kate storm 04 - witches dont back down (8 page)

The very, very least the use of black magic would do was leave a stain on a person's soul. A black spot of rot that would never heal.

I didn't know if it would forever stay the same size or if eventually it would spread. The idea of it spreading worried me. I know Morgause had been using black magic for centuries. I didn't know of anyone else who had used it for that long and continued to live. I think she simply embraced evil. Talk about creepy. And I was pretty sure it meant step two in my three step plan was out. But I had to at least try.

And it's damn hard to find good information on black magic.

The information on the internet has been thoroughly seeded with half-truths or complete lies. I have to use my magic to sort out the right from the wrong. It takes me twice as long.

I am determined, however. My future and happiness with Ash depend on it.

****

Two hours later, I was less than hopeful and more than hungry.

The search for my aunt has not been helpful to my waistline. I don't know if it's the fear, the frustration or the use of my magic, but I always had to have a snack after I searched for Morgause. Preferably something both salty and sweet. My bottom desk drawer has been reserved for candy bars for the past few weeks. It's chock full.

I tried to think on the positive side. I'd ruled out Africa, most of Asia, Canada and Antarctica. And both Hell and the fairy realm. Oh and Texas.

Aunt Tabs has friends in a Texan coven. They were surprisingly liberal witches. They relied both on their magic and a backup piece. They assured us Morgause was not in Texas.

Not all covens have been as helpful.

The bell jingled over the front door.

I shoved the last of the candy bar into my mouth and headed out to greet Désirée Norma-Sue.

Instead, Nina Georgette stood in the middle of my waiting room looking as gorgeous as ever. She wore a much tighter fitting dress today in moss green that displayed her curves perfectly. It was strapless and her moonlight curls fell over creamy shoulders.

"Hello, Kate. How are you?"

It shocked me that someone who used black magic could be so nice. Maybe I wasn't doomed if I used it against Morgause.

"I'm fine. What can I do for you?"

Nina held up a small white bag. "I brought a treat for Al and I thought I'd see if you had made any progress."

Progress on finding the most boring man alive? She knew I would never be able to find him. What was she really up to?

"Al stayed home today." Actually he had gone job hunting with Ash. I figured it pretty much guaranteed Ash wouldn't find a job of any sort today, but it meant they were bonding.

I stepped forward and held out my hand. "I can pass along the treat to him." I planned to toss the treat in the trash.

"Oh." Nina frowned at the bag before she reluctantly handed it over.

If I didn't know better, I would say she honestly looked disappointed Al was not around.

It irritated me and made me like her at the same time. Damn it. I didn't want anything to do with her. I didn't want her to actually like my Chihuahua either for a multitude of reasons.

"I haven't made much progress on finding your perfect match." I'd done absolutely zip towards finding her a match. I had found her Facebook page. Nina had eclectic taste in music and posted lots of pictures of furry white cats. She also liked karaoke. "I have a few more questions I'd like to ask though. Do you have a few minutes?"

Maybe I could get her to slip up. Give me some hint as to her real reason for coming to me.

"Why, yes." Nina smiled, sweet and innocent.

Again I felt the urge to pick her up and put her in my pocket.

I shook it off and led her into my HC office.

Nina sat in one of my guest chairs. Her gaze flicked casually over my desk before she glanced at my computer.

Fear–honest and searing and raw–flashed through her violet eyes.

I reached automatically for my wand before I looked to see what had terrified Nina.

My screen saver hadn't come up yet. The computer was still open to the last site I’d been on.

It displayed a picture of Morgause holding her dead son Mordred. I'd been scrolling through sites dedicated to the Arthurian legends. My ancient family history. Since I hadn't made any progress on her current whereabouts, I'd thought maybe I might find a clue in the past.

I oh-so-casually turned the screen towards Nina and watched her skin turn as pale as her hair.

"She's scary, isn't she?" I certainly thought so, but then again I had reason to. For most members of the HC, Morgause was a cautionary warning.
You should try to get along with your brothers, John.
Remember what happened to Morgause?
She'd even sparked a witchy saying:
If you can't love your coven, at least don't kill them. Then you won't have a coven
.

But few members of the HC were actually afraid of Morgause. She had pretty much limited her vengeance to her relatives.

"Oh." Nina literally jerked in her seat. "No. Maybe. I guess."

She was a lousy liar.

Watching her try to regroup now, I understood she'd been lying to me all along. I knew she hadn't been telling the truth when she'd answered my questionnaire. Like I said, no one could be that boring. But I hadn't realized every single word out of her mouth was a lie. Except for her responses to Al. That's where I could see the difference. There was something in her eyes when she spoke of or to my Chihuahua. Something truly genuine.

She might come across as sweet and innocent, but she was far from it.

Her Facebook page had to be a front. For what, I still did not have a clue.

I did know that no one, Academy Award winning actress included, could display such utter fear and such utter loathing at the same time without it being genuine.

She might fear Morgause, but she also wanted her dead.

Nina Georgette could either be a major complication for me or a potential partner in my hunt for my scary aunt.

9. The Enemy of My Enemy.

I got nowhere with Nina.

She regrouped faster than any nymph out of water I've ever seen. Granted I'm not acquainted with many nymphs. But my knowledge of them is fairly decent.

I'd made a point of researching nymphs after Ash and Al had gone to bed last night.

There are two general categories of nymphs: forest and water dwellers. Their reputation isn't stellar, but it's not the worst in the HC either. They like to party, have a fondness for wine and while they appear sweet and ethereal, they tend to wear knives attached to their thighs.

I have to say they sounded pretty awesome to me.

And Nina Georgette fit the description to a T. The ethereal part even explained my unaccounted for urge to put her in my pocket.

It didn't explain her reaction to Morgause.

Nymphs are social creatures. But they have a tendency to hang with other nymphs. I don't think it was a prejudicial impulse. I'd scrolled through picture after picture of nymphs hanging with virtually every member of the HC. I think it was more of like minds thinking alike.

I'd been invited to an HC party once. I focused in on the different covens there. Not that those witches had the time of day for me, but they were the ones I knew I would have the most in common with.

I seriously doubted Nina had run into Morgause at a party though. Morgause was the type to ruin a party, not join one.

So why the reaction?

She blocked every question I asked. I should say re-asked. I'd gone over everything with my questionnaire. But now that I knew
everything
was a lie, I felt compelled to trip her up.

I wanted to point and say
"
aha
"
at the very least.

Nina Georgette either had a photographic memory or she'd been spelled to repeat the same info over and over again.

Either way I couldn't decide if she was friend or foe.

She left after twenty minutes. I'd like to think it was due to my keenly honed, witchy interrogational skills. Unfortunately, I think it was more due to it being lunchtime.

Désirée Norma-Sue arrived two minutes after Nina left.

"Hey, Sugah. Did I just see a nymph walk out of here? Is she the same one you told me about?"

"She is indeed. Did you recognize her?" I figured Désirée would have mentioned it right away if she did, but I held out hope. I was striking out left and right.

"No." Désirée shook her head. Her hair was a bright shade of pink today. She'd gathered her hair on top of her head and surrounded it with a glittery band. Her curls overflowed from the top of the band. It reminded me of a poodle I'd seen at a dog show once.

Her phone beeped and she bent to check the screen. Her poodle-esque coiffure nodded in my direction.

I couldn't take my eyes off it.

"I thought that might be her so I snapped a photo of her when she left and sent it to Phil." Désirée looked up. "He doesn't recognize her either."

"Uh-huh." I have to say I wasn't really paying attention to what my secretary was saying. I was mesmerized by her hair.

It sparkled in the light and her curls sprouted so wildly from the top. Every time she moved it looked like her curls were all cheerfully waving at me.

I couldn't decide; was it avant-garde? Or just plain odd?

Désirée Norma-Sue continued to chat. I continued to watch her hair.

I would not be surprised if she made it into the local paper with a hair-do like that. Or caused an accident. I've worn my hair up numerous times. But it never glittered. And it wasn't pink.

And I doubted if my curls had ever looked quite so . . . Perky. Or happy.

" . . . he'll be here on Friday, between one and three. You don't mind, do you?"

I dragged my eyes away from her curls and re-focused. "Mind what?"

Désirée frowned. "Didn't you hear me? Charles Clayton is doing a book signing on Friday at Oracle's Books from one to three. You don't mind if I go, do you?"

It took me a minute to place the name. "Charles Clayton, the author of those self-help books you've been reading?"

"Yes!" Désirée Norma-Sue bounced up and down. I kept my eyes glued to her face. I was almost afraid to see what response her curls had to her bounce. "I can't believe he's doing a signing here!"

I still couldn't believe she thought she needed help. Désirée Norma-Sue is the most together fairy I knew. The fact that she is also the only fairy I know, does not diminish that statement in the least.

"About those books, I would appreciate it if you didn't read them aloud to Al anymore."

"Why? He seems to really enjoy them."

"He's been watching National Geographic shows about wolves and talking about getting in touch with his inner beast."

Désirée's brown eyes widened. She wore pink glittery eye shadow to match her hair and had on fake eyelashes with tiny clear rhinestones on the tips. When she widened her eyes, it looked like mini fireworks going off. "Oh, dear. I didn't think of that. When Mr. Clayton mentioned getting in touch with your inner beast, he outlined several steps to bring out a person's inner power. I don't think he meant it literally."

I refrained from reminding my secretary that most people reading the self-help series were actually people. Human people. Fairies and Chihuahuas aside.

"Al's been going through a rough time lately." We both had. I was gloriously happy with Ash, but it was still an adjustment for both Al and I. "I think he's a little vulnerable right now."

The knowledge that I had a part in that vulnerability made my stomach roll.

"You know, Phil has a friend who has a cousin he's looking to set up."

"The cousin should come in to see me." I am not the only one who forgets Al is a Chihuahua. "I think Al needs someone more . . ." I searched around for a polite term for a female dog. I couldn't think of one so I settled for . . ."furry."

"She's a rabbit."

I blinked slowly. Huh. That wasn't quite what I had in mind.

"I guess she couldn't pay her gambling debts and the bookie was a warlock." Désirée shrugged delicately. "I've met her a couple times. She seems nice enough. I think she still has a gambling problem though."

I rubbed the back of my head. I felt a headache coming on.

"Tell Phil thanks for thinking of Al, but I really think it's best if we stick to the same species." I paused, thought for a moment. "And probably limit the options to the toy breeds."

"Good point, Sugah. But you know Al, he's pretty stubborn. I can't really see him going out with a poodle."

I refused to even glance at her hair-do.

Désirée patted my shoulder. "He's made his preferences pretty clear."

I knew it. I'd lived it for the past several years. And right or wrong, there was a small part of me that secretly hoped his feelings for me would continue. It wasn't fair to Al. It was completely selfish. I knew it. I couldn't help it either. I didn't want to share him.

But I also loved him and at the end of the day I wanted what was best for him. I'd deal with my jealousy issues as they came up.

"You don't think he would try to contact that nymph, do you?"

Yes. I did. I'd already taken certain precautions. Like locking her file in my drawer and casting an alarm spell on both my landline and my cell phone. Al could be incredibly determined when he set his mind to something.

"I don't know." I considered Désirée. "I'm not even sure if Nina Georgette is all bad anymore." I gave Désirée the rundown on the events with Nina that morning. "So, what do you think? Do you think she might help with Morgause?"

I didn't have a plan in place, or even a general idea as to when I might confront Morgause, but the more help the better when facing off against a scary witch who used black magic.

"I don't know, Kate." Désirée Norma-Sue tapped one pink nail over her equally pink lip. "You said she's using black magic."

"She is. I kind of thought that might be a benefit if she'll help since I don't know anything about the black arts." I sighed. I hated not knowing. I relied on my truth spells, so I wouldn't be in a position like this. "I guess I was thinking of that old human saying:
the enemy of my enemy is my friend
."