by J. C. Hart
Alyssa was pottering around in the garden out back when a shadow fell across her. She glanced up, squinting at the early evening sunlight that peeked over Brandon's shoulder.
"Hey," he said, putting his hand out and pulling her to her feet. "You ready for dinner?"
"Depends what you brought with you..." She raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
"I got kebabs. I hope that's okay." He lifted the bag and the aroma escaped.
"Oh god, that smells good. Let me wash up and we'll eat on the deck, okay?"
"Sure." He nodded approval and followed her to the deck, where she left him to unpack the food. She washed her hands in the sink, scraping dirt from beneath her fingernails before grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge and heading outside.
"Thanks for this. I know I can be a little bossy at times, but I appreciate the food." She gave him a wry grin and tapped her bottle against his before taking a sip.
"Well, you did feed me the other night. This was the least I could do."
"All the same. Thanks." She felt like he wasn't really hearing what she was saying, or trying to. What she meant was thank you for coming back and not being a jerk. Thanks for potentially ending the months long drought she'd been experiencing. Thanks for filling the void that Kelly had left behind. But, really, they didn't know each other nearly well enough for that kind of talk.
Alyssa grabbed her kebab and peeled back the wrapper, the scent making her salivate. She closed her eyes and moaned a little. There was no avoiding it. "I didn't even know they had kebabs here. It's not a very big place. Where did you find this?"
Brandon tapped his nose and winked. "I have my sources."
"Spill," she said.
"Nope. Not going to. If you don't know, then you'll have to keep me around." He took a big bite of his kebab.
Alyssa’s stomach grumbled and she bit into hers. The taste was divine, the smell of the lamb and satay sauce making her mouth water as she ate. She bit off another chunk, so big it chafed her throat as it went down, but she didn't care, she just wanted more.
"So, what if I'd been allergic to peanuts?" she asked, once she'd eaten half of it and satisfied the bulk of her hunger.
"I saw the peanut butter in your fridge when I was here the other day. Figured it was a safe bet." He shrugged. "Is it?"
"Yes, though right now I'd be happy to eat just about anything. I didn't realize it until now but somehow I totally missed lunch."
"Lucky I got the big size then."
"I don't care what other women might have told you, but size does matter and bigger is always better." The words were out of her mouth before she could consider them. Her throat constricted and the food stuck, making her cough. She flushed red, swallowed hard and took a swig of beer.
"You don't say?"
Not trusting herself, Alyssa simply nodded and took another bite.
"I'll file that away for later use then." He chuckled and took a swig of his beer.
"So, how did that work disaster pan out? Things okay?" Alyssa decided that work was probably a much safer line of conversation for now.
"Yes, and no. For now. I think. Still a few complications, but I have to make some progress sooner rather than later."
"Sounds tough, and, important?"
"Are you fishing for answers about what I'm doing here?"
It wasn't until then that Alyssa realized that Brandon was new in town. And, that there was meant to be a necromancer here. She shivered, hoping that Brandon wasn't the guy. But he was vague, and he did say he was some kind of magical. Did that all add up to him being the one?
"Maybe?" She raised an eyebrow and tried to sound her normal, playful self, but it came out a little flat. "We don't have to talk about that right now though." She turned her attention back to the food, trying hard not to let it slip out the bottom of the now damp wrapper.
"Well, work is kind of boring." He paused, as if considering his next move and then asked, "What happened with Kelly? You two seemed close, and then you had that fight and I thought you'd made up, then all of a sudden she's gone and you're not talking about it."
"I'm still not talking about it." At least, not with him. "All I'm willing to say is that she betrayed my trust. I don't forgive that easily." She looked him in the eyes then, but his expression didn't waver. No guilt hovered in his eyes.
"People always have a reason for doing what they do. Did she tell you hers?"
Alyssa snorted. "No. I wasn't interested in hearing it."
"Do you do that much?"
"Excuse me?" She sat up straight, discarding the rest of her kebab on the table between them.
"Not hear people out." Brandon shrugged, as though he wasn't trying to be offensive, but she couldn't help but feel irritated.
"Sometimes people don't deserve to be heard out." She grabbed her beer and got up, dumping her rubbish in the outside bin and heading back to the kitchen. She didn't need this shit. This was meant to be a romantic evening, but it certainly wasn't panning out like that. Who was he to question her like that? What did he know of her?
There was a sour taste at the back of her throat though, because he was right. She didn't wait to hear the reasons why. She never let anyone explain themselves. It was more than a little uncomfortable to have the guy she’d hoped would take her to bed call her out on one of her biggest flaws. Wasn't that stuff meant to happen six months down the track, when things were beginning to sour?
She shrieked as a hand grasped her shoulder. She spun to find that Brandon had followed her. "Seriously, don't creep up on people. You're lucky I didn't punch you in the nuts."
"Thanks for holding back." He grinned at her before his face grew serious. "I'm sorry, really. I wasn't trying to be a jerk, but I get how it came across."
"Then why did you say it?" She put her hands on her hips, wishing she was a little taller, or a little broader. He dwarfed her, and for a change, that bothered her.
"I guess..." He scrubbed a hand across his chin. "I just wanted to know why. Why you won't give anyone a real chance."
"She had a chance to be a real friend to me, and she blew it. If you must know, I just found out that she'd been sneaking around with my ex, before we'd even broken up. They've moved in together. He told me it was because I couldn't have babies, but now... Well, who the fuck knows. That was probably just a lame ass excuse."
Brandon was silent for a full minute, but the pained expression on his face said a lot. "That was cruel of him. He should never have made you question your validity as a woman. And no, she shouldn't have done that to you either. It was a shitty thing to do."
"And friends shouldn't do shitty things."
"God, if only life was that simple hey?" His lips spread and cracked into a half grin. "People are assholes, even when they aren't trying to be." He gave a little shrug.
"And you?" she asked, her heart thrumming, waiting for him to give her the answer.
"Huh?" He frowned.
"Are you an asshole? Are you trying to be, or is it just on accident?"
Chapter Nineteen
Brandon stood in shock. She knew about him. Knew something, anyway. That much was obvious by the glare in her eyes and the death grip she had on her bare upper arms, firmly crossed over her chest.
"If I'm an asshole, I'm certainly not trying to be," he said, choosing his words carefully.
"What are you doing in town? What kind of 'contract' are you here for?"
She wasn't going to budge, and if their prior conversation was anything to go by, there was no point lying to her. He liked Alyssa and if he ever wanted a chance with her he was going to have to be straight.
"I got a call from a woman who wanted to use my special skills to help secure the barrier here. She didn't give me the details, but she told me that in return she would give me a powerful healing potion for my nephew. He's dying."
The tension leaked from her face and her arms dropped to her side. "Not an asshole." The words tumbled out in a whisper.
"So y
ou know why I'm here then?" He reached out to her and was thankful when she didn't flick his hand off her arm. "I swear, I didn't know it was you when I met you. In fact, all she told me was that the town witch had recently died, and they needed someone to bring her back."
"Gran?" Her eyes widened and then dulled. "You know, I bet she'd have said that was okay. She loved it here."
"And what would you have said?" He traced his fingers up her arm, trying to keep her grounded. "It wasn't until I got here that she told me I would have to convince you to take your Grandmothers place. That wasn't what I agreed to, but she's trapped me here somehow. I can't leave the Bay until I've completed my task, and the longer I'm gone, the closer Michael gets to death."
"He's really dying?" She looked into his eyes, hers welling with unshed tears. She pulled away from him, swiping at her eyes. "I can't fucking do anything right, did you know that? I told her I wasn't interested, and she dragged you into this as well. And Michael." She turned back to him. "How old is he?"
"Six."
"So young." Grief lined her face. "And unless I do this, he's going to die, and it will be all my fault." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh god."
"No. No, Alyssa. He was going to die anyway. If he passes it's not your fault." He said the words, wanted to believe them, but knowing she was the thing in between Michael's life or death made it difficult. He swallowed hard and then pulled her hands free. "I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do. That was never my intention. Do you believe that?"
She let out a soft sob, her bottom lip quivering as she nodded.
"Good. Good. That's something we can work with, right? I'm sorry I didn't tell you why I was here straight away. I wasn't sure what to say, and you were so beautiful and so nice."
Her lips twitched and broke into a smile, a laugh tumbled out. "Nice? I slapped you in the face!"
"You were just being a good neighbour." He shrugged. "And you did bring me pikelets to apologise."
"I did." She nodded, though the sad look in her eyes hadn't completely dispersed.
"I understand if you don't want there to be anything between us. It's awkward, and awful, and I'd hate for you to think I was only trying to get you into bed because I wanted to manipulate you."
"Clearly that's your plan, you're just terrible at being the bad guy because you told me first!" She smacked him playfully on the arm. "You should know better than that."
"I should," he agreed.
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him and he was so shocked that for a second he didn't respond. But when he folded her in his embrace, it felt good. She knew the truth, but she wasn't running away. He squeezed her tightly, and almost missed the words whispered against his chest.
"You can bring Gran back?"
He stiffened and drew back slightly, struggling to find the right words. "I can, but is that what you really want? She'd be like a ghost, powerful, but bound forever to the Bay."
Alyssa's face paled and she shook her head. "No, not like that. That's what they did to Magnus and he hated it. I mean, in some weird way it would be good payback for what my family did to him, but, I can't do that, not to Gran."
His shoulders slumped a little. He'd thought that maybe this was their way out of the problem, but if it wasn't what she wanted, he had to respect that. "Why don't we ask her?" he suggested. "We could do that séance, and, like I said, I know a thing or two about them." He quirked an eyebrow at her. She pulled on her earlobe and turned, walking a few steps away before returning.
"And you won't influence her?"
He frowned. "If I haven't shown by now that my intentions are actually above board, nothing I say here is going to change that. You either believe me, or you don't."
Her pause was almost too much. He dropped his arms and shook his head, but she reached out and grasped his shoulder, her grip surprisingly tight. "I do. I do. I'm sorry, it's just that I've been lied to so much. Trusting isn't the easiest thing for me."
"It's hard for everyone. Especially those of us with magic."
"I don't have magic though."
"You keep saying that, but if you'd just shut up you'd figure out that you do. It's inside you and no amount of verbal denial will change that." He wanted to shake her, make her see. Until he saw the look on her face.
Her jaw was tight and she ground the words out between her teeth. "Never tell me to shut up again. Even if your point is valid."
Brandon swallowed hard. "Okay." He licked his lips, suddenly wishing he had another beer, or really, anything to distract himself. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to get her to embrace her magic. She'd be a fierce opponent if ever crossed. Not that he intended to. He hoped she could see that, because he really meant it. As much as he wanted to save Michael, he wouldn't do it the cost of enslaving Alyssa to the Bay, or her dear old dead Gran.
"So, ah, when do you want to do this?" he asked.
She exhaled and the tension seemed to drop from her body. "Not now. Not tonight. I need to think." She shook her head and tugged on that earlobe again. "I'm really sorry, I know that time is important here and you need me to hurry up and become all magical so that I can boost the barrier and you can skedaddle back home with the cure. But tonight has given me a lot of information to take in, and I don't know what to make of it. I just... I need to clear my head. And I'm sorry if that came out kind of bitchy but I'm just being honest here. And we can be honest. Right?"
"We can. Yeah." Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed. He could tell that she wanted to help but there was something holding her back. He had to play his cards right or she was going to shut down on him and he'd never save Michael, let alone get to know her any better than right now. And he wanted that too. Oh how he wanted it.
With that thought he took the three steps between them and drew her into his arms, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. He wanted more, so much more, but now wasn't the right time. He wasn't about to be one of those guys who cashed in on a vulnerable chick. "I'll come back in the morning, okay?"
"Yeah." She gave him a tired smile and brushed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning away, the scent of her lingering.
Chapter Twenty
She waited until he'd left the property before locking the front door and rushing to do the same to the back. She hadn't lied when she'd said it was too much to take in for one night, but she had left out the fact that she did indeed want to do a séance. Right now. Before she lost the nerve.
Alyssa pulled the curtains closed in the lounge and pushed the couch back to give herself some more room. Everything had been stashed in a box in the corner since the other day so she pulled it all out and put the pieces in their places. It felt silly doing this when she had access to a legit necromancer who could summon the dead. God, she'd have felt like such an idiot if they had done the séance the other night and then she'd found out after. Just her luck, right? To start falling for guy who had a contract out on her.
Not that she could hold it against him, strangely. He'd been so open with her and the grief in his face when he spoke of his nephew... You couldn't fake that. No matter what he said, Alyssa knew she had to find a way out of this for him. She couldn't handle being responsible for a death. Her petty fears about embracing the magic paled in comparison to that.
"I call upon the spirits to guide me, bring forth someone who can help me in my time of need." She incanted the words with her eyes closed, though they probably weren't right. Ugh. How on earth was she going to master magic?
"So dramatic."
Her eyes whipped open and she saw a face before her that she'd thought was lost forever. "Magnus? What the fuck are you doing here? I'd hug you if I could." She sighed with relief.
He chuckled, his form only partial, but she could see the grin. "You wanted some help, and that male of yours has made the barrier thinner here. Your house is going to become grand central station for the dead if you keep him around."
"What? He's that
powerful?"
"He is. Not that you'd know it from looking at him."
Alyssa leaned forward. "Is that a sneer? Oh my god, are you jealous or something?"
"Pfft. I don't get jealous. I'm just keeping an eye out for you."
She was sure she caught an eye roll in there and couldn't contain a grin. "Okay then, so, help me out. You know, I'm glad it's you and not someone else. I mean, I do want to see Gran but I'm not ready for that yet. They want her to be like you were, contained here, powering the barrier for the Bay. As much as I want her here, as much as I don't want to be the one who has to be the witch, I'm not sure I can do that to her. Not after you." The words poured out as she twiddled her fingers together, avoiding his gaze.
"You're a kind soul, Alyssa."
"But how kind?" She looked up and caught his eyes. "Kind enough not to get tainted by the kind of magic they want me to do? Kind enough to avoid becoming what the other women of my family became? What they did to you... I'm not even sure that's the worst of it. There is so much I don't know." She took a deep breath. "One of them literally impregnated themselves with the earth, Magnus. Who does that?"
He pondered the question, his form still wavering. "Did you ask whether the earth was okay with it?"
"Huh?" The question made her draw back and shake her head. It hadn't even crossed her mind. "No, I didn't, but I'm not sure that matters. They wanted something bad enough to create it from the ground we walk on. What if I do the same? You know I can't have babies. What if I get so drunk on magic that I create a child?" The thought made her want to vomit. Sure, she wanted kids, but not like that. "What's stopping me from becoming like them? Like the women who all took what they wanted regardless of the consequences. I don't want to be like that."
The vision of Magnus disappeared and then came back stronger than ever, as though he was using his own magic to strengthen the connection. "You are a woman of your own making. A good woman. I don't think you'd let that happen, not unless it were for a very good reason. And you should trust me because I knew many of your family. You're strong, and you have potential. If this is the only thing holding you back from embracing your heritage, then push it aside and step forward. Become what you were meant to be."
