Natural Witch (Magical Mayhem 1)

With a nod, he strode away, leaving us to ourselves.

My mother shook the pages she’d been reading, and I realized her eyes were glistening. “He was shot in the back by another Sheriff,” she said in a rough voice. “The other Sheriff tried to make it look like an accident. I remember him. Meuler. Your dad and Meuler hated each other. They were always at odds.” She shook her head, looking at the pages again. “I’d thought it was a larger conspiracy, like with Emery’s brother, but no, it was blind hatred. Meuler probably thought he could get away with it, so he went for it.”

“So they did investigate,” Emery said.

“Yes.” She shook the pages again, indicating that she was reading the file itself. “And they executed Meuler. Why didn’t they tell me?”

“The guild would keep something like that under wraps. They wouldn’t want it to give them a bad name.” Emery sighed. “It’s terrible, what happened.”

My mother nodded, flipping to the last page. “If I had known…I’m not sure I would’ve kept my daughter under lock and key. The guild did the right thing, in the end.”

“Then it’s a good thing you never found out,” Emery said.

My mother looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Yes. It certainly seems so. The guild was going in the same direction then as it is now. My husband saw it, even if his death didn’t prove it.”

“It did prove it, in a subtler way. There’s plenty of poison in the guild. Has been for a while.”

She took a big, shuddering breath. “I suppose you’re right.” She lowered the pages to her lap, looking at nothing for a second. “It feels good to know.”

“Closure,” Emery said. “I have yet to completely get mine.”

“Will you go after Nicholas now?” I asked quietly, my heart aching for my father. It didn’t feel like closure to me. The loss still felt raw, like a hole in my life, and knowing more about his death didn’t change that.

“No,” Emery said. “I want him to live for a while longer, knowing I’ll come for him eventually. I want him jumping at shadows. Seeing my face in passing strangers. Haunting his dreams. He deserves that, after all the people he’s hunted down in cold blood.”

I turned my lips downward, because that was intense, and let it go. Nicholas probably did deserve such a fate…and Emery probably wanted a break, knowing he’d finally gotten to the root of the problem.

“I need a bath, then sleep,” I said, struggling to get up. Emery stood quickly and helped me.

“Do not think, for one second, you will be sleeping in the same room, young lady. Not under my borrowed roof.” There were tears in her eyes from reading about my father, and still my mother was a ball buster.

I rolled my eyes and pulled Emery with me. I wasn’t too old to sneak around like a coward, and neither was Emery. Not when it concerned a woman who happily fired rounds into a group of evil mages.

“My life has taken a very strange turn,” I said as we walked down the hall.

He slipped his arm around my waist. “Can I speak to you for a second, Penny?”

Shivers washed over me. His tone was regretful and contained not one ounce of teasing.

“What’s up?” I asked, sitting on the bed.

He sat down next to me. “I was stalling earlier, when I asked you to stay alive. To not avenge my death. If we’d acted, either one of us, one or both of us would’ve died. I needed to give the vampires a chance to get in position. But your answer…” His thumb moved along the line of my lips, slowly back and forth. Pain blossomed in his eyes. “I just… You shouldn’t—” Frustration warred with sorrow in his expression. “I’m sorry. But I’m not the man for you. Not for you. You need someone with the world at his fingertips. Someone who’s not broken.”

“Emery, you don’t get to tell me what I need. I have my mother for that.” I smiled, reaching out to rest my palm on his chest. “I know that you are hurting, and you need to punish yourself for your brother a little more. So that’s fine. Do what you need to do. Then come back.”

The pain in his eyes increased. They dripped with it. That and regret. He shook his head slowly. “I have to leave. I don’t know if I’ll ever be back. Find someone else. Please.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I nodded for his benefit.

He kissed me, hard at first, his lips smashed into mine, but then pulling away slightly until the contact was soft and lingering. My heart ached. I knew he was saying goodbye. Knew that I had to let him. He was a man of the wind. A gypsy. I couldn’t make him stay if he didn’t want to. I just had to hope what I knew he felt in his heart ate away at him until he decided to end his suffering.

“Will you lie down with me until I fall asleep?” I asked.

“I am so glad I can see when death is coming,” he murmured, glancing at the closed door.

Chapter Forty-Two

When her breathing slowed to deep and even, Emery slid out from under her and cocooned her body in the covers the way she liked. He stared down at her for a long while, memorizing her beautiful face, playing through all her hilarious anecdotes and funny musings. Remembering the way she’d looked at him as she stood within that press of enemies and vowed not to let him die.

She was so much woman. Brave, strong, yet sweet. A breath of life. The very essence of nature.

He blew out a breath and turned, but it was impossible to walk away like this. He couldn’t do that to her.

Faltering, he found a piece of paper and scratched out a quick goodbye note. He wished he could do more.

He closed the door softly and turned, hiding his surprise when he saw Darius waiting down the hall. The vampire’s face was impassive, but his eyes were knowing.

“The most powerful of the spells that Penny and I did are still in our utility belts. They didn’t fit the situation.”

“Lucky for me.” Darius walked closer. “I assume you are headed out.”

“Yes. We’ll have to settle up for what we have. Or what I have. I’m not sure what she wants to do with hers.”

“She’ll give them to me and insist you get paid for it. Her mother will agree, because she doesn’t trust my kind. Would you like to go through the spells now, or…”

“No.” Emery looked in the direction of the door. “It’s best that I leave now.”

“You don’t have to. I can easily hide you, if that is your fear. You can help with Penny’s training, if you want. The dual-mages would take you in, or you could stay at any number of my properties. Your life a month ago doesn’t have to be your life tomorrow.”

Emery shook his head, the desire to give in and stay almost buckling him. But he had an obligation to his brother to fulfill, and he meant what he’d said to Penny. She was an angel. She deserved the absolute best, and in his absence, hopefully she’d find it.

The memory of her body pressed against his as she asked him to be her first burned through his brain. He bowed with regret, stabilizing himself with a hand on the wall. Refusing her had taken more strength than he’d known he possessed.

“I have the location of my brother’s death,” Emery said. “I need to visit the site and say goodbye properly. I need to apologize in person. Then I need to disappear.”

“Well.” Darius walked Emery toward the door. “Whenever you need money, you know where to come. I am most often in New Orleans of late. I have an interest there. Should you want to speak with me directly, that is the best place to find me. That is, of course, assuming you lose your phone.”

Not this time. Emery wouldn’t be losing this phone like he had lost all the others. He had Penny’s number stored in it. One day, if he could ever figure out how to change his stars, he’d contact her again. Just to see how her life was turning out. Just to hear her voice.

“Do me a favor,” Emery said, knowing he was putting himself at the debt of a vampire, a very bad place to be. For her, though, it was worth it. “Watch out for Penny. Keep an eye on her. Make sure she stays safe. I will exclusively sell magic to you if you agree.”