“Good grief,” Mom said, shaking her head. “We’ll never hear the end of this, will we? She made it rain and now she wants us to applaud. A little humility never hurt anyone, Zoe Lake.”
“I don’t want her to feel humility,” Aric countered. “I want that ego of hers on full display for what we’re about to do. She’s stronger when she wants people to marvel at her intelligence and power.”
“Yes, she’s a delight when that happens,” Rafael said, strolling into the room. He didn’t look worried about the possibility of my power failing. “Let’s do this, mage. I’m dying to see what kind of tricks you’ve learned since the last time you slapped the crap out of some witches.”
“Here we go again,” Paris said.
“DON’T get ahead of yourself, Trouble,” Aric said ten minutes later, grabbing my hand and forcing me to remain at his side instead of racing into the woods. “We’re approaching this as a unit. It’s not Zoe Lake against the world. It’s Zoe, Aric, Paris and Rafael against the world.”
“Are you saying we’re like the X-Men?”
“You make me so tired sometimes,” Rafael muttered, his eyes busily scanning the trees.
“Can you see anything?” I asked.
“Just rain,” Rafael replied as the lightning overhead cleaved the sky. “I have to say, I’m ridiculously impressed with how you did this. I thought you were going to put some sort of force field around me and make me go out into the sun. Part of me was looking forward to that. The other part was terrified I would turn to ash when we tested it. This is a much better solution.”
My heart stuttered at the realization that Rafael hadn’t seen the sun in hundreds of years. I mean, I knew it on a certain level, but the reality of thinking about it was something else. “We can try that when things are more relaxed,” I offered. “If you want, I mean. If you haven’t seen the sun in a long time, you might enjoy it.”
“I’ll consider it,” Rafael replied. “For now I want to focus on this.”
“The witches have to be confused,” Aric said. “Bad weather wasn’t expected and the sun was high in the sky before Zoe dropped the rain bomb. If we’re lucky, they’ll be caught off guard by our arrival.”
“I’m going to fry two of them right away,” I announced. “I’m hopeful that’s enough to scare the crap out of the rest and force them to surrender.”
“Okay,” Aric said.
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “Aren’t you going to try and talk me out of that?”
“Not even remotely,” Aric said. “They tried to kill us. They have whatever you want to dole out coming to them.”
“If Rafael is right, they did kill you,” Paris pointed out. “Now you’re like Lazarus. You’ve come back from the dead. Or, even better, you can be a good-looking zombie who doesn’t eat people.”
“Yes, that is much better,” Aric agreed dryly.
I lifted my finger to my lips to quiet them. We were close, and I didn’t want to tip the witches off to our arrival too early.
“Can you cloak us?” Rafael asked, the question taking me by surprise.
“I … don’t know.”
“You cloaked the house,” he reminded. “How hard can it be to cloak us?”
“I guess I won’t know if I don’t try,” I said, pressing my eyes shut and tugging on my magic. It gleefully raced out again, spinning a blue web of light around us before flashing and disappearing. “Do you think that worked?”
“You’re the mage,” Rafael answered. “How are we supposed to know?”
“I forget how much fun you are when I haven’t been around you for some time,” I muttered. “You really are an old woman.”
“I heard that.”
“You were meant to.”
We ceased talking for the remainder of the trek, Aric pushing Paris to the spot between Rafael and me and remaining close as we closed the distance to the clearing. At one point I heard noise and pointed to my left. Billy Ray, the mullet-loving wolf from the ice cream shop, stood beneath a tree and scanned the field. He looked in our direction, but he didn’t pause, instead staring right through us. He obviously didn’t see us.
Paris shot me an enthusiastic thumbs-up while Aric shook his head. He seemed relatively relaxed given what we were about to do.
I led everyone to the clearing, small and quiet steps hiding our approach. The witches stood in the rain, evil looks on their faces as they decided what to do.
“This has to be the mage’s work,” the brunette witch with the round face said. “She’s the one doing this. She’s coming. You know it and I know it, too.”
“She can’t control the weather,” the blonde scoffed. “It’s just a … coincidence.”
“Do you really believe that?” one of the other witches asked. “I don’t. I think she’s close. I think she’s going to kill us.”
I glanced at Aric and gestured to where Kelsey cowered. She had a mark on her cheek, as if someone struck her, and that only fueled my rage. I pointed so he knew what I wanted, causing him to sigh and nod.
He leaned over and kissed my cheek before whispering “I love you” and moving to help Paris and Rafael as they closed in on Kelsey. It was time.
I dropped the cloak, smirking at the horrified faces as they focused on me. “Hello, ladies. You’ve been very bad girls. Someone needs to break me off a switch, because there’s about to be a whooping.”
“Omigod!” One of the witches screamed, but I was focused on the blonde. She was the leader. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I did.
I flicked my hands as the witches scattered for the woods, burning two of them as their feet continued moving and causing their ashes to hit the ground before the rain washed them away.
“Two down,” I said. “Who’s next?”
One of the remaining brunette witches bolted into the trees. I ignored her, inherently knowing she was too frightened to double back and attack. I kept my eyes trained on the blonde even as the round-faced witch edged toward the trees.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” the blonde replied. “You’re going to do what you’re going to do. Why I’m here is unimportant.”
“You’re probably right,” I said. “I … .”
My mouth dropped open as the blond witch tossed something in front of her. It looked like a small baggie filled with dirt. The bag exploded against the ground, creating a haze of smoke. I strode forward, frustrated, but when I cleared the smoke away with my hands the witch was gone.
“Oh, come on!”
25
Twenty-Five
“What just happened?” Paris’ eyes were nearly wide enough to swallow her entire face. “Did she just disappear?”
“This is just … .” I kicked the ground where the blond witch stood moments before. “This bites!”
“Calm down, Zoe,” Aric intoned, helping Kelsey to her feet as Rafael untied her legs. “Walk around and get your circulation back, Kelsey. It’s okay.”
“What took you so long?” Kelsey asked, not waiting to calm herself or get her bearings before launching into a diatribe. “I’ve had to go to the bathroom forever, and you said you were coming right away. That was you who crawled into my head, right? That’s a total invasion of privacy, by the way.”
I narrowed my eyes. “We had to get a message to you and it’s all we had because it was the only way to find you,” I shot back. “We need to talk about that clown, by the way.”
“What clown?” Kelsey’s cheeks colored.
“You know what clown,” I answered. “You’re a lot creepier than I realized.” I caught a hint of movement out of the corner of my eye and found the round-faced witch trying to sneak into the woods. I extended an ominous finger in her direction. “Don’t even think about running. If you run I’ll let the vampire tear you to shreds and laugh as he feasts on your blood.”
The shaking witch ceased her momentum and clasped a hand over her mouth, emitting a frightened squeak as s
he focused on Rafael, who scowled and stalked to my side.
“I don’t laugh and feast on people’s blood!”
“It’s okay to admit it,” I said, shooting the witch a knowing look. “He’s shy when it comes to drinking blood. He has a special straw and everything. It’s one of those that circles around, so it’s fun and nourishing. Oh, it has a unicorn on it, too.”
“You are … unbelievable,” Rafael hissed, scorching me with his imitation of Nosferatu as he planted his hands on his hips. “I don’t do any of that.”
“Shh. It’s okay. She won’t tell your secret to anyone.”
“Ignore her,” Aric said, striding past Rafael and moving toward the witch. “Come here.”
“Please don’t feed me to the vampire!” The witch was trembling.
“We’re not going to feed you to the vampire,” Aric said, grabbing her arm and tugging her toward the center of the clearing.
“Yet,” I intoned, squinting one eye as I wrinkled my nose. I was trying to look terrifying.
“Do you have something in your eye?” Rafael asked.
“I think she has to sneeze,” Paris supplied.
“I think she’s having an allergic reaction or something,” Kelsey said. “Quick, does anyone have an Epi-Pen?”
“You guys suck,” I snapped, wiping the look off my face and trudging toward the witch. Aric stood at her side as I pondered how to handle the situation. I decided a little tact was in order. “Tell me your plan or I’ll use my magic to rip you from the inside out.”
The witch whimpered and Aric frowned.
“Zoe, that’s not helping,” Aric chided.
I wasn’t ready to give up. “Try getting a date when your insides are on your outside,” I said. “No one will date you. You’ll end up alone and bitter.”
“I’m so glad you’ve never been put in charge of any military groups,” Rafael groused, his expression thoughtful as he looked the shaking witch up and down. “What is your name?”
The witch glanced around the clearing, fear warring with defiance until she realized no help was coming and she had no choice but to survive on her own. That’s the way I read her, anyway. “I am Esmeralda of the whispering winds.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped. “That’s not your name.”
“Fine. I’m Marian.”
“Marian what?” Aric pressed.
“Marian Dorchester,” the witch answered. “I grew up on a farm in the Grand Blanc area.”
“Why are you here?” Rafael asked, his tone neutral as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t look terrifying at all. In fact, with his long hair and tanned skin he looked like a boy band member on the prowl. Wait … how did that make me look? Were these witches laughing at me because I employed boy band members? What were we talking about again?
“I’m here to make sure the mage doesn’t fulfill the prophecy,” Marian sniffed, her fingers busy as they picked at imaginary nubs on the fabric of her pants. “She’s evil and must be cast out of this world.”
“How much television do you watch?” I asked.
“Zoe,” Aric intoned, shaking his head. “How do you even know about the mage?”
“Everyone knows about the mage,” Marian said. “She’s talked about in various dark circles.”
“Like pagan circles?” Paris asked.
Marian nodded solemnly. “Her name is whispered so she won’t appear in the chatroom and curse us all.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “Are you saying you hold your little magic meetings in a chatroom on the Internet?”
Marian refused to make eye contact. “We don’t say your name,” she said. “Everyone knows if you say your name three times you will be called forth to slaughter the foolish.”
“Like Candyman?”
This time Aric couldn’t hide his laughter as he bent over at the waist and rested his hands on knees. “Oh, good grief!”
“I think it’s more like Bloody Mary,” Paris offered. “You know, the legend says if you look into a mirror and say her name three times she’ll appear and kill you.”
Marian bit her lip and bobbed her head. “She’s slaughtered at least a hundred people, and she’s always looking for more souls to suck.”
“Something here definitely sucks,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m an urban legend. I just … this is ridiculous.”
“I want to hear more about this urban legend,” Aric prodded. “Do you say ‘Zoe’ three times in a mirror, or does she have another name?”
“You can’t say her name,” Marian whispered. “She only looks human now because she can’t show us her true face until we unleash her power with the name chant. When that happens, her true visage is revealed … and it’s terrible.”
“That must be what happens when you have a hangover,” Aric said. “Between the bedhead and your breath, that’s pretty terrible.”
“I am never having sex with you again,” I snapped.
“Oh, puh-leez,” Aric scoffed. “We both know I could hold out longer than you. You’re putty in my hands, woman.”
“As illuminating as the sexual boasting is, we have more important problems on our hands,” Rafael said, dragging everyone back to reality. “You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“And apparently to a monster who kills kids if they say her name three times in a chatroom,” Kelsey said. “It’s kind of disappointing when you think about it.”
“Says the woman who has a weird clown hiding in a compartment in her brain,” I said.
Rafael forced his attention from Marian and focused on me. “Clown?”
I nodded. “It has red hair and fangs. It doesn’t say anything. It just sits there and watches when you’re walking around her brain. Sometimes it waves and squeaks a horn. It’s creepy.”
Rafael involuntarily shuddered. “I don’t like clowns.”
“No one does,” Aric said, patting Rafael on the back. “They’re unnatural.”
“Those are what you should fear,” I informed Marian. “I’m not scary. I’m sweet and nice.”
Aric, Paris, Kelsey and Rafael snorted in unison. I was pretty sure I should be offended.
“What? I am sweet and nice.”
“You are many things, love of my life,” Aric said. “You’re neither of those, though. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you can be nice when you’re in a good mood and you’ve been known to be sweet when you think absolutely no one is looking. On a regular day those aren’t the words I would use to describe you, though.”
There was no way I was going to let that pass. “Oh, yeah? What words would you use to describe me?”
“Sexy and demanding,” Aric replied, not missing a beat.
“Snarky and obstinate,” Paris said.
“Entertaining and obnoxious,” Kelsey said.
“Annoying and meddlesome,” Rafael added.
Well, that was just … . “I asked Aric,” I snapped.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Aric said, resting his hand on the back of my neck. “I still love you.”
“The wedding is off,” I muttered.
“Can I go now?” Marian asked.
“Um, no,” I said, shaking my head as I turned back to her. “I need to understand what’s going on here. As far as I can tell, you guys made up an urban legend about me, came to town and either bewitched three wolves or offered them sex to join in your cause, spied on us, and then attacked the other night trying to kill me. Is that pretty much it?”
“We didn’t make up an urban legend,” Marian said. “It’s true.”
I blew out a frustrated sigh. “How did you even know where we lived?”
“We did research,” Marian answered. “We heard rumors that you had a wolf as a paramour. We knew his father was a state senator. We followed the father until he led us to you.”
“Oh, well, good,” I said. “Now I have something to hold over James’ head.”
“Why are you going after Zoe?” Aric asked, biting his lip when Marian cringed as he m
entioned my name. He was clearly having trouble containing his laughter.
“She almost killed you yesterday,” I reminded him, bringing him crashing back to reality. “It’s funny to mess with her, don’t get me wrong, but you almost left me, and I’m not playing around here.”
Aric’s expression softened. “Zoe.”
“Don’t do that,” Marian screeched. “If you say her name one more time the monster will come out.”
“The monster comes out only when I have PMS,” I spat. “What … I … who even started this rumor? I’m so upset. I’m a nice person!”
“Zoe, why do you care what she thinks?” Aric asked.
At the third mention of my name Marian sucked in a horrified breath and waited for me to turn into whatever creature they’d concocted online to describe my murderous face. I rolled my eyes until they landed on Aric. “If I’m going to get a reputation for something, it should be fun,” I said. “Candyman was a horrible movie. I don’t want to be the Candyman.”
“Ah,” Aric said, smirking as he pulled me in for a hug. “Would you prefer if you turned into the shark from Jaws?”
“That would be cool,” I sniffed.
“Oh, my Zoe,” Aric crooned, purposely saying my name to drive Marian bonkers. “You can be whatever movie monster you want to be if you handle these stupid witches so we can get married tomorrow. I promise.”
“I don’t understand,” Marian said, her eyes cloudy when I turned back to her. “You’re supposed to turn into a monster.”
“I can do many horrifying things,” I said. “I just burned two of your friends alive. I don’t go around needlessly butchering teenagers, though. To be fair, though, if I were going to needlessly butcher someone, it would be teenagers. I find them ridiculously annoying and vapid. I didn’t even like myself when I was a teenager.”
“Don’t lie to the girl,” Rafael said. “You’ve always liked yourself. A little too much, if you ask me.”
“No one asked you,” I muttered.
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