by E. M. Moore
“I need to live vicariously,” Randy said. “Flip her around and fuck her, please.”
Liam did just that. My back hit the bed and Liam braced his arms by my head as he slid in and out of me. I ran my fingers up and down his back, his face stern in concentration until Randy told me to cup his ass, which I did. This spurred Liam on. His movements became more focused, yet jerkier. “Yes, Liam,” I said, practically purring.
He let out a low groan.
“I don’t blame you, dude,” Randy said. “I’m about to lose it myself.”
I looked over to find Randy biting his lip as his hand moved up and down his cock faster now. I reached out to touch him when his mouth dropped and cum flowed out, right before he cupped his other hand around his head. “Shiiiiit.”
“Oh, thank God,” Liam said. He pumped a couple more times inside me and then stilled, his own release emptying inside me. His cock throbbed inside and I soaked all of it up, watching them both as they come down from their highs. “It’s hard to hold off with both of you in here.”
Randy chuckled while he moved to the bathroom. Liam backed away from me, and I followed him, wrapping my arms around his hips. “Thank you.”
He ran his fingers through my hair. “I don’t think you understand how special you are.”
I nestled into him, not letting him put his clothes back on. I was enjoying the moment for what it was, pure perfection.
19
I knew it wasn’t real. I could feel it. The edges had that hazy reality that only dreams could have. Wisps of smoke filled the air until I could only see the outlines of certain things. I vaguely remembered cuddling up next to Liam after Randy kissed me goodnight. I would’ve been just as happy to follow him into his room, but he pushed me back to stay with Liam. And here I was, getting exactly what I’d wanted for the past few days.
Granny’s silhouette became clearer and clearer. I was practically bouncing on my toes with the relief. Instead of the evidence of that relief pouring out of my mouth when she fully appeared, I said, “What the hell, Granny? Where have you been?”
She pointed a twisted hand at herself. “Me?” she asked innocently.
I wanted to roll my eyes so bad, but that was one thing the old woman could never tolerate. “I’ve needed you.”
“I’m dead, Norah Girl. I work on my own time now.”
“Well, your own time sucks.”
She fell back, but instead of disappearing through the smoke, a chair appeared and she sank softly into billowy cushions. She lifted a slim shoulder. “Not my problem.”
“Granny, this is serious,” I told her, my voice going up an octave.
“If it was serious, you wouldn’t be calling me Granny. You know I can’t stand it.”
Even in my dream state, I could feel my agitation rising. I didn’t remember her being this combative when she was alive. Who the hell was I kidding? She was a force to be reckoned with dead or alive. I wiped my face, trying to keep myself under control. It would do no good to talk in circles around her. “I need help,” I finally said. A cushion hit me in the back of the legs and I fell back, landing just as she did into cloud-like pillows. “How are you doing that?” I asked her. It was neat as hell, just a little unnerving.
“One of the advantages of being dead, I guess. No hard seats for me anymore. Just a good place to rest my aching bones.” She frowned. “Except my bones don’t ache anymore. I don’t know why I really need this soft chair. Habit.” She made a face and then inched forward on the seat. “You do look a little pinched in the face. What’s going on down there? I can smell you’ve still got the guys all around you.” She sniffed the air. “Cinnamon? Which one’s cinnamon?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. That was Travis. Evil, evil witch. I didn’t know if I was talking about Granny or Travis. Most likely both. “A friend. One of the guys from the coven.”
“They’re your coven now, are they?”
I nodded, and Granny tsked. Then, her eyes flew open. “Cinnamon! I know him. I like him,” she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. “If I recall correctly, he was easy on the eyes and did exactly what I told him to do. God didn’t make them any better than that, Norah Girl. At least you can pick out the right kind of men.”
I listened as she went on, grunting and grumbling about men, but I couldn’t take sit back for very long. I wasn’t sure how long I’d get with her. “Granny, I need help.”
She turned toward me, her full attention gained. “Well, what is it? I’ve got something to say to, you know. It’s not all about you. You’d be amazed at the things that go on here behind-the-scenes. It’s like a whole other world with its own dramas. I thought I’d die to relax, but I’m practically just as busy as I was before.” I blinked at her, waiting for her tirade to subside. Finally, it did. “You first,” she said, giving me permission to talk.
“It’s something Gabe’s grandfather told him. He said that a girl, especially in the type of coven I’m in, isn’t any good for it. He said something about self-implosion and energy and a whole bunch of bad things. I don’t know what to do.”
She nodded as she listened and then continued to nod well past my last word. Eventually, she said, “I did tell you that you were in the wrong place, yet exactly where you need to be.”
“Yeah,” I said, rolling my hand over so she would continue. “I still don’t know what that means.”
“I don’t get it either. You’re just going to have to take the punches as they come, Norah Girl. Don’t leave that coven. You saw what happened the last time. Granny had to step in and save you, didn’t she? We don’t know if I’ll be available next time. Like I said, complete drama over here. Complete. Who knows what time I’ll have on my hands?”
I breathed in deep and then released it, my shoulders deflating as they went. “But I don’t want to hurt them.”
She reached out her hand and I went to grab it, but I sliced right through her. My chest ached in that moment. I wanted my Granny back. Someone flesh and blood who I could hold and could hug me back when I needed it. Damn, my eyes were heating up now.
“Don’t you do that, Baby Girl. We Darbonne’s are strong. You know I’m right here for you, and no matter what, if you needed me, I’ll be there for you. I got Cinnamon’s attention, didn’t I? It’s what I do. I’ve always protected you. Ever since I lost your mom, you were my responsibility and that hasn’t changed yet, even in death. I just don’t know what to tell you. There’s really nothing you can do. Fate will have to run its course. Sometimes that happens. Even as witches we can’t protect everything and everyone we love. Fate steps in, throws us a curveball. Life is life, Norah Girl. The one thing you can do, though, is fight for the things you love. You don’t just wait for things to happen to you, you get out there and be proactive. Fight for that coven of yours because one day it’s going to come down to it. You’re stronger than you know. Always have been.”
I ran my hands through my hair and clutched the back of my neck, propping my chin up with elbows on my knees. “Thanks, Granny.”
“For God’s sake, Child. Do I really have to tell you not to call me that again? Didn’t I just get done with one of the best motivational speeches in the history of…the afterlife, and yet, here you are, calling me that damn name.”
“You secretly love it.”
She glared at me, and I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling.
“You keep telling yourself that, Child.” She shook her head. “Now, if you’re done being a worry wart, I’ve got my own thing to tell you. This medium, calls herself Serena, keeps trying to contact me. I don’t know what in the world she’s doing. She said you wanted me to, but I know my girl’s not dumb. We don’t need some half-twit psychic to pull us together.”
“Madame Serena?”
Granny burst out laughing. “Is that what she calls herself? I love it when those that can’t add things like that to their names just to make them sound more important. I didn’t go around calling myself a voodoo pri
estess.”
I stifled the laugh bubbling up my throat. The hell she didn’t. Maybe not publicly, but every chance she got, she’d throw that nugget into my face. ‘Do you think a voodoo priestess should be the only one doing the laundry, Norah Girl?’ Or, my personal favorite, ‘Sometimes this voodoo priestess just needs a little foot massage.’ Hell to the no. That never happened. I bought her a gift certificate to a spa. Crisis averted.
“What do you know about this Madame Serena?”
I shrugged. “She owns the shop next to mine in Downtown Salem. We only talked a few times. The guys think she’s a fraud, but yet, she knew about you, or seemed to. I didn’t know how that could be if she didn’t have at least a little magical touch.”
“She’s got a magical touch, alright,” Granny said. “I just don’t know where it stems from. Most witches or psychics, or whoever, you can tell where the magic stems. In us, it’s like the deep roots of the mighty oak tree, burrowing its way through the ground from century upon century. In others it’s like a little sapling, only a touch on the surface. It wasn’t clear with her so that’s why I didn’t dare connect. I’m not interested in getting pulled into real world problems any more than I already am.” She gave me an exasperated look.
“I’ll watch out for her,” I said, unsure of what else I could do. Madame Serena seemed pretty harmless. Maybe she just wanted to chat with Granny so she could impress me. Who knew? It wasn’t really my concern right now. There was much more going on to keep my attention than a feud between a living medium and a dead voodoo priestess, whether she was my Granny or not.
The clouds started to swirl in, and I started to panic.
“Take care, Norah Girl,” Granny said, giving me a small smile.
“Keep in touch,” I said, reaching out to her. By the time my hand floated through the air, it grasped at nothing.
I sucked in a breath and sat straight up in bed. Back to reality, Liam lay peacefully beside me. I checked the clock on his nightstand. It was just about five am. Carefully, I peeled the covers off me and tiptoed from the room, making my way through the dark hall to Gabe’s room.
I cringed as the door creaked, but stepped inside and shut it behind me, listening for the lock to click into place before moving forward. “Gabe?”
A soft hum came from his lips, and he fidgeted on the bed.
“Gabe?” I said even louder, approaching him. I sat down and put my hand on his shoulder. He awoke with a start, making me jump too.
“Shit. Norah.”
With one hand pressed over my heart, I whispered back, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
He ran his hands down his face. “It’s okay. What’s up?”
“I just talked to Granny.”
His eyes widened. He sat up, bracing his back against the headboard. “What did she say?”
I cracked a smile as I relived the conversation. I could always count on Granny for a laugh. “She reiterated what she said before, that I’m exactly where I should be and it doesn’t matter if it’s not something good because there isn’t anything we can do about it.”
Gabe’s cheeks puffed out, and he let out the breath slowly. “I guess that makes sense. You’re meant to be here. That much is certain.” He rubbed at his eyes.
“She just said we’d have to fight for what we wanted. I’m thinking she meant the coven. We have to tell the others.”
“We were going to, it’s just that none of us can all be in the same room at the same time anymore, apparently. Did you break Travis or something?”
I pulled my feet from the floor and hugged my knees. “I’m not sure what his problem is. I don’t think he even knows.”
“He’s just confused. Can you imagine having feelings for a girl who likes three other guys?”
“Yeah,” I said, giving him a look. “It’s like having feelings for four different guys.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I—” I hissed in a breath. I’d meant to pick on him, but instead, I was doubled over—again. “Son of a bitch.”
Gabe’s hand came to rest on his stomach too.
“You feel it?” I asked, hopeful.
“A little stronger. Still not as much as before.”
“We gotta go,” I said. “I’ll get the others.”
I didn’t bother being quiet this time. I ran toward Gabe’s door and swung it open. “Guys,” I yelled out into the hallway, then clutched my stomach as another tightening took hold. Movements came from three rooms. “I’m getting the pull,” I garbled through clenched teeth.
Gabe came up behind me, looking remarkably well for someone who’d just thrown clothes on. “Come on, Mates. Duty calls. Move those arses.”
I slipped into my room, stumbling when another cramp hit. I threw on Liam’s hoodie and a pair of sweats before bouncing into Travis in the hallway again. A half smile tilted his lips and he looked far from the frazzled state he’d left in earlier. He’d either taken the edge off with food, or…
My gaze started to drift downward. Travis’s teeth clicked they knocked together so hard when he chomped his mouth shut. “I had some chocolate.”
Yeah, sure.
20
Randy had jumped behind the wheel and we were plowing down the dark streets at an ungodly speed. Both Travis and Liam had a hold of the safety bars while Gabe held onto me in the backseat. I understood the urgency to get there right away, but I also didn’t want to die before we did.
“Things are happening closer together,” Travis said, filling the vehicle with his strong voice.
“It’s getting stronger,” Liam said.
Travis twisted in his seat and turned to look at us. “What’s getting stronger?”
Liam shrugged. “We don’t know yet. My guess is a demon, may or may not be acting at the whim of Dupre or Jay, is having a supernatural creature doing its dirty work.”
“A demon will only do a human’s dirty work just so long as it benefits them. They can’t be controlled.”
I still wasn’t used to having demons be brought up in regular conversation. I should’ve asked Granny about that before she disappeared on me.
“Dupre and Jay could’ve unwillingly unleashed it.”
“So, what are the choices we got as far as paranormals?” Travis asked.
Liam brought out his phone and started reading off a list of names. Damn that kid. He was so good.
“Succubus/Incubus tops the list, Lilin, the alp, Liderc, and Encantado. Those are my best guesses so far. Each one of them are sexually deviant creatures going off what you and Norah found out at the coroner’s office. Some of them use asphyxiation, some don’t.”
“If we can get there fast enough,” Randy said, “we might be able to stop this thing. I, for one, am fucking sick of finding dead bodies.”
The tires skidded as Randy took a turn too sharp. “Can we just get there in one piece, Mate?”
Randy slowed down a little, or it could’ve just been my imagination wishing he would. Soon, the lights of Salem came into view. From my perch in the middle of the backseat, I directed Randy toward the place I felt the pull. Sometimes he turned before I even figured it out myself, which made me believe they were getting the pull back, too. That would be awesome if that happened. I’d known Gabe felt it a little and since they were more attuned to it than I was, they might’ve been able to go off a much fainter tug.
“You’ve been practicing your defensive spells?” Travis asked as Randy turned down a street with single-story houses.
“Me? No. Not really.” Wasn’t he the one that pushed for not practicing recently? The whole idea being we didn’t want to bring attention to us in case Dupre was looking for us again.
He shook his head. “You better start working on that again. I know you’re busy with the shop, but Order work is…”
“More important?” I guessed.
“I was going to say not as safe,” he said, looking at me from over his shoulder. “You can get more than ju
st a papercut.”
“It might be the perfect time for you to work with her,” Gabe suggested.
“Do we really have to go over this right now?” I asked, my voice filling the car. Jesus. Didn’t we have more important things to worry about, like whether some demonic being on a leash was killing someone in a nearby house? “There,” I said, pointing to a house up ahead.
There was a single light on in a downstairs window, but the rest of the house was dark. The guys all sprang from the Jeep as soon as Randy parked it and I raced after them. Liam didn’t bother putting the visibility spell on the house. They just barged right in like they were the police, and I supposed no one would care if we really did stop something from happening. We could just say we heard screaming and feared for the person’s life.
Randy and Travis went right while Gabe and Liam went left. The house wasn’t very big, it didn’t take long to search it and after only thirty seconds or so, Randy bellowed, “Fuck!”
I stopped what I was doing, my head falling back on my shoulders. I knew what that sound meant. He’d found someone and not how we’d wanted either. Wherever Randy was, there was a dead body too.
Liam came up behind me and grabbed my hand. The three of us stalked toward the opposite end of the house. Travis came out of one room, and we followed him into the last. Randy stood over the bed, his hands clasped behind his head as he paced back and forth. On the bed lay a woman, a single trail of blood coming from her mouth. She was completely naked. Wrinkles marring her skin. She was older. Poor thing. I worked my way up her satin nightgown and gasped when I saw her face. No way.
The guys all turned toward me. I stared back, not believing my eyes. “I know her. I met her, I mean.”
“Who is it?” Liam asked, pumping my hand.
“I don’t know,” I said, carefully combing through my memories to make sure we hadn’t exchanged names. I recognized the white and gray streaks in her hair from outside the medium’s shop. “She was one of the women waiting in line for an appointment with Madame Serena.”