Murder kissed Grant with everything she had. She felt relieved with him simply being there. Truth? Mary might kill her here and now, but she didn't want to go without seeing him again.
She smirked. "As much as I love you being here, you have to leave the dressing room. Evy will go on a tirade if she finds you in here."
He smiled. "I need to go get the lay of the land anyway." He handed her the thimble, "Pinky finger, three twists to activate. You'll be untouchable but you also can't strike." He kissed her quickly again and took one more look.
The blue glowing eyes were incredible and the dress was really highlighting her cleavage. He shook it off and left the dressing room.
Murder smirked. She calmed her thoughts. She knew she needed to focus on keeping them alive.
***
Levi and Ira listened as Tress re-told her story. Maxwell had already heard it on the drive over.
Stephen, like Gregory, was willing to risk mortality in a bid to save his soul from perceived damnation. He wouldn't be in the same room with "active" sins.
Basically, he'd come to the ceremony and take part as long as no gay, interracial, or unwed couples were actively engaging in any kind of displays of affection.
Tress would have to be Paul for the duration. They all didn't like the terms. But decided to accept them rather than have a battle over it.
They had already discovered battle wasn't a thing they excelled at. Cunning and trickery on the other hand, Levi noted:
"I'm alive because, Ira, Tress, and I are all pretty damn clever, and we all got a second chance because Grant either has ridiculous amounts of untapped power or stubbornness... I'm not sure which."
Maxwell laughed. "It's stubbornness," they all laughed. He frowned as if looking for the right words. "He's always had a gift for pulling us out of a crisis through sheer will. You know, back when we were beat cops and partners. It's actually very similar to the studies we had in mage training about magic coming from inside, and determination. I never had the gift. So I decided that working as a cop that could help magical people stay unseen was the best course for me."
Tress took his hand. "You were there for me today, and I appreciate it greatly."
Levi got up. "Did either of you bring snacks? No? I eat when I'm worried."
Maxwell rolled his eyes. "I don't have a briefcase full of donuts if that's what you're getting at..."
***
Grant peered out into the audience. He'd found a place that was not in the crowd and offered a decent vantage point of the whole room. A tall, fit, woman in her forties with piercing blue eyes and short black hair walked into his tiny alcove and handed him a t-shirt that said staff.
"Blend in," she said as she turned to walk away.
"Thanks," Grant replied.
The woman looked over her shoulder at him as she continued to walk away. "Please don't destroy my sets!"
Grant chuckled. Murder was correct, that woman was a piece of work.
He watched as the show began. He had eyes on Mary. There were a couple of models already walking. He didn't know the song. He liked it though, heads will roll, he sang along softly, and out of key. There was Murder.
Apparently, they were going to be changing clothes and going again? That was a different dress. This was a tight blue party dress thing that had some extra decoration that he didn't quite understand and a witch's hat.
He laughed a little at what passed for fashion. She still looked amazing in the monstrosity. He noticed Murder was behind the beat. He'd never seen her move any other way than perfectly gracefully. He was perplexed.
Giselle also walked the runway. Grant smiled because Jenna had loved her when they were in school and he saw her regularly now. This was her natural habitat.
He could see Mary a little in the low light. She hadn't moved so he relaxed slightly. He was certain that Murder's enchanted blue eyes weren't any actual type of disguise though. Unless they had some kind of Clark Kent glasses spell he didn't know about.
The next song was a dark-sounding waltz. Murder nailed the walk here. Grant was baffled. Maybe the three-quarter time thing wasn't so much a preference as a lack of ability? She did songs that weren't Waltzes at the concerts. He felt sure of it. But they were always arranged with a swing feel or some other odd timings he didn't understand.
As she passed for a third time Grant saw her falling off the beat. This was the stunning blue ball gown. The song was one about ghosts and werewolves, judging from the lyrics, two things he'd been informed were actual myths.
He touched his wrist and concentrated on her ring. He counted the beat of the music and Murder fell into time. He saw her smirk. She felt him. He saw the ring flicker to the beat. It looked like Mary had seen it too. She was getting up. Grant ran from his hiding spot to the side of the catwalk. He had Grandpa's knife at the ready. Mary pulled out an hourglass and flipped it. The room stopped. He was very surprised he didn't stop. It seemed like only magical people were unfazed by the device.
He saw Murder activate the thimble. They were both safe from blasts. He had also seen Giselle duck back into the backstage area.
He decided to speak. "What's up with that? You can't even come up with your own tricks?"
"Hello, Grrrr-ant!" Mary seethed.
Murder stepped forward. "What do you want? Was killing Levi not enough?"
"It might have been, but then you did something with my Ira, where is he? Did you kill him to get back at me?"
"I don't know where he is. Honestly though, if I knew I wouldn't tell you."
Mary fired a focused blast at Murder. The shape of a thimble appeared around her in golden light as the blast was absorbed.
Mary screamed and turned, firing a second blast, this time at Grant. The knife took the blow and he slung it right back, leaving a gaping hole in her shoulder. He had intentionally not aimed for her core, or her head because of Ira. He secretly wished he could just end this, removing her from the equation would greatly simplify his life. They watched as her arm began to heal.
"ENOUGH!" A voice rang out from the still dark stage side. It was Evy. Her eyes were engulfed in literal blue flames. She looked at least a foot taller now, and very angry.
"Hell's wrath in a pencil skirt." Murder mumbled as she marveled at Evy's transformation.
"The hell are you?" Mary wailed at the bizarre woman.
"I'm a fashionista, loser, and you just went out of style!" She made a gesture similar to "talk to the hand" and then the shape of an L on her forehead. And just like that, Mary disappeared in blue light. Evy huffed, then yelled again. "EVERYBODY BACK IN YOUR PLACES." Her eyes stopped burning. She adjusted her blue top and picked up the hourglass. As she began to flip it back over she spoke loudly, but calmly, as she walked towards backstage. "We're going back live in three, two, one." The show resumed exactly where it had left off. Grant ran back to where he had been standing and continued sending his rhythm count to Murder. He could hear Evy still carrying on. "Throwing fireballs in my show... Who does she think she is? The bloody queen?" As her voice trailed off Grant laughed.
If she only knew...
YOU ARE READING
Her Name Is Murder
Fantasy"We can't waltz forever, Grant." "We can damn well try." Magical musician Murder LaVoe is tired of running. She's been running for almost 500 years. When you don't age, people take it personally. She has returned 40 years later to her favorite bor...
