Strange Magic (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 9) Read online

  It howled, an ear-splitting sound that had become all too familiar to Evan lately. He took advantage of its distraction to recite the spell Jack Sandoval had taught him. Maybe it wouldn’t work this time, either, but he knew he had to do something, and trying to tackle the creature while Zoe was throwing fireballs at it sounded like a recipe for getting his own ass blasted off.

  The words flowed out of him, laced with power, his voice sounding strange to him, as if something was amplifying it far beyond what even a normal shout would have sounded like. The monster put its hands to its ears and backed away, its pale, feverish gaze darting from him to Zoe and back again. White fire glared around her hand, and the promise of that additional assault seemed to be enough. It released a final cry of anguish — or anger — and then disappeared, fading into the night as if it had never been there.

  Evan pulled in a breath and then ran over to Zoe, who stood there cradling her injured hand and staring at the place where the creature had stood. Her eyes were wide with fright and pain, but incongruously, she smiled at him and said, “Thought you’d never get here.”

  “I almost didn’t,” he replied. Then he glanced at her right hand. “Are you okay?”

  “Not really,” she said, sounding almost cheerful. “I think it broke my wrist. I’ll have to have Alba patch me up.”

  “Alba?”

  “The de la Paz healer in Phoenix.”

  Oh. He wanted to sag with relief at Zoe’s words. The McAllisters had been without a healer for so long that he’d forgotten this kind of injury didn’t have to mean weeks of being in a cast. Zoe would be good as new soon enough.

  So because he didn’t have to worry about her wrist, he let the wave of anger flow through him. “Then can you tell me what the hell you thought you were doing, coming out here all by yourself? That thing could have — ” He stopped there, because he really didn’t want to think about what the creature might have done to her.

  Apparently, those same thoughts had passed through her mind, because the pale oval of her face in the moonlit darkness looked positively stricken. “I thought I could handle it. I’d beaten it before. But then Uncle Jack’s spell didn’t work….” She stopped there, eyebrows lifting. “Why did it work for you and not me?”

  “I don’t know,” Evan said. “Magic can be weird sometimes. But we can leave that for later. Right now I need to get you home.”

  “Home,” Zoe repeated, looking less than thrilled. Probably she was thinking about the recriminations she knew waited for her. Then she shifted slightly, and bit her lip. “I don’t think I can drive with this wrist.”

  “Then don’t. We’ll leave your car here, and come back for it tomorrow when it’s daylight and your wrist has been healed.” He paused for a moment and looked around, realizing this was probably a kind of day-use area for ATV enthusiasts. Zoe’s car should be safe enough here for a while; you couldn’t even see it from the highway.

  “All right.” She sounded resigned, but at least she didn’t seem inclined to argue with him.

  “Come on.” Evan turned toward the place where he’d left the Barracuda and began to walk. Part of him rebelled, because what he really wanted to do was take her and hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he didn’t dare trust himself to take that kind of a liberty. No, he’d just have to keep walking and hope she’d follow without protest.

  Which she did. She stumbled once or twice on the uneven ground, but she didn’t say anything, just kept going, and caught up so she walked next to him. At least she’d had the sense to wear running shoes and jeans for this outing, as if some part of her had known she was headed into rough territory. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and it didn’t appear as if she wore a lick of makeup. Somehow, however, even though the ensemble should have made her look more like a kid, she appeared older and harder, her face drawn with pain, as if the purity of her features in the moonlight had momentarily transformed her from the girl she was into the woman she was becoming.

  Evan thought she was probably the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He didn’t stare, though, but just kept walking to the car. In silence, he went over to the passenger-side door and opened it for her, then waited as she sat down. She began to reach for the seatbelt with her left hand but clearly was having some difficulty.

  So he said, “Let me get that for you,” and reached down and stretched it across her. It was harder than he’d thought, being this close, catching that faint sweet scent from her hair once again. The seatbelt locked in place and he stood up quickly, almost hitting his head on the roof of the car in his haste.

  Her full mouth began to curve in a smile, as if she knew exactly why he was trying so hard to get away from her.

  Without comment, he walked over to his side of the car and got in. Still without speaking, he started up the engine and turned around so he could get headed in the right direction on the access road. He drove slowly, but he saw how Zoe’s lips tightened in pain whenever they went over a particularly bad bump.

  Well, the healer would take care of the injured wrist for her. And after that…he just didn’t know.

  Her parents were very quiet as the healer worked on Zoe. Oh, they were angry — she didn’t know if she’d ever seen them this angry. But, unlike some of the other members of the clan, they weren’t the type to explode in front of others. They’d wait until Alba was done, and then they’d let their daughter have it.

  Or maybe they wouldn’t. Zoe’s gaze strayed to where Evan stood off to one side, watching as Alba passed her hands over Zoe’s broken wrist. He hadn’t said much on the drive here, and she’d been fine with that. Her mind was racing in so many directions, she didn’t even know if she would have been able to carry on a rational conversation.

  When he’d bent so close to fasten her seatbelt for her — despite the pain she’d been in, she’d wanted nothing more than for him to lean in even closer, to place his mouth on hers. But of course he was far too careful, too in control of himself, to do anything like that. Only specially selected candidates were allowed to kiss the prima-in-waiting, and Evan clearly was well aware of that fact, knew that trying to kiss her without being invited would cause all sorts of trouble.

  Speaking of which…as much as her mind wanted to rebel at the thought, she had to analyze the creature’s actions as it had assaulted her. For some reason, she had the impression that it really hadn’t intended to hurt her, more that it didn’t know its own strength. Her broken wrist had just been an unfortunate result of its desire to pull her close.

  To kiss her. Her stomach churned at the idea, but she couldn’t put it out of her head. After all, hadn’t she brought the creature here because of her need for a true consort? Maybe it was just trying to pursue what it thought its true purpose in life must be.

  God.

  She gritted her teeth as Alba closed both hands around her wrist. This was the necessary final step — she’d seen Alba do the same thing when Zander broke his arm after he fell off his skateboard — but knowing it was just part of the way the magic worked didn’t make it hurt any less. Her earlier movements had served to get the bones to line up, and now Alba held Zoe’s wrist so she could send her healing energy within and make the break knit itself together. Having it in a cast would accomplish the same thing, but why be incapacitated for weeks when you could brute-force your way through a little pain and then be good as new again?

  Alba had knelt while she used her healing powers on Zoe. Now she stood up and smiled. “All better. It will feel a little stiff for a few hours, but when you wake up tomorrow, it will be good as new.”

  “Thanks, Alba,” Zoe said, and meant it. Her wrist still ached, but she could get back to monster chasing tomorrow, no problem. Well, unless her parents decided to confine her to her room for the next three years. Not that they could really get away with such a thing. A prima-in-waiting led a restricted life, true, but Zoe was still an adult. She could invoke her powers as the clan’s heir, threat
en to leave.

  Yeah, right. If Zoe tried anything like that, her Aunt Luz would put her foot down so fast, it would probably create a small earthquake.

  “Yes, thank you, Alba,” Andrea said, getting up from the couch where she’d been sitting. “And thank you for coming over so late at night.”

  “Healing knows no hour of the day,” Alba responded. It was something Zoe had heard her say more than once.

  “Still,” her father put in. “We do appreciate it.”

  Alba smiled and retrieved her purse, and Zoe’s parents went to see her out. They’d barely shut the door, however, before someone knocked on it. Alba, returning for something she’d forgotten?

  But then Zoe saw the grim glance her parents exchanged, and knew that wasn’t Alba at the door.

  Luz Trujillo came into the house and stalked straight into the living room, her slender form practically vibrating with anger. Although she usually wore her long, dark hair pulled back in a clip or in a low bun on the back of her neck, right then it flowed loose over her shoulders, indicating that she’d been relaxing at home for the night and had come straight here without bothering to make herself more presentable.

  Crap.

  She paused in front of Zoe, arms crossed, apparently oblivious to Evan McAllister’s presence only a few feet away. Or maybe she simply didn’t care that an outsider looked on while she upbraided her niece and heir. “What on earth were you thinking, Zoe?”

  “I — ”

  “To sneak out like that without telling anyone where you were going? To go after a dangerous and unknown creature, all by yourself?”

  “I — ”

  “This recklessness has got to stop! You aren’t just endangering yourself — you’re endangering the future of the clan. Did you ever think about what would happen if you were hurt, or worse?”

  No, she really hadn’t. Oh, of course she had no intention of getting injured while tracking down the creature, but intentions couldn’t always keep the bad stuff from happening. She herself was a sort of insurance policy in case anything happened to Luz. That was why witch clans always made sure there was a prima-in-waiting, should the worst occur. But so far a successor hadn’t appeared who could take Zoe’s place if she herself suffered a fatal accident or injury. Such situations were very rare, of course, but the de la Paz clan hadn’t survived and prospered this long by taking chances.

  Zoe knew she was in the wrong. Maybe even as recently as a few days ago she would have made a sulky reply and pointed out that nothing bad had happened — well, beyond her injured wrist — and so there wasn’t much point in getting all bent over the situation. But she could feel Evan’s gaze on her. She didn’t want to sound like a spoiled brat. She wanted to be someone he could admire.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I could feel something pulling me there, and since we’d been having such a hard time finding the monster, I didn’t feel as if I could waste any time in going after it. Also, I’d been able to defend myself against it before. Twice. I didn’t think it was that big a risk.”

  Her words didn’t seem to mollify her aggrieved aunt, whose arms remained crossed. “Of course it was a risk. Just going out alone like that in the middle of the night was a risk. What if your car had broken down? What if you’d run into someone who wanted to take advantage of a young woman all on her own in the middle of nowhere?”

  “Okay,” Luis said, stepping forward as he sent a warning look at his sister-in-law. “I really don’t think it’s necessary to jump directly into worst-case scenarios.”

  “I’m the prima,” Luz shot back. Her dark eyes glinted with anger. “I have to consider worst-case scenarios. It comes with the territory.”

  “We know that,” Zoe’s mother said quietly. “But Zoe is safe now. Evan got there in time to save her. Thank you for that,” she added, her gaze finding Evan where he stood off to one side, his expression almost too blank, as if he was expending a lot of effort to prevent everyone from guessing what might be passing through his mind. “I don’t think we really had thanked you yet.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “The important thing was getting Zoe healed.”

  He barely looked at her, but Zoe didn’t mind. They’d already traded a few heated glances, and the last thing she wanted was for either her parents or Aunt Luz to pick up on any of that.

  But that didn’t mean Zoe didn’t want to be alone with him so they could talk. She wanted to discuss her latest insights about the creature with him, get his take on why he’d gotten the banishment spell to work when she’d failed so dismally.

  All right, and also see if he might be tempted to lean in toward her once more, to maybe risk their lips touching….

  No, he’d never do that. He knew he wasn’t intended to be her consort, and he’d never muddy the waters while there was still time to find her true match.

  “Anyway,” Luz went on, “you are absolutely not to go after this creature — or anywhere else — unless you have someone with you.”

  At any other time, such a commandment would have made Zoe grit her teeth and push the argument further. Yes, she was used to having members of the clan watch over her from a distance, but that was a far different thing from being stuck with a glorified babysitter. Now, though, she thought she had the perfect bodyguard in Evan McAllister. He’d just proved to all of them that he could protect her, and would, at serious risk to his own life and limb.

  And if anyone complained, well, she’d just point out that she wasn’t the one who’d sent for him, was she?

  “That’s fine,” she said, in tones so sweet that her father sent her a suspicious glance, as if he guessed she was up to something, even if he couldn’t quite figure out what it might be. “I know you and Mom have things to handle at the office, and Zander’s powers are still developing, so I don’t think he’d be much help. But maybe Evan can keep an eye on me? I mean, that’s why he’s here, right?”

  Aunt Luz’s lips pressed together. Clearly, she’d just figured out her niece’s angle and was trying to decide how best to circumvent it. “We asked Evan to come down here to help reverse the spell, not play bodyguard. He — ”

  “It’s okay,” Evan broke in. He stepped away from where he’d been standing by the wall and came a little farther into the room so he could face Zoe’s family members. “Part of figuring out how to reverse the spell involves being near the creature, and the best way to do that is to be with Zoe, since it seems to be drawn to her — or she’s being drawn to it. I haven’t quite decided yet.”

  That remark didn’t seem to go over well with anyone there — Luz frowned, and Zoe’s parents exchanged worried glances, as if they feared the monster was going to show up on their doorstep next. Which Zoe supposed could be a valid concern. After all, they really didn’t know why its movements followed the patterns they did, or if there was really any pattern at all. She should probably just be glad that it hadn’t decided to appear right in the middle of the mall, or in the center of Phoenix’s downtown district. That would require a hell of a lot of explaining…and covering up.

  “So it just makes sense,” she said quickly, before anyone could present another argument as to why Evan shouldn’t play bodyguard. “Unless there’s a reason why you need to be back in Jerome right away, Evan?”

  A shadow seemed to pass over his face. Since Zoe really didn’t know that much about him, she couldn’t hazard a guess as to why he wouldn’t be eager to return home. But he only shrugged and said, “No real reason. The elders knew I might have to be down here for a while, that this might not be an easy fix. So we can take it day by day.”

  Day by day. Zoe liked the sound of that. She’d just experienced one of the fullest days of her life.

  She knew a lot could happen in a day.

  10

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that neither Zoe’s parents nor her prima aunt were completely thrilled by the idea of Evan hanging around, although he could tell that Andrea and Luis were gratefu
l to him for coming to the rescue the way he had. At least his gift hadn’t failed him when he needed it most, sending him the twinge that let him know where to find her. However, Evan also noticed how Zoe’s parents hadn’t put up any further arguments, with Andrea even unbending enough to say that she’d be happy to have Evan come by for a late breakfast before she headed off to help with supervising a remodel she and her husband were having done on his office.

  Evan had accepted her invitation because it would have been churlish to turn down the offer. And better to do that than hang around here and keep ordering room service on the de la Paz clan’s dime. Now, though, as he lay in bed and stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling of his hotel room, he wondered just how the hell he was going to get through another day in Zoe’s company without doing something that might lead them both down exactly the wrong path. He wanted to think he had plenty of self-control, but….

  Wasn’t this exactly his problem, though? He’d fallen just as hard for Kelly, and almost as immediately, although otherwise the two women couldn’t have been more different. You’d think he would have learned his lesson after that first disaster. And it wasn’t as if he couldn’t be casual about his love life, because his fling with Tina, the waitress from Grapes, had proved that it was possible for him to be intimate with a woman without being crazy in love with her. But it seemed that when a woman with the right chemistry — whatever that was — appeared, his common sense flew right out the window.

  Well, at least Zoe was a witch and not a civilian.

  The next prima, he told himself. Off limits. So very off limits.

  He had to wonder, if her parents and her aunt really had started to sniff out something not entirely kosher between him and Zoe, why they’d agreed to this whole bodyguard thing in the first place. Surely the most logical thing to do would have been to thank him for his help and send him packing back to Jerome.