by Lexi Ostrow
“Okay,” Lita drew out the word. “If I didn’t know you were here for work, I’d be pestering you two to tell me how the sex is.”
Deidre flushed, and Jonathon choked on spit, surprised at Lita’s statement, even if he shouldn’t be with how Lita acted.
They all got up, ignoring the sentence, and followed Lita out front. The customers remained, but the storm had died down considerably. Small drops fell at a slower rate, and the blackness that made it seem like night relented to a light gray.
“Are you okay?” he whispered when Lita stepped out of earshot.
“I’m tired. I thought I was when the hex controlled me, but I didn’t realize how much until the adrenaline died down.” She frowned. “I don’t want to slow you down.”
He snorted. “I’m not going to take you into danger when you’re drained from performing a large spell on your own. It was my voice, but it was your magic that did the bulk of the work. I merely lent intention.”
Though he wanted to, Jonathon refrained from running a hand down Deidre’s arm. He’d always found her attractive, and the situation at hand was merely putting a strain on him. Running away with a stunning woman and forgetting everything would be a hell of a lot better than chasing down two Supernaturals most people feared.
“Here you go. And a little something extra, because Dee, you do look tired as shit.” Lita kissed her friend's cheek and passed Jonathon the two small vials. “Of you pop!”
Lita playfully smacked under his hand, sending the open transport potion onto the floor and Jonathon dashing to grab Deidre to take her with him.
“She is something else.” He muttered, dropping onto the couch.
“She means well … most times.” Deidre yawned again. “Would you mind if I made a cup of tea?”
He blanched. “I ah…”
“I brought my own.” She chuckled and headed into the bedroom, emerging with a small tin.
“Mi cases es su casa.”
“Until we break free of this.” She sucked in a deep breath and turned to face the cabinets. “Where are your mugs?”
Jonathon forced himself to ignore the curve of her ass as she stretched to open the first cabinet up top. Tanner is going to be the death of you. You’ve never looked at her like this, and now you can’t stop. Shake it off, Trevors. You’ve got more important things to do than lust after a woman who basically said you remind her of a kid brother – even if she hadn’t looked at him that way after the storm started.
Twelve
“You’re certain about this?” Deidre held firmly onto the wand in one hand and a potion in the other.
“It’ll be more thorough than a spell.” Jonathon pressed his lips together. “Angels can do a lot more than we can – they can see a lot more. If one has teamed up with a demon, I want to change every bit of chemical makeup I can.”
Deidre didn’t envy Jonathon. A glamour was easy enough and slipped away whenever someone cast it too. A potion had a life to live, and he’d be stuck as someone else until it wore off. Usually after twenty-four hours.
“All right then.” Holding her breath, Deidre passed over the cup containing the glimmering red potion.
Jonathon’s fingers brushed over Deidre’s, and she forced herself to ignore the pleasant sensation it brought. The longer she spent with him, the harder it was for her to deny how attractive he was. If only changing his appearance would do the trick.
Jonathon tipped the clear glass to his lips. Deidre watched as the entirety of the potion went from the glass to his mouth. She continued to watch as the change started the moment Jonathon consumed the last drop.
The shape of his eyes widened, and his dark amber gaze shifted into a muted gray-blue. They were dull and lifeless compared to the magic that danced behind his stare, but Deidre wouldn’t say that to him. His face rounded out, but not to the point of being fat, just circular compared to the more angular jawline Jonathon sported. His short dark black hair sprouted rapidly, quickly growing to his shoulders before turning an ashen blond.
“Goddess,” she whispered, surprised at how different he appeared. Gone was the intense predator of a man, replaced by what could be referred to as a fun-loving sort of look.
Some of the muscle on his body must have turned to fat because he didn’t grow wider, but his shirt sleeves seemed to squeeze some fat out the edges, and his stomach appeared under the button down.
“Not a good look?” He snatched up his phone and faced it to him. The playful smile she’d grown used to seeing turned into a frown. “It made me overweight.”
Deidre bit the inside of her cheek to stop from snickering. A physically fit man like Jonathon would notice the way his frame bulged a bit more before anything.
“And totally unrecognizable. Even knowing your aura, if you walked up to me on the street, I wouldn’t recognize you.”
“Well, that’s always nice to know… I think.” He grabbed the green potion vial off the table and twirled it around in his grasp. “I don’t think I’ve ever used quite so many of these as I have since this predicament started.”
“Making you miss cars and walking?”
Jonathon gave a quick nod. “Immensely. Not to mention I haven’t been to the gym since this started. I’m getting a slight glance into what I could look like if I let myself go.”
Deidre barked out a laugh. “I don’t think you have it in you.”
Jonathon smiled for the first time since they’d returned to the house two days before.
“There’s still a lot to learn.” He leaned around her and grabbed a paper cup of coffee off the kitchen table. “For instance, that I like to drink my coffee with vanilla extract. Not black.”
“I’ve smelled it enough days now. I knew as much even without you saying it. The chicory was for me. You knew.” She held onto her wand. “Unlike you, I don’t like ingesting potions.” Deidre aimed the wand at herself. “Appearance be. Appearance be not.”
Nothing prickled across her skin as the glamor settled into place. Unlike Jonathon, her change was a mask, his was his skin deep.
“Too much?” She asked as he stared at her, his mouth agape.
“Not at all.” He leaned and pressed a kiss to her lips.
The chaste kiss ended as quickly as it started. Deidre gasped, unprepared to feel anything save for his mouth against hers. Instead, it left behind a small tingle.
“That was necessary. We can’t do that for the first time in front of them. Especially not if you’re going to gasp like I stabbed you.” He snorted.
“Nothing like that. I was just taken off guard.” She cleared her throat, wondering why her lips seemed to tingle. “If we’re playing lovers, we need to act the part full stop.” She should have told him she didn’t like being touched. Only, that would have been a lie because she couldn’t help wondering if he’d do it again.
“You’ve used this glamour before?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t like being a blonde. I leave that to Lita and Ivy.”
Despite not seeing herself, she knew the image she’d conjured. Thick blonde curls would fall to her shoulder. Her green eyes shifted brown, and instead of adding weight, the glamour angled out her face, changing the shape from heart-shaped to oval.
“Are we ready, then?”
He glanced around his living room as if the walls would answer. “We waited two days for the rain to fully stop and to figure out if Lita had the correct intel. We’re ready.”
Jonathon reached his hand out toward her, and Deidre slipped hers into his. After nearly twelve transport potions, she began to like the feel of his hand around hers, and it felt off now. His hand was chubbier, and where she normally only felt his grasp, she got a little cushion this time around as well.
Before she knew it, Jonathon dumped the potion around them, and his condo changed, dropping them outside.
The multi-lane street ran in both directions, with more than a little greenery growing on the neutral ground. The Esplanade Mall had been al
l but abandoned, not just after Katrina, but after revitalization efforts failed. What was left were popular chain stores, dirt, and a handful of types Deidre wouldn’t want to meet alone if she didn’t wield magic.
More than half a dozen homeless men and women sat in the shade from the closest building – one without a store occupying it.
“You good?” Jonathon nudged her.
“I never come out this way.”
“Too much wealth where you’re used to hanging out?”
“Something like that.” Deidre took a deep breath. “It’s hard to remember the city looks like this on the outer limits when there’s so much money and commerce dripping through so much of the middle of it. Even across the river, the dangers surprise me.”
“We will make this quick. Either we’ll be in luck, and the angel and a demon will be out dealing tonight, or we’ll come back every damn day until we meet with them.”
“Do you think they’ll talk?”
“I think in exchange for the right thing, they’ll happily talk.”
Deidre blew out a breath and started walking behind the building. They weren’t going to strong-arm the Supernaturals into confessing. Mostly because they didn’t stand a chance if an angel and demon worked together. They’d play the role of magic buyer, and if that didn’t work, Deidre clutched the concussive potion vial inside her pant pocket. Well, they’d try hostile tactics.
“I’m glad you’re certain.” Deidre stopped in her tracks as she nearly stepped on top of the pair. “My goddess,” She breathed, her eyes taking in the sight of the angel’s wings.
Brilliant white wings as tall as a building nearly peeked over the top of the empty storefront. Each feather seemed to glisten under the sunlight, dancing and swaying in a nonexistent breeze that existed only for the angel. Eyes the color of opals stared directly at her and arms burly enough to fulfill plenty of fantasies crushed over his chest.
“A witch and a human, interesting combination to stumble our way.” The angel spoke, his voice as plain as hers or Jonathon’s. She’d never seen an angel before, and for some reason, the lack of magnitude surprised her. Stunning looks aside, he was little more than a man.
“Your name was given to us by a friend who ran with Victor Vexx,” Jonathon spoke, the words flowing far smoother off his tongue than if she’d tried to say the asshole’s name.
“I see.” Stark white hair fell in front of the angel’s face. “And what did this friend tell you about me?”
“That you worked with a demon.” Jonathon glanced around. “I see no demon here, so either we have the wrong place, or your magic grows weak, and you cannot simulate the demon any longer.”
Wings burst open, creating a draft of wind that shoved Deidre backward, almost into the building.
“Brave words. Smart words, actually, for a human.”
Deidre watched Jonathon pull at his suit jacket lapels as if trying to maintain some sort of badassery attitude.
“I am smart.” His hand wrapped around her waist and tugged her against his side. “I managed to get saddled with a woman with a past.” He flashed a megawatt smile and kissed her on the cheek. “A businessman like me, well, it helps to know the right people. I know my looks are leaving, but she doesn’t care.”
“And just what do you do?” A snakelike hiss seemed to come up from the ground itself.
Deidre barely withheld her squeak as a demon sat up front an illusion spell. Though glamoured to look as common as any human, the demon’s red aura flared to life around the illusion of a small man with a thick Cajun accent disguising the words almost as much as his appearance.
“So, you are here.” Deidre swallowed, forcing the words out. “It would seem we were not misinformed.”
“Do I know you?” The demon walked around her in a circle like a dog sniffing a newcomer. “You look like a woman I’ve seen with the Crescent City Coven, but you would have no need to be here if you are one of them.”
Deidre stomach rolled as she realized the demon could sense through her spell. Jonathon made the smart choice.
“She will not perform the spell I seek. She will not permit it to be formed. I want my husband back so that I can tell him he was never the one for me.” She slanted her lips over Jonathon’s, ignoring the strange way his warmth soothed her. “I want to show him how useless he was and then erase that chapter from my very long life. Regrets are not fun.” The words drew bile up her throat, and Deidre forced it down. “This man, we’ve been running together for years. She forbade me from seeing him, and I settled for a different human. He was stolen soon in our marriage, and I want him back.”
The muggy humidity wrapped around her like a snake and squeezed with every lie she told.
“Time travel magic.” The angel nodded. “I have heard she disallows it.” He looked Jonathon over. “Your suit speaks volumes of the money your little black card must wield?”
Thank goddess for savings accounts.
“I am a wealthy man. Rich enough, that I can pay whatever it is you wish. This little lady,” he ran a finger lovingly down her cheek. “Simply wants to do what her heart desires before I steal her away from this dreadful city.”
The demon damn near ran a finger down her thigh. Deidre liked demons, they were fun and often got a bad rap. She did not, however, like when any person touched her without her consent. Green witch fire flared in her palm.
“It’s not playtime.”
“Feisty little witch,” the demon cooed as he lifted his hand but not did not a single step away.
“There’s a little matter of proof,” Deidre spoke up, drawing a ball of green fire in her hand and moving it close to the demon’s hand.
“We could say the same for you.”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Jonathon intoned playfully, shocking Deidre at how into the roll he sunk. “You first though, because if my money bounces, you can kill me. If your spell fails, I have no resort.”
The angel closed his wings, the created wind once again causing her to move backward. “Very well. What proof do you require? A test that these are not an illusion?” he ran a hand over his left wing.
“Confirmation.” Deidre quipped, her heart beating in her chest now that she no longer had to sully her ex-husband’s name. “You brewed a particular hex for a man sometime in the last month. We know what it contains. You tell us.”
“Ah, they could mean but one hex. A shifter came through and paid a hefty wage with a spell from a witch. We could have shut up shop for a year and never missed a penny.” The demon stepped to stand beside the angel. “Dampahiel, it was more your handiwork than mine. I’ll let you see if we pass this ridiculous quiz.”
The angel’s eyes flashed silver as a smirk slipped over his lips. “I won’t give it all away, my clients are protected.”
Shit. Deidre needed a way out. She needed an excuse to step away before her panic showed on her face and doomed them.
“I mixed djinn magic with caster magic and my own to brew a time-locked weather spell.” His smirk grew wider. “I can see by the look in your eyes not only did I supply the correct information, but that you are surprised I was able to create such a hex.”
Deidre forced herself to blink, knowing he stared directly at her wide-open gaze.
“That is correct. Although it would be more apropos if you could tell us the person you brewed it for. I have heard angels can read minds, and I assure you, the hex has been on both our minds. A complex beauty, that one.”
Deidre squeezed Jonathon’s hand, leaning her head against his and praying it came across as loving and not terrified. Her heartbeat pulsed so rapidly if either creature listened for it, they’d hear it, and she and Jonathon would be dead.
Just then, a calm washed over her. Deidre’s muscles unlocked, and she nearly sagged against Jonathon. He’d sensed what she needed. He’d likely saved them both. She blew out a deep breath, grateful not only for the distraction but the ability to think clearly.
&nb
sp; “Who did you sell it to? You could have easily overhead such a hex. I know your circles. You all talk.”
“Cheeky.”
“What I love about her.” Jonathon cleared his throat, potentially at her. “What she means to say is, with such a large price tag, it would be helpful for you to confirm the identity of the purchaser.”
“Did I ask you your name?”
Jonathon blinked, and Deidre knew instantly where the conversation would head.
“We have not made a deal.” Jonathon tugged on his coat. “I would think it bad business to not learn the name of those you sell to.”
“The opposite.” The demon, who remained unnamed, chided. “We do not ask names. Anonymity creates trust. We can’t snitch if we don’t know you are you. We can’t create a duplicate potion, hex, or charm if we don’t know who the first was made for. It’s good business, you see.”
Jonathon recovered quicker than Deidre did.
“Very well, let’s try this a different way. What species did you sell to?”
“A shifter.”
Well, that narrows it down.
“Obviously, one who can swim or fly,” Dampahiel added. “Can’t think of another kind of crazy who’d want to drown with the city.”
Shark. Fish. Gator. Bird. Dragon. Deidre compiled a quick list and quickly realized there was no quick list. Aside from sharks being a rare species of were, very few could swim in the waters a rain would bring. They were the only species easily marked off.
“Thank you.” Jonathon squeezed her hand. “I think we have what we need to proceed.”
Jonathon didn’t understand if they’d won this round or lost. The angel and the demon were clearly more powerful, and he certainly didn’t have the funds they would require to cast a time travel spell.
“All right, thank you for the proof.” Sweat dripped down his side, concealed by the shirt, but Deidre likely felt it as she was pressed against him. Jonathon didn’t want her to realize he was nervous. Let this be the right thing to do. “Let’s cut to the chase.”
A chill raced over him, shooting goosebumps across his arm. They hadn’t agreed to this part. They also assumed if they found the duo, a name would be shared.