by C. C. Wood
It was clear to me that he was suspicious of her because he didn’t turn his back on her as he moved across the shop toward me. Though he didn’t usually hug or kiss me when we saw each other, he took the time to press his lips lightly to mine then wrapped his arm around my waist, settling me into his side. His actions alone told me everything I needed to know. He didn’t trust Rhiannon Temple and he intended to protect me should it become necessary. There was a fine tension in his muscles that told me he was on his guard.
“Well, thank you for stopping by, Rhiannon,” Ava said politely. “But I don’t think I’ll be selling my properties anytime soon.”
The real estate agent smiled thinly, her dark eyes sparkling with challenge. “Well, you have my card if you change your mind.”
With that, she turned and walked out the door, not even waiting to see if Macgrath followed her. I watched as he paused, his eyes on Ava, and he looked as though he were about to say something. Instead, his mouth tightened and he walked out of the shop.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Ava turned to us. “You know that witch?” she asked, her voice strained.
“Not really. She came by the house about a month ago, asking if I would want to sell it. I told her that you were my landlord and where to find you. When you didn’t mention it, I assumed she called or came by and you told her you weren’t interested,” I answered.
“Why didn’t you mention it?”
I glanced over at Rhys. “Well, I was a bit distracted after her visit.” The day Rhys had taken me to the botanical gardens was also the day Rhiannon had stopped by the house. My heart had ached so badly that I hadn’t given Rhiannon another thought until today.
Ava nodded. “It’s okay. You couldn’t have known.”
“Known what?” Rhys asked.
“That she’s a witch. A very powerful, dark witch.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“It’s all over her. Her aura is pitch black and filled with evil.”
Rhys stiffened beside me. “I couldn’t see it.”
Ava shook her head. “You wouldn’t have been able to, neither of you, even with your abilities. As I said, she’s powerful and she’s taken the time and energy to cloak as much of her evil as she can. The only reason I can see it is because of a spell I placed on the shop. As soon as she walked in, everything she tried to hide was fully revealed.” Ava paced across the center of the room. “She’s dangerous, but I’m not sure if she intends to harm us or if we’re just a means to an end. Either way, she’s bad news.”
“Then we need to be ready,” Rhys stated.
Ava stopped her manic movements. “Oh, we will be.”
“There’s something I need to discuss with both of you,” he continued. “But not here. Meet me at the house in half an hour and we’ll talk.”
Ava nodded. “Take Savannah with you. I’ll be there as soon as I close up.”
“You may need me,” I argued. “What if they come back?”
This time when Ava looked at me, I saw something in her I’d never seen before—anger, determination, and ice-cold control. She was no longer my warm, loving friend. She was a warrior. A goddess prepared for battle.
“Then they’ll have to deal with me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Rhys
Savannah was silent on the walk to my house. As we approached, she turned to look across the street.
“We should get Satchel,” she stated. “She’ll be upset if she sees me and I don’t go inside.”
I followed her gaze and saw the little gray cat perched in the window, watching us. “Let’s go get her then.”
A few moments later, we were within the safety of my house, Satchel cuddled close to Savannah’s chest. The cat seemed to sense that her mistress needed her because it curled closer to Savannah, purring incessantly.
While we waited for Ava to arrive, I took the time to brew some tea. I didn’t have Irish whiskey, but I did put a dollop of bourbon in each cup and wrapped the teapot in a towel to keep it warm after I poured out a measure for Savannah and myself.
I carried the tea back into the living room and gave one mug to Savannah. “It’s hot and it’s got a dash of bourbon in it,” I warned her, concerned at the way her freckles stood out against her pale skin.
Without a word, she took a sizeable sip. She gasped after she was done, setting the cup on the coffee table while she tried to catch her breath.
“I warned you,” I said.
Savannah nodded. “I know, but I really needed that.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “I’ve never experienced anything like what happened in the shop today. There were so many veiled threats and underlying emotions flying around that I couldn’t focus on a single one. I’m not even sure what’s going on. The only thing I understood clearly was that Rhiannon wants something from us, but I have no clue what that could be.”
I took a drink from my cup. After I swallowed down the brew of caffeine and liquor, I replied, “I may know the answer to that.”
Savannah looked at me in surprise. “You do? What is it?”
“Let’s wait for Ava. I’d prefer to tell both of you at the same time.” I drank more tea, let the warmth of the bourbon warm me, and took a deep breath. “But I’m afraid you won’t like me very much when I’m done.”
Her brows lowered. “I doubt that could happen.”
I set my cup aside before I gave in to the temptation to drain it. I needed all my wits about me for the conversation to come. Then, after Savannah and Ava were staring at me in disgust, I would drink.
“I’ve lived for a very long time, Savannah,” I began. “I’ve done things that most people can’t even fathom. Things I’m not proud of and even more that I wish I could forget.”
She stroked a hand down Satchel’s back, whether in an effort to comfort the cat or herself, I wasn’t sure. “Well, let me decide how I feel about your past before you make up your mind for me, okay?”
I smiled at her. That was one of the things I admired most about Savannah. She very rarely judged. It was refreshing to encounter a woman like that. With her empathic abilities, she saw clearly into the root of the emotions people around her experienced. She understood how other people felt in a way that most people could not because she shared in their suffering, joy, or anger. Because of that, she said she couldn’t be upset with people over how they felt. Most people never had an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes, but Savannah did it on a daily basis with grace and generosity of spirit.
The doorbell rang and Savannah jumped.
“It’s okay. It’s Ava,” I said.
“I know, I’m just on edge,” she replied with a sigh.
When I let Ava into the house, she appeared much calmer and in complete control.
“Everything okay?” I asked as I shut the door behind her.
She nodded. “Fine. They left and didn’t return.” When she saw the mugs of tea we were drinking, she asked, “May I have some of that tea?”
“With bourbon or without?”
“With. Definitely with.”
I could hear the murmur of their voices as I made Ava a cup of tea. I wasn’t looking forward to what I had to tell them. I knew it would change the way they both saw me. I wasn’t ready to share the story, but I had no other choice. It was becoming obvious that my dreams were harbingers and ignoring the signs would only put us in more danger.
I tucked the bourbon beneath one arm and carried the teapot and Ava’s cup into the living room.
She smiled as she took the mug. “Thank you.”
After I refilled my cup and Savannah’s mug, there was nothing left to do. Nothing to keep me from telling them what they needed to hear.
With no clue where to begin I sat down in the chair where I liked to read.
As usual, Ava seemed to see through me. “What did you want to talk to us about?” she prompted. “I’m assuming it has something to do with Rhiannon.”
“It does,” I answered.
“But first I need to tell you a story about two brothers. Identical twins.” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “They were born into slavery a long, long time ago. Though their lives were hard, they found happiness where they could. Until they were ten. Their master could no longer afford to keep them both and rather than separate them, he sold them at a slave market. With their blond hair and blue eyes, they were much sought after. After a great deal of haggling, they were sold to a very wealthy man with certain…proclivities.” I stopped speaking then, fighting back memories that should have faded with the thousands of years that had passed since that time. “The next twelve years were difficult. Even after the boys became too old to interest the man in the way they once did, he had other uses for them. He was a warlock, you see, determined to discover the secret to eternal life. Eternal youth. His experiments were often painful and lasted for days. Finally, when they boys had become young men, he was successful. He turned one twin first, nearly killing him in the process. He was in agony for days. And when he finally recovered, he wasn’t the same. He carried evil in his core. But their master learned from his mistakes the first time. He refined the process over the next few months. Then he came for the other twin and changed him as well.”
I paused in the story then. I didn’t want to tell them what happened next, but they had to know so they could understand what was to come.
“After he turned the second brother, the first managed to escape and killed their master. The second brother thought he would be free, but he was wrong. He was no longer a slave but he was still a prisoner. For centuries, he would try to escape his brother but it was impossible. The first brother would find him and the experiments and cruelty would continue. Until finally the second could take no more. He knew that his only choice was to die or kill the only family he had left. So he studied and planned for his kind were nearly impossible to destroy. When he succeeded in killing his brother, he grieved, but there was also relief. He was no longer under the thumb of madness. But there were unintended side effects.”
Throughout the story, I couldn’t meet either of the women’s eyes. I wasn’t sure what I would see when they looked at me, but now I couldn’t avoid it any longer. I looked to Ava first, expecting to see anger and disgust. Instead I saw compassion and understanding.
Her reaction was unexpected, but it didn’t prepare me for what I saw when my eyes moved to Savannah. She sat on the couch, her cup clutched in her hands and tears in her eyes.
I couldn’t understand why she was crying for me. I had just revealed that I killed my brother, an unforgivable act, yet she looked sad instead of repulsed.
“What side effects?” Ava asked, drawing my attention away from Savannah.
I cleared my throat. “The only way to kill him was to take his soul, and the souls he stole, into my body. I didn’t understand at the time what it would do to me. I see things, usually in my sleep. They’re memories, but the memories aren’t my own. They belong to Cornelius. That’s how I know Rhiannon is dangerous. Since she came to Savannah’s house a few weeks ago, I’ve been dreaming of her. At first I thought it was a trick of the mind. That I inserted her into my dreams because there was something about her I didn’t like, but after a while I realized that wasn’t the case. That’s why I came into the store today. I wanted to talk to you about it, but she was there. Then you said that she practiced dark magic and I knew for certain that she had something to do with how Cornelius and I were made.”
Ava’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“In my dreams, she was there the night Cornelius was made. She helped Gaius create us. She wasn’t there when I was changed, but Gaius never would have been able to succeed if it weren’t for her.” I took a deep breath. “Then throughout Cornelius’ memories she appears again and again. He wanted something from her. Something she wouldn’t give him willingly. Now that he’s dead, she no longer has to worry about his pursuit and she can continue with whatever she had planned before.”
Ava nodded, her expression thoughtful. “That sounds plausible, but we can’t count on it,” she stated. “Each of us is unique in our own right and Rhiannon approached Savannah first. For all we know, it’s Savannah she wants. Or me.”
She made an excellent point. “I’m not sure I’ll be content to watch and wait.”
Ava frowned at me. “I wouldn’t be either, but we also need to learn as much as we can about her before we do anything. It’s clear that she’s been watching us for a while and we have no idea what she truly wants.”
“Power,” Savannah interjected, her voice dreamy as though her mind were far away. “She hides her emotions well, but the desire for power is the strongest. She wants to be respected, no, revered, and the only way to accomplish that is to have power.” Savannah blinked and her gaze refocused on us. “I couldn’t sense anything else from her at the shop except that.”
“What about Macgrath?” Ava asked.
Savannah shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like him. It’s almost as if his heart is encased in stone. There is no getting in there.”
Ava nodded. “Well, I will contact my friends in the area and see what they know about Rhiannon Temple.”
“I have a friend I can call as well,” I stated.
“We’ll talk again in a few days. Until then, be careful and call me immediately if Rhiannon comes back,” Ava commanded. She got to her feet and set her mug on the coffee table. “Rhys, could I speak to you privately for a moment?”
I followed her outside onto the front porch, shutting the door behind me. Ava gestured for me to walk with her to her car. When we were a few feet from the house, she stopped and turned toward me. “I want you to keep an eye on Savannah. She can protect herself, but she never would because she cannot stand the pain it causes if she hurts someone. That means you and I are responsible for protecting her.”
I nodded. “I fully intend to.”
“I assumed you would, but it made me feel better to say it anyway,” she replied with a sigh.
“You care for her a great deal, don’t you?” I asked.
“She is like a little sister to me. I love her,” she replied simply.
“I’ll protect her,” I vowed. “Because I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to her either.”
Ava nodded. “I’ll call you in a few days.”
With that, she climbed into her car and left. I returned to the house and found Savannah going through my refrigerator, taking out food and setting it on the counter.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she said when she saw me. “But I’m hungry and I thought I would make dinner.”
“I’ll help,” I offered.
She smiled at me and we worked together to prepare the meal. I didn’t have much in the way of food since I spent most of my time at Savannah’s house, but we made do.
“I don’t think badly of you,” she said suddenly as she stirred the vegetables she was cooking. “About your brother, I mean.”
My hands paused in seasoning the chicken I was planning to grill, but I didn’t speak.
“You’re a very hard man to read emotionally, but I could still sense your guilt and your grief over his death,” she continued, her eyes on the pan in front of her. “I know it wasn’t a decision you wanted to make and you clearly avoided it for as long as possible.”
“Why do you say that?”
Finally, her dark eyes lifted and met mine. “You waited over two thousand years to kill him, Rhys. I think that was ample opportunity for him to change his ways or let you go. The fact that he didn’t do either of those things tells me you had no choice.” Her voice grew softer. “And maybe it’s wrong of me to think this, but if you hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed you and you wouldn’t be here with me now.”
Neither of us spoke much after that as we finished preparing the meal. I wasn’t sure what to say and Savannah seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. I wanted to give her time to come to terms with whatever preyed on her mind.
&nbs
p; After we ate, I insisted on washing the dishes.
“I want to help,” Savannah said.
“Then sit on the counter next to me and drink your wine.”
She sighed but did as I asked, hopping up to sit on the counter a few feet from the sink, a glass of wine in her hand. She didn’t speak for a while as she watched me wash the pans and plates from our dinner.
“You aren’t going to stop speaking to me again, are you?” she asked suddenly, her voice small.
“What do you mean?”
“When we kissed the first time, you stopped speaking to me for weeks. You aren’t going to do that again now, right?”
She sounded so uncertain that I could have whipped myself for doing that to her.
“No, I’m not letting you go unless you ask me to,” I answered, my hands clenched beneath the soapy dishwater. I wanted to grab her and show her exactly how much I wanted her.
“Good,” she whispered.
When all the dishes were washed, I walked Savannah and Satchel back to her house. This time, when she opened the door, I did something I hadn’t before. I walked through her house to check each room and the windows and doors. I wanted to be sure she was safe.
Even after I’d ascertained that her home was secure, I didn’t want to leave. I might be right across the street, but it would take time to reach her if she needed me.
“Thank you,” she said when I returned to the living room where she waited by the front door.
“For what?”
“Making sure that I’m safe.”
I approached her and brushed her cheek with the tips of my fingers. “I will always keep you safe if you want,” I replied.
She smiled. “As a modern, independent woman, I think I’m supposed to tell you thanks but no thanks, but I guess I’m a failure at that. I like that you want to keep me safe.”
“Just because I wish to be the one to ensure your safety doesn’t make you any less capable of doing it yourself. When you care about someone, you want to protect them from harm.”