How Torie Got Her Hex Back: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: Singing Falls Witches Book Three
Page 6
“But you didn’t,” said Jasmin. “We both lived.” She felt a heaviness pass between them. Yes, they both lived, but their existence had come at a heavy price. “Why did you leave the way you did? Not even a goodbye.”
Try as she might, she couldn’t quite contain the tiny bite of anger in her voice.
“I couldn’t face you, Jas. I couldn’t process what I had done. I killed our mother. I…” she choked up, her voice tearing within her throat, refusing to come out.
Jasmin reached over and wrapped an arm around her sister, pulling her close. Together, they cried. They cried until no more tears would come, and then they sat in silence and darkness, watching the shadows at play across the deck in the flicker of the firelight.
“I don’t think we need to rehash the past anymore,” said Jasmin, reaching up one hand to stroke her sister’s hair. “We’re here now and we have a lot to catch up on.”
Opal sat up, wiping at her face. “Speaking of catching up, this place! It’s beautiful, Jasmin. I take it the whispers about the hex witches living in this area are true. That you’re all rich somehow.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say rich. At least I’m not. Some of the others…yes. This community is built on generational wealth being shared. Some of the witch families started a fund generations ago, and it’s used as shared income for the lineage; it also pays for the town’s needs. In my case, as you know, we had nothing. So nothing was contributed to the fund in my name. Torie, on the other hand…well, she’s rich.”
Opal frowned. “Then how do you afford all of this? Did you come up with some kind of money spell? Cos you know that comes with consequences.”
“No, nothing like that. I would never use magic for personal gain. I made some very wise investments years ago, and they have paid off. Big time.”
“Oh cool. Let me guess…Apple? Microsoft?”
Jasmin shook her head, laughing. “Try bitcoin.”
Opal nodded appreciatively. “Look at you, getting all crypto and making that money. Good for you.”
“And what about you? What are you doing these days?”
“Oh, I run a small tarot and gift shop. I also sometimes help out the local police department in New Orleans with unsolved murders. They pay me a stipend to keep me on retainer. Being able to talk to spirits comes in handy in solving murders.”
“And I take it you’re single as well?” Jasmin asked.
“What? Why would you say that? You don’t think I look like I could get someone?”
“No. I’m going by your questions regarding the werewolves, silly.”
Opal laughed. “Oh yeah. You’re right. I’m as single as they come. But I kind of like it that way. What about you? Seeing anybody special?”
Jasmin shook her head. “No. No one to speak of.”
Her voice trailed off in a way that told Opal not to press any further.
“It’s not easy,” Opal said, “being a witch and maintaining a relationship. Men aren’t built for that kind of emotional support. At least not the non-supernatural ones.” She winked knowingly at Jasmin, who in turn elbowed her playfully in the side.
“I think the thing I most missed about us not growing into adulthood together is not being with you when we got our powers.”
Opal nodded in agreement. “I thought about you a lot. Wondered what kind of witch you were becoming.”
“Same here. But I guess that old fortune teller was right; you work spirit hexes?”
“Yes, that seemed to be my calling. I mean, I can work an incantation as well as the next witch, but the spirit world is where I feel most comfortable.”
“I figured as much. That’s why I called you. Do you think there is something you can do to help Torie get her hex powers back?”
“What is her specialty?” Opal asked.
“Not entirely sure. She’s powerful…or at least she was. Her natural skill that developed was a form of telepathy; she could communicate with shifters while they were in their animal forms.”
Opal arched an eyebrow. “That’s different. Haven’t heard of anyone who could do that. Did you know her mother as well? Was that a power she possessed?”
“Not that I am aware. She was powerful too; but more aggressive with her magic. She was a very powerful fire-hex master. Torie’s magic seems more defensive in my opinion.”
Opal nodded. “I’ll need to give her a thorough once-over. Can you tell me how it happened? How she lost her power.”
Jasmin recounted the events that led to Torie moving to Singing Falls and her recent encounter with the warlock.
When she finished, Opal just shook her head. “Warlocks. Nasty little men.”
“Sounds like you’ve had a run-in with them before.”
“I wish I could say I didn’t, but yeah. Those unsolved murders? A couple of them involved warlocks.”
“Do you think you can get her magic back, Opal?”
Her sister grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m a witch doctor. If I can’t, no one can.”
The statement might have sounded pessimistic coming from anyone else, but Jasmin heard only positivity in her sister’s voice, and it offered her hope; tiny as the sliver may have been.
“Okay, it’s getting a little chilly out here,” Opal said. “Let’s go inside and have another cup of this coffee and Baileys. Only this time, let’s leave the coffee out. Plus, we need to talk about that hunter who attacked you and your friends.”
“I’ve heard of them, but she was actually the first one I’ve seen in action. She was scary as hell.”
“Yeah, she was,” agreed Opal. “But her afro-puffs were tight. Gotta give her that.”
Jasmin laughed as they made their way inside. She was feeling much better now than she had at the beginning of the evening. Her sister would be able to help Torie.
She had to. Jasmin refused to accept anything else.
As they went back inside, a shadow detached itself from the blackness in the far corner of the deck where the light from the fire pit did not reach. It managed to slither inside the house, slipping through the door leading into the kitchen. Only Opal seemed to sense something, as she glanced over her shoulder, pausing slightly before following her sister through the house.
8
The next morning, Torie slept in without meaning to.
The smell of eggs and bacon frying, as well as the unmistakable aroma of fresh ground coffee wafting through the house, woke her stomach up before the rest of her.
She rolled out of bed and threw on her robe before making her way into the kitchen. She was greeted by the sight of Elric in a tee shirt and nothing else, his back to her as he tended the food on the range.
“Whoa…where are your clothes?” she asked, averting her eyes. “Nobody wants to be Donald Ducked first thing in the morning.”
Elric frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“Donald Duck…the cartoon character famous for wearing a shirt and no bottoms? Never mind. Just go put something on. Who fries bacon with their delicate parts exposed anyway?”
He walked past her heading for the bedroom, and she gave him a playful slap on the rear.
“How’s this?” he said, walking back in. He had retrieved his boxer briefs from the pile of clothing on the bedroom floor.
Torie had to admit she liked the sight. “Now I’m torn…maybe I did prefer you the other way.”
Elric laughed and drew her close for a kiss. “I was hoping you would stay in bed. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Oh, you surprised me enough in bed,” she said with a smile. “You surprised me a couple of times if I remember right.” She returned his kiss, the two hungers she felt rising within her. They parted, and she gave into the rumble in her stomach, plopping herself down at the island.
“Max called,” Elric said, taking a plate he had set out and sliding a couple of eggs onto it for her. “He wants us to go back out and look for that hunter. He thinks she has to be in town. A couple of people told him they saw
her arrive a couple of days ago.”
Torie stared at his back until he turned to face her.
“You heard what Jasmin’s sister said. She specifically said not to go after her.”
“She told Max not to go after her alone. And he didn’t. But with my help, it will be two against one.”
“You mean like it was last night? When she didn’t really have much of a problem wiping the floor with both of you; and that was with Jasmin helping.”
“She caught us by surprise is all. Won’t be so lucky next time.”
Or the two of you won’t be so lucky, Torie thought.
“She was very scary,” said Torie. “So that’s a hunter, huh?”
“Yep. And she wasn’t so scary. We’ve fought them before and lived to tell the tale.”
Torie wasn’t sure she liked the way that sounded.
“So are you going to tell me why she was after you?” She reached over and took the cup of coffee he slid her way. “I mean, she actually mentioned the two of you by name and flat out said she came for you guys.”
Elric shrugged and turned to dish his own plate.
“Uh uh. No sir,” said Torie. “What were we talking about last night? Honesty? Being open and letting one another in?”
“You’re right,” he said after a pause. He placed his plate on the island and shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “I don’t know who that hunter is, and that’s the truth. But you’re right; she was zeroed in on me and Max.”
“Why?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say it has to do with some of the stuff we were involved in prior to our arrival here in Singing Falls. Remember how I told you we worked for some pretty shady people down in Trinity Cove?”
Torie nodded, reaching for more of the coffee.
“Well, my bet is it has something to do with the bosses we worked for. We were hired muscle back then. If our boss needed to scare someone, or they owed up on a debt and weren’t able to pay…well our job was to go out and find a way to squeeze the money they owed out of them. Basically, we enforced his will. Crooked as it might have been at times.”
His face was forlorn as he played with his food. Torie could see he was hurting and she toyed with the idea of telling him he didn’t have to continue. But she knew from experience that letting go of things that hurt could be cathartic.
“We never hurt anyone; at least not anyone that didn’t deserve it. The people that entered into deals with our boss were not upper echelon types. They were typically involved in shady doings of their own and would borrow money to feed their dark work.”
“So, what happened? Why did you leave?”
“We didn’t leave. We ran. The boss wanted us to do a job that involved applying pressure to a particularly nasty fellow by the name of Simms. The problem was, the only thing Simms cared about was his daughter. Putting pressure on him meant…well, it was a line we wouldn’t cross. There was a confrontation, and to make a long, gory story short, our boss ended up losing an eye. To Max’s claws. We went on the run after that. No one came for us, however; we left everything we had worked for behind, including everything we had gotten paid. Max assumed the money we forfeited had bought us our lives.
“That or the boss was actually too afraid of us to try anything. He was actually lucky that all Max took from him was his eye.”
Torie didn’t speak. She reached for a small pot of jam and spread it across her toast.
“So, you think your old boss sent the hunter after you?”
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t put it past him. He wouldn’t have been able to do the job himself…but a hunter? That levels the playing field in his mind. That’s serious muscle he was able to hire. It’s also a big flex for him.”
“What do you mean by a flex?”
“It increases his street credibility in the eyes of the other underworld bosses. Hunters are notoriously hard to employ. They operate by a very strict personal code related to their calling. They usually can’t be bought.”
“I guess everyone has a price,” Torie said quietly.
“Well, I don’t want you to worry about this. Like I said, Max and I will search her out and…we’ll reason with her.”
Torie wasn’t sure what his definition of ‘reason’ was, but she was pretty sure it didn’t match hers.
“How will you even find her? You said you could only track her so far in the woods and then her trail went cold.”
“We’ll find her. She has to be staying in town or close by.”
Torie didn’t respond, instead she sat there quietly, her eyes closed and back ramrod straight. To Elric, she seemed to be intent on hearing something far away. He tilted his head to the side, listening for whatever it might be that had captured her attention.
“What is it?” he asked.
Torie shook her head before opening her eyes and smiling at him. “I was just trying to see if I could hear your thoughts.”
He didn’t respond, but instead walked behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her, hugging her tight.
“What’s it like for you?” he asked. “I kind of miss the feel of you rummaging around in my head.”
She laughed. “You make it sound like I’m invading your space when you put it like that.”
“Oh, I never minded. It was comforting; knowing you were so close to me, even when we weren’t together.”
“And now it’s gone. Forever.”
“No,” he said. “That was one form of our connection. We will build new ones. Like last night. I have never felt closer to someone than I did to you.”
Torie sighed and gave his arm a squeeze. “It was nice. I’d almost forgotten just how nice it can be.”
She refused to dwell on anything other than what they had being a positive. She wasn’t going to ask him if he were sure that he could accept her as she was; normal. She was who she was at this point, and if it wasn’t good enough for anyone other than herself, then so be it.
“Hey, what about Jasmin’s sister? Didn’t you say that maybe she could help you?”
“Oh crap. What time is it?” she asked, glancing at the digital readout on the stove. “They’re coming over this morning. I need to get dressed.”
“You do that. I’m meeting Max in town.”
Torie hesitated before drawing away from his embrace. “Elric, will you do me one favor? Will you at least hold off on trying to find this hunter? At least until I’ve had a chance to work with Jasmin’s sister? I’d rather the two of you not go into this alone.”
He was silent as he held her, rocking gently back and forth.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll talk to Max and we’ll just do some recon. See if maybe we can pick up her trail anywhere in town, try to get a bead on where she may be staying. But we won’t confront her; not without backup. I’ll promise you that, if you’ll promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“If Jasmin and her sister can’t get your powers back, you sit this one out.”
Torie felt heat rising up her neck as she spun around to face him. “That’s not fair.”
“It absolutely is. You saw what this hunter could do. I don’t want you involved if you don’t have your magic for protection. If you can’t promise me that, then Max and I will go it alone after her.”
She was quiet as she contemplated his words. Of course he was right, and she mentally kicked herself for having to admit that. Over the past few months she had gotten used to magic. It had gone from being something scary and unknowable, to being a blessing. And not having it sucked because she had actually accomplished real good in her time in Singing Falls.
“Fine. I will sit this one out.”
“Good,” he replied, hugging her again, this time sniffing at her hair. “I want you safe.”
“Same here, Elric. I feel safest with you at my side. So don’t do anything stupid. And if Max wants to do something stupid…well that’s on him. There is no shame in running away and leaving him if you have to.”
But when Elric did it, she felt warm and happy. Of course, the fact that he followed it up with a proper kiss that brought a shiver to her spine didn’t hurt.
“I’ll check in with you later,” Elric said. He went into the bedroom to finish dressing, leaving Torie to finish her breakfast.
“Leave the dishes in the sink,” he said as he passed back through, heading for the door. “I’ll clean up later.”
Once he was out of the house, Torie hopped into the shower and dressed. She wasn’t sure what to expect with Jasmin’s sister, but it was all she could do to calm her nerves. Why had she had that extra cup of coffee? Her nerves were firing on all cylinders now.
She checked her watch just as there was a knock on the front door.
“Took you long enough,” she said, swinging it open.
The young woman standing on her front porch was most definitely not Jasmin or her sister.
“Well,” said the hunter, “I had to wait for your pet to leave. Mind if I come in?”
9
Torie stared at the young woman with the afro puffs, dressed in leather, with one hand casually draped across the hilt of her knife.
“I’m not a vampire,” said the hunter, “I really don’t need your permission to enter. But I like to think I have manners.”
Torie nodded cautiously and stepped aside. The woman walked in slowly, looking around the expansive living room she had just entered.
“Nice place. Large, but still feels lived in; almost homey.”
Torie closed the door behind her and walked over to the fireplace. Her mind was spinning, but she never took her eyes off the young woman, who flopped herself down onto the couch and lazily stretched her legs out, resting her feet on the coffee table.