Charmed & Deadly by Candace Havens Page A

of cosmetics and perfume over.
    When the demons caught sight of Simone they paused. Everything seemed to happen at once. The three of them jumped toward her. She already had her trusty Bowie knife in her hand, and thrust upward into the jugular of the first demon to reach her. Another came at her from the side and she kicked a booted foot into his chest, sending him flying across the room.
    I made myself step back from the action and I heard Garnout bellow, “You are not welcome here!” He was furious and his voice radiated power. Whatever it was, he was trying to vanquish it.
    I didn’t hear a reply, but when Simone turned to fight the third demon I saw something. Garnout faced a shadowy figure, more like mist formed in an outline. Power radiated from it and Garnout held out a hand as if to block it. I understood why Simone didn’t see much. The demon she fought was a little smarter than the others. When she kicked, he moved to the left and ran for the escalator.
    Sirens rang in the background. She jumped and caught the demon by the leg, sending them both into a tumble. His big paw slammed into her face, but her head didn’t even move. She felt the pain, but ignored it as she shoved the base of her hand into the middle of his three eyes. Her other hand used the knife to pierce his heart.
    Leaping up, she turned, and that’s when she saw Garnout sprawled on the floor. His robe pooled around him in golden waves.
    “Crap! Bronwyn’s going to kill me if the old man is dead.” I heard her thoughts, but I also experienced the emotion. She cared for Garnout and she didn’t want him to die.
    She scooped him up, not even bothering to check his vitals, and put him over her shoulder. Then she ran through the crowd and the twenty-five blocks it took to get here.
    I let go of her wrist and hugged her. She didn’t return the embrace, keeping her hands at her side, but she didn’t push me away.
    “I’m sorry.” I squeezed her tight.
    She let me hold her a few seconds and then stepped back. “Stop with the mushy stuff and fix the old geezer.” Simone shook her head. “I thought you couldn’t kill a wizard.”
    “You’re right. He’s not dead. He’s in suspended animation. What I can’t tell is if he put himself there or if someone did it to him. One thing I know for sure: the whole thing was a setup.
    “Whoever brought those demons to Macy’s didn’t count on him bringing you. He wasn’t as distracted as they wanted, and I think he was able to block part of whatever was thrown at him. All I can find is a confusion spell, but I can’t undo it.”
    I walked back over to check his pulse. It was low. If he were a regular guy I would know he was dying. But he wasn’t. Wizards weren’t made like the rest of us. Their basic physical makeup is the same, but they have to be able to jump back and forth between dimensions and do, well, all the cool stuff wizards do. Wizards have complete control over their bodies and can change them to adapt to any situation. They can shape-shift, turn into rocks or any other object, and teleport to different planes of existence in a matter of seconds.
    I would have bet money he knew this was going to happen. Wizards are privy to upcoming events but they don’t necessarily know the end result. He could have at least given me some kind of heads-up.
    A simple “Bronwyn, someone may put me down, perhaps you could help me out when that happens,” would have been nice.
    Then it dawned on me. If I could rewind Simone’s brain, why not Garnout’s? He was confused now, but not when this all began.
    I placed a hand on his white head, and closed my eyes.
    Thoughts rushed through me in a swirling mass but everything moved too fast for me to see. I tried to slow it down, but it didn’t work. Other than flashes of color every now and then, I couldn’t make out a thing.
    A searing pain burned into my brain. I knew I should let go, but I couldn’t. It was if I’d been attached to a big magnet,