The Entity Who Came for Christmas

Do what you must

To disappear

As if you were never here.”

The piles of demon dust disappeared. She was rather pleased with herself at that accomplishment. She’d never actually seen demon dust in the flesh, so to speak, and therefore had obviously never had to use magic to eradicate it before.

Instead of looking pleased, Simon appeared suspicious. “How do you know to do that?”

“I’m a witch,” Pru replied. “We do spells from time to time.”

“That was a specific demon demolition spell.”

“It was a specific demon dust demolition spell,” she corrected him. “I leave the destruction of demons to you Demon Hunters.”

“Where did you learn that spell?” he demanded.

“From reading Demon Demolition Spells for Dummies,” she said sarcastically.

He glared at her. Even though it was pitch-dark, she could see the anger in his face. She had really good night vision that way.

“I’m serious,” he growled.

She sighed. It probably wasn’t in her best interests to taunt him further. “It’s from my family’s Book of Spells.”

“It’s not in Zoe’s Book of Spells,” Damon said, joining them for the first time.

Pru laughed. “You’ll never know what’s in her book. Only Adams witches know and even then there are new discoveries even of old spells.”

“True,” Damon had to admit. “I had firsthand knowledge of that from our battles with Silas.”

Pru pointed to the now clean space on the ground where she’d made the demon dust disappear. “Were these Silas’s demon minions?”

“No, these seem to have been just run-of-the-mill demons,” Simon said.

Pru didn’t believe him. “Run-of-the-mill demons don’t generate demon dust. Their disintegration is complete. There is no trace left of them.”

“Since when are you an expert on demons?” Simon challenged her.

“Since I hooked up with you,” she retorted.

“A big mistake,” he said.

“Don’t I know it,” she agreed.

“You’re not the one cursed,” he growled. “I am.”

“I think we should continue this conversation somewhere more private,” Damon quickly interceded. “We do not want to draw any additional attention to ourselves. I’ve already had to disable the surveillance cameras and compel two security guards.”

“Race you back to the loft,” Simon said.

“You’re on,” Pru replied.

“I didn’t mean you!” Simon said, but it was already too late. She was gone. Damn, she got a head start.

“Hold on,” Damon told him. “Turn the power back on first.”

“Right.” With a flick of his hand, Simon did so. Then he took off after the damn witch who had turned his off his power—his sexual power.

* * *

Pru looked around the loft. So this was what a vampire lair looked like. Simon had never shown her his. Their sexual encounters had mostly taken place in a hotel room, although there had been that time in the back of a London taxicab in Covent Garden after a ballet. Yes, a witch and a vampire had gone to the ballet. Swan Lake. That was just one of the many ways Simon had made her fall in love with him.

She’d been stupid to fall so hard. The first time Simon had kissed her she knew she was in trouble. She’d sensed he was a vampire and knew things rarely went well between a vampire and a witch. But he could do things with his tongue that were incredible. She was no novice, but he was so much more experienced than she was. He’d bestowed kisses on every inch of her body.

At first she’d told herself she was in it just for the sex. Simon had gladly shared his knowledge of the erotic arts with her. He’d instigated her orgasms in ways she’d never imagined, introducing her to positions she’d only read about in books.

But in the end, she’d ended up sharing much more than her body with him. They’d shared the fact that they were both outcasts in human society with a secret they had to keep from outsiders. She’d shared her thoughts, her heart, her love. Big mistake.

Enough with the deeply intimate memories of Simon. She refocused her attention on her surroundings. Actually, the loft looked like those she’d seen on HGTV. Brick walls, open floor plan, and lots of leather–as in couch and chairs, not whips and dominatrix costumes.

After Pru had cursed him, she’d figured he’d show up on her doorstep at some point. She hadn’t expected him to show up on Zoe’s doorstep. But then Simon had proved that he was master of the unexpected.

He burst into the room, demanding answers. No niceties. His hair was slightly ruffled from his journey, giving him a just-out-of-bed look she still found incredibly sexy. He got right to the point. “Tell me how to cure this bloody curse you placed on me.”

“It’s simple,” she said. “You just need to believe. That’s how the curse can be broken.”

“Believe? Like believe in Santa Claus?” he scoffed.

“Like Arthur believed he could pull Excalibur from that stone. And don’t mock Santa. I happen to like him.”

Simon yanked her close. “How do you know about Excalibur?”

“I’m a descendant of Morgan Le Fay. Of course I know about it. But then anyone who has seen the movie or the play Camelot would know about Excalibur. Any kid who has seen Disney’s The Sword and the Stone would know about it.”

“What do you know about it now? For real, not some movie.”

She looked into his angry face and realized what this was all about. “So that’s why you’re here. It has nothing to do with Damon. You’re here for the sword.”

“So are you,” he said.

“That’s not true. I’m here to see Zoe and for the sword.”

“It’s of no use to you,” he said.

“I wasn’t even sure if the rumors were true,” she murmured.

“What rumors?”

“You know what rumors. That Excalibur is here in Chicago. Embedded in ice, not stone.”

He tightened his hold on her. “Tell me where it is.”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot of ice in a city this size. Not to mention all of Lake Michigan. They’ve had a cold early winter and the lake is frozen along the shoreline in places.”

“The waves should keep it from freezing,” Simon said.

“There are places where the crashing waves have frozen on top of objects. I saw that on the local news earlier tonight.”

“Fine. So all I have to do to get rid of the curse is believe. Great. I believe. The curse should be over now, right?” He looked down at his privates.

“Wrong. You can’t just say the words. You have to mean them.”

“Listen, witch, I’m a vampire from King Arthur’s court. I kill demons. I don’t need you messing with my head. Not that I’d ever allow that to happen.”

“The curse has other ramifications,” she said.

“Like what? I’ve still been able to seek out and destroy demons.”

“Of course you have. I would never interfere with that,” she said.

“Only with my ability to have sex.”

“I was trying to teach you a lesson.”