Strange Magic (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 9)

by Christine Pope

  But they hadn’t. He had noticed how they’d been very cagey with the healer about how Zoe had broken her arm, hadn’t said a single word about the creature their daughter had conjured. That omission seemed to indicate that they really, really didn’t want the story getting out to the clan at large. He could see why, as the situation not only showed that their future prima was capable of some pretty epic screw-ups, but also that such magic still could be worked and hadn’t been relegated to a grimoire, forgotten with the passage of time. Like most witch clans, the de la Pazes were all about maintaining the status quo. They didn’t want anything going on that might attract the attention of the non-magical community.

  So it seemed mum was the word, and he’d do his best to keep it that way. He certainly had no desire to cause problems for Zoe’s family, or for her. One day she’d have to lead those people, and the last thing she needed was a black blot on her reputation before she even got started.

  That all sounded very noble. When he shut his eyes, though, all he could see was Zoe’s face, the tilt of those dark, dark eyes, the determined set of her mouth as she’d ignored her injured hand so she could confront the monster again. She certainly didn’t lack courage, no doubt about that.

  Evan knew he’d have to be equally strong. About all he could hope was that they’d come up with a way to get rid of the creature once and for all…and that he’d be safely back in Jerome before Zoe met up with the man who was truly intended for her. Evan thought he could put up with a lot, but he really didn’t want to be around to witness her happiness when she eventually found someone else.

  That would hurt too damn much.

  Saturday morning. Zoe was extremely relieved that it was the weekend, because that way she wouldn’t have to worry about manufacturing a reason to miss her classes so she could be with Evan instead. It also meant that Zander would probably take his sweet time coming home from his friend Brad’s house. With any luck, she and Evan would be out for the day before Zander even showed up.

  Normally, she would have had to worry about her parents being underfoot, but her father was in the middle of a big remodel of his office, and her mother felt the need to be there to help oversee things. Because Luis didn’t want his place of business torn up any longer than was strictly necessary, he was paying a lot extra to also have the construction crew come in on Saturdays and keep the work going. So that meant she’d have the whole day unsupervised.

  Well, unsupervised except for being with Evan, but that was basically the same thing.

  Since she wasn’t sure what they might end up doing, she decided to wear jeans and a girly sleeveless top with embroidery around the neckline, and a pair of flats. That should get her through most situations, and she figured she could throw her running shoes and some socks in the trunk of the car, just in case she needed to change into something a little more wilderness-worthy than ballet flats.

  The car. What with everything else that had been going on, she’d almost forgotten about her Fiat, still sitting out in the ATV staging area forty minutes from her house. Well, they’d just have to go up there after breakfast to retrieve it. She hoped the Fiat was okay. Evan had sounded convinced that nothing would happen to the car, but he couldn’t know for sure. If she’d stopped to think about it, she maybe could have cast an illusion spell to make it look like an old junker, something no one would want to steal, but at the time she’d been too rattled and in too much pain to do much besides get in Evan’s car and have him drive her home.

  She pushed her worries aside as she finished putting on her makeup and then used a large curling iron to set loose waves in her hair. Nothing too much, just “done” enough that she would look good for Evan.

  Stop thinking like that, she scolded herself, but she knew it was only the truth. If she’d only planned to spend her Saturday hanging around the house, she certainly wouldn’t have spent so much time on her appearance. But she wanted to look good for him. She wanted him to notice her.

  With a sigh, she unplugged the curling iron and set it to one side so it could cool down. One last look in the mirror told her she appeared ready to face the world or, more to the point, Evan McAllister.

  Zoe took in a breath then. She had to look cool and unconcerned, or her mother would be sure to pick up on something. Why her parents had even agreed to let her keep working alone with Evan, she wasn’t sure, but she had a feeling that they didn’t want to make a stink because if they did, they’d only be drawing attention to something they wanted to pretend didn’t exist.

  After turning off the bathroom light, she went back into her bedroom to pick up the pair of silver filigree earrings from Mexico that she’d gotten on her last birthday, and slipped them into her ears. They were dangly and fun, and she hoped they might catch Evan’s eye. Or at least, catch his eye after her mother wasn’t around to keep scrutinizing his reactions.

  The smell of frying chorizo drifted upward, and Zoe’s stomach growled as she hurried down the stairs. She loved the breakfast scramble her mother made with eggs and Mexican sausage and peppers and cheese. It could be on the spicy side, though, and Zoe wondered if Evan would be able to handle the heat. Yes, he was one of the best-looking guys she’d ever seen, but he was clearly pretty white bread, too.

  Well, she supposed she’d find out soon enough.

  The doorbell rang then, and she felt her heartbeat speed up. That had to be Evan. Almost unconsciously, she reached up to smooth her hair, then hurried over to the foyer so she could answer the door.

  Yes, Evan McAllister stood just outside. The morning sun caught his dark red hair and made it look almost as if he had a halo of fire around his head. He’d traded the henley for a plain dark T-shirt, and now Zoe could clearly see the bulge of his biceps beneath the short sleeves.

  She swallowed, then said quickly, “Hi, Evan. My mom’s just finishing up with breakfast.”

  A smile that seemed almost as incandescent as the sun. “I can tell. It smells amazing. Is that chorizo?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “You like it?”

  “Oh, yeah. They have some pretty decent stuff at one of the supermarkets down in Cottonwood, but this smells even better.”

  He came inside then, and she closed the door behind him. Feeling suddenly awkward, she went on, “We’ll be eating in the nook off the kitchen. Just the three of us, because my father left a while ago so he could open up his office for the remodeling team. He’s not that big on breakfast anyway.”

  “Seriously?” Evan looked like he didn’t quite want to believe her. “When your mother makes food that smells that good?”

  “I don’t get it, either. But he’s always been a toast and coffee kind of person.”

  A shake of the head, but Evan didn’t say anything else as he followed Zoe over to the breakfast nook. Her mother had already set three places on the table, and a pitcher of water and a pitcher of orange juice waited there as well. “Do you want coffee?” Zoe asked. “We made some earlier, but I can start a fresh pot if you want.” There. That sounded nice and neutral and hospitable. At least, she thought it did.

  But Evan said, “No, thanks. I had two cups at the hotel before I came over here, and that’s my limit for the day. Some orange juice would be great, though.”

  She picked up the heavy blown-glass pitcher with its cheerful speckles of blue and red and yellow, and poured some juice into one of the matching glasses. Just as Zoe was handing the glass to him, Andrea appeared, a big bowl of the egg and chorizo scramble in her hands.

  “Good morning, Evan,” she said casually, as if having warlocks from other clans over for breakfast was something she did every day. “Did Zoe ask if you wanted coffee?”

  “She did, but I’m fine,” he replied with one of those smiles that made Zoe’s heart go all melty. “Thank you, Mrs. Sandoval.”

  “Andrea,” she responded, looking a little flushed. She set down the bowl of eggs and chorizo, and appeared to gather herself. “So what are you and Zoe planning to do today?”
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br />   “Well, first we need to get her car and bring it back here,” he said. Clearly, he also thought that task was the most important one to get out of the way. “But after that, I was thinking maybe we should see if it’s okay to go up to her Aunt Luz’s house so we can look through the books on magic there, see if there’s anything we can find that might help us.”

  Good one, Evan, Zoe thought then. It probably would be helpful to scour the library, look for any precedents, as her father might put it. Also, her aunt’s house had to be probably the safest destination Evan could have suggested. All right, Zoe’s last visit there had ended in disaster, but if Luz was home, then there definitely wouldn’t be a repeat of that particular incident.

  And no chance of anything happening between Evan and Zoe. She wasn’t happy about that, but at the same time she knew that her wistful fantasies of what it might be like to have him hold her in those strong arms of his, to have him press his mouth against hers and create the spark that would bond them forever, were just that — fantasies. Nothing could ever happen between them.

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” Andrea said. “I can call Luz, if you like. Just to make sure she’ll be there.”

  Evan didn’t blink. “I’d appreciate that, Mrs. — Andrea.”

  She smiled, although whether in response to the slip-up over her name, or because she was glad he hadn’t tried to argue about going over to the house even if Luz Trujillo wasn’t home, Zoe couldn’t tell for sure. Her mother could keep her cards pretty close to the vest when she wanted to.

  They were silent for a moment as the eggs were dished up, along with homemade pinto beans and sliced fresh fruit. Evan took a bite of his breakfast and nodded in appreciation. “This is amazing,” he said. “Thank you so much for inviting me over for breakfast.”

  “You’re welcome, Evan,” Andrea said. Something about her expression softened just a bit; she always was a sucker for compliments about her cooking. “I don’t do big breakfasts as often as I’d like, since Luis really isn’t into that sort of thing. But I thought it would help you two to get off to a good start today.”

  “It’ll probably take about an hour and a half round trip for us to get the car,” Zoe put in. She was glad to see the two of them getting along this morning; even though she knew her time with Evan would be short-lived, she’d rather have her mother look favorably on him while he was around. Everything that had happened the day before was not his fault. “So I guess that means we should get to Aunt Luz’s house around one or so.”

  “I’ll let her know.”

  They went quiet again after that, each of them apparently consumed with their own thoughts. Zoe had to keep herself from chattering nervously, of bringing up inane things like what the traffic might be like that morning, or whether her Uncle Jack might return for some more magical defense training. Well, maybe that last wasn’t so inane; considering her failure the night before, it seemed obvious enough that she needed a little more help in that department.

  She did appreciate that Evan wasn’t someone who needed to fill up the silence with chitchat; he ate calmly, helped himself to more food, then asked her mother about the chorizo. If he’d intentionally meant to butter her up, he couldn’t have picked a better question to ask, since the chorizo came from a carniceria that a de la Paz cousin owned, and a number of the local clan members made it a point to get their specialty meats there when they could.

  But at last they’d eaten their fill. Andrea set down her napkin and said, “Well, I told Luis I’d be at the office by ten-thirty, and I’m already running late. Zoe, do you mind cleaning up?”

  “No,” she replied, although the last thing she wanted to do was postpone driving off with Evan just so she could do the dishes. However, she also didn’t want him to see her protest doing a few chores, so she added, “Go ahead, Mom. I’ll take care of everything.”

  Andrea smiled. “Thanks, mija. I’ll call Luz from the road, let her know you’re coming. And thank you, Evan, for taking Zoe out to get her car.” She paused, as if she’d meant to say something else and then decided not to. Zoe had a feeling she’d been about to mention how they wouldn’t even have to fetch the car if it weren’t for her daughter’s foolish actions the night before, but luckily Andrea held her tongue.

  “No problem,” he said. “Glad to help.”

  She nodded, said her goodbyes, and picked up her purse from where it sat at the end of the counter and headed out to the garage.

  After the door had closed behind her, Evan cocked an eyebrow at Zoe. “‘Mija’?”

  “It means ‘daughter,’” she replied. “A term of endearment, I guess.”

  He nodded. “It’s pretty.”

  Zoe wasn’t sure how to respond to that comment, so she said, “Well, I guess I’d better get this cleared away so we can get on the road.”

  “Let me help.” He picked up the mostly empty bowl that had held the chorizo scramble, as well as his empty juice glass, then took them over to the kitchen counter.

  “You don’t really have to — ” she began to protest, but he only shrugged.

  “I don’t think it’s fair to sit here and watch you clean up.”

  Deciding it wasn’t worth the argument, she gathered up the empty plates and her own glass, and deposited them on the counter next to the items Evan had already brought over. He fetched the platter with the cut-up fresh fruit, and she got out the plastic wrap so she could cover the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator. After that, the only task remaining was to rinse the plates and glasses and set them in the dishwasher, which didn’t take much time at all.

  “Thanks,” she said as she wiped her damp hands on the towel that hung from a hook next to the sink.

  “How’s your wrist?” he asked as he watched.

  Had she winced? She didn’t think so, because, just as Alba had said, her injury had finished healing itself as she slept. The warmth of the hot shower she’d taken earlier that morning had helped that much more, so Zoe thought she really was good as new.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I’d almost forgotten about it, actually. But I’ll still try to be careful with it.”

  He nodded, but something about his expression looked vaguely troubled, as if he thought there should be something more to the process. Well, the McAllisters didn’t have a healer of their own. They didn’t really understand how all this worked in the real world.

  “Anyway,” she continued briskly, “I need to run upstairs and get my purse, but then we can head out.”

  “Okay.” He hesitated, looking as if he wanted to ask her something else but was vaguely embarrassed to.

  She guessed the reason for his diffidence, since that was a matter she also planned to attend to when she went up to her room to fetch her purse. “The guest bathroom is just down the hall, past the living room.”

  “Um…thanks.” He headed in the direction she’d indicated, and she followed him, then kept going to the stairs.

  Guys could be so funny sometimes. After all, everyone had to pee from time to time — even witches and warlocks.

  There was some Saturday traffic headed toward the casino off Fort McDowell Road, but once they passed that exit, the volume of cars on the 87 northbound dropped a good bit. In direct contrast to his last trip out here, Evan stayed right around the speed limit, knowing that his car attracted enough attention on its own without going like a bat out of hell.

  In the passenger seat, Zoe watched the dry landscape go past and didn’t seem inclined to say much. Was she replaying her actions of the previous night and trying to justify what she’d done? Or was she trying hard to forget?

  He’d noticed the way she’d massaged her wrist a few times as she sat there, as if it still pained her somewhat, even though she’d said she was completely healed. She had pretty hands, small and slender, just like her. Actually, everything about her was pretty, which only served to complicate matters. He liked the way her dark hair hung in long, loose curls, the way the coral-colore
d top she wore warmed her olive skin.

  And he knew he’d better not think about the way her legs looked in those skinny jeans she was wearing….

  Her phone binged, and she pulled it out of her purse and unlocked the screen. “My mom,” she said after she’d checked her text messages. “Luz is home today and expecting us, so we can head on over there after we’ve dropped off my car.”

  “Sounds good,” he said, even though part of him was secretly disappointed that Zoe’s disapproving aunt was going to be hanging around. But then, that really had been part of his plan. He’d wanted her there, partly to show everyone that he didn’t have any hidden intentions where Zoe was concerned, and partly because he figured that having a chaperone on the premises would keep him from doing anything he might regret later.

  She was silent for a moment as she replaced the phone in her purse. Then she said, “So how fast were you going last night when you came to find me?”

  “Too fast. About a hundred and five, I think.”

  Her dark eyes widened. “How fast will this car go?”

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted, then smiled slightly as he recalled one time he wanted to put the Barracuda to the test. “We don’t have a racetrack in Jerome or anything. But one time I was driving from Cottonwood to Sedona — the highway is fairly flat there for a while — I opened her up, just to see. I got up to almost a hundred and twenty before I thought better of it and slowed the hell down. That would’ve been a pretty expensive ticket.”

  “That’s for sure. Don’t you have any McAllisters in the local police, though…just in case?”

  “No. We’ve discussed it, but decided we’d rather just stick to being low profile instead of manipulating the police department from inside.”

  She didn’t seem to like that reply very much; her full mouth pursed slightly, and she lifted her chin as she pretended to be looking out the window again. “So you think we’re manipulating things, just by having some of our clan’s members in the police?”