Double-Sided Witch (Covencraft Book 3) (17 page)

There was a loud, sharp crack and she flinched. The glass door of the TV stand broke into a star-shape pattern - slender sliver spider webs branching out from the center of the glass, from the spot where her reflection had been. Jade’s senses zoomed back to normal, her ears popping. Paris was saying her name. 

She flinched again when she felt something touch her, looking up quickly at Paris, now by her side, hand resting carefully on her shoulder . The box he’d been carrying was on its side by the door and she had the sudden worry that something breakable might have been inside.

“Jade, your nose is bleeding.”

She reached up and touched at the wetness she felt under her nostrils, her fingers coming back bright red. Her limbs felt heavy and slow - like she’d just woken up from a long nap. The smell of citrus filled her nostrils. Citrus and cinnamon.

“What happened?” Paris asked.

Jade looked back at the broken glass and then again at her fingertips. She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She was stuck in place for half a second more before she realized if she didn’t move, she was going to bleed all over herself. Her eyes cast around and she spotted a tea towel still hanging from the oven door. She moved to push herself to her feet, but pressure from Paris’ hand on her shoulder kept her down. She tipped her head back, feeling the blood sluggishly start to run down her throat.

“I need that towel.” She pointed with blood-covered fingertips at the kitchen.

Paris was quick, retrieving it and handing it to her in seconds. Jade had a brief thought that she hoped the blood would come out of the towel when she was done; it was a cute pattern with cherry blossoms. She wadded it up and jammed it against her nose.

“Perhaps we should call Dr. Gellar and get her to expedite your medical tests.”

“Do you think Bruce is okay? Her voice came out muffled from her blocked nose and partially covered mouth. “Can you call Callie and ask her if she can go check on him?”

“I think I should call Dr. Gellar first.”

Jade frowned. “I’m seeing her Monday anyway. But Bruce might need help now.”

Paris frowned back at her. “I doubt Callie can make it past your demon locks.”

Jade paused and then stretched out her magic, willing it to travel as far as it could. She should have changed her locks before to let Callie in. How else would Bruce get help if he needed it?

“I don’t think using your magic is a good idea right now,” Paris said, kneeling by her side and putting his hand back on her shoulder. She shamelessly pulled some his power, hearing him suck in a sharp breath when she did, but he didn’t pull back, nor did he remove his hand. With that little boost, she could feel her locks even across the distance. Jade turned their tumblers in her mind, tweaking and reshaping the spell, feeling it slide into a new arrangement. The magic was still sluggish and slow. It had the sense of an old lace doily - fragile and flimsy. She reeled her magic back, releasing her grip on Paris’ power at the same time.

“I think it will let Callie in now,” she said. “Will you call her and ask her to check on Bruce?”

Paris looked displeased, his lips pressing together thinly as he stood, but he pulled out his phone and called Callie, quickly asking her to check in on Bruce and letting her know Jade’s demon locks shouldn’t be a problem. However, he then called Gellar and asked the doctor to request a rush on Jade’s lab results.

Jade hit the side of his leg with the back of her hand. “You’re such a tattletale,” she said as soon as he got off the phone. She pulled the bloodied tea towel away from her nose and dabbed at her nostrils a few times, confirming the nosebleed had stopped. “It’s just a nosebleed. I haven’t had one in a while. I get them sometimes when I’m stressed, not only from magic stuff. It probably doesn’t even have anything to do with-” she waved her hand around, not sure how to say, ‘with all the crazy going on in my brain. You know, that crazy I haven’t told you about.’ “Stuff,” she finished lamely.

“Then it should be simple enough for the good doctor to rule out anything once she gets your blood work. Which she’ll get back sooner now.”

Jade rolled her eyes, scrunching her nose as she did. It already had the dry, crusty sensation that would plague her all day due to the nosebleed.

“Besides, even if you do get them regularly,” Paris said, eyeing her dubiously. “You also get them from too much magic.” He pointed to the cracked glass pane.

“I’m going to have to ask the landlord to replace that now.” Jade slumped as she sat. That was just one more thing to go on her ‘to-do’ list.

“That’s hardly the most pressing concern of it.” Paris paused, looking down at her. “What happened?”

Jade shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just… thinking and it happened.”

“Thinking of what?”

“Of things! Stuff and things and moving and packing and I didn’t sleep well last night and-” she waved her hands around. She stopped, taking a deep breath. “Is there room in the car for the rest of these boxes?” Jade asked, wanting to change the subject.

Paris’ jaw worked for a moment as he watched her before he darted his eyes quickly around the room. “Should be. Just enough.”

“Then let’s just finish and go.”

She turned her back to him, moving toward another set of boxes. He didn’t move from where he stood and she thought he would push her for more, but he only sighed. Moments later, she heard him pick up the box by the front door and head downstairs to the car. Her eyes drifted over to the doorway and she had to remind herself to get back to work.

It took two more hours of silence other than, ‘pass me the packing tape gun’ and ‘no, that box doesn’t look full, but it’s heavy. That can’t go in there,’ before they were done.

Paris stood behind Jade in the hallway as she took a long, last look at the apartment. It didn’t look much different, even with all her stuff gone. She felt transitory - like she was some kind of ghost, not a real person. Just an image moving from place to place without leaving any trace.

“Are you ready to leave?”

Jade nodded but didn’t turn to leave.

“Come, Jade. Let’s go home.”

Home. To Paris, that’s what the Coven was. Home. It wasn’t quite that to Jade, but she didn’t think this apartment had been either.

“I’m worried I’m forgetting something.” Her voice sounded loud to her even though she barely put any effort behind it. 

“If you are, we can always come back.”

Jade nodded, but she didn’t believe him. With a sharp tug, she pulled the door shut and locked it, shoving the key under the door for the landlord. Down in the parking garage, Paris handed her car keys to her before heading for the passenger side.

“You could have sent these things with movers,” said Paris as he slid into the car. It had taken some serious work on his part to get all the boxes she had sent down with him into the backseat and trunk of her car.

She wrinkled her nose and then wiggled it a bit at the tight feeling inside it. “I don’t like other people touching my stuff. It’s weird. The things I’m taking are my important things. Things I like. Things I need.”

“Even the coffee pot?” he responded dryly. “I know you have one back at the Coven.”

She gave a weak smile, feeling like he was trying to humor her. “That coffee pot and I have been through a lot together. They don’t even make that model anymore. If it clunks out, I’ll never be able to replace it.”

“And the pillows?” He gestured to some truly bland and generic throw pillows she had decided at the last minute to pull off the sofa and bring with her.

“Those are for Bruce! He likes to sleep on pillows.”

Paris’ lips curled up in small grin. “He’s quite the creature.”

“I hope he’s okay.”

“Callie will call or text as soon as she confirms that.”

Paris seemed so sure of the answer. She wondered if he really was or if it was a sort of leader thing - the ability to fake the calm, cool exterior no matter what he believed. Jade liked to think she was getting to know him better, but she didn’t know him well enough to tell if he was lying right now and trying to make her feel better.

She wanted to know him better, but maybe she wasn’t ready. She gave herself a mental shake and focused on the task at hand - starting the car and driving back to the Coven. She had too much going on in her life at the moment for anything. Besides, Paris probably didn’t even think of Jade that way. You know, in a relationship kind of way. Not that she thought of Paris in a relationship way. She just… sort of thought it might be nice to spend more time with him. Without magic or demons or hexes. Just regular time where they didn’t talk about the Coven, or Jade’s magic or about some problem cropping up. Ugh. She was a mess. A relationship would be a horrible idea.

A sound from Paris had her glancing over even as she exited the underground parking garage of her (former) apartment, catching him yawning.

“I apologize. I’m quite tired.” Out of the side of her eye, Jade could see him blinking and widening his eyes in the way people do when they are trying to wake themselves up.

“You look kinda shitty.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m just saying,” Jade replied easily.
Great, win him over with your sweet talk
, she thought and then wanted to roll her eyes at herself. She’d just finished convincing herself that ‘no relationship’ was the path she was on. She again pushed those thoughts aside and stuck to stuff she did well. With one hand on the wheel she reached into the backseat and snagged a throw pillow. She pulled it forward, smacking it into his face a little as she did.

“Here,” Jade said as she pushed it at him. “Catch a nap while I drive.”

“But how will I ever tell Bruce that I stole one of his pillows?”

“He’ll live. Besides, better make use of it now before he does some strange lizard thing to it. I don’t think I’ll get it back once it’s his.”

Paris pushed the pillow into the crevice between the seat and the window, slouching down a bit and tipping the seat back.

“If you need to switch off, wake me.”

Watching him get comfortable, she felt a surge of… something. It made her feel good that he trusted her enough to sleep while she drove, that he felt comfortable enough to be unconscious in her presence. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Maybe Paris was like this with everyone. Maybe it was nothing special. Just because it would mean something if Jade slept in front of him didn’t mean it meant anything to him. She shifted her shoulders down and back, stretching her neck and getting comfortable for the long drive. Her eyes darted to the radio and she was just about to ask if he minded some music, but when she listened carefully, she heard his breathing already falling into that slow, steady, even breath that people get when they’re asleep.

So, silence on the way back it was.

#

Paris
didn’t so much wake up as drift gently into consciousness. He became vaguely aware of the car engine humming and the slight bumps as it hit rough patches in the road. He swayed slightly as the road curved left and then right, the car easily following the turns. He opened his eyes, squinting as he shuffled himself upward in the seat. Jade turned her head to quirk her lips at him in a slight smile and then focused her attention back on the road.

“Hey. You napped for about two hours.”

He looked down and saw a paper bag sitting on his lap. “What is this?”

“Snack. I thought you’d be hungry when you woke up.”

“When did you stop?” he asked, amazed he had slept through it.

“About an hour ago.”

He opened up the bag and smiled slightly when he saw what was inside. Double chocolate cookies.

“For your sweet tooth.” She gave him another quick glance.

“Thank you.” Paris wasn’t sure if the cookie was warm because it was still slightly fresh or because it had been on his lap, but either way, he took a large bite of the chocolate goody and chewed thoughtfully. There were two coffees in the cup-holders on the dash and he made a sort of questioning noise as he reached for one.

“It’s black but there are sugar packets and stir-sticks in the bag. I didn’t know how many sugars to put in.”

It was a slight juggle, which entailed holding the rest of his cookie with his teeth as he fixed his coffee. He heard Jade snort off to the side.

“There’s gotta be some kind of magic spell to do that easier.”

Paris secured the lid of the coffee and took the cookie out of his mouth. “Probably. But it’s just as quick to do it the old fashioned way.”

Paris settled back into the seat and focused on sipping the slightly cooled coffee and chewing the rest of his cookie. Though he was loathe to admit it, he had used the time at Jade’s apartment to snoop a bit, looking for further information about her, her past and the mystery of Lily. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or perturbed that he’d found nothing. There hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary. Not that he’d known what he was looking for, really, but it had just been an apartment with regular items - clothes, kitchen supplies, books. Although there had been a lack of personal pictures. Paris had seen the photos from her shoebox and he expected to see other ones around, or maybe a photo album. That in itself wasn’t too strange - so many photos were digital lately that not many people took the time or effort to print them out. Still, after seeing the ones in the box, kept so safe and close to Jade at all times, he expected to find others. There had been none.