by Diane Darcy
“That’s no’ how it works with vampires.”
Lena raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“They take eternal vows very seriously,” he said, taking her clenched fists into his hands, and opening them, until they were holding hands, his thumbs moving soothingly over the backs of hers. “I doubt they would feel obligated tae honor one, as part of a deal. But the way that ye stuck up for her, took her part, and even went against yer own mate tae return something of great value tae her, inspired her tae offer ye such a vow.”
She looked up into William’s dark brown eyes and shook her head. “Okay, and this benefits you, how exactly?”
William leaned down for a kiss, and just before their lips met, he paused. “As much trouble as ye seem tae draw upon yourself, I suppose I can use all the help I can get.”
He closed the distance and kissed her, drawing her close and leaving her weak in the knees.
The mystery was solved, no one was out to kill them, and it looked like they finally had the time to resume their romance.
Ha! Maybe her dreams really were coming true.
Chapter 20
As often as she stayed out late, it had been fun to get up so early and drive out into the desert with her grandmother, mother, and sister.
Olivia had slept over the night before so they could all get up early and get out the door on time.
Las Vegas, always hopping, seemed gentler as they’d driven through the less crowded streets, past early-morning joggers, homeless people curled up and sleeping on sidewalks and against store fronts, and the rest of the waning nightlife.
They stopped for breakfast sandwiches and orange juice and then ate their breakfast as they’d driven down the road. Grandma put on some soft, New Age music, and the further into the desert they drove the more Lena was mesmerized.
The music, the cool desert air, the headlights lighting up the black pavement in front of them, calmed her.
Life had never been dull, but in recent weeks so much had happened, and the time to just sit in the car, be with her family, and listen to soft music as they’d traveled quietly down the road held a certain appeal.
They found the turnoff, saw the bonfire in the distance, and found a place to park at the side of the dirt road behind several other cars.
Stepping out into the chilly air, Lena’s excitement levels rose.
Down below, she could see women gathered in a loose circle around a fire, a strange formation of cacti, large and imposing stood like sentinels on the outskirts, giving the place an eerie, yet protected feel.
Women walked down dirt trails between sagebrush and cacti, and joined the others around the fire, all of them wearing black dresses, and some of them drinking out of cups. Coffee? Alcohol? Orange juice?
She hoped they weren’t going to strip naked and dance around the campfire. But if they did, would she join them?
Mom and Grandma led the way, and Olivia and Lena slowly followed down the nearest dirt trail.
“Seriously, Lena,” Olivia threw over her shoulder. “What are we doing here?”
“Experiencing new things?”
Olivia continued to grumble as they moved forward to join the circle of ladies.
The smell of sage, lavender, and sandalwood permeated the air.
Esmeralda, Ava, and Scarlett chatted with the others, and Lena could hear more cars pulling up, doors shutting, as others followed the trails leading through the desert.
Olivia stopped when they got to the edge of the crowd, and Lena stopped beside her. “Are you having fun yet?”
Mom and Grandma were already greeting the witches from the Hemlock, with hugs and air kisses.
Olivia made a grumpy noise, but even Lena could tell she wasn’t really upset. Scarlett caught their attention and gave a wave, just as Esmeralda lifted her arms and motioned toward the women, now about twenty-five or so in number.
“Ladies, ladies, gather around.”
Esmeralda really seemed to be in her element, flashing her Mona Lisa smile as she beckoned with her fingertips to the women outside of the circle.
When everyone had closed ranks around the fire, Mom and Grandma were to one side of the Hemlock witches, and Lena and Olivia the other.
Lena glanced around at the smiling faces. Old, young, short-haired, long-haired, the fire flickered against the expectant faces of the ladies in the circle.
Even Olivia looked intrigued.
“Behold!” Esmeralda extended a graceful hand, and they all looked at the distant horizon where the moon was just barely visible in the east.
“Dawn will arrive soon!” Esmeralda’s voice was light on the morning air.
Olivia leaned in close to whisper, “I can’t believe I let you talk me into getting out of bed early for this.”
Lena turned toward her sister and grinned.
“We gather in a circle to weave stronger magic together. Let no one be present unless they come with an open heart. We have a couple of new members to add to our coven today, and it’s particularly serendipitous as the old moon is about to rise representing wisdom, maturity, wholeness. The maiden, the mother, the crone, all symbolize the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.”
“Hey!” Grandma called out. “Did you just call me a crone?” There was laughter in the crowd and Esmeralda was smiling as she continued. “The power of our feminine energy is represented by the cycles of the moon. Birth, death, wisdom, intuition, connection. All are represented by the moon and like a seed, she flowers, blooms, and then withers and dies.”
Esmeralda glanced around at the ladies. “As we tune ourselves to the moon, and her innate power, and usher forth our own, behold!” She lifted a graceful hand toward the still rising moon, barely exposed, it’s crescents now gleaming brightly as the morning sun followed.
Murmurs swept through the crowd of women.
“We’d like to introduce you to the newest members of our coven. The matriarch of the Deville coven, Pandora Deville.”
Grandma raised a hand and waved.
“Her daughter, Madge DeVille, and her granddaughters, Olivia Jordan, and Lena Deville.”
Esmeralda gazed around at the other women in the circle. “Those born with the rising of the waning moon have a strong psychic side that represents such an occurrence. They are sandwiched between a reflective moon, and a new energy moon. And those born during this period have a strong psychic presence.”
She put an arm around Lena, and Lena stiffened. “I’d like to introduce you to Lena Deville, psychic extraordinaire, and newest member of our coven. She works at Pandora’s, at the caravan on Fremont Street, and now one day a week at the Hemlock Hotel. Born during the rising of the crescent moon, she has incredible gifts, and is a welcome addition.”
Esmeralda looked around the circle. “With the full moon upon us, in this place that is as close to a wooded area as we can get,” she paused as others laughed at that, “we know some of you have brought your own spells for healing, fertility, relationship issues, debt, and other life issues. Please step forward at this time and place your written concerns and spells in the fire and let us collectively add our feminine energy toward the solution.”
Many did so, stepping forward to throw pieces of paper into the flames. A few kissed the missives before casting them into the fire. Some called out what they wished for.
“Wisdom!”
“Luck!”
“Fertility!”
“Wealth!”
That one got a lot of laughter.
When they were finished, Esmeralda glanced around. “To all of the members of our coven, we wish you continued contentment, happiness, and success! Traditionally, it takes a year and a day, to become a witch, of course. But, there are born witches, and made ones, and this family falls into the category of born witches. We are lucky to have them.”
“It looks like you’re about to come out of the broom closet, Lena.” Olivia whispered in her ear.
Lena bit her lip to stifle a giggle.
>
There was clapping, and maybe it was just the heat from the bonfire, but she could feel herself blushing.
A whining in the distance had them all looking around.
“Oh, not again,” Scarlett was looking into the distance
“They never learn their lesson, do they?” Ava said.
As the sound grew closer, Lena realized it was a motorcycle, or, make that two. Headlights could be seen in the distance, coming toward their group, and a thread of laughter broke the solemn mood. She was sort of glad for the interruption.
As the headlights got closer and closer, Lena realized they were headed right for them.
Lena glanced around only to realize that Ava was grinning. “What’s going on?” she asked her.
“Not to worry, it’s just our favorite party crashers.”
“Crashers, being the operative word,” Scarlett drawled.
As the two motorcycles got closer, their engines getting louder, they arrived, and started circling the group, shouting obscenities. Lena could hear witches, hags, and other slurs peppered throughout.
“Ladies?”
Lena glanced around and realized most of the women were grinning, even as dust was kicked up from the circle the men were riding on the outskirts of their own.
“Wands raised.” Esmeralda yelled out.
Wands that she hadn’t even noticed before, were pulled out of dresses, bodices, sleeves, and pockets.
“We should have brought our Harry Potter ones,” Olivia said, and Ava snickered beside her.
“Remember, ladies, do no harm!”
There was a sudden surge of power, as both boys were knocked backward off their bikes, to roll among the dirt and sagebrush.
Hopefully, they picked up a few cactus quills along the way.
The boys yelled, scrambled, and soon regained possession of their bikes, and were riding them away, as if they’d been stung by hornets.
The ladies were laughing and congratulating themselves.
“Well, I’d say that’s enough excitement for one morning,” Esmeralda said.
“Again, we welcome our new sisters and we’ll see you next month, at the shop, where we will be discussing cauldrons, incense burning, and scrying.”
With a wave of her hand, Scarlett extinguished the fire.
“You’re really going to have to teach me to do that one of these days,” one of the ladies said, and the others started to laugh.
One by one, they wandered back up the trails, to their cars, and Esmeralda turned to the four of them. “What did you think?”
“It was fun!” Mom said.
“We should’ve done this years ago,” Grandma said.
Even Olivia smiled. “Yes, it was interesting.”
Lena couldn’t help her own smile. She’d really enjoyed working at the shop, and was glad that her family, especially Olivia, was so accepting.
They wandered back up the trails, to the dirt road where their cars were parked.
“I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, won’t we?” Ava called out.
“Tomorrow?”
“William’s birthday bash. You’re the one that’s supposed to get him there, right?”
Lena’s stomach sank. “Of course.” She didn’t know how she’d do that exactly, but she’d already blown their party plans up once, the least she could do was get him there on time.
Chapter 21
“We could do a little bit of shopping?”
“Nae, lass, no’ in the mood. How about we go upstairs?”
The next night, it was Lena’s job to get William to his surprise birthday party. It was her only job, but he wasn’t cooperating.
To celebrate his thirty-second, they’d gone out for the afternoon, getting some lunch at the Bellagio, holding hands and playing tourist as they watched the waterworks, and going back to her place to watch a movie.
The original Men in Black had made him laugh like a loon, and cuddling together on the couch had more than made up for the fact that she’d already seen the movie multiple times.
They’d even had the place to themselves, as her mom and grandmother had cleared out, amid many excuses, but in reality, to head over to the Hemlock to help their new coven with the party decorations.
But now, it was time to get him to the mall area of the Hemlock, and all he wanted to do was get her up to his penthouse suite.
Not going to happen.
She eyed his attire once again. He looked great in jeans, a sweater, a jacket, and black boots.
But she was second-guessing herself now. If she had never shown up, if she hadn’t had a hand in it, he’d be going to his birthday bash in a tuxedo.
Maybe he would have preferred that?
Maybe she shouldn’t have messed with the status quo?
She still didn’t know why his thirty-second birthday party was such a big deal, but maybe it had something to do with him being the boss.
For all she knew, they celebrated like this every year.
As per instructions, because the lobby had been shut down, Lena insisted he park the car himself, so they’d come up the back entrance and now stood on the landing, between the casino and the escalator that went up to the mall.
He was herding her toward the elevator.
“Come, dearest, we’ll just head upstairs and perhaps watch another movie?”
She managed not to roll her eyes. To say that William was becoming transparent to her was an understatement. If he had his way, she’d be living in his apartment, and, perhaps he had something in mind for his birthday, other than a party.
How to get him up the escalator?
She glanced into the casino, impressed to see it looked like business as usual.
But she knew it had been shut down to the general public, and that the only people in there were of a paranormal nature, putting on a show for William’s benefit.
“Are ye all right, lass? Tis just that ye seem a bit nervous.”
She chuckled … nervously. Yes, that was an understatement. She never should have suggested a carnival. What had she been thinking, to come into this world, and mess with the status quo?
“Let’s go up to the mall, shall we? We can just look around a bit. Maybe I’ll buy you a present?”
“I need nothing but you.”
Oh, geez, he was looking stubborn now. His chin jutting out, his lips firm.
“But —”
He wrapped an arm around her and led her gently toward the elevator.
“No, the mall…”
He pushed the button to the elevator and she knew that it was now or never. She ducked under his arm, and ran toward the escalator. “I’m going up, with or without you.”
“Lass, we can shop another day.”
She rolled her eyes behind her back. “I know it’s your birthday, but I saw a jacket in one of the stores that I just have to have, and I’m hoping you’ll get it for me. Money is tight this week, so … pretty please?”
She saw him relent, a softening of his expression, and couldn’t help but be a little bit ticked off that he thought that she would wheedle presents out of him.
Did he know her at all?
But if it got him going, then that was the point, wasn’t it?
He finally joined her on the escalator, and up they went.
When he took her hand, she realized that she was gripping the rubber handrail, and tried to seem more relaxed.
“Are ye all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Ye know, I doonae mind buying ye anythin’ that ye like. Anythin’ at all, in fact.”
She closed her eyes, wondering just how many people had heard him make that comment. His friends were going to think she was a total leech. But at least she was getting him where he needed to be.
When they reached the three-quarter mark on the escalator, she realized how quiet it was, and even she knew that would seem off.
The place was always busy.
William’s gaze sharpened as they
reached the top and he thrust Lena behind him.
Oh, geez.
“Surprise!”
She gripped his waist, and felt his entire body tense, as he took in his friends and coworkers jumping out from behind every available hiding spot.
Music, lights, acrobats on wires strung above, with the backdrop of his friends rushing forward to congratulate him.
A banner hung across the midsection of the mall and it said, Happy 700th birthday, William!
His friends had a weird sense of humor.
But, wow, was she impressed. These people really knew how to set up a party. And there were so many of them. And more coming up the escalator now. All of them paranormal? The thought of it was overwhelming.
If she’d been left to her own resources, she’d have made William dinner, and a homemade cake.
William, was floored. Taking her under his arm, and grinning widely, he walked through the crowd of well-wishers, chatting with them in between turning to her and saying “How did I no’ know about this? Did ye plan this?”
She couldn’t help grinning back. “No, I was just on the committee and threw out a few ideas. I had very little input. Someone else did all the work.”
Caleb came forward to pat William on the back. “Don’t let her fool you. The whole carnival theme was her idea. Otherwise, we’d be having a formal dance at the moment: tuxes, tails, the whole lot.”
William looked down at her, adoration in his gaze. “She knows me well.”
There were food booths set up, music, and a group was off to one side dancing.
The witches were telling fortunes, there was a photo booth set up, there were turkey legs, cotton candy, peanuts, and caramel apples.
She and William did a cupcake walk, he won her a stuffed animal by throwing darts at balloons, and another while knocking down cans.
He taught her to waltz, or tried to, and won her favorite soda.
There wasn’t any gift giving, as it had been discouraged, but toward the end of the night, Lena found Scarlett, and retrieved the package she’d left with her earlier.
She presented the carefully wrapped gift to William.