A dry, male voice immediately dampened her excitement. “Magian, little girl, Magian. And Harrison can’t make you what you aren’t, she’s not that good. But, though I hate to admit it, her glamour is fairly impressive.”
Tyghe.
Damn. She’d hoped he was out of town.
Tyghe was one of Harrison’s older brothers, and the only dark cloud over her time with the Abbotts. She got along fine with the rest of her friend’s brothers, Tucker and Lorie. Especially Tucker. The eldest brother was perfect in Callie’s eyes. Tall, dark, handsome and above all, kind. He’d always been patient with her. Always made her feel welcome. When he’d shown an interest in Magian law, her own aspirations to be a police officer seemed to link them somehow. Yet another reason for her to admire him, to fuel the fire of her most secret fantasies. She’d had a crush on him for as long as she could remember.
But not Tyghe.
The mahogany-haired scoundrel had teased her unmercifully all through her teen years. Made her feel somehow lacking because she wasn’t like them. Wasn’t Magian. And his piercing grey eyes had always noticed everything. Even the things she didn’t want anyone to see, like the way she reacted to his older brother.
Tyghe smiled as though he knew she was cursing his arrival. “I don’t know if you can do it, Harry.” He tilted his head, studying Callie in her comfortable sweats and hooded sweatshirt. “Do you really think you can turn this ordinary human into a wicked witch?”
Harrison glared at her brother in warning. “Shut up, Tyghe. You’re not helping.”
Tyghe placed a hand to his chest, drawing Callie’s unwilling gaze to his lean, muscled physique. Her mouth went dry. Damn Abbott men. Did they all have to be so stunning? How could she get a good hate on for someone she wanted to lick?
His sigh drew everyone’s attention. “My dear, sweet sister. That’s exactly what I came here to do. Help. Show a little gratitude.”
“He knows?” Callie crossed her arms defensively. She didn’t like the way Tyghe was looking at her.
“I had no other choice.” Harrison wrinkled her nose. “Tucker was already gone on his annual hike into the wilderness before the first attack. Besides, he definitely wouldn’t approve of us trying to catch this guy on our own. And Lorie…well, you know Lorie.”
She did. Lorie was a good guy when he was around, but he wasn’t the most dependable member of the Abbott family. The dreamer, his mother often called him. Since they were children, he’d rather find some remote corner in a dusty Magian library and read then be a part of any of their adventures.
Tyghe came closer. “I know that for once Harrison is right. Each one of the attacks, from what I’ve been hearing, has gotten successively worse. And the lack of evidence makes them highly suspicious. Even those of us who don’t have a Nancy Drew complex,” he looked pointedly at Callie, “still know something is wrong. We can’t take a chance that my sister could be the psycho’s next target. I’m just not sure she’s thought her plan through. Using a human as bait is all well and good, but getting the bait inside is only half the battle. You wouldn’t be able to participate. Not unless the men you were with were in on it.”
Men? Bait? “Okay, time out. Is Tyghe right, Harry? You want me to go in undercover and flush this guy out?”
Jenner glared at Tyghe before gripping Callie’s elbow comfortingly. “He’s never been known for his subtly, but he has a point. We have no intention of using you as bait, dear. We, Harrison and I, both trust your instincts. You may see something our kind has missed. But you would be in danger. Just of another sort. We can get you inside, but with the magic Harrison will cloak you with, you’ll also have to deal with potential suitors as you search for clues.”
“And they will love her. Those big, innocent eyes? That naïve sensuality? The sharks would start circling in no time. And her cover would be blown.” Callie’s chin jerked sharply at the compliment. At least, she thought it was a compliment. From Tyghe, she could never be sure.
“I wasn’t planning on leaving my best friend alone in that place,” Harrison grumbled. “Jenner and I would be there with her at all times. All she’d have to do is use that intuition of hers—an intuition not even Tucker can match by the way, and I would zap the son of a bitch until he squealed.”
Callie felt her lips twitch. She’d seen Harrison angry, seen the electricity she could generate when she gathered her power close. She knew her friend would protect her. Maybe she’d get in a few good punches herself. What kind of creep went around terrorizing young females? Witches or not, those women had no doubt been at their most vulnerable, searching for love. The last thing one of them would expect was an attack by another Magian at such a sacred event. “I’m in.”
“So am I. That’s what I’m trying to say. I can attach myself to Callie as a potential suitor, even with the distant cousin story you’ve decided to run with. I’ll turn away any thirds I find unsuitable, which will be all of them, and keep an eye on my troublemaking sister at the same time.”
Callie and Harrison made sounds of denial, but Tyghe wasn’t backing down. “Ask Jenner. This is the only way your plan will work. Either I join you for her preparations and the Triune, or I
will call in the rest of the family. Your choice.”
Jenner tilted her head, a small sparrow studying Tyghe with a strange, knowing expression. “He’s right, girls. We need a man to make this work.”
Tyghe snickered. “Words to live by.”
“Don’t get cocky, boy. I can still take you over my knee.”
Callie looked Jenner up and down, doubting the tiny woman could make good on her threat, but Tyghe looked duly chastised.
Harrison threw her arms in the air. “Fine. You’re in. But don’t interfere with our investigation. You aren’t exactly known for being discreet. As soon as I glamour Callie, we have to start preparing her, getting the word out that there’s a new Magian in town. And that she’ll be coming to this quarter’s Triune.”
What had she gotten herself into? Callie sat on Harrison’s luxurious bed in nothing but a small towel, watching the two women muttering to each other as they gathered their supplies. This was what she’d always wanted. Sort of. She’d wanted to be an Abbott, truly to be a Magian born. Harrison’s temporary fix would have to do.
If it worked, she could finally see the people and places Harrison would tell her about late into the night during those lucky occasions when her foster mother allowed her to sleep over. And those stories Jenner wove at the kitchen table before anyone else was awake. Stories about stormy battles and the origins of the Magians. Tales that took her away from her awkward, unhappy life just long enough to give her hope for something more. Something magical.
Please let this work.