One Touch of Silver

by Elizabeth Cole

  But something was wrong. Silver had known Piewicket her whole life, and always she’d been aware of the psychic connection the cat shared with all Salems. Yet now that thread was broken. Silver pushed out with her mind, shouting at Piewicket to hear her voice…and there was no response. Nothing.

  No, Silver thought in despair. I can’t lose this too, not when I’m already losing so much.

  Piewicket, her feline mind impenetrable, merely swatted at the bottle again, seemingly amused by her new toy.

  “What is this?” Bahor snarled.

  The cat looked directly at the demon and hissed. Her yellow eyes gleamed in the candlelight.

  “Do your worst, beast,” the demon laughed. “You cannot banish me.”

  Silver was still frozen, overwhelmed. Coll, however, could speak.

  “Pie,” he called softly. “Silver needs the bottle.”

  There was another soft clink, as the cat batted it further away into a dark corner.

  “Please,” Coll said. “I know you’re a cat, and that means you already rule the world. There’s nothing anyone can offer you. But you love Silver, don’t you? If you love her as much as I love her, help her.”

  I am loved. The realization flared into Silver’s mind, warming her frozen, transfixed spirit.

  Piewicket looked at Coll for a long moment. She meowed, and pounced on the bottle. Then, almost negligently, she knocked it toward Silver. It skittered back over the chalked border and landed at her feet.

  The cat gave a yawn, showing sharp fangs. Then she stared at the demon with half-slitted eyes, with complete and utter confidence that she would come out on top of whatever fight the demon started.

  “I will destroy you, you foul animal!” the demon shrieked.

  Pie merely licked a paw and began to wash her face, the ultimate gesture of disdain.

  Silver picked up the bottle.

  The final words of the spell flew out of her mouth easily. She didn’t even have to look at the book.

  “You are in my power. I contain this curse with air,” she said, blowing over the mouth of the bottle.

  “And water.” She had a glass of water at one side of the circle, but spitting into the bottle felt much more satisfying.

  “And fire.” By then, Coll was ready with a lit match, and Silver dropped it into the bottle.

  “And earth.” She threw a pinch of salt in.

  “The lead will block you and bind you, Bahor.” She held up the bottle. “Enter your prison. You are compelled.”

  The demon wailed but the mist began to flow toward the bottle, as if into a vacuum.

  “I can give you everything you want,” Bahor begged Silver.

  “But nothing she needs,” Coll growled.

  The mist thickened, but the spell was cast and Bahor couldn’t wiggle out. Within moments, the air was clear and the mist was fully contained within the bottle. Coll handed Silver the cap, which she screwed on firmly. She dipped the cap into the wax pool of the nearest candle, sealing it.

  Then there was nothing more than the little sealed bottle in her hand. The lead surface was dull, offering no hint of the evil contained within.

  “It is done,” she pronounced formally.

  Well done, Silver! Piewicket’s praise burst into her mind. Forgive me for shielding myself from you for the duration of the spell. Even our silent communication may have violated the rules, and I dared not risk that.

  Oh, Pie. I’m so glad I can hear you! Just as Silver thought that, a wave of fatigue hit her. Coll had her in his arms in an instant, keeping her standing.

  He smiled at her, then gently took the bottle from her hand. “We’ll have to get rid of this somehow, or have it put away safely. I know someone in New York City who can help.”

  Silver couldn’t even speak. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

  Coll’s eyes darkened. “Silver. What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Talk to me.”

  “It told me I could be beautiful,” she whispered. “Pretty and slim no matter what. Men would admire me. I’d be beautiful. Loved.”

  “You’re already beautiful. You’re so beautiful. And loved.” He kissed her once, twice, three times.

  She couldn’t believe it. “Don’t lie to me.”

  “When have I ever lied to you?” Coll said. “The demon tells you what you think you want to hear, but it doesn’t want you to be happy. It would destroy your soul, and leave you empty. I know what I’m talking about, Silver. I lived with that voice in my head for years. I’ll never forget it.”

  “But it did work, right?” she asked, frightened. “You’re free?”

  His smile told her the answer, even before he spoke. She’d never seen him look so open, or joyous. All pain he’d been carrying for years was gone. She could swear he stood an inch or so taller, no longer burdened by the curse.

  “I’m free. Thanks to you, precious.”

  His eyes were so intent that she blushed all over. “You look like you want to eat me,” she whispered.

  “You look delicious.”

  “But you won’t. Eat me, that is.” He was a werewolf, after all.

  He smiled again, showing considerably more lust. “Just a few bites,” he promised. “And a lick or two.”

  “Your back,” she whispered. “You need tending…”

  “Don’t tell me what I need, Silver. I need you, pure and simple. And you need me.”

  She sighed when his lips grazed her neck.

  “Besides,” he murmured near her ear. “It’ll be your back on the bed, precious. I like being on top the first time. That’s the wolf in me.”

  “Oh,” she gasped, as his teeth sank into her skin, teasing but not breaking the flesh.

  “God, you’re delicious,” he moaned. “I will never have enough of you.”

  She wasn’t entirely sure how Coll got her to his bedroom. She was too dizzy with the lingering effort of magic and this newly awakening lust to comprehend what was happening.

  But doubt still nagged at her, even as Coll brought her next to his bed and kissed her neck again.

  “Coll.”

  “Yes, precious.”

  “This is a mistake,” she said faintly. “You’re not yourself.”

  “I’m exactly myself,” he argued. “After years, I’m finally myself again. And I want to celebrate it by being as close to you as humanly possible.”

  “Just because I’m here,” she said.

  “No, because you’re you,” he insisted, unbuttoning her shirt and pulling it off.

  “You’re feeling euphoric,” she told him.

  “Damn right I am.” Her skirt was on the floor by then.

  “It’s a side effect of the spell,” she explained, even as he expertly unfastened lingerie hooks and slid thin layers of silk right off her sensitized skin. “Listen to me. It’ll pass. You’ll realize you don’t want to do this.”

  “Wrong. I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw you.”

  “But your back…”

  “Look at me.” He turned, showing his back to her.

  Silver stared at the cuts. “You’re not bleeding at all. The wounds are already healing?”

  “I told you,” he said, turning again. “I’m stronger than I look.”

  “You already look strong.”

  He smiled. “Is that a compliment?”

  “Yes.”

  “Trust me, I feel strong enough to show you exactly what I want to do with you tonight. Lay back on the bed, precious.”

  She obeyed, but tried to sit up again in a final bid to make him see reason. “You only want this because you haven’t done this in how long…”

  “Not that long.” He pushed her back down gently. “I wasn’t cursed with celibacy, Silver. But you’re right, it’s not the same as when it’s someone you care about.”

  “You don’t—” She couldn’t finish her thought though, because his mouth found her breast and his tongue was now slowly circling her nipple, teasing her until the bud hardened. She arch
ed her back in an instinctive move to offer herself to him.

  “I do,” he murmured, his breath hot against her skin. “And I’ll prove it.”

  “Coll, I’m no good at this sort of thing.” But she felt so good just then.

  “You had bad teachers, precious. I’m going to change that.” He kissed her. “But trust me, I’m already impressed. You’re perfect for me.”

  “Oh, please. What’s so perfect about me?”

  “Everything. The way you look. The way you feel. The way you smell.” He paused. “I need to taste you.”

  “What?” she gasped out.

  He smiled slowly, then moved lower and dipped his head between her legs.

  Oh, yes. Silver felt dizzy, light-headed, astonished that someone wanted to pleasure her like this, even if only once. Don’t think of that, she told herself before the next devastating stroke of his tongue made her moan.

  She had no idea how long he lingered over her body, but she knew she loved every moment, every move.

  By the end, she came undone in a way that left her shaking and breathless. All she knew was that she’d never felt that with a man before, and never expected to again.

  Coll moved upward, kissing his way up her stomach to her breasts. Silver forgot to feel shame at the way her belly rounded or how her breasts were too obvious, too awkward, too much. She felt—however briefly—beautiful.

  But Coll wasn’t finished with her. He kissed his way up between her breasts, to her neck, and her chin, to her mouth. He claimed her lips, and then slipped his tongue in. She tasted her own body in his kiss and felt dizzy all over again.

  “Coll,” she said, afraid all of a sudden. “Don’t stop.”

  “God, no. You think I’m crazy?” He laughed. He drew her arms up over her head, then pinned them there with one hand, using just enough force to keep her in that position, but not so much that she hurt.

  “Why?” she asked, though she wasn’t objecting. Not at all.

  “Because you’ll want to claw me like a wildcat, and my back isn’t quite ready for that,” he said with a low laugh.

  “Why would I…oh…” She gasped as he slid into her body, sparking a wildness she never guessed at. She’d never been so wet, or so ready.

  Coll let out a sigh of relief as he filled her. “Yes,” he gasped out. “You’re perfect. You’re perfect.”

  It felt perfect, having him inside her. He didn’t pretend to have patience any longer. He was all need, thrusting with a steadily increasing urgency.

  “I need you,” he kept saying. “I need you.”

  Silver sighed, reveling in the only kind of possession she ever wanted. She strained against his hold. She did want to claw him like a wildcat, to put her hands all over him and draw him to her.

  “You like this?” he gasped, feeling her try to free her hands. “You like this? When I hold you down.”

  “Yes,” she moaned, as another unexpected echo of pleasure hit her. “Yes!”

  He growled as she contracted around him. He stiffened, his whole body straining, and Silver felt the exact moment of his release. She smiled, overwhelmed at the idea that she somehow contributed to his obvious satisfaction.

  Then his hand no longer pinned hers down. He stroked her body, now covered in a sheen of moisture. His hands rested on her hips as he withdrew from her with a long sigh, and Silver sighed, somehow still enjoying every touch.

  He laid down beside her, his stomach on the bed. He held her hand in his, the only point of contact between them.

  Silver remained on her back, looking at the ceiling. Perhaps to repay her for how heavenly she just felt, reality came quickly crashing over her. “What did I just do?” she whispered. “I’m insane. I could get pregnant.”

  “No,” he said. “You couldn’t. You were fertile last week, but not tonight.”

  She turned her head to stare at him. “How the hell can you know that?”

  “I can sense it,” he told her. “A female in heat smells a little different, and she’s warmer…just a bit, but it’s there.”

  “Oh, my God.” Silver turned onto her side to face him, but then closed her eyes, too shy to see how he looked at her.

  He let go of her hand to reach for a long lock of her hair. He curled it around his finger, smiling. “I love your hair. Can you imagine a daughter with hair like yours? She’ll need brothers just to keep the boys away.”

  “What?” Her eyes flew open. Was he saying what she thought he was?

  “Too early to talk about? Too early,” he said hurriedly. “Let’s try something easier.”

  “Like what?”

  “When we leave here, where do you want to go?”

  “What?” She was having trouble keeping up.

  “Is there a city you’ve always wanted to see? Or a place? I’ve always been curious about Tibet, but there’s no rush. How about you?”

  “Every girl dreams of Paris,” she said, dazed. “I suppose I’m no different.”

  “Then Paris. We can book passage from New York.”

  “Coll, are you serious?”

  “We can go anywhere.”

  “Together? You want to go with me?” She still couldn’t quite grasp that, despite what just happened between them.

  “Of course.” Coll touched her cheek. “Who else, precious?”

  “You don’t even know me.” Well, in some ways, he knew her better than anyone else on earth. Silver started to feel that her objections were wearing thin.

  “I’m looking forward to knowing you. I want to learn everything about you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love you. How many times do I have to say it?”

  “I hear you, I’m just not sure I believe it.”

  “You will,” he said confidently. “You’ll fall in love with me too, eventually.”

  “I…maybe already have,” she whispered.

  His smile lit up her heart.

  Sleep caught up to them, and they both dozed off. In the middle of the night, Silver woke up, worried that Coll’s back couldn’t go another minute without some kind of medical attention. She rose and went off to search for disinfectant and clean water and bandages.

  When Coll awoke, she was swabbing his wounds with illegal spirits, though she could tell the cuts were already healing at an astonishing rate.

  “That stings, precious,” he muttered.

  “Don’t tell me it hurts more than the spell. And werewolf or not, you could still get an infection. So you’ll have to suffer through it,” she retorted.

  “Yes, Dr. Salem. You know it’s not necessary. By the time we hit Paris, they’ll just be very odd tattoos.”

  “You can’t afford to take me to Paris.”

  He yawned, saying, “I can, actually. My inheritance wasn’t touched by the crash. Shifters tend not to trust what human society offers. My fortune’s tucked away in a safe place. It’s in gold. And now I have Silver.”

  She shook her head. “That was terrible.”

  “I thought it was charming.”

  “Ok,” she agreed. “It was a little charming.”

  “Are you done, Dr. Salem? Waking up with you is all I need to heal me.”

  She bit her lip, blushing. Waking up beside Coll might heal some of the wounds she’d suffered, too.

  * * * *

  Morning dawned grey and misty.

  “Happy Halloween,” Silver told Coll when he stirred beside her.

  “Happiest one in a long time,” he said, smiling at her. “How do you feel, precious?”

  “Good. You?”

  “Uncursed. And in love. And hungry.” He laughed. “Let’s get out of here. We can shut up the house and get to town in time for the evening train. We can get to New York tonight. And then anywhere we want.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  They got out of bed—after a short but very enjoyable delay—then went to work. There were many little tasks to attend to in order to get Hill House shut up for winter. Silver also
had to pack her things and find Piewicket, who seemed strangely alert, especially considering how the tiny heroine had been feted with a can of tuna and dish of cream in the morning.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be napping, Pie?” Silver asked as she reached for the cat. Pie evaded her grasp.

  I should be napping. For I have spent the night watching for our enemy, while you took the role of cat and indulged yourself with your mate.

  “Ah…” Silver flushed in embarrassment. “I didn’t think…that is…”

  I am rather proud of you, Silver. Some humans never learn indulgence, poor souls.

  Silver wanted a subject change. “You said you watched. For what?”

  The veil between worlds is thinnest this night, and Bahor knows its spell has been shattered.

  “Well, we’re leaving here before dark.”

  The veil covers the whole world. Be watchful. Be wary. I fear Bahor will be waiting for you both, and this place in the world is vulnerable, for it knows you are here. It knows the weaknesses of the wards.

  Silver nodded. Yet, there seemed to be little to be wary of during the whole day. The sun shone bright in a cloudless sky. The wind from the ocean was cold, but invigorating. It actually helped to cool Silver and Coll as they worked on shutting up the house.

  “You’re leaving some valuable things behind,” Silver said once. “Aren’t you worried about burglars?”

  “I can pay someone to look in on the place,” Coll said. “And honestly, it can burn to the ground at this point. I don’t need it any more.” He gave her a smile. “I have what I want now.”

  Silver shook her head, amused. “Get back to work,” she ordered. “Piewicket was quite adamant that the sooner we can get moving, the better.”

  About an hour before the train was due to depart from the Seagrove station, Coll locked the front door. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They walked away from Hill House, under a sky now studded with dark grey clouds puffed up like geese flying south. Just as they passed the gate, a cold gust of wind rolled up the hill. Silver’s eye was caught by a gentleman’s hat, which tumbled to a stop at her feet.

  Fear seized her. “Coll,” she whispered.

  But Piewicket was already yowling from her case, and Coll stopped in his tracks, looking around.