Now if you guys don’t mind, there’s still enough time for me to safely make it home and I want to sleep in my own bed tonight. I’ll check back with you tomorrow if they call, otherwise I’ll be back.”

  “Of course, dear,” Helena says, putting her arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “You’ve done a brilliant job.”

  Aidan summons Hannah’s bags and she’s clearly impressed.

  “Aidan, dude, I still say, anytime, anyplace.”

  “I got your back, Hannah,” he says.

  “And for that we are all grateful.” Julian’s tone is fervent.

  “Bye, Hannah,” I say as I give her another huge hug.

  “Bye, ma petite.”

  “See you, guys,” she says. “Wish I could just pop around like Aidan,” she says wistfully.

  And she is out the door, heading her bug back to Berkeley.

  “I need to replenish energy,” Aidan says. “And you all are too stressed for my appetite, so I am going to hit The Castro or somewhere else and then go back to my place to relax for a while. I will be back when Lilith wakes up.”

  He walks over to me and puts his hands on my shoulders

  “Try not to get kidnapped or staked or anything else while I am gone, please. I am too depleted to keep an eye on you tonight. I am going to have to trust the one over there. It pains me greatly to do this, so don’t kill me off completely by letting him be a hero on top of it all.”

  Sebastian laughs and my mouth curls into a smile. Aidan gives me a kiss on the nose and is gone.

  “I do not envy the situation that you are in, Cherie.”

  “I put myself in it.”

  “Not completely. Aidan pushed wholeheartedly.”

  “I should really head back to my place.”

  “No.” Julian is firm. “This is no time for us to be isolated.”

  “Please stay here until we have this resolved, ma petite. Either that or let me stay with you.”

  Sebastian staying with me would move our relationship too quickly. I have to admit I am a little afraid to stay by myself right now.

  “If you will have me, I’ll stay here for a little while longer. Sebastian, will you go with me to get more clothes tomorrow?”

  “Of course, Cherie.”

  “I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.”

  “I will be up shortly,” Sebastian says.

  I look at him with renewed firm intention and he puts his hands up.

  “I’m just going to tuck you in, Cherie.”

  “I mean it, Sebastian,” I say.

  Bast grins at me. I wave goodnight to Julian and Helena’s knowing looks and climb the stairs to my room. I take a nice long shower and slip into a short pink silk nightgown I’d brought with me the day before. Sebastian shows up in another pair of silk pajama pants. I don’t know why or where he has them, he doesn’t sleep.

  “Come Lily, you look tired. Come to bed.”

  “I mean it, no funny business.”

  I get into bed and Bast follows. The feel of his skin next to mine makes me shiver, then sleep takes me away.

  When I wake up, I’m surprised to find an empty bed, no Sebastian, no Aidan. I hear noises downstairs. It’s probably Aidan. I slip into a cute Primp cream colored, bow tie dress. It’s light weight and very flirty. Some sling back heels and I’m ready to strut. It’s good that I over packed as usual or I would have nothing to wear by now.

  Downstairs I’m shocked to hear Indio and Iris. Their voices are coming from the parlor. I can see that Andrew is serving coffee. I help myself to some coffee and notice the way Sebastian appreciates my dress. I turn my head to the side and give him a sly smile before I sit down. He returns the smile with a sparkle in his eyes. The tension level notches up one hundred and eighty degrees with me in the room. All the conversation seems to die. Helena tries to keep things going.

  “Iris, that’s a lovely dress you are wearing, today.”

  “Thank you, Helena. It’s new.” Silence.

  “Indio, what were you saying about the weather?” Helena tries gamely.

  “Just that it is nice to have a sunny day for a change.” She smiles at Helena.

  It is clear to me that she is totally insincere. We all know that this is a charade.

  “Well, I think it is time for us to go now,” Iris says after the silence echoes once again through the room.

  “It’s been a pleasure having you,” Julian says, ever the gentlemen.

  “Let me walk you to the door.” Sebastian gets up.

  He puts his hand on Indio’s back and guides her to the front door. Indio glances at me with a wicked sneer on her face. I just hold it in. I have been a good girl and not said a word to them the whole time they were there. I just smile and nod like a bobble head doll.

  Sebastian comes back after seeing them to the door.

  “I wonder what that was about?” he says.

  “I think they are trying to keep up appearances. To keep us from suspecting them,” Helena says.

  “I agree. Lily sure put a damper on them, though.” Julian grins.

  “Quite. At least you didn’t provoke them, Cherie.”

  “No, I could feel the hostility in the air. Did you have to put your hand on her back?”

  “I was simply being polite,” Sebastian says. I see his expression before he turns away. He’s playing with me.

  “Be a little less polite next time,” I snap.

  He grins at me, which does oodles to help my mood.

  There is a knock at the door and Andrew answers it. He seems to be having a heated conversation with someone. A moment later he appears in the parlor.

  “The police are here to see Miss Lily,” Andrew says attempting to appear calm.

  What on earth could the police want? I’ve never even had a parking ticket.

  “Did they say what they wanted, Andrew?” Sebastian asks in a low voice.

  “No, they won’t say.”

  Andrew begins to fidget and shuffle his feet.

  “It’s okay Andrew. You can show them in,” I say.

  Andrew fetches two men in suits. They look around at the surroundings as if they are cataloguing every old master and Faberge Egg. I’m already nervous, now I’m suspicious too. I have never had to talk to the police before. Sebastian sits down next to me. He takes my hand, and I gratefully squeeze back. He’s not leaving and makes it clear without saying a word. I look around for hand sanitizer. Helena sees the warning signs and brings some for me. I keep some in every room, here and at home. I put some on and grasp Bast’s hand again. The gentlemen take seats across from me.

  “Miss Goodwill, I’m Detective Bose and this is Detective Dobeck. We’re with the San Francisco Police Department. We want to ask you a few questions.” Detective Bose straightens his pants leg and gets a pen out to take notes.

  “Does Lily need an attorney?” Sebastian asks.

  “Who are you, sir?” Detective Dobeck pins Sebastian with a considering look.

  If he expects Sebastian to back down he will wait till hell puts in a.c.

  “Sebastian St. John, Lily’s fiancé,” Sebastian says as he casually gets up to shake the detectives’ hands. I choke and Sebastian gently pats me on the back.

  “Mr. St. John, Miss Goodwill, we just have a few questions to ask you about the black out a few days ago. We had an anonymous tip that Miss Goodwill had something to do with it.”

  You could have knocked me over with a feather. Where on earth had this come from? Who on earth… wait a second. I know exactly who would try and pin this on me. Two extremely bitchy witches, that’s who. Damn! I reach for my hand sanitizer again. Sebastian holds my hand tight and squeezes.

  I decided to play this the way I felt it. My feelings have traveled from curiosity to anger. Believable – just have to not over do it. I relax and look at them with puzzlement.

  “I had nothing to do with that. I wouldn’t know how to cause a power outage unless I accidentally dropped my hairdryer into the tub. But I haven’t.”

  “What were you doing the night of November eighteenth?” Detective Bose asks me – obviously not amused.

  “I believe I was working that night. I work from ten p.m. to two a.m. at the San Francisco Suicide Prevention Hotline.”

  I remembered the night clearly. It was the night before I talked Aidan off the Golden Gate Bridge.

  They exchange glances.

  “Do you live here, Miss Goodwill?” Detective Dobeck asks.

  “At the moment.”

  “Why do you need to work then, if I may ask? I know they can’t be paying you enough at the hotline to support this lifestyle.”

  “For one reason, it keeps me busy. For another reason, I feel good helping people.” I didn’t want them knowing my real address or my financial situation. They must not have looked it up before they came over. The anonymous tipster must have given them this address. Let them assume.

  “Lily is very good at what she does, detectives,” Sebastian says. Without altering a thing about his voice or demeanor he continues to dominate the exchange.

  I give him a small smile. He’s got my back. No matter how confusing things are between us.

  “You can check my work schedule with my supervisor if you want. We have to keep detailed logs.”

  “We will,” Detective Dobeck says. Great, that should cause quite a lot of gossip at work.

  “What can you tell us about the power outage?” Detective Bose asks.

  “Same thing everyone else can. It caused problems throughout the city.” I paused as I remembered something. “I know we had all our calls rerouted at the hotline. When I got home the lights were still out and I had to use candles. Other than that, I don’t know anything else.”

  “We thought this was a long shot,” the Detectives say as they put their notebooks away, “but we have to look into every lead we get. We’ll be contacting your supervisor and if everything checks out I think we’ll be done with you.”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you for your time, Miss Goodwill, Mr. St. John.” They nod at Helena and shake Julian’s hand on the way out.

  They gather their notebooks, give me their cards and leave. I am beyond furious. As soon as the door shuts I bolt from my chair and start pacing.

  “Easy, ma petite, don’t get too worked up.”

  “Bast, you know as well as I do that it was those two. Those damn witches. If it were still the sixteen hundreds, I’d burn them at the stake!”

  “Go Lilith!” Aidan says after he pops in. “What are you so worked up about?”

  “Iris and Indio called in an anonymous tip that I had something to do with the power outage. Two detectives were just here.”

  Aidan makes a growling sound.

  “Lily had an alibi. She was at work,” Julian says. “But now the police have her name, which is something we try very hard to keep them from having.”

  “I need to blow off some steam. I can’t stay around here pacing. Helena, do you want to go shopping?” I ask.

  “That sounds like fun. I’ve been cooped up in this house for too long. Let me get my bag and I’ll join you in the hall.”

  I give Aidan and Sebastian pecks on the cheek and leave them pondering the reason behind the detectives’ visit. Helena joins me in the hall after we grab our purses. We leave the manse in a flurry before the men can realize we’ve left their protective clutches.

  29 . LILITH

  “Let’s take your car, Lily. I hate driving Julian’s Mercedes.”

  “Okay. I love my car.” I feel the tension of the last few days start to ease as I begin driving through the hills towards Powell Street.

  “Let’s hit Bloomingdale’s, I want some new bed linens and want to look at towels. I’m thinking of redoing the colors in our bathroom,” Helena says.

  “Sounds good to me. I’m up for anything retail.”

  We find a parking garage near Westfield Center. It doesn’t take long to zero in on some great linens in Bloomies.

  “What do you think of this color, Lily?”

  “I’m partial to eggplant,” I say flashing my fingernails at her.

  “I think I am too. Okay, I’ll get them all,” Helena tells the ecstatic shopping assistant.

  I doubt she cares what her title is – this is a good sale.

  Helena is anything but frugal. Nine hundred plus years to earn and save her money has made her a very wealthy woman. She owns land and homes in several countries. She has a portfolio she dabbles with and is a major share holder in one of the biggest computer companies in the world. When they were a startup she thought the idea was intriguing so she put up the venture capital money. Who knew?

  After a couple of hours of window shopping, we walk towards my car and continue to chat away. I’m finally feeling calm, having bought two new dresses. Both were on sale which made the purchases an even bigger score in my book. We store everything in the trunk, not really paying attention to anything in particular when someone yells.

  “Lily Goodwill!”

  I turn around to look for the person who yelled and I’m thrown to the ground by a foreign body. Shock fogs my mind for a second as I struggle under the unfamiliar weight before I push him away – expecting to send him through a wall, but he is just as strong as I am. Helena is on top of him in no time. She throws a hex at him that knocks him off me. I leap to my feet and he lunges at me again. Helena sends another hex at him but it bounces back. He must have some protection spells on him. He crouches down, ready to spring again. He is not too tall, blonde short hair and covered in worn leather.

  “Who are you? What do you want?” I gasp.

  “Just come with me quietly. No one has to get hurt - too badly.” He laughs as he starts to circle.

  “Like hell!”

  He is vampire. His fangs slide out and so do mine and Helena’s. He’s between us and the car. He pulls out a glowing knife that must be bewitched and starts to move towards us. He jabs his blade at me, I move out of the way. He jabs again and I move back more but Helena is in the way and he nicks me. A small bit of blood trickles down my arm. It burns like Hades where I’m cut. Thank God it’s only a nick.

  Helena glides to the other side of me. She dances with the speed and grace that many years of Tai Chi give her. Helena kicks him in the groin, whirling around him to sweep his knees, while I smash my fist into his face. He’s so strong it barely slows him down. He stabs at me again, shoving Helena away. We back up to gain some distance to attack, but the wall looms behind us.

  “They said they didn’t care if you were damaged some in the process,” he taunts me.

  I’ve heard enough. I know who’s arranged this. The only people who have ever wanted to hurt me. The dynamic duo. They must’ve visited this morning to place some kind of locating spell on me. Make sure where I was so he could follow me. Suddenly everything makes sense.

  Something in me snaps. I’m literally seeing through a red haze. I run straight at him and kick a roundhouse followed by several punches to his solar plexus with everything I have. He takes the knife and slashes at me with it. He slices my arm from my elbow to my wrist and I feel it burn deep into the bone but keep going. I hit him again and manage to slam his arm into the wall, knocking the knife from his hand. He scrambles for the knife but before he can get it, Helena lands a curse that knocks him out. He goes down like the piece of dog shit he is and we jump into the car, Helena grabs one of the towels and wraps my arm in it. She motions that she will drive the car. She throws some money at the parking attendant and squeals out of there. I’m so full of anger that I’m not really registering the pain until we are almost home. My arm bleeds profusely, staining my dress and making my skin slick with the sluggish oozing. The rich tangy smell of the blood has me on edge. I hear Helena talking on her cell phone.

  When we pull up to the manse, Sebastian is waiting, Aidan on his heels. Helena called ahead and told them what happened. Before Sebastian can carry me in, Aidan has deposited me on the couch in the library. Andrew has steaming water and bandages ready.

  My arm stings like hell as Helena blots it with hot water. The bowl turns red as she dips the rag into the water to rinse it out. She casts a spell of healing and a counter - curse helps wound heal. While she chants, my arm glows and I have to grit my teeth to keep from yelling. Aidan rubs my back in quiet support and I lean into his warmth and comfort.

  “It will be a long time before it’s healed,” she says. “They are deep cuts and magickally reinforced – a bad combination.”

  I’m quiet, partially in shock, partially trying not to whimper. Sebastian and Aidan exchange several serious glances.

  “Cherie, what were you thinking attacking him like that?”

  “Sebastian, he wasn’t going to quit. I just saw red. I knew the witches had sent him and I’d had enough. I was so mad all I could think about was stopping him.”

  “Hmmm… Well, it seems to have done the trick, but at such a cost to you, ma petite.” He smoothes the hair off my forehead. His touch was gentle but I could see the fire in his eyes. Sebastian’s holding his temper back. He is nothing if not protective.

  “Rest now, brave girl,” Aidan whispers as he runs his fingers down the side of my cheek. His touch makes me drowsy and I shiver from the heat of his fingers. He must have put some magick into it.

  Sebastian carries me to the library. Aidan pops out and when he returns he looks grim. I don’t have the energy to ask him what he found out. He signals to Sebastian and Julian and they go into the hall. Helena and Andrew fuss around me, bringing me hand sanitizer and handi-wipes. I’m almost too sleepy to want any. Damn Aidan and his sleepy time spell. Andrew makes coffee. Holding a big mug with my other hand, I curl up in my favorite chair. The men haven’t returned yet. This can’t be good.