Hex and Candy

by Ashlyn Kane

  But when he closed his eyes at last, Leo’s steady breathing filled his ears. Leo got him—for some strange reason Leo loved him. And if Cole had his way, he would never be alone again.

  “I AM a genius,” Cole said after breakfast, having dug a ball of yarn and a pair of needles out from where he’d stashed them in the altar room.

  Leo simply raised his eyebrows before going back to the book Cole had lent him. It was old—definitely older than Cole, probably older than Gran—and discussed the theory behind simple hedge magic. Leo seemed engrossed.

  “I am an idiot,” Cole sighed two minutes later, setting the needles down. He couldn’t do much with a slash across his palm; the bandage seriously messed with his dexterity.

  This time Leo put the book down entirely. “I didn’t know you knit.”

  Cole shrugged. “I’m not very good. Especially right now.” He waved his bandaged hand. “Kate taught me years ago, said I should learn even if I’m not much of a spellcaster. And she was right, because in theory I should be able to weave a protection spell into a scarf or something—if I could actually use both hands.”

  “Hmm. Can I?” Leo asked, reaching for the yarn. Then he picked up the scissors and cut a few foot-long strands. He tied the ends together. “What if you just…?”

  Cole considered. “It might work. Three-strand is probably too simple to hold it all, but let me cut a few more and see.” He’d be pretty embarrassed if the protection bracelet he made his boyfriend overloaded, caught fire, and burned him.

  Eventually he made it work with fourteen strands, though the ends of the bracelet weren’t pretty and the whole thing looked amateur. But fourteen strands contained the spell Cole wove into it, along with a spray of lavender, without any sign of strain. He was tying it around Leo’s wrist when his phone beeped.

  Kate Alpin, the display informed him. Oh good. Just what Cole needed: prying questions from well-meaning family members. Probably a not-so-subtle reminder that Gran expected him at dinner today too. Well, too bad. If Gran wanted to see him, she could call him herself. Until then, Cole had better things to do.

  He finished off the knot and raised his eyes to Leo’s. “So,” he said, “wanna play hooky?”

  THE parking lot at the nature preserve had one spot remaining when they arrived, and it was a good thing they’d taken Cole’s car, because Leo’s SUV wouldn’t have fit. Cole, though, slipped in without any trouble, feeling, ironically, a bit like a kid in the candy store.

  “Why’s it so busy?” Leo asked, frowning, closing the car door behind him.

  Cole grabbed his hand and started tugging him toward the trail that led through the forest to the lakeshore. “You’ll see.”

  Most of the tourists they passed coming back wore binoculars around their necks or carried expensive cameras, and they all had a certain bounce to their step. Leo cocked his head at them, but otherwise he seemed content to let Cole carry on with his surprise.

  “It’s nice here,” Leo commented, taking in the scenery. “Nicer if it was quiet, though, maybe.”

  “This park is as far south as you can go in Canada. There’s actually a sandbar that sticks out into the lake—well, sometimes.” Cole smiled up at him. “Good place to do magic, if you have an active power.” Sometimes his family rented out one of the pavilions for one of the witches’ Sabbaths, especially Beltane and Lammas; the park closed too early to do the entire celebration here, but the kids loved it.

  Cole didn’t say that out loud, though. Thinking of his family hurt, and he didn’t want to ruin their outing. So he’d turned his phone off and left it in his jacket pocket. He concentrated on Leo instead, the way their footsteps synced up, the occasional bump of their shoulders.

  Today they didn’t see much in the way of wildlife, aside from a handful of red-wing blackbirds and squirrels, which tended to ignore human passersby. But the dirt path squished pleasantly beneath their feet, and the crisp autumn air carried hints of lake water and rich soil, and the leaves were turning, vibrant reds and cheerful yellows mixed in with browns and greens. They had to let go of each other’s hand a few times to avoid clotheslining the giggling children who scampered down the path, followed more sedately by apologetic parents, but Leo always reached for Cole again after.

  Soon came the indistinct murmur of a gathered crowd, and then suddenly, as they passed out of the trees into the beachside clearing, they met a wall of backsides.

  Leo stopped abruptly. “What’s everybody….”

  Cole smiled and followed his slack-jawed gaze up to a beech tree lit with the pulsing, vibrant orange of fall. Except it wasn’t the tree’s leaves that gave it the color—those were still green, little bundles almost completely obscured by fluttering black and orange.

  “Are those…?” Leo asked, voice hushed.

  Cole squeezed his hand. “Butterflies,” he confirmed. Tens of thousands of them, so many that the tree seemed to have been set ablaze. “I told you. Monarch migration. It’s a big deal.”

  “It’s incredible,” Leo murmured. “This happens every year? How do they know to come back? I didn’t know butterflies lived that long.”

  “They don’t. These ones have never been to Mexico.” Cole leaned into Leo as he spoke, not wanting to disturb anyone else. For the most part, the assembled watchers kept their voices down. “But every year they gather here, and every year they find their way to the same spot in Mexico. And every spring they come back, though it takes a couple of generations. Instinctively. Wild, huh?”

  “Incredible,” Leo repeated, leaning his head against Cole’s. “Thank you, for showing me.”

  Cole longed to kiss him, but maybe not here. At least not until he had a read on how Leo felt about PDA. “You’re welcome.”

  For a few minutes they watched in silence, taking in one of nature’s marvels. But for the uninitiated—which included Cole—there was only so long you could stare at a tree full of butterflies. Eventually they turned around to head back toward the hospital so Leo could pick up his car.

  “Think we can stop at my apartment?” Leo asked when they were about five minutes out. “I want to get a few more things.”

  Cole was tempted to tell him he should get all of his things, but perhaps that was putting the cart before the horse. “Sure.”

  Leo’s apartment was none the worse for wear, save the potted plant that hadn’t been watered in weeks. “It’s a peace lily,” Cole said, filling a pitcher with water from the kitchen sink. “It’ll perk up.”

  Leo looked dubious, but he let Cole water his plant while he went into the bedroom to pack.

  Cole had just set the empty pitcher on the counter when someone knocked on the door.

  “Hello?”

  Apparently they hadn’t closed it all the way; it swung open a few inches to reveal Nate, Leo’s neighbor.

  “Oh, hey, Cole.” Nate’s broad, open face creased in concern as he stepped into the apartment. “Is Leo here with you? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

  “Yeah, he’s just putting some things together.” Cole weighed how much to say. He thought Nate was trustworthy, but then it wasn’t his story to tell. “He’ll be staying with me a while.”

  “Ooooh,” Nate said, waggling his eyebrows. “Say no more. Good for you guys.” Then he adopted an exaggeratedly put-upon expression, shaking his head and raising his gaze to the ceiling. “The good ones are always taken.”

  Cole snorted. He wasn’t sure which of them Nate was referring to, but Nate was practically a puppy—far too young for Cole. “Sorry,” he said, but he couldn’t make it sound sincere.

  Nate grinned. “It’s all good, my heart will go on.” Jesus, he was barely older than that song.

  “Okay, I’m ready.” Leo emerged from the bedroom with a small rolling suitcase and a shopping bag, and Cole went pleasantly warm all over. Apparently he meant to stay for quite some time. “Hey, Nate. You need something?”

  “Nah, just checking in on you.” He smiled, though this one looke
d a little anemic. “You kids have fun.”

  Nate wasn’t nearly far enough away when Leo shook his head. “He’s a weird one.”

  “That’s one way of putting it,” Cole agreed mildly. Nate would probably find it funny. “Come on. You can make me dinner, and then I’ll let you take advantage of me.”

  “Now who could resist an offer like that?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  LEO knew Cole was keeping something from him. The number of times he’d received a notification on his phone only to shove it away or turn it off entirely…. Well, Leo might have let it slide once or twice, but he’d been doing it constantly for a week. Then, on Sunday evening, for the second week in a row, he skipped dinner at his grandmother’s.

  Leo got the impression that whatever had happened between Cole and his grandmother—and it must have been something, to send Cole home early Friday night—had led to some hard feelings. Leo didn’t want to pry and risk bursting the warm, happy bubble of their first few days together.

  Monday morning, though, Leo had to go back to work—he was on days until Friday, meaning he was up and out of the house before the sun. He was used to that—to leaving a lover sleeping soundly when he got up for work—but the empty space on the bed next to Cole tempted him sorely.

  Work, though. And he wanted to catch up with Jimmy. He packed Niamh into the car and set off.

  For the first three hours of his shift, Leo kept his head down and steered clear of the many attempts to engage him in gossip about what had happened last Saturday. He hoped their coworkers weren’t pestering Jimmy.

  Finally he got a break and snuck down to say hello.

  Outside room 2117 sat a chair, empty except for a newspaper. Leo supposed the police had decided whoever had hurt Jimmy wasn’t going to come back, and they were at least half-right—as long as the sun was up, Jimmy should be safe.

  The door was open. Leo knocked on the frame and stuck his head inside.

  Someone had drawn the curtains around the bed closest to the window, but Jimmy was sitting up in the bed closest to Leo. He looked healthy—good color, unlabored breathing, and no IV or catheter. He’d be getting discharged any minute now. But when Leo knocked, he raised his head sharply before groaning. “I just had my vitals taken five minutes ago.”

  Yeah, seemed like he was going to be fine. Physically, at least. “Relax. I’m on my break. See?” He held out his arms. He’d thrown a hoodie on over his scrubs in hopes of warding off requests from any patients or their visitors.

  Unfortunately this didn’t placate Jimmy. “Are you here to grill me about last Saturday, then?” He softened slightly. “Dr. Stivali said you were the one who got to me first, so. Thanks for that.” He turned his head just slightly. “But I don’t really remember much.”

  A lie, Leo thought, reaching for the curtain around the bed. He didn’t want to be interrupted. “Actually, I am here to talk about that,” he said. “But instead of asking all the questions, maybe I can fill you in on a few things.”

  Jimmy watched him close the curtains. “Really,” he said, so guardedly it came out as a statement rather than a question. “Like what?”

  Now they had the illusion of privacy, Leo took the chair next to Jimmy’s bed. “Well, for starters, I know the guy who left you at the ER. Guy by the name of Roman Dvorak. Ring a bell?”

  From the way Jimmy avoided his gaze, Leo thought maybe it did. Perhaps Jimmy knew more than Leo had anticipated.

  But how much more?

  “I don’t know how well you know him,” Leo continued as tactfully as he could, cataloging Jimmy’s every twitch, “how much you know about him and the kind of guy he is….”

  Now Jimmy speared him with an intense look. “Roman didn’t do this to me.”

  So they did know each other! “And I’m sure he didn’t leave you shivering in the shower the other night either,” Leo said acidly.

  Jimmy huffed. “Yeah, he left me in the shower to get warm. This is a hospital! He knew someone would find me and help me. But he’s not the one who b—”

  Jackpot. “Not the one who what?” Leo prompted softly.

  Jimmy gritted his teeth and looked away.

  Looked like Leo would have to be the one to come clean. “Not the one who bit you,” he said, and Jimmy’s mouth dropped open.

  “How did you… you know?”

  “About….” Leo paused, listening for any activity from the bed by the window. Nothing. “About vampires?” And witches and curses and God knows what else? “Yeah, Jimmy, I know. You’re not the only one in this room who’s been an appetizer.”

  “Think I was the main course,” Jimmy said ruefully—a fair point. “Anyway, what have you got against Roman? He’s the only reason I’m still breathing and not, you know, decomposing in a soybean field somewhere.”

  Now Leo stared, agape. “What?”

  “He saved my life,” Jimmy said firmly. “Man, how many vampires do you know? Because this other guy—I’ve learned my lesson, okay? No Tinder dates who refuse to meet me during daylight hours.”

  Finally things started to make sense. “Other guy?” Leo repeated.

  “Yeah. Kyle.”

  “Kyle?” Fine, Leo was starting to sound like a broken record, but who ever heard of a vampire named Kyle?

  Apparently Jimmy agreed with him. “I know, right? I guess he’s kind of new at the whole, uh, you know.” He lowered his voice. “Bloodsucking thing. No self-control. Roman’s been trying to”—his face twisted as though he were working not to laugh—“take him under his wing? But, you know. I guess it’s like going through vampire puberty or something.”

  Leo had come into this meeting expecting to provide some answers, but instead he kept finding more questions. “So… who left you the money, then? After Kyle bit you in the hospital.”

  “Roman. Must’ve been. I guess he was trying to throw you off? Since it seems like you know him.” Jimmy narrowed his eyes, looking Leo up and down in an obvious effort to determine exactly how well Leo knew him.

  In for a penny. “Ex-boyfriend. I guess he could’ve been. Or maybe it was hush money.”

  Jimmy smoothed a hand over his neck. “He should know I don’t need that. He probably overheard me talking about getting those winter tires.”

  Oh boy. Leo wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he decided to leave it alone. “Well, if you… you know. If things don’t go well and you need help, just… you can ask me.”

  “Yeah?” That assessing look returned with a renewed focus. “What makes you such an expert, huh?”

  My boyfriend is a witch. But Leo couldn’t say that; he’d taken Cole’s example about not outing other obscures to heart, and he especially wouldn’t do it when he was talking to another human. “I know some people,” he said instead. “They know all kinds of stuff I don’t. But I guess they’re invested in people not getting hurt.”

  Jimmy raised skeptical eyebrows.

  “Okay, that sounded hokey,” Leo admitted. “But look, I went through something sort of similar to what you are, okay? And I lucked into getting someone who actually wanted to help me. And he’ll help you too, if you need it. We don’t want to see you get hurt. You know, worse than the two attempted exsanguinations.”

  That, at least, got a small laugh. “God. Vampires, right?”

  “Man, you have no idea.”

  Leo had to go back on duty shortly after, but he did so feeling lighter, even if he had more questions than ever. Were Jimmy and Roman involved? Had he really misunderstood Roman’s involvement in the whole thing? Was Roman not responsible for cursing Leo after all?

  But it was hard to care too much about any of it. The curse was broken, Jimmy had recovered enough to be released and even go back to work, and Leo had Cole waiting for him at home, at least metaphorically. Work passed quickly, even when the rest of the gossip dried up and Leo had to field questions about the guy who’d picked him up last week.

  “I started staying with him when my apartment had t
o be fumigated,” Leo said, reciting the lie he’d been feeding everyone from the beginning.

  “And you just decided to stay forever?” Deborah teased.

  Leo’s cheeks heated at forever, but he stood his ground. “I was invited,” he said loftily, and everyone laughed.

  He stopped for groceries on the way home; Cole would still be at work for another hour or two, so Leo might as well get started making dinner. They were out of coffee as well, so he stopped at Caffeine for some of Cole’s favorite roast. Across the street, next to the flower shop, the For Lease sign had come down and someone was unloading some kind of industrial-looking equipment.

  “You know what’s going in across the street?” Leo asked as he handed Andre his debit card.

  Andre shook his head, running the card through the reader before passing the terminal over. “No idea. Sign came down this morning. Someone must be in a hurry, I guess.”

  Leo keyed in his PIN. “Seems like.”

  Andre hummed. “Hey, I thought you liked the french roast. Was the last batch no good or something?”

  “Oh. Um, no.” Leo’s ears heated. “Cole likes this one, though, so. I guess it’s growing on me?”

  “Really?” Andre said. Then he shook his head cheerfully. “Well, good for both of you. Here, take a couple cookies to celebrate. Certified no hazelnuts.”

  Leo put away the groceries still thinking about what was eating Cole and was about to ask Niamh when he actually looked at the calendar stuck to the front of the fridge and answered his own question. October 31 was outlined in orange, with Gran’s written diagonally across the square, a little party hat sitting jauntily over the a.

  What was it Cole had said once about Samhain? Something about wild family parties. But Cole hadn’t mentioned anything about going to Gran’s next week.

  Whatever was going on, Leo had the crawling suspicion Gran was right at the center of it.