Irresistible Magic (2 page)

“Eadric wants to see you at sunset, but not at the club. We can’t risk having you seen there. We’ll meet you at Hotel La Blanchet.”

This
is what he accosted me in the dressing room for? To set up a meeting with Eadric Allcot, the master vampire and unofficial leader of New Orleans? The last time, I’d been summoned by a written letter. Now he’d sent David to demand my presence. What was next, an armed escort? “Why? What’s so important?”

“It’s about the Void. Eadric has information.”

“What information?” I worked for the Void branch of the Arcane also, and recently I’d been target number one due to my unusual abilities.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Father wasn’t forthcoming.”

Well, crap on toast. We had a new director and I hadn’t even met her yet. Was I trading one nightmare for another?

“Also, you’re being watched.” He jerked his head toward the front of the store.

“You don’t say,” I said with a fair amount of sarcasm and waved an impatient hand in front of him. “I know that already. Phoebe spotted him. I have a phone. You could’ve left a message. We’re not idiots.”

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? Is it on you?” His gaze raked over my body once more, as if to say he highly doubted it.

Of course I didn’t have my phone on me. I was barely dressed. “It’s in my purse.” I waved a hand toward the corner. “A text would’ve been just fine,” I forced out through clenched teeth. “Or you could’ve called Phoebe.”

This was ridiculous. I was starting to think he just wanted to get a peek at my faery bits. Perv.

David moved in closer, this time putting his chilled hands on my shoulders. “We both know you don’t ever check your phone. But that’s beside the point. Your phones might be tapped, and I couldn’t risk anyone knowing we’re in touch.”

“Tapped?” Fear started to crawl over my skin. Why would anyone tap our phones? I frantically tried to recall if Phoebe and I had talked about anything damaging over the phone during the last week. I didn’t think so. It wasn’t as if I used the thing that much, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Tell Phoebe to sweep your house. Father wants you at the hotel by six p.m. He’ll fill you in on what he knows then. Bring
the fae
with you.”

I bristled at his use of
the fae
for Talisen. There wasn’t any love between vampires and fae. As far as I knew, I was the only one the vamps associated with. “I just told you I have a date with him tonight. I’m not going to bring him to the hotel to meet you and Allcot.” Talk about awkward.

David’s emotionless eyes softened for a moment. “If he cares for you at all, he’ll understand. If not, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

He moved to open the door, but I clamped my hand on his rock-hard arm. “Are Carrie and Beau all right?” My nephew Beau and his mother, Carrie, lived in one of Allcot’s apartments above his club on Frenchmen Street. Beau’s life would be in danger if anyone found out he existed. Even though I didn’t care for Allcot, I had to admit the safest place for my nephew was under his care.

“For now. We’ll talk later.” He glanced back at the dresses lining the wall. “Wear the blue one.”

And before I could say anything else, he was gone.

Standing alone in the dressing room, a cold sweat broke out over my body, and I shivered under the air-conditioning. A harsh reality settled over me. It had been over a week since I’d seen my ex, and I’d almost convinced myself I was happy about that. Right up until the moment he’d appeared before me. Even if he had just put a major kink in my date with Tal.

Talisen. A sigh got caught in my throat. Tonight was our first date. I’d grown up with Tal. He’d been my teenage crush and was my best friend. I’d waited a long time for this night. And Eadric Allcot, master vampire, head of Cryrique, was already ruining it.
Damn vamps
.

I ditched the giraffe dress, bypassed the electric-yellow calamity, and pulled out the “blue” dress David had alluded to. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a deep plum. The perfect color to go with my auburn hair.

Still flustered, I stepped into the backless, figure-hugging dress and tied the halter-top bodice around my neck. Then I left the dressing room to inspect myself in the three-way mirror. Two steps out of the room, a startled gasp stopped me in my tracks.

On high alert, I jumped back, ready to use the door as a shield. Why did I have to be attacked while wearing a backless dress and no shoes? Talk about feeling vulnerable.

“Willow, it’s amazing,” Phoebe exclaimed and yanked me back out of the room.

“Phoebe!” I clutched a hand to my racing heart. “You scared the crap out of me. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know you didn’t try on the yellow dress. But who cares? This one is perfect. Talisen is going to strain something just looking at you.” She spun me around, pointing me at the three-way mirror.

“Whoa.” The dress was…well, perfect. As if it were made for me. It was formfitting, yet not too tight. The top was a tasteful halter, but the back was jaw-dropping. My wings were on full display with the rest of my tanned flesh exposed. Sexy. I’d never felt so beautiful. “You’re right. This is it.”

She threaded her arm through mine. “I think our mission is complete. Unless you’re dying to try on the yellow one?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. “Not on your life.”

She grinned and checked her watch. “Then get changed. We have more shopping to do.”

“What happened to the stalker?”

Her grin soured. “He saw me coming and jumped into a waiting SUV. He’s been spotted. If he’s stupid enough to show his face again, he’ll be lucky if I don’t break both his arms.”

Well, that was unsettling. Phoebe headed to the front of the store to keep watch while I changed as fast as I could before hightailing it to the register, more than ready to leave. The checkout clerk was busy folding cardigan sweaters and didn’t even look up. “Excuse me,” I said with a smile.

“Just a minute,” she snapped.

My smile faltered. I bit back a snarky reply and waited. But when she pulled a phone out of her back pocket and started texting, I lost the battle. “I’m sorry, but we’re in a hurry. Can I pay for this?”

“I said—” Her eyes went wide with shock as she stared over my shoulder.

I spun just in time to see a man clutching a gun reach out and wrap his arm around my neck. My left wing was smashed between us and sent a dart of pain through my left side as he pulled me tight against his body. “Come quietly and no one needs to get hurt.”

I swallowed a cry of protest and met the trembling clerk’s eyes. Her mouth opened in silent shock as she backed up and stumbled over her feet. She went down with a yelp of surprise at the same time Phoebe appeared in my peripheral vision and yelled, “Freeze!”

Holy fae. She had blood trickling down the side of her face. He must’ve attacked her first. How had a human gotten the jump on her?

“Son of a bitch,” my attacker muttered and spun me around, his arm cutting off my airway. My eyes bugged out as I scrabbled at his hold.

“Let her go, or I’ll be putting you in a body bag in about three seconds,” Phoebe demanded, flashing her sun agate at him. What was she going to do, blind him with it?

Light flared from the agate and my attacker stumbled back.

“Move, Willow!”

Oh, shit. That’s exactly what she’d done. I threw myself to the right, barely avoiding a collision with a rack of accessories.

The gun went off with a
thwap
and the next moment a crackle of magic exploded, illuminating the store in a brilliant flash of blue lightning.

Trembling with delayed adrenaline, I crawled from under a garment rack and peered around. Who the hell was that guy, and what did he want? Phoebe was standing in front of our frozen attacker, rubbing her jaw thoughtfully. The gun lay at her feet. Good Goddess. That was close. He’d been stunned and wouldn’t be moving another muscle until she reversed her magic.

I turned and caught sight of the clerk. She was chalk white, also frozen in place, except she had tears streaming down her face and instead of being spelled, fear had rendered her incapable of moving. She didn’t even answer her ringing phone.

“Who sent him?” I asked Phoebe.

“Don’t know. But since the bastard coldcocked me and tried to take you, this is Arcane business. I’ll call it in.”

“He coldcocked you?” My voice rose in sheer disbelief.

She nodded and touched the cut on her head. “He came out of nowhere. The bastard has some sort of training.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know, but we’re sure going to try to find out.” She kicked our attacker. “God help him after the interrogators get to him.”

Forcing myself to maintain some sort of normalcy, I turned back to the clerk. My dress was still sitting on the counter. “Can I check out now?”

She didn’t appear to hear me as she started to shake and slid back down to the floor. “Dammit,” I muttered. Humans. I walked around the counter. The register was almost identical to the ones we used at my shop, The Fated Cupcake. “I’m sorry. But this dress is too good to leave here. If you don’t mind, I’ll just check myself out.”

Her vacant eyes met mine, and she gave me one tiny nod. I was certain she wasn’t registering what she’d agreed to, but there was no way in hell I was leaving my perfect dress.

Chapter 2

Sitting on my bed, I leaned against my enchanted oak, holding the gorgeous plum dress. As a faery, I needed nature to recharge, and in New Orleans, a city full of concrete, that wasn’t an easy task. Sure, New Orleans has lots of trees and parks, but it’s not like living in a forest. When I moved to New Orleans, Phoebe spelled the magical oak into existence so I could recharge in my sleep. It was the perfect solution.

Though the oak didn’t seem to be helping much now. My limbs were shaking from delayed shock. I’d almost been abducted. A gun had gone off. And then I’d bought a dress as if nothing had happened. I could’ve
died
. What was wrong with me? Holy crow.

A month ago, my biggest worry was running out of Molten Muse at my shop. Now I had someone gunning for me. And it wasn’t the guy Phoebe had taken out. Surely he was hired muscle. No, it had to be Asher, the vampire lord who had killed my brother. Did he know I’d inherited Beau’s abilities? What else would prompt him to have me kidnapped from a cute boutique on Magazine Street, of all places? Not very subtle. Was he coming after me at all costs now? I’d have to be extra cautious everywhere I went from now on.

My stomach dropped with sudden fear.
My shop
. I had to tell them. What if Asher sent another gunman there? My employees could be in danger. My wings fluttered, and despite the still-lingering pain, I flew to the floor and grabbed my phone.

For once, I’d remembered to charge the thing. Link, in wolf form, pressed against my leg in a possessive manner. The second I’d walked through the door, he’d shifted from his adorable Shih Tzu form, no doubt sensing my off-the-charts anxiety level. “Back up, Link.”

He looked up at me through golden eyes but didn’t move.

“Fine, but stop pressing into me. Your one hundred and fifty pounds of wolf-weight is going to knock me over.”

He snorted a breath through his nose and backed off a little.

“Huh.” Maybe he did understand me.

The phone buzzed just as I picked it up.
The Fated Cupcake
flashed on the screen. “Tami?”

“Willow? Oh, my God,” my assistant cried. “I’m so sorry.”

My heart dropped to my toes hearing the panic in her voice.
Had Asher already sent people to my shop?
“What’s wrong? Is everyone all right?”

“Everyone’s fine.” She sucked in air as if to calm herself. “It’s nothing like that.”

I let out a sigh of relief. As long as my employees were okay, everything else could be dealt with. “Okay, what happened?”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s been swamped all morning here, so I’ve been chained to the front counter. It must’ve happened last night, otherwise we would’ve heard something.”