Moonshine & Malice

by Kathleen Brooks

  “My only comfort is knowing my father will be taking care of him in heaven,” Hailey sniffled.

  Matthew pulled away from his mother and walked to a picture on the side table. “Grandpappy. I remember.” He turned to Zoey and Slade with a watery smile. He then looked off in the distance and smiled. “Grandpappy!”

  His smile fell as he turned his gaze to Zoey. “You have to tell them I’m sorry. I can’t go until they know I’m sorry.”

  Zoey nodded and took a deep breath. “Jacob, Hailey . . .”

  “I think I know who killed Matthew,” Slade cut in before explaining about the hunter he was after while leaving out all supernatural aspects.

  “Does Luke know?” Jacob asked.

  “Yes. I’ve just talked to him tonight. Matthew was most likely in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “And he knows that. I’m sure he’s very sorry for going to the creek without permission,” Zoey said, reaching out her hand to Hailey. Hailey took it and squeezed.

  “I know he would be. Matthew hated to ever be in trouble.” Hailey and Jacob shared a small smile. “And he loved that spot so much. He’d spend hours there playing. We’d laugh and play right along with him.”

  “They forgive me?” Matthew asked as he moved to stand in front of them.

  “I’m sure he wishes you’d forgive him,” Slade said so quietly Zoey wasn’t sure they’d heard him except for Jacob’s head whipping over to face Slade.

  “Of course we do. Matthew will never be thought of with anything except love. We love him and will always love him.”

  “I love you too,” Matthew cried as he tried to fling his arms around his mom and dad. They sucked in a breath as if they could feel him, but then Matthew was pulling back and turning toward Zoey and Slade.

  “Thank you, Miss Zoey, Mr. Slade.” Matthew looked off to the side and held out his hands. He went running toward something as he laughed. “Grandpappy!” And then he was gone.

  “We won’t keep you, we just wanted to pay our respects and give you an update. I promise, I’ll catch the man who did this, and he’ll pay for it,” Slade swore. Right now, it wasn’t Slade the hunter should be worried about. It was Zoey. Her whole body ached to send the man into oblivion.

  “Thank you,” Hailey said as she and Jacob got up to show them out.

  Zoey didn’t say anything until they were outside. Agnes and Vilma had gone home. Slade and Zoey were supposed to meet them there to talk, but talking was the last thing she wanted to do.

  Slade put his arm around her waist and walked down the street until they came to a large tree. He pulled her behind it and turned her to face him. His eyes were big and blue now as they looked down at her worriedly. One large hand came up to trace the side of her face. Zoey closed her eyes and leaned into it. When she opened her eyes again, she was in her living room.

  “You poofed me,” she said with surprise before letting out a shaky breath. “Thank you.” Zoey buried her head in his chest and cried. She cried for Matthew, for Hailey, for Jacob, and for all the witches before her who had died at the hands of the hunters. She felt Slade scoop her up and place her in his lap as he sat on the couch, holding her. He didn’t try to make her feel better. In fact, he didn’t say anything. He just held her and let her cry.

  “What did you do to her?”

  Zoey pulled her head up from Slade’s chest and swiped at her puffy red eyes. “It was hard seeing the Cohens. Matthew’s gone.”

  “Gone, gone?” Vilma asked as she took a seat across from the couch.

  Zoey nodded and rested her head back against Slade’s chest. She pulled out the necklace Slade had given her from under her sweater and held on to it. Doing so was very soothing as she rubbed her thumb over the smooth stone.

  “What’s that?” Agnes asked, leaning forward.

  “Oh, it’s a necklace that Slade gave me.” Zoey showed it to them as she sat up.

  “That’s a Goddess stone,” Vilma said with surprise as she looked at Slade.

  “I know.” Slade rested his hand on Zoey’s knee as he looked at Agnes and Vilma. “Are you all going to tell me what happened to Zoey and the hunter you encountered?”

  “No,” Agnes answered quickly. “Why don’t you tell us about this hunter you described to Luke.”

  “I didn’t describe any hunter. I described Alexander.”

  Vilma and Agnes gasped.

  “You think he was the one who killed Matthew?” Zoey asked with anger causing the energy inside her to speed up.

  “No. I think he’s the one who ordered the men here. There must be a powerful hunter here who is sent to look for The One. Ian is his right hand now. I’m betting the stench you smelled was him. And where Ian is, Edan isn’t far behind. That’s Ian’s younger brother, and I definitely wouldn’t put it pass him to kill Matthew. I don’t know if you’re The One or not, though. I need more information about the prophecy from the elders, but I’m drawn to you like no other woman before. And we’re talking centuries of relationships. There has to be something to it.”

  Zoey pulled her legs from his lap and stood up. “But you weren’t drawn to me in LA, so whatever this is, isn’t real and that’s not love.”

  “I can’t tell you if it’s love or not, but you haven’t been out of my thoughts since you walked into my club. Why do you think I bailed you out? Do I seem to be the kind of man to bail out a woman I don’t even know? Why I did I escort you home? Why did I stay with you as long as I could? Why did I continually check up on you, even if you didn’t know? This isn’t something that just happened when you became a witch. Maybe you’ve been a witch the whole time. All I know is you’re different from when I first saw you. Something changed, and I want to know what it is.”

  “I don’t know—“

  Slade’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. “Drop the act, Zoey. We both know what you are. We all know what I am. What they are,” he said as he gestured to Agnes and Vilma. “If that was Alexander or Ian in the woods with one of his hunters, you all are in grave danger. This is not some two-hundred-year-old kid thinking he has power. This is a centuries-old Grand Master.”

  “How old are you?” Zoey asked quietly.

  “I’m five hundred and six years old.”

  “Then I must know your parents,” Agnes said excitedly. “I’m just over five thousand myself.”

  “I’m sure you must, but that’s not important right now. I need to keep you all safe. Who else is in town?” Slade asked as he moved on from talking about his parentage.

  Agnes and Vilma blinked innocently, and Slade let out a sound of frustration. “When are you going to believe me when I say I’m on your side?”

  “I don’t know, yet. Excuse me.” Vilma wiggled her fingers and in a flash she was gone.

  “I think we have a lot to talk about and plan, young man,” Agnes said calmly. Zoey was anything but calm. The man she liked was half a millennium old. She couldn’t fathom that. She knew it would be so, since she knew he had been Alexander’s second-in-command, but that felt overwhelming.

  “Zoey, are you okay?” Slade asked, standing up so he could grab her if she fell.

  Zoey shook her head. “It’s all a little much to comprehend. But I’ll get there. Tell us about the hunter you think is here.” She sucked in a deep breath and took a seat on the couch.

  Slade sat next to her and Zoey was determined not to melt down. She’d been through a lot, but she’d never given up, and she never would. She had always wanted to help people. It was why she had become a lawyer. Now she could help others as she never could before. And she would. She would fight for them. She would save as many as she could. She would do whatever it took to keep evil from this world.

  “If it’s as Matthew said, either Alexander or Ian gave his order to a hunter. There’s only a handful of them powerful enough to send here if they actually were locating The One. However, I think Alexander was probably counting on him dying. He wouldn’t send his best hunter. He’d keep
his best hunter for the battle, but he would also send someone more than a newbie because a more seasoned hunter would be able to hunt out mistresses better. It has to be one of five men. One of who could be Edan,” Slade explained.

  “I don’t suppose you have information on them?” Agnes asked.

  “I can. I’ll get it and talk to the elders, with your permission.” Slade answered.

  “Who are the elders? I should know them all if they’re truly elders,” Agnes said as she tapped her fingers on her knee. Every now and then, a little spark shot off and Zoey knew it was done to intimidate. Agnes and Vilma may look and act like old humans, but they were anything but. Zoey had seen them in action. Unless Slade was something beyond normal powers, they were more powerful than he was. But the prophecy said a powerful master would lead the rebellion, so surely Slade was more powerful than the average Tenebris master.

  Slade smiled with amusement. “Before you zap me, and with your permission, I’ll speak to the elders. I can bring back files on the men in question and see if I can learn more about the prophecy along with gaining their approval for revealing their identities.”

  Agnes dipped her chin, giving him permission. Instead of wiggling his fingers and disappearing like Vilma, he looked at Agnes with raised eyebrows. Agnes rolled hers and stood up. “Fine, but I’ll be in the kitchen. Don’t think of leaving with our Zoey.”

  Agnes walked into the kitchen, and Zoey could hear her puttering around as she put together a pot of tea. Slade’s hand covered hers. When she looked up at him his eyes were now the color of a rough sea.

  “Why do your eyes change colors?” Zoey asked.

  “They’re a blue-gray color and ever since I was a little kid, they’ve changed color based on how I’m feeling. It made lying very hard,” he said with a little chuckle at some far off memory.

  “And what are you feeling now?” Zoey asked as she watched his eyes turn into blue oceans she could lose herself in. “Oh,” she gasped a second before he kissed her. This time it wasn’t a kiss on the cheek, but a full-on, heart-racing, energy-pounding, back-of-throat moaning kiss. His arms were wrapped around her, pulling her against his hard chest as his mouth did things to hers Zoey had never dreamed about. It was as if she could feel Slade all around her, through her, and as a part of her. If a kiss could be described as transcendent, this was it.

  Slowly Slade’s hands dropped from her back, his lips left hers, and he leaned back enough to look into her face. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay with Agnes, please. If it’s one of these men, you are definitely in danger.”

  “I know. I won’t do anything stupid like jumping up on a stage to try to rescue my client,” Zoey teased.

  “Don’t. Zoey, I—” Slade took a deep breath and paused. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay safe.”

  He didn’t wiggle his fingers. He simply vanished.

  12

  Zoey lay in bed that night with Chance curled up on her pillow next to her. His soft noises mingled with Agnes’s house-shaking snores coming from the guest bedroom. Vilma was still gone, and Slade was similarly absent. Time seemed to slow and the night seemed to stretch on forever, but eventually her early morning alarm went off.

  Zoey shoved off the covers from a sleepless night and got ready for work. By the time she was out of the shower, Agnes had breakfast on the table. “Thank you,” Zoey said to her as she took a seat and dug into the bacon and eggs.

  “Don’t thank me too much. I didn’t actually make them.”

  That’s when Zoey noticed no pans were dirty. She couldn’t say she blamed Agnes for a little finger-wiggling shortcut. There was a very high probability of her doing the same thing this morning at the bakery.

  “Is Vilma still gone?” Zoey asked as she ate her breakfast.

  “Yes. She went to see Grand Mistress Lauren. I’m sure they and the others will be trying to learn as much as they can about the prophecy, the hunters, and Slade’s own past.”

  Zoey wiggled her fingers and picked up the glass of orange juice she’d poofed onto the table.

  “You know,” Agnes said as she watched Zoey absently finger the necklace Slade had given her. “The stone of the Goddess is very special to us. It’s said to draw a man to it, and when he sees it he’ll picture his wife. True loves have sworn the stone gives them shared powers. They can hear, feel, and communicate on a whole new level with each other. That’s the rumor anyway. It’s been five, six centuries since I’ve seen one.”

  Zoey dropped the necklace. “True love? I mean, we don’t even know each other well.”

  Agnes smiled as she carried her plate to the sink. “Your heart will tell you what you need to know. Don’t you have a bakery to open?”

  Thank goodness Agnes let that go. Zoey wasn’t ready to explore her feelings. She was still coming to grips with being a witch, then she was hit with the prophecy . . . true love just might just send her over the edge.

  The first rays of daylight were stretching into the sky as Zoey put the key into the lock of the bakery’s back door. Chance bounded around the darkened lot as Agnes pulled a tote bag full of yarn from the back of the car. Suddenly Chance stopped his bounding and emitted a very big dog growl for a puppy. Zoey didn’t have time to look around when bright red energy filled the back lot.

  Agnes cried out and when Zoey spun around, she found a towering man shooting red energy from his fingers at Agnes who had been caught off guard. Fear, panic, and anger pulsed through her body as Zoey screamed, “Agnes!”

  The man turned and looked her dead in the eyes. His dark eyes were cold, and his thin lips were tilted in a smile as if he enjoyed the pain he was causing. Agnes struggled under the onslaught of energy as she tried to gather her own powers. Blue sparks shot out of her fingers as he bore down on her. The circular tattoo of black swords with a drop of blood in the middle glowed, and Zoey’s mind immediately went to Slade. But this wasn’t Slade. After seeing this man, she would never wonder if Slade was bad. She now knew the look of true evil.

  “Zoey,” Agnes croaked out as she held out her hands and let her water power flow. Water and Fire clashed, but the man was too powerful. Agnes was on her knees as he hammered her over and over with bursts of power. “Run.”

  Zoey shook her head as the man pressed his advantage. She could see Agnes fading as she was knocked back against the car. “Go. Save yourself.” Agnes refocused on the man and the battle raged on. Blue and red light tore through the pre-morning darkness. For every small victory of Agnes’s, the man won two. Whoever this man was, he had the upper hand. Could he be Alexander? He seemed too young to be so powerful, but the Tenebris had enhanced powers from consuming the powers of those they’d killed.

  Agnes was going to lose. The sudden realization hit Zoey hard. Agnes whimpered as her arms shook against the assault of battle. The woman, who had been more of a mother to Zoey than her own, was dying. Zoey couldn’t let that happen. Agnes and Vilma believed she was a powerful witch. Slade believed her to be The One. Well, if she was then there was nothing to stop her from saving the woman who meant so much to her.

  “Stop it!” Zoey screamed. Her purse fell to the ground as she dropped all mental blocks on her energy. She felt the tidal wave rush through her with such power it caused her to step forward so she wouldn’t fall down from the force. Bracing herself like Neferu taught her, Zoey called forth her powers. Chance stood by her with his tail rigid and his shiny white teeth bared as Zoey focused her energy to her hands.

  Zoey raised her hands as the man looked at her in surprise. The white energy flew from her fingers. The energy was so bright the back lot seemed to be lit up by thousands of lights. Zoey didn’t know what she was doing, but she knew she had to try something. She had to save Agnes. The white energy slammed into the man, sending him stumbling back. Alexander or not, no one would hurt someone she loved.

  “That’s not possible,” he said, turning his powers toward her.

  Zoey felt the push back from his Fire, but her
energy simply enveloped it. Stalking forward she screamed loudly from the flood of energy flowing from her. The fear, the anger, and the love Zoey had for Agnes rushed from her as the man dropped to his knees. His tattoo flared, but this time there was no essence of his powers floating from him. Her energy flashed bright and then nothing. He was gone.

  * * *

  Slade had been in the library of the elders when a wave of panic rocked him. He knew Zoey was in trouble. He didn’t know how he knew, but he felt it. He felt her.

  “What is it?” Grand Master Linus asked with worry. The elder was combing through ancient texts with Slade to see if they could learn more about the prophecy. The prophecy was a recent proclamation—well, recent in terms of Linus’s millennium of years. They had learned prophecies were long rooted in ancient history.

  “She’s in trouble,” Slade said with certainty. “I have to get to her.”

  Grand Master Linus’s strong face broke into a grim smile. Saying he was an elder could be confusing because he looked as if he were forty years old. “If you can feel her emotions, there’s no question. She’s your love. Go to her.” Linus hadn’t even asked who she was. When Slade told the elders what he had learned, he had left out Zoey’s, Vilma’s, and Agnes’s names. He didn’t know why, but he felt he had to protect them at all costs.

  Slade didn’t know where Zoey was, but when he looked at his watch it was the time she was usually at the bakery. He pictured the back alley where he’d watched Zoey enter her shop in the early morning darkness so many times before, and then he was there.

  What should have been early morning darkness was suffused in bright white light. It didn’t take Slade long to find the source of the light. The white light was emanating from a screaming Zoey. Her arms were outstretched as white energy flowed through them and out her fingers. Her mouth was open as she screamed her pain and anger. Her long chestnut hair was floating around her like a nimbus from the energy she was emitting. Slade followed the energy to see a man dropping to his knees, his Fire disappearing into Zoey’s energy. It wasn’t possible. But it couldn’t be anything else. Zoey had the power of the fifth element. Only Grand Mistress Celesta had the power of Aether, given to her by the Goddess herself.