“But I didn’t—” I tossed at her retreating back and resigned myself to going inside. My intention of dropping off the diapers and claiming I was too busy for a visit went up in a breath of powdery-soft, totally intoxicating baby-head scent.

  Drawn like a moth to a flame, my gaze dropped down to meet Kaine’s. “Who’s a little cutie?” I cooed at him. “You are. Yes, you are.” I could have stared at him all day just to watch the way his precious lips curved into a perfect O when he smiled.

  Inside me, the witch stirred. You think you’re so cold, but you’re no better than the rest of us. The mighty bow-hunter Alexis reduced to a baby-talking puddle of goo.

  She snorted in my head. How mortifying.

  No matter how I tried to stop myself, more babble kept falling out of my mouth. “I could just eat you up. Yes, I could. In one big gulp.” A chubby hand popped up to grasp my nose and Kaine’s giggle slid through the last of my defenses. There was a goofy grin on my face as I planted kisses all over his rosy cheeks. Complete with smooching sounds. His laugh tickled over me and took me under.

  It was the sight of the baby’s mother doubled over and hooting that brought me back to my senses enough to realize something wasn’t quite right.

  Being pointed and laughed at rated nowhere on my list of lifelong dreams. But Serena didn’t seem to care. “He got to you too.” She took the baby away from me—nearly had to pry him out of my arms.

  “I’ll just put him down for his nap so we can talk.” Serena’s tone carried a hint of derision and, oddly, resignation. Minus the baby, Serena returned only moments later.

  With Kaine out of my sight, it was as if the world opened up again, but the cuddly puppy feelings he’d let loose refused to completely dissipate. For a moment, I reveled in them, and I could feel Lexi’s resolve to remain mired in her misery waver just a little. And then I felt her slam the metaphorical door back shut.

  If you’re fine with missing out on the good in order to avoid the bad, stop acting like the victim. I snarked at her. Coward.

  For once, she remained silent, and it bothered me that this was the moment the witch had decided to shy away from. I finally managed to regain my composure, and when I did, I noticed the state of Serena’s house—or, more accurately, Serena’s mother’s house.

  “You’ve been busy.” I assumed the change was her doing, anyway. Once a dingy tan, the walls looked ten times brighter in a muted gray that made the room seem warmer and set off the deep burgundy of the sofa and matching chair. “New furniture?”

  “What?” Confused, she glanced around the room. “Yeah. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to talk about the decor. Daddy moved into his building downtown, so it’s just me and my mom. But that’s not the point. You see what I’m going through, right? It’s becoming a problem and I don’t know what to do about it. You have to help me.”

  I followed Serena to the kitchen, which had also had a bit of a spruce, and took a seat at the table while she pulled a bottle of fizzy water from the fridge. A year before, it would have taken a herd of wild unicorns or a bulldozer to drag me into my archenemy’s house. Now, here we were, calmly sitting together and not spitting insults at each other. It boggled the mind.

  As did her plea for help.

  “What?” I said, failing to see the problem. “You have an adorable child. I'm not seeing that as a crisis.”

  She plunked her glass down hard enough for some of the contents to splash out. “Not a crisis?” Her voice went up an octave. “Not a crisis?”

  With Kaine out of the room, his effect on me had begun to fade from memory. “Isn’t it normal for people to go gaga over a cute baby? At least they’re not looking for a polite way to avoid saying he has a face only a mother could love.”

  Serena burned me with a look.

  “I can’t take him anywhere without it turning into a mob scene. I was craving those amazing garlic knots from Pastabilities the other night. Easy in, easy out. I mean, the place is a ghost town on Tuesday nights. I even called ahead. But no. We were in there for an hour and a half while every person in the place oohed and aahed over him. I got all the way home before I realized I’d never even made it to the counter, and I really wanted those garlic knots.”

  Still, there were worse problems to have, and I ran a finger through the condensation drops forming on the outside of my glass while I tried to find a way to frame a statement that wouldn’t send us back to our former relationship.

  “Is it a Fate Weaver thing?” she asked before anything came to me.

  My mouth popped open to answer with an automatic no. Surely, if there’d been a similar disturbance, the faeries would have turned the story into one of the family legends. But then again, if they thought all babies rated an entourage, there would have been no reason to point out how my childhood had been different. “I’ll have to check with the godmothers and get back to you on that, but I don’t think so.”

  Plus, I didn’t want to check with the faeries. Not after I’d finally managed to create some much-needed boundaries.

  “Lexi,” her voice dropped to a hush, and I didn’t correct her on the name, “I think he’s going to be a lot like you—spreading love, softening hearts, and I think he’s more powerful than he should be. Do you think it’s because of what happened when he was born?”

  Why was she whispering? We were alone in the house except for the baby, and what was wrong with him being like me, anyway? Spreading love and softening hearts didn’t seem like bad things to do. Then again, the first rule of witchiness is that intentions matter. Kaine was too young to direct his, and if Serena was right about his level of power, I could see why it might be a problem.

  But I didn’t have an answer for her. “My Gran and Aunt Mag said there might be repercussions from mixing our blood talismans, so it’s possible. I got the impression they weren’t sure what would happen, but it had been the only way to ensure a safe birth. Look, he’s a darling child and you’re a strong witch. You’re not alone; we’ll handle whatever happens.” Kaine rated my best efforts no matter which half of me was running the body.

  My assurances smoothed some of the worry lines around her mouth, but not all of them.

  On my way back to the car, a case of the creeps stole over my body, starting with a tingling ripple of hair rising on the back of my neck. Someone was watching me. Or Serena’s house. But probably me.

  One thing that came along with the Bow of Destiny—which quite frankly hadn’t been such a joy to own since I’d acquired it—was the enhanced vision that allowed me to zero in on targets from a distance. Until now, there’d been no occasion to use the sight unless I was framing a shot, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t, and so I tried.

  There’s nothing dignified about marching along with one eye squeezed shut. What’s more, when it kicked in, the sight in my right eye zoomed in and out fast enough to bring on a bout of nausea. If there was an enemy lurking, tossing my lunch at their feet probably wasn’t the scariest thing I could do.

  Instead, I reached under my coat to scratch at my shoulder blade, focused on staying casual, and hoped I looked less wobbly than I felt.

  Stirred by the light wind, bare branches clacked together like the finger bones of the long dead, the noise chilling in the waning light of winter day. Daylight saving time. What a lousy idea for full dark to set in before most people ended their working day.

  Snow banked on either side amplified the crunching of my booted feet over the sidewalk, but not enough that I missed the muffled sound to my right. Maybe the low growl of a dog, or the nicker of a horse. My feet froze and the dream came back to me in all its adrenaline-infused glory.

  Do you feel that?

  Lexi, alert again, funneled magic through me—or us, depending on how you looked at it—and my power, while not strictly magical, fed the flame she called into our palm. The itch on my shoulder blade increased maddeningly and I felt like the cork on a champagne bottle with the bubbling pressure building, and I was about to pop.

  Reflex was the only thing that saved the harried mother and son from being scorched as they rushed out their front door and hurried toward the sedan parked behind my car.

  “Do you have your skates?”

  “Mo-om, I’m going to hockey practice. I’d be pretty dumb to show up without them.”

  The car doors thunked shut and hockey mom, sliding a little on the icy slickness, took off as the sense of danger dissipated. When her taillights rounded the corner, I was, once again, alone in the street.

  Chapter 6

  I don’t know why Cupid chose to imbue the bow of destiny with the ability to play music. Maybe, in the days before everyone carried a cell phone equipped with streaming radio in their pockets, he just wanted something to listen to while he prowled around lofting arrows toward the hearts of lonely humans. Maybe he used the weapon’s tunes to help clue himself in to the emotions of each target, though why he would need to do so is a mystery, since the little blinking symbols above their heads indicates a heart open to new love. Or maybe, he figured the cacophony would drive mad any other poor soul who attempted to steal and wield the weapon.

  I’m betting on some combination of the latter two, because if I had to listen to the lilting notes of another sappy love song, I might hurl myself off the tallest building in Port Harbor. It’s more than half the reason why I waste little time drawing the bow and loosing an arrow whenever a twinkling heart catches my eye.

  No hesitation, no remorse, and no hanging around in the visions of sugar plums and happily ever afters that flood my consciousness whenever two hearts become inextricably linked.

  That’s because you’re a cold-hearted—

  Shut up. I cut Lexi off before she could finish the observation. I’m not saying it wasn’t partially true, but no one likes being called names. Especially not by someone who whines.

  I can hear what you’re thinking, you know, and I was not whining, I was merely pointing out that you’re an idiot for not appreciating the uplifting parts of the job.

  Suddenly I wasn’t cursing the bowsong anymore. Anything would be better than this.

  As if you have any room to talk. I was referring to her mocking retreat from the effects of Kaine’s magic, and received only a grunt in response before Lexi fell quiet again.

  On the weekends, when all the bars are open and the downtown district is filled with hopeful singles, my job is a lot easier. Weeknights are when said hopefuls go on dates with the people they met over the weekend, and that means they’re tucked away inside dimly-lit restaurants where I can’t blend into the crowd as easily.

  Half my job involves being a glorified stalker.

  Fortunately, the thrill of the hunt is part of the fun. Knowing it would lead me where I needed to go, I followed the pull in my belly and hit the jackpot outside a small tavern with a folding sign out front that advertised the night’s event: speed dating.

  Some trends simply refuse to die.

  Two blinking hearts flashed in my peripheral vision as I entered and casually sauntered toward the restroom. When a timer buzzed loudly, the men stood and moved in a clockwise pattern, sitting back down across from the next eager woman. If my calculations were correct, the blond man with the thick eyelashes had already spoken to his intended, a shy-looking woman dressed in basic black. I didn’t stop to wonder whether their conversation had gone well enough for them to choose one another at the end of the session, and pulled out my bow to ensure their connection would stick.

  See, that’s what I’m talking about. There’s more to this gig than point and shoot.

  The arrows squarely hit their marks while I ignored my inner Lexi voice, and then I got the heck out of there with a smile on my face. One match down, and I was just warming up for the night.

  Exiting the tavern, I circled around the corner and into an older section of Port Harbor. Blocks of attached townhouses marched down the edges of the road, like soldiers in a line, gabled hats perched atop their heads. Between every third of fourth unit, wrought iron gates in various states of repair restricted access to an expanse of fenced-in lawn that stretched across the block to meet up with an identical backyard on the opposite side.

  My LPS—my Love Positioning System is a fluttery feeling in my gut—instructed me to veer north toward another lonely heart, and I took a quick glance around before touching a finger to one of the gate locks and easing quickly through the opening. Keeping to the shadows, I made it halfway across the lawn before I felt a whoosh and a tingle that made the hairs on my neck feel like they were marching in circles.

  From somewhere nearby, the stench of dark magic and Chanel No. 5 made me want to gag. I broke into a full-on run and exited the other side of the courtyard a few yards behind the man whose heart had called me to this place.

  I scanned the area for a matching symbol. Shooting the guy by himself could have serious repercussions. Or I assumed they did because the only times I’d ever tried it, the bow blasted me with You Give Love a Bad Name, and I had to give the bow credit for nailing the song. Still, the message was clear. Don’t shoot. Just don’t.

  The man continued walking toward the spot where, at the far edge of my vision, I saw a glimmer of a matching symbol. I whipped out the bow in an attempt to gain the upper hand, knowing Diana Diamond was bearing down on me and that I had mere seconds to spare our unsuspecting quarry from the sting of one of her cards.

  Engaging my targeting sight, I double-checked the symbols, calculated the odds, and decided the shooting order. Man first, long shot after.

  “You’re out of your league, Balefire.” As opening lines went, that one was uninspired. I let my arrows fly and swallowed the giggle that had been bubbling into my throat when I realized Diana’s weapon had made contact a split second ahead of mine. The split second I’d taken to decide cost me. Or rather, the man.

  The target stopped walking, and I held my breath as the symbol above his head changed from a pink heart to a red diamond that shuddered and morphed into the black heart that marked him as one of Diana’s conquests.

  Enraged, I sheathed the bow as I whipped around and came face-to-face with her. Lexi lit up my thoughts with a stream of words unbecoming of a good witch and I fought the urge to lunge at Diana and scratch her eyes out with my bare hands.

  “See, I warned you.” I wanted to wipe the smug smile off her face with something sharp and pointy, but the damage had already been done, and getting into a hair-pulling fight with a psycho half-goddess didn’t seem like the best plan.

  My stomach knotted and turned over on itself when Diana approached the section of sidewalk where the man had been standing, picked up the card she’d used on him, and slurped up the blackness left behind by his poor, darkened soul. There was nothing I could do for him now, at least not until I figured out how to reverse her magic. Suddenly I felt no closer to that goal than I had been months before. I needed to find a way to either fully defeat her or banish her back to the Nexus, and even if the act tarnished my own soul, it would be well worth the price.

  “You’re fighting a losing battle, Diana.” I retorted, as calmly as I possibly could. “Don’t you understand that the gods don’t want you counted among their numbers? You’re not welcome in Olympus, so why don’t you just give up now and find someone else to harass?”

  She shot me a look of contempt. “What would be the fun in that? You’re not fooling anyone with this tough girl act. I know deep down you’re still feeling the loss of your precious lover boy.” Diana licked her lips slowly, sensuously, “I can taste your pain, and it’s the most potent, purest kind. The kind that knows all hope is lost.”

  Her words stung with truth, and I felt Lexi recoil, heard the hiss of her reaction, and this time anticipated the swell of witchfire in our palm.

  “Don’t you dare say his name!” Lexi swam to the surface and it was her words that echoed into the night. Together, we hurled the ball of witchfire in Diana’s direction, unsurprised when she lithely sidestepped the flame as though we were playing a friendly game of dodge ball.

  “Kin Clark is still mine. There’s no hope for you, Balefire.” Diana’s words and her evil laugh trilled through the air even after she’d disappeared back to whatever hole she’d climbed out of in the first place.

  Lexi’s emotion threatened to pull me into its undertow, so I slammed shut the barrier between us, heard it whoosh into place complete with sci-fi sound effect, and used the silence left behind to gather myself together while Lexi fumed and sputtered. Feelings don’t win battles, strategy does. Emotions only get in the way. Since I was the one with the mad logic skills, maybe I should be the one in charge of things. The only one.

  Fat chance. Wretched witch put the taste of pickles in my mouth. Sour pickles. It was a sign.

  My spirits lower than low, I trudged back toward the city proper, all the way imagining what tearing Diana limb-from-limb would look like. Two blocks from where I’d parked, I felt a tingle of magic and braced myself for another encounter with my nemesis. But when I looked around, it wasn’t Diana Diamond leaning up against a frost-covered lamppost—it was Delta the Fiach, and she had her right eyebrow raised as she appraised my outfit.

  “I came here to talk to Lexi Balefire, but it looks like I found Catwoman instead.” Delta let out a husky chuckle.

  “It’s cold, and the leather keeps me warm.” I staunchly defended my fashion choice. What did a supernatural bounty hunter from Olympus know about current styles, anyway? Delta’s six-foot rapier peeked out from behind the fur-lined cloak fastened around her neck. “And darling, who are you to talk? You look like an escapee from Narnia.”

  Delta grimaced in surprise, looked at her own outfit, looked back at me, and nodded with resignation. “Fair point.” We traded smiles that turned into a fit of laughter. I’d forgotten how much fun it could be to trade insults with a good friend, especially since everyone else in my life was either annoyed by my strength or unwilling to accept I wasn’t as fragile as their precious Lexi.