Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws

by Erin Johnson

  "Shells, yes!" Rhonda lifted her palm up for an air high five, which Annie returned.

  Maple let out a sigh and tucked her knees up. "Maybe it would help me adjust to being here on the island."

  "Aw." Rhonda rolled onto her side and propped her braided head on her hand. "Are you having a hard time?"

  Maple fussed with the tie of her robe. "No. Not really. I mean, everyone's been so friendly and kind, and the island's actually rather beautiful."

  I grinned. "When you're not lost in the wilderness fighting off monsters for your life."

  Rhonda sniffed and ladled some water onto the flames below the wooden bench. "Yes. We're really roughing it."

  "But?" Annie lifted a thin brow.

  "But…." Maple shook her head.

  "Boy problems?" Rhonda flopped back and crossed one ankle over the other knee. "Wiley's descended into his life of crime again?"

  "What? No, he— I mean he used to be a bit of a bad boy, but—" Maple's mouth hung open.

  I clicked my tongue. "Oh my gosh, Wiley and Maple are doing great." I turned to her. "Aren't you?"

  Maple threw her hands up in exasperation. "Yes. I've—" Her already flushed cheeks turned a deeper red. "I've never been happier," she finished quietly.

  My heart warmed. But why did she still look so down?

  "Good." Annie crossed her arms. "Or else I'd have to have words with that boy."

  Maple looked up at the ceiling where the flames licked. "It's Jiji!" She whimpered and buried her head in her hands. "She's so sweet and I know I sound so ungrateful, I hate it. But I really miss running my own kitchen." She looked at each of us, her brows pulled together. "Please don't think terribly of me."

  I laughed. "I get it—it's pretty tight quarters back at the guesthouse."

  She nodded, blonde tendrils curled around her temples and nape. "It's just, I grew up with so many siblings, working in my dad's bakery, doing things his way. It was so hard when I first started at the palace, learning to be head baker, finding my own way of doing things. But now that I have, I just— I feel like I can't go back."

  I grinned.

  Maple groaned. "I'm a terrible person. I should just be happy I have any kitchen at all."

  Annie sat with her head tipped back against the tiered bench behind her, eyes closed. "Well, as Hank says, you may have it soon enough."

  My eyes widened and Maple sat up straighter. Annie seemed to realize a moment too late that she'd said something she shouldn't have. Her blue eyes flew wide open and she pressed a hand to her mouth. "Oh. Forget you heard that, dears."

  I shook my head. "Not going to happen. Hank said that we might have our own kitchen soon?"

  Annie winced and wrung her hands. "Oh dear, I've gone and done it now, running my mouth."

  "Spill it!" Rhonda didn't bother sitting up.

  Annie sighed. "Well, I don't have much to spill really. Hank just hinted to me the other day that he's got something up his sleeve that he's working on. Something that would ease the tension of being in close quarters." She shrugged. "I just assumed he meant he'd found a kitchen for us in town or something along those lines."

  I frowned. Why hadn't he told me this? My stomach sank. Maybe he'd tried to last night. And perhaps before that.

  Maple leaned over and looked me in the face, her eyes searching. "Are you all right? You seem disappointed."

  I tried for a smile, but it came out as a wince. I waved a hand. "It's nothing. I just… I just was being dumb. It's embarrassing."

  She scooted closer. "What's up?"

  Annie lifted her brows.

  "I guess I kind of noticed he had something on his mind. He's tried talking to me a few times over the last few days, but we keep getting interrupted and…." I shook my head. "I guess I kind of thought he might propose." I dropped my head and groaned. "I feel dumb now. It must have had to do with what he told you, Annie."

  Maple slid an arm around my shoulders. "That's not being dumb. That's being romantic… it's a sweet thought." She gave me a little smile. "Would you say yes?"

  I blinked in surprise. I hadn't even considered saying no. My already hot cheeks flushed hotter. "Yeah." I couldn't help the goofy grin that spread across my face. "I'd say yes."

  Maple clicked her tongue as her eyes filled with tears. She threw her arms around me in a tight, sticky hug. I laughed and wrapped my arms around her. When she leaned back, I caught sight of Annie.

  She clasped her hands together. "A royal wedding!"

  I waved my hand. "Okay. Let's not get carried away." My stomach clenched. "Like I said, I must've been letting my imagination run away with me."

  Rhonda sniffed, still lounging on her back. "And not to get all Iggy on you, but technically, it'd be more like a banished royal's disgraced wedding."

  Annie and Maple shot her hard looks, but I grinned. "That's true… but it might be more fun. Less stuffy, you know?"

  Rhonda waggled her brows. "I'll help you plan it."

  I started to smile back, but my face fell. Planning made me think of the friend we'd accidentally left behind. "I think Amelia would literally kill me if I planned a wedding without her."

  Maple nodded, her expression serious and gaze distant. "Yeah, she would."

  I elbowed her. "What about you and Wiley? Are you talking marriage yet?"

  "And wee ones?" Annie clasped her hands together.

  Maple grimaced. "Ehhh…." She fidgeted with the edge of her towel.

  37

  Siren's Song

  I blinked in surprise and lowered my voice. "Hey. Sorry to put you on the spot—I was just teasing… and curious."

  Maple looked up and gave me a half-hearted grin. "Oh, I know." She shook herself. "Sorry to act all… I don't know, serious." She sat straighter and lifted her chin. "I'd be open to marrying Wiley." She gave a shy smile, a pink blush rising to her cheeks. "I'd love to, actually."

  "Aww." I nudged her with my shoulder.

  Her grin faded. "But…"

  "But?" Annie raised her thin brows.

  "But he keeps dropping these hints about kids." A little crease formed between her brows. "Like, yesterday for example. Cat was drooling all over himself because he'd eaten too many dead crabs." She looked up. "He'd found them on the beach, you see, and he regurgitated a bunch of them on Misaki's pillow." Her eyes widened. "Don't tell her—we cleaned it up and had a maid bring a fresh one."

  Rhonda and I exchanged pained looks.

  "But I was dabbing at the corners of his wet little mouth, and Wiley was smiling at us, and said, 'you'll make such a great mother someday.'" She gave each of us wide-eyed looks, which I wasn't exactly sure how to interpret.

  I frowned and spoke slowly, trying to puzzle it out. "And you're super grossed out by Cat and want to get rid of him? And you're not sure how to tell Wiley?"

  She clicked her tongue. "No! I love Cat."

  Rhonda flashed her eyes at me. "Of course! Why wouldn't you? The crabs and all…."

  Maple let out an exasperated sigh. "No. The kids part. He'll say things like, wouldn't it be so cute, a little me and you running around—"

  "Oh, it would." Annie let out a happy sigh, her eyes distant.

  "That's the problem—I'm not sure I want kids."

  "Oh." I put a hand on her bare shoulder. "That's alright."

  "Or you might change your mind—sometimes the urge doesn't kick in until later." Annie folded her hands.

  Maple shook her head, blonde tendrils sticking to her sweaty neck, her face pinched. "But what if I don't ever want them and Wiley does? As the oldest, I helped raise my younger siblings and helped work my father's bakery. I always assumed I'd have a big family too and would stay home with the kids. But I've found I love running the bakery—it's the first time I've had something that's all mine, you know? And I'm afraid I'd have to give it all up to take care of kids." Her shoulders slumped.

  "Hey. You have lots of time to decide." I shook her hot shoulder. "And Wiley loves you. I bet if you talked
to him you'd feel better—he'll understand."

  She whimpered.

  "And if you do want kids but want to work too, I'm sure you can figure something out." I grinned. "Wiley is a very devoted coparent to Cat, I have to say."

  Maple, eyes down, cracked a grin. "That's true."

  I licked my lips, trying to think of something to change the subject. I glanced over at Rhonda, still lying on her back with her towel wrapped around her torso, one ankle crossed over the other knee. Thank goodness no one sat directly beside her—they'd be getting quite a show.

  "Rhonda, what about you and Francis? Any wedding plans?"

  She turned her braided head and a slow grin spread across her face. "Well, Francis desperately wants to marry me. You know, he's been saving himself for the right woman all these hundreds of years."

  Annie gasped. "Really?"

  The seer examined her brightly colored nails. "Yep. But I'm resisting, because I'd like to experience lovemaking with him as a human before he turns me. He's afraid the vigor of it might literally rip me in two, though, so we're sort of at a standstill."

  Maple recoiled and pressed a hand to her heart.

  I frowned—why did this sound so familiar?

  Rhonda sniffed. "I'm also a bit afraid of children. Imagine if I became pregnant on our honeymoon with a half vampire child, and it was sucking my blood from the inside and I got all emaciated and—"

  I shook my head. "All right. We get it." I tried to hold back my smile—I didn't want to encourage her. "And then you'd have to name your daughter a terrible combination of Francis's mother's name and your own mom's name."

  Rhonda flashed a white smile. "Exactly."

  Annie folded her arms. "What's this now?"

  I rolled my eyes. "She's joking. It's the plot of this movie, well, book then movie, Twilight."

  Maple winced. "A horror movie?"

  I opened my mouth, then paused. "Yeah, I can see why you'd think so, actually, but no, it's kind of a romance for teens."

  Maple shook her head and muttered, "Sounds gruesome."

  DONG! DONG!

  Rhonda pointed up. "There are the wedding bells now!"

  Maple lit up and gripped the edge of her robe. "Oh! It's the gong—the siren's going to sing." She spun to me. "We missed the other couple ones…." She raised her brows in question.

  I had my doubts about a lady with octopus legs basically practicing what amounted to mind control, but I couldn't say no to that face. I let out a heavy sigh. "All right, fine, let's go see what this is all about."

  Maple balled her small hands into fists. "Yes!"

  The whites shone around Rhonda's eyes as she watched Maple. "Wow. She's really into this."

  I put my arm around Maple's shoulders. "It's her first spa, remember?" Not that I'd ever experienced anything remotely like this either. As I rose to my feet, the heat made my head swim, and it took me a few breaths to regain my equilibrium. The four of us poured out into the thick white steam outside the sauna, where we found lots of other ladies standing, or sitting on wooden benches, waiting for the serenade to begin.

  A woman in the green uniform of the spa strode out of the mist toward us. She swept an arm to the right. "Please, ladies. Have a seat." A cushioned green couch with gilded legs carved to look like octopus tentacles magically appeared. I raised my brows. Nice trick. As I moved past her, something red and white tumbled from her pocket. We both stooped to grab it, but I beat her to it.

  I frowned as I lifted a crumpled food wrapper with Better Than OKonomiyaki printed on it.

  The worker blushed and plucked it out of my hand. It disappeared in a white spark of magic. Her pale cheeks flushed. "Pardon that."

  I grinned. "Is that from the Better Than OKonomiyaki stand?"

  She blinked up at me, and stroked the end of her thick black braid. "You know it?"

  I nodded.

  "Yes. Genji runs us workers a delivery at least a few times a week."

  My brows lowered. "He brings the food to you… here?"

  She looked around and lowered her voice. "Well, not here in the ladies’ spa, obviously." She cleared her throat. "Just to the service entrance, on the ground floor."

  "So Genji has access to the hotel."

  She shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, we're open to the public. Everyone has access." She inclined her head, then moved off to find seating for some of the other women.

  Rhonda patted the open spot on the tufted couch beside her, and I wrapped my robe around me and sat down.

  "What was that all about?" Maple leaned around Rhonda.

  I quirked my lips, thinking it over. Something about Genji having access to the hotel from the workers’ entrance seemed significant to me. "I'm not sure yet. But Hank and I found food wrappers in Nazo Suzuki's room from the food stall. If the owner, Genji, has regular access to the hotel, he may have been here and seen something relevant to Nazo's death. Especially since he has a keen interest in Miss Sara." I folded my arms. "And though he's a friendly guy, he definitely seems a little off. I feel bad saying it, since he recently lost his wife and it might just be grief or loneliness, but he gives me a bit of the creeps. He might be worth looking into."

  Annie, Maple, and Rhonda blinked at me.

  Maple's jaw dropped. "Wait—look into? Like as in…" She lowered her voice. "Investigate?"

  I winced and my voice rose an octave. "Yeah, well… I wasn't going to look into the murder, but some things Genji said last night made me even more concerned that Miss Sara might be a killer, and so Hank and Iggy and I kind of…" I played with a loose tendril at the base of my neck. "…broke up Yann's date last night."

  Maple gasped.

  Rhonda cackled. "Meddler."

  "Hey, I'm just a concerned friend." I sighed. "But now I feel guilty, because if I'm wrong, poor Yann would be heartbroken for no reason. So I need to make sure, one way or another, about Miss Sara."

  Annie frowned. "I'm confused, dear. Was that man Nazo Suzuki's death a murder?"

  "Ehhh." I scrunched up my nose. "Not… exactly ruled, so… no."

  Rhonda lifted a brow. "So you broke up Yann's date because of something a creepy man told you that made you think Sara might have killed a man, who no one, besides you, even thinks was killed at all?"

  I sighed and slumped down in the couch. "That's about the sum of it, yeah." Plus the rumors…that Misaki had told me to ignore.

  The gong rang again and we fell silent, waiting to be put under the siren's spell.

  Rhonda rubbed her palms together and leaned close to me. "It's about to get groovy, baby."

  38

  Going to the Chapel

  A few hours later Maple, Annie, Rhonda, and I walked side by side down into the lobby of the Doragon. Freshly showered, polished, scrubbed, and pampered, I felt like a shiny new woman.

  "You have to admit—the siren's song was the best part." Maple gripped my wrist and smiled.

  I rolled my eyes, but smiled. "Yes. All right. It was amazing."

  Rhonda lifted a finger and spoke in her stuffed-up voice. "I requested that tomorrow, instead of drifting across a placid sea at night, she take us on a ride over the rainbow on flying tigers made of chocolate—that we can also eat."

  I lifted a brow. "What'd the siren say?"

  "She'd think about it."

  Rhonda looked pretty pleased with herself.

  As we strode across the gleaming wooden floors of the lobby under the stories-tall ceiling, a lone figure standing at the front desk came into view. Hank. I'd recognized those square shoulders and wavy brown hair anywhere. I grinned and had opened my mouth to call out to him, when his deep voice carried across the echoey space.

  "—and this is the oldest wedding venue in Umiru?"

  Annie threw her arms wide across our chests, stopping the four of us in our tracks. I exchanged a wide-eyed look with each of them.

  Maple pressed her lips together, eyes glassy.

  Rhonda raised her brows. "Maybe your hunch wasn't off after
all—"

  "Shh!" Annie hissed.

  "Yes, sir. It was the first, and the only in existence before the monsters came." The woman in the emerald green skirt suit laid a fan of pamphlets out in front of Hank on the desk. Iggy's lantern rested beside the glossy papers. "And of course, our own Doragon is also island-renowned for weddings. Whether you prefer a casual beach affair, an elegant event in our ballroom, or something in between, we are here to accommodate."

  "Thank you, so much. You've been extremely helpful." Hank bowed, his back to us, scooped up the pamphlets, lifted Iggy in his lantern, and then turned to find the four of us staring at him. "Oh."

  "Hide," Maple whispered, frozen.

  I pressed my eyes closed. "A little late for that."

  He smiled at me with his lopsided grin, and I melted a little for him, like I did every time. "Hi."

  I smiled back. "Hi."

  My eyes drifted to the pamphlets in his hands. Hank followed my gaze, jumped, and looked up, an adorable blush spreading over his neck and face. "It's—uh, it's not what it looks like." He stepped quickly forward, fumbling a bit with the pamphlets, and I couldn't help but grin wider at how flustered he was.

  He chuckled as he reached us. "You've caught me a bit out of sorts."

  "I can see that." I reached out to take Iggy. "Here, let me help." I grinned at my little flame. "Hey, buddy, did you have fun with Hank?"

  "I'm not going to start calling him Dad, if that's what you mean." Iggy sniffed. "But yeah, we walked on the beach and he found me lots of driftwood and even magically dried it out for me, so I guess it was fine."

  I grinned. Coming from Iggy, that was practically gushing.

  Hank, his neck and face still flushed, shuffled through the papers as the ladies and I gathered around. He lifted one. It was an amateur-looking flyer with a magically moving photograph of a wooden chapel overlooking the sea. The boards of the peaked building were weatherworn and the paint a bit dilapidated.

  "That's the best you can do?" Annie folded her arms.