I had to have been hallucinating.
He cleared his throat. “Can I get a Red Stag and Coke please?”
After hearing his drink choice, I had to steady myself. Not only were our eyes similar, but our tastes in alcohol were spot on as well.
I shook my head and smiled, keeping my surprise hidden and a pleasant expression on my face. “Sure thing.”
I couldn’t help but busy myself with making his drink, knowing that if I looked into his eyes again, I’d be done for.
Is this how people reacted when they looked at my eyes? Surely not. I was nothing special. Yet, this man was the stereotypical six-foot-two, eyes-of-blue type of being no woman could ignore.
“My name is Kirsi. Just holler if you need anything,” I said with a placating grin, unsure of how to position my face. How one simple sancti could affect me like this was beyond my comprehension. I’d never had someone cause me to react like a dumb blonde before.
Yes, I was blonde, but I was far from dumb, even if my mental faculties seemed to leave me as soon as this person came walking into my pub.
And then, he smiled.
I wanted so badly to smile back, but I knew firsthand just how dangerous it was to be attracted to someone. No matter how much I liked them, my attraction couldn’t overpower the danger that flowed in my veins.
To save face, I let out a tight smile and nodded my head, heading back over to my siblings and avoiding any further conversation with the stranger.
“Who is that?” Tuuli asked.
I shrugged as I sat back down at the table.
“You’re blushing,” Sade said with a laugh. “You never blush. So who is he?”
I shrugged again. She was right though—I never blushed. My body temperature made it improbable. “I don’t know who he is,” I said, trying my hardest not to crack a smile. I was becoming the kind of girl I hated with this whole going gaga over some random guy.
“Drop it, everyone,” Veli said, his cold voice stabbing through the air like a knife. “We have way more important things to talk about than that pretty boy over there.”
With that, the man’s head popped up and looked in our direction, causing my sisters to laugh hysterically at the expression on his face.
Even I got a little giggle out of it.
“Glad you guys think this situation is funny,” Veli said with a small hint of anger. “We’ve got some creeps stalking us, and you females are getting giggly over some random warlock.”
I mentally slapped myself in the forehead. That was what he was. A male witch. I couldn’t peg what he was until my brother chimed in. He was always good at guessing the different sancti of the area.
I had a good warlock friend, so I knew to always be very careful around them. I knew just how easy it was for them to manipulate the minds of others, especially humans. Being half mortali, I was more susceptible to their spells than the typical sancti.
It made me wonder if he was warping my mind, making me attracted to him.
It was one of the main reasons I’d never get involved with a witch again.
5
“Why don’t you let me set some wards around the pub? It’ll keep you all safe until you figure out what the hell is going on,” Dean said. Dean was my best friend, and the reason I stayed away from other warlocks if I could help it.
He also wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pack.
“Then none of the patrons would be able to come near the place, Dean. That makes no dang sense for business,” I explained as I placed some dishes in the dishwasher.
Dean drove me home from the bar last night after I was done talking with my siblings and ended up crashing on my couch. I usually never had anyone around overnight. Needless to say, Calder was extremely pleasant at the idea I’d had someone over for a second night in a row. But he put up with Dean for the most part because Dean was the one who set up the wards around our home, protecting me and therefore Calder too.
“Shoot. I didn’t think of that,” he admitted.
“I wish there was a way to keep just the unwanted beings away from our pub,” I muttered. “There’s just no way to tell who is good and who is bad.”
“Well, actually, there is. If we know who is sending them, we can set up a defensive strategy that way. But it’s not easy,” he explained.
I poured myself another cup of coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar area where he sat.
“So, what do we do?” I asked, needing to know what our plan was. Something had to give before these assholes started interfering with business at The Relic.
“Do you have anything from the malus that was after you last night?” You’d think his question would encourage me, but instead, it filled my soul with dismay.
I shook my head. “He was vile. The last thing I thought of doing was taking a possession of his.”
“Doesn’t even have to be a possession… a strand of hair or something that has DNA would work too. Most of the time, these sancti are bound to their employer in some way. It’s why they’re so determined.” He looked hopeful, needy even… as if this was the first time he’d even attempted to use the DNA of a malus to protect someone.
It made me wary.
“Some of his blood did get on me, but I wiped it off with scalding hot water immediately.” A newfound shiver rolled up my back at the simple, yet detailed, thought of the bloodsucker’s nasty being all over me.
“I might be able to work with that if it was only water. Did you have any encounters with anyone else other than your family and me last night?”
I hesitated. The only other person I had to deal with was that fascinating warlock who came in for a late-night drink.
“That’s a yes, tell me,” Dean demanded, clearly taking my silence as an affirmation. He was always so good at reading my facial expressions. It was infuriating.
“It’s nothing, really. He was harmless. A male witch came in about a half hour before closing. All he wanted was a nightcap. He didn’t say much and wasn’t a threat to me or any of the others.”
“Then why were you hesitant to tell me?” he asked, reading me for the wimpy girl I was.
I looked up at Dean, staring him straight in the eyes, my glasses still firmly in place for his safety. He and I once had a little fling, so talking about men was never easy. He was also the reason I stayed far, far away from warlocks. The manipulation I’d gone through during those few months we were together nearly had me turning on my family—my life.
Shaking my head, I decided to answer him honestly. We’d grown so much since then, and I knew that we were better friends than we ever were lovers.
“He was just… he was very attractive. He caught my attention,” I explained. “But what drew me to him the most were his eyes. They were the same color as mine. I mean, the exact same color.”
Dean gasped, the shock on his face clear as the quartz crystals we used as wards.
Yeah, that was how unique my eye color was. Even Dean knew it.
“Like this?” he asked, closing his eyes for a few heartbeats before opening them again.
Now it was my turn to gasp in surprise.
His eyes mirrored mine—exactly like the warlock’s had last night.
I stood up, backing away from the table. “How the hell did you do that?” I screeched, holding my hand out between us in defense.
For the first time in a long time, Dean scared me.
“Calm down, calm down,” he said before closing his eyes again, breathing for a few seconds, and opening them to show his muddy greenish-brown irises.
I tried to calm my erratic heart, but couldn’t seem to muster the strength to. He was freaking me the fuck out, and it made me wonder who the hell that man was last night.
“It’s called the pulling spell—a very powerful spell I only learned to do a few years ago,” he explained. It seemed like his nerves were increasing with each word he spoke. It made me anxious and even more frightened than I was before.
“What did you
do?” I asked in a frantic voice.
“Basically, it’s a way for a witch to read your mind. I could see his face in your memories, and I could see just how much I freaked you out,” he explained.
“No. Fucking. Way.”
“Yep. And the longer you keep eye contact, the more they’re able to pull from you.”
“That son of a bitch was trying to read my mind? No wonder he knew what my favorite drink was. How creepy… and invasive… and—” I paused and looked at Dean again with fierce determination on my face. “Have you ever done that to me before?” Surely I would’ve noticed if his eyes changed to be the same color as mine, but I was too freaked out to not ask.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve never even thought of doing something like that to anyone other than to test the spell. Like you said, it’s way too invasive.”
“What the hell could he possibly want from me that would cause him to violate my mind like that?” I asked, more as a rhetorical question. I really didn’t expect an answer from him. “See, this is why the wards wouldn’t work. He wasn’t putrid like the other monsters that chased after me and stalked me the past few weeks. He looked so damn normal.”
“If I can figure out who hired these sancti, it wouldn’t matter how civil or nasty they are—the wards would work no matter what.” He hesitated for a moment before adding, “But since the witch was around you after the vampire blood was washed from your skin, it’s very likely I can’t extract any information from you to make the wards.”
I could feel the disappointment sink further down my face. I was determined to protect my family and my pub… at all costs.
“Try anyway,” I demanded.
The next two hours were spent watching Dean in his element. Most of his spells could be done with simple words or thoughts. But when it came to creating defenses, like wards and certain madstones to detect sancti powers, he used herbs and other ingredients to build his amulets.
It was amazing to watch him work, and a little impressive he kept most of what he needed in the trunk of his car. He had a hidden compartment where the spare tire usually sat that had a witch’s travel kit of sorts, even going as far as to carry around a special cauldron. He explained to me that he couldn’t use just any pot for his potions.
All his preparedness made me feel awfully inferior as I pushed my flimsy glasses up on the brim of my nose and continued to watch. I couldn’t help but eye the clock, knowing I had to be back at the bar for my shift soon.
After what seemed like forever of letting my face melt in the steam from his cauldron, he finally determined that it was a lost cause. He couldn’t extract enough of whatever he was after to get any answers. I didn’t have to understand it to be confident in the fact I trusted him.
“I’m sorry, Kirsi. If anything like this happens again, get something I can use and I’ll be right back over here to help.”
I nodded, wishing and hoping that no other issues would arise at the bar.
“Let me at least take you to work?” he asked, concern growing in his voice.
“Nah, I’m fine.” I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest in defense. I felt exposed, though I couldn’t quite figure out why. “Nothing has happened during the daylight yet, which is why it wasn’t surprising to find a vampire after me last night.”
“Then maybe you should chill at the bar until sunrise?”
“Like that helped last night?” I said with a laugh. “No, seriously though, I’ll be fine.”
As soon as he said goodbye and drove away, I truly felt alone and suddenly wished Calder were here with his sarcastic attitude to tell me to man up and deal.
He might’ve been a pain in the ass to live with, the picky little twerp, but at least he made me laugh.
Before I got a chance to walk up the stairs to get ready for work, my door burst open, revealing a ragged Dean silhouette with a bright sun glowing behind him.
“I know what we need to do in the meantime,” he said between breaths.
“What the hell did you do? Run from your apartment?”
“Nah, just from the car. I’m horribly out of shape,” he said with a breathless chuckle.
“I’ll say. Curses. Sit down and take a breath,” I instructed.
“No time. We need to make you an amulet that will block any spells from other sancti,” he explained. “You’ll have to wear it somewhere on you, but it’ll be worth it. You definitely don’t need a malus reading your mind. It’ll be like a dead zone for any witch who tries to use magic around you.”
“I’m in. What do you need from me?”
6
All it took was ten minutes and he had turned one of my bracelets into a badass spell-blocker. To say I was impressed was an understatement.
I felt all-powerful as I walked to work, a confidence in my stride I hadn’t had in the past few weeks. Dean told me that if someone were trying to use magic around me, the stone in the center of my bracelet would turn from the beautiful blue it was to a murky black color. It would act like a signal blocker for them, almost as if a cell phone were being blocked in a way. The only drawback was I wouldn’t be able to tell what spell they were trying to use, nor who it was. But that was a small price to pay if it meant my mind wouldn’t be touched again by outsiders.
One thing I forgot to ask him—would it block my powers too?
Just after stepping foot outside the boundaries of my property, I walked over to one of the small nearby creeks and decided to perform a little test. I had to be careful though—too much of a temperature change and I could kill the wildlife.
I glanced around to make sure there was no one within eyesight, and then slipped the glasses off my face, keeping my eyes closed until I was certain I had control. I felt the power creep through my veins, the chill of it calming me enough to glance at the water. It only took a few seconds for patches of ice to form on the rocks where the water flowed. I quickly brought my bracelet up into my line of sight and was elated to see it was still a bright blue topaz.
I smiled and put the glasses back on my face. Dean was so friggin’ cool.
“You should concentrate on strengthening your powers more,” a male voice said from behind me, causing me to swing around and take a defensive stance.
“It’s you,” I said stupidly, shocked to see the warlock from the pub last night standing there staring at me.
“It’s me. Sorry if I startled you.”
“You’re not welcome at the pub anymore, got it?” I pointed my finger to make a point, absentmindedly bringing the hand up that held the bracelet. It was still blue. Well, at least he wasn’t trying to fuck with my mind again.
“Why’s that?” he asked with a brow upraised in almost humorous curiosity.
“You know exactly why,” I scoffed. “Yesterday, your eyes matched mine, now they’re, what, honey brown? I’m not an idiot.”
“Ahh, yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. I just wanted to find some way to impress you,” he said sheepishly. Too bad I couldn’t afford to believe him though.
“Sucks to be you then, because you managed to creep me out instead of impress me,” I said with honesty, figuring if he was going to get pissed at me, it better be now instead of later at the pub.
Yeah, piss off a warlock without anyone around, Kirsi. Super smart.
But I felt confident with my new amulet. No need to be shy with a defensive spell like it on my wrist.
“My name is Branton.” He held his hand out expectantly, waiting for me to meet him for a shake.
I didn’t know whether to brave touching him, or if the charm I sported would protect me from all things witchy.
Knowing I was reaching my hand into a fire, my mind screaming danger over and over again, I slowly raised my hand to meet his, my fingers feathering over his palm like it was natural for enemies to be so close.
To say I was surprised when he bent forward and brought the back of my hand to his lips was a bit of an understatement. Yet, I couldn’t deny that th
e warmth of his mouth felt good against my chilled skin.
“I like your bracelet,” he said, his tone flattering instead of accusatory. He clearly knew what it was.
“Thanks. Wore it just for you,” I spat back, sickened that I let him get to me so easily. But the gem stayed light blue, and that gave me a bit more confidence that I was in no immediate danger. Not yet, anyway.
If only I had time to test the damn thing before I ventured into danger. Who knows if it actually works?
But no—I had faith in Dean.
A sinister smile spread across his face at that fact, causing an all-too-familiar chill to run up my spine. He was playing with me.
Ass.
I yanked my hand away from his grip, wiping it on my jeans and wishing I’d never gotten sucked into his allure. I didn’t do well with weaknesses when I knew damn well I could avoid them.
And I could tell with just the few interactions I had with this man, he was going to be a weakness. I needed to put a stop to it.
“And your name?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets like he was uncomfortable standing here with me.
“You don’t fool me. I know you know my name.” Fool me once…
He looked at me curiously, his head cocked to the side with confusion like he sincerely didn’t know what I was talking about.
Pfft.
He knew just what I was referring to, and he also knew he couldn’t pull the wool over my eyes twice.
Finally, he straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, his frame seeming to get taller by the second until I was straining to look up at him. He didn’t physically grow, but he must’ve been hunching over before because now he stood tall and strong, as if I’d finally seen through his facade and he knew the jig was up.
He sighed. “You’re right. I do know your name, Kirsi Renta, just like I know the names of your brother and sisters. What I’m trying to figure out is why you’re the target of some really sinister assholes in the local sancti community.”
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 72
