Nineteen

Iris and Arlo arrived at the Coffee Bean thirty minutes before two to scope out the premises. They spotted a young singer on a coffee run, and an actress who left the shop with what looked like herbal tea. This place was a celebrity magnet, which meant it was also a hot spot for witch activity.

The plan was for Iris to wait in The Armada and observe the entire meet-up. Arlo had an earpiece, and the Hunters had hacked into the security cameras inside the cafe. Everything was ready to go.

A nagging feeling tugged at the back of Iris’s mind, alerting her that something was out of place. She wasn’t sure if it was Belinda, or the fact that Arlo was about to have coffee with another girl on her orders, but regardless, she was nervous.

Her left eye twitched. “You ready?” she turned to Arlo and asked. “Just don’t take your glasses off.”

“I won’t.” Arlo let out a sigh as he closed the car door, leaving Iris behind.

She watched on her screen as he strolled inside the coffee shop. Bruma enveloped the entire café. One table was filled with well-dressed businessmen, another with a mother and her two fussing children. An older couple with graying hair sat in the corner, loudly slurping their iced teas.

Arlo stopped, midstep. Iris continued scanning the room until her eyes fell on a familiar face.

“Hi, Arlo.”

There was a girl sitting in front of him and it was unmistakably Belinda. Even on screen her lavender eyes burned brightly.

“I’m really glad you came,” she said coyly. Her body language was inviting. She crossed her arms under her chest giving her cleavage an extra bump.

“I … uh … Me too,” he replied, putting his hands in his pockets.

Why is he stumbling on his words? Iris thought. “Get it together!” she ordered in his earpiece. She watched Arlo jump on the screen.

“Is there something wrong?” Belinda asked with a wide smile.

“Oh no. Just weird to be talking to a witch is all.”

Nice save.

He pulled out a chair and sat across from Belinda at the table. He was playing with his hands and nervously looking around the room.

“Time to ask some questions,” Iris said, growing more and more uneasy.

“So … why did you help us last night?” Arlo demanded with a feigned confidence, drumming his fingers on the table. Iris noticed he couldn’t look directly at her.

“Wow, you Hunters,” Belinda said with a grin. “You don’t even want a latte first before you give me the third degree?”

She gently stroked her hair with her hand, tugging on the ends as she playfully circled the strands around her finger. Arlo seemed mesmerized by the motion.

Give me a freaking break.

“I’m sorry. I’m being a dick. I … I shouldn’t have asked you that right off the bat.” Arlo huffed as he threw his hands up in the air.

“No,” Belinda replied bashfully, folding her hands in her lap and staring down at the table. “You’re not being a dick. I bet it was weird for you, seeing a witch kill a bunch of other witches. And now you’re having coffee with that same witch … These sorts of things definitely don’t happen every day.”

Arlo smiled. “Yeah. It was pretty weird.”

Iris blinked her eyes and stared at the screen. “Keep the smiling to a minimum there, buddy. It’s okay to be a dick. You’re dealing with a witch.”

Arlo nervously played with his shirt. Belinda flashed him a smile that quickly faded away. Taking its place was a look of genuine concern.

“I’m just going to be real with you,” Belinda said, appearing disheartened. “I invited you here today because I need your help. There’s something about you that feels different to me. I’m sure you’ve learned that witches can sense a human’s intentions, right?”

Arlo nodded.

“So, I can sense that you’re incredibly kind, Arlo, and good, and that’s why I’m hoping that you can maybe help me out.”

Belinda was right about that. Arlo was incredibly kind. Too kind, at times.

The witch paused and cleared her throat. “And you can take your stupid glasses off. I won’t use any of my spells on you. You have my word.”

Arlo flinched.

“Don’t do it, Arlo,” Iris hissed in the com. “Don’t you freaking take those glasses off.”

Arlo was motionless. “You know what, Belinda. I will take my glasses off just to show you that you can trust me,” he said loudly. “I want to be able to trust you too.”

What? Iris hated the idea. Arlo sitting across from a witch with the risk of being spelled. She hoped Arlo knew what was he was doing.

He slowly removed the glasses from his face. Iris wondered if Belinda even needed to use her magical abilities on him, or could her looks just do the trick?

“Now, that’s better,” Belinda said, an infectious grin spreading from ear to ear. “There’s something strange going on, Arlo,” she spoke softly, leaning closer. “Since that actress was murdered and well, since you came to town, I feel different.”

“How do you mean?” He perked up.

Driving the point home, Belinda focused her attention on a used coffee mug that was sitting on top of the adjacent table. The mug hovered, ever so slightly and a small tornado formed underneath. The tornado swallowed the mug, crushing it into thousands of little pieces and making it disappear.

Holy. Freaking. Crap.

“Did you just do that?” Arlo asked. He looked excited and frightened all at the same time. “That tornado just ate that cup like it was nothing?”

Belinda sighed. “I know. And if I get angry, that little tornado will grow and swallow up this entire store without me telling it to. I’ve always had the power to manipulate air, and believe me, I’m good at what I do.” Belinda paused to clear her throat. “But now, my power seemed amplified, and I have no clue why! That’s why I could kill all the Nomads yesterday with just raising my hand. But the thing is, it’s unpredictable. I’ve gone from having less power that I could control to having more power that’s completely beyond me.”

“Wait a minute.” Arlo put his hand on his chin. “So your spells are suddenly amplified. And you said you didn’t kill that actress, but Iris said she was killed with a strong spell that they haven’t seen in years—”

“It wasn’t me. It was a Protas spell. And I didn’t kill those people at Rodeo Drive either.” Belinda dropped her head and Iris watched her chest rise. She couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. “Arlo,” she said in a hushed voice, beaming at him with a raw gaze. “I think someone else is here. Another witch. Maybe even a powerful Protas. And maybe somehow they’re making my spells stronger.”

Iris didn’t like the sound of this. A new witch in Hollywood that was more powerful than Belinda?

“I have to say,” Arlo mused. “I’m really surprised you’re bothered by the extra power. You seem like a go-big or go-home type of girl.”

Belinda’s eyes fluttered. “Believe me. I am,” she said seductively. “I don’t mind having more power, but I can’t control it. And I don’t like being out of control.” Belinda reached across the table and grabbed Arlo’s hand. “This is why I need your help.”

Arlo jolted as Belinda put her hand on top of his. He instinctively pulled away. Iris grinned with satisfaction.

“I still promise I’m not going to spell you,” she said sincerely.

“I know, but I just have to be careful.” Arlo folded his arms and backed away.

Well done.

“I respect that,” said Belinda. “But here’s the deal. I’m wondering if you can talk to Knox, or one of the witch historians, and see if they’ve ever heard of a witch’s spells getting amplified. I’m worried about what could happen. I mean, I could get pissed off and destroy this whole city without even meaning to. Plus, we know nothing about this mysterious Protas; she could be dangerous.”

“So you want me to lie to my fellow Hunters?” Arlo’s face soured.

“Well, not really. If there is a witch here powerful enough to be amplifying my spells, then we’re all in trouble,” Belinda said, her voice shaky, as were her hands. “And truthfully, I don’t like the idea of someone more powerful than me in this town. It makes me uneasy.”

Iris shook her head as she was hit with a realization: Belinda was afraid of being run out of Hollywood. Typical.

Suddenly, Belinda gazed past Arlo in silence. He turned as well. It was a man, and a very manly man at that, with large muscles bulging through his pale-blue button-down shirt.

Iris recognized him as one of the “businessmen” she spotted when Arlo first came in. There was something about him Iris didn’t like. He was cold. Focused. He walked with determination toward their table, feasting his eyes on Belinda.

“Hey, baby. Why don’t you ditch this loser and come sit with me at my table. I make two hundred K a year.” The man turned to Arlo. “My shoes are worth more than your life, loser.”

Iris cringed. She swore she could see the faint outline of the words “douche bag” written across his forehead.

The man smirked as he ran his eyes over Belinda, staring at her body the way a guy beams at the Victoria’s Secret catalog when he thinks no one is looking.

“Wow, ‘loser.’ That’s creative.” Arlo’s tone reeked of sarcasm.

“Seriously, doll, come sit with us.” The man pushed harder. “I promise you won’t regret it,” the douche bag insisted as he crept closer to Belinda.

“No, thank you. I’m perfectly fine right here.”

“Oh come on, baby, just give me five minutes. I know I can change your mind,” he tried again, with that smug, holier-than-thou grin still plastered on his creepy face.

Iris’s body tensed and her pulse quickened. She was desperately hoping a fight would not break out in The Coffee Bean. With Belinda’s new amplified spells that she apparently had no control over, that would be dangerous.

“She said she’s not interested,” Arlo said. The man didn’t acknowledge this, and instead pushed closer to Belinda.

“Come on, baby, just hear me out.” He placed his hand on Belinda’s shoulder. She flinched with disgust.

Arlo quickly stood, throwing his chair to the ground. “Get your hands off her, you stupid prick!”

Whoa. Iris thought.

“Whoa,” Belinda said. Arlo was standing his ground. The man gave Arlo one last look and finally walked away.

Iris felt like she was going to spontaneously combust into a fiery inferno. She wasn’t sure if it was the rush from almost seeing a fight break out or the fact that Arlo had unexpectedly stood up for a witch, but either way, Iris was heated.

“I didn’t expect you to fly off the handle so easily,” Belinda said, batting her eyelashes. Iris could see Belinda’s breathing was labored, and her eyes fluttered quickly. “Thank you. Sure, I could have crushed him with my spells, but still. Just the fact that you would step in like that is really nice. I have to say, I thought all you Hunters were assholes.”

She smiled at Arlo, and they shared a laugh. “So, are you going to help me or what?”

Arlo paused for nearly a minute. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Belinda lit up and Iris didn’t like it one bit. “Thank you, Arlo. You’re my hero.”

Iris’s heart raced and a tremor overtook her hands. She jumped at the sound of her phone buzzing. It was a text from Knox.

911. Get back to the Fortress ASAP.

“Would you stay here with me, Arlo?” Belinda said, still smiling. “I would love to buy you a cup of coffee?”

Iris perked up, staring at the screen more intently. “Wait! Arlo, no, no. Don’t stay with her. We need to get going.”

“Would you excuse me for a second?” Arlo said to Belinda. “I need to use the restroom real quick.”

“Sure.”

Arlo walked toward the back of The Coffee Bean, stepping inside the men’s restroom and locking the door. “Hey. Iris. What’s up?”

“Oh I don’t know, lover boy, what’s up with you?” Iris snapped.

“Lover boy?”

“Nothing.” She growled. “Listen, Knox just wants us back ASAP. I guess something is going on.”

“Look, why don’t you just go back and see what’s up and I will stay with Belinda a little longer. I’m sure she’ll give me a ride back. I’ll tell her I took the bus here or something.”

“What? Why?”

“We’re trying to see what she’s up to, right? We need to gain her trust so we can get as much as out of her as we can. Obviously, she’s not telling us everything.”

“Are you sure you’re staying to get more info and not because she’s like, incredibly hot?”

Arlo let out a long exhale, his breath ringing in her ears. “You’re the one who told me to do this, remember?”

“Yes. I remember.” She paused for a moment, scratching her head. “Okay. Fine. But don’t be too long, okay?”

“Deal.”

Iris watched Arlo go back to the table and for some reason it was harder for her than she thought. Leaving him, here. With their enemy. It felt so … wrong. Or maybe it was just the leaving him part? Regardless, her soul ached a little.

“Well,” Arlo said, taking a seat back in his chair. “I don’t have anything planned for the rest of the afternoon, so sure, why not? I’ll stay and have coffee with ya.”

The soft pink in Belinda’s cheeks turned to a deep rose. She perked up in her seat, playing with the ends of her silky hair once again.

“I would love that,” she replied, seductively biting her lip.

Iris turned off the computer screen but the image of Arlo sitting with Belinda was seared into her brain. Whatever Knox needed, it had better be good.