Love Potion #9 (42 page)

Sebastian was simply stuck in one second of his life.

Lilith liked him much better this way.

She exhaled shakily once she knew for sure that her spell had worked. Although he was hardly the most tasteful sculpture she'd ever seen, in this state, Sebastian was no threat to her.

At least for the moment.

But Lilith still didn't know what she was going to do. The hex would last for maybe a day. She couldn't put this spell on Sebastian indefinitely and she knew he wasn't going to be a good sport about this incident when he was back to his usual self.

She didn't even want to look at him.

Lilith hated casting hexes. They were unpredictable, and could easily defy her mandate of harming none. She didn't think she had had a choice, though. It had been her own safety or the hex.

Happens
. She heard Sebastian's dismissal of the widow's fate in her thoughts and shivered.

No. She hadn't had a choice.

Lilith tried to think of what repercussions could come from her casting a hex. Although technically, she hadn't harmed Sebastian, he was mightily inconvenienced. The Rule of Three did say that all a witch cast out into the world would come back upon her threefold.

It was a fairly serious motivational tool. Lilith had a habit of doing only good – her first curse, even for the sake of saving herself, left her very uncertain of the ultimate result.

Would she be trapped similarly for three hours, in exchange for every hour Sebastian spent this way? Or would the Fates toy with her another way? Would they twist the hex into something else entirely?

Before Lilith could think any further, the doorbell rang.

 

* * *

 

19

The Sun

 

Mitch had had enough.

A day and a night hadn't improved his mood over Lilith taking on this Sebastian guy and he figured he'd already given her plenty of time to think things over. There was no way he was going to get anything done at work today with this hanging over his head. Mitch bit the bullet, shoved his pride into cold storage, left the kids sleeping and took a chance.

To hell with how early it was. He went and rang Lilith's bell.

She answered really quickly, the shadows underneath her eyes encouraging Mitch that he hadn't been the only one to miss a night's sleep over this. Relief washed over her features when she found him on her doorstep. Mitch's heart skipped a beat at this sign that he had done the right thing.

“Lilith, we have to talk,” was all he managed to say before Lilith grabbed his hand and hauled him into her foyer. It put Mitch in mind of their first meeting, an encounter he wouldn't mind replaying if it could all end more happily.

But Lilith clearly had other things in mind today.

“Look!” she urged and pointed him toward her living room.

Mitch peeked into the room, and jumped in shock to find himself about to be attacked.

Then, he realized that Sebastian wasn't moving.

In fact, Sebastian didn't look like he
could
move.

It was as though he was frozen. Curious despite himself, Mitch wandered into the living room and circled Sebastian. He even touched the man's clawing hand and found the skin still warm.

The hair rose on the back of Mitch's neck. Sebastian didn't even blink, but Mitch had the distinct sense that his rival was
in there
.

And bloody mad about the whole thing.

Mitch stepped back and glanced at Lilith, suddenly having a very clear idea how Sebastian had gotten this way. It seemed that Mitch's ideas about spells were doomed to follow the same path as his certainty about magic.

He cleared his throat, and decided that wasn't so bad.

It was only then that he noticed how Lilith hung back in the foyer, her hesitation decidedly uncharacteristic.

Mitch frowned. “What exactly happened here?”

Lilith bit her lip, her gaze flicking to Sebastian with uncharacteristic nervousness. “He jumped me,” she confessed quietly.

What?
Mitch saw suddenly that there were bruises already forming around Lilith's wrists. He stepped closer and took Lilith's hand, examining at the marks with a frown. An anger rose within him, a fury that any man could treat any woman with such disrespect, that this man had abused this woman this way.

“He was gone all night, he must have been drinking.” Lilith's words fell hastily. “I fell asleep on the sofa and he seemed to think I wanted something he had.”

Mitch met her gaze. “Did he hurt you?”

Lilith's tears welled, then she shook her head and blinked them away. “He frightened me,” she admitted, then glanced at the motionless Sebastian as though she didn't trust him to stay put. Lilith took a deep breath. “I've never cursed anyone before.”

Mitch took a long look at Sebastian's pose, at the fury in his expression, and slipped one arm around Lilith's shoulders. “You didn't have a choice,” he said softly, pleased when she turned into his embrace.

Mitch held Lilith closer when he felt her trembling, his gaze running over her would-be attacker. He would not think about what this excuse for a man had wanted to do to her.

“I wish every woman could cast a spell like this one.”

Lilith looked up at him questioningly. “I thought you didn't believe in spells.”

Mitch smiled crookedly. “So, you've convinced me.”

But Lilith didn't smile. She eyed Sebastian from the haven of Mitch's embrace and frowned. “It won't last a day.”

“Then, what are we going to do before that day is up?” Mitch asked.

Lilith blinked. “We?”

“Yes,
we
.” Mitch was resolute. “Lilith, I meant everything I said yesterday. I love you and I think you love me. We make a hell of a team and I'm not prepared to let it all go just because this jerk showed up.”

Lilith frowned and avoided his gaze, her move feeding Mitch's certainty that she was less certain of her path than she would have liked to be. He bent his will on persuading her to his side. “You can't spend your life with this guy, and you can't keep hexing him like this.”

“No,” Lilith admitted.

“Lilith,” Mitch said softly, tipping her chin with a fingertip so that she met his gaze. Her eyes were wide and dark, wondrous eyes that Mitch could willingly gaze into for the rest of his days. “I love you,” he insisted, “and I don't intend to stop.”

Her smile was fleeting, her frown returning when she glanced again at Sebastian. “But he's my destined lover.”

There was less certainty in her tone than there had been originally and Mitch dared to be encouraged.

But he'd have to argue on her terms.

“Says who? You're the one who saw all sorts of meaning in my buying the house next to you. Don't you think that events - not to mention a dog and a cat - have conspired to throw you and I together? Who's to say
that's
not destiny?”

Lilith nibbled her bottom lip. “But, Mitch, it doesn't count. My destiny was sealed before I met you. We can't defy destiny.”

“Why not?”

“Because we can't.” Lilith's lips set stubbornly.

Mitch gripped her shoulders, sensing that the tide had turned against him again. “Why the hell not? We just do it, we just get rid of this loser - we'll FedEx him to Kashmir, if we have to - then we'll live happily ever after. It's not that complicated!”

But Lilith shook her head. “No, it doesn't work like that.” Something flickered in the depths of her gaze when she looked up at him and Mitch thought it might be fear. He caught at her chin, but Lilith danced out of his grip, refusing to look into his eyes.

“What are you afraid of?” Mitch demanded. “What can go wrong? What do you know that you aren't telling me?”

Lilith's lips tightened, then she folded her arms across her chest, and she looked hard at Mitch. “Why do I get the impression that you're not going to leave without an answer?”

Mitch grinned. “Because I'm not.” He sobered, his gaze locking with hers. “There are things,” he said softly, “that are worth fighting for, and this is one of them.”

Lilith held his gaze for what might have been an eternity and Mitch could almost hear the wheels turning in her mind.

Then the defiance melted out of the set of her shoulders. “Challenging destiny comes with a price,” she said softly.

“What kind of price?”

“I don't know.” Lilith licked her lips as though choosing her words carefully. “I'm not afraid of paying any toll the Fates charge. I'm afraid that they'll hold me responsible, if you and I decided to challenge their edict, because I should have known better. I'm afraid that they'll bring misfortune down upon you to teach me a lesson.”

Lilith was refusing Mitch to ensure his own future. He was humbled by her concern – even though he was certain it was misguided. He stepped back to her side.

“But Lilith,” he argued with quiet conviction, “if we're together, we can face anything the Fates toss our way. I don't want to be lucky if it means being without you.”

Tears welled in her eyes as Mitch continued. “Be with me, Lilith, and we'll surmount any obstacle before us.”

“I love you,” Lilith confessed. “I love you in a way I never imagined I could love anyone. I was wrong about Sebastian. I saw what I wanted to see in him instead of what was really there.”

Mitch smiled. “Been there, done that,” he acknowledged. “It's not fatal. Besides, I'm starting to think that the only people who never make mistakes are people who never take chances.” Mitch offered Lilith his hand and his voice dropped to an urgent whisper. “Let's take an chance on happiness, Lilith.”

And Lilith smiled fully, for the first time since Sebastian had arrived. Her eyes glowed as she took Mitch's hand. “There's no gamble between us,” she declared, “just in what the Fates cast our way.”

“Absolutely,” Mitch agreed as he pulled her into his embrace. “Now, do I get a kiss to celebrate this happy ending?”

Lilith just had time to slide her arms around Mitch's neck before there was a thunderclap loud enough to pop an eardrum.

It seemed to come from the living room.

They both jumped at the sound and turned as one. Mitch had no doubt that he wasn't the only one suspecting that Sebastian had broken free.

But Sebastian remained exactly as he had been.

It was the assembled multitude behind him that made Mitch's eyes widen. Clearly the room had been magically enhanced to hold this entire auditorium of guests. More than one steely gaze returned Mitch's glance and he had a very definite sense that the mood of the crowd was that of disapproval.

Their happy ending suddenly seemed far from assured.

“The Grand Consulting Council of Immortals,” Lilith whispered in wonder.

Mitch looked to her in mingled confusion and alarm. “What?”

Lilith met his gaze, her own expression troubled. ‘Sort of a supreme court for destiny,” she said ruefully. “It looks as though we've already attracted attention.”

 

* * *

 

20

Judgment

 

The Grand Council chambers hadn't changed much in the past few centuries. It was still a circular and massive auditorium, with tiers of seating for its membership.

It had been here that Lilith was granted the elixir, beneath the watchful eye of several thousand council members, each outfitted in their finest. They were a varied group, including Merlinesque old wizards with their long grey beards and glinting eyes, witchy old hags who cackled when they laughed, the lithesome young beauties with ancient eyes.

There were shamen of every persuasion and shapeshifters who could not be relied upon to remain still, let alone the same, for the duration of a single session. There were fauns and fairies, leprechauns and nymphs, the stuff of mortal legends in the flesh. Unicorns and centaurs, griffins and dragons - in general, all manner of mythical beasts crowded the hall.

The less predictable immortals included pens that always seemed to go missing, single socks that found escape through the dryer vents throughout the world, washers that had abandoned the screws they had been made to fit, and thumbtacks that dropped, rolled and were never seen again. Much more sentient than mortals believed, these creatures had escaped what they saw as the slavery of the material world, crept through wormholes in the space/time continuum and earned their immortality through tests as arduous as Lilith's own had been.

Mitch had been right - there were a lot of immortals. They just stuck to their own kind.

The floor of the chambers still took Lilith's breath away - the brilliant lapis lazuli inlaid with golden zodiac signs so beautifully wrought that she didn't want to step on it at all. The ceiling arched high, so much like a starlit sky that she still couldn't tell where it ended, if indeed it did.

For the chambers had been constructed in a dimension beyond the three of usual human perception, or even the fourth suspected by many mathematicians. Lilith had heard rumors that it was firmly lodged in the seventh dimension, but could not say for certain.

Physics had never been her strong suit.

One thing was clear - the way to the council was obscured to all except those who were specifically summoned.

The presence of Lilith's living room table, her tarot cards still laid out as she had left them, showed the link to the world she knew best. And Sebastian, of course, had apparently been summoned as well, although he was still frozen in that pose.

An older woman leaned over Lilith's table, a bright floral shawl wrapped over her hair, her bony finger poking at the cards. Lilith saw that the cycle was nearly complete, The Sun having turned face up after The Moon.