Desmond watching me with that
slightly amused expression he’d used far too much.
Nell nodded
toward Logan. “Your turn.”
“Avery, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“I dare you to
kiss Jeff.”
I set my head
upon my palm, stifling a groan.
When had I’d
grown too old for these games? Maybe I’d never been the sort to play them. When
a person’s childhood is spent running from the gatekeepers of Hades, pranking
harpies and escaping torture from their nemesis, truth or dare seems like small
potatoes.
Terran was the object of Avery’s
question. She chose dare and was asked to see how high she could shoot herself
up using Air magic. The youths trekked into the parking lot to watch. Desmond, Veronika , Jacqueline, and I remained inside.
I covered a
yawn because it had been a long day. And the pizza looked good . Almost good enough to get up. But it
wasn’t what I really wanted… If I lived to see the sunrise on tomorrow, I’d get
myself a massive cheeseburger with all the fixin’s .
Terran must have questioned Jeff next
because he stripped off his shirt to do who knew what.
“For the
record, this part was not my idea,” I said.
Desmond
inhaled a soft breath I now knew was a laugh.
After Jeff ran
around the building twice, naked, the group tramped back into the shop. Fortunately
the young man had pulled his pants back on before he’d returned.
Jeff dropped
onto his seat. “ Veronika , truth or
dare?”
“Truth,” the
young woman said, voice dripping with boredom.
“Uh … um … where
is the strangest place you’ve ever done it?”
“In a bed.”
I didn’t laugh,
but the younger witches did.
Veronika faced the handsome male
lounged in the corner. “Dr. Marino, truth or dare?”
“Truth.” He’d sounded weary. Or perhaps wary. I didn’t know him well enough to guess
which.
“If you had to
sleep with one person in this room, who would it be?”
The high
priest cleared his throat noisily but not before glancing at me. “ Myself ,” he said, confounding me again. I’d never learn if
he were gay at this rate. Desmond smirked. “It’s the only way I’d get any
sleep.”
“Lame,”
someone said under their breath.
“Mrs. Washington, truth or dare?” Who
knew Desmond could be a team player?
“Truth.”
“Did Ms. Walsh
really show up in Caesars Palace with only a stack of towels and save you from
a vampire this morning without lifting a finger?”
My lips
twisted. His question was as lame as his previous answer had been.
Jacqueline
nodded. “Yes.”
“Let’s vote,”
Nell said.
The younger
witches voted for Jeff’s naked run. The rest of us didn’t care. Jeff got to
take the Candle of Truth home.
We played one
more game in which the prize was a ring to deflect empathic links. Nell devised
a version of blind man’s bluff that let the blindfolded person use their magic
to locate each person in the room and “tag” them. Whoever completed it first would win the item.
Desmond
declined play, citing he didn’t need a ring to deflect empathic links. I hid my
smirk because he’d been unable to deflect mine. Jeff and Veronika sat out of the game because they’d already won a prize. Though Jacqueline
tried, she had no chance of winning using her Dark magic. Avery won thanks to
Air magic’s ability to give a wielder a picture of the area without sight.
Door prizes
exhausted, I sent Nell off with her friends and promised I’d clean up
everything. Apart from packing the leftover pizza and snacks, I’d clean up
Wednesday morning before I opened the shop.
The sun had
recently slipped beneath the horizon. I needed to get out to Maximo’s house so
I could warn him about the vampire. There was just one problem: Desmond Marino.
He’d sent Veronika to wait in the car so he could vex me. I asked
Jacqueline to wait for me in the Nissan because I fully intended to lambaste
him.
“You had no
right—”
“Hush, Ms.
Walsh.”
He positioned
himself in front of the shop door,
slightly amused expression he’d used far too much.
Nell nodded
toward Logan. “Your turn.”
“Avery, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“I dare you to
kiss Jeff.”
I set my head
upon my palm, stifling a groan.
When had I’d
grown too old for these games? Maybe I’d never been the sort to play them. When
a person’s childhood is spent running from the gatekeepers of Hades, pranking
harpies and escaping torture from their nemesis, truth or dare seems like small
potatoes.
Terran was the object of Avery’s
question. She chose dare and was asked to see how high she could shoot herself
up using Air magic. The youths trekked into the parking lot to watch. Desmond, Veronika , Jacqueline, and I remained inside.
I covered a
yawn because it had been a long day. And the pizza looked good . Almost good enough to get up. But it
wasn’t what I really wanted… If I lived to see the sunrise on tomorrow, I’d get
myself a massive cheeseburger with all the fixin’s .
Terran must have questioned Jeff next
because he stripped off his shirt to do who knew what.
“For the
record, this part was not my idea,” I said.
Desmond
inhaled a soft breath I now knew was a laugh.
After Jeff ran
around the building twice, naked, the group tramped back into the shop. Fortunately
the young man had pulled his pants back on before he’d returned.
Jeff dropped
onto his seat. “ Veronika , truth or
dare?”
“Truth,” the
young woman said, voice dripping with boredom.
“Uh … um … where
is the strangest place you’ve ever done it?”
“In a bed.”
I didn’t laugh,
but the younger witches did.
Veronika faced the handsome male
lounged in the corner. “Dr. Marino, truth or dare?”
“Truth.” He’d sounded weary. Or perhaps wary. I didn’t know him well enough to guess
which.
“If you had to
sleep with one person in this room, who would it be?”
The high
priest cleared his throat noisily but not before glancing at me. “ Myself ,” he said, confounding me again. I’d never learn if
he were gay at this rate. Desmond smirked. “It’s the only way I’d get any
sleep.”
“Lame,”
someone said under their breath.
“Mrs. Washington, truth or dare?” Who
knew Desmond could be a team player?
“Truth.”
“Did Ms. Walsh
really show up in Caesars Palace with only a stack of towels and save you from
a vampire this morning without lifting a finger?”
My lips
twisted. His question was as lame as his previous answer had been.
Jacqueline
nodded. “Yes.”
“Let’s vote,”
Nell said.
The younger
witches voted for Jeff’s naked run. The rest of us didn’t care. Jeff got to
take the Candle of Truth home.
We played one
more game in which the prize was a ring to deflect empathic links. Nell devised
a version of blind man’s bluff that let the blindfolded person use their magic
to locate each person in the room and “tag” them. Whoever completed it first would win the item.
Desmond
declined play, citing he didn’t need a ring to deflect empathic links. I hid my
smirk because he’d been unable to deflect mine. Jeff and Veronika sat out of the game because they’d already won a prize. Though Jacqueline
tried, she had no chance of winning using her Dark magic. Avery won thanks to
Air magic’s ability to give a wielder a picture of the area without sight.
Door prizes
exhausted, I sent Nell off with her friends and promised I’d clean up
everything. Apart from packing the leftover pizza and snacks, I’d clean up
Wednesday morning before I opened the shop.
The sun had
recently slipped beneath the horizon. I needed to get out to Maximo’s house so
I could warn him about the vampire. There was just one problem: Desmond Marino.
He’d sent Veronika to wait in the car so he could vex me. I asked
Jacqueline to wait for me in the Nissan because I fully intended to lambaste
him.
“You had no
right—”
“Hush, Ms.
Walsh.”
He positioned
himself in front of the shop door,
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