SWNOVELS Chapter 30
"Tell me what?"
He sighs and sets his tumbler down. "After prom, she came to my house. Said she knew what I was and that I needed to leave you alone. That being with you would ruin your life. She was--convincing. I didn't want to hurt you, but really didn't feel like I had a choice. It was
the hardest thing I've ever done."
I lean back against my barstool, a wave of conflicting emotion flooding me. "She didn't say anything to me, for obvious reasons, I suppose. All of this magic shit was kept secret from me up until Rain was born."
"Congratulations, by the way. On your baby. She's beautiful, just like her mother."
His compliment makes me flush. "What about you? I heard you left town. Just north of Boston, right? What do you do? Do you have kids? A wife?"
"Yeah, we're in Saugus." He pauses. "And I write fantasy novels for a living."
I can't help but smile at that. "They say write what you know. I guess that works out for you."
He laughs. "Yeah, something like that. And, I have a daughter. Ellie. He reaches for his phone and pulls up a picture of a blond girl with big blue eyes who looks about kindergarten age.
"She's lovely," I say. "I'm glad you found happiness. Is her mother still in the picture?"
"Actually, my husband and I are her parents. We used a surrogate."
"Husband?" I'm not sure if I'm more shocked my old flame is a unicorn or gay. Both are unexpected.
"Yeah. I didn't know, or didn't want to acknowledge it fully when we were together. It wasn't until college that I finally came out. That's when I met Robert. We've been together ever since." He looks at me cautiously, waiting for my response.
I smile and take his hand. "I'm so happy for you, Michael. How, um, did your parents take it?" I ask with a sheepish look, already knowing the answer. Michael came from the type of family that wouldn't be too keen on a gay son.
He returns my look and shakes his head, but then relief fills his eyes as he swipes the picture on his phone to one of him and his husband. "This is Robert."
"You two make a gorgeous couple," I say honestly. "Does he know about..."
"That I'm a unicorn?" he asks with a chuckle. "Yes, it was kinda hard to hide. We used his DNA for our daughter to avoid any... complications with her down the road. And he'd never betray my secret. Just like I won't betray yours."
I raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, about all this. I can't apologize enough. I've been thrown into the deep end of this supernatural shit, and it's been a hard ride. You shouldn't have been pulled into this."
"It's okay. I'm glad I could help." He takes one last swig from his glass. "But next time, just ask?"
I laugh as we both stand. "I will."
We hug and he pulls away to look at me. "It was good seeing you again, Bernie. Even under the circumstances."
"You too, Michael. Don't be a stranger. And bring your family by sometime."
I let him out the front door and lock it behind him, then walk back up to my apartment, my mind lost in the past to what was and what could have been. What did my grandmother know about this new world I now find myself thrust into? And why didn't she tell me the truth back then?
Rune is in the kitchen cooking something in a pot when I return. Darius and Zev are playing chess, and AJ is sitting at the piano picking at keys. She looks up when I walk in. "Wild, isn't it?" she says with a cheeky grin.
"That's one word for it," I say grimly. "How on earth did you know he was a unicorn?"
"Well, Darius pieced it all together," she explains. "He asked about the families that have been in Rowley the longest, and I said the Lawrences since I've never heard of a Lawrence leaving town, until Michael, and even he didn't get too far. Then he asked some weird questions about who was whose son and suddenly I'm off to kidnap Michael while Darius waits in his bat cave." She gives me a ho-hum shrug and glances at the clock on the wall. "Time to open the bar. Ready boys?"
"I cannot leave the potion until it is complete," Rune says.
"How long will that be?" AJ asks.
"You cannot rush magic."
"Are you cooking Michael's blood in my kitchen?" I ask, marching over to look into the pot. It has a golden hue and sparkles, just like something that would come out of a unicorn.
"Once it is done, we can complete our pledge and you will feel safe," Rune says softly, and I realize in that moment he's not just doing this to keep the three of them honest, but so that I will trust them. It softens me just a little. "Thank you," I say. "For trying to make me feel better about all this."
Rune stops stirring for a moment to
turn to me, his eyes looking a deeper blue than before, like the ocean pulling me into its depths. He takes my hands in his, stepping forward so our bodies are mere inches apart. "I cannot say that I know how hard this has been for you, but I can feel your pain, your worry, your fear. I know it's hard to trust us, but I hope you can at least believe that I want to make this easier for you while we work out what must be done."
He drops one of my hands and brushes his knuckles lightly against my cheek. "I did not expect to feel the way I do about you and the child. It has complicated things. But I would not change that for anything."
I suck a breath in, my body humming with pent up desires I can't act on. His eyes drop to my lips, and I want more than anything for him to come closer, but then AJ tugs at my sweater, breaking the spell between us. "Let's go, before our regulars show up."
"Right," I say, reluctantly pulling my
hand--and my gaze--from his. I turn away as Rune resumes stirring his. pot. "AJ and I will go open up while you finish brewing up your potion," I say, trying to clear my head. "Bring Rain down when you're done. I don't want her left alone while those nutcases are out there."
The three of them nod and AJ and I head to the bar. Even before they finish their pledge, I'm already comfortable with them being around Rain. A lot has changed in a couple days. Everything, really.
We wipe down counters and prep the bar for whoever might wander in tonight. AJ peppers me with questions about Michael, from what we talked about to whether he was 'hung like a horse' in high school.
"You're terrible, you know that?" I say, spraying her with the water hose at the sink.
She shrieks, but before it hits her, she holds up her hands and the water turns to steam and dissipates into the air.
I shake my head. "I need some powers of my own." I wipe up the mess I made and walk to the door to unlock it. "Speaking of, I found out some news about me and Rain today. Apparently we come from a long line of witches."
She stares at me for a second, mouth agape, then rushes over and pulls me into a hug. "I always knew you were special. More special than me for sure."
I lean back to lock eyes with her. "AJ, that's not true. I don't even have powers, not that I know of. You're special. You've always been more special than you know."
"Pft," she says, walking back to the bar. "You're just saying that because you're a very friendly, accommodating witch."
"No, it's because you're my best friend and it's true," I counter, grabbing a rag left on one of the tables. "You just turned water into steam with your mind and you can make dudes do whatever you want. You're, like, the most special. And maybe Rain has some hidden powers, but I'm just as ordinary as I was yesterday."
She flicks me with the rag in her
hand. "Stop it. I see how those three sexy men upstairs look at you. Rune is ready to lay down his damn life for you. Zev tooks like he's about to hump your leg. And Darius wants to eat you, in the best possible way." She wags her eyebrows, and can't help but laugh. "They didn't hunt a unicorn and make a vow for nothing. They want in your pants, bad. So don't give me any bullshit about being ordinary. There's never been
anything ordinary about you."
Our conversation is cut short when the bell at the door rings. I expect to see Joe and Frank, but am surprised when it's Chief Roland.
I stand and smile. "Hey! Can I get you a drink?" I ask. "Scotch on the rocks, right?"
He smiles grimly. "Good memory, but no, I'm not here to drink. Unfortunately, I'm on official business."
"About what?" I ask, my heart suddenly pounding nervously in my chest. "Did something happen to Tilly?"
He shakes his head. "No nothing like that. It's about John Marsden." He looks over at AJ. "A few neighbors said he was driving this way the morning he disappeared."
AJ freezes and I hold my breath, waiting to see how she responds. "And? You can drive this way without coming to this bar," she says, and I can almost feel the blast of her powers being thrown at the chief.
His eyes widen and his mouth drops open as he struggles to find his words. "We found... we found some blood, and the lab results finally came back."
"What do you mean?" I ask, repeating AJS words like an idiot.
"It was John's blood. And we found it in front of Morgan's. I'm going to need to talk to both of you, and definitely to those strange men that have been hanging around. This has officially become a murder investigation."