The Beltane Witch (Cloudburst Colorado) Page 12

  “It’s my job in more ways than one to make sure this town is safe, Mr. Winterbourne. I’ve been doing it for a long time and while I’m not as jaded as most small town cops, I still get a hinky feeling when one of my residents keeps getting saved from assaults by a stranger who just happens to be in town at the time.” He raised his eyebrows and spread his hands. “Now this stranger wants to buy land for the same resident he’s rescuing, and that land just happens to be the site of some very powerful energies. Energies I suspect you’re all too familiar with. So give me a reason not to be suspicious.”

  Darius stared at the cop and had his own suspicions. Could Sabrina’s dream homestead actually be the sacred site where the rituals must be performed? It made an ironic sort of sense. What better place for a powerful witch to live than on the sacred site she was meant to protect? Darius chuckled at the Goddess’s subtlety.

  “Something funny?”

  “Just ironic. Are you aware Sabrina Foxglove is a witch of considerable ability?”

  “I am.”

  “Then you must understand how important the Beltane holiday is to those who care for the Goddess’s sacred sites. Each site must be periodically protected by renewing the wards and cleansing the energies therein.” Darius spread his hands. “That is why I’m here. To help Ms. Foxglove with the rituals surrounding Beltane and secure the protections of the sacred site here in Cloudburst. I suspect the Miller homestead may well be the site where the rituals are to be performed.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “In which case, it seems fitting for the witch who does the rituals to also reside there and continue to reinforce the wards surrounding it.”

  Fitzroy tilted his head, rubbing his chin. “As I recall, Beltane is also a fertility ritual, a renewal of life, not just protections. And to do the full rituals, there must be two people to perform them, the male and female aspects of the divine.” The cop paused, his gaze thoughtful. “Are you to be her partner in this ritual, Mr. Winterbourne?”

  Darius gaped at Fitzroy, his gut dancing. Partner Sabrina in the High Beltane rituals? That’s absurd. As the Queen’s Chamberlain, the task of arranging the witch to perform the rituals had always fallen to him, but another man was chosen as the May Lord. He’d never wanted the part. And yet he couldn’t deny he’d delight in the opportunity to bring Sabrina pleasure in the name of the Goddess.

  I’m over two centuries in age and must return to my position as Chamberlain for the Court. And Sabrina deserved someone who would stay with her forever and help her raise the child bound to be conceived. Why then did he want to be that man more than anything else?

  He gave a deprecating laugh. “No, Lieutenant. I’m only here to help her master the rituals and the energies associated with them. A suitable male has already been chosen.”

  “Tommy Hawthorne?” Fitzroy’s voice held a sharp edge.

  Darius frowned. “No. Who is Tommy Hawthorne?”

  Fitzroy shrugged. “A local man who claims to be part of the regional Coven. I suspect the man has more interest in the rituals than actual ability.”

  “Was this man involved with Ms. Foxglove at any time?”

  The corner of Fitzroy’s mouth quirked in a small smile. “Several years ago.”

  “Is he the derelict father of her two children?”

  “Could be.” Fitzroy nodded slowly, but his expression closed. “Well, if you’re really interested in buying the land, you’ll need to stop by the town hall and talk to the clerk. They should be able to direct you.” Again, he eyed Darius. “Are you sure this is what you need to do for Ms. Foxglove?”

  “Of course.” Darius rose and held out his hand. “Thank you for your help, Lieutenant.”

  “You’re welcome, Mr. Winterbourne.” Fitzroy shook his hand then released him. “Good luck.”

  “Sorry?”

  But the Lieutenant had already turned back to the pile of paperwork on his desk and picked up his phone handset. Darius took his cue to leave, but he wondered what the man had meant. He’d give Sabrina a place to make her livelihood and let her go. Simple. Easy. Right?

  He found the town hall and the clerk, but locating the parcel he wanted took some time. Apparently it had been patented under the name the Copper Queen Mine and Mill, and equated to roughly forty five acres of actual land. The selling price seemed ridiculously cheap for such a sacred site. The humans’ attachment to electronics and technology made purchasing the land tricky, especially with his small ability at magic. The trick was to charm the clerk and make the little ones and zeroes line up just right to show the transaction. The actual gold would arrive at a later date. Darius made sure the title to the land stated Sabrina’s name and left the town hall with satisfaction curling through his chest.

  She’ll be safe and the site will be protected. And he’d be back to his life.

  A life of fake smiles, jockeying for position, and stilted courtly manners. A life of worrying about whether or not he and his family had the Queen’s favor. Darius drew his cloak tighter around him to keep out the bitter spring wind, and the bitter truth. His life had never seemed empty. There’d been a time when he’d enjoyed the pageantry of the Court, the honor of the position, and the influence he wielded within the Queen’s realm. Hell, he’d even enjoyed winning the Queen’s favor over his elder and pompous brother. He’d reveled in being the best Chamberlain the Court had seen in millennia.

  And enjoying the fruits of the witches’ gratitude hadn’t been bad, either.

  But now, it all seemed like empty nonsense after spending time with the Foxgloves. His mind filled with the warmth of Sabrina’s kitchen and he pictured laughing with her daughters over holiday meals, sharing mulled wine with Sabrina before a cheery fire, and sharing even more with her after the girls had gone to bed.

  Suddenly, his Court life appeared like a shabby façade in comparison to the richness he’d found in the Foxglove home. Fatigue hit him squarely between the shoulder blades and he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, his chest tight. He was tired of fighting for his position and always kowtowing to the Summer Queen’s ephemeral whims.

  Bloody hell, how long do I have to do this?

  It’d already been nearly two centuries. Dear Goddess, it seemed like a long time. And how much longer would he continue?

  What would happen if I walked away?

  Nothing. Not really, but duty and honor would be lost, two things his family held dear. Somehow, they’d lost their glossy finish and felt more like shackles attached to his ankles.

  The back of his neck prickled and he rubbed it, groaning. A summoning from the Queen. Just what he needed when questioning his duty. He scanned the street ahead and grimaced. Too many people wandered along the slushy sidewalks. He couldn’t make a crossing where someone would question his abrupt disappearance. Goddess knew he didn’t want the Lieutenant to ask any more questions about his origins.

  Darius trotted across the street through the light traffic and ducked into an alleyway between buildings, trying not to breathe in too much of the wet garbage stench. He waited a few heartbeats for the pedestrians to clear before giving into the summoning magic.

  His cheeks tingled with the abrupt change in temperature and he sweated under his thick cloak. The Summer Court remained at summer temperatures with no regard for spring in Colorado. The Court solidified around him and he bowed low as the Queen approached him with another lady in tow.

  Today she wore a summer green dress with leaf fringed hemline and an asymmetrical cream stripe across the bodice and skirt. Gold embroidery etched swirling designs over it all as she advanced, her bearing as regal as ever. But Darius found her beauty cold and mercurial, and he longed to return to Sabrina’s earthy warmth.

  Get your mind in the game. Never show weakness before the Queen.

  “Ah, be welcome in our Court, Chamberlain Winterbourne. I trust your recent endeavors have been fruitful.” Though the Queen’s expression remained inquiring, the words disguised an order.

  Darius inclin
ed his head. “Yes, Your Majesty. To some extent.”

  “To some extent?” She didn’t frown, but her voice sharpened.

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” He hesitated as he noticed the other lady hovering beside the Queen, and his stomach sank. “Good day, Lady Winterbourne.”

  “Good day, Darius.” His brother’s wife curtsied dutifully, but dislike erupted in her eyes and his gut churned. The Queen rarely invited his family to Court, but his sister-by-law ached to attend and never declined an invitation. “I see you’re well.”

  “Yes, lady, I am.”

  “It’s been a while since you’ve stopped by Cairnwell to see us.” She pouted prettily, but disgust rose in his chest. He’d never liked his brother’s wife, and she’d made no secret she thought the Chamberlain position wasted on him instead of her husband.

  “Forgive me, my lady. Her Majesty the Queen has set me many tasks that require my attention and I often cannot get away.” He gave her his courtly smile as anger churned. She had no interest in his visiting her husband. Darius suspected she’d just as soon prefer him dead so his brother might take his position at Court. “Perhaps there will be time when this current task has concluded.”

  Lady Winterbourne returned his smile. “That would be lovely. I know Tiberius would like to see you.”

  Given their last interaction, Darius doubted her words, but he nodded graciously. Tiberius hadn’t wanted Darius’s position until after their mother’s funeral, and Darius suspected his wife had goaded him into it. At the time, Darius had laughed at his brother, knowing his place secure as long as he did his duty to the Queen. Chamberlains were appointed, not inherited. But now he wondered if his brother and sister-by-law might be better suited for the Court antics. Such games had grown wearisome to him.

  “Of course. I shall make a note to visit when my duties are concluded.” If luck followed him, he might not have to return to the Fae world at all. He wanted out of this cutthroat game, and never more so than now. He just had to find an honorable way to end it.

  “Excellent. I shall inform him of your intent. No doubt he’ll be overjoyed.”

  Or sickened and resigned.

  “Thank you, my lady.” Darius inclined his head, dismissing her. “Forgive me once more, but I must finish reporting to Her Majesty on Court business. If you’ll excuse us?”

  Thunderclouds of ire brewed in her eyes, but Lady Winterbourne curtsied to him and the Queen, and took her leave. Darius had never been so grateful to see a woman’s back in his life.

  Her Majesty ignored the Lady and looped her arm through Darius’s as she steered him into her private salon and bid the guards to shut everyone else out. She released him as soon as the doors closed and strode to a comfortable chair set beside an arched stained-glass window. She smiled with beguiling friendliness, broadcasting gracious warmth as she settled.

  “Please, Chamberlain, tell Us how your task has progressed ‘to some extent’.” She gestured to a chair and he sat, sweeping his cloak out of the way.

  “I have secured the sacred site and have tested the witch’s abilities. She is as powerful as you surmised.” The Queen’s expression remained serene, but she waited for him to continue. “Unfortunately, there have been some complications in an attacker who keeps coming after her. I’ve neutralized him, but she has sustained some injuries to her person.”

  Her Majesty didn’t bother with the false compassion. “You said this at our last meeting. Does this woman attract trouble, Chamberlain?”

  “I don’t believe so, Your Majesty, but there is one man determined to see her harmed and he has interrupted my efforts. I’ve done my best to repair any damage his interference has caused.”

  “Excellent.” The Queen smiled and Darius noted how cold and practiced it seemed compared to Sabrina’s easy grins. “So, she has agreed to do the rituals, then.”

  “Not exactly, Your Majesty.”

  The smile disappeared so fast he wondered if he’d seen it at all.

  “Explain yourself, Chamberlain. We made it abundantly clear this location and witch are needed for the High Beltane rituals. There can be no other. Why is there this hesitation?”

  For the first time in his long career as Chamberlain to the Summer Court, Darius didn’t want to placate her. He had the dangerous urge to tell the Queen Sabrina held no interest in the rituals and had enough going on in her life without the Court’s intrusion. But good sense and self-preservation prevailed and he inclined his head to Her Majesty.

  Goddess, I’m so tired of this game.

  “Yes, Your Majesty. I believe we’ve reached a turning point. It won’t be long now. I suspect I will secure her agreement this night, and we shall have the sacred site prepared for your arrival.”

  The Queen stared at him with thoughtful eyes, but her expression remained serene. Darius had the sinking feeling the other shoe was about to drop.

  “See that you do, Chamberlain, or the consequences will be dire.” She rose from her seat and turned, raising her chin and looking down her nose at him. “You must convince her to do the rituals or you will lose not only your position in our Court, but also your longevity, your honor, and your sword, which your family prizes so. In addition, the Winterbourne name shall be stricken from our records, and your family shall be banned at Court.”

  Darius’s gut churned and he clenched his jaw. How dare she take everything he held dear from him over another’s choice? He’d been nothing but loyal and diligent for all his centuries of service. He’d never considered the Queen banishing his family from her Court over his failure to convince Sabrina. As much as he didn’t like his brother’s actions and his sister-by-law’s covetous nature, he couldn’t destroy their hopes. The Court meant everything to them, as it had meant to him once, and he couldn’t take it from them.

  But he couldn’t coerce Sabrina into performing the rituals, either. She’d never forgive him, and he’d never forgive himself.

  “I understand, Your Majesty.” He bowed to hide his frustration.

  “Ah, Darius.” The Queen laid an elegant hand against his arm and he carefully met her eyes, hoping he presented her with an emotionless face. “Perhaps this will sweeten the task for you.” She smiled at him and his blood froze with premonition. “We would like you to partner with the witch for the sacred Beltane rituals. As a reward for all your hard work, you have been chosen as the May Lord to honor the Goddess.”

  Damn, did she overhear the conversation with Lt. Fitzroy? A surge of mixed emotions shot through him. On the one hand, he’d get the opportunity to touch and enjoy Sabrina’s glorious body, sinking his cock into her sweet earthen heat. All in the name of the Goddess. But at what price? He’d live up to her fears to save his position and his family’s standing at Court. Sabrina would be left to raise his child while he played the endless Court games in a life of empty smiles and gestures.

  You’d be as bad as Tommy Hawthorne.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  The Queen gifted him with a brilliant smile and the strength of her magic flowed over him. But he remained unaffected, the magic sliding away into the air. Her smile did nothing to reassure him and he wondered if the connection he had with Sabrina had rendered him immune to Fae charms.

  “It is truly my pleasure to see my favorite Chamberlain rewarded, and perhaps we will further reward you with increased invitations of your family to our Court.” Amusement flickered across her face as he gritted his teeth. “I understand they would like to see you.”

  Not bloody likely. But familial squabbles needed no airing, especially to the Queen.

  “So it seems, Your Majesty. I do know my sister-by-law prefers the Court to the country estates.”

  “And you, Darius? Where does your heart lie?”

  Darius stilled. Did the Queen suspect he no longer had the taste for intrigue and Courtly games? “My heart lies in my duty to my Queen, and to the honor of my family.”

  She nodded, a wise smile curling her lips, and Darius hoped she w
ould dismiss him soon.

  “Very well, Chamberlain. The time of Beltane draws near and the seasons wait for no one, not even the Summer Court.” She laughed, infusing more of her seductive magic into it, but the energy brushed past him without effect. “Bring your witch to heel and I shall be most pleased with you.” The Queen gestured to the door of her private salon and it opened to show him the slushy alley he’d left.

  Bowing deeply, Darius backed out into the Rocky Mountain springtime, grateful she’d let him go with such a light sentence.

  Light sentence? Bollocks! He still had to convince Sabrina to do the rituals, and he no longer had any idea how.

  ****

  Sabrina tidied up some of the shelves in Mazie’s Five and Dime and wondered how she’d make it through Beltane with her sanity intact.

  Just keep your mind on work and you’ll be fine.

  She had no reason to moon over Darius Winterbourne, Chamberlain of the Summer Court, or what couldn’t be, but her mind kept filling with images of him. She had no idea what a Chamberlain did, but she suspected it important enough to keep him from staying with her.

  And I don’t want him to stay. Which is why I’m not doing the rituals. Yeah, she knew all the arguments for and against. She’d been rolling them over in her mind every time Darius said something. So why did she even entertain the idea?

  Because I want his hands on me.

  She groaned, wishing she could slam her forehead into the shelves without her boss looking askance at her. Could she drown her inner sex kitten?

  The bell above the front door of the shop jingled and Sabrina raised her head to see who came in. A woman sauntered inside wearing tight jeans, leather high-heeled boots, and a sheepskin coat belted to her narrow waist. Sabrina didn’t have to see her face to recognize her. She’d seen those curves buck-assed naked in her own bed.

  Hells bells! Is it quitting time yet?

  “Good afternoon, Merrilee. We haven’t seen you here in a while.” Sabrina’s boss waved from the front counter. “What brings you in today?”