Soulbound: A Lone Star Witch Novel (11 page)

“I don’t know, Lily. I don’t think I’ll be very good company—”

“You don’t have to be good company. I’ll dress you, do your makeup. He’ll be blinded by your dazzling looks all through dinner and by the time that wears off, we’ll be at the show and then you won’t have to talk anyway.”

“What show is it?”

“I don’t know. Some illusionist or something. Come on. It’ll be fun to watch some mortal play around at magic for a night.”

It doesn’t sound like much fun to me, but maybe that’s my own background and bias coming out. Lily is a high-functioning psychic, so while she commiserates with me over the whole latent thing, she doesn’t really understand it. Which is fine, most of the time. But every once in a while—like after I’ve spent a week taking crap from my family on all fronts—it’d be nice to have a friend who just gets it.

“Lily, I just don’t think—”

“Please, Xan. Please. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll do your laundry for a month. Two months. And I swear I won’t ask you for anything else for a long, long time. But I really like Brandon and I don’t want to blow this with him. It might be my only chance.”

I want to say no, but it’s not like I can after a speech like that. Besides, the truth is she’d do it for me in a heartbeat. The fact that I’d never ask is totally beside the point. “Okay, I’ll go,” I finally agree. “But we have to be home by one o’clock.”

“Sure, of course.” She’s all but bouncing up and down in excitement.

“I mean it, Lily.”

“I know.” She draws her finger across her heart in the shape of an X. “Cross my heart. We’ll skip the drinks and come home right after the show, okay?”

“Yeah. That sounds fine.”

“Awesome.” She holds the tarot cards out again. “Now cut them. I want to prove to you how awesome tonight is going to be.”

Unwilling to rain on her parade, I reach out and do as she says.

It turns out, we both should have quit while we were ahead.

“I
think we should redo the cards,” Lily says for the fifth time in as many minutes.

“It’ll be fine,” I tell her. “No big deal.”

She looks at me dubiously. “It kind of feels like a big deal.”

“So the cards are a little…off. So what? It’s not the first time that’s ever happened to me.” I sneak another look at them, try not to be nervous. I’m telling the truth, after all. Tarot cards have never been particularly fond of me. But still—

“These are bad, Xandra. These are really, really bad. Like I’m a little terrified for you bad.”

So am I, but no good will come from admitting that to Lily. Or from dwelling on the cards. If I’ve learned one thing from being latent, it’s that some things you can change and some things you can’t. Worrying about the ones you can’t doesn’t get you anywhere.

“They’re probably just picking up on all the junk that happened at home,” I tell her. “My feelings for my mom, that poor girl we found, the witch whisperer. It was a bad week.”

“Right. That must be what it is.” Except she doesn’t look any more convinced than I am. After all, there’s no feminine energy on the cards at all, which rules my mom and Salima right out of the equation.

“Maybe we should rethink this double date?” I suggest.
“Because if this symbolizes Kyle, I think I’m in serious trouble.”

“Actually, I’d be happy if I thought these cards were talking about Kyle. In the grand scheme of things, one bad date is no big deal. But I didn’t ask about him. I asked about your future, because I knew you wouldn’t. Plus, I’ve been having flashes…anyway, what the cards seem to hint at…”

She trails off, I’m sure because she doesn’t want to give voice to what she’s thinking. Which is fine by me, because I really don’t want to hear it. Still, it’s like we’re watching a train wreck—neither of us wants to see it but we can’t quite step away either. As one, we look back down at the simple five-card spread she’s done for me.

The first card, which lies at the center of the spread and symbolizes the present, is the magician. In and of itself it isn’t a bad card at all—it represents power, good and bad. It also represents making a decision, taking control, making life what you want it to be. Which is all good—except when it’s combined with the other four cards on the table.

My second card, past influence, is the nine of swords—one of the worst cards to see in a tarot reading because it symbolizes deep emotional pain and prolonged suffering. When looked at with the other cards on the table, it also means that a dark point in my life is about to make a resurgence.

My future card, the third to be laid on the table, is the Devil. Again, not a necessarily bad card on its own, but in this combination, it isn’t good either. It promises I’ll be attacked from both within and without by forces I have no hope of controlling.

None of which sounds like a good time to me.

Even worse, the fourth card is the seven of swords. It’s the thief’s card, and is all about trickery, deception and
vigilantism. It calls into question my entire belief system, at least in reference to the awful situation that seems to be brewing, and in the fourth position also signifies something deliberately put in my path by someone who wants to hurt me.

And finally, in the last position—which is all about possibilities—I’ve got the five of swords. It’s pretty much the worst card in the entire tarot deck, particularly in this spot because it basically says that no matter what I do, I’m going to be defeated. I’m just not strong enough to stand up to the malignant outside forces that are bent on my destruction.

So, all in all, I’m feeling pretty screwed right about now. If only I knew how and why.

I know I could just say, so what? They’re just tarot cards and I’m pretty sure, in the end, that’s what I’m going to wind up doing anyway. But these aren’t just any tarot cards picked up at the local bookstore and read by any charlatan.

Lily’s deck is amazing. It’s been passed down in her family for five generations, has been handled and blessed by some of the most powerful clairvoyants ever born. Plus, Lily herself is incredibly talented. The fact that she’s as nervous as she is by the way these cards turned up means there’s a lot she isn’t telling me.

Normally I’d demand to know what she’s hiding, but I’m kind of at the end of my rope today. I’m not saying I’ll never ask, but tomorrow over breakfast is more than soon enough. Especially if I’m supposed to go out on a date tonight and not act like a raving lunatic.

Speaking of which…I glance at the clock. It’s six thirty. “What time are Brandon and Kyle coming to pick us up?” I ask.

“Oh, shit!” Lily scoops the cards up and puts them back in the deck before making a mad dash for her room. “They’ll be here in half an hour!”

Thirty minutes is plenty of time for me to get ready—after all, I’m going for presentable instead of knock-his-socks-off. After that reading, it’s not like I’m anxious for Kyle to hang around. Lily may swear that the cards aren’t about him, but when it comes to guys, I’m more of the better-safe-than-sorry ilk. Declan taught me that a long time ago.

Still, I meander back to my room, figuring it can’t hurt to put on a little lipstick and mascara. But before I even make it to my bathroom, Lily comes in like a whirling dervish. She has a makeup bag in one hand and what looks like a silver thong in the other.

“Come on,” she says, shoving me down onto the bed and all but straddling me. “We don’t have much time to get you ready.”

“Get
me
ready? Shouldn’t we be focusing on you?”

She shoots me an incredulous look and I have to give it to her. Lily is one of those naturally beautiful women, inside and out. She looks good in just about anything and a dab of lip gloss goes a lot farther on her than it does on me.

Still, I can’t help being nervous when she empties the contents of the makeup bag on my bed. “That’s not all going on my face, is it?”

She sighs hugely. “No. More’s the pity. But I’m smart enough to know I’ve only got about ten minutes before you lose patience.”

“More like seven. And the clock started the second you climbed on top of me.”

“Then shut up and let me get started.”

True to her word, Lily’s done with my face in six and a half minutes and even I have to admit I look pretty good. “Is that purple eyeliner?” I ask as I look in the mirror she handed to me.

“It is. I picked it up for you at the MAC counter the other day because I knew it’d look sizzling hot on you.
And I was right. It really makes those crazy eyes of yours pop.”

“You make me sound like a piece of bacon.”

“Whatever. You look good and you know it.” She finishes gathering up her makeup and reaches for the silver thong.

“I’ve got my own underwear, thanks.” Sometimes it pays to head Lily off at the pass.

“Well, I hope so. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing. I just thought you were going to make me wear that.” I nod to the thing in her hand.

She bursts out laughing. “I am. But it’s not underwear, it’s a halter top.”

“Well, then, I’m definitely not wearing it. It’s thirty degrees out and that thing looks like it belongs on a beach in the Bahamas.”

“Don’t worry about it. Kyle will keep you warm.”

“I’ll keep myself warm, thank you very much.” I cross to my closet and pull out my favorite black cashmere sweater. It’s soft and warm and just clingy enough to be interesting.

“Oh, God. Not the sweater. Not again.” She throws herself down on the bed, hand dramatically covering her eyes.

“There is nothing wrong with this sweater.”

“There’s not much right with it either—at least not for a first date.”

We bicker back and forth for a little while until finally we reach a compromise. I get to wear the sweater as long as I also wear the super-tight skinny jeans Lily finds at the back of my closet (of course, they’re at the back of my closet for a reason) and a pair of fuck-me red, five-inch Jimmy Choos that are her current pride and joy.

When she dashes back to her room to get her own clothes on, I check myself out in the mirror and admit
the compromise actually worked out pretty well. The shoes are gorgeous, the sweater looks good with my hair and if I could just take a full breath, I’d probably be more fond of the jeans as well.

All in all, it’s better than I expected when Lily came marching through my bedroom door. And at least I’m not wearing a thong for a shirt.

Brandon and Kyle are right on time and the date starts out smoothly enough. Both guys are attractive, though I don’t think Brandon is quite the golden god I remember Lily describing him to be. He’s got a good sense of humor, though, and keeps us laughing the whole ride over to Haddington’s, which is awesome.

Kyle’s a little more reserved, but he’s got a great smile and he seems really nice. Which is a good thing because we haven’t been seated more than five minutes before Lily and Brandon end up deep in discussion about the historical significance of a set of religious artifacts recently found in Chile.

It’s an interesting enough conversation for a while, but after listening to them debate it ad nauseam, I’m considering choking on a toast point just to break up the monotony.

Kyle catches my eye and grins. “Is she always like this?” he asks.

“Are you kidding? She’s just getting warmed up.”

“Him, too. Maybe we should get our own table.”

It’s obvious he’s kidding, so I glance around the crowded restaurant to play along. “Nah, too much trouble.”

“Guess we’ll have to make the best of it, then. Can I get you another drink?” He nods to my empty glass.

I think about saying no, but I’m not driving and a second glass of wine just might smooth the last of the edges out and help me relax. Something I could really use right
about now. Not that Kyle is doing anything to make me uncomfortable—he’s not—but I can’t quite get over the tarot cards from earlier.

On the plus side, there’s zero chemistry between the two of us, which is more than okay by me. Especially since Kyle seems to recognize it, too. With the pressure off, I end up having a pretty good time just talking and joking around with him.

We’re working our way through dessert—sharing a sticky toffee pudding—when I finally get up the nerve to ask him about the ACW. My parents and Donovan haven’t had a good thing to say about them in years and I’m curious about the opinion of someone on the other side.

“So, what’s your favorite part of working for the Council?” I ask, after we spend some time talking about the places they’ve sent him. “All the travel?”

He doesn’t answer at first, just looks thoughtfully at me across the table. “You sound like you don’t think I could have a favorite part.”

“No, that’s not it at all,” I assure him, though I guess that is what a small part of me believes. “I’ve just heard that they can be difficult to work with sometimes.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, well, that can be true of anyone, right?”

The waiter chooses that moment to stop by with the check and Kyle takes care of it before the rest of us can offer. But his movements are slow, deliberate, and I get the impression that he’s using it to buy himself some time to think. I just don’t know why—unless he doesn’t like the direction the Council is going in any more than the rest of us do.

When he finally does answer, his voice is deliberate, like he’s being very careful to weigh his words. “The Council is made up of twelve indomitable personalities, all of whom are convinced they are right one hundred
percent of the time. Which can be…challenging when they’re at different ends of the spectrum and I’m stuck in the middle, trying to figure out whose orders I’m supposed to follow.”

“So you actually work closely with the Council members?” I ask, surprised. Lily had given me the impression that he was on the outskirts of the organization, though now that I think about it, she never actually said that.

“As close as it gets. I’m head of public relations for the entire Council, which means I’m in charge of getting their message out to the media—and everyone else—in a manner that can be easily understood and digested. Sometimes they make that easy on me and sometimes they don’t.”

“You’re a spin doctor.” The words pop out before I know I’m going to say them.