WILLEM (The Witches of Wimberley Book 1) Read online

  “So who have you met?” Kellan asked.

  “Just the two of you and Simon.”

  “Simon?!?” They both asked it at the same time and then shared a glance.

  “Is there something wrong with Simon?”

  “Uh, no,” said Raider. “He’s alright, but he’s not what you’d call…”

  “…outgoing.” Kellan finished the sentence. “Keeps to himself.”

  “Is he here tonight?”

  “No. He doesn’t usually come to these things.”

  “What exactly is this? Ravish said it’s kind of like a bachelor party, but not.”

  “It’s a chance to introduce you around. Don’t worry about not remembering everybody’s names. That’ll come in time,” Kellan said.

  “So, if Simon isn’t here, that means there are probably others who aren’t here?”

  He nodded. “There are about twenty or so others. Mostly old guys. They’ll be at the ceremony, of course, but going out twice in one day is too much for some people.”

  “Save me from that day,” Raider said.

  “No worries. You’ll never make it to fifty,” Kellan told Raider.

  “Good. Just as well,” he said. “I’m going to supervise dinner. I have a lot of experience with cooking meat outdoors.” I didn’t doubt that for an instant. “Catch up with you later.”

  “Raider!” He stopped and turned around. “Really nice house.”

  He gave a cautious smile, like he wasn’t accustomed to being complimented on his house, and a chin dip before resuming his mission to ‘supervise’ the cooking.

  “Come on,” Kellan said. “Get ready to press some flesh.”

  He wasn’t kidding about shaking hands with a lot of dudes. He also wasn’t kidding about the fact that I had no hope of remembering their names. It wasn’t just the aroma of steaks grilling to perfection that had me grateful when Raider shouted, “Dinner!”

  “This way,” Kellan said.

  I followed him to the head table. Three guys were already seated. I assumed one of them was the other inductee. Kellan gestured to the chair that was in the middle of the remaining three. Kellan sat down to my right. Raider appeared from nowhere and sat to my left.

  It was beginning to get dark so the gathering was lit with tiki torches and an extremely generous distribution of candles on the tables.

  Like the barbeque, we each had two iced carafes of sweet tea and water. The waiters began making their way down the rows, delivering plates. What was on my plate was an extra large filet mignon, butterflied, and cooked medium well, more well than medium. Just the way I like it.

  I turned to Kellan. “This is my favorite.”

  His blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “By the time you get this far, they know everything about you, Will.”

  “I don’t know whether to be flattered or creeped out.”

  “This time next week I’ll remind you that you said that. We’ll see how you feel by then.”

  My plate also held an enormous Idaho potato wrapped in foil. A waiter appeared on my left, grabbed my potato and smushed several times using a pristine white towel. He then opened the foil, cut it down the middle, and asked what I would like from the variety of goodies on his two-tiered condiment server.

  “Butter.” He gave me two spoonfuls. “More,” I said and he added another spoonful. “Bacon bits. Cheddar cheese. Little bit of sour cream. Not much. Perfect.”

  When he turned away, another waiter took his place. “Green beans almondine, sir?”

  “Yeah. Sure.” He scooped them up with tongs and laid them on the platter so that they were photograph-ready.

  I was offered several more vegetables, but decided there was enough in front of me already even though my girlfriend could keep me from gaining weight. Yeah. It sounded funny to say that even in my head, but even though that was a perk beyond compare, she couldn’t keep me from being uncomfortable as the result of obscene eating, otherwise known as gluttony.

  The men seemed to be chatting amiably over dinner.

  “So I’m the guest of honor?” I said to Kellan.

  “Indeed you are one of two as you will be again at the end of the year.”

  “So what do I need to know about community politics?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It hasn’t escaped my notice that you’re more or less in charge.”

  Kellan laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t call that politics exactly. Glory and I both like entertaining. I get along with people. They get along with me. It just kind of happened naturally.”

  “Naturally.” I repeated. “You just ended up with that castle naturally?” He laughed again. “I know there’s a chance that could have sounded like envy. Believe me, it’s nothing of the sort. I’m wandering around in Rave’s house as it is.”

  “Rave?”

  “Uh, yeah. That’s what I call her.”

  He smiled as he took a bite of his New York strip. “Okay.”

  “Anyway I don’t want your house, but I’m curious as to how things work.”

  “In a cooperative like this one, things have a way of working out the way they should. People take on tasks according to their own talents and, mysterious as it may seem, everybody ends up liking their role, the way they fit in.”

  “Very Utopian.”

  “Well, money helps give us the freedom to pursue our own interests. It makes it possible for us to hire phenomenal help who take on the aspects of living that are more drudgery. Not going to lie about it. In many ways that’s the best thing of all.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I see that. Rave has this amazing cook named Angie who makes gingerbread I’d die for. And this guy named Ed. I’m not sure what all he does yet, but he keeps the mud off her Jeep so that it always looks like it’s sitting in a showroom.”

  “Somethin’ else,” Raider said from the other side of me. “You know that Bible thing about coveting your neighbor’s wife?”

  “The commandment? Yeah. You don’t come from a state like Alabama without hearing about such things.”

  “That’s not a problem here. You’re going to find that, no matter how beautiful the other women are, the only one you’re gonna want is your own.” He grinned. “Nice how that works out. Keeps everybody happy. Male and female. Just like it should be.”

  “They put a spell on us?”

  Kellan and Raider looked puzzled by that, but Kellan answered. “Truthfully I don’t know, but I also don’t care. Happy is happy.” He smiled. “You know what I mean?”

  “Well…”

  Kellan stood up before I could say more. “Gentlemen, we’re here tonight to welcome two new members to what is, perhaps, the most elite fraternity in the world. Cairn Connelly and Willem Draiocht. By the way, he prefers ‘Will’.

  “Tonight they will take the first step which, of course, all of us remember with fondness because it was the beginning of Earth’s best version of a life. In other words, it doesn’t get any better than this.

  “The men who are gathered here tonight, your future friends and neighbors, want to extend our hearty congratulations on winning the best prize in the known universe. If you think that’s exaggeration, you’re wrong and will soon know it.”

  There was a smattering of laughter and agreement.

  “Now I’m going to sit down and let our host say a couple of words about Will.”

  Raider stood up, slapped his big right paw on my left shoulder, and said, “I wish I had a recording of what happened when I took the contestants out on the river. As you know, I like to turn canoes over now and then. I think it builds character.

  “Well, knowing Will was one of the winners, I took my measure of him and decided he needed a dunking. So shortly after lunch I made my way through the water with him in my sights. Things didn’t go the way I expected. It was like he knew what I was going to do. Just when I was within striking distance, he shoved his paddle under my canoe and tipped me over.”

  Raider waited through the gasps and fo
llowing laughter.

  “Yep. There I was in the river. So, on a wild hare, I decided to see what would happen if I pretended I couldn’t swim.” That brought a round of laughter, much louder than the first. I assumed that meant that he was known for being a good swimmer. “So I flailed around in the water and cried for help.”

  He stopped and looked at me fondly. “There were twenty four contestants on the river that day. Only one of them jumped in to save me. Willem was pulling off his life preserver when he jumped, so that he could offer it to me.”

  Raider shook his head. “That’s why I call him ‘hero’. He knew I was a whole hell of a lot bigger and that I was likely to take us both under, but he didn’t hesitate to step off the canoe and take me on in the water.

  “I gotta tell you. I was impressed. Of course that didn’t mean that I could let him get away with dumping my ass in the water. I have a reputation to protect. So I had to dunk him within an inch of drowning.” He smiled at me. “But it was all in good fun. Right, Willem?”

  I realized that every eye was on me and waiting for an answer to that question. I hesitated for a second, debating about whether or not to tell the truth. “No, Raider. There was nothing fun about it. If I had it to do over, I’d let you drown.”

  Everybody laughed, no one more than Raider.

  “Well, I may have to rethink your nickname then, hero.”

  When Raider sat down, the guy to the right of Cairn stood up and recounted a couple of references to interesting points in his biography. I was grateful that I’d had Raider to say something more entertaining.

  When he was finished, Kellan stood up again. “In a few minutes we’ll be taking the boys to the ready rooms. You know the drill. Make them feel welcome whenever you see them out and about and don’t be surprised if they don’t remember your name at first.”

  Kellan sat down and said, “Eat up,” then with lowered voice and a grin. “You’re going to need your energy later.”

  I looked at my plate, still half full, and agreed that, whatever was coming next, I didn’t want to be distracted by hunger. That wouldn’t normally be an issue for me. I supposed there must be some magical property in the Wimberley air to put me on the verge of ravenous half the time.

  Giving my plate my full attention, I set to work finishing the feast of kings that had been set before me. When my favorite bar man brought me a third drink, Kellan put his arm between Roque and me then shook his head. The drink turned around and went the other way along with Roque.

  “Hey,” I said. “I’m on a two-drink maximum?”

  “Yes. You’re signing a contract tonight and it’s the most important contract you’ll ever enter into. This is not a frat party hazing, Will. It’s serious as can be and it doesn’t count if you’re not sober.”

  “I’m sober!” I protested.

  He pinned me with a blue-eyed stare. “As. A. Judge.”

  Seeing that he meant what he said, I decided to get on board. “Okay, then. Not trying to cause trouble.”

  “Yeah. You say that now, but I can already see that you’re going to try to shake things up every chance you get.”

  “Me? No. You got it wrong. I’m not the rebel type.”

  Kellan barked out a laugh. “Whatever you say. If you’re done with that plate, we’re moving on to the next step.”

  “We as in you and me?”

  “Yes. And Raider.”

  “Should I expect to be punked?”

  Kellan chuckled. “Not tonight. Like I said, this is serious stuff.”

  “Okay. So where are we going and what are we going to do?”

  “We’re going back to my house, which is where the ceremony will be. You and Raider and I are going to hang out in the east wing with non-alcoholic beverages, while we give you the rundown on what to expect tonight and get you ready.” My eyes flicked from Kellan to Raider and he smiled. “Think of us as your best men. We both asked for the honor.”

  “Well,” I said slowly, “thank you. That was nice of you.”

  “It’s more than just tonight. We’ll be your backup if you have questions about living with a witch. No matter how enthralling they are, there’s usually a period of adjustment.”

  I looked between the two. “I might have some questions about that now.”

  Kellan exchanged a look with Raider. “Not surprised. I was kind of expecting that. Let’s go.”

  “Rave’s car…”

  “It’ll be waiting for you at my front door after the ceremony.”

  “Okay.”

  Kellan’s ride was a Range Rover custom long-wheel base. Raider rode shotgun and I was in back, but there was enough room to stretch legs out straight. Or to fit somebody Raider’s size comfortably.

  The ride to Kellan’s house was less than three minutes. We could have walked. Easily.

  “So, Will,” Raider said, “you ride?”

  Running through the possibilities of what that might mean from Raider’s perspective, I assumed we were talking motorcycles. “Never have. I’m pretty sure I’d crash into a wall before getting out of first gear.”

  Raider lifted one huge shoulder in a shrug. “Happens.”

  With that kind of reassurance, I would be changing my status to ‘never will’.

  We pulled around Kellan’s massive manor house and entered one of six garage bays at the rear.

  I opened the door and stepped out onto a smooth shiny, brick-colored floor that looked like it had been waxed a hundred times.

  “What is this?” I said, looking at my feet.

  “Oh,” Kellan said, “it’s a kind of new thing. Cool, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, cool.”

  Raider had walked on through the back door like he owned the place. I followed the two of them through the house as Kellan extended cordial greetings to every staff member we passed.

  “Mr. MacNamee!” someone called. Kellan stopped and waited as an officious-looking man hurried up to him in a tux. “Everything is prepared according to instruction except that there were so many respondents we can’t fit the children’s tables in the main room. We can open the doors to the dining hall so that there’s not a barrier between the children and their parents. Will that work?”

  “Who’s supervising the kids?”

  “Madame LaBeau.”

  “Sure. That will be fine. Kids don’t care if they’re in the main room or not. They just want to be with the other kids.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  As the man hurried off, I was thinking, How bad can it be if they have children’s tables?

  “This way,” Kellan prompted me to follow.

  We made our way to a large comfortable study with burgundy leather couches, dark wood floors and walls of built-in bookcases, several Remington bronze statues displayed around the perimeter of the room on pedestals and a bar with Ernest Hemingway-style leather bar stools. Very masculine. Very comfortable.

  “Wow. You have a bar in your study.”

  “One of the room’s best features, but you’re on sissy beverages until after the ceremony. Raider and I will do the same as a show of solidarity.”

  “It won’t bother me if you drink.”

  “Well, in that case,” said Raider.

  “No.” Kellan gave him a look. “It won’t kill us to be fully lucid for a couple of hours.”

  Raider grumbled something unintelligible.

  “Would you like water, soft drink, coffee?” asked Kellan.

  “Now that you mention it, coffee sounds good. You have a machine back there.”

  “Oh yeah. Coming right up.”

  “So what do I need to know about the proceedings?”

  I sat down on one of the barstools as Kellan began brewing coffee. “Well, as you know, two couples will be giving vows tonight.”

  “Vows?” I don’t know why that word alarmed me, but it sounded way too permanent. “I thought this was a promise for a year.”

  “It is.” Kellan gave me a funny look, as did Raider.
“The vows cover such things as being exclusive with each other and pledging secrecy regarding what you learn about the community.”

  “And what is that?”

  Kellan set a steaming coffee mug on the bar. “You take cream? Sweetener?”

  “Yes. Both, please.”

  He set a carton of half and half on the bar along with an assortment of artificial sweeteners, white refined, and brown raw sugars. I dumped raw sugar and cream into the cup, stirred, and carried it to one of the sofas.

  “I think you already know the answer to that. Magic is real. It happens here.”

  “Succinct.”

  “Is that a compliment?”

  I laughed. “Maybe.”

  “The other couple will go first.” Kellan sat down on the other sofa facing me. Raider sat in an oversized chair that formed part of the conversation area. “They’ll sign their names in their book, recite their vows, snuff out the candle and ring the bell.”

  “I heard about that. Frankly, it sounds silly.”

  “Think what you want,” Kellan said. “It’s one of the old traditions they’ve kept. I think it makes them feel connected to the past. The old ways.”

  Nodding, I took a sip. “You make a good cup of coffee.”

  “No trick to it nowadays, but thanks anyway.”

  “Raider,” I said, “you seem really quiet.”

  “Kellan can talk enough for four people. I’m here to have your back. Not a lot needs to be said about that.”

  “Well. Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  “You were saying the other couple will go first?” I asked Kellan.

  “Yes. There’s really not much to this. You do need a special outfit. We have your clothes in that bag right there.”

  I followed his eyes and saw that there was a black hanging bag. “What’s in there?”

  “Black suit. And a hooded robe.”

  “Hooded robe,” I repeated drily.

  “Yes. You both, meaning you and Ravish, will wear robes with hoods pulled down so that you can’t see each other’s faces until after you’ve spoken the vows. You’ll snuff out the candle, ring the bell, take off the robes that symbolize your former life as individuals then kiss.”

  “Sounds easy enough.”