The Sorceress Screams (28 page)

Though I
trusted Dr. Yates, I understood Jacqueline’s reluctance to put the people she
cared about in harm’s way. I let my eyelids slide shut, ignoring the shrill
notes of
Veronika’s
voice beyond the wall as I called
on Healing. This time I made sure my test subject felt the Healing link so
she’d know I’d done what she’d asked.

Her
circulatory system appeared in my mind’s eye. I asked Healing to show me the
foreign antibodies. None glimmered. I released the breath I’d been holding.

“You’re clean,
Jacqueline.” I opened my eyes and met hers. “You’re all clean.”

“Lord,
preserve me! Thank you.
Thank
you,
Kora
.”

I nodded while
releasing the Healing link to her. Her suitcases were already near the door so
I lifted one. I waited for her by the door.

“He’s a good
man.” Her attention was fixed on the wall—the wall her room shared with
Veronika’s
.

Did she mean
Desmond?

I didn’t want
to know if he was a good man or not. I liked the opinion I’d formed of him as a
self-serving dictator.

Jacqueline’s
eyebrows lifted in challenge.

I exhaled a
weary breath. “He did a good thing by helping you.”

“
Yes
,” she said with firm emphasis. “He
did.” Piece said, she took hold of her other suitcase and led the way out of
the room.

Desmond
appeared at the end of the corridor with empty hands. Irritation creased his
forehead perhaps because he’d noted the remaining luggage in front of
Veronika’s
door. Caesars’s Palace must have shipped her
things because plenty were left. The blonde’s head popped around the corner.
She reached an arm out, crooking her finger at him. Desmond glanced around her
to us, flushing pink.

“
Dessy
,” the young woman said. “What’s
wrong
with you?”

He said
nothing as he reached her. Dodging her grabby hand, he lifted up the final
three bags, shoving the two smaller beneath his armpits.
Veronika
hitched her hand onto her hip. Then she spotted us. Her pink-coated lips formed
a
moue
. With a huff much like Desmond would make, she
retreated into the room and let the door slam shut behind her.

“I’ll be right
out,” Desmond said for our benefit. He set two of the bags down so he could
lift the keys from his pocket. “Here are the keys.”

He threw them
at me rather than Jacqueline. I barely released the suitcase in time to catch
them. The warm metal of one of the keys dug into my palm where it had hit. I
bit my lip to keep from making noise.

Why had he
picked me? Jacqueline had the smaller rolling suitcase with the long handle.

He watched us rather
than move. Was he waiting for us to go before dealing with
Veronika
?

I clenched the
keys, gave him a swift nod in understanding, and then strode down the corridor
with Jacqueline trailing close behind.

Chapter Twenty

“I’ll take
care of it. You should go sit in the car.”

Desmond’s
mutter startled the divine out of me. I’d been studying the most efficient way
to fit the luggage into his trunk. He’d appeared from the hotel exit far
quicker than I’d anticipated.

Veronika
burst from the hotel in a
fit of pique. A pair of cosmetic bags hung from her thin arms.

“You’re making
a big mistake, Desmond,” she said as soon as we were within earshot.

He took my
forearm rather than reply. I shot him a confused look but didn’t fight his push
toward the front of the car. Desmond unlocked the passenger door, gesturing
that I should get in.

I shook my
head, arguing in a volume the others wouldn’t hear. “I was going to sit with
Jacqueline.” The Dark witch was already comfortably ensconced in his back seat.
I’d been counting on joining her.

That same pleading
droop entered his eyes. “Please.”

I glanced
ahead to where the trim blonde tapped her pricey suede pump. She wore a deep
purple summer dress with a wide bodice that barely covered her assets. Her pale
hair was perfectly straight, framing a classically beautiful face set in a
pout. The expression should have been unattractive but added to her appearance.
I would never look as good as she did even if I’d altered the pigment of my
hair to match and let it all grow out.

My gaze
switched to Desmond. His drooping expression had remained.

He didn’t want
her in the front seat? He was an idiot. I shrugged and got in the car anyway.
Later I’d tell him he’d just used up one of his favors.

The Water
priest let out a relieved sigh despite the outraged chirp across the parking
lot.
Veronika
stomped forward, hissing something the
BMW’s door muffled. He ignored her and returned to the trunk for the magic
trick of fitting all of her crap inside.

Veronika
complained and snapped while
Desmond ignored her. She shut up minutes later when he shoved two of the medium
sized bags at her and loudly said, “There’s no room for these. Hold them on
your lap or leave them behind.” He strode around the car to the tune of her
indignant stammering.

Neither
Jacqueline nor I said a word when he slipped into the vehicle with us. The
blonde struggled into the backseat with her bags. She made whimpering
complaints every other second but eventually got the door closed with
everything securely inside.

Desmond
immediately put the car in drive. “Put on your safety belt.”

Mine was
already on, so I assumed he’d meant it for
Veronika’s
benefit. It was kind of decent that he cared about her safety despite his clear
irritation.

“I don’t need
the police to stop us because you’re without.”

His proclamation
wiped away any warm feeling I’d had. I twisted so I could look out the
passenger window without seeing him in my peripheral vision.

Fifteen
minutes of
Veronika’s
peeved noises later we pulled
into a restaurant I’d have passed over for being too pricey. Rather than being
shown to the main dining room, the hostess took us to a private room toward the
back of the establishment. That’s when I grew as peeved as
Veronika
sounded.

Desmond was
still
unwilling to be seen in public
with me. Even though it was at his insistence I join them in Flagstaff this
morning and even though he’d taken responsibility for me in front of the
coalition, the dick refused to give anyone the opportunity to spot him with me.
I excused myself to the ladies room so I could steam in the privacy of one of
the stalls.

When I finally
forced myself back to the private room, the witches had drinks and impatient expressions.
Even Jacqueline’s twisted lips implied she was put out I’d made them wait so
long to order.

My irritation
was such that I was no longer hungry. Without looking at the menu, I asked for
toast and then I twisted in the chair so I could avoid my companions.

Veronika’s
pique kept her mute apart
from frequent miffed chirps. Desmond let out martyred sighs almost as often as
she had. Only Jacqueline and I were silent while we waited for our food. The
uncomfortable lack of conversation continued through to Desmond paying the
check.

I stuck close
by Jacqueline on the way to the car. And then despite the luggage taking up
space in the back seat, I slipped in beside her simply to avoid Desmond.

Veronika’s
eyes lit up in unearned
triumph. I didn’t care that she’d be comfortable in the front while I battled
her luggage. It was better than sitting beside Desmond Marino.

****

Furious
.
That’s what I was. Desmond had
neglected to tell me the airport the ladies had booked was in
Phoenix
. A two and a half hour drive in
the back of his BMW cramped between
Veronika’s
shoe
bags was not how I’d wanted to spend my day off. I stared daggers at the back
of his head when I wasn’t silently willing him to break the speed limit. He had
a BMW for Zeus’s sake. It could go faster!

Several times
Veronika
attempted to start an argument. Desmond didn’t
bite. I tried not to think about how he always seemed ready to fight with me.
But I couldn’t help it. Obviously he found me so distasteful he thought nothing
of jabbing at me. Sleek, fashionable
Veronika
, on the
other hand, deserved to be handled with kid gloves.

Rather than
drop the women at the front door, Desmond parked the car and went in search of
a luggage trolley for
Veronika’s
ridiculous number of
suitcases. Jacqueline and I decided not to wait for them. I carried Jacqueline’s
larger suitcase to the terminal because I’d gotten to it first. We stopped for
coffee after we’d checked her in at the ticket counter because there was no
sign of the Water witches. No doubt they were fighting at the car.

Desmond
appeared out the window in the distance, pushing a luggage cart.
Veronika
tugged on his arm. His shoulders shook in
frustration. And then Desmond finally snapped.

He pivoted on
his leather loafers, palms grasping the young woman’s forearms before she’d
recognized the danger. Only their profiles were visible from our vantage point.
Veronika
gazed up at him, mouth quivering as she
pled. Desmond’s glare had tightened each feature. His lips relaxed to speak
several words. She responded with a quick, eager plea she punctuated by rising
up onto the tips of her toes. Her face was inches from his—a kissing distance.

His lips
clearly formed the word “no”. A second later he added a string of words. He
turned his back on her, stalking into the terminal with the luggage trolley.
Veronika
stared after him, face set in a dismal expression.
What had he said to earn that response?

We gave them a
few minutes to find the ticket counter so we could finish our coffees. I
reluctantly followed Jacqueline to them. Desmond stood near the bank of windows
lining the front of the space. His arms clasped behind his back in a formidable
pose that echoed the thinned set of his lips.
Veronika
stood near the counter with her head held high.

The priest’s
attention snapped to us, softening slightly when he spotted Jacqueline beside
me. I was forced to join him because she had. We waited in silence until
Veronika
made her way through the crowd with only a purse
and one of her make-up bags on her arm.

Our quartet
started for the security checkpoint. We slowed at the line’s end. Jacqueline
offered me her hand. I gave her my warmest of smiles as I took it. Her small
fingers squeezed mine tightly.

“Thank you,
Kora
. You will be in my prayers,” she said in her soft way.

A few covens
prayed much as ordinary organized religions did. I’d also heard her exclaim to
the Christian God. Maybe she really would pray for me.

I nodded for
her all the same. “Be safe, Jacqueline.”
Hera,
watch over her
.

She withdrew
her hand, pushing it into her purse. When it emerged it held a small white
card. “Here’s my phone number. You call me anytime you need something from … someone
like me.”

I gave her a
genuine smile. “You already have my number. You do the same. Okay?”

Jacqueline
made a move to step away then thought better of it. She tossed a single arm
over my shoulder, tugging me close so she could whisper. “I’ll never forget what
you’ve done for me, weird ass white girl.”

A startled
laugh escaped me. She hurried away before anyone saw the moisture glistening in
her dark eyes. I drew in a steadying breath to keep from getting emotional. I
hadn’t spent long enough with her to miss her, but sometimes emotion like that
was contagious even without an empathic link.

I cleared my
throat and then noticed Desmond watching. My attention switched to
Veronika
. Predictably she stared at him. The longing set of
her features made her look vulnerable. I hoped to
Kore
Desmond hadn’t taken advantage of her infatuation only to break her heart. She
was annoying, but no one deserved that.

“You should
thank Ms. Walsh,” he said sharply.

Veronika
shot us a mutinous look. Her
cheeks colored a moment later.

“Thank you.”
Veronika’s
eyes held mine with the first sincere expression
I’d seen on her to date.
“
Really
.
I’d still be in Vegas, wrapped around that asshole’s finger if it weren’t for
you. If there’s anything my family or I can do for you, just contact us.”

She didn’t
hand me a business card so I wasn’t sure how I’d accomplish that, but I nodded.
“Take care of yourself.”

The blonde
pushed her blue gaze back onto Desmond. “Last chance,” she said with a breathy
delivery.