Spells (Bayou Magic 2)

“And you didn’t tell me.”

She rounds on me, and if I were a weaker man, I’d be damn scared. “Why would I tell you, Lucien? It wasn’t a detail that was released to the public, and it’s not like you and I are besties. What do you expect me to do, just call you up and be like, ‘Oh, hey, I know we don’t speak much, but get a load of this?’”

“Okay, fair point. So, tell me now.”

She sighs. “That’s really all I know. He left journals going back to when he was a teenager and first started to kill. We know he was fixated on us, and that he is most likely a psychopath.”

“And he’s very well-versed in dark magic,” I remind her.

“Was. He was. Lucien, he’s dead.”

“You and I both know that the physical body means nothing when a being possesses powers as strong as his,” I say, feeling the frustration building inside of me. “And if you think he’s finished, you’re wrong. Even Miss Sophia warned you that what we accomplished last year wasn’t permanent.”

Her lip trembles, and I feel it in my very soul. So, I reach out to her and take her hand, trying to ignore the flash of heat, the spark that ignites at the touch. “Let me help, darlin’.”

“To what end?” she whispers. “You want to talk about the dreams? Fine. In every single one, no matter what time period we’re in, we fail. I don’t know if they’re memories or a flash of what could be in the future. But every single time, it comes down to you and me, and we fucking fail, Lucien.”

“Because we have in the past.” She stiffens and tries to pull away, but I hold on tight. “You weren’t ready to accept what you saw in those dreams, Mill. I hate that you were afraid and that you didn’t have anyone to help you. To explain it to you.”

“We’ve done this before,” she whispers.

“Dozens of times,” I confirm. “And he defeats us every time. But not now.”

“Why is this different?”

“We’re stronger. We have additional knowledge on our side. And I’m damn pissed, Millicent.”

“But we don’t know that this is him. First of all, Horace kills women who look like us—like me, Daphne, and Brielle. Not men. It’s us sisters that he’s fixated on.”

“That’s true,” I concede. “This could have just been a sick asshole who tortured and killed that man. That case might be completely random. People are murdered in the Quarter every day.”

“Exactly.” She nods.

“But either way, we need to get ready. Because he won’t stay dormant forever. And whether it’s tonight or a year from now, we need to be prepared to deal with him again.”

“I’ve so enjoyed the quiet this past year,” she says and then turns sad eyes up to me. “What did we ever do to set all of this in motion? If it’s hundreds of year’s worth of a grudge, where does it come from?”

“That’s one thing I don’t know,” I admit. “But Miss Sophia might. Or she’ll know where we could look. I know you don’t like me much, but we’re going to be spending a bit of time together.”

She scowls. “I don’t dislike you.”

“You avoid me at every turn.”

She sighs and pulls out of my grasp. I let her go but feel the loss immediately.

“I’ve seen you since I was a child.” She glances my way again. “I even knew your name. It confused and scared the hell out of me. And then, when Miss Sophia invited me to the Samhain ritual when I was seventeen and I saw you standing in that circle under the moon…it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was terrified. I recognized you, and I didn’t know what to think.”

“Why didn’t you ask?” I brush a lock of her hair off her cheek.

“When it first started, I once tried to ask my mother about it, and she beat me with a wooden spoon until I had bloody welts on the backs of my legs.”

The rage I feel is swift and encompassing.

“So I’ve been careful with my questions. Until I met Miss Sophia, who is always happy to answer them.”

“I’m happy to answer them, too,” I reply softly. “Anytime.”

“Good. Because I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of them. But the first one is pretty simple.”

“Okay.”

“Do you feel like lasagna for dinner?”Chapter FourMillieLucien is sitting at my kitchen island, and I’m bustling about, making us both dinner. I never thought I’d see the day.

Also, the longer I’m near him, the more I feel the chemistry between us. I know we’ve known each other over the course of many lifetimes, but I wonder if we were lovers in those lives, as well?

If the way he looks at me is anything to go by, or how it feels when he touches me, I’d say it’s likely.