Black Magic Rose (26 page)

Sofia’s shoulders slumped. Her three best girlfriends were off in the world doing their own things.
 

So far Sofia’d had no luck making friends at work. No surprise there. She always tried to remain professional, never cross the line, which meant no one ever relaxed around her. She was the person people liked as long as she did what they wanted, like interviews and hiring more warriors for their battle, but the moment she challenged or questioned she became Cader’s most hated.
 

She examined the extravagant arrangement. There had to be at least three dozen roses clustered together in a short, round crystal vase. Each flower was exquisite, absolutely perfect. She could barely distinguish where one ended and the next began.
 

No one had ever sent her flowers like this. Sure she’d received small arrangements, even a dozen roses once or twice, but nothing the likes of this.
 

She turned the arrangement to view it from all sides. Prisms of sunlight reflected off the crystal vase onto the wall. The vase alone must have cost a mint. She couldn’t even imagine what the roses cost.
 

An olive branch? Was Dragomir trying to win her over? Was this his attempt to show he cared?

Sofia bent to smell one and was mesmerized. The moment she touched it, it opened into full bloom. Petal after petal stretched wide and ended with a slight curl at the tip. Even wide open there were so many petals she couldn’t see the actual center of the flower. She touched another and another. Each one blossomed.
 

The ruby petals had the appearance of plush velvet. The ones closest to the heart of each flower grew redder and redder to a nearly black shade of crimson. They were fuller than the petals of any roses she’d ever seen. They weren’t paper-thin, like normal roses. They had body.

“These are gorgeous. So different. So plump.” She stroked a finger over a flower and as it spread wide its perfume puffed into the air. “Whoever took over Judy’s has an unbelievable gift with roses.”

The sweet fragrance permeated the room. They smelled delicious, edible even. She’d never enjoyed the scent of roses so much. She pressed her face into the bouquet and as each one opened soft petals tickled her skin.
 

She giggled. “Roses.”
 

“Are you all right?” Osgar swayed to the doorway, watching Sofia. He looked confused and trapped. His mouth hung open below furrowed brows, and it appeared he was trying to step in, but couldn’t get his foot across some invisible barrier.

“Yep.” Sofia nodded and shoved her nose into the heart of the bouquet. The sound of her loud inhale made her laugh. She tossed her head back, laughing so hard she didn’t make a sound. She dropped onto the floor and knelt beside the coffee table. Holding the vase with two hands, she buried her face into the flowers.
 

“You are not,” Osgar said.
 

“Uh-hun.” Sofia plucked a rose from the arrangement. “I want to eat this one.” She laughed. “It’s so beautiful. Do you see the red?” She held the flower toward Osgar. “Look at it.”
 

“I see it. What’s wrong with you?”
 

She lay back on the floor between the sofa and coffee table, holding the rose to her face. “I want to eat this flower.” She held it above her, twirling the stem between her thumb and forefinger. Thorns pricked her skin like tiny barbs.
 

“Don’t eat that.” Osgar stood on tiptoes to see her.
 

“I won’t.” Sofia bolted up, her eyebrows scrunched together.
What is wrong with me?
 
Her mind was foggy. It was the same feeling she’d had when she woke up from having her wisdom teeth pulled, like she was under some sort of heavy sedation.
 

She studied her fingers. Little red dots speckled her skin. “Why would I eat a rose?” She put the flower on the table and sucked her fingers.

“You wouldn’t. So don’t.” Osgar banged the door. “Come outside.”

The scent of roses swirled in the room so heavily she could see the path it took, winding around her, zigzagging back and forth between her and Osgar. When she studied the mist of rose essence, she realized it had formed a thin barrier between them. She’d have pointed it out, but the fragrance beckoned her to move closer to the source. She leaned into the flowers, inhaled and smiled. “These are so pretty. I can’t believe he sent me flowers.”

“Well, he did. Put that rose down and come out here. I’m getting tired of standing in the doorway.”
 

Sofia glanced up at Osgar, having to concentrate on his face to see him through the haze of rose fragrance. “I should do something nice for him.” She giggled and replaced the rose in the bouquet, fussing to make it fit perfectly with the others. “Osgar, I need your help.”
 

“With what?” He watched her jump up from the table and dash into the kitchen.
 

She grabbed some cookies and two bottles of soda. “You want a snack?” She held out the bag of double chocolate chip cookies and walked to the porch swing.
 

Osgar pulled the door shut behind her.
 

“Did you just lock that?” She asked.
 

He walked toward the bench. “Homemade?”
 

“Yup.” Sofia glanced at the door then back at Osgar.
 

He nodded and sat down.
 

“Soda?” Sofia sat in the corner of the bench. She smiled at the flowers through the picture window.
 

Osgar took the bottle and twisted the top off. “Lime? Wouldn’t have been my first choice.”
 

“It’s made down the road.” Sofia read the label. “You know the Gregsons over in Exeter own that tiny restaurant. They make this soda, too. It’s good.” She took a swig. She babbled on for another minute about Mr. Gregson’s mother owning the place and having the affair with Mr. Hanson and how everyone always wondered if Parker really was a Gregson because he looked so much like a Hanson.

The crisp autumn breeze blew. She inhaled. Cool, clean air filled her lungs. The October sun heated her skin. The fuzziness clouding her mind began to clear.
What the hell did I just say?
“I’m sorry Osgar. I didn’t mean to gossip like that.”
 

Osgar shook his head and gulped a couple mouthfuls. “This soda’s not bad. Still not my first choice.”
 

She sat quiet for a couple minutes almost afraid to open her mouth. Each time Osgar finished a cookie she’d offer him another.
 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to bribe me.” He looked down at her, a sly grin on his lips.
 

She shook her head. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know anything, if that’s what you want help with.”

She put her half-empty soda bottle on the porch and held open the bag of cookies. “You want another?”

“I’m good. Thanks.” He cocked his head to the side and watched her.
 

“What?”
 

“What are you up to?” He brushed crumbs off his shirt.
 

She smiled. “Nothing. Can’t we just sit outside together?”

“No. You’re giving off some sort of I-want-to-trick-Osgar-into-something vibe. Out with it. What do you want?” He turned sideways, bending his leg between them.
 

“It’s not that I want something. It’s just that I thought maybe you could show me some moves or teach me a little bit about fighting. That’s all. I don’t
want
anything.” Sofia shook her head and gazed at her roses.
 

Osgar squinted and nodded. “Let me get this straight. You want me to train you. After Dragomir already agreed to train you, you want me to take over. That’s what you’re getting at, isn’t it?”
 

She shook her head in an up and down, side-to-side sort of circle.
 

His eyebrows rose. “What does that mean?”
 

“Please? Just show me a few things. You wouldn’t have to take over. You’d just be preparing me for training with Dragomir.” She scooted closer. “So that I’m not unprepared. So I don’t get hurt.” Sofia smiled and glanced toward the window. The perfumed air practically formed a hand waving her back into the house. She walked to the window and stared at her flowers.
 

“You’d rather I get hurt than you.”

“What? No, of course not.” Sofia froze in her tracks, confused by what to do next. She wanted Osgar’s help, but she wanted her flowers, too.
 

The autumn breeze shifted. The scent of burning brush came to her, clearing away the scent of the roses. She shook her head to think more clearly. “Just show me a couple moves.”

She descended the stairs and walked several feet out to the yard.
 

“First, that’s Dragomir’s job on so many different levels. Second, what do you think, I’m going to demo and you’re going to instantly be prepared for battle?” He followed her off the porch.
 

She crouched in front of him like a wrestler waiting for her opponent to attack.

“You look ridiculous.”
 

She stood up and sighed.
 

He swept her feet out from under her and she landed on her back. “First—anticipate. Second—never take your eyes off your attacker. Third—always pay attention to what’s going on around you.” His voice came from behind the truck.
 

Sofia spun to face him in time to see him lunge for her and take her down to the ground in a rolling attack. They rolled some ten feet before he let her go to continue the momentum of rolling into the forest edge.
 

She bounced to her feet, not willing to admit he’d scared her or that she hadn’t been prepared. Was a window open? She’d have sworn she could still smell her roses. She shook off the thought of her flowers and concentrated on Osgar, waiting for his next move.
 

He circled Sofia, grinning like a wolf.
 

She turned with him, never taking her eyes off him. When he moved three steps forward, she scooted back five, ensuring a good measure of distance between them.
 

 
“You planning to take off running or you gonna stand and fight?” He shuffled a couple steps forward, his arms up and ready to grab her.
 

She wasn’t sure. She stepped back. Then she stepped forward and moved to the side. After that she stepped backward over a short hedge lining the driveway.
 

Osgar stopped moving. “You’re kidding me, right? This is how you fight? We’re not ballroom dancing.”
 

She peered at the picture window and was nearly entranced by the bouquet. “Do you smell the roses?”
 

“Forget those damn roses. You planning on offering flowers to an attacker? That’s not gonna save you in a fight.” Osgar’s voice held the sharp edge of annoyance.

Sofia focused on him. “I don’t really want to fight. I just want to escape.” Truer words were never spoken. Sofia wanted to escape her life, all of it. “Can you teach me to do that?”

“You want me to teach you to run away? You’re making me nuts.” Osgar scratched his head. “Dragomir was right. You need to learn to defend yourself. Running is not an option.”
 

He leaned over the hedge, picked Sofia up, and plopped her back in the grass. “Now, kick me.”
 

She stared at him. “Why?”

“Kick me.”

“No. Do you think I’m going to just walk up to people and kick them? Is that my defense?” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “That’s stupid.”

“Kick me.” This time he said the words through clenched teeth. “Now.”

She kicked him. In the shin and then backed up over the hedge.
 

He didn’t flinch. “You have got to be kidding. You didn’t even kick me in the nads. What is wrong with you?” He yanked her forward. “Stay in the arena. You step over those hedges one more time and you’re going to be digging them up and doing push-ups in their place. You got it?”

Sofia nodded, staring over her shoulder at the flowers in the window.
 

“You want to be trained. We’re going to train.” He turned her chin so they were face to face. “And if you look at those flowers once more, I’ll call Dragomir and tell him you’re so obsessed with his gift all you can do is ogle them. You’re like a teenage girl staring at her first valentine. Knock it off!” Osgar held his hand up by his head. “Kick my hand.”
 

“Too high,” she snapped.
 

“Now!”

She knew she’d never do it. She’d never in her life put her foot that high over her head.
 

Osgar glared. Sofia stepped forward and kicked up, missing his hand, and pulling her other leg out from under her. She landed on her ass.
 

“Again.”

She scrambled to her feet, set up, and missed again.

“Allow me to demonstrate. See the low branch?” Osgar pointed to a branch from the oak tree at the far end of the driveway, then he lunged forward and brought his foot up sideways to kick the branch. The tree creaked. “That’s what I want to see. Your foot up to the side, power through your legs. Let’s go.” His hand came up again.