“He’s always had someone on the inside of my club. I knew about it, and I let it go. It was useful for a time. He must have used his mole to turn my men against me.”
I knew about the mole in his club too. It was something I couldn’t immediately dismiss as a lie.
“What do you mean you reached out to me?” I asked.
“You don’t hang around witches as much as I have throughout the centuries without learning a thing or two. Vampires have always had a special relationship with mirrors. Not a good one, but with the right inversion spell, you could turn that on its head. They left me locked in a room with a mirror. No one was aware that I could use it to reach out, but I’m no witch. I did the best I could. At first I could only appear to where you could see me, and you were so scared. I’m sorry for that. But then, I got stronger and I could actually reach out. More with my emotions than physically, but it did the trick. You set me free.”
The thing I’d seen in the mirror. The tentacles that reached out to me. The sadness and rage I’d felt. It had been Azriel all along.
“How? How did me smashing a mirror set you free?”
“You opened a portal for the briefest moment. It was the culmination of the spell. You let me out, and I got here as fast as I could. Of course, my men and that sheriff were pursuing me, but I got away. I got back here to you. You have to get me out of here before they ship me off and convict me on false charges.”
“No,” I said and shook my head. “No, it’s not true.”
“It is, my love,” Azriel said. “And I’m not using any powers on you. What you feel, it’s because you’ve opened yourself up to me again. Some part of you believes me.”
“This is all as fake as that ring you gave me for our fake marriage,” I spat.
“I admit the ring was fake. I bought it at a department store, and tried to pass it off. I’m sorry about that. I should have just told you that I bought it because I wanted to marry you as soon as possible. Again, I’m so sorry, my love. I’ll get you a better ring. I should have trusted you to not care. You’re not the kind of woman who cares about things like that,” he said.
Suddenly, I found myself hiding the ring Thorn had given me. I put my clenched fists behind my back.
“I’m not, but you lied about it,” I defended myself.
“I want to be with you, Kinsley. I need you, and I need you to know how hard I fought to get back you.”
I felt myself getting ready to take a step towards him. It was as if my body was acting on its own again, but something was niggling at the back of my mind. Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but then she kicked me.
In all that conversation, not once had Azriel mentioned the baby. “I need to go,” I said. “I need to think.”
“They are getting ready to take me away,” he pleaded. “Kinsley, please. Whatever wrongs I’ve done to you, I’ll make it up. I’ll spend my life making it right.”
“I need some air,” I said.
I had half a mind to tell him about the baby. I wanted to throw it in his face. I wanted to ask him if we were really connected, and he wasn’t just using tricks on me, how could he not sense the baby? But something stopped me. Something told me not to tell him. If what he was saying was true, it was something we could talk about later, but it felt wrong to tell him now.
I turned and practically ran back to the door for Jeremy to let me out. Azriel called after me, but I ignored him. When Jeremy opened the door, he asked me what was wrong, but I ran past him too.
“I just need some air,” I called back over my shoulder. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”
But I wasn’t fine. I didn’t want to talk to anybody about it, though. The thing about needing air wasn’t really a lie. I was overwhelmed.
When I got to the waiting area, there was a young woman sitting there. She had curly blonde hair and huge brown eyes that were rimmed with red like she’d been crying all night.
Jeremy must have been right behind me because as I walked to the door, I heard him say, “Pepper,” and the woman stood up.
“Hi,” she said to me nervously and then looked down at her feet. “Coming,” she said to Jeremy.
I wondered what it was all about. My curiosity kicked in and almost made me forget that I was fleeing.
Almost.
I pushed through the door and instantly felt a little better when the chilly air hit my face. It wasn’t cold enough to be painful, but it did make me keenly aware that tears were streaming down both sides of my face. The dam had finally burst.
I took out my phone and desperately tried to call Thorn again, but I got no answer. “I hate him,” I whispered, but I didn’t. Maybe I wasn’t even talking about Thorn. It was all becoming a big blur.
“We should go home,” Meri whispered from inside my bag. “You need some rest. This isn’t good for you.”
I let out a strangled laugh, but he was right. People were starting to look at me too. “Okay, let’s go home.”
Chapter Three
Word must have gotten out that I was acting hysterical outside of the sheriff’s station because twenty minutes after I got home, my Dad showed up. He pretended like he didn’t know, but I knew he knew.
“Dad, I’m okay,” I said when I opened the door.
“That’s great, honey,” he said as if I wasn’t red-eyed with a face covered in snot from ugly crying. “I’m here to see if I can find an old Santa costume I left in storage. Is it okay if I have a look around?”
I wanted to tell him no because I didn’t want him around while I was ugly crying, but I didn’t want him to leave either. Just having him there was a comfort, and I needed all of that I could get.
“Sure, come in,” I said and stepped back so he could. “Do you want some tea or hot chocolate?” I offered.
“You sit down, sweetie. I’ll make us both some hot chocolate,” he said.
“Okay, but I don’t want to talk,” I said.
“Don’t worry about that. I’m not here for chatting. I have to find that Santa suit.”
“Right, Dad. Okay. Do you need my help?” I asked.
“I’ll let you know if I do, sweetie. I’m just going to poke around the basement and maybe the spare bedrooms,” he said. “I played Santa once for the town a few years ago. The guy who normally did it came down with the flu, so I stepped in. It was kind of fun. I didn’t have to do it again, though, so we stored the costume.”
“Why are you doing it now?” I asked, but given the look on his face when I did, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know.
“He died.”
Nope. I didn’t really want to know.
“Oh,” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“It’s okay. He was really old and he went out with a smile on his face.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Dad answered.
“We’ll just leave it at that then,” I said.
“Yep. Okay,” Dad said and rubbed his hands together, “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
He was downstairs for about five minutes when I got too curious to sit there and wait for him any longer.
“Have you heard from Thorn?” he asked when I approached. Dad was going through a box of old clothing, and he didn’t look up at me.
“I thought we didn’t have to talk,” I said, but the question didn’t sting as much as I’d expected.
“You don’t have to answer,” Dad said as he put the lid back on a box.
I waited until he was done opening the next one. “I haven’t. I went to the sheriff’s station, and apparently, he’s taken a few days off. Jeremy didn’t know where he was, though.”
“He might have already had a few days off planned for your honeymoon,” Dad offered as he pulled a red suit out of the box he was searching.
“We didn’t plan a honeymoon yet,” I said. “We were still trying to work that out.”
“Just because he didn’t p
lan it with you didn’t mean he wasn’t going to surprise you,” Dad said.
“Great, so he’s probably off on some tropical island without me,” I lamented.
“I doubt that,” Dad said.
“I did visit with Azriel while I was there looking for Thorn,” I admitted.
“Oh?” Dad sort of half choked out.
“Yeah,” I said, but I immediately wished I hadn’t said anything.
“And?” He obviously wanted more information, and I knew that if I told him to forget it, he’d just worry.
So, I told him everything Azriel said. While I talked, he found the rest of the costume and put it into a bag.
“What do you think?” I asked when I’d finished the story.
“Honey, I’m not really sure what to think of that,” he said.
“Do you think he’s lying?” I asked.
He appeared to think about it for a few seconds. The fact that he didn’t immediately say that Azriel had to be lying made my stomach do a flip-flop. I felt the color drain from my face, and my father’s expression suddenly turned stricken and apologetic.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to worry you,” he said. “I don’t want to believe anything like that about Thorn. I had hoped he would prove he wasn’t anything like the man we suspect is his biological father…”
“But you think that he could be,” I said. “You think he could be a psychopath, and what Azriel said he did would make perfect sense.”
“I don’t want to jump to that conclusion either, but you’re my daughter. You’re also carrying my grandchild. I have to be careful what I say before I make any pronouncements that might lead you to put yourself in danger,” Dad said.
That made me sigh. “The men in my life are always worried about me putting myself in danger. Well, you and Thorn anyway. Dorian seems to encourage it, so there’s that.”
“I have to worry about you because you’re my kid,” Dad protested. “I know you’re more than capable of handling yourself, but maybe I’m not just talking about physical danger. I have to worry about your heart too. One of those men is dangerous to your emotional and mental well-being, Kinsley. I don’t want to push you into that man’s arms.”
“I understand,” I said. “I just wish I knew what to do.”
“I’m not saying it’s what you should do, but you know that if you decide to raise the baby alone, your mother and I would be there for you every step of the way,” Dad said.
“I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. “I had never considered that, Dad. I mean… I appreciate the reassurance. I really do, but that’s not how I want to raise my baby. I want her to have a family. A complete family. It’s what I had, and I want it for her too.”
“I understand,” Dad said and offered me a soft smile. “Just know that if push comes to shove, we’re here for you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “But, I know he’s going to come through for me. I can feel it in my gut.”
“Who?” Dad asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You said he would come through for you, but you didn’t say who he was. Which of them are you talking about, sweetie? Who was in your head when you said that?” Dad asked.
“Thorn,” I said without hesitation.
“You and your mother have an unrivaled intuition, Kinsley. The only times I’ve seen you get in real trouble is when you ignore it,” he said.
“Are you saying I should trust Thorn and ignore Azriel?” I asked.
“I’m saying there’s a little voice inside you that will guide you if you let it,” Dad said. “I’m also saying I’d really love some pancakes. Would you accompany an old man to breakfast?”
“Sure, Dad. I’d love that,” I said.
“First we’ll stop at the Santa house and drop this old thing off. I don’t really want to wear it when I’m on my way to and from playing Santa.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said. “You think they’ve got it set up already?”
“Oh, yeah, they’ve been working all morning. They’ve got the entire square done up for Christmas and Yule. Lights, holly, and tons of garland,” Dad said.
“I can’t believe we start Christmas in November now,” I said.
Dad just chuckled.
He was right. I couldn’t believe how fast they had flipped the square from Halloween to a little Christmas village. It was almost enough to make me less grumpy about how fast we’d sped into the Christmas season.
Almost.
Of course, it wasn’t cold enough for there to be any snow yet. Warmer temperatures often popped in for a visit during November and December in our region, and that year was no exception. Tourists had made a return due to the lovely weather, and they were milling around taking pictures of the Santa house and all the additional holiday trimmings.
Viv had put a sign in the window at the Brew Station that peppermint mochas were the new special. “Goodbye, pumpkin spice,” I mumbled.
“You’re hilarious,” Dad said as he got out of the car. “You don’t like pumpkin spice anyway.”
“I don’t, but I do like Thanksgiving. What did Thanksgiving ever do to deserve to be forgotten?” I asked. “What about a Turkey Trot? Huh? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Maybe you should organize one for next year,” Dad said. “You could rally the community to bring back Thanksgiving. Think of all the giant paper turkeys you could hang in the square.”
“Maybe I will,” I said and stuck my tongue out at him.
“For now, why don’t you go over and get us a couple of those peppermint lattes? I know you’re into protesting early Christmas, but you do like them, right?”
“I do,” I admitted. “Do you want the peppermint latte or a peppermint mocha?”
“Mocha and an extra pump of chocolate,” Dad said. “I’m going to run this costume into the Santa house, and I’ll meet you back at the car.”
“Deal,” I said.
I got out of the car and grabbed my bag. Meri wiggled a little inside, but he was no doubt excited about the bacon he knew was coming his way.
There was a bit of a line at Viv’s but when I got up to the counter, the place had cleared out some. The morning rush was ending, and the tourists who were getting coffee and pastries were taking them outside to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.
I watched a few of them strolling around while they chatted over croissants and lattes. “Good morning, Kinsley!” Viv said a bit too cheerfully. It was obvious she was trying too hard to cheer me up, but I loved her for it. “What can I get for you?”
“Two large peppermint mochas with an extra pump of chocolate, and bacon for Meri,” I said.
“Do you want anything to eat?” she asked.
I looked over at the board to see what the breakfast special was for the day. There were two. One was a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant with Viv’s secret sauce, and the other was a sausage, egg, and cheese pancake sandwich. Kinda like the ones you got at the fast food place, but better. I wasn’t sure if Dad wanted anything from Viv’s. He’d said we were going out to breakfast, but I figured we could eat out in the sunshine like lots of other people were doing.
“Two of the pancake sandwiches and two orders of hash browns,” I said. “To go, but we might come back and eat here depending on what my Dad wants to do.”
“Coming right up,” Viv said. “Good to see you’ve got an appetite. How are you doing?”
The way she asked the question sounded as though Viv thought she needed to walk on eggshells around me. I had to figure out what was going on with Thorn soon, because if people kept tiptoeing around me like they were at a funeral, I was going to cry.
“I’m doing well,” I said. “I think things are going to work out fine, so please don’t worry about me.”
“I can’t help it,” Viv said.
“I know, but I promise I’m okay,” I said and took a sip of the peppermint mocha she slid across the counter to me. “This is good. I guess I’m glad that you’ll be having thes
e as the special for a while.”
“You can get one any time,” Viv said. “Please come in any time you need some company, and you know you’re welcome at my house too. Just call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” I said. “Thank you so much.”
After I got the rest of my order, I headed out of the coffee shop. As soon as I crossed the street, I saw my Dad standing in front of the Santa house. He looked incredibly pale, and even from a distance, it seemed like he was shaking.
Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) Page 3