by Eleri Stone
First, she’d find out how bad the problem was. She’d speak to Christian and to Aiden, put the ball in their court. Her mother disagreed. She didn’t want to tell them anything until after the wedding.
About ten people were gathered in the basement, all of them sitting on the floor except for Lois. She sat in a wooden chair with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes closed. They were feeding her power. Raquel could see the connecting links like colored vapor trails winding through the circle. Lois was greedy about it too, taking far more than she could actually use. When her eyes opened, the trails hung in the air for a moment before dissipating.
“You joined us after all. Please, take a seat.” Lois waved toward the opposite side of the circle and two women scooted in either direction to make room.
Raquel shifted, holding her arm at the elbow and looking around the bare basement for somewhere unobtrusive to sit. “I really just came to observe.”
“Nonsense, dear.” Lois gave her a tight smile. “You’re one of us now. Best to start as you mean to go on, my mother used to say.”
“Mine says wait until the deal is done.”
Lois’s eyes hardened. “As you wish. Come now, let’s try again.”
She waggled her fingers and the women who’d made room for Raquel moved back and joined hands, sealing the circle. Raquel upended an empty crate in the corner and sat down, propping her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. The group seemed good. There were some surprisingly powerful people here. The teenage boy to Lois’s left was the strongest of the lot. A little more power from him and the clan might not have had to go trolling for witches.
Some clans, she knew, didn’t like male witches. But it was an old prejudice, and there was no reason why they couldn’t do the job. There was also no reason why they were down here in this musty, old basement. She understood the need to close out potential distractions, but—geesh—they could put up drywall and throw down some carpet. The elderly woman looked uncomfortable with her legs crossed like that. She kept trying to straighten her right knee as if it pained her.
If Raquel stayed, if they kept her, she would make sure they at least got comfortable seating.
The circle powered up. Lois gathered all that energy in her greedy hands and hurled it in the direction of the portal. Raquel lifted her head from her hands. She couldn’t—holy shit, she wasn’t going to pour it all into the portal, was she?
Raquel rocketed to her feet, hands waving as she stepped forward. “Stop.”
Lois looked up, exasperated, and the energy snapped back, rebounding into the circle. It arced between the witches’ hands as they dropped the contact. The dark-haired woman to Lois’s right hissed in pain and shook her hands. The teenage boy, who’d gotten walloped, glared at Raquel openly.
“I didn’t think I’d need to tell you not to interrupt the circle,” Lois snapped.
I didn’t think I’d need to tell you not to destroy the town. Raquel tried for something more diplomatic. “It’s not prudent to direct so much energy toward the portal.”
“I block it from reaching the fault.” Lois’s brows rose and her mouth slid into a supremely smug little smile. Raquel had the uneasy feeling that she’d walked into a trap. “Your wards are only twenty years old. I helped to place them. Ours were placed over a century ago. If we don’t strengthen them regularly, they will fail. Which is, after all, the reason we need you.”
Ah. It had been a trap so that Lois could chastise her in front of the coven, prove to everyone that she was still the head witch. Raquel managed to not roll her eyes. She wasn’t here to play power games but fine, she could do that too. “The wards you’re refreshing—they’re stonebound?”
“Of course.”
That happened to be a specialty of hers, mostly because runes didn’t require one to have control over one’s own magic. They pulled directly from the ley lines and not from the person. Raquel could work rune magic like nobody’s business, all day, every day and twice on Tuesdays. She stood and brushed her hands on her pants. “You have warding stones here, I assume?”
“What for?”
“You don’t need to keep pouring your own energy into the wards. I’ll set up a secondary ring to power the first, drawing from the ley lines instead of the circle.”
“We’re an agricultural community. Drawing from the ley lines will weaken the land.”
“Not fast enough to do any damage so long as it’s only temporary. It’s winter now. If we remove them by January, it shouldn’t even affect the next harvest. And this way there’s no risk that any of your magic accidently aggravates the fault line. I’ve done this at home, I can have it up and running within a day or two.”
Raquel held her breath, waiting for Lois’s reaction. Would she cut off her nose to spite her face? If she did, there’d be no working with her anyway. Lois hesitated—or maybe she just had to work that hard to unclench her teeth—then gave a sharp nod. “Top of the stairs, turn right. There’s a closet halfway down the hall. They’re in the box at the bottom.”
The teenager scrambled to his feet. “I’ll show her.”
Raquel followed him toward the stairs but paused when Lois called her name. “I’ll want to check your work before we place them.”
Raquel schooled her features into a neutral expression. It wasn’t polite to gloat. “Of course.”
Reaching the top of the stairs, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a minute while the boy went to grab the box. He was smiling when he came back to set the crate on the workbench. “That was awesome. I’ve never seen anyone stand up to her like that before.”
Raquel shook her head. She really didn’t want to fight unless she had to. She was following the advice Kathy had given her—go in strong and stand your ground, or she’ll bulldoze you.
“I didn’t say that to hurt her. I don’t like being bullied and I want to help.” The boy’s expression fell a bit so she said, “You’ve a good bit of power.”
He shrugged. “Not enough to do anything more than feed a circle.”
“That depends on what you do with it. This—” she grabbed the first stone out of the box and set it down on the scarred wood, “—doesn’t require much in the way of personal energy, but it’s incredibly powerful when used properly.”
She pulled the cap off the Sharpie with her teeth. He hopped onto the stool next to her and craned his neck to see what she was doing. “What if we do it wrong?”
“Then we destroy the town.”
He fell silent, meeting her gaze to see if she was serious. She was dead serious. When he saw that, his face paled a little and she continued, “It takes a lot of practice and you have to know what you’re doing. Lois was right to ask to check my work before we activate them. You always want at least one other person to double-check your work. Anybody can make mistakes, and mistakes can kill you.”
He was paying attention, all that young energy focused on the rune she drew on the first stone. She’d burn them later when she was satisfied that everything was right and activate them once they were positioned on site. That small magic she could do. It was the big stuff everyone had been expecting from her since she was a child, the kind of thing that would make her suitable as a clan witch, that eluded her. Julian looked at her, all wide eyes and held breath. “You know what you’re doing, right?”
She sure hoped so.
Chapter Five
Christian was an astonishingly good-looking man. Generally, Raquel was more comfortable with the jeans-and-T-shirt crowd, but even she could appreciate how well he wore a suit. Turning around in the middle of the hallway before he caught sight of her, she almost crashed into Audrey.
“Maybe you were right about the heels.”
Audrey held up her hand, the sexy shoes dangling from her fingers. “Of course I was right. I bought the dress to go with the shoes.”
“What? That’s so crazy backward I don’t even know—”
Audrey pointed at the bench beside t
he hall closet. “Sit and I’ll get rid of those things.” She waggled her fingers at Raquel’s perfectly acceptable, versatile and comfortable shoes. “I don’t know why you thought they’d look okay with that. I can’t believe you didn’t pack a dress.”
Raquel slipped her feet into the shoes and ignored how weird they felt as she bent to close the tiny buckles at the ankle. “I did pack a dress.”
“Your wedding gown doesn’t count.”
“Okay,” she said, standing and smoothing out the dress she’d borrowed from Audrey. It was a little too tight, too low cut, too everything, but Audrey’s grin told her she didn’t agree.
“Gorgeous.”
Raquel blew out a breath. Okay, here we go. It took her a few steps before she caught her balance and then got into it with a little bit of hip sway. When she grinned at her sister over her shoulder, Audrey shook her head and rolled her eyes heavenward.
Raquel stuck out her tongue. She felt sexier in heels, more the type of woman who could make a man like Christian look twice. She couldn’t back out of the betrothal, but she wanted Christian to look at her as something more than just duty. Maybe she’d been naive to look for love, but attraction—that was a possibility, wasn’t it? Esteem? And then eventually, there might be love. Three more weeks until they were bound... She blew out her held breath and wiped her palms on her thighs. She could do this.
Christian stood when she entered the room, a slow smile spreading across his features. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Warmth flushed her skin, not only at the compliment but at the look in his eyes. She could get used to that kind of appreciation. Oh, yes, she could.
Christian was a gentleman, helping her into her coat, thanking her mother for the coffee, making her mother blush and then Audrey too when he kissed them both on the cheek and promised to have Raquel back at a decent time. Then, a few moments later, there she was, standing on the porch alone with her husband to be. He was a stranger. But a kind, intent and attractive stranger. And that was something.
A cold front had moved in during the day, and Raquel waited until they were in the car before asking him where he was taking her. Even inside the car, her breath came out in white puffs. She cupped her fingers to her face as he turned up the heat and backed out of the drive. The leather seats were heated and her butt warmed long before her nose did.
“Porter’s in town. It’s the only restaurant other than the diner, but the steak is excellent.” He paused. “They serve chicken too and a few vegetarian dishes...if that’s what you prefer.”
“I love steak.” She grabbed at that, happy to have found common ground. Maybe you couldn’t build a relationship on steak, but they had to start somewhere.
He glanced at her and smiled. “Good.”
As they entered the restaurant, Christian was greeted with familiar smiles and they were seated at what she was proudly told was the best table, overlooking the river. It was a Tuesday night and there were only a few other customers who, to give them credit, did their best not to stare openly. As a newcomer, she was granted temporary celebrity status in town. All that was missing were the paparazzi. The staff had left this corner of the restaurant empty and it was as private as she could have hoped.
Once seated, they talked about inconsequential things. The menu and town. Christian’s job and whether Raquel wanted to continue on with the tradition of running the floral shop as clan witch.
“I don’t want to push Lois out, but I think we’re going to have trouble working together.”
“She can be difficult,” Christian said diplomatically.
“I noticed that.”
Some of her frustration must have come through in her tone. Christian sighed and reached across the table for her hand. Startled by his action, she stared at their joined hands for a moment before looking up into his concerned gaze. “This is a stressful time for you. Coming to a new clan. Being asked to assume your duties right away on a major project. Taking a husband.” He smiled gently. “I want you to know that I’ll help you in any way I can. To ease the transition. The ceremony is in three weeks, but we don’t have to rush this relationship.”
It felt as if someone closed their hand around her heart and squeezed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you have a lot on your plate and I don’t want to cause you any extra stress if I can avoid it. I’m sure I’ll make mistakes. I only ask that you let me know when I do.”
She swallowed past a lump in her throat. The temptation was there to bring up his conversation with Aiden, but she wouldn’t throw that at him. Not when she’d already decided to move past it.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he tilted his head. “What is it?”
“You kissed my sister.” A blush crept up her cheeks. “And my mother. You kissed them both before me.”
“I didn’t think anything of it,” he said carefully. “It’s how I say goodbye to my own mother.”
“I’m not saying...” She tipped her head as she considered how to put into words the crazy mess of emotions that hit her every time she was in his presence. The mess of emotions she’d been struggling with since she found out this was all about duty to him, anyway. She wanted a clean start. “I didn’t mean for that to come out as an accusation. It’s just that this is all so strange. Everything out of order.”
He’d placed his menu on the table. His fingers toyed with the laminated edge. “And how do you think it should be? We’ll end up at the altar like everyone else.”
She shook her head. “For most people, that’s the ending, for us it’s the beginning.”
“We’ve known each other our whole lives.”
“She’s in love with an idea and a face...” The truth hurt but it was always better to face it. “I knew a picture and a pen pal. Do you think you know me?”
He gave her a heated look that should have melted her insides. “Not as well as I’d like, no. But we’re changing that—” He broke off as the waitress approached to take their drink order. When she was gone, he reached across the table and took Raquel’s hand. He had big hands, calloused from the sword. He managed the co-op. Doubtful that his hardened skin and strong grip came from that work. “You’ll be my wife. Nothing will change that. I want our first kiss to be special, the one that seals our marriage. But if it will quell any doubts you have, I’m perfectly willing to take this however far you want to go now.”
And he looked so serious while offering up his body like some kind of sacrifice that she couldn’t help teasing him. “Like right now, here in this restaurant? We’ll shock the bartender and the old couple who keep sneaking peeks at us over their cocoa.”
He smiled crookedly. “The bartender we might shock, the Petersons won’t bat an eyelash. And that’s whiskey they’re drinking, not cocoa. I’ve had to drive them home and tuck them into bed too many times to believe the innocent act.” He leaned forward. “Last time, I swear, Bertie grabbed my ass on purpose.”
She laughed and withdrew her hand as the waitress returned with their drinks.
“You’re not going to look at your menu?”
“I get the same thing at steak places,” Raquel said. “Eight-ounce filet, medium rare, loaded baked potato and side salad.”
“Always?”
“I like predictability.” She had a thing for order, maybe a clinically diagnosable thing. But he didn’t need to know everything about her upfront. In fact, that was one of the least important things she had to tell him. Best to get this necessary conversation out of the way. Christian was so incredibly calm. Imperturbable. And they were out in public. He wouldn’t flip out on her in public, right?
He smiled that charming, beautiful smile. “What else don’t I know about you, wife-to-be?”
She set aside her drink and clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling. “Well, now that you mention it, there is something that you should know.”
* * *
It didn’t take long to drive to the Odin’s home, to ca
ll the core members of the hunt and Lois as well. Christian had offered to let her finish her meal first, but Raquel lost her appetite the moment he reached for the phone.
He hadn’t wanted to discuss it with her first and that hurt. She’d hoped to have the chance to explain it to him alone, that he’d maybe be on her side when they went to speak with Aiden. But apparently Christian was not confused in the least as to where his loyalty lay and it wasn’t with her.
He was throwing her to the wolves.
Christian didn’t speak the whole way out to Aiden’s secluded farmhouse so near the fault her body sparked and fizzed with the magic pouring over her. He didn’t even look at her until he put the car in park and cut the headlights. Those hands she’d so admired gripped the steering wheel hard.
“I’m not angry,” he bit out. “But I don’t understand why we weren’t told about this sooner.”
“The way I was told about the urgency of your situation? If you don’t stabilize your portal, you’ll have to evacuate the town.”
“Which is why we need a witch. A competent one, powerful and capable of performing her duties.” She turned to look out the window so he didn’t see her wince, but he must have realized he’d hurt her because his voice softened. “Raquel, I didn’t mean it like—”
“My parents didn’t want to tell you,” she said. “They planned to wait until after the ceremony. My mother will be angry I told you now.”
He was quiet for a moment while he absorbed that. “Why did you?”
She glanced over at him. His hair was disheveled and his face was tight. Ruffled, after all. “It was the right thing to do. I don’t like keeping secrets. And my mother doesn’t have to live here.”
An SUV pulled in behind them and Christian nodded at the driver before getting out and coming around to meet her. He held her arm as she tried to walk across the gravel driveway in Audrey’s heels. Fen came up on her other side and walked ahead of them to open the door.
A warm glow spilled into the chill yard from the picture window. Another light down the drive lit the area between the rear of the house and an old red-painted barn. Farther back was a newer metal outbuilding. Even with the patch of trees forming a windbreak, her wool coat couldn’t block the cold. The wind whipped around her legs and up her skirt. Her teeth were chattering by the time she made it inside.
