“Our discussion last night got me thinking. Here.” She handed me a carton of eggs. “I believe I know a way to keep the hunter from following Dara.”
“Really?” I thought back on our conversation in the moonlight but all I remembered was talking about love and heroes. “Are you sure?”
“Mostly sure,” she said, bringing a double handful of ingredients to the cooking island. “We won’t know until we try.”
“Try what, exactly?”
“Let’s get everyone up first. I don’t want to have to repeat myself. Could you do the honors, Peter? We’ll get breakfast started.”
“Uh, sure.” Stacy was watching us with a suspicious glint in her eye. Getting out of her line of sight seemed like a good idea right then, especially with that knife in her hand.
I turned back to the hallway just as my cellphone rang in my back pocket. I assumed it was Mom checking upon us until I glanced at the display. I answered quickly. “Melissa?”
“Peter.” I had trouble hearing her, like she didn’t want anyone overhearing her end of the conversation. “So, um, did I wake you up?”
“No, I’ve been up for a bit.”
“Oh, good.” She fell silent and I imagined her tucking her hair behind her ear. “Um, about last night –”
“Yes?” I asked nervously. I was having flashbacks to the morning after prom. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, “except –” Her voice trailed off.
“Except?”
“Well, I had this really vivid dream last night, but I’m not sure it was actually a dream.”
“Oh. So what do you remember?” I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mrs. Kendricks and Stacy watching me. Melissa, I mouthed to them, pointing at my phone. Mrs. Kendricks looked thoughtful as she began cracking eggs into the casserole dish.
“Well, this is kind of embarrassing to say out loud but,” she cleared her throat, “did I – did we – did I try to seduce you in front of City Hall?”
“Um, that would be yes,” I admitted ruefully.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. Now I imagined her ears turning bright pink. “So did we – actually – do it?”
“No, nothing happened.”
“Oh, thank God!” Her sigh of relief whooshed loudly in my ear. “I mean, not that I don’t want – that is, I love you and all, but – they have security cameras all around there, don’t they?” she asked worriedly. “Did I – did you – see – anything?”
“Not out there,” I told her truthfully.
“See, the thing is, I found my clothes on the floor here when I woke up, except, um, there’s something missing.”
“Missing?”
“My, um, my, ah,” she cleared her throat again and her voice dropped to a whisper, “my panties.”
“Oh.” My hand automatically went to my pocket where the garment in question was still tucked away. I almost pulled it out until I remembered I had witnesses. “Well, maybe you dropped them accidentally at the library. I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually.” There was no way I was going to be able to return them to her now.
“Maybe,” she acknowledged doubtfully. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be,” I assured her. “Mrs. Kendricks says that this sort of thing happens all the time after initiation.”
“Oh, well, that’s good to know, I guess. At least I wasn’t turned into a permanently oversexed nymphomaniac,” she laughed. “That would be horrible, right?”
“Yeah,” I agreed with a wistful sigh, “horrible.”
“Peter!”
“I’m just kidding. Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, thank you.” I could hear the smile in her voice now. “So are we meeting up on Lorecraft after church?”
“Oh, ah, no, sorry. Something came up.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, no, everything’s fine,” I lied unconvincingly and then I realized that Melissa was officially a witch now. There was no reason to keep secrets from her anymore, at least not these kind of secrets. “Hang on a second.” I muted my phone. “Mrs. Kendricks?” She looked up with a questioning glance. “Can I tell Melissa about what happened? I mean, Dara’s her friend, sort of.”
She looked like she was about to tell me no but then she tilted her head thoughtfully. “Yes, please do,” she said. “In fact, ask her if she can join us here. We could use her help.”
“Melissa?” I asked doubtfully. “She’s only been a witch for half a day. What good can she do?”
“We’re going to need more than just Anastasia and myself for what I have in mind but I can’t ask the rest of the coven to help a demon.”
“They haven’t minded her so far.”
“Because she’s been human all this time,” she reminded me, “but that’s no longer true. Melissa’s new but she’s a quick learner and, as you rightly point out, she and Dara are friends.”
“If you say so.” I unmuted. “Melissa? Are you still there?”
“I’m here, Peter,” she said uneasily. “What’s going on?”
I cleared my throat. “Something happened to Dara last night.”
“Oh, no!” she gasped in dismay. “Is she hurt?”
“No, but she needs our help. Special help.” I wasn’t sure why I was being so coy about it. I was the only non-magical person here. “We’re at Mrs. Kendricks’ house now. Can you come over?”
“Yes, absolutely! I’ll just have to make some excuse to Daddy. I’ll be right there! This is so exciting!” She squealed in my ear.
Mrs. Kendricks’ waving hand caught my attention. “See if she can bring Susie as well.”
“Okay. Melissa? Can you pick up Susie on the way?”
“Yes, of course,” she said breathlessly. She sounded like she was starting to hyperventilate. “What should I bring?” I relayed the question.
“Her paraphernalia and her Book of Shadows,” Mrs. Kendricks decided. “I’m not quite sure exactly what the ritual will look like so it’s best to have everything on hand.” I passed that information back to Melissa.
“Do I need my gown,” she asked doubtfully, “or are we going skyclad for this?”
The image she conjured in my mind was very NSFW but I managed to pose the question. Mrs. Kendricks chuckled.
“Whatever she’s wearing will be fine,” she said. “This won’t be a formal ritual.”
“Just come as you are,” I told Melissa and then I remembered how I’d left her last night. “Um, you are wearing something, right?”
“Peter!” she chided me with a giggle. “Of course I am! I was getting ready for church.”
“Oh, okay.” I tried not to sound too disappointed. “Make sure Susie wears something before she leaves the house. She doesn’t always.”
“Oh my God, tell me about it,” Melissa groaned. “It was so hard not to stare when she was helping me practice.”
“You get used to it,” I assured her, “eventually. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Okay. I love you!” I was still fumbling for an appropriate response when she shouted “Daddy!” in my ear and hung up. “She’s on her way,” I reported.
“Very good.” Mrs. Kendricks placed the casserole in the oven. “This will take about twenty minutes. Go and get our other guests out of bed. We can run a few tests before Melissa and Susie get here.”
I wanted to ask what kind of tests she had in mind but I doubted I’d understand her answer. Instead, I went down the hall and quietly opened the guest room door.
The two sisters were still sound asleep, although they’d shifted positions. Now Daraxandriel’s back was spooned against Lilith and Lilith’s arm was draped over Daraxandriel’s side. They looked so peaceful I almost didn’t want to wake them but I didn’t know how much time we had left before the hunter figured out how to get around Mrs. Kendricks’ spell.
“Dara,” I called softly. “Dara, wake up!” She didn’t stir. I touched her shoulder and shook it gently. “
Dara!” Still nothing. I tried again, harder this time. “Dara!”
She finally stirred, drawing in a deep breath and smacking her lips once or twice. Her ruddy eyes blinked a few times and searched around, settling on my face, and she smiled. “Good morrow, Peter Simon Collins,” she told me dreamily. “Didst thou sleep well?”
“Yeah, I guess. How about you?”
“Well enough,” she grumbled sleepily, “despite thy clumsy fumblings in the night.” She stretched her arms up over her head and closed her eyes again.
“What are you talking about?” I barely touched her at all, as far as I knew.
She made a scoffing noise. “The fabled Marco Polo did not travel as far as thy hands upon my body. Even now thou dost persist.” She reached down without looking and shifted Lilith’s hand off her stomach.
“Uh, Dara, that’s not me.”
“Dost thou truly think me so credulous?” she pouted. “Who else would make so free with my person?” She looked up at me standing at the side of the bed, frowned in puzzlement, and then turned her head to look at Lilith. A fraction of a second later, she was standing behind me peering over my shoulder with her tail wrapped tightly around my waist. “Protect me from her, Peter Simon Collins!” she demanded urgently. “She seeks to do me harm!”
“She’s not trying to hurt you,” I sighed, “she’s asleep.” Lilith rolled onto her back, murmuring something inaudible. “You did the same thing to her last night.”
“Nay, I would never willingly lay my hands upon her,” Daraxandriel protested, “lest it were to strangle her! She did betray me, Peter Simon Collins, as she has always done!”
“I know but we’re going to do something about that. Go on and get dressed.” I reached over to poke Lilith on the shoulder and then hesitated, unsure how she’d react. “You should wake her up.”
“Nay, do not disturb her!” Daraxandriel argued peevishly as she picked up her jersey from the floor and shook it out. “Even she cannot wreak more havoc whilst in slumber.” She wrestled the shirt over her horns and tugged it into place.
“No, we need her too. Besides, she can’t do anything while she’s human, right?” I eyed Lilith doubtfully.
“Thou dost not comprehend the depths of her cunning,” Daraxandriel grumbled. “Were she not a mere succubus, she would rule in Hell.” She retrieved her panties and looked them over doubtfully, casting a sideways glance at her tail. Panties and tails did not get along.
“Well, she’s not in Hell now.” I held out my hand for her panties and stuffed them into my pocket along with Melissa’s. “Mrs. Kendricks and Stacy are making breakfast. Go talk to them while I get Lilith up.”
“Smother her whilst thou still hast the chance,” she warned me direly. “The world would thank thee for thy service.”
“Go!” I pointed to the door and she left with ill grace.
“Don’t mind her.” I turned and found Lilith lying on her side smiling at me, her head resting on her outstretched arm. “She’s just jealous.”
“Of what?”
“Of me, of course. I’m smarter, prettier, and better than she is. It’s not her fault,” she conceded with a shrug. “It’s just how she was spawned.”
“You said humans are ugly,” I reminded her, irked at her snide insults at Daraxandriel. “Aren’t you human now?”
“Ugly compared to demons,” she countered smoothly, “but I’m a very pretty human, don’t you agree?” She sat up on the bed and ran her hand slowly down her side, watching me the entire time with a teasing smile.
I cleared my throat. “Get dressed,” I told her. “Everyone’s going to be here soon.”
She faked a pout and slid off the bed, bending over to pick up her blouse in a way that gave me a very good look at her bare legs and backside. She shrugged it on, glancing slyly over her shoulder to make sure I was paying attention, and repeated the process for her skirt. She did a little wiggle dance to get it up over her hips and then fiddled with the zipper in the back.
“Oh dear, it seems to be stuck,” she said in the least convincing display of acting ever. “Help me, Peter.” Her blatant attempt at seducing me wasn’t half so troubling as the fact that I knew she was doing it and it was still working. Little Peter was starting to take an interest in the proceedings, despite my reminder him that Lilith was an evil manipulative bitch. The problem was, she was a beautiful evil manipulative bitch. “Peter,” she cajoled me, bending over to give me a good look at the problem.
I didn’t want Lilith to think she was winning by complying but I also didn’t trust her out of my sight. She waited expectantly and I heaved a sigh, crossing over to her to grab the zipper and yank it up. She stymied me by holding the gap open too wide, exposing a wedge of smooth white skin and forcing me to grab the fabric with my other hand and pull the fastener up slowly.
I finally got it all the way up and stepped back as she buttoned the waistband and then adjusted the sleeves of her blouse, pretending to forget that she hadn’t done up the front yet. She shared Daraxandriel’s disdain for undergarments, although to be fair, she’d had a tail until last night.
“You should, ah, cover those up,” I told her. “Mrs. Kendricks doesn’t need any distractions.” Lilith saw through that excuse immediately but she just smiled and obeyed, sort of. She took the lower corners of her blouse and knotted them under her breasts, converting it into a halter top that exposed her toned midriff while failing to adequately corral her assets.
“Am I presentable now?” she asked teasingly, holding out her arms for my approval. I didn’t trust my voice at the moment so I just waved her out the door. She slipped her toes into her high-heeled shoes, raising her eyes level with mine, and then walked out of the room with way more hip rotation than was strictly necessary. Not that I was paying any particular attention to that portion of her anatomy, mind you, it was just too obvious to ignore.
My phone rang before I could follow her out and I dug it out of my pocket. It was Melissa again. “Hello?”
“Peter,” she asked tersely, “where’s my car?”
“Your car?”
“It’s not in the garage and it’s not in the driveway. Where is it?”
“Oh, right.” I’d completely forgotten about it. “It’s still back at the restaurant. You weren’t, um, in any condition to drive last night so I brought you home.”
“Oh my God, are you kidding me? How am I supposed to get over there without my car?”
“Well, I guess I could come pick you up,” I suggested doubtfully. I wasn’t sure Daraxandriel would let me leave, though.
“No, don’t do that,” she sighed. “There’s no point in you coming all the way over here. I’ll get Daddy to drop me off downtown. God, how am I going to explain why I left it there?”
“You could say you had too much to drink last night and decided not to drive. I’m sure he’ll appreciate your maturity.”
“That’s not funny, Peter! He’s already nervous about me moving out on my own. I don’t need him thinking I’m out getting drunk whenever he’s not around! And don’t you dare say anything about prom!”
“I wasn’t,” I protested, although I was absolutely going to. “I’m sure he’ll feel better about everything once you find a good roommate.”
“Yes, exactly! I need someone who’s mature and responsible and respectable, someone Daddy can trust.”
“Uh, right.” Something in her voice made me uneasy. “Do you know anyone like that?”
“Peter, we talked about this! It’s you!”
“Wait a minute –”
“It’s perfect! You’re already eighteen and you’ll be a senior next semester and you have your own car and you’re even going to be a police officer!”
“Just an intern, actually –”
“And your father is the Chief of Police! If he can’t trust you, who can he trust?”
“I don’t think this is –”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. Gotta go, I have
to catch Daddy before he heads off to church. I’ll see you in a little bit. Love you!” She hung up before I could stop her.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, shoving my phone back into my pocket. There was no way this was going to turn out well.
I returned to the kitchen and found Mrs. Kendricks, Stacy, and Daraxandriel seated on stools along the counter. The fourth stool was unoccupied. “Where’s Lilith?” I asked.
“I thought she was with you,” Mrs. Kendricks replied, sipping her tea.
“I sent her in here. I was talking to Melissa.” I checked the front room in case she’d gone in there for some reason but it was empty. “She didn’t leave, did she?”
The front door was unlocked but I remembered Mrs. Kendricks saying she never bothered to lock it. I opened it to look outside just as something hummed and crackled like a high-voltage circuit and somebody yipped in pain. A moment later, Lilith limped up the walkway from the street, rubbing her wrists. She paused when she saw me standing there and then passed me with as much dignity as she could muster. I followed her back into the kitchen.
“I see the wards are working properly,” Mrs. Kendricks smiled. Lilith hmpfed as she took the stool beside Daraxandriel and stole her glass of orange juice. I sat at the kitchen table.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked. Out of the four women in front of me, only Mrs. Kendricks looked at ease. Stacy was frowning into her tea, Daraxandriel had her arms crossed in resentment, and Lilith eyed the back door surreptitiously.
“Peter and I were talking last night,” Mrs. Kendricks explained, “after everyone else was asleep.”
“Just talking?” Stacy asked pointedly.
“Of course,” her mother replied blandly.
“About what?”
“About his Philosopher’s Stone, among other things. Peter, would you mind taking it out?”
I fished the chain out from under my shirt and held the Stone up in the light. Stacy and Lilith both leaned forward to get a closer look while Daraxandriel looked uneasy for some reason.
“Is that really a Philosopher’s Stone?” Stacy breathed in amazement. “I remember seeing Peter wearing it that night after we all woke up but I thought it was just another wardstone.” She slipped off her stool and held her hand close to it, not quite touching it. “It’s potent,” she marveled.
Soul Mates Page 9
