by M. L. Briers
“No doubt, but I still won, and we both know that I’m always right, right?”
Yeah, I really wanted to zap him myself, but I’d made a bargain so that Gran could have that pleasure. Now, where did I leave that fork?
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
~
It’s not that I am indecisive, well, sometimes — no, actually not really — maybe a little at times, but my point is — what was my point again? Oh yes, Malachi is a vampire — does that make me a bad person to need to think of the big picture in all of this?
Blood. That was a big part of the big, big picture. Whose blood? Mine? Other people?
Was there a future to be had between a human and a vampire that was destined to walk the earth until someone killed him — again — properly this time with something wooden and spiky?
And what of the man himself? Could Malachi really be trusted? He’d wanted to kill Gran — that had to be a black mark against him.
Had he changed? Do vampires change? They certainly don’t grow old — which brings me full-circle back to him walking the Earth for the rest of his … life.
Was I being petty?
Was I over thinking it? I mean, perhaps this was Malachi’s MO — perhaps I was a challenge that he wanted to win, and once he had then he’d move on like a creep in the night.
I didn’t do one night stands. But, even if Malachi had something longer in mind, the man didn’t age — how long could longer be?
I mean, did I want to look as if I was robbing the cradle when I was in my forties, fifties, or older still? Sure, everybody loves a love story, but don’t tell me that people didn’t talk behind your back when you were lip-locking with someone that was young enough to be your offspring.
He had rescued me on a few occasions. He’d fought with us against the werewolves and my aunt. He’d even let Gran zap the heck out of him without much complaint, and she was doing better. But still, was he a good guy?
Yep, some really big questions and very little answers to be had, but what was new about that?
The bistro was buzzing today. It had an endless supply of tourists, and at times like these, I felt like putting a revolving door in the front of the shop.
Luckily all hands were on deck, and I could spend my time hiding in the kitchen, baking cookies, and … thinking. It wasn’t my favourite pastime.
The door opened, and Moira came in with a tray full of dirty dishes. She eyed me for a long moment with a small frown.
“What?” I finally asked because I hated to be treated like a specimen in a Petri dish.
“What are you doing with that vampire?”
“The one hiding under the counter?”
“What?” She took a step and leaned over to look. Then she huffed. “Don’t be annoying.”
“Can’t help it, I guess you’ve finally rubbed off on me.”
“Malachi?”
“Someone call?” he asked, stalking into the kitchen and making Moira jump in place. Busted, nosy witch.
“I wanted to see if it was true if the Devil did appear when you called his name, and here you are,” she said, all bright eyed and bushy tailed for fresh meat to get her claws into.
“I’m guessing that Maggie got the good personality, Eileen got the sugar and spice side, and you…”
“Don’t finish that if you don’t want to spend the next five minutes healing,” she warned.
“Hello,” Nena called out, just before she pushed open the back door and came in.
“Hey, I hear you’re thinking about leaving.”
I liked her and thought it was a shame that she wasn’t staying on the island. We’d even offered to put her up while she found somewhere to live if she wanted to relocate, but apparently, the attractions of the mainland were just too strong.
Personally, I think it might have had something to do with Jack. The two of them had been inseparable since the other night, not that I was gossiping.
“I’m actually off in a few hours.”
“Well, our door is always open for visits,” Moira said, and I hoped she’d take us up on that.
“And spellwork,” I added. “We owe you a big one, and maybe you can teach me some of those moves...”
“Moves?” Malachi said, frowning as he folded his arms. “Like with knives?”
“I’d be careful if I were you,” I warned him. I liked the idea of my mental fork, but I could take that next step up to knives.
“I’ll say no more,” he said, with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
“And what about Jack?” Moira asked.
“Jack and I don’t live too many miles apart so who knows?” she shrugged.
“Gran; if the mood takes her,” Moira said.
“Huh?” Nena looked lost.
“She wouldn’t.” I shook my head.
“It’s Gran, and matchmaking is her thing,” Moira protested.
“True.”
“Well, I prefer to let nature take its course…”
“Me too,” Malachi offered me a cocky grin, and I snorted contempt back at him.
“I’ll see, and I just saw him. He’s got a call out to the Point before he leaves…”
“What?” That jarred me out of the death glare that I was offering to Malachi.
“Oh, not again,” he groaned, but I was already grabbing a towel for more cookie dough covered hands and rushing for the door.
“I’ll drive,” Malachi called after me, and I didn’t care who was driving as long as I got there.
~
I could see them in the distance, one big, rowdy drunken Scotsman, and Jack, and they were arguing. It couldn’t be now – right? I mean, the weather was right, we were probably in the right place on the Point, but, what – he was going to slip?
That would have been a kick in the visionary pants, but I suppose my vision didn’t warrant dark magic.
With the sound of Nena’s motorbike roaring by, taking the flatter grass cut into the well-trodden ground, Jack turned a look in our direction, and that was when it happened. The stupid drunken man saw his chance and aimed his whole body weight at Jack’s chest – I almost fell over my own feet, and I tried to run faster, but I was never going to be fast enough.
Jack’s body stumbled backwards, his arms flapped around like the little bird that wanted to fly, and then he did.
I blindly raced towards the edge behind Malachi; who was running so damn fast that I didn’t think he’d be able to stop, and he didn’t – he launched his body from the perfectly good land – who the heck in a month of Sundays did that?
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
~
“What the hell?” The drunken idiot bit out, and I bit down on my need to push that man off the edge. Instead, I threw all of my anger behind my magic and aimed it at him.
“Sleep!” I bit out, and he dropped to the ground where he’d stood.
There was a strange sense of satisfaction in hearing the thud of his body hit the ground, but I snapped a look down over the edge, and there they were, falling together, twisting in midair so that Malachi’s body faced the rocks below.
I directed all of my anger into my magic and aimed it right at them. Like a blast of wind that had been whipped up from the sea, they were thrust outwards towards the water, carried on my magic until they hit the waves and disappeared below.
“Nice,” Nena said, standing beside me. “You two make a great couple.”
“We’re not a…” I stopped in mid-denial. I guess we were kind of a couple, but what kind of a couple remained to be seen. “Meh.”
“There they are!” She pointed as Malachi’s head broke the water first and he wrenched Jack up with him.
“Why are men so damn needy?” I sighed, but the fact that Jack was alive and my nightmare vision had finally come and gone without the eejit dying was a weight from my shoulders.
“They’re just wired like that,” she said.
I turned away from the edge, took a few steps and dropped to my backside o
n the grass with a thump to my pride and a Gran sized sigh. I felt older than my years.
“What about sleeping ugly?” She nodded towards the snoozing behemoth.
“Malachi can rinse his memory…”
“And replace it with the suggestion that he’s soft and cuddly?” She had an evil, wicked glint in her eye, and I liked it.
“Spends his time helping the elderly across the road…”
“Does good deeds for his local community…”
“And a wee nip of anything alcoholic never passes his lips.” I liked that idea.
“Oh, that’s worse than any sentence the court could throw at him,” she chuckled.
“You know – I do like your style,” I giggled.
“Do you think that the big man wearing ladies panties under his clothes is a step too far?”
“Considering he just pushed a man off a cliff nooo, tell me more.”
~
Well, Jack was gone, Nena was gone, Isla was starting to come out of her shell and was back on the street corner chatting with Mrs D this afternoon, although she didn’t much look as if her heart was in it yet, and Gran had started to perk up a little. It looked as if life might just have been getting back to normal, or as normal as it could be on Skye.
It was date night, and I was going out with Malachi, and for some strange reason, I’d been as nervous as a bride or her wedding day since I’d woken up this morning. Stupid really, he was just a guy, well, except that he was dead.
I hit the bottom stair just as Moira came out of the living room with a look of glee in her eyes and a big, stupid smile on her lips.
“Well, you went all out,” she said, motioning to my outfit, jeans and a little top, but I had put on a pair of heels, so I’d kind of made an effort-ish.
“I don’t want to give him the wrong idea,” I said, tossing her a death glare and hoping that she’d drop it – fat chance, it was Moira.
“That you’re open for business?” she said, folding her arms under her perky breasts and chuckling like a shrew.
“What am I, paid goods?”
“That could be a good side business for you,” she offered back, and I opened my mouth with a gasp of disbelief.
“Oh, you can kiss my a…”
“Moira!” Gran snapped out and made us both jump as she appeared at the door to the greenhouse and scowled at my sister.
“I didn’t do it!” Moira tossed back assuming default deniability mode without even being accused of anything yet.
“Possible, but we’ll get to what it was you didn’t do in good time,” Gran said, narrowing her eyes on Moira and making me feel guilty by association.
“O-kay,” Moira looked lost.
“Let’s go,” Gran said, and my sister shot a quizzical look in my direction, I had nothing to offer her but a shrug. “Those spells won’t just pop into your brain; you have to learn them.”
“S-pells,” she turned a death glare on me, and it was a good one.
I felt a sense of warmth spreading inside me, all warm and fuzzy for my sister’s misery. I offered her the same look of glee that she’d offered me.
“That’s right, sister,” I said, folding my arms and grinning with delight. “So many spells, so little time – you’ll want to get as much knowledge in that brain of yours as ye can because I think we both know it’s sadly lacking.”
“Let’s be having you,” Gran said and turned on her heels to leave.
“Y-ou,” Moira hissed at me, and I offered her a big old grimace.
“Enjoy your date, Maggie,” Gran said, “you do know that Malachi is your match, don’t you?” She tossed back over her shoulder, and I almost swallow my tongue as my jaw tried to hit my chest.
The sound of Moira’s squeal of delight echoed inside my brain.
“M-m-ma…” I spluttered.
“Oh,” Moira said, and I snapped a look at her, “that’s just soooo…”
“Against all things natural?” Malachi asked, appearing at the kitchen door beside me as I froze in place. I couldn’t turn to look at him, but I shot a look at Moira for help instead.
“I…” I shrugged, words failed me.
“Help, The Beatles, good choice!” Moira announced, and the moment that she said it I realised that I was singing it in my head. “Sorry, busy-busy, Gran duties.”
“That’s…” I tried to reach out to her, but she shot off down the hallway, and I was left grasping at thin air.
“Have a good time, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” She called back over her shoulder.
“Well, that doesn’t leave a lot,” Malachi called after her, and she grunted in annoyance, but didn’t stop walking.
I slowly turned my gaze towards Malachi, and the teasing, cocky look on his face made me want to dig a big hole and bury myself in it.
“You can say it,” he offered, and I frowned. “I was right – again.”
“I…” My stupid brain farted. “There are no words.”
“Because it’s just so … meant to be.” He gave me one of those stupidly sexy grins and my mouth opened, but nothing came out. “You’re overwhelmed with happiness.”
“That’s not where I was going with that,” and I wasn’t.
Gran had hit me with a giant wrecking ball – Malachi was my match? In what universe was that possible?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Malachi said, and I glared at him. “Oh, no wait. That was the other part of our deal. Drop the magic, Maggie.”
“No, it wasn’t, bite me.” Now that I knew we were fated, all bets were off.
“Later,” he grinned, and I snatched my head back on my neck and growled just a little. “Paging Ross?”
“Someone want me?” Ross asked, padding to the kitchen doorway with a large chicken leg in his hand.
“Can you kill him, pretty please?” I snapped at Ross, and the man lifted his hand and scratched his head.
“Why?”
“Because I asked nicely,” I hissed back.
“She’s got a point, how often does Maggie ask nicely?” Malachi chuckled, but Ross looked confused. I guess the whole multi-tasking thing of eating and thinking wasn’t working out for him.
“If I had a point I’d kill you myself,” I bit back.
“I thought you two were…” Ross wiggled his eyebrows, and I groaned.
“Oh, we are,” Malachi said.
“Not yet, we’re not,” I grumbled.
I should have been happy, right? I mean, the agonising was over, I didn’t have to wonder about all that; should I or shouldn’t I, stuff. He was my match, but… ugh!
Now I knew how Moira felt when she found out about Ross, but that didn’t help me any.
Moira and Ross, Eileen and Duncan, Malachi and … yep, still not seeing the big picture. What, did fate think we all needed big, bad supernatural protectors or something? Oh, maybe.
Cos that’s not insulting. I’m guessing fate is male.
“Shall we go?” Malachi asked, and I wondered if the scowl on my face was going to be permanent.
I suppose on the plus side, he was as sexy as sin, he did make me laugh, and he really got under Gran’s skin – bonus. But, how did you date a bloodsucking dead guy? I guess I was going to find out.
“Just keep those fangs to yourself,” I sneered.
“For now,” he shrugged.
I put one foot in front of the other and headed for the front door with the sound of Ross’ chuckles in my ears. Then Malachi was at my side, and I felt his cheek against mine.
“But, you’re going to love the fangs,” he whispered, and I opened my mouth to speak, “remember – I’m always right.”
“I guess when you’re that bloody old you’ve seen and done everything,” I bit out, and his chuckles warmed me just as much as having him that close.
Sure, I could date a dead guy – what’s so hard about that? I was a witch, this was the Isle of Skye, and stranger things have happened.
The End.