by Rain Trueax
He opened his eyes. “You are so beautiful,” he said. “You make me wish there’d never been anyone before you.”
“Maybe you’d not be so good at this if there hadn’t been,” she said teasingly trying to set a light tone, when all she wanted was to suck him back into her.
“And you said you weren’t good at this.”
“I guess I never had the right partner.”
“Neither did I.”
They made love again, and it was even better the second time. When they dressed, he took her into the kitchen where he scrambled eggs for them.
“And you can cook too,” she said, remembering the delicious dinner, as she buttered toast.
“You can’t?”
“I can pop a fantastic frozen entrée into the microwave and get it out on time… generally.”
He laughed. “Well good one of us likes to cook although I guess you can live on frozen dinners.”
“You can. I am living evidence,” she said with a smile.
After they ate, they sat out on the patio. Harvey jumped in from wherever he’d gone. “I am thinking of extending the wall to keep him in,” Nick admitted.
“I can see the logic of that.”
“But he’ll hate it.”
“Shall I ask him?”
His grin showed some disbelief. “Can you talk to cats?”
“Sometimes.” She concentrated her thoughts toward Harvey. At first the cat looked uneasy and then he came to her. “There is an important question,” she said meeting his golden gaze.
‘And it is?’
“Nick is worried about you going out of the fence. He wants to make it impossible for you to go where you could be killed.”
Harvey looked at Nick, his expression was as thoughtful as only a cat can make it. ‘He could ask.”
“He doesn’t know you can speak.”
Harvey left her and jumped up onto Nick’s lap. ‘Is what she is saying true?’ he asked.
“Can you hear him?” Denali asked Nick.
“No.”
“He wants you to tell him why you want him to stay in the patio and his home.”
Nick met the cat’s level gaze. “I love you,” he said, “and I can’t lose you. I fear limiting your freedom but fear more something happening to you.”
Harvey rubbed against Nick’s chest.
“Would you just stay here then?” Nick asked.
Harvey looked at him and then back to her. ‘Tell him most of the time.” And he purred.
She laughed as she told Nick what he’d said. “If I make it worth his while, I suppose.”
“Well, that pays off with both of us.” She smiled more broadly. “I think I know how you can do that.”
“Just out of curiosity—not that I believe any of this. But what other skills might you have?”
“I am very human, Nick. No living forever. I can be killed. I can fall in love and procreate as you know since my mother had four daughters.”
“Was your father a warlock or whatever you call male witches?”
“He came from a long line of sorcerers, but I am not sure exactly what his skills were. We’ve been rather a matriarchal witch’s society from the time I was thirteen.”
“You don’t mingle with other witches in Tucson?”
“Most are not like us; so no.”
“And you all can be killed.”
“We are humans, not supernatural beings. Just some extra powers. Which is why.” She turned back to Harvey. “You need to take Nick’s concerns seriously for you. Stay here. Be safe.”
Surprising Nick, Harvey curled up on his lap. ‘I know there are bad things around,’ he sent the message back to Denali.
“Good.”
“If I get arrested,” Nick said, continuing to stroke the cat, “will you look after him until I can get bail? If it’s a murder charge, two murders, it might take a while if I can even get it.”
“Let’s think positive. John’s having seen what he did will help. They don’t have any real evidence you killed either of them.”
“And I also don’t have any that I didn’t. I didn’t sleep with anybody but Harvey, and only you can question him.” He smiled as the purring grew louder.
“Speaking of that, I think maybe… unless you object, I should move in here for now.”
She saw by his smile that he liked that idea. “Just a while?”
“Can we take it slow and see where this goes?”
“There is nothing about you I want to take slow, honey. I knew that from the day I first laid eyes on you.”
“Well, I knew the same thing, but we still need to take it slow.”
“So you will sleep here tonight.”
“I will at least until we figure out what has been happening. So, I need to talk to my mother and see what the others found. Then get some personal items to last me a few days.”
“If I’m not in jail, I’ll be right here,” he said with a smile that told her he wasn’t totally confident he wouldn’t be arrested.
“Good.” She kissed him, gave Harvey a pat and left to see what she could find to put an end to all of this.
><><
Nick sat for a while on the patio, petting Harvey. Finally, he put him down, went into his studio but couldn’t get into the painting much as he wanted a distraction. Knowing he’d been followed and not known it was disturbing. How much out there didn’t he know? Some of it was coming to bite him. If he had been more aware, might he have prevented what happened or was that ego talking-- thinking he could control what he knew. From harsh experience, he knew that was not true.
He clenched his jaw against the emotions surging through him. He wanted Denali. He’d taken her. But was it fair to her? He knew the darkness in his soul, the experiences he’d tried to forget. Worse, he’d taken her without protection, without thinking she might get pregnant. Neither of them were ready for that—even more so if he ended up in prison or on a death row. What a legacy to leave a child.
“You busy?” John peeked in the door.
“No, come on in.” It was a relief to see the man and find a distraction from his dark thoughts.
“I saw she left.”
“She’ll be back.”
“Good. Looks like it might storm tonight.”
“Early for it, isn’t it?”
“Never know with the desert. Sky’s darkening though, wind whipping up.”
“You like her don’t you.”
“What’s not to like.” John grinned. “Nothing like that other one.”
“I am surprised you didn’t tell me I was being stalked.”
“I thought you knew. Never thought about her playing with magick and hiding herself.”
“And yet you saw her.”
John shrugged.
“Maybe because you had magick at one time.” It wasn’t a question.
“Maybe.”
“And you didn’t want it.”
“I went to ‘Nam. It didn’t work there. Or maybe I lost it because of what happens in war. When I came back, I didn’t care enough to try again.”
“I know that feeling.”
“You get the flashbacks?”
“When things get tight, sometimes. I try to see the images coming and ward them off. I can’t always do it.”
“You need magick—the kind with a k.”
“And that means?”
“Magic without the k is like tricks but also how love can be, a sunset, special moments. Magick with the k is power.
Nick snorted. “I don’t believe in that.”
“It’s not about belief.”
“Whatever it’s about, it’s not in me.”
“It’s in everybody-- just more with those born to it.”
“If it’s a choice, I don’t want that kind of responsibility. Denali said she was born to it.”
“Believe her. She’s got what the Yaquis call seatka. It came down to her through her blood.”
“And you’re born to have that o
r not?”
“Yeah, and it’s not always good. It can turn on a man.” Nick wondered if that’s what had happened to John. He didn’t ask. If his old friend wanted him to know, he’d tell him someday. John watched as Nick lit a cigarette.
“You want one?”
“Nah, I gave it up when it began to take my wind. Doc said I’d not live long if I didn’t.” He grinned. “That was twenty years ago.”
“You knew Marcus Hemstreet then.”
John smiled. “I did. Powerful wizard. He did good things for me. Helped me get my life back together. Awful loss for the world and that family.”
“You never told me what you did when you came back to Tucson. I don’t see you sitting around all those years.”
“No, thanks to Marcus, I went back to school. I am a certified, licensed and suitably documented accountant.” He grinned at Nick’s surprise. “Yeah, I know. I can do the country twang when it suits me. I still take clients, enough to pay the bills.”
“I could use a good accountant. I have some money, need to invest it-- although if they come back to me with this murder or even both of them, I may need a lawyer more.” His laugh held no humor.
John grinned. “I know a good one of those too.”
“I’ve known danger, John.” He blew out the smoke as he thought about all the times he’d faced it down, fought to survive, a few times came close to not. This was different. Something he had no idea how to fight.
“It’s a good time to have Denali come into your life. She can fight with you.”
Nick snorted. “And get herself hurt or worse? I shouldn’t have told her she could come back. If I was worth anything, I’d tell her to stay away from me.”
“You’re going to need her, son. You don’t know all of who she is.”
“There’s more than being a witch?” Nick asked shaking his head. Even saying the word made him feel like a fool. Witches didn’t exist. She might be clairvoyant, able to talk to cats but… He couldn’t get his head around even that.
“Yep, but you’ll find out.” He grinned and left.
Needing to keep his mind from going in circles gaining him nothing, Nick thought about turning on the television. Like that would help. Finally, he dug a book out of his bookshelf he’d been meaning to read—Stuart Woods newest book, Hot Pursuit. He no sooner got into it than he realized a thriller was not a good choice. He pushed it back into the shelf and walked out onto the patio. He’d have taken a cycle ride except he had no idea when Denali would return, he would be there when she did. Maybe he’d try to talk her into leaving. Maybe he’d make love to her. The circles his mind kept going in were no help.
It was dark and he was starting on his second scotch when he heard her car. He’d left the door open, and she walked in. “You should lock your door,” she said.
“Couldn’t you come through it anyway being you’re a witch?” He knew he was being sarcastic, but his mood was dark.
“Others beside me could, but ordinary run of the mill burglars like unlocked doors.” She went back and locked it. “Incidentally, do you have salt?”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Well, I have sea salt and Mortons, with or without iodine?”
She smiled. “Either will do. So how are you?” She set a small bag down and took one of the lawn chairs. Harvey looked up from his favorite spot under the star jasmine, then went right back to sleep.
“Not arrested,” he said stating the obvious.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to get a lawyer.”
“John said he knew one.”
“Mom does too. So basically, what they learned, other than my grandmas, whose report I have yet to hear, is what we knew. Cynthia had a going nowhere job up Oracle at one of the restaurants paying minimum wage and tips, which didn’t always amount to much for her—or she hid the income. She had a few friends, but nobody had seen much of her in the last six months. Essentially, she found a new interest is what it comes down to. One girl had heard her talk about her hot artist boyfriend, but she didn’t give his name.”
He lit a cigarette. “When can I expect a visit from Whorley?”
“Probably tomorrow. They have been going through her apartment. Elke and Torre got there first using the same trick she used to spy on you—invisibility cloaks. She had photos on her wall of you. Obviously, all taken with a telephoto to keep you from knowing. Either she put what money she made into that camera… or someone provided it as she had a very good lens. Those won’t of themselves mean much, since they didn’t require your participation.”
“What will mean more?”
“She left a journal full of imaginary happenings with you. I think when the police look through it, they’ll see it as a wish it was true. It’s hopeful mystical teaching that if you write it down or speak it, it will happen, which is fraudulent teaching. Her writing will give them a reason to return to you. I don’t think you should answer more questions without a lawyer, and don’t tell them about John’s observations. Save that for your own lawyer, if it becomes needed. They won’t understand why you didn’t see her, and John did. Better not to have questions arise.”
“It sounds like I’m in trouble based on someone, make that two, being mentally unstable.”
“Family and others who knew her will help establish that-- if this reaches a point where that is needed. Obviously, she didn’t have a lot of income, but in the last six months, she was avoiding spending it on rent, utilities--behind on them all. She had maxed out her credit cards.”
“Spending it on what?”
“Most likely the man she was going to for learning magick.”
“Did they get that person’s name?”
“It was in her checkbook. Jason Braddock.”
“The name means nothing to me.”
“He keeps a low profile but is influential on many levels in Tucson. He came to my home after Jane’s murder. I challenged him on it then, but he denied practicing or teaching the dark arts. I believed he was lying. When we find where Jane Elm was taking instruction, it will also prove to be Braddock.”
“Is he the bad tattoo artist?”
“I doubt it, but he has an employee he might have doing that-- Boone Crockett, who all describe as being a simple giant.”
Nick smiled in what was the first time in hours. “Nice mix of names.”
“Unlikely that it’s his birth name. It also does not look like Jason Braddock only has one name either. He came from Chicago and pretty much all they could find about him came when he was forty—seven years ago.”
“You and your family are good at the detective game.”
“Being witches helps.” She smiled.
“Can you find firm ties where it comes to Braddock and Jane?”
“On the social level yes but beyond that, not so easy. Of course, it was not advertised, but in certain circles, it was common knowledge that he practiced the occult—and taught it. Jane would have known. He is actually highly admired by those into such, who want power and believe he can give it to them.”
“The underbelly of Tucson.”
“There always is. The ones who get in the knife fights in the cheap bars, help immigrants come up from Mexico, shoot each other in gang wars, they are out in the open. The worst users of humans are underground.”
“I’ve seen that before.” He let out a breath as he took in all she’d told him. “Did you eat?”
“Yes, with Mom. She’s concerned about what might come next.”
“Another murder?”
“If someone is using humans who they have possessed, for wont of a better word, then yes, more will happen. The one who killed Jane may have been the one who killed Cynthia, but that may not be the case.”
“So it could be this Boone?”
“I have never met him but that’s possible.”
He stubbed out his cigarette. “Want a drink before bed?”
“I’d love a whiskey.”
He p
oured her a shot and replenished his. “Are you going to sleep with me, or do you want the guestroom?”
She laughed and took a sip. “Would I be any alibi if I slept in the other room?”
“Might not get much sleep in my bed.”
“I am so worried.”
Hours later and many times to share each other’s body, Nick woke to the sound of someone walking in the house. He put out his hand and found Denali beside him. Sitting up, he looked toward the door and saw in the shadowy light a man’s figure coming toward the bed with a raised hand and a knife glittering with the moonlight. He moved out of the bed, toward the figure, lunging to grab the hand holding the Bowie knife as the world exploded in light, the knife seemed to disintegrate and the intruder was thrust back against the wall. The man screamed with pain, and Nick knew for the first time it was Pete. At the same moment, he realized Denali hadn’t tazed him. It was something else, and she was sitting up in bed, holding the sheet against her breast but with her arm outstretched.
He didn’t bother asking what the hell that had been but went to Pete, who was groaning. He reached into his dresser for a scarf and quickly bound his brother’s hands tightly behind him. When he pulled his brother onto his back, he saw glazed eyes. Denali, now wrapped in a sheet, came to his side. “He’s possessed,” she said when Nick flicked on the lights.
“By what?”
“Maybe this time we will find out. Is he secured? When he gets over the plasma bolt, he’ll be exceedingly strong, because of who is behind him, more than you would expect.”
Nick managed a smile. “Can you hit him again if required?”
“It could kill him if I am not careful.”
“Pity.” He pulled Pete to his feet. Even standing, his brother seemed oblivious. He pushed him down the hall to the kitchen where he thrust him into a chair. In the kitchen, he had sturdy cords. He used them to bind him to the chair. “That should hold him.”
