Stone Lover (10 page)

    “That depends on which calendar one is referring to,” he chuckled, holding out his hand and lightly grasping her elbow. Despite the tingle of electricity that skittered over her skin at his touch, it was almost comforting and she let him lead her further into the store. “Now, what can I help you with, child?”

    “Well,” Melanie said, stopping when she realized how ridiculous she was going to sound. Squeezing her eyes shut, she blurted, “I was wondering if you carried anything that protects against memory augmentation spells?”

    When he didn’t immediately start laughing, Melanie opened her eyes and looked at him. She was relieved to see the thoughtful expression on his face, as if he were taking her strange request seriously.

    Perhaps that shouldn’t have been such a reassuring thought.

    “Follow me,” he said, disappearing behind a gauzy curtain. Taking a deep breath, hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake that might get her killed, she followed, coming to a complete stop when she saw beyond the curtain. Shelves were lined with various vials and bottles, haphazardly placed books, strange looking doo-dads and whatchamecallits. It was a wizard’s workshop! If wizards existed….

    “Now, tell me,” the musical voice interrupted her stunned contemplations. Shaking her head, she focused on the shop keeper; he was looking at her with empathy, as if he understood her plight. “Who is casting the spell? A warlock? A witch? Succubus? Priestess?”

    “I’m… not sure.” Melanie frowned, feeling a little lost in the convers
a
tion. Of course she knew what a warlock, witch and succubus were, but she usually only dealt with them in games or movies. It was disconcerting to know they were real; perhaps this strange, old man really was a wizard. Maybe she should be a little bit scared; there was no telling what sort of mischief a wizard could get into. “Not a succubus; he’s male. He might be an incubus but somehow that doesn’t sound right, either.”

    The old man chuckled as he scanned the shelves, randomly pulling out various bottles and handing them to her as he did so. She barely had time to awkwardly position the colorful bottles before she was being given another one. She was terrified that she was going to drop something and a genie was going to rise from the broken pieces. How messed up would that be? To release a genie when all she wanted to do was make sure Vaughn’s brother couldn’t erase her memory. She did not need a genie messing around in her life.

    The man abruptly stopped, right in the middle of handing her a turquoise bottle that was… glowing. Well, the liquid inside was glowing. It took her a moment to realize that the man was studying her with an intense expression that was at once disconcerting and calming. His hazel eyes seemed to start glowing as his gaze bore into the depths of her soul. She was powerless to look away.

    Slowly, still holding her gaze, the proprietor began putting the bottles back on the shelf, not placing them where they once were. As he placed the final bottle back on the shelf, he blinked slowly, his gaze even more penetrating as the glow began to diminish. “Interesting.”

    “What?” she asked in a hushed voice, caught up in the mysterious atmosphere.

    Quicker than a flash, his arm shot out and he grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Tilting her head from side to side, he smiled slightly, “Very interesting.”

    She was more concerned when he smiled then she had been when he took her by the arm and led her further into the store. “What is it?” she asked, sounding like her mouth was full of chocolates. “What do you see?”

    “You’re….” his voice trailed off, as if he just didn’t know how to put it into words.

    Melanie’s eyes widened as his narrowed. “Yes?”   

    “You’re….” He waved his arm around, as if it would give him the inspiration to determine what she was. She was starting to freak her out.

     In a soft voice, she asked, “What am I?”

    “Human!” he exclaimed, his narrowed eyes popping open in shock as he laughed delightedly.

    She jerked her head back and swatted his hand away, “Well, duh; of course I’m human. What else would I be?”

    “How are you even aware of this store?” he asked instead, with genuine curiosity.

    “Um, I admit that I didn’t know about this store until about two seconds before I entered,” Melanie admitted. “Though I’m sure that if it were warmer out….”

    “Fascinating,” he murmured, and Melanie was pretty sure he wasn’t talking to her. He seemed to be studying her and coming to some conclusion as a smile played about his lips. It was unsettling.

    “Yeah, well,” she shrugged her shoulders, turning around and looking at the shelves of bottles and miscellanea. With her back towards him, she took a deep breath, “Um, before we established my, er, humanness, you were hopefully going to tell me how to protect myself from a memory spell?”

    His delighted chuckle had her turning around, wondering if he was going to ask her anymore unusual questions. “Quite right. This way, if you please.”

    He led her further into the depths of the store and Melanie had to wonder how deep the store went; it didn’t seem to mesh with what she knew of the architecture. “Where are you taking me?”

    His chuckle deepened, “Don’t worry, my dear, you’re too precious. I’d wager you’re going to need protection from more than a meager memory augmentation spell.”

    “Um, I hope not,” Melanie said under her breath, following him despite the little voice that warned her against such foolish behavior. The man was shocked to discover she was human; how crazy was that?

    They pushed through another curtain and this time the room was like the inside of the genie’s bottle. Exotic material draped from floor to ceiling, plush pillows were strewn across the floor, low tables covered with silver platters and abundant food. The man came to a stop, beaming at her, “Welcome to my home.”

    Melanie tore her eyes from the luxurious surroundings and focused on the man, who seemed to have gotten younger over the last few moments. Instead of being a wizened old man, he now appeared to be just a few years older than her brother. And quite a bit… taller. His hair was still white but his face… he was extraordinarily, ethereally beautiful. He was too perfect to be human and the white hair just emphasized his otherness. “Are you a genie?”

    This made him laugh harder. Shaking his head, he glided down onto one of the cushions, sprawling his long limbs out. Holding his arm out to another pillow, he beckoned her to sit down. “No. I’m just a simple shop keeper.”

    With only the slightest hesitation, she sank down on the pillows, keeping her eyes on the strange man. “Then can you help me?”

    “You have a surprisingly one-tracked mind,” he grinned, grabbing a crystal glass and taking a drink of the deep garnet liquid. “What would you be willing to give for such protection?” 

    Melanie couldn’t help herself; she grinned at the absurdity of it, “Have I inadvertently entered a fairy tale? If I offer my first born and when you return to collect it I have to guess your name to defeat you?”

    “My name is Omari,” he said, his hazel eyes twinkling with laughter. “And I don’t want your first born; I have no use for human babies.”

    She frowned, “Do you have a use for non-human babies?” She shook her head to clear it, not wanting to know the answer to that question. “Never mind. What do you want in return?”

    He studied her over the rim of his glass, his hazel eyes sweeping over her features in an intimate manner. Strangely, Melanie wasn’t uncomfortable; he didn’t seem to be perusing her in a sexual manner, not entirely at least. He was simply curious. “I’m not sure. I’ve never had dealings with your kind before.”

    “My kind?” she frowned. “Are we still on the human, non-human thing?”

    “You’re having a bit of difficulty with this concept,” he grinned, looking all kinds of breathtakingly gorgeous. Which one was the illusion? The old man or the man in front of her now? “Though you seem to be taking it all in stride.”

    “Okay, then if you’re not human, what are you?” she asked.

    He shrugged, a slight smile on his full lips, “As I said, I am a simple shopkeeper.”

    She snorted her disbelief, “I don’t believe you.”

    “I am a procurer of spells and ingredients for spells,” he added. “I buy and sell what is necessary. Terms are always… negotiable.”

    She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, as he grew more and more attractive the longer he lounged on the pillows. “What do you want from me?”

    “Since I have never been with a human, I would ask if you would be interested in having sex with me but your last partner has left a resilient claim on you,” he said with a lazy smile, brushing the rim of his glass against his lips. “I don’t believe he would appreciate the competition. And I don’t believe you would be tempted.”

    “Er,” she was at a loss for words, feeling the heat in her cheeks. Really, what did one say to such a comment? “Well, I suppose?”

    He raised a single eyebrow, “Human?”

    “Yes, definitely,” she answered without hesitation. But then she thought about it; maybe the black-haired brother wasn’t the only one with powers. This whole experience was new and she truly didn’t know Vaughn that well. Maybe he was a warlock, or something. But would that make a difference? With a thoughtful frown, she amended her response, “Probably.”

    He laughed. It was a nice laugh; just the right amount of seduction, just a hint of the pleasures he could offer. Abruptly, he stopped laughing and sat up, the amusement gone from his face. He looked at her with supreme seriousness; it was very bewildering. “What I want from you is sanctuary, should I ever need it.”

    “Ooookay,” she said in a long, drawn out voice, not exactly sure what this guy was talking about. If he truly weren’t human, which was quite apparent as he grew even more devastatingly handsome with each passing moment, it didn’t make sense that he would ask her – a mere human – for such a simple thing. “If sanctuary is what you require than I will offer sanctuary.”

    He leaned back against the cushions, the smile returning to his full lips, softening his expression. His hazel eyes twinkled once more as he got back to the business at hand. “Good; now let’s see. Protection from a memory spell…. Can you give me any specific information? How was it cast, its effectiveness,” he paused. Catching her eyes with his, he grinned, “Who cast it?”

    “His name is Armand,” she answered dumbly, noticing the slightest flash of something in the man’s hazel eyes.

    “Do you know why he cast it?”

    “Um, to keep me away from his brother?” Melanie cringed as she heard the question in her voice.

    “Last night’s sex partner,” he said; it was not a question.

    Her blush was so hot it was almost painful and Melanie was pretty sure that her cheeks were going to be red permanently. At least she no longer had to worry about freezing to death on the way home; she doubted even the sub-zero wind-chill was going to do much to quell the heat in her face.

    “Er, last night, before anything, uh, happened, he told me to forget,” she explained, wondering why she was being to open with a complete stranger. Maybe he cast a blabbing spell on her and she was doomed to spill all of her secrets. She should stop talking and yet despite her resolve to shut up, she continued, “It didn’t seem to work, which I think surprised him. Of course, at the time, I didn’t realize he was trying to mess with my memory. That didn’t happen until three o’clock this morning.”

    “What happened at three o’clock this morning?” he asked.

    She clamped her lips together but it wasn’t enough to stop the explanation from coming out. “He… he came to my bed, only he was in a sort of mist form so I don’t think he realized he had the wrong girl.”

    Omari popped the one eyebrow again and Melanie felt obliged to explain. “It was kind of sexual in nature, not me and my friend but the spell, and I was able to recognize his voice. And when I actually paid attention to his words he was telling me – er, my friend – to forget everything about him and his brothers.”