Spells & Ashes

by Kim Richardson

  “And Vargal knew this. It’s why he took Colin. I’m sure of it.” Colin was a psychic. That was the missing clue. It was why Vargal had been bold enough to snatch him from right under his parents’ noses.

  “Yes, I agree,” said Poe, as he chewed on another sunflower seed.

  My pulse sped up with excitement. I was onto something. I could feel it.

  “And if my working theory is correct, that means Julia and the others were psychics too. It would explain why the Greater demon took them.”

  Poe nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking too.”

  I bit my lower lip. “We know he took them for their souls. Which means whatever ritual he’s trying to do requires the souls of psychics.”

  “Powerful psychics.”

  “Powerful psychics,” I agreed, my heart pounding. “Like Colin. But we still don’t know how many he needs. What if Colin was the last of these powerful psychics? It would mean Vargal would still need him. He could come back for him.” And I’d be waiting for the bastard.

  “True,” said Poe, his mouth full of sunflower seeds.

  I let out a breath. “So, who is he trying to summon? What entity needs the souls of powerful psychics?”

  Poe shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe your aunt knows. Shouldn’t she have deciphered the text by now? I think your aunt is losing her touch.”

  “She’s not losing her touch.” I scowled.

  The doorbell rang.

  I gave Poe a winning smile. “See? She’s here to tell me what it all means.” I turned and headed for the staircase. Just as I hit the first stair, a raven fluttered past me and swooped down the staircase.

  “Damn it, Poe!” I cursed. I hated when he did that.

  By the time I hit the bottom step, Poe was already perched above the clothes rack and staring through the small glass window above the door. I made my way past the dining room area where my granddad and Colin sat facing each other, their hands on the table. They’d been like this for hours.

  “You’re wearing him out, Gramps,” I called as I headed down the hallway toward the front door. “He’s had enough adventures for a while. Leave him be.”

  “Nonsense,” answered my grandfather. “The delights of my mind are every man’s dream.” There was silence and then, “What am I thinking now?” challenged my grandfather, a frown on his face like he was trying to put a wall up in his mind.

  Colin shook his head, his brow high on his forehead. “You have a dirty mind.”

  Oh. Boy.

  A laugh escaped me as I pulled open the door. “Thank the cauldron you’re here—”

  Logan stood on the platform.

  I gave him the once-over. I’d forgotten how tall he was. He practically graced the top of the doorframe. He wore a motorcycle-style, black leather jacket over his black clothes. I counted six soul blades on him—four sheathed along his baldric and two from the scabbard at his side. He had that smoldering look, dangerous and sexy as hell. His brown eyes met mine, and my heart did a little summersault. Damn. I was not going to fall for this guy. I didn’t care how pretty he was. Besides, he didn’t seem to like me all that much. I was a witch, after all. We loved to torture the pretty angel-borns for fun.

  I stilled my emotions and kept my face blank. “Logan. What are you doing here?” My voice came off a little rough. Guess I was still pissed at how he’d just left without saying goodbye. I looked up to give Poe a “why didn’t you warn me” look. I swear I saw that raven smile. I was seriously going to pluck some of those feathers later and use them for a new pillow.

  “I came to see how Colin was doing,” said Logan, looking over my shoulder.

  No. He was here because he thought Vargal would be back for the boy. Just like I did. A flicker of annoyance went through me. “You’re mighty geared up for a social call, and just before sundown.” He knew Vargal couldn’t do anything until the sun was down, which was in less than an hour.

  Logan looked at me, and his dark eyes simmered with a little mischief. “You never know who might show up uninvited.”

  “Like you?” said the raven.

  I put a hand on my hip. “You think I can’t look after a fourteen-year-old boy?”

  Logan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “He’s fourteen? You’re kidding.”

  “Yes, he is,” I said proudly, like I’d had figured it out all on my own. “He’s fourteen.”

  “And a powerful psychic,” informed Poe.

  Logan’s eyes went from Poe to me. “A psychic?” I saw his eyes going through the stages of gathering information, connecting the dots. “The other victims are psychics too.”

  “Look here. He’s not that stupid for an angel-born,” cawed Poe. “One might even consider him to have above-average intelligence.”

  Logan eyed Poe. “And you look like you might be tasty over the barbeque, crow.”

  Poe made a strangled hissing noise. “I’m a raven, Skippy, and I’d like to see you try.”

  “Both of you. Shut it,” I yelled angrily. “This is really not the time.”

  “What I’d really like to know is,” said Logan, a sour expression appearing on his face as he turned to look at me, “why there’s an angel passed out at the bottom of your stairs?”

  Cauldron help me! “Kyllian?” I shoved Logan to the side, perhaps a tad too hard, and my eyes met a mammoth-sized bundle with blond hair, curled up in a ball at the bottom of the stairs.

  Damn. He didn’t look good.

  I leaped off the front steps and landed next to him. “Kyllian?” I shook his arm. “Kyllian? Damn it. Wake up!”

  A flash of red appeared, and I looked up to find Vera with her hands on her hips, her face pinched in contempt around her substantially large nose. Great. Just freaking great.

  “Vera,” I said in way of greeting. The witch didn’t answer, but she kept throwing me dirty looks. Swell. Now I was in for it. She hadn’t uttered a word, though, and that was surprising. Did it have anything to do with her alleged secret? Still, her meddling was starting to really piss me off.

  “Don’t you have anything better to do than to spy on your neighbors?” I snapped, my hand still on Kyllian, who refused to wake up.

  Vera’s mouth made a little “o.” Her eyes narrowed and she said. “A drunk angel and an angel-born? The dark witch court will hear about it.”

  I guess Poe was wrong about her leaving me alone. “I don’t care,” I hissed. I was practically shouting. “You can shout it down the block for all the community to hear, for all I care.” My pulse throbbed. I was going to curse that old bag. I knew it.

  I shook Kyllian again. “Kyllian. Wake up.” And then I slapped him hard across the face.

  His eyes fluttered open. “Sam?”

  “No, the tooth fairy.” Okay, that was a bit harsh, but I was livid and stressed out. “I need you to get up and get inside. Can you do that?”

  Kyllian blinked. His eyes were distant and not focusing on anything. He seemed lost. He could probably light up the entire block in flames with just his breath.

  Something brushed against my shoulder, and I found Logan standing next to me.

  “What’s the matter with him?” Concern shown in his dark eyes.

  “It’s a long story. I need to get him inside.” Before Vera makes a scene. I yanked the angel’s arm, feeling hard muscle and nothing else.

  “I’ve got him,” said Logan, and he reached down and wrapped Kyllian’s arm around his neck. With surprising strength, the angel-born lifted the large angel to his feet. Kyllian swayed for a moment, Logan anchoring him, and then the two of them climbed up the steps.

  I followed them but stopped at the landing and turned.

  Vera stood at the bottom of the stairs, a sour look on her face as she shook her head in disapproval.

  “By the way,” I said, and her eyes met mine. “Your roots are showing.” And then I slammed the door.

  19

  Three hours later, I stood with my back against the dining room wall, my fingers moving
as I recited the same spells over and over again until they became second nature, a single thought.

  It was the perfect spot to have a view of the entire first floor should Vargal decide to materialize in my home. My tension was on the verge of giving me a stroke. Worse, I was sweating, and I would probably start smelling any minute now. I’d forgotten to mark my pits with an anti-sweat sigil. It worked wonders under stressful conditions like these.

  Calm down, Samantha. I let out a breath through my nose. Keeling over now from hypertension would be embarrassing. I was a dark witch, after all. I could handle a Greater demon. Plus, he owed me Julia’s soul. I was going to kill him for that. I swore it on the cauldron.

  I’d spent the first hour marking out protection wards on all the doors, doorframes, and windows, all entry points that demons used. The house was so damn protected it would take something with the strength of a god to break them. Vargal wasn’t a god, but I didn’t underestimate him. The bastard was clever. And I doubted he would just give up on Colin, knowing what and how rare the kid was.

  No. Vargal would make his appearance. And when he did, I’d be waiting for him.

  I’d also snuck in an hour of spindling new magic and energy into my rings. The process was surprisingly faster this time since I didn’t have to make the rings and sigils from scratch. Instead I just powered them up again like recharging batteries.

  I wasn’t what you’d call the most patient witch in Witches Row. In fact, I hated waiting. Three hours was a long time to wait for a demon to show up. All that pent-up hatred and emotions were making me dizzy. If I didn’t kill something soon, I just might pass out.

  And still, three hours after the sun had gone down, Vargal was a no-show.

  Everyone was on edge. Especially Colin, who sat in the same chair, trying so hard not to look scared. But his complete shutdown and lack of conversation for nearly an hour spoke volumes. The kid was terrified. He kept pushing his glasses up his sweaty nose and tossing more sunflower seeds to Poe. I think he felt safe with Poe next to him, like he was his personal watchdog, or rather, watch-raven.

  The raven was particularly concerned for the boy’s well-being. Familiars were very protective of their witchlings when they were first matched with one. But here it seemed that both Poe and Colin had formed an attachment. It also helped me ease a little tension, having the raven look after Colin.

  Warmth tugged at my chest. I couldn’t have asked for a better familiar. Yes, Poe was a little overdramatic and sometimes wild and immature, but his heart was in the right place.

  Even my grandfather was silent, which was totally unlike him, staring at his empty glass of gin, lost in thought. A slight tap of his finger was the only indication he was still breathing.

  “What’s his deal?” Logan settled next to me with his back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes were on Kyllian, who stood next to the front bay window, staring out into the darkened street below.

  After four cups of coffee, Kyllian had sobered up and was finally himself again, though perhaps a little withdrawn. No doubt he was a bit embarrassed at being found passed out at the bottom of my stairs, with an angel-born present, no less.

  “He’s done things for the Legion, things he regrets deeply, things he can’t take back.” I left it at that. It wasn’t my place to tell Logan the sufferings of Kyllian. If the angel chose to tell him, he would do it.

  Logan seemed to catch my meaning and dropped the subject. He stood close to me, our shoulders nearly touching. The scent of his aftershave drifted over me, pleasant and musky. With his eyes still on Kyllian, I took the opportunity to look him over—tall, handsome, sexy, and dangerous, like poison dressed up in a pretty bottle.

  The bastard was pretty and he knew it. He probably had all the angel-born females swooning after him. Too bad I wasn’t angel-born. After tonight, I doubted I’d ever see him again. It was better that way, to stay away from him. Safer. He might have helped me last night, but I couldn’t drop my guard. Clearly, Logan was here for his own purposes.

  “Vargal should have been here by now,” he said, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

  My breath came out in a puff of air. “I know.” Where the hell are you, Vargal?

  “You think he changed his mind?”

  “I doubt it.” My gaze went to Colin as he teased Poe with a sunflower seed. “He needs him. He’ll be here.” I turned and looked at Logan. A bruise marred his jaw that I hadn’t noticed before. “Why? You need to be somewhere else tonight?” In a warm bed next to a warm, naked woman?

  He frowned at the tone in my voice. “No. Why do you say that?”

  I looked away. “Just a hunch. Seems like you’re a little edgy. Like you want to be somewhere else.”

  Logan was silent. “I’m not edgy. And I want to be here when Vargal shows up. You said my soul blade could kill him.” At that Kyllian turned our way.

  “With the help of my magic,” I told him. Like hell he was going to get all the credit. I didn’t care how kissable his lips were. Because they were extremely nibble-worthy.

  Logan turned his body toward me. He searched my face for a moment silently. His eyes tightened, and then something flashed across his face, and he turned and leaned back against the wall.

  Oh, hell, no. “What is it?” I demanded. “Spit it out.”

  “Spit what out?”

  “What were you thinking? You were thinking of something. I saw it on your face.”

  Logan gave a mock laugh and turned his gaze toward Kyllian. “I’m not thinking anything. Can’t I just stand here and not think?” An amused expression creased Kyllian’s face as he turned around and stared out the bay window, looking large and out of place in my small house, like a gladiator.

  “You’re lying.” I crossed my arms over my chest to mimic him. “Fine. Don’t tell me.”

  “I know what he’s thinking,” said Colin suddenly as he pushed up his glasses with his index finger.

  I leaned forward a little. “Really? What?” A smile twitched my lips. Oh, this is going to be good.

  “He’s thinking about a girl,” said the kid, and I felt Logan stiffen next to me.

  “Is he now? What girl?” I teased. My gaze fell on Logan, but he was looking at Colin, shock cemented in his features and his lips parted like he was about to say something.

  I found myself suddenly really interested. So, Logan had a girlfriend. That wasn’t surprising. Not with the way he looked. She was probably gorgeous, leggy, and voluptuous. The men did like their women curvy. But why settle for just one? He probably had a different girl every week. Just like Alex.

  Colin looked at Logan and shook his head. “He doesn’t want me to say.”

  Something fluttered in my stomach, and I forced myself to breathe normally. The fact that Logan still refused to look at me made me a little nervous. Emotions wavered at the edge of my thoughts, and I squished them down. There was no time to even entertain the idea of me and him. Besides, it’s not like Colin said it was me. It could have been someone else entirely, someone who Logan didn’t want anyone to know.

  But still...

  “Someone’s coming,” said Kyllian suddenly, and he whipped out his blade.

  My heart leaped, and I pushed off the wall and ran to the bay window just as a hooded shape climbed up the steps. The large silver maple on the front lawn obscured the view. I couldn’t see who it was.

  Shit.

  “Is it him?” came Colin’s terrified voice from across the dining room, and my insides twisted with fear and rage and guilt.

  “I don’t know,” I said, drawing my power as I stood there. Was the Greater demon so bold as to use the front door?

  Bastard. He wasn’t taking Colin. I tapped into my will, my powers bubbling inside me and ready to blow—

  And then the front door crashed open.

  20

  Evanora Crow stood in the threshold. “You need to weed out your garden, Samantha,” she said as she shuffled past me. She didn�
��t give so much as a flicker of acknowledgment of the big angel pointing his blade at her, the angel-born next to him with two similar blades gleaming in the soft light, or me with a dark spell on the tip of my lips.

  Logan whipped his head in my direction, the corners of his eyes tightening in question.

  I raised a placating hand. “It’s okay. This is my Aunt Evanora.”

  Though his face creased in concern, Logan sheathed his blades. After a moment, Kyllian did the same.

  My aunt shuffled forward slowly down the hallway. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “You didn’t have to walk all this way, Aunt,” I muttered, feeling especially guilty at the sounds of pops and cracks from her knees as she wobbled by. “I would have come to you.” I noticed she wasn’t using her cane either. Stubborn old woman. Guess that’s where I got it from.

  Evanora made a grunt of dismissal as she hobbled forward, stepped into the dining room and stopped when she saw Colin. “The boy’s a psychic,” she said, and my mouth dropped open.

  “How did you know?” Damn, my aunt was just creepy sometimes.

  “Evanora knows. Evanora sees,” she answered in a way that should have explained it all. Her head cocked to the side as she came closer to Colin, wisps of white hair spilling through the corners of her cowl. The kid stiffened in his chair, still, like he’d been hexed with a freeze spell.

  The old witch stopped within an inch of the boy, her head moving up and down as her milky-white eye rolled around in its socket as though it were trying to focus on something but couldn’t find it.

  She drew back and pulled off her cowl. “Boy’s a strong psychic. Many abilities. It is why he is so special to the Greater demon.”

  “No shit,” I said and moved to stand next to her. Patches of her white scalp peeked through her thinning hair. “This is Colin. The Greater demon tried to possess him, but somehow Colin resisted. Long enough for us to intervene.”

  “Hmmm.” My aunt continued to observe Colin as though he were the missing ingredient to one of her spells.

  “Colin, this is my Aunt Evanora.” The kid’s eyes were round, and the same fear I saw on his face last night washed through him. Yeah, my aunt had that effect on people. She scared the crap out of them.