Kiss the Witch Read online

  “What about illegal wire tapping? We didn’t have a court order to record that.”

  “Don’t need it. It’s not our bug. Harrison vs. Cook County already set precedence for this. In that case, a county prosecutor recorded inflammatory evidence gathered from a cordless phone conversation a drug dealer had with his currier. This is practically the same thing.”

  “All right then. Let’s get with the D.A.`s office. Have them petition the court for an arrest warrant immediately. With luck, maybe Ferguson will give up his co-conspirators in a plea deal.” I reached out and shook Spinelli’s hand. “Nice work, Dominic.” I went to let go and he squeezed tighter.

  “Tony.” His expression grew serious. “Will you be my best man tonight?”

  I have to admit, he took me by complete surprise. I fully expected he would ask Carlos that question, especially in light of recent circumstances. Perhaps because of recent circumstances, he asked me. I answered him the only way I could.

  “Sure,” I said, and returned the squeeze. “I would be honored.”

  I looked at Carlos. He turned away. I assumed he felt alienated, even dejected. “Carlos.” He turned to me. “Listen, if you’re feeling left out because Dominic asked me––”

  “What? No. That’s not it. I’m good with that.”

  “So why the long face?”

  “No reason.”

  “Carlos.”

  “Okay, Tony. Here’s the thing.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “It’s good if we can nail Ferguson for Williams’ and Delaney’s murder, but that doesn’t fix my Vette, does it?”

  He turned and left the room, I assumed for a long walk so that he could vent. Dominic and I took bets on how many Snickers bars he would returned with. Dominic bet three. I bet five. When he did not come back, we started to worry and went down to the lobby to look for him. He was not there. Sergeant Doucette told us he saw Carlos leave the building, but not before emptying the candy machine of its Snickers. Spinelli and I looked at each another, and then at Doucette.

  “How many?” Spinelli asked.

  Doucette face wrinkled from the forehead down. “How many what?”

  “Snickers. How many Snickers did he get from the machine?”

  The answer came with a blasé shrug. “I don’t know. Four maybe.”

  “Four? Are you sure?”

  Another shrug. “I don’t know. I suppose so.”

  “Do you think it could have been three or five?”

  “What?”

  “We have a bet.”

  Doucette shook his head and walked off, thinking us both mad, I suppose, or at the very least, petty. I don’t know. I suppose we were.

  SIXTEEN

  I don’t know what I expected when I first learned Dominic and Ursula’s wedding would be a traditional witch’s wedding. I imagined lots of magick for sure. I even expected a wedding guest or two from the other side of the black mirror, say Ursula’s mother, perhaps. Lilith once told me that a witch’s wedding is one of the most sacred of all ceremonies a witch can participate in. Bigger even than the Rite of Passage, the ceremony that returned Lilith and me to prime just a couple of years earlier.

  Dominic, I know, was scared. He kept asking me what time it was. Forget that he was wearing a watch; the clock in his apartment chimed on the quarter hour every hour.

  “Wish Carlos was here,” he said.

  We stood toe-to-toe as I helped him with the knot in his tie. “He’ll be here,” I said. “Don’t worry.”

  “I should have told him.”

  “Told him what?”

  “That I wanted you to be my best man.”

  “Oh, that.”

  “I know he’s hurt.”

  “Carlos is a big boy. He’ll get over it.”

  “I was going to, you know.”

  “Going to tell him?”

  “Ask him to be my best man.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  I watched the lump in his throat bob as he swallowed. “Because of what happened between you and Ursula.”

  “Oh?”

  “She told me.”

  My hands froze on his tie knot. “Did she?”

  “She told me everything. About what happened the night of the coven ceremony, you walking in on her in the bathroom.”

  I finished the knot and cinched it tight against his collar. “Dominic. I never meant––”

  “Tony. It’s okay. I’m not angry. I understand. I just wanted you to know that we’re still best friends. That’s why I asked you to be my best man.”

  “Did she tell you about this morning?”

  “In the kitchen?”

  “Yes.”

  “She told me.”

  “You know I thought it was Lilith.”

  “I know. Don’t sweat it. Everything she did, she did for me. I understand that.”

  I smiled, slapped his cheek and backed away. “You’re a good man, Dominic. I hope Ursula knows that.”

  He smiled back, and the mischievous gleam in his eye told me he had something more to say.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, forget it.”

  “No. What? You can tell me.”

  A bashful shade of pink wash over him in a wave. “Well, it’s just that….”

  “Spill it.”

  “You saw Ursula without any….”

  “Clothes on?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I did.”

  “Is there anything I should know?”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged awkwardly.

  “Are you worried she has a penis?”

  “What? No. Good God, no. Why would you say a thing like that? I’m talking about tattoos, piercings and what not.”

  I laughed. “Come here.” I draped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him in. “Dominic. Listen. All you need to know is that Ursula is an amazing woman. She’s beautiful, smart, witty and sexy. And the only thing you need to remember is that you are one lucky man. Cherish her always and don’t let her go for all the stars in heaven.”

  “I won’t,” he said, and after a long pause, added, “Thanks, Tony.”

  I smiled thinly. “You’re welcome. Now what do you say we head over to the house? It’s getting late.”

  We left Spinelli’s apartment just as the sun was setting. By the time we reached Lilith’s house, bright orange rays lit up the western sky like searchlights on the horizon. In the east, a celestial changing of the guard saw a waxing moon tripping over the treetops in a pale blue crescent.

  Lilith stood at the door waiting for us as we pulled into the driveway. She held her usual pose, arms crossed, weight shifted onto one hip. I remember thinking she must be angry with me, and how damn sexy she looked. We got out of the car and the first words out of her mouth were, “You’re late.”

  I strolled up the walk with an unapologetic strut, slapped her on the ass and kissed her on the lips. “You look beautiful, Lilith. How do you do it?”

  Her expression softened incrementally. “Yeah?” She put her arms around me, rocked up on tiptoes and kissed me back. “And thou art most handsome as well, Master Tony.”

  “What? Oh, God. Ursula. I’m so sorry.” I looked at Dominic. His face grew pale as the moon. I turned back. “Ursula. Honest, I thought you were––”

  “Relax, stud. You’re all right.”

  “Lilith?”

  She smiled wickedly. “Gotcha!”

  “Oh, man you have no idea how––”

  She grabbed the front of my shirt and twisted it in her fist. “Oh, I have an idea. You and me, pal. We have some talking to do later. Know what I mean?”

  I knew exactly what she meant. “No. Whatever do you mean?”

  “Tony, do you really want to air it out right here on the front stoop?”

  “Maybe. I might want a witness.”

  Spinelli said, “Look. It’s Carlos.”

  I turned around and eased a full arms le
ngth away from Lilith. “It is. Well, what do you know?”

  Carlos pulled in behind my car in a shiny new red Corvette. He hopped out, grinning like a fool and practically bounced his way up the drive.

  “Everyone?” He said. “Hope I’m not late.”

  Dominic rushed to meet him halfway. “Man, am I glad to see you? I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

  “What, and miss my best friend’s wedding? Not a chance.”

  I know that meant a lot to Dominic. The two embraced like old friends that had not seen each other in years. As they started up the drive together, Ursula appeared up at the door.

  “Merry Meet all and love of mine.”

  Spinelli and Carlos stopped dead in their tracks. I turned around and my jaw nearly hit the ground. Even Lilith gasped at first sight.

  Ursula looked stunning. Her wedding dress, a hybrid of traditional and neo-pagan form, hugged her body in braided stitching around her waist. Spaghetti straps rolled off her shoulders, spilling down the front in a v-shape neckline, plunging nearly to her navel. Ribbons of silk and lace lay feathered in layers, cupping her breasts, cradling and coercing them gently together.

  Below her hips, the dress relaxed in pleated freefall, drifting in the soft breeze squeezing through the doorway like a restless child. I thought of Lilith; imagining her in that same dress. In the years I have known her, I had never seen her in such feminine light. She is all that Ursula is and more, yet she keeps from me that which I need most. That which Ursula has and likely does not know it. A vulnerable innocence in need of protection.

  My eyes were still taking in Ursula’s inculpable beauty when Spinelli bumped me in his rush to her arms. I shook my head, snapping free from a trance-like state of desire. I saw Lilith looking at me. And I knew she was looking at me looking at Ursula. I smiled, but she could see the guilty strings pulling the corners of my mouth upward. She was not buying any of it.

  “All right then,” she said to everyone, though she continued looking at me. “We have a wedding to do. What say we all get to it?”

  “Wait,” said Carlos. He stepped up onto the porch. The five of us were now crowded onto the tiny slab. “I have something I want to give the happy couple.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here.” He gave it to Dominic. “It’s for both of you.”

  “A wedding card. Thank you, Carlos.”

  “Go on. Open it.”

  Spinelli opened the envelope, but instead of a card, it yielded a photograph. He turned it over and studied it briefly before handing it to Ursula. “Look,” he said. “It’s a picture of this house.”

  I looked at Carlos. His grin looked suspiciously stupid. “Wait a minute. Let me see that.” I snatched the photo from Ursula’s hand. “No. It is not this house. Look. The landscape is all wrong.”

  Spinelli snatched the photo back. “Yeah, and the walkway is different. Other than that, it’s the same.”

  Lilith was next. She plucked the photo from Spinelli’s grasp. “This isn’t anything like my house. The color is all wrong.”

  I grabbed it back. “It is not. The color is right. It’s the lighting that’s off.”

  “Wait,” said Carlos. He swiped the picture from me and gave it to Ursula. “It’s not this house. It’s Ursula’s house. It’s Dominic and Ursula’s wedding present.”

  Dominic said, “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s simple.” Carlos stepped off the porch and cast his hand in a broad sweep across the front of the house. “Remember last year when Lilith first showed us this house?”

  We all answered yes.

  “Dominic, you said to Ursula, maybe you two could own a house as charming as this someday. Well, this is it. I called a contractor, had him take a look at this place and then asked him to duplicate it as best he could.” His brows gathered tightly. “It’s not quite finished, though. Seems he’s having a hard time staying on the job. I don’t think he’s a well man.”

  Lilith said, “So that’s why this guy kept coming around taking pictures. I thought he was a peeping Tom.” Her eyes fell away, as a decidedly unflattering cringe tugged at her face.

  Carlos asked, “Lilith, did you do something to my contractor?”

  “No,” she said, and added, “Nothing much.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well, I didn’t know.”

  “Oh, dear God. What did you do?”

  She shrugged off her unease with a dismissive wave. “Nothing serious. Tell your contractor you suspect his rash will clear up soon. Say it’s environmental.”

  “Wait. Forget the rash.” I stepped off the porch and took the photo from Carlos. “Are you telling me you built a house for these two?”

  He smiled. “Yup.”

  “A house like this one?”

  “Yes.”

  “A house?”

  “Yes. I can afford it. I have money you know.”

  I laughed. “No. Most times I would not know that. I can hardly get you to buy breakfast at the Perc, and here you build them a house.”

  “Well I think it’s super,” said Lilith. She stepped off the porch and gave Carlos a hug and a kiss.

  “Aye. `Tis a wonderful thing you do, Master Carlos,” said Ursula, who also offered up a huge hug and a kiss.

  We turned to Dominic, expecting a similar show of gratitude. “Dominic?” I stepped back to offer a clear path through. “Don’t you have something to say to Carlos?”

  “Yes,” he answered, in a sharper tone than the occasion called for. “I do have something to say.”

  “Dominic.”

  “No, Tony. He’s going to hear this. You are all going to hear this.” He snatched the photo from my hands and pressed it to Carlos’ chest. “I don’t need your house. I can provide for my new wife. I don’t need anyone’s help.”

  “Dominic,” I said, “no one is saying you need help. This is your best friend offering you a wedding gift from the bottom of his heart.”

  “It’s a house, Tony. He’s giving me a house.”

  “No. He’s giving you and Ursula a house. Don’t you think she has some say in whether you should accept it?”

  He looked at Ursula, her lips drawn tight, her porcelain eyes wide and unblinking. “Ursula. I don’t want you thinking me any less a man for not providing you with everything you need.”

  She came to him, took his hand and pressed it to her chest. “My love. Thou hast given me all I need already.”

  “But I can give you so much more with time.”

  “Time is my gift to thee. `Tis thy love I need and naught more do I ask.”

  “So you don’t want the house?”

  She kissed him softly before whispering something in his ear that made him smile. “Okay,” he said. He turned to Carlos and offered his hand. The two shook. “Carlos. I don’t know what to say.”

  Lilith piped up. “Say thank you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Great.” She clapped her hands and snapped her fingers in the air. “Let’s marry somebody. Shall we?”

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  We followed Lilith through the house and out the back door. Only a few steps beyond the clothesline begin a wooded tract stretching fifty acres or more, ten of which Lilith owns. In the year since moving in, I have come to know the property well. Though not partitioned by fences or the like, numbered surveyor stakes planted on the corners and at points along the sides demarcate the boundaries. I know this because frequent squabbles with Lilith have afforded me countless opportunities for long walks through the woods.

  We came to a clearing on the northwest point of Lilith’s parcel where hers intersects three others, forming a four-corner scenario. It is there she had prepared ahead for the wedding ceremony. On the ground, extending out from the four corners lay a ring of stones in a circle some twenty feet across. Four white candles burned in mason jars along the edge at the compass points. Within the circle, more candles burned red, brown, yellow and green.
In the center, surrounding the surveyor’s marker designating the four corners, stood an altar of sorts, consisting of two wooden crates, one stacked atop the other. On that was the athame––the one used previously in the coven ceremony. A silver chalice, an empty nip bottle (corked), a thin piece of rope, a gardener’s hand spade and the black mirror also lay atop the crates. Leaning against the crates, a willow branch the length of a broomstick. A narrow carpet of cut flowers in a kaleidoscope of colors led from there back to the eastern edge of the circle.

  Lilith halted us outside the perimeter, instructing us to take up positions along the stones. She entered the circle from the east, the direction of the sunrise, indicating its significance reflected the constant give and take in a relationship. Naturally, I wondered whose relationship she was referring to. I suspected she read my thoughts then, because when I turned away, a pebble struck me on the head. It came from within the circle. I looked up at her and she was smiling.

  “Greetings and merry meet,” she said, her hands spread wide in a gesture of welcome. “Behold ye friends of the coven.” She picked up the athame and pointed it at the altar. “We assemble here, at these four points, a terrestrial crossroads symbolizing the paths that intersect and now forever join this couple, Master Dominic and Lady Ursula, in love’s eternal embrace.

  “Let us now cast the circle and call the spirits of the Greater Coven.” Lilith trained the athame skyward and waved it in a circular motion above her head, coaxing a yellow phosphorus vapor to illuminate in a spiraling cloud. She walked the circle clockwise with the cloud in tow, and in a monotone voice, recited these words.

  “Spirits of the east, guardians of our souls, protect us from false friend and foe. Watch over us who gather here, that we may live and breathe your air.”

  “That we may live and breathe your air,” said Ursula. She looked at us. The impatience in her expression registered immediately. Carlos, Spinelli and I stiffened up and responded in unison.

  “That we may live and breathe your air.”

  She smiled at that, and our attention returned to Lilith. After completing the full walk along the stones, she dispelled the vortex with a flick of the athame. It whirled overhead for an instant before gathering into a compact funnel and shooting off into the eastern sky. Lilith watched it disappear entirely before tucking the athame under her belt.