Read Witch Upon a Star (A Midnight Magic Mystery) for Free Online

else to do, I stared down at my plate and ate more. I knew he was still watching me, making me even more uncomfortable if possible.
    “You should learn to take a compliment, Anna. You shall receive more than your fair share through this life.”
    “If you say so,” I said through my chewing.
    “And you should not speak with your mouth full.” His eyes zeroed in on my elbows. “Or place your elbows on the table. Both are considered quite rude.”
    I gulped down my food and immediately dropped my elbows. “Sorry.”
    “It is not your fault. It is a failing of your upbringing. Such as it is. You cannot know if you are not taught.”
    “Okay. What else?”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “What else do I need to know? What else can you teach me? I’m a real fast learner. I like learning new stuff.”
    “And I am sure you are the most apt of pupils. However, I am an ill-suited instructor.”
    “No, you aren’t. I learned more from you tonight than in a year
of school,” I insisted.
    He stared at me with pity then, which turned my stomach. Even at that age I could withstand just about anything but pity. “You flatter me.”
    “It’s true! And you said it yourself, how can I know things if I’m not told them? Someone has to, why not you?”
    Asher chuckled and shook his head for several seconds, the silence growing crueler the longer it lasted. The worms began wriggling as those blue pools darted back my way. I had to glance down. “What do you want from me, little one? Exactly ?”
    I was aware of him staring, scrutinizing every inch of my face, but I was afraid to reciprocate. I was afraid my embarrassment, fear, and confusion would be evident on my face. Really, at nine years old, I couldn’t quantify what I wanted from the man across from me except for him to simply stop looking at me.
    “I am not a good man,” he began, finally breaking the silence. “I am a vampire. A soulless monster. I am not even a man. I have stolen. I have lied. I have killed more than I can account for. Without a doubt, I am destined for hell and I … welcome the upcoming journey. I welcome the eternal atonement for my multitude of sins. My reckoning is past due.” He paused. “I am not for you, Anna. I have nothing to teach but misery and nothing to offer but perpetual darkness.”
    As I gazed down at my lap, the worms burrowed through my whole body. Every one of those little bastards wanted me to start crying, to run away, to give up, and for a second I almost listened. But they hadn’t reached my soul yet. My spirit forced my eyes to his as I asked, “How about what I can offer you?”
    The snarl I was greeted by slowly dropped as he stared at my impassive face. Thank the universe our waitress showed up carrying a piece of chocolate cake with a candle in it. “Hope I’m not interrupting. Thought you might like this. Happy birthday, hon.” She set it right in front of me. “Blow out your candle and make a wish, sweetie.”
    I gathered all my energy, all the magic I could muster, and blew the candle out.
    “What did ya wish for, sweetie?” the waitress asked.
    Without taking my eyes from Asher, I said, “I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
    _____
    He pulled up in front of my building without even bothering to shut off the engine as I sat in his car, strangled by the oppressive silence that had followed us from the restaurant. It became worse, real the moment the car stopped. He wouldn’t speak. He wouldn’t look at me. I was wrong. Everything I believed was wrong. This was it. I would never see him again, and there was nothing I could do about it. Anything I said or did would just make matters worse. We sat in that car for a full thirty seconds before I forced my hand to the door. “Bye,” I whispered as I put one foot out of the car into the frozen night.
    “Anna …” I looked over at him. “‘The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.’ There is nothing else in