Something Witchy This Way Comes (37 page)

Chapter Thirty-seven

Tessa

“Chait, what are you doing here?”

“Came to get Hayden. He was supposed to meet me outside.” He grinned at Nadia and Corinne. “But since I’m here, mind if I steal her away a moment?”

“Not at all.” Nadia didn’t take her eyes off him.

“She’s all yours,” Corinne said as if mesmerized.

I rose from the bench and rolled my eyes. We took a spot near the garbage cans, the only place no one wanted to hang out. “So what’s up?”

“Boris called.”

“What? Why?”

“And I can guess how he got the number. David. Those two must be like this.” He twisted his two fingers together. “I trusted him.”

“I kinda did too.” In frustration, I let the air whoosh from my lungs. “I think David and Rena teamed up. She took credit for killing Zoe, so he’d look like a saint.”

Chait growled and ran his hand through his hair.

“So what did Boris want?” My palms dampened as I anticipated seeing Boris again, now that I knew so much more.

“To meet with us. Tonight. I figure Hayden’s house is the best place. We’ll make sure the cameras are on and the security guys are on alert.”

“Did he say what he wanted to talk about?”

“Would it matter? We can’t trust anything out of his
mouth,” Chait replied. “We’ll have to prepare for the worst.”

“The worst would be that he’s going to kill us. How does one go about preparing for that?” I rubbed my temple to relieve the tension already working its way in.

“Hey.” Chait lifted my c
hin with his fingertips. “You guys are doing great, far better than any rookies I’ve ever seen. Between Hayden’s martial arts training and your extra powers, we’re as ready as we can be, considering our lack of preparation time.”

“Are you crazy? We’re nowhere near ready.” I choked back the fear.

He grasped my upper arms and looked into my eyes. “We never will be. Whatever happens, we’ll deal as it comes.”

Chait was right. I swallowed and closed my eyes.

“Arrange the babysitter for all night, okay?” His hands brushed my arm and rested on my shoulders, but I barely noticed.

I nodded, picturing Bree without me, an orphan. No matter what happened, whether the confrontation took place tonight or next week, leaving Bree all alone wasn’t an option. “Too bad you weren’t able to snag that book,” I said.

“Sorry. I tried. It’s too big to sneak out without anyone noticing.”

 “What’s going on?” Hayden asked, eyeing Chait who then dropped his arms to his side.

“What time is the meeting?” I asked.

“Eight,” Chait answered. “That gives us time to practice before he gets there.”

“Like that’s going to do us much good,” I scoffed. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Chait touched my arm when I turned to leave. “Make sure you eat. Now is not the time to be hungry. Tessa, trust me and eat well, okay?”

I nodded and went back to my table. Moments later, Hayden and Chait took off.

When I sat with my friends again, their interrogation rivaled the Inquisition. For once, I was grateful for Nadia’s and Corinne’s interference in my love life. It kept my mind off the escalating feeling of impending doom.

* * * *

The boys decided that Boris probably wouldn’t make any moves on us before our meeting. Since Chait felt comfortable staying behind, Hayden picked me up after school by himself. We drove in silence and when we entered the guesthouse, the scents of garlic, basil and tomato welcomed us.

“Hey.” Chait grinned, holding a large spoon in one hand, wearing an apron draped over his front.

I laughed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m cooking dinner for you guys. Me too, of course. We need to be well fed for tonight. Italian sausage in a marinara sauce should work.”

“Dude, are you sure you know what you’re doing? Will it be safe to eat?” Hayden nudged Chait away and lifted the lid to the pot. “Smells edible.”

My phone went off.
She’s awake again. Still very weak but wants 2 c u.

Zoe was on the mend. My eyes blurred. If only Boris was out of the picture, I could spend some quality time with her now.
Boris will b here @ 8. Hayden’s. I’ll text u when he’s gone & make plans.
I closed my phone and tossed it on the couch.

Grandma wouldn’t like the Boris situation. She would’ve been great as extra backup, and probably would’ve been more than willing to help. But I couldn’t take a chance on her leaving Zoe and something happening to either of them. I’d just gotten them back. “What’s the big deal over being well fed? And where did you learn to cook?”

“When I first joined up, they were afraid I’d get crushed, because I was so young and inexperienced. They gave me things to do around the house, but I needed more. Then I got to thinking. We use up so much energy in battle. Eating well can make all the difference between winning and losing. So I learned to cook and became very popular.” Chait chuckled. “Even after my training, I still cooked sometimes.”

“Spent all that time cooking, then trained with your mentor? You’re not really nineteen,” I said.

Chait wiped his hands on the dishtowel. “They found me younger than the norm. I was twelve.”

“Oh.” I cocked my head. “Where were your parents? That’s awfully young to choose sides, isn’t it?”

“Not necessarily.” Chait shrugged. “But that’s a story for another time.” He said it like the subject was closed.

I glanced at Hayden who’d been unusually quiet, which reminded me of the only reason we were in the same room together. “So, we’re going into battle, huh?”

“Hope not,” Chait answered. “Never met Boris, but I’ve heard stories. He’s in power, because he killed the previous ruler. Actually, the rumor is that the guy is still alive. Supposedly, Boris cut off all his limbs, cauterized them and cut out his tongue. Now he’s a decoration in Boris’s office.”

“That’s disgusting,” I said. “You think it’s true?”

Hayden glanced at me, his expression grim. “Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have to be true for us to know he’s dangerous. Try not to think about it.”

“Oh, that’s gonna happen.” I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get some sparring in before we eat. There are some things I want to try out.”

Chait set the ladle on the counter and replaced the lid. “It needs to simmer a while anyway. What do you have in mind?”

“Training room.” I flicked a thumb toward the door.

We met Hayden’s mom on the way to the main house. She wore a black off-the-shoulder dress that stopped about three inches above her knee. Looked to me like Rachel’s newfound singlehood suited her just fine.

“Girls’ night out, Mom?” Hayden asked.

“Yes. Since I’ll be out late, thought I’d stay the night there. I already made the reservation.”

“Go easy on ’em. They’re only guys.” He chuckled.

She kissed him on the cheek and strutted out in her pink strappy heels.

“On a weeknight?” I watched her through the window as she climbed into her Jag. “It’s not even dark yet.”

“Happy hour,” Hayden explained.

“Hope she stays safe.” She looked way too hot to be a mom.

“She goes to the nicest places, Tessa, not dives. Country Clubs and swanky hotels where there’s security. Her friends are all rich with grown kids. Her friends have nothing better to do on a Tuesday night. She’ll be fine.”

I caught Chait’s scent as he moved close behind me. “Maybe she’ll let us drive that tomorrow,” he said.

“Get
away from the window,” Hayden said. “You guys look like stalkers.”

I glanced at Hayden who eyed Chait’s arm as it slipped lightly around my waist and guided me away. Hayden frowned. Maybe he was suffer
ing from I-don’t-want-you-but-no-one-else-can-have-you-either syndrome. If that was going through his head, too bad. I’d date whomever I wanted.

If only I wanted someone other than Hayden.

“So what did you want to try out?” Chait asked as we entered the gym.

“I want you to try to hurt me,” I said, then looked behind him.

“Tessa, hurting you will tell us what?” Hayden asked, clearly not liking the idea.

I drew my wandering gaze to Hayden. “In the library at Chait’s when those women came in, I put up a shield and they didn’t know I was there. What if I could do that to protect myself, not just keep them from sensing me?”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Chait said doubtfully.

“But I’m not a normal witch.”

“Okay. Who gets the honor, me or Hayden?”

“You do it,” Hayden told him.

“Okay. On three. One…”

Tonight could be life or death. If putting up a shield was possible, I’d do it. Wait… none of us could do anything until we knew it was possible.

“Two…”

I am untouchable. No one can break through the invisible barrier surrounding me…

“Three.” I flinched as his fist flew at me, but I strengthened the wall. Right before impact with my stomach, his hand slowed, almost as if he’d hit a wall of sponge.

Chait’s mouth dropped open. “That was amazing. It felt like I was moving through marshmallow or something. Awesome.” He grinned.

“Now I want you to assault Hayden,” I said, eager to discover more. “And make it good.”

“What?” Hayden groaned. “I can already tell you he’s going to whip me.”

“Not necessarily. I mean, he might. But this could work on others, too. Chait, go.”

I imagined a wall around Hayden that no one could break through, not even Boris. Chait threw himself into a kick that would hurt like hell if he made it past the barrier. I held the wall steady as Chait’s leg slowed before making contact.

Chait laughed as he chose a sheathed dagger from the wall of weapons. “That was wicked cool. Let’s do it again.” He assumed his fighting stance, legs spread, hands up.

I projected the shield over Hayden again and Chait leaped at him. Just before Chait made contact, he threw the sheathed dagger at me. My shield dropped from Hayden as I caught the knife and the guys tumbled to the ground. Profanity spilled from Hayden’s mouth as he dusted himself off.

“You need to learn to multi-task,” Chait told me with a smug grin. “Next time, you’re going to handle the dagger while still protecting Hayden.”

I threw the shield up around Hayden and signaled to Chait. The dagger flew at me and I forced it in a different direction mid-way while still protecting Hayden. As Chait kicked and his leg met the marshmallow effect, Hayden’s fist shot out and punched Chait in the face.