Page 17 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Moonlight (Midlife Menace #2)

An aura was a bright energy, almost like a force field, that pulsed off witches, a way to distinguish the magical folk (striga) from non-magical (husks).

Most witches put away their auras during the day, choosing to display them only at night, but never around husks.

The brighter the aura’s light, the stronger the witch.

Very bright auras indicated witches were alphas, the top-tier witches with the most magic.

My aura was especially bright. Needless to say, Des’s aura was blinding.

I clenched my fists by my sides, fighting the temptation to give my son a warning look, lest he decide to unleash his light. “We prefer not to draw attention to ourselves.”

I didn’t care for her frown of disapproval.

I always hid mine and Des’s auras with a spell.

The last thing we needed was to draw attention to ourselves and attract demons, for the succubi hunted witches with strong auras, stealing their bodies and magic for themselves.

I didn’t want Des and me meeting the same gruesome fate as my parents.

When the Enchantress turned a wide smile on Des, I tensed.

“And who is this handsome young man?” she asked.

I grabbed my son’s hand, pulling him to my side. “This is my son, Des.”

Des made a grumbling sound and pulled out of my grip. I wanted to protest but thought better of making a scene.

“I researched your family, but there wasn’t much about your son.” I didn’t like the curious way she studied Des, as if he was a science experiment that she had yet to figure out. “No school, no activities...”

“He’s homeschooled,” I interrupted, my scalp tingling with unease. Why was she so interested in my son?

“I see.” She held out a hand, her serene smile a contrast to the sharpness in her eyes. “Nice to meet you, Des.”

I sucked in a hiss, sharing a dark look with Ric when he opened his palm, revealing a shimmery pink flower that matched the Enchantress’s lip gloss. Darn that kid! I’d specifically told him no magic!

“Oh, magical heavens!” she exclaimed, taking the flower from him and tucking it behind her ear.

“A little magic trick I taught him,” I said, forcing myself to take on a casual tone. “The spell is quite simple, really,” I drawled, hoping she bought my lie. Truthfully, I had no idea how to manifest a flower in my hand, at least not without soil, a seed, and water.

“It’s beautiful, Des.” She beamed at my son. “Thank you.”

I wasn’t prepared for what she did next, and apparently neither was my son, for when she kissed his cheek, he gasped and nearly fell backward.

“Des, are you okay, sweetie?” I asked my son, whose eyes hazed over, that pink lipstick smear on his cheek practically flashing like a strobe light.

“He’s in shock,” she said dismissively. “It’s a perfectly normal reaction to meeting me.”

I scowled at the influencer. She really was full of herself, and she had a lot of nerve kissing my son without permission. He had sensory disorder, after all, and he didn’t like any other witch but me kissing his cheek.

“You have glitter all over your cheek.” I grabbed a tissue out of my pocket and reached to wipe it off.

He slapped my hand away. “Don’t touch it!”

“Okay?” I jerked back, shocked, and maybe a little hurt at Des’s reaction.

Frederica stomped into the room, the boat swaying with her movement, and dumped several huge trunks onto the floor with a grunt. Just how long was this annoying influencer planning on staying?

“Is this all yours?” I blurted.

“Yes.” She plastered on that sugary sweet and very fake smile that I was coming to loathe. “I did my best to economize, since I wasn’t sure if you’d have adequate space for my things.”

I tried my hardest to keep from snarling. “Oh, how kind of you.”

“Luci,” Ric whispered, his deep, throaty purr twisting my ovaries into a knot. “We need to get going.”

I sighed. This was happening, wasn’t it? Ugh. “All right.”

Ric cupped Des’s shoulder. “Des, are you ready to go?”

He nodded.

When the Enchantress’s staff approached us, Ric held out a staying hand. “I’m sorry. The others aren’t welcome,” he said to her. “Our deal was only with you.”

I bristled when she giggled, batting her eyes at him. “Oh, they won’t be a bother.” She reached behind her, grasping Nimue’s hand. “I never go anywhere without them.”

Ric nodded toward Nimue. “You won’t need a bodyguard with us.” His tone was firm as he widened his stance. “And we have servants at our hideout.”

I’d never admired my boyfriend so much as in that moment. Battling murderous, demonic mages? Impressive, but standing up to the Enchantress was a higher level of bravery.

Her features twisted. “Fairies?”

“No, spirits,” he corrected.

“Oh, no.” She took a step back, pressing into Nimue. “That won’t do. I won’t have wraiths waiting on me.”

“They’re harmless spirits,” he said, “not wraiths.”

“You’ll get used to them,” I added, not that I was used to the rude barista, but his cappuccinos made me believe in a higher magic.

“No, I won’t,” she insisted, pointing at Frederica. “Minotaur, you will wait on me instead.”

Frederica let out a moo of protest.

Ric crossed his arms and used his sternest tone when he said, “Frederica is a guest in our house too.”

She turned up her chin haughtily. “Then my servant must accompany me, as well as my bodyguard. I insist.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Before we continue, you and your staff must sign non-disclosure blood oaths.”

She jerked back. “A non-disclosure?”

“A simple agreement where you promise you won’t reveal our secrets,” I said, “or else your blood will turn to lava.”

When her jaw dropped, Ric didn’t give her time to argue as he pulled the scroll from his vest pocket, thrusting it toward her. “Here it is.”

Rather than read it, she took it by the corner as if she was afraid of catching Ric’s cooties and handed it to Nimue.

“Don’t you want to read it?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I trust Nimue.”

Ric and I shared shocked looks. Wow, that was a lot of trust, and I wondered if Nimue was more to her than a bodyguard.

Nimue unrolled the scroll, a serpentine tongue darting out of her mouth, her eyes nearly crossing as she read through the agreement. It was a standard non-disclosure for witches, promising an agonizing death should they reveal our secrets or location to anyone without our consent.

When Nimue handed it back to her with a nod, the Enchantress held out the tip of one long, manicured finger. “Okay.” Turning her head, she closed her eyes and sucked in a breath when Ric pricked her finger with his pen.

Keeping her eyes closed, she let Nimue place her finger on the line and sign the document. Wow, so the Enchantress was afraid of a little blood. Interesting.

Her staff repeated the process.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I looked down at the Enchantress’s contract and saw the glitter in her bloody signature. Goddess, even her blood sparkled. Maybe she was part vampire.

AFTER WE HELD HANDS in a circle, I was about to ask if everyone was ready, but then Des teleported us back to the island mansion poolside, so I played it off, acting as if I had intentionally tossed everyone’s stomachs without warning.

The Enchantress stumbled, a hand to her throat. “Oh, heavenly magic!”

Luckily for her, Nimue steadied her with a thick, webbed hand around her waist.

Ric swept an arm toward the sparkling pool waters, reflecting the beautiful starlit sky. “Enchantress, welcome to our humble home in the Sirenum Scopuli Islands.”

“Hmm.” She scowled at the gorgeous mansion behind us. “Humble is right, but it’s rather quaint too.”

I gritted my teeth to keep from calling her a few choice words.

Ric led us into the house’s spacious living room, and the Enchantress walked around the room like a spectator in a museum, rubbing a finger across the polished oak furniture, as if she was searching for dust. She gave Ric a questionable look.

“I thought these islands canceled magic.” She flexed her fingers.

“But I can still feel it buzzing in my veins.”

Ric nodded. “My ancestors removed the coral around this island years ago, but your magic won’t work more than a few yards beyond the beach.”

Her brows rose. “Interesting.”

Interesting indeed, I thought, grateful she and her staff had signed that NDA in blood. I wouldn’t want them telling all strigadom about Ric’s hideout.

“I hope my suite is ready,” she continued. “I prefer to sleep facing west, since I’m not an early riser, and I’ll need my own bathroom. Bea will need close quarters as well.”

Nothing about Nimue. I wondered where she slept, though she seemed like the type to prefer to spend the night hanging upside down in a cave.

“Of course.” Ric curled his hands into claws while flashing a tight smile. “I will have the servants ready rooms facing west.”

“Just show us to the rooms,” she said, nodding toward her sprite. “Bea will ready them.”

“Very well.”

I grabbed Ric’s hand, noting how he stiffened beside me, yellow swirling in his eyes as he stalked up the stairs. He was mad about her petulant behavior. Good, because I was too.

He led her to an opulent guest suite with plush carpets, modern décor, and double doors framed by gossamer curtains leading to a beautiful balcony. “This is your room, Enchantress,” he said with a tight smile.

I noted how he didn’t ask what she thought of the room, but she appeared intent on giving her opinion, anyway. She stopped at the balcony doors, scowling outside, and I just knew an insult was forming on the tip of her pretty tongue.

“The balcony looks flimsy,” she said on a sigh, “but it will have to do.”

I held my breath as Ric worked a tic in his jaw.

“The balcony is made from dragonstone,” he said through a frozen smile. “It’s stronger than marble. Besides, you couldn’t weigh more than ten stone. I dare say you won’t make a dent in it.”

“Ten stone?” She gasped, looking at him as if he’d forced her to chip a nail. “How insulting! Do you think me a cow?”

He gave me a confused look, as if I somehow knew the answer to the universal question: How do I know what a woman wants?

I shrugged a response.

“Of course not,” he answered, his tone defensive.

She waved him off with a sigh. “I’ll have supper delivered to my suite.”

Supper? It was well past supper here. In fact, I was anxious to get to bed, and express my frustration at this situation through some vigorous sex, but she was probably still on West Coast time. I hoped she didn’t expect to eat late every night.

She motioned toward Nimue. “Lamia have voracious appetites, so please prepare a feast, and make it vegetarian.” She wrinkled her pert nose. “I can’t stand the smell of cooked meat.”

Lamia? So that’s what Nimue was. Those striga were so rare, last I heard, there were only a handful left in the world, and for good reason. They were rumored to eat striga children. And she had the nerve to bring that creature around my son!

“Forgive me,” I said, my eyes narrowing on Nimue. “I’ve never met a Lamia before. What are your magical powers?”

Nimue grunted a response.

“I prefer to keep her powers a secret,” the Enchantress said while stepping protectively in front of her guard. “I’m sure you understand.”

“Not really.” I didn’t understand. Not one bit. I needed to know if my son was in danger.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to rest after my journey.” The Enchantress motioned us toward the door, dismissing us like we were valets at the Entitled, Spoiled Princess Hotel. “We will have our first interview after supper.”

After supper? So Ric and I weren’t going to bed. I should’ve refused her, but Ric gave me a sharp look that said I had to be on my best behavior.

“Okay,” I said numbly, turning back to glance at Nimue one last time.

A shiver coursed through me when those slits on her neck repeatedly opened and then retracted.

Was she breathing heavily or preparing to spit a venom loogie?

“We’ll probably be at the poolside patio,” I mumbled.

Though we should’ve been rolling around in the sheets, working off our tension, I wanted to add.

“Very well. One of my staff will summon you there.” She waved us off with a scowl. “You’re dismissed.”

I stood at the door, gaping at her, only moving when Nimue jutted a foot toward me. Taking Ric’s hand, I hurried the hex out of there. Goddess, what had we gotten ourselves into? I felt like we’d hopped out of the cauldron, only to land in the beast’s mouth!