Constant Cravings (20 page)

115

Tracey H. Kitts

Chapter Sixteen

Tara’s smile widened, though I didn’t know how. That woman could grin like nothing I’d ever seen. I don’t think she was oblivious to Liam’s sarcasm. I think she chose to ignore it.

“So, how did your visit with the Horned God go?” My expression no doubt conveyed my shock. I didn’t realize she knew why we were here. I assumed Liam had told her
something
, but telling her the truth hadn’t occurred to me.

“Fine,” I answered, unsure of how else to reply.

“Tara has never tried to summon him herself,” Liam supplied, “and she usually calls him the Horned Asshole.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Tara threw the towel she’d been drying her hands with over one shoulder and turned to Liam. She looked pissed.

“That’s only because he trampled my prize-winning pumpkin when I was a child.” Liam moved closer to me and put his arm around my waist.

“You assumed it was him,” he said.

Tara took the towel off her shoulder and wiped her hands even though they weren’t dirty. I think it was a nervous habit. Or maybe it gave her something to do with her hands besides slap people. Just the mention of her pumpkin being trampled and I could see the fiery streak Liam seemed to dread. Couldn’t say I blamed him.

“An invisible horse chasing
you
ran over my pumpkin. I saw the tracks! That asshole.”

“I thought you said he hadn’t been in the area since 1917 or something,” I said to Liam.

He looked grateful for the slight change in subject. “No, that’s the last time The Wild Hunt was here for any length of time. Cernunnos was here briefly thirty years ago.”

“When you summoned him last?”

“That’s right.”

“Do I even want to know why he was chasing you?” He shrugged. “It was all in fun.”

“Except to my pumpkin,” Tara said. “But forget that. We’ve got roasted chicken sandwiches and vegetable soup and it’s getting cold.” Just like that, the fire I’d seen in her eyes was gone and she was the sweet, gentle hostess once more.

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Liam slipped out of his coat and helped his aunt set the table. I must admit, I felt right at home. The kitchen was warm, so I took off my coat too while Liam poured us both some soup.

A few minutes later I was wolfing down a sandwich when I looked up to find Tara and Liam watching me.

“So how is it?” Tara asked.

Liam was visibly fighting to contain his laughter.

“Good,” I said around a mouthful of chicken.

“Luna worked up an appetite.”

I almost choked before I could reach my glass of sweet tea. According to the clock on Tara’s microwave it was eleven fifty-five when we walked in. That meant we finished with Cernunnos around eleven thirty or so, because I dressed quickly and it didn’t take that long to get through the woods. Of course, that’s just my rough estimate.

It felt as if we’d been gone thirty minutes.

I couldn’t help wondering how long Cernunnos and I were on that stone altar. I took another big gulp of tea.

“I knew time passed differently in his presence. However, I didn’t take into account how ravenous I would be since I didn’t eat much breakfast,” I said. I’d been way too nervous to eat when Liam and I got breakfast that morning and only managed a few bites.

Liam winked. “A long ride can make anyone hungry.” I covered my mouth to prevent spraying soup as I laughed. “You’re awful,” I said, reaching for the tea again and a napkin.

“Yeah, but you’re getting attached to me,” he teased.

“You two have good chemistry,” Tara observed. “It’s nice to see
someone
in our family has a normal relationship.” She burst out laughing before quickly regaining her composure. “Not that I’d know normal if it bit me in the ass. My ex-husband is a werewolf.”

We finished eating and said our goodbyes after thanking Tara for a wonderful lunch.

“I do hope this won’t be the last time I see you,” Tara said to me as she stood in the doorway. To Liam she said, “I like her.”

As we turned for the car I told Liam, “I like
her
too.” We were well out of earshot when he told me, “Tara is a good woman, but she gives me hell sometimes.”

He leaned forward to open my door and I took the opportunity to place a kiss against his throat. That soft expanse of skin was too inviting to ignore. Liam smiled down at me.

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“I think that’s what family is supposed to do,” I said.

I waited until we were at the end of the driveway before bringing up everything Cernunnos shared with me. I wanted to enjoy the beauty of what Tara said was the Thanksgiving crop without interruption.

With the bright orange of the pumpkins still in our rear view, I asked, “Are you ready to hear everything?”

“Let me have it.”

Looking at him in those tight black pants with his coat hanging open and long white hair trailing over his shoulders…boy did I ever wish I
could
let him have it. But he was talking about what Cernunnos said and that was more important.

“I think it’s looking more and more as if Rachel and I were in the wrong place at the
really
wrong time.”

I proceeded to tell him the entire conversation, even the part about Cernunnos liking it when I grabbed his horns.

“Liked it? For Cernunnos to give up this much information, I’d say he loved it.”

“I think Rachel and I stumbled into The Courtyard while a witch and a barghest were doing who-knows-what.”

Liam was silent for a minute, his attention focused on the road. “It’s possible.” He paused again. “I really wish I kept up with who Gunthar was screwing. I believe if we can track them down we can stop this.”

“What exactly does ‘this’ include?”

“Everything. We have to stop them from stealing my magic and using it to kill Oberon.”

“By ‘them’ you mean whomever Gunthar was screwing.”

“Exactly. What Cernunnos said made a lot of sense to me and it brings up even more questions.”

“Such as?”

“Who would be sleeping with Gunthar in the first place, let alone be interested in stealing barghests? By the way, they are one of the few creatures who would be able to track me. When I said I wasn’t hard to find before, I meant for those I want to find me. I don’t hide behind the veil or use a glamour on my appearance. However, I do use spells to cover my tracks.”

“What do you mean?”

“A shaman gives off a certain type of magical energy different from others with supernatural powers, or those who can merely wield magic but aren’t magical themselves. It’s a kind of scent, like pheromones. You can’t see it and most aren’t even aware of its presence, but it’s there.”

“And barghests can detect this scent even through the spells?” 118

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“They’re one of the few creatures who would have a good shot. There’s still a chance that they won’t find me, but they might get close. Whoever is out there looking for me is into some serious shit to even know something like that.”

“You’re assuming an awful lot, don’t you think? Couldn’t all of this, the barghests and Cernunnos detecting the presence of a witch, be a coincidence? Couldn’t what happened to Rachel be a terrible accident?”

“If you believe that the rumor Nym heard is also not true. Sure.” Shit. I really didn’t want to believe this was happening. But it appeared I didn’t have a choice. First, Nym mentioned the rumor about someone wanting to steal Liam’s magic. According to Liam the only reason someone would want to do that would be to have enough power to kill someone like Oberon. Then Cernunnos threw in the information about the missing barghests and the goblin king’s lover being suspected of taking them. Now Liam tells me that barghests are one of the few creatures capable of tracking him down.

“Damn it.”

“I see you’ve decided to agree with me,” he said.

“Has this been about getting to you all along?” Liam shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. It could be. I already said I don’t believe things happen by chance. From all we’ve just learned, I believe that Gunthar was sleeping with a witch, probably the one Cernunnos detected in The Courtyard. I also believe that witch left my card for you to find in the bathroom at The Spot café.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”

“Not if she planned to kill Rachel, scare the shit out of you and
make
you run. The Spot is the first logical place to take shelter from a creature or a storm if you’re running away from The Courtyard.”

I paused to think over all he’d said and some things still made no sense. “But what could
I
possibly have to do with anything? You said you believe someone planned to make me run to The Spot. All right, why?”

Liam shook his head. “Maybe they wanted you to meet me. I can’t explain how, but I’m certain my card was there for a reason. I’m also certain you were driven to The Spot that night. Surely you can understand when I say I’ve got a feeling?”

“I guess what I’m trying to understand is why you have that feeling. What leads you in this direction? Because I’m just not getting it. Not all of it, anyway.”

“I could detect magic that night when we first met. The Spot was full of magical beings, but this was different. Something evil was outside. I know it as surely as I’m sitting here. Whatever that evil was, it may be responsible for Rachel’s death.”

“Who the fuck would want to kill Rachel over something like this?” I asked. I leaned forward and the seatbelt pinched across my chest. I needed to curl up. I felt sick.

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“I know you told Cernunnos that Rachel didn’t have any enemies, but are you sure?” Liam asked. His voice was soft and he sounded concerned as he reached over to run a hand through my hair.

We were at a stoplight and I looked up to find the kindness in his eyes too much to take. I looked away and fought the emotion tightening my throat.

“I said she didn’t have these kinds of enemies. I didn’t say she didn’t have
any
enemies. But whoever they might be, I don’t know. I knew Rachel for five years and considered her family. In that time, to my knowledge, she never hung out with any witches or even mentioned any creatures like barghests.”

“She did frequent Pixie Styx,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, she did.”

As we entered the city once more I was left with more questions and now doubts too. I was starting to wonder if I really knew Rachel at all. This began with me trying to find out what killed her and why. Now things had progressed to a plot to kill Oberon, King of the Fairies, which included killing my new boyfriend. That thought gave me pause. I had only known Liam a short time and already I felt closer to him than I had thought possible. As I looked him over once more there was no doubt I considered him mine.
Great. I find a man I can love and someone is trying to kill him.

“What are we supposed to do now?”

He sighed. “We’ll go to my place, gather our supplies, perform a spell or two and start hunting barghests.”

Once we were back at Liam’s house he asked me to call Nym. “We’re going to need to know exactly where he heard that rumor, plus I need his energy for a spell.”

“Really?”

“Normally my own energy would be enough, but I’m pretty drained.” He smiled at me and for a moment I felt as if everything was going to be all right. “You should be too.”

“Very funny.”

Liam tossed me his cell phone. “He’s number two on speed dial.” As I pressed the button I asked, “Who’s number one?”

“You are.”

I was so surprised by Liam’s reply that when Nym answered the phone all I did was sputter.

“Is this an obscene phone call?” Nym asked.

“No, um, it’s Luna.”

“Well, shit. You could always say something dirty to make it up to me.” I decided to play along, at least for the moment. Just because bad things were happening didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy a minute or two. I dropped my voice to an 120

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appropriately husky level and whispered into the phone, “Get your ass over to Liam’s, you dirty elf-slut you.”

Nym laughed. “Not bad. I’ll be there in an hour.” It was sweet the way he didn’t even ask what we wanted him for, because he knew by now it wasn’t sex. He also knew we’d summoned Cernunnos that morning and was probably eager to hear the details.

I walked into the bedroom to find Liam poring over his bookshelf. I put his cell phone on the small table he was piling with books. In the time it had taken me to make the phone call, he’d stripped down to nothing but his tight black pants.

“He’ll be here in an hour. By the way, why did you tell Nym that his idea of a good time probably didn’t involve Cernunnos? I’d say that was
exactly
his idea of a good time.”

“I don’t remember saying that,” he said, pulling out another thick book.

“Sure you did. The last time we were all at my house, discussing the ritual to summon Cernunnos.”

He paused and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh yeah. I did.” He laughed softly.

“When I say I’m not attracted to men, it’s true. Cernunnos is a demigod. He doesn’t count.”

I was beginning to find Liam’s reasoning very entertaining. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Nym.”

I expected a funny comeback, but instead he sighed.

“I’m sorry, Liam. I was just trying to lighten the mood. I feel lost.”

“Come here,” he said, catching me by the wrist.

The instant Liam pulled me to his chest I felt better. The warmth of his skin against my face, the gentle rhythm of his heart beneath my hand, this was my haven. There was no safer place in all the world.

“If you are ever lost, I will find you,” he whispered against my hair.

“That’s not what I meant,” I said. I tried to fight the emotion tightening my throat and the tears that stung my eyes. That battle was lost when he pressed a kiss against the top of my head. My sigh turned into a sob as he held me tighter. What would I do if something happened to him? He’d only been in my life for a few days and already I couldn’t imagine being without him.