Chapter 15
ISAAC
Iarrived at Erin’s office on the east wing of the ground floor with a pot of tea and a stack of Riley’s cookies on a gold tray.
After I knocked with my foot, she opened the door. Boy, did I love her cardigans. Today’s was lavender, draped over a plain pink sweater.
“Isaac?” Her hazel eyes moved to the goodies I bore. “Is this for me?”
“Part of my apology for this morning,” I answered.
And to temper the part about me going to The Coral. But I’d get there shortly.
“Come in,” she said, stepping aside to let me enter.
Her office décor was gold-and-terracotta like the rest of the mansion, complete with celestial paintings on the walls, an oak desk with two chairs, and a filing cabinet.
But the glass cabinet filled with an array of candles neatly displayed gave the room a sprinkle of charm. As did the scent of pumpkin spice.
I put the tray down on her immaculate desk, only a pot of pens and a laptop gracing its polished surface.
“This wasn’t necessary,” she said. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I do. I’m sorry.”
“You were upset.”
“And mouthy.”
She smiled, taking a seat. “Please sit.”
I sat, pouring out some tea for her, and for me, in the fine China cups with gold roses painted in a ring around the rims.
“I understand your frustrations,” she said, picking up a cookie.
I added milk for her, giving the steaming beverage a gentle stir. “And I understand your hands are tied. All our hands are tied.”
“Yes.” She inspected the cookie. “Your brother really is a master of these, isn’t he?”
“I’ll say. So, I’m really sorry.” I touched my chest. “Seriously, seriously sorry.” A stab of guilt punctuated a creaky sound in my voice. “Ollie told me about those fake executions.” I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
“An appalling abuse of power, if you ask me.”
I agreed.
“As much as we try keeping your return secret,” she continued, “there will come a day when we can’t. It’s inevitable.”
Again, I agreed.
“In the meantime, I can only hope Stefan doesn’t start killing people for real,” she added.
I picked up my tea. “At least you don’t have to speak to him directly.”
“Until I do.” She dunked her cookie in her tea. “Life changes so quickly.”
A hattrick of agreement from me.
After I sipped on my black tea, I told her about Helen and her ultimatum.
Erin took her time mulling over it, consuming a whole cookie before she answered.
“Sorry about this,” I said during her munching.
“Does she know about you?” she asked.
“Not yet. But she’s hard to say no to. I have to do this. But how do I make myself not look like a witchcop?”
“There is a potion which might help,” she said.
“It’s only used for mild effects, so it might not work on glamouring.
We can try, though. And if you make it with Riley, it may boost its magical effect.
” She picked up another cookie. “I’ll also speak to Jake about any potential antidotes the High Coven might have, in case the potion fails. ”
“Thank you.”
She offered me a sympathetic look. “What dreadful timing.”
“That’s Helen for you.” I rolled my eyes, then checked my watch. “I’ll go make this potion.”
She made a call to Ollie, asking him to help me with the ingredients.
Oh, goody. I’m sure he loved hearing that.
“Ollie will meet you in the attic spell room. I have an email to send,” she said. “I’ll come find you shortly.”
“Okay.” I got up. “I really am sorry.”
“Water under the bridge, Isaac.” Her smile dropped. “I heard a lot worse from your aunt and uncle.”
Shit. That hit me in the guts with a bowling ball. I apologized for them next.
“Never speak for them,” she countered. “Their words were their choices.”
Noted. Hard. I’d try to be a lot more careful. If I died prematurely, I didn’t want my legacy mired in the same muck as my relatives.
I left her to it, my conscience a tad lighter, making my way to the attic.
The first thing Ollie did was eye up my outfit with disdain—although that might just be my sensitivities.
The first thing I did was admire how good he looked in the white vest and faded blue jeans he worked so well.
Yum.
“The grimoire is open to the right page,” he said, his hands in his pockets.
Judging by his body language, he really wanted to be elsewhere.
Should I say something? Confront him about his iciness?
Pfft. What would it achieve? This was simply a case of not winning them all. Ollie and I were never going to be anything other than this.
My misplaced feelings needed to take a hike soon.
Kill them with Tony…
“Thanks,” I said, reading the spell.
A simple one. A toll of a hundred grams of grass tipped into a boiling mixture of milk and coriander, a spell to be cast solo. Easy as pie.
Unfortunately, I’d have to drink it.
Bleurgh. What the fuck would this taste like?
I clapped out the magic, calling, “Condition Removal!” The liquid turned pink, then orange, then brown until it settled on a grim shade of gray. A pungent stink of mackerel and onions wafted from the cauldron, the extractor not extracting much.
How did those ingredients make such a vile smell?
Ugh.
I pinched my nose, waiting the recommended five minutes for it to cool for decanting.
“Nasty,” Ollie grumbled, ready with a potion vial.
“How are you not holding your nose?” I questioned.
“I’m not using it right now.” He smiled the tiniest of smiles.
We stared at each other for a moment, the air crispy with weird energy. My pulse quickened, my head floating on some dreamy cloud. He kept on looking, his chest rising and falling quickly, his luscious lips parting, the ice melting.
All in your head, all in your head…
Tony wants you, though…
I winced at my thoughts, sharp pain striking my left temple. “Darn it…”
“What’s wrong?” Ollie said, striding toward me. “Is it her?”
So close, his citrusy scent tickled my nostrils. His body heat wafted at me in gentle waves, his proximity disarming me.
I met his concerned gaze, trembling. “I… I’m…” My tongue failed, my stupid desire confusing my sense reason. “I… I…”
“Isaac?” he said, his voice a sexy rumble threatening to buckle my knees.
“I… I’m…” I took a small step back when I really just wanted to fall into his arms. “I…”
“You don’t look well.” His tone was full of concern.
Why did it have to confuse me? Why did I have to be this person?
He moved closer. “Maybe you should sit down.”
I stepped back again. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine.” I cleared my throat, summoning some steel to halt this nonsense. I straightened my spine, flashing him a megawatt smile. It was because I made the mistake of breathing through my nose this whole time, the stink of the potion catching up to me.
I gagged, losing all the cool I’d tried to smother myself in, bent over, stomach roiling, making a complete fool of myself.
A hand found my back and every skin cell said hello. I lost my balance, collapsing to my knees with a painful thud.
Oh, great. Now my face burned with shame because what the hell was I doing down here? What’d happened to me? When did I become this creature?
I used to be so much better than this. None of this shitty pining or feeling guilty for being me. Rolling through life with my head held high, working hard, playing harder. I missed myself. I missed everything.
Stop being so fucking weak! I scolded myself.
You see, being love-starved and a prick didn’t make for a great combination. It destabilized all the defenses, turned a strong man into jelly.
Erin arrived with a vial of glamouring potion. “What happened?”
That was my cue to get to my feet and shake this off. “Nothing.” I moved away, my back to both of them. I shook my hands and hopped from foot to foot to release the bad energy.
Be gone, you little shit!
“What a terrible smell,” Erin said.
I faced her, covered in a fresh set of Isaac armor. “Right? It totally threw me off.”
Ollie just stared at me.
Erin pinched her nose, glancing between us. “Is it ready?”
Ollie checked his watch. “One minute to go.” Dipping his head, he returned to the cauldron.
He touched me…
Erin cocked her head. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes,” I replied brightly. “I’m all good.”
I could tell she didn’t believe me, but she left it there. “I have a plan for you.”
“Oh?” I rolled my shoulders, centering myself.
“Ollie will drive you out of the mansion grounds looking like two High Coven agents. You’ll then meet Alice and April somewhere discreet.”
Sneaky.
“There you will swap cars, and you can take the potion and change.” She smiled. “Ollie can pretend to be your bodyguard and drive you to The Coral as Isaac Davenport. I have the perfect outfit for you, son.” She chortled.
Ollie said nothing as he filled the potion vial.
He couldn’t take the glamouring potion provided, seeing as it was brewed to hide me, Riley, and Drake. Although Drake wasn’t famous, it was better to disguise him anyway seeing as he was Riley’s man.
“Meet me at my bedroom in ten minutes,” Erin told her son.
He handed me the vial without a word. I drank it, tasting nothing but warm milk.
Okay then.
A puff of sweet-smelling pink mist wafted from my skin, vanishing into the ceiling. The magic broken.
“Excellent,” Erin said, handing me the glamouring potion.
I gulped it down, the deceit sliding back into place. Perfect. Simple. Just how it darn well should be.
Ollie filled six more vials, keeping one, placing the others into a rack on one of the floor-to-ceiling shelving units.
We were starting to build up a collection of potions and ingredients in both spell rooms now.
Better than those shelves being empty, and the cobwebs were gone, the bare floorboards less dusty than before.
“Everything is in hand,” Erin directed at me, then left the room.
“I should get to work on the outfit,” I said to myself out loud.
Ollie positioned himself before me. “How are you feeling?”
Unexpected. I thought he’d walk off in silence. “Eh?”
“You didn’t seem too good just then.”
“Oh. I’m fine. You?”
A curt nod. “Good.” He left the spell room without another word.
Mental note: repair my classy crown before I lost all my dignity.
Ha! Did you ever really have one?