by Vivian Arend
Sam clutched my hand and squeezed.
I pulled her into a hug and whispered, “Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to stay with you?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine now.”
“You’re positive?”
Nodding, she stepped out of my embrace. “I’ll call you later. Don’t change your number again.”
I gave her a small smile. “If I do, you’ll be the first to know. Don’t forget to tell the Council about the black magic.”
“I won’t.” She kissed my cheek. “Thanks for the help.”
“Anytime, Sam. You know that.” I nodded to the Council witch and took off, ready to give Mitch the bad news.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MATISSE
I sat on my couch, tapping my foot. Brandon was supposed to arrive in less than ten minutes. My nerves were about to choke me. I knew this was something I had to do, but my insides weren’t really on board.
The doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped right off the sofa. Damn, Mati. Get your shit together. It’s just Brandon.
When I opened the door, he leaned down and gave me a kiss on my cheek. It was a sweet gesture. One that he’d made dozens of times before. Then why was I recoiling?
“Hey. You doing okay?” he asked, concern radiating from his eyes.
“Yeah. You?”
He linked his arm around my shoulders and led me back to my couch. “Great.”
We sat and even though he was relaxed and made no mention of the fact I’d essentially invited him over for a booty call, I felt so incredibly awkward I didn’t know what to do. Television maybe? I reached for the remote, but in my haste, I bumped my glass and water splattered all over the coffee table.
“Oh, damn!” I jumped up and ran for the hallway linen closet. When I got back, Brandon was clearing magazines and rescuing my remote from the river of water. “Thank you,” I said as I wiped up the mess.
“No problem.”
It took me a moment to realize he was standing there studying me. I straightened. “What?”
“You seem… different.”
“Different?” I folded my hands together and took a step back. “Different how?”
He shook his head. “Just different. Less cocky I guess.”
That was probably a fair assessment. Ever since my last night with Vaughn, my confidence had fled. And I wasn’t interested in flirting with or tormenting anyone of the opposite sex. It’s why I’d called him. I couldn’t stomach any of those things. I shrugged. “I’m just depleted I guess.”
He gazed down at me and then smiled, holding out his hand.
I didn’t move.
“Mati?” he asked gently.
“What?”
“It’s okay. We’re friends, remember?”
He seemed so relaxed, so unconcerned about anything, that it made me want to curl into him and forget everything. I moved toward him and instead of taking his hand, I wrapped my arms around him, pressing my cheek to his shoulder. His capable arms encircled me as he stroked my hair. It was nice, but not at all sexy in any way. How was I going to get through this?
Good God. I was a sex witch. How was I ever going to cast another spell if I couldn’t find the courage to get on with it?
Brandon took the wet towel from me and hung it in my bathroom. When he got back, he tugged me down onto the couch, tucking me into the crook of his arm. “Just relax.”
“I can’t.”
He chuckled. “I can see that. But seriously, Mati, we don’t have to do anything. I came over because you asked me to, not because I want to get laid.”
I pulled back and gave him a dubious look. “Really?”
His chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. “Well, I wouldn’t mind getting laid. Especially if the activity involves you, but that’s not the primary reason I’m here. I’d have shown up even if you’d said you were going to force me to watch Real Housewives all night.”
“Seriously? Real Housewives? You’ve lost your damned mind. I would never ask you or anyone else to watch that all night. Talk about drama overload.”
“See?” He brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. “That’s how much I care.”
“More than I deserve.” I smiled up at him. Then I leaned in and brushed my lips over his. In that instant, all my nerves were gone. And when he started to lead me to my bedroom, I didn’t resist.
It was awful. Not Brandon. He was respectful and attentive, but I couldn’t get past the fact that I was trying to force myself to do something I didn’t want to do. We’d fallen into bed and were deep into the make-out session when he started to peel my clothes off. At that point, I should’ve just gotten it over with. But instead, I’d freaked out. The moment he’d pulled my shirt open, I’d jumped up and wrapped myself in a robe.
Poor guy. He’d been understanding, and when I’d asked for some time to myself, he’d kissed the top of my head and asked if he should leave. I’d wanted to say yes. Wanted to walk him to the door and send him on his way. But I couldn’t. If I rejected Brandon, I’d just have to find someone else.
In the end, I’d gone through with it, but it had been awkward and impersonal. For the first time in my life, I truly resented being a sex witch. If this was what I had to do in order to work with my sister and the coven, it wasn’t worth it.
“Everything okay?” Brandon asked as he tied his shoelaces. He was moving slowly, as if he’d just woken up. His lethargic movements made me feel guilty for taking his energy. He’d recover, but it would be a few days.
“Yeah, sure.” I pulled a bulky sweater over my head and stuffed my feet into a pair of boots. “I really appreciate—”
He put his hand up, cutting off my words. “Don’t.”
I raised my eyebrows in question.
He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “Look. We both know you didn’t want to do this. And if it weren’t for the fact that I knew you needed this to get strong, I wouldn’t have gone through with it.”
“You wouldn’t have?” I sat on the edge of my bed and rubbed at the stabbing pain that had formed over my left eye.
He let out an ironic chuckle. “No one wants to be second choice, Mati.”
“What? You’re not second choice. You were my first choice. This isn’t about wanting someone else. It was about who I could trust.”
He sat down next to me. “I believe that’s what you think. And I know you trust me,” he said, his tone gruff with fatigue. He kissed the back of my hand and then tucked it between both of his. “But pretty soon I think you’re going to realize the reason you’re not that into this is because you’re wishing you were with someone else.”
I pulled my hand from his. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He watched me for a moment. “That might be true.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek once again, then got up. “Take care, Matisse.”
I nodded and let him go. After the front door closed behind him, I ran for my shower and spent the next half hour under the scalding-hot water.
By the time I emerged from my bathroom, my skin was bright red and the afternoon seemed like a vague memory. The only evidence that Brandon and I had been together was the magic coursing through my veins.
My magic. It was back. Thank the Goddess. I grabbed my phone.
Chessa answered on the first ring. “Mati?”
“I’m ready. Meet me in ten minutes.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Are you sure about this?” Chessa asked as we stared at the portal in the shadow world.
“Yes.” The more I thought about it, the more determined I was. Chessa wanted this. If the portals were closed, there wouldn’t be a need for demon hunters and Vaughn and his ilk would be out of business.
“Okay. I have another spell to try. It has more juice.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. I’m ready when you are.” But then nervous energy skittered through me. “What if we summon another demon?”
“I took care of the la
st one. Don’t worry.”
“Are you forgetting one came after me?”
“Right. We’ll cast a protection spell. Or maybe a deflection spell.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I won’t let that happen again.”
Her matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone put me at ease. “Then let’s get this done.”
“I did some research. It appears you need to be the sole spell caster. All I can do is back you up if a demon comes forward. You cool with that?”
“Yep. I got this.” I’d almost closed the portal last time. With a little more finesse, I could make it happen. I was sure of it.
“Good. Show me what you’ve got.” Her eyes were bright with excitement. I knew how much this meant to her. She’d lost a good friend to a demon. That was worse than anything I’d gone through.
With determination, I raised my hands over my head and concentrated on the outline of the portal.
“Obfirmave,” I cried and poured every last bit of my energy into the spell. This time instead of the light flickering, it turned a brilliant bright white. The light called to me, invaded me, and made me one with the spell.
Everything disappeared. All I saw was magic pulsing around me.
Chessa was gone. The shadow world was gone.
All that was left was power.
I flung my head back and let the seductive energy ripple through me. It was heady and made me feel so incredibly alive.
I’d never wielded that much power before. Never been so connected with a spell before. I didn’t want to let it go. I could have stayed suspended there in that moment forever. I would have too. It was that mesmerizing.
But then I felt a tug, and my magic started to slip away. No! Panic took over. I would not lose my power again. No one, not even a demon, was going to pry it from me.
The portal. I had to close it. Now. My power pulsed around me, and then with a burst of energy, I cast everything I had at the portal.
Chessa said something, but I couldn’t make out her words. I was too focused. All I saw was light shining back at me.
“Close, dammit,” I demanded.
Tears of sheer emotion burned my eyes. I had to do this. My heart ached too much not to. It was my way of making peace with the fact that I was a sex witch. Ever since Vaughn happened, I’d felt dirty. Using people for power was awful. I wouldn’t do it again. But if I could close this one portal, make the world safer, maybe I could be right with myself again.
My magic burst forth with one final effort. The brilliant white light vanished. The portal was gone, too. The wall was solid black, with no outline of light. I’d done it. It was closed. I turned to Chessa, bouncing with excitement.
“You did it! Oh my Goddess. I can’t believe it.” She flung her arms around me as we both squealed.
“Believe it.” I laughed out of sheer relief and pulled back. “This changes everything.”
She nodded, but as I watched her, Chessa’s image started to fade. One moment she was solid, then I could see right through her. “Chessa?”
“Mati?” She looked just as confused as I felt.
“What’s going on?” I asked, but it was too late. Chessa had faded away completely.
Suddenly all the magic I’d just used slammed back into me, burning through my veins. I writhed and twisted, screaming in pain, unable to cast it off. It was consuming me, charring me from the inside out. This was it. I was going to die right there in the shadow world. The pain was so intense I almost welcomed the end. But then my fight reflex kicked in. I couldn’t give up. Not now.
Without knowing what else to do, I forced the burning sensation from my mind and concentrated on the riverfront. I needed to get home. Needed to get to my coven. I took two steps, willing myself back through the shadows. Then everything fled and the river-scented air hit me. Only I didn’t land on the west bank of the Mississippi. I was on the east bank, or what I thought was the east bank, near the French Quarter. The only problem was no one else was there.
The pain was gone. It had vanished the moment I’d left the shadow world. Nothing was left except the horrific memory. I spun, looking for a tourist or cars going across the nearby bridge. There was nothing. The world was deserted. This had to be some sort of alternate reality. My heart sped up. Where was I? I had to get back to my world. Panic took over at the thought of stepping back into the shadows, but I couldn’t stay where I was.
I sucked in a breath and told myself the spell was broken. Whatever had happened wouldn’t happen again. It couldn’t if I didn’t cast any more magic.
Tamping down my panic, I let my eyes slide out of focus as I concentrated on the shadows. Only when I took the step to cross over, instead of slipping back into the shadows, a thick fog rushed in and I was trapped in a world of nothing but gray.
I flung my hands out, trying in vain to clear the fog as I stumbled backward and forward, searching for a break in visibility. No luck.
Shit! Now what?
Magic. As much as I didn’t want to call on that particular gift at the moment, it was my last and only resource. Gritting my teeth, I raised my arms over my head, pictured my apartment, and yelled, “Return!”
Nothing. Not even a tingle. My heart started to pound against my chest. No magic? Terrified, I reached deep in my gut for my power. I couldn’t feel even the tiniest spark. A cold, terrifying realization came over me. My magic was gone and I was trapped in some void world. There was no way out.
My only hope was that Chessa would find a way to bring me home.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
VAUGHN
I was working at the motorcycle shop when Mitch’s name popped up on my cell phone. Now what? I’d already suffered through two rants about how I’d fucked up the last mission. Never mind that Waters was safely locked away and wasn’t getting out anytime soon. Apparently the information about the Black Heart curse was more important than keeping women safe from jackasses who thought nothing of using their fists to win an argument.
“Vaughn,” he said after I answered. “I have a time-sensitive job for you. Can you handle it?” His tone was a little testy, but nothing worse than normal.
“Depends on what it is.”
“There’s a witch who’s casting black magic. He just left here. I need you to pick him up.”
I grabbed a pen. “Name?”
“Lucien Boulard.”
I frowned. “Weren’t you friends with a guy by that name?”
“Sort of. Same guy. And he just tried to curse me. Pick him up and bring him to me.”
I swallowed my snarky reply. “I will if no Council witches show up out of the blue.”
“Make sure of it. I want to question him first. Consider it a courtesy since we knew each other once. Be careful, though. He’s a lot more powerful than most.” Mitch paused, and when he spoke again, I could hear the sneer in his tone. “Just don’t fuck it up this time.”
I ignored the barb. He could be pissed all he wanted. It wasn’t going to change things. “Last known location?”
“The abandoned Six Flags.”
“Six Flags? What were you doing there?”
He cleared his throat. “I’ve been dabbling in the movie-making business. Just a side job. Never mind that. Bring me Boulard and you’re in for a bonus.”
The line went dead. Bonus? Right. I’d be lucky to get one red cent out of him. He still hadn’t paid me for the last job. Maybe Mitch would get over himself if I brought him Boulard. But if he was as powerful as Mitch seemed to think, I couldn’t take any chances. I’d have to neutralize him before he even knew I was there. Otherwise, if he wanted to, he could kill me.
I sat at my computer and ran the trace on his car registration. Five minutes later a map with a flashing icon popped up on the screen. Boulard was on the move. I took careful notes of which route he was traveling. Even though I didn’t know where he was going, if I tracked him for any amount of time, patterns would form.
So far he was just tooling around town. Nothing special. Ex
cept when he finally stopped. “No way,” I mumbled. The bastard was parked right in front of the motorcycle shop. Interesting. Did he know he was being tracked?
It didn’t matter. He was on my turf. After grabbing my phone and keys, I took off in the SUV. Ten minutes later, I parked a block and a half down from where Boulard’s car was sitting. What was he doing? Using my binoculars, I focused in on him. Nothing. He was just waiting. Waiting for me no doubt. What else would he be doing there? Did he think he was going to use me against Mitch? Not if I had anything to say about it.
I hit a button on my phone and called the shop. “Hey, boss?”
“Paxton. Why are you bothering me?”
I grinned. “Because if I don’t, no one else will.”
“Tell the old lady that.”
“Not on your life. Listen. I need a favor.”
The boss mumbled something about pain-in-the-ass employees, then said, “Well? I don’t have all day.”
Suppressing a chuckle, I cleared my throat. “Right. You see that guy sitting outside your shop in a Jeep?”
“The pretty boy who looks like he needs to get laid?”
There was no stopping the laugh this time. “Yep. That one.”
“He’s waiting for you.”
Well, that was interesting. “Good. Can you go out there and wave him in. Don’t approach him, just yell that I came in through the back or something.”
“Did you?”
“What? Come in the back?”
“Yeah. Are you here?” he asked.
“I’m outside,” I said.
“Right. And you can’t approach him because?”
“He’s a douche who’s casing the place.” I stole another glance at him through the binoculars. “I’m going to take him out before he gets a chance.”
“I knew there was a reason I hired your ugly ass. You want me to do it now?”
“Give me five minutes.”
The line went dead. I grabbed my zip ties, a Taser, and a dart. If I did this right, he’d never know what hit him. Mitch had mentioned he was powerful and a black-magic user. I couldn’t take a chance. If at all possible, I’d use the dart. It was only a small pinch that would put him out for less than ten minutes. If things got ugly, I’d go for the Taser.