so important to me—his welfare, his happiness, and his safety.
He sat here now staring at our clasped hands. Watching where his thumb rubbed over my skin, I wondered if he were maybe pondering the same things I was. He lifted his head, casting me a meaningful look, and my breath caught. I tried to read what he was communicating.
Then a slow, sly smile crept across his face breaking my train of thought.
“What?” I asked with a confused grin.
“Did you enjoy the show this morning?” His eyes were twinkling in amusement.
“What show?” I was totally bewildered.
“I knew you were there, you know, hiding behind the dugout. What a sneaky little girl you are.” He laughed, and I felt my face flush a crimson red.
“You knew?” I was completely mortified he’d caught me spying on him. “Oh, this is so embarrassing,” I groaned, lifting my other hand to cover my face.
He continued chuckling at me. “Why don’t you tell me what you were doing there?”
I sighed deeply, seeing no way to get out of this gracefully except to tell him the truth. I dropped my hand but couldn’t manage to lift my gaze enough to look in his eyes, so I settled it somewhere in the general vicinity of his chin instead.
“I was worried about you,” I confessed.
“Worried?” he said, seeming puzzled by my reply. “Why?”
“Well, you seemed so melancholy when you left last night. I couldn’t get you, or your story, out of my head. I had all these nauseating thoughts of what would happen if your . . . ” I dropped my voice to a whisper, glancing around to make sure no one was listening to us, “ . . . if your dad were to suddenly find you. It terrified me to think I could wake up one morning and you would just be gone—poof—like you’d never even been here. Then I got to school this morning, and you weren’t here. I couldn’t find you after class either and—”
He cut me off. “And you thought the worst happened, so you came looking for me. Oh, Portia. I’m so sorry for worrying you. I had to help Marsha get her car to the shop, and it didn’t open until right when school started. Then, when I did finally get here, I had to go to a meeting and do some schedule changes with the counselor. I didn’t even think you might be alarmed about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, I feel completely foolish now,” I said, mentally kicking myself for being such a busy body.
“Don’t be.” He clasped my hand with both of his. “You have no idea how much it means to know you cared enough to do something like that.” He got really quiet, looking down at our hands. “I haven’t had anyone do something that sweet for me in a long time.” He lifted his eyes, and I could see something completely unmasked in them.
Love, I thought. Really? I was shocked. But it couldn’t be, could it? Not this soon.
The moment was shattered when they called our order number, and he released me to get it. I was left wondering if what I’d seen had really been there, or if I imagined it.