He had to go over there. Trying to control the shakes that had come on at the idea of Anica turning into a cat, he pulled clothes out of a drawer. In record time he was dressed in a pair of gray sweats and an old T-shirt, along with his running shoes.
Then he grabbed a Bulls jacket out of the closet and crammed a Cubs baseball cap over his uncombed hair. At the last minute he strapped on his watch. If something had gone wacko with the spell and he changed at a different hour, he’d want to know when that was.
He hoped to hell that wouldn’t happen. He could be left in a very dicey position if it did. But he’d risk it. He had to get over to Anica’s and find out what had happened to her at six this morning.
No doubt looking like a vagrant, he left his condo. A bus that would take him to her street sat at the bus stop a block away. He had to run, but he made it.
The bus was almost empty. Only three other passengers shared the ride with him, but he remained standing and held on to the overhead rail, as if sitting would slow the bus. It seemed to take freaking forever, anyway. He kept leaning down and looking out the window, because it had been days since he’d seen the city at this hour of the morning.
Come to think of it, he’d almost never seen the streets of the city at this hour on a Sunday morning. That was his day to sleep in, read the Sunday Trib, meander down to the corner deli for some Danish and coffee, although the coffee there had lost its appeal once he’d tasted Anica’s coffee at Wicked Brew.
All those activities seemed too precious and innocent now. He’d been such an arrogant smart-ass, thinking it was just fine for him to manipulate a woman’s feelings. When Anica had called him on it, he’d tried to make light of it. He’d even—and this really made him wince—tried to minimize her anger by thinking it could be solved with a kiss.
As the bus neared the stop closest to her building, he pulled the cord to signal the driver and waited impatiently for the bus to slow and the back door to open. Then he leaped down and jogged along the sidewalk. He wanted to run, but that might draw too much attention, especially before dawn. Jogging was normal in the city. Flat-out running usually meant you’d committed a crime.
No lights gleamed in any of the apartment windows. Everyone was probably sound asleep at this hour on a Sunday morning. Too bad. He had to find out for himself what was going on.
Taking the steps at a jog, he leaned on the buzzer. As he waited for her to answer, he ran a hand over his jaw. Man, he needed a shave. What a concept, considering that he hadn’t picked up a razor since Monday night.
When she didn’t answer his anxiety level hit the roof. He pressed the buzzer again, longer this time, and tried not to imagine a delicate female cat sitting up in her apartment, a cat who couldn’t answer the bell.
When she still didn’t open the street door or speak into the intercom, he started punching the buzzer in a staccato rhythm. If she didn’t come soon, he was calling the police. He’d make up some story that would justify breaking in.
Then he heard her sleepy voice on the intercom and he sagged in delirious relief. She was human.
“Anica, I need to talk to you.”
She gasped. “Go away, Jasper! Please, just go away!”
“Anica, I need to see you.”
“No! Please leave!”
He couldn’t understand the panic in her voice, unless something awful had happened as a result of what she’d signed. He had to get in there somehow. “Listen, did you sign something that said you’d give up your magic?”
No answer. Which was an answer, wasn’t it?
“What are you so afraid of, Anica?”
“I . . . just go away. I can’t have any contact with you or you might . . . change back!”
That gave him pause, but he was willing to risk anything to see her again and find out what she’d signed.
“I’m not leaving until you open this door and let me come up to talk with you.”
“You can’t!” She seemed terrified. And she also sounded as if she might be crying.
Shitfire. He leaned against the wall next to the row of buzzers and tried to think. The door was sturdy and the lock strong. Not much chance he could break it down. He’d have to use his wits to get inside.
Or Julie. Pushing away from the wall, he studied the list of tenants. Only one Julie. He buzzed her apartment.
Once again, it took three tries before he roused her. “Who is it?” she called through the intercom.
“Julie, it’s me, Jasper.”
“The cat?”
“I’m a man now, and I’m worried about Anica. I think she gave up her magical powers, or worse, in exchange for me permanently becoming a man. But she won’t let me in, so I don’t know what’s happening. And she sounds scared.”
The lock clicked open and Jasper took the stairs two at a time. By the time he got to Julie’s door, she’d already opened it. She stood there wearing glasses, kitten-patterned pajamas, and fuzzy pink slippers. “You think she gave up her magic for you?”
“Yes. Would you go down there and see if she’ll let you in? I just need to know she’s okay. And if you could, please tell her I paid a lot for her to get her magic back. See if you can get her to test her wand.”
“Where will you be?”
“Right down the hall.”
“Okay. Let me get my key.” She disappeared for a minute and returned carrying a cat-shaped key ring. “Let’s go.”
Jasper made himself walk at her pace, which in her fuzzy slippers was about twice as slow as he’d prefer. Along the way he decided to fill her in. “See, I signed a contract that I’d stay a cat from six in the morning to six at night, so that she’d get her magic back. If that contract’s in effect, I should have changed into a cat at six. I didn’t, so I’m worried that the reverse happened and she lost her magic so I could be a man twenty-four/seven. I don’t want Anica making that kind of sacrifice.”
Julie glanced at him. “Maybe she doesn’t want you making one, either.”
Jasper blew out an impatient breath. “Right now, I just want to get to the bottom of this. Promises were made, and I want to know if—”
“Gotcha.” Julie pointed to a spot by the stairs. “Stay here. I’ll signal if you should come in or not.”
Jasper wished he didn’t have the distinct impression Julie was enjoying this. She probably lived for drama, whereas he wouldn’t care if he never had another dramatic thing happen to him. Still, he was grateful that she was willing to help. He propped himself against the wall next to the stairs and prepared to wait.
He couldn’t hear what Julie said through the door, but Anica opened it and let her in. He resisted the urge to charge down there and brace the door open before Anica could close it again. That would be another case of the ends justifying the means, and he hoped he’d learned that lesson.
Time stretched out endlessly as he watched the doorway. He clenched and unclenched his hands, resettled his cap on his head about twenty times, and retied the laces on both of his shoes.
After about a hundred years, the door opened and Julie came out. Although the door closed after her, she beckoned him closer.
Julie’s eyes were bright with excitement. “Her magic works!”
“It does?” Jasper stared at her. “Then how come I haven’t changed into a cat?”
“ ‘Gift of the Magi.’”
“I don’t get it.”
“You each sacrificed for the other, so you both get what you wanted. It’s classic. I’m so glad I got to be part of this!”
Jasper felt a bubble of hope rise in his chest. “So . . . is she going to let me in?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Dorcas told her that under the terms of her contract, any contact would result in you turning into a cat again.”
Stunned, Jasper tried to process that information.
“Personally,” Julie said, “I think that part’s null and void. If each of you sacrificed for the other, I think you lifted the
spell. I mean, neither of the provisions of the contract came true, right? You’re still a guy and she has her magic. So I can’t believe that she’d turn you into a cat just by looking at you, but she’s very scared about that.”
Certainty flooded him with warmth. “I’m not scared. I want to see her.”
“Then we have to strategize.”
“I won’t lie to her, Julie. I did that once before and that’s how we ended up in this mess.”
Julie looked disappointed. “I thought we could cook up a plan that would get her to open the door, and then you’d just step up and there you’d be, looking at each other.”
“Nope. I’m going to try the truth and see how that works.” He walked to the door and rapped on it softly. “Anica, can you hear me?”
“Yes, but I wish you’d leave.”
His heart beat faster. So close and yet so far. “Let’s think logically. We each signed a contract giving up what was most precious—your magic and my human form.”
“And I couldn’t be with you.”
“And I told myself I couldn’t be with you, either, because I wasn’t a worthy partner when I was half cat and half man. But guess what? You have your magic and I didn’t change back into a cat at six this morning. So those contract clauses didn’t come into play, right?”
“No, but maybe we’re not supposed to be together. Maybe that’s the price we’re supposed to pay.”
Jasper leaned his forehead against the door. “I don’t believe that. I don’t believe that the kind of love that allowed each of us to make that sacrifice is supposed to be tossed aside. If I can’t be with you, I might as well be turned into a cat again. But I refuse to believe that will happen.”
“I don’t know, Jasper.”
“How can you doubt the power of our love? Look at what happened because of it. You’re magic again and I’m a man again. Don’t let fear keep us apart.”
“But—”
“Trust that our love is good, and we’re meant to be together. I think that’s what we’re supposed to learn. Open the door. Please.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on sending all the love he had through that door.
When the lock clicked open, the sound was more beautiful than a symphony. Slowly the door opened. She stood there with no makeup, her hair mussed from sleep, and her eyes wide with fear. She was so frightened she was quivering, but she stood there.
She was so beautiful and he longed to go to her, but he stayed very quiet, not moving at all. As sure as he was that this would work out, he was no expert in magic. There had to be some risk.
Gradually her eyes grew bright with joy. “You’re not changing.”
“No.”
She launched herself into his arms. “You’re not changing!”
“No.” He began to laugh. He’d never been so happy in his whole damned life.
“I was so scared. Jasper, I love you, love you, love you!”
“I love you, too, Anica. I couldn’t imagine a life without you.” He took time to breathe. “It was torture thinking that I would never see you again.”
She smiled at him. “For me, too. But now . . .”
“Yes, now.” Then he had no need for words, because his kisses said more than his words ever could.
“I’ll just be going,” Julie said.
He should thank Julie. He knew he should, but he’d have to take care of that later. He backed Anica into the apartment. Much later.
Epilogue
Around ten on a sunny morning in April, Dorcas brewed a cup of tea in her kitchen and headed down the hallway of the renovated Victorian toward her office at the front of the house. At the same moment her black cat, Sabrina, trotted out of the parlor and sat facing the front door, whiskers twitching.
“Ah, the mail must be coming.” Dorcas paused, and sure enough, several letters and a gardening catalog whizzed through the mail slot and plopped onto the hardwood floor.
Sabrina waited while Dorcas scooped up the mail and started toward the office. Tail high, the cat followed and leaped to the desk.
Dorcas set her mug on a coaster and located her glasses. “All right, all right. Honestly, Sabrina, I think you have a fetish.” Flipping through the mail, Dorcas plucked out an envelope decorated with stars. She slit the flap with a jewel-encrusted letter opener and pulled out the card.
“Yes!” She pumped her fist in triumph. “An engagement party for Anica and Jasper. Ambrose will be so pleased. I’m so pleased!”
Sabrina bumped her head against Dorcas’s hand and meowed.
“Oh, for Hera’s sake. You are a strange cat. But I agree, it’s the perfect envelope.” Dorcas took scissors out of her desk drawer. A few snips here and there and she’d created a paper crown out of the envelope. She placed it carefully on Sabrina’s head. “I crown thee Queen Sabrina of Big Knob. Happy now?”
The cat perched on the desk in regal splendor, purring loudly.
Ambrose strolled into the room. “I see the mail came and Sabrina has another crown.”
“And we’re invited to an engagement party for Anica and Jasper!” Dorcas beamed as she thrust the invitation at him.
“Excellent. I had serious doubts about those contracts, even with the assurances of the Wizard Council, but it all worked out.”
“It wouldn’t have if they each hadn’t chosen to sacrifice for the other,” Dorcas said. “We had to go on faith that their love was strong enough to make those unselfish choices. That was one of the scariest weekends of my life.”
“Mine, too. So where’s the party? The Bubbling Cauldron, I’ll bet.” Ambrose held the invitation at arm’s length and squinted at it.
“Ambrose, for Hera’s sake, when are you going to admit you need glasses? One of these days you’ll . . .” She paused. “Hold on. There’s a note written on the back of the invitation.”
Ambrose turned it over and squinted even harder.
“Let me read it.” Dorcas snatched it from him.
Dear Dorcas and Ambrose,
I appreciate the scrying session you did for me two weeks ago to help Jasper and me find the perfect condo. It’s gorgeous, close to Wicked Brew, and has an extra room for an office or a nursery. . . . ☺But now I need a scrying for Lily. Griffin isn’t paying any attention to her, so I talked her into getting a dog to take her mind off Griffin. Although Lily loves Daisy, she’s still fixated on Griffin. I’m worried that she’ll do something rash, but I’m not sure what. Can you try to find out?
Light and love, Anica
Dorcas glanced at Ambrose. “Do you have anything pressing to do this morning? Because I’d like to get right on this.”
“Sounds urgent to me. Let’s do it.”
“I don’t suppose we could dispense with Frankie Avalon this one time.”
“I don’t suppose we could.” Ambrose began whistling “Venus” as he left the office and walked toward the doorway leading to the basement.
Ten minutes later, they had the gas fire lit under the cauldron, the necessary herbs sprinkled into the water, and Frankie Avalon crooning on the CD player. Dorcas made sure everyone—Ambrose, Sabrina and her—were inside the circle before she closed it.
She was sick to death of Frankie Avalon, but there was something to be said for the entertainment value of watching Ambrose’s jerky cha-cha as he circled the cauldron, followed by Sabrina, who had the cha-cha down pat. Dorcas merely walked around the circle, but she couldn’t help stepping in time with the rhythm of the song, much as she hated the tune. The steam rose and Dorcas repeated Anica’s wish, to find out what her sister was up to.
A scene shimmered in the mist. Lily, surrounded by the vivid red and orange decorating scheme of her apartment’s living room, was on her knees brushing a golden retriever.
Sabrina went on alert, her tail twitching and her green eyes focused intently on the dog.
“So that’s Daisy,” Ambrose murmured. “Seems like the right dog for Lily.”
“Uh-huh,” Dorcas said. “Shh. Lily’s sayin
g something.”
“Daisy, all I want is a guy who’s as loving, smart, loyal and good-looking as you,” Lily said. “Is that too much to ask?”
Daisy whined and wagged her tail.
“Anica has a guy like that, so why can’t I find one? I’m at least as pretty, maybe prettier. I think Griffin wants to ask me out but something’s holding him back. If only I could break through that wall he’s built around himself . . .” Lily paused to gaze at her dog. Then she gasped. “Of course! You’re the answer! All I have to do is capture your qualities in an adoration elixir! It’s brilliant!”
Dorcas groaned. “It’s sheer stupidity! I’ll call Anica. Maybe she can stop Lily before it’s too late.”
Please read on for an excerpt from
Vicki Lewis Thompson’s
Chick with a Charm
Available from Signet Eclipse
In all her twenty-six years, despite being somewhat of a rebel, Lily Revere had never cast a spell on anyone. But dire circumstances called for drastic measures. She needed Griffin Taylor’s devoted attention beginning tonight.
That required creating an elixir this afternoon before heading off to work, but her apartment manager would stroke out if she built a fire under a cauldron in the middle of her living room. Technically she could manage the fire without burning down the building, but she might set off the smoke alarm, which would alert the manager, for sure. She was fond of this apartment, located a short bus ride from downtown Chicago.
To avoid possible eviction, she’d abandoned the cauldron and settled for a fondue pot on the floor as she brewed her adoration elixir. She didn’t need much of it, anyway. A couple of drops slipped into Griffin’s drink during happy hour tonight should start the process.
Her job as bartender would make that easy, and three hours after sipping his drink, Mr. Handsome would be fixated on her. If they had sex within twelve hours, the spell would strengthen, growing more powerful with each sexual encounter. Yummy prospect.
Blonde With a Wand Page 29