Witch's Brew - Spellspinners 1 (Spellspinners of Melas County) (26 page)

Orchid ran up to the fence to join me. “Did you kill them?”

“No. They’re just asleep. Come on, the spell will only last 30 minutes.”

I pulled on my hood, and stretched the sleeves over my hands to cushion them from the iron spikes. Scrambling over the fence, I landed with a smooth thump on real-deal warlock academy grounds. Whoa.

Orchid easily followed, even more gracefully. “I hope you know what you’re doing, girl.”

Sucking in a cool breath, I took in the sight of the ominous mansion: gothic yet with sharp modern angles, the academy stretched out before me. Its glowing windows beckoned me toward it like a lighthouse.

“I hope so too,” I said, shivering from both the cool night air and the anticipation. He was here. I felt him.

Logan

Logan, Chance, and a bunch of the other guys were hanging out in the “game” room. “Game” because there was no big-screen TV, or stereo blasting the latest music, or even a pool table, like the ones he’d seen at human hangouts in downtown Melas. Instead, at the Warlock Academy, there were old-school board games: Battleship, chess, checkers.

The thing that made them unique was that the pieces were sort of alive.

Because of that, you didn’t need to play with another warlock—you just played with the game itself.

Logan was engaged in a serious round of chess when he felt an odd sensation. A pull. Similar to the one he had felt when he was surfing and was drawn into the Witch’s Brew, to that girl—well, that
witch
, Lily. The girl he kept trying to press into the back of his mind, filling it instead with methodical games like chess, to keep him in the moment completely. To keep his thoughts hidden.

He couldn’t believe it when he saw her sitting at the bar in the coffee house. The same girl he’d been thinking about nonstop since he saw her sleeping on the rock. Now, since their conversation, since he saw her enchanting cerulean eyes through their violet disguise; since he felt her heartbeat against his, and the soft velvet of her skin; heard the sound of her voice—he was utterly charmed by her, and mesmerized by the token he’d stolen from her: the amulet that complemented his own.

He kept it in his pocket; no other place was safe enough.

And now it was heating up in his pocket. He felt it burning the skin of his thigh. His amulet had burned Lily at the café… Was hers about to do the same to him?

“Logan, what are you doing, mate?” Jude said over his shoulder, as the chess game put Logan in check.

He cursed under his breath.

“Watch it eh?” Jude mock-chastised. Jude cussed like a freaking sailor. “And you were doing so well.”

“If you can do better, here,” Logan said, sliding the board in front of him. “Be my guest.”

“Where you going?” Chance said, looking up from his game of Battleship, where, on the other side, an invisible hand guided the blue and red pieces into the tiny ships and holes.

“I…thought I heard something. I’m going to go check it out.”

Chance looked at him, eyebrow raised.

Logan blew him off, not wanting him to follow. “Probably just the wind.”

Chance glanced out the wide, glass window to the trees in their yard. The air was completely still. Not even a rustling leaf. “Ah yes, that crazy wind,” he said.

Logan trusted that Chance wouldn’t follow him, but it was clear his friend understood: what Logan had heard was not the wind.

It was a witch.

Jude, thankfully, was already getting his ass kicked at chess, and the other boys were otherwise engaged in a game of Monopoly where the banker was more of a stingy miser than Jacob himself.

Logan quietly slipped out of the room, and ducked into the side wing of the house, where wide, French doors opened onto the patio. With its flat, white concrete, the patio resembled one a normal family might use to barbeque on.

He’d only been out here once.

Stealthily, he crept around the perimeter of the house, disarming every exterior light sensor with a quick spell. And then he smelled them.

Witches.

How could they think they could sneak onto warlock territory and remain undetected?

The smell of lilies and orchids was so intense, it was as if they were sprouting right there on his lawn. In reality, flowers were strictly forbidden to grow on the grounds. There was nothing Father despised more than the smell of fresh flowers.

He saw them before they saw him.

For a second he just watched them, all done up in spy garb: dressed in head to toe black. Lily looked adorable and sexy all at the same time, in her black tank top and tight black pants. Her wacky friend didn’t look so bad herself.

Why
did
the warlocks hate the witches so much? To Logan, they were utterly charming.

Especially now in this stealth mode. Looking for something.

Him, most likely. And the stolen amulet even likelier.

Ah, well, he could think of a lot of worse ways to spend an evening.

Lily

“HolySevenSistersthereheis.”

My words and breath caught in my throat.

He was leaning against the side of the house, dressed in black sweat pants and a tight black T-shirt that showed off his most excellent physique.

From this far away, even in the dark, I could see his eyes, so so blue, shining in our direction.

Looking right at me.

“Hey,” he said, sauntering toward us. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you ladies were trespassing on private property.”

Orchid reached into her pocket, scooped up something, and blew its contents into the wind. White grains of sand flickered through the night sky like miniature fireflies. “And I’d say you better give back what you stole from Lily if you’d like us to leave.”

“We assume you have my amulet and didn’t do something stupid like actually transform it into a shovel’s worth of sand.”

“Assumption correct,” he said.

He wasn’t denying it.

“So give it back to her,” Orchid said.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” she pressed.

“Because I still haven’t discovered the link between the two stones. And I need to do that. Excuse me, who are you?”

“I’m Orchid, Lily’s best friend. And protector.”

“I’m Logan.” He held out his hand to Orchid, but she ignored it.

“How can you find the link between them, when you only have one?” I asked, sticking to business.

“Excuse me?”

“Where is
your
amulet?”

“Right here,” he said, pointing to his chest.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to need a confirmation,” Orchid said.

“A what? Look, I…”

“Orchid, take it off of him.”

He stepped back, eyes narrowing. “My amulet doesn’t come off. I’ve worn it since I was a kid.”

Orchid stepped forward.

“Hey. Back off. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”

“We didn’t come for a fight.”

“Speak for yourself, Lil,” Orchid said.

The look in Logan’s eyes made Orchid retreat.

I closed my eyes, and mumbled a chant. The wind picked up, and I felt it lifting my hair around my face. When I opened my eyes, the warlock was standing there with wisps of black sand dusting his neck, clinging to the band of his t-shirt like volcanic ash.

“Black sand for dark magic. You like? Tit for tat and all that.”

“What the hell?” The black ash clung to his fingers. “Where is it then?”

“It’s not here,” I said.

His eyes flashed. He was not happy.

“Don’t worry, it’s somewhere safe. And I’ll give it back to you, once you’ve given mine back to me.”

His lip curled in a half-smile. “And why should I trust you?”

“Because we both want the same thing. I want my amulet back.”

“This is about something else, isn’t it, though? I mean, why would you steal my necklace?”

“Why’d you steal mine?”

One eyebrow rose, as his eyes ran down my body. Every inch of skin they grazed heated. I returned the torturous favor. When my eyes ran down his sinewy arms, dark ink snaked down them in ropes of Celtic knots. He tucked his hands into his pockets, quickly, trying to hide it.

“You don’t have to hide that. I already know what you are.”

But he wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was looking past me, over my shoulder at the sleeping dogs. His expression morphed from happy-curious to ticked off-curious.

“What did you do to my dogs?”

“She did it,” Orchid said, poking my shoulder.

“Orchid!”

I turned back to Logan, trying to explain that they were fine, but he was storming past me over to the sleeping beasts.

“Poor Kujo,” he said. Kneeling beside the first one, he stroked the fur on his head and neck affectionately. “I assume, for your sake, he’s just asleep?”

“Of course! I would never hurt them. She tried to, though,” I narced on Orchid.

She shrugged. “Those monsters would’ve eaten us alive. I did what I had to.”

“They are trained to swallow anything that smells even remotely like a walking flower shop, whole.”

“Oh please,” Orchid said with an eye roll

“Of course. You do know where you are.”

“So where is everyone else?” I interjected. “I thought this place would be crawling with skeleton soldiers and dragons, and your wicked master. Where is he, anyway?”

“The skeleton soldiers have clocked out for the night, and the dragons are already asleep,” he said wryly. “And my master? Is away on business. If he was here, you and your friend there”—he gestured to Orchid—“would already be crushed into perfume.”

I wrinkled my nose. “That’s not a pleasant thought.”

“Maybe not for you,” he said, “but I could think of worse things.”

“I don’t even know how to take that.”

“Take that as a somewhat insinuating threat from a sometime thief?”

“Glad to hear you’re focusing your attentions solely on
part-time
thievery.”

He leaned back and laughed. He was so gorgeous, it was almost ridiculous. I wanted a rogue fan to try and do its worst, so I could end up in his arms again.

He looked away from me and stroked the dog’s head.

I felt bad.

Of course, that was probably his intention.

“Here, see?” I pressed Logan’s hand against the dog’s throat, gently, so he could feel its pulse. When our skin touched, heat and electricity throbbed between us like before.

“Damn,” he said, flinching back from the sleeping dog. He’d felt it, too. “Do that again, and he’ll be awake in no time.”

“Okay, I’m starting to feel like a third wheel here, so if you guys don’t mind…
You
! Give her the necklace back. And
you
. Stop flirting with him, and
make him give you your necklace back
!”

When neither of us moved, she rolled her eyes, “Fine. Whatever, Lily. I’ll meet you at the truck.”

Orchid started climbing the fence, but Logan yanked her back down with his mind. She fell in a heap on the grass, looking none too happy.

“What was that for?” She sprang up onto her feet, looking like she was about to pounce. Or at least die trying.

“You aren’t leaving until you wake my dogs up.”

“I didn’t do it. Lily did. She’s the one that has to wake them up.”

Logan looked back at me. “How long till the spell wears off?”

I glanced up at the moon. “Maybe twenty minutes or less.”

“And they will return absolutely back to normal.”

“Absolutely.” I nodded. “They might just feel a little hung over is all.”

He frowned at me, but I could tell what he really wanted to do was drag me into the bushes so we could be alone.

I wanted to do the same to him.

“Logan? You out here?” a deep voice called into the night.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“One of the guys.”

“Oh, crap,” I said.

“Uh, yeah, actually. You want your amulet back?”

“LOGAN?!” The same voice again.

Logan glanced at the house, and then back at me. “Come with me, then.”

“Lily!” Orchid hissed in the darkness.

“Orchid, get outta here!” She didn’t budge, so I said, “I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you at the truck.”

Before I could ensure she made it over the fence in time, Logan grabbed my hand and we were running across the crew-cut style grass and around the side of the building. With his finger against his lips, he nudged my back against the exterior wall, and leaned into me, the whole of his body covering mine.

To disguise your scent. Stay perfectly still.

Once again, our hearts were beating against each other.

And racing, as a group of warlocks thundered past us like a wave of concentrated dark energy.

My hands were clenched into fists against his chest as I breathed him in. “I already covered our scents with a spell,” I said. “How can you break through it?”

“I’m not sure, but I can.”

We waited like that for an exhilarating minute, before he pulled away.
They’ll be back. Come on.

My body felt cold immediately without his warmth pressing against it; but as soon as he grabbed my hand again, the chill subsided. He quietly creaked open a door and led me up three flights of stairs. Inside, the hallways were dark, the walls painted a deep, almost burgundy shade of red. On the top floor, my eyes ran down a long corridor, at the end of which sat a black leather armchair under a single track light.

This way.

I followed him briskly, light on my toes, trying to remain as inaudible as possible. We heard a door slam, and wild rustling of male chatter. The energy felt aggressive, hunt-like. Pack behavior.

Logan’s face was lined with real concern as we turned a corner, and he led me down another hallway, this one was lined with multiple doors. It was an odd sight—a hall with so many closed doors. Quite the opposite of our house, which was full of light, hand-made blankets, and color.

He stopped at the third door on the left and opened it.

Is this...?

My bedroom, yeah.

I gulped.

It’s the safest place,
he said, by way of explanation.

I tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear and followed him into his room. Without my permission my eyes glossed immediately over his bed. A twin bed of a young boy that looked way too small for Logan, with one pillow, and a simple black comforter. His room was neat. Tidy. Minimalist, but with a cool retro feel to it, like the school lockers he used as a dresser and the old-fashioned cream-colored boxing gloves hanging over it. The multiple swords in various shapes and metals hanging over his bed, and the stack of classic novels on a simple black nightstand did not reduce the awe factor of this warlock’s bedroom.