by Rain Trueax
“And if Jane was taking instruction from him, he knew her secrets. I still don’t see why you.” She studied him. “Do you have enemies, someone who might’ve gone to Braddock looking for revenge? Dishonorable wizards do take such commissions.”
“Until this, I’d have said no. So basically, it could be a spirit and a human and one is used by the other?” He was having a hard time accepting they were even having this conversation.
“The crucifixion is the troublesome part for me.” She got off his lap, poured herself another cup of coffee and walked around the patio. The sun was almost up, the sky to the east glowing a brilliant pink.
He thought then of his nightmare. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen something like that.”
“You mean crucifixes.”
“No, I mean when I was on an assignment. He described the lost soldier and how they had found his body.
“How horrible.”
“I dreamed about it the other night only it wasn’t Richard. It was me who ended up on a cross of some sort, unable to get down and knowing I’d die there.”
“The young man’s name was Richard?”
“Corporal Richard James.” He let out a breath. “His death was my fault.”
“How could that be?”
“A team leader is responsible for his men.”
“Any idea how he slipped away?”
He shook his head. “I never figured it out. It was jungle though. Maybe he needed to…” He tried to think of a polite way to say it. “Relieve himself.”
“Wouldn’t he ask you all to stop?”
“Whatever his reasons, he didn’t. And then he was gone. We searched for him, but it took too long.”
“In your dream, did you have a team behind you?”
He hadn’t thought of that. He tried to bring the unwelcome images back. “No,” he said finally. “No team. Just me.”
“Has anyone ever been there for you, Nick?”
“I’m not looking for sympathy.” He gritted his teeth.
“I know but has there?”
“Probably.” He didn’t believe it though.
“I think there hasn’t been, and it’s why you are so suspicious of my family and me. You feel you will be used in some way, that you can’t trust us. Isn’t that about the case?”
He lit another cigarette. “Maybe.”
She smiled then. “How about we go out for breakfast since we seem to have used up the night. This is a free day. Tomorrow we have to all go out to the ranch.”
“Me too?”
“You should.”
“What if I say no?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean maybe I don’t want to go out there with you all. Will you make me?”
“You mean a spell?”
“Sounds like it can be done.”
“Do you think I’ve already done it? Enchanted you?” He saw she was annoyed. He didn’t care. He was irritated too. She had only tried to help him since he’d met her, but for a reason he couldn’t explain, he was angry at that too.
“I didn’t say that,” he said in a cold tone.
“Didn’t you?”
“Could you do it? Like how Pete came here determined to kill me. Can you wrap someone’s mind around however you want? Is that one of those skills you were born with?”
“Obviously not or I’d not have been divorced, would I?”
“I guess not.” He wasn’t sure as he took a long drag on the cigarette.
“If I wanted to lose all my powers, my family, my integrity, everything I value, perhaps I could. The price for me would be very high.”
“Irresponsible?”
“It would be and selfish. Having powers comes with responsibilities. Didn’t you feel that way when you became a SEAL, understanding it was a highly skilled commando, one with lethal skills.”
“They aren’t magical.”
“You seem to think they are.”
“I don’t see that.”
“You should have been able to save a soldier from wandering off or maybe directly going somewhere he had not been cleared to go. Wouldn’t that take magical skills?”
“I suppose.” He didn’t feel freed of the guilt, but she was right. He still felt anger deep inside at the whole situation. He knew he was likely to be questioned again. The police would be at his place, maybe arrest him.
Contradicting it all, the sunrise looked to be a beautiful one, the kind a man could paint if he was in a mood to appreciate nature, the beauty of the natural world. He wasn’t.
“Nick,” she said as she came to him, put her arms around his waist despite how much he knew she disliked his cigarette. “You have taken on too many burdens. It’s time to let them go. I won’t enchant you or put a potion in your coffee. I wouldn’t do it even if I didn’t know I’d be punished for it. You are free. The only reason it was suggested you come to the ranch with us was for the next murder and that they could not blame you for it if you were with others.”
“There will be another?”
“I think its Braddock, and he has gone off the deep side. He’s got a blood lust. Yes, I believe there will be. Perhaps he intended you to kill your brother last night. You could have, couldn’t you?” She stepped back and her gaze levelly met his.
“You know I could.” He shook his head and smiled as he saw what he hadn’t before. “So you did that to protect him more than me.”
“Both. I didn’t want you to kill him because I already saw the weight you were carrying. If you’d used his own knife against him, it would have caused you great grief, not discounting the legal repercussions.”
“It was my knife.”
“What?”
“Guess you don’t know everything. That knife you blasted into whatever it became, it had been mine. I recognized it as I reached for Pete’s arm to twist it away. I generally wore it on my belt. Pete had to have taken it when he was here… unless it got spirited away.” He smiled crookedly.
“So if you’d been here alone, it would have been Pete dead, and you with another problem.”
He took another long draw on his cigarette. It was what would have happened before he even realized who it was in time. “You’re right.”
“It won’t end with Pete. Whichever spirit Braddock is working with will have reported back. He will try something else.”
“So he knows what we’ve done? Our conversation? Your mother and sisters here?”
“Not that part, Mom put a shield over us last night before she came in. I can still feel it. When my sisters left with Pete, they did the same thing for him. Braddock won’t know yet, but he’ll figure it out soon, as there won’t be a new death reported.”
“You really believe he wanted me to kill my brother?”
“You wouldn’t have let Pete kill you. What other end could there have been?”
It was diabolical, but she was right. He was up against an enemy he didn’t know, had no idea why he would hate him, an enemy who had help from the other side… which he hadn’t believed until now even existed.
“I’m having a hard time with this. Whoever this Braddock is, whether someone paid him or it was him, someone doesn’t want me dead. They want me in prison.” It left him unable to think clearly.
“Murdering two women and then the way they were left,” she said. “No, that person wants you dead after a humiliating trial and then a death penalty. Arizona uses lethal drugs. Temporarily, it’s been halted from executions, but the state will find the right drug and start again. You’d end up strapped to a gurney and a drug put into your veins that killed you, and it often isn’t as easy a death as some want to portray.”
He stubbed out his cigarette. “God.”
“So, let’s not let it happen. Braddock had a failure here. Pete will be out of his range. You will be with me or someone from now on until we have this stopped.”
“You think we can… or you and your family can? If it threatens you too, maybe I should get out of to
wn.”
“You think this wouldn’t follow you.”
“It would?”
“If someone is out for revenge and willing to use black magic. Yes, it would.” He let out the breath he’d been unaware he’d been holding. “Nick,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. “Trust someone with this. Trust us.”
Chapter Thirteen
“After a life as a warrior myself, it’s actually not too bad being protected by five beautiful women.”
“You sound a little pained by it.”
He laughed. “Unnatural response, I guess.”
“There’s someone else too.”
“John?”
“Yes, he’s an interesting man, with more power than he’s admitted. He came out of the shell he put around himself, and he did it because he came to care for you. You’ve got a team now.”
“I just worry about it hurting you or your family or John or hell, Harvey. You said you can all be killed.”
“We count on each other,” she said. “How about going out for breakfast and then let me watch you paint today. We have a time out day. Let’s enjoy it.”
“I have a pancake recipe that will have you not wanting to eat anybody’s ever again,” he said. “Blueberries too and syrup straight from Vermont.”
“A man who looks like you, can paint, and you like to cook. This is too much.”
He bent and kissed her lips. She loved the feel of those lips against hers. “Helps to balance out the bad side.”
“There is a bad side?”
“You better believe it or did you already see into it?”
“Quit worrying about that. I won’t look into your mind without your permission.” She wondered how many times she’d have to reassure him. “You haven’t given it to me, have you?”
“Well, I do like getting into your body,” he said reaching out and pulling her into his arms.
“And I gave you permission.”
“All right, let’s have breakfast and then see about painting. Both of us.”
“Me paint with you? I am so not going to do that.”
He laughed. “You so are. Come on into the kitchen, and let’s take care of that first, and…” He bent again and took her lips in a tender kiss. “You are going to pose for me too.”
“I am, huh?”
“Definitely.”
“Well, how about you shaving before you do any more kissing. Your bristle is about to give my skin a rash.”
He laughed again. “I shouldn’t laugh,” he said, “not with all that’s out there, but damn, I am feeling like a lucky man that you came into my life, picked me up that day. Hell, was that only a week ago?”
“It seems like forever.”
“Like you were always in my life.” He smiled again. “Shave and then breakfast.”
“I’ll call Mom and see if anything new has turned up.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You use phones for that?”
She giggled. “We don’t read each other’s mind either. It saves a lot of arguments. I can hardly wait for you to meet my grandmas.”
“This is one big family by my definition anyway.”
“You have no idea. And my grandmothers are so unique. I never know what they’ll say. They fight with each other all the time, but when the chips are down, they are behind us all.”
“Sounds interesting… I guess.”
He headed to shave while she punched in her mother’s number. “Anything new?” she asked.
“Between now and when I last saw you only what a couple of hours ago?” There was a little laugh.
“I’ve been talking to Nick about coming with us Saturday.”
“He doesn’t like the idea?” Her mother sounded more awake.
“I think he’s unsure whether we are helping or trying to entrap him. He told me about a dream of his.” She related it to her mother.
“It seems likely he’s been the target, not that Azaziel or Ornis would mind hurting us.”
“The problem is whether it’s Braddock or someone paying him.”
“I wish I had an answer for that. Invite John Cordova too.”
“All right. Call me if you learn more.”
Nick returned with a cleanly shaven jaw and a faint smile. “Anything I should know?” he asked as he began adding ingredients in a bowl—no measuring.
“Mom said we should ask John to come out to the ranch also.”
“Why?”
“He’s Yaqui and appears to be connected to us all. You know you were the first man who ever was in our sacred circle.”
“Not your father or Luke?”
“No, Dad was understanding of our female connection, the need for a place to strengthen our circle and practice.”
“Practice?”
“Learning to handle plasma bolts takes some practice and rituals to strengthen and protect.”
“Your father didn’t practice magic?”
“Not with us.” She hadn’t thought to ask her mother. Her father had always been there for them loving, but he also had a business to run. Magick and the witchcraft side of life, that had been a female thing, from grandmothers to daughters to granddaughters. She wondered then if she’d really ever known her father. Always there to protect and then gone too soon. At thirteen, she’d been entering her teen years with dreams that went beyond the home. She’d never dreamed he’d not be there.
“Did your family mind that you had me go out there?”
“No. It was fine.”
“No warlocks in the family?” He smiled as he tested the pan for readiness for the first cakes.
“You make me wonder about something I always took for granted. I honestly don’t know.”
“The witchy thing doesn’t make you pry into everybody’s business then?”
“Maybe it more makes us go within ourselves.” She watched as he flipped the pancakes, one after the other with precision and success. He did have the gift of coordination. She wondered if he had other gifts he’d never pursued. He had been able to block her from reading his memories, and yet he’d not purposed to do it. Had he been born to it like her and never knew it, yet unknowingly used it during his military career. She thought it unlikely she’d get the answers from a man who blocked others, and himself from going within.
“How do you paint with such insight?” she asked. It had to come from within. Maybe she was wrong, and he did but just didn’t readily share himself with others.
“Painting just comes. I don’t think it into being.” She wondered then if that was her problem. She put too much thought into it.
She generally didn’t eat hotcakes, but his were light, flavorful, and she ate two of them. One just with butter and the other with the syrup. She could feel her hips growing.
“You could stand to gain a little weight, you know,” he said polishing off his fifth.
“So I could buy a new wardrobe,” she retorted finishing off her third cup of coffee. “You don’t have an excess ounce either. How do you do that if you eat these regularly?”
“I don’t eat them regularly, but I also run.”
She smiled. “Me too. I’d suggest we do it together sometime, but you’d outpace and leave me behind with those long legs of yours.”
“No leaving you behind,” he denied. “I’d just run backward where I could watch you. I like watching you.”
“Well, I like watching you too.” She wanted to ask him if he planned to stay in Tucson, but she had no right. After what he’d gone through, he probably would be eager to leave it behind.
“I would like to paint you,” he said. “I’d keep it, of course like I will the one of you on Maret.”
“You don’t mean nude.”
“I don’t?” He grinned and picked up their plates, stuffing them in his dishwasher.
“Maybe sometime… if you stick around.”
“I have no plans to leave.”
“You don’t?”
“I like Tucson.”
“It hasn’t
treated you kindly.”
“It wasn’t Tucson that did that. It was someone with a grudge, if you are right, and either they hired Braddock or he’s the one. I’d like to meet him.”
“He’s not a pleasant man. He lives in a mansion in the foothills, with cactus and fencing to keep out visitors unless he’s invited them.”
“How does he advertise his training, for wont of a better word?”
“He’s a land developer, a little like my father was. People come to him for that, and I guess he picks out those he is willing to work with.”
“Did he work with your father?”
“On a business level. They had combined their efforts on a few deals until Dad said he came to distrust him.”
“He knows, of course, about your mother and your skills?”
“The supernatural world is pretty informed as to who is where and what they are doing—short of the blocking.”
“And that can be gotten past?”
“Eventually.” She didn’t like thinking about that.
“Had your mother put protections onto your father?”
“If she did, they weren’t successful.” She frowned. “How about you painting now?”
“You mean us…” He winked.
“I think you might need a nap more-- considering how little you slept.”
“One thing a SEAL learns to do is go without sleep when need be… or for a good cause.” His smile left no doubt what he meant.
“I truly would like to watch you paint.”
“And you won’t give it a try-- even with my paints, an easel and the blank canvas of your choice.”
She smiled. “All right but don’t you dare laugh.”
“I promise.”
They spent the afternoon with the paints, and she felt as limited as she had expected. To glance over and see his powerful use of color, the way he slashed into the canvas with the palette knife, was thrilling even if it left her feeling miles behind. He had offered her a choice of using one of his many shaped palette knives, but she had chosen the brush, for at least now.
She had used the boldest colors and ended up trying to do one of her sisters. It all seemed cartoonish. While his new painting was daring. He had chosen a circle of women but without faces. Although they were not exactly in the setting to which she’d taken him, the energy was there including the hawk descending onto one of the women’s shoulders.
