Perry
The intense stand-off with the vampires leads me back home. My parents and I are at odd with each other, but I need Alan's advice on how I should proceed with the twin-pires.
Finn and Lucas know about my tenure as the Zion and my possession of the dagger, which means they are likely not the only ones who have noticed. Their warnings of danger are more dire than I expected. They know something about what has been happening in Solstice, but the question remains if I can trust what they say.
Rushing through the back door, I find Alan with his face in the fridge. I bypass mimicking his lecture on closing the fridge and launch directly into needing his help with something important.
I ramble on about vampires until I am literally out of breath. When he does not speak, I turn to the fridge to see that I have not been speaking with Alan at all.
"Porter?" I ask.
Porter stares at me with a wide-eyed expression. He wipes the milk mustache from his top lip and smiles at me. His shoulders have expanded since he left for college, and his frame is bulkier. His normally vibrant Nubian skin is duller, though the bags under his eyes are retain the darkness of his skin. His light brown eyes are weary under my gaze.
"Little bro! Aren't you supposed to be at school?" He asks.
"I—well—aren't you?" I ask.
Porter shrugs. "We're at a standstill. I'm home for a break. Dad explained what's going on, so I figured the family could use a little Port in the storm."
The joke is so horrible all I can do is blink at him.
Without so much as a word, I exit the kitchen and walk down the hallway. Penny comes down the stairs just as Alan walks in through the front door holding his work thermos.
The two follow me into the living room as I begin pacing in front of the sofa. Porter joins with a glass of milk as Alan asks if I am okay.
I take a deep breath before launching into an explanation of what happened at school. Repeating the story for the second time, I begin to piece together the parts of the story that horrify my parents.
Penny is mortified and begins pelting me with questions regarding any injuries I have sustained. Alan interrupts by asking what I told them about the dagger.
"I didn't tell them anything about your precious dagger. But they seemed like smart enough vampires. I think they know I'm not telling the truth." I say. "Funny how easy lying is for me now."
"Oh, wow. That's un-Perry-like." Porter interjects.
"You gave him the dagger? Isn't he a little young for the dagger?" Penny asks.
"He's about to be seventeen. He's old enough to drive and fight demons, I think he can handle the dagger." Alan says.
"I thought Porter would inherit the dagger." Penny says. "It's always the eldest."
"Well, things are a bit different, Pen. Porter isn't the Zion." Alan snaps.
"Hey!" Porter says.
"Okay, as the only person here who isn't batcrap crazy, I'd like to bring the focus back on the two vampires who just went all Angelina Maleficient on me." I say. "I think they're right and I think whoever is after the dagger is behind most of the unsolved cases we've been working on."
Penny is visibly upset as she casts a glance over to Alan. He pretends not to notice until Porter and I cannot hide our discomfort.
"Maybe it's not such a good idea to have our teenage son around crime scenes, Alan. He's the Zion, yes, but I've seen pictures of the crimes scenes and they gave me nightmares." Penny says.
"I do want to point out that I literally found the corpse of my guidance counselor at school, during school hours, where I go to school to learn about non-dead and supernatural things. I think the dead body cat is out of the grim reaper's bag." I say.
"Wow, are these the kinds of conversations we have now as a family? I gotta say I really hate it. Hate it a lot." Porter says.
"You're adjusting well to the supernatural conversation, Porter. Should I be worried?" Alan asks.
"Okay! Seriously! I was only sort of kidding about the grim reaper bag. I was thinking maybe I could do a ward of some kind. I read about them in the compendium." I say.
"A spell? You think you're ready for spells? You've never even done true magic." Penny says. "It's dangerous."
"Mom, my life is kind of dangerous. I need you to accept that. Besides, it's time I start diving into magic."
"Says who?" Alan asks.
"They're right. Spells are harder than you think." Porter says.
Alan's confusion is written on his face, much as I am sure mine is. Porter's comfort with discussing magic is strange enough, but the way he speaks about magic sounds as if it is from experience. It is obvious Alan and I are being left out when I look at the sheepish expression on Penny's face.
"And exactly what do you know about spells?" Alan asks.
"I—well—I know about magic." Porter stammers.
"When Porter was younger, he found my mother's grimoire. I may have taught him a few things." Penny says.
"You what?!" Alan shouts.
"Wait! You're telling me that Porter not only knows about magic, you allowed him to cast magic spells? What about his binding?" I ask.
"I'm not bound. Not anymore." Porter says. "I haven't been for a while."
The startling understanding I reach is that Porter is an unbound witch, and my mother knew about it all along. Alan is shocked to his core. It feels like karma for him, but I am angry as well.
If Porter was unbound, why am I still bound? It is clear from Penny's questioning that she expected Porter to inherit the dagger. It dawns on me she expected Porter to become the Zion, not me.
The air in the room is too thick with lies and secrets. I cannot stand to be in the room anymore as I storm out, heading to the basement to find the book my mother spoke of.
I will find a way to unbind myself.
YOU ARE READING
Destiny's Witch (BxB)
FantasyPerry Bennett was just fine with his group of friends, burgeoning romantic entanglement, and blooming academic career until he received a gift he could not return. Fresh from a summer of training to be the Zion, a mythical being destined to combat t...
