Fate's Embrace Read online

  “I’ll look into it,” he said. “But no promises on the one-name-wonder.”

  “If I’m delusional for talking to a snake, what are you for researching a winged man with glowing blue eyes?” I laughed at the expression on his face. Yes, snakes can have facial expressions. At least, cursed wizards turned into snakes could.

  “If I’m crazy, then you’ve driven me there.”

  I laughed. “Don’t kid yourself, Perc. It was within walking distance.”

  Percy slinked away to do some research while I got dressed. It was still fairly early, which meant I had time for a relaxing breakfast before starting my day. I needed to gather a few spell ingredients from the surrounding woods. Everything else I might need, Percy ordered online.

  I didn’t have any appointments for today, but I’d been expecting someone to pick up a love spell kit for a few days now. Normally I didn’t put together kits for people, I performed the spells myself. The exception, of course, being that I didn’t do black magic. I also didn’t accept the karma from a fuck-up. You know, if someone asks me to do a spell on a married man and I didn’t know he was married. That’s their karma, not mine. I had no idea who would want the spell. I only knew that they’d want to do it themselves and didn’t know what they’d need.

  I parted my hair into two sections and worked it into braids. If I didn’t braid it, my curls would turn to frizz before my hair was dry. The weather wasn’t cold enough for a sweater and it certainly wasn’t warm enough for shorts. Finally I decided on some jeans and a favorite t-shirt, the green one that Percy said matched my eyes.

  I pushed my feet into fluffy green slippers before heading downstairs in search of caffeine. Vanilla creamer has got to be one of the best inventions known to man. It makes even Amaretto coffee bearable. I hadn’t gone to the store in a week, simply because I had other things on my mind. I was down to a pack of mixed coffees that someone had given me for Christmas last year. All that was left was the nasty Amaretto. The only thing worse was Hazelnut, which I’d thrown in the trash because it tasted like dirt.

  After pouring in enough creamer to make the coffee tolerable, I took some fruit out of the fridge and settled down for breakfast. I was just finishing my fruit and coffee when I felt Percy crawling up my leg underneath the table.

  “Bad news, ssweetheart.”

  “There’s going to be some really bad news for you if you climb higher.”

  Percy stopped mid-thigh and moved to the table so that he could face me. “As I was saying, nothing in the database about your mysterious winged man.”

  We had an extensive database on the computer. It was a compilation of everything known to the magical world. Spells, important people, you name it. It was my grandmother’s life’s work. She was still working on it from her house in south Florida, and sent me regular updates. Hearing that there was no trace of him there was a bigger disappointment than I’d expected.

  “Nothing at all?” I took another sip of coffee and frowned.

  “There was one instance of the name Aleric, but nothing about wings.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It said there was a very powerful wizard named Aleric about three hundred years ago, and that he had some sort of enchanted tattoos.”

  “That’s it?”

  Percy seemed to think it over. “Oh, and he’s a Scorpio and likes walks on the beach. Yes, that’s it. If it isn’t in the database, it’ll be a bitch to find anything on him at all. I say forget about it and concentrate more on our sssecurity around here.”

  He crawled to the other side of the kitchen table and wound himself into a coil with his head still pointing at me.

  “Any takers on the ad yet?”

  “Not yet, but it’s only been a few days.”

  I couldn’t help thinking that if we’d placed the ad sooner, maybe my statue wouldn’t have been stolen. It didn’t feel right without him here. I had literally been looking at him my whole life.

  I rose from the table with a sigh and put my coffee cup in the sink.

  “My protection spell might be as good as it gets.”

  Percy looked upset. “But you posted it in all the big cities too.”

  “Nobody might know what a W.A. alarm system is anymore. All I know is that my gram said to place that ad if I ever got into trouble that I couldn’t handle.”

  Percy’s tongue darted out. “Well, I’ve heard of a wizard alarm, but fat lot of good that does.”

  I walked by and stroked his coils. “It’s all right, Perc. I know you’d do it for me if you could. I need to get some things in the woods and then I need to go to the grocery store. You wanna come?”

  “Does this mean you’re going to stuff me in that backpack again?”

  I laughed. “It’s the only choice if I jog.”

  “Couldn’t you take a bicycle this time at least?”

  “All right, fine. But you can’t ride in the little basket on the front, so you’ll still have to go in the backpack.”

  Percy stretched out and starting winding his way down the table leg onto the floor. “Why? I like the little basket.”

  The conversation was too funny for me. I kept remembering the last time Percy rode in the basket. “Because you frighten people. It’s bad enough that I’m the only practicing witch in a small town. I can’t afford to drive around on my bicycle with a snake in the basket.”

  Percy gave a little snort of laughter. “Yeah, well, the old bitch shouldn’t have looked in your basket.”

  “She’s my neighbor,” I scolded.

  “And a rotten, nosy old cunt.”

  “Percy!”

  He pouted. “Well, she is.”

  Ever since my nosy neighbor Denise had spotted him in my basket I got dirty looks whenever I rode into town. Like I didn’t get enough of them before.

  “She thinks I’m a devil worshiper.”

  He laughed. “Who the fuck would worship her?”

  “Percy, that’s enough.” I was trying to hide my amusement but it wasn’t working. Denise shooed him out of her garden once for chasing lizards and stepped on his tail in the process. Percy had a deep, abiding hatred for her ever since.

  “You shouldn’t have spoken to her.”

  He stopped slithering across the floor and turned back to me. “I didn’t speak to her, I cussed at her.”

  I had to sit down, I was laughing so hard. When I went into the store I covered Percy with a scarf. I’d come back outside just in time to see Denise lift the covering and hear Percy yell, “Fuck off, you nosy bitch!”

  Admittedly, he had to look like an odd bundle. He’s big and the basket isn’t. He was bulging over the sides, sticking out in lumps that I barely had enough scarf to cover. That must have been hard for someone like Denise to resist.

  “If she tries it again, I’m going to offer her an apple.”

  I nearly fell out of my chair. “That’ll do wonders to stop the devil worship rumors. A talking snake offering her an apple.” I laughed so hard I snorted. “Stop, Percy. I’ve got stuff to do today.”

  A few minutes later I had changed into more appropriate shoes and was almost ready to go. I threw my wallet into a backpack I would use for both supplies and hiding Percy. We’d finally reached a compromise. He would ride in the basket until we got close to town, then he’d switch to the backpack. I was stuffing some plastic bags into the backpack when Percy came into the kitchen.

  “I don’t like the way it smells outside,” he said.

  “What do you mean? It’s a beautiful fall day. What did you smell?”

  “Wet dog.”

  I laughed. “That could be anything. It’s probably that guy down the road, what’s-his-face that has all the horses? You know, he has a couple of dogs. Big black labs. They might have wandered up here.”

  “Or it could be we’ve got a werewolf snooping around.”

  Goosebumps rose on my arms. “Don’t scare me, Percy. I’ve got to go into town today or I won’t have anything to eat f
or supper besides a can of beans.”

  “Then take the car, it’s safer.”

  “Nothing is safe if a werewolf wants to get to you. Besides, I’m not going to let the bastard scare me out of getting some exercise. I like taking the bike.”

  “You also like long jogs through the woods. Why don’t you go ahead and put on your little red hood?”

  “Fuck you. Get in the basket.”

  Chapter Three

  It was such a beautiful day. The wind was cool and crisp, but as long as I kept moving I wasn’t cold. Leaves were starting to turn and they looked even more golden in the sunlight. The grass was starting to die, but the world had never looked more alive to me. Most of my neighbors were out cleaning their yards, which included raking up giant piles of leaves. Garbage pickup in the country does not include leaves. That left only one option. I sighed, breathing it in as I passed. Burning leaves have a different smell than other fires. It’s a distinct fragrance of autumn.

  When I pulled over to the side of the narrow road, Percy slithered down from the basket to follow me into the woods. We had already gathered everything else I needed. There was just one more thing I wanted to collect.

  “Wolfsbane?” he laughed. “I thought you weren’t that concerned about me smelling a wet dog outside.”

  “You can never be too careful.”

  “You know, Michael has never physically threatened you.”

  I shivered as I put on a glove to collect the poisonous plant. “He didn’t have to. It was in his eyes. I don’t want to be alone with him. Ever.”

  I made sure the wolfsbane was wrapped securely so neither of us could touch it, and put it in the small zippered pouch on the front of the backpack. I set the pack on the ground in front of Percy.

  He looked at it. “What?”

  “You know what. Our next stop is town. Now, get in.”

  We were nearly at the edge of town when I saw the two priests talking together on the side of the road. They waved and since I didn’t want to be rude I stopped. “Stay in the backpack,” I said in an undertone to Percy. I elbowed the pack as I came to a halt, forcing him to put his head inside. I just hoped the priests hadn’t noticed.

  “Good morning,” I said to the priests. “Conducting more research?”

  They had introduced themselves before as Father Dantes and Father Renaldo. Both men had dark hair and dark eyes. If it weren’t for the fact that Renaldo was shorter and Dantes had a thick Spanish accent, you could barely tell them apart. In my opinion, they were too good-looking. They looked more like models than priests. Even though I’m not Catholic, I felt like it was probably wrong to think about a priest this way. So I quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

  “We’re going door to door,” Father Renaldo said.

  Father Dantes rolled his eyes. “He’s going door to door. I’m trying to talk him out of it.”

  I assumed this was because of the behavior of some of the townspeople. “Yes,” I said. “People in small communities can be very close-minded when it comes to religion. I imagine if they’re not Catholic, they don’t want to let you in. Even though you’re not writing a book about religion, all they see is a couple of priests.”

  “Raina, wasn’t it?” Father Dantes said. “How is it that you don’t behave like them?”

  I shrugged. “I know what it’s like to be shut out. You gentlemen may not want to hear this either, but I’m a witch.”

  They didn’t appear as shocked as I’d expected.

  “Have you already been warned?” I teased. “Be sure to wear your crosses and don’t look me in the eye.”

  To my surprise, Father Dantes laughed. “You might have been mentioned a few times. Don’t worry. I’m not a fan of superstition. Besides, you don’t look like a maneater to me.”

  I raised a brow and could hear Percy choking with laughter inside the backpack. I tried to cover up the sound with a cough.

  “Well, I’ll let you gentlemen get back to your work.”

  As soon as we were past them, Percy stuck his head back out of the pack and roared with laughter.

  “Ooo, a maneater. That’s a new one,” he teased.

  “I can’t imagine where that came from.”

  “They must have talked to a jealous housewife who thinks you’re trying to steal her husband.”

  I sighed. “I really wish people would stop thinking that just because I’m a witch I’m sex crazed.”

  To his credit, the snake didn’t offer further comment, and I was grateful.

  Percy waited until the very last minute to tuck his head back inside the backpack. We were coasting down the hill toward the grocery store when he was finally concealed. I saw Denise’s beat-up truck a few parking spaces down and cringed.

  My grocery shopping is always pretty basic. Some chicken, fresh fish, fruit and veggies. No junk food. It wasn’t that I was too uptight about my weight to eat sweets or anything. They made me sick. I didn’t eat them growing up and my system was never able to adjust. The closest I came to eating junk was a piece of milk chocolate every now and then.

  I made it all the way to the check-out counter before running into my neighbor. The good thing about living in the country was that even close neighbors weren’t really close. Her house wasn’t within sight of mine, but two miles down the road. Those two miles were filled with woods and a couple of fields. I only saw her in town, which wasn’t often. Still, running into someone like her once a year was good enough.

  She was in the lane across from me and kept looking my way. I pretended not to notice. Goddess forbid I catch her eye and she strike up a conversation.

  I was hanging my bags on the handlebars when she exited the store.

  “Shit.”

  “What is it?” Percy asked.

  “Keep quiet.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Denise asked.

  As I turned around she flung her long, stringy, white hair over one shoulder. She was nearing sixty, but dressed like she was twenty-five. And acted like a flirty teenager. To men at least. To every woman in the world she was a bitch. To me, she was a super bitch.

  “Nothing, I wasn’t talking to you.”

  “Is that—?”

  “Shh,” I said, cutting Percy off.

  Denise gave me a strange look, pursing her already thin lips together. It looked like she’d been sucking on a tube of hemorrhoid cream.

  “You got that snake in the basket again?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. Thankfully, Jack came to my rescue. Jack is a police officer and he looks damn good in a uniform. He walked up just in time and stepped between us as if he could sense the tension.

  “Now Denise, I told you when you came down to the station that there are no such things as talking snakes.”

  She huffed. “Did I tell you that it was in my garden before? The same damn snake!”

  Jack sighed, putting one hand on his hip. “Yes, you did. And I told you that if you see a snake in your garden you shoot it, not file a police report.”

  That bitch tried to file a police report on me?!

  “Why don’t you let Miss Raina get on about her business?” He paused and when she didn’t move, added, “And you get on about yours.”

  “Fine,” she said, turning back toward her truck.

  I waited until I was back on my bicycle and Jack had walked into the store before I called after her, “He’s in the backpack today.”

  Percy poked his head out of the bag and stuck out his forked tongue. The last I saw, Denise fainted and I nearly drove into a ditch.

  The ride home was filled with laugher and many snide remarks from Percy on what Denise could do with her shotgun.

  “Just stay out of her garden.”

  “But she’s got the best lizards,” he whined.

  I was so busy talking to the snake that I didn’t see the handsome man on my steps until I was almost on top of him. Wow. Was he here for the love spell? Could I talk him out of it?

  Black dress pants hug
ged his legs like they were on friendly terms. He wore a matching vest and a dark blue shirt. It was when I reached his eyes that I almost wrecked my bike. The stranger rose to help me as I came to a shaky stop beside an azalea bush.

  He was tall, towering over me as he reached for my hand. He had a firm grip and a smile that nearly stopped my heart.

  “Are you all right?”

  I felt like I couldn’t breathe. “It’s you. I mean, um, are you here about the love spell?”

  He licked his lips, bringing my attention once more to his full mouth.

  “I’m here about the ad.”

  He smelled so good, I could hardly think. He was close to me and still holding my hand.

  “Are you going to stand there and drool or are you going to tell him our sssituation?”

  Percy came slithering out of the backpack, wrapping himself around me like a shawl. The stranger seemed more interested than surprised. I must say, his reaction intrigued me. No one had ever seen Percy and just taken it in stride.

  “Let me guess,” the man said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, “the hundred-year snake curse?”

  “Yess, it’s a bitch.”

  “Wow. I’m impressed,” I said, finally getting a hold on my reaction. “This is Percy and I’m Raina.”

  “Call me Al,” he said, shaking the hand he was still holding.

  When he introduced himself, my heart leapt. Al? As in Aleric? I wondered. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he looked exactly like my missing statue.

  “Please, come inside.”

  He helped me with the groceries, and I watched him walk up the steps. He was the same height and underneath those clothes I recognized the shape of a very familiar body. Just the memory of how well endowed the statue was made me so wet I was afraid someone might notice.

  After entering the kitchen I turned to our guest and said, “Al, will you excuse me for a minute? I need to put something upstairs.”

  Percy remained wrapped around my shoulders, so he went with me. As I tossed the pack full of herbs onto the bed I insisted, “It’s him.”

  “Who?” the snake asked as he slid down my body to the floor.