Chapter 44 #2
“Do you think I’d risk this revelation… this confession , if I lacked substantial proof?”
She nervously rubs her palms against the denim over her thighs, then stands. “Please, don’t do this.”
I rise with her. “It’s always been me… Your spell worked exactly as you intended it…
We worked our magick on the same night. We called to each other on a significant May’s Eve…
Your spell drew me to the Carolinas as much as Keegan had, if not more.
You were the pull I felt all along. I couldn’t harm you because I am your knight. I killed Jack by luring him to Keegan.”
Unnerved, her hand moves to the base of her throat, and she takes a step back from me. I pull a final drag from my cigarette to settle my own nerves and toss the butt over the railing. I’ll need both hands if she tries to bolt from me…
“Think about it,” I gently push. “Hurting you would have destroyed Keegan… But I couldn’t do it.
From the moment I laid eyes on you, the very thought of causing you harm felt like an affront to my own soul.
I’d sooner cut my own throat! Your spell rendered me incapable of hurting you.
Incapable of allowing anything, or anyone, to harm you. ”
She’s staring at me like a deer in headlights, like a frightened statue carved from white marble, except for her fingers digging at the base of her throat.
“I hated you for it… I hated you for making me love you so much! For ruining all of my plans to end Keegan! I tried to stop… I tried to cast it out of me… I beat myself bloody over it… You saw the evidence… But I fucking love you, Vanna… You are mine to protect.”
My words seem to jolt life back into her, and she brushes past me. I follow her into the house while she goes on insisting, “This isn’t love… Legion… You saw what you wanted to see…”
“No!” I grab her arm and spin her to face me.
“Legion, there were signs. It was Dean… It’s always been Dean… Don’t do this…”
“A black armored knight, upon a black steed, waving a red banner. I’ve had the tattoo depicting the same image on my body long before either of you was ever a thought. And the morning star…I fucking owned it!”
She shakes her head defiantly. “No.”
“I’ll show you.” I release her and begin stripping off my jacket.
“No. Stop.”
I toss the leather over the back of a barstool nearest us. “He doesn’t even believe in witchcraft, in magick, not the way we do .”
She takes a few breaths, seemingly in an attempt to gather her composure, and walks further into the kitchen, positioning herself on the opposite side of the large marble island between us.
“Let’s pretend for a second, everything you’re saying is true.
You’re the knight I summoned. If that’s true, if you read my spell, then you read the part where love between us is an impossibility. ”
“Until you burned it.”
She pales a little more, and I barely hear her whisper, “You’ve really been watching me…”
“I didn’t love you at first. I just couldn’t harm you. But I loved you after. I still do. ”
“Legion.”
“You set our wills free… And my feelings for you haven’t wavered. The more I watched you…the fonder I became. The way you cared so deeply for Ace from the moment you learned of his existence… You’re everything a man could want. I love you. Accept it.”
“I can’t accept it. I’m married. I think you should leave.”
I don’t want to leave… “I’ve just given you my heart and?—”
“Legion…” There’s a tremble in her voice now… “Dean is coming back. You know he already suspects you’re here. He’s already on the road heading directly here … Do you realize what will happen if?—”
“You think I fear your husband? You think I fear anything? After the shit I’ve survived… I fear nothing.”
“ Alright.” She raises her shaking hands. “Alright… I just… I need a little time to think on all of this… Okay?” Her nervous smile doesn’t reach her pleading eyes.
I casually reclaim a barstool to ease her concern. “I understand. I was quite taken aback when I realized it myself… The raw magnetism between us from the start all makes perfect sense now…doesn’t it?”
She only offers a tight-lipped smile.
“Why don’t you make some more coffee while we wait for the tow truck?” I suggest. Perhaps giving her a chore with which to busy herself will alleviate some of her nervous energy… I have something else to aid in her ability to relax as well. “I still have to settle the bill.”
“Oh, I’ll just put it on my debit card… It’s not a big deal.”
“Now, now, I am a man of my word, and I said I’d pay it. It’s the least I can do, considering how badly I’ve managed to rattle you.”
“I’m fine,” she lies through another strained and placating smile.
“No… you’re not… I have a better idea. Why don’t you go wash up? Put on something comfortable. You’ve had a rather eventful night, sweet one. Let me make the coffee.”
“I’m comfortable,” she claims, though she nearly flinches when I stand and step around the island to approach her. But she doesn’t run.
“ I insist,” I say, twirling a finger around the sleeve of the flannel shirt she has tied around her waist.
She peers timidly up at me. “There’s um…more water in the fridge.”
“Two sugars, was it?” I smile.
She nods.
I watch her walk down the hall before I set up a new pot and retrieve the mismatched mugs we left on the porch. Mine, a basic black glossy ceramic, and hers, purple with silver moons and stars, something that looks like she got it from a witchy pottery shop.
I take a quick gander down the hall to make sure she isn’t near enough to witness the little gelatin capsule I crack open and sprinkle into her drink.
I rinse the remnants down the drain before stirring in her two sugars.
She rejoins me just as I place the mugs on the marble island near the barstools.
She’s wearing sweatpants that tie at the waist, and a faded Sturgis long-sleeved t-shirt.
I fight the urge to chuckle at her attempt to appear comfortable and casual, while covering up as much of her body as possible.
“Welcome back,” I smile and gesture to the barstools.
She purses her lips, peering up at me guiltily. “I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think I’ll sleep at all tonight if I drink another coffee.”
Oh, she’ll sleep just fine… “It’s decaf. I found it in the cabinet along with a bottle of Jameson. Would you like a shot?”
“Oh…No.”
I grin as she joins me at the island, but she doesn’t touch her mug. “Waste not want not.” I lift mine, encouraging her to drink with me, but she still refuses. Plan B… “Let’s toast to your charming Ace… It’s bad luck, you know, refusing a toast .”
She picks up her coffee to humor me, superstitions working in my favor. I knew they would. “ Fine … To Ace.”
I clink my mug to hers. “May he grow up loving the ocean as much as you do…”
Her eyes dart up to meet mine, a flicker of recollection in them.
“May he look for shooting stars, but never have a reason to wish for happiness or safety…”
She sips hers slowly before stating, “I knew you were there that night…before I found the black rose at the beach… I had a feeling.”
“You were right… We both wished upon that star that night… It may have been the very moment I fell in love with you.”
She takes a hardy gulp then places the mug on the marble. I glance at the digital clock on the stove. The drug should take effect within fifteen minutes… Maybe faster since she’s already had a few drinks tonight and nothing to eat.
“So…you broke into my rental home….”
“Yes. The night you went with Keegan down to Bike Week in Myrtle Beach.”
“Wow…”
“I guess you could say, in a way…tonight is a strange anniversary for us.”
She audibly swallows another gulp. “And you read Jack’s letters?”
“Enough of them to know I had to insert myself into the situation.”
“ That worked out really well for me .” I barely hear the wry comment made under her breath.
“There was no way I could have anticipated your mad race to the cabin that night.” Just thinking about it elevates my blood pressure.
“I don’t want to talk about that night,” she mutters, no longer meeting my gaze, but she lifts the mug to her lips once again.
A few quiet, contemplative moments pass between us. She’s consumed more than half of her coffee and should be feeling the effects any moment now.
“Why?” she asks, leaning a little heavier on the back of her barstool.
“Why what , angel?”
“Why did you or- orchestrate this tonight?”
“ Love , sweet one… Love, like power, corrupts absolutely. It may start out wholesome and pure …but the truth is… Love is deadlier than hate. There is no line between good and evil within the realms of love . People kill for love far more easily than they do for hate. Even your white knight . I may or may not have been able to drag his soul to Hell… But you , sweet one… You wield the power to merely ask it of him , and he would walk through the black gates of eternal damnation just to please you… We certainly have that in common.”
“Then maybe it would be wise of you not to risk your life by an- antagonizing him over me.” She lifts a hand to press the back of her fingers to her forehead.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m tired…”
“You’ve had an eventful night, sweet one.”
She chuckles softly. “Yeah, don’t tell anybody…”
“Your secrets are safe with me.” I grin, moving from my seat to stand closer to her as she leans a little more. My body prevents her from toppling off the side of her barstool.
“Hitting Lucinda did feel good…” she giggles drowsily, nearly slumping against me. I tuck my chin in order to breathe in the barely-there, tropical fragrance of her hair.
“ Turned me the fuck on .” I growl the words against her ear, and she shudders against me…
Lying little minx … Her conscience disapproves, but her body welcomes my proximity.
I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her off the stool and against me fully. She grips my arms to steady herself.
“I think it’s best you lie down for a while, sweet one. I’ll come fetch you when your cage arrives.”