Lure

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  I swallowed hard. “You swear you’re not going to hurt me?”

  “Those vamps did a number on your trust.”

  “Not enough evidently. If they did I wouldn’t be here with you.” I knew I was crazy, but I was also desperate.

  “Yes you would.” Violet ran a hand through her hair. “You’d have always been drawn to us.”

  “And us to you.” Roland smiled.

  “What do you want me to tell you?”

  Violet glanced up at the dark sky. After a moment she returned her gaze to me. “Where did you get that magic? Who gave it to you?”

  I sighed. I needed to come clean. I didn’t have any other choice. “A witch named Kalisa. She owned this Voodoo shop just off Bourbon Street called The Midnight Cauldron.”

  “Owned, as in past tense?” Hugh asked.

  “I went by there earlier tonight, and the person there had never heard of her.” My stomach growled.

  “We’ve got to feed her. Her stomach’s been doing that all night.” Roland gestured to me. “All I have is a box of cookies. Do you guys have anything better?”

  “Nope,” Hugh replied. “We always eat out.”

  “I’m fine. Let’s finish this talk so I can go home. I’ll get food at the hotel.”

  “Where are you staying?” Hugh asked.

  Considering they had me at their mercy, I figured it couldn’t hurt to tell them. “The Crescent City Hotel.”

  Violet laughed. “You’re not serious.”

  “I am. I know it’s pricy, but I got a good deal.”

  “You happen to be searching for a Pteron and are staying at the Crescent City Hotel?” Hugh arched an eyebrow.

  “Pteron… you do know.” Despite my precarious situation my heart soared.

  “Of course we do.” Violet took a step toward me. “We need to know everything. What did the witch give you?”

  “She made some sort of paste and put it on my forehead. She called it Seduction’s Kiss. And I think it should have been called Seduction’s Nightmare. After she gave it to me I started attracting the wrong kind of attention.”

  “Seduction’s Kiss?” Violet asked. “She called it Seduction’s Kiss?”

  “Yes.” I remembered that detail vividly. “This other witch that helped save me told me no one but Kalisa would be crazy enough to make it.”

  “Of course not!” Hugh yelled. His face twisted in anger.

  I glanced at the other two. They didn’t look quite as angry at me, but they were definitely upset.

  “Is there something about it I don’t know about?”

  “It’s not her fault. She’s innocent. Don’t take out your anger on our new friend.” Violet watched me, but it was clear she was talking to Hugh.

  “Please level with me. I told you the truth. Now you tell me why you’re flipping out.”

  “That concoction she gave you, Seduction’s Kiss, it had to have been made from our essence. She’d had to have killed one of our kind to get it.”

  “What?” My chest clenched. What kind of trouble had I just stepped into?

  Chapter Seven

  Owen

  “Open your eyes, Owen.” Her soft voice woke me up from a deep sleep.

  I listened to her quiet command and broke into a grin. “Hi there. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I’m sneaky like that.” She snuggled into my side as though she’d been in my bed all night.

  “Let me look at you.” I rolled her over onto her back and hovered over her. I always liked the view of her lying beneath me.

  “How do I look?”

  “As beautiful as always. I just needed to make sure you hadn’t gotten any new freckles or anything since I last saw you.”

  “How can you tell? I’m still wearing clothes.”

  “I can change that if you want.” I grinned again. Teasing Daisy came so easily. I was myself with her in a way I hadn’t been in years.

  “You probably shouldn’t.”

  “Why not?” I ran my lips along her neck. “Why don’t you ever let me really touch you?”

  “I can’t stay. You know that. It’s going to make it worse when I leave.”

  “I can handle it.” I started to pull the strap of her cami down her shoulder.

  “But then you’ll know.”

  “Know what?” I looked into her eyes. “What don’t you want me to know?”

  “That you didn’t actually save me.” Her eyes closed and her hands fell to her sides.

  “Daisy?” I shook her. “What’s wrong?”

  Her body was cold. Icy. “Daisy! Answer me!”

  I continued to shake her and nothing happened.

  I woke up with a start. Another dream. Exactly the same again. They were becoming more and more frequent now. I’d have thought leaving New Orleans would have had the opposite effect.

  I gave up trying to rest. There was no chance of it happening now. It was a good thing I only needed a few hours of sleep.

  I fixed myself a quick snack before I heard the sound of a car outside. I headed to the front of the cabin and opened the door.

  The sight of the jeep out in front could only mean one thing—trouble. Trouble in the form of a red head who had been making my life complicated since the day she was born.

  “Hey, brother!” Hailey jumped off my front porch and headed for me. She pulled me into a hug before I could react. “Great to see you.”

  “What are you doing here?” It’s not that I didn’t like my little sister, but her presence hadn’t been requested.

  “You gave mom your address in case of an emergency.”

  “And what’s the emergency?” My mom was usually pretty trust worthy. She understood my need to stay under the radar for a while.

  “I’m dropping out of school.”

  “What?” I stepped back. “Are you crazy? You only have one more year of college left!”

  She laughed. “I’m not really dropping out. I just told mom that so she’d tell me where you were.”

  I groaned. “Next time I’m not telling her anything.”

  “Relax. Levi still has no idea.”

  “Don’t pretend you understand why I’m here.” I hated to run off on my best friend the way I did, but when your best friend is also the king of a paranormal society things aren’t always easy.

  She put a hand on her hip. No matter how old she got, she still held on to the same mannerisms she had as a kid. “I know why you’re here. It’s the same reason I’m here.”

  “Oh yeah? Enlighten me then. Why am I so lucky to get this visit?”

  “I need a break from it all, like you.”

  “Nothing about your situation is like mine.”

  “Why not?” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m an advisor just like you.”

  “An advisor to the queen. Not the king.”

  “And that matters?” She glared. “Do you realize how mad Allie would be if she heard that?”

  “If you’re so worried about Allie’s opinion, then why are you here?”

  “I told you. I need a break.”

  “And?” There was always more with Hailey. I loved her, but she always had a hidden agenda. You just had to figure out what that was.

  She looked down. “I was worried about you, and I missed you.”

  “Are you getting sappy on me?”

  “No. It’s normal for a sister to miss her brother.”

  “Is that so?” I raised an eyebrow. “What kind of trouble are you in?”

  “None.” She still avoided my gaze. “I shouldn’t have bothered you.”

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’m going to go.” She turned.

  “No. You can’t come out here and worry me and then just leave.”

  “Isn’t that what you did? You just left?”

  I sighed. “Is that what this is about? You’re mad at me for leaving?”

  “It’s not like you. You always put everyone else first.”

  “Which is why I
left. I needed time for myself.”

  “And that time had to be out here? Living all alone in the boonies?”

  “I like it. It suits me.” The small Colorado town kept growing on me. I loved the peace and quiet, and the slow pace.

  She rolled her eyes. “When are you coming home?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Levi’s going to have to pick a new advisor if you don’t come back soon.”

  “I assumed he had already. Besides, I thought Toby was helping out while I was gone.”

  “You really think Levi wants to listen to him? Toby might be his brother-in-law now, but he is still Allie’s ex-boyfriend.”

  “Either way, I didn’t leave him alone.”

  She leaned back against the railing of the porch. “He’s taking it hard.”

  “He’ll get over it.”

  “You almost sound like you’re considering staying away forever.”

  “Forever is a long time.”

  “Ok, this is really awkward, but Jared isn’t around so I’m going to say it.”

  “If it’s what I think you’re going to say, don’t.” The mention of my friend Jared sent up red flags.

  “You need to get some, Owen. How long has it been?”

  “And on that note, Hailey, I’m going inside.” She’d crossed a line. Brothers and sisters did not discuss each other’s sex lives or lack thereof.

  “Come on. We’re both adults now. We can talk about this stuff.”

  “Nope. Never. We will never talk about this stuff.”

  “Stop being such a baby, Owen.”

  “Are you planning to stay here for a while?” I wasn’t sure how long we could go without hurting each other in my tiny cabin meant for one.

  “Should I? Or are you going to be grumpy the whole time?”

  “Stay.” Despite how annoying she could be, she was still my sister, and I knew there was more at work than her worrying about me. She’d gotten herself into some kind of trouble, and she needed my help. Hopefully she’d open up to me in a few days.

  “Is there anything worth seeing in town?”

  “A few shops and a diner. It’s the scenery that’s the draw. Want to go for a flight?”

  “Sounds good, but I need to eat something first. I’ve been driving all day, and I’m starving.”

  “I can’t believe you drove all the way out here. What if I’d moved on already?”

  She shrugged. “Then I would have had a scenic tour of the U.S.”

  I laughed. “All right. Let me take a quick shower. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

  “All right.” She headed for my tiny kitchen, checking out the room on her way.

  “How are you living here? You don’t even have a TV?”

  “Think you can handle staying here?”

  “At least I have my phone.” She pulled it out as I walked toward the bedroom. Life was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

  Chapter Eight

  Daisy

  “Excuse me?” I struggled to come up with words. What did they think I’d done? Did they blame me?

  “We’re going to have to tell her what we are.” Roland took my hand as though Hugh hadn’t just said what he obviously said.

  “Let’s go inside before we do.” Violet looked up at the sky. “It’s going to rain.”

  “It’s not supposed to rain tonight.” I’d checked the weather report that morning before I left home.

  “It’s going to rain.” Hugh said. “Violet is always right.”

  Roland tugged on my hand. “Come on. I think you’re going to like our place. We’ve been here a few weeks so we set it up nice.”

  “A few weeks?”

  “Yeah. We already told you we move around a lot.”

  “How far away are you guys staying?”

  “It’s through here.” Violet turned around to look at me. “You can relax. You’re safe with us.”

  “I thought Hugh was going to attack me.” My heart was still beating erratically, but my rational side said they could kill me where I stood just as well as anywhere else.

  “Sorry about that.” Hugh smiled sheepishly. “I shouldn’t have been taking my anger out on you.”

  “Anger is kind of his thing.” Roland smiled, and I knew I was missing some sort of inside joke.

  “Great. It isn’t mine.”

  “That’s good because we couldn’t handle more of that.” Violet didn’t turn around this time.

  “I’m not going to just walk off with you guys.” I stood my ground. “You pretty much accused me of killing one of your kind.”

  “No we didn’t.” Violet turned. “We accused the witch of it. I believe you’re innocent.”

  “You do, but can you say the same for Hugh?”

  “I believe you’re innocent too. At least you seem to be.” Hugh looked up at the sky. “Let’s go. I don’t feel like getting wet.”

  I thought about my options. Either way I was probably already screwed. “Fine, but please don’t kill me.”

  Roland leaned in. “I’ll protect you.”

  “But you are one of the ones I’m scared of so that doesn’t count.”

  I followed them through the main area of the amusement park. We walked underneath the remnants of an old rollercoaster. I glanced up, nervous that the wooden track could fall at any moment. The sky darkened, and we’d passed the empty Ferris wheel when a few minutes later the sky lit up with lightning. “Looks like you were right, Violet.”

  “I’m always right about the weather.”

  “Only the weather?” Roland asked. “I thought you were always right about everything.”

  “She’s trying to act humble for Daisy.” Hugh pushed some of his light brown hair behind his ear. “The thing is she’s going to see the real Violet eventually.”

  They kept talking like I was going to be seeing a lot of them. I wasn’t planning on it unless it was going to bring me closer to Owen. That was why I was doing this. Wasn’t it? Although I also wanted to know about the magic. Nothing had been the same since I was given Seduction’s Kiss.

  We wove through the old amusement park, past old rides that now hung by the barest wire in disrepair. My heart hurt a little looking at the old big swings, now with just the strings hanging down. The seats were long gone. It was always my favorite ride when I was a kid.

  “We’re here.” Violet turned into a dilapidated building right as the rain started. I hurried behind her, eager to get out of the cascading water.

  I glanced around. Old ride cars stood empty in front of what looked like a stage. “You’re living in a ride?” I peered through the growing darkness. My phone’s flashlight wasn’t providing nearly enough light.

  “It’s got a really cool feel.” Roland was once again standing right next to me.

  I carefully stepped over the bent metal pieces as I followed Violet down a long, dark hallway.

  She stopped suddenly. “Here we are.”

  Violet turned on a light switch. It took my eyes a moment to adjust as I took in the furnishings that appeared like they belonged in a swank apartment. Satin fabric was laid over antique furniture. Two lamps sat atop side tables, and hammocks hung from the ceiling. To top it off, the floor was covered with a plush rug.

  “Where are you getting that power from?” I pointed to the lamp.

  “A generator. We always travel with a few.” Hugh made it sound like my question was silly, as though everyone carried a spare generator with them when they traveled.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to rent an apartment or something? I know you’re tired of hotels, but come on. Isn’t this extreme?” Their little place was such a contrast to the ruin of the amusement park we were in.

  “I already told you, it’s all about the emotions.”

  “I see.” I looked around. My hunger and exhaustion were catching up with me, but I wasn’t sure if sitting was such a good idea.

  Violet seemed to read my mind. “You’re safe. You need
to relax. Take a seat.”

  I nodded absently and found a seat on one of the antique couches even though safe was the last thing I felt. “What are you guys?”

  Violet took a seat next to me. She gestured for Roland to sit on my other side. Why did they always do that? Hugh sat across from us on the other couch. “You know about Pterons, witches, and vampires, which means you shouldn’t have a hard time accepting there are other types of creatures.”

  I nodded. “It’s always going to seem strange, but yes, I believe it.”

  “We’re one of the oldest beings in this world, or any world for that matter.”

  “Uh, any world? Are we talking aliens?”

  She shook her head. “Not in the way you’re thinking, but we can discuss that later.”

  “Ok.” I wanted her to continue. The suspense was getting harder to take.

  “Normally we wouldn’t tell a human what we are, but you already have our essence as part of you. Really, you are lucky we’re the ones who found you first. Others of our kind would have asked questions later.”

  “Meaning they would have killed me?” I started to rethink my decision to leave with them. Were they even more dangerous than I thought?

  Violet looked away. “Remember, I said others. Not us.”

  “So what are you?”

  “We’re Allures.” Roland shifted next to me. “I’m guessing you haven’t heard of us before?” He seemed to be waiting for my response.

  “No…”

  “We’re the basis for lots of myths, but otherwise we’ve managed to keep our presence a secret from humans.”

  “Kind of like Pterons? No one knows who they are?”

  “I don’t particularly like being compared to a bird shifter, but I’ll take it.”

  “A bird shifter?” I sat forward. “That’s what Owen is?”

  “What did you think he was?”

  “I don’t know… at first I thought Pteron could mean angel.”

  Violet smiled. “They’re not angels. What color are his wings?”

  “I thought you said you knew him.”

  “We never said that. We said we could help you find him.” Hugh crossed his legs at the ankles.

  “Black. His wings are black.”

  “Makes sense since you met him here.” Violet unzipped her boots. “He’s crow, so aligned with the Laurents.”