Grady began rubbing my back as he led me to the couch. He sat us down so I was pressed to his side, and he pulled the throw blanket over us before he started talking. “So what’s the plan? You wanted to draw her out so you guys could catch her, right? So that means you have a plan? Now she’s coming to you, so… what’s the plan?”
Raphie said, “The Conclave is sending reinforcements, so you both will have guards on you at all times. Until they get here, you guys are stuck with us.” He flashed a grin. “The four of us will be stuck together like peanut butter and jelly.”
I wrinkled my nose, and Isiah sighed, saying, “I don’t think you’re saying that right.”
“Whatever, Izzy.” Raphie rolled his eyes.
“Is it safe to leave the house?” I asked.
“I have a business to run,” Grady said. “I can’t be stuck in the house until further notice.”
“If it’s dangerous out there, you’re going to have to,” I said.
Grady narrowed his eyes at me. “If we want a place to live, you know, a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, then I have to go to work. We need money in order to live.”
“Oh.”
Grady rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ‘oh.’” He nudged me in the ribs, so I knew he was being playful and wasn’t annoyed with me.
Isiah said, “As long as we stick together, we’ll be fine. They told Raph that they were meeting us at your store. As soon as we get there today, we’ll place wards around the place to keep malicious people out; witch, warlock, or human. That should suffice for now.”
Grady drove all of us in the car together. With four grown men, a huge owl, a cat, and a crow, his car was rather full, but Grady didn’t seem to mind. He did seem a little nervous, though.
When we got out, I grabbed his hand and asked, “What’s wrong?”
He shrugged. “Your brother got me all freaked out over Claudette The Evil Witch.”
I stopped and tugged him to me, then ran the back of my fingers over his cheek. “I’ll keep you safe, dove.”
One corner of his mouth tilted up. “I like when you call me that.”
I smiled. “Do you?”
He nodded. “It’s very you.”
I tilted my head in question.
“Old fashioned and sweet as hell.”
A grin pulled up on my lips, and I snorted out a small laugh. “I suppose it is.”
His smile was sweet as he bopped me on the nose, then pulled me into his shop. All three familiars decided to explore outside, so Tiberius and Nadia took off flying overhead, and Jezebel ran down the sidewalk to who knew where. Raphie and Isiah went into the back room to begin working on wards while Grady and I got the store ready for customers.
It didn’t surprise me in the least that not even two minutes after arriving, Laz strolled inside. He walked straight up to the counter where Grady was standing, planted his fists on top of it, and demanded, “Where the fuck have you been?”
Grady’s eyebrows shot up. “Um… I was at home, and now I’m here.”
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
Grady’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t hear it ring.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and his eyes widened. “Holy shit. You called me eleven times since last night.”
“And I texted.”
“Fifteen times.”
“And I came over and knocked on your door.”
Grady shot me a panicked look before saying, “I didn’t hear the door, I swear.”
Laz turned his glare on me. “What did you do to him?”
“Laz,” Grady grounded out.
Laz ignored him and pointed his finger at me as he angrily marched around the counter toward me. “Ever since you popped up in his life, he’s been acting insane! And now he’s ignoring my phone calls and not answering his door.” He stopped right in front of me with his finger poking my chest. “You are not going to isolate him. You are not going to keep him away from me. He’s my family.”
Before I could respond, Grady grabbed Laz’s hand to push it away and he stepped between us. When he spoke, his voice was calm and soft. “It’s okay, Laz. Everything is fine.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raphie and Isiah watching the exchange through a small window in the door of the employee-only room.
Laz glared at me over Grady’s shoulder before focusing on his friend. As soon as he turned those eyes on Grady, his expression softened. “The last time I ignored the warning signs of your boyfriend, you ended up hurt.” Eddie… Grady’s bleeding head.
“I promise you that Alaric is nothing like Eddie. Not even a little bit. My phone was on silent because we were talking to Alaric’s brother, who he hasn’t seen in years.” Grady grabbed Laz’s shoulders. “I didn’t hear anyone knocking or I would’ve answered. I’m sorry I worried you. I’m not sure why no one else heard it.” If my brother and Isiah heard it, they may have ignored it thinking the human was unimportant and a non-threat.
Laz took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “His brother?”
“His brother,” Raphie said as he stepped out of the employee-only area.
Laz turned to Raphie and his eyes widened for a moment, as if he’d been surprised to see him, then he narrowed eyes and ground out, “What were you doing back there?”
Raphie tilted his head before gesturing between Isiah and himself. “Isiah and I are helping Grady out with his security.”
“Security?” Laz wrinkled his nose in confusion. “You work in security? But I thought you…” Why was Laz acting as if he knew Raphie?
“Yeah, I work in security.”
Laz eyed him for a minute more before turning back to his best friend. “Grades, you ordered a security system?”
Isiah shook his head. “He didn’t order anything, but since we’re here, we wanted to help out Alaric’s boyfriend. We work for a private security company, so it’s part of our job.”
Laz didn’t look like he believed them.
Raphie stepped forward with his hand held out. “I’m Raphael.”
“Raph-a-el…?” Laz seemed confused and shook his head, but my brother didn’t let that deter him.
“I’m Alaric’s older, wiser, and sexier brother.” He added a wink that made me cringe. What was he doing?
Laz shook Raphie’s hand. “I’m Lazarus. Nice to… meet you.”
Raphael let his gaze run up and down Laz’s entire body. “It’s very nice to meet you, Lazarus.” He drew his name out with a little growl, making my—and Isiah’s—noses wrinkle in disgust.
Grady leaned into me to whisper, “Uh… do they know each other?”
“It sure seems like it.”
“Why the hell is your brother flirting with Laz?”
I shrugged and shook my head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“It’s not even good flirting.”
I wrinkled my nose again, still staring at the display and feeling rather awkward. “No, it isn’t.”
Isiah scooted past Raphie and Laz as they continued their weird flirting—if you could even call it that—and walked over to us. “Will you help me set the extra wards, Alaric? Your brother seems to be a little busy.” He rolled his eyes, but I followed him after giving Grady’s hand a quick squeeze.
“Does it bother you?” I asked Isiah.
“What?”
“When Raphie flirts like that.”
Isiah shook his head. “We don’t have that kind of relationship. He’s free to do whatever he wants.”
“Right, Grady told me what you said, but you seem upset.”
Isiah stopped walking to face me. “That’s not what I’m upset about.”
“Then what is it?”
He sighed. “We were arguing over something in the breakroom… He’s having trouble seeing this case from all angles because his mind is clouded by his love for you. He’s worried about losing you again, and so am I, but he’s not listening to me about security. Your brother is extremely frustrating, in case you h
aven’t noticed.” He smiled a little.
I nodded. “He’s stubborn.”
“Yes! The worst!”
I chuckled. “Is it anything I can help with?”
“No, I only want to be sure we’re protecting Grady as much or maybe even a little more than you. He’s human, so he’s defenseless. I suggested giving him my enforcer blade for an extra set of defenses, but Raph is against the idea. He thinks I should keep it because he’s always worried about me.”
My eyebrows rose high. “Aren’t enforcer blades powerful with magic of their own?”
“In a way, yes. Every enforcer has one, and we have to power it up every day. The well of magic inside mine is vast because I’ve never had to use it. It’s supposed to be a last resort, and I’ve been lucky that Raph and I have been able to deal with things with our magic alone.”
“And you want to… give yours to Grady?”
Isiah nodded. “He needs it more than I do.”
Without thinking about it, I threw my arms around Isiah and hugged him. He grunted in surprise before slapping me hard on the back, and when the two of us released each other, I muttered, “Sorry.”
Isiah laughed. “Never be sorry for that.” He sent me a smile. “So I’m guessing that means you’re okay with me giving it to him.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to see him get hurt, and Claudette is one of the strongest witches I’ve ever come across. He’s defenseless against her, and I don’t like it. A human against a witch isn’t a fair fight, one against Claudette is even worse.”
That was terrifying, but the fact he wanted to protect Grady made my chest warm with appreciation. “Thank you, Isiah. Thank you so much.”
He smiled and put his hand on the side of my neck. “Anything for family.” My eyes went wide, and he said, “I know we don’t know each other well yet, but I’m hoping to change that soon. And… you’re the brother of my soul-pledged, so you’re my brother as well.”
I smiled at him and nodded. “You’re right.” My heart was filling more and more with each passing day. I had a family now. No one besides Tib had ever cared about me, not since my brother had “died.” But now the number of people that did was growing. They were creating the beginnings of a family; one that was kind and caring. Yes, I didn’t fully trust them yet, but I had hope that I someday would. A family was something I’d never truly had in all my life. Even when Raphie had been around when I was a young child, he’d been so much older than me and Father had sent him away on missions often, so it hadn’t felt like I had anyone to count on back then. I swallowed down my emotions to deal with later, and said, “I wish I had a weapon to offer Grady, but I fear that everything has been lost.” I hadn’t been able to take any weapons with me when Claudette Rathmore locked me in that globe. There hadn’t been time. I’d barely known what was happening before I was opening my eyes inside that ghastly place.
“Actually, talk to your brother. He… searched for you for a very long time, and while we never found you until now, he found some of your belongings since your essence lingered on them.”
“He saved them?”
“He saved everything… and he’s going to kill me for telling you.”
I laughed. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“You ready to do these wards?”
“Yes.”
He grabbed my hands and began to chant, and once I heard him say the whole spell a few times, I joined in with my words and my magic as well. My icy magic blended with his earthly magic. It smelled of lilacs and brought a smile to my face. I hadn’t practiced magic with another in a very long time, and it seemed that Isiah’s magic melded well with mine.
Chapter 21
Grady
I watched Alaric walk away with Isiah for a few seconds before refocusing on the… weird flirting thing happening in front of me. I shot Raphael a glare even though he wasn’t looking at me, then decided I needed to save my friend. As I approached them, I eyed Raphael, saying, “Don’t you need to help Isiah, Raphie?”
He grinned at me. “Nope. The runt has it covered.”
I rolled my eyes. “How do you know each other?”
Raphie shrugged. “Met him back over the summer when I was on a… call.”
Laz muttered, “That weekend I was at the estate sale where I found the snow globe.”
My eyes widened, and Raphael grabbed Laz’s shoulders, asking, “You’re the one who found Alaric?”
Laz lifted a shoulder and nodded.
Raphael suddenly hugged Laz tight and whispered, “Thank you.” Laz awkwardly patted Raphael’s back before he released him and Raphael said, “I was so close to him… I knew I felt his energy near there… wait, did you have the snow globe in your hotel with you that night?”
Laz’s eyes widened and darted over to me before he shook his head. “No, it was in the car.”
Raphael nodded, then shot me a glance as he backed away from my best friend and said, “We… met… once.”
Okay, ew. “Didn’t need to know that, thanks.” Laz’s cheeks flushed, so I changed the subject, even though I was thoroughly freaked out at how small the world really was. What were the chances of those two hooking up? That was fucked up. Clearing my throat, I said, “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back, Laz.”
“It’s alright,” he said quietly, and though he said it, I could tell by the quiver in his voice and his soft tone that it actually was not okay.
“I honestly didn’t hear the phone or the door.”
“I believe you.”
Raphael said, “I haven’t seen my brother in many years, so we had a lot to catch up on. Sorry for distracting your… friend.” He narrowed his eyes at me a little, and I rolled mine in return. Was he narrowing because he thought I would be with someone other than Alaric? Or was he worried because he liked my friend after the one time they met.
“My friend and I are going to go do some catching up on our own. Why don’t you go find your brother?”
“No can do, little soul-pledged.” Raphael smirked. “We discussed this already.”
“Soul-pledged? What?” Laz asked.
Ignoring that, I said to Raphael, “I thought that was just when we were outside.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s everywhere. And right now, we’re waiting for the Conclave to show, so one of us needs to be with you, anyway.”
I sighed. “Alright, fine.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Laz asked.
Before I could answer, Raphael did. “Just some family stuff.”
Laz eyed him, then eyed me and leaned in to whisper close to my ear, “Did they make you join a cult or something?”
A surprised bark of laughter pealed out of me. “No. Oh my god, no, Laz.” I started cracking up, but Laz only eyed me suspiciously, and Raphael found the whole thing entertaining, going by his face. I grabbed Laz’s hand and pulled him back behind the counter and away from Raphael. Raphie sent me a glare, but surprisingly, he respected my wishes for some privacy and stayed where he was.
I kept my voice quiet since I wasn’t sure that Raphie wouldn’t erase Laz’s memory or whatever he was trying to do to me ten minutes after we met yesterday. I pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment before whispering, “I know you don’t want to believe me about the whole warlock and magic thing”—he wrinkled his nose, and I stifled a sigh—“but that’s what’s going on here.”
“Grady—”
“Look, I know. I know how this sounds, but—”
“Then prove it,” he said.
I blinked at him, then cringed because I knew Raphie wasn’t about to help me out. “Can you just… just chill out for a couple of minutes so I can talk to Alaric.”
Laz crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m worried about you, Grades.” He reached out, grabbing my forearm. “I’m worried you’ve gotten yourself caught up in something bad.” I could see the concern and hurt on his face. He was my be
st friend, my family, and I’d been keeping him out of the loop. That wasn’t fair to him, or to me, and definitely not to our friendship.
Using my free hand, I squeezed his biceps. “Let me talk to Alaric, okay? I’ll be right back.” I released him and he dropped his arm with a worried glance. I looked at Raphie to say, “I’m going to talk to Alaric. I’ll be right back, can you… can you be sure…?” I trailed off and cut my eyes to Laz with a small nod, hoping Raphie would get the message to watch out for him.
He did; he nodded. “Let me hold the door for you.”
I rolled my eyes because I knew he only said that so he could watch me walk to Alaric, which was… well, I guess if they were that worried about that evil witch coming, then I guess that was kinda… good. Or maybe he was just an ass. Whatever. He walked over and pushed the door open, so I nodded at Laz, then headed to the back where I found Alaric and Isiah holding hands, eyes closed, chanting, surrounded by a lot of white mist.
Standing back, I let them do their thing, amazed as I watched their smoky magic travel around them and snake across the floor and up the walls, forming a shield that I could only assume went around the entire store. I was sure I was gaping at them like a fish out of water, but I couldn’t help it. Watching mist pour out of my boyfriend’s hands was the weirdest thing I’d ever seen, not counting the whole coming-out-of-a-snow-globe-mist-monster thing. And it was entirely too amazing to keep the gaping to myself.
As their words drifted off, the mist began to dissipate, and Alaric opened his eyes and smiled at Isiah in a way that made my stomach clench. That soft, sweet smile, it was the one he gave me, the one that was private, intimate… why was he smiling like that to Isiah?
Isiah grabbed the back of Alaric’s neck, and for one horrible second, I thought he was about to kiss him, but instead, he rested their foreheads together, and I couldn’t decide if that was better or worse. Alaric closed his eyes again and stayed that way for a few minutes, taking deep breaths before smiling and fucking finally moving away from Isiah. As he turned, he finally saw me standing there, still gaping at him, but for entirely different reasons.
Wishing on a Dream Page 16
