“He doesn’t know about me.”
“Lee does have a point,” Raj said.
A triumphant smile spread across Lee’s lips. “So, it’s agreed. I’ll go see Adrian first thing tomorrow.”
Chapter Sixteen
Of course, it hadn’t been as simple as that. As though Raj would stand by idly while either Gray or Lee went in to face Adrian. Gray had been every bit as insistent as Raj in accompanying Lee on her mission to locate Adrian and get blood out of him. Gray had to admit she was relieved she wasn’t going into this alone. The sight of Adrian’s initials carved into her flesh still gave her the shudders. Still, Lee was stealing her thunder by insisting she be the one to go inside and scope things out.
The sign was missing outside his shop.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Raj said for the third time since Lee had unlocked the door of the shop, given them a thumbs-up, and disappeared inside Hedrick’s lair.
They were parked across the street as though on stakeout. So far that morning, Gray felt like she hadn’t done anything useful. Raj had been the one to slip the sleeping salts under Mr. Morehouse’s nose earlier that morning while he was still under the influence of human sleep. From there, they’d gone to the Daily Grind to work out a plan in which Lee showed up seeking Hedrick the Healer to put a hex on a made-up enemy.
Gray had suggested the enemy not be made up at all. She had two specific candidates in mind; hopefully, Lee would have a change of heart at the last second and use one of them.
The most successful hexes involved symbols painted using the blood of a warlock upon the caster’s face. These marks could be carefully scraped off Lee’s face once they’d dried and then deposited into the vials like crimson-colored dust.
“Do you think he’ll really go for this?” Gray asked.
Raj tapped out a tune on the steering wheel. “Adrian would do just about anything for the right price… and a pretty face.” Raj stopped tapping. “Maybe I should go in and check on Lee.”
“If you go in now, it will ruin everything.”
If they were lucky, Adrian would go for it. If he became suspicious and refused, they’d return and do things Holloway style.
Gray really hoped he took the bait.
“This was a bad plan.” Raj pressed his nose to the glass of the driver’s window. “What if he doesn’t go along with it?”
Gray tried not to huff. “Then we’ll do things the hard way.”
“Wait a minute,” Raj said, lifting his hand. “There she is.”
They watched Lee cross the road. The frown said everything. She ducked down and climbed into the backseat of the car. Gray and Raj looked back at her. Lee let out a breath. “He wasn’t there. It doesn’t look as though anyone’s been in there since he left town.”
Raj turned forward and stroked his chin. “I don’t understand. This street appeared in the water.”
Lee twisted her lips.
Gray looked out her window and suddenly laughed. “That sneaky son of a gun.”
“What?” Raj and Lee asked simultaneously.
Gray nodded sideways. “He’s gone and opened a new business.”
And there they were: letters etched across a glass window. Montez’s Magic Shoppe. Gray was grinning. They’d pulled right up to Adrian’s new whereabouts without even realizing it.
Gray opened her car door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Raj called out.
Gray shrugged. “Inside.”
“That’s not the plan.”
“Well, neither was the magic shop. It’s time to improvise.”
“Let me scout it out first,” Lee said, opening her door.
“Fine,” Gray said, just before turning invisible. “But I’m coming with you.”
Raj moved for his door.
“Raj, please,” Lee said. “You’ll only ruin the element of surprise.”
His jaw tightened, but he nodded.
Gray and Lee paused on the sidewalk. On one side of the shop, a large piece of plywood had been fitted over the window. Gray quirked a brow. “Looks like Adrian’s found himself a bit of trouble already.”
“Nervous?” Lee asked as they approached the door.
“No,” Gray said as her heart rate picked up speed. “You?”
Lee lifted her chin. “As far as Adrian knows, I’m a browsing customer.” She pushed the door open. A bell tinkled overhead.
Gray saw Lee look up at it at the same time she did. Stupid bell. Gray did a quick scan of the store, but they were his only customers so early in the morning. Just how many people bought magic tricks and gag gifts anyway?
Lee had started down the far left of the shop, so Gray took the right. There was no one behind the checkout stand in back. In fact, there was no one around at all. While Lee got into her role of customer—handling the products on her side of the store—Gray kept watch.
A moment later, Adrian appeared from the back, a big grin on his face. Seeing him reassured Gray. It was like Holloway—far better to confront your fears face-to-face.
Lee hadn’t noticed yet. She was pulling something off a peg across the shop. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lee said aloud.
Adrian’s smile fell when he saw her. In fact, he stopped dead in his tracks. Gray’s heart began racing.
When Lee noticed him staring, she dropped the item she was holding. It plopped to the ground.
“What are you doing here?” Adrian demanded.
“Excuse me?” Lee looked around the shop. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, are you not open yet? The front door was unlocked.”
With those words, Adrian relaxed as well. “Forgive me,” he said, shoulders sagging. “I thought you were someone else.”
Lee squatted down to retrieve the item she’d dropped. Dummy, she never saw Adrian move in beside her. Lee dropped it again when she noticed Adrian was a foot away. “Uh, hi.”
“So tell me, young lady, how did you hear about my shop?”
At least Lee was quick with her reply. “I noticed it as I was driving by. My dad’s turning fifty next month. What do you get the man who has it all, right?” She chuckled.
Adrian laughed with her. It gave Gray the creeps.
“What about your boyfriend?” Adrian asked. “I assure you that men of all ages enjoy a good gag.”
Lee shot Adrian a classic Stacey Morehouse look of contempt. “I’m really just looking for my dad, thanks.”
Adrian bent down and retrieved the item Lee had dropped. Gray couldn’t see what it was, but when he held it out to Lee she blushed. For a moment, Adrian grinned like a schoolboy. “Well, when it comes to men of fifty years, you can never go wrong with a whoopee cushion.”
Gray had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing. Lee, however, looked as though she had just been grossly insulted. She snatched the whoopee cushion from Adrian and dropped it on a nearby shelf. When she was angry, Stacey Morehouse had always looked taller. Gray wondered if a body retained natural reflexes even when occupied by another soul.
The boyish grin disappeared off Adrian’s face as Lee loomed over him, sparks practically shooting from her irises—which was possible if a witch was angry enough. “My father is one of the most respected attorneys in the country. He would never use something as ridiculous as a whoopee cushion.”
Gray’s jaw dropped. It was like hearing Stacey Morehouse speak from the great beyond.
Adrian’s lip quirked. “Tell me, does this father of yours know you’re a witch?” His smile broadened at the shock written across Lee’s face. Adrian chuckled and moved away from Lee.
“Where are you going?” Lee demanded.
“Either buy something or leave. I’m a busy man.”
Lee looked around the room and snorted. “Clearly.” Her eyes narrowed on Adrian as he moved further away. “How did you know I was a witch? Hey, I’m not finished talking to you.”
“Look, I’m flattered,” Adrian said, tossing a glance over his shoul
der as he made his way to the back of the shop. “But you’re not my type.”
“Excuse me!” Lee started following him, which meant Gray had to follow Lee.
Time to go, she was thinking. She had ignored the voice at Gathering. She wasn’t making the same mistake twice. Gray caught up to Lee and tugged at her arm, but Lee yanked it from her grasp and took one of her giant steps forward.
“I don’t know who you think you are, Adrian, but I have zero interest in you. And to answer your earlier question—yes, I do have a boyfriend!”
Adrian whipped around, grinning. “Adrian? Have we met before?”
Lee, realizing her mistake, attempted to shrug. “I’ve heard of you.”
Adrian grabbed her arm so quickly, Lee had no time to react, but Gray did. She snatched Lee’s other arm as Adrian snarled, “From whom?” His expression changed when Lee was yanked away from him, but Gray hadn’t pulled hard enough to free Lee fully from his grasp. Adrian’s grip tightened and they played tug-of-war for several seconds. “Who’s with you?” Adrian demanded.
Gray leaned backwards, pulling Lee with her.
“Show yourself,” Adrian said. “SHOW YOURSELF.”
Yeah, right, freak. Gray pulled Lee out of Adrian’s grasp while he was shouting and pushed her forward toward the door. The girls made a run for it, but Gray, being behind, felt fingers grasp at her blouse and pull her back. She screamed when a second hand dove down the front of her shirt.
Adrian screamed and retracted his hand. Blood trailed down his arm where Gray had bitten him. Gray looked at the blood wistfully, but it was time to make her escape. The bell above the door had already signaled Lee’s departure.
She never expected Adrian to make such a quick recovery. He lurched forward and got hold of her—sight unseen—threw her to the ground, and straddled her from above. She felt him grope around for her arms and pin them above her head. At least he couldn’t see the terror on her face. She tried to squirm and kick him, but he had her pinned down between his thighs.
“Who do we have here?” Adrian said. His breath emerged hot and heavy over Gray’s face. “Feels like a woman.” He leaned down. “Smells like a woman. Does she taste like a… ah… ack!” Adrian’s hands shot up to his head and he began madly scratching his scalp.
Maybe not as impressive as being able to fling someone halfway across the room using their mind, but the itchy spell still came in handy.
Gray turned over on her stomach and attempted to crawl free of Adrian’s arched body above hers. He grabbed hold of her ankle. “Well, hello, Gray.”
Gray stilled. If she answered he’d know it was her for sure, but her stillness was just as telling. Gray kicked back at Adrian. He dropped her ankle and she scrambled to her feet.
The sight of Adrian standing between her and the door caused her to stumble. How did he get up so quickly? She caught herself.
Adrian took a step in her direction. “Wondering how I know it’s you, Gray? You have control of your powers—thanks to my blood. It’s in you, Gray… I’m in you.”
When he looked her way, Gray almost imagined she felt him coursing through her veins. She shuddered. If she backtracked and worked her way along the far aisle, she could make it to the door without having to brush past Adrian.
He folded his arms across his chest. “I never took you for a coward, Gray.”
“Coward?” Gray spit back.
“Hiding yourself from me this way.” Adrian leaned against a shelf. “It’s very ungracious of you, considering I saved your life.”
Gray filled herself in a flurry and glared at Adrian. “I saved my own life! That girl that was just in here—that was me! She managed a body transfer all on her own, no thanks to you! I don’t know what I am. A mistake!” She swung her arm around the room. “A joke like one of the gags inside your shop.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “You are not a mistake.”
“Then what am I? What are these?” Gray held her palms open. She looked into Adrian’s eyes accusingly. “You carved into my flesh.” Her voice cracked. She covered it with a strangled breath.
Adrian’s nose twitched side to side. “I carved into your sister’s flesh—a necessary part of the spell I cast over her.”
“And where exactly is Charlene at the moment?”
Adrian shrugged. “Extracted.”
Gray’s mouth flew open. “You killed my sister!”
“I didn’t kill your sister. The spell extracted her. It’s up to her to find a body. You managed.” Adrian inclined his head toward the front door Lee had exited.
Oh, god. Gray could only stare, eyes widening, at Adrian. “So Charlene’s soul is floating around France?”
“There are worse places to be adrift, if you catch my meaning. I quite like France. They still appreciate an old-fashioned magic show in the City of Light.”
Gray blinked several times before looking once more at Adrian. The amusement on his face was enough to clear her head. Jaw set and chest raised, Gray narrowed in on him. “Then perhaps you’d be better off in Europe rather than causing havoc in Kent.”
Adrian laughed. “Oh, but my performing days are long over. Now I am a spectator in this most amusing show.”
“You aren’t just messing with the lives of council members, Adrian, you’re disrupting lives—worse, you’re endangering them.”
“And who is it that you’re so concerned about? Raj?” Adrian sneered.
The bell tinkled as the door flew open. Adrian turned his head. “Speak of the devil… long time no see, Raj, my boy.”
Raj’s hands tightened to fists. A thrill ran up Gray’s spine. Then, Lee walked in behind him and posed by his side. Just great: dream team to the rescue.
Gray’s lips weren’t the only ones curling back. She caught Adrian’s quick perusal of Lee. A grin overtook his face. “I see you traded up a model.”
Lee shot Adrian a look packed with loathing.
Raj stepped forward. “It’s time for you to leave town, Adrian.”
“Really?” Adrian cocked his head to one side. “Well, if you say so, Raj.” His laughter ended so abruptly, only Lee had time to react as he pointed a finger at Raj. She leapt in front of him. An unseen force hit her, and a second later, she crashed into a display of wands and hats.
Adrian grabbed Gray by the arm and dragged her to where Lee had fallen. He took them each by the arm. “What do you say, Raj? One for me, one for you? Or perhaps I should keep both.”
Gray fought to free herself from his grasp. “As though you could have either of us.”
“Let me go!” Lee screamed.
Raj bared his teeth and opened his mouth, but no sound emerged. His eyes flashed and he took a step forward, then froze.
“Oh, look,” Adrian said gleefully. “It’s the statue of Raj.”
“Unfreeze him!” Lee cried.
“I don’t think so.” Adrian groaned a second later when Lee stomped on his foot.
His grip loosened enough for Gray to break away. As soon as she was out of his grasp, Gray turned invisible. While Adrian’s grasp on Gray had faltered, it must have crushed around Lee’s arm. She whimpered.
“I had planned to let you keep this,” Adrian said, diving down Lee’s shirt and pulling out the nazar. The chain snapped when he yanked it from Lee’s neck. Her eyes widened as Adrian pitched it to the ground. It smacked the floor, but didn’t break.
Gray snorted and then rammed Adrian in the gut with her elbow while he looked down at the nazar, dumbfounded. Upon impact, he grunted and released Lee. She stumbled and then hurried over to Raj, whose facial features were frozen in a look of dismay.
After straightening out, Adrian laughed. “You’re not playing fair, Gray.”
She wasn’t playing fair? Was he kidding?
“Tell me why you’re in my shop.”
Gray hoisted herself onto Adrian’s checkout stand before appearing, legs crossed. “I needed a deck of trick cards. I seem to have misplaced mine.” She smiled sweetl
y.
Adrian folded his arms across his chest. “Ha, ha. Let’s hear the real reason.”
Gray had to fight back a laugh. The real reason? To extract Adrian’s blood so he could never perform magic again. Sure, that would go over about as well as a rainstorm on the Fourth of July.
“You know why I’m here,” Gray said. “I’m asking you to remove the spell you’ve cast over Kent.”
Adrian grinned back. “Sorry, can’t.”
Gray’s eyes narrowed. “Can’t or won’t?”
Adrian smiled in answer.
“That’s it!” Lee said, turning from Raj’s frozen body and storming to the back of the store. “Enough banter. If you don’t unfreeze Raj right now, I’m going to make you rue the day you were born.”
Adrian frowned. “Too late for that.”
Lee stopped several feet in front of him and glanced sideways. “Okay, how much fun would it be if I—” Lee stopped midsentence, grabbed hold of a shelf unit, and pulled it forward. Unlike the nazar, the crystal balls that slid off the shelves shattered as they hit the floor.
Adrian looked at Lee in shock.
“—tear your store apart piece by piece,” Lee finished. She walked over to a display of wizard figurines and swept her hand across the shelf, sending them to crack apart on the floor like eggshells.
Angry creases appeared over Adrian’s face. Gray jumped off the counter and grabbed him by both arms before he could do something horrible—like murder Lee. She wasn’t strong enough to hold him, but it distracted him momentarily. As Lee started toward the next shelf, her body began to lift until she floated to the ceiling of the shop. She flailed around in the air.
Adrian’s skin felt thick and warm against Gray’s tightening grasp. He did nothing to stop her from squeezing him. Gray released him suddenly and took a step back.
“Just you and me now,” Adrian said.
Gray glanced at Lee pushing herself away from the ceiling only to float back up. Beyond her, Raj remained frozen in place.
As soon as Gray took a second step back, a display case skidded into the empty spot between her and Adrian, scratching the floor as Gray pulled it into place. Although hand action wasn’t necessary, Gray swept both palms dramatically across her body. Another display case rammed against the first. A table slammed into the barricade she’d created.
Duplicity (Spellbound #2) Page 10