Page 76 of Cocktails & Cauldrons

“That’s what I expected.” Reggie snapped his fingers, and the loud pop made Brenna jump. In his hand appeared a small clay pot with a lid. “I need a torch.”

“I don’t understand.” Feeling as if she were on a movie set without a script, she looked to him for direction.

“We’re going to melt this amulet down, darling. No one will be able to use your blood against you. Or at least notthisblood. I can’t say what they can do with Odessa’s if she’s ever caught unawares again.”

Confusion drew her brows together as she stared at him in wonder. “You want to destroy the charm the Aether made for Eoin?”

“Yes.”

“No!”Fists raised, she charged him, prepared to kick his ass and save the necklace. But the impact of her voice had already knocked him off his feet.

“Brenna!”

Eoin’s commanding voice brought her up short, and she spun back toward the cottage to find him straightening from a slouched position in the doorway. He dropped his crossed arms, and the barest hint of a sound traveled to her. It was the sound of his myriad of bracelets clinking that snapped her out of her daze at seeing him.

“Eoin?” She shook her head but didn’t approach him. Possession of the necklace still belonged to Reggie. “What the hell is going on?”

“Reggie wanted to test your commitment. I told him it wasn’t needed, but he insisted, all the same.”

“And you went along with it?”Her screeching voice in no way sounded like the traditional dulcet tone of the Siren she’d been labeled. And Eoin clamped his hands over his ears and cried out.

“Of all the idiotic, foolish, dirty, rotten…” She sputtered to a stop, unable to come up with any more adjectives that didn’t turn ugly. Facing Reggie, she bent down and ripped the chain from his fingers and, for good measure, punched him in the chest with all the meager strength she possessed.

With a shake of the necklace in his laughing face, she muttered, “I hate you both.”

He ignored her as he peeled back the opening of his shirt to peer down at his chest. “That bloody well hurt! Who knew you had any muscle in those puny arms?”

“I’ll give you puny, you asshat!”

“Brenna, leave off, love.” Eoin, ever the peacemaker between her and his best friend, cautiously approached. With one finger, he rung out his inner ear. “Sure, and Reggie can’t take another beating by your hand. He’s a fragile flower, he is.”

“You can bugger off, young scamp,” Reggie said affectionately. He opened his mouth to say something, but whatever he’d intended died as the sky overhead turned anominous black. Tossing the clay pot to Eoin, he snapped, “Destroy that thing. Immediately!”

CHAPTER 29

Reggie lifted his arms and spun in a slow circle, prepared for Goddess knew what… or ratherwho.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Eoin ripped the amulet from her hand and looped the chain over his neck, then he gripped Brenna’s wrist, prepared to drag her to the cottage.

“No! Eoin, I can help.”

“I’ll not have you a casualty of the O’Malley/O’Connor war, love. Sure, and I’ve said it before, haven’t I? Don’t think I won’t carry you into that fecking cottage if I have to,” he warned.

“In case you forgot, I’m extremely hard to kill.”

Reggie’s eyes remained locked on the horizon as he twisted to address her over his shoulder. “But not impossible for someone who has the right spell and ingredients. You should go, little Siren. If I’m not mistaken, Loman is about to make a spectacular entrance.”

Reggie spared one second to smile at Eoin, and all the love he felt for him was packed into that lopsided grin. “Be happy, scamp, and save the girl like the hero I always dreamed you’d be.”

With a campy wink, he turned to face the first opening rift.

As Brenna paused in her indecision, another hole appeared followed by two more. “He’s outnumbered, Eoin. We have to help him!”

“Fuck!”

Appearing to make a decision, he tore the necklace from his neck and shoved it, along with the pot and a gold bracelet, into her hands. “Destroy the necklace, Brenna. If need be, the Aether can make another. But Reggie wasn’t lying when he told you Loman was dangerous.” His desperate gaze raked her face as if he feared he’d not see her again. “Listen, the bracelet will neutralize a person’s magic. You can use it on Odessa when the time comes, yeah?” When she nodded her understanding, Eoin smiled sadly. “Go now, love. Close your eyes and visualize every detail of Alastair’s garden. Imagine yourself on the outskirts just beyond the wards, with the smells, sounds, and breeze, and there you’ll be.”

“Kick their asses for me. Forus.”

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