Easy Bake Coven (14 page)

I tore myself away from Cheney and looked around. It was a nice house, a really nice house. Floor to ceiling windows covered an entire wall and looked out over trees and mountains. The room had oversized comfortable-looking couches and chairs, a grand piano, and off to the side, a dining room table that could easily seat twelve. I turned the other direction and saw a large chef’s kitchen filled with shiny, stainless steel. There was a hallway off to the left. I wandered down it, and Cheney made no move to follow me. I found three good-sized bedrooms, each with their own baths. I looked out the window in one of the bedrooms to see a pool glowing up from below.

A haunting melody floated in from the other room. It surrounded me like a blanket and filled my heart with longing. The sound carried me back to the living room where Cheney sat at the piano, his eyes closed and hands gracefully moving over the keys. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata filled the entire house with a yearning whisper. The emotion of the song was raw and tactile, a lover’s sigh that brought tears to my eyes. I sat on the piano bench with my back to his—our breath in sync. The music moved through him and into me with the slight, fluid motions of his body as he played. Each deliberate, melancholy note stirred a loss deep within my soul. My eyes closed and my head rested against him as tears streamed from my eyes. I couldn’t think, could only feel. The same part of me that angered so quickly with him was filled with consuming grief at being deprived of him. He played the last chords, and when they died away, the house filled with heavy silence.

“That’s my favorite song,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said. “I learned it for you a long time ago.”

Everything unspoken between us made saying the words impossible. Cheney drove me absolutely insane. He was bossy, arrogant, manipulative—and despite my efforts, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

But he was crazy about some girl who didn’t exist.

I released the sigh I’d been holding. “What was I like?”

“A lot like you are now.”

“Don’t say that. Tell me what I was really like. If doing this tonight brings back my other half, tomorrow morning I’ll be a completely different person. I want to know what to expect. Was I nice?”

“You were very nice. You’ve always had a big heart. You cared more for other people than yourself. You’re brave, confident, just, funny, temperamental, argumentative, alluring, charismatic, and you drove me mad from the moment I met you.”

I liked the feel of his back vibrating against mine as he spoke, even though I doubted the truth of what he told me.

“How am I different?”

“You’re definitely more flexible now.” I smiled and waited for him to continue. “You have more patience, a better grasp on controlling your emotions—most of the time—and you’re more cautious. Other than that I still see many of the qualities you had before in you now.”

“How did we meet?”

“I shouldn’t tell you.”

“Please.”

“I was on a hunt, and you were in the forest completely naked twirling under the moon.”

“I can think of worse things to be doing,” I said honestly.

“Well, I enjoyed it,” Cheney said dryly. “Or I did until I noticed all the other men I was hunting with watching you as well. Then, of course, I yelled at you.”

“Naturally.”

“I tried to make you put on my coat, which you absolutely refused to do. You said if I was embarrassed, I could avert my eyes. You informed me in no uncertain terms that I should continue on my little hunt and leave you to commune with the goddess.”

“Did you leave?”

“No, I sent the rest of them on their way and I stayed.”

“Did I take that well?”

“You ignored me. Even when it started to rain, you continued right on doing what you were doing. When you finished, I was soaked and you were glowing. You were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I walked you home very much against your will, but we talked. That night changed everything.”

She sounded great—but nothing like me. I would never dance naked in the woods. I would never let all of those people leer at me. “What will you do if she never comes back?”

“Who?”

“The girl you knew. What if tonight doesn’t work? What if I don’t get my memories back?”

“You say that like you aren’t the same person.”

“I am
not
the same person. I don’t share those memories. Even if I did, what makes you think my life here hasn’t changed me?”

“The memories will come back.”

“What if they don’t?”

“Then we’ll make new ones—”Cheney sighed like he couldn’t bear to say whatever else he needed to. He shook his head. “It’s time to go.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely,” he said with the confidence I didn’t have. His arms wrapped around me and I waited for the dizzying pull, but it didn’t come.

“Cheney?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we going?”

“Soon.” His arms tightened and his lips brushed my hair. “You didn’t say what you thought of the house.”

“It’s lovely.”

“Would it be acceptable to you?”

“Acceptable as what?”

“Our place to stay while we come up with a plan. You can’t go back to your house after tonight. They’ll be looking for you there, especially when they feel your magic.”

“How long do you think we’ll be here?”

“I don’t know.”

“I won’t leave Stewie.”

“The cat will be here when we come back tonight.” He squeezed me a little tighter and I closed my eyes shut. When I opened them, the studio was dark and silent. I gave Cheney the keys to unlock the front door while I got the lights. It seemed like a lifetime since I’d taught a class or seen my friends. Was I really giving all this up? I sat on the floor and opened Grandma’s Book of Shadows. I needed to find a spell that would work.

The book was a fountain of hand-scrawled information but seemed to have no order. It would take ages to find the correct spell. There was no way we could do this tonight. Relief washed over me. I’d received a reprieve.

“Looking for the spell?” Cheney asked.

“This will take hours to read through.”

“I know. I read while you slept last night.”

“You read this entire book?”

“Yeah, we needed to find the spell. Do you want me to show you?”

I offered him the book, my stomach sinking. Cheney flipped right to the correct page and handed the book back. It was an undoing spell and actually rather simple in its nature. “This doesn’t seem too bad. I have everything on hand.”

“Simple, yet powerful. It should do the trick.”

The bell of the door chimed. “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee,” I muttered.

Cheney smiled. “John Donne,” he said the same time Kat and Jess walked into the studio laughing.

“Selene, you whore. What’s so important we had to meet tonight?” Jessica asked before she noticed Cheney.

Kat looked at Cheney with an arched brow then back at me. “Hey, pretty lady. You going to introduce us to your friend?” She gave me a look that said
that’s not Michael
.

“Kat, Jess, this is Cheney. Cheney, these are two of my best friends, Kat and Jess.”

They both shook his hand and made appropriate greetings. Kat mouthed, “He’s hot,” behind his back.

“So how do you know each other?” Jessica asked.

“I’ll explain everything once Devin and Leslie get here,” I told them.

They both eyed Cheney. “Are you a witch?” Jess asked.

He gave them a mischievous grin. “No, but I can use a wand.”

“I bet you can,” Kat mumbled under her breath.

“Kat!” I said, my cheeks turning red as Cheney’s laughter filled the room. They both looked at him with renewed interest.

“Damn it, why’s Devin always late?” Jessica complained.

“The two of you remind me of one another,” Kat said, shaking a finger between the two of us.

“That’s the second time I’ve heard that tonight. I don’t see whatever it is you people are seeing.” I crossed my arms over my chest, not liking any of this. I had a suspicion of what they were noticing and I liked that even less. I wasn’t an elf, even part.

“There’s always been something I couldn’t quite place about you, Selene. Something mysterious and timeless that I’ve never seen in another person. I still can’t tell you what it is, but you both have it.”

“Are you a seer?” Cheney asked her.

“I just get feelings now and then.” Kat smiled and continued to inspect us.

“What about you, Jessica? What’s your talent?” Cheney turned his gaze to her.

“I’ll tell you mine when you tell us yours,” she said, studying his face and not seeming to buy into his whole charming thing.

“Fair enough,” Cheney said, not at all bothered by her shortness.

Finally the bell chimed and Devin and Leslie rushed through the door. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry we’re late. It’s completely my fault. I was ready, then . . .” Her voice trailed off as she saw Cheney. “I had a dream about you,” she said bluntly.

My breath caught in my throat. Devin’s dreams came true nearly as often as she had them. She didn’t continue, just stared off into space. “Devin! What happened?” I asked.

“Ummm, I don’t remember it very well. I had it a couple days ago. He was playing the piano, and you were sitting with him, and your hair color kept changing as he played. I was going to tell you tonight that something was going to threaten your identity, but I think maybe it was a more literal dream.”

“I’d say both translations are pretty accurate,” I whispered. Leslie took my hand, concern erasing her normally jovial smile. I cleared my throat. “Devin, Leslie, this is Cheney. Cheney these are the last members of our coven.”

“I’ll lock the door,” he said after he shook their hands. When he left the room, they bombarded me.

“Where do you find these guys?” Katrina asked.

“Why’s he here?” Leslie said. “I can’t feel anything from him. It’s weird.”

“How does he know about us?” Jessica asked with distinct curtness.

I withdrew my hand from Leslie’s, needing space, and held it up for them to stop. “I’ll explain everything. It’s rather unbelievable, but to the best of my knowledge it’s all true.”

“And Cheney?”

“He’s a big part of this story.” I ran my hands through my hair.

“Are you okay?” Devin asked, sitting on the floor, the rest following suit. “You look like this is the last place you want to be.”

“What’s that book?” Jessica asked, nodding toward the black book at my feet.

I sat down, completing our normal circle. “My grandmother’s Book of Shadows.”

“What!” they all said in unison.

“I told you, it’s a very long story.” I handed Jessica the book. “You’re welcome to look through it.”

Cheney strode back into the room in his typical fast and fluid movements. His gaze sought mine, but I stared down at my hands, at the ring on my finger.

“We need to make space for another,” I told the girls.

Jessica and Kat parted, allowing him to sit across from me rather than beside me. They were protecting me; they really were the greatest in the world.

 “I don’t even know where to start.”

Cheney’s eyes met mine, glittering gold. “I imagine it would be easier for you to find a starting point than me.”

I nodded. I could start with my parents dying, but I didn’t know enough of the details to fill them in on the particulars. I could start with when I first met Cheney, but that was hardly the beginning. Or I could start with Gram, though I still didn’t know much about her part in all of this. None of it seemed right. None of it addressed the reason why they were here.

“I’m not human,” I blurted. I was met with silence; not even breathing could be heard. The beat of my heart roared in my ears. “Well, at least not all human. Apparently, I’m half elf. Cheney is all elf.”

My hands twisted together in my lap. My lovely ring cut into my fingers. “There’s some big fuss over who gets to lead the faeries or whatever.” I recapped everything to the best of my memory and as quickly as possible. “Now one faction wants to use me as a weapon, because apparently I have a lot of potential, and the other faction . . . Well, I’m not sure what they want to do with me. Cheney would know more than I do.”

Everyone, including Cheney, looked at me with wide eyes. “Some big fuss?” Cheney asked, recovering first, a smile twitching on his lips. “I guess that’s one way to put it. What was World War II, a tiff?”

I shrugged. “They got the idea.”

“Whoa . . . Wait a second, back up. What makes you think you’re not human?” Jessica asked me.

“Both Cheney and my grandmother told me so.”

She narrowed her eyes at Cheney. “Your hand.”

Cheney gave her his hand without question. Jessica shut her eyes. A few seconds later she opened her eyes and nodded to the circle. We all knew what that meant. He was telling the truth. My stomach roiled.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Cheney said to the girls. “Elves and faeries are mythical creatures to you, but I assure you we do exist and our fight is very real. If the rebels take over, the effects will be felt everywhere, not just in the Abyss. My family has ruled peacefully for thousands of years. The rebels have no interest in peace.

“So it’s the elf I see in both of you,” Katrina reasoned aloud.

“Most likely,” Cheney said. “We aren’t related.” He looked over at me. “We
aren’t
related.”

“Color me relieved,” I said dryly, and he smiled wickedly.

Devin was still staring off into space. “I take it the two of you were in love before she became a changeling,” Devin said

Cheney stared me directly in the eye. I could see it all over him, which scared me even more than becoming a different me. “Yes.”

Devin nodded. “You know what this is, don’t you, Selene?”

“Stressful?” I offered.

She smiled. “No. It’s the goddess. The three great events: love, death, and resurrection. To fulfill love you must return again and meet, know, remember your love. You have returned again. Now you need to remember.”

My mouth fell open. I vaguely remembered reading that story about the goddess and the horned god.