You remind me of myself.
It’s been three days since my uncle visited me in my dreams, and things have been rather quiet in Thorne Hill since then. I can’t help but wonder if that was part of his gift already, if he called back demons and distracted the angels.
I don’t know if I should feel guilty or grateful for the reprieve. Lucas and I spent the last three days picking out lighting fixtures for the house and really, just enjoying each other’s company.
It’s been three days—three quiet days—but Lucifer’s words still echo in my mind over and over. Even if I did remind him of himself, it doesn’t mean anything. I’m not evil. I won’t be evil. I have no desire for ultimate power.
Lucas said it to me before, back when we first met and I didn’t know I was half angel. I could make people worship me.
And I didn’t.
Doesn’t that stand for something?
“You’re up earlier than I expected,” Lucas says, coming into the kitchen.
“Eliza sent me homework and I didn’t do it yet.” I motion to the iPad in front of me. “I have to decide which bouquets to go with.”
Lucas looks down at the screen. “They look almost the same.”
“I know. It’s making it hard.”
“Pick this one.” Lucas points to a bundle of wildflowers. “I like those purple things.”
I laugh. “Okay. Done. But the others are so pretty too.”
“This is what you’ll be holding when you walk down the aisle?”
“Yeah, and then something similar will go on the tables along with candles and whatever else Eliza has come up with. She’s surprisingly into this wedding planning.”
“She was supposed to be married a week after I turned her,” Lucas tells me, and I twist in my seat to look at him. “It was arranged, and she didn’t like the man, but the man liked her family’s money. He was rough with her. Forceful. John was his name,” he says, getting a distant look in his eyes as he thinks back. “He was the first human she fed on and killed.”
“I guess that’s justice?”
“It was, because after Eliza was turned—and deemed dead—John asked her sister to marry him only hours later. She killed him on their wedding night.” Lucas smiles, proud of Eliza for ripping someone’s throat out.
“Wow. I had no idea. She did mention her sister to me once, though. And knowing that makes me think she’d hate wedding stuff.”
“She enjoyed parties back then,” Lucas says. “I remember watching the house that night, the night after her father ordered his army to slaughter a nest of sleeping vampires, and she was the first one I noticed.”
“She is very pretty.”
“She is, and both her father and mother enjoyed showing her off. She was the pride of the family. The one it would hurt the most to lose.”
“Do you regret turning her?” I ask softly.
“No,” he answers with no hesitation. “I did at first since I didn’t want to be tied down to anything or anyone. But it didn’t take long to realize how strong the bond was, and how loyal she is.” He puts his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. “She is the closest thing I’ll ever have to a child. But you…you can have children.”
A lump starts to rise in my throat. I knew this conversation would come up sooner or later, especially with us getting married so soon.
“I think so. I mean, I’m not totally human. Though if I can’t, then I’m going to really question why I’ve had my period since I was thirteen.”
“I don’t want to take being a mother away from you.”
“You’re not. I have Binx.” I smile. “And you. And honestly, Lucas, things are so crazy, so dangerous, I can’t even imagine being pregnant or having a baby.”
His brows pinch together. “All right.”
“If I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know.” I tip my head up and he kisses me. I turn back around, go with the wildflowers Lucas likes and send a screenshot to Eliza.
“We still need to pick out a song for our first dance,” I tell Lucas. It’s the only traditional part of a wedding that we’re doing. Eliza has arranged everything else, and found a new-age minister to perform the ceremony. It’s a blend of Wiccan and old Celtic practices, which is kind of funny considering that I’m an actual witch.
But she’s ordained and can legally marry us. Then we’re going straight to the reception and will spend the night eating, drinking, and dancing.
“Make a list?” Lucas starts massaging my shoulders.
“I can do that.”
“I will book airfare for us today too.” We decided to go to the vineyard in California after the wedding. Lucas received an offer on it from a neighboring vineyard that wants to expand. He wants me to see it before we make any sort of decisions. If I like it, then he’s going to hold onto it. If I don’t care for it, then he’ll sell it.
I already have a feeling that I’m going to love it.
“And,” I go on, “I was thinking of going over to the house today and taking pictures. I don’t have any good ones taken during the day, and it will be fun to have an album of all the progress.”
“Good idea. What are you doing tonight?”
“You,” I say with a cheeky grin.
“That’s a given,” he deadpans and smiles. “The VC is holding an open-table discussion tonight to address concerns. It’s at ten-thirty tonight in Chicago.”
“And you want to go?” I turn around, looking at Lucas dubiously. He hates politics. And the Vampire Council.
“Not particularly, but vampires from all over the city will be there.”
“Oh,” I say with a nod. “And you’re going to try and see if you can get any info on who hired the Order to take out a witch.”
“Exactly. I’m guessing whoever paid the Order is older. They’d be more likely to have the money to pay a hitman as well as harbor the grudge against witches. Though I still don’t think they actually meant to kill you.”
“What the hell do those vampires want with me?” I ask, remembering that the biggest confession we got out of Dina was that a group of vamps want to use me for something.
“We’ll figure it out.” Lucas’s lips pull up into a grin. “Though they think they are messing with a witch. You are so much more.”
“I come bearing gifts!” I step into the bookstore, holding a box of donuts. Kristy and Betty are at the counter, and I can see Danielle, one of the new employees helping someone in the small non-fiction section of the store.
“Ohhh donuts!” Kristy puts a customer’s books in a bag and hands her the receipt. “Perfect timing, too, Cal. We were just saying how hungry we were.”
Betty puts her hand over her stomach. “I’m starving. We’ve been here since seven AM and forgot to bring breakfast.”
“You could have called me,” I say pointedly, though really, I feel bad. We always get a big inventory of books in August, and I’d forgotten about it. I look around and see that a few things have been rearranged too.
Lucas’s suggestion about signing the store over to Kristy or at the very least, taking my name off the schedule completely is sounding more and more like a plausible plan.
“I didn’t want to bother you.” Kristy takes a donut from the box. “I figured you were busy with the home renovations and entertaining your family from out of town.”
“I have been,” I agree. “My uncle showed up for a quick visit last night too.”
Kristy’s blue eyes widen, and she almost drops her donut. “What? Is he, um, a Los Angeles Angels fan too?”
“He’s more of a hockey fan than football. Particularly the New Jersey Devils.”
“The Angels are a baseball team,” Betty says, looking up from the register for a moment. “My dad’s a fan.”
I let out a strangled laugh. “I’m not a sports person. But my uncle sure is.”
Kristy looks at me, quite horrified. “You know how I feel about that team.”
“Don’t worry. I’m rooting against him—them—too.” A customer comes up with a big stack of books and Kristy shakes herself, turning around and forcing a smile.
“Do you want coffee too?” I ask Betty. “I can go get some.”
“We did remember to bring in new K-cups for the Keurig. Thank goodness.” Betty comes over to where I’m standing at the counter and picks up a frosted donut with rainbow sprinkles.
“So I know this is the least formal invite ever, but if you’re not doing anything on September third, I’d love if you could come to our wedding. I was going to have invitations printed, but it’s kind of a short turnaround time.”
“Oh my god, you’re getting married in less than a month?” She shakes her hands excitedly. “I think I work on the third but maybe my boss will give me the day off.”
I laugh. “I’m fine with shutting down the store early if we have to. And I’m going to go to the craft store to see what kind of print-at-home type of invitations I can find. I’d like to have something for the scrapbook. Because I scrapbook so much,” I add with a laugh.
“So, why did you move up the date?” Her eyes go to my stomach for a split second.
“Lucas is a vampire,” I say slowly. She’s seen him before and probably suspected it if she didn’t already know. “So, no baby. The venue we liked had a cancelation, so we took it. We didn’t want a big wedding anyway, so it worked out perfectly.”
“Well, I’m super excited for you.”
“Thanks. And you can bring a date if you want too.”
“I might actually.”
“Ohhhh, you’re seeing someone?” I wiggle my eyebrows.
“Not really. We’re friends, but I think it could turn into more. But I’m taking things slowly. I’m having a bit of a hard time trusting anyone after…you know.”
Not that long ago, a guy Betty was casually dating drugged her with the intentions of raping her. She passed out before he got her into his car, lucky for her, and he took off, leaving her in the alley behind the bar.
“I don’t blame you.”
“And being at my parents’ kind of puts the damper on dating. I’m going to have to find a new place soon. There just aren’t many options. It’s the worst part of living in a small town.”
“Actually,” I say, reaching into the box and stealing a donut. “How would you feel living in a small, yet really nicely restored brick farmhouse?”
“That would be great if you happened to know of one,” she laughs.
“I’ll be moving out of my house soon, and was thinking about renting it out.”
“Oh my goodness, really? I love your house. But…how much would you charge for rent?” She makes a face, though I’m well aware of what she makes. She works for me, after all.
“Whatever you were paying at your last place.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ll have to work out the details because I don’t know how to factor in utilities or anything, but Lucas has owned and managed properties for several hundred years now, so he’ll be able to help me. It was his idea to rent out the house since I was too sad to officially part with it.”
“Who is Lucas?” Danielle asks, coming up behind us. “He sounds interesting.” We’ve only talked once before, but I can already tell she’s a good fit at the store.
“My fiancé,” I tell her.
“You did say several hundred years, right?”
“I did,” I say, trying to read her reaction.
“So he’s a vampire?” Her lips curve into a smile.
“He is.”
“That’s so cool. I’ve only met one before. Those two that live here in town keep to themselves. What’s it like being with him?”
“Just like being with anyone else, minus being able to go out during the day.”
“That’s what I thought, and what I’ve been arguing with my friends. I’m pro-vampire, in case you were wondering. I voted against the exclusion acts. The way I see it, people can be dicks too.”
“Exactly. And you’ll find a lot of vampires were turned against their will, so it’s not always fair to judge them as a whole.”
“Well, congrats. Your ring is incredible, by the way.”
I hold up my hand. “Thank you. I’m really excited!” I make a little squealing noise, and for a moment, I feel like everything is normal.
But then someone comes in, wearing a graphic t-shirt with a crudely painted image of a cartoon devil on the chest. I blink and see my uncle standing in the kitchen.
“If you can’t control demons, then what can you do?”
“Whatever I want.”
“As can you, dearest niece.”
“I brought donuts,” I say, sweeping my hand out at the box. “Have some!”
“Thanks, that was really nice of you.”
“Yes, that was nice of me. Because I’m nice and not evil. Not at all.”
Betty laughs and Danielle just looks at me weirdly for a second before grabbing a donut. I take a bite of my own donut and step to the side, waiting for Kristy to get done ringing up the customer. I know she’ll want to talk.
She motions for me to join her in the office, stepping away from the register before someone else comes up to purchase books.
“You saw the devil?” she asks as soon as the door closes.
“He prefers to be called Lucifer,” I say and make a face. “And I think I kind of did. He’s been visiting me in my dreams. Or at least I think he has been. The dreams don’t really seem like dreams.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah.” I take another big bite of the donut, eating my feelings. “Don’t worry, though, I’m not going to fall for anything. So far he’s just talked to me and keeps bringing up that we’re family. It’s…strange.”
“That is strange. Do you think there’s any way you can talk to Michael about it?”
“I don’t know. He’s not exactly easy to get ahold of.”
“What about the other one?”
“He hasn’t shown up either. I don’t think he can without being noticed. And that seems to be the number one thing, I mean, even Lucifer mentioned the importance of keeping the attention off of me. With everything that’s happened recently, there’s a new interest in looking for the divine child.” I make a face. “It’s really weird to hear myself referred to as that.”
“I can imagine. Are you okay? I mean…you’re getting married in just a few weeks. That’s a huge undertaking on its own.”
“Eliza has completely taken over the planning. I confirmed which flower arrangements I want this morning, and now the only thing left is to pick out a first dance song. My dress is scheduled to be here right on time, and I’ve already set up an appointment with a seamstress.”
“So you’re good?”
“I am, well, in that department. If you want to make as many luck charms for me that night, I’d appreciate it,” I laugh, though I’m one-hundred percent serious. “One night. That’s all I want. One night where we all come together and celebrate. No demons. No drama. No one trying to kill each other. Which makes me regret inviting Easton and Miranda.”
“Wait.” Kristy looks at me with more shock than when I told her Uncle Lucifer was talking to me in my dreams. “You invited your demon-hunting ex-boyfriend—who tried to kill you and has threatened to kill Lucas how many times—to your wedding?”
“We have the venue space?” I say with a shrug. “And I kind of feel bad for them. I don’t know the inner workings of a hunter ring, but he said he and Miranda are on the outs right now because they worked with a vampire and a witch. I’m just so over this supernatural hate for each other.”
“Me too.” A beat of silence passes between us. “So, with everything being all rushed, I never got to plan your bachelorette party. We are doing something, so don’t even try and tell me otherwise. I have some ideas.” She smiles, getting all excited.
“It’s nothing crazy, though I was kind of hoping you’d want to take a private jet to Vegas because I know Lucas would totally pay for it.”
I laugh. “He would. Maybe we can do Vegas for New Year’s Eve?”
“Ohhh, that could be fun. And it’ll be nice to get away from the cold for a while. But back to your bachelorette party, we could stay in town if you want super low-key, or we could go up to that casino that’s not even an hour from here. They have a really nice spa, highly rated restaurants, and Thunder from Down Under just happens to be performing the week before your weekend. We could do dinner, drinks, the show, and then take our hand at gambling a bit while drinking more, of course.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Really?”
I nod. “Yeah. Let’s get the gang together and do it.”
“Yay! I’ll make all the phone calls tonight. And will you hate me if I make you a shirt that says Bride on it or something?”
“Can it be black?’
“I wouldn’t even dream of any other color.”
“Then yes, please do. And I kind of want to wear a crown.”
Kristy laughs. “I’ll see what I can do.” She gives me a quick hug. “I’m so excited, Cal. You’re getting married!”
I am too, and I hate that my excitement is getting diminished at the thought of what it’s costing me.
Lucas is worth it, though. No question about it, he’s worth it.
“I signed the papers,” I tell her, though I’m sure she already knows. “I don’t know if Tabatha has handed them over yet or not, but I’ll be out of the coven officially.”
“You mean temporarily.”
“Yeah. That sounds better.” I’m hit with emotion again, and I have to remind myself this doesn’t mean I won’t see my friends. Though technically, they shouldn’t associate with me anymore.
Tabatha and Evander especially. By marrying a vampire, I’m basically becoming a traitor to all witch kind. If Tabatha is seen with me after my excommunication is final, she’ll be seen as one too.