by Shyla Colt
“Wow, someone more stuck up and stuffy than witches? After all the balls we’ve been to?”
“They’re on a whole other level. To be fair, their eras were very different from ours. When they get together, it’s a time to be with others who remember. I can understand it. I just hate having to slip into a role I’m ill-suited for and play dress up in clothes I’d never dress myself in. It’s all too easy to lose yourself when you’re living like that. I won’t let that happen again.” I shake my head, thinking of the frazzled, confused state I was in when I left.
“I know you won’t. I wouldn’t let you. Neither would Sacha. You have anchors now. We’re here to help, but you have to open up to us. I get that it’s a lot and you feel like you need to do it alone, but believe me, you don’t have to.” She holds the brightly colored dress to her chest. “We’re family. That means if you have a problem, I have a problem. I don’t give a shit about your unconventional relationship. Witches hating vampires. Vampires hating witches. Wolves and their Romani hate. It’s all bullshit. The world is growing smaller every day. With media everywhere, smartphones, video, and people taking notice of the paranormal, none of us can afford to go this alone and expect to come out unscathed. Our window of anonymity is closing. We need to prepare ourselves for what happens once the cat is out the bag.”
“Do you really think so?”
She cocks her head. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about this.”
I sigh. “No, I have. Eventually, there’s going to be no way to hide our way of life. If we’re not prepared to stand together when that day comes, they’re going to wipe us out. Humans aren’t known for tolerance for anything they perceive as different, and you can’t get more abnormal than us. Of course, if we struck a deal with the Fae, they could use glamour, but I shudder to think what the cost would be.”
She clucks her tongue. “Too damn high. Half of them are so bored out of their mind. They’d welcome the entertainment that would come from it like a television show.” She fingers a black dress covered in fringe. “Gorgeous.”
“Sad, but true. They are such strange, unpredictable beings.” I continue to riffle through the closet. It’s my first time really looking at what’s in here.
“I guess if we’d been around that long and were from an alternate dimension, people might say the same about us,” Fel muses.
I look at her and smile. Her light shines so bright it could blind a person.“You’ve got a big heart.”
“And iron ready, if it ever pops off. You never know which way the wind is going to blow with Faeries.” The vicious grin that spreads across her lips makes me laugh.
“There’s the ruthless woman I love. You get the first shower.”
“Thanks.” She walks into the en suite. “Holy shit. I feel like I’m in a five-star hotel.”
I laugh. “Yeah, Cristobal is a little extra in his tastes.”
She runs her hand over the marble counter top. “Does he have a brother?”
I laugh. “No, but he does have a daughter.”
“Damnit.”
I giggle. “Technically, everyone in his court is one of his children, so in that case, he has many sons.”
“I’m just saying, maybe I have been looking for love in all the wrong place.” Her laughter seeps from between the cracks in the door as she closes it.
It feels good having my family here. It closes a circuit, completing my circle. I’m comfortable for the first time since I found myself placed in the gray area in between the two parts of my life. I relish the peace. The Runes are already setting a new future into motion. I get the urge to read my tea leaves. Trusting my gut, I remove my shoes and socks and pad out of the room and to the kitchen.
“Where’s the sexy cousin?” Rene asks from where he stands, his hip leaning against the white marble top island in the kitchen.
“I love you, but if you hurt her I’ll have to murder you, and that would annoy Cristobal, so how about you do everyone a favor and keep it in your pants around her hmmm?” I pat his face, and he grins.
“Well, now you’re just making her a challenge.” He jerks. “Ouch. Did you just shock me?”
I step directly in front of him and narrow my eyes. “I’ll make that look like nothing.”
His eyes widen, and he laughs. “Holy shit, you are scary, aren’t you?”
“If you make me be.”
“Perhaps we’re rubbing off on you after all,” Marcellus says as he peers at me over the rim of his wine glass. Seated at a tall stool at the end of the Island he looks bemused. I point my finger. “Drink your O positive and hush.”
He snickers and gives me a small nod. We’re slowly forming what looks surprisingly like a friendship.
“How do you know it’s O?” Percival asks.
I glance over my shoulder.“I notice your preferences,” I admit.
“One of us. One of us,” Rene chants.
I roll my eyes, but it feels good to know I have a space here.
I rummage through the large frosted glass cabinet above the white subway tile backsplash. “Perci, do we have any loose leaf tea?”
“Miles hoards some in the library,” Perci replies.“I heard that,” a disembodied voice says from deep in the house.
“Can you bring me some?” I ask.
“What flavor?” he calls.
“Doesn’t matter.”
A few seconds later he’s dropping off a case of honey vanilla Earl Grey in a tin imported from England.
I wiggle my eyebrows. “Fancy.”
“What’s life without creature comforters?”
“British tea snob, that’s what you are,” Marcellus teases.
Miles sighs. “After all this time, you’re still barbaric.”
“Class can’t be taught, Miles. It’s okay if Marcellus is a bit savage. He can’t help it.” I wink as I set the kettle over a flame on the gas stove and pull down a teacup.
“What are you doing?” Larkin asks, appearing on my left. When he leans closer to see what I’m doing, I can smell his cologne, which reminds me of fresh rain.
“I want to read my tea leaves and check on something. I had an enlightening experience today when I came into contact with a powerful set of Runes.”
“That’s why we’re calling a meeting?” Larkin guesses, his expression curious.
“Mmm hmm. I want us to all be on the same page.”
When the kettle blows, I make a cup of tea and carry it upstairs. I’m sipping slowly on the hot liquid in my favorite rose petal pink chair when Fel emerges.
The black dress with a bright floral design has become more of a maxi on her shorter frame. The princess style bodice accentuates the swell of her breasts before it flows down to the floor.
“You look good.”
“I need to raid your closet more often.”
I laugh. “Have at it. Gil will love you for it. He makes puppy dog eyes every time I leave the room in jeans and a T-shirt. Never mind that dresses and heels do not an investigator make.”
She laughs. “Throw him a bone and wear some of these pants and blouses.”
“He’s going to eat you up.”
She sits across from me on a matching colored chaise lounge at the end of the bed across from me “Are you going to do a reading?”. she asks, looking at the leaves in the tea.
“Yes, I want to see if we’ve already changed our future.”
“You want to tell me why Percival looked like he saw a ghost?”
I bite my lip. “Hypothetically, he and Mémé might have had a thing back in the day before gran-père.”
Her expression is one of surprise. “What?” she exclaims, followed by a small snort.
I chuckle. “Yeah. You think you’re shocked.”
“Is he … a newer vamp.”
“Oh no. He was a vamp
ire then, too.”
“Whaaaat?” Her mouth drops open and her eyes look like they’re going to bug out of her head.
“Yeah, Mémé is a low key gangster, dude. I’m sure there’s plenty of other things we don’t know about.”
“You think you know a person …” she mutters, shaking her head.
“No, we forget that she was young once. Who we see now has been shaped and molded by years of experiences, decisions, and knowledge. It gives me hope for our future. She made mistakes the same as we did.”
“Did she call him a mistake?”
I shake my head. “A missed opportunity, actually.”
“Wow.”
“He came back after Grand-père died, asking for another chance.”
“Do you think he still loves her?” she whispers.
“Well, I haven’t asked him if that’s what you mean, but I can tell he still cares.” I wonder if they’ll be drawn to each other. I wouldn’t be opposed to the match.
“What?” Her brows come closer together.
“Nothing.” I focus on my question as I drain the last of the tea. Here we go. After turning the teacup carefully to distribute the liquid, I place it on the napkin I laid down on the saucer and wait for everything to drain. What does our future look like now? My hands shake slightly as I turn the cup over. The C that sticks out reminds me of the ring on my finger. Cristobal. The Court. It’s closest to the handle representing now. I slowly rotate the cup and narrow my gaze as I focus in on a small cluster of leaves. The sun, success, a new beginning. We at least have a chance. I breathe easier as I continue to gaze into the porcelain depths my future clings to. A wheel appears in the near future. Inevitable change, progress. Next to it is a chain. There’s going to be a series of events that lead to change. But will it be for the better? A wine glass and a dot in the center of a curved line makes my heart beat faster. It’s going to happen during a celebration that has to do with the moon. It all comes back to the equinox. The large cross makes me sick to my stomach. Death. I set the cup down.
“Well?”
“It’s going to be a rough ride to the equinox.”
“It makes sense. A lot of power can be gained during that time.”
Sighing, I push the saucer away. “My turn to shower.”
“I’ll be here, pretending this is my life.” She tosses herself onto my bed and turns on the flat screen television on the wall.
The water washes away the grime and eases sore muscles, but it does nothing to calm or relax me. The stakes are high, and we’re still going into this thing blind. We need to even the odds. The witch has been one step ahead of us this entire time. We’re like lambs being lead to slaughter, and unless we break the pattern, it might be our blood spilled. Pressure is a vice squeezing down, pressing me into the ground.
Cold fingers of dread and despair embed themselves in my heart. Resting my head against the tile, I close my eyes against the tears. How could you ever be fit to rule? You can’t outsmart a witch. The family will fall into ruin, and the Cortez court will burn. I shiver as I’m flooded with images of death and destruction. I see Fel on the ground, bleeding out from the smile carved into her neck. I see Larkin, Miles, and Percival at my feet, bodies at odd angles with their throats ripped out. A few feet away, Rene has been disemboweled. Lower intestines and blood color the grass an ungainly black cherry red. His eyes are glazed over and unseeing. No. Everywhere I look there’s death. My eyes fall onto Cristobal run through with a stake and displayed like some gross reenactment of Vlad the Impaler’s reign. I shove my fist into my mouth to keep the screams inside where they belong. This isn’t right.
“You can’t save them.” Cloaked in shadow, the woman is dressed from head to toe in a flowing black gown. An old mourning veil hides her facial features, and her voice is distorted.
I ball my fists. “If you believed that you wouldn’t hide your face.”
“Nothing I’ve said is untrue. I’m going to kill everyone while you watch.”
“No.” Green crackles on my fingertips. Her eyes widen. She didn’t expect me to have an effect on my environment. She’s going to try and run. I anticipate her move and dash forward, gripping the tail end of her veil. It stays as she continues forward, and I clutch it tight as I’m kicked out of the enchantment.
I blink and find myself back in the bathroom clutching a strip of lace. Finally, we have a break in this case. The water is cold. I turn off the water as my teeth chatter. Warmth spreads through me. Cristobal’s home. I dry off quickly and dress in black slacks, and a black button down blouse with sheer lace overlays on the shoulders and a bow tie front. I’m running low on my usual casual wear. Between work and investigations, I’ve had little time to laundry. Opening the door, I find Cristobal standing with his arms behind his back as he talks to Fel.
“Louella.”
I rush to him and jump in his arms. He’s solid, safe, and strong. I need his steadiness to rinse the vision of him dead out of my mind. He cups the back of my head. I pull back, take his face in my hand, and attack his soft lips, drowning myself in the feel and flavor of him. His tongue matches mine stroke for stroke. I moan as I sag against him. My body lights from the inside out, and only the need for oxygen pulls me away. Breathing heavily, I study his face. He’s here whole and alive.
He lifts his eyebrows. “What happened?
“We finally got that break we’ve been looking for.”
“Then why do you look like you’ve been through hell and back.” His accent peeks through.
“Because I was.” A life where this man no longer exists is my worst fears realized. Denying that is useless and petty. I cup his face with my hand and run my thumb over his thick eyebrow. Lying to one’s self is a weakness. I can’t afford to have those right now.
“Why don’t I give you a minute? I think I can handle the boys downstairs until you get there,” Fel says, slipping out of the room.
“I can’t lose you.”
His eyes widen. “Dove?”
I close my eyes and continue to force words around the lump in my throat.
“I ran away and stopped using magic, and it couldn’t kill what’s between us. I denied it, examined it, questioned it, and my heart still beats in time with yours. Your arms are the place I feel safest, and yours is the name I call out when I need help because I know you’re going to come for me every time. I’m done running. I want this, us, and I’m willing to fight for it.”
“You don’t have to fight for what’s rightfully yours, Louella.” He places my hand over his heart. “You had this long silent organ the moment you walked into that graveyard and spoke to me with the voice of an angel. The minute you cast your first spell I felt it down to my soul. I left that night and broke off my dalliances with other women, and had Percival, Miles, and Gil coach me on how to treat a woman. Even then, I knew I wasn’t worthy of you.” He smiles. “You became my obsession. The one thing I needed to actually work to have. Because of you, I’m a better man. You are the reason I reconnected with my humanity. Everything you see now, you helped build. You were gone physically, but you’ve been haunting me like a ghost for years.” He nuzzles my neck, and I feel something tighten low in my belly. “I can’t say or do everything I want to do to you tonight. We have people counting on us, and responsibilities to fulfill. But when this is over …” He nips his way down my neck, pausing to trace my collarbone with his tongue. I tug his hair, and he growls. His fangs graze my skin. I hold my breath. Anticipation has me shaky-kneed, and short of breath.
He straightens, turns me around, and pulls my body flush to his, placing his large hand on my stomach. “We’re going to take a trip. No phones, distractions, excuses, or clothing.”
“Yes.”
He kisses my temple. “Soon.”
I bite my bottom lip and groan. How the hell am I supposed to concentrate after that?
> Wrapping an arm around my waist, he pulls me to his side. “Are you ready to tell me what happened now?”
“I have something that belongs to the witch.” I grin as I step away from him and grab the scrap of lace. “I’ll explain everything once we’re downstairs. Tonight we’ll be the ones tracking her.”
Ten minutes later, we’re all in the library around a large table surrounded by chairs, like a library in an ivy league college
“I don’t understand. How could you bring something back from a dream?” Ruby asks.
“Not a dream, an in-between place,” Ada corrects.
“Exactly.” I narrow my gaze once more. Questions tingle on my tongue.
“How can we use this against her?” Cristobal asks from where he sits in the gold-colored wingback chair.
“We can track it. We don’t know who she is, but this will tell us where she is or was last. She must know we’ll be after her,” Fel adds. It does not escape my attention that Rene is next to her … and Percival is on the other side of her.
She’s really workin’ that dress.
“Then we should get started. We’ll need four candles, a bowl, salt, and a map.”
Ten minutes later, we’re in the study with a map of Louisiana rolled out onto the table, and four candles placed at north, east, south, and west.
“Are you ready?” I ask Fel.
“I am.” We hold hands over the map, clutching the piece of material. I share my image from the in-between place and we focus everything we have on locating her. The smell of sulfur fills the air. I can feel the heat of the fire. We glance down and watch as fire eats away at the map until only one small portion remains. It burns out, and we lower our arms.
“I think it worked,” Fel whispers.
We bend down and see the area just outside of the area where the Black Well is located.
“That’s forested area. How can we pinpoint further?” Fel says.
“A pendulum, maybe.” I frown. “It still seems broad, but it’s better than nothing.”
“True.”
I feel the others hovering outside of view in the hallway. “You can come in,” I say, rolling my eyes. Living with those who possess bionic hearing has its annoying moments.