Page 46 of Lunar Desires (Celestial Magic #2)

RILEY

M y stepdad opened the door, the rich smell of food and the warmth of the house wafting into my face.

“Hello, you!” he bellowed, pulling me into a hug.

Peter Hall was a big man with a bush of gray hair and a bushier beard growing out of his light brown face. A jolly guy, always laughing and cracking jokes. The complete opposite of Mum, he always took my side whenever she lost her temper.

I don’t think he owned any clothes other than stripy shirts and blue jeans. Tonight, he looked like toothpaste, the stripes red, white, and blue.

He slapped me on the back, noticing the two men with me. “Who are these fine gentleman? You haven’t got two boyfriends, have you?”

Isaac snorted, handing him a bottle of red wine he’d insisted on bringing. “Hard pass for me.”

Peter’s forehead creased with confusion. “Then you’re the boyfriend?” He directed that at Drake, taking the proffered wine.

Okay, my always frayed nerves were falling to pieces. “This is Drake Parish,” I introduced him. “My boyfriend.”

“You’re letting the heat out!” Mum complained from inside the house.

My breath hitched at the sound of her voice.

Oh, God. We were really doing this.

Peter shook Drake’s hand and ushered us inside my childhood home.

“I’ll be there in a minute!” my mum called again.

The peach walls of the hallway remained unchanged from the last time they’d decorated, along with the brown carpet and pine furniture. Once a comforting place to be, now making sweat pool at the base of my spine.

I glanced at the photo frames hanging on the wall, a younger me within the white frames, along with Mum and Peter, smiling at the beach or whatever.

And where was Dad? What did you do to him?

Mum appeared, her dyed brown hair tied into a bun. She wore a glittery purple blouse, black trousers, and too much rouge on her already light pink skin. Her golden bracelets clinked against her witch bangle as she hurried toward me, pulling me down into a hug.

“It’s so lovely to see you,” she proclaimed, kissing both my cheeks.

“Hi, Mum.” I hugged her back.

“Why are you shaking?” she asked, ending our embrace.

It was then she noticed the two men behind me.

She frowned, her brown eyes darting between my brother and my boyfriend. “Why are there two?”

Okay. Here goes…

I introduced Drake first. She didn’t look at him once, her focus snared on my brother.

“And this is…” Her eyes widened. “In Hecate’s name…” She stepped back, her hand going to her mouth.

Did she recognize him as Isaac Davenport, the supermodel? If so, since when did she follow any sort of current pop culture?

She pointed at him. “I see it. I see…I see you, Riley. I see him. Daniel .” She lost her balance, stumbling into the wall.

Peter grabbed her. “Careful, sweetheart.” He glowered at me. “What’s going on?”

Her dramatic collapse slammed a hammer on my pissed off switch. I couldn’t keep it in, unable to face sitting at the dining table, wondering when the best time would be to bring Dad up.

I decided it was now.

Drake pressed his hand into my spine. “Alright?”

His touch gave me a boost. I let everything pour forth.

“Bloody hell,” Peter muttered at the end of my spiel.

Mum stared at me.

And then came the finale. “Did you do something to hurt Dad?”

Drake rubbed my lower back, Isaac patting the top half as I told her about the blue figure.

Mum’s face turned as purple as her blouse. She shoved my stepdad aside, her hands balled into furious fists. “I put the bastard in his place.”

My anger rose to match hers. Deep down, I’d wanted to be wrong, for her to have nothing to do with Dad’s current state. For him to not be that blue figure.

“Mum—”

She cut me off with a stomp of her foot. “Don’t try it, Riley. I’ve had enough. I thought I’d moved past him. Especially after House Aurora fell. Silly me. Silly, silly me. Because look at you.” She pointed at me and Isaac. “There you are. Where’s the third?”

No one answered her question.

“Mrs. Croft,” Drake began. “Maybe?—”

She stomped her foot again. “Don’t need to hear from you.”

Oh, that pissed me off even more, my face a conduit for heat. But I kept my voice level, despite the desire to scream the house down.

“I’m not mad about you hiding my heritage from me,” I spoke slowly. “But why would you lie to me about Dad? And what the hell have you done to him?” The latter part came out harsher.

Her lips curled up into a mean smirk. “Do you really want the truth?”

My belly roiled. “Of course.”

She glanced at Peter, his hands folded behind his back. “We cursed the bastard.”

My hands were clammy, my lips drying out as if under a heater.

“Me,” Peter added, pointing at himself. “I helped.” Any signs of his jolliness were long gone.

“What…” I tugged on my collar, woozy as hell. “How did you curse him?”

“Magic, Son. How else?” Mum answered.

“That’s not an answer.”

“I think you should leave,” Peter tried. “You’ve come here to blindside us. That’s not fair.”

It wasn’t fair? Really? Wow. What a load of crap.

Mum shut him down. “No. He wants answers, we’ll give him answers. Peter showed up at exactly the right moment when I confronted your dad about his latest whore.”

“The knock on the door,” Isaac whispered, referring to that vision in the blue.

Mum didn’t seem to hear him. “Peter’s a shadow witch. Reformed for the most part.”

Pain flared behind my eyes, my head struggling to take in anymore of this. “But he wears a witch bangle. Shadow witches don’t wear bangles.”

Actually, they did. Fake ones if they were in the streets. Aura lenses only pick up on the blue energy of the witch, not the type.

“Oh my God…”

“You can’t be serious,” Isaac said.

Now came Peter’s turn to hit me with a ton of bricks. “I rejected Kane Kingwood’s teachings but kept a shadow grimoire just in case. When I came over to find your parents arguing, I got into a fight with your dad. Knocked him out. It should’ve ended there.”

“No it shouldn’t,” Mum rebutted.

Peter spoke in his kind voice, regardless of the subject matter. “I saw red, you know? I hated him for hurting your mum again. I’d seen so much of it over the years. After this latest betrayal, I snapped. I arranged for him to be picked up and took him to my coven.”

“You have a coven?” Isaac interjected, fury in his tone.

Peter nodded. “A group of shadow witches on the righteous path. Only, we decided to use two more shadow spells. To help your mum. To stop the scumbag taking you to America.”

“Because I’m your mother!” Mum yelled, slapping at her chest. “Me. I raised you.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. “Don’t forget that, sweetie. I’m…I’m your mum.”

Rage hummed from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. Broiling, about to burst.

“The spell cursed Daniel into a shade,” Peter said. “It’s what he deserved. He’d be caught in an endless loop, recycled for the rest of his days. Suffering. But clearly there’s been a cock up. I’m not sure why he’s appearing to you like this. A clash of his magic and the curse?”

He asked as if I knew the damn reason.

“Must be,” Mum put in.

My stepdad reached a nasty crux detail. “We killed five homeless people for the curse and the other spell to work effectively.”

He didn’t hesitate to explain how the other spell created a lie, a fake story for me, for everyone. A massive lie to even fool Drake’s magic. And he, along with his coven, had pulled it off without a hitch. No comebacks, all done under the radar.

“You have no idea how powerful shadow magic can be,” my stepdad said.

“I’ve seen enough,” I threw back, unsure of my next move.

“Sweetie,” Mum whispered, all gentle now. “He hurt me so much. He wanted to tear us apart. All I ever wanted was the best for you, son.”

Not your son.

Not your son.

Not your son.

I felt lightheaded, as if I’d stood too quickly, fury spilling over the sides of my inner cauldron.

Destroy this place.

Destroy them both.

No. No. No. Why would I do that? She was my mum. She’d raised me along with Peter. They’d done so much for me, supported me through my eating disorder, loved me.

But how could I not be furious? They’d taken Dad away from me. From Isaac.

Drake slipped an arm around my waist, holding me tight.

He kept me steady, the spinning in my skull easing a little.

“Can you reverse it?” my brother asked, taking a step forward.

My stepdad blanched, turning to Mum.

She cocked her head, wiping her eyes some more. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s…” He ran a hand over his face. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Mum turned a peaky shade of pale. “What?”

Peter offered me a remorseful look then cleared his throat. “There’s a condition on the spell. One I thought Daniel would resist. I think he is trying to, by the sounds of it.” His hand passed over his face again. “Hecate forgive me for this.”

“Say it, Peter,” my brother demanded.

Peter kept his eyes on me. “To break the curse, the father must kill the son.”

Dad’s voice hit my mind like a hurricane.

“Son is Moon. Son is Moon. Son is… Son is… Son is path. Son is… Son is… Moon. Moon mine.”

I lost my footing, tumbling into Drake’s arms.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered.

“You fucking piece of shit!” Isaac bellowed, his sunlight filling the hallway.

“Peter!” Mum wailed. “Peter!”

I got upright to find him gone. Mum ran after him, screaming his name.

Dad had to kill me.

My dad had to kill me.

Because of Peter Hall. Shadow witch.

My anger went nuclear. I tore down the hallway, dashing across the kitchen and out of the back door to find Mum and Peter in the garden.

“Riley!”

Crimson mist smothered my reason. Peter said he’d seen red over Dad. Well, he had nothing on me.

I grabbed him with Tidal Pull, dragging him across the grass.

“Riley!” Drake and Isaac cried at the same time.

I flung Peter into the kitchen window. He went through with a mighty crash, setting off the neighborhood dogs.

Mum screamed again.

Shoving through Drake and Isaac, I returned to the kitchen.

“Riley…please…” Bleeding profusely, Peter crawled across the floor. “I’m sorry…I…”

I pulled him again, shoving him into the oven. The pots of vegetables boiling on the hob keeled over, dousing him in scalding water.

He roared his agony, igniting more fury, more bloodlust.

“You’ll suffer for this,” I said. “I’ll… I’ll…”

A memory flared, one of Peter Hall pushing me on a swing in the park. We’d spent so many happy days at the park together. Just me and him being carefree. Laughing. Full of joy.

“Just me and you,” I whispered, the kitchen a blur around me.

Further memories arrived.

Swimming lessons, holidays with ice cream and seashells. Him laying the flooring in my flat, sharing a spiced rum afterwards. Listening to me in the darkest days of my bulimia, hugging me, loving me, being my dad.

The tears rolled thick and fast, the guilt anchoring me back into reality.

Isaac healed him, stepping back to let Mum cradle him.

“How could you?” she sobbed against him. “How could you?”

Drake appeared before me, his hands on my face. “Riley?”

Excruciating sadness tore out of me in a screech. It burned my throat yet didn’t feel real. As if someone else screamed for me.

Dad wanted to kill me…

And I’d almost killed Peter Hall.

Drake dragged me to him, crushing me in his embrace. The scream cut off, silence engulfing me. I couldn’t move, think, feel. Only stand here in my boyfriend’s arms.

And then blue light exploded into the room, Drake thrown off me.

Dad…

“Moon. Is. Mine.”

He appeared as my dad, but with the talons of a shade.

“Dad…” I said. “Please…”

“Moon is son. Moon is path. Moon… Moon… My son… My son… My path.” He lifted an arm. “Moon. Is. Mine.”

He lashed out, driving his talons deep into my chest.