The Second Life of Magnolia Mae (2 page)

Three men jumped,
reaching for weapons when they
noticed the
outsider in their camp.
One of the men
yanked
her
from his arms so quickly that she yelled in pain and found herself on the ground.

The blue eyes of the man who had saved her remained calm as
the sharp edge of the
dagger
pushed against
his throat.

“No!”

Magnolia shot up in bed trembling for the fifth time in two weeks. Those eyes were nearly always there, though this time she had seen his raven-black hair. She could still feel his breath on her neck. It had been so real.

The sky outside her window was beginning to lighten, so she quickly pulled on a jacket to go meet with her truest friend. Barefoot, she ran across the frosted ground to the pasture fence and perched to wait. After she let out a low whistle, a large black horse with one red hoof appeared before her. Its velvety nose nuzzled at her, trying to find the treats that she tended to bring. Her hand came from her pocket and revealed two sugar cubes for her friend. “You are the sweetest thing, Dragoste.”

The horse let out a low whinny and tossed his head back.

Magnolia jumped to his back from her fence perch, and he ran through the fields as the sun peeked over the horizon. All the tension that had been building up within her for the past few days melted away as the sun turned the horizon a beautiful orange. It was going to be a good day.

Dragoste shifted under her taking her back toward the house.

“M&M, get ready for school!” Jace hollered out the front door as she charged in the direction of the house on the back of the horse their father had given her a few months before he’d died.

She slid to the ground and patted the horse.

“How many times do you have to be told not to bring him in the yard?”

They walked into the house. Magnolia was rushed into the kitchen by Jace, who was ready to leave for work. She knew he could not go without her, and a part of her felt guilty for having gone for a ride before school.

“He always goes back to the pasture.” The aroma of the coffee drew her to the pot where her mug was already waiting for her. A grin crossed her face when she saw that Jace had actually made breakfast. “So, why the hot breakfast?”

The only answer she got was a shrug of the shoulders and a plate of piping-hot pancakes and eggs.

A few minutes later he looked at her. “The same dream?”

When she raised an eyebrow at her brother, his lip twitched. “I heard you yell out in your sleep.”

“They were going to kill him.”

Her brother locked eyes with her, ran his fingers through his short hair, and nodded. He understood. From the time she could remember, she had always told him about her dreams.

“Alright. Well, finish getting ready for school.” He gently pushed her in the direction of her room. “Wear some shoes next time,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

Sarah and her evil minions were practicing next to the football field. With the homecoming game approaching, the cheerleaders were practicing until it got dark. Every time Magnolia looked up from the greenhouse, she could see the glares that were directed at her. What had she ever done to them?

Everyone knew that Sarah wanted to date Bash, but it was not like Magnolia had set her eyes on him. As far as she knew, she had not shown him more than a friendly interest. Bash was the closest friend that she had, and she’d kept him at a distance. She did not date, so they could not possibly hate her for stealing away a boyfriend or love interest, could they? A heavy sigh escaped her as she grabbed the large push-broom to sweep up all the leaves and dirt that had fallen to the floor.

She watched as a storm started to roll in, the clouds dark and heavy with rain. It did not take long for the first fat drops of rain to send the cheerleaders running, screaming into the building. The football team remained on the field until lightning streaked across the sky. Inside the greenhouse, Magnolia’s heart began to race as the storm enveloped her without ever getting wet. The lightning cracked above her, sending bright streaks through the air, and the fine hairs on her arms to stand on end. When, the thunder boomed so loudly it shook the fragile building, she jumped off the table she had been sitting on. She searched through the storm wondering when she could get out of the green house and to safety.

With the next flash of light, she caught a glimpse of a lone wolf standing near the woods on the other side of the football field. The animal’s eyes bore into her soul, beckoning her to join him. When darkness enveloped the world again, she turned away only to see a flash of blue by the doorway, causing her to jump. She tumbled over a potted plant on the floor. Pain pulsed through her backside as thunder drowned out all sounds except the howling of the wolf. Twin lights pushed through the darkness she noticed the wolf, now in the middle of the football field, stopped in its tracks before turning to run back to the woods. The old beat-up, half-rusted-out red Ford that Jace always drove pulled up in front of the greenhouse. She grabbed her things then ran through the storm to jump into the truck.

“Did you see it?”

“See what?” Jace glanced at her then around them.

“The wolf. It was right there.” She motioned toward the football field.

“No, but I wasn’t looking over in that direction.”

“Did you see anyone when you pulled up?” Her eyes searched the darkness as they pulled away.

“Not a soul. What happened?” Jace turned down the radio and glanced at her with his honey-colored eyes.

“I don’t know. I saw the wolf, and when I turned, I saw a flash of something blue, then you pulled up, and the wolf was even closer than he had been before.”

The wolf
had
been closer. She knew she had not imagined it. The wolf had a lonely appearance to it, almost as if it had been searching for something it had lost.

“Do you think I should tell the principal?”

“Nah, why disrupt the game on Friday if it was the only time you saw it? You have been working in that greenhouse every afternoon since school has been back in session, and this is the only time you have seen it. If you see it again then you can say something. No need to have them out hunting for the poor thing.”

But she had seen it before — at least she had heard it before — just the previous night and so many nights before that. The same lonely call, hauntingly beautiful, luring her and yet chasing her. The image of the man from her dream flitted through her mind.
“Remember
,” his whisper echoed in her ears.

Shaking her head to try to get the disturbing voice out of it, she glanced over at her brother who was concentrating on driving through the sheets of rain. His jaw was set in a hard line, eyes glinting with anger, and his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. What had happened to him to cause him to appear so?
Laid back
was the term she had always thought of when someone mentioned her brother. He was reliable and fun-loving. Though he had her to care for, he did not walk around like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Now, seeing him in the storm, she knew there was something wrong. Something had happened. Had he lost his job? Silence wrapped around them until they were standing safely in their kitchen.

Her hair dripping wet, Magnolia glanced over at the cookie jar then back to her older brother. “Thunder cookies?”

He must have heard the hope in her whispered question because he smiled halfheartedly. “Sure, M&M, you get everything together while I go check on your horse. May as well be sure he has all he needs for the night, since I’m already wet. Doesn’t look like it is going to let up out there.” The door closed behind him after he walked out into the storm.

Soon, the ingredients were lined on top of the counter, waiting for Jace to come back in. Seated on the counter near the almost-empty cookie jar, Magnolia thought back to the days when making thunder cookies filled the storms with laughter and fun. She had not feared them as much then. Now a part of her wanted to curl up in a corner and hide until the thunder and lightning were over. Images of her parents’ deaths haunted her every time there was a storm like this, especially in the autumn. A loud bang brought her out of her thoughts. A puddle had already formed at Jace’s feet.

“Why don’t you get started on them while I take a quick shower?” A lopsided grin helped to put her mind at ease. Whatever had been bothering him before did not have a complete hold on him anymore. Maybe he had just been remembering the night that their lives had changed. After all, he’d lost not only his parents, but his freedom. The guilt ate away at her as she wondered if she could have prevented it. The storm raged on outside, and Magnolia began to hum while she baked the delicious treat her mother had named thunder cookies.

CHAPTER THREE

T
HE RAIN CONTINUED THROUGH
the night, not allowing Magnolia to get any sort of rest. Every time she’d closed her eyes she’d seen flashes of the wolf, blue, and her parents. It was all connected — somehow it was all connected. The distant look that Jace had worn most of the evening seemed to be a part of it all. What was going on?

Lightning
zigzagged the black sky before splitting into three long streaks that reached the ground.
Thunder echoed through the land. She sat at the mouth of the cave they’d
found shortly before the storm hit. How she longed for a fire to take the chill out of her bones. A large heavy cloak was draped across her shoulders,
causing her to look up into those blue eyes.

“Cannot have you catching your death here.”

The smoothness of his low voice caressed her, and
a shiver
ran
down her spine.

“If they find you with me, I will be sure to catch my death either way.”

Her
glance
flicked from his full lips to his entrancing eyes then back to the storm that wanted to claim the world.

“No person shall lay a hand on you.” His voice rose above the thunder and rain.

“It is not a person I am concerned about, it is your mother. What would the queen
do
if she discovers her son with the likes of me?”
A sadness flickered across her face.

“I care not.” He reached out to touch her hair but she pulled away.

A lone wolf stood on the edge of the forest. “My people care. This cannot be.” She turned from him to stare at the wolf. His nose lifted to the sky, his mouth opened and he let out a long, lonely,
heart wrenching
howl.

The howling in the distance pulled her to the window.
Remember
, the word was like a soft caress. What was she supposed to remember? She pressed her forehead to the cold glass and peered into the darkness. Something was near the gate of the pasture; for a moment she wondered if part of a branch had come down in the storm. With the next flash of lightning she saw it, a wolf looking directly at her. “Jace!”

“What?” a sleepy grumble hollered back from across the hall.

“Wolf! Jace, Dragoste is out there.” Her eyes locked on the wolf.

Her brother stumbled into her room half-asleep.

“There, see?”

The next flash of lightning illuminated the entire evening sky. A large black wolf with a silver mark over its eye stared in the direction of the house. It stood unmoving, as if the weather had no effect on it. “Dragoste is locked safely in the barn. I checked on him earlier, remember?” His voice sounded hollow. “I don’t think it wants your horse anyway. It would have gone after him already.”

“Why is it just standing there?” The memories of her dream creeped up on her. “I’ve seen it before.” It came out in a whisper.

Jace reached for her blanket and laid it across her shivering shoulders.

She pulled it tightly around her, searching for a form of comfort. “In my dreams, Jace, that wolf is in my dreams. I know because of the silver over its eye.” Her eyes went wide and stared up into her brother’s face.

“It can’t be.”

“I know what I saw.” Fire shot through her eyes at the thought of her brother doubting her. “That’s the wolf in my dreams. It’s always there, in every single one. Why?” The long low howl caused her to jump away from the window.

“I don’t know, M&M, I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with Dad.” His golden-brown eyes looked over at her wall.

The mural had been there for years; it had been studied and memorized by the both of them, especially since their parents died. In the far distance of the forest there was a wolf sleeping. Magnolia had always thought it was sweet that her father had painted animals in the forest, but the wolf was the only one sleeping.

“It is right there. Right there in front of you this entire time. Maybe Dad was trying to tell you something.”