What’s got you so shaken up, my little doe?
10
JACE
16 YEARS AGO – DEVIL’S NEST
Perspiration from the late afternoon heat makes dust cling to my skin as I run down the neighborhood dirt roads. I’m going to be a mess by the time I reach Cyrus’ house, but I’m too excited to slow down. He has been gone for days, hunting in the Hellsmouth woods with his pop and mine. The moment my pa strolled through our door, I sprinted out of the house to see Cyrus without a second thought.
“Cyrus!” I cry upon seeing him in front of the house with his younger cousin, Roux. He’s tracing hopscotch lines with a piece of chalk on the cement around their shed, his messy brown hair fluttering in the breeze. A bouncing Roux stands beside him, eagerly chattering away, though I can’t hear what she’s saying. Looks like I wasn’t the only one on pins and needles waiting for his return.
Cyrus looks up, flecks of green sparkling in his hazel eyes, right before I collide into him. I wrap my arms around his neck in a tight hug, making us both smack onto the cement.
“Geez, Jace. I’ve only been gone a couple’a days,” he complains playfully, returning my hug. “You’d think I’d been gone a year.”
“I’m like that ol’ hound dog of yours,” I laugh, letting him go so we can both stand. “You could be gone a minute, and I’d still be just as excited to see ya.”
“Y’all are so gross,” Roux giggles, faking a gagging sound. She snatches the chalk from Cyrus, continuing to make the hopscotch squares herself. For only six, she has the sass of someone twice her years, like someone my age. I chuckle behind my hand.
“Sorry, Roux. I just needta borrow him for a little bit,” I apologize, knowing she hates it when I come to steal him from her. “You mind?”
She looks up, raising one eyebrow and then sighing. “I suppose not,” she whines, “but just for a little while. I missed him too, ya know.”
“I promise!” I vow, placing my hand over my heart. I smile, grabbing Cyrus’ hand to lead him to the patch of woods behind his house.
Once we’re under the cover of trees, I spin toward him, grabbing both his arms. I’m anxious to tell him what happened while he was gone, far away from listening ears. “You’ll never guess what I found while I was lookin’ around for our Halloween decorations,” I squeal.
“You mean while you were snoopin’ around?” he chuckles, moving to sit against a tree.
“I wasn’t snooping,” I huff, puffing my bottom lip out. Cyrus stares at me silently, eyes flashing with a sense of knowing. “Okay, so maybe I was a little. Anyway…I was goin’ through some boxes out in the garage, and there was this little one way up high on a shelf.”
“Now why would there be anythin’ for Halloween in there?” Cyrus asks sarcastically, pulling my hand to tug me down next to him.
“You never know,” I reply with a devious grin. “Maybe it had some of the little plastic spiders in there. I wassodisappointed when it didn’t.”
“Well don’t keep me waitin’! What was in there?” He laughs but bounces his leg nervously. I pause for a long moment, knowing when I draw out stories it drives him crazy?—
but that’s half the fun.
“An antler!” I reveal, letting out the big breath I was holding while I made him wait. “Not a regular one, though. This one was broken off and silver. I ain’t ever seen anythin’ like it.”
Cyrus’ face falls, his eyes widening. “Are you sure it was an antler?”
“Pretty sure.” My eyebrows bunch, eyes searching his face for something I’m missing. “What else would it be?”
“Did you touch it?” Cyrus asks, voice filled with worry. I didn’t expect him to be so concerned by my discovery, but a small part of me must have found the strangeness in it, since I was so impatient to share it with him.
“Well, yeah. I picked it up,” I confess, opening and closing my palm as I remember. “I put it right back! It felt real weird in my hand, made it all tingly. What do you think it was?”
“I don’t know,” Cyrus sighs, looking away. “But I think you should leave it alone. Besides, your pop would whoop ya if he knew you were goin’ through his things.”
“I could sneak it out,” I offer, hoping to ignite his curiosity. “We can figure it out together!”
“Some things are better left unknown,” he sighs. His face suddenly looks years older. “Let’s get back to Roux before she gets lost out here looking for us.”
11
JACE
