Chapter 58 - Preconceptions

**Ina's pov**

“But why don’t you want me with you? James and Zandra are close, I look simular to Zandra, kind of, he’ll trust me!” She was adorable with her big gray eyes and I enjoyed that the feeling in them was genuine. I had felt it immediately, the second our eyes met. She was the one with a capital O. We, witches, were not mated in the same way as wolves, but our magic works in such a way that if you were to compare it to something, the easiest way was two cords. You are either a female outlet or a male contact, of course, that could figuratively describe people’s heterosexual relationships as well, but if we’re talking magic now, that’s the best analogy I can think of. Our magic clicked, it fit, mine was attracted to hers and vice versa. I could tell right away that she was a white witch. Her edges were certainly a bit grayed out so she wasn’t all…good…but she was definitely not of the dark school. She had a genuinely good core. She was beautiful, incredibly beautiful! Her silver blonde hair, her pouty little nose over her full lips…I hadn’t bothered to explore that part of myself. Sure, as a witch, I was open to most kinds of sexuality but had mostly spent it with men, or in threesomes, in quartets, but men had always been present. Now…now all that faded and all I wanted was to hold her in my arms and taste those lips…and more.

“Zara…I need to do this myself…I have a debt to pay, and I don’t like being in debt.” I put my hand on her cheek and felt her lean against it. She was probably the most beautiful I’ve ever met. Click! An image is saved in the memory bank.

“Debt? What debt?” Her voice was a little whiny with defiance and a touch of desperation.

“A debt to Cathy and James…believe me, it was well-intentioned…mostly anyway. I just wanted them to find their way back to each other and I took liberties I shouldn’t have taken. I hurt them…I hurt them both and nothing good came of it. I need to fix this, for their sake and mine...Cathy is my friend, I love her and Freespi as sisters and it’s important to me that I get their trust and forgiveness and that I stay in their lives...nothing matters anymore... nothing.” Her eyes looked sad but I could see she understood what I meant. Maybe she had similar baggage? She took my face in her hands and our lips met in a passionate kiss. I would do this, get to James and do everything to help him and his friend, and then… then I would return to Zara, drag her into the nearest bedroom, and…

“Hurry back...I don’t know what this is, but I know it means something and we have a story to build.” She interrupted my thoughts with her words. My first thought was that it sounded a bit silly, like a line from a gooey novel. But then I reminded myself that she was not from the same world as me. I had lived more with humans than my own kind, she had lived with witches, wolves, and vampires and these were all passionate creatures so a snarky comment in the human world was a doomsday in theirs. I kissed her back and resisted the urge to cancel the mission and drag her up to my room. No, it had to wait and the wait would make it more wonderful when I would finally taste her nectar.

I jumped into the big king cab, the flatbed was loaded with cans from the lake, and I said a silent prayer to our mother. Please, let this be the right thing, let it bear fruit and unite us all towards whatever shared journey lies ahead.

It was a long trip, I could have stopped for the night at some motel but only stopped for quick toilet or food breaks. I wanted nothing more than to get there as fast I could. It wasn’t more than six thirty in the morning when I slowly rolled into the street where James lived. I found myself surprised. In my mind, I had imagined James, a rogue living in some kind of slum. Dilapidated buildings with overflowing garbage containers, the occasional homeless person sleeping outside locked gates. Emaciated stray dogs scavenging for scraps. But this was the exact opposite. The houses were three-story, clean whitewashed facades with stucco around windows and balconies, shiny number plates at every gate, and green well-trimmed bushes. The sidewalks and streets looked well-swept and the street lamps were clean, giving off a safe, romantic glow. In the rearview mirror, I could see the wind teasingly tugging at the press fabric that covered the cans. I thought for a moment if I should rest a bit in the car, let James wake up, eat breakfast, and start his day peacefully and harmoniously. But no, peace and harmony would have to wait.

I jumped out and walked to the gate. A row of buttons next to a plastic sheet over a list of names. Barrett, third floor. I pressed the button, held it for a few seconds longer than necessary, then released it and waited. When nothing had happened for thirty seconds, I repeated the same procedure. After the third repetition, a sleepy and irritated voice was heard in the speaker.

“WHAT? Hitch, I swear, if you wake me up for no reason…”

“Not Hitch.” I interrupted him by announcing myself, almost anyway.”

“Eh…Aurora?…”

“Absolutely not. My name is Ina, Cathy sent me.” A little white lie but I knew it would get him to open the door. As expected, a buzzing sound told me I was welcome inside.

I had seen James through Cathy’s eyes before but seeing him in real life was something else entirely. He was waiting in the open door when I got up to his apartment. Bare-chested and a pair of low-hanging gray mottled shorts. His dark red hair tousled from turning one too many times on the pillow he had just left. He was truly a sight, as if bone and muscle were chiseled from marble, a deep tan with dark freckles in places, not the angry red we lighter redheads usually get, and his blue-green eyes looked sleepily curious and confused. I slowed my steps until I came to a full stop. I had to restrain myself not to move forward too quickly, remind myself of what I have done in the past, and be humble. I let his eyes wander over me and his thoughts think, whatever they were coming up with. It took a couple of seconds longer than I expected. He furrowed his brows in silent question before raising them in a silent obvious answer. I heard him take a soft, deep breath and swallow before I finally heard his voice.

“So, you’re Ina? The witch Ina?”

“The one and only...or, well, I’m probably not the only one, but I am the one I suppose you’re referring to.”

“You’re smaller than I imagined…” I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, it probably sounded nervous in his ears.

“Smaller?”

“Yep…after what you did I was expecting someone…bigger…” He scratched his head and I could see how he struggled with his words.

“You know Zandra…she’s not big and she’s a lot more powerful than me.”

“I don’t know anything about that, I’m not the right person to compare…witch powers.”

“Believe me, my tricks are parlor tricks compared to what she can do...clown magic at a children’s party by comparison.” He chuckled quietly at my explanation. At the same time, he seemed to relax a little, not completely, but a little. A good sign, maybe I wouldn’t have to fight so hard to win his trust. Not that I wasn’t willing to do it because I was, but we didn’t have the time. If his friend was as ill as I understood, we needed to save all the time we could.

“Sorry…come on in, if you traveled from Great Falls you probably don’t want to stand in the stairwell.” He stepped aside and I silently thanked the Mother that he wasn’t so angry and instead trusted me enough not to ask me to return to where I came from. I stepped into a bright hallway and again, I was surprised by what I saw. I really need to work on not having preconceived notions.