“Did you see it too? The battle?”
He stayed silent a long moment, and her heart plummeted into her stomach. This is where he will get up and make a hasty retreat. I’ve lost him before I ever got a chance to really know him.
“I saw bonfires and heard the cry of battle.” His voice was so quiet she had to strain to hear him. “Our warriors had turned back the enemy. I felt the burn of magic, and you were there by my side. My warrior queen.”
While she still had the strength to move, Bethany held up her hand and twisted the ring from her finger. “Do these symbols mean anything to you?” She handed the ring to Kal, and he studied the markings with a wry smile. Handing the ring back, he stood up from the chair, pulling his T-shirt up from his stomach.
Bethany watched with pleasure as he exposed bronzed flesh stretched taut across hard muscles. With every inch he displayed, she ached to touch, needing to run her fingers across the warm skin. When the tattoo above his heart revealed the same markings as her ring, she stood up and went to him, tracing the symbols with her fingertips. At her touch, he flinched, and his muscles bunched under her fingers as if prodded by an electrical shock.
Taking her hands in his, he brought them to his lips, where he kissed each finger while looking into her eyes. The action seemed more erotic to Bethany than if he’d kissed her on the mouth.
“Do you know what the symbols mean?” she asked, mesmerized by his stare.
“Forever and always.”
Bethany heard the words in her mind. I will love you, forever and always.
Kal dropped his shirt, stepping back so they could both concentrate. “I need your help.”
“You have it, of course,” she assured him, disappointed that his magnificent body was no longer exposed to her hungry vision. “But I’m not sure how I can help, Kal. I have no magic left in me.” She frowned, realizing he hadn’t told her what he needed help with. “I’m guessing it has to do with magic.”
“I think you and your grandmother have been cursed with a binding spell,” he explained. “Had anyone new entered your life at the time your grandmother became ill?”
Bethany frowned, thinking back to the onset of her grandmother’s illness. “I don’t remember anyone that seemed suspicious. I meet new people nearly every day. None sticks out in my mind.”
Kal took her shoulders in his large hands and pulled her against him. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his face to hers and captured her mouth with his own. His lips felt soft against hers as he savored the taste and feel of her.
Bethany experienced a wild sort of joy, as if her heart had been a caged bird set free to fly where it wanted. The path, of course, led straight to him.
Chapter 4
“He’s your warrior?” Halona had a dreamy look on her face as she stood behind the counter at Beachcombers holding a polishing cloth in her hand. Dressed in white jeans and a blue and white nautical T-shirt with red trim, Halona looked completely at home in her seafaring-themed antique shop. “I knew there was something different about him, and I felt you two should meet. Remember, I told you.”
Bethany nodded and continued to browse the aisles, checking out the new antiques. Picking up a small silver dagger encrusted with semi-precious jewels, she weighed it in her hand before reluctantly placing it back on the bed of velvet. “He says he’s been hunting a dangerous entity for two years now, and the path led him here to Blansett.”
Halona frowned slightly and stopped polishing the glass display case. Tossing the cloth aside, she reached down to pick up Scamp, hugging him tightly. The little dog gave a gentle yelp, looking up to see what troubled his mommy. “Sorry,” she whispered. Loosening her grip, she stroked his long black and white fur in apology. “What kind of entity?”
“A demon.”
Halona gasped. “Kal’s a demon hunter? He cloaks his power well.”
“He asked for my help.” Bethany picked the dagger back up and turned it over, studying it carefully. “Well, actually for our help because Helena-Marie told him about us.”
Halona looked around the shop as if expecting to see spies jumping out of every corner. Placing Scamp back on the floor, she put her hand on her chest as if she couldn’t breathe. Moving from behind the counter, she walked down the aisle to Bethany. “The mayor told him about Le Lien de Quatre?”
“I was surprised too.”
No one talked about Le Lien de Quatre, not even the other coven members.
Halona chewed her lip. “We’ve got to call the others.”
“Let’s go to the shop. Syd and Sparky are working tonight.”
Halona glanced at her watch. “Okay, it’s time to close anyway.”
Before they made it to the door, Scamp started barking. Bethany heard the knob being turned and looked toward her cousin. Halona raised her hands, ready to cast whatever spell she could throw when Drake stepped into the store.
He stopped just inside the entrance when he noticed Halona’s upraised hands. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Of course not.” Exchanging an embarrassed look with Bethany, Halona dropped her hands and rushed to greet him. Drake looked down at her with amused eyes. “Don’t tell me. You want me and Scamp to fix dinner tonight because you’re going out with Bethany.”
Halona tugged his head down for a quick kiss. “Only for a few minutes. I’ll be back in time to eat with you.”
“Spaghetti it is then.” He gave her another kiss and leaned down to gather Scamp up in his arms. “Looks like you’re staying with me till mommy gets home.”
Scamp whined and buried his face in Drake’s shoulder like a child.
“Awww, my poor baby…”
“C’mon, Halona. Bye, Drake.” Bethany tugged her arm, ushering her cousin out the front door of Beachcombers before she could change her mind.
“Lock up for me,” Halona called over her shoulder to Jenn as Bethany pulled her along like a reluctant child.
* * * *
“He’s a freaking what?” Grey exploded. Her teal blouse shimmered with magic overload, creating arcs of rainbow lights above the otherworldly fabric. Beth couldn’t help but admire the way Grey managed to look lovely no matter how angry or frustrated she got.
“There’s a demon here? In Blansett?” Sydney asked as if she hadn’t heard correctly.
They were sitting in the upstairs lounge at Mystic Tides with four glasses of wine in front of them. Feeling the tension, Glimmer barked sharply, scampering across the floor and jumping into Sydney’s lap for reassurance. She petted her, tucking Glimmer to her side, away from Grey.
Bethany held up both hands. “Don’t yell at me. Yell at Helena-Marie. She told him about Le Lien de Quatre and coaxed him to come to Blansett.”
Sydney shook her foot back and forth, nearly swinging the red high-heeled sandal off her toes. Only the gold toe ring she wore kept it from hurtling across the room like a missile. “That could explain some things.” She looked at Grey. “A demon could be the reason we’ve had trouble in town lately and why some people are acting weird.” Her mind replayed the scene with Smythe-Warren at the Banishing Bistro. “How could I have missed the signs?”
Grey rubbed her fingers together to keep the angry sparks she was throwing to a minimum. “Demon hunter,” she huffed. “No wonder he thinks he’s all that.”
“So what are we going to do about it? The demon, I mean,” Halona said quietly. Suddenly, Mr. Stellar’s odd behavior at the shop made sense. The demon must have wanted Bethany’s bracelet and tried to use Mr. Stellar to purchase it. “We haven’t cast a powerful spell together since we kept Blansett from being hit by the hurricane.”
The four of them were silent for a moment.
“Magic like that…” Bethany began, only to be interrupted by Grey.
“Oh to hell with the consequences. We can’t let some demon destroy our town.”
Sydney nodded. “First, we’ve got to find out what the demon is masquerading as. If he’s powerful, he can change at will.
”
“We should have smelled sulfur during the change,” Halona said. “Wouldn’t we be able to tell if we’d been in contact with a demon?”
“Not if he’s ancient.” Bethany pulled her hair back and squeezed it into a tight ponytail as if the pressure on her head helped her to think. “By Helena-Marie telling Kal about Le Lien de Quatre and him asking for our help, I think you know how powerful this demon must be. Kal’s tracked it for two years.”
“What exactly does he want us to do?” Grey asked.
“We need to isolate the demon and find his given name.”
Halona studied the distance with her clear blue eyes. “Yes, he can be bound by his name. We will know him by his worldly identity, but he’ll have a nearly unpronounceable demonic name that holds power over him.”
“Oh sure, piece of cake.” Grey flung her hand out like tossing confetti into the air. Thousands of archaic names floated and sparkled in the air, spinning like dust motes. “Pick one. If we eliminate them one by one, we might be able to trap the demon in a few hundred years.”
“But what if we use our talents to find the person the demon inhabits at the moment? We can cast a binding spell to trap it long enough for it to be dealt with.” Bethany stood up, pacing excitedly around the room. “We could do what we do best…”
“Piss people off?” Grey asked dryly.
Halona covered her mouth, hiding a laugh, and exchanged looks with Sydney.
“You’re not so far off, Grey.” Bethany pointed at her. “Okay, when we see a person acting weird, we can use our talents to find out if they are possessed.” She turned to Halona. “For instance, if someone comes into your shop and doesn’t feel right, you could touch something they are wearing or have in their possession. You should be able to tell if the item is magically charged with negative energy.”
“Wait!” Grey snapped her fingers, and another shower of sparks filled the air. “It might not only be humans. It could manifest itself into animals too.” She remembered the tiny sheep that had made her life miserable a few months ago.
“Right,” Bethany agreed. “So if you think someone, or something, might be possessed, then why don’t you give them one of your fiery little zaps and see what happens? That should piss a demon off enough to give himself away for an instant.”
Grey arched a perfectly manicured brow and smirked. “Oh, there are lots of people and things I’d like to zap. This might be fun.”
Turning to Sydney, Bethany nodded. “Syd, you have the most persuasive push I’ve ever seen. Why don’t you give the demon a little push? He’s not going to like that. Even though he’s strong enough to resist, he’s going to want to push back.” She looked around the room at all of her cousins. “Please, be careful, and if you feel threatened, send the message for help.”
The women knew they had a psychic lifeline to one another. If one was in trouble, they could shout in their minds and alert the others. The four women had figured it out as children and nearly driven their parents crazy with the unique talent.
Glimmer seemed to show her approval by jumping down from Sydney’s lap, running around and around in circles, and barking wildly. Grey eyed her thoughtfully, and Sydney made a grab for the excited little dog.
“Oh no you don’t!” She glared at Grey. “Glimmer is not possessed. She’s only playing. We did not give you a license to zap anything you want, and you better not zap me, Grey Sinclair.”
Grey rolled her eyes. “Okay, but putting limitations on me will only slow our hunt for the demon.”
Standing up with Glimmer in her arms, Sydney headed for the stairway. “I’m going to check out our library of demonology books. We have several.”
With pride, she looked down the stairs in the direction of Mystic Tide’s reading room. Nick had done an excellent job of building bookshelves and sprucing up the room with elegant wood trim and custom-made furniture.
“Gotta run home to Drake. He’s fixing spaghetti.” Halona stood up and followed Sydney.
“We’ll be in touch later,” Bethany said, trailing behind the others.
“Wimps,” Grey muttered as she watched them leave.
Chapter 5
Bethany listened to the weather forecast with deepening concern at the approach of a storm headed their way. It wasn’t enough to be considered a real threat, but for the owner of a greenhouse, any bad weather was cause for anxiety.
She glanced around at the long tables of plants. Several of the more delicate specimens should be stored in the sheds in case of high wind or rain heavy enough to break the leaves and stems. It would take at least two hours to get the plants moved and the coverings in place over the outdoor showing rooms.
Behind the main sales floor, three large, portable greenhouses had been erected for the season. They consisted of little more than metal frames with domed ceilings covered by heavy, thick plastic. A watering system ran the length of the frames along with lights and an occasional ceiling fan. The sides of the buildings were rolled up through the day to encourage the ocean breeze air conditioning system.
Dressed in jeans and a dark T-shirt with the Blansett Bulbs and Flowers logo on the pocket, Bethany lifted flats of flowers onto the wheeled cart she pulled along behind her. Unmindful of the wet and dripping flowers, she hurriedly loaded them, disregarding the dirt and water that had dripped down the front of her clothes.
Glancing around the area, Beth reassured herself Joey and the twins were taking care of any early customers who were ignoring the weather forecast. Thankfully she didn’t have any classes or busloads of tourists scheduled for the day. She did have a bride coming to pick out flowers for her outdoor wedding and one artist that wanted to set up an easel in the corner to paint some of the rare orchids displayed in the back showroom.
Turning with her hands full of trays, she nearly bumped into Kal, who appeared as if by magic.
“Hey, watch it there,” he said teasingly, jumping back to avoid the collision. Leaning forward, he took the heavy flowers out of her hands and dipped his head for a kiss.
When his lips touched hers, Bethany sighed, savoring the warm, rich taste of him. For a moment she forgot her worries and lost herself in the pleasure of his mouth. She felt a little lost when he broke the kiss.
“I figured you could use some help,” he said. Lowering the trays to the cart, he grabbed another flat and carefully stacked them so they wouldn’t topple over.
“Have you had any luck with the hunt?” Bethany tried to keep her voice casual, but she wanted more than anything to have her grandmother back and feel the sting of magic through her veins once more.
“C’mon, we’ve got enough for the first load.” Kal pulled the heavy cart along the stone path erected between the tables. He glanced around to make sure no one was close by. “I felt the presence of the demon yesterday but lost the trail before I could pinpoint it.” Looking around again, he lowered his voice to a near whisper. “You were right. He’s been in Mystic Tides. I checked with Sydney yesterday and looked into the reading room. Definite demon signature in there despite the new wall and bookshelves. I’m impressed with the wards you four have set up at the shop.”
“Not so much me,” Bethany said quietly. She pulled a key out of her jeans and unlocked the padlock on one of the potting sheds. “We can put the first bunch in here.”
Kal stopped halfway across the threshold and let out a low growl.
“What’s the matter?” Bethany asked immediately. She put her hands on his back, trying to push her way around him enough to look inside.
Kal’s muscles went tense, and his shoulders stiffened. “It’s been here.” He stepped into the room and stood stock-still, moving nothing but his head as he examined every inch of the room.
“The demon has been here? In the potting shed?” Bethany felt a jolt of fear. “Why would it be here?”
Kal pointed to deep gouges on the rough boards at the bottom of the walls. The marks looked like claws had scraped the wood as they dug into t
he earthen floor. “It’s hunting for something.” He turned to look at Beth. “You have something it needs.”
She backed up, shuddering despite the warmth of the day. “I don’t know what it would be.” Hugging herself, she looked around the grounds of the business. “I would never own anything a demon could use. Why won’t it just leave us alone?”
Kal studied her for a minute before nodding. “Yeah, that’s the question, isn’t it? What does it want from Le Lien de Quatre?” He shook off his anger at the demon and began lifting the flats out of the cart and onto the potting tables. “I need to talk to Bryan Janzen.”
“Sydney’s dad? What does he have to do with any of this?” Bethany asked.
“Because he’s like Helena-Marie. Nothing goes on in Magicville that Bryan Janzen doesn’t know about. I have a feeling he’s holding something back. Or he knows something that he’s not aware of.”
Bethany repositioned the flats so they fit snuggly on the narrow wooden benches, making as much room as possible. She couldn’t help admiring the way Kal’s muscles danced under his skin as he lifted the heavy boxes of plants. It was easy work for him, and he had the cart emptied in half the time it would have taken her.
“Back for more,” he said, striding down the path. He glanced up at the sky, and his unkempt black hair brushed across his wide shoulders, tempting Bethany to forget about the oncoming storm.
She wanted to touch him, to pour herself into his arms and let him take her away for a while. Instead, she hurried along behind him, wondering if they would be able to save all the flowers as the first drops of water splashed down on her face.
As they finished filling the second load, Joey came up to Bethany with an exotic flower in his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw Kal, he stopped and backed up a couple of steps. “Chief Burke. What are you doing here?”
As soon as he asked the question, he paled beneath the boyish freckles on his face. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant. I just didn’t expect to see you here. You surprised me.”
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