Death's Endless Enchanter

by Ruby Loren

  “You’re annoying,” January commented when they left the studio that afternoon with instructions to be there again first thing tomorrow.

  Leah opened her eyes wide at January. “What do you mean? I’ve been on my best behaviour!”

  “Yes and it’s super annoying,” January said, feeling huffy for no real reason.

  Leah smirked at her. “You’re just annoyed because you think I’m cool and are starting to like me again.” She tutted and shook her head. “My, my, you’re about as much good as a bounty hunter as a chocolate pudding.”

  “I’m not a bounty hunter,” January said and bit her lip. “I am a business owner,” she decided.

  “How’d it go?” January asked when she sat down at table in Madame Rose’s Tearooms with Joe, half a week later. He’d told her that he was planning to meet with Cedric and talk in private. Now it was their turn to meet.

  January’s suspicious side had told her that she should probably have backup around, just in case this was all just one big trap. Given how stalky Leah and Gregory had been lately, she figured she probably already had backup that she didn’t know about (or want).

  “You’re looking at the new pack leader of the Witchwood pack,” Joe said, his dark eyes calm but happy.

  January nodded, slowly. She’d been in London, so hadn’t heard much gossip, but word would have reached her if anyone had gone missing or died. The revolution had apparently been bloodless. “I hope that everything goes well with the pack from now on,” she said, just as Danny came up to take her order.

  “Long time no see, Jan! How’s everything going for ya?” He asked, smiling in his usual goofy way. January smiled back and tried to ignore the ‘good riddance’ that Lucy had just muttered under her breath while she served another table.

  “Things are pretty good! I’m not sure if my contract actually allows me to say this…” She didn’t actually have a contract yet. “…but I’m playing bass in a band with James Phoenix. Have you heard of him?” She asked, as innocently as possible.

  Lucy gasped at the mention of his name. January happened to know that his first ever professional single had just been released. The label had promoted it so hard, it had reached number three in the charts, and looked as though it might go even further. Most people had now heard of James Phoenix.

  “That’s so cool!” Danny said and then settled down into the spare seat next to her. January didn’t notice the put out look that crossed Joe’s face. “Between us, I’m actually thinking about having a chat with that Simon guy who won Cake Off. His bakery looks amazing, and honestly, I’d love a slice of that action. He must need help, right? He’s so busy, he can’t be doing it all by himself…”

  January suddenly had a vision of the scene from ‘The Sword in the Stone’, where Merlin bewitches the washing up to do itself. She imagined that something very similar was going on at the bakery. That way, Simon did all the ‘work’ and kept all the profits.

  “I suppose you could ask,” she said, diplomatically. Danny nodded and then looked across at the cake display cabinet.

  “Would you like the special? I made it, but Luce’s cakes are awesome now too,” he said, loyally.

  January gave him what she hoped was an easy smile back. The unlikely pair were obviously still going strong. She looked across at Joe and noticed him visibly relax.

  “Cut me a slice - and make it a big one!” She said and Joe made it two.

  “I used to work here,” January explained to Joe, once Danny had gone. He nodded, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

  “I need to talk to you,” Joe said.

  January tilted her head, automatically taking the opportunity to bite into a large wedge of the toffee and chocolate cake that had just been placed in front of her. Hopefully Joe would be talking for a while.

  “About pack stuff?” January asked, swallowing hastily when Joe just continued to stare at her amazing cake eating abilities without saying anything more.

  “Kind of,” he said, looking down at his own cake but not touching it. January worried she’d put him off by eating like a pig. Oh well, we’re all animals here, she thought.

  “I don’t like the idea of the packs being divided the way they are.”

  January’s heart sank. He’d become leader and now he was going to trash all of the hard work she’d done negotiating with the last pack leader. It was going to be a disaster.

  “What do you mean?” She asked, preparing herself for the worst.

  “I have a bit of a problem and I think you already know about it. I think we’re both at fault here, so it’s better we discuss this before my plans for the pack.”

  January tried not to stiffen at the way he referred to the both packs as one, and presumably under his leadership.

  He sighed and half-heartedly dug his fork into the cake. January caught Danny staring at his lack of enthusiasm with thinly veiled horror. “After the night we’d met, I kept a wolf watching your house to see what you did. In my experience at least, if anyone is going to act against you, they usually do it pretty soon after knowing where you stand. I wanted to see your reaction to everything I’d said and, well…” His mouth thinned.

  January suddenly remembered Gregory’s too-loud words and the sound of something running back through the woods. “Oh… oh that,” she said and wished her cake would swallow her up, instead of it being the other way around. “You have absolutely no reason to believe me, but that was the local head bloodsucker, Gregory Drax. He has a pretty dark sense of humour.” It was oh so easy to slip back into the derogatory shifter slang after the trouble he’d just landed her in. “He won’t admit it, but I think he would prefer it if there were fewer shifters and less organisation around here. One wolf pack is probably enough for him.”

  “Why was he round your house?” Joe asked, his handsome face politely baffled.

  January dragged a hand down her cheek, wishing this wasn’t happening. “Technically, it’s his house and I rent it from him,” she explained and then shook her head. That wasn’t answering the question. “You know that long story I told you about the last time we met? I’m afraid he’s a pretty big part of it. I don’t know what you’ve already heard from the pack, but you should probably know what happened before you came here.”

  Joe sat back in his chair and picked up his fork. “I’ve got cake and time… Go for it.”

  By the time she was finished, he’d worked his way through two slices of cake and Danny was looking far more pleased with himself. Joe had gone from keeping his expression guarded to now looking at her with something she very much hoped wasn’t pity.

  “You know what? That story sounds like the most made up bunch of stuff I’ve ever heard.” January opened her mouth to protest, but Joe’s lips twitched up at the corner. “Which probably means it is actually the truth,” he finished. “Wow… so from bounty hunter, to bounty hunted, huh? With ancient vampires and crazy magical stuff to worry about, I think I can see why you want the pack business sorted.” He frowned. “What your vampire buddy said about you needing allies wasn’t wrong, though.”

  “Yes, but if you knew me, you’d know I’d never ask anyone to put themselves in danger for my sake. Ask any of the shifter pack! I don’t even want to be the leader because of the danger to the shifters. Also, if I could get rid of Gregory and do this on my own, I would.” She bit her lip. “Get rid of him without, you know… getting rid of him.” She’d told Joe pretty much everything, figuring that, for once, she’d fill someone in, in the hopes that it might avoid accusations of dishonesty later. There had been a lot to remember. She hoped she’d got it all out.

  “All the same, a united pack would be stronger. We may not have magic, but the pack is still a force to be reckoned with,” Joe said.

  January wondered if she’d heard him correctly. Was he still talking about taking over?

  “I’ve got an idea I’d like to run by you… just, don’t bite my head off,” he said with a wolfish grin.

&
nbsp; “I’m listening… and eating,” January said, starting on her second slice of cake.

  Joe took a deep breath. “I like you a lot, January, and I was thinking… what if we got together?”

  January nodded along, so far, so good.

  “What I mean is, I’d like to date you. I’m trying to say it like it’s for the pack, but really, I think you’re amazing and beautiful and I want to be with you.”

  January choked on her cake and shot Joe what was probably her least attractive look ever. “You want to go out with me?” She asked, when the cake crumbs had cleared and Joe had wiped most of them off his shirt without comment.

  “Yeah, you’re single, right? Sorry, I understand if it’s too soon… I heard about your last boyfriend.” He shrugged, apologetically. “Shifter gossip.”

  “No, I mean, yes…” January frowned and stared at the too-fluffy motivational quote that had been pasted on the wall of the tearooms. It looked like something Lucy would like. Urgh.

  She shook her head. “You like me…” That was the part she was finding hard to get her head around. As far as this wolf knew, she could have told him a pack of lies today and be using him right now. Then again, it could just as easily be the other way around. The last time she’d trusted someone new, they’d turned out to be Leah.

  “I like you, too. A lot,” she said carefully, thinking she couldn’t be shot down too hard for saying that.

  Joe raised his dark eyebrows. “But?”

  January half-smiled. “But, you’re new in town, and I wasn’t kidding about the bounty hunters and, you know - other things. I’m sure you are one hundred percent trustworthy, you seem it, but…”

  Joe nodded. “You can’t take that chance. Hey, I can’t trust you completely either. You have one hell of a reputation, and you’re also some magical thing that isn’t meant to exist. Who knows? You might go bad and try to rule the world!”

  January tried not to giggle, glad Joe was lightening the situation.

  “That doesn’t mean we can’t give it a try though, right?” He continued. “All trust has to start somewhere.”

  January chewed her lip and looked down at her empty plate. He had a point. If she decided to never trust anyone new, she’d probably be stuck with Gregory as her only potential suitor. For a millisecond, she thought about the good times, when the vampire had done nice things for her and even nearly sacrificed his own life for hers. There may well be something there, but she knew for a fact it would be far simpler to date this newcomer, who gave her butterflies in her stomach. Even if he did turn out to be the big bad wolf after all.

  “Okay, I’m in. Just as long as sometime soon, we go out into the woods and change together. I, uh, have to make sure you’re actually a wolf,” she said, knowing it sounded crazy. The man in front of her was almost certainly, definitely all wolf, but then, she’d learnt not to trust her nose.

  “How about we do it at the next full moon meet? If I don’t turn up, you can assume that I couldn’t pull off the change and ran away with my imaginary tail between my legs,” Joe said, smirking slightly.

  January rolled her eyes. “You do know this is going to be the gossip of the entire two-natured community, right?”

  Joe nodded and grinned. “Good. I want them to know that you’re all mine,” he said, his eyes warm, and then filled with fire.

  January discovered that she really wanted to find out what it felt like to be all Joe’s. “That’s a whole night away from now,” she observed, paying her half of the bill before Joe could argue.

  They stood up and walked out of the door and into the gloomy day. Rain poured down, but January didn’t let it dampen the bright feeling that was jumping all around her heart.

  Before she knew what was happening, Joe’s hand had slid around her waist. He pulled her in close, so that their bodies were pressed together. January was still trying to crush her immediate instinct to break his arms when his lips met hers, softly at first, and then harder. Her fighting instinct vanished and was replaced with an entirely different urge. Her mouth melded to his and she felt the roughness of his stubble against her face and the tautness of the muscles that lay beneath his shirt. His scent of man and wolf clung to her in the rain and January wanted to close her eyes and keep this moment forever.

  In the dying moments of their kiss, she thought of Ryan and finally said goodbye to him. It was time to move on, and she thought she may have found the perfect man for the job.

  She opened her eyes and found Joe’s own gaze locked on her. She knew her cheeks were glowing and she couldn’t keep her mouth from curving upwards. “See you tomorrow night,” she said, figuring that was about as cool as she could manage to play it.

  “I can’t wait,” he said, so sincerely that January thought he might actually mean it.

  She frowned. “No more stalking me.” So much for playing it cool!

  9

  By the next morning, the rain had gone, and so had all of the magical wards January had recently erected around the house. She frowned and sat up in bed, more baffled than afraid. If someone had broken in, the wards would have told her but no, they were just… gone.

  She arrived in the living room and walked cautiously towards her door, throwing her magic forwards, just in case. She couldn’t see or feel anything magical. When she got closer to the door, she noticed a red envelope on her doormat. She picked it up and after checking that for magic, too, she opened it.

  Inside, was an internet made card that featured King Bob wearing full coronation gear on the front. Wondering if she’d ever seen anything weirder in her life, she opened it.

  Easy.

  January sighed. It hadn’t all been some elaborate joke. King Bob really was out to get her. She frowned. If he’d found it that easy to take down her wards, which she hadn’t actually geared much against serious magic users, as she only knew simple spells, then surely he would have found it equally easy to break in and kill her while she slept?

  January rolled her eyes. Clearly, King Bob wanted some kind of drama. He was probably dreaming that they’d meet somewhere at midnight and shout insults at each other before engaging in a magical lightning battle.

  “Not gonna happen, Bob,” she said to herself and then briefly entertained the thought of hiring some bounty hunters of her own. She tilted her head, finally wondering if Bob actually was all that he claimed to be.

  She knew exactly who to ask.

  “Come in,” Tor said, not looking surprised in the slightest when January knocked on the door. She wondered if he’d caught a glimpse of the future and had seen her coming. Or perhaps he just cultivated an unsurprised expression precisely so that his visitors would assume the former.

  “Sorry for calling with no notice,” January said when she stepped into the little entrance hall.

  A black rabbit poked its head out of a room down the corridor and then disappeared back in. She squinted at the space where it had been. Small, black animals had better not turn out to be Tor’s speciality!

  “Just my pet rabbit, Jinx. You can check if you like,” Tor said, meaning that January could use her witch sight.

  She shook her head, believing him. “I’m here to ask you about…”

  “…King Bob?” Tor interjected.

  January nodded. Knowing that didn’t require any foresight. The way Bob had acted at the vampire party probably meant pretty much everyone knew he was in town. “He told me that he killed everyone who claimed they were better than him and that he’s the best. Is it true?” She asked.

  Tor sighed and walked into the kitchen, where the rabbit lurked. “I’m afraid he is telling the truth. He’s about the same age as Simon is. You can probably tell we’ve all used the same delayed ageing spell. That at least should let you know he’s just as flawed as the rest of us!”

  Tor poured tea into two cups that had already been set out. January observed that he might have been expecting her after all. Or maybe he just always kept two cups out in case…


  The rabbit was staring at her.

  She frowned down at it, and it made a little angry, huffing sound. Witch sight revealed that it was all bunny, but she still didn’t feel inclined to stroke it.

  “Bob… I forget his full name…” Tor said.

  January smirked. She couldn’t remember it either.

  “… He is bad news. I’m sure you’ve already realised that he’s an idiot, but he is a talented idiot. He’s a very advanced magician, more learned than me, because he’s made it his business to memorise every book of shadows and grimoire there is. You might say that he’s a bit of a magical geek.”

  January nodded. She’d definitely got that vibe. “Do you think he knows anything about enchanters? If he’s read so many books?”

  Tor shook his head. “I doubt it. He may have memorised a lot of spells, but I can guarantee I’ve still read more books than he has in my time. I would remember if anything more than theory had been written.”

  January’s shoulders drooped. “So, what should I do? Should I kill him?” She asked, taking a sip of her tea and momentarily reflecting that discussing murder over tea felt a little wrong.

  Tor’s caterpillar brows morphed into one. “Ideally, yes - if only to save the magical community from further embarrassment.” He sighed and shook his head, looking a little shamefaced. “It probably wouldn’t be wise to try. He’s swallowed every book on defensive spells. He’ll have more warding around him than you can shake a stick at, so a surprise attack is out. Meeting him in magical battle would also be a bad idea, for obvious reasons.”

  January nodded. Bob knew actual spells. She would just be relying on what she could scrape together from Tor’s brief tutoring and her magical instincts. They probably wouldn’t be enough to counter everything that Bob could throw at her.