Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (29 page)

He took one last look at the apartment as he stood at the front door.
 
He'd learned nothing new of Erica's murder.
 
The only thing he learned was he might not be the best person to find the person who killed her.

He locked the apartment behind him.
 
He was near the second floor of the stairwell when a man entered the building.
 
They passed each other on the second floor landing as the man went to his front door.
 
He lived directly under Erica's apartment.
 
He watched Jack as he moved past.
 
A typical nosy neighbor.

"Hey, buddy," he said.
 
"You looking for the woman that lives above me?
 
Bad news, you ain't gonna find her.
 
She got herself dead.
 
Dead, dead.
 
It's a shame, too.
 
She was a beauty.
 
I was gonna try to fuck—"

Jack pounced.
 
The nameless man was in the middle of whatever meaningless word he had to say when his Jack closed the distance between them.
 
He slammed him against the front door and struck with an elbow across the cheek.
   
The man shoved Jack away, but that only let Jack step forward with a brutal kick to the stomach.
 
The man folded in half and slid along the front door.
 
Jack caught him when he was halfway to the floor with a knee to the chin.
 
The sound echoed throughout the stairwell as his head rocked back, his skull slamming into the door, teeth knocking against teeth.
 
Jack kicked him once more in the chest as he curled into the fetal position, spitting out teeth.

A young man and elderly woman opened their doors at the commotion.
 
They peered into the hallway.
 
The beaten man moaned and rolled slightly back and forth.
 
The woman gasped and covered her mouth in shock as she saw the teeth and blood on the landing.

"Oh my God!
 
Charlie!
 
Are you—?"

"Get back inside," Jack ordered.
 
"Let Charlie bleed in peace."

The pair did as they were told.
 
Jack didn't say another word as he left the mortal lying in a pool of his own blood.

Kevin sat at the breakfast bar and flipped through the pages in his spell-book.
 
He turned to one of his favorite stories, the tale of how one of his ancestors first made the transition from cauldron to a simple heated pot on a stove.
 
It was inspirational, and Kevin found some of his best potions came to him when his book was on that page.

He took notes on a piece of scrap paper, writing in the witch's language.
 
He wrote random ingredients with the hope of something new popping in his mind.
 
Baking soda, snake fangs, cow udders, salt, water.
 
Nothing came to him, but witchcraft was always relaxing, even when it failed.

There was a time he was afraid of what he was, but that time was long gone.
 
Kevin knew he couldn't complain much when it came to his life.
 
He had a sister he was close to, an awesome girlfriend, a loyal cat, and a strange circle of supernatural beings he called friends.
 
He could do things no one else could do.
 
There were times he wished he had a car, but with the magic he wielded, transportation wasn't usually an issue.

A mere week ago Leese and he were walking through the streets of Athens.
 
Neither one of them knew Greek, and they didn't stay long, but it was amazing.
 
He created the portal in his bedroom, and they held hands as they stepped through to the other side of the world.
 
If he could go anywhere in the world using a simple photograph, he'd gladly put up with not having a car.

He stood and stretched his arms over his head.
 
He was in a good mood.
 
Not even a bratty nine-year-old with an unknown vendetta could bring him down.
 
His coat was stretched across the breakfast bar.
 
He emptied the pockets and checked the inventory.
 
Many vials lined the inside, some old favorites as well as new ones.
 
He carried a few loose items that weren't potions.
 
A simple bottle of water, packets of sugar, a pair of reading glasses, a pocket light, a marker for standard portals.
 
The potions he carried would hurt his brain if he thought about them too hard.
 
Invisibility, memory loss, a potion that could create weather, his potion that made distance portals, a newly-created truth serum.
 
He also carried a small stack of photographs with portals already drawn on them, a quick escape.
 
He only needed a picture, the right potion, and a surface to draw a portal on.

There were times magic was overwhelming.
 
But it was never dull.

He shifted some potions around in different pockets, for easier access.
 
A witch always needed to be prepared.

"Hey, sexy Kevin."

The voice came out of nowhere, and he jumped in surprise.
 
Kevin still wasn't used to where he now kept his magical rock, around his neck.
 
In the past, he wore the stone as a ring.
 
The logic behind the move was simple.
 
Making it a necklace freed up his hands, and the fact that the stone still touched his skin protected him from projectiles.
 
It also acted as a powerful cell phone, one that didn't need towers or batteries.

Magic was nice.

"Leese," he said.
 
"Be careful calling me like this.
 
You never know who's around."

"Well, if you didn't get rid of your cell phone, I wouldn't have to call on your rock.
 
And I'd be able to text you cool little pictures.
 
Check your email."

He walked to the couch and picked up Tiffany's tablet, where she'd carelessly tossed it the night before.
 
One new email waited for him, from Leese.
 
It was a self-portrait, taken in her bedroom dresser mirror.
 
She wore only a white bra and turquoise panties.
 
In her hand she held up a piece of paper with her delicate handwriting.

Can I come over and play?

Kevin had never printed an email faster in his life.

He grabbed the picture from Jack's printer and pulled the appropriate potion from his coat.
 
Moistening his finger with the potion, he drew a portal on the wall behind Leese in the picture.
 
He drew one more portal on the wall in the kitchen.

He didn't know how magic worked, and he'd stopped trying to figure it out.
 
How did a picture along with some grocery store items create a tunnel in space?
 
He didn't know, but looking at the picture Leese sent, he was just glad it worked.

He completed the magic by placing the picture in the center of his hastily drawn circle.
 
The portal came into being, taking the picture with it.
 
He always kept a supply of important photos, especially his own bedroom and Leese's apartment.

Leese sat on the edge of her bed with her legs crossed, waiting patiently.
 
She wore blue jeans and a tee shirt, perhaps her best look.
 
Leese didn't have to put much effort into looking her best.

"Aww," Kevin said.
 
"You're not wearing what you had on in the picture."

"I might be underneath.
 
You never know."
 
She rose from the bed.
 
"It made you draw that magic portal fast, didn't it?"

"I think my hand broke from the speed," he said, smiling.
 
He stepped aside.
 
"Come on over."

Leese crossed her bedroom and stepped through the portal.
 
She tripped as her foot hit the bottom, and she fell into his arms.
 
Kevin caught her and held her close.
 
She'd obviously done it on purpose, but he wouldn't complain.

"Oops.
 
I slipped."

"Good thing I was here to catch you."

Still holding onto her, he closed the portal behind them.
 
They shared a quick kiss.
 
Kevin rubbed her lower back as she kept her arms around his neck.

He was the luckiest witch alive.

They hadn't talked in two days.
 
Leese spent the previous day with Cindy, her sister-in-law.
 
They went shopping for clothes, something Kevin was more than happy to pass on.

"I missed you," Leese said.
 
She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him close.
 
"I keep thinking about the other night.
 
That was fun."

Kevin cheeks grew hot.
 
"Yeah, it was."

They kissed again, and nearly upgraded the kiss when Leese opened her eyes and looked around, frowning.

"Uh, where the hell are we?"

He laughed and pulled away, gesturing with his hand.

"This is Jack's house.
 
I'm house-sitting for him, and keeping an eye on Tiffany."

"Jack?
 
Psycho Jack?
 
Seriously?"

"Yeah."

She noticed the TV, couch, breakfast bar, large kitchen.

"Wow.
 
This isn't what I would have thought.
 
It's so…."

"Normal, I know.
 
Freaked me out, too.
 
I thought there'd be chains and whips hanging everywhere."

"Where's Tiffany?"

"She went to a friend's house after school, and I get the feeling she'll go over as many friends' houses as she can."

"What do you mean?"

"She's a little brat.
 
Seems to hate me."

"Really?
 
I didn't get that when I met her."

"Well, it's definitely that way now."

"That's a good thing.
 
Less competition for me."
 
Leese smiled.
 
"How is Jack?
 
He can sleep now.
 
Is he still—?"

"He's still Jack."

Leese nodded in understanding.
 
Oscar, Kevin's black cat, jumped on the breakfast bar.
 
He walked over Kevin's coat and mewed to get Leese's attention.
 
She scratched the back of his ears and examined the various vials and items.

"I can take a wild guess as to what you've been doing."

"You know me," he said.
 
"Just shifting some things around."
 
He held up a finger.
 
"Oh, something new did come to me.
 
Right after our little…thing."

The smile stretched across her face.
 
"I inspired magic?"

"Check it out."

Kevin led her to the stove.
 
He stuck his finger in a mixture that was simmering over a burner.
 
Leese winced, but Kevin didn't.
 
The heat didn't affect him at all.
 
The liquid turned from white to blue, then back to white.
 
He poured a small amount in the palm of his hand and quickly went to the breakfast bar.
 
He rubbed his hand on the coat.

Nothing happened.

"Wow.
 
That's really something."

"Hold on, now.
 
We're not done yet."

Grabbing a pair of scissors, he cut a straight line in his coat.
 
Leese gasped and slapped her palms to her cheeks.
 
Not stopping there, Kevin cut random gashes, ruining it.

"Kevin…Victoria told me how expensive that coat was.
 
It was custom-made, just for you."

"Wait for it."

Leese watched in amazement as the coat
healed
.
 
The gashes and slices knitted together, leaving no trace that a blade even touched it.

"Whoa.
 
That's pretty cool."

"Yeah.
 
Just pour some on your clothes, and you don't have to worry about them getting torn anymore."

Anger flashed through Leese's eyes.
 
Kevin had seen that look before, and took a step back.

"Wait a minute, you were actually
upset
that I ripped your shirt?"

"What?
 
No!
 
No way."

"Then why did you come up with a potion that fixes clothes?"

"I didn't
come up
with it.
 
It just popped in my head.
 
This is for helping Victoria with a case, or whatever.
 
If I'm out there saving the world, I don't have to worry about my clothes getting ruined."

Leese put her hands on her hips.
 
She wasn't convinced.
 
Kevin tried not to smile.
 
She was irritated, but just looked so hot.
 
He called on all his witch strength to keep his eyes focused on hers.
 
He wasn't sure how the evening would go if he let his gaze drop.

"I swear, Leese.
 
You can rip all the shirts off me you want."

She sighed, and he could see her relaxing.

"It's not as fun if we get all hot and heavy, start tearing at clothes, and they start sewing themselves."

"I won't put it on everything.
 
I'll keep some real shirts aside, just for us."