“I’d invite you in for coffee or something, but it looks like you have a ride waiting.” I motion to the car in the driveway.
“Yeah, I’ve got to get back to the city. Maybe I’ll see you again.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I watch her jog down the sidewalk and get into the car. It backs out of the gravel driveway onto the country road that runs by my house. Once they’re out of sight, I go inside and close the door, locking it with magic again. It’s daytime, but a witch can never be too careful.
“You know you’re off tonight, right?” Kristy says, looking up from her Kindle when I walk into the bookshop.
“I know. I have gossip for you.” I set two coffees on the counter and carry the third to Betty, one of the other employees we have working here at the shop. She’s in the back, unboxing a new shipment of indie books.
“Ohhh,” I coo, sitting down on the floor next to Betty and looking into the box of books. “I’ve been dying to read this one.” I pick up a paperback with a beautiful cover of a couple kissing in front of a mountain.
“It looks so good in person. I read the e-book as soon as it came out. Kristen Mayer is one of my favorite authors now.” She runs her finger down the spine, looking at the book lovingly. She’s a non but loves books just as much as Kristy and I do. I’m sure she suspects something unusual is up with us, but she hasn’t said anything, and I don’t think she will. She’s a typical bookworm and would rather deal with fictional issues than real ones, and this job is perfect for her.
“I might have to take it for myself,” I only half joke. I set it down and take another book from the box. “I know I did the ordering, but it’s like Christmas morning every time we get a new shipment in.”
“I know!” she agrees, and I spend another few minutes looking through the books before I go back to the front of the store. I need to talk to Kristy while Betty is distracted anyway.
“Thanks for the coffee,” Kristy tells me. “And the gossip is about yourself, isn’t it?”
“Your intuition has always been impressive.” I go behind the counter and lean against the wall, sipping my black coffee. “And yeah, I was hoping to talk to you about something.”
“Anything. Wait.” She takes another drink of coffee and raises her eyebrows. “Do you need help burying a body again? Because I did not wear the right shoes for that today.”
“No, not this time.”
“Good.”
“I…I kind of took a vampire home from a bar with me last night.”
Kristy almost chokes on her coffee. “What? You slept with a…a…vampire?” she whispers the word “vampire” just in case anyone is listening. Humans and vampires are free to date each other, and vamp-human marriage is legal in seven states so far, but it’s still very much taboo.
“No, I didn’t sleep with him. It’s a weird story, and trust me, the next time I see this asshole, I’m staking him.” I motion to my purse. “I brought my favorite stake.”
Kristy looks at me for a good few seconds, unblinking. “The fact that you have a favorite stake is a whole other issue, you know.”
“It’s the sharpest and has that cool blood stain that looks like a star and—okay, yeah, it’s weird.” I let out a breath, grab my coffee, and tell Kristy what happened. I love having a best friend like her. Someone I trust with everything, someone who does her best not to judge anything I do unless I need her judgment and someone who won’t bullshit me.
“Wait, Abby came here?” she asks when I finish telling her the story. “When? How is she? Still married to that penis doctor?”
“The urologist,” I laugh. “And yes. And I’m pretty sure he still hates me.”
Kristy reaches out and punches my arm.
“Ow,” I say, rubbing where she hit me.
“You should have called me the second she walked in!”
I give her a guilty smile. “You were shopping, and I didn’t want to upset you or make you turn around. I really needed that Dead Man’s Blood.”
She purses her lips and shakes her head. “I could have talked to you. Kept you from doing something impulsive like stalking your sister, getting into a fight, and taking a vampire home.”
“I know.” I pick at the label on my coffee cup. “I just wanted to see where she lived, ya know? See how everyone else is getting along. But I shouldn’t have. I’ve moved on. I’m happy here. I have the store, you, the coven…I have a life and I like it.”
“They’re your family. Even with all the shit they put you through…that doesn’t change who they are.”
“It makes it worse.”
Kristy sets her coffee down and gives me a hug. “Okay, so let’s revisit this vision. You don’t think it was a premonition or something, do you?”
“No, I don’t have the powers of foresight. It was more like a message.”
“But a half-breed? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe because my parents aren’t magical?”
“How would that make you a half-breed, though? Half-breed is usually reserved for someone who has two different magical parents, like a witch and a shifter. Your parents are neither.”
“Yeah, I have no idea.” I pop the lid off my coffee and move my finger in a slow circle over it, magically stirring the hot liquid. “And who knows? Maybe it was something tapping into a subconscious fear. I was kind of intoxicated.”
“Kind of?” She rolls her eyes and moves to the register to ring up a customer. The store gets pretty busy as the evening goes on, and I stay, helping manage the lines and just talking with Kristy and Betty.
The store is still pretty crowded when the sun starts to set. We’re open for another couple hours, so I offer to go pick up takeout for the three of us to eat. On nights when the store is packed, we stay open an extra half-hour or so, not wanting to miss sales.
Our store is on the main street in the quiet town of Thorne Hill. It’s far from a big city, but not quite small-town territory. It’s more of the latter, but being close to Lake Michigan has made it an ideal place to lay down roots.
Plus, a Ley line runs through here, which contributes to how the town got its name. Twisted thorn bushes grew all over, spreading like weeds, in a natural attempt to keep the living away from the power buried deep underground. But humans are relentless beings, and not long after the first settlers moved into the area, covens of witches moved in as well, making sure the Ley line was protected.
And now I belong to one of those covens.
Non-magical people are drawn to this place and they don’t even know why. The Ley line does that, pulsing addictive energy into the air. So far, it’s worked out in our favor, keeping people generally happy. But if tainted, if demons ever got their hands on the line, it could cause mass chaos.
Our downtown has several blocks of stores and restaurants, and the sense of community is big here. We have festivals and celebrations year-round. There are three vampires who live here, and so far, they’ve kept to themselves and have been model citizens. They’re on the younger side, having only been vampires for about ten years, which is just enough time to move out of the impulsive murdering state—well, for some vampires, that is.
I get noodles and sushi from my favorite Japanese place just a block away and head back to the bookshop.
“Good evening, Callie,” another store owner says as she sweeps off the welcome mat leading into her antique store.
“Hi, Mrs. Bishop. How are you?”
“I’m good, honey. Working late again?”
“Nah, it’s not too late.”
She casts her eyes to the setting sun. A few business owners shut down right around sunset to avoid vampires. Mrs. Bishop is one of them, though it’s not like the antique store is a happening place after hours. She’s about half an hour too late to completely avoid vampires, but I can’t exactly explain to her that the older, more powerful vampires are able to come out at dusk on cloudy nights like this.
“Take care, honey,” she says and sweeps the last bit
of dust off her welcome mat. I hurry back to the bookstore, stomach grumbling. Binx is sitting outside the door and lets out a loud meow as soon as I draw near.
“Hey, Mr. Prickle Paws,” I tell him. “Whatcha doing here?”
He lifts his head, sniffing the bag of takeout, more interested in snagging a bite to eat than the reason he came all the way into town.
“Yes,” I tell him before he has a chance to ask. “I’ll share with you.” I push open the door, letting him in first. I only get one foot in the store before I know why Binx showed up.
Lucas is here.
CHAPTER 6
He’s standing at the back of the store, holding one of the new indie romance novels in his hand. There’s a half-naked man on the cover, with his jeans unzipped, and abs shaded to stand out against the dark and grainy background. Lifting his eyes from the book, Lucas looks up right in my direction. He can sense me, and it’s creepy.
“What the hell?” I whisper. We’re yards away, but I know he can hear my voice. Binx winds around my feet, moving in perfect stride with me. I’ve never once tripped over him.
“Why, hello to you too.” Lucas looks back down at the book. “Have you read this one? I find this passage very exhilarating.” His voice is slow and breathy, and if I didn’t like books so much, I’d pull it from his cold, dead hands and hit him over the top of the head with it.
“I haven’t yet, but if you’re going to crack the spine, you better be buying it.”
“Yet? Then I will buy it and will think of you when I finish this sex scene.” He flips the page. “You know, I’ve heard women complain that sex in real life is never as good as it is in books. Obviously, they’ve never been fucked by a vampire.”
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss.
“You’re rather prudish for someone who half-owns a store full of erotic romance.”
“I am far from a prude. But unfortunately for you, you’ll never find out just how much of one I’m not.” Okay, that wasn’t my best retort, but he gets the point. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
“Why?”
He snaps the book closed. “I told you. I’m curious about you.”
“Well, I’m not an animal at a zoo. Go get your jollies elsewhere and watch somebody else.” I push my shoulders back, half expecting him to feed me a “but I don’t want anyone but you” line.
Instead, he slowly licks his lips and looks around the store. “I didn’t mean it like that. I feel an apology is in order for me misleading you last night. You’re not the type of witch I thought you were, and if you’d grant me permission, I’d like to take you out tonight.”
“What?”
“I’m asking you on a date, Callie.”
I open my mouth to ask him why, but Binx lets out a growl. Lucas crouches down, inspecting the black cat. He doesn’t reach out, doesn’t make that silly kissing noise almost everyone else does when they see him.
“Your cat isn’t really a cat, is he?”
I look around, making sure no one else is in earshot. “No, he’s a familiar. You’re just now figuring it out? Nice job with the shielding,” I tell Binx.
“He’s an old one.” Lucas’s eyes narrow. “Isn’t he?”
“He is. And powerful.”
“A black cat, though? Isn’t that a little cliché?”
I smile, adjusting the strap of the plastic takeout bag on my wrist. “Maybe that’s why he picked this form.”
“You called him Mr. Prickle Paws.” He raises an eyebrow, trying not to laugh over the fact a thousand-year-old dark spirit has a pet-name.
“He has very sharp claws.” I look down at Binx endearingly. “And he likes it. Just like he likes the soft pink blanket at the foot of my bed, don’t you Mr. Prickle Paws?” Binx purrs in response and rubs against my ankles.
“You have two others?”
“Yes. Pandora and Freya.”
Lucas watches Binx circle me but still doesn’t make a move to touch him. In fact, he hasn’t moved at all, making me think Binx dropped his shield a bit and is letting Lucas get a sense of his power.
Because it’s just as Lucas said: Binx isn’t really a cat. He’s a spirit who came from another dimension, and when he’s in his true form…he’s terrifying. To everyone who’s not me, that is, of course. His real name is one no one should dare speak, and he wandered from dimension to dimension looking for the right master to serve for centuries. Over that time, he grew to command other spirits, and together we are all bound.
“Witches only have one familiar,” Lucas says, but I can hear the question in his voice. I don’t think he knows as much about witches as he’s trying to get me to believe. Is that why he’s asking me out? Trying to wine and dine info out of me?
“Their witches were killed,” I whisper, leaning in as a few customers walk down this aisle. Two girls blush and giggle, stealing glances at Lucas. I don’t need super hearing to know they’re gushing over him, because the vampire is basically walking sex on a stick. “And once I handled the you know what…”
“They pledged to you,” he finishes.
“Yes.”
“Now I’m even more curious.”
I take the bag from my wrist and switch it to the other hand. “Look, I’m going to be frank here.” Turning, I head toward the register to find Kristy. “If you’re trying to get super-secret witch info out of me, don’t waste your time. I’m not like the other witches.”
“I know,” he says softly, and that rare moment of honestly comes out again. I turn, looking into his stormy blue eyes, and see the same pain I saw yesterday. He blinks and turns away.
“Do you have to do that?” I ask.
“Do what?”
“Blink?”
“Oh.” He seems almost surprised by the question. “I suppose not. My eyes won’t dry out like humans, but if dirt or dust gets in them, it’s still irritating. And it’s like breathing. Many of us don’t let those habits go. It’s something you don’t even think about.”
“So weird.”
He playfully nudges me. “I thought it was interesting yesterday.”
“Interesting…weird…they’re both cool, I guess.” I stop at the edge of the aisle. Betty is watching me, mouth hanging slightly open. Binx trots over, and she breaks her stare, dropping down to her knees to pet him. He’s a bit of a celebrity around here, actually. Everyone assumes he’s a regular cat, of course, and thinks I spent a lot of time training him. To hold up the pretense of being a house cat, he does cat-like stuff, like knocking shit off the counters and carrying around hair-ties while meowing loudly.
He’ll never admit it, but I know he has fun doing it.
Kristy is ringing up a customer, and there are two in line behind that. She does her best not to gape like Betty, but unlike Betty, she knows what Lucas is right away.
“Meet me after the store closes tonight?” he asks, and there’s something oddly gentle about him right now.
I set the bag of food down and slowly shake my head. “I’m not sure I want to. Not after last night.”
“Talk like that and people are going to assume we hooked up. Don’t damage my reputation now. I never disappoint. In fact,” he starts, and looks me over again, “I dreamed about you today.” He reaches forward, slowly pushing my hair over my shoulder. I hate that his touch is getting a physical response out of me. And I hate even more than he can sense it.
“Did you dream about me?”
“I dreamed I shoved a stake through your heart and then set fire to what was left of your remains.”
“Such a lady,” he shoots right back. “And at least we both had dreams about penetrating the other in one way or another.”
“You’re such a pig.”
“You keep saying that, but your body says otherwise.”
I step back, hoping no one heard us talking, and open the bag of takeout. “I do find you attractive,” I admit, not seeing the point in lying. He already knows it and saying it
out loud takes the little advantage he has on me away.
“I thought I disgusted you.”
“Oh, you do.” I pick up a California roll. “So yeah…I, uh, I have issues.”
“Don’t we all?” He smiles, and it’s genuine again. I think. Fuck. “Shall I meet you at your place later? I assume you’d like to change into something that shows more skin.”
I shove the roll into my mouth, buying myself a bit of time. Kristy rings up the last customer. I expect her to come over, introduce herself and be the overprotective best friend she usually is.
When she doesn’t, I turn to see what’s going on. Every once in a while, we get an asshole customer. Those are fun to deal with. The Law of Return is my go-to spell for them, and all it takes is a little encouragement to act fast. The rest of the day, everyone will treat the asshole the way they treated one of us.
Instead of blankly staring down a woman enraged that Amazon has a copy of Fifty Shades cheaper than we’re selling it, Kristy is holding a large piece of yellowed paper.
“What is it?” I ask, knowing exactly who that paper is from.
“The coven,” she says a little breathless, shocked by whatever she’s reading. “They’ve called an emergency gathering.”
The coven only calls gatherings like this when something big is going down. A chill runs down my spine. The full moon yesterday. The vision. There had to be a third sign that I missed.
I look at Lucas. “If—and I mean a big fat if—I decide to let you take me out on a date, it’s going to have to wait.”
“Are you really not going to elaborate?” Kristy adjusts the black cloak around her shoulders. We’re walking into the woods on our way to find the magical doorway that leads us to the Covenstead.
“About what?”
“Uh, maybe how that tall, dark, and handsome vampire showed up wanting to take you on a date.”
“Oh, you heard?”
She shoots me a look. “Of course I heard. And I totally agree with you on how attractive he is, but can you trust him?”