Till Demon Do Us Part (Paranormal Wedding Planners Book 6)

by Jones, AE

Andrew frowned. “I was going to tell you about it, but then you were hurt.”

  Something wriggled around in McHenry’s head. A wisp of a memory. He concentrated for a moment, but nothing came to the surface.

  “Don’t worry about cleanin’, Andrew. We’ll start working again tomorrow.”

  Andrew opened his mouth as if to argue, but McHenry lightly wrapped his hand around the back of his nephew’s neck and looked down at him. “Go on, son. Spend some time with Jamie. I think he’s with Tim and Charlie, lookin’ through the books.”

  McHenry watched him leave. Then he stared at the wall, the jagged shards of metal sticking out at different angles. He shuddered. Thank the Fates Andrew hadn’t been hurt.

  Darcinda stepped into the doorway and gave him a long look. She had this way of getting too close even when she was across the room. “Are you okay?”

  “Aye.” He cleared his throat. “When we were in here before, I really didn’t get a chance to look at the damage.”

  “You were too busy second-guessing what I was doing.”

  She was a cheeky one. “You were castin’ spells in my workshop.”

  “I was. And I can understand you being upset, since this is your space and your magic. I probably should have asked permission first.”

  Interesting. He hadn’t been expecting that response. “Why didn’t you?”

  She rested a hand on her hip. “Because you would have said no, of course.”

  “And you did it anyway.”

  “Yes. I will do anything for my patients. It’s my healer’s prerogative.”

  “Well, that’s a load of bull if I’ve ever heard it.”

  Her eyes tightened on him, and her other hand landed on the opposite hip.

  He held up his hands. “Now before you singe my arse, let me clarify. I know you’re a good healer. I’m not callin’ you on that. But you castin’ the spell in my workshop was because you can’t stay out of people’s business.”

  “I knew something wasn’t right about your and Andrew’s memories of what happened. So I was helping you and the team, and we figured out that you’d been attacked, that it wasn’t your fault, or Andrew’s. If I hadn’t cast the spell, you and Andrew would still be blaming yourselves for what you thought happened, you stubborn mule.”

  He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I’ve been called worse.”

  Her eyes sparkled. “I bet you have.”

  “And you’re right. You got us closer to the truth. So thanks. And I also need to thank you for somethin’ else.”

  She tilted her head slightly. “What?”

  “I overheard you and Jamie earlier in the kitchen. What I’ve been saying hasn’t been getting through to him. When you first agreed with him about being at fault, I almost charged into the room.”

  A grin quirked her mouth. “I just bet you did.”

  “But then you made him think through things. Maybe he’ll stop blamin’ himself.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. It seems to be a trait shared by the males in your family.”

  Cheeky, cheeky lass. “True.”

  And there she was, staring up at him with those eyes. Hells. He looked away from her at the jagged metal pieces.

  “Does seeing the damage bring back any memories?” she asked.

  “It’s bringin’ back memories, all right, but not ones I care to relive.”

  “I don’t blame you. Your pain is not something I like to remember either.”

  He looked down at her again. She was a puzzle. And her words warmed him. She was a damn fine healer who could and would empathize with her patients’ pain. He would do best to remember that.

  “Why don’t you turn around and let me see your back.”

  “It’s fine. The scars are fading.”

  Her eyebrows rose and he turned around, unbuttoning his flannel shirt and pulling it from his jeans.

  He jerked slightly when she touched him, pushing the loose fabric up. He could feel her breath on his back and he froze.

  “Does something hurt?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “It’s looking much better.” She lowered his shirt.

  He turned to face her and rebuttoned it. “Thanks.”

  She paused before responding. “Hopefully I can figure out how to bring your memories back so we can catch whoever did this.”

  “You keep exercisin’ your healer’s prerogative, don’t you?”

  “Yep. You better get used to it.”

  She smiled up at him and her look punched him in the gut. What was it about her? Hells. He couldn’t afford to fall under her spell.

  He had to remember she was a faerie, and that meant trouble.

  Why does a good spell have to taste so bad?

  Chapter 8

  McHenry sucked in a deep breath. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Would he ever feel normal again? Not knowing who attacked him and why was nerve-racking. If he were on his own, he would face whoever it was when they came for him again. But he had to protect his nephews. And to do that, he needed help.

  And he was not used to asking for help.

  But he would do anything for those boys—men , he reminded himself. Good men. Who deserved a rich and fulfilling life. More than he was ever allowed. But when he took Andrew and Jamie in, he’d realized that raising them was his chance at happiness. A happiness that he’d never expected to have.

  Now he needed to figure out who wanted him dead. Hopefully the team would come up with something.

  Devin had left for the day. He was reporting to the Tribunal about what had happened and also spending time with his family. Knowing Alex, she would show up here with JT soon if she wasn’t given an update. Hells, even though he needed help, he couldn’t expect the team to stay here indefinitely.

  Charlie and Tim had gone into the Burrow to ask more questions of the people living there. Connor and Jack hadn’t learned much yesterday when they talked to people, so he wasn’t sure what questions Charlie and Tim would ask today, since they had little to nothing to go on.

  That left the werewolf twins here as his watchdogs, pun intended. And the faerie was still here. He really should have booted her out already, except she was still working on a way to reverse the memory spell.

  He’d watched her working on the spell for the past day. When she concentrated, little frown lines gathered between her eyes. Today she stood at the kitchen counter reading from a book and mumbling to herself. She wore sweatpants that were too big for her and a T-shirt that hung on her, so she’d tied the loose material into a knot at the side, and her blue hair was gathered in a messy bun on top of her head.

  He couldn’t stifle a grin.

  She looked up at him. “I can’t believe it. You’re smiling. Why?”

  “What are you wearin’?”

  She looked down at herself. “Jamie loaned me some of his clothes. He’s the smallest of you behemoths. Three days in Dalmatian pants was too much for even me to bear.”

  He couldn’t expect her to stay here indefinitely, either. “You can head for home. I’m fine now.”

  She shook her head. “Not getting rid of me yet. I need to figure out how to reverse the spell.”

  “If anyone can figure it out, you can,” he said before he could stop himself.

  “That sounded suspiciously like a compliment.”

  His face heated. Damnation. He was not a blusher. Hopefully his beard covered it up. “You’re powerful, faerie. That’s just a fact.”

  She set her hand on her hip. “Instead of faerie and demon, how about we talk like civilized folk and use our names. Mine is Darcinda. Go ahead and try it. Dar-cin-da. ”

  McHenry crossed his arms and didn’t respond. There went that cheek again.

  She sighed before mirroring his stance. “And what should I call you?”

  He thought of several answers, but held his tongue. He was just now feeling better, and didn’t need to have her lobbin’ a spell at him. “McHenry.”

 
“No first name?”

  “None that I’ll be sharin’.”

  She drew her lips into a tight line.

  He held up his hands to ward off an incoming spell. “I go by McHenry. No one calls me by my first name.”

  She stared at him for a drawn-out moment that bordered on uncomfortable. What was it about her?

  “How is the spell goin’?” he asked.

  “I’m ready to try something.”

  “Excellent.”

  She dumped powder into a bowl and sparks flew up from it. Then she held her hands over the bowl and chanted under her breath.

  The ingredients began to spin around in the bowl, faster and faster, until they gathered into a small cyclone. The cyclone lifted up and split, tunneling into two separate bottles of liquid on the table, whirling around until the liquid turned purple.

  She picked up one and held it out to him. “You need to drink this.”

  He held it in his hand and stared at it for a moment. “You’re not goin’ to accidentally turn me into a toad, are you?”

  Her eyes danced. “No. If I turned you into a toad, it wouldn’t be an accident.”

  He brought it to his lips but hesitated. “Fast or slow?”

  “I don’t think it’s going to taste very good.”

  “Duly noted. Let’s do this, faer—Darci.”

  She smirked at his shortening her name. Why he wanted to poke at her, he didn’t know.

  McHenry drained the small bottle in one large gulp, cringing at the metallic flavor coating his mouth. He cleared his throat before shaking his head as if that would get rid of the taste. “Now what?”

  “We wait and see. This isn’t an immediate fix. The spell will make the memories come back to you if we can find some sort of trigger.”

  “And where do we find this trigger?”

  “We start in your workshop. But first I want to have Andrew take this as well.”

  “He’s outside with Jamie, takin’ care of the animals.”

  “I noticed the pens at the side of the house when we first arrived.”

  McHenry nodded. “Even as a small boy, Jamie was always bringin’ injured strays home from the forest. He would nurse them back to health.”

  She smiled. “I bet you played a part in convincing him to let them go again.”

  Smart female. “Yes, it was a struggle sometimes, but wild animals need to be set free.”

  “And what is he taking care of now?”

  He scratched his chin. “Last year we built pens for a mini goat and a rabbit that stay here full-time. And if he finds any strays that need mendin’, we have some extra pens for them as well.”

  “That was smart thinking.”

  “I’m not followin’ you.”

  “After what happened to him last year, giving him something to take care of is helping him heal.”

  McHenry’s stomach twisted. “He’s doing better, but it’s been a year.”

  “I know you want him to be whole again, but it’s going to take time, McHenry. Think about how you feel right now after having your memories changed. Angry, powerless. With Jamie, someone controlled him. Made him do things he would never do. That is not something you simply forget. But you’re definitely helping.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because he told me you’re like a father to him. A much better father than his biological one.”

  McHenry’s chest tightened and he nodded, since he couldn’t get any words out.

  She gazed at him for another uncomfortable moment. “Let’s go find Andrew and try reversing the spell.”

  He took a breath as they headed outside. Thankfully she had dropped the subject. McHenry didn’t want to show how much her comments about Jamie meant to him. Why did the faerie—Darcinda —have to be so damn nice?

  They walked out onto the porch and around the side of the house. The twins stood with Andrew and Jamie as Matilda, the goat, hopped around in the center of their makeshift circle.

  “This is how you entertain yourselves?” McHenry asked.

  “Absolutely,” Connor said. “Matilda is a hoot.”

  “Andrew, Darcinda created a spell to help with our memories.”

  Darcinda held up the bottle to Andrew, who looked at it with a puckered face, like it was poison.

  “Go on, son. It won’t hurt you. I took it already.”

  Andrew took the bottle and drank it down before coughing. “That is nasty. Now what?”

  Darcinda grinned. “You’re as impatient as your uncle. Let’s go to the workshop.”

  When they all started to head toward the workshop, including the goat, Darcinda held up her hand, stopping the parade. “I don’t think McHenry and Andrew need an audience right now. Why don’t you guys”—she looked down at the goat—“and Matilda wait outside.”

  Jamie looked at McHenry. “I’ll go put Matilda away.”

  McHenry went inside first, followed by Darcinda and Andrew.

  “Now what?” McHenry asked.

  “Now we talk about the day you were hurt. Do you remember anything before the attack?”

  He and Andrew both shook their heads.

  “Let’s do it this way.” She walked over to the anvil where his hammer sat. “Was someone working here?”

  McHenry looked down at his workstation. “Aye. That’s my station. Since my hammer is there, I must have been.” A flash of metal appeared in his mind. “I was workin’ on a new piece of metal.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Long and thin. I remember pullin’ it out of the fire.”

  “Were you working on an order for someone?” Darcinda asked.

  “No, it wasn’t for anyone in particular. I was lettin’ the metal decide what it wanted to be.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “What do you mean?”

  “I let the metal and fire speak to me. They let me know what to make.”

  “Interesting,” she said as she looked at him.

  Interesting? What did that mean? He felt his cheeks heat again—damnation.

  “And what did it want to be?”

  He watched her expression to see if she was mocking him, but her serious but curious expression told him she wasn’t.

  “Some sort of decorative piece.” A thought floated into his mind. “A present for Jack and Julia.”

  She smiled and he almost lost his train of thought.

  “Was Andrew helping you?”

  McHenry looked at his nephew, and they shook their heads at the same time. “He wasn’t here.” How was that possible?

  Andrew paced over to the door and back again. “I came in while he was working.”

  “Did you start working on something?”

  “No. I wanted to talk to Mac.” He frowned. “I don’t remember why.”

  McHenry looked at the open doorway. “You were upset.”

  Before Andrew could respond, a woman’s voice called out from outside.

  “Andrew!”

  McHenry held up his hand. “Wait here until I can find out what’s goin’ on.”

  He went outside as a young woman dashed into the courtyard and ran up to him. Connor, Jack, and Jamie joined them as well.

  “Is Andrew okay?” she sputtered between gasps of air.

  “He’s fine.”

  “Where is—” She stopped talking when Andrew came outside, bursting into tears and racing up to throw her arms around him.

  Andrew held the sobbing woman away from him. “Selina? What are you doing here?”

  She wiped her eyes. “What am I doing here? I heard there’d been an accident, and I had to make sure you’re okay.” She grabbed Andrew’s hands. “Even though my father told me your uncle forbade you to see me, I had to come check on you.”

  How could he have forbidden Andrew from seeing her? He didn’t even know her. Was this the girl Andrew had mentioned to him? A sharp pain pierced McHenry’s brain over his right eye. Where had he heard her name before?

  Andrew scowled. “What are you talking abo
ut? You’re the one who broke up with me.”

  Selina straightened and blinked at him. “No I didn’t!”

  More pain pierced McHenry’s skull, and he slapped his hand to his temple, as if that would stop the pain. After an agonizing moment, his memories came back to him like he was watching an old-time movie. Standing in the workshop, listening to his nephew tell him he had fallen in love.

  With the demon king’s daughter.

  Damnation.

  “Are you okay?” Darcinda asked.

  He didn’t have time to explain. “Selina, where is your father?”

  She looked away from him, and her reaction had his nerves dancing along his spine.

  “Lass?”

  “He was in a meeting with his council. I…ran off when I heard Andrew might be hurt.”

  McHenry looked at his nephew, whose scowl told him he remembered everything now too.

  “Everyone needs to get in the house.”

  “What the hell is going on, McHenry?” Connor growled as he and his brother flanked either side of him.

  “I’ll explain, but we shouldn’t be caught out in the open.”

  Thankfully the twins didn’t argue with him as they ushered Jamie, Andrew, and Selina into the house. Darcinda looked at him before he held up his hand and beckoned for her to follow them.

  McHenry closed the door and turned to the group standing before him.

  “What’s going on?” the twins both blurted before he could gather his wits.

  Selina had backed away from the group and wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s what I want to know.” She turned to Andrew. “Why did you say I broke up with you?”

  “Because that’s what I remembered had happened. Until a couple minutes ago.”

  Darcinda spoke up. “The memory spell.”

  “I don’t understand,” Selina said.

  Andrew took a step toward her. “My memory was changed. I thought you broke up with me. And I remember coming back here after you dumped me and working with Mac in the workshop. And up to now I thought I wasn’t paying attention to what he was teaching me, and the spell went haywire and there was an explosion.”

  “Andrew.” McHenry put a calming hand on his nephew’s shoulder.

  Andrew took a deep breath. “Did you tell your dad about us?”