Arcane Attraction

C H A P T E R 1 — Hera.

     “Hera... You know that I don’t want any trouble, but your rent is already more than a week overdue and you know how I feel about that.” 

I stared at my landlord, my expression remaining blank as I found myself wondering why I had even bothered to open the door. After all, I had known that it was him outside. But then again, he wasn’t generally a difficult man... He was just very insistent in most matters. I knew that he would make an allowance if he understood the situation—he had never been unreasonable—but explaining my reasons was something that I wasn’t looking forward to. 

     “Would you like to come inside? If you have the time, I can make you a cup of tea.” 

     “I can make the time.” 

It was the same routine question with the same routine answer. Whenever there was a matter of importance that needed to be discussed, you’d invite him in for tea. I pity the people who gave him ordinary tea instead of earl grey—his preference. I had learned that the hard way, as I used to make him coffee. His cup would remain untouched during his entire visit—luckily, the day came when tea was the only option. 

I stepped aside, opening my door wider so that Laurence would be able to move past me. He moved to the sofa, taking a seat as I closed the door. Laurence—he had insisted on being called by his first name—was three times my age. His hair was touched with silver in more places than it wasn’t, and for some reason he insisted on keeping one of those nasty mustaches that had been trendy in his younger years. I had never seen him without it. 

     “Have you heard anything from your brother during these last few weeks? I haven’t seen him around. Has he not come back from that trip to Morocco?” 

I felt a sigh start to build up in my chest, the path that this conversation was taking being all too familiar. From his perspective, he saw that Hades had a stable job and therefore we should have been able to pay the rent without many, if any, worries. But that was the problem. It’s about more than just having a stable job. 

     “Hades came back last week. He should be at the bank right now, making arrangements to pay the difference of last months repayment on his student loan, as well as this months.” 

The lie came so easily that even I almost believed it. Paying Hades debts had always been our first priority. One thing that we knew was that being blacklisted wasn’t going to make our lives any easier—and goodness knows that it was already hard enough.

     “Was there a problem with his salary last month? It’s unusual for you guys to be late with rent, never mind his student loans.” 

The kettle clicked, switching off, and I allowed it to stand for a moment before I lifted it and poured water into the cup. The steam blew up, into my face, warming me instantly. It had a calming effect on my nerves. 

     “No. Nothing as drastic as that, I suppose. We just had a lot of unforeseen expenses that we hadn’t budgeted for and we’re just trying to bounce back from that space.” 

My fingers curled through the ear of the cup, lifting it off of the counter as I started making my way over to where he was sitting. He was watching me over the rim of his glasses instead of looking through them—it was a habit that irked my nerves. 

     “What were the unforeseen expenses?” 

I held the cup out towards him, waiting until he had a firm grip on it before I let go and sat down on the arm chair across from him, watching as he took a sip from the tea, despite its hot temperature. I had known that the question would be asked, but I still hadn’t prepared an answer for it. 

The crying that sounded from the bedroom seemed to come as if it was cued, and I had the honor of watching his eyes widen, his head whipping in the direction of the noise. Of course, his attention didn’t stray for long as his returned it to me, clearly expecting an explanation. As if matters weren’t already bad, a separate set of crying started up in the room. 

     “Would you excuse me for a a moment, please?”  

I stood up, my footsteps hasty, knowing Hades well enough to know that he’d be freaking out. Dealing with one child was already hard enough in his eyes, and dealing with both was just borderline insanity. 

I threw open the bedroom door, stepping inside as fast as I could before I threw it closed in the exact same manner, causing a loud bang to echo through the air. The sound must have startled them, because their crying stopped for only a moment before it started up again, reaching new peaks this time. My eyes took in the sight of Hades, watching as he desperately waved a rattle in front of Kyra, bouncing Riley on his hip. 

     “Who started crying first?” 

I moved quickly, picking Kyra up out of the crib and rocking her from side to side. Hades didn’t seem like he was in a condition to answer my question, a panicked expression on his face. I started whistling a random tune, drawing the attention of both children, their crying starting to subside. I carried on until they had stopped and I was sure that they wouldn’t start crying once I stopped. 

     “Do you have any idea how much easier all of this would have been if they were yours?” 

I looked away from Kyra, my eyes focusing on Hades, noticing that his panicked expression had now been replaced by a resigned one. I felt a tug at my heartstrings. Hades had never been particularly good with children and had hoped to never have them—and yet, here he was, taking paternity leave in order to adjust to the change of having two. 

     “You’re making it sound so bad. It’s only been three days. It’ll get better. You just need some more time to adjust.” 

     “I love the way you’re saying ‘only.’ It’s almost as if you think these days have been short.” 

It was nearly impossible to me to fight down my smile, and seeing the dark circles beneath his eyes, I decided to take Kyra to the living room with me. I also guessed that it would be easier to explain the situation to Laurence if he could see that there was in fact, two new additions to the family. 

     “Make sure that you don’t come out. Laurence is having his tea and I told him that you were at the bank. So, don’t blow your cover and remember what to say to him if he sees you later.” 

     “I’m sure I’ll be able to manage. I wasn’t planning on leaving in any case.” 

I swayed Kyra from side to side as I walked back to the living room, hoping that it would make her fall asleep. I knew that it would make things slight easier for Hades, since Riley was the troublemaker. 

I could feel the intensity of Laurences state, his eyes practically glued to my approaching figure. I interpreted the expression on his face as shock, with a heap of confusion. Trying to make light of the situation, I wrapped my hand around Kyras’ wrist and lifted her hand in a wave. The action didn’t have its desired effect on either of them, for neither of them laughed. Kyra was looking from me to him and I could only imagine what she was entertaining herself with. 

     “This is Kyra.”

His gaze still didn’t waver and if I was being honest, it was making me uncomfortable. I wanted to squirm beneath its intensity, but I didn’t. He was waiting for me to explain what was going on—that much was clear—and I started to cuss out Hades, mentally wishing that it was him explaining his actions. It felt like my heart would break through my rib cage at any moment now, adrenaline pumping through my veins. 

     “Riley is in the bedroom. He was a lot easier to calm down than Kyra was. It turns out that twins are generic in our family. Can you believe it?” 

I had phased my question in such a way that a reaction from him was supposed to be guaranteed, but still, I found myself waiting for him to say something. His eyes seemed to bounce between Kyra and I continuously, the gears in his head visibly turning. 

     “As you know, Karen and Hades have been going through some things during the last year or so. These last few months have been crucial for them, as they’ve been trying to fix things. Of course, since Hades is always out of country, most of it happened over phone calls or the rare chances that they got to see each other at work. A week ago she came over with her children. Kyra and Riley. Hades’ children. They’re about six months old, if I’m not mistaken.” 

The silence that I was greeted with was deafening. Contemplative. I could barely imagine what Laurence was busy thinking. 

     “I feel that it is safe for me to assume that these are the unforeseen expenses that you mentioned?” 

     “Not entirely, but mostly.” 

My eyes moved between him and the cup that he picked up off of the side table, watching as he took a sip again. I couldn’t help the sadness that started to swirl inside me, making me feel as if I had swallowed glue. Years of knowing this man, watching him grow old in the same way that he had watched us grow up, we’re going to go to waste. 

     “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hades as angry as he was that day. They argued like they were going to kill each other. Everyone could probably hear them. But I’m glad that they lashed it out like that. Anger is pure. Honest. They said what they needed to say to one another and now they’re back together. The way that I’ve interpreted things, there’s even a marriage on the cards.” 

     “So, they’re getting married for the sake of their children?” 

     “Oddly enough, I don’t think that that’s the reason. Hades knows better than to stay with someone for the sake of someone else. I don’t know why they decided to break up in the first place, but I do know that I’ve never seen Hades as happy as he is with her. Hades is struggling to adjust to being a dad, but at least he’s trying.”

I took a moment to catch my breath, trying to buy time as I scraped together the courage to say what I had to. I found myself cursing Hades once more, wishing that it was him who was here, having this conversation. 

     “Hades and Karen have decided that they’ll be moving in together. That way they’ll be able to maximize their savings. Her apartment is bigger than ours and is in a much safer part of town, so Hades will be moving in with her.”

His forehead creased once more as his confusion returned and I realized that he had discovered the problem that my statement presented, the question practically spelled out in his eyes; what about you? 

     “I’m being relocated.”

This seemed to confuse him more, for his frown deepened farther, the tea in his hands forgotten. 

     “How can you be relocated for a newspaper?” 

I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant as I thought of a reasonable answer. One that he wouldn’t question. 

     “I didn’t ask any questions, either. I’m one of the few flexible employees that they have and that was all there is to it. I’m being sent to the Westlands.” 

My heart sunk all the way into my toes as I watched the cup descend, the last bit of tea spilling from the cup, staining my sofa. Kyras’ attention was now fixed on Laurence, her small body leaning forward as she tried to get closer to him. She let out a gargling noise, her hand reaching out towards the cup that now laid on the floor. 

I noticed the color that flooded his features, his arm stretching as he reached down to pick up the cup. Once he had done so, I took in the sight of the triangular chip in the rim, my eyes darting between it and the stain. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t that big of a deal. He smiled sheepishly as he looked at me. 

     “Excuse me, but I thought I heard you say Westlands. I must have been imagining things. I’m terribly sorry for dropping your cup.” 

     “No, you weren’t. That’s what I said...” 

By the look on his face, I knew that he would have dropped the cup again if he had been holding it. 

     “Hera, those are wolf lands. You know that right?” 

At this point, his reaction was no surprise to me. Hades’ reaction hadn’t been much different, although it had been a lot more aggressive. He had even gone as far as trying to change my mind, but once he realized that it was hopeless, he accepted my decision. 

     “I’m well aware that those are wolf lands. I must admit that I’m quite excited for the change in scenery. I’ve been told that it’s quite beautiful out there at this time of the year.” 

     “If it’s beautiful, then it’s because they live like the wild animals that they are!” 

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself not to frown. Noticing the way that his knuckles were whitening from the strength of the clasp that his hands had on one another, I came to a conclusion. He was one of the people who were against the existence of the wolves. I didn’t understand why... 

Was it because they didn’t believe that there was another species as superior as ours? If not more? 

     “I’ll have the opportunity to decide for myself, will I not?”