by Linda Wisdom
Lili’s nose wrinkled at the acrid sulfuric scent drifting in the air. She couldn’t miss the shadows crawling across her office floor, heading for Zane’s chair. “Jared, don’t take the law into your own hands,” she warned. “Get them to back off now.”
“Only if he tells me what I want to know.” He refused to move as his gaze bored into Zane’s eyes. “Don’t you have something to tell me?”
Zane looked as if he was going to swallow his tongue. “Fearce,” he choked. “Fearce of the Moutanni clan. He sold it to me. He vowed no one, not even a demon, could tell what it was.”
Jared pushed himself away and stepped back. “Yeah, well, like I told you. We all lie.”
“Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?”
Lili looked at the doorway and smiled at her visitor. “Maggie! I think your new little friend will be very happy to see you.”
Maggie O’Malley, a high-ranking member of the Hellion Guard, protectors of all supernatural creatures, sauntered into the room. She looked totally badass in a pair of black skinny jeans and a silk tank top the color of ripe watermelon. A diamond-encrusted black widow spider tattooed on her bicep completed the look.
“Please tell me we won’t be here for long,” the spider said in a French accent. “I have an important date tonight.”
“Hi, Elle,” Lili greeted Maggie’s sidekick with a broad smile. “You look as beautiful as ever.”
“Thank you, ma chérie. I must say, you give us the most interesting toys, Lili,” the spider told her, eyeing Zane as if he were a tasty treat. He looked more uncertain by the minute.
Maggie was engrossed in her new prisoner, who slouched deep in his chair. Her eyes flicked over the charm Jared dangled from his fingers. “In my professional opinion, I’d say your new jewelry is demon-crafted and very nasty to witches,” she stated. “My, my, someone’s been a naughty boy.” She transferred her attention to Zane.
“Good eye,” Jared complimented her.
“My boyfriend’s a half fire demon, and I tend to keep up on the bad toys you all come up with,” she said, pushing back a lock of pale blond hair. She looked down at Zane. “So you’re the nasty little troublemaker I’m here to collect.” She shook her head and made strange sounds with her tongue. “I swear, you mages get stupider all the time. Don’t you learn anything at those schools you magick users pretend to attend? There are some things you just don’t fool around with. Any kind of demon spell tops the list.”
Zane looked as if he wasn’t sure whether Maggie was his savior or a new enemy. No wonder, since the badass Hellion looked ready to turn him into something a lot nastier than a toad.
“If you’re a member of the Hellion Guard, you have to protect me against this demon,” he insisted with a defiance that grated on everyone else’s nerves. “Plus, this bitch won’t let me see my girlfriend who’s really sick. I know my rights! I am a mage second class.” He puffed up, not realizing he looked even more ridiculous.
“Sorry, sweetheart, just now you have no rights.” Maggie snapped her fingers. Manacles clicked tightly around Zane’s wrists. “Using demon olde magick on a witch is a very bad offense. A Class A felony, in fact. Now let’s go quietly. I have to attend parent-teacher night tonight, and I can’t be late, since I’m supposed to bring lemon bars for the get-together. And I’m sure I’m going to hear that my kid’s been stirring up trouble again.”
“How is Courtney doing?” Lili asked, referring to the teenager Maggie and her demon lover, Declan, adopted.
“She wants a tattoo, she’s flunking world history, and for some insane reason, she adores The Librarian, and he’s actually nice to her. How twisted is that? In other words, she’s your typical teenager.” She walked over to Lili and grasped her arms, staring into her eyes. Whatever she saw there had her smiling. “Look at you,” she said softly. “Trust me; it’s an e-ticket ride, but more than worth it.” She dropped a kiss on her friend’s forehead. “And if you need me, you know you just have to call,” she whispered, hugging Lili tightly. “You’re not alone in this.”
Lili’s smile wobbled a bit. “I know, and thank you.”
Maggie’s focus then shifted to Jared. She flashed him the sunny smile that most men would consider sexy, but her friend knew exactly what it meant. And it wasn’t always good.
“And you, you cute li’l ole demon, you,” she practically purred. “If you do anything to hurt my friend, I will turn you into sushi and feed you to the cat.”
Maggie stepped back and took a deep breath. “Okay, junior, up and at ’em.” She gripped Zane by his collar and hauled him to his feet as easily as if he were a rag doll.
“Wait a minute,” he started to say, stumbling, but Maggie held up a warning hand.
“There’s no ‘wait a minute.’ No asking for a lawyer. No insisting you know your rights. There’s just me, and I’m not all that nice,” she told him in a voice that practically sprouted razor blades. “You violated a witch with an illegal demon-crafted charm. Do you understand the penalty for such a crime?” She smiled at the fear flowing across his face. “Ah, I see you do. You better hope Vonnie doesn’t die from what you did. There’s a whole new death penalty for that. Time to go, sport. Since I’m short on time, we’re using a portal that will get us back to my Compound at supersonic speed, even if it tends to turn your stomach upside down. Do not even think about puking on my boots once we arrive, or you’ll discover what real pain is.” She hauled him out of the office, easily ignoring Zane’s entreaties, then his screaming threats, along with his insistence he hadn’t done anything wrong. A moment later there was a popping sound and then silence.
“You have some interesting friends, Lili,” Jared commented once they were alone.
“Maggie was in my class at the Witches Academy. With her skills, there was no doubt that the Hellion Guard wouldn’t waste any time snapping her up,” Lili replied. She eyed the charm the way she’d look at an ugly insect. And she really hated insects. “Do you honestly know what to do to destroy the spell?”
He nodded. He pocketed the leather band and held out his hand. She slipped her hand in his as he gently pulled her toward him.
“I’ve got to say, you liven up my days,” he murmured, brushing his lips across her brow, then trailing them down to the corner of her lips. He smiled as he stepped back. “I know. You have a patient to treat.”
“And get you back below before someone discovers you’re gone,” she said, her eyes shadowed with sorrow. She didn’t want him to leave. She would rather they went somewhere, even if only to have coffee.
Jared’s eyes darkened as he leaned toward her. His fingers captured a stray curl, and allowed the strands to wrap around them. Lili held her breath as he leaned over and inhaled the scent of her hair then lightly brushed a kiss by her temple.
“I think we should leave before I think about something else,” he whispered.
She didn’t want to agree, but knew this wasn’t the time.
Lili tensed a couple times when they encountered one of the doctors and a nurse, but no one noticed her companion as Jared remained cloaked in the shadows.
She breathed a sigh of relief to find Vonnie’s room empty save for Cleo.
“She’s been restless,” the cat told them as they entered the seclusion chamber. She narrowed her eyes and hissed at Jared. When he hissed back, she arched her tail like a graceful plume and left the room.
“Now she’ll be in a snit for the rest of the day,” Lili warned him.
“She’ll recover. Just as your patient will.” Jared pulled out the leather band and ripped the charm from it. He held it up in his palm and muttered a few guttural words in his tongue.
Lili stood back, watching in horrified fascination as the demon-crafted metal started to smoke and turn black. Just as ink-colored flames erupted from it, Jared dropped it to the floor and stomped on it. When he lifted his foot, the charm disappeared, leaving only a hint of brimstone in the air.
“Look!”
She stared as wet-looking black leather bonds suddenly appeared. They were wrapped across Vonnie’s body in the exact spots Cleo had warned her not to touch. There was no doubt the magickal restraints were causing their victim great pain.
“Wow, very S&M,” she said. The witch shot him a warning. “Don’t get any ideas.”
Jared grinned. “Too late.”
They both turned as Vonnie’s eyes popped open and she opened her mouth to scream.
“No.” He pushed Lili away and rested his hands an inch above Vonnie’s body as he chanted in a low voice.
Lili, the healer, watched in fascination as dark gray tendrils of mist left his palms and floated over the young witch’s body. They curled in the air, finally settling on her like a lightweight blanket. Minutes passed as the mist slowly dissolved the restraints. The moment they vanished, Vonnie instantly breathed easier and the pain left her face. She blinked slowly and turned her head.
“What happened?” she rasped.
“Welcome back.” Jared smiled down at her. He glanced up and caught Lili’s attention. “I’ll let Dr. Carter explain. You know where I’ll be.” He smiled as he leaned in to whisper in Lili’s ear, “As I told you, a demon does it better.” He left the room.
She smiled after him then turned back to her patient. She quickly checked Vonnie over. Her healing gift sensed the tears in the witch’s power and the harm done to her body. Jared was right. She’d have a long recovery ahead of her.
Lili briefly thought of contacting Maggie and asking her to drag Zane through the portal several times. Then she remembered that the Hellion witch had her own methods to make her prisoners suffer.
Zane should have stayed a mage second class without wanting more. She knew the Hellion Guard would ensure he’d be in a world of hurt before his execution. Even then it wouldn’t be enough payback for what she did to the young witch.
“What happened?” Vonnie asked, bringing Lili back to her task at hand.
While she would have preferred waiting until she was stronger, Lili knew that the truth needed to be told now. She pulled up a chair and related the story as gently as possible. Even then, she saw shock, horror, and sorrow cross Vonnie’s face.
“Why would Zane do that?” she whispered in a raw voice. “I thought he loved me.” Her slender fingers plucked the covers.
“I’m afraid he loved power more. You have a strong gift, Vonnie, and he knew drawing on that would increase his own. He didn’t admit it, but I’d say he was hoping he would be able to make mage first class without truly working at it. But what he did was slowly killing you. You would have been nothing more than an empty husk in a short time.” She knew her blunt words were hurting Vonnie emotionally, but she also refused to hold back the truth. It was the only way she could move on with her life and fully heal. Lili mentally noted to send a counselor in to talk to Vonnie and help her deal with the love of her life’s betrayal.
Vonnie took a deep breath. She turned her head away, staring at the wall. Lili remained quiet, but she kept her hand resting lightly on the witch’s arm to let her know she wasn’t truly alone. She knew there was a lot for her to process. Treachery by a so-called loved one was never easy to understand.
“He was the first man I ever loved,” Vonnie said softly. “I thought we’d spend our lives together. I knew he was ambitious. I just didn’t know his aspirations would go this far.” She pulled in another cleansing breath. “I hope he suffers greatly before they kill him.” She turned back to Lili. “Will I recover?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “It will take time, but you’ll regain your full power. For now, you’re to rest.” She checked her stats again and jotted them down on the computer tablet hanging on the end of the bed. “I’d like you to stay here until tomorrow, then we’ll move you to another room. I just want to make sure you’re all right.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Vonnie’s smile was wan and still held pain, emotional and physical. Her lips trembled with the tears she appeared not to want to fall.
Lili smiled back and stroked her arm. “The pain of betrayal is never easy to get past,” she murmured. “But the time will come when the agony will lessen.” She brushed her fingertips across the young witch’s forehead and left her sleeping again.
Lili knew Vonnie would brood over Zane and his deception. Being seven hundred-plus years old meant that Lili didn’t sweat the small stuff. Instead she called on her hexy friend Blair to craft an appropriate revenge spell.
“Note to self,” she murmured as she stepped into the elevator car. “Ask Blair about renewing that scab spell on Larkin’s ass. He really hasn’t been punished long enough for cheating on me.” She was still smiling when she arrived at the main floor.
***
“What, no Fancy Feast?” Cleo asked in a snarky tone as she watched Lili check the roast and tuck it back into the oven. “You better not share my catnip wine, either.”
“Did you know some cats are locked away in crates when company comes?” Lili sang out as she opened a nice bottle of Bordeaux and allowed it to breathe.
“Ha! As if that would work for me.” The feline deliberately coughed up a hair ball. “Oopsie, my bad.” She offered a toothy smile devoid of any apology.
Lili zapped the hair ball and returned to her kitchen work.
“I thought there was a one-cat rule.”
“You’re not a familiar. Maybe I should send you down to Jazz’s for a visit. I’m sure Fluff and Puff would love having a playmate for a while.”
Cleo shuddered. “Not after the last time, thank you very much. My tail was in tatters, no thanks to those insane bunny slippers!”
“Yes, quite a battle you started.” She looked up at the sound of the doorbell.
“Oh sure, believe them. Their credibility is in the toilet.”
“Just behave tonight,” Lili told her as she headed for the front door.
“Cute house!” Deisphe told her as she walked in carrying a large pink bakery box. “A chocolate champagne torte to die for.” She handed her the box.
“Thanks.” She guided her back to the kitchen. “I thought you’d be happy with a roast.”
“Carnivore, that’s me.” She grinned at Cleo, who bared her teeth back. “Don’t worry, kitty, I’m not here to tread on any paws.”
“I’ll be in your bed,” Cleo told Lili while ignoring their guest. She sauntered out of the kitchen with her tail held high.
“Ignore her. She’s usually in a snit when someone doesn’t acknowledge she’s queen of the universe.” Lili handed Deisphe a glass of wine.
“More than just the Nile, huh?”
Lili nodded. “She’s popular in the pediatrics ward—proof she’s not all bad.”
“I heard that!”
Witch and Were shared a soft laugh.
Lili wanted desperately to start asking Deisphe how well she knew Sera, but she tamped down her frustration and concentrated on serving the meal. She liked the Were and didn’t want her to feel she had only invited her in hopes of pumping her for information.
Instead of her usual paper plates and her frequent practice of eating at the breakfast bar, Lili set the small table in the tiny dining room and kept the music on low. Dinner was eaten at a leisurely pace where the two laughed and talked.
“We’ve sure had some excitement at the hospital lately,” Deisphe said, lifting her wineglass in a toast, as Lili insisted she remain seated while the witch cleared the table. “And here I thought we’d have a quiet spell for a while.” She wrinkled her nose.
“No such thing.” Lili brought the torte back into the room along with plates and silverware. By unspoken agreement, they moved to the family room with their dessert and refilled their glasses of wine.
Lili forked up a bite of the torte and moaned as the rich chocolate exploded in her mouth.
“Tell me about it.” Deisphe grinned, doing the same. “This bakery is a killer and so good. The owner is a witch. If I
didn’t have the metabolism I do, I’d probably weigh a thousand pounds.”
“So true.”
“So what do you need to know?” Deisphe took another bite. “You want to know something you couldn’t ask at the hospital, true?”
Lili’s laugh escaped her lips. “I do.” She knew honesty was always the best policy, even if she didn’t constantly follow it. But she felt the need to find someone she could trust at the hospital, especially since she couldn’t rely on Jared’s assistance. “I mentioned my friend Sera to you before.”
The Were nodded. She paused and sipped her wine, then studied Lili.
“Sera didn’t just take off, did she?”
Lili shook her head. “I don’t believe so. It’s not Sera’s nature. She has the same work ethic you do. She never left anyone hanging and was always ready to help out during emergencies, even if her shift was over. And she was truly gifted with healing charms. We talked every day after she moved here. Then she said something odd about the hospital, and before I knew it, I hadn’t heard from her for a few days. I contacted some friends living here, and they checked up on her. Her apartment was cleared out, and word at the hospital was that she’d left without notice.”
“You don’t believe any of it.” The Were cradled her wineglass between her hands.
“Not at all.”
Deisphe was quiet for several moments. “Like the others,” she murmured.
Lili nodded. She got to her feet and went into the kitchen. She returned to the family room with the wine bottle and topped off both glasses.
“How many unexplained absences of hospital staff have you noticed since you started working there?” she asked, settling back in her crimson chair with her bare feet up on the matching footrest.
Deisphe blew out a breath and looked upward in thought. Her lips moved silently as if she said names. She sighed. “If you don’t count screwups who left before they were fired, I’d say between eight and ten.”
Lili felt a chill travel down her spine. “The same way Sera did?”
“They just didn’t show up at work one day, calls to them weren’t returned, and they were never heard from again.” Deisphe slipped off her flats and curled up on the couch with her legs tucked up beneath her. “Lots of gossip about what happened, but no one really followed up on it.” She frowned in further thought. “Although…”