by Ashlyn Chase
Dru sat up. “She can’t let him get away with it.”
Rebecca sat up next to him and hugged her knees. “She does want to protect other girls, but she’s worried about testifying. I’m afraid we can’t make her do that, either. She said something about the guy that made me think he might be a gang member or something. She needs time to process everything. She may do exactly what you want her to—unless you push her. Then she’s apt to push back.”
Dru raked his fingers through his brown hair. “I know what you’re sayin’. And it’s true. I just wish I could help her more.”
“I know. The one thing you can do is try to be patient with her. She needs your support, not your advice. At least not until she asks for it.”
Dru groaned and flopped back on the mattress. “Meanwhile, I’m gonna lose my job.”
“Not necessarily. She can stay here with me while you go back and rescue your job.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “That’s not gonna work. Damn it. I had it all planned out.”
She couldn’t analyze his expression, because he draped his forearm over his eyes.
“What did you have planned?”
“I figured we could all go back to the ranch together. Shasta could go back to school for one semester, and you could take over the cook’s job. They haven’t found another one yet. At least not a permanent one.”
“Someone to put on meals for a dozen or so people, three times a day, seven days a week? Gee. I can’t imagine why.”
He moved his arm and glared at her. “Don’t you get sarcastic with me too. Shasta’s bad enough.” Then his expression softened and he found her hand. “I love you, Rebecca. I want us to be together. Forever.”
Her words got stuck in her throat. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say anyway. She loved him too. And she knew she’d miss him like crazy, but she couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t stay. She just figured she’d be dealing with a broken heart eventually.
“I don’t see a way…”
“That don’t mean there isn’t one. We just have to think harder.”
A crazy idea occurred to Rebecca. It would sound really outlandish if she tried to explain it, and she wasn’t sure it would work anyway. She needed to talk to Hanna first.
Dru and Shasta were alone in the bakery. Rebecca said there was something important she had to do and left as soon as the breakfast crowd had come and gone. Shasta was actually humming as she stirred a batch of chocolate cupcake batter. Dru was happy to hear the sound but didn’t trust how long it would last if he brought up the past. So now what? He couldn’t just ignore her.
“Are you seein’ Mike again?”
“I think so. He said he’d call later today.”
“Good.” He nodded. “He—uh…He seems like a nice young man.”
She stopped stirring and faced him. “Are you okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“’Cause you’ve never liked any of my boyfriends before—ever.”
He smirked. “Well, I guess I never tried. “At least he protected you when he thought I was a lunatic.”
She turned her back and concentrated on filling the cupcake tins. “You are a lunatic.”
“Ah…There’s my sister, Shasta.”
Without turning around, she snapped, “The name’s April.”
Falling back on his cowboy wisdom, he held his tongue. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
“I’ll just…go out front.”
“No, wait.” She set down the bowl. “I’m sorry. I know this has been hard on you too.”
He took a deep breath. “Sweetheart, you have no idea…”
“Then tell me.”
“Tell you what? That my precious sister seemed to have vanished into thin air? That I was afraid you were dead? That the police were no help? That I had to infiltrate a bunch of witches, because it was the only lead I had? That I was prepared to lose my job and home if that’s what it took to find you myself?”
“Sheesh. Stop! I know I asked, but…It wasn’t my fault.”
The bells over the front door jingled. Dru nodded. “I know. We can finish this later. We have a customer.”
“Don’t hurry,” he heard her mutter under her breath.
It was taking all his inner strength to keep from losing patience with her. This was his sister. All of her. The good and bad. This is what he wanted, he had to remind himself. Not some cooperative stranger with a vacant look in her eyes.
He strode out to take care of the customer and saw a handsome young man in a blue uniform. The pocket sported one of those medical insignia’s—the double snakes twining around a pole.
“Hi. Is April…I mean, Shasta here?” he asked.
Dru sighed. “Somebody’s in the kitchen, but I’m not sure if it’s Shasta. She insisted on being called April today.”
The guy looked surprised. “Oh—can I speak with her?”
Dru looked him over carefully. “Only if you won’t upset her.”
His brows knit. “I hope not.”
Narrowing his eyes, Dru asked, “What do you mean? Are you bringing her bad news? Cause I don’t think she can take any right now.”
“No. I just want to tell her I’m going back to work today.”
“Okay. That shouldn’t be any big deal. I’ll get her.”
Mike shoved his hands in his pockets and faced the windows.
Dru strode into the kitchen. “Shasta? I mean—April?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him as she rinsed the big metal bowl in the sink. “Yeah?”
“You have a visitor.”
She perked up and grabbed a towel, then strode to the storefront, dying her hands. “Mike!” she called, excitedly.
Jesus, I hope she isn’t headed for heartbreak. That’s all she needs.
That evening, Rebecca was surprised to receive a call from Hanna inviting her to a visit in her suite. She gladly accepted, wondering what her high priestess had in mind. She doubted it was just a social call.
Hanna offered Rebecca a glass of white wine, and then explained that she and Fayleen had singled her out for a particular honor.
She took the wine gratefully. As soon as Hanna had finished explaining that a supernatural coven existed, and that they’d like to invite her to become a member, she needed a big sip.
“I don’t know about this, Hanna. The thought of supernatural powers is kind of cool but scary at the same time.”
Hanna chuckled. “I know what you mean. When we discovered we could do these things, it was quite by accident. We didn’t have anyone to explain what had happened or why.”
“How many of you are there?”
“There’s an original group of thirteen who were once a normal coven, like the Coven of the Triquetra. But now we number twenty. You’d be twenty-one. Fayleen is also one of the original members, and she’ll be joining us tonight.”
“How did a normal coven suddenly become supernatural?”
“One Samhain evening, a member brought a new chalice he had found. It was ugly as sin, but somehow our old chalice had disappeared, so we decided to use it temporarily. After each of us had taken a sip of wine from the cup, we experienced amazing new powers.”
“Wow. Do you think the cup was enchanted?”
“Most definitely.” Hanna settled in her favorite chair beside the fireplace. “Would you like a fire? I can start one if you like…” She made a tickling motion and a few flames lapped at the log in the grate.
“No, thank you. I’m plenty warm.”
Hanna nodded, let her hand drip and the fire went out.
“When is Fayleen supposed to get here?”
Hanna shrugged. “When she’s good and ready, I guess.”
At that moment, Fayleen stepped out of the fireplace. “Guess who? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not Santa.”
The witches chuckled. Hanna said, “Thanks for the laugh.”
“You have no idea how much I need to goof aroun
d sometimes.” Fayleen started to sit where there was nothing but air and Rebecca tensed. A chair materialized under the powerful one’s ass at the perfect moment.
“Neat trick,” Rebecca said.
“I can do all kinds of ‘tricks’ as you call them. You can do some of them too if you decide to become a member of our supernatural coven.”
“Uh, yeah. About that. I’d like to ask you a few questions first.”
Fayleen shrugged. “Ask away. I may not answer if the question is stupid.”
Rebecca’s brows lifted. “I thought there was no such thing as a stupid question.”
Fayleen burst out laughing. “That’s what people say when they want to know how truly stupid you can be. Trust me. There are loads of stupid questions, and I think I’ve heard them all.”
“Oh. Well, I still need to know some specific things before I accept your offer.”
Fayleen nodded. “Continue.”
“Well, what do I need to do in return?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Fayleen said. “All we want to do is try to make the world a better place. It’s imperative we keep our power under wraps or everyone would demand them, so these things we do have to be kept secret. When we’re together our powers are pretty remarkable, but even on our own, there are many things we can do.”
“Like?” Rebecca asked.
Hanna smiled. “Like feeding the world’s hungry children, one cupcake at a time.”
Rebecca’s jaw dropped. “I could do that?”
“If you can do it so subtly that no one questions it.”
Fayleen crossed her arms. “You’ll also be starting a coven. Being its high priestess and teaching what you know to new witchlets.”
“Witchlets?”
“Newbies. Trainees,” Hanna supplied. “Fayleen likes to call them witchlets.”
“Cute,” Rebecca said.
Fayleen smiled. “I’m glad you like the term. There are a lot of newbies out there who need training and guidance. Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the country.”
“Are there that many newbies here in Portsmouth?” Rebecca asked.
Hanna worried her lower lip. “Not as much here as in other places.”
“Like where? Manchester? Boston?”
“Like the state of Texas,” Fayleen said, matter-of-factly.
“I’m sorry,” Rebecca said. “But I can’t take on that much. I’d never get anything else done.”
Rain began to pour down and pounded the window sills.
She raised her voice. “You said I had a choice. I’m afraid I’ll have to respectfully decline. It’s impossible.”
Fayleen’s posture relaxed and the crazy weather subsided. “I hate to admit when I’m possibly wrongish about someone.” She flopped against the throw pillow which appeared behind her back at the right moment.
Rebecca bit her bottom lip. “Apparently you think I can do it, but how many covens are you talking about? There must be hundreds in Texas—even if it is a conservative Christian state.”
“Hanna only handles two covens, but she’s grooming some of you to join us and take on new areas. In a few years, there will be a dozen other covens started—and from there, more.”
Rebecca smirked. “Sounds like a pyramid scheme.”
“In a manner of speaking.” Hanna sighed. “Look, I was asked to take on a lot more too. I had to limit myself for the good of all.”
“Does that mean you might consider a compromise?” Rebecca asked.
“Present a counter offer and we may consider it.”
Rebecca didn’t know if Fayleen was using the royal ‘we’ or if she was taking this info back to the supernatural coven members.
“I’d be willing to take on Austin.”
“But that’s not hard. You can probably find a coven there already.”
“Not hard? I’ll not only have to join them, but I’ll need to become an expert as fast as I can. That and stick around to help them if they need to reword a spell in a hurry.” She blushed remembering her own folly.
“I’m in favor of starting out slow, Fayleen. Better that then having a half-trained witch make more trouble. Remember that earthquake?”
Rebecca’s eyes rounded. “What earthquake?”
Fayleen rose and paced. “Never mind.” She stopped pacing and sighed. “No. You should be aware…Some half-trained Haitian witch had a temper. You absolutely can’t teach this supernatural stuff to fools.”
“Wow.” Rebecca understood the need for emotional maturity when using magic, and suddenly the weight of Hanna’s decision to read her in on the supernatural aspect struck her. “You must really trust me.”
Hanna smiled. “I’d trust you with my life—which is what we’re doing any time we bestow a new witch with our greater powers.”
“So, Ariel…”
“Didn’t make the cut,” Hanna said. “At least not yet.”
Rebecca nodded. “And Celestia?”
“She’s not quite there yet, either,” Fayleen said. “A witch shouldn’t be too eager nor too reluctant to grow.”
“And me? I didn’t say I wanted to try teleportation.”
“But you didn’t refuse it either,” Hanna reminded her. “You displayed an open, yet appropriately concerned mind.”
“And you were the one who thought to ask how Ariel paid for her scarf,” Fayleen added.
“That’s because I’m a business owner.”
“Perhaps,” Hanna said. “But that’s why it’s important to have a homogenous mix of people in any coven. Every witch has different skills.”
Fayleen picked up a crystal from Hanna’s coffee table and admired it. “What we really need are witches with expertise in technology right now.”
“I don’t know much about technology—or Austin. My boyfriend works on a ranch there. I think it’s somewhat agricultural, but his sister is a college student, so they have a university.”
Fayleen set down the stone and rose to pace again. “But that leaves us with a host of unsolved problems. Hackers…Pirates…Industrial espionage…”
“Doesn’t the FBI have people working on that? Why not recruit one of them?”
Fayleen halted and folded her arms. “You’re a smart little shit, aren’t you?”
“Ummm…Thank you?”
She stared at Rebecca. To her credit, the baker didn’t flinch. She stood her ground…Or sat, since she wasn’t standing up.
“I’ll consult the others and get back to you,” Fayleen said, and disappeared.
Rebecca sagged against her chair and let out a loud ‘Whew.’
Hanna leaned forward and laid her hand on the young woman’s arm. “That took courage.”
Rebecca smirked. “I guess I’ve got balls neither of us knew I had.”
Hanna chuckled.
“Does the coven expect me to obey their every command?”
“There are some things that are non-negotiable. Mostly about what not to do. I’m sure you’d agree with the rules. Even so, I’m proud of you for asking your questions and not being intimidated.”
Fayleen reappeared. “All right. We thought about it and will take you up on your offer to do your work in Austin.”
“And what if I’m not ready to expand to all of Texas when you want me to?”
“We wouldn’t push you to do anything you don’t want to do,” Fayleen said.
“I’ll be able to teleport, right?”
“Of course.” Hanna winked. “You don’t think I really spend all of my time at the hotel, do you?”
Rebecca rose. “If I accept, when will we get started?”
“Is now good for you?”
“Well, not really. I have to tell Dru.” She whirled toward Hanna and covered her mouth. “I can tell Dru, can’t I?”
Fayleen tipped her head. “Who is this Dru?”
“My boyfriend.”
“Ah. The one from Austin. That’s why you chose that particular city. Isn’t it?”
“Well, yes.
I can teleport to see him and do my work for the new coven, but keep my bakery. Is that a bad thing?”
Fayleen shrugged. “That depends. How do you think he’ll handle it?”
“He’ll be thrilled that we can both keep our jobs and yet spend our evenings together. I won’t need to hold ritual circles every single night—right?”
“Correct. Full moons and Sabbats only. ” Hanna smiled. “I’m glad you and he worked things out. You’re a wonderful couple.”
Fayleen addressed Hanna. “You know him?”
“Yes. I can say he’s the kind of man we’d welcome into our coven. Open minded, yet aware of his limitations and respectful of others who have expertise. He was interested in learning Wicca at one time. Is he still, Rebecca?”
“I’m not sure. He’s seen a lot in a short time. I’m not sure if he’s changed his mind about it or not.”
“He won’t be threatened by your new power, will he?” Fayleen asked.
“As long as I don’t show off and do something stupid.”
“You wouldn’t be here talking with us if you were likely to do that.” Hanna rose. She seemed to have made a decision. Fayleen stood next to her. Rebecca faced the two powerful witches.
“Don’t say anything to Dru yet. We still need to vote, but I think I can safely say, welcome to the supernatural family.” Hanna kissed her on both cheeks.
Fayleen did the same. Turning to Rebecca, she asked, “So? Are you ready?”
“Just one more question…”
Fayleen scrunched her eyes shut and looked as if she were counting to ten. Eventually, she asked, “Yes?”
“When I teleport…Can I take other people with me?”
“Why would you want to? No one is supposed to know what you are.”
Rebecca hung her head. “I was hoping to solve my long-distance relationship with the teleporting trick. There might be times when I’d like to bring Dru with me.”
“It’s not a trick. It’s a perk of the job.”
“And I love that perk. That’s the whole reason I’m even considering a job like this.”
“Not because you want to make the world a better place?”