‘Is that what you’re supposed to be? My soul mate?’
For some reason his laugh sounded slightly hollow. ‘I think Xantippe thought you wouldn’t be interested in sex. I was simply going to distract you until she arrived.’
‘Why you?’
‘I offered. I came to her in the first place – Xantippe always knows things, and I thought if anyone knew what was upsetting the flow, then she would. She told me it was you.’
‘And sent you to stop me.’
‘I told you, I offered. I have no idea what she wants with you, and I don’t really care. I just wanted to stop you from wreaking havoc’
‘And how did getting rid of my fiance serve that purpose?’
He didn’t look the slightest bit guilty. ‘He was the wrong man for you, and you knew it. I just saved you the trouble of dumping him.’
‘Why, how thoughtful,’ she said, acidly polite. ‘So if you were so determined to stop me, why did you teach me things? And don’t pretend that you didn’t – I already feel different. I’m more focused. More powerful.’
‘I was afraid of that,’ he said, not sounding particularly pleased. ‘You’re a fast learner. And you’re going to need to know these things sooner or later, I thought I might as well start your education.’
‘Why bother? Why didn’t you just seduce me to shut me up?’
He looked startled. The violet ring around his pupils seemed to have widened, a dark, smoky look that made her think of long nights and purple silk. ‘Would it have been that easy?’
‘Would it have been that hard? You assured me you were very good in bed. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to distract me with sex? Unless, of course, you don’t want-’
‘Don’t even go there.’ His voice was low, dangerous.
‘Go where?’
‘You know what I’m talking about.’
The last twenty-four hours had been a mass of simmering emotions and frustrations, feelings she couldn’t even begin to understand, and suddenly she cracked, the last of her nervousness vanishing. She turned on him, coming right up to him as he filled her doorway. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know why you stayed once you found us, I don’t know why you decided to teach me things, why you sent Charles away, I don’t know why you have such a crazy effect on me.’
‘Sure you do,’ he said, sliding his hand behind her neck, pulling her face up to his. ‘You know too damned well.’
This time she was prepared. He was going to kiss her, and she steeled herself, determined not to respond. Why should she respond? she thought. She didn’t like him, she’d just been engaged to another man, and besides, she didn’t really like kissing…
‘Maybe you just haven’t been kissed by the right man,’ he murmured.
She jerked away. ‘You can’t read minds!’ If he’d been reading her mind for the last twenty-four hours she was in deep shit.
‘Can’t I?’ He seemed no more perturbed than if one of her magicked bunnies had hopped out of his reach. ‘Normally I can’t. But every now and then I get a glimpse of what’s going on in your tortured little brain, and it terrifies me.’
‘Nothing terrifies you,’ she said. ‘What is it you want from me? You’ve done your job, Xan’s coming. Why are you still here?’
He shoved his dark blond hair away from his face, the silver earring gleaming against his skin, and his smoky eyes were troubled. Odd, he didn’t seem to be the kind of man who troubled easily. ‘I’m not sure I know.’
‘Then go away and don’t come back.’
He stared at her. ‘That’s what you really want?’
‘That’s what I really want,’ she said. Because if he stayed he’d kiss her again, and she couldn’t afford to let that happen.
It was that simple. One moment he was lounging in her doorway, all golden beauty and shimmering colors, and the next moment he was gone. She put out her hand, knowing she would feel him if he’d simply altered her perceptions, but nothing was there. He’d really, truly gone. Forever, as she’d asked him to.
And she burst into tears.
Lizzie worked on transformations, deliberately messing with the fabric of the universe, until finally she had to admit that he wasn’t coming back. When the full realization hit, she ran. She shoved her bare feet into the first shoes she could find, a pair of feathered mules that Mare had drooled over, grabbed her purse and dashed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. The day was dark and overcast, unseasonably warm, and she could feel the storm brewing, the one that had been dancing over their heads since yesterday. The wind had died down, replaced by a sullen torpor that did nothing for Lizzie’s state of mind. She needed cool, crisp spring air to clear her mind, and instead she was assaulted with the onset of a storm that was almost tropical in intensity.
She hadn’t even planned where she was heading, and the shoes had been a bad choice. High-heeled mules weren’t exactly boots made for walking, and she stopped to look down at them in frustration. If she tried to change them they might turn into ferrets, and she couldn’t very well walk into town with livestock attached to her feet. But high-heeled, feather-bedecked slides weren’t doing her much good, either.
She could feel his arms around her, encircling her, bringing her own arms into a circle as his low voice breathed in her ear, filled her head and her body with shivery hot feelings. She needed an array, he’d said, but she couldn’t very well stop and draw one on the sidewalk. It wasn’t going to work, but she had to try. She wrapped her arms around her body, envisioning a circle, trying not to think about Elric’s body pressed up against hers, his heat melting into her bones. She closed her eyes and thought about sneakers.
They were purple, but at least they were easier to move in. She stared down at them in both triumph and bewilderment. Had it become that easy?
‘That’s wonderful, Lizzie,’ a soft voice said, and when Lizzie looked up, Xan was there in all her fanged glory.
Not that she was really fanged, of course. She looked far younger than her years, which had to be somewhere in her fifties, her raven hair tied up with bejeweled chopsticks stuck in it, her beautiful, pale skin glowing, and she wore a bright red kimono jacket and black silk pants that Lizzie immediately craved. She looked as exotic and out of place as Lizzie had always secretly felt.
‘Darling Lizzie,’ Xan said, holding out her arms.
Lizzie looked at her doubtfully. If Dee had been there, she would have told her to run the other way. If Mare had been there, she would have flung herself into Xan’s arms. As it was, Lizzie was stuck in the middle, unsure which way to go, only knowing instinctively that she didn’t want to piss this woman off. She could feel the amethyst humming against her heart. It was tucked inside her shirt, out of sight, and yet she had the odd sense that Xan could see it quite clearly through the layers of cloth.
She gave Xan a dutiful hug and a polite peck on her perfect cheek. She smelled of cinnamon and sulfur – an odd combination. ‘I didn’t realize you were in town,’ Lizzie said in a neutral voice.
‘It’s not really my kind of place, is it?’ Xan said, looking around. ‘But then, it’s not really your kind of place, cither.’ She smiled at Lizzie. ‘You’d do so much better in Toledo.’
Lizzie said nothing.
‘And what do you think of Elric?’ She ducked her head a little to peer at Lizzie. ‘I sent him, you know.’
‘I know.’
‘He’s quite extraordinary, isn’t he? And I sent him to you. I’m feeling quite pleased with myself for that.’ She made a little comic flourish with her hands. ‘The perfect aunt.’
‘Why?’ Lizzie said, suspicious.
‘Because he’s your destiny, darling. He’s the most powerful sorcerer I’ve ever known, but he’s always been beyond my reach. I thought it was just because he doesn’t like powerful women – he doesn’t, you know, positively loathes them, and I was so besotted with him I was even willing to give up my powers for him – but when I cast a spell to see if I was his true love, I found out… you are.’