Page 20 of Riot of Autumn

“You didn’t tell them yet?” Ruby swats my chest with the back of her hand, then crosses her arms to glare at me.

“It didn’t come up in casual conversation, no.” I mimic her stance, crossing my arms as I glare back at her.

“Don’t start.” Miri holds a hand up in front of Ruby’s face and steps between us, pointing her other hand at me. “You explain.”

I don’t know why this makes me nervous. Everyone else has figured out their magic, and no one has flipped out over it. Archer can summon shadows and Davis can control the fucking elements. This isn’t a big deal. Mostly.

“So, it turns out, my magic allows me to change into animals.”

“Animals, plural?” Davis asks, his hands landing on Miri’s waist as he pulls her back to his side. It’s not a protective move. I think he simply can’t stand not touching her. It’s an impulse I understand. My eyes drift over to Ruby without my permission.

“So far, a wolf and a crow.” I drag my hand over my head, shifting on my feet.

“Holy shit,” Miri says.

Ruby nods, her hands on her hips. “I know, right? I’m feeling like I got ripped off with my magic.”

“You literally whipped an apple down Aspen Street and pelted me with it using your magic.”

Ruby chuckles like she’s remembering how enjoyable she found that. “Yeah. I did.”

I sigh and hand her one of Miri’s potions. “Let’s wait until we get closer to take these.”

Ruby gives Miri a hug and hops into the passenger side of my UTV. I have a four-wheeler too, but Ruby’s body pressed up against mine is terrible idea if I want to keep my head straight. Considering she’s wearing a small as hell skirt, I made the right choice. For this plan to work, not for my dirty mind.

“We’re not done talking about this new magic of yours, man,” Davis says as Miri heads back inside her shop, after squeezing my arm in goodbye.

“I figured. I’m just giving you some time to let it soak in.”

Davis blinks slowly, looking unamused. “Sure. Try not to get captured, or tortured, or anything else life-threatening tonight.”

“I’ll be with Ruby, so no guarantees.”

“Truer words.” Davis follows Miri and heads into her store.

I get in my UTV and hope we’re not about to seriously fuck ourselves tonight. The drive out to the Smithe house takes a good ten minutes. Colton convinced the Smithe’s to sell their house on the island earlier this year. I’m starting to wonder if there was some compulsion involved, because the Smithe family has owned this piece of property since the late 1800s. Out of nowhere, they pulled up their roots, and Colton was moving in without anyone knowing any details of the sale.

I park the UTV in the woods a quarter of a mile from where the private drive starts. Ruby and I uncork our bottles of potion, eyes on each other. Ruby lifts her, and says “cheers,” before throwing it back like it’s a shot of liquor. She shudders, doing a whole body shake like a dog before she disappears.

“Whoa that’s crazy. You’re like Marty in Back to the Future, fading from the picture.”

“Okay Doc, catch up. The clock is ticking,” An invisible Ruby says.

I throw back my potion instead of answering, my mouth turning down at the sour taste.

“At least it didn’t taste like dirt.” Ruby must have seen my face before I started disappearing.

“Small miracles,” I mutter.

Also, kind of miraculous, the fact that our clothes disappear with the rest of us. I don’t understand anything about the magic Miri used to create this potion, but Ruby’s a fool if she thinks everyone else’s magic is lame. It might not be as flashy as changing into a wolf, but there’s a hell of a lot of shit Miri’s been able to concoct potions for. It’s honestly a little scary.

“Stay close for now. Once we get to the house, we shouldn’t talk,” I say as I get out of the UTV.

“How am I supposed to stay close when I don’t know where you are? Ow.” Ruby runs into my side, and I reach out to steady her, only to whack my hand against her boob. My first instinct is to smooth my hand over it like I can soothe the pain.

“Hey. Grabby hands. What the hell.” Ruby slaps away my hand, but at that point we’re both laughing.

“Shit. Maybe we should have practiced this a bit.”

---