"What's your name, honey?"
"Lexi Balefire," I managed to stammer, and searched her eyes for signs of recognition. For all I knew, my mother had come to me in disguise again.
"Is there someone I can call for you? A friend, or maybe you have family nearby. I'm sure I've heard the name Balefire from somewhere. Are you related to Sylvana Balefire?" Something stronger than simple curiosity put a gleam in her eye and I felt like she was leaning forward as she waited for me to answer.
"She was my mother, but she's long dead." I'll give her credit--if she was Sylvana, her face betrayed nothing. Not even the slightest raise of an eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you let me take you home?"
"Listen, my boyfriend's playing in..." I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. An hour ago. "A few minutes," I lied. While I'd gotten lost in the matchmaking thrall, Kin had played his second set, and I'd missed it.
Several text messages from him attested to the fact that he'd noticed my absence. The final one in the series included a terse message that one of the acts had bailed, he'd been tapped to play the third set, and could I please answer this time.
"I'm just going to head over there. Thanks, really, for all your kindness."
With a single backward glance, she left me to the relative calm of the restroom, and I wobbled into a stall to sit for a moment and take stock of my condition.
The churning in my gut reminded me of stumbling off one of the big coasters when my faerie godmothers treated me to a day at Six Flags for my eleventh birthday. Motion sickness blended with a heady dose of adrenaline and made more potent by two kinds of strong magic turned my senses inside out.
"Breathe, Lexi. Slow and easy." I might have spoken out loud. In a moment, I was back to normal--or whatever passes for normal in my world, anyway.
Not trusting myself to the crowd again, I texted Kin that I was feeling a little under the weather and I'd see him later.
I blame television for most of my misconceptions about being a witch. Didn't Samantha wrinkle her nose and translocate herself to wherever she needed to be? Wouldn't that be convenient? I'd planned on catching a ride home with Kin, and since that wasn't happening, I now faced a long walk back to my office to score a ride home.
With no other option, I dodged down one of my patented shortcuts.
"Hello again, Miss Balefire." I recognized the gritty tones and tingle of power with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Delta.
"Are you following me?" I asked the first question that came to mind even though it rated a big, fat ten on the dumb-question scale.
"I need to talk to you in private, Miss Balefire. Make it easy on yourself and come with me." Gone was the fluffy quality from the bathroom, shed like a second skin to reveal a feral face and the honed body of a predator. Didn't jive with the bad movie dialog, and I wondered if she was about to make me choose between the red pill and the blue one.
"And if I don't?" What would she do when four angry faeries showed up? All I had to do was send out the distress signal. Not that I planned to do that; I'm a pretty powerful witch and half a God besides. Even under the weather, I should still be able to hold my own.
Talon-tipped fingers tightened around my bicep in response. She'd moved so fast I hadn't even seen a blur. I countered with a loosening curse that was meant for releasing knots, not for making someone let go of your arm. What can I say? I'm powerful but inexperienced.
Delta let out a strangled sound, and I yanked my arm away. Her fingers dangled like wet noodles, and the look she gave me was pure fury, but I didn't waste a lot of time waiting for her to regroup.
I bolted before the shock wore off and heard her voice faintly behind me. "You didn't have to do that; I only wanted to talk. You can't hide forever, Lexi Balefire."
Ignoring that for the load of horse manure it probably was, I gained a decent lead before I heard the pounding of her feet. If I haven't said it before, this is my town and I know her like no one else. A few well-planned turns and I increased my pace enough to make a strategic dash through the back door of Sinful and turn the lock behind me.
Very few people are familiar enough with Port Harbor's infrastructure to know about the warren-like system running through the oldest sections of town. According to what little documentation there is, the connections served as a way to move people and valuables to safety should the town be invaded by pirates. Scoff if you will; it's a hazard, apparently, of being a harbor town. These days, most of the exits are locked or closed off to preserve privacy, but you can still get from Sinful to one of the suspended walkways crossing over Main Street and letting out into The Commons, an urban version of a mini mall.
From there, I went up another level, cut through a second walkway and came out in the next building down from my office at FootSwept Matchmaking. With every step the phrase why me reverberated in my head. Did getting my magic amount to slapping a giant Kick Me sign on my back? First, my half-brother declares war on my business and now this. I'm a nice person. I help people find love. Why are crazy supernaturals trying to burn down my life?
I had no answers to any of those questions by the time I navigated two basements and made my way back to my office where I peeked out the windows to ensure the coast was clear. I fired up the scooter parked in my vestibule and rode home, leaving Delta still searching for me somewhere in the city.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but people who only want to talk to you rarely leave finger-shaped bruises on your arm.
Chapter Two
My house appeared quiet as I tooled up on Pinky, my little bubble gum-colored scooter. The silence was unusual, especially since I could recognize the scent of magic swirling from every window and door. That could bode well or not so well--three faerie godmothers tended to turn home life into a full-on roller coaster--and I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out what they were up to now. Terra, Soleil, and Evian had been my rocks for as long as I could remember; I ran to them with every problem I encountered and never questioned their guidance.
But ever since their fourth sister, Vaeta, had been rescued from the underworld a few months before, the house had become even more crowded, and our dynamic had shifted. Of course, me being a full-fledged witch, and half a God on top of it sort of evened out the faerie-human playing field, but there were moments where I just wanted my pseudo-mommies. Still, tonight I wasn't in the headspace to face a house full of crazy
Besides, I owed Kin an explanation for bailing on him earlier, and he wouldn't smell Delta on me like my godmothers would. I wasn't sure I was ready to share with them everything that had happened just yet.
Luckily, Kin lived right around the corner. I tilted Pinky into an 180-degree turn and killed the ignition before coming to a complete stop next to his vintage Corvette. Thank Goddess he had already gotten home. I could have magicked the door open, but if I were going to stoop to that low, I would at least like to be wearing a sexy negligee to soften the whole breaking-and-entering blow. Instead, I was faced with a humorous image of trying to wiggle sensuously out of the skin-tight leather pants that were now glued to my legs by a layer of sweat. Neither my body nor my pride was on board for a beating tonight.
What I needed was a refuge. And a big glass of wine. Fortunately, Kin had started having cases delivered to his house for just such an occasion, so I knew he was well-stocked for a big girlfriend meltdown.
I heard the soft strumming of a guitar and Kin's sensuous voice and pulled the spare key out of the planter before I let myself in the front door with a short knock.
His chocolate brown eyes widened as he brushed adorable blond curls out of them and took in my disheveled appearance and tear-stained cheeks, immediately extracting himself from the black leather strap to envelop me in a warm, concerned hug. Even distracted, I felt a thrill run up my spine; the man could melt an ice sculpture with one scorching gaze--but it was his kind heart and even temper that made him a diamond in the rough.
"What hap
pened to you? I was mad, and then I was worried when you didn't show back up."
I explained what happened up until just before I had begun to feel sick, keeping the part about me holding a magical bow to myself. "Kin, you should have seen how many matches there were there. I was a tornado, whipping through and pushing people together. It was like that pull I used to feel in my belly, you know, before my awakening. But way stronger." Now that the nausea had passed, I could only remember the high that had preceded it; the intense feeling of purpose I simultaneously craved more of and yet wished would never return.
"Isn't that a bit out of the ordinary?" To have that many matches in one place, I mean? Are you positive that there's nothing else behind it? Did Jett have anything to do with it?"
"He definitely had his hand in things." Jett. Blaming it all on him was the safest course of action, and I could understand why Kin's mind would pick him out of the limited number of possible culprits. It was Jett's cursed guitar that had nearly gotten Kin killed, but I still felt there had been more going on tonight than mere meddling.
"The one couple, yes; he put a whammy on them. But I can't see him tossing matches at me willy-nilly like that--not when it's the exact opposite of his intentions. He's more concerned with breaking up fated couples in the hopes Cupid will swoop in and save the day, and he hightailed it the second he saw me."
"Maybe it has nothing to do with him whatsoever--but rather, an indication that you're becoming stronger in your calling."
The thought was like a warm, snuggly blanket and I was fully prepared to cuddle up underneath it and hope for the best. Personally, I didn't much care where Cupid was, or why he hadn't made contact with Jett or me for the past 25 years, but my brother certainly did, and he'd do anything to get his daddy back. What I did care about was keeping Kin safe and off Jett's radar, and that meant making sure Jett didn't find out Kin and I had shared true love's kiss. Screwing with my love life would certainly jump to number one on his master to-do list if he was aware Kin was more than just a passing fancy.
"You're probably right." I still wasn't ready to tell him about the vision just yet, especially since I had no idea whether what I had seen was real or caused by Jett's meddling. I needed to sort through that experience for myself first. If the couple whose future I'd seen was uncertain, that meant my future with Kin might also be, and I cared about him too much to cause him any more pain--especially if it wasn't necessary.
"Then why do you look like you've still got something on your mind?" Kin prodded gently. I had to tell him something, and since I still hadn't told him about my mother being alive, it seemed like a good idea to absolve myself of one sin before committing another. He deserved some explanation.
"There's something I haven't told you--haven't told anyone. Not the faeries, not Salem, not even Flix."
Kin kept his face free of surprise and concern, though he must have been worried about what could have kept me from confiding in my family, my familiar, and my very best friend, and it occurred to me that he probably figured nothing I would tell him could top the big secret of exactly what I was, and we had gotten past that easily enough.
"What is it?"
I broke away from his embrace with what I hoped was a comforting kiss and began to pace around the room. I do my best thinking on my feet, and Kin was familiar enough with this particular trait that he simply sat and waited in silence until I began to speak.
"My mother isn't dead." I paused, and Kin's eyes went wide, but he didn't press, knowing I still had a lot more to say. He had never badgered me for more information on my status as an orphan raised by faeries, which, now that I thought about it must have been difficult to swallow with no details. And so, I laid it out for him, starting at the beginning, with the one thing I had always known to be true: the witches in my family were wicked.
"When a witch kills another witch, she turns to stone. You know that statue across the street from my house? It's my grandmother. Not of my grandmother, it's actually her, Clara Balefire. I'm sure you've noticed the resemblance; we look almost exactly alike."
Kin's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard, but again he said nothing.
"When Terra heard my cries, she rushed in and found me swaddled in a basket nearby, Clara in stone, and my mother, Sylvana, nowhere to be found. She assumed the scorched earth my grandmother was pointing toward was where my mother had been standing, and that Clara had killed her."
"So how do you know she's still alive?"
"You remember the night you and I met? Out on the street after Salem broke into your house?" I asked.
"Of course, how could I forget?"
"Well, I was on my way home from work, and I stopped into a magic shop near Sinful. And when I say magic shop, I mean it was a place to buy magical supplies, but it was also a magic shop. I had never seen it before, and when I went back later, it was gone--like it had never existed to begin with. Anyway, this woman--this witch--Athena, helped me find the supplies I needed for the awakening spell and gave me this." I fingered the pendant around my neck, a priceless family heirloom that had been the missing piece of the puzzle I required to awaken my inner witch.
"Then, after we detached your soul from Skip Stark's guitar, I went back to the sanctum, found the original copy of the awakening spell, and realized that the only way I could have gotten my magic was with the Stone of Blood, and only if it had been passed directly to me by a family member. I could just feel it in my gut--that woman in the magic shop was my mother, in disguise. I don't know how she fooled me, but she did. I've been looking for her ever since, and then tonight I ran into this woman, Delta--well, actually, she's more than that. She was definitely a supernatural, and at first, I thought she might be Sylvana in disguise. It turns out, she knows my mother, and something tells me they're not on good terms." I showed Kin the mark Delta left on my arm.
His eyes flashed, "You're positive one of your godmothers would be there in a hot second if you were in danger?" He looked slightly mollified by my reassurance and heaved a big sigh. "Why didn't you tell me about your mother before now? I could have at least been there for you..."
"I haven't been able to get the words out. And there's not much I can do about it anyway. Clearly, if she doesn't want me to see her, I'm not going to. For all I know, she's been hanging around my entire life, and I've never even realized it. She might not even come back, and I think I'm more terrified that she will, and I won't know how to handle it. I need advice from a normal person; I guarantee that the league of faerie godmothers at my house will never to be able to think objectively about this subject. Tell me what to do."
"I'm flattered that you consider me normal, frankly, but it's not my decision to make. And let's face it--would you do anything other than what you want to do anyway?" Kin grinned, his teasing lightening my mood.
"Probably not, but I still want your opinion."
"I think family is one of the most important things in the world. I can't imagine a life without mine, even with all their faults they're everything to me. You're right; it doesn't sound like you'll be able to find her if she doesn't want you to. So if I were you, I'd wait it out. But remember, Sylvana gave you the necklace to help you. Doesn't that give her any points at all?"
Poor, sweet, unassuming Kin. That's the thought that scrolled like a ticker tape through my mind. He still believed people were inherently good, but we weren't dealing with people here. We were dealing with witches--wicked witches, no less--and there was a difference.
I wasn't sure Kin fully understood that, and his very nature was cause for concern with regards to his safety. There wasn't much room for the benefit of the doubt in my world, and Kin seemed willing and ready to give it to just about anyone. Cute, but it wouldn't keep him alive. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to him as a result of getting involved in my crazy life, but we had also shared true love's kiss, and I wasn't willing to let him go, either.
Don't think it had escaped my attention that with every escalati
on of my supernatural abilities, I was becoming better prepared to protect Kin. It also wasn't news to me that he only needed protection because he was involved with me. I would use whatever means necessary to balance the scales; it was the least I could do.
"Yeah, she gets a few points, I guess. Can we just talk about something else for now? I'm sorry to dump on you, but I've been over and over all this in my head a bajillion times, and I came here for a slice of normal. Is that okay?"
Kin stood up and wrapped his arms around me, stopping me from further pacing and calming my mind with his hypnotic gaze. "Of course, whatever you want. I just need you to be careful; I know you're going to keep looking for her no matter what I say, but you're also putting yourself in Jett's path. I prefer you in one piece unless I'm the one doing the unraveling." Kin waggled an eyebrow suggestively, and suddenly there was only one thing on my mind.
"I'll be careful," I promised, pressing my body closer to his and tangling my fingers in his hair. I let the rush of emotion, the festival's carnal energy--all undulating bodies and desperation roiling beneath the surface--guide my desire, pulling Kin tighter a bit more roughly than normal. He responded in kind, his lips (and other things) growing hard beneath my touch until we were both gasping for air. I pulled Kin out of the living room and down the hall toward his bedroom, and it turns out you don't need to look sexy getting out of leather pants if you've got a hot boyfriend who's willing to peel them off for you.
Chapter Three
Dressed in a pair of Kin's sweatpants, I avoided the fashion faux pas of wearing my walk-of-shame leather pants out in the broad morning daylight. Somehow, that wasn't enough to spare me the histrionics waiting on the other side of my front door.
"There you are, I was worried sick about you." Evian, in her Mini form, flitted in like Tinkerbell and then grew nearly six feet. She had on one of the Donna Reed outfits she thought most appropriate when taking on a motherly role, but in her haste to chastise me, she'd forgotten to put on her face. I don't mean her makeup, I mean her human disguise. Hair, the bright blue-green of a tropical ocean, spilled over her shoulders and softly framed a face of flawless beauty. Lips to match the hair, eyes the color of an angry sea and skin like pearls looked plain silly paired with the attire of a fifties housewife.
All Spell is Breaking Loose: Lexi Balefire: Matchmaking Witch (Fate Weaver Book 2) Page 2