Spell of Vanishing

by Anna Abner

  “Are you okay?” she asked again. She’d probably ask it another ten times before she was satisfied with his answer. “You should be in a hospital.”

  “Dani cleared the wraith’s spell. She healed me,” he said. “I’m as good as new. I promise.”

  She didn’t buy it because the memory of him cold and blue wouldn’t go away. He could’ve died so easily.

  “Hey,” Dani called from the doorway. “We kind of need you two in here.”

  Cole gave Talia a brief squeeze and then walked her onto the porch.

  At the threshold, their spirits were locked out.

  “Sorry,” Cole said, his brows down over apologetic green eyes. “But I can’t risk letting unfriendly spirits past these walls.” He glanced directly at Stephanie. “I’ll come out and talk to you in a bit.”

  Stephanie didn’t answer, but her image flickered in agitation.

  In the foyer, Talia smooshed up against Cole and sensed all eyes on her, even if they were trying to be subtle about it. She might as well have eight legs and an ink sack.

  The only creature uninterested in her was the dog. He disappeared on a boisterous sniffing expedition in the rear hallway.

  “You moving in?” Holden asked, jerking his head toward the tower of cardboard boxes.

  “Not exactly,” Cole answered.

  “What happened tonight?” Dani demanded of Cole, and then flicked accusatory eyes at Talia, as if it were all her fault.

  She didn’t like Talia, but that was fine. Talia didn’t particularly like her either.

  “I tried to kill the White Wraith,” he explained.

  David hissed a curse word, but then remembered he was in mixed company and flushed. “I meant to say,” he corrected, “you must not have thought that plan out.”

  “Obviously,” Dani snarked, but there was only love and concern in her dark eyes as she gazed at Cole.

  “He did it to help me find my nephew,” Talia announced. Swallowing, she added, “Sylvester’s eleven. The cabal has him hidden somewhere, and Cole is helping me fight back.”

  She sensed them assessing her as they considered whether to believe her.

  “Let’s talk in the kitchen,” Cole said gently to the group. “Please, make yourselves at home.”

  Finding a spot beside the breakfast bar, David cleared his throat. “The Dark Caster has been my pet project since he orchestrated our abduction and trapped you in a nightmare,” he said to Cole. “The White Wraith is a monster. Way past your pay grade, friend.”

  Talia agreed. Even knowing the rumors, she’d surprised Talia with her power and cruelty. Going up against her had been a foolish mistake.

  “She’s not that tough,” Cole said.

  Talia whirled on him in complete horror. He couldn’t mean he’d try again? “She almost killed us before we cast a single spell,” she reminded him. “We were like aspirin versus Ebola.”

  “She’s a witch, but all witches have their weaknesses.” Cole glanced tellingly at Dani.

  What was her weakness, Talia wondered. And then she got the funny feeling her weakness was the tall, blond man beside her.

  Cole continued, “I’ve already figured out hers.”

  He moved away, putting distance between them, and stale air rushed in to take his place.

  “I noticed something,” he continued, “in between Talia getting smothered and my heart being squeezed in a vice. She had to make eye contact when casting.”

  Talia thought back, but she’d spent so much time with her face in the dirt, it was unclear. If, by some miracle, the wraith did have a weakness, it could be exploited.

  “The way Dani has to touch the person she’s working magic on?” David clarified.

  “Exactly. The wraith could only keep up any one spell as long as she was focusing it at us. As soon as we were out of sight, the spells faded.”

  “We can use that.” A hint of a smile reached Dani’s eyes, the first one Talia had witnessed. She was transformed from a sour witch into a beautiful young woman.

  “Cole,” Holden said, stepping nearer the table. The light hit his bare arms just right, making squiggly scars glow white. “You know how we feel about you, man.” He glanced at Rebecca, plastered to his side, and such love shone in his eyes Talia flushed at the heat between them. “Without you, we’d both be in very different realities. Becca and I will do everything we can.”

  “Of course we will, darlin’.” Becca spoke up in her honeyed North Carolina accent, the faintest flicker of hesitation behind her eyes. “Whatever you need.”

  “Okay,” Dani announced to the room. “Down to business. If we’re going to take this witch out we need a plan.” Without waiting for an answer, she cleared the breakfast bar. “Describe her property.”

  As Talia and Cole took turns telling her about the beach house and surrounding area, Dani called on her magic.

  And it was impressive. Her entire body, down to the tips of her hair, turned frosty white. Her breath puffed like fog. And when she laid her palm upon the laminate surface a map appeared in neon lights, a near perfect replica of the section of Emerald Isle they’d visited.

  How did she manage it? Talia tried to make sense of the puzzle. Witches didn’t channel spirit power. So, how did it work?

  Cole’s voice startled her out of her thoughts.

  “Here’s our car,” he said, grabbing a handful of pocketknives of various sizes and ages out of a kitchen drawer. He placed a larger, folding knife in the driveway of the neighbor’s house. “We approached from this direction.” He used a smaller knife to represent him and Talia. “We got so far when she appeared on the porch. Here.” A third knife was the wraith.

  “She knew you were there before you announced yourselves?” Holden asked. “It means the whole place is spelled.”

  “It means we might as well go in guns blazing,” David said, “because there’s no element of surprise.”

  Talia flicked her gaze from one man to the other and then to Dani and Rebecca. Why would they put their lives at risk for her nephew? And then her gaze landed on Cole. Because they loved and supported him.

  Still, it wasn’t worth the danger. “What if she brings backup, too?” she asked. “I don’t like this plan.”

  “It’s more dangerous to allow them to continue,” Cole pointed out.

  The reality of Sylvester’s death was awful enough. Anyone else dying was unacceptable.

  And Cole’s brush with danger had forced her to realize how special he was. She couldn’t lose him.

  “I have an idea.” Dani swept the knives to the side. “I don’t need spell circles to do a lot of damage.” She placed one knife in the middle of the street, opposite the wraith’s house. “I’ll cast here and attract her attention. You five fan out, draw your spell circles, and back me up.”

  Everyone nodded, except Rebecca. She sent Talia a quick, guilty look before ducking her chin.

  “She won’t be able to fight us all,” Dani continued. Her magic faded, and her skin returned to natural, human shades. “She’ll be at our mercy.”

  It sounded so simple. Talia had to admit with more help their attack that morning would’ve gone a lot smoother. Maybe she wouldn’t have sand in her esophagus and Cole wouldn’t have a bruised heart.

  Through the kitchen window Stephanie’s ghost appeared, hovering like an omen of bad tidings.

  Cole saw her, too. “I need a minute.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cole closed the door behind him and faced a very upset Stephanie as she hovered on the opposite side of the porch.

  She’d been his friend, sometimes his only true friend, since he’d woken up with a stranger’s heart beating in his chest, and he’d abandoned her.

  He took a deep breath because it was obvious she wasn’t going to speak to him until he apologized. He owed her that and so much more.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Stephanie, I wasn’t in my right mind. I was afraid for myself and you and anyone who got close to
me.”

  She glared at him, her eyes all shiny and accusatory.

  “I needed time to get my head on straight,” he added. “It wasn’t personal. I promise.” He watched her from the corner of his eye. “You know I adore you.”

  Silence.

  Finally, when he was afraid she’d never speak to him again, she folded her arms and said, “You left me.” The words were so full of emotion they sent bolts of fiery guilt through his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again and meant it. Stephanie was an incredibly important person in his life. She’d been his welcome companion for ten years. He’d never intentionally cause her grief.

  “You sent me away like I was some stray cat,” she spluttered. “I almost left for good, Cole. I came really close to going away and never coming back.”

  The idea of losing Stephanie was unimaginable. “I’m glad you stuck around.”

  “I almost didn’t.” The agony in her eyes revealed how close she’d come to disappearing on him.

  “Everything okay?” Talia shut the door behind her and joined them on the porch.

  Stephanie answered first. “Did Cole tell you I’m a murderer?” she blurted out, startling Talia so much she reached for him. He clasped her hand. Her small, fragile hand.

  He’d almost lost her tonight. And the panic was still reverberating through his bones, a fainter echo than the fear he’d felt under the wraith’s spell.

  “No,” Talia answered.

  “Did he tell you I killed my husband and then drove my car off a pier?” Stephanie continued.

  “Steph,” he said gently. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “No,” she said to Talia. “He didn’t tell you because he’s the most decent man I’ve ever known. He’s definitely the only man who’s ever given a crap about me.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Talia said. “It must have been a nightmare to lose him.”

  Stephanie sniffed, more from habit than necessity. “He’s all I have.”

  “And you’ll always have me,” he promised. “For as long as I’m here and probably even after that.”

  A small smile formed at the corner of Stephanie’s mouth. “I don’t know what would happen to me if I crossed into the light,” she declared to Talia. “I’m a double offender and if there’s a heaven, doesn’t it make sense there’s another place too?”

  “It’s okay,” Cole assured. “You’ll never have to find out.” When his friend sent him a look as if she didn’t fully believe him, he added, “I love you, Steph. I’m better now. I’m ready to get back to kicking ass, and I need your help.”

  She rolled her eyes, and then said, “Well, you’ve got it. You know you do.”

  Cole bumped Talia’s shoulder with his own. “I want to sit out here for a little while with Steph.”

  She hesitated, and he didn’t blame her. A roomful of casters, any casters, was intimidating. Dani could be downright frightening. Cole had been rattled, too, by her sudden transformation from his sassy friend into an ice queen. He made a mental note to talk to her about it, to make sure she was safe and healthy.

  “They’ll get to know you,” Cole told Talia. As soon as they did, they’d love her. “Give them a chance.”

  Talia left, and he asked Stephanie, “Anything happen while I was out of it? Anything I need to know?”

  Stephanie considered it for a moment. “The dark cabal is gathering forces. Spirits, casters. Some are willing, most aren’t. They’re close to opening a Chaos Gate.”

  His stomach clenched. “We can’t let that happen.” The repercussions would be catastrophic. There would be countless demons infecting innocent human beings all over the world.

  Normally, Cole would say not to worry. Agents of heaven would stop the casters in their tracks long before they opened the gate, but heaven had been annoyingly MIA for months, allowing the dark cabal to multiply and run amok.

  “If heaven refuses to intervene,” Cole said with finality, “then we have to stop them.”

  * * *

  As soon as Talia re-entered the house, Rebecca approached. The tall blonde touched her arm with her perfectly polished fingers, pretty gold rings gleaming, including one very large diamond.

  “Is that an engagement ring?” Talia gasped, yanking her hand closer to her face. “It’s as big as a quail’s egg.” She eyed Becca up and down. The woman did have a glow about her.

  “He asked me to marry him,” she said, her cheeks flushing a delicate shade of pink.

  “Congratulations.” She released Becca’s hand, and her gaze slid toward the closed front door. There had been times in her life when she’d daydreamed what a marriage would look and feel like, but no one had inspired her to hope for it in a while.

  Cole, though, was different. She didn’t simply like him. She was beginning to need him, too.

  “How are things with your mother?” Becca asked.

  Talia backed away, putting a little more space between them and the rest of the group. “Not that great,” she admitted. “She won’t take my calls anymore.”

  Becca even frowned beautifully. “Sorry, darlin’. I don’t know much about your situation, but sometimes you’re better off without ‘em.”

  “No.” Talia shook her head, pulling at her top and finger-combing her curls. She hadn’t worried about her appearance in days. She must look a fright. “I love my family. I really do. But the cabal sent my mom and my sister some stuff that makes it appear I had something to do with Sylvester’s abduction.”

  “You poor thing.” She touched Talia’s arm again. “And you haven’t found any sign of him?”

  “Nothing.”

  “We’ll find him,” she assured.

  Talia believed her. Something about the way Rebecca Powell spoke made Talia think she could do anything and then some.

  “Thanks. I appreciate it. He’s only eleven.” She cleared her throat, finished worrying about her outfit. “And it’s been twelve days.”

  “Twelve days since what?” Dani turned the corner and smiled uncertainly.

  “Since my nephew Sylvester was abducted.”

  “Excuse me,” Becca said, slipping away.

  Dani stared at Talia. “I’m sorry to hear about your nephew. They abducted me, too. In fact,” she glanced over her shoulder, “it was when they threatened to hurt David’s little boy that I finally fought back. So, I know where you’re coming from.”

  Talia took a chance and confessed the truth to Dani. “I thought the only way to get him back was to do what they told me to, but,” she shook her head sadly, “I know now they’re never giving him back no matter what I do.”

  “If he’s alive,” Dani said, “we’ll save him.”

  And for some reason Talia believed her.

  She was so struck by the witch’s kindness she blurted out, “I’m not trying to hurt Cole. I care about him, too.”

  “I can see that.” She glanced away. “I’m sorry about coming at you guns blazing the other night. I just…”

  “I understand.”

  “Thanks.”

  The front door opened and Cole appeared, framed in the doorway.

  * * *

  Cole entered the house, a little drained after his heart-to-heart with Stephanie, but at the same time oddly weightless. Dani, standing next to Talia, spotted him and made a beeline.

  “Sorry to run,” she said, leaning in. “Just one time, tell me you’re not being held against your will. That you’re not under a spell or blackmail or—”

  “Dani.” He resisted the urge to comfort her, knowing her touch issues. “I’m fine. I needed time, that’s all. You saw me after the nightmare spell.”

  “You were crazed.”

  “I hurt you.” He briefly closed his eyes, ashamed of what he’d done. Thank God, the bruises around her throat had faded. Cole could hardly face her after what he’d done, let alone with her throat half crushed. “I’m so sorry. Deeply, deeply sorry.”

  Her hand went unconsciously t
o her collar. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know what you were doing.” She blinked rapidly. “You’re one of my best friends. I don’t understand why you hid from me.”

  “Because I’m going after the Dark Caster, and I knew you’d try to stop me.”

  She made a dismissive snort. “The Dark Caster not only tortured me, but David, too. If you’re going after him, I’m not going to talk you out of it. I’m going to help.”

  * * *

  Their guests filed out of the house, leaving Talia at the foot of the stairs relieved to have the quiet back. Cole closed the door on the last of his friends.

  “It’s strange that you can be seen again. Strange, but good.” She’d enjoyed being the only one who could see him, liked keeping him a secret. “I was beginning to wonder if you were a figment of my imagination,” she teased.

  “Sorry about that, but I needed time before facing anyone.”

  “You faced me okay,” Talia said softly.

  “You’re different,” he said, just as softly. Clearing his throat, he asked, “How about a late lunch? Or we could call it an early dinner.”

  “First, we better unpack.” She gazed with annoyance at the tower of boxes in the parlor.

  Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, just nodded his assent.

  From the cardboard castle out popped new bed sets, pillows, towels, and a shower curtain. Talia put the new microwave next to the fridge and the coffee maker next to the sink. But setting out all the cute new things she’d ordered did not improve her mood a bit. The sight of so much temporary junk oddly depressed her. She wasn’t much of an aimless wanderer. She liked going to sleep in her own house each night and knowing she had a job to go to every morning.

  And unpacking only reminded her that they’d lost the first real fight they’d been in.

  “What is this contraption?” Cole wrestled a heavy canvas tube from Styrofoam peanuts.

  “Oh. It’s a cot.” She shrugged, no longer as excited about it as she had been. “So neither of us has to sleep on the floor.”

  ‘Thoughtful.” He assembled the cot and then sat on it, testing its durability.

  As he wiggled, she sensed his gaze on her.

  “We can unpack the rest later,” he said. “Let’s have a lunch break. You look like you could use one.”