Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend (15 page)

“She’ll destroy her room to punish me,” she mumbled against his shirt. “Or shave her head. Or find a way to sneak out and get a tattoo.”

“Says the witch with her own tattoo.” He tapped her right hip where he’d found a colorful sketch of a witch’s hat riding a broom. “And here I thought the spider was your only one.”

“Elle likes to think of herself as part of my jewelry. I’m of age for a tat. Courtney’s not.” She sighed. “And no age jokes either.”

“You need to go in there and talk to her.”

The way she relaxed in his arms told him she knew he was right.

“I don’t suppose you want to come in and help.”

“I have to get to the club.”

“You wouldn’t use that excuse if she was still at school. You’d be trying to seduce me in the kitchen or on the stairs or in the family room.”

Declan smiled at the sound of her grumbling. His Maggie was back.

“Why don’t you let me out of here, and if all goes well, give me a call, and I’ll come back tonight with a pizza,” he suggested.

“All right, but no anchovies.”

“No problem there.” He kissed her briefly and waited while she made an opening in the wards. He wasted no time going past it and waited while she returned the wards to normal. “I’ll talk to you later.”

As she watched Declan drive away, the glass-shattering sounds of Evanescence’s “Haunted”
roared from upstairs.

“Sound so loud. Sound in air be taken away,” she said, waving her hand at Courtney’s bedroom window. Silence coated the patio except for the twittering of birds using the birdbath. “Better than earmuffs.”

She went inside, not prepared to face the wrath of a teenager but knowing if she didn’t do it now, she would never do it—and she would have to leave Courtney locked in her room until after the date of the ritual.

***

“She’s crazy,” Courtney babbled into her cell. After five minutes of loud music, she turned it down so she could call Mick and relate the events of the day starting with the fight with Troy. He laughed when she told him what she did to the jerk.

“Yeah, she took me out of that lousy school and that’s a good thing, but now she’s acting really weird. I think she lied to the judge, too.”

“Why?” Mick’s voice rumbled in her ear.

Courtney settled back in the disaster known as her bed. “First she tried to be my friend and now she’s got this guy here and she just does this stuff.”

“Courtney, you’re not making much sense,” her boyfriend insisted. “Calm down, okay? Do you want me to come over?”

“The way she is now? She probably wouldn’t let you past the front door. I just needed to talk to you. I don’t know why Maggie got so pissed about that little joke doll you gave me.”

“Adults can get bent out of shape over stuff they don’t understand.”

“But she acted like she did understand. She said it was really bad stuff.”

“She probably saw some movie that said that or read a book. If you want to give Troy a good scare, I’ll get you another one, and this time you’ll be more careful that she doesn’t find it. In fact, if you want, I’ll go have a talk with the asshole myself.”

She was so tempted to let him. She knew Mick would go after Troy and beat the shit out of him in her honor. The idea was appealing.

She had been flattered the first time he showed interest in her. It had only been in the last year or so that she started to look more like a girl than some little kid other kids made fun of.

With his sun-warmed skin and dark shaggy hair, Mick was the kind of guy moms warned their daughters about. Except Courtney didn’t have a mother to look out for her. Not that it would have mattered where he was concerned. She was in love with a guy who treated her like she was the most precious thing in his life.

She already had the idea that Maggie didn’t like him, even though she hadn’t met him. But Courtney wasn’t giving Mick up for anyone. Once she was of age, she was outta there and with Mick full time. And if Maggie really was totally crazy, then Courtney would be gone even sooner. She could look older and get a better job. It wasn’t until then she heard Mick shouting her name.

“I’m here. Just thinking.”

“I’m coming over. You’re worrying me, babe. What if she does something bad to you?”

“I don’t think that will happen.” She conveniently forgot her first accusations that Maggie could be a white slaver. “I don’t think she’s so keen on me having a boyfriend, although hello, you and I’ve been going together like forever. So let me talk to her about you more. Maybe you could come over tomorrow night for dinner. Or we could meet at the mall tomorrow.” Again, conveniently forgetting she’d have to ask permission.

“Since I’m expelled, I’ve got a lot of free time.” She examined her nails. “At least I do until Maggie dumps me in a new school, which will probably be as bad, if not worse, than the one I just left. Hell, for all I know, she’ll send me away to a boarding school that’s more like a high-security prison.”

“Don’t think that way, baby. I’ll talk to you later.”

Courtney disconnected the call just as Maggie walked in.

She warily watched the woman formerly called her guardian, whom she now called her jailer, circle the room.

“I’ll get it cleaned up,” Courtney told her.

“I’m sure you will,” Maggie said softly, picking a top and jeans off a chair and tossing them to Courtney before she sat down. “I apologize for coming down on you so hard earlier, but what you were doing was so risky that I feared what would happen if you completed the ritual. Some things shouldn’t be trifled with.”

“I understand that,” Courtney said, wanting to reassure Maggie that she knew the risks and wouldn’t have done anything to harm anyone but the intended victim. “Mick told me exactly what to do, Maggie. He’s done stuff like this for a long time, and he said as long as I’m careful and don’t use Latin or anything, I’m okay.”

As she spoke, she noticed the older woman’s moonstone ring start to give off an eerie glow. She put it down to the sun coming in the window and returned her attention to Maggie’s face, but it didn’t stay there long. She found herself distracted by the spark of gold on Maggie’s ankle. Some kind of charm hung from the chain, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Courtney!”

She almost shot off the bed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. And I’m not one of those kids with ADD either. It’s just that I don’t know how many times I can say Mick taught me how to be cautious so that I wouldn’t really hurt anyone or myself.”

She paused, searching her brain for how to say what had been bothering her since Maggie’s meltdown. Plus she was
really
curious about Declan. The guy might be old, but he was really hot.

“Did… uh… Declan think I was doing black magick or something? I could tell you guys are close and all, but is this really something he’d know about? I mean Mick’s parents taught him, and they were really good. They live in New Orleans,” she added, as if their location added to their credibility.

“And that means they know what they’re talking about.” Maggie knew she sounded sarcastic, but she couldn’t help it. She knew of warlocks and voodoo queens who lived in small towns in other states. “And that Mick knows what he’s talking about.”

“Yeah.” Courtney brightened, pleased Maggie understood.

Maggie nodded, as if listening to a voice deep inside. “So when you finished your spell and sent the poppet to Troy, he’d think something bad was going to happen to him. You’d find out his reaction from friends at school, and you’d be one happy kid, right?”

“Yeah.”
Except for her using the kid word.
“No harm, no foul. I don’t want you thinking bad of me.” She was honest about that. While she hadn’t known Maggie for long, she realized she did like her. Her new guardian hadn’t treated her like a little girl or talked down to her.

She had even stood up for her at the school and didn’t automatically think it was all her fault, the way Mrs. Whitney would have. If Mrs. W had been around, Courtney would have been grounded for two months and had kitchen duty for three. Maybe that was why she didn’t want Maggie to think she was some crazy teenager who went around wearing black all the time and thought it would be cool to hold a black mass or something.

She also wanted her to like Mick. Mrs. Whitney hadn’t and didn’t allow Mick inside the house. She claimed that he was too old for Courtney, and she was positive he was nothing but trouble. All because he owned a motorcycle instead of a car and he looked dangerous. That’s why Courtney loved him. Because he wasn’t like the boys at school.

“Courtney, you’re in another world again.” Maggie sounded amused.

“It hasn’t even been one day, and it’s like you’ve only seen me as some kind of troublemaker. I know Mrs. Whitney told you I have ‘problems.’” She made air quotes. “Mr. Turner told you I have behavioral problems, and then there’s what happened a little while ago. I bet you want to take the next plane back to Europe.”

“Amazing. You’re making yourself sound like Public Enemy Number One,” Maggie quipped. “Let me explain something. There’s nothing you can do to scare me off. Trust me on that.”

Courtney’s brown eyes lit up. There was nothing the girl loved more than a dare.

“Really?”

Maggie nodded. “Definitely. There’s nothing you can do to put me off. Nothing you can come up with that I won’t figure out. And if you’d managed to finish that ritual, I would have vanquished it. I wouldn’t have been happy, but I would have done it.”

“Uh, Mick’s stuff is really good, and there’s no way to do that,” Courtney said knowingly.

“Oh, but there is.”

“And you know because…?”

“I know because I’m a witch.”

Maggie hadn’t dropped the W bomb on anyone in some time. She waited for one of the usual reactions: eyes bugging out, jaw dropping in shock, and so on.

This time, she was able to add a new response to the list as she watched Courtney roll around laughing so hard, the bed shook under her. It took her a few minutes to gain control.

“Wow, you have a sense of humor.” She sat up, wiping the smeared mascara away from around her eyes. “That’s really good, Maggie. First you go all drama queen on me about the doll, now this. So what’s Declan? A vampire or something?”

“What he is doesn’t matter. What
I
am does.” Maggie lifted her hand. “Time is nigh. Lift her high. Show her my words are true with what I wish.”

“Wha—?” This time Courtney’s jaw did drop as she found herself hovering a good three feet above her bed. She started to wave her arms and then stopped as her body tipped from side to side. “It’s a trick!”

“Clean her room and make it soon.” Maggie waved her hand around, sending magickal energy everywhere.

From her vantage point in the air, a wide-eyed Courtney saw her clothes hang themselves up or fold themselves before flying into her dresser, and even her bed was made. The minute the covers were in place, she was gently lowered onto the bedspread.

“Okay, what was
that
?”

“I told you. I’m a witch. Don’t say you don’t know what they are. We’ve been in this world a long time, along with vampires and shape-shifters.” She relaxed in her chair; discovering this was almost as much fun as she’d had in her bed with Declan. Well, not
that
much fun, but it was amusing.

Maggie regretted her flippancy when she detected a hint of fear in the girl’s eyes. Before she could blink, Courtney grabbed her Coke can and threw the contents at Maggie.

She sputtered and swiped at the sticky fluid. “What was that for?” she demanded.

Courtney sat back. “You don’t melt.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the Wicked Witch of the West. First clue, my face isn’t green.” She picked up the hem of her tank top and wiped her face clean.

“Second clue? No flying monkeys. Trust me, you don’t want anything like them around. Messy and disgusting doesn’t even begin to describe them.” She was pleased to see the wariness leave the girl’s face. “And don’t even think you can find a way to make a house fall on me, either.”

“Mrs. Whitney said witches are evil. That you do these horrible spells and…” The light bulb snapped on over her head. “That’s why you said what you did when you came in here earlier. You really do know what I was doing. Not that I planned on hurting that bastard,” Courtney added hastily.

“And more,” Maggie agreed. “When I told you it was unsafe, I wasn’t kidding. Your boyfriend might know the basics, but if he doesn’t know all the ramifications of fooling with a poppet, he won’t know what can happen to you. Magick like that exudes an energy that feels, well, wrong.”

“So you didn’t just barge in here. You came in because you felt the spell?”

Maggie nodded.

“And if I wasn’t careful, that thing would have done to me what I wanted it to do to Troy?” She gagged.

“That and much more. Repercussions are always hefty, because the Fates want you to remember not to ever do it again. Trust me, their idea of payback is a bitch.” She waited for her ward to take it all in. She knew Declan was right. Courtney was smart, but this was still a lot of information to be given in a short amount of time.

Courtney frowned, starting to pick at the bedspread. “So you’re not really my cousin?”

“No, I’m sorry. You really don’t have any other family members that we know of. The organization I work for set up false paperwork so I could take custody of you. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t say that outside of this room. There was a reason why it was done, Courtney, and it was for your own good.”

“My own good.” Her lips twisted. “Do you know why I wasn’t killed when my parents were? They wanted to go away for a weekend. They told me I wouldn’t have any fun, and it was really for my own good.

“Then a judge told me there weren’t any family members to take me in and how sorry he was about that. So I’d live in a group home until I reached eighteen, and that was for my own good. I left my friends at my old school because there was no group home in that school district. Again for my own good. Now you’re telling me you faked papers and lied to a judge
for my own good
?”

Maggie didn’t look away from Courtney’s bitter disappointment. “I can’t explain it all right now, but I promise you I will. I’ve already given you a lot to think about. Why don’t we take it a step at a time?”

“Can I tell people you’re a witch?”

“I’d rather you didn’t. At least for now,” she amended, hoping to keep the girl on her side. She already knew that Mal would have apoplexy when he heard what Maggie had done, but she was confident she could handle the grumpy old gnome until he thought it was all his idea. “Declan offered to bring a pizza over for dinner. Does that sound good to you?”

“No anchovies.”

Maggie laughed. “I already told him that. Anything else?”

“Mushrooms make me gag. So, is he a warlock? You know, a guy witch?”

“Warlocks practice dark magick. Men and women are called witches. And no, he’s not either. We’ll let him stay a mystery for the time being.” Maggie pushed herself out of the chair and looked around. “That’s right, I told you to clean your room, didn’t I?”

“And you did it for me. Thanks!”

“As much as I like what I see, reverse what I did, fiddle-dee-dee.” She waved a hand, leaving behind a tornado of clothing and bedcovers whirling around. “
Now
you can clean it up,” she told Courtney as she walked out of the room.

***

“So what are you exactly?” Courtney asked, nibbling on her slice of the sausage pizza that Declan had brought over along with a beef-and-veggie pizza and cold drinks. “Maggie said you’re not a vampire or a witch. I can already tell you’re not a vampire, since you’re eating all that pizza. You don’t look like an elf, and you’re way too cute to be a troll. Are you a Werewolf?”

He glanced toward Maggie. “You’re right. She doesn’t stop talking.”

“Hey!” Courtney waved her cheese-laden slice in his direction. “C’mon. Give me a break. Because Maggie made me clean up my room, I couldn’t do enough research on the Net before you showed up. There’s no information on Damnation Alley online, either. You really should have a website.”

“We do, but it’s not where you’d find it.”

She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “Maggie hasn’t given me the whole story. So why did she tell me stuff now? Am I magick?” She looked at them with hopeful eyes.

“Is that it? I mean, why would anyone with magick want me unless I had it and they needed it for something?” She caught the sharp silent exchange between Maggie and Declan. “That’s it, isn’t it? So why can’t you tell me? Am I going to save the world or something?”

“It’s not time for you to know everything yet.” Maggie chose to keep a little mystery. She’d said enough but wasn’t about to admit it. “Just remember what I told you. You can’t tell anyone. Not even Mick,” she added when Courtney started to open her mouth.

“He won’t tell anybody if I ask him not to. He can keep a secret as well as I can.”

Maggie grabbed her hand and held it tight. “Silence is golden. Secrets must be kept. Tell no one what you have heard, or what escapes your lips will sound absurd. Do it now.”

Courtney started coughing so hard that Declan jumped up and clapped her on the back.

“What was that?” she wheezed.

“A spell to make sure you can keep a secret as well as you claim to.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell Declan what I told you this afternoon,” Maggie suggested.

“You mean about you being an armadillo?” Courtney stopped. “That you practice piano ten times a day?” Frustration started to cross her face. “You ride a tricycle. Augh!” She threatened Maggie with her pizza and then looked at Declan. “I don’t know what you are, but it’s probably a rowboat.”

Declan snorted and then sobered at her glare. “Sorry. I’ve just never been called watercraft before.”

“You did a trampoline on me so I can’t tell anyone?” Courtney looked at Maggie.

“I did. I wanted you to know I did it because it was the right thing to do, but I realized I also need safeguards in place. No one can change it either.” She happily munched on her pizza.

“This sucks.”

“So do vampires.”

Declan snorted again at Maggie’s quip. He started coughing as his beer went down the wrong way.

“Since tomorrow’s Friday, I won’t worry about getting you into another school until Monday,” Maggie said.

“As if any school will take me with fighting on my record.”

“I’ll have a talk with Mr. Turner about that.”

Courtney finished her slice and pushed away from the table. “I’m stuffed. I haven’t had pizza in like forever.”

“Forever as in a week or two?” Declan teased.

“At least.” She turned to Maggie. “Can I go upstairs now? Because if I stay down here I’ll try to ask more questions, and you’ll just laugh at what I come up with.”

“You’re excused after you pick up your plate and napkin and throw them away.”

After the girl did as Maggie asked, she left the room. Declan looked at Maggie and smiled.

“What?”

“You said you weren’t mom material, but you sure acted like one.”

“At first I thought she was a disaster in the making, but I’m already seeing a different side to her. Maybe she’s scamming me. I understand teens will do that. But I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt, because she’s going to have enough to deal with when she finds out just why she’s with me.

“I really hate it when the universe is in peril.” She pulled a stringy bit of cheese off her slice of pizza and nibbled on it. “I’m not Batgirl.”

“I bet you’d look great in black leather—and that mask.” Declan sprawled back in his chair, rolling his beer bottle between his fingers. “Very S and M.”

She rolled her eyes. “You would think that’s hot.” She winced as music thumped overhead. “It’s a good thing we don’t have neighbors living all that nearby.”

He cocked his head to one side. “What’s the problem? She’s got good taste in music.”

“You would think so.” She picked up the now empty pizza boxes and put them in the trash along with their paper plates. When she opened the refrigerator and indicated the beer bottles, Declan nodded. She got one for him and refilled her wineglass.

“This feels… homey. The kid’s upstairs doing her thing, and the parents are downstairs worrying about what mischief she’ll get into next.”

“I’m still on bodyguard duty.” Maggie sighed. “In hindsight I shouldn’t have let her go to school, but I hoped to allow her to keep her life as normal as possible.”

“Right, ‘normal’ living in a house covered in protective wards with a witch for a guardian. And if things go wrong, she’ll end up as a blood sacrifice for a Mayan priest. You can’t get more ordinary than that.” He tipped his beer bottle upward and drank deeply.

Maggie thought about turning the bottle into a dribble bottle and then discarded the idea. She’d have to be the one to clean it up.

“Well, enough talking about it. I want to go out there and seriously kick some Mayan ass. I’m not meant to sit around and wait for them to come to me. I go to them.” She settled back in her chair and sipped her wine. “I want to throw down magick. Send shock waves through the baddies’ systems. Maybe explode a few brains in the process.”

“Bloodthirsty much?” Declan muttered with a grimace.

‘What can I say? When the nasty guys show up, I take them down.” She blew on her nails and polished them against her top.

“Along with your band of merry creatures, which sound like something out of a kid’s movie: Frebus, Meech, Tita. All you need are Grumpy and Sleepy.”

“You mean since I already have Dopey.” She bared her teeth at him.

“Ha, ha.” He finished off his beer and pushed away from the table. Catching Maggie’s pointed glance at the abandoned bottle, he picked it up and took it over to the sink to rinse it out.

“Good boy.” She beamed as she stood up and walked with him to the front door. She whispered a few words to release the wards so Declan could pass through safely.

Before he opened the door, he turned around and drew her into his arms.

“I could always come back later after you’ve tucked the kid into bed,” he said softly.

“Good night, Declan.” She softened her refusal with a smile. “Go play club owner, and don’t call me if any Bloaters show up.”

Not to be outdone, he kissed her deeply, not letting up until she melted against him.

“A hint of what you’re giving up.” With that parting shot he left.

Maggie blew out a deep breath as she collapsed against the closed door.

“Is Declan gone?” Courtney shouted from upstairs.

“Yes.”

“I figured out what he is.” She hung over the railing. “He’s a pothole, isn’t he?” Her face twisted in a grimace as she threw her hands up. “This really sucks!” She stomped back to her room.

Maggie thought of Declan leaving when she would have preferred tempting him back to her bedroom.

“Yes, it does.”

***

“You have been away too much.” Snips appeared by Declan’s side the moment he came through the club’s private entrance. As usual, the imp held his PDA in one clawed hand. Colors scrolled downward as he alternated his attention between the screen and Declan.

“What’s going on?” Declan walked into his office with his assistant close on his heels and sat down at his polished ebony desk.

“There’s something going on with the portal. We’ve had…” Snips hesitated, “situations.”

“Such as?” Declan allowed his power to darken. He had learned right off the bat that he had to show domination over the creature or he would be doomed. There was no doubt Snips would have preferred to be in charge of the club, although he’d never be allowed any position of power. Demons ruled imps, not the other way around. But there was no doubt Snips could wreak havoc of his own if not handled properly.