“Beth and I work really well together. That’s why I ended up hiring her on. Most spell addictions are a mix of emotional and physical. The standard practice is to get the body healed up and the emotions back on track, but even when we did that, Beth was getting withdrawal symptoms. We put a magic detector in her room and found she was getting a small spike of something when sleeping. For lack of a better explanation, Legacy had pricked a hole in her soul, and she was leaking out happiness.”
“Whoa!” I sat back in surprise. “I haven’t heard of that before.”
“It’s certainly not common. Once we knew what to look for, we were able to neutralize the spell, and within a week, we were free and clear.”
Beth shook her head. “No more spells for me unless I make them myself. Or trust the person. But realizing how close I got to never shaking the addiction was pretty sobering. We started talking more, and I shared some of the things in my life that I regretted. And that brings me back to the chocolate cake. I told Dr. Trout the secret to how I was able to make the cakes for Isadora’s Ristorante, the ones that made you feel lust, happiness, motivation, remembrance.”
I nodded. During my first case, I had tasted them, and for a while, I had even thought the cakes were responsible for the deaths, and in a way, they had been, though it wasn’t Beth’s fault. “Of course.”
“I’ve felt pretty guilty that Isadora was able to use my spell to hurt people. Normally spells can’t be attached like that to another spell. They sort of repel each other. Dr. Trout was really interested, and we started talking about it more. I never mentioned this, but the basis of the chocolate series of spells came to me because of my Legacy use.”
Dr. Trout nodded along and cut in, her excitement evident as her voice rose in volume and she spoke faster. “That is when my research really took off. Her chocolate cake recipe is in the same class as the Legacy spell, or at least one part of the Legacy spell. Somehow the basis of the Legacy spell allows other spells to be connected without affecting the original spell and, even more importantly, without the mage knowing. Usually people can feel if their spell is being altered. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We worked together to break down and reverse engineer it. I don’t think I ever could have broken it down alone without a lot more Legacy to test, but with Beth’s help, I was able to activate the last Legacy tablet and record the magic.”
“That’s great! Congrats. So you know how it works?”
Some of the excitement went out of her face. “Not really. I mean I made some big advances but exposed just as much that we didn’t know as what we learned. The base spell makes the user feel good, but then there are several spells attached that we haven’t been able to crack. One caused the continued withdrawal symptoms along with a few others. These secondary spells have a different signature to the primary spell, so it looks like one person made the main spell and someone else added some rider spells.”
“Do you think that was planned, or did someone add spells without the first person’s knowledge?”
Dr. Trout shrugged. “No real way to tell. But the person had to have access to the tablets after the main spell was added.”
“So the part of the spell that made you feel good was the primary spell, and the secondary spell was the one that caused all the magic to leave the mage’s body and the bit that made Legacy addictive.”
“Yes, though we’ve only just started to sort through the data, so there could be more spells. We do know there was a third spell that DJ Wiz added on to this particular tablet to make people overdose. It was pretty sloppy and theoretically shouldn’t have worked, but it did.”
Everyone looked down in a moment of silence. DJ Wiz had modified Legacy and used it to kill off people that crossed him. He had gotten away with it several times until he had used it enough in a short time that Bear had suspected that the overdoses weren’t accidental.
“Have you figured out anything so far?”
Dr. Trout flipped open a notebook to reveal a mess of chicken scratches that appeared to be notes. “Not a ton yet. But we do know it worked, and we have maybe found a few ingredients that make the potion the tablet was soaked in. Nothing concrete yet—something from an animal and plant, maybe something alcohol based, something inorganic. That pretty much covers everything on earth that might have paranormal ingredients. But we’ll get there. It will just take time. I’m sorry we don’t have more to report, but I thought you would want to know.”
“I do. And there was cake, so I can’t complain. I’ll pass this on to Bear.”
She nodded and diligently attempted to look calm and collected though there had been a spike of emotions at his name.
Vanessa’s phone rang, and she stepped away to answer. We finished off our respective slices of cake, and I listened to Vanessa’s half of the conversation.
She rolled her eyes at me, and I guessed it was Tiffany. “Uh-huh… well, we… no, of course… but I guess we could…” She pulled the phone away from her ear then slid it into her purse.
“That seemed to go well,” I teased.
“She went by the Snakebite Room and was just horrified to see that it wasn’t decorated at all.” She put on a falsetto to imitate Tiffany. “If you think I’m going to have a bachelorette party with it like this, then you have another thing coming.”
I rolled my eyes, and Patagonia made a gagging noise on the ground. I had gotten her special hairball-preventing food, which she occasionally ate if she was in the mood, so I felt her reaction was a reflection of her opinion of Tiffany. I couldn’t disagree.
I had almost forgotten the paper bag we had brought in from the car. “We brought you guys this because I thought Beth would be interested, but now it can be a congratulations gift. It’s a bird’s nest from Ellen’s newest location.” I passed them the bag.
Beth peeked inside. “Oh, it’s gorgeous. And warm? Can I refrigerate it?”
“It has dragon spit in it.” The thought still made my stomach flip, but no one else seemed bothered.
“Oh, fancy!” she said as she went to put it away.
“We also got a few bottles of dragon-heart wine, but I wasn’t sure…”
Beth shook her head. “I can’t have any. My partying days are over. The risk of relapse is just too big. But that is quite the haul.” She eyed the bottle with a small smile. “Let me know if it’s any good.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
I took a sip of my drink and noticed that Vanessa’s was empty. “Take it easy.”
Vanessa turned to me, swaying a bit. She giggled then clutched her stomach. “I can’t believe this.”
I nodded. The Snakebite Room at the Magia Casino was decorated in black, silver, and penises for Tiffany’s bachelorette party. Penis might not be a color, but it was so prevalent in the room that it was dominant.
At least a hundred of Tiffany’s “friends” were in attendance, and everyone had to be bedecked with at least a dozen penises. They had necklaces, lollipops, hats, and scarfs all in the phallic shape. Drinks were being served in man-sausage-shaped mugs that the guests drank through like pink straws. Every size, shape, and color were accounted for. I had to give her that. She seemed to appreciate all kinds.
Three six-foot-tall thrusting shafts with round, fuzzy balls at the bottom danced with the ladies, who took a variety of selfies. And the food! There were carved cucumbers, hot dogs, and eggplants.
I shifted my position, but when I did, that meant I was facing one of six stages where a man clad in only an elephant trunk was dancing. I had never given it much thought, but apparently I was a prude.
I turned to Vanessa. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll get us another two drinks… each.”
I grabbed my drink, determined to finish it before I reached the bar. I recognized a face here and there in the crowd but didn’t stop. Making idle chitchat was not at the top of my list at the moment.
Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind, jerking me backward, and spilling most of my drink down the front of my
shirt.
“Oh my gosh, Ella, this party is amazing!” Tiffany grabbed the drink from my hand and slurped it down. She was more than three sheets to the wind. “I had my doubts about you, but maybe you are more fun than I thought. This is awesome, and aren’t the strippers amazing? Mom always has the best taste in strippers. That dark one with the cheetah-pattern thong is really packing a python. I think I might take him home.”
I had never liked Tiffany, but this was a whole different level. I narrowed my eyes at her. “If you don’t want to get married, then don’t, but if I hear that you are sleeping around, then no amount of duty will make me stay in your bridal party. And I will tell Vin.”
She paled a little. “It was a joke. With a sense of humor like that, it’s no wonder you don’t have any friends.” She let out a peal of joy and tottered off to go hug someone, spilling my drink all down their back.
“This is like nothing I have seen before.”
I spun around and gasped. Thomas was there, smiling at me. For a moment, I didn’t move, not even to breathe. His pale skin glowed as the pink disco penis and balls scattered light around the room. His violet eyes were so dark that they seemed like the inky colors of the ocean at sunset. He had smudges under his eyes, and he looked tired, but mostly he looked like he was here in the flesh.
I had a list of things I had intended to do when I saw him again. Clarify that though I enjoyed the bracelet, he shouldn’t send any more charms. That I still couldn’t date him. I wanted to make it clear that my training as a Monza was a priority that I couldn’t ignore, but I didn’t say any of that or even think it.
I threw myself into his arms like he was a life preserver in a rough ocean. He met me and enclosed me in a hug, rubbing his face in my hair. We clung to each other, whispering nonsensical things. I kept repeating that he was here while he moaned that I smelled perfect. It wasn’t so much the words as the cooing of sounds in each other’s ears. With my heels on, I was closer to his height, and I could press my cheek into the side of his neck, his warm skin feeling so soft that his silk shirt was like burlap in comparison.
His hand explored my lower back, pulling me in closer, and I yielded easily to his touch. I wanted to press into him until nothing kept us apart. The urgency of my desire as it flared in my lower belly shocked me, and my knees trembled beneath me. I was thankful for his hands supporting me.
He brushed his lips across my ear, and I dug my hands into his hair and moaned loudly. He stiffened underneath me, and his hands stilled but let me go. “I’m sorry, my love. I can’t believe I am saying this, but we must get ourselves under control.”
I had been nuzzling my face against his skin, relishing the way his skin felt on my sensitive lips. I heard his voice as though from a great distance. I blinked a few times, and it was like I was waking up. Embarrassment hit me hard, washing away my desire though my legs still quaked and my step was uneven as I drew back.
I avoided his eyes and frantically straightened my clothing and hair. I had no idea what had come over me. Patagonia looked at me with disgust, probably embarrassed for me. She would never act so unbecomingly, even if the person had tuna and catnip.
“I… uh…” I was at a loss for words. My cheeks grew so hot that I was sure my face was bright red and I was at real risk of bursting into flames. I lifted my wrist to show him the bracelet while never taking my own eyes off of it. “Thank you for the bracelet. You shouldn’t have.”
“Hey.” He grabbed my wrist and waited. “Hey, look at me. Please?”
After the way I had attacked him physically, he probably thought I was ready to hop into bed with him, and I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t know what had come over me. I took a deep breath and looked into his face. “I’m sorry, Thomas. I don’t—”
“No, don’t say anything. I know.”
I shook my head. He couldn’t know.
“You’re a Monza. You have commitments. You don’t need to say anything. For now it is enough that you liked my gift. Okay?” He squeezed my hand and sent a little shiver through my body.
I should have snatched back my hand and insisted on having a more in-depth talk, but I ended up accepting that he understood. It was what I wanted to do. I wanted everything to be fine just standing there holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. A smile crept across my face.
“Wonderful. Let me try this again. What kind of party is this?” He looked around.
Tiffany was no longer drunkenly stumbling around the party. She was seated on a chair with two strippers who were taking turns rubbing their crotches in her face. She howled with delight and stuffed bills into their thongs.
My stomach flipped a bit, and briefly my thoughts flashed to Vin. Would he be hurt by her behavior? It certainly wasn’t something I would want my partner to do a few days before our wedding, or ever for that matter.
“This is not my idea of a fun night.” I grimaced and turned my back on the strippers.
His eyes dipped down to my chest, and he chuckled. “Your necklace says you are enjoying it a little.”
I looked down, horrified to realize that Tiffany had slipped a necklace over my neck during her hug. It was neon pink and had a six-inch penis medallion at the end. I tore it off over my head and tossed it onto the tray of a passing waiter. “This night is a disaster. Or at least it was. Let’s get out of here.”
He dragged me out of the party and the club, never letting go of my hand. I told him about how I had gotten roped into being in Tiffany’s bridal party but didn’t mention the investigation I was doing for Bear. He talked about how much he missed me and told funny stories about his travels but didn’t say anything about where he had been exactly or what he was doing. It seemed we both were hiding things.
He asked for a private room in an upscale modern-dining restaurant. Despite the groups of people waiting outside, we were whisked in right away. A menu wasn’t even presented, but rather the chef came out to greet us and insisted he would make us something special. If Thomas’s intention was to impress me, then it had worked. Though just having an excuse to escape Tiffany’s bachelorette party was impressive enough. I would need to return eventually, but no one would miss me for a while except Vanessa, who was expecting drinks, but she could use a bit of sobering up.
Thomas reached across the small table and grabbed my wrist, playing with the charms with his thumb. “I’m so glad you like it. I had such a great time picking out each one specially for you.”
“Some of them must have been custom made.”
He nodded. “Yes, I found some wonderful jewelers.” He gave me a mysterious smile.
I reached out to sense his emotions and found them fuzzy and difficult to read. A lump rose in my throat as I realized why I struggled. As the bond between mages grew stronger and more intense, the less magic worked between them, especially the skills that mages had more innately. It provided some protection between close friends and families. It could be an issue with things like healing spells, another reason the rune between Vanessa and me was so useful, but it also kept mages from being too insular. They needed other mages at times.
But the implications for Thomas and me were different. Despite my best attempts to keep a safe distance, the space between us was eroding. No matter what I said, magic didn’t lie. I swallowed hard. Perhaps I should broach the subject before things went further.
“Thank you again for introducing me to Emily. She saved my life in Europe.”
All thoughts fled from my mind. “You almost died and didn’t tell me?”
“I only just discovered the severity of the situation, and in fact, that is partly why I am back in Rambler.” He ran a thumb across the inside of my wrist. “Partly. Last week we were set to meet someone that I had hoped to hire. Emily had been jittery all morning, and on the way to the meeting, in a hired car, she grabbed and pulled me from the car at a red light. She was frantic, and it was only my faith in her so far that had me following her. She grabbed a taxi and gave them all her c
ash to take us to the hotel and wait for us to gather our things. Then she insisted we drive to the airport and leave immediately.”
“Oh my gosh! That sounds so scary.”
“At the time, it was just annoying, but I went along. We bought a flight to France that was leaving in a few hours. On the plane, I was seated next to a friend of a friend. We started to talk, and I realized that they were someone who could help me with some of my problems. I wrote off Emily’s episode as being a way to arrange the meeting even if she was a bit out of sorts about it. The whole thing slipped my mind until a few days ago when my contact got ahold of me to say that the man I had been supposed to meet has been missing and presumed dead. And by all accounts, he had been missing since a few days before our meeting was set to occur.”
A chill went down my spine. “Do you think that had something to do with you?”
He shrugged. “If it wasn’t about us, then why bother to send a car with a driver who insisted that the meeting was on? Maybe there was something bigger at work, but I am glad I didn’t attend the meeting. But it is more than that. Few people knew I had that meeting set up. So if I was the goal, then someone in my own organization might be sharing information about me. Emily had already booked us a flight back here, I thought just so I could see you, but then we learned all this, and now…”
I leaned in close. Even though we were alone, I felt a little guilty even raising the possibility. “Could Emily be involved? She was closest to you and could have faked that whole scene to get you to trust her more.”
He watched my face closely. “Do you think that’s what happened?”
I sifted through my feelings about Emily. I liked her a lot, and she had helped me on multiple occasions, including the party that evening. It would be easy to let that color my opinion of her. But I had never gotten the warning signs I had in the past about other people. Though my recent investigation into murders had proven that often people were hiding more than they initially let on.
Nice Day for a Mage Wedding: Casino Witch Mysteries 4 Page 10