Page 12 of Brimstone and Broomsticks
Chapter 5
Cassandra
Lucien had been strangely silent throughout the whole exchange with the district court commissioner. Yes, I’d told him to let me do the talking, but I hadn’t really expected him to comply. Mentally ill with delusions? Possibly. Or maybe he really was some sort of lesser demon. Either way the man stared at me the whole time as if he were undressing me with his eyes, as if he wanted to do a whole lot more than undress me, whether my third cousin was watching or not.
Aaron was an anomaly in our family. Ever since Temperance escaped the stake in Salem and dragged her paramour through the wilderness to found our town, we Perkins women had been the unofficial government here. Women, because only the female descendants of Temperance could inherit the “gift”. Thankfully girls accounted for ninety percent of the births in our family line, with boys a mere ten percent and many of them not surviving past infancy.
That meant that any surviving boy children were doted on and spoiled. For their entire lives. Aaron was my third cousin, but we had him over for our family dinner on a weekly basis, and treated him as if he were an overindulged younger brother. The man was seven years older than me, and I couldn’t help but baby him. And in all honesty, he enjoyed it. It was probably one of the reasons he wasn’t married at the age of forty.
There were other reasons, but those were personal and not mine to divulge.
Deputy Hollaran brought the box and sat it on the desk in front of me, backing away. I’d have the privilege of being the one to open the box and attach the ankle monitor. There was a key that Sheriff Oakes had, and I was pretty sure Aaron had access to it, but when it came to magical items, if there was a witch in the room, handling them defaulted to her. Part of that was as a form of respect. Part of it was due to safety.
Most of our magic was fairly predictable, but Bronwyn wasn’t known for her light touch when it came to enchanted objects, and these anklets were crafted to keep a giant from leaving the city limits, so they weren’t exactly mundane objects as far as magical energy went.
“What is that?” Lucien’s voice cracked like a whip, startling me a bit.
“An ankle monitor. It restricts you to the town limits until your hearing, which if I can’t get the charges dropped, I will make every attempt to schedule for Monday. Tuesday at the latest. You won’t be able to leave town while you’re wearing it.”
“Or what? I blow up? Sargent Handy here comes out with a stick and shoots fireworks at me?”
“No, you just can’t leave the town limits.” I bent down and snapped the silver band around his lower leg, feeling a jolt of electricity as I touched him that had nothing to do with the magical device. When I looked up, I saw a rather calculating look in his eyes.
“It’s Friday,” he said. “I have to stay in your town for three to four nights with no money? Where am I supposed to stay?”
“Homeless shelter?” I shot back. We didn’t have a homeless shelter. And as annoyed as I was with this whole situation, I couldn’t make this guy sleep in an alley or a field. Besides, the residents would complain, he’d get arrested, then I’d have even more work to do. “I’ll see if one of the hotels will put you up for the weekend.”
Hotel. Singular. We had one hotel, and I wasn’t sure Bernadette and Hollister were going to let someone stay there free of charge, especially someone who was wearing one of Bronwyn’s ankle monitors and was awaiting trial for assault charges and more. Although neither of them were fans of the Dickskin clan. I might be able to leverage that.
“I could stay at your house.” His voice was smooth as silk, with all the innuendo.
“No.”
“Sleep on the couch?”
“No.” I stood up, realizing I was far too close to him. Damn, he was taller than I’d thought. And he had a lean type of wiry strength that was sexy in an elegant, classy sort of way.
Classy. With blood-stained, torn, crumpled clothing, a black eye, and a puffy, cut lip. But he did come across as classy. Arrogant classy. Entitled classy. The privileged sort of classy that said he’d spent his whole life hearing nothing besides “Yes, Sir”. And here I thought Aaron was spoiled.
“You’re coming with me,” I told him. “To the only inn we’ve got here in Accident. I’ll get you a room there for four or five nights.”
And who knows what I’d have to promise Hollister to make that happen.
* * *
“No.”Hollister scowled. “We’re booked up.”
“You’re not booked up,” I scowled back. “Come on. Four or five nights. Just until the hearing.” Because after that, this guy would either be on his way out of town, or in a jail cell.
“No, we’re booked up. Lisa Morgan’s wedding is this weekend, and all her guests are staying here. And I don’t like the idea of some felon staying in my hotel.”
“Accused felon,” I shot back. “Innocent until proven guilty.”
“Accused, convicted, I don’t give a shit. If he’s so dangerous that he needs one of Bronwyn’s ankle monitors, then he’s not staying here.” Hollister shot the other man a quick glance. “What’s his deal anyway? He a fairy of something?”
Lucien grinned. I waved at him to keep quiet, but he ignored me.
“I’m a prince of darkness, the firstborn of—”
