The Things We Fear

Marcus wouldn’t say he fled from the diner, but it was a close thing. It was another level of annoyance that he knew Cassius was a murderer and yet he had got away with it. Human sacrifice was unfortunately easy enough to cover as a mugging, especially with a bit of magic.

He had told his dad what he had seen when he was ten. When the man had asked what had him so afraid. His mother had dismissed it as a nightmare. It was a reasonable assumption. A young child, up late at night, goes down into the basement and watches a woman die. It sounded like the opening of an episode of Supernatural. She wasn’t “in the know” she didn’t like her ex-husband, but she couldn’t see the man murdering in cold blood.

Marcus hadn’t known how to explain Cassius was a magic user and sacrificed people to the old gods and dark dimensions for power boosts. At ten, he did not know how to explain the magic of sacrifice, of give and take, of a power-hungry madman who only cared for his own position in the world.

Secretly, he wondered why his father hadn’t sacrificed him and his mom. If he had no issues with killing, why keep around an ex-wife and a kid he had to pay for despite how much Marcuse made no secret of hating him? He had pushed several times, just to see if the man would hurt him, but other than a backhand, a few cruel words, he never had. It confused Marcus.

His father was not a good person, but then why was he still alive? Wouldn’t sacrificing his own son give him a huge power boost? For all Marcus chose to ignore his blood, he knew a few drops were powerful. And the best protection spells always had family blood mixed in. he might not care for the supernatural, but he’d be an idiot to ignore it. Ignorance was rarely bliss. It simply left you vulnerable and Marcus had enough problems with feeling afraid without adding to this. So Marcus had done what he did best, he had researched.

Researched everything. Witches, shifters, mythology, folklore, anything he could fine. He had even joined online forums and groups in an attempt to sort fact from fiction. There was a lot of misleading information out there, and even more fanfiction to muddy the water. There were many sites on the dark web dedicated to the supernatural community and Marcus had slogged through as many as he could just to ensure he was as aware as possible. You did not want to accidentally offend your fae neighbour, or leave your jacket somewhere and it be seen as an offering and invitation for something to come inside.

He may have originally gone looking for ways to protect himself from that man, because again, why hadn’t he killed them? But he had come across a treasure trove of information. From werewolf culture, to how vampires could eat normal food, but only after consuming blood, and even a fascinating article on the mating habits of sirens. The more he learned, the better he could protect himself and his family. The better protected he would be if it turned out his sperm donor was simply waiting until he was an adult to sacrifice him. Marcus was not being paranoid. It was a genuine concern when the man had no care for the law or the people in his life.

It had surprised him to receive a gift at all. They didn’t usually do that, give each other gifts. Cassius would normally just send his mom money and she bought something for Marcus or got a special cake from the bakery on 8th. It had genuinely surprised him when the man handed him a small box. Slowly opening it in case the content was cursed and these were his last moments alive. He hadn’t quite known how to respond to a purple rock. Deep purple, which hints of red, blue and black. It was pretty, if you were into that sort of thing.

“It’s for your focus,” the man had told him.

“Oh, great, I could use that with my exams,” it was kind, sort of.

The man’s sigh was not what Marcus had expected. He’d shown genuine gratitude. Gemstones might not be his thing. But his other friend Clara was obsessed with them, Marcus understood how to some people this would be a genuinely helpful and sweet present. Plus, it was his birthday. He hadn’t wanted to argue.

“Not school, your magic. It is a foci, to help you channel.”

Despite the heat of summer, the temperature dropped several degrees. Marcus had to actively keep his muscles from filing the thing back at the man. He might know a little about magic, and strange things may have happened around him, but Marcus had no interest in following in this man’s footsteps and joining his little coven. Instead, he gave a strained smile, remembering why his mother insisted he come here and tried to keep a polite look on his face. Dropping the thing into the bottom of his bag. If he got lucky the hole his books had worked through the fabric would be big enough for it to fall out on the way home.

“Sometime between now and your seventeenth birthday you will receive a natural power up as is typical for our kind.”

Marcus had to bite his lip to keep from shouting any protests. They were in public.

“I would normally have given it to my heir on their fourteenth birthday, but you have been unusually stubborn and I did not think you had any magic, until last month, of course.”

This made him slump in on himself. Last month. He could have avoided all this if that stupid thing hadn’t happened. Another kick in the teeth. It had been days until the end of school. The burning California heat had been worse than normal when some smart ass had decided it would be hilarious to break the air con.

Said smart ass, a one Daniel Toulez, and James’ older brother, had apparently thought it would be funny to try to cram fish in it as some sort of prank. Before it could make the entire school stink worse than the gym locker room, it had broken. Which was perhaps a mercy, but in the scalding heat, he had wanted to drown the boy.

Unfortunately, Marcus had said as much. Out loud. Where people could hear him. Including children of his father’s coven members. Then a pipe burst right above Daniel’s head and flooded so fast that the entire area became a pool. It wouldn’t have been that odd, except they were in the middle of a drought, and despite the doors being opened, the water stayed in the room, slowly climbing higher.

He had received more than one suspicious look. Especially from the supernaturally inclined members of the school. He’d spent the last three days of school dodging the witches, all suddenly very interested in him and outright ignoring any questions he received about being Cassius’ son. He had hoped people would simply chalk it up to coincidence, but apparently, no such luck.

So, yes, he ate his burger and left as swiftly as possible. It was called a tactical retreat and Marcus was using it to its full effects. He was only slightly terrified that the only reason the warlock hadn’t sacrificed him before now was because he had thought his son was non-magical, or at least very weak.

Outside the door, he had collided with a hard object. Nearly toppling back. His bag dropped to the floor from his shoulder as firm hands grabbed his arms and pulled him back forward. Right into a hard, muscly chest. Marcus was grateful it was already hot, or his sudden flush would have been incredibly obvious. The scent of sweat filled his nose as he tried to regain his balance.

“Marcus?”

It was not a voice he wanted to hear right now.

“James,” he choked out. Hating how embarrassed he suddenly felt.

The wolf looked concernedly behind him.

“Oh, diner-date with your dad?”

“Not my dad,” he couldn’t help replying instinctively.

“Right, it’s your birthday though, yeah?”

It hurt to hear his once best friend ask that, as though he could so easily forget. Even after all these years, Marcus knew James’ birthday was September 2nd. Shaking himself from the other’s grip, he mumbled a ‘yeah’ before trying to leave again.

He saw the other taking a sniff. It was obvious when you knew who had supernatural senses because they were forever taking in great lungs full of air threw their noses. As much as Marcus was terrified of what he must smell like to the wolf, he simply decided that continuing to flee was the better option.

“Hey, Gall, you throwing any more swimming parties?” Was shouted at his back.

Gods, he hated James’ older brother. The boy deserved to be drowned in a rusty sink. He threw the “V” at him instead of answering. Moving closer to his little car. It was technically something Cassius had bought for him, but as he’d picked it out with his dad he loved it despite where the money came from.

“Happy birthday,” he heard James call, just as he was unlocking the car door.

Looking up to see the other, he hoped the wolf wouldn’t hear the way his heart skipped. He would blame the hot weather for how dry his throat was.

“Thanks,” he whispered, knowing the other would be able to hear him despite the distance. Supernatural senses had to be good for something,

Shaking off his discomfort, he finally got in the car. Blasting the air con and zipping out of the parking lot. A little electric car wasn’t exactly the coolest thing to drive, but it was cheap to run and the insurance had been reasonable. Plus, it had come out of Cassius’ pocket so he didn’t exactly care that it had cost more upfront.

He hated how every time he saw James, there was this awkward air between them, like dead space that neither knew how to cross. He’d watched many times as the other boy opened and closed his mouth the same way he would. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to say, but there were too many words and in their rush to escape him they blocked his throat and only wheeze would ever come out.

What do you say to your ex-best friend? What do you say to someone who’s a werewolf but had to cut you off because of pack politics and the humans not being supposed to know? Maybe he should have said something at the time, about knowing the supernatural was real, but then, like now, his tongue had been like taffy in his mouth. Sticking to the roof and refusing to budge.

Truthfully, he could have said something later, but after being rejected by them all, it had hurt. They had been like family to him. Marcus’ mom and dad would always be his mom and dad. And his brother Brody would always be his baby brother. But Daniel, James and Anna had been like those annoying cousins you loved to hate. James had been his brother in all but blood. Daniel had always been a little shit. And Anna had always been the princess (“playing” werewolf or not). Their parents had been friends with his parents. Their family’s close.

But after James accidentally shifted in front of him it was like Marcus was the one with the plague. Diseased and wrong. Something hunters believed about werewolves and the supernatural in general. Marcus didn’t agree with that viewpoint. He knew what it was like to be shunned for something out of your control.

He hadn’t done anything. Hadn’t even reacted. He’d just sat there. Frozen. Wondering how his best friend had grown on his face and pointy ears. He’d looked nothing like the werewolves in the pictures, it had taken James’ mother, Eudice, telling him what they were and how he needed to stay away for everyone's safety before he had even realised what was going on.

His best friend was a werewolf. Something had triggered his shift. For the safety of Marcus, James and James' family they couldn’t be friends anymore. The supernatural world wasn’t safe. Marcus wouldn’t be safe. Had Marcus’ mind been functioning he would have told them he hadn’t been safe since he was six and his soul connected with something from another realm, but he’d been too dazed, and before he knew he’d been back home, only able to see James at school before the boy would run away.

It had hurt. It still hurt.

This was another thing he had learned, the dark might be scary, but it was even worse when you had to face it alone.