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I woke the next morning, surrounded by light. Sunshine streamed through a gap in the thick curtains, highlighting a streak across the king-size bed. The majority of it, however, was shining from me and Ronin. We were still cuddled against one another in the exact same position we’d fallen asleep in.
How cute, I thought, then giggled when I remembered Ronin’s reaction to the word cute.
Ronin stirred beside me, breaking our contact when he moved to stretch. I shuffled away and sat up, admiring the view of his perfectly chiselled abs partially covered by the duvet. It was a picture-perfect sight to wake up to.
As he yawned and stretched his arms, I couldn’t help but watch how his biceps flexed. Sculpted arms had always been a weakness of mine. Ronin’s were just perfect. Not too big and not too small. I wanted to feel them, squeeze them, kiss them...
I shook my head, dispersing my naughty thoughts away. Perhaps sharing a bed with him hadn’t been the best idea in the world. Being around him was seriously weakening my determination to not sleep with him ‘just because’. I was starting to understand female humans and their love of sex toys.
Given the two thousand years I’d gone without a single stirring of desire, it was a relief to know that something in that region still worked and hadn’t gone stale. I knew once I had sex again, it would be like popping my cherry for a second time and I’d be ravishing him at any chance I got. In the midst of everything else going on, it was a partial reason as to why I wanted to hold off for as long as I could. The world mattered more than my sexual wants and needs.
“I think I saw some drool slip out of the corner of your mouth,” Ronin said, snapping me from my daydreams.
My eyes widened and heat flushed my cheeks as I dabbed a hand to each side of my mouth. When I realised he was joking, I narrowed my eyes at him and gave him a playful shove in the shoulder.
“Not funny,” I said.
“It is from where I’m sitting. You can touch if you want to, you know. I don’t bite.”
“Are you trying to kill yourself even quicker?”
He gave me a playful wink. “I know you’ll come to my rescue before it gets that far.”
“You’re awfully self-confident.”
“No, I just trust in my soulmate.”
I shuddered as he said the word ‘soulmate’. It still sounded so surreal. “Pulling out all the smooth lines already? My, I’m in for a treat today, aren’t I?”
“You certainly are because I’m taking you for a tour of this beautiful city.”
“Ronin—”
“No. There’s nothing we can do until Wanda figures out how to get us into the Hellmouth.”
“Yes, there is. We need to be hunting down Lasander and Caesar.”
“Why? Why should we waste precious energy on that when we know where they’re going?”
“Because of the realms, Ronin. Do we really want to be going through two more that we don’t have to? It makes sense to stop them at the Hellmouth like we did Lucia.” It suddenly dawned on me then that I hadn’t been to check on her. “Lucia. Oh crap. What time is it?”
I threw the bedcovers back and ran out of the room, not even bothering to wait for Ronin’s response. I sprinted down the hallway and burst through her bedroom door. When I saw her laid in bed, in the exact same position as when I left her hours ago, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Ronin padded up behind me in his underwear. “Happy now?” he said.
I balked at him. “What are you doing? Are you forgetting she tried to seduce you? Go and put some clothes on.”
“Aww, sweetie, this is all for you, don’t worry. Besides, I don’t think she’s registering much at the moment, is she?”
“That’s not the point,” I said, lowering my voice. “Anyway, you’re distracting me, walking around like that. Get dressed.”
He chuckled and shook his head as he ambled back to our bedroom.
“Lucia,” I said. “You can get up now if you like.”
She sat bolt upright and stared straight ahead. “Thank you, Makeysha. May I please go to the bathroom?”
“Of course. You didn’t have to wait for me.”
“I prefer for you to know where I am at all times.”
Folding the corner of the duvet back, she swung her legs out of bed and stood up, shoulders square. With her milky white eyes and generally brainwashed demeanour, she reminded me of a possessed human. I shivered and stepped out of her way as she came towards me.
I went back to Ronin, frowning. “What are we supposed to do with her whilst we’re out?”
Buckling his belt up, but still topless, he smiled. “Let’s have a chat with Wanda. See what she has to say. What’s the time?”
I looked around the room for a clock and found an antique bronze piece with roman numerals mounted on the wall next to the window. “Ten a.m.”
“Loads of time,” he replied. He bent down and picked up his shirt. “Want a final look before I put my shirt back on?”
I smirked at him and waved a hand over my nightgown, turning it back into my black corseted dress. “I’m good, thanks.”
He chuckled to himself and pulled his t-shirt back on. “Do your clothes wash or something when you do that?”
“No. They’re brand new.”
“So you have a new dress every day but it’s always the same one?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No...I was just asking, nothing more, nothing less.”
“I know what I like,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I’ve grown quite fond of black in my time down here and I like the support the boning in the corset gives me.”
“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Makeysha. I’m not judging you.”
I pursed my lips and chewed on his words. “Do you think I should try a different colour?”
“You try whatever you feel like trying. You’re a woman with the world in her hands.”
“Literally.”
“I didn’t mean that,” he said, closing the gap between us. “I meant you’re capable of doing anything you want to.”
He stopped in front of me, our feet touching toe to toe. I reached for him and slid my arms around his neck. “You are smooth today. I like it.”
Smiling, he leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. It was such a soft, sweeping glance, goosebumps sprung up all over my body. Just as I thought about kissing him back, a nagging feeling of being watched irritated my mind.
I turned to my left and jumped in surprise. Lucia stood in the doorway, robotic, motionless, and her face nothing but a blank picture.
“Lucia,” I breathed. “Please don’t sneak up on us like that.”
“I’m sorry, Makeysha. I just thought I should let you know that my brother is attempting to communicate with me telepathically. He knew my deadline for retrieving the dagger and is aware I’ve missed it.”
I muttered a curse under my breath and regretfully released my hold on Ronin. “Deadline? You had a deadline for taking the dagger to Lucifer?”
“Yes,” she said. “We all did. Lucifer gave us explicit instructions not to arrive before or after our designated time. Only at that specific time.”
I frowned, confused. “Do you know why?”
“It’s to do with the complexity of creating the realms. He staggered our arrivals so he had time to prepare each realm.”
Bingo. “Do you know Lasander’s and Caesar’s deadlines?”
“Yes. Caesar is due in two days at one a.m. Lasander two days after at two a.m.”
I glanced at Ronin and gave him a broad smile. “Doesn’t it feel like the universe is working with us?”
“It certainly feels like we’ve had a truck load of luck for some bizarre reason.”
Something pinged to mind about Lucia saying Lucifer needed a blood moon. “Do you know when the blood moon is?” I asked Ronin.
“I don’t...but I bet Wanda does. Unless your freaky friend there knows.”
“Lucia, when is the blood moon?”
“Six days time. Two days after Lasander’s arrival. Lucifer will perform the ritual at three a.m.”
I sighed and smiled. “Of course he will.”
“Three a.m.,” Ronin said. “The Devil’s Hour.”
“He’s so obvious it’s sickening,” I said, shaking my head. “At least we have a timeline now. This is turning out to be a great day and we haven’t even left the house.”
“Don’t forget what she initially told you,” Ronin said, his face taking a serious edge. “They know she’s not there.”
“Which means they’re going to come looking for her.” I stomped my foot on the floor. “Dammit!”
“Lord Melrose has also been noticed as missing,” Lucia said. “Would you like me to respond to my brother?”
I hesitated for a moment. “Are they sending someone to come and look for you?”
“My brother will potentially be released from his duties to gather the rest of us.”
“This is perfect,” Ronin said. “Then there’s only two of them to worry about if they’re all up here.”
“Do we get her to respond to her brother?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “If there’s no response then he’ll come looking for her.”
“But he won’t know where to come looking for her.”
“He’ll find her. He’s a warlock, and not just any warlock either, remember. Trust me, we’re best off playing this one silent.”
I nodded as nerves churned around in my stomach. He had a point. If we allowed Lucia to send a message that she was in trouble, he would want details; details we wouldn’t want her to give. He would know something was up. If we played total radio silence, he would fear the worse and come for her without even thinking about a potential trap.
“We need to speak to Wanda,” I said, grabbing Ronin’s hand and pulling him towards the door. “Maybe she can trap him. If we have these two on side, the others will be a piece of cake.”
Lucia moved out of the way, allowing us to take the lead towards the stairs. The shimmering purple wall of magic I’d created hours ago was still holding firm. I waved my hand over it, dissolving its presence like an eraser over a board.
We headed downstairs, Lucia following behind like a loyal dog. Ronin opened the living room door, allowing us to pass through first. I walked in and saw Wanda on the sofa, flat out on her back, several open books spread all around her. Soft snores filled the air.
“Awww,” I said, waiting for Ronin to come into the room. “I don’t want to wake her.”
“Well, she kind of needs to wake up, really,” he replied, pulling his lips into a thin line.
Just as he said that, Wanda rolled onto her side, but unfortunately, didn’t have enough room left on the sofa. She fell onto the floor, promptly waking up. Looking around her a little startled, her brown eyes settled on us for a brief moment before her cheeks turned bright red.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Have you been there long?”
“No,” I said, struggling not to laugh. “We’ve literally just walked in.”
She put a hand to the back of her neck and rubbed at it. “Going to have a sore neck today.”
I walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. “Here,” I said, moving my hands towards hers. “Let me help.”
She moved her hand, giving me room to place my hands on her small neck. I placed both hands on the back of her neck, next to each other, and closed my eyes. With my mind, I called my magic up, and imagined it as all shades of green flowing through my body and into my hands. Then, I pictured it streaming out of me and into Wanda, encasing her in a wonderful green glow.
After several seconds I stopped and moved back. “Is that better?”
She looked up at me and moved her head from side to side. “Like magic,” she said, grinning. “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure.” I offered her a hand to help her stand up. “We’ve got a little update for you.”
She took my hand, then with her free hand pointed towards a dark framed doorway at the other end of the room. “Coffee,” she said. “I need coffee.”
Ronin headed towards it, a big grin on his handsome face. Lucia stood in the living room doorway, looking slightly confused.
“Sit down on the sofa, Lucia,” I said. “Would you like a drink?”
“Just some water please, Makeysha,” she replied, gliding towards one of the sofas.
I headed towards what I presumed was a kitchen, Wanda striding ahead of me, no doubt desperate for her caffeine fix. I heard mugs clinking around and presumed Ronin was also keen for a drink.
As I walked through the doorway, my eyes fell upon the most gorgeous kitchen I’d ever seen. It was clearly new but had been designed to fit the French colonial era. White cupboards tinged with dark smudges gave a fantastic aged look. The fancy iron handles, all twisted into intricate designs, blended beautifully with tasteful decorative edgings around the doors.
A white marble topped island took centre stage, a fresh fruit bowl sat in the middle and overflowed with a variety of delicious fruit. Three low hanging gothic style chandeliers basked the room in a yellow glow. A large window to my left, covered with a white lacy netting, opened the room up, making it seem so much bigger than it really was.
“This is incredible,” I said.
“Thank you,” Wanda replied, walking over to the far side of the room. “I spent a lot of money having this designed. My favourite room in a house is always the kitchen so I spared no expense when I did this up. My bank account is still recovering.”
I laughed. “Look at it though. Worth every cent.”
“Definitely,” she said. “At this rate though, it will take me a century to do the house up to the same standard. Still, it keeps me out of trouble.”
We both laughed as we waited for Ronin to empty the coffee pot into three mugs.
“You like coffee?” he asked, a quizzical look on his face.
“Yes. It’s not good for us. It’s a bit like chocolate for humans, but I can’t remember the last time I had some.”
“How do you like it?”
“Black. Straight out of the pot.”
“No cream?”
I shook my head.
He filled a plain white mug to the brim with the dark, tarry substance and then passed it over to me. I took it from him and immediately lifted it to my nose, inhaling the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee.
“This is gorgeous,” I said, looking at Wanda.
“I have to have the best coffee,” she said, taking her mug from Ronin. “I don’t buy it from stores—that stuff is disgusting. I have a contact at a coffee roasting company. As soon as he’s roasted the beans, he calls me, and I go down and take what I need.”
“You can certainly tell the difference,” I said, taking another sniff of my treat. “I need some water for Lucia.”
Ronin nodded and filled a tumbler glass up with some tap water. “Shall we head back in there?” he said, motioning his head towards the living room.
We all migrated back to the sofas and sat down in comfortable silence as we took our first few sips of delicious invigoration.
“What’s new then?” Wanda asked, setting her mug down on the coffee table.
“Kaspar has been attempting to contact Lucia. They know she’s missing. Apparently, all the creatures had a specific deadline to be at the Hellmouth for,” I said.
Wanda raised an eyebrow. “What about Melrose? Do they know about him yet?”
I hadn’t even thought about him. I turned to Lucia. “Lucia, are they aware that Lord Melrose is missing also?”
“Lord Melrose was running late. Lucifer was extremely displeased. It meant that he would be arriving not much before my deadline. My brother did not mention him not arriving.”
Turning back to Wanda, I said, “Perhaps they still think he’s running late. Regardless, Kaspar is being relieved from his duties to come and find Lucia.”
“Which means another evil warlock running around?” Wanda visibly shuddered. “I’m not too fond of the thought of that.”
“We had an idea,” Ronin said. “If you could come up with a way to trap him, we have the two most powerful First Creations. The rest will be easy after that.”
“She’s easy,” Wanda said, pointing at Lucia. “There’s no guarantees Kaspar can be turned the same way. We don’t even fully understand what Makeysha did to turn her like this in the first place, let alone replicating it.”
“Surely there must be some sort of voodoo thing you can do to him to give a similar effect?”
“I can have a look through some books, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Looking is enough,” Ronin said, giving her a warm smile. “If you can’t find anything, I’m sure Makeysha can do something if pressured.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh really?”
“Look what you did last time. If Kaspar hurls some magic at you, chances are something like this will happen again, right?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea. Magic isn’t predictable. Never mind the fact it could affect him in a completely different way.”
“Ok,” he said. “Well for now, I say we leave Kaspar in the capable hands of Wanda here.” He turned and looked at Wanda. “If you can’t find anything then we’ll rethink things from there. In situations like this, we can’t afford to waste time thinking and planning for problems that may or may not arise. Things could change in a heartbeat at any given moment.”
I nodded. “Ok. We’ll go with that for now. If you’re happy, Wanda?”
“Sure. Sounds good to me.”
“Right,” Ronin said, clapping his hands together. “If you’re ok with it, Wanda, I would like to take this beautiful lady on a tour of the city. Are you happy to babysit our hypnotised warlock whilst we’re gone?”
Wanda eyed Lucia with suspicion for several seconds. “I think so. Provided she doesn’t suddenly turn back into her evil normal self.”
“I think it’s safe to say if she was going to turn back, it would have happened by now,” I said. “If this magic didn’t have a permanent hold on her, there’s no way it would have held her this long if it was only temporary.”
Wanda eyed Lucia for several seconds then sighed. “Ok. I agree. Go and enjoy yourselves before the hard work starts.”
I gulped down the rest of my coffee and stood up, feeling as energised as a puppy. “Thanks, Wanda. I really appreciate it.” I turned to Ronin and held my hand out. “Come on then, smooth dude. Dazzle me for the day.”