Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1) (11 page)

Eloise froze as she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes immediately traveled to the spoon that was stirring the cup of coffee by itself. Arkadia raised her hand to stop Eloise from distracting her, a smile creeping across her face as she continued to move her finger in the air in time with the stirring spoon. She pointed her finger slightly up into the air signaling the spoon to follow her directions. Eloise’s hand went over her mouth, her eyes wide with excitement and pride, as she watched Arkadia make the small finger movements and control the spoon; she lifted it and tapped it on the edge of the cup before resting the spoon on the side of the sink.

“Arkadia!!!!” Eloise exclaimed, “You were doing it, really doing it, and the cup is still in one piece!!”

Arkadia laughed. “I thought I would give it ago. I feel different Eloise; something happened last night.” Eloise’s eyebrow rose knowing exactly what went on last night. “Not that.” Arkadia blushed. “I mean something cosmic. It may have had something to do with the events of last night. I felt a shift within me; I can’t explain it, but I just feel different. So I thought I would try a simple control spell, and look at that, it worked!” Arkadia shrugged with a smile.

Eloise walked over and wrapped Arkadia in a tight hug. “I am so proud of you, but you need to tell me what happened last night, so let’s go sit in the living room and you can fill me in.” Eloise grabbed the perfectly stirred cup of coffee and walked into the living room expecting Arkadia to follow, which of course she did.

Over the next couple of hours, Arkadia told Eloise about everything, from Butch and his wolf pack to how scared she was when this massive black dragon dropped from the sky. She laughed as she recalled being wary that even though she knew who the dragon was, the dragon might not know who she was. Arkadia smiled brightly as she spoke about how wonderful it was to fly, with her arms wrapped around a dragon, and the power she felt from his broad, strong beating wings. Arkadia didn’t need to go into the nitty-gritty details of what passed between Bohdan and herself, only that it was amazingly mind-blowing and life-altering. She explained to Eloise that she and Bohdan had found true love at a soul level, that there was no one, and never would-be, anyone other than the two of them. The commitment was firm and eternal.

Eloise was smiling as she spoke softly, “Arkadia, my darling girl, look at you.” Eloise’s voice was like a warm honey coating her, and she looked down at her legs curled under her on the chair. Arkadia gasped. She was glowing, and a soft golden light was radiating from her skin, not like a lighthouse that you could see for miles, but more like a soft children’s nightlight, soft and calming.

“Oh my, Eloise.” Arkadia stretched her legs out to further check if it was all of her. “Why am I glowing? Please don’t tell me this is permanent; I have enough to deal with at school without trying to explain this as well.” Eloise chuckled.

“No, my sweet child, this is not permanent. That is your goddess showing you that she is here for you; you have found her. She has been waiting for you to open up to her and let her in, and that is why your spell worked.” Arkadia jumped up with an excited sparkle in her eyes.

“Will it all work? Can I sit the exam? Can I get a mark? Are you sure? What if you’re wrong?” Arkadia was firing questions so fast Eloise had to put her hand up to silence her before she could continue.

When Arkadia had stopped and sat back, exhaling deeply, Eloise continued, “Nothing is that quick. It will take time, but you are most certainly on the right path now. For now, we have something far more dangerous to worry about.” Arkadia frowned.

“Dangerous?” she asked.

Eloise took a deep breath. She hated having to knock the wind out of Arkadia’s sails, but she needed to know what had happened overnight. “The police were here again last night looking for you; they have new evidence,” Eloise said trying to remain calm.

“New evidence? About Diane’s murder?” Arkadia asked. Eloise nodded.

“Yes, they have a witness.”

Arkadia smiled brightly. “That’s awesome news, Eloise. Now they will know it wasn’t me, and I won’t have to get Bohdan in trouble.”

Eloise held up her hand, her eyes misting over with dread. “The witness has named you at the scene.”

“WHAT??? They can’t … I wasn’t … they are lying!!” Arkadia screamed, jumping to her feet, “Who is this lying bitch!!!”

Eloise sighed as she whispered, “The witness is Violet.”

Arkadia slumped back into the chair, a look of disbelief on her face, a million thoughts running through her head. “Violet? My Violet? VI??” She must have heard Eloise wrong, it simply couldn’t be true. Arkadia looked up to say something to Eloise, but froze when she looked into her eyes; she was sharing the same look of disbelief. Eloise believed Arkadia was completely innocent, so having Vi come forward as a witness showed a level of betrayal that was rarely seen and never recovered from.

“I don’t understand Eloise. Why would Violet lie? What would she have to gain from seeing me arrested, or worse yet banished …” Arkadia gulped. “Or killed?” she whispered the last word. It was as if all the energy that she was enjoying not minutes ago, the bright future she had seen, and the love she had found with Bohdan, had been instantly and completely ripped away from her, leaving only a gaping hole where she used to exist.

“I don’t know her motives, Arkadia, but trust me, by the end of the day I will. Your safety is entrusted to me, and if you’re going to be under threat, it will be from me to keep your room clean. This is a pure witch hunt, pardon the pun.” Eloise winked with a short smile before the steely grit of determination returned to her eyes. “There will be no BBQ steak in your future.” Eloise let out a little chuckle at her own joke, looking over to Arkadia who had a confused look upon her face.

“I’m going vegetarian?” Arkadia asked.

“Oh good Lord, no, child. The younger generation has been lost to text talk and the web.” Eloise hated to explain a joke, it kind of lost its humor, but she wouldn’t let Arkadia miss out on a lesson in old people humor. “I mean steak as in burned on one …and BBQ as in fire … oh, never mind.” Eloise laughed as she took the cups back to the kitchen, satisfied at having lightened the mood with her apparently non-funny joke.

“What do I do now, Eloise?” Arkadia felt lost. The more she found, the more she lost, or at least that’s what it felt like. Eloise turned around to look at Arkadia.

“You need to get Bohdan onboard. You’re going to need him to be your alibi, and without him, you’re a witch without a broomstick’s chance of surviving this.” Arkadia rubbed her eyes in frustration.

“There’s no other way?”

“Not that I can see. Before this Vi business, I would have said wait and see, but with a false witness in the picture, you’re going to need every little bit of help you can get.” Eloise took Arkadia gently by the shoulders. “He said he loves you, right?” Arkadia nodded and her eyes misted up. “He said it was an eternal and forever love, right?” Arkadia nodded again. “Well, my sweet one, time for him to prove it.” Eloise shooed Arkadia out of the kitchen. She needed some thinking time. Getting out the laptop, Eloise decided to let Google do some talking—it was time to formulate a plan.

Later that day, Arkadia was still over at Bohdan’s house. When Eloise had shooed her out of the kitchen, Arkadia had grabbed her bag and ran, ran as fast as she could, to Bohdan’s. He must have had his dragon senses going because he knew she was coming and met her on the porch with his arms wide open. She launched into them and sobbed uncontrollably. Bohdan just let her cry. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her, until she said enough. He hated seeing her so upset, and he had no idea what was going on. The last time he had seen her was when he dropped her off at home, and granted Eloise had threatened to bronze his balls, but surely she hadn’t caused this kind of reaction in Arkadia. There must be something else going on, and until she calmed down, he wasn’t going to find out.

Bohdan slowly scooped Arkadia up into his loving arms and carried her to the swing chair where he sat down, Arkadia now sitting on his lap, releasing her emotions freely in the warm and secure embrace of his arms.

Bohdan waited, just holding her, and listened to her sobs as they slowed down to small hiccups. Bohdan was trying so hard to remain calm; dragon didn’t take very kindly to his mate in pain. Dragon’s first instinct was to find the one hurting her and rip their head off; however, this was counterproductive in most circumstances. Bohdan had spent the last few minutes trying to get dragon to calm down. He knew once dragon reached a certain level of agitation, dragon would come out whether he liked it or not.

Bohdan looked down at Arkadia, her eyes red and puffy.
This girl is so beautiful she can’t even cry ugly.
“Would you like a drink, my queen?” Bohdan asked. Arkadia sniffled and nodded. Bohdan continued, “Hot? Cold? Stiff?” Arkadia chuckled softly at the stiff part, the last thing she needed to have was alcohol. If there was ever a time she needed to keep all her wits about her, it was now.

“I’d love a cup of coffee, please, my King.” She heard a rumble of satisfaction from Bohdan and his eyes seemed to have a little twinkle. “I take it dragon likes to be called King?”

Bohdan laughed. “That, he does.” He moved Arkadia over to the side of the seat, got up, and said, “Be back in a few, then you can fill me in on what’s changed.” Bohdan disappeared into the house to get Arkadia’s coffee.

The sun was beginning to set as Arkadia finished telling Bohdan about the latest fiasco with the police. “That’s crazy insane, Arkadia, I mean, we both know where you were, no doubts, one hundred percent guaranteed.”

Arkadia nodded and said, “Yup, yup, and a hell yup,” Bohdan continued and creases of confusion danced across his forehead.

“Then what the hell is Violet doing? Is she a few sandwiches short of a picnic?” The dragon growled in agreement and Arkadia laughed.

“It’s hard to get used to the two of you—one who speaks, and one who growls.”

“But both who adore you,” Bohdan said as he pulled Arkadia to her feet gently and wrapped his arms around her. Kissing the top of her head, he said, “It’s getting late in the afternoon, and I am not risking my dragonhood getting bronzed by keeping you two nights in a row. Go home, get some sleep, and we will go visit Violet in the morning and see what’s going on.”

Arkadia looked up into Bohdan’s eyes, a playful grin creeping across her lips. “Don’t tell me the big, strong, fierce dragon is afraid of little ol’ Eloise?”

“Damn straight he is, and he loves you enough to respect the rules.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, a soft caressing kiss, one that would give her dreams of him tonight. “Now go get in the truck, and I’ll drop you off at home.” Arkadia was about to protest when Bohdan held up his hand. “I have no need to kill another wolf tonight; just let me drop you off at home.” Arkadia sighed in defeat and followed him to the truck.

As promised, Bohdan was at the house to pick up Arkadia early. She had promised to only take a look if Violet was home. She hadn’t been at school since Diane’s death, so Chey, Cat, and she had already been worried as to what was wrong. Now with her playing happy murder witness AGAINST Arkadia, they wanted to know if she was at home.

Raven had asked come and help, but Arkadia didn’t want to involve anyone else from the house. If something happened to her, and then people worked out that she was a witch, then the “other kids” in the house would be in danger.

They drove to the driveway and just sat out front, watching for signs of life inside. The white wooden house was quaint and quirky. The pale blue shudders and pebble stone path in the garden made it look more like a home than a house. Arkadia couldn’t see anyone. “WAIT!!!” Arkadia exclaimed. “Did you see that movement in the window?” When Bohdan shook his head, she said, “I’m going to go knock on the door. I am sure I saw the curtain move.” Arkadia went to get out of the truck, and Bohdan unsnapped his seat belt to follow her. Arkadia turned to him. “Is it okay if I go by myself? She is one of my best friends, and I have known her since I started school. This HAS to be a mistake.” Bohdan put his hand on hers, his thumb rubbing softly up and down the back of her hand. Arkadia could feel the heat spreading through her body at his touch.

“Okay,” his deep voice rumbled protectively. “Just stay outside where I can see you; don’t go inside.” Arkadia smiled as she nodded and got out of the truck.

Walking up the path to the house, Arkadia noticed the garden was a little unkempt, which was unusual as Vi’s mother was a keen gardener and normally took great pride in having the best kept garden on the street. There wasn’t a car in the driveway, but the garage door was down so it could have been parked inside. As she got closer to the door, she started to feel quite unwell. Her stomach was doing back flips and she began sweating across the top of her forehead, and she NEVER sweat … EVER!!!!!

Arkadia swallowed past the feelings deep in the pit of her stomach and knocked on the door; there was nothing, not a single sound. She looked back at the truck where Bohdan waited and watched her, his arm resting across the back of the seat. He had slightly angled his body to be able to easily see her, and he winked at her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Rolling her eyes dramatically, she chuckled. “Cheeky dragon,” she muttered.

Arkadia turned around to knock one last time. Her hand froze, not the winter cold kind of frozen, but the kind of frozen that left you completely incapacitated. She tried to move her hand again by shifting her weight and quickly realized it was not just her hand. Her entire body was frozen like a statue. She could think, move her eyes and blink, take shallow breaths, but that was it. As Arkadia felt the terror take over her mind; her heart raced at such a pace she thought surely it would fail at any second. Her veins felt like they were visibly pulsing with the pressure of her heart beating so fast. Panic began to engulf her very essence. Bohdan felt her panic with the wolves, Arkadia remembered. He should be able to feel this, he will be here soon, he will feel me, and he will …
Won’t he?
“BOHDAN … HELP ME … BOHDAN … PLEEEEEAASSSEEE!” Arkadia screamed in her head, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. “BOHDAN … I CAN’T MOVE … SOMETHING HAS ME … HELP …please?’ Arkadia had never felt so powerless. Something or someone had her. It gripped her by magic like a lump of wood in an ever tightening vice.

A movement caught her eye. The curtain parted ever so slightly. “VIOLET!!!” Arkadia screamed in her head. “HELP ME … SOMEONE HAS HOLD OF ME … HELP ME …” The blood drained instantly from her body as she saw the evil flash across Violet’s eyes. Arkadia had never seen anything evil from Violet before; she had seen Violet the bitch, of course, that was a common view, but to see a true look of evil flash across her eyes made her heart stop for a split second. She watched as Violet raised her finger into view through the crack in the curtain. Confusion entered Arkadia’s mind, then Vi made a small movement of her finger that made Arkadia’s hand knock on the door once; another finger movement, and Arkadia was made to knock twice.

Ice filled her veins and she stared horrified at the eyes behind the curtains.
Violet’s a para?
Arkadia’s head screamed a million messages all at the same time, despite the fact she couldn’t move a single muscle; there certainly wasn’t any limiting aspect to her mind. Arkadia had to dig deep and give herself a virtual slap. It was the only way she could stop herself from screaming, or at least that’s how it worked in the movies. Arkadia was dumbfounded. She had known Violet since first grade, and their mom’s had been friends. She considered Violet to be one of her longest and closest friends. But as she stared at the crazed eyes in the crack of the curtain, Arkadia was quickly realizing how wrong her judgment appeared to be. Violet shook her head slowly as she placed her thumb to her throat and ran it along horizontally. She mouthed the words, “You’re dead.” Then she vanished from the window.

As quickly as she had been physically restrained by the magic, it vanished. Vanished as in instantly she could move freely as if nothing had happened. She took the deepest and sweetest breath she could muster. Backing quickly away from the door, she spun and ran for the truck, tears running down her cheeks as she yanked open the door, jumped in, and screamed at Bohdan. “DRIVE … AS FAST AS YOU CAN … DRIVE NOW!!!”