Six Times a Charm

by Deanna Chase

  “You can heal people?”

  “I can transfer some of my life force into another, but it weakens me. It isn’t something that can be done often.”

  “Can I do it?”

  “It would be one of your elf abilities if you ever regain them. But it isn’t something to do lightly, especially by a half-elf. It would shorten your life span significantly.”

  “Selene hasn’t regained any of her elf abilities?” Gram asked, looking at me carefully.

  I shook my head. “I don’t remember much of anything, only a few sparse memories.” Her eyes lingered on the lack of a ring on my finger.

  Cheney took my hand and Grandma studied us. “You’ve grown into yourself, child.” There was something in her tone that suggested it wasn’t a compliment. I ignored the feeling, thinking I must just be overanalyzing. Of course she was happy for me. She gave me an awkward hug, her arms barely touching me.

  Cheney smiled and made no move toward her. I had the impression from the few elves I’d met that they really weren’t touchy-feely. I couldn’t tell if Cheney made the exception for me or if he was the exception.

  When we settled back down in our seats, Grandma said, “I thought this visit was going to be about important matters, not trivial wedding tidings.” She gave me a hard look. “I was worried Selene was going to tell me she was going back with you.”

  Oh dear…

  Cheney gave me a look like I should say something, but I stubbornly ignored him.

  He cleared his throat. “Actually, Edith…” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re right. We are going back, but there’s no reason, once things are safe, that Selene can’t return to visit—or you could visit us.”

  Grandma nodded, still waiting. I couldn’t guess anything that she was thinking. Was she mad? Sad? She was just frustratingly silent.

  “And there’s something else.” Cheney said, nudging me.

  I ran through the problem and the plan with Cheney’s assistance. Grandma questioned us like an attorney until she was completely satisfied. Then she leaned back in her chair. “Well, obviously you need me there.”

  “Gram, you don’t have to come. You’ve been unwell—”

  “Don’t tell me what I’m capable of, child. You will need me. Do you still have my book?”

  Cheney nodded.

  “Then I can help, especially with protection. You could cast the same spells, but it sounds like you’ll have your hands full. Also you have a coven of witches who are wet behind the ears. Someone needs to whip those girls into shape. I’ll get my bag.”

  Cheney started to say something, but Grandma cut him off. “This isn’t open for discussion. Selene may be your wife, but she’s my blood. I’m coming along.” Then she marched out of the room.

  Cheney arched an eyebrow. “What is it about you that inspires so much loyalty?” he asked.

  “You tell me.” I shook my head. “Perhaps I give the impression that I can’t take care of myself. Why have you been so loyal?”

  “Because I love you.”

  “Well, there you have it. Obviously I’m easy to love.” I smiled and winked.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Cheney said. I punched him lightly, knowing he meant it as a joke, but part of me reminded myself it was probably true.

  “Do you think I should help Edith?” he asked.

  “No, she’ll accuse you of rushing her and making her forget everything. It’s best to let her be.” Worry nagged at me though. “Promise me nothing will happen to Grandma.”

  “I can’t. I think she’ll be fine, but the only person I’m going to swear to protect is you.”

  “But—”

  “Not open for discussion. Just you.”

  “I’m not at eighty-year-old woman who just got out of the hospital.”

  “No.”

  “You’re impossible. You can’t just hover around me the whole time.”

  “And what am I supposed to do if you die? I just got you back. I’m not losing you again.”

  “So what’s your plan? Are you going to lock me in a padded room for safe keeping?” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If you love me, prove it. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you.”

  “Then let me worry about me and you help me take care of my family, and I’ll help you take care of yours.”

  His brows pulled together. “It’s not really the same thing. We aren’t exactly going to be on friendly terms with my family.”

  “We’ll see,” I said, and he raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to talk your father out of fighting with you.”

  Cheney sat in stunned silence for a moment. “You honestly believe you can talk him into handing over the crown?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to try. Family is important. Ours and yours. If there’s anything I can do to prevent this, I will.”

  He took my hand. “I’ll protect your grandmother, though I have the sneaking suspicion she can take care of herself.”

  “Damn right I can,” Gram said, walking back into the kitchen with a carpetbag in one hand and her purse in the other. “Don’t fret over me, child. You worry about you. You’ve never been a fighter, always too gentle.”

  “Actually my fighting skills are pretty good these days, Gram,” I said dryly.

  She gave me a quelling look, like I was a child speaking out of turn. Energy shifted in my skin and irritation vibrated to top.

  “How much older am I than you, and yet you still call me ‘child’?” My voiced sounded hard to my ears—so I winked at her.

  Her face fell in surprise, and I fought the urge to clap my hand over my mouth. What had gotten into me? That was as close to back talking her as I had ever come. Cheney seemed oblivious to the exchange. Gram stared at me like I’d grown three heads and peed on the floor.

  “May I speak with you?” she said sharply to Cheney.

  Cheney looked up from his phone. “Of course, Edith.”

  “Alone,” Gram said, looking back at me.

  Christ, one little slip. It wasn’t like I was that rude. I stayed in my chair. “Whatever you have to say to Cheney, you can say to me. If you’re going to help, you can’t keep treating me like a kid.”

  Cheney nodded. “Selene’s right. You treat her as if she’s inferior. It’s inappropriate.”

  “Don’t tell me how to treat my granddaughter.”

  “But I’m not your granddaughter, am I?” I fired back. All the years of biting my tongue flooded over me.

  Grandma’s face went as white as a sheet. Cheney shrugged. “She’s not wrong, Edith. I like you, and you’ve done an outstanding job under the circumstances, but it’s time you see Selene for who she is.”

  My grandmother ruled the house and my life like the hand of God when I was with her. Asking her to give up control was like asking her to pull out her own teeth—not something she’d ever do willingly. It was why I moved away at eighteen and why to this day I was still scared of her. That sort of conditioning didn’t go away over night. I loved Grandma, but she also drove me crazy. And if she was moving back in with me, we needed to get this sorted out. I wasn’t going to walk on eggshells.

  “Oh, I see her for exactly who she is. You’re the one missing it. Can’t you see the elf poking around back there? My granddaughter would never talk back to me, would never wink at me. That elf is in there. Mark my words. She’ll ruin everything again. You haven’t dealt with her.”

  Cheney’s eyes narrowed. “First, let’s get one thing straight. You are talking about my wife. I love both her human and her elf side. Neither of them will be dealt with in any manner other than that which I see fit. Second, she didn’t ruin anything before. There will be none of that talk, Edith, or you will stay here.”

  “The elf half is dangerous. You cannot trust her,” Grandma insisted.

  “She is all Selene and I do trust her.”

  “Then you’re a fool.”

  The air around Cheney began to charge. “You will show us respect, human
.” Cheney’s glamour melted away and he looked beautiful, wild, and frightening. “We have lived longer, seen more, and lost more than you could ever fathom. Do not offer advice on that which you do not understand. And don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I have lost patience with you, Edith. You will regret it if that happens a second time.”

  Cheney stood and pulled me up by the elbow, then we were back home in our bedroom.

  “Insufferable woman. How did you stand her for so long? She makes my father look relaxed.”

  “It wasn’t so bad if I just didn’t say anything. I internalized a lot.”

  “You must have been miserable. I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job making sure you were happy.”

  “I was happy. I love Gram. She’s hard to take sometimes, but she means well. Her heart is in the right place. She’s trying to keep me safe.”

  “Don’t let her make you think your elf half is evil. No part of you is evil. Your elf half was a free spirit, one who probably felt choked and smothered under her roof. I’m not saying the old you was perfect by any means, but you were never evil.”

  “I don’t think she was evil, but—” I didn’t know how to articulate this. “In my memories of her, I don’t like her very much—yet I’m pretty happy with myself as I am now. I know that’s conceited, but it’s true.”

  “Selene, she is always there.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “You can control her.”

  “I think if I gave her an inch she would over take me. She’s stronger than I am.”

  “You’d be surprised. She had weaknesses. Your conviction and self-control are strong traits. I don’t know that she could push you to the rear anymore.”

  “We’ll worry about this when the ordeal with your father is over. I don’t want to think about it now.”

  “That is your choice.”

  “Thank you,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “Oh, I meant to ask you, do elves hug?”

  “What?” Cheney asked, looking perplexed.

  “Do elves hug one another? Are they touchy-feely?”

  He played with a strand of my hair. “Not too much, no. Why?”

  “Just curious.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to work out where I was going with this.

  “Does it bother you when I hug you?”

  “Your touch will never bother me.”

  “I just want to know your boundaries.”

  “I have no boundaries with you.”

  “What about your life span?”

  “What about it?”

  “Did you shorten it healing Grandma?”

  “Maybe slightly, but nothing of any significance.”

  I leaned into him, resting my head over his steady heartbeat, not liking that he would do anything that would make himself die younger.

  “Have I answered all of your questions?” His lips brushed against my hair.

  “I suppose. Are you going to go back to get Grandma?”

  A low rumble vibrated in his chest as he lifted me off the ground. “She can wait a little while longer,” he said, laying me on the bed. “All this talk of ‘boundaries’ makes me wonder where exactly yours are. Care to test them?” he asked with a wicked grin.

  “I don’t know. We might need to test them over and over and over again. It could take hours.” I ran my hand over his warm chest and stomach, feeling the ripples beneath the soft cotton of his shirt. My fingers lingered at the waist of his jeans. He sat back on his haunches, his eyes gleaming.

  “Well, if we must, we must,” he said, tugging my pants off.

  “Yes, far be it from me to stand in the way of—”Cheney’s tongue trailed down my thigh, making my breath catch in my throat, “research.”

  Ah, science.

  Chapter 32

  By the time Cheney got around to going back for Grandma, the others were headed inside after casting some sort of spell on the house. The girls collapsed on the couch around me—tired, sweaty, and filled with delirious laughter.

  “Oh my gosh, Selene, you missed it. Jess hit herself with the Wiccan wand Sebastian got us. It was priceless. She was looking all important and badass, then boom!” Leslie said, gasping for breath as Devin and Katrina dissolved into laughter. Jessica flipped them off and leaned back against the couch, covering her eyes with a manicured hand.

  “It hurt, you assholes,” she grumbled, only making them laugh harder.

  I glanced back at Sebastian, who lingered awkwardly in the room. “Well, have a seat, stay a while.” I motioned to a chair.

  “Where’s Cheney?”

  “He went to see if my grandmother still wanted to help us.”

  “Still?”

  “We had a little argument,” I said. Sebastian immediately gave me a ’what did you do?’ look. Defensiveness flooded me. “You don’t understand. It was necessary.”

  Sebastian looked unconvinced.

  “And besides, Cheney fought with her more.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Honestly, the two of you couldn’t hold your tongues long enough to get one old lady to join the cause?”

  I narrowed my eyes. All four girls stared at me. “You finally stood up to your grandmother?” Devin asked, amazed. “Good for you!”

  “I never thought I’d live to see the day,” Kat added. “You should’ve stood up to that crazy woman years ago.”

  “You obviously don’t keep up on current events, Sebastian,” Jessica told him. “She’s needed to do this for years. It’s seriously a good thing.”

  Their defense drained me of any irritation I felt toward Sebastian. “I understand that we need her and what’s at stake, but it wouldn’t have done us any good if she got here and was herself. I needed to get something straight with her and set ground rules. Then she offended Cheney, and well…” I shrugged helplessly. “We’ll see if she comes back with him.”

  “Holy crap, your grandma is moving in with us?” Katrina said wide-eyed.

  “She’s going to teach us stronger magic if she comes.”

  “I haven’t met her, but from what I hear there’s no way that’ll go well,” Leslie said.

  “For real, dude,” Jessica agreed.

  “And you guys will have her by yourself tonight, too. Cheney and I are going to meet some vampires.”

  “Bullshit,” Katrina said, looking very interested. “That’s code for like, getting a hotel room and some alone time, right? Vampires aren’t real.”

  “Oh, they’re real all right,” Sebastian said.

  “Seriously, I’m totally coming with you.” She looked like she was just given a recipe for calorie-free chocolate.

  “I don’t think Cheney will let you,” I said but was drowned out by the succession of agreement from the other three.

  “I want to see vampires,” Devin said.

  “You aren’t leaving us with her while you go out!” Jessica said from beneath her hand.

  “Are they like they are in movies?” Leslie asked.

  I looked at Sebastian for help, but he just smiled. “They’ve been teaming up on me all day.”

  “Most guys would want us to team up on them,” Katrina said under her breath, and Sebastian let out a bark of laughter. It wasn’t as musical as Cheney’s, but it was fluid and rushed as if it poured from him. His face brightened and became more alive when he laughed.

  When he cleared his throat and looked away, I realized we were all staring at him. The awkward seconds passed like hours and finally I managed to speak. “You don’t laugh nearly enough, Sebastian.” Then I spoke to the girls so they’d stop looking at him like they just discovered he was male. “I understand you want to come tonight, but first, there’s no way we can show up for a meeting with six people. It will seem hostile. Second, Cheney will never agree to take us all there. I barely talked him into letting me go along.”

  “Cheney might not be as reluctant to include them as he is you,” Sebastian said.

  “That’s so
not helping.”

  “He won’t let them in the meeting, but if they want to go they could stay upstairs while you guys talked,” he added.

  Was he trying to make this harder?

  “Gee, that sounds safe.”

  “You can’t expect us to stay behind,” Devin said.

  “Sure I can. Have you noticed any cars, helicopters, lawnmowers, or bicycles?” They all looked at me blankly. “I thought not. If one of the elves doesn’t take you, you have no way out.” Their faces went through a plethora of emotions that obviously touched Sebastian deeper than it did me.

  “If Selene can talk Cheney into letting you go to the club, I’ll come along and make sure you’re safe.”

  “Selene can talk anyone into anything,” Leslie said, hopping up.

  “I’m getting ready!” Kat said with undisguised enthusiasm.

  “I’m right behind you. It just feels like a hot roller kind of night!” Devin exclaimed.

  Jessica walked stiffly behind them “Oh my God, you guys are so third floor.”

  “You know he won’t like this, right?”

  “I’m positive you can talk him into it. They worked hard today. They deserve a reward.”

  “Who deserves a reward?” Cheney appeared behind us, carrying my grandmother under his arm. “Your room, Edith, is down that hallway.” He set her down and pointed to a wing of the house we hadn’t used yet. “Third door on the left.”

  She took her bag from him and marched down the hallway, not saying a single word to me. I sighed. “You do, for getting her here.”

  “She had no intention of backing out. Things might be icy for a while though.” He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, then tugged a strand of my wet hair. “You should be getting ready to go.”

  “About that.” I cleared my throat. “The girls want to come tonight.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “I told them you would say that.” I looked pointedly at Sebastian. “But they’ve been working really hard, and they want to see this world they’re a part of. I think if they want to go and if Sebastian agrees to hang out with them upstairs, it shouldn’t be a huge deal. Right?”