by Cate Tiernan
“Ow!” It hurt but was so unexpected he almost laughed.
“You used a spell on me!” she snapped furiously. “A week ago, you punched Daedalus out for doing the same thing to you! You hypocrite!” She actually kicked him, but she was wearing soft-soled beaded ballet slippers, so it probably hurt her more than him.
He stood quickly, holding up his hands. “Yes, yes,” he said, speaking softly. “I’m sorry. You’re right, it was a terrible thing to do—”
“Another terrible thing to do,” she said, her green eyes narrowed. “You just seem to keep coming out with them, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry,” Luc said again. “I was desperate—I had to see you, talk to you. I’m sorry I used a spell, but I didn’t know what else to do. Clio, please, please, just sit and talk to me for a minute. Please.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, pressing her breasts upward against her olive green camisole top. A couple of circuits in Luc’s brain threatened to short out, but he ruthlessly damped them down.
“You have one minute,” Clio said, her voice like an arctic wind.
“Okay, all right.” Luc ran one hand through his hair. He’d rehearsed this speech so many times, but as usual, seeing Clio in person made all his thoughts go haywire. “I . . . miss you.”
Clio’s perfect upper lip curled in a sneer.
“Clio—I screwed up. I’m sorry. I hurt you and Thais both, and I can’t ask for forgiveness. It was inexcusable.”
She didn’t contradict him.
“But I miss you,” he said, forcing the words out. Not that they weren’t true—they were. But he hated feeling so exposed. “I’m not . . . a bad person. I’m just someone who’s been around too long, seen too much, done too much.” He shook his head, feeling bleak. “You made me feel new again. Like . . . everything was new. New and exciting because I was sharing it with you. You brought life into my world. And I destroyed it.”
Clio waited.
“For the last two hundred and fifty years, I just wanted time to speed by, to hurry up in case I could finally have a chance to die. When Daedalus approached me, he said I could use the power of the rite any way I wanted. I could get more power, change the course of my magick—or die. I wanted to die, to end this pointless, endless existence.” He looked up. Clio’s face was calmer, and she was watching him with alert interest. He felt the slightest stirring of hope.
“Then I met you. You changed my world, changed how I felt. Stupidly, I destroyed it. When I met Thais, it was like . . . she was the part of you that you were holding back. And you were the part of her that she doesn’t let go. I wasn’t thinking, wasn’t using my head. It was just, my heart told me to try to have every aspect of you.”
Those green eyes narrowed. Not good.
He shrugged, hopeless again. “I’m sorry. I’ve said it was stupid, and it was. I was overwhelmed, I was out of my league, and I made a huge, hurtful mistake. You’ve told me what you think of me, that you never want to see me again. And if it were anyone but you, Clio, I would take you at your word and leave. Not bother you anymore.”
He wished she would sit down. He wished he could touch her.
“But you’re too important,” he went on. “In more than two hundred years, you’re the one who stands out, who my heart yearns for. You’ve had too much of an impact on me. Anyone who’s reached me the way you have—I have to pursue. Don’t you see? Letting you go would be an even bigger mistake than making you want to go in the first place.”
They were standing within a triangle of three enormous live oaks. It was almost completely dark; minutes had passed since Luc had been aware of anyone passing by. Clio was leaning against a tree trunk, arms still crossed over her chest. She didn’t say anything, and her face was closed, not giving away her thoughts.
“I’m not asking you to love me again,” he said, with a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. “I’m not asking you to even like me. I’m asking you to let me love you, even if from a distance. Let me care about you. Let me try to make it up to you. I can be loyal. I can be true. I can make you happy. Please let me.”
Now he saw indecision flicker in her eyes.
“And where does this leave Thais?” she said coolly, her tone not matching her expression. “Out in the rain? She was stupid enough to care about you—I think she actually loved you.” The words were snide, meant to hurt, and they did. But he couldn’t let himself think about Thais now. If he did, everything would be lost.
Luc bit the inside of his lip and nodded, determined to take whatever she dished out.
“Thais has recovered, it seems,” he said stiffly.
Clio scoffed. “Kevin? God, you’re an idiot.”
Luc met her eyes. “I care about Thais,” he said honestly. “I’m appalled and horrified at how I hurt her—and you. I met you first, Clio.”
Several emotions passed across her eyes as she looked at him. Then she pushed off from her tree. “I have to go,” she said flatly.
In a split second, Luc reached out and took one of her hands, pulling her gently back. She would kill him if he tried to kiss her mouth, but instead he pressed his lips against her warm, soft palm. A flare of passion seared him, almost making him pull back in surprise. Clio wasn’t as aloof as she seemed. There was still strong feeling between them.
He stood up, searching her face. She looked upset, still angry, but also torn with longing.
Pulling her hand away from him, she strode away over the dark grass, not looking back.
Clio
Thank the goddess I hadn’t driven, I thought as I slammed through our front gate. I would have wrecked the car, I was so furious. I’d thought I was losing my mind earlier—one minute I was standing in the kitchen, washing dishes, and the next I was practically shrieking with the need to see Luc immediately. Then I’d had the image of him waiting in the park, just a few blocks away.
I’d almost gasped with shock. He’d put a spell on me.
And the truth was, I still loved him. Still longed for him. It had taken everything I had to resist him. Here’s the sick part: I almost wished he had put a spell on me to make me give in, so I could just do it and not blame myself for being stupid and weak and betraying Thais. I was pathetic.
Opening the front door, I was greeted by air only slightly cooler than outside. Nan hated air-conditioning, and even when she ran it to dry the house out so we wouldn’t have mold and mildew everywhere, it still wasn’t the frigid blast I wanted. I headed upstairs, deciding to stand under a cold shower for a long time. I heard Nan’s radio playing in the kitchen and figured she and Thais were still cleaning up after dinner. Thais had a date with the Kevster.
I wished she were really in love with him. If she were, if she had really moved on from Luc, then maybe—
“Hey.”
I started, not expecting to see Thais sitting on my bed. Had she felt Luc’s summoning spell too?
“Hey,” I said, putting down my purse and pushing off my shoes. I was glad I had kicked Luc. I should have done it harder. I released a tight breath, hoping I appeared somewhat normal. “Here for a pre-date fashion consultation?”
I scooped my hair up in both hands and secured it with a clip, trying to look bright and chipper, but Thais was watching me with a serious expression on my face. Our face. “What,” I said.
“So, whose energy do you want to subvert?”
In books they always talk about how “the blood drained out of her face” or whatever. But this time I actually felt the blood draining out of my face, leaving me cold and clammy. This was so far from what I’d been expecting that I suddenly needed to sit down in my desk chair. Oh goddess, I could be in such huge trouble.
“What do you mean?”
She gave me a “please” look. “I mean, why do you have that book hidden under your mattress? What are you doing with it?”
I looked at her, trying to decide the best course of action. Denying everything seemed to be out. All the scary, dismayed feelings from the
night I’d worked the spell on the cats came back to me, and I really didn’t want to talk about it.
But.
This was my sister. Was it true, what Luc (the bastard) had said to me, that together Thais and I made up one whole? Was Thais everything about myself that I suppressed and vice versa?
“Well,” I began. Then it all crashed down on me at once: seeing Luc just now, practically having sex with Richard just yesterday, the spell with the cats . . . I felt tears well up in my eyes and blinked them back.
“Clio,” Thais said softly. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
“You can’t tell Nan.” I felt totally bleak.
“Yeah, okay.”
Blinking back more tears, I looked at her. “It’s . . . important. This is between you and me.”
Thais smiled at me, and it was so weird—it was a really old, wise smile. For just a second she wasn’t Thais at all but someone different, someone much older. I blinked again and she looked just like herself. I must have imagined it.
“Everything is between you and me,” she said.
I nodded and let out a couple of breaths. “I bought that book,” I said, so low I could hardly hear it myself. “From the restricted area at Botanika.”
“Why?”
“I’m curious,” I said. “Daedalus was able to take our power at Récolte. I wanted to know how.” I opened my mouth to tell Thais about trying that spell and being so horrified at what I’d done to all the cats. What a relief, to blurt it out, to tell my twin everything. But it was like a train coming to a junction—I meant to take one path, but the tracks switched and suddenly I was on a different path.
“I thought if I knew how he’d done it, I could figure out a way to stop him from doing it to us again.” Perfectly true.
Thais frowned, looking out my window at the top of the mimosa tree in the front yard. Its leaves were just starting to turn yellow, and they shone under the reflection of the streetlight. Soon they would fall off. It was one of the few trees that changed with the seasons.
“Is this about Récolte or the other rite?”
“Both.”
“Are you learning how to become immortal? Is that it?”
“Well . . .” I hesitated. I had to convince her. But something told me if I blurted it all out now, she would be turned off and wouldn’t go for it. “Not really. More about how to control power once you have it. So no matter what happens with this rite or any rite, no one can use us like that again. I want to make sure you and I are safe from whatever these freaks try to do next.”
“So have you learned anything? Have you tried any of the spells?”
“No.” I shook my head, feeling so tired. I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose. “I mean, yes, I’m sort of learning stuff, but no, I haven’t tried any of the spells.”
“Are you learning how Daedalus got our power at Récolte?”
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “Sometimes I just don’t understand it—it doesn’t make sense. I can’t see how something would work. But I just got the book a few days ago, and I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time on it. I just wanted to, you know, learn about it.”
Thais nodded, then glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I want to talk about this more,” she said. “But I have to get ready—going to a movie with Kevin. Listen, tomorrow or some time when we’re both free, let’s go over everything together, okay? Maybe it’ll seem clearer if we just hash it all out.”
“Yeah, that would be good.” What else could I say? “Are you going to wear that?” I asked, just as her mouth opened.
She glanced down. “No. I’m going to put on a sundress. With a sweater, in case the movie’s cold.”
“Do you have a cute sundress?” I asked, raising one eyebrow skeptically.
“Yes.” Her chin lifted a fraction.
“No, I mean a cute sundress.”
Sighing, Thais stood up and opened my closet doors.
There was nothing good on TV, as usual. It was unbelievable to me that popular Clio was home alone on a Saturday night while wallflower Thais had a date with a really cute guy. The more I moped around the house, the more I felt myself weaken about Luc. I could call him. I could see him. Thais wouldn’t have to find out.
It felt horrible.
Time to go to Racey’s. Luckily, she didn’t have a date either. How the mighty had fallen. But Della and Kris and a couple of others would be there, and we were going to eat junk food and listen to music and do something girly, like paint our toenails. It would be distracting, which was what I needed.
“Okay, later, Nan,” I said, popping my head into the kitchen.
“You’re going to Racey’s?” she asked, marking her place in her book.
“Uh-huh.”
“Be careful,” she said. “Don’t be too late, okay? You have your phone?”
“Okay, okay, and yes.” I grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table and took a big bite. Nan smiled at me, and I smiled back as I grabbed the car keys, then quickly looked away. It was still hard sometimes, being alone with her and acting like things were fine, normal, when they weren’t and I didn’t know if they ever could be again between us. She’d lied to me for seventeen years. She’d had her reasons, yeah, but those reasons had kept me from ever meeting my own father.
I took a deep breath as I walked outside, forcing it out of my head. It hurt so much, but there wasn’t anything I could do to change it. I had to focus on the things I could control.
The Camry was right outside. I cranked the windows open to get the heat out. When would it cool off? November? December? Ugh. I took another bite of apple and left it in my mouth as I pulled away from the curb. Good thing Luc couldn’t see me now—no makeup, hair in a sloppy clip, and the crowning touch, an apple stuck in my mouth. Lovely.
What was Luc doing? Was he just yanking my chain? I thought so, but then, he seemed so serious, so sincere. Right, I thought sarcastically. And his sincerity means so much.
And then Richard. What was I doing there? Why did he have that effect on me? I couldn’t stand him—but every time I saw him, I wanted to knock him down and rip off his shirt.
At St. Charles Avenue, I took a right, and the steering wheel grabbed a little bit, almost locking up. Surprised, I yanked it hard and made the turn. Should I pull over? Was something wrong?
I glanced down at the dashboard and felt my breath sucked right out of me. The temperature gauge was as high as it could go, and I’d only gone about eight blocks!
I looked around the street, searching frantically for somewhere to pull over, but there were parked cars everywhere. Adrenaline flooded my veins as I scanned for someplace to stop. Suddenly actual flames and smoke erupted from beneath the car’s hood, and cars started blaring their horns at me. At the very next corner I wrenched the steering wheel as hard as I could, making a wide and clumsy turn off St. Charles. As soon as I was close to the curb, I jerked the keys out, grabbed my purse, and jumped out of the car.
My hands shook as I fumbled for my cell phone to call for help, running across the street.
A loud whoosh noise erupted behind me and I turned and stared as flames completely engulfed my car. This was impossible. I’d had the Camry serviced three weeks ago, and they’d checked everything.
Numbly I started to dial 911, then heard sirens already screaming closer. I remembered that the car had a frigging gas tank and rushed away, running halfway down the block. The first fire engine wheeled around the corner as tears started streaking down my cheeks. My car. How had this happened? Had I fried the radiator?
Or.
Was this an attack? I still thought the snake might have been—it had seemed to resist our magick. Maybe this was a follow-up.
Thirty yards away, the firefighters connected a hose to a hydrant and flooded my car. I started weeping in earnest, like a total crybaby. Clouds of white steam and black smoke billowed into the night sky, obliterating stars. A small crowd had already gathered, and now a firefighter wa
s striding toward me.
“Miss? Is that your car?”
I nodded, wiping my eyes and getting to my feet. “I don’t know what happened,” I said, trying to pull myself together. “I was driving, and then the steering wheel felt funny, and then I noticed that the temp gauge was way high, and then boom, the whole car was in flames.” More tears rolled down my cheeks, and I wiped them off with my sleeve.
“Had you filled the radiator recently?”
I nodded. “Just three weeks ago. And I’d only gone eight blocks! How could it overheat so fast?”
The firefighter shook his head. “I don’t know, miss. Your insurance company will check it out. A tow truck is on its way to take it to a car shop—but you know it’s totaled.”
“Uh-huh,” I said brokenly, leaking more tears.
“Do you have someone to call?”
“My . . . grandmother.” When Nan got here, maybe she would be able to tell if someone had tampered with the car.
It was now official: every single aspect of my life was dark, negative. I didn’t feel good or happy about anything, not like I used to. It was like I wasn’t even me anymore.
Two Black Sheep
The Napoleon House was packed, since it was Saturday. Frowning, Luc pushed through the crowd and debated whether it was worth it to wait for a table or even a spot at the bar. The smell of warm muffalettas reached his nose. Maybe he should wait.
“Luc!”
Luc turned to see Richard and Claire sharing a table at the edge of the courtyard. Richard raised a tall glass of beer at him, and Luc walked over.
“Hello, tall, dark, and immortal,” Claire said, grinning. She took a gulp of a frozen piña colada and waved him to a seat. “Sit down. You hungry?”
“Yeah.” Luc caught the eye of a waiter and ordered a scotch straight up and half a muffaletta. “So, what are you two up to tonight?”
“Drinkin’. Eatin’,” said Claire. “You?”
