The power I once wielded stirred, blinking awake, rattling the chains I used to bind it within my skin.
But I was stronger than the hunger. I controlled it. It did not control me.
Anymore.
A roughness sanded the edges of my voice from the effort. “Rue Hollis hid from him.”
“Rue is a white witch,” he murmured, understanding what that meant. “How many years?”
“All of them.” From the day I cut ties with Black Hat to this one. “Put me down, Clay.”
“Not until you talk to Ace.” Regret pinched his lips, but he didn’t loosen his hold. “Director’s orders.”
Golems with Clay’s agency were so rare as to be unheard of, which was how he ended up at Black Hat. Most of his kin were mindless dolls who followed instructions to the letter, but Clay had full autonomy until his free will smashed face-first into the brick wall that was a direct order from his current master.
By choice, he wouldn’t hurt a fly, but he had done things under orders that twisted even my stomach. It shouldn’t have been held against him, shouldn’t have landed him in Black Hat, but he was only as moral as his current master allowed him to be.
“I understand.” I bent as if to kiss his cheek but licked his forehead instead. “I’m sorry, Clay.”
The magic animating him shorted out, his eyes clouded over, and he froze as solid as a statue.
The only way to best a golem was to smudge or erase the shem, one of the Names of God, written on his forehead. Any imperfections disrupted his flow of power, immobilizing him. And yes, they were all male.
Only someone he trusted would get anywhere near it, which made my betrayal cut both ways.
I broke his grip with a twist, hit the pavement with a grunt, then walked to my car with a slight limp.
Unless I wanted to run again, I had no choice but to retreat home, where I was safe.
Safer.
There were no absolutes for people like me.
Black Hat’s arrival in town had just proven that.
2
Gravel pinged the undercarriage of my sporty little crossover as I pulled into Mrs. Gleason’s driveway. As much as I wanted to breeze past my closest neighbor and get home behind my wards that much faster, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see her when she was brandishing a pink shotgun in the air to get my attention.
“Rue.” She banged on the car window with the side of her fist. “Rue.”
As I lowered the glass, I reminded myself a gunshot wound probably wouldn’t kill me. “Yes, ma’am?”
“The biggest man I ever did see was at your house.” She stood on tiptoe with a hand as high as she could reach to give me an idea of height. “Don’t you worry, darlin’.” She squared her thin shoulders. “I run him off before he got any ideas.”
Who could it have been but Clay? He probably laughed himself silly when she chased after him.
Mrs. Gleason was eighty pounds soaking wet, with a beehive hairdo that added a foot onto her height. A pair of house slippers snugged her tiny feet, and she wore a billowing snap-front dressing gown in violet. I happened to know she owned decals to change the color of her shotgun to match her outfit, which told me how riled she must have been if she left her porch mismatched to accuse Clay of trespassing.
“Thank you.” Warmth spread through my chest. “I appreciate you looking out for me.”
Goodness wasn’t innate to me. I started out mimicking people who behaved in the way I wanted to act. I embraced fake it ’til you make it as a template for the person I wanted to become. I still had days when I felt plain fake, but moments like this gave me hope it was more than pretend change, that I was doing it.
“Shot him right in his behind.” She kissed the barrel of her gun. “Bam-Bam never misses.”
“You…” I swallowed a laugh, “…shot him?”
“Sure did.” Her grin revealed a lack of dentures. “Let me tell you, he ain’t coming back no time soon.”
The last time her teeth went missing, she called me for help, and I found them stuck in an apple. She left the whole mess balanced on the back porch rail after the dentures refused to pry loose of the fruit, and forgot about them. A squirrel tried to run off with it when I got there, but the teeth kept freaking it out.
As someone with a box of real human teeth rattling around under my bed, I was in no position to judge.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” I reached to the floorboard. “I mixed up more of that tea you like.”
The blend, according to its label, contained white willow bark, holy basil, nettles, hyssop, cramp bark, California poppy, and citrus peel in an Assam black tea base. The additives were a touch more exotic.
And it worked wonders on her rheumatoid arthritis.
“God bless you.” She pinched my cheek until it hurt. “How much do I owe you?”
“I can’t charge you after what you did for me today.” I passed over a week’s supply. “You’re my hero.”
A flush stained her weathered cheeks as she accepted the gift with a grunt of thanks.
“I ought to go check and see if he left a note.” I put the SUV in reverse. “See you later.”
“I’ll keep Bam-Bam out ’til you call me,” she hollered as I backed down the road. “Be safe, hon.”
A small miracle allowed me to skirt two more elderly neighbors I made time to chat with every few days. I missed that connection when I went too long between visits with them, but I had to get home.
On top of a gently rolling hill sat the small brick house I bought through an online auction, sight unseen. I sank as much into renovations as I did the initial payout, but it suited me. The two acres of grass, weeds, and wildflowers sprinkled with trees gave me a connection to the earth that soothed my ragged soul.
The first order of business was to check the wards, which hummed steadily, as always.
From what I could tell, Clay hadn’t tested my protections. Then again, I hadn’t been kind to unwanted guests in my previous incarnation. He hadn’t known until I told him that I changed my diet, which meant no one else would guess either. That would keep me safer. For the time being.
Confident the house and land were secure, I called Mrs. Gleason and told her to stand down.
The front door swung open before I reached it, and a breathy voice murmured, “We had company.”
“I heard.” I eased into the darkened foyer. “They visited the store too.”
“I only saw the one.” Colby Timms, my familiar, cleared her throat. “He was your partner, back then.”
“Clayton Kerr.” I spotted her perched on the back of the sofa. “He won’t hurt you.”
The moth was the size of a house cat with white fuzz covering her abdomen and a wispy off-white mane. Pearlescent wings tucked close to her body, and her velvety legs were black with creamy, slipperlike feet. Though we had agreed the uppermost set would be deemed hands despite the lack of fingers.
“Who did he bring with him?”
“His new partner.” I sank into the cushions beside her. “I haven’t met him yet.”
“Why are they here?” She climbed down onto my lap for snuggles. “Why can’t they leave us alone?”
“I didn’t talk to them long enough to find out what they want.” I stroked her soft back. “Me, I imagine.”
“Does this mean we’re moving again?” Her antennae quivered, the hairs prickling. “I like it here.”
“I like it here too, but if we want to stay, we’ll have to talk to the agents. We’ll have to fight for it.”
“I’m not a baby,” she grumbled, her wide black eyes narrowing on mine. “I can help.”
“No.” I smiled down at her. “You’re not a baby.” I tickled her side. “You’re ten whole years old.”
Or she had been, when she died. That was ten years ago. Technically, she was twenty.
“I can do magic and everything.” She puffed up her downy fur. “I’m not great at it, but I will be.”
“You’re incredible
for your age.” I drew her closer in a loose hug. “I’m very proud of you.”
“Do you have the clay man’s number?”
“I do.”
“Call him.”
The phone in my hand weighed a thousand pounds, which made pressing the familiar digits a Herculean feat. Thumb hovering over the call button, I checked with Colby one last time. “Are you sure?”
In answer, she used one of her feet to initiate the call before I could chicken out. “Yep.”
Clay answered on the first ring. “Kerr.”
“Hey,” I said awkwardly. “How are you feeling?”
“Less like a statue than I did an hour ago.”
Like me, Clay’s new partner would have been trained in how to reanimate him.
But I still felt guilty for incapacitating him.
“I heard you paid me a house call.”
“That old biddy shot me in the ass.” He chuckled. “Funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Mrs. Gleason takes care of me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” His voice softened. “Did you call just to check on me or…?”
“I want to talk.” I rested a hand on Colby for comfort. “You came here for a reason, and I want to hear it.”
“We can be at your place in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be waiting.” I ended the call. “Goddess bless, what a mess.”
“You mean we’ll be waiting.” Colby fluttered her wings in annoyance. “I’m not hiding this time.”
“How about we don’t put all our cards on the table? You can be our ace in the hole.”
“I’ll never climb out of the hole if you don’t stop putting me in it.”
The kid was smart, and she was right, but she was also mine to protect.
“Once they know about you, I won’t be able to hide you from them.”
Their ignorance of her existence was the thin barrier keeping her safe.
“Good.” A tiny growl laced her voice. “I want them to see me.”
“I’ll allow this only if you promise to do what I say, when I say it.”
“Deal.” Her wings picked up speed until she fluttered at my eye level. “I’m going to patrol.”
“Stay inside the wards.” I pointed a warning finger at her. “We don’t know what we’re up against yet.”
After rolling her eyes at me, she zoomed out the window I cracked for her and began her rounds.
The sad thing about kids, even dead ones, is they have to grow up sometime.
* * *
By the time the black SUV—because of course Black Hats drove black SUVs—turned onto the drive, I was on the porch in a rocker with a cup of ice-cold sweet tea in one hand and the improbable shifter romance in the other. I had three days left to finish it before the weekly book club meeting, not that I expected to attend under the circumstances, but I was hooked now.
Colby was in stealth mode, as in she was hiding behind the chimney, high on the roof.
To set the stage, I finished reading the chapter I was on before glancing up from the page. “Gentlemen.”
The simple happiness in Clay’s smile twisted a knife of regret in my gut. I really did miss the big lug.
“Rue, this is Asa Montenegro.” He handled introductions. “Ace, this is Rue Hollis.”
On the last line, Clay winked at me, as if Asa wasn’t fully aware it was an alias.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Asa rumbled. “Clay says nothing but good things about you.”
All I can say about setting eyes on Asa Montenegro for the first time was…
Goddess bless.
Had I not already been sitting, I worried my knees might have buckled. No wonder the girls had drooled over him. He was gorgeous. But then, beauty came with the predatory package. There was no finer lure than a pretty face, and his was breathtaking.
With Clay standing next to him, I pegged Asa at just shy of six feet. Lean muscle covered his frame, no amount of tailoring could conceal that, but he managed to hide his powerful body better than most. He wore his hair parted down the middle, in braids so long he could have tucked their ends into his waistband or even stuffed the tips in his pockets. An oval disc the color of moonlight hung from each ear, and a thick silver hoop pierced his septum.
The hair and the jewelry hinted at daemon heritage, but the sharpness of his features and his jewel-tone eyes, a bright peridot green, screamed fae.
A faint smile played around his full lips as he watched me cataloguing his features, as if he were used to enduring such inspections often and had decided to find the process amusing rather than insulting.
Embarrassed at being caught, I cut the niceties. “Why are you here?”
“The director wants you to consult on a case,” Clay answered for them. “We need an expert on…”
“…black magic,” I finished for him. “You can say it.”
There was no changing my past or anyone else’s. All we could do was live with the consequences.
“Four girls are missing.” Asa spun a silver ring on his finger. “We need your help finding their killer.”
“You said missing.” Rustling drew my attention to the roof, but I kept my eyes forward. “I don’t follow.”
“Eight other girls have gone missing. Each time, they were taken in groups of four.”
“Their bodies were found one month after their abductions.” Clay worked his jaw. “They were left for us to find. The killer wanted to make sure his work didn’t go unnoticed.”
A tendril of magic unfurled within me, hungry for what they offered after living on so little for so long.
“There are other witches you could contact.” I sipped my tea, tasting ashes of the past. “Why me?”
“There are similarities to a case you worked with Clay.” Asa quit his fidgeting. “We think we’re dealing with a copycat.”
Bile rose up my throat, and I washed it down with more sugar that didn’t help. “Which case?”
Clay smoothed a hand over his head. “The Silver Stag.”
“No.”
The men jerked to attention, and I shut my eyes, wishing I hadn’t agreed to Colby’s demands.
“He’s dead.” The moth charged them in a rush of fury. “Rue killed him and ate his heart. I saw it.”
The rocker creaked as I stood, my heart breaking for her. “Colby…”
“They’re wrong.” She darted as close to them as she dared without crossing the ward. “You’re wrong.”
While my former partner blanched as if he had seen a ghost, and he had, Asa hit his knees. In his suit. It must have cost a small fortune, yet he hadn’t hesitated. Not for a second. He bowed his head, rested his palms flat on his thighs, and murmured a soft prayer.
“You’re Colby Timms,” Clay said softly, a world of understanding in his coarse voice.
The last of the Silver Stag’s victims. A fae girl who had turned ten the night before she was taken.
It had always struck me as ironic they named him the Silver Stag when he had a preference for does.
“You kept her.” Asa’s tone chilled me to the bone. “All this time.”
I jerked my chin up a notch. “I did.”
“You captured a loinnir…a sacred being…a child…for food.”
The comic shock on Clay’s face when he registered his partner’s words almost made me laugh.
“Yes.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “How did you think I was so powerful, daemon?”
The heat in my words caused Clay to drag a hand down his face. “Shit.”
“That’s why I ran.” I aimed my rant toward Asa, who had yet to rise. “I saw an opportunity for power, and I took it. Happy? Now you get to feel righteous when you watch me burn for my crimes.”
“Burn?” Colby squeaked. “He’s going to burn you?”
“I’m a witch,” I said flatly. “What am I but kindling?”
The moth spun midair, raced to me, and hit me hard enough to knock me back into the rocker.
“I was wrong,” she sobbed. “I don’t want to fight. I want to run. Let’s go. Let’s just go. Please?”
Cradling her against my chest, I petted and soothed her. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“They can’t hurt you.” She clung to my shirt in six places. “I won’t let them.”
“Do you understand what she’s doing to you?” Asa’s glare cut like a razor. “She’s feeding on you.”
“Do you understand anything?” Colby twisted in my arms. “She saved me.”
“Let’s all take a breath.” Clay held up his hands. “Ace, dial it down, man.”
“I won’t allow this.” He rose in a fluid motion. “It goes against everything I believe in.”
His ripe disgust was nothing I hadn’t felt toward myself, but his condemnation slid off me this time.
I might not have done the right thing by Colby, but I had done what my conscience demanded of me.
Wings jittering with agitation, Colby puffed up her fur. “You don’t get a say.”
“Little one, you don’t understand.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I can help you find peace.”
Peace was code for exorcising her spirit, her self, into whatever afterlife awaited her.
“Go inside and play your game.” I bent down to kiss the top of her head. “Please?”
Antennae quivering, bristling like bottle brushes, she growled, “I’m old enough to—”
“For me?”
“You owe me a new mount for this.” She twitched her butt at the agents then flew back in. “A dragon.”
That would set me back twenty-five dollars, but it was worth it to buy a moment alone with these two.
Rising from my chair, I descended the steps slowly to give the rage burning in my black heart time to cool.
The wards hummed as I neared them, but I had no intention of crossing the barrier and putting Colby at risk of capture. I stopped in front of Asa, rested my hands on the white picket fence, and let the claws at my fingertips extend into the wood to prevent me from raking them across his handsome face.
“The Silver Stag murdered that little girl.” I pitched my voice low. “She was his last victim.” I took a deep breath. “As he lay dying at my feet, he called her soul from her body and wrapped her in the form you just saw.” A creature unlike any in this world. “He chose a moth so he could summon her. He would have ordered her to fly to her own death at his command. He planned to consume her to heal himself, as if her essence was a fluff of cotton candy for him to pop into his mouth until it dissolved on his tongue.”
Black Hat, White Witch Page 2
