"Rather than risk either of you? Absofuckinglutely."
"How will you get home?" She looked like she was about to completely lose it. It had been hard enough getting her alone to have the conversation I didn't want to have with her to begin with. Actually saying the words was ten times harder.
"This is my job. He's my father. I'm not going to risk losing anybody else," I said steadfastly.
"Everyone will be mad at you. Again."
"Everybody can suck it. They'll be alive to be mad. That's more than enough for me." I grinned at Candace to hopefully lighten the mood.
"You still didn't answer my question. How will you get home?"
"I'll try to use the shadows. If I can't, I'll call Shea and you guys can swoop in and pick me up when I'm sure there's no danger."
It was the first time since I'd met Candace that she doubted what I was telling her. I could see it on her face and in the shrug she gave me.
"Is that a yes?"
She didn't say a word, just gave me a single curt nod and opened the door to Charlotte's bistro. To coax Candace into going someplace we could be alone, I'd promised her lunch at her favorite place. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Especially when I saw Charlie smile and wave at Candace, and borderline scowl at me.
"Welcome back," Charlie managed to get out.
"Thanks. Good to see you again."
"I'm sure."
Without ordering, she brought our teas and set them on the table we had just settled ourselves at by the window. "The usual?"
Since there was basically nothing else on the menu I'd eat other than her attempt at a hamburger, I nodded. I really didn't want a turkey burger, I wanted a steak, but it was definitely the time of sacrifices, and a turkey burger wouldn't kill me. Maybe.
"You need to tell Josie."
"No. If I tell Josie, the whole coven will know what I'm planning and either try to stop me or go with me."
"That is not what I am talking about."
"Oh." I opened my mouth to protest, to tell her I would keep my promise to tell Josie at the wedding, but Candace was right. This might be a one-way trip and if I didn't make it… "I will."
"Today."
"Fine, Mrs. Pushypants. I will. Right after lunch." Before I could say another word, the door behind me opened up and two hands gripped my shoulders excitedly. I could feel Sherry's excitement. "Hey, Miss Mayor," I said and turned my head to smile.
"How'd you know it was me? Oh, never mind!"
"Pull up a chair. What's got you all excitable?"
She grabbed a wooden chair from the table beside us and sat down. "He proposed!"
"Huh?" My heart stopped beating.
"Derek! He asked me to marry him!"
Best day ever. "Oh, my goddess! That is amazing! Congratulations!" If I could pretend a turkey burger was the real thing, I could pretend I was happy for my friend. On some level, I was. On the other eight levels of hell, I wanted to scream in rage, claw his face off, and possibly destroy the planet. I didn't love him. I didn't want or need him, but something primal inside me was still screaming, 'Mine!' I shut that bitch of an inner voice up and took a sip of my iced tea. "When's the big day?"
"Since the bar is opening in two weeks, we're going to Vegas!"
"Awww, I was hoping for a small-town wedding!"
"I know! I was, too. But this will be better. We're going to leave Friday, spend the weekend, and then we'll have a party when we get back to celebrate. I'll fill you in on the details when we make them!" Sherry stood, and leaned over, awkwardly hugging my hand before turning to pet Candace on her head. "I'll call you later!" Grabbing the basket off the counter, she headed back the way she came and left me sitting there with less of an appetite than I already didn't have.
"Gosh. That was exciting."
Candace just snickered.
∞ ∞ ∞
I stood in the shadows of the First Moon Café. Technically I was in the shadow realm and not the shadows, but I wasn't going to correct myself. I didn't move, I didn't step out, I just stood there staring at my sister and watched her work. In just a few short months she had grown from a flighty best friend into a shrewd, hard-working business savvy woman in a serious relationship and I didn't think I could have felt any more pride in who she had become. Even working, you could see the love flowing between her and Candace. Nothing overt, just subtle smiles, glances, and touches. They were going to be together forever, you could tell just by looking.
Business was at the point, just after the rush of everybody leaving work and just before the sun setting and drawing in the nocturnal coffee drinkers looking for a fix before perusing the bookstore. It wasn't slow, but it wasn't slammed either. The vamps would be there soon to relieve the day shift. It was time. Candace could handle the store with the younger humans while I kidnapped my sister.
Somehow, Candace knew I was there and nodded in my direction. "Josie? Could you grab me a couple sleeves of twenty-ounce cups? I'm getting low."
"Sure thing, Sunshine." She winked at her fiancé and headed for the door into the kitchen, right toward me hiding in the corner where the recessed lighting afforded a nice corner shadow. As she passed, I reached out, grabbing her arm, and tugging her into the shadows with me.
She screamed. Thankfully, sounds in the shadow realm were vastly muffled or I might have had to go to the hospital for ruptured eardrums.
"Holy shit, Dot! What the hell. Don't do that to me!" She huffed and covered her heart with her hand while she tried to get her breathing under control.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
"Bullshit."
"Okay, maybe a little." I chuckled.
"What's going on?" She looked around, trying to calm her nerves. It wasn't her first trip into the realm of shadow, but one didn't exactly ever get used to it. Unnerving was a good way to put it.
"Needed to highjack you for a bit. We need to have a talk."
"Oh fuck. What did you do?" She shifted her weight onto one leg and put the opposite hand on her hip.
"It's nothing I did, or you did. Just have something to tell you," I answered and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the café. If she were going to go ballistic or have a meltdown, I didn't want her to do it any place public.
It only took a few heartbeats to traverse the distance to Ashville. Since we'd moved, she hadn't been back, and I thought she might want a bit of familiarity for her conniption. We stepped from the shadows of the pines of the grove used by the Coven of the Black Well. When we were younger…hell, right up until we moved to Cedar Falls, whenever we snuck out to drink, make out with guys, or just get away from our mothers, we always went to the grove. I couldn't think of a better place to drop the bomb on her.
"Oh, my goddess!" She squealed and ran to the rock, the one we always sat on, and hopped up to sit in her usual spot. Then her face darkened. "Oh, shit. This is bad, isn't it? It's really, really bad. For you to bring me all the way here…"
"Not bad. Kind of awesome actually, but I won't lie to you, it's big."
"Big as in epic or big as in you're about to crush my heart and tell me something completely life altering like Candace is my sister and I can't marry her." She frowned and scrunched her eyebrows.
She gave me the perfect lead in. "No… Not Candace…"
"Oh, thank the goddess. I can't even begin to tell you how gross that would be. Sister…shudder. Wait, what?"
"Candace isn't your sister…"
She stared at me blank faced for a moment while she processed the words. I was fully prepared to give her a few minutes, but it sunk in. "She's not? Who is? Princess Leia?" She scoffed. "Juke, I am your father," she raised her arm and pinched her fingers together while making heavy breathing noises.
"Josie, focus."
She let her hand drop slowly and cocked one eyebrow at me. "What? Don't tell me you're my sister!" She scoffed.
I remained silent.
"Dot…"
"Josie… I am your sister."
&nb
sp; "Oh, come on. Quit joking around." She slid off the stone and started walking toward me. "We've known each other our whole lives, shared almost a hundred birthdays. Lived through depressions and wars and… I mean it's just not possible. You're not being funny, you're being mean." She frowned as she stopped in front of me. "I mean, we can't be sisters. You're perfect. You're beautiful, funny, powerful. You're a fucking Blackwell for goddess' sake. I'm just me. Josie. With a mom from hell. Okay, we kind of share that, too, but stop kidding around, Dot."
"I'm not. And I won't say I wish I wasn't. You know I've always thought of you as a sister… Well, it turns out we are."
"That's not possible. You're telling me we're twins and I got adopted off…" She was starting to get angry.
I put both my hands on her shoulders. "No. We have different mothers, but the same father."
"You're telling me my dad is your dad. A god? Sorry, Dot, try again. The only godly thing about me is my ability to screw up."
"You're not a screw up, Jose. Knock it off." It was my turn to get angry.
"You're telling me that your dad cheated on your mother with my mother? Nobody's that fucking stupid, Dorothea Blackwell."
"Not cheated on… See, your mom, my mom, and my dad went to a party…"
"Oh, gods. I'm going to be sick." She dropped low, crouching down in front of me and wringing her hands through her hair as she stared at my kneecaps. "No…no…no. That's just fucking wrong." She started shaking her head, not letting go of her hair. I couldn't blame her, either. I kind of wanted to put bleach in my eyes when I had my first visual, too.
I crouched down and gave her a crooked smile. "Try not to think of the deed, just the result. It helps."
She lifted her eyes. "How long have you known?"
"Not long. I was just trying to figure out how to tell you."
"I'm never going to be able to look at your mother again. Or mine. Oh, goddess…"
"I know. Kind of hard to believe, but I'm glad they did."
"How can you be glad? I may never have sex again."
"Yeah, right. And what do you mean how can I be glad? Josie Barton, you're my sister. My flesh and blood sibling. How can I not be glad? That's fucking awesome!"
She smiled for the first time and nodded. "That explains the same age and birthday, huh? We've always wondered about that."
"Yep. Mystery solved." I laughed and hugged her.
"Dot?"
"Yeah, Jose?"
"Thank you."
"For telling you?"
"No. Well, yes, but thank you for never succumbing to my hitting on you. Oh, goddess, I'm going to be sick again."
∞ ∞ ∞
I slipped the seven letters stuffed into seven envelopes into the pen drawer of my desk and pushed it shut. Well, it used to be my desk. It was Jason's now. And after the night I was about to have, the whole store might be his, too. A single tear fell and landed on the already worn surface of the wood surface. Quickly, I wiped my eyes and stood up, nearly shaking with fear. Reaching in my pocket, I let the warmth of the giant gem holding my father's power warm my skin. If everything went right, it would be his again soon.
Opening the door, I squeaked and caught my breath after nearly colliding with Jason. "Sorry, Dot! Didn't mean to scare you."
"No problems, Love. I'll see you later," I managed to mumble and tried to walk around him.
"Want to grab some dinner?'
"Uh…can't tonight. Taking Candace wedding dress shopping," I lied smoothly. After telling Josie that I was her actual sister, I used it as an excuse to steal Candace away from her for the night. Dar, I had told that I nearly shadow walked myself into a tree and that I would be kidnapping Shea to take us to the mall in Syracuse until I could control my power better. He had bought it, but I wasn't sure it was a hundred percent after the strange look he had given me. Not that it mattered. He would know the truth soon enough and it wasn't like he could follow us to Tartarus.
"Oh, that's cool. And sweet." He grinned at me and gave me a chaste kiss. No snogging in front of the customers. I didn't want them getting jealous or getting any ideas. "How about tomorrow?"
Sure. If I survive, I'll take you all out for dinner. "Sounds good. See you later, Sweetie." I returned his kiss, but this time on the lips and a little longer. "I love you."
"Woah. You feeling okay? I love you, too."
I needed to leave before I started crying. "Yup. Peachy keen. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. It's a date." He grinned.
Without looking back, I headed for the coffee shop. Candace was still making coffee, but when she saw me, she sighed, stopped, and wiped her hands on her apron. "Is it time?"
I nodded.
She turned to Josie. "We are leaving. Do you need anything before we go?"
"Nope. Have fun! Pick out a winner." Josie grinned and waved to me. "Thanks, Dot. Best sister ever."
Sure. Write that on my tombstone. "My pleasure." I returned her smile, a little half-heartedly and waited for Candy to walk around the counter. When she was close enough, she reached out and took my hand and we headed for the back room, nodding at Shea along the way. The plan was for Candy and I to go back to my house and change, Shea would meet us there.
As soon as we went through the door, I pulled the shadows to me and stepped out into my living room.
Chapter 23
The shower felt divine. I let the hot water beat the anxiety out of me before I finally shut it off, dried off, and stepped out into my chilly bedroom to get dressed. I'd laid out my war gear on my bed before I hopped in the shower and frowned at the jeans, sweater, and tank top. I would have felt better with a suit of armor and a flaming sword, but the rugged gear was as close as I was going to get. It was harder than it needed to be pulling the jeans over my wet skin, but we were in a hurry.
Stomping my feet into the walking boots, I opened my bedroom door and gasped at the crowd standing around angrily.
"Hey, guys," I stammered. "Whatcha all doin' here?" I asked, but I had a feeling I already knew. Somebody had ratted me out. Chief, Jimmy, Jason, Dennis, Dar, Yuki, Nana, Josie, Ellis, and even my mother were standing behind Shea and Candace, with nothing but contempt on their faces. Shea and Candace were looking everywhere but at me. The little snitches. I narrowed my eyes at them.
"Snitches, even witches, get stitches," I said to the two of them.
"Forgive us, Lady, but we could not let you do this."
"I'm doing it."
"Not alone, you're not," Chief answered for the group.
"Huh?"
My mother stepped around everyone and closed the distance between us, stopping in front of me with a sigh. "You're too fucking stubborn to try and stop. You're too fucking stubborn to ask for help. These two angels realized that and sounded the alarm as soon as you headed into the bathroom and gathered your family to help you on your absurd quest." She put her hand on my face. "You get your stubbornness from your father. I hope you know that."
"Sure, I do." I chuckled softly. Looking over her shoulder, I stared at the group behind her and started crying. "Damn it. I didn't want to get you involved because this is going to be dangerous. If anything happens to any of you… I couldn't handle that."
"And how do you think we would feel if something happened to you? If you're going to do this, you're doing it with all of us," Jimmy answered and looked at the group for affirmation. All of them nodded, leaving absolutely no room for argument. To go, I needed Candace and Shea. The odds of getting them away from everyone else wasn't possible. Not with the death grip that Josie had on Candace and the grip Dar had on Shea.
"Fine. You win," I answered and let out the breath I'd been holding.
Smiles and nods graced their faces, but only for a moment. "So, what's the plan?" Chief stepped forward.
"We go, get in, find my father, and hopefully get home in one piece?" I shrugged, letting everyone know I was open for suggestions.
"Sounds like a plan," Chief answered. "So, how e
xactly do we get there?"
"We shadow walk into the depths of hell. We have a map and a key." I smiled at Candace and Shea before looking around at the others. "Is everybody armed?"
Some nodded, most didn't. Jimmy grinned as he held up a tire iron. Chief pointed at the gun on his hip. The gun he never carried. Candace produced a wicked looking dagger while Josie made claw gestures with her hands. Ellis was the only one with a sword. Hopefully, we wouldn't get our asses handed to us, but out of the thirteen of us standing in my living room, eight of us were witches, one was a demon, and one a vampire. We weren't exactly helpless without weapons, but it would have certainly made me feel better if somebody had thought to bring a crate of assault rifles to the party.
"Guess we're ready as we can be," I muttered and motioned for Shea.
He pulled away from Dar and removed his overcoat and shirt before he stood in front of me.
"Let's see if we can figure this out."
"I am sure you will, Lady," he said and turned, exposing the largest group of tattoos on his back.
Remembering to breathe, I put my hands on his back and poured power into him. The entire room lit like a blue star as they began to wiggle and dance over his flesh.
Everyone moved closer, but Nana and my mother moved closest. "Try moving them," Nana suggested, pointing at the randomly scrolling tattoo.
Keeping on hand on him, I touched the lowest point of his back and pushed upward, mesmerized as they swirled upward.
"There! That is Gehenna. Each plane is bordered with that archaic text. I recognize the mountain in the center," Dar said excitedly.
"So, keep going," I said and scrolled some more.
"You went too far. I do not know how I know, but that is the highest material plane. Home of the winged ones," Candace chimed in, fear tinging her voice.
I pushed the tattoos down until a warped plane wrapped in angry text took its place. At the point farthest from the bottom a mountain stood with twisted rivers feeding from the base, crisscrossing the rest of the plane. "Sure, that looks like hell. Let's try that one," I said more cheerfully than I felt.
Seventh Seal: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 7) Page 21
