Once this deal was done, Poe would forget about her. And he should. Because her life would never be simple.
You will never have nice things.
She wasn’t complaining, exactly. Well, maybe a little. But there were worse things in life, right?
Willa went to the willow tree and pulled back a knot her landlord had showed her after signing the lease. Inside lay a key.
“Not very smart leaving a spare key outside,” Poe said as he waited in the shade of the front porch.
“Because mixing with magic collectors and immortal djinn isn’t dangerous?”
“True enough.”
Willa opened the screen door and positioned the key at the lock. But then Poe snapped his fingers and the dead bolt thudded open.
The air suddenly smelled of his magic.
She didn’t know enough about how djinn magic worked, apparently. He hadn’t said any kind of invocation. Raina always had to use words to get her magic to work.
Willa had read a book that classified all of the different magic of the world into three distinct groups: ether magic, earth magic, and shadow magic.
Witches used earth magic, meaning anything they tapped into already existed on this plane. Djinn had been categorized as ether magic. Their magic existed outside of this realm. Demons and vampires operated in the shadow realm.
Willa had thought the book was just occult garbage. She thought all magic was the same, but maybe there was truth to the book after all.
“What else can you do?” she asked.
Poe snapped his fingers and a rocking chair appeared on the front porch. He snapped them again and a small table popped up beside it.
“You can just make things appear out of thin air?”
“Yes, it’s kind of what we do, love.” He smiled and snapped his fingers again. The rocking chair and table were gone.
“Hey, I liked that chair.”
“You’ll have to wish for it back then.”
“I am definitely not wasting my wishes on a rocking chair.”
She pushed inside.
It had been over a week since she had been there last. She yearned to throw back the curtains and open the windows to let the fresh air filter through the house. But she had more pressing things to do.
Like tell Poe the severity of the situation.
What would he do once he found out Raina was possessed? That Willa had the demon’s collar stuffed in a bag back at Blackwell House?
She figured it was the safest place for it, for now, but it was a risk to him and his family having it within their walls.
First, shower.
Then she’d deal with the consequences of the truth. She just hoped he didn’t toss her out on her ass. Could a djinn do that? Break their deal? She wasn’t sure. She knew very little about the rules.
“Make yourself at home,” she said. “I’ll just be a few minutes in the shower.”
He scanned her books on the crooked built-in shelves and plucked a copy of Dark Nights in Grove Hallow from the collection. “Vampire fiction?” He spread himself out over her couch and propped his head on a throw pillow that said pajamas all day in a looping script. “I’ve found entertainment. Take your time.”
She lingered for a moment, taking in the sight of an immortal djinn on her couch reading her favorite vampire book.
She wanted to burn it to memory.
What would it be like to have this every day? To see him lounging in her living room while she made dinner? To brush their teeth together? Or have breakfast on the porch sipping their coffee while the birds chirped in the trees?
To wake beside him in bed?
The image brought butterflies to Willa’s stomach.
It wasn’t just Poe she wanted. It was the life. The stability.
But yes, she definitely wanted all of it. Him included.
Could a djinn ever enjoy that quiet, settled life? If he had his caeli, would he?
Willa tried to push those questions away. None of that mattered right now anyway.
“Wait till you get to page fourteen,” she said. “That’s when the story really gets good.”
The book hid his face. “The suspense is already killing me.”
With a laugh, she left him in the living room and went down the short hallway to her bedroom in the back of the cottage. Dust danced in the sunlight. The tulips she’d placed on her bedside table were wilted and dropping petals to the floor. A glass of water sat on the desk, the ice long since melted.
What came after this?
Once her deal was done with Poe, where would she go? Where would she take Raina? And would Raina even go with her?
Maybe I should use a wish to make her forget all her troubles.
But there was no telling what language would make the best wish. How did you wish away someone’s demons? Literally and figuratively?
Would Poe be able to help her find the best wording? Would he be willing to take down a demon?
She had to tell him.
She had to tell him the whole truth and suffer whatever the consequences were. He’d been kind enough to take her into his house, kind enough to make her a deal.
At the very least, she owed him that.
And what about telling him who his caeli is?
Ughhhhh. If she thought about all of the things weighing her down, she would get nowhere.
Focus on one thing and move ahead.
After rifling through her closet, she pulled out black jeans and a V-neck t-shirt. She found a set of panties and bra in the dresser—both were black. It was her preferred color. Black did not clash with her fair skin and dusky red hair.
In the bathroom she turned the shower on and waited for the old water system to push out hot water. She undressed and climbed in beneath the stream. Immediately she felt whole again. Though she knew very little magic, she had learned a thing or two living in Raina’s and Caleb’s world. There was a green witch she’d met last year who rambled on and on about balancing the elements in one’s life. She’d told Willa her water element was out of sync with her fire element and that she needed to spend more time either swimming in fresh water or soaking in a hot bath.
“Water is calming,” the witch had said. “It’ll help you feel more balanced and balance is something you’ve always been lacking.”
And wasn’t that the truth.
So Willa started taking daily baths after that just to see if the witch was right. After a week, she was a believer.
Now she wrapped her arms around herself and turned her face to the hot water. She could feel the filth of the last twenty-four hours wash away down the drain.
And then…
A thud outside.
Like a car door shutting.
“Poe?” she called.
Another thud.
Willa shut the water off and climbed out. She hastily wrapped herself in a towel and started to grab her clean clothes when Poe popped up in front of her.
“What the—!”
Poe clamped his hand over her mouth, pressing her into the wall beside the door.
Willa breathed heavily against his hand. Poe cast his hearing beyond the door.
“It’s Caleb,” he whispered.
Willa’s heart beat a little faster.
How had he found them? How did he know about the cottage?
The front door creaked open.
“Shhhh,” Poe said at her ear. His breath was warm against her skin. It was in direct contrast to the cool air stealing beneath her towel that reminded her she was still naked and Poe was still pressed against her.
He seemed to notice at the same time she did.
His eyes fell to the hem of the towel sinking lower and lower on her breasts. She’d barely had time to wrap herself in it and she hadn’t managed to pull it snug around her.
Poe removed his hand from her mouth, but his fingers hovered along her jawline, just a feathered touch. A new wetness appeared between Willa’s legs.
“Search the place,”
came Caleb’s voice.
“We should go,” Poe said and took a step back.
Willa ducked down to grab her clean clothes just before Poe wrapped his hand around her arm and vaded away.
They reappeared in Willa’s room at Blackwell House.
Somehow the towel had been left behind.
Willa held her clothes in a ball at her chest.
Poe’s eyes drank her in.
Water slid down her belly and followed the curve of her hip to her bare pussy. God, she was buzzing beneath his stare. When he looked at her like this, Willa felt like a nobody who had somehow managed to catch the eye of the king.
A war of emotions crossed his face.
A bite of hunger.
A pinch of hesitation between his brows.
He came closer and Willa swore the air wavered with heat.
His eyes flashed green in the dim light.
“Poe,” she said and tried to stop him, but her voice betrayed her desire.
He closed the gap between them and his hand dropped to the swell of her hip.
Willa closed her eyes against the thrill that ran through her.
Her body was on fire.
Poe leaned in, his breath finding the sensitive triangle of flesh just below her ear.
She was already dripping wet and he’d barely touched her.
“Poe,” she said again as he took the clothes from her hands and dropped them to the floor.
When his gaze fell to her breasts, her nipples reacted, swelling to hard peaks.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She could not do this.
She wanted to do this.
But no, no matter how badly her body wanted to give in, she couldn’t.
“Poe,” she said. “There’s something I need to—”
The bedroom door opened.
“What the fuck are you—” Poe started as he turned to the intruder.
Over his shoulder, Willa saw the person cock their arm back and toss a blade through the air. It sailed toward them, end over end, and lodged itself in Poe’s shoulder.
“Bloody hell!” He staggered back from the blow.
The person came into the light and Willa gasped.
“Raina?”
Her eyes were white. Oh no. Oh no no no.
“Demijinn,” Poe said beneath his breath.
Raina pulled a second knife from a sheath at her hip. She threw it and it sunk into Poe’s knee.
He roared. Willa cringed at the sight of the blood pouring from his wounds.
This was her fault. All her fault!
“Go, Will,” he said. “Get out of here.”
“Where? I don’t—”
“Go far away. Use a wish. I can’t vade with these damned runed blades in me but I’ll find you.”
“I’m not leaving you!” She still had two wishes. Maybe if she wished Raina to leave? But no, the demon—djinn magic was stunted against demons. But if she wished to heal Poe?
Raina advanced, a third blade in hand.
“I can take a demon,” Poe said. “Go!”
“But—”
“Go!”
She scooped up her clothes and raced to the other side of the bed to grab her bag, hoping the demon collar was still inside.
“I, Willa Locke, wish to use my second wish. I wish to be taken” —Raina aimed the blade at Will— “to Poe’s childhood home without delay!”
Raina let the blade fly.
Immediately, the room took on the smell of Poe’s magic—that heady, piney scent of a forest. It glittered green as it wound around Willa’s body. She felt the warm rush of it as it lifted her from the room, time and space opening for her as the blade sailed through the air. And in an instant, she was gone.
Chapter 15
POE
Poe pulled the runed daggers from his body. They clattered to the hardwood floor. He snapped his fingers and they were gone in a puff of green magic.
Raina came closer. “She made a deal with you.”
“Does that surprise you, demijinn?”
“Caleb told me she promised you your caeli.”
Poe climbed to his feet. He clamped his hand over the wound in his shoulder to keep it from bleeding more. He’d be healed within seconds, but the blood loss always took a bit longer to regenerate.
Where the hell were his brothers when he actually needed them? Not here clearly. Why was he not shocked by this?
And how the hell did a demon get inside the house anyway?
“What do you want, demijinn?” he said. “Why do you have Raina in your thrall?”
“We’re old friends, Raina and Willa and I.”
Poe tried to quell his surprise.
Willa had told him none of this.
“That’s nice. But that doesn’t explain why you’re here. In my house.”
“Willa has something of mine that she brought here in your house.”
Poe narrowed his eyes. “What could a demon possibly want from a—”
And then it dawned on him. The one thing a demon could want beyond a simple possession.
“She has your collar.”
Raina blinked and her blue eyes returned. “Now you’re catching on, djinn.”
“So you want to possess Raina permanently?”
“We’re a good match.”
“Willa might disagree.”
“I don’t care what she thinks.”
Poe took a step back as Raina grew nearer. It didn’t look like she had more daggers, but one could never be too sure. “What does Caleb Corvin get out of this?”
“What does any man want? Power. You know a thing or two about that.”
Poe gave a nervous laugh. He did not like this demon knowing his desires.
Djinn were afraid of nothing. Except demons.
They were the only supernatural creature that posed a real threat. Djinn could not exorcise demons, only humans could. And djinn magic was useless against them.
A demon infiltrated the Worthrope djinn family a hundred years ago and not only destroyed the family, but nearly burned an entire city to the ground.
Djinn did not tussle with demijinn.
And Willa had brought this to his door?
He’d deal with that later. Right now he needed to get the demon out of the house.
“As you can see, your collar is not here. So perhaps its time you run along.”
A new figure darkened the doorway.
Raina stilled.
Mad came into the room first. Then Dae and Red. “A little late to the party,” Poe bit out.
“She snuck in,” Mad said. “Oddie caught her on the security camera.”
Raina lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps you need better security.”
“It’s time for you to go,” Mad said.
“Or you’ll what? I’m the one who has power over you. Maybe I’ll drop this body and take one of you.”
“Don’t be daft,” Poe said. “None of us would say yes to you.”
“I could be persuasive.”
Red circled Raina like a jungle cat circling prey. “This is your last warning.”
“I want my collar,” she said.
Red showed his hand and the bottle of salt in his grasp. He popped the top. “Regna terrae cantana.”
Raina went rigid.
Red made an X motion with the salt bottle and as soon as the coarse grains hit Raina, smoke hissed from her body.
“Regna terrae cantana.”
Her body convulsed. “How are you—”
“Regna terra cantana.”
The whites of her eyes bled into her irises. She shoved past Mad. “Okay! I’m leaving.”
Unlike djinn, demons did not have the ability to vade. They had to come and go with the power of their own feet.
“This isn’t over,” she growled from the doorway. “I want my collar.”
“That’s no business of ours,” Red said.
Raina swiveled on her feet and left.
“You shouldn’t have
done that,” Poe said. “Now the demon knows you’re human. By this time tomorrow, everyone will know.”
“You let me worry about that.” Red came over and checked Poe’s wound with a touch that was not at all gentle. Poe hissed as pain shot through his shoulder. When Red was seemingly satisfied with the look of it, he asked, “Did you know?”
Red was a man of few words. But Poe didn’t need clarification. He knew what he was referring to.
Had Poe known Willa had a demon’s collar? That her sister was possessed?
“Of course I didn’t know.”
But if he had, would he have turned Willa away?
No. He wouldn’t. She could give him the identity of his caeli. No demon would have stopped him from gaining that knowledge. A sliver of guilt wedged itself between his ribs. Was it greed that drove him to want his caeli? Of course it was. But none of his brothers could blame him.
“That explains Cassie’s warning,” Dae said. “Caleb might not have directly brought chaos to our door, but he’s involved in this.”
Mad frowned. “Willa lied to us. I don’t like it.”
“Oh shut up,” Poe said. “She was desperate and beat by her own sister. You saw the bruises and the broken bones. Do you blame her? Her sister is possessed.”
“Where’d your mark go, anyway?” Dae asked.
“She wished herself to Scotland.” Poe rotated his shoulder. It felt better already.
Mad pulled the third blade from the wall where it’d stuck when Willa disappeared from the room. He examined the rune etchings. “So what do you plan to do?”
Good question.
“I know it’s not our fight, but I don’t like the thought of giving that girl a collar,” Poe said. “Especially if she or the demon are loyal to Corvin. That’s the last thing we want.”
“I agree.” Red turned away. “Go to your mark. Make sure she has the collar in her possession, then bring it to me.”
“Why? What do you plan to do with it?”
“There’s only one way to kill a demon,” Red said over his shoulder. “So let’s kill it.”
“We can’t do that! It’s Willa’s sister!”
But Red was already gone.
Poe turned to his brothers. “I’m not killing Raina.”
Mad held up the blade. “You could have been killed by this.”
“But I wasn’t.”
Midlife Psychic (Blackwell Djinn Book 2) Page 8
