At the Behest of the Dead (25 page)

“I don’t know about that. After I got over the shock of seeing the shop destroyed
, I realized you did everything you could to save it … and me.”

“I have to admit that it was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. That changer was insane
, and I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way. He was, quite literally out of his head.” If I were lucky, she wouldn’t catch on that he’d been after me.

“So what happened to you?”
Her eyebrows dropped a millimeter. “You went missing for a few days. You had me worried when you didn’t answer my calls. Is your voice mail broken?”

“If by broken you mean non-existent, then yes.” She was worried about me?

“No cell phone?”

“I have one somewhere around here. It was top of the line a few years ago.”

“iPhone or one of those android things?” she asked.

“More like flip down mouthpiece with a lovely amber display.”

“Do electronics not work well around you?”

“Why in the world would they have trouble?”

“I thought maybe it was the magic …”

“Magic? I don’t do magic tricks
, if that’s what you think.” Only a half lie. Give me a break.

After a few seconds she closed her mouth. I had the urge to move into her, fold her in my arms and plant my lips on hers
, but I didn’t want to get slapped. I’d had enough of that from Glenda over the past couple of days.

“Coffee? I’d love some. Or tea,
” she said

“I don’t have a big fancy machine.”

“Not much of a brain, either.” She smiled sweetly.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just h
ave some crappy coffee in a bag. I don’t even remember where I bought it. The kitchen is this way.” Peaches watched us walk by but didn’t say a word.

“What a cute dog. I never would have guessed.”

“Be careful. It’s possessed.”

“H
e
is
a Pomeranian. What’s his name?”

“Peaches.”

“Kind of girly if you ask me.”

“I agree. And she is a girl.
” I grinned at the pooch.

Peaches sat up and panted in something that looked like a weird smile. I hoped the demon didn’t make some kind of appearance. I didn’t need eight sets of eyes ogling my new friend as she made a beeline for my front door.

“What does a warlock do exactly? Do they go around casting spells on people?”

“Ashley, I don’t understand why you’re here. The last time I saw you, you were pretty pissed about the whole ‘blowing up your place of employment’ thing.”

“I was, but Detective Andrews told me how she dragged you along and didn’t listen when you told her to wait for you. Although you shouldn’t tell the police what to do. So I decided to look you up and give you a chance to apologize.”

She breezed past me into the kitchen and looked over at the coffee machine. It was a relic from the nineties. She glanced around the space and almost laughed at the refrigerator, which was old enough to have a pull handle.

Detective Andrews has her own way of doing things. Besides, she is the one that hired me. Hired me on behalf of the police force that is.”

“I think she mig
ht like you. Be careful of that one.”

“Is there something I should know?”

“I thought I just said that.”

I shook my head.

“You live like a bachelor.” She wrinkled her cute nose.

“We could go and grab a bite to eat rather than risk the contents of my fridge,” I said. “As you noticed, I’ve been out of it for the last few days.”

“Yeah. You were going to tell me about that.”

“I had to go back to my guild because my oldest friend was killed. It’s a long story. What have you been up to?” I said to cover the sudden lump in my throat.

“I’m so sorry, Phineas,” She offered me a hug, which caused another lump in my throat for different reasons.

“Thank you. He was a teacher and a friend and I miss him a great deal.”

“My father died when I was in high school. I was lost for a long time.”

She moved around my kitchen, eyes studying the weird assortment of utensils, pots, and pans that I never used.

“So tell me about warlocking.”

Ashley took down a jar labeled t
ea. My eyes were glued to the container in the hope that dust didn’t fly out when she cracked it open.

“Not much to tell. I make potions. I can cast spells, of a sort. Oh, and I get impressions from the dead.”

“Weird.” She took down a cast iron pot with a metal ring around the handle. She popped the lid and inspected it, then moved to the sink which was, thankfully, clear of dishes.

I navigated toward her, avoiding the island in the middle of the room. I’d had it installed with the intent of working on potions in here
, but it proved problematic when I nearly set the house on fire.

“Let me.”
I turned on the water, then reached into the cabinet to the left and found a couple of coffee cups that weren’t anything like a matched set. One had a huge orchid on the side. The other had a logo for a gas station that was long gone.

“I don’t mind. Besides, my hands are frozen.” She took one of my hands in her ice-cold grip.

I did the gentlemanly thing by rubbing mine over hers to create a little friction. She looked at me with a genuine glimmer in her eye.

“You were telling me about
warlocking?”

“Oh right,
” I said, but didn’t dare let go. “I used to work at the guild in Everett, but they went corporate and I wanted to do freelance work so I left a few years ago.”

“Corporate?” s
he asked as steam rose from the sink, and from us.

“Yeah, you know, started making a business out of it. I didn’t care for the new direction so I left. They used to just train
warlocks, but then they trained them to do research and development. Next thing you knew the government was stepping in, wanting governance over them.”

“Oh.” She
continued to look up at me. I wanted her to stay there all night, just like that. I wanted to just look and look and hold her hands.

“Water’s warm.”

“Yeah.”

We didn’t speak for a second,
so I went for it.

In my long life I have had
few moments as lucid as this one. Ashley didn’t pull away, didn’t draw back to deck me, didn’t hiss at me to keep my dirty warlock lips away from her. Whether from pity or genuine attraction, she let me kiss her. When I pulled away, a little smile quirked the corner of her lips and her cheeks, fair as a summer morning, had hints of pink at the corners.

“Uh,
” I said dramatically.

She turned and tested the water, color rising on her cheeks,
tsked at the heat, and adjusted the cold until it was reasonable. Then she ran the pot under it along with her cold hands. I was suddenly jealous of the stream.

The evening cut in through a window over the sink
, and I felt like someone was watching me. My eyes were drawn to a tree that lined the green belt. Even with the clouds in, I knew Frank was up there. I flipped him the bird when Ashley wasn’t looking.

She filled the pot and set it on the counter.

“I’m sorry again about the store. What have you been doing?”

“It’s not that bad. They have insurance
, and if there’s one thing that the main office
doesn’t
want in Seattle it’s a non-functioning store. So I took some shifts at a different location.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“It was good to get a break. I need time to study for classes. I’m hoping to take the bar exam in a few weeks.”

“After you become a lawyer
, will I have to watch what I say around you?”

“Only if you are worried about incriminating yourself.”

“I should be so lucky,” I muttered as I turned up the heat on the stovetop.

She smiled again and that made my faux pas worth it.

“Lived here long?” she said to fill the silence.

“Quite a while.”

“No wife and kids?”

“I was with someone for a while but we drifted apart.”

“Sorry to hear that.” And I wondered if she was.

“I still see her. She helped me with a problem the other night as a matter of fact.”

“Oh.”

Oops.

“Work related. I would tell you about it but I barely believe it myself.” I stared down at her.

Whatever moment we were about to have was gone. It’s never a good idea to bring up an old flame. I should write that down and staple it to my forehead.

Ashley continued to shift from foot to foot. She bit her lower lip, which was just as cute as it sounds. She looked at me and then back around the room. After what seemed forever, she finally said something.

“Is all that
warlock stuff real or just bullshit? I saw you throwing stuff, so is it just a bunch of chemicals?”

“Both.”

“Both? That doesn’t help. I wanted to ask you the other night, but you were gone so quickly.”

“You can ask me now. And I was being somewhat facetious.
Warlocks are full of tricks and surprises. We can perform spells, mix potions, participate in or start rituals. Some of us can even draw and visualize a glyph, use it for protection or as a weapon.”

“But it’s not real. Mag
ic isn’t real,” she said.

“For most
, it’s not. For some, it is a very real reality. People have long feared what we can do, and it’s led to some very dark times in my people’s past.”

“Show me something.” She crossed her arms
over her chest.

“Like what?”

“Just something.”

I thought for a minute.“Okay.
I’m going to make a lion appear.” I raised my arms theatrically.

“Wait!” She stopped me. “Will it be dangerous?”

“It’s a lion. Of course it will.” I grinned. “Next I’ll call forth a tiger, and then a bear.”

“Jerk.” She relaxed.

“Listen. Magic, power, spells--whatever you want to call it--that’s stuff’s all innate. I could use it before I was six years old, even though I didn’t understand what I was doing. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t go out of my way to learn dark magic. I didn’t study under a charlatan. I just woke up one morning and the world was different.”

She listened. I noticed something different in her eyes, a lack of judgment. Usually people had some preconceived notion about me and it always showed. Ashley had none of that.

“But is it real?”

“Are you here because you need something?” It suddenly dawned on me that she was probably here for any reason BUT interest in me. Idiot, I cursed myself.

“Don’t be an idiot,” she said.

“Sorry?”

“Listen, Phineas. I’m not here for any reason other than to check on my rescuer. Now do the smart thing and ask me on a date before I leave in disgust. Don’t you know anything about girls?”

“Of course I do.
” I grinned. “I know all the parts by name and touch.”

“That’s a relief. I was about to order
a paint by numbers book, along with a new book of pick up lines.”

“I’m sure I could come up with better stuff if you gave me a few days. Ever have someone say something you don’t like and later think of a good comeback? Well, that’s how I am with pick up lines.”

“Does that mean you’re going to ask me out in a few days?”

“Ashley, would you be so kind as to do me the great honor of accompanying me on a date?”

She giggled, which was like music to my ears. “Okay. How old are you anyway?”

“Okay
, as in okay let’s go on a date? Or okay, can you do a better bow?”

“Don’t dodge the questions, mister
.”

“Thirty-t
wo,” I lied by a few centuries.

“I’ll be thirty in about six months,” she said. “I probably don’t look it
, but that’s just good genes.”

She grinned again and relaxed. The water came to a boil and she broke away from my gaze, which was unfortunate because I had the urge to lean over and kiss her again. I settled for watching her walk across the room.

“I get it.” I smacked my forehead with an open palm. “Great jeans.”

**

The tea was forgotten. We sat on my once finely crafted Italian leather couch and just talked. Peaches lay on her side, legs sticking straight out. Ashley asked if the dog was okay several times. I nodded and pet my little possessed pooch’s head.

At one point Bilbo poked her head out, got a look at Ashley
, and scurried back to her hiding spot.

“Was that a …”