Cut to the Crone (A Spell's Angels Cozy Mystery Book 4) Read online

  Zoe nodded. “Fair enough.” She moved to the small table in the corner and grabbed a laptop. “When does the barbecue start?”

  “Forty-five minutes,” Gunner replied. “It’s basically come as you are.”

  “I think we should shower,” Aric said. “Sami, you’re up first. You take the longest to get ready.”

  Sami made a grumbling sound and slid off the bed. “That’s because I’m prettiest.”

  “Five minutes in the shower,” Aric ordered. “Don’t be a hot water hog.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  Zoe was intent on the computer, which confused me, and then she started talking. “I wondered if you were ever going to pick up.” She sounded aggrieved.

  To my utter surprise, a female voice responded from the computer. “Some of us have work. Things have been nuts here.”

  “Religious cult. You told me.” Zoe swallowed. “I need some information.”

  “Well, it’s good to see you, too,” the invisible female drawled.

  Curious, I moved to look over Zoe’s shoulder and found she was talking to a pretty brunette, also in her forties, who had the highest cheekbones I’d ever seen. She looked exotic, like she belonged on the pages of some bohemian clothing catalog. She also looked exasperated.

  “I’m sorry.” Zoe held up her hands in defeat, but she hardly looked contrite. “We’ve got a bit of a thing going on.”

  “You’re still coming, right?” Something akin to panic whipped across the woman’s face. “I told these guys you would be here. We have a lot going on.”

  Zoe nodded. “We’ll be there. We’re dealing with something here, but I hope to have it wrapped up in the next few days.”

  “Okay.” The woman shifted her eyes to me. “Where are you ... and who is that?”

  “This is Scout.” This time Zoe’s smile was genuine. “She’s a new friend. Scout, this is Paris Princeton. She was my roommate in college. She’s the extra-special researcher I told you about.”

  Something inside me settled even though I hadn’t yet agreed to put her on the case. Zoe obviously trusted this person, I was guessing both with her child and her life. If Zoe thought she could help, I was hopeful she could.

  “You need me to do research?” Paris looked dubious. “I thought you were over stuff like that. Didn’t you say we live in the Old West now?”

  “Meaning you’re going to shoot first and ignore everything else?” I cracked.

  Zoe nodded, a half-smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “I have a way about me.” She sobered. “This isn’t about me, Paris. I need to know if you’ve ever heard about the Children of the Stars.”

  Paris’ face turned pensive. “No. Should I? Please tell me they’re not after Sami.”

  Zoe laughed, humorless and hollow. “No. They’re something else. Vampires are after Sami.”

  Paris’ eyes went wide. “Are you joking? If so, that’s not funny.”

  “Yes, because I often joke about my mouthy teenager being in mortal peril.” Zoe frowned. “It’s the truth. Rafael warned us before they descended on the house. We’re fine. The dog is fine, although he’s with Aric’s parents. We followed a trail a few hours north to a town called Hawthorne Hollow, and that’s where we are.”

  “Hawthorne Hollow?” Paris was suddenly intrigued. “That’s a magical nexus.”

  Zoe’s expression remained neutral. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  “Magical beings converge on that spot, kind of like Covenant College, although I hear they have a magical team to handle any enthusiastic evil-doers.”

  Zoe jabbed her finger in my direction. “She’s a member of that team.”

  “Of course she is.” Paris’ smile was back. “Have you ever considered that you attract magical weirdos? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but you really do have a knack.”

  “She’s okay. She saved Rafael and Sami last night. In my book, that puts her at the top of the magical weirdo pile.”

  “I’m right there with you. Do these Children of the Stars have something to do with what’s going on with you?”

  Zoe shook her head. “No. Scout needs information. It’s a side mission, something for her. I thought I would ask if you’d ever heard of them since you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

  “I take umbrage at that remark,” Aric called out. He only appeared to have half an ear on the conversation because he and Gunner had their heads together and looked to be discussing something serious.

  Zoe ignored him and kept her focus on Paris. “It’s important to Scout, and I owe her. Do you think you can look?”

  “As long as you remember you already owe me and that’s why you’re coming to visit.”

  “I could hardly forget.”

  Paris offered up a huge smile. “I’ll see what I can find.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  “Oh, I expect Sami will be calling you to complain about how unreasonable we are before the night is out. She’s mad because she’s a ‘woman’ now and doesn’t need a babysitter.”

  “Ah.” Paris smirked. “That’s what a godmother is for, to complain to.” She turned serious. “Do you need me up there?”

  “Actually, we have plenty of backup right now. We’re good. You worry about your problem and we’ll worry about ours. In two weeks, we’ll get together and I’ll fix your problem because I know you won’t get it done without me leading the charge.”

  Paris rolled her eyes. “That right there is why we don’t see each other more than a few times a year. You’re a pain in the ass.”

  Zoe’s grin was contagious. “I miss you, too. Thanks for doing this.”

  “Something tells me you’re worth it.”

  “And then some.”

  ZOE DIDN’T BOTHER WITH MAKEUP. She and Aric dressed down in simple jeans and T-shirts, Aric adding a flannel to his ensemble. Sami, however, was decked out in fresh capris and a pretty peasant blouse and she was excited when we landed at the Cauldron.

  “Do you have other hot guys on your team?” she asked, keeping pace with Gunner, who led us toward the patio area located at the back of the bar.

  Exasperated, Aric snagged the back of her shirt and tugged to bring her back to him, then shot a look at Zoe. “This is your fault.”

  “It was just a question,” Sami protested.

  “Here’s your answer,” Aric fired back. “There are no hot guys here other than me. That’s it. Just me and nobody else.”

  Sami rolled her eyes in dramatic fashion. “You’re my dad. If I think you’re hot, I’ll get locked up in some prison for mental defectives.”

  “That’s not true. It’s okay to crush on your dad.”

  Sami looked horrified. “Mom! Dad has gone off the deep end again.”

  Zoe chuckled. “Stop torturing her, Aric. We want her on her best behavior tonight in case one of these people gets stuck watching her.”

  Aric shook his head. “I’m being serious. There’s nothing wrong with having a crush on your father.”

  “Only in really weird backwoods families,” Zoe said. “We don’t happen to be one of those families.”

  Aric looked as if he was about to lose it. “She’s boy crazy, Zoe.”

  “She’s fourteen, Aric,” Zoe shot back. “That’s normal.”

  “No.” Aric shook his head. “She’s too young.”

  “I’m four years younger than Mom when you fell in love with her,” Sami pointed out. “Four years. That’s nothing.”

  “Your mother wasn’t four years older than you when I fell in love with her.”

  Zoe arched an eyebrow. “Really? When did you fall in love with me? Last time I checked, you claimed to have fallen in love with me the moment you saw me.”

  That’s true.” Aric’s grin was indulgent. “You were the prettiest snark machine I’d ever crossed paths with.”

  “I was eighteen when we met that day in the bookstore.”

 
Aric vehemently shook his head. “No, you were much older.”

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  Aric glanced between his wife and child. “Fine. Then here’s the truth, Sami. I was a dirty pervert back then. I preyed upon your mother, who was an innocent girl just like you. Your grandfather should’ve had me castrated.”

  Zoe’s eye roll was exaggerated. “Wow. You’ll say anything.”

  Aric clamped his hands over Sami’s ears. “She’s fourteen!”

  “You’re losing it, Aric. You cannot keep her locked in a bubble for the rest of her life. That plan you have to keep her from dating until she’s forty is not going to work. My father had the same plan. In fact, do you remember the first night you slept at my house up north?” she continued, not missing a beat. “My father patrolled the hallway with a shotgun to make sure you didn’t try to sneak into my room. He felt the same way then that you do now.”

  Aric was appalled. “He should’ve shot me. I was going to sneak into your room before I heard him cocking the gun.”

  Zoe merely shook her head. “I’m not having this discussion with you now. You’ve got to lighten up.”

  Sami cocked her head at her father. The glint in her eyes told me she was about to make things worse. “Didn’t Mom have a boyfriend before you?”

  “No,” Aric stated firmly. “I’m the only man she’s ever deigned to spend her time with.”

  “Right.” Sami shot me a look that had me biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “I know Mom had a boyfriend because you call him names, like Will the Weasel and Will the Impotent. I looked up that last one by the way, and it triggered the child internet locks you guys insist on keeping.”

  Zoe’s smile was smug. “You’re the one who wanted to teach her to talk.”

  Aric jabbed a finger at his wife but kept his eyes on his daughter. “You need to stop eavesdropping outside our bedroom. I guarantee I didn’t say that anywhere near your vicinity.”

  “Whatever, Dad. You’re telling lies and twisting things. I’m plenty old enough to have a boyfriend. Mom and I have talked about it. You’re just going to have to get over it.”

  Aric slowly tracked his eyes to his wife. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  Slowing his pace, Gunner moved closer to me and slung his arm around my shoulders. “You’re starting to re-think that future family adventure thing, aren’t you?”

  Actually, I was thinking the exact opposite. “I bet this is how it is with most normal families, ones where little kids aren’t abandoned in the middle of nowhere.”

  His eyes were soft when they locked with mine. “Actually, it is. The years between twelve and fifteen are notoriously bad, though.”

  “I like it.”

  He grinned. “I kind of like it, too.”

  In front of us, Aric grabbed Sami around the waist and scooped her up.

  “What are you doing?” Sami complained loudly. “I’m fourteen. I can walk by myself.”

  “Until you agree I’m the smartest man in the world, and master of your destiny, I’m going to carry you around like a baby,” Aric threatened. “I mean it.”

  Sami was incensed. “You can’t carry me around for the rest of my life.”

  “Try me.”

  “Mom!” Sami shrieked in outrage.

  “What do you want me to do, Sami?” Zoe asked. “It’s not like he’s trying to burp you or anything. I can’t step in until that becomes a legitimate possibility.”

  “Omigod!”

  The racket Sami was making was loud enough to draw attention from the back patio and Raisin was wide-eyed when she skirted around the side of the building and found another child close to her age, something she wasn’t used to on the premises.

  “Who is she?” Raisin asked, curious.

  “The worst kid ever,” Aric replied, his eyes drifting to Raisin. “Who are you?”

  “This is Raisin.” I made quick introductions. “She’s kind of the group mascot.”

  Raisin shot me a dirty look. “Leader. I’m the group leader.”

  That made Aric laugh as he shifted to drop Sami to her feet. “Ah, another one. This should be fun.”

  The two teenagers eyed each other for what felt like forever. Sami was the first to speak.

  “Are there hot guys back there?” She inclined her head toward the back of the building.

  Raisin shook her head. “He’s the only hot guy here.” She jerked her thumb toward Gunner, although her eyes drifted to Aric. “Until now.”

  “Don’t be gross,” Sami griped, falling into step with her new friend. “He’s my dad and dads can’t be hot.”

  “True story.” The girls started chatting and fell into step together. “Doc is kind of good looking, although in a nerdy way.”

  “I like nerds,” Sami said. “They’re cool, although not as cool as Scottish guys. Have you seen Outlander?”

  Aric rolled his eyes until they landed on his wife. “I’m never going to survive the next few years. My heart is going to break.”

  Zoe patted his arm soothingly. “Once she goes to college, we’ll be able to reintroduce naked Mondays ... and Wednesdays ... and Fridays. There are trade-offs to this growing-up thing.”

  Aric brightened. “You have a point. She’s still not dating until she’s forty.”

  “Yeah. Good luck with that.”

  Eleven

  In the end, Zoe and Aric liked Bonnie enough to trust Sami with her. Bonnie promised to guard the mouthy teenager with her life, suggesting a movie night with Raisin as a form of entertainment. Sami had eagerly agreed, as long as the woman with the weird eyebrow — singular — wasn’t around.

  “She freaks me out,” Sami explained as Aric and Zoe prepared to say goodbye to their daughter.

  “One eyebrow is definitely something to be suspicious about,” Zoe agreed, smoothing Sami’s hair. She appeared nervous. “You need to be good for Bonnie, okay? Do what she says.”

  Sami had being a teenager down pat because the face she graced her mother with was right out of a Nickelodeon show. “I’ll be good. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  Zoe didn’t look convinced. “You remember the plan, right?”

  Sami balked. “I’m not going to need to worry about the plan.”

  Zoe grabbed Sami by the shoulders and forced the teenager to meet her gaze. “You remember the plan, right?”

  Sami glanced at her father and sighed upon finding no respite there. “I remember. If you don’t come back and I don’t hear from you then I’m to go to Aunt Paris. But that’s not going to be necessary.”

  “I hope not,” Zoe agreed. “Go to Paris instead of your grandparents.” She was deadly serious. “I know you’re going to want them, but that’s where people will expect you to go. Go to Paris and she’ll take care of your grandparents, make sure you reunite. Those people she’s with ... they’re strong. They’ll protect you.”

  Fire kindled in the depths of Sami’s eyes. “You’ll protect me.” She seemed to remember who she was after the fact. “Actually, I’ll protect myself. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “It’s our job to worry about you,” Aric cut in, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his daughter’s head. “Do as your mother says. Things will be fine, but in case they’re not, you can’t wait for Rafael.”

  I looked around. “Where is he?”

  “He texted and said he’s chasing a lead,” Zoe replied, her fingers busily combing through Sami’s hair. I had the distinct impression that she wanted to hug her child but knew better because she didn’t want Sami to make another eye-rolling scene. “He promises to catch up with us as soon as possible.”

  “You can’t wait for him, Sami,” Aric said sternly. “He knows the plan, so he’ll catch up to you. If something happens, you have to leave without him.”

  “You have your credit card,” Zoe added. “There’s cash in that bag in the hotel room.” She hesitated and then barreled forward. “You know how to drive. Daddy taught you.
You also know how to use your magic to steal a car. Don’t drive over the speed limit. Be calm. Change cars if you have to.”

  Sami nodded and the forlorn look on her face tugged at my heartstrings. Was this how it had been when I was abandoned? Was I left with instructions I couldn’t remember? Did the people taking care of me have a plan?

  “She’s not going to be alone,” said Gunner. “Honestly, nothing is going to happen. I can pretty much guarantee it. If the unthinkable does happen, and some unforeseen enemy manages to make it past the four of us, do you think our team is just going to abandon her?”

  Aric offered up a genuine smile. “No. Of course not. It’s just—”

  “This is your regular routine,” I finished, understanding. “I get it.”

  “She’s been coveted since her birth,” Zoe explained. “We’ve always had a plan.”

  That right there was a sobering thought. “She’ll be fine,” I promised. “We will, too. We’re going to a bar. The bulk of the people there are pretty much harmless.”

  Zoe’s eyes flashed. “I’ll burn the world down to make it back to my kid. I’m the thing in the dark people need to be afraid of.”

  In that moment, I totally believed her.

  GUNNER DROVE TO THE DIRTY ROOSTER. I HAD to give him directions because the location was convoluted, and when he parked in the middle of nowhere, Aric looked confused.

  “There’s a bar out here?” he asked.

  “There’s something out here,” Zoe confirmed, hopping out of the truck. She immediately went to the edge of the forcefield that obscured the supernatural hotspot. “Look at this.” She ran her fingers over the magical barrier that only she could see. Even I wasn’t powerful enough to get a visual. For me it was a sensory thing.

  “Is it a dome?” Aric watched his wife’s hands glide over the invisible surface.

  “Yeah.” Zoe’s eyes were lit with intrigue. “It’s powerful, too, although it’s different.” She tilted her head. “Mine is better.” She puffed out her chest, lowered her hands, and winked at her husband. “I’ve got this.”

  I realized a split second before it was too late what she intended to do and grabbed her hand, firmly shaking my head. “No.”