Demon Song (25 page)

“No, like strawberries and chocolate.”

Other people started doing the same thing, switching glasses, and pretty soon all of us were looking confused.

Then we heard Creede’s voice over the growing noise of talking and everyone turned toward those glowing gold eyes. “And now you know what’s special about Witches’ Brew. It’s like no other wine because it’s tailored to the individual drinker. Every person will taste what he or she likes best. You can never serve a bad wine at a party again. The Pinot Noir will be perfect with shrimp or steak. The Chablis? Equally terrific with halibut or hamburgers. Always right … just like magic.”

He snapped his fingers and he and the sisters disappeared. People wanted to applaud, which is hard to do while holding wine goblets, but they managed, tapping fingernails on the glass.

The sisters made a grand entrance through the far doors, which burst open in a shower of glitter and fairy lights. They smiled and separated, moving into the room to do the meet and greet. But as much as I wanted to talk about the craft of making the wine, I wanted to do it with Creede. How had he managed the magic? I wasn’t a witch, but I loved talking about crafting. Bruno had gotten me hooked on the technique of spellcasting.

And … yeah, I wanted to thank him for the tickets.

But I didn’t see him. I looked around, through the sea of talking heads, and didn’t see his familiar golden curls. I finally got up on the stage and looked out over the crowd. But the event had spread out into multiple rooms and it could be that I was just missing him. I did see Emma and Remir, clinking glasses of blush, while Dawna was snuggling up to Latino soap star Fernando Gomez.

“Miss? Can I help you with something?”

I looked down to see a young man with an earphone and clipboard. I realized that I must look like an idiot up on the stage. “Sorry. I was looking for John Creede. He’s a…” A what, exactly? Associate? Friend? Colleague? Sort of all of the above and yet none of them. What the heck, I could embellish. “A friend. Have you seen him?”

He shook his dark hair with amusement. “Honey,
everybody
is Mr. Creede’s friend tonight. Everybody wants a piece of him. But I know all of his friends and I don’t know you.”

Oh. Talk about putting me in my place.
“I’m Celia Graves.”

His eyes widened and his mouth actually dropped as he took in the dress and hair and, yes, he really did look for fangs. “Ohmigod!
You’re
Celia? Wow. He didn’t describe you quite like … um, well, let’s say I had a little more down-to-earth girl in my head, not a model.”

When I got back to the spa tonight, I was going to find my stylist and makeup person and hand each one a hundred-dollar tip. Because the look on this guy’s face was worth the price.

I felt special for the first time in weeks. “So, have you seen him?”

His eyebrows dropped and he thought. “You know, I haven’t seen him since the Darby sisters came back in. He
should
be around somewhere.” I started to walk down the stairs and he immediately jumped to my side and offered a hand. I took it because there wasn’t a banister and the risers weren’t very stable with three-inch heels. Once I had my feet back on the thick Oriental rug, he tapped the receiver in his ear. “John? Can you hear me?”

I waited while he listened, then shrugged and shook his head. “Sorry. He’s not answering.” He held out his hand. “I’m Andrew, by the way … John’s personal assistant. I’ve been with Miller and Creede since I was in college. He’s an amazing practitioner. I’m learning so much about the trade.”

I shook the hand. He had a good grip. Not too tight and there was a tingle of power there. But I could tell he’d never be at Creede’s or Bruno’s level. Maybe he was a level four. “Nice to meet you. I guess I’ll just wander around and hope I run into him.”

Andrew let out a frustrated noise. “I know he’s going to want to see you.” Then he snapped his fingers before giving his own forehead a little slap. “I bet I know where he is. He’s probably taken some people down to see the grotto.”

“The grotto? What’s that?”

He flipped open the cover of his clipboard, pulled a pen from behind the ear without the phone, and started drawing. “Oh, you’ve got to see it. That’s where all the magic happens. It’s amazingly beautiful. Here. Just follow this map and you can’t miss it.”

The paper he tore off showed an
x
in a circle that I presumed represented where we were now. It wasn’t much of a map—just a curvy line that ended shortly with another
x.
“Is it far?” I looked down at my slinky, strappy sandals. “These boots weren’t made for walking, Andrew.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. I raised my brows and lowered my chin. I don’t like it when people touch me. He pulled away instantly. “Sorry. Too much, huh? John tells me all the time I need to learn
distance
to work in this business. I’ve got to work on not touching. But no, in answer to your question, it’s not far. Probably not more than a hundred yards from where we are. Just follow the path to the right and it’s all downhill on a paved path. You’ll get to see some of the new vines, too. Very picturesque with all the paper lanterns.”

Well, it was gorgeous weather and my friends were otherwise occupied. What the heck. “Okay, thanks.” I took the paper and walked across the room to tap Dawna on the shoulder. “Be right back.” She nodded and returned to talking to her new favorite leading man.

*   *   *

Andrew had been right. It wasn’t a long walk and the path only went one place. The Japanese lanterns that had been strung along the pathways offset the twisted vines on waist-high poles and made them seem elegant. But when the string of lanterns ended, so did the paved path—as though people were supposed to stop when they reached the end of the lights. But there was a flickering light ahead in what looked like the mouth of a cave.

Oh. Duh. A
grotto—
as in cave.

There was enough light to see and the ground was hard-packed soil, so it was easy walking. As I approached, I could hear murmuring voices inside, so I stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt. I expected the cave itself to be cooler than the outside, but it was actually warmer. The press of light magic flowed over me as I walked down the steep path into the earth. The barrier explained the dampening of sound. Now that I was inside, the voice was louder, but I couldn’t make out what was being said.

Flowering vines covered the walls and ceilings, turning what would normally have been dark stone and soil into a burst of color and texture. The smell was amazing … soft and sweet but not cloying. Even though I didn’t recognize any of the individual flowers, together they smelled like a butterfly garden in the warmest part of spring. “Hello?” I called out softly. There was no answer.

Finally I saw a brighter light ahead and heard a roaring sound that reminded me of a bath being run in a distant room. The air felt moister, cooler, and heavier with magic. The combination of sensation and scent was amazing. I stepped into the main grotto. The ceiling was high enough I couldn’t actually see it, and the waterfall I’d heard was the height of a three-story building. I was so engrossed in looking around that I didn’t notice the circle drawn in white in the very center of the room, where a hooded figure was kneeling.

Crap. I’d walked into a casting.

The candles on the points of the compass were the giveaway and I should have recognized the muttering after hearing Bruno speaking in odd tongues all those years. I froze in place, remembering Bruno’s stern lectures:
Never interrupt the caster, don’t speak, don’t break the circle, and don’t freak out at anything you see.
He hadn’t been kidding about the last part. I’d seen full-blown tornadoes spring up in a casting circle. Demons had appeared in chains, pulled out from inside the person they were possessing, spewing all the vile excrement and lava of hell itself until they were banished by the mage.

I looked around and spotted a bench carved out of the rock wall next to a massive taproot from one of the ancient white oaks I’d seen from the road when we arrived. I could be quiet and I was really curious to find out if I was going to see a sample of Creede’s skill. I’d seen his power in battle and a hint of the finesse behind it. But to see a real casting was to see into the soul of a mage.

This seriously rocked.

I became a church mouse with a hungry cat nearby—utterly silent and watchful. Creede’s hands began to move; it looked like he was holding an invisible volleyball in front of his chest. I could see his face peering out from the shadow of the hood. The spell got stronger and his voice louder. A ball of energy appeared between his cupped hands. It had no form or color, visible only as wavy air currents, like heat rising from hot asphalt.

He lifted his arms and the tiny candles became flares to reach his shoulders. Wow. “Removie il parse … et parse … en natur!” The ball of energy took on a life of its own. Power flowed out from Creede’s skin to spin over his head until the ball of energy was bigger than a school globe and then bigger than a car.

Every muscle in my body jumped when he threw his hands forward. “Dispersei!” The energy exploded outward at his command, filling the whole circle until it seemed like it would burst. The candles tipped sideways, flames licking up the sides of the energy bubble until it was a full fledged ball of fire. I was a little afraid it was going to explode and stood up in case I needed to get out in a hurry.

That’s when the ball blew.

Creede’s hood was blown back by the force of the energy wave and his eyes were twin stars that were too large for his face. Concentric waves of energy began to flow out of the circle, ripples of magic that swept toward me with the speed and intensity of a tsunami.

I wasn’t going to be able to get out of the way in time.

15

To hell
with not interrupting the caster.

“Shit! Creeeede—” I backed toward the exit and then ran full out as the blast of power came my way.

He looked up then and saw me and raised his hands again. “Dispersei!” There was both panic and power in the word and I turned to see the white light in his eyes explode into the room. But it had gone too far, too fast.

Power caught me full in the chest and dropped me to my knees. It was icy cold yet hot enough to burn. Every muscle in my body came alive at the same moment and my eyes locked on his. There was a tether between us, a magic binding that encased me as solidly as if I were trapped in amber. I could see the room and Creede, but it was through a filter of golden light. Every hair stood on end and tried to pull out of my skin.

Then the cold and hot turned to a warm wave of … something … that made things low in my body tug deliciously. My skin started to feel swollen and my breathing became fast and shallow. It was the most erotic sensation I’d ever experienced and apparently it was for Creede, too, because he let out a moan of sheer pleasure and closed his eyes. I felt the power pull away from me and I could breathe. Then it was back and pleasure tore through me once more. We were trapped in a loop that was like a bouncing Super Ball. The harder the power hit me, the faster it came back after leaving, until there was nothing but heat and light and a thousand fingers on my skin, on my breasts, and inside me. It was pure torture and pure joy.

Finally the strain was too much and my body could take no more. I collapsed onto my hip and a cry was torn from my mouth as a powerful orgasm claimed me. It had admittedly been a long time since I’d been with a man, but this wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt before. I tingled to the tips of my ears and the balls of my feet. I knew when it got the better of Creede. He didn’t cry out, but I’d heard that kind of low moan before, followed by whispered swearing that spoke of a similar intensity to my own.

The magic dissipated slowly, leaving my body feeling both satisfied and utterly exhausted. It took more than a few moments before I could think or breathe normally, and when I opened my eyes I saw a pair of bare feet next to my leg.

Crap.

“Celia?” I looked up and Creede’s eyes were normal again, even if his face was lightly flushed. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” I felt heat in my cheeks and turned my eyes from his. I did accept the hand up, because it’s really hard to get up gracefully from the floor in a short skirt and heels. “What just happened?”

There was a trace of humor in his voice. “You need to learn how to knock.”

Now my eyes rose to his face and the small hint of a smile that turned his mouth. “There’s no door.”

He acknowledged the truth of that with a soft, “Ah.”

My hand was still holding his and I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. He used his other hand to lift my chin. I was still struggling not to blush and kept my vision locked on the long line of bare chest that disappeared into the soft white magician’s robe. It was impossible to ignore the musky scents that filled the air. “Creede—”

I knew I’d screwed up whatever spell he was casting and had no idea what the result would be. And what had just happened was too … personal, too intimate. And frankly, it had felt too good.

His finger pressed to my lips. “Don’t overthink it, Celia. Just let it be.” His voice was almost too soft to hear over the waterfall. I finally looked in his eyes. It was a mistake. He pulled me closer and I let him. When his mouth closed over mine I melted into his embrace and my arms slid around him of their own accord.