The Witch's Quest

by Michele Hauf

  “I get that. I’ll cop to kind nice eighty percent of the time. But flattery will not get you a piece of this cake. I’m eating it all myself.” He forked in an appealing bite of layered chocolate frosting and cake. “See? Not so nice now, am I?”

  She pouted about that. She’d wolfed down her dry cinnamon crumble so fast she hadn’t even tasted it. So she enjoyed a good meal. And this first-class stuff? Not too shabby, if sparse on the meat.

  “I’m no nicer than the next guy, Valor. I’m just trying to walk through this life and world respectful of all those who have as many trials and tribulations as myself.”

  “Yeah? What’s it take to piss off a guy like you?”

  “Why do you want to piss me off?”

  “I don’t. I’m just wondering what it takes. You can’t be nice all the time. Seriously. Be honest about the remaining twenty percent. If you had one day in Trouble’s shoes and could punch whoever or whatever because your temper flared as easily as his, what would it take to set you off?”

  Kelyn set down the fork beside the half-eaten cake and rubbed the heel of his palm across his brow. “I guess it would have to be someone who harms another for malicious reasons.”

  “Like a bully?”

  “Maybe.”

  “A murderer?”

  “For sure.”

  “So you’d take the law into your own hands, then?”

  “That’s not what you asked me.”

  “Right.” She sighed and turned toward him, nudging her shoulder into the seat. She’d already gone too far by sprawling across him while she slept. Best to be more careful about his personal space now. “Tell me what’s up between you and your brother and me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you think something about the two of us. I can sense it every time his name comes up.”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “It does. Because every time I mention Trouble, your fingers curl into fists. See? You just did it.”

  He sighed and relaxed his fingers.

  “Do you think me and your brother got it on?”

  He didn’t answer and instead shoved in another bite of cake. The force with which he stabbed the helpless dessert said all she needed to know.

  “We didn’t, Kelyn. I don’t know what Trouble has told you, but we are just friends. Always have been, always—well, the dude has been avoiding me since...you know.”

  “He’s protective of me. Of all his siblings. If someone does us wrong, he’s going to retaliate.” His attention focused on her. His irises gleamed like gemstones. Faery eyes were gorgeous. She’d never seen anything so intense and precious. “So you’re telling me nothing has ever happened between the two of you? Be honest, I know you two do the Netflix-and-chill thing.”

  “We never chill, Kelyn. It’s either pizza, beer or both. But never sex. I might have kissed him once. A quickie, just to, you know, test the waters. But no sex. You have to believe me. And it makes me angry that Trouble made you believe otherwise. What a jerk.”

  Kelyn shrugged. “Trouble is like that. Boasts about things to make himself look good.”

  “So he did tell you we slept together. B. J. Hunnicutt, I will so kick his ass for that.”

  “Maybe keep your distance from him for now. He gets an idea about a person and he goes ballistic pretty fast.”

  The soft light from above shadowed his eyes and emphasized his sharp bone structure. Hair raked back off his face to further expose his exquisite features, the man was beautiful in, hmm, an alien manner. Unique.

  “I did believe him when he said the two of you had hooked up. And it bothered me because I like you, Valor. I’ve explained that. Yet I don’t ever want to go after one of my brother’s conquests.”

  “I am so not a conquest.”

  “I believe it.”

  “Thank you. So...are we good?”

  He bobbed his head. “I was stupid to buy into Trouble’s bragging. He does it all the time. And I know half the time it’s exaggerated blustering. Idiot wolf. Will you accept my apology?”

  “For what? You’ve done nothing but be a good brother. And if anyone needs to apologize—”

  “It’s neither of us. We’ve been through this already. Onward and with a new perspective on each other?”

  “For sure.”

  “Great. Then to seal the deal you can have the last piece.” He forked up the final chunk of chocolate cake and offered it to her.

  The guy didn’t have to offer twice. Valor dived for the prize. It was especially sweet, considering they’d cleared the air about something she hadn’t even been aware was a problem.

  So Kelyn liked her?

  She could work with that.

  Chapter 7

  Seven hours later their feet finally touched ground. Wandering through the airport, Kelyn slung Valor’s backpack across one shoulder and carried his bag on the other side. He’d had to rip the thing out of her hand. The chick was tough, but come on, let a guy do the chivalrous thing once in a while.

  Now he turned to see if she still followed him—she’d gotten over her sleep deprivation just in time for midnight in Australia. Ha! He’d stolen a few winks on the flight and didn’t need to sleep all that much. Despite having watched six movies and debating the merits of chemical-free lawns as opposed to spraying with an across-the-aisle passenger, he was good to go.

  Valor sped up and passed him.

  “I think the taxi terminal is that way,” he said as she headed in the opposite direction.

  “Cool, but I see an all-night buffet up ahead. And I’m starving. That tiny meal on the plane only whetted my appetite. Come on!”

  Food that had actually been prepared in a real kitchen and not freeze-dried and reheated? He was in.

  Kelyn picked up his pace and didn’t make it to the cash register in time before Valor had confirmed she’d paid for both of them. Without waiting for his argument, she charged into the restaurant and grabbed a plate, directing him to find a table.

  Let no man stand in the way of a hungry woman. Who was too darned cute as she navigated the aisles of food with a gleeful look on her face. And she was yet to notice the sprig of hair sticking straight out from the top of her head.

  Ten minutes later, Kelyn sat with a plate stacked with steamed and fresh veggies, fried potatoes of various types and something called Vegemite spread on a piece of toast. And Valor had almost cleaned her first plate.

  “Where do you put it all?” he asked and sipped his hot coffee.

  She flexed a biceps and tapped it. “Right here. All the protein keeps me in shape for lifting the grain bags at the brewery and hefting heavy auto parts around the shop.”

  “That’s right, you’re a tool monkey.”

  “I prefer to call it getting my grease on, but close enough. Yeah, Daisy Blu and Beck let me and Sunday use one of the stalls at their auto body shop. We are working on a ’67 Corvette Stingray. It’s sweet. You like cars, Kelyn?”

  “They get a guy where he needs to go. I’m more of a motorcycle man, I guess.”

  “Cool. I ride an old street chopper I picked up from Raven Crosse for a killer price. Fixing it up right now. But your Firebird is a classic.”

  “Blade fixed it up for me as a birthday present a few years ago. It was a junker I found on Craigslist for a thousand bucks. Blade can work magic with bodywork, and Beck restored the engine.”

  “Nice.”

  Reaching across the table, he patted down the tangle of hair on her head. “That’s better.”

  She shrugged. “I’m no glamour girl. Get used to it. So, you ever hop on your motorcycle and ride up along Lake Superior? It’s gorgeous in the fall with the colorful leaves. I try to go camping in the Boundary Waters at least once a year.”

&
nbsp; “Sounds like fun. But I don’t own a motorcycle. I just like them. And believe it or not, I haven’t been Up North. Been stuck in the Twin Cities all my freakin’ life. Is this your first trip out of the country?”

  “Out of the state.”

  “I have been lucky enough to visit Paris once. I like flying. Er...in an airplane,” he felt the need to correct, because if he thought about flying with his wings... Yeah, he needed to put that heart-crushing memory aside. “You should have told me this was your first flight. I thought you’d flown before because of the, er...”

  “Drunken disaster I was this morning?”

  “Yeah. Seems like you had a routine established for alleviating your flight anxiety that could only have come from much experimenting.”

  “I’ve flown north to Thief River Falls to visit friends on a much smaller plane. Dude, you don’t even want to know about that disaster.”

  He smiled at her cringing expression. To him, flight was everything. But free flight, courtesy of wings, was the ultimate. Stop thinking about it, man. With luck, what he’d lost would soon be regained.

  “Speaking of drunken disasters...” He offered a sheepish grin. “I wasn’t sure what to do, so we...left the cat behind.”

  “Everything’s cool. My neighbor checks in on Mooshi. I thought you didn’t like cats.”

  “I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t care about an animal’s safety.”

  “Why the dislike? Are you allergic to cats?”

  “No. I actually think it’s a faery thing. Cats don’t care for me, either. I’m surprised your Mooshi was so calm around me. Usually they come at me with their claws bared or else run and hide.”

  “Wow. Well, you are a likable guy and Mooshi is chill.” She shoved in a forkload of food and looked aside.

  A likable guy, eh? She liked him. But he wouldn’t tease her about it. Yet. It made Kelyn feel good to know that she did. Had he a real chance to score with her now that he no longer had to worry that she and his brother had had a thing?

  He sipped the weak black coffee. “So, are we headed straight to the lake tonight?”

  “I’m in. The moon is almost full. We should have good light to explore.”

  “Is the lake accessible?”

  “Sure, but I don’t think it’s touristy. Maybe? I didn’t do a lot of research on it, but I do know it’s kind of, sort of out of the way. We can head there when we’re finished eating.” She stood and headed for plate number two.

  “Never leave a man behind.” Despite his usual habit of eating small meals often throughout the day, Kelyn followed her, thinking he couldn’t let a girl eat him under the table.

  By the time plate number three had been cleaned, he was feeling the burn in his gut. Maybe he should concede the win on this one.

  “You’re kind of competitive,” Valor said as she licked the whipped cream off her spoon, then stabbed it into the mush of blueberry pie. “You know that?”

  “Just hungry.” He pushed his plate forward on the table, thinking dessert was out of the question. Oh, that Vegemite. He shouldn’t have had the third slice of toast. “Very well. I concede. You win the buffet challenge.”

  “I always do.” She sat back, spreading her hair out across one shoulder. It was long and glossy; he imagined what it might feel like spread across his chest, tickling like sensual silk.

  “You want the last piece?” She tapped the plate, on which sat a small uneaten blob of pie coated with whipped cream.

  Recognizing the significance of the offer, Kelyn set aside his revulsion at all the sugar—and his full-to-the-brim stomach—and leaned across the table. She forked the pie and placed it in his mouth. It wasn’t like he’d consumed a whole piece, but it was definitely the straw that broke the camel’s very full stomach. He sat back with a groan.

  “Poor guy. Will you be able to make this evening’s adventure?” she asked, not hiding a teasing tone. “Or do you want to go snuggle up in a hotel room and recover from the food deluge?”

  Snuggle up? Was she suggesting? No, she had chosen the wrong word. Maybe? But as for crawling under the covers and surrendering? Could he? Man up, faery.

  “I’m in. How far away is the lake?”

  “Not sure.” She tugged out her cell phone. “I might have to arrange transportation. This could take a bit.”

  Enough time to give his stomach a recovery period.

  “You bring your swimsuit?” she asked as they grabbed their luggage and filed out of the booth.

  “What for? Are we going to swim in the lake?”

  “Heck, yeah. You think I’d fly across the world to visit a pink lake and not go in it?”

  “I’m not much of a swimmer. Actually, I never learned how.” And please don’t ask him to start now.

  She shrugged. “It’s cool. I think I read something about people being extra buoyant in the water because of the massive salt content. Dude. This is going to rock!”

  Chapter 8

  Witchcraft could be a handy thing when it came to enchanting a helicopter pilot and convincing him to fly over Lake Hillier. What Valor had discovered was that the lake was on Middle Island and not accessible to visitors because it was surrounded by forest. Only preapproved visits were allowed, and such permission could take weeks to obtain.

  And, indeed, the lake, when seen from overhead, was a gorgeous shade of bubble gum pink, surrounded by a white stone beach. Moonlight glistening on the waves added enough glitz that Valor commented about it being blinged out.

  Why the lake was pink was still a scientific mystery, according to the chatty pilot, though the concentration of salt and bacteria did contribute to the color. The pilot said visitors were cautioned to cover any skin that would touch the water with shea butter, which Valor had purchased before they’d taken off.

  It was already three in the morning, so they needed to work swiftly. With a few more magical words, Valor convinced the pilot that this was, indeed, a preapproved dropoff. And that his passengers were actually scientists on a photojournalism venture approved by the Australian tourism board. He nodded and gave them a salute as they prepared to disembark.

  Valor asked the pilot to return in an hour and then they rappelled down from the helicopter, military-style. He’d managed to drop them right on the white beach outside the fragrant forest of paperbark and eucalyptus trees that hugged beach and lake. The air was heavy with the scent of air freshener, or that was what it smelled like to Valor.

  Kelyn shucked off his harness and then helped Valor off with hers. He carried their only backpack, which Valor had packed with the necessary supplies. Standing on the white beach, she took things in for a moment. An uninhabited island all to themselves in the middle of a moonlit evening? Why had she come here?

  Oh, right. This was a business trip and nothing else.

  Tugging off her shirt, she tossed that on top of the backpack, then toed off her boots and pulled off her pants to reveal the bikini she wore beneath. She’d had to buy one at the airport, and much to her chagrin there hadn’t been any one-pieces in her size. She hadn’t swum in a pool, lake or otherwise since she was a kid, and she did not do the sunbathing thing. That was best left for real women like one of the brewery co-owners, Geneva, who probably caught her rays on the deck of a multi-million-dollar yacht, lying under the appreciative eye of her latest billionaire boyfriend. Ha!

  Collecting the glass vials from the backpack, she started toward the water.

  “Wow” came softly from behind her.

  Kelyn pulled off his shirt and it dangled from his fingers as he looked her up and down with an assessing appreciation that would have made any woman blush proudly.

  Valor shrugged and turned back to the lake. “It’s just a body.”

  “So it is. But a nice one, at that.”

 
Seriously? She couldn’t figure what he was thinking—or looking at, for that matter. Her body was long, lean and straight. Everywhere. Small boobs and no apparent waistline because her torso plunged right into her hips and down her thighs. Valor had never considered herself a real girl when compared to the hair-fluffing, mascara-fluttering, lipstick-pouting mannequins that most men seemed to find attractive. Another point tossed to her witchy friend Geneva. Give Valor a wrench and a greasy engine, and she was one happy camper.

  Kelyn caught up to her where she’d waded out about ten feet. The swim trunks fit low on his hips. The abs on the guy were nothing less than insane. More than a six-pack, for sure. But she didn’t count because Valor was trying to keep from glancing at them too often and giving herself away.

  Just another body, she thought of his ripped physique. She might not be a real girl, but her brain was all woman. Lusting madly for some man flesh was natural. But it was probably wiser if she did it on the sly.

  “We going to put the shea butter on?” Kelyn asked as he joined her side. The water hit them both high on the thighs.

  “It’s a quick pop in the lake. We can rub it in afterward and get the same effect. It’ll just prevent our skin from getting dry from all the salt. You want to stay here while I go for a swim?”

  “Hell, no. If the water makes us buoyant, like you said, and then you factor in that I’m a natural lightweight, I shouldn’t be able to drown even if I tried.”

  “Is that a faery thing?”

  “It is. Our bones are light and sort of honeycomb in design. For flight.”

  “Cool.” She clasped the moonstone hanging from the cord about her neck. Nah, it wouldn’t get lost if she didn’t do vigorous laps. She eyed Kelyn, who assessed the water with that furrowed brow of his. “What are those?” She pointed to the charms that hung from the leather strips about his neck. “That one looks like a tiny unicorn horn.”

  “Close. It’s a mouse alicorn.”