Chapter 18
THE NEXT NIGHT, we went through with the party for Sandy. Even though we had caught the merfolk who tried to kill her, we had already invited at least sixty people and it was easier just to go through with it.
Chively Manor sat on an estate that overlooked the water on the west side of the island. With over two hundred acres that was open as a county park, the manor itself was stately, hearkening back to a time of gracious living.
I was standing outside of the house, looking down at the water under the nearly full moon. At the next city council meeting, we would have to decide how to approach the king of Ocana. Even though I was grateful that Delia was mayor and not me, I still wasn’t looking forward to the debate. The Meré were strong. Even if they couldn’t declare open war on Bedlam, there were a thousand ways they could hassle us.
I turned to gaze through the wide bay window. The lights were blazing inside, people were dancing, and food and booze was flowing. I caught a glimpse of Sandy and Max, near the window, talking. Her ankle had healed up, but now Max was in a wheelchair for at least a week or two, and his good hand was entwined with hers. She was gazing at him with a look that I fully understood. She was in love. Grateful that she had finally found someone, I shook my head softly, just watching.
Delia joined me. We walked over to one of the wide stone benches and sat down.
“So, Link and Roger admitted they did it. They insist nobody else was behind it and I don’t think we’ll get anywhere with talking to the king. If his son was really the one in charge of trying to kill Sandy, then he’s going to get away with it.”
I nodded. “Royalty almost always has a way of getting out of scrapes. At least Sandy’s already sold that plot of land, so they should leave her alone. I haven’t had a chance to ask who bought it, though.”
“Auntie Tautau,” Delia said. “I’d like to see the merfolk go up against her. She showed up at Sandy’s this morning with a check, told her to shut up and sell her the land. Of course Sandy did as she was told. Auntie Tautau told her not to worry anymore, but to find a better spot to build the Oyster Bar.”
I laughed. Auntie Tautau was quite the force. But then, sobering, I thought about what she had told me. That I had already paid the price for her help. I knew that whatever that price was, I’d find out soon. I let out a soft sigh and gazed up at the moon.
“Something’s coming to Bedlam, Delia. I can feel it.”
“I feel a stirring too, but I don’t know what it is. Oh, there’s Aegis. I’ll leave you two alone, but I just wanted you to know what happened. Since they’ve pleaded guilty already, Link and his buddy will go before the judge next week for sentencing. You know they’re taking the fall for this. Yes, they did it, but somebody else masterminded it.”
“Better to pay the price to us than pay the price to the piper, I guess.”
“True enough.” She gave me a little wave and then headed back toward the manor.
Aegis had graciously waited without interrupting, but now he joined me and sat on the bench beside me. “What are you thinking about? You look pensive.”
“I’m not sure—hold on.” My phone vibrated. I glanced at the text. It was from Zara.
neither treatment worked. doc says i probably have six weeks. remember, when it’s all said and done, you promised to contact your brother and tell him about me. i won’t be coming back. i want to leave our relationship in a good space—the first time we’ve had that. i love you, my daughter. you’ll get notice when everything is over. if you want to call, wait until tomorrow. we both need time to process. love, mother.
Without a word, I showed Aegis the text. He gathered me in his arms and we sat there for what felt like an eternity, me resting against his chest, feeling so numb and so mute that I couldn’t even open my mouth. The moon rose higher in the sky and the party began to wind down before I was able to take a deep breath.
“I’ll call her tomorrow.” I stood, feeling suddenly restless. “I’m going to walk down to the water.”
“Can I come with you?” Sandy appeared, Max by her side in his wheelchair.
“Go on,” Max said. “You two have way too much to catch up on. Aegis and I’ll wait here.”
Aegis gave me a questioning look and I nodded, kissing him gently.
He wheeled Max over to another bench, where they began talking about cars. Max was going to have to buy a new one. His had been totaled.
Sandy and I walked down the winding path that led to the shore. The tide was washing in, and the water was filled with luminescent sparkles. They reminded me of the mysterious lights in my yard earlier, and I shuddered. I told Sandy about them, and about Zara.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s not much to say. I’ve never had much to do with my mother because she was such a horrible woman, and now that I find out why she acted that way, I’m losing her. I don’t know what to think except sometimes, life sucks.”
At that moment, the owl I had seen several times came gliding down from a nearby tree to land on my shoulder. I looked at it for a moment, and it settled in, seeming comfortable. I didn’t want to break the spell by speaking. But as I gazed out at the water, a long tremor rumbled beneath my feet. The owl stayed put.
Sandy gasped. “Did you feel that? Earthquake?”
I tuned in, listening carefully to the rush of the wind, to the roar of the waves as they rolled in on the shore. They were like wild horses, like stallions in the surf.
And then I saw them. The dancing lights, hovering over the waves out in the distance. They lit up the night, darting and dancing, and I remembered where I had first seen them. I knew what they foretold.
“She’s coming.”
“What?” Sandy turned to me.
“That was no quake. That was a shift in the magical aura around this island. I know those lights. I saw them the first time I saw her. She came roaring in off the ocean, riding the waves, her arms wide, face bared to the wind as her red hair streamed behind her. Her dress was black, like rotting seaweed.”
“You can’t mean…” Sandy shook her head.
“Remember when she left? We quarreled, and she brought up a storm like we had never seen before. She drove it out to the depths, disappearing into the mists that rose with it. But do you remember what she said to us before she left?”
“ ‘Look for me when the ocean sparkles like fireflies. I’ll return someday. You know that I will.’ ” Sandy’s face went white, and she caught her breath, as she listened to the wind.
I took her hand and we stood there, focusing on the twinkling lights that were dancing against the distant horizon. Somewhere out there, a water spirit was headed toward shore, bringing with her a storm like Bedlam had never before seen. When she would arrive, I had no clue. What she wanted, I had no clue. And whether she would leave Bedlam intact was another mystery. All I knew was that, after two hundred and fifty years, Fata Morgana was coming home to us.
“I’m frightened,” I whispered. “What will she be like? Will she be totally mad? Or has she had time to calm down and return to some form of humanity?”
The owl let loose with a long hoot, mournful and haunting, and he spiraled up into the air, then back down to once again land on my shoulder, where he settled in.
But there was no answer to my question. The wind caught my words and tossed them into the blustery sky as the waves crashed around our feet.
Maddy, Aegis, and Bubba are back in , available for preorder now:
Can you ever really trust ghosts from your past?
As the mist rolls off the ocean and into Bedlam, October brings with it all manner of haunts and spooks. But the mist doesn’t arrive alone. Fata Morgana returns from the depths of the ocean, bringing with her a message. One of the ancient vampires has risen. He’s coming for Maddy, and he’ll eliminate anybody who stands in his way. Now, the witches wild must band together one more time, if they can keep from destroying each other first.
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