by Ruby Raine
Good witches being wiped out one by one.
"Let's go get some answers." Melinda led the way.
CHAPTER 5
MORNING ARRIVED WITHOUT fanfare or enough coffee.
Melinda groggily shivered and stepped into the Wicked Muddy Cafe—the October air today was far more fall-like than the day before. She shuffled up to the counter where Grace proceeded to heave a great sigh followed by a tsk tsk, and a, we can't have this now shake of her head, all while whipping up some sugary caffeinated concoction that looked and smelled delectable.
"Molasses cookie in a cup," Grace said. "Real molasses, splash of real maple syrup, cinnamon coffee, whipped cream, and crystallized ginger along with a few secrets of my own design." She winked and handed it over.
"You had me at molasses," Melinda bemoaned, taking a sip. "My God, Grace. You need to package and sell this every single day." It was the perfect blend of creamy molasses and cinnamon with a gingery punch in the face a second later.
"Shame, really. People don't use molasses much even around these parts anymore. But it was clearly an extra sugar needed kind of morning."
"Damn straight it is," groaned Emily, surprising Melinda as she sidled up alongside. "Make me one of those," she pleaded, looking just as tired as Melinda.
"I take it you've been filled in," Melinda retorted exhaustedly. She snorted. "I meant that in the witchy sense, not the—"
"Michael sense," finished Emily with a weary tease in her gaze. "But yes, on both counts." She winked and said to Grace, "Don't suppose you have anything Irish and boozy to add to that coffee?"
"Well, not for the general public." Grace winked, and Melinda and Emily smirked.
A few minutes later they were moaning over the pure perfection of molasses cookie in a cup as they got comfy in a seat by the front window. And sure enough, another minute after Grace was pulling up her own chair.
"Spill," she ordered in a hush. "Mack's been too quiet, and that's got me all kinds of worked up."
"I don't even know how to respond," Melinda said blankly.
"Let me try this one," offered Emily. "Nasty evil wants to take over the world, and as usual, The Demon Isle is the place to be." But Emily's explanation was not nearly enough to placate Grace.
Melinda took over. "Grace, it's bad. But we don't know how bad it's going to get, or when. But this enemy we're going up against is pretty much the biggest, baddest, scariest enemy of them all."
"Well, okey dokey, then."
She got up and returned to work like they hadn't just told her the sky was falling and both Melinda and Emily just stared at each other in awe of the woman.
"How was your first night in your new home?" Melinda desperately needed a change of topic.
"Other than getting filled in by your brother?" Emily responded, her smile growing more genuine.
"Okay, sorry I even went there. Trying to enjoy my molasses cookie in a cup over here."
Emily chuckled. "Well, if you take away the middle of the night phone call from Charlie and Lizzy, the movers dinging every possible surface they could find, and not being able to locate actual sheets for the new bed..." she grinned widely and dreamily. "Best damn night of my life."
Melinda almost spit out her coffee trying not to laugh.
"I'm sorry your date didn’t go well," Emily said. "And that you almost died." She wrinkled her nose and frowned. "There's really no way to make that sound good."
"Understatement of the decade. But William and I will try again. Soon. Ish. I hope."
"William isn't getting all wishy washy, is he?"
"Nope. A little." Melinda shook her head. "He's good. We're good. He knows he's his own worst enemy, but I have faith in him."
"You'll make it. If me and Michael, and Charlie and Lizzy can survive all we did and make it, you guys will too."
"I hope so. I have more hope than before. You'd think our biggest hurdle would be finding a cure for William's vampirism... but really, it's just the day-to-day supernatural stuff that keeps shoving the reality down our throats that he's immortal and I'm not."
Emily cast Melinda a sympathetic smile.
"How do you think Lucas and Riley are doing?" she changed the subject.
"Can't imagine," Melinda answered. "Must be having a good time seeing how long they've been gone. Mathew said yesterday they'd be home soon, though, so I guess we'll find out what they've been up to and what plans Rae's been making."
"Yeah, I've been wondering just how she fits into all this. Will there really be a war if Rae can kill demons? Maybe she can stop it before it even gets going?"
"Let's hope. For everyone's sake. Getting into the middle of a war with demons and Guardians isn't something I ever thought in a million years we'd be doing."
"Any luck getting Stricker to talk?" Emily asked.
"Not as of an hour ago. He likes to blab a lot of bullshit, but nothing of value. And it's not like we have any real leverage with him. I mean, it's pretty much we're going to end you either way... it's not much incentive to give up intel. And even though we'd all like to cause him serious physical harm, we don't torture, so..."
Emily sat back in her chair, her mind a whirl of thought. "There has to be something we can use against him."
"Other than set the vampires loose in his cell—" retorted Melinda.
"I'm not even sure that would work on the rat bastard." But Emily was going to give it some serious thought and try to find a way.
"So, now that you're back on the Isle and settled, you going to reopen the bookstore?"
"I think so. But I'm going to hold off until this whole business with the demons is over with. Or, until the summer season is back." Because the ugly truth is they had no idea how long this battle might rage.
"And are you guys going to try to start a family?" Melinda prodded innocently.
Emily sighed, and if Melinda wasn't mistaken, blushed. "We'd prefer to wait a few more years and leave the baby making to Lizzy and Charlie for now. And what about you Melinda?" Emily wiggled in her chair like it was a subject she wasn't too keen to think about just yet. "If you had the choice, do you want kids? It has to be weighing on your mind, considering..."
"That I'm in love with a vampire," Melinda finished. She didn't miss the quick change of subject direction—more like deflection. She hoped Emily and Michael weren't having disagreements on having a family. "To be honest," Melinda continued, "I don't see myself as the mom type. I suppose one thing at a time. See if there's a cure for William... go from there. He always wanted to be a father... he'd be a fantastic father. I do wish he could have that dream."
Emily slid her hand across the table and squeezed Melinda's hand in support. Almost at the same time, their phones buzzed with incoming messages.
"They're back." Melinda shook off the melancholy hoping the molasses sugar buzz was about to kick in.
"Family meeting time," Emily said, as they gathered their things to head back to the mansion, as Mathew, Lucas, Riley, and Rae had returned from their extended visit with the Guardians.
But just as they were to leave Grace waved them down and handed them a pastry box.
"Figured ya had a long day ahead of ya that required a little extra somethin' somethin'." She winked and handed them the box and wished them well.
It was as they were stepping through the gates onto the grounds that Emily stopped abruptly, getting that knowing look in her eyes.
"You've got an idea?" Melinda hoped.
"Actually, I think I have. It's not perfect, but it might help. I'll explain inside."
They rushed inside to collide with the chaos of a full kitchen, pots of coffee, the new box of pastries, and greetings all around as everyone got settled for family meeting. Mack arrived minutes later to join in.
Melinda was pleasantly surprised that welcoming home Riley wasn't too awkward. It seemed the time apart from each other had helped heal those breakup wounds.
"I'd like to start," Emily surprised them all a few minutes
later. Michael shot her a questioning gaze, but she merely winked at him which made him grin. He liked that she was part of the family now... had been for a long time. But something about it being official was a soothing knowledge that helped ease his own worries about the future.
"Please, go ahead," urged Charlie.
"I might have an idea of how to start getting some info out of Stricker."
"We're all ears," Lizzy said, eager to hear it.
Emily looked to Annie, who lifted an eyebrow to clarify, me?
"You can tell when people are lying, right? Even non-humans?"
"Yes. True."
"What about Feyk? Does it work on them too?"
"Hmm. I see where you're going. I've not tried, but I certainly can. If I can get a baseline on him, I can at least ask questions that are yes or no answers and see what we can come up with."
"That's a good solid way to move forward," said Charlie. "Great idea, Emily. Can't believe we didn’t think of it before now."
"We're not used to having Annie around," Michael defended. "But it is a great idea."
With that decided, they turned to the new arrivals, unsure what they'd report.
"Welcome back," Charlie gave an official group greeting.
"Thanks," said Lucas, on their behalves. "It was quite the trip."
"Yeah, pretty intense at times," Riley added.
"I can't even imagine," Charlie exclaimed. "So, anything new or exciting to share?" he aimed his words at Mathew and Rae.
"Mostly," started Mathew, "Rae spent time with her grandparents, and we had many meetings, votes, lots of things to debate. The demons have officially broken off the longstanding truce. They've been stirring up more trouble than ever before. Based on what we're seeing and what you've seen here, they're putting together an army. And they do seem to be recruiting humans."
"Like Dominic Douchenozzle Landon," Melinda muttered.
"They will fight dirty," Rae continued. "Forget about what you think is fair. They know they have everything to lose and they will go into this war at full force. But the missing witches and stolen witches' blood is most concerning, to the Guardian's too. Have you gotten any closer to finding out why?"
"No," Charlie responded grimly.
"And if I have this right, demons don't wear protection rings anymore, right?" asked Michael.
Mathew frowned. "You're right. We did confirm that the tattoos the demons wear do the same thing."
Rae continued, "We think the demons began breaking the truce in secret long before we thought."
"But this gives them an edge?" Mack assumed.
"Because tattoos can't just be removed, voluntarily or by force," said Michael.
"I could tear it off," offered Courtney. William lifted a brow in agreement of that.
"Won't do any good," claimed Mathew. "It's part of them now, in their body. They have to be completely destroyed."
"And this development does not stop me," said Rae. "I can still kill a demon either way."
The entire room fell silent and stared at Rae as if she was suddenly a war party of one, because it's what it was starting to feel like. How did they help against an enemy so protected?
"So where do we go from here?" asked William.
"Get Stricker to talk," Charlie decided. "We need to figure out who is killing off witches and why. We need to find out what the demons are planning with Melinda's blood. And I guess, prepare for a war we don't really know how to fight." He eyed Rae and Mathew. "Is there any training you can give us to fight a demon? We can't kill them, but can we hurt them? Can we be of any help at all in an actual battle?"
"At the least, I can teach you how to defend yourselves against their powers. And yes, they can be harmed, severely even, if the blow is just right." He held up some potion bottles. "I've been working in my lab." Although Mathew's features didn't hold the confidence they'd have preferred to see.
"You have a lab?" asked Lizzy.
"It's not just a lab," Lucas interjected with a smile, "It's a L-A-B. Like, state of the freaking art, anything you can imagine..." he stopped gushing and blushed. "It's pretty cool." He tried to shrug it off but the grin on Mathew's face claimed the men had spent a lot of time in the lab and enjoyed every minute.
"Any updates on the demon lookalike problem?" asked Melinda.
"Not yet. It's being looked into," Mathew answered. His features dimmed, this issue weighing on him terribly. "But it does not seem to have been repeated to any other Guardian's but me. That we know of."
After coffee refills all around, and digging into Grace's pastry box, Annie, Michael, and Emily headed to the basement to see what they might learn from Stricker. Mack headed back to the police station. Courtney did a few rounds around the property line, keeping her eyes and ears open for anything out of place. Leaving Charlie and Lizzy making plans with Mathew and Rae, for training, while Melinda and William found themselves in the kitchen alone with Lucas and Riley.
"So, your mother?" she led in.
"Yeah, that was one hell of a surprise." Riley shook his head as if still struggling to believe it. "Seeing her after years of believing her gone, was—surreal and incredible. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be a dream."
"And what did you think of the Guardians base of operations?" asked William, genuinely curious.
"It is something out of a sci-fi novel," Lucas admitted. "Beautifully organized. Run with incredible respect for the job. It blew my mind daily."
"More so because it'll be your home someday?" assumed Melinda, with a hint of good humor on her tongue.
"There is that," Lucas agreed with a smile. "Like my brother said, it was surreal and yet more real than anything I've ever experienced before."
"I think he wants to go back," smirked Riley. "But that might just have something to do with it being Mathew's home." He teased his brother who merely shrugged. It was clear, though, it wasn't just Mathew or their mother that attracted Lucas to the place.
"You said you'd never want a boring office job," Melinda recalled from a previous conversation months ago.
"This would never be that. It's kind of a perfect fit," Lucas admitted, almost a bit shocked he'd said it himself. "They encourage love and relationships. They encourage new ways of thinking and doing things. They're very progressive and yet hold dear to the true values and rules that have kept their way of life going. It's this wonderful blend of old and new. Always looking for newer and better ways of accomplishing things, and yet always with this core set of values that never changes. I like that."
Riley wasn't able to disagree with his brother. But he wasn't as eager to return there on any permanent basis—not yet anyway. His gift, his feeling, was keeping him in the human world, and always near Rae. They'd become fast friends over the previous weeks and his instinct was to stick close and protect her. Not that she needed physical protection. It was simpler and dare he say, more personal and human than that.
Whatever it was, he was grateful to be standing in a room with Melinda and William and not be drowning in sadness or regret or awkwardness.
They passed a knowing smile. One they both understood. Somehow, the world had put them where they belonged. It wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it gave them a sense of okayness, they'd both needed. A final bit of closure and the ability to move forward.
CHAPTER 6
THE DEANE MANOR WAS lit up again, its residents' home at last.
Rae and Riley were having a beer and laughing at something they were watching on the television—something brand new to Rae. Lucas watched from the doorframe of the kitchen and couldn't help but feel a sense of peace about watching the two of them together.
Fate was a real son of a bitch with a sick sense of humor, he decided. And yet somehow, even with the world threatening to cave in on them all, he'd never felt so—at home. Settled. Like he'd finally found his path and purpose.
Arms slid around his waist and Lucas leaned back into those arms, soaking u
p Mathew's warmth.
"Does this feel the same when you're not fully human anymore?" he asked his Guardian.
"I dare claim it feels even better." Mathew nibbled at Lucas' ear and shuddered. "One day, you'll get to feel it for yourself."
Lucas twisted to face Mathew and pushed him into the kitchen letting the door swing shut.
"What's got you all worked up?" Mathew pushed out breathlessly.
"I was picturing you in your lab coat and wearing those sexy ass glasses."
"I could summon them—"
"I'd just tear them off you with my teeth. But actually," he pushed pause on fooling around, putting a few inches of space between them, "I've made my decision."
Mathew inhaled sharply understanding exactly what Lucas was speaking of. He'd thought Lucas might need more time to think about the offer made to him. Months, or maybe even years. He hadn't expected him to have an answer this fast.
"Yes." Lucas grinned. "I'm saying yes."
"Are you sure? Really sure?" Mathew had to ask. Although, the excitement over this possibility had his knees tingly and wobbly.
"Never been more certain in all my life."
"Have you talked to Riley?"
Lucas shook his head. "Tomorrow. And it'll be more like telling him my intentions, as I already know I will say yes. It's what I want, Mathew. I'm going to take the offer. I want my life to start now. I want our life to start now."
Seeing as the truce between demons and Guardians was ended, and Lucas' soul was already determined good, he'd been given an offer no human had been given before—it was also a testament to their need for him. Even just this one extra number to their ranks was vital. And seeing as how Lucas and Mathew didn't wish to be separated... they'd offered Lucas the chance to begin his Guardianship now, or at his choosing, rather than wait until his natural human death.
"I think this calls for a celebration," squealed Mathew. He went to slide his arms around Lucas and kiss him all over but tripped over his own feet and ended up falling into Lucas' arms instead. "My kingdom for a day without being clumsy."
"Baby, you can fall into my arms any day you want." Lucas grinned wickedly. "Can you do that thing—"
