“I said, six times now, that I can’t help you find your daughter. If she told you that she was coming here, then you can bet that I’d tell you if she was. Emma and I are not friendly enough to be going to one another’s homes.” He asked why not. “Because I don’t like her. Not one bit. And you can bank on that too. If she was hoping I’d cover for her, then she’s just as shit out of luck as you are.”
“I have it written down right here on this note she left for me two days ago. I want you to read it.” Bryce snatched it from Emma’s father and read the note as one might to a child. “You are a nasty, rude person.”
“Precisely. Now, call the police, call the national guard. They’ll have better luck finding her than you will here at my home.” Bryce started to close the door in Mr. Sharp’s face. He put his foot in the way so that Bryce couldn’t close it. “Look. I’ve tried very hard, several times, not to punch you in the face. But if you don’t remove your foot from the doorway, I’m going to pull out a knife and cut the part off that is preventing me from closing my door and close it. I’m tired and out of sorts, and you’re not helping one bit.”
He jerked his foot back and Bryce slammed the door. As she leaned her back against it, Mr. Sharp started pounding on the door’s other side. The man had a death wish, that was all Laura could think about him.
“Do you know where she is?” Bryce nodded and walked away from the door into the kitchen. Laura followed her. Her mother-in-law, Bea, was sitting at the table, a cup of tea stirring in front of her. “Bea, I thought that as long as there was the possibility of someone seeing you, you’d not use your magic in this house.”
“Yes. But he wasn’t going to get in. We both know that. Bryce would have cut him to ribbons. Or if he got this far, I would have changed him into a toad. Nasty man that.” Bea picked up her cup of tea and the spoon disappeared. “You know where she is, Bryce, honey?”
“Dead.” No one said anything. If Bryce said she was dead, then she was dead. “I was wondering if we could have chicken and dumplings for dinner. We could use the roasted chicken from last night, since we’d be getting a late start.”
Laura looked at Bea, who simply shook her head. Sometimes she was jealous of the two of them, the things that they could share. But on this, Laura was glad for the fact that she wasn’t anymore a witch than the dog was next door. Her daughter was very powerful, and her mother-in-law was a close second.
They talked about dinner for a little while more, none of them very hungry, it seemed. As they plotted and planned for tomorrow, Bryce ate some grapes, a bowl of them on the table that hadn’t been there before. Tomorrow Bryce was going into the police station to turn down the job that they’d asked her to take.
“I can’t be working around people all the time and not have one of them notice that I’m off my noddle.” Bea smacked Bryce’s hand. “Well, I don’t think that, but you know that they will once I use my magic. And I will. Even if I only have to turn one of them into something that is silent.”
“I don’t blame you there. While our kind isn’t burned at the stake anymore, I do think that they’d put you away and never find the key if they knew just how powerful you are. Not that a cell would hold you, but then they’d try something else. Oh, by the way, that man next door thinks that his doggy is dead. I’ve taken care that his little doggy is safe. Poor thing. He was hurting it again and letting it stand in the snow all night.” Laura asked Bea where he was. “Under the table, now that you’re aware of him. He’s a good dog. I might train him to be my animal. I’ve been sort of lonely without Pet around.”
It was a startling revelation that witches had familiars. It was even more surprising that they didn’t necessarily have to be a cat—any animal would do. Case in point, Bryce had a bird. It was a pretty cockatoo that spoke four languages and could curse better than a sailor on leave. His name was Fred.
Pet, Bea’s animal, had died. He’d been a pretty little lizard that would chase Laura around the kitchen when he was being playful. It could do more than snap out his tongue at her when she spoke to him, as he too was as powerful as his mistress.
They were sure that he’d been poisoned by someone, but who had done it was a mystery. She thought it was a neighbor, but she didn’t ask anymore what they’d do to him if it had been him. Some things were better left unknown, Laura had figured out.
Few knew that they were a house of witches. Laura could do some magic, gifted to her by Bea first, then Bryce had given her more. Laura couldn’t do spells, nor could she cast, gathering ingredients like she would for a cake and putting them together for some use. Laura could help with spells, but she wasn’t able to cast them on someone or something. That was fine by her as well.
“I was thinking about that trip. The one where we headed back to your old country.” Laura got up and started throwing together a salad. That was something that she knew would be eaten, even if it wasn’t right now. She wouldn’t be going on the trip—that was something that Bea and Bryce did twice a year. “I’ve heard about some herbs that we can gather and bring back with us. It would be nice to have a fully functioning garden.”
“It would at that. I have that castle too. The one that was up on the market for non-payment of taxes. We could all stay there.”
Laura wanted to see the castle in person—it was supposed to be grand. But she’d stay here, hold down the fort, so to speak, and they’d bring her back all manner of things as gifts.
Laura tuned them out. There was nothing she could have added to the conversation other than to find out when they were leaving and when they’d return. As she was putting the bowl filled with the best greens she could find in the fridge, Bryce asked her if she was paying attention.
“I was. You two will be leaving and I’ll make sure that the animals are safe here. I’ll need to have someone help me with the mail. I can’t travel all that far without having my hip hurt me a great deal.” She’d fallen two years ago, and her hip hadn’t been the same since. And the doctors told her that it wasn’t broken, just badly bruised. Quacks. “I know you won’t have to pack anything, so tell me what you need for me to do.”
“Pack for yourself.” Laura started shaking her head. “Yes, you’re going with us this time. No excuses. I told you the last time you were going with us the next time. So, you pack you what you think you might want to take, and I’ll close up the house. Grandma said she’d take care of everything else. This will be an adventure for all of us, I think.”
“Bryce, I’m too much trouble.” Her daughter crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. “You are not using my way of getting you to mind me. You just go with Bea and I’ll be here when you return. I’m too hurt to want to sit on a plane for hours.”
“We’re not. Returning, I mean.” She asked her what she meant. “Grandma said that it’s time that we move on. People are beginning to notice that she’s not aging. Neither am I. And you look like we could be sisters and not mother and daughter. It’s time, Mom. We’ve done it before, and we need to do it again. And even if we weren’t, you’re still going.”
The hand on her shoulder buzzed like electric through a cord all the way through her body. Laura stood there for several seconds, the warm feeling of good health still making her slightly light headed. She knew that when she moved around, she’d be not only as good as new, but also not in any more pain.
Sitting in the chair that was still warm from when Bea had been sitting in it, she looked at Bryce. “I told you not to ever do that. I’ll not have you wasting your talents on an old woman like me. I do feel better, but you shouldn’t have done that. Honey, I knew that you’d have to move on soon. I just thought that you’d just make me old and leave me behind. I mean, that’s what I’d do.”
“You would not. If you don’t pack, I will, and you know that I’ll accidently leave something behind. You can’t think that I’d leave you here, do you?” She shook her head. “Good. Pack only what you can’t replace. Then when we get to this castle
, we’ll buy what you need. And if you pack up a box of things too big for your suitcase, tell me and I’ll send it along too.”
“What about Emma’s body? You have to give that man some closure. Not that he deserves it, but you should at least let someone find her.” Bryce said that she couldn’t and got up from the table.
Laura sat there for several more minutes. Bryce couldn’t help the ones that had killed themselves. It was a vow that she’d taken when she’d taken her first lesson at the school for witchcraft. Everyone had to give up something, some kind of thing, that they couldn’t help humans with, and she’d said that she’d never help the suicide victims’ bodies to be found. It was something that she didn’t run into often, but this time she knew that it hurt her little girl. It was the only thing that Bryce could think of to give up that wouldn’t be her. Those were the only choices that she’d been given—give up her mother or the victims of suicide.
Getting up, Laura started a mental list of things that she was going to take. Most of it was pictures, but there were a few things that she had been given by her late husband. Austin had been a good man, but he was also one that didn’t hide his magic. It was what had gotten him killed by the witch council.
Chapter 2
Bryce loved the old worldliness of the castle. The town, too, was something right out of a storybook in the way it looked and how the people acted. She had been welcomed, her entire family, and she was glad for that. If they were curious as to what they were, and she was sure they were interested, they were never rude enough to inquire. Bryce also heard that there was a dragon couple nearby. She would avoid them as much as she could.
It’s not that they couldn’t get along. Dragons and witches hadn’t been mortal enemies for a long time. It was said that a witch was the one that had made the first dragon, to get back at a spurned lover. But Bryce no more believe that than she did most stories that she’d heard.
Bryce didn’t care for the large shifters. They were usually clumsy, overbearing know it alls. Laughing to herself as she made her way around their new home, she stopped when she saw the man walking along the garden just beyond where she was. Her grandmother greeted him as she usually did a stranger, with a hug and a kiss on his cheeks. If he was startled by it or thought her odd, he didn’t look to show it. Knowing that her grandmother would be safe no matter what the man did to her, she flew to the top of the castle and sat on one of the many turrets that looked out over the smallish town.
It had all the elements of a good place to live. A grocery store that had a great many items that were locally made. A hardware store that also doubled as a post office when needed. And there was even a shoe repair place. She saw a few other buildings, but from her vantage point, she couldn’t make out what they might be. As she was thinking of going into the town, just to have a look around, a small thud behind her had her turning. The dragon turned to man in a heartbeat.
“Don’t jump. Life can’t be all that bad.” She just turned her back to him, hoping that he’d get the message. “I’m Noah. You must be Bryce.”
“Why are you here?” He didn’t answer her this time. “I’m sure that you know that you’re trespassing. Just go away and I’ll pretend that I didn’t see you.”
“Ah, but you did, and we both know it. Are you planning to jump? I have to tell you, this isn’t just a little jump. You’d really harm yourself if I were to allow you to fall that far.” She looked at him. “I’m charming like that.”
“You’re neither charming nor going to save me. Had I wanted to jump, I’d have not waited until someone would come to rescue me. I’ve been about as polite as I can be today. Go away.” He laughed, and she felt a returning smile tug at her mouth. “You’re very rude.”
“No, you’re the one that is being rude. So far I’ve tried to introduce myself, given you a part of myself in showing you that I was a dragon, and tried to save you. You’ve been nasty and rude and didn’t tell me that you were all right.” She looked out over the town again. “You and your family, you’ve purchased my home. I mean, you got it fair and square, but I grew up here behind these keep walls, and would be willing to give you a tour of the things you might not have gotten from the brochure.”
“We’re not human either, so if there were hidden places, I’m sure that my grandmother has found them. And I wasn’t being rude so much as I was trying very hard to let you know that I don’t care for company. Not just yours, but any company. As for jumping?” She leapt off the building and hovered there for several seconds before drifting down to the ground.
Bryce made her way to the front of the castle. She heard the man’s laughter and it made her smile again. Twice in one day. She had no idea what it was about this man that made her want to bash his head in one moment and make him laugh the next. Bryce had a feeling that, like her, he didn’t do that very much.
Her mom was in the kitchen familiarizing herself with the pantry as well as the big stove. It was large too, and now she knew why. To feed a family of dragons, the stove as well as all the cooking items in this room would have to be large to accommodate the amount of food one of them would eat. Not to mention a family of them.
“I’ve met one of the previous owners of the castle. They were dragons.” Her mom looked at her; there were three pencils tucked in her hair at various places. She was making a list, it seemed. “He said that there are places to hide in here. I’m guessing that Grandma found them already.”
“She said that she knew of a few places that she’d show me. Are we worried about the townspeople?” Bryce took one of the pencils out of her mom’s hair when she seemed to be looking for one. “Thanks. I’m having a hard time focusing today.”
“It’s the time change, and the fact that this place is covered in magic. I’ve not taken the time to see who put it here, but it’s strong. When are you going into town?” She said in about an hour. “I’d like to go with you if you don’t mind. And in answer to your question, no, I don’t think we have anything to worry about here. In fact, I’d guess that with dragons here, they’re used to having people be ageless.”
Nodding, her mom told her that she’d let her know when they were leaving. Making her way up the long winding staircase from the kitchen to the upper floors, she thought about the man. A dragon, of all things. And he was close enough to the house to pop over whenever he wanted to.
Her room was in one of the turrets, the narrowest one. Her bed, a large one that had been left behind by the dragon family, was sitting facing the window rather than the headboard covering it. She loved waking up to the sun coming into her room and had decided that she’d never put curtains up.
The castle was modern, with indoor plumping and large walk-in closets. There was also Internet and cable throughout the house. Not that they owned a television, but it was nice to be able to hook up to the Internet. She sat down at her laptop and let the Witches’ Council know where she was, as well as how long she’d be staying.
Bryce didn’t need to let them know, but she did it because she wasn’t going to break rules that might change at the drop of a hat. Her grandmother had told her that the council would change the rules and laws to suit themselves. That was what had gotten her father killed.
He’d been teaching her some of the finer points to casting magic, and he’d been doing it in their backyard. But someone—the neighbor, who had also been a witch—told on him. And as she rarely let anything go when the council said that they’d take care of it, they’d banished him, then had one of their dragons—there were a great many of them back in the day—kill him when she wasn’t satisfied.
It wasn’t why she didn’t care for dragons. The dragon had only been doing what he’d been told to do. And after a few weeks, gems had shown up on their doorstep. The note with them had told how he’d loved her father and found him to be a good and kind man. And he wanted her to have a part of his tears so that she could continue her education as a great witch.
Bryce had done that, and more. Every t
ime she met a new witch, older or younger, Bryce spent as much time with them as they’d allow, learning as much as they’d let her, taking their spells and adding them to her own book. Her grandmother had given hers to Bryce when she’d been just a fledgling. Now that she’d claimed it as her own, the book had doubled in thickness, and the pages were now all her own.
The trip to town with her mom was nice. They couldn’t walk—it was much too far—but while there they found two shops going in, as well as a building that was devoted to just local items. As soon as she entered, Bryce paused at the doorway and looked around.
“Bryce?” She shook her head at her mom and told her to wait with her. As they stood there, Bryce dug deeper into the room, letting her magic flow over it to find what had disturbed her. Just as she found it, a woman came toward her and put out her hand. As her mom was reaching for it, Bryce smacked it down.
“We don’t want any trouble.” The woman nodded but didn’t smile or put her hand down. “We’ve only just moved here, and we want no trouble with you or your kind.”
“You’ve already caused me trouble, witch. And I aim to make sure that you don’t do anything more.” When she raised her hand up, Bryce did the same. Almost as soon as she shoved magic at the woman, she felt her mom move, disappearing from behind her.
With no time to look, she held her magic and watched the woman in front of her. Bryce knew the exact moment that the other woman realized that she was in over her head. Backing away from her, the woman seemed to know it was much too late for that. Bryce didn’t destroy her, as she was supposed to do, but spoke calmly as she held her in her place.
“You started this. And I am well within my rights to take you.” She nodded. Her name was March—no last name was hers to have, but she went by something entirely different. “March the faerie of the disenchanted, I give you one chance to redeem yourself.”
Noah: House of Wilkshire ― Erotic Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Page 2
