Eva
“Two pour-overs.” I try to project my voice, but my throat is scratchy. The light in the café hurts my head, and the music has been shut off completely because no matter how low we had it, it still pounded in our ears.
Mike and Donna step up for their coffee and look me up and down.
Donna puts her hand on mine. “Rough night sweetie?
“You could say that.”
“I hope it was the fun kind.” She winks and joins Mike, who has already unfolded his newspaper and settled in for the morning under the bright window.
Riley returns from the storeroom, where she went over thirty minutes ago to ‘find something.’ We both know she went in there to sleep on a giant bag of coffee beans. She has her sunglasses on and silently takes her place behind the register.
“You look ridiculous,” I say, tossing back a few pain relievers.
A customer in a wide brimmed felt hat and cute fuzzy scarf steps up to place her order. “Can I get an iced caramel apple frappe?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Our blender is broken,” Riley lies straight to the lady’s face.
“I got it working!” I jump in and ruin Riley’s excuse for not using the loud blender.
Riley rings her up with an icy smile, and when it’s just the two of us, she turns her glare on me. “I just need to get through the shift. Then I can sleep for the next twenty-four hours. Don’t make this worse than it has to be.”
I make the drink and hand it over with a free chocolate chip cookie to make up for Riley’s terrible customer service.
There has to be a spell to cure a hangover.
I try to think of an incantation, but nothing comes to mind.
Magick pools up in my fingertips as they itch to be put to work.
Before long, the power in my hand grows uncomfortable, nearing the point of pain.
I shake my wrist to ease the sensation, and Riley stumbles back, her sunglasses flying across the room and crashing on the floor into pieces.
“Woah, what was that?” she asks, holding her head in her hands. “Eva, what did you do? My headache is gone.” She blinks a few times and looks at me with disbelief in her eyes.
“I don’t know. I was just thinking about a spell for a hangover cure and my hand started to feel weird. Like magick was building there, and I shook it out.”
“Something has got to be happening with the lines. You have to call your mom.” Riley tosses my cell phone through the air, and I awkwardly catch it.
Can you feel it too? Something is happening
Mom
I don’t feel anything. What’s going on?
My magick is being weird
Mom
I can come over when you get home and check it out
Oh shit, that won’t work. I didn’t come this far with Sorren to get caught.
No, it’s fine. I’m tired. We can talk tomorrow at the gathering
Mom
Be safe
“What did she say?” Riley asks.
“She doesn’t feel it yet. And that we can talk at tomorrow’s gathering.”
“Ugh, another meeting?” It’s no secret Riley resents the repetitive gatherings where we report no progress on opening the lines. Hopefully those days are numbered now that we are on the verge of a solution.
“I think we are close to fixing this, Ri. I can feel it.”
The bell over the door dings, and that meddling witch, Lena, walks in. She looks around the café menacingly. With her hand at her side, she swirls her fingers and mutters something under her breath.
Mike and Donna stand up and walk out, leaving their full coffees and newspaper on the table. A current of magick passes by, heavy and spoiled. It’s the same magick from the night of the break in.
“What the hell? You can’t come in here and hex our customers.” Riley steps out from behind the counter. She looks like she’s ready to throw down. Thank the goddess her hangover is gone.
“This is bigger than sending your customers on their way. I felt what you did the other night. It was you, wasn’t it, Eva?” She steps closer. A heaviness surrounds her. The dark magick I have read so much about the last few days, I recognize it as soon as it brushes against mine.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lie, staring her down.
“Power is radiating off you like a searchlight. I can practically see it from Holloway.”
“Lena, I know it was you who broke in. I take it you didn’t find what you were looking for. You need to leave.”
I turn and start to head toward the back office. Her presence is making me uneasy, and I need to get away from the nauseating feeling.
She ignores my comment altogether. “Have they told you about the severance?”
My feet stall.
“Of course. Our coven isn’t concerned with keeping dark secrets about evil magick.”
“There was a condition of the separation, if a formal offer to reunite is extended, it must be voted on by the entire membership.”
“Cool, now get the fuck out,” Riley says.
“Eva, this is the formal offer. Holloway Coven wishes to reunite with Raincrest.” Lena waits for an acknowledgement, so Riley gives her one with her middle finger.
The bell over the door rings again, and the oppressive weight in the air leaves along with the unwelcomed witch who keeps popping up at the worst times.
I head to the back, and as soon as I am around the corner and out of sight, I release a tense breath and pull out my phone.
I messed up, I wasn’t supposed to talk to her.
There were strict orders to not even let her get a word out, and now I know why.
I’m mad at myself for letting it get this far.
I’m also mad at my mom and Paige for not telling me everything.
If these witches would just be more forthcoming, we could have avoided this mess.
Lena came with a formal offer. I assume you know what that means.
Another secret. Hearing it from Lena of all people made it so much worse. “You don’t think anyone would actually vote to reunite, right?” Riley asks. She sits down on the desk.
“I don’t think so.” I take another deep breath, releasing the sensation of Lena’s magick.
“I’m not sure what I know at this point, though.
A lot of the witches in our coven are getting frustrated with how long it’s taken to clear the fog and get the lines open.
They might be desperate enough to reunite with Holloway to regain their power . ”
“Then we better get those lines open.”
Sorren’s shadows swirl around the room. Written in chalk on the hardwood floor is a Kenaz rune for knowledge and insight.
We sprinkle silver shavings throughout the room to channel our magick across the space.
I cover most of the rune with the jagged leaves of mugwort trimmings.
Then strategically place golden beeswax candles around it.
“Thread of ancient Mother Earth, hear me now. Where power has slept, I ask thee to wake. Dirt to root and root to sky. The line remembers—answer my call.”
The candles sputter as the shadows twist between the ingredients. Sorren’s shadow takes the shape of the Kenaz in the air. I look over at him, his eyes are closed, his face turned up, concentrating his intentions to match mine.
The picture frames on the walls rattle and the silver shavings levitate off the floor.
“Answer my call.”
I repeat over the banging throughout the house. Glass shatters in the kitchen. Some of the Mabon decorations on the mantle vibrate off the ledge and fall to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, our magick detangles from one another. Everything falls to the ground, the pictures stop shaking, and the room goes quiet. Our call goes unanswered.
“That was a good one,” he says sweetly. He’s been encouraging all afternoon while we have scoured books, collected countless ingredients, and written incantations to invite Hecate to open the lines.
His shadows retreat and his arms come around me from behind. “Hungry?” he asks, kissing the side of my neck.
“Starving.”
Hand in hand we go to the kitchen, which is messy for the first time since Sorren showed up. I don’t miss the chaos of my scattered mind and supplies. He’s brought an element of calm that was missing before.
Sorren opens the fridge and pulls out a full jar of pickle spears. He hands them over. “I owed you some more of these.”
“You’re getting pretty good at ordering groceries.”
I pop open the jar and pull one out. It’s salty and satisfying.
I reach out to pass Sorren a pickle, and he bites it out of my hand, sucking clean my dripping fingers.
He catches my wrist in his hand and drags me to him.
I don’t resist. Feeling his magick mix with mine is incredible.
It’s sexy and powerful and feels limitless.
At the kitchen sink, I fill a glass of water. Something catches my eye outside, and I push the little curtain aside. My breath hitches, “Sorren, you need to see this.”
He comes to my side. “Holy Hell.” Every plant in my backyard has erupted in blooms. Unnaturally large and vibrant flowers cover every square inch.
“We did this.” I marvel at the incredible display of magick. On my own, I’ve made a flower or two bloom, but they fade quickly and wither up. This is something new. It feels connected to what is happening with Sorren.
He pulls me in for a hug, both hands palming my ass with a squeeze. I can feel the hard bar of his thick cock between us. A half smile tugs at his lips, just enough to send a chill down my spine all the way between my legs, where I am already throbbing for him.
I pull his face down to mine. Our lips crash together, desperate and needy. Coming up for air, I let out a whimper, desperate for more.
“Hm. That’s what I like to hear,” Sorren whispers in my ear while he tugs the lobe with his teeth.
We stumble backwards toward the kitchen table. Sorren lifts my hips, placing me on the edge of the table, his body positioned between my legs. He tugs my skirt up and bunches the fabric over my hips.
Sorren pulls off his shirt over his head and tosses it across the room. Everything he does is so sexy. His tattoo calls my name. I run my finger along the letters, “What’s it say again? Verw—”
He covers my mouth with his hand. “Never say those words. You can’t ever take them back. And your soul is yours to keep.”
He drops to his knees in front of me, and a shadow inches its way across the floor, winding up Sorren’s body before latching onto my ankle. It pulls my leg up, forcing me to my back on the dining table. A strong hand grabs the other ankle and opens my legs even more for him.
He licks down my leg, stopping to kiss the back of my knee, then resumes the torturous path from my thigh to my underwear.
An agonizingly long second goes by while he takes off his glasses and sets them on the table next to me.
He pulls the crotch of my panties to the side and licks up my seam.
He pushes his face deeper, devouring me with an intensity that makes my breath catch.
I grab his hair, holding on for dear life. He sucks on my clit before breaking free and kissing the crease between my groin and thighs.
I grind my pelvis against his face, wanting more. Needing more.
“You’re going to wait until I’m done licking this delicious cunt,” he says with fire in his eyes.
The shadow yanks my leg open even more. “I can’t.” I groan into my elbow covering my face.
His fingers join his mouth, driving me toward an orgasm. My breathing speeds up, my grip on his head tightens, and right before I come, Sorren stands up, wipes his face clean and looks down at me, like he’s about to devour me again.
“Don’t stop,” I pout.
He drops his pants and pulls his cock out. I grab the impressive length and stroke up and down until his hips are thrusting with my movement. The veins on his erection rub obscenely against my palm. I shudder at the memory of how it feels inside me.
His eyes roll back into his head when I swirl my palm over the dark head.
“Eva.” My name slips from his mouth with a groan.
I line him up with my entrance and work my hips in circles until he is pushing into me. Another shadow circles my neck and dips into my slack mouth. He moves at the perfect angle, filling me, imprinting on me.
Nothing will ever compare to this. Whatever it is between us, when we are connected, and when our magick blends together—it has changed the foundation my life has been built on.
“Sorren, come with me.” I beg craving the feeling of him pulsing hot deep inside.
“Oh fuck,” he groans. Something snaps deep inside me. My legs shake, and I clench around him while he spills inside me. Out of breath and covered in a fine layer of sweat, Sorren bends down and kisses me, the taste of me faintly clinging to his lips.
In the back of my mind, a voice reminds me of what brought him here, and everything waiting for him back in the underworld. I violently shove the thought aside. Whatever the reason he was sent to me doesn’t change the fact that he’s mine now. I was a fool to think I could just send him back.
I snuggle deeper into my demon and banish every problem out of our little bubble, if only for a moment.