Cut to the Crone (A Spell's Angels Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Amanda M. Lee

  He was quiet, and when I risked a glance, I found him grinning. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious. “What?”

  “You have a total chick crush on her,” he teased, poking my side.

  I squirmed and pinned him with a dirty look. “I don’t have a chick crush on her.”

  “You do so. It might not be a romantic crush, but you’re totally gaga for her.”

  I opened my mouth, prepared to argue, and then sighed. Technically, he wasn’t wrong. “I don’t have a crush on her. I just want to be that together one day.”

  “Are you suggesting you’re not together? Because, from where I’m standing — er, laying — you seem pretty together to me. I’ve dated my share of women throughout the years and you’re definitely my favorite.”

  I shot him a withering look that didn’t hold. “I don’t want to hear about all the other women you’ve dated.”

  He snickered. “I’m just saying that you’re the most together person I know.”

  “Except I’m not.” I rolled to a sitting position, keeping my knee pressed to his side to maintain contact. Mornings spent together were my favorite part of our days. “I tend to fly by the seat of my pants. I only come up with a plan at the last second. Zoe always has a plan, and that includes making hard decisions to keep Sami safe.”

  “That’s a necessity for them.” He plucked my hand from the bedspread and traced the lines on my palm. “We don’t have kids. We can’t truly understand what they go through on a daily basis, though our lives might become similar down the line.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “It’s probably too early to talk about that,” I said. “We’ve only been dating a few months.”

  His grin was lightning quick. “Am I freaking you out?”

  “Of course not.” That was a lie. I was totally freaked out. “In fact ...” The sound of a vehicle rolling to a stop outside the bedroom window caught my attention and I forgot what I was going to say. I stood to look but Gunner was already on his feet.

  “It’s them,” he said ominously.

  I peered around his shoulder and saw Aric, Zoe, and Sami jump out of a vehicle. They looked to be arguing, although the glass muted their words.

  “There went the neighborhood,” I quipped, going for levity.

  Gunner’s frown was prominent. “I don’t want to be the complainer here, but why can’t they give us our morning routine? I’m not ready to face the world.”

  “Zoe strikes me as the sort of person who believes everybody should suffer if she has to.”

  “Good point.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I guess I should put on some pants.”

  “Only if you’re not okay with Sami ogling you.”

  He sighed. “She makes me distinctly uncomfortable.”

  “It’s going to be worse now that she doesn’t have the vampire to focus on.”

  “I hadn’t even considered that.”

  I poked his side and gave him a wink. “Be afraid.”

  “Oh, I am. I’m very, very afraid.”

  “WE BROUGHT BREAKFAST,” ARIC ANNOUNCED, holding out two bags of food and pinning me with an apologetic look. “I thought we should call before showing up but Zoe thought otherwise.”

  I could read between the lines of what he was saying. “It’s okay.” I offered him a reassuring smile. “We weren’t doing anything anyway.”

  Gunner had managed to pull on a shirt, although it was old and ratty. The look he shot me said he disagreed. “Actually ...”

  Aric barreled forward before he could kick out his family. “Zoe might have information.”

  “And Sami looks to be having a meltdown.” I folded my arms over my chest and grinned as I watched the teenager verbally attack her normally unflappable mother with gusto in front of Aric’s vehicle.

  “It’s beyond a meltdown at this point.” Aric adopted a glazed expression. “When she gets like this, I realize that as much as she looks like me, it’s Zoe fueling that mouth of hers.”

  I accepted the bags of food, holding them up to hide my smirk. “It’s okay. If you guys have information, we want to hear it.”

  “That’s good,” Zoe announced, a bit of added swagger in her step as she moved away from the truck and toward me. “The information is for you.”

  I furrowed my brow. “How?”

  “I think the better question should be why,” Gunner countered. “I mean, why is that the focus?”

  “Thank you!” Sami threw her hands into the air, glaring at Zoe when the older woman jabbed a quelling finger in her direction. “Oh, don’t look at me that way.” Her eyes were narrow slits of stubbornness. “Rafael should be our priority. Not ... whatever this is.”

  I was curious despite myself when Zoe withdrew a laptop from the bag she carried and made her way into my small living room. “I’m a little confused,” I admitted. “What is this?”

  “Paris found information,” Zoe replied. “She wants us to call her on the computer.”

  “Oh. Information about the vampires?”

  “No. Information about what the Children of the Stars are.”

  My stomach constricted and I suddenly felt short of breath. “Oh.”

  Gunner’s hand automatically went to my shoulder. “Maybe now isn’t the time to focus on that. The vampire is still missing after all.”

  “My vampire,” Sami said, morose. “My vampire is missing.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes. “He’s my vampire, he just happens to hang with you sometimes. We’re going to find him. There’s little we can do until they contact us. That’s why we’re going to focus on something else.”

  Honestly, that made sense. Still, I wasn’t certain I was ready to hear what she had to say.

  “You could do that tracker spell thing,” Sami pushed. “I’ve seen you do it. You’ve found people before.”

  The way Zoe cut her eyes to Aric told me she’d already tried that spell and had been thwarted. Obviously Sami wasn’t aware of that.

  Aric, who stood by the table while Gunner removed breakfast items from the bags, cleared his throat. “Sami, we’re doing our best to find Rafael. You can’t fly off the handle right now. We’re going to find him. It’s just going to take a bit of time.”

  Sami made a protesting sound. “If you tried, we would already have him back.”

  “Sami ...” Zoe licked her lips and stared at the ceiling, obviously trying to collect herself, “we’re going to find him. It’s not going to happen right this second, so we can focus on a second thing while waiting for the first to break right or left. Who knows? Maybe these two things will intersect.”

  Sami stomped her foot impatiently. “No. I want Rafael back. You’re just being mean to be mean.”

  “Right,” Zoe muttered under her breath darkly. “That sounds just like me.”

  “It is like you.” Sami’s voice ratcheted up a notch. “He’s probably crying because he misses me so much. You have to find him.”

  If the vampire was crying, I very much doubted it was because he was missing the child. He might be worried about what became of her, but he most likely had more pressing matters to worry about.

  “We’re going to focus on something else right now,” Zoe insisted. “When it’s time to focus on Rafael, I’ll let you know.”

  Sami jutted out her lower lip. Before she could snap at her mother, Aric slipped his arm around his daughter’s slim back and tugged her to him. He whispered something, perhaps trying to cajole a smile out of her, but she remained anguished.

  Zoe watched the scene for a moment and then opened the laptop. She muttered a string of curses but didn’t interact with Sami again. She pulled up a Zoom room. I wasn’t surprised to find the Bohemian witch I’d caught a glimpse of before already waiting, although she didn’t look happy about the delay.

  “You’re late!” Paris griped, folding her arms over her chest. She looked to be in a sterile room of some sort, perhaps a basement, although I wasn’t entirely clear what she did for a living.

&
nbsp; “Blame your goddaughter,” Zoe said. “She’s melting down.”

  Paris snorted. “What else is new?”

  “Rafael was taken last night,” Zoe replied in a low voice. “Sami was hurt during the attack, but they didn’t get her because she was protected behind strong wards. We still don’t know where he is.”

  Alarm filtered over Paris’ features. “Do you want me to come up there?”

  “Yes!” Sami yelled from somewhere behind us. “You’ll save Rafael. You won’t sit around and do nothing to find him.”

  Zoe kept her face impassive, but it clearly took monumental effort.

  “I take it she’s not dealing well with Rafael’s disappearance,” Paris said dryly. “I’m serious, though. Things are happening here but if you need me ...”

  “We’re okay,” Zoe assured her. “We’re going to see you in two weeks anyway if all goes as planned.”

  “Yeah, but it’s always good to have a witch around in case you need one.” Paris’ smile was rueful. “I can at least try to help you find him.”

  “I have a witch.” Zoe jerked her thumb toward me. “I want to know what you found out about the Children of the Stars. Leave Rafael to me. I’ll find him. For now, we might as well focus on something that we have control over, like this.”

  Paris snorted. “I’m not sure what control you have over this, but I get what you’re saying. As for the Children of the Stars, I had trouble tracking down the term until I talked to my boss. She’s a bruja who grew up in New Orleans. She’s heard more of the older terms than me, and she’s the one who pointed me in the right direction.”

  “That would be Izzy, right?” Zoe’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

  “She’s amazingly strong,” Paris enthused. “I think you’re really going to like her.”

  “As long as I’m still the strongest one we’ll all get along fine. What’s the deal with the Children of the Stars?”

  “Well, it’s interesting.” Paris turned serious and grabbed a book from the desk in front of her. “As far as I can tell, they’re hybrids. Part fairy, part witch.”

  She blurted it out before I could prepare myself and in the seconds after her announcement, I found I was unimpressed. “That’s it? You’re saying I’m part fairy?” That was a little underwhelming.

  Zoe’s eyes twinkled. “Would you be happier if you found out you were part monster?”

  Would I? “I just expected something else. Fairy?” I glanced at Gunner, who stood silent and thoughtful next to the table. He didn’t meet my gaze.

  “They’re a very distinctive breed of fairy-witches,” Paris replied. “I haven’t been able to track down a lot of information, but I’ll keep looking. As far as I can tell, their big claim to fame is that they can move between planes, and there might be some ancient power source that’s a really big deal, but everything is really vague and obnoxious because the texts are in Latin, which I’m rusty on. I’m not a hundred percent sure on anything.”

  Zoe cut her eyes to me, perhaps gauging my reaction, and then surged forward. “Is there anyone in the state we can talk to? Maybe it’s best if we have someone we can ask questions of in person.”

  “Actually, that’s the reason I asked you to call so early,” Paris replied. “I have found someone who is considered an expert on the Children of the Stars, and funnily enough, you know him.”

  Zoe’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “I’m pretty sure I would know if someone introduced himself as a Child of the Stars, or some variation on that. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from making fun of him.”

  “He didn’t introduce himself that way, though he did mention being a fairy.”

  I watched Zoe and knew the second she recognized who Paris was talking about.

  “Oh, no.” Zoe rubbed her forehead. “You’re talking about Pemberley.”

  Paris nodded. “He’s apparently either a Child of the Stars himself or a fairy who knows a lot about them. He’s in three reference texts I’ve stumbled across. That means he’s your best bet for finding answers.”

  “Great.” Zoe heaved out a sigh.

  “Who is Pemberley?” I asked.

  “That would be our wedding planner,” Zoe replied, focusing on Aric. “I wouldn’t call him a close friend of the family, but he used to pop in from time to time when Sami was little.”

  “How come I don’t remember him?” Sami asked. “I’ve heard you talk to him, but I don’t remember him at all. That probably means you should forget about him and focus on Rafael.”

  “I just said you were little,” Zoe fired back. She looked lost in thought, or perhaps a different time. “I could go to his website and see where he’s hanging his hat these days. If he has answers, it can’t hurt to question him.”

  “I already did that,” Paris supplied brightly. “Believe it or not, he’s supervising a wedding in Shadow Hills, a small town about thirty minutes from you guys. He’s there right now. In fact, I checked his social media, and he posted a photo in front of a lake where he’s having his coffee this very morning.”

  Zoe didn’t look thrilled at the prospect, but she nodded. “We can’t do anything about Rafael right now. If Pemberley is that close, we’ll talk to him about the Children of the Stars. I’ve always been good at multitasking.”

  “Yes, that’s what everybody says about you.” Paris grinned. “I’ll text you the information.” She paused for a moment then continued. “Are you sure you don’t want me up there?”

  Zoe nodded. “Thanks for the offer but we’re getting Rafael back sooner rather than later. By the time you even manage to get up here, we’ll most likely have him back and it will be a wasted trip. I’ll handle it.”

  “Okay, just let me know.” Paris’ eyes moved to me. “If you are a Child of the Stars, odds are you have more powers than you’re aware of. When this is all over, I would love to touch base with you. I’m a student of the paranormal world, so to speak. I would love to hear about your life.”

  The offer caught me off guard and I shrugged. “I need time to figure things out. We’ll see how things go.”

  “Fair enough.” Paris turned a stern look to Zoe. “Remember that Pemberley only finds your attitude funny up to a certain point. You need to be charming, not sarcastic, if you want information from him.”

  Zoe’s expression darkened. “If I can’t be sarcastic, I might as well kill myself right now.”

  “Just be calm.” Paris’ smile was serene. “He’s genuinely fond of you. Er, well, that is when he doesn’t want to throttle you because of your lack of style. Try working with him rather than against him for a change. You might be surprised how well things work out.”

  “I won’t hold my breath.”

  Twenty

  We took Gunner’s truck. It made the most sense. If Aric, Gunner, and Sami had to flee for some unknown reason, the Winters’ vehicle was already stocked and ready.

  I had to use the GPS because I wasn’t familiar with the roads, so my attention was focused on the digital display. In the passenger seat, Zoe stared out the window, a dark cloud hanging over her. I didn’t know her all that well, but it was obvious she was bothered.

  “Tell me about Pemberley,” I prodded. “You said he was your wedding planner. That’s kind of weird. You don’t strike me as the wedding planner type.”

  That drew a derisive snort. “It wasn’t my idea. We had a very low-key wedding planned, one that our mothers hated. They brought Pemberley in to fix the travesty we’d planned.”

  Ah, that made more sense. “He’s a fairy?”

  She cocked her head and smirked. “That’s what he said. We didn’t trust him at first. We were under attack at the time. It turned out to be witches, but he was acting suspiciously a lot of the time. Ultimately, he ended up helping us.”

  “That means he’s a good guy.”

  “He’s not evil.”

  “But is he good?”

  She heaved out a sigh. “I don’t
know. That’s a very black-and-white question. He fought on our side back then. We’ve interacted with him since, exchanged information, even had dinner a few times. He once stopped by when Sami was five and spent three hours doing her hair because he said we were mucking it up. He’s an ally. I just don’t know much about fairies. That always makes me nervous.”

  While I could see that, it felt as if she was being purposely evasive. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I’ve told you all that I know. It’s just ... I’m on edge.” She cast me a rueful smile. “Things feel off. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “It’s Rafael. You’re worried about him.”

  “In some ways, yes. He can take care of himself, though. He’s been doing it for a very long time. They won’t kill him. They need him to get to us.”

  “But?”

  “But Sami is upset. She’s likely to do something stupid. I have to figure out a way to get to Rafael before that happens.”

  “Because you think she’ll be hurt in the process?”

  “She’s already been hurt.”

  “Yeah, but that healing thing you do is pretty handy. You saved Gunner ... and Aric ... and Sami for that matter. I wouldn’t mind having that power.”

  “You’re a Child of the Stars. We have no idea what you’re ultimately capable of.”

  “Yeah, but if I could heal people, I would know it.”

  “Not necessarily. It depends on whether you were always magical or manifested as you grew. I’m guessing it was a mixture of both.”

  There was an opening staring me in the face, so I walked right through it. “How did Sami manifest as a kid? Can she do the healing thing, too? I’m pretty sure I heard her say that but I can’t exactly remember.”

  Zoe nodded. “We didn’t think she could until there came a moment when she had no choice. She either healed or had to live with a death. She healed.”

  “Who did she heal?”

  “Me.”