“Good. Why don’t we try water scrying to see if it can lead us to Brooke before Delilah gets back?”
“Let’s do it.”
Saje got to work filling a cauldron with water while Gillian burned a bundle of sage in a copper bowl. Once Saje poured one of her truth potions into the cauldron, the water began to bubble. After they touched hands, magick pure and bright sparked through the air. A silhouette of Brooke rose from the surface of the water and billowed around like smoke.
“I can sense her will being compromised.”
Gillian’s heart squeezed. The next moment, another figure appeared and hovered above Brooke before the water turned blood red. “The dark prince. He represents Kurt Lawrence. I saw him when I read Brooke’s cards. I didn’t realize it at the time.” Gillian moved her hands over the cauldron and whispered a spell.
“Let us see what can’t be seen.
Give us a vision that allows magick to intervene
This is my will, so mote it be.”
The two joined hands and repeated the spell a second and then a third time. Finally, a gate appeared like a hologram hovering in the air and coiled around Brooke like a rope. “A house with a gate?” Gillian whispered over her racing heart. “This could be anywhere.”
“Hold on, there’s some sort of symbol. Show yourself,” Saje demanded. The slithering tail and wings of a dragon appeared encased in a shield. After the smoke dissipated, the water turned clear again. “It looks like a coat of arms. Not much to go on, but it’s something.”
“I’m calling Garrett.” Gillian pulled out her phone and pressed a button. “Please be there,” she whispered.
He answered on the first ring. “Gillian? Is everything okay?” Hearing him say her name made butterflies flutter in her belly.
“Yes, I’m fine. Look, I tried scrying for Brooke again, and this might sound crazy, but I saw a gated house with a dragon coat of arms. I believe she’s being held there. It was veryGame of Throneslike.”
“Game of Thrones?”Garrett asked.“That’s a book, right?”
“Yes, and probably the most popular TV show of all time. Do you think my vision could somehow lead us to Brooke?”
“I’ll check the database and see what comes up. Good work, Gillian.” Did he just compliment her? He cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence. “I’ll pick you up after your shift, and then, perhaps, we can order some take out. I think we should talk more and continue to get to know each other since we’ll be attending the engagement party together. And it’ll take your mind off of things.”
Her foolish heart skipped a beat. “Yes, I agree.” There was food and talking involved. Why did this sound an awful lot like a date? “I’ll see you later,” she said and ended the call.
“I still can’t believe you’re staying at Mulroney’s.” Saje's gaze narrowed. “I think hell may have frozen over for good this time. How’s the whole fake couple thing going?”
“He's a lot different than you think.” Gillian shrugged, hoping to sound nonchalant. “For starters, his home is like something straight out of Architectural Digest, and he can cook. But the clincher? He does the grocery shopping for the octogenarians on the block.”
“Careful girl, you’re sounding an awful lot like a Mulroney fan,” Saje said with a mischievous gleam in her eye while she walked around the store, turning on every light. “Next thing I know you’ll be telling me you’re smitten.”
“Oh please. I think you’re reaching.” She’d be lying through her teeth if she tried to deny his appeal. He was caring, charming, and took witty to a whole new level.
Saje turned back to face her. “Me thinks, the witch doth protest too much. When you talk about him, you get this dreamy look in your eyes.”
Gillian couldn’t deny the attraction. “Funny, Brooke said almost the same thing. But I don’t think he’s the relationship type. I found women’s clothing in the guest room closet and a robe in the bathroom. All of those things scream player, and right now, it’s the last thing I’m interested in.”
“Maybe all this time he’s been waiting for you to come into his life, and now you have. You can’t fight that kind of chemistry.” Saje said in a more serious tone and placed the cash drawer in the register. Gillian was still a teenager when her dad left, she struggled for years with abandonment issues. When her mom died, it took a long time to get over the blow. She couldn’t take the pain of losing someone she loved again. Dating emotionally unavailable men simply became her default. Saje was one of the few people in this world who knew the truth about Gillian’s past.
“In all the times he came by the coven, the girls and I used to take bets to gauge what would happen if you two ever got together.” Saje pointed out. “It’s pretty obvious the way you look at each other.”
“Chemistry doesn’t equal a relationship.” And there was the little matter of him costing her the job of a lifetime. Gillian tried not to think too much about it and reached for her phone. Still nothing about Brooke.
“Fate’s playing her hand here, my friend, and as a tarot card reader, you can’t deny the signs.” Saje handed her a deck of Love cards off the counter. “Well?”
“I’m not denying the signs. I’m simply not giving in to them. What good would it do? There’s no future with a vampire.” Gillian got paid to help people find love, and yet, she’d never experienced it for herself. Talk about irony.
“There’s a legend that the springs in Sybil’s Cave hold a powerful elixir. Vampires who routinely engage in sucking other people’s blood use it to cleanse their own, but I came across a spell in one of the Grimoires that if used in conjunction with a series of potions, might be able to turn a vampire human again. Although, I can’t say I know of anyone that it’s worked on.”
“Are you serious? I didn’t know there was such a thing.”
