‘Rough night?’ Kate asked, taking a good look at me.
‘Yeah, something like that,’ I sighed and went to the kitchen, hoping that a dose of caffeine would help. Sara was already cleaning glass from the floor, she probably dropped another cup, but today I just didn’t care.
‘Do you want to talk about it?’ asked Kate, as I plopped onto my chair, closing my eyes.
‘Yes, but not right now,’ I said sitting back. ‘I’ve got a shit ton to do today and if I start talking we will be here all night.’
‘Well, we can go out for lunch. I’m sure Sara will be fine.’
She won’t, but, hey, you can’t have everything.
I nodded, getting busy with my emails. Dad had called before I went to bed, but his investigation hadn’t revealed anything new. Rufus was still missing. Nothing in my life was going as it should. Things with Nathaniel were even more complicated than before, Ella cut all ties with me, and this morning I got my period. I didn’t want to be at work today. Instead I dreamed about my bed.
When the phone started ringing, I was glad to throw myself into work. I stayed busy until lunchtime, when someone entered the office. I was too preoccupied with the advert I’d been working on, so I let Sara deal with whoever was at the door.
‘Julia, I think this is for you,’ said my colleague. I lifted my head from the boring paperwork and stared blankly at the bunch of red roses. A tall, human delivery guy placed them on my desk and asked me to sign the invoice.
‘They’re stunning! Who do you think sent them?’ asked Sara, as she and Kate gathered around my desk.
‘I have no idea,’ I replied and looked at the card. The roses were intense, scary, and beautiful, but I already knew who they were from. The card only confirmed it.
See me this weekend. I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ll send Roberto for you on Sunday morning.
‘They’re from Nathaniel,’ I told them. Kate raised her eyebrow and her lips inclined in a smile.
‘La Caz?’ asked Sara, clapping with excitement. ‘Alexandra mentioned that you two were dating. Oh my, he is so romantic.’
Gee could you be any more nosey?’
I rolled my eyes, and she moved away to take care of a potential candidate. My heart fluttered in my chest.
‘Why is Nathaniel La Caz sending you flowers? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t listen to gossip, but I thought you guys broke up?’ Kate asked.
‘We have, but he wants me back,’ I told her, putting the flowers on the other free desk. Desire flew through my veins when I thought about what happened between us on the lift, and, suddenly, it was too hot in the office.
Kate exhaled. She didn’t have to say anything—I already knew what she was thinking.
‘That’s thoughtful, you know, flowers,’ she said. ‘He is working you well and he obviously still cares about you.’
‘We aren’t getting back together,’ I declared, but even I could hear the uncertainty in my words.
‘Whatever you say.’ Kate chuckled and started reversing her way back to her desk.
‘Hey, Miss Smart Mouth, I’m serious. Me and him, it’s just a bad idea. You saw the reaction of my grandmother,’ I hissed, affronted.
She waved her hand, still smiling. I kept saying that I couldn’t give him another chance, but when I thought about him my heartbeat quickened and my magic came alive. Everyone and everything was between us. He hurt me, he could do it again, and I wasn’t sure if I could cope with the pain the second time around.
We didn’t talk about Nathaniel for the rest of the day. Our director called to find out if there was any news about Rufus, but I didn’t have anything new to tell him.
During lunch I told Kate about Ella. We didn’t treat each other like co-workers anymore; we were friends and Kate understood my dilemma. She agreed with Nicky—I had to give Ella time, I had to let her come to terms with what I was. By the time we were on our way back to the office, Kate invited me to a family barbecue. I agreed without even thinking about it. I needed some distraction and taking part in a family affair could do the job.
Close to five, Kel texted me, proposing a dinner with me and Kate next week. Her message didn’t lift me up, maybe because I was still thinking about Ella. At some point I wanted to introduce them both, but now Ella was gone and she wanted nothing to do with me.
Just give her time; she will come around.
I kept looking at the roses, planning to send Nathaniel an email telling him I had plans for Sunday, but in the end, I didn’t. After a shitty day like yesterday I needed to take the edge off my stress. The truth was, I wanted to know what he was going to say next. ‘Sorry’ and ‘let’s try again’ wasn’t going to work.
Fuck. Was I seriously considering getting back together with him? Was I nuts?
I missed him. I couldn’t deny it. Our intense and passionate moment in the elevator was pulling me right back to him.
Chapter eighteen
Flying frogs, huh? Maybe I should stick to a barbecue.
I had a lazy Saturday. In the past week I cursed off the gym; I needed a good yoga session, but I couldn’t find the motivation to go. In the end I rolled out of bed around two o’clock in the afternoon. Yeah… lazy much?
Negative thoughts kept passing through my mind. Rufus was out there somewhere; I refused to believe he was dead. I kept telling myself that he was needed, so they wouldn’t kill him.
After a shower, I wasted more time watching depressing TV shows. By late afternoon, I’d dressed and asked Roberto to take me to the address that Kate gave me earlier on. I’d already agreed to show up at her family affair, and, even if I wasn’t in the mood for partying, I couldn’t let her down.
I’d never tried to make friends in the office. Even though I was close with Rufus we didn’t focus on our private lives, apart from that one time when he asked me about Nathaniel. Kate and I always had common ground. We sort of understood each other and now I had a chance to meet her family. Her invitation proved that she was trying to make an effort. Nicky called while I was on my way to Kate’s.
‘She does not want anything to do with us…still,’ I told her.
‘What? Did she say that?’
‘Yep. She said that I ruined our friendship; she couldn’t believe we lied to her for so long.’ I sighed. Nicky was silent for a moment. My heart ached when I even thought about Ella.
‘She will come around; she’s just upset and scared.’
‘She was serious. I’ve never seen her so angry.’
‘I didn’t expect her to react in any other way—we have been friends for so many years,’ Nicky answered quietly, sounding fed up.
‘I’ll call her in a few days… we will see.’
‘Yeah, give her time,’ she advised me. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’
‘Okay, bye.’ I slid the phone into my pocket, wondering if my friend was right. I had to stop thinking about Ella. I just had to be patient and let her figure out what she wanted to do.
‘Have a good night, Miss. Taylor,’ said Roberto.
‘Thanks, I’ll try.’
Kate’s house was situated in a cul-de-sac of a quiet neighborhood near a large park. As far as I knew she lived with her parents. I lifted my hand to knock on the pink door to her house, when it opened suddenly, and a very petite person embraced me in a tight hug.
‘Oh dear, Katie said that you would be coming,’ said the woman squeezing me tightly, cutting off the circulation to my legs.
‘Mum, what are you doing? Let go of her!’
Once I was freed—and was able to breathe—I found myself standing in front of an older version of Kate. The woman in front of me had the same purple hair that stuck out in every possible direction, wide green eyes, and a small, long nose. She was dressed in a long gypsy skirt, her magic wand tucked behind her ear.
‘You must be Julia,’ sang the woman, smiling widely.
‘Yes, nice to meet you. You must be Mrs. Bloomfield,’ I replied lightly, taken aback by he
r enthusiastic welcome.
‘You, too, dear. We need to hurry up. We don’t want to be late,’ she said, walking away. I was even more confused when I saw two younger girls pass by me, following Kate’s mother.
‘Always late, Claire. I told you to prepare everything earlier,’ said a man about a few feet taller than me, who emerged from the house. I assumed that people who were gathered around the van were members of Kate’s family.
‘Everyone, this is Julia. She’s coming with us,’ Kate announced, pulling me toward the van.
‘Lovely to meet you, Julia, but we really need to get going now,’ said the man that was presumably Kate’s dad.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked.
‘I’ll explain in the car. Come on.’
I sat with Kate in the back. Kate’s dad was dark haired and very good looking; he was talking quickly with her mother. They looked like they were arguing about something and trying to keep their voices down.
‘Hi, I’m Maria.’ The older of the two girls introduced herself. She was the only one with black hair and thick glasses. ‘So are you excited to go to the Sabbath?’
‘Come again?’ I asked, a bit disorientated.
‘Maria, stop talking,’ warned Kate.
‘What in the world is she talking about?’ I asked her.
‘I meant to call you, but you had already shown up. My dad was ready for the barbecue when my parents received a message about the Sabbath,’ she explained.
I didn’t quite understand what she was talking about. Her father was driving way too fast, not paying much attention to the other cars, breaking all the traffic rules that existed. This was rather bizarre. I had an impression that they’d done it often. I couldn’t possibly believe that we were all going to a Witchy Sabbath.
‘This is my younger sister, Carol,’ Kate continued, pointing at the younger girl who looked like she was trying to charm the box she was holding in her lap. ‘Don’t worry if she ignores you, she doesn’t talk much.’
‘Where are we actually going, Kate?’ I asked, still perplexed.
‘To a Sabbath.’
‘Are you for real?’ I asked, narrowing my eyes.
‘Don’t stress. It’s just a large gathering with music, magic, and good food,’ she explained. ‘I know it’s sort of last minute, but Mum insisted on bringing you with us and I couldn’t say no.’
‘Yes, dear, we thought that you might as well enjoy yourself,’ said Kate’s mother from the front.
‘But it’s the twenty-first century… I thought witches didn’t organise those sorts of things anymore.’
Kate laughed, and her two sisters looked at me like they were seriously considering striking me with a spell.
‘Well, we do.’
‘It’s going to be amazing. Last time a few hundred witches and wizards turned up, so they had to cancel it. Some humans called the police.’ Maria chuckled, her eyes dreamy.
‘You are exaggerating,’ Kate said, rolling her eyes. ‘Julia isn’t a human, she’s magical so she knows what to expect.’
‘Actually, I don’t,’ I said.
‘Don’t worry, the Sabbath is like a large evening festival. I didn’t mean to throw you into this but my parents are in a wizard committee, so we all have to attend. Plus, it would be good for you to get out and socialise a little with some magical folks.’
‘But we’re in London… humans will notice that something is going on,’ I observed, bewildered.
‘It’s outside of the city dear, we don’t want to draw anyone’s attention,’ Kate’s mother said, and I began to wonder if she had a third ear. I had to hold on to the seat because I was afraid that we’d crash; I was glad the traffic wasn’t bad, as Kate’s dad would most definitely kill us all as he wound his way through the streets.
‘So, why doesn’t your sister talk much?’ I asked, staring back at Carol who now looked like she was in some kind of a trance.
‘Oh, Carol, she is in her own little world. My mother thinks she will be the next fortuneteller in the family,’ explained Kate, rolling her eyes. I found out later on that Kate also had three brothers. Carol was only sixteen and Maria twenty. I always thought that my family was crazy, but now I wasn’t so sure.
‘How many people are going to be there?’ I continued asking questions.
‘At least a hundred. The committee only invites witches and wizards from the London area.’
‘Right.’
I was hoping to have a quiet afternoon in a garden, drinking some magical cocktail with Kate, instead I was driving to the middle of nowhere to attend a Sabbath, and I wasn’t even a witch. Soon we left London, driving through the countryside. We stopped twenty minutes later in a large field. Other paranormals were already there and it took Kate’s father another ten minutes to find a parking space. I was the only one who wasn’t wearing a cloak. Kate’s parents kept greeting every second person that passed by. The small village was only a few hundred meters away and everyone was heading toward the forest. Kate kept telling me about the local traditions and the fireworks at midnight. It wasn’t a small gathering; I had to keep my eyes and ears open. I was probably the only elf there.
‘The food is always exceptional here, dear. Last year we had flying frogs,’ Kate’s mum said, sending me a quick wink.
Flying frogs, huh? Maybe I should stick to a barbecue.
The sun was hiding behind the horizon as we reached the trees. Twenty minutes later we blended into the crowd of very excited paranormals. Kate was right: the small field between the trees was transformed, stores had been set up, and the aroma of various spices encircled us. I was surprised to hear cabaret music. It was hard to find space or to buy food, as it was so busy. I assumed that whoever organised this had to rely on magic. The setup wasn’t too close to the village, otherwise people would complain because of the noise.
‘Stay close, it’s going to get crazy here when they start the fire,’ shouted Kate as we continued to walk. The rest of her family had vanished somewhere. My jaw dropped when I saw a pile of wood stacked together for about ten meters high. This fire was going to be huge; I wasn’t surprised that people were excited.
‘How are you keeping the party away from humans?’ I asked, curious.
‘Spells; a few members of the committee were here since the early hours of the morning. Dad had left at five and didn’t come home until twelve,’ Kate replied.
‘Impressive,’ I muttered.
‘Yeah, we do like to make a statement.’
I couldn’t believe that my dad never mentioned that things like this kept going on. On the other hand, he was an elf and this event was created by wizards and witches. Kate told me to chill out and just enjoy myself, so that’s what I did. We went to a few food stores and soon I forgot that I wasn’t part of the circle. Kate’s mother was right, the food was mouthwatering. There were many variations of meats flavoured with oriental spices, edible insects, frogs, and snails. I couldn’t keep up with Kate who’d been eating almost everything, pointing at a rabbit stuffed with rosemary. I tried an odd looking punch which had a real kick to it. We both ate, danced, and met a few other gothic looking witches from America. Two hours later I was slightly drunk, but I felt amazing, chatting away with Kate’s mother. She’d had more to drink than me, but she looked like she was having fun. Magic soaked the air; my own energy tingled between my palms.
Just before midnight everyone gathered around the fire. I stood by a tree watching how the masses of red flames danced over the navy sky.
‘Julia, hey Julia!’ someone shouted.
I turned, seeing a blond-haired woman approaching me. I was tipsy and sure I was having hallucinations.
‘Georgiana?’ I asked, but already knew I was standing face-to-face with Jasper’s sister.
Chapter nineteen
Another mind-blowing orgasm?
All of the sudden I snapped back to reality, ignoring the alcohol that jetted through my system, and took a step back. I glanced around, wondering
if Jasper was somewhere near while Georgiana tried to distract me. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought about this before, but Jasper was a wizard. He would have known about the Sabbath.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, narrowing her eyes. Georgiana and I used to be friends; she’d introduced me to Jasper. She blamed me for ruining the relationship after I broke up with him. Obviously our friendship didn’t mean anything to her because she’d stopped talking to me.
‘Just having fun, why? Are you going to tell me where I can or can’t be?’ I asked, irritated.
She hadn’t changed much, hiding her pale blue eyes behind designer glasses. Her strong energy always affected me; tiny goose pimples appeared all over my skin, her magic surrounded us, chasing mine.
‘As usual you’re being a bitch,’ she stated, tensing her jaw. She used to do that when she was nervous. Her eyes were darting around like she was trying to guess if I was alone or not. Georgiana was a beautiful girl with long, straight blonde hair, flawless skin, and long thin legs. She’d taught Jasper everything and took care of him when their parents died. Panic struck me and I began to wonder if he was around, watching me right now.
Don’t be an idiot; he isn’t here.
‘I’m busy and not in the mood to listen to your insults,’ I said.
‘Wait, I meant to talk to you,’ she said, touching my arm. A cold shiver blazed through my body as a tingle of magic travelled through my fingertips.
‘What do you want?’ I asked in an icy tone, pulling away. ‘We have nothing to talk about.’
‘I’ve got a message for you,’ she continued.
Okay, here we go again.
‘I’m not interested,’ I snapped.
‘Jasper never meant to hurt you.’
I clenched my fists, turning to face her. I wasn’t sure what she expected me to say. She had no idea what her brother was capable of.
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about Georgiana,’ I said, moving closer. ‘Jasper attacked me. He used dark magic to convince my ex-boyfriend Nathaniel that he didn’t know me. Those are crimes, Georgiana. Jasper broke the law. Are you still going to defend him?’
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 34