White Charms and Dark Secrets (Grey Witch Book 2)

by Cece Rose

  “Solas, I summon you,” I whisper, not even bothering to respond to Rhydian’s objection. The smell of brimstone tickles my nose as the black candle lights itself at the northern point in the room. Solas appears in the centre of the circle. He glares at it indignantly, as if offended by its mere presence around him. His eyes quickly find something else to scrutinise when Rhydian steps into his view beside me.

  “You!” Solas shouts, banging his hand around the invisible barrier that is containing him.

  “Yes, me,” Rhydian responds in a pleasant tone. “Not a cat anymore, I see,” he adds, looking Solas up and down. Today Solas is again only half dressed, and I sarcastically wonder if I should attempt to bargain with shirts in future. All of his muscles somehow seem tensed, as he paces within the confines of his trap.

  “I should kill you,” Solas tells Rhydian, in a tone better suited for offering a pleasant gift.

  “But you won’t. Not today,” the fae responds with a grin.

  “Don’t be so sure,” Solas hisses, before turning his attention to me. He smooths his expression from fury to seductive salesman in seconds. “Little witch, you always call me so much quicker than expected. I’m starting to think you like me.”

  “Shut up,” I snap, rolling my eyes at Solas, earning myself bewildered looks from the others in the room.

  Solas points at Rhydian. “You should watch out for that one, little witch. He’s more trouble for you than even I am. He may be charming, but trust me, his words are laced in poison not with honey.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I dismiss him quickly. “Now, break the bad luck curse that’s on me.”

  “Always so rushed. You need to learn how to slow down and enjoy things,” he scolds, giving me a creepily knowing look.

  “Don’t talk to her like that,” Rhydian mutters, surprising me.

  “I’ll talk to her however I like. In fact, if you have such a problem with it, maybe I’ll even talk to her how I like while telling her what your big secret is. What you’re really doing here,” Solas goads smugly.

  “Everyone just shut up and listen to me okay!” I shout, feeling heat creep into my cheeks as they all turn to stare at me.

  “Well?” Kier prompts when I don’t say anything.

  “Sorry,” I mutter, before shaking my head and brushing it off to continue. I turn to Solas. “What do you want for removing the curse?”

  “As I know your soul is out of the question, how about you release me from this circle and let me be one of the vessels for the spell? I’m curious to know what your magic tastes like,” he drawls.

  “Why would you trade something like freeing me from a curse with just you taking part in it? Are you trying to steal all of my magic somehow? Why would you want it?” I question unrelentingly. Solas, however, doesn’t seem fazed.

  “Bound to tell the truth while in the negotiation of our deal, I can tell you that I’m not trying to steal your magic. I simply wish to take part, hold onto your magic, and then, when you’re free of the curse and want it back, I’ll give it to you without hesitation.” He grins at his words, as if laughing inside at a joke we’d all missed.

  “And you won’t hurt anyone during the ritual? Including Rhydian?” I demand, wanting to be sure. Demons can’t lie while making deals, but they sure as hell don’t tell the full truth either.

  “I swear not to harm anyone here. We’ll do the ritual, then when you ask me to do what’s necessary for the reversal, I’ll give your magic right back. I’ll leave when we’re done without harming anyone, or roaming the earth and causing trouble,” he responds, giving the offer a chance to sink in before adding, “Luckily you have four willing temporary hosts for your magic right here, so we can do it now. I did some reading on it earlier, it’s very simple. Most magic that ancient is.”

  “Fine. We have a deal,” I agree after a moment of thought, letting my connection with the circles binding him drop. There wasn’t a lot of thinking to do about it. I probably would have agreed to much worse to get rid of the curse.

  The others all immediately step back from the demon, one of them reaching out and grabbing my shoulder to pull me back with them. I glance over my shoulder at Darren, seeing that he’s looming over me protectively.

  “It’s okay,” I try to reassure him. He gives me a small smile for my effort.

  “Now, the spell is quite simple, but it does require a silly physical ritual for the transfer to work,” Solas explains.

  “Silly physical ritual?” I echo in a bewildered tone.

  “Yes, well, let’s not worry about it just yet. I can explain it as we go along. Kayla, I’ll need you to stand in the centre of the four of us,” he instructs.

  I go to move but Darren doesn’t release his grip on my shoulder. I shrug him off, giving him a firm look. “I have to do this, Darren. You don’t understand… you can’t…” I trail off. My bad luck almost killed me, him, all of us. It caused me to react how I did and kill Elias. It’s destroying my life. Unfortunately, I can’t manage to vocalise any of my thoughts for his benefit.

  I stand in the centre of the four of them and turn to Solas expectantly. “How are we going to do this?” I ask.

  “Just call forth your magic and repeat after me, ‘Magicae meam incolumem custodiat’,” Solas answers.

  “Magicae meam incolumem custodiat,” I echo, counting on Kier or Rhydian to point out if the Latin sounds like the spell is to destroy the world and stop me.

  “Tutum in fide. Scio erit,” Solas continues.

  “Tutum in fide. Scio erit,” I repeat again, feeling a weird tremble rush through my body. Around me everyone but Solas looks concerned, and I wonder if maybe I should have told Kier and Rhydian to listen out for world ending spells.

  “Now that your magic is fluid and ready to move, you must transfer it,” Solas explains.

  “Okay, so how do I do that?” I ask. In answer, he steps closer.

  “So they don’t do anything to disrupt the ritual,” Solas says, as he flicks a hand quickly in the direction of each of the guys around us.

  “What did you just do?” Rhydian demands, as his arms and torso launch forward, but his feet remain firmly planted on the ground. He wobbles before finding his balance and straightening up, turning to look at Solas with a murderous expression.

  “I think you just answered your own question.” Solas smirks at his words, before turning his attention back to me. He moves closer again, and I try to remain calm as he approaches. He can’t hurt me. Not with our agreement. He’s just trying to remove my magic to kill the curse.

  Solas’ hand reaches out, taking me by surprise as it rests on the top of my shoulder by my neck. He holds it there for a second, surprisingly gentle with his touch. I try not to freak out. He leans down a little and I freeze like a deer in headlights.

  “Which of them do you think will want to hit me the most?” he whispers to me in question. I puzzle over his words, unsure of his meaning. That is, until he tightens his grip on my shoulder, and slides his other hand to my waist, gripping it just as tight. Before I can even contemplate what’s happening, he’s leaning down further and pressing his lips to my mine.

  Shock, horror, and most annoyingly, pleasure rush through my brain. Not that I’d ever admit to the last one. His lips move so expertly against mine, I find myself unconsciously kissing him back. Kissing a demon. Why the hell am I kissing a demon? His lips silently demand for mine to part, his tongue dancing with mine as he kisses me deeply. The kiss is so intense that I feel senseless from the stimulation. Why the hell is the demon so good at kissing?

  He pulls away. Leaving me embarrassed at not having been the person to break off from the kiss. I take a deep breath, and attempt to summon some outrage when he gives me a satisfied smirk.

  “What the hell was that?” I demand, looking around to gauge all of the guys’ reactions. They’re all looking a little shocked into silence. Or maybe Solas flicked his hand at them again when I wasn’t looking to make them mute
?

  “That was the ritual. I now have a nice slice of witch magic stirring around inside of me,” Solas answers flippantly.

  “Did the ritual require the use of your tongue?” Rhydian questions loudly, answering my own question of whether their silence was caused by shock or magic.

  “It said to kiss, so we kissed. I’m wondering if she’ll have any issues with kissing any of you?” the demon drawls, slowly dragging his gaze across all of us. “I mean, you’ve already kissed two of them right?” he asks me with a raised brow.

  I swallow thickly. All of them. I’ve kissed all of them.

  “All three of them?” he guesses again from reading my expression. “Well, then this should be a walk in the park for you.”

  Again, I look around for their reactions and find myself cringing internally. Darren’s facial expression hasn’t changed, but his eyes have, I swear I can see the sadness, anger and disappointment flashing through them. Rhydian doesn’t look surprised about Darren, for obvious reasons, but he does give Kier an incredulous look. As if the idea of me kissing him is beyond belief.

  “Hurry up, this one first,” Solas says, rushing me, as he points at Darren. Without much choice in the matter I awkwardly walk towards him and pause just a step away.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper quietly, hoping that only Darren hears it. He jerks his head slightly in response. I creep closer, feeling uncomfortable kissing Darren in this situation, especially after he heard that.

  “Just get it over with,” he whispers back. His voice may be quiet, but his words stab me right in my chest.

  “Okay,” I murmur back, before closing the distance and pressing my lips to his. We kiss slowly, it’s almost like going through the motions of a kiss without actually kissing. The feeling makes me want to crawl into a hole and hide. I step back when we’re done, wishing I’d spoken to him first, before doing this.

  “The arrogant prince next, little witch,” Solas directs, either unaware or uncaring of my current inner turmoil.

  I’m unable to meet Darren’s eyes as I step away from him towards Rhydian, I do however notice the jerk in his upper body from the corner of my gaze. I look away. We’d talk after this, and then hopefully I can make everything right. Rhydian gives me a cheeky grin.

  “I knew you’d want more,” he teases lightly. Despite myself and the situation, I smile a little. Closing the distance quickly between us, I tilt my head up towards his. Rhydian doesn’t waste a second, and this kiss is anything but going through the motions. His hands grip my hair tightly, as he holds me closely, kissing me like we’re alone. When a second of sense slips in, I pull away, a little dazed and confused at my own feelings. Rhydian is too good a kisser. Good kissing confuses brain function, I decide.

  “The blonde one next,” Solas instructs without waiting. “Mind his fangs.”

  “I feel like maybe you’re enjoying this just a little too much,” I snap.

  “I’m enjoying this just enough, little witch,” he replies confidently. “And so are they, much as they’d like to deny it.”

  “No denial over here,” Rhydian mutters. A flutter flips in my stomach.

  “I promise to be careful,” Kier says, giving me a small smile.

  “I know you will be.”

  We lock our lips together, sharing a short kiss. Warmer than the kiss Darren just gave me, but not as heated as the way Rhydian caressed my lips. I move away, returning Kier’s earlier smile with one of my own. He made the situation as easy as possible for me with what limited controls he had in it. The warmth that spreads through me in appreciation makes it hard to think that our kiss then will be our last.

  “So, how do I know if that worked?” I ask, turning back to Solas and refocusing on the situation at hand.

  “Just wait,” he replies, beginning to look bored.

  “Wait? For how—“ My words cut off as I choke. My hands then seem to leap to my neck of their own accord, holding on as if their grip could possibly bring back the air. I collapse to the floor, shaking erratically on the ground as I struggle to breathe, and begin to feel little shocks all over my body.

  “Kayla!” I hear voices shout, but my eyes are tightly shut, as I feel my body continue to tremble and starve for oxygen.

  “Calm down, she’ll be fine in… three seconds?” Solas’ voice muses. As suddenly as the feeling came on, it disappears. I open my eyes and sit up, looking around at everyone.

  “Are you okay?” Kier inquires gently.

  “I’m fine, I think. The pain just all went away.” I take a moment to assess and see if there’s any damage, but there’s nothing that feels wrong with me. “What the hell was that?” I demand, looking at the smug-looking demon.

  “Just the curse inside of you starving and dying from the lack of it’s food source—your magic. Should we test it?” he offers, pulling out a coin from nowhere. I almost want to laugh at the little trick, but figure it’s probably not an appropriate laughter moment. He holds up the coin showing me both sides.

  “Fine. Heads,” I mutter, rolling my eyes as he flips the coin into the air. He catches it on the back of his hand and holds it out to me showing me which way it landed.

  “Heads,” he announces for the others who are still stuck frozen from the waist down.

  “A coin flip is how you’re going to prove it working?” I ask him sceptically.

  “Trust me, you have no bad luck right now. Your aura is shiny and un-cursed,” Solas insists. I look to the others for advice.

  “He’s not allowed to lie,” Kier shrugs.

  “Okay, so now I need to get my magic back,” I begin, only to be cut off by a thundering laugh from the black-eyed demon.

  “What’s funny?” Rhydian demands.

  “Nothing, nothing at all here is funny for any of you,” Solas answers cheerfully.

  “Just hurry up and give me my magic back,” I snap, only for him to laugh again, a dark, twisted chuckle that sends shivers down my spine. “You made a deal to give me my magic back, you can’t refuse me,” I tell him, more for my benefit than his. I needed to repeat the words, convince myself that they’re all true.

  “Well, you see, until you know how to reverse the power transfer, and ask me to do that, I don’t have to do anything. You should really pay for attention to wording, little witch. You’ll get yourself into all kinds of trouble otherwise,” he drawls tauntingly.

  “You absolute asshole,” I mutter, blinking in shock. How could I have been so stupid?

  “Well, considering that you have nothing else for me to do right now, I’d say our transaction is for now done. Call me when you figure it out. I’ll look forward to it.” He winks, and then vanishes in puff of smoke stinking of brimstone.

  “I can’t believe it, I’m such an idiot. I’m a magic-less idiot,” I ramble, staring at the spot where Solas once stood.

  “It’s okay, Kayla,” Kier says reassuringly as he moves over to me, now freed from whatever spell Solas had cast on him. “The upside is we’re all alive, and we’re all safe, for now at least. We’ll figure out how to get your magic back. Right, guys?”

  “Right,” Rhydian agrees.

  I look over to Darren, he stares at me silently for a moment before chiming in his agreement too. “Of course we will.”

  “See, we can figure this out. Do you have your family grimoires handy?” Kier asks.

  “Only my grandmother’s,” I answer honestly.

  “It’s okay, we’ll start with that. I can also ask around, I might know someone who knows something about this. A kissing power exchange spell sounds pretty specific, I’m sure we will find something,” Kier reassures me.

  “Thank you. I don’t deserve any of your help. I just messed everything up for all of us,” I whisper, feeling self-defeated.

  “You do deserve it and this mess isn’t your fault. It’s clearly whatever ancestor of yours pissed off a demon enough for it to curse your family forever,” Kier tells me sincerely.

  I turn away and b
link, seeing Rhydian standing in front of me with several books piled in his hands.

  “What are those?” I ask, already knowing and dreading the answer.

  “Some of your family grimoires. I just found them,” he tells me, as he hands them over. I take and look over them, spotting five more recent generations’ grimoires.

  “Where did you get them?” I ask.

  “I found them.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal.

  “What do you mean you found them? Just then in the last three seconds? That’s impossible,” I sputter, unable to comprehend how the hell he has my family’s books.

  “They were exactly where I would have kept them.” He shrugs and turns away, grabbing the book off the top of the pile as he does. “You shouldn’t trust demons, sweetheart. They bite worse than a vampire. No offence, Detective Fang,” Rhydian calls over his shoulder as he walks.

  “So we’re all just going to act like that didn’t happen, right?” Kier asks, looking between me and Rhydian’s back as he walks off into the kitchen.

  “What else are we going to do?” I ask, shrugging as I decide to take on a more Rhydian attitude for now, and stop worrying about the things I can’t do anything about.

  Darren and Kier both take a grimoire from the pile, and take them off to different parts of the house to look through. I stand there in silence, the insanity of the situation drowning me where I stand. I shrug it off, heading for the sofa in the front room.

  Rhydian may be crude, but he’s right. You can never trust a demon. I never will again.

  Twenty-Five

  Love & Magic

  “Please don’t go.” I look at Darren standing in the doorway, his hand held over the door handle as he pauses. Kier and Rhydian both left pretty quickly after we realised we wouldn’t be solving the problem tonight. The grimoires had proved useless and contained nothing even vaguely like the ritual. They’d both however promised that they would do what they could. That they would try to find a way to fix the problem and return my magic to me. Considering the smug smile on that stupid demon’s face, I don’t hold much hope that the fix will be an easy one.