Strange Magic (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 9)

by Christine Pope

  Only…the evening before it hadn’t had any problem drawing her out when she was alone. So why hadn’t it come for her directly?

  She didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. It was entirely possible that the creature really didn’t have any kind of logical game plan, and only kept lurching from one stratagem to another. Last night it had lured her out but had been driven back by a combination of hers and Evan’s magic, so maybe it had thought to try again and go back to assaulting helpless young women.

  Her cell phone rang, and she dug it out from inside her purse. Her uncle’s number showed on the screen. “Hi, Jack,” she said. “We’re almost there.”

  “Slight change of plans,” he told her. He sounded brisk but not worried, although Zoe knew that had to be a façade, and that inwardly he was probably freaking out. Supernatural goings-on in public places was every witch clan’s worst nightmare. “Last sighting was outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. Off Second Street. Can you find it?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “I’ll look it up on my phone.”

  “All right. Damn thing keeps appearing and disappearing. I don’t know what the hell its game is. I guess I should just be glad that so far none of the civilians out there have looked at it as anything except a man with a facial disfigurement and a taste for brunettes.”

  “I’m sorry — ” she began, but he cut her off, saying,

  “Don’t be sorry. Just get here.”

  He ended the call, and she hurriedly went to the map application on her phone so she could have it look up the exact location of the museum and guide them in. Luckily, they were less than five minutes away.

  “In half a mile, turn right on Second Street,” the phone instructed, and Evan gave it a quick glance.

  “Where are we headed?”

  “There’s a museum. That’s where Jack said the monster was last sighted.”

  “Got it.”

  He sped up, but just a little; they both knew that getting a ticket would delay them far more than obeying the local speed limit. They didn’t get too far before they came to another red light, and Zoe cursed under her breath. Behind them, she could see Aunt Luz tapping her fingers on the steering wheel in impatience.

  “It’s okay,” Evan said. “We’ll get there.”

  “I know,” she replied. “But will we get there in time?”

  His jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer. How could he? He didn’t have any way of knowing that they wouldn’t arrive on the scene before the monster decided to take off again. It could go up the street just a block, or to a different part of town entirely. Maybe it would decide that the hunting might be better at the local mall, not too many blocks away.

  In the meantime, all they could do was head toward the last place it had been spotted.

  Zoe’s phone remained silent, which had to be a good sign. If the creature had taken off, then Jack would have called her with an updated location. If he had one, that is.

  They passed restaurants and shops, and then Zoe could see the museum approaching on the left-hand side. She’d been there once on a school field trip years ago, and so she recognized the big blocky building with the distinctive curved wing off to one side.

  “There’s no street parking,” she said, hearing the sharp worry in her tone. “But if you turn right and go around the block, you can park at the civic center. Or you can try. Parking always sucks around here.”

  His jaw set. “I’ll park in front of a damn fire hydrant if I have to. No worries.”

  He took the corner too fast, wheels squealing slightly. Zoe doubted that anyone noticed, though, because across the way at the museum she could see people running in all directions, fleeing for the street or down the sidewalks.

  Looked like the creature was still here.

  Luck was with them, because there were two parking spaces right next to each other as soon as they pulled into the civic center parking lot. Evan killed the engine, Zoe stowed her purse under the passenger seat so it wouldn’t be in the way, and the two of them took off in the direction from which all the other people seemed to be fleeing. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her aunt pulling into the empty spot next to the one they’d just occupied, but Zoe didn’t have time for anything more than that one quick backward glance. Luz would just have to catch up as best she could.

  Parked illegally at the curb in front of the museum was a black Taurus — Jack’s unmarked police car. In fact, he climbed out of it as they approached, expression grim.

  “I’m doing my best to keep the rest of the department from descending, but if we don’t get this contained fast, there won’t be much I can do to stop them.”

  “Got it,” Evan said. “Where is it?”

  “Down the walkway that leads between the museum and the performing arts center,” Jack replied.

  “We’ll go check it out,” Zoe told him, although right then she didn’t know exactly what they were supposed to do. Well, all right, by this point they were pretty good at getting rid of the creature, if only temporarily. However, hurling balls of light and reciting spells out loud in such a public place wasn’t exactly the best way to avoid attracting attention.

  She began to hurry in the direction Jack had indicated, Evan right beside her. As they jogged away, she thought she heard her aunt’s voice, and her uncle responding. Zoe couldn’t stop to see what else they were doing, though, because she had far more important matters to keep her occupied.

  The area ahead of them was empty…almost. Everyone else appeared to have scattered, but she came skidding to a stop when she realized the creature stood there, holding a girl of about Zoe’s age by the arm. She hung in his grip like a rag doll, eyes shut, and Zoe gulped in a breath. No, the creature couldn’t have —

  “I think she probably fainted,” Evan murmured as he came to stand close to her. “Just like the first girl.”

  Zoe had to hope so. She didn’t want to let herself think it could be anything worse. For the moment, she could only be somewhat relieved that any potential onlookers had fled the scene. They’d be carrying crazy stories with them, true, but at least Zoe wouldn’t have to worry about them watching her throw white fireballs at the monster.

  Without really thinking about what she was doing, she stepped forward a few more paces. “Put her down.”

  The creature, which had been turned slightly away from Zoe, pivoted so it could look her directly in the face. She swallowed but stood her ground. Gazing at it, she saw that the monster had changed again. Really, she didn’t know if she could keep calling him a monster at all — yes, his face was still twisted, not yet normal, and yet it was completely distinguishable as human. He stared at her with bright blue eyes full of baffled rage, the unearthly yellow glare of the day before now apparently gone.

  “Zho….”

  He was trying to say her name again. She knew it. Ignoring Evan’s sound of muffled protest beside her, she took a step forward, then another.

  “Yes, I’m Zoe,” she said. “You were looking for me, weren’t you?”

  The creature didn’t respond, only kept gazing at her. He let go of the girl he’d been holding, and she fell to the ground in a boneless heap, her dark hair spilling across the sidewalk.

  Far off in the distance, sirens began to wail. They didn’t have much time.

  “It’s all right,” she went on. “No one wants to hurt you. I’m sorry that we had to last time, but we didn’t have any choice. It’s just — ” She faltered there, because she wasn’t sure what she should do. He wasn’t making any move to attack her, so she certainly didn’t feel justified in confronting him physically. And he’d let go of the girl. Zoe hoped with all her heart that she was all right.

  The creature’s gaze shifted from her, and its twisted mouth pulled into a scowl. In the next second, she knew why. Evan had moved closer so he stood by her side, although he had made no threatening movements.

  That seemed to be enough, though. The creature’s eyes were blazing. It hat
ed that Evan was there. Because he had helped to dispel the thing the night before? Or was it because its mind had flared with jealousy at the sight of the McAllister warlock?

  She had to hope it was the first option.

  “You don’t belong here,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry I brought you here. It was wrong. But now we have to send you back where you came from before anyone else gets hurt.”

  The creature shook his head. “No.”

  The syllable sounded almost normal. Zoe shivered, but knew she had no choice but to press on. Next to her, Evan was tense, intently watching the exchange. She guessed he would step in the moment things started to go sideways, but she really hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.

  And then it moved forward, one hand stretched out to her. “Zho…mine.”

  She’d shivered before, but now it felt as if someone had just pumped a load of liquid nitrogen into her veins.

  “Zoe….” Evan murmured, her name a warning.

  “Wait, Evan,” she replied in an undertone. But she knew she couldn’t make him hold off much longer, especially not with those sirens growing ever closer. She hadn’t seen any sign of her aunt, and so Zoe guessed she must have stayed back with Uncle Jack, probably to perform her own subtle spells of damage control.

  The creature took another step forward. Now less than a yard separated them, which meant he could easily reach out and grab her if he wanted. Her right wrist twinged, as if in memory of the last time they’d met up.

  “No,” she said. “That was a mistake. I’m not yours. I’m not — I’m not anybody’s.”

  His distorted features twisted even further as he frowned. She saw the way his chest rose and fell under the ragged dress shirt he wore. Zoe wondered where he’d gotten it, because the last time she’d seen him, he’d had on a pair of too-short dark pants, and that was it.

  “Brah…brought me here. You did. For me.”

  Oh, God. Guilt washed over her then, for what she’d already done to the poor creature, for what she knew she would have to do. She could never be his, but she didn’t know how to make him understand that. And although the words were hoarse, uttered in a slurred mumble, as if the tongue that shaped them was too thick for the task, she had understood him well enough.

  “I know,” she said. “It was wrong of me to do that. This isn’t your world. You aren’t meant to be here. You need to go back where you came from.”

  Another of those fearsome scowls, and that penetrating blue gaze shifted to Evan. “His?”

  At first Zoe didn’t understand the question. Then she shook her head, knowing she had to convince the creature that the McAllister warlock wasn’t a threat. “No. Not like that. Just…a friend.”

  “Friend?” The creature’s head tilted to one side, as if he was trying to figure out exactly what a friend was.

  “Zoe,” Evan said in urgent whisper, “those sirens are getting damn close. You think your uncle is really going to be able to hold back half the Scottsdale P.D.?”

  Of course he couldn’t. Zoe knew Jack was a high-ranking detective on the force, but even his status would only go so far toward deflecting the situation. With a swallow, she shook her head.

  Apparently wishing to take advantage of her distraction, the creature moved forward again. From the corner of her eye, she saw it reach out for her, and Evan swore.

  And then his voice boomed with the words of the banishing spell, and the creature took a step back, his face twisted with fury. Zoe really didn’t want to hit him with her magic, but she knew she didn’t have much choice. She lifted her hands.

  “No!” he cried out. “No!” His eyes met hers, despairing.

  In the next instant, he was gone.

  Evan couldn’t let himself relax, because he could hear the crackle of police radios and the sound of heavy feet moving toward them. He grabbed Zoe by the arm and said, “We’ve got to go. Now.”

  “What about her?”

  All this time, the girl the creature had captured lay unmoving on the ground, still apparently passed out. Without answering, Evan let go of Zoe, then went to the girl and touched her on the wrist. Right away he could feel her pulse, steady and slow and strong.

  “She’s fine,” he said. “She’s just passed out. The cops will find her and take care of her. Come on!”

  He took off running in the opposite direction from where he’d heard the police radio. Zoe pounded along next to him, although he could tell she was having a hard time keeping up because his legs were so much longer than hers. They kept running along the narrow walkway that separated the museum from what Jack Sandoval had referred to as the performing arts center, then eventually emerged into a parking lot.

  “This way,” Zoe said. “I know where there’s a bar the next street up. We can hide there until the coast is clear.”

  A bar. Yeah, Evan thought he could use a drink right about then.

  He followed her another block, and then into a brick-fronted building. Inside were a few tables, most of which were occupied. But Zoe kept going, to a secluded spot off in a corner. The table hadn’t even been bussed yet, the empty glasses from its former occupants still sitting there, but Evan really didn’t care. Someone would be along to take care of it, and in the meantime, Zoe had found them a great place to stay under cover until the police left.

  “What the hell was that back there?” he asked.

  She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “I was hoping I could reason with him — I mean, it.”

  Evan didn’t like that particular slip of the tongue. Yes, the creature had looked even more human this go-round, which meant…what? That Evan’s fears of it becoming completely human, and therefore the consort Zoe had wanted to conjure in the first place, might actually come true? “You can’t reason with a monster,” he said, his tone flat.

  “I — ”

  She was forced to stop there, because the waitress, a woman around Evan’s age with flaming red hair, came by. “Sorry about that. Let me take care of it.” She gathered up the empty glasses and ran a damp rag over the tabletop. “What can I get you?”

  “Cuervo gold margarita on the rocks,” Zoe said promptly.

  “Cuervo for me, hold the margarita,” Evan said.

  The waitress smiled. “Got it.” Her smile faded, however, as she glanced back over at Zoe. “I.D.?”

  Shit. Evan knew Zoe didn’t have her identification on her because he’d seen her slide her purse under the seat before they left the car, presumably because she didn’t want to be weighed down with it during whatever confrontation might ensue.

  But Zoe only offered the woman a smile of her own, right before she said, “You don’t need to see my identification.”

  The waitress blinked, her expression turning glassy. “Oh, that’s right. Sorry. I’ll go get your drinks now.” She turned and walked away, even as Zoe let out a small giggle.

  “I always wanted to do that.”

  Evan stared at her. “Did I just see you pull a Jedi mind trick on that waitress?”

  “More or less.”

  “So…you can control people’s minds?”

  “Well….” She paused, as if trying to figure out the best way to reply, then said, “It’s just a variation of making that redneck out at the ATV area think he saw a red Plymouth Barracuda instead of a black one. Harmless. It’s not like I could order that waitress to jump off a roof or something. But when you just need a little misdirection….” The words trailed off, and she shrugged.

  “Is that a prima thing?” he asked. “Because I know I’ve never seen Angela pull anything like that.”

  “Maybe she never had to. But it could be a de la Paz prima sort of gift. Powers can vary slightly from clan to clan.”

  Evan supposed that was true enough. While everyone had their own talents, and there existed a variety that seemed to be shared equally among witch-kind, no matter the clan they’d been born into, each clan also seemed to have its own flavor. The Wilcoxes didn’t seem too concerned with whether the
magic they worked impacted others, while the McAllisters were all about staying in tune with nature. He hadn’t quite figured out the de la Paz angle on things, but it did seem clear enough that they relied more on traditional spells than performing magic in the loosey-goosey way the McAllisters did.

  The waitress came back with their drinks. Evan couldn’t miss the glint in Zoe’s eyes as she thanked the woman for her margarita. The only answer she got was a “sure,” so clearly the little mind trick she’d pulled didn’t fade away all that fast.

  He allowed himself an internal shake of the head, then sipped at his tequila. Part of him really wanted to just bolt the entire contents of the shot glass, but then he’d be left with nothing to drink. Ordering another one wasn’t really an option, since he needed to stay functional. This drink was just to settle his nerves after their latest go-’round with the creature.

  And the way it had looked at Zoe….

  No, he hadn’t liked that at all. Not one bit. Yes, she’d brought it here to be her consort, but deep down Evan had thought it would never actually see her as a partner. But he’d heard the longing in its voice.

  Damn it, now he really wished he could have more than just the one shot of tequila.

  Across the table, Zoe sipped at her own drink, eyes closing in apparent ecstasy as the margarita hit her system. “Mmm, that’s good.”

  “I’ll bet. So are we going to talk about what happened?”

  Her eyes opened, and she took a quick glance around the bar. For two-thirty on a Saturday afternoon, it really wasn’t that crowded, but still, he could understand her reticence. If anyone overheard them….

  “Not here,” she said frankly. “I just want to have this drink and get my brain together, and then after that I guess we can go back to my aunt’s house if you think there’s anything you might find in the library that would help.”

  “I doubt it,” he said. “I mean, yeah, I could give it a shot, but I saw the original sp — that is, I saw what you used. I’ve memorized it. Probably what I really need to do is starting picking it apart, figure out if there’s some way to reverse-engineer it, for lack of a better term.”