Shivers Down Your Spine
01
Juliette is the Sun
Kai entered the Burger King with some distaste in his mouth. For starters, he wasn't a fan of the crap mystery meat patties that BK churned out. Secondly, Wallah Wallah, Washington wasn't his favorite city (if you could even classify the podonk town as a city). It was working class, pitiful, and would never amount to the hobo chic that was its northern neighbor; Seattle.
He searched the desolate BK and found who he was searching for seated in a booth to the far back of the restaurant. Juliette Tempest. A girl with only days tip-toeing towards her 21st birthday.
"What light through yonder window breaks. It is the East, and Juliette is the sun." Kai slid into the booth across from the girl, awaiting some acknowledgement to, dare he say, a brilliant Shakespeare recitation. But Juliette kept her eyes glued to an iPhone that was covered by a bedazzled Hello Kitty case. If he hadn't been stalking this girl for the past week, he would've been sure that he had the wrong person. Tempest women were supposed to be beautiful and elegant, with charm matching the Geishas. Juliette was tacky. Dingy, seafoam green hair. A septum piercing. Eyeliner that looked like she had applied it on with a marker. The worst part was probably the countless earrings that adorned her ears. How many earrings from Claire's did one person need?
No. The worst part was her chipped nail that shined with the grease of the french fries she had cooked before she went on her work break.
"Not a fan of Shakespeare? Let me guess; your favorite art comes from an anime nerd on deviantart?"
"I love Shakespeare. Just not a fan of people quoting lines that they learned in a 9th grade English lesson."
"I was going to try to be quaint and tactful, but I'm just going to cut the bull-"
"You're Kai Parker. Gemini coven. Family murderer. Former magick consumer. Whopdee-friggin-doo."
He leaned back into his seat. Jaw dropped in amazement a bit. It wasn't that she knew all about him without so much as touching him. That was a trick that Tempests were known for. It was her knowledge of her own identity that had him speechless. "So you know you're a witch."
Again, her eyes were glued to the phone in her hand, finger tapping against it like she were trying to make some rhythm. "Of course, I know I'm a… God, damn it! Can you just give me one minute?"
Kai was overjoyed. The whole song and dance of teaching her to use her powers could be skipped. They could start his plan the moment they went to Mystic Falls. This was like Christmas morning. "So here's the deal, you're going to-"
"You have got to be kidding me!" She dropped her iPhone onto the table with a slam that startled Kai. It was broken. He was sure it was broken. Her outburst was loud enough that a manager poked his head out from the fry station, but Juliette was oblivious. "Do you know how many pipes I had to make that friggin' duck fly over and under?"
"No?"
"150. 150 pipes to beat my high score. Do you know what I was at? 148. Do you know whose fault that is?"
Kai couldn't hold in his laughter. She was upset over a phone game. "I'm going to assume that you're going to say its mine. Please say it was mine."
"You clearly don't know how much talent it takes." She sighed and pushed strands of hair out of her face. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Well, Juliette. As you already know, you're a Tempest witch. I'm leader of the Gemini coven and I'm kindly requesting your talents to help me do the spell of the century."
"Yeah. But why are you requesting my talents? I have aunts and uncles from Rome to Rio that could help you better than I could."
Kai smiled at her insecurities. Was she so stupid as to not know that one lousy Tempest witch still had more talent in their thumb than someone from a watered down line? "I don't have the best reputation. I doubt your uncles or aunts would want to help me."
"So you think I would?"
He grabbed her wrist with one hand and used the other to trail his fingers down the needle tracks on her arm. "Choo choo," he whispered as his index made it's way down the length of her bronze arm. His eyes didn't leave hers. "I think I know the type of payment you'd be interested in, Juliette."
She pulled away from him and shrugged. "Sorry, Kai. I've been clean for 3 whole months. Those tracks are closed to incoming traffic."
Thinking on his feet, he tried an alternative route. "I could kill everyone you know and love dearly."
"I don't have friends or anyone who I love or know dearly."
"What about Mr. BK over there?" Kai nudged his head towards her manager who was mopping the floor. "Snap of my fingers and I could give him a heart attack."
She leaned forward with anticipation and licked the bottom of her lip. "Could you really do that for me? He does this weird snorting noise when he laughs and it's been killing me."
Was that a bluff? He wasn't sure. "Challenge accepted," he said and Mr. BK was screaming and clutching to his heart. Begging Juliette to call 9-1-1. Her gaze never waivered from Kai. She sat her hands onto his and mouthed the words 'Thank you.' She really didn't care if he died. Kai rolled his eyes and undid the spell. No point in killing the dude when it would just potentially make her happy.
Kai huffed and frowned. "I could drag you out of here against your will."
"You could but then you'd have to deal with an angry Tempest witch. Ain't nobody got time for that."
It was true. The stories told of Tempest witch's losing their cool made him a bit uncomfortable to even be working with one. "Fine. Name your price."
"Now we're talking. How big is the spell?"
"Mind-blowingly huge. We'll have to do it in 3 different stages. It'll take half a year."
"Is it for good or evil."
"Depends on your perspective," Kai smirked.
"Any blood have to be shed?"
"What's pleasure without a little pain?" He was on the verge of telling her all about what the spell would be and entail but she held her hand up and silenced him.
"I want love."
His face soured. "What?"
"Not with you. But with someone. I want you to find me someone who will love me and treat me well. Someone who I can start a family with."
He laughed. "You Tempest witches are more insane than what the books even describe. You're basically asking me to find you a soulmate. Like what am I supposed to do? Make you an OkCupid profile? Junkie girl seeking man who wants to start a family isn't going to attract a lot of hits."
"Those are my conditions, Kai. You take them or you leave them."
What choice did he have? If he wanted the spell done, it was imperative that he had a Tempest witch with them. Their arsenal was just too unique and conducive to find anywhere else. Even Bonnie wouldn't be able to help with such a spell, though she'd never agree to anyway.
"It's a deal."
