Twenty-Three

There was no sign of The Armada in the mostly vacant parking lot at Griffith Park. The sky seemed especially dark tonight and the overhead lights were dim. A gust of gardenias and wet grass tickled Iris’s senses and the air was surprisingly chilly, sending a brush a goose bumps up her back.

She checked her phone again before continuing to move on foot, sneaking from bush to bush like a well-trained spy. If Arlo was here with Belinda, she didn’t want her presence to be known. She heard rustling up ahead and crouched her way to a low-hanging branch. She moved it aside and peered through the darkness. In a dark corner of the parking lot sat a large SUV. Inside two figures were sharing an intimate kiss. Their bodies were rocking like a pendulum and their lips couldn’t stop finding each other.

And then … Iris recognized the car. It was The Armada. And the two people making out inside? Arlo and Belinda.

Spots.

It was all she could see. Iris stared at them from a distance, watching with horror as their mouths pressed together like magnets. He’s kissing her! Iris screamed silently. None of this made any sense. He’s kissing a witch! It was the ultimate slap in the face.

She grabbed for the tree as she slipped to the ground, blackness threatening to overtake her. She gasped, sucking in breath as panic wiggled its way in.

Focus, Iris. You don’t even like him. Focus.

It wasn’t working. Her chest heaved and her lungs burned as if someone had poured molten steel down her throat. She wanted to scream, but her training stopped her from giving away her position. She clutched at her chest as she replayed the dreadful scene over and over in her head. Arlo had ruined everything.

A twig snapped nearby and Iris jumped. She clambered to her feet, instinctively drawing her knife from her side. She edged her way around the tree, preparing to launch into battle, but the war cry she had prepared died in her throat. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same question,” Levana said with a devilish grin. She flipped a tuft of dark honey hair over her shoulder. Her creamy brown skin and milky brown eyes glowed in the moonlight. A pair of black vipers slithered across her body, hissing loudly as they caressed her velvety brown skin.

Iris shuddered. “Can you just please put your snakes away?” she snapped, trying to not look at the vipers. It’s not like Iris was afraid of snakes per se, but they did give her creeps.

“Touchy, huh?” Levana paused and put her hands on her hip. “Okay, fine.” She snapped her fingers and the snakes disappeared. Iris sighed with relief. Levana rolled her shoulders and stretched her head from side to side. “Where are all the other Hunters?” she asked. “Are you even allowed to be out here by yourself?”

“Seriously. Shut up,” Iris growled, tightening her body. “I know you’re trying to piss me off. It won’t work. And I don’t need the Hunters’ permission to take you or any other witch straight to hell. Especially now.” Her hands wavered.

Levana perked up. “What do you mean, ‘especially now?’” she said, inching closer on her tippy toes. She walked as quiet as a mouse.

“Don’t take another step or I swear to God I’ll—” Tears pushed behind Iris’s eyes. She closed her face, stopping herself from crying before it started.

“O.M.G.,” Levana interrupted, putting her hands in front of her mouth. “You’re in love with him. You’re in love with that boy,” she said, pointing toward Arlo with her slender finger.

“I don’t love that boy-band-wannabe jerk, okay?” Iris seethed through gritted teeth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Iris was telling the truth. She didn’t love Arlo. A crush? Maybe. Wanting to be more than friends? Possibly. But more than anything, she cared for him deeply, and she didn’t want him kissing Belinda. This, she was certain of.

“Oh, but I do know what I’m talking about, my little Hunter friend.” Levana smirked. “I know exactly what you’re feeling. I’m a witch. I can sense your emotions, and taste your longing.”

A single tear streaked down Levana’s cheek. She quivered and bit her lip. “See? I can feel it. He’s hurting you,” Levana said, seeming genuinely concerned.

Iris shakily lowered her knife. She looked again, and saw Arlo and Belinda nuzzling each other against the car window. The burning in her chest intensified until she felt like she was standing on a mountain of burning coals.

“Listen, Iris,” Levana spoke softly. “You’re obviously here to keep an eye on this guy. And I’m here to keep an eye on Belinda. Some of the other witches have noticed she’s been acting … weird. And I have to say, I’m just as shocked as you to find her here with some Hunter.”

“So, what’s your point?” Iris interrupted in a gruff tone.

“Maybe we should work together? You can use Arlo to get more information from Belinda and share that with me.” Levana suggested this too casually for Iris’s liking. She’d never worked with a witch before and she wasn’t about to start now.

“Tempting. But no,” Iris retorted, even though the original plan was for Arlo to get information from Belinda. But things had changed, now that Arlo had stuck his tongue down a witch’s throat.

“When did witches and Hunters start uniting?” Iris asked, throwing her hand in the air. “We are not freaking PETA, okay. We’re trained to kill your kind.” She chortled. “Now you apparently want to team up, and Arlo is ‘getting it on’ with Belinda over there,” she huffed. “Everything is so messed up.” She put her head in her hands, composing herself before she said another word.

“It seems like we’re both looking for answers here,” Levana whispered, moving even closer. “Plus, if Belinda is up to something, I can use that to get her off her throne. I think Hollywood needs a new witch in charge, someone with a little more spice.” Levana tilted her head to the side, and her glossy lips glimmered against her gleaming teeth.

“Figures,” Iris mumbled. “Of course you would only offer to help me to get something for yourself.”

“Well, yeah. Obviously,” Levana said with a perky voice. “But I didn’t offer to help you, I offered to work with you.”

Iris paced back and forth. “I don’t know,” she said, talking more to herself than to the witch. “Maybe the best thing to do is just get Arlo as far away from Belinda as possible. I don’t want him to get hurt.”

Arlo. The boy she trained. The boy who became her friend. The boy who treated her as an equal, not as a girl, or a Colombian, but as a person. That’s all she’d ever wanted.

“Do you really want to protect him?” Levana interjected with a sly gaze. “I mean, he’s hooking up with a witch, in your car! Do you really think he’d do the same for you?”

Yes, Iris said to herself, though she didn’t quite believe it to be true. In a matter of just minutes everything seemed to have changed, and Iris wasn’t sure what to do next.

“So … Do we have a deal?” Levana said, reaching out her hand.