Stakes & Stilettos ib-4 Page 20

  Of me. That was so completely ridiculous.

  Claire lit some candles. Actually, a whole lot of candles of varying colors and shapes.

  There was even one that looked like a cartoon whale.

  "Did anyone else come in contact with Stacy at the time of the original curse?" she asked.

  Thierry shook his head, as did George. Reggie shook his muzzle.

  "Just lucky old me," I said.

  "Then sit cross-legged in front of me. Nice and close." She did the same in the middle of the circle of candles. "And give me your hands."

  Reggie let out a little growl that sounded like, "Raowrrr."

  I glanced at George.

  "Two women don't do it for me," he said. "But I'll try to use my imagination."

  The only light in the club was from the candles. I sat down and Claire grasped my hands, pressing her thumbs into my palms.

  "How does this work?" I asked.

  She shifted position on the hard tiled floor until she got comfortable. "Since you came into contact with Stacy recently, you are the best conduit to find out her location now. Her mystical essence would have made an impression on you, whether you realize it or not. All

  I'm going to do is block out everything except that essence, and ask it where Stacy is right now. Simple."

  Yeah, sounded simple enough. Maybe in the Twilight Zone.

  "Whatever you have to do," I said. "I'm very willing to let you do it."

  "Raowrrrrrrr."

  "Reggie, hush." Claire closed her eyes. "Now, Sarah, concentrate on the last time you saw

  Stacy. How she looked. What she said. Close off any other thought. Empty your mind of troubles. Be like a river, flowing and free, with its energy coursing across the land."

  Be like a river.

  I could be like a river. Sure I could.

  I focused on my memory of seeing Stacy in the park. Of her telling me that Thierry had been responsible for killing off nightwalkers in the past. That her other victims were now pushing up daisies. That she thought I was a horrible person in high school. Was I? Was I really that bad? I didn't remember. Maybe I was. Maybe thinking that I was nice and didn't deserve any of the bad stuff that seemed to come along with life, Scorpio with Mercury in retrograde or not, was wishful thinking. Maybe I did deserve all of this. Maybe it was karma for being a mean person.

  "Focus," Claire said sharply. "I'm not getting a river. I'm getting a cesspool."

  "Sorry."

  I let out a long steady breath and tried to center myself, pushing away all my stress and anxiety. It wasn't easy, but slowly and surely I relaxed and was able to concentrate better.

  The park. It was cold there.

  Stacy refused to help. She wore a red coat. Her face was pale in the moonlight. Her lips, red as her coat. Red like blood against my tongue. Hot melting sugar that slid down my throat to warm me.

  So cold inside. Too cold.

  No heartbeat meant that I was dead.

  But I didn't feel dead. I felt alive. More alive that I'd ever felt before.

  "I think I'm getting something," Claire said. "You're doing great, Sarah."

  I opened my eyes, still breathing regularly, in through my nose and out through my mouth.

  My heart didn't beat but I was breathing. I held my breath to see if it made a difference. It didn't. I didn't even feel as if I ever had to take in another breath if I didn't want to. That should have been disturbing, but it wasn't. I forced myself to breathe again. It was a habit, after all. Any different and people might start looking at me funny.

  I felt the fog slowly build inside me, so subtle I didn't notice it at first, but growing thicker with every fake breath I took.

  In between us was a swirling cobweb of light. It didn't look like anything interesting to me, so I ignored it and looked beyond it to Claire. Her attention was on the light, her forehead furrowed with concentration. I could see the quick pulse at her throat.

  I could taste it and sense it with every cell in my body.

  I crawled toward her, focused only on that small patch of warm pink skin at the side of her throat. What was it that brought this on? Relaxing, maybe? Letting the meaningless stress

  I was feeling slip far away. It helped make things better. Much better.

  "Good, Sarah," Claire said. "Closer proximity is probably better to focus the energy." She focused on the light and then a big smile came over her face. "It shouldn't take long now to get a fix on her location."

  I grabbed the front of Claire's sweater and pulled her closer, then tilted my head to the side. Her attention finally landed on me as her gaze met my own.

  "Sarah," she began. "What are you doing?"

  "Shh." I pressed my index finger against her mouth.

  I could feel her heartbeat in my head, hear it thudding in my ears, as if it took over for my own silent one. So close now. The pulse was close. My mouth watered at the thought of sinking my fangs into her warm flesh. So alive. So vital. Blood from a keg wasn't sufficient for me. Too cold. I needed it fresh, from the living, breathing source.

  "Uh… somebody?" Claire called out, but otherwise she was frozen in place. "A little assistance please? I'm too weak from starting the location spell. Scary Sarah alert! Help!"

  My fangs grazed her neck. I wanted to make this last. To enjoy every moment of it. It was a primal need. A driving desire to feed. And somehow, at this very moment, it felt so completely right to me. This is the way being a vampire should feel. This ache inside that could be relieved by only one thing: blood.

  I heard footsteps pounding behind me, but I knew they couldn't stop me. I was too strong now. I could fend all of them off if they got in my way. They would be wise to stay far away from me until I was finished.

  But before I could seal the deal, so to speak, I felt a strange sensation. Instead of grasping hands attempting to pull me away from Claire, I felt a sharp and painful jolt of electricity. I backed away from her with a snarl and looked up. Butch stood very tall and large next to me, and in his hand he held something that I foggily registered as a stun gun.

  Thierry stood behind him, his expression tense and his arms crossed in front of him.

  "Again," he said tightly to Butch. "Do it quickly before it's too late."

  My hands curled into fists and in one fluid motion I rose to my feet and lunged at him.

  Butch also froze in place; whatever he saw in my face was enough to stop him cold.

  Thierry grabbed the stun gun away from him and without hesitating, touched it to my chest where my stake wound was a fading memory, and the electricity coursed through my body, freezing me in my tracks.

  My eyes widened as I met his gaze.

  His expression was tense. "I'm sorry, Sarah."

  I fell to the ground, feeling the cool ceramic tiles press against my face seconds before the world went completely and totally black.

  When I woke, my eyes still felt too heavy to open, like little cinder blocks tipped with smeared, day-old mascara.

  I didn't know where I was, but I could hear people talking.

  "And what happens if that doesn't work? She's dangerous." That was Butch.

  "Give her a break, she's been through a lot," George said.

  "And what would you suggest I do?" Thierry's deep voice asked tightly.

  "I would suggest that we take care of the problem before it becomes a larger one," Butch said.

  "You are going to have to be more specific, I'm afraid," Thierry replied. "It has been a long couple of days, so I find myself unable to understand your exact meaning."

  "If she's a nightwalker, for real, and we can't find this witch, then she needs to be eliminated. There's no other solution."

  "Are you crazy?" George said. "This is just a stupid curse, not the way she normally is. No way. We can't hurt Sarah. I won't let you."

  "Oh, yeah?" Butch continued. "You really think you could stop me?"

  "Perhaps George alone could not," Thierry said. "But if you make one move t
oward Sarah that I find to be threatening, make no mistake, I will kill you myself."

  "Look," Butch said. "You still don't understand what I'm trying to say here—"

  "No," Thierry cut him off. "You are the one who doesn't understand. If you attempt to hurt her in any way, I promise to return the favor."

  There was silence then.

  "I can't be here," Butch finally said. "If you want to make a mistake and keep a potential disaster like that alive, all power to you. But I want nothing to do with it."

  "Then you are relieved of your duties. Permanently. I will forward payment for services to date. You may leave now."

  There was more silence, and then I heard the sound of heavy footsteps leave the room.

  I managed to pry my eyes open then, and I looked up at George and Thierry. I was on the leather sofa again. Maybe I should invest in a nice comfy afghan, since it seemed to have become my new home away from home. Reggie, still in dog form, was curled up at the end by my feet sleeping and softly snoring.

  "So, did I miss anything?" My words sounded as dry as my mouth felt.

  "Claire, she's awake," Thierry said and I could hear the strain in his voice.

  I felt something poke me and I looked down. Claire held a ruler and she prodded my shoulder with it. "Sarah, are you all there?"

  "Oh, I'm all here, all right Unfortunately." I looked at the ruler. "Didn't have any ten-foot poles to touch me with?"

  "She is back to normal," Thierry said. "When the darkness descends she loses her capability for sarcasm."

  I blinked at him. "Glad you noticed my subtle differences."

  His jaw was tense. "I apologize for having to use extreme measures."

  "That wasn't as extreme as you could have gotten. I heard what Butch said."

  His throat worked as he swallowed, but his expression didn't change. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

  "No, I'm the one who's sorry." I looked at Claire. "Are you okay?"

  She waved her hand dismissively. "Please. Not exactly the first time I've been attacked."

  "By a vampire?"

  "Vampire, demon, employer. What's the difference?" She put the ruler down and hovered her hands over me. "Just do me a favor and don't do it again?"

  "I wish I could say that I had control over it."

  "It's a matter of mind over matter. With enough practice, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just think like a river. You were thinking more like a waterfall. A big, scary one."

  I frowned. "I can't think like water. It makes me need to use the washroom."

  "Do you sense anything?" Thierry asked.

  "Oh, definitely," Claire said. "I can feel the curse. It's super strong, too."

  "Is there anything you can do to remove it?"

  She shrugged. "I'm fairly powerful, but this Stacy chick is into the mega dark arts."

  "So you're more like Glinda the Good Witch?" I asked. "Your magic is pure?"

  She snorted at that. "Not really. I just can't afford the really cool spell books. Do you have any idea what they cost?"

  "No idea."

  "Some are a few thousand bucks. Those are the cheap ones. The really good ones are paid for with little bits of your soul. That's too expensive for me. Then again, you can always kill a more powerful witch and steal her library. That's an option, but then there's the risk of her vengeful spirit coming back to kick your ass."

  "I can't believe anyone would want to live like this." I closed my eyes and thought about the nightwalkers who had roamed the earth many years ago. "And it seems to be getting worse by the minute. I can't live like this. I don't want to hurt anybody."

  "You won't," Thierry said, his words firm.

  I looked at Claire. "Did the location spell work? Do you know where to find Stacy?"

  She shook her head. "There wasn't enough time. But we'll…" she swallowed hard. "We'll try it again."

  "Are you well enough to move?" Thierry asked.

  I nodded and struggled to sit up. Neither Claire nor George made a move to help me, but

  Thierry was there to grasp my hand in his and help me to my feet. He smiled at me when I didn't resist.

  "What?" I asked.

  "I'm surprised you would wish to touch me after what I had to do."

  I raised an eyebrow. "You mean zapping me with the stun gun?"

  "Yes."

  "Wasn't a romantic moment I'll cherish always on this, the day before Valentine's Day, but it's not exactly like I gave you a choice."

  "I'll make it up to you."

  "Oh, yeah?" I raised an eyebrow. "How?"

  "I'll think of something appropriate." He leaned over and kissed me briefly. I sighed against his lips.

  "Hey!" George said. "Watch it!"

  "It's fine," Thierry said, and looked at me. "It is, isn't it?"

  I nodded. "At the moment, it seems to be."

  The kiss helped me to clear my head and focus on what really mattered. Getting better so

  Thierry and I could be together. Getting better so my friends didn't have to be afraid of me anymore. More than anything, that was what was important to me. I didn't want to hurt anyone I loved. Hell, I didn't even want to hurt anyone I didn't love.

  Well, maybe I'd make an exception for Stacy.

  I seriously needed to be cured of this ASAP, but this wasn't exactly just a couple of germs to deal with.

  What I wouldn't have given to only have a really bad head cold.

  The phone rang and Thierry moved toward his desk to answer it. I wondered if it was

  Veronique again, but no, I could tell by his expression it was somebody else. Somebody worse.

  He cupped his hand over the mouthpiece and looked over at me. "Are you feeling well enough to take a call?"

  "From who?"

  "Stacy," he said simply.

  My eyes widened and I held my hand out for the phone. He brought it over to me, although his expression was tense and worried.

  "Hello?" My voice was a whisper.

  "Sarah," Stacy said. "I've been thinking."

  "About what?"

  "I know you tried to find me just now. I could feel the other witch at work—she's fairly powerful, actually. You're very determined to get rid of this curse, aren't you?"

  "Yes, I am. Stacy, listen to me, you need to think rationally. I know you've been hurt in the past, but that's the past. You need to put it behind you and move on to the future."

  "Oh, I know that now."

  I was surprised. "You do?"

  "Yes, it's… it's so crazy how life works out, Sarah. I've never felt like this before." She paused. "I'm in love."

  "You're in love?" That was the last thing I'd expected her to say.

  "I finally see the error of my ways and I want to atone for what I've done to you. The curse won't be permanent until tomorrow night. I want you to come to my house right away and I can easily take care of it. Then we can both move on with our wonderful new lives with the men we've fallen in love with."

  Skeptical didn't even begin to cover what I was feeling at the moment. "And let me guess.

  You want me to come alone? Forget it. I'm not falling for that one again."

  "No, no, bring whoever you want. Even bring Thierry if you like. I have nothing to hide anymore. After tonight I'm not going to do any more black magic. I'm going to be a healer. I want to help people instead of hurt them now. It's so crazy how finding the right man after all of these years has changed my attitude about everything. I feel more alive than I have in years."

  I listened for the sound of my heartbeat and heard only silence. "Wish I could say the same."

  "So are you coming or what?"

  I hesitated and looked at Thierry, who studied me with a steady, concerned expression.

  There wasn't even a question of whether I was going to see Stacy. I could only hope that she was serious this time. If she was, if she'd really found a man who would love the crazy witch for who she was, then more power to her. It didn't exactly excuse the terrible thi
ngs she'd done in the past, though. She was still responsible for, as far as I knew from what she'd told me, the deaths of six people.

  Not exactly your average girl-next-door behavior.

  "I'm coming," I said, trying to remain calm even though it was a struggle. I would hate to get my hopes up only to have them dashed again, but hope was nudging me rather hard at the moment. Whoever had swept Stacy off her feet might soon have my eternal gratitude for appearing at the right time and right place.

  Stacy told me her address and I jotted it down on a piece of paper.

  "And listen, Sarah," she said, and then paused.

  "What?" I prompted.

  "I'm sorry. For everything. The past is over and the future is bright. For both of us."

  I could hear that she was smiling.

  After telling her that we'd be there in a half an hour, I hung up.

  "She's going to break the curse," I said quietly.

  George let out a very long sigh of relief. "When do we leave?"

  "Right now," Thierry said firmly. "The sooner this is over the better."

  I honestly couldn't have agreed more.

  Chapter 16

  I filled a Thermos just in case something went wrong on the way over to Stacy's house. I don't think I need to go into detail about what was inside.

  I held on to my optimism as best I could. That sliver of hope that told me that even when things were darkest in my life, they always seemed to turn out okay in the end. The optimism had been growing by the minute since Stacy's phone call. Besides, I had very good backup: George, currently the keeper of the stun gun, a role he was taking very seriously; Thierry, the strong, silent type with the grim but determined expression; and

  Claire, our resident expert in crazy-ass witches.

  Oh, and her little dog, too.

  The four and a half of us made like The Wizard of Oz and went off to see the repentant wicked witch of the west end of the city.

  I was surprised to see that Stacy lived in Rosedale, the ritziest neighborhood of Toronto and home to some of its rich and famous citizens. The area was surrounded by winding streets, parkland, and ravines that effectively concealed the fact that it was only a short drive to downtown. I seriously would have killed to live there. Luckily though, at the moment, I was speaking figuratively.