by Amy Boyles
I shot her a confused look.
“While I can’t read minds, I can read expressions. Come to the kitchen. Let’s have a nice glass of sweet tea and talk about it.”
While I watched, Rose started the tea. With one wave of her finger, the faucet turned on and a tendril of magic erupted from the spout. The line of water coiled around a cabinet handle and started opening and closing doors until it found a pot. The finger of water curled around the handle, dropped the pot on the stove, poured part of itself into the mouth and then turned the burner on. It then went about finding a box of tea leaves and dumping them in.
“Not too much tea,” Rose said sharply. “I swear it’s so hard to find good help. I once had a finger of water that insisted on trying to brush my teeth at night.”
I hiked a brow. “Doesn’t sound so bad.”
“It is when you’re asleep. The thing would wake me up trying to shove a toothbrush in my mouth. It wouldn’t have been so bad except I always had my retainer in my mouth, too. Can you imagine trying to brush plastic? It was ridiculous.”
“So what’d you do?”
“Well, I did whatever you do when you need to get rid of something—took the water into the forest and lost it.”
I nearly died laughing. The idea that my aunt would traipse through the woods with a finger of water and then throw a stick and tell it to fetch while she ran in the other direction was an image.
As my laughter settled and I admired the humor in Rose, I was reminded of another, less humorous person in my life.
“Why doesn’t my mother want me here?”
Rose opened her eyes wide. “In this house? I have no idea.”
“Not the house—Witch's Forge.”
“I don’t know. Why don’t we have a nice glass of tea and sit quietly for a few minutes?”
I shot her a hard look. “You’re hiding something. What?”
“Nothing.” She stared at the pot. “Oh look. Tea’s done.”
“Already?”
She shrugged. “I might’ve helped it out.” Rose made a glass of sweet tea and placed it in front of me. “Looks delicious, but it could use a shot of bourbon.”
I quirked a brow. “The tea?”
“No.” She pointed to the water that was still hanging out above the sink. “That. It needs to, as you kids say, chill.”
“What is it about this place?” I said.
Rose mumbled something under her breath.
I leaned forward. “What was that? I didn’t catch what you said.”
“I said it may have something to do with the”—she hid her mouth behind her hand—“prumphemcy.”
“The what?”
“The prumphemcy,” she mumbled.
“You’re going to have to speak up. What does it have to do with?”
“The prophecy, for goodness’ sake.” Rose flexed her fingers in anguish. “Your mother doesn’t want you here because of the prophecy that the swamp witch gave. That witch was high from eating an entire bowl of boiled peanuts—I told your mother not to offer them because they always made the witch give silly prophecies. Why, there was this one time the swamp witch prophesied that an entire honeysuckle bush would try to devour the town we lived in—Magnolia Cove.”
I quirked a brow. “Did the bush try to do that?”
“No. Well, it tried, but apparently ended up with an upset stomach after eating its first chimney, so it gave up.”
I had to clamp my lips shut and call bullcrap on that one. “What prophecy?”
“I already told you, the honeysuckle—”
“Not that one,” I nearly shouted.
See? This was why my aunt irked the heck out of me. Trying to have an actual conversation with her was like banging my head repeatedly against a brick wall.
I didn’t even have to hit my head to suffer brain damage around Rose. Just trying to converse was damaging enough.
“Oh, well, it was a prophecy that you’d, um—really, I probably shouldn’t say.”
“Cat’s out of the bag now.” I smirked. “Why not just go ahead and tell me? Then we can make our way over to Earth Town or a vampire’s house, to see if he’s awake and ask him if he’s found my friend.”
She gasped. “A vampire? Dear, if a vampire’s found your friend, he’s probably sucked him dry.”
I slapped my thigh. “That’s what I think, too, but the mayor is unconvinced. This vampire is apparently the town’s law enforcement.”
Rose’s eyes widened in that doe-eyed look again. “If he’s the law, we should talk to him, don’t you think?”
“I’d rather not,” I muttered.
But Rose had jumped on that train of thought like a tick on a dog. “If we want to find your friend, we’d better see that vampire.” Rose clapped her hands, and the arm of water grabbed her glass of sweet tea.
When it reached for mine, I pulled it away from its grasp. “I’m not finished hearing about the prophecy.”
Rose’s gaze narrowed. “Didn’t you come to Witch's Forge to find your friend?”
I hiked a shoulder. “Well, when you put it that way, it makes me sound petty to want to hear a prophecy.”
“Not petty, just misguided.” Rose hooked her purse on her arm. “But if you must know, you’ll lose your power.”
The information hit me like a ton of bats. “What?” Then I thought about it. It wasn’t like I had a world of power to begin with. I shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t care. Might as well use it as long as I have it, huh?”
Maybe I could still save this town.
Rose nodded. “I’m so glad that went well. I was worried you’d be all upset.”
I shrugged. “I’m already a disappointment to my mother. This won’t matter.”
Rose shot me a sympathetic look. “Okay. I’m ready to talk to the vampire with you. Which way do we go?”
I sucked down the rest of my tea and rose. “Let’s get in the car. I think we should be able to find the place.”
I strode from the kitchen. Rose followed, heels clacking. “Oh? What makes you say that?”
I glanced over my shoulder and smirked. “Because apparently he owns a house the size of a castle.”
“In the Smokies?” The shock was not hidden in her voice.
I nodded. “Yep.”
Rose threw back her shoulders. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go find a vampire.”
SEVEN
Tall and wide, made of stone and towering at least four stories, Thorne’s house looked more castle than home. A wall of trees hid the house from passing vehicles.
Rose and I sat in the car for a moment while I collected myself.
“What are you doing with a broom made of sticks?” Rose asked.
“Oh, an air witch gave it to me.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “She said it would sweep out the cobwebs in my head. I don’t know. Perhaps she thought my house needed tidying up.”
“Did she see your house?”
“No.”
“Did you tell her it was dirty?”
“No.”
Rose sighed. “Then I don’t think that’s why she gave it to you.”
“Well, why did she then?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go.”
A few moments later we stood at the manor’s front steps. I didn’t know what to call it other than a manor. I could’ve called it a castle because it pretty much looked like one, but I didn’t want to give the vampire that much credit.
I knocked and said absently in reply to Rose’s question, “I don’t know why I have the broom. Belinda reached out her hand, the broom came to her and she handed it to me. Maybe that’s how they pay people in Air Town—with brooms.”
I shrugged. “That’s probably it. She thought I needed payment for matching her, and that’s what the broom was for.”
Rose sniffed. “Seems like an awfully cheap gift, if you ask me.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t
tell your mother that you’re being bribed by the local townspeople.”
“With brooms, no less.” I rolled my eyes. “When is someone going to answer this door?”
The door swung open as if on command, and there stood Thorne himself, wearing jeans and a button-down plaid shirt. His hair was tied back. The vampire almost looked human.
Too bad his silvery gaze on my face made my stomach turn.
“Hello.” I smiled brightly even though my gut twisted at the sight of him. “I don’t believe we officially met yesterday when your friend was harassing me, but I’m Charming Calhoun. I’ve been hired by Mayor Winnifred Dixon to save Witch's Forge from—um, itself, I suppose.”
He hiked a dark brow. “The matchmaker?”
The tone in his voice suggested Thorne didn’t believe love, or even matchmaking, could save much of anything. I cleared my throat and widened my smile. “That’s me.”
“How do you do?” he said in a voice as smooth as chocolate looked velvety in a television commercial. You know the kind, where the chocolate is all melted and someone’s dipping a whisk in to make it rich and creamy before it gets poured into a chocolate mold, packaged and shipped to your nearest grocery store.
Yep, that’s what his voice sounded like. I swallowed a knot in the back of my throat and pushed all that away.
“I’m doing very well, thank you. This is my Aunt Rose.”
His gaze slashed to her. Thorne extended his hand like a gentleman. Rose fitted hers inside, and he kissed it.
What the…? Why didn’t he kiss my hand?
Not that I wanted him to. His touch was probably cold—like the undead are, cold and lifeless. His lips probably felt like fish lips on her skin. I’m sure Rose would want to vomit after letting a vampire touch her.
I sneaked a glance over my shoulder.
My aunt beamed at the bloodsucker.
Traitor.
“May we come in?” I said. “There’s a matter I need to discuss with you.”
Thorne stepped back graciously. “Please. By all means.”
Y’all, the place was grand, and I don’t mean because it was large. Yes, it was large with a tall, almost cathedral-like ceiling. Dark wooden furniture was sprinkled about and covered in plush, colorful cushions. Gold clocks sat on surfaces alongside antique vases. Ancient rugs lined the floors and portraits with gilded frames hung on the walls.
I didn’t want to ask, but I had a feeling that most of his collection was older than I was—way older.
Without a word Thorne led us into a sitting room replete with a monstrous mantel that a person could’ve stepped into.
Thorne asked if we would like something to drink. Rose, taken by her surroundings, replied, “No, but I would sure love to meet your decorator. They have taste.”
I cringed. Thorne smiled. “I did most of this myself. After having it shipped here, of course.”
I sat in a horsehair chair he motioned to, and Rose did the same. “We took a risk by coming during the day. I didn’t know if the stories about vampires and daylight are true.”
“They are not,” he said without a hint of tension in his voice.
I’m sure he got that a lot—people wanting to know about vampires and him having to repeatedly explain what they were really like.
It was probably very annoying.
I thought this as he studied me with those silver eyes. A flush creeped up my neck. I glanced away and could’ve kicked myself for it.
I did not want to appear weak in front of a man whose cronies had been real jerks.
“I’m sorry for my friend’s behavior last night.”
Could he read my mind? Maybe. I didn’t know what sort of powers vampires actually had. If he could be awake during the day, could he also guess what I had for breakfast?
“Tell me about that,” I said.
He smirked. “He is…they are…territorial.”
“The bartender told me not to return at night to that pub.”
“What pub?” Rose asked.
“The one in town.”
Thorne brushed lint from his jeans. “It’s not a place for people at night.”
I bristled at his statement, that a witch couldn’t enter a business at night, but I decided to ignore it and move on. “The mayor says you’re the local sheriff.” I laced my fingers together and hooked them over one knee. “I have to admit I was shocked to hear that vampires were lording over witches.”
Anger flashed in his eyes. “First of all, we don’t lord over anyone. But yes, if there’s a problem, I look into it.”
“You? Not those men?”
“Me.”
“Then what are those other vampires here for?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“One of them almost ate me.”
Rose gasped. “He did?”
He jabbed his finger into the leather armchair. “You were someplace you shouldn’t have been.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you go ahead and blame the victim, then.”
Thorne's voice hardened. He spoke so modern, as if Jim Halpert, sarcasm and all, had just landed in Witch’s Forge. “If you knew a street was dangerous, filled with thieves, but you chose to walk down it late one night, who do you have to blame when you end up robbed?”
“Oh, yourself,” Rose said eagerly. “Definitely.”
I shot her a scorching look. “That’s not the point, Rose,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Well it is, if the nice Thorne says so. You’d do best to leave that pub well enough alone.” She gave me a motherly pat. “Besides, what’s a nice girl like you doing in such a place late at night? People might talk. They might wonder what their matchmaker is doing in there.”
I clenched my fists. “Okay. I get it. Stay away from the gang of vampires who, for some reason that I can’t know, hang out in a witch town.”
Thorne nodded. “Precisely.”
Infuriated by what he wasn’t telling me, I changed topics. “A couple of nights ago my employee went missing.” I pulled Jimmy's phone from my pocket and flashed his picture. “Last night, why didn’t you tell me that you’ve seen him?”
Thorne studied the screenshot. “Because I haven’t, not in the flesh. Though I’ve been looking for him.”
I frowned so deeply I felt a fissure forming in my forehead. “If you haven’t seen him in person does that mean you’ve seen him in the blood?”
Thorne's smiled tightened like a tug-of-war rope. “Miss—is it Miss? Or do you have the privilege of torturing a significant other?”
I glared at him. “It’s Ms.”
“Ah.” He threw his head back in mock appreciation. “Ms. Calhoun, I’m well aware your employee is missing. I’ve been searching for him ever since Mayor Dixon told me he’d vanished. The problem is”—he leaned forward, whispering—“I haven’t found him, and no one seems to have any clues to his whereabouts.”
“This,” I said, “is his phone. Found it where I’m staying.”
“I searched there.” He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “The house neglected to give it to me.”
“And what else have you missed?” I said, testy. I raised my palm. “Wait. Don’t answer that. You wouldn’t know what you’ve missed because you wouldn’t know you’ve missed it.”
His gaze could’ve scorched the hair from my head.
“Did you search Earth Town? Apparently he said he was going there.”
Thorne nodded. “Didn’t find a trace of him.”
“Maybe he went home,” Rose offered gently.
I had to stop myself from snapping at her. “Without his phone? No. Jimmy is an exceptional employee. He wouldn’t disappear without a trace. He’d let someone know.”
Thorne laced his fingers together and studied me. “So Jimmy didn’t tell you anything?”
I hedged. “He left a message a few days ago that something was wrong. But I didn’t receive it until yesterday.”
Thorne extended his palm.
“May I hear it?”
I swallowed nervously but managed to retrieve my phone and play the message for him.
“When Mayor Dixon called and said she thought something had happened to him, I came here. And what I’ve found is distressing—a phone that’s still charged and a vampire leading the investigation.”
His razor-sharp jaw tightened. The light splashing across his face made me take in his features clearly for the first time—high cheekbones, eyes that could cut glass with the sharpest of glances, and a nose that was fairly straight but looked like it might’ve been broken at one time—before he became a vampire, no doubt.
He eyed me coolly. “You don’t like my kind. But that’s okay. May I have his phone so that I can study it for clues?”
I dropped it hard in his hand. “Is it that obvious that I don’t like you?” I said sarcastically. “I don’t understand why a vampire would want anything to do with a town of witches—a broken town at that—unless you’re here to pick us off one by one.”
Anger flared in his gaze. Thorne averted his glance to a spot on the floor. When he spoke, it was slow and deliberate.
“Ms. Calhoun, I would appreciate it if you left.”
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. Just when the going got tough, the vampire couldn’t take a little heat.
Rose tugged on my sleeve. “Dear, I believe this nice gentleman is asking us to leave.”
No one said anything. Silence filled the room. Seeing as I wasn’t going to get any more out of the bloodsucker, I rose, determined to find Jimmy myself.
He didn’t care about my friend. He didn’t care about anything except his band of merry vampire men.
I followed Rose from the room. A wind slashed past us, and by the time we reached the door, Thorne was standing there, his gaze pinned on me.
Flames rose in my cheeks. I wouldn’t be bested by a vampire. No way.
I shot him a challenging look and then turned up my nose and walked past him.
“Good day, Ms. Calhoun.”
“Mr. Blackstock,” I said.
“I never introduced myself.”
“You didn’t have to,” I explained smugly. “I already knew who you were.”
Without another word he shut the door. Rose and I walked silently down the steps toward my car.
