No Broomsticks Allowed, page 21
“I’ll kill you!”
“No, you won’t,” Blais said, shaking his head. “But you’ll spend the rest of your life trying. You will be left to suffer, alone, for all eternity. Just like I have.”
“You’re a murderer. I didn’t leave you to suffer. You chose your path.”
“And you could have chosen it with me,” Blais sneered. “What’s a few lives? People die every day. Half of the world is dead inside already. They go about their day-to-day business like robots, wishing for something better. I have something better. I’ve chosen to live.”
Lance’s nostrils flared. “You’re insane.”
“Insane or not, I’m going to enjoy this.” Blais placed a kiss on her head and began unbuttoning her blouse. His touch made her skin crawl. Disgust filled her stomach, coated her throat. No! Please just kill me.
“Azrael, wake up. Fight it! Summon something!” Lance fought harder against his restraints.
Blais stopped unbuttoning her shirt. “Did I forget to tell you? She can’t use her magic. That’s the best part of this little spell I’ve cast. You’ve always hated your magic, hated using it. The irony of that is this watch uses your magic to trap you, as it did all your magical friends. Now, I’ve finally given you a real reason to hate your magic.
“Keep your eyes open, Lance. You don’t want to miss how much pain I’m going to cause her.”
Blais pressed his cracked lips against hers, then tilted her head back, baring his teeth. A shadow fell over them, and Azrael felt her heart swell.
There, staring down at them, was Caleb, bat in hand. “Small oversight in your plans, Blais. One of us doesn’t have magic.”
Blais’s head popped up, his eyes wide. Before he could move, Caleb swung, the bat connecting with a sickening crunch.
~*~
She heard the thump, saw his body fall to the floor, but couldn’t look to see if he was still alive. Caleb raced around the chair, bat in hand. There was another sickening thud, then the resounding echo of the bat landing on hardwood. After a moment, Caleb stood in front of her, blood matted on his forehead. “I’m going to have you press on his stopwatch. I hope this works, baby girl.”
She didn’t feel the click, but she heard it. Within seconds she could move.
“Caleb!” She threw her arms around him, and he winced but held her tight.
“Hey, shh, it’s okay,” he whispered.
Azrael hadn’t been aware of the tears spilling down her cheeks. Her chest hitched painfully, her throat tightening. Caleb stood, hands still on her shoulders. “We need to untie Lance and Garrin. I don’t know if Blais is dead or not.”
That brought her back to the present. She fought against the fear. Below their feet lay Blais, blood trickling from his ears. Although he didn’t move, she thought she saw his chest move lightly. In a daze, she made her way to Lance. He sat still, his eyes locked on his brother. It wasn’t until she cut his binds that he seemed to realize she was there. When he did, he jumped up, pulling her into his arms. His lips sought out hers, his hands caressed her face. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“He’s not dead.” With her attention focused on Lance, she hadn’t seen Caleb release Garrin. He was standing over Blais, hand pressed to the vein on his neck. “The heartbeat is weak, but it’s there.”
Lance let go of her and took several steps forward until he stood over Blais. He and Garrin exchanged a long look. Lance shut his eyes briefly, then opened them again. “I’ll do it.”
“Do what?” Azrael asked, coming to stand by Lance.
He turned and grabbed her shoulder. “You should leave. Caleb too. Go to the den, call a healer for Maridale.”
“But, I—”
What was going to come out of her mouth was that she didn’t understand. Then it hit her. They had no intention of leaving Blais alive. He’d already bested them several times. To wait for authorities meant giving him another chance if he woke. That didn’t seem to be a chance either one was willing to wait for. It wasn’t a chance she wanted to take.
Azrael took his hands in hers and squeezed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Now go.”
Caleb came to stand by her. In his arms, he carried Maridale. “Come on, baby girl. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
She turned, her heart heavy, but before they could make it more than a few steps, a darkness settled over the room.
~*~
“What was that?” Caleb asked.
Azrael looked to Lance. His eyes were wide, mouth open in shock. She followed his gaze. “Sarah?”
Sarah appeared fully formed. On her face was a look of terror. “Get away from Blais! Move now, or you’ll die!”
Garrin moved first, heading straight toward Sarah, and behind him came Lance. He grabbed Azrael’s arm, pulling her along with him. The room filled with the sound of chimes. A sound that was familiar to Azrael.
“The void,” she mumbled.
Sarah nodded. In the center of the library, above Blais, appeared a hole, a tear through the fabric of the room. The hole grew larger. Inside she could see the strands of purpose. Her heart faltered. “What’s going on?”
“They’ve come to take him,” Sarah answered. “The creatures of the void are letting those he killed take their revenge.”
A woman stepped out of the hole, her skin glistening in the darkness, her face in a mass of scars. Behind her, more women. They poured out, each marked with scars, their gazes locked on the murderer. The room filled. There had to be more than a hundred women packed in. With her back pressed against the wall, Azrael could do nothing but watch in awe. Lance locked his hands in hers, as did Caleb. The women stopped coming out. They circled Blais. One spoke.
“Wake up, Blais.”
Azrael couldn’t see, didn’t want to see, but he must have done what the ghost commanded because a few moments later, she heard him scream, “No!”
The women shrieked in unison, their forms flickering as they tore at him. Blais continued screaming.
“What are they doing?” Lance whispered.
“They’re tearing his soul apart. Blais will suffer for all of eternity.” Sarah came to stand in front of Lance and raised her hands to cup his face. “You will not. It’s time I take your pain. I have a promise to keep.”
Placing a hand on his chest, over his heart, Sarah shut her eyes. Behind them, the ghosts still swarmed around Blais, but the screaming had stopped. Lance gasped, his eyes widening, and Sarah removed her hand. “I can’t take away the past, but I took away the pain. Take care of my cousin, and love her well.”
She nodded to Azrael, then moved past her to Garrin. Sarah pressed her lips against his, letting them linger before pulling away. “I’ve always known how you felt. I feel the same way about you. Unfortunately, this can never be, and I must leave. I can take away your pain, too, if you’d like.”
Garrin shook his head and touched her face. “No. I think I want to keep it. Something to remind me of you.”
Sarah smiled. “As you wish.”
Behind her, the women were re-entering the veil. There was no sign of Blais. Sarah squeezed Garrin’s hand and followed them. When all the women were gone, the veil closed, and the room became light again.
Azrael sensed a part of that darkness would never go away, though, not for the five people left inside it.
Chapter 35
“Where’s Lance?” Azrael asked, rubbing her eyes. It was the first time in weeks she felt truly at ease. The nightmares had finally abated, and after many late-night talks, it was decided she and Caleb would move in. Although marriage wasn’t mentioned, she knew it wasn’t too far on the distant horizon. She knew he was only holding back because he was a konsumo demon. He had a hard time believing she didn’t care about that. If nothing else, she planned on proving in.
Then, there was Caleb. Having been close to death, he decided to tackle his agoraphobia. They went walking every day. At first, he hadn’t made it over the threshold, but now he could make it several yards outside. Azrael was more than proud of her best friend. She also knew Maridale played a part in his desire to get better. He’d spent the first week here, healing under Caleb’s close watch. During that time, she had a feeling her best friend had given his heart away.
As for Garrin, he left the day after they killed Blais, and she didn’t try to stop him. She’d given him a kiss on the cheek and let him go mourn on his own. She called him every few days, reminding him he had a friend to talk to whenever he was ready.
“He’s in the secret room in the hall. You know, the one he keeps locked,” Caleb responded, grinning. “Seems to be in a good mood, though. Maybe we should go visit.”
“You just want to snoop.”
Caleb stretched, a childish grin on his face. “I’ve never been able to resist a locked door.”
Azrael grabbed him by the hand, and they raced down the hallway. The door of the room was propped open with a large trash can. Lance stepped out, tossed a handful of papers in, and smiled at Azrael. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Morning.” She took several steps forward and kissed him on the cheek, eyes scanning the room over his shoulder. It was about the size of a large closet, with handwritten notes and newspaper articles covering the walls. “What are you up to?”
Caleb peered around the door. “Oh, this is like one of those crime-solver set-ups. Like in the movies where they’re trying to find a killer.”
“That’s exactly what it is,” Lance said, waving his hand inside. “This is everything I’ve tracked on my brother in the last decade. I thought it was time to get rid of it, to move on.”
Azrael grinned at him. “I think that’s a great idea. Want some help?”
“Sure. I’m going to burn it in the fire pit out back. I’ll get it started if you don’t mind tossing this stuff in the can for me.”
“Sounds good, but I’m going to require you to do it shirtless.”
“I second that,” Caleb said.
Lance shot Caleb a dirty look but laughed. “You’re lucky I love you, Azrael. You are quite a package deal.”
“A sexy package deal,” she said, thrusting out her chin.
“Plus,” Caleb chimed in, thumbs pointed at his chest, “let’s not forget who’s the badass hero here.”
“He’s never going to let us live that down, is he?” Lance asked.
“I think we figured that out when he had the bat framed.” Azrael rolled her eyes and punched Caleb lightly on the arm.
“Ouch,” Caleb yelled, rubbing his arm.
“Some hero.” Lance winked, then kissed her before walking away.
Caleb tapped her on the shoulder. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” she asked, watching the sway of Lance’s hips as he left.
“Mooning over him like a love-sick puppy.”
“Like you’re not staring at his ass right now?”
“Of course I am. What kind of all-male-sexual would I be if I wasn’t?”
Azrael punched him on the shoulder again. “Come on, let’s get to work.”
They stepped into the room. There were piles of paper lying on the floor and stacked on the desk. Sunlight streamed in through a small window. Beneath it lay Smellicious and Bumpkins, both curled into a ball on top of newspaper.
“All right then, you get the stuff in the drawers, and I’ll start on the desk.”
For the next five minutes, they worked in silence. Neither had to speak about what they were seeing. The magnitude of murders Blais committed, the women he’d killed. File after file, article after article. She kept having to remind herself that he was dead, that they’d done the world a favor.
“Hey, look at this.” Caleb shoved a magazine in front of her face. “It’s Sarah.”
Azrael picked up the magazine, her eyes landing on Sarah’s picture. Caleb stood behind her and read the caption below. “Need a love spell? Visit my website at www.sarahspell.com. Top rated. Licensed and certified. Guaranteed or your money back.”
“Sarah was a love caster,” she mumbled.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Caleb asked.
She looked at the picture and read the inscription again. “Do you think she cast a spell on Lance?”
“I don’t know,” Caleb answered. “If so, why wouldn’t he tell you? Plus, if she did, he could have just had it removed. Derose igumante liosa corabon.”
“What did you say?” Azrael asked, her eyes darting to Caleb, a weird feeling in her chest.
He pointed to a small line of text underneath the ad. “Derose igumante liosa corabon. That’s her spell. She must have been a pretty strong love caster to have her spell copyrighted. Hey, are you all right, baby girl? You look pale.”
“I’ve heard those words.”
“Okay.” Caleb stared at her. “And this is a big deal, how?”
“Because Lance said them to me.” She held out the magazine, hands trembling. “On the flight here. I couldn’t tell what he was saying at the time, but now that I hear them, it’s as clear as day.”
“Okay, just calm down. So what if Lance said them to you? He’s not a love caster. If you’re upset because of the Sarah thing, then….”
“Lance stole Sarah’s powers, then Blais killed her. If Sarah cast a love spell on him and died, he wouldn’t be able to have it removed, and unless he transferred those powers somehow, he is in possession of them.”
Caleb’s mouth dropped open. It wasn’t until that moment she fully grasped the truth behind what she said. Lance may have cast a love spell on her. He wouldn’t have, though. Would he?
The more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible. They barely knew each other when he’d said those words to her. His only intention at the time was to get her to summon Blais. Then, she couldn’t have a protection spell put on her because she was supposedly in love with him. “Holy crap, Caleb. Please tell me I’m wrong.”
“I want to, I really do, but it’s possible. I mean, you fell for him so fast.” He shook his head, mouth pulled down in a frown. “Before either of us jumps to any conclusion, I think you should ask him. We were wrong about him before.”
“Yeah. Of course. We’ll ask him,” she whispered, the words tumbling across her lips. “I’m sure I’m just being paranoid.”
Caleb took her hand, and they went in search of Lance. Her chest was tight, face warm. I’m just being silly. In a few minutes, this will all blow over.
But that wasn’t the way things ever worked out for her.
Lance was out back, shirtless as promised, leaning over the fire pit. He heard them approaching and glanced up, a smile on his face. Sunlight glinted off the sweat on his torso, and in his eyes was a look of complete adoration.
“Took you long enough,” he said, coming over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’m shirtless, as promised.”
Azrael swallowed and stepped back, her eyes meeting the depths of his. Against her chest, she cradled the magazine, trying to cover it.
The last few months had been hell. She’d finally found the one thing that made her happy. Fear of the truth, fear of what would happen between them if she was right, had her reeling backward. If Lance had put a love spell on her, she didn’t want to know. She glanced at Caleb, conveying a silent message. I can’t do this. Not now.
“What’s wrong?” Lance asked, the smile slipping off his face.
“N-nothing.”
He eyed them both. Then his gaze slipped to the magazine she held. “What’s that?”
“Oh, I was just reading that.” Caleb reached over and tugged the magazine away. Apparently, he’d caught her silent plea. “I’m going to run upstairs and grab the trash can. I’m not feeling ready to be outside today.”
Before he could turn and leave, Lance grabbed the magazine and scanned the ad, turning pale. The three of them stood there in silence.
It was Azrael who broke it, but when she did, her voice was trembling. “She put a love spell on you. That’s why you said you didn’t want to love her, isn’t it? You didn’t have a choice.”
Lance sucked on his bottom lip, inhaling deeply. “No, I didn’t have a choice.”
Throat dry, heart pounding, she reached for him. “Tell me you didn’t cast a love spell on me.”
He shut his eyes. After several long moments, he opened them again and met hers. “Please understand. At the time, I wanted nothing more than to stop Blais from killing. I meant no harm to you. When I did it, it wasn’t without consequence. I made a promise to myself that I would take care of you forever, that I wouldn’t let you suffer the way I have.”
She took several steps away from him, her blood pounding in her ears. “So, this is why you’re with me? Because you fucked my life over and want to stick around and what? Pretend to love me?”
“No!” He reached for her. “God, no, Azrael. I love you. That’s not what I meant.”
“Were you ever going to tell me? How could you do this?”
Warm tears cascaded down her cheeks. It was like someone had torn out her heart. She felt Caleb put his arm around her, but it did nothing to stop the budding pain.
“Azrael, please listen. I didn’t think it worked. When Sarah cast one on me, I would have done anything for her, anything at all. But you—you resisted me every step of the way. Then I fell in love with you. I didn’t see any reason to tell you because I truly believed the spell failed. I’d never tried to use her magic before, and I didn’t want to take a chance of losing you by telling you I tried it on you.” Lance placed a hand on the side of her face, his eyes dark, body tense. “Please forgive me. I’m so sorry. I can’t do this without you.”
“You’ve doomed me to a life where I don’t know if what I feel is real or not,” Azrael whispered. “And you want me to forgive you? Just pretend it didn’t happen?”
