Then she heard Alex’s voice in her head. “Remain calm. I’m here. You’re okay.”
She cried, “But you’re not. I saw him shoot you.”
Alex’s voice came again. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not,” she wailed as she began to cry.
“Yes, I am. Baby, I am totally fine. I’m a gargoyle. Bullets can’t penetrate my hide.”
She tried to relax as panic continued to claw at her. “But you told me you can’t shift completely.”
He chuckled and she could feel the vibration all around her.
“Where are you?”
She felt herself being squeezed. “I’m here, all around you.”
“Where are we? Where did everyone go?” She couldn’t hear anything anymore. “Have we been transported somewhere? Why is it so dark?”
“Grow a tail, grow a snout, little piggy, lights out.” His sing-song baritone rumbled through her.
She gasped and snapped, “You were awake. You eavesdropper.”
He laughed. “We haven’t been transported. We’re still in the same spot. The fighting is going on around us, but my guys almost have it under control,”
“Why can’t I see it? Hear it?”
“Because you are wrapped in my wings.”
“What?”
He chuckled, and suddenly she was back on the stage in the church as Alex spread his wings to release her.
Cowboy shouted directions from her side. He turned and smiled. “Welcome back, Princess. We’ve had a bit of excitement while you were gone.”
She looked to her other side and found Alex in gargoyle form. He winked at her. “You stay here. I’m going to make sure they get Hollister locked up.”
She jumped as someone touched her arm.
S’Mone smiled down at her. “I’m so happy you are unharmed, my child.”
“What the hell happened?” she demanded as she stabbed her fists on her hips.
She heard Slicer holler from behind her, “You go, girl. I’m wantin’ some answers too.”
She whirled around to see Slicer slide down the side of the dead beast that had dropped on him. “You’re alive,” she squealed as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
He hugged her and patted her back. “Honey, it’s gonna take a lot more than a dead dragon to take out ‘ol Slicer. Of course I’m alive.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m so happy to see you.”
He smiled.
S’Mone put a calming hand on her forearm. “We are not done here.”
She looked around. “Well, it looks to me like we’re done. I know I’ve about had enough of this.”
S’Mone inclined her head slightly. “That may be, but we have only managed to end your engagement to Hollister.”
Quayk’s breath hitched in her chest. “It’s ended?”
S’Mone smiled. “Yes, child.”
Quayk’s father sidled up next to her and slipped his arm around her waist as she laid her head against his shoulder.
S’Mone explained, “I had a vision. Sullivan Firedrake orchestrated this entire thing. He paid the old Oracle to lie about your match. It wasn’t Hollister.”
Quayk’s knees buckled and she grabbed her father, who caught her before she hit the floor. Immediately, there was a chair under her butt, and her father lowered her into it. “You okay, honey?”
She nodded as the tears came again. “Yeah, except I can’t seem to stop crying.”
He laughed and raised his eyes to S’Mone. “I believe we have a ceremony to finish, do we not?”
She nodded and swept her hand in an arc to indicate the crowd in the church. “But we have lost most of our young men. Perhaps we should wait until we get them back in the church. I have sent your bodyguard to bring Hollister to me. They should be here shortly.”
Grant SpellMaker bristled. “Why do we need him here?”
S’Mone smiled and patted his shoulder. “I need to be sure there is no aura around him. Just because his father paid the Oracle for silence, that does not mean he isn’t the chosen. Earlier I saw two men with the aura. I need to see them clearly again.”
As Alex and his team stepped back into the church through the double doors, they had Hollister with them, in handcuffs.
S’Mone smiled. “Ah, there they are now.”
Quayk was exhausted. She was emotionally spent, and not at all sure she was ready to meet the man magic expected her to marry. What if it was still Hollister?
I can’t do this!
S’Mone went into her trance and lifted her head, her eyes again white.
Quayk immediately stood and held out her arms. “Wait! Wait a minute.”
She took two steps backward as she spoke to the Oracle. “Wait…I think maybe we should do this another day.” As she turned to run, she found herself up against a human wall in a camouflage suit.
She squinted at the man. “Tracker? You have a camo suit? Are all your clothes camo?”
He smiled and nodded as he put his hands on her shoulders and spun her around, scooting her back toward her seat. She tried to dig in her heels, but he picked her up and deposited her on the chair.
Then he pointed his finger in her face. “You sit. And don’t move.”
Laughter flowed through the crowd in the church and Quayk looked up to find it almost full again. Her heart began to pound in her chest.
S’Mone moaned and scanned the room. Then she closed her eyes and when she re-opened them, they were gold again.
She smiled at Quayk, and then addressed everyone in the church. “The rightful intended is NOT Hollister Firedrake”
Hollister howled from his spot on the front pew, “You’re a liar! I have the aura.”
Boxcar hit him in the face with his elbow, and his nose spurted blood. “Oops,” was all Boxcar said as he returned his attention to the stage.
S’Mone shook her head as she glared at Hollister. “No. Your father placed a false aura over you. You were never the intended.”
Hollister stared at her as blood dripped from his nose.
A rushing river of relief pounded through Quayk, and she was grateful she was already sitting, because her legs had turned to rubber.
It was clear from the shock on Hollister’s face, he didn’t know. Quayk almost felt sorry for him. He’d been as big a victim as she.
Okay, so he wasn’t the intended. Who was?
Quayk couldn’t take it. She surged to her feet and started to run again. But before she’d gone four steps, Alex had her in his arms and carted her back to her chair.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. “I’m not ready for this.”
He sat down in the chair with her in his lap, ignoring her protests.
Finally, he motioned to the Oracle, “Go on. Find her intended. I’ll make sure she stays here.”
Quayk muttered, “Traitor,” and she stomped on his foot.
He howled, “Dammit, woman, I’m tender footed, and that hurts like hell.”
His team sat on the front bench, and they went wild with laughter as they poked each other in the ribs and pointed.
He drew a deep breath and told the Oracle, “Go on, let’s get it over with before I have to hog-tie this woman.”
S’Mone straightened to her full height and said, “But it is done. Her true intended has been found.”
Quayk quit struggling as she stared at the Oracle, who smiled at her. “The intended is the man who can tame the wildcat.”
The church erupted. Quayk’s family and the security team all whooped and hollered in the front row. Cowboy twirled a lasso over his head, and Slicer did some weird sort of dance as he sang, “Oh yeah, come to papa.”
Quayk still didn’t understand. She pulled out of Alex’s lap and surged to her feet as she put her hands on her hips and glared at S’Mone. “What the hell are you talking about? Quit talking in riddles and tell me who it is.”
S’Mone smiled and inclined her head as she pointe
d.
Quayk followed the direction of her finger to find Alex staring at her.
She cut her gaze back to S’Mone, who nodded. “The man who can tame the wildcat has always been the man intended for you.”
Quayk swallowed hard as her heart lodged in her throat. She turned to look at Alex, who was on his feet and moving toward her.
She felt something brush her shoulder and tighten about her waist as they were pulled together by Cowboy’s lasso, to a chorus of cheers.
Alex took her face in his hands and kissed her as she heard Cowboy lead the security team in a giant, “Yee Haw”.
She leaned into the sexy gargoyle and kissed him back with everything she had, her tongue dancing with his, as his hands tangled in her hair.
When they finally pulled apart, she was breathless as she stared at the man who would be her husband. The only thing she could think to say was, “So, you’re really prepared to be a SpellMaker?”
The crowd in the church hushed, as everyone waited for his response.
Alex raised his chin and replied, “Well, I don’t know. That might be a deal breaker.”
Her heart thumped hard before she realized one side of his mouth was pulling up into a cockeyed grin. She huffed at him and squeezed his hand hard as she leaned close and said, “You’d better be careful, or I’ll turn you into a toad.”
His eyes stretched wide. “You can do that?”
Quayk just smiled as she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Alex again, to the cheers of the crowd.
CHAPTER NINE
S’Mone waited in the entry foyer of the SpellMaker home. She was here to give Grant SpellMaker an update on the results of her investigation into the activities of Sullivan Firedrake.
Grant entered the room and held both hands in front of him. “S’Mone. It’s so good to see you.” He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips as he kissed them.
“It is good to see you also, Mr. SpellMaker.”
“Call me Grant, please.” As his wife entered, he extended his hand toward her, “And this is my wife, Paytn. Paytn, this is our new Oracle, S’Mone.”
Paytn smiled and held her arms wide as she stepped up to S’Mone and hugged her. “Thank you so much for everything you have done for my family. We can never repay you.”
S’Mone smiled. “It was my pleasure to set things right.”
Grant swept an arm toward the living room. “Come in, please. The children are all out in the barn working on decorations for the wedding, so we will have a little peace and quiet to talk.”
S’Mone followed them into the living room, and took a seat. “I have completed my investigation into the events that led to the debacle over your daughter’s intended, and I wanted to fill you in on what I found so you might have closure before the wedding.”
Grant nodded. “Okay. Would you like something to drink first?”
S’Mone shook her head, “No, thank you.”
He smiled. “Then we’re all ears.”
S’Mone thought a moment before she began. “Well, you already know Sullivan paid the old Oracle to be silent. I have been in meditation almost continuously for the last three days, and I have found much more.”
He nodded.
“It seems Sullivan had gained power over the Oracle when he witnessed a heinous murder committed by the Oracle’s son. When called upon to identify the murderer, the Oracle could not bear to name his own son, so he placed the blame on a man already in prison for murder, keeping his son safe.”
Paytn shook her head. “That is horrible.”
S’Mone nodded. “Yes, and a great sin for an Oracle.” She took a deep breath and continued, “The accused man was put to death for both murders, and the Oracle’s son was sent to a university out west to keep him out of trouble. The Oracle thought his son safe at that point, but when he returned to his office to record the results of your daughter’s Destiny Determination Ceremony, Sullivan was waiting, and threatened to expose him.”
Grant leaned forward and put his forearms on his knees. “Yeah, I can see Sullivan doing that. And, of course, the Oracle would be afraid for himself and his son.”
S’Mone nodded. “If the truth were known, he would be put to death next to his son, and his family would be stripped of all their lands and holdings. So he agreed to lie about the results, and he assisted Sullivan in placing a spell on Hollister that would mimic the aura, and covered it with a cloaking spell, to ensure they were never found out.”
Grant nodded and leaned back. “Is the false aura still there?”
S’Mone shook her head. “No. Sullivan was the creator of the spell, so it died with him. When I first saw Hollister, he had the aura, which is why I saw two men with the aura—Hollister with the false aura, and Alexavier McCall with the true aura.”
Grant narrowed his eyes. “I’ve never heard of such a spell.”
S’Mone shivered at the taste of bile in her mouth. “It’s not a common spell.” She met Grant’s gaze as she drew a deep breath. “I’m afraid Sullivan Firedrake was using black magic.”
“What?” Grant leaned forward. “Are you saying he used death magic to set that spell?”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”
Grant looked at his wife before returning his gaze to S’Mone. “Do you think Hollister Firedrake is also using death magic?”
She leaned forward and pinned Grant’s gaze with her own. “I do not know. I did not see the taint on him when I was in the trance, so I’m hopeful that his father kept that power for himself. My guess is that he planned to use it to control both Hollister and Quayk after they were married, so he probably did not share it.”
She held Grant’s gaze. “But if the Destiny Determination Ceremony had not been repeated, Sullivan would have succeeded. Your daughter would tomorrow be shackled to a man she hates, and trapped in a dark house.”
She looked away and adjusted her skirt and paused for a moment to allow it to sink in before continuing. “But magic always strives to maintain a balance, and ensure things are as they should be.”
She again met his gaze and pointed a finger at him. “The bodyguard is very powerful. I believe magic brought him to you because it knew there was a powerful enemy rising against your family. The gargoyle was chosen as the intended because magic knew you would have need of balance and protection.”
Grant looked at his wife and nodded as he returned his gaze to S’Mone. “I appreciate that you shared this with me. What of Hollister?”
S’Mone pursed her lips. “He is as much a victim as your daughter, so the law cannot hold him. He has been released. His father raised him to believe marrying into your family was his birthright. He is angry—angry with his father, angry with your daughter, angry with you. Were I you, I would treat him as a rabid dog. Do not turn your back on him.”
Grant blew out a heavy breath. “Well, let’s hope there’s no more trouble from him. But I will heed your advice, and I will make sure my security staff is aware of the issues.”
S’Mone nodded and smiled as she stood. “Well, I must go. I need rest after so much scrying.”
Grant and his wife escorted S’Mone to the door, and Paytn asked, “You will attend the wedding tomorrow, won’t you?”
S’Mone nodded. “Of course. I would not miss it.”
Paytn hugged her again. “Good. I look forward to sitting down with you afterward over a glass of wine.”
S’Mone laughed. “Make it a Pinot Noir and I will have two glasses.”
“Excellent. Then I will save two bottles just for you and I.”
Grant shook his head. “Oh, Lord, I’d better tie down the lampshades.”
CHAPTER TEN
Quayk took a deep breath as she rode in the limousine toward the church. It was her wedding day—a day she had dreaded for so long, and now she couldn’t wait to get to the chapel.
She had taken a run over to the church that morning as her sisters were putting the final touches on the decorations, and had b
een overwhelmed by how much work and thought they had put into it. The church was gorgeous, with bouquets of red roses everywhere, and each pew decorated with white bows with tiny, delicate scarlet streamers that magically floated in the air, as if a gentle breeze blew through the chapel.
She smoothed out the lace skirt on her wedding dress, as she looked out the windows at the little town she’d grown up in. SpellMaker was a beautiful little community nestled into the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Unlike other towns, SpellMaker had never been a pioneer settlement or a mining town. It had always been SpellMaker—founded by witches hiding in plain sight.
Most of the world didn’t believe in witches, but it had become vogue to be a Wiccan or to “pretend” witches really exist. So through the years, SpellMaker had evolved into a tourist town based on the witch industry. They sold mainstream witchy goods to the general public in their stores above ground. But below the streets of SpellMaker was another city entirely, that catered only to the local witches and other magical beings, the main inhabitants of SpellMaker.
So while tourists purchased wands, and witch’s costumes, and candy called Eye of Newt above ground, the authentic stuff was traded below in the real town of SpellMaker.
As was the custom, the limo pulled past the church, and turned into the parking lot in back. The sight of the limo would signal the arrival of the bride and hurry those in attendance into their seats. It would set the wheels in motion for the ceremony.
The door to the limo opened and Quayk’s father held out his hand to assist her. She took his hand and stepped out of the vehicle. Her father smiled and shook his head. “You are, without fail, the most beautiful girl in the kingdom.”
She laughed at the line he had used on all of his daughters from the day they were born. “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.”
He shook his head. “Only my daughters.” He inclined his head as he added, “And, of course, my lovely wife—or I might not be allowed back in the house at night.”
He grinned as he offered her his elbow and led her across the drive to the back door of the church, where he stopped with his hand on the door handle. “You sure you’re ready to do this? You know you’re not required to get married until your twenty-third birthday. That would give you another four months to prepare.”
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