by Amy Boyles
“And good vampires?” I said skeptically.
She nodded. “Hmm mmm. Some good ones, some bad ones, that’s just how it is.” Edith took a sip of her own tea and studied me. “But that’s not why you’re here.”
I shook my head. “No. I hear you make amulets.”
Edith smiled, revealing a perfect set of ivory teeth. “I do. All kinds. Just sold some the other day.”
My Spidey sense went off at that. “What kind?”
“Couple different ones. A daylight amulet for a vampire and a homing beacon.”
Holy crap. “Did you vet the vampire? Was he a good vamp or a bad one?”
“In the old days my clients used to come to me by word of mouth, but since the Internet became so popular, I get most of my customers through searches.”
“So the short answer is no, you didn’t vet him.”
Edith leaned back and propped her feet on the recliner’s footstool. “I mean, I rarely do any business, so I figured what’s the harm? Normal hasn’t had a murder in years, so I didn’t think twice about it.”
I smacked my forehead. “I’ve seen two vampire deaths in the past week.”
“That many?” Edith shrugged. “My amulet isn’t going to stop a person from doing what they’re going to do.”
She had a point there. A vampire was going to kill whether they could go out in the daylight or not.
I rose. “Can you remember what the vamp looked like?”
“Sure,” Edith said in her raspy voice.
I glanced around the room and froze. I picked up a slip of paper that was lying on a table. “Where did you get this?”
“Oh that? I keep those around. For us witches you’re a little bit of a celebrity. I like to show them off. Show what we can do.”
I swallowed a knot in my throat the size of a cantaloupe. “How many of these do you have?”
“That’s the last one, I think.”
I grabbed it. “Good.” I had everything I needed. I headed for the door. “Thank you for your time.”
“Wait. You didn’t get to hear with the vampire looked like.”
I shook my head. “I already know. I’ll tell my aunt you said hello.”
“Yes,” Edith said. “And tell her to come by. I’d love to see her. It’s been too long.”
I thanked Edith and left. I stood on the porch for a minute, watching trick-or-treaters approach her house. I moved out their way and pulled my phone from my purse. Stone answered on the first ring.
His voice was clear as if he stood right next to me. I could almost smell his scent—clean with a hint of spiciness. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” I said, a bit embarrassed. “I hope I didn’t offend you today.”
He laughed. “No. Not at all. You were under your aunt’s influence.”
“Yeah and not in a good way. Listen, I know who the vampire is, and I know where Star is.”
“Is it Charlotte?”
“No,” I said. “She’s not one.”
Stone didn’t hide the surprise in his voice. “Who is it?”
“I’ll tell you everything. Meet me at my house in a few minutes.”
“You got it.”
We clicked off the phone, and I headed for my car. I slid behind the wheel and cranked her up. I pulled out of the spot and started down Oak Street. When I reached the stop sign, a figure rose from the backseat and pointed a gun at my head.
“Charlotte,” I whispered.
She gave me a smile that made my insides freeze. “Nice to see you, Andie. Let’s go for a ride.”
TWENTY-FIVE
“Magic can tie you to the most unexpected of people.”
—The Witch’s Handbook
* * *
If I’d ever wished to be able to perform Jedi mind control, this was one of those times. I had a gun to my head. Any slight move and Charlotte would pull the trigger. I knew that for a fact.
“Any move, even the slightest, and I’m going to pull this trigger.”
See? I wasn’t just making that up.
“So you’re in on it with your dad,” I said. “He’s the vampire.”
“Shut up,” she said.
“And he talked you into feeding his need. You set up the prey by pretending to be interested in a guy; then you lure him to your dad, so he can drain their blood. You did it to Justin and Stevie. Is Luke your next victim?”
Charlotte smirked. “You’re pretty smart. Too bad you won’t be able to put your brains to the test.”
I narrowed my gaze. “What does that even mean?”
Charlotte scoffed. “You know, be able to use all your brainiac skill to get you out of this.”
“You mean with you pointing a gun to my head? I’ve been in worse situations.”
Charlotte chewed her bottom lip. “Yeah, that’s what Dad said. But I promised him I’d bring you in. I mean, I tried to kidnap your daughter so I’d get you, but that didn’t work. We want to hand you over to the demons along with the angel—get rid of two thorns in our side at once.”
Interesting. “You’ve got a big day today, what with the whole gig going on tonight.”
Charlotte beamed in the rearview mirror. “I know, and I’m going to be a princess on earth.”
“Yeah, you’re going to be something,” I murmured.
“Shut up,” she said.
“Don’t you think your dad should’ve turned you, too? You know, instead of using you to fill out his meal plan?”
I could see Charlotte’s eyes narrow through the rearview mirror. “My dad loves me.”
“Right. That’s why he’s using you. Why’s he doing that anyway? Not find his own meals?”
“He says it’s less suspicious this way—with me being missing and all.”
Think. I had to think. I had to get the gun away from her. I glanced in the mirror. There was no one behind me and Charlotte wasn’t wearing her seat belt.
I slammed on the brakes. Charlotte pitched forward. I focused on the gun, ensnaring it with a lasso of magic that sprang from my fingertips. The Glock flew out of her hand and into mine. I whirled around. Charlotte scrambled back into the seat. I reached for that homing beacon she wore around her neck.
I needed to snatch it before she had a chance to use it.
She palmed the necklace and disappeared in a blip. I sank back onto my seat. My heart pounded and my hands shook. I took several deep gulps of air. After a few seconds I dialed Stone and told him what had happened.
“Stay where you are. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
He was true to his word. Stone gunned down the road so fast black smoke rose from his tires. The SUV screeched to a halt, and the angel was out the vehicle. He reached my door, threw it open and pulled me against his chest.
I buried myself in him, the soothing scent of musk and earth filtering up my nose. I wrapped my arms around his waist and did everything I could to stop myself from crying.
It had been too close of a call with Charlotte. These people were dangerous, and for some reason they wanted me in part of their deadly game.
I wiped away my tears and looked up in Stone's face. His silvery eyes were full of an emotion I couldn’t place.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Don’t be,” he said. The huskiness in his voice surprised me. The air crackled with electricity, and I didn’t know if I was doing it subconsciously or if he was doing it.
Not that it mattered.
The wind whipped up my hair as his fingers slid under my jaw. His face dipped. I lifted my chin. Stone’s lips brushed mine, and the current in the atmosphere shifted to a heavy layer of ozone. My skin hummed, my nerve endings fired and every single cell in my body was energized by the power floating between us.
His lips branded me with their searing heat, and I lost myself in him, forgetting where I was and who I was.
Just kidding. I knew who I was.
Pretty much.
My fingers curled into his jacket as Stone’s hand gripped
the back of my neck. A tornado of magic ripped through the air as my power flared. Every inch of my body popped and fizzled beneath his touch. It was like an invisible tether tied my soul to his—it was powerful, knee bending.
For the first time in years I knew I was home. I hadn’t experienced anything like that since I’d lost Dex.
I gasped for air when we parted. Stone smiled as he traced my bottom lip with his finger.
“Whew,” I said. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me neither. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?”
Stone stared at a spot on my jawline. A dark shadow crept over his face. “Andie, there’s something I have to tell you.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed dramatically. “I already know you’re an angel.”
He shook his head. “Did you feel it? The tie between us?”
I gnawed the inside of my lip for a moment before releasing it. “I thought it was just me.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s not just you. There’s something you need to know.”
Great. What could this be? “Okay, shoot.”
He inhaled a deep breath, his chest swelling so large I was tempted to reach out and touch his pecs. I couldn’t help it. It was hard to be serious when I was drunk and giddy off that kiss.
“I can’t be with you,” he said.
I backed up. “No one’s asking you to.”
His jaw clenched. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m trying to be as honest as possible.”
“Well, that’s a change.”
He ground his lips together and shook his head. “I knew this would be hard. Listen, I feel exactly what you’re feeling, and I want to be with you. That pull? That pull that we share? It’s what happens between a mortal and an angel when there’s an unspoken connection. I’ll admit, I came here just for Gabby. But Andie…” He gripped the sides of my face with a ferocity I didn’t expect. “Andie, you have bewitched me. And not in a Salem sort of way. In a real, deep way that I never expected. Every part of me burns for you. But if I submit to that feeling, then I lose everything. I will no longer be an angel, which means I can’t protect Gabby. Your daughter, she’s the most important thing right now.”
His words sank into me, permeating my cells. I had no retort other than, “But I really enjoyed kissing you.”
He dropped his head. “And that’s as much as we can do. This”—he gestured between me and him—“can go no farther. I want you to know everything. I don’t want to lead you on. You can have every bit of me that I can offer, but know that there’s a limit.”
“And if we went past that limit?” I said, trying not to sound hopeful.
He jerked his head back. “If we consummate the relationship, I become mortal. That’s when I fall from heaven. That’s when my power dissolves.” Stone took my hand and eased it over, exposing my palm. He kissed my wrist, and a shudder flowed through me. I felt the tether and it was warm, comforting, as if it was the easiest and most powerful thing in the world.
“You feel that,” he murmured. “That’s the start of it. I feel you, and you feel me.”
I could hear his heart beating and sense the rush of blood in his veins. He was more than an angel standing before me; it was like he was my other half.
I rocked back on my heels.
Stone placed my palm on his chest. “That’s the magic of what an angel and human can do. If nothing else, I want you to know that experience. But my duty is to heaven, and to your daughter.”
I pulled away, but I knew I was falling for him. Could I handle this connection? That was a serious load to bear.
I knocked a fist into my hand. “Okay, well then. Wow. That’s heavy. Seriously heavy. Okay. All right. Well. Um. Looks like we’ve got stuff to do.”
He glanced down the street, giving me a great view of his profile. Rwrrr. That perfect jaw, nose and full lips just begged to be kissed.
Had to keep myself focused. I almost got killed a few minutes ago.
Stone tossed his hair from his eyes. The heat radiating off his body was like a fist of energy knocking into me. Of course if I died tonight, would any of it matter? Maybe Dot had been right. But it didn’t look like Stone was going to waver on his stance.
“Will you be damned if we get together?”
Stone smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “I would be mortal, giving up my powers.” He paused, studying me. “Imagine you had the opportunity to save millions of lives over the course of a few centuries. Would you give that up for what would seem to some like ordinary pleasure?”
I quirked a brow. “So is this like when Superman gave up his powers to be with Lois?”
Stone chuckled. “Just like that.”
“I don’t know the answer.”
Stone nodded. “I do.”
Okay, I could take a hint. Deciding this was a demon I’d rather deal with on another day, I pushed him playfully with my elbow. “Let’s go to the coroner’s house. See if they’re there.”
I left my car on the street and hopped in with Stone, catching him up on everything that had happened with Edith and the amulets she made. I had to admit, it was hard to talk after what he’d just told me. I could feel him, smell him on me. It made it nearly impossible to focus, but I am a hunter. That’s what I do.
“And this witch hands amulets out like candy?”
I shrugged. “Apparently no one had asked her to make one in years. She didn’t bother vetting Oscar. Said he seemed like a nice enough man.”
Stone bobbed his head. “He does seem like a nice man.”
“A nice man who convinced an angel to fall from heaven and wants to trade her to a pack of demons. He’s not even attractive. Why did Star get in trouble for him?”
Stone gave me a knowing look. “Looks aren’t everything.”
I nearly smacked myself at his sixth-grade lesson plan. “I know that. I’m just surprised he lured her away from heaven.”
Stone glanced at me. His lips curved into a lopsided grin. “You have such a way with words. Warms my heart.”
I covered my mouth as I laughed. “It comes naturally.”
We reached the Snare house and it was, as I’d expected, empty. We scrambled inside a window and looked around, but the place appeared deserted, as if they’d been expecting us.
Which they probably had been.
We locked the house back up and stood out on the front porch. “I guess there’s only one thing to do,” I said.
Stone flipped up his lapels. “What’s that?”
I zipped up my jacket as a cool wind shot through me. I gritted my teeth and said, “Get ready for war.”
TWENTY-SIX
“The only person you can ever really count on is yourself.”
—The Witch’s Handbook
* * *
Stone dropped me off at my car, and I drove home. I found Dot inside with Gabby, teaching her how to make inanimate objects dance.
Case in point—a dish was running away with a spoon. Or, at least running through my kitchen.
I dropped my keys on a table with a clunk. “What did I say about keeping my child normal?”
Dottie scoffed “Well, dear, I think you said she’ll never be normal, so why try now?”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what I said.” Dot wiggled her fingers, and the dish and spoon clanked to the floor.
“Want it to run,” Gabby said.
“Good news, Andie,” Vordrid said, drifting into the room. “I’ve done some research, and it looks like the magic-in-a-can theory of Dot’s might just work.”
“Great,” I said, relief washing over me. I didn’t want to die. As I watched Gabby, my stomach tightened. I wanted to be here, with her—see her grow up, have her cry on my shoulder when she gets her heart broken, eat banana splits with her. All that good stuff.
Vordrid’s voice snapped me back to attention. “You harness the cans of magic. That should provide what you need so that you don’t drain the book.”
&
nbsp; “Great. It’s a plan, then.” I flashed him a smile, silently praying the cans of magic would work. “I’m going to take a shower and get ready.” I shot Dot a dark look. “And please don’t teach my daughter anything crazy while I’m gone.”
Dot closed her yellow fluffy knee-length cardigan. “What would you call crazy, dear? I was just about to show her how to make a golem out of a rock.”
I pointed at her. “That would be crazy. No making golems. No playing with rocks. We’ve got a battle tonight, and we’ve all got to be ready.”
“Golem?” Gabby said.
I shook my head. “No golem.”
I exited to my bedroom where I showered and dressed. I decided to go into town as a vampire hunter, so I made sure I had my backpack full of goodies. I put some black camo paint under my eyes and tied my hair back.
I got a good look at myself in the mirror and decided since this might be the last night I ever saw Stone again, I wanted to look good and at least a little bit like a girl, so I took off the grease paint with a baby wipe.
The doorbell rang as I was finishing up. Kate sailed into the house. She wore a long black dress, a pointy hat and had a bubbling cauldron swinging from her arm.
“I’m ready,” she announced. “Let’s go fight vampires.”
“Whoa there, partner,” I said. “I know you want to do the whole bonding-of-the-three thing, but I can’t risk you, Kate.”
She frowned, pouting out lips lined in black. “Andie, I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re my best friend, and if you’re going down, I’m going down too, biological clock or not.”
I laughed at that. “Kate, I don’t want anyone getting hurt on my account.”
She gestured toward the door. “Have you been outside? It’s a mess out there. We need to find this angel, plug the hole or whatever, and stop this madness. If we don’t, forget about Normal being overrun with supernatural stuff. We’re talking about the whole world.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
