Chapter 15

The doorbell rang. ‘Mine!' I yelled as I ran to open it. ‘I'll get it.'

‘"Connor and Bunny, sitting in a tree,"' Sidnee sang. I ignored her, but she wasn't wrong: I would happily kiss that man anywhere. Even if the bark was scratchy, I'd still give it a go.

I flung open the door and there he stood. He'd made an effort. For once, he'd foregone his usual flannel shirt – and I missed it – in favour of a pale-blue one that matched his eyes. His black curls were perfect and he was clean-shaven.

I leapt into his arms and he caught me, a crooked smile curling those gorgeous lips. ‘Hey,' he breathed, and then he kissed me.

I melted into him and everything in me breathed. Tension drained out of my shoulders as the delicious scent of him surrounded me. This, right here, pressed up against this divine man, was my happy place.

Eventually I pulled away, but it took a supreme force of will. ‘You wanna have a quickie in a tree?' I asked when I had breath.

He threw back his head and laughed. When his guffaws had settled to chuckles he nodded. ‘Sure, I'm game. But maybe not now. I'm supposed to be meeting your mother properly, remember?'

I huffed. ‘I'm the one that needs you.'

His eyes softened. ‘Glad to hear it, doe, I need you too.' He pulled me in for a hug and I nestled happily in his arms.

‘Shall we run away?' I said into his neck.

His chest rumbled with suppressed laughter. ‘One day – but for now I can smell Sigrid's cooking and I'm starving. Come on, we'll face them together.'

I sighed. ‘Okay. Did I tell you Stan's here? Can you be on your best behaviour?'

Amusement danced in his eyes. ‘I'll play nice if he plays nice.' That was probably the best I could hope for.

I drew back from him to shut the door and spotted Lee Margrave camped out front in Connor's car. ‘Does Lee want to come in?'

‘Probably,' Connor said lightly. ‘But he's on bodyguard duty.'

‘Shouldn't he, you know, guard your body?'

‘I figured you'd do close detail and he could do the distance thing.'

‘Oh, I can definitely do close detail.' I gave him another soft brush of my lips.

‘Promises, promises,' he murmured. He laced our fingers and we walked into the dining room where everyone had gathered. Mum was chatting with Gunnar and Stan, and Sidnee shot me a knowing grin.

‘Oh good,' Sigrid smiled. ‘Connor's here! I'll grab the food. Everyone, seat yourselves.' She went out to the kitchen; moments later she returned with a platter holding a huge fish, a large bowl of rice and some mixed vegetables from her garden. Good basic food, but my mouth was already watering.

‘This is chinook, also known as king salmon,' she said as she laid it down.

‘I love how you cook fish.' Stan's eyes were already glued to it, waiting to dig in.

‘You have some drool here.' I pointed to the corner of his mouth.

‘Ha-ha.'

Sigrid served my mother first as she was the honoured guest, then it was a free for all. Mum kept shooting Connor covert glances that she thought I didn't see, but she was as obvious as a brick in the face. Now she knew he was royalty, she wanted a chance to apologise for thinking he was her bellboy.

Stan told good-natured Bunny jokes and I only had to kick him once under the table. Conversation flowed easily and we soon made short work of the food. Finally Sigrid brought in a tray of hot drinks and plied us with tea and coffee. She handed my I Survived the Black Market mug to Stan, who took it with a chuckle. I guess she'd checked and determined it was curse free.

‘That was truly wonderful,' Mum enthused. ‘An absolute delight. Thank you so much, Sigrid.'

‘You're very welcome, Mrs Barrington.'

‘Please, do call me Victoria.'

Stan took a big sip of his coffee and had a small coughing fit, which progressed to a bigger coughing fit. ‘Okay?' I asked.

‘Went down the wrong pipe.' He smiled and took another sip – but then his eyes widened and he stared into the corner of the room. ‘Good gods!' he exclaimed suddenly, leaping up so quickly that his chair toppled over.

I followed his gaze but saw nothing. ‘Stan? What's wrong?' I asked.

He was sweating and panting. He raised a hand and pointed again to the corner. ‘The beast!' he shouted, then gave a horrific scream before he fell to the floor, his back arched and his mouth opened in a soundless scream.

‘He's been cursed!' Mum barked. ‘Everyone away from him while we determine the source.' And that was when Sigrid let out a blood-curdling scream, too. Her eyes were wide and her back was arched uncomfortably in her chair.

‘Sigrid!' Gunnar roared,

As he reached out to her, I slapped his hand down. ‘No touching!' He glared at me. ‘She's been cursed. The last thing we need is you being affected too. If you need to do something helpful, call the ambulance.'

I turned to Sidnee. ‘Can you contact Anissa?' She was trembling as she looked at Sigrid and Stan, but she pulled out her phone and started dialling her friend.

My eyes zeroed in on the mug from the black market. ‘Nobody touch the mug!' It was the only thing that Stan and Sigrid had both handled.

‘Sigrid said it was clear,' Gunnar said faintly.

‘Evidently not. Maybe the curse was hidden. Let's box it up – we can take it with us to the hospital. Anissa can verify if it's the cause.'

Mum's hands were out doing God-knows-what. ‘This curse is a strong one and it's incredibly malevolent.'

I nodded. ‘If we can get them to the hospital they can be put into stasis. We know what we have to do to break it, but we can't do anything without that damned plant.'

‘I can help,' Mum said firmly.

I looked at her. ‘Please.'

She stood over Sigrid, hands outstretched, and chanted low and rhythmically in Latin. It had been a while since I'd done high-school Latin but luckily my memory never let me down. She was chanting something like ‘Give my energy to them, keep them safe'.

As she put a protective, energising ward around Sigrid, my skin started to itch. She went to Stan and did the same. When she was done, she looked wrung out and ready to collapse. Connor carried a chair over to her and she sank gratefully into it. ‘I gave them some extra energy to help them fight the curse a little longer.' She sat back in the chair. ‘I'm not a curse breaker or maker, but it's something.'

‘Thanks, Mum,' I said, meaning it with all my heart.

‘While they're warded, they're safe to touch,' Mum promised.

Gunnar ran to Sigrid, picked her up and cradled her in his arms. ‘I'm here, baby.' He kissed her forehead.

Sidnee knelt beside Stan and wrapped an arm around his waist. ‘You'll be okay,' she whispered. ‘Come on, big bro, fight this shit.'

Outside, the screaming wail from the sirens told me the ambulances were here. Just in the nick of time.

We followed the ambulances to the hospital. Anissa was waiting when we arrived and she hurried over. She looked at both victims, her eyes glassy as her magic thrummed around us, then she nodded solemnly. ‘It is the same curse.'

Gunnar swore loudly. ‘The nightmare curse? They're both stuck in their nightmares?'

Anissa nodded. ‘I'm sorry. Yes.'

‘There's no runes painted on them.'

She grimaced. ‘Then the curse is even more potent. Hurry. Let's get them settled and in proper stasis.' She touched my mother's arm. ‘I don't know you but I can see your magic around them. You've really helped. Thank you.'

Mum smiled tightly. ‘You're quite welcome, I'm sure.'

‘I'm going to find the ingredients tomorrow,' I said firmly to Gunnar. ‘You stay here with Sig and Stan.'

‘I don't know what to do.' Gunnar's eyes were locked on Sigrid as she was hooked up to all manner of tubes.

‘Trust me to get it done.'

He turned to me. ‘I do.'

‘Then be with Sig. As soon as Thomas is here, we'll head out.'

Gunnar bundled me into his arms, gave me a quick kiss on the forehead then released me and hustled after his wife.

Anissa spoke up. ‘The elders are ready to use the ingredients as soon as you can get them. The sooner, the better.'

‘I'll get them ASAP. Thanks for doing this and for taking care of them.'

She smiled warmly then went after Sigrid and Stan.

‘Are you staying, Sidnee?' I asked.

She squared her shoulders. ‘No, I'm going with you.'

‘Okay, I'll drop you home.'

‘I mean to get the potion ingredients.'

‘It's outside the barrier,' I said incredulously. Sidnee had only recently decided she liked real police work and she'd been a bit timid about doing anything too wild; nothing was wilder than going beyond the barrier.

‘I know, but it's Sigrid and Stan. They're my only family, Bunny. I have to go.'

I understood exactly how she felt. ‘Okay. Let's go home and get some rest, because tomorrow we're going to go find the plants and save them all,' I vowed.

Connor had asked Lee to follow us to the hospital so we all climbed into his car. Lee dropped Sidnee home then drove us back to my house. I wasn't surprised when Connor followed me out of the car while Lee stayed outside. ‘Has he got a charm?' I asked.

‘Yeah, he has Juan's.' A small flash of grief passed across Connor's eyes.

‘I'll be heading to bed.' Mum was still swaying a little. ‘I need some rest.'

Connor offered her his elbow and walked her to her room; it was a mark of how tired she was that she simply patted his hand in thanks and didn't try to curtsey and call him ‘Your Majesty' or something embarrassing like that.

I rang April and updated her; she promised to hold the fort in our absence and I trusted her to do exactly that.

I had a hot shower to wash away the nightmare events of the evening – and then I started to cry at the thought of Stan and Sigrid trapped in their nightmares. Connor pulled back the shower curtain and pulled the sobbing mess that was me into his arms. ‘Your shirt!' I hiccupped between sobs. ‘You're getting it wet.'

‘I couldn't give less of a fuck,' he said pleasantly. ‘Come here.' He held me whilst I wept, and after I was done I felt better. Calmer. He helped dry me, then he undressed and slid into bed naked.

‘What if there's a fire and you need to run out?' I asked. ‘We can't have my mum seeing the goods!'

He grinned. ‘I'm happy to have them so named, but I promise she's already seen similar goods.' I glowered. He relented. ‘If there's a fire, I promise I'll grab some boxers.'

‘Okay, good.' I settled down against him.

He kissed my shoulder. ‘So,' he cleared his throat. ‘Now that Gunnar can't go, I'd like to come with you through the barrier.'

I hesitated; I didn't want him in danger's way but I also knew that he'd be an asset, not a liability. And this wasn't about me; it was about Sigrid, Stan and Fluffy. And yeah, Jeff. ‘Okay,' I agreed. ‘Thanks. Now can you do me a favour?'

‘Anything.'

‘Distract me.'

‘Your wish is my command,' he promised.