Amaretto Flame (2 page)

“Peace, Everett,” Ivanna said, holding up a
hand toward him. Her eyes remained on me. “Do you see the kind of
loyalty you’ve placed in danger?” A sharp pang of guilt flamed up
in my stomach, and I felt the sting of threatening tears. I was too
prideful to let them show as Ivanna spoke again.

“You must be made to realize the magnitude of
what you’ve done, Olivia.” She heaved a long sigh, as if the old
thing parents said was really true; as if this would hurt her more
than it hurt me. “You’ll be leaving the coven tomorrow.”

It was like the world went black for a
moment, and my whole body was numb. It was like I wasn’t really
sitting here listening to what she was saying, and briefly, I
thought I might wake up and realize this was all a dream. Everett
stiffened in the chair beside me, and as my mind reeled, Ivanna
clarified things.

“You’ll be staying in the house in Staves
until Midsummer. You can prepare anything you want to take with you
and I’ll provide the rest. I’ll need you back here in a few days
for a meeting, but otherwise, you’ll live as a normal human until
the solstice.”

“Ivanna,” Everett said tensely. “We need her
here.” Without looking up from the top of her desk, Ivanna
nodded.

“You’re absolutely right. We do need her
here. Perhaps this lesson will teach her just how badly we do.” Her
words had a certain finality to them, and quickly, my disbelief
turned to rage. I’d given the boy a number. That’s it. She was
acting like I’d handed each of my family members over to the
Venator, one by one. The pressure built in my head until I could
finally feel my limbs again, and that’s when I’d made my escape
from her cottage.

I hadn’t stayed long on the edge of the
forest with Everett. I wanted to be alone; to wallow in the heat
and anger inside of myself. By the next morning, it had simmered
and boiled so long that it blocked out the self-pity, which was a
small relief. I packed my clothes carefully and slowly, trying to
delay the final moments I guess, because there are only so many
ways you can fold jeans and t-shirts. When I was just about done,
Everett knocked on the door to my bedroom. His pale blond hair was
cropped short, but it looked as if he’d been running his hands
through it all morning. He helped me carry my bags downstairs,
through the massive main house, and out front to where a car was
waiting.

It was as if my family had shown up for a
funeral. Charlotte and Perry, the eldest coven members, stood
closest to the door as I exited. Perry was our coven brother, but
also Ivanna’s real brother, and although he was a giant, burly man,
his dark eyes were exact replicas of Ivanna’s. Charlotte smiled
weakly at me, and smoothed her strawberry-blond hair, gray strands
here and there shining in the sunlight.

I noticed that Max was holding Sylvia’s hand,
and I willed her not to become emotional. She was by far the most
sensitive and outspoken one of our group, along with being the
youngest. Max was five years older than me, with dark eyes that
sparkled and shaggy dark hair. The tattoos that covered his chest,
back and arms made him look more like the singer in a heavy metal
band than a Wise One and computer genius. Sylvia was usually all
sunshine, with glowing mocha skin and caramel eyes, but today, she
kept her eyes on the concrete and her face was long.

I gave them all a quick smile. I couldn’t do
more than that, because my anger kept threatening to turn sad at
the thought of leaving them. As for Everett, I could barely look at
him. Without pondering how I’d survive the time away from him, I
paused long enough to squeeze his hand and then I walked to the
car. Ivanna was standing near the passenger-side door as I placed
the bag I was carrying into the trunk with the ones Everett had
already deposited.

To my relief, Charlotte walked around and got
into the driver’s seat. I gave Ivanna a quick look, and then
side-stepped her and got into the car. If she was waiting for me to
kiss her goodbye, she’d be waiting a long time. I could sense her
disappointment as the car pulled away from the main house, but I
decided to focus on other things…like how I was supposed to behave
like a human. Surely Ivanna didn’t expect me to actually
communicate much with humans?

A thread of fear shot through me. To be
honest, I was terrified of them. There had only been one point in
my life when I’d lived with them and communicated with them every
day, and that simply hadn’t worked out. Since leaving the foster
home, there had been very few humans I interacted with. I wondered
if I could blend in with them. As I watched the miles fly by, I
imagined all sorts of scenarios involving humans. I imagined me
talking with them, telling them who I was and where I came
from.

“
Oh, you didn’t know there’s a battle
going on between good witches and bad ones? Well, there is. You
should watch out, too, because if the bad ones get you, you’re
toast. What’s that you say? I’m completely bonkers?”

It was almost amusing enough to make me crack
a smile. Still, none of the fantasy images my mind could create
would prepare me for the real interaction I was about to have with
humans.

It happened during my fourth day in Staves. I
won’t bore you with the details of the first three days, but there
was plenty of cursing, more wallowing, and a lot of sleeping. The
house Ivanna owned in Staves was one of many, all secured under
different names in case of emergency or if a quick escape from
Eagleton was needed.

It was a beautiful old plantation house;
white with an enormous front porch and hardwood floors. It was
filled with antiques, and it was clear that Ivanna had hired
someone to clean up and stock the refrigerator.

Despite the house’s charm, I was miserable,
and by the fourth day, I had to get out of there. With my cell
phone and some money jammed into the pocket of my jeans, I walked.
There was still a chill to the spring air, although the sun was out
in full force, casting a bright glare on every reflective surface
in sight. I’d never been to Staves before, and in the harsh
daylight, it was easy to see how small the town was. As I walked, I
couldn’t help but study the humans that were out here and there. I
wasn’t studying them the way they’d want to study me – like a
science experiment – but I found them interesting.

Near a small park, a tiny human girl begged
her father for an ice cream cone. His indulgent grin brought a
small smile to my face as I walked on. The buildings on Main Street
were close together, and some of them were huge, with four or five
businesses housed under one roof. As I approached a building that
sat back further than most, I found myself staring. The building
had no windows; only a glass door that was tinted black. Three
girls stood out in front, one of them puffing on a cigarette.

They wore white collared shirts with small
black ties, tiny black skirts that flared slightly, and black
aprons that tied around their waists. Two of the girls were younger
– maybe a few years older than me – and the third looked like she
might have been in her late thirties. They were deep in
conversation by the time I was within earshot of them.

“I’m dead serious,” said one of the younger
girls, with bleach-blond hair that came to crisp ends near her
chin. She wore sparkling blue eye-shadow and earrings that dangled
past her hair. “I need to take some kind of self-defense class or
something. Every single time that guy comes in here, he puts his
hands all over me. And I’m completely weak and fragile. You either
get strength or overwhelming beauty.” She shrugged, as if to say
‘it’s a curse.’

“You could hit him hard enough to make him
leave you alone,” said the other young-looking girl. She was
pretty, with chestnut-brown hair that fell down her back in layers.
The woman in her thirties watched the younger two as she smoked,
seemingly amused with their conversation.

“I’ve never hit anyone before,” Blue
eye-shadow replied.

The pretty girl sighed, and lifted her chin.
“Hit me,” she said.

“Hit you?”

“Yes. Just hit me as hard as you can.”

“Fine,” said the girl with the blue
eye-shadow. “I’ll hit you.”

She balled up her small fist and stood still
a moment longer, preparing herself. Then, she brought her fist back
and punched the other girl directly in the mouth. The girl who’d
been hit stepped back a few feet and slapped her hands against her
mouth, while the other girl hopped up and down, shaking her
hand.

“Why did you do that?” The pretty girl
shrieked.

“You said to hit you,” replied the other.

“Not in the MOUTH!”

The situation was so humorous, but I didn’t
realize I’d been laughing until the girls both turned their heads
to look at me. Immediately, my laughter died and I could feel my
face growing hot.

“What are you looking at?” said the girl with
the blue eye-shadow.

“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head.

“Jenny,” said the prettier girl, in a
reproving tone.

“Do you think you could do better?” The girl,
who was apparently named Jenny, started to walk toward me. I should
have turned around and walked back to the house, but the challenge
in her face anchored me to the ground. If she wanted to play tough
girl, I wasn’t going to rain on her parade.

“Yes,” I answered, shrugging. I watched her
eyebrows shoot up with surprise. Her fist balled up at her side,
and when she got just a foot or two in front of me, she stopped
walking.

“If you plan on hitting me,” I said, “don’t
aim for the mouth. Hitting me in the nose would be much more
effective. Plus,” I looked at the bloody spot on her knuckle, “you
won’t risk hitting a tooth.”

The girl narrowed her eyes at me, not
threateningly, but curiously. She was probably wondering if I was
completely full of it, considering the fact that I’m so small. She
was more than a few inches taller than me.

“If it’s a man you’re fighting, you’re better
off kicking him…I guess you know where. Take the easiest hit and
the one that gives you the most time to get away,” I said, wishing
she would speak instead of staring at me. Suddenly her face lit up
with a grin that made her instantly prettier, and she put her hand
out to shake mine. Apparently, she'd decided to like me...or she
had a habit of becoming instant friends with anyone who advocated
kicking men in the crotch.

“I’m Jenny,” she said.

“Olivia,” I offered, as I shook her hand. By
that time, the other girl had strolled up next to Jenny, and
introduced herself as Erika.

“I could teach you a few moves, if you want,”
I shrugged. “If you need to protect yourself or something.” I felt
awkward as I spoke. The offer had sort of jumped out of me before
I'd known what I was saying. I couldn't help it. My entire life had
been spent learning how to protect humans...why shouldn't she know
how to protect herself?

Jenny shot a look at Erika and then looked
back at me. “Yeah,” she said enthusiastically. “How do you
know…moves?”

“I took a self-defense class,” I said,
smiling inwardly. One that had lasted my entire life and prepared
me for fighting enemies much scarier than anything Jenny might
encounter in the town of Staves.

“Cool,” she said, with all the excitement Max
might have at the thought of a new computer program. Before I knew
it, the two girls were dragging me inside the building. They
introduced me to the third, a woman named Renee, with frizzy red
hair and a scratchy voice that suggested her smoking habit had been
going on for years.

It was dim inside, and it took a moment for
my eyes to adjust to it after having been outside in the bright
sunlight. It smelled like stale cigarette smoke, and I could see
that it was a bar of some kind. Tables lined the floor, and along
the walls were booths with pale green vinyl seats. To my right was
a bar and what looked like hundreds of bottles of alcohol.

I spotted a bottle I’d seen before back in
Eagleton. Perry had his own stash that he dipped into occasionally.
As I followed them up to the bar, I felt a strange shift in the
air. I recognized this shift, and immediately, my whole body went
on alert. For me, it was a tell-tale sign that magick was near. I
glanced back and forth between the faces of the girls, and saw
nothing that indicated that they’d felt it too.

I looked around the bar. It was completely
empty. A moment later, a man came out of a room behind the bar. He
was shorter than me, with a big round belly and dull russet eyes.
With adrenaline running through my body, I waited for him to make a
move. Surely he’d been the source of the strange shifting I’d
felt.

“Okay Renee. You’ll probably have to pull a
double tonight. I know you’re glad to hear it,” he said, shooting a
sarcastic grin her way. When his eyes fell on me, I saw them flick
up and down quickly. “Who’s this?” He asked.

“This is Olivia,” Jenny said. “She’s going to
teach me how to kick some butt.”
By this time, I realized the man wasn’t a threat, and I wondered if
I was going crazy. Maybe my body was responding to four days
without any serious exercise or magick. I smiled at him, hoping I
didn’t look out of place.

“Kick butt, huh?” He chuckled. “Say, you
don’t need a job, do you?” I laughed and started to shake my head,
but he spoke again.

“It’s not that hard. Don’t worry if you don’t
have any experience. Jenny and Erika can teach you the ropes. You
just gotta make sure the customers’ glasses are full and that
everyone’s having a merry old time.”

Jenny and Erika looked at me expectantly, and
I glanced again at their uniforms. The seed of revenge that I
hadn’t known was in my heart suddenly shot up and bloomed. The
thought of Ivanna seeing me in the short skirt, the pantyhose that
put a sheen across the thigh, and the flirty tie was too
pleasurable to ignore. Me, her future high-priestess, dressed like
that and serving drinks to humans in a bar. Suddenly I smiled.
She’d said I was supposed to live like a human, hadn’t she?