Spell Hell: An Undercover Witch (Witch's Brew Book 1) Page 9

  “I sensed magic.”

  “Did you see the teeth marks?” I demanded, gesturing wildly over to the body.

  He probably didn’t, considering I’d missed them. I should have checked as soon as I saw the body. Who knew where the Vampire Council would take the bodies. They were the Witches’ property, but no one other than me was there to claim them. The families surely wanted them home, but would they get them?

  My phone rang in my purse and I reached for it. When I glanced down, I groaned. It was Daphne calling, the last person I wanted to talk to. She was probably going to yell, and maybe even threaten my job. Shaking my head, I clicked ignore and tossed it back into my purse. “I need access to that body. There might be more evidence to discover.”

  “You need to go back to your hotel before the Council arrests you.”

  “I’m on Witch business!”

  Drake placed his hands on my shoulders, as if to calm down a crazy person. “You’ll be arrested and in a jail cell until someone can come get you out. You are only one Witch, and one without much status.”

  My mouth fell open. “How the hell do you know what my standing is in the Council?” I demanded.

  “I made some calls. What I found was you’re the lowest one on the totem pole.”

  “I’ll show you how much damage I can do!” I gathered my magic, letting it surround me.

  Shaking me, Drake said, “This won’t help your case. Attack someone from the Vampire Council, and you’ll be in jail for more than just a night.”

  Frustrated, I hopped into the van. “I’ll get access to that girl.”

  “She was a Witch,” Drake murmured.

  I paused, key in the ignition. “I just don’t get it.”

  When I glanced up and over at the door of the club, I saw Stella stumble out. She saw me staring in her direction and hurried her pace. Another suspicion to confirm that Stella might be the murderer. I needed to follow her. If I hadn’t been so focused on Drake, I would have seen her and been able to ask questions.

  Defeated, I looked at Drake. “Maybe breaking up was the best idea. I’ll stay out of your way if you’ll stay out mine.”

  Before he could say any more, I closed the van door and started to back out. I kept my eyes averted, hoping to not see the stunned expression on his handsome face. Only, I failed. The hurt I saw made my heart ache. I wanted him. How did a person fall for someone in just a week? There had to be a spell on me, because Sophie Dexter didn’t fall in love that fast. Or at all.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hurrying out of the hotel, I practically jogged to the van. I was running behind. I had a lot to do, and traveling three hours was only one of the items on my to-do list. Groaning, I kicked the van’s tire. Driving the beast another six hours was not appealing at all. Thinking, I debated on using my Council credit card on a rental. So what if I had to pay it back? Maybe I could appeal it and convince them that it was necessary for me to perform my job duties. The beast could suddenly die a horrible death, and that would be a good enough excuse. Smiling to myself, I began to think of ways to end the lemon’s life.

  “Please tell me you aren’t driving that thing again.”

  I spun around to see Drake standing several feet from me. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips and a dark gray T-shirt. It was so unusual, I had to blink several times and jog my brain to catch up. He was dressing casually, for once.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, opening the van’s door. I could abandon it somewhere. Maybe offer the keys up to a teenager at the mall.

  “I’ve come to talk to you.” He grabbed my arm to prevent me from climbing in.

  Sighing, I pulled away from him, immediately missing his skin touching mine. “I have to travel to the bank.”

  “I’ll drive you,” he quickly offered.

  “It’s three hours away, Drake.” I rolled my eyes.

  “I don’t mind. I cleared my day for you.” His smile appeared. “It will be just you and me, getting to know each other.”

  It was tempting. Really tempting, but I had to focus on the murders. “I can’t. You’ll distract me, and I’m already behind on this case.”

  “I distract you?” His eyes darkened as he came toward me, forcing me to put my back up against the van. I opened my mouth to protest, but his was already on mine, fingers kneading my sides before traveling around my back so he could pull me closer. I moaned, eager to keep the kiss going. He groaned, responding to my eagerness.

  Someone cleared their throat near us and my eyes shot open, glancing in their direction. The mother was shielding her son’s eyes, glaring at me as they hurried away. Blushing, I touched my lips with my fingers. “Distract me like that. I can’t do this with you today.”

  “I’ll be good,” Drake promised, raising his eyebrows.

  I busted out laughing, slapping him on the chest. “Yeah, right. You’re a good liar.”

  Drake gave me his best puppy dog expression. “Come on. I’ll drive you. This will be fun.” His accent came out a little thicker, the Irish causing my whole body to shiver with desire. It was a huge turn on. I didn’t realize how much until it became really noticeable. I wonder if he purposely avoided the accent, or if it just went away over the years.

  Giving in, I finally nodded. “I don’t want to drive the van, anyway. It’s a piece of shit, and knowing my luck, a rabid bear would catch scent of the rotting food in there and attack me.”

  Making a face of disgust, Drake grabbed my hand, dragging me toward his car that sat several spots away. “This will be fun. You’ll tell me all your deepest secrets and darkest desires.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me and then opened the passenger door so I could get in.

  “I don’t give away my secrets,” I chuckled. “Only during Truth or Dare. That’s my game.”

  “I’ve never heard of that game.”

  Stopping in my tracks I stared at him, horrified. The things he missed out on as a child. “Liar. You have to know that game!”

  He gestured for me to get into the car. “Never. You’ll have to tell me how to play.”

  “What about Spin the Bottle?”

  Shaking his head, he helped me climb into the car. “Never heard of that one either.”

  “You must not watch TV.” When he didn’t say anything, I stared at him in shock. “You do know what TV is, right?

  “Of course I do,” he scoffed.

  “Okay, I was getting a little worried.” I laughed when he shut the car door.

  As he went around the front, he tapped the car and climbed in. Someone was really happy to be with me, and I smiled with contentment. My last boyfriend was what one would call a bad boy. He was a human, working at an auto body shop. The guy was always out at the bar, and sometimes strip clubs. One day I surprised him by replacing the girl that was supposed to give him a private dance. Of course, it was a shady place, so there were plenty of happy endings there. He was so surprised to see me that he jumped to his feet, claiming to be drunk. As if that would work. He passed out on the way to the house and claimed to not remember what happened. I wasn’t sure what I’d seen in him, but what else did you expect from a twenty-five year old that hadn’t even dated before?

  Drake smiled at me as he pulled out of the hotel parking lot. “So, why are you going to the bank?” he asked.

  I gave him a strange look before laughing. “Why else?”

  “Money? No, you would have your debit card on you to withdraw money.”

  “Maybe there’s a problem with my account.”

  “You can always call.”

  Huffing out my defeat, I stared out my window. “I have to pick up a family heirloom from my safety deposit box.”

  “You’re leaving in the middle of an investigation to go get it?” he appeared confused, but I wasn’t going to tell him about the necklace. Who knew what the Vampires would do with something that powerful.

  “It’s just important,” I replied, avoiding his gaze when he glanced over at me. H
e wanted more information, but I wasn’t opening up. Though, that was the point of the trip, wasn’t it? We were supposed to be getting to know each other better, and maybe not have so many secrets between us.

  Drake pressed his lips together into a thin line. “I want to apologize for the way I treated you when I came to your hotel room. That was uncalled for, and you deserve better.”

  “You’re right. I do deserve better. I was only doing my job, Drake. It wasn’t like I expected to come here and have sex with you.” Frowning, I fidgeted with my hands. “I’m not like that.”

  We spoke the entire ride, laughing at each other’s lame jokes. Of course, his were lamer because of how old some of them were. Who told knock, knock jokes, other than kids? Not many people. So, every time he said one, I groaned, putting my head back on the seat.

  Every time I told him a naughty joke, he turned to stare at me in surprise and then told me I had a dirty mouth. Laughing at his response from my last joke, I wiped at some tears that went down my cheeks. His reaction was priceless.

  “Please, as if you’re a virgin.” I couldn’t handle it. My laughter grew louder, and it wouldn’t end. My stomach was starting to ache.

  “Funny woman.” He shook his head, grinning.

  It felt like a short ride with all of our levity. We managed to make it to the bank faster than the three hours I had planned for, which told me he sped the entire way. How we managed to escape the police catching us was beyond me. No matter what, I was grateful we finally made it. Hopefully Daphne didn’t know I was in town. With all her magic, she might have put a tracker on me. It wouldn’t have surprise me if she had.

  Getting back was my priority. I had to follow Stella and see what she was up to. Unfortunately, I had to waste a big part of the day traveling just to get the damn necklace before my mother came back to haunt me again. When I woke up in the morning, there was a message on the mirror after I got out of my shower. It told me to get the necklace. She was starting to get ghostly, which meant it wasn’t long before she turned full-on poltergeist.

  Drake took my hand as we headed toward the bank. He was acting as if we were back to normal again, though I wasn’t sure if I could handle having him around. I was easily distracted by him, and constantly lost focus on what was in front of me. It was another reason why the Council hated to deal with me. They would be speaking on a topic at a meeting, and I would be lost in my own world. Part of it was because I didn’t care about the politics of the community. The meetings consisted of a lot of gossip, and it wasn’t interesting to me.

  As we entered the bank, a man came out of one of the offices, a curious look on his face. He looked familiar, but I wasn’t good with names. I probably spoke to him on more than one occasion before, but still had no idea on who he was. Thankfully, he was wearing one of those helpful badges.

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Dexter,” he said, holding out a hand for mine.

  “John, nice to see you again.” I then introduced him to Drake, enjoying the surprise on the bank employee’s face when he realized who the Vampire was. I bet Drake turned heads wherever he went. If it wasn’t for his good looks, it was the confidence he exuded.

  “So, what can I help you with today?” John motioned us to his office, and then gestured to the chairs so we could take a seat.

  I remained standing. “I need to get into my safety deposit box.”

  John hesitated, something coming over his face, but that was immediately replaced with a smile. Something was going on, but I had no idea what. Drake seemed to sense it as well, because his hand tightened over my mine and a neutral expression replaced his smiling one. He was in predator mode now, trying to identify why the man was acting suspicious. Though, I wasn’t sure if he was planning on eating him. I didn’t know that much about Vampires. Did they constantly obsess over blood? Were they always thinking about how to catch their prey?

  “Sure, right this way, Ms. Dexter.” John started toward the back of the bank, looking over his shoulder a couple of times, forcing a smile. Yep, something was definitely up.

  Feeling my body tense as we walked, Drake pulled me closer to him, becoming protective. “Something is up with him,” he whispered, eyes never leaving the man in front of us. He was tracking him like a kill. His jaw clenched as we got closer to the vault with all of the boxes.

  As we entered the vault, John closed a gate behind us, jiggling his keys around. “Do you have your key?” he asked. When I nodded, he turned to the box that was mine. Strange that he knew which one to go to. He didn’t even have me sign paperwork or anything. My alarm bells were going off. Something was going to happen—I knew it.

  He took out the box, setting it on a table that was in the center of the room. When I reached for it, he grabbed my hand, eyes wide. Drake growled in warning, daring him to do something stupid. “You need to take this and get as far away as you can from Daphne. The Council wants this necklace. They’ve been here already this morning, and will only accept my refusal to show them the box for so long. Daphne will come back with a warrant, and I’ll have no choice but to show her.”

  I sucked in a breath and looked over at Drake. “I’m taking it, don’t worry.”

  “They will not get this necklace.” Drake growled.

  Drake didn’t even know what was special about it. When he looked at me, I knew right then that he could tell it held great importance, for more than just myself. There was something special about it. So special, in fact, that the High Mistress was willing to step over lines to get it.

  A woman appeared by the gate and smiled. “John, Ms. Daphne is here, and would like to speak with you.”

  John’s face paled. “Tell her I’ll be right out.”

  When she left, he turned to me, eyes wide. “You have to go out the back way.”

  Grabbing the box, I opened it up with my key to reveal a black, velvet bag. When I looked inside, I saw the opal necklace winking back up at me. Strangely, I could feel the power rolling off of it in waves. When I had it before, I barely felt anything; but now it was pulsing, almost roaring in my ears.

  “Shit, we better get going,” I told Drake, closing the box.

  John nodded his head. “Leave the box, let’s get you out of here.”

  “Are you a Witch?” I asked, not able to sense anything different about him.

  He shook his head, taking us down a well-lit hallway. At the end was a steel door with a bright exit sign above it. “No, but my adoptive mother was. I know how important this necklace is. She was from the Avalon Witches as well.”

  Opening the door, John forced a smile. “Blessed be and good luck on your journey.”

  Before I could say anything to that, he already had the door shutting. He was seriously freaked out about Daphne being in the bank. It had me wondering if she’d threatened him the last time she visited. That wouldn’t surprise me, considering she was the biggest bitch I knew.

  We headed back to the car in a hurry. Drake was going to be asking questions, and I had no choice but to answer them. It was only right that he knew the truth. Or so I thought. Could I trust him? Did I know enough about him to think the necklace would remain safe in my care? He already knew there was something special about it. With some investigating, he would be able to find out the history easily enough.

  Deciding I would tell him, I climbed into his car after he opened the door for me. With Vampire speed he was around to his side and climbing in quicker than a blink. The car roared to life and he hit the gas. “This is the Lady of the Lake’s necklace, isn’t it?” he asked before I could even open my mouth.

  Nodding slowly, I clutched the bag in my hands. “The Necklace of Avalon.”

  “I thought it had disappeared with the Lady of the Lake herself.”

  Shrugging, I wished that I knew more about it. How did my family get in possession of it? Did my mother get it from the Lady of the Lake, or did she find it somewhere? It was at that point I wished I’d listened to the stories more. I didn’t know if my ghos
tly mom would be focused enough to tell me about it now. She was always moving in so many directions. She had the attention span of a two-year old. Kind of like I did, so I couldn’t confidently say that it came from being a ghost. Maybe it just ran in the family.

  “I don’t know a lot about it, Drake. I never listened to the stories, and Merlin is the one who knows the most, even though my mother is the Lady’s daughter.”

  Nodding, Drake hit the highway, pushing the car faster into traffic. He glanced in my direction and smiled. “I know you didn’t want me to know that you had this.”

  “It’s powerful. If anyone knows I have it, then—then... I don’t know. Something bad could happen. My mother warned me that Daphne couldn’t get her hands on it. I could only imagine what she would do with the necklace’s power.” I sighed, not sure that I wanted to go back to Riverdale. I was already tired, but I had to deal with Stella.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Drake asked me to dinner, which I accepted with some reluctance. I would go find Stella before we went out, because the sooner I figured out her habits, the better. Maybe she went out to different clubs often, and seeing her the night before was just fluke. The woman could be completely innocent. Well, not completely, since she was still a bitch.

  Pulling the necklace out of the bag, I examined it, smiling. It was absolutely stunning, and I didn’t know why I hadn’t put it on before. Why did I keep it in a safety deposit box? Probably because Mom drilled it in my head that it was vitally important, and that no one else could have it in their possession. So, how do I keep it away from Daphne? She had so much power and reach that it would be nearly impossible for me to refuse it if she challenged me for it directly. But it was mine. She can’t just take from other people. The High Priestess was trying to steal from me. I wondered if the Council knew.

  Deciding to put it on, I undid the clasp. My mother must have had part of it redone somewhat recently because the chain looked newer than the rest of it. The opal was the best part of the whole necklace. When the light hit the stone, different colors sparkled everywhere. It was truly stunning.