CHAPTER ELEVEN
The week was a whirlwind. My relationship with Mallory strained against the walls we both had erected and the conversation we were both avoiding. Luckily the pet boutique was slammed. We didn't even have time to go through the applications our 'part-time help wanted' ad had brought in. I told Sylvia I'd take a look at them this weekend but today was Saturday and it was all about getting ready for Landon Stark's Halloween bash.
* * *
We met Sylvia at Gone Retro, a cute little vintage clothing boutique she frequented, to scare up some costumes. Shopping with Sylvia was an educational experience. The woman knew how to find a deal and then make it a bargain. We had only been perusing the costume racks for about fifteen minutes when Sylvia squealed and held up a retro, satin cat-woman costume. Well, costume was an overstatement. It was more like half a costume—a black body suit, faux fur bracelets and matching ears on a headband.
"Darwin, this is puuuurfect for you!" Her dark eyes sparkled mischievously.
After grinning at her and shaking my head, I was talked in to trying it on. To my delight it fit like a glove, the satin material didn't make me itchy and the fur trim around the bust added some volume to my "stick figure," as Sylvia referred to it. I decided adding black tights would be a necessity. But, other than that, I was done.
"Ah, Mallory!" she squealed again a few minutes later. "This! With your gorgeous red hair, this is you, my amiga!" She clutched a black mass of lace and tulle to her bosom. "And look. There is a hat!"
Mallory and I exchanged a glance and then we busted out laughing. I felt the tension between us dissolve and my chest loosen.
Mallory's face was flushed, her smile genuine. "It's perfect, Sylvia." She weaved through the rack to accept the find. "I would be honored to be the evening's witch." She smiled back at me. "And Darwin will be my familiar."
I laughed and raised an eyebrow playfully at her.
"You ladies finding everything all right?" The tall, blonde saleswoman approached us after finishing up with another customer.
"I think Sylvia still needs a costume." I pointed to Sylvia, who had her arms buried up to her shoulders in a rack, digging out costumes and then shoving them back in. I wished I had her talent and passion for clothing. She seemed to be having a blast.
"Oh, I think we have the perfect costume for you," the saleswoman said, eyeing Sylvia's figure. She moved behind the counter and pulled out a plastic bag. "This just came back from the seamstress. It was one of my favorite finds."
"Ooooo!" Sylvia gasped as the saleswoman slipped a 60's showgirl green eyelash lamé dress from the bag. "Espetacula!"
"Why don't you try it on?" She winked and pointed to the dressing room.
When Sylvia emerged from the dressing room, we all shared her smile. "Wow!" It hugged her curves perfectly; the black sequined fringe lined the bra area and her bottom, swishing just below her hips.
"Add some black silk gloves and a mask." The saleslady nodded. "You'll be stunning."
We went to lunch together at Bella Brava, all giddy from our great finds, and stuffed ourselves silly with their delicious Toscana woodstone oven flatbreads.
"Landon's party is going to be magical," Sylvia gushed around a mouthful of tiramisu.
She had no idea how right she was.
CHAPTER TWELVE
We arrived together, Landon spotting us immediately as we entered the dining room where he usually performed his magic shows. He made his way through the already crowded place, a vampire cape floating behind him.
"Look at you girls!" he beamed, taking one of Sylvia's hands and making her do a little circle spin for him. "You are a vision, my dear." He kissed her lips lightly, being mindful of the fake blood on his own mouth. Her eyes sparkled behind the black sequined mask as he growled, "Be careful, I bite." He snuggled her neck beneath her silky black hair.
"Later." She swatted him playfully. "I want you to meet Darwin's sister, Mallory."
"Ah! Nice to meet you, Mallory." He bowed and then shook her hand. "Landon Stark."
"You're a magician, right?" Mallory asked.
"Guilty as charged." He looked her over, from hat to pointy black boots. "And you are a witch?"
She laughed. "Guilty as charged."
"Well." He motioned for us to follow him. "Let's get you gals a drink."
We weaved our way through the crowd to the bar. He had really outdone himself with the Halloween theme. The floor was covered in a layer of thick fog from dry ice; carved pumpkins, glowing with candles were table centerpieces; giant black spiders hung from the ceiling and eerie music played beneath the conversations around the dim room.
"Darwin!" Frankie rushed towards me, dressed as a short, plump Cruella Deville. She hugged me with one arm, the other arm raised high to protect her drink. "Oh, look at you, you little minx!"
"And look at you," I laughed. "You found the creepiest of creepy costumes."
"And Sylvia." she one-arm hugged her, too. "Whoa, Landon, you better not let her out of your sight tonight. Sexy." She moved her attention to Mallory and grinned. "Hi, I'm Frankie."
Mallory shook her hand. I saw her eyes widen at the large diamond and ruby rings adorning Frankie's hand. "Mallory. Darwin's sister."
"Oh, Darwin's sister." She stepped in and squeezed Mallory in a hug. "Glad to finally meet you."
"You, too," Mallory said, readjusting her hat with a slight grin directed at me.
I shrugged and smiled at her. Frankie's enthusiasm knew no bounds. They should get along fine.
"Here you go, my dears," Landon said, handing Sylvia and me some sort of black cocktail, rimmed in red sugar. "A Devil's Blood cocktail for the lovely ladies." He glanced at Mallory. "Would you like a Sprite?"
I put an arm around her as she opened her mouth to protest. "Yes, she would."
"What is in this?" Sylvia sniffed it suspiciously.
"Blavod Black vodka, cranberry juice... and of course," his voice downshifted into his best vampire impersonation, "blood."
Sylvia pulled the cherry off the clear plastic skull stick and grinned at him. "Of course."
"After that you must try one of these." Frankie lifted her flute. It was white on the bottom and orange on top. "Candy corn." She waved at the bartender. "I have no idea what's in it, but it's delicious. Oh," she whirled around, "wait, I want you to meet my date." She waved at a silver-haired man dressed as Zorro. He excused himself from a conversation he was having with a mummy and came over.
"Jack, I want you to meet my friends. This is Sylvia." He shook her hand, as they exchanged pleasantries. "And—"
"Darwin, right?" He turned to me, smiling. "A man could never forget a name or face like yours. Nice to see you again."
"You, too," I said, suddenly remembering where I had seen him before. Jeannie Shoster's dog birthday party. Frankie's date, huh? That pushed him higher on the suspect list. Frankie didn't have the best track record in picking nice guys. "How's Monkey?"
"Neurotic, but that's what I love about him," he said with a chuckle.
I nodded and forced a smile. Love him enough to kill Rose for threatening to poison him?
Landon reached for Sylvia's hand. "Folks, I'm going to steal my lovely date away for a moment." Landon smiled down at Sylvia. "Come on, I want to introduce you to someone."
"You girls have fun," she whispered, grinning as she passed me and holding up her glass.
"Happy haunting." I smiled back at her, holding up my own glass. Then, turning to Frankie, I motioned toward the stage where there seemed to be some breathing room. "Let's get out of the crowd." Jack and Mallory followed us to a less dense area of the room.
As we settled in, a young man dressed as Frankenstein approached us with a tray of hors d'oeuvre. He held up the tray with a moan. I gave him an approving once over. Way to stay in character.
"Ha, deviled eggs. Seems like the devil's in everything tonight." Frankie laughed, plucking one up with her free hand and winking at Jack. "Mmm." She took a bi
te and nodded at us. "Wow, try one, there's caviar in the filling." She held one up to Jack's mouth.
We all took one to try. "So, Jack," I said, swallowing the lump and deciding I didn't really like caviar. "Monkey doesn't happen to like cats, does he?"
He chewed and gave Frankie a thumbs up. "I'm not sure," he said, pushing the Zorro mask up onto the top of his head. "He's never been around one. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I'm trying to find a home for Rose Faraday's cat, Lady Luck."
"Oh, no, sorry, I couldn't. No offense to the poor cat, but I wouldn't bring anything that woman owned into my home."
I was surprised at the level of anger still evident in his tone. After all, the woman was dead. Maybe it was time to let it go.
"Tragic how she died." Frankie shook head. "I still can't believe it."
"Beyond believable," Mallory piped in.
Jack shrugged. "Seems like karma to me."
Karma? How is getting bit by a rattlesnake in your own living room karma? No one deserves that. "So, I heard Rose had threatened to poison Monkey?" I watched his expression. I wasn't disappointed. His eyes flashed with rage. Definitely not ready to let it go.
"Yeah." His face darkened. "I don't know what that woman had against dogs. She went out of her way to make us dog owners' lives miserable there."
The crowd seemed to be getting louder. I had to yell above the din of conversation and music around us. "So she wasn't well liked?"
"I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in our little corner, nope."
I leaned in closer to Jack so my voice wouldn't get drowned out. "Besides the whole dog thing, do you think people resented her occupation? Her being a psychic?" In the back of my mind, I knew I wasn't just asking about Rose here.
"Oh, no, that just made her strange, not a bitch." He glanced at Mallory sheepishly. "Excuse my language, Miss." Then turned back to me. "You know, it was the whole dog DNA mess. That was all her idea as president, and it just rubbed everyone the wrong way."
"Dog DNA?" Frankie made a face. "What's this world coming to? But, now that you've been elected president of the HOA, you can change whatever you need to, right?"
That got my attention. Jack was the new president? Bing. Moving on up the suspect list. Short as it was so far.
"Oh, yeah. You bet your sweet buns we're working on changing that!" Jack answered.
I felt a bit of relief that they didn't dislike her just for being a psychic. Time for the big question to see how he reacted. "So, Jack, do you think anyone disliked her enough to kill her?"
He paused midway of taking a drink and stared at me. Then one side of his mouth twitched. "You mean if the snake hadn't gotten to her first?"
"Oh!" Frankie grabbed my hand. "Speaking of psychics." She turned to Jack. "I'll be right back. I've got to show Darwin somethin'."
I groaned inwardly. Bad timing, Frankie. "Guess I'll be back," I said to Mallory right before I was being pulled through the crowd to the steps leading us onto the stage.
"This guy is amazing. He gave me a message from my great aunt Violet earlier tonight, something only she would have known." Her voice rose in excitement as she led me to a temporary black curtain set up on the right of the stage. A line of costume-clad partygoers had formed in front of it. She patted my arm as we took our place at the end of the line. "Trust me, he's worth the wait."
A psychic? Huh. I wondered if he was the real deal. Guess I'd find out. We sipped our Halloweeny cocktails and I filled her in on Mallory's visit as we waited.
"That's good that she's tryin' to get over you leaving Savannah, right?" Frankie said. "Mend fences and all that?"
I nodded. "Yeah, sure." I couldn't tell her the real reason Mallory had come was because our father had visited her in a dream and had warned her I was going to be in danger.
"Well, she seems like a real sweet girl," Frankie said. "Though, I would have never known you gals were sisters, besides the Georgia accents you really are nothing alike."
"I know. We're yin and yang." Fire and water. Literally. Which is what makes our magick so strong together. Logically, we should cancel each other out, weaken each other, but we don't. We complete each other like two sides of a coin. Grandma Winters says it has something to do with the dynamics of human love, that love has a magic all its own. But, even she doesn't seem to understand that part of it.
A woman-zombie appeared from behind the curtain, wiping at her eyes with a cocktail napkin. We all watched her find her group of zombie friends and give an animated account of her reading.
"Told ya," Frankie said, clinking my glass with hers and grinning. "Landon sure knows how to throw a party."
When it was my turn, I handed my drink to Frankie to hold and stepped behind the curtain.
Our eyes met and my heart almost stopped. "You!"
Zach Faraday leaned back in his chair, dark eyes shining, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Have a seat."
I should have known. I forced my legs to move me forward, trying not to show how nervous he made me. Breathe, Darwin. I slid into the seat and tried to smile. "Zach, right?"
"Yes, Darwin." He leaned toward me, resting his elbows on the table and turned his palms up. He wore a black knit short-sleeved shirt, and I was getting a good eye-full of his smooth, muscular arms. "Please, place your hands in mine."
I moved my attention back to his mouth. He remembered my name? That wasn't good. Remaining invisible to this man seemed like the smarter thing to do. Too late. I wiped my damp palms on my tights before lifting them. I could just get up and leave. No one was forcing me to do this. I almost got the nerve to leave but then I made the mistake of looking up into his eyes. They pulled me in like magnets. Commanding. Lethal. I would obey.
I felt my hands shake as I rested them in his large palms. A vibration began immediately as he closed his hands around mine. It traveled through my body, making me hyper aware of our connection. I could suddenly feel his heartbeat through my palms, hear his slow deep exhales, and smell the pheromones on his breath. Everything else fell away. Our eyes were locked and I lost all sense of time. For the first time in my life I truly felt powerless.
My eyes moved to his mouth as he began to speak in a low, husky voice. "I knew you were a hybrid, like me." He smiled and leaned over the table, pulling me closer to him. His mouth stopped by my ear and a jolt of energy made me feel like I was falling off a cliff as his warm breath touched my face. "I see water. Your element, yes?"
"Yes," I whispered, closing my eyes to the assault of emotions he was conjuring up. Heavens, why did I just admit that so easily?
"I see your father."
My father? My eyes popped open. He leaned back just enough to let our gaze meet. Unfortunately we were only inches apart now. My head was swimming. His eyes gleamed like black onyx as he made a little tsk, tsk sound.
"He's trapped. Held prisoner, but it is by his own doing. He broke the rules. Magick and mortals are forbidden to mix in this dimension. There are consequences."
My heart felt like a tire that was being pumped up to the point of exploding. How did he know this? He moved his mouth closer to mine, holding my eyes. "He broke the code by falling in love." He was so close now, his breath warmed my lips. My whole body trembled. "A noble reason. Love."
It took all the strength in my being to pull away from this man. But, I managed to fight enough to put a few inches between us and slide my hands from his heated grip. The shaking slowed to a slight tremble as he frowned, watching me. My whole world felt exposed suddenly. Like a veil had been ripped open. My secret, my family's secret, was no longer safe. I had to get out of there. I might as well be standing in front of him naked.
I moved my chair back, watching him warily.
"Wait, Darwin." His eyes dimmed, the sparks subsiding. "There's something else. You need to be careful. There's danger in your future. And I think..." His head tilted as if he were listening to something far off. "I think we will face it together."
&nbs
p; Now, that did scare me. "Okay." I stood up, willing my legs to hold me. "Thank you. I'll..." I backed up. "I'll keep that in mind." I backed around the corner and almost stumbled into Frankie's arms.
"Hey, Sugar, you okay?" Frankie asked. "You're trembling. Pretty intense, huh?"
"Yeah," I breathed, taking my drink from her hand and downing it. Danger? Face it together? No way! I was going to stay as far away from that man as humanly possible.
She half-smiled, still looking worried. "Better?"
"Better." I nodded, still aware of the energy drain. Now I just felt weak.
We made our way back down the stage stairs and into the party crowd. I still felt Zach with me, his presence stuck in my mind like a burning ember. I was so confused. I just wanted to not think about him. To go back in time and never meet him. Tears pricked my eyes. How did he know about my father?
We reached Mallory, who was in a conversation with a young blond guy dressed like a fireman. Now that was poetic.
"Hey, Mal," I said. "Frankie and I are going to go get a refill." I shook my empty glass.
Her smile faded as she looked at me. "You all right? You're white as a ghost."
"Yeah, I'll fill you in later." I gave her a hug which deepened her frown. "Later," I assured her.
At the bar, we waited in line behind a man dressed as a pirate, complete with a real live parrot on his shoulder. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. He was chatting with another man wearing a red shirt that said "Devil". Not a very original costume.
As I talked with Frankie, I kept glancing at the pirate. He seemed so familiar. Had he come into the pet boutique? I tried to place him with a pet other than the parrot.
The parrot tilted its head and sidestepped down the pirate's arm. With a graceful hop, it landed on my forearm. I made a little yip sound, startled by the sudden vision of a snake. Just a small jolt of energy accompanied it, so I shook my other arm frantically to dissipate it.
2 Lady Luck Runs Out Page 6