by Michele Hauf
Tor placed a hand over the pocket. “What’s that for?”
“It’s a memory spell. It’ll make you forget everything you know about the paranormal. It’s all done by inhalation. Might make things easier.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks.” He winced and rubbed the shirt pocket. “Do you want me to do that?”
“No.” She stepped back, nervously swaying side to side. “Yes. Tor. I...I don’t want you to leave my life. But if you have to do it, then I don’t ever want to have been in it. It’ll be too hard for me.”
“Then maybe you’re the one who should take the memory potion?”
Her heavy sigh hurt his heart. “It doesn’t work on a nonhuman. Besides, it’s... Oh mercy, it’s my sacrifice, Tor. I made it for you and now it’s done. My dark magic now works. And I know it because I’ve been able to anoint the heart and do some preparations. And I know the cloaking spell worked this time. So, yeah. That’s what I did.”
Hell. Him leaving her life was a sacrifice to her? He hadn’t realized how much he meant to her. But he could understand, because she meant as much to him.
How was he going to walk away from her? Waltz out of her life after tonight’s big finale? He didn’t want to do that. But if he had to, a loss of memory might prove the wisest course. Then he’d never have to regret having known Mel and walking away from her.
Bollocks. This sucked.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“Thank you for not questioning me or refusing the spell, or for making this harder than it has to be. I’ve fallen for you, Tor. I had to say that so you would know it. At least for a few more hours, and then you’ll forget it all. Oh.” She kissed him quickly. “I wish we could have sex.”
“We can always have sex.” He would prefer a shower before tumbling into bed with her, but if she was in the mood, and they did have time...
“I want to but I also need to store up my energy for the spell. Sex with you would leave me a panting, depleted witch. A very happy witch. But in no shape for spellcraft. Especially the dark stuff.”
“Then I probably shouldn’t kiss you anymore.”
“Oh, no, kisses are great. They activate my root chakra and ground me in my power.”
“I’m not sure what you just said, but it works for me.”
Lifting her into his arms, Tor carried her into the living room, and with the heel of his shoe, closed the sliding glass door behind him. He set her on the edge of the couch and leaned in to give her another kiss that would activate her root—hell, he just wanted another kiss.
Mel pulled him against her, and together they tumbled onto the couch amidst her giggles. He kissed her quickly, again and again, as if to capture each bright giggling tone. His anger at witnessing the vampire holding her captive fell away. Thankful to have her safe and in his arms, he luxuriated in their connection. It was truly magical, being lost in her strange witchery.
When Mel nudged him to the side and then showed him her palm, covered with vampire sludge from his clothing, Tor sat up and pulled her up to kiss the crown of her head.
“I’m going to take another walk around the yard, make sure we got everything,” he said. “You okay in here by yourself?”
“I am.”
“Did you have time to go over the spell?”
“I did. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I’ll make us something to eat before we leave, yes?”
“Sounds good.” He kissed her again. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For finding me when you needed help.”
She nodded.
I can’t imagine my life now without you in it. That’s what Tor wanted to say, but instead, he kissed her on the forehead, then headed out to the yard.
* * *
While Tor forked up the salad she’d made, Mel left him alone in the kitchen. She told him she wanted to do a last check through her supplies and a once-over on the spell. Inside her bag, she’d packed all the accoutrements required for the big event.
But how to concentrate on the spell when all she really wanted to do was tug him into her bedroom and make love to him and wish it all away? Wish that in the morning they would wake, never having gone to the crossroads. That her mother would never again be haunted by her sister. That Tor could forget his goals of having a normal life.
“Normal.” Mel shook her head. “It’ll never fit him.”
But she couldn’t deny him the opportunity to give it a try. Because if she did somehow manage to convince him to remain in her life, he would always wonder what could have been.
She’d never been in love before. Not the sort of love where her toes tingled and her belly swirled and her smile always jumped out before she knew she was happy. But that’s how she’d felt the past few days. When Tor was around, she felt silly-happy. Goofy, even. Filled with the possibility of whatever could happen between the two of them.
Who would have thought she could fall so quickly?
It was meant to be.
Best to end that tonight and move forward tomorrow.
Hooking her bag over a shoulder, she flicked off the lights in the spell room and wandered out to the kitchen.
“You packed and ready to go?” Tor cleaned his dishes in the sink, then turned, wiping his hands on a dish towel. He’d changed to dry clothing and now sported a bright red tie with his white business shirt and tweed vest. “What will my role be, exactly, when we get there?”
Mel’s thoughts veered to everything she wished could happen. Like the spell being unnecessary and her mom being safe from her sister’s wrath. And her falling into her protector’s arms and living happily ever after. “Oh, just looking handsome.”
“Huh?”
“I mean—” Shoot. That was wrong. This story was not going to give her a happily-ever-after if she wanted to help her family. And she did want that. “Well, you are handsome.”
“Handsome isn’t going to protect you.”
“Seems to be working fine so far. But seriously, I’ll need you to be on guard. I’m not sure what is going to happen. Or what creatures will be drawn to the heart while it’s in use. I’ll have to uncloak it for the spell. The crossroads should repel most, but you might want to load up on weapons.”
“Got it. This could be a challenge for both of us.”
Most especially the witch, who wasn’t sure she wanted this night to end the way it would. Which could only be with Tor walking away from her.
And leaving her with an unhappily-ever-after.
* * *
An hour later, Mel sat on the passenger seat, clutching the bag of her spell supplies while Tor navigated the country gravel road. She’d dressed in an ankle-length red dress that tied in the back with black corset ribbons. It reminded her of a Victorian-style dress, but with a touch of Goth to it. It felt...ceremonial. And she needed everything she wore, touched and spoke to set the mood and tone for tonight.
The rain had stopped and clouds had cleared. The moon, blocked by the earth’s shadow, was tinged with a red-orange sheen, and sat full and bright in the sky. The blood moon. She could feel the heart pulsing within the bag. It was almost as if it were aware that something momentous was going to occur.
Or something evil. And dark. And so wrong it could never be right.
Don’t think like that, she cautioned inwardly. She could do this. She could. She...
“I don’t think I can do this!” Mel burst out.
Tor pulled the van over to the shoulder of the road and turned to give her his full attention.
“It’s crazy,” she said in a panic. “I thought I could. And I really do have to. No one else in the family has the blood bond to Amaranthe like I do. But—oh.” She sought Tor’s gaze in the shadows. “I don’t think I can kill my sister tonight.”
Chapter 23
Tor shifted into Park. He turned on th
e van seat to face Mel. And said, “Wait. What?” He shook his head, knowing perfectly well he’d heard her clearly. “Let me get this straight.”
She nodded, her big eyes gleaming in the darkness. Somewhere the full moon hung in the sky, but it didn’t light up the cab.
“First, I learn you’ve stolen a valuable artifact that attracts revenants like the plague.”
“Zombies. But yes.”
“Zombies.” As much as he hated to admit it, zombies did exist. Unfortunately. “Then, you tell me you’re going to invoke necromancy. I was cool with that.”
“Because you’re a cool guy.”
He did have that going for him. “But then, you tell me about the ghost. Which I had a very firm rule about not working with. It took me a while to come around, but I did.”
“I forgive you for your reluctance.”
Tor opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She was so...oblivious sometimes. And yet it was a cute obliviousness that he couldn’t seem to resist. Heaven help him; he adored the woman.
And yet.
“But now you tell me not only are we going to raise the dead. And deal with a ghost. But also then...kill her?”
“It’s how the spell is designed. Oh, but, Tor!” Mel caught her face in her hands and shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t kill my sister again.”
He swallowed and forced himself to pat her on the shoulder. “You’re not killing her again. It was an accident the first time. I mean...you haven’t killed her before. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me about?”
“No! I would never raise a hand to my sister. Dead or alive.”
“I didn’t think so.” Exhaling, he leaned to the side, his shoulder nudging the seat. Just when he thought things could not get any weirder, they did. Should he have expected as much? Probably. Mel had a way of keeping him on his toes, like it or not.
And he did like it.
“I think I’ve done a good job of keeping up with your antics so far, but I have to say, you’re losing me here, Mel. Dare I ask why you want to end your sister’s life a second time?”
“Don’t you get it?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking. Explain. Please?”
“I can’t let her live! Once the spell is invoked, Amaranthe will come to this realm not as the ghost she’s been. I will literally raise her up from the grave. And the number one rule of witchcraft, even dark witchcraft? One should never raise the dead.”
“Then why do it?”
“Because that’s what the spell requires. I must call forth the wounded party and demand she cease her actions.”
“You really think a conversation with your dead sister is going to get her to stop tormenting your mother? She didn’t seem very amenable when I spoke to her at your parents’ place.”
“She will. I’ll tell her she has to believe the truth. Oh, but Tor. How can I do this? After we’ve talked and she’s agreed to leave Mom alone, then I have to return her to the grave in the most peaceable manner. And that involves...” She reached into her bag and drew out a crystal blade. “...this.”
So much for peaceable.
She shuffled forward and bowed her head to his knees. Sniffles filled the van. And Tor, for once in his life, was without words. He didn’t know what to tell her. This job had jumped the cliff that first night he’d found her waiting in the van. And since then they’d been struggling to keep their heads above the current. But now he could only see them going down, down, down a swirling whirlpool to hell. Or Beneath, which the paranormals called it.
This dark magic stuff was not for the weak of heart. And Mel’s heart was full and wondrous and pink and fluffy and filled with all things good. If she invoked such magic tonight, she would never again be the same.
He didn’t want to lose her to the dark side. But you’re going to lose her anyway when you step over to normal tomorrow. She gave you a freaking memory-loss spell as a sacrifice! And if he didn’t use the spell, would her sacrifice have been in vain? How would it affect her dark magic? For all purposes, it would work tonight. But tomorrow, what foul deeds might be reversed if he didn’t drink the spell?
He stroked her hair. Midnight was twenty minutes away. If she didn’t invoke the spell, her mother would forever be tormented by her daughter’s angry ghost. Or only so long as she was still alive. If Amaranthe had her way, she’d see her mother dead sooner rather than later.
“Maybe we should think about this,” he offered. “If your father could keep Star away from your sister’s ghost—”
“Seriously? You saw Amaranthe. You know what state she’s in. As well, my dad is barely holding it together. He almost strangled you. Tor, this has to be done. Tonight, under the blood moon. Did I tell you? Mom is on her last life.”
“The ninth?” Things just got better and better. Not.
So that ruled out a slow and thoughtful approach to the situation. Which Tor felt sure the family had already considered long enough. This was a last-ditch effort to save the mom’s life. And to put the sister to rest peacefully.
With a crystal blade.
Thoroughly Jones had warned Tor that whatever he’d expected to happen with Mel would not. He never could have foreseen this job ending in the witch needing to kill her sister. Dark magic or not, it was not a task he wished upon Mel.
He gripped Mel’s wrist and she lifted her head. “I’ll do it,” he offered. “You speak the spell, then I’ll plunge the knife through your sister’s heart. You don’t have to take that darkness into you. I’ve done it enough. Another—”
Mel lunged forward and kissed him. Deeply, lusciously. And for a while he forgot about the foreboding situation that faced them. He’d found a good one. Rather, she had found him. And he did not want to walk away from her. To...forget her.
How to make things different?
When she pulled away from the kiss, tears in the corners of her eyes glinted due to the sparkles that dotted the black liner curling out from each eye. She forced a smile. “You’re my hero. But you can’t do it.” She held her palm up to show him the scar. “I’m the one with the connection to Amaranthe. And the spell maker has to be the one to do it.”
“I’ll speak the spell. You just tell me what to do.”
“You can’t enter the consecrated circle with me. And I need you to stand guard for whatever zombies or revenants come crawling up to get their hands on the heart. It’s uncloaked right now.”
“But, Mel, I don’t want you to get hurt. Or get your hands dirty with this dark magic. You’re not sure of yourself. I know that.”
“I’m not. I know I don’t want to be a dark witch. I’m perfectly happy with unicorns and sparkles. But it needs to be done. And I’ve made the sacrifice, so I don’t want that to be in vain. And...I love my mom. And my sister. I want Amaranthe to rest peacefully. If I can give her that, I will.” She blew out a breath. “I guess that means I’m doing it. Whew! I might need a drink after this is over.”
“I’ve got a bottle of vodka in the back.”
She quirked a brow.
“It’s a good flame starter when I need to burn evidence. Also, I have been known to need a shot or two before a job. And after.”
“You do the things no one else will do,” she said. “And yet you remain a kind and generous man. So maybe I can do this thing tonight and the dark won’t harm me too much?”
“Turning dark or remaining light at heart—I believe it’s always a choice. If I didn’t keep a good attitude about things, my heart would have turned black years ago. Hell, I wouldn’t be alive today, I know. It’s a strange balancing act.”
“I can learn so much from you. The world will have lost a great protector when you walk away from it.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “isn’t here yet.”
“Right. Do you have the memory spell on you?”
&nbs
p; He patted an inner vest pocket.
She bowed her forehead to his. “I don’t want you to take it, but I don’t want to be the one to make that decision for you. I’m giving you the option, like it or not. I... Tor, you mean a lot to me. I know we’ve only known each other a few days, but...I think I love you. I’ve fallen for you.”
“I know exactly how you feel.”
“You do?”
He kissed her then. Slowly, lingering in the warmth of her mouth. He felt right here. With her. Sitting in the center of a world teeming with danger. This strange witchery had lured him to the edge. Now, to step over it or cringe and turn away from it all?
“We’ll take it one minute at a time,” he said, and tucked the vial into the change holder by the driver’s seat. “Yes?”
She nodded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
He clasped her hand and bowed his forehead to hers. “You look so beautiful this evening. I’m a lucky man. And I don’t want you to worry. I’ll be close to you always. If you need anything, you call out. Got it?”
“If I call out...?”
“I’ll come running. Promise.”
* * *
Mel hefted her spell bag over a shoulder and followed Tor toward the crossroads where, two years earlier, she and her family had buried her sister. They’d chosen the crossroads because her death had been violent. They had hoped—with a spell designed by her father—to keep her at peace and buried.
That hadn’t happened.
So now she would rectify that. Even though her heart was crumbling inside her rib cage right now. Someone had to do it. And it couldn’t be Tor. Though she loved him for offering. If there had been a way for her to hand over the reins and let him do the dirty work, she would have done so. But magic didn’t work that way. He wasn’t a witch. Nonwitches could perform a few simple housewitch spells, but the real magic could only be innate, and soul deep.
Gravel crunched under their footsteps. Long grass sprang up along the edges of the old road. It smelled green and lushly fertile. Tor gestured for her to stay put while he walked the next ten feet and stood in the center of the crossroads. Two old gravel roads intersected here in the valley not far from Versailles, but far enough out that this was actually a private area that rarely saw humans. It was on land owned by Mel’s dad and uncle. Someday the family may build here. She would love to live out in the country.
