Hex Type Thing

by Amanda M. Lee

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Thalia suggested, attitude on full display. “This has nothing to do with you. When we need a watered-down drink we know who to call.”

  “My drinks are not watered down,” Lilac hissed.

  “Please. That gin and tonic I ordered was eight bucks and it was all ice and tonic. You run a scam at that bar of yours, lady, and you should be ashamed of yourself. In fact ... .” Thalia didn’t get a chance to finish what she was going to say.

  Lilac’s hair turned a violent shade of red a split instant before her hand ignited in blue flames. She was reaching for Thalia’s throat when I reacted, putting my hands up and grabbing her wrist to keep it away from the wide-eyed witch as Lilac began muttering.

  “What the heck?” Luster squeaked and scurried to leave.

  Thalia remained rooted to her spot.

  “My drinks are not watered down,” Lilac snapped. “And I’ve had it with you stupid witches.” Her other hand glowed hot with blue flames that she pointed directly at Thalia.

  I reacted out of instinct, calling on my own magic and pointing it at her wrists. The power I called careened into Lilac’s wrists, forcing them up so the bolt of deadly fire that she sent toward Thalia soared over the woman’s head and landed sizzling in the water about thirty feet away.

  For a moment I was relieved. It was over and everybody was safe.

  Then I risked a glance at Lilac and found her glowering at me ... and I realized we were nowhere near done.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Aurora cackled. “Now she’s going to kill you.”

  23

  Twenty-Three

  Lilac’s eyes were pits of molten lava.

  I swallowed hard and took a deliberate step away from her.

  There was a moment when it felt as if we were in a movie and Lilac was creating her own wind tunnel, the strands of usually blond hair going crimson as they whipped about without help from the outside elements.

  Then, she took a deliberate breath and exhaled heavily, her hair tone drifting down. Her roots were still red, but I sensed the immediate urgency had passed.

  “What were you thinking?” Aurora asked in a low voice.

  I found she was staring at me.

  “What do you mean?” I balked. “I was saving Thalia.”

  For her part, the grim witch had distanced herself from our trio and was trying to make herself small behind some palm trees. She kept darting her head out to stare in our direction and then tucking it back in when she made eye contact with one of us. I didn’t blame her for being afraid. Lilac’s temper was a thing to behold.

  “You shouldn’t have gotten between her and Lilac,” Aurora chided. “Don’t you understand that Lilac could’ve incinerated you?”

  I spared a glance for the normally amiable bartender and found her staring at the sand, clenching and unclenching her hands, and sucking in even breaths. It was clearly a calming technique.

  “She wouldn’t have hurt me,” I said finally. Even though Lilac was clearly struggling, I believed that to be true. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have dragged her out here. She told me she was fed up with the witches.”

  “Then you definitely should’ve left her alone,” Aurora agreed. Her gaze was curious as she looked Lilac up and down. “You look better.”

  Lilac let loose a hollow laugh. “Than what?” Her voice was shaky but I was relieved to hear the familiar humor rippling under the surface.

  “Than you did right before it happened,” Aurora replied bluntly. “It was clear you were going to go there in those last seconds. Your face and hair turned red, your eyes did that lizard thing they’re prone to when you lose it. The only thing you were missing was a tail and horns.”

  I was taken aback. “Wait ... she has a tail and horns?”

  Aurora bobbed her head. “They only come out right before she goes nuclear. I’ve seen them twice ... and never seen the people she was talking to at the time she lost it ever again. It’s fun.”

  Lilac made an exasperated sound deep in her throat. “Don’t listen to her. She’s messing with you.”

  I narrowed my eyes and glared at Aurora. “Are you seriously messing with me?”

  She snorted. “Yes, because you’re an easy mark. It’s often impossible for me not to mess with you.”

  “I don’t have horns and a tail,” Lilac replied calmly. This time when she stretched out her hands they stayed that way. “The eyes do go lizard-like, though. I’m not sure why. I guess because the original demons were more serpentine.”

  I tried to picture that. “That’s kind of freaky, huh?”

  “Yeah.” She licked her lips and slowly lifted her eyes to hold mine. There wasn’t a hint of lizard in them now. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to apologize.” I meant it. “I just ... I was worried. I thought you might set her on fire. If that happened, I would either have to lie to Galen or watch you go to jail ... and I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of lying to Galen.”

  “You just need to practice more,” Aurora countered, patting my arm. “You’re probably good at it and simply don’t realize it.”

  I stared at her for a long moment. “When was the last time you had a significant other?”

  She pursed her lips, considering. “What year is it again?”

  I arched an eyebrow and turned back to Lilac. “It’s really okay. I wasn’t afraid.”

  “You should’ve been.” Lilac was matter-of-fact. “Seriously, you should’ve been afraid. I could’ve hurt you, Hadley.”

  I opened my mouth to reassure her that I wasn’t afraid of that possibility, but my attention was drawn by a flurry of activity. Striding in our direction from the parking lot was Galen. His hair was a mess from his nap and his eyes were clouded with fury.

  “He doesn’t look happy,” Aurora noted. “Perhaps I should ... .” She moved to skedaddle in the opposite direction, but a stern finger from Galen stopped her in her tracks.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he warned, not stopping until he was directly in front of me. His gaze was keen as he looked me up and down. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded dumbly. “Why? What have you heard?”

  He scowled. “I’m going to give you a quick hug because I was worried, and then we’re going to get to business. Part of that business is going to include me yelling at you.”

  I should’ve seen that coming. “Before you even consider that, you should know that I was never in any danger.”

  Aurora snorted. “I thought you said you couldn’t lie to him.”

  Galen’s eyes darkened. “I want someone to tell me the entire story. I don’t want embellishments. I don’t want smoothed edges. I want to know exactly what happened.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but he extended a warning finger. “Not you.”

  “Then how about me?” Thalia volunteered, stepping from behind the trees. Apparently she had found her courage ... now that the sheriff had shown up to lambast us all.

  “And what do you have to do with this?” Galen asked blankly.

  “I’m the witch who was attacked for no good reason.”

  I rolled my eyes and growled. “No good reason? You verbally assaulted my boyfriend and talked down to Lilac. You’re lucky your entrails are still on the inside at this point.”

  “She’s not wrong,” Aurora said cheerfully as she took one of the abandoned canvas chairs to our left. The people who had been sitting in them before Lilac lost her temper disappeared pretty quickly in the aftermath of the argument.

  Galen shot the oddly exuberant siren a quelling look. “I know you get off on it when people jump headfirst into fights, but this is not the time.”

  Aurora’s response was an extended tongue and loud raspberry. “You’re not the boss of me.”

  “You’re on my payroll, which makes me the boss of you.”

  Aurora looked as if she was going to argue the point, but snapped her mouth shut and opted to study the end of her spear. Galen ke
pt his eyes on her for an extended beat and then turned to me.

  “Here comes your hug.” He pulled me close, burying his face in my hair for a moment and inhaling deeply. It was a nice moment. Then he pushed me back and his eyes filled with icy anger. “Why did you leave the lighthouse?”

  That wasn’t the question I was expecting. “Why does that matter?”

  “Because I thought you were with me.” He looked angrier than I expected. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  His reaction was enough to set my teeth on edge. “You needed the rest. I ... .”

  “Hold up.” Thalia was obviously feeling bolder. She was all brashness and bossiness when she stepped forward. “You said he was busy with work, that he was investigating murders. That was apparently a lie.”

  Uh-oh. I pressed my lips together and sent a silent apology to Galen.

  “She said he was otherwise engaged and he was,” Aurora shot back. “Why must you be so difficult? What does it matter if he took two hours’ downtime? The guy has been working his tail off for you people since this entire mess started. Give him a break.”

  “He’s the sheriff.” Thalia refused to let it go. “He’s supposed to be handling this situation, not sleeping on the job.”

  Luster, who had decided to join the party, cleared her throat to garner attention. “If you’re tired, you should try some homeopathic sleep remedies. I have a few if you’re interested. They’re guaranteed to knock you out for eight hours and have you rising without any ill effects.”

  “I’m good,” Galen said dryly. “Thanks, though. As for you ... .” His expression was hard to read when he pinned Thalia with a look. “If you have trouble with the way I’m handling things you’re more than welcome to take it up with the township board.”

  Aurora and Lilac made twin sounds of delight at the prospect, causing Thalia’s eyes to darken.

  “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to demand movement on this situation,” Thalia countered, readjusting her tone and planting her hands on her hips. “You guys act as if you’re the injured parties here, but we’re the ones who were lied to and stolen from.”

  She wasn’t wrong, but her attitude bothered me. “You’re staying at one of the hotels,” I reminded her. “You seem to be better off than the people stuck on this beach. Why are you the one speaking for them? You’re not exactly suffering.”

  I was gratified when a low murmur went through the crowd.

  “She has a point,” a voice said. It was hard to tell if it was male or female. “Why is she getting us all riled up when she doesn’t even have a tent out here?”

  The look Thalia shot me was full of venom, which made me want to crow. I wisely held it together.

  “None of this matters.” Galen’s voice was strong as it lifted over the group. “We didn’t plan for this to happen. The individual who set the wheels in motion on this is dead. We don’t know what happened to him — or Salma, for that matter — but we’re chasing leads.”

  “You mean you’re napping,” Thalia groused.

  I scorched her with a glare right out of Lilac’s demon playbook. “I just saved your life not ten minutes ago. You might not want to repay that kindness in this way.”

  “Hadley, it’s fine,” Galen offered, absently waving his hand. “I’ve had worse accusations thrown at me over the years ... and I was taking a nap.”

  A nap he desperately needed. Even though he’d been dragged to a witch fight in the middle of the beach, probably getting woken in the process before he was ready, he had more color to his cheeks and his eyes were more alert. That was a win in my book.

  “You needed the nap.” I was insistent. “It’s been a long day and you didn’t sleep all that well last night.”

  “Neither did you, but you didn’t nap with me,” he pointed out. “Why is that? I was worried when I woke up and you weren’t there.”

  “I left a note,” I protested.

  “Which I found on my way out, after I’d already gotten a call to wake me up.”

  I was confused. “A call about me? If so, you made it here in record time.”

  “Actually, the call wasn’t about you. Once I realized you were gone, I knew exactly where you’d headed.”

  “You know that Lilac almost killed her, right?” Aurora asked. “She almost liquefied her right here on the beach.”

  Lilac made a choking sound as I glared at the amused siren.

  “She didn’t almost kill me,” I countered, heaving out a weighty sigh. “Stop saying that. You’ll give her a complex.”

  “I already have a complex.” To my utter surprise, Lilac was calm. Where I expected to find apology, I found relaxation ... that had apparently taken over when I wasn’t looking. “I did lose my temper. I’ve been living on the edge for days. It was only a matter of time ... and Aurora is right that I shouldn’t have come down here with you.

  “The good news is, I blew my stack and nobody died,” she continued, amusement lighting her features. “That might not have always been a possibility. It was today because Hadley intervened. The mouthy and pouty witch is still alive — although I’m not certain anyone would miss her if she was gone — and we’re right back where we started. Nobody was harmed, so no crime was committed.”

  Galen’s eyebrows drew together. “Wait ... I think I’m missing part of the story. When I was arriving in the parking lot I was told Hadley saved one witch from being attacked by another. Are you saying you were the attacking witch?”

  “I’m not a witch, but I was the one ready to attack.” Lilac turned sheepish. “I can’t help it. These witches have been driving me crazy.”

  “I’m with you there.” Galen’s hand was heavy on my back. “That doesn’t mean you can attack them for no reason.”

  “I know that.”

  “She didn’t really attack them,” I interjected. “It’s more that she ... vented.” I thought about it a second and immediately warmed to the idea. “Yeah, she vented. It’s like walking into a room and screaming out your frustration. It’s a good coping mechanism.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Galen studied my face for a moment, and even though he was clearly determined to stay angry I was convinced his lips wanted to curve into a smile.

  I nodded, solemn. “I recommend venting as often as possible.”

  “Then I guess we have that to look forward to later tonight,” he said. “I’m going to vent all over you.”

  That wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but it was better than the alternative. “Fine. Are we done here?”

  “No.” He was incredulous. “I need to issue some warnings. First, you can’t vent on the witches, Lilac. If you need to vent, take it someplace private and attack the trees or something.”

  Lilac nodded without hesitation. “For the record, I feel ten times better now that I’ve vented. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m thrilled that’s the case.” He turned his eyes to Thalia. “Whatever problem you need solved, take it up with the sirens. May I suggest this one right here?” He patted Aurora’s shoulder and earned a dark glare for his efforts. “I think she’d be a good sounding board for you.”

  “I need someone with actual power in this town,” Thalia countered. “You’re the sheriff. You’re at the top of the food chain.”

  “Oddly, that’s not the case. Either way, I have two murders to worry about. Your wants and needs are secondary. If you need help, there are sirens and deputies on this beach at all times. Go to them.”

  “But ... .”

  “No.” Galen shook his finger. “I really do have more important things to deal with.” He swiveled to face me. “Which brings me to you.”

  The words were spoken with humor, but they sent a chill down my spine. “I’m not going to apologize for leaving,” I insisted. “You needed to rest and I was keyed up. I knew if I stayed that my energy would wake you, and that’s not what was best for you. I refuse to apologize.”

  “Besides,” Lilac added. �
�She’s an adult. I think she’s allowed to leave the house whenever she feels like it.”

  “Not when there’s a murderer on the loose,” Galen countered. “I want her to be safe, and I refuse to apologize for that.”

  “Then I guess you’ll have to come to a compromise,” Lilac said. “Like, for example, Hadley can make an effort to understand that Galen is only a bossy brute because he loves her. Galen can make an effort to understand that Hadley is a curious soul who can’t always control her impulses. If you put your heads together, I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

  “Thank you for acting as our therapist,” Galen said dryly, shaking his head and focusing on me. “I’m not angry. Well, I’m not angry with you. Not really. You didn’t do anything.”

  “If you’re not angry with me, who are you angry with?” I was genuinely curious. “Is it Thalia? She’s still standing over there staring. You can vent on her if you want ... but not in a sexy way.”

  This time he couldn’t stop himself from grinning. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He leaned over and pressed a hard kiss to my forehead. “I’m angry with myself. I don’t know why I passed out that way. I’m usually more aware of my surroundings. I was so out of it someone could’ve come into the lighthouse and taken you right out from under my nose and I wouldn’t even have stirred.”

  I pressed my hand to his forehead. “You’re not warm.”

  “No,” he agreed. “I’m still building up my stamina since ... well, since the cupids.” He turned acquiescent when my eyes narrowed. “Don’t give me grief. I’ve felt mostly fine since then. I’ve been a little more tired than usual, but once the full moon hits and I shift, I swear I’ll be good as new. You don’t have to get worked up.”

  I wasn’t so certain. “I’m going to vent all over you later. You’re supposed to tell me when you’re sick. I think that should be one of those rules that can’t be broken.”

  “I’m not sick. I’m just ... a little tired.”

  “Is that like being a little pregnant?” Aurora queried. “I’m just asking for a friend.”

  “I’m fine,” he reassured me. “I feel a lot better after the nap, recharged even.”