one.”
“Back to the stake, huh?”
“You could say that.”
He gave me a nod. “Maybe after our meetings, we could grab an ice cream?”
A Harley-riding, tattooed man who wanted to go for ice cream? Normalcy wasn’t all that bad.
And revenge on Lucifer, whether by stake or by mortal torment, was extremely satisfying. “I’d love to.”
“Meet you outside later?”
“I’ll be there.”
As he walked away, I watched the back of his dark brown hair brush his neck and thought about touching that same spot with my fingers. When Lucifer discovered I’d taken a new boyfriend—a human one, no less—he’d be mad as hell.
Who says being a good witch isn’t fun?
Inside the room, the good witches chatted in pairs. One lonely woman, with glasses covering most of her face, sat alone, staring at the others with a look of distracted interest. Weaving my way through the small groups to get to her, I felt the other witches’ annoyance and fear pinging off me like little balls of hail. Instinct had me forming a protective bubble around my body until I pulled up short. Was protecting myself from negative energy too witchy? Deciding not to take chances, I ignored the energy hail balls and continued on toward the woman sitting by herself. As I stopped next to her, I plastered a smile on my face and pointed at the empty chair on her left. “This seat taken?”
Her eyes widened behind the thick lenses. Straightening, she glanced around at the witches nearest her who were watching the exchange. Was it my imagination, or did tiny bolts of lightning crackle in her hair? She pointed one short finger at the chair as if it were a boa constrictor and eyed me with suspicion. She seemed genuinely surprised. “You want to sit here?”
I nodded, doing my best to look harmless. “Yeah, if you don’t, you know, have a partner.”
“Oh.” Again she stole a glance at the group around us and I saw her discomfort shift to something more determined. Something friendly. The frizzy curls in her hair seemed to relax a bit. “Actually, I was saving this seat for you. I’m Liddy.”
She motioned me into the chair and I dropped like a rock, full of relief. “Nice to meet you, Liddy.” Once the majority had returned to their conversations-in-progress, I leaned closer to her and said under my breath. “Thanks for the save.”
“The save?”
“Yeah, you know, saving me from embarrassment in front of everyone. Me not knowing what the heck is going on and all.”
She gave me a covert nod and cracked her knuckles one-by-one self-consciously. Again, I could have sworn I saw microscopic lightning bolts, this time emerging from the ends of her fingertips. “This is your first meeting, huh?”
“Yep.” I settled back and crossed my legs, curious about the energy she was fighting to hold in. “So, what are we doing, pairing up like this?”
“Step Five.”
I waited for her to explain. When she didn’t, I prompted her. “Step Five?”
She shifted her chair to face me like the other pairs of witches were doing. “Admit to another witch the wrongs we’ve committed against humans.”
Wrongs we’ve committed against humans. Dirty demons, this could get ugly. “Like a confession?”
She nodded at my quick study. “Right. The first step is to admit you have a problem. Then you take a moral inventory and then you unburden yourself to another. It’s redeeming.”
Making a quick mental list of the wrongs I’d committed that fell in that category, I knew it could be a long evening. “Wiccans only perform white magic, Liddy. All that harm none stuff. How many wrongs could you have committed?”
She dropped her gaze and started worrying the cuticles on her fingers. She’d bitten her nails to the quicks. Or maybe they were chewed up from the white light zigging and zagging between the tips. “You’d be surprised at the defects in my character.”
Defects? Using my natural-born empathic skills, I opened a small fissure and
“Back to the stake, huh?”
“You could say that.”
He gave me a nod. “Maybe after our meetings, we could grab an ice cream?”
A Harley-riding, tattooed man who wanted to go for ice cream? Normalcy wasn’t all that bad.
And revenge on Lucifer, whether by stake or by mortal torment, was extremely satisfying. “I’d love to.”
“Meet you outside later?”
“I’ll be there.”
As he walked away, I watched the back of his dark brown hair brush his neck and thought about touching that same spot with my fingers. When Lucifer discovered I’d taken a new boyfriend—a human one, no less—he’d be mad as hell.
Who says being a good witch isn’t fun?
Inside the room, the good witches chatted in pairs. One lonely woman, with glasses covering most of her face, sat alone, staring at the others with a look of distracted interest. Weaving my way through the small groups to get to her, I felt the other witches’ annoyance and fear pinging off me like little balls of hail. Instinct had me forming a protective bubble around my body until I pulled up short. Was protecting myself from negative energy too witchy? Deciding not to take chances, I ignored the energy hail balls and continued on toward the woman sitting by herself. As I stopped next to her, I plastered a smile on my face and pointed at the empty chair on her left. “This seat taken?”
Her eyes widened behind the thick lenses. Straightening, she glanced around at the witches nearest her who were watching the exchange. Was it my imagination, or did tiny bolts of lightning crackle in her hair? She pointed one short finger at the chair as if it were a boa constrictor and eyed me with suspicion. She seemed genuinely surprised. “You want to sit here?”
I nodded, doing my best to look harmless. “Yeah, if you don’t, you know, have a partner.”
“Oh.” Again she stole a glance at the group around us and I saw her discomfort shift to something more determined. Something friendly. The frizzy curls in her hair seemed to relax a bit. “Actually, I was saving this seat for you. I’m Liddy.”
She motioned me into the chair and I dropped like a rock, full of relief. “Nice to meet you, Liddy.” Once the majority had returned to their conversations-in-progress, I leaned closer to her and said under my breath. “Thanks for the save.”
“The save?”
“Yeah, you know, saving me from embarrassment in front of everyone. Me not knowing what the heck is going on and all.”
She gave me a covert nod and cracked her knuckles one-by-one self-consciously. Again, I could have sworn I saw microscopic lightning bolts, this time emerging from the ends of her fingertips. “This is your first meeting, huh?”
“Yep.” I settled back and crossed my legs, curious about the energy she was fighting to hold in. “So, what are we doing, pairing up like this?”
“Step Five.”
I waited for her to explain. When she didn’t, I prompted her. “Step Five?”
She shifted her chair to face me like the other pairs of witches were doing. “Admit to another witch the wrongs we’ve committed against humans.”
Wrongs we’ve committed against humans. Dirty demons, this could get ugly. “Like a confession?”
She nodded at my quick study. “Right. The first step is to admit you have a problem. Then you take a moral inventory and then you unburden yourself to another. It’s redeeming.”
Making a quick mental list of the wrongs I’d committed that fell in that category, I knew it could be a long evening. “Wiccans only perform white magic, Liddy. All that harm none stuff. How many wrongs could you have committed?”
She dropped her gaze and started worrying the cuticles on her fingers. She’d bitten her nails to the quicks. Or maybe they were chewed up from the white light zigging and zagging between the tips. “You’d be surprised at the defects in my character.”
Defects? Using my natural-born empathic skills, I opened a small fissure and
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