Dear gods, was everyone determined to see me blush tonight?
“That isn’t an entirely inaccurate statement,” I admitted, not meeting Clair’s laughing eyes. “His name is Sterling, and I don’t know if he knows anyone worthy of sending your way.”
“I knew it!” Clair exclaimed. She sat back with a smug smile. Picking up a stuffed potato cup, she pointed at me with her pinkie. “There’s something more, though. You’re far too content and relaxed. Is there something more to this Sterling?” She was about to bite into the stuffed yumminess when her eyes grew huge, and she pulled the appetizer back. “Wait. Sterling. Of the Magickal Society. Not…The Sterling? The uber powerful wizard who is super scary? The one who makes mob enforcers and serial killers look like kittens?”
“Yep. Him.” I took one of the potato cups for myself. “He’s someone I can’t intimidate or overpower. It’s a pleasant change.”
Clair snorted and shook her head as she bit into her pocket. I followed suit, and we ate in silence. Finally, she spoke again.
“As long as he makes you happy.” She tipped her head to the side and studied me with slightly narrowed eyes. “Is there more to it than a casual fling? You don’t look or act like someone who’s out enjoying a fun romp.”
“That’s the thing,” I said with a sigh. I picked up a tater tot. “He’s amazing, and not just as a lover. I’ve never felt this way about someone before, so I’m at a loss. For that matter, I need to figure out how to refer to him, and if he feels the same.”
“You are so screwed,” she said with a laugh. “Take my advice, sweetie. Don’t wait to tell him you love him. It sounds like there may be something really special between the two of you, and that isn’t something you want to miss out on.”
As I was preparing a reply, the Beast swaggered over to our table. The well-aged bassist was a little over six feet tall, with shaggy brown hair that fell halfway down his back. He bore a slight family resemblance to the tavern’s male owner, although the Beast had Asian features and was bigger.
For tonight’s performance, he was wearing a suit coat and pants with Italian loafers and a very low-cut silk shirt. A necktie hung halfway down his chest. When he reached us, he leaned his elbows on our table, and glanced between Clair and me.
“Which of you ladies am I supposed to charm? Or am I the luckiest man in town in that I get to try for both of you?” he said by way of greeting.
Clair and I looked at each other, then began giggling like school girls.
“I certainly wouldn’t object,” Clair murmured, a blush creeping along her cheeks.
“Charm away,” I said, trying not to sound too fangirlish. “One never knows what the night will bring.”
I’m not sure what I expected next, but it certainly wasn’t what happened. The Beast lunged at me, stopping just short of my neck. Instead of making contact, though, he inhaled the scent of my skin. His thick hair lay against my hair, and I will blame that for why my eyes closed and I stopped breathing. Because anything else would be admitting I enjoyed it.
A low, humored growl vibrated in my ear as he pulled away. I opened my eyes and saw Clair staring at me. Her mouth was twitching as if she were trying to smile, bite her lip, and moan at the same time. I looked at the smiling Beast.
“Mmmmmm…” He purred. “You smell dangerous, dark…and taken.”
“I…I…um…” I stammered like a school girl, or worse, a boy.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” he assured both of us. “But it really breaks the mood if there’s regret or guilt.” He paused, looking thoughtful and impish. “Especially if it’s in the middle when I’m going back and forth between you two.”
Clair broke in. I was still trying to figure out where my tongue and command of the English language had gone.
“You couldn’t keep us both occupied at the same time? We’d have to settle for taking turns?”
The Beast smiled wolfishly at Clair. “I’ve got the most talented fingers you’ve ever experienced, milady, but they won’t do all the work.”
“Regret? Who would have regret?” I somehow managed to ask. It’s not like I’d pledged myself to Sterling. Besides, if my parents could have other lovers, even though they were very much infatuated with each other, why couldn’t I?
I knew how to rationalize.
“She’s adorable when she’s flummoxed,” the Beast said, nodding sideways toward me. “Think she can handle the two of us, or will she need to hear about it all first?”
“I love her, but I wouldn’t want her cramping our style with hesitation,” Clair said.
Her fingers were unconsciously twining through her hair. I began to feel like a third wheel. What the unholy hell was happening?
“Do you want me to take it a little easy on you, so you can tell her about it later?” the Beast asked, winking.
“Hell, no. We can live chat her if I can’t keep any self-control,” Clair said.
Had I left the table and not realized it? I was right here beside them!
“Guess we will use your phone, since I don’t have her number yet,” the Beast said.
“Maybe she’ll be around when we’re done. You can get it from her then,” she countered.
“I wasn’t aware my cousin and his lovely wife kept this place open twenty-four hours,” he said.
Clair lunged across the table and practically speared his mouth open with her tongue on their way to the floor. I blinked repeatedly and looked around, silently asking myself, What the fuck just happened here?
“Sweet Jeebuz, cousin, take it to the VIP room,” a laughing voice interrupted the scene.
A fist came into view with an upraised thumb. It wasn’t Clair’s.
Mark was suddenly at my side, tapping my shoulder. I looked up at his smiling face.
“Not the way you expected that to go, was it?” he guessed.
I shook my head, still baffled. “Not even close.”
“That’s been my experience with my dear cousin all my—” Mark stopped and shouted, “Stop scooting on my floor and carry her to a room, or something, will you? Geez!” Mark looked back at me and finished his sentence, “—life, even when we were kids, and he only knew how to play two instruments. We always had good times, though. What can I get you while the band is on, ahem, break?”
“The show isn’t over?” I asked, a little bitter.
“They aren’t due to hit the stage for 30 minutes. Clair may or may not be joining you for that show. I will probably end up sparing the rest of the band and interrupting their fun to tell him to get on with the gig,” Mark said comfortably. I wondered again what it would take to rile him. He continued, “She may wait for him in the VIP room and recover for his return and eventual trip to the hotel. I’ve seen it before.”
He smiled as if he were telling me a story about how his kids learned to walk. Returning the smile, I nodded. “To answer your question, surprise me.”
Mark patted my shoulder warmly before gesturing to someone I couldn’t see. The next thing I knew, a tray full of appetizers was placed on the table before me, and Mark walked off.
Damn. The man was good. No wonder Fellhaven was such a successful business.
* * *
The next 30 minutes were spent eating way too much great food and checking my phone. The show started on time, and the Beast smiled through the whole first set.
“What happened to your friend?” a familiar voice said in my ear, above the music.
I looked over and found Jade leaning toward me. She wore a blouse with a plunging neckline and short hemline. Behind her stood someone I guessed was her business partner. There was too much distance and casualness between them for it to be anything else.
“He happened,” I said, nodding toward the Beast. I didn’t trust myself to not do something if I pointed, so I kept my fingers to myself.
Jade snorted. I shrugged.
“I can’t begrudge Clair,” I admitted, trying to be gracious. My eyes drifted to the man standing n
ear Jade, who had a tankard of a frothy dark beverage in hand. “Are you two enjoying the show?”
“I am. He doesn’t care about music, just that they serve an actual mead that’s done the old way,” Jade replied, gesturing at her companion. He noticed and tipped the tankard at me in greeting.
“Kind of tall for a dwarf, isn’t he?” I asked.
“I’m short for a hill giant,” she countered before gesturing for him to join us.
The burly fellow walked over. He was a good bit over five feet, but he moved like a dwarf. His full and immaculate beard, along with his long braid, made him look like a motorcycle gang member to modern mundanes, but I recognized more of his heritage as he came closer.
One muscled arm came forward, and I shook the offered hand. His grip was iron but not forceful.
“Call me Gil,” he said and smiled without showing any teeth. Really, it was as if the beard split apart when he talked and stretched out when he smiled. I couldn’t help but be charmed by him. “Jade has been the happiest I’ve seen her since we opened the shop,” Gil said. “That would be your doing, and ye may consider me grateful.”
“I suppose we have you to thank for her axe being in such good shape,” I replied. “Love your work at the shop, as well.”
Gil took another long pull from his tankard, then nodded. After swallowing, he answered. “Thankee much. It doesn’t take much to impress most of the locals, but praise from the Lady of Death is a high honor. My kinsfolk coveted your art collection from the days back.”
The band started playing a hard rock tune from the late 70s. Gil seemed to wake up to the fact that music was playing.
He roared with approval, then turned and walked toward the stage. He held his tankard aloft which became the only way we could discern his location in the crowd. I looked at Jade. She shrugged and took the empty seat.
“He likes British bands from the 70s, what he calls ‘real Dwarven-inspired music,’ unlike the Black and Death metal he claims is too much like teen Vikings trying to prove their manhood,” she explained.
“We need to catch up soon,” I said. “Help yourself. There’s no way I can eat all of this.”
Jade laughed and grabbed a mozzarella stick. We sat quietly, enjoying the show. After the second song, I grabbed her hand and nodded toward the floor, an impish grin on my face.
As one, we stood and headed to the floor where we began dancing.
There are a few things every fae can do. One of those things is dance. As with everything else, Jade was also highly skilled at dancing. She was not your typical hill giant by a long shot.
As we began dancing, two things happened. We garnered a lot more attention than the drunkards who were attempting to dance, and the floor opened up more.
Laughing as Jade and I moved with the beat, I noticed the Beast watching us. It seemed the more people danced, the more he got into playing the bass guitar.
My former Right Hand winked at me before holding her hand out. Grabbing it, she twirled me close and dipped me back before spinning me into an upright position.
I followed her gaze to the stage where the Beast was watching our every move. Turning my eyes back to Jade, I raised my brows in a silent question. She nodded. Together we began dancing more sensually.
It reminded me of the days when we used our dancing to lure in unsuspecting males or to raise lust in the men we wanted to use for my spells.
Some things, apparently, never changed. Nor were those ways forgotten.
The growing lust and desires building in Fellhaven, coupled with the fact that I was enjoying myself and the music, kept me from realizing there was too much energy and power.
At least, that’s what I told myself as I realized what I was sensing wasn’t just from the entertainment in the establishment. There was too much energy filling the air.
Leaning into Jade, I told her, “Stay here. I have to go.”
Jade’s shifted from sensual dancer to tense warrior between one blink and the next.
“Are you certain, milady?”
“This will be a wizard battle,” I replied. “Tell Mark and Jen. You’ll know if I fail.”
Jade nodded. “Be careful, Lady.”
I returned the nod and grabbed my purse from the table. Tucking a hundred under my glass, I departed the restaurant.
Figuring out which way I needed to go was easy after I opened the Third Eye. There was a shimmering cloud of unadulterated Magick billowing up from the park.
Shrugging on the leather jacket, I unlocked my phone to call Sterling. As I dialed his number, I couldn’t help but notice the time. It was ten minutes to midnight.
The Witching Hour.
When Sterling answered, I said, “Someone is using the amulet. Meet me at Ridgeview Park in Waynesboro.”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ridgeview, the largest park in the small city, was where most summer activities took place. A pair of baseball fields, a tennis court, and a swimming pool made up the north end. The west end lay across the river, accessed by a metal footbridge, and the fields there were used for soccer and civil war reenactments among other things. The east end offered the easiest access to the shallow areas of the river, but the main attractions were the playground buildings and equipment, the meditation garden, and the covered stage.
Local and larger musical groups often performed on summer weekends for those who gathered along the rising slope that faced the stage.
Past the east end was one of the city’s elementary schools and a softball field. Sterling and I used this location as our teleport destination. As we landed against the soft dirt near home plate, our eyes adjusted to the dark, and we spotted the source of the Magickal disturbance quickly. The stage was illuminated by flickering and pulsing lights, but not from an electrical source. And there was no music.
We began to run toward the aberration.
When we were still 70 yards from the stage, I could see a form standing with raised arms, facing the lights. The person wore a simple, black robe, but very little else was discernible.
Sterling tapped my arm and pointed to the right. He had spotted a body lying in the grass, close to the playground area.
Without a word, we made for the body. Before Sterling turned the body over, I sensed recent death. I knew the body was male. When Sterling rolled the corpse over, I recognized Dirk. He would never again enjoy his vinyl collection. He’d been stabbed in the carotid artery, and his body was nearly empty of blood. Sterling looked up, saw that I knew who was on the ground, then began running toward the stage. I kept pace with him.
We rounded the west side of the stage and passed the flora that grew there, and my heart sank a bit as I realized we were too late. The portal, easily twelve feet in diameter, was still throwing out a light show, but a tall man in ancient Egyptian clothing was hovering before it.
Screaming with laughter, ten feet in front of the stage, was one of Nick’s former groupies. I recognized her as the blonde who had been with Dirk at Dante’s house and had disappeared when I returned from the basement. She was also one of the blondes I saw with Nick at the Clocktower.
Her eyes were wide and wild, and her teeth sparkled through her crazed smile.
Thrusting her hands forward, she cried, “Blood of the sacrificial lamb that brought you here, my god! Drink, Nyarlathotep, and be whole in this world once more!”
Looking at the stage, I noticed the spell symbols written in blood on the floor and a simple, silver chalice. The woman was shaking and thrusting her arms toward the chalice. Nyarlathotep stepped onto the concrete surface and reached for the chalice.
Without hesitation, I conjured a ball of pure will and launched it at the cup. From this distance, I didn’t know if anything I had would even annoy an Old One, so my goal was to keep him from getting the sacrificial blood. My legs pumped as I ran toward the stage.
I saw the god catch my missile as he snatched up the chalice. While he took a sip, he hurled the spell b
ack at me with so much force I barely had time to see it leave his hand before it struck me in the chest.
My body crumpled, and I was flung backward. Just before I hit the ground, I saw Sterling throw his arm forward. A green whip of glowing power snaked out and knocked the chalice from Nyarlathotep’s hand. I hit the ground hard and rolled.
The dragon’s blood and leather jacket kept my body from taking more damage than it did, and I was thankful. As I stopped, I realized I had been thrown 20 feet and rolled for another 10. It was a challenge to get to my knees, and pushing myself to a standing position took more time than I could afford.
The blonde charged me, screaming incoherent words between profanities.
Casting a shield spell around my body was a close call; there was little energy and will to put behind it. Fortunately, the spell was enough to keep the woman’s trio of fireballs from doing any real damage. As each one hit the shield spell, I was knocked back a little each time. I spared a moment to look toward the stage.
Sterling and the pharaoh-like avatar of Nyarlathotep were tossing spells of every kind at each other. Lightning, clouds of black mist, fire, weapons conjured from nothing, and more flew between the two. Not having another moment to spare, I looked away from the dazzling spectacle and started running from the woman.
“You won’t escape me!” she screamed raggedly. “The last thing you will see is my face! The last name on your lips will be Charise Hawkins!”
At least I knew her name, now. My retreat took me near Dirk’s corpse. I stumbled, fell over his body, and landed beside him.
“Just who is Charise Hawkins supposed to be?” I gasped. Pushing against the corpse’s neck with one hand, I staggered back to a sloppy version of a standing position. “Besides another one of Nick’s punch bunnies and witch wannabe’s?”
“That worthless con man? He was a means to an end!” Charise laughed. She thrust her arms toward me, and lightning poured from her fingertips. I absorbed the energy as best I could and managed to stay standing. My biggest hope was that she couldn’t tell how hard that was.
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