An American Witch in Paris

by Michele Hauf

  Of course, the witch was right. If entry was required, he’d need to follow her in.

  Ethan knocked on the door. The containment crew would be armed to the extent that they could hold the demon and some powerful spells. Where were they?

  Tuesday hissed and clutched her chest. The demon had to know she was near. If they didn’t act now they might lose him. She stood beside him. And he strangely felt like they were two door-to-door salesmen, hawking their mundane and ridiculous goods to complete strangers. Tuesday winked at him.

  Her winks always made him feel a twinge of promise. The job did have some high points, after all.

  “He’s gone,” she said with a gasp.

  “What?”

  “I don’t feel him anymore. The sigil has gone cold. Look.”

  Indeed, the mark between her breasts was now merely dark gray, as if a faded tattoo.

  Ethan reacted. He stepped back and lunged a kick at the door right beside the lock mechanism. The door swung inward and slammed against the wall. Tuesday walked over the threshold and said, “I invite you to enter, vampire.”

  Didn’t matter who offered it, the invite was the key to breeching that nuisance vampire deterrent.

  Ethan strode into the apartment, which opened into a vast room, gaudily furnished with a leopard-print sofa and chairs. The entire opposite wall sported floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the snow-dusted forest below. He had the option to go left or right. Right was a kitchen, so he turned left and raced down the hallway.

  Tuesday stayed behind and began to chant some witchy incantation. It tightened the ward about his skin. Good call, witch.

  The bedroom was empty, though the bedclothes were rumpled and the sheets pushed to the end. He held a hand over the mattress but didn’t sense any warmth. In the bathroom the gleam of silver fixtures advertising ridiculous wealth blinded him, but no one hid in there. He rushed back out to the kitchen, where Tuesday stood surrounded by a glowing violet light.

  “What are you doing?”

  “He’s coming,” she said from within the violet aura, and turned toward the kicked-open front door.

  Charging down the hallway strode a tall, dark-haired man—demon—with fire in his eyes and wicked curved blades in each of his hands.

  * * *

  Tuesday felt her violet protective ward crack and fall away as the demon crossed the threshold into his own home. She was the intruder, and she felt a wicked tug at her energies because of it. As well, her initial white light began to shiver. It wouldn’t hold for long. Nor would Ethan’s.

  Yet at the same time her chest lifted, her hands reached as if to caress, and her body wanted to walk toward the man. Demon. The one who had cursed her. Who had tricked her and set her on the path toward a loveless life. But as much as she embraced her choice to take that curse—at the time it had been her only option to survive—she did not want to embrace Gazariel. She had too much fight in her to succumb to anything else he should wish to put upon her.

  But did Ethan? The vampire stood before the demon, shoulders back and in a defensive stance. He held the manacle bind in one hand, but had yet to toss it at the demon. Because he could not. The demon’s power filled the room.

  Gazariel clanked the curved blades together before him. Brilliant sparks scattered to the floor. He then splayed out his arms, not quite ready for battle, more a show of power. “So my curse taker has returned for more? Long time, no see, witch.”

  His voice was liquid and compelling. And indeed, the man was beautiful beyond compare. Dark hair spilled like diamonds past his shoulders. His face was perfectly symmetrical and his eyes glistened like blue gemstones. A mouth that any woman would dream to kiss curled in wicked satisfaction.

  “Idiot,” Tuesday admonished herself as she shook herself out of the stare. That was exactly what the demon wanted. Her adoration. “I didn’t return of my free will,” she said to Gazariel. “I would never purposely seek you again. Never.”

  “And yet you have.” Gazariel glanced at Ethan. “Vampire. Can’t release the manacle?” The demon blew him a kiss. “What do you want from me that you would enter my home without permission?”

  “You have the book of angel names and sigils written by the muse. Give it to me and we’ll leave without incident.”

  Gazariel’s laughter echoed like dulcet chimes throughout the room, but ended on a deafening snarl that coiled in Tuesday’s lungs and tightened her breaths. Her white light wisped away, leaving her vulnerable. And the wanting rose. He was so attractive. And his voice...

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The demon strolled casually toward the windows. With a flick of each hand the curved blades apported away from him and disappeared.

  Taking his chance, Ethan flung the manacle toward the demon. Gazariel put up a hand, stopping the manacle in midair.

  Startled out of the ridiculous pining, Tuesday snapped back into focus. She threw her own magic into the mix and asked the bind to find its victim. The small black hexagon manacle shuddered in midair, struggling against the demon’s magic and her own. It cracked, emitting a beam of green light, and then dropped to the floor and shattered.

  Ethan spoke into his phone. “Now!”

  “The cavalry?” Gazariel glanced out the opened doorway. He shook his shoulders and spread out his arms, great black wings suddenly emerging behind him, wide enough to stretch the width of the room. “I don’t think so.”

  With a bend of his fingers, Gazariel tugged Tuesday across the room, her feet dragging on the marble floor and toes tilting backward. She couldn’t stop the movement. And when she landed in the demon’s arms, he turned her back against his chest and clamped a hand up under her jaw. The icy prick of his fingernails to her skin pushed her back four centuries to that dreaded night he had touched her heart. And had taken love from her life ever after.

  A forward sweep of his wing glanced across her face. It burned yet smelled sweet, as if flowers mingled with the most delectable treats. Lilacs. Oh... He was a wicked beauty.

  The sigil on her chest burned brightly and she cried out at the pain of it. And at that moment Gazariel cried out, too, releasing her and shoving her to the floor.

  “Damn it!” Wings folding down and dusting the floor, he shook out the hand that must have touched the sigil. “I forget we are inexplicably bound. And that was a curse I did not want to ever feel again. You, witch, are an imposition.”

  “And you are an asshole. But nothing has changed in four centuries, eh?”

  “The containment team is on their way up,” Ethan announced. “Hand over the code now and we won’t have to use force.”

  “Force?” The demon laughed. As his wings assumed full, shiny display behind him, he lifted his head regally. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with, do you, vampire? You, who would ally yourself with a powerful dark witch, yet are completely unaware of how her connection to me is forged. I might have put the curse inside her, but it will forever be rooted in my bones. It is why I have chosen to avoid Miss Knightsbridge for all this time. I can feel that bedamned curse. It wants back inside me.” He clutched the fingers of one hand before him. “And know that for as long as she wears my curse, whatever I feel she will feel when we are in proximity.”

  Ethan glanced to Tuesday, who pushed up from the floor and backed away from the demon. She wasn’t about to use any more magic when she knew it would be ineffective. Expelling such would only drain her.

  “I think that means that if you hurt him, you hurt me,” she said. “Peachy.” Especially since she knew the retrieval of the book probably meant much more to Ethan than protecting her.

  “She may carry the one thing I least want in this realm,” the demon said. With a discerning tilt of his head, he appeared to sniff the air, perhaps take her in a bit more deeply. “But I must admit, it is attractive the longer I stand in its presence.
Love can be so...heart-wrenching.” He pursed his lips at them. “Oh. Sorry. You don’t know that, do you, my witch? Or at least, you don’t know anymore.”

  “If you’re having relationship issues, then take it back,” Tuesday said. “The curse is yours for the taking. I’ve had enough of it.”

  “Is that so? Does the pitiful witch now desire love? Perhaps you wish to fall head over heels with another witch hunter. You wore the gashes in your skin so beautifully.” Gazariel chuckled and shook his head. “I will never have enough of the mortal pleasures I am able to enjoy thanks to not being shackled by that curse. Love and adoration are my oxygen! And I have tired of the two of you.”

  Out in the hallway a crew of three appeared, approaching cautiously.

  Gazariel shook his head. “Too little. Too late.” With a jaunty tilt of his head, he winked at Tuesday. “Let’s have a little fun.”

  Spreading his arms out wide, Gazariel recited a demonic incantation. His wings closed about him, circling him, yet still kept a border of four feet around him. His own summoning circle, Tuesday guessed. From within the circle it began to glow blue, and a flurry of blue light wavered and then shot out to disperse into the ceiling, walls and floor.

  Suddenly the building began to shudder. Tuesday had never experienced an earthquake but this must be what it felt like. Her body jittered. The floor tremored beneath her feet. A lamp toppled and Ethan stepped before her, as if to protect.

  The demon smiled wickedly. In his hand he held a glowing blue light. “I will bring this building down if you do not take your minions and leave, vampire.”

  “He’s serious,” Tuesday said through a tight jaw. She could feel the demon’s intrusion into her very being. He was using her magic, the darkness that coiled in the sigil, to enhance his own magic and spread it out as wide as the building. “Get out of here!”

  “I’m not leaving you.” But when Ethan tugged her arm, she felt as if she was planted on the floor. Her legs were leaden. She could not move.

  The walls began to crack.

  “I can’t move. You’ve got to get everyone out of the building. Save them! Now!”

  The containment crew shouted to Ethan for orders. Ethan commanded them to evacuate the building—knock on all doors to get everyone out. He caught Tuesday’s gaze and didn’t ask her anything, but she understood. He would protect innocent lives first and foremost.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said. “If this bastard takes me out, he might take himself out, too. He won’t let that happen. Just hurry. Get the people out of this building!”

  Ethan dashed off.

  And Tuesday growled at Gazariel. “You dare play with the lives of innocents?”

  The demon chuffed. He tossed the blue ball of light through the open doorway and down the hall. “Always.”

  A painting fell off the wall and the window shattered behind him. Tuesday tried to conjure up the shards and send them back at the demon, but she couldn’t focus beyond merely standing upright and not screaming. She felt as if he touched her heart. Again. And then a sudden tug at her entire body, similar to when she’d walked too far away from Ethan, briefly knocked her off balance.

  Had the bond been severed? Ethan wouldn’t be able to run through the building otherwise.

  The demon winked at her. “I did that. You’re welcome.”

  She acknowledged the sudden release, a freedom she’d desired since arriving in Paris. That was a good thing. For more than her. It would allow Ethan to clear out the innocents and escape the shaking building.

  “Don’t harm anyone,” she pleaded. “Please, Gazariel.”

  “You surprise me, witch. With all the darkness I can feel within you, such an incredible lack of love, and still you plead for the lives of innocents. Something wrong with that. You’re but one step away from warlock. Why not let it happen?”

  “Is that what you want? Wouldn’t that then give me power over you?”

  Speaking it made her realize suddenly that maybe it could be so. If she went warlock could she control Gazariel? She’d never had a reason to do so—for centuries—until Ethan had gotten her involved in chasing the demon down. Warlocks were witches who had gone against their own, and often committed terrible acts against humanity. But they were so powerful.

  Was it worth the sacrifice of her last remnants of light to subdue this threat? Gazariel held a book that could destroy so many innocents.

  All of a sudden Gazariel fisted a hand before him and Tuesday was pulled across the room toward him. She slammed against his chest and he spun, gripping her against his body. The final window smashed out and he soared through it and over the nearby treetops, landing her on the snowy ground with a spine-crimping thump.

  Tuesday lay on her back with Gazariel kneeling over her. His wings coved them in a private embrace. The demon pressed a palm over her chest. “You have been such a good girl, keeping this wicked curse from me. But the vampire has drawn up your naughtiness. And...do I sense you really do seek love? Poor, pitiful witch.”

  “I get the feeling you are having love troubles yourself. Did someone jilt you? Why not take back the curse so you won’t be bothered by such foolish human emotions? If only for a little while?” Desperation did not suit her, but she’d not been able to stop speaking her hopes.

  A curl of his fingers felt as if he was gripping her very heart. Tuesday moaned at the pain.

  “Ethan just wants the code,” she blurted out. “Give him the book and we’ll leave you alone. Why do you want to destroy the world when you’re having so much fun in it?”

  “The book isn’t for me. It’s a gift for...a woman.”

  “What? Did you give it to someone else? Someone you love? No. You’re trying to win someone’s love? Is that it?”

  “Enough talk about a stupid book.”

  She’d guessed right. “So not everyone loves you, eh?”

  The demon was not having it now.

  “You, witch, are going to leave me alone. Because I promise...” He bent forward, his hair dusting her face. A dark wanting desire melted over her skin as he whispered against her ear, “If you follow me, I will take out your loveless heart and devour it.”

  With that, a force whisked Gazariel away from her in a beating of wings and a swirl of snowflakes from the ground.

  Gasping and panting, Tuesday rolled to her side and coiled up into a ball on the cold, snowy earth. He’d touched her heart again. And each time it left behind a mark that she would never feel heal over.

  The demon had plans to give the code book to a woman? Why? And who was this woman? Had to be a lover, someone he was trying to win, as she had guessed. It made little sense. She couldn’t imagine Gazariel stooping so low. Couldn’t he have love with but a flutter of his thick, black lashes? And he was not a demon who could condone the ending of the world. Who, then, would remain alive to worship and adore him?

  Through the wide-spaced tree trunks Tuesday saw a man’s legs running toward her. Ethan plunged to the snow-littered ground and leaned over to embrace her. He’d left her alone with the demon.

  She shoved him away. “Don’t touch me!”

  Ethan reared back and put up his palms. “I’m sorry. Everyone is out of the building. The shaking has stopped. I’ve called in the fire department and the police. Where’s the demon?”

  “Gone.” For good, if she would only stay away from him. Which, at the moment, felt like the safest and smartest thing to do.

  “Let me help you up. Get you to the car so you can warm up. Did he hurt you?”

  Only for centuries. And so deeply, even she could not have foreseen the depth of such wounds. Something Ethan could never understand.

  Tuesday pushed up and stood, backing away from the vampire. She put up a hand and focused her repulsive energies toward him. She was tattered and weak, but she did manage to topple him backward a few feet.
<
br />   “The binding between us has been broken,” she said. “Time for you to let me go.”

  “We haven’t gotten what we want.”

  “It’s what you want, not what I want.” She sighed and winced. This whole mess was because some demon who had an abundance of love wanted even more? What the hell? “Just let me go, Ethan. Gazariel is...too strong. I need to be away from...this.”

  “I still need your help.”

  “As your prisoner?”

  He inhaled through his nose and splayed his hands before him. “I’m sorry, Tuesday. You’re right. I’ve gone about this wrong. You should... Yes, you’re free to go. I still need your help, but I won’t force you. If you feel the desire to stop Gazariel from harming so many, you know where to find me.” He stepped back, but then stopped. “Let me at least get you a ride. A place to stay.”

  “Leave me,” she said. A shiver of cold traced over her skin. A hug would feel welcome. She didn’t know how to ask for it, though.

  Ethan nodded, then turned to stride off. It was too easy for the vampire to walk away from her.

  And Tuesday exhaled and held her breath as she watched him slip between the trees and back into the commotion surrounding the evacuation. Police cars had arrived. Red and blue lights flashed. The building had not collapsed, but she suspected it was so structurally damaged it would have to be condemned.

  He was needed there in the midst of that chaos. The man had chosen the correct fight, instead of staying and holding her. Because...she did need someone to hold her right now. Her body felt ready to tumble onto the ground and melt into the snow. To surrender.

  The demon had taken so much from her today.

  She cast a look up into the sky. She did not know where Gazariel had gone. And she didn’t want to know.

  Chapter 9

  Ethan had paced the loft for hours. He’d not been able to get leaving Tuesday alone in the woods out of his mind. Now as he strode the halls of headquarters, destined for the Archives, he wished he would have tried harder. To make her understand that he needed her help and that she could trust him.