Declan
From inside his idling car, Declan watched the girls speed down the dusty road on their bicycles. He worried they would notice him- it was a quiet street where strangers stood out- but they were too caught up in whatever adventure they were planning. In fact, no one stopped to question him which was either a result of people no longer caring enough or people being too trusting. Neither of those options settled well in his gut.
Cutting the engine, he climbed out and leaned against his new red, muscle car. When he bought the vehicle, the man assured him it was a classic. He'd wanted to tell the man anything built after 1912 would be new to him, but that would've prompted more questions than he was willing to answer.
Then again, some things hadn't changed during his hundred years of slumber. The Mississippi heat, for one, was still just as offending, and he was glad modern dressing standards didn't require a jacket and tie. The article of clothing called blue jeans was quite comfortable, though he felt more than scandalized by the way the material clung to his legs, but it did a good job protecting him from the searing metal he leaned against.
More scandalous than tight trousers was what the girls had been wearing. Both wore little more than cloth tied together with thin strings, their long limbs exposed for all the world to see, and he was ashamed to find the heat climbing up his throat had nothing to do with the outside temperatures. It would seem women's current attire was a rebellion against the layers society had forced them to wear over the centuries, and he wondered how he would have reacted to the slow changes over the decades. What would he have thought of his wife and daughters trading out their petticoats for t-shirts and pants?
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he fought back the frustration that had been choking him since he'd awoken in this century. So many mundane details distracted him from his actual purpose, but he couldn't ignore them completely. This was his life now. He needed to know how to navigate it, and despite the century between now and his last birthday, he was, in reality, a nineteen-year-old boy.
The screen door creaked, drawing Declan back to the present, and he sighed with relief when the lithe form of Bella Godelieve stepped outside. He'd been given a colored photograph of the woman, and it hadn't done her beauty justice. She was talking on a device called a cell phone while attempting to slide papers into a leather satchel. Pieces of her dark hair stuck to cheeks already damp with sweat, and the white top she wore was already wilting in the humidity.
"Yes Dawn, I've got all the layouts ready," Bella said as she unlocked a large black vehicle with the push of a button.
Declan shook his head. Never had he thought technology would amaze him more than magic. "Excuse me, Ms. Godelieve?"
Bella shrieked and spun around. Her eyes widened when she saw Declan, and in a clipped tone, she spoke into the phone's receiver, "Dawn, I'll call you back. Sir, you scared me to death."
"Apologies ma'am. My business is urgent, or I would've waited for a more socially acceptable time to visit," Declan said, resisting the urge to ask her if she needed help with the items in her hand. The last time he offered assistance to a lady, he received a ten-minute lecture on rudeness and sexism.
"Um, yes, well... What can I do for you?" Bella asked.
She lifted a manicured hand to shade her eyes from the radiant morning sun, and her entire body stiffened. Reaching out with trembling hands, she swayed on her ridiculous heels. Declan didn't move when her soft fingers slid across his face, stopping to trace the thin scar running across the bridge of his nose. He'd been told the chances of her recognizing him were slim. Bella turned her back on magic long ago, but it would seem she paid more attention than she let on.
"How?" she asked before falling forward into his arms.
Sighing, he carried her to the front porch swing and laid her down gently, adjusting her skirt to keep from exposing her to anyone who might wander by. He stepped back and studied her features, looking for the women he grew up with in the slope of her nose and the tilt of her lips. It might be wishful thinking, but he thought he saw hints of Daphne and Leora, maybe even their mother. Time had not taken everything from him.
When he'd gone to sleep, Declan knew he might find the family in this state. That anyone in the family was aware of their heritage was surprising considering the steps taken to hide their magic. If Bella's mother, Phoebe, hadn't stumbled upon the books and letters at the family estate, they would all be living their lives as unsuspecting humans.
Now, Phoebe was the last practicing female in the family, or at least she would be until Lux turned seventeen on the summer equinox. Bella would do everything to stop Lux from embracing her powers, but Lux didn't have a choice. Declan had to make sure she stepped into the role of High Priestess. Otherwise, he'd given up everything for nothing.
He took out his own cellular device and navigated to screen called the contacts list. Scrolling until he found the name he was after, he pressed call and waited.
"She recognized me. What now?"
**************************************
Lux
Lux entered the cool house with a grateful sigh. The last mile on her bike had been arduous. Her body and mind hadn't fully recovered from the near drowning, but she'd shooed Kitty's concerns away with promises to go to bed early. She had every intention of keeping those promises.
She didn't bother hollering for her mother despite the late hour. If her gut feeling this morning was right, Bella was at the tire shop harassing a poor attendant, and Lux's feelings were always right. That meant she would be in charge of dinner tonight.
"Wish I'd thought of that earlier," she grumbled, scanning the empty pantry before opening the menu drawer. Sweetwater might not boast much in the way of culture and shopping, but the town didn't want for restaurants which was handy since neither she nor her mother excelled in the kitchen.
Finger sliding across the menus, she asked herself, "Chinese? Sushi? Pizza?"
"I'm partial to Greek, if you'd like to ask my opinion."
"Ahhh," Lux screamed, scrambling for an object to defend herself. Settling on a marble rolling pin, she whirled around to face her intruder. "Memaw!"
She put the rolling pin down and flung herself into her grandmother's outstretched arms, the two women squealing as they rocked from side to side.
"Let me look at you, love," Memaw commanded, pulling back and lifting Lux's chin so she could peer into her gray eyes. "I see a girl about to become a woman."
"Memaw," Lux chastised, giving the older, Rubenesque woman one last squeeze before stepping back and admiring her.
Phoebe aged gracefully, her cheeks and forehead as plump and unwrinkled as a woman half her age. Only her gray hair and thicker waistline hinted at passing years, but Lux thought the changes only made her grandmother more becoming.
"Is that not something most grandmothers would say?" Phoebe asked, patting Lux on the hand before shimmying up on a barstool.
"Well, I wouldn't know as I don't have a grandmother like most."
Memaw winked. "Right you are."
"Not that I'm not happy to see you," Lux began, her mind racing with curiosity. She wasn't often surprised like this. "But what are you doing here? Last time you came for a visit, I thought the agreement was that I would come see you and never again would you step foot in this house with your, what was the word you used to describe mama? Mulish? Wilful?"
"I think the word you're looking for is pertinacious."
"It's not a terrible trait, Memaw."
"It is when the opinions you're holding so firmly to are wrong."
Lux logged into her phone and put in an order to Dolmades before opening a coke for her grandmother and herself. "Are y'all ever going to tell me what is that y'all can't seem to agree on?"
"Your mother would have my head."
Lux arched an eyebrow. "When has that ever kept your mouth shut, Memaw?"
"How on earth did Bella raise such a sassy daughter?"
"Must be in the genes somewhere," Lux joked before setting down her drink. "I'm going to grab a shower before the food gets here. I paid for it through the app, but we keep tip money in the jar on the entryway table."
"Go on. I know how to entertain myself well enough," Memaw replied, shooing her up the stairs.
As soon as Lux made it to her room, she shucked her clothes on the floor and undid her braid. Her skin smelled of sunshine and sweat, and despite repeated applications of sunscreen, her flesh sported a rosy hue. The hot shower spray stung at first, but after several moments, the discomfort faded as the warm water worked out the soreness in her muscles.
As she lathered shampoo in her hair, filling the shower with its citrus and vanilla scent, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander. Usually, she thought about her plans and future. Sometimes, she daydreamed about Connor Mason and their almost kiss at last year's Homecoming game. Regardless, it was always good things that filled her mind in the hot water and steam. Not even her premonitions bothered her in the shower. It was her place of peace.
After her experience at the pond, she needed peace more than ever, and at first, today was like every other day. A familiar image formed as she massaged her scalp- a boy with a square jaw and sandy brown hair that flopped in front of his hazel eyes, but as he bent his head, the starry sky turned from indigo to murky green. Horrified, she tried to scramble back, but Connor held her tight.
The bruised canvas above them wobbled, then pulled tight until it burst, showering her with burning water that melted Connor's skin, revealing not bone but another face- Corinne's face. Only now, flames burned bright in empty eye sockets, and a twisted smirk revealed needle-sharp teeth.
Lux tried to force her eyes open as she fumbled for the knob to her shower. The pelting spray against her body made the nightmare in her mind feel too real, but her grasping hands found nothing- no wall, no knobs, no curtain. She was trapped in her mind with a grinning demon holding her down as the water swallowed them both.
Lux thrashed, bucking her hips, but the grinning demon clung to her. Something moved above them, and she looked beyond Corinne to find five wavering figures watching her struggle. Three she recognized: Kitty, Sara Elizabeth, and Ruby. The other two were little more than shadows, but she knew they were girls close in age to the rest of them.
Sara Elizabeth, Ruby, and the strangers reached for her, their mouths open in screams Lux couldn't hear. Kitty hovered at the back, immobile- her blue eyes brimming with terror.
"Lux!"
The intruding voice made little sense. It was masculine- far too deep to belong to Travis, and wrapped around the single syllable of her name was a power that resonated in her core, stirring something foreign inside of her. When it sounded again, the surrounding waters receded, and she dragged in her first full breath in what felt like hours.
Hands cupped the back of her head, and the smooth edge of glass pressed against her lips, filling her mouth with a vile concoction that made her splutter more than she had earlier in the day when water expelled from her lungs, but whoever held her, kept pouring until she was forced to swallow.
"Did it work?" Lux recognized Memaw's voice.
"I don't... look, her eyes are opening."
Eyes opening slowly, she studied the face of the boy holding her. For a moment, she thought she'd gone back to daydreaming, but her imagination had never been this good. A narrow face with a sharp jawline framed evenly set, round eyes, and full lips that were currently pursed in concern. Concern that was mirrored in irises the color of melted chocolate. She pushed a piece of dark hair behind his ear and was surprised by the silkiness of the texture.
But if this was a dream, Lux's grandmother definitely wouldn't be in the bathroom with them. Memaw bent over Declan's shoulder, and despite her clear worry, she smirked when she followed Lux's gaze. The older woman winked and pulled back.
"You're gonna be okay," Memaw said with a sigh. Then her brows dipped. "But let's get you something more than a shower curtain to wear."
Still in a stupor, Lux tore her attention away from the unidentified hunk. At some point during her vision, she'd fallen out of the tub, taking the shower curtain with her. The very sheer shower curtain that did very little to hide her nude form.
The young man released her and jumped back as though he'd been burned. Cheeks a deep red, he muttered an apology and fled the room. Memaw chuckled, but the laughter faded as she helped her granddaughter to her feet.
"You all right?"
Lux shivered and shook her head. She felt frozen- as if thinking about the incident would bring the nightmare back. Could it hold her in its thrall again? But not thinking about it was impossible, and she knew she would see Corinne's haunting visage in her dreams tonight.
"I don't know what happened," Lux replied. Her single shiver had given way to the shakes, and she seated herself on the edge of the tub.
Memaw dropped a towel around Lux's shoulders. The extra layer helped, but its warmth didn't extend deep enough to reach the true source of the cold.
"Let's get the soap out of your hair, and we'll go downstairs. Dinner will be here soon."
Lux sensed Memaw was avoiding the subject, but she didn't have the energy to press for answers. Besides, it wasn't that hard to figure out. She'd suppressed her emotions all day, and they'd overwhelmed her in a moment of vulnerability. At least that sounded like something Mama's therapist would say.
She hugged her grandmother. "Okay. But first, who is that guy?"
Memaw clasped her hands in front of her and replied on a dreamy sigh. "His name is Declan."