Hexed and Vexed

by Rebecca Royce

  “Okay, I’ll take you to her. Johanna.”

  The pain stopped. “I’m still going to kill you. You could simply tell me right now and be done with it.”

  “I have to see if I can escape.” Maybe… if what she was thinking she could do worked, then she maybe she actually could.

  He snorted. “You can’t. But if you do as you say you will, I’ll just stop your heart. No pain. No nonsense.”

  She didn’t have anything to say to that, and given that her whole body vibrated, pressed to the wall, all she could do was direct him where she hoped she could get help. “There’s an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town.”

  * * *

  Howard pulled her along through the air, and she vomited on herself. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was because of the rapid speed that he flew, because she was terrified, or due to what he had done for a few seconds to her head. It didn’t matter. She puked, and he snarled at her.

  But they did arrive at Lawson’s warehouse. They walked inside, Howard dragging her behind him, his nails digging into her wrist. She dragged behind him like she didn’t want to go when all she wanted to do was run inside screaming. Ava wouldn’t lead him to Lawson’s home. She wouldn’t go through the portal. Lawson had said no one could get into his place who he didn’t want but she didn’t know how sure that was. Howard was scary and powerful. He’d escaped a place meant to hold him. He could probably get in anywhere he wanted.

  No, what she needed was for Lawson to get signaled they were there, for him to hear what was happening. Hopefully, he wasn’t so deeply asleep that he missed the whole thing.

  This was the most she could try.

  They walked through the door, and he shivered. “What is this place? Why do I want to leave it so strongly?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t have any powers, Henry Howard.” She said his name loudly. “I’m here completely at your mercy while we find your sister who is hidden here by the Enforcers.”

  He shook his head and looked at the door. The spell to leave must have been very strong if Howard was being made to think he had to run for his life. “Something is wrong here. You’ve done something.” He twisted her arm and once again she hit the ground, the pain that would surely kill her bringing her to her knees.

  She screamed for help. Or at least she thought perhaps she had. Ava couldn’t be sure of anything. A loud crack sounded, deafening. Was that her head? Had he broken into it? She hit the ground, and there was only blackness.

  * * *

  “Ava.” Lawson’s voice was soft, soothing. “Baby? Can you hear me, love? Wake up. I need you to open those eyes and look at me. Now. Please.”

  He was pleading with her. She was in his arms. The sandalwood smell moved over her, drifting into her senses, drawing her toward him from the darkness.

  Lawson’s face came into her blurred vision. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Thank you. Thank you for opening your eyes. I thought maybe you wouldn’t. I thought maybe he’d wiped your mind and you would just fade.”

  She found her voice. “Is that what happens?”

  “It is.” He pressed their foreheads together. “Why didn’t you run for the portal?”

  “I was afraid he’d get to you, and you’d be unprepared.” Her head was getting clearer. “Where is he?”

  Lawson’s gaze was hard. “Very dead. Don’t look. It’s not pretty. I… yeah.”

  She sat up just a bit enough to put her arms around him and hold him close. She closed her eyes, burying her face in his shoulder. “I was so afraid. I don’t think I’ve ever been so afraid before. I can’t…” Her voice clogged, and she let out a sob. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Don’t you dare. You did the right thing. You came here. That was right. That was what you should have done.” He pressed a hand on the back of her head. “I’m sorry.”

  She gasped. “No, you saved me. I knew you would.”

  “You have had enough, love. No more.”

  Ava hoped he was right. A pop sounded, and she jumped. “It’s Stefan. They’re going to start showing up, the other Enforcers. This will be over soon. We’re going to get you a phone. Like the humans have. I’ll have one, too. You press a button, and I’ll know to come.”

  There could be plans later. She hiccupped, the tears splashing down her cheeks. Once they started, she couldn’t seem to stop.

  * * *

  Hours later, she lay in Lawson’s very big bathtub. It dwarfed her, and she felt tiny inside the structure. But the hot water soothed her, body and soul. She closed her eyes but opened them when Lawson came walking in. He was shirtless and barefoot, clad in only a pair of black pants.

  “Don’t fall asleep in there.”

  She eyed him sideways. “I might never sleep again. Did you have to throw away that shirt? I must have made it too gross to use again.”

  He knelt down. “You will sleep again. And no, believe it or not I’ve had worse than vomit on my clothes. There are a few good spells. Otherwise, yeah, I’ll get rid of it. I don’t care.”

  She didn’t want to know. “I’ll get you a new one.”

  “Stop obsessing over it. I don’t lie. I don’t care.”

  She’d cried herself into a headache or maybe it was what Howard had done to her. Either way, she had pain. Lawson held out the pill bottle from her concussion. “I got these from your place. As well as some clothes for you. You’re staying here until I can breathe again. Anything else you need, tell me.” He ran a hand over her head, and it soothed.

  “Oh, that’s working.”

  Lawson raised his eyebrows. “Whatever was going on with you and spells, they seem to be working on you now.”

  “I noticed.” He was being so sweet, and she just felt like snapping at him. “Sorry. I… I’m not myself. You should probably take me home.”

  He shook his head. “Yell at me if you want to. I can take it. Scream. I would never trap you anywhere, but don’t leave because you think you’re bad company. Just the opposite. I love you. I need you. I almost lost you.”

  His voice cracked and that was her undoing. She grabbed his arm, and he let her drag him, still in his pants, over the side of the tub into the hot water with her. He oomphed but grinned before he tugged her onto him, as he leaned back against the other end of the huge tub.

  “All I could think, Lawson, was that you were asleep and wouldn’t hear us or that he’d get to you. I couldn’t have that. I almost didn’t come to the warehouse because of that.”

  He sucked in his breath. “I was asleep. I actually heard you call for help through the portal before I was signaled you were in there. I don’t ever want to hear that again.”

  Lawson kissed her, hard. With one hand tangled in the back of her hair, he tugged her even closer. She’d never made love in a bathtub before. He had to spell his pants off because they were soaking wet and basically stuck to him.

  There wasn’t foreplay. There wasn’t finesse. She needed him inside of her, to prove they were both still alive, and he seemed to crave it just as much. Her body opened for him immediately. He couldn’t get deep enough inside of her fast enough. How had she ever lived without this? Tears streamed down her face, and he kissed both her cheeks, not seeming to be bothered. He did all of the work, pushing in her, pulling out until she was calling out his name, the water splashing everywhere in the bathroom. She came on a sigh, collapsing on him as he emptied himself inside of her seconds later.

  In the dark afterward, naked and wrapped in his black sheets and covered in his blankets, she spoke out to him, knowing he was still awake just by the sound of his breathing alone. “You have to go tomorrow, right?”

  “I can tell them that I have to stay.”

  She shook her head. “No, love. The world needs you to stop this man or woman from hexing anyone else. I’ll be fine. I have to open the store. You need to go. So you go.”

  He placed a hand on her hip, tugging her back just a bit. “How are you so brave?”

  �
�You’re asking me that? Look at what you do, day in and day out.” She didn’t want to imagine what he regularly saw.

  “I’m an Enforcer. You’re not.”

  She was quiet for a second. “Lawson, I heard a crack before I passed out. It was ear shattering. Did he break into my head?”

  The hand that was on her thigh moved to stroke what must be by now a rat’s nest on the back of her head. “No, tiny. That was me.”

  “What?” His explanation didn’t make any sense.

  “Your head held out very well considering what a strong son of a bitch he was. I struck him with lightning. There’s a crack when I pull out that power.”

  Well, at least that explained what she had seen. Lawson had told her not to look, but as usual, she followed directions really badly. She’d looked. Howard had been a black, unrecognizable corpse when she’d stared at him over Lawson’s shoulder.

  Her Enforcer had fried him to death.

  “You can sleep, Ava. I promise you can.”

  Maybe he’d spelled her into a little bit. She didn’t know. Ava floated into oblivion, held by a man who had shown up when she needed him and saved her, twice now. This was a mess she’d made herself. Todd was dead because she’d poked her nose into where it didn’t belong.

  The thought of him made her cry out, and Lawson kissed the back of her neck. “Sleep. All will be well.”

  She did, and for too long. Ava had wanted to see him leave. But when she opened her eyes, her Enforcer was gone. The bed felt cold without him. She smoothed over the spot where he had been.

  Ava pulled herself out of the bed. The sun peeked through rain clouds, and she sighed, pressing her forehead against the glass. Lawson would find his bad witch, and then he’d be back. No one else would try to kill her or anyone else she loved. She had to believe.

  Instead, she doubled over, sobs racking through her. Alone, there was no one to hold her until she stopped. That was okay. Some moments had to be lived alone.

  Chapter 14

  Ava ate her cookie in silence, listening as Zoe prattled on about something to do with her job. Her parents were fascinated with the description of a client who had committed the crime of laundering money for humans. Zoe thought she could probably get the woman a reduced sentence with community service, helping the drug addled who couldn’t do spells anymore.

  Lila staunchly ignored Ava except for insisting she needed to eat her cookie. It was a long morning, and Ava couldn’t wait to get back to her store.

  She hadn’t seen Lawson in a week, and it had been the longest of her life. When she left her parents’ house, she took a long drive around the city before she went home. The first two nights after he’d left, she’d actually stayed at his place, sleeping in his bed, smelling him on the sheets, and getting to know parts of his life he hadn’t shared with her yet from the photographs and mementos around his place. He’d really been everywhere.

  But then Lawson not being there had started to weigh on her. She woke up in the middle of the night thinking of Howard. By the third night, she went home, wondering if the change of scenery would help. It hadn’t. But the chamomile tea she was drinking around the clock was making a difference.

  Today, she’d felt steady enough to face brunch with her family.

  What she needed was a vacation, a real one. Lawson had been so many places, and she didn’t know when she would see him again. She’d have to plan something on her own. Maybe Melanie would want to go with her somewhere.

  The question was where. She’d always wanted to see Paris.

  Ava grinned at the idea while she pulled in front of her store. She was almost out of chamomile, and the drive around town had reminded her to stop and get some before she went home. Ava got out of the car and stopped abruptly.

  Standing in front, waiting for her, was Johanna, Howard’s sister. Ava’s clothes suddenly felt tight on her body.

  “Hello.” She waved. What did Johanna want?

  “Hi,” the woman said, smiling brightly. At least Ava wasn’t sensing any hostility from her. Johanna had been afraid of Howard for years. She wasn’t the enemy. Ava forced herself to breathe. Maybe someday she’d have her bearings again.

  Ava walked toward her. “Johanna. I’m very surprised to see you here.”

  “I haven’t been back to the witch world for a long time.” She smiled. “I came to thank you and see if you were okay. Not only did you alert me to what could have been a huge problem with Lacey, and probably saved our life, but you were hurt by my brother.”

  That hadn’t been public knowledge. Ava hadn’t even told Zoe. She’d not been explicitly told not to, but she’d kept quiet just the same. Why worry anyone when they wouldn’t understand why she’d done it to begin with?

  “Someone told you.”

  Johanna nodded. “Ryan filled us in. I have to admit to being glad not to see him anymore. He really was so unpleasant.”

  Ava agreed. She’d not cared for Lawson’s boss at all. But that was neither here nor there. “What will you do now?”

  “Go home. Go back to the way things were, as best we can. I have a lot of trust repairing to do with my husband and my daughter has to figure out what it means to be half a witch now that she knows. But we want to go home. I liked that life we were leading. I’m going back to it.”

  Ava smiled at her. “I’m glad it’s all worked out.”

  “I really am so sorry he hurt you.”

  “Well”—Ava rocked back on her heels—“I do appreciate you coming by today. That was very nice of you.”

  Johanna touched her arm. “Be well.”

  “You, too.”

  * * *

  Ava was halfway through her second cup of tea when a pop sounded in the living room. She looked up, a smile filling her soul when it abruptly stopped. Stefan was not who she had been hoping to see. Her heart plummeted into her stomach. “Is he okay?”

  There was only one reason that Stefan would be here and that would be because something was wrong with Lawson.

  He shook his head and extended his hand. She took it. They popped out of the room together.

  It took her half a second to realize they’d landed in her shop, in the front, where people purchased their items. She heard yelling in the back, and the deep husky tones could only be Lawson. She moved forward, and Stefan grabbed her arm.

  Stefan held his back rigid, but his eyes were kind. “It’s bad. It’s been days. He didn’t want me to get you. It may be too late.”

  She tried to breathe through the darkness, those words lodged in her spine. She would have answers someday as to why they waited so long. For now, that didn’t matter.

  Lawson lay on the floor, Kim standing next to him. She looked up when Ava came in just as Lawson launched into a tirade of words that Ava couldn’t understand. It sounded like gibberish. He clawed at himself. There were red marks all over the visible skin on his body. His clothes were torn, and when he looked up at her, his eyes were entirely black. Stefan hadn’t exaggerated. This was the end stage of a hex. Most people didn’t make it this far. They died before they were completely overtaken.

  “What happened?” she asked Kim as she rushed forward.

  The other woman’s hands shook. “I’ve been trying to save him for days. One second he was okay, the next he was hexed. The same way it was with me. We don’t know how it happened or exactly where. He told us not to get you.”

  That didn’t make an ounce of sense. He knew she could save people. He’d seen her do it. “Why?”

  “Because you’d been through hell,” Stefan answered for Kim. “Because he thought Kim could save him. Because it’s not your job. And because, beyond all of that, he believed if you couldn’t save him, you’d never forgive yourself. If he was going to die he preferred you to be angry at him for making that decision than living with the idea that he died on your watch. I am breaking every code doing this. I told him I wouldn’t do this to you.”

  She rushed to her cabinet, collecting the supplie
s. The eyes were black. End stages. What did she know? Gary had talked a lot about these things. She’d listened. When they reached the end, they couldn’t swallow, they couldn’t eat. His body was shutting down organ by organ. He was at first going to have to be brought back from that.

  Lig-Zhi, Ku-Shen, and Gan-Cao. All Chinese herbs. Together, they could act like a steroid. They would have to do. She’d almost not reordered them since she didn’t use them much. And her hex mirror had drowned in the flood.

  She looked up at Kim. “Can you see the black all over him?”

  The woman nodded. “I can.”

  “When we actually get to the removal stage of this, you’re going to have to tell me when it starts to come off. I’m powerless.”

  Kim shook her head. “You’re far from that, Ava. Whatever you need.”

  Gary had powers that Ava didn’t have. She was going to need help and Stefan was going to provide it. She ground the herbs, dumping them as fast as she could into purified water. What she needed was in the back of her cabinet. “Stefan, while I grab what I need, you have to zap this with power. Heat it up. Just till you start to see the boil.”

  He didn’t question her. “Got it.”

  She ran, finally finding the needle she’d searched for. Wow, she really hoped that this worked. Ava forced her concentration back to where it belonged. Doubt could come later.

  “Did it.” Stefan had to speak loudly to be heard over the shouts of sheer pain coming from Lawson. Ava stared at her love for a second. This might be it. She could see every vein in his body, and his eyes might actually bulge out of his head. This could be the last time she ever saw him alive. If she screwed this up, they were over.

  She filled the syringe with the substance and got ready. He couldn’t drink it, so she’d have to administer it with a shot right into his heart. Then they’d have minutes, if that, to get the anti-hexing serum into him.

  “Kim, while I do this, could you please get the stuff together to dose him?” She started to rattle off the ingredients, and Kim stopped her.