The Uptown Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  There was an electricity in the air, bouncing all around us. I felt it tingling against my skin, and that was nothing compared to the way it mixed with my magic. This place was a living entity all of its own, like an actual breathing person. That was the part of this city I liked the most.

  I could’ve done without the single digit temperatures, at least in a setting where I couldn’t summon fire into my palms —though I was seriously considering it. I pulled my wool coat tighter around myself, then hugged closer to Deacon’s body. I was the one with literal fire in my veins yet his body was warmer. Just wasn’t fair.

  Then something Deacon said registered. I looked up at him as we stopped at a corner and cars flew by us. “Did you specifically bring us to this crowded street?”

  He grinned and nodded. “Yep.”

  I frowned. “Why? I’m assuming you have a reason.”

  “Of course I do.” He winked then pointed to the other side of Fifth Avenue. “And you’re about to see it.”

  “See what?” I followed his point…and my eyes widened.

  Over the heads of dozens of people just standing still on the sidewalk, and across four lanes of cars rushing by, there was a building decked out in Christmas lights. The building itself was several stories high, but the ground floor was what caught my attention. Along the sidewalk, the single building stretched the entire length of the block. There were about a dozen massive windows surrounded by hundreds of shimmering white lights. Each window had something inside of it, some kind of display, but we were too far away and there were too many people. All I saw were bright colored lights.

  “What is this place?” I heard myself whisper.

  Deacon chuckled. “This is the Saks Fifth Avenue. They do the best Christmas windows and light show—”

  “Light show?”

  Deacon held his wrist up and looked at his watch – then grinned. He paused, then pointed to the building. “Any second now—”

  Loud trumpets blared into the air followed by little chirps. Light flashed and my jaw hit the ground. The entire side of the building was covered in Christmas lights that clustered together to make a massive castle that Cinderella would envy. There were towers and turrets, and big swoopy drapes – all made of lights. Red and white. Flashes of pink and greens. Instrumental music sang through the streets, and with each beat the lights changed.

  Lights flashed and pulsed, they twinkled and strobed along with the holiday tune. Symbols and shapes appeared then vanished. My gaze bounced around like a kid in a candy shop, trying to soak in every detail. It was amazing. It was incredible. It was something I would’ve expected to see at Disney World, not right there on Fifth Avenue.

  I found myself bouncing along with the music. My cheeks burned so I knew I was grinning, but I couldn’t help myself. This was awesome. I’d always heard there was nothing like Christmas in New York and I guessed I finally understood why. I may have been preoccupied by the crowd while walking, but I hadn’t missed the holiday décor everywhere.

  Deacon chuckled and pulled me in front of him, then wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I leaned against his chest as the show dazzled me.

  As the music hit its final notes, I sighed. “That was…”

  “I know,” Deacon said and dropped his arms. “I had to bring you.”

  I spun and pushed up on my tiptoes then gave him a little kiss. “Thank you. That was amazing — wait, did you say Christmas windows?”

  He nodded and pointed behind me. “Oh yeah. Want to go over there and see? I stopped here to watch the show.”

  “Can we? Please?”

  He laughed and took my hand, then pulled me into the street. We rushed across the crosswalk as the little ticker counted down for the green light. When we made it over, I gripped Deacon’s hand and let him push our way through the crowd.

  The first window had a woman in a stunning red gown standing in the snow, surrounded by red Christmas trees and a big fluffy white poodle. Another window featured a blonde woman lounging atop a piano with a long Rapunzel-like braid and trumpets hanging from the ceiling – and a sparkly poodle. A group of women pushed in beside me, so I skipped over to the next window.

  I knew there were shoes and other things to see in this one, but all my eyes saw was a dragon made entirely of crystals. I pulled my phone out and snapped a picture, then texted it to our Coven group chat and said, Should we show this to Lonan?

  My phone vibrated immediately, but I shoved it back into my coat pocket. I just wanted to focus on the windows. Besides, I heard Deacon chuckling behind me, so I knew he was answering the texts. A few of the windows were too crowded, I hurried down to where a couple had just stepped aside, then slid up to the window.

  My jaw dropped. “This one is my favorite,” I whispered to no one and anyone within ear shot.

  A couple of women even mumbled back their agreements. This window had a blonde mannequin standing in a winter wonderland. There was snow, icicles, a grand sparkly chandelier, and a puffy poodle looking into a grand vintage-looking mirror. The mannequin wore an elegant couture gown I knew Caroline had to own.

  After a few long moments, I turned and found Deacon standing right behind me. His violet eyes sparkled like the Christmas lights on the building beside us.

  He grinned and leaned back on his heels. “Happy, Butterberry?”

  “Yes.” I sighed and looked around. “Are there more stores with displays?”

  “Oh, yeah—”

  “Can we see them?” I gripped the lapels of his coat and pulled myself closer. “Please?”

  He grinned and took my hand. “As you wish.”

  We spent the next hour walking all over the east side of town. I knew by the numbered blocks we hadn’t gone that far, but the crowd was thick and there was just so much to see. Each store had done their own thing but went all out. Tiffany’s windows had a breakdancing robot that was the same color as their iconic brand. Tommy Hilfiger was decked out in gold and silver balls. Cartier wrapped itself in a giant red bow – which was one of my favorites of the night.

  Over on Madison Avenue the trees were wrapped in white lights. The David Yurman store showed a family of polar bears. The FAO Schwarz had a magical display of toys that made me want to go inside but Deacon stopped me. He promised me it would be mass hysteria in there on a Friday night before Christmas. He also promised to take me back so I could get something for Bentley – because I was going to need time to look since my little brother acted older than I did.

  And then we turned the corner and I saw it.

  The giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

  “Ah yes, the main event,” Deacon said softly.

  “Wow. I’ve seen a million pictures of this but…”

  “I know. It’s not the same as in person.”

  “I wonder how many lights it took to do that?”

  Deacon chuckled. “I wonder how many people it took to light it.”

  I bit my bottom lip. “Can we get closer?”

  “I’ll see your closer and raise you an ice skating adventure.”

  I gasped. “Shut up, really? Can we? You don’t think we’re too old? Is it a kid thing? I don’t care, I wanna do it. Do you want to? Is it expensive? I heard there’s long lines for it, do you—”

  He pressed his fingers to my lips and shook his head. “Easy, killer.”

  I giggled. “Sorry. I got excited.”

  “Goddess, you’re adorable.”

  Heat filled my cheeks and butterflies danced in my stomach. “I’m sorry?”

  He shook his head and laughed. “No, you’re not. C’mon, let’s go skate.”

  Chapter Five

  Deacon

  Emersyn hadn’t stopped smiling since the light show at Saks started. I was rather thrilled myself for the evening’s success. I’d always loved ice skating at Rockefeller Center – or even Central Park – but somewhere along the way my friends had all decided they were too cool for it. Both my human and arcana friends. So even thou
gh I was trying to act cool on the outside, on the inside I was downright giddy.

  “So…” Emersyn slid closer to me in the backseat of the cab, then leaned her pretty face on my shoulder. “You said dinner?”

  I chuckled. “Yes, I’m going to feed you now.”

  She scrunched her face at me playfully. “What I meant was…where you taking me? So far I’ve had your favorite hot dogs from the street vendor in Central Park —”

  “And their soft pretzels.”

  “Also your favorite pizza inside Penn Station. And your favorite burger from that diner over on 2nd Avenue —”

  “With the best curly fries you’ll ever have.”

  “Oh, and the tacos from that little hole in the wall down in Chelsea, and the gyros from that other street vendor—”

  “Don’t forget the ice cream street vendor.”

  She giggled and shook her head. “So which other favorite food, secret spot, are you showing me now?”

  I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. “Honestly?”

  “No, lie to me, please.”

  I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Actually, my favorite tacos in New York are this other little hole in the wall over near Columbus Circle—”

  “Deacon.”

  I arched one eyebrow. “Yes?”

  She narrowed her golden eyes at me. “Listen here, Dread Pirate Roberts—”

  “HA!”

  She pointed to my eyes, then to hers. “Focus. I’m hungry.”

  “Honestly, I just want to go home. Ya know?” I sighed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “These last few months have been nuts. For the first time since we met, I feel like we can actually just relax.”

  She smiled and took my hand between hers. “Are you just saying that because you can sense that’s what I want?”

  “What? No.” I frowned. I hadn’t been using my gift on her, it wasn’t something I liked to do. It felt like an invasion of privacy that I couldn’t do to my own soulmate. At least not intentionally. But now that she mentioned it, I couldn’t stop myself. My magic rushed to the surface and slid over her. Instantly, I felt her desire to lay down and chill out, and it made me smile. “Well now, would you look at that? Twinzies.”

  She giggled. “Or as Royce would say, hashtag twinzies.”

  I shook my head. “That cousin of mine. Highly entertaining. Poison Roycy for the win.”

  “God, that is literally my new favorite thing.” She threw her head back and laughed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Bettina being Hope is awesome. And the way she summoned Tenn’s sword? Epic. But Poison Roycy is the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Poison Roycy. My cousin’s new ability to manipulate plant life was incredible to watch. He’d officially become his favorite superhero. I could already tell we’d be getting quite the cosplay out of this and I really couldn’t wait.

  I laughed so hard I snorted. “I can’t wait to see where he goes with that. It can only get better.”

  “Although, I suppose we do have Bettina to thank for this.”

  “Oh, Royce has quite the thank you gift in mind for her—”

  “Nope. Don’t tell me.” She shook her head as the cab pulled to the side of the road. “It’s better if I don’t know.”

  The cab parked out front of my apartment and the doorman yanked Em’s door open. I handed the driver a stack of cash then slid out of the cab behind Emersyn. I waved to the doorman then took Em’s hand and rushed inside the building. It was still relatively early in the evening, but the wind ripping down the streets was ice-cold and I’d spent a little too much time in the South recently.

  Just inside the door, Emersyn shivered loudly and shook her whole body out like she’d been running in the rain. She turned those champagne eyes at me. “Don’t you even think about moving us here permanently.”

  I threw my arm over her shoulders and led her toward the elevator. “And miss out on the show that is Tennegan? I think not.”

  As we walked inside the private elevator that led to my family’s penthouse, Emersyn reached out and hit the button to send us moving. I grinned, which was silly. It was the littlest thing, not a big deal at all. Hell, she literally just pushed a button in a private elevator – where there were only three buttons to choose from: up, down, and stop. Yet there I was, hiding my face so she wouldn’t see me grinning. I couldn’t help it. She’d never done that before. She’d never taken charge…like she was comfortable enough here to know where she was going.

  Easy, killer. It was just a button.

  I just wanted her to be comfortable here. In my home. The Bishops – and the rest of The Coven – were the most welcoming people I’d ever met. The second I showed up with my Mark I was a member of the family. It was all warm and cozy right from the start. Emersyn hadn’t gotten that from my family and I wanted her to feel that way here. I knew we weren’t going to live here permanently. We had a job that wouldn’t allow for it. But it would be nice to be able to bring my soulmate home any time I wanted without concern.

  And this teeny tiny little act was the first sign that that could be a possibility.

  Not that I wanted her to know how much that affected me. But these damn golden glistening mirror walls did nothing to hide my reflection, so I looked up at the ceiling — what is that? I frowned and took a step forward. There was some kind of plant hanging from the — Oh.

  OH.

  I grinned. I had no idea who put it there, but I wasn’t going to waste it. Em was texting so she hadn’t seen the giant mistletoe hanging from the ceiling of the elevator. I grabbed her hand and pulled her against my chest, then pressed my lips to hers. She giggled against my mouth, then sighed and leaned into me.

  The elevator dinged and slowed to a stop. I heard the doors open and then there was a bright flash.

  “YES!” Amelia shouted. “We have victims!”

  I pulled back and glanced into the foyer of our penthouse to find my little cousin standing just outside the elevator with her iPhone in hand and a shit-eating grin. I shook my head. “I should’ve known it was you.”

  Emersyn frowned and glanced back and forth between us. “Say what?”

  I pointed above our heads. “Mistletoe.”

  “Ohhh.” She blushed bright red then narrowed her eyes at Amelia and smirked. “Troublemaker, eh?”

  Amelia giggled and shook her head. Her violet eyes that were identical to mine were bright and sparkly. “Actually, it was Uncle Crabcakes’ idea.”

  Emersyn giggled. “Crabcakes?”

  “Because of The Little Mermaid.” I shook my head and pulled Em into the foyer with me. “Wait, my father put up the mistletoe?”

  Amelia grinned. “I KNOW. He kept giggling too. I can’t wait to see this.”

  “Me too,” Emersyn and I said at the same time.

  “Well, sorry it was just us—”

  “I’m not!” Amelia cut her off with a tackle-hug, which Emersyn fully embraced. “I’m so happy you guys are back!”

  I ruffled her hair, which was uncharacteristically messy. My mother usually kept Amelia looking presentable at all times, yet here she was, with her hair definitely unbrushed and definitely tangled. And she was wearing fuzzy sweatpants and a sweatshirt with a Ravenclaw house crest on it…her fingernails and toenails were painted neon blue.

  She looked like an actual kid.

  It was actually a refreshing sight.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Amelia looked down at herself and frowned.

  I blinked and shook my head. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just…have never seen you dressed like this.”

  Amelia blushed and tugged on her sweater. “Oh. Well, one of my new friends at school is from North Carolina and got all excited about this store called Target—”

  Emersyn threw her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Oh my God,” she whispered.

  “—that she didn’t think we’d have here in New York. So anyway, we went after school today and I found these clothes. They are so
comfortable.” Amelia looked up at us and grinned. “I really like this Target place. They have so much good stuff.”

  “Have y’all never been to a Target before?” Em looked pointedly at me.

  I shrugged. “I have, but not until — well, not until high school.”

  Emersyn arched one eyebrow. “One of your playtoys brought you there?”

  I cursed under my breath. “I mean…ya know…she needed…stuff…” Damn it.

  But Emersyn just chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned back to Amelia. “Does Heather know you were shopping at a Target?”

  Amelia nodded. “Oh yeah, she picked me up.”

  “Wait, what? My mother was inside a Target?”

  “Oh my God, Deacon. Did we break your mom?” Emersyn cackled.

  “You might have.” Amelia laughed with us. “But I like it.”

  “I cannot picture her in there in her Louboutins.” I shook my head. “Was she mad at you?”

  Amelia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, she was.”

  I cringed. “What did she say?”

  “She said, and I quote, Amelia Kensington English, you cannot just PICK your Hogwarts house. You must be properly sorted. Everyone knows that.”

  If I’d been drinking something, I would’ve spit it out.

  Emersyn’s jaw hit the ground.

  Amelia shrugged. “I thought I could pick, I mean, Harry basically chose Gryffindor. But anyway, Aunt Heather pulled her phone out and made me take the quiz—”

  “Wait, which quiz?” Emersyn frowned and waved her finger. “Like some Facebook quiz thing, or like the real one. On Pottermore?”

  “Pottermore.”

  I whistled. “I don’t make this joke lightly, but was my mother possessed?”

  “I have so many questions,” Emersyn whispered.

  Amelia giggled. “Yeah, I’m kind of still in shock. I’ve been making a list in my phone all day of my questions.”