by Cahoon, Lynn
“What makes you sure I’ll stay in the room?” She pushed his hair back in place which seemed only fair since she’d been the one to muss it up during their kiss.
“You don’t have to. There are lots of nearby tourist spots to visit. Stay close until I make contact with Robert. After that, we can make plans.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “I’d like you to meet him.”
Parris patted his chest with her hand. “I wanted to know what you’d say. I’m starving and craving a little food network television action.”
He lifted her chin up, kissing her again. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
Ty wanted to stay. Wanted to throw her down on the king size bed and take her. Slowly this time. One kiss, leading to another. She wanted him, too, he could tell from the response his kisses received today. Hell, they were a perfect match.
But he had work. The Council didn’t take to being told no. Especially when they’d been clear Parris held the key to finding a secret coven they’d been hunting for centuries. Ty wasn’t convinced they weren’t jousting at shadows again. Even with the fairy’s insistence Parris was being watched. It could be a faction of The Council. The existence of a Coven X seemed myth-like, mere fairy tale fiction. And, Ty thought ruefully, probably true.
Ty made it to the University in less than ten minutes. After having stopped wandering students on the campus twice to ask for directions to the history building, Ty finally climbed the steps of the old building. Gargoyles graced the outside of the roof of the gray stone building. “Typical,” Ty said going through a revolving door. The inside the building revealed a plain, drab college hallway, not matching the grandeur of the outside. He checked the building directory then headed to the top floor to the offices of the ancient world’s professors.
Walking through the hallway, he didn’t see Robert Nelson on any of the door placards. A woman sat behind a desk in one room so he knocked on the open door before entering.
“Office hours don’t start until three,” the woman snapped.
“Sorry, I’m looking for Professor Nelson?” Ty didn’t move from his spot at the door.
At the name, the woman looked at Ty and pushed back from her desk. “I’m sorry, Robert, I mean, Professor Nelson doesn’t work here anymore. Are you a former student?”
“Yes. I studied with him during my undergraduate time at the University of New Orleans. I thought he’d landed here. Do you know where he is?” Ty didn’t like this at all. The University of Cincinnati had been listed as Robert’s place of employment on The Council’s records. He’d verified it that morning. The man had to be here.
Unless he’s hiding from The Council. The notion chilled Ty and he held back a shiver.
The woman motioned for him to sit. Ty took one of the two plastic chairs in front of her desk.
“He left two weeks into the semester. Didn’t tell anyone where he went, leaving a note on his office door saying classes had been cancelled. I’ve never seen the Dean so mad. I tried calling. Robert’s cell was disconnected. When I stopped by his apartment, he’d sub-let it to some graduate students. The kids were directed to send payments to a post office box.” The woman seemed troubled. She paused, her glance dropping to her desk. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”
“You were friends?” Ty kept his voice, low, soft. Trying to limit the comfort spell until he got the information he needed.
“I thought so. I mean, I thought we were close.” The woman blushed. “But I guess I was a stupid old woman, reading too much into a colleague’s conversation.”
“I’ve known Robert along time. He wouldn’t have led you on, if you thought he was interested, he was.” Ty tried reassuring before he asked the next question. “Am I the first person to come looking for him?”
At that, a frown creased the woman’s face. “Former students come all the time.”
“Besides students, someone who might have asked a lot of questions.” Ty flashed the jury smile. “Someone nosy like me?”
“A young man visited several times. Late twenties, I’d say. He last visited a month ago. I’d seen him a couple times when I worked late prepping for the new semester. I’m teaching a new class this semester, it takes so long to get everything in place. Students don’t realize the amount of work we put into each course.”
“Did he speak with Professor Nelson?”
“Who?”
“The student you saw before classes?”
The woman cocked her head. “It was the strangest thing. Every time he showed up, I would have sworn Robert had just been in his office. Once, I even took him coffee, minutes before the man showed up. Yet, he’d vanished. I told the man to wait, but he seemed agitated, jumpy, you know?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I suspected drug use.”
“Did you talk to him after Professor Nelson left?”
“Once. He stood reading the note posted on the office door when I came in one morning. I didn’t even know Robert had left at that point. The man shoved the note in my face, asking if I knew where Robert had gone.” The woman shook her head. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”
Ty stood, handing her a business card. There wasn’t anything more this woman could tell him. The university had been a dead end. The drive worthless.
“If you hear from him, or remember anything else, please let me know. I’m concerned about Professor Nelson.”
As he walked out of the office, he heard her response. “So am I, dear, so am I.”
Parris couldn’t make up her mind on the menu and ordered a selection of appetizers to sample. Maybe Ty would be hungry when he got back. When the food had been delivered, Parris spread out on the bed, turned on the television to watch Guy Fiero drive through upstate New York looking for the best diner on the planet. She glanced at her phone. She’d give April a quick call at the bar to make sure everything was going alright.
Idiot. You just left this morning, what could happen in seven hours? She tossed the phone back on the bed and started eating the chicken fingers. Dipping the meat into a honey mustard sauce, she took a bite, then groaned. The hotel should be called fried food heaven. She hadn’t even tried the onion rings yet.
She tucked a couple pillows behind her, pulled the room service tray closer, relaxed on the bed and watched Guy stuff his mouth with a to-die-for pastrami sandwich.
“He should come here,” Parris said to what appeared to be an empty room. Biting into her spring roll, she reacted, matching the television host’s reaction. Thank the gods Ty left her here with food. She hoped his visit with his old professor was going as well as her rest stop.
Chapter 5
Having a secret life sometimes means you lie to those your care about. Just because you’re hiding something, doesn’t mean they aren’t hiding something from you as well. No guilt. This is your destiny. – The Academy of Witchcraft, Volume 3, page 467.
Alex hung up the cell. The call to Sally had revealed nothing. Either the bitch didn’t know where Ty and Parris went, or she didn’t think the firm’s intern needed the information. Either way, he’d have to wipe their conversation first thing Monday morning. He couldn’t take a chance she’d alert Ty about Alex’s unusual questions.
He peeled the label off the longneck in front of him. Always a problem with living in St. Louis, too much humidity. Even in fall, the days could be hot and muggy. Not like Boston. He’d loved attending school there. Drinking in the history. Knowing the Coven studied right under The Council’s noses in the very place the division occurred. Salem was close enough he could still keep his apartment in Boston, driving to the conservatory for daily lessons. Their magic was art. Not some parlor trick The Council liked to promote. Art.
The blonde stood in front of him. He liked the way a row of piercings snaked up her ear lobe, like the piercing gun had stuttered. The girl’s long hair glimmered and reflected the neon beer signs lights. Her smile might have warmed his heart, if he had one.
“Honey, tell me you have this evening off.” He faked a country d
rawl.
April laughed. “Now you’re a southern gentlemen? What happened to your Boston accent?”
“Just trying something new. And there’s not a bit of gentleman in me.” He patted his leg and April slipped onto his lap. “Now, about tonight? I thought we’d start at one of those fancy restaurants where you have to dip your food.”
“Fondue? I would have taken you for more of a meat and potatoes guy.” April ran her finger up his forearm.
“Sometimes, I like variety. Anyway, if I could finish, I thought we’d start with dinner, maybe a walk on the river front, then back to your place and finish up where we left off this morning before you kicked me out.” He grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips, nipping at her fingers with his teeth.
“You are bad. I didn’t kick you out. I had to get to work.” April laughed. “Tonight, I’ll have to come back and close. Parris is out of town.”
“She goes on vacation, leaving you stuck with the late shift?” He ran his finger down her neck, stopping at the hint of cleavage she let show in her work clothes. He tapped the spot, looking into her eyes. “Where is she? Hawaii?”
“No. Not Hawaii. Although the girl could use a real vacation. I hope your boss realizes what a gem she is and decides to take her somewhere more exciting than Cincinnati next time.” April tossed her hair back off her shoulder. “She works too hard.”
“I wondered where he went. I should have known they’d be together.” Alex lightly nipped her arm with his teeth. “When the cat’s away, the mice will play. Tell me you don’t have to make a bank drop tonight. Tell me we can spend the evening naked in your four-poster bed, and I’ll tell you what I’ll do to you there.”
April laughed, a deep, throaty laugh making his groin ache in need for the blonde. Seducing her was part of his cover, a way he could keep tabs on Parris. April didn’t make that part of the job even seem like work. He enjoyed spending time with her.
“Okay, just this once. You’re not talking me into shirking my duties all weekend. Besides, I’ve got to be here early for a delivery tomorrow morning, I’ll do the drop before I open.” April kissed him, a kiss that took his breath away. The girl had talents in more ways than just managing a bar.
“I’ll not lead you into temptation, again.” He smiled and rubbed his hand against her cheek. “At least for a few hours.”
“Evil.” She slipped off his lap and headed to the counter where two customers stood, waiting for drinks. “I’m here until Jake comes at five. You going to stay around or do you have something you need to do?”
“Baby, you have my complete attention today. Hell, maybe all weekend.” He held up an almost empty beer bottle. “Bring me another one when you have a chance.”
“As you command,” April joked.
“You’re more on target than you even know, chicky,” Alex whispered under his breath. So the cousin and her warlock went to Cincinnati. He thought about what he knew of the area, not one known for magic hot spots. Only another muggy Midwestern river town. Nothing for him to worry about. His boss must be a cheapskate when it came to weekend getaways. He keyed the information into a text to his coven contact. Better to report even trivial things, than to not report and get banished.
Alex liked his life. The coven paid for his law degree. Soon, they’d set him up in a well-known law firm and he’d be in place, waiting for the takeover. First, his needed to take care of the one family tree blemish. The half breed named Parris.
He turned on his salesman smile at April when she brought him beer. Killing Parris should be his assignment. Not babysitting.
April’s perfume wafted toward him as she walked away to the bar. She was something. He took a swig of ice cold beer. Until he got the green light, nothing said he couldn’t have some fun.
Chapter 6
Banishment occurs when a witch fails to follow the law of the coven. Before a complete banishment, a witch may be put into a holding pattern, where they can spend some time, thinking about their missteps and planning for a more productive future. Reference the Medusa myth for additional learning material. –The Academy of Witchcraft Manual, Volume 3, page 559
“Total waste of a trip.” Ty held the door open for Parris as they left the hotel to walk around downtown Cincinnati before finding someplace to eat dinner. “Sorry I dragged you down here. I guess I should have called. The Council’s records are usually spot on.” Unless someone didn’t want to be found, Ty added silently.
He’d considered his mentor’s actions during the trip back to the hotel. The only clue to Robert’s disappearance had to be the student looking for Robert at the start of semester. Had Robert been hiding from this person? He’d tried searching Martha’s mind for a visual of the guy and came up empty. That fact alone made Ty’s internal warning bells clang like church bells after a wedding on a June day. Who wiped the memory of a visit to a former professor? Unless he wanted to hide his actions from someone like Ty who could read minds. A vision of Alex floated to the front of his thoughts, not for the first time today.
I would have known. He assured himself. If Alex had any magical ability, Ty’s training and skill should have picked up on something. No one could hide from him.
Except for an entire coven in existence since the Salem witch hunt days.
Tired of the internal fight, he focused on Parris’ chatter. She’d apparently succumbed to the hotel’s extensive room service menu, extoling the wonder of onion ring batter for the last ten minutes. Now, she’d stopped talking and sat staring at him. His lack of focus noticed.
“Sorry, I guess I’m trying to figure out where Nelson would have gone. It’s not like a witch of his level to completely vanish off the grid. And to not tell The Council? That’s impossible. He’d be breaking coven rules.” Ty sighed and ran his hands through his black hair.
“Maybe if you stop thinking about it, the answer will come. That’s what I do when I know I’ve forgotten something.” Parris took his arm, pressing her body close. “I could have distracted you if we’d stayed in.”
“Believe me, you’re doing a fine job of it now.” Ty leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s play human tourist couple.”
Parris consulted her map. “If we walk down Fifth, we’ll be at Fountain Square. The room service guy said Taste of Cincinnati is being held this weekend. There should be lots to do there.”
“Sounds good.” Ty smiled. They were on a real date. No magic. No looking over their shoulders for the enemy. No training. A man and a woman exploring an unfamiliar city together. He could get used to this.
As they got closer to the festival, people started filling the street. The home team had a game at the Great American Ball Park tonight so a lot of the crowd wore red, showing their support. Ty’d never understood the fascination of human males with sports. He ran and lifted weights to stay in shape but never played an organized team activity, even in high school. The Academy studies kept him too busy to join the football team or even run track. When witch kids left normal school for the day, they went to the Academy for another session. Ty hadn’t seen his folks except on weekends during the entire four years of high school.
He glanced at Parris who loved passing through the crowds, snapping pictures of buildings and for some reason, large decorated pigs.
“So did you play sports in high school?”
“Are you kidding? High school was hell. I kept to myself, mostly, hid in the library reading so the other kids would leave me alone. One girl made kicking my ass a priority on her daily to-do list. Brittany, of course, ruled the school like a queen bee. Cheerleader, volleyball captain, student body president. The only thing she didn’t get was valedictorian. No one got better grades than I did.” Parris sounded satisfied, wistful. “Now, I don’t know if the award came from me studying, or this other part of me.”
“Don’t worry, there are plenty of stupid witches, don’t you remember Raymond?” Ty thought about Raymond Stone, one of the first witches Parris met, before she�
�d known her own heritage. “You can glamour your way through classes. Tests, however, are on you. Magic won’t let you cheat.”
“Good, because beating Brittney academically, including acing her out of the National Merit scholarship is the only good memory I have of high school. I would hate for it to be fake.”
“Just because magic is involved doesn’t make something fake.” Ty saw the frown start on Parris’ face. “But I’ll say it again, you can’t glamour or spell your way out of stupid. So yes, you earned those grades.”
Parris stayed quiet while they crossed the street, joining the crowds around the booths lining the cordoned off area. Food smells, mixing Thai, German, and, assorted fried delights, overwhelmed his senses, as they stood, stuck in the middle of an unmoving crowd. Parris looked up at him, tears in her eyes.
“Thank you.” She gripped his hand.
“For what?”
“For helping me see not all of my other life had been a lie. Sometimes, I feel like I woke up into a different world after meeting you. A world I never wanted to live in.”
“It’s not bad. Not once you get used to it.” Ty hugged her, pulling her close. “Let me buy you an ice cream, little girl, and tell you about my secret castle hideaway in the Idaho mountains where I keep my past loves, frozen in stone.”
“Again, if that’s true, not the strangest thing I’ve learned about you so far.” Parris smiled through her tears, wiping her face. “Find me really good vanilla ice cream and you can tell me anything.”
Parris sat on the bench facing the fountain waiting for Ty to come back with her ice cream. They’d only been walking an hour yet already her feet felt swollen from the heat of the day. The sun had started to set. The concrete buildings and streets would start cooling off soon. Right now she breathed in the cool air running through the fountain’s water.
“Why don’t you use a cooling spell?”
Parris turned, expecting Ty sitting next to her. “You really have to stop that.”
