"Faction and surname," a vampiress with a clipboard begrudgingly asked, upon sensing my presence.
"Enchanter. Winterhaven." I matched her (lack of) enthusiasm.
Clipboard Vampiress grumbled as she handed over a plastic name tag.
"Nice smile." The sarcastic comment rolled off my tongue on its own accord.
"Piss off, hag!" She bared her fangs.
Before I could do more damage, Lucy yanked me away so hard I whiplashed.
Surprisingly (despite Lucy's terrible driving), we arrived at LeCourt Manor just in time for the meeting. The ancestral residence, home to one of the oldest Vampire clans, was the only place big enough to hold a meeting for all the members of the Dark Society.
The foyer was crowded to say the least, filled to the brim with immortals and beasts alike, so I barely heard what Lucy said over the ruckus.
"What?" I strained my ears.
"I said," Lucy shouted, "have you found your candidate yet?"
It took all of me not to groan in anguish.
A small part of me regretted not sleeping with Teddy back then, before I found out about his environmental proclivities, of course.
The bigger part, however, wanted to turn him into a slug.
Grabbing a hold of Lucy's elbow, I led her into the meeting hall, away from all the noise.
Familiar dark, gothic interiors welcomed us with open arms.
"I thought they redecorated? This still looks like a medieval torture chamber," I remarked.
"And it's so dark in here, it wouldn't hurt if they added actual lighting," Lucy agreed.
Hundreds upon hundreds of waxy candles served as the only source of illumination in the enormous hall, which was an obvious fire hazard. They may be immortal, but they were also very flammable.
Also, witches shared an ingrained trauma of fire, so they should've been considerate of that fact.
"I think we're supposed to sit right there," Lucy pointed to the corner of the hall, where the rest of the Enchanters were.
I noticed a lanky figure with floppy dark hair gesturing us to come over with the enthusiasm of a schoolboy.
"Shit," I heard Lucy mutter, and I knew it was Broom Boy, Oscar.
"Do. not. say. a. word," Lucy warned through gritted teeth as we stalked towards his direction.
"I promise." Although, I was itching to do just the opposite.
"Lucinda, I saved you a seat." He beamed at Lucy, before finally noticing my presence. "Oh, hey! I didn't see you there."
"Of course, you didn't, broom boy," I replied in hushed tones before Lucy sunk her french-tipped claws in my arm to shut me up.
Fortunately, he didn't hear my remark.
"I'm Oscar from the Radagast Coven."
"Leonora Winterhaven. Just Lena is fine," I said in a sickly sweet tone whilst offering a handshake. When the warlock took my hand to kiss my wrist however, I caught a whiff of him and deduced that Lucy was right.
He did smell funky. Like a mixture of musk and overexcited hormones.
Thankfully, the sound of an ancient gong rang through the hall at that moment, signifying the commencement of the meeting. We settled in our seats, and I tried not to laugh when Lucy shot me a panicked look when she sat down next to Oscar.
YOU ARE READING
BEWITCHED & BOTHERED
Paranormal☆ 2022 WATTYS SHORTLIST ☆ Leonora 'Lena' Winterhaven is a witch on a dry spell. Somehow, she is the only one left in her coven (and possibly all of New York!) to still have her virtue intact at the age of twenty-nine. This would be fine and dandy, i...
