by Schulte, Liz
“Then we have no choice but to enjoy it.”
“Besides, it could be fun getting to know each other without all the other stuff.”
“True,” he said slowly. “There’s something I should probably tell you.”
“Sure. Shoot.” I prepared myself to talk about feelings. I still wasn’t convinced I was ready to move on, but having someone like Boone to share dinners and late night conversations with wouldn’t be so bad. He was nice and easy to talk to. If we took it really slow…
“I like you a lot. You’re a great person. Nice, funny, caring…”
I nodded, smiling a little. “I feel the same way about you.”
His head tilted to the side and he watched me carefully for a moment. “Right, but I feel like I need to be clear. I have a girlfriend.”
And just like that, my balloon popped. Of course he did. He was a handsome carpenter who helped homeless people and had hair made from the tears of unicorns. Why wouldn’t he have a girlfriend? Still, my stomach sank. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t ready to move on anyway. The grin that stretched across my face felt ghastly, but I went with it. It was all I had. “That’s great. What’s her name?”
“Nicole. You’d really like her. She’s nice and funny. Like you. I haven’t brought her around because—” He gestured toward the uneaten food in front of me. “I just don’t think she’s ready for this sort of revelation.”
The smile was getting harder to hold. I was torn between the sick desire to find out everything there was to know about her and dropping the subject completely. “No, I don’t imagine she is—but if the time ever comes, I’d love to meet her.”
“You aren’t disappointed?”
“No, why would I be? We’re just friends.”
“Exactly.” He gave me a relieved smile and leaned back in his chair. “That’s what I thought too, but then tonight, all of this … Well, I didn’t want to lead you on.”
So glad we were still talking about this. “Nope. No problems here.” I took a drink of wine, mostly to have something to do with my mouth other than talk. “Does she know about your visions?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell her, I do, but how do you bring something like this up, without looking insane? She wouldn’t understand. Before I started having these visions I wouldn’t have understood. But I will tell her, when I figure out how. I can’t keep something like this from her forever. I’ll ease her into it.”
Oh, that was a bad idea. I was already shaking my head. There was no way to ease someone into this sort of madness. You could make them watch a million movies and read every book, but seeing was the only sort of believing—and that would change her whole life.
“I may be a little biased, but don’t tell her. She thinks she wants to know, but trust me she doesn’t. I was her not that long ago, and my boyfriend was keeping something from me. He even tried to break up with me, but I kept pushing and insisting I could handle whatever it was. I just wanted to be with him. Then he told me about the Abyss. My eyes were opened and everything fell apart. We still broke up, only then I was alone and aware that the world was so much more dangerous than I thought.”
Boone’s blue eyes were soft and empathetic. “Is that when you…”
“Found a vampire? Yeah. I needed to feel safe and be able to protect myself. In retrospect, I should’ve just taken a krav maga class or something, but you know, after you’ve been possessed, subtle doesn’t really feel like much of an option.”
“You were possessed?”
I nodded. “Briefly. The same angel that stopped my transformation into a vampire booted out the demon. She also did something to keep me from ever being possessed again, so everything considered, we’ll chalk it up as a win. But do you see what I’m saying? I know it’s lonely to be the only one who knows what you know and to have no one to talk to about such things, but don’t ruin her life until you’re positive that she’ll have to live with this stuff forever.”
He sipped his wine. “I get what you’re saying. And it really hasn’t been that lonely since I met you. You’re kind of like the little sister I never had.”
Huh. That was just fantastic.
Chapter 8
Boone insisted that he come to meet Stephanie and Megan with me. I tried to explain that they were expecting me not him, but that seemed to make very little difference.
“I tell you my visions so we can make a difference, not so you can get yourself killed.” He winked at me and flashed that charming smile. “We’re partners.”
He was adorable, granted, but when you stripped away all of the misguided chivalry, I was a lot harder to kill than he was. Not that I wanted him to treat me like Phoenix did, but facts were facts. He needed to be protected more than I did. “Would you feel this way if I were a man?” He didn’t answer. That’s right. Feminism for the win. “I think we need some ground rules for this arrangement, rule number one being: the very mortal human stays out of the public eye. I’m better equipped to handle these things than you are. Gender isn’t a factor.”
Boone took a deep breath. “This has nothing to do with gender. If you get hurt or killed on a case I brought to you, it will be my fault and I don’t know anyone to go to for help. If you’re going to risk your life because of the things I see, I’m going to risk mine. End of story. We were brought together for a reason, and it wasn’t so you could solve all my problems. You can’t cut me out of this, Maggie.”
We’d see about that. I tapped on the glass of Beeswax, getting Stephanie and Megan’s attention, before we went inside. Megan smiled warmly as she greeted us.
“Stephanie told me about this morning. How are you feeling? You look okay,” she said, scanning the area around me. “It’s just amazing. I can’t even tell you were hit by a car. How long does healing usually take? Do you feel pain?”
They all waited expectantly. It was funny, for weeks all I wanted was someone to talk about this stuff with and now that I had people standing here wanting to hear about all the weird stuff I could do, I suddenly felt shy. “Um, yeah, I feel it, but it’s short lived. I usually heal pretty quick. But the car wasn’t a big deal. It could have been a lot worse.” Like Valefor finishing what she started. “Nothing to worry about.”
She went to the door, flipped the sign to “Closed,” then locked it.
“You were hit by a car?” Boone asked with genuine concern. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
The car had been the least of my worries. If anything it saved me. I looked up at him and those caring blue eyes. Caring because he thought of me as a sister. “It wasn’t important. We have bigger things to worry about than an accident because I’m coordinationally challenged. ”
Stephanie came out from around the counter. “It hit her hard, too. She flew up in the air, then smashed into the pavement. There are still bloodstains. I don’t think I ever asked, but what were you doing in the road?”
Boone’s head snapped toward me. He knew I could heal, but the examples I’d shown him were much smaller, like a relatively small cut on my hand. This morning was scary. This morning I could have died, but him knowing that wasn’t going to help my case for keeping him on the sidelines, where he belonged.
“It looked worse than it was,” I said before he could speak.
Stephanie raised an eyebrow and Megan came and stood next to her.
“How bad is not that bad?” Boone asked. “Can you be killed?”
“Exactly my question. I never realized vampires were so fascinating. I still have so much to learn,” Megan said. “And hi, I’m Megan and this is my partner Stephanie. We own Beeswax. Are you Maggie’s boyfriend?”
“Nope. Just a friend. This is Boone,” I said, forcing a smile.
He shook both of their hands. “Nice to meet you.”
The four of us stood, not saying anything. I had no intention of answering their questions about the morning, so I just stared at my hands. Prior to this morning, though I hadn’t admitted it, par
t of me did feel invincible. When nearly every injury would heal, it was hard to say how bad I had to be hurt before I couldn’t regenerate. However, the slow response to the injury on my neck was a pretty good indicator that I couldn’t necessarily bounce back from everything. Had she held on longer, I might have ended up in the same shape as my coat: ashes. Holden had hypothesized that a gunshot (or any major damage) to the brain would kill me. As he said “It would kill most anything.” Now I could add boiling in my own blood to the list of things to avoid.
Finally Boone broke the silence. “I know you guys were just expecting Maggie, but I invited myself along. We,” he gave me a pointed look, “could use your help with something. Maggie can explain it better than I can. The Abyss is still new to me.”
Relief washed over Stephanie’s face. “I wasn’t sure you knew and we had already brought up the accident. I was worried we spilled the beans. How did you find out?” She glanced over at me. “And don’t think that we missed the fact that you still haven’t told us how bad the accident was or why you were there at all, Maggie. You aren’t off the hook yet. Let’s go upstairs and sit.” She took Boone by the arm.
Megan smiled as she fell into step beside me. “Ignore her. You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to. She’s just curious. She thought she was the resident vampire expert, but you are so different from what we thought we knew. But everyone is entitled to secrets. However, if you ever want to talk, we’re here. She said your creator left you.”
I nodded, then followed her up to the second floor. He didn’t exactly leave so much as ran away. I wasn’t bitter toward Thomas at all. My friends could be pretty intimidating, plus what help could he actually give me. He wasn’t like me.
The main room of the shop was filled with rows of candles and oils and fragrances, along with all sorts of accessories. Upstairs there were a few narrow bookshelves and a small seating area with a couple overstuffed chairs and a much loved couch.
Megan took the chair next to Boone, forcing me to sit on the couch with Stephanie.
“So, we’re waiting,” Stephanie said, turning toward me and crossing her legs. “Exactly how injured were you? And how injured is too injured to heal from?”
I wanted their help in something that could be potentially dangerous for them. The least I could do was give them a little information in return. I relaxed into the couch. “I broke my leg and cracked my skull on the pavement. My head healed first and the leg healed once I straightened it. As I said, it wasn’t a huge deal. It hurt a lot when it happened, but then it was fine and over fairly fast. And I don’t know how much is too much. Here’s to not finding out—cheers.” I lifted an imaginary glass in an imaginary toast.
“What about your neck?” she asked. “There was some sort of burn—and your shirt was bloody and torn to shreds. What did that?”
I bit my lower lip, not looking at her as I tried to think of a logical explanation, other than the truth which would freak them out.
“Why don’t we quit interrogating Maggie, and let her tell us how we can help her,” Megan said with an encouraging smile.
I released my breath. Thank goodness for Megan. I gave the highlights of the case and explained what I needed them to do based on Phoenix’s recommendation. Even though he obviously had plans to use me, I was certain he didn’t want me to die. After all, I wouldn’t be of any use to him if I was dead. Also, if anyone could help me ferret out a bad guy, who better than him?
“Could be a witch,” Stephanie agreed. “She’d have to be old and powerful. I don’t know about stealing youth though. That would be some major black magic and I am not familiar enough to even say if it is possible.”
“If she can make a portal into random places, she’s plenty strong.” Megan’s legs bounced. “You said she was wearing white both times? And her hair was silver?”
I nodded.
“And the second time, she was young? Was she pretty?”
“Yes,” Boone said, speaking for the first time. “She was very pretty.”
“What are you thinking?” Stephanie asked.
“I’m not sure.” Megan stood and went to the shelves. “The story reminds me of something I read before. The woman in white…” She ran a finger along the spines of her books, then stopped. “Did she have keys on her belt?”
Boone’s forehead wrinkled and he rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I don’t know.”
“How old do you think the hotel maid is?”
He sighed. “I can’t really say for sure. I didn’t get a great look at her. She seemed fairly young, but she wasn’t a child.”
“Did she look upset? Was she crying or anything prior to being taken?” Megan asked.
Stephanie hopped over to Megan’s side to look at the book she’d stopped on, eyebrows drawn together. “Who do you think it is?” She squinted at the book.
“I really don’t remember if she was crying,” Boone said. “My visions are a lot like dreams. They fade with time.”
“Well, my guess, and it is just a guess, is that you saw Holda.” Megan immediately started chewing on her pinkie fingernail.
Stephanie eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an “O” shape. “Holda’s a goddess. Why would she be here?”
Megan frowned. “I know, and maybe it’s a reach—but Holda is usually seen in white. She has been known to steal children’s souls from time to time and she’s the goddess of domestic arts.”
“You lost me on the last one,” I said. “What does that matter?”
“Well, if the maid is bad at her job and gets fired or something, that would explain why she will be targeted. Holda is infamous for rewarding those who work hard and punishing those who don’t.”
“Okay, but it seems kind of ridiculous. It isn’t like this poor woman is the only bad housekeeper in the world. Why her? And why stop at stealing two children if it’s kids’ souls she wants so badly?”
Megan tossed me the book on Holda. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m way off, but if it is her, you have bigger problems. First, you have to find a way to get to her, and she isn’t of our world so when she leaves, she’s basically untouchable. Second, once you make it to her world, you’ll have to defeat her and find your way back. If I were you, I’d leave this one alone. Vampires can do a lot, but taking on goddesses isn’t on that list. I honestly don’t know if anyone could stop her. It’s like an apple trying to stop a human from picking it.”
It wasn’t that easy to just walk away from three people. Sticking with Megan’s analogy, she couldn’t use our world as her personal orchard. We had to find a way to stop her or there was no reason to think this would ever end. How many more people was Holda was going to target? I squeezed the bridge of my nose. If I wanted to be involved or not, it didn’t matter because I was already knee deep.
“I’m not giving up,” Boone said softly.
I met his gaze. “I know. Neither am I.”
Stephanie and Megan looked doubtful. “I’d love to help you,” Stephanie said. “I mean I’m all for good deeds toward my fellow man and all that, but I also know my limitations. Holda is a goddess. I’m a witch with mediocre abilities at best. We can’t send you to there—wherever there even is. We can’t get you home. We can’t get you into the kids’ bedrooms. I’m not sure we can be much help at all.”
She was right. This was never going to work with the people in this room. Boone and I were in way over our heads and Megan and Stephanie weren’t any better off. But at least this was enough information that maybe Olivia or Holden could do something with it. I wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t walk away from innocent lives, neither would Olivia and if anyone could fight a goddess it had to be an angel.
“That’s not necessarily true,” Megan said. “There is something we can do.”
Stephanie shook her head. “What?”
“If, and it’s a big if, there is any trace of her magic at the house, we should be able to pick up a signature, right?”
Stephanie’s lips pu
rsed. “And if we have a signature, we’ll know when it comes back.”
Megan grinned at her. “And where.”
“You wouldn’t have much time to get there. Creating a portal isn’t instant though. It takes a while to break through,” Stephanie said. “At least you’d have a chance to beat her to the location.”
“We’ll take it,” Boone said, leaning forward and pushing his hand back through his hair. “We’ll have to figure out what to do once we are there. Maybe there is a way to trap a goddess in our world?”
The witches shook their heads. “Not that I know of,” Megan said. “But I will look into it.”
“As for the rest, you’re on your own. Neither of us can afford to anger Holda. We’re probably already doing too much,” Stephanie added. “If we’re dead, we can’t help anyone.” Megan took her hand.
There was no time to waste. I could already see the cracks forming in their resolve to do even this much. If we waited, one or both of them would chicken out. I didn’t expect them to risk their lives, but they were our only chance to find Holda right now and I needed them. Without a line on her, the same thing that happened last time, would happen again. She’d take the woman and the trail would go cold.
“So how do we do find her signature?” I stood up, the book in my hand. Time was running out and knowing if this plan was even possible was key. “Do you need time to prepare or are you good to go now?”
Megan’s eyes widened and her face went blank. “Um, I don’t know. Steph, what do you think?”
Stephanie’s mouth pressed into a firm line. “Yeah, I guess we could go now. We’re kind of racing against the clock, huh? Let me collect a few things.”
“I’ll drive,” Boone said. The creases around his eyes deepened. He moved to stand by me. “Do you really think this will work?”
“It’s our best chance.”
The three of them looked ready to jump out of their skins. An easy calm washed over me for the first time all day. I should have been stressed about getting Megan and Stephanie involved. I should have been worried about Valefor finding us or targeting them because they were hanging around me, but instead my only thought was what I would do once we had Holda in our sights. Obviously, I wasn’t magical. If I followed her to her world to look for the kids, there was more than a chance none of us would make it back. But if I killed her (if a goddess could even be killed), those children, dead or alive, were definitely never coming home. It was an impossible decision, one I hoped Olivia would be able to provide more options. At least it was a decision, though, and I wasn’t just waiting around for something to happen, unable to prevent it. I hated that.