by Kiersten Fay
In a sing-song hum, Cora muttered, “Not helping.”
Knox’s gaze shifted to Cora. “Quite a speech, cher. I don’t think I’ve heard you curse so much in the same breath.”
Cora rolled her eyes. “There’s much to curse about today.” She paused as a new worry slipped to the forefront. “Where’s Meeka?”
Knox replied with a sinister grin.
Chapter 6
As soon as Knox removed the barricade—one dark-stained wood desk tilted on its side, two tall, metal filing cabinets, several office chairs, and…a ceiling fan?—he opened the door. Meeka burst through the threshold, ears back and teeth bared on a growl. In her large feline form, her powerful shoulders stood at Cora’s chest, her canines were as long as daggers, and her talons looked like something you’d see in a museum. In fact, she’d make for a pretty impressive display in the prehistoric section.
Behind her, the small room was darkened, but Cora could see the outline of a second door on the opposite wall. Cora imagined Knox leading Meeka on a chase around the underground compound while Cora had been rendered unconscious. One thing she knew about Knox: he was cunning. He could have tricked Meeka into this room, locked the first door, and as Meeka attempted to scratch her way out, snuck around the maze-like corridors to close her in completely. Hell, for all she knew, these doors were mechanical and worked on a timer or with the press of a button.
Meeka zeroed in on Cora right away, still in Mace’s arms. Her ears pricked up as though in greeting, and a bit of tension seemed to drain from her shoulders. Then the feline’s fierce gaze narrowed on Knox. Even without the lowering of her head and the flattening of her hears, Cora sensed her bottled aggression.
Knox took a hesitant step back, actually looking to Cora apprehensively. It was an expression that didn’t belong on Knox’s usually stern face.
Cora had two choices. She could allow Meeka to take Knox down so that they could once more lock him up—the powerful cat had done it before—or, she could extend an olive branch. After all, Knox had every opportunity to kill her, yet instead, he had allowed Mace and Saraphine to help her. In fact, his quick actions by knocking her unconscious when she’d first been possessed, as distasteful as it was, might have saved them all. She didn’t know Sadira from Eve, but if Knox and Mace were to be believed, she was as wicked as a witch could be.
“Let me down,” she instructed Mace.
He obliged without delay.
A little unsteadily, Cora crossed toward Meeka, palms up in a calming gesture. “It’s okay, hun.”
The savvy cat eased her aggressive stance and then nuzzled her massive head into Cora’s palm, purring with the volume of a semi engine.
“Good girl,” Cora cooed, petting between her sizeable ears.
“No way,” Saraphine gasped. “You have a familiar? You’re so lucky.”
Cora shifted a curious gaze toward her. “You don’t?”
“’Course not. Only the most powerful…” Saraphine hesitated, surveying Cora as if seeing her anew. “Huh.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not powerful. I’ve barely even learned to use magic, and not well…clearly.”
Saraphine snorted. “You can be a powerful witch and still suck donkey balls.”
Cora contemplated that, and then focused back on Saraphine. “I could use a teacher.”
Knox frowned, giving Mace a censuring glare. Mace replied with a look of his own, something Cora couldn’t decipher. It wasn’t the first time the two seemed to communicate without speaking a word.
Saraphine grew guarded. She darted a hateful gaze Knox’s way. Then, facing Cora, her tone became serious. “I won’t help you any further till I get justice for my gran.”
Knox laughed, low and dark. “Sorry, no lessons for you, Cora.”
Everyone glared at him.
Mace changed the subject. “First thing’s first, Saraphine. We need to get Sadira back in her prison.”
“I told you, I won’t do that.”
Then how do we keep her from possessing Cora again?”
“You get out of dodge.”
“We can’t—” Mace began.
“I’m not losing this compound,” Knox interrupted. “I’m not losing anything else to that evil woman.”
Cora canted her head, dying of curiosity over his relationship with Sadira. Knox sent her a fuck-if-I’m-telling-you look. His emotions were tightly closed off.
Saraphine shifted on her feet. “There are ways to protect you from a malevolent spirit. I have items at my shop that could do the trick. That would be very helpful of me, wouldn’t it?” She tapped a facetious finger on her chin before proceeding. “But I’m going to have to refer you to my previous statement.”
“Please.” Cora begged. “If you can’t condemn Sadira, how could you condemn me? She would love nothing more than to take over my body for good. She told me I’d fade to nothing before too long. And I can’t leave the safety of this place. There are people who want me dead.”
Saraphine’s brows furrowed. “You screw over the mob or something?”
“Not exactly,” Mace answered. “You don’t need the details. I’ve been assigned to keep her safe.”
“Crack-up job you’re doing,” Saraphine jeered.
Mace frowned.
Knox let out a clipped guffaw. Another thing Cora had learned about Knox, he loved pointed insults and a good argument.
“For now,” Cora said, “we have to stay here, and if we’re to do that, we need some protection against another bodily takeover.”
Saraphine hesitated, shaking her head. “If my coven found out—”
“Hey, Mace,” Knox blurted offhandedly. “You know that town about fifty miles out?”
Mace regarded Knox with confusion at first. Then, as if catching his gist, he replied, “Oh, yeah. The one with that shop…What’s it called? Sacred Moons?”
“That’s the one. I bet they could help. Might even find someone more competent, too.”
“I know what you’re doing. Do you think I’m that stupid? I couldn’t care less if you go to my competition.” Saraphine snapped, then grinned. “Besides, they won’t help a bunch of vampires. They probably despise you more than I do.”
Mace gestured to Cora. “But they might help a bonafide witch in need, and that’s all we need.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “Aren’t they associated with a rival coven to yours?”
“You’re just trying to manipulate me.”
“True,” he allowed. “But we will find a way to keep Cora safe. And suppose they’re curious about Cora, a powerful, unconnected witch with her very own familiar? Suppose they want to recruit her? Above all, power is your greatest resource. A coven’s goal is to acquire more than all others, right? Lest you leave yourselves vulnerable.”
Cora was a little shocked to hear Mace negotiating so much like Knox at the moment. At least he wasn’t threatening lives.
“We haven’t had any altercations between the covens in years,” Saraphine said, her tone wavering.
“Okay, so then you don’t mind if we seek out this rival coven?”
A clear debate raged within Saraphine. She pursed her lips into a tight bunch. “Alright, I’ll give you a talisman,” she said to Cora. “But that’s it.”
“What about them,” Cora indicated Mace and Knox.
Saraphine waved a negligent hand. “For whatever reason, ghosts, spirits, and wraiths cannot possess vampires. Demons are another story, but that’s rare, and Sadira is no demon.”
“Then let’s go get this talisman.”
——
In the back seat of the tattered sedan, Mace held onto Cora as if she might fly away through the busted back window. The way things had been going lately, that just might happen.
Knox had done them a serious solid today. And in return, he’d brokered a serious fee. Mace’s ego was still bruised over Cora’s coerced acquiescence, though, at the time, she couldn’t have known Knox had been bluffing. At least Ma
ce hoped he’d been bluffing. His arm had locked pretty tight over his jugular, and before that, he’d been fighting to win. But the prize, Mace grudgingly admitted, was worth the underhanded effort. Roles reversed? He might have done the same.
Didn’t mean he wasn’t fucking pissed.
For the tenth time, he whispered an apology to Cora, and for the tenth time, she merely waved it away.
“It’s my fault,” she said. “I’m the one who dabbled with that spell like I knew what I was doing. I messed with something I didn’t even know was dangerous.”
“Yeah, that was pretty stupid,” Saraphine concurred blithely. She too was in the back seat, on Cora’s left side. She had refused to sit up front next to Knox as he drove them all back to her shop, so the passenger seat remained empty.
“What the hell have you done to this car?” Saraphine flicked a pile of tiny glass bits that still littered the car. Before even entering the vehicle, she had pointedly eyed the bullet holes that dented one of the doors. “You get into a shootout or something?”
“Actually, yes,” Cora replied, sounding exhausted.
“Holy shit, no way! You did piss off the mob.”
“It was just a couple of hicks,” Mace explained absently, as if that diminished it.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Mace held Cora tighter, grateful to finally have her back in his arms, though his worry for her had yet to ebb. Had her mind come through the ordeal unscathed? Or was she altered to the core?
He cursed himself for not being able to better protect her. But then, how do you defend against a spirit you hadn’t even known was there?
——
Outside the entrance of Wicked Wares, Saraphine whirled on Knox, but spoke only to Mace and Cora. “He does not come in.”
Knox rolled his eyes. “Get on with it then.” Without argument, he returned to lean against the car and crossed his arms.
Inside, Saraphine led them into the back room. The last time Cora had been here, the ornate hearth was kindling a fierce flame under a large cauldron full of dark liquid. Now only bits of charred wood and black smudges decorated the fire pit. The cauldron still hung from a thick metal bar, but was empty.
The rest of the space was exuberantly decorated and looked as if from a decadent Gothic era. Black and red was the common theme in the drapery that scarcely concealed the dark stone frame of the building. A blood-red armchair sat opposite the matching settee where Cora had drank the spell that unbound her magic.
Too bad that spell hadn’t made her an expert in wielding it.
Saraphine crossed to an antiquated rolltop desk and tugged open one of the small compartments. With one finger curled around a delicate chain, she lifted the pendant from its perch, presenting it to Cora.
Cora took it in her palm. It was a deeply black stone with many hard edges, almost like lava rock. Tiny white dots speckled one half of the object, giving it life in the dim light, while the other half was an empty dark void.
“I wear this and Sadira cannot possess my body?” Cora asked in wonderment.
Saraphine nodded. “Yes. It’s been enchanted with a strong protection spell.”
“What do I owe you for it?”
“One vampire strung up on a spit.”
A derisive noise shot from Mace’s direction.
Cora let out a sigh. “Saraphine—”
The front bell jingled.
Saraphine bristled. “If he’s stepped foot inside my gran’s place, so help me…” She dashed into the sales room.
Cora and Mace hurried after.
A light-haired man stood in the center of the room. Something about him instantly set Cora on edge, though, if asked, she couldn’t have explained why.
Upon seeing them, the man took one step back as though anticipating an attack.
“Oh, it’s you,” Saraphine said, relaxing. However, a second later, Knox appeared behind him in the entryway, and she tensed once more.
Oddly, Knox too appeared to be gearing for a fight. His eyes were narrowed on the young man like he wasn’t sure what to make of him.
“Get out!” Saraphine screeched so loud both males were taken aback. “Not you,” she qualified to the light-haired man.
The young man tuned to appraise Knox, chin raised as if to punctuate Saraphine’s order. Both their stances were openly aggressive.
Then a knavish smile skated along Knox’s lips. Cora realized Knox was silently goading the other man. Goddess, he seemed unable to keep from pissing off everyone around him.
“We’re done here, anyway,” Cora announced, striving to alleviate the sudden tension in the room. “Thank you for your help, Saraphine. I’ll do what I can to pay you back.” She offered a meaningful look with her last words. If Knox was guilty of the crime Saraphine accused him of, Cora would most definitely side with the witches in their quest for justice. But she would need to tread carefully if she was going to spark her own investigation.
Saraphine nodded, hopefully in understanding.
Cora took Mace by the hand and led him toward the door where Knox waited. As she passed the light-haired fellow, a shiver attacked her shoulders. Mace glanced at her from the corner of his eye while keeping the other man well in his sights. It didn’t escape her notice that Mace had shifted her so that she was now on his opposite side, farther from the stranger. Was he sensing something malevolent as well?
For a heartbeat, she met the stranger’s gaze and something like recognition twisted in her gut. Had she met him before? Was he an old acquaintance of Winston’s, perhaps? If so, she couldn’t place him.
With the constant threat to her life, thanks to her recently deceased husband, she couldn’t be too careful. She hurried to the exit, but was suddenly apprehensive about leaving Saraphine alone with the man, even though Saraphine had addressed him as though she knew him. Maybe that’s why the stranger had glared at Knox as if he’d love nothing more than to rip his heart out with his bare hands. Maybe Saraphine had expressed her plight.
One thing was certain. If auras were real, his was flagged by danger.
At the door, she turned to Saraphine. “You’ll be okay?” The statement was vague enough that the stranger might think they were talking about something else. Her recent loss, maybe.
Saraphine crossed her arms. “Of course.”
Cora pursed her lips. Either Saraphine really did know this guy, or pride was making her obstinate. At any rate, Cora couldn’t delay any longer. Mace ushered her out the door and into the car. Knox reclaimed the driver seat, and the car jerked forward before she had even settled herself in the back seat. Mace curled his arm around her and pulled her to his side once more.
“Who was that guy?” she queried, not caring who the answer came from.
“A bloody idiot from what I could see,” Knox replied. “The prat actually thought he could take me.” He glanced at Mace in the rearview mirror. “I’d have let him try if I didn’t think you’d jump in and bugger me up.”
Ignoring the insult, Mace replied, “The last thing you need to do is beat down some kid that Saraphine has a crush on.”
“What?” Cora gasped. “How could you tell?”
“Her pheromones changed subtly when she saw him. Her eyes dilated as well. And her heart rate sped up.”
Cora smiled for the first time tonight. “Aw, how cute.”
“Not cute,” Knox snapped. “Moronic.”
Cora frowned. “You’re despicable.”
“Too right, cher, but the fact remains. She’s an idiot if she couldn’t tell he didn’t return her affections. There’s something about him that isn’t right.”
Cora glanced at Mace.
He nodded. “All his focus was on you, Cora. Even while he was staring down Knox, he was keenly aware of where you were in the room.”
“Another assassin, then?” She sighed. “Wait! We have to go back for Saraphine.”
Mace and Knox shared a look through the rearview mirror. Mace shook his head.
“I’m all for killing the prat.” Knox told him, but again Mace shook his head.
Cora sighed in irritation at the both of them. “If he’s a threat we can’t just leave her there.” She wasn’t about to advocate murdering a stranger based on a hunch, but she could at least try to keep Saraphine out of danger.
“We need to get you back to the cottage.” Mace gestured to the talisman still in her grip. “Put that on.” Then he paused and muttered. “Saraphine had better be right about what that thing can do.”
Cora slipped the chain over her neck. “But what about Saraphine? If something happens to her…” Oh, god! It would be all my fault.
“Saraphine is a powerful witch,” Mace reminded her. “Any assassin that tangos with her is destined for a painful ending. With any luck, Saraphine will do us another favor and not even know it.”
Knox let out a self-satisfied chuckle, obviously concurring.
Cora was a bit surprised by Mace’s lackadaisical regard for Saraphine after everything she’d just done for them. But then, he was a vampire. They lived by different rules. Merciless rules. Cora might have strong feelings for him, but that didn’t change what he was. That didn’t make him human.
Using a firm tone, Cora tried to reach a compromise. “She must at least be made aware of the danger.”
Mace glanced down at her and noted her resolve with a sigh. “I’ll phone her with our concerns once we’re back at the cottage. Will that please you?”
Cora nodded. It was better than nothing.
Chapter 7
“She didn’t answer?” Cora gasped when Mace ended the call. She leaned against the kitchen counter, needing to steady herself.
Underfoot, Meeka munched the bowl of cat food Cora had set out. She was in her kitten form, her gray tail flipping back and forth in blissful ignorance.
Mace stood in the doorway that connected the kitchen to the living room where Knox had stretched out on the sofa to watch another of those vampire kung fu flicks he seemed to like so much.
How quickly he’d eased back into a semblance of normality, like he couldn’t care less about the past week’s events.