Liar, Liar by A.R. Hall

Fiona

Fiona had been waiting for the knock at her door for less than five minutes. She was expecting to see Ben and Jasper both, tired of being kept in the dark, and was long overdue for some explanations. Starting with why Jasper bit her. How were his teeth that sharp? Why was she feeling his emotions mixed with hers?

“Explain,” she spoke sternly as she opened the door.

“Sorry, love. Business kept me away longer than I’d expected,” a soft yet commanding voice inserted.

Fiona looked at Michael in shock. Was he back already? She hadn’t been expecting him. This guy didn’t give up. They’d gone on several dates and he seemed to think it was going somewhere.

It wasn’t.

She told him before the first date that this was just casual. She hadn’t been looking for more. This was her way of making her brother and everyone else think she had “moved on” and was living life.

“Miss me?” His once charming smirk rubbed her the wrong way. He leaned in for a kiss, but she turned and gave him her cheek. “I’ve upset you. I’ll make it up to you.” He pulled a box out from behind his back and opened it to reveal a diamond necklace that probably cost more than her house.

“You can’t buy me. We’ve talked about this already.” She crossed her arms.

Michael had been trying to buy her affection for the last six months, since he first stopped by her place of work, Greener Fields. She’d never expected to find herself working at a nursery and caring for plants. It was also the easiest way to use her gifts without anyone noticing.

Fiona was gifted with the elements of earth and water. Up until a few years ago, she never would have thought she would enjoy using her gifts simply toward plants. The mundane who came into the shop assumed she had a natural green thumb, and that was the way she liked it. She found immense joy in caring for plants both at work and at home.

Michael had come into the nursery looking for rare plants. He had been dressed over the top in fresh pressed suits even then. He stuck out to her. At the time, she had been flattered; it had been a while. Then he became more possessive, and she made it known that she was not about that. He needed the reminder that this was only casual. He’d been trying to buy her back ever since.

“Ah, Fiona.” He tsked. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’m giving this to you to borrow. I have a benefit I’m hosting at the end of the week, and I’d like for you to accompany me, please.”

“Michael, this isn’t going to work. I’m afraid you want more from this, and I told you from the start it was only platonic.” She would try to let him off easy if she thought he would understand.

“One final date and I will leave you alone. I swear.” He held up his fingers as if he were a scout. “You would be doing me a huge favor.”

“No.” She leaned against her doorframe.

“I swear. This is the final date. I’ll be leaving soon anyway.” He snapped the lid of the jewelry box closed and continued to hold it out for her.

“I said no.” Her brows furrowed, and she quickly stood to attention as he attempted to back her up inside her own home.

“Don’t make a mistake.” His eyes narrowed.

“She said no.” Ben’s voice came up from behind her. When did her brother get here? How did he manage to sneak up on her again?

“I don’t get told no.” Michael took another step closer.

“Looks like you do.” Ben snickered behind her. He wasn’t moving closer but let it be known Michael wasn’t welcome.

“I’m going to say this once more.” She put on a fake smile. “I said no, and I meant it. Whatever you thought was happening here—” She gestured to the space between them. “—it isn’t. It was only ever casual, and it’s now finished. Now get off my property and don’t come back.”

“You’re making a mistake.” Michael backed off her porch.

“Is that a threat?” Ben stepped around her.

She placed her hand on his arm. “He’s not worth it.” She knew he wasn’t. Her gut had been telling her right all along.

Even if Jasper weren’t in her mind and heart, she couldn’t be with someone who was that controlling. Someone like that would want to use her if they found out about her gifts. She’d seen and heard enough of that and more during the Dark Times.

The Dark Times had ended several years ago. She was born and raised during a time when everyone with gifts was either hiding or on the run. If it weren’t for Ethereal Prep, she would have been incredibly lonely.

Sure, she had her twin, Ben. It was different at school though. She couldn’t imagine what it had been like for the other kids who didn’t have a safe environment like them. They were privileged to be there and able to practice their gifts. They had friends and a sense of community.

“Are you all right?” Ben turned to face her after Michael’s car left.

She nodded and walked into the kitchen to make some tea. She heard the door shut but didn’t hear Ben’s steps. She assumed he was near though. “Tea?”

“Sure. Now, why don’t you tell me how Jasper happened to be here earlier? What happened after you left the house last night?” He took a seat at her small round dining table.

She finished making their drinks as she told him what happened, about her ankle and Jasper carrying her home and staying the night to make sure she was all right. She didn’t tell him about the closeness. She wasn’t so sure she hadn’t dreamt it.

“He bit you though?” he questioned as she sat his tea down in front of him.

She sat down opposite him and pulled the neck of her shirt over slightly to reveal the mark she knew was there. “He was having a nightmare this morning. It happened as he woke up or possibly right before.”

He ran his hand through his hair and looked around.

“It appears he’s run away again. This time, I need answers though. Something is different about the both of you, and I deserve the truth this time.” Fiona took a sip of her mint tea.

“You’re right. He was supposed to be the one to tell you, but clearly he has no intention if he keeps running away from you. I can’t tell you his story, but I can share part of mine. After the Venmage attack, we didn’t move on. For that year, we were in purgatory, a place between death and whatever usually comes. Long story short, we made a deal with a demon to be able to come back. The only catch was that we couldn’t return exactly how we once were. We’d still be part of the gifted community, but we wouldn’t have our gifts.”

The Venmage attack was something that still gave her nightmares. They were beasts that fed on magic and those with gifts. To the mundane, they looked like wolves, but they were larger than average and had extra shadows. Venmage had extra shadows, because they existed in more than one place. There were rumors they could easily travel between places. Fiona would never forget that night. That was the night when everything changed. Jasper and Ben stayed behind so she and Diana could get away. They hadn’t wanted to leave them; they shouldn’t have. To this day, it was still a regret. She shouldn’t have let them sacrifice themselves.

Fiona nodded. “You both made a deal with a demon so you could come back. Only you wouldn’t have gifts like you did before.” She continued to nod and process what he told her. “That doesn’t explain him biting me or the two of you clearly being different.”

“Do you remember the old stories Grams used to tell us when she’d visit us during the summer?”

Of course she remembered. Grams was fond of stories involving creatures that didn’t exist. In a world where they knew magic was real, she liked to inspire their imaginations with fairy tales of all sorts. “Why?”

“The stories are true.”

Fiona couldn’t help but laugh. “You mean to tell me that vampires, dragons, shifters, centaurs, and all those other creatures are real?”

“The reason we don’t have our elemental gifts anymore is so we could make room for an animal.” He was serious.

Fiona thought it was weird that Ben and Jasper were both more growly but hadn’t thought more of it.

“I can’t tell you more. Jasper has to be the one to share.”

“He left.” She flailed her arms.

“He’ll be back.” He sighed.

“How do you know?”

“He marked you. That’s a claim on you. He won’t go far—and not for long either. It’ll hurt him if he even tries.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I need to get back to Diana. I know you have some of Grams’s old books. Look through them with fresh eyes. Call me if you need anything.”

Ben locked the door behind him, leaving his drink untouched. She rolled her eyes at the wastefulness. Fiona leaned back in her seat. That was it? She still didn’t have answers, and she didn’t think she would get them from old books… but she had to start somewhere.

Fiona quickly brought up a few boxes from the basement. It was small, and she used it purely for storage. After Grams passed, her parents let her take whatever she wanted that belonged to her. She chose her books and a small pearl necklace she always wore.

Hours passed as she went through the boxes and flipped through the pages of books she remembered fondly from her childhood. Stories of things that went bump in the night. Could they really be true?

Fiona was deep in a story about a war between vampires and witches when she got that eerie feeling. Someone was watching her. A knock came at the door that had her jumping out of her chair. She shook her head and made her way over, taking in a deep breath before opening it.

Nobody was there. She peeked around her porch and went down the stairs to look around the side of her yard. Nobody. She laughed at herself. “You’re going crazy,” she whispered to herself.

A cloth-covered hand pressed her nose and mouth. She fought as her arms were restrained and attempted to scream, but everything went dark.