Chapter 14
THE CITY HALL was dark and silent when we arrived. A couple of deputies were headed toward their squad car as we jogged up the steps to the main plaza, and they waved at Delia.
“Sheriff, we’ve got a five-two down at the Starhopper’s Mini-Mall.”
“Be careful. You never know what else might be waiting.” She waved them on. “Damn kids. There’s been a rash of break-ins at some of the smaller stores. You’d think around here they’d realize that magical alarms are cheap to come by. But there’s always some idiot kid who thinks they can beat the system and break in.”
We hurried through the silent hallway, passing the city hall and the courthouse. As we swept through the doors to the sheriff’s office, the flurry of busyness startled me. At times I forgot that some careers never had a lull.
“Ralph’s in one of the main holding cells.” Delia wove us through the cluster of desks till we came to a door on the other side of the room. There, she brushed a keycard against the scanner on the wall and an audible click sounded as the door opened.
Once through that door, the hall was concrete, and I could sense a thick muffling wave that made my magic settle into a slow pulse. A magical reduction ward, I guessed. They’d have to have that, as well as other safeguards, in place, given the nature of Bedlam’s inhabitants.
The hall stretched on for a ways, several doors along each side. It ended in a T-junction. We followed Delia to the end of the hall, turning left behind her. About fifteen feet later we came to a large gate that barred the path with a door in the center. Ten feet beyond the door was another iron gateway stretching across the hall. Beyond that, I could make out a row of cells.
The officer inside scanned Delia’s keycard and then looked at us. “Any weapons to declare?”
Sandy handed him her bag. “You might as well keep that till I come back. Gun, brass knuckles, pepper spray, switchblade…a few other things.”
The guard suppressed a smirk as he locked it away in a cabinet, then proceeded to run a scanner over the three of us. I wasn’t sure what he was scanning for, but apparently none of us had any hidden contraband that showed up, so he locked the door through which we had just entered, then opened the one leading into the cell block.
Delia led us down the hall. We passed a couple large, barred windows that let in the light from the storm outside. Huge floodlights illuminated the grounds outside, and in their light we could see that the snow had picked up again. The Winter Fae must be partying hard, I thought.
The walls were taupe. The color was bland, draining the brightness out of everything. The hall also felt like it muffled energy, as well. Nothing to trigger tempers or sadness. Just a soft smoosh of bland, bland, bland.
We came to the end of the hall, and the cell block ran to the left and right of the archway. The cell in front of us was empty, but to the left sat Ralph Greyhoof, staring quietly at the television that was playing a football game. Ralph was a Seahawks fan, and he often threw huge football and tailgate parties.
The cells to either side of his were empty as well, and I could see cameras aimed on him from all directions. He really was under surveillance.
The moment he saw us, he turned off the television, slowly standing. “Sheriff, what’s going on?” He did a double take when he saw me. “Maddy…” Flustered, he stopped and lowered his head, staring at his hooves. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I know you were in thrall, Ralph. We may have a healthy competition between us, but I know you wouldn’t deliberately try to kill me. Or anybody else.” I tried to keep from wrinkling my nose as the scent of his discomfort hit me square in the face. One thing about satyrs: they couldn’t keep their moods hidden. Their scents gave them away every time, which was why so many of their first dates went bad. When you can smell a guy’s erection, it tends to put you off your dinner.
“Yeah, but we don’t actually know that I didn’t hurt that girl.” His voice was raw and he looked up, his gaze locking with mine. In his eyes I could see the whirl of guilt and fear and concern roiling up one hell of a storm.
“We’re going to try to find out for sure. If you didn’t, then you deserve to be free. If you did…”
“Then it’s better all the way around for everybody to know.”
“Ralph, we’re worried that you might be in danger. Don’t ask me why or who, but I’m going to move you to premises that are more secure.” Delia pulled out a large hoop filled with keys. She glanced through, finding the right key. “Stand back from the door, please.”
Ralph obliged, moving to the back of the cell. As I watched him, I knew I had been right. Ralph was no killer. This wasn’t someone who could easily cast aside someone’s life. He might be lascivious, but he wasn’t vicious.
Delia opened the cell and motioned for him to move forward. He held his hands behind his back, turning around so she could cuff him. Wincing at the iron in the cuffs—satyrs could handle silver, but iron roughed them up—he followed her as she led him out of the cell.
We quickly walked the other way, to the opposite side of the juncture. There, we came to a heavy steel door painted red. Delia glanced back at us. “This is a safer area.”
“What’s going on?” Ralph asked.
“We’re just trying to protect you in case the vampire who enthralled you comes back to—” Delia paused, glancing up at the satyr, who stood head and shoulders above her.
“To kill me?” Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he began to fidget. “You really think I’m in danger?”
“We aren’t certain, but we’d rather be safe than sorry,” Sandy broke in.
“Sandy’s right. And behind this door, you’ll be in a vampire-free zone. They can’t get beyond the magical wards we have set up. And neither can anybody else.” Delia wasn’t quite being truthful. I could sense a discrepancy, but Ralph couldn’t.
He calmed down as she opened the door and led him through, motioning for us to wait. A moment later she returned and once again locked the heavy door. “He’ll be okay for now. Truth is one of the Aunties could get through, or someone like them. But I doubt that’s going to happen. Come on, let’s go talk to forensics and see what they’ve found.”
We returned to the main office, where she led us through another door. We stopped at a small cubicle toward the back of a narrow hall. With a quick knock, she opened the door.
We followed her through into a room that was larger than I had expected. On one side of a room was a row of lockers labeled “Evidence.” To the left were long workbenches, with magnifying glasses, microscopes, and all sorts of equipment. Straight ahead was some sort of a testing ring, where large white boards were covered with splatters mimicking blood. Several mannequins had taken a bad turn and were lying on the floor, ragged blood bags strapped to their chests and backs. We followed Delia over to one of the desks, where an officer was poring through a sheath of papers.
“Darren? What have you got for me on the Rose Williams case? Anything?” Delia leaned over his desk.
Darren—who I could tell at first glance was a werewolf, he had that lupine look to his eyes—glanced up at her. “I think we do, actually. We tried out several scenarios as to how she was stabbed. Sheriff, the person who killed—” He paused, glancing behind her as we all crowded around.
“Go ahead. They’re all right.”
“Okay, then. Williams was killed by somebody who had to be under five-eight. The angles of the wound are all wrong for anybody taller than that. I’d actually place the assailant at between five-five to five-eight. So that’s a fairly narrow range.”
Delia glanced at me. “Ralph’s six-three.”
“That occurred to me,” I said.
Darren held up another paper. “However, the killer was incredibly strong. The coroner just sent his report over and the wound to her stomach was so forceful that it chipped her spine. So the knife had to be strong and the assailant had to possess a massive amount of strength. Given there’s only one stab wound and no signs of struggle, I would say that she either knew the killer, or was taken by surprise.”
“Anything else?” Delia asked, glancing over the forms he handed her.
“Yes, actually. We found two partial prints on the panpipes. The pipes were wiped clean, otherwise. Neither print matches the satyr’s. Even though he verified they belong to him it looks like they were planted at the scene. Whoever left them there wiped them clean, but wasn’t quite thorough enough.”
“This is all good news for Ralph. Anything else that we can use to exonerate him?” Delia blew a thin stream of breath through her teeth.
“Actually, yes. Greyhoof is left handed. If you look at this picture, you’ll notice the angle of the injury. When we recreated it, the killing blow came in on a right-handed angle. Also, and perhaps most important, when satyrs are highly excited—be it arousal or adrenaline—they give off a strong odor.”
“We knew that already.”
“Perhaps what you didn’t know is that their scent markers contain particles that cling to anybody near them. We can test to see if someone’s been within arm’s reach of a satyr within the past few hours and be reasonably sure of our answer.”
This was news to me and it made me wonder what any number of suspicious husbands—and a few wives—would do if a home satyr-scent test was invented.
Aegis spoke up. “You mean, because we were close to Ralph just a few minutes ago, we’d show positive for satyr dust?”
“Particulates, not dust. But yes. If he’s in any way aroused or excited or frightened, you’ll test positive. And the tests on Williams’s body were negative. Not a speck.” The deputy shrugged. “I’m going to say that we have no circumstantial evidence to place him there.”
Delia took one last look through all the forms and handed them back to him. “Then that clears him. We’re looking for a shorter killer who’s incredibly strong, and who definitely isn’t a satyr.”
“There’s nothing that can mask those particulates?” Sandy said.
Darren shook his head. “Not really. Oh, there are some magical charms that might be able to do it, but given everything else, no.”
I stared at the papers in Delia’s hand. “If Rachel was behind it, Ralph would probably have been the triggerman. But why wouldn’t Essie do the same if she’s the one responsible? Why get blood on her own hands?”
“You say Ralph isn’t capable of killing, right?” Aegis was frowning.
I nodded. “Right.”
“I’ll tell you something not many people know. Thrall won’t turn the victim into an automaton. If Ralph really doesn’t have a killer’s nature, he’d resist and it would be a mess of trouble. Whoever tried to set him up didn’t count on Ralph being more blowhard than bite. If you resist an order while under thrall, and you resist hard enough, it can break the connection.”
“So the vampire—be it Rachel or Essie—had to do the actual dirty work. Ralph couldn’t, so she did,” I said.
“There’s one other possibility,” Sandy said. “Essie likes control. Maybe she didn’t believe Ralph would actually manage it without fucking it up. So she set everything to look like he did it, but made certain that Rose—whom she thought was you—actually ended up dead.”
Delia frowned. “I’m not sure where to go from here. First, there’s Essie. And then, Rachel. Because of her obsession with Aegis, she’s likely to be more off kilter than Essie and therefore, more dangerous.”
I frowned. “Do you think that Rachel knows Essie set her up as the one behind Rose’s murder?”
“That’s a good question. I suggest we use that to our advantage.” Aegis cocked his eyebrows. “I have an idea, but it’s going to take a little while for me to implement. Until then, we sit tight. Let’s talk in a private place, shall we?”
And with that, Delia led us back to her office.
BY THE TIME we left the station, it was nearly 3:00 a.m. All of us were tired, so Delia had one of her deputies drive us back to my place.
“It’s so late. I’d rather not worry about you driving, even with that spell on your car. Stay the night. What good are four guest rooms if I don’t have somebody in there?” I wrapped my arm around Sandy’s waist as we hurried from car to kitchen. Aegis kept a watch until we reached the back patio and had entered the house.
“I guess you can talk me into it, if you give me plenty of coffee in the morning. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to crash now. I’m so freaking sleepy.” Sandy yawned. “I can sleep in the room where I took the shower. That looked comfortable.”
“Oh, the Garden Room? Yeah, go ahead. I specifically infused that room with earth energy to give it that nurturing, growing sensation. I’ll head up in a few. Aegis will keep watch over the house till morning. Won’t you, sweetheart?” I turned to him as he reached out to rub my back.
“Of course. There should be a few snacks in the mini-bar, Sandy. Don’t worry about messing up anything. It will be a quick cleanup tomorrow.” Aegis waved as Sandy heaved a sigh and began to drag herself up to the second story.
When she was out of sight, I let out a slow breath and dropped into the rocking chair in the kitchen, pulling Drofur into my lap. The stuffed unicorn said nothing, but he smelled like cotton candy and bubblegum. “This has been one hell of a day.”
“And night. You’ve been up too long. You look beat, Maddy. Why don’t you go to bed and sleep now?”
“I will in a moment,” I said. “My brain’s churning so much that I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.” I glanced at the clock. “I wonder where Linda and Patty are by now? I hate to think of them alone in the world, but I guess they’re beyond our reach now.” And then it hit me: I was the new High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven. I felt totally unprepared for the job, like a deer caught in the headlights.
Aegis pulled one of the kitchen chairs over to my side and took my hand. “Maddy? Are you all right?”
“I just realized that I’m going to have to take over the coven and be responsible for it, starting tomorrow morning. Its failure or success will depend on me. It all comes down to the High Priestess, and I’m not at all certain I have the expertise that’s needed.”
“You most definitely do. You just lack the confidence. I hope you don’t sell yourself short. Sandy will be there to help you.”
I straightened, turning to him. “But what am I going to tell them? I can’t tell them that Linda was turning on them, handing them over to the vampires.”
“They have to know. You have to be transparent with them, or they’ll sense you’re hiding something and become suspicious. Linda hid her secrets and look what happened to her. That put her at the mercy of Essie and her ilk. I may be a vampire, but this is why I do not get involved in the politics of Fangdom. It’s a dangerous, murky area. We’re fighting for our rights, but so many of my kind make that difficult by being exactly the type of creature that makes others run in fear. Go to bed, Maddy. Sleep. Everything will look clearer in the morning.”
Deciding there was nothing else I could do for the night, I agreed. But it was a long time before I could sleep, and I tossed and turned all night, running from shadows in my dreams, and from a dark figure wearing a bright crown of sparkling blood, frozen into crystal form.
I GROANED AS the alarm clock went off at 8:00 a.m. I really didn’t want to get up, but then I remembered the meeting at the Town Hall and grimaced, slipping out from beneath the covers. Bubba was staring out the window, but when I stirred, he merely glanced at me and let out a “Murp?”
“Yes, I’m getting up. Good morning, you little tosser. By the way, thank you for helping Linda and her daughter. I know you had something to do with it and that nothing got twisted around. You’re a sweetie, you know that?” I reached down to run my hand over his tail as I stared out the window. The morning was starting off with a pale shimmer of sunlight breaking through the clouds, but even the sun looked cold at this point. Given the amount of snow and storms we had had, magic use must be up.
Bubba just flicked his tail and haughtily strutted over to the door. “Mrow.”
“I know you’re hungry. I’ll be down in a few minutes. Go wake up Sandy, if she’s not already up.” I waved him off and he darted out the door.
A quick shower later, I dressed in my best indigo wash jeans, a mauve V-neck sweater, and a silver belt. I slipped on my big old Fugly-Boots, my favorite brand. Knee-high, they were leather and laced up the front. They had thick wedge heels, non-skid. They were stiff enough to keep my ankles from turning, and easily navigated the snow.
By the time I made it downstairs, I smelled espresso brewing. Sure enough, Sandy was at the helm and a frothy hot latte was waiting for me, along with toast and jam.
“I don’t think we have time for much more before the meeting, but at least this will get us through an hour or so of the shockwaves about to hit the community.”
“What should we tell them? Aegis thinks we should tell them the truth. But won’t that make people paranoid against the vampires?”
“Well, maybe they should be. I think he’s correct. But if you phrase it right, it won’t sound like we’re under siege.” She shifted her shoulders, then lifted her shirt to adjust her bra. “This is the last time I ever buy a Naomi Varjhas bra. The damned band won’t lay flat.”
Bubba leaped up on the table and stared at her.
“You little perv. Quit watching me.”
I laughed. “Bubba’s just waiting for you to ignore your toast. He likes toast and tries to steal mine whenever he gets the chance. I doubt if he’s entranced by your boobs.”
She snorted. “Neither am I. I accidentally caught my right one in the door yesterday when I leaned too close while shutting it. Mother-freaking son of a bitch, but that hurt.”
I snorted latte out my nose. “Thank you for that. I needed a sinus irrigation, yes indeed. Okay then, so we head out to this meeting in a few minutes. I don’t care if you think you’re not invited, I’m dragging you along.” Sobering, I set down my cup. “I don’t know about all this, Sandy. I’m not sure how to be the High Priestess. Am I serious enough for it? You know as well as I do, I don’t take things as reverently as I should. Won’t Temple HQ decide that I’m unfit for the job?”
She frowned. “Maybe it’s time we had somebody who wasn’t exactly a model-fit for it. Look at what happened with Linda. You’d think she’d be perfect but the vamps found a way to exploit her and turn her to their own use. I don’t know where the Aunties transported her to, but I can tell you this: if someone as strong and as serious as she was can be so easy to blackmail, maybe it takes somebody with a sense of humor and an alternative view on life to run things properly.”
“I’m glad you have faith in me, because without it, I’d probably just pack up and move.” I glanced around the kitchen, realizing how much I had come to love the mansion. “Or maybe not. Whatever the case, let’s get this show on the road. Delia will be waiting.”
WE HEADED OUT to the Town Hall. Bedlam during the day looked quite a bit different than Bedlam did during the night. Both times the town was magical, but during the day Bedlam was a cheerful, bright spot. At night, she was a mysterious, moody town.
“The snowfall this year is ridiculous,” Sandy said as we maneuvered through the freshly plowed streets. “We have to have close to three feet. None of the other islands have that.”
“The Winter Fae are having one hell of a party this season.”
“True that. The summers have been warmer, winters colder, and we have definite rainy seasons during the autumn and spring now.”
I eased through the town, waving at old Mrs. Pennyhessy as we passed her ice cream parlor. She was one of the few avian shifters we had in town. In her younger days, she had flown many a mile in her hawk form. Now, she mostly shifted when she was feeling poorly and stayed in hawk form till the spell passed. She seldom took wing anymore, though. Nobody knew how old she was, but she claimed to be at least three hundred years, which was getting up there for a bird shifter. She did a lot of babysitting for young mothers, thrilling the kids with her stories of the old days.
She waved back, then vanished inside to the soda fountain. I had the sudden craving for an ice cream float, but decided it would have to wait until after the meeting.
“Well, there’s the Town Hall.” I finally found a parking spot—the lot was crowded during the day with all the government workers—and stared at the building. “So you really think I can do this? Because once I walk through those doors and officially announce myself as the new High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven, that’s it. There won’t be any going back, not unless I do something as stupid as Linda did. Or unless Rachel manages to find me and slay me.”
“No going back and don’t worry it. I called Angus and Terrance this morning and they still think you’re the best choice for the job. We’ll need to convene a special meeting as soon as possible to vest you with the circlet and sword, and pick another member for the coven council. I’m leaning toward Tanith, if you want my opinion.”
I nodded. Tanith would be a good choice. She was experienced, level headed, and best of all, she liked me, so I wouldn’t get a lot of static from her.
“We also should add someone to the Inner Court from the Outer, and then open the Outer Court to applications. I am thinking Kyle. He’s grown so much over the past couple of years.”
“Well, we have our game plan. Let’s get you in there and make it official.” Sandy swung out of the car. I followed suit, more slowly.
As we passed one of the city workers who was shoveling snow and sprinkling rock salt over the steps, I realized that nothing would ever be the same. I had moved to Bedlam on a lark. Within two months I not only was deeply immersed in a relationship, but I was now High Priestess of my coven. The responsibilities of both hit home, pointing out to me just how much I had been drifting for years.
Oh, I had been a member of the coven for a long, long time, but even though I was on the Inner Court Council, there hadn’t been many decisions for me to make. And I had played with relationships—all of them failing. The last failed due to his emotional abuse and my lack of will to disentangle myself from it, but none of them had worked out for long. I realized that I didn’t want that to happen with Aegis. As scared as it made me, he meant more to me than any man in a long time. Vampire or not, he had a heart. I didn’t want to hurt him. And I didn’t want to be hurt again.
“What are you thinking about?” Sandy asked as we passed through the doors.
“Life. The Universe.”
“Forty-two?”
I laughed. “Not quite. No, I’m thinking about relationships and Aegis and how I’ve managed to sabotage myself over the years. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
“When was the last time you were seriously involved with someone where it worked out?” She consulted her phone. “We’re looking for room 432. Down this hall and to the left, I think.”
We wove through the bustle of clerks hurrying about their work. The smell of business was in the air, a crisp, get-things-done scent that burned into my brain.
“Honestly? Tom. After he was turned I guess I never fully had the heart to make things work. You know I’ve drifted in and out of relationships but none ever stuck. I’m just starting to realize how lonely I’ve been.” I froze, turning to her. “Sandy, I’m falling in love with Aegis and it scares the hell out of me. Not just because he’s a vampire.”
“You’re afraid of being hurt again.”
“Tom—he was a part of my soul. When I lost him, I lost a part of myself. I’m afraid to chance that again, but the more time I spend around Aegis, the more I realize he’s everything I’ve missed. He’s everything Tom was, without that little spark of crazypants that Tom had. And that scares me too. What if it doesn’t work out? What if some wanna-be vampire hunter goes full-Buffy on him and stakes him?”
“What if you get everything you want and live happily ever after?” She put her hand on mine. “Maddy, you deserve so much more than you’ve allowed yourself to have. You deserve love and happiness. I know there’s more there blocking you—I can tell that some part of you is holding yourself back from fully committing. What’s going on?”
I shook my head. I had an idea of what my block was, but truth was, I didn’t know if I was ready to explore those feelings yet. When I ripped the bandage off, it was going to open an old, old wound and the prospect of revisiting that pain was more than I could think about now.
“We’ll talk about it later. I need to focus on the present. We have too much to worry about without me diving into all those old feelings right now.”
“You’re going to have to face whatever it is soon or it will interfere with your relationship with Aegis.” Sandy motioned to the next door to the right. “We’re here. Are you ready?”
I wasn’t ready to face my fears about love, and I wasn’t ready to face my fears about taking on the responsibility of the entire coven. But the fact was, I didn’t have much of a choice. I could either cut and run, which had been my modus operandi for most of my life, or I could finally plant my feet on the ground, dig in, and fight for what was right. And the thought of Essie reaching out her bony, clammy hand to grab the throat of Bedlam and hold it hostage was about as wrong as it could get.
I summoned up my courage and straightened my shoulders. “I’m ready.”
Sandy opened the door, standing back to allow me to enter first. Head held high, I let out a long, slow breath and entered the room. There, the leaders of the city council were waiting. They looked up expectantly. I met Delia’s gaze and realized she was as scared as I was. She was about to step into Linda’s shoes as mayor of the city. I just had to lead the coven. And with that thought, I felt more secure.
Delia motioned for me to sit down. “Maudlin, I’m so glad you could make it. Members of the council, meet the new High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven—Maudlin Gallowglass.”
And with that, I committed myself to Bedlam, to my bed and breakfast, and to growing up after years of running wild through the world. As I took my chair, I felt something shift inside, and realized that I no longer felt afraid. Even though we were facing a threat that I wasn’t sure we could win against, I was feeling relieved. I had made my choice.