Still of Night, page 5
The dream makes no sense at first, but then when I think about it more, it seems almost biblical in a strange way. And it makes me wonder whatever happened to Chrissy. The man I thought was my father adopted the dog from a shelter as a PR stunt. Abby and I loved her. Scott teased the hell out of her.
And after the public lost interest, the dog was given to one of our staff members. A gardener, I think? I mostly remember hugging Abby as she cried. I was seven at the time, and it wasn’t long after that I was sold like a cow to slaughter. The dog was treated better than I was. I never thought about it like that until now.
I shake my head, knowing I’m getting off track. The ghost of Chrissy is fucked up in its own way, but seeing a hooded figure lead a lamb to a creature that came straight from Hell has to mean something, right?
Somehow, I manage to fall back asleep, not getting up again until after nine. I get up, get dressed, and go down into the kitchen for coffee and breakfast. It’s been a while since I’ve been home, and there are a few containers of leftovers in the fridge that are looking a little fuzzy. I spend about an hour cleaning and when I’m all caught up on housework, I change into my bikini and go outside to work on my tan.
About half an hour into lying out, my phone rings. It’s Abby, and I’m excited to share the news about my engagement with her.
“Hey, sis,” I answer. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” she replies. “I, uh, I need to tell you something.”
I can tell by her tone, something isn’t right. I sit up from the lounge chair I have in my front yard like a hillbilly. “What’s wrong?”
“When you were sick, I couldn’t get readings on your blood work. I sent samples to a friend who works in a private lab for further testing.”
A bad feeling forms in the pit of my stomach. “And?”
“She just called me to say she’s been trying for several days now to figure things out, but she can’t…because she knows the blood isn’t human.”
5
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, letting out a breath.
“I am so sorry, Cal,” Abby rushes out. “I didn’t know you weren’t quite human, and I thought if we could figure out what was wrong, we’d be able to treat what was making you sick.”
“It’s okay. You were trying to save my life. What exactly did she say?”
“There are components of your blood that are human—from your mom’s side—but there’s a bunch of other stuff she hasn’t seen. She wants to send it to a university for further testing.” Abby lets out a sigh. “She thinks she’s discovered something new.”
“Well, I suppose she has. Who else has tested angel blood?” I swing my legs over the lounge chair and stand, motioning for my familiars to follow me into the house.
“I am so, so sorry. I feel terrible, and if I could walk in there and swap out the samples, I would.”
“This won’t prove anything.” My heart starts to speed up and anxiety tingles through me. “And I don’t think she’ll jump to the conclusion that there are angels. Right?”
“I…I…” Abby starts. “Angels, no. But the medical community was really shaken when we realized vampires were real. I know I’m not alone in wondering what else is real too.”
My first thought is to call Tabatha, because if anyone can handle this situation, it’s her. But I can’t keep running to her for help. It’s one thing to repeatedly make stupid decisions on my part, but I can’t risk her.
“Where is my blood now?”
“From what it sounds like, she’s preparing to transport it so some pathology professor I’m not familiar with can take a look. I’m so sorry, Cal. I feel terrible.”
“Abby,” I press. “Stop being sorry. You did what you had to do to try and keep me alive. I’m not mad. And I’ll…I’ll handle it. I think I have an idea.”
“Good,” she says, letting out a sigh of relief. “How are things, by the way?”
“Actually, something happened last night that I was going to call you about later today.”
“What is it?”
“Lucas asked me to marry him.” I can’t keep the smile off my face, and I hold up my hand again, looking at the large diamonds sparkling in the sunlight. “And I said yes, of course.”
“Oh my god! Callie! Congrats!” Abby squeals. “Send me a picture of the ring right now!”
I pull the phone away from my ear, put the call on speaker, and take a picture of my ring to text to Abby.
“Holy shit, that thing is huge. And gorgeous. Lucas has good taste.”
“He does, mostly because he’s dating me,” I joke. “And he’s a little over the top with everything he does, but hey, anyone who says they don’t want a big flashy diamond is lying to themselves.”
“Probably,” she laughs. “I’m so happy for you. I mean, he’s a…a…”
“Vampire. You can say it, Abby. He’s not Bloody Mary. Saying what he is isn’t going to summon vamps to your yard.”
“I don’t want to sound harsh, but yeah, you’re well aware he’s a vampire. What I was going to say is, I can tell he makes you really happy, and it’s obvious he loves you very much. When we thought you were dying…it was killing him. And if you had died…” She trails off again. “I got the feeling he wouldn’t have willingly lived in a world without you.”
“I don’t think he would either,” I say, though her words are jarring. With everything else going on, I hadn’t thought about it until now. But I remember that brief moment where he held me, right before Michael showed up, when I thought he was going to turn me into a vampire before he let me die in his arms.
I can’t blame him. I’d do it too if the roles were reversed. But I don’t want to be a vampire. And now that we know I’m not totally human, attempting to turn me would probably just kill my human half and I wouldn’t be able to survive.
“Have you talked dates or anything yet?”
“Probably the week before Halloween, or if not, then early November. We’ll have to file our paperwork in Michigan, but for the ceremony and reception, I want something small. But very over-the-top elegant,” I laugh. “Since that’s only a few months away, I’ll probably just take what we can get. I do think I want the wedding here, in Thorne Hill.”
I feel a sudden tug on my heart. The great hall in the Academy has hosted a great many witch-weddings and is elegantly gothic and perfect for pretty much everyone in the coven.
Lucas can’t enter the Covenstead. He’d die if he tried. And even if he somehow did make it through the warding, there’d be dozens of witches and warlocks inside ready to kill him.
“I don’t really have a big guest list, and I think Eliza is the only person—er, vampire—Lucas cares about other than me. So we don’t need a crazy huge space.” I quickly try to add up who I’d even invite. I have my friends, Abby and her family, and then maybe Betty from work, though she’d be the only human there who doesn’t know I’m a witch. “But I do need to get a dress soon. Would you want to go shopping with me?”
“Yes! It will be so fun! Are there dress shops in Thorne Hill?”
“There’s one that sells mostly prom dresses, but I want to go to Chicago and go to one of those fancy stores that gives you Champagne while you shop.”
“Those are the best. Oh, I’m being paged. Talk soon?”
“Yes, I’ll call you about dress shopping.”
“Take care,” she says and then ends the call. I tip my head up to the sun, thinking on how to ruin the samples of blood. Since it’s my own, I’m connected to it. I look at my familiars. “You think it’ll work?”
They’re not sure, but they think it’s worth a try. Wiping sweat from between my breasts, I go inside. Lucas is still sleeping, so I close the bedroom door to try and keep from waking him.
Then I go back downstairs and gather what I need to cast the spell. “White or black?” I ask Pandora, holding up two candles.
“Red,” she says, shifting into shadow form. “For your blood.”
“Good thing I asked.” I put the black and white candles away and get out a red one instead. I grab oil, herbs, a canister of salt, an athame, and quartz crystals, put them all in a basket along with the candle, and go back into the kitchen.
I set everything on the table, run down into the basement to pull something to wear out of the dryer, and put on a black dress as I walk back up the wooden stairs. Back in the kitchen, I grind up herbs, mix them with the oil, and take my potion outside to use in my spell.
The first thing I do is cast a circle. Once the magical line has been drawn, I outline it with salt. Then I sit down, grounding myself for a minute before starting my spellcasting.
Arranging the crystals in a little circle in front of me, I pick up the bowl of ground-up herbs, invoking their powers. Then I add them to the oil and use it to anoint the candle. I set it down inside the little circle of crystals and pick up the athame.
I press the tip of the blade into the skin on my forearm, grimacing as I make a tiny cut. I watch the blood pool on my skin, waiting until there’s enough to carefully scrape up with the blade.
“Blood to blood, flame to flame,” I start chanting and bring the blade over the candle, dripping my blood onto the flame. “What you have is mine to claim. I take it back, drop to drop, and your interest in me will now stop.”
The flame shoots up, growing several inches taller than before. I close my eyes and envision the tubes filled with my blood. I see it boiling, getting so hot the little glass containers burst open. Setting the athame on the ground, I run my finger over the cut, then smear that blood on the candle. As it melts down, the spell will continue to work destroying my blood until it’s unusable for further research.
I circle my hand around the candle, creating a magical barrier to keep the wind from blowing out the flame. Grabbing the athame, I get up and go into the house. I’m starving, and my familiars are still waiting for me to cook for them.
“I need to go to the grocery store,” I say as I’m walking back into the house. Right as I get onto the first step of the back porch, I hear someone whisper my name. I whirl around, though it’s strange how I can tell that voice didn’t come from anywhere, but was inside my head.
“Did you hear something?” I ask just to be sure. None of my familiars did. I know better than to shake something like this off. I hold up my hands and add an extra protection spell to the circles I’ve previously laid around the house. Letting out a breath, I go inside and go right for the fridge.
“You’re bleeding.”
Lucas suddenly appears next to me, moving silently through the house.
“Bells,” I mutter. “You need to wear bells.”
Lucas grabs my arm and looks at the little cut. “You’re bleeding,” he repeats.
“It was intentional. Do you, uh, want to lick it? Is that gross? Like eating leftovers?” I shake my head at myself. I never thought I’d be having conversations like this.
“Why did you cut yourself?” Lucas wets a towel and wipes up the smeared blood.
“You know when I was dying and Abby was trying to run blood work to figure out what was wrong with me?”
“Yes.”
“She sent a few vials of my blood to a friend in a private lab to look at, and that friend just got back to her and told her she found properties in the blood that weren’t human.”
Lucas’s dark blue eyes widen. “What lab?”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“How?”
“I’m a witch, remember?” I hold up my hand, conjuring a string of blue magic. “I cast a spell to basically cause my blood in the vials to boil, ruining it for further testing.”
“Good.”
“I’m glad Abby found out and let me know before it became a bigger deal.” I shut the fridge. “I need to deep clean the kitchen and then go grocery shopping. Actually, I’m going shopping first. I’m hungry and bacon sounds really good.”
He pulls me into an embrace, burying his face against my neck to smell the sunlight on my skin.
“How did things go last night?” I ask him, hooking my arms around his neck.
“Good. I’ll be purchasing both properties.”
“And the diner?”
“You’ll be happy to know it is profitable, and with a few changes implemented, it will be even more so. I’ll keep it.”
I smile. “Yes! Free coffee and bacon for me! Though we need to talk about the coffee. It’s terrible and you cannot change it. The terrible coffee at Suzy’s is infamous and is what helps Curlew Café stay in business. Actually, a black coffee from Curlew sounds really good right now. I’m probably going to have to stop in and get one on my way to the grocery store.”
“Are you leaving soon?”
“Yeah. I’m hungry.”
“Should you take one of your familiars with you?”
“I can,” I reply. “Just to be safe.”
“Hey, Callie!” Stevie looks up from behind the counter. I just stepped into Curlew Café and the wonderful smell of coffee fills the air. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Yeah, I was out of town.” It was the lie we told for me being in Chicago, which I suppose really isn’t a lie at all. I was out of town. But instead of a vacation, I was there to avoid suspicion with the Grand Coven.
“Well, you look great. Some rest does you good.”
I smile. “Thanks.”
“The usual?”
“Yeah, and…” I look down at my phone, needing to read the rest of the order to her. “A white chocolate mocha, a large cold brew, and one caramel macchiato I texted Kristy on my way into town asking what she and the others who are working today want. Part of me misses the old days when it was just me, Kristy, and Betty at the store.
I didn’t know who I really was then. It was simpler.
But I also didn’t know Lucas.
I put in the drink order and sit at a nearby table, pulling out my phone. I’m in charge of Novel Ground’s social media account and I’ve been slacking terribly lately.
Though hunting demons, almost dying, and finding out I’m a Nephilim seems like as legit of an excuse as I can get.
Once the coffees are ready, I stage them all on the table along with a paperback that I had in my purse and take a few photos. I quickly put on a filter, write out a shitty caption, and throw it up on the store’s Instagram page. I’ll bring one of my familiars in with me soon. Everyone loves the photos of them I post.
Curlew is within walking distance from Novel Grounds, like most things are in downtown Thorne Hill. There’s a strong sense of community here, which is what draws so many people to this town, and the historic buildings downtown have been well maintained over the years.
“Hey,” I say to Betty, who’s sitting behind the counter, as soon as I walk into the store.
“Callie, hey!” She gets up and takes two of the coffees from my hands before I dropped them. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. How was your vacation? Wait, you’re not supposed to be back yet.”
I laugh. “It was a nice break, but we came back to check on the progress of our house.” It’s the first thing that comes to my mind, and isn’t really a lie. Lucas and I did come into town to look at the house.
“We?” She sets the coffees on the counter. “You mean your boyfriend, Lucas?”
“Yeah,” I say with a nod, and try to think back. She knows he’s a vampire, right? Fuck, my memory is shot with everything that’s happened. “Though he’s not my boyfriend anymore.” I set the other coffees down and hold up my hand.
“Oh my god!” Betty brings her hand to her mouth. “Congrats!”
The store is busy, and a line of customers forms all at once at the register. Betty ducks back behind the counter and I go through the store to find Kristy. I expect to find her in the back, but when I go into the storage room, a young redhead looks up, startled, instead.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to spook you,” I say.
“Can I help you?” she asks, getting up from the books she’s unpacking.
“Oh, right. We haven’t met yet. I’m Callie.” I offer a polite smile.
“Oh my goodness! I’m Danielle. It’s nice to finally meet you. Everyone talks about you, you know.”
“Good things?”
She holds her hand up and wiggles it in the air. “Eh, some good and some bad,” she jokes.
I laugh. “That sounds accurate at least.” I step into the back room, closing the door behind me. It bothers the shit out of me when customers come in here, looking for a book that’s not out on the shelf or something like that. “How are you liking it here?”
“It’s great! We’ve been really busy lately, which makes the time go by fast. And everyone is really nice.”
For the most part, everyone who comes in here is, thanks to the charms Kristy has tucked all around the store. “I’m glad to hear that. There’s coffee up front for you.”
“Thank you so much. Do you want me to pay you back?”
I wave my hand in the air, and my ring catches the light. I smile and hope that feeling never grows old when I see the big diamonds on my finger. “Nope. My treat. It was nice meeting you, officially.”
“You too.”
I duck out and find Kristy in the self-help section, looking for a certain book with a customer. I go back to the register and sip my own coffee while I wait for her.
“Have you started wedding planning yet?” Betty asks as she rings up Jackie Hills. She’s one of our regulars, coming in at least three times a month and always buys about a hundred dollars’ worth of books every time. We started our loyalty program because of her.
“Wedding planning?” Jackie digs her wallet out of her purse.
“Yes!” I beam and hold up my hand. “I got engaged last night.”
“Ohhh, congratulations, honey!”
“Thank you.” I’m still beaming.
“Who is it? Has it been that long since I’ve been in here? I don’t even remember you mentioning a boyfriend.”
“His name is Lucas, and we actually weren’t dating all that long before he asked.”
