Chapter 7
To my surprise, I went from shattering into a zillion pieces to waking up lying on the kitchen floor with Cedric sitting on my chest staring down at me.
“Am I dead?” I croaked.
“No, although I did wonder if you might expire, given how you spasmed for several minutes as if you’d been hit by lightning.” Cedric slinked from my chest and perched beside me on the floor.
“Not lightning. Suffocated by butterflies,” I grumbled as I sat up and patted my body to reassure myself it remained intact.
“What happened? I returned from the hunt to find you jiggling on the floor with a stranger standing over you.”
Oh shit, the big dude. “Did you chase him off?”
“Not exactly. I did hiss at him and showed him my claws, but rather than flee in terror, he told me to calm my furry ass down and then proceeded to claim he’d not done anything to harm you.”
“I mean, he technically didn’t.” I’d done that myself simply by grabbing at the necklace barehanded. “Where is the intruder now?” Did I need to grab a frying pan to protect myself?
“Backyard. Soon as you started to glow, he stomped outside and proceeded to call someone on his phone.”
“Who?”
“No idea. I didn’t stay to listen, but I will mention he spoke to them in Russian.”
My brows knitted. Russian? “He was after the necklace.”
“So I gathered. I imagine his annoyance came from the fact you triggered the spell.”
“How can you tell?”
“Well, for one thing, the magic in it is gone,” Cedric noted, glancing at the chain and pendant lying on the floor a few feet from me.
“Um, yeah, about that… To keep the thief from stealing it, I snagged it, and then… I’m not exactly sure what happened next.” Had that dream been real or a hallucination brought on as a result of me passing out?
“Judging by your new aura, seems like you unlocked whatever the amulet held.”
Despite Cedric not sounding mad, I still apologized. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to take it. But the voice…It wouldn’t take no for an answer.” The reminder had me hugging myself to try and stem the tremors that threatened.
“What voice? What happened when you touched the necklace?”
My lips pursed. “I ended up in the eye of a storm comprised of butterflies, where a disembodied voice kept asking me to accept.”
“Accept what?”
My shoulders rolled. “It never really did say. It claimed if I said yes that I would go on a trip and find some people that might be able to help you.”
“You obviously agreed, seeing as how you’re awash with magic but of a kind I’ve never seen. I want you to tell me exactly what happened, every detail and word.”
“Can I have a glass of water first? Actually, make that vodka because, I swear, I can still taste those damned butterflies.”
Cedric might not have brows, but he somehow managed to lift the fur above his eyes. “You actually ate butterflies? I thought they scared you.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I grumbled as I rose to my feet and headed for the liquor cabinet in the living room. I didn’t bother with a glass but swigged right from the bottle. The liquid burned its way down to my belly. A more pleasant type of fire than I’d just experienced.
“Are you ready to tell me what happened?”
It took another swallow before I could begin, this time going into every detail, and when I finished, Cedric looked pensive—for a cat.
He murmured, “This voice claimed there are people with the knowledge to help me?”
I nodded. “Yes, but we’ll have to travel to find them.”
“Over the ocean, which is vague. Did it not give you any other clues?”
I shook my head. “The voice wasn’t very helpful. Just kept insisting I had to accept.”
“And you said yes because it offered a way to break my curse. Thank you.” For once, Cedric sounded humbled.
I shrugged. “I told you I’d do my best to help you get back to being yourself.”
“The voice might not have been able to offer a monetary prize but know that your actions won’t go unrewarded,” Cedric promised.
“Bah. Don’t worry about paying me. You’re my friend. Friends help each other.”
“I wonder where we have to go?” Cedric mused.
“Russia.”
The deep male voice had me spinning to see the intruder had returned, minus the mask.
The tall man, with skin paler than snow, but who could hardly be called fairest of them all with his chiseled features, almost-shoulder-length platinum hair, which fell in waves, and the wide body that I’d noticed before, stood in the archway for the kitchen. Who knew thieves could be studs?
“Who are you?” I blurted out, wondering if I needed to grab a weapon. My frying pan remained in the kitchen, but I did have a candlestick in the living room. Dude might be handsome, but that didn’t make him friendly.
“I am Misha.” Just a first name, no last, and no apology for invading my house.
“And I’m Flo, the woman whose house you broke into.”
“The door was unlocked.”
“Ever heard of knocking?”
He rolled his big shoulders. “Seemed like a waste of time.”
Was he for real? I gave him my sternest look. “What you did is a felony. You entered my house without permission and tried to steal my necklace!”
“More like recovering it, seeing as how it belongs to my people.”
Wait, what? “Are you saying Ms. Papillon stole it?”
“Of sorts. It appears she took it from the original thief. When it surfaced, I was sent to collect it.”
“If you wanted it so badly, why didn’t you go to the auction and buy it?”
“I would have, but my flight was delayed and I arrived too late,” Misha’s disgruntled reply. “However, the gentleman who sold it to you provided me with your information.”
“And you thought… I’ll just break in and steal it?” I crossed my arms, the bottle of vodka I still gripped sloshing. “Did it never occur to you to maybe ring my doorbell and ask?”
“As if you’d have sold it to me,” he scoffed.
“Guess we’ll never know,” my tart reply. “Anyhow, you can have it. I want nothing to do with the damned thing.”
His lip curled. “You would say that after you stole its power.”
He knew about the magic. Rather than ask about it, though, I replied to his accusation.
“Stole?” I arched a brow. “Hardly. I merely touched it and some stupid voice began insisting I accept some kind of quest.” I gave an abbreviated version of what happened.
seeing as how he obviously knew more about the amulet than I did.
Perhaps he could offer a clue as to what I had to do next.
“Anivivi spoke to you?” Misha said in an incredulous tone.
“The what?”
“Anivivi. What you would call a spirit.”
“Yes, it spoke, and it was annoying. Wouldn’t take no for an answer.
As if I want to be saddled with a task that will put me in danger.
Even more irritating, the voice told me I’d have to travel, but does it tell me where?
No. Of course not. Just like it wouldn’t explain what it expected of me.
And worse, it expects me to do all this for free because I totally have the funds to ditch my job and run off on some stupid quest.” I glanced at my cat. “No offense, Cedric.”
“None taken,” his dry reply.
Misha’s lips flattened into a thin line. “I cannot believe it chose you.”
“It who? Who was that voice? Or should I say what?”
“You spoke with Anivivi, a spirit imprisoned within the necklace.” Misha didn’t sound happy about it.
“Whose spirit? Are you saying I’m possessed by someone’s ghost?” Fuck me. My head better not start spinning.
“More like imbued with their power.” Misha rubbed his jaw. “The Elders will not be pleased.”
“Neither am I. I didn’t ask for this. The only reason I ended up saying yes was because it claimed it would bring me in contact with someone who can help Cedric get rid of his curse.”
Misha’s gaze strayed to Cedric. “I thought your aura seemed familiar, but the shape confused.”
“Can you fix him? I’ll gladly give you whatever the voice infected me with if you do,” I offered.
“Alas, what you ask is not that simple.”
I sighed. “Of course it isn’t. Guess I’ll be maxing out my credit cards because I doubt getting to Russia is cheap. Assuming that’s the correct location.”
“It is,” Misha’s flat reply.
“Do you know where in Russia and what I’m supposed to do?
And how dangerous will this be because, while I have more bravery than common sense, at least according to my mom, I’m not a fighter.
Although I did pretty good against that demon imp.
Think I’ll be able to whack whatever I’m facing with a frying pan? ”
Misha stared at me before shaking his head. and I detected a hint of disgust on his face. “I cannot believe Anivivi chose you.”
“Deal with it,” my dry and somewhat annoyed reply because I dare any woman to not be miffed when a super-hot dude disses her.
“Apparently I don’t have a choice. Pack your things. We’ll depart tonight,” my tall blond intruder commanded.
As if he called the shots. “Hold on a second there. You can’t seriously just expect me to toss together a suitcase on that kind of short notice.
Not to mention, my passport is expired. My bad.
Everything was closed during COVID, and I completely forgot to renew it once things opened back up.
But I hear it’s only a few weeks to get a new one—”
“We don’t have a few weeks,” Misha snapped.
“Why the rush? You weren’t in a hurry when Papillon owned the darned thing.”
“Because she had it secured. Not only could we not detect it but the enemy couldn’t either. Now that Anivivi has been let loose, it will be on the hunt.”
“Enemy!” I squeaked. Were these the wrong hands the seers mentioned?
“What are we talking about? Demon? Elf prince?” The latter might sound odd, except Charlie’s new hubby, Ulseere, had been a hunter for the Eastern King in the Infernal dimension, tasked with bringing back a different naughty prince.
And yes, my life had taken a twist into the weird the last few months.
At least I couldn’t complain about boredom.
“It won’t be the enemy that hunts but its pet. The pernicae was created with one task only. To capture the spirit now residing in you and return it to its master.”
Hearing I was possessed deserved some explanation but the fact a monster chased me seemed a tad more important. “Surely we have a bit of time. I mean I just got possessed in the last hour.” I’d barely had time to catch my breath—or get drunk. Speaking of which, I took a swig of vodka.
“It is likely close by.”
“And you know that how?” I queried.
“Because the moment the pendant holding Anivivi was removed from whatever containment hid it, my people and I sensed it. Hence why I immediately left Russia. The pernicae likely roused as well and has had time to make its way here.”
I glanced at Cedric, who’d been unnaturally quiet. “You ever hear of this pernicae creature?”
“Yesss.” A low hiss. “Had I known the necklace would draw it, I would have warned you to steer clear.”
“That bad?”
Cedric reached out a paw and patted my arm. “Very. I will mourn when you’re gone.”
The fact he already assumed I’d die should have sent me to a corner to huddle in a fetal position crying, or to the freezer for all the ice cream.
However, the way Cedric and this Russian jerk both assumed the voice made a huge mistake in picking me, and that I would for sure die, rankled.
Like, hello, I might not be some trained warrior or sorceress—which sounded way cooler than witch—but the spirit had seen something in me.
Me! Florence Mabel Girard. Bilingual, thirty-seven, Ottawa resident, who liked playing video games, enjoyed fancy cocktails and the occasional joint, and who’d faced down a demon and walked away victorious. I wondered if I should add that to my dating profile because it did make me sound badass.
So what if Cedric and Misha lacked faith in my abilities? I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge or cry uncle. Especially once another swig of vodka spread a warm, confident glow through me.
My chin lifted defiantly as I stated very clearly, “I’ll be ready to go in ten minutes, so I hope you have a plan to get me on a plane to Russia.”
“I’ll find a way.”
An ominous promise, which he kept, to my chagrin.