“Will the building be protected?”
“Magically? I don’t know. It wasn’t last time I had to cast a spell at that club but things seem to have changed. I think it’s best to assume it is.” I’d spent a fun night there, drinking and flirting with the bartender before the man upon whom I’d been paid to cast a spell had shown up. His girlfriend was tired of his wandering and had paid me to make him unable to perform when he was cheating on her—or on anyone, actually, though he’d do just fine if he was single and only participated in frivolous sexual relationships. The gig went off without a hitch and the only hint of magic in the place was mine.
“And you can get us in?”
“I think so. As long as the warlock they sent against me is their strongest magic user, then yes. Through the outer ward at least. You’ll need to keep the guards busy while I find the warlock. The Galloways will be in the center and as long as the warlock’s alive, I’ll have a very hard time getting at them.”
“Won’t they just keep him inside the circle then?”
“I doubt it. They’ll want him outside to work his spells. What use is hiring a warlock if he can’t protect you and himself? Besides, they may not realize what’s happened yet and they probably won’t expect us to attack so soon. I think they’ll protect themselves this way though. Especially since we’ve escaped twice and they know we know they’re after us.”
“If it was me, I would have been prepared from the moment they first attacked me.”
“Yes…but they’re not you. They aren’t used to this. To us. And if my guess is correct, they probably think they’ll be safe in the wards no matter what happens. I’ve yet to meet a warlock who wasn’t entirely full of himself and I bet you anything this one told the twins he was the hottest shit in town.”
Acayo leaned over me, moving his face closer to mine, only stopping when he was about an inch away. He looked intently into my eyes.
“You better be right,” he told me softly.
Without warning, he leaned in, kissed me fleetingly and then leaped to his feet, carrying me up with him. He put an arm around my waist as I reeled, my head swimming. He steadied me gently and frowned down at me.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this? I took more blood than I meant to.”
I shrugged off his concern and straightened my skirt before going to an ornate Japanese cabinet that contained dozens of small drawers. I unlocked the cabinet with a word and pulled out a small vial full of a vitality potion. I steeled myself and swallowed down the contents with a grimace. Ugh. Shit tasted vile and even worse, since I made it, I knew exactly what was in it. Believe me…the knowledge didn’t help. Making faces the whole way, I rushed to my coffee pot and poured a fresh cup. I gulped it down desperately, not even minding that the brew had turned thick and stale. I paused to savor the feeling of quicksilver energy spreading throughout my limbs. Sighing in delight, I stretched up on my toes. I spread my fingers and little sparks flew out. Acayo watched me with interest.
“I wonder if you taste differently now,” he mused. “All jacked up on witch juice.”
“Dunno,” I replied happily, bouncing on my toes. “And now isn’t the time for you to find out. Wait a second while I pack a bag and then we’ll go.”
My vitality potion packs one hell of a punch. I only use it in emergencies because I could probably easily become addicted to its effects, which include boundless energy and optimism. I scurried back into the living room and packed my travel bag—a canvas hold-all with a ton of pockets—from the cabinet with unnecessary haste. I ran through incantations in my head, careful to leave off the last syllable. I didn’t need to speak a spell to cast it and though magic generally needed concentration and intent, it wasn’t impossible to accidently cast a spell during a mental rehearsal. And with the spells I was rehearsing, I really, really didn’t want that. I finished up and turned around to find Acayo watching me with a slight smile on his face.
“What?” I asked him, somewhat defensively.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that I rarely see humans, even special humans like you, so jazzed for a fight. You’re almost whistling.”
“Ahhh. Yes, that would be the ‘witch juice’, as you called it.”
“Good stuff?”
“You could say that, yeah. Anyway, are you ready? Let’s do this.”
Acayo nodded and we went to the door. I put my arm out and held him back.
“Wait,” I said, then spoke the words to drop the wards while I reached out to rub a break in the charcoal line over the door.
I nodded at Acayo and he swept out ahead of me, moving so fast his image became a blur. I waited inside the door and out of sight until he returned. He nodded to let me know it was safe and I followed him outside and hurried to my car.
The short drive passed in silence. I was too tense to speak and Acayo didn’t seem interested in conversation. I parked down a dark side street and got out of the car. Acayo warily followed, standing on the pavement a moment, looking around him watchfully. I found a dark doorway that suited my purpose perfectly and moved into it. I beckoned him over and pulled his shirt up, placing my hands flat on his smooth chest. Despite my worries, I felt my pulse quicken as his muscles flexed beneath my hands.
“Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and giving me a sensuous smile. “I don’t think now is quite the right time.”
“No, no,” I replied, blushing. “I need to do a spell. To disguise us. Nothing else.”
“Nothing else?” His smile deepened and became wicked.
He put his hands around my waist, slid them down over my ass, pulling me against him. I felt my resolve weakening as his cock started to harden against me. Maybe we have a few minutes…? I thought optimistically. And then, cynic that I am, I had a mental flash of us being caught in the backseat of my car like two adolescents, failing utterly in our plan and possibly being killed. The idea was enough to make me shiver and regain control of my raging libido.
“Well, not right now,” I told him, regret in my tone. I forced my mind back to the task at hand.
Centering my hands on either side of his chest, I murmured quietly. Finished with the words, I removed my hands and, placing my mouth gently over his heart, I exhaled. I moved my hands to either side of his face and repeated the process, looking into his eyes and blowing gently onto his brow.
I stepped back and surveyed him with satisfaction. The disguise spell had worked like a charm—no pun intended. He looked about two inches shorter than his actual height and was very thin. His hair was a sandy brown with streaks of gray, and age lines creased his weathered face. I nodded.
“You look older than you usually do. Say in your fifties? You have light-brown hair with gray in it and you’re thin.”
He stared at me in surprise but I was too busy to deal explanations. I closed my eyes and pictured my disguise carefully before chanting the words. I finished and waited, my breathing as fast as my racing pulse, before inhaling deeply, drawing air straight into my belly. I held the breath carefully, focusing the whole time, and then exhaled slowly. I felt the spell settling over me and when it touched my feet I opened my eyes. Acayo’s expression had turned from surprise to astonishment.
“And?” I asked him, fairly sure it had worked as I’d planned.
“Um, yeah. I mean, you’re older now too but not that old. Maybe late thirties. With black hair and your…your breasts are bigger. You look a little trashy, actually.”
“Perfect.”
“Won’t they see through the disguises? I mean, won’t their warlock know?”
“He may but I’m betting not.” I shrugged at him. “I don’t think they’ll expect us to come after them. If they do, I don’t think they’d expect this sort of sneak attack. I mean, think about it. With everything you can do, and the stuff I can do, would you expect us to play dress-up and sneak into the club with the regular customers? I wouldn’t. If the warlock sees us, he may notice the spells, if he has spells in place to detect them on others. I think hi
s energy will be taken up with placing defensive spells on himself and the twins and he won’t be on the lookout for them on others.”
Acayo was looking at me somewhat skeptically and I glared at him.
“Hey, anytime you wanna come up with a better plan, go right ahead. It’s better than just charging in, looking like us.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It is indeed better than that.”
“Right.” Mollified, I nodded in the direction of the club. “Let’s do this then.”
I squared my shoulders, linked an arm through Acayo’s and marched up to the club as if it were any old night. Two large men were working the door. They could almost have been twins themselves, they looked so similar. Both had black hair and rippling muscles under tight, white t-shirts that had the club logo printed on the front. The bouncers waved us in without a second glance and I breathed a sigh of relief. We went past them and through a curtain into the main room. The Galloways’ club, Shimmer, was the best strip club in town.
Everything was a little seedier than I remembered but beyond that nothing had changed. The big room had a large center stage and smaller circular stages scattered around it. A raised platform off to the left held couches arranged in a u-shape and a glass coffee table. No one was sitting there at the moment. A slim, pretty brunette with tired eyes was dancing halfheartedly on the pole mounted on the stage, and two other girls were performing on the small platforms for a large group of rowdy guys. Besides the guys, who looked to be on a stag night, the club was relatively quiet since it was still early. We took a small table near the wall and I headed to the bar to buy us drinks, making sure to put on a throaty, slightly Southern accent when I addressed the bartender, and then returned to Acayo. He was watching the brunette with a look of distaste and I nudged him as I handed him his drink.
“Hey, act like you’re happy to be here please. We don’t wanna draw attention.” Acayo frowned but put his arm around me obediently and leered at the stage.
“Better.” I leaned in to him and scanned the club. I didn’t feel any spells or wards and neither the Galloways nor the warlock were present. I thought about it for a bit and then flagged down a scantily clad waitress.
“Your bosses in tonight?” I asked her when she arrived at our table.
“What’s it to you?”
She tossed the question back at me, flipping her hair and smiling seductively at Acayo. He returned the smile and I was annoyed for a moment before remembering he looked like an older man and she was just working.
“I have a business proposition for them. To open a new branch of the club down in Dallas. Could be big money.”
“Yeah well, I don’t know if they’d be interested. But one of them will be in later, probably in about an hour if you want to wait. They’ll sit on the platform up there when they get here. I’ll let them know you want to talk shop and they’ll have you brought over if they want to talk to you.”
I thanked her and nodded and she sashayed away, waving her hips as she went.
“Clever girl,” Acayo whispered, leaning in close to me.
He breathed gently into my ear and shivers ran up my spine. I ignored him and pulled a small vial out of my bag, taking care to keep it hidden under the table. I removed the stopper and poured a few drops onto the floor, murmuring a phrase and twisting my hands counterclockwise over them as I did so.
“What are you doing now?” he asked quietly, putting one hand on my thigh and rubbing it gently.
“Repulsion spell,” I replied. “Just a little one. Should make the other customers want to leave. If things get violent, I don’t want a bloodbath in here.”
The spell began to take effect almost immediately and a lone man sitting up by the stage staggered to his feet and headed out the door, off into the night. The other drinkers slowly followed and even the stag party got to their feet and stumbled toward the front entrance. After an hour had passed, the bar was empty. We sat there quietly, watching the stage and occasionally pretending to laugh and flirt. The tension was becoming too much for me and I was relieved when a back door opened and one of the Galloways came through it.
The twins were big men with acne-scarred cheeks and dull, dangerous eyes. The one who entered—I thought it was Danny but it was hard to tell—looked around the bar with surprised eyes under shaggy black brows. He turned as if to leave and the waitress I’d spoken to hurried up to him. She gestured in our direction and I took a moment to bless my decision to speak with her. He looked us over and then nodded before heading our way.
“Leslie said you wanted to talk business?” he said, his voice gruff as he neared us. I kicked Acayo under the table and he nodded to him, rising to shake his hand. I smiled and inclined my head, and Danny joined us. Acayo began speaking, surprising me with the fluent lies flowing from him. Very smooth, I thought, and half wondered if he had been planning to open a strip club in Dallas after all, he sounded so believable.
With effort, I tuned them out and concentrated completely on the silent chant running through my mind. I finished, gathered myself and quickly reached out to grab Danny’s hand. He looked at me in surprise and as soon as we made eye contact, I snapped the last word and he was mine.
“Where is the warlock?” I asked him, maintaining eye contact the whole time.
“With my brother.” His voice was quiet and curiously monotone.
“Are they alone?”
“Yes.”
“Are there protective spells?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know there were protective spells.”
He frowned and I could feel him start to fight my control. I wasn’t too surprised. The twins had been called many things in their time, but weak wasn’t one of them.
“Take us to them.”
Danny got up immediately and we stood and followed him back through the door. I saw the little waitress watching us and for a moment, I worried she could be a witness if things went nasty…but then I remembered our disguises. Even better. If things did go badly, there was a witness who would distinctly recall two people who actually looked nothing like us. Good thing witches were born, not trained. Crime really was absurdly easy for a good witch. We’re limited only by our imagination, intelligence and the ability to follow through on a plan. But born we were and there weren’t that many of us. And most of us had a more law-abiding nature. Even I had considered robbing a bank once or twice but I’d always gotten a hold of myself in time. I’d always thought the world would be a horrible place if people went around doing things just because they could, and I respected the law. Mostly…
We followed Danny into a long, dismal corridor. He led us through a door and up a flight of stairs into an apartment over the club. The soundproofing was excellent and only a small hint of bass came up from the speakers down below. The warlock and Danny’s twin, Eddie, were standing at a table in the center of the room and looking down at a tablet in Eddie’s hands.
They looked up as we entered and the instant Eddie caught sight of us he roared in anger and flung the tablet at me with all his might. I yelped and ducked aside too slowly. The tablet caught me in the arm and I stumbled backward, cursing. I had no idea how he’d known and it crossed my mind to wonder if it was a twin thing. Maybe he’d somehow sensed I had Danny’s mind in my control. I’d heard a lot of stories about twins and magic and certainly believed it could be true.
The warlock attacked before I could recover my balance and I sprawled to the floor, losing my grip on Danny’s mind. Acayo leaped at Eddie, and Danny roared as he regained control and leaped into the fray. I hoped Acayo would be able to deal with both of them and turned my full attention to the warlock. He gasped as I pushed against his mind and I was grateful I’d taken my potion before we’d left. I’d guessed right; they weren’t prepared for us. If they had been, the warlock would have traps or would be powered up like I was. His lack of foresight meant he was absolutely no match for me. I laughed, somewhat evilly, I admit it, as the barrier in his mind cracked a
nd I was in. I pulled him out of consciousness sharply and he crumpled to the ground. He’d sleep until I woke him—something I had no intention of doing until I’d gotten some things straight—so I turned my attention back to the fight.
I scrambled backward on the floor and narrowly avoided being hit by a flying twin. I didn’t have time to see which one, but by the way his body slumped to the ground I figured that whichever one he was, he was out of the picture. I looked back to the fight in time to see Acayo take a solid punch to the face. He reeled backward but recovered quickly and launched forward to wrap his arms around the other one’s waist, taking him down in a perfect tackle. They hit the ground and Acayo swarmed upward to sink his teeth into the remaining twin’s neck. A few moments of horrible sucking sounds later, he let the twin sink to the ground.
“Well, that didn’t go exactly as planned,” I told him, eyeing the bodies ruefully. I felt a little sick. Though I’d seen dead people before, they tended not to be the recently deceased kind. The difference between a body on a slab and the still-warm body of someone to whom you’d been speaking a minute before was extreme. I fought down nausea and tried to be practical. “And now we’re left with a live warlock to do something about.”
Acayo eyed the unconscious man.
“I could just kill him now, if you want?” he asked politely.
I shook my head in response. It hardly seemed necessary.
I went to kneel next to the unconscious warlock and consider my options. I gestured at the door and Acayo went to poke his head out. A moment later, he returned to me with a nod. I blessed the loud music in the club and pulled chalk out of my bag. I marked the warlock in and woke him with a spell. He snapped awake immediately and scrambled up, gaze taking in his dead masters with fear.
“Who else knows about us?” I asked him sharply.
“No one,” he replied in a quivering voice. “They paid me and they’re dead. There’s no one else I know of. They didn’t want word to get out, in case they failed.”
I considered him and was about to speak a truth spell when Acayo stopped me.
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