Page 4 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter four
“ L et’s go see mom and dad before the bullshit commences.” This morning my mom told me she needed to see both of us before the ceremony, she was acting rather strange. She isn’t usually one for dramatics, and it’s got me worried.
Piper has a pep in her step at the thought of seeing my parents. They treat her like their own child. “I wonder if she’s made any cinnamon rolls for me!”
I laugh at Piper’s excitement; she has an insane sweet tooth. I’m pretty sure she would live on nothing but sugar if she could.
“I prefer my cinnamon rolls in the form of men, but whatever blows your dress up.” Piper snorts out a laugh at my ridiculousness.
We get to the outskirts of the pack’s land where my house is, and Piper opens the door, yelling out to my parents. “Mama Rose, I’m starving, got any cinnamon rolls for me?”
Laughing at her silliness, my dad comes up and gives me a hug. He always smells like pine and fresh air. His scent is comforting and feels like home.
“Your mom needs the laughs Pip is giving. She’s had a rough day of visions.” My dad whispers to me while we watch Piper dance around my kitchen eating her coveted cinnamon roll.
I walk into the kitchen to hug my mom, and as I’m passing Piper, I steal a bite. She gasps in horror and holds the roll above her head, knowing my short ass can’t reach up there. As I’m standing there trying to decide if I want to climb her like a tree to get to the protected treat, a glob of icing slides off and lands right in her long, blonde hair.
There is no hope of containing my bubbles of laughter, especially after I meet mom and dad’s eyes. We all lose it. I laugh until I have the hiccups and tears are streaming down my face. Piper is pouting as she heads down the hall to get washed up.
Mom pulls me into a bone-crushing hug that just adds to my worry. “Mom, what's going on? Dad said you’ve had a bad day of visions.”
She just hugs me tighter. “We will talk when Pip is back. I don't want to have to go over it more than once.”
Piper walks back into the room and goes straight to my dad. “Papa Rhett, how is it you always smell like home?”
Dad laughs, pulling her into his own bear hug. “It must be magic.”
Mom leads us into the living room, where we all take our usual positions. Mom and Dad on their couch, Piper and I cocooned under a blanket on ours. “Okay, Mom, we’re all here and you’re slightly freaking me out. What’s going on and how can we help?” Mom takes a deep breath before standing up and handing each of us a small jewelry box, the kind that looks like they are from a high-end store.
We open them to find the most beautiful white gold necklaces. An expandable net is holding a gemstone roughly the size of my thumb. I can already see how the net can be opened so the gemstones can be switched out. Inside the net there is an amethyst with a smaller charm that looks like a trunk. The details of the tiny trunk charm are astounding. Four gemstones, one on each corner, along with a raven carved in the top flying beneath a detailed night sky, complete with the moon and stars.
I look over at Piper and she has a similar necklace, but her crystal is rainbow hematite, and her trunk has a wolf running under a full moon through a forest. “Mom, these are stunning. Where did you get them?”
Mom and Dad share a look before she speaks. “I’ve had visions of both you and Pip since the day you met. I knew your bond would be strong. Several months ago, I had a feeling we needed to get Pip her passport and driver's license. It was an extremely strong feeling, one I couldn’t ignore. Today I had a vision that explained that feeling. I can’t tell you everything, but I know you both need to be prepared for anything tonight.” She hesitates, licking her lips nervously. “Including the chance that you may need to flee this place.”
She rolls right past our shocked expressions. Exchanging a quick look with my dad, she seems to draw on his strength.
“Those tiny charms on your necklaces are, in reality, full-sized trunks that we have filled with everything you need to make a quick getaway.”
She pauses, needing a minute to gather the rest of her thoughts. Dad clears his throat, picking up where she left off. “Girls, we don’t know when you will have to leave, but we wanted to make sure you were as prepared as we could make you. Pip, inside your trunk is some money, your license and passport, and some keepsakes we thought you might like to have.”
He turns back to me. “Sage, you have the same in yours, along with some extra spell cards and the family athame. We’ve included maps and the money we’ve been saving for you since you were both five and your mom had that first vision.”
Both Piper and I are sitting in stunned silence. She starts to speak, but Mom puts up her hand, asking her to wait. “Inside both chests are directions to Ranchester, Wyoming. There’s a shelter there that helps supernaturals who have had to leave abusive situations. When I spoke to Sara about having the necklaces made, she also gave me the info for the shelter. She reached out to a demon jeweler she knows. His work is amazing, and he usually has a long wait list, but when she spoke with him, he told her he felt this had to be a top priority.”
Piper sits up and puts the necklace on before going to both Mom and Dad and giving them big hugs. “You have never made me feel anything other than loved. Thank you for this amazing gift. I will treasure it always.”
Mom is openly crying as she hugs her back. Her voice is thick with emotion and a bit hard to understand through her tears. “I know I’m not the one that gave you life, but you’re one of my daughters. That's why Rhett carved you a trunk as well. It’s a tradition in my family that young women get a spell trunk when they come of age. We both love you very much, Piper.”
I jump off the couch to go join the hug pile. Words of love aren’t needed between us. One thing about growing up with Piper and her fucked up father, is that it made me appreciate how amazing my parents are. We’ve never shied away from sharing our feelings.
Mom moves to the middle of the room and beckons us over. When we’re standing next to her, she explains, “Once you’re holding the charm, you want to point to an area that is free from furniture and say ‘place’. When you’re ready for the trunk to be put away, you hold the charm and say ‘hide’. Piper, I’m sorry sweetie, but to use the trunk requires you to be a witch. You will need Sage to place and hide yours.”
I try it out and two trunks end up right next to each other. Looking over at Piper, I realize that she reflexively tried the spell when I did.
The room is silent as we stare at her. “Ummm, I’m not sure how I did that, but it appears to work for me.” Her voice trails off in baffled confusion, but I can tell from the look on her face she’s over the moon to find out she has magic. The question is how she has magic.
“Dad, these are beautiful. Thank you so much for making them.”
Piper is nodding her head frantically in agreement. “I’ve never had something so meaningful and personalized for me. Thank you so much, Papa Rhett.”
“This will give you access to my trunk. If you want me to have access to yours, just do the same thing I do. Since you can place the trunk, I’m curious if you’re able to grant access too.” I grab Piper’s hand and place it over mine on my trunk. and speak the word “Allow.”
She grabs my hand and repeats the process before we both stand up, grab our charms, and say ‘hide’ at the same time. When both trunks disappear, it proves that Piper does indeed have magic.
“When we have more time, we need to figure out how Piper can perform spells. It doesn’t make sense unless she’s a hybrid.” I glance at my parents, noticing the added worry in their eyes as they watch my best friend.
“I think we need to head over to the ceremony soon, but we will see you after,” Piper reluctantly says. We all know that she would rather stay here with us than have anything to do with pack politics. Or her father.
They come to hug us before we head to the door. Mom stops us just before we leave to impart the last details of our gifts. “The necklaces are charmed to always stay with you, even if you shift. Always keep them on, and one more thing before you go.”
She hesitates for a moment until Dad squeezes her hand in support. “If you need to run, don’t waste time coming to us. Once you get to Ranchester, they will tell us, and we will leave here. It is imperative you do not come here before you run! Promise me, both of you.”
We both promise to run without coming home if that is what needs to happen. “I love you guys! I’ll see you when I get home tonight.” For all their paranoid preparations, I don’t see why we would need to flee so abruptly that we couldn’t even say goodbye. At the same time, Mom’s visions are eerily accurate.
Arm in arm, we head off to the center of pack territory where the ceremony is being held. Both of us lost in thought over the visit with my parents. Once we get there, I can see Alpha Dick, also known as Richard Bartholomew Ferguson, standing on a rock in the middle of the clearing. He looks like a typical alpha. Tall, muscles everywhere, extremely good-looking, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. It's unfortunate that his soul isn’t as pretty as his face. As we approach, he rips off his shirt.
I quietly snort and whisper to Piper. “I can't decide if he’s trying to be like that 80s romance book cover model or preparing to give a Braveheart-like speech for all of us.”
Piper shakes her head at me, fighting laughter. “At least Mel Gibson kept his fucking shirt on.”