Witch Hunt, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series) (20 page)

“Come on, Maurin, it’s not like that,” Oberon pleaded.

“Really? Well it sure looks that way to me,” I said. “You must have been so pleased with yourself, keeping me tied to the coven, and making a fool out of me.”

“I was just as confused by the conne
ction as you at first,” he said, stepping closer.

“Don’t,” I warned.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten.
If he got any closer, Aidan was going to have to come back over here. Part of me wanted to hit Oberon in the hopes that Aidan would grab a hold of me again, wrapping his arms around me. I imagined his body pressed against mine, and his breath on my neck. I pictured his fangs, dangerously close to breaking my skin. My breath caught. I felt feverish. I wanted to…. ‘Snap out of it, Maurin!’ I thought to myself. I was having erotic delusions now? I figured that there could be worse side effects from a vampire’s feeding. Still, I needed to ask Aidan how long this would last. I scrambled to get my thoughts back on track. Not that I hadn’t enjoyed getting derailed by Aidan. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah.

“Bullshit.
The other night you said that this all came easy to you because you’re a witch. Now it’s difficult for you. You can’t have it both ways. So which is it, Oberon?” I challenged.

He didn’t answer. I’d caught him in a lie and he knew it.

“You’ve been trying to convince me that this was what was best for me, but the whole time it was what was best for you,” I said, finally putting the pieces together.

“Best for me?” He laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Well, what would you say?” I asked sharply.

Mahalia came outside before he had a chance to answer. At some point, Amalie had gone to get her, probably because she was afraid that I’d beat the shit out of Oberon after he had fessed up to the truth. He was right there; he was ready to spill his guts out here in the front yard.

“Maurin, come inside.
Let’s talk in my office. Alone,” she said, glancing at Aidan and Cash.

“We don’t need to go inside.
We can settle things right here,” I said.

She sighed heavily and audibly.
“Fine,” she said, in a tone used when scolding a child.

“Youth today - I simply don’t understand it.
You’re all perfectly happy to air your dirty laundry in front of anyone who’ll listen. I’d prefer a little discretion myself,” she said, stepping off of the stone staircase and out onto the front lawn.

The air moved, like heat coming off of hot pavement in the summertime.
I watched as it closed around us like a stage curtain being drawn. The ward was in place. I could still see the quiet street and the houses lining it, but now no one would be able to see us. She knew that I wouldn’t like whatever it was she was about to say. I think Mahalia was afraid that I’d start kicking and screaming again. She was probably right.

“Your anger is misplaced, Maurin,” Mahalia said.

“No, I think that it’s locked on the correct target,” I said.

“Oberon made a lot of sacrifices to do what I requested of him,” she said.

“What exactly did you ask him to do, Mahalia?” I asked, trying not to lose my temper.

“I encouraged him to pursue you, of course, and to nurture the connection b
etween you,” she replied nonchalantly.

She may have said that like it was no big deal, but I felt the full weight of her words.
I thought back over the last couple of months. I scrutinized every detail, especially from the last couple of days. Graive stretched out over Oberon on the couch, Oberon rushing to save her when Matthison shot the zombie girl, the way that he’d held her to his chest. I thought about how worried he was that Graive would walk in on us in Mahalia’s office, the things that I overheard her saying to him yesterday, her reaction tonight and his overall absence since she got into town. Their relationship hadn’t ended years ago as Oberon had led me to believe.

I had already begun to doubt him and his feelings for me, but the truth of her words still stung.
I was an idiot. I felt like I was in one of those crappy teen movies where the cool kid dates the nerd on a dare and everyone’s in on the joke. Except without the sappy sweet happy ending.

“Why?” I asked, unsure if I really wan
ted to know the answer.

“Oberon will become High Priest as my successor, but that does not guarantee him a place on the Council.
Unless-” she began before I interrupted her.

“Unless he was so powerful that they wouldn’t risk his becoming an enemy,” I finished for her.

“Precisely,” she replied, pleased that I understood.

Oh, I understood all right.
I understood that for the last few months they all had been manipulating me. No wonder Agrona and Roul had been so pissed off with her when they’d left the other night. They knew what she was up to.

“So you decided that it would be better to lie to me?
To use me?” I asked bitterly.

“The connection was already there, and so was the attraction.
I merely nudged things along,” she said.

“This isn’t The Dating Game, Mahalia.
It’s my life!” I shouted.

“I made a decision to ensure the future of my coven and I would do it again.
Everything I do is for them. There are only three seats on the Council, Maurin, and the coven hasn’t always held one. The last time that the coven did not hold a seat on the Council was from 1686 to 1696. I think that we all know just how well that decade turned out for us,” she said, her anger getting the better of her for the first time.

“Well, you’ve had a pretty good run since then,” I said tartly.

“We’re in danger of losing our position within the Council, Maurin. I made a terrible mistake aligning myself with Baylen. It was an error that I could not afford with the Fae constantly vying for our seat. Your union with Oberon would have ensured our place within the Council for centuries to come,” she explained.

“You could have asked for my help, but instead you lied about
about everything! I can see why you and Baylen worked so well together; you’re just like he was. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?” I demanded.

“If left alone, that first spark that you felt for Oberon would have faded.
The metaphysical tie would have remained, but when you found someone else you would have tried to break the connection. Your alliances would have changed,” she said, as if that justified what she had done.

“You don’t know that!
I don’t even know if I’d do that, because you never gave me the chance to figure it out for myself,” I told her.

“I’ve seen it!” she hissed.

“Well a fat load of good talking to a seer did you! The outcome’s still the same. The connection is still broken, and it’s certainly safe to say that my alliances have changed now!” I snapped.

I was ready to get the hell out of there.
With the Inquisitors taken care of, I could finally go back home. I looked for Aidan on the front step, but he was gone. Damn it! I needed a ride. I’d rather walk than ask Cash for a lift. I didn’t feel like dealing with him and his inevitable “I told you so.”

I was just about to put feet to pavement when I saw Aidan squeeze through Cash and Amalie; he had my duffel bag in one hand and my sword in the other.
It’s a good thing that he had the sense to get my stuff, because I would have stormed off without it. I always seemed to be doing that. I turned on my heel and stomped over to Aidan’s car.

“Where are you going?” Oberon asked, speaking for the first time since his exp
osure as a no good lying bastard.

“Like you care,” I said, opening the passenger side door.

“Maurin, wait. What about the Afrit?” Oberon asked.

“I’ll take care of it.
Without your help. Like I did on Winter Island. Like I did when I was in jail!” I said as I got in the car and slammed the door shut.

“What did my car ever do to you?
Don’t take it out on her,” Aidan teased as he placed my bag and the Retaliator on the back seat.

“Sorry,” I grumbled.

16

Aidan insisted on walking me to my door, despite my incessant protests the whole way back to my apartment.
I dug my keys out of my bag, which took forever because they were - where else - on the bottom. I thanked Aidan for the ride, opened the door and went inside. I practically shut him in the door before I realized that he was following me in.

“I think I’ve got it from here,” I said, stopping him just inside the doorway.

“It’s late - or early - depending upon how you look at it. I don’t think that there’s enough time for me to make it back to my place in Boston,” he said, leaning on the door jam.

“You want to stay here?” I asked, su
ddenly mortified at the trail of clothes leading to my bedroom, the books piled up on the end tables, the coffee table and the floor in front of the couch. There were a lot of books everywhere, actually.

“I don’t want to put you out or an
ything, but yeah, that’d be grand,” he replied, turning on that Irish charm.

“I guess so.
I mean my place isn’t exactly set up for a vampire. You don’t think it’d be better to stay with Agrona and Kedehern?” I asked, remembering all the rooms that I had searched looking for Oberon and the rest of the coven a few months ago.

“Don’t worry about it.
It’s too much trouble. Forget I asked. I can figure something else out,” he said, ready to leave.

“No, wait.
It’s fine, really. You can crash here. I don’t want you bursting into flames on the way back to Boston. It’d be a shame to ruin your custom interior,” I said, blushing slightly.

“That it would,” he laughed.

What the hell was I thinking in letting a vampire stay here? Forget his interior, if he burst into flames in my apartment, then I’d never get my security deposit back. I don’t have a single room in my place that doesn’t have a window.

“Since you’re going to let me stay with you, do you think I could actually come in?” Aidan prompted.

“Oh, right. Of course, come in,” I said, scrambling to pick up some of the clothes that were strewn on the floor.

He’d already seen the mess from the doorway.
I could have just left it, and that way when he asked where the bathroom was I could have told him to just follow the trail.

“Nice place you have here,” he said.

“I gave the maid the week off. Terrible timing, since I’ve already come home once this week covered in blood and dirt. Make that twice,” I said, suddenly hyper-aware of my appearance.

My clothes were covered in dirt, cement and, of course, blood. My hair felt dry and disgusting from all of the dust.
I must have looked like a lunatic at Mahalia’s. Fuck it. Not like there was anyone to impress there. Somehow Aidan still looked good, despite his clothes being as filthy as mine.

“Did you just move in?” he asked, eyes scanning my apartment.

“What?” I asked, distracted by my thoughts. “No, I’ve been here a couple of years,” I told him.

“Oh.
Sorry, I just thought…” he stammered.

“I’m a minimalist when it comes to d
écor,” I said.

“I think that in order to be a minima
list, you’d still need to have a décor,” he joked.

“Hey, if you wanted to curl up for the day in the lap of luxury, then you should have gone to Agrona’s.
You still can,” I said, with more anger than was necessary.

“Lighten up, Maurin.
I was only joking,” he said.

“I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed.
Make yourself at home.” I went to my room to grab a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom.

“Maurin?”
Aidan called after me.

“Yeah?”
I stopped in the hallway, but didn‘t turn around.

“Thanks.
I really do appreciate your letting me stay here,” he said with a sincerity that made me feel bad for taking out some of my anger on him.

“You’re welcome,” I said, dropping my head a little.

I felt my shoulders slump a little from exhaustion and guilt, but I still didn’t turn around to apologize.
I grabbed a pair of black yoga pants (I don’t actually do yoga, but the pants are ridiculously comfy) and a purple raglan tee. I ignored Aidan who was poking around the place and went into the bathroom. I let the water run until steam filled the small room before climbing into the shower.

For the second time this week, I scrubbed the aftermath of an ass-beating off of my body.
I watched the grayish-brown water swirl around the little chunks of cement and mortar that had caught in the strainer. I’d better get some professional strength drain cleaner or the tub would be ankle deep with water every time I took a shower. There was way too much crap going down my drain lately.