X. These Magic Moments

Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and every thing beside.
I am for the air; this night I'll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end.
Great business must be wrought ere noon:
Upon the corner of the moon
-Macbeth

"Wake up Baby Boy!" Reid yelled in Tyler's ear. "You're seventeen today."

Tyler groaned loudly, turned on his side and put the pillow over his ear. "Seventeen and deaf, thank you."

"Get out of bed, I want breakfast," Reid ordered.

As per custom, Rowan made their favorites breakfasts with all the toppings on their birthdays. Today was Tyler's turn, and Reid was hungry, and no one could eat until the birthday boy was ready. Tyler got out of bed and padded to the bathroom, shut the door, his ear still ringing. It was nine in the morning, what the hell was Reid doing up before him?

Fifteen minutes later Tyler was ready. Reid already had Tyler's keys in his hand, jingling them impatiently. They were going to Pogue and Hunter's apartment for the morning half of Ty's birthday. The sky was pure blue, but the ground was coated with a sheet of white. When they got to the apartment and walked through the door, Hunter was there with the camcorder. Ernie, Bubbe, and Bruce Lee had birthday hats on their heads.

"And here's yours," Rowan said smiling. She snapped it on Tyler's head, to his embarrassment. It happened to each of them every year, she'd think they would get over it by now, but…men.

Reid was just poking fun at Tyler when Rowan snapped one on his head, too.

"Is the food ready?" Pogue asked.

Rowan rolled her eyes, waved him away. The guys congregated in the living room while Rowan toiled away in the kitchen. Ten minutes later Reid came in, embraced her from behind.

"Hey, hey, don't get fresh," she teased.

He kissed her on the curve of her neck. "Can I take this hat off now?"

Rowan laughed, kissed him full on the lips until his tongue broke through and even the noise coming from the living room was shut out. Reid always thoroughly enjoyed their make out sessions, or any level of a kiss from a small peck to a full on…well, this. Her lips tasted like berries, they felt like velvet. Rowan was the only one he had ever kissed and not thought about sex at the same time. He could kiss her, stop, hold her; kiss her, stop, talk; kiss her until they lost their breath, stop, small kisses that built up into another frisson of oxygen-stealing connection.

They pulled apart just as the din in the living room grew louder, the four guys and three animals coming into the kitchen.

"Rain check?" Rowan asked. There was a sparkle in her eye. Her irises were a blend of light brown and amber right now. They often changed colors with her moods.

"I won't let you forget it," he said softly.

"Food!" Pogue announced.

"Neanderthal," Hunter censured, setting the camcorder on the kitchen table.

"Tyler first!" Rowan reminded them all.

So the youngest Son got to take his stack of blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, sausage, bacon, Denver omelets, orange juice. And there had to be enough for all of them. Athletes had black pits for stomachs.

An hour later they were all beyond stuffed, so they moved to the living room to give Tyler his presents. Because more than half the people present were guys, it didn't take long for Tyler to get through it all. While they chatted about guy things, Ernie and Bruce Lee fought over wrapping paper while Bubbe looked on drolly, Rowan went into the kitchen to clean up.

"No, no, no, I got this, Row," Reid said. His eyes flashed and the kitchen was spic-and-span in less than two seconds.

Rowan settled her fists on her hips, looked around, shook her head. "Is this how you clean?" she asked.

"It's the best way," he replied.

"Yeah, okay." Rowan smiled. "I can't complain. Thanks."

"Bruce Lee!" Caleb said. "Rowan!"

She and Reid went back into the living room. "What?"

"He hid my keys," her brother said.

She sighed. The ferret was sitting by Bubbe innocently. Ernie had gone to Tyler, the shepherd's head on his thigh, setting himself apart from the troublemaker.

"You really should keep a better eye on your things, Caleb," Reid lectured.

"You get your beanie back yet?" Caleb retorted, and Reid lost his smirk.

Rowan rolled her eyes, followed the invisible trail into the bathroom, came back with Caleb's car keys. "Behind the toilet," she told him.

He made a face as if she said they'd been in the toilet. "You guys clean your bathroom, right?"

"It's your week," Hunter said.

"It's yours," Pogue said back.

"You use it for two," Hunter pointed out.

"How's that?"

"Kate showers here."

"So does Gabriel."

"You guys!" Rowan stepped in. "You know the rules. No whining."

Pogue and Hunter had masculine pouts on as they leaned back in their respective chairs, arms crossed over their chests making their muscles bulge. There wasn't really any trouble between them, neither of them were slobs, and both had ways of making housework go extremely fast what with Pogue being a warlock, and Hunter being telekinetic, neither one had to lift a finger.

"That's better," Rowan said happily. She checked her watch. It was only noon.

Tyler's party was supposed to start at seven which meant they had to begin setting up around five-thirty. Rowan also had to put the finishing touches on his cake, too. The party was going to be at Reid's place because his parents weren't home, and no party was a party with parental supervision, and Tyler's parents were in town.

"Okay, I have to go," Rowan said, standing up. "You guys go do…whatever you guys do." Bubbe meowed. "Except for you." She picked Bubbe up. "You're coming with me. Can you guys manage these two?" she asked, referring to Ernie and Bruce Lee.

They nodded. Caleb unconsciously checked his pocket for his keys.

Reid walked her out to her car, the chilled wind nipping both of them in their faces.

"You need any help?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, Dizzy and Pinkie are coming over to help."

"Oh, just the girls then."

"I won't laugh at that, except Pinkie would probably agree."

They kissed goodbye, long and sweet, and Reid watched her drive off.

xx

A few hours later, Tyler's cake taken care of, Dizzy was back at the dorms. She wanted to give Tyler his birthday present before the party. Lately she had inklings that she might be in love with him, but did not know if it was too soon to tell him. Things were going great so far. Tyler was a perfect gentlemen, never pestered her about sex, unlike David; he was a fantastic kisser, considerate, funny, athletic…

Tyler answered the door when she knocked. His lips instantly broke into a wide smile. He stepped back to let her in and closed the door. He kissed her on the cheek. He was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt, his hair in that haphazard hairdo that guys could pull off like nothing. Her long hair was down and bouncy. Her pink sweater hugged her curves, and her skinny jeans did the same.

"What's up? Row said you went over to her place."

"Yeah, to help with the cake. It's all done." Dizzy was clutching his present in her hands, and it felt unusually heavy. "Reid's not here?" she asked idiotically, as the blond wasn't in the room.

"No, he took Ernie and Bruce Lee back to Rowan. What's this?" he asked, gesturing towards the rectangular package.

She looked down at it as if she'd never seen it before. "Oh!" She cleared her throat. "Your birthday present. I wanted to give it to you early."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

Dizzy rolled her eyes. "Silly, you didn't seriously expect me to not have anything for you, did you?" She held out the box.

"Thank you." Tyler kissed her again, grinning.

"Okay, you haven't even opened it yet," she said sheepishly.

He smiled, sat down on the bed and unwrapped the package. Inside was a 20x18 picture in a silver frame. It was a detailed pencil/charcoal drawing of him in a chair from the waist up. He was in the school library at a table, his head bent over a book, his forearms rested leisurely on either side of the open text, school blazer draped over the back of his chair. His profile was unsmiling but serene, concentrated. He recognized this part of the library, it was his favorite place to sit. Separate, but not secluded. In the background were the shelves of books and other tables. The texture and contrast added depth and realism.

"Wow," he said. "This is fantastic."

"Really?"

He turned to her. "Yeah." He shook his head in wonder, blue eyes going back to the picture. "This must have taken you…forever."

"It was from freshman year," she blurted. "I went to the library to get some books for a report and you were sitting there…you looked so…just perfect and peaceful."

"I love you…" Oh, shit. "I mean this!" he hastily corrected himself. "I love this." Oh, who the hell was he fooling. He looked her in the eyes. "I love you." He rushed to say, "And it's okay if you don't feel the same way…I mean, I would hope you do, someday, but-"

Tyler was interrupted by her lips full on his. Her hands cupped his face and pressed him closer. She smelled faintly of some fancy perfume. His hand reached around to cusp the base of her head and when they broke apart they were breathless.

"I love you, too, Ty. I mean, Tyler. Sorry."

"You can call me Ty," he said.

"Really? I know Rowan and your brothers call you that, and…"

He laughed. "They wouldn't mind, I promise."

"Just don't call you Baby Boy?" she teased.

"That'd be nice," he said with a wry smirk.

She laughed. "Tyler Bear?"

Tyler laughed loudly. "I don't think anyone's called me that before."

"I like it. Even masculine men get stuck with cutesy pet names. It's, like, a girlfriend's prerogative."

"Masculine, huh?" he said, amused, eyebrows raised.

"Well." She rolled her eyes bashfully. "Don't let it go to your head or anything."

xx

Rowan was in her bedroom laying out her outfit for the party. It still wasn't for a few hours, but she liked to have it all on the table, so to speak. Bubbe watched her periodically while she demurely licked her paws. The sunshine wafted into her bedroom; Rowan was glad it wasn't a cloudy day. She stood by one of the larger windows, looking out over the vast garden. She could see her glass house from here, the old swing-set her dad had put up when she was two. It was covered with snow. The nostalgia washed over her, dampening her spirits a little bit.

Idly, she wondered how Abel was doing now. She still thought about him, there wasn't any point in denying it. The last time she had scried for him he was doing well. More nostalgia. She was pulled to the bottom drawer of her dresser. She kneeled down, looked at the folded sweater that had once been Abel's. She hadn't taken it out in ages; or what seemed like ages to her. Her fingers ran over the cotton material, she remembered the way it had felt over her skin because she'd been wearing nothing underneath. She remembered the abandon she had with Abel, fully ready to give herself to him, full of trust and love.

Instead of taking out the sweater she took out the box that was next to it. She removed the top; inside were ticket stubs, receipts, a short message he'd written her, and other keepsakes from their time together. Rowan was a natural packrat, she still had birthday cards from her fourth birthday, so she didn't feel too guilty about still having these things that were hers and Abel's.

Rowan sighed, put everything back in its place. Bubbe meowed beside her and Rowan hugged her to her chest, rubbing her cheek against the soft fur. She carried the cat downstairs with her to her sanctum sanctorum. Bubbe took her regular seat in front of the fish tank; put her nose against the glass. Rowan went behind the counter of the apothecary half of the room, got out her scrying tools. Was this fair to Reid? she asked herself. He knew she loved him, and there wasn't anything wrong with checking up on Abel, was there?

She vacillated for a few moments, but as it was she didn't have a chance to make a decision because Ernie and Bruce Lee came running into the room. She put away the scrying implements just before Reid walked into the room.

"Thought you'd be in here," he said.

She smiled, walked away from the counter, and to him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just got in here," she replied as casually as she could, turning away from him to sit on the couch.

Reid joined her; put his feet up on the coffee table. He smiled at her. "So, rain check?"

"Is that what you came here for?" she teased.

He grinned. "We can do whatever you want."

"Anything?"

He shrugged magnanimously.

"Hmm…would you hold the yarn while I knit a sweater?"

Reid grimaced faintly. "I did that for you last week."

"And it was very nice of you."

"I get a reward then?" he asked, dipping his head so his forehead could touch hers. His fingertips caressed her cheek lightly.

Rowan could feel the heat coming off of him as he got closer. And his lips were warm, the kiss soft then firm, and she felt herself go down on the couch with Reid on top of her. He always supported himself on his forearms so he wouldn't crush her. She was so tiny, yet she fit him perfectly.

xx

The music was loud, the place was crowded. People whom Tyler hadn't even invited to his party had attended, but it wasn't like he was going to do anything about it. Even if Aaron, Brody, and Kira showed up. They likely felt it was their right to attend as their family made – almost – as much money as theirs did. Besides, the place was crowded, as previously stated.

Rowan was talking to Gabriel, Pinkie, Dizzy, and Judy a ways away but she saw Reid across the room. He caught her eye and winked, she smiled back. Caleb joined them, handing Judy a drink which she accepted somewhat shyly. They hadn't really hung out since she had broke things off with him before things could get started, but seeing her here Caleb wanted to take advantage of the time.

"Who's she?" Reid asked.

Pogue and Tyler looked in the blond's direction. Tall, brunette, scantily clad. They didn't know. Fair game.

"Black, cotton," Tyler said, slapping a ten on the pool table.

Reid shook his head like he knew best. "Lace thong." He slammed his fare down.

Pogue rolled his eyes, put his ten down. "Guys-"

"Well, this is an interesting birthday game!" Rowan interrupted, slapping her hand down on all three of theirs.

"Hey, babe!" Reid said, jumping back a little, giving her his most charming smile.

"Lil Bit, I thought you were…" Pogue looked in the direction he could have sworn Rowan had been at a minute ago.

Tyler rouged.

"Uh huh…" Rowan said. She took her hand away, and in her palm were three ten dollar bills.

The guys eyed the money, lifted their own hands – nothing there.

Rowan ironed out the bills. "Ten bucks to see what a girl is wearing underneath her skirt." An expression of mock contemplation passed over her face. Rowan knew they played this bet of theirs before, and had interceded only a few times, as she didn't go to Nicky's as often as they did. But since they were all at Reid's place, she was more likely to catch them at something. Like now. "Tsk, tsk."

"We were just…" Reid trailed on.

Rowan nodded tolerantly. "Tyler…shame. And after Dizzy gave you that nice drawing." Tyler's face turned redder. To Pogue: "You, too, Pogue. What would Kate think?" Pogue's face stilled in something akin to panic, eyes flittering around the room trying to find his girlfriend. Rowan just grinned innocently, eyes back on the thirty bucks. "As you know, the humane society subsists on public donations, so…here's thirty bucks for them."

They didn't say anything, as they knew they were getting off easy. Rowan gave them all one last 'tsk' and walked away.

Pogue and Tyler took the prime moment to go join their respective girlfriends. Reid went off in search of Rowan, he didn't know if she was really mad at him or not. Sure, catching him betting on a girl's underwear when they were just friends was one thing, but now that he was her boyfriend. He went up to the second floor, and he was just rounding the corner as she was in the opposite direction.

Reid stopped her by her shoulders so he wouldn't bump into her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she said hesitantly, uncertain. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He shifted from one foot to the other. "About earlier…"

Rowan smiled. "Oh, I see." Tonight was wearing a royal blue knee length, flared tiered skirt with a beaded belt, a black double-layered scoop-necked tank with a white dove decal, and her black Ludlow boots.

"You mad?"

Rowan smirked, took him by the hand and led him into his bedroom and shut the door behind them. She plopped on the bed. "Should I be mad?"

Reid observed her. Trick questions, damn it. His expression of abject concentration made her giggle.

"I'm just kidding, Reid. No, I'm not mad."

He paused. "Really?"

"You thought I would be?"

He opened his mouth uncertainly. "Well…"

"If you thought I would be, why'd you do it?"

"Ah, Row," he complained.

She laughed again, got up and embraced him around the waist. "It's okay, really." She shrugged. "I mean, I don't really like it, but…I'm not going to get on you about it."

"If you don't want me to, I won't," he said.

"Forget about it," she said. "Besides," – her eyes shifted playfully – "I know my ass is the only one you're really interested in."

Reid's head tipped back when he laughed. He kissed her once, twice, then they were in a full-on lip lock. They gravitated backwards until her ass hit the edge of his bed. One hand was low on her back, the other on her hip which was coming around. Rowan felt the pressure of his hand on her butt, she smiled against his lips.

He knew Rowan favored those small cotton bikini panties because he'd pilfered through her drawers a while ago, and he thought her ass looked pretty damned good in anything.

"Your ass is definitely the only one I'm interested in," he told her, voice a bit raw.

"You say the nicest things." And even in her boots she had to raise herself up on her tip-toes a bit to get back to his lips.

They fell back on the bed and lost track of the time. Her skirt slid up her thigh revealing bare skin. Reid had rolled off his fingerless gloves so he could touch her. The skin on her thigh was just as smooth as the skin on her face, her arms, her neck. This was as far as he'd gotten in the petting department because he hadn't wanted to make her uncomfortable, and she wasn't voicing any objections to his hand caressing her thigh at the moment so he figured he would just keep on doing it.

It was when his fingers touched the hem of her tank and brushed the flesh of her abdomen that Rowan grabbed his wrist, her body tense.

"Sorry," was his automatic reply, albeit a breathless one. He rose up on his arms a bit to give her some breathing space.

"No, it's not that…" she said, not meeting his eye. Rowan cleared her throat. "I…my… See?" She had lifted up her top about an inch so he could see the beginnings of a jagged scar.

She had her face turned to the side; flinched a little when the pad of his thumb ran over the dead scar tissue. There were more, he knew. He pushed down the band of her skirt, just a tad, and below her navel were two more. One on her hip, deeper, more painful.

"The one on my lower back's the worst," she spoke.

"Hey…look at me," he said softly, gently guiding her face back to him. "You're beautiful. Your scars don't change anything."

Her brow furrowed. "They're ugly."

He shook his head. "They're just a part of you, that's all."

Her half-smile was somewhat conciliatory. Reid kissed her on her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

And they had been in his room for almost an hour. Someone was likely to notice they were gone sooner or later. Reid, slowly and uncomfortably, got off of her, but couldn't stand so he sat hunched over.

"Reid?" Rowan said his name.

"One minute," he replied, now he wasn't looking at her.

A beat of silence, then, "Oh." She muffled her laughter.

"Hey!" Reid exclaimed. "This is your fault."

She snorted. "Yeah, okay."

"It is. You have a very strong effect on my body, thank you," he retorted jocularly, his blue eyes sparkling. He shook his head, then it hung again. He concentrated on taking deep breaths, because this sure as hell wasn't abating. He was about to tell her to go back downstairs without him, but he heard her move and she was kneeling down in front of him with her hands on his knees.

The curve of her full lips was uncertain, timid. "Do you…?"

All words were caught in his throat. His lips were parted but nothing was coming out. "You don't…I…" Well, he certainly wasn't opposed, but…

Rowan's hands slid up his jean-clad thighs, tentatively, causing him to straighten his back, up to his belt which was covered by his black shirt.

"Row…" he said, putting his hand lightly on her arm.

"You don't want me to?" she asked, perplexed.

He licked his lips, swallowed, words utterly serious, honest. "You sure? I'm not going to be mad if you don't."

Rowan nodded. "I know."

xx

A half-hour later they were back at the party. Reid had asked her if she was okay about ten times before they'd gotten downstairs, because mostly he was worried about her regretting it, something he definitely didn't want. And partly because she looked a little distracted, but… And the very much unneeded and unwelcome question popped in his head: Did she do this with Abel? It damned near destroyed the euphoria of the moment, but he wasn't going to let idle thoughts ruin what had occurred between him and Rowan.

An hour later, Rowan finally getting Reid to stop fussing, she insisted he go back and play pool with Tyler and Pogue, Caleb was with them now, Judy and Dizzy, too. Pinkie was holding a cue stick in his hands like it was a foreign object as Gabriel tried to explain to him how to play the game. Pinkie pursed his lips primly and handed the piece of shaved wood to Gabriel with a prissy shake of his head.

Rowan was without ChapStick, realizing she left it in her car, so she grabbed her coat and went outside. The wind was wicked, making her long hair curtain with the cold night. She walked carefully to her jeep, making sure she wouldn't slip on a patch of ice anywhere. She was just about to unlock her door when she heard a rather explicit curse a few cars down. Rowan looked and saw a drunk Aaron Abbot trying to get into his car. Kira and Brody were nowhere to be seen.

"Aaron?" she called, approaching him. There was no way he was going to get in that car and drive somewhere.

"Well, look who it is," he said, not quite slurring. But Rowan knew what a drunk sounded like.

She ignored his tone. "Were you leaving?"

"Yup. Party blows." He dropped his keys, cursed again.

"Aaron, you can't drive yourself. Where are Kira and Brody?"

"Who fuckin' cares?"

Rowan futilely gazed around her. Sure, there were a few people mingling outside, but nearer the front doors where they could hop right back into warmer quarters should they need. She walked the last few feet to Aaron, grabbed his keys.

"You're not driving, come on." She tugged on his arm, surprisingly he followed.

"Okay, but only if we can ride in the back seat," he commented lewdly.

"Not happening."

He yanked his arm back. "Forget it then." He held out his hand. "Give me my keys."

Her eyes became slits. "No."

"I'm not going to ask you again, Rowan Danvers," he spat.

"I'm not going to tell you again, Aaron Cornelius Abbot," she retorted.

That shut him up. His mouth opened, closed, opened, like a fish. "How'd you know my middle name? Not even Kira knows it!"

Rowan smirked, shrugged a shoulder. "Do you want her to? Or…" Her eyes went back to her jeep.

Aaron was battling some serious internal debate, but finally he sneered and pushed past her. Rowan hit the alarm on her jeep just as he opened the door. He got in. Rowan momentarily thought about going back in to tell someone she was taking Aaron back to the dorms, but who knew what temperament the drunk teenager would be in by the time she got back. It wouldn't take long anyway.

Before she started the car she reached over into the glove compartment and took out a barf-bag from a package of twenty. She handed one to him.

"Buckle up."

He took the bag slowly, as if he were afraid it'd blow up in his hands. He buckled up rather clumsily.

"You keep puke bags in your car?" he asked.

Rowan was just exiting the Garwin's property. "Yup."

"You are one weird girl."

"So they say." Some people would call Rowan a slow driver, she considered herself a careful one, especially on dark nights where you couldn't see black ice. Dangerous stuff. She hated driving, but there was no way if she had a vehicle in her possession that she would allow someone to drive drunk.

"You really are designated," Aaron commented. "What do you care if I drive anyway?"

"You could kill yourself."

"So?" he said acidly.

"You could kill someone else, too." Her eyes never wavered from the road. She also didn't talk on the phone while driving, staunchly against it.

Aaron groaned, his head lolled back on the headrest. After a few minutes, he said, "You know, if I didn't check, I could swear this car wasn't even moving."

Rowan half-grinned.

Twenty minutes later she was parking nearest Aaron's dormitory. He was groggy by this time, so she helped him out of the car, which proved somewhat disastrous because his equilibrium was off, and he accidentally tugged on her when he lost his balance and they both fell. Rowan's cheek hit the side of the car with a bang, Aaron fell on his ass.

"Jesus Christ!" Aaron yelled.

It took a moment for Rowan to collect herself. Definitely going to have some bruises tomorrow. She got up, helped Aaron. "No big deal, come on." She put her arm around his waist, one of his arms around her shoulders and they trudged their way through the snow to the dorms.

"Why're you helping me?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

She didn't answer for a minute. "Do you want to become a teenage statistic?"

"Who'd care?"

Rowan glanced at him from the tail of her eyes. "You're sad about something?"

"I'm not sad!" he heatedly denied. "What the hell do you know?" When she didn't jump to the defensive he lost some of his air. He mumbled, "My parents are getting separated."

She nodded. "You don't want them to?"

He sighed, shrugged, stumbled, righted himself with Rowan's help. "Doesn't matter what I want. Never does." He went on, "All they do is argue anyway."

"Are they going to try to work it out though?" she asked.

"I dunno." They were walking through the halls now. Some of the lights were on, some doors open. Most kids were likely home for the weekend, or at Tyler's party. "Here," he said, when they reached his door. Aaron unlocked it and Rowan helped him to his bed which he unceremoniously fell on.

Almost by rote, Rowan straightened out his limbs, took off his shoes, wedged the blankets from underneath him to tuck him in.

"Who'd of thought this was the only way I'd get you in my bedroom at night," he said.

Rowan snorted. "Even drunk you just don't lose that wit of yours." She went into his bathroom and filled up a cup of water, got a towel. "You're going to have a raging headache tomorrow morning."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"Anytime." She set the glass of water on his bedside table, put the towel next to his head along with a trash bin. "Just in case." He looked miserable and she found herself sitting down on the side of the bed as she often did with her mom.

"You don't like me much, do you?" he asked, no rancor in his voice.

"I don't know you enough to dislike you. I just don't like some of the things you do and say."

"So tonight was pity?"

"I don't pity you, Aaron. I don't even feel sorry for you."

He scoffed. "Right."

"I don't," she reiterated. "Why should I? You have so much – food, clothes, good education, roof over your head, more amenities than most people get in a lifetime." Rowan shrugged. But you don't have any real friends, she wanted to add. If you did, it wouldn't have been me driving you back here. Even for that Rowan couldn't find it in herself to feel sorry for him. Aaron chose to hang out with the people he did. "I don't think you're as big a jackass as you come off as," she said thoughtfully. "You're just lonely."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. But didn't argue. Either he was too drunk to, or her words had sobered him to the point of deep introspection he couldn't reply.

Keeper…

It came out of nowhere. It was distant but felt like someone was whispering in her ear at the same time.

"I'll let you get some sleep," she said, standing up.

Keeper…

It was insistent, impatient. Demanding.

"Hey," he said, before she could shut the door. "Don't tell anyone about…you know."

"Cornelius?"

"Don't say it!"

Rowan smiled. "Get some rest, Corny."

Keeper…

xx

For the first time, Hunter was there before Rowan was. She had followed the voice to the school lake, there was a tall, muscular woman, very Xena-like.

"There," the woman said, an evil leer on her face.

Hunter didn't take his eyes off of the warrior-woman. He'd never hit a woman before, but he also knew this chick wasn't going to back down so hit her he would have to.

"I did not come to fight," the woman said.

Rowan stepped up beside him, though he maintained a protective stance.

"Then you're different from your friends," Rowan said.

"I am a messenger."

"Great. What's the message?" Hunter demanded, still on his guard.

To Rowan, she said, "You won't be here for long."

Neither teen said anything.

"Your friends will miss you," the stranger continued. "When you go back."

"Go back where?" Rowan asked.

The stranger contemplated her. "You're so innocent looking. So young…and old at the same time."

"Is that all?" Hunter said.

"No," a deep voice sounded behind them.

The blast came unbidden, severing the arm-to-arm touch Hunter and Rowan had. Hunter went deep into the woods. Rowan onto the ice of the lake. It cracked, the hair-thin breaks spreading like a spider's web.

Hunter was the first thing that came to mind when her mind cleared. Then the cold of the surface she was on. She touched her forehead. Something black on her fingertips. It must be blood because it was the only thing she felt that was warm. She heard the surface break beneath her, as loud as a window shattering.

And she heard Toby calling her name.

Rowan's eyes flickered. She tried to get off the ice, but it was too slippery, too rocky now. She tried to call out for Hunter. She was worried about him. She wanted to get to him.

"He's unconscious," Toby said. He was kneeling beside her. Weightless.

"Go to him," she said. Rowan tried to move again…slipped, the ice cracked again.

The water was cold.