“Allison! Are you all right?”
I shook my head to clear it. My vision had been so...real.
“Sure,” I said. “But this isn’t animal blood. It’s human.”
Chapter Twelve
On the way back to the lodge, Eric and I got into an argument about calling the police.
“I don’t mean to question your belief or whatever that blood was human, but I’m an expert hunter and tracker—it’s what I do for a living. And we see traces like that all the time where game is killed, either by other hunters coming in from outside or by wild animals. I don’t want the guests upset by needless visits and questions from the police. You’re a city girl, and you—”
“Eric! It’s evidence! You’ve just had one of your employees disappear under mysterious circumstance—Sergeant Doberman was up here looking for her just the night before last.” I took out my phone. “I have him on speed dial. Why don’t I—”
“No, I’d better do it,” said Eric. “When you’re right, you’re right, Allison. I totally apologize. I was thinking like a businessman, not like a normal human being. I’ll put in the call from the office and then go back up there and tape the area off so that nobody disturbs it.”
Again with that sweet, soulful smile. Whenever he did that to me, I nearly forgot whatever it was I’d been talking about.
But I was reminded of it again pretty fast when I walked in the front door to the lodge, which, because of the snowdrifts, had been extended out into the parking lot by inflating a huge cylindrical padded vinyl tunnel over the walkway. Regina Jaeger, looking infuriatingly gorgeous and elegant, not to mention slender and tall in an expensive Claude Montana designer skirt, was pacing back and forth across the six-sided lobby like a caged panther hissing at somebody on her cell phone.
“Next week? I don’t care how early in the week it is! I need someone now—half an hour ago. Someone poised, confident, and attractive. As well as youthful and physically fit. No, a female, please. Very well, that is the last of my business you will have. I will try another agency at once. Ah, there you are, Allison.” She pronounced my name like ‘Alley Zone.’
“I should have known you would be prompt and early for your work. I am beginning to think you are a most excellent hire. And really so presentable, too.” In long strides, she had covered the distance between us and was brushing a few stray hairs back from my face with two long, cruelly nailed fingers. She stared at me with such naked hunger, I thought for a second she was about to bite me. Or kiss me, which might have been even worse.
“You know what I am thinking? I’m thinking that if we should dress you in Ivanka’s clothes, you would be perfect for the position.”
I tried to edge away from her, as politely as I could. “What position? And who’s Ivanka?”
“Our reception manager. Receptionist,” she added, when I looked blank. “She has completely disappeared! Just run off, like that silly Marisa girl. Why does this keep happening to me? Is this such a terrible place to work? Am I such an ogre? You must tell me truly, Allison. I know you will be honest—I can read your thoughts like a book.”
I sincerely hoped that was just a figure of speech, because otherwise, I was in the deepest of doo-doo...
Someone, probably the creepy weirdo night guy Conrad, had dragged Ivanka’s suitcases back from the Annex, and they were now stacked in Regina’s office. Which struck me as bizarre. I mean...how did anybody even know Ivanka was actually gone if she was only half an hour late for her shift this morning—and had left all her possessions in her room overnight?
But by the same token, would Regina be making such a big song and dance out of it if she knew what Ivanka’s actual fate was? Because I didn’t have any real doubt it had been the blonde receptionist’s mind I’d been inside just now. She might have been nasty to me and not very bright, but she certainly didn’t deserve to be hunted like a wild animal up and down a mountain all night.
Meanwhile, Regina was pawing through the poor Slavic girl’s possessions, pulling out skirts and blouses and jackets and making me try them on. She was playing dolls—and I was Barbie.
“You have a lovely little body,” she kept saying, staring and touching me as she fastened and unfastened buttons and snaps. I’d been around plenty of lesbians at the go-go dancing clubs—had a few good lesbian friends, even—but I didn’t get the vibe that was what she was really after. It was more like she was deciding if I was worthy of her.
Or maybe just playing with her food...
“I think you must really be quite an extraordinary spirit, Allison. I have a sensitivity for these things, you know, and I sense that you are a sister-soul, someone with much sympathy. I am a very unusual person, I admit. That makes me a lonely figure in this life. Often, I have longed for a true friend, someone I can impart all my wisdom and secrets to. I feel you might be that person. I sense that you have many very great talents...”
WTF was all this buttering up about? Was she just toying with me now? Did she already know I was a witch? Did she know about Millicent?
Equally scary, was she kind of making me a counteroffer? You know, like trying to seduce me away from the triad and into a witchy partnership thing with her?
She glanced at her jeweled Cartier watch. “Come. Your hair is still a fright, but we cannot leave the front desk uncovered any longer. I have a group coming in at eleven. I will train you personally.” Which was a laugh, because it turned out I was way better at figuring out the computerized bookings than she was. But when she finally left me alone to get on with my new job, I was no wiser about Regina than I’d been before.
The whole time I was with her, I had caught not even the teeniest, tiniest glimpse of her aura. Or of her true thoughts or intentions. I’d made no attempt to read them—I mean, if she’d felt even the least probing attempt on my part to do that, then my goose would have been cooked on the spot. But I couldn’t help but sense the thick dark shield around them. It was like hanging with Darth Vader’s Death Star. The whole time I was around her, I’d done my best to imitate it and give nothing away.
What she hadn’t told me was that I’d be working reception all day—and then be expected to waitress all evening, too. Mr. Schreich click-clacked by the front desk to leave me in no doubt of that. So much for any more hunting parties with Eric, I thought. At least for the foreseeable future. For minimum wage and tips, not all of which you get to keep, by the way—the busboys demanded their share, and Mr. Schreich, who had not earned a dime of it, took a hefty cut off the top.
So I was already in a pretty foul mood when I changed into my server’s uniform of salmon pink and black, and went in to wait dinner at six. It totally didn’t help that Kev and Brittany were pissed at me for instantly glomming onto a much better job my second day there. A real job, as Brittany said bitterly, with a salary and benefits, however pathetic. Which wasn’t exactly doing me any good at the moment, because I still had seven tables to cover.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that waiting tables is easy. It’s hard freakin’ work—six hours or so of running from the kitchen to the dining room and back, over and over again, carrying heavy trays and plates of food, pleasing everyone no matter how difficult or demanding, and of course, keeping that big fat smile plastered to your kisser if you want a chance in hell of getting a big tip.
And then helping with the clean up before you can finally leave and go collapse in your tiny little room. Your tiny, very crowded little room, if you have a ghost bunking in with you who weirdly turns into flesh and blood off and on, and suddenly wants to wash her hair all the time and try out new skincare products, exfoliants and bath oils. Not real flesh and blood, of course; but something oddly similar.
All of which meant I was feeling even crappier by the time I crawled back to my crib sometime after midnight.
Only, Millicent wasn’t there. Instead, no sooner had I changed into my PJs and started brushing my teeth, than there was a timid tapping at my door.
It was Er
ic.
He was carrying something on a coat hanger, something black and velvety. I groaned at the sight of it. “Crap, not another damn uniform!”
He laughed, showing off big perfect white teeth. “Not exactly.” He lowered his voice. “We’re going to wake everybody up. Look, I know I shouldn’t ask this, but is it okay if I come in just for a minute? I haven’t seen you all day, and I’m starting to get Allison withdrawal symptoms. Bringing you this costume is basically just an excuse.”
“Costume?”
“For the masked Hunt Ball tomorrow night. Everybody has to wear one, so I got into the cloakroom early and snagged this for you.”
So what was I supposed to do? Say no? Make him go away while I tried it on? Or stand outside in the hall? It was a party costume, for crying out loud! Who can resist that? As it turned out, it was a black cat suit, complete with furry ears and a mask with sexy little whiskers and a tail on wires that sort of whipped back and forth when I walked. As I discovered when I tried it on in the bathroom while he sat and waited on my bed for me to make my grand entrance in it.
“Ta dahhh!” I said.
“Wow,” was all he could say when I danced back into the bedroom. Eric’s eyes were on stalks, like a cartoon character. It made me feel more like Tweety Bird than Sylvester the cat...
Chapter Thirteen
“But you’re not supposed to be a cat,” he said for like the dozenth time. “You’re supposed to be a mountain lion. The theme of the party is wild animals—the hunters and the hunted.”
“There are black mountain lions?”
“Well, black panthers, I guess,” he said. By now I was sitting on the bed next to him and we were drinking from a bottle of California Zinfandel I’d rescued from a table that had only drunk about a quarter of it. I’ve tried to give up alcohol and caffeine because they interfere with my powers, but tonight, I’d figured, what the hell and brought it back with me. After all, I knew Millicent was getting all hot to test her taste buds out. She kept swigging my Scope.
“I’m not sure I’m allowed to be a black panther. I think a cougar is probably more appropriate in my case, anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed heavily. I was getting super exhausted, really stretched to my physical limits, and the wine wasn’t exactly helping.
“I wasn’t going to tell you this, Eric, but I guess I kind of have to before things go any further between us. I’m not exactly your age, I don’t think.” What the hell; might as well be totally honest with him. “I’m pretty sure I’m older than you — I’m thirty-five.”
“So what?” He laughed again and said teasingly, “I’m totally into older women.”
“How much older?” I asked. Sounding a lot sharper than I meant to. I guess I was thinking of Regina.
“Hey, chill, Allison. Sounds like this is your way of asking me how old I am. I’m twenty-six.”
My heart sank. “That’s nine years difference between us! I’d be cradle-snatching.”
“I don’t exactly sleep in a cradle lately. Besides—you look amazing for any age. Seriously, I actually thought you were a year or two younger than me. But the bottom line: I totally just don’t care.”
“But I do. It wouldn’t be fair to you to start a relationship—and I don’t want a casual hookup, sorry. Been there, done that. Not for me.”
Actually, that last bit wasn’t exactly completely 100% true. It had been a really long time since I’d been with anybody. I mean, there had been one or two guys since Victor, but neither had amounted to anything, so I was actually going pretty batshit crazy being on my own all this time. Let’s face it, I was getting attention-starved. Right now even a casual fling was looking pretty good—especially with the world’s cutest guy.
Who was kissing me even as these thoughts raced wildly through my mind.
Did I mention he was super-adorably hot?
Did I mention it had been a really long time for me?
Um...okay...I guess it’s no use pretending nothing happened, right? Especially since I could sense Millicent in a corner of my mind the whole time, which, quite frankly, was not the coolest sensation in the world. There are times you just don’t want your innermost thoughts and feelings being shared like a pizza. And I figured if Millicent was there, then maybe so was the mysterious entity that had lured me out into the night before. Or even the scary Regina Jaeger. Which was way too scary and kinky for me. So the whole time I was sort of chanting Death Star, Death Star to myself; you know, as a way of trying to keep some mental privacy. And I admit, Darth Vader isn’t exactly the sexiest thing to have on your mind during, you know, sex...
Plus there was his aura. I don’t know about you, but for me, the ultimate pleasure in the act of making love can only come when there’s a lot of love and trust between me and the guy. Now, in Eric’s case, there hadn’t been any time for love yet; you know, the real thing—true, everlasting love. I’d just been going on a gut feeling, an intuition on my part that maybe he was the one—along with the most insane physical attraction I’d ever felt for anybody in my life. But I still needed to trust him. And that just wasn’t possible, because of the weird aura thing he had going on.
And let’s face it: for a giver like me, nothing could beat the thrill of having a vein sucked by your lover at the moment of ecstasy. Nothing. Not even my sweet, oh-so-handsome Eric.
And he was sweet and gentle and thoughtful and amazingly ripped...and really good at it. Okay, maybe even too good. His moves were way too smooth, if you ask me, because that meant he’d had plenty of practice. However, I still wasn’t getting any sense of the real Eric, not even when we were locked in each other’s arms, kissing passionately. At times like that, your auras tend to sort of merge into one, and ideally, you feel like you’re floating on a tide of cosmic bliss, where you can’t tell where you end and he begins...
Ideally. Only it didn’t quite happen like that, so we ended up having that ‘first-time jitters’ let down, where things didn’t flow together as perfectly as my dumbass heart had hoped for.
“What’s up, Allison?” he asked after we’d finished, his voice a husky rasp in my ear. He sounded concerned and something else—maybe a little bit hurt.
You know how it is. When you’re in bed with somebody who asks you a question like that, you stall. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. Damn it, even his shoulders were beautiful in the dim light of my little bedside lamp. In that instant, I knew somewhere in my heart I’d never be with another guy as hot ever again. Statistically speaking, it just wasn’t going to happen; lightning doesn’t strike twice. And, here I have to confess something. Just because the sex that first time hadn’t been that terrific, didn’t mean I still wasn’t pretty head over heels about him.
Because I was.
So I said, “Okay, Eric, I guess you deserve to hear the truth. The thing is...we’re still actually almost total strangers, you know? And acting on impulse hasn’t exactly worked out well for me, or I wouldn’t still be single at thirty-five, if I’m being brutally honest here. But the thing about what just happened between us is...it was great, really. No way I’m sorry we did it. It’s just that, well, it’s distracting for me being in this place—it’s like this room is haunted or something.”
I’d meant haunted by Millicent, but Eric immediately took up the idea and went with it. “Right, yeah, I was being totally insensitive—sorry. I’d forgotten about Marisa. And for sure, the lodge can be pretty spooky anyway. I remember when I was a kid, whenever my parents would bring me here, they had to drag me inside kicking and screaming.”
He smiled one of his melting smiles at me again.
“Guess I’m used to it now,” he went on. Apparently, Eric was a chatter box after sex. Not necessarily a bad thing. “But you’ve got a lot on your mind—and we’re all upset about the way people keep running off. I wasn’t thinking. Of course, I haven’t been doing much of that since I first set eyes on you.” He reared up on one elbo
w and started stroking my hair out of my eyes. “I know what you think—that I’m too young for you, that the poor little rich boy just wants to screw the help, that kind of shit. But none of that’s true. You’re different from anyone I’ve ever met, Allison. Seriously. You’re funny and passionate and full of this awesome energy. And you’re already important to me, in my life. The moment I saw you, I knew I had to at least try to make it work out between us, to make, you know...something real and lasting between us.”
After that, I pretty much just melted. Can you blame me?
Oh, and by the way—it was much, much better the second time...
Chapter Fourteen
“Allison, what were you thinking?”
Eric and I had woken up early, and he’d snuck out of my room. He was supposed to come back for me in an hour with breakfast, and then we’d go out on the slopes and practice my crossbow shooting before it was time for my front desk shift to start. I also wanted to check out the crime scene we’d stumbled across yesterday and make sure the cops had gone over it.
But Millicent had other ideas. The moment I stepped into the shower, she materialized and started hissing at me from the other side of the vinyl curtain. In broad daylight! She was really drawing an amazing amount of psychic energy from somewhere.
“There’s something dark and unknowable about Eric Jaeger; you sense that yourself! How could you give yourself to a man—a boy, in truth—who could so obviously be in league with our enemies?”
“You don’t know him like I do, Millicent. He’s not like that!” Naturally, I had my own private doubts and worries about Eric, too, but I wasn’t going to give Millicent the satisfaction of admitting them to her.
The Witch and the Huntsman Page 7