It's almost Halloween! I'm planning on going as a female version of Death the Kid. (Go Google him.) But my parents won't let me spray paint my hair and they'll only let me get hair extensions if they know where to get it. We have a problem on our hands…
"So, you and Max, huh?" Bella was sitting on the window sill, looking more comfortable than possible sitting on a ledge as stone hard as that one. It was dark outside and specks of white came down thickly. Dylan nodded and I just grinned stupidly. Bella was probably the last one to find out about us. Everyone else already knew. Including, uh, Fang.
Angel made sure of that after I proved to her I had gotten over him.
"He's not taking it well," she had told me. She reminded me of CaraLena, telling me about her cousin Laurence right after, um…someone, asked me to the Halloween ball. Yeah. That.
"That's his problem, not mine." She looked at me in shock for a moment but then it faded. She should have been expecting this.
"I guess every nice person has their mean side."
"Huh?"
"I don't know. I just thought you'd be a little more sympathetic."
"He broke up with me."
"No, you broke up with him."
"He's the one who fucked Lisa Dwyer," I replied smoothly then covered my mouth, realizing that I had just sworn in front of a six year old girl.
"It's okay," she said dismissively. "But he still loves you, Max."
"Like I said, that's his problem, not mine." She just shrugged.
"You're right."
"Max?" I was jolted rudely back into reality. Dylan's beautiful face was only centimeters away from mine.
"Whoa!"
"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. You just weren't responding. She's been asking for you for a few minutes now."
"Who?"
"Charisma." I glanced around and I saw my raven peck and tug at my friends. I laughed. Charisma never tried to bother me. She always got someone else to do her dirty work.
"Come on, Charley. Stop pecking at them. You're hurting my friends," I scolded. She just fluttered over to me and held out her leg. Tied to it was a piece of high quality parchment, no doubt from my dad. Only he had the time and money to go get this sort of ivory white parchment. Either that or he got one of his minions to get it for him. I guessed the latter.
'Dearest Max,
'I am not particularly sorry about the end of your relationship; rather, I am somewhat happy. I hope your brother, Lucius, has informed you of my new request to get this new kid, Dylan, on our side. Although understandable if you can't take on the pressure, I must remind you that you are my daughter and therefore, what you do will affect whether or not we win the war. Also, I would like to have you home for Christmas unless you would prefer to spend winter with your other friends at the castle, which is also perfectly fine. It is also fine to bring some of your potential Death Eater friends to the castle if you wish. Also, Gibbon, one of my Death Eaters, wants a promotion. He's a great Death Eater, but five of his eight children have become blood traitors. So, what do you think? Please write back soon. I miss having you around the castle; my afternoon schedule has never been so empty before. Your father, Tom.'
'Dearest father,
'As coincidental as this may seem, Dylan and I have gotten together. I hope you are not angered by this. I believe that I can get him on our side easily. I am unsure of what I will be doing this winter; part of me misses you but the other part yearns to be with my friends longer here at the school you once loved so much. I do think that they would enjoy coming to the mansion, though. I shall inform you of my decision later. I have met Gibbon's children, Jaq, Halo, and Contessa. They are very nice to me yet very scheming when they must be; perfect Slytherins. I think they would enjoy it if their father was of higher rank. Your daughter, Max.'
"Come on, Charley. Can you take this back to father?" She chirped brightly and jumped around a bit. "I'll take that as a yes." I tied the note around her leg and she flew out the window, black against black.
"So, you and Dylan," said Bella to me. I smirked. "Nice."
"They're so cute!" said Cissy in a dreamy voice. "They're just absolutely perfect together!"
"I know!" squealed Nudge. "They're just so, so, so…uh…"
"Wow, jabber mouth Nudge has run out of words to say," said Iggy, laughing.
"I can't think of another word besides perfect!" she said, distressed.
"I don't think they're any other word to describe them, Nudge."
"But they are perfect, aren't they?" asked little Gazzy.
"Absolutely and utterly," replied Nudge. Angel nodded in agreement. I guess she finally got over her thinking that…Fang…and I were supposed to be together.
"I haven't," said Angel, looking directly at me.
"What haven't you?" asked Iggy.
"Nothing."
"Hey, look; there's Andy, Riles, Anna, and Concussion," said Gazzy. "Wanna go say 'hi' to them?"
"Gazzy, I don't know if you've forgotten or not, but frankly, I can't see anything."
"Iggy! You know what Gazzy means. And besides, they're Fourth years. Other than you guys, I'm not really known by the people in higher years. Can we please go talk to them? I mean, it'll just seem weird if I go up and talk to them but you guys are Fourth years too! If you guys come with me then–"
"Nudge! Zip it!"
"Sorry, Max. Hey, where are they guys?"
"Hmm?" Halo and Contessa both raised one slender brow.
"What? We're not guys anymore?" asked Gazzy in mock annoyance, gesturing to him, Iggy, and Dylan.
"Like Lucius and Sev and Orin and Jay."
"Oh, if you include them, you might as well count Jaq and Selwyn," said Iggy loftily.
"But where are they?"
"Who knows? Who cares?"
"Hey, what's everyone doing for winter break?"
"You already know where we're going," said Bella, meaning her, Cissy, Luce, and the rest of our siblings.
"We're pretty sure we're going to our dad's place," said the twins thoughtfully.
"I don't know," said Angel thoughtfully. "We could go home if we wanted to but I think I want to stay here." Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy nodded in agreement.
"How about you, Dylan?"
"I think I'm staying here too. Why, Max?"
"Because my dad has invited all of you to visit at our place over vacation. Who's up for it?"
"Ooh, I want to go!" squealed Nudge. "Then it'll be like we're really sisters, you me, Angel, and the rest of the girls in your family! I've always wanted an older sister!"
"I'm all for it," said Iggy.
"Maybe," said the twins.
"Are you sure he'll let us all go?" asked Dylan. I nodded.
"He's kind of scary but he's fine with pretty much whatever I do."
"Lucky."
"I'm also inviting the Tylers and formerly Prewetts and all of them."
"The more the merrier!" said Angel in a sweet, angelic voice.
"We're going to meet Voldemort?" asked Laurence brightly. Willy too looked unusually bright for someone who was about to meet the world's deadliest killer.
"In a sense. He wants to meet potential Death Eaters. Does CaraLena know that I'm his daughter?"
"Not that I know of. Of course, she could be altering our vision right now to make it seem like she's not here."
"Good point. So, can you guys come?"
"Of course. Not like we're going home for Christmas," Willy added bitterly.
"What about everyone else?"
"Adrian's on the same page as us, Jaq has to go to his dad's place, Tarlyn and Selwyn are planning on mopping around the place but I think they'd rather go over to your house, and Zohra's probably following Tarlyn around and Dave's probably following her."
"So you can all come?"
"Except for Jaq, yeah, I'm pretty sure we're all going."
"So what's he like? Your dad?"
"He's awesome. He's creepy sometimes, but he's really a great dad. He's a total genius and a great teacher. I mean, sure, he seems like a bad guy, but he's just a really good guy who knows just what he wants."
"Sounds like him. You're not going to invite Sicily Varner, are you?"
"Nope. I don't think I'll invite Lily either. Dad might throw a fit and kill her on accident."
"Not on purpose?"
"Nah. It'll be 'on accident.'"
"Ha ha, very funny."
In the end, everyone invited, except for the Gibbons, we're coming over.
"Hey, look! There's dad!" said the twins. They were pointing to a man I had seen around the mansion before. Mr. Gibbon.
"Hello, children," the man said with a stiff smile. Halo and Contessa ignored it and hugged him. He stiffened for just a moment, but hugged them back. "Where's Jaq?"
"Hello, father."
"Nice to have my only son back," he said, smiling. "Your little sister is at the castle. She's adjusting finely."
"Huh?"
"Effie."
"She's still alive, then," murmured Jaq, his fingers entwining with Tarlyn's. Mr. Gibbon nodded.
"This must be the girl you spoke of, Jaq." He nodded.
"Tarlyn Tyler," she said, holding out her hand. Mr. Gibbon shook it firmly and smiled a bit.
"It's nice to know that someone as happy as you has finally gotten to Jaq. He's been so…so isolated."
"Lucius!" A cheerful Mrs. Malfoy ran towards us. She hugged him till his eyes bulged. Bella, Cissy, and I snickered.
"Hi…mom," he squeaked out.
"You're looking so thin! We'll make you all better. And Max! You've gotten taller!"
"Thanks, Mrs. Malfoy," I said, smiling.
"Well, what are you all standing here for? Let's all go!" We hopped into the limo that had brought us to King's Cross several months ago. A while later, we arrived at the mansion. Home.
"Hey! There's Halo and Contessa!" yelled Nudge, pointing. Of course. If their father was a Death Eater, they'd be here for winter break. Something else that had slipped my mind.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked the twins.
"Max invited us," said Nudge. "You guys live together?"
"Not that I know of," whispered Jaq mystically. "So, Max. The gist is up. Our father is a Death Eater. So why are you here? Your father a Death Eater too?"
"I…not really," I admitted just as dad burst through the doors. The Gibbons, Halo included, stay uncharacteristically quiet. My siblings just smiled at him. Tarlyn and Selwyn looked mildly shocked but said nothing. Willy and Laurence gazed at him in awe. Iggy, well, Iggy couldn't see anything. Everyone else just started shrieking.
"OMG! OMG! OMG! What are we going to do? He's right there!" Nudge was screaming, trying to wrap her head around things.
"What's going on?" asked Iggy.
"You guys! Relax!" I yelled. Whatever 'relax' meant to them, it apparently wasn't 'calm down.'
"Willy! What's going on?" screeched Zohra desperately. Adrian was too shocked to say anything.
"DON'T MAKE ME MANIPULATE YOU!" I yelled. That shut everyone up. "Everybody, this is my dad, Tom Riddle. Dad, this is CaraLena, Willy, Laurence, Tarlyn, Selwyn, Adrian, Zohra, Dave, Orin, Jay, Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and Dylan."
"It's such a pleasure to meet you all, friends of my child," he said pleasantly. Of course, 'pleasantly' from my father is actually really creepy. Why wouldn't it be?
"This is Lord Voldemort," whispered Zohra sounding small and scared.
"Yeah. This is my dad. Anyone want to go find their rooms?" No one? "Don't worry; you're not here to be killed. You're here to get in and personal with my dad." Still no one? "This will increase your chances of becoming a Death Eater?"
"Oh, sure. Is my room snow leopard-y? You know, white with black spots? That'd be really cool."
"Ooh, if she's getting a room like that, can I have a tiger patterned one?" asked CaraLena. I smiled. Much better.
"Ohh," groaned Nudge. "This is sooooooooooo good!" She was eating crème brulee. Her twelfth serving of it.
"How can you eat so much without barfing?" asked Selwyn in fake disgust.
"Are you calling me fat?" asked his sister, glaring.
"Err, how can you eat so much and stay so skinny?"
"Much better."
"We're mutants; you know that," said Dave. "We're supposed to eat a lot."
"You're supposed to eat a lot," corrected Dylan. "I think I'm about to puke."
"I vill now eat tventy crème brulees visout bafing!" announced Gazzy.
"Eew!" shrieked Halo and Contessa. "If you're going to do that, do it after we leave!" They scurried out of the room quickly and up the stairs.
"It's faster if you go up the north stairs," dad called out to them. They came back down and went up another set of stairs. "The north one!" Back down, back up. "The ones with the green carpeting!" They went back down once more, looking tired, defeated, and out of breath. Slowly, they trudged up the north stairs.
"Tventy crème brulees!" Halo and Contessa shot up the stairs faster than I had ever seen anyone do before. Jay snorted.
"Girls."
"So, friends of Max," dad said in his pleasant/creepy voice. "Tell me, how are you all enjoying the Ranks of the Death Eaters?"
"It's so much fun!" squealed Nudge. "Alex and Lexus are AMAZING teachers! We learned that spell, you know, the summoning spell? The one where we go Accio crème brulee and then–"
Splat!
"Did Nudge get hit with crème brulee?" asked Iggy.
"Shoot! It worked so well before…"
"Crème brulee is a very liquid sort of solid–it falls apart easily when in the air," I explained.
"Oh. Well, it works really well on everything else, though. Like my wand, for example." I stopped in mid bite. Everyone else paused and looked at Nudge too.
"What do you mean, it works on your wand?" asked dad.
"I can Accio my wand," she explained.
"Yeah, but you need a wand to Accio it…," said Bella as-a-matter-of-factly. Nudge's eyes widened.
"Really? Lexus told me to try and Accio my wand and so I did. Was I not supposed to?" She looked worried.
"No, there's nothing wrong with that," dad assured. "It's just that…" He trailed off.
"Hey, Nudge? Can I see your wand?"
"Sure!" She handed it over to me. I rolled it over in my hands; it was a nice wand. It had specks of earthy shimmery color all over it, as if it had a metallic core. I then placed the wand as far away from Nudge as I could possibly reach.
"Nudge? Can you reach your wand?" She frowned a bit, her brow creasing. Then she reached for her wand.
"Accio wand!" Nothing happened for a fraction of a moment. Then, as I thought nothing would happen, the wand flew across the table and landed in Nudges hand.
"Whoa! Did you see that?" asked Gazzy, his eyes almost bulging out of his sockets.
"See what?" asked Iggy.
"She just made her wand come to her…without a wand!"
"Impressive," said dad, smiling mysteriously. I could have sworn I saw Zohra shudder.
"Can you do other wandless magic?" I asked her. She quirked her head at me.
"What's wandless magic?"
"Magic without a wand. Try to levitate this napkin without using your wand." I placed the cloth in front of her.
"Wingardium leviosa!" She concentrated with all her might but it didn't budge an inch. Not even a millimeter.
"Try something lighter," suggested Dylan. He gave her a tissue. She tried again and it moved about a centimeter. Probably because Adrian sneezed.
"How about another spell?" Tarlyn suggested. "Or maybe you can only use the Accio charm without a wand. It's common to only be able to do one spell without a wand and not be able to do any others when you're young."
"Try to transfigure something," said Selwyn. He gave her a stone. She tried with all her might but it stayed as stony as ever, no pun intended. "Try to Accio it."
"Accio stone!" It came flying to her. Then he brought out a quill.
"Don't use your wand and try to summon it."
"Accio quill!" She frowned. "Accio quill!" It stayed there, unmoving. "ACCIO QUILL!" It moved the slightest bit but didn't come close enough to her for her to grab it.
"Can I have that stone back?" Nudge gave it back and then he put it out of her reach again.
"Try to summon it, but without saying anything. Wordless magic." She reached for it and, surprisingly, it came.
"Wow, she's good," said Laurence.
"I think," began Selwyn, "I think, and this is only a guess, but I think she can't actually do any wandless magic."
"What?" asked Willy. "You just saw her summon her wand and that rock! How could you say that she can't do wandless magic?"
"She couldn't summon that quill. She couldn't do any other sort of spell without her wand. But she managed to get those things to come to her. And without her mouth, too. It took me a while too, but, you know, don't you Tarlyn?"
"Nudge can only attract metals," she finished for him. "She doesn't even need the summoning charm; she can already do it without words. She's like…a magnet." Laurence picked up the rock and tried to attach it to her arm. It fell. Nudge reached for it and it flew towards her.
"I think it'll only come to her when she wants it," said Zohra. "And it's a good thing too. Or else she'd be stuck to everything."
"Not everything," Nudge corrected. "Just metal stuff."
"Well, it was very impressive indeed, nonetheless," said dad. Half of them jumped, not remembering that he was even there. "But it's time to turn in. There's plenty of time to talk tomorrow." He rose and we copied him and went to our respective rooms.
"Why?" I spun around to see a little boy with black hair and black eyes. He was talking to a little girl with brown and blond hair and brown eyes. The girl just glared at the boy. She reminded me a little of Angel when she was trying to give us a steely look. Something she had learned from yours featherly.
"Because it's your fault!" she whined. "You said you loved her more than me!" She said, stomping her foot on the ground. She was pointing at another little girl with red hair and green eyes who didn't seem to be paying attention.
"No I didn't!" the little boy insisted.
"You kissed her! Why did you do that?" she demanded.
"I don't know."
"Because she has a prettier dress than me, right?"
"No. I didn't kiss her because of that."
"No! You…" The little kids changed. They grew taller and looked more like teenagers now. With a shock, I realized I was looking at me, Fang, and Lisa. "…fucked her because she's a Hell lot sexier than me, right?" My stony, cold glare was enough to make me freeze for a moment. It was…beyond scary.
"No…"
"Because she has a bigger bust than me, right? Because her ass is bigger than mine, right? Or maybe it's tighter. Because she can do you over better, right?" I was screaming at him.
"I did it because she made me!" he yelled at last. They all changed back into little kids again with their innocent little faces and great big eyes.
"Oh," she said. "Oh. Why didn't you just tell me that before?"
"Because you wouldn't let me!" he snapped. She brushed it off.
"I'm sorry. I just thought that she was more important to you. That's why."
"How could you ever think that? I love you. And only you."
The girl brightened up. "Really?"
"Really." She held her hand out to him, as if she were helping him up off the ground.
"Wanna be friends again?" The little boy smiled, actually smiled, at her.
"Okay." He took her hand and they walked off, leaving the little red haired girl behind. Then suddenly, the little girl with the blond and brown hair turned around and winked at me.
"Your turn!"
"Your turn!" The childish little voice echoed in my head over and over again. "Your turn!" What did she, I, mean, my turn? "Because she made me!" Why did he say that? "Because you wouldn't let me!"
"Hey, sis." My brother and one of my best friends in the entire world poked his head into my room. "Your father wishes to speak with you this morning after you come down. He asks you to please not be late. You have company over, remember?" I nodded, stifling a yawn.
"I'll be there, Travers. Relax." Grey wasn't there, which was weird. He used to never sleep in the dog bed, no matter how much we begged him to. But ever since Snowflake, Skye, and Blizzard, he had stayed with Winter to take care of the pups which, might I add, were incredibly cute. I donned my normal clothes, all ripped and torn quite a few times and colored on a lot. It was a very different from the nice neat and clean clothes I had to wear at school all the time. A good difference too. I did flips down the stairs. That was also a rarity. But I missed doing them and I wasn't allowed to in Hogwarts because of shifting staircases.
"Hey, dad. Where's everyone else?" He looked a bit guilty. "You didn't kill them all, did you?" I asked desperately, hysteria in my voice. He shook his head.
"ZOMG! They're sooooooooooooooooooooo cute!" squealed Nudge. In her hands was a squirming little Snowflake.
"I might have revealed the location of where your dogs are," he admitted. "I was telling Goyle to refill the dog's water bowls and your friends overheard and immediately started asking for the dogs."
"It's okay," I said dismissively. Grey and Winter, though thoroughly pissed, did not attack my friends. They knew better "C'mon, Grey n' Winter." They trailed after me. "You guys! Give back the pups!"
"But they're just so freaking adorable," cooed Zohra. She and Dave were crooning over a sleepy little Blizzard in her arms like two parents over their newborn baby.
"You better give them back to their parents," Tarlyn warned. "Or else they might think that you're attacking their pups and attack you."
"How would you know?" Tarlyn put her hands on her hips and gave them an 'are you seriously asking me this?' sort of look.
"Gee, I wonder. Maybe it's because I'm part freaking wolf? I mean, that's just a guess." Sarcasm dripped from every word like saliva from a rabid wolf.
"Calm down," Jaq whispered softly to her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders. He kissed her on the neck, almost like a vampire after his prey.
"Eew…" CaraLena cringed away from them.
"Like Matt's never kissed you before."
"Not like that, he hasn't."
"Oh yeah, I forget. You're not used to people kissing in a way that is legal for children under thirteen to watch." CaraLena blushed.
"Breakfast is served!" announced our butler. I pried the pups away from my friends and gave Snowflake and Blizzard back to a pair of relieved parents and we all filed in.
"Ooh, omelets," said Contessa just as Halo wrinkled her nose up in disgust and said, "There better not be liquor in that."
"Halo, I specifically got the house cleared of liquor for your arrival," dad assured her. "You won't encounter any of that stuff in this house."
"Good," said Orin. "You've never seen her when she's come within a ten foot radius of liquor. Sir."
"No formalities are required in this house if I'm not paying you," sad dad, smiling gently. Orin shuddered and Jay smirked.
"Hey, what's this?" asked a quiescent Adrian, pointing to a basket.
"Russian black bread."
"What's in it?" My siblings and I shared an uncertain glance. Yeah, we knew what was in it. But…
"Let's just say you don't want to know. But it tastes really good though." She tentatively reached a hand out and snatched a piece of it. She nibbled at a corner and then took a bite. She didn't seem to mind it.
"Hey, Tarlyn," said Selwyn. "We, Dave, Orin, Jay, your boyfriend, and I, were talking about Asian love dramas. Correct us if we're wrong, but they all go something like this, right?"
"First they're in love," said Jay. "And then they break up. And then they're in love. And then they break up. And then someone dies!" (Nigahiga reference. Does anyone know him and his YouTube videos?)
"Jeez, just 'cause I'm Asian doesn't mean I know this stuff," she said, scoffing."I don't watch these soap opera like things! They're all so, so, so boring!" Come to think of it, Tarlyn probably had no Asian blood in her at all. She just was given DNA in Asia and that didn't count as 'being Asian' in my standards.
"So," said my dad. "Max tells me that you all have amazing abilities. Would it be asking too much if I asked you all to show me them?"
"Not at all," Willy assured him. "When, though?"
"Right after breakfast." She nodded.
"What do you know about our abilities, though? Just curious," Willy added quickly. Dad smiled slightly.
"I was a Slytherin myself not too long ago. I remember how it was, all of us being shunned by the other houses because we were Slytherins. And why, why were we shunned? Because of our talents. All of you, because you are Slytherins, must have some sort of talent, something that make you stand out." Willy nodded in understanding.
"So, what was your talent, Mr. Ride?" asked Laurence.
"It's actually Mr. Riddle. And I have the talent of raw energy in my magic."
"Huh?"
"Dad has really strong magic abilities," I explained. "You can do one thing, but the way he does it is stronger."
"Ahh."
"So, let's start off with Angel. What can you do?"
"Well, I can fly…"
"Yes. But other than that."
"I can read minds. And do I really remind you of Max when she was little? I mean, I guess we both have blondish hair but my eyes are blue and hers are brown." Dad looked taken aback but recovered quickly.
"Impressive. I had my doubts at first but it seems like you really can. What about Gazzy? Is your real name Gazzy?"
"Nah. It's Zephyr. But I prefer Gazzy, short for the Gasman."
"Why is that so?"
"Because of this!" And he farted really, really, REALLY loud.
"Ugh, Gazzy! I don't need you stinking up the place!" complained Iggy, trying to fan the foul smell away from him. I could have sworn that underneath the stern look he was wearing, dad was smirking. He cast a quick charm and the stench disappeared.
"Air!" gasped Zohra. "Fresh air!"
"Is there anything else you can do?"
"Like mimicking?" asked Selwyn, who was looking really confused. "I didn't say anything, I swear!"
"Gazzy, stop it!" said Nudge sternly.
"Why? The kid wants to do it so let him!" said Jaq. It was so real, I almost believed it. But Jaq would never speak above a whisper unless in a crisis. Or if Tarlyn was hurt.
"Don't make me manipulate you," I said firmly to him.
"Fine."
"What about Nudge? What can you do?"
"Um…other than attracting metal, I can get under people's skin."
"Interesting. Show me."
"No!" yelled the rest of us at the same time.
"Hmm?"
"She can get really annoying at times and then someone will get pissed off and then they'll piss someone else off who will in turn piss someone else off until we're all really pissed off and in a bad mood," said CaraLena in one breath. Wow.
"How about Iggy?"
"Uh, not much, really. I'm blind. But I can sort of feel colors. And I'm a good cook and I can memorize things. And I've got, well, it's not really that great, but I can make just about anything explode."
"Come again?"
"Like, for example…" Iggy pulled out some paper clips, parchment, quills, some wire, and a bunch of other odds and ends. He stuck them together with a wad of gum and stuck some of the wire in his glass of water. A few seconds later, the thing, whatever it was, exploded and formed a little mushroom cloud on the table.
"Scorgify. Explosives. We could use you on our side. How about…Adrian?"
"I'm a seer," she mumbled meekly. "Mercury and Uranus aren't in the right place. Something will happen once they are in the right place, something that will change the tide of the war."
"Is that so?" murmured my father. "How about you, Selwyn? What can you do? Selwyn?" He looked around. His eyes landed on a guy with a rainbow afro, big yellow eyes, and translucent skin. "Who are you?" The guy smirked and changed back into good old Selwyn.
"I'm a Metamorphmagus," Selwyn explained. "Cool, huh?"
"Yes, it is indeed very, uh, 'cool.' That is your sister, right? Tarlyn?"
"In a sense, yeah, She can–"
"See the invisible," Tarlyn finished for him. "It's hard to explain. The easiest way is just to say that I can see what no one else can see. I can also sort of 'see' the secrets in someone's mind. It's really weird."
"And then there is Jaq?"
"I can…become the invisible," Jaq whispered. He looked the part, half missing in the bright sunlight streaming in through the windows.
"Very, very good. And…Zohra?" She said nothing but glanced over at the cup of water. The liquid rose up, forming sort of an orb which sparkled. "Control of water, I see." She rolled her eyes. A moment later, snow from the roof slid off and some of it gathered on the window. It rose up and attached itself to the window, masking a big snowy smiley face. "All forms of water?" Zohra nodded. "What about Dave?"
"Um…I'm part dragon so…there's the flying part...and the fire-breathing part..."
"Fire breathing?" Dave snorted sharply and flames came from his nose.
"Doesn't that, like, singe off your nose hair or something?" asked CaraLena. "I mean, it's coming from your nose and all."
"Ugh, we don't want to know," said the twins in disgust. "And by the way, we can freak people out and connect minds so that we always know what the other on is thinking. CaraLena can–"
"I can alter images," said CaraLena. "Like so." She closed her eyes for a moment and suddenly, the air seemed warmer. Outside, flowers were blossoming and–
"Hey? What happened?" asked Angel.
"Sorry, not enough sleep," CaraLena admitted. "Where's Willy?"
"Bathroom," said Angel. "Laurence went to get some medicine for her. She's got her…you know…"
"Ah. She can read auras. And Laurence is sort of like a weaker version of Max. He can convince people with his mind but it's easier to break free."
"Nonetheless, very important," said dad, nodding appreciatively. "Did I miss anyone?"
"I can control earth," said Orin simply. "Jay can control air. And other than that, you got everyone. And you're pretty good at memorizing name, I've noticed. We've been here for less than twenty-four hours and you've got us all down. Like you would say, impressive."
"Halo! Contessa! Jaq!" I slid down the railing. "Hello? Jaq? Halo? Contessa?"
"You called for me?" I jumped a foot in the air. Jaq Gibbon was right behind me. One of these days…
"Yes, I did. If you want you can go see your little sister now."
"I see Halo and Contessa all the time," he whispered, looked mildly amused. "Why do you have to give me permission to see them now?"
"I meant Effie."
"Ah." His half smile faded. "I'll go get the twins." He returned a minute later with Halo and Contessa.
"We get to see our litter sister now?" asked the two of them eagerly.
"I've found where they're keeping her and you're allowed to roam the mansion at will. So why not?" I lead them down into the dark, dank dungeon. Right before we got to Effie formerly Gibbon's cell, I stopped.
"What is it, Max?" asked Jaq.
"None of you ate before this, right?"
"Right!" said the twins. "Why?"
"Because this isn't something you should see on a full stomach. Brace yourselves." And I let them walk in front of me.
"Oh my god," whispered Contessa. Halo was too stunned to speak. Even stony faced Jaq lost his composure.
"This…this is what happened to her?" he whispered hoarsely at last. "This is what happened to our little sister?" I nodded grimly. I knew what they were looking at, what they were really seeing.
They were looking at the mauled and disfigured form of werewolf Effie.
CLIFTHANGER! (dun dun dun!) This is probably the fastest I've ever posted up a chapter; given how much homework I've had this week. Think of this as a Halloween treat, no pun intended. I'm tired now. (yawn) Oh, did I mention that my English class might get really mad at me tomorrow? We have to bring in a poem to share twice a year on Friday and tomorrow is my turn. I'm reading Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven to them I sure hope they don't fall asleep before I finish. ;)