Liv looked at her phone. “It’s already six thirty. What if he doesn’t make dinner?”
Imani put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, love. He’ll be here, and I bet he makes it up to you.” She waggled her eyebrows, and I laughed.
Liv blushed, and a small smile curled her lips up. “I suppose you’re right.” She turned and slid the key into the lock. A burst of warm air flowed over us as we walked in. Will was the last in, and he shut the door behind himself. Our steps echoed on the floorboards as we walked through the vestibule into the main living area, Olivia leading the way.
I sniffed the air. “Mmm, is that garlic bread I smell?”
“Surprise!” a chorus of voices rang out. People jumped up from behind furniture, and a muffled dog’s bark came from the back garden.
My hand shot to my chest. Liv stood in shock. My brain’s go-to was to make a joke, especially when it wasn’t appropriate. “Wow, all this just because there’s garlic bread?” It was Will’s turn to elbow me. He had no sense of humour. “What? I was just making a joke.”
Liv’s mother, her slim frame dressed elegantly in an emerald-green, long-sleeve wrap dress, glided over and took her daughter’s arm. Her mother smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Liv, darling.”
Her father walked up and put his arm around her. “We know you didn’t want anything huge, but we wanted to surprise you. You’ve had a rough year, and, well, we wanted you to know how many people care about you. Happy birthday.” He kissed her forehead. Liv gave them a smile, but it looked like her tentative one—the one that meant she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to smile or not.
As her mother handed her a small box wrapped in pink paper with a silver bow around it, a few of those who’d yelled “surprise” gathered around her, pushing Will, Imani, and I back. And one of those people was Kate, the vile woman from the other night.
Just great.
Will and I shared a worried glance. And why was Kate here after we insulted her? Surely she knew she wasn’t welcome. There was no sign of that when she leaned in to give Liv a hug. My friend pasted on her fake smile. In Kate’s spiderlike embrace, the worry in Liv’s eyes turned to despair. Liv turned her head slightly to look at me. That was my cue. I pushed through the crowd and grabbed her arm. “Liv hasn’t felt well today. Can everyone just give her some breathing room?” I was the queen of making things up on the fly, especially in desperate times.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to pull out my magic to get everyone to comply. Kate dropped her arms, and everyone moved back. A couple of people said, “I’m sorry. Oh no, are you okay?” At least they weren’t all horrible like Kate, at least I didn’t think so. But then, for all I knew, they’d all been part of the group at school who’d made life hell for her.
Liv’s mum, stripes of worry lining her forehead, took her daughter’s hand. “I didn’t know you weren’t feeling well. Come and sit down.” As she led Liv and I towards the back of the house, she called over her shoulder. “Come on through, everyone, and let’s have some refreshments.”
The living area that led to the back garden had been transformed from its usual elegance. Fake bats hung from the ceiling, as did silver stars on strings, and spiders. Waiters stood around, holding either trays of full wine and champagne glasses or hors d’oeuvres. Katy Perry’s latest song played at a comfortable volume through inset ceiling speakers.
Liv’s mum settled us on the couch. “Are you okay? Would you like me to call this off, send everyone home?” Gee, her mum was nice. This must have cost a fortune, but she was putting her daughter first.
Liv smiled. “I’ll be okay. I think it was just the shock of seeing… everyone.” By everyone, I knew she meant Kate, but there were others she could be talking about too. And, in fact, there was one couple I recognised from her engagement party, but I remembered them being quite nice. Anyway, once her mum was gone, I’d get the lowdown.
“I agree. Even I was surprised,” I added. “I’ll make sure she’s okay, Mrs Grosvenor.”
“How many times have I told you to call me Cassandra, Lily.” She shook her head. “Okay, I’ll entrust Liv into your care. If you need anything, let me know.”
I smiled up at her, and Liv said, “We will. Thanks, Mum. And thank you for going to all this effort. The place looks amazing.”
“Well, I know how much you love all that mysterious stuff, like fortune telling. I actually have someone coming.” She looked at her watch. “They should be here in twenty minutes. Guess who it is?” Her face brightened with barely contained glee.
Liv’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God! You didn’t?!”
Her mother grinned. “I did.”
Liv jerked her head around to look at me, excitement replacing the haunted look in her eyes. “Owen the Oracle is coming. He’s the best fortune teller ever. He’s famous, but he does special events, and even though he travels Europe doing shows, he’s from Westerham.” She turned back to her mother. “But isn’t he ridiculously expensive?”
She shrugged. “Don’t worry yourself, darling. We can afford it, and we love to make you happy. Enjoy your night. We love you.” She bent down and gave her a hug, then straightened. “Now, I have things to do. If you need anything, let me know.”
“Ooh, I’ve heard he’s good.” Imani nodded.
“Do you believe in that stuff?” I asked. First ghosts, and now fortune tellers. For some reason, I didn’t think witches were into things like that. I mean, having power meant they could see that stuff was fake, didn’t it?
“Not really, but my mother does.” She lowered her voice. “She has a small talent for reading tea leaves. She uses her you-know-what to help, of course.” She winked. Right, so it wasn’t necessarily a real thing that just happened—it took magic to make it work, and even then, I doubted it was super accurate about everything. That would make life way too easy.
Two waiters came over, one with the drinks tray, the other with the food one. We each grabbed a glass of champers and tiny pancakes with smoked salmon topped with crème cheese and dill. I popped it into my mouth. Mmm, so good. I chased it with a sip of champagne. “Are you going to open your mum’s gift?” I’d given her a present earlier that day: a gift voucher to a gourmet tea shop. She seemed to have recovered from the tea-and-violence debacle from a few months ago, and, thankfully, she’d liked the present.
“It’s wrapped so beautifully. I hate ruining the paper.”
“Sacrifices must be made. Go on.”
Imani nodded.
Liv grinned. “If you both insist.” She undid the bow and carefully picked the sticky tape off the wrapping. It was taking too long, and it was all I could do not to lean over and grab it out of her hands. Patience, Lily. Finally, a little blue velvet box was revealed. She opened it, unveiling a pair of silver-coloured dove earrings. The birds were in flight, small diamonds trailing down their wings. Knowing her parents, the earrings weren’t silver but white gold or platinum, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was, they were stunning. “They’re gorgeous. Put them on!”
She smiled. “These have another meaning too. I was, obviously, born close to Christmas, and Mum had trouble conceiving, so they always called me their Christmas miracle.” She took out the hoop earrings she’d been wearing and put them in her clutch, then put the doves in.
Imani stared at them. “They’re so pretty!”
“Gorgeous,” I agreed. I took my phone out of my bag, cut my magic off so I wouldn’t get any nasty surprises—which I hated because it always left me feeling bereft—then took her photo. Then Imani, Liv, and I jammed together, and I took a selfie. Done, I put my phone back in my bag and let my magic in again.
“It was off to a rocky start, but this is turning into a good birthday,” Liv said. “I can’t wait to see Owen. I’ve had my fortune read a couple of times, but it’s very hit-and-miss. He’s supposed to be amazingly accurate.”
I’d asked Imani before. Now it was Liv’s turn to get the int
errogation. “Do you really believe in the future-telling stuff?”
“Kind of. I mean, I know most of them are fake, but my auntie went to see him a couple of years ago, just before he got famous, and everything he said came true.”
“Like what?”
“He said she was going to get the job she wanted—which she didn’t even tell him about. And she got it, about three weeks later. He also told her that my cousin, her daughter, would get the marks she wanted to get into university, and she did.”
“But that could have happened anyway.” I didn’t think that was definitive proof this guy could read peoples’ futures.
“He also said they’d get a new dog, a poodle, within the next two months, and they did.”
I still wasn’t convinced. “But maybe they did because he put the idea into her mind?”
She shook her head. “Nope. The dog they had at the time was a poodle, and he couldn’t have known, and it died. My auntie and her husband went and got another one.”
“Hmm, well, I guess that could be more than a coincidence.” I still wasn’t totally convinced, but I had to concede the coincidences were adding up. The waiter lowered his tray of smoked-salmon goodies in front of me. I took another one. They were too good to pass up. “These are delish.”
“They’re my favourite.” Liv took another one and popped it into her mouth.
“Hey, Liv. Are you feeling better now?” A familiar-looking slim girl with long, straight blonde hair stood in front of where Liv sat.
“Yes. It was just the surprise.” She smiled. “Ellen, this is Lily and Imani. Lily and Imani, this is Ellen. We worked at Costa together.” Ah, so she’s probably a nice person, and no wonder I recognised her.
“Lovely to meet you, Ellen. I love Costa’s coffee and chocolate muffins. I haven’t seen you there lately, though.” I felt bad for not really recognising her.
She replied, “I stopped working there just before Liv left. I finally managed to get a job in finance in London. I have a degree, but it’s taken me a year and a half to find a job.”
“Yikes. That’s tough. But congratulations.” I smiled.
“Thanks. So, Liv, how’s your new job?”
As they chatted, I sipped my drink and let my gaze wander the room. There were about twenty guests. And guess who was fawning all over my boyfriend? My stomach dropped. Will had reassured me that he had hardly any dealings with Piranha while he’d been undercover and then trapped, but he generally didn’t want to talk about it, and I believed him… 95 percent. Let’s face it—I’d be naïve to trust someone else 100 percent; I didn’t even trust myself the whole time. I’d done things I hadn’t intended to do and disappointed myself on occasion, and no one was perfect. Seeing another woman running her hand down his arm and giggling didn’t inspire confidence. At least he was scowling. And it seemed as if she needed backup in the form of a tall, leggy brunette. Her friend was laughing at something Kate had just said. I rolled my eyes. Give me a break.
Will caught my gaze and raised a brow, giving me a “come save me” look. I was in half a mind to leave him to his fate, considering he was old enough to excuse himself, especially after what happened the other night. Wasn’t he even worried about hurting Olivia’s feelings by cosying up to her sworn enemy? I stood, but I wasn’t doing this for me; I was doing this for Olivia. I hated being a jealous girlfriend, but the last few months had pushed me as far as I could go, and at this point, Will’s and my relationship had had more downs than ups.
As I reached them, Will said, “There’s my gorgeous girl.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me close. I slammed into his side. Kate scowled but quickly masked it with a smile. Her friend raised a brow and gave Kate a “this chick isn’t any competition” look. Well, leggy friend, just watch it. I narrowed my eyes at both of them.
At the risk of sound like a psychotically jealous girlfriend, and probably revealing my insecurity, which wasn’t a great idea, I said, “So, Kate, I guess you don’t think I’m fat.”
She looked at me with scrunched eyes and furrowed forehead. “What?”
“Didn’t you say you don’t go for guys who have, and I quote, ‘a fat-woman fetish?’” I wanted to fold my arms, but Will was gripping my hand so hard that there was no way it would make its destination. He was probably telling me to tone it down, but forget it, buster. If no one else was going to call a spade a spade, or, in this case, a homewrecker a homewrecker, I’d have to. “Stop flirting with my boyfriend.” I leaned closer to her. “And, if you do anything to upset Olivia tonight, I’ll make sure you regret it. Understood?” I glared so hard that my eyeballs ached. I hadn’t even known that was possible.
Her friend snarled. “Don’t you dare threaten my best friend. You’d better watch it, Skippy.” I felt a flare of magic and used my other sight. She was a witch. Did Kate know about witches, or was she oblivious to her friend’s specialness? And seriously, Skippy? That wasn’t even offensive. I’d be happy to be a kangaroo any day; I’d prefer to be a squirrel, but, hey, bouncing around all day had merit.
Kate pressed her lips together, and her nostrils flared as she took in an angry breath. “I’ll do what I like, and no convict is going to tell me what to do.” She gave me a dirty look, then smiled at Will, a seductive gleam in her eyes. “We can chat again later.” Her friend smirked as if it were a done deal.
“Actually, no we can’t. The woman I love feels uncomfortable with me talking to you, so I’m going to pass, but I hope you have a lovely night.” Will looked at me and smiled while Kate and her witchy friend stalked off. Will’s smile crept into a frown. He whispered, “Maybe tone it down a tad? We’re supposed to be having fun at a party. And a little trust would be nice.”
I looked up at him and kept my voice low. Unfortunately, my anger had fizzled away, and now I just felt like an overreactive idiot. “She was flirting with you, and she hurt Olivia’s feelings. She’s evil, and you just stand here chatting with her like she’s the most interesting thing ever. Where’s your loyalty to Olivia?” Or me. But yes, I was too gutless to say it. Who knew, maybe he thought my behaviour was crazy, and he’d break up with me later.
He whispered in my ear, sending goosebumps down my neck. “I love you, and no one can ever come between us.” He kissed my cheek. “And I was trying to be polite and not create a scene. Goodness knows Olivia’s had enough shocks for one night. I always have your back and hers. You need to trust me, Lil. But it’s nice that you care so much.” He winked.
I sighed. If I didn’t learn to trust him, we weren’t going to last very long. “I’m sorry. It didn’t look good, though.”
“What do you mean? Was my ‘please save me’ face not enough?”
“You could’ve left the conversation without causing a scene.”
“Ha! I tried. I even said, I’m going to go sit with Lily now, and she grabbed my arm, did her stupid giggle, and begged me not to leave. She said she didn’t know many people here.”
“Why are you men so gullible when it comes to women?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not gullible; I’m being careful not to cause a scene. Do you know why Olivia’s mother thought it was okay to invite someone who’s given her so much grief?”
“I haven’t had a chance to ask Liv yet. She probably thinks they’re friends. I’m assuming Liv didn’t tell her mother any of what happened at school, or the other day.” I narrowed my eyes. Yes, I’d been keeping tabs on the spikey blonde after she’d walked away; never turn your back on danger. Her eyes lit up as she looked past her friends to the door. Beren had arrived. “She’s got her sights on B. Can you grab him and bring him over to Liv?”
“Aye, aye, captain.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and hurried over to Beren. I returned to Liv, who was talking to Ellen and another guy. Imani had wandered off to chat to a couple of others.
I sat at the end of the sofa while Liv made introductions; then Will and Beren joined us. We chatted amiably until the night’s entertainment arrived in a flourish
of black cape and red beret. Interesting combo. He looked more like an eccentric artist than a fortune teller. His moustache and beard reminded me of Edward Norton in The Illusionist.
Two guys in black turtleneck jumpers and tight black jeans followed him in and set up a table in one corner of the room. Owen the Oracle stood in the centre of the room and called out above the noise while his posse erected a black tall tent thing around the table. Looked like whatever happened in Owen’s oracle tent stayed in Owen’s oracle tent. I snorted. The man himself spoke. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Owen the Oracle, famous and accurate predictor of the future.” He set his gaze upon the birthday girl and swept his arm up with all the drama of an actor giving the Shakespearean performance of his life. He held his hand out towards Liv. “I would like to invite the birthday girl to be the first to have her fortune read. Please join me in my sanctuary.”
Well, that was creepy. Was it a sanctuary or a lair? And how much were they paying for these theatrics? Maybe this was what they enjoyed? All the guests stared at him in awe. Maybe he was good. After Liv disappeared inside his tent and everyone went back to chatting, I turned to Will and Beren and used my inside voice. “Do you think he’s legit?”
My scalp prickled with someone else’s magic. It wasn’t the normal severe, “I want to scratch my head itch,” but it was there, nevertheless. What the hell? I flicked my gaze around the room.
“It’s okay, Lily,” said Will. “That oracle guy’s a witch. He probably uses magic to make himself seem more mysterious.”
“Hmm, maybe. Could he be putting a spell on them so they answer questions to all their deepest, darkest secrets? Then he knows what to say to them before making them forget he ever asked.”
“That would use way too much power, and if he had those kinds of incredible skills, he’d be one of only a handful of witches. It’s possible, but extremely unlikely. Don’t worry, Lily. It’s probably just to make his act better. Besides, if he has that skill, he’ll pick up on a few random thoughts from his subjects because they can’t make mind-shields.” Will put his arm around me and pulled me close.
Witch Oracle in Westerham Page 3
