The Frozen Witch Book One (23 page)

It was Franklin Saunders. I – a total
unknown – had walked in beside him. I could see them all – all the
guests huddling together, whispering, questioning who the heck I
could be. I imagined most of them were just curious about the new
woman hanging off the arm of the city’s most eligible bachelor. The
rest – who knew about magic – would be wondering where the hell
Megan was.

I used every trick I knew to keep my
expression even. I had to draw on all my training as a waitress not
to let the stress get to me. I followed along after Franklin, my
steps ungainly, my knees wobbly, but my smile never shifting from
my face.

When a waiter automatically offered me a
drink, I lurched out a hand to grab it, happy for anything that
could steady my nerves.

Franklin cleared his throat. “She’ll be
sticking to water tonight,” he said directly.

“I will?” I questioned as the confused
waiter walked off.

“You will,” Franklin said. “I need you on
the ball. Remember, you stick by my side—”

“And I follow your every order,” I
finished as I brought a hand up and momentarily pinched the bridge
of my nose.

Every few seconds, Franklin’s eagle eyes
scanned the room, and I could tell who he was looking for: Hank
Chaplin.

I scanned the room, too, eager to catch
sight of him and yet scared at the same time.

I didn’t have a strong stomach, and whenever
the news reported some grisly murder or heinous crime, I always
turned it off. Yet I couldn’t stop my imagination as it painted
horrible picture after horrible picture.

The dress I was wearing had long sleeves,
and they covered my bangles completely. Though I couldn’t see them,
every now and then they grabbed hold of my attention. I became
aware of just how cold they were as they sat against my flesh. I
longed to take them off, curious to see what would happen, but I
sure as hell wasn’t going to do that here. Not only would Vali take
it as an opportunity to smite me from heaven, but I’d probably end
up turning the entire function and every guest into ice.

When this was over, if this was ever over, I
was going to have to start asking some real questions and not
giving up until I got some real answers. What the hell kind of
magic did I have? And when, if ever, would I learn how to control
it?

To be honest, everything became a bit of a
blur as Vali waited for Hank to arrive. I stood there, trying to
ignore everyone’s stares and the muttered comments. I stood there
and wondered how the hell this would all go down. When Vali spotted
Hank what would happen? Would the lights suddenly blink out? Would
a storm cover the moon and stars? Would they just take their fight
out into the parking lot? I was so far out of my depth
here.

Just as I felt my breath become shallow
and a new shot of nerves sank hard into my stomach, Vali shifted my
way. He’d been talking to an older couple by my side, but now he
turned to face me. He looked into my eyes, and I saw Franklin
Saunders. The smallest, gentlest smile pressed across his lips. “It
will be fine,” he said in the kind of voice that told you he would
do everything he could to make it fine.

This hall was packed. Yet, as he spoke to
me, I knew his voice wouldn’t carry. He was a god, after all.

I blinked back my confusion. “How can you
be so sure? Look, I know this is kind of late, but I don’t think
I’m up to—”

He reached a hand out and gently clasped my
shoulder. It was an unusual move for a man who spent most of his
time growling at me. An unusual and yet supremely comforting move.
It was so easy to sink into his warm grasp and that look in his
soulful eyes. So easy, that without me realizing it, my breath
regulated.

“Remember why you’re here,” he said
softly.

I waited for him to tell me I was here
because I was working off my heinous crimes, but he didn’t.

“You’re here to protect people,” he said
instead.

“Protect people?” Suddenly I felt
something – the same charge of courage I’d experienced when I’d
seen John Lambert strangling that man. The same charge of courage
I’d experienced around Megan earlier this evening. And that courage
was enough to keep me whole as Saunders took a step
back.

He turned on his foot, and he must have
seen something, because I watched his appreciable back stiffen.
Though my breath had been easy seconds before, now it tightened and
locked hard in my throat.

“Stay here,” Franklin said under his
breath, his voice barely carrying as he took a stiff step forward
and wended his way through the crowd.

I watched him go. With a prickle of
nerves, I realized I was alone. I felt everyone’s gazes on the back
of my neck. I shifted uncomfortably from foot-to-foot. If I’d had a
glass of wine to clutch, I would have suddenly held it so hard I
would have broken the glass.

I watched Franklin until he disappeared
from sight. My nerves grew until I heard a soft, sudden voice by my
ear. “And what’s your name, then?” someone asked.

I whirled on my foot, so surprised I almost
stumbled backwards.

I’d done my homework before I’d come to the
function. I’d looked Hank Chaplain up on my phone. And right now he
was standing behind me, one hand pressed into his pocket, a gold
watch trailing from it. He was in a ludicrously expensive suit, and
from the look of his slicked down hair to his precisely manicured
nails, I could tell his appearance was just as expensive as his
clothes. He was clearly a man who cared about his image.

He smiled at me. And though, on the
surface, it was a charming move, my stomach sank through the
floor.

“What’s your name?” he repeated once
more.

I was completely thrown. Rather than think
of a suitable lie, I stuttered out, “Lilly White,” immediately
regretting it as a strange look flickered through Hank’s
gaze.

“You don’t say? Lilly White, ha? Used to
be a waitress for Larry McGregor up until a couple of days ago,
ha?”

I paled. “How do you know
that?”

Hank chuckled. “Where’s Megan?” he
suddenly changed the subject, shifting his head, his neck muscles
stiffening as his hard gaze darted through the crowd.

For the first time, I swallowed my fear as
a flicker of anger ignited in my gut. “She’s not here.”

Hank returned his attention to me, his
frown growing more pronounced. “You telling me Franklin only
brought you to this party?”

I didn’t answer.

That smile slipped further across his
cheeks. “That’s unusual. He wouldn’t bring a green-eared rookie
unless he was confident of her powers. Tell me, Lilly White, what
exactly can you do?”

I took a step back, realizing I was
drastically underequipped for this situation. I also searched the
crowd, praying for Franklin to return. But when I didn’t answer,
Hank took a step towards me. He pulled his fob watch from his
pocket, checked it, and then took yet another step towards me.

There were a lot of people packed into this
room, and there wasn’t that far I could go to get away from
him.

His gaze darted down my figure, and the
exact quality behind it made me want to gag. As his eyes locked on
the slight bumps protruding from underneath the sleeves of my
dress, I watched him stiffen. Without warning, he shifted forward,
grabbed my wrist, and pulled up my sleeve, revealing my
bangles.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I said in a
tight, low voice. I was ready to scream if I had to.

Hank just smiled. “Now, what do we have
here? He’s brought you along but he’s got you locked up. I wonder
what that means?” He clamped his hand all the way around my
bangle.

Before I could shove back, call for help, or
stamp on his toe with my heel, I heard a rumble by my side.
Somebody leaned in and broke Hank’s grip. That somebody was
Franklin.

I caught sight of the side of his face,
and deep within his gaze, I saw a flicker of Vali. And Vali wasn’t
happy. Vali shifted around, using his large, broad-shouldered form
to block me from view.

I took a tight, relieved breath and made no
attempt to dart out from behind his long shadow.

“What’s the matter, Franklin Saunders, not
enjoying the party?” Hank drawled, that same awful smile still
pressed across his lips.

Franklin appeared to take several seconds
to come to a decision. “No, I can’t say I am. Something’s come up,
please excuse us.” He turned sharply on his foot and nodded me
forward with a curt move of his head.

When I stood there, stock still, still
surprised, he reached out and latched that same warm, reassuring
hand on my shoulder. Gently, he turned me around and pushed me
forward.

Hank chuckled behind us.

When we were suitably out of earshot, I
turned to Franklin. “What’s going on? Are you abandoning the
job?”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” he
replied as he kept his head inclined to the side, his attention
still locked on Hank.

I shifted and saw Hank hadn’t moved. All
he’d done was pull that gold fob watch from his pocket as he took a
sip of his wine and twisted the watch around and around his hands.
It was a practiced, unnerving move.

I returned my attention to Franklin. He
reached out a hand and pushed me a little harder in the back,
obviously wanting me to hurry up.

“But what’s going on? I thought this job
is important? I thought we only had one chance to get Hank
Chaplin?”

“Keep your voice down,” Vali warned in a
low tone. “And none of that matters. We’re abandoning the
mission,”

“Why?”

“Because Hank Chaplin is now targeting
you.”

My stomach
sank low, so freaking low I
could feel it clunk through my legs. My mouth became so dry I could
barely swallow. But before my breath could become shallow, Franklin
slipped his hand further down my shoulder. His lingering, warm
touch was enough to focus my attention.

“Surely it doesn’t matter if he’s
targeting me? Surely there’s some way to finish this
job?”

“No. We’re abandoning it,” Franklin said
in a clear tone. “I see now this was a mistake,” he muttered to
himself. “I shouldn’t have brought you out in public,” he added in
a lower voice.

What the heck did that mean?

Franklin expertly wended his way through
the crowd. I stayed a step behind him. Considering his massive
form, he was like an icebreaker, and I found an easy path in his
wake. By the time we made it out of the function hall and into the
relatively abandoned corridor beyond, my heart was pulsing hard in
my chest, hammering at my throat, vibrating in my jaw.

Yes, I was completely new to this world.
Yes, I didn’t want to be here. Yes, I didn’t think I was guilty of
the crimes Vali had punished me for. But no, I didn’t leave.
Because like it or not, I felt some kind of responsibility to stop
Hank Chaplin. It was a completely new and distracting thought for
me, and yet one that couldn’t distract me for long. For as we
walked down the corridor and I began to realize it was strangely
quiet, Franklin stopped dead.

I practically saw the hackles rise along
his back as his neck stiffened and his head darted to the left. The
skin around his eyes tightened, and his cheeks became drawn and
slack. “Try anything,” he suddenly warned the silence, “and you
will pay for your crimes.”

I heard light, lilting laughter, and
instantly I recognized it. Though I’d only just met the man, Hank
was now seared into my memory.

Unconsciously, I took a step closer to
Vali.

I heard footsteps. Hank appeared, hands
stowed in his pockets. He came to a stop, and yet somehow I
continued to hear the footsteps. They echoed all around us, almost
as if an invisible army was taking up position all around the
walls. And hey, maybe one was, because Franklin paled further.

“Nice of you to drop in, Vali,” Hank said
through a sneer. “Even nicer for you to bring me a present.” He
gestured my way.

Vali didn’t move a muscle, just let his
lips twitch back. “She is no present for you, sinner. It’s time for
you to pay for your crimes.”

Hank tipped his head all the way back and
laughed so riotously, I thought he would lose his head. He
continued to twist that fob watch around and around in his hand.
The thump as it hit his open palm felt like a drumbeat or a clock
ticking down.

“You’ve got some nerve showing up here
without Megan. Where is she, anyway?” Hank’s tone took on a nasty,
cold quality, and I watched Vali’s chest stiffen.

“You will pay for your crimes,” Vali said
once more, tone lower than I’d ever heard it.

“Maybe. But you ain’t gonna make me pay,
and I sure as hell ain’t gonna pay today.” With that, Hank shoved
his hand to the side. I watched as one of those magical circles
appeared in front of his fingertips. He didn’t pause; he simply
selected one of the twisting symbols. In an instant, a sword formed
in his hands. I’d seen John Lambert form a similar sword last
night, but with a single glance, I knew this sword was far, far
more powerful.

Vali obviously appreciated that, too,
because he took a jerked step back, shouldering me out of the
way.

“Come on.” Hank opened his arms wide,
hefting the sword easily as if it weighed nothing more than a
feather. “Where’s the fun in this? Where’s the old Franklin
Saunders?” His voice rumbled on the word old and had an effect on
Franklin.