The Doctor Witch (The Ward Witches) (10 page)

“
Now look, after dinner and dessert, Dave will leave. Or at least, I’ll get him out of here. I’m going to go upstairs, supposedly to do some research but really to get you two alone. Take advantage of it. Remember, he’s the one, and you both need to accept it. Get to know each other better, and figure out if it’ll work.”

“
I’ve got it, Miss Matchmaker.”

“
Very good. While you frost the cake can I try some of the icing?”

Skylar laughed and passed the bowl along when she was done with the cake.

All through dinner and dessert, Skylar couldn’t get her conversation with Dymphna out of her head. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to get to this coming conversation faster or postpone it as long as possible. But of course, Dymphna was right, and it had to happen. So whether she liked it or not, Dave and Leo cleaned up the dishes all too soon.

Dave made his goodbyes, and Dymphna went up to “study.” When Leo’s back was turned, she gave Skylar a wink. This was it.

“
Still want to do movie night?” Skylar asked, already moving toward the television.

“
I’d like that. I’ll even pop the popcorn.”

“
No way. Last time you did that, you burned it. I don’t even know how you managed to burn microwaveable popcorn so badly.”

He pretended to pout. “Then I at least get to choose the movie.”

“
Sounds fair.”

As she heard the beginning notes of Star Wars, A New Hope, she grinned. The man sure did like his science fiction and fantasy for a man who was living it.

She settled in on the couch next to him, offering the bowl of popcorn.

“
Smells delightful.”

“
By which you mean not burnt.”

He smiled.

“
So let’s assume for a moment that you’ve seen this one before.”

“
Well, since I have, it’s a fair assumption. What’s on your mind?”

“
Your names.”  He was wary. Perhaps this wasn’t the best way to start to get to know him after all, Skylar thought. “I looked on most of the major baby name sites, but the only one I could really find was Justin.”

“
You didn’t try Google, did you?”

“
No, didn’t think to, honestly.”

“
This may take a bit. And before I get into the story, understand that you’ll be hearing a lot of the grizzly muck behind my family.”

“
Are you kidding? You’ve got me even more curious now! Hey now, you look weary. Maybe talking about it will help.”

He barked out a wry laugh. “Well, it hasn’t worked so far, but I’ll try again. I suppose this all begins with Drake Ward.”

“
Your father?”

“
The same.  He was an air witch, and as I’m sure you know, when you find someone you’re aligned with, it’s a strong connection.”

She did indeed know, and they hadn't even solidified their bond yet.

“
They went ahead and established the bond, despite the fact that they didn’t know each other well at all. He was an air witch, for god’s sake, he should have... well, he should have known better. Not only because of his telepathy, but because as Duke of the most powerful coven, he was a major figure in the community. Yet no matter how bad it looks in retrospect, he married a water witch named Gladys, both in the witch community and the human one. People knew all about witches, and they wondered why the most influential witch would be getting married in a Catholic ceremony, so they all showed up. It was all because Gladys was a very strong Catholic. She and Drake arranged early on that he could be Duke without her complaint if she could be Catholic without his.”

At this he shook his head, looking distressed. Skylar reached out and touched his hand. He really did need to get all this out.

“
She didn’t understand, or didn’t care, that a Duke without a proper Duchess at his side is only half of what he could be. Not to mention the fact that he was distressed over his wife’s refusal to stand by his side. So then she got pregnant, and things changed even more, and not for the better. She had prayed to God, and we only found this part out later, that He would purge her of her sinfulness that made her a witch. When she got pregnant, she prayed even harder that the hateful magic wouldn’t be passed along to the next generation. So Gladys had her twins, and believed that they would not be tainted. So she named them after Saint Eusebius and Saint Justin Martyr, two Catholics who were particularly famous for decrying witches.”

He stopped, looking distressed. Not knowing what to do, Skylar prodded him. “What happened next?”

“
She had thought that since her twins weren’t manifesting powers that her prayers had been answered. So six months later, she was pregnant with twins again.”

“
You and Dymphna.”

“
Exactly. But what she didn’t count on, or perhaps didn’t know, was that infants rarely manifest anything before they are one year old. So when Seb started levitating, and Justin was draining the bathtub to get out of taking a bath, she realized her mistake. She hated herself for it, but more than that, she hated them for being demonstrative evidence of her evil. But she couldn’t have an abortion as a good Catholic, not to mention that she couldn’t get one at six months anyway. Now Dymphna’s name and mine are a little more complicated. We think that she realized that she was going crazy, and her fanatic level of faith wasn’t an excuse for hating her own children. But we don’t really know. But Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of the mentally ill, and Saint Pantaleon is the patron saint of healers.”

“
Is that why you’re a doctor now?”

“
Part of the reason, sure. But when Dymphna and I started manifesting our own powers at one year, Gladys had had enough. She left a note, and walked into the lake. We believe she used her water magic to help force water into her lungs as she went in. But anyway, she was gone.”

Skylar could tell that this was all she was getting from him, so she moved on.

“
You know the main part of my story. It’s actually remarkably similar, except that my mother and brother don’t have any magic. So I bore the brunt of her and my Aunt Linda’s rantings about how I should never ever be tempted to use magic. After my father died in a car accident, it got worse. But then she died in a mugging gone wrong a little after Selby’s eighteenth birthday. My Aunt Linda wanted to take custody of me to make sure I could never use my magic again. But since Selby was of legal age and because I wanted to stay with him, the courts gave him care of his fourteen year old sister.”

Leo’s expression had grown more curious than morose as Skylar told her own story. After all, if he shared, it was only right that she did as well.

“
He continued his job as an auto mechanic, and we got a small apartment near his work. We’ve been there ever since. He sacrificed so much to get us through the hard times and to send me to school that I can never really repay him. Then when my job went bad, he was there for me again.”

“
It looks like we’re more alike than we seem. We both had the crazy mothers, and we both were lucky enough to have siblings to be there for us no matter what.”

They smiled.

“
Dymphna’s a great woman. She’s sweet and caring, despite her hard exterior.”

“
I’m glad you could see that side of her. She doesn’t let many people in on the secret. I’d do anything for my twin. And it’s plenty clear that you’d do anything for Selby.”

“
Damn straight.”

They moved on to safer topics, from a mutual distaste for watching professional sports to the nice weather in Boston this time of year that was certain to change soon. Eventually their focus went back to the movie, and they discussed it a little before lapsing into a comfortable silence.

109

CHAPTER SIX

Leo looked down at Skylar, who had fallen asleep in his lap, slowly but surely. He couldn’t resist planting a kiss on her temple and stroking her soft golden hair. She was doing something to him, and he wasn’t entirely sure he liked it. He’d never felt this way about anyone before, certainly.

She unsettled him. He thought he had his life in perfect control, and he had thought he was happy in it. Sure he got lonely, but he had D, Seb, and Justin. He had even had some relationships, though he knew they were doomed to failure in the end. But if someone had told him that he would actually want a relationship, and to share his life with someone other than his siblings, he would have denied it.

Everything went into little boxes, and it was better that way. When he told Skylar he’d do anything for his family, he wasn’t lying or exaggerating. He really would do anything no matter the consequences to him. Perhaps it was part of being an air witch, and deeply tuned into the feelings of others even if he wasn’t actively reading their minds, but when someone close to him was hurting, so was he.

111

THE DOCTOR WITCH

The question on the line was whether he could extend the same level of care towards a partner, towards Skylar. And even if he could, would he want to? He was aligned with Skylar, which made him want to draw her near and never let her go. It didn’t hurt that she was beautiful. He’d gotten to know a lot about her over the last week, because while he was mostly quiet, he was listening. She was a giving person, despite how her mother, aunt, and someone else had done her wrong. He didn’t want to intrude on her thoughts too much, but he could tell that there was someone else who had hurt Skylar badly. He didn’t want to be the next in the line.

But, and he kept coming back to this, he had a well organized life. Skylar’s redesign of parts of the house had already proven that she would destroy any sense of order. So the second question would have to be if he was willing to sacrifice his control over his plans to make room for his match. But now that he had met her, he was sure that nothing would ever be the same. He’d still want her now that he had met her. But should he go through with it? Should he make her his?

Before he came up with any answers, her eyes opened and she smiled sleepily.  “Sorry. I blame Timothy for working my magic so hard.”

“
It’s not a problem. Anytime you need a lap to sleep on, I’m here.” He was rather horrified at the idea that he had just said that. Totally not what he would have planned.

“
I may just take you up on it.” She stretched as she sat up slowly. How could stretching be so sexy? “Looks like the movie’s over.” The credits were, in fact, rolling. “Thanks for the ear. And well, the lap.”

She leaned over to give him a thank-you kind of kiss. But she tasted too damn good. He grabbed her wrist when she made to move back. “Don’t tempt a man if you don’t want to follow through.”

“
What if it was testing the waters?” She asked softly. Skylar pulled back into him and gave him another kiss, but not as quick. The kiss got deeper and hotter.

Leo wasn’t used to aggressive women, but he found that he liked it with Skylar. She forced him onto his back and insinuated herself on top of him, still kissing him passionately.

She broke off for just a second. “Good enough for follow through?”

He couldn’t find his voice, so he made a strangled noise and nodded.

“
Good.” She winked, slid off him, and walked off with a little extra sway in her hips. “Sleep well,” she said as she left and blew him a little kiss.

Leo lay back down and smiled. Why on Earth did he think he had the ability to make a choice when it came to Skylar?

Skylar was full of nerves as she ascended the stairs to her bedroom. That had been totally unlike her. She’d never been the aggressor, not even with Jeremy. She’d never enjoyed a kiss more, either. So she closed the door, sat down on the bed, and tried to stop the shaking. Apparently all the things Justin and Dymphna had said were true. Perhaps she was really meant to be with Leo, and he was the only one would ever really satisfy her.  Skylar wasn’t sure if that was a comforting thought or not.

She quickly realized that she not only could love Leo, but she was part of the way there already. She shivered one more time and fell asleep.

Since it was Saturday morning, the whole household woke up a little late. Dymphna and Leo were already awake and at the kitchen table when Skylar got downstairs. They had apparently found the fine coffee she had replaced their cheap abomination with because they were each nursing a cup and there was more in the pot for her.

“
How’d the studying go, Dymphna?”

“
Pretty well. How did you sleep?”

“
Quite nicely.” They smiled at each other, understanding that some barrier between Skylar and Leo had been broken down. If only she knew how far it had gone, Skylar thought to herself.

“
Is there any way I can con you into making us some breakfast?” Leo asked sleepily. “You should have realized by now that neither of us can cook worth a damn.”

“
You got it. French toast alright?”

Dymphna nodded enthusiastically. “Delightful.” Then Skylar got another proclamation of “Delightful!” after they all finished eating.

Leo kissed her on the cheek, which by the way he blushed, was uncommonly forward of him outside of the bedroom. And the couch, now.

“
I suppose it’s not really breakfast if it’s nearly noon, now is it?” Skylar asked to hide her own reaction to the chaste little kiss.

“
Not particularly. But I know I made good use of my Saturday morning.” Dymphna stretched. “I’m sure I’ll have to work some on Sunday, but that’s for tomorrow.”

“
I’m glad I don’t have any clients or surgeries today. I’ll also have to work tomorrow on catching up with my paperwork. Again though, for tomorrow.”

Just as the clock struck noon, the bell rang and someone started pounding forcefully on the door. Dymphna rolled her eyes, and she and her cup of coffee went into the entry. “At least it’s not as bad as at the Coven House,” she murmured. Listening in closely, Skylar and Leo head Dymphna’s squeak when she opened the door. Some of the coffee seemed to fall on the guest, because he made a grunting noise. Skylar recognized the noisemaker, though, so when Tim came into the kitchen, she wasn’t as surprised as Leo was.

The men slapped backs fondly.

“
I waited until noon. I hope you appreciate it.”

“
We do.”

“
I need to talk to Skylar, but I’d appreciate it if you two stayed as well. But Dymphna, keep that coffee away from the rest of my clothes.”

“
Yessir,” she said mockingly.

“
Now Skylar, I want you to think about your Aunt Linda.”

“
Are we doing a seance?” Dymphna asked. “Because you of all people should know those don’t work.”

“
Please be quiet if you want to stay. And once I get started, you will want to stay.”

“
Fine.” She mimicked zipping her lips.

“
Back to thinking about Aunt Linda?” Skylar prompted, trying to avoid any more visual daggers between Dymphna and Tim.

“
How much did you know about Linda?”

“
I knew her my whole life, and she’d still call even after my mother died. But really know her, not much. She hated me with a passion that even exceeded my mother’s. It seemed like every other sentence was something new about how terrible witches were and how I should be ashamed to be one.”

Leo squeezed her shoulder.

“
Which is why you had those powerful defenses that we broke through.”

“
Yes.”

“
I know you’re still working on fitting into the community, but I really need you to concentrate on precisely what Linda would say about witches.”

“
She had a multitude of arguments against witchcraft. The one she talked about the most was the idea that witches had too much power and would destroy the world if they weren’t stopped.”

At Tim’s nod to go on, she continued, “but the thing that she seemed most passionate about, though she wouldn’t talk of it as often, was that witchcraft would break apart a family. She used my mother and father as evidence. She clearly had never mourned my father, but she thought my mother should get back on the dating market immediately. It’s true that my mother hated what my father and I are, but she couldn’t do it. She told her family that he had done something to her so that she could never love a man again.”

“
That is one of the unfortunate side effects of a magical bonding with a witch. Unless someone else comes along you can bond with, witch or human, you’re pretty stuck. Did your mother explain it like that to her family?”

“
No. She said it was some kind of spell she couldn’t understand but that he was haunting her even from the grave.”

“
Selby isn’t a witch, correct?”

“
Correct.”

“
Did Linda know that Selby was not a witch?”

“
She was told, but she never believed it. He got the same lectures and the same vitriol from her that I did. My mother treated him better at least because she knew he had no magical powers.”

“
You sure are asking a lot of questions without giving any answers, Tim,” Leo nearly growled. He was protecting her, and Skylar liked that.

“
I don’t want our theories marring her memories too much. There’s time enough later to talk about what we in Coven Protection are churning around in our heads. Now how much contact have you had with others of your mother’s family or anyone in your father’s family?”

“
Next to none. My mother wouldn’t let them contact me, and she wouldn’t bring me around her family. Linda always came to visit us.”

“
Has that ever struck you as odd?”

“
I suppose now that you mention it. I’d never really thought of it like that. It was just the way my family worked.”

“
Did you know that often witch pairings are with either other witches or humans who have a history of witchcraft?”

“
What are you getting at?” Skylar felt that this was all spiraling too fast for her to really follow.

“
Let me change tactics for just a second. Is this,” and he waved to where Skylar and Leo were still holding hands, “What I think it is, Dymphna?”

“
Yeah, it is. But the two children here think they need to wait before the cement the bonding.”

“
Idiots. Anyway, perhaps Leo will still be able to do something for her even without the actual mating.”

“
We’re still here,” Leo complained.

“
Yeah, and still idiots. You’re meant to be together. But I’ll lecture you on that later, Leo. But see, Skylar, we believe that Linda and your mother were trying to keep you from both sides of your parents.”

“
I suppose I can see that.”

“
We’ve looked into your bloodlines while you’ve been practicing your magic and I’ve been working with Coven Protection. Your father’s line was a strong one, fire witches all. There were a few humans in there, but always at least some fire witch children. That would be you.”

“
I’m really feeling guilty about not even thinking to look into this.”

“
With all the vitriol about your father, I would have been surprised if you had. But that is not the point right now. The point is that your mother and your aunt also came from a magical line. A variety of witches on that side though.”

“
My mother? Aunt Linda?”

“
We think they must have been jealous or scared or something because they clearly denied witchcraft from their lives. Since they were themselves not witches, they seemed to sever all contact with both families that produced you and Selby.”

“
Get going,” Leo prodded.

“
Your mother’s family has almost all disappeared under many and various mysterious circumstances. We believe that someone, likely Linda or your mother, was manufacturing these mysteries and then hushing them up.”

“
You mean...?”

“
That magical people in your family are disappearing from Linda’s interference? Yes, that’s precisely what I mean. We found, well, it’s a ledger. It’s got initials, dates, and monetary amounts. The initials and the dates add up to people and their date of disappearance, as close as we can guess. Your mother’s family, and your father’s. There are substantial payouts for each one, increasing per disappearance. Your father was listed. They never found a body, according to the police reports.”

“
How? Why? What were they doing, and how can I not have known or even suspected?”

“
They were good at hiding their tracks. You shouldn’t blame yourself or even think that you could have done anything differently.”

“
I don’t know what to believe anymore! I thought my life was fine, and now this!” Skylar rocked back and forth, trying to comprehend. Leo patted her knee, trying to do anything to comfort her.

“
It’s a lot to swallow. Dymphna, can you make some tea?”

“
I think Skylar brought some into the house. Let me go see.” She returned with an armful of tea boxes. “Who even knew there could be so many types of tea?”

“
The lemon chamomile please. I think she could use it.” At Dymphna’s baffled look, he finished, “Boil some water in the microwave, pour it over the tea bag in a mug, and let it sit for about five minutes.” She nodded, and did as he instructed.

“
Skylar, honey, it’s going to be alright,” Leo said softly, now massaging her back. “Linda’s gone, and you and Selby are safe. Tim will go and tell the people at the facility to increase security.” Tim nodded and went to do so.