Overshadow (12 page)
Authors: Brea Essex
She turned toward me and offered me a brilliant smile. I wondered briefly if she bleached her teeth. No one had teeth that white, did they? “Hello, Raena. I’m Doctor Jillian Mackay.” She held out a hand for me to shake.
I took her proffered hand. “You can call me Rae.”
“And you can call me Jill.”
“If it’s okay with you, could I call you Dr. Mackay?”
“That’s fine. Most patients just find it easier to open up when we’re on a first name basis.”
I cringed at the word “patient”. “I was taught to call all doctors by their titles. You went to school for a long time to earn that title, right?”
She laughed. “Well, yes, I did. If it makes you feel better, you can call me Dr. Mackay, or even Dr. Jill. Whatever works for you.”
I couldn’t believe how laid-back she was. Hardly what I’d expected from a psychiatrist. “How about Dr. Jillian?” I asked hesitantly.
“Sounds like a good compromise to me. Sit anywhere you like.”
She went behind the desk. Her chair was already rolled away from the desk. She folded herself carefully into it while I sat in one of the facing chairs, on the opposite side of the desk.
I stayed silent. No way was I going to start.
“Now Rae, why don’t you tell me why you’re here today?” she asked.
“Don’t you already know? I’m sure Genevra would have said something when she called to make this appointment.”
“Yes, I do have an idea, but I’d like to hear it from you. What brought you here?”
Sighing, I said, “My family thinks I’m crazy.”
She nodded as though this were an everyday occurrence. “And why do you think that?”
“I don’t think it. They do.”
“So they told you they think you’re crazy.”
“Not in so many words…”
“Then you just assumed they think this?”
This was
not
fun. “No. They treat me like I’m crazy. And they brought me here, didn’t they?”
“Just because you’re here doesn’t mean you’re crazy, Rae.”
Well that was a relief. “So I’m not crazy?”
She folded her arms on the desk and leaned forward. “Do you think you are?”
“No…”
“Then tell me why you think your family assumes you’re crazy.”
“Do I really have to?”
“Unless you just want to sit here and stare at each other for the next fifty minutes.”
I laughed. “Okay, okay. Well, they think I talk to myself.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Then who are you speaking with on these occasions where they believe you are talking to yourself?”
“My cat,” I answered, cringing. That alone would probably be enough for her to dub me crazy.
“I see. And you have… conversations… with your cat?”
Oh wow. If she only knew the truth. “Not exactly,” I hedged.
“Then how would you classify them?”
“It’s just… fine. I guess it’s more rhetorical than anything. You know, like voicing your thoughts out loud to try and sort them out? That’s normal, right?” I hated to lie, but I couldn’t tell her the truth.
Yes, doctor, my cat is a shape-shifting sorceress sent by my angel father to protect me so the devils don’t sacrifice me.
That would go over really well.
“I’m not here to tell you what’s normal and not normal. Do you think it’s normal?”
Was she just going to keep asking questions? “Umm… I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you tell me more? Did something happen recently to trigger these rhetorical conversations?”
I might as well tell her what I could. I’d just leave out the supernatural parts. The parts that made me sound truly crazy. “Well, my mom died in March.”
“Not long ago, was it? How did that make you feel?”
I guess she
was
going to keep asking questions. “It made me feel… I don’t know. Alone.” Tears began to well in my eyes.
“So how did you cope with that?”
“I didn’t,” I said, my voice wavering.
“What did you do soon after her death?”
I looked at her, confused. “I moved here.”
“That’s not what I mean. You got a boyfriend, didn’t you?”
Had Genevra told her everything? “Yeah.”
“And that boyfriend…?”
“Turned out to be a psycho, so I broke up with him.”
“Then you got another boyfriend?”
Wow. The way she said it made me sound like a player. “It wasn’t like that. Logan and I didn’t start dating until after...”
“After what?”
“After Andrei kidnapped me,” I whispered.
“Who is Andrei?”
“The ex-boyfriend.”
She paled. Apparently, Genevra hadn’t shared that small detail. “So the first boyfriend is the one who kidnapped you?”
“Yes.” I hated rehashing all of this again.
“How did you escape? Were the police called? Did they find you?”
“No,” I replied, forcing a hint of steel into my tone. Maybe she’d pick up on it and change the subject. “Logan found out where I was and he rescued me.”
“Logan is?”
“My boyfriend.”
She frowned down at her notes. “You are dating him currently?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“You called him your boyfriend.”
“He is — sort of.”
“How is someone sort of your boyfriend?”
“Weren’t you ever a teenager, Dr. Mackay?” I dropped the “Jillian”. At the moment, I didn’t care if she preferred to be called by her first name.
“Yes, of course.”
“Look, I’d rather not talk about it right now.” I didn’t want to admit to her that Logan and I weren’t technically together. She would ask why and then I would lose it. Besides, I couldn’t tell her he was under a spell.
“All right then. What do you want to talk about?”
“Nothing. Are we done here?”
She glanced at her clock. We were only halfway through the appointment. “I suppose so. I’d like to speak with your guardians before you leave.”
“Fine. I’m sure they’ll want to speak with you too.”
I stood and walked out of her office. Genevra, Shane, and Tanis were still sitting exactly where I’d left them in the waiting room. “She wants to talk to you,” I informed them, jerking my thumb in the direction of the office I’d just vacated. I didn’t wait to see if they went in to talk to her. I needed some air. I hurried across the waiting room and headed outside. I leaned against the building wall, hoping they wouldn’t follow me. I closed my eyes, trying to resist the need to bang my head against the brick. It would hurt, and it certainly wouldn’t help. What were they thinking?
“Raena?” Tanis’ voice came hesitantly. “Are you okay?”
I opened my eyes and glared at her. “What do you think?” I laughed bitterly as I realized that I sounded like the psychiatrist asking questions.
“I’m sorry Mom and Dad did that.”
Still she insisted upon calling them Mom and Dad to me. They would never be my parents, no matter that my mom was dead and my dad was who knows where. I shrugged, trying to calm down. “I shouldn’t have been surprised. I guess I have been acting weird.”
“You know, if you need to talk, I’m here.”
I heaved a sigh. “Thanks. I may just take you up on that. Talking to you has to be better than being dragged to the psych office.”
“I wish I wasn’t your last resort,” she said softly.
“What do you mean?”
“You talk to Tristan, you talk to the psychiatrist, you talk to the
cat
, but you won’t talk to me? I know we’re not all that close, but we are sisters.”
“I had no idea it was such a big deal to you.”
“It’s not, I guess…”
I think I understood then. She must be feeling left out. We weren’t super close, as in hanging around each other all the time, but we were sisters, as she said. Before I could respond, the door opened. Genevra and Shane emerged. “Dr. Mackay would like to see you again next week,” Genevra said.
“Are you serious? I have to come back here?”
“She feels there’s still a lot of progress to be made.”
Yeah, like that was going to happen. “Can we just go home?”
If they were surprised by my lack of protest, they certainly didn’t show it. “All right. Let’s go home.”
We remained silent the whole way home.
Andrei
“Lord Andrei!”
I cringed. Serafina was coming up behind me. I turned slowly. “Yes?” I asked, exasperated.
“Why have you sent me on this mission if you are going to take the opposite side now?”
“I have not taken the opposite side. Your mission stands.” As much as I wanted to tell her to end her mission, it would give me away. I had to pretend that I remained on my mother’s side until we destroyed her. I would just have to help Raena find a way to break Serafina’s spell. There were ways. I just hoped she would take my advice.
“Then why have I seen you with the half-breed girl?”
“I am simply trying to gain her trust. We still need her, just as much as we need my brother. They are both key to taking over Heaven completely.” That was why I needed to halt my mother’s plan. I longed to be in Heaven again, but not on her terms. Her terms would destroy Heaven and everything it stood for. It would make Heaven just as much of a wasteland as the Shadow Imperium currently was. No, Heaven needed to remain as-is, in its pristine condition. The Creator’s plans needed to be honored. I just wished I had discovered this before.
Serafina looked at me skeptically. I needed to distract her. “Are you worried, Serafina?” I reached out and caressed her cheek. “You know you’re always my number one.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked breathlessly.
I had to make a fast decision. I knew she liked me, but I still loved Rae. Serafina didn’t need to know that though. “Yes, of course.” I pulled my hand away from her. “You’ll always be my number one lieutenant. I know I can always count on you.” With that, I spun on my heel, and headed down the corridor, leaving her crushed.
****
Logan
My back began to feel hot. A searing pain ripped through my muscles. I screamed and fell to my knees. What was happening to me?
I collapsed further to the floor, curling up in a ball on my side. Something felt as though it was trying to force its way out of my body. I don’t know how long I lay there — time had no meaning with the intensity of the white-hot agony I was experiencing. Finally, as suddenly as it began, it ended.
I stood slowly. Something was pulling me off balance. My back felt heavy, the muscles tensing strangely. Something grey on the edge of my vision caught my attention. I turned carefully, but the odd dark grey object eluded my sight. What was it? I stayed completely still, only turning my head this time.
Dark grey feathers hung in the air behind me. Where did those come from? I reached up and brushed my hand against them. Yep, they were definitely there — not a hallucination as I had hoped. I followed along the shape of the feathers, until I reached my back. They were coming out of me! Did I have wings?
Something was definitely strange here. Was I not human? The possibility that I might not be what I had thought stunned me. What sort of creatures had wings? I mused about that for a moment, trying to concentrate on that rather than my growing panic. I couldn’t come up with anything. I needed answers, but where would I find them? What people dealt with the supernatural?
The wings had completely torn through my shirt. It hung off me in tatters. I ripped it off the rest of the way. There was no use trying to put on a different one. Until I figured out how to get rid of these wings, or retract them back into my body, no shirt would fit.
I started cautiously down the stairs. No sign of my parents. I breathed a sigh of relief. No way could I explain this to them. Good thing Sera wasn’t there. She would have a heart attack if she saw.
My anger began to rise as I crept down the stairs and headed for the front door. Who had done this to me? Was this some sort of trick? I bet Raena had something to do with this. She had been weird lately — following me around, showing up at my house, insisting that there was something going on between us. I bet she had found some sort of witch and had a spell cast on me! Or maybe she was the witch.
I dashed for my car, determined to drive to Raena’s house and confront her. Where did she live? Maybe the spell attached me to her in some way. Spells had a way of forming some sort of bond between the caster and the victim, didn’t they?
I threw open the door to my car and jumped in, slamming the door behind me and simultaneously jamming the key into the ignition. I turned it on and shifted into reverse. Sitting in the driver’s seat with the wings tucked against my back was extremely uncomfortable, but there was no way around it.
When I reached Capitola, I drove around and around. I knew she must live somewhere near the Village. I had often seen her there. There was no sign of her. I felt no pull. Maybe she hadn’t cast a spell on me after all, or the rumors of spell casters and victims were false.
Where else could I find answers? If I couldn’t find the witch, then who else would know? I stopped in the middle of the street and spied a church sitting on the side of the road. That was it! Maybe I could find my answers there.
I pulled into the parking lot and shut off my car. The church seemed familiar somehow. Maybe I had passed it before. Jumping out of my car, I headed for the entrance. I threw the doors open. They banged against the walls with a resounding crack. I could tell the wood had fractured, but I didn’t care. I would find my answers here, even if I had to destroy the entire building to get them.
The priest was standing at the altar. He turned at the sound of my entrance. His eyes grew wide when they lit upon me. “L-L-Loga-an,” he stuttered.
I heard his heart skitter as it skipped a beat. The catch of his breath in his lungs was audible from the opposite side of the room. “Priest! How do you know me?”
His heart recovered, though it had sped up. His breathing regulated as he slowly approached me. “We’ve met before,” he said quietly.
“You’re insane.”
“It’s true, my son.”
My hands clenched. I started toward him, then stopped myself in my own tracks. I wanted to strangle the priest until he begged for each sweet taste of life-giving air. I wanted to watch his eyes roll back in his head as he lost consciousness. If I did that, I would never get the answers I so craved. I needed to take a different tactic.
Walking more slowly now, I sauntered toward him, stopping when I was approximately five feet from him. I couldn’t help but smirk when I noted how I towered over the diminutive man. “Tell me your name, priest.”
“Father Matthias. We’ve met before.” He frowned as he stared at the wings flaring out behind me. “Your wings. They’ve changed.”
This was not something I had been expecting to hear. “Tell me what you mean,” I ordered.
“They used to be a light grey. Now they’re as dark as steel. If you’re not careful, they will be fully black before long.”
“You’re speaking nonsense. These…
things
…” I gestured over my shoulder. “Appeared out of nowhere. They were already this color.”
He stepped closer to me and reached one hand out toward a wing. “What sort of spell does the witch have you under?” he murmured.
I drove my palm against his cheek. The resulting crack when my hand made contact with his skin was even louder than the crashing of the door. I watched uncaring as the force propelled him off his feet. He flew into some of the wooden seats that lined the church interior. Man and benches fell to the floor. I strode over to where he lay. “I ask the questions here. Consider this your only warning.”
He simply glared up at me, not speaking. “Good choice, listening to me.” I chuckled. There was something satisfying about seeing the man brought low by a simple blow. I leaned over him. “Now tell me, priest. What exactly am I?”
He shook his head. I grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him close to me. “Tell me!” I ordered, shaking him so violently that his head flopped back and forth.
I released him, pushing him back to the ground. There was a satisfying crack as the priest’s head hit the wooden benches. I turned and began pacing down the aisle. “What is it going to take for you to be honest with me, priest? Do I have to hurt you more?”
Movement sounded behind me. I whirled back around. The priest crawled away from where I had left him on the floor. He knelt on hands and knees before the altar. “Father, forgive him,” he whispered. “He knows not what he does.”
“Do you really think that’s going to help you, priest?” I roared, storming toward the altar where he knelt praying.
He was still whispering when I reached him. I grabbed him by his robes again, lifting him up to dangle helplessly in midair. His feet kicked uselessly at the empty air as I held him out at arm’s length.
“Look at you!” I laughed. “You’re as bad as a fish out of water. Does the little fishy need some air?” I sucked in a deep breath, blowing it in his face. It sent him swinging back and forth, surprising me at my own lung strength. Hmm, that might come in handy.
The priest still muttered to himself. “Say it louder so I can hear it, man!” I pulled him closer to me, wondering what he was babbling about.
His arm swung up, and a round metal object cracked against my head. I flinched, but didn’t drop him. Smoke flooded my eyes. I began coughing, gasping for air. I released my hold on him and I heard a thud as he collapsed to the floor.
I couldn’t see anything. The smoke blinded me, burning my eyes and making them water. Tears streamed down my face. A strong scent hung in the air. “Is that… incense?” I choked out.
“Yes,” the priest’s voice came. I swung my fist in the direction of his voice, but nothing connected. “I’m sorry, Logan,” he continued. “It was the only thing I could think of. Now if you’ll calm down, I can try to help you.”
“I don’t need help! I need answers!” I threw my fist out again and this time I felt it hit. A muffled grunt came from the priest.
“Very well,” he said. The metal ball that apparently held the smoke smacked against my head again, this time hard enough to drop me to my knees.
“Just let me help you, Logan. We can break the spell.”
“There’s no spell!” I leapt to my feet and headed toward the doors, away from the smoke. “I’ll be back, priest. Don’t think you’ve seen the last of me.”
“I certainly hope not, son,” he called as I made my escape. “Remember I’m here to help.”
When I managed to get out of the church, I fell to the ground, gasping for air. I still didn’t have any answers. I felt the heaviness of the wings slowly alleviate. I looked behind me. Nothing there. I felt all along my back. They were gone. Well, I hadn’t gotten answers, but at least I had gotten rid of the wings. Hopefully they wouldn’t come back. I sprinted for my car and headed home.
