Eventually, Astra's sale ended and the crowd in her shop thinned out considerably. By lunchtime, I'd stopped watching. I was going to head over to the Brew Station for a sandwich, but Reggie showed up with bags from the diner.
"I brought burgers and waffle fries,” she said and set the white paper bags on the counter.
"Thank you,” I said. "You didn't have to do that."
"Eh, it's not like I paid for them. I put my last order of the day in wrong and these are the castoffs,” she said.
"You know, I think that's technically stealing,” I said.
"I didn't do it on purpose,” Reggie said and rolled her eyes.
"Sure."
"You totally did it on purpose,” Meri said as he jumped up on the counter. "You're such a bad liar."
"Your voice sounded weird there,” Reggie said because she had no idea it was Meri that had insulted her.
"I think I'm getting a bit of a cold." Then I was the bad liar, but to sell the story, I let out a fake cough followed by a sniffle.
"I'm sure you have something around this shop that can take care of that,” she said. “Don’t you have some healing herbs or that tea you’re always trying to get me to drink? That ecanation or something.”
"Speaking of which, are you going to hang around after we eat and help me put together more swag bags?" I asked. "Or do you have pressing afternoon engagements?"
"That's why I'm here,” she said. “Are you putting the ecanation tea in the bags?”
“It’s echinacea, and yes, I’m including a tea sampler.”
“Right, echinacea and chamomile,” Reggie said.
“I’m also putting in the citrus splash and a couple of sachets of kava tea.”
“Ohh, kava’s the good stuff, right?”
“It helps with anxiety,” I said. “It also numbs the stomach, so it’s good for tummy troubles.”
“We should have a cup,” Reggie hinted.
“How about after we work on the bags? I don’t want you zoning out on me. The festival is coming up faster than I’m prepared for,” I said.
The Midnight Magic Festival was a Coventry tradition that went back around seven years, but the town liked to let the tourists think it had been happening for centuries. Since I was one of the newest businesses in Coventry, I'd been offered the honor of providing gift bags to festival attendees. At my expense, of course. I didn't mind, though. It was good advertising, and Meri had helped me dig up some money to pay for the items and the bags. Hangman's House had a way of providing.
Thorn had encouraged me to petition the town council to pay for the swag bags since it benefited the town for me to hand them out, but the problem was that the council had disbanded years ago. At least, they hadn't met for a long time, and everything seemed to be run, on the surface, by the elected mayor.
Of course, things were actually run by Amelda and my mother, but that was a whole different story. The layers of political intrigue in Coventry were as thick and fluffy as marshmallows, but I wasn't interested in any of it. I needed to take an interest in it, but my mother and great-grandmother did an excellent job until I was ready.
Either way, I didn't need the money, and I wasn't going to wade into those waters. Petitioning the council for money would resurrect them, and the word around town was that there had been some sort of major clash between them and Amelda a few years after I left town. She won, and they stopped meeting. Coventry didn’t need that kind of drama rising from the grave.
What I needed was to finish the bags before the festival. It was boring, tedious work that probably would have gone a lot faster if I'd just used magic, but I had a policy of not using magic unless it was necessary.
I thought that other witches were way too loose with it, and I wanted to be more disciplined. Or perhaps it was just because I'd lived my adult life until I moved back to Coventry without magic, and I wasn't quite comfortable yet with who I really was.
That and Reggie really wanted to help with the bags. She picked up on what was going on in Coventry more than most people, but she still didn't come out and admit that magic and the paranormal were real. I hadn't decided when or if I was ever going to tell her. The same for Viv. I'd become close friends with both women over the last few months, but I had to hide a big part of myself from them. Life would have been easier if I’d just made friends with witches, but that wasn’t what the universe had in store for me.
"Earth to Kinsley,” Reggie said with a chuckle. "I think you spaced out."
"Oh, sorry,” I said. "Well, since there's no one in the shop, why don't we go in the back and get started with the bags. We can leave the door open in case someone comes in."
"Can't we just do it out here?" Reggie said. "You've got all this counter space."
She waved her hand over the expanse of counter. I noted the apprehension in her eyes as well. No one liked being in the back of the store. I didn't mind so much because I knew the ghost was more of a nuisance than anything else, but its presence freaked out all of the normal folks.
"Sure, let me bring the boxes of stuff and the bags up here,” I said.
"I can help with that,” Reggie said nervously. "We just have to grab stuff and bring it out, right?"
"Yeah,” I said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just that back room freaks me out. I don't know what it is. I always feel like something's watching me or about to pop out around the corner."
"I hear you. That’s why I get to rent this place so cheap. You’re not the only one who feels that way," I responded. "Yeah, there are two boxes and the big bag of gift bags. They’re right by the door. We don’t even have to go all the way in."
"Have you ever seen anything back there?" Reggie asked as we made our way through the shop. "I mean, you feel it when you're back there too, right? I don't know how you work in that office."
I turned back to look at her just in time to watch her shiver. For the first time in a long time, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The ghost that haunted my shop was winding up to do something.
Fortunately, I'd placed the boxes of stuff for the bags and the bag of gift bags near the door. I lifted the first box and handed it to Reggie quickly. Then I grabbed the other box and the bags and shut the door behind us. I didn't even have to tell Reggie to move. As soon as she had her box in hand, she was on her way back to the front of the shop.
At some point, I needed to do something about the ghost. I either had to send them packing with magic, or I had to find out what they wanted. Ironically, Astra had bought me some time. I'd been thinking about hiring someone for a while, but if she put a dent in my business, it meant I didn't need an assistant quite as fast. It all depended on how successful her shop was. Given that it was right next door to the Brew Station, I imagined it would be popular.
But if I couldn't get rid of the ghost, I'd just have to find a witch who wanted to work in my shop with me. That wouldn't have been that hard. I could hire a teenager or a retiree. Heck, Lilith probably would have done it if I let her have wine in the shop.
It was an issue that would wait a few days until after the festival. Reggie and I spent the afternoon putting the bags together, and then I went home. I'd invited her over, but she said she had somewhere to be.
I had a feeling it had something to do with a guy, but she wasn't being forthcoming about it. I'd considered pressing the issue, but she'd tell me when she was ready.
Thorn and I hadn't gone out for a few days, so I halfway expected him to show up or at least call. We'd gotten to a point where we never went a day without talking, but he ended up having to work late a lot. He needed to hire a new deputy for the evening shift, and until he did, those hours were his.
After dinner, I still hadn’t heard from Thorn, but there was a knock at my front door. I checked my phone as I got off the sofa, and there wasn’t a text from him either.
I supposed Thorn just dropping by wasn’t that unusual. He normally called or texted first, but I reasoned that he’d forgotte
n.
As I made my way over to the door, Meri shot out from one of his wall tunnels and put himself between me and my destination.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Don’t answer that,” he said.
“It’s probably just Thorn. What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s not Thorn,” Meri said. “It’s something else. It’s… It’s a vampire.”
I’d been reaching for the door, but I pulled my hand back. I hadn’t heard from or seen Azriel for months. As quickly as he’d come into my life, he’d disappeared. It was almost as if I’d never met him, and to be honest, I’d nearly forgotten him. At least, I’d managed to push him to the back of my mind. He wasn’t the kind of man you could totally forget.
“Do you think it’s Azriel?” I asked. “I don’t know what other vampire would come to my house.”
“Just check before you open the door,” Meri said. “And if it is him, call Thorn.”
“Why would I call Thorn?”
“He said he’d be the one who would fulfil your obligation to Azriel. I think you should let him do it,” Meri said.
“You think that’s why he’s here?” I asked. “Wait, I don’t even know if it’s him. We’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
As I said the last part, whoever was on the other side of the door pounded insistently. It made me jump about a foot off the ground.
“Kinsley, I can hear you in there. Please open the door.” It was Azriel, and he sounded scared.
I stepped over Meri and opened the door without thinking. Something in his voice drove me to act. Something in Azriel’s tone made it okay for me to be stupid, and I had no idea how dangerous that could really be.
He was even paler than I remembered, and his black irises were nearly gray. Azriel looked sick, and that was so unexpected that it took my breath away.
“Azriel, what is it? Please, come in,” I said.
“No, I can’t. You have to come with me. Please,” he begged and reached for my hand.
“Come with you? Where?” I shook my head no, but even as I resisted, I took a step toward him.
I stopped short of taking his hand, though. My palm itched with the anticipation of touching his, and I had to fight not to give in. Every fiber of me suddenly longed for him, but I knew better. It was how a predator drew in prey.
“To the clubhouse. Please, come with me. I need you now.” The desperation in his voice was thick.
“I want to help you, but you have to tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me. I haven’t seen you for months, and now you show up on my porch demanding I come with you.”
“I’m calling in my favor,” he said. “I have to. It’s not for me. It’s for my dog. Please, Kinsley. You have to help her.”
“Your dog?” I asked, but I took another step to him. He seemed so vulnerable, and it was unexpected.
“Tangerine. I call her Geri. She got out of the club because one of those idiots left the door open too long. I never should have taken her over to the club. She got hit by a car. I tried to save her, but I can’t. Please, you have to help her.”
“Yes,” I said and scooped up Meri. “I can help you.”
Azriel was far less frightening when he was begging me to save his dog. A dog named Tangerine, no less. I followed him out to his black Mercedes and slipped into the passenger side as he held the door for me. “You in?” he asked and then closed the door gently when I nodded yes.
He drove us to the old factory so fast that I wanted to warn him not to get pulled over, but I didn’t. We didn’t see Thorn’s cruiser at all, and I couldn’t think about what would happen if Thorn pulled us over and found me in the car. It would have been difficult to explain. While I could tell him the truth, I wasn’t sure that would pacify his disappointment in finding me with Azriel again.
I was glad he didn’t catch us. Not because he would have been angry, he would have been, but because it would have cost us time. By the way Azriel was acting, time was something we didn’t have.
He’d called in his favor, and I would do everything within my power to save Tangerine. Actually, I would have done that anyway. Not just for him, but for the dog too. It’s not like you’d do anything for him. I told myself. I knew it was just his allure working on me.
When Azriel pulled into the lot, he kept going past the area where all of the bikes were lined up out front. We went around back, and I got out of the car before he had a chance to open the door for me.
The back lot of the old factory wasn’t paved, and tiny pieces of white gravel crunched beneath my feet as I followed Azriel up a set of concrete stairs and across what had once been a loading dock.
A red exit sign glowed over the metal door we went through. Inside, I could hear the music coming from the club, but it was faint. If you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought it was a radio, set on low volume, left on in another room.
The lights were quite dim until Azriel hit a switch. I found myself standing in what was just a normal kitchen. Through a doorway ahead of me was a living room. The floors were covered in dark hardwood that shone in the soft overhead lights. The furniture was black and modern. It reminded me of something you’d see in one of those snooty architectural magazines. Not what I would have expected in what I presumed was Azriel’s home.
I heard a whimpering sound coming from deeper inside the building, but I wasn’t sure from where. “Where is she?” Her pained cry made me feel suddenly anxious.
“This way,” Azriel said.
He led me out of the kitchen, through the living room, and down a hallway to a bathroom on the right. The sound of the whimpering got louder as we approached. I barely noticed the red brocade wallpaper and huge painting of dark forests that hung on the walls as we passed.
Inside the bathroom was a tiny orange Pomeranian lying on a towel. She tried to look up when we came into the room and just collapsed back down with another whimper.
I rushed to her side and knelt. My knees hit the white tile floor a little too hard, but I ignored the sting.
Meri joined me but he sat opposite me near her head. I was surprised when he put a paw on her shoulder and started to lick her fur near her ear. He had already begun to heal her and provided little Geri with comforting pain relief magic. Her breathing immediately slowed from a shallow, panicked pant to deeper, slower breaths.
With my hands covering what looked like the worst of her wounds, I focused on the white light inside of me and channeled it into Tangerine. Something inside of her resisted me, and I began to feel nauseated. Still, I pushed through and let the healing light flow from in me into her as best I could.
Her wounds closed and the last of her whimpers stopped, but Tangerine’s breathing grew erratic again. It sounded like she was drawing her last breaths, but that couldn’t be.
“What’s going on?” Azriel asked.
His voice was even more terrified than before, and that’s when I noticed the little dog’s eyes. The light was leaving them like a dying candle. She flickered out the next instant. Tangerine was still with us one second and then gone the next.
“I don’t understand,” I said as I stood up and backed away from her. “I healed her. How could she have died?”
Azriel took a shuddering breath. “I tried to turn her. I was panicked, and I just didn’t want her to die. But we can’t change animals,” he said and I looked over to see reddish tears streaking down his face.
“That must have been it,” I said. “I healed her, but because of the vampire blood, I couldn’t keep her alive. The two magics must have opposed each other. I’m sorry.”
It was my turn to take a shuddering breath. The sadness was almost overwhelming, and I realized I was feeling some of Azriel’s grief as well. The pain in my chest was nearly unbearable. If he weren’t a vampire, I would have been worried he was literally dying. I barely knew him, but how much he loved that little dog still came as a shock to me. It was a most unexpected discovery given that I was
dealing with the undead leader of a criminal biker gang.
I reached out to him and took his hand. The gesture caught me off guard, but I couldn’t let go. I didn’t know why I was so easily able to feel his emotions, but I could, and it felt like he was in danger of drifting away. Or losing his mind. Either way, I was his tether in that moment. We stood there that way for a few minutes, and then Azriel changed.
Not physically, for the most part. He didn’t morph into a monster or anything, but I felt his sorrow burn away. His hand had been so cold when I took it, but now it was scorching hot.
I looked over at him, and his eyes were black. Not like normal where just the pupils and irises were black. The whites had turned as dark as night as well.
“Azriel?”
“You have to do something,” he snarled. “She was the only one who loved me. I didn’t protect her, but I will not fail her.”
“I can’t do anything,” I said. “I’m sorry, but she’s gone.”
“Don’t play stupid with me, Kinsley. You have magic that can fix this. That’s why I came to you and not one of the other witches in this town. Bring her back.”
“What?” I asked. “You mean, necromancy? You want me to bring her back from the dead?”
“You can and you will,” he said in a calm voice that simmered with barely contained wrath. “Do it now.”
“Azriel, I know you’re hurting, but I can’t do that. I’m not a necromancer. It’s not good for me to dabble in dark things.”
“I’m calling in my favor, Kinsley. I don’t care what you have to do, but you’re going to save her. If it is in your power, then you will do it. If it is not, then you had better find someone who can,” he hissed.
The thing was, I could do it. I didn’t know a lot of necromancy, but Lilith had gifted me chaos and reign over the shadow things when I was young. I could bring Tangerine back, but I shied away from even using light magic for anything but what was absolutely necessary. Was I really going to use dark magic to bring Azriel’s dog back from the other side?
Azriel’s eyes were still blacked out and his nostrils flared with every breath, but the fury in him began to retreat. The longer he looked at me, the harder it was for him to hold onto his anger. In its place, the pain came crashing back like a tsunami. It was almost as if I could feel his soul ripping away in places. Love, even for a dog, was the only thing keeping him from turning into a monster.
Midnight Magic Page 2
