A Game Of Secrets

Season 8 - Ep THREE

"Get your shit together bro!" Veronica snapped at Grayson who almost drove into a lamppost. "No cussing in my car". He retorted. "Whatever" she rolled her eyes, "any leads yet?" "Nothing", Grayson shook his head, "we're going out tonight again. It doesn't make sense that his scent just disappeared". "Have you asked that Xander guy?" Veronica shrugged. "He has no clue either".

"Maybe that's what he wants you to think".

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't it odd that he called Jason for a talk and he gets taken?"

"Sheer coincidence"

"There's nothing like coincidence in the hunting world. There is luring out though and it works perfectly". Grayson had to stop the car. "Explain" he urges her. Veronica faced him, "sometimes, it's not about seeing a prey and hunting", she explained, "setting traps makes the biggest traps. Waiting for the prey to fall into a trap takes time so you put a bait. Something that would attract the prey no matter what and then...easy catch". "What does this have to do with Xander and Jason?" Grayson didn't see the point.

Veronica sighed, "even if Xander didn't know Jason was your mate", she said, "he knew he was claimed but yet, he liked him. Call me crazy but I think someone like that can go into psycho obsessive love mode". Grayson debated the idea in his head. He looked at Veronica. She was still a kid. She probably didn't understand the situation like he did. Grayson said nothing and drove off.

Goldie did good today. That was what Jo told her. She skipped like the teen she was and went to her room. "How was the lesson?" Andreas asked with a cup of coffee. "Horrible as usual", she sighed, "she can't contain her powers for long and she's slipping more out of control".

"What's the solution?"

"Using her powers"

"That doesn't make sense". Jo sighed again. "Think of a light bulb", she broke it down, "when you use it for over a long period of time, it eventually dies out. She's a light bulb but with a battery. As she isn't using her powers, it's still charging up". Andreas frowned. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of his daughter blasting things into oblivion.

"Any other thing?" Andreas asked. Jo again sighed. She already felt like a medical doctor giving bad news to her patients because she couldn't lie or sugarcoat it. "She sketched this", Jo gave him a piece of paper, "with her eyes closed. Her lips were moving like she was in a trance". Andreas looked at the drawing and almost had a heart attack. It was the witch's star. Why would she draw this? He mused.

"Good news though", Jo stood up, "she had a sharp mind for languages. Her Latin and Spanish has upped a bit. Her nature's language is still rusty and she can only mumble a few words". Jo, in turn, was taking lessons from Angie. They had worked on it all summer. Jo had used her powers to fine tune her mind to learn better and it worked. She couldn't speak but she could translate.

Andreas thanked Jo and she took her leave. She had duplicated the drawing so that she could study it at home. She had hidden the symbols Goldie had drawn inside the star so as not to terrify Andreas. She hoped that this wasn't about to be a big twist of their fate. They had enough on their plate as it was.

Angie snuck into Jo's room to get the book. She said a spell on it and it immediately replicated. Angie looked through the fake and changed most of the dangerous spells to nature's language. She was sure that her blackmailer was human so she wasn't spying on her currently. She felt a knot in her stomach. Guilt. It was as if she was betraying her friends. Angie shook her head to remove the thought. She was here to save her friends.

She heard a car pull up and immediately panicked. She grabbed the fake, opened a portal and jumped inside. She regained her balance in the Shadow World. "Angel". Daniel breathed in relief. He was always happy to see her. "Hi dad", Angie rushed, "I can't talk. Sorry. Love you. Bye". And with that she was gone. "That's my girl". He smiled to himself.

Angie had portaled to her room. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "That was close. Too close". She sighed and sat on the bed. Her phone beeped like it had been waiting for her to come back. She saw the address and frowned. Angie was irritated. She couldn't even erase the girl's memories and be free. The spell was temporary.

Angie dashed into the bathroom and took a shower. "Angie? Is that you?" A voice asked as soon as put on a towel. She smiled internally. It had been a while since she spoke with Mike or Dave ever since the whole 'family drama'. She still saw them as her brothers though. "It's me, Mike!" She gave a reply, "I'll be out in a sec!"

Mike was relieved. Angie hadn't been home in a long time. He never asked her questions when she bothered to come around out of fear. He wasn't a dumb kid so he knew that something was up with her second life. That's right...he got his memories back again. He was hoping she wouldn't repeat that action. He just wanted his sister back. Without her, their home was broken and lonely.

Angie was grateful to nature that she took her pajamas to the bathroom. She changed and came out. Mike was fondling with the edge of her bedsheets. Angie was overwhelmed with emotions. She attacked him in a big hug and kissed his cheeks. "Hey!" Mike protested, "what's that for?" "It's for being my brother". Angie said as she set him down.

"You haven't exactly been treating me like one these days". Mike mumbled.

"And I am sorry. Things have been...crazy". Angie knew that word was an understatement. Things have been rough, hard, nasty, painful, sickening and generally, terrible. "Dave left for school, Dad's more busy at work", Mike started, "Mom is dead and you just...left. I'm the one at the end of the rope". "Mike..."

Mike stood up, "do you even care?" He challenged, "each time, you say the same thing. Well everything has been crazy for me too. I still have school with no one to help me with, I have to manage this house, I haven't been feeding properly, I'm having nightmares and I don't have a gisting buddy because everyone thinks I'm cursed". Angie was dumbfounded. She couldn't find her words.

"I may not have demons to slay or deaths to prevent to magic to keep a secret", he spat, "but I still have hard times. And I expect you to be there for me; as a friend and as a sister". "I'm not your sister". Angie blurted. Mike  blinked a couple of times. Angie knew it was mistake to.mention it but she had already said it. There was no going back now.

"What are the odds!" Mr Cally, Sean, laughed, "we all came back at the same time. How was your day sweetie?" He directed the question at Jo but Sophia launched into an outburst in Spanish. She ranted and raved about her whole day as they entered the house. Sean and Jo were shocked. She hadn't done that in years. Sophia stopped talking when she was out of breath. She saw the looks on their faces and chuckled nervously.

"Mamá, vamos a estar bien. Tomar un descanso". Jo said as she held her Mom's hands. Sophia sighed heavily, "Candice cuenta conmigo", she shook her head, "no puedo decepcionarla". Jo hugged her Mom for a minute then said, "no lo harás. Creo en ti. Todos lo hacemos". Sophia smiled at that.

Sean cleared his throat loudly. "For those that aren't fluent", he drummed on the table, "a translation please". Jo laughed, "well papa, Mom needed some confidence boost", she replied, "she's stressed out". Sean moved forward and held his wife. "You're the best lawyer I know", he kissed his wife forehead, "you'll do just fine". Sophia smiled, "I know I will", she said, "I have the best husband and hija in the whole world".

They had a group hug and Jo went to her room. She eyed her room suspiciously. The book was out of place. She checked around slowly. There was no one there. She waved blue sparks around and Angie came to  her mind. "What was Angie doing here?" She asked herself. She made a mental note to call her later.

She felt a cough coming so she grabbed a tissue paper. Jo's eyes went wide as the content on the paper. She removed the box from under her bed and stuffed this one into it too. She looked around like someone was spying on her. After a while, she took a deep breath. Her mind was troubled though. She didn't know how long she could hide her illness from the others.