“Perhaps we could go somewhere quiet for this conversation. We need to talk. All of us.”
“What did you have in mind?” Monique asked.
Erik was curious why Monique suddenly cooled toward Consuela.
Consuela leaned in to whisper against Monique’s ear. Erik didn’t catch it, but Monique visibly relaxed. Consuela turned to him. “How about brunch tomorrow? At the bed and breakfast? It’s quiet. No other guests. You trust the people of Edenton, so I assume that’s a good place for us to meet.”
“We’ll be there,” Monique promised.
Erik nodded, wishing she hadn’t said a damned word, but maybe by then he could contact Preston and he could come up with a good reason to avoid that.
Consuela smiled and left.
The door shut, and spirits shrieked, startling Erik. He closed his eyes, breathing deep, and the spirits quieted down. Portia walked over, still staring out the door.
“I thought you were scary. She’s a fucking nightmare waiting to happen,” Portia stated.
“Yeah. We watched her torment spirits yesterday. I’m more interested in helping them find peace.”
“Then why do you have clingers?” she asked with a narrowed gaze.
“Because some refuse to leave this plane.” He shrugged. “Unless it’s a malicious spirit, I don’t force them to go where they won’t. Sometimes, I wish they’d leave me alone, though.”
She turned to Monique. “He isn’t the monster I assumed.”
“Told you.” Monique smiled sweetly. “Can you take over for the rest of the day?”
“Of course.” She moved behind the counter. Portia offered him a tight smile. “My attitude will improve where you’re concerned.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to being viewed as a monster.”
“I’m glad you aren’t. Seeing you next to someone with the same skill set, I can tell the difference between good and evil. You aren’t evil, Erik.” She managed a weak smile and nodded toward the door. “Enjoy your day.”
“Thanks,” Erik managed. “You too.” Though he didn’t think Consuela was evil. Maybe misguided. There was something off about her.
Portia motioned toward the door.
Monique tugged his arm. Outside, she said, “Sorry. Portia watched a necromancer destroy her family when she was a child. They’d been possessed by an evil spirit.”
“That would do it.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not looking for her approval.”
“Which I think helps in her case.”
“If you say so.” Erik limbed into her Infinity Q70 and buckled in as she moved around the vehicle.
Monique took her seat and turned to him. “So, you’re not fighting us now?”
“Let’s see where we wind up. I want to believe you, I need to, but I’m not there yet. I’m trying, okay?”
She turned to him, taking his hand. “I won’t let you down. Not this time.”
“Drive. I can still feel her watching us.”
“Portia?”
“No. Consuela.”
“How?”
“Spirits avoid her. It’s weird. Usually our type draw ghosts, but they run, like they’re afraid.”
“That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not. And there was something strange at her house, something I can’t put a finger on.”
She finally started the car and pulled onto the street.
After the dead quieted, and he was sure Consuela hadn’t followed, he turned to Monique. “Who was the mage?”
“What mage?”
“Your last customer.”
“Kjell Emmalyn. I’m not sure exactly how old, but my great grandmother made clothes for her.” She tipped her head with a smirk. “She’s old.”
“And you suspect her?”
Monique rubbed one arm. “I don’t trust her. I don’t even know her true identity. She keeps her appearance hidden with a strong glamour, which makes no sense because she definitely reads like a mage.”
“And you don’t trust her because you don’t know exactly who she is?”
“Something like that.” Monique turned out of town.
Erik asked, “Where are we going?”
“To outfit us both. If there is a dark mage after you, we need protection. When I’m done, whoever attempts to drain you, or me, will drain themselves. If you think Robert and Preston would wear something small, it would offer them similar protection. And since they are running the program, it makes sense they might be in trouble if the ones attempting to frame you fails.”
“How is countering a dark mage’s drain possible?”
One corner of her mouth tipped up. “It’s like blocking any spell. Besides, I’ve done it before.”
“You have?”
“Mmhmm, don’t report me. Thing is, I was being hunted in Venice. I learned a few things about dark mages. How to counter their drain. Right now, my knowledge will save your life.”
“When were you in Venice?”
She looked up for a second. “Uh, about twenty years ago.”
Same place and time Bianca died. Had she drained herself? Why would Bianca target Monique? Unless it was jealousy. Nigel still got all of his clothes from Monique.
Going back to the subject, he offered a smile. “An enchantment like that is protection. Worst case, what you did was self-defense. You didn’t break a law.”
She smirked. “Even if I knew they’d die?”
“Even if. It was that or let him kill you. Other than a few assholes, no one is going to blame you on that account.”
“So you aren’t going to have a fit when I add the enchantment to all of your clothes?”
Smiling, he shook his head. “Didn’t think I had a say.”
“Would you argue?”
“Rather be on this side of the veil. Thank you.”
* * * *
Erik wandered around Monique’s workshop. It was the place she cast most of the fancy spells for her clothing. He knew how she worked. She’d ignore him while she worked her magic.
Instead of hassling her, he explored the warehouse, checking out various designs from throughout the years.
Cassandra walked with him without a word. She already caught on to the fact Monique was concentrating. Now, as long as Alistair didn’t join them, they wouldn’t distract Monique. The kid only kept his mouth shut when he was giving Erik the cold shoulder.
He needed to find a ghost with similar interests for Alistair to spend time with. Maybe a ghost boyfriend would stop him from flirting. He had nothing against it, but it got old after a while.
“Almost done,” Monique called.
He smiled over at her and ducked down an aisle of mannequins. A laugh escaped. Cassandra hadn’t lied.
“Told you they look like you,” Cassandra murmured. “Every last one of them.”
He peeked around one to watch Monique. “She mentioned I’m the one she designs clothes for.” A smile pulled at his lips. Maybe he’d affected her as much as she had him over the years.
“You’re her muse.”
Erik turned toward Cassandra. “Maybe.” But if that were true, why push him away for so long?
“At least she’s done waiting.”
Monique’s heels clicked their way through the large building until she stepped beside him.
“I heard that.” A smirk appeared as her head tipped slightly in Cassandra’s direction. “I can see you.”
Cassandra giggled. “Well, why wait so long?”
“Pride. Stubbornness. Stupidity. Fear. Somehow I got it in my head that he needed to do the Silver Council, and I needed to step away to let him. I was wrong, but by the time I went to fix things, I let my own idiocy guide my judgment.”
“Gwen?” Erik groaned. “When did I ever give you the impression I wanted someone other than you, Monique? Especially back then?”
Monique dropped her eyes to the floor. “All the
shit my mother said. Jealousy kicked in, and it never had before. I thought I was too late.”
His first instinct was to argue. Instead, he changed the subject. “Are our clothes done?”
“They are.” She nudged him. “Why are you changing the subject?”
“Past can’t be changed. We need to stop someone from ruining a program that might bring mages and casters together.”
Monique huffed. “You don’t want to tell me you were right?”
He let out a heavy breath. “No. Doesn’t matter.”
She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it before going back to the counter. “Come on. Let’s change. We have a weeks’ worth of clothes. I can do the same to what’s at my place. And if we need to do more, we can do that later.”
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I’ll be outside.”
Monique watched the ghost leave the building. “Why can I see her now—and hear her?”
He shrugged. “You heard them before with me.”
“Not like this, Erik. Not at all. I know your power has doubled, maybe tripled since we were together. It dances along my nerves when we make love.” A smile pulled at her lips as she glanced away.
Concern rose up like a tidal wave. “Does it scare you?”
She turned to him and closed the distance. “No. Your power never frightened me.” Her eyes locked on his. “Doesn’t bother me that you’ve grown in strength. I have too.”
He caressed her face, pushing his fingers into her hair. “You have. Our magic meshes. Never expected it. We aren’t the same.” And they never had formed that bond years before. What the hell did it mean?
She leaned closer, her breasts pressing into his chest. “Never mattered before.”
“Doesn’t matter now. Usually magic melds with fae, not human casters. At least, not that I’ve heard of.”
She smiled. “Druids and shaman sometimes. Enchanters can absorb some of the magic from people they’re close to. Witches even do it at times.”
“Are you saying you can use my magic?” His brow arched.
She shook her head. “No, but it can flavor my magic. Enhance my spells. Never had it happen before, but my parents could influence each other’s magic.”
“You may see a lot of ghosts then.” He sighed, stepping back to undress.
“We should hurry, though watching you—I wish life didn’t have to be a pain.”
He agreed, but that didn’t change the fact they needed to go.
Chapter 24
Confused, Consuela drove the rented car to Erik Mortale’s home. She wanted to know the necromancer better. He wasn’t cooperating, and he didn’t appear happy Monique committed them to brunch.
For one of the DSF, he seemed awfully judgmental. Or maybe he took offense to her childish ploy for attention. Probably the latter. Perhaps tomorrow she could make a better impression, if it wasn’t too late.
She also found it interesting Monique was all in, whereas Erik was clearly holding back. For her friend’s sake, she hoped it wasn’t too late to fix their fractured relationship.
Since she couldn’t convince them to go to dinner that evening, she wanted more information about Erik. She hoped to find some common ground and learn what he truly avoided. Hopefully he would write their first meeting off to grandstanding. Something most mages dabbled with.
Pulling up to the home, she paused. Neither Robert, nor Preston bothered with the ridiculous ritual. Erik didn’t play that game either. Interesting. They were certainly willing to go to her for help.
Clearly she made a mistake earlier. It had been so long since meeting another Deathcaller with so much talent, she’d forgotten to proceed with caution. Some liked the added flair. Others feared their gifts. Erik was neither. He seemed quite capable, knowledgeable, and definitely cautious.
She climbed out of the vehicle and made her way up his driveway. The wards buzzed to life, the hair on her arms standing on end.
Interesting. His magic was infused into the wards. Seemed Monique’s magic was infused into her shop’s wards and home. She needed to find out who did those fancy spells. They could come in very useful. She’d never come across anything quite so thorough.
She stopped before the porch. The spirits cried out, hiding beyond the wards. She couldn’t figure out why.
Since she wasn’t going to be able to physically glean any info from the house, she called on her brother. “Everaud, I need your assistance, love.”
Everaud’s untimely death at nineteen had helped her immensely over the years. He became her faithful servant, unable to resist her in life or death. Only now, he played by her rules, not the other way around.
“Yes, Sister?” he asked pleasantly, though his smile never reached his eyes.
“Need you to watch for the master of the house and follow him. Any information you can find would be immensely helpful.”
“Yes, of course.” He stepped onto the porch and was flung away. His ghostly body rolled on the ground, toward the street. Picking himself up, he cocked his head and stared at the house. “I’m afraid I can’t enter.”
Her lips quirked. “Interesting. Never seen the likes of this magic. Perhaps it’s to keep the spirits at bay. Instead, we’ll have to track down Erik Mortale and perhaps you can follow him once you make yourself known to him. Though you’d be wise to avoid telling him your last name.”
“Very well,” he answered, fading to nothing. She didn’t miss the way he glanced up at the window as his visage finally disappeared.
She didn’t find anyone at the window, but ghosts were tricky.
A black Maserati pulled up to the curb as she walked back to her car. Preston leaned his head out the window. “What brings you to Erik’s home?”
Consuela smiled, sashaying Preston’s way. “I hoped to get to know the enigmatic necromancer better. Unfortunately, it seems he’s not home. A disappointment. I do enjoy learning how another Deathcaller works.”
“Why is that?” Preston asked with an arched brow.
“Never too old to learn something new. And I have rarely met anyone with as much natural talent as Erik. I want to understand why he locks most of it away. I’m merely curious.”
“You don’t want to sway him to the dark side?” Amusement and warning danced through his pale blue eyes.
“I have no intention of changing his direction. It never hurts to encourage conversation between two similar people.”
Preston’s brow arched. “I wouldn’t consider you similar. He doesn’t flaunt his power. You do. He doesn’t taunt the dead. You seem to. That seems pretty opposite to me.”
Nodding, Consuela shrugged. “I admit, I pushed too far yesterday. It’s the first time, in a long time, someone asked for my help, then seemed to ignore me. I don’t like being ignored. Though I’m starting to understand. Your primary concern was clearing Erik. I was merely backup. Not my usual position, but now that I understand the situation, I don’t mind.”
“You made everyone uncomfortable with your display yesterday. Erik will never play those games.”
She sighed. “It wasn’t a game. I wasn’t aware you could play a scene back. Most mages do it without sound. Had you given me more information, I would have held back. Again, I apologize. I started on the wrong foot.”
“Remember, not everyone with your talent wants to use their power in the same way you do.”
“Erik shouldn’t shun his abilities.”
“He doesn’t,” Preston remarked. “He embraces what he can do, but he doesn’t abuse his power. And before you go getting all pissy, I don’t mean you do. He has his own set of guidelines he follows. I’m merely pointing out that you don’t share the same boundaries.”
“I’m not a necromancer, Preston. I have my own unique set of skills. Though Erik possesses many similar ones.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Does that mean you believe me to be a threat?”
Amused, he sh
ook his head. “No. Though I am curious what your motive in helping is. Especially with your deep interest in Erik.”
“Even when you noticed the darker side of what I am?”
“Crimson Witch?” Preston shrugged. “Like undead vampires, living ones don’t have to kill to feed. I understand that blood enhances your power. I see nothing wrong as long as you don’t forcibly take blood from the unwilling.”
She shook her head. “Not unless I’m horribly wronged.”
“Self-defense is perfectly acceptable. And I’ve heard those stories too. We aren’t looking to judge you, but you can’t blame us for being cautious until we know you.”
“Of course not. It was a pleasure speaking to you. Please pass on that I am truly interested in learning from Erik. Nothing more.”
“Will do. And don’t mind Erik if he remains reserved. He’s still sorting through some stuff.”
“Good evening, Preston.”
“You too.” He pulled away.
Consuela smiled, feeling as if the air had been cleared some. They knew precisely what she was, and they weren’t trying to lock her away.
She still wanted more information. Perhaps she could help solve the mystery of who framed Erik.
* * * *
Erik pulled his phone out of his pocket and frowned. He hit talk. “Hey, Preston. What’s going on?”
“Consuela is awfully curious about you. She showed up at your house, hoping to glean some information. You may want to keep your head down. Her asking questions may tip the wrong people off.”
He sighed. “I’m not sure what I think of her. We’re meeting her for brunch tomorrow. Want to join us at the bed and breakfast?”
“Sure, send me details.”
“And tonight, I think we’ll stay in Seattle if I can convince Monique.”
“Why Seattle?”
“I can’t stay cooped up. I want to look into a few ideas. Besides, I know plenty of places mages won’t go. We’ll be safe.”
Preston snorted. “Watch your back. Don’t want anything happening to either of you.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow around noon.”
Preston hung up without further comment, and Erik turned in his seat. “Head into Seattle. Let’s go to Shenanigans. We can get a hotel out there. Then maybe we can figure out what the hell is going on and how to stop it.”
Deadly Design Page 17