Excerpt

Chapter 1

April 2004
Four months earlier

Remy Renee, her purple aura aglow in the late afternoon sun, turned and waved to her assistant.  Legs moving like pistons, she walked toward the off-island bookstore in Charlotte.  Her shop, Urbane, was in the building adjacent to the store, and she’d left a little early to ensure her errand wouldn’t interfere with that evening’s plans.

She raced into the bookstore and skidded to a stop.  Delighted, she gasped when she spotted the new Pandora Page novel prominently displayed.  Reading was a favorite pastime and Pandora was her favorite author, one who always drew her into the magical place that was Pandora’s imaginary world.  Remy had been waiting months for the release of this next book in the series, which continued the antics of the ever-entertaining vampire, Monsaire.

Just managing to contain herself, Remy plucked a book from the seemingly hundreds on display.  She fingered the cover, smiling, before she flipped it open to read the inside flap.

An unexpected chuckle escaped her.  Remy looked up, trying to stifle her grin, hoping her outburst had gone unnoticed.  Oh great, she thought as her glance lit upon some fine man openly staring at her.  Oh well…c’est la vie.  Shrugging, she returned to her reading.

The next sound from her couldn’t be described as a chuckle, but instead, a straight-out laugh.  Remy didn’t even try to pretend she wasn’t cracking up as she looked up to find the same man smiling at her now.  She ducked her head and decided to sit at one of the tables in the café.  Still smiling, she said to herself, Damn, leave it to me to make a fool of myself in public.

“Hello,” said a voice with a remarkable Barry White-like resonance.  “So, you enjoy Monsaire…he’s a trip, isn’t he?”

A few seconds ticked by before Remy, wrapped up in the synopsis, realized he had spoken to her.  She looked up and the thought, Fine as damn wine, floated through her mind.  Too bad he’s got that blue aura happening.

But aloud, she said, “Oh yeah, always. He cracks me up.”  She laughed.  Just thinking about the vampire made her grin.

The man raised one eyebrow and waved a hand at the chair across from her, in essence asking if he could sit.  A smirk bubbled up and it was all she could do to keep it from making an appearance.  Um…um…um, could he be any smoother?  Surely, he’s not trying to hit on me.  Naw…he must just be one of those aurals who likes to talk to others.  And since he obviously likes Monsaire as much as I do, I guess I’m it.  So, she gave a half-cocked nod and a nonchalant wave toward the chair.

“I’m Jace, and you are?” he asked, taking the seat across from her.

“Remy.”  She tapped the book’s front cover.  “I really hope this one is as good as the others.” 

“Yeah, it’s really a good book.”  He leaned back in the chair and directed a smile her way, his hands resting on the table.

U-m-m…uh, he really needs to get a patent for that smile.  With that thought, she couldn’t help smiling back.

“Can I get you something to eat…something to drink?”  His chin-length locs swayed with his head’s movement as he turned to look at the menu board attached to the wall.

“No thanks, I’m cool.  So you’ve already read the new book?”

“Yeah, a friend got me an advance copy.  You sure you don’t want anything?”

“An advance copy?  Wow!”  Remy tilted her head, studying his face.  Ohmigod, I think this is Jace Williams!  How could I have missed that?  I know I’m unobservant, but damn!

“You’re Jace Williams, right?” she asked, her voice cool and calm.  And though inside, her excitement jumped up and down like a basketball, not one bounce slipped through.

“Uh-huh.”  He averted his eyes, looking down at the table while his fingers tapped a beat on its surface.

“Aw man, I just love your books!”  In spite of herself, Remy couldn’t contain her excitement, and a little of it rolled right into her voice.

He looked up at her and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.  “Really?”

“Oh yeah, I think they’re great!”  Arrogance transformed her face as she became Versai the witch, the main character in his books.  Her voice an octave lower, Remy uttered Versai’s signature line, “Hate me ’cause I’m me.”

Waves of laughter erupted from them both, growing to a state of near hysteria before they controlled themselves.

A couple of hours rolled by as they discussed books, sports, music, world events, and a myriad of other subjects, their similar tastes creating an air of familiarity.  The remnants of the most recent batch of croissants and iced teas littered the table between them.

“So, do you work off-island?”  Jace twisted one of his locs around his forefinger.

“Yeah, I’m a designer/seamstress at my shop, Urbane.  It’s right over there, see?” she asked him, pointing through the plate glass storefront.

“Oh yeah…I see it.  Have you worked in Charlotte long?”

“Um-huh. The shop’s been in my family forever.”

“What about on-island?”  He lowered his voice as he asked about the island where they, as Auralites, lived.

“Yeah, every other Saturday morning, I volunteer at The Island Center, teaching disadvantaged children.”  She popped the last bit of her croissant in her mouth.  “Good Lord, these things are good!  What about you?” she asked, sweeping each crumb into a napkin.  Making a tight ball of the rectangular paper, she sat it on the table.

“Well, I do most of my writing on-island, but my brother and I own some property here.  I’m actually off-island quite a bit promoting my books and stuff.”  Jace leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.  “So…would you like to go out sometime?”

“With you?”  Shocked, stupidity flew from her mouth before she could stop it.

“Uh…yeah.”

Remy had never been confronted with this particular situation.  No blue coven guy had ever asked her out.  The distrust created by the past oppression of the purple by the blue was lessening, but not to the point where inter-coven dating was smiled on by either coven.  Realizing her tendency towards bluntness, she was unsure how to phrase her inter-coven dating policy.  Remy hesitated, not wanting to destroy the unexpected camaraderie with the Jace Williams.  So, she began by saying, “Well, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you’re probably talking to somebody.  I didn’t see a ring, so—”

“Huh?  That’s not it—” Remy realized her faux pas as she watched relief flood his face. Aw, crap.  I should have just let him think that was the reason.

“So, what is it?”

“Um…well,” she paused, frantically trying to think up some innocuous way of stating her position.  “I’m not really into…um…inter-coven dating.”

Jace leaned against the back of his chair, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, one finger curled against the end of his mouth.  “Really, why is that?”

Remy gave up her attempt at subtlety.  “Well, I’m not actually a militant.”  She smiled, still trying to soften the edge of her statement.  “But, I’m very proud of my coven.  So, going out with me might be problematic for a guy who’s not purple.” 

“In what way?”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Okay then,” she continued, nodding. “There would probably be times when I’d say something that could be taken as offensive to a blue guy, such as yourself.  But it would be the truth as I see it, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t bite my tongue when expressing my opinion.”  She shrugged as she finished talking.

“And you shouldn’t have to.  However, it sounds like you’re assuming your opinion would automatically differ from mine.”

Suddenly distracted, Remy heard Jace say, “So, do you think—” but she heard no more because at that exact moment, a purple guy entered the café area and grabbed every bit of her attention.

To the humans in the store, Remy and Jace were just an African American woman and man.  But she could see that wasn’t the case with the purple guy.  It was all too evident that to him, Remy was a purple Auralite and Jace wasn’t.  The guy stared at the two of them, his face expressionless as he ambled to the counter.

Remy glanced at Jace, noticed his mouth still moving, though she had no idea what was being said.  She threw a furtive look at the purple guy, now leaning against the counter, his head turned towards them.  A frown began to form on the guy’s face and Remy thought, Oh no, I hope he’s not gonna try to start something.  The guy stared, his frown deepening.  Damn, I’m gonna have to get outta here so he won’t start no shit.

Picking up on Remy’s sudden preoccupation, Jace turned, wondering why her attention was no longer with him.  He noticed the guy, his aura and his expression.  Aw man, not this again.

Suddenly, Jace’s mind was awash with images of the times—too many to count—he and his lifelong friend, Darius, had been subject to this type of situation.  At school, in the hallways, and especially on the playground, the scurrilous little rugrats wouldn’t leave them alone.  The two of them—one blue, one purple—seemed to be viewed as some aberrant form of entertainment, even in their own neighborhood. It always started with the looks, then the name-calling, sometimes ending there, but often ending in flying fists, blackened eyes, and fat lips, but the kids’ cruelty only served to strengthen their friendship.

Jace flexed his muscles, an unconscious gesture.  I thought I was through with this kinda crap, but here goes.

“Remy—”

“I’m sorry,” she said, having seen him flex, “but I gotta get going.  I’ve got somewhere to be and I’m gonna be late if I don’t get a move on.  It was nice meeting you, Jace.  Bye.”

Without another word, she scurried from the bookstore to her nearby Charlotte dwelling.  Those Auralites that worked or owned businesses among the humans kept homes off The Island, or “off-island” as they referred to it, with addresses and phone numbers that matched social security numbers, tax forms, etc.  Keeping humans unaware of their existence was their number one priority.

Entering the comfortable abode, she checked her voicemail and her email.  Nothing demanded her immediate attention.  So, breathing a sigh of relief, Remy disappeared.  Only a column of warm air remained where she had stood moments before.