Chapter Two
Niko went through his usual routine at the end of his Saturday hours.
Each case was locked and double checked. The register was locked and rechecked as well. The safe was locked and the standalone system in the office was on. As he walked to the front of the store he switched on each of the cases’ individual alarms.
He tapped the briefcase to make sure it was locked. Quickly punching in the numbers for the security system, he spun out of the door. Waiting until the hinge compressed on its own to catch the lock, he turned the key in the lock and watched the light start to flicker on the keypad.
Finally, his dragon was satisfied. The gold was safe.
Niko headed over to his car, tossing off a wave to John Finnegan. What a damn relief it was to have him in the community. Not having the Finnegans on their side for so long was making the old towners twitchy. Now he was back.
Grey owl. Lucky bastard. To fly above the water instead of below it.
His dragon twitched, and Niko pulled himself away from that line of thought. It was another few days before he had to deal with that urge and he refused to give in. He wasn’t going to let the dragon wreck the marathon tomorrow, and everything had been timed perfectly to keep it at bay.
He folded himself into the Audi A3 that was more than serviceable and Gerri’s garage could keep running as long as he had regular oil changes. The so-called new town rolled by as he made his way back to the big, old house his family had own since the mid-1800s. The new town wasn’t really new; most of the houses had been built in the ’50s during the baby boom and some of them were the most awful Mid-Century Mistakes he’d ever seen. But some of them were very well done Mid-Century Modern, mixed with some faux-center halls. It was, however, all planned out, in the spirit of Levitt and Sons.
He drove out of the new town and up the east side of Cedar Creek Recreation area, admiring the fall colors and the festive feel of the town. He loved living here and loved all the different seasons.
As the pond itself rolled by, he patently ignored the stirring of the water dragon, drawn to one of its favorite haunts. Niko shook his head. Five more days before the draw became too much—but this time he could use Cedar Creek Pond. The summer tourists and Townies who swam there were long gone. The damn dragon would be happy with that place.
Niko rolled up the road and made the right on the Stellingwerf Drive to old town. The houses closer to High Street turned from nondescript houses to old Victorians and stately Gothics. There were storefronts and shops along the quaint little street. It had two buildings from the early 1700s—the grocery in an old weaving mill, and Mill & Goose Restaurant in an old grainery—and everything else was Gothic and Victorian. The town had been a huge frontier stop once upon a time, but eventually it had died down to a simmer and was now a sleepy, nosey little town isolated by distance and trees from all the big cities. Even Louisville, just about two hours away, only gave a damn in the summer.
And everyone in Pine Valley’s old town preferred it that way.
Including him.
Especially him.
The house he had grown up in, the house his father had grown up in, his grandmother, appeared ahead of him. His mother had chosen a gorgeous white, blue, and yellow scheme for the Victorian, which made the house classy and easy to care for. Niko had no interest in changing it and just maintained it. The garage, built in the 1960s by his father, matched the main house. His father had put the fence in the back, to keep him and the dog in.
He rarely missed Toucan. The dog had been a yipping, barking menace to the neighborhood and even he didn’t like it. He lived with him and he was supposed to protect him. That had never worked. Stupid dog bit him, too.
The car purred to a halt, and Niko climbed out after killing the engine. Old Man Gilbert was standing there trimming the hedge that never needed trimming. Niko had called it gossip bush when he realized the nosy old elk shifter was just keeping an eye on everyone.
Just as he was about to close the door on the car, his dragon roared in his head, causing him to double over and grab the roof.
God fucking dammit.
The briefcase with all of the gems and metals was still on the seat. Because he had nearly walked away without it, the dragon was angry and would have to be appeased.
Sighing, he flopped back into the car. Dropping the car into reverse, he pulled back out of the driveway and onto the road. His dragon was pissed. He had to deliver this stuff, or it would only get worse. Bad enough he was probably going to have to appease it later that night.
Turning back onto High Street to head to Benoit’s, he snorted. There was no probably about that. Tomorrow night was Halloween and if he was going to the gathering at the ley lines, he had to shut the goddamn dragon up tonight.
So stupid. So damn stupid.
Benoit was waiting behind the counter as usual. Niko walked up and laid down the briefcase and stuck his hand out. “Good afternoon, Benoit.”
The kindly old man shook his hand. “Hello, Niko. How goes it?”
“Not too bad.”
“Looks to me that’s a lie.” He smirked. “Wrestling with demons?”
“Just dragons.”
Benoit snorted. “I’m guessing you have the order.”
“Of course.” Niko popped the locks on the case and pulled out the padded envelope. “Jade, quartz, rose quartz, a few slices of geode, and an amethyst.”
Nodding, Benoit slipped the gems out of the pouch. “Ah, excellent. These geode slices will replace the one I lost today.”
Niko cocked his head. “Lost?”
“Sticky fingers.” He gestured to the case that had an empty stand on it. “She thought I didn’t know what was going on, but…”
“She probably also didn’t know you were a wizard and warded everything in here.” Niko laughed and put the receipt on the counter. “Sign here or the dragon gets pissed. Was she a shifter? Or just shifty?”
“Shifty and not quite all human. There was something about her that whispered magic blood.”
“Not enough to be wise about this store.”
Benoit nodded. “She had an accomplice. Drove away with her. Spread the word with the others? Keep an eye on them.”
“Drifters.” Niko nodded.
Spinning the paper back after signing it, Benoit looked up at him. “Are you going to take care of that angry dragon?”
“I have to.”
“I’ll warn them. Still over in Darkwater?”
“Last night for it. I’ll be back in Cedar Creek Pond in a week.” Niko locked the briefcase and picked it up off the counter. “Figure after midnight. I don’t know if anyone is out there in the cabins, but they’ll be asleep that night. Have anything else you need to order?”
The old wizard shook his head. “Not tonight, nope. DeGaulles was in the other day and was gathering some information. Might need some copper or tin for her. But I’ll have her call you directly. She should be ordering through you.”
Niko cleared his throat. Carole DeGaulles would never look him in the eye again if she had her way. And he didn’t have any desire to either, not after what she’d tried to do. “Whatever you think is best. You know the schedule. Order goes in on Wednesday for Saturday delivery.” It was a quick goodbye and headed for the door, trying to shut up the dragon again.
He got into the car and turned on the radio as loud as he could handle it. He headed to the metaphysical shop where Olivia was tying sachets for the gathering the next night. She barely glanced up at the jingle of the front doorbell. “You stink like dragon, Nikomedes.”
“Thanks, Olivia.” In one motion, he dropped the briefcase on the counter and popped the locks. He put the receipt on the table top and pulled out the padded envelope containing her order—four meters of gold wire and ten of fine silver. “Everything you need?”
“Yes.”
“Benoit wants me to warn you there are sticky fingered thieves in town for a while. Keep an eye on your stuff, Olivia.”
“I know, I know.” She quickly signed the paper and took the envelopes. “Do something about that dragon, Niko.” It was her dismissal.
Rolling his eyes, he headed for Sia’s apothecary. She had requested some platinum and quartz, and he did love visiting the bubbly kitchen witch.
He heard her tinkling laughter as he walked in. She was chatting with one of her coven friends, Poppy, about something. As he walked up, she laughed again, this time at him.
“Niko. You tried to go home and left the suitcase in the car again. Didn’t you?”
Poppy laughed as well. “You’re not very good at being a dragon with a hoard, Nikomedes.”
“Ah, screw you both.” Still, he was laughing too. There were days when the dragon was quiet and he forgot about his obligation to the creature inside. Today just happened to not be one of those.
“Darkwater tonight?” Sia patted the stool nearby.
He sat. “Yes. After midnight, though. So just warn the night dwellers?”
Sia opened her laptop and it sparked to life. Navigating quickly through, she entered the admin panel for Pine Valley’s Internet bulletin page. Fingers flying, it was only a moment later that the notice went out to the town’s magical residents that the Darkwater Pond was off-limits that night.
“Be warned,” Sia said. “Henry is also out tonight. He had an issue with his dragon two days ago and he’s still dealing. Also, Faira is out. She’ll be over by the cliff, but I don’t want the two of you clashing.”
“Sia—”
“Zip it, Niko. I know it was her fault. But she’s a damn banshee, and they hold grudges, right or wrong. Just steer clear.” Looking up, the diminutive witch sighed. “It’s not your fault. She holds the grudge against you for your dad’s issue. And your dad spelled it out for her what was going on. She chose not to listen. I know. I was there.”
Poppy nodded. “I was too. It’s all Faira. Let her be and just stay away. Banshees are nasty bits of magic, cursing people on a whim. Give her bad cheese, and you’re doomed to smell like Roquefort for the rest of your life.”
Sia held up a finger. “If you don’t know a witch.”
“Which, your father did.” Poppy nodded sagely.
Niko rolled his eyes. “Okay, ladies. I have to get out to Gilvert’s so I can at least go home and eat.”
Sia twisted her head, staring at him. “Why don’t you hunt?”
“Because there’s nothing to hunt—”
“No, I don’t mean that like a dinner suggestion. I mean, why don’t you hunt? You’ve never hunted. You’re not ever in the skies...”
Sinking back onto the stool, Niko shrugged. “Ketea can’t hunt out of water until they are mated. I can’t even shift into dragon out of the water. I have to have some part of me covered in order to shift. Ketea are the only dragons with that restriction.”
The two witches looked horrified. “You mean that if you don’t find your mate, you’ll never leave the water?” Sia’s voice was soft and shocked. “But dragons are supposed to fly.”
“Ketea are the oldest dragons. We follow an ancient set of rules.” Niko wet his lips. “Some of them are cruel and without reason, but my uncle always says it’s because our race was older than the gods, and they needed to control us.”
Carefully pouring tea in his cup, Poppy swirled the leaves to get the steeping going. “You’re a very young dragon, aren’t you?”
Niko smirked. “You know exactly how old I am. Sia was my mother’s midwife.”
With a groan, Sia pushed the cup at him. “Look, smart-ass. Again, it’s not a precise question. You’re a young dragon.”
“Barely out of the egg, as it were.” Niko nodded. “My uncle is three hundred years old. My grandmother is nearly a thousand. But my great uncle takes the cake at just over three thousand.”
The cup Poppy was holding crashed to the floor as she gaped at him. “Your great uncle? Galimedis?”
“Yes...why—oh.” There wasn’t a nice way to stifle the laugh. “Poppy, do you have the hots for my great uncle?”
“Well, he’s got a nice ass for a three-thousand-year-old.” She started picking up the pieces of the smashed cup.
Sia pushed the cup at him again, and Niko knew what she was up to. He played along and took a deep draught off the tea cup, draining all but the leaves.
Like a toddler with a new toy, Sia clapped happily. “Yeay! You’ll let me, Niko? It won’t work without your consent.”
“Yes, fine. I’ll play along.”
Sia picked up the cup and moved it closer. She pulled out a bundle of white sage and set it to burn. She pulled her stool over and settled in, holding the new quartz in her fingers, with the point down to the tea leaves. Mumbling something in Gaelic, Sia closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.
When her eyes popped open, Niko almost fell backward off the stool. Her eyes glowed a brilliant green, sparking with her powers.
“Didn’t know she wasn’t just a garden variety kitchen witch, did you?” Poppy was next to his ear.
“She’s...”
“A sorcerer, not just a witch.”
He sensed the woman’s nod.
“Darkwater Coven is one of the strongest. We’re all sorcerers and wizards.”
Slowly turning his head, he saw Poppy’s docile brown eyes were lit with amber light and a bemused smile. Her eyes settled to their kind brown, but the smirk was still there. “Don’t think all sorcerers are evil, Niko.”
He swallowed. He was going to have to just deal with that fact. Carole DeGaulles was her own woman, and not part of the Darkwater Coven. “You didn’t tell me because of...the incident?”
“Wanted to put time between you and her before telling you about us,” Sia said. She held up a finger and stared into the cup, her eyes slowly fading to their usual emerald green. It was quiet in the shop while Sia worked her magic. Or started. Niko began to wonder if she had spaced out when she snapped her head up, her eyes wide and pupils nothing more than pin pricks. He could see the aura of power shimmering around her.
“She is coming.”
“Who?”
“The catalyst. The one who starts the cycle of power and protection. Without her, our futures cannot begin.
“From the first drop of water to the last gasp of air. From the first spark of fire to the last grain of sand, our path only opens to us when she takes her rightful place among the stars.”
Sia coughed and suddenly came out of the weird trance she was in, her eyes fading quickly to their original gentle green. She looked over at Poppy, who had a hand on her hip. “Shit. I did that thing again.”
“You most certainly did. You need to talk to him, Sia. This isn’t a joke anymore.”
“Talk to whom?”
With a sigh, Sia slumped back a touch. “Faulker. Rijn Faulker.”
Niko felt his eyebrows shoot to the top of his hairline. “Rijn? The mad wizard?”
There was a sadness to her answer. “He’s not mad, Niko. He lives out in Darkwater Forest for a reason. The more he’s around people, the more he sees of them. Which is fine for children and honest folk. But some humans...humans are trouble. They are two-faced and unkind. And the older Rijn has gotten, the stronger his power of sight has grown. It makes it hard for him to be around...people.”
“He’s ancient, isn’t he?”
She shook her head. “Legend. Rijn is only a hundred and seventeen. Just four years older than me. He started seeing when he was twelve.”
Niko was stunned. While a hundred seventeen seemed impossible for humans, it was still very young in the magickal world. He had never realized that Rijn Faulker was not some crazy old wizard hanging out in the trees. Most of the town thought he was.
“So why do you have to see him?”
“Because he’s the best seer in the United States. If you wanted better, you have to go see Freida Mejia, in Mexico. If you can find her.”
Niko was still confused, but Poppy clapped her hands. “Come on, Niko! It’s time to go. I know you still have another drop-off and you need time to eat before you head to Darkwater. So chop chop. Let’s go. I have an inn that I have to make sure the dang humans have scuffed up.”
Taking Niko by the elbow, Poppy led him outside the store and down the sidewalk a bit, out of easy view of Sia.
“Niko, you’re young. There’s so much you don’t know yet. Sia and Rijn...” She glanced back. “Sia and Rijn were very much in love when they were younger. It’s hard for her to talk about him, and now she might have to go see him. She divulged more than she had to anyone in years. She loves you like a son. Don’t betray that.”
“Never.” Niko thought of Sia as an aunt. He’d learned so much of his life story from her. “Poppy, keep an eye on her.”
“We all keep our eyes on each other. Now, I feel that dragon getting angry. Go make your deliveries and go home. The lake will be clear tonight.”
Nodding, he headed for the car. He did have to get out to Gilverts with the ten small silver ingots he still had. He didn’t know why Gilverts had ordered through him; he had a good supplier.
The reclusive old wizard didn’t want to chat or make niceties. He signed the sheet on the door and squirreled his way back into the house with a bang of the door. Niko walked back down the stairs and out to the car, his dragon clawing and scratching at him, making it hard for him to focus on anything else.
Stupid goddamn animal. He didn’t want to give into this damn urge. He was also really hungry and had some ziti that Martha had brought over the other night from a catering order gone wrong. He wanted to enjoy that with the fresh sausage. But if he ate now, he’d have to eat again after the change and he’d only have half as much as the change demanded he eat.
Turning the car up the street, Niko pulled into the driveway. Late October and the sun was gone from the sky by five-thirty. He had wanted to do a few things outside, but it was hopeless. Slamming the door, this time securing the briefcase in his hand, he trudged into the huge house.
“Honey, I’m home.”
Silence greeted him. As usual.
Bachelor life sucked in small town America.