Chapter 3
“TAKE IT EASY. Don’t try to put any weight on that ankle.” I opened the passenger door and motioned for Alex to bring the wheelchair around from the back of my SUV.
“I can hobble if you give me a cane,” Sandy said, looking frustrated.
“Not a chance.” I gave her a stern look. “Dr. Beems said for you to keep off that foot for at least a week. Then and only if she approves, you can start hobbling around. The last thing we need is for you to careen off balance and fall onto that broken arm of yours.”
“She speaks the truth, woman. Now let me lift you out of the car into your wheelchair.”
I stepped out of the way as Max approached the door. We had put Sandy in my car, given my CR-V was easier to get in and out of than Max’s Corvette, and he had followed me back to her place. Alex was waiting for us. Lihi was hovering around too. Sandy’s homunculus was obviously concerned, her little bat wings fluttering in an unnatural way.
“Can I do anything?” Lihi asked.
I glanced at her. “Why don’t you zip in and make sure Mr. Peabody is all right?”
I knew the creature wanted to help, and right now, that was the only thing I could think of to keep her occupied. Lihi was bound to Sandy by a mutual contract. She was paid in crystals—the currency of her realm—and was more than willing to pitch in. The size of a fashion doll, she wore leather hot pants and a halter top most of the time, and she was really cute, with bat wings and ears, and a rat-like tail.
She nodded and fluttered off.
Alex was shaking his head. “I should have gone to the store for you,” he said, chagrined. “I heard you mention buying a fruit tray for the meeting, but I didn’t even think.”
“Stop that.” Sandy flashed him an irritated look. “It’s not your fault. There’s no one to blame except the cretin who did this. And if I find them, I’m going to hex them into a living hell. After I let Max beat the goons senseless.” She was feeling better, all right.
Max carefully lifted her out of the CR-V and into the wheelchair, over her continued objections, and wheeled her toward the sprawling house. It was gorgeous, with skylights everywhere. Massive, the mansion felt like more of a resort. Everywhere, her walls were a muted cream color, and large urns held miniature palm trees and bonsai trees.
Lihi was standing beside Mr. Peabody—Sandy’s pet skunk.
Mr. Peabody had the misfortune to have been de-scented twice. The first time, when Sandy had found him and brought him home. But then an ill-conceived play date between him and Bubba resulted in Mr. Peabody grooming Bubba’s belly. The next thing we knew, his scent glands had grown back. So, once again, he had undergone surgery. Now, when we let them get together, we kept a close eye on them.
“What do you think? Breakfast first?” Alex asked.
“Oh gods, yes. The food that hospital serves can barely be called slop. They tried to give me cream of wheat, for the sake of the gods. I want a bear claw, and I want caffeine, and I want bacon. Stat.”
Alex suppressed a laugh, taking off into the kitchen. Mr. Peabody waddled over and rubbed against the chair, looking up at her. She leaned down and, with her good arm, patted his head.
“Hey, doofus, how are you?” As her fingers met his fur, the shock broke and Sandy began to cry. “I can’t believe this happened. Who the hell would do that to me?”
Max pulled a chair over to one side and sat down, taking her good hand. “Sweetie, that’s what we’re going to find out. But you need to focus on getting well.”
“I want Jenna here. I don’t trust that she’s safe at the school. Not till they find out who did this.” She dashed away her tears. “Can one of you run up and get her?”
“I will,” I volunteered. “Call the school and give them permission to let her leave with me.”
Alex returned with Sandy’s favorite drink—a caramel macchiato—and a tray bearing an assortment of pastries. “The bacon is cooking.”
Sandy accepted her phone from Max, who had dialed the number for the headmaster of Neverfall. “Hi, this is Cassandra Clauson. Will you please release Jenna to my friend, Maudlin Gallowglass. Maddy will be driving up to get her in a few minutes. Tell her to pack a bag. Circumstances necessitate me keeping her here at home for a few days. I’ll explain later, but it’s urgent.” She paused, listening. “All right. Thank you.”
“Everything all set?” I slung my purse over my shoulder and snatched a maple bar off the tray.
“They’ll be waiting for you.”
“They already know what happened to you. I told them last night when I went up to the school,” Max said. “I stayed there, keeping an eye on the door to the dormitory all night. They set wards on her windows and door, so I was able to get a little shut-eye.”
Sandy looked like she was going to cry again, so I stepped in. “I’m headed out to get Jenna. Meanwhile, don’t allow her to bluff you into letting her get out of that chair.”
Max chuckled. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, is it, sweetie?”
Sandy rolled her eyes, the tears vanishing. “I’ll behave. But I don’t have to like it.”
As I left, Alex motioned to me, pressing a double-shot iced mocha into my hand. “I know you can probably use it.”
“You are so right.” I waved at him and climbed in my car, heading to Neverfall.
I SWUNG ONTO Rosewood Road, heading toward the northeastern part of the island. The traffic was light at this time of morning, and the water to my right was glassy calm. As I passed the ferry terminal, a ferry was just pulling in. We didn’t have much traffic, but summer was always a busier time, with tourists in from the mainland. Luckily, I’d be past the incoming cars before they got off the boat.
As I passed a long stretch of shore, I caught sight of the Oyster Bar—Sandy’s new restaurant. Grand opening was in a week, so it sucked that she’d be in a wheelchair, but I knew she wasn’t about to delay it. The Oyster Bar was the size of a burger joint, with room inside for seven or eight tables. It wasn’t fancy, but knowing Sandy, it would become one of the most popular takeout joints on the island. Painted in bright blues and yellows, it stood out, without appearing garish. The Strand offered plenty of parking and it seemed to be the ideal location.
The tide was on the way out. As the waters receded, they exposed the rocky shore and scattered driftwood that lay draped in a luxurious lacework of seaweed. The smell of brine and salty decay washed through the air, the wind catching it up to brace me as it blew past. The scent made me feel at home. I seldom used the air conditioning in my car, preferring an open window and the smell of the water to lull me as I drove.
The dunes were covered with beach grass that shifted in the stiff breeze as the mudflats appeared from beneath the water. I had a rough time with mud. It had almost swallowed me a few times when I had unwittingly stepped onto an unsecure patch of the flats. I had ended up hip deep and still sinking before Sandy had pulled me out.
Now, I tended to keep to the shoreline where I knew it was safe. I wasn’t ready to become one with the earth in that manner for quite a while.
The road shifted, curving as it followed the bend of the island and then, it began to ascend. Within the space of fifteen minutes, I went from shorefront to driving along the edge of the cliff, at least a hundred feet above the water. The land here was safe against flooding. Well, barring tsunamis or giant waves. The storms would pound against the base during autumn and winter, but the boulders there kept the water from eroding the land too much. The slope was covered with trees and bushes, and Bedlam’s zoning laws prevented any development that would strip away the natural barrier that helped to prevent landslides.
As I drove out on the narrow spit of land toward the campus, the imposing stone buildings rose up in front of me. Set on a thousand acres of land, the campus stood behind a retaining wall that circled the long finger of land overlooking the ocean. Neverfall Academy was as old as Bedlam. The school had been founded when the island was settled by Otherkin, around two hundred years before. Bedlam was a community even before 1851, when the city of Seattle was established.
The dormitories rose up like the watchtowers of a castle, and the great stone buildings that served as classrooms were fashioned from old brick. The grounds of the school were manicured in some areas, and let run wild in others for the purposes of teaching nature magic.
I pulled through the main gates, easing along the wide road up to the parking lot. There were a lot of outdoor activities going on. One group of students looked to be learning how to start a fire in a fire pit. I wanted to slow down and watch, remembering my own childhood and how I had learned, but I brought my attention back to the road and turned into the parking lot near the administrative offices. I locked my car and headed toward the headmaster’s office.
The stone walls and floors of the school echoed the laughter of students as they made their way from one class to another. The smell of education was in the air—the heady scent of learning. I smiled as I passed a few girls who seemed to recognize me. One of them pointed but her friend grabbed her wrist and forced it down, giving me a cowed look. I winked at her and the fear gave way to smiles. Truth was, I did have a reputation, even if I tried to temper some of the more fearsome aspects.
The headmaster was waiting in his office. Leroy Jerome, a tall black man with a closely shaved head and muscles that had muscles on them, held out his hand as his secretary announced my arrival. We had met before. In fact, he had tapped Sandy and me to come speak at several of the history classes about what life was really like when we were young. I was also doing my best to correct any misinterpretations the history texts made about my years as a vampire hunter. I did not tell the students that there was a good chance I was going to have to pick up on my old occupation, given certain situations that had come to light over the past few months.
“Ms. Gallowglass, it’s good to see you again.” His voice was a low baritone, rich and smooth. I had instantly taken a liking to him. He seemed stern, but fair, and he had a subtle sense of humor.
“Same here. I wish this were under better circumstances, though. What did Max Davenport tell you last night?” I decided to come right to the point, rather than waste time in small talk.
Leroy motioned for me to sit down opposite his desk. He settled into his leather chair, crossing one leg over the other and resting his hands on his knee. “He told me that Jenna’s guardian was attacked and almost killed.”
“That’s true. Cassandra—” I used Sandy’s full name, given the situation and the fact that the powers that be at Neverfall seemed to prefer it—“was the victim of a hit-and-run at the grocery store last night. Trouble is, it wasn’t just a hit-and-run. They backed up and tried to run over her again, after the first time didn’t finish the job. It appears that someone is out to murder her. Given the circumstances, we don’t want Jenna to go unprotected and Sandy thinks it best she come home for a few days.”
“I assure you, we do everything we can to ensure the safety of our students.”
I nodded. “I know you do, but given whoever this is seems to be full-on crazypants, Cassandra doesn’t want to take any chances.”
“Of course.” Leroy pressed the intercom. “Trisha, would you bring Jenna Knight into the office, along with her suitcase?” He paused after flipping off the switch, then asked, “Does the sheriff have any idea of who did this?”
I shook my head. “We have no clue. We’ve been wracking our brains to figure out who could be behind this, but we have no idea. Add to that, Cassandra’s grand opening of her new restaurant is coming up in a few days, and the pressure is on.”
He frowned, rubbing his chin. “I hope they find out who’s behind it. Meanwhile, I’ve arranged with Jenna’s teachers to assign and test her homework online. But I was hoping you might take over guiding her in a few of the spell casting sessions. That can’t be taught online and I doubt very much that Ms. Clauson will be feeling up to the job.”
I blinked. “Me, teach her magic?”
“Yes, you are the High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven, after all. I think you can handle a little student coaching, can’t you?” He smiled, and I realized that it wasn’t a request.
Feeling very much like a castigated child, I let out a long sigh and shrugged. “What else can I do but say, sure. But I’ll need a syllabus of what she’s studying right now, so I can make certain I’m teaching her the right spells.”
“Not a problem. We already have one made up.” Again, his velvety voice was tinged with laughter. “Mostly, she’ll need help in figuring out fire magic and since that seems to be your specialty, well…there you go.”
I snorted. “You were pretty sure I’d say yes, weren’t you?”
He touched the side of his nose. “From your lips to my ears.”
At that moment, the door opened and Jenna walked in, looking pensive. She was wearing a long blue cloak over a black mini-dress that had net sleeves and buttons down the front, and soft leather boots with a low heel. Her hair was platinum blond, and she had dark blue eyes and pale pink lips. She was a cute girl and had just turned fourteen.
“Aunt Maddy!” She ran to me, throwing her arms around my waist. “How’s Aunt Sandy?”
Sandy and I had become “aunts” to her over the months that Sandy had been taking care of her. Jenna’s mother, Derry, was on a two-year world tour and had given Sandy guardianship over the girl until she got back. Privately, I thought that Sandy made a much better mother than Derry, but it wasn’t my place to say so.
“Hey sweetie,” I said, rubbing her back. “Come on. Sandy was released from the hospital this morning and I’ve come to take you home. Do you have everything?”
“Yeah, I’ve got everything I’ll need for a while. Uncle Max came by last night. He didn’t tell me much, but I know something’s wrong.” Her gaze latched onto mine and I could feel the questions bubbling up.
“I’ll explain everything in the car.” I turned back to the headmaster. “Thank you for being so understanding. We’ll be on our way now. I don’t want to take up any more of your time.” And with that, we left the office, lesson plans in hand.
ON THE WAY home, I explained to Jenna what had happened. She was old enough to hear the truth and it might save her life if the same freaks came after her. Needless to say, she was both terrified of what had happened, and grateful that Sandy had survived.
I dropped her off. Since Alex and Max were there, I decided to take the opportunity to pay a visit to Delia. I wanted to know what she might have learned.
Delia’s office was located in the Bedlam Town Hall. A large building, it housed more than just the sheriff’s office. Also located within the brick walls were the county clerk, the courthouse, the mayor’s office, and the fire department. It also housed the public utilities department and the library. The structure was a labyrinth of hallways and offices, but there were multiple maps posted and it was fairly easy to navigate.
The halls were filled with townsfolk and city workers. I skirted several people I recognized, tossing them a wave, and finally, entered the sheriff’s department. The receptionist—Bernice—was in the process of dispatching an officer, so I took a seat in the waiting area. A few minutes later, she motioned to me.
“The sheriff will see you now. Go on back, honey.” Bernice was an older woman, with gray hair caught up in a messy bun. She was a snake-shifter and a poker addict. I gathered that if she was in the game, only the high rollers were playing because she was that good. She winked as I passed by and I winked back.
Delia was waiting for me. She pointed to the chair opposite her desk. “Sit. I want to ask you some questions.”
“That doesn’t sound very friendly.”
“Maddy, by now you know me well enough to know that friendly goes by the wayside when somebody’s in danger.” But she grinned as she said it. Delia was to the point. She got the job done and made no apologies for her single-minded focus on her work.
“So have you found out anything yet?”
“Nothing that would make any difference to you. We don’t know who was behind it or why. I’ve got word out to my informants, trying to pick up some extra information, but that’s a shot in the dark. You’re sure you can’t think of anybody who might have a grudge against Sandy?”
“No one from recent times. Sandy generally makes friends rather than enemies.” I let out a sigh. “I just brought Jenna back from Neverfall. It makes Sandy feel safer with the girl in sight.” My phone pinged. Somebody was texting me. “Excuse me.” I tapped in my password and pulled up my texts. “Oh fucking hell, no.”
“Something wrong?” Delia stiffened, instantly coming to alert.
“Yeah, but nothing you can do anything about.” As I stared at the text, my heart dropped. I really, really didn’t want to read the words emblazoned on the screen. In fact, they made me queasy. I grimaced and handed Delia my phone. “See for yourself.”
There, in bold letters as though she were shouting, was the text I had dreaded seeing for the past few months.
i finally got away and i’m on the plane. i’ll be landing at 5:00 p.m. and will be at your place by eight. zara
My mother was coming to visit.
I RACED INTO the house, tossing my purse on the kitchen table. “Kelson! Kelson? I need you now.” It was then that I saw the note on the whiteboard that served as a message center.
Gone to town. Will be back by 3:00. –K
Crap. I glanced at the clock. It was noon. I had called Max to let him know that, unless it was an emergency, I was going to have to take a rain check for the rest of the day. Sandy would understand. She had met my mother.
Zara Gallowglass was the bane of my life. She wanted me to find “the right man” and settle down to be a “quiet witch” who never made waves. Decreed by the queen of making waves. My mother had driven my father out after he had nearly died. He was out in the forest, hunting, when a pack of wild dogs attacked him. They almost did him in, and it was only through the grace of the gods that a friend heard the noise and saved his life.
But Father had healed slowly, and my mother had badgered him about his carelessness, and how she had to carry the family on her back. Finally, he took a job with the Society Magicka and vanished into the network. Even back then, the society watched over witches worldwide, and their agents were often on the go. Father had moved out and never returned. I had kept what contact with him that I could—I loved my father—but it had been decades since he had last come up for air.
I never told my mother I knew where he was. It felt like I’d be betraying him. And I never forgave my mother for being a shrew. I had left home as early as I could. When I took up with my sweet Tom, my mother had tried to come between us. She saw him as intractable and he refused to bend to her will. And he made me feel free.
I rubbed my head. Aegis wouldn’t be home before Zara got here, not unless I lucked out and he discovered some magical portal. Vampires could fly and travel as a mist as well, but even they couldn’t break the speed of light.
As I slumped down in the kitchen chair, feeling the distinct need for yet another latte, Bubba jumped up on the table beside me. He planted himself right in front of me and let out a distinctive “M-row?”
“Oh, Bubba. No, everything is wrong. Sandy’s been hurt, but I told you about that last night. And now, my mother is coming to visit. She’s arriving here tonight at eight.”
Bubba’s eyes grew wide and he immediately rolled over, exposing his belly. He had met my mother. He knew what she was like.
“Thanks, Bub, but I don’t think that would be a good idea. Who knows what you’d conjure up for me, even if you were trying to help. I don’t think it’s a good idea to wish my mother’s plane to take a wrong turn. That could go very, very wrong.”
He sneezed, then sat up again, thumping his tail against the table. Then, he gathered himself and jumped onto my chest, resting his paws on my shoulders. He let out a loud purr, licked my chin, and nestled his head under my neck.
I cuddled him. “Thanks, Bub. I needed that.”
After a few minutes, I set him down and pulled out my notebook. My mother hadn’t said how long she planned on staying, but I was taking the lead on where she was staying.
I put in a call to Ralph, grinning wickedly. My mother wasn’t going to stay in my house, but I sure as hell knew where to put her. She’d be scandalized and maybe she’d leave earlier.
You’re just being passive aggressive, a voice inside said.
“Oh, shuddup,” I said. “I know that. I can’t be overt because she’ll just blow up. Sometimes you have to play their game in order to win the war.”
“What?” Kelson opened the kitchen door just in time to hear me.
“Arguing with myself, as usual. I really don’t want to talk about it, but you’re going to know sooner than later. Sit down.”
She placed the cake box and her other packages on the counter, then pulled up a seat. “What’s wrong?”
“My mother’s coming to visit and I can tell you right now, it’s not going to be pleasant. The woman’s a troll. Not literally, but in spirit. I’m going to rent her a room at Ralph’s.” I snickered at Kelson’s look.
“You think that’s wise?”
“Of course I don’t think it’s wise, but it will satiate my need to stick it to the woman. Kelson, you have to understand, Zara is the most selfish, pigheaded woman in the world. She drove my father away, she made him feel horrible when he was laid up—due to no fault of his own. She made my life miserable. Even her friends hide when she’s coming. She’s unhappy with herself and so she makes trouble for everybody else. And she’s going to be a bitch about Aegis and Bubba. She hates Bubba, and she’s going to butt heads with Aegis. That, I already know.”
“How could anybody hate Bubba?” Kelson stood. “You need more caffeine, right?”
“How could I not need more caffeine? Yes, and thank you. A triple latte, please. With plenty of caramel.” I rubbed my head. “Zara doesn’t like the fact that Bubba’s a cjinn. She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t trust me with him. Zara can’t stand anybody else being in charge. You’ll find out when she gets here.”
Bubba let out a sneeze and headed toward his food dish, chowing down with relish. I grinned, thinking that maybe he was packing on any additional weight he could in order to meet her at full force.
“What do you need me to do?” Kelson pulled the espresso, then poured it into a cold cup, adding milk, ice, and caramel syrup.
“I need you to remember that this is my bed-and-breakfast. You take your instructions from me. Zara is not your boss. You aren’t to answer her orders, and if she asks you to do something that seems remotely odd, come find me and tell me.”
“Absolutely can do!” She handed me the drink. “I suppose I should run the vacuum again and make sure the bathrooms are sparkling?”
I winced. “I hate to make more work for you. This place is already spotless. But yes, we’d better get ready to rumble because the queen of mean is coming to town.” And with that, Kelson got busy tidying up while I put in a call to Ralph Greyhoof, praying that he’d be reasonable for once. Unfortunately, he wasn’t home so I decided to go shopping.