Page 80 of Savior
“In chess, the Queen protects the King.” Dean places the pieces back on the board. “In life, that’s not how I do things.” His voice is stern. “You stay in the house.”
I watch him shove on his biker boots and walk outside, down the front steps and a few strides out into the widest part of the driveway. Crouching beside the object, he removes his knife, flipping it open. The sun bounces off the sharp blade as he carefully cuts the fabric open. Using the tip of the knife to poke around inside for a moment, he flips the blade closed, tucking it back in his pocket, before he stands and walks back to the house. Dean can obviously play chess, but I bet he’s great at poker, too. I can’t get a read from his expression, at all.
“What is it?” I ask, before he’s even in the door.
“Witch shit.” He mutters. “But I don’t like the looks of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The bad kind of Witch shit, Vanna. It needs to go, but this is your area of expertise, not mine. So, tell me how to dispose of it to ward off the… badjuju.”
Staring up into Dean’s face, he doesn’t seem scared. He seems pissed off. “Can you tell me what it is?” I press.
“I really don’t even want to say… I don’t think I’m wrong in its meaning, but…” he shakes his head.
“It must be pretty bad.”
“If I find out who left it… they’re fuckin’ dead… Now tell me how to destroy a hex.”
“Usually burn it. Or throw it in a river.”
“I’ll burn it. Then throw the remnants in a river.”
He storms off to the kitchen, I assume to grab a lighter from the drawer to make good on his plans. My curiosity gets the better of me, however. I grab his leather jacket and slip it on to cover myself a little more. Jamming my bare feet into my sneakers, I hurry out the door and speed walk over to the object before Dean can stop me.
He’s by my side in a second, pulling me away by my arm, but not before I’m able to see it for myself…
“God damnit, Vanna.” he mutters, holding me against his chest. “You never listen to me when I tell you not to do something.”
“It’s a fire-earth cusp thing.” I barely hear myself say, wrapping my arms around him as he holds me tighter. “Burn it… Then throw it in the river.”
“Please don’t let this get to you.” He presses his lips to the top of my head.
“On your way home, stop by the store and pick up the biggest bag of sea salt they have.” I say, allowing him to hold me a few moments longer, for his sake, and mine.
Dean is right. The world is full of bad people.
Vanna asked me not to say anything to anyone about what was left at our home this morning. She said we were never to speak of it, or pay it any mind again. That dwelling on hexes is part of what gives them their power. There’s a thick ring of salt around our home now, and scattered by all the doors and windows. There are also four crystals buried in the ground at the four corners of the property, as well as a jar full of herbs and witchy objects, buried at the foot of our porch.
Whatever makes her feel better… Whatever makes her feel safe.
I managed to convince her to let me take her to dinner. It’s her birthday, after all, and I told her it would be good for the both of us to get out of the house for a while. Clear our heads. She agreed, and so, here we are. Sitting across from each other, pretending to enjoy our meal in this premium casual restaurant. I was going to bring her to our fancy Italian joint, but she didn’t feel like getting too dressed up, and it’s her birthday. Discouraged by the events of the day, I watch her as she forks the food around her plate.
“Would you like something else?” I offer. “You need to eat, Vanna. I hate to be such a drill sergeant with you about this. But that also isn’t going to stop me.”
She smiles slightly, humoring me by taking a bite of her food and swallowing. “I know.” She says. “You didn’t tell anyone here that it’s my birthday, though, right? I really don’t feel like drawing any attention to myself when a bunch of strangers sing to me with a slice of cake.”
I hate that shit, too. “No, I didn’t. Guess I did something right.” I sigh.
She gives me a sympathetic look and reaches to touch my hand. “You do everything right. I’m sorry if I’m being a drag.”
“Hey, it’s your party. You can cry if you want to.” I try to sound humorous, but I’m livid her day was ruined. She rubs my hand again, attempting to make me feel better. “I’m fine, Vanna.” I reply, before she can say anything. “You know I don’t believe in that shit. I’m just pissed someone would actually do that.”
I’m also pissed that the fact that she’s pregnant, somehow managed to leak to an enemy. An enemy I already know, is Legion. How he knows, is beyond me. But I don’t doubt it. I’m not going to mention it to her, however. The thought of her defending him again, twists my guts up more. I need to change the topic to something more uplifting, for both of us.
“Have you given any thought to what you want for our wedding?” It’s the first thing that sprung to mind. Her glum expression remains. Fuck. Struck out again.
“I really don’t know what I want.” She sighs, but at least she takes another bite of her spinach ravioli. “Do you really not have a preference?”
