Charmed & Deadly (4 page)

“He stood there staring for a minute in disbelief. In that moment I saw him for the evil he really was, and it made me angry that I hadn’t noticed it before.

“The flames grew and triggered the fire alarms. At first I hadn’t realized where we were, but then it dawned on me: we were below the gym near the lockers in a storeroom. He rolled around on the ground trying to put out the flames, and I remember thinking I wished he would scream louder. He wasn’t hurting enough.

“The police and firefighters showed up in minutes. That was one of the great things about having them on campus. They took off the chains and wrapped me in blankets. Then the spook squad showed up and rolled Jason up in some bag. He was still alive but had burns over a good part of his body.

“I never had to see him again. I had forgotten about him until I felt his dark magic on that gunman’s clothes in Amsterdam.” I shook my head.

Kira and Margie both took one of my hands. “Tell us what we can do to help.” Kira squeezed my hand.

Margie’s hair swung as she nodded. “You know, Bronwyn, there’s not a woman in the world who hasn’t had to deal with a jerk or two in her life, but you sure do get more than your share. Hell, girl, you’ve got a homing device for assholes.”

That made me laugh.

“You know, you’re right, Margie. That’s why it’s good to have girlfriends like you. I think it’s time to leave this morbid subject behind and eat some enchiladas.”

We even broke out the tequila. I didn’t drink any. The sangria had been enough for me. The night wasn’t a total loss. Margie had finally had enough tequila to tell us she and Billy had been talking about marriage.

“So far he doesn’t seem real keen on the idea, but I don’t care.” Margie frowned, and pushed her straight auburn hair behind her ears. It was a new color, and I really liked it on her. “Well, I do care, but I’m trying so hard to act like I don’t.” She slapped a hand against her mouth as if she’d said too much.

Kira and I looked at each other over Margie’s head and smiled.

“You don’t worry about it.” Kira patted her arm. “These things usually work out the way they are supposed to.”

She was right. After Jason, I never thought I could care about another warlock, but I was wrong. Sam was the love of my life. A year ago I wouldn’t have ever believed that possible. Love’s funny like that. You never know when it’s going to slap you upside the head and invite itself in.

Sweet, Texas
Friday
Noon
Prozac-worthy witches: 1

I
really, really don’t like it when I feel this way. I woke up in a bit of a panic, but I don’t know why. Nervous, antsy, that skin-crawling, mind-niggling feeling that something wasn’t right washed over me.
Dread
. That’s the word I’m trying to think of and I hate it when that happens.

Immediately I sent my mind out to all the usual suspects: Sam, Kira, Caleb, the PM, all of them. Nothing. Everyone was fine.

Then my favorite demon-slaying best friend, Simone, called.

“What’s wrong?” I didn’t even give her a chance to say hello.

“Geez, Bron, take a Xanax.” Simone is never one to mince words.

“Sorry. I’ve got one of my icky feelings.” I apologized. “That always makes me a little crazy.”

She snorted. “Well, it’s not me. At least I hope not. I’m in San Fran tracking some idiot Chelon demons who have strayed a bit far from home.”

“What the hell’s a Chelon?” I know a lot of demons but hadn’t heard of those.

“Dumbshit horse-looking things. Used mostly for manual labor. Pulling semis out of the dirt, that sort of thing. They usually hang out in the Mojave so I’m up here trying to figure out who’s using them. Then I’ll kill them all.” The words were said so nonchalantly it made me laugh. Like she was doing laundry or something.

Simone is tall, dark, and exotic, and has a penchant for leather and slaying all things demonic. She’s been my friend since college and there are few people in the world I trust more than her, even though she once tried to get Sam into bed. Of course, it was all for the greater good, in her way of thinking. It was the only way she could tell if he was good enough for me. He turned her down flat, and now she thinks he’s the world’s greatest guy. That’s how Simone works.

“Do you need some help? Spells, potions, anything?” I found a ponytail holder and pulled my errant curls into it.

“No, I didn’t call for help. Just wanted to check and see how things were going.”

She never called for small talk. Great. She knew about Jason the nasty warlock. “Who told you?” I knew it was probably my mother. Peggy probably told Mom, who couldn’t wait to rally the troops. I know my mother is only trying to save me, but it drives me crazy when she goes behind my back like this.

There was a long pause. “I keep my sources confidential, you know that.” Simone laughed. “Is he out of spook prison? The asshole? Please say yes; then I can kill him.” Simone was one of the few people who knew most of the gory details about my past. Jason was just one of many idiots I’d had to deal with over the years.

“Get in line, chick. I should have done it years ago.” I grumbled.

“Any leads?” It sounded like she was moving clothes on a rack. I could hear the scraping sound of hangers against metal.

“Not yet. Cole’s on it. Are you shopping?”

She grunted. “Looking for new leather. Damn Blarth demon shredded my favorite jacket last night. Pissed me off so bad I left him in a pile of dust, and then hunted down his brothers.”

Gotta love her.

“You heading to New York in a couple of days?” Her question surprised me.

“Wasn’t planning on it, why?”

“Figured you’d be out there helping Garnout with the coven wars. In the last twenty-four hours things have gone bad fast. It’s going to be an all-out war in the next couple of days.”

This is why I never like it when I get that icky feeling. “I knew it was bad, but how did you hear about it?”

“Garnout called. When I finish up here I’m headed east to assist. Seems a flood of demons has hit town. Those bastards are drawn to evil and they are out of control.”

My favorite wizard called Simone before he called me?
That was so wrong.

“Bron?”

“I think I’ll take a Manhattan run tomorrow and see what’s up. Maybe do a little shopping. Maybe stop in to see why a stubborn wizard has asked everyone but me for help.”

Simone laughed. “Don’t get your panties in a knot, he thinks you have your hands full with this Jason problem. He just didn’t want to add to your troubles.”

Crap. I knew I should have told him about Jason. He’d found out from someone else and now he was trying to protect me. First my mother and now the wizard. Whatever.

“Can you meet me at the airport in Dallas tomorrow around noon? Then I can fly us both in.” I reached for my pilot’s log and made some notes.

“Hmmm. Depends on the numbers. If I find the Chelon nest tonight, we should be good to go.” In addition to being a kickass demon slayer, Simone is a brilliant statistician. She uses her awesome math skills to locate the demons and then obliterates them.

After we hung up, I packed. Kira was next on my list. I felt bad about missing her housewarming party, but when I called she said the event was on hold until Caleb made it back. I sent another protection spell to him, just in case he was in the middle of the trouble.

I e-mailed my mom and asked if she could stop calling my friends and telling them my business. I didn’t trust myself to use the phone—my anger was still too close.

I loaded two bags full of potions, and then wondered if I should go on ahead and fly up right away.

I decided to meditate and gather my strength. I’ve learned in the past few months to store it like tiny boxes on a shelf I can pull out whenever I need. I still get drained when I’m in the middle of something big, but not like I used to. I’m also learning how to draw power even faster from what’s around me.

Hmmm. Yes. That’s the plan. Meditate. Then I’ll go to Manhattan and kick some warlock and witch ass. Now there’s a fun weekend for you.

Manhattan
Friday
8 p.m.
Dead guys: 2
Pumped witches with crazy demon-slaying friend: 1

Simone and I have taken over my parents’ prewar brownstone. Mom and Dad are traveling again, this time to Denver for another conference. We dumped our bags in the foyer and then headed to Garnout’s store, which is just a few blocks away.

While he wasn’t surprised to see Simone, he did raise an eyebrow when I walked in behind her.

“Hi.” I waved.

“Good evening, witch. And to what do I owe this honor?”

I smirked and crossed my arms.

“Oh.” He smiled at Simone. “It seems I’ve offended Bronwyn.”

Simone chuckled. “Yep. She’s jealous you called me.”

Laughing, he motioned us toward the counter. “Well, I’m glad you are
both
here. I have something interesting to show you.” He pointed at me. “I spoke with your reporter friend, Caleb, and he’s helped me make some notes on our situation. Bright young fellow.”

It was good Caleb had been an asset to the wizard. I wasn’t at all certain what Garnout would think of a reporter nosing into his business.

Garnout had several papers and magazines on the glass-and-wood countertop. “I’ve been tracking these corporate takeovers, and I think I’ve found a link. I was hoping, Simone, you could help with the numbers, before you hunt your demons.”

“They aren’t my demons, old man, but you know I love to crunch a number. Let’s see what you have here.”

She thumbed through the articles he’d torn out and looked at the chart he’d made. “Who owns Kelsen Enterprises? Ah. Well, what do you know? Nox Krasmirs. Never met a deal he couldn’t take advantage of, and you think he’s using magic to get insider info?”

Garnout nodded. “I know he is. His sister is in charge of the coven gathering the information. It’s illegal on many levels. But that isn’t the biggest problem.” He pulled out a notebook with several photographs pasted inside. “One of the other covens is competing with the Krasmirs. It’s escalated out of control. They’ve taken to the streets like an old-fashioned gang war. Absolutely ridiculous.”

I sat on a stool for a few minutes watching them work. Garnout was so cute trying to figure out corporate takeovers and making charts. I couldn’t stay miffed that he wanted to leave me out of the fun, to “protect” me.

He’s one of the most powerful wizards in the universe. He could just make everything right with a flip of the hand, but he wouldn’t. Well, not unless absolutely necessary. He believed in using magic as a last resort. The past few weeks had been rough on him, and the worry was heavy around his eyes. Keeping the magic in balance couldn’t have been easy with warring covens running around.

“So, what if we get the two heads of the covens together and just show them reason?” I picked up a small book about finance he had laying on the counter.

Garnout looked up from his paper. “Splendid idea, young witch, if they didn’t murder each other on sight.”

“No need to get snarky.” I shrugged.

An orb beside him began glowing red. “Oh, my. I believe we’re needed.” He touched Simone’s arm. “Do you mind coming with me?”

She smiled. “Are there demons involved?”

Garnout nodded. He threw a large ring of keys at me. “Be a dear and lock up, I’ll get the keys when I bring Simone home.”

And—
poof
—they were gone. I could grumble and whine, but there was no one there to listen. It’s not like I’m not one of the most powerful witches on the planet. My mom just said so the other day.

Okay, that was petty, but I don’t like being left out of the action. It isn’t fair.

I checked the back door and turned the light off in his office. There are so many cool things back there from orbs, otherworldly vessels, and a bunch of stuff I didn’t recognize. I didn’t want to snoop. Well, I did, but I wouldn’t.

It was early September and still warm in the city. On the way to my parents’ home I stopped by Fabrelli’s, a cool place for pizza, and brought the box home.

I’d just moved the three pieces I’d left for Simone on a plate into the fridge when the front door banged open.

Before I could send my mind to see who it was, Simone yelled. “Bronwyn!”

I ran.

There she stood covered in blood. That didn’t surprise me. The fact she had Garnout slung over her right shoulder did.

I’d never seen her look so worried.

She took a deep breath. “I think he’s dead.”

Saturday
9 p.m.
Witches on the edge: 1

G
arnout is alive, but just barely.

It took about five seconds for me to move through the shock, but then the take-control bitch inside me stopped by for a visit.

“Put him on the bed in here.” I threw open the door to my parents’ master suite. I ripped the comforter off the bed, less to save my mother’s misty blue and bronze Contessa bedding and more for Garnout’s comfort.

While she did what I asked, I grabbed my bags of potions and goodies.

“Tell me what happened.” I dumped the contents of two healing spells made of cedar, chamomile, angelica, St. John’s wort, and some rosemary oil down his throat. His body shuddered but his breathing wasn’t as shallow.

“When we left his shop he plopped us down in the front of Macy’s. Three Nork demons were terrorizing the customers in the store. They weren’t hurting anyone, just running around knocking things over. I had the three of them cornered—”

“Simone! Not you. What happened to Garnout? I need to know fast.”

She held up her hands in surrender. “I’m trying to tell you that I don’t know. I was busy gathering up demons. I heard Garnout talking to someone, but I didn’t see or hear whom it was. The next thing I know he’s on the ground. The last words he said were, ‘Tell witch Shadow learns.’ Then he passed out.”

“What does that mean?” I screamed at her, my fists tight by my side.

Simone shook her head. “I don’t know. It was almost like he was confused or something.”

He’d been spelled and it could take forever to figure out what someone had done.

Holding my hands over his body I sought out the spell, poison, or whatever the hell it was that had taken him down. I did feel a sense of confusion as I tried to enter his mind. His thoughts were so jumbled they made no sense.

The visions I see when I’m delving into minds are usually pictures. It’s not always a straight-on kind of thing. But this was different. Someone had screwed with his mind. All I saw were blasts of red and yellow. There were no voices, words, or pictures. His mind was like a Jackson Pollock painting on crack.

I sent another healing spell through his body, and then another for clarity. Nothing worked.

I didn’t find any poison, so it had to be a spell. Confusion mixed with something else, and it had to have come from a massively strong warlock or witch. No. If someone like that had done it I would be able to undo it.

Another wizard.
Holy crap
.

I lifted my hands and turned to Simone.

“Come here.”

I’ve never seen that particular look in her eyes. It was almost like fear. She must have thought I might hurt her. As if.

“I just want to take a look in your brain and rewind a bit. I might see something you wouldn’t be able to.” I could do it without touching her, but the vision would be clearer with contact.

I grabbed her wrist and focused.

Men and women were running out of Macy’s, their eyes wide with fear. Simone and Garnout pushed through the mob. The Nork demons, fuzzy, horned beasts with three eyes, ran around on the counters pushing displays of cosmetics and perfume over.

When the demons caught sight of Simone they paused. Everything seemed to happen at once. The three of them jumped toward her. She already had her trusty Bowie knife in her hand, and thrust upward into the jugular of the first demon to reach her. Another came at her from the side and she kicked a booted foot into his chest, sending him flying across the room.

I made myself step back from the action and I heard Garnout bellow, “You are not welcome here!” He was furious and his voice radiated power. Whatever it was, he was trying to vanquish it.

I didn’t hear a reply, but when Simone turned to fight the third demon I saw something. Garnout faced a shadowy figure, more like mist formed in an outline. Power radiated from it and Garnout held out a hand as if to block it. I understood why Simone didn’t see much. The demon she fought was a little smarter than the others. When she kicked, he moved to the left and ran for the escalator.

Sirens rang in the background. She jumped and caught the demon by the leg, sending them both into a tumble. His big paw slammed into her face, but her head didn’t even move. She felt the pain, but ignored it as she shoved the base of her hand into the middle of his three eyes. Her other hand used the knife to pierce his heart.

Leaping up, she turned, and that’s when she saw Garnout sprawled on the floor. His robe pooled around him in golden waves.

“Crap! Bronwyn’s going to kill me if the old man is dead.”
I heard her thoughts, but I also experienced the emotion. She cared for Garnout and she didn’t want him to die.

She scooped him up, not even bothering to check his vitals, and put him over her shoulder. Then she ran through the crowd and the twenty-five blocks it took to get here.

I let go of her wrist and hugged her. She didn’t return the embrace, keeping her hands at her side, but she didn’t push me away.

“I’m sorry.” I squeezed her tight.

She let me hold her a few seconds and then stepped back. “Stop with the mushy stuff and fix the old geezer.” Simone shook her head. “I thought you couldn’t kill a wizard.”

“You’re right. He’s not dead. He’s in suspended animation. What I can’t tell is if he put himself there or if someone did it to him. One thing I know for sure: the whole thing was a setup.

“Whoever brought those demons to Macy’s didn’t count on him bringing you. He wasn’t as distracted as they wanted, and I think he was able to block part of whatever was thrown at him. All I can find is a confusion spell, but I can’t undo it.”

I walked back over to check his pulse. It was low. If he were a regular guy I would know he was dying. But he wasn’t. Wizards weren’t made like the rest of us. Their basic physical makeup is the same, but they have to be able to jump back and forth between dimensions and do, well, all the cool stuff wizards do. Wizards have complete control over their bodies and can change them to adapt to any situation. They can shape-shift, turn into rocks or any other object, and teleport to different planes of existence in a matter of seconds.

I would have bet money he knew this was going to happen. Wizards are privy to upcoming events but they don’t necessarily know the end result. He could have at least given me some kind of heads-up.

A simple “Bronwyn, someone may put me down, perhaps you could help me out when that happens,” would have been nice.

Then it dawned on me. If I could rewind Simone’s brain, why not Garnout’s? He was confused now, but not when this all began.

I placed a hand on his white head, and closed my eyes.

Thoughts rushed through me in a swirling mass but everything moved too fast for me to see. I tried to slow it down, but it didn’t work. Other than flashes of color every now and then, I couldn’t make out a thing.

A searing pain burned into my brain. I knew I should let go, but I couldn’t. It was if I’d been attached to a big magnet, and pulling away was impossible.

“Stop it!” I heard Simone’s yell, but couldn’t respond.

A stabbing pain began in my shoulder. Someone had nearly pulled my arm out of its socket. The pain ended and I stared into Simone’s eyes. I must have had my evil eye on, because she blanched.

“Don’t you dare yell at me!” She shoved me into the chair in the corner. “You were in pain. I could see it on your face and then your color drained. Your lily white ass was getting paler by the minute.”

I took a deep breath.

“I’m not mad. I think you may have saved my life. What was that? I couldn’t let go.” My body ached like I had the flu and I was shaky with chills. “I need my bag.”

Simone brought it from the bed and sat it in my lap. I swallowed the new healing potion, the same kind I’d given Garnout. Almost instantly a surge of energy moved through my body, warming me.

Excellent.

I looked at Garnout. His skin had deepened in color. His breathing was stronger. Then it dawned on me. His body had been drawing power from
me
. I knew he hadn’t meant to hurt me; it was an automatic response. You can’t kill a wizard, but you can drain his power and leave him in a giant hole of nothingness.

That’s what had happened. The shadow, whatever it was, had drained most of his power. Garnout’s quick action in blocking whatever was thrown at him had allowed him to hold on to some of his life force.

I needed a way to give him power without killing myself.

Only I had to find a way to get rid of the confusion spell before that happened. Giving a confused wizard back his powers could be a very bad thing. Accidentally destroying the world: bad. Argh!

I ran for the door. “Stay with him and yell if anything changes. I need to make some phone calls.”

“Wait a minute. At least tell me what just happened,” Simone said.

I explained, and laughed as she backed away from the bed. “Simone, he can’t drain
your
powers. It was because I connected mentally. You don’t have to worry about it.”

She nodded. “Okay. I know you’re trying to save his life and all, but I could use a shower and some food. Um, you might want to change clothes, too.” She pointed to my T-shirt.

For the first time since she arrived with Garnout I took a real look at her. Demon goo was in her hair and she was covered in blood.

I glanced down at my shirt and rolled my eyes. I’m not sure, but I think a piece of demon brain was stuck to my chest. Lovely.

“Okay. New plan. I’m going to grab a shirt and my cell phone and I’ll be back in a second.”

I ran upstairs to the room I used when I was here and grabbed a clean black T-shirt. I kind of wanted to jump in the shower, but there wasn’t time. It was just the tiniest bit of brain, but it still grossed me out. Running the taps, I wiped my chest with a wash-cloth. I threw the soiled shirt in the trash and put on the other one. I found my cell phone on the nightstand.

There was one person who could help me with all of this and actually do something about it.

I punched the number.

Cole answered. “Hey, Bronwyn, what’s up?”

“Where are you?”

“Virginia. Why?” I could hear the ding of a car door.

“I need you in New York now. Someone tried to take out Garnout. And he’s bad, Cole, really bad. They threw nasty crap at him, and I can’t fix him.” I was mad at myself because tears had started to fall. I didn’t give in, though. I pushed them away with my hand.

“I’ll be there in an hour.” He’d gone into Cop Cole mode, his voice serious. “Whatever is going on, we’ll get to the bottom of it. I promise.”

I made my way back downstairs to relieve Simone so she could shower.

“I called Cole and he’s on the way.”

She grunted. For some reason, she’d never liked him. It’s weird because Simone likes all men. I’d asked her once, and she told me she felt like she owed him something for saving my life, but I don’t think that’s it. Like I said, weird.

I realized I hadn’t left her much pizza, and I made a quick call to Fabrelli’s to order three more pies. She would eat a whole one on her own, and who knew if Cole had eaten yet.

I checked on Garnout and he was exactly as I’d left him. I straightened his robes around him and took off his boots. That’s when I noticed he had jeans on under the robes. I laughed. I had always thought of him as being so old-fashioned.

I’d known Garnout for more than six years and he was the one who had helped me get my career going. I owed him so much. I found a cashmere blanket in the closet and placed it over him. He probably didn’t feel heat or cold, but it seemed the right thing to do.

Simone had moved the big fluffy armchair from the corner over by the bed, and I sat down in it. There were a few more calls to make, but I needed a moment to think.

Garnout had said something about learning from the shadows. I’d ask Cole about it, because I honestly didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

I did know all of this had something to do with those stupid warring covens. I didn’t care what kind of business deals they were trying to wheel and deal. They’d screwed around with the wrong witch this time.

You can mess with me, but don’t dick with my friends. If you do, you die. Simple.