Old Demon and the Sea Witch (Welcome to Hell #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,16
my day? And when I lost her… I spent a long time buried in the stacks, learning to come to grips with my new demon self and my broken heart.
“Just so we’re clear,”—I eyed her—“I always wanted to see you. I went to see you that same night actually, but you were already gone.”
That night still haunted me. I’d found out she eloped, and I got drunk on an epic scale. But it didn’t make things better. Nothing did. Which was why when I came out of my alcoholic stupor, I accepted the deal with Lucifer.
“You never came looking when I returned,” was her next weak excuse.
“You returned a married woman amidst a town in the process of evacuating. I wasn’t about to torture myself like that.” An admission that pinched her features.
“I really did mess things up. I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Because we wasted so much time. But it’s never too late to start over. Or even better. Let’s skip the part we’ve done and move right to what should have happened a long time ago. Marry me, Dottie.”
Her lips parted. “No, I will not. You’re insane. You’re a stranger to me.”
“And I don’t know you at all, either. But I want to find out. Marry me.”
“No.”
She stalked away. I followed.
“Why not? I retired from the library the day before this cruise. There are no books now that can keep me from you.” How had she ever thought my studies more important?
“It wasn’t just about the books.” She rounded on me. “You never even tried. Not once did you steal a kiss or say something wildly inappropriate. And now you want me to believe you have some grand love for me? Ha. I am not that gullible. This is all part of his plan.”
“What are you talking about? Whose plan?”
“Lucifer’s,” she hissed. “You’re under a spell.”
“I am?” I glanced down at my body. “I don’t feel as if I’m under any power.”
“It must be subtle because I can’t see it either. But trust me, it’s there.”
My lips quirked. “You think it’s a spell making me say these things.”
“I highly doubt you want to marry me. If you have some unrequited love fantasy, you would have looked me up ages ago. My husband has been dead a long time.”
“I didn’t know you were single. Once I found out you’d married, I never looked for you again.” Not entirely true. I’d heard about the birth of her daughter and sent—without a return name or address—a book of children’s fables. The violent, blood-thirsty kind, unlike the pale versions of modern day.
“Proving my point. You only suddenly recalled this unrequited love for me when we saw each other because it triggered a spell. You didn’t happen to see Lucifer today, did you?” Dottie asked.
“Maybe. But only for a moment. He didn’t cast any magic.”
“As if you’d know.” She snorted. “The dark lord is subtler than people give him credit for.”
“I know what he’s capable of.” What she didn’t appear to grasp was that I’d always been in love with her. I’d tried having other women in my life, none lasted long because I’d yet to meet another who could compare to Dottie. “And exactly why would Lucifer want us to be in love?”
“Who knows. Shits and giggles are enough sometimes for him. So long as you understand that what you feel isn’t real.”
“What if I like it and want it to be real?”
She didn’t reply to that. The flare of her nostrils was the only outward sign that she actually heard me. “Tell me more about the spell on your nephew.”
“I thought you couldn’t break it.”
“I can’t, but I’m wondering if there’s a way to work with it.”
Despite knowing the futility, I told her everything I’d learned, mostly because I wanted to keep her around a little longer. Her prickly nature was to be expected. We’d been apart a while, and over a stupid pretext. It would take time to build a level of rapport. Or at least a few more drinks.
“The library of Atlantis might have something for you,” she mused aloud. “I wonder if we could create a counter spell. Or what if the conditions are impossible to meet? Does it say what happens if the Farseer line dies out before the Kraken one?”
Because if there existed no source, then there could be no curse.
“Already suggested that to Ian. He refused to murder them. Bloody kid has a streak of good in him. It’s why it’s a shame he’s so screwed.”
“Don’t