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23

Down, Kitty

Saying Harry was confused was a bit like saying Cher is just a singer or the World Series is just a string of baseball games. Still, no other word made sense for the questions currently revolving on the lazy Susan in her head.

The last time she laid eyes on Remus Chardonnay had quite literally been more than a decade ago, when the spell he performed at the Fates Finding Ceremony sent her on a thirteen-year-long self-exile.

She still couldn’t believe he was here, unconscious on the couch an hour after Jax knocked him out.

Time hadn’t changed him much, the witch possessing that same flair that more than once made him the life of every party he attended… and he attended a lot, his social calendar almost always full. It was one reason why his disappearance from Fates Haven—and from supernatural society in general—had created such an uproar.

Well, both his disappearance and the fact he’d botched shit up real good.

“I say we throw a bucket of water over his head.” Jax, now fully dressed and leaning against the wall, glared at the witch as if that alone had the power to wake him.

Harry cocked an eyebrow.

“What? It would probably work. Just saying.”

“You know what else would’ve worked? Not coldcocking him to start with.”

“Come on. Tell me you didn’t want to punch him in the face… at least a little bit.”

He had her there, because she’d definitely gone through an entire army of emotions when Remus burst through the door. At least one had been a strong desire to magically blast him right back into the cold.

Now, reality and levelheadedness slowly sank in and she wanted answers more than a brief moment of satisfaction.

“I’m getting the bucket.” Jax pushed off the wall and headed toward the small kitchen when Remus groaned from the couch, mumbling a string of nonsensical words.

He shot upright in an instant, eyes wide and head swinging around until he saw both Jax and Harry. “You’re both fully clothed. That’s a little disappointing.”

At Jax’s low growl, Remus whipped up his hands. “Down, kitty. I tease. I’m teasing.” He shot Harry a worried look. “Does he not know the art of a good tease?”

She shrugged. “If you know the art of survival, I would probably stop.”

“Noted and suggestion taken under advisement.” He threw his legs over the side of the couch and took another glance around the cabin. “Cozy. I probably would’ve conjured something with a little more space and modern amenities, but it’s… cute.”

“Remus,” Harry said sternly.

“Yes, darling?” He glanced from her to a glaring Jax, shifting a little closer to her.

“I don’t even know where to begin, honestly. I’m a bit overwhelmed,” she said truthfully, sitting heavily on the seat next to him.

“Oh, I can imagine.” He patted her hand. “It was a bit much for me in the beginning, too, but trust me, it won’t be long before you become an old hand at it.”

She mentally replayed the witch’s words. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Being the Fate Witch.”

“The Fate Witch.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “If you repeat everything I say, we’ll be here even longer than I anticipated, and I found a few shows on one of the streaming services that I’d like to binge-watch this weekend.”

“Pause, rewind, and let’s start over,” Harry directed, trying to bring him around again. “Let’s start with—”

“With how the fuck you screwed up thirteen years ago, and then hid in the damn mountains under folklore and bedtime stories like a damn coward,” Jax growled.

Remus fidgeted awkwardly. “Yes, well… that wasn’t my finest moment, I agree, but it’s not quite what you both are thinking.”

“So you didn’t fuck over the town, everyone in it, and anyone hoping to ever find their Fated without dumb luck?”

“Okay, so maybe it’s a little like you’re thinking.”

Jax took a threatening step forward, his fists flexing at his side.

Remus squeaked and jumped up off the couch.

“Stop.” Harry leaped up and stepped in the way. “This won’t get us the answers we need, and it definitely won’t tell me why my magic dragged me up here.”

She turned to the witch. “You said it’s not like we think. So what really happened thirteen years ago, Remus?”

The older magic wielder kept a wary eye on Jax as he reclaimed his seat. “Okay. So… you know how being the Fate Witch is a bit like being Buffy, right? With a little less ass kicking. ‘One in all the world’ and all that.”

“Yeah. And I’m looking at him.”

Remus shook his head. “Wrong.”

“You’re not the Fate Witch.”

“Nope.” He popped his p .

“But you’ve been the Fate Witch for longer than I’ve been alive,” Harry said, confused. “You’ve helped hundreds of Fated find one another, the most of any other Fate Witch who came before you.”

Remus looked smug, smoothing the imaginary wrinkles of his wrinkle-free shirt. “I did, didn’t I? You know they even did a spread about me in Supernatural Weekly ? Made it on the world’s Top Fifty Most Influential Supernaturals for ten years in a row—the most any supernatural has made it on the list to date.”

Jax scoffed. “You should’ve created a large magical castle instead of a cabin. I’m not sure his head will fit indoors pretty soon.”

Remus scowled at him, unfazed. “It’s a good thing you’re good-looking, Jaxon Atwood.”

“Remus,” Harry warned. “Explain. Please.”

“I’m not sure there is an explanation. Some people just drip broodiness from their pores and—”

“Remus! Not Jax, about you not being the Fate Witch.”

“Oh. That. Well, like I said, there can be only one and around thirteen years ago, Fate decided there should be a shifting of the guard. They called in Faith. No, wait. Kendra. Kendra was next, called after that whole Master thing.”

Harry pinched the bridge of her nose, trying—and failing—to stave off a migraine. “Can you explain things without using Buffy the Vampire Slayer references?”

“I could, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun.”

“Rem—”

“Okay, okay. Thirteen years ago, roughly around the time of my last Fates Festival, Fate gave my abilities to another.”

“There’s another Fate Witch out there?”

“Wait. Roughly around the time of your last Fates Festival? How roughly are we talking about?” Jax’s eyes narrowed into a hard glare, the gold of his cougar shining through the gray.

Remus fidgeted. “Roughly an hour or so before the Finding Ceremony…”

“I’m gonna—”

Remus leaped from the couch, keeping it between him and the growling shifter. Harry grabbed Jax’s arm, pulling him away from the other witch, who was now very literally sweating magic.

“Sit,” Harry ordered Jax with a stern glare before shooting an equally hard look at Remus. “Explain.”

“There’s not much to explain. My magic had been acting up for a few months before that Fates Festival, and as I consumed my plate of deep-fried Oreos, Fate selected another.” He shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world.

“And yet you performed the Finding Ceremony anyway?”

“Did you see how many people were in attendance that year? If I had backed out, I would’ve found myself in the middle of a mob worse than one from a last-minute-canceled T-Swift concert.”

“So you faked it? Do you have any idea how many lives you affected? Remus! People could’ve ended up with someone completely and totally wrong for them! Or… not be linked to their Fated at all!”

“I didn’t fake all of it . There was a residual well of Fate magic in there, which was why I was able to summon the Blue Willow Wisps. I just didn’t have enough to control them. They went a little… rogue. As I’m sure you’ve figured out.”

Jax’s jaw clenched. “So if you haven’t been the Fate Witch for thirteen years, then who has? You said Fate called in a Kendra, so where are they?”

Remus grinned maniacally. “Seriously? You two haven’t… put your finger on it?”

“You’re saying we know who it is?”

“I would think so.” The witch chuckled.

“Then why haven’t they stepped up? Do they have any idea what’s been happening in Fates Haven through the years? All the wonkiness. All the odd magical shifts. And no Fate Matches?” Her anger grew with every unanswered addition. “Where the hell have they been this whole time?”

Remus smirked. “I don’t know. Where is it that you’ve been again, darling? I heard whispers in the wind that it was New York?”

Harry froze.

Jax froze.

Remus’s grin widened to the point it rivaled that of every Joker character ever played.

“Excuse the fuck out of me?” Harry squealed, her voice rising a few octaves.

T HANKS TO J AX ’ S cougar, he anticipated a lot of things—weather patterns, punches. Hell, even punch lines to jokes. He didn’t possess Lenny’s seer abilities, but he did okay.

He didn’t see this one coming, or the fact that he’d gone from wanting to pummel the former Fate Witch to protecting him from one very pissed curvy brunette.

Harry lurched forward and Jax intercepted. Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, he pulled her against him and off her feet.

“Let me go, Jax!” She squirmed against him, kicking his shins. “Let me go! You were right. He has a very punchable face. I’d like to experience it for myself firsthand.”

“Love the bloodthirstiness, sweet pea,” Jax said, chuckling, “but you and your big heart will probably regret it afterward.”

“Not likely.”

“Babe.”

“Fine.” Breathless and panting, she went limp in his arms, her hands settling over his. “I’m good.”

“You sure? Because I’m not beyond burying bodies in the woods for you, but I forgot my body-burying boots.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. No body burying tonight.”

He loosened his hold a fraction at a time. When she made no sudden moves toward the cowering magic wielder, he dropped his arms at his sides but stayed on alert.

“You think I’m a Fate Witch.” Harry stared down Remus as she plopped on the couch.

“Not a . You’re the .” Treading carefully, he propped his ass on the armrest. “And I don’t think. I know. Is it really that far-fetched? You have some pretty fierce descry abilities, do you not?”

Harry scoffed. “Finding lost keys is slightly different from finding someone’s Fated match.”

Remus wrinkled his nose. “Eh. Not as different as you think.”

“I am a horrible matchmaker. Trust me, I tried with Cassie once and it did not go well. I’m not so sure she’s ever forgiven me.”

“You’re not making the match, silly. You’re locating them.”

Jax sat and took Harry’s hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She held on tightly, her face paling. “And all the wonkiness happening in Fates Haven since the last Fates Festival is because—”

“The town’s Fate Witch hasn’t been in residence.” Remus nodded. “Yep. But now you are in residence.”

“So that will set everything back to rights?” Harry looked so damn hopeful.

“Sorry, darling. I wish it were that simple. No, I’m afraid when I tried to perform the Finding Ceremony without Fate flying as my wing witch, it kinda got pissed.”

“What do I have to do to correct it and… make it happy again?”

“You have to perform a successful Finding Ceremony. A real one.”

Harry’s face paled even further. “Finding lost keys, remember? How the hell am I supposed to perform a Finding Ceremony? Is there a Fate Witch handbook? Fate Witch for Dummies or something?”

Remus shrugged. “No clue. No. And definitely not, although I’d read that in a heartbeat.”

“You’re not being very helpful. You know that, right?”

“I know, which means I’m passing the torch just as I should be. All I can tell you is that when the time comes, you will know.”

That bloodthirsty look slipped back into Harry’s eyes as she glared at the other witch. “Gee, that’s not cryptic or anything. Especially not helpful.”

“I aim to please.” Remus opened the front door with a magical wave of his hand and paused, looking over his shoulder. “Oh. Another whisper on the wind told me that a certain Fate Witch was in the market to find an elusive fae dragon shifter who may or may not currently be in this realm. That true?”

Jax stared hard at the older witch. “These whispers on the wind seem to know a hell of a lot.”

“If it is? Why?” Harry asked, curious.

“Seems like something a Fate Witch might be good for.”

“I find lost necklaces. Objects. I’m just not strong enough to find living, breathing people. Especially when those people happen to be in another realm.”

“But you hadn’t been back to Fates Haven and hadn’t jump-started your Fate Witch abilities. And realms? Realms can’t compete with Fate.” With a wink and magical flash, Remus was gone and the door slammed closed behind him.

Jax gave Harry a moment to collect her thoughts. “Asking if you’re okay seems a little redundant right now, but are you ?”

“I’ll let you know when everything processes in about another ten years or so.” She dropped her head against the back of the couch. “Do you think Remus is right?”

“About which parts?”

“All of it. The Fate Witch thing. The Fates Haven thing. The fae-finding thing.”

Cupping her cheek, he let his thumb trail over her bottom lip. “Yeah, sweet pea. I think he is… and I think you’re going to kick ass at it, too.”

“Which part?”

“All of them.” Jax brought his mouth to hers and savored the soft little sigh she emitted as she sank into the kiss, her hand tangling in the back of his hair. “But there’s not much you can do about any of it at this exact moment, and I don’t know about you, but I’d kinda like to get back to what we were doing before we were so rudely interrupted. Actually, I want to get back to what we were doing a few minutes before.”

The sound of Harry’s giggle was sweeter than music to his ears. “I think I can be persuaded. It would be shameful to waste this mysteriously appearing magical cabin in the woods.”

“Good. This time, though, we’re testing the bed’s sturdiness.” He stood, hoisting her over his shoulder, and feasted on the sound of her giggles as he carried her across the room.