I wanted to talk to Thatch, to apologize to him, but now wasn’t the time. I hadn’t meant for everyone to find out about what Elric had accused him of and to take out their fear and loathing on him. Yes, I was mad at him, but not for being unprofessional. Not for using forbidden magic.
I hated him because he’d made me love him and then torn my heart in half and stomped on it. I wanted to get past it, but I couldn’t. Tears filled my eyes.
“Are you okay?” Pinky asked. “I think I have a clean tissue somewhere. . . .” He patted his furry chest and combed his fingers through his shaggy hair as if a tissue might pop out from an invisible pocket of fur.
“What are you looking at?” Josie growled.
I didn’t have to look to see whom she spoke to. I stared at the floor, ashamed of her lack of discretion. I nudged her. “Josie, please stop.”
No less than three spiders scurried by as we waited for the meeting to start.
Jeb and Khaba arrived five minutes late. By then, all the other teachers and staff had assembled, many standing along the walls around the conference table. No one stood on Thatch’s wall.
I could barely focus on the agenda of the meeting. After our general announcements, we broke into small groups. Most of the teachers met with their teams, but electives conferred about our role in the upcoming event because we provided the majority of the entertainment and decorations. I had a major role in the planning, but my mind kept drifting back to Thatch. Coach Kutchi had to keep prompting me about my part in the event.
I tried not to glance in Thatch’s direction as he conducted a meeting with the Celestor department. I hated the way the teachers glowered at him as though he were a sexual deviant. Vega got up and left while he was talking. Pro Ro wandered away while he was giving his team instructions and joined the Amni Plandai meeting. I couldn’t stand to see the way his department snubbed him. While Jasper was coordinating music with the coach’s dance team, I stood up and excused myself.
I didn’t actually know where I was going when I left. My feet took me from the administration wing, through the main corridor, past walls painted pumpkin-orange and puke-green and into the crumbling section of the school. I used an Elementia spell to light my way. Thatch hadn’t wanted me to use my magic, even though it was back. I didn’t want to think about him or his advice.
I didn’t want to think about anything.
The spell illuminated Derrick’s murals of me. I stared at a self-portrait he’d included in one of his paintings, a blue-haired boy among automatons. If Derrick had been here, he would have listened. He wouldn’t have tried to tell me what to think. He’d always kept my secrets.
The old Derrick, anyway.
The scuff of a shoe echoed behind me. I whirled. Thatch held his wand up, the blue light casting his face in an eerie glow.
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “What are you doing here?”
To kill me? To hex me? To yell at me? Any of those were possible.
“I am here to inform you that your depravity is complete. I hope you’re happy,” Thatch said. “You have ruined the one thing I take pride in, my professionalism.”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t—”
A brighter light flared behind Thatch.
“No, you ruined that yourself, honey,” Khaba said, strolling forward.
I abruptly snuffed out my light before Khaba saw that I’d been working a spell.
Thatch whirled. “Ah, Mr. Khaba. I see you’re here to rescue Miss Lawrence yet again. Do take care to remember how well that worked the last time you came to her aid.”
Khaba’s jaw clenched. “It doesn’t look favorable for you that you’ve gone after Miss Lawrence when she’s all alone. I suggest you avoid stalking her in the future.”
“He wasn’t stalking me,” I said.
“Merlin’s fucking balls,” Thatch muttered.
He disappeared in a swirl of vapor, evaporating into mist.
I had seriously messed up by telling Josie, but I had needed a friend to talk to. I hadn’t known she would start rumors about his reputation. Thatch was not my friend, and he probably didn’t care anything about my feelings. Even so, that didn’t mean I wanted to hurt him. I didn’t know how to fix the impossible divide between us and act as professionals again.
There was only one thing left to do to try to fix all this. I was going to have to bargain with a Fae.
CHAPTER TEN
Snitch and Witch
I convinced Vega to take me dancing with her and Elric on Friday night. She took morbid delight in digging through my closet and telling me what not to wear.
“Try not to look so depressed. You aren’t marrying Elric.” Her amused smile faded. “Wait. You aren’t agreeing to marry him, are you? This is much too fast. We need to milk this out so I can see how much I can get from him before you sign over your soul to him.”
“Thanks. I’ll do my best. For you,” I said with the same level of monotone Thatch usually reserved for me.
She smiled, my sarcasm lost on her. Vega selected a lacy green dress that would have been perfect for dancing. I hadn’t worn it since going dancing with Julian Thistledown at one of the pubs in Lachlan Falls. It felt like it would be bad luck to wear that on a date—a meeting?—with Elric.
I grabbed it from Vega and shoved it back into the closet. I selected a modest black dress. Vega made me wear one of her shawls, a silver-and-black sequined veil that looked more decorative than warm. Even after I’d wrapped myself in the shawl, the light of two stones glowed green from the amulet around my throat, reminding me I would never really be free of Elric.
It took me all of ten minutes to get ready. The real torture was waiting for Vega to finish, which took another hour. I just wanted to get this night over with. If I was going to make a deal with the devil, no amount of lipstick and primping was going to get me out of this, no matter what Vega said.
Vega whisked us away with Celestor magic, her spell not so different from Thatch’s, only I didn’t feel as much dizzy as sick. A shroud of black mist obscured my vision. I smelled cyanide and lavender and cigarette smoke. Some of the haze cleared, and I blinked. The restaurant was dimly lit by candles. The moment I inhaled, I sucked in a cloud of actual cigarette smoke that made me cough.
“Of course. You would ruin my dramatic entrance.” Vega shoved me forward.
I tried not to trip in my high heels. It had been a long time since I’d thrown comfortable and practical shoes to the wind.
As we made our way through the crowded tables, I realized this wasn’t the same club Vega and I had been to before. Candles lit each table, but the dance floor was illuminated by bobbing will-o’-the-wisps. The glowing orbs radiated just enough light that they showed people slow dancing to a sultry jazz song. The music was acoustic, most of the musicians looking ordinary and human in aspect. Except for the mermaid sitting in a pool singing a love ballad.
I could see how a place like this would be more inviting to Elric than a club filled with electronic amplifiers, fluorescent lights, cold iron, and human-crafted chemicals. Elric wasn’t the only Fae. A woman with pointed elf ears who was showing off more leg than Vega sat at a table with impeccably dressed men in the attire of thirties mobsters, with pinstripe suits and fedoras mismatching their Elizabethan collars and plaid kilts. A man on the dance floor with horns sprouting out of a forest of ferns, which might have been a green man’s version of hair, danced with a woman with six arms. From the way she groped him, he probably appreciated how she put all six hands to use. She was creepy, somewhere in between the god Shiva and a spider woman, but with a twenties bob like Vega.
I couldn’t tell if these people were Fae or Witchkin. Vega jabbed me between my shoulder blades. “Keep moving. And stop staring.”
I was so caught up by the creatures around me, all attired appropriately for another era, that I failed to notice where Vega led me. She stopped at a table near the dance floor. Elric rose
to his feet, hardly recognizable as a Fae prince out of his usual attire. He blended in with any of the club patrons in his old-fashioned vest, trousers, and a paisley ascot. It was rare that I noticed the pointed tips of his ears with the way he usually wore his hair down, but it was noticeable when he tied it back like this.
He was so adorable, I wanted to smile at him. It was hard not to see him as the friendly persona he projected. I forced myself to remember this was the same man who had taken morbid delight in torturing Thatch as well. That curdled the warmth for him in my core.
Elric stood and gave a curt bow. “Miss Lawrence, what a delight. I didn’t expect to see you.”
Vega snorted. “Elric, darling. Ahem. What did we say about lying?”
His cheeks actually flushed pink as he looked from her to me. “What I mean to say is Miss Bloodmire wrote to me saying she intended to bring you tonight, but I was skeptical.” He cleared his throat. “If I’m going to be honest—”
“And you are,” Vega said forcefully.
Perhaps Vega wasn’t as completely on his side as I had assumed.
He drew in a deep breath as if this entire situation pained him. “Well, I thought Miss Bloodmire just wanted to get a new coffin out of me.”
She rolled her eyes. I tried not to laugh. It sounded like he was onto Vega. I didn’t feel so bad about her trying to deceive him now.
He drew out a chair for me in a gentlemanly gesture and pushed it in as I seated myself. He did the same for Vega. There were already drinks on the table. Unapologetically, Vega cast a spell over a tumbler of amber fluid, the purple sparkles of magic suggesting the poison-detection spell. Her magic momentarily cut through the clouds of smoke, and I breathed in fresh air smelling like starlight and roses. Her spell would discover if anything of Fae origin had been placed in her drink, anything that might keep her bound to the Faerie Realm.
Vega lifted an imperious eyebrow at me and nodded to my drink. I looked to the glass before me and shook my head. “I’m not planning on drinking.”
Elric pushed forward a glass of clear liquid. “If you intend to do any dancing, you’ll at least want water.”
Self-conscious as they both watched me, I fumbled through the spell. It had been months since I’d had magic, let alone needed to use it.
Vega smacked me in the arm when I messed up. “You’re mispronouncing the words.”
“Right. It’s Levi-o-sa, not Levios-a,” I said with mock snobbery.
“That isn’t part of the spell,” Vega growled. “Start over.”
Elric winked at me. I took it he had read the Harry Potter books. He liked all literature. If Elric had one good quality, it was his enthusiasm for art, music, and literature. He’d never put down my taste or style.
I started the spell over. It took me at least five minutes as Elric and Vega both watched, but I proved my water was free of poison and Fae substances.
“Very good, Miss Lawrence.” Elric grinned.
Vega made a face, looking grouchier than ever. “Stop being so enthusiastic. No one likes a grinning nitwit.”
Elric attempted to not smile. “Yes, of course. So kind of you for the reminder.”
I sipped at my water, mostly to hide my smile. It was hilarious to see bossy Vega telling a Fae prince what to do and him actually making an attempt to listen to her.
“You look lovely tonight, Miss Lawrence.” From the way he gazed at me with such admiration in his eyes, I didn’t doubt he meant it.
Vega kicked him under the table and gave him a murderous glare. “Who is your date tonight?”
He cleared his throat. “I beg your pardon. Miss Bloodmire, you are fashionable and elegant as always. Many heads in the room turned at your appearance. I’m afraid every man in the room will want to dance with you.”
She lounged in her chair, expression pleased. “That’s better, darling.”
“How have you been, Miss Lawrence?” Elric asked.
“Do we have to be so formal? We all know each other well enough you can call me by my first name,” I said.
“Indeed. Quite true.” He smiled, looking pleased.
Everything about the conversation that went on was stiff and awkward. I wanted to fast forward to the part where I asked him what he wanted, but I knew how Fae were with their formalities.
Another five minutes of small talk went by before I became too impatient to put up with any more of the bullshit. I just wanted to know if he would agree to what I wanted without making me give him a huge sacrifice. “You know why I came here tonight and what I wanted to talk to you about?”
He inclined his head in acquiescence. “I have my suspicions.”
“Ahem,” a male voice said. The three of us turned to a man standing near the table, dressed in twenties-era clothes, or an imitation of it. His suit appeared to be made of pale brown feathers.
He smiled at me. “Miss Clarissa Lawrence, is it? Would you care to dance?” A slight Scottish accent laced his voice.
“I don’t know you. How do you know my name?” I looked from him to Elric and Vega.
“Pardon me, terribly sorry.” He placed a hand on his heart, in an exaggerated gesture of apology. “I’m William the Enchanter, from the MacDougal Court. I met you briefly at the ball in the Silver Court.”
“She isn’t any good at dancing,” Vega said. “Fortunately, I am.”
She stood.
“Err.” He cleared his throat, looking back to me.
She was right. I wasn’t good at dancing, not like she was. Had this been a normal bar with mundane people, I might have been insulted she wanted to steal a potential dance partner—and someone interested in me. But this wasn’t a normal situation. He was Fae. Another Fae love interest was the last thing I wanted to deal with.
Vega took the man’s arm.
“I want you to stay.” I called after Vega. “When will you be back?”
If I was going to sign my soul away, I wanted a witness. Vega might have always looked out for herself first, but she was clever enough with oaths and contracts that she had gotten me out of scrapes before.
“Whenever I damn well want,” she shouted over her shoulder.
A fast song started up, drowning out all possibilities for conversation.
“Do you want to dance?” Elric asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t want him to touch me. I knew myself well enough to know I would melt into blissful complacency once his arms were around me. If only I could have worn a special pair of gloves to keep me safe from using my affinity.
Elric made a circular motion with his hand, and the sound dampened. When I looked closely, I could see the barrier of the sound bubble around our table. It was subtle, almost invisible compared to Thatch’s spell for silencing sound.
I swallowed, more nervous than ever.
“You know, I’m not going to bite.” He frowned at me, his eyes shifting to brown, making him look like a puppy dog. “Or do anything untoward.”
“I know. You are always a gentleman. To a fault.”
He smiled at that.
I fortified myself with a deep breath. “Will you just tell me what you want?”
His brows rose expectantly. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I detected hope in him.
“What do I have to do to get you to drop allegations against Thatch?” I asked. “You’re ruining his life. And he doesn’t deserve it, not for teaching me something I asked to be taught.”
His face flushed red. “He does deserve to be punished for what he did to you. He manipulated you and hurt you and—”
“That isn’t a crime. And it isn’t endearing you to me that you would do something so petty and vindictive and cruel. It’s so . . . so . . . Fae.”
He stiffened. “That was unnecessary.”
“Isn’t that what you dislike about your family? About your people?” I waved a hand at the dance floor. “How they twist Witchkin to their bidding and use people.”
“So it’s all right when he does it, but when I use the system to my advantage, I’m the wicked one?”
“It isn’t all right when anyone does it. Why do you have to sink to his level?”
He drummed his fingers against the table. “I already told you why.”
“To protect me. Right.” I was back to this again. “Was it protecting me when you tortured him in your dungeon for days? You promised me you would release him. You didn’t keep your word.”
He turned his gaze away from me, watching the dancers for a long moment before responding. “You’re right. That wasn’t to protect you. It was for revenge.”
“How can I trust you if the only way I know you’re going to keep your word is if I think of every loophole and make you utter something like Wiseman’s Oath.”
His shoulders sagged. He mumbled something incomprehensible, reminding me of one of my students caught in a lame excuse.
I crossed my arms. “So what do I have to offer you? If I make a bargain with you that is too good to refuse, you won’t be able to say no, right? Your principles or rules or whatever will force you to accept.”
He bit his lip. “Don’t do it.”
“If I sleep with you, will that be enough?”
He relaxed visibly. “No.”
He must have been expecting I would offer something else. My soul? “If I go back to dating you?”
Elric tore his gaze away from me. “Oh, look, the song is almost over. Vega will be coming back. Let’s wait for her before discussing this further. We wouldn’t want you to accidentally agree to sign your soul over to me again.” He lifted his arm and waved her toward our table.
I glanced over my shoulder. Vega smiled, but she didn’t come. In fact, she walked in the other direction. She was like a cat that way. They didn’t come when you called them either.
“Does this have something to do with the celebration at the school?” I asked. “I need to formally show the world of Fae that I’m ‘yours.’”
His expression darkened. “Why do you have to say it like that? You know I’m not trying to own you like chattel. I don’t believe in enslaving Witchkin. I wouldn’t make you do anything you wouldn’t want.”
Hex Crimes Page 12
