Return of the Fae (8 page)

Parris couldn’t help it, her body tightened and she wanted nothing more than to throw him back on the bed.

Ty grinned. “Sorry, honey. We’ve got things to do today.”

“You think I wanted more?” Parris sipped her coffee, feigning indifference.

“Like you always say, I’m not a normal boy. I know you want more.” Ty poured himself a cup of coffee. “Even if I was a normal boy, I’d know you want more. Last night was amazing.”

“Kind of full of yourself aren’t you?”

Ty opened one of the covered plates, the smell of bacon overwhelming her. “Let’s just say we had fun and not fight. Hungry?”

Parris gave in. Her body and thoughts betrayed her. Might as well enjoy the food. “Starving.”

Ty stopped, glanced around the room, asking, “Toki stopped in this morning?”

“How’d you know that?” Parris shook her head when Ty opened his mouth. “Never mind–not a normal boy, I get it. She stopped in because I wasn’t sure about the room service guy. She said I asked her a question, but I didn’t.”

“There are many ways to ask a question. Toki is probably sensitive to your needs since you ignored her for so many years.” Ty threw her a napkin.

“I didn’t ignore her. I didn’t know she existed.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Here you go.” Ty handed her a plate with the largest omelet she’d ever seen. He sat at the other end of the bed, braced against the wall.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, and snagged a slice of bacon off his plate. She took a bite and grinned at his mock outrage. Crunchy goodness. Some places didn’t let the bacon crisp to the almost burned stage she loved. The hotel’s restaurant hadn’t disappointed her yet. She would miss the food when they went home on Sunday. She cut into her mushroom provolone omelet, almost groaning in pleasure when she tasted its perfection. Yes, she would miss this place.

Ty offered her a slice of toast, holding the plate outside her reach. “I want to keep my fingers out of biting range,” he deadpanned.

“Sorry, if I enjoy a good meal.” Parris leaned closer and grabbed a slice of toast. Warm butter dripped down her finger, and she used her tongue, saving the drop from hitting her clothes.

“You’re killing me here,” Ty said, taking a bite of hash browns.

“Good to know.” Parris reached up, wiping the corner of his mouth with the tip of her finger. She held it up like a trophy. “Ketchup.”

“We’re on a mission.” He sighed. “Stop playing with me and let me eat, woman. We have places to go.”

“And people to see,” she added. “So, why are we here again? This can’t be an old homecoming weekend, showing me your old school, especially since you didn’t go to college here.”

Ty polished off his over easy eggs before he answered her question with one of his own. “Why do you think we’re here?”

“You think he knows something about my parents?” She stopped with her fork frozen midway to her mouth.

“Kind of, more though on the other coven. Let’s think more about your dad. There has to be some kind of record somewhere on Coven X, or at least the original members. The Council couldn’t have been blind to its existence all these years.” Ty finished off his hash browns, took the last piece of toast off the plate and put the plates back on the serving tray.

“You sure put a lot of faith in The Council. Why were they ignorant of Coven X? When someone doesn’t want to see something, they usually don’t.” Parris knew people. Owning a bar had taught her to watch for the secrets people kept, especially the ones from themselves. She’d held a woman’s hair as the girl puked after drinking one too many shots after finding out her fiancé had not only been cheating on her, he’d stolen money out of their joint honeymoon account to hit the casino boat. The man loved black jack, not any of the women he slept with, even the one he’d promised to marry. Parris had known the fairy tale relationship had problems months earlier than the betrayed woman. She’d seen it in his aura when he came into the bar. She’d seen it in the woman’s fear when she came alone.

“You’re not as bright and shiny in the morning, you know? Kind of a downer.” Ty pulled a mushroom off her plate, and popped the stolen treat into his mouth, his smile celebrating his victory.

Parris slapped his hand. “Stay out of my food. Let’s say I’m a realist and split the difference.”

“Says the woman who stole my bacon.”

“You didn’t order me any,” she protested.

Ty stood, pulling a black tee shirt from his overnight bag. “Come on, princess. Finish your breakfast and get ready. Wear some walking shoes. We’re going on a quest.”

“You never answered my question on why we’re doing this,” Parris called after him as he walked back into the bathroom.

“Just get ready.”

* * * *

Ty felt the stubble on his cheeks. He’d have to shave. He glanced in the mirror. Why was finding Robert so damn important? He felt an urgency to keep looking. But he’d missed something. The old man always knew the truth, even when The Council hid evidence. Finding a rogue history professor masquerading as a homeless person shouldn’t be difficult. What, Cincinnati had a million residents?

He thought about Parris sitting in the next room. Soul mate. All he had to do was save her from The Council and then make her fall in love with him. No worries. He spread shaving foam on his face, banishing the thoughts to another time.

Thirty minutes later, they walked to the elevator. When they reached the first floor, Ty stepped over to the desk. A woman with a too bright smile stood to greet him.

“Mr. Wallace, a message came in for you.” She handed Ty a folder. Ty took the pages then returned the empty folder.

“Thanks. Do you have a street map of the city?”

The woman scurried away, reappearing a few minutes later. “Here. If you’d like, I could spell it for road construction.”

“That’s fine, we’ll be walking.” The two exited the cool marble lobby right onto a busy sidewalk. Ty handed Parris the map, pointing to a café table at the right of the door. “Let’s plot these stops.”

Parris pulled two pens from her purse, blue and red. “Call out the address then I’ll mark them. Afterwards we can plan our attack.” She giggled. “This is like playing Risk or War. Too bad my history teacher didn’t teach strategic theory. I might have paid attention in class.”

They sat on metal chairs, going through the list Derek made. Derek might be a screw up on matters of the heart–or, more accurately, a slut, on matters of the body–but his research skills were top notch. The guy had a talent for finding things. His own superpower.

Ten minutes later, the two strolled down the empty sidewalks to the first church. To the casual eye, they looked like any other tourist couple, visiting the sights of Cincinnati. What would the humans do if they knew the pair weren’t two people in love, rather two witches seeking a third?

He chuckled and Parris shot him a glance. The woman looked exquisite with her raven hair pulled up into a flirty pony tail, making her look younger than her thirty years. Her high cheekbones went even higher when she smiled. God, he loved it when her smile turned on him. He needed to find Robert and get Parris out of The Council’s line of sight. If he could.
 
They probably had researchers seeking out her linage.
 
It would only be a matter of time before they came to the same conclusion he had. Parris was the product of two First Borns. The Council would be forced to take action.
 

The first church was locked but they walked around the wooden building anyway. Ty knew Parris waited for him to make a decision. Was this the place where angels played?

Ty focused for a second, finding nothing. No power, no angel, no woman of stone waiting for him. He opened his eyes and shook his head. Parris scratched off the address and pointed to the sidewalk.

“That way.” Parris smiled. “Only five hundred more.”

“Thirty-two. Don’t exaggerate.” Ty put an arm around her waist. “Besides, what else do you have to do today other than play tourist with a ruggedly handsome man?”

“There you go again, thinking you’re all that.” She laughed.

“There will not be an alien ship arriving today, right?” Ty looked up, faking distress.

“I loved Will Smith in the movie.” Parris continued talking about movie trivia until they reached the next church, then stopped, leaving Ty to focus, trying to sense his old mentor.

Nearing the end, their conversation had dwindled to telling each other stories on college professors when Ty saw the stone woman from his vision. She stood in a flower garden in front of a stone cathedral. A sign stood next to her.

“St. Peter’s In Chains?” Parris read the sign. “Who thinks up these names?”

“Someone who’s not around now.” Ty stared. “I think this is the place.”

Parris lowered her sunglasses to look at him. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, that’s the statue I saw in my vision.” He started walking toward the church.

“Wait, you had a vision? Why didn’t you say something?” Parris hurried to catch up.

“And let you question my sanity? You already think I’m not a normal boy.” Ty held his hand out trying to feel a touch of Robert, even just a hint. “Someday I’ll tell you more of my secrets.”

“Everything’s strange, don’t let that stop you. I’m getting used to strange.” Parris stared up at the building. “You think it’s open?”

“Usually, churches stay open, giving the homeless somewhere to rest. Or their parishioners an opportunity to pray.” Ty pulled on the heavy wooden door. Parris put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

“Wait, how does this religious thing tie into what, or who we are?” Parris’ words came out a whisper.

Ty turned to look at her. Fear showed on her face, her eyes wide, looking like she would bolt at any noise. “What is wrong with you? It’s just a church.”

“But are we,” she paused, seemingly considering her word. She squared her shoulders, asking, “Are we evil?”

Ty frowned. “Because you’re a witch? Do you feel evil? Being a witch is who you are. What you were born to be. Just like those who are born human. People aren’t born good or bad, they choose their path. Witches have the same free choice.”

Ty could see Parris processing the idea. Finally, she blurted, “So I’m not going to hell?”

Ty pulled her into a hug. “Relax. You are still the same person, the same child of God as last month. What you believed then is still who you are. Being a witch doesn’t make you evil–being cruel, thoughtless and mean, those qualities make up an evil person. You’re none of those things.”

He nodded to the door. “Can we go in now?”

Parris smiled and followed him through the door. Ty saw her cringe as she walked inside the vestibule, as if waiting for a lightning bolt he guessed. She was so behind the eight ball on this transition. Most witches knew their place on the world from their first steps. Witchcraft seemed like breathing air. Parris questioned everything and everyone she’d ever known and their role in her new life.

A few seconds later, she relaxed as they walked through the hallway to the chapel. Although, the chapel wasn’t empty, close to a hundred people sat in the pews. Not the quiet morning Ty expected. Near the altar, a priest stood, giving sacrament. Most of the people sat quietly, watching and waiting for mass to continue.

Ty and Parris slipped into the back pew, waiting. They couldn’t slip out without drawing attention. Besides, maybe Robert sat here, in the crowd. Ty scanned the pews, looking for a back that could be his old professor and friend.

Parris’s hand tightened on his arm. Glancing at her, he saw her gaze frozen on a man a few pews forward. When the man saw Ty, he nodded and turned back, facing the altar again.

“Who is that,” Parris whispered, fear cloaking her voice.

“He’s head of the local coven. The Council’s Cincinnati representative, so to speak.” Ty whispered back, hoping he sounded reassuring.

“But he’s Catholic?”

“Did you not hear what I told you? Being a witch doesn’t mean you don’t or can’t believe in God.” Ty slipped an arm around her. She shook. “Look, we can talk theology on the drive back to St. Louis. Relax, okay? You look like a rabbit watching a hawk circle.”

“I feel more like the sacrificial lamb. Or like the women in Salem must have felt. I keep envisioning the crowd turning and pointing at me.” Parris took a deep breath.