Marsha-Incantata – 2

Once back in the more brightly lit office Nash thought maybe now Amber would not be quite so exotically beautiful as she seemed in the dim light of the bar. But of course not. She was even more beautiful than he had thought. Her skin might be a little pale by California standards, but it was flawless, creamy and smooth without a single freckle or blemish. The hair that had looked kind of muddy in the bar practically absorbed the light and almost glow in brilliant copper, bronze and gold. He didn’t even know what to call her hair, it wasn’t really red, or brown or blonde, but more like a marriage of all three. And the eyes, well they were still amazing.

He must have been staring for too long because she asked in her honey coated voice “You are still hungry aren’t you? Have a seat and dig in before this gets cold.” When he sat at the table she took a seat across from him but turned around and looked at her brothers leaning against the desk. “So is anybody going to tell me who this is?”

“Amber this is our pack leader, Nash Banov. Nash, this our little sister and the bane of our existence, Amber, or to be precise Ambra de Rossi. She has just come home from four years in Florence with our Grandparents.” It was Dom who made the introduction.

“It’s nice to meet you Nash. You were putting out some pretty strong energy. I should have know you were the alpha. How in the world you can put up with having four of my brothers in your pack I’ll never be able to understand, If they are as bossy with the others as they are with me you must be having to stop fights all the time. Nash, that’s an unusual name”

Well shit, he thought, I guess she’s married. Well at least she does have a fault…she can’t shut up. He wasn’t sure she even took a breath during all that. But damn even that was cute. Around another big bite of hamburger he said “It’s Nashoba actually. My mother is Choctaw”

“Choctaw, well that explains those gorgeous cheekbones and black hair. I’m really quite jealous. But the blue eyes? Banov, that’s Russian isn’t it? Wait a minute! I met your parents about five years ago at charity event for the preservation of the Russian River. They live on the river don’t they? Your mother is so lovely, and your dad well he’s not too hard to look at either. That’s where you got the eyes. Can I have a French fry?

Wow. She had to have taken a breath in there somewhere. Not knowing if she expected an answer or not he nodded his head yes. Surely she would have to be quiet long enough to eat. “Take as many as you want”

“Thanks.” She picked up a fry and bit it in half. And no, she still managed to talk around it as she chewed. Now that takes talent, and lots of practice no doubt. She swallowed and ate the other half of the French fry. “Nashoba means wolf. At my raised eyebrows she said “ My father was a werewolf and four of my brothers are werewolves. When I have sons some of them will probably be werewolves. I know most of the names that mean wolf. Can I have a beer Dom?.”

I had finished my meal and was just downing the last of my beer when she asked. I turned amused eyes to her brother. He shook his head no and rolled his eyes. “You aren’t twenty-one yet Amber. That’s against the law.”

“Oh for crying out loud Dom. I will be twenty-one in eight days. Who’s going to know? It’s not like anyone is going to report you to the Sherriff”

“Actually,” Nash said “I would have to since I am the Sherriff”

Her lovely eyes got very big, and then she laughed. Her laugh was wonderful. It didn’t sound anything like her sultry voice. It was honest and full of the simple pleasure you get when you hear children playing or see sunlight glinting on water like diamonds. It was a very good laugh, and I just had to join in. ‘Well” she said “no beer for me Sherriff. In fact knowing my big brother I won’t get one until the very hour, no, make that minute I turn twenty-one. Can you tell he’s the oldest?”

Dom jumped into the conversation before she could get started on a new tangent. “Amber, Alessandro and Nicolo should be home any minute and I am sure they can’t wait to see you. Nash, Geovanni and I have some business to discuss and it’s getting late. Please excuse us.”

I half expected her to protest or be upset at being dismissed, but instead she smiled at her brother. “Si, mio caro fratello” Turning to me she said “I really have enjoyed meeting you Nash. I hope you’ll come again. Maybe for my birthday? They had better be giving me a party” She kissed each brother on the cheek as she turned to leave the room.

“Amber” I called before she left the room “ I just have to ask. Why did you ask Carl’s girlfriend to come to lunch tomorrow?

She sighed softly and shook her head. “The poor thing definitely needs a make-over. DJ is right she is ugly, and that hurts her. I might not be able to make her beautiful, but any witch worth her salt can come up with a spell or two to make her better than she is now.”

“You’re a witch?”

“Well of course. The women in my family have been Strega since the 12^th Century. “Bounanotte, she said as she turned and left the room.”

As soon as Amber closed the office door Nash looked at the two men still leaning against the desk. He knew both of these men, and the two other brothers, they were all members of his pack. But now he realized he did really know them. He didn’t know there were two other brothers and he sure never knew about their sister. Somehow that bothered him now. He really needed to get more familiar with his pack.

Since Dom was apparently in charge, that’s where Nash directed his question. “The food was really good, and your sister is very charming, but I doubt that’s why you asked me to come out here. Does this visit involve my duties as sheriff, or my position as pack leader?

“Both probably, and actually Nash our sister is why we asked you out here. We’re pretty sure that some one has been following her and is going to try and kidnap her the first chance he gets.“

My disbelief must have showed in my face because he held up his hands and said “I know, I know. This does sound kind of paranoid, but just hear me out. A little over four years ago both of our parents were killed when their car went off the road on the way to Lake Tahoe.” The pain of that loss was still evident in the brothers’ faces even after four years.

“I remember reading about that. It was a terrible loss. Your parents were very respected in the local community, in fact my own parents have worked with them a few times.”

“Yes, they were good people. A few weeks after our parent’s death we had a visit from an attorney representing an unnamed client proposing a marriage contract for Amber. I must have looked at him like he had grown another head or something because he went on and on about his employer’s heritage and pedigree. He was wealthy and powerful and could comfortably take care of my sister and their children, and certainly as her oldest brother and guardian I knew someone of her abilities couldn’t marry just anyone.”

“Whoa. Hold on your losing me here. First of all you said your sister’s name is de Rossi not Biagetti, isn’t she already married? And what exactly are you talking about when you say her abilites?

“Do you know very much about witches? When I shook my head no he continued. “Well, the word for witch in Italy is Strega. There are a very old and powerful line of Earth witches. The Strega can channel the energy of the Earth itself. Fire, Water, Wind. That alone is impressive, but the de Rossi line of Strega is very unique. For the past nine hundred years that we know of every de Rossi female has given birth to seven children, always six males first followed by one female. This makes them the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. Amber is not only a powerful witch but a shape shifter and an empath, just like our mother and grandmother. The females keep the de Rossi name to continue the line. That‘s why she doesn‘t have our father‘s name.”

Great, Nash thought, she’s not married, but she’s some kind of freakin super witch. “I’m not sure I’m following you, you’re telling me your sister is a werewolf as well as a witch? Like you and your brothers.”

“No. Our sister can change shape anytime she wants into any shape she wants. And only four of us are werewolves like out father. The two that are still in Italy are witches like our mother”

“Well that’s pretty damn unique. I’ve never met anyone who can do that before”

“I decided to send Amber to Florence to stay with out grandmother to help her recover from our parents death, and to get some training in her craft. She was devastated by the loss of our mother right when she was just learning what it meant to be Strega. For several months after she left I continued to receive letters from this damn man’s shyster. I finally got the family’s attorney to send him an official notice that my sister was NOT a prized filly to be auctioned off to the highest bidder and he was to stay away from her. We didn’t hear from him again and thought that was the end of it, but our cousins have reported that Amber has been followed for the last four or five months before she left Italy. We think it’s the same person and he is just waiting for a chance to grab her.”

“You might be right. Can you give me the letters from the attorney? Maybe the Sherriff’s Department can find out more than you can on your own. I’ll call in some favors too. I think this guy sounds like a lunatic and he needs to be kept away from Amber at all costs. You guys are going to keep an eye on her all the time I take it”

With a wry smile Dom answered “We are going to try to, but if you knew Amber, you’d know that won’t be so easy. We were hoping we might be able to get you to help with that too. Don’t let the chatter fool you. She is smart as hell and one of the kindest souls I’ve ever known. She’s our sister Nash, our family. I don’t think I could live with myself if I let someone hurt her. I owe it to our parents to keep her safe.”

Well double hell. “I don’t have any siblings, but if I did I guess I’d feel the same way. Let me do some checking and I’ll get back to you later. Get me those documents as soon as you can.”

“We can’t thank you enough for this Nash. Anytime you need something, you come here first” Both brothers shook my hand as I got up to leave the room.

I stopped a few feet from my truck when I noticed someone sitting on the bumper. The soft breeze of the California summer night let me know who it was. I have always liked the smell of a woman, and I really liked the smell of this one. “I had a feeling you agreed a little too easily” I sat down next to her on the bumper. “You’re supposed to be at home Ms. Amber de Rossi.”

“I was waiting to talk to you Sherriff Wolf” she said with a smile, but it didn’t last long. “something’s going on with my brothers. Are they in some kind of trouble?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Did my brothers tell you about me?” At my nod yes. “Well you didn’t run out of here screaming. I guess that’s a good sign. Anyway, you know I’m an empath. My brothers learned how to shield their emotions at our mother’s insistence, but sometime they let it slip. I know they are worried about something. It has something to do with Dominic doesn’t it? Will you tell me what it is Nash? Please?”

Good God it was hard to look into those beautiful eyes and not do anything she wanted. With a deep sigh I looked away and said “I can’t do that Amber.”

She looked at me in silence for awhile, then said “I guess I would have been disappointed if you did. It’s just that I love by brothers, especially Dominic. He is mi sta a coure; close to my heart. Dominic is the one I always ran to when I got mad at my parents, or someone hurt my feelings. He held me when I cried over my parents even though he was hurting too. I love him, I love them all.”

Looking at her all I could think to say was “then let them take care of you.”

Surprise showed on her lovely face. “Well hell Sherriff, you’re pretty smart aren’t you” She got up and shocked me when she kissed me on the cheek as she had her brothers “I’m going to have to talk to your mother. You must have some Italian in you somewhere.” She laughed and I had to laugh with her. “Goodnight. I hope I see you again Nash” She turned and walked back to the bar.

“Oh you can count on that” I said softly. “You can definitely count on that.”