I checked the screen. My mom’s face flashed a smile at me with her given name written across the screen, Wilhelmina Silverton, Helmina for short. I didn’t label her as “Mom” in my contacts list, just in case some psycho monster compromised my phone. All my angst flooded away, and I answered her call. “Hey. How’s the weather on Cape Cod?”
“Gorgeous. How’s my girl? Any luck with the mermaid?”
I reached over and rubbed Max’s head. “Well, yes and no. She’s not going to be sinking any more boats.”
“So you turned her over to the HWB. What was her story, anyway?”
“Some man did her wrong. Imagine that. And we didn’t exactly get a chance to turn her in.” I sighed. “All that was left of her was a tail fin. Atlantis blasted her to kingdom come when she tried to use it against me.”
“Wait! How did she get hold of your trident? Never mind. I don’t want to know the details. I worry about you when you’re out on these assignments.”
“I’m totally fine, Mom, but I almost lost Max today. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s acting all weird.”
“Weird how?” Curiosity filled her voice.
“Overprotective. He jumped right in the water to save me.”
“You know as well as I do that familiars protect their people. Why would you take him out on the water with you?”
“I always take him along on assignment.”
“Out on the ocean?” Her voice raised an octave. Mom’s question had me questioning my own sanity.
I looked over at Max. He had his back leg raised, cleaning sand out of his private parts. I swore he grinned at me. “It’s not like he’d take no for an answer, anyway. Maybe it’s time I take him to the vet to get fixed?”
Max growled, low and disapproving. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe he’s getting ready to shift? Did you think about that?” Mom’s voice sent my imagination into overdrive.
Honestly, I had. We’d always known Max had the potential to shift to another form, but other than speaking, he’d never displayed the characteristic behaviors of shifters. “All of Miss Daisy’s kittens, the ones who’ve shifted, were younger than Max at the time, right?”
Mom and Miss Daisy had been supplying cat shifters to the Hunters’ Watch Brigade for years now, ever since I was a little kid. It was her way of giving back to the organization for all the good they’d done in our lives.
“Yeah, they were younger than him. And Shade was always glad to have them join the brigade,” Mom said. “It was the least we could do for Shade, after he took you under his wing at such an early age. I figured that when Max didn’t shift, our spell had obviously failed.”
“Well, there’s the talking thing, so part of the spell worked.”
“And he reads, so there’s that. Look, Max is your best friend. If he shifts, he’ll be drafted into the organization, and then there’s that nasty business about the curse. Maybe he prefers to stay with you, hon.” Mom sighed. “It’s not an exact science yet, you know.”
I adjusted myself in my seat, and rolled down the Jeep window. A cool sea breeze floated into the vehicle. “He never really talks about it. He gets plenty of monster-hunting action by my side. Hell, Shade should deputize him anyway.” Sure, we’d kinda mucked up the mermaid hunt this morning, but two weeks before, we’d dealt with a fairy uprising at the Jameson factories in Dublin, Ireland. Without his quick thinking, there would have been a disaster. “Max is an awesome sidekick.”
I turned my attention back to Mom. “How’s P-Town?” I’d grown up on the tip of Cape Cod in a farmhouse my mother owned in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She still had our house which sat right on the beach. I suddenly longed to be back home.
“Fall is upon us, and the landscape is blazing with color. Your sister and I miss you.”
I winced. “You know she doesn’t approve of me.”
“That’s not true. Cyn loves you.” Cynthia was four years older than me. Mom had adopted Cyn while she was pregnant with me. She had been orphaned by a witch in Mom’s coven, and Mom wanted me to have a sister. I guess she knew then that she’d never love anyone other than my father, so she adopted my older sister. To say Cyn and I had issues was the understatement of the century.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right, Mom. Cyn would love it if I fit into her neat little definition of what it means to be part of our family.”
“You are a part of this family, and don’t you ever forget it.”
Ever since Cyn had found out about my father’s identity, she’d resented me. And she’d made it her mission to make my life a living hell. “When you signed me up for the HWB, she went bat-shit crazy. She has a very narrow description of how to be a good witch.”
“Just because the two of you are different, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you, Sam.”
Different? Yeah. We were different all right. Cyn was a witch. I was a demigod. Trying to convince my mother the reasons why we didn’t get along was an exercise in futility.
I sighed. “Well, we’re finished with this assignment. I still have to talk to Shade about what went down with the mermaid, but maybe I can come home for Halloween, if you promise me it won’t start World War III.”
She laughed. “I’ll make sure Cyn is on her best behavior. Everyone’s asking if you’ll be coming home for the festival of Samhain.”
Most people celebrate Halloween. My family, however, favored the more pagan holiday of Samhain, which started every year at midnight on October 31. You got that when you belonged to a group of practicing witches.
“They want information, too, like have you met anyone down there?” Her probing voice was full of mischief.
“Oh, good grief,” I said. Here we go.
“Dating one of those fine handsome colleagues you always go on and on about?”
“You know supernaturals don’t mix.” What I meant to say was that all men leave, no matter their origin. I gripped the Jeep’s steering wheel, wanting to talk about anything but this.
I’d go to the grave before I told my mother about the last handsome hunter I’d dated. What an asshole—married and lying about it. I’d never have gone out with him if he’d been wearing a ring. That was false advertising as far as I was concerned, the rat bastard. Max had been the one who discovered he had a wife, and I immediately broke it off. “Nope. Just hanging out.”
I reached over and stroked Max’s head. He fired up his purr and nuzzled my hand with his cold pink nose. He’d always been my eyes and my ears, exposing the world for what it really was.
“I want you to find a partner someday. Settle down. Think about babies,” Mom said. “You’re going to make someone a wonderful mother one day, and if you get started sooner rather than later, maybe I’ll get to play grandmother. I don’t like you being alone all the time.”
Good Lord. “I have the cat for company. He travels well. I’m totally good for now.”
“Just because things are a little weird between me and your father, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find someone. When I signed you up for the Hunters’ Watch Brigade, I didn’t mean for you never to have a life. Because you’re Poseidon’s daughter, I did it to protect you, not to stop you from ever finding your one true love.”
Yeah, like I’d sit around wasting my life by pining away over an unreliable man, the way she had. If I’d learned anything about relationships from my parents, it was just that—I’d never be like them.
“I have a life, Mom.” I’d worked for the HWB since I turned sixteen, and I’d trained with their agents for four additional years before they commissioned me. I was set. Monster-hunting was my thing. No one needed to worry about me. I didn’t need to add in the part where I loved my job.
“Well, how about taking some time out of your exciting life to come home and help me out this year? I
’m in charge of the Central Park Samhain Festival again this year, and I could really use some extra hands. It’s only three days away.”
A shiver of dread snuck up my spine. Going home for the festival would be cool, but I didn’t exactly love the idea of enduring all the family tension. “How many covens do you expect this year?”
“With Samhain falling on the full blue moon, we’re expecting nearly two hundred.” The magic of a second full moon in one month was significant. Blue moons didn’t come around that often, especially ones that coincided with Samhain.
Two hundred covens. Each coven could have as many as twenty witches in attendance. “Whoa, that’s a lot of witchcraft in New York City.”
“I know, and the logistics are a nightmare. Your sister’s agreed to help, but there’s been a little issue with funds this year. I was hoping to chat with you about that.”
I adjusted myself in the seat again. My mother never spoke to me about money problems, so this was weird. Gray clouds from the storm out on the water rolled in across the Gulf. Lightning flashed across the sky with a jagged white-hot bolt, and thunder followed, rolling through the atmosphere with fury. “An issue with funds? What’s wrong, Mom?”
She hesitated. “Nothing’s wrong.” Her pause made me sit up, ramrod straight.
Another snare of lightning snaked through the sky. I needed to drive back up the highway to Shark Key before the deluge started, but I didn’t want to cut our call short. “Don’t lie. You can tell me anything.”
“There’s hardly anything to tell . . .”
She was stalling, and I didn’t like it. I tapped my index finger against the steering wheel. “Someone in trouble?”
Finally she sighed. “More like someone’s causing trouble.”
Now we were getting somewhere. I narrowed my eyes. “Who’s causing trouble?”
“I received an anonymous report that Francesca Rosencratz has abducted a witch’s familiar and is holding him for ransom.”
“She did what . . .?”
To say that Francesca Rosencratz and Wilhelmina Silverton had history together would be the understatement of the century.
When they were younger, Mom and her best friend from high school, Francesca Rosencratz, had both fallen in love with the same guy. The guy chose Mom, and Rosencratz went psycho. Sure, it seemed a little over the top for two girls who were supposedly BFFs, but hey, the heart wants what it wants, right? “She’s dangerous, Mom. I don’t like this.”
“Francesca had delusions of grandeur even back then.”
“You told me she wanted to be a goddess.”
“She coveted power, and she got this crazy notion that if she used dark witchcraft to spell Poseidon, it would lure him to her. She thought she’d live happily ever after in the luxury of a Greek god’s temple.”
“But you stopped her, right? Because your magic is stronger than hers.”
“It infuriated me, Sam. When her spell actually worked, and he came to her, I felt bad for him. I broke her spell with a counterspell. She’s never forgiven me for messing up her plan.”
When Dad found out how Mom had stopped Rosencratz from trapping him, he fell in love with her instead.
“Or for stealing her guy. Even more reason for you to stay the hell away from her. Does my father know about this new development?”
“I haven’t spoken to him about it. I’m going to New York to find out if the accusations against Francesca are true.”
“Wait. No. Don’t you go anywhere near her, Mom.” My belly rolled like a fast-moving riptide current at sea. More lightning snaked across the darkening sky.
Max hissed, reflecting my mood. If that witch reared her ugly head, my mother could be in serious trouble. “I mean it, Mom. Stay away from her.”
“I will. I will. I’m just going to see if I can recover the familiar, to see if there’s any merit to the accusation.”
“Why does it have to be you?”
“The money earmarked for the Samhain celebration has been diverted to pay the ransom for the witch’s familiar. I’m responsible for oversight of the coven’s finances. I have to go.”
“Have you notified Shade? This isn’t something I’m comfortable with you doing, do you hear me?”
“Just get here soon so I can hug you tight. And bring Max with you. Miss Daisy has been asking about him,” she said.
Miss Daisy was my mother’s calico cat, her familiar, and Max’s mom. One good reason for us to go home for a visit was so that Max could visit with Miss Daisy. They loved each other something fierce, and it was hard on him to spend so much time away from her.
Miss Daisy had been my mother’s familiar for some thirty-odd years now, but because of Miss Daisy’s magic, she was still spry as a kitten.
I tried to be sensible about the situation. A lecture from me, two thousand miles away, wouldn’t help either of us. “Okay. I’ll tell Shade I have to come home to help you with the festival. I’ll leave tomorrow, and I’ll drive so I can bring the cat.”
“I’m so excited, Sam. We’ll spend our days walking along the beach, collecting shells at low tide in the bay, and watching for waterspouts. I’ll arrange a big bonfire on the beach.”
“Can we do oysters and beer?” I closed my eyes and mentally hugged the phone. I missed my mom so much sometimes, it hurt. Working for the Hunters’ Watch had kept us away from each other for far too long. The thought of her having to deal with a crazy ex-coven member made me swallow hard against a lump forming in my throat. Families could be complicated, and mine was a prizewinner when it came to complications.
“We’ll do all your favorites, I promise,” she said. “And the event on the Great Lawn in Central Park will be amazing because you’ll be with us. I can’t wait.”
“I love you,” I said, my throat aching with thick emotion. “Please be careful.”
“Don’t go getting all sappy on me now. I’ve flown my proverbial broom around the block a time or two, you know. But, Sam . . .?” Static crackled through the air with the approaching storm. Her voice cut in and out, and I yearned to hear it clearly.
“Yeah? Mom?”
“I love you too, Sam. Get home as soon as you can.” With another bolt of lightning, the call failed, and I lost her.
“Damn.” I loved Mom so damn much. If Francesca Rosencratz came anywhere near her, I’d gladly spear her through the heart with Atlantis.
No doubts. No hesitation. No reservations.
Rosencratz was nothing but trouble.
Chapter 3
Sam
“HOW ABOUT WE go snuggle on the couch in front of a fire while I check my email?” I asked, after we’d showered and eaten.
The house Shade had rented for us on Shark Key belonged to a billionaire, and we were right in the lap of luxury on this mission. It had an outdoor Jacuzzi and in-ground pool complete with a waterfall. Colorful hibiscus and bird-of-paradise bushes grew everywhere. It even came with a small Boston Whaler skiff we’d used to track down intel on the mermaid’s shenanigans. It was gonna be hard to leave this island paradise behind.
“Seriously ready for a nap,” Max replied, yawning. “Rough day, to say the least.”
With our bellies full of the fresh tuna steaks I’d bought on the way home, we retired to the living room where I lit a fire in the mansion’s rarely used contemporary slate and marble fireplace.
I poured myself a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey over ice, and sipped on the mellow cocktail. I found a cozy blanket, and we curled up together on the couch.
I checked my email while Max stretched out his big warm body against my thigh and dozed. When I absentmindedly stroked his fur, he turned on his back so I could rub his tummy. He purred louder when I touched him, and the comforting sound settled my frazzled nerves.
God, I loved him so much
, my cuddly little best friend. Everyone should have a cat like Max. A snuggle bug who loved me despite all my faults. Too bad I couldn’t date my cat.
The wind, however, howled outside. Thunder boomed after each bolt of lightning, and I wondered where the storm had come from. “Man. It’s really grumbling out there. Key West never gets much rain, so I guess a storm would be good for them.”
“Maybe your father found out about the mermaid trying to kill you,” Max murmured. “Maybe he’s causing all the thunderboomers tonight?”
“Yeah. Maybe so?” I mused. “Dad’s never been fond of mermaids.” How was I going to explain all this to Shade? He’d just have to understand. The mermaid went crazy because her lover betrayed her. Simple as that.
But the most important thing I wanted to address with the head of the Hunters’ Watch Brigade was getting a security detail on my mother. The thought that Francesca Rosencratz had reared her head to fuck with my mom after all this time sent ice water through my veins.
If she was a threat to my mother, I wanted her neutralized.
Max stopped purring. He coiled his muscles tight, and leapt down from the couch. He stalked over to the door. “That damn mouse out in the garage is driving me insane, Sam.”
“I could put out a trap,” I offered. “We could stuff it with Vermont cheddar, and when we catch him, you could stuff a cherry in his mouth.”
“No need. I fancy catching this one myself. He’s gotten fat over the summer, and he’ll make a nice meal.”
I wrinkled up my nose in distaste, recalling the few times Max had brought me a mouse as a gift. I’d never found the guts to tell him how much I hated rodents. He’d been so proud of himself, and it had been sort of cute. It had been like he’d been showing me his spoils of war—like he thought I needed to learn how to stalk vermin to be a better monster-hunter. Hell, who knew? Maybe he thought he was helping me hone my hunting skills.
At least he hadn’t asked me to mount their little heads on plaques for his trophy wall back home.
Initiation Page 3