Still of Night (Thorne Hill 4)

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.