Strange Magic (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 9)

by Christine Pope

  Luz’s eyes were practically shooting fireballs on their own. “Zoe!”

  “What?” she demanded, furious at Carlos, furious at her aunt for summoning him here…furious at the creature for disappearing on her like that, although Zoe supposed she probably would have done the same thing if she’d been in its shoes. “This is all his fault!” And she pointed at Carlos, who had one hand placed up against his neck, as if trying to reassure himself it wasn’t broken.

  “My fault?” he sputtered, voice hoarse from the abuse he had just suffered. “What — what was that thing?”

  “Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Luz said smoothly. Obviously, she’d shifted into damage-control mode. It was exactly what a prima was supposed to do, but all the same, Zoe couldn’t help experiencing a flare of frustrated rage.

  “It came to protect me,” Zoe snapped, “when you wouldn’t get your hands off me.”

  Carlos’ eyes narrowed in anger, even as shock registered on Luz’s features.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” Zoe continued. “This stupid candidate that you tried to force down my throat wouldn’t leave me alone, even when it was obvious he wasn’t my consort. So instead of trying to blame me, maybe you should do a better job of choosing the people you’re sending my way, instead of grabbing anyone nearby with a pulse!”

  And since she didn’t think she had anything to add besides that last retort, she stalked past her aunt and into the house, ignoring Luz’s warning, “Zoe — ”

  Screw that. She was sick of the whole thing. Her purse was still in her room, and the last thing she wanted was to have to go upstairs to retrieve it. Her rage must have been fueling her powers, because no sooner had the thought crossed her mind than her purse appeared right in front of her, sitting on the kitchen counter. She scooped it up and hurried to the garage, and pushed the button to open the garage door. An unfamiliar pickup truck sat in the driveway, blocking her exit, and she swore.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” she muttered, and raised a hand. At once the pickup began to roll backward into the cul-de-sac. It missed the front bumper of Luz’s Lexus by mere inches and came to a rest against the curb directly across from the house.

  Good. Zoe slid in behind the wheel of her Fiat and backed out of the garage, fuming the entire way. She had to get out of here. Right then, it felt as if she would explode if she had to deal with any of her family members ever again.

  Time to get away. And she knew exactly where she should go.

  15

  Evan sat out on the patio at the CopperWynd resort, nursing a Kilt Lifter ale. Since he figured he didn’t have anywhere to be right then, a beer sounded like a damn good idea. And it did help to sit here in the shade of the covered patio, to watch the kids splashing in the pool and basically try to disengage his brain for a little while. He still couldn’t believe that only a few hours earlier, he and Zoe had faced off against the monster once again, but the memories were sharp enough. That confrontation did seem like something that had happened in another world from where he was now, though.

  Who knew how much fallout there would be from that particular incident. It did seem as if Luz Trujillo and Jack Sandoval were doing their best to cover up what they could, that they’d do everything in their power to deflect attention away from the one place they wanted it the least — the de la Paz clan — but would it be enough?

  It didn’t help that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the image of Zoe speaking to that monster out of his head. Evan had found the creature a lot easier to deal with when it was a misshapen lump straight out of a nightmare. Now, as it seemed to inch closer and closer to looking like a real human being, he didn’t know what to think.

  He took another swallow of beer, watching as a chunky kid in neon green swim trunks cannonballed almost on top of a girl with the same sandy brown hair, probably his sister. She screamed, but more in outraged delight than anything else. Evan could tell they didn’t have a care in the world. What they were doing here, he had no idea. It was too early for spring break, but, based on his experience of spending his entire life in a tourist town, time of year mattered less than you might think when it came to family vacation time.

  His phone rang. For a second or two, he considered ignoring it, just because the combination of the beer and the warm sunlight was making him feel extraordinarily mellow. However, because of all the crap that was going on, he knew he really didn’t have the luxury of blowing off a phone call. That could be Luz Trujillo, or Jack Sandoval. Hell, it could be one of the McAllister elders checking in to see how things were going, although that was more of a long shot.

  Or it could be Zoe on the other end of the line.

  That settled it. Evan dug his phone out of his pocket and touched the screen to accept the call. Although he only glanced at the number displayed there, he could tell from the area code that it had to be a Phoenix number. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself.” Zoe’s voice, although she sounded shaky and not entirely herself. “Where are you?”

  “At the hotel,” he said, wondering as he replied just exactly where else she’d thought he might be. “What’s up?”

  “Can I come over?”

  Yes, that was definitely a tremor in her voice, even though he could tell she was doing her best to hide it. Although warning bells started to go off in his mind, Evan knew he couldn’t refuse a girl who sounded like that. Especially Zoe.

  “Sure,” he said. “I’m out on the patio by the pool. Do you want to meet me here, or should I come inside the hotel?”

  “Is there a bar inside?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll meet you there. I’m about five minutes away.”

  The call ended abruptly, leaving Evan to stare at his phone for a few seconds before he shrugged and put it back in his pocket. Obviously, something had happened in the hour or so they’d been apart, but what? Had the creature returned?

  No, Evan didn’t think that was it. Or rather, it wasn’t the whole story. Zoe had faced the thing down enough times by now that it really shouldn’t have rattled her that badly, even if she’d had to go it alone this time.

  As to why she wanted to meet inside, well, he supposed if she was upset, she’d rather talk in a dark corner of a bar rather than out here in the sunlight with plenty of people looking on. He signaled the waitress to bring him the check, even though he knew he could have just put the beer on the room tab. Somehow that didn’t feel right, though. Luz Trujillo might be paying for his hotel room while he was here, but damned if he was going to make her buy his beers, too.

  After slipping a ten-dollar bill into the little leatherette case with the check, Evan wandered into the hotel, blinking at the contrast between the bright sunlight outside and the moody lighting in the lobby. Since he figured it would be easier for Zoe if he’d already secured a booth in the bar, he went in there and found a place off in a corner where they wouldn’t be disturbed. It was almost five, and time for people to start thinking about drinking, but the bar wasn’t all that crowded, just a few people occupying several more of the booths, and a mixture of couples and singles at the bar itself.

  The waitress came by and asked him if he wanted anything, and he told her he was waiting for a friend but that he could use some water. She nodded, flashing him a brilliant smile and what he hoped he had incorrectly interpreted as a glance containing just enough interest to make him feel less than comfortable.

  Before the waitress could return with the water, though, Zoe appeared at the entrance to the bar. She stood there for a second, her face strained, before she saw him and came over and took the empty seat across from him.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, just as soon as she set her purse down on the cushion next to her.

  “No,” she said shortly. “But I don’t really want to talk about it until I’ve had a drink.”

  “Okay,” he replied. “The waitress is getting me some water, but I’m sure she’ll be back in a minute. Then you can order s
omething.”

  “All right.”

  They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence then, Zoe tapping her fingers impatiently on the tabletop, Evan watching her in some mystification. Obviously, something had gone down, and curiosity was almost killing him, but he knew he’d have to let her get around to it in her own time.

  The waitress did return with the water, and appeared vaguely disappointed that Evan’s companion was female, and attractive. But she sounded professional enough as she took their orders — another beer for him, and a glass of white wine for Zoe.

  “I really wanted a margarita,” she said. “But since I had that sangria last, I figured I’d better stick with wine.”

  “Okay,” he allowed, somehow knowing she was mentioning such inconsequentials because she didn’t want to get into anything too sensitive until the waitress had brought their drinks and they could be assured of being left alone for a while to talk.

  Luckily, they didn’t have to wait too long; only a minute or so later, their drinks arrived and the waitress disappeared. Clearly, her interest in Evan had only lasted until she determined that he wasn’t as unattached as she’d hoped.

  Well, actually, he was unattached…even though right then he kind of wished his personal status could be different.

  Zoe took an over-large swallow of her chardonnay and then gusted out a breath. “That’s better.” But from the way she ran a nervous finger up and down the stem of her wine glass, Evan wasn’t sure how much the wine had really steadied her nerves.

  “You want to talk about it?” he asked, his tone gentle. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she had only needed to get away from…whatever it was that had upset her so.

  Her shoulders lifted. “Do I want to? Not really. But I probably should.” She swallowed some more chardonnay. At that rate, she was going to need another glass in just a few more minutes. “My aunt dug up this stupid candidate and had him come over. Said she was sorry, it had totally slipped her mind, but he was already on his way, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.”

  “Well, that was shitty timing,” Evan remarked, although he tried to keep his tone neutral. Inwardly, though, he could feel himself tensing up at the thought of Zoe kissing yet another candidate. It was obvious enough that it hadn’t worked out, or she wouldn’t be sitting opposite him now in this booth, but….

  “Yeah, just about what I thought. But I knew I wouldn’t even bother to argue with her, because she’d start lecturing me about my duty and all that crap.” An impatient flick of her hair off her shoulder, and she sighed. “He was a creep. Wouldn’t stop kissing me, even though it was obvious he wasn’t my consort. And I was both scared and angry, because I knew I might have to hurt him to get him to stop, and then….”

  “Then?” Evan asked, expecting the worst. Had she hurt the bastard, whoever he was? That could cause a lot of headaches, even if Zoe was able to prove that she’d only been defending herself.

  “Then…it came. Just appeared in my lab and threw Carlos through the door like he was a doll. Pushed his head into the swimming pool and probably would have drowned him if I hadn’t been screaming for it to stop.”

  Goddess. Evan hadn’t taken a sip of his beer yet, but he lifted it then and took a swallow that lowered the level of alcohol in the glass by nearly an inch. No wonder Zoe looked so shaken. It seemed clear to him that the creature must have sensed her distress, and had come to her rescue. So had they been linked all this time, or was its bond with her growing stronger as its appearance became more and more human?

  Neither possibility was terribly appealing.

  “But it did stop.”

  “Yes.” She pulled in a breath, fingers wrapped around the stem of her wine glass, although she didn’t make a move to drink. “It wanted to know why I asked it to stop. I tried to explain, but I’m not sure how much it understood. It only stopped because I told it to, not because it saw anything wrong with trying to kill Carlos.”

  Damn. That the creature had come in like some kind of avenging angel…Evan didn’t know what the hell to think about that, except that clearly its mind had been evolving along with its form. A chill went over him, but he knew he had to sound as calm and reassuring as possible as he said, “Well, I guess the important thing is that it did stop. So…did you send it away?”

  “No. It took off when my aunt showed up. I think she frightened it. But I was so angry and scared that I basically told her to fuck off, and then I left. I think she’s texted and called at least five times since, but I turned off my phone when I got to the parking lot here.”

  He nodded. He couldn’t really blame her for that. The last thing you wanted when you were trying to calm down was to keep getting harassed by the person who’d pissed you off in the first place. “Do you think they’ll guess you’re here?”

  Another shrug. “Maybe. I don’t care. Or maybe she and my parents will think I went to my friend Amber’s house. In a way, that would have been a smarter thing to do, because they’d never make a scene in front of a civilian.”

  “Does your friend know?”

  Zoe didn’t bother to ask what he meant by that question. “Yes. We’ve been friends forever. I told her the truth in sixth grade, made her swear not to tell, or I’d get my abuela to put a hex on her. Not that Maya would have ever done such a thing, but Amber didn’t know that. Anyway, she’s kept my secret this whole time, but even though she knows, her parents don’t, and she still lives at home like I do. So going there would be safe, since Luz and my parents wouldn’t be able to follow me and make a big stink about it.”

  It made sense. Which begged the question why Zoe had come here, when it would have been better for her to go to Amber’s house.

  Problem was, he had a pretty good idea as to why Zoe had come to the CopperWynd. He just wasn’t sure if he wanted to acknowledge that truth yet.

  “But….” he said, and Zoe wouldn’t quite look at him.

  “But I remembered that Amber was working this afternoon, and so that’s why I didn’t go over to her place.” The words came out quickly, as if Zoe wasn’t sure he’d believe them.

  He didn’t know if he did. That is, it did sound perfectly plausible that her friend might be working today, since he assumed she must be in college and so had to take work hours that didn’t conflict with her classes. But the excuse had sounded a little too glib.

  Better to let it go. If he probed too much, then Zoe might admit to things he wasn’t ready to hear. “Besides, you needed a drink, right?”

  “Right.” She was quiet for a moment before adding, “Really, I’m not as much of a lush as it seems. I have days go by when I don’t drink anything at all. I’m just really stressed right now.”

  That made two of them. Evan couldn’t blame her for wanting to take the edge off, not when he’d just been doing basically the exact same thing.

  His phone buzzed then. Zoe’s eyes widened in dismay. “Don’t answer it,” she said. “I know it’s got to be my aunt trying to track me down.”

  “Probably,” he agreed as he took out his phone and looked at the display. Sure enough, that was Luz’s number. “But I can’t blow her off forever, Zoe. She’s only going to figure it out anyway. She needs to accept that you need some time to decompress.”

  “But — ”

  Ignoring her protests, he tapped the “accept” button and raised the phone to his ear. “Hi, Luz.”

  The de la Paz prima clearly didn’t want to waste any time on pleasantries. Voice sharp, she asked, “Is Zoe with you?”

  “Yes,” he replied calmly as Zoe frantically shook her head in a vain attempt to shut him up. “We’re at the hotel. She’s fine.”

  “At the hotel?” Luz repeated, her tone sharpening further, if that was possible.

  “Yes,” he said. “She was a little upset. We’re having a bite and a drink. She just needed to get away for a bit.”

  “Evan, I appreciate you wanting to help, but Zoe needs to learn that the future prima of this clan can’
t just run away when things get tough.”

  Oh, man. He ran a hand through his hair and attempted to think of a reply that didn’t consist of telling Luz Trujillo to go screw herself. “I’m pretty sure Zoe knows that already, ma’am. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting her catch her breath, so to speak. She’s safe. Isn’t that the important thing?”

  A long pause. Then Luz said, sounding annoyed, “Yes, of course. But — ”

  “I think as long as it doesn’t come back, you should give her some space. Maybe we’ll go get some dinner, catch a movie or something. I’ll look out for her.”

  Even though Luz didn’t reply right away, Evan could practically feel her need to argue with him radiating through the air waves. However, when she spoke, she sounded resigned. “Fine. I understand that she just suffered a traumatic experience. But try to get her home at a decent hour. Agreed?”

  He wanted to tell Luz that Zoe was an adult who could set her own hours. But he understood that Zoe wasn’t exactly your normal twenty-one-year-old. As the prima-in-waiting, she had to be watched all the time. Clearly, Luz trusted him enough to keep an eye on her niece.

  Evan just wasn’t sure whether he’d really earned that trust.

  Zoe watched as Evan ended the call and then set the phone down on the table next to his beer. “So she’s not sending the troops after me?”

  “Not yet.” He drank some of his beer. Zoe found something oddly satisfying about watching the muscles of his throat move as he swallowed. “But she doesn’t want you wandering around the city at all hours, either, wants to make sure you get home safely.”

  Of course not. Their little prima-in-waiting had to be kept under lock and key at all times. Okay, she knew that wasn’t really true, that she had plenty of autonomy as long as she didn’t test the limits too badly, but still. Annoyance flared once again. “Maybe I don’t want to go home.”