How I Found You (17 page)

“Gone,” he said in a tender voice.

I didn’t know exactly why I felt compelled to do this, but I simply couldn’t stop myself. I reached out to him and enfolded my arms around him, resting my chin on his shoulder.

His breath faltered.

“Is this okay?” I tested.

Oscar cautiously returned the embrace.

“Yes,” he said. “This is okay.”

So, there we stood, at six in the morning, in Mary’s flower garden, holding on to each other as though we may not get another chance.   

And I wished for it never to end.

Reinforcements

AROUND MID-AFTERNOON, SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT
subsequently changed the course of events in a way that could never have been foreseen.

We had a visitor.

Oscar and I had been in the garden at the time. It wasn’t a warm day, nor was it particularly pleasing to the eye, what with the murky fog curtaining the landscape. But neither of us made any attempt to move back indoors, so we silently agreed to stay put. Anyway, from where we’d planted ourselves, there was a direct view to the front driveway. Parked on the gravel was Mary’s sky-blue minivan and the Valeros’ sleek black Lamborghini. There was an empty space between them, where Roger’s gold Volvo would usually slot. Of course, he was at work, ergo the space was empty.

Not for long.

We heard the rumbling engine before we saw the car. It snarled like a tiger, rising louder and louder until the impressive vehicle swerved into view.

Oscar and I frowned at one another. And for a second, I thought my eyes and ears were playing tricks on me. Now, it might have seemed odd to feel so disbelieving that a car would come to Millwood. But, it was
Millwood
. Cars didn’t come here. The rest of the world was miles away, and we went to
it
. Not the other way around.

At first we were both a little perplexed. However, when the royal blue BMW shot across the gravel, perplexed changed to worried. I didn’t know why I felt worried—as far as I knew, I had no reason to be—but Oscar froze like a deer in the headlights. My own anxiety naturally emulated his.

The car screeched to a halt, sliding with impeccable precision between the minivan and Lamborghini.

“That traitorous back-stabber,” I heard Oscar mutter under his breath.

“What?” I looked to him for answers, but his focus was glued to the BMW. A stream of grey smog poured from the exhaust pipe, merging with the fogged air.

“Who is that?” I asked, trying to peer into the blackened car windows.

Oscar didn’t seem to hear me; his mind was elsewhere.

The engine cut out and the driver’s door opened smoothly. Out stepped a man. He was tall and smartly dressed, with hair the colour of vanilla ice cream. He looked to be in his late twenties, though from this distance I couldn’t be sure.

“Don’t let him see you,” Oscar hissed.

I shrank back into the flowers.

“Who is he?” I asked for the second time.

“Marco,” Oscar spat out the name with vicious detest.

“Who’s Marco?”

“My brother,” he responded grimly.

From our hiding place we watched Marco stride to the front door and ring the bell. He moved with long, agile steps, his head held high.

Oscar edged forward to get a better view. He gave me a warning
stay back
look. I’d never seen that expression before; it was almost animal.

Personally, I wasn’t close enough to see the front door, but I heard it all go down.

“Marco,” Caicus greeted the newcomer, not surprised or troubled as Oscar had been. “Do come in.”

“Hello, Caicus,” Marco replied, in a voice that oozed superiority. “I trust I find you well?”

“Very well, thank you. And yourself? How was your journey?”

I didn’t hear Marco’s response, because he crossed into the manor and closed the door behind them.

Oscar swivelled around to face me. His expression was thunderous.

“Family reunion?” I quipped.

“An unwelcome one,” he grumbled. “And one I haven’t been invited to.” He let out an enraged breath and kicked at the grass.

“Why is he here?” I shuffled forward to sit beside Oscar.

“Because Caicus doesn’t trust me,” Oscar fumed. He sprung to his feet and marched across the lawn towards the house.

“Wait!” I called after him, scrambling off the ground and rushing to catch up.

“No, stay there,” he yelled over his shoulder.

“No!” I snapped. “I’m in this, too, remember?”

Oscar paused his stride.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine,” he muttered. “Stay behind me and
don’t
look into his eyes.” Without further explanation, he stormed off towards the manor, flinging the door open and bursting into the hallway.

I followed closely behind, not sure if I should be scared or angry. I decided on angry—mostly because I didn’t like the sound of scared.

Oscar made a beeline for the kitchen.

The first person I saw was Mary. She was standing at the breakfast bar, apron on, rolling pin in hand. Zack was in his highchair, bashing his rattle on his tray.

“Hello,” Mary waved at us. She placed her rolling pin down and wiped her floury hands onto her apron. “Oscar, your brother has come for a visit. How nice.” By the sound of her voice, she was as confused as I was.

On the other side of the breakfast counter, Caicus and Marco stood, both smiling cryptically.

I could see Marco up close, now. His skin was bronzed and his hair and eyes were as pale as clotted cream. Without a doubt, he was outstandingly handsome. Striking, even. It was difficult to peel my eyes away.

“Hello,” Marco purred. He offered me his hand. “My name is Marco Valero. And you are?”

I warily shook his hand, all the while conscious of Oscar’s barbed body language.

“I’m Rose,” I said, a little more meekly than I would have liked.

When I stepped back from him, I noticed Oscar’s shoulders relax a fraction.

Then Marco pivoted towards Mary. He extended his long fingers out to her.

“Pleasure to meet you both,” he charmed her, sinuously.

Mary took his hand, staring deep into his talcum powder eyes. “Hello,” she managed, utterly tongue-tied.  

Caicus stood aside, smiling amiably. Thick strands of caramel hair curved into a neat frame around his own frosted eyes, which he now cast upon Mary, breaking her connection with Marco.

I didn’t like this. I didn’t like it at all.

“Mary,” Caicus said, “as I was saying,” he glanced briefly at Oscar, “Marco is our brother. It’s okay if he stays with us for a few days, isn’t it?”

Completely spellbound, Mary nodded her head. “Of course.”

“Thank you,” Caicus cooed in delight.

Now Marco joined the game, directing Mary’s eyes back to him. “How very generous of you. You have a lovely home.”

Mary’s jaw dropped open. Dumbfounded, she plonked down onto a kitchen stool and gawped at the new guest.

Marco cocked his head towards me. “Rose,” he spoke my name as though it tasted sweet on his lips, “my brothers informed me of your beauty, but their praise does not do you justice.”

Oscar groaned. “Give it a rest, Romeo. Nobody likes a kiss-ass.”

“Little brother,” Marco glanced at Oscar, and then at me, “have you no etiquette?”

Caicus cleared his throat. “Uh, Mary,” he said, severing through the tension, “would you be so kind as to take Zack outside for a moment?” He thanked her before hearing her response.

Entranced by him, Mary obliged. Two humans down, one to go. I stood in the kitchen with three Valero witches. Three fiercely handsome witches—though I had a feeling that things were about to get ugly.

“What a great surprise,” Oscar jeered through clenched teeth. “Marco’s here.” He looked accusingly at Caicus.             

Caicus shrugged his shoulders. “Three heads are better than two.”

Oscar’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll bet they are.”

The boys fell into a hush. I had been in their company for long enough to spot when they were communicating telepathically. Like now, for instance.

After a lengthy silence, Marco spoke. “So, this is her.” He motioned to me. “The infamous prophecy girl.”

I shrank away from his intrusive gaze. Despite his placid beauty and refined demeanour, there was something about Marco that frightened me to the core. My beware-of-the-dark-alley
radar was spiralling off the scale.

As if sensing my discomfort, Oscar stood in front of me, which I was infinitely pleased about.

Marco sneered. “Well, isn’t that something?” he remarked contemptuously. “Oscar’s found himself a pet.”

Oscar stared steadily at him.

“I thought you were exaggerating, Caicus,” Marco went on, “but now I see your words ring true. Seems I arrived just in the nick of time.”

I stood, motionless and vulnerable; it was all I could do. To my surprise, I noticed Caicus was doing the same. Oscar and Marco, on the other hand, were like two lions, ready to pounce at the drop of a hat.

“Come now, Oscar,” Marco said in a low, fluid murmur, “aren’t you going to let me talk to the girl?”

Oscar laughed bitterly. “Nothing you can say will be of any interest.”

Marco flashed his perfect white teeth, but it was more of a snarl than a smile. “Are you afraid I’ll work my magic on her?”

“Your magic is useless on her,” Oscar retorted. “She’s immune.”

Marco signalled to Caicus for confirmation.

“It’s true,” Caicus verified. “My power doesn’t work on her. Yours probably won’t either.”

“May I see this for myself?” Marco requested, in an unnervingly polite manner. “Not that I don’t trust you two boys, but let’s face it, you hardly have the greatest track record.”

Caicus and Oscar glanced at one another, and I could have sworn they grinned.

“Well?” Marco pushed. “Step aside, Oscar.”

Oscar remained faithfully in front of me.

“No, thanks,” he replied coolly.

I peeked around my protector. Marco was glaring at him, and Caicus was bursting with nervous energy.

“You want to talk to me?” I said, boldly. Well, as boldly as I could when I’d been scared out of my wits.

Marco’s lips crooked upwards and he met my eyes. “I’d like that very much.”

All of a sudden, I felt sick. Dizzy, too. Looking into Marco’s vanilla eyes was like looking at the world through distorted mirrors. Kind of appealing, but mostly it just made me want to vomit.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Marco uttered seductively.

I tore my gaze away from him and waited for my head to stop spinning.

“Well?” Caicus urged, virtually salivating in anticipation.

“Well, what?” I asked.

“What do you think of Marco?” Caicus spoke with such jumbled excitement that his words came out disjointed.

“Umm… He made me feel sick,” I clarified.

Oscar and Caicus exploded into a fit of laughter. Evidently unimpressed, Marco shot them a vicious glower.

“Sick?” Caicus repeated, still battling to catch his breath. “So, no uncontrollable feelings of love or adoration?”

“For him?” I pointed sceptically at Marco. “No. Just sick.”

Marco struggled to remain impervious, but I could tell he wasn’t accustomed to being anything other than irresistible.

Caicus sniggered quietly, but Oscar continued to laugh openly.

“That’s that, then,” Oscar concurred, distinctly satisfied. “I think we’ve all learnt something today. A valuable life lesson.”

Marco raised his chin.

Oscar’s grin broadened. “Caicus, care to tell big brother what we’ve learnt?”

“That you’re never as hot as you think you are,” Caicus offered.

He and Oscar guffawed again.

Marco straightened the collar of his shirt. “Tomorrow is the resurrection,” he barked. “There’s no time for childish games. We have work to do.”

Oscar rolled his eyes. “
We
are on top of it.
We
have been working on this for weeks. Or have you forgotten who was assigned this mission?”

Marco arched an eyebrow. “You were not assigned to the mission as a reflection of your capabilities, Oscar. Do not for a second think that any of the coven elders were pleased about your involvement. My only solace is that Caicus had the sense to call for reinforcement.”