Hexed

mind, too. “What are you doing?” He takes a lunge toward us.
    The charm is hot and wet between us. Its purpose is clear now. Susan implanted a way to bring us back. Together.
    There is a dizzying cyclone of air and we’re swept up. I glance down to see Samual, his hands clutching at air.
    The last thing we hear is Samual’s howl of rage.

SIXTEEN
     

     
    STEPHEN’S HAND GRIPS MINE LIKE A VISE. Then his free arm finds its away around my waist, pulling me closer. Wind whips at us, forcing us to keep our heads bowed, our backs bent. We’re clinging to each other with the desperation I imagine passengers on a plummeting aircraft must feel—helpless on a headlong plunge to Earth.
    I only hope Susan is ready on the other end with a safety net.
    It’s over in a matter of moments—moments that last an eternity. Stephen and I are tossed around but land on our feet, winded and confused.
    I look around, Stephen’s hand still clutching mine.
    At first I don’t recognize the barren landscape. Sand and scrub cactus. There’s a bright full moon that flings shadows like clawed hands out to touch us. We’re in the desert?
    But there’s a sound in the distance—like the rumble of the ocean. I cock my head to listen—my powers are back. To the ears of the predator, the vampire, the rumble of the ocean becomes the hum of freeway traffic.
    “Balboa Park,” I announce to a startled and skeptical Stephen. “We’re in the cactus garden.”
    “Are you sure? I didn’t even know this existed.”
    “Behind the rose garden.”
    Stephen glances at his watch, which makes me glance at mine. The hands are spinning like the spokes of a wheel. When they stop, it’s 11:55 P.M. The date has not changed.
    I’ve been gone less than twelve hours.
    “Can you communicate with Susan now?” I ask Stephen.
    “Tell her we landed.”
    He nods and closes his eyes. After a moment, a slow, sweet smile touches his lips. When he opens his eyes again, the smile becomes a grin. “She’ll be waiting for us. By the fountain.”
    Our fingers are still entwined. I don’t feel the charm anymore and when I start to draw my hand away to look, Stephen’s grip tightens. “Don’t,” he says.
    A simple request. Why not go along with it? The cynical side of my nature knows full well I should let go. The adventure is over. We’re back on Earth, and for all I know Stephen has a wife and kids somewhere. Then there’s Samual.
    “Stephen. We have to get out of here. Samual may be right behind us.”
    “He’s not here now, though, is he?”
    There’s something in his eyes. He startles me by bending close to brush his lips against mine. I can’t help myself. I lean into him. The feather touch becomes a kiss.
    A good kiss. The kind of kiss that could lead to—
    “Well, isn’t this something.”
    Samual’s voice rumbles in the still night air like thunder heralding the threat of a storm.
    Stephen and I jump apart. I whirl around. Samual is dressed the way he was when he first appeared—jeans and a T-shirt. Two things are different. He no longer hides his true nature. The dark anger spots his complexion, hardens the lines around his eyes and mouth. His hatred is palpable. His desire obvious.
    And the second—a dagger he carries in a leather sling at his waist. He fondles it when he catches my gaze.
    He’s here for revenge.
    “Did you think you could get away from me so easily? Was that another parlor trick courtesy of those meddlesome witches? You can be sure I plan to pay them a visit, too. When I’m through with you.”
    He’s actually rubbing his hands together. “Finding you two in an embrace was an unexpected pleasure. Obviously, in the time you spent together, a bond was forged. It will make killing you all the more delicious.” Then he peers at me. And at Stephen. “What? You think I’m working some kind of glamour on you? Stupid humans. You need no glamour to give in to lustful urges. I should have waited a moment longer. Probably could have caught you rutting like the animals you are. Killed you both in the act.”
    He stops, tilts his head. I can see in his eyes what he’s considering.
    “You’d better go after me first,” I say. “Because unless you kill me, you’ll never get a chance to hurt anyone else.”
    I move in front of Stephen, shielding him.
    Stephen nudges me out of the way, to stand beside me.
    His eyes are hard. “We’re in this together. He’s threatening my sister, too.”
    Nice sentiment. But when