“What about the seal?” Donatello’s voice calls from behind me, his usually reassuring presence doing nothing to calm my heart. I blink, looking at him over my shoulder for a moment. Oh, yeah. I was so preoccupied with the story of my parents I forgot about the seal.
She shrugs. “I specialized in barriers. Her mother asked me to put a seal on her if something happened to them. Perhaps because she would have to go to an orphanage, and witches don’t do good in human orphanages. Perhaps because she is a daughter of her father, and his powers were strange."
“So you know nothing about my power?” My voice is hopeless, the same way I feel. This exchange is going so differently than what I hoped for. I wanted answers, not shrugs and dismissives. From what I can see, this woman knows as much about my powers as I do.
She shakes her head. “No. And I want nothing to do with it. Leave.” Her dry words hit me with the knowledge she won’t say anything else. She picks up her phone, an old model, and opens it as she gives her back to us. A not-so-subtle way to tell us our time’s up.
My shoulders droop. I have what I came here for — the truth. Then why does it hurt so much?
Apollo’s hand curls around my shoulder. “Let’s go,” he says in a grave voice that tells of barely concealed violence. I nod and follow him out of the door. Ren’s the first one out. He halts the second he crosses the threshold.
“We might have a problem,” he says.
Apollo and Donatello try to shoulder past him and end up stuck for a second, the three too big for the door. It would be hilarious if I wasn’t knee-deep in the sourest mood of sour moods history. The three pass through the door, giving me a view of the street.
There’s a bunch of people standing around the car, some with raincoats, others with umbrellas. All of them stare at us with narrowed eyes full of threat. I swallow hard. Are they going to pick a fight with us? Witches versus shifters and vampires and... whatever I am?
Donatello doesn’t wait, and he doesn’t ask. He merely steps down the porch, around the car, and into it. People step away to let him through, the presence of a vampire enough to give us a moment. Ren’s shoulders square as he approaches the car in silence and opens the door for me. The cold wind blows, biting at my cheeks and bringing drops of rain to my eyes. I follow him, crossing my arms over my chest, feeling too exposed. Apollo makes his way to the passenger seat and opens the door, but he stops. The phone in his back pocket rings. Weird, I thought he had turned it off to avoid being tracked. He picks it up.
“Yeah?”
I don’t hear the words exchanged as I sit next to Ren and close the door behind me. The silence inside the car is much the same as the one outside. Oppressive. Full of weight. The storm above us is about to come crashing down.
Donatello wiggles his fingers to Apollo, and the shifter throws him the keys. Donatello flips the key, but the engine doesn’t come on immediately, and I press myself to Ren. He intertwines our fingers together, his warmth settling me a little. But just a little. There’s an ominous feeling growing inside my stomach. The hairs in the back of my neck raise.
Is something bad about to happen?
Apollo finally joins us, closing the door with a slam and throwing the phone to Donatello, who catches it mid-air. “Forgot we were using your phone as GPS, not mine.”
Donatello blinks, looking down at the screen. With his face covered, I can’t tell what expression he’s making as he thumbs the phone. “What did he say?”
“More shit to convince us to leave.” Apollo narrows his eyes. “Something about knowing where you are. Are you owing someone? I know vampires have a kink about that.”
Ren chuckles next to me, and I know it’s more to ease the mood than because he found the joke funny. Donatello closes his fingers around the phone and grips it. The screen bursts with a crack, making me gasp.
“What was that for?” I ask, breathless.
“I was being tracked too,” he says and turns to the wheel again, flipping the key. The car struggles and doesn’t turn on. “Fuck.”
Apollo arches an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”
“It isn’t turning on, obviously,” Donatello hisses with annoyance. How strange. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him losing his temper. He shoots a glance out of the window. “You think they did something to it?”
My Not-Mother shows up at her door, her phone in her hand, and the creepiest, self-satisfied smile I’ve ever seen on her face. It gives me shivers, and not the good ones. My breath becomes shallow. Nausea rolls inside me. I grip Ren’s arm with my free hand, and goosebumps skitter across his skin.
“You feel it too?” I ask him in a whisper.
His eyes lock with mine, and he nods. “Something is about to happen.”
Apollo brushes a hand in the nape of his neck. “Fuck. I thought it was only me.”
Donatello tries the engine once more, then gives up, turning to me with wide eyes. “We can’t stay here. They did something to the car, and someone way worse than these witches is coming after you.”
Apollo arches an eyebrow. “And how the fuck do you know that?”
“Was it the person who called you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Donatello nods. Fear, genuine fear, slides over my body. “Let’s go.”
We all exit the car in unison, slamming the doors shut behind us. I look down, catching the soft shining of a double circle around the car, runes written all around it. It wasn’t done with crayon or anything, but it glints. Magic.