Mathilda, SuperWitch (Mathilda's Book of Shadows #1)(91)

“That’s what I like about you, girl, your honesty.”

“I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Let’s just say, you’re growing on me.”

“And how’s that?”

Her reply was so quiet, I barely heard her. “You’re trying to get my magic back, that’s how. I don’t have a lot of time left on this beautiful earth, girl. But I don’t want to die without my magic. They can have the sight, I never had much care for that, but I miss my power.”

Well, there you go.

* * * * *

The sky was clear, the moon shone brightly and Su and Viv were waiting for me in the wood.

“We’re coming,” Viv announced.

“This is mine to do. I need you two safe in case something happens to me,” I informed her.

The looks on their faces told me they were going to be stubborn.

“Don’t make me do this the hard way,” I warned.

“You watch too many movies,” Su said and while she was saying it, I whipped out my wand and zapped them.

They both fell to the ground, asleep.

Probably they didn’t see that coming.

I looked at them, laying peacefully on the forest floor and I stumbled to my tree.

“Take care of them,” I whispered to it, my hands and forehead pressed against the beloved bark.

I felt an answering jolt of power, nodded, swallowed the tears I wanted to shed for zapping my two siblings with a sleeping spell and what I had to do that night and off I went.

To Ladye Bay.

It took awhile for me to find my hiding spot but I did. I scratched the shit out of my arms on the brambles where I had to hide but I’d been halfway smart, that is smart enough to wear a pair of jeans so my legs were safe even if my arms weren’t.

I wasn’t comfortable, at all, but I sat there anyway and I waited.

Then I waited some more.

Then some more.

Then I realized that the vampire or warlock was yanking Fay’s faerie’s chain and it was time for me to go home.

You cannot know how relieved I was.

So relieved I almost cried.

Then, out of nowhere, BecBec appeared before me and before I could make a sound, she had her finger to her lips and she pointed to the steps that led to Ladye Bay.

I watched Ash and Aidan jog down the steps and walk through the rocks to the water’s edge. They didn’t speak and their body language was so stiff you could feel the animosity, even where I was, stuck in the bramble on the cliff face looking down on them.

BecBec was under bramble cover, just like me, but then she shot out, just a smidge, to draw my attention to something in the sky.

A bat.

Holy shit.

A bat.

Did I like bats?

No, I don’t think I did.

Ack!

Couldn’t bats see in the dark?

Could it see me?

Crap… why didn’t I bring my cloak?

And then… you will not believe… as it reached the bay, it dipped low, lower then right before my very eyes it turned into a man.

Poof! Just like that.

And not just any man.

Douglas Fucking Addison.

Holy shit.

Douglas Addison was a vampire.

Ohmygoddess.

And vampires were our allies.

Right?

Okay, okay, I could deal with this.

This was okay, this could even be good.

He walked up to Ash and shook his hand.

They knew each other.

Ash never let on.

Why wouldn’t Ash tell me?

Is this what he and Mom knew?

Ash gestured to Aidan and Douglas and Aidan did that man handshake, grab-the-upper-arm-comrade thing.

Aidan clearly was not surprised at the bat-into-man-vampire display.

He knew, too.

Why didn’t he tell me?

I could normally trust Aidan to tell me everything.

Well, eventually.

The three of them had their heads bowed, talking, looking around furtively.

What were they doing?

What were they saying?

About five minutes later, Aidan turned and left, jogging through the beach stones and up to the steps – somewhat in a hurry.

Ash and Addison remained.

Ten minutes passed, maybe fifteen. My legs were hurting from being in a weird position.

Douglas and Ash had a lot to talk about. Addison did a lot of gesturing; Ash did a lot of listening.

I tried to think of spells to allow me to hear their conversation without letting Ash into my head via our mind-meld and to keep my mind off my palms which were digging in the underbrush.

Then BecBec burrowed in the crook of my arm, hiding her faerie light.

And I saw the broomstick against moon.

It swooped down and landed.

No.

Yes.

There she was.

The warlock was right.

There was Agatha Darling with Jeremy on the back of her broomstick.

No, no, no.

Please no.

I blinked.

There she was.

I closed one eye and squinted with the other.

It was still her.

Damn.

She walked right up and kissed Addison’s cheek.

Jeremy shook his hand.

Then she kissed Ash’s cheek and Jeremy shook Ash’s hand.

No, no, no.

Please no.