by Ruby Loren
“Kate, why don’t you start by telling us how your full moon goddess meditation went? Did you receive any good insights?” The coven leader asked.
“Well… it was all a bit hazy, really. I felt this tremendous sense of calm and well-being. I feel that it may be a positive omen for this month.” Kate smiled around and everyone nodded.
January stared. “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering if anyone here has done any actual spells or magic? Something like attacking someone else’s mind using your own mind, for example.” With hindsight, that probably hadn’t been the best example to use.
“We spend most of our time connecting with the essence of magic and appreciating its life force. Most of us here are wiccans, so attacking someone’s mind is out of the question. Why would you want to find out about something like that?” The ginger leading lady frowned at January, like a disapproving school teacher.
“Let’s just say I want to learn from my past experiences,” January said, trying not to think about her fight with Luke. The sensation of having your mind burnt away was something you never forgot.
Well, unless the mind attack succeeded… then you probably forgot everything.
“We’re a peaceful, loving group of people who are trying to put some good back into the world! Perhaps this isn’t the right coven for you?” The lady was trying to look kindly, but January could feel the weight of her disapproval.
“Perhaps not,” January agreed, feeling peeved that she was implying that January wasn’t contributing anything good to society. She was trying her best to do right by the pack and she was nice to anyone that was nice to her. It wasn’t her fault that bad things sought her out.
“Of course, you are always welcome here. We could help you to change your path.” The whole coven smiled at her.
January tried not to wince. “That’s very kind of you, but I’m looking for answers and I don’t think you’ll like the questions.”
January walked outside into the crisp air and covered her face with her hands. That had not gone well. Perhaps she should give up on the whole magic thing. After all, she’d been getting by just fine without it. Was her ability to see hidden symbols and throw off psychic attacks really something she should be pursuing? It could be that that was all there was to it.
If the world was a quiet place, she probably would have left it at that. Unfortunately, she had killers breathing down her neck and she knew how important it was to have an edge – any edge - that could give you the advantage. Her ex-employers knew everything about her. They would have warned the ones they’d be sending to get rid of her. She had to have something up her sleeve.
“Better get Googling again,” she muttered, as she walked back to her car.
After her first experience with local witches, she wasn’t so sure she was going to find the answer to her problem on the internet. All powerful witches probably didn’t put out adverts. You were supposed to know how to find them.
January thought about the supernatural bars that the male witch had mentioned. They were probably a good place to start.
“Date night, huh?” Ryan shot January a suspicious look as they walked up and down an apparently deserted street.
This was the location she’d got from Gregory when she’d decided to ask him if he knew about any supernatural bars in the area. Being the nosy vampire he was, he’d been able to give her a list of three.
“There’s meant to be a bar…” She started to say and then trailed off. A shining silver symbol hovered in front of the blank brick wall. “Do you see that?” She asked Ryan, pointing at the squiggly sign.
He shook his head and looked at her like she was crazy. January touched the sign and the solid bricks dissolved in front of her. An illusion!
“What is this place?” Ryan said, the tendons in his neck standing out like wires.
“No idea. It’s a bar something supernatural hangs out at. Gregory didn’t say any more than that.” January bit her lip when Ryan’s face turned dark.
“Gregory?”
“I was told about some local supernatural bars. I asked him if he knew where they were. I thought it would be fun to see what else we’re sharing Witchwood with. Also, I’m hoping to find someone who can help me figure out why I’m the way I am,” she admitted, knowing it was probably best she started to come clean with Ryan.
“The way you are? You mean selective with the truth and sketchy?” January’s mouth fell open.
She turned to Ryan and saw he wasn’t kidding.
“Are we okay?” She asked, feeling her heart drop. She hadn’t really seen Ryan over the past few days since it had come out that Gregory was their landlord. Now she realised a lot had gone wrong during that time.
Ryan half-shrugged and sighed, running a hand through his short, dark blonde hair.
“I don’t know, January. I really like you, but right now it’s pretty hard to be with you when you don’t want to tell me anything that’s going on. How did you find out about these bars in the first place? What’s going on with you? We’re living together but I hardly know you… I’d like to know you more. I want this to be more than just physical.” He raised an eyebrow.
January felt the familiar rush of want. They definitely had the physical side of things sorted.
“I’m not the only one not sharing. I don’t know anything about your past and you never talk about what’s happening with the bar, either. I want to help you!” She bit her lip and looked at him, feeling rather hopeless.
She really liked him but was so afraid that he was going to tell her they’d reached the end. The reason she’d been keeping so much back was because of how much she liked him. She was afraid he wouldn’t like the truth when he heard it.
“You never asked me,” Ryan said and January realised it was true. When had they ever sat down and had a proper conversation? “But I suppose you’re right. We should both work on our sharing skills. Tonight would be a good time to start. How about we go into this bar and order a drink? Hopefully we’ll be able to do that much without anyone trying to kill us,” he added, dryly.
January was once again reminded that she was being hunted. She gave him her best smile and hoped that he wouldn’t run a mile when she told him the truth.
The bar seemed like a pretty ordinary place - once you got over the fact that they’d walked through a wall in order to get in. A few girls shot admiring glances in Ryan’s direction, but other than that, no one was looking their way.
“This must just be a bar for witches,” she said to Ryan, keeping her voice low.
If her experience with the local coven was anything to go by, no one would know about their other nature unless they touched them. For all their magical ability, witches only had a human sense of smell.
January’s hunch was confirmed when she made eye contact with one of the male witches she’d met at the coven. He raised his glass to her and she nodded in return, causing Ryan to turn to her with a query on his face.
“He’s included in the sharing I’m about to do,” she told him.
“I can’t wait to hear it,” Ryan said, sarcastically, shooting another look in the male witch’s direction.
January supposed he was an interesting looking character. Tonight the witch had chosen to wear giraffe print leggings and had tied a sequinned scarf around his forehead. She wondered if he turned up to work looking like that.
It was over an hour later that January finally looked down at her fourth gin and tonic and realised it was empty.
“So, that’s it. All my life, I’ve been a freak of nature, and no one’s ever given me a good explanation. After Luke tried to kill us both and I found I could do the same talking in your head thing he can, and also managed not to die from his mind bleach attack, I realised that maybe magic could be the answer. The psycho drummer from my band… you know, the one whose body was lying outside my house for a bit… he left several curses on my doorstep, but none of them seemed to work. I don’t know if he messed the
m up - or if for some reason I’m immune to that kind of magic - but I would really like to find out. I know there are a ton of other things to be thinking about right now, but I can’t help but feel this is important. The people who are coming after me probably know everything about me. I’ve got to come up with something new. It’s the only way I’ll feel happier about this situation.” She twirled a blonde strand of hair through her fingers and felt the muzziness of the alcohol numbing her usual worries away. Ryan’s own gin and tonic sat half-finished.
“So that’s what you’ve been keeping so quiet about… magic! Jeez, I thought you were seeing some other guy.” He laughed.
January’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why would I want to see anyone else?”
Ryan half-shrugged. “Well, we’ve never really discussed the bounds of our relationship and you’re beautiful. I know it’s going to be hard to hold on to you.”
January tried to keep her mouth from falling open. She’d never heard herself described that way before. Living in the shadow of her dark-haired, dark eyed, glamorous family, she’d always been the pale mousy one everyone forgot about. Then, when she’d been a teenager and had changed into a unicorn for the first time, she’d been the one they’d all tried to forget about.
“I’m not interested in anyone else, and I’m not like that. I want to be with you. If you’re still interested, that is,” she said, knowing she was blushing.
How was it she could be the leader of a pack and face down terrifying adversaries, yet she couldn’t talk about her feelings without turning into an awkward teen?
“I guess we’re good then,” Ryan said, smiling at her in a way that warmed her to her bones. His eyes took her in and she could only see happiness reflecting back. It was a beautiful thing to have someone who felt that way about you.
“I’ve just spilled my life story to you. I think it’s your turn,” January said, raising her eyebrows. She was definitely curious about Ryan’s past. Something told her it wasn’t going to be a snooze fest.
“You said there were other supernatural bars around here. How about we go to the next one?”
January nodded and tried to stand up without wobbling. She didn’t usually go out drinking, so the gin was hitting her hard. She giggled as Ryan slid his arm around her waist. He smiled before leaning down and pressing his warm mouth against hers. January thought she could hear the disappointed sighs of the watching witches.
“I’m not so sure about this…” January said as they walked down another deserted street. The strange thing was, it didn’t sound deserted. They could hear the sounds of a party happening a few metres away, only there was nothing there.
“Wouldn’t someone report this to the police?” Ryan said, squinting through the darkness.
January bit her lip. “And say what? There’s an invisible party going on? I don’t see any magic signs or anything…”
“That’s because it’s invitation only.” Gregory Drax was leaning against a side alley wall.
“Have you been following us?” Ryan asked, his teeth starting to bare.
Gregory rolled his eyes. “No, I have better things to do with my time. But I do find it concerning that you didn’t notice I’ve been standing here for the past five minutes. Next time, it could be someone else watching you two fumble about in the dark.”
January felt her cheeks colour.
“We can take care of ourselves,” Ryan bit back, his jaguar tattoo twitching on his arm, the way it always did when he was angry.
“That remains to be seen,” the vampire said and then waved a hand at Ryan to quiet his next retort. “You wanted to know about the bar you’re trying to break into. It’s a fae bar and they only let their friends in, so good luck getting an invite. Alas, I too am uninvited. I still like to come here though and listen to them on the other side of their portal.” A hungry look came over his face. “I haven’t seen a fae on this side for centuries…”
“Fae? The little winged sparkly things that live under toadstools?” Ryan said and January heard the sounds of the party die down a little.
“Uh, Ryan… I think they can hear us as much as we can hear them,” she whispered and was rewarded by a host of giggles.
“Not exactly,” Gregory replied and shook his head. “The less you think about the fae, the better.”
January tipped her head at Ryan and shrugged. She had no issue with stowing this away as a mystery for a later date, if Gregory wasn’t willing to share any more.
“What about the other supernatural bar?” She asked.
Gregory winced. “Howler’s? That’s the werewolf bar. I have to say, I’m rather surprised you didn’t already know about that one.” He artfully arranged his expression into one of concern that neatly conveyed to January his lack of confidence in her pack leadership.
“I’m not exactly drinking buddies with the wolves of Witchwood,” she told him, already kicking herself for not having found out about this place sooner.
She flicked her eyes Ryan’s way and saw that he hadn’t known about the bar either. Then again, Luke and the rest of the cats hadn’t been in town long. After Luke had crushed the werewolf pack, perhaps they’d been less than willing to share information about their hangouts. Of course, it was far more likely that Luke had known all about the werewolf bar but had chosen to keep it from the other shifters to avoid it possibly being used as a centre for rebellion.
“You know what? I’m feeling an early night…” January said, raising an eyebrow and smiling at Ryan.
She hated acting this way in front of Gregory, but the vampire was doing all he could to subtly create a rift between her and her boyfriend. This was the only way she could think of to hit back.
Ryan grinned back and even managed to nod goodbye to Gregory. They walked away and left the vampire standing in the shadows, listening to a party he’d never be able to join.
“This is a million times better than a werewolf bar,” Ryan said once they were back home and January was draped across his lap, her face only inches away from his. Neither of them had many clothes left on and January was now feeling the effects of the alcohol in a very good way indeed.
“Shall we go to the bedroom, or here?” Ryan said, his voice becoming a growl. January felt a familiar shiver run up her spine as everything started to tingle in anticipation.
“Everywhere,” she told him with a smile.
They’d just started their mission to visit every single room when the phone rang.
“I’ve got a lead,” the voice at the other end said.
January screwed up her face. “Gregory? This isn’t your mobile number…”
“Yes, I know. I knew you wouldn’t answer if my name came up.” For a moment, January felt guilty for hurting his feelings but then she remembered he was an ancient vampire. That was exactly how he wanted her to feel.
“What’s the lead?” She asked, sitting back from Ryan, knowing that the mood would be ruined once she got off the phone.
“I’ve heard whispers that what we’re looking for might be in France, but we need to leave tomorrow.”
January frowned at Gregory’s vague way of referring to the old ones and then realised he was probably afraid that someone was listening in. Given their uncanny ability to know where she was at all times, she thought it wasn’t an overreaction.
“I can’t. It’s the baking competition tomorrow! Also, I’ve got a few gigs coming , and Ryan can’t take a break from the bar at the moment. I’ll have to try and book some holiday from work. Maybe in a few weeks…”
“Are you being serious? We have a warm lead on the most ancient vampires in existence - vampires who are actively trying to kill both of us - and you’d rather enter a baking competition?”
January bit her lip. Well, when you put it like that…
“Baking matters to me! The other stuff does too. Look, I just want a normal life…”
“You don’t have a normal life and you won’t ever be able to have one, unless we solve
our mutual problem. Get your head out of the clouds and free from iron-pumping pussycats. Call me when you’re thinking straight.”
“Just remember, I could solve our ‘mutual problem’ if I remove you from the equation,” she told him.
“You know that wouldn’t solve anything,” he said. “And where would you be without me in your life? I make everything more fun.”
January frowned at the phone, wondering whether he was joking or flirting with her.
“Now the business is out of the way… what are you wearing?”
She hung up.
4
January flipped her calendar over in the kitchen and stared at the month of February. The first of the month was circled and ‘round one, Cake Off’ was written in the space with a smiley face added for luck.
She rubbed her temples, feeling the effects of the gin she’d drunk last night. When she turned on the coffee machine, her legs wobbled. She leant against the counter with a smile on her face. She was also feeling the effects of everything else that had happened last night.
“Morning, the coffee’s on,” she said to Ryan as he entered the kitchen, dressed only in his underwear.
He paused to stroke the little black cat, who arched his back and hissed at him. Ryan shrugged and stopped trying.
January turned away so he wouldn’t see her smile. The cat definitely knew Ryan wasn’t human, but didn’t seem too fond of its larger kin.
“I’d better make it a quick one. There’s someone coming by to see if they’ll reinstate the bar’s licence today. I also need to think of a new name for the place…” He rubbed his stubble and looked at January. “How about ‘The Black Unicorn’?”