Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 70779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
The other thing which reminded me of him were the burns on my inner thighs, where his seed had leaked out and scorched me. For some reason, they wouldn’t heal—no matter how much of the special salve that Goody Albright gave me I used.
I was just miserable.
The only bright spot was the fact that my new store was doing extremely well. Apparently a lot of magical practitioners in Hidden Hollow had been waiting for a magical ingredients shop to open. Once I got things organized, I was busy from morning until night.
I threw myself into my work and brought Miss Sassy with me for company. She liked prowling around the new store and investigating the building, which was much larger than the old shop in New Orleans had been. She caught several magical mice, which disappeared with a little poof! the minute she got them by the scruff of the neck, but since they weren’t really bothering me and they were keeping her entertained, I didn’t mind.
I got to know my new neighbors, and some of them became friends. I already felt close to Goldie and Goody Albright but I also got along well with Sarah and her huge Orc Heartmate, Rath. They even invited me over for dinner one night and I went—mostly so I didn’t have to eat alone.
It wasn’t until after supper, when Rath was doing the dishes because it was his turn and Sarah and I were sitting on the couch having an after-dinner drink, that things came to a head.
“It’s not my place to say this, but you look really sad,” she said to me candidly as I sipped the sweet, orange flavored liquor she’d poured me. “Is it because of your gargoyle?”
“Yes.” I sighed deeply. “We didn’t even know each other for three whole days, you know? But somehow I can’t forget him. It’s like we’re tied together and I can’t break the bond.”
“That’s how I feel about Rath.” A smile touched her lips. “But he’s my Heartmate. Was Kael yours?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I thought he might be but then I had to send him back to Heaven to keep him from getting sucked into Hell. So I guess I’ll never know.”
“What?” Her eyes grew wide. “I never heard all the details—tell me what happened!”
I explained, while being careful to leave out the owner of the Lust Hut. I just said it was another witch in town—I didn’t want to betray Goldie’s confidence. When I got to the part about him breeding me in demon form, Sarah’s eyes widened again.
“My God—wasn’t that painful?”
“It hurt but it felt good at the same time, if that makes any sense,” I said. “It was…intense. Really intense. But I don’t blame him for it—he wasn’t himself when it happened. In fact, he didn’t come back to himself until he, you know, came inside me.”
She frowned.
“Wait—he came inside you?”
I nodded.
“Of course—why?”
“Well, have you considered the fact that you might have sealed your Heartmate bond that night? I mean, that’s generally how it happens, you know.”
“I know, but I don’t know if that’s possible,” I said. “Because sealing the bond was supposed to close the portal to Hell, but it didn’t.”
“Maybe you only formed a partial bond,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ve heard that can happen sometimes. Maybe you couldn’t form a full bond because he wasn’t in his natural form—he was a demon instead of an angel.”
“I don’t know—I only know I had to unlock him and set him free,” I said sadly. “Because he was getting sucked back through the portal and he wasn’t even trying to get away.”
“He probably felt guilty,” Sarah murmured. “I had a similar situation with Rath, you know. He had an evil spirit indwell him and it attacked me using his body. He felt so bad afterwards that he avoided me for ages. I had to go over to his house and make him listen to reason before we could finally get together.”
I sighed longingly.
“If only I could do that. But it’s not like I can go to Heaven and talk to Kael.”
“You can’t yourself, but what if someone you know could go for you?” Sarah was looking thoughtful.
“Someone I know?” I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re a Medium, aren’t you?” she asked reasonably. “So all you have to do is open a channel of communication with someone dead who you know went to Heaven and ask them to talk to Kael for you.”
“But I don’t know—” I started to say and then cut myself off abruptly. “Pop-pop,” I whispered.
“Who?” Sarah frowned.
“My grandfather—his name was Giovanni but I always called him ‘Pop-pop,’” I explained. “If he’s not in Heaven, I don’t know who is. He gave his life to save me from my abusive ex.”
“He sounds like a wonderful man,” Sarah said softly.