“My mom has to be one of the greatest cook on the planet,” Portia stated proudly. “I don’t think there’s a dish she could make that I wouldn’t absolutely love.”
“Well, maybe eggplant casserole,” Stacey suggested. At Portia’s groan and eye roll, it was clear there was a story behind it.
“Yeah, that was pretty awful,” she agreed with a shake of her head, choosing not to elaborate any further.
Digging into my food, I enjoyed every single bite. All too soon, it was time for us to part ways. I cleared my spot, and Portia walked me to the door, hugging me tightly. It was clear she didn’t want me to go.
“I’m going to miss you today.” She nuzzled against my shoulder.
“I’ll be back soon,” I replied, returning her embrace, wishing I could stay too. “Go take a nap or something. It’ll go by faster.”
“All right.” She lifted her face so I could kiss her goodbye.
“I love you,” I replied, purposely keeping the kiss brief since we always seemed to combust so easily together. “Be careful,” I warned one last time, brushing her cheek as I stepped outside.
She stayed there watching me until I drove away, and my heart ached already.
---
The principal had a meeting with Marsha and me at lunch, causing me to miss checking in on Portia. I’d immediately got in touch with Milly and she said she’d leave Babs in charge of the store. Milly got Portia, and they went to her house to make some of the herbal concoctions she sold at her shop, which helped me feel better, as I hadn’t wanted her being alone all day. Milly’s house was charmed as well, so it was safer than the store too. Finally, I was able to slightly relax.
Arriving in front of Milly’s, however, I felt a bit of trepidation creep up my spine. Portia had mentally checked in on me at school, but I sensed the worry pouring off her. Something was definitely wrong.
Marsha arrived right behind me, and we let ourselves into the house, already knowing that Milly, Sean, and Portia were in the basement together. As soon as Portia saw me enter the space, she ran to me, throwing her arms around my neck.
“Hey, baby,” I returned her hug tightly. “I missed you today. Let’s not stay apart that long again, okay?”
“Fine by me.” She raised her head so I could kiss her.
“How did things go with the principal?”
“I’m off the hook. Marsha got a big lecture about the school policy on cell phones, but other than that, everything’s okay.”
We went to join the others at the table.
“So, what’ve you found out?” Marsha asked, cutting straight to the chase.
Sean glanced between us. “We’ve discovered suspicious activity in warehouses located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, receiving the same suspicious crates and such,” he said. “The operation has moved on, but it’s as if he disappeared. I have no idea where they’ve gone from there. They’re off the radar.
“He’s too close. It’s time for us to move on,” Marsha said, looking at me nervously.
“No,” I replied, my voice firm. “I’m not running again.”
“Think about it, Marsha,” Sean said, trying to help calm her. “You have safety in numbers here. We’ve promised to do all we can to protect both of you.”
“I can’t risk it.” Marsha shook her head, unwilling to listen to reason. “I swore to his mother I’d die before I let anyone get to him.”
“I won’t leave!” I shouted, pounding my fist hard on the table. Everyone jumped.
Portia placed a trembling hand on my shoulder, and I knew I’d scared them all, but I was angry.
“I’m sorry,” I continued, taking a deep breath as I tried to get a handle on my emotions. “You don’t understand. I’ve already lost one home and one family because of this man. This is the first place that feels like home since my mother ran away with me.
“And I’m with Portia now. I’m bound to her, and I won’t leave her. I’m eighteen—this is my decision to make.” I glanced at Marsha. “Sorry.”
She stared back at me for several moments before giving a slight nod.
“All right,” she said, conceding softly, but she didn’t look too happy about it.
“I’m sorry I’m the reason all this danger’s coming here,” I said, turning my attention to Milly and Sean. “If we have real proof he’s getting too close, then I’ll be happy to leave to help keep everyone else safe, if that’s what you wish.”
“This isn’t your fault in any way,” Milly replied, reaching across the table to grasp my hand. “We’re glad you came here, and I think it’s wise for you to stay, regardless of how close he gets. We can protect you better if we know where you are.”
“Plus, we need to find out the reason your dad wants you so badly,” Sean interjected. “He was obviously using you to strengthen his own powers. We need to know why, what he’s planning, and why he’s been recruiting more forces. That’s definitely worrisome to all of us.”
“I still hope we can find your mom out there somewhere too,” Portia added, warming my heart even further.
Smiling, I placed my hand on hers. “Thank you. I hope for that too.”
The five of us spent the rest of the evening together, lost in our own thoughts, creating more products for Milly’s store. At nine o’clock, she called an end to the evening.
“We need to get these kids to bed,” she said. “Vance has school in the morning. Portia and I can continue things once we get him off.”
After cleaning and put things away, Portia and I headed to Milly’s guest room. She’d invited us to stay the night there earlier.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper,” I apologized, feeling awful for scaring her.
She shook her head. “You were fine. It’s understandable under the situation.”
“It was wrong.” I ran my fingers through her silky hair.
“Do you really think it’s wise for you to stay here?” she asked. I could tell she was honestly afraid to hear my answer.
I sighed in frustration. “I have to take a stand somewhere, Portia. I’m tired of running. I want a life, a real life—with you, to be precise.” Trailing my fingers across her back, I continued. “There’s safety in numbers here. If I leave, we become weaker and so does the coven.”
“I just don’t want to be the reason you’re in harm’s way.”
“Portia, I won’t leave. I’d rather die than be parted from you. And honestly, under our current physical situation, it would probably feel like death to both of us if we were to be separated now.”
She nodded and I knew she understood. Thoughts of losing me filled her mind, causing her to wince.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said, pulling her toward the bed. “It isn’t worth the pain.”
We were in the process of taking off our shoes when there was a scratching sound at the window. Both of us turned.
“Looks like we have company.” Going to the window, I opened it, allowing Jinx to come through and she ran to the bed, hopping on it.
“Hey, pretty girl,” Portia said sweetly as she scooped the white fluffy kitty into her arms. “Did I leave you behind? I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”
Jinx purred happily, rubbing heavily against Portia.
“Looks like I’ll have to play second fiddle for your attention tonight,” I said with a smile.
“Not a chance.” She grinned. “I can love you both. I’m talented that way.”
In the end, it didn’t matter much. The three of us quickly fell asleep.
---
Portia’s scream caused me to bolt awake with a start. The cat jumped with a hiss in the direction of the window and I saw a pair of red, glowing eyes staring at us from the other side of the glass. Dread filled me.
“Don’t move!” I said quickly, before racing toward it.
Jinx howled angrily and the red eyes suddenly disappeared as I raised the sash, climbing out. The lithe figure darted off down the street and I followed in hot pursuit, my
bare feet hitting the cold pavement as I ran. It was dark enough that I couldn’t tell the gender of the person I was chasing, but I could see when they rounded the corner, several feet ahead of me.
Pushing myself, I ran faster, turning the corner. Nothing. Slowing as I reached the next street, I peered in the dark for the suspect. Listening intently, all I could hear was the sound of my own labored breathing. I stopped, worried that someone might be trying to set a trap, or worse yet, perhaps they planned to lead me away so they could double back and get to Portia. Turning, fear flooded through me as I ran in a full sprint to Milly’s house.
“It’s me,” I called breathlessly, knocking on the door when I arrived and it swung open of its own accord. Portia and Milly were both sitting in the dark and I entered, dropping onto the sofa beside Portia as the door shut and locked behind me.
“What did you find?” Milly asked.
“Nothing really. Someone was out there, but whoever it was, they moved really fast. By the time I rounded the corner after them, I couldn’t see anyone at all. I ran another block just to be sure, but there was nothing. It was like they vanished into thin air.”
“I think we’re dealing with some very powerful magic here,” Milly said soberly.
“I agree.” I sighed heavily. “Those eyes—they were demon.”
“Uh, demon?” Portia said, sitting straighter as she continued to stroke Jinx. “Could you elaborate, please?”
“A demon is a witch or warlock who’s been exposed to the dark arts for so long that the evil they work with will actually begin to possess them,” I explained, reaching to scratch Jinx under the chin, glad she’d alerted us to the danger. “The magic begins to take control of them instead of them controlling their magic. It’s very bad since the witch or warlock can lose all sense and reason of what’s right or wrong. It becomes all-consuming to them, causing them to do some very terrible things.”
“Were either of you ever going to fill me in on this tidbit of information?” Portia asked, glancing between Milly and me.
“Eventually,” Milly said with a sigh. “It isn’t something we’ve had to worry about very often around here. I guess we kind of overlooked it. I wanted you to feel free to explore your magic without repercussion.”
“You mean you were protecting me. I’m not a little kid anymore, and I need to know what’s going on.”
“They think my dad is a demon,” I said, interrupting before Portia got angrier. “They’ve been trying to protect me, not you.”
“How long have you known?” Milly asked, looking surprised by my comment.
“For a while,” I replied. “I first suspected when Sean started recruiting other witches to help be on the lookout. It was the only reason he’d think we needed the extra manpower. Plus, it was obvious that the path he’s been on was headed in that direction.”
“I guess we should know better than to keep things from you. You have a very quick mind, Vance,” she responded apologetically. “We weren’t trying to keep you out of the loop. We only wanted you to have a normal life.”
I snorted. “That’s never going to happen, no matter how much I desire it.”
We sat silently together, our words hanging heavily in the air.
“Shall we go back to bed?” Portia finally asked.
“No,” Milly said. “Not up here at least. Let’s go downstairs.”
She stood and we followed her to the basement. Pulling a small foldout bed from the storage room, she arranged it with the head of the bed against the wall. When she was finished, she placed her hand on the cot, muttering a few words, and Portia jumped back when it doubled in size into a luxuriously covered bed.
“Nice,” she said under her breath, and I chuckled as she stared at it in total awe.
Milly gathered several of her crystals and placed them in a circle around the bed, touching each one as she whispered a small incantation. The crystals began glowing, casting healing light as a protection for us.
“Get some rest,” she said, gesturing for us to climb in. “I doubt we’ll have anymore company tonight, but I’ll keep watch upstairs anyway.”
“What about your protection?” Portia asked, clearly worried about her grandmother.
“I have some more crystals for my room. I’ll be plenty safe,” Milly assured her.
Portia hugged her and I went with Milly to her room, checking the house along the way to make sure everything was still okay. After Milly activated her crystals, I returned to the basement, lifting the covers and crawling in beside Portia.
“I don’t want anything to separate us tonight,” I explained after observing her surprised stare. “I want to know you’re safe in my arms.”
She shook her head sadly. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“What do you mean?” I was confused.
“I don’t think they’re after me. I think they’re after you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Portia’s concern for my well-being and the fact that we were lying together in this circle of protection, prompted me to answer her previous question.
“His name is Damien Cummings,” I whispered softly into her mind, telling her the name of my father.
“How come his name is different than yours?” she asked aloud.
“My mom changed ours so it would be harder for him to find us.”
Confused emotion emanated from her, and I easily picked up on what was troubling her.
“Vance is my real name. And I’ll always be a Mangum. I’ll never take my old name back again.” I’d been a Mangum for so long that it was the Cummings name that seemed totally foreign to me now.
“Where’d your mom get the name?”
Memories of my mom and me together filtered through my mind, and the sharp pang of missing her grew stronger.
“We passed through a small town in Oklahoma once, called Mangum. We were only there for a couple of days, but Mom was charmed by it. The people were so down to earth and very kind to us. Someday she hoped we could live somewhere just like that. I think changing our name to Mangum was a way of reminding herself that places full of good people still exist.”
“What a beautiful memory,” she said, her voice sounding reflective.
“Yes,” I agreed.
“You must really miss her.”
“I do, but I understand why she did what she did. I owe her my life. If she hadn’t run with me, who knows what kind of disgusting creature I’d be now.”
“She’d be so proud of you if she could see you. You’re such a good, determined man.”
Portia had such and idealized view of me. It made me nervous sometimes. I didn’t want to fail her expectations of me in any way. “Let’s get some sleep,” I said, not wanting to continue on with the current subject. “You need your rest.”
“I’m not going to break, you know. You don’t need to baby me,” she replied with a small smile.
“Well, get used to it, because I’m not going to stop anytime soon,” I mumbled into her hair.
---
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I spoke into Portia’s head when I finally heard her stir back into consciousness. I’d been keeping tabs on her throughout the morning, waiting for her to wake up. “Or should I say afternoon?”
“Afternoon? What time is it?” She sounded completely perplexed.
“It’s noon.” I responded with a laugh. “I’m upstairs. Milly’s feeding me lunch.”
It only took a moment for her to appear, and I couldn’t help raking my gaze over her. She was complete perfection. Even first thing in the morning, she glowed as if she were a super model. It didn’t matter if her hair wasn’t combed, or if she didn’t have her makeup on. Her beauty ran soul deep.
“Well, someone was tired!” Milly teased.
“Sorry,” she apologized. “I think it was that dark basement. I had no idea what time it was.”
“That’s just fine,” Milly replied. “Vance said to let you rest because you to
ssed and turned all night.”
“I did?” She stared at me, obviously unaware of what had transpired during the night.
“You had your dream again,” I told her in between bites of my sandwich.
“Really? I don’t remember.” Her brow furrowed and I could tell she was wracking her brain, trying to remember.
“It was a little different this time, though.”
“How so?”
“You were running toward something in the fog, not away from it.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting. Was I calling for you?”
I nodded.
She paused to consider this information for a moment before giving a shrug. “Well, thanks for helping me out again,” she said.
“It’s always my pleasure.” That was the truth. I loved helping her, however I could. Standing, I went to give her a hug, enjoying the feel of her back in my arms. I’d missed her during the morning while I was at school.
Milly placed another sandwich on the table. “Come and eat, Lollipop,” she said, using her pet name for Portia.
“Thanks, Grandma. I’m sorry I wasted half of the day away. I know you have things you wanted me to help with.”
“Don’t worry about it. I worked on my project in here this morning and actually got everything done already.”
“I’ve got to go, baby,” I interrupted, hating that I had to leave. I leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Already?” She sounded totally bummed.
“Half a day, and then I’m all yours.” I smiled reassuringly. “And you get to come back to school tomorrow.”
“Who’d have ever thought I’d be excited about that?” she laughed, following me to the door.
Unable to resist hugging her one more time, I placed another kiss on her cheek. She sighed heavily as I released her, and I felt her stare on me as I drove away.
Well settled in one of my classes, I was working on my assignment when a jolt of trepidation passed through me. Instantly recognizing this as Portia’s emotion and not my own, I slipped into her head to see if she was all right, surprised by the conversation I interrupted.
Fire & Ice Page 19
