by Amy Boyles
A grating noise erupted from the air vent. It sounded like someone slicing steel. I cupped my ears and gritted my teeth. The noise was worse than a thousand nails scratching down a chalkboard.
Yes, it was that bad.
A moment later the air vent opened and out shot a rolled document. I caught it one-handed and opened it on a table.
“Oh, this is perfect, House. Thank you.”
I headed back downstairs where I found Mama and Rose now with Reese.
“Got the map.”
Mama cleared space on a table. “Great. Let’s take a look.”
We unrolled the map, and the three of us peered over it. “Luckily,” I said, “it’s divided into the main strip and the four smaller towns of Air, Water, Earth and Fire.”
“Mmm,” Mama said. “With Main Street literally parting the town in two, this shows that the very center of town is here.” She jabbed her finger on the page. “Right back at the botanical gardens.”
I considered it. “Is that right? Would all four magics be affected if that was the case? And why isn’t my magic being affected?”
“Maybe that has something to do with this house,” Rose mused. “I don’t feel like my magic is waning, either.”
I tapped my finger on the paper, considering. “Are we right? The witches I saw affected were air and earth. We know that Rots had the device in Water Town. I’d just come from Fire Town before I ran into the angry mob.”
“What angry mob?” Mama said.
I ignored her. “Fire Town wasn’t affected yet. At least my friend didn’t seem to notice any problems.”
Mama chewed her lip. “We have to assume that whatever Rots is doing, it will affect all witches. I say we return to the botanical gardens. See what’s there.”
I wasn’t sure it was the right spot, but I agreed. We set tentative plans to go after dinner and I had a bit more to do before then, so I left the house, determined to meet a few more witches and see if I could find their matches and get them hitched.
The odds, I calculated, were 134 to 1 that I would bump into someone I could match.
Actually, really they were more like 25 to 1. Witch’s Forge was filled to the brim with single folks, which meant that technically it was matchmaker heaven.
I’d just left the house, keeping a sharp eye on any potential mobs ready to ambush me, when I bumped into Kimberly Peterson. She jogged down the street. Her ponytail swung, and her thighs looked amazing in leggings.
“Kimberly.” I waved.
She stopped running, smiled and waved.
“I’m sorry about last night. I tried to grab Dash’s hand, but then Rots came in and everything was a mess.”
She nodded. Her usually lively expression was nowhere in sight.
“Kimberly?”
She smiled brightly, but I knew something lay beneath the surface. She was upset about something.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
I cocked my head and shot her a sympathetic look. “Are you sure? You look upset.”
She exhaled. Her shoulders slumped. “It’s just I feel like there’s something wrong with my relationship to Dash.”
“What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t seem as interested in me as he did when he first arrived,” she whined.
Though I was tempted to ask her a rather private question about how far she and Dash had pushed their relationship, I let it go.
I rubbed her shoulder. “Maybe I can help. Why don’t you tell me where he is and I’ll see what I can do?”
She immediately brightened to shining. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I’m glad to help.”
She explained where Dash had set up a temporary office, and I figured since I didn’t have anything else to do, I might as well pay him a visit.
The small strip mall where Dash had his headquarters was stationed between a pizza place called Hyper Mushroom and an ice cream shop called Witch’s Forge Creamery.
I entered the glass doors and found a secretary behind a desk.
“I’m here to see Dash Borden.”
“He isn’t here right now,” she informed me in a crisp voice.
Knowing she wouldn’t tell me anything if she thought I was someone off the street, I said, “Oh, we had an appointment. I must’ve gotten the location wrong. Can you tell me where to find him?”
The secretary flipped through a book. “Yes, Mr. Borden is at Witch Greenery.”
I frowned. “What’s that?”
She looked at me as if I couldn’t find my way out of a paper sack without a rope. “It’s the restaurant at the botanical gardens.”
An alarm flared in my head, but I ignored it. Surely there wasn’t any sort of connection between Rots and the device and Dash. That would be way too strange.
I thanked her and left, heading toward the botanical gardens.
Somehow with everything that had happened, the day had vanished quickly. The sun burned down the horizon as I drove through the gates of the gardens.
Tall, scary-looking Venus flytraps greeted me along with willowy trees that reminded me of fairies suspended in air.
I found a parking spot and wound my way to the inside of the garden, where I spotted the restaurant.
I saw Dash at a table and quickly came up with a plan to approach. After watching him for a moment, I realized he was speaking with someone.
Well, I wouldn’t let that deter me. Not for the sake of who Kimberly believed to be her true love.
I threaded through the tables, made eye contact with Dash and smiled. I had nearly stumbled into his table when I noticed his dining partner was none other than Rots Smythe.
My heart stuttered in my chest. Rots glanced up in time to see me heading straight toward them.
Chapter 19
Before Rots could say anything, I dashed out of the restaurant, my heart hammering against my chest.
When I was out of sight, I threw my back against the wall and inhaled deep mouthfuls of air.
Had to settle my nerves. Had to calm my thundering heart, my heaving lungs.
After a few minutes I got ahold of myself and left. My hands trembled as I drove home.
Were Rots and Dash in on whatever was happening with the magic? Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I was being foolish. Had my imagination gotten the better of me?
Perhaps it was all a coincidence. Dash had arrived in town to invest in projects. Maybe he was just investing in Rots’s insane project to suck the magic from the place.
I stopped at a red light and dropped my forehead to the steering wheel.
I yearned to rush to Thorne and let him know, but the idea was so harebrained Thorne would probably kick me out of his office.
No. I couldn’t turn to him. I reached the house a few minutes later and yelled, “Mama! Rose!”
No one answered. The only thing in the house was Broom. It greeted me by brushing the dirt from my path.
“Thanks, Broom.”
Not having anyone to talk to and not wanting to talk to myself—Broom didn’t count—I traipsed into the magic room and threw myself onto a chair.
I watched the gentle rise and fall of Reese’s chest. My brain filled with so many questions, so much ache over the past day.
“I feel like a failure,” I murmured. “It’s stupid, I know. Why should I feel this way? Why should I care that some menacing vampire doesn’t think me fit to kiss?”
I raked both sets of fingers through my hair. “Why the heck does it bother me so much? Maybe because I’ve never really had to deal with my own issues before. I lived in the world of humans, primarily, before coming here. When I met him, I thought he was a brute, someone I couldn’t trust.”
I scoffed. “Not that I’ve spent a great deal of time with Thorne or anything, but I’ve realized in the past few weeks that he is gentle. And caring. Two things I never expected to say about a bloodsucker.”
I laughed bitterly. “See? I can’t even use the rig
ht term. I still call him a vicious slang term—bloodsucker.”
My gaze drifted to the still woman spread out on the table. “You know, you have it good. In here, you don’t have to deal with all the crap outside. All the stupid stuff. You can sleep, and hopefully when you awaken, everything will all be worked out for you. At least I hope so.”
My mind wandered back to Thorne. “I guess that’s why I was so wounded when he told me I was too raw to kiss. That I hadn’t dealt with my feelings. How is that even fair? So I decided to be nice to him. Well, that backfired, too. I was being all nice, and then I asked him about his past. About a woman he loved who died. And the thing is, I think Thorne is the one who killed her. But I also get the sense that he wouldn’t do anything like that unless he had no choice. I feel that in my bones.
“And you know what? That makes me want to get to know him more. A few weeks ago I would’ve said, ‘See? He’s just another bloodsucker.’ But now I know there’s more to him, and I want to know that more inside there.”
I shut my eyes tight, trying to shove away the world. “I think that’s what bothers me so much. I haven’t met someone in years that I like—okay, maybe ever. When I do, I screw it up, and now he’s not interested. I mean—maybe that’s not completely true, but it feels that way. It seems that every time I try to be nice or do the right thing, I screw it up.”
Reese’s chest continued to rise and fall slowly. “And the thing is, when you get to know someone, you learn their secrets—vampire or not. I’ve shared things with him I wouldn’t tell just anybody, and I’ve pushed him to explain things to me.”
I gritted my teeth and exhaled. “But maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” A wobbly smile sprouted on my face. “I mean, that’s okay. It’s fine. I need to focus on my career anyway. No point in getting tangled up in someone who might kill me in my sleep.”
My laugh echoed bitterness, and for the first time in my life I realized what I had been missing—flowers and hand holding and all that fun stuff.
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes and sighed. “Oh well. It’ll all work out. Won’t it, Reese?”
Her chest rose and fell in its same rhythm. I stood and stretched, feeling better after having vomited all my thoughts out to her.
As I moved to walk away, a quiet shuffle caught my attention. I glanced at Broom, who’d been hovering in a corner. Broom bobbed up and down as if to say, It wasn’t me.
I glanced at Reese. Her eyelids fluttered. No, it couldn’t be. I rushed to her side and stared at the expressionless face trapped in sleep.
Her lids fluttered again.
Then her lips parted.
What? Was she waking? Had my stupid confessional broke the spell?
Her cheek twitched, her lids flittered like butterfly wings and hope soared in me.
“Reese,” I whispered. “Are you there?”
After a couple more moments her eyes opened wide. Eyes blue as an indigo bunting peered at me. Her lips parted into a slow smile.
Glee, absolute glee filled me. I fisted my hands, willing Reese to start talking.
Finally she did. “Charming—it is Charming, isn’t it?”
I nodded eagerly.
She yawned and blinked. “Wow. I feel well rested. How long have I been asleep?”
I beamed. “Funny thing about that. Let me tell you a little story.”
Chapter 20
Mama and Rose returned a little while later. Needless to say, they were elated about Reese.
We set her up in the parlor and filled trays of food, laying them out so that she could pick and choose what she wanted to eat.
I mean, after having been spelled in slumber for days, I figured the woman must be starving.
“Reese,” Mama cooed, “tell us about the train and meeting Corley.”
Reese peered around the room. “Is Jamison not here?”
I cringed. Crap. We should tell him. Thorne should be here, too, to take her statement.
My gaze met Mama’s, and I jerked my head for us to talk in the hallway.
“We can’t talk to her until Thorne and Jamison are here,” I whispered. “Thorne would kill us if we questioned his witness without telling him.”
Mama smirked. “Very well. Call both and let them know.”
I cringed. “Can you call?”
“Afraid of the vampire?”
I shot her pointed look. “Just don’t want to. You call Thorne, and I’ll call Jamison.”
It took some prodding, but I was able to get Jamison to come. I just hoped he didn’t faint on me. Or Reese. How awful would that be?
He arrived looking sheepish—all messy hair and dark circles under his eyes. Jamison had taken all of this very hard, and I could understand.
I gave him a big hug. “You may be upset about Corley, and your emotions may be in knots. I don’t know if she spelled you to have feelings for her, and frankly, at this point it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that in this house is the woman I originally matched you with. She doesn’t know what’s happened and is asking for you.”
Guilt slashed across his face.
I poked his chest. “She wants you,” I said firmly. “And as much as it may hurt, all you have to do is walk in there and give her a big smile. Sit and hold her hand. Do you think you can do that?”
He stared at his shuffling feet before lifting his face to me. Determination filled his eyes, and the tightness in my chest released.
“I’ll do my best,” he said.
I sandwiched his shoulders in my hands. “That’s all you can do. Now. Let’s get inside and meet your bride.”
He stopped.
“Sorry,” I said. “I mean Reese.”
But I knew she would be his bride. I knew that Jamison would adore her so much he’d want to marry her. I’d never had any doubt, and his reluctance to meet Reese hadn’t changed my thoughts.
We traipsed inside just as the doorbell rang again. Mama took Jamison from me. I sucked a deep breath and opened the door.
“Hello, Charming.”
“Hey, Thorne.”
Our gazes locked. A conversation that needed to be discussed hung in the air, but neither of us said anything. Feeling that now wasn’t the time for a talk, I swept my hand over the threshold.
“Good to see you. Come on in.”
His brow quirked as if he couldn’t believe I actually had a polite bone in my body, but he did as I commanded.
When we were all inside and introductions had been made, Reese said she was ready to talk.
Jamison sat beside her, holding her hand. The apprehension in his face had vanished, and it had been replaced with intrigue.
I smiled to myself. He would be cautious, as was appropriate, but he would adore her, I just knew it. And she would adore him.
It was written in the stars, and there wasn’t much they could do about their attraction. Where they went with that attraction was up to them, but a feeling cemented to my brain hinted that the altar was their final destination.
I stood against the wall, trying to stay out of the whole thing while Mama, Rose and Thorne sat in chairs that the house had just spit up and Pig sat in Reese’s lap, seeming to offer her a bit of comfort.
“Reese,” Thorne prodded gently, “can you tell us everything you remember from the train ride?”
Reese bit her lower lip, unsure of herself. Her gaze met Jamison’s, and he nodded in encouragement.
“We left Chattanooga on time. As soon as I boarded, it wasn’t but a few minutes later I met the woman I shared my cabin with. Her name was Corley. She was so friendly, so nice, explained she was coming to Witch’s Forge to visit relatives.
“Corley and I chatted and had lunch. But the strangest thing happened while we ate.”
“What was it?” Thorne asked.
Reese paused to touch her head as if trying to make a memory bloom. “Corley said there was a man she had to avoid. Something about him being dangerous.”
Could this be Ro
ts?
“Do you know his name?” Thorne prodded.
Reese patted Pig with her free hand, seeming to think about his question. “I feel like it’s on the tip of my tongue, but I’m not certain. I can’t remember it, but I can tell you that when Corley and I entered the dining car, she became really nervous, as if the man was in the car with us. She didn’t say he was, but she kept staring at one particular man. I didn’t get a good look at him, but he had dark hair. That’s really all I can remember right now.”
Thorne threaded his fingers tightly. “If you saw him again, could you identify him?”
Reese slowly nodded. “I think so.” She shook her head and sighed. “I’m sorry I’m not much help. A lot of my memory is fuzzy.”
“You were spelled, that’s why,” Mama said.
Reese’s mouth fell. “Spelled?”
“Corley spelled you and took your identity,” Thorne explained.
A horrified expression filled her face. “That’s terrible. Why would she do that?”
“That man Corley said was dangerous, we believe he may have poisoned her,” Thorne explained.
Reese dropped Jamison’s hand and planted her face in her palms. “She’s dead? But she was so nice. Such a friendly person.”
“I’m sorry,” Thorne said.
Tears sprang from Reese’s eyes. They fell in fat drops down her cheeks.
Mama said stiffly to Thorne, “I think that’s all for now.”
He rose, his bulk nearly swallowing the room. “If you think of anything else, let me know. But in the meantime, rest. You need it.”
“Thank you,” Reese said.
She turned to Jamison, and without hesitation, he wrapped her in a hug. A pivotal moment in their relationship is what it was. I couldn’t help but feel that even though Corley was dead and sadness filled the room, these two people were coming together just the way I’d hoped.
“Thorne,” Mama said, “can I offer you some tea?”
He shook his head. “No. I need to be getting back to work. I’ll be back tomorrow to see if Reese is up to coming out and identifying the dangerous man.”
