Witch Upon a Star (A Midnight Magic Mystery) (11 page)

“As am I,” I said before holding out my arm to my lover. “Shall we, my love?”

He took it, though after a glimpse at Christine. I could sense the daggers on my back as I led us all back to our box. I took my place on Asher’s lap and Christine did the same across from us on Didier’s. She did make sure her foot touched Asher’s, but I knew to pick my battles. It would be a long war. “So, how long have you and Didier been together?” I asked.

“We are not exactly together,” Christine answered. “I mean, we fuck on occasion. Asher knows how that is.”

“Not anymore,” I said, wrapping his arm around my waist.

“Oh, domesticated him, have you? I attempted it once, though doing the same thing, the same person over and over, night after night, was so very … dull.” She sipped her blood then grinned. “Well, I suppose it is good for some.”

“It has been absolute bliss for us,” I said.

“Has it now?”

“Absolutely,” Asher said with certainty.

The corners of Christine’s mouth twitched a little. “Then who are you and what have you done with my Asher?” She chuckled before looking my way. “Unless Angel here is a witch and has you under a love spell.”

“I am actually,” I said, “a witch. But unlike some, I have never had to resort to tricks or spells when dealing with love. The universe saw fit not only for our paths to cross, but for both Asher and I to recognize the other for what we were. Soul mates.”

Christine chuckled again. “So, you finally found that elusive of all the magics: true love.” She sipped her blood again. “And here I thought it only existed in fairy stories. And as we all know, only children believe in those.”

“Oh, true love is most real,” Asher chimed in. “And there is nothing like it on this earth.”

Christine sipped again. “Actually, if memory serves, you
have
been lucky enough to find it on more than one occasion, have you not my Asher? There was Cordelia. Jane. That barmaid in White-chapel. Olivia, was it? Terrible what happened to her once she left you, but Lord Richard had no choice I suppose. Did anyone ever find out who turned her in after she left you?”

Asher’s grip on me tightened. “No.”

“Shame. Out of all your true loves, her I rather liked.” Christine took another dainty sip. “I only hope this one does not disappoint as the others eventually did.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” I said snidely. “But there’s no cause to worry.” I gazed at Asher, smiled, then leaned down to give him a deep, probing kiss usually reserved for behind closed doors. He returned my ardor and grinned back when I finally pulled away. “Is there?”

“No,” he whispered.

“We shall see,” Christine said in singsong, ruining the mood.

Both Asher and I glared at the bitch, who just smiled sweetly as she finished her blood.

Thank the universe Asher finally changed the subject, focusing on the hitman in our midst. I’d never met an assassin before, let alone one who could teleport. As Christine could not stand to have the spotlight off herself for more than five minutes that conversation was cut short. The first available opening, she steered us back down Memory Lane in a car built for two. I didn’t speak seven words the entire hour as the old friends guffawed and reminisced about Victorian London and parties at Versailles. Usually I adored these stories, learning about Asher’s life before me, but not when every avenue led to sex. Didier grew bored half an hour in and excused himself, but no matter how much I wanted to, I held my ground with a smile for every smutty anecdote. I could put up with her for a night. It was
me
he would return home with.

This was what I told myself when I could no longer hold off the urge to use the bathroom and left them to powder my nose. Trust. I trusted him. I trusted him enough to get something to eat and even dance a few times, though my partners only received a quarter of my attention as my eyes rarely left the entrance in anticipation of his arrival. Which never happened. He didn’t come looking. Didn’t chase after me. When I slogged back upstairs an hour later, they were huddled together laughing while she rested her head against his shoulder.

“Anna,” a familiar voice said behind me.

I spun around to find Alain hanging over my right shoulder like an angel. Or devil. “I thought I saw you haunting the opera house.”

“I would have requested a dance but was unsure if you would accept or hex me,” Alain said.

“Four years ago, neither would I.”

“And now?”

I took a deep breath and sighed. “Thank you,” I said reluctantly. “Truly. You stopped me from making a horrible mistake. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking that night.”

“Thinking never factored into it. But all’s well that ends well. At least from your perspective.”

“Oh, don’t start that again. A hex is still in the cards.” We both smiled. “Your fears were unfounded though. He treats me like a princess. We’re blissfully, madly in love.”

“Are you now?” He nodded behind me. I glanced back to see that slag laughing so hard she doubled over, resting her forehead on Asher’s legs as he just sniggered back at her theatrics. “She was always an amazing hunter, our Christine. She instinctively knows the perfect time and the perfect bait with which to strike. Ruthless. Manipulative. Patient. She is a credit to our kind.” He gazed into my eyes. “You do not stand a chance, little girl.”

“She’s no threat. Let her have her fun tonight. We’re going home tomorrow.”

Alain chuckled. “Do not underestimate the power of shared history, long-term affection, and good old-fashioned ego stroking hero worship, Anna. Remember, she claimed him first. No matter how long the lifespan, habit is habit. She is his worst. Like a dormant disease, she rears her ugly head and wreaks havoc, leaving naught but death and misery in her wake. Though if it makes you feel better, if she has chosen now to resurface, she must view you as a true threat for his long-term affection. She is 3 for 0 though. Cordelia, Jane, and Olivia all stood where you are now and proclaimed the same. That he only loved them. That the love they shared was enough to conquer all, including Asher’s corrupted soul itself. But Christine, she brings out the true Asher and she knows it. It may take a week, it may take a decade, but that woman will find a way to ingratiate herself into your lives and decay it from the inside out.”

“Well, I won’t let her,” I said with utter certainty.

“I admire your spirit. I do. But at the end of the night, Anna, it may have precious little to do with
you
. You cannot change him, or what he is at his core. Despite what the fairy tales may want you to believe, love does not move mountains. It does not magically change a person into something they are not. And no matter how much two people love one another, sometimes that is not enough. Nowhere near enough. And the sooner one realizes that, the sooner their life can truly begin. I only hope for your sake when the revelation comes, our Asher can accept it as well. Otherwise, may you find the strength to survive all the hell he throws at you. And it will be nothing short of hell. I do not envy your odds, though. So please listen to my words this night. Run far. Run fast. And never look back.” He took my hand and kissed the top of it like a gentleman. “It was lovely to see you again. Truly. Though I hope for your sake it is the last time.”

Alain gave me a reverent nod before strolling away. Like four years before, he left fear and uncertainty in his wake. Sometimes that’s all it takes. One bad seed planted to ruin the entire crop—one conversation with an almost total stranger to completely change your outlook on all you believed you knew. I stared at my soul mate with
her
. The casual way they touched. The loose posture. The ease of his smile completely in line with hers. Their intimacy as if there was no one else in the room. It sickened me. Worse, it scared the hell out of me.

“There you are,” Asher said only when I moved right in front of him.

“Yes, we had given you up for lost,” Christine added with a faux sweet grin.

“No such luck. Sorry,” I said, matching her expression. I turned to Asher. “I’m exhausted. It’s time to go home.”

“No,” Christine whined. “The night is still so young, and we haven’t finished catching up. She is a big girl. I am sure she can get herself home. Or we can continue this back at your suite.”

“No,” I snapped. I really was exhausted. “If you want, you can stay here with your …
friend
. I’ll be fine alone. I won’t wait up.” With one final glare for the interloper, I stalked away before I accidently set her on fire with a nearby candle. I should have.

“Anna, wait!” Asher called after me. He caught me halfway down the stairs, grabbing my arm and spinning me around. “What is the matter now? You are acting like a spoilt child and embarrassing me. We spoke about this.”

“We did, but that was before you spent all night ignoring me and fawning over a woman who clearly hates me and wants to return to your already occupied bed. And from where I was standing, you were all but pulling back the sheets for her. Hell, maybe you two already found some corner and made up for lost time. Maybe that whole speech about me giving you space was planned because you knew she was coming and wanted me out of the way.”

“Now you are purposely being cruel,” he sneered back.

“Well, you didn’t seem to mind when she was doing the same to me,” I countered.

“Christine is one of my oldest, dearest friends. My sister. She has been by my side at my worst moments, and I have not seen or spoken to her in close to a decade. I have sacrificed a great deal for you, Anna. You can survive one night where you are not my sole bloody focus!”

“Is all well?” Christine called as she descended the stairs.

“Of course,” I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

“Everything is fine,” Asher said none-too-convincingly.

“No, it is not. Asher, I fear this is all my doing. The last thing I desire is to be the cause of any strife between you two.”

“Oh, I’ll bet,” I said with a scowl.

“Anna,” Asher snapped.

“Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot,” Christine said, batting those gorgeous eyelashes of hers. “I
was
being a bit cheeky with you, and for that I do apologize. I simply could not help myself. I am incredibly protective of those I love, as I am sure you are. I do not wish to see our Asher hurt again. He barely survived his past losses.”
Without her that is
. “But I see now there is deep, abiding love between you both. He spent the entire night speaking of barely any topic other than you. It is as if I know you already,” she chuckled. “So I hope you will forgive tonight’s bad behavior, and we can begin anew. It would mean a lot to me, and I know it would mean the world to our Asher.” She extended her hand. “Friends?”

Alain was right. She was good.
Damn
good. And Asher bought every word. Every single one. What other choice did I have? I plastered a smile on my face and shook her hand. “Friends.”

And just like that the dream was over. The nights of blood and roses had come to an end. I never could have foretold where the new path would take me. Or that I would lose everything along the way. Including myself.

age 19
washington, dc

Ugh. The ringing telephone
drew me out of my only oasis in the world, the sweet nothingness of slumber. Oh, how I wished I could stay in the nothing instead of waking beside an equally
naked man, my body covered in bruises and dried blood. Sadly a common occurrence in recent months. How on earth did I end up naked in Oliver’s bed? I managed to extract myself from the beautiful, cold almost corpse to answer the phone on the nightstand.

“Hello,” I asked groggily.

“Ms. Asher, this is the front desk. There is a Special Agent Nathan
West of the F.R.E.A.K.S. here to interview you.”

“Who? What?”

“It’s about last night’s murders. Lord Peter has ordered all within his territory to cooperate fully with the investigation. I’m sending the agent up now.”

“Uh, okay.” I hung up the phone with a sigh. I was in no shape for company, let alone one with questions, but the law was the law. Peter said jump, we weren’t even allowed to ask how high. There was barely time to brush my teeth and slip on a robe before the knock on my suite door. It was near pitch black with the special shutters drawn so I added to my bruise collection before I found a light. “Coming!”

When I opened the door to the agent, I literally took his breath away. Just not in the usual, romantic way. Oh how I wished I’d at least taken the time to wash off the blood on my neck or brushed my hair. Not that I really cared a fig what the agent in the hallway thought. He was cute in a disheveled professor way, all spindly legs and arms in a rumpled too-short suit. His medium brown hair was as unruly with bangs in need of a cut, round rosy cheeks, and bushy thick eyebrows. Even his silver-framed glasses were crooked. “A-Anna Asher?” he asked with a Texas drawl.

“You the freak?”

“Um, yes. Sp-special Agent Nathan West,” he said, pulling out his badge and an envelope. “May I come in?”

“Okay.” I stepped aside to let him in.

“Oh, uh, this was left for you at the front desk,” Nathan said, handing me the envelope. Our skin lightly brushed, and I got a huge shock. Literally. It was as if I’d stuck my finger in a light socket. “Ow!”

“Oh, sorry,” Nathan said. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” My hand still tingled though. At least I was awake now. “Um, do you want coffee? I can phone room service.”

“No, no I’m fine. Thank you.” He tried to turn on another light but the bulb flashed, then exploded. “Shit! Sorry. Sorry. I don’t …” The agent cringed. “I’m just gonna …” He pointed to the sofa before sitting. Clothes from the previous night, including my red lace panties, lay at his feet. He kept glancing down at them.

“Sorry about the mess,” I said as I sat across from my guest. “We, uh, got back late last night.”

“It’s … fine.” He removed a pad and pen from inside his ill-fitting coat. “So, uh, I’m sure you’re aware of recent events between the vampires and werewolves, including last night’s murders. Two vamps and their companions were killed just a block from Club Vertigo.”

“Yeah, of course I do. Vampires killing werewolves, werewolves killing vampires, war all but declared. It’s all anyone’s talking about. I’m just not sure what it has to do with me.”

“I understand you were friends with one of the victims, Dana Carver?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say friends,” I corrected. “We partied with her three nights ago and went lingerie shopping yesterday, but that’s all.”

“Did she mention anyone following her? Did you see anyone suspicious hanging around?”

“No. Not that I noticed, sorry.”

“Did she mention having any dealings with werewolves, either her or her boyfriend?”

“No, at least I don’t think so. All we spoke about were clothes and living with vampires. You really should talk to Oliver. He was friends with Jerome, one of the vampires who died. He’d be better able to answer these questions than me.”

“And Oliver’s your boyfriend?”

“Not real—no. I’ve only known him about two weeks since we got here. He’s asleep now, but he’ll be up after sundown. There’s really nothing I can tell you. Sorry.”

The young agent frowned and put away his notebook. “Well, thank you for your time, ma’am.” He placed his card on the coffee table. “If you could have Oliver call me, or if you think of anything, no matter how minute, please contact me.” He rose from the sofa, as did I. “And be careful. Don’t go out alone.”

I chuckled as I escorted him to the door. “What? Don’t I look like a girl who can take care of herself?” I asked flirtatiously.

“No,” he scoffed. “
God
no.”

The moment those words passed his lips, I had a physical sensation to those three words as if he had literally slapped me in the face. I’d been one big, raw nerve for months and this stranger just sucker punched that nerve with brass knuckles. My face fell, and I even began to tremble a little. “Get out.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I—”

“Get out,” I hissed.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Get the fuck out of my suite. Who the hell are you to judge me? You don’t know me. You don’t know my life.”

“I-I wasn’t judging, I swear.”

I threw the door to the hall open. “Bullshit. Get out. Now!”

The agent quickly walked through the door. “I’m sorry if I offended—”

The door slammed in his face. My breath didn’t equalize until his footsteps receded down the hall. The moment silence hit, so did my mortification. That man didn’t deserve the tongue lashing I’d given him. Besides, he was right. All the partying and feeding, not to mention the Quaalude from the night before, had left me as weak as a newborn. I couldn’t fight off a mosquito let alone a malicious werewolf. I suddenly saw myself through the stranger’s eyes, and it made me nauseous. I stared down at my wrist, the entire circumference more purple than peach where Christine and others fed almost every night. My neck and inner thigh no doubt matched. There wasn’t an inch of me that didn’t feel like a landfill, even on the inside. My guts churned, and I rushed into the master bedroom for the nearest bathroom, passing a naked Asher and Christine in our bed with only a glance. “No. No,” I moaned when I saw the blood between my legs. My period. Another failure. At least I’d discovered the source of my outburst. I was always a nightmare right before. Cold comfort. The shower and Advil for the cramps didn’t help at all. Nothing ever did. Not the alcohol, not the hard drugs, nothing worked. I was in a constant state of ache from the soul out. How had I let it get so far? I couldn’t even place all the blame at Christine’s feet.

She
was
good. Better even than Alain had warned me. She infiltrated our lives so gradually even I failed to notice its demise until it was too late. It began with phone calls a few times a month, then invites on vacations with her and her various lovers. Then the occasional day or so at our house where she almost had
me
believing we were friends. No jokes, no flirting with Asher, she even helped with the dishes. With the baseline established, she pushed further and further, getting in fights with her boyfriends and needing rescuing or a place to stay until she got on her feet. Next thing I knew they were out hunting every other night because the blood from the butcher’s shop had spoiled or wasn’t good enough for our Asher. Of course then the rumors started in town, and we had to leave. Asher didn’t even attempt to hide his joy.

Asher loved our “grand tour,” one endless party around the world led by Christine, the latest stop being Washington, DC. to look up Oliver, an old lover of hers, and coincidentally Asher’s grandson via Alain. Just one big fucked-up family. Oliver wasn’t as bad as some of the other vampires, he knew when to stop feeding on me at least, but it still felt as if my soul had departed my body whenever he touched me. The things I agreed to, the things I did … wasn’t I a liberated woman? A risk taker? Didn’t I want to embrace the lifestyle I’d soon be initiated into? Didn’t I trust Asher as he trusted me? Every night the man I adored slipped further and further away, and I was beginning to think I should let him. Or cut Christine’s head off while she slept.

Even my act of true desperation failed for the third month in a row as my trip to the bathroom showed. A baby would definitely banish the bitch. He’d have no choice but to settle down again. It had been six months since I brought the topic up right before our tour began, and though he’d been less than joyous about the idea, I
knew
he’d be thrilled when it actually happened. When he held the baby in his arms. He was the one who invited the men into our bed and fine physical specimens they all were. If I could just get my stupid body on board.

At least I had a distraction for the day. I’d volunteered my magical services
to Lord Peter the previous night when word reached us about the murders. Things had been tense between the vampires and Eastern Werewolf Pack since our arrival, but within a week the animosity escalated when two werewolves were found dead with fang marks on their bodies. After the second murder, Pack Alpha Bobby Conlon and his wolves stormed into Club Vertigo the night before and threatened Lord Peter. Conlon and Ivan, Peter’s giant of a bodyguard, even came to blows. It was intense. Oliver had to yank me from the line of fire when Ivan threw a red-headed werewolf across the club. The pack left, but not even two hours later Dana, Je
rome, and two others were coming to the club to meet us, and were
jumped in an alley. Killed. We were still with Peter when we heard the news. Knowing I was a witch, and total war was on the horizon, his lordship more or less ordered me to drive down to Goodnight, Virginia, and create potions to stop the werewolf transform, basically rendering them human and therefore easier to kill. All’s fair in
love and war. Peter had me at Goodnight. Everyone in the supernatural world knew the town
was witch central. Astrid was always proud to boast she was descended from the coven. Even YaYa in Athens sung their praises.

I found the envelope the Texan agent gave me and sure enough,
inside were directions to the Midnight Magic Shop and a hefty check
for Sally McGregor, High Priestess. What with our traveling, I’d fallen
behind in my magical studies. Maybe the most powerful witch in America could give me what I needed: a banishment spell. As I stood beside their bed,
our
bed, Christine curled against Asher with a smile frozen on her dead face, I frowned. The bitch had to go. She wouldn’t win. He was mine. He was all I had. And if I lost him … who the hell was I?

_____

“You look like you can use some help.”

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

The boy behind the counter at the magic shop walked over to me. I say boy, but he was only three years younger than me, with hazel eyes and curly brown hair. “Well, what exactly are you looking for?”

“I’m not quite sure. I—”

“Mona Leigh, get back here!” a woman shouted from the back of the store.

A little girl no more than four came running from behind the counter, white curly hair bouncing in time to her chubby legs’ pace. The cherub stopped right between the clerk and me, but the moment she gazed up at me, she all but recoiled and dashed behind the boy’s legs. I
was
a fright, certainly enough to scare small children like that one. The make-up I’d caked on could barely conceal the bruises on my neck and wrists or the black circles under my eyes made worse by the whiteness of my skin. They were literally sucking the life from me night after night. The short, squat middle-aged woman with curly graying hair, who came out of the back carrying a toddler, had a similar reaction when she saw me. Grimacing even. “Um, hello,” she said with a Southern accent just like the boy.

“Hi,” I whispered. I didn’t like them all staring at me. “I’m, um, looking for High Priestess McGregor?”

“Oh! You must be Anna,” the woman said. Her eyes darted to my bruises as the baby in her arms began to wiggle from her grip. “Should have guessed. Welcome to Midnight Magic of Goodnight, Virginia. We’d given you up for lost.”

“Yeah. I-I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Well, better late than never,” McGregor said.

“Yeah. Oh,” I said, pulling out the check. “Lord Peter said if it’s not enough, to let him know.”

She took the check with a grin. “Say what you want about vampires, but stingy they ain’t.” She switched the squirming toddler to her other arm. “So, I gather things still aren’t good between Peter and the pack? What’s the death toll now? Six? Seven? Even heard the F.R.E.A.K.S. are in town. Hopefully George can sit those two pig-headed, no-goodnicks down and knock some sense into them before things get worse.”

“Yeah. Well, Lord Peter appreciates your help in this matter.”

“And I appreciate being able to pay my tax bill.” The baby girl began howling. “Oh, hell’s bells, Ivy. Quit squirming. This one missed her nap. I gotta run them back over to Leigh’s. Tommy, everything’s setup in the back for her. I’ll return when I can. Hold down the fort until then.” She turned to me. “Sweetie, anything you need, don’t you hesitate to ask, okay? I mean it. Anything.”

“Thank you.”

Mrs. McGregor took Mona’s hand and extracted her from Tommy’s leg. The shy thing clutched her grandmother’s leg instead until they left the store. I could now add terrorizing young girls to my list of crimes. I was running out of room on the page.

“So, um, come on back,” Tom said, gesturing that way. The back room was as cluttered as the front. There was barely any room to maneuver to the altar with the iron cauldron, sigiled charms, and various herbs scattered around. “Yeah, here is everything including the potion recipe. Blocking magic, right? It seems kind of advanced. Are you sure you can—”

“Yeah.” I shrugged off my coat. My late birthday present on my fifteenth birthday. A thousand-dollar black wool coat with mink collar and cuffs. My most prized possession. “I’ve done far more powerful spells than this.”

“Like what?” the boy asked.

“When I was nine, I raised a ghost. On this very day actually.” That realization knocked the wind from my sails. Ten years. A damn lifetime ago.