The Accidental Familiar (Accidentally Paranormal Series Book 14) (29 page)

What was inside? For the love of fuck—why was everything so damn cryptic?

Her terror took hold, threatening to make her pass out until she saw movement from the corner of the spire.

Spears of flames and spewing embers in purple and orange fell to the ground; pieces of the stone began to fall away, and in the middle of it all?

Carl.

Climbing his way up the side of the spire.

H
ow had he slipped past them? How had he managed to make his way up all those stairs without any of them seeing him?

“Carl!” Poppy screamed, twisting in the demon’s grip.
“No, Carl, no!”

But Carl wasn’t listening. Somehow, in his stiff-limbed, duct-taped-together determination, he was attempting to rescue her.

She knew in his mind, he was only being valiant and kind. He was Robin Hood, climbing the castle wall to save Maid Marian.

A whole new kind of panicked terror swept through her when she realized she was helpless—until she heard Rick yell, “Poppy! Use your hands, I’ll recite the spell! We’ll do this together! On three!”

Use her hands? Because that had worked before? This man was as crazy as a bedbug. What the hell good were…

Her hands plus his magic! They were fated. January had said so. Poppy didn’t know if she was supposed to say something when she did it or even what exactly she was supposed to do with her hands, but she pictured the moment she’d turned Rick to stone and struggled over the roar of the wind to listen for three.

“One! Two! Three!”

Throwing her hands up in an awkward, unsure gesture, Poppy hollered out, “Take that!”

Miraculously, there was a rumble of discontent and then a piercing screech of anger when the demon loosened its grip, throwing her toward the side of the spire, which was when she remembered Carl.

“Caaaarl!” she cried on her way down, but she realized when she hit the rooftop, she’d done something stupid—alerted the demon to Carl.

The demon didn’t care whose soul he dined on for lunch—just that he dined.

His bulbous eyes did, in fact, turn to Carl, who clung to the side of the spire with cracking hands. Whatever strength she thought was long gone, whatever last ounce of energy she thought she’d used up, didn’t compare to the adrenaline rush of fear as she watched the demon set his sights on Carl.

Poppy didn’t think about her ribs or her feet or anything but getting to Carl. Darnell was beside her in a heartbeat as Rick came up from the rear, but she didn’t hear their protests, she made a run for the spire, dodging spitting flames. Spotting the first available notch in the stone’s carvings and jamming her toe into it, she reached upward and felt for another, and another, pulling her way up, her jaw clenched, her face drenched in sweat.

“Carl!” Nina’s anguished cry rang through the night, slicing through the cold wind tearing at Poppy’s back. “Let go, Carl! I’ll catch you, buddy!”

But he was stuck, his foot jammed into one of the ornate slashes in the stone. Poppy clearly saw his dilemma, making her climb faster as the demon swooped toward him.

And then Calamity’s terror-filled voice bellowed out, “Nina! Get out of the way!”

Poppy’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to whatever was the cause for so much fear in Calamity’s voice. She caught a brief glimpse of the demon taking an upward climb, his wing almost clipping the back of Nina’s head before Calamity leapt through the air and caught the demon’s wing.

It missed Nina’s head, shaking the feline off in the process and launching her over the side of the building.

Wanda took off at a run, soaring over the edge of the building, her hair flying upward behind her until she disappeared.

The devastation surrounding Poppy clutched at her gut, heightened her fear, but if she saved no one else, she was going to save Carl.

Swallowing hard, Poppy fought more panic, trying to keep her eyes on the prize, choking on the acrid smoke as she almost had her hand on Carl’s sneaker. The sneakers he’d so proudly shown her just yesterday. The one’s he wanted to wear trick-or-treating with his Nerd-Tech costume.

“Avis Mackland, what the hell have you done?” a voice from the heavens soared across the sky.

The rumbling of the spire, the flames, the howl of the demon—all of it came to a screeching halt at the sound of the voice.

Poppy blinked, her vision blurred by sweat, her fingertips aching from using the pads to claw her way up the spire.

“I said, what the hell have you done, you spineless, wilted piece of shit? Answer me, Avis!”

As everything stopped, as the embers from the flames drifted to the ground, as the rush of sound and motion ceased, someone or something plucked Poppy and Carl right off the spire and set them down on the roof, where a woman—a gorgeous woman with swaths of red, curly hair, a gold lamé dress acting as a second skin, and a body like a movie star—held Avis around the throat.

Wanda appeared from the corner of the roof, Calamity safely in her arms, while Darnell helped Marty up, brushing her swirly blonde hair free of ash.

Rick was the first at Poppy’s side, scooping her up and holding her close. “Jesus…Jesus, you’re one tough
gringa
,” he whispered against the top of her head, tucking her body into his as he cradled her.

“Let me go, you hag!” Avis spat as he struggled against the woman’s hand.

“The hell I will, you utter moron! Look what you’ve done, Avis. Look!”

“
Who are you
?” Poppy blurted before she could stop herself, spitting her hair from her mouth.

The woman’s head turned, her gorgeous locks billowing behind her in a stream of burnished copper. “Forgive me. I was so caught up in this buffoon’s buffoonery, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Drucilla, a witch, of course.”

January’s shoulders sagged as she let out a breath of air. “God, it’s good to see you, Drew! I didn’t know how much longer my wand was going to hold out.”

“January!” she squealed in delight, giving Avis a good shake. “It’s been ages, hasn’t it? Bring it in, honey!” She held out her free arm and gave January a squeeze.

Nina eyed this new woman with the skepticism she did everyone, but she held out her hand. “Nina Statleon.”

“Oh, my Goddess! I’ve heard all about you! You’re big news all over the realm. Half vampire, right?”

Nina’s eyes narrowed as she squared her shoulders. “Right.”

Drucilla rolled her eyes and shook Nina’s hand with a hearty pump. “Now, now. Don’t get your back up. I’m a friend, not a foe, girlie.”

January took a step back, pushing her long hair back under her knit cap. “Everyone, this is my good friend Drucilla. You can thank her for saving the day.”

Drucilla used a hand to flap in January’s direction. “Aw, stop. You’ll make me blush all kinds of red, and it clashes with my hair.”

Poppy couldn’t believe anything clashed with this woman’s anything.

Rick held out his hand now, too, and smiled a weary smile of gratitude. “Thank you.”

Drucilla jabbed a finger in the smoky air before accepting Rick’s handshake. “You’re the infamous Rick! Goddess, after Yash’s description of you, I’d know you anywhere.
Phew
, are you a dish, huh? No disrespect to you, Poppy.”

Both she and Rick spoke at once. “You know Yash?”

She smiled then, a smile with a hint of sorrow to it. “I do. He’s doing wonderfully, Rick. I promise you. He’s very happy in the realm. At peace, joyous, surrounded by his herbs and flowers. He’s the one who was sending you those messages tonight, Poppy. He’s always been with you. He knew you’d take care of Rick, and he knew I was the person to stop
this
dipshit.” She gazed down at a trembling Avis, her seductive blue eyes narrowing. “You do know you’re in for it, right? Oh, are you in for it,
bloke
.”

“How…?” Poppy began to ask but found she couldn’t quite form a sentence.

Drucilla’s eyebrow arched. “How do I know Avis?”

Poppy nodded, leaning against Rick for support, her feet unable to hold her up properly.

Drucilla smiled, dazzling and perfect. “He’s the reason I doubted who I really was. He’s the one who mocked me for one of the hardest choices I’ve ever made when I confessed why I was breaking up with him. He’s my ex, aren’t you, Simpleton?” she gave him another hard shake for emphasis.

The woman. She’d known it was about a woman. “So this was all for you, wasn’t it?”

She sighed, her slender shoulders moving up and down. “Regrettably, yes. Isn’t it just like a simpering idiot to want a bunch of power he wouldn’t know what to do with if you slapped him in his kisser with it, just to get revenge on his ex?”

Poppy snickered a laugh, holding her ribs, but Rick frowned in confusion. “What? Revenge for what?”

Drucilla flicked a finger at Avis as her eyes surveyed the damage. “
This
—this right here is why I’m glad I’m a lesbian. This whole big show, complete with demons and screeching winged things and a play for power, was all about how I allegedly broke poor baby Avis’s heart and called him a weakling warlock, just before I left him and his whiny self for my partner, Louisa. We could have ended our relationship peacefully. He could have been happy I’d finally figured out who I was and just let me go when I was honest enough to tell him I was in love with someone else. But nah. Instead, he openly ridiculed me, harassed me and when that didn’t make me change my mind and come back to him, I guess he set about planning his revenge.”

Avis struggled against her, his face red with rage, spittle at the corners of his mouth. “I hate you! You deserved every ugly word I spoke, you deceitful bitch!”

“And I guess you showed me, didn’t you?” she asked, her gaze sweeping over Avis’s face before she looked at the group. “I don’t know what he planned to do with all the power once he got hold of it. Wave it in my face? Show me his big, bad wand? Make me regret leaving him for the love of my life? What were you thinking you’d do if you were actually smart enough to get all the power?”

“Make you pay, you stupid cow!” he seethed at her, his face a mask of hatred. “You ruined me. You broke me! You humiliated me!”

Turning Avis to face everyone, Drucilla bobbed her head as she gripped the back of his neck and forced him to gaze at the havoc he’d wreaked. “Uh-huh, and just look at me pay,
mate
. Ugh! Would you look at the mess you made? Do you have any idea the spells I’ll have to cast to fix this? Now say goodbye to the nice people, you homophobic moron, you’re coming with me. We have a murder to address with the powers that be.”

“Rick!” he pleaded, grabbing at Drucilla’s wrists, twisting and arching his body to release her grip. “Don’t let her take me! You know what they’ll do to me! You’re my best mate, Rick!”

But Rick averted his gaze, his jaw tight, his strong body rigid and tense.

Drucilla eyed them all and smiled. “I have to go now—because, you know, this jackass summoned every demon from here to eternity and ruined a perfectly lovely blood moon. But I hope we all meet again under happier circumstances. Poppy? You’re one of the bravest souls I know. Welcome to the realm, sweet girl. Chat soon!” And with those words, she and Avis were gone.

Poppy blinked once more, still wrapping her head around the last hour. “Who was she again?”

January laughed at the shock on Poppy’s face. “Drucilla. Her name’s Drucilla, and she’s one of the most powerful witches in the realm, and all I can say is, thank Goddess she showed up.”

“Not a lie,” Nina quipped, taking Calamity from Wanda and scratching her ears as Carl hobbled toward her. “Fuck, I’m getting too old for this shit.”

“But you used the hell out of that wand, Chief! I’m so damn proud of you!”

Marty scanned the length of Poppy’s body, her eyes sympathetic. “Oh, honey. You took some beating. C’mon. We’ll take you home and patch you up.”

But Poppy grabbed her arm and pulled her close, soaking in the vanilla scent of her hair. “Thank you for coming for me tonight. I…all of you,” she whispered over Marty’s shoulder, her eyes meeting Nina’s.

Nina ran her knuckles over Poppy’s hair. “Nah, Tiny Dancer, thank you for saving my boy here. I’d be lost without him.”

Carl thumped her on the back with the hand not falling off his wrist. “Thaaank…you, Poppp-yy.”

Giving him a gentle squeeze, she fought tears of relief. “
How
did you get up here, Carl?”

Nina’s eyes narrowed at him then. “My boy here might still be learning to talk, but he’s a damn good listener. I’m betting, while we were out there like a bunch of hens clucking in a freakin’ henhouse, gearing up for that whammy of a spell, he was listening to every word and somehow, he figured out he needed to be on the roof. Somehow, he got past us in that mess downstairs. Am I right, little dude?”

His crooked grin almost faded as he gave Nina a look of pure guilt. He didn’t need to explain, though. Instinctively, Poppy knew he’d made the connection between the stones and the spire. How he’d done it might always remain a mystery, but he’d valiantly thrown himself in harm’s way to save her because Nina, these women, had taught him what heroism was all about.

Poppy shuddered another breath, refusing to consider all the things that could have gone wrong. “You tried to save me, Carl. You’re a real-life Robin Hood. I won’t ever forget that.
Ever
.” And then she hugged Nina, wrapping her arms around her waist. “I know you hate this right now, but just gimme a minute, and we’ll act like this never happened.”

Nina barked a laugh, looping her arm around Poppy’s neck. “You’re all right, kiddo. We good now?”

Poppy instantly let go with a weak grin. “We’re good.”

Wanda and Darnell, their eyes lined with exhaustion, gathered her up in a quick hug. “Let’s get you home. You need some sleep, and maybe a Xanax. Make that two,” Wanda teased.

Poppy’s head fell back on her shoulders as she laughed, and she caught sight of Rick, who smiled back at her.

He held out his hand to her, and she took it, letting him pull her close. “I have to apologize, Poppy. I’m sorry I didn’t know what to do with what you told me. You were right. I was wrong. I’m sorry I just couldn’t hear you.”