says.
Then Dervish is through the door, by her side, babbling with excitement, asking about her magical abilities, what she can do, who taught her. A dozen questions a second, Juni laughing and shaking her head, struggling to answer them all.
I linger outside, staring with disbelief at my uncle and Juni Swan, bewildered and, for some reason I can’t put my finger on, oddly ill at ease.
A FAMILIAR FACE
It’s official—Dervish Grady luvs Juni Swan!
It’s only been a week since she turned up at the mansion, but she’s seen more of my uncle in that time than I’ve seen of him in three months. She spent most of last weekend at our place, four of the nights since, and they’re getting together this weekend too.
They talk about magic a lot. Juni is able to channel magical energy when it’s in the air around her. She tapped into her power in Slawter. She wanted to discuss it with Dervish and learn how to hone her talents, but she wasn’t ready to face him. So she made enquiries, found others who are part of that magical underworld, and studied with them in her spare time while she was putting her professional life back together. She made rapid advances and has blossomed into a powerful mage over the past few months.
Dervish has gone gaga over her. He was attracted to her in Slawter and thought of her a lot since then. But his feelings have gone haywire since she came back and he found out they had so much in common—most importantly, magic. He’s so dazzled by her, it’s unreal. I think if she asked him to get on his bike and ride to the other side of the world, he would.
I’m a bit dazed by it all. From being a vague friend and temporary school counsellor, Juni’s become a central part of my life. I feel like a tornado has struck and nothing will ever be the same again. I was used to just having Dervish about the house. It got to feel natural. Now that’s changed faster than I would have believed possible. I can’t get my head around it.
But I’ll have to, because these two are just warming up. I came down for breakfast this morning and found Dervish and Juni already in the kitchen, kissing passionately, and I swear if he’d had his tongue any further down her throat he’d have been licking her lungs!
Bill-E thinks the Dervish/Juni match is great. We’ve been spending more time together since Loch’s death, hanging out at lunch, having long chats like in the old days. I thought he might be jealous of all the time Juni spends with Dervish but he’s not bothered.
“It’s what Dervish needs,” he contends. “He’s been alone too long.”
“He had me,” I huff.
“Hardly the same thing,” Bill-E laughs. “It’ll be good for him. Maybe he’ll get out more and stop moping about the place.”
“Dervish doesn’t mope.”
“Yes he does,” Bill-E insists. “At least he did until Juni came along.”
Juni knows I’ve been thrown by recent developments. She hasn’t mentioned her relationship with Dervish or how her moving in might affect me. But she’s asked several times, at home and in our sessions, if there’s anything I want to talk about apart from Loch’s death, if anything else is bothering me. Each time I’ve said no and glanced away. She hasn’t pressed. Giving me time. Leaving me alone until I’m ready to discuss it with her willingly.
In the middle of all the confusion, Reni starts back at school.
I don’t know what to say when we first come face to face. Apart from at the funeral, when we didn’t speak, I haven’t seen her since Loch’s death. My first reaction—a huge bolt of guilt. I covered up the truth about the accident, helped move the body, lied to protect Dervish’s secret.
Several seconds of horrible silence. Then, “Hi,” Reni whispers.
“Hi,” I croak.
She leans towards me and rests her face on my chest. “I miss him, Grubbs,” she says, voice cracking.
“Me too,” I moan.
Floods of tears. Both of us.
It’s easier after that. Not the same as before—it never will be—but it’s OK, especially when we’re with the others. Now everyone talks openly about Loch, the accident, how hard it’s been, not shying away from the subject. We have Juni to thank for that. She’s had all of us in her office—or visited us at home—since she came, working doggedly to help us talk about and deal with our grief. Life for us would be a hell of a lot harder without her.
“What are you doing this weekend?” Shannon asks Reni on Friday.
“Nothing much,” Reni says. “Staying in. Studying. I have a lot to catch up on.”
“Scratch that,” Shannon snorts. “You’re coming to the cinema with the rest of us. I won’t take no for an answer. Grubbs, you’re coming too.”
“Yes, boss,” I grin, glad for an excuse to get out of the house—Juni’s not very big, but the place feels crowded when she’s about.
“How will we get there?” Reni asks. There’s a small cinema in the Vale but we hardly ever go to it. Much more fun going to a multiplex in one of the bigger towns nearby.
“Frank’s Dad will take us,” Shannon says. Frank’s father is a taxi driver and owns a people carrier. “Won’t he, Frank?” Shannon flutters her eyelids at him, buttering him up.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Frank mutters.
“Can Bill-E come?” I ask, eager to involve him.
“Sure,” Shannon says after a moment’s hesitation. “The more the merrier.”
The gang’s been kind about Bill-E since the accident. They don’t mind me including him in our lunch-time chats and after-school activities. But I can feel the mood shifting back to the way it used to be. Bill-E’s not one of us, and though he was temporarily accepted due to the exceptional circumstances, the natural order of the school world must soon be resumed. The day’s fast arriving when I’ll have to make a choice—Bill-E or the others.
But that’s a bridge to cross another time. This weekend’s about friends, films and fun. The more serious stuff can wait.
Dervish and Juni spend the night practising magic. It seems that Juni has quite a gift. She’s learnt a lot over the last several months and can run rings around many of my uncle’s spells.
“Have you asked her to join the Disciples?” I enquired earlier this evening, half joking, half serious. “You could head off on demon-bashing weekends together, maybe check out some punk concerts at the same time.”
“I don’t know,” Dervish muttered, not picking up on the joke. “I really don’t want to involve her. That life’s so dangerous. But I can’t stand by and let such power go to waste. We need all the mages we can get. And I think she’ll want to join. That might even be why she came looking for me—personal feelings aside, she’s seen the Demonata in action, and learnt about the Disciples when they came to Slawter to clear up. She knows what the world’s up against, the war that’s being fought. Maybe she wants to help. I’ll have to broach the subject soon but I’m not looking forward to it.”
As wrapped up as he is with Juni, Dervish hasn’t forgotten about me. He still checks on me most nights, monitoring me, quizzing me about what I’m feeling, worried about what might lie ahead. We’re halfway through the lunar month. I’m just a couple of weeks away from the madness again. Dervish isn’t treating it lightly. For all the time he’s spent with Juni, and all the excitement and hope he’s experiencing, he hasn’t neglected his obligations to me. He’s been in contact with everyone he can think of, trying to find out more about my situation, if anyone’s heard of anything like it before. Working hard for my benefit.
He hasn’t mentioned the Lambs, but I’m sure he’s thinking about them, just as I am every night, unable to turn away from the thoughts of what must be done if the beast emerges and I change.
Heading out to the cinema. I stick my head into the study, to let Dervish and Juni know I’m going. They’re sitting together on the floor, facing one another, fingers joined, eyes closed, breathing deeply. Working on a spell. They don’t hear me when I call.
I walk in and scribble a note. As I’m sticking it to the front of Dervish’s PC, my glance slides to where Juni’s
