“You know why I’m here,” he replied, turning to face me.
I gasped as I saw the dark blue-black bruise over his left eye, and my hand flew to my mouth. Boone really clocked him one.
“Is it that horrible?” he asked with a chuckle. “It’ll go away, you know.”
“Oh, go and vague-book about it.” I made a face, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
“I’ve got better things to do than post clickbait on social media,” he said with a smirk.
“What’s more important than taking a hint?” I muttered, unlocking the door so Lucy and I could escape inside.
Alex sneered, his lip curling at an unattractive angle. The black eye didn’t help his chances of not looking like a complete douchebag, either.
“If you don’t mind, I’ve got a business to run,” I declared, closing the door in his face.
Turning, I knew full well he was still standing there, staring at me through the glass like a creepy stalker. At one time, his attention would’ve thrilled me, but now it was overkill. Kill being the word to worry about.
“Wow,” Lucy said, turning on the lights. “I never thought small town livin’ would be exactly like an episode of Ballykissangel.”
“Bally-who now?”
“It’s a TV show,” she explained with a laugh. “It’s an Irish drama about the crazy life in a small, remote Irish village. You know, it’s got all the classic storylines. Love, scandal, schemes…”
Sounded like Derrydun but without half the stuff that made it the most insane place on the planet. Just add a secret coven of witches or something like that.
Glancing over my shoulder, I was relieved to see Alex had disappeared. I needed to get it through his thick skull that I wasn’t getting back together with him, nor was I leaving Derrydun. We needed to sit down and hash it out, and Boone—wherever he was—wasn’t going to like it one bit.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Lucy. “You started working here at a really strange time. Everything is ass up…”
“Havin’ two men fightin’ over you sounds like bliss, but I can see it isn’t.”
“It’s a good plot for a movie,” I said with a snort. “Or that TV show of yours. But real life? Forget about it.”
“Be careful, Skye,” she said, looking worried. “I don’t have a good feelin’.”
“About?”
She glanced away and began dusting the glass cabinet erratically.
“Lucy.”
She paused, holding the feather duster mid-dust, and her cheeks flushed red.
“Lucy,” I said again. “What did he say to you?”
“Nothing. He just…” She sighed dramatically. “There was an undertone.”
“Undertone of what?”
Lucy turned back to her dusting, moving along to the amethyst cave that was the size of her head. She flicked the feather duster around inside, cleaning the purple crystal teeth.
“Lucy.”
“Malice,” she said. “There were undertones of malice.”
I shivered, the image of the sneer that had carved Alex’s face coming to mind. I’d never seen him look like that before. I didn’t regret kissing Boone by the spring under Croagh Patrick, but he was beginning to all because of Alex and his unrelenting pursuit of me. He was trying to break us up, and when the moment was right, he would swoop in and be the shoulder I needed to cry on. Well, I had news for him!
“Don’t worry about me,” I said, taking out the tarot cards from underneath the counter. “I don’t intend to let him get anything. I’m not going back.”
Shuffling the cards, I drew one from the top and scowled when I saw it was the Three of Swords. Again. It was a warning, plain and simple, just like the Tower had been.
“I know I’ve only been around a few days,” Lucy began. “But if you need anything…”
“Thanks. I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry about Alex. I’ll handle him.” I rolled my eyes and put the card back into the stack. “This has gone on for far too long if you ask me.”
“You’re goin’ to confront him?” Her eyes bulged.
“Yeah. Looks like it’s the only way he’s going to get the hint.” And I would use magic to suggestively push him back onto a plane back to Australia if I had to. Then there was the Boone factor.
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure he’d broken up with me yesterday or if it was just a fight. I had to convince him that he was the only man I wanted, and whatever was going on didn’t change what was in my heart one iota.
Whatever Boone was dealing with, I would help him. Not because I was bound by duty but because I cared about him…even when he was sulking.
Glancing out the window, my heart skipped a beat as I saw Boone walking into Mary’s Teahouse.
“Lucy?”
“Yeah?” She poked her head out from behind the bookshelf.
“Do you think you’d be okay minding the shop for ten minutes?”
“Sure!” Lucy smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “A chance to prove myself.”
Storming out of Irish Moon, I powered across the street toward the neon pink cottage with the thatched roof. Opening the door, I weaved through the tables, a woman on a mission.
“Good mornin’, Skye!” Mary said brightly from behind the counter.
Mary Donnelly was a sweet little Irish lady, with a perm and a blue rinse, that loved the color pink and feeding scones and clotted cream to tourists. Apparently, she also had a penchant for spring weddings, which was a problem considering Boone’s and my current relationship status.
When I first arrived in Derrydun, her accent was so thick I couldn’t understand a single word she said, then one day, it was like someone had turned on a switch inside my head and ever since, she was clear as a bell. I always figured it was a magic thing like someone had implanted a language chip in my brain, but maybe it was a cultural assimilation thing. I’d finally gotten used to the Irish.
“Hi, Mary,” I muttered, walking straight past her and into the back where I found Boone stacking boxes.
He glanced up when I appeared, raised an eyebrow, and went straight back to stacking the delivery of flour and molasses—whatever Mary needed that for—promptly ignoring me.
“We need to talk,” I said.
“We talked yesterday,” he said, not even looking at me.
“Boone. That wasn’t talking. Not proper talking, anyway.”
“Listen,” he said, turning to scowl at me. “I understand. Aileen explained it to me in a round about way.”
“Explained what?”
“The Crescent…callin’. Or whatever you call it. Destiny tore you away from Alex. Neither of you truly wanted to end things, but you had no choice. Magic screwed up your life and brought you here because of me.”
“Shut up!” I exclaimed.
He blinked, stunned by my outburst.
“Shit happens,” I went on. “You didn’t mean for Aileen to…die. That was her choice.” I sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “I didn’t know about all this when Alex dumped me, but I’m here now, and I’ve accepted this is my life. I want it, Boone. Stuff destiny and magical whatever. I choose to be here with you. I choose it regardless of all those things.”
He didn’t reply, which vexed me even more.
“Look, I’m not dumb, you know. I don’t know what’s going on with you because there’s something that has nothing to do with Alex, but you don’t have to worry about me. You don’t have to worry about us, you hear? You and me, we’re solid. Right?”
Boone snorted and shook his head.
“You don’t believe me.” My heart sank. Maybe we had broken up after all, and I was just living in denial.
“You have somethin’ you need to work out with him,” he said, turning to finish stacking the pile of boxes. “So go, and work it out. I’ll still be here because I can’t leave.”
“Boone…”
“Don’t you have a shop to run? Or have you left your suspected fae in charge?”
I backed away, wanting nothing more than to slap him around the ear. Why were men so pigheaded?
“You’ll see,” I murmured. “When he goes the hell away, and I’m still here annoying the shite out of you, you’ll see.”
Spinning on my heel, I strode out of the back room and through the teahouse, much to Mary’s puzzlement.
“Skye!” she called out after me. “Skye, dear! How do you like lilies for the centerpieces?”
Chapter 8
Staring at the Three of Swords, I felt like tearing it up into little pieces and tossing it into the bin.
Leaning my elbows on the counter at Irish Moon, I squinted at the golden lines of the drawing and tilted it from side to side. Other than the metallic print shimmering in the light, the movement revealed nothing.
“What card is that?” Lucy asked, standing in front of me.
“The Three of Swords.” I flipped it over so she could see.
“What does it mean?”
“It means a world of pain, that’s what it means.”
The bell over the door rang merrily, causing me to glance up, and when I saw who it was, I wished I had a literal sword, not a metaphoric one.
Alex closed the door behind him, and then smiled when his gaze met mine.
“You’re unbelievable.” I was getting eye strain from all the eye rolling. I wondered at what point that became an actual problem. Would my eye pop right out of my head, and would I have to shove it back in there? I would probably have to wear a funky eye patch like a pirate. Thinking about the time Boone and I dug up the Crescent athame from inside the tower house, I snorted. Boone could turn into a gyrfalcon, but what about a parrot? A rainbow lorikeet… Yeah, he could totally be one of those.
“Skye,” Alex began, glancing nervously at Lucy. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, we do,” I shot back.
“When?”
I sighed. “After the shop closes. I’ll meet you up the hill at the tower house. How’s that?”
He smiled, his eyes sparkling. “Great.”
“Until then, leave me alone,” I said, turning back to my tarot cards.
The bell rang, signaling he’d gone, and I sighed again. I was so over this whole debacle. Alex was going to get smacked down this afternoon, and hopefully, that would be the end of it, and things could go back to normal. Well, as normal as things got in this place, being a witch and all.
Lucy stood beside me as we watched Alex disappear out of view.
“Are you sure you want to go up there alone with him?” she asked.
“I’ve known him a long time,” I replied. “I doubt he’s going to hack me up into little pieces and stuff me in a hessian bag.”
“Are you sure?”
“Lucy!”
“Just lookin’ out for you,” she replied with a halfhearted smile.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said, knowing if push came to shove, I would be able to give back ten times as hard with my magic. But I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, especially away from the immediate range of the hawthorns. I knew I was protected to a certain extent at the tower house, but my magic was strong. I found that out when I made my talisman in the exact same spot and invited the craglorn over for the all you can eat Crescent Witch buffet.
“He’s absolutely convinced,” she mused.
“About?” I reached for my talisman and held it tightly, feeling the thread of magic within.
“That it’s only a matter of time before you realize what a mistake you’ve made.”
“I haven’t made any mistakes,” I shot back. “Not about this. People get confused over their hearts all the time, but that’s only because they have their cake and want someone else’s, too. That’s a metaphor for emotional greed, by the way. I’m happy with my Boone-cake. He’s more than enough for one person, believe me. He’s a ten-tiered, chocolate mud cake with buttercream icing, sprinkles, cherries, jam filling, and a spoonful of Nutella on the side. You would think you’d get sick after tasting a cake like that, but not me. Hand me a bigger spoon. Stat.”
Lucy chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. “Good for you. Not many people can say they found a cake like that.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, my heart feeling heavy at the thought of what Boone must be going through right now. “Yeah, I am…”
What a hopeless situation.
Alex was waiting for me at the tower house.
Approaching, my boots crunched on the gravel path, and I narrowed my eyes. Blunt and to the point, I thought. Send him packing.
He was sitting on the wooden fence separating the path from the ruin, his feet swinging back and forth. He didn’t stand as I neared, he just stopped his feet and sat patiently. Sitting beside him on the round log, I was careful to leave a healthy amount of space between us. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable position, the wood was hard against the bones in my ass cheeks, but it didn’t matter. Only my words did.
Alex didn’t say hello, but neither did I. I think we were beyond the point of pleasantries.
“You can’t come here and expect me to drop everything for you,” I said. “It’s unrealistic.”
“Not if you love someone.”
“And I don’t love you, Alex. I might’ve been able to once but not anymore. We had fun together, but I’ve moved on. You should, too.”
He glanced over my shoulder and then back to me. “Well,” he said. “Let’s see.”
Before I could dodge out of the way, he reached out, grasped my face, and planted his lips on mine. When his tongue tried to force its way into my mouth, I flailed my arms and shoved him back.
“Alex…”
“What do you think you’re doin’?”
The sound of Boone’s voice sent ice sliding through my veins. Alex had set me up!
Rising to my feet, I spun on my heel and came face-to-face with an enraged Boone.
“You saw that!” I exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Alex. “You saw me push him away!”
“I saw you kissin’ him.” Boone narrowed his eyes, clearly hurt.
“I didn’t kiss him,” I argued. “I…”
“After everythin’ I did for you…” he muttered. “After I…” He snorted, then strode off across the meadow and leaped over the stone fence into the field.
Turning on Alex, I jabbed a finger at him.
“You knew he was standing there!” I shrieked. “I can’t believe you!”
“Skye, I said I would fight for you,” he said, standing.
“Don’t you get it! You lost the day you broke up with me. You never had a chance.”
“Skye…”
He stepped forward, his arms rising to capture me in an embrace, but I’d had a gut full of his meddling. How many times had I told him I wasn’t interested? I was fairly sure it was about a million by now, so if he wasn’t listening to my words, then he sure as hell would listen to my fist.
In a whirlwind of fury, I launched my knuckles at his face, aiming for his good eye. My hand smacked into his eye socket with a satisfying thwack, and I winced as the impact jarred up my arm. Geez, no one told me it hurt to hit someone.
Shaking my hand, I glared at Alex, who was holding his hands over his eye and staring at me open-mouthed.
“You punched me!” he exclaimed.
“Yeah, and if you don’t get the hint, I’ll kick you in the balls, too.” I backed away, aiming for the direction Boone had gone. “The answer has been the same as it’s always been, Alex. N-o. No. No, no, no, no, no. I don’t love you. I love Boone. The. End.”
Turning, I left him standing on top of the hill in the shadow of the tower house and crossed the meadow. My heart span and span, the words echoing around in my head like a stone rattling in a tin can. I’d said the words. The words.
I wasn’t sure if I should be seething or soaring after what had just happened. My hand was throbbing with a dull ache, and I hoped I’d given Alex another black eye. He desperately needed a matching set.
&
nbsp; Attempting a graceful leap over the fence, my foot caught, and I rolled over the stone like a tub of lard and landed on my face in the grass. There went any residual adrenalin I’d gathered from punching that twat in the face.
Scrambling to my feet and hoping no one had seen my commando roll, I legged it over the field. Sheep scattered, bleating in panic as I made my way toward Roy’s farm. I wiggled ungracefully over another fence, almost slipped on my ass on the muddy track, and stepped in a pile of animal shite—that I had to stop and scrape off my boot on the fence—before I finally made it to the farmhouse.
The excited barking of Roy’s black and white border collie, Phee, erupted as she sensed my presence, and she barreled around the corner and practically leaped into my arms.
“Hey, girl,” I said gently, trying to fend off her pink tongue. I’d had enough unwanted French kissing for one day, thank you very much.
“Phee! Down!” There was a sharp whistle, and the dog backed off and ran back toward Roy, who’d follow the excited sheepdog’s flight.
“Hey,” I said, raising my hand as the old man waddled around the corner.
“Skye. This is a surprise. Is somethin’ the matter? Need help towin’ a car out of the creek again?”
I groaned, shaking a fist at the sky. The last time I’d asked Roy for a favor was when the real estate agent I’d called to evaluate Irish Moon for sale had almost smashed into the hawthorn in the middle of the village, swerved to miss, and landed in the creek behind Mary’s Teahouse instead. We had to get the farmer and his tractor to pull the poor guy out. Would Derrydun ever let it go?
“I’m looking for Boone,” I said. “Is he here?”
“Is somethin’ the matter with you two? The lad’s been grumpy the last week. Ever since that Australian lad appeared.” He narrowed his eyes.
“Give me a break!” I exclaimed. “I just gave him a black eye to match the one Boone gave him.”
“You did?”
“Have you seen him or not?”
“Nay,” he replied. “He was here today but left a while ago.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. He must’ve finished work, then crossed the field. It was shorter to visit the sheep than to take the main road back into the village. And there I was sitting by the tower house with Alex, right in his path. Talk about moronic.
Cresent Prophecy Page 6