“Really? I-I thought he’d left. Why would his spirit be lingering?”
I shrugged. “Way too many questions without answers. I don’t even know his name, so I’m not sure how to research him, but he said someone had told him he had to leave to save Andre. Anyway, that’s not the point right now. We have to figure out how to quell the evil. Then, we can chase down the information on Andre’s lover.”
Evan nodded, came over, and pulled me up before sinking into my arms. “I love you, Cary. I’m also so thankful you’re here and keep protecting me. Part of me hates needing to be protected, but thank you for being so willing.”
I smiled and kissed the top of his head. Then I tilted his head up until I could see his handsome face. “I love you, too, more than I thought was possible.”
He nodded, then came back in for the hug. “We don’t have to be back to the manor for a while. Why don’t we go up and take a nap,” I said, and waggled my eyebrows at him, making him laugh.
“You’re insatiable… thank God,” he said, and let me pull him up to his bedroom… our bedroom. I didn’t think of it as just his any longer since I never seemed to sleep in mine these days. The room was all Evan, and I wouldn’t want it any other way because he belonged here. He belonged with me.
45
Evan
The coven members gatheredin the sitting room. I’d admit I was shocked by who they were. Just ordinary-looking people. It wasn’t like Cary when I first met him, dressed all in black with an air of mystery that I couldn’t quite put my finger on at the time. These were just regular folks. If I passed them on the street, which I probably had at some point, I’d never know they were practicing witches. And very powerful ones at that.
Al came over and sat next to me and Cary. “Roy’s not doing too well,” she said, shaking her head. “I knew the boy had the gift, but I didn’t realize he had the sight as well. He’s been working for Christie and me for years, and despite knowing who we are, he’s never even mentioned his gifts.”
“So, he saw the nasty one?” I asked, and Al nodded.
“He saw the whole thing,” Al looked up at me, “Roy said the old man, the one we call the nasty entity, possessed your ex, Mr. Owens. That’s what scared Roy so much.”
I sighed and nodded. “Cary and I had already come to that conclusion. Is Roy going to quit? The entity isn’t the only spirit here.”
Al shrugged. “I think after today he might, but to be honest, we have bigger fish to fry right now than Roy’s fears. The entity is too strong if he’s possessing people at will now.”
“Maybe not at will,” Cary replied. “I’m sorry, Evan, but I need to speak plainly. Leon Cordelia was a cruel man. Evan’s ex has a similar nature. My working theory is that when Evan’s ex showed up, probably with malintent on his mind, it allowed the entity to escape his confines. Now he’s gone, and I think the other spirits have him back under control, but—”
“But,” Al continued. “If he could escape with one narcissist here, why not when another comes through the door?”
I sighed and rubbed my temples because my head was beginning to hurt. “We have to do something about him. What, though? I don’t know.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Al said, gesturing toward the coven of witches around us.
I nodded. “Well, what’s first?” I asked.
Christie walked into the room smiling and said, “Okay, let’s eat.”
Al winked at me and stood, before saying, “First we eat, then we do a little partying with friends, then we let the universe lead the way.”
“Okay, so no séance? Nothing scary?”
“Not yet,” Al said and left Cary and me to go join the festivities in the dining room.
“Is this going to work?” I asked Cary, who pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head.
“If nothing else, it’ll clear the air. Celebrating, family and friends, gathering as a group, a collective. That’s powerful and can sometimes do more to undo negativity than anything else.So, come on, let’s eat Christie’s amazing food. You can get to know our friends, and we’ll put so much positive energy into this place, the entity will run screaming.”
I chuckled, liking the image, and followed my sweet boyfriend into the celebration. If this was what it meant to be in a coven, count me in. I didn’t have any magical abilities, but damn, I could be a support system, and I knew how to have a good time with friends, even new ones.
46
Cary
Ihadn’t exaggerated withEvan. Sometimes just infusing good energy into a place filled with negativity helped fix things. I wasn’t naïve by any means. I knew it was unlikely it would fix everything, but I did thought Al was right in bringing us all together.
We all knew not to have more than one glass of wine, since we needed our wits about us, but that was enough to make things flow, and laughter filled the air. There were thirty-three members of our coven. All of them were here, as were Drew and Lance, Lance’s brother Crea, and Crea’s husband Ely. It was so cool to see the Chemeketa folks had come to support us. Not that we hadn’t done so when they’d called, but still.
