The Calling

  Hunter gave me an odd look. “What’s bothering you?” “I don’t know.” I shifted in my seat, annoyed with myself for being so competitive. A good Wiccan would be able to simply enjoy Killian’s power for what it was. “I’m not sure I trust him,” Hunter said thoughtfully. His eyes followed Killian as he scored the two beers and Robbie’s soda.

  Raven lit a cigarette and blew smoke through her nostrils at us. “What is your collective problem?” she asked. “So Killian shows off a little with his magick. All it means is he’s different.”

  “That’s one word for it,” said Sky, her voice acid-edged.

  Killian returned then, his glamor dissolved, and gave Robbie and Raven their drinks. “How long

  are you going to be in the city?” he asked Raven. Raven started to answer, only to be silenced by a warning look from Hunter. “Uh, I’m not sure,” she said.

  “So, will I see you again?” he persisted. “Maybe,” she said. She slid a quick glance at Sky, as if to ask, How far will you let me push you? before she added, “Why don’t you give me your number?” He gave her a wide-eyed look. “Would you believe I’m staying with friends and I can’t remember their number? How about you give me your number?” It was a transparent lie, and I wondered why he told it, especially since he didn’t make any real effort to be convincing. I could feel Sky reaching a silent boil. Raven must have felt it, too, because she shrugged, downed her beer, and got to her feet. “Same here,” she said. “Can’t remember it. Guess I’ll see you when I see you.” Killian held out his hand and pulled her to him. Then he gave her a quick kiss, teetering on the edge between friendly and sexual.

  I glanced at Sky in alarm. Her face was set, her nostrils flared. “Raven, we’re leaving now,” Hunter said loudly. Raven looked at Killian and shrugged. “Gotta go.” Killian’s dark brows rose. “Must you?”

  “Yes, we must,” Hunter said. We retrieved our coats and trailed out of the club into the frigid streets.

  We started back to the apartment. Sky and Raven walked ahead, maintaining an icy distance between themselves and us. Robbie slung an arm around Bree’s shoulders, and they walked on like that, quiet and compatible. Whatever ups and downs they’d had during the evening, they seemed to have ended it on an upward trend. Hunter was quiet, too, and walking slowly enough that we fell behind Robbie and Bree after a block or two. “Thinking about your job?” I guessed. He nodded in a distracted way.

  How could he focus so intensely on something so nebulous, so unformed? I couldn’t—especially not when I was around him. I felt the familiar rush of insecurity. Did he

  even love me? He’d never said he did.

  Of course he does, I told myself. He’s just not as obvious about it as Cal was. Feeling suddenly sad, I pulled my jacket tighter. Above us white stars blazed through a clear black night. The moon was gone, dropped somewhere behind the Manhattan skyline. “Cold?” Hunter asked, pulling me against him. “I’m not so sure I want to go to that club again,” I told him. “The amount of magick flying around was almost too much.”

  “It was intense, that’s true. But it’s good to be exposed to lots of magick, coming from lots of sources. Besides just increasing your general knowledge, it will help you to recognize and deal with dark magick. Which, as you know, is especially important for you.” I felt my chest tighten. We’d already talked about this more than once—about the fact that Selene had been part of a larger conspiracy, that her death probably didn’t mean I was safe from other members of her coven or from other factions altogether. I’m going to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, I thought bleakly. Hunter pulled me to a stop under a streetlight. It cast harsh shadows on the planes of his face, making his cheekbones look razor sharp. “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “I’m looking after you. And you can look after yourself pretty well, too, you know. Besides, if Amyranth knows about you at all, they’ll know you’re high on the council’s radar right now.” I thought of Killian. “Maybe I need to learn the art of magickal disguise.” “That’s the least of it.” Hunter frowned at me. “Why are you so eager to be casting glamors, anyway? I could see it in your eyes tonight. They went round with envy when Killian did his little parlor trick.”

  “It’s not just envy,” I said, thinking it through aloud. “It’s knowing that I have the power to be like those other witches, except I don’t know how to use it. It’s like being given the key to this fabulous palace and seeing all these gorgeous rooms lit up inside but not knowing how to get the key into the lock.”

  “Is that bad?” he asked. “You’ve only been practicing magick for two and a half months. And learning to wield magick properly is a lifetime’s work.” Oh Goddess, how sick I was of hearing that! I started walking again. Hunter reached out, caught my arm, and pulled me toward him. “Morgan. You know that I want you to be able to put that key in the lock, don’t you? I’m not trying to keep you out of the palace. I want you to come fully into your power, to be able to use every bit of magick in you.” His fingertips stroked my face, and I felt myself moving toward him. “I just don’t want you or

  anyone else getting hurt in the process.”

  “I know,” I breathed as he gently lowered his head to mine. Then his arms wrapped around me and our mouths met and I felt all the tension of the evening melt away. I opened myself to Hunter, and it was like a river of sapphire light poured into me, like he was washing me in his magick and his love. I felt my own heart open and my power moving, streaming through my body, twining with his. It felt like that spot on the Manhattan sidewalk was the center of the universe and the night and all its stars spun out from us. In that moment, in that place, I had no doubts, no insecurities.

  Love, I thought. The ultimate magick.

  Hunter and I were the last ones to get back to the apartment. Inside we found Robbie in the kitchen, emptying a bag of popcorn into a bowl, Bree taking sheets and blankets from the linen closet, and Sky and Raven standing at opposite ends of the living room. Mr. Warren was nowhere in sight.

  Robbie consulted his watch as I hung up my jacket. “Where have you two been?” he asked, sounding like a disapproving parent.

  “We…got a little lost,” Hunter said, flashing me a quick, secret smile that made my cold cheeks turn a shade more pink.

  Raven grabbed a handful of popcorn. “So, where’s everyone sleeping?” she asked. No one answered. Sky stared out the window, Robbie concentrated on the popcorn, and Bree murmured something about pillowcases and returned to the linen closet. Hunter’s green eyes locked on me, and I found myself looking away, unaccountably shy all over again. Was it possible that we’d actually wind up in the same bed? Even if we did, I was fairly sure no one was going to be doing much fooling around—the apartment was just too cramped. I was secretly relieved. I wasn’t quite ready for that. But my heart was pounding at the thought of sleeping with some part of my body touching Hunter’s. I longed to be with him for a few peaceful hours without the confusion of consciousness. I longed to wake up in his arms. I wondered what Bree and Robbie wanted to do. They seemed to be getting along now, but I wasn’t about to discount what Bree had said in the market. Bree, holding an armful of linens, cleared her throat. “Well, the living room couch folds out to a double bed. The bed in the guest room is a trundle bed, so it has another mattress under it, and there’s a couch in the study.” She flashed an overly bright smile that proved she felt every bit as nervous as I did.

  Raven made an impatient noise. “Let’s get it over with already. How do you want to split it

  up?”

  Again no one answered. Finally Hunter spoke up. “The way I see it, Mr. Warren’s being kind enough to host us. Whatever we do shouldn’t upset him.” Bree’s eyes lingered on Robbie with a mix of desire and regret. “I’m not sure my dad would notice if we mixed it up,” she admitted, “but it’s probably a good idea not to find out. Better to keep the girls and guys separate.”

  I tried not to look disappointed and told myself that Bree and H
unter were right. “Robbie and I can take the study,” Hunter volunteered. Robbie walked over to the pile of luggage in the living room and picked up his pack and a small green stuff sack. “Air mattress,” he explained. “Morgan and I can take the guest room,” Bree said. “That’s the room I usually sleep in when I come down here, anyway.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, surprised and pleased that Bree had chosen me for her roommate. “That means Sky and I have the living room,” Raven said. Sky said, “I think I’ll go out for a walk. Don’t wait up for me.” Raven stared at her in disbelief. “Oh, come on! I can’t believe you’re still upset. I was just flirting with him. It was harmless.”

  “That’s not how I saw it,” Sky said, her voice tight. Raven made a face. “Oh, Jesus.”

  “Look, we’ll just rearrange,” Hunter said, sounding weary. “Robbie and I can share the foldout in the living room. Sky can have the study.” “And where does that leave me?” Raven demanded, one hand on her hip. Bree took the air mattress from Robbie. “You can sleep in the guest room with me and Morgan,” she said. “Really, it will be totally comfortable.” “Brilliant,” said Hunter. “Then everybody’s happy.” I don’t think anyone actually believed that, but we all went off to our agreed-upon quarters. For the next fifteen minutes Bree and Raven and I worked on inflating the air mattress and getting sheets and blankets on all three beds. I was fighting a sense of crashing disappointment.

  How did my romantic getaway with Hunter turn into a sleepover with the girls?

  Bree grabbed a robe from behind the door and announced she was going to take a shower, leaving me in the guest room with Raven. I pulled my nightgown out of my pack. It was a simple white cotton gown cut straight across the chest with skinny ribbon shoulder straps. Actually, it was Mary K.’s; she had loaned it to me. I didn’t even own a nightgown. “You want to wear this,” Mary K. had assured me. “Trust me, Hunter will love it.” Hunter’s not even going to see it, I thought grumpily. Raven had changed into a loose black T-shirt with the neck and arms cut out. She was sitting on the air mattress, examining the black polish on her toenails. “Sky can be a cold bitch sometimes,” she muttered.

  “Maybe,” I agreed. “But I think your flirting with Killian was hard on her.” Raven snorted. “She knows that didn’t mean anything.” “Then why was she so freaked?”

  “I don’t know,” Raven said irritably.

  I wondered how far into this conversation I should go. Though we were in the same coven, Raven and I had never exactly been friends. She was a senior and hung out with a much tougher crowd than I ever had. The idea of me, who’d been kissed by all of two boys, giving Raven Meltzer romantic advice was a joke.

  I was brushing out my hair when Raven said, “So tell me—what’s your theory? On Sky, I mean.”

  Okay, it was definitely a weird night. I chose my words carefully. “Sky cares about you, and you hurt her. I think her coldness is the way she reacts to being hurt. If I were you, I’d give her another chance,” I said. Then, before things could get any weirder, I grabbed my toothbrush and headed for the bathroom.

  Robbie was already standing in line, listening to the sound of the shower. I wondered if that meant Hunter was alone in the living room but didn’t have the nerve to ask. “Bree’s still in there,” Robbie reported, rolling his eyes at the bathroom door. “I think she’s washing every strand of hair on her head individually.” “That’s okay—I’ll wait.” A daring idea suddenly occurred to me. “Robbie…how would you feel about switching places with me a little later tonight?” Robbie’s eyebrows rose. “Morganita, you sly dog!”

  “Not for the whole night or anything. Maybe for an hour or so.”

  “I dunno,” Robbie said. “That means you get an hour with Hunter, and I’ve got that same hour with Bree and Raven.”

  “We’ll wait till one,” I said. “Everyone should be asleep. You can just slip in next to Bree. Raven will never know.”

  Robbie eyed me doubtfully. “What if Raven wakes up?” “Then just explain you were sleepwalking and stumbled into the wrong room.” “Yeah, that’s believable.”

  “Oh, come on, Robbie. Please.”

  “Shhh,” he whispered. “Okay, I’ll do it.” My heart skipped a beat as Hunter walked toward us, toothbrush in hand. He was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt over gray sweats that just seemed to emphasize how long and lean he was.

  I felt his eyes on me, taking in the white nightgown and my hair brushed out and hanging loose, and I knew that Mary K. had been right. I could feel Hunter’s senses reaching out to me, wanting me, drawing me toward him.

  Robbie must have sensed the electricity between us. “I’m going to hang in the kitchen,” he said. “But if Bree ever gets out of the bathroom, I’m first.” Neither Hunter nor I said anything until he left. Then Hunter came close. “You look beautiful,” he said in a husky voice.

  “Thanks. Um—you too,” I said in my eloquent way. My hands, ridiculously, trembled a little, and I folded my arms so he wouldn’t notice. I debated whether or not to tell him what Robbie and I had been planning. But before I’d worked up my nerve, he spoke in a rush. “Do you think I could possibly persuade you to change places with Robbie for a little while tonight?” he asked. I heard the anxiety in his voice, the fear that I might say no, and I loved him so, so much.

  “I already asked him,” I said, my heart hammering. Hunter blew out his breath and grinned. His eyes danced with emerald green light. “Great minds…” he said, and bent to kiss me. Just then the bathroom door swung open and a cloud of steam floated out.

  “Whoops,” Bree said.

  Hunter and I pulled apart. “Robbie,” I called, grateful for the steam that hid my red cheeks. “The bathroom’s yours.”

  An hour later we were all tucked in. I was too excited to even consider sleep. Periodically I extended my senses, identifying the patterns of the people in the apartment. Bree was sleeping, and so were Raven and Sky. Hunter and Robbie were both wide awake. Finally it was oneA.M. Moving quietly so as not to wake Bree and Raven, I made my way out of the guest room. In the living room a single candle flickered. Hunter and Robbie were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, waiting for me. “Bree,” Robbie whispered. “Is she—”

  “Asleep,” I told him. “Be careful you don’t startle her. Any sign of Mr. Warren?” Hunter shook his head. “Not yet.”

  I was keenly aware of his being just a few feet from me. My heart began to beat faster, and that funny anticipation feeling—that mix of pleasure with just a thread of uncertainty—began to hum through me. I waited till Robbie had gone, and then I sat beside Hunter. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” he said. He reached out and closed one hand over mine. “I thought you might fall asleep.”

  “Almost did,” I teased.

  “Did you really?” he asked.

  “No,” I admitted, suddenly feeling vulnerable and unsure. It occurred to me again that Hunter had never told me he loved me, though I’d told him I loved him. Was it just a guy thing, not being able to say the words? Or did he not feel the same way? Hunter was honest to a fault, and I was certain that he cared about me. But maybe it wasn’t love, and that’s why he’d never said the words. Could Bree be right about love? Maybe Hunter was about to break my heart and hand it back to me in little pieces.

  Maybe I shouldn’t be here now, I thought, feeling a tickle of panic. Maybe I should just go back to my own bed, not get close to anything I can’t handle. Then Hunter turned over my hand and began to gently stroke the underside of my arm. His touch sent shivers of delight racing through me. “You were like a vision, you know,” he said, his voice soft and low. “Standing there in the hall in that innocent gown, your hair shining, holding a toothbrush of all things. I just wanted to run

  away with you.”

  “Really?” I whispered. “Where to?”

  “I don’t know. Didn’t think it through that far.” He brushed back a strand of hair from my face. “You know, I never had second thoughts abou
t becoming a Seeker. It seemed necessary, fated. But lately…” His voice trailed off on a note of longing. “Lately what?”

  “I wish there were a way to take a break from it. I wish I could just steal away with you for a while.”

  My heart was pounding like a drum. I fought desperately to keep things grounded, realistic. “My parents probably wouldn’t be too keen on that idea,” I said. “Right. Parents,” he said. “They probably wouldn’t approve of this, either.” He bent forward and kissed the side of my neck.

  Chills raced through me. The energy flowing between us felt so strong and right and good. I didn’t want to walk away from it. Not anymore. Gently I lifted his head so that I could put my mouth on his. He wrapped his arms around me. At first our kisses were soft, searching, as if we were just getting to know each other. Hunter’s hands slid along my nightgown, caressing my waist, my side. Every inch of my body was alight with desire. Everything in me streamed toward Hunter. I slid my hand under his shirt, felt the smooth skin of his chest over a hard sheath of muscle. Gently he pushed me backward so we were lying on the foldout bed. He pulled back for a moment, and I saw his face in the light from the window, intent as always. But now, this time, he was totally focused onme . His lips came down on mine again, harder now, more urgent. Then, without warning, Hunter broke away. “What’s wrong?” I asked, breathless.

  “Don’t you sense him?”