Paranormal After Dark

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “I feel stronger,” she said. “Is it because you’re here?”

  “Did Nah tell you anything?” Cade asked. His voice seemed alien. He wanted to stay like this forever, their bodies pressed together from chest to toes. He wanted to simply lie there, drinking in the sight of her glowing like some kind of moon goddess.

  Ever shook her head.

  Cade shared what his mother had told him. He left nothing out, not even that he’d had to tell his mom they were sexually active. When he was done, he waited, terrified by Ever’s silence.

  “So we’re kinda stuck together forever?” she clarified. Her face gave nothing away.

  Cade took a deep breath. “Seems that way.”

  Ever moved her fingertips down his chest. He felt her warmth through his t-shirt.

  “I kick in my sleep,” she said with a shy smile.

  Cade’s heart sped. “I hate mustard. Don’t even bring it in the house.”

  “I never cared about mustard anyway.”

  Cade extracted a hand from the covers to cup her face, tracing his thumb along her jawbone. “Can you accept me? Everything about me?”

  “I can bend,” Ever said, and then closed the space between them, her lips hot on his.

  Cade had no idea what that meant. But as they undressed each other by moonlight and joined together with desperate abandon, he came to understand it meant acceptance. Ever gave him everything, and he reciprocated, the power between them growing with every touch and every kiss.

  Chapter 35

  EVER

  THURSDAY, EVER WAS able to return to school with Cade beside her.

  Mitch met them in the parking lot, walking right up to Ever’s coven with a friendly smile and wave.

  “Uh, hey, Ever. Glad you’re feeling better,” he said, his cheeks red. He looked like such a brute with his shaved head and bulldozer shoulders. But Ever had figured him out: he was nothing but a teddy bear.

  She hugged him. “Thanks.”

  As she pulled away, she caught Cade’s relieved sigh.

  Emily and Greg appeared behind him, both of them looking peevish. Ever stood tall, squaring her shoulders as they stopped in front of her.

  “We’re sorry,” Emily said, her voice soft. She addressed Ever specifically, but her mahogany gaze addressed each of Ever’s coven in turn. She looked a lot like Allie — stick skinny and dressed head to toe in black. But her face was kinder. “For everything.”

  Ever glanced at Cade, confused. Cade just smiled enigmatically.

  Ever nodded. “Thanks, I guess.”

  “We won’t forgive you that easily,” Meagan added.

  Ever elbowed Meagan and gave her a hard stare. “Yes. We will.”

  “Where’s Allie?” Ever went on.

  Greg cleared his throat. “She dropped out of the coven. Marie, too.”

  Ever looked to Cade again, and judging by the expression on his face, this was news to him as well.

  “I’m sorry,” Ever said. “That means it’s just the four of you.”

  Mitch laughed. “I don’t think we’ll miss the excess baggage.”

  As the three of them walked away, Ever and the rest of her coven gawked at Cade.

  He grinned. “What? Can’t people change?”

  * * *

  WHEN SHE GOT home from school, Nate and Cade flanking her, Ever found Nah in the kitchen.

  “Shouldn’t you be at work?” Ever asked, confused. Nah’s days off were always Friday and Saturday, and she hadn’t said anything about taking a personal day.

  Nah pointed to the chair across from her. “Sit, honey. We need to talk.”

  Ever hung her backpack on the back of the chair and sat, at a loss for what could have happened now. This “we need to talk” trend was driving her nuts. Nah already knew she was sexually active with Cade and was going to be for a very long time. Other than that, Ever kept little from her grandmother.

  “I had a dream last night.” Nah took a shaky breath, and that was when Ever realized Nah wasn’t about to yell at her. She was worried. “I don’t think I can let you go to CircleEarth.”

  Ever’s heart dipped into her stomach. “What? Why?”

  “I have a bad feeling in my bones.”

  Cade’s eyebrows knitted together. “That’s it?”

  Nah just looked at him.

  “Nah’s bad feelings are usually right,” Ever said miserably. “Ever since I was a kid.”

  “I’m sorry if this is out of line,” Cade said sharply, “but that’s ridiculous. Tickets have been bought. They’re non-refundable. Both our covens are going. Ever and I are Linked, Nah. Nothing is going to happen with that much support and protection.”

  “What was the dream?” Ever asked. She appreciated Cade’s near-reprimand, but knew it held no sway against her grandmother’s intuition.

  “Fire,” Nah murmured. “Fire surrounded you, Ever.”

  Ever shivered. “Maybe it was just a dream.”

  “Or maybe it was an omen. I’m not sure you’ll be safe at the festival.”

  Without looking at Cade, Ever told him, I haven’t told her Gilles has been set free. What if it’s true? What if he’s going to come after me?

  Then he’ll have to come through me.

  Cade stood behind Ever. He put both hands on her shoulder, his presence steadying. “I swear on my honor that I will protect Ever. Now. At CircleEarth. Always.”

  “We can all protect her,” Nate agreed, standing beside Ever. “The entire coven. We won’t let her out of our sight.”

  Ever begged. “Nah, you know how I’ve wanted, yearned, ached to go back for all these years.”

  Ever suspected it was the force of three hang-dog faces that tipped the scales. Nah sighed and rolled her eyes, defeated. “Fine. But none of you are to go anywhere alone. And for Goddess’ sake, don’t you dare leave your campfire lit at night.”

  * * *

  BY THE END of the day on Friday, Ever not only felt like herself again, but she pulsed with elation. The excitement in her coven was palpable as Nate pulled into the lot after school with the rental van.

  Cade’s covenmates were scurrying around, packing their bags in the trunk of his Lexus. He waved to his crew to let them know he was coming, and then wrapped Ever in a hug. He gripped her ponytail, tugging her head back gently so that she looked up at him.

  “I can’t wait to spend the weekend with you,” he murmured. He kissed her nose, then each cheek, before finally taking her lips.

  “I wish you could ride in the van with us.” Ever hated the whiny note in her voice.

  Cade grinned. “Patience, Forever. It’s just a couple hours. Besides, not only will we be together every moment of the next two days, but you know I’m always here.” He put two fingers beneath her breastbone.

  Ever gasped as he raised his power. It entered her solar plexus, giving her an exhilarating rush that felt disturbingly close to an orgasm. “Quit that,” she whispered, kissing him again.

  A few minutes later, the two covens piled into their separate cars, and they hit the road.

  CircleEarth was hosted on private farmland deep in the heart of Georgia. The parking lot was near the road, but they had to walk the rest of the way carrying all their gear. Nothing technological was allowed on hallowed CircleEarth ground — no cell phones, no laptops, not even digital watches. All had to be left in the cars.

  Ever shook with excitement as a CircleEarth guard smudged her with white sage. The heady scent surrounded her, filling her senses. The guard was a petite older woman with black hair and suntanned skin. Power rippled off of her as she spread ash in a circle on Ever’s forehead and blessed her.

  Combined with the sensation of Cade drawing near, his essence moving closer to her through the forest, Ever had never felt so alive.

  Her coven laughed and joked as they set up camp. They had their own fire pit at the center of their circle of tents, and the Irish band playing at the pavilion echoed over the forest. Ever was glad to see Nate loo
k so carefree as he and Claudia danced by the fledgling fire in the growing twilight. Tia and Tomas brought out a deck of Cards Against Humanity, and Meagan pulled out a case of hard cider. Everyone sucked down the booze, screeching and laughing their way through the game as they waited for sundown and opening ritual.

  A horn announced that it was time. Ever drained her second bottle and linked arms with Ollie and Meagan, already tipsy. They walked to the pavilion, trying to synchronize their legs as the sauntered, failing miserably but laughing all the same.

  They quieted as they joined the circle. The crowd was at least a hundred strong, a convening of witches from across the South. There were so many that the very old, the very young, and a few in between relaxed in the amphitheater and let others take part in the actual circle.

  Ever searched faces by firelight until she found him. He was almost directly across from her, the heat of the flames making his form waver in the orange light. Their gazes met, and Ever felt that everything was right in her world.

  The high priest and high priestess stepped forward, dressed in brilliant copper robes.

  “Welcome to the tenth annual CircleEarth festival!” the priestess boomed, spreading her arms in the air.

  The crowd cheered, and Ever felt power ripple across her skin. She reached for Cade with her magick and found him, embraced him until he smiled. She couldn’t stand that he was so far away.

  “I am Maya, your high priestess of ceremonies. With me is your high priest, RavenFeather. Together, we are your support and encouragement throughout your stay.”

  Maya went on to lay out the ground rules for their family-friendly event, and Ever listened with half an ear as she and Cade stared at one another.

  He smiled and touched his solar plexus. I miss you even when I feel you.

  Ever giggled, returning the gesture. I can’t wait to kiss you.

  Meagan elbowed her. “You guys are disgusting.”

  On her other side, Ollie laughed. “You are, but it’s a good kind of disgusting.”

  Ever blushed.

  The circle was cast and the quarters called. Ever relished the heat of the central fire and the rising energy of so many magickal beings in one place.

  “Tonight, we celebrate all things pagan,” the high priest said, circling to face the crowd all around him. “Once a year, we come together to recognize the spirit inside one another. CircleEarth stands for the never-ending family we create as pagans and our interconnectedness with all living things. Maya and I invite you to join in as we dance for the gods.”

  Maya’s strong, clear voice began to sing. “Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna.”

  Ever joined in, singing the goddess chant with all of her heart. The circle clasped hands and began to rotate around the fire. Ever locked gazes with Cade, sure she could hear his strong voice above all the others as they moved and sang, faster and faster.

  She recognized it the moment she felt it. She knew that energy, despite having been confronted by it only once before. Cade recognized it, too.

  The circle ceased its turning, and everyone around them threw their hands in the air with a massive, “Blessed be!”

  Everyone except Ever and Cade, who stood frozen as tendrils of Gilles Robidoux’s power suffused the circle.

  Chapter 36

  CADE

  “I’LL BE BACK,” Cade called to his coven — all three of them.

  Mitch snickered. “Sneaking off with your girlfriend, Bourdain?”

  “Wouldn’t you?” Cade shot back, going for normal. Mitch knew about Gilles, and knew how dangerous he was. Cade didn’t want him, or anyone else, to freak out. He needed to stay focused on Ever.

  He and Ever came together in the center of the circle. Her eyes were wide and haunted. “Did you feel it?”

  “Come with me.” Cade tucked a hand under her elbow and hurried her away from the mingling crowd.

  Meagan and the rest of Ever’s coven stared after them, laughing. Cade didn’t care if they thought he and Ever were sneaking away for a quickie. All he could think about was getting Ever away from the crush of people that was hiding her father.

  It was cooler in the forest as they took the path to Cade’s tent. Ever’s hand trembled in his own. He couldn’t tell if the panic he felt was only his, or a mixture of hers, as well.

  Cade threw back the flap on his tent and tugged Ever inside. It was just a two-person tent, and he’d opened two sleeping bags to make one big bed. He collapsed onto the satiny fabric, Ever falling in beside him.

  “Why didn’t I listen to Nah?” she said, her voice squeaky. “I should have listened to Nah. I know better than to ignore her intuition.” She rambled, her eyes wide and tearful as she wrung her hands in her lap. “Cade, he knew I would be here. He snaked his power through the circle on purpose. He’s taunting me, telling me I’m his to take whenever he wants. Gods, what was I — ”

  For lack of any other ideas, Cade leapt forward, pinning her beneath him, and kissed her.

  It was the right thing to do, because she responded immediately. She embraced him, her fingers delving into his hair and her legs wrapping around his waist.

  “I missed you,” she said between kisses.

  “Watching you,” Cade murmured, trailing his lips down her throat, “just across the circle. It was too far away.”

  “Too far,” Ever agreed with a nod as his lips moved back to hers.

  For a few moments, neither of them worried about anything but the very real sensation of each other’s warmth and weight as they rolled around the tent. They were so intent on being together that nothing else mattered.

  Ever finally broke the kiss and slapped him on the shoulder. “You distracted me.”

  Cade grinned wolfishly. “Worked like a charm.”

  “We have to figure out what to do.” Ever shoved him off her and stared at her glowing hands. “Look what you do to me.”

  Cade waggled his own glowing red fingers. “Ditto, baby.”

  “Cade, this is serious.”

  He sat up on his knees, hugging her. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “I shouldn’t have come.”

  “I can feel your emotions,” Cade murmured, kissing her hairline. “I can feel how happy you are here. That alone means you should be here.”

  Ever buried her face in his chest. “It was stupid of me to think he wasn’t still actively coming after me. What am I gonna do?”

  “First of all, what’s this ‘I’ shit?” Cade asked gruffly, tilting her face up to his with a stern look. “You’re no longer an ‘I.’ It’s me and you. Forever.”

  Ever shivered, burrowing closer.

  “And second, we’ll protect you. Remember how I cursed Donovan so he couldn’t see you?”

  Ever nodded, a brief smile flitting upon her lips.

  “What if we do a spell to make you invisible to anyone associated with Gilles?”

  “So like a reverse curse. On me.”

  Cade nodded, and then tickled her belly. “I’d need your permission of course, Glinda the Good Witch.”

  Ever laughed, throwing her arms tightly around his neck. The motion bumped Cade backwards, knocking the breath out of him as she landed on top. Cade watched her in the dim tent, the flicker of the fire outside barely illuminating her face. He could feel the rising motion of her chest against his. With their centers connected, Cade felt as if their magicks were mingling, charging like a battery.

  “Have you ever done sex magick?” Cade asked quietly.

  Ever’s breath caught in her throat, and she made a tiny eep. “No. I’ve never… Well… I was a virgin.”

  Cade was sure his eyebrows had shot right off his head. “Gods, Ever. Why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t act like it hurt.” His voice lowered, going husky. “You acted like you knew exactly what to do and how to do it well.”

  She shrugged. “It didn’t hurt. It felt… right.”

  Cade kissed her, sliding his hands up her arms. He loved the long-
sleeved shirt she was wearing. Emblazoned with the silhouette of a witch on a broomstick, it was just so her. But it was too much material between them. He wanted to trace his fingertips over her skin and feel the solid warmth of her body against him. He wanted to let their magicks swirl and work together as he cast the spell to protect her from Gilles.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  Ever kissed his chin. “Yes.”

  “Sex is the strongest way to raise magick. For us, I think it’s rejuvenating. It makes us stronger, like the night we were sick.”

  Ever nodded.

  “We’re going to make love,” he said, aware of the way her lips parted and her body squirmed on top of his at the declaration. “When the magick is raised, I’ll cast the spell.”

  Cade gripped her waist and rolled her beneath him, his lips catching hers in the same movement. The heat inside the tent ratcheted as he stripped off her clothes and his own. They locked together, their breaths mingling in the silence of the tent, their magicks bursting to life around them.

  Sex with Ever was mindless passion. Nothing mattered but the scent of her skin and the way their bodies moved together in a perfectly choreographed, primal dance. His need consumed him. He merged with her as if they were one magickal entity with infinite abilities, nearly forgetting the protection spell.

  He slowed his hips; he couldn’t lose sight of his goal. “Reach for my magick,” Cade said breathlessly.

  Ever nodded, grasping his arms. She closed her eyes, a moan on her lips. A moment later, Cade watched as a thick rope of blue and red spiraling energy connected them at their centers.

  Cade latched onto the rope and closed his eyes, quickening his movements until Ever was panting beneath him and he could barely hold onto his control. He listened and waited for his cue: the quickening of her breath and the way she grasped him as if to pull him closer. As she reached her release, Cade let go of the energy and his own control, and he cast the spell into the universe.