Dark of Night

by Emily Goodwin

  “I should probably change Scott back now.”

  “I still think you’re being too nice,” Lucas says.

  “Oh, I know I am. But now…now that I told you everything and got my little fuck you speech in there to my father…” I shake my head. “I want to be done with them. I know I have a lot left to deal with, like my fear of needles and hospitals. Plus, the nightmares. And the things I’ve buried in my subconscious, like the sound of your blinds closing. Fuck I’m messed up.”

  “We’re all a little messed up.” Lucas puts his arm around my shoulder. “I’d say that’s what makes us human, but I’m a vampire.”

  “You’re still human. Or at least I think so in a way. There’s humanity in you.”

  He smirks. “You’re the only person who’s ever said that, and I feel confident saying you’ll be the only one who ever will.”

  I brush my hand through his hair. “There is kindness in you. Maybe just for me, but I see it.”

  Lucas turns his head, looking out the window that faces the front yard. “A car pulled into your driveway.” He gets up and goes to the large window, moving apprehensively. I know he trusts my powers, but sixteen-hundred years of living in the dark would make anyone leery of the sun.

  “It’s so bright.” He pulls back the curtain.

  “Just wait until the first cloudless day.” I smile and go to the window next to him.

  “Your eyes sparkle in the sunlight.”

  “Yours do too. I can see little flecks of green amongst the blue. They’re really pretty.”

  A black SUV slowly makes its way toward the house, and my stomach tightens just a bit at the thought of seeing my father again. He parks and gets out, but this time he’s not alone. Three men in black suits get out with him.

  “Security guards?” I raise my eyebrows. “Really?”

  “I told you, you’re badass.”

  “I don’t always feel like it,” I confess.

  “That’s what makes you a badass. You don’t let fear hold you back. You push through, face it, and get over it.”

  I inhale deep and slowly let out my breath. The front porch steps creak as the men and my father come to the door. Someone knocks, and I wait a beat before going into the foyer, looking behind me to make sure Lucas is out of the line of light that will stream into the house when I open the door. My heart beats fast and anxiety takes a hold of me.

  All of my familiars stand by me, and knowing Lucas is only a room away helps.

  “Hello, Callie,” my father says. “Everything has been taken care of at home. Is Scott ready to come back to the city?”

  “Almost.” I stand back, letting my father and the security guards to come into the house. “He still has to get up and get changed.”

  My father fakes a laugh. “I see one night of the country life is already getting to him.”

  I raise my eyebrows, looking at my father like he’s crazy. Though I suppose saying Scott came to stay at his estranged sister’s house in the country for a break from big city life is better than saying I transfigured and catnapped him.

  Shutting the door, I move a few paces into the foyer, hearing Scott meowing like crazy upstairs. The floor creaks as Lucas joins us from the dining room. The security guards tense at the sight of someone new, but assume Lucas is human. The house if full of bright sunlight, after all. Besides, there are three of them and one of him. They think they’d be able to take down Lucas.

  Hah.

  My father scrambles back, hitting the wall. “Vampire! He’s a vampire! Shoot him!” he cries, raising his hand and pointing at Lucas. His security team looks at each other, all thinking the same thing. Sunlight is steaming through every single window, shining right down on Lucas’s face. Still, they go on the defense, but Lucas is faster. He speeds over and looks into their eyes, holding all three spellbound.

  Impressive.

  “Go wait in the car,” he tells them.

  “Don’t look at him!” my father orders, but Lucas’s hold is too strong.

  “You showed up, and no one was home. Nothing happened here today. You didn’t even get out of the car,” Lucas tells the security guards. “Now go back and wait there.”

  “And crack a window,” I add. “It’s hot out.”

  “Fine. Open the windows or turn the AC on. But go. Now.”

  The first guard turns, going to the door. When he opens it, unfiltered light will come in and burn Lucas. One person dashing in and out as fast as they can causes minimal damage. But exposure longer than that will hurt him, and injuries from the sun take longer to heal.

  I don’t think, but instead act on instinct. I throw out my hand, conjuring a ball of dark blue magic. I hold up the other hand, creating a telekinetic shield that I hold in front of Lucas. I throw the energy ball, and it splatters in a sense against the shield, acting like an umbrella held up to block out the sunlight.

  Short-term, it works, and keeps the burning minimal.

  One by one, they filter out the door. When the last guard is out, I flick my wrist and shut and lock the door with magic. Lucas stands behind me, eyes shimmering with his fangs drawn.

  “It’s…it’s…daylight,” my father stammers. “How is this possible?”

  “Anything is possible with magic,” I say, and Lucas’s hand lands on my shoulder. My father’s face pales, eyes flitting from me to Lucas as he realizes how dangerous we could be together. He has no idea vampires and witches are sworn enemies. I should make him think we’re all working together, and vampires will be able to walk in the sun soon.

  “Don’t forget, I know what you did to her,” Lucas starts, deep voice rattling right through me. His blue eyes darken and the sunlight glints off his long fangs. He walks over to my father, his large frame towering over his, casting a shadow over him. Fuck, Lucas can be terrifying when he wants to. “All it will take is for you to look at her wrong again and I can’t promise I’ll hold back. The only reason you’re still alive is because Callie doesn’t think you’re worth the trouble of killing. You should be thanking her for your life, because if it weren’t for her, you’d be buried in the woods right now.”

  “Where is Scott?”

  “I’ll get him,” I say. “In the meanwhile, why don’t you and Lucas have a little chat. I mean, he is dating your daughter after all.”

  Binx follows me up the stairs. Scott comes running as soon as I open the door, tripping as he races down the stairs and into the living room. The look on my father’s face is priceless, and I can tell he doesn’t know if he should shoo the cat away or pick him up.

  I snicker, feeling my pettiness showing again, and go into the kitchen to get the supplies needed for the spell. Tabatha left a spellbook open to the page I need, and I quickly grab all the herbs, grind them in the mortar and pestle, and divide them in half.

  I take the first half and boil up a potion, saving the second half to sprinkle on the candles that will be placed around my circle. This is a complicated spell, and having an audience always makes me nervous.

  “You resurrected an entire graveyard full of bodies,” Binx reminds me. “This spell is child’s play.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Prickle Paws.” I smile at his shadowy figure, and Pandora jumps onto the counter, looking into the bubbling saucepan on the stove. It doesn’t have the same appeal as a cauldron, but it’s much easier to wash since it fits inside the dishwasher.

  The potion has to be stirred three times counter clockwise with one of the human ribs after it’s been at a roaring boil for exactly seven minutes. I flick off the burner and let the potion cool for a few minutes before I scoop some up and put it in a potion vial.

  Grabbing the book, potion and herbs, I go into the dining room to get my salt and candles to cast a circle. Lucas, knowing what the spell entails, has already moved the coffee table and rug for me.

  I make a circle of salt on the floor, place my candles, and sit cross-legged in the middle. Closing my eyes, I take a minute to ground myself, which is proving to
be much harder than normal. I can’t turn my brain off, and being distracted for this sort of spell can be dangerous.

  “Okay,” I start, opening my eyes and looking at the orange cat who’s sitting on the couch next to my father. “Scott, take a seat in front of me. Stay quiet and still while I do the spell.”

  Growling, Scott moves from the couch to the circle. I put the two remaining ribs on the ground in front of me and hold out my hands, magically lighting the candles, and look down at the book in my lap. “Tolle quode est, et mutare eam.” I sprinkle a bit of the ground-up herbs on the candle closest to me. The flame burns bright blue, and I can feel the magic working. “Tolle quode est, et mutare eam,” I repeat and sprinkle herbs in another candle.

  I hold my hand over Scott. The energy coming off of him is manic, vibrating like mad. The spell is working. I have one more candle to invoke with the herbs. “Tolle quode est, et mutare eam.” The flames rise, and a blue band of magic forms from each of them, circling around us. I grab the potion vial, pull out the cork, and hold it over Scott’s head.

  “Tolle quode est, et mutare eam!” I dump the potion on him, and the flames go out. The smoke wafts over, circling Scott much like the energy did the first time I cast the spell.

  I bring my hand back, holding my breath. The smoke starts to settle, and instead of a fluffy orange cat, Scott is on the floor, crouched down on all fours. It worked.

  “Hey, bro!” I say with a smile.

  “Why you little bitch!” Scott lunges forward, and Lucas stops him, shoving him back across the room. My father jumps up and runs to Scott, pulling him to his feet.

  “Let this be a reminder,” I call as they run out of the house. “Don’t mess with me or my friends ever again.”

  Chapter 17

  “We are going to have a boring, uneventful afternoon followed by a riveting time signing papers with the bank, and then finally a hot date back in Chicago.” I look up at Lucas, smiling. “Or I’ll be damned.”

  “You might be damned.”

  “Don’t jinx us.”

  He laughs. “Wouldn’t agreeing with you be jinxing it?”

  “I guess if you’re following the same logic to why people say ‘break a leg’ instead of ‘good luck’ to performers, right?”

  “I suppose. Though I don’t believe in jinxes. Curses, obviously. But hoping for something good to happen to you isn’t going to make the universe bend its will.”

  “If only I was as optimistic as you.”

  We’re lying on the couch together and for the last half hour or so, Lucas has been fascinated by the way my hair glistens in the sunlight.

  “You’re much more optimistic than I am. I’m the realist in this relationship.” Smiling, he kisses me. “You need me.”

  “In more ways than one.” I wiggle my eyebrows and scoot closer to him. “I should get started on my boring afternoon, though. I need to go grocery shopping.”

  “That does sound boring.”

  “It’s not so bad.” I stretch my arms over my head. “I don’t feel like leaving you, but I’m hungry.”

  “Me too.”

  “Do you want my blood before I go?”

  “No.” He kisses me. “Drinking your blood while you’re already hungry will weaken you. You’ll feel the blood loss more on an empty stomach.”

  “Right. I’ll drink a protein smoothie or something on the way back.” Smiling, I get up and get my purse. “I’ll hurry back.”

  “Take your time. I have a few phone calls to make, and I plan on FaceTiming Eliza and freaking her out by stepping out of a dark room and into the sun.”

  “You’re mean,” I laugh, shaking my head. I still don’t get the dynamic of those two, and I probably never will. Sometimes Lucas is like the overprotective father figure, commanding Eliza to obey him. And then other times it’s like they’re brother and sister, with a best friend vibe. He loves her, I know that for sure, and she’s borderline obsessed with him, which is totally normal for someone in her position.

  Vampires are weird.

  I give each of my familiars a pet as I head out the door, getting in the car only to realize I left my cloth shopping bags in the house. I run back in to grab them and finally head out. It’s a nice summer day, slightly cloudy and no humidity at all.

  My mind drifts to the moonstone and how it was able to absorb and then use the power of the sun against Lucas. The gemstones don’t retain the heat for long, but I’m sure there’s a way to weaponize them.

  Or get them to take in the harmful rays that hurt vampires.

  If I could figure out how the gems are taking in the sun, I might be able to use it in a charm. And if I could do that, Lucas could walk in the sun with me.

  No more hiding indoors.

  No more waiting to go out together until the sun sets.

  He could feel the heat of the sun directly on his skin. He could sit outside and listen to the birds chirping.

  He’s a vampire and is drawn to the dark by the same forces that keep him undead, but being able to have the days together…

  “It’s impossible,” I say, shaking my head at myself. I let off the gas, letting my Jeep slow down before I get to the intersection where my rural road meets another, more-traveled road that takes me into town.

  The grocery store is busy today, not too surprising for a summer afternoon. I think about how life would be if Lucas were free to walk in the light as well as the night. I get way ahead of myself, imaging us in the big white house, doing nothing out of the ordinary but just being together.

  And lounging around a pool together. I’d have a cocktail, of course, and Lucas would sip my blood out of a martini glass…or right from the source. We could have parties, and I could invite my friends over. We’d eat and drink and swim and tan, and then once the sun goes down, Eliza would show up, grumbling about how lame everything is but secretly having fun at the same time. Maybe she’ll even bring a human date or something.

  “Sorry,” I say, accidentally bumping into someone’s shopping cart. I was so lost in thought I didn’t see the woman behind me when I reached forward to grab a bag of apples. I stepped back and hit her cart with my butt.

  She narrows her eyes. “Watch it next time.”

  “I…uh…” I’m taken aback and don’t know how to respond to that. She shoves her cart forward, narrowly avoiding me. Someone must be having a bad day. I don’t take her shitty attitude personally and go back to my shopping. I should have made a list, because I’m filling my cart with way more than I need.

  My thoughts drift back to Lucas—no surprise, I know—and how perfect life will be once we’re together in that big, white house. Even if I can’t somehow come up with the impossible charm that allows a vampire to day-walk, I can enchant the windows in that house, and we’ll have the days together as well as the nights.

  I get all squishy feeling inside when I think of waking up next to him every morning…or every night. He makes me so freaking happy, and, like him, I didn’t believe people could actually be destined to be together.

  I wanted to believe, tried hard to hold onto the hope I’d find my happily ever after, but there was a small part of me that didn’t believe it, no matter what. Because real life isn’t like a book. Real life doesn’t end happily.

  Real life sucks sometimes.

  I put the final items in my cart and get in line behind a middle-aged man. The woman ahead of him is going through a stack of coupons, making her checkout take twice as long. He loudly huffs and impatiently shifts his weight back and forth. I get it, buddy, it’s a little annoying to be held up, but he’s borderline throwing a temper tantrum like a child.

  “Can you believe this?” he mutters under his breath. “Fucking couponers.”

  The woman with the coupons turns and looks at him, cheeks flushing. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry isn’t going to give me back my time,” the guy snaps. “If you can’t afford this shit without a million fucking coupons, maybe you shouldn’t buy it.” />
  “Hey!” I snap, letting my hand slip off the handle of the cart. “What is your problem?”

  “My problem?” The guy rounds on me, looking me up and down. “My problem is none of your fucking business.”

  “Excuse me?” I cross my arms and hike an eyebrow. Keep it up, asshole. You push me, I push back.

  “Sir,” the manager rushes over. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you don’t settle down.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The guy goes to shove his cart forward, hitting the woman ahead of him in the ankles. I telekinetically hold it, and it’s like he thrust his hands forward against a solid wall. He tries again, confused as to why his cart isn’t moving.

  Swearing, he stomps his foot and storms away, muttering angrily to himself the whole way out the door. The poor cashier looks like she’s about to burst into tears.

  “Thank you,” the coupon lady says to me. Her hands are shaking. “You didn’t have to say anything. I coupon like this so I can get more, you know? I donate it to the food pantry.”

  “That’s amazing and a really good idea. I wouldn’t have thought about doing that.”

  The cashier lets out a shaky breath, and the manager tells her to take a few minutes to calm down. He takes over her register.

  “Something must be in the air today.” He rings up the remaining coupons.

  “People have been like that all day?” I ask.

  “I’ve seen more behavior like that just today than I did all last month.”

  “Weird,” I say, thinking back to the rude lady who snapped at me. Throne Hill isn’t small enough of a town for everyone to know everyone’s name, but we have a tight sense of community here. That’s part of the appeal and why so many witches and warlocks from my coven took up residence here. Well, other than being conveniently located along the Ley line and the doo—

  Oh shit.