Charmed & Ready (16 page)

Zane and the band were working hard, and I always feel like such an outsider. I decided to head back in and see if I could do a little mental work on his case.

First I wanted to check on little Zoë. After watching her mourn for her parents, it wasn't such a happy prospect tapping into her again.

It was late in the evening but she was awake. She looked up at the ceiling and said, "Hello."

Took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. She could see me in her mind, but projected it out. Interesting. Then I remembered. It was the magic. I wanted to research her birth mother to see if she'd been a witch.

"Hello, Zoë. How are you feeling tonight?"

"Well, thank you." Her polished English accent was polite and soft. "How come I can see you, but you aren't here?"

Good question.

"I'm in America but I wanted to check on you. So, I thought about you and now here I am."

"Oh, like magic." She smiled and it was a glorious thing.

"Yes, just like magic." I grinned.

"Is Uncle Zane with you? Can I see him too? Is he okay?" She sat up in bed and moved her head around as if she were trying to see behind me.

"He's not here right now, but we were just talking about you." That seemed to please her.

"You'll keep him safe, right?" She pointed at me.

"Yes, that's why I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt him."

"Promise?" She looked so sweet I wanted to hug her. Her concern for her uncle was earnest.

"I promise. I can tell you, he misses you terribly."

"Oh, I miss him lots and lots. I need to hug him."

And that made me think. She obviously loved him a great deal, why wouldn't she want to be with him?

"Zoë, why didn't you want to come to America with Uncle Zane?"

She bit her lip and looked down at the bed. A secret. I could probe her mind, but I wanted her to tell me on her own.

She fidgeted just a bit.

"I promise, whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm here to protect you and keep you safe. Even though it might seem like I'm far away."

"Can you do magic to keep the bad lady away?" She looked up at me. Her big doe eyes were saucers of hope.

"What bad lady, honey?" I thought maybe someone at school might be bothering her.

"She says she's my friend, but she's kind of scary. She comes in my dreams. I don't know why, but I think she's the one who hurt my mum and dad. She feels like a monster when she comes in my dreams, but she's nice to me."

I wasn't sure what to say. The child obviously had magical abilities, which would grow to be quite powerful when she was older. It was an amazing feat that she could talk to me as she did now. And she didn't have a clue about her
talent
.

"Zoë, I know it's kind of scary, but can you think about the lady and show me what she looks like?"

The
little girl
closed her eyes. And tried to recall a dream. It's hard for any of us, especially a child who is frightened of what she sees. I saw an outline and blond hair. And I got a feeling from the presence. She didn't mean the child harm, but I could see why it would make Zoë uncomfortable. But who would do something like visit a child's dream? Well, besides me. And that was to settle Zane's mind.

When she frowned, I told her to stop thinking about the lady. I didn't want to cause the poor thing any more trauma than she'd already experienced.

"Yes, I can keep the bad lady from coming into your dreams. I'm going to send you a very pretty necklace tomorrow and I want you to never take it off. It will keep anything bad away from you. And if anyone scary does come close, it flashes a big light that will make them go away.

"For tonight, I'll say some words that will help you sleep without any fear of bad guys."

She snuggled down onto her pillow and yawned.

I realized she hadn't answered my original question.

"Zoë, why do you want to stay at school?"

She yawned big this time and stretched. Grabbing her stuffed elephant, she opened her eyes again. "If I'm here, the bad lady stays here. Then she can't get my uncle."

"You sleep tight, and I promise to check in with you every day. If you get scared, you say my name. And just like tonight I'll be there."

"Okay." She closed her eyes.

I whispered a chant and offered her protection. The poor baby thought she was protecting her uncle from the monster.

I hate monsters that prey on children. I'd find this one and destroy it. Zoë would live happily ever after, if I had anything to say about it.

Monday, 8 A. M.

Beverly Hills, California

Charms: 4

Spells: 2

I sent the charms to Zoë through a special courier. When Zane came into the house last night, I told him everything.

"I want to bring her here, she shouldn't be going through all of this alone." He pounded the table with his fist. "That child thinks she's protecting me from the monsters by staying away. It's wrong."

His eyes were shiny with unshed tears. Almost made me cry. Any guy who would feel so deeply about a child is okay in my book.

"It may be safer for her there at the school, Zane, at least until we get a better target. This whole thing is a giant mess. There are warlocks, neo-Nazis, and some strange woman invading Zoë's dreams. It doesn't make any sense." I shrugged.

"Well, you may be right about her being safer away from me. But I'm calling the school and sending a team of security guards to watch over her. No one is going to harm my niece."

I touched his shoulder. "On that we both agree."

I set about doing several more protection charms for the child, the prime minister and Zane. In addition, I added a few more wards for the house. No one would get in here who wasn't a friend.

Zane wanted to go out for dinner, but I didn't think we should chance it yet. There hadn't been any attempts on him yet but there was no reason to push our luck. He sent his assistant, Georgette, who arrived yesterday afternoon, after our dinner.

He wasn't in the best of moods, and to be honest who could blame him? Still haven't heard from Simone. If she doesn't show up this afternoon, I'll give her a call.

We missed our appointments for hair and eyebrows. Evidently, it's taking her longer to find the nest than she anticipated. If I hadn't been needed here, I might have gone with her. I could use some hard witch action.

I've tried several times to focus Zoë's image of the scary lady. I'm not getting anything, but I won't stop trying.

Monday, 2 P. M.

Men are so stupid. I hate them. All of them. Stupid men. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

It's been more than a week so I thought I'd try to call Sam, since I haven't heard from him. You know, just sort of wanted to make sure he was alive and well. Nothing major. I've tried to search for him mentally, but he has me blocked, the jerk.

So, I called his cell.

A woman answered.

When I asked for Sam she laughed and hung up on me.

Bitch.

Why is a woman answering Sam's phone?

Was he there? Were they laughing at me?

He wouldn't cheat on me. I know Sam. He's got trust issues out the wazoo. It's something he wouldn't even contemplate. Right?

I tried calling Azir's office, but Maridad, his assistant, said he's unavailable. I asked if he was on one of his missions, but there was silence.

"All I can tell you is that he's unavailable," she said finally. I like her a lot, and I think she has a thing for Azir, but I needed answers. She'd come to Sweet a few months ago with the sheik, and we made a connection.

"Maridad, look. I just need to get in touch with Sam. I'm pretty sure he's with Azir somewhere. I saw Azir's number on his cell. I really, really need to talk to Sam. It's an emergency."

She sighed. "I am sorry. Please understand that when these things happen, I'm not informed of the sheik's itinerary. Security reasons, I'm told." The last was said with the tiniest bit of attitude, which meant she was no happier about the situation than I was.

I took that to mean that, yes, they were on a mission. But she didn't know where they were either. Great. My supposed boyfriend and an almost boyfriend were out saving the world and doing God knows what with God knows who. Wonderful. Marvelous.

"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."

"Don't worry about it, and if I do hear something I'll let you know."

I think I'm going to put on a bathing suit and get some of this famous California sunshine. I'm feeling dangerous enough to even try the black two-piece. It has little shorty bottoms, and a top that covers the necessary parts (barely). No one is around today, so who cares?

8 P. M.

Sunburned witches: 1

Um, ouch. I haven't been in the sun much this summer. And well, I don't tan that well, anyway. So the fact that I fell asleep for three hours in that lovely California sun was kind of dumb on my part.

I hadn't meant to fall asleep, it just happened. I was floating in the pool trying to concentrate on anything that didn't have to do with Sam.

It didn't work well. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he'd loaned the phone to someone. Or shared it. I don't know.

So I'm thinking about him and the next thing I know I'm almost drowning and Zane's pulling me up out of the water. His crazy paisley shirt and leather pants dripping, he drags me to the steps of the pool.

"Are you okay?" He pushed my hair out of my face, which felt really tight.

"Yes. I must have fallen asleep and then slipped off the raft." I walked up the steps and grabbed a towel. I handed it to him. His pants were a disaster. "I'm really sorry about your clothes. I would have been okay. When I hit the water I woke up."

He stared at me funny. "Don't worry about the clothes. You fell just as I was rounding the corner, and I thought you might drown. How long have you been out here?"

"I don't know, what time is it?"

He looked at his watch, which must have been waterproof. If it was one of the ones he picked the day we shopped, it was worth about fifty thousand dollars, so it should be protected from hell itself.

"Bronwyn, it's six o'clock."

About three hours. I looked down at my arms. They were glowing red. Not a good sign. I turned, wrapped the towel around me, and heard Zane snicker.

"What?" I faced him again.

"Well, if I were you I'd sleep on my back tonight."

Uh?

I turned and looked at my backside in the reflection of the French doors going into the kitchen. I was paper white on one side, and Mustang red on the other. Lovely.

Zane stopped laughing when he caught my eyes.

"You know what you need is some of my very special lemonade. Run upstairs and put something comfy on, and I'll mix you a batch." He ushered me through the door.

I took a shower and put on a lotion with lots of aloe. I'm not sure but I think we might be able to cook dinner on my thighs. They are so hot, I can't stand to touch them.

I just found my big Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Now if I can find something for the bottom half we'll be in good shape.

For the hell of it, I tried to call Sam again, at home this time. No answer. I left him a message.

"Call me." That's all I said.

I'm kind of proud of myself. "You stupid fucking bastard." didn't come out of my mouth and I really wanted to say it. Asshole… Stop, Bronwyn. Breathe.

I tend to focus on the negative when it comes to relationships and think the worst. But what the hell am I supposed to think when some woman is answering his phone?

Downstairs I go for refreshments and food. I think it's time for some steak and maybe chocolate. Not necessarily in that order.

Beverly Hills, California

Potions: 3

Hungover witches with angry boyfriends: 1

So here's what I remember from last night: That harmless "special lemonade" was a combination of triple sec, Grand Marnier and Jack Daniel's. Unfortunately, I drank at least a pitcher before I bothered to ask what was in it.