Candace was standing there holding out a warm cup of coffee for me. "Sorry, Lady."
"No, you're not." I returned her grin, took the coffee, and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, Sweetie."
"Welcome."
"How come Josie let you out of the pit?"
"Lunch." She leaned against one of the metal shelves filled with cardboard boxes.
"Why aren't you eating?"
She shrugged.
"Everything okay?" I narrowed my eyes at her in suspicion.
"Now that we have some help, we can actually take breaks. But Josie doesn't think we should be away from the shop at the same time." So help me goddess, Candace pouted. My heart broke. I couldn't take the cute.
"And you're lonely?"
She nodded and huffed, the blast of air directed upward, blowing a few loose strands of her corn silk hair out of her eyes.
"You want to have lunch with me?" There was a moment of excitement, but then she eyed the chafing dishes full of Herb's finest with a bit of distaste. "Too much meat?"
She nodded.
"Want to go get a salad?"
"Can we?"
"Sure. Come on." I held out my hand and grabbed my jacket with the other.
She took my hand and we headed into the store, not stopping until we were out the front door. I eyed the diner. The last place in the state you wanted to go for a salad. Marge would probably flog you if you tried to order one and bring you a burger instead. In fact, I was at a loss. A fact that didn't go unnoticed by Candace.
"Come with me." She snickered and pulled me toward the central square.
As far as I knew, there wasn't any restaurants there, but the few times I'd actually set foot in the area, I'd been fighting demons or vampires and not looking for food. "Where are we going?"
"It's called Charlotte's."
It sounded like a place that would serve salads. "Never noticed it before."
"Most people don't. It's quiet. I like it." She grinned up at me.
We rounded the corner but stayed on the sidewalk instead of heading toward City Hall. Charlotte's Bistro was at the end. It was no wonder I'd never noticed it. You couldn't even see it unless you were standing in front of it. Candy opened the door and the warm rush of baking bread wafted over you like a warm and fuzzy blanket. "Holy shit."
Candace just nodded.
"Welcome to Charlotte's! Oh! Hey, Candace," a twenty-something or other walked out from behind the counter and hugged her. "Who's this?" She looked up at me after she pulled away.
"This is Lady." For some reason, Candace took a step back so Charlotte could get a better look at me.
"I've heard a lot about you." She didn't frown, but it was pretty damn close.
"You must be Charlotte?"
Candace snickered. "No. This is her daughter, Charlie."
I blinked in confusion. "Really?"
"Really," Charlie answered and held out her hand.
The moment my fingers touched hers, her human seeming melted away. Her round eyes elongated into a very familiar almond shape, and her ears stretched and tapered until they were almost even with the top of her head. Charlie was an elf. She noticed my surprise.
"Charlie is just short for Charlenthiel. Figured I should make it easy for the common folk."
"Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue." I didn't yank my hand away, but something inside me made me want to. Probably because Jaeren was such a prick.
"You have forsaken the light. Tis only natural," she answered as if she were reading my thoughts. Either that, or I was making an unpleasant face.
"I didn't forsake anything. The night is just more fun."
"And yet you walk in the company of the sun." She smiled down at Candace. Somebody had a little crush. I wondered how Josie felt about that… "Sit anywhere you'd like. The lunch rush is over." Since the small shop only had about ten tables, the lunch rush must have been spectacular, to say the least.
Charlie walked over to the counter and grabbed a couple of menus. Candace gave me an embarrassed, apologetic look and tugged my hand to the table closest to the door.
"What can I get you to drink?" Charlie put our menus down on the table and folded her hands in front of her.
"Water, please," Candace said almost too softly to hear.
"Do you have Coke?"
She frowned. "No. We have assorted teas and juices."
Luckily, our lunch date was about Candace and not me. "Tea?"
"Sweet, unsweet, peach, raspberry, dragon fruit, or boba?"
"Boba?"
"It's juice infused tapioca balls."
"I didn't know tapiocas had balls." I laughed at my joke. I was the only one. "Sweet. Please." I was definitely in the wrong restaurant. Marge would have at least chuckled.
"Be right back with your drinks." Charlie headed toward the back.
"I don't think she likes me very much…"
"You are the queen of the night and the master of the undead. Give her some time."
"She'll like me when she gets to know me?"
"Probably not. But she might learn to school her dislike."
"I can live with that." Picking up the menu, I frowned at the selections. Ninety-eight percent of it had kale in it. "What do you suggest?"
"They have a turkey burger."
"Does it have kale on it?"
"You can hold the kale."
"I'd prefer not to touch it." I found the turkey burger on the menu and frowned even more. I could only pronounce half of the toppings. "When in Rome."
"Do as the Romans?"
"Try not to get stabbed in the back."
Charlie returned and gave us our drinks. Candace ordered for us both, and Charlie didn't hesitate before heading back to the safety of the kitchen.
Sighing, I put my chin in my hand, leaned against the arm of the wicker-encrusted chair, and looked around. As much as I hated to admit it, the place was cute.
"You will like the food, Lady."
"As long as Charlie doesn't slip some elven poison in it, I'm sure it will be delicious." For the first time in my life, I fervently wished I had brought Jaeren with me. He was royalty. That might have put the snooty elf in her place. He might have been king of a different elfhame for all I knew, but still. Elves respected royalty. Even when they were pompous airbags.
"Light elves would never resort to poison, Lady."
"Too pure for that?"
"Magic is more efficient."
She wasn't making me feel any better. "I see why you like this place."
"Because?"
"It's light and airy. Cute. Just like you."
Candace blushed, almost putting her face behind her hands. I couldn't help but smile, and I relaxed a little. With the opening of the bookstore, she and Josie had been run ragged. I missed my little fey-blooded ball of sunshine.
"How are you and Josie doing? Getting excited about moving into your house?"
She nodded, very emphatically. I was almost worried about her head toppling off her neck.
"Getting sick of your old Aunt Dot already?"
She shook her head as equally as violent. But then she sighed and sipped her water. She seemed to be struggling to ask me something but finally blurted out, "Are you ever going to tell her?"
"Tell who?"
"Josie."
"Uhhh. Tell her what?"
She raised one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows at me. Maybe they were natural. It wasn't as if I'd ever seen Candace plucking them, but nothing could be that natural and perfect. It wouldn't have been fair to the rest of us. "The truth?"
"What truth?" An icy fist clamped around my heart.
Candace sighed, set her water down on the table in front of her, and leaned forward on her elbows. "I know."
"That…"
"She is your sibling."
"How did you find out?"
She smiled at me. "Since the moment I saw you in the same room as her. Your power is very similar, just in vastly different quantities."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because neither of you knew. I could tell that much, too. But then when you found out, I could feel it. It wasn't my place to say anything in front of Josie, but now that I have you alone… When are you going to tell her?"
"When that knowledge won't be a danger."
"You're fooling yourself."
Candace was shy and demure. Most of the time. When she had her moments of…clarity, she was almost scary in her conviction and sincerity. "About what?"
"That you think Josie is the reason why you haven't told her."
I forgot to mention that she was pretty fucking insightful, too. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Candace trailed her finger through the condensation on her glass and then rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger, thinking. "You're afraid that she will be upset."
"Of what?"
"Exactly."
I blinked in confusion.
"Do you honestly think the joy of finding out you are her sister would outweigh the shock?"
I sighed. "It's not the shock of it that I'm worried about. Josie… She's been my best friend forever. Since the day we were born. Our lives were vastly different."
"How?"
"You've met her mother?"
Candace shuddered. "But I have also met yours. I see problems with both."
"You hit the nail on the head. But my mother was the high priestess of the coven. Magic came easy to me. I had a super-hot boyfriend. There were many times that Josie and I drifted apart."
"Because she was jealous."
I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."
"I wasn't asking."
"Oh."
"And you think if she finds out you are siblings, she will be angry because you are so vastly different?"
"Yes."
"You both have one very important thing in common."
"What?"
"You both can be very stupid." She finished just as Charlie set our food in front of us and picked up our half-empty glasses for refills. She did snicker when she heard Candy call me stupid but left it at that.
I was shocked. Candace had called me stupid and I didn't think I'd ever been more proud of her.
She realized what she had said, blushed, and picked up her fork. She immediately started rummaging through the leaves and scooped out a candied almond. "Sorry, Lady."
"Don't you dare be. I am being stupid. My little Candace is growing up. Sniff."
She stuck her tongue out and put the candied nut in her mouth, groaning in pleasure.
"Good?"
She nodded and plucked another on out of her salad and put it on the plate next to my giblet burger. It looked about a thousand times more appetizing than the faux lunch on my plate, so I tried it and groaned a little, too.
"See?"
"Yeah, yeah. Salad good. Burger bad. Bad Dot."
She snickered.
"Kind of surprised, though."
"About what?"
"I never thought I'd see the day you put nuts in your mouth." I grinned at her, earning myself an eyeroll.
"So, are you going to tell her?"
"Fine. Yes."
"When?"
"At your wedding. How's that?"
A tear actually slid from the corner of her eye and she nodded even harder than before, smiling as she nimbly bit the leafy greens from her fork.
Charlie set our glasses on the table and blinked as a thundering boom echoed in time with the contact. She even picked them up and looked at the bottom of the glasses. "What was that?"
Candace pointed outside.
Charlie turned, gasped, and backed toward the register.
"Relax. I think they're here for me," I said and stood, frowning at the winged angel through the glass.
It stared back at me, not moving from the rippled grass where it landed at the edge of the park. From its back, it unsheathed a silver sword that erupted in yellow flame as it was exposed to the sunlight. Pointing the tip of the blade in my direction, its maw opened, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Something told me it wasn't there for the turkey burger.
"What does an angel of light want with you?" Charlie's voice quivered in fear.
"Beat's the hell out of me. I haven't seen one in a month. Thought they gave up trying to drag me to Hell."
I could feel her 'I told you so' stare at Candace.
"Do not go out there, Lady."
"If I don't. It will come in." I headed for the door, practically dragging Candace with me as she tugged on my shirt, frantically trying to keep me inside.
"Please."
"Stay here, Candy." I looked at Charlie over my shoulder and nodded toward Candace. When the elf's arms were around her, I opened the door and stepped outside. Only when the door clicked behind me did I started walking toward the very un-angelic looking angel. How anyone who had ever seen one could mistake them for creatures of good, I would never know. They were the stuff of nightmares, with pretty wings. "What can I do for you?"
"You have shattered the natural order and are an obscenity."
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not pregnant."
It tilted its head in confusion. They were bright on the outside just not in the head. "You have accumulated the powers of a god."
"I had the powers of a god. The god you dragged kicking and screaming into Tartarus. So?"
"It was decreed eons ago that there shall be no new gods."
"You know you guys should really advertise this stuff. How the hell was I supposed to know? Don't get a mortal preggers. Don't become a god. I swear, you guys make this shit up as you go along."
It closed the distance between us and brough the sword down in an arc that nearly sliced me in half. Under the bright, midday sun, I was practically powerless, but I was still a witch. My shadows couldn't help me. The only vampire at my disposal was Yuki. Ellis could function in daylight, but he probably didn't even know I was in danger. Dar, on the other hand, was already running from the store. I could feel him. Yuki wasn't far behind him. Either way, I'd most likely be dead before they got there. I barely managed to dodge the sword as it sliced into the concrete beside me.
I almost laughed. It had barely missed, but the blade was embedded in the ground. Just as I thought there was an opening, I launched a bolt of fire but nearly got cleaved in half as it swung its sword sideways, flinging chunks of concrete behind its blade.
Luckily, my vampiric speed kicked in and my body bent like a reed in the wind, the flaming trails close enough to my face that I wouldn't need to bleach anything for a few weeks. At my awkward angle, I didn't have a chance in hell of blocking the fist that bashed me in the midriff.
Every ounce of air in my lungs exploded as I gasped for breath and instinctively rolled away. Yuki shot over me like a cruise missile and blew the thing back long enough for me to catch my breath and un-collapse my lungs.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah." I managed to wheeze as Dar helped me off the cold concrete.
"We need to get it away from the center of town." He lifted his head and frowned over my shoulder.
Turning, I saw why. Yuki wasn't holding her own. It was faster than she was, a far cry from the other angelic beings I'd fought in the past. "What the hell?"
"It is an arch angel," he answered.
"That's bad?"
"Very." He nodded without tearing his eyes from the battle behind us.
"Can we beat it?"
"I doubt it. Maybe."
A chair flew through the window of the bistro and Candace hopped down onto the concrete in front of us, Charlie screaming her name from inside. Candace gave me a once over, to make sure I was okay, and then turned to face the angel. I was getting ready to scoop her up and run away when she bent at the waist and unleashed a blood curdling scream at the arch angel.
Ignoring Yuki, it turned its head and the searing hatred in its eyes ebbed, just as my vampire sliced through its robes with sharpened nails, spilling silvery blood in
a spray across the street. It frowned at the wound and kicked Yuki in the chest, launching her at the brick wall beside the bistro window. Concrete and bone crunched as she slid down the wall and landed in a heap on the sidewalk.
The angel turned to Candace, took a cautious step forward and stopped. Uncertainty held it in place for a moment until it finally spread its wings and launched itself into the sky.
Dar and I stared as Candy straightened herself, paused a moment before turning around and giving us a sad look before collapsing not far from Yuki.
"What the hell just happened?" I started walking toward them.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say it was…afraid?"
"No. It couldn't have been," I answered certainly. Candace was many things. Frightening wasn't one of them.
Chapter 17
"You know, I'm going to have to start sending the public works bills to you if you don't stop destroying the center of town." Sherry, Jimmy's cousin and Mayor of Cedar Falls, ran her foot over the hole from the angel's sword and grimaced at the Yuki sized dent in the concrete wall.
"Well, I'll come by tonight, when nobody is around, and fix it all up." I wiggled my fingers in the air.
"An angel. Came down from heaven. With a flaming fucking sword. And proceed to bat the three of you around like a cat with a mouse. You're going to tell me you're worried about you performing magical street repairs?" She eyed me incredulously.
"Good point." I slammed my hand on the ground and canted, "A bheith mar a bhí tú." The concrete rippled and reformed, fully unscathed as the magic traveled up the wall of the bistro, filling in the cracks and healing the brick.
"Okay. That was fucking cool." Sherry stared in open amazement.
I turned and saw at least ten people milling around to watch the show. They shook their heads and carried on with their activities, pretending not to notice the magical road and building repairs. One little girl, about five or six, wasn't old enough to pretend not to stare and grinned at me from across the street, waving. I couldn't help but chuckle as I waved back.
"Looks like you have a fan." Sherry stifled a giggle behind her hand.
"Don't make fun. She's my first one."
Seventh Seal: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 7) Page 15