Almost Midnight by C. C. Hunter
And right then the smell, the stench of a black curse filled the air.
She heard Chase let out a curse.
Tabitha, suddenly looking more angry than scared, took a step closer to the gate. “Does Sienna know her mother is a murderer?”
The woman glared at Tabitha. “I’m doing this for my daughter.” Then she glanced back at the vamps. “You let me down,” she sneered. “I told you to kill them.”
“We were going to, but why waste their blood?” one of the vamps snapped. “We were going to feed off them in our celebration.”
“Then call this day a celebration and feed on them now!” She raised her hand as if to remove the bars Tabitha and Miranda had brought forth.
So Miranda put up another one. And removed the bars behind them.
Light suddenly spilled into the darkness. Miranda glanced back and saw Chase and Anthony push open the iron door to the outside. Sunlight spilled into the darkness in soft rays.
“Let’s go,” Chase yelled and shot forward along with Anthony.
Miranda felt Chase grab her and saw Anthony snatch up Tabitha. Then all four of them flew out of the opening in the ground.
With almost the speed of light, Chase set her on her feet.
He ran over to the iron door to the catacombs and shut it. The loud clank sounded and still in a bit of panic, Miranda jumped.
They were safe. Safe. Safe. She repeated the word in her head.
“They won’t be getting out anytime soon.” Chase turned back to Miranda and then raised his nose. “And … here comes the cavalry. Which means, I’d better go.”
Cavalry? She suddenly understood. Burnett and the others. She knew they would come for her.
“No,” Miranda said. “You can’t treat Della this way. You can’t let her father pay for—”
He shot closer to her. “I’m not. I’m going to fix this. Tell Della I will be in touch as soon as I have answers. Tell her … I send my love.”
Then he was gone. A blur racing across the sky.
“I want to know what he ate for breakfast,” Anthony said, no doubt awed by Chase’s speed and strength.
All of a sudden the metal door on the ground leading to the catacombs creaked open.
Miranda jumped back; Anthony moved forward.
Out of the ground came a beam of light. Miranda blinked and saw Kylie.
She glowed like she always did when she was in protective mode.
Beside Kylie appeared a fierce-looking bird from the Dark Ages. His blue eyes met Miranda’s briefly and he flapped his wings as if in warning to Anthony. Then flashed two other vampires. Two Miranda loved: Burnett and Della.
Miranda saw Della lift her head up in the air as if testing for scents.
Burnett, his eyes glowing the same lime green as Della’s, shot forward. “Friend or foe?” he asked Miranda, staring at Anthony.
“Friend,” Miranda said.
Della moved closer and lifted her face into the air again. “Was…”
“Yes,” Miranda said and tears filled her eyes. “Chase was here. He saved us.”
Della, looking confused, took off, no doubt hoping to find Chase.
Burnett moved in. “Are you okay?”
Miranda nodded and she couldn’t stop grinning, but she couldn’t stop crying either.
“But I need a hug,” she said and grabbed Burnett.
* * *
“This is ridiculous,” Tabitha said, sitting beside Miranda at the supernatural doctor’s office. “We told him we were okay. We don’t need treatment!”
By him, Miranda knew her sister meant Burnett. He’d insisted on taking them in to be checked. Anthony, too. The good-looking French vampire just happened to be in with the doctor now.
She looked over at Burnett and Perry, along with Kylie, Della, and Shawn standing right outside the waiting room. Della had returned only a few seconds after she’d taken off. Chase had gotten away. Miranda had passed on Chase’s message. Della hadn’t been happy, but something in her eyes told Miranda that Chase wasn’t the only one who still cared.
Tabitha clutched her hands together and moaned, bringing Miranda back to the present. “He’s the most stubborn and—
“Lovable,” Miranda said, glancing back at Burnett. “He’s amazing. They all are,” she said, and felt emotion tightening her throat again. She didn’t know why she suddenly was so weepy. Maybe getting kidnapped and almost becoming some rogue’s dinner was her breaking point.
Tabitha stopped talking and followed Miranda’s gaze. “He doesn’t like me. None of them do.”
“They just don’t know you,” Miranda said. “And you did the horse-crap spell on me. They’re very protective.”
She heard Tabitha sigh. “You act like they’re family.”
Miranda smiled. “They are.”
“What does that make me?” Tabitha asked, almost sounding jealous.
Miranda looked at her. “Family, too.” She smiled and noted how matted her sister’s hair was. “You look terrible. You got mud—”
“You should see yourself,” Tabitha said and chuckled. She reached over and squeezed Miranda’s hand. “I’m glad we didn’t die.”
“Me, too,” Miranda said.
“You know, I realize it was mostly that other vampire … Chase, who helped us, but I think we saved ourselves, too.”
Miranda nodded, liking her sister’s point of view. “We did save ourselves, too.”
“I’ll bet our dad and moms are worried,” Tabitha said.
“Yeah,” Miranda agreed.
The door of the examining room opened and Anthony walked out and looked at them.
But he mostly had eyes for Tabitha.
“Next,” he said.
“I’ll go,” Tabitha said and she leaned close. “Maybe you should go talk to Perry, he keeps looking at you.”
Miranda sighed. She’d noticed Perry staring. Normally, she could read him and at least kind of know what he was thinking. Not now. He almost looked scared to talk to her. Did he think she blamed him for leaving her on the roof?
How could he think that?
She’d heard someone say that it was because of Perry that they’d been found. He’d left Miranda on the building after he’d seen a vampire flying away with Tabitha. He’d gone to help her, not knowing the other vamp had been around. Unfortunately, he’d lost sight of the vamp and Tabitha about a half mile from the castle. But that had been when Chase had spotted him flying overhead and followed in his direction at a vampire’s speed. So it was because of Perry that Chase knew where to find them.
Tabitha walked back into the doctor’s office. Anthony dropped down in the chair next to Miranda.
“I know you are the one who first wanted to save me,” he said. “I owe you a big thank you.” His French accent was kind of nice. Even sexy if you were into accents.
She looked at him. “It was just a little blood. I donate to the blood bank at Shadow Falls.” She looked down at the two tiny marks on her wrist where Anthony’s teeth had sank into her skin. “But it’s not a direct deposit like it was with you.”
“You and your sister are good people.”
“Thank you,” Miranda said.
“Tell me, is your sister … how do you say…” He paused. “Sorry, my English is not too good.”
Miranda smiled. “It’s better than my French.” She sighed. “And Tabitha doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Miranda said, knowing what he wanted to ask. “But we’re leaving to go back to the U.S. in two days.”
“Well, lucky for me, I have an uncle who lives in Texas. Is this not where you two are from?”
Miranda smiled. “Yup.”
All of a sudden, voices rose outside of the waiting room. Miranda looked and saw her mom, dad, and Tabitha’s mom all barreling inside. Her mom was yelling at Burnett, Tabitha’s mom was yelling at her mom, and her dad stood there running his hand through his hair as if the two women were more than he could handle.
Miranda looked at Anthony
“I do not think so. What does this expression mean?”
“Just watch and see,” Miranda said. “Just watch and see.”
* * *
The doctor had given all of them a clean bill of health, but insisted they all needed a day of rest.
Thankfully, that meant Burnett sent her dad, mom, and Tabitha mom’s away. The talk her father had wanted to have with everyone had to be postponed. Not that Miranda or Tabitha minded. They went back to the apartment and crashed together in the bedroom where Tabitha and Sienna had slept the night before.
Several hours later, Miranda woke up and found Tabitha sitting up, just staring at the wall.
“You okay?” Miranda asked.
“Yeah. I just … I feel sorry for Sienna,” Tabitha said.
“Me, too.” Miranda rolled over and looked at her half-sister.
“Do you think her mom will ever get out of prison?”
“I doubt it,” Miranda said. “She killed Roni Force and Cindy Bryant. And she’d have killed us if Chase and the others hadn’t gotten to us. And just to make sure her daughter was high priestess.”
“I know. It’s just … I keep thinking about how Sienna feels. She can’t help it that her mother is a lunatic.”
Miranda nodded, thinking of her own parents’ sins. “I guess no one should feel guilty about what their parents do.”
From Tabitha’s expression, she knew exactly what Miranda meant. She leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I still think they could have told us, or done things differently.”
“Me, too,” Miranda agreed. “It’s so screwed up.”
“It’s love,” Tabitha said. “Love screws with your head and your heart.”
Miranda considered how she felt about Perry. It felt sort of screwed-up, too.
“But…” Tabitha continued. “I still love our dad and my mom.”
“Me, too. They’re our parents. We have to love them.”
Tabitha rolled to her side and put her face in her hand. “Do you think we look alike?”
“Everyone says we do,” Miranda answered.
“I like that,” Tabitha said.
“Me, too.” Something shifted at the window and caught Miranda’s gaze. A bird sat on the sill, looking inside. It was raining and the bird’s feathers were ruffled. The animal looked cold and pathetic. It looked lost.
“I think that’s Perry,” Tabitha said. “He’s been out there since I woke up.” Her sister got out of bed. “Why don’t I leave and let you two talk?”
The idea made her nervous, but it was time. Miranda nodded. “Thanks.”
Tabitha got to the door and then turned around. “I won’t eavesdrop this time.”
Miranda smiled. “I appreciate that.”
Tabitha turned to leave then stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. “You’ll tell me what happens, right? Now that … that we’re okay with being sisters.”
“Yeah,” Miranda said, knowing she and Tabitha were going to be okay. They were sisters and while the circumstances felt wrong, it felt right, too.
If only everything felt that way, she thought, and glanced back at Perry.
Chapter Nineteen
Perry flew in as soon as she opened the window. Wings out, he landed on the bed. In mere seconds he’d returned to human form. He still looked cold and pathetic. His hair was damp; his pale yellow T-shirt clung to him. His eyes were clouded with guilt.
“I’m sorry,” he said before she could open her mouth.
“Perry, you didn’t—”
“I left you up there. I didn’t know there were more rogues around. I swear, I’d die before I let anyone—”
“Stop,” Miranda demanded. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“If I hadn’t left you, he wouldn’t have gotten you. You wouldn’t have had to endure any of that.” He sat up. “You could have died, and—”
“Stop! If you hadn’t left me when you did, my sister would be dead. I didn’t know I had a sister for all these years and if I’d lost her now, I would … I couldn’t have stood that. I’m not mad at you. I owe you.”
She went and sat down beside him, then hugged him. “Thank you.”
She felt him bury his face in her hair. The embrace of gratitude slowly changed to something more. Something soft and romantic.
Closing her eyes, she savored his scent, the safe feel of his arms around her.
“I love you,” he said, pulling her a little closer.
She recalled Tabitha’s words. Love screws with your head and your heart.
Pulling back, she gazed up into his eyes. She knew he ached to hear her say everything was okay, but God help her, she was afraid. Afraid to give herself to the emotion when … when she could see how love had messed up her entire family.
He sighed as if her silence spoke louder than words. “I won’t give up.”
She nodded and for some reason she liked hearing that. Maybe all she needed was time. Then she leaned back against him and just let him hold her. For now, wasn’t that enough?
* * *
The next day, around noon, Miranda stood in a circle of five witches in the large auditorium, bracketed between the two twins. Her palms were sweating. Sienna had dropped out of the competition, so the council had flown in the runner-up.
Tabitha had come to see her in her dressing room right before the competition started. Her words rang in Miranda’s ear. As long as one of us wins, I’ll be happy. Tabitha had hugged her and wished her good luck. The honesty in her sister’s eyes told Miranda her sister meant it.
The meeting her dad had been intent on having yesterday had taken place this morning. It had been short and sweet. Their father had basically repeated what he’d told her earlier, and asked both girls’ forgiveness for handling things poorly.
Miranda’s mom had sat quietly, tears in her eyes, the whole time. Mary Esther, sitting in the opposite corner with her daughter, had looked hurt. Hearing her husband confess his love to Miranda’s mom must have been hard. The same look was reflected in Tabitha’s eyes. Yup, love could really screw people up.
Afterward, the two moms agreed to at least try to be civil to each other. It was more than Miranda expected. Especially from Mary Esther. Tabitha was right, it seemed clear that the woman still cared about their father.
After the meeting, they had all come to the auditorium together. Miranda hadn’t said much to either of her parents. Not that it stopped her mom from visiting Miranda before Tabitha had showed up.
Her mom had hugged her, told her how proud she was of her, and that she was certain Miranda would win this competition. “It’s in your blood.” She had raised Miranda’s chin and looked her right in the eyes. “You realize this is it. You’ll be eighteen in a few months. You can’t enter this competition again. Win this for your mama.”
As her mom started out, Miranda asked, “Did you know?”
“Know what?” her mom asked.
“Know Dad was married?”
She blinked, and then answered. “Not at first.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Miranda said, noting the guilt in her mom’s eyes.
Her mom frowned. “I was suspicious, but I didn’t know for sure.” She sighed. “I guess I should have been more inquisitive.”
“Yeah,” Miranda answered.
“Sometimes it’s easier to see only what you want to see,” her mom had continued with sadness in her eyes.
“Tabitha Evans,” the reigning high priestess called out. Hearing her sister’s name pulled Miranda out of her thoughts and back to the present—back to the competition. She and her sister were the last two to perform in the U.S. part of the competition. Miranda watched with pride as her sister stepped up and moved the flame from the fireplace to the candle, earning herself the complete hundred points for the spell.
Tabitha and Miranda were tied before this last challenge
All she had to do was to complete this last little spell without a hitch, and she would be high priestess. Then she’d have to do one more competition with the other foreign contestants. But even if she flunked that round, she’d still be high priestess for the U.S. She’d have made her mother one happy woman. She would have finally made her mother proud.
“Miranda Kane.” The speaker of the council called her name.
Miranda moved to the front and gazed at the audience. Perry stood in the back watching her. A soft smile in his eyes—patience in his expression.
Shawn stood by Burnett. She didn’t have a clue what she was going to do about him. But seeing his warm gaze just made her feel worse.
Shifting her focus up to the front of the crowd, she saw her mom, her eyes so full of hope and pride, and holding tight to her father’s hand. Mary Esther sat three seats away. Alone. The seat next to her was empty.
Shifting ever so slightly, Miranda cut her eyes to Tabitha. Her half-sister stared into the audience. Her expression the same as it had been during the meeting—disillusioned. Was she thinking about her mom?
“You can begin,” the announcer’s voice rang loud. Taking a deep breath, unsure she could do this, Miranda extended her hand. “Fire to flame. Smaller but the same. I move thee to the wick in the Goddess’s name.”
The spark rose from the fire, a perfect little spark, red with tiny streaks of blue. It moved slowly to the candle and hung above it for several seconds. Finally it lowered. The warm glow touched the wick and … vanished. A small puff of smoke snaked up to the ceiling, taking with it Miranda’s dreams. Her mother’s dreams.
She heard the crowd moan in disappointment. While it might have been impossible, she could swear she had heard the sound of her mom’s soft sad sigh. Her dream for her daughter gone.
“Our winner, Tabitha Evans,” the council announced and the sound of the applause rang too loudly in Miranda’s ears. A feeling she’d known too often filled her chest and twisted her stomach. The one associated with losing. The one she’d felt so often, having to face the disappointment in her mother’s eyes.