Taste of Honey

A Familiar Face

"Thank you for taking care of me, Mona." Honey says, grabbing her sisters hand. For the past two hours Mona had been catching Honey up on what she had missed while she was asleep. Apparently for the first couple nights their water would not turn on, and it would drip from the ceiling onto Honey. They also experienced heavy rainfall, and a flood warning from the river. Mona also had been learning how to better control air from Meg.

"Let's head over to Heidi's shop, so she knows that I'm awake." Honey says, standing up, still weak from her deep sleep. She heads up the stairs and back into her room. She eyes the glass of water sitting on an old oak writing desk. Little by little the water begin to rise out of the glass. Honey lowers her hand, and the droplets of water lower with her movements. This was crazy, she felt insane, how could any of this be real. Shaking her head in disbelief, Honey grabs some ripped jeans, converse, and her favorite k-pop band shirt. She slips into her clothes and heads down stairs. Mona waits for her at the front door, sitting at the base of the door reading.

"Okay, let's go to Heidi's" Honey calls, Mona stands up and opens the door. Immediately she slams the door shut, her blue-green eyes wide open. Her mouth opens and closes in shock, rather than fear.

"What is it, Mona?" Honey asks, pushing her sister out of the way. Slowly, Honey opened the door, and looked down. Standing on the welcome mat was a large calico cat.

"CRICKET?" Honey uttered, picking up the cat.

"Ah, Meg called it." Mona remarks, petting Cricket's head.

"Called what?" Honey questions, very confused.

"You'd be the first to get your Familiar", Mona replied, "An animal that you can draw spirit from, without harming them. They also are really cute".

"This is insane, Mona." Honey begins to say, her voice weak.

"Just stay strong. I know that it is a lot to handle, but it will get easier to process, I promise" Mona asserted, heading out the door. They climb onto a bus, headed toward Heidi's Shoppe. The bus is crowded, so they fill in seats next to a stranger. The man has dark hair, dark eyes that have a broken look inside of them. Mona shifts in discomfort, as they can feel the suffering energies the man radiates off. He wears simple clothes, a white tee, brown leather coat, and black jeans. His hands have scars, as if he had stuck them in a scalding fire. The man, who had been looking at the window, turns suddenly and catches the two girls eyeing his hands.

"You know, its not nice to stare." He says, smiling. Mona looks away, blushing.

"Oh, sorry... we didn't mean to be rude" Honey apologizes, stuttering.

"It's okay, people stare a lot, I'm used to it. My name is Joaquin, by the way." He says, offering his hand out. They shake hands, but Honey cannot douse the feeling that something is off about him. Their introductions die down, and attempting to rekindle a conversation, Mona points out the short, black hairs on his shirt.

"Do you own a dog?" She asks, hoping to see pictures. Joaquin looks down, and his eyes widen.

He shakes his head nervously and brushes the stray hairs away, "I am.. allergic to them.. actually". Mona can spot his bluff, but doesn't call him out. If he went so far as to saying he was allergic, then he must have a reason to hide his answer. Soon, the bus slows down, reaching the girls' destination. They both stand up, and Joaquin says his goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Mona. Pleasure meeting you Honey, I am sure we will see each other soon enough." Joaquin stated, as if he was cautioning them. The girls disembark the bus and head into the Shoppe. Heidi is at the counter ringing up an elderly woman's purchase, and Meg is standing by the window, watering the assortment of plants. Some gentle music plays in the background, setting a calming mood. After the woman leaves, Mona jumps onto the counter and sits with her legs crossed. She tells Heidi and Meg about Cricket, and Meg's eyes light up. Heidi slides five dollars over to Meg, as if she lost a bet. Meg and Heidi are delighted that Honey had awaken from her sleep. They promise after work to take her to the beach to practice.

"I think it's time for a lunch break!" Meg says, flipping the 'OPEN' sign to 'CLOSED'. Heidi heads into the back and returns with two garden salads and tangerines. They eat together, and Mona brings up the man they met on the bus. Suddenly, Meg stands up.

"I think I am going to go to the bakery to pick up some treats. Do y'all want anything?" She says randomly. The girls all give her a peculiar look, but shake their head. She leaves the shop, and they continue to eat. Abruptly, the front door slams open. Two shaded figures step inside. First, Joaquin, whimpering and cowering like a hurt puppy. He steps to the side and behind him, a tall woman stands, long black hair and soulless golden eyes. Her tall figure is complemented with a long sleek black dress with a tall slit down the side.

"Sadie?!" The three girls call, and Sadie leers at her name. She sashays forward, and the smell of campfire greets their shocked girls' noses.

"You're fire?" Heidi asks, unsure of how to greet her sister.

"Of course I'm fire you idiot. You MUST have figured that out already." Sadie remarks, examining her long blood red fingernails.

"Why are you here?" Honey asks, walking toward her menacing sister. Sadie looks her up and down with disgust.

"I am here because I need your assistance. I am trying to cast a spell, but I need a complete set of Elemental witches to do so. And I am just as lucky to have three as my very sisters. Three that would do anything to help their, poor, missing sister out, wouldn't they?" Sadie presents. Mona looks toward Honey, as a child would look toward their mother for help.

"What are you trying to do?" Honey questions, drawing courage from her sisters.

"I would love it, Honey, if you would not question me. But I will tell you one thing. I am trying to meet with an old friend. If she does come back, I will never need you three clods to help me cast a spell ever again." She replies, carefully avoiding revealing her plan. "Oh and if you say no, your little friend Meg, will have to die for it, and her blood will be on your hands."

Heidi stands up, "Don't you dare touch her I swear to god Sadie I will kill you myself." she cried, the ground beginning to tremble. Honey swivels around, creasing her brows in concern for her sister.

"Okay, we'll help you, what do we need to do?" Mona blurted, all eyes shift, focusing on her. Sadie's frown transforms into a spine tingling grin, and she heads out the door.

"Joaquin here will help guide you to where we will meet to cast the enchantment, and remember our deal Sir. Don't you dare think about breaking it. There are plenty of young, innocent Alphas that would do anything to save their Mommy and Daddy." Sadie emphasized, slamming the door closed on the way out.

Honey stands there for a moment, and smells the air. She rushes into the back storage room, where a fire had broken out. She couldn't believe her sister had done this, what had happened since she had been gone. Rushing back into the front room, she grabs her sisters and pushes them into the streets, Joaquin behind her. They watch as the shop become engulfed in flames. Heidi begins to sob, everything she had worked for, going up into smoke.

"We have to save Meg, Heidi, we have to go." Honey says, grabbing her sisters arm. Joaquin stands with his head down, a single tear rolling down his face.

"I am so sorry, I have done everything I could to stop her, but it was not enough. Forgive me, Honey" Joaquin whispered. Honey looks him in the eyes, and sees the truth behind agony. She nods, and gathers her sisters. They slowly make their way back to Meg's house, praying it was not burning as well.

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So this chapter is by far the longest one I have written yet, so I hope you enjoyed it. A LOT happened, so if you enjoy these longer chapters please let me know. I would like to dedicate this chapter to EVERYONE who has been supporting me get started over these past couple days, and if you could help keep this story afloat that would be the fantastic :3 As always remember to vote if you liked what you read, and follow me to keep the frequent updates coming!

xoxo Goldenpoppi