Winter's Reckoning: (A Witch Detective Urban Fantasy Novel) (Seasons of Magic Book 4)

by Sarah Biglow

  “You were expecting me?” I asked, my voice muted by the surroundings.

  “I had hoped it just wouldn’t be what I expect is trying to come for us all in the dark.”

  “I’ve met your monster and it’s nasty. But maybe there’s still time to return it to the pet store?”

  Janty laughed. “You’re so young. No, there is nothing that we can do to banish it. It has a foothold here now. We’re just pawns in its game.”

  “And what does this thing want? World domination? Ultimate power?”

  “All of the above?” He quipped with a shrug. “I don’t envy you, Savior. What a funny thing to have need of one in these modern times.”

  “Believe me I didn’t ask for this. I was born to it.” Literally. “If you can’t put this creepy genie back in the bottle, you have any thoughts on how I can stop it?”

  “Don’t mistake our discussion here for me switching sides. I still believe in the Order’s mission.”

  “So does your buddy Taggart, rotting away in prison for following the Order’s mission. You all claim you want freedom to practice magic how you see fit and yet it always seems to bite you in the ass. There can’t be chaos in the world. It just doesn’t work. There has to be some rules.”

  Our surroundings began to grow dimmer and I felt an icy chill run down my neck. I watched Janty react to the same sensation and he tried to take a step backward, but there was nowhere to go. The void of his mind was endless and yet it was keeping us right here, immobile.

  “Look, we both know you aren’t long for this world. There’s very little chance I’m going to blab to your besties that you told me the secret to defeating the very thing that you killed yourself to get away from.” I noted.

  “You can’t defeat it. Not alone. You aren’t powerful enough. It would take more magic than any one person possesses.”

  “You believe you could escape me,” that damn creepy voice rasped all around us.

  “Not that I want you to get Dementored or whatever is about to happen, but I’m not sticking around for it,” I said.

  “You can’t leave me here with that thing!” Janty protested.

  “You made your bed, Janty. Now you’ve got to lay in it. I am sorry about all of this. I wish it didn’t have to end this way, but you’re the one responsible for bringing this thing back.”

  I turned my attention to breaking the bond between us. I didn’t need the death creature trying to suck away my magic, too. The hospital room came flooding back into view and I yanked my hand free of Janty as he began to convulse in the bed. I could pick up a hint of his magic hanging in the air for a few seconds. I swore it shimmered above his body before disappearing with a soft ‘pop.’ I would have expected the scent to linger longer, but it simply vanished. Taking a cleansing hit from the sandalwood around my neck, I concentrated, but the signature was truly gone. He’d been who knows how far from that thing and yet it had still managed to steal his power.

  I repressed the urge to vomit and grabbed my gun and jacket before backing out of the room. The monitors weren’t blaring yet, but I suspected they would be soon. Janty had tried to kill himself to keep his power safe and that had failed. Even if he managed to survive, he would be left with no idea why he would have tried to end his life. Jacquie and Molly both waited across the hall. I didn’t speak, just headed straight for the stairwell, descending to the first floor in silence.

  “What happened? Did you get answers?” Molly demanded, barring my way out of the stairwell.

  “I don’t know. He was talking in circles. He seemed to think I can’t defeat this thing by myself. Except, that’s exactly what the prophecy is saying. I am the only one that can stop it. And then that thing showed up. I watched it take his magic. It was there one second and then it just didn’t exist anymore.”

  Before Molly could ask any more questions, Jacquie’s phone beeped with an incoming text message. She studied it, glanced at me and then at Molly. “Hate to cut this short, but we have somewhere to be.”

  Molly led the way out of the stairwell and into the main part of the hospital. The sudden change of lighting made my eyes ache and I squinted against the brightness of the hallway. Jacquie pressed a firm hand to the small of my back and guided me out of the hospital.

  “Where are we going?” I could only get the words out once we were in her car. I’d have to come back for mine. “Is there a new lead on the case?”

  She gave me side-eye and shook her head. “Not about the case. You’ll see.”

  I didn’t like it when my partner was vague with me. It rarely boded well and given that we had a creepy magic-stealing monster on the loose, it worried me even more as she pulled out into traffic.

  Fourteen

  I spotted the precinct as we whizzed past, leaving it far behind. We trailed the green line of the transit system moving north of the city, finally pulling into a courthouse I hadn’t been to before.

  “Jacquie, can you please tell me what’s going on?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” Jacquie said.

  I had no choice, but to follow as she marched across the street. When we reached the front steps, I moved to bar her path forward.

  “Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?” I repeated when she offered no other explanation.

  “You’re the one who insisted on getting married today,” she replied as if that should give me all the answers I needed.

  “Yeah, at City Hall.” I gestured back the way we’d come. “Not here.”

  She gripped me by the shoulders and spun me around, giving me a shove up the first step or two. I caught my balance just as the door opened and J.T. stepped out, his coat half zipped. “Good, you made it.”

  I closed the distance between us, glaring at my partner one last time before stepping into the warmth of the courthouse entryway. “Want to tell me what we’re doing here?’

  “Well, I realized after we decided to do this whole marriage thing without a ton of planning that there was a waiting period of three days. Given that we want to do this before you have to face down unimaginable horrors of dark magic tomorrow, we have to get a waiver,” he explained.

  I blinked at him, the mundane nature of his words settling over me. I’d been so focused on everything magical around me. I hadn’t even stopped to think about the little things like making sure we had a valid marriage license or rings. At least we had our vows already. The fact that he’d anticipated my lack of attention to that particular detail made me all the happier to know I’d soon get to call him husband.

  “One more thing,” Jacquie said and stepped just inside the doors beside me. Without asking permission, she unholstered my gun and freed it from my belt.

  She didn’t need to explain the reason. I knew the hassle of having to secure my weapon before going into court. I flashed a grateful smile before J.T. led me by the hand into the security line. It moved quickly and J.T. guided me to the floor we needed for Probate and Family Court. We stopped just outside the Clerk’s Office and J.T. produced an already filled out waiver form, minus our signatures.

  “I love you,” I proclaimed and pulled him in for a kiss. I didn’t care who saw me. I’d pushed him away for too long and I was starting to think I might be risking our future together to face down this prophecy.

  My body tingled as we walked inside and got in line. I checked my phone, ostensibly to make sure we didn’t run late to our own wedding ceremony. I also hoped Avery would have gotten back to me with something on Belladonna’s location.

  Nothing.

  “Were you able to talk to that guy?” J.T. whispered as we shuffled forward in line.

  “I’ll fill you in later. This is more important,” I replied, squeezing his right hand with my left, making sure he felt the weight of the engagement ring on my finger.

  “Next,” the clerk called, and we stepped up to the counter.

  The man with a receding hairline and glasses secured around his neck on a thin silver chain watched
as we signed the waiver and presented it. He studied it and then looked at us.

  “And when were you planning to get married?”

  “This afternoon,” we chimed in unison.

  “And the reason you are seeking the waiver?”

  My mouth went dry. I’d just assumed we would present the form; the clerk would notarize it and we’d be good to go. I hadn’t realized we needed more than that. I glanced sideways at J.T. and he looked as surprised by the question as me. At least we’d been on the same page.

  “Health reasons,” I finally said.

  He gave me another look, sighed, and pulled out a notary stamp, affixing it to our waiver form. “Good luck.”

  I snatched the paper from him before he could change his mind and decide we didn’t deserve to get out of waiting to get married. Having the waiver in hand together we wound our way back to the door we’d come through.

  “So, we’re really doing this,” J.T. said, slinging his arm around my shoulder.

  Yeah, we are.

  The realization that my life was about to change for the better in a way magic could never replicate crashed into me like a wave. It left me excited and at once saddened that my mother wasn’t here to see it. Not in the way that other relatives who’d passed could be. I had no doubt Grandma would put in an appearance.

  “Hey, talk to me,” J.T. whispered, ushering me to a vacant bench down the hall.

  “Sorry, it’s just hitting me that my mom won’t be here for this.”

  He took my chin in his hand and tilted my head up to meet his gaze. He brushed the tears away with his thumb and kissed me gently on the lips. “I know you wanted her to be here for this. I know we both wanted Des to be here, but life had other plans. That doesn’t mean they aren’t still with us in spirit.”

  I touched the pendant at my throat. “Except I have relatives who literally can be here in spirit and neither of them are among them. I know you’re trying to cheer me up and I appreciate it, truly I do. I think I just need to sit on this for a minute.”

  “Whatever you need.” He kissed me again and sat beside me in stoic silence.

  Magic had been a great gift, letting me do amazing things that most people could only dream of. Although it had taken so much from me, too, without considering how I felt about it. I knew it was selfish to think magic owed me after all I’d been through, but it didn’t stop the thought from flickering across my consciousness.

  “There’s still time to make it do what you want,” a gravelly voice echoed in my mind.

  I wasn’t going to let that thing get in my head, not about this. I turned my focus inward, building up a mental wall, brick by strawberry-tinged brick until there was no room for that creature inside. I should have done it sooner. I might have slept better and doubted myself less.

  “So, are you ready to be Mrs. Somers?” J.T. broke through my mental fortification.

  I snorted. “You know I’m not changing my name. Besides, Mrs. Somers will always be your mom,” I quipped and stood, pulling him with me.

  “Fair point.”

  I rejoined Jacquie as we headed to City Hall, leaving J.T. to get there on his own. I fiddled with the ring on my finger and as the cityscape whizzed by, I let myself drift off in thought. Back before my mother’s death, I’d dreamed of marrying J.T. He’d been my first love. After I’d ex-communicated myself from the Authority and everyone associated with magic, I never thought we’d be back in each other’s lives … let alone about to say “I do.” He’d waited for me and in a way, I’d waited for him, too. I’d been so focused on my career; I hadn’t given myself time to date. Maybe, subconsciously, I’d been holding out hope we’d reconnect.

  As Jacquie pulled into a parking spot, my phone pinged with a new email message. It was a single line of text, reading ‘Congratulations. She’d be proud.’ from Iain Nobles. I suppose an email was cheaper than an international call from Ireland. I suspected J.T. had passed on the information. We’d only spent a short time in each other’s presence, but Iain had changed the course of my future. I appreciated the well wishes and smiled at the gesture.

  Standing in the bathroom of City Hall twenty minutes later, tugging on a three-quarter length sleeve dress in the middle of winter seemed a little stupid. Despite that I wasn’t that much into bucking the trend to not at least wear a dress to my own wedding.

  “You know she’s with you, even if you can’t feel her,” Grandma said, sitting on the sink to my right, kicking her legs back and forth like a child.

  “I know, Grandma.”

  ‘You look very pretty,” she complimented as I shivered.

  “Good thing I don’t have to spend long in it.”

  Grandma gave me a feigned look of horror. “Say it ain’t so, my little Ezzie making sexy jokes?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Not what I meant, and you know it, seeing as you apparently live in my head. Now, can you please behave? I don’t need to get weird looks from the magistrate.”

  She reached over and cupped my cheek. “For you, I think I can manage.”

  “You almost ready in there?” Jacquie called from just outside the door.

  I checked myself in the mirror one last time. “Guess that’s my cue.”

  The relative safety of the bathroom left me unprepared for the whirlwind of emotions that hit me as I walked into the small chapel space. J.T. stood at the far end, his parents beside him. Dad sat in one of the back rows, hands clasped tight in his lap. Jacquie tapped him on the shoulder, and he stood, stumbling over himself in his bid to get to me.

  “You look beautiful,” he whispered and kissed my cheek.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  Jacquie moved around the perimeter of the space, ready to take up her spot on my side of the magistrate. She’d changed into a knee length burgundy dress with matching jewelry. I blinked back tears and Grandma stood just to Jacquie’s left. She gave me a nod and stowed her aviators in her front pocket.

  “Grandma’s here,” I whispered back to my dad as he looped his arm through mine. I did my best to gesture discreetly to where Grandma stood, invisible to the rest of the people around us.

  “See, your mom’s side of the family is represented after all,” Dad commented with a small smile. He kept his gaze focused ahead of him as he led me down the aisle.

  My mouth went dry as he stopped and offered J.T. a firm handshake before leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Next, he pivoted to kiss me on the cheek one last time and join Jacquie behind me.

  “If you two would like to join hands,” the magistrate said, her tone a low alto that somehow filled me with a sense of calm I would have normally attributed to magic.

  Yet, as I inhaled and took J.T.’s hands, I couldn’t sense any sort of magical signal boost. She was mundane, perfectly mundane. Swallowing in quick succession in the hopes of regaining my ability to speak when it came time, I watched as the magistrate turned first to J.T.

  “Are you ready?’

  He beamed at me and gave my hands a squeeze. “I hope so.”

  “It’s my understanding you’ve chosen to use prepared vows,” the magistrate said and nodded to J.T. “Once you’ve said them, we’ll do the exchange of rings, then the kiss, and you’ll be married.”

  J.T. nodded again and cleared his throat. “Ez, you’ve been the love of my life for the last twelve years, since that first day you walked into my life. I knew you were special, and it wasn’t because of the expectations other people placed on you. You were the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, however long that may be.” He paused to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand, strands of hair falling across his face.

  “I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road and it took us a long time to get here. But there is nowhere else I’d rather be standing right now than here with you, promising to love you for the rest of our days. You continue to amaze me every day and I can’t wait to see what else is coming our way.”

  My own tears flowed freely as he finished spe
aking. How am I supposed to follow that? He reached over and wiped my cheeks again with the pads of his thumbs. I leaned into them, letting his touch ground me.

  “J.T., I don’t deserve you,” I began. “But you’ve seen me at my worst, and you waited for me to get my head out of my … well, you know, and see what was right in front of me. The man who has that much patience should be a saint and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of that title than you. You make me want to be the best version of myself. You make me smile and laugh at your corny jokes.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught Grandma snickering into her hand even though no one else could see or hear her. Jacquie even cracked a smirk and Dad blushed. J.T.’s parents just stood side-by-side with grins on their faces.

  “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Learning to be better and knowing that you’ll be there to remind me that this world doesn’t have to be faced alone, no matter what I might think.”

  J.T. nodded in silence and I caught the slight motion as he shifted his weight forward, stopping himself from coming in for the kiss too soon. I ripped my gaze from his face to look at the magistrate.

  “Well, those were certainly some of the more unique vows I’ve heard in a while.” She smiled at us and looked to Jacquie. “Do you have the rings?”

  Jacquie stepped up and offered up the rings to the magistrate who cupped them delicately in her palms. They were simple bands to go with the one I already had. She passed one to J.T.

  “Repeat after me,” she said and began reciting the exchange of rings. J.T. followed suit.

  “I, Jared Tyler, take you, Ezri, to be my wife. And with this ring, I bind us together in sickness and health, for better or worse, until death parts us.” He slid the ring onto my finger, clinking it against the one already sitting there.

  I studied the two bands stacked one on top of the other for a moment. It was such a simple action, putting a ring on someone’s finger and yet it carried so much weight. No matter what happened next, I would be linked to him forever.

  The magistrate handed me the ring for J.T. and I looked him in the eye. His left hand trembled as I took it in mine.