“It’s a good choice,” Vic proclaimed when the papers were signed and they were alone in the small lot. “Not flashy for recon, high up to go off-road. And you can help me move again.”
“Ha-ha,” she said. Her sarcastic reply disappeared when he set a battered green alien keychain in her hand. She’d gotten it in Roswell for the Falcon. “Why are you giving it to me?”
“So you always have something from your internship, wherever you go,” he said gruffly. “Besides, it’s always getting in my way.”
“Thanks, boss.” Red saw through his grumpy-man act and gave him a big hug.
When she drove off in a compact pickup truck, the day was bright with possibility.
---
Sunset found her on a pier in what must have been the smelliest part of the Charm port. Red watched a crane operator lift a cargo crate onto a stout tugboat. It bobbed with its new burden.
She felt Kristoff approach before she saw him. Shifting on her feet, she tried to push away flashbacks of timelines that would never be.
A cocky Novak grin brightened his pale face. He knew he’d come through tonight. His expression softened, and his blue eyes twinkled at the sight of her. It was enough to make her breath catch. He didn’t need fancy suits for that. Old jeans and a flannel shirt would do.
She had dug deep into the back of her closet for clothes that she didn’t mind sacrificing to Poseidon. When he’d agreed to reschedule their date, he couldn’t have imagined that this was what she had in mind. She hadn’t really explained why she needed a boat, but he’d summoned one anyway.
He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the knuckles in that old-fashioned way that always made her knees weak. “Ready for our mystery voyage?” He sounded excited, like a little boy about to play pirates.
“The cargo is.” She snuggled against him, letting his broad shoulders block the wind. His distracting touch anchored her to the present, quieting her thoughts. “How was Portland?”
“The heat is off for now. You know, when I imagined taking you on a boat ride, I pictured a yacht. In Miami, specifically.” He teased, “You’re wearing a green bikini.”
She smirked at him. “Am I? Sorry to disappoint with the reality.”
“Not at all. I like how you always surprise me.” Hand on her lower back, Kristoff led her onto the vessel.
There were two vampires on board. She only recognized Gord with his long black braids and hockey jersey. The minions wordlessly took their posts at the raised helm. Soon, the engine churned the dark water, and white bubbles foamed in their wake.
Red asked, “What do they know about the job tonight?”
“Less than I do.” Kristoff frowned, thumb wiping the sea spray from her cheek. “I don’t know half as much as I want to. Whatever is in that box made you fight for your life. If I had known how dire it was…”
“You would have been by my side. I also know how much Arno has missed you.”
“Aren’t you full of mysteries tonight?” He quirked his eyebrow. “How could you know about my brother?”
She patted the big crate. “I’ll give you the short version while we finish this job.”
He pried it open. The marble sparkled inside in the moonlight.
It was powerless now, and they’d made sure it could never be reassembled. It might have been a group effort with machinery borrowed from Olivia’s family business to extract the statue from the cave, but Red had promised Stace the first whack at it. The petite Hero had vented her feelings with a sledgehammer. A stone arm, a foot, and other pieces still possessed the careful craftsmanship of the original statue.
Kristoff picked up what remained of the head. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“It never did. The power came from another world.” She tilted her face to the heavens. “For me, it started with a rainstorm in LA…”
A mile out, they tossed the limbs overboard like murderers. She still couldn’t call it their weirdest night. The job was done before her story was. “And that was everything with Lucas,” she said, finishing that chapter.
Kristoff closed his eyes, smirking. “Describe his face when you kicked him in the balls. I beg you.”
She shoved his arm playfully. “That’s mean. I totally surprised him. He didn’t even make sense, asking me what I remembered.”
His gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”
Red wasn’t feeding his sense of schadenfreude toward his sire. That wasn’t part of their honesty policy. “It doesn’t matter. I said goodbye politely in the timeline that stuck. Then I was able to see you again.”
She sighed, taking his hand to sit with him on a rough bench by the ship’s stern. The splashing engine would dull their echo on the water. They were getting to the part of the story that she hadn’t even told Vic.
He asked, “How many times did you play our scenario over?”
“Enough to know that I don’t want to come between you and Arno.”
“Ah, that explains why you didn’t tell me.”
“I did…before.” She shrugged. “Once I had it in the bag, I wanted you to be the big brother that he needed you to be. I figured that Donal couldn’t withstand the full Novak effect, so you’d be back soon.”
Kristoff laughed mirthlessly. “Sure, call it a charm offensive. My business isn’t nearly as interesting as yours.”
“It’s more linear though,” she quipped. It was to cover her fidgets as she prepped herself for the next question. “Did I smooth over things with your brother? I tried to give us the best date night I could. It wasn’t as good as the first time. I was really suave in that one.”
“You were perfect.” Kristoff tipped her chin up, his lips teasing her own open as he caressed down her arm. He kissed down her neck. His touch cleared her mind of everything but the passion he conjured.
Head tilted back, Red caught her breath, lost in him until he sucked at his mark on her throat. A dark memory made her freeze.
“What is it?” He stroked her cheek.
“I-I didn’t tell you everything.” She drew away from him, whispering what had happened when she’d defended the Bigfoot in the cemetery.
Face cold, he interrupted her, clarifying the details. “Al Shackleford bought that poison in a Portland shop?”
She said quickly, “He hasn’t done anything to me in this timeline.”
“I’m not plotting that.”
“Okay, good,” she mumbled.
“He will need to be mesmerized by the DVA, however. I’ll make sure he survives with a thrilling Men in Black encounter for his chatrooms.” Kristoff became thoughtful, and they fell into silence, staring at the dark waves. He prompted, “You were at the part where I carried you into the van.”
“None of the usual tricks worked,” she said, discreet even though the two minions were in the closed wheelhouse. “You asked Arno to…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
He was the master of masks, and his expression grew more remote. “What did he say?”
“It wasn’t exactly a refusal, but you took it for one.” Red studied the new break in his façade. Shocked, she saw there was more than a little pained betrayal on his face. She continued, “You reconciled at the hospital when I seemed on the mend.” She couldn’t look at him anymore. “Arno didn’t refuse again.”
Kristoff inhaled unnecessarily, his composure returning to smooth neutrality. Only his glittering blue eyes showed his interest. “How did that make you feel?”
“I don’t want to kill to live,” she said sharply and stood. Her stomach twisted, and it wasn’t from the sea. That wasn’t what she’d meant to say first.
Restless, she ruffled her windblown hair, half out of its ponytail anyway. “I’m not mad at you. It was a perfect storm like a bunch of other loops. I can’t hold people to actions they didn’t do in this timeline. I know you were desperate and misunderstood me. It’s a scenario that I’ve done over and over in my head. It shook out differently than I thought. Arno, for instance.”
<
br /> “It wouldn’t be the first time he’s been my keeper. Or vice versa.” Kristoff took her hand, dipping his head to capture her gaze. His voice grew solemn. “I hear you.”
“I got a taste of murder, and I—” She bit her lip. Confused shame heated her cheeks.
In that past loop, it hadn’t been that Nadine hadn’t deserved a bullet after what she’d done to Vic. Red still hadn’t processed what she’d done. She had blood on her hands, but none of it had been human before. Chronos had given her a do-over, yet some lines couldn’t be uncrossed.
She said, “I’m getting ahead of myself.”
He wrapped her in his arms, leaning his chin on her head. “Take your time. I have all night.”
She whispered her secrets against his unbeating chest, burrowing deeper into his embrace. As the ship drew closer to land, the weight on her shoulders lifted.
---
Red squirmed at her laptop, tapping her fingers on the bedroom desk. Her own face on the screen, illuminated by the open window, avoided eye contact.
Basil had first demanded she see his therapist after Christmas. He’d kept at it until the habit stuck. She’d asked for the therapy appointment in the rush of adulting after buying her new truck, expecting to be shot down. It was a Sunday on a holiday weekend, after all.
Dawn appeared on the video conference in her cozy home office. The older woman had a face as comforting as a cup of chamomile. An empath, she radiated compassion even across the continent. She greeted Red with a soft Nova Scotian accent. “It’s good to see you. What’s on your mind today?”
“Mostly surprise that you’re working this weekend.”
“I set off my fireworks on the first.” Dawn smiled. “I admit I was curious. It’s been a while since our last chat. You had only just returned to Charm then.”
“It hasn’t been that long for me,” Red confessed. “I have to warn you that this story is a bit of a spiral. We actually talked twice that you don’t remember. Those were hard days. Then they kept happening…”
After she was finished, Dawn boggled at her, leaning back in her chair and clutching a teacup. “I was expecting to ask you about your dreams, see when you last had a panic attack, perhaps learn more about your mother.”
“Well, I covered those topics.” Red chuckled. “It certainly livened up my week.”
“Livened up? That’s an interesting word choice.” Dawn scrutinized her. “Was it comforting to have something to fight on your road trip? It sounds like you were dreading it before you left.”
Red squirmed in her seat. “Hardly. I died ninety-four times.”
The therapist probed, “Yes, but at first you admitted it felt like a distraction. Was it space to breathe?”
“I brushed up on my mythology,” Red quipped, crossing and uncrossing her legs nervously. “Got to play my own version of a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Vic knows most of it. Kristoff too. We finished our boat ride before his Prince called him back to Portland. He’s going to look into all the family names I uncovered, though. Who knows what I might learn by our next session? It’s a real Russian doll of a mystery, isn’t it?”
Dawn asked, leaning closer to her web camera, “Were you scared at the end?”
“I’m glad I didn’t have to go to the bathroom when the god appeared.”
“That isn’t quite what I mean.” Dawn cracked a smile. “It’s easy to get caught in your stories, the jokes well-timed to deflect. And—poof—our hour is up. We spent this whole call over the trivia, yet you confronted more than statues.”
“Yeah. O’Sullivan. Neither Hannah nor Basil know what’s going on with that guy. I’m glad Ortega survived. I mailed the skull off to the academy, so at least it’s in good hands.”
The therapist shook her head. “For as long as you can remember, you’ve been a rolling stone, rootless, seeking a connection. Then you had one with Lucas. Earlier, you nudged us along with that quick wit, but that insight about forgiving yourself was a powerful one. It’s not a mistake to have your heart broken. I wouldn’t even call it a bad call. Merely a human one. Don’t be afraid to open yourself up again. And I’m not talking about Kristoff.”
“Life is so fragile, Dawn. I saw so many possibilities, so many friends hurt or killed.” Red brushed the tear from her cheek and whispered, “Having a home means having something to lose.”
“It means so much more,” Dawn reassured. “You fought hard for this new life of yours. These connections to Charm, to your friends, you can feel them your bones. Don’t shy away from that. Put that heart out so you don’t miss out. That’s a bravery beyond hunting demons.”
Those words stuck with Red long after the session was over, and she fell asleep that night, telling herself to be brave.
She jerked from a deep REM state. An eerie moonlit glow glimmered over her room, making it brighter than it should have been. Her chakras sparked every color of the rainbow. This was the Dreamland.
“Hey.” Elianna waved and sat shyly on the foot of the bed. Draped in a fine linen tunic, she played with her anachronistic round glasses. Were they a souvenir from her trip? “You look well.”
Red adjusted her tangled pajamas as she laughed. “Not as good as you. How was your homecoming?”
“I was scolded most fiercely.” Elianna smiled impishly. “Until they learned what I did. What we did. I’m not going to be allowed off-realm for a while, but I met you halfway for that ‘proper goodbye.’”
“Eavesdropper.” Red hugged her. “Thanks for being my patron goddess for a bit.”
Elianna blushed. “You earned the favor of another too. Do you remember what Chronos said to you?”
Red had written for hours in her journal, trying to capture the details of her time travels, but the ending was a golden blur. “It’s faded so much.”
“He gave you a gift. Use it wisely, my friend. You’ll only be able to call upon him once.”
Red wrapped an arm around herself. The idea of another tango with him gave her the heebie-jeebies. “I think I’m good on that.”
“I wish to give you a boon as well. It’s not gold as I promised, but you will prize it more. It’s not pleasant tidings, I fear.” Elianna frowned, pushing up her glasses. “When we met, I knew you had been touched by time before. I sensed more than that. My gifts are minor, but Hekate’s blood flows through my veins. I can detect deep spell work. There is an enchantment on you that the skull couldn’t touch. Yet your magic is fighting it with each piece you regain.”
“How do you know about that?” Red asked. More than half of her magic had been stolen along with her memories. The mystery had stumped the Immortal Alchemist herself.
“When I scryed for you, I discovered traces of your power over the globe. I still don’t understand how.”
“I think I’m beginning to,” Red said grimly.
Elianna faded as she spoke, “I may never see you again, but I have no doubt that I will hear your tale, even in my realm.
“Where—” Red started to ask as she woke up in the dark empty room. Where had the demigoddess detected her lost magic?
A cold sweat dripped down her neck. Her scalp prickled, and she twisted to her desk. Moonlight streamed from the window onto Chronos’s gift. Switching on her lamp, she lumbered to the coin and rubbed her thumb over the engraved metal.
It was warm. Unsettled, she hid it in an old jewelry box.
Knocking on the door, Stace popped her head inside, bringing the fragrance of coconuts. A silk sleeping bonnet covered her curls. “I saw the light was on. I can’t sleep either, and I’m making cocoa. You in?”
“Sure. Do we have those little marshmallows?” Red smiled, leaving the possibilities of the past to follow her friend into the future.
Epilogue
Somewhere in Oregon
He woke up coughing, lungs spasming so hard that he wheezed with every tortured inhale. What the hell had he drunk last night?
Head swimming, he groaned on the hard bed, brushing his long da
rk hair off his sweaty face. At least he’d taken off his shoes. Light escaped the dusty vertical blinds to land on the threadbare carpet in the nearly empty bedroom.
Trembling, he tottered into a small galley kitchen of a spartan trailer home. He rummaged through the cupboards, vision bleary. He poured some lukewarm tap water, sucking it down like he was coming off a three-day bender.
His headache made introspection impossible. Whatever he had taken to earn this hangover, he swore to God that he was done with the stuff. His skin was so sensitive to the touch that he couldn’t stand the feel of the stiff jeans on his legs.
Leaning against the counter, he squinted at the tiny living area connected to the kitchen. It had a sofa along with a flatscreen TV that looked newer than anything else in the place. He fumbled with the remote, then the one for the antenna.
A Portland news broadcast brightened the TV. The talking head on the screen yammered on. “We have more to be thankful for than these long sunny days. An aggressive vaccine rollout has been announced—”
Turning off the TV, he walked to the fridge, hoping that food would take the edge off his shakes. A clip magnet on the freezer held up a black envelope. He opened it.
Understanding jolted him, and he sank down to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest.
He was Ezra Fox, and he should have been dead.
The story continues in Black Market Witch
Find the full series list (including short stories and novellas) here: https://samivalentine.com/books/
About the Author
Sami Valentine is an urban fantasy writer who grew up in the desert and now wanders in search of Wi-Fi and coffee.
Formerly a mild-mannered librarian, she had a quarter-life crisis and shook everything up. She started working in an LGBT homeless center, shaved some of her head, and rediscovered some of her old passions. After realizing that her goal in life was to get out of her small town and she had only made it thirty minutes up the highway, she filled a bag and left. That was three years and a dozen countries ago. Find out more at samivalentine.com
Witch in Time: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Red Witch Chronicles 6) Page 24