Charmed & Ready

Whoohoo! I love L.A. Yep, been here twenty-four hours and so far I’ve slept twenty-three of them. Oh, and in the first half hour I was shot.

Garnout wouldn’t let me take my own plane. He was worried about my power suddenly jumping out and making me crash or something. I’m also not exactly feeling my best. I was so much better until yesterday.

Caleb was still in New York, so I had to take a commercial flight. I get off the plane and since I flew into Burbank, you disembark outside. Being the lucky person that I am, I was shot by a tranq dart meant for some demon, in a human disguise. He was on my plane, but hadn’t caused any trouble. The spook squad was after him and they hit me and three others, totally missing the demon, according to Simone.

She and Zane were waiting just outside baggage claim for me with the limo. When the demon came out, she captured him. When I didn’t make it out, they sent security to find me. Long story short, they found me in the on-site medical facility, passed out.

I woke up about a half hour ago to find myself inside a bedroom decorated in gold and sapphire blue. Not me, but very elegant.

Turns out it’s another of Zane’s mansions. He and Simone had been waiting for me to wake up.

“What the hell happened to me?” I grabbed a roll and sat down in the huge breakfast room. Everything was white and black down here. A Zen kitchen and breakfast room. Only in L.A.

They told me the story about the demon and I rolled my eyes. “God, only I could be accidentally shot by a spook squad.”

“Well, to be fair, Bron, you send off magic like a crazy person, even when you aren’t trying to. I can see why they would get confused.” Simone shrugged.

She laughed. “Don’t get all witchy on me, I am on your side. So, look, I’ve got appointments tomorrow for both of us with Sir David. And then we are going to Maxie to get our eyebrows done.”

She stood and pushed in her chair. Dressed in a skimpy green T-shirt and low-cut jeans so tight I didn’t see how she could breathe, she looked like an Amazon princess. I’ve always been a little envious of her height, natural tan and incredibly straight hair. But I would never in this lifetime tell her that.

She walked around the table and hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to have fun, but right now I have to stop by the university to run some numbers, then I’m off to find a demon nest in Huntington Beach. These assholes have been terrorizing swimmers for a week.” She pushed on her sunglasses and headed out the door.

It surprised me that he knew so much about her. Simone’s good about keeping her lives separate and secret. Her main job is as a demon slayer, but as I said before, she’s brilliant with the math. She is Rain Man.

“She doesn’t teach, but she’s got a bunch of students helping her with research. Of course they have no idea she’s having them search for demon nests.”

Zane laughed, then turned serious. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I don’t think I’ve ever been so frightened as when you passed out in the kitchen in London. I thought you died. Matt whipped out his phone, but before he could dial, that wizard was there and whisked you away. I’d never seen anything like it. I’m sorry your illness was caused by the demon that attacked us. I feel like all of this is my fault.”

I reached across and patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Honestly, it’s a part of the job. If it hadn’t been that situation it would have been another one.” I yawned. I needed a shower, a serious meal and to rest just awhile longer.

I waved him away. “Sit down. I’ll get it.” And I did. The fridge was packed with lots of healthy choices. Fruit, fresh vegetables and about a hundred bottles of Fiji water. I went for the chocolate pudding and frozen White Castle burgers I found. Popped the burgers in the microwave and put them on a fancy china plate with black and white checks. If you stared too long, it would make you dizzy. The pudding went in a bowl with the same pattern.

Zane was at the table talking on his cell phone. I plopped down and dug in. The food tasted so good. I ate about six burgers before I looked up and saw Zane watching me.

“How do you stay so tiny when you eat such an atrocious diet?” He made a weird frowny face. “My God, woman, pudding and hamburgers.”

“Most of the time when someone is trying to feel better they eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. If I ate like you I’d crash and burn onstage. I’d never build any kind of stamina or strength.”

“Hey, you build your stamina your way, I’ll build it mine. It’s carbs, protein.” I held up the bowl of pudding. “And dairy. Not a damn thing wrong with it.”

He grimaced again. “I’ve got to meet the guys in the studio out back. Why don’t you come around a little later?”

He turned back from the door and smiled. “She is, but she wants to finish out the school year. I promised we could hire a tutor, but she really wanted to stay. I know she’s lonely, but I don’t know what else to do.”

The day I met her was still a bit of a blur. It was just a few hours after that I’d passed out in Zane’s kitchen. There was something about her, something I’d wanted to tell him when we were alone, but I couldn’t remember what it was.

Oh well. I rinsed the dishes and put them in one of the two dishwashers. Then I came back up here for a shower. The sad thing is, I could take another nap. Damn dart. But I need to get back on Zane’s case.

A little meditation might help me recharge. It’s so hard for me to sit still and clear my mind, but I need to do it right now.

I visited the studio out back. It’s past the pool and down a little path through the gardens. This place is so big, you get lost. I did twice, just taking the wrong paths off of the pool. There’s like six of them. One goes to the studio, another goes to a guest-house, one to the front of the house and I don’t know about the others. I finally found the studio on the third try.

Zane and the band were working hard, and I always feel like such an outsider. I decided to head back in and see if I could do a little mental work on his case.

First I wanted to check on little Zoë. After watching her mourn for her parents, it wasn’t such a happy prospect tapping into her again.

It was late in the evening but she was awake. She looked up at the ceiling and said, “Hello.”

Took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. She could see me in her mind, but projected it out. Interesting. Then I remembered. It was the magic. I wanted to research her birth mother to see if she’d been a witch.

“Well, thank you.” Her polished English accent was polite and soft. “How come I can see you, but you aren’t here?”

“I’m in America but I wanted to check on you. So, I thought about you and now here I am.”

“Is Uncle Zane with you? Can I see him too? Is he okay?” She sat up in bed and moved her head around as if she were trying to see behind me.

“He’s not here right now, but we were just talking about you.” That seemed to please her.

“Promise?” She looked so sweet I wanted to hug her. Her concern for her uncle was earnest.

And that made me think. She obviously loved him a great deal, why wouldn’t she want to be with him?”

She bit her lip and looked down at the bed. A secret. I could probe her mind, but I wanted her to tell me on her own.

“I promise, whatever it is, you can tell me. I’m here to protect you and keep you safe. Even though it might seem like I’m far away.”

“Can you do magic to keep the bad lady away?” She looked up at me. Her big doe eyes were saucers of hope.

“She says she’s my friend, but she’s kind of scary. She comes in my dreams. I don’t know why, but I think she’s the one who hurt my mum and dad. She feels like a monster when she comes in my dreams, but she’s nice to me.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. The child obviously had magical abilities, which would grow to be quite powerful when she was older. It was an amazing feat that she could talk to me as she did now. And she didn’t have a clue about her talent.

“Zoë, I know it’s kind of scary, but can you think about the lady and show me what she looks like?”

The little girl closed her eyes. And tried to recall a dream. It’s hard for any of us, especially a child who is frightened of what she sees. I saw an outline and blond hair. And I got a feeling from the presence. She didn’t mean the child harm, but I could see why it would make Zoë uncomfortable. But who would do something like visit a child’s dream? Well, besides me. And that was to settle Zane’s mind.

When she frowned, I told her to stop thinking about the lady. I didn’t want to cause the poor thing any more trauma than she’d already experienced.

“Yes, I can keep the bad lady from coming into your dreams. I’m going to send you a very pretty necklace tomorrow and I want you to never take it off. It will keep anything bad away from you. And if anyone scary does come close, it flashes a big light that will make them go away.

“For tonight, I’ll say some words that will help you sleep without any fear of bad guys.”

She yawned big this time and stretched. Grabbing her stuffed elephant, she opened her eyes again. “If I’m here, the bad lady stays here. Then she can’t get my uncle.”

“You sleep tight, and I promise to check in with you every day. If you get scared, you say my name. And just like tonight I’ll be there.”

I whispered a chant and offered her protection. The poor baby thought she was protecting her uncle from the monster.

I hate monsters that prey on children. I’d find this one and destroy it. Zoë would live happily ever after, if I had anything to say about it.