Safe Hex With a Vampire

by Cassandra Lawson

Chapter Eighteen

  Seeing the security this human ceremony gave Claudia is what changed my mind about marriage. It changed my mind about many things. Claudia was right. We’d grown complacent. We had lived by a village that allowed our differences because the people feared us. That security was gone now. Failing to fit in with the world around us could easily result in our deaths.

  Excerpt from Roman Draksel’s blog

  Tempest was really glad she’d decided to go shopping with Caitlin. There were moments when Caitlin made her feel old, but in general, she really liked her. It made her realize she had been so wrapped up in her work she didn’t really have any friends. It was also nice to have someone to talk to about Aiden and his family. As an added bonus, Caitlin already knew Aiden and Justin weren’t human, so she didn’t have a hard time accepting Tempest’s differences. Of course, as Tempest understood it, Caitlin must have some differences of her own or Justin wouldn’t be pursuing her.

  They were having dinner outside a small café. They’d shopped, gone for pedicures, and Tempest had gotten her hair cut. It was a relief to have her hair short again. It was now in a stacked bob that went just past her ears. She couldn’t resist the urge to flip it every once in a while. As much as it pained her to admit it, she really hoped Aiden liked it.

  “So, what’s the deal with you and Justin?” Tempest asked.

  “He’s stalking me,” Caitlin explained. She sounded much less annoyed than most women would about a stalker. Caitlin was wearing her bored expression. Tempest was sure she wouldn’t have agreed to go out with Caitlin if she hadn’t seen her more animated earlier that day. Most of the time, Caitlin seemed to work hard to school her features into a mask of indifference.

  “What happened this morning?” Tempest asked to make Caitlin’s mask slip.

  Caitlin shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I’m pretty sure I encouraged my stalker.”

  “He seems nice, just a little uptight,” Tempest offered to make Caitlin feel better about her situation.

  “He’s an arrogant jerk,” Caitlin insisted. “I always thought he was too uptight but I’m beginning to rethink that.”

  Tempest leaned forward. “Was it good?”

  Caitlin gave her a wicked smile. “I’m getting a little excited thinking about it.” Her face sobered. “I’m really nervous about going back to school next week. We’re on semester break, and I have no idea how this is going to affect our relationship in class.”

  “Maybe you won’t have any classes together,” Tempest offered helpfully.

  “No such luck,” Caitlin said with a sigh. “His brother hacks the system to find out what classes I’m taking so he can take the same ones. This has been happening for three years.”

  Tempest laughed. “He certainly is dedicated to his stalking.”

  “You have no idea,” Caitlin muttered as she buried her head in her hands. “All that was before I showed him any encouragement. I don’t know what to do now.”

  “Why not give him a chance and see where things go?” Tempest asked. That thought made her frown because it was kind of hypocritical. She was trying hard to avoid any emotional attachment to Aiden while telling Caitlin to give Justin a chance.

  Caitlin thought for a moment, her brow furrowed. “I’m not really sure why I keep fighting him so much. He can be an uptight prick, but I think part of the reason I avoid him is habit. I’ve been avoiding the man for three years. The other part is harder to explain. He . . . intimidates me a little.” She seemed embarrassed to admit that fact. “I don’t know why he does. He also makes me lose control. I still can’t believe I stormed into the house today. I don’t lose my temper with anyone else.”

  Tempest nodded her understanding. She also prided herself on self control. The fact that Aiden’s presence caused her self control to diminish so rapidly was disconcerting.

  “So, what’s the deal with you and Aiden?” Caitlin asked.

  Tempest shrugged. “He wants more than I think I can give him.”

  It was Caitlin’s turn to nod her understanding.

  Tempest suddenly sensed the taint of evil in the air. She looked around, trying to find it.

  “What’s wrong?” Caitlin asked, obviously sensing her anxiety.

  Tempest wished Ivy was with her. This was Ivy’s specialty. Tempest could sense the malicious presence, but it faded in and out. “Something isn’t right,” she began, not sure how to explain it to Caitlin. This was another reason she didn’t have friends. They didn’t understand her.

  In that moment, she knew Caitlin would make a good friend. Her hand came up on the table, and Tempest glimpsed the pepper spray she was concealing. Caitlin was alert and focused on something they couldn’t see. The look in her eyes reminded Tempest of Ivy’s expression when she was reaching out to the emotions around her.

  “Are you an empath?” Tempest asked quietly.

  “Sort of,” Caitlin admitted but didn’t elaborate. Tempest supposed she had a right to her own secrets. “To your left, but it’s moving away from us now.”

  “Do you know anything else about it?” Tempest asked.

  Caitlin shook her head. “Not much. I sensed the broken mind and the hostility, but I only felt it when you mentioned it. I have to focus to get anything, and it wasn’t there long enough.” She looked at Tempest. “I think it had to do with you.”

  That surprised Tempest. She didn’t exactly get out much, so she couldn’t imagine who would have a problem with her. Even at the women’s center, she was more in the background. An angry spouse was more likely to target Rose who did the admitting, or Ivy who handled most of the counseling and occasionally testified in court. Tempest handled medical care, and she hunted. Those she hunted never saw her real appearance. They wouldn’t know who she was, and she was usually notified if one was paroled or out on bail. “What makes you think that?” she asked.

  Caitlin shrugged. “The hostility seemed focused on you. You don’t think I’m crazy, do you?”

  Tempest shook her head. “Far from it. You really should meet my sister. She could help you learn to use your talent better.”

  “I think I’d like that,” she told her.

  Tempest was tempted follow whoever had been in the vicinity to make sure no one got hurt. The biggest danger in the area had just been removed, so she decided to let it go. Many people had a stain of evil but never did anything as a result of it. Still, the urge to follow was strong. She had a hard time letting it go. “I spend too much time working,” Tempest muttered to herself.

  “What do you do?” Caitlin asked. “I know you’re a doctor, but what’s your specialty and where are you working?”

  “I run a crisis center for women.” Tempest decided to leave out the bigger details for now. “We help abused women with medical care and counseling. We also offer a safe place to stay if they need it.”

  Caitlin seemed impressed. “That’s really great. I don’t know if I could handle doing something like that. It’s really hard being around people in emotional situations.” Caitlin was looking out at the people walking by. “Their emotions overwhelm me sometimes. When I was a kid, I would get really upset over what others felt. Sometimes, I’d start crying, and I couldn’t stop until I was so exhausted I fell asleep. You wouldn’t believe how many counselors my parents took me to see,” Caitlin said with a sad smile. “I’ve worked hard over the years to control it. I think if I did what you do, it might make me as crazy as Isaiah.”

  Tempest took her hand and squeezed it. “I don’t know how you or Ivy stay sane. Personally, I think I would lose my mind. Actually, I’m kind of distant most of the time.”

  Caitlin laughed. “I think I’m distant most of the time because of it. As soon as I started acting cold around people, they stopped sharing all their problems with me. Well, most of them did anyway. I have a few friends who won’t buy into my bitch persona completely.”

  “Won’t it be tough on you being a doctor?” Tempest asked. “A podiatrist doesn’t deal
with too many emotional situations, but I can’t think of any others who don’t.”

  “I want to become a medical examiner,” Caitlin explained. “I still have to make it through some pretty rough years right after medical school, but after that I should be okay. Dead people aren’t overly emotional.”

  “My cousin, Willow, would disagree with you,” Tempest added. “Of course, she sees the dead people sans body. I’m not sure they ever hang out in the bodies after they die.”

  Caitlin looked surprised but didn’t ask any other questions. One more reason Tempest liked her—Caitlin just accepted the otherworldly stuff.

  “So, what do you think the guys are doing while we’re out shopping?” Caitlin asked. “I got the impression they were having some male bonding experience when we were leaving.”

  Tempest shrugged. “Probably watching Aiden’s soap opera and complaining about how difficult we make their lives. They might be reading Cosmo.”

  Caitlin had just taken a sip of water and spit it across the table, almost spraying Tempest. “Okay, now that I would pay to see.”