RoadBlock (4 page)

The next morning Dagger woke early, dressed comfortably, and made a larger pot of coffee than usual. He opened his front door to the screen  and put his radio on, so Cal and Bet would know he was awake and ready for them. They arrived soon after, and he made them a simple breakfast of toast and fried eggs. It was apparent to Dagger that Calderon was a little embarrassed about their kiss the night before- Cal had light skin, and when he blushed it was obvious. Dagger found it charming. Cal was physically so large and ‘tough’ looking, and was so clearly a very powerful and intelligent witch, that the notion of him being shy and reserved was adorable.

“So, I called my mom last night.”

Calderon and Betony looked up at Dagger expectantly. “And?”

“She said just what you said. She knew you’d come, and that we need to stay together. She actually told me we shouldn’t even be apart to run errands, or anything, until this blows over. She was vague as to what ‘this’ is, though. But she seemed nervous, worried about me. And she said the charm we found was to keep Calvin here as long as possible, so that you could move into his house and be near me. I think there was more to that story, but she wouldn’t tell me.”

“Hmm, there
must
be more. I hope, anyway. Otherwise the charm-maker gave her life for a real-estate deal.”

“Agreed. Any ideas, Cal?”

“No. Sorry. But we’ll figure it out. We need to stay close, though, that’s something I agree with your mom about. I think maybe we should all go into town and try to find Wade. Maybe we can ask him for help moving us in?”

“Oh, yeah, because that’s not weird at all.” Betony was shaking her head, still reluctant to accept the man her brother had said she needed in her life.

“Bet. I would never ask you to do anything you were uncomfortable with, you know that. This is something bigger than us, and I need you to be safe.
We need him
. I don’t know why yet, but please, you have to trust me.”

Her brother was worried. That alone struck fear into Betony’s chest, and she nodded her agreement. “Okay, lets go find him.”

It was remarkably easy to find Wade, as he was asleep on the front lawn of his cousin’s house, where he had apparently passed out after a night of drinking. Betony gave Calderon and Dagger
‘I told you so’
looks, and stalked off to sit in the car. The two men prodded Wade, but he was snoring loudly, drool leaking from the side of his mouth. Calderon took the opportunity to examine him in the light of day.

He was physically strong, very muscular. The hem of his t-shirt rode up a little, exposing a firm belly with very little fat, if any. His arms looked huge, but he was still wearing the leather bike jacket, so it was difficult to tell just how big they really were. His hips were fairly narrow, the old camouflage cargo pants he wore hugged his buttocks and strained over bulging thigh muscles. Dagger kicked him a little, and he grunted, sputtering and turning over. “Get up, man. Wade! Hey, get up.”

“Who’s that?” Wade squinted, blocking his eyes from the bright morning sun. “Holy Hades! Who the fuck just kicked me?”

“Sorry, Wade. Its me, Dag. I know it’s random, but I need you to get up. Can you heal yourself? Kill the hangover? We have some things to tell you.”

“Uughh. Shit, man, give me a minute.”

Dagger jogged to his car and grabbed a water bottle, feeling it. It wasn’t ice cold, but not warm yet either. He handed it over to Wade, who took it gratefully and immediately chugged half the contents. Wade closed his eyes and kneeled on the grass, and Cal watched in awe as a change swept over him. His skin cleared, his color improved, and when he opened his eyes he looked alert and focused. He stood and clasped Dagger’s shoulder.

“Hey, man. What’s all this about? You know this guy, too?” He gestured at Cal, and Dagger nodded.

“Yeah, he and his sister just moved in to Calvin’s old place. Are you busy today? We could use your help.”

“Uhh, no, I don’t think so. What day is it?”

“Sunday.” When Wade didn’t respond, Dagger added, “August seventh?”

“
Shit
. It’s not Lammas anymore?”

“No. Have you been drunk all week? Fuck, Wade.” Dagger shook his head and chanced a glance at the car where Betony sat, watching them all disgustedly. “All right, just come with us. You need to tell Evan you’re going?”

“Nah, he can call my cell.” As he said this, he patted his coat until he located the cell phone, took it out and frowned. “Battery’s dead. Charger’s in the bike, it’s cool.”

“Okay. Follow us?”

“Lead the way.”

They rode back along the cliff-road until they reached their little dead-end neighborhood, and Wade pulled his bike into the driveway next to Dagger’s car. They all went into Dagger’s house, and Wade found an outlet to plug in his phone in case his cousin called to check on him. “All right, what’s going on?”

Dagger explained everything as best he could, and Wade tried to concentrate on what he was hearing. Being close to Betony was messing with him, though. He didn’t know what it was about her, but the sight of her made him feel like he was a kid in school with his first crush. She was pretty enough, but there was something
more
to her, something that made his heart clench a little. Worse than that strange feeling was the fact  she clearly didn’t return his fascination.

“So, you’re saying I need to move in with you? And we have, like, some kind of unknown mission? And, this isn’t all some elaborate scheme to get me to sleep with you, right?” He asked with a little smirk.

“No, Wade,
come on
. I know it sounds crazy.”

“Okay, okay. I’m kidding. You ask your mom about this?”

“Yeah. She agrees.”

“Shit.”

“I know.”

Wade sat with his elbows on his knees and his head down, thinking. Then, abruptly, he threw his hands into the air. “All right, I’m in. Where do I sleep?”

Calderon and Dagger looked at each other, and Dagger wondered if they were both thinking the same thing. He’d be happiest if Wade stayed with Betony so Cal could sleep with him, but that wasn’t fair to Bet. She was struggling enough as it was. “You can stay here tonight.”

“Okay, cool. How long do you think this will go on? Should I go get some stuff?”

“I have no idea. We can go back to your place later and pick up your things, explain this all to Evan.”

“Okay. What now?”

“Feel like moving some furniture?”

With the three men working together on the larger items, and Betony keeping everything organized, the move went quickly. There were still unopened boxes stacked everywhere, but the house was livable by afternoon. The air mattresses in the bedrooms had been replaced with real beds, and the living room furniture was in place. All the dishes and glassware were put away and Bet had even hung a few pictures on the walls.

Calderon worked on setting up the entertainment center while Dagger set up the computer, which left Betony and Wade working together unpacking her herbs and jars, and placing things on the large bookshelves she used for her business supplies. Betony had watched Wade warily all day, and had gradually realized she may have judged him too harshly.
Maybe
. He was kind, and funny, and had jumped right in to help them without asking too many questions. Dagger liked him, and Calderon said he was sure about him, so perhaps Betony could try…a little.
Maybe
. And now that he was sober, Betony could see herself being attracted to him.
Maybe
. She watched him as he carefully placed her glass jars onto the shelves and smiled. He was nice. Not just maybe,
definitely
.

Wade felt Betony’s eyes on him and fought the urge to turn around and kiss her. He realized he’d made a bad first impression, and an even worse second impression. Now that he was sober, he remembered how he’d behaved outside the bar the other night when Calderon had introduced himself. He’d been loud, sloppily drunk, and had spent the entire conversation leering at Betony. And the way they’d found him this morning, sleeping on the front lawn, was pretty bad, even for him. He promised himself he’d go easy on the booze in front of her from now on. Hopefully, she would see past it and give him another chance.

“Well, that’s the last of it. Wow! I can’t believe how much we’ve done here today! I thought this would take half the week. Thank you so much for your help, Wade, it made a huge difference.”

“Hey, no problem. I know I sort of…made a bad impression. So I guess I’m trying to make up for it. How am I doing?”

Betony laughed. “You’re doing okay. Do you always drink a lot?”

Shit
. Wade had hoped she wouldn’t be so direct about that. Well, best to answer directly, then. “I drink too much, yes. It’s a problem. I’m not saying I’m an alcoholic, it’s just that with my skill I can clear the alcohol pretty quickly, and get rid of hangovers, and so…I guess I get a little carried away, when there’s no penalty, you know?”

“Hmm. Can you
not
drink?”

“Well... I’d prefer
to
drink, but I can try not drinking, if you want me to.”

Betony smiled, and it lit Wade up inside to see it. “Yes, I want you to try not drinking. You’re nicer not drunk.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

Wade had moved incrementally closer as they spoke, and they now stood toe-to-toe, the only thing between them a half-broken down cardboard box in Betony’s hands.

“How about you. Do you ever get drunk?”

“Sure, sometimes. Not for a week straight, though.”

“All right, I know. A week straight was a little much, even for me. How about this…I won’t get drunk again until you get drunk with me.”

“Good plan.”

They were close enough to kiss, but Betony seemed to realize that a moment before Wade could move in, and she pulled back. She was smiling, though, so Wade thought he’d done okay, after all. Dagger walked by them then, finished with the computer set-up. “Hey guys, all done?”

“Yeah! You?”

“Yup. I think Cal’s all set, too.” Dagger checked his watch. “How about dinner?”

“I’d like to go to the supermarket…stock up the fridge. Maybe you and Wade could go get his stuff while Cal and I go shopping?”

“Sure. Pick up something we can eat tonight while you’re there?”

“Absolutely.”

They met back at the house after they had finished their errands, Wade and Dagger arriving just after Cal and Bet. It had taken them almost an hour to explain everything to Wade’s cousin Evan, who still wasn’t convinced Calderon and Betony were real people and not a drunken invention of Wade’s, even with Dagger’s corroboration.

Betony was chopping a watermelon into cubes and piling them into a bowl while Calderon set the table. They had picked up several large pizzas on their way home, deciding they’d all worked enough for one day. They ate in near silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts, until Wade spoke up. “I think I know something about that charm you found here. I think I remember my mother talking about it.”

“What do you remember?” Dagger had been trying to remember back to that time as well.

“Well, my mom was really close to Melody, the charm-weaver, and I was young, but I remember them getting into a big fight. It stuck out because they never argued,
never
, and this was a huge thing between them. They didn’t speak for days, and my mom cried a lot. I was twelve. I remember asking my mom over and over what was wrong, what had happened, and she said that Auntie Mel was ‘doing something right but wrong’, and that she was afraid for her and angry about it. And I remember her saying that some charms should never be made, no matter what the reason.”

“Hmm, Anything else?”

Wade was quiet for a minute, then added, “Yeah.. There was a meeting of the coven that I didn’t go to, none of the kids went, and it was around the same time. I always thought it was about Melody and whatever she was doing. And then a few months later she died, and my mother yelled at Marcus, I remember she said the ‘price was too high’. After that my mom kind of fell away from the coven. She’s been a solitary ever since.”

“I remember that meeting, too. I wanted to go because I had a crush on Davis Jenner, and we used to make out after meetings when the grown-ups were drinking and talking around the bonfire. My parents said that it was a special meeting, and there wasn’t going to be a ceremony or a bonfire.”

“We should visit your mother, Wade,” Betony suggested.

Dagger and Wade turned to Calderon, and Betony smiled to see them relying on her brother’s foresight so quickly. That they trusted him already pleased her. Cal nodded in response. “Yes. I think that’s a good idea. There’s no reason we shouldn’t know what she knows.”

“Okay…I can call her right now. When can we all go?”

“I have to work tomorrow.” Dagger reminded them.

“Dagger. Is there any way you can take a vacation? Or work from home? I still feel we shouldn’t separate yet.” Calderon was nervous, and Betony and Wade looked at Dagger for his response, neither of them quite sure how seriously they should be taking all this yet.