Of Flame and Fate: A Weird Girls Novel (Weird Girls Flame Book 2)

by Cecy Robson

  “Are you saying your boyfriend will like me once he gets to know me?” He rolls his eyes. “I doubt that.”

  I doubt it, too, but I don’t admit it aloud. Despite all his tears and fragility, Gemini considers Johnny a predator and recognizes the harm he can potentially cause. I recognize it, too. I just don’t have an inner beast prowling within me, constantly toying with the notion of gnawing Johnny’s limbs off.

  “I had a plan,” Johnny says. “Go back to my people and back to my life.” He looks out toward the highway. “But that was before.”

  He releases my hand. I think he’s ready to bolt. But too many thoughts appear to race through his mind. “What’s going to happen to me, Taran? If Destiny dies, will the witches claim me as their new Messiah?”

  “It looks that way,” I reply. I stretch out my foot and roll the ankle. “As much as she didn’t look the part, Destiny was queen in the witch world. But where most queens are admired, most saw her as strange. They respected the position more than they ever respected her.”

  “Do you think they’ll respect me? If the time comes and they absorb me into their covens or whatever, do you think it will be okay?”

  “I think you have the potential to become the rock star of your kind, just as you were in the world you created for yourself.”

  He doesn’t smile. Probably because I’m not smiling either. “Is that such a bad thing?” he asks.

  “Johnny, your life may have been glamour and glitz on the surface, but it came with a lot of shit few saw. Your manager, your fans, someone always wanted something from you. That won’t change if you take Destiny’s place.”

  “You think the witches will use me?”

  I shake my head. “No. I know they will.”

  He releases a long, defeated breath.

  “Genevieve isn’t so bad,” I say, trying to add a little light to all the gloom I painted. “We’re not friends, but she’s tried to rule her best according to witch law and ultimately sides with the greater good.”

  “Can I trust her?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit. “She and Ines lead the strongest covens. But their loyalty isn’t to their Lessers or any of their kind. It’s to their ways.” I sigh. “And their ways may not necessarily be in your best interest.”

  “Am I getting another Drake?”

  “No, you’re getting another two,” I answer him truthfully.

  I lick my lips, they’re dry and taste salty. Having not slept and barely eating is taking its toll. That doesn’t stop me from telling Johnny what he needs to hear. “Gemini told me weres have always warred with those who threaten the earth. Yet despite the light they cast, evil continues to lurk in the shadows, growing fiercer and more formidable.” He watches me, paying close attention. “The witches and vamps sense it, too, and all agree matters have worsened over these past two decades.”

  “Because of me being born?” He huffs. “That’s not my fault. I didn’t choose to come into the world, and I sure as hell didn’t cause all this darkness.”

  “I know.”

  It’s all I say. Although it wasn’t his intent, his presence caused a shift in the mystical world, and ultimately in the world itself. I almost had a heart-attack when I learned Johnny’s birthday. It was the exact day my sister was inflicted with a magical illness, and mere days from the first time she assumed her tigress form. Now look at her, pregnant with the first child destined to change the world. I can’t dismiss it as a coincidence. Not with all the subsequent turmoil surrounding Johnny’s presence.

  “Things are bad,” I say, trying to spare him to some extent. “But it’s because they are that we need all the help we can get.” I motion behind me. “You may not be a were, but you are a witch. When . . . if Destiny dies, you’ll take her place and inherit her stardom.”

  “But you don’t want me to,” he concludes.

  “That’s not true. What I want is for you to keep your eyes open and realize there’s always a price for fame and glory.”

  He slumps forward, weighed down with all the stress he feels. “What happens to me now?”

  “If you’d like, we can summon the witches and let them know you wish to join them. But after the attack against Ines, it might be some time before they can come for you and ensure your safety.”

  “Then where will I go in the meantime?” he asks. “I don’t want to go back to the cave.”

  “Den,” I correct, the reference lifting my mood only slightly.

  “Whatever. They hate me, Taran, and I’m not exactly crazy about them.”

  A thought occurs to me. It’s not perfect but . . . “I know where you can go,” I say, reaching for my phone.

  A small avalanche of rocks rolls a few feet away. I glance up to find Gemini and Bren looking none-too-pleased as I send my final text to confirm our arrival.

  “I spoke with our Elders,” Gemini says. “Our Pack has acquired a suite for you at the Falcon Lodge. For your safety, you’ll be watched at all times.”

  Johnny beams, but it’s not because of Gemini’s offer.

  He flings his arm around me. It’s then I know we’re both in trouble. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he says. “Taran just hooked me up with the vampires . . .”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I’m not sure what Gemini took more offense to, Johnny’s arm around me, or me running to the vamps. Either way, Bren had to rip him off Johnny.

  I glance in the back seat where he continues to tremble. “You scared him,” I accuse.

  “Is he still alive?” Gemini asks. He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Then you should be thanking me instead of criticizing.”

  He stomps on the gas as we take the mile-long road leading to Misha’s front gate. The colossal stone wall to my right with gargoyle heads protruding every few feet is all part of his property. Celia lived here for a time, and I haven’t returned since the four-penis demon incident, but considering what’s happening, this is the best place for Johnny to be.

  “Are they nice?” Johnny asks.

  “No,” we answer at once.

  “Wait? They’re not nice?”

  “No,” we reply, like he didn’t hear us the first time.

  Bren chuckles. “But they are entertaining.” He clasps Johnny’s shoulder. “So long as they don’t see you as prey and recognize you as their equal.” He gives Johnny the onceover. “Yeah, good luck with that, kid.”

  I turn and face the front, returning my hand to Gemini’s thigh. As annoyed as I am, it helps settle him, which is why I’m riding shotgun and putting as much space as I can between me and Johnny. I shouldn’t have been so affectionate with Johnny—not because he didn’t deserve kindness, but because in returning it, he crossed the line and insulted my matehood with Gemini.

  “He didn’t know,” I remind Gemini quietly.

  “He knows now,” he responds, not bothering to muffle his speech.

  “You’re making a big deal over nothing. He probably considers me the older sister he never had.” I whisper my words so low, I don’t quite catch them over the roar of the engine as he careens down the road.

  “You keep saying that,” he replies, again not whispering. “But I’m not blind to how he looks at you or how he seeks your touch.”

  “It’s a comfort thing,” I argue, keeping my voice down. “He’s lonely.”

  “The only thing he’s lonely for is you in his bed,” he snarls. “Next time he touches you, he’ll have to draw his arms back on with his toes.”

  I turn around and offer an apologetic smile. “He doesn’t mean that,” I say.

  Johnny pales, and tucks in his legs into him. “I think he does.”

  Okay. He does. I give Gemini’s thigh another squeeze, hoping to remind him of better times and my promise to never leave him.

  As I speak to Johnny, I keep my stare ahead. “About the vamps,” I begin. “They’re not going to attack or mess with you.”

  “Unless they see you as prey,” Bren repeats.

  M
y shoulders slump. “Bren, as Misha’s guest, he’ll be fine.” I face Johnny. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay on guard. They’ll test you, and with Misha out of the country, they’ll want to make sure you’re worthy of his presence and not a threat to their master.”

  “Misha’s not there?” Bren asks.

  “No,” I say. “He’s flying back from Transylvania with his bride. He’ll be here later tonight.”

  “His bride,” Gemini repeats slowly.

  I throw out a hand. “Believe me, I know. I could barely believe it when Edith Anne told me. Celia mentioned a while back that he’d travelled to Transylvania looking for the future Mrs. Aleksandr. Initially she laughed thinking the vamps were making a joke. Well the joke is on us because turns out, he found the lucky gal.”

  “Why is this the first we’re hearing of this?” Gemini asks.

  I tilt my head. “I think Aric knew.”

  “That’s not what I mean,” he says, removing his foot off the accelerator and allowing the SUV to coast. “He overheard the conversation between Celia and the she-vamp. But as much as that’s what Misha claimed, none of us believed him.” He tosses a look my way. “If you recall the period when he left, it was the same time Celia was returning home to be with Aric.”

  And right around the time they became engaged.

  “So you thought he was reacting to Celia and Aric’s relationship,” I determine.

  “Exactly. We dismissed it as smoke that would eventually clear. We never thought it would become this.” He gives me the side-eye. “Are you certain the leeches were telling the truth?”

  I can’t sniff a lie, that doesn’t mean I can’t pick up on one. “I don’t see why they’d lie, aside from trying to screw with me. But the info I received was pretty detailed. Like I mentioned, he apparently took his time searching for the one.”

  My fingers draw invisible circles along his jeans when I catch the concern spreading along his features. “What’s the big deal? I’d think you’d be happy, or at least happy he’s moving on and giving up on Celia.”

  “What do you know about the woman?”

  His question surprises me. “Nothing,” I admit. “Just that there is one and he’s set on marrying her. I’ll be honest, I can’t see Misha settling down.”

  “Babe,” I press when he doesn’t appear to settle. “Why do you care who he’s with?”

  “Because Misha never does anything without getting something in return.” He stops a few feet from the gates leading in, using the last few moments of privacy to further elaborate. “As a master, he could impregnate a female if he willed it to happen.”

  This is yet another WTF moment. “He can will his sperm to procreate?”

  “Yes,” Gemini answers, as if sperm-commanding was the most natural thing in the world. “For a long time, there were rumors that he and Ileana Vodianova had made an agreement to conceive. Do you remember her?”

  As the most powerful she-vamp in the world, Ileana is a little hard to forget. She’s stunning, the kind of woman you don’t want to take your eyes off and not simply because of her beauty. She’s as lethal as her perfect smile and could probably kill me with it.

  “I take it she can order her eggs to accept the sperm?” He nods. Of course she can. “But they didn’t, right? I mean, I would have remembered that birth announcement.”

  “No, and for that we’re grateful.” He huffs. “Nothing good would have come from that union.”

  If I’m being honest, I like Misha. He was there for Celia when death came knocking and she threw open the door. Still, I’m not stupid to think he’s innocent or that he doesn’t have an agenda. Being good to Celia doesn’t necessarily make him a good guy.

  Gemini quiets, not wanting to say more, at least not in front of Johnny. “Anyway,” I continue. “After Uri was attacked, he didn’t want to take any chances with his girlfriend’s safety and returned to Transylvania intent on bringing her back to the compound.”

  “Is she human?” he asks me.

  “I didn’t ask,” I admit. “Although I probably should have. Mostly, I was too shocked by the news.” I shrug. “I guess I’ll find out in a few hours.”

  “You’re staying?” Johnny asks, perking up.

  “You’re staying?” Gemini asks, growling. It’s not really a question, more like an annoyed statement.

  “Just long enough to get you settled and meet Misha’s lady friend,” I tell Johnny, keeping my attention on Gemini. I stroke his shoulder. “I promise, it’ll just be you and me tonight.”

  Every now and then, I piss off my wolf to the point that my gentle touches and soothing voice do jack shit. This is one of those moments. My wolf is not pleased.

  “I thought you’d be happy.” He looks at me, knowing I’m lying. “All right, perhaps happy is too strong a word. Just look at it this way, I’ll get the goods on the future missus. If there’s anything crazy or creepy going on, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Can’t the wolves stay, too?” Johnny asks. “We can all party with the vampires.”

  “What?” he asks when Gemini snarls a curse and Bren all but laughs in his face.

  “We’re not there to party,” I tell him. “And trust me when I say it’s not in anyone’s best interest to have the wolves hang with Misha’s undead peeps.” I don’t add that I’m also tired of scrubbing fur and vamp blood off my cute clothes. Poor guy is freaked out enough.

  Gemini eases off the brake, stopping directly in front of the wrought iron gates. A deep voice booms from the closest gargoyle head. “Who dares invade the House of Aleksandr!”

  Gemini rolls his eyes. “Just open the damn gates, Hank,” I call out, knowing he can hear me through the glass.

  “Fine,” he grumbles.

  Gemini barrels down the wide slate driveway the moment the gates part. I do a double-take when I find Johnny cowering in the corner, clutching the arm rest. “Don’t do that,” I tell him.

  He glances from side to side. “I’m not doing anything.”

  “Yes, you are,” I insist. “You’re demonstrating fear.”

  “I’m not demonstrating. I’m fucking swimming in it. Did you hear that guy? The one in the gargoyle head? He sounded possessed!”

  “That’s just Hank,” I tell him.

  “Hank?” He allows his legs to slide to the floor. “So Hank is all right? He won’t hurt me?”

  Bren laughs. “Are you kidding? He would totally rip out your kidneys.”

  “Bren,” I warn.

  His blue eyes brim with humor. “Well, he would,” he mumbles.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I offer quickly.

  “It doesn’t matter?” Johnny asks, his voice shrilled. “These are my kidneys we’re talking about.” He glances out of the window and tries to unlock the door. It’s a stupid thing to do. The meticulously kept landscape may create the impression of a tranquil and safe environment, except vampire guards lurk in the shadows, protecting the compound. Johnny was safer on the mountain with the bears and the potential demon infestation.

  “Johnny, get a hold of yourself,” I tell him.

  “You said I’d be safe here,” he reminds me. “That this was a good place to be until the witches came for me.”

  “You will be safe,” I say. “The vamps won’t harm you unless provoked or in defense of their master. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to screw with you.”

  I groan when he curls inward. “You can’t behave this way in front of the vamps. They’ll eat you alive—” I hold out my hand when he pales. “Sorry, they won’t actually eat you. But they sure as hell won’t respect you.”

  My pep talk does nothing. If anything, he’s close to hysterics and I can’t have that.

  I point at him. “You’re the Fate,” I remind him. “You have to walk into that compound like you’re the baddest mother fucker in the room.”

  “Just don’t verbalize it,” Gemini adds.

  “Oh, yeah,” Bren agrees. “Totally don’t verbalize
that shit.” He nudges Johnny. “Unless you want to kiss those kidneys goodbye.”

  “Will you stop it,” I tell him when sweat pours down Johnny’s face. “You’re not helping.”

  An idea sparks in my head. “Think about what it was like to walk out on stage, or attend an event where everyone knew who you were. Were you scared?”

  “No, but my fans worshipped me.” He glances at Bren. “They weren’t threatening to tear out my organs.”

  “That’s not the only reason,” I say. “You weren’t scared because you were Johnny Fate. You’re still Johnny Fate. But instead of being a rock god, you’re the new god in Witchville.”

  I’m trying to make him feel better, but the words are hard to say. The only reason he’s getting the title is because Destiny is losing the crown. I suppose that’s why my voice softens and Johnny seems to cling to my every word. “Believe you’re strong and formidable, and they will, too.”

  I angle my body back toward the front as Gemini pulls onto the long circular drive. He parks directly in front of the stone steps leading up to the two-story double doors. On both sides of each step waits a vampire dressed in a designer black suit. They’re all newly made, deadly, and waiting for one false move.

  “Remember what I said,” I tell Johnny. I swing open the door. “Come on, it’s show time.”

  I step out, my head high and my shoulders back. Unlike Johnny, the vamps don’t scare me. “Hank here?” I ask.

  The female vamp at the top hops down in the time it takes me to reach the base of the steps. She smiles with all the warmth of a cobra. “He’s coming,” she says.

  Yes, he is, and does he ever know how to make an appearance. A human, dressed like a scantily dressed Little Bo-Peep races down the steps, giggling and glancing back to make sure she’s being followed.

  And is she ever! Hank, the naughty sheep, is steadily in pursuit. I know it’s him despite that he’s only wearing a black speedo and a rubber sheep mask.

  It’s not a gift. I’d recognize that eight-pack anywhere.