KISS THE WITCH (34 page)

“
Who the hell is that?”
She asked.

I knew. I just did not want to say. I
stepped into my pants and handed her my shirt. “I don’t know.”

She put the shirt on and buttoned it up only
to her navel. I was glad to see the long shirttail covered her
tattoo and then some.

“
Carlos,” she said,
opening the door. The warmth in her voice seemed only half-genuine.
“Ursula. Dominic. What a nice surprise.” She looked over her
shoulder at me and made a face like a gargoyle. “Look, Tony. We
have company.”

I forced a smile. “Yes. You gonna let them
in?”

She gritted her teeth. “No.”

“
Be nice.” I waved them
in. “Come on, guys. We were just going to watch a movie…or
something.”

Lilith pulled the door open fully, stepped
back and presented a path in with the sweep of her hand. “Sure, why
not. Come in. Tony’s not good for four in a row anyway.”

Carlos entered first. Looking down at Lilith
from his vantage point, I imagined he felt more welcomed than the
others did. “Nice shirt, Lilith.”

Dominic entered next, oblivious to Lilith’s
dress, or lack of it. Ursula came in behind him. Her smile told me
she knew what we were doing. “`Tis a nice blouse,” she said,
lifting the tail and exposing Lilith’s tattoo. “Drafty, is it
not?”

I was thankful Carlos and Dominic did not
see it.

“
So,” said Lilith. “To
what do we owe the honor of this visit?”

“
Actually,” I said. “I
knew they were coming over tonight. That is, I knew Dominic and
Ursula were coming over. I didn’t know they were bringing
Carlos.”

“
Oh, they didn’t bring
me,” said Carlos. “I met them out front. I came here to tell you
something.”

“
Tell me what?”

He looked at Dominic with a glance that
almost seemed painful. I knew it was bad news. “It’s about
Ferguson.”

“
What about
Ferguson?”

Carlos cleared his throat and swallowed.
“He’s sort of, umm….dead.”

“
Dead?” I stepped up to
him, toe-to-toe, thinking he would back down, laugh and announce he
was joking. He did not. “What the hell do you mean he’s
dead?”

“
Dead, Tony. How many
other meanings for dead are there?”

“
What
happened?”

He gave Dominic another painful look.
“Poisoned, near as we can tell. Have an autopsy scheduled for the
morning.”

“
What does Dominic have to
do with it?”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
You keep looking at
him.”

Lilith said, “I’m going to go get some
clothes on.”

As she walked away, I saw Carlos’ eyes
follow her down the hall and into the bedroom. She shut the door
and he snapped back to the conversation guiltlessly. “It was his
buddy,” he said.

“
What buddy?”

“
That Tom Bradley guy from
the F.B.I. He was the last one to see Ferguson alive.”

Dominic said, “That doesn’t prove
anything.”

“
No. It does not. But when
I called the Boston bureau looking for Bradley, they said they
never heard of him.”

“
That’s impossible. He’s
been with the bureau for years.”

“
Sorry, Dominic. I
checked. The F.B.I. has four agents named Tom Bradley in the entire
organization. The youngest is thirty-seven, and he’s based in
London.” He shook his head faintly. “None of them are your
guy.”

Carlos reached into his coat pocket and
produced a plastic evidence bag containing a silver ink pen. He
held it up for inspection. “We found this in Ferguson’s cell.
Bradley gave him this pen to sign the terms of the negotiation. The
lab found traces of a deadly neurotoxin on it. Called it a
lipophilic alkaloid I think.”

“
Dart frog,” said
Dominic.

I hooked my brow at that. “Excuse me?”

“
It’s a frog. Probably the
Phyllobates Terribilis from Colombia, found along the western
slopes of the Andes. They secrete enough toxins through their skin
to kill a hundred men.”

“
Wow,” I said, thoroughly
impressed with his knowledge on the subject. “How do you know so
much about exotic toxin-producing frogs?”

He lowered his head and shook it faintly.
“Tom went to Colombia and wrote his college thesis on it. I helped
him edit his paper.”

I said to Carlos. “Where does this leave us
now?”

He shrugged. “Guess we’re––how do you
say––Fucked?”

“
Who’s fucked?” Lilith
came back from the bedroom wearing blue jeans, leather boots and a
knit top pulled off her shoulders.

“
We are. We have no case
now.”

“
You mean the F.B.I. has
no case,” said Carlos.

“
Ah-huh.” Lilith tossed
her hair back with a flip and pointed at the floor. “What’s
that?”

I looked down by my feet and saw that
familiar blue vein crackling between Ursula and me. Carlos and
Spinelli looked, too, but could not see it. I raised my head and my
eyes met Lilith’s. “Oh, that. Yeah, see that’s what I have been
trying to tell you.”

“
Is that a witch’s
light?”

“
It is.”

“
I see. And you thought
you would wait until you fucked me four times before telling
me.”

“
No. We only did it three
times.”

She crossed the floor, stopping within arm’s
reach of me. I don’t know why, but I honestly expected a hug at
that point. Goes to show how you never really know a witch. I
started to give her my pitiful me look when she hauled back and
slapped my face.

“
You bastard. How could
you?”

“
Lilith. I’m sorry. It was
an accident.”

“
An accident?” She slapped
me again, this time on the right cheek. “Oops. Sorry. That was an
accident.”

“
Okay. Maybe I deserved
that.”

“
Maybe?” She hauled back
for a third time, but I caught her hand in mid-swing, our fingers
locking together tightly. Undeterred, she came around with her
right, and again I intercepted her swing. Holding both her hands at
either side of my face, I said, “Enough, Lilith. I told you I was
sorry. It’s not what you think.”

“
No? You didn’t fuck
Ursula?”

“
What? No. Of course not.
It was just a stupid kiss in the circle, after the
ceremony.”

“
A kiss?”

“
Yes.”

“
Oh.” I felt her arms go
limp, enough so I thought it was okay to let her hands go. “So, you
didn’t do her?”

“
No. I didn’t
DO
her.”

I unclasped my fingers. Her hands came down.
Mine came down. She turned. I thought to walk away. But she was
only winding up. Next thing I knew, her palm crossed my face so
hard the lamp on the Clapper shut off.

“
Son of a…. Lilith. What
the hell was that for?”

“
That’s for stopping me
when I tried to slap you.”

“
Alright fine. We’re even
now. Right? You’re not angry with me?”

“
I’m not angry with you.
I’m angry with her.” She pointed to Ursula.

“
Me? Pray tell
why?”

“
Because you should know
better. You can’t kiss a witch inside a witch’s wedding circle
without risking a permanent link.”

“
Wait just a minute,”
Spinelli argued. “She didn’t kiss Tony. He kissed her.”

“
But she had to like it or
they would not have sparked the witch’s light and the link would
not have taken.”

As soon as she said that, I could see Lilith
wishing she had not. The look on Dominic’s face even made Carlos
wince. “Dominic,” I said. “She didn’t mean that. There’s nothing
between Ursula and me.”

“
Yeah,” said Lilith. “I
didn’t mean that. I was just mad at Tony.”

“
Me? I thought you said
you weren’t angry with me.”

“
Shut up. This isn’t about
you anymore. Dominic, you need to know something about Ursula.
She––”

“
Lilith. No.” Ursula
inserted herself between the two. “`Tis mine to explain.” She
wrapped her arms around Dominic’s waist and held him. He turned his
head. She coaxed it back with the tips of her fingers. Their eyes
locked. This time he did not turn away. She pulled him closer,
taking a breath and letting it out, allowing not a slither of light
between their bodies to escape. I faded back some, giving them
room. Carlos did the same. Lilith did not. Ursula began, her voice
softly falling into a confession meant only for Dominic. Naturally,
we all heard her. We stood so near.

“
Hear me darling,” she
said, “for I know not what words to speak but those from my heart.
`Tis thee I want and no other do I covert. Thou art all I know and
all I love. What joy fills me doth fill me whole and this I know to
be true. `Tis not mine but thine whose heart doth make it so.
Shouldst thou wonder if I kiss a stone so cold and like it? Thou
hath made me that happy. Yet what hath a stone that hath no heart?
It hath naught. Shouldst thou make no bones and hold me faultless
for this kiss? Methinks. For a stone is cold and empty, as is my
love for all but thee. Thou hast not a need to worry. I honor thee
and always will. Thy heart holds mine in tender shackles what break
not in life, but in death. This, also, I hold true, and I beg
naught of thee but forgiveness.” She leaned in and kissed him
softly. “Doest thou forgive me?”

Dominic cupped her face in his hands.
Stroked his thumbs along her cheeks. She closed her eyes, as if
closing an ugly chapter on her conscience. When she opened them
again, he returned the kiss. “Ursula. There is nothing to forgive,”
he said. “Tony kissed you. You didn’t ask for it. That you told me
before I found out on my own is enough. That’s why we are here
together. To make it right.”

“
Make it right?” said
Lilith. “How are you going to do that?”

Ursula said, “`Tis simple. `Twas a kiss what
linked us. Another shall break us.”

“
You mean Tony must kiss
another.”

“
Aye.”

“
Another
witch?”

“
Aye.”

Lilith surveyed the room with exaggerated
impetuous. “Uh-uh. I don’t see another witch here.”

Carlos said, “I think she means you.”

She reached out and smacked him. “I know
that, Fidel. Of course, she means me. You think I’m stupid.”

“
Don’t answer that,” I
said. “Lilith, what is your problem? I know you don’t want me and
Ursula linked for the rest of our lives.”

“
Neither do I,” said
Dominic.

Lilith squared her shoulders to me, leveled
her eyes and thinned her lips tightly. It is a form of posturing
akin to a bull scratching the dirt and snorting before charging a
red cape. I fully believed another slap would follow. But again,
one can never truly anticipate a witch’s next move.

“
What’s my problem?” I
knew better than to answer that one. “My problem, dick wag, is that
I don’t necessarily want to spend the rest of my life walking
around linked to you. Don’t I see you enough without having to
conduct mind huddles with you all hours of the day and
night?”

“
Who says I think of you
day and night?”

“
Pah––leeese. You know you
do.”

“
What makes you think I
care to mind-huddle with––”

“
Stop.” This from Ursula,
who never raised her voice in my presence before. Barely married a
day and already she was becoming more like Lilith. I suddenly felt
compassion for Dominic and hoped he had not bitten off more than he
could chew.

Ursula wedged herself between Lilith and me,
separating us beyond arm’s length, which made me happy because I
still had not ruled out needing to intercept another one of her
slaps.

“
What words say thee upon
thy lover’s ears?” she said, pointing a scolding finger at me.
“Would thou give up a love so true for settled scores of hollow
worth? Methinks not. Two souls love ne’er by right, but by chance.
Thou shouldst utter lies lest thy heart doth wish them
true.”

“
Yeah,” said Lilith.
“Listen to her. She knows what she’s talking about.”

“
Listen to her?” I said.
“Hell. I don’t even know what she said.”

“
Aye, and thou.” Ursula
turned her scolding finger to Lilith. “Thou doest speak a righteous
game, yet so quick good times doth come to end when once thy temper
flares. `Tis thee and only what thy self concerns. I ask of thee
thy help and trust. Oh, but how doth thou respond? Nay, I cannot
say. For I know `tis not my sister who would turn her back on me
and mine. Am I not wrong to say?”

I watched the smug look on Lilith’s face
dissolve into something resembling regret. I say that because I
could not be sure. I had ever seen that look on Lilith’s face
before. But then Ursula had never stood up to Lilith that way
before. To see her emerge from Lilith’s shadow made me proud, if
not a little afraid. Still, what she said was true; that is if I
understood her and her post-Shakespearian English. Lilith had to
know it was not fair. Here was Ursula, starting a new life with her
new husband in their new home. The last thing she needed was me
linked to her through the witch’s light forever. And as Lilith
thought about it, she realized that was the last thing she needed,
too. That is, if she loved me, which I knew she did.