Diggin up crones, p.2
Diggin' Up Crones, page 2
The strix was pushed back several inches when the magic caught it. It puffed out like a poisonous fish before exploding, feathers and viscera going in every single direction…including all over Marissa’s face.
Her mouth was open in a silent scream and her face was covered with strix innards.
I hadn’t forgotten about the fourth strix, but when I searched for the creature it was gone. I had no idea which direction it had fled, but there was no catching it. At least not right now. It could fly. We would have to regroup and figure out a way to catch it later.
“What in the hell?” Marissa screeched, finally finding her voice.
I jerked my eyes to her and cringed when she ran her fingers down her face and came back with strix embedded under her fingernails.
“You did this on purpose,” she hissed at me, her eyes wide and frightening.
“Hey, you were the one who came up with the plan,” I countered.
“I’m telling Rooster.” Marissa, frustration oozing from her—along with some other stuff—wiped a chunk of what looked like beak from her cheek. “You’re finished. This time they’re going to fire you. At the very least I’ll no longer work with you again.”
I’d heard this before. “So I guess we’re done here,” I said to Rick and Andrea, who looked to be stifling laughs.
“Sounds like it,” Rick agreed calmly. “Should we get some samples of … this … to take back?” He gestured to the exploded strixes.
“It can’t hurt.”
“I’m not doing that,” Marissa snapped. “It’s not going to happen.”
“That’s fine,” I replied. “You have samples all over you. We’ll just get a few more and be on our way.”
“I hate you,” she seethed.
“Yeah, but you have fun when we spend time together. I know you do.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Oh, come on.” I gave her the sort of smile I knew she would hate. “You would miss this if we weren’t partnered so often.”
“I really do hate you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
2
TWO
Marissa was a witch on a mission when she stomped into the Rusty Cauldron.
“I want her punished!” She stopped in front of Rooster, strix bits still dripping from her, and jabbed a finger in my direction. “She keeps doing this. I refuse to continue being abused.”
Rooster looked her up and down before sliding his gaze to me. “You don’t look any worse for wear,” he noted.
“That’s because she always does it to me!”
Laughter at the pool table drew my attention. Gunner and Evan were shooting, enjoying the show.
Before I could stand up for myself, which I wasn’t all that keen to do, Andrea interjected. “You’re the one who sent Scout to the middle of the clearing as bait,” she said. “It’s not her fault the strixes went after us when they realized she was too powerful to take on.”
Rooster angled his head. “Are they all dead?”
“One of them got away.”
“See! She failed!” Marissa planted her hands on her hips, then looked down when she realized there was a strix eyeball stuck in her belt loop. “I hate you so much,” she growled at me.
I had to fight every instinct to keep from smiling. “They all came at me as a group. I think they can communicate telepathically,” I offered for Rooster’s benefit. “I threw up a shield, and from what I can tell, they instantly rerouted and went after the others.”
Rooster shifted to look at Andrea and Rick, who were getting iced tea from the bartender Whistler. “You guys look okay.”
“That’s because Scout protected them,” Marissa hissed. “She saved them first. When it came time for me, she waited until that … thing … was directly on top of me. She even missed once for good measure.”
“That was an accident,” I argued. “It dodged a little at the last second.”
“I don’t know why you’re complaining,” Rick said. “You’re still alive. Things could’ve been way worse.”
Marissa glared. “I want her punished,” she gritted out to Rooster. “Enough is enough. You keep insisting that I go on missions with her and every time I get slapped in the face with … entrails.” I thought she might throw up saying the word.
“I’m sorry about that,” Rooster said. He didn’t look sorry. “We’re in a weird spot for assignments. Gunner and Evan work well together. Without Bonnie … .”
None of us were taking the Bonnie thing lightly. I was particularly disturbed—she’d been my first friend when I moved to Hawthorne Hollow—but the others had known her longer. Realizing that Bonnie had been undercover with the group for years because she’d been waiting for me had made us all angry.
Very, very angry.
Like Hulk angry.
“Still no news on that front?” Rick asked Rooster, not subtle in the least when changing the subject. “Do you have any indication that she’s back?”
Rooster shook his head. “She would go straight at Scout. She doesn’t seem to be able to control her emotions. We haven’t seen her, so I don’t think she’s made it back yet.”
“It could take her months,” I noted. “We have a bit of time we can take advantage of. We should set a trap.”
Intrigue lit my boss’s eyes. “What sort of trap?”
“I’m going to give it some serious thought.” I left him to continue arguing with Marissa, who showed no signs of giving up, and ambled over to Gunner and Evan.
My boyfriend, his long hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, gave me a sly smile as he leaned in to kiss me. “Did you have fun?”
I shrugged. “I honestly wasn’t aiming for her.” I used my magic to nudge Gunner’s cue ball into a better location. “It just sort of happened.”
“Don’t think I didn’t see that,” Evan said. He reached over and moved the ball back. “You’re such a cheater.”
“It was an accident,” I lied.
Evan rolled his eyes.
“Now my feelings are hurt.” I dragged a hand through my hair, then lowered my voice. “I don’t know if there were only four strixes. There may be more.”
Gunner glanced around, as if looking for someone. “Why are you whispering?”
“Can owls hear really well? Rick said something about reading up on the way out there and that they have special ears or something. They can hear prey under the snow.”
Realization dawned on Gunner’s face. “You think they can hear what’s going on in here?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged.
“We have no reason to believe they were hunting us,” Evan pointed out. “They went after hikers.”
“Yeah, but given the way they move, I have trouble believing random hikers managed to get away from them. What if they went after the hikers to lure us out there?”
“Are they smart enough to set a trap?”
“I don’t know. They all seemed interested in moving on me. As soon as I cut off their avenue of communication, they rerouted and went after Rick, Andrea, and Marissa.”
“It could’ve been a fight-or-flight response,” Evan said. “I don’t have a history with these creatures. I’ll try to do some research.”
That bothered me. “It seems like a weird time for them to move to this area, don’t you think?”
“Do you believe they’ve been called in by Bonnie?” There were no traces of mirth on Gunner’s face. “Could they be here to keep us busy so we can’t plot against her?”
I thought about it, then shook my head. “We know she’s been bringing in factions to work against us, but this time that doesn’t feel right. I’m certain there are more of them. I think they were trying to lure us out there.”
“Us as a group, or you specifically?”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes,” Gunner and Evan said in tandem.
“A very big difference,” Gunner insisted. “A huge difference.”
“You’re the big badass in the area now,” Evan said. “You’re the target. It’s possible Bonnie isn’t behind this, though. You could be a target for a lot of paranormals. Your magic is big time, and it makes sense that other creatures want it.”
“I hate to say it, but alphas are probably most vulnerable right after they get their powers,” Gunner said. “Now would be the time for other factions to move on you.”
“Especially if they’ve heard you’re distracted with Bonnie,” Evan added.
“Okay.” I bobbed my head. What they were saying made sense. “Why don’t they want to move on Bonnie? Even before we trapped her they weren’t moving in. She’s far more unstable than I am. Why not make a move on her?”
“Probably because she is unstable,” Evan replied. “That makes her ridiculously unpredictable. You at least think strategically. Well, unless someone is wearing the wrong pants.” He graced me with an impish grin. “Bonnie could blow up without notice.”
I sank into one of the chairs at the nearest table. “What a mess.”
Before Gunner or Evan could respond, the door flew open to allow a teenager entrance. Ruthie “Raisin” Morton was all fiery eyes and wild hair as she stormed into the bar. “The new principal is evil,” she announced. “You need to go in there and smite her.”
I raised an eyebrow as I regarded the teenager. I was quite fond of her and her theatrics. “I thought today was the first day for the new principal,” I challenged.
Raisin blinked. “So?”
“So how do you know she’s evil before you even have a chance to get to know her?”
“I know evil.” As if to prove it, Raisin gestured to Marissa, who had yet to hit the bathroom to clean herself. “I knew she was evil the moment I met her.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “And how did you feel about Bonnie?” It was a cruel question, but the right one to ask.
Raisin faltered. “That’s not fair. None of you guys realized Bonnie was evil either.”
“We didn’t,” I agreed. “That’s the point. Sometimes it’s hard to tell.”
“What makes you think your new principal is evil?” Evan asked. I often caught him looking at Raisin with the sort of baffled affection that only an older brother could muster.
“Because she came right into the school and said things were going to change,” Raisin replied. “She said it was time for a complete overhaul.”
I waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, I arched an eyebrow.
“A complete and total overhaul,” Raisin barked. “She’s taking everything away.”
“I’m going to need more information than that,” I replied. “What sort of things?”
“Like, she said nobody can go for off-campus lunches any longer. She said it’s not safe and that students don’t behave when they go downtown to eat lunch.”
I frowned. “I didn’t even know you had off-campus lunch.”
“I don’t.” Raisin rolled her eyes. “I’m not a senior yet. When I am, I’ll get off-campus lunch.”
“Oh.” I nodded in understanding. “Well, that sucks, but it’s hardly the end of the world.” What I didn’t say was that given how things were going with Bonnie—and now the strixes—it wasn’t a bad idea to keep the students locked down for the foreseeable future.
“She also said we act like wildlings,” Raisin argued. “She said we can’t hold hands or kiss in the hallways any longer.”
“Who are you kissing in the hallway?” Rooster demanded, causing me to hide a grin.
Raisin shot back, “That part doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’s essentially turning the school into Nazi Germany.”
“Oh, well, that was dramatic,” Gunner said on a laugh.
It was beyond dramatic. “I think you need to rephrase that,” I said calmly.
“No way.” Raisin’s eyes were the size of saucers. “It’s the truth.”
“You can’t equate having a new principal to the Holocaust. That is just … not appropriate.”
“She’s a dictator,” Raisin shouted. “She’s ruining our lives. Obviously she’s evil. You need to get rid of her like you did the last one.”
We hadn’t gotten rid of Raisin’s last principal. Principal Jacobs had decided to quit after he’d been taken over and forced to do the bidding of evil spider people who were working for Bonnie. I didn’t blame the man for being upset. Still, I’d been surprised when he quit on the spot. “Listen—”
“No, you listen.” Raisin was firm. “I know you think I’m a kid and that nothing I do is smart. If I have to hear ‘She’s just a teenager’ one more time I’m going to scream. You don’t hear me saying ‘Well, she’s forty’ whenever you do something obnoxious.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Listen here, missy,” I warned. “I am not forty.”
“Yes, because that’s what you should be focused on,” Gunner drawled, sending me a sarcastic thumbs-up. “Good job.”
I elbowed him in the side, then turned back to Raisin. “You don’t need to kiss at school.” I tried to sound reasonable. “It’s not necessary.”
She gave me an “are you kidding me” look. “Are you seriously telling me that you didn’t kiss boys when you were in school?”
“When you were in school twenty-five years ago,” Evan taunted.
I shot him the finger but kept my eyes on Raisin. “I wasn’t really interested in kissing boys in school.”
“If you’re about to tell me you were too busy studying, I won’t believe you,” Raisin warned. “I’m not an idiot.”
“I wasn’t much for studying either,” I confirmed. “I was just trying to survive. When you move from foster home to foster home, there are more important things than making out with boys.”
Andrea emitted a small squeak and I shot her a quelling look.
“Let’s not go over that again,” I said. “It’s unnecessary.”
Her lips pursed but she nodded.
“How old were you when you first kissed a boy?” Raisin demanded.
“I kind of want to hear this too,” Gunner admitted.
Evan smirked. “I know.”
“Don’t,” I warned him, extending a finger.
“She was fourteen,” he told Raisin. “She had a crush on another boy in the foster home with her and decided she wanted to get her first kiss out of the way. It was horrible, and she didn’t kiss another boy for two years.”
Raisin looked perplexed. “Why was it horrible?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I growled.
“I want to know too,” Gunner said. “Just so I don’t repeat the same mistake.”
“Let’s just say he thought his tongue was the invading army and my teeth were the soldiers he wanted to wipe out,” I replied.
“Eww,” several voices said from around the bar.
“That doesn’t matter,” I insisted. The conversation had gone off on a tangent I didn’t appreciate. “We’re talking about Raisin. You can save all of your kissing for after school.”
“Or you could just not kiss anyone,” Rooster suggested.
“It’s not about the kissing,” Raisin argued. “Or … it’s not just about the kissing. I’m telling you the new principal is evil.”
“Nothing you’ve told us so far suggests she is evil,” Rooster argued as he hefted himself off the stool he’d been sitting on, giving Marissa a wide berth as he circled around her. “If she turns out to be evil, we’ll apologize. For now, you need to follow the rules.”
“This is crap,” Raisin muttered, her lower lip coming out to play. “Complete and total crap.”
“I’ll take you home.” Rooster smiled at her the way a father would. “As for you, I forgot to remind you earlier.” His eyes were on me as he crossed over. “We have a meeting with the new shifters coming in tomorrow.”
Why was he telling me? “Since when am I on a negotiating team?” I demanded.
“It’s not a negotiation. It’s a chat about what’s been going on in the area and their plans.”
That sounded like negotiating. “You still haven’t told me why you want me there.”
“Because you’re powerful and I want the pack to know that we’re powerful as a unit.”
“Fine.” I wasn’t in the mood to argue. “I’ll be there.” And because she was still pouting and she’d been in trouble more times than I could count, I decided to throw Raisin a bone. “I’ll check out your principal.”
Raisin immediately perked up. “You will?”
“I thought we agreed there was nothing wrong with the principal?” Rooster said.
I shrugged. “We also agreed there was nothing wrong with the last principal.”
“There was nothing wrong with him,” Evan pointed out. “Someone else made him wrong.”
“I don’t want that to happen with the current principal. It can’t hurt to check her out.”
“What are you going to say when you meet her?” Rooster challenged. “Technically you have no reason to be there on Raisin’s behalf.”
“I’ll wing it.”
Rooster arched an eyebrow. “That never ends well.”
“Yeah, just ask Marissa,” Evan added.
Marissa wailed in the background. “Why does nobody care about my plight?”
Rooster pinned Evan with a glare. “Thank you for getting her going again.”
Evan grinned. “You’re welcome.”
“Come on.” Rooster put his hand on Raisin’s shoulder. “I’ll take you out for a snack before it’s time to go home. You can tell me about these boys you’re definitely not kissing.”
“Oh, here we go,” Raisin complained. She glanced back at me. “Are you really going to check her out?”
“I really am,” I promised.
“Her name is Lynn Barris. She’s the devil. You’ll see.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” I wasn’t, of course, but it was better to be safe than sorry, and we’d been sorry when it came to keeping Raisin safe more than once. It couldn’t hurt to check out this principal.
3
