The Burning Bush (43 page)

“Then we’ll figure out a way to bring fire in.” Zulu glared at MeShack. “Stop touching her.”

MeShack released my arm and turned to Zulu. “If we help you kill Dante tonight, will you give your beast control again?”

“What?” Shock filled me. “Before we agree that we’re going to do this, we have to figure out a plan.”

“We have all day to plan.” Zulu sat up in bed with his eyes on MeShack’s hands. “If I kill Dante tonight, I’ll go back.”

“And if we don’t kill him?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Then he still has to go back,” MeShack insisted.

Zulu smirked. “I don’t have to do anything.”

“I won’t have you around La La or Ben while your mind deteriorates.” MeShack walked away from me. “There are news reports every month about mentally unhealed Shifters killing their mates or whole families in delusional rages. This isn’t something new.”

“It won’t come to that.” Zulu stood up with clenched fists. “I have control of myself.”

“I’ll give you tonight.” MeShack headed for the doorway.

“Or what?” Zulu asked with a wicked grin.

“You’ll sit in this big-ass warehouse by yourself. I’ll take them both away from you.” MeShack opened my door. “I called Graham last night before I went to my frat house.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I covered my eyes with my hands, not even caring about the pain.

“If I knew Zulu had come back and you were going be dumb enough to let him finish the claim, I wouldn’t have contacted him,” MeShack hissed. “Now Graham’s going to hurt Zulu.”

“Call him and cancel.” My voice squeaked.

“You call him and cancel.”

“Who’s Graham?” Zulu asked. A wrinkle formed in the middle of his forehead.

“My dad. He’s a little particular about my being marked.” My fingers shook. “Zulu, you should probably not be around when he shows up.”

“Well, at least we have a plan.” MeShack laughed. “Graham could come to the ball with us. You’ll have three deranged escorts.”

“My dad is not coming to the ball with us.” I inhaled and exhaled to calm myself. “Maybe he can take care of Ben, but even that scares me.”

“Why are you afraid? Your dad can’t be that bad,” Zulu said.

“Well.” I raked my fingers through my dreadlocks. “He separated MeShack’s legs from his body when he discovered hickeys on my neck. It took two days of my begging before he reattached MeShack’s legs. Then it took two weeks for MeShack’s body to connect back to his legs.”

“Not to mention, he wants you to stay away from Fairies,” MeShack added.

“Would you just go get dressed or something?” I glared at MeShack. “You’ve caused enough trouble.”

“You said I could call him.” MeShack played with the doorknob a little, wiggling it. “Anyway, I’m going to take a shower and eat a couple of sandwiches. We can figure out the plan in an hour.” MeShack glanced at me. “Try not to have Zulu claim your legs, too!”

I sucked my teeth. “Oh shut up! Just do what you have to do, so we can figure out a plan. If we are going to this ball, we’ll have to buy formal clothes. Almost everybody has already bought gowns. It may be impossible to get something for me.”

“Cassie’s gown is in my office,” Zulu interrupted. “She was going to the ball as you. She called it a Lanore costume and had it designed. She knew Mom would have been pissed, so she hid it in my office. She was going to wait until tonight to show you.”

Sadness poured over me. I rested my hand on the middle of my chest. My heartbeat lazily thumped under my fingertips. “She was going to go as me?”

“Yeah. It’s this huge, purple gown with flames attached to the back.” Zulu held his arms out to the sides as he described Cassie’s gown. “The mask is silver and purple.”

I swallowed.

“You may need to get it fitted.” Zulu gazed off in the distance for a while. “Cassie probably would have wanted you to wear the gown if she couldn’t.”

MeShack leaned on the edge of my doorway. “Then we’ll just be La La’s security guards. We could wear plain colors and matching masks.”

“Bodyguards aren’t allowed. All people have to be partygoers to enter,” Zulu said. “Ray had a seamstress he trusted off in Oya District. She never asks questions, does what she’s told, and keeps her mouth shut. We can get our costumes there and get Lanore fitted all at the same time.”

“Okay. That might work.” I checked my watch. “We have to hurry and maybe plan on how to get close enough to Dante. MeShack and I have an eleven o’clock class today.”

“I’m not going to class. I pulled an all-nighter last night,” MeShack said. “You know those always tire me out.”

“You’ve already missed three classes,” I said.

“It’s Magical Crafts. It’s a gimme-class for our senior year,” MeShack called back as he went down the hallway. “Stop being such a geek. Just focus on killing the Vampire.”

Zulu slammed the door behind him.

“He’s working? Now?” Zulu unbuttoned his jeans. “He said he did an all-nighter.”

“All-nighter usually means he had an orgy,” I said as Zulu slipped out of his jeans. “What are you doing?”

“I figure you need help in the shower, since your arms still hurt. I’d love to be there for you.” He fluttered his eyelashes with mock innocence.

“No, Zulu. I’m taking a shower by myself.” I grinned and headed away from my dresser. “Whenever you’re in the shower with me, the entire process takes several hours.”

“Come on.” He bit his bottom lip. “I want to be next to you as much as I can. Especially since I’m going into my core tonight.”

I quickened my steps to the bathroom, glancing back at his length as it expanded under his boxer briefs. “And I want you to stop guarding your emotions from me. Blocking them is probably using up more of your energy than necessary.”

He strolled my way. “I’ll consider that after our shower.”

“No. You can consider it during my shower.” I entered the bathroom and closed the door between us.

“Really, sweetheart?” he yelled from the other side.

“Yes, really.” I locked the door and dropped the blanket. “Once you begin, you don’t end until hours later. We don’t have time for sex.”

Turning on the water to boiling hot, I got in, sighing as the soothing drops hit the injured skin outlining my cords. Two knocks beat against the door.

“Yes?” I giggled.

“Madam, may I assist you with your cleansing process?” Zulu said in a high voice. “I’m sure your arms need a break.”

I had to admit it. My arms did hurt as I held the washcloth. Leaning against the cool tile wall, I dropped the soapy cloth. “If you can get through the door, then sure, come in and help me.”

The wood cracked and then crashed into itself. Ragged pieces fell as Zulu ripped the door off its hinges and threw it behind him.
Zulu’s maintenance man must make a hefty salary.
Zulu headed toward me, his eyes following the water as it hit my skin. He licked his lips.

“You’re insane,” I whispered when he embraced me.

“You just rest your arms.” He went down on his knees, making my heart stop for a few seconds. He put my right leg over his shoulder.

“Zulu, this isn’t helping me in the shower—”

His lips pressed against the one area that he had utter control over. My head fell back as he sucked. My hand grasped his hair. Those short silky strands rubbed against my fingers.

“Damn you, Zulu.” I closed my eyes and moaned.

“So apparently Zulu’s grieving process is making you scream his name loud enough that we can hear it all through the warehouse!” MeShack shouted in the dressing area. We were at the seamstress’s store.

“Would you lower your voice?” I was helping him put on his evening jacket in the dressing room. I balanced on the stepladder, fingering the silk material. “Just try on one of the purple jackets I picked out. I want you to match my gown.”

“No. I’m wearing brown and green.” MeShack pouted and brought his lips close to my ear. “You moaned like it was the best time of your life.”

“It was,” Zulu said from the dressing room next to us.

“Thanks, baby. Real mature.” I stepped down from the ladder. “MeShack, you always wear your fraternity colors. You know you won’t get loyalty points from the frat.”

MeShack brushed off the arms of his jacket, turning from side to side in front of the mirror. The fabric clung to every muscle. He looked gorgeous. “What color is Blondie wearing?”

I can’t convince Zulu to wear purple either.
“Zulu is wearing blue,” I grumbled and scratched my neck.

MeShack studied me in the mirror. “Did Zulu give you something? You’ve been scratching for the past ten minutes.”

I ignored him and left his dressing room.

“So here it is.” The Fire Witch seamstress strolled in, carrying Cassie’s gown. She’d measured me and then attached the measurements to the dress’s spell. “Adjusting the spell was easy. The gown is actually a no-sew, no-cloth spell. No fabric was used to make it.”

“Um . . . okay.”

“No-sew, no-cloth gowns are the big trend for teens these days, especially for this ball,” the Fire Witch continued. “You have to chant the spell exactly so the dress will form around you when you’re ready to wear it. I suggest you have me come over tonight to cast it for you.”

“But won’t it cost extra for you to come over?”

“Money doesn’t matter.” Zulu stepped out of his dressing room. He resembled a Hispanic Shifter with long, black braids hitting his shoulder. “I already told you last night—what’s mine is yours.”

The Fairy glamour covered his whole face, even his cords. Nevertheless, that deep voice of his stirred every hormone in my body. Zulu had refused to stay home, so the Fairy glamour was our compromise. I still wasn’t happy. We had to be careful. Things like rain, blood, and even certain types of powders could drop the glamour. Additionally, any Fairy or half-Fairy in the area could smell and remove it with a few simple chants.

I went back to admiring the gown. At first glance, it looked like a sparkling, purple gown. A second look showed tiny dots of sequins constantly moving around to form the shape of the gown.

“You sure you want a carrier spell merged with the sequins?” the Fire Witch asked. “And that the carrier spell should hold real fire instead of the illusionary fire spell that is on there now?”

“Yes.”

The Fire Witch hung up the gown and wrote down my request. “I’m not sure if I can keep the fire away from your legs and back. You could be burned.”

“That’s not a problem. Just focus on putting the fire on there.”

“According to the ball’s rules, I’ll need to know why you’re ordering fire on the gown. I have to make the carrier spell meet all of the ‘no harmful magic’ requirements,” she informed me.

“Of course.” I smiled and began to lie. “The fire is to symbolize Oya’s undying love for Shango. Oya is my goddess.”

The Fire Witch appeared satisfied and scribbled some more notes. “I don’t want any fines from the Witch Council. Just to be safe, I’ll make sure the fire can’t be drawn from the gown in any way.”

This was exactly why I’d invited Vee to come to the ball with us. Vee could take off any limits put on my powers at the ball, without using her magic. She would figure out the potion needed and sneak it in somehow. Vee ambled out of the other dressing room draped in sapphires.

I sucked my teeth. “Really?”

“What?” She pointed to Zulu. “He said spare no expense.”

“A sapphire gown?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s pushing the limits of spare no expense.”

“This gown just spoke to me. The dress and I have a connection.” Humming, Vee twirled and twisted. The massive gown shifted easily with her movements. “Don’t I look like the wind?”

She leaped into the air, and the sapphires clicked against each other. The dress shop clerk cringed.

“Pick another dress.” I placed my hands on my hips. “That’s too much money.”

“No. She can keep it.” Zulu held his hand in the air. “She looks lovely.”

MeShack peeked out of the dressing room. “You do realize that after the ball is over, Vee will be selling buckets of sapphires on the street next week.”