Charmed & Deadly (17 page)

Sweet, Texas
Friday
9 p.m.
Dead guys: 3 (But I only killed one)
Spells: 4

T
rust your instincts
. I keep telling myself that over and over so it will finally sink in. I knew the first time I met Dr. Zocando there was something wrong with the guy.

I wasn’t mistaken.

My last stroll on the sand was a bit more exciting than I’d planned.

A full moon hung above the dark water and the stars seemed even closer than they do in Sweet on a clear summer night. I’d walked halfway down the beach when I saw Azir standing behind a tree staring out onto the water. I almost turned to walk the other way, but he looked so sad and intense.

“There’s a corny saying about a penny for your thoughts. How much would yours be worth?” It seemed funny to offer pennies to one of the wealthiest guys in the world. Smiling, I moved beside him and turned toward the ocean.

He didn’t say anything at first. Leaning back against the palm tree, he stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m afraid my thoughts aren’t worth much.” There was a strange look in his eyes, almost like he was angry.

I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “I seriously doubt that, Azir. What has you, of all people, looking wistful tonight? Are you worried about the meetings tomorrow? Everyone here is on your side. It’s more about who will pony up the big bucks to help set up these programs.”

He grunted.

“What? Is there something you and the PM haven’t told me?” I cocked my head and stared at him.

“It’s nothing to do with work.” He turned to walk away.

I grabbed his arm and sparks sizzled in my hand. He tried to shake it off, but I held tight. I didn’t understand why he was acting this way. We’d had such a wonderful day.

“Azir, you know you can tell me anything.”

Using his other hand he pried my fingers from his arm. “No, Bronwyn. Not this time. I need to go.”

I knew something was really wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what had happened between dinner and now. The three of us—the PM, Azir, and myself—had talked and set up a plan to investigate Dr. Z. In hushed tones we discussed strategies about what we could do. Everything had ended on a positive note.

Now this.

Azir took a few steps away and turned. He shook his head in an exasperated way and waved his arm. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

There was a long pause. I’d taken a step back at the gruffness in his voice.

“In my country…men don’t discuss feelings or troubles. We do what must be done, and we move on.”

“That’s the way men are in every country, Azir. What feelings are you talking about? Did I say something to make you or the prime minister angry?”

He frowned. “No, it has nothing to do with you.”

I knew whatever it was weighed heavy on him. For once I kept my mouth shut and didn’t push.

“My mother—” he began the sentence, but stopped. “With my father’s death, my mother is now free to do as she pleases.”

“Is she okay?” I adored his mother and sister. They were head-strong, wonderful women.

He shrugged. “She is fine. She wishes to take a lover, or so my sister tells me.” He shook the cell phone in his hand. “Why do they insist on informing me of these things? I do not need to know.”

Suddenly it all clicked. Sherah must have just called him with the news. Azir had been incredibly loyal to his father, even when he thought the man might be trying to kill him. Turned out his dad was a really good guy.

But I could just imagine how Azir might see his mother wanting a new boyfriend as a bad thing. I wanted to point out that before he died, Azir’s father had been seeing another woman while still married to Azir’s mother, but this didn’t seem like the right time.

“Is there some kind of mourning period or something she has to go through before she can date?” I had no idea what kind of traditions he had in his religion. Back home, I have friends who started dating long before their divorces were final. And if there was a death, all bets were off. Mr. Mackey started dating Ms. Johnnie two
weeks
after his wife died, and no one said a word.

“She and my father were estranged, but she observed
iddah
, the four months and ten day mourning period that is our tradition.”

This time it was me who shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand why this upsets you. I mean, I do in general, but she’s a big girl and she should be able to move on with her life.”

“In my head I know what you say is true.” Azir pointed to his forehead. “But here”—he put a hand to his heart—“it is difficult for me to imagine my mother with someone new. Would it not bother you, if your mother began dating a new man?”

That made me think. “I see what you mean. Yes, it would bug me big-time.” I made a funny face. “Yuck, I totally get it.” The idea of my mom with someone else was downright repulsive.

He smiled. “You see, I can say nothing, but I don’t have to like it.”

Azir turned away for a second, as if he heard something in the dense jungle behind us.

There was a tiny whistling sound, and then he grabbed his neck and fell onto his side. As I was reaching down to check on him, I heard the sound again. Something stung my neck. I touched the point of entry.
Poison darts? Who knew?
I passed out.

When I woke up I was strapped to a hospital bed. Freaking out shot to the top of my list when I wiggled and discovered my legs had also been tied.

I like some pretty crazy stuff, but being strapped to a hospital bed is not on my fantasy list. The room was dark, and I couldn’t see anything. There was the smell of antiseptic.

Using my magic I concentrated on the straps. Nothing happened. Thinking maybe I was tired, I did it again. Zippo.

Great. Where the hell am I?
My powers had been bound by powerful magic. I tried to see the knots of a spell, but I couldn’t quite make it all out.

Crying was a valid option in that particular moment, but I made myself pull it together. I couldn’t be a baby, at least not then.
I can have a total nervous breakdown later
.

My brain hurt, but I pushed myself to remember what had happened. I’d been on the beach with Azir. We had had been talking about his troubles with his mother.

Azir had gone down and when I reached for him…
The dart in my neck—they’d poisoned us both!
I prayed he was still alive.

“Azir?” My throat was tight and I needed a drink of water.

Silence.

I tried again. “Azir?”

There was a groan to my left. No way to tell if it was male or female. I sent my mind out again to see if I could detect anything but all I saw was darkness.

I heard something creak and a light shone through the crack of the door, making me blink. Two figures came in and the room flooded with light.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them slowly. I was in a small, hospital-like room, only the walls were rock. I wasn’t sure but it looked like a cave, much like the rooms I’d seen in Africa when I’d found Sam and the children.

“I see the witch is awake. Good. We may proceed.” My eyes still wouldn’t focus, probably because of the drug on the dart, but I knew the voice.

Dr. Zocando.

A woman walked closer; she seemed familiar. It took me a minute, but I realized she looked exactly like the nurse I’d seen taking the blood from the children. I’d killed her. I’d been certain of it, and if I hadn’t, the blast from the explosion would have.

From the dour look on her face, she didn’t seem at all happy to see me. She held something in her right hand and rolled it toward the bed. Just as I realized it was an IV pole, she jammed a needle in my arm.

“Hey! What the hell?”

She sneered and put tape on my arm to hold the needle in place.

“You’ve met Melini. She wasn’t at all happy when you killed her sister.” Dr. Zocando came into view. “To answer your question: I am saving my country.”

The nurse pushed a button, and I looked down to see my blood shushing through the plastic tubing.

“I gave at the office.” I tried to keep my voice light. I didn’t want him to know I was scared crapless.

He
tsk
ed. I hate when people do that.

The fear was replaced by anger.

“Well, the least you could do before you kill me is explain to me how taking my blood will save your country.”

“Your blood has healing properties and is only part of an experiment. No, it’s your
powers
that will help me save Africa from the plague it suffers.”

Power vibrated in the room and for the first time I saw Dr. Zocando for what he really was. A warlock.

“How?”

He walked around to the other side of the bed. “How did I mask my powers from you?” Grinning, he waved his hand over himself. “Like this.” The energy dissipated from the room.

“I had to learn as a boy to hide my power from the elders in the village. There hadn’t been a warlock born there in hundreds of years. They were suspicious of me because I seemed to learn everything so much faster than the other children. In the end I had to kill them all. A pity. I loved my mother, but even
she
had begun to eye me with fear.

“Ah, but you do not need a history. You only want to know the future. You will die, witch. Once I have your powers for my own, I can do so much more. See, I only have the power to destroy, but you can heal.”

My mind whirled. I had to get the hell out of there and I didn’t have a clue how to do it. I looked to the left and saw Azir tied to the bed. He was asleep, but his face was contorted in pain.

“What have you done to him? You don’t need him. Let him go!”

Dr. Zocando gave me a fake frown and pursed his lips. “He’s only dreaming. I’ve made his worst fears a reality. He’s going to watch his family die over and over again. The stress of the constant fear will drive him mad.” Zocando said it in a singsong voice, like “whoop-de-doo, going to drive the Sheik crazy, it’s such a wonderful day. La-de-da.”

The cruelty ate at me.

“Too bad he was spending time with the wrong witch at the wrong time.” The doctor smiled, but it wasn’t a happy look.

I must have blanched.
Azir was here, and being tortured because of me
.

“None of that matters now, because you won’t be around to worry about it much longer.”

This insane creep’s babbling was getting on my nerves in a big way.

Think, Bronwyn
.

My mind was still heavy with the drug he’d given me and I was losing blood fast.

I’ve been in this position many times. There was Jason in college. But I’d also been attacked by a group of warlocks a few years ago. After they bound my powers, they tied me to a spit. Then there was…

Dr. Zocando was right. This was no time to think about the past. It only weakened me more. I wanted to see Sam again, and even my snotty cat, Casper. I wanted to eat Lulu’s fried chicken and throw a huge party for Margie and Billy.

I don’t know what happened, but I must have passed out again while thinking my happy thoughts. I drifted back to Sweet in search of Sam. I found him in his office. “Sam?”

He looked up. “Bronwyn? What’s wrong? You’re doing that fading thing again.”

I stared down at my hands and I could see right through them. That idiot Dr. Zocando hadn’t known about my newest power. Hell,
I
hadn’t known I could really send my form through astral projection until that night in the jungle. I’d been able to send my
image
for years, but not my body. It was such a dumb thing to forget. So much had happened since Africa, I hadn’t thought about it much.

“I need help. We’re in Fiji in a cave somewhere. Call the prime minister. Tell him Dr. Zocando also has Azir. I love you.” The effort to speak drained the last of my powers. “I’m dying, baby. I’m sorry. I love you so much.”

“No!” Sam jumped up from behind his desk and ran toward me, but I could feel myself pulling away. He disappeared. As I slid back into the blackness I wondered if Sam had really heard me or if it had all been a dream….

Sweet, Texas
Saturday
9 a.m.
Ready-to-go witches: 1

O
h, jeez. I did it again. I keep falling asleep in the middle of writing in my journal. It’s been a busy forty-eight hours.

The last thing I’d written was about seeing my hunky love.

Saying good-bye to Sam had been tough. I felt like I’d disappointed him, Garnout, Azir, and everyone else I cared about.

Something funny, a clicking sound in my head, made me think time really
was
up.

After that, well, quite honestly, I thought I was dead. I couldn’t really wrap my mind around anything. There was only darkness, but I was alert. Then there was this terrible pain in my chest and fire burned through my body.

Dr. Zocando stood over me with a large syringe. “You can’t die yet, witch. I’m not finished.”

The fire burned through my brain and every sense went on high alert. He must have shot me with adrenaline. My arms and legs twitched, needing to move.

I twisted my head around and saw Azir still tied to his bed. But I noticed a sliver of one brown eye just below his lashes. He was awake. I didn’t know if he could really see me, but I winked at him. Don’t ask me why. I just wasn’t ready to give up on either one of us.

The idiot doctor had given me a second chance and he didn’t even know it. Oh, my powers were still bound, but my mind was as clear as the ocean water Azir and I had gone snorkeling in earlier that day.

The crazed Dr. Zocando would try to take my powers, but I’d be ready for him.

The blood still flowed from my arm. I looked down at the tubing. “If you want to take my powers, you might want to think twice about draining me of all my blood. You can’t take something like that from a dead person.” I smirked.

The sudden attitude shocked him and he frowned. He pointed to my arm. “You were only supposed to take a pint!” He screamed at the nurse.

She hurriedly slipped the IV from my arm. She did it too fast and blood spurted up and landed on all three of us.

Something about the blood really sent him over the crazy cliff. “Idiot!” He barked. “She could be tainted!” Moving around to the other side of the bed, he grabbed her by the throat.

I should have been insulted that he thought I might have tainted blood, but I was enthralled by the drama playing out before me.

The fear in the nurse’s eyes almost made me feel sorry for her. Well, not really. Lifting her with one hand, he slammed her into the cave wall. I had to contort my neck to see what was going on, but it wasn’t pretty. Her eyes grew wider and then the life force slid out of her as he slammed her head into the wall again.

I turned back to see Azir was watching the whole thing. Dr. Zocando was too busy beating the crap out of the nurse to pay attention to either one of us.

“Can you move?” I mouthed the words.

He shook his head and showed me his restraints. Then he shut his eyes.

Dr. Zocando came back to the bed. “I detest ignorance. Her sister was equally stupid. I told her to kill the children once she’d taken their blood. Her ignorance killed her. Stupid women.”

Of course I wanted to say something snarky, but it wasn’t the time. I watched as he moved to a table near the wall. There was a crash cart and several trays of medical instruments. I had a feeling these were all considered torture toys to the doc? There was no telling what kind of evil experiments he’d carried out here.

The man had to be stopped.

This time, when he came over to the bed he had a spell book. He dribbled something on me that smelled like rubbing alcohol with a mustier scent.

“I’m happy to be rid of you. Once I’m finished here, I will destroy your brother. The both of you cost me millions when you shut down my diamond mine. And your brother has always meddled, getting in the way of my men, endearing himself to my people. The only reason I’d kept him alive was because your family or his friends always paid the ransom. But I don’t need their money anymore. I will enjoy killing him, almost as much as I will you. Time to die, witch.”

I snorted. “I swear. You guys are so predictable. Just once, I’d like to hear a warlock use an original phrase. You goin’ down bee-yatch.” I did my best impression of someone from the hood. It was horrible, but I didn’t imagine Dr. Zocando spent much time watching bad American movies with terrible stereotypes.

“Or maybe. Death be not…well, hell. I can’t remember, but it’s Shakespeare or one of those guys. It would still be better than ‘You will
die now
.’” I lowered my voice for that “Luke, I am your father” kind of drama.

There was a noise out in the hall and Dr. Zocando glanced at the door. He moved his hand and the bolt slid into place. “I must hurry.”

He began to chant and for a split-second I panicked. The power swirled around the room and I could feel mine building.

Someone banged on the door and Zocando faltered, turning toward the door. It only took that split-second for me to make my move. To take my powers he had to unbind them first. I used my mind to toss the book from his hands.

He was powerful so I had to move fast. I didn’t have time to pull through the restraints so I pointed a finger and whispered, “Burn, baby, burn.”

I sent the fire to his brain.

He screamed and grabbed his head. “No! No!” He kept hitting the top of his head like a manic monkey.

I sent a quick burn through the right wristband, and with one hand free I tossed everything I had at him. It was the combination of fire and force that slammed him into the cave wall. His eyes were wild and his screams bloodcurdling.

Then there was nothing left but a pile of ash.

“Die, warlock.” I spat out the sarcasm.

I heard Azir snicker behind me.

I laughed with him. “Well, I didn’t say
I
had to be original.”

There was a gunshot and the prime minister and Miles busted through the door both holding small pistols. They looked more like the Apple Dumpling Gang than Wyatt Earp, but I was so happy to see them.

“About time you guys showed up.” The PM rushed to the bed and undid the restraints on my feet while I let loose the one on my left wrist. “How did you know where we were?”

“Sam called Cole, and then they both called us. It was Cole’s team who helped us locate you.”

“Well, yay, team!” I scooted to the side of the bed.

Azir was released from his bindings and jumped up. We both stood at the same time. My legs were a bit more wobbly than his and he rushed over to help the PM keep me upright.

“Who’s the bloody pile of ashes?” Miles quipped. He now had on bright yellow Bermuda shorts, boat shoes, and a T-shirt that said, “You’ve been boned at Bones Bar.” The guy’s a total weirdo, but I was grateful he was there.

“Dr. Zocando.” Azir lifted my arm and wrapped it around him. “Our Bronwyn dispensed with him rather cleverly. She is an amazing woman.”

“I’m sorry, Prime Minister, but I really had no choice but to kill him.”

“That’s quite evident, my girl. Any idea what the bloke was up to?” he asked as we passed by the ashes.

“Well, he was a warlock.” I coughed a little. I needed a glass of water. “He used those poor children in Africa to try to come up with some kind of AIDS cure—the bastard. He thought if he mixed my blood with the children who had survived the disease that he would come up with some kind of vaccine. That, or if he had my power he could heal the country. He was friggin’ insane so it’s really hard to decipher his thought process. All I know is that he wanted me dead, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.”

We’d made it to the doorway. Miles still had his gun pointed. “Miles, put that thing down before you hurt someone,” I said.

“Like hell,” the snippy Brit shot back. “See that bloke?” He pointed to a dead guard in the hallway. “He tried to attack us. I’m not taking any chances.” He pulled the gun up in a stance that would make Clint Eastwood proud.

I laughed. “Are you telling me you shot a man to save me, Miles?”

He shrugged. “Not really. The prime minister killed him, but I was his backup.”

I paused and turned to the PM. My eyes watered. “Sir, thank you.”

He shook his head. “No need for that, my dear. You’ve saved us all more than once.”

We made it to a long stairway. “I’m good, guys. I can take it from here.”

Azir and the PM wouldn’t let go.

I was serious. I didn’t need the help, but I held on. It seemed to make them both feel better.

Once we made it up the hallway I had expected to be somewhere in the tropical forest, but we weren’t. We were inside Dr. Zocando’s house.

There was some commotion in the big room as we entered and we saw several people running toward us. The PM had sent word and these people were rushing to help. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. It was a mob and I pushed the PM and Azir behind me as I put up a shield.

“No, Bronwyn!” the prime minister yelled as he stumbled to the floor. “They are here to help.”

I immediately put my hand down and scrunched up my face. “Um. Oops. Sorry about that.”

Azir belly-laughed.

I shot him my most evil glare, but he only smiled wider.

I finally made it home on Thursday and Sam was waiting at the hangar with a bag filled with Lulu’s strawberry shortcake.

I love that man. We still couldn’t make love because my body is continuing to heal, but we did everything else we could. And we are a very creative couple. The weirdness that was there before I left is gone, and I’m not going to question where it went.

Time to get ready. We’re throwing a party at the new community center to celebrate Margie and Billy’s engagement. The whole town is invited. Kira and I are decorating and Ms. Helen and Ms. Johnnie are providing the “vittles,” as Ms. Johnnie calls them. She must be watching
The Beverly Hillbillies
on Nick at Nite again.

Anyhoo, I need to get my butt in gear and pick up the supplies from the Piggly Wiggly.

Well, hell. Someone is at the door. Who could that be?