“I didn’t know.” Clay wiped a hand over his mouth. “You never said…”
“Your partner here thinks I kept Colby as a snack.” I mimed a casual shrug. “I can’t blame him.” I told him the truth. “I would think the worst of someone with my reputation too.” I held his gaze. “It’s earned.”
A tilt of his head transformed Asa’s aggression into curiosity. “Why did you resist?”
“She was afraid,” I rasped, a hole opening in my chest. “So very afraid.” I retracted my claws. “I killed the Silver Stag, but his spell was draining her. A soul can’t survive outside its shell for long. She was dying all over again. Slowly. Painfully. As she clawed at any means to hold on to life.” I couldn’t look at either of them. “Even now, I hear those screams in my dreams.”
They reminded me so much of how I had sounded, begging for mercy as a child after…
“You took her as your familiar.” Clay understood first. “You bound her to you to save her.”
The link to me gave her substance, allowed her to become real, but it also trapped her as a moth.
“I did.” I rubbed my arms against a chill. “She was a child then, and she’s a child now.”
That moment of weakness, of compassion, might have been the culmination of my darkest act yet.
A familiar mingled its life force with its witch. That was why it was taboo to bond with a child. They quit aging, physically. They were fixed for the rest of their lives—and witches lived for a long time—at the exact developmental point in which the link was forged. The bond that saved Colby locked her mental age too.
For as long as we both lived, Colby would be a child in my care, and that was an enormous responsibility.
One I would happily take on all over again for the chance to learn what it was to love another person.
Even if she was, well, an insect.
“She can’t function as a proper familiar.” Asa dipped his chin. “You knew, and you did it anyway.”
The pinch in Clay’s brows eased a fraction. “That’s why you went white.”
“A girl killed by black magic shouldn’t have to live with someone who practices it.”
“I owe you an apology.” Asa bowed his head in a show of respect. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”
“I left Black Hat.” I stood my ground. “I’m not going back.”
“You would let more children die?” Asa slid his gaze past my shoulder. “Can you live with that?”
“More children like Colby.” I filled in the blanks for him. “That’s what you mean.”
The appeal to my better nature would have been laughable a decade earlier. Now I was…softer.
“I can’t go back.” I stared at the ground as if the right answers might sprout. “I can’t risk Colby.”
Black Hat might have found me, but Colby had gobsmacked Clay and Asa, which meant she was still a secret.
“We need your expertise on this case.” Asa took a step away. “Will you sleep on it?”
“It won’t change my answer,” I warned him. “I have to do what’s best for Colby.”
“I understand.” He made a gesture at the level of his navel. “Until tomorrow, Rue Hollis.”
Backing away from the fence, he pivoted on his heel then returned to the SUV.
“I wish you had told me.” Clay stuck his hands in his pockets. “I could have helped you.”
Because this was Clay, I could admit, “I was afraid I was no better than your partner thinks I am.”
Had I consumed Colby, I would have rocketed from sixth or seventh most powerful black witch in the country straight to the top. My kind ate hearts to gain power, but to devour a soul? A pure soul? The high would have sustained me for decades and left its mark on my magic for the rest of my long life.
“You never harmed innocents.” He lifted his hand as if to comfort me before recalling the wards. “You’re one of the good ones.”
“I’m a serial killer who hunts—hunted—worse monsters.”
That I had preyed on the guilty didn’t make me an angel of mercy, merely an opportunist.
“Sometimes, that’s what it takes.” His lips quirked to one side. “You did good with the kid. She’s fierce.”
“Colby is the same person she was when she died.” I shook my head. “I can’t take credit.”
That belonged to her parents, to her. And for the second time in my life, I heard a whisper of conscience.
The Silver Stag was dead, his victims avenged. I ended my career on a high note. I had nothing to prove.
But Asa had done his job well. He had planted a bug in my ear that forced me to ask what if.
What if there were more Colbys out there? What if I could save them? What if I was the only one who could?
“I’ll talk to Colby.” I bet she had been eavesdropping. “We’ll meet you for breakfast with an answer.”
“Text me the details?”
“I can’t believe you kept the same number.”
“I was only ever a phone call away, Dollface. That won’t change.”
Throat squeezing shut, I lifted a hand in a wave then returned to the porch, balancing the weight of the world on my shoulders.
3
I wore Colby as a hair bow to our breakfast meeting with Clay and Asa.
Whatever her type of otherworldly moth, they came in two sizes. Regular and mini. Or maybe that was a familiar thing. Either way, I wasn’t about to look a gift moth in the mouth. With her neutral coloring, she matched everything, and I often passed her off as an accessory when she wanted to go to town with me.
The door opened before I touched it as Ms. Hampshire yanked me into her diner and into a hug.
“Frank has been right as rain since he started drinking your tea.” She kissed both my cheeks. “Bless you.”
Based on Mrs. Gleason’s glowing reviews of her tea blend, Ms. Hampshire had approached me about holistic cures for her partner’s emphysema. His label read: elderberry, eucalyptus, lemon peel, chickweed, holy basil, pleurisy root, and spearmint. The other ingredients, well, they were best left unlisted.
“I’m happy to help.” I withdrew. “I’m meeting someone this morning. Two someones, actually.”
“I know the pair you’re meaning.” Her brow creased. “Never seen the likes of them around here.”
“They’re police officers.” I stuck to my fabricated backstory. “They helped with my ex and my new identity.”
“Why are they here?” She slapped her order pad against her palm. “Has there been any trouble?”
“No.” I hit her with a bright smile as fake as my name. “Nothing like that.”
“All right.” She cut her eyes toward them. “I trust the big one more than the pretty one.”
Supernaturals, having excellent hearing, would have no trouble picking up on our conversation.
Ms. Hampshire’s comment drew Asa’s attention to me, as if he was curious how I would answer.
There was fae in his lineage. No doubt about it. Fae vanity was legendary.
“You think he’s pretty?” I swept my gaze over him. “I didn’t notice.”
“Sure.” She ribbed me with her elbow. “I didn’t notice the sky is blue or the grass is green either.”
“Call the shop when you’re ready for a refill.” I couldn’t help my smile. “The girls will let me know.”
“I’ll do that.” She patted my cheek. “Breakfast is on me.” She hesitated. “Yours.” She shot Clay a furtive glance. “Feeding that one would cost me the earth.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said over a laugh, “but thank you.”
“Don’t go looking for your check,” she warned. “You won’t find it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, before I forget.” She touched the side of her head. “That’s a lovely hairclip you’re wearing.”
“Thanks.” I stroked a finger down Colby’s back. “I think so too.”
“That tickles,” the moth hissed. “Sto
p it.”
The urge to squirm overwhelmed her, and she dug her feet into my scalp, which only made me laugh.
Crossing the restaurant, I joined the agents at their booth, grateful they had squished in together to give me my own bench.
“Good morning, gentlemen.”
The cushions squeaked under me as I slid across them to the middle for a clear view of them both.
“Morning, Dollface.” Clay’s smile couldn’t grow any bigger. “Damn, it’s good to see you.”
A harsh intake of breath on top of my head caused the big man to blush clear to the roots of his wig.
Today he had chosen a conservative style, by his standards, brown with blond streaks in a messy cut.
“He said a bad word,” Colby whispered, delighted. “Rue won’t let me say bad words.”
“I apologize.” Clay winced. “I shouldn’t say bad words either.”
“You’re old.” Her wings twitched in a shrug. “You can say whatever you want.”
Flattened against the wall by Clay’s bulk, Asa fought a smile. “What will you have for breakfast?”
Out of necessity, Colby kept her social life online. It took her a second to register he was talking to her.
“I ate before we left.” She stomped my head. “Don’t forget, you promised me hot chocolate.”
“With extra marshmallows.” I rolled my eyes. “I haven’t forgotten.”
Before we got down to business, Ms. Hampshire bustled over to take our orders.
Unsurprising, Clay ordered more food than we had room at the table, which worked, since Asa only ordered a black coffee. I went with bacon and pancakes, their daily special, and an orange juice.
“I’ll get that hot chocolate out to you in a minute,” she promised. “I have to find the marshmallows.”
This time of year, this far south, I doubted many orders came through for hot chocolate when it was iced sweet tea weather. But she always made a point to keep the supplies on hand for my cravings.
Thankfully, it held up well on the ride home, the only place Colby could enjoy her treat.
Once we were alone again, I pressed my palms onto the table to hide their trembling. “I’m in.”
“We’re in,” my hair bow informed them. “We’re a team.”
“In exchange for my—our assistance—I request that the Bureau drafts me a new contract that specifies I will only work for Black Hat on a case-by-case basis as a consultant. This town will be my permanent address, until such time Colby and I decide we no longer wish to live here. We expect to be left in peace, barring necessary communications that pertain to potential cases.” I aimed my stare at Asa. “I have a business to run and obligations to this community. Our demands are nonnegotiable.”
They had their hooks in me, and we all knew it, but maybe I could determine how deep the barbed edges pierced this new life of mine.
“We don’t have the authority to approve or deny your request, but we’ll hand it upline and see what the director has to say.” Asa rubbed his thumb in the bowl of his spoon. “Perhaps by tonight.” He studied his reflection. “Will you have dinner with me? As an apology for my earlier rudeness?”
“Like a date?” Colby tap-danced on my head. “Rue never dates.”
The agent lifted his piercing green eyes to mine. “Is that so?”
“He meant the four of us.” I ignored his question, and her excitement. “A business dinner.”
“I’m leaving after breakfast.” Clay cut Asa epic side-eye. “I won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“I have to study,” Colby said primly. “I’m working toward my GED.”
“Impressive.” Clay’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “I don’t have one of those.”
“I want to go to college.” Her tone dared them to tell her she couldn’t do it. “I want to be a lawyer.”
“There are educational grants available to Black Hat agents and their families.” Asa regarded her seriously. “They might be able to help Rue offset those costs.”
“No thanks.” I wasn’t allowing them that much access to Colby. “I’m happy to pay out of pocket.”
Her attention span was impressive, considering her mental age, but she bounced around a lot, as all kids do. Last week, she wanted to be a vet. This week, a lawyer. Next week, who knew? All that mattered to me was she believed she could do anything she set her mind to, wherever that road took her.
“Here you go.” Ms. Hampshire appeared with two other girls in tow. “Breakfast is served.”
“Thank you.” I salivated over my stack of pancakes swimming in syrup. “We appreciate the fast service.”
“It would have been quicker if your friend here hadn’t ordered half the contents of my fridge.” Her laugh was bright and warm. “Frank thought we must have gotten a school bus of fieldtrippers in.”
“I took a good look at everyone else’s plates on my way in.” Clay dialed up his charm. “Everything looked so good, I couldn’t choose just one thing. I had to sample it all.”
“Oh, you.” A bright flush lit up her cheeks. “Watch yourself around this one.”
With his simple coffee, Asa watched our byplay as if it were a better meal than what sat on the table.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your visiting.” She pinched my cheek. “Holler if you need anything.”
Once she was out of sight, I rubbed the tender skin, which was sore from an excess of pinches.
That was the problem with eternal youth. I could pass for midtwenties, though I was probably her age. I had kept the round cheeks of my childhood, and their always flushed appearance made them irresistible to grandmotherly types. Pair that with wide blue eyes and wheat-colored waves that hit me mid-spine, and I could pass for a kid fresh out of high school.
The camouflage had served me well, and make no mistake, it was camouflage. Nothing about me had been left to nature or to chance. I was the culmination of generations of selective breeding that resulted in power, beauty, and intelligence wrapped up in one girl-next-door package.
I was brittle black and charred inside, with a charcoal briquet for a heart. How no one saw it shocked me until working for the Black Hats taught me that most people only saw what you showed them.
Out of safe topics of conversation, I veered toward the dicey. “How is everyone else?”
“The same.” Clay dug into his bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. “Immortals don’t change much.”
“True.” I picked at my pancakes with my fork. “Days, weeks, months, years blur in the office.”
Black Hat didn’t hire its agents. It blackmailed, kidnapped, bought, stole, traded, or threatened them.
“Ace is the only newbie,” he continued. “He’s been with us…eight years?”
“Seven.” Asa sipped his coffee. “How long until I’m no longer the newbie?”
“Until we get another newbie.” Clay bit down with gusto. “Probably another decade or three.”
Asa studied me over the rim of his mug. “How long were you the newbie?”
“Five years.” I set down my fork. “One of our agents went rogue, and Clay and I hunted him down.”
We killed him when he resisted arrest using deadly force. I picked his heart out of my teeth for days.
“She was promoted on a technicality.” Clay sucked on his teeth. “Some newbs have all the luck.” His eyes laughed at me. “Makes me sick.”
It made me sick too, the reminder of that first kill on the job.
“Are you going to eat that?”
Jerked from my grim thoughts, I found Asa staring at me. “You want my pancakes?”
“They look good.” He turned the mug in his hand. “You’re not eating them.”
“I seem to have lost my appetite.” I pushed the plate over to him. “Please, help yourself.”
A piece of egg fell out of Clay’s open mouth as he watched Asa settle in with my food.
Eyebrows on the rise, I invited him to inform me what the big deal was, but he go
t back to chewing.
“There you are,” a warbly voice called across the restaurant. “Hey, darlin’.”
An elderly man with dark skin shining with sweat toddled over with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Oh no.” I covered my face with my hands and pretended to hide. “Not this guy.”
“Hey, now. Hey. We’re friends, right?” He cackled with delight. “How you been?”
Lowering my hands before the agents got the wrong idea, I smiled up at Old Man Jenkins. “Good. You?”
“Not dead yet.” He reached in a pocket and pulled out a glass bottle. “You cured me.”
The tincture blended elderberry, horehound, ginger root, cinnamon stick, and star anise.
A tasty cure for the common cold. No magic required.
“Let me know if you need more.” I curled his hand over the bottle. “I keep plenty on hand.”
“You’re too good to me.” He staggered back, noticing the agents. “Hey, now. Hey. Who are you?”
“They’re friends.” I indicated the mountain of food. “They’re just passing through.”
“Hmph.” He narrowed his rheumy eyes at Asa and then Clay. “You best treat her right.”
Unable to help myself, I leaned closer. “Mrs. Gleason shot Clay here in the butt.”
“Ha.” He slapped his thigh. “God love that woman. God love you too, Miss Hollis.”
Laughing under his breath, he shuffle-stepped off to his usual table with a wide grin.
Crunching through a piece of bacon, Clay chewed thoughtfully. “Your friend didn’t ask about my health.”
“You’re here, sitting and eating. As far as he’s concerned, that means you’re fine.”
“You haven’t accepted payment for any of the teas or tinctures you’ve given to your neighbors.”
Leave it to Asa to notice. “How would you know?”
Without answering, he dipped his chin and took a bite of my pancakes.
Black Hat, White Witch Page 3
