Feathers (21 page)

             
I felt myself tense up a little.  Michael did as well.  “You’re sure about that?” he asked.

             
“I just doubled checked it with a friend who’s heading to the scene.  It’s definitely the Smith house.  Is Raziel still with you?” Raphael asked.

             
“No.  He just left about ten minutes ago.” Michael replied.

             
“That’s what I was worried about.” Raphael sighed.

             
I looked over in time to see Sean transform and take off.  No doubt he was heading to the house now.  Michael watched for a moment before continuing.  “It looks like Sean’s heading there as well.  And so are we.  If Raziel’s there, we could have more problems.”

             
“I’m going with you.  I might be able to tell you what Flint did if I see it.” Sara said.

             
“All right.  Let’s get moving then.” Michael agreed.

             
I had to admit, I was more then frightened about all of this as we rode down there.  I didn’t know what was going to happen now that Flint had taken the offensive.  And with Sean taking off like that, it wasn’t hard to mistake his intentions either.  He wanted to see for himself, then go after Flint for it.  I knew that feeling I got from him from the moment he realized Anna’s scent was on Flint.  He’d been very angry.

             
The scene itself looked like something out of a movie.  There were a lot of first responder cars there, and the house itself was completely in flames, though the firefighters were working hard to get it under control.  I had the sense that Sean was there, but he was watching from the nearby woods.  Thankfully, it looked like Raziel was okay too.  In fact, he was standing there with Anna by one of the ambulances.  Her mother was there too, but looked like she was still in shock.  I didn’t see her father.

             
“My God, look at that.” Sara whispered as we got out.

             
I think Michael was a little taken back too.  “He caused all of this already?” he said softly.

             
By then, Raphael was coming as well.  Of course, his first order of business was to go over and retrieve Raziel.  I would’ve imagined this one did scare him.  Knowing Raziel, he probably hadn’t thought twice about helping Anna get out.  In fact, I was pretty sure he’d been in there, considering I could see where his shirt and pants were a little burnt as well.

             
“What in the world happened here?” Michael asked as they came over to us.

             
“It’s as bad as it looks apparently.  According to what Anna and Beverly are saying, Ben did it.” Raphael told him.

             
“Her own father?” Sara said in shock.

             
“He’s acting like a damn psycho.” Raziel said, glancing at one of the nearby police cars.  In the back a man was sitting by himself, apparently in hand cuffs.  He was very calm looking though, just watching the fire burn.

             
“It’s a spell.” Sara said softly.  “Flint’s used it to turn him against everyone.  He basically would be psychotic now.”

             
“Do you know what happened Raziel?” I asked, looking up at him.

             
Raziel sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not sure myself.  When I got here, he was standing at the door and lighting the match.  Anna and her mom were upstairs in the bedroom where they’d locked themselves in.  I almost couldn’t get them out.  Guess I have Sean to thank for that one.” He admitted.

             
“I’m taking it you must have had a visitor for Sean to know this.” Raphael said, looking over at Michael.

             
“Unfortunately we did.  And we’ve gotten the threat now.  He wants him, or things like this will continue.” Michael replied.

             
“So what now? There’s no avoiding that fight if this is gonna keep happening.” Raziel said.  We all kept our voices low though.  No telling who might be listening.

             
“We’ll deal with it.  But for right now, it would be better for us to get out of here and regroup.” Raphael said.

             
“Fine.  Let me make sure Anna’s gonna be okay first though.” Raziel told him.

             
“Go on.” Raphael agreed.

             
We watched as he went back over and talked to her again.  “Poor thing.  He’s destroyed her family.” Sara said softly.

             
“You realize that we’re going to have to play this very carefully Raphael.  Especially if Sean was seen.” Michael said.

             
“We’ll handle that if it comes up.  But for now, the more immediate concern is figuring out where we go from here.  He’s already shown us some of what he’s capable of.  We can’t afford to slip up anymore.” Raphael reasoned.

             
I just barely heard them though.  Instead, I was busy watching Raziel with Anna.  Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous as he kissed her.  I had been with Sean for a while now, and that certainly didn’t happen between us.  In fact, sometimes it felt like Sean was still just as much of an enigma as he’d been from the day we met.  It made me wonder if I was really making any progress with him at all.

             
Within minutes, Raziel was back and we were getting ready to leave.  It wouldn’t have done us any good to stay any longer.  But looking at the woods, I could see the large silver fox was also watching.  And I had the feeling that all that was running through his mind now was how he could get even.

Eighteen

              The house was quiet as I sat back in the hallway and looked out of the large bay window at the nearby woods.  It was night time now, and things had been fairly quiet since we’d gotten back from the fire.  Of course, there had been a lot of discussion too about it.  I’d sat down there for a good while listening to it before I decided I’d heard enough.  So I came up there to think by myself. 

             
The truth was, I was worried about what was going to happen now with Anna.  I doubted she knew yet that the reason her dad had went crazy was because of another fox that was after Sean.  I couldn’t help but wonder what she’d do when she found out.  Would she blame Sean, blame us, for destroying her family?  And what would happen between her and Raziel then?

             
Once again, the image of them together ran through my mind.  I wasn’t stupid about that relationship.  It was definitely a serious one.  But that made me think of the one I was currently supposed to be in too.  I knew I really liked Sean.  I had that attraction to him.  And he was good to me most of the time.  I just wished he wasn’t so secretive at times.  Maybe he thought he was protecting me too, but I didn’t like that.  Not to mention the fact that he seemed hesitant to really be with me too.  He’d claimed quite a few times now that he loved me.  Why would he be so scared to be more intimate with me then?

             
The feeling of someone walking over to me pulled me out of my thoughts.  I looked up and was a little surprised to see him standing there.  “Mind if I join you?” he asked.

             
“No.  Go ahead.” I said.  I watched him sit down beside me before continuing.  “So, I guess you got tired of listening to things too, huh?”

             
“Not really.  But I wanted to see where you’d went.  I didn’t think it would be right if I wasn’t around after all of this.” Sean admitted.

             
So he cared enough to come looking for me if I needed comfort.  Well, that was a start.  At least, that was how I’d begun thinking since we got back there.  Still, I tried to play it off.  “I’m okay you know.  But I feel bad for Anna.” I said, looking back out of the window.

             
Sean sighed.  “I know.  This is my fault in the end.  If I knew I could face down that fox, I would do it.  But there’s too much right now for me to risk something stupid.  And I don’t think you’d forgive me this time if I actually died.” He said.

             
That one made me look back over at him.  “You’d seriously be that worried about me with that?” I asked.

             
“Of course.  It bothers you enough when I leave here for a while, doesn’t it?” Sean asked, a hint of a smile on his face.  But it wasn’t mean at all.  In fact, it almost looked understanding.

             
I had to look away again.  “Of course it does.  But whenever you do that, you never tell me either.  It’s not fair.” I said, actually pouting a little.

             
I heard him laugh softly.  “I’m sorry.  I guess I’m really not that good at handling things with the ones I care about yet.  But all of this has been so new to me too.  Sometimes I worry that I’m going to do or say the wrong thing.” He admitted.

             
“You really worry about that?” I asked.  Now that one surprised me.  I didn’t think anything about any of this really bothered Sean.  But at the same time, it would explain a lot of things, especially all of his hesitation with me.

             
“Of course.  I can put on a good front, but I have my own insecurities too.  I’ve never been someone who’s been good with people in the end.  And I certainly can’t say I’ve ever even considered having a woman in my life before now.  There are times if I truly wonder if I’ve lost my mind.” Sean said, musing slightly at the last part.

             
“Very funny.” I said, curling up beside him.  “I could say the same thing.  But you’re also the only guy who’s ever liked me for me.  Or at least I guess you do.”

             
“I do.  You’re different from everyone else to me, and have been since the day we met.  I’ve always meant it when I’ve said that I love you, and that’s not going to change.” Sean said, putting an arm around me.

             
For a moment, we were quiet.  I glanced up at him, trying to read his expression, but it seemed serene enough.  I couldn’t help but sigh.  “Hey Sean, do you think you’ll have to fight that fox?” I asked softly.

             
“I don’t know.  Manake’s trying to make it so that I won’t, but I don’t know if he’ll make it in time now.” Sean replied.

             
“Where’d he go anyways?  He left you and Sara with us without hardly saying anymore.” I said.

             
“He went looking for another family member.  My dad’s brother, Musket.” Sean said.

             
“I didn’t know your dad had a brother.” I said, sitting up a little to face him.

             
Sean shrugged.  “He did have two, but one of them died when they were still pretty young.  Musket’s as old as he was, and Manake swears that he’s the one who would be able to stop Flint without any real problems.  But he’s hard to keep tabs on too.  I wasn’t the first one to carry the nick name renegade in the family.” He said, smiling slightly.

             
I felt myself smile back.  “I could imagine.  But why only Musket?  Couldn’t Manake take care of it too?” I asked him.

             
“Well, that’s kind of the thing about foxes.  Typically, challenges in the family have to stay in the family.  It’s like an unspoken rule of thumb.” Sean explained.

             
“I guess.  But it’s still kind of weird.” I said, sitting back a little.

             
“Well, it’s not like you picked a normal boyfriend.” Sean chuckled.

             
“Of course not.  I don’t think I could handle a normal boyfriend.  I don’t even know how I handle you.  I swore for a long time now that I just wasn’t meant to have one.  I wonder what happened.” I said.

             
“We both moved to Madison and met.  I don’t think anything ever happens without a reason.  And in the end, you and I are both one of a kind.” Sean said.

             
“Hmm.  You might be right.” I said, snuggling up to him again.

             
It was funny, but somehow, we’d ended up getting closer like this lately.  A part of me wondered if this was just normal in a relationship.  Maybe I wanted something to happen too quickly after all.

             
After a few minutes, Sean spoke again.  “Hey Mia, when all of this is over, do you want to stay with me?” he asked softly.

             
“Of course I do.  You’re my fox, no matter what happens.  And none of this is your fault.  Flint’s doing it on his own just because he has the same stupid instincts you did.” I said, curling up more against him.

             
I felt him laugh.  “You know, you’re really cute at times.” He commented.

             
“Not funny.  I’m being serious.” I muttered.

             
“I know.  But it helps to laugh at one’s self at times too.  But I’m serious myself about you being cute.  It’s just one of the things I love about you.” Sean said.

             
“Ah, you’re hopeless.” I said, pushing myself up.  He obviously wasn’t going to take me serious now.  But to my surprise, he quickly got up with me and stopped me by pulling me close.  And suddenly, his lips were on mine.  I felt my eyes widen a little, then close.  Yes, this was what I was hoping for someday.  And it felt as nice as I’d imagined.

             
“I love you Mia.  And I promise that we’ll make it through all of this.  I won’t let him kill me or hurt anyone else.” He whispered as he pulled away.

             
“I love you too.  Just be careful Sean.” I whispered back.

             
“I will.  Although, there is something else I was thinking about as well.” Sean admitted.

             
“Hmm?  What’s that?” I asked him.

             
Sean looked around us for a moment.  But the upstairs remained quiet, as did the house itself.  I had the feeling that everyone was getting ready to call it a night, beings it was pretty late.  Sean leaned down to keep his voice in a whisper.  “You want us to stay together always, right?”

             
I nodded, feeling my heart beat a little harder.  “You know I do.” I answered.

             
“There’s one certain way for my kind to remain with someone heart and soul forever.  Would you be willing to have me and complete that bond?” he asked me.

             
I read between the lines easily on that one.  And I actually felt a little excited.  “Yes.  But we’d have to make sure we didn’t get caught.  That would be embarrassing.” I whispered back.

             
Sean just smiled.  “I think I know the perfect place.”

              I’ll admit that I felt a little more then good the next morning.  I at least now had what I wanted and needed from Sean, and knew that he would not be leaving me behind.  Still, as school started the next day, I felt nervous too.  A lot had happened over the weekend, and I didn’t doubt that there would be a lot of talk about the Smith family incident.  To my surprise though, Anna was there as Sean and I arrived that morning.  She was standing out in the parking lot with Raziel.  I braced myself for this one. Raziel had said that he was going to tell her the truth about what had happened with her dad.  No telling what was about to be said now that she’d know that another fox was involved.

             
Still, I tried to play it off a little as we got out.  “Anna.  I didn’t think you’d be back today.” I told her.

             
“I couldn’t just sit there at my aunt’s house.  It was pretty depressing.” Anna admitted.  She looked over at Sean for a moment before speaking again.  “You sure know how to make enemies, don’t you?”

             
There it was.  It wasn’t that accusing, but the hurt was definitely there.  “I’m sorry.  I really never would’ve thought he’d go after you or your family.  You’re really not that involved with me.” Sean apologized.

             
“It’s all right.  Maybe Dad was losing it before anyways.  But you’d better get rid of that thing to make it up to me.” Anna said.

             
“She’s been wanting revenge since I told her.” Raziel admitted.

             
“How’s your mom?” I dared ask.

             
“She’s okay.  Well, kind of.  But Mom’s always been good at playing down what she really thinks too.  And we keep getting phone calls.  Everybody wants to know why my dad suddenly went crazy.  It’s all so stupid.” Anna explained.

             
“It is what it is to them right now, and they need to leave it alone.  I told you that you could stay at my house today if you wanted to.  You didn’t have to come to school.  Dad would’ve taken care of it.” Raziel told her.

             
“It’s okay.  I’d rather be around people then hide my face in shame you know.  It’s better for me this way.” Anna replied.

             
Of course, saying such things is usually easier said then done.  A lot of people were watching her like hawks when we got in there.  I felt bad, but I wasn’t sure of what to do.  Thankfully, Raziel was there too.  It seemed like no one wanted to really approach her with him around.  Anna herself was pretty quiet though.  Sitting in our second class, I glanced back over at her and quietly pushed a note under the side of her notebook.  She looked at it for a moment before opening it and reading it.  Then she wrote back.

             
I’m okay.  I just keep thinking about things, and it makes me be quiet when I do that.

             
What are you thinking about?
  I had to write back.

             
Her response surprised me a little though.

             
If we’ll see Flint today.

             
That was right.  Flint was supposed to be in our last class.  And obviously, Raziel would’ve told her that Flint was the fox when he explained all of this.  As the bell rang and we stood up, I had to make sure of exactly what she meant by that.  “Hey, you’re not thinking of doing something, are you?” I asked her quietly as we stood up.

             
“No.  I’m kind of hoping he’s not there.” Anna admitted.  I followed her gaze to where Raziel was talking to the teacher.  He’d called him aside when class ended, and it looked like they were talking about something important.  Of course, Raziel didn’t look too happy over it either.  After a moment, he walked back over to us.

             
“Is something wrong?” Anna asked.