Part 9
"Was that really necessary?" Paris side stepped the dead body of Lily, making sure he didn't tread in any of the leaking blood to avoid leaving footprints. Ice put her gun down.
"She was in the way, She would have made a fuss."
Paris looked down at the body, nose wrinkling in disgust. "No sign of Ivana, I take it?"
Ice snorted. "If there was do you think that I would still be here?"
Paris smiled a little. "I suppose not. Anyone else come in?"
Ice shook her head. Paris frowned. So where the hell was Jean? She hadn't shown up in their last class, she hadn't even called, and Jean wasn't answering her cell-phone either. Why was she ignoring him? Jean never ignored him.
"She's not here already!" Ice snapped. "Drop the pathetic pretty-puppy eyes."
Paris glared at her, and didn't bother replying. He turned and walked off. Where /was/ Jean? Her only friend beside him was Brenda, but Brenda refused to take his calls. She'd walked right passed him in the school hallway making it clear she had no intention of stopping to talk to him.
His gut feeling was that the usual suspects of Crystal Redfern and her possy. But to his surprise Paige was actually home when he arrived there less than a minute later. She was sat in the living room with Venetia watching an ancient /Saved by the Bell/ repeat. Paris stared at them in mild disbelief. Paige just looked up at him. "Was there something you wanted to watch?"
Paris didn't know what to say. He was certain if Crystal was going to be doing something to Jean then Paige and Venetia would want front row seats for the event. "Where's Crystal?"
Venetia shrugged. "She's meeting Haywood in her cabin at the lake."
Paris frowned, Crystal was with her jerk of a boyfriend, her cronies were in his living room watching an old TV show. And Jean was still nowhere to be found.
Jean wondered if she should go home first and pack a bag, but then again her mother would want to know what she was doing. While Jean was sure her mother probably even liked Paris, she was certain Lily was uncomfortable with the amount of time they spent to each other and the way their relationship was progressing. There was no way her mother would allow Jean to spend the night at Paris's cabin, especially not on a school night.
So Jean went straight to the cabin. She had been planning on calling him to let him know she was on her way, but half way to the lake, Jean wanted to kick herself when she realised she'd left her cell phone in her locker. She had turned it off and left it there before going to class after talking to Ivana.
Oh well, she thought.
She had also thought maybe she should have waited for Paris instead of cutting her last class. She just hadn't wanted to deal with facing people after the incident with Brenda and the confrontation in the hall with Charlie…she had just gone straight for her car.
Besides, Jean knew the way to the cabin like the back of her hand. She and Paris had spent long afternoons and weekend days together there. She smiled as she drove up the familiar pine tree lined highway, catching the sight of the lake on the right as the car wound its way up the hill.
The crystal clear water shimmered with perfect reflections of the trees and cloudless blue sky. Even Jean couldn't be miserable with such beautiful scenery surrounding her. She turned off the main high way onto the track road that led to the cabin Paris's family owned.
A doe was crossing the driveway just as Jean stopped her car. For a few seconds, its eyes seemed to lock with hers, regarding her with something almost like - curiosity, then ran off into the forest. Jean shook her head in mild amazement as she got out of the car. She found the key on her key ring and let herself into the cabin, sitting on the couch to wait for Paris.
The point of the peridot was touching the woods. Paris frowned at the map in front of him. The woods by the lake was where his family's cabin was. It didn't take a lot of power for him to scry for Jean. He knew there was no one powerful enough in the town to influence or tamper with the scrying spell. His family were the only Harmans here, they were the powerful witches. They were the ones people came to when they needed magical solutions. Paige wasn't smart enough to think about what he might be doing, or waste her time by interfering in his magic.
Why would Jean be in the woods? Paris blew out the white candles lit around his room, grabbed his car keys and left to find an answer to his question.
"Can't this piece of crap go any faster?" Ivana grumbled as the gunned the car engine.
Beside her, Marla's eyes rolled. "This is /your/ car, you know."
Ivana scowled. "I hate American speed limits. So much easier in Europe." She considered the thought of pulling over.
The hell with it Ivana thought, she couldn't wait any longer. Traffic had been heavier than she had expected it would be to the lake. She needed to make sure she got there before Jean did. She pulled over to the hard shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Marla asked.
"Take the car, I can't wait. It's cabin 7."
Ivana scrambled out and changed into her bird form. The blackbird shot upwards into the sky and off to its destiny, praying it wasn't already too late.
Jean sighed with irritation. She glanced out the window, thinking she had seen the flash of car headlights. Where are you Paris? she thought. She was now mentally kicking herself for not bringing her cell phone with her. She knew she could use her telepathic abilities to reach Paris, but using them would just remind her what she was and get her all depressed again.
She folded her arms, sitting back in the couch, wishing the cabin had a TV, or some interesting books rather than wild life or cooking ones. There was no phone in the cabin, and worse, no clock either. She had forgotten her watch, and had never realised how annoying it was to not have access to time. Outside the picture window she could see the sky starting to darken. She couldn't tell if she'd been there for ten minutes or half an hour.
As a last resort to stop herself dying of boredom, Jean guessed she might as well do her homework, her school books were still in the backseat of her car. She headed outside, pausing as she reached her car. The hairs on the back of her neck felt cold. Clouds had gathered in the sky, the shadows of the trees had lengthened. Across the sky itself fingers of ruby and gold were stretching their way across to the horizon, reflecting in darker shades in the lake.
Jean found herself shivering, despite the fact it wasn't even cold. It was an odd, uncanny feeling she was having difficulty putting into words.
"Come on Paris," she muttered, grabbing her books from the trunk. A flurry of leaves blew across her feet, hitting the window with a disturbingly loud sound, sharp and sudden like gun fire, making Jean jump as she hurried back into the cabin. The wind was picking up, lifting her hair off her shoulders.
Jean couldn't tell if this was her doing or just a natural weather thing. She was about to sit back in the recliner she had been in, when she stopped, dropping her books and staring in disbelief.
Crystal Redfern was sitting in the chair.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
The wind outside was definitely blowing harder now. Gusts of leaves were attacking the picture window, whistling through the tops of the blowing pine trees, sounding like a mournful wailing. Crystal was glancing at the window. Jean smirked, pleased to see the vindictive vampire bitch actually looked shaken by the sudden uprising of the wind.
Crystal smoothed down her shoulder length ruby curls and crossed her long tanned legs at the knees, pulling down the skirt of her pale blue Chanel suit. Jean's eyes rolled. Why had she ever been afraid of this girl? Her arms folded, the smirk was still on her lips. "Still here?"
"Not for much longer. I hate to break it to you, but Paris isn't going to be coming."
Crystal's words wiped the smirk right off Jean's lips. It had never even occurred to her that someone else might have used Paris's phone to send her that text message to lure her out here. She would never question a message from Paris, she trusted his word absolutely.
"Why?" Jean said, voice barely above a whisper.
Crystal snapped her fingers. Two muscular guys stepped out of the kitchen and stood behind Crystal's chair. Jean's eyes rolled.
"Can't be bothered to kill me yourself so you get your lackeys to do it for you." Jean shook her head and laughed bitterly. "So typical of a vampire."
Crystal sneered. "What would /you/ know, freak? You don't even know /what/ you are. And that shouldn't even exist."
She sounded so /calm/ and rational, like she really believed everything she was saying. Jean had to fight the urge to shudder.
"So good riddance." Crystal smiled angelically. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Paris for you."
"You - "
But the insult was never completed. Jean barely had time to open her mouth - when the two muscular men started /changing/. Their shirts ripped and fur began spreading over their skin. Bear shifters. Jean didn't wait to see the rest of the change. She turned to run back out the door - only to have her path blocked by a moose and an - /anteater/?
"Who the hell are they?" Crystal's voice had risen an octave in fear and anger.
"You're asking me?" Jean snorted.
The moose charged at the door, its antlers tearing the doorframe to pieces. Jean dodged out of the way. But the moose wasn't going for her - it was going for Crystal, who was desperately scrambling out the way while her bear shifters were finishing their change. Jean hurried outside, only to have her path blocked by the anteater, who was giving her a gentle nudge to a car coming up the driveway.
Jean stared at the car, covering her ears against Crystal's screaming and the animal cacophony. A blackbird was flying down from the sky and changing into Ivana. The anteater was now nudging Jean in her direction. Ivana was holding out her hands to Jean.
Jean moaned. Too much was happening, and her mind didn't want to accept what it was seeing. Ivana grabbed Jean's hands. "Don't just stand there," she was snapping at the anteater, "go help /him/." Ivana was pointing into the cabin.
Jean laughed. "You guys are crazy, you know that?"
"We need to be going now," Ivana said. The car had stopped and one of the back doors and passenger door had flung open. Ivana pushed Jean towards the car and shoved her into the backseat, then scram led into the passenger seat. Ivana shut the door and the car took off. Jean pulled herself together enough to lean over and shut her own door before she went flying out.
"We left the anteater and the moose," she said.
"They'll follow us when they can," the girl who was driving answered.
Jean pressed her forehead against the cool glass of one of the backseat's windows. "Paris is going to be so pissed when he finds his cabin wreaked by two bears, a moose and an anteater." She chuckled. "An anteater? Why?…Just….Why?"
"It's Casey's animal, he was in the area and closet to call for help," Ivana said.
"There are anteater shapeshifters?" Jean smirked, thinking of a funny but weird hospital drama she had seen a while ago that had a shapeshifting anteater as a main character.
"Actually, no, Casey's a Tempest, like me, like Marla, and the moose," Ivana explained. "Hey, Marla, who's the moose? I thought you said Hayden was coming. He's not a moose."
Marla shrugged. "Hayden had something else to do. The moose is Tuesday."
"The guy's name," Ivana clarified.
"Oh." Jean sighed. "What's a Tempest?"
"I told you, it's what we all are, and what you are too. I said I could give you answers if you let me."
"Uh-huh." A thick fog enveloped Jean's mind, and she passed out.
"Was that really necessary?" Paris side stepped the dead body of Lily, making sure he didn't tread in any of the leaking blood to avoid leaving footprints. Ice put her gun down.
"She was in the way, She would have made a fuss."
Paris looked down at the body, nose wrinkling in disgust. "No sign of Ivana, I take it?"
Ice snorted. "If there was do you think that I would still be here?"
Paris smiled a little. "I suppose not. Anyone else come in?"
Ice shook her head. Paris frowned. So where the hell was Jean? She hadn't shown up in their last class, she hadn't even called, and Jean wasn't answering her cell-phone either. Why was she ignoring him? Jean never ignored him.
"She's not here already!" Ice snapped. "Drop the pathetic pretty-puppy eyes."
Paris glared at her, and didn't bother replying. He turned and walked off. Where /was/ Jean? Her only friend beside him was Brenda, but Brenda refused to take his calls. She'd walked right passed him in the school hallway making it clear she had no intention of stopping to talk to him.
His gut feeling was that the usual suspects of Crystal Redfern and her possy. But to his surprise Paige was actually home when he arrived there less than a minute later. She was sat in the living room with Venetia watching an ancient /Saved by the Bell/ repeat. Paris stared at them in mild disbelief. Paige just looked up at him. "Was there something you wanted to watch?"
Paris didn't know what to say. He was certain if Crystal was going to be doing something to Jean then Paige and Venetia would want front row seats for the event. "Where's Crystal?"
Venetia shrugged. "She's meeting Haywood in her cabin at the lake."
Paris frowned, Crystal was with her jerk of a boyfriend, her cronies were in his living room watching an old TV show. And Jean was still nowhere to be found.
Jean wondered if she should go home first and pack a bag, but then again her mother would want to know what she was doing. While Jean was sure her mother probably even liked Paris, she was certain Lily was uncomfortable with the amount of time they spent to each other and the way their relationship was progressing. There was no way her mother would allow Jean to spend the night at Paris's cabin, especially not on a school night.
So Jean went straight to the cabin. She had been planning on calling him to let him know she was on her way, but half way to the lake, Jean wanted to kick herself when she realised she'd left her cell phone in her locker. She had turned it off and left it there before going to class after talking to Ivana.
Oh well, she thought.
She had also thought maybe she should have waited for Paris instead of cutting her last class. She just hadn't wanted to deal with facing people after the incident with Brenda and the confrontation in the hall with Charlie…she had just gone straight for her car.
Besides, Jean knew the way to the cabin like the back of her hand. She and Paris had spent long afternoons and weekend days together there. She smiled as she drove up the familiar pine tree lined highway, catching the sight of the lake on the right as the car wound its way up the hill.
The crystal clear water shimmered with perfect reflections of the trees and cloudless blue sky. Even Jean couldn't be miserable with such beautiful scenery surrounding her. She turned off the main high way onto the track road that led to the cabin Paris's family owned.
A doe was crossing the driveway just as Jean stopped her car. For a few seconds, its eyes seemed to lock with hers, regarding her with something almost like - curiosity, then ran off into the forest. Jean shook her head in mild amazement as she got out of the car. She found the key on her key ring and let herself into the cabin, sitting on the couch to wait for Paris.
The point of the peridot was touching the woods. Paris frowned at the map in front of him. The woods by the lake was where his family's cabin was. It didn't take a lot of power for him to scry for Jean. He knew there was no one powerful enough in the town to influence or tamper with the scrying spell. His family were the only Harmans here, they were the powerful witches. They were the ones people came to when they needed magical solutions. Paige wasn't smart enough to think about what he might be doing, or waste her time by interfering in his magic.
Why would Jean be in the woods? Paris blew out the white candles lit around his room, grabbed his car keys and left to find an answer to his question.
"Can't this piece of crap go any faster?" Ivana grumbled as the gunned the car engine.
Beside her, Marla's eyes rolled. "This is /your/ car, you know."
Ivana scowled. "I hate American speed limits. So much easier in Europe." She considered the thought of pulling over.
The hell with it Ivana thought, she couldn't wait any longer. Traffic had been heavier than she had expected it would be to the lake. She needed to make sure she got there before Jean did. She pulled over to the hard shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Marla asked.
"Take the car, I can't wait. It's cabin 7."
Ivana scrambled out and changed into her bird form. The blackbird shot upwards into the sky and off to its destiny, praying it wasn't already too late.
Jean sighed with irritation. She glanced out the window, thinking she had seen the flash of car headlights. Where are you Paris? she thought. She was now mentally kicking herself for not bringing her cell phone with her. She knew she could use her telepathic abilities to reach Paris, but using them would just remind her what she was and get her all depressed again.
She folded her arms, sitting back in the couch, wishing the cabin had a TV, or some interesting books rather than wild life or cooking ones. There was no phone in the cabin, and worse, no clock either. She had forgotten her watch, and had never realised how annoying it was to not have access to time. Outside the picture window she could see the sky starting to darken. She couldn't tell if she'd been there for ten minutes or half an hour.
As a last resort to stop herself dying of boredom, Jean guessed she might as well do her homework, her school books were still in the backseat of her car. She headed outside, pausing as she reached her car. The hairs on the back of her neck felt cold. Clouds had gathered in the sky, the shadows of the trees had lengthened. Across the sky itself fingers of ruby and gold were stretching their way across to the horizon, reflecting in darker shades in the lake.
Jean found herself shivering, despite the fact it wasn't even cold. It was an odd, uncanny feeling she was having difficulty putting into words.
"Come on Paris," she muttered, grabbing her books from the trunk. A flurry of leaves blew across her feet, hitting the window with a disturbingly loud sound, sharp and sudden like gun fire, making Jean jump as she hurried back into the cabin. The wind was picking up, lifting her hair off her shoulders.
Jean couldn't tell if this was her doing or just a natural weather thing. She was about to sit back in the recliner she had been in, when she stopped, dropping her books and staring in disbelief.
Crystal Redfern was sitting in the chair.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
The wind outside was definitely blowing harder now. Gusts of leaves were attacking the picture window, whistling through the tops of the blowing pine trees, sounding like a mournful wailing. Crystal was glancing at the window. Jean smirked, pleased to see the vindictive vampire bitch actually looked shaken by the sudden uprising of the wind.
Crystal smoothed down her shoulder length ruby curls and crossed her long tanned legs at the knees, pulling down the skirt of her pale blue Chanel suit. Jean's eyes rolled. Why had she ever been afraid of this girl? Her arms folded, the smirk was still on her lips. "Still here?"
"Not for much longer. I hate to break it to you, but Paris isn't going to be coming."
Crystal's words wiped the smirk right off Jean's lips. It had never even occurred to her that someone else might have used Paris's phone to send her that text message to lure her out here. She would never question a message from Paris, she trusted his word absolutely.
"Why?" Jean said, voice barely above a whisper.
Crystal snapped her fingers. Two muscular guys stepped out of the kitchen and stood behind Crystal's chair. Jean's eyes rolled.
"Can't be bothered to kill me yourself so you get your lackeys to do it for you." Jean shook her head and laughed bitterly. "So typical of a vampire."
Crystal sneered. "What would /you/ know, freak? You don't even know /what/ you are. And that shouldn't even exist."
She sounded so /calm/ and rational, like she really believed everything she was saying. Jean had to fight the urge to shudder.
"So good riddance." Crystal smiled angelically. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Paris for you."
"You - "
But the insult was never completed. Jean barely had time to open her mouth - when the two muscular men started /changing/. Their shirts ripped and fur began spreading over their skin. Bear shifters. Jean didn't wait to see the rest of the change. She turned to run back out the door - only to have her path blocked by a moose and an - /anteater/?
"Who the hell are they?" Crystal's voice had risen an octave in fear and anger.
"You're asking me?" Jean snorted.
The moose charged at the door, its antlers tearing the doorframe to pieces. Jean dodged out of the way. But the moose wasn't going for her - it was going for Crystal, who was desperately scrambling out the way while her bear shifters were finishing their change. Jean hurried outside, only to have her path blocked by the anteater, who was giving her a gentle nudge to a car coming up the driveway.
Jean stared at the car, covering her ears against Crystal's screaming and the animal cacophony. A blackbird was flying down from the sky and changing into Ivana. The anteater was now nudging Jean in her direction. Ivana was holding out her hands to Jean.
Jean moaned. Too much was happening, and her mind didn't want to accept what it was seeing. Ivana grabbed Jean's hands. "Don't just stand there," she was snapping at the anteater, "go help /him/." Ivana was pointing into the cabin.
Jean laughed. "You guys are crazy, you know that?"
"We need to be going now," Ivana said. The car had stopped and one of the back doors and passenger door had flung open. Ivana pushed Jean towards the car and shoved her into the backseat, then scram led into the passenger seat. Ivana shut the door and the car took off. Jean pulled herself together enough to lean over and shut her own door before she went flying out.
"We left the anteater and the moose," she said.
"They'll follow us when they can," the girl who was driving answered.
Jean pressed her forehead against the cool glass of one of the backseat's windows. "Paris is going to be so pissed when he finds his cabin wreaked by two bears, a moose and an anteater." She chuckled. "An anteater? Why?…Just….Why?"
"It's Casey's animal, he was in the area and closet to call for help," Ivana said.
"There are anteater shapeshifters?" Jean smirked, thinking of a funny but weird hospital drama she had seen a while ago that had a shapeshifting anteater as a main character.
"Actually, no, Casey's a Tempest, like me, like Marla, and the moose," Ivana explained. "Hey, Marla, who's the moose? I thought you said Hayden was coming. He's not a moose."
Marla shrugged. "Hayden had something else to do. The moose is Tuesday."
"The guy's name," Ivana clarified.
"Oh." Jean sighed. "What's a Tempest?"
"I told you, it's what we all are, and what you are too. I said I could give you answers if you let me."
"Uh-huh." A thick fog enveloped Jean's mind, and she passed out.