5. The Fine Print
ELOISE
Friendship is a funny thing. Two people choose to care about each other for no other reason than a spontaneous, unexplainable bond. I met Maeve on the first day of high school during my freshman year. Some girls decided they didn”t like her style. After calling her a witch didn”t get under her skin, they cornered her in the locker room, and things turned dark. When I saw what was about to happen, I walked right up to the head-bitch responsible and punched her face. As expected, little miss mean girl could dish it out but couldn”t take it.
Maeve and I have been friends ever since.
Over the years, I”ve learned to love her unique qualities. Maeve’s always been strange: the way she dresses like every day is a funeral, the tattoos, how she likes to stroll through old cemeteries and trace the engravings on worn tombstones. Once, after she experienced a particularly tough breakup, our college dorm was thrashed by thunderstorms for almost forty-eight hours straight. It seemed like a truly awful coincidence at the time. Now, as I sit in her waiting room with an enchanted candle in a box on my lap, I wonder if I know my best friend at all.
An elderly woman with bright red glasses stops in front of me and, in a smoke-stained voice, whispers, “Ms. Gowdie will see you now.”
I get the distinct impression she’s trying to keep the other people in the waiting room from hearing. Some of them fidget as if they”ve been there a long time. I don”t even have an appointment. I immediately feel guilty for barging in and vow to keep this short. With a quick nod, I gather the box containing the candle and its accoutrements into my arms and hurry into Maeve”s office.
“You didn”t have to bring that back right away,” Maeve says, the second she notices the box in my hands. Her gaze lifts to my face, and she frowns. “What”s wrong?”
I don”t bother to sit down. “I”ll make this quick.” I give her the cliff notes version of what I remember about the night before. “So… the advocate is a… what exactly? He didn’t like it when I suggested he was a vampire, but the descriptor seems apt.”
“Uh… sort of.” Maeve squints at me through her glasses, resting her elbows on her desk. “You might say he’s a special kind of vampire.”
“There are different kinds?” I mumble incredulously, then hold up a hand. “You know what? Never mind. Based on the look of your waiting room, I sense you only have a few minutes, and I don”t want to waste them talking about vampire varietals. But, um, I remember him biting me, only, there”s nothing on my neck.” I run my fingers along the smooth skin covering my jugular.
Maeve waves a dismissive hand. “Oh, the advocate’s saliva can close and heal wounds. He likely licked it away while you were asleep. Anyway, the spell worked. You have a deal. Your problem will be solved tonight. Make sure you’re out in public when it happens, preferably somewhere with a record of your attendance.”
I shift uneasily, gripping the box to my midsection. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I lower my voice to a whisper. “When what, exactly, happens?”
Maeve digs in her drawer for a red lipstick and starts to touch up her makeup using a small gold compact before answering me. “When the advocate kills Tony, of course.”
All the air leaves my lungs, and I have to suck in another breath to grit out, “You”re kidding, right?”
She smooths a hand through the air as if to comfort me. “Don”t worry. He”ll make it look like an accident. He”s very good.”
My jaw drops, and my entire body goes cold. “You told me he was an advocate who was going to help save my house! I didn”t think I was taking out a supernatural hit on my husband.”
“Stop calling him your husband. Tony is an abusive creep who has ties to some very dark people.” She narrows her eyes at me and flips a hand over in my direction. “How did you think the advocate would solve the problem, if not by killing Tony?”
I gape, my head starting to pound. “Oh, I don’t know, intimidate him? Maybe go rough him up?” I blurt. “Show his fangs and scare him into signing his rights away? Pull an Ebenezer Scrooge visit and convince him of the error of his ways so that he voluntarily does the right thing?”
Maeve breaks out into raucous laughter. “Seriously? Once again you underestimate the depths of Tony’s depravity. None of those things will work. Trust me on this.”
Knees weak, I drop into one of the chairs, hunching over the box. “Maeve, I can”t be responsible for Tony”s death. I”m not a murderer.”
“You won”t be. The advocate will do it for you. Distract yourself with something fun tonight, and by morning it will all be better.”
“But I hired him! He might as well be a gun whose trigger I pulled.”
“You”ll get over it once this nightmare goes away and you have your home. If he dies, the divorce does not move forward, and as the surviving spouse, you have a right to receive assets from Tony”s estate, even if his will makes no provision for you. It”s in your best interest to allow the advocate to do what he does best.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a beat, disbelieving what I”m hearing. “How can you be so flippant about this? We”re talking about a man”s life!”
With a reflective sigh, Maeve leans back in her leather chair and threads her black-painted fingertips across her belly. “I”m not flippant, okay?” She gestures toward the box. “I lent that to you at great personal risk. He’s been in my family for centuries, and you are the first human to employ his services. But what Tony did to you, what he”s doing to you, is wrong, Eloise. I believe you”re justified.”
“Is that why you didn”t tell me exactly what the spell did in advance?” I can”t keep the edge from my voice.
Her posture stiffens, and the look she gives me is as cold and dark as the eyes of the menagerie of skeletal animals tattooed on her arms. “You told me you were willing to do anything to save your house.”
I clutch at the heavy weight of guilt that forms in my chest again. “I was. I am. Almost anything! But I never thought... Listen, I know you only want to help me, but this is more than I feel is warranted. How do I undo it?”
Maeve twirls her hair around her finger, her lips pressed tightly. “You can call him back the same way you called him the first time and strike a new bargain.”
“But I can”t perform the spell until midnight, right? He could strike as soon as the sun goes down. In fact, I”m sure he will because I gave him Tony”s office address, not his home.”
“Right. You could try to call him earlier, but the magic will be weaker. He might ignore you.” She drums her fingers on the desk. “If you”re absolutely sure this is what you want, and I really wish you’d reconsider, El, the only way to stop him is to intercept him at Tony”s office. You can command him not to kill Tony, and he must obey you. Once you have an agreement, as long as the candle is in your possession, if you tell him to stop, he”ll stop.”
I stand, gripping the box until my knuckles turn white. “That”s what I”ll do then. Thanks, Maeve.”
“He won”t be happy about it.” Her gaze dips toward the box. “Don”t be surprised if the advocate doesn”t appreciate your interference. No beast likes to have his chain yanked.”
The intense memory of his giant body dwarfing mine as his teeth sank into my throat comes back to me. If that was him on a good day, what would the advocate be like angry? A shiver courses through me. “I understand.”
I head for the door, but Maeve stops me before I reach it. She pulls me into her arms until all the tension leaks from my body. “I”m sorry I didn”t prepare you. I should have known you weren”t ready for this. You”ve never used magic before.”
I wonder why her apology is about magic and not murder, but I figure she means as much, even if she doesn”t say it. “No, I uh, thank you, Maeve. I know you only want to help.”
She kisses my cheek, and I leave without another word. Maeve and I are good. It would take a hell of a lot more than this to come between us.