Fangs and Fur- Beta Read Along
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Two hours later, Dili muttered about the hazards of youthful hormones. She’d just walked Jasmine back to the front gate. It had taken several minutes to convince the girl to actually leave.
Jasmine insisted she owed Dili for all the “trouble,” as the girl had vaguely put it, no matter how many times the witch explained she didn’t. The teen had literally put her foot down at the gate, refusing to depart until they agreed on proper reimbursement. Neither Dili’s thorough reassurance nor firm tone had budged the girl an inch, but the witch would not cave to misplaced teenage angst.
“You owe me nothing now, because I know not what you’ve yet cost me,” Dili had finally said. “The ripples of your actions but lap at my feet.” Gravitas deepened her tone. “When the waves come, then shall I call on you.”
The formal address flowed so easily off Dili’s ancient tongue, and it reverberated through Jasmine’s modern ears with the eye-widening wonder Dili knew it would. Language was a kind of magic all of its own.
The girl bowed, then flushed bright red.
“I… I don’t know why I just did that.”
Dili lifted her chin and held Jasmine’s embarrassed gaze until the girl couldn’t bear it. She mumbled an apology before turning on her heel and hurrying down the hill.
The witch let out a long sigh when the girl was out of earshot. She sympathized with Jasmine’s guilt. The problem was, though, that Jasmine felt guilty for causing so much worry, and Dili was worried Jasmine didn’t regret her ill-advised adventure as much as she’d claimed.
Dili trudged back to the garden where Toad and Vanessa still lounged. She reflected for a moment on the irony of Hadrian’s absence: it was lucky to have this much time without him, but it was ominous how long he was taking.
She also realized that since Toad had stayed after Jasmine left, Hadrian must have contacted Toad to take him off round-the-clock guard duty. Without context, Dili couldn’t say if that was foolish.
The witch poured herself a fresh mug of tea and flopped into her chair with a groan. Toad opened one eye from where he snoozed on the tabletop, but only for a moment. He yawned, then tucked his face behind his two front paws. Dili was sure, however, that the black cat was paying far more attention than he appeared.
Vanessa, however, looked alert and annoyed. An accusing gaze pinned Dili to her chair. Behind the blatant irritation, the witch recognized that calculating look. Her best friend scrutinized her patients in much the same way.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Dili said.
Vanessa scowled and grabbed a biscuit; the pizza was long gone. She chomped through it, then leaned forward over the small table.
“Do you?” Vanessa’s tone was quieter than when she’d questioned Jasmine.
“You think I was too soft on her,” Dili said.
Vanessa snorted. “No.”
The witch arched an eyebrow.
“I know you too well, Dili.” Vanessa sighed. “You know more than you said. You’re keeping the truth from her.”
Dili paused. “You know just as well as I do that sometimes the truth harms more than it helps.”
“She’s not a dementia patient with one foot out the door.”
The friends stared at one another. They rarely tangled, but when they did, Vanessa shrouded her bite with blunt words and an even tone. Dili appreciated that far more than shouting, but in this one instance, she wished Vanessa had been swept away with emotion rather than homed in on the details.
“Jasmine is a smart kid who made a dumb decision, but all kids push their limits,” Vanessa continued. “Obviously, making deals with a skinshifter is cause for concern, but Jasmine was the first to say that she messed up big time by trusting them.”
“She did,” Dili said.
“Right. And she said she’d never be so naïve again, but we all know kids try to say the right thing when they’ve been caught doing bad things. I’m not convinced she understands just how lucky she was, but I do think she learned something from all this.”
“So do I,” Dili agreed.
“Then what am I missing?” Vanessa asked.
Dili knew the truth would rip through her best friend, but she couldn’t say as much without revealing why. She didn’t want to lie; that would hurt, too.
“The part that Jasmine doesn’t know either,” Dili finally said. “That other woman? She isn’t a vampire, as Jasmine thought.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“There are more dangerous creatures than vampires,” Dili said.
Vanessa put her head in her hands and mumbled a string of foul words. Sorrow filled her eyes when she looked at Dili again.
“Who is she?” Vanessa asked.
“A hybrid,” Dili said. “I met her ages ago, and didn’t think much of her then, but I’ve heard stories. Who knows what her powers could be now.”
Strictly speaking, everything Dili had said was true. Hybrid paranormals were the only magical beings whose magic changed with time, so Dili could not possibly know what the woman was capable of now.
“Then Jasmine’s in danger!” Vanessa snapped. “How could you keep that from her?”
“Telling her now when I don’t know what the danger is will only terrify her,” Dili said. “Besides, I’m sure we both saw through Jasmine’s story, right?”
Vanessa opened her mouth, but no rebuttal came out. After a moment, she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I can’t believe a girl that smart actually thought the skinshifter was preparing for an acting role,” Vanessa lamented.
“She’s intelligent, but she has no real-world experience,” Dili said. “And she’s aching to get away from home. That was more important than anything the skinshifter said.”
“Yeah.” Vanessa grunted, then grabbed another biscuit. “At least she knew the bare minimum about making deals, so she didn’t sign her life away or something really stupid.” She bit into the sweet treat fiercely.
“Indeed,” Dili said.
“I wish I knew what that skinshifter was really up to,” Vanessa complained.
“Whatever it was, it must have been possible to achieve as a human high schooler. Otherwise, they never would have approached Jasmine to swap places,” Dili said.
Vanessa chewed thoughtfully. “That is strange, isn’t it? Why Jasmine?”
Dili shrugged. She had to let Vanessa draw her own conclusions if she was going to spare her friend the worst of it.
“This hybrid woman… do you think she could have wanted something to do with Jasmine?” Vanessa asked.
“Certainly, but there are too many possibilities to say any one thing for sure.” Dili put on a sigh.
Vanessa’s expression darkened as she understood the part Dili hadn’t said out loud. “At least she’s not a vampire.”
Dili nodded, and the friends shared a somber silence.
“What if it wasn’t about Jasmine at all?” Vanessa eventually asked.
Dili made eye contact with her friend, but didn’t speak yet.
“The lone vampire,” Vanessa said. “A human girl separated from her home and family hiding out in a cave in the wilderness? It would be the perfect bait for someone like him.”
The witch glanced at Toad to see if he had any reaction to the mention of his vampiric master, but the black cat apparently snoozed on, apparently unbothered.
“I’ve considered it,” Dili said. “It makes more sense than a skinshifter infiltrating a teenager’s life.”
“If I’m right, then Jasmine is extra lucky to be alive,” Vanessa said bitterly. “But what would a hybrid want with a vampire? And why would she need to lure him in?”
“I don’t know, but it makes me very worried for Toad,” Dili said.
Her familiar picked his head up then, just as Vanessa groaned in realization. He blinked slowly at Dili before closing his eyes and settling down again. The brief acknowledgement did little to comfort the witch, but she couldn’t say anymore in front of Vanessa.
“What have you gotten yourself into?” Vanessa murmured. She reached out and rubbed Toad’s ears gently. He lifted his head again to lean into her touch, purring. “Aren’t hybrids really rare?”
“Extremely,” Dili said. “They aren’t born; they’re made. The only ones left have survived since the last divine.”
“But you’ve met this hybrid before,” Vanessa said.
Dili nodded.
“Then…” Vanessa paused, and Dili sensed her friend’s discomfort in the silence. “Why won’t you tell me her name?”
“What?”
“The hybrid. Why won’t you tell me her name? I can do some digging on her since you refuse to use the internet.”
Dili frowned. “I… didn’t I say her name was…”
The witch trailed off because there was nothing else to say. Dili recognized the woman. She remembered the woman, remembered her power, remembered her mother. But not her name.
Dili controlled her expression so that her own unease wouldn’t distress Vanessa further.
“I don’t remember her name,” the witch admitted.
Vanessa turned skeptical eyes on her. “Really?”
Dili nodded.
“Well, how long ago did you meet?” Vanessa asked.
“Too long to remember, I guess,” Dili said. “It’s like… there’s a fog around my memories of her.”
Vanessa didn’t reply for so long that Dili finished her tea in small nervous sips.
“Are you sure it’s just that you don’t remember?” Vanessa finally asked.
“I hope so,” Dili said.
“Is there any chance this woman could have altered your memories when you were in the cave?” Vanessa asked.
“Of course. I’m sure she tried whatever she’s capable of, but it would be very difficult for another paranormal to get inside my mind. I prepared very well, just in case.”
That was only half the truth. It was hard for any paranormal to affect Dili by magical means, but it wasn’t impossible, especially for that woman. The fear that the woman had tampered with Dili’s memory scared the witch, but Dili knew it would keep Vanessa up at night with her stomach in knots, so she wouldn’t say as much.
“I’m sorry,” Dili continued. “As much as I hate to admit it, perhaps I need Hadrian’s help to get to the bottom of this.”
“I don’t think you should trust him. No offense.” Vanessa motioned to Toad, who didn’t appear to register the criticism.
“I don’t trust him, but I can’t ignore him either,” Dili said.
Heat flared up in the witch’s chest as the double meaning of those words landed only on her ears. Thankfully, the looming danger captivated Vanessa too much to notice her friend’s inappropriate discomfort.
“Ugh. I know, I just…” A helpless look crossed Vanessa’s face. “Based on what you saw, that vampire is an accomplice at best, and I hate to imagine the worst.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise. You don’t have to worry about me.” Dili gave Vanessa an encouraging smile.
“But I do because I love you,” Vanessa said simply. “And you, you little mischief maker.”
Toad let out a soft mewl. Just as Dili was about to respond in kind, she remembered a very important detail.
“And I love you back. I’m sorry I got so caught up in this paranormal dilemma. I didn’t forget why you came over. Is everything alright with you?”
Vanessa let out a long groan. “Oh. That.”
“What happened?” Dili asked.
“It’s just… Jacob keeps putting my nice bras in the dryer no matter how many times I ask him to hang them up. It’s not that hard! And this time it was my favorite purple one. I just lost control when I shouldn’t have, and…” Vanessa took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. “I’m sorry. This is silly compared to what Jasmine just went through and what you’ve got to deal with.”
Dili withheld her amused smile. “It might feel trivial by comparison, but your problems deserve attention, too. Will you stay for dinner? We could bake another pizza.”
The friends shared a cozy meal together, chatting and laughing whenever they weren’t enjoying Dili’s cooking. Toad stayed, too, which delighted the witch. She treasured those nights. The quiet ones at home with those she cared about most. She’d lived through too much to take those moments for granted.
After Vanessa left, when Toad snoozed in her lap, she sat in her favorite rocking chair and stared into the dying fire. She let her mind sift through everything she couldn’t tell Vanessa, no matter how much she loved her best friend.
Fear festered in the places where Dili’s memories were missing. The woman’s name didn’t matter to Dili as long as she could remember who that woman was.
A siren rarely went around proclaiming who she was, because anyone with common sense stayed very far away from them. Summoning magic was fickle, and insidious. A siren’s charm twisted the mind, and the most powerful charms could lie hidden in the subconscious. Not even witchcraft could undo a siren’s charm.
Only the person who’d been charmed could shake it off themselves, and of course, only if they knew they’d been charmed and still had the desire to be free. That last part was the problem, though, because notoriously sirens often charmed people to desire exactly what the siren wanted: control. Obedience. Devotion.
Dili knew the half-siren had not charmed her. The woman must have tried, testing her mind like dipping a toe in the pool before jumping in, but the half-siren would have found Dili’s mind an unbearable, barren place with no hooks for hanging and no holds for grabbing and no holes for filling. The witch had made sure of that ages ago.
But not even Dili with all her power, skill, and knowledge could have helped Jasmine if the girl had fallen prey to the half-siren’s voice. There was no way to tell, no way to help, and no way to change what had already been done. She could only mitigate the damage she was certain would come.
Next chapter on Friday, November 21.