by Lexi Blake
He stopped as though finally realizing he was crossing a line. He looked surprised and closed his mouth.
Any thoughts of apologies were gone. I was across the room before I even realized what I was doing. My fist met his jaw with a satisfying crack. I even managed not to scream when pain exploded across my skin.
“Damn it, Zoey.” Daniel grabbed my arm so I couldn’t get in another one. “I didn’t say it.”
“You thought it,” I snarled up at him. “That was enough.”
“What did you expect? I walked in here and you were practically fucking him in your father’s kitchen.”
“I expected you to not give a damn, Danny. I expected you to cheer me on,” I said. “Didn’t you want me to find someone? And don’t you dare say anyone but him. I get to choose who I sleep with, not you. I thought you would be happy I was moving on. Now you can go wherever it is you’ve been planning on going once your conscience was clear.”
Daniel dropped my hand and seemed to deflate. He turned away. “I want you to be happy. I just wish you hadn’t been happy here. It was a shock.”
I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I knew what he was talking about. I felt it every time I walked into my dad’s house. “Daniel, there isn’t a room in this house we didn’t make love in.”
It was true. There wasn’t a room in the house that didn’t hold some memory of us. He first kissed me in my bedroom when we were just barely fourteen. The first time he held my hand was on the stairs. We spent nights in the study doing homework and planning our future. Anywhere I went in this house there was a ghost. I was just surprised he still felt it, too.
“I was happy here,” he said as though he heard my thoughts. “It was the first time in my life I was really happy. I always thought we would end up raising kids in this house.”
“Damn you, Danny.” My eyes filled with tears. “Why now? Years you spend pretending I mean nothing to you and now you say these things to me. Now you care about our past just when I’m starting to believe I could find happiness with someone else. You really are a bastard.”
He turned to me, and I was so surprised at the sight. There were tears in his eyes, and he looked so confused. “I never pretended not to care. I can’t anymore, Zoey. What I am, I can’t love you like you deserve. I can’t give you what you need so I had to stay away and make sure you were all right. You don’t understand the truth of this world. I don’t even want you to. I never stopped loving you. I just…I’m a monster. I would only hurt you. I’m sorry about…what I said. I just never imagined it would hurt so much to see you…like that…with someone else.”
I sighed, a deep, tired sound. “How do you think I felt about all those other women?”
“What other women?”
“The ones at your club.” I wondered just how many there had been. It was not in a vampire’s nature to be celibate. Sex went along with the feeding. I knew it was just sex, but it still hurt.
Daniel grew still. “In all the years that I have been a vampire, I have never taken a lover. I have fed, but it went no further. I have no intentions of betraying you, Zoey.”
I was confused. No vampire was celibate. The need for sex was hardwired into their systems. It was beyond longing. It was an actual physical need. It was part of the feed.
“How can that be true?” And then another question hit me. “You can’t go an eternity without sex, Danny. What are you going to do when you’ve happily married me off?”
He smiled sadly, and I knew the answer. I bit back a cry at the thought. He was planning to walk into the light.
“Zoey, Daniel, it’s time.” Neil’s far too subdued voice told me he’d heard enough.
I wiped the tears from my face. “We’ll finish this later,” I vowed.
I had a demon to call, but I walked out with the knowledge that my own personal demon was going to be so much harder to deal with.
Chapter Twelve
Neil had properly drawn the circle on the living room floor. It was a nice hardwood floor, which is so much better than carpet. Carpet consists of hundreds of separate fibers that have a habit of not always sticking together in the manner one wishes they would. When you’re just using the space for watching television and doing the occasional yoga session, it’s a perfectly fine form of flooring.
When calling a demon, carpet sucks. It doesn’t hold the circle firmly, and once the demon has the slightest centimeter of a crack, the carpet-loving demon caller tends to find himself in intimate contact with said demon. Those sessions never end well. Trust me, hard floors, wood or concrete, are really best.
My father’s house contained beautiful solid oak floors that now boasted a large, red spray-painted circle decorated with a bunch of arcane symbols meant to keep the demon inside. I was fairly sure my father would have a heart attack when he saw it, but he would probably be more pissed off that I called Halfer in the first place.
The doors to the room flew open and Sarah stormed in. “Zoey, I talked to my coven leader.”
Christine walked in behind her carrying a sack. I was pretty sure the small blonde was the reason for Sarah’s annoyance. Looking at the pair, it was hard to imagine they were both witches. Sarah, I could see. She cultivated that cool Goth look pop culture associated with post-modern witches. She wore a black mini-skirt with fishnets and combat boots.
Christine had pageant hair and wore a cutesy business suit. She was wearing pumps, and no one who has to deal with the supernatural world on a regular basis would wear pumps to a demon calling. Christine looked like she should be heading home to make dinner for her hubby and two point five kids. She did not look like a chick who would be excited about calling her first demon.
“What did Emily have to say?” Emily was the head of Sarah’s coven and the most powerful witch in the area. If anyone could give us advice about this calling, it would be Emily.
“What did she say beyond the fact that you’re insane and we’re all going to die?” Sarah flipped a lock of pink hair out of her eyes.
“Yes, beyond that.” Emily apparently hadn’t said anything I didn’t already know.
Sarah frowned. “It isn’t possible. Neither Christine nor I have enough magic to handle a demon as powerful as this one. You should have seen the look on Emily’s face when I gave her the name Brixalnax. Man, I have never seen a black woman turn that white. He’s old. He’s royalty in Hell. This is dangerous, and we don’t have the fire power.”
“If we use the coven…” I began.
“Not a chance,” Sarah said firmly. “There is no way Emily will put her people in danger. She tried to forbid me from having anything to do with this.”
“She was very negative.” Christine wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I would have expected a witch at her level to be a little more open to new experiences. It made me glad I’m a solitary. I don’t think I’d like someone telling me who I can and can’t call. I’m totally bringing up this experience at the next meeting of the Junior League witches.”
I wanted to ignore her. I really did. I just couldn’t. “Junior League witches?”
“It’s a small group but growing,” Christine said. “Slowly.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and got back to the point. “We need a power source, and all we’ve got are two mid-level witches, a werewolf, a vampire, and a human who might actually have a negative magical center, no offense.”
I shrugged because she was right. I was crap when it came to spells. They tended to do the exact opposite of my intentions. Note that I say intentions because I got all smart-alecky once and tried a reverse spell to give myself acne when I was trying to clear up my skin. Apparently magic was smarter than I gave it credit for and only Proactiv saved me.
As for Neil and Daniel, while they were supernatural creatures, they possessed no real magical power. Daniel’s only magic was the ability to make his bite really pleasurable and to get humans to do his will, and I didn’t think that would impress Brixalnax.
“So we’re g
oing to have to scrap this whole plan,” Sarah said.
The doors opened again, and Dev walked into the room. Just watching him walk made my pulse increase, and then I felt guilty knowing Daniel was right there. It took me a moment to realize that Sarah was still speaking.
“We’re just going to have to figure something else out. Halfer left his number. We could just call him and explain the situation…”
“Wow,” Christine said, staring at Dev. Her eyes were round as she looked him up and down. I tried to feel some amount of jealousy as he was the guy I was dating, but I couldn’t muster it. He was smoking hot, and it was ridiculous to think people wouldn’t notice.
“You think he’s hot now.” Sarah’s voice was bitter. “You should see this idiot when he tries a glamour.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Dev gave her a charming smile. “I would like you to know that my bouncers have been told to admit you to Ether anytime you like. First drink’s on the house.” She continued to frown, and Dev amended himself. “All your drinks are on the house?”
Christine shook her head and walked up to Dev, her eyes filled with a reverent wonder. “That wasn’t what I meant. Though you are extremely attractive, I wasn’t talking about your sex appeal. I was talking about the magic that is just pouring off you.”
Dev grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. I can’t really control it when I get…excited. It just kind of happens. I’ll give you a little demonstration.”
Dev walked up to one of my father’s houseplants. It was a small ivy plant that looked like it needed a bit of attention. He passed an open hand over the sad plant and it…well, it kind of exploded, but in a good way. The vines grew a good foot in any direction and the color was a lustrous, deep and shiny green. It reeked of life and health and, for a moment, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. He hadn’t been kidding when he said his grandfather was a Green Man.
“See, I meant to make it grow an inch or two.” He frowned down at the plant. “I really have a control problem.”
“I can imagine that makes for disappointing encounters,” Daniel said with a wry smirk. “If your timing is as bad…”
I shot him a “shut the fuck up” look. The last thing I needed was a boy fight. Just looking at Daniel made my heart ache, and I turned away.
Dev was nonplussed. “Oh, I find it just makes me work all the harder. I haven’t heard any complaints yet. Certainly none recently.”
“Seriously? We’re up against a lord of Hell and the two of you are comparing penises?” I didn’t expect or want an answer, but I was hoping to shame them into compliance. I turned to Sarah. “Will he work?”
“Absolutely not,” Sarah said.
“Absolutely,” Christine answered at the same time.
I looked at the two and waited for a consensus.
Sarah folded her arms across her chest in a defensive gesture. “He’s too much of a wild card. He said it himself. He can’t control it. What happens if he loses control in the middle of everything? We can’t trust his power. He’s a complete loser when it comes to magic.”
“Well, I didn’t put it that way,” Dev defended himself.
“Look, you said we didn’t have enough power. You said we couldn’t even try to do the spell because we needed an energy source.” Christine put a hand on Dev’s shoulder. “Well, here’s the energizer bunny and he doesn’t have to control himself. We simply pull the magic off him.”
“No, I won’t do it,” Sarah said flatly.
I understood why Sarah was looking for any way out of working this magic. It was terrifying. We would be calling an old, powerful demon who was probably going to be pissed off at us. I understood her reluctance, but I didn’t have time for it. “It’s all right, Sarah. You don’t have to say anything else.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding, and I saw a wave of relief pass over her face. “Thank the goddess, Zoey. You’ll see…”
But I was already moving on. I turned from Sarah and focused on the more amenable witch. “Can you do it?”
It seemed to take everything Christine had to not jump up and down at the prospect. She just sort of vibrated as she stood there. “Oh, yes! I won’t let you down, Zoey. I have been preparing for this all my life. I can’t tell you how ready I am. As long as I have my battery here, it’ll be a breeze.”
“Hey—” Dev looked slightly offended at his relegation to nine volt status. “Nobody asked me if I wanted to be the power source for a demon calling.”
I gave him my best “army sergeant” look. “Do you want to be a member of this crew or not?”
“Member of the crew?” Righteous indignation filled Daniel’s voice. “Who the hell brought him into the crew?”
“Anything you say, boss.” Dev gave me a little salute. He turned to Christine. “I’m at your service. You just tell me what to do, and I’ll make it happen.”
“He is not a member of this crew,” Daniel stated, as though stating a thing made it true.
“Zoey, you can’t seriously be thinking about doing this without me.” Sarah stared at me, her voice rising over all the other voices.
She looked shocked and hurt, but I couldn’t consider her feelings. I hated the fact that I was hurting people I cared about and endangering everyone, but I had to steel myself and get this done. There would be time for guilt later. This was one of those times when it sucked to be a leader.
“I’m doing this, Sarah. You can’t talk me out of it. I’ll understand if you want to leave.”
The boys continued their debate, seemingly oblivious to anything else.
“I’m going to be working with you, Dan.” Dev had that face I was starting to understand he got when he realized he’d done something wrong and needed to make it right. “You should get used to it. Look, man, I’m really sorry I’ve been kind of a dick tonight, but I just got defensive when you walked in and looked at Zoey like you owned her.” He put out his hand in a friendly gesture. “We got along really well last night. I hope we can put tonight aside.”
Sarah looked at Neil who was suspiciously quiet throughout the exchange. He sat on the couch, watching the drama unfold with rapt attention. “Neil, tell Zoey she can’t do this.”
“Oh, I wish I could, princess.” Neil didn’t take his eyes off the men. “But I’m far too busy waiting to see if Daniel is about to kill Dev. I’m thinking yes, but it could go a whole different way. Is there any popcorn?”
“Stop it!” I was sick of the arguing. I was ready to call the damn demon myself if it meant an end to the chatter. “Dev, stop baiting Daniel. Daniel, stop looking at Dev like he’s a late-night snack. Christine, go and get ready. It’s getting close to midnight, and we need to get a move on. Neil, make yourself useful. We still need that chair from the living room. Sarah, I’m sorry you’re upset, but I have to do this with you or without you. I’m not exactly sure if your soul is on the line, but I know mine is. I need to do anything I can to give us the best shot at pulling off this job.”
Sarah turned to Daniel. “You have to stop this. You have to tell her she can’t do it.”
Daniel laughed and it was a good sound, an almost human sound. “I know I might pretend like I have some control, but nobody tells Z what to do. She’s going to do it, and I’m going to do what I always do—stand by and hope it doesn’t all go to hell. Besides, I’m with her on this one. My soul, if I have one, is on the line, too.”
Neil stood beside Daniel. He looked very young as he stood his ground, and I was reminded that he was barely twenty years old. “I’m sorry Sarah, but they’re our friends. We have to help. I know I don’t bring that much to the table, but if they’re here fighting for their lives, I’m gonna be here, too. I’d do the same thing for you. You guys are my family.”
I knew what I was doing was wrong even as I did it but a certain ruthless practicality had come over me. The boys stood behind me forming a sort of wall, and Sarah was on the wrong side of that wall. I needed her with us even if it meant she did somet
hing she didn’t believe in. Those of us who lead a particular type of life know that there are times to throw out your morals and beliefs in favor of saving the people you love. Someone tried to kill me last night. This morning they came after my father and Neil. It was only a matter of time before they got around to Daniel and Sarah and maybe even Dev. If I sat on my ass because I didn’t want to do black magic and someone got killed, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“Look, Sarah,” I said with all the empathy I could muster. “I realize that you don’t want to do this, and that’s all right. You don’t do black magic. I get it. I understand we’ll probably fail, but I don’t want you to feel guilty if it goes wrong. You did everything you could. You tried your best to warn us.”
There were angry tears in her eyes as she looked at me. She glanced back at Neil and Daniel, and I saw the minute she realized I had trapped her and there was no escape.
“You can really be a bitch sometimes, Z,” she said bitterly.
Yeah, I was definitely getting there. At the rate I was going, I might just lose my soul all on my own.
Chapter Thirteen
Magic, when done properly, has something for every sense.
There’s a certain smell that comes with each spell. I’m not sure if the experience is the same for each person, so I can only speak from my own encounters. Love spells end up leaving a faint smell of vanilla in the room. Prosperity spells smell a little like freshly mown grass.
There’s also a feeling that washes across your skin. Usually it’s a pleasant tingle, like someone brushed your arm gently with their nails. You shiver slightly with the pleasure. There’s a light crackle or pop when a spell goes right and some people swear they can taste the air around them. You can also see the remnants of a spell, whether its smoke or the faintest glow around an object.
Magic has an effect in the physical world that cannot be mistaken. The point is, you always know when magic has gone right.
