by Tate James
He nodded. “In that we are in agreement. Whoever did this to them will be arrested. In cases like this it’s almost always family issues. Money. Things like that.” Lawson set down the water bottle. “They’ll be thirsty. You might want to step aside, Ms. Lansing. This isn’t pretty.”
“I’m a Healer. I’ll stay here. When they’re shifted back they can go, and after that I’ll have things to do.” The ocean called to her. She needed the sea. After this mess? It was the only thing that was going to stop the headache forming behind her eyes. “Bibbidi bobbidi boo,” she whispered as Lawson stared at the cats.
It caught his attention, and he flashed a smile in her direction. “How much attention did you pay in school?” he asked.
Michaella laughed. Maybe Enforcers weren’t so scary. “I did well enough,” she replied
He winked and faced the cats. “Bibbidi. Bobbidi. Boo.” He mumbled something else under his breath. It had been a long time since Michaella had seen a transfiguration. A haze surrounded the cats, and she watched transfixed as their figures lengthened and grew. As they became more defined, a pang of regret settled in her chest. She was going to miss her cats. Their company had kept her from feeling lonely for the first time in years. Ironically, she was less lonely with them than she’d even been with Potato.
“Thanks,” Zach said. His voice was deep. Michaella thought he was speaking to Lawson, but when her gaze traveled to his face, she saw his golden eyes fixed on hers. “Michaella.”
“Holy shit,” Bradley yelled. “Fucking mother fucking fuck heads.” His muscles rippled beneath his shirt as he clenched his fists. Immediately, she tensed at the anger in his voice and found herself backing away.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, holding out her hands. “I didn’t know.”
Lawson stepped between her and the guys. He shoved the bottles of water in their hands and magically pushed them to the door. “Get out of here. If it wasn’t for her, you’d have been left on the streets.”
Bradley dropped his hands, placing them palms out. “I didn’t mean—I’m—”
“Get out,” Lawson said again, and with a wave of his hand, the door opened and the three of them flew out. Michaella had time to see them land harmlessly on their feet across the driveway. David, who hadn’t said a word, glared at her house. He strode toward her home but stopped short. With another flick of his wrist, Lawson shut her door, but not before Michaella saw David open his mouth to yell. “I put a protection spell around the house,” he told her as she lowered herself to a chair. Her shaking legs wouldn’t hold her anymore. “It’ll hold until they calm down.”
Staring at the door, she couldn’t think of what to say. Her throat was dry, and a huge sense of loss weighed on her shoulders. The Addingtons weren’t her friends, but those cats had been for the time they’d lived with her. A small sob escaped her mouth, which she quickly covered with her hand.
Lawson knelt in front of her. “You going to be okay?”
She nodded quickly. “Are you sure I shouldn’t check on them? I’m a healer. They have a right to be angry.”
“They don’t,” Lawson replied. “They have a right to be grateful. Anger isn’t a result of the spell, so let them cool off. It’s nothing magical affecting them. It’s just pure temper and entitlement.”
“Temper and entitlement,” Michaella whispered. “That’s it.”
“Look.” Lawson fished a card out of his leather jacket and handed it to her. “This is my wife. She’s an herbalist, and she’s better at these things than I am. You need someone to talk to. You should reach out to her.”
Michaella took the card between two fingers and read the information on it. She knew she’d never call, but she smiled at the man who’d turned out to be kinder than she expected. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Don’t worry. And I’ll investigate this with them. I’m sure speaking to me will drive them nuts, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. You won’t be bothered anymore.”
Lawson didn’t wait for her to respond again. This time he just popped out of the room, leaving her alone in her silent house where no one was even meowing. She sighed. Okay, the best thing to do was get busy. She’d go visit the ocean, and then when she came back, she’d make plans. The last thing she needed in life were these kinds of upheavals. She’d move. It would break her heart, but she’d do it.
After she saw the water.
7
Michaella drove off toward the ocean. She didn’t look behind her, but she was sure if she had, she’d see the lights back on in the Addingtons’ home. Things would return to normal now. That was good. There was comfort in normalcy. She knew how to behave. She’d barely parked the car when she was out of it and running toward the water.
Her powers kicked on, and she kicked off her shoes toward the beach as she flew over the water. When she did this, her body felt alive in a way it never did otherwise. This was life. This was real. The salt air tickled her nose, and she smiled.
She knew just where she was going. There were things about her life that were spectacular, and one of them was her knowledge of underwater caves. Beneath the waves was a place no one else knew of.
Uncaring that she was fully dressed, she dove into the water. The coolness hit her like a breath of fresh air, and she swam hard. There was air in the caves. She’d done this many times. She just had to get there.
Something yanked on her hard, and she swung around. What in the world was that?
It took her a moment to recognize Zach. He pulled at her, obviously wanting her to surface, but that wasn’t in her plan. Whatever he wanted could wait. She’d spent enough time on the Addingtons. They could yell at her later for being dumb.
She wrenched her arm back and swam harder. She was getting to those caves. The entrance was in front of her, and she made it in, gasping for air when she came up in the large spot. He’d never be able to hold his breath this long so no way would he…
Zach came up for air, a visible green bubble around his mouth. She inwardly sighed. Or… he could probably make a breathing spell she didn’t know and not worry about holding his breath at all.
Michaella climbed out of the water. This was her happy spot, and he’d just invaded it. Now he knew about it, too. He’d probably start having parties here. She breathed heavily. This wasn’t usually such a problem, but he’d delayed her descent.
“You okay?” He climbed out next to her. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“What are you doing here?” His question didn’t merit an answer. She didn’t owe him explanations.
“I was worried about you,” he answered.
She stared at him, unsure she’d heard him correctly. “Why?”
Zach laughed and shook his head. “I deserve that. I know.”
Michaella’s mind whirled, trying to keep up with him. For one thing, he sounded genuine—a bit guilty, and a lot ashamed.
“You changed everything,” he said, looking at her from under his dark lashes. He touched his ear, as if there was an earring to worry at, and then dropped his hand. “This wasn’t—We didn’t—”
Was he trying to say thank you? Michaella never would have guessed it, but if she hadn’t been snowed a million times by Zach and his brothers, she’d have said yes. All her experiences in the past led her to stay quiet.
And wait for the punchline.
“Why aren’t you talking?” he asked, stepping closer to her. His clothes dripped across the cave floor and droplets of water trickled from his hair down his face. “You talk all the damn time. Why are you silent now?”
Michaella stared at him, at the golden eyes, which were so like Tough’s, and a sob built in her chest.
His eyes widened at whatever he saw on her face, and he reached for her. “Fuck,” he said and grabbed her waist, jerking her into his arms. “Don’t be sad. You’re killing me.”
His words only made her bite her lip harder. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. Didn’t want him to have more ammu
nition when this all turned out to be a joke. She lifted her hands between them, pushing at his hard chest ineffectually.
“Stop,” he whispered. His voice breezed across her wet skin, and she shivered.
“You’re going to be mean again,” she replied, and gave him one more big push. He let her go. Frowning, he shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said and opened his mouth to go on when the cave echoed a pop, like a bubble bursting. Michaella glanced at the cave entrance and saw two blonde heads emerge from the water.
David and Bradley.
Great. Now they all knew her secret cave. Awesome.
“What the fuck, Michaella?” Bradley asked. He strode out of the water. Blue eyes flashing angrily. “Do you know how dangerous it is down here? What if you got stuck? You can’t even use magic to help you breathe!”
His words were like daggers, landing right in her heart.
“How dare you!” All the hurt. All the exhaustion. All the embarrassment built up inside her popped like the magic they’d used to float themselves into her cave. “This is my spot. Mine! And why do you even care? You don’t give a shit about me! I’m an afterthought, the annoying riffraff you can poke and insult without a care in the world.”
She was done with this conversation. Bradley’s face reddened, and he opened his mouth, but she didn’t wait. She strode past him, ready to jump into the water again.
A thought dawned on her and pulled her up short. Her anger was still there, but she pushed it aside for the moment. “How did the two of you get here?”
Zach had followed her, but Bradley and David couldn’t have seen her. This wasn’t an easy place to find, which was why it was secret.
David took her arm. “There are things about our family and magic that we should explain to you. One of those things is that the three of us can always find each other. We are magically linked. Our power feeds each other. It’s one of the reasons our cousin wants to kill us, so she can take our magic. Fortunately, she can’t find us. If we’re out of the picture, the whole power source goes to her. We need to explain it. But are you okay?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m fine. This is my spot. I can always make it here and back again.”
Zach remained where he was on the ground. “Lawson thinks it’s money. We’re going to let him think that. We… we have a lot to explain.”
Bradley sighed. “I’m sorry I’ve been so cruel to you. That’s hard for me to say. I’ve never uttered those words before. If I could, I’d go back and never say those things to you.”
This was a lot to digest. They were sorry, and they had secrets. “Do you guys want to see why I like this place?”
David and Bradley looked at each other, just like they had constantly done as cats. David nodded. “Yes.”
“Come with me.” She’d had a lot of time to explore these caves. “Watch your heads. It gets smaller as we go further in.”
Eventually, they all ended up on their knees, but it was there they could see why she loved this place. “Look at the artwork. It has to be ancient.” As far as she could discern, it depicted a scene of witches preforming magic on the seas. Michaella didn’t know exactly what they were doing, but she loved that they’d come here to record it. Maybe there were other witches out there who needed the sea like she did. “Please don’t bring people here and spoil it.”
Brad touched her arm. “We won’t. Not ever. This is really something.”
“It’s beautiful,” David added. “But you have to be freezing in those clothes. I know that I am. Can we get out of here and go home?”
Michaella sighed. “I’m not working until it’s safe, so I suppose I can. But I’m never cold. Not when I’m here.”
“I think your magic is deeper and more wonderful than you know,” David said. For a silent guy, he had a lot to say today. He took her hand, leading her to the tunnel, but released her to crawl through. She could have found her way in complete darkness, but David used a spell to illuminate the way. She kept her gaze on her hands, but happened to glance up. Directly at David’s tight ass.
“Eep!” she squeaked.
“What?” David asked. He stopped, and she nearly ran her face into his butt.
“Nothing,” she replied, embarrassed by how breathy her voice was. “I thought I touched a bug.”
Behind her, Bradley snorted, and she got the sense he knew exactly why she squeaked.
David began to crawl, reaching for her when they finally got to a point where they could stand. “Ready?” he asked. But before they could answer, he’d surrounded her with a glowing, green orb. They floated for a second, before the orb went beneath the water.
Michaella caught her breath at the beauty around her. In the pale green light, she could make out fish, rock formations, and plant life. She wanted to pause, bob in the water for a little while to take it all in, but David moved them quickly. In a matter of minutes, he’d lifted them above the waves and landed them on shore.
Zach and Bradley were close behind. “You could have taken all of us,” Bradley muttered, but David shrugged.
And winked.
At her!
Michaella was pretty sure that she’d become punchy with exhaustion, because not only was David talking, but he was winking. And his brothers were being nicer than she’d ever known them to be.
“My car’s over there,” she said.
“Why didn’t you just fly here?” Zach asked. He touched the tip of his ear, and Michaella could make out a small gap in the skin. She gasped and moved forward, touching it with her finger tip.
“I never noticed this before! That’s why your ear was torn when you were a cat! I thought you were a street cat. That’s why I named you Tough.” She realized she was stroking the shell of his ear. “Sorry.”
He cleared his throat. “That’s okay. Um. I knew why you gave me that name. I think we agreed Butch had the best name.”
“It’s my baby blues.” Bradley batted his eyelashes, and Michaella giggled.
“It was! I should have named you and David, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but you didn’t seem to like matching names.”
“We don’t,” Bradley replied. “We’re only thirteen months apart, and for that reason, everyone always lumped us together. Bradley and David. We don’t even look alike.”
Michaella studied them. Bradley’s blue eyes set him apart, but what really made them different were their personalities. David was always so quiet. He seemed to be taking everything in and reflecting on it.
Maybe that’s why his insults hurt worse. Because it felt like he’d had time to think about them.
“To answer your question, big brother.” David shrugged. “I thought that Michaella might need a ride back. She can’t fly, and I don’t think she should drive herself right now. Let’s take our car, and I’ll spell her car back home.”
Her energy started to fade so she didn’t argue when Bradley opened the door to let her in David’s car. She had a lot of questions, but by the time David started to drive, she knew the only thing she was going to do was face plant in her bed. Maybe if she didn’t use magic for a full week, and lived like a human, she could save up some.
“How does it affect you that you are somehow all linked magically?”
Next to her, Zach shifted, putting his arm around her back. “We can get into that tomorrow.”
“Probably a good idea. I mean, you guys don’t have to tell me anything at all. I’m just the idiot who didn’t know you were cats.”
And let them roam around her apartment and see her naked. She couldn’t forget that part.
Bradley shook his head from where he sat in the front seat. “Few and far between would have realized it. We’re grateful to you. You kept us safe and you didn’t have to. Who takes in three random cats and spoils them like that?”
She hadn’t really done anything. “I want to know how you guys ended up cats.”
“There’ll be time tomorrow.” David met her gaze in the rearview m
irror.
Well, she wasn’t working, so she supposed he was right.
One second Michaella was awake, the next sleep pulled her under. She’d overdone it. But what was new?
8
Michaella woke up slowly. It must have been the middle of the night because no light filtered into the room. A moment later, she realized she had no idea where she was. This wasn’t her room. She sat up fast. Where was she? The last thing Michaella remembered was knocking out in the back of the Addingtons’ car.
A noise caught her attention.
Lying with his back to her, asleep on the large bed, was Zach. Some of her anxiety lessoned. This must be his bed. She’d passed out, and they’d brought her here.
He made another sound that had to be a whimper. Whatever he dreamed about couldn’t be good. Michaella hated nightmares. She turned on her powers. Relieving this kind of pain was one of the few things she could do. She placed her hand on his back. Living like a human would have to wait.
Slowly, his features relaxed. His tightly pressed lips fell open, and his clenched hands splayed. He turned toward her, like he was seeking the heat her magic produced and snuggled against her.
Gulp. His arm snaked around Michaella’s waist and pulled her even closer. She’d sat up to soothe him, and now his head lay in her lap. He looked comfortable, breathing deep and even, but Michaella was frozen.
Did she move him away or suck it up? She stared down at him. This was the first time she’d really had the opportunity to study him. So while the proper thing to do was probably shift him off her, her curiosity got the best of her.
This close, she could count the holes in his ear. Using her finger, she hovered over each one. Four in the lobe, three in the cartilage, and what looked like a dual hole from a bar. Ouch. The tiny tear at the top of his ear had healed, but there was a gap. Why hadn’t he used magic to heal it? He could have. With little effort, he could hide the evidence of his former jewelry-wearing glory.
