by Unknown
*
The smell tickled my nose. It was one I hadn’t ever smelled in my house. It was only in the bakery that it wafted around.
I peeled open my eyes and found darkness surrounding me. The only light was that from the hallway. Broo sat on my bed, slurping on something out of one of the containers she kept within reach at all times.
“What are you doing here?”
“I brought you some of Bethilda’s spaghetti and meatballs.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s called comfort food and you are in need of a lot of comforting.”
“Amir told you?”
“I’m afraid the whole town knows.”
“Figures.” I pushed myself up to a sitting position. “I’ve never had spaghetti and meatballs before.”
“Which makes this the perfect time to try it. It’s warm and saucy and full of carbs we won’t gain weight from. Like ever.”
I cracked a smile. “You really are enjoying that little benefit, aren’t you?”
“Oh, you have no idea. But seriously, I just want to help. I know what it’s like to be put in a situation you seemingly have zero control over. Although, me and magic...” She shrugged. “There’s no control there at all. You, though... You have a gift and a purpose and a mate you don’t want. I get that. I didn’t want any of this.”
“You’re still fighting it. I don’t want to fight myself every day or fight fate. I want my other life back.”
“But we can’t go back, can we? And you’re right. I do fight it. I’m still fighting against the idea, the reality of Amir being my mate. Still fighting against the idea that I’m a witch of some sort. I don’t think what we know so far is the extent of things. I feel this buzz inside me sometimes that I can’t shake.”
“A buzz? What do you mean?”
“It’s like... It’s like an electrical current that sparks every once in a while. I don’t know what it’s trying to tell me or show me, but it’s there, pushing, trying to get out. And yes, then there’s Amir. He’s gorgeous and he’s good to me. Did you know he wants to marry and have a family? He wants to give me the family I never had.”
“No, I didn’t know that. I think that’s wonderful.”
“It scares the crap out of me.”
“But why?”
“Because I don’t know how to depend on anyone or let anyone depend on me. Maybe it’s one of the reasons I can’t decide on a bakery design.” She shrugged and took another bite of her food, the noodles carefully wrapped around the tines of her fork. “So, see? I do know some of what you’re going through.”
“But he’s a demon, Broo. A demon.” The more I said the word out loud, the more I was becoming used to it, no longer scared of it the way I was raised to be.
“Is he handsome?”
“Yes.” It was a fact that couldn’t be denied. “He’s beautiful. Dark skin, brilliant eyes, and a dazzling smile that makes my knees go all kinds of weak.”
“And the Fates chose him for you?”
“That’s what B.Y. says.”
“B.Y.?”
“Baba Yaga. I just call her B.Y. because it annoys her.”
“Oh, I bet the look she gives is worth it. Okay, back to the demon. What’s his name?”
“Morgan.”
“Nice. I’ve never met a Morgan.”
“He’ll be here in two days if I don’t opt to return to him.”
“Which way are you leaning?”
“Hiding in one of Leon’s rooms. If Barry the Cat could hide Larry the Cat in one, then I should be able to hide in one for the rest of my life or until the demon dies, whichever comes first.”
“It’s curious that you call him the demon and never by his name. Why is that?”
“I think it keeps him at a distance if I simply refer to him as the demon. If I put the name to him and start believing him any sort of normal, then I believe I’d be in danger of seeing him as more than the demon he is.”
“Maybe you need to see him as more. You were raised to fear his kind, right?”
“Yes.”
“It could be that you need to make the determination on your own if he is to be feared or not. I mean, I know it’s hard to change how you were raised to think about something, but we’d never do anything at all if we didn’t try to change our own status quo.”
“When did you get to be so wise?”
“I have no idea. Want some?” she asked, holding the container out to me. In the darkness of the room, I could only make out the shadow of Broo extending her food to me. Did I want to try it? I didn’t know. The aroma tickled my nose.
I took the fork from her and mimicked the way she’d twirled the noodles. Lifting it and holding my hand under it so sauce didn’t drip from it onto my sheets, I shoved it in my mouth and promptly moaned in pleasure. How had I never had spaghetti and meatballs before? How had I never thought to eat pasta? I primarily ate fruits and vegetables. And candy. I had never had an affinity for meat and really hadn’t seen a reason to eat pasta, but after trying this? How could I never have it again?
“You like it, don’t you?”
I swallowed. “Yes. Yes, I do. May I have another bite?”
“You can have the rest of it.”
“Oh, I couldn’t.” I really, really could, though. I really, really wanted to.
“Yes, you can. You want it and that’s good. Besides, you know Bethilda stocks my fridge whenever I need it.”
“Thanks,” I said, meaning it for not only the food, but for the company and the advice.
“I’m happy to help you in whatever way I can since you’ve been helping me. I have been wondering something...”
“Yeah?”
“You knew my mom pretty well, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“Will you tell me about her sometime?”
“Oh sure. Any time you want, I’d be happy to talk to you about her. She was something special. The kindest witch I’d ever known.”
“You knew Amir when he came, too, right?”
“Yes, but we didn’t have too many interactions. He didn’t stick around for long after she was... After she...” I couldn’t finish the sentence, but Broo patted my knee.
“I understand. I’d just like to know about her. I’ve asked Bethilda, but she said she’s still not ready to talk about her, yet. Even after all these years. She does have pictures, though, and has shown them to me. I didn’t think I’d ever care, but after being here, learning that about what happened and learning that I have an aunt... I do care. A lot. I used to think I never really came from anywhere, but I did. I came from Blue Balls Falls, Virginia.”
I smiled at her. She’d been through a lot in the last year and there was a lot more for her to go through until she learned the full extent of her powers and how to use them.
“So, you think I should give the...” I shook my head. “Morgan. You think I should give Morgan a chance.”
“If I’ve learned anything being here, it’s that nothing is ever as it seems and no one other than the Wicked Shitz and Pretty Ugly Shit, are as good or bad as I’ve made them out to be.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll... Okay.”
Chapter Eight
“I need you to do this, Barry. I don’t know how else to get a message to him.”
“But he told me not to come back without you until the three days are up.”
“Oh for the love... Blame me. I don’t care. I need to talk to him before I go back.”
“You’re going to get me killed one of these days, K.”
“That’s not my intent.”
“Uh huh. You’re probably just trying to get back at me for seeing you naked all those months.”
“Oh, I’ll get you back for that, don’t you worry. But not right now. This is too important.” I handed Barry a neatly tied bunch of Witchin’ Stix “These are for Morgan. A peace offering.” I handed him one other, this one swirled in the two colors left from the batch I’d made yesterda
y. “This one is special and it’s for you.”
“Thank— Wait... This is a bribe.”
“Take the damn candy and go tell the demon what she said,” Larry the Cat said, boredom represented in every syllable.
“Fine.”
“Has he always been this difficult?” I asked Larry once Barry disappeared.
“Yes. Ever since he was a kitten. Argumentative and a pain in the ass.”
“Were you supposed to be the sweet one?”
“No. That’s Shari. She’s always been the one others love.”
“Maybe you and Barry should’ve taken lessons from her.”
“Maybe, but then I wouldn’t be the challenge you needed me to be.”
“I didn’t know that I needed a challenge.”
“Of course, you did. You were too nice. You’ve always been too nice. I had to try and toughen you up so people wouldn’t take advantage of you.”
“I see.” I grinned. “I knew you loved me.”
“I’m your familiar. It’s not about love. It’s my duty. My job.”
“You love me.”
“K...”
I giggled, something in me having changed since my talk with Broo last night. I felt lighter, brighter. My magic was working the right way again, I had carbs flowing through my body, and I had a potential mate I’d never wanted, but that I might be saddled with anyway. I’d been told by two people to give Morgan a chance and the more I thought about him as Morgan and not the demon, the more my attitude about him seemed to be changing, too.
I honestly didn’t know what was up with my life.
I patted Larry the Cat on the head, which he usually hated, and turned back to the task at hand. Candy. I was making candy. A lot of it.
“Here.”
I turned at the voice. “Barry?”
“Who else?”
I shrugged. “Why are you handing me a cell phone?”
“So you can call him.”
“Oh.”
“He said he was eager to hear what you had to say and would spare my measly little life this one last time.”
“Magnanimous of him,” I muttered and took the phone. As soon as my hand wrapped around it, it began vibrating and Morgan’s face appeared on the screen. “I guess he couldn’t wait.” I swiped to the right. “Hello Morgan.”
“Hello, sweet witch.”
His voice fairly purred the words and I fairly melted on the spot. I couldn’t afford to lose myself in this. That’s not what my going through spending time with him was about.
“I think we should meet again.”
“Barry could have brought you.”
“Not there. Here.”
“That was not part of the deal.”
“There was no deal. You said I needed to return to you of my own free will, but you didn’t say it had to be there.”
“I shall have to make sure there are no loopholes next time.”
“Hmm... If you want this, then I’ll need you to come here, to Blue Balls Falls and get to know me and let me get to know you.”
“You feel the need to have others around you that make you feel safe.”
“Yes, but it’s more than that.”
“I’m listening.”
“This is my home. I don’t want to leave it and I hope if you spend a little time here, that you won’t want to take me from it, either.”
“I see. I suppose I can understand that. You have been here, it is only fair I should come to you this time.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I do not lie.”
“I just... I expected you to argue with me about it.”
“I want to be with you, get to know you, as you said. You are reaching out to me with sincerity. Why would I not be willing to bend a bit?”
“Oh.” I breathed a sigh of relief. This was more than I could have hoped for. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome. I will arrive within the hour.
The line went silent and the phone shut off. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to turn back on. I looked at Barry. “The phone is under his power,” he said, answering my unasked question.
“Of course it is.”
“Is he really coming here? The demon?”
“Yes.”
“I hate him.”
“Larry, you don’t even know him. I don’t know him, either, for that matter. But you don’t know him well enough to hate him. You hate change. All cats hate change and he represents a possible big change for all of us.”
“Then why invite him?”
“Because if what I am to understand is true, he is my mate and I need to give him a chance.”
“He’s still a demon.”
“Yes. A demon with a name. Morgan. I need you to be on your best behavior and give him a chance as well.”
“He doesn’t seem overly fond of Barry.”
“Nope. But maybe you can win him over.”
“I don’t want to. He’s a demon.”
“Yes, you keep reminding me of that. I don’t want to win him over, either. For the same reason as you. But we don’t know him. We know of his kind, not him. So, until he shows us we can’t trust him, we’ll have to be the bigger of us all and try.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my witch?”
“I’m still your witch, but I’ve never been one to judge anyone by the cut of his suit, and I won’t now.”
“That’s lovely to hear. Thank you.”
I think my heart dropped to my stomach and my throat closed up when I heard the voice from behind me. I glared at Larry the Cat who had gone back to washing his paws, bored.
Fine.
I turned to face Morgan and tried for a tentative smile, one that likely looked more like a grimace. “Hi.”
“Hello. Adorable little home you have.”
“Thank you. It’s not a spacious penthouse, but it’s mine and I love it. It fits me.”
“That it does. All the brilliant candy colors on the outside. They match you.” He inched closer with each word until he stood in front of me and I could hardly breathe. His scent was intoxicating. Outdoor fire and crisp Autumn days. A contradiction.
His dark eyes roamed my face as though looking for something and when he found whatever it was, he smiled and lifted my hand to place a tender, heated kiss to my knuckles. “I appreciated the bouquet of candy. It was a sweet gesture.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Are you going to make more?” He nodded in the direction of the stove.
“Yes. I was just about to start.”
“Oh, excellent. I want to watch.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s you and you are why I’m here.”
“I’ve never had anyone specifically watch me make candy before. Well, other than the cats.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” he said as he settled himself on a stool at the island. Larry immediately jumped down and ran from the room. “Something I said?” Morgan asked, his gaze following the black cat until Larry disappeared.
“No. You being here bothers him.”
“I would be worried if it didn’t bother him. I’m an unknown to all of you.”
I nodded, unsure what else to add. He was right, but he didn’t need me to tell him that. Larry would either come around or he wouldn’t. I couldn’t do anything about that now. I’d set this in motion, Morgan being in my house on the outskirts of Blue Balls Falls, where he could wreak all kinds of havoc if the whim struck him.
“How did you know I was your mate?”
“I touched your magic. The first time Barry brought me some of your candy, I knew. I held it in my hand and then let it dissolve on my tongue and I knew.”
“Is that why you were so willing to come?”
“Yes. You deserve the benefit of the doubt the same as I do.”
“True.”
Into the large pot on the stove, I poured sugar, followed by an equal amount of water.
“Yo
u don’t use magic to do it?”
“Not until the end when it comes to flavors and colors.”
“And which will you add today?”
“I don’t know. I don’t usually decide until I’m ready, until it’s time.” And then a thought struck me... “What’s your favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Hmm... Red can be a variety of shades and flavors.”
“Raspberry is my favorite flavor.”
I looked over my shoulder. “Raspberry? A very bright pink-red. I can do that.”
“What’s your favorite color?”
That question... No one had ever asked me that. No one had ever asked me about my favorite flavor, either. Contemplating them left me confused. “I don’t know,” I said softly, taking the glass stirring stick and swirling the water and sugar mixture together. I turned on the burner and affixed the candy thermometer to the edge of the sauce pot.
“Don’t you think you should find out, though?”
“I had never thought about it. My thoughts have always been about others, matching their favorites, bringing them happiness through my magic.”
“Then you should allow someone else to help you find your happiness by matching your favorites.”
“I suppose I could. I’ll ask Kaydence or Kyla.”
“And they are...?”
“My sisters. We’re triplets.”
“Oh.”
“You didn’t know?”
“I didn’t.”
“Maybe one of them is your real mate and you simply made a mistake because you never saw them.”
“I know you’re hoping so, but I think you know as well as I do, that I’m right. You’re mine and I’m yours, sweet witch.”
Disappointment was a momentary emotion. “Why do you call me that?”
“Has no one ever called you by a pet name? An endearment?”
“No.”
“Ah... No kisses before me. I remember...” I blushed and he chuckled low, sliding off the stool and taking up all my immediate, personal space. “I call you sweet witch because you are. You make sweets infused with your magic, and because you are mine. My sweet witch.”
I thought he would kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me. His nearness was like the most delicious drug and I wanted it.