Chapter Seven

A fter hastily packing for both Des and me, I washed up and touched up my hair and makeup, vain though I was, even though a succubus was probably after me. I didn’t need the dark circles under my eyes announcing what I’d been doing all night. I bit my lip when I recalled what an amazing and attentive lover Ric had been, and how thoroughly satisfied he’d made me. What a shame it would be for an endangered mythical creature to hang for a crime he didn’t commit, especially considering his particular set of bedroom skills.

I walked back to Ric’s truck, not surprised to see Gladys watching my every move from her folding chair. After throwing our bags in the back, I climbed inside and started the truck, and that’s when I was hit by a wave of Ric’s cologne. I hadn’t noticed how strong it was before, probably because of the formaldehyde stench, but the heady scent punched me straight in the ovaries. He smelled so good. I couldn’t let him die, and that wasn’t just my vagina talking. Okay, maybe she was doing most of the talking. But her opinion mattered, too.

I drove to the bakery in a hurry, constantly checking my rearview mirror to make sure I wasn’t being followed. I inwardly swore when I saw the yellow tape across my entire storefront as well as a sign on the door that read ‘Closed by the Health Dept’ under the ordinary light of day, but a quick reveal spell and the sign said ‘Closed by the ASS.’ The American Supernatural Society really needed to come up with a better anacronym.

Ethyl was frantically pacing behind the bakery counter while chewing her nails to the quick. As soon as she saw me, she ran across the shop and flung herself into my arms.

I held her tight while she sobbed. Ethyl’s mother had also been killed by the same succubus that had killed my parents. At ten years my junior, she’d only been five when she’d lost her mother. The separation had been much harder for her. In fact, she’d been so distraught, I rarely had time to focus on my own grief. I was usually consoling her while we started life over in New Mexico. Perhaps the distraction had been a good thing, for dwelling too long on my parents’ deaths made my magic too volatile, and unpredictable, powerful magic wasn’t a good combination.

She finally pulled out of my embrace and blew her nose into a napkin. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

I clenched my fists by my sides, remembering the murder scene while thinking more and more that I had to get Des. I didn’t trust Colin to protect him should the succubus go after my son next. “I’ve been a little busy.”

She dabbed the corners of her eyes. “The succubus found you?”

I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”

She made a mousy squeak, clutching her pentagram charm. “Does it have anything to do with Gus shutting us down?”

“I think he’s connected to it.”

She began pacing the floor again, her feet lifting off the ground when her buzzing, rainbow-hued wings materialized. As a pixie, she was able to conceal her wings at will, the one part of her body that classified her as a mythical creature. Her wings usually came out when she was experiencing extreme emotions. “Why would they shut us down, and how do you know she’s found you?”

I let out a slow breath and braced myself for her reaction. “A succubus killed Lenny and framed Ric.”

Her high-pitched squeal was my only warning before she ‘poofed’ and miniaturized into a six-inch pixie, flying into the rafters.

I didn’t have time for this, so I summoned the Registry of Supernatural Creatures and Practical Witchcraft Guidebook . I didn’t wait for Alfred to wake as I tapped the leather-bound book with my wand. “Alfred, what Tribunal handles sphinx offenses?”

Alfred’s eyes flew open as he glared at me. But as our eyes locked, an understanding passed between us, and he flipped open, revealing the registry’s table of contents. “There are no living sphinxes in the registry.”

I eyed the book a long moment, knowing I’d have to get creative, since Ric was technically dead. “Where did they used to take sphinxes?”

“The only Tribunal that handled sphinxes and other large magical creatures was the Divinus de Magicus in Rome.”

“Rome?” I threw my hands in the air. “Merlin’s dirty butt plug!” I slammed the book shut, then apologized to Alfred before he faded beneath the leather.

Ethyl flew down from the rafters and transformed into her full size. “What’s happening?”

“We’re going to Rome,” I said to her.

She twisted the hem of her apron around her finger. “All of us?”

“We have no choice. We have to free Ric.” I grimaced, recalling what the ghosts had said. Free Ric. Somehow, he was the key to our safety. Why, I still wasn’t sure. Was it because succubi were afraid of sphinxes? If that was the case, he wouldn’t have had to fake his death and hide from the succubi.

My phone buzzed, and I checked the message from Des.

Come get me.

For a second, my heart stopped beating. Was he in trouble? I quickly fired off a text. Are you okay?

They’re yelling.

I gritted my teeth. I would pop those helium tits if they so much as raised their voices at my son. At you?

At each other.

I inwardly smiled. I couldn’t deny the satisfaction of knowing not all was sunshine and daisies in Homewrecker Barbie’s Dreamhouse. Okay, I texted back. Be right there.

Perfect. Now I wouldn’t need an excuse to get my son early. We could fly to Italy, free Ric, then defeat a succubus, and Colin wouldn’t be the wiser. Sad that he wouldn’t notice that his son would be chasing demons in another country. Three cheers for negligent fathers.

AFTER I PULLED INTO Colin’s drive, I hung my head with a groan. What was I doing chasing my lover into Europe? What if I couldn’t convince the Tribunal of his innocence? Or worse, what if the succubus followed us? What if this was all part of the demon’s plan, to send us scurrying like frightened mice, running from our hole and exposing our magic to the world?

I hurried up the stairs to Colin’s house and rang the doorbell that played a replica of Big Ben’s gong. Colin’s parents had picked out the ring, thinking it sounded high class. I thought it sounded tacky and didn’t fit the modern style of the home, but what did I know?

I heard footsteps echo on the other side of the door before Colin threw it open. His eye circles were worse than mine and his eyes were bloodshot from either crying or he had suddenly become allergic to silicone and Botox. I took a big step back, fanning the air when I was hit with the powerful smell of his antiseptic mouthwash. He’d used that prescription mouthwash when we’d first met, and only because his fraternity brothers had named him ‘shithole breath.’ Once we became a steady couple, he quit doing the mouthwash. I guess he felt he didn’t need to impress me anymore. He hadn’t used it again...until today. I wondered why. Had Homewrecker Barbie finally told him his breath smelled like a leaky colostomy bag full of troll shit? Perhaps that’s why they’d been fighting.

He gaped at me. “What are you doing here?”

I folded my arms, impatiently tapping my foot. “You look like shit, Colin. What’s going on?”

He shrugged then looked away. “Felicity and I had a fight.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Did Des see?”

He still couldn’t make eye contact. “Some of it.”

I clucked my tongue. “Just great.” I whipped out my phone and checked the text from Des telling me he’d be right down. I’d already texted him when I’d pulled into the drive.

“You’re taking him?”

“Yeah, I’m taking him.” I waved toward Colin as if I was shooing a stray gnome. “I don’t want him caught up in this.”

“You’re a good mother.”

I nearly choked on my own spit. “Thanks?”

Colin awkwardly toyed with the doorknob, running his thumb over the handle like he was trying to scrape off the paint. A shudder coursed through me when I remembered that thumb doing the same to me. He was never any good at foreplay. I could’ve painted a red X on my clit, and he still wouldn’t have found it. Ric, on the other hand. Sigh. I needed to break him out of jail.

“I should’ve been a better husband to you.”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

His bottom lip hung down in a pout. “I didn’t realize how good I had it with you.”

We seriously weren’t having this conversation now. I impatiently crossed my arms while trying to look over Colin’s shoulder. What was taking my son so long? “It’s much too late for regrets, Colin.”

“Do you have a new boyfriend?” He continued to thumb that doorknob like he was trying to give it an orgasm. I wondered how long before the doorknob yelled at him to stop and broke out a vibrator instead. “Des said you were going on a date.”

I worked hard to unclench my jaw. Why in Hades was he doing this now? “I don’t feel comfortable talking about my dating life with you.”

“A shifter.” He nodded to the right side of my neck. “Judging by the bite marks.”

“Merlin’s balls!” I slapped a hand over my neck and whispered a concealment spell. Why hadn’t I noticed when I was getting ready? Or better yet, why hadn’t Ethyl told me? She could spot a stray chin hair from a mile away, yet she let me go to Colin’s house with a bite mark on my neck?

“How serious is it?” Colin whined.

Ugh. Thank my lucky constellations Des took that moment to descend the stairs, his backpack slung across one shoulder, his mouth draped in a frown. “There he is!” I waved my arms excitedly while avoiding eye contact with Colin. “Hey, sweetie.” I pulled him to my side when he slipped beneath Colin’s raised arm. “You okay?”

He blinked at me. “I want to go home.”

I ruffled his mop of hair, thankful he didn’t swat me away. “We’re leaving, baby.” I took his hand in mine and turned my back on Colin, not bothering to say goodbye.

The prick. Of all the nerve. Cheats on me with a third-rate witch fifteen years his junior, and then has the nerve to ask about my dating life, to imply he regretted losing me. To what end? Did he expect me to take him back after twenty years of neglect, infidelity, and lackluster sex?

As if.

Especially not when I had a much better prospect than him—all I had to do was free him from prison.

I escorted Des to my new ride. Yeah, I was still driving Ric’s truck. It’s not like he was using it, and he had satellite radio. Plus, maybe I wanted to show up at my ex-husband’s house in another man’s truck. I had no idea Colin would be so clingy, though, or I would’ve taken my own car.

Des let out a low whistle and hopped inside as if he’d been riding in the truck his whole life. I turned on the truck with the remote, and Des started pressing the dash screen. He was probably finding his music station, Goddess help us.

At least the truck no longer smelled of formaldehyde. I had conjured the same buttery cinnamon and sugar scent spell I used outside my bakery to lure in customers. Forbidden magic? Maybe, but it certainly worked.

I had just hopped inside and put on my seatbelt when Colin rapped on the window. I refrained from rolling my eyes while cracking open the window, just enough for his antiseptic breath to fog my personal space.

“Nice truck,” he said.

I impatiently tapped the steering wheel. “Thanks.”

“Whose is it?”

I cut him a hard glare. “None of your business.”

He leaned against the door, his lip hanging low. “When will I see you again?”

That’s all he wanted? Not to say goodbye to his son. How had I stayed married to him for so long? Oh, yeah, he had money, which I thought meant security. Stupid me.

“I’ll call you later next week, but you’re not getting Des until you and Felicity work things out.” The perfect excuse for me to keep Des longer, should we need to remain in Italy. I blew out a breath, feeling sorry for my air particles that had to mingle with his. “I don’t want any fighting when Des is here.”

“I made a big mistake, Luce.” He pressed his fingers against the window like a kid looking into a candy store case. “A big mistake.”

Just great. Now his sausage fingerprints were all over the truck. “Yeah, you did.” I put the truck in reverse and looked over my shoulder while keeping my tone neutral. “You and Felicity should seek counseling.”

“I don’t think counseling will fix it.”

Ugh. I resisted the urge to run him over while slowly backing out. “Bye, Colin,” I said as I rolled up the window.

Colin stared after us, that annoying pouty look on his face as if he’d been forced to eat a troll shit sandwich.

Des heaved a sigh as we pulled into the road.

I parked beside the sidewalk and looked over at my son. “Are you okay?”

He fidgeted with his bubble stress ball, then looked at something out the front window. “I don’t like her.”

I followed his line of sight and was shocked to see Felicity staring at us from an upstairs window. A chill swept up my spine at the hardened look in her eyes. Gone was the ditzy blonde with the inflatable chest. In her place was a virulent witch who was probably hexing me with a flaming case of siren syphilis.

“Neither do I,” I mumbled. “Neither do I.”

AFTER ETHYL MADE US a pizza and I secured three plane tickets (thank the Goddess our passports were still good) we locked up the bakery with an ‘opening soon’ sign posted on the window. Hopefully, I’d still have customers when we returned.

Most witches preferred the human mode of travel by plane. Flying across the ocean by broomstick wasn’t advisable, and not just because it was cold enough to freeze our tits off. Keeping up an invisibility spell for that long was exhausting. I could probably make the journey by myself, but I wouldn’t subject Ethyl and Des to such a grueling trip.

So we settled for second class from New Mexico to New York, and New York to Germany, and finally Germany to Italy. Goddess grant me the patience to fly in a sardine can with a bunch of humans, two fidgety witches, and a stowaway, pooping pygmy dragon.

Did I mention Ethyl insisted on bringing Puffy along? Not a single striga among her long list of lovers was available to hatchling-sit. Not that she looked very hard. So she stowed him away in her carry-on, the same suitcase that conveniently carried the pastries we’d packed for our journey. So much for our mid-flight snacks. Like all mythical striga, Puffy had the power to turn invisible, which came like second nature whenever humans were around. He was content to lie low and eat every last pumpkin chocolate chip bar while leaving white dragon splatter all over the bottom of the bag. Too bad it wasn’t actually Ethyl’s carry-on, but mine. She had conveniently left all her overnight bags at various lovers’ houses.

Luckily, Des’s iPad and phone were fully charged, so he kept himself occupied during the flight. We had him up against the window so that strangers didn’t bother him. Ethyl was claustrophobic, so she got the aisle seat, leaving me smack in the middle while my companions took up both armrests. Oh, the joys of being me.

I tried to distract myself from worrying over Ric by reading that succubi book, but it was so droll that I kept zoning out every few paragraphs. I finally closed the book after three chapters. It was mostly folklore and there wasn’t anything I didn’t already know, so I occupied myself by watching replays of my video monitors from last night. The demon didn’t even come to my door. It had exited a compact car, the shadow from its hoodie hiding its face, and gone straight to Gladys’s house as if it knew exactly where to go. Only it didn’t, otherwise, it would’ve gone to my house. Right?

I was so confused, I was starting to second-guess myself. Maybe it wasn’t a succubus and the police were right, that it was a trick of the light. But, no, I’d seen an aura. And witches didn’t have red, glowing eyes. Only succubi, and only when looking at them from a certain angle. Just like in Gladys’s camera footage.

So what did the demon want with my nosey neighbor?

“Mama, why are we on a plane?”

I looked over at Des who had removed his headphones and was petting Puffy on his lap. To everyone else watching, it looked like my son was palming air. Though I couldn’t see Puffy, I could hear his low purrs as Des stroked him. Des claimed he could see the pygmy dragon, even when he was invisible.

Ethyl gently snored while curled up in her seat. In times like these, I was jealous of her small frame. Humans often mistook her for my teenage daughter or even Des’s twin. I clutched my lipstick wand and whispered a secrecy spell, securing the three of us and Puffy in an invisible cocoon that muted our voices to the humans sitting nearby, though they could still see us.

“Remember me telling you about the bad demon that killed Grandma and Grandpa?” I asked my son.

He blinked at me, his eyes wide and curious. “The succubus?”

“Yes.” I released a slow breath. “She found us, and I believe she framed Ric and will try to come after us if we don’t stop her.”

Recognition flashed in his eyes. “How do we stop her?”

We? I clutched my throat at the thought of my child going up against a succubus. My little boy sounded so mature, and my mother’s heart twisted as I realized he was growing up. He didn’t whine or complain that he was frightened. He wanted to help fight.

I squeezed his hand, pleased when he didn’t pull away. “We start by freeing Ric.”

He looked down at our joined hands then up at me. “He’ll protect me?”

My throat suddenly constricted, and I had to work hard to push out the words. “Yes, he will.”

“Okay.” Des shrugged and grabbed his headphones, indicating he was finished talking.

He made it sound so simple, didn’t he? Free Ric to stop the succubus. Sigh. If only it could be so easy.

I was about to pop our privacy bubble when Ethyl nudged my side.

“Well, how was your date?”

I looked down at her as she stretched like a cat and unfolded herself from her curled position. “It was nice.”

“Nice?” She paused mid-stretch to glare at me. “Just nice? You’ve got to give me more details than that.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling when I remembered all the wicked things Ric did to me last night. Oh, that purr! “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“Oh, come on.” She playfully swatted my arm. “I know you had a good time with that giant bite mark on your neck.”

“You saw it and didn’t tell me?” How dare she break the friend code. Friends don’t let friends leave the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to their shoes, they tell them when they have lipstick on their teeth, and they certainly alert them when they have big bite marks on their necks!

“Hell no.” She snort laughed. “I wanted Colin to see.” She sat up on her knees, clasping her hands in a prayer pose. “Please tell me he saw.”

Oh, she was wicked. I supposed she didn’t breach the friend code if making the douchebag ex jealous was part of the plan. I couldn’t hide my smile. “He did.”

“Excellent.” She rubbed her hands together like a maniacal villain. “Will you at least tell me what kind of shifter he is? I heard you tell Alfred he was a sphinx, but I thought they had gone extinct.”

I supposed his identity wouldn’t remain a secret now that he’d been arrested. Witchy gossip had a way of making it across all continents faster than an epidemic of pixie pox. I still looked over my shoulder as if the humans could hear through my secrecy spell. “That’s what I said, a sphinx.”

Her eyes practically bulged out of her head. “So he must be the last of his kind. Why isn’t he in the registry?”

I bit my lip and looked over my shoulder again. My paranoia was at an all-time high, but I couldn’t help it. The succubus could be anywhere, even on the plane. “He says he was hiding from a succubus who was hunting him. And I’m guessing she framed him, too,” I said in a hushed whisper, despite the secrecy spell.

She leaned toward me, an eager gleam in her eyes. “For what?”

“Murder,” I answered with a grimace. “He’s charged with Lenny’s death and another in 1945.” Though I didn’t know Ric that well, I knew he couldn’t have been a murderer. He was too sexy to be psycho.

“How old is he?” she asked.

“A little over a hundred years.” I held my breath, waiting for her judgment, but she didn’t seem fazed at all. I guess a sixty-year age gap wasn’t such a big deal in the magical world when we lived for centuries.

She scratched the back of her head, her little button nose crinkling. “So he faked his death to hide from a succubus?”

I shrugged, pretending as if our lives weren’t unraveling. “Something like that.”

“This is deep, Luci.” She frowned. “I don’t want to end up like our parents.”

I squeezed her hand as flames of rage raced through my veins. “Neither do I, but I don’t think we have a choice. We need to expose this succubus and destroy her once and for all.”

She arched a thin brow. “How do you plan on doing that?”

“I don’t know yet.” I shook my head. “I don’t even know what to get for dinner.”

She crooked a smile. “Don’t get the fish, or you’ll end up with Colin breath. Now where were we before we got distracted by your love bite?” She tucked her hand beneath her chin and batted her lashes. “How was your date?”

I averted my gaze while toying with the zipper on my jacket, a simple gray hoodie with the logo for the Fiery Dragons, Des’s favorite ruggel team, on the sleeve. “It was fine.”

She whipped out her lipstick wand, crinkling her eyes while aiming her wand at my forehead. “Luciella Lovella, if you don’t spill the beans right now I’m hitting you with a confession spell.”

“Don’t you ever point that wand at my head again.” I slapped her hand away before checking to make sure Des was engrossed in his game. I could hear the music coming from his headphones, so I knew he couldn’t hear us. “Fine,” I said on a heated whisper. “I spent the night with him.” I paused to bite my lip while reminiscing on my magical night in his arms while wishing we were back in his hot tub right now. I heaved a wistful sigh. “And it was ahhh-mazing.”

Her hands flew to her mouth, and she let out an excited squeal like Puffy whenever Ethyl offered him a slice of banana bread, his favorite treat. “Details, details!”

I melted into my seat while remembering every kiss, every touch, every thrust. If sex fueled magic, I’d have enough energy to light up the whole world. “He did things to me I didn’t even know were possible, and his stamina!”

She leaned toward me, that devilish gleam in her eyes. “Did he do the purr?”

I froze like a gnome caught in a trap. “You know about the purr?”

She slanted a smile. “I’ve had a few lion shifters.”

I felt as if I was liquefying from the inside out as I slumped further in my seat. Goddess, what I wouldn’t give to be able to straddle him right now as I recalled the scent of his heady pheromones. “I’d sell my soul to feel that purr again.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m sure there’s a few succubi who’d gladly take your soul.”

That was the splash of icy water my libido needed. I shot up, shooting her a glare. “Way to crap all over my happy cloud.”

“I’m sorry, Luci.” She squeezed my hand, a look of understanding flashing in her eyes. “We’re going to free him, you know?”

I swallowed as emotion clogged my throat. “How can you be sure?”

“He’s the last of his kind,” she said. “The Tribunal won’t want his race’s extinction on their conscience, and you know striga hierarchy usually favors mythical creatures.”

True. Mythical creatures were usually favored by the striga elites, and not just because of their rarity, but because of their strong magic. Most of them didn’t even need wands to strengthen their magic. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am. Don’t worry,” she said with a wink, exuding a strange confidence that I hadn’t seen from her before. “We’ll save him.”

Words couldn’t express my gratitude that I wasn’t doing this alone. Her confidence was infectious, for I was suddenly feeling better about our chances. All I had to do was convince a Tribunal of stuck-up witches that they had the wrong killer.