His heart is pounding like mad. “Fuck it, Olivia. Ah man. What am I going to do with you?”
I assume he meant to say, ‘What am I going to do about the lust spell,’ but can’t be sure.
Chapter Thirteen
Mohegan.
“Don’t cry, Liv. We’ll figure this out.” I have no idea what I said as I put my hand on her chest, pulse my healing into her, and open up my aura as fully as I dare.
She does the same and I swear to the Holy Goddess, my whole life spins upside down. I know we got this lust thing going on but there’s a whole lot more going on here and it scares the shit out of me. I think we’re falling for each other. Hard.
Sated, we fall asleep in each other’s arms only to wake up in the middle of the night, greedy for more. I must have exhausted her because in the morning she doesn’t stir, not even as I shower or dress.
It’s hard to get my mind back in the game with her scent invading my nostrils and this raw, carnal need for her. I’ve never known a more passionate woman. But every once in a while, I can’t help but wonder how much is her and how much is the goddamned enchantment.
Each time, after making love, I want her more. That can’t be normal, right?
My bike roars to life when I press the starter and turn the handles. Checking for traffic I head back to the drug-house and brace for another bout of poison. This will have to be the last time or I really will risk addiction.
I park my bike directly in front of a black guy who I’ve seen there before. He reaches deep into his suit jacket, I assume for a gun but my open backpack drops at his feet, showing last night’s winnings.
With a small chuckle, he pushes me toward the front door, and picks up the money. Today, the house is packed with addicts and I have to grit my teeth to tamp down my anger. What a waste. I need to shut this operation down and any more like it.
In the kitchen, the accountant, as I’ve started to call him, pulls out the cash and thumbs the stack’s edges. “Where’s the rest?”
“You told me to win a hundred grand and that’s what I gave you.” I give him a smug smile, cross my arms, and catch his fist long before it hits my face.
“Don’t.” Meeting his fierce stare, I tighten my grip enough to brake a bone.
The tension in the room grows thick and when his gaze lowers, I let go. “Next time, if you want more money, just fucking ask me, alright?”
“Idiot. There is no next time. You can’t go back.”
Mouth drawn tight, he hands me a notecard with a website, username and password. “Go to this address. Do what it says. Understand? Don’t come back until it’s done. By the way? You can get your own damn fixes for a while. Use the money you kept from the winnings.”
If I was a real addict that would piss me off royally so I let my aura flare, wrinkle up my nose in disgust, and sweep my arm across the table, knocking vials to the floor. “Know what? Keep your fucking junk. Tell your boss I’m done dealing with chump-change low-life monkeys, like you.”
He laughs but there’s no amusement anywhere in his face or aura. “What makes you think I’m not the boss?”
“You’re too fucking stupid.” The accountant pulls his gun but I saw this coming.
With both my hands under the table, I flip it over on top of him. His laptop and papers fly as he lands on his ass. Then, I grab his collar and punch him in the jaw, hard enough so it’s lights out.
Behind me, the syringe-witch tries to find a spot to inject me but I grab her wrist and twist until the needle drops. Seeing how they may lose their next fix, the warlocks storm the kitchen so I kick the stash into the other room.
While they scramble on the floor, I shout toward the laptop, hoping someone is listening. “Hey out there. I do this one more thing and I want in or I’m out of here, understand? This is a waste of my talents, my time, and my patience.”
I wait for the longest time, wondering if I misjudged the operation.
Suddenly, a woman speaks from the laptop. “Finish your next assignment. After that, I’ll think about it.”
I pick up the broken computer and scowl into the camera. “Don’t think about it too long, sweetheart. I got other shit I can be doing. Looks to me like you need at least one guy with brains.”
The female says nothing more so I get out of Dodge before she changes her mind.
Once back at The Golden Nugget, Olivia thrusts one hand to my chest and the other to my cheek. Having someone care that much could get habit forming.
Energy seeps from her into me. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I didn’t have to take any drugs.”
“How did you get away with that? Didn’t they suspect?” She glances at my bruised fists. “I’ll get some ice.”
With my next assignment on my laptop screen, Olivia looks over my shoulder and says, “Oh my God. That’s exactly like what happened at the party in Ship Bottom. You’re not seriously going to do that?”
Chapter Fourteen
Olivia
Back at my herbal shop, I brew enough anti-lust tea for an army and while it steeps I digest the step-by-step instructions that the drug dealers gave Mohegan.
First, he’s supposed to find a desperate cougar. To do that, there’s a list of nearby bars where wealthy, older women are likely to hang out looking for young men to have sex with. Next, there’s instructions of how to get that woman hooked on opioids. After she’s addicted, Mohegan is to explain how he can score drugs illegally, if she’s willing to throw a party.
There’s even a pdf to use as a template along with a list of local colleges. This last part sends chills down my spine. It reads that during the party, Mohegan is to find a woman, shoot her up with Fentanyl, and suck away her life’s spirit.
The incantation spell is so dark that I make the sign of the cross, a prayer to the Great Spirit, and one to the saints of Buddha.
Eduda curses under his breath and jumps off his swivel stool “We need to find the head of this snake and cut it off for good.”
I nod, for the first time truly understanding The Guild. No wonder my Dad never came home. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him.
Sitting on the other side of the counter, Mohegan shifts his gaze off the computer screen and onto me. “I’m sorry for all this, Liv.”
“I’m not.” Being part of something so big, so important, is liberating. My world before him, was so small.
A meaningful glance is shared with his grandfather, then Mohegan finishes his tea, and holds out his hand to me. “Excuse us, Eduda. I think we could use some air.”
So, after putting on warm jackets, we walk hand-in-hand by the shoreline, quietly staring out at the foaming waves.
“Feel any better?” Mohegan squeezes my fingers as seagulls scream and a fog horn wails repeatedly in the distance.
I wonder what he wants to tell me? What’s he waiting for?
A salty mist soaks my skin, healing me from evil, making me stronger. I face the ocean with arms outstretched wide and sigh.
He tips my chin up so my eyes meet his. “Olivia, what’s going on inside your head.”
How much I love you.
I break out of his hold and struggle to find any other topic. “I had no idea that our people were dying off, no idea that evil like this existed, no idea of anything at all.”
“I wish I could take you back in time so this never happened.”
Is he sorry we met?
Taking a few steps sideways, I continue walking but now my hands are clasped behind my back. “I should’ve been more involved in our clan.”
“Don’t downplay what you’ve been doing. Jack and his people do a lot of good.” Mohegan continues strolling in silence which is good.
Suddenly, my mind is made up. “I want to help you with this. Work with The Guild. Be part of what you do.”
Stay with you forever, even if you don’t feel the same about me.
Grabbing my shoulders, he turns me, and kisses me on the lips, eyes bright. “That’s s
o great. We need a lot of office help.”
Seriously?
When we arrive back at my house, I slip off my sandy sneakers, and place them in the box by the door and he holds me back. “There’s one more thing, before we go back in, that you should know.”
Cupping my cheeks, he waits for my eyes to raise to his. “Eduda thinks he found a way around the lust spell.”
“Break it?” I should be ecstatic but instead I want to weep.
He smiles sadly tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “Not completely but it will give us some freedom. We’ll only have to be together a couple times a year.”
I moan, sink to my heels, and cover my face with my hands. This can’t be happening. I’m turning into my mom. I’m getting my very own holiday-mate.
“I promise, Liv, after we get these guys, I’ll find a way to break the spell, completely. Don’t worry. You won’t be stuck with me, forever.”
I am so blindsided that I can’t even speak. I’ve been such an idiot. I really thought we were growing into something real. Careful to lower my aura, I run into my shop and into the bathroom.
When I’m done bawling, I splash cold water on my face, and exit with the best smile I can muster. He’s right. We need to end the spell and get on with our lives as best we can.
Back in my shop, some tables are pushed aside, making a place to stand in the middle of the room. If Eduda was a priest and I wore a gown, all we’d need is two witnesses for a wedding.
“So, Eduda, Mohegan says you found a cure?”
His grandfather nods. “I think I have a temporary fix but to be sure, I need to know. Have you ever seen this chant before?” He places a printout in my hand.
I hiss, then grab onto the spell my mom gave to me as a child. “This is private! Where did you get it?”
“Never you mind. Your aura tells me everything I need to know. Now, are you both ready?” He pats my white-knuckled hands.
“Hold on. Wait just a second. This? This is what caused the lust?”
He nods, his eyes soft and full of pity.
“But it can’t be. I’ve been chanting this every Halloween for as long as I can remember. No lust ever happened before.”
“It has to do with your age. It’s woven into the fabric of the spell, a way to insure you’ll have to procreate and your clan will survive.”
My heart freezes at my mother’s duplicity. “I can’t believe she’d do this to me.” This is my worst nightmare. I’m losing the only man I ever loved and my own mother tricked me into the worst possible fate I could imagine.
Eduda clears his throat. “Each year –”
“Goddammit. I know how this works. Mohegan will need to see me for conjugal visits a couple times a year, right?”
My soon to be holiday-mate glances up from where he’s standing at the counter, his jaw set, and fists clenched at his side. “Let’s just get this over with.”
With that, Eduda places our hands together and begins to chant. It sounds Farsi, Arabic, or maybe even Turkish. After he finishes, he spits into his hands, rubs them together, and adds some sand from a small vial. He blows dust into my eyes as well as Mohegan’s and when it’s done, I don’t feel any different except my heart is heavy as lead.
“That’s it?” I ask no one in particular.
“That’s it.” Eduda nods with a sad grimace but Mohegan won’t even look at me. Who can blame him? He thinks I tricked him.
“Enough!” I point for Mohegan to sit at the table with me, dial my mom, and put the phone on speaker. “You need to hear this.”
It rings twice and she picks up. “Hello, honey. What’s up?”
I glare at my new holiday-mate, daring him to leave. “Hey Mom. I need to ask you something really, really important.”
“You sound like you’re in a cave.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re on speaker phone.” Rolling my eyes, I know I sound completely exasperated and don’t care. “I have a male healer with me, Mohegan. He says there’s something wrong with a spell I shared with a friend and thinks you can help.”
“Haven’t I warned you about giving out spells that haven’t been guild-tested?”
Sitting across the table, Mohegan’s jaw ticks so I cut her soon-to-be rant short. “Hold on. My friend was depressed about Halloween and not being invited to any parties. She’s single. About my age. So, you know that Halloween spell I’ve been chanting since I was a kid?”
“No dear. No idea what you’re talking about. I gave you so many spells. Hard to remember,” she says but the pitch of her voice is higher.
I glance at Mohegan. He hears it too, and scowls. Yeah, we were duped.
“Let me help remind you, Mom. It goes something like this:
Come spirits of the evening,
Come ancestors,
Come ghosts,
Come all that ride the air on the night of the dead.
Feed me with the energy you no longer need so you can rest.
Heal me with your knowing of the unknown.
Find my spot in the universe.
Find me peace, love, and everlasting goodness.
“Ah-say-mee-paa-yeeee. Ah-say-mee-ra-nee.”
Mohegan jumps up. “That’s it! Dammit. Find me a mate. Make him mine.”
A long silence ensues.
“Mom, you there?”
“Of course, dear. Who did you say is with you?”
“Mohegan. He wants to talk to you.” I hand the phone to him.
His look could melt plastic and I’m afraid if he grips the phone much harder, he’ll crack the screen. “You gave your daughter a mating spell? As a child?”
“Being male, you wouldn’t understand.” Her tone is whiny and defensive. “It probably sounds like entrapment to you but our clan has been handing down spells to our daughters for thousands of years.”
She pauses. “We aren’t talking about a friend of Olivia’s, are we? We’re talking about you and her. Congratulations, my son.”
Something inside me snaps, as it always does when we talk, but worse. Sometimes I can’t believe we have any genetic code in common.
“Mom! How could you? You know how I feel about you and Holiday.”
“You mean me and your father?”
“You know that’s who I mean. Don’t change the subject.”
“Olivia. For God’s sake. I told you years ago but you wouldn’t listen. Go out. Date. Find a nice young man to have children with but no, you just sleep around with every Tom, Harry and their dicks.”
I sigh. “We’ve been over this, Mom. My tubes don’t work. I can’t have kids.”
“You can’t be certain.”
“Yeah, I can. I’ve been to dozens of healers. They all say the same thing. I can’t be fixed. I don’t make eggs.” Tears roll down my face. I really didn’t want Mohegan to find out this way.
He puts his arm over my shoulder and speaks close to the phone. “Excuse me, Mrs.?”
“She’s Lorraine.” I barge in before she speaks out our last name. God knows I don’t need him knowing who my dad is. Things are complex enough as it is.
“Okay, Lorraine. Is there a way to undo the spell, permanently?”
“Undo it? Absolutely not. What for? She’s not good enough for you? I’ll have you know –”
“Goodbye Mom.” I hang up and look at Mohegan. “I am so sorry. I had no idea.”
He slowly shakes his head back and forth. “She’s a piece of work.”
“You have no idea but her heart is in the right place. She loves me to the point of smothering which, by the way, is why I live in south Jersey and she’s near Lake Ontario.”
He kisses the top of my nose. “I get it now. Don’t worry. I’m not mad. I got to go but I’ll see you soon.”
“Next holiday is Thanksgiving.” I mutter under my breath long after he’s gone.
Later, Eduda steps into the healing room where I’ve begun to busy myself taking inventory.
“Are you alright, dear?”
&
nbsp; I look up into his kind eyes. “I will be. And thank you. For breaking the spell.”
“I only made it possible for him to leave town for a while. The lust will build up over time until it becomes unbearable. You’ll need to plan to be with each other. It’s actually much easier if you live together.”
“I don’t think that’s what Mohegan wants.”
“Give him time. No man likes to be trapped.”
I nod, the lead in my chest making me want to weep. “I suppose by now you know who I am? My Dad?”
He nods.
“Then you know what my childhood was like.”
“He talks about you all the time. Loves you fiercely.”
I don’t bother to argue, shrug, and go back to counting teas and putting numbers in my spreadsheet. If a man loves his kid, he shows up for more than a few days out of the year.
“I have to go but don’t worry, daughter. This type of thing has a way of working itself out.”
God, I wish they’d stop saying that.
My place seems small and too quiet. As if agreeing, Luna meows and I pat her. “I guess it’s just me and you, sweetie.”
Behind on my work, and feeling lower than low, I start filling orders. After a while I text my best friend, Zoe.
Me: Got time to talk?
Zoe: Sure. Come on over.
I lock the door, turn over the “Be back in an hour” sign, and head up the street. The sky is full of dark clouds, reminding me winter is not far off. Shivering inside my wool coat, I shove my hands inside my pocket.
Five minutes later, I walk across the old Victorian porch where a stuffed, plastic witch sits in a wicker chair. Three burnt smelling jack-o-lanterns grin wickedly, the hair inside their pointy teeth blackened from spent candles.
I knock and push the kitchen door open. “Zoe?”
“About time, girl. Where have you been?”
“Didn’t Jack tell you?”
“You know men. They leave out the good stuff.”
She wipes her hands on a dish towel, gives me a fierce hug. Then I follow her into the kitchen and sit at her antique table where she pours water into a Blue Willow china pot.
Mohegan: A Siren's Spell Romance Page 8
