Charmed in Vegas: Bad Potions (7 page)

“And you’re forgetting the Fay have outsmarted more than their fair share of mages, lass,” said McAllister with a dismissive flap of his wings. “There isn’t a mage alive who can spot our shape shifters.”

“Or counter our charms, once cast,” added Aidan. “Dougal is going to do more than serve as a decoy, he’s going to lure Eric into the Wastelands of Fairy.”

“And I’ll charm-bind him there. If he’s really unlucky, I’ll find a bad time storm and throw him in,” the big man said with a wicked smile.

McAllister snorted. “Better to let an Eros Fay have him. He’ll never want to leave.”

“Eros Fay?” Raven asked.

“They’re goblin kin. Always female. Their bite infects the victim with burning lust. It’s how they reproduce,” Aidan said.

“They’re so ugly no one will lay with them willingly.” Dougal shoved a large forkful of eggs in his mouth and reached for more bacon with his free hand.

Marion shuddered. “That’s awful.”

“It’s the least Eric deserves,” Aidan said.

Marion nodded her agreement and rubbed her wrist. It always seemed to ache at the mention of Eric.

Aidan reached over to touch her scar. “So while Dougal and McAllister are dealing with Eric, I thought you and I could go on a trip.”

“To where?”

“Someplace safe. I have a small place outside the city. We can hide there until we get the all clear from Dougal. It has wards that no mage can break. Eric won't be able to find you let alone touch you.”

She liked the sound of that, but wasn't wholly convinced. Not yet. “What about Raven?”

“I’m going to stay with Wolf,” Raven said.

“What if I don’t want to go?” Marion asked.

There was a silence in the room. Aidan’s friends looked at him, puzzled expressions on their faces. Had Aidan told them she’d agreed to his plan?

Aidan took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I just...thought this was the best plan. Get you somewhere safe, let someone else draw Eric’s attention, someone who can take him in a fight. But, if you’re not comfortable...” He trailed off with a helpless shrug.

“It’s a good plan, Mar,” Raven said. “Who else is going to help you?”

Marion shrugged. “I could call Detective Wallace.”

“What would he do?” Raven asked.

“Report a parole violation. Eric would have to go back to prison.”

“Would he come here to protect you while they try to find him?”

Marion gave a reluctant shake of her head. Detective Wallace was on the other side of the country. She’d run so far away from danger, she’d left help far behind too.

“As I see it, your choices are to do this alone, in which case you won't be able to stop Eric, or accept the help Aidan’s offering,” Raven said, her tone matter-of-fact.

Marion worried her bottom lip. If only it was that easy to trust, to think someone had the best intentions.

Aidan took her hands in his. “Marion, let me help. Please.”

“Why?” she asked, meeting his eyes.

His thumbs caressed the back of her hands. “Because you need help and I can give it.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. Raven was right. Aidan gave her the best chance at making sure Eric never got close to her again. She’d be a fool not to take it. ”I guess I’d better go pack.” Marion pulled away from Aidan and went to her room. Whether Aidan solved her love potion problems or not, she'd certainly met him in the nick of time.

A
idan watched her go and tried not to think too hard about how they would be alone with no interruptions for the next few days. He pushed away images of Marion underneath him, her back arched in pleasure. There would be time for that later, for now he needed to focus on the task at hand: Preparing Dougal to deal with the mage and convincing McAllister to accept his choice for satisfying the Queen’s curse.

It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have in front of Raven though, so he said, “Raven could you give us a moment to strategize?”

“Go ahead.” She scraped the last of her eggs onto her fork.

“Alone. The less you know, the less you can tell someone. It’s standard guard protocol.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” Swallowing the last of her eggs, she got up and took her plate into the kitchen. “I might as well go pack too.”

Once Raven had left, Aidan turned to McAllister. “Will she do?”

McAllister sighed. “I don’t know. The Lady wasn’t thinking much beyond beauty when she cursed you. Wanted you to see what an ass like two moons would really look like.”

Dougal gave an amused snort.

McAllister continued on, ignoring Dougal. “But I’ll talk to her, see if I can convince her because I can tell you aren’t going to change your course. You’ve already given your word to this girl?”

“Yes. I’m committed.”

“Very well. I will do my best by you, my friend, but don’t blame me if the Lady is angry with you and you end up as a toad.”

“Understood. Thank you.” Aidan inclined his head in an informal bow. Turning to Dougal, he said, “Are you ready?”

Dougal closed his eyes, concentrating. The air around him wavered and he seemed to flicker in and out of focus, coming back smaller and thinner until he had assumed Marion’s form. “I think so. How do I look?”

“Just like her,” Aidan said. “You have the charms?”

Dougal pulled a necklace out from underneath his shirt and showed Aidan the two charms dangling from it. “All set to bewitch and bedazzle our evil mage. He’ll never know what hit him.”

“Excellent. Hopefully this won’t take more than a couple of days.”

Dougal smirked. “Not that you’d complain if it took longer.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her. Tell me you aren’t thinking about a roll or two with her and you’d be lying.”

Aidan’s cheeks grew warm. “I happen to like her.”

“Enough to stick around when the Lady calls you back to Court?” McAllister asked raising his bushy eyebrows. “Or are you just going to break the girl’s heart?”

Aidan shrugged. “I doubt the Lady will give me much choice. We’ve only spent a few hours together anyway. I can’t say one way or another, but I do know this. I like her. She’s in trouble and I can help.”

“Fair enough,” McAllister said.

A door opened and closed, signaling the entrance of one of the women. The men fell silent, not wanting to be overheard and watched as Raven came down the short hallway, rolling a large suitcase behind her.

“I called Wolf on my cell phone. He should be here to pick me up soon,” she said, dragging her suitcase to the door. "When are you guys leaving?”

Aidan put a casual arm around Dougal-turned-Marion, watching to see if Raven noticed. “As soon as Marion is done packing.”

As if she’d heard him, Marion’s door opened and she came to join them, a large duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Catching sight of Dougal, she gasped. “You look just like me.” Dropping her bag, she went over to the giant and peered closely into his face.

“That’s amazing.”

“It is,” Raven agreed. “I thought he was you when I came out.” She shot an accusatory glance at Aidan, who just smiled.

Marion reached out and touched Dougal’s cheek, an expression of wonder on her face. “How did you do that?”

“Magic,” Dougal said.

“What kind of magic, exactly? I’ve heard of transformation spells and illusions, but this is something different.” She poked her twin in the arm.

“Fay shape shifters have their own magic.”

“It’s better than anything I’ve seen." Marion walked around him, awe turning to clouded disappointment. “Does my ass really look like that?”

“I don’t know. I sort of improvised there. Here, turn around and let me see,” Dougal said.

Marion turned and he considered her backside with a thoughtful expression, then, with a grunt, rearranged his. “There, is that better?”

Marion nodded. “Oh yes, much better, but I have a question. What would I look like if I lost ten pounds? Can you show me thinner?”

“Sure.” Dougal closed his eyes and slimmed down before her eyes.

“Hmm, how about twenty?” Marion asked rubbing her chin.

Dougal changed again.

“Thirty?” She stared at him for several long seconds and shook her head. “No, that’s too much. Twenty pounds should about do it. Thanks.”

“No problem, fair maid.” Dougal swept his arm in an elaborate bow. “Always happy to do my part for beauty.”

“I think you look fine the way you are,” Aidan said.

Marion smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“You should go dancing more often,” Raven said. “Tones me right up.” She patted her flat stomach for effect.

“I can think of other kinds of exercise besides dancing,” Aidan said, keeping his voice low and for Marion’s ears only. Ears that quickly turned red.

Marion cleared her throat. “Well, I’m packed, when do you want to leave?”

“Now.” Aidan hoisted her bag over his shoulder.

“Great.” She pulled a piece of paper out of a backpack leaning against the wall and gave it to Dougal. “Here’s my class schedule. You’ll probably want to follow my regular routine. Try to take good notes for me, okay?”

Dougal took the paper from her and looked at it. “School? I’m going back to school?” He narrowed his eyes at Aidan. “You didn’t tell me I was going to be a student.”

Aidan held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I didn’t think that far ahead, but Marion’s right. You should keep as close as you can to her regular schedule. And paying attention will make you more believable.”

“You’re a good student then, Marion? Always showing up, doing well on tests and so on?”

Marion nodded. “Except Potions. I’m flunking that class.”

Dougal gave a dramatic sigh. “I’m much better at being the mead-drinking, class-missing student, but, for you, Aidan, I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll buy you an entire barrel of the Queen’s own mead once we’re done with this,” Aidan promised.

“What does this bloke Eric look like? You have any pictures?” Dougal asked Marion.

Marion shook her head. “I didn’t keep any pictures, but Eric is easy to spot. He’s tall, had dark hair, and there's a large mole on his cheek. It's about the size of a dime.”

“The mole will make it easy,” Dougal agreed. “I will keep watch for the mole of evil then.”

Aidan offered Marion his arm. “Shall we?”

“Just let me say goodbye to Raven.” She went over to her roommate and gave her a hug. “Thanks for all your help. Without you, I’d be all alone in this. You’ve been great.”

Raven smiled. “You’re welcome. Take care of yourself. Be safe.”

“You too.” Marion turned to Aidan. “Let’s go.”

T
o Marion’s surprise, Aidan drove a sporty BMW. What model she couldn’t say since she didn’t pay much attention to cars, but it was small and silver and went very fast. So fast, she clutched the door handle in a death grip, bracing for an imminent collision, and wondered if Aidan was part speed-demon. Still, he managed not to crash and never ran a red light. Once they were out of the city and on the open road, she relaxed.

Then she started to think and tensed up again. She hadn’t had much time to really consider everything that was going on. Eric’s phone call had been such a shock, she hadn’t stopped to weigh her options. Aidan presented a solution and she went along with it, no questions asked. Now that the rush of planning and packing was over, and she’d had some time to distance herself from the emotional impact of Eric’s reappearance, doubts began to surface.

How well did she know Aidan?

Not well.

Where were they going?

She had no idea
.

Worse, no one had a phone number or knew where they were going. Well, she assumed McAllister and Dougal knew, but their loyalties lay with Aidan, not her. A horrible thought struck her. What if Aidan wasn’t even Aidan, but Eric in disguise?

Her heart thudded and her eyes widened. It would be just like Eric to worm his way into her life and lull her into a false sense of security before locking his hands around her throat. Marion looked at Aidan, who was concentrating on the road. If only she knew the spells that would break an illusion, but those classes came after Potions.
Everything
she needed came after Potions.

It was as if Eric had set up the curriculum.

She had no magical knowledge to defend herself with except a few healing potions and a love potion that was a good stand-in for a grenade. At that, Marion brightened for a moment. She could always mix up a batch of exploding love potions and use that as a weapon. Except she hadn’t brought any of the ingredients with her. Drat.

She stared out the window, watching the beige desert landscape blur by, and tried to figure out what she should do. Spotting a blue rest-stop sign, she said, “Aidan, do you mind stopping? I’ve got to use the bathroom.” And call for help.

Aidan nodded and steered the car to the far right lane. “Sure.”

Minutes later, Marion shut herself in a bathroom stall and dialed.

“Hello, this is 911. What is your emergency?”

“Someone threatened to kill me,” she whispered.

“Is someone trying to kill you now?” The dispatcher asked.

“Um...maybe.” She slumped against the wall and ran a hand through her hair.

The dispatcher’s voice cooled. “We don’t deal with threats. You should call your local police station ma’am.”

“But you don’t understand, I’ve already left home. I don’t have a local police station at the moment.”

“I’m sorry, but we only deal with life or death emergencies.”

“He almost killed me once, doesn’t that count?”

“Not unless he’s currently trying to kill you.”

“Well he is, he just hasn’t found me yet.”

“Again, I’m sorry. You’re going to have to go to your local police station. I can’t help you.”

The line went dead. Thinking quickly, she dialed information and asked for the Quarry Springs PD.

"Quarry Springs Police Department," answered a bored female voice. "This is Julia."

"Uh. Hi. Detective Wallace, please?"

"There's no one here by that name."

A chill swept over Marion. "What do you mean he's not there? He was the detective on my case."