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

  “Why do you have to wait until dark?” Sami whined. “Why does he have to wait that long?”

  “You know why.” Zoe was calm under pressure and didn’t falter even as Sami started making complaining noises deep in her throat. “It will be easier for me to move at night. That’s simply the way it is.”

  Sami shook her head. “So we’re going at dark? How do you know where to look?”

  “I didn’t say ‘we’.” Zoe cocked her head. “I’m going. You’re staying behind, most likely with your father.”

  Sami balked, which was to be expected. “I’m going with you!”

  “You’re not.” Zoe’s tone turned icy. “I can’t take you with me. I’ll be too worried. That means your father will have to stay with you. I’ll be going for Rafael on my own.”

  I stirred. “Wait, I—”

  Sami didn’t give me a chance to finish my thought. “No! He’s my vampire. I’m going.”

  “You’re not going. And stop saying he’s your vampire.” Zoe’s eyes fired with annoyance. “He’s my vampire. Mine.” She thumped her chest. “I knew him long before you were even a speck of dust in our lives. That means he’s my vampire.”

  “Hold up.” Aric shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t want to encourage this ‘he’s my vampire, no he’s my vampire’ crap, but why is he your vampire?”

  Zoe blinked several times and held out her hands. “I met him first. Schoolyard rules are in effect. He’s my vampire.”

  “No, I’m your shifter. He’s just this dude we hang out with occasionally.”

  Suddenly, I found myself tired of their antics. As entertaining as they were on a regular basis, we had other things to worry about. “You’re not going for the vampire alone,” I said, drawing Zoe’s attention to me. “That’s an incredibly stupid idea. I’ll be going with you.”

  I thought she might argue but she nodded. “That will be helpful. You and I can work as a team and Aric and Gunner can work as a team in case they split up and try to grab Sami again.”

  “No way.” Gunner’s face was suddenly alive with fury. “I’m not staying behind.”

  “You are,” I shot back. “Zoe and I will be able to move quicker if it’s just the two of us.”

  “You can make us invisible. You’ve done it before.”

  “Yes, and you saw how quickly it wiped me out. I don’t think that’s going to be an option this time.”

  “You can make people invisible?” Zoe looked intrigued despite herself. “Like ... you create a dome?”

  “I guess. Well, kind of. It’s more that I glamour anyone who might be around into seeing nothing.”

  “That sounds helpful in a pinch.” She tapped her chin. “We won’t be using that method tonight since I’ll be utilizing a dome. Once we get to our destination, though, your trick might come in handy, even if we can only use it a few seconds.”

  I was onboard for whatever she had planned. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

  “We’ll come up with a plan.” Her eyes went back to Sami. “As for you ...”

  “You can’t cut me out.” Tears streamed down the teenager’s face, making her look younger and more vulnerable than she did only seconds before. “I won’t let you do it. I can’t. You’ll need me.”

  “Sami, I’ll always need you,” Zoe said, taking a soft tack. “You’re my child, and you’re so strong that you can do anything ... except apparently hear me when I tell you to empty the dishwasher.”

  “Funny,” Aric joked, “I know someone else who has that problem.”

  Zoe ignored him. “We’re going to figure this out. I’m going to get Rafael back. Scout is going to go with me. I was never going to leave him out there, no matter what you think. I had to wait until I could find a trail.”

  “You found it?”

  Zoe hesitated and shook her head. “No, but I think with Scout and I working together, there’s nothing we can’t do. I need you to be patient.”

  “But—.”

  “No.” Zoe shook her head. “You need to stay with your father. He needs someone to protect him.”

  “Knock it off.” Aric flicked her ear. “Still, your mother is right, Sami. We’re tackling this particular problem in a strategic manner. I know that’s not what you want to hear but it is what it is. There’s no getting around it.”

  “Fine!” Sami threw up her hands in the air. “You’re going to be sorry you don’t have me with you. Mark my words.”

  ONCE IT APPEARED THE MOST RECENT TUMULT had passed, we left the Winters family to discuss things outside and headed toward the bedroom. Gunner was revved up, on multiple levels.

  “First off, you’re not leaving me here,” he hissed after he slammed the bedroom door shut to cut us off from the rest of the cabin in case someone should decide they needed to come inside. “I won’t be separated from you when a fight is coming.”

  I sucked in a breath to calm myself. “We were separated last night,” I said. “You didn’t have a problem when you were the one going out.”

  He was clearly taken aback. “I ... you ... that’s neither here nor there.” He recovered quickly. “We didn’t realize the scope of things last night. We’re a team, right? That means we fight together.”

  “We’re a team,” I agreed. “But tonight, you need to stay with Aric.”

  “Why?” Frustration positively radiated off of him. “You give me one good reason why I need to stay here rather than fight with you? And it had better be something believable because I’m so close to the edge right now I’m unlikely to believe anything you have to say.”

  Under other circumstances his response might have been funny. He was deadly serious now, though, so I knew better than to crack a smile. “Because this coalition, and that’s the best word I can come up with to describe them, apparently wants Sami. What if they took the vampire to lure part of our team out in an effort to get her a second time?”

  Gunner worked his jaw and I waited for a response. When it became obvious one wasn’t coming, I cracked my first smile.

  “It’s not funny,” he said. “I’m being serious. It’s not funny at all.”

  “I’m being serious too. We can’t not go after the vampire.”

  “You could not go. Let Zoe save him herself. He’s just a vampire.”

  I fervently shook my head. “He’s a member of their family, and don’t pretend he’s a normal vampire. You saw the way he risked himself for the girl. He loves her as much as she loves him, although probably not in a romantic way.”

  Gunner sighed and dragged a hand through his shoulder-length hair. “I don’t like the idea of being separated from you.”

  “I believe we had the same discussion last night.”

  “And look how that ended.”

  “You’re warded here,” I reminded him. “You’ll be safe. Besides, Sami can fight them off if she knows they’re coming. It’s best to have two people on her, just in case.”

  “What about you and Zoe? Do you think you’re going to be able to take down all these shifters and vampires, just the two of you?”

  “I think Zoe could do it herself. I’m just going because it seems like a bad idea for anybody to be out on their own right now. We can get in and out without anybody seeing. You know this makes the most sense.”

  He held my gaze for a long beat and then nodded, resigned. “Fine. I don’t like it, though.” He pulled me to him for a hug and rested his cheek against my forehead. “How did your meeting with Pemberton go?”

  “Pemberley,” I corrected automatically. “Apparently he picked his name from Pride and Prejudice. He told me that himself. I actually like that book.”

  “Oh, geez, an Austen fan.” He wrinkled his nose. “I didn’t see that coming.”

  Despite myself, I was impressed. “You’ve read Austen?”

  “I’m a man of varied interests.” He stroked his hand over my hair. “Tell me. Don’t keep dragging it out. It will just drive both of us crazy.”

&nb
sp; “He knew what I was on sight. Basically, he says he’s aware of various Children of the Stars groupings, but he has no idea if I came from one of them or a different group. He’s going to ask around.”

  Gunner’s eyebrows hiked. “That’s it?”

  I nodded. “That’s it.”

  “Well that totally bites.” He weaved back and forth, holding me close as he pondered the new development. “What do you think?”

  “Just like everything else in my life, the answers aren’t going to be easy. Zoe says to give him time. She seems to think he might actually know more than he’s saying but it’s one of those things where he can’t betray people so he has to talk to them first.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know. He was friendly enough. There was an unfortunate moment where he flashed us because his robe came undone. Other than that, I liked him. I’m pre-dispositioned not to trust people, so maybe I’m being a nut. I just don’t know.”

  “My little nut.” He gave me a long kiss. He was somber when he pulled back. “You’re doing the best you can, Scout. If you don’t trust him, go with your gut. If you want to trust him, remain wary but also ... go with your gut. You have the best instincts of anyone I know.”

  “Yeah. I guess.” I placed my ear to the spot above his heart and listened for a moment, allowing the steady beat to lull me. “He said I would trust him because I trust Zoe and she trusts him.”

  “While that sounds like some convoluted thinking, I’m not sure I disagree with him.”

  “I just don’t want to make the wrong choice.”

  “Baby, you can’t always make the right choice. Nobody is infallible, including you. You can only do your very best, and I trust you to do that because that’s simply who you are.”

  “You have a rather high opinion of me.”

  He laughed and held me tighter. “Yeah. You’ve grown on me. I can’t explain it.”

  “I just need to give it some time to settle. Tonight we’ll get the vampire back. Tomorrow we’ll worry about the fairy stuff. That’s weird, right? Am I supposed to identify as a fairy?”

  “You’re also half witch. You should be whatever you want to be.”

  “What if I want to be Wonder Woman?”

  “Well, I definitely encourage that. In fact—” He jumped when someone on the other side of the window rapped a fist against the pane. “If that’s the kid, I’m killing her.”

  Chuckling, I moved the curtains to peer out. Rather than Sami, I found Zoe peering through the glass. I shoved open the window and stared at her through the screen. “Do you need something?”

  “You have a ghost hanging in the trees over there. He’s been watching us.”

  I followed her finger and nodded. “Yeah. Tim. He’s a Peeping Tom.”

  She frowned. “Wait ... are you saying you have a Peeping Tim, and he’s a ghost?”

  I laughed at her confusion. “Doesn’t everyone have a Peeping Tim? Why do you think the curtains are so thick on this place?”

  “Curtains don’t stop ghosts.”

  “He only looks if there are no curtains. He has rules.”

  Zoe glanced in the direction of the ghost. “How well does he know these woods?”

  I caught on to what she was getting at immediately. “Pretty well.”

  “I think I’m going to have a talk with him.”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll join you in a second.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” She offered up a haphazard wave. “Go back to your mating ritual. I’ll handle the ghost. I have a way with them.”

  “Do you have the same way with ghosts that you do with other paranormals?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Yeah, I’ll come out. You know, just to be on the safe side.”

  “Knock yourself out.”

  Twenty-Two

  Sami eventually stopped acting up, although that was only by degrees, and agreed to have a pouty dinner with us. She perked up when the other members of Spells Angels showed up for an impromptu barbecue, but only because Raisin was present and she had another unhappy youth to unload on.

  The two girls moved to the fire pit, where Sami proceeded to use her magic to ignite the logs Gunner and Aric had hauled over from the woods, and then they bent their heads together and whispered.

  “Now there is a frightening sight, huh?” Rooster moved to my side to study the girls, grinning. “Do you think they’re plotting to overthrow the government?”

  “Just a mage.” I shook my head and focused on my boss. “I’m surprised you guys decided to show up out of the blue like this.”

  “Why? We’re sociable.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve never come here without a specific purpose.” I studied his face a moment, realization dawning a few seconds later. “You have a specific purpose.”

  Rooster bobbed his head. “We do. That purpose is you.”

  My lips curved down. “Gunner called you.”

  Rooster hesitated and then shook his head. “Why would you assume that?”

  “Because she’s not stupid,” Zoe announced, crossing behind Rooster, her eyes rapt on the tree line. She’d been back and forth talking to Tim a good twenty times since she’d discovered I had a randy ghost hanging in the woods. “Gunner wasn’t happy with the turn of events and argued with staying behind. Scout talked him into changing his mind by explaining how Sami needed to be watched. Gunner agreed ... until he thought about it again. That’s when he called you.”

  Rooster shot her a dark look. “You think you know everything, don’t you?”

  Zoe nodded without hesitation. “Absolutely. I’m a veritable genius. Just ask my husband.”

  “Just ask your husband what?” Aric called out from his spot next to the grill. He had a spatula in his hand and a curious look on his face.

  “How smart am I?” Zoe queried, not missing a beat.

  “You’re a genius, baby,” Aric replied, smiling. “You’re the smartest woman I know.”

  Zoe preened and turned back to Rooster. “See?”

  “You’re also the prettiest,” Aric added. “You’re the whole package.”

  Zoe grinned. “Thank you.”

  “I’m just trying to help.” Aric matched her forced smile. “I want you to feel good about yourself even though you’re not going to be able to bully that guy and it’s going to put you in a foul mood.”

  “I’m not trying to bully him.”

  “Baby, you’ve made a name for yourself as the biggest paranormal bully in Michigan.”

  “Um, why stop at Michigan?”

  He smirked. “I’m just saying that Rooster is aware of the situation and he’s not going to allow you to push him around. That’s not who he is.”

  Zoe’s eyebrows drew together and she glanced between my boss and her husband. Realization dawned eventually, and her expression hardened. “You were in on calling him.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Aric was suddenly the picture of innocence. “Why would you assume that?”

  “Because I’ve met you.” Zoe was having none of it. “I thought we agreed you should stay and watch Sami.”

  “No, we agreed that Sami should be watched,” he clarified. “Gunner and I had a talk a little bit ago and he brought up some good points.”

  “Is one of those points that we made a pact regarding Sami’s well-being?”

  I sensed trouble and took a step toward Zoe, faltering immediately. How was I supposed to take a side when I wasn’t sure which way to go?

  “We talked about that.” I had to give Aric credit. He didn’t back down despite the icy edge of his wife’s tone. “We also talked about the fact that it’s not just vampires you’ll be dealing with, but shifters, too. We can help with them.”

  Zoe made a frustrated sound in the base of her throat. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Nope. I just want to make sure we get Rafael back. You might need us during your little excursion, so we arranged
for Rooster and the others to take Sami to the Cauldron with them after dinner.”

  Zoe immediately started shaking her head. “No. You need to stay with her. She has to have one parent at the very least.”

  “She’s keeping both her parents,” Aric stated. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, Zoe, and I’m going with you. I know we originally agreed that I was going to look after Sami, but she’ll be well protected with these guys. It’s smarter for me to go with you.”

  “I take it what I think doesn’t matter,” Zoe muttered.

  “It always matters. Don’t be ridiculous. There’s a few things you haven’t taken into account, though.”

  Her eyes were glittery slits of anger. “Like what?”

  “Have you considered that Rafael might be in no shape to walk? Are you going to hold him up and fight off the enemy? You might need us to carry him.”

  “I’ll heal him. I’ve done it before.”

  “What if you don’t have time? What if you have to run? You know as well as anyone that you might need me. I’m not going to abandon you when Sami has a multitude of other bodyguards willing to step up to the plate.”

  “Oh, well, how great for Sami.” Zoe planted her hands on her hips and glared at her husband. “We’re going to fight about this later. You know that, right?”

  He cocked his head. “I would expect nothing less.”

  “It’s not going to be a pretty fight either.”

  His smirk was evident. “That will cause the making up to be all the sweeter.”

  A muscle worked in her jaw but I could tell she was trying not to laugh. “Is the Cauldron at least warded?” she asked.

  Rooster nodded. “It’s warded well. Nobody can get to her as long as she’s inside. That’s why we want to hole up there.”

  Zoe glanced at Sami. The girl’s look was dark, telling me she’d been listening to the entire conversation.

  As if reading her mind, Rooster stepped a little closer and offered up a placating smile. “Raisin will be there, too,” he volunteered. “She’s very good at playing pool. Maybe you guys can have a tournament with a few of the others or something.”