“None of that negates the need of the individual to reproduce for the continuation of the species.”
Reg rolled her eyes. “Is that it, then? You have everything you need for your report? You’re going to go back to wherever you came from and report that they can’t take any action against me if I was the one responsible for Tybalt’s death?”
Julian nodded. “And now that you know that, will you tell me the whole story?”
“No. I want to put what happened behind me.” Reg shuddered. “I never want to talk about it again. I don’t even want to think about it.”
But she couldn’t stop thinking about Tybalt’s repulsive smell and the grinning skulls on the shelves of his vault.
Julian sighed. “Well, if you ever want to get it off of your chest…”
“I won’t be calling you,” Reg finished for him.
He grimaced and shook his head.
“But I will tell you one thing.”
Julian looked at Reg expectantly.
“There are skinwalkers. And there are more things going on in the Everglades than you can imagine.”
Julian grinned, looking like a child who had received an early Christmas present.
Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.
Who did she think she was kidding? Of course he was.
Chapter Forty-Four
Harrison had vanished. Everyone else had left. Reg was tired, but sleep eluded her. She knew that her body needed to recover from everything she had put it through the last few days. And her brain needed time and rest too. But she just couldn’t seem to slow it down enough to get to sleep. As the sky began to brighten, she gave up and left her bedroom. If she pretended that she no longer cared about sleeping, then she was sure her brain would decide that it was finally time. A breath of fresh air and some distraction was all that she needed.
Starlight stretched and squeaked at her but stayed on the bed, eyeing her sleepily. “You just stay there,” Reg said. “I’m going out for a walk, but I won’t be long.”
He closed his eyes again, purring.
Reg slipped on some sandals and left the cottage. She wasn’t walking for exercise; she just needed a change of scene. She went around the back of the house and gazed at the garden. Despite Forst’s complaints about how much the Spring Games were affecting the garden’s growth, it was a riot of color. Reg was sure that some of the flowers were twice the size of their counterparts in other gardens. That was the benefit of having a garden gnome.
Reg Rawlins. The voice came into her head. Reg looked around and eventually spotted Forst. He must have just arrived, because his clothing, usually grubby with dirt and smears of green, was spotless.
Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were here already. I didn’t mean to disturb you.
Reg Rawlins does not disturb us, he said heartily. It is right you should be here.
Reg blinked at him. Why should she be there? And he didn’t usually use the plural to talk about himself.
The garden looks beautiful. You’ve done such a nice job with the spring flowers.
After I planted Reg Rawlins’s, the garden was happy, Forst explained. Thy seedling has had a beneficial effect.
Oh? Reg smiled. This was all because of the seed I planted with Zinnia at the equinox celebration?
He nodded, giving a deep bow. He pointed to one of the plants that had produced tall stalks topped with white lilies. This be it.
That’s not my seedling.
It is. This is canna.
Wow. How did it grow so fast? It shouldn’t be that big already, right?
He didn’t answer her question When white canna appears in a garden for the first time, it means there will be a wedding.
Reg laughed. The folklore of the plants and flowers was interesting. She could never keep track of what each symbolized or what their histories were. A wedding, huh? Maybe you’d better tell Sarah. But I don’t think she is interested in getting married again.
In fact, Reg knew for a fact that Sarah did not want to get serious with anyone, let alone be married again.
No, not Sarah, Forst agreed.
It took a moment before Reg started to make the connections. She looked around the garden, searching for another flash of white, and found a stout little woman with a poofy white dress and a pointed white cap.
Zinnia?
The gnome woman nodded, her cheeks flushing a duskier red.
You are beautiful. Such a lovely bride! She searched the foliage and finally spotted Fir as well, in a spotless black suit and hat. And there is the groom. I’ve interrupted you all. I’m so sorry.
No, Fir insisted. Sit. Stay with us. He gestured her toward the bench. Reg took a seat hesitantly. She was wearing her housecoat over a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Not exactly wedding attire.
I’m not…
You planted the canna, Zinnia said. You are meant to be here.
Reg still felt awkward, but she sat down and drew the housecoat around her so that her ragged pajamas wouldn’t show.
If I’d known it was a wedding, I would have dressed up.
Reg Rawlins is welcome here, Forst insisted.
Reg looked around the beautiful garden. As if her eyes were adjusting to the dark, Reg started to see other gnomes through the garden, some holding flowers, some with the cutest little gnome babies or children. She relaxed back into the bench, trying to remain inconspicuous so they could continue with their ceremony.
The smell of the flowers and the gentle breeze soothed her soul. She needed that. She needed to know that nature would proceed in its proper order. Spring flowers would bud and blossom, and the march of time would go on as it always had. It didn’t matter what she found out about her past or her heritage. Nothing that had happened would change that. She was still the person she had always been and, so far, she had been okay.
Zinnia wore a circlet of the white canna flowers and the daisy-like fleabane Reg had worn at the equinox celebration. Even though Zinnia was not a young girl and was embarking on her second journey into marriage, she was still a beautiful blushing bride. Her eyes shone when she looked at Fir.
The ceremony was plain and simple, the wizened little officiator taking each of the gnomes by the hand and drawing them together to hold each other’s hands. He pronounced a blessing on them. Gnomes waved their flowers and whispered congratulations in their inside words.
Reg felt that everything was in balance, as it was supposed to be at the equinox.
Chapter Forty-Five
I don’t know if I should go to the closing ceremonies,” Reg told Sarah. “I probably shouldn’t.”
“Why not? You’re feeling better. You may never get a chance like this again. You should take it while you can.”
“I just… with the fireworks, and just… everything that has happened… I don’t know if I want to be around all of those crowds.”
“Come with me and watch the last of the Games and the closing ceremonies. We will leave before the fireworks begin. And you can make sure you’ve had plenty to drink before then.”
“I’ll end up having to listen from the bathroom.”
Sarah laughed. “They have screens on the insides of the stall doors.”
Reg couldn’t help chuckling and shaking her head. “Like it was built with firecasters in mind.”
Sarah nodded. “You have to come. Don’t make me go alone.”
“You have plenty of friends. You’ll know half the people in the arena.”
“But I want to go with you. It’s different going with someone who has never been there before or who is new to magic. Like taking a toddler to the zoo. It’s just more exciting through their eyes.”
“I’m a toddler now?”
Sarah smiled. “You are new to magic.”
“At least I’m not an infant anymore. That’s an improvement.”
“You will have many years to grow and mature. What’s important is not where you are; it’s where you’re going. Face forward and just keep taki
ng another step.”
Reg nodded. “I am… but it’s all so much more complicated than I ever thought it could be. I don’t know. I guess when I was a kid, I thought that magic was just a few spells, a few tricks, and that was all there was to it. All of these different species, and complications with treaties and laws, and finding out that I have different gifts than I thought I did in the beginning.”
“Or more gifts,” Sarah corrected.
Reg nodded, allowing that. It wasn’t that she had lost her ability to read people or to talk to the ghosts. She still retained the powers she’d struggled to control since she was a little girl, but there were other things that she hadn’t known about or had suppressed, not understanding what was going on.
“I just wish it was all simple.”
“Then your journey would be over as soon as it started. The world is a dark, complex place, and so is magic. Now come to the Games.”
“Okay.” Reg nodded. “Fine. I’ll come. But I’m not responsible for anything that happens while I’m there.”
“We’ll look after you. You don’t need to worry about that.”
So Reg found herself seated in the arena once more. She sat beside Sarah and sipped her water as people assembled in the stands and set up on the staging area. The big screen made it so that she didn’t need to worry about seeing what was going on. Even the slightest detail would be broadcast in front of her, bigger than life—kind of like the big screens in the dwarf mountain. The dwarfs didn’t do anything small.
“Please welcome the final contestants,” the amplified emcee boomed, introducing each of the practitioners who was there for the final games. Reg recognized a few of them from the first day. She had lost track of what had gone on in between. She knew that Sarah followed the results carefully and had told her about the progress of the Games several times, but she hadn’t been paying any attention. None of it impacted Reg and she had been too worried about Julian’s investigation to enjoy it.
Now the investigation was finally behind her, and Reg could watch the displays of magical prowess without continually thinking back to whether they were going to take her away.
The demonstrations were breathtaking. Reg found it hard to convince herself that they were not being performed using sleight of hand, mirrors, and misdirection. Not like when she had watched magic shows as a child and had tried to figure out how each one was done. She could feel the magic shivering around her, playing over her skin. It was incomprehensible that it was all real, and yet it was.
There was much pomp, bands, cheers, and eventually, the winners of the competition were announced. Reg watched them elevate the three medalists without any kind of dais and make the final pronouncements. Reg shifted in her seat.
“We should probably get going. They’ll be setting off the fireworks any time.”
“Wait another moment.” Sarah put a hand over Reg’s arm to prevent her from getting up immediately. “We don’t want to miss any special appearances.”
“Special appearances?” Reg asked, thinking about Wilson. She certainly hoped that he would not be showing up. He had been warned away from the Games, but would he keep his word? Would he stay away from the Games and Reg and her family and friends?
She focused on the emcee’s overly dramatic voice just as he announced, “Mother of all the earth,” in ringing tones.
Reg looked at the jumbotron screen. “Oh, no. It isn’t, is it?”
Sarah laughed as she saw the proto-goddess’s image floating in the air, the very same visage as Reg had seen when Kybele-Harrison had sent Eostre away from the cottage.
“Is it him?” she demanded, covering her face and then peeking out between her fingers.
“You mean is it her?” Sarah asked.
Reg took another peek through her fingers. “Harrison?” she asked.
“You should call her by the name she appears as.”
“But he—she—isn’t really Kybele, is he? I mean, not the original Kybele? He’s just playing a game. Acting out a part.”
“I don’t know, Reg. The immortals are very long-lived. I have no way of knowing if she is the original Kybele or not. But what does it matter? She is today.”
“It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around. I don’t understand how he could also be a female goddess from centuries ago. And if he is, then what is he still doing around today? And why is he… hanging around me? Why does he care anything about me? I’m insignificant. I’m like a bug to him.”
“Clearly you matter more to Harrison than a bug.”
Kybele declared how happy she was with the Spring Games and all of the valiant contestants. For the spirit of cooperation, even when they were trying to beat each other. For the peace and balance that had surrounded the Games. It sounded to Reg like she was reading from a script. None of it was true.
But there was thunderous applause and cheers. A sense of goodwill rose up and enveloped them, washing the doubt away from Reg’s mind. She closed her eyes, wondering at the feeling.
“And now we had better slip out,” Sarah said.
Reg found it difficult to rouse herself and get up from her seat. She wanted to just sit there forever, remembering all that had happened during the Games. She felt as if it had all been planned, even the magical investigation and her reunion with Julian. It had somehow all been meant to be.
Sarah tugged on her arm. “Come on, Reg. We don’t want to get stuck out here when the fireworks start.”
“I think I’ll be okay.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. But come anyway. Humor an old woman.”
Her grip on Reg’s arm was surprisingly strong. Reg managed to get to her feet and Sarah guided her out, informing the guard at the nearest door about Reg’s condition. He allowed them to leave together.
As Reg stepped onto the concourse, she could hear the fireworks beginning to go off. She felt the pull, but she had been drinking water, so it wasn’t as bad as it had been at the opening ceremonies when they were caught off-guard. And maybe she had grown a teeny bit too, and was a little more relaxed or in control of herself. She still had some of her feelings of balance and peace from the wedding that morning. She was glad they had asked her to stay.
A couple of warlocks were walking toward her. Reg didn’t realize until they were closer that one of them was Davyn. And the other, with a shock of white hair, was Julian. She looked for a way to escape before she had to talk to them. She really didn’t want to have to talk to Julian again, and she didn’t want to hear how things had ended up between the two of them. Had Davyn been devastated to learn that Julian had only been friendly with him in order to find out Reg’s secrets? Though the fact that they were walking together suggested that there were no hard feelings over the investigation.
There was no easy escape. Reg pasted an awkward smile on her face and tried not to look either one of them in the eye.
“Avoiding the fireworks?” Davyn asked with a knowing smile.
“A lot of people don’t like fireworks,” Reg pointed out. “And these ones are quite… dramatic.”
Davyn had given her an opening to announce her status as a firecaster to Julian, but Reg hadn’t taken it. Hopefully, that would be enough for Davyn to realize that she didn’t want to talk about it and still intended to keep those gifts to herself.
“That’s true,” Davyn agreed. “We saw a few people leave before they started.”
Reg looked around and could see a few other practitioners who had opted to leave the stadium bowl for the fireworks demonstration. How many of them were firecasters? Any of them? Or maybe they had PTSD or sensitivities to sound. Or maybe werewolves or other shifters whose animal halves did not like the thunderous noise and the fiery tails of the fireworks.
“I thought you would be… gone back home,” Reg said to Julian.
“I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see something like this. Who knows when I might have another chance? I extended my stay for a couple of days.”
Reg looked
at Davyn. “And you had a nice time, I guess.”
Julian looked at Davyn as well, smiling. “Yes. We’ve had a good time together.” He returned his gaze to Reg, waiting.
Reg didn’t want to wreck whatever enjoyment Davyn was getting out of knowing Julian, but she didn’t want him to get hurt either. He should know who Julian was and what he had done. What kind of person he really was, behind the charming facade.
“You guys have gotten to know each other pretty well.”
Davyn slid his hand behind Julian’s back, nudging him a little close and looking into his eyes. Heat blossomed in Reg’s chest. Davyn needed to be protected. Julian couldn’t be allowed to play with his heart.
“And you heard about the investigation?”
Davyn looked at her uncertainly. “Julian said that everything had been straightened out. That you don’t have anything to worry about.”
So Julian had at least informed him that Reg had been the subject of his investigation.
“Yeah.”
“I was glad to hear it. I wouldn’t want a friend of mine to be in any trouble with Magical Investigations.”
“Yeah. It could have been a lot worse,” Reg hinted.
But Davyn just nodded casually. Reg looked at Julian. What was she supposed to do? Tell Davyn that Julian had only been using him? Break his heart? It really wasn’t any of Reg’s business at all, was it?
“So… I guess this is goodbye.”
Julian gave a sweeping bow. “Yes, this is goodbye, Reg. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you better.” His eyes met her eyes, and she saw again his pride at knowing a siren. How excited he was that Reg had turned out to be something so rare and endangered, giving him cred with his department.
“We’ll be keeping in touch,” Davyn said, holding Julian’s arm for a moment.
Of course they would. There was no chance that Julian would just return to his former obscurity so that she wouldn’t have to hear about him or deal with him again. Now he was connected with her mentor. Who knew what kind of complications that was going to cause?
“Reg!”
Magic Ain't a Game Page 21
