Destiny: A Fantasy Collection

by Rachelle Mills

  “What? A mortal, a fairy, a vampire, and a wizard can’t stand awkwardly in a room together?” He sipped the coffee.

  “You’re a wizard?” Emma cried.

  Rick stared hard at his bosses. “How did you not know? I literally do magic tricks all day.”

  Henry’s lips thinned. This fucking guy. “I thought you were a magician. As in a guy who performs magic tricks. Illusions. You didn’t tell me you were actually doing magic.”

  Rick let out a long-suffering sigh and took a bracing sip of coffee. “I literally told you I was dropping out of law school to pursue magic. If I ever want to be sealed into immortality, I need to study as much as I can early on.”

  “But I don’t—” He covered his face with his palms and groaned.

  “For someone with that many degrees, you are really stupid sometimes.”

  “Is this why you could see the ghost who smashed up Emma’s office?”

  “…Maybe.”

  Emma huffed. “You didn’t actually think I would be able to see her, did you?”

  Rick sipped his coffee. “I may or may not have thought dealing with a temperamental ghost could bring you together.”

  Before he could reply, Daphne clapped her hands together once. “Well, as charming as all of this is, I need to get to work. I just wanted to make sure Emma was alive.”

  “I’m sorry, I meant to text you…”

  Daphne waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” She pointed an accusatory finger at Emma. “We will most definitely be talking about this later, though. Have a good day!” She waved sunnily before breezing out of the room.

  Relieved to have one less person in his space, Henry rearranged the bedcovers to make sure everything was properly concealed. Ingrid mewled disagreeably at being displaced and leapt from the bed to clean herself on the floor.

  “So. We have a very full schedule for the day,” Rick informed them and started paging through his notepad.

  Henry gave his assistant a wry grimace. “Guess we’re done talking about that whole ‘you being a wizard’ thing.”

  Rick gave him a long look. “Not my fault you’re oblivious.” Glancing at his watch, he shook his head. “Now. My day has officially started, Henry, and I’m not going to delay it just because you’re a pair of slackers. Today’s priorities need arranging.”

  “Not gonna let us off easy, huh?” Emma commented from beside Henry.

  “It’s also really fun to make people uncomfortable,” Rick said with cheer. When they continued to glare daggers at him, he drew his expression into the impassive mask of a butler. “I believe I will leave you to get dressed while I grab breakfast for us,” he said and quietly left the room.

  Relieved to be alone again, Henry turned to Emma and pinned her underneath his body. He kissed her soundly and then smiled while studying her face.

  “I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, so good morning,” he greeted.

  She grinned. “Good morning to you, good sir. I need to learn to expect the unexpected here.”

  “You really, really do,” he agreed and nuzzled her neck. “Morning breath or not, you’re making it difficult to get out of bed.”

  She snapped her jaws at him. “Ass.”

  “If I’m not welcome, I suppose I should get up.” He heaved a dramatic sigh and rolled out of bed. “You can use the shower, if you want. I’ll grab your spare clothes from your office,” he offered and tugged on the bathrobe hanging from the back of his door.

  “Such a gentleman, thank you.”

  “Oh no, you can thank me later.” He gave her a sly wink and sauntered out of the room, admitting only to himself that despite the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction he had from accumulating decades of knowledge, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt joy.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Almost two weeks later

  It was beautiful. Emma ran her hands across the gleaming cherry wood and smiled. She’d had it for nearly two weeks but couldn’t stop admiring it. After Rick had found them in Henry’s bedroom, she’d gone to court only to come back that afternoon to find the particle board debris in her office had been replaced by a gorgeous L-shaped wooden desk.

  She splayed her hands out on the clean, lacquered wood. It was sturdy and big enough to take a nap on, if she really wanted to. Heat radiated through her as the memory of what Henry had done to her on her last desk resurfaced. She’d been wondering what could be accomplished on this fine workspace. He could bend her over it…or hell, there was even enough room for them both if she were on her back.

  Ever so slowly, she dismissed the daydream from her head. She had a last-minute meeting with Wendell soon, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take a minute to check in with Henry.

  She glided out of her office and into his a moment later. When he looked up from his computer, she beamed at him and pretended to cup her hands around a vase.

  “I know I’ve said it before, but I love that fucking desk.”

  He leaned forward, and a slow, appreciative smile curved his lips. “You told me. Several times. It’s the desk a good attorney deserves.”

  She approached him and mimed setting down the vase just to the left of center of his desk, a nice spot for imaginary gothic flowers. “I think that level of generosity can only be thanked with a gift of a skull bouquet.”

  He shook his head, scandalized. “No, that’s your memento.”

  Emma waved him off. “It’s yours. Just take good care of it.” She motioned to the area around the “vase.” “This space is now for the bouquet, so don’t accidentally knock it over or crush it with a stack of files.”

  A faint smile crossed his lips. “You’ve got a deal. Thank you. They’re delightful,” he said and leaned over to pretend to smell a skull bloom.

  “We’re still on for tonight?” she asked, biting her lip.

  It was Friday, and he claimed to have something special planned. Her curiosity was eating her alive.

  “Of course,” he said with a serene gaze that betrayed nothing. “Just remember to bring your cape.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going, are you?”

  Henry made a big show of getting back to work. He waved absently at her. “Goodbye, Emma.”

  Before she got too starry-eyed, she gave him a smirk and left. When she slipped back into the reception area, Wendell walked through the door. He was jumpy and his eyes were bleak. This wasn’t good. She greeted him with a smile, trying to hide her concern, and motioned for him to follow her. Now that she had a proper desk, she felt comfortable taking client meetings in her office.

  As soon as she shut the door behind her, she asked, “What’s going on, Wendell?”

  Instead of taking a seat, he began wandering aimlessly around her office, picking up things before setting them down again.

  “Did you get arrested?”

  He stopped abruptly and stared at her with wide eyes. “No! No. It’s just…I’m edgy.”

  She exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. That was progress. In an effort to seem more approachable, she took a seat on the couch, but he didn’t join her.

  “Is therapy going okay?” she prompted.

  Emma had given him the therapist’s contact information the next day after her and Henry’s visit to Clothilde’s. He’d been reluctant but had finally conceded after some needling.

  He kicked his scuffed boot against the carpet. “The full moon is soon. It’s been going okay, but this week’s session stirred up…” He jerked his hands in a circle in front of his chest.

  Emma’s eyes narrowed, trying to decipher his gestures. “Uh, emotions?”

  “Yeah,” he said, his voice gruff.

  She narrowed her eyes, puzzled. “That’s the point…?”

  His hands clenched into fists. “I don’t like it!” he snarled. “She’s a hippie-dippy witch, and she stirs up memories and feelings, and it reminds me why I started drinking in th
e first place.”

  This was the part of the job she hated. Feeling helpless. She couldn’t fix her clients’ lives. Her job was to help them with their legal complications, but she couldn’t be a social worker or a fairy godmother. As much as it sucked, she had to maintain boundaries.

  “I hear you, but that’s part of the process. You’ve gotta dig things up so that you can put them to rest. How many sessions have you had?”

  “A few,” he grumbled.

  “It’s going to take some time, Wendell. Can you contact her to see if she can get you in for an appointment to help you calm down?”

  He scowled, crossing his arms over his burly chest. “Hair of the dog ain’t gonna work in this case.”

  She sighed. Point taken. “I understand, and I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. Maybe you should get out of town for a few days. Head up to the mountains?”

  He stopped and gave her a baleful look. “My pack is going up to Mount Lemmon.”

  “Perfect!” Emma clapped her hands together and leaned forward on the couch. “That sounds like a great way to ease some tension and burn off energy.”

  He snorted. “You sound like them. Hippies, the lot of you with your…” He gestured again vaguely.

  “Reasonable suggestions and rational conversation?” she ventured with a teasing smile.

  Wendell threw up his hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll go up to Lemmon, but I won’t fuckin’ like it.”

  Emma rose from the couch and leveled him with a stern look. “Wendell, stop. Writing it off will get you nowhere. You’re going to go, you’ll roast vegan marshmallows with your pack or whatever the hell it is werewolves do, and you’ll howl at the moon. You’ll clear your head. It’ll be great.”

  He narrowed his eyes, unimpressed with her pep talk.

  “Now fake it till you make it. Show me a smile,” she said with an encouraging nod.

  In response, he curled his lips into the most awkward imitation of a smile she’d ever seen.

  ***

  As the sun was preparing to set, Henry set up his phone on his dresser and hit the self-timer on the camera. Stepping back, he tugged at the velvet ties at his neck and smiled gallantly for no one. He counted down the seconds until the camera clicked. Mirrors might be out of the question, but digital cameras were a godsend.

  Striding forward, he checked the phone. He looked like a goddamn caricature with the black and red cape tied around his shoulders and that stupid black top hat on his head. Well, no…that wasn’t quite right. He was dressed casually in jeans and an untucked button-down shirt, so really, he just looked like he was a vampire for J.Crew’s fall line or something.

  He blinked. Oh, the stupid things you could end up doing for a woman. As if sensing a disturbance in the universe, Grant chose that moment to call his phone.

  “Want to go camping?” his friend offered when Henry picked up.

  Henry chuckled. “When have you ever gotten me to do that before?”

  “Fair. Still, you should come with me.”

  Surprisingly, if it weren’t for his evening planned with Emma, the excursion sounded tempting.

  “Well, hopefully it will buoy your spirits to know that I’m going out with Emma tonight.”

  “Nice. So that’s still going all right?”

  Henry’s cheeks flushed. “I plead the Bro Code?” he said uncertainly. “That is a thing, right?”

  Grant chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes, then. Okay, well, I’m glad you kids are having fun.” He let out a long-suffering sigh. “Maybe I’ll just settle for a night hike, then.”

  “There you go, being resourceful. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself.” Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he grabbed his wallet and keys.

  “Or I could come with you guys,” he offered slyly. “I still haven’t met her.”

  “And that suits me just fine for the moment. How about we see the new German movie at the Loft on Sunday?”

  His friend groaned in protest. “No, now that you’re back out in the world, I’m not putting up with foreign movies anymore. I’ll call you with a better idea.”

  After they hung up, Henry laughed and shook his head. Ingrid mewled at him lazily from the bed. She was sprawled out on her back half asleep. He took a quick moment to scratch her under her chin before leaving.

  As the door shut behind him, he grinned when he saw Emma waiting for him on the sidewalk wearing her own ostentatious vampire cape. Perfect.

  ***

  “You’re sure it’s not too early for you to go out?” Emma asked as they buckled their seat belts in his car.

  The sun was setting, but despite his ridiculous satin cape and top hat angled to shield his face, his cheeks were already a deep angry red.

  “I want to make sure we get there in time. I’ll be fine.” He had a nervous giddy energy she’d never seen in him before. It was infectious.

  She leaned forward across the armrest to nudge his hat up and look into those captivating blue eyes of his.

  “You still won’t tell me?” she said, her voice husky, hoping seduction might get her some answers.

  He cradled the back of her head with one hand and rubbed it. “Not a chance.”

  Emma’s eyes fluttered closed, and she pressed her lips against his. She raised her hands to cup his slightly burned face—overheated, but soft and smooth-shaven. Her lips parted for his tongue, and she moaned as warmth suffused her chest and slid down her body like honey. Henry gently bit and sucked on her lower lip, and her head started to spin. She slowly broke the kiss before they ended up in the back seat and missing whatever Henry had planned.

  She laughed shakily. “We’re a little too good at that.”

  “I fail to see how that’s a downside,” he murmured.

  She settled herself in her seat and looked forward, tapping her feet impatiently. “Come on, where are we going?”

  He sighed but still smiled at her. “Did you wear good shoes like I told you?”

  In response, she lifted one leg and wiggled her foot to show off her simple black canvas sneakers. “Acceptable?”

  He nodded and started the car. “Perfect.”

  A short time later, they headed north on Campbell Avenue, and Emma suspected they were headed to the mountains on the north side of town. Tucson was essentially a valley surrounded by imposing craggy mountains that protected the sprawling city with their rocky terrain and spiky saguaros. When she’d first come back to Tucson, she’d realized she had forgotten how beautiful the sunsets were here; they were as powerful as their heat.

  The dark Santa Catalina Mountains were ominous and juxtaposed a sky that was explosive with dying light. They stunned and startled. Blues mated with pastel pinks and vibrant oranges. Saturated yellows faded to calm purples, and the sun stayed bright and massive until without warning it wasn’t there anymore, and suddenly it was twilight. A calm began to settle over the landscape as they drove.

  In the next moment, she saw small pink signs jutting out of the ground on both sides of Campbell Avenue:

  Eating Bugs You might say, “Ugh!”

  But a thousand bats

  Just call ‘em snacks

  Visitors from out of town

  Hanging huddled upside down

  Acro-bats!

  Bat Night

  Rillito River Bridge

  TONITE!

  Emma smiled at the corny signs. Oh man, bats. They were going to see bats! The texture of the road got rough and the car’s tires sounded loud against the pavement. Then a glimpse of a green sign—Rillito River. She looked down to find a dried-out riverbed and maybe a couple hundred people just…hanging out. But Henry kept driving and Emma frowned. Where were they going at this point? The mall? To her surprise, however, Henry turned into a shopping center on the other side of the bridge and on the opposite side of the street.

  The minute he snagged a parking space, she raised her brows at him expectantly. He smiled and shook his head.

  “Are we going to see ba
ts?” she asked excitedly as they got out of the car. As long as they didn’t fly through her hair, she was up for it.

  “We’re a little late. Hopefully they haven’t left yet,” was all he said.

  Now that the threat of direct sunlight was gone, Henry chucked his top hat in the back seat with a grimace. They had both dressed casually, but she didn’t doubt that he looked infinitely sexier in his fitted jeans, a thin button-down shirt, and his ridiculous cape. He locked the car, and they left the parking lot.

  She wasn’t sure what he meant by his comment, so she just followed him toward the bridge and decided to stay quiet so she could absorb the scene. There was no official crosswalk, so when the steady stream of cars dried up on Campbell, they darted across the four-lane highway. There were swarms of people, so it wasn’t difficult to spot the paved path that led down to the riverbed.

  The air was still warm, though she knew it would cool off later. Children darted by wearing bat costumes. Emma smiled. This was the perfect pre-game for Halloween. Despite the crowd, they soon made it down to the riverbed.

  There was sand, scrub, and brush everywhere. The sand was squishy and warm beneath her feet, although she did wonder if it would all seep into her shoes within a few minutes. She could feel the grains smush between her toes as her feet sunk into it with each step.

  Up ahead, swarms of people mingled around and underneath the bridge. It had the atmosphere of a festival. As soon as they slipped deep into the fray, she noticed a band on a stage playing Middle Eastern music, dogs, glow sticks, enthusiastic men selling bat merchandise, and more kids skittering around in bat costumes. To her surprise, Emma spotted at least a couple of news crews trying to find the perfect angle and view of the bridge. Couples and families were sprawled out on blankets or hanging out in lawn chairs.

  “Let’s find a good viewing spot,” he whispered in her ear and took her hand so they wouldn’t get separated.

  She shivered but kept an eye out for a quieter area. Scrub and sticks poked out of the sand, so sitting wouldn’t really be an option. They passed a couple of families with dogs—one of which was the size of a small cow. His hot panting face was adorable. A couple of children pulled eagerly on his ears, but he just grinned a slobbery smile.