Any Witch Way (The Witch Next Door Book 3)

by Judith Berens

  “Sure.” There it is. The first awkward we might be a couple but we’re not gonna talk about it shuffle. I don’t know if that’s a requirement, though. Smirking, she pulled his music up and scrolled through the artists. “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “You literally have…everything.”

  Romeo shifted and leaned back comfortably in the seat with a grin, awfully proud of his collection. “I told you my taste in music was eclectic.”

  “Well, yeah. But this is… Big Bands of the 1930s. Frank Sinatra. Korn. Taylor Swift?”

  “Hey, there’s literally an artist and a song for everything.”

  Lily laughed and scrolled through his massive album list. She’d honestly only heard of half of them. “Okay. So what do you wanna listen to?”

  “Hmm…today, I’m feeling like some Cake. Put on ‘Fashion Nugget.’”

  She snorted. “We’re not going with your usual ‘shuffle all?’”

  “Nah. Mix it up. I usually get bored listening to one album all the way through, but those guys switch it up enough anyway.”

  “Alrighty, then.” She pulled the album up and pressed play. The guitar and drums of the first track, “Frank Sinatra,” came through the Winnie’s recently updated sound system, and he stretched forward to turn the volume up. After a few minutes, Lily turned toward him and raised an eyebrow. “Would it make sense if I said this actually sounds like driving through the desert.”

  He chuckled. “Totally. Of course, I can’t say I hear the same thing, but everyone has their own take.”

  “What does it sound like to you, then?”

  “Beyond the fact that they literally can’t be mistaken for anyone else?”

  “Come on…” she said and sighed.

  “I’m kidding. If I had to pick something, I’d say…they sound like smoking a giant cigar.”

  Laughing, she frowned at him. “What? Wait, you smoke cigars?”

  Romeo stared straight ahead at the highway rushing toward them and couldn’t fight back another smirk. “Nope.”

  They pulled off the highway onto a wide shoulder for lunch—brujitas filled with shredded pork, also from Sombrerete. Lily swallowed her last bite and washed it down with bottled water. “It’s a little weird that there are way fewer gas stations and rest stops than any state we drove through in the US.”

  “I kinda like it.” He crushed his plastic water bottle after draining it dry. “It feels like we’re out here all on our own, pushing through to the next town or city big enough to have what we need.” He snatched up both their plates and stuck them in the dishwasher.

  She laughed. “Because that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

  He flashed her a grin, stepped back toward her at the small two-person table, and leaned down. “Yeah, but here, we could get stranded and have to fend for ourselves in the desert. It’s dangerous.” He wiggled his eyebrows, then straightened and headed to the driver’s seat.

  Lily snorted. “You need a danger fix, huh?” She slid out of the booth and joined him in the front. “Honestly, I think it was more dangerous before we crossed the border. The witch who tried to kill me in Charleston knew exactly where to find me, remember.”

  “That’s my point.” He buckled his seatbelt and shifted into drive. “He found you ʼcause you’d been in that parking garage for a while, right? When you were—”

  “Don’t say boondocking again.” She smirked at him.

  “Okay…when you were independently parking there.” He drove them off the shoulder and back onto the mostly empty highway. “You didn’t have to keep moving. Everything you needed was right there all the time. And it’s still easier to hide in a city with lots of people than out here in the middle of nowhere if you don’t spend too long in one place.”

  “Yeah, but at least out here, we can see whoever’s coming from a mile away, at least.”

  He looked a little scornful. “You mean like those three seriously creepy women outside Camargo?”

  She frowned. “Okay, those women were the exception to the rule. It’s not a normal thing to cover huge distances in seconds like that. Or levitate. Or whatever they did with their mouths, too.”

  “It looked like they were wearing Scream masks.” He glanced at her. “And you still have no idea what they were?”

  “Nope. I haven’t been able to make sense of that yet. Or why they thought they needed my blood ‘to complete the circle,’ whatever that means.”

  Romeo curled his hand into a fist over the steering wheel. “One more point for the shadow-bird showing up at the last second to make sure we never find out.”

  “Yeah. But I’d really like to know what that is too. And why I dreamed about it carrying my mom around.” They fell silent for a few minutes and the ambient, jazz-organ funk played through the speakers. She tapped his phone to check who it was—a band called Medeski, Martin, and Wood. That might have added to the eeriness level of their conversation.

  “We totally could’ve taken those creepy Scream ladies,” he said after a while and broke the silence.

  She chuckled and thumped her head back against the seat. “You and me? Definitely.”

  Three

  When they’d logged eight hours on the road, they stopped in Córdoba a little after 6:00 p.m. and decided to call it a night. “Okay,” Romeo said once he’d studied the town and slowly nodded approval. “It looks like a decent place.”

  “More than decent. There are actual trees here—palm trees—and flowers. Honestly, this is much better than Mexico City.” Lily smiled at the brightly colored buildings and the crowds of people milling along the streets. “We can definitely find a good place to hang out for the night.”

  “I’m sure we can.” He pursed his lips in a mock pout. “Mexico City’s supposed to be like New York on steroids but in Mexico.”

  “Are you upset about missing out on that?”

  He leaned forward to peer out his window at the tops of the bright-yellow, square buildings across the street and shrugged. “Kinda.”

  “This’ll still be fun. And I’m sure it’s a lot safer here all around.”

  “Hey, if we pull over for a minute, I can find us the best place to camp.”

  She pointed toward a hotel coming up on the right. “What about right there?”

  “Yeah, okay.” He turned into the parking lot, took his phone from her, and worked his special kind of magic with travel planning and somehow always finding them a place for the RV.

  “I’m gonna stretch my legs for a minute.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood, grateful to be out of the passenger seat for the day. “Maybe get some fresh air.”

  “Sure.” His focus remained almost entirely on his phone. “I’ll be quick.”

  Smiling, she watched him for a few seconds longer, then turned and headed down the two steps toward the Winnie’s side door. She’d expected to be blasted with another wave of dry, baking heat when she opened it but it was surprisingly pleasant out. The sun was still up and a little breeze blew across the parking lot, bringing with it the smell of sweet cooking spices and what sounded like a mariachi band playing.

  Lily let the door shut behind her as she stepped farther into the parking lot. There was a fair number of people out on the street, some of them walking in groups toward the music she estimated was a block or two away. Three kids sprinted toward the sound while they shouted, grinned, and waved brightly colored streamers on sticks behind them. She grinned and stepped around the front of the Winnie toward the driver-side door.

  When she opened it, Romeo opened his mouth and paused, still staring at his phone. “I think I found something. Only another minute. Maybe.”

  “I think that can wait for a sec.”

  “I’m almost done.”

  “Hey.” Lily stepped into the Winnie, her toes balancing at the edge beside his seat. She caught the steering wheel to steady herself, then leaned over Romeo’s lap to block his view of the phone.

  He laughed. “What are you
doing?”

  “There’s something going on out there.” She nodded across the parking lot. “And I wanna find out what it is.”

  “What kinda something?”

  “Well, I highly doubt the kids here get all excited and run around with streamers when it’s the bad kinda something.” She stretched across his lap to retrieve her purse from the center console, swung back to the edge of the platform beside the driver’s seat, and grinned. “It might not be particularly dangerous. Do you think you can still have fun?”

  “That sounds like a challenge.”

  “It probably is.”

  “Good.” Romeo lurched from the driver seat and snaked his arm around her waist. She shrieked in surprise and laughed when he lifted her away from the seat and jumped down from the vehicle.

  Though he set her down gently enough, she thumped him lightly on the chest and pulled away. “Don’t do that again.”

  He smirked at her and his eyes glittered in the setting sunlight. “You liked it.”

  “Come on.” She motioned again toward the trumpet music and the steadily increasing sound of people cheering and singing. With a chuckle, he snatched the keys from the ignition and his phone from the driver’s seat, locked the door, and stuck them both in his back pocket. She already half-skipped and half-danced across the parking lot and he hurried after her.

  “So what exactly are we about to see?”

  “I have no idea.” She grinned at him. “But it sounds like everybody’s having fun.” They waited for a few cars to pass them on the street before they crossed and moved between the tall buildings in shades of sky-blue and bright yellow. Virtually all of them were built with arches and detailed metalwork around windows and on the surrounding fences. Following the music, they stepped between the last few buildings and found themselves in a wide, open plaza. An incredibly long, two-story building lined with arched windows stretched across the area, lighting up the entire space with small outdoor lights in every archway in front of the door and every full-sized window on the second floor. A pole flying the Mexican flag rose from the raised platform on top of the building’s center.

  There was definitely a brass band playing across the plaza. Lily only recognized the sound of trumpets and drums. “Okay,” she said and clasped Romeo’s hand. “This is definitely some kind of celebration.”

  People wandered about the plaza outside the long building. Children ran in circles around the large, fenced-in area in the center of so much space. Only one of them tried to climb over the small metal fence toward the grass and the tall trees before she was swept into her parent’s arms and whisked away for fun somewhere else. A few tents along the walkway sold street food and bottled drinks. Lily caught sight of a lit water fountain on the other side of the well-maintained lawn. A breeze blew across the plaza and rippled into the city from the mountain range in the distance.

  “Wow.” Romeo gazed at everything with wide eyes.

  “See?” She walked backward in front of him and dragged him along by the hand. “This is the Mexico I’m excited about.”

  He laughed and let her pull him toward the band. A crowd had gathered in front of the musicians and they laughed and cheered when the song finished and brought a lull in the dancing. But the band didn’t waste any time in striking up the next song with a quick tempo led by a man with gray hair slapping at his conga drums.

  “Oh! You know merengue, right?” Lily yanked Romeo toward the group of dancers in front of the band, grinning and swaying to the rhythm.

  He laughed. “Just because I speak Spanish doesn’t mean I know how to dance.”

  “It’s the easiest one—side to side, like this.” She stepped in illustration with the music, swung her hips, and scrunched her face in mock disapproval. “Come on, Romeo. We’re in Veracruz. You can let yourself enjoy it for at least one dance.”

  “I have no idea what I’m doing.” He chuckled and shook his head.

  She pointed to her feet, which hadn’t stopped moving from right to left. “Stop thinking.” She tossed her hair back with a grin, and he gave in enough to at least attempt a few measures of the steps with her.

  When she spun in a quick, tight circle and threw her arms out before drawing them close to her body again, he stepped back to watch her. “Okay, I’m clearly holding you back.” She laughed. “Go on. Dance your heart out. I’ll stay right here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yup.”

  Lily twirled again, gave in to the music, and winked at him before she was swallowed by the rapidly growing crowd on the dancefloor in the plaza. Amongst the dancing couples and a few others enjoying the band on their own, her blonde hair and pale skin made her impossible to miss, even with a Charleston tan. He folded his arms, laughed again, and couldn’t take his eyes off her. The song ended and she turned with the other dancers to applaud the band before they moved into the next song.

  She met his gaze, held up a finger, and mouthed, “One more.”

  Romeo merely spread his arms and tilted his head with a wide grin, leaving it up to her. She blew him a kiss and disappeared again among so many dancing strangers. He soaked in the high energy of celebration and glanced at the other people gathered in the plaza—locals and tourists like them—and noticed two men on the other side of the impromptu dancefloor. They didn’t look particularly threatening, but they both smirked with hooded eyes. One had his arms folded and the other stood with his hands thrust into the pockets of his shorts. They both stared at Lily.

  He bristled. Still, he didn’t smell magic in the plaza and he didn’t smell another wolf. Ever cautious now that he’d been alerted to something that didn’t feel right, he maintained his smile and made a closer scrutiny of the individual faces gathered in front of the band.

  A woman in a red dress and a man with sunglasses pushed up onto his head walked slowly between him and the dancers. The man with his arms folded caught the woman’s gaze and nodded into the crowd toward Lily. She followed his gaze, then turned fully to watch the dancing and gestured at her own hair. A few nods passed between all four of them and the song ended.

  “Nope,” Romeo muttered. He moved quickly through the crowd of dancers, all of whom laughed and caught their breaths as they turned to applaud the band. He didn’t have to look for his friend. She stood out like a beacon and he rushed to her side. When he grabbed her hand, she laughed.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked and stooped a little to say it in her ear. “I’m starving.”

  “Yes.” She leaned back and smiled at him. “Wanna see what they’re dishin’ out over there?” Her eyebrows raised, she pointed past him toward a white-and-red-striped tent across the plaza beside the fenced-in landscaping.

  “Absolutely.” He laced their fingers together and maintained a tight hold as they wove through the dancers that had already begun moving again to the band’s next song.

  “Wow.” Lily wiped her forearm across her brow. “I haven’t danced like that in a long time.”

  They emerged onto the much less-crowded walkway through the plaza and he smirked at her. “I didn’t know you danced like that at all.”

  She glanced at him with a playful frown. “What are you trying to say?”

  He laughed. “There’s no hidden message in there, Lil. I simply didn’t know.” After a quick glance over his shoulder, he shrugged and squeezed her hand. “I knew about the mixed martial arts.”

  “Right.”

  “And all your mom’s puzzles and games and stuff. And the fact that you’ve always been…” He chuckled and shook his head.

  “I’ve always been?” She flashed him a challenging look and fought back a laugh.

  “Better than everyone else at virtually everything you do.”

  “Well, thank you.” She grinned and batted her lashes.

  “I merely didn’t know dancing was in there too.”

  “Oh, always.” They stepped up to the red and white tent behind the two other people in line. “I started with ballet, actu
ally.”

  Romeo snorted. “For real?”

  “See, that’s why you didn’t know about the dancing.”

  He shrugged again and leaned away. “You really don’t seem like the dancing type.”

  “I’m not sure what type you’re referring to, but it’s not like I had a reason to tell you. When we were kids, the taekwondo and the jiu-jitsu was cool. The puzzles were cool. You apparently always thought it was awesome that I was a witch. But seriously, I knew when I was nine that you had absolutely no interest in hearing about ballet and tap.”

  “Tap dancing too?” His eyes grew incredibly wide.

  “My mom had me in a ton of classes. Summer camps. You name it.”

  “Okay, how did you even have the time for this? The way I remember it, we spent all our time together as kids.”

  Lily turned away from him, lifted her shoulder, and grinned. “Magic, I guess.”

  He laughed and pulled her toward him. She draped her arms around him and tilted her head back to look up at him with a smile that made him want to go back to the Winnebago and skip dinner altogether. “Yes, you are.”

  Four

  They bought two bowls of arroz a la tumbada from the tent—rice with fish and shellfish, tomatoes, onions, and green chili peppers. Lily withdrew the magically converted pesos from her purse to pay the man running the tent, then turned to look at the band and all the people enjoying themselves on a Saturday night in Córdoba. Romeo and the food vendor had a brief conversation in Spanish, which she tuned out in lieu of all the other sounds—the music, the laughter, and the kids screaming in joy and running all over the place. A small group of kids, maybe nine or ten years old, tossed a frisbee. Even now, as the lights lit the plaza and the last of the daylight faded into twilight, the city was incredibly alive.

  He turned toward her and offered her a bowl. “I assume it’s like paella.”

  They each took an experimental bite. “Definitely,” she agreed around her mouthful. She smiled up at him, but he looked over his shoulder again at the crowd with a tiny frown. “Okay, spill it.”