“Tippi, are you listening? Don’t you think that’s the craziest thing ever?” Finnary asked.
“Oh, most definitely,” I replied, with only a vague clue of what she’d been saying a second ago. I might have to find a different niche. The friend—gossip companion—was not going to work out for me. I’d been personally run over by the gossip train so many times that it had burned out my taste for it completely. It was like eating chicken the day after you’d gotten food poisoning. It was a hard swallow.
Finnary was huffing as she stood up, and I belatedly realized she’d said something else. She shot me an annoyed look on her way out. I might have to be the broker who negotiated really good deals from now on. Maybe that could be my niche?
I got up, heading into the back where it was quiet enough to complete a thought. It was the same thought I’d been dwelling on all day, and nothing seemed to be clicking. Something was different about me, had been ever since I’d lured Dread into that hill. What if I did have too much magic? What if Xazier and Lou were onto something? What if I was unsafe now? What if I did something really awful? Was feeling Xazier out, as Mertie suggested, really such a bad idea? If there was something wrong with me, maybe I’d be able to pick up some sign from him. If not, an alliance against Lou wasn’t the worst outcome.
I waved a hand at the fireplace, looking to take the chill out of the back room as I sank into a chair in front of it.
I curled my legs up and used my fist to prop up my chin, staring at the flames. The relative quiet of the back room wasn’t helping me get my head together.
The back door opened, and I sensed Hawk’s magic as soon as he entered. That was another weird thing that had been happening lately. I used to sense him on some deep level, feel his stare, smell that scent that gave me a heady, blissful feeling. Now? I could feel the tingles of his magic before anything else.
He walked over and leaned an arm on the mantel, staring down at me. Hawk was impossible to ignore, no matter how hard I tried. How long was he going to stand there and stare at me like that? As if he had the key to all my thoughts. Well, he didn’t. He might think he was clever, but he wasn’t psychic.
“Don’t.” That was all he said. Nothing else because nothing else was needed. I knew immediately what he meant and because it was the only thing I was thinking of.
The single word sounded like a command and grated on every nerve. Although it might not have been meant that way.
I narrowed my eyes, giving him a look that said I’d do what I wanted, whether he agreed or not.
He raised a brow, as if to challenge me.
Why had I bothered to give him the benefit of the doubt? Of course it had been a command. I’d simply set him up to fail thinking it could be anything else.
“There aren’t a lot of options. We need him. Divide and conquer.” I uncurled my legs, just in case I needed to make a hasty exit. His style of manipulation these days was scarier than a sucker punch, and much more effective.
His eyes zeroed in on my movement, and I thought I saw the tiniest beginnings of a smirk, as if he knew he’d already won the battle.
I shot out of the chair and went over to the counter, feigning the need for tea. We’d see who’d win this round.
He didn’t follow me, but that meant nothing. He could move faster than any person I’d ever seen. I couldn’t let my guard down. He might be giving me the illusion of distance, but every action he did needed to be analyzed for ulterior purposes.
“If that is the plan you’re set on, why Xazier? Why not try Lou first?” He straightened, as if he were going to cross the distance, and then leaned again, as if simply getting more comfortable, as if he were screwing with me.
“Because we both know Xazier is the easier target.”
“Because Xazier might’ve had a personal interest in you?” The muscle in his jaw flexed as he crossed his arms, the sinew of his forearms on full display as his t-shirt stretched over his broad shoulders.
He might be the only person in Xest who could walk around in a t-shirt and not freeze to death, besides Bautere, who didn’t count. I still wasn’t sure if Bautere was more polar bear or man, but either way, that had to do something for your coldness tolerance.
“Xazier has no interest in me, other than how much he can use me. I’m not delusional. But yes, any kind of interest might help.” If anyone should be upset about having to interact with Xazier, it should be me. Every cell in my body recoiled at the idea of playing nice with him. “Nice” might be pushing it. I’d see how civil went. Or businesslike. That should be enough.
“It’s not a good idea. Do you really want to call upon someone from hell and open up some sort of negotiation?” Hawk asked, as if I couldn’t possibly say yes. That if I said yes, the mere word would proclaim my intelligence as so low that I wouldn’t even make it onto the standard deviation. I’d be hanging off the chart somewhere, floating in the abyss of too stupid to live.
He could think whatever he wanted. He might not understand it, but it was a plan of sorts, which was something he’d yet to offer up. All he did was run around and disappear with Oscar.
“It’s not what I want to do. If we’re going to get picky about it, I haven’t wanted to do most of the things I’ve done. I didn’t want to fight a giant bat or kill people, but it happened. Now, this needs to happen.” I leaned against the counter, shrugging a shoulder as I gave the best it is what it is vibe I could muster. I buried my own distaste at the idea so as not to fuel his already raging inferno of contempt.
I walked toward the back door.
He stood silently.
He could glare all he wanted. It had to be done. We didn’t have a plethora of other options available.
I was a few feet from the door.
Hawk took a few steps toward me, and I knew what was coming next.
I opened the back door, taking a small step outside, and said, “Xazier,” knowing the fifth wind would deliver the call.
Hawk growled from across the room as soon as the name left my lips. Seemed we were destined to be on opposite ends of every argument.
“Did you do that because you wanted to call him or because you wanted to avoid me? Is there anything you wouldn’t do to avoid intimacy?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Why are you so scared?” he asked, staring at me. “Why do you keep running so hard and fast?”
I dropped my gaze. Maybe because he’d never been so determined. Before, Hawk was some hot and unattainable man that was always a few feet too far away. Now he was hot, wanted me, and might still be unattainable even as he stood right in front of me. What if he had me one night and never wanted me again? Then what? It wasn’t like I’d had a successful relationship in my life. Then would I be stuck here with him as he eventually moved on? And he would. I knew it in my gut. He wouldn’t want to stay. I was meant to be alone in this world.
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really? No idea?” His brows rose.
“No,” I said, shivering slightly as a gust of fifth wind did its worst at my back and sides, the door still gaping open behind me. That was the worst thing about the fifth wind. There was no way to turn away from it. The only way to avoid it was inside, and Hawk was standing in the doorway.
He reached out, grabbed my arm, and tugged me inside. He reached past me and shut the door at my back before planting a hand on the frame on either side as he leaned close.
“No problem with proximity at all?” he asked, knowing he had me trapped and wondering if I’d chew off my own paw in order to escape, which had yet to be seen.
“None.” I plastered myself against the door with that same mixture of emotions that always boiled up when he was close. I couldn’t tell if my heart was doing laps around my chest because of fear, exhilaration, or some strange combination of the two.
I dragged my gaze to his. “I think it’s time we did something about that little ma
gical pact that keeps me working here. We haven’t talked about it, but it’s a loose end that should get cleaned up, don’t you think?”
“The one that saved you?” he asked. “When this is finally finished, it won’t be needed. As for now, I disagree, and I think you know that too.” He laid his hand on the base of my neck. “An insecure man might think you weren’t interested, but this”—he trailed his fingers over the column of my throat, my vein pulsing against his touch—“this tells me otherwise.”
“I’m being practical. And if my heart is racing, it’s because of the cold.”
If Hawk had any defects in his personality, insecurity was not among them. The gleam in his eye, the way he was staring at my lips, made it clear he knew my heart was pounding because of him. That I felt like I couldn’t get enough air because all I wanted to do was breathe him in. As he raised his hand, lifting it to circle around the back of my neck, my back arched and my lips parted.
All rational parts of my brain shut down as soon as he came close. I wasn’t a logical being near him but some carnal creature I didn’t recognize, filled with an intense hunger.
“So you’re impartial to me? Is that what you’re implying?” His voice was deep and rough.
“Yes. Completely.”
“Maybe we should test that.”
He feathered his lips over mine, taunting me, teasing, forcing me to be the one to come to him. I resented the urges that drove me to do just that. I hated that he knew I would, that he seemed to read my every weakness. I resented that he was right about all of it, mostly that I would close the gap between us.
I leaned in, and he seized the opportunity like a warrior who’d declared himself the victor on the battlefield, his lips crashing over mine, his tongue delving and demanding even more from my surrender. He pressed his body against me from hip to chest, and instead of feeling suffocated, I wanted more contact. Instead of stiffening, I molded to him as his leg shifted in between mine as he grabbed my ass, pulling me up against his leg.
In that moment, it didn’t matter what he did, or how he touched me, as long as he kept doing it. When our flesh met, there was a short circuit that happened to the logical part of my brain, and I immediately knew why I always wanted to run when he came close. I turned into someone who couldn’t form a clear thought. Words fled. Logic didn’t exist. The only thing left was a burning desire to be with him. The cost didn’t matter. Nothing mattered because I couldn’t think that far ahead.
Hawk broke contact and turned his head. “What?”
I instantly realized we weren’t alone. He’d noticed we had company, but I’d been in la la land.
I pulled back, straightening myself while I was still concealed by Hawk.
“Did someone summon up a demon? Because the red dude is hanging out in the front,” Zab said.
Hawk tensed in front of me, then his jaw shifted and I could see the cords in his neck strain. A speck of black shimmered on his skin, just like the skin of the creature he shifted into, right before disappearing.
“We’ll be out in a few minutes. Just leave him there.”
“Okay. Sorry to interrupt,” Zab said, right before ducking back out of the room.
I wasn’t. If Zab hadn’t, there was a very good chance Hawk and I would’ve ended up banging on the couch, and that was the optimistic view.
Hawk turned his full attention back to me. I was fully composed again, mental armor back in place, already reminding myself how this shouldn’t happen again.
“United front,” he said, locking eyes with me.
“Agreed.” For this, we’d be united. And it would be the only way we’d be united.
Xazier was meandering around outside the front of the broker building, red-skinned, two horns, and as conspicuous as could be with his back to us. He tipped his hat to a group of passing witches, who quickly crossed the street in spite of his smile, or maybe because of it.
As if sensing us, he turned with his smile still in place and pointed at the door, as if asking if we wanted him to come in, as if I hadn’t called him. That was the first sign that he was going to make every little bit of this meeting as annoying as possible. He figured I’d called him, and he had the upper hand. He was going to play it for all it was worth until the last bet was made. Problem was? He was most likely holding a royal flush. I was pretty sure I only had pocket deuces, but damned if I wouldn’t play them like aces.
“So lovely to see you all again. Seems like it’s been an awfully long spell.” Xazier looked around and let out a sigh someone might make when getting home after a voyage.
Musso was still sorting things out at his desk and didn’t bother to hide his groan.
Bibbi was watching intently from her table. Oscar was leaning against the wall, clearly on high alert and waiting to see if he’d be needed.
It was clear from before Xazier entered that he was going to put on a show, but the Pollyanna vibe was taking it so beyond the stretch of imagination that it was going to be hard to carry out a conversation with him if he continued this way.
Every muscle in Hawk’s body was tense, as if he were physically restraining himself from battering Xazier.
“Care to join us in the back?” I asked, afraid that if I didn’t take the lead, Hawk would shift and bad things might happen.
“That would be lovely,” Xazier said, and then walked past us.
Hawk turned to me, glaring his thoughts as clear as day. You thought this was a good idea?
“It might be.”
7
Xazier settled on the couch, in the same spot he’d sat last time. He crossed his legs and glanced at the two of us as we followed him in.
“A tea would be wonderful if you have some,” he said, as if we’d offered.
Hawk raised a brow as he glanced at me, doubling down on his silent comment a moment ago. It was clear the world would burn down around him before he served Xazier tea.
Wanting one myself, I wasn’t as dug in about the situation. First off, it wouldn’t start off negotiations well to pour one for myself and not him. Second, I had a big ask coming, and if a warm brew warmed up his…whatever it was that resided in his chest, then I’d serve him an entire pot if needed.
Playing it safe, I brought over the whole teapot setup. It was Bertha’s and had intricate, small flowers all over it. She had a thing for making tea into a whole production in the afternoon. I’d internally mocked her when I first witnessed it, and then I partook one day after she insisted. I had to say, the tea seemed to taste better after she’d made a fuss over it.
I settled the set on the table in between us and served, really doing a deep dive into the Pollyanna theme, if that was what worked for him. When I silently offered a cup to Hawk, he shrugged and raised a hand, as if he’d had his fill of this show. That was fine. A few minutes later, Xazier and I were drinking tea together quite civilly.
“What can I do for you?” He made a point of glancing toward the empty seat where Lou had sat last time we had a meeting, before turning his gaze back to us.
“We have a possible solution to the issue at hand.”
“The issue being hogging all the founding magic in Xest? This should be interesting.” He never lost his smile or pleasant tone. He sipped his tea, waiting for me to continue.
I wasn’t sure if this request was dead in the water already, but I was committed.
“What about replacing the magic in the hill with Lou’s?” I smiled, as if that statement didn’t amount to declaring an intention to kill an angel. If this request went badly, it wouldn’t be a simple faux pas, it might mean all-out war, but I was already on the brink of that anyway, so what was there really to lose? If I’d read the chemistry right, Xazier didn’t like Lou any more than I did. Would he really care if I offed the angel? The main purpose of this meeting was to find out if going after Lou would cause me to fight a war on two fronts.
Xazier continued to take sips of his tea before placing the cup on the table in front of him. He
ran two fingers along the crease of his pants. The longer he took answering, the more hope I had.
“You think you’re going to be able to trap Lou in the hill? Trap his magic there to balance out Dread?” Xazier raised a skeptical brow.
Seemed it was the day to be doubted, but I’d gone in expecting that. Planning on getting the best of an angel? It was a tall order.
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to try. Your help would be welcome if you care to get on board?” It was a tough sell to be sure. I felt like I was pushing shares in a business that had a ninety-nine percent failure rate. When it probably did fail, he’d be shouldering some hefty fines on top, just for the perk of investing. He’d be crazy to say yes.
As for me, if I could succeed in trapping Lou, I didn’t know what would happen. I might end up in a worse position, because there had to be some sort of fallout for killing Lou. I didn’t think God would say, “Oh, you took out an angel of mine? No biggie.” Everything was a gamble, but it was the only bet available.
Xazier finally took a deep breath and sighed. “I can’t help you, but I won’t hinder you. Do what you must in that regard, but we still have the other issue of you having too much of our magic at this point. What do you plan on doing about that? It will need to be rectified no matter what happens with Lou.”
I glanced at Hawk, waiting to see if he was going to jump in on this at some point. He was sitting quietly, waiting to see what I’d say as well. Guess I was on my own with this one.
“I’m working on it, but I’ll have to get back to you on that.” It was a line we used with clients all the time and the only thing that came to mind.
“As a friendly warning, you’re treading in dangerous territory,” Xazier said.
I swallowed, saying nothing.
Hawk didn’t have the same lack of words. “Is that a threat?”
“Not from me,” Xazier answered, before shifting his gaze back to me. “I’d much prefer you as an ally, but I think you know that.”
Witch of All Witches: Tales of Xest #4 Page 4
