Читать книгу Something Wicked - Julie Leto, Julie Leto - Страница 9

Six months later…

THERE WAS A TIME when sneaking off to a hotel room with Rick Fernandez had been Josie’s ultimate fantasy. She’d spent hours in bed at night, mulling over every detail, imagining every moment. She’d fill the luxury suite of a hotel overlooking Lake Michigan with candles of her own design—candles that would enhance their senses. The strawberries and chocolate she’d order from room service would burst with sweet silkiness in their mouths, a prelude to the sugared flavor of slow, intense kisses. The music she’d tune on the suite’s high-definition stereo would block out any sounds of the city below. She had even gone to Victoria’s Secret at Water Tower Place and imagined exactly which silk panty or satin bra would drive Rick utterly mad with desire.

Staring up at the dive motel on the dark edge of East Harlem in New York City, she wondered how her sexual fantasy had turned into such a nightmare.

Behind her, men in tattered clothes and smelling strongly of unwashed skin, car exhaust and cheap whiskey, accosted a pair of prostitutes tottering past on acrylic heels. The women ignored the catcalls, but gave Josie a disapproving once-over as they sidled by. Josie glanced down at her own attire—snug but comfortable jeans, twin tank tops and a sleek leather jacket that worked fine to ward off the occasional chill in the unusually warm February air. She was here for seduction, yes, but she was not competing with the area’s working girls. She was here for one man and one man only.

Rick.

She’d staked out the hotel earlier. After months of following his ghostlike trail, she’d spotted him just before dawn and had followed him here. One bribe later and she’d acquired the number to his hotel room. She had to hope and pray that while she’d formulated her plan, he hadn’t left. Holding tight to a can of pepper spray in her pocket, she slipped into the alley and, once certain no one was around, jimmied the side door so she could enter without alerting anyone in the lobby. In the minutes just before nightfall, the place was fairly deserted. The hookers hadn’t yet shown up with their johns and the drug addicts weren’t yet sober enough to go out to find their next fix.

But Rick was here. He had to be. She’d been searching for months, ever since he’d disappeared the night Lilith and Mac had been attacked by the mayor. She’d heard from him only once, in a note she’d found hidden in the cash register at her shop, telling her goodbye.

The fact that he thought she’d leave matters alone on account of the contents of one scribbled note verified how little he knew her. Something had happened that night—something neither Mac nor Lilith nor Regina, the Guardian of Witches who had approved Josie’s search, knew about. Something that had sent Rick deep underground.

She’d encouraged him to help Mac and Lilith that night. She couldn’t help bearing some of the responsibility for the aftermath. But that wasn’t why she was here. The drive to find Rick after he’d gone missing stemmed from emotions she’d never felt before. She believed in Fate. She ascribed to the whims of Destiny. And yes, she even had faith in love at first sight.

Though it wasn’t sight that had drawn her to Rick. She wouldn’t deny that he was one of the most handsome men she’d ever encountered, but it took more than a hot guy to turn Josie’s head. Rick had a presence that struck her deep within her soul, in the part of her that longed for someone both normal and extraordinary at the same time.

She’d found that with Rick, she was sure. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel the same or he never would have gone.

Still, his disappearance left too many questions for her to ignore. On the most basic level, she needed to discover where he was and why he’d put himself into the dangerous, gray and bloody area between the magical and the mundane worlds. But more deeply, she had to know if maybe, under other circumstances, their relationship might have worked out. Too bad she had no idea which question she’d tackle first.

She approached his room cautiously. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to find on the other side of the pocked and peeling door, but she was about certain there wouldn’t be a single scented candle or soft, romantic music. Not in this joint.

“Don’t go in there.”

Josie yanked her shaking hand away from the doorknob and spun, startled. Unable to move—to even gasp in surprise—she watched Regina St. Lyon emerge from the shadows. Relieved, Josie allowed herself a split second to breathe.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“So you’ve found him,” Regina said.

“Nice to see you, too,” Josie said with a forced smile. She’d hadn’t exactly been avoiding contact with the Guardian of Witches, but she wasn’t thrilled to see her, either. For the past six months, Rick had been causing a disruption in the division between the mundane and magical worlds. As Guardian, it was Regina’s responsibility to find and stop him. Fortunately for Josie, even Regina’s considerable magical prowess did not include the ability to find a nonmagical human who did not want to be found—not and leave him alive. So she’d recruited Josie, giving her six months to accomplish her goal before she took matters into her own hands.

Josie’s time was nearly up.

Regina gave a polite bow and grinned. The effect relaxed the deep furrow on her forehead. “You look well.”

“I was going for sexy,” she answered, tugging her tank tops down a bit lower.

Regina arched a brow. “You plan to seduce him into stopping his rampage?”

“Sounds like a win-win-win for all involved,” Josie said with a smile.

While Regina had a tendency to blow up things that annoyed her, Josie believed in a quieter form of magic, particularly since she had no real powers. What could be more peaceful than motivating a man to stop wreaking havoc in the magical world by distracting him with sex?

Regina’s smile, however, disappeared. She turned her hand palm up. A ball of pure electricity materialized just above her flesh, then spun. The color, deep purple to match her eyes, was entrancing, but Josie knew the sphere was deadly. She’d never seen Regina use her most formidable weapon, but she’d heard enough to know she couldn’t allow Regina and Rick to meet. Not until she’d convinced Rick to give up his apparent quest to destroy all the evil magical beings he could get his hands on.

Not that destroying evil was bad. When Regina had first come to her to solicit her help, Josie had wondered what the problem was. She knew that the Guardian had entire teams of witches training to do exactly what Rick was doing on his own. But he was getting sloppy and if he wasn’t stopped, he was going to expose the magical world to the mundane one. And that wouldn’t be good. The Salem witch trials might have happened a few centuries ago, but they were still incredibly fresh in the minds of anyone who practiced Wicca.

Protecting the secrecy of witches was Regina’s primary duty. She’d vowed to do whatever she had to in order to keep the magical and mundane worlds from intersecting in a violent way. But about Rick, she was wrong. Josie knew that once she caught up with him, he’d listen to reason. And to present her arguments, first she had to go inside his hotel room.

“I will help him,” Josie insisted.

“It’s too late,” Regina said, her generous lips bowed in a tragic frown.

“You said I had six months. That leaves me one more week.”

“I’m not talking about time, Josie. Rick has been dealing with demons too long. He cannot possibly be the same man you knew.”

“You don’t know that,” she argued.

“I know what he has done. His choices—”

“Have served your ultimate purpose. He’s destroying your enemies,” Josie insisted, hoping to buy a bit more time.

Regina arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her mouth still curved disapprovingly. “I cannot deny that Rick’s passion for killing demons has benefited the witching community, but increasingly—” she eyed the door Josie hoped Rick was still behind “—he’s becoming a danger to himself and the secrecy of our world. Look how long it has taken you to track him down. His crimes are coming to the attention of mundane law enforcement. Sooner or later, someone will connect him to us and I cannot allow Rick’s personal vendetta to expose my Wiccan sisters and brothers, magical or mundane. From this point, you should let us deal with him.”

Josie’s heart lurched. “What? Now that I led you to New York? To him? Besides, I thought I was one of us?”

Regina’s smile was only partly reassuring. “Mundane witches are the backbone of our community.”

“Then why didn’t I know you and the others existed until six months ago?”

“Because the knowledge often does more harm than good,” Regina insisted, her gaze slashing toward the door. “Look at Rick. Look at what he’s become.”

“I can’t,” Josie said, “you’re blocking my way.”

After a long pause, Regina stepped aside.

Josie had learned about sacred witches like Regina—those who possessed real, active powers—around the same time Rick had, but the idea that such magic existed still boggled her mind. Regina could materialize from nowhere. She had the ability to produce deadly bursts of energy from the palm of her hand. It had been hard enough for Josie to swallow the fact that Lilith St. Lyon, Josie’s best friend and Regina’s younger sister, was a powerful psychic who’d recently mastered the ability to project her thoughts into the minds of others. And there were other witches out there who could conjure items from nothing, stop time, create doppelgängers and hold sway over the dead. Certainly made Josie’s skills with aromatherapy, candles and, to some degree, potions, pale in comparison.

But no matter their magic, none of the witches could find a human who did not want to be found, particularly a former cop with impressive street smarts. Luckily for her, Josie had been raised on those same streets. Her mother, a longtime con, and her various “uncles” of dubious blood relation had taught her a few tricks of her own. Together with finely honed computer skills and the ability to persuade just about anyone to talk to her and give her information they didn’t want to share, Josie had finally tracked Rick down. She wasn’t going to turn around and hand him over to Regina without giving herself a shot at bringing him home.

“Thank you,” Josie said, placing herself firmly in front of Rick’s door. “I won’t let you down. I won’t let Rick down. I promise.”

Regina’s amethyst eyes narrowed. “This isn’t about you, Josie. This is about Rick. You may care about him deeply, even think you love him, but he’s descended to a place you might not be able to rescue him from.”

Josie lifted her chin defiantly. “I won’t accept that.”

Regina seemed neither surprised nor dismayed. “Then accept this.”

From her pocket, Regina removed a necklace—a green stone flecked with red and set within a gold, heart-shaped charm. She handed it to Josie, who gasped at the instant warmth of the gem against her palm.

“What is this?” she asked, shifting so the dim glow from the single working hallway light washed over the pendant. “A Valentine’s Day present?”

Regina snorted. “Guess again.”

She pushed aside her impatience to reach Rick and looked down at the necklace a second time, running her finger over the reddish-green stone. “Heliotrope?”

“Very good,” Regina complimented.

Josie might not be a sacred witch, but her knowledge of magical herbs and stones was unsurpassed—when she could clear her mind of worry over Rick long enough to think.

“It’s also known as bloodstone,” Regina went on. “A stone of this quality is very rare and very powerful. We use them for protection.”

Josie eyed the Guardian witch warily. “You didn’t add a touch of something else, did you?”

“Well, it is nearly Valentine’s Day,” she replied, a twinkle lightening her unusual eyes.

It was Josie’s time to laugh derisively through her nose. “Last time I checked, the cherub and chocolate holiday was not on the official Wiccan calendar,” Josie charged.

Regina grinned. “Not the official one, no. But St. Valentine’s feast day is tied to pagan fertility celebrations. And since I now know exactly what you’re planning to do to entice Rick back to Chicago…”

“I’m not planning on getting pregnant,” Josie reassured her. Quite certain her mother had never intended to be saddled with a child and knowing the aftermath of such carelessness, Josie had been practicing safe sex since she’d lost her virginity. Without exception. She’d use every weapon in her feminine arsenal to entice Rick home to Chicago, but she would never resort to involving an innocent baby.

“Good to hear,” Regina said, patting her hand. “But I didn’t think you’d go that far. I just know that Wiccan holiday or not, romance is in the air this time of year. Use it to your advantage.”

Josie laughed. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”

At one time, Josie had doubted she’d ever have even half the self-confidence of either Regina or Lilith. But since meeting Rick—and then losing him before they’d barely had a chance—Josie had tapped into a determination she hadn’t felt since she’d left her grifter mother and started her own life in Chicago. So far, the cockiness had served her well. It wasn’t magic that would save Rick. It was love.

She held out the necklace. “I don’t need amulets or charms. Rick will come back with me in spite of magic, not because of it.”

Regina crossed her arms, ignoring Josie’s offering. “You think so?”

Josie stepped closer and pushed out her words through a determined mouth. This wasn’t the time to show anything but strength. “I’m not your minion, Regina. I don’t have to do things your way.”

Regina eyed her keenly. “No, you don’t. I’m a Guardian, Josie, not a queen. It’s my job to protect and defend.”

Though Josie had practiced the craft as she’d been taught by her aunt and her grandmother—embracing the power of herbs, scents and stones because they connected her to the Goddess and to Mother Earth—she was just an ordinary woman. She had no real magic. No power beyond her own wits. And from the intense look in the Guardian’s eyes, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Josie swallowed thickly and placed the amulet around her neck.

“Rick is a mundane, like me. You’re part of the world I suspect he’s come to hate, for whatever reason.”

“You know the reason,” Regina insisted.

Josie shook her head. “Covering up for Mac and Lilith wasn’t enough to push him this far. There has to be something more. I’m going to find out what happened. And then, I’m going to bring him home.”

“What if you can’t?”

Josie sighed. She’d languished over this question every minute of every day since she’d set out to find Rick and stem the rampage he’d been on, hunting and killing the demons and warlocks better left to soldiers in Regina’s magical army.

“Lilith told me,” Josie admitted, hardly able to speak the psychic’s distressing premonition, “that I was the one who had to save him. Right after he disappeared, she tried using her psychic powers to find him and, instead, she saw me. She said if I didn’t succeed, he might kill someone who wasn’t supposed to die. And then he’d be lost. Forever. I can’t fail.”

Regina pursed her lips, clearly thinking over all Josie had said. “Lilith’s premonitions are terrifyingly accurate, but the future is never written in stone.”

She laid her hand on Josie’s shoulder, and then stepped back into the shadows. Her disembodied voice echoed through the dingy hallway and chased a shiver up Josie’s spine.

“You have one week. If you can’t stop him, we will.”