Rising Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 1) (6 page)

“
W
here’s Aric
?”

Paris found me sitting on the living room floor studying The Archimage five minutes after Aric left. He warned me about turning my back when Paris was around, gave me a randy kiss, and then winked as he walked out the door. He told me he would probably feel the need for another distraction that night and didn’t give me a backward glance as he strode out.

You would think he was enjoying all of this. Well, other than Paris. He barely spoke to her throughout breakfast and refused to make eye contact. Where she was concerned, he was still angry. Everything else had him smiling, though. It was odd.

It probably had something to do with the “thing.” In an effort to distract myself from obsessing about whatever it was, I decided to focus on the book. Aric dropped it on the coffee table when he left, practically daring Paris to steal it. Part of me wondered whether he wanted her to so he would have a legitimate reason to kill her. That’s crazy, right?

“His father is coming tonight to look at the book,” I said, resting my chin on the table so I could study the leather-bound tome. “Aric ran into town to pick up food and liquor.”

“Is Aric’s father a big drinker?” Paris asked, settling on the floor next to me. She was close enough to give the appearance of friendship, but not close enough to touch me. She was leery.

“I think the alcohol is for Aric,” I said. “We don’t have a lot of stuff around here. We usually drink wine and beer. He mentioned wanting something harder. I told him to get stuff so we could make fruity drinks. He’d better not forget my little umbrellas.”

Paris snorted. “Other than my arrival, things between the two of you seem to be going well.”

“They are,” I said, shifting my eyes to her face without lifting my chin. “We’re happy.”

“Are you sure?” Paris pressed. “You seemed upset when I brought up marriage last night.”

I’d almost forgotten about that. Almost. “Do you want to know the truth?” Even though I was angry with her I missed having a female friend to talk with about girly stuff. It felt like forever since I’d wasted an afternoon gossiping. I missed being able to unload my insecurities on Paris and Kelsey.

Paris nodded. “I always want to hear the truth.”

“I thought he would’ve proposed by now, too,” I admitted.

Paris’ smile was sympathetic. “Why don’t you ask him about it?”

“Don’t you think that’s a little desperate?”

“I think that Aric will do anything to make sure you’re happy,” Paris replied. “If he knew you wanted to get married … .”

“That’s the thing; I’m not sure that I want to get married,” I said. “Okay, that’s not true. I would like to be able to look at him and say, ‘That’s my husband.’ I’m not keen about the idea of a wedding, but I can’t see myself with anyone but him.”

“Are you worried he can see himself with someone other than you?” Paris asked. “If that’s the case, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree – so to speak. Should I bring up barking given the wolf attack?”

“Probably not,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “I thought Aric was going to propose a long time ago. When he didn’t, I convinced myself it would eventually happen. Now I think we’ll probably just live together forever.” I shrugged, pretending the prospect didn’t bother me for Paris’ benefit. “It is what it is. I’m fine with it.”

“You’re still a terrible liar,” Paris said, smirking. “You want to get married. I think you should tell him.”

“If I do that and he doesn’t want to get married, we can never go back,” I said. “I don’t need a ring on my finger to tell me that Aric is everything I’ve ever wanted. If I press him on marriage and he doesn’t feel the same way, we’ll never be able to get this back.”

“If you press him on marriage and he does want it you might get something even better,” Paris countered.

“I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk.”

Paris pursed her lips, letting her eyes drift to the ceiling for a moment before refocusing on me. “I think he’s afraid to ask you to marry him for the same reasons you’re afraid to ask him about it,” she said. “I think he’s worried you’ll say no, and then he’ll lose you.”

“I wouldn’t say no, though. That’s stupid. He should know that.”

“Maybe he feels the same way about you,” Paris suggested. “Maybe the fear is so great that it paralyzes him, even though he knows it shouldn’t.”

That was an interesting thought. “I need to give it more time,” I said. “This is the exact wrong moment to bring that up. He’s on edge. Once this is all … settled … I’ll think about it.”

“The one thing I don’t worry about where you and Aric are concerned is love and happiness,” Paris said, her face serious. “Whenever I look at him I see so much love for you it almost stops my heart. I want someone to love me that much one day.”

“I’m sure you’ll find it,” I said, turning my attention back to the book. “You just need to stop hanging around with evil covens.”

Paris snorted. “I do make really bad decisions sometimes. I have no idea why.”

“It’s your lot in life because you’re curious and refuse to settle,” I replied. “You want to keep searching until you get everything you’ve ever wanted. I get that.”

“Are you angry with me?”

“I’m not thrilled with you,” I replied. “I know you didn’t do what you did out of malice, though. I am sorry for not keeping in touch. I felt as if I was in a no-win situation, though. What Aric was saying made sense to me. And, before you say anything, he wasn’t trying to isolate me. I know you think that, but you’re wrong. He thought hiding was the best way to keep me safe.”

“I know,” Paris said, resting her back against the couch. “I’ve always liked Aric. I was the one who told you he was a good match when we were in college. You remember that, right?”

“I do. You were his biggest cheerleader.”

“I wish Aric remembered it,” Paris grumbled.

“He will. He just needs time. He doesn’t adjust well to change. You should’ve seen his face when McDonald’s stop offering the McRib every Christmas and instead left it up to the individual restaurants. He was heartbroken.”

Paris giggled. “You’re so in love it shines through your eyes when you talk about him.”

“I’m so in love with him my heart flops every time I think about him,” I admitted. “It’s been years and I still can’t believe he loves me.”

“At a certain point you two are both going to have to give in and admit the love,” Paris said. “I hope I’m around to see it.”

I hoped so, too. I couldn’t make promises on that front, though. Aric was still too angry. Instead of letting the discussion meander, I decided to focus on the book. “Do you think this thing is magic on its own or does it just tell magical beings how to do nasty stuff?”

Paris shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “The only reason I knew what it was is because I did some research when Shannon brought it in.”

“And who is Shannon?”

“She’s a local girl from Rockford,” Paris replied. “She’s very big in the local Goth scene over there. She dresses the part and everything. She’s enthusiastic about being a witch, even though she has no powers.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Paris answered. “If she had power she never would’ve tried to find it in a book. I had the book in my possession for a full week before I realized what it was.”

“Who from your coven do you think is hunting you?”

“I have no idea,” Paris replied. “It could be any one of them – or it could be all of them. Once I realized what I had I knew I had to run without telling any of them where I was going or when I was leaving. I left in the middle of the night, in fact. Somehow they found out, though. I still don’t know how they did it.”

“And we have no idea what any of these spells are?” I asked, reaching for the book. The second I touched the cover white sparks flew off my hands and bounced off the book, causing me to jerk back. “Holy crap! Did you see that?”

Paris nodded, her eyes intent. “That never happened when I touched it. Is that the first time you touched it?”

“Yeah. Aric took it right to the safe in our bedroom last night. When he got it out after our shower I barely looked at it.”

“And it didn’t spark when he touched it, right?” Paris pressed.

“I think I would’ve noticed that. He has hot hands, but actual sparks would’ve been something I noticed.”

“Don’t get snippy,” Paris admonished. “It was just a question. See if it happens again.”

Since the first attempt wasn’t painful, I saw no reason not to try again. This time I closed my hands around the sides of the book, pulling my fingers back quickly as blue smoke drifted upward.

“Well that’s … weird,” Paris muttered.

She could say that again. “We need to move this outside before we try again,” I said. “If I burn this house down, Aric will never forgive me.”

“I think Aric would forgive you anything.”

“Grab the book,” I said, hopping to my feet. “Let’s see what this thing can really do.”

“
W
HAT
in the
hell is going on?”

Aric was livid when he rounded the corner into the back yard an hour later. I clasped my smoking hands behind my back and pasted my best “I haven’t been trying to make the evil book spark” look on my face. “I love you.”

“Wow, that was smooth,” Paris said, making a face as she sat down at the picnic table. “He’s never going to think you’re up to something with that greeting.”

“What are you doing?” Aric bellowed. “Do you know you can see what look like lightning striking our yard from a mile away?”

Huh. Well, I was aware of the lightning. It took me by surprise when it struck, too. After the first time and I realized it didn’t hurt, I did it a few more times because it was so entertaining. Paris wasn’t as thrilled with the light show as I was. “Um … it was probably someone else’s yard.”

“Oh, good grief,” Paris muttered, dropping her face into her palms.

“Your hands are smoking!” Aric bellowed, moving toward me. He wrenched my arms from behind my back and studied my fingers. They looked normal, so he shifted his attention to the book on the ground. The area around it was crispy from the lightning strikes, but the book remained pristine. “What are you doing?”

“Well, it’s the funniest thing … .”

“Zoe, do I look like I’m laughing?” Aric’s face was stern. He looked adorable.

“I really do love you,” I said, hoping to soften him up. “Don’t think I was just saying that so you wouldn’t be ticked off.”

“I know you love me,” Aric growled. “What I don’t know is what’s up with the crazy light show. Tell me now!”

“When I touch the book some funny stuff starts happening,” I hedged.

“Funny ha-ha or funny this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen?”

“Both.”

“You are testing my patience, Zoe,” Aric warned. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I think it would be better if I show you,” I said.

Aric crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot on the ground. “I’m waiting.”

“You need to get up on the table with Paris.”

“Why?”

“Just do it,” Paris said, lifting her feet off the ground and resting them on the wooden bench. “You don’t want to be on the ground when she does this. Trust me.”

“I don’t trust you,” Aric grumbled, but he climbed up on the picnic table and sat, resting his feet on the bench without further complaint. “Are you satisfied, Trouble?”

I nodded. “Okay, just … don’t freak out.”

“I love it when you tell me that,” Aric complained. “I … wait … are you in any danger from this?”

“None,” I said. “The book seems to love me.”

“Well, the book isn’t the only one,” Aric shot back. “If I don’t like this, I’m going to take that book from you and lock it away so you never see it again.”

“Whatever,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Okay, here we go.” I reached down with both hands and grabbed the sides of the book.

Aric leaned forward when he saw the blue smoke. “Are you going to start something on fire?”

“Just watch.”

It only took a few seconds, but as the power built between my hands and the book the sky opened and a bolt of lightning shot down and ran through me, causing my hair to briefly lift and then settle when I let go of the book. I was left with a tingly feeling after, nothing even remotely akin to pain. I turned to Aric with a triumphant look on my face.

His expression was murderous. “Did you just get struck by lightning?”

“I … technically, yes,” I said. “It doesn’t hurt, though. It’s as if the book wants to protect me. It’s like a shield.”

Aric glanced at Paris, meeting her gaze for the first time since the previous evening. “How long have you two been doing this?”

“About a half hour,” Paris replied. “I didn’t think it was a good idea either. Zoe was having such a good time, though.”

“And you didn’t want to fight with her because you’re afraid that she’ll get angry and kick you out,” Aric finished. “I get it.” He turned back to me. “You need to stop doing that.”

“Just one more time,” I pleaded.

“No. The neighbors are going to call the cops.”

“We moved out here because we didn’t want any neighbors,” I reminded him. “There’s no one out here.”

“Don’t do it again.” Aric wagged a finger for emphasis. “You can do it again after dark. It’s supposed to storm tonight. You can show my father your new trick. I don’t want you doing it again now, though. It freaks me out.”

I jutted my lower lip out. “Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“I’ll distract you with your favorite thing tonight,” I offered, knowing he would get what I was talking about while Paris was left in the dark.

Aric sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Fine,” he said. “One more time – and you’re going to do my favorite thing twice tonight. Don’t even try to argue.”

“Deal!” I turned back to the book.

“You two are officially sick,” Paris muttered.

“She’s really good at my favorite thing,” Aric said, smiling despite himself.

“Sick!”