Spellbinding Starters

by Annabel Chase

  “Was he meeting you here after lunch to discuss a case?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Neville said. “I’m not aware of one. We’d talked about organizing his desk.” He inclined his head toward me. “As you can see, it’s a bit of a mess.”

  “That’s not part of your job as his assistant? To declutter the office?”

  “Not really,” Neville said. “Paul didn’t like me to touch anything on his desk. He claimed he had a system that worked for him, but then every so often, he’d ask for my help.”

  “Any idea why so many bees went after him?” I asked.

  “I found the hive in the park,” Neville said. “It looked like he must’ve disturbed it as he passed and upset the occupants.”

  “That’s too bad,” I said.

  Neville pressed his lips together in silent agreement.

  “So what’s a typical day like for us?” I asked. “Should I be reading through any files?”

  “I’d start with the rules of conduct, which I have taken the liberty of dusting off for you.” Neville reached into his drawer and pulled out a binder. “It’s fairly comprehensive, but let me know should you have any questions.”

  “Thank you.” I paged through the binder. “There are a lot of rules.”

  “Bureaucracy reigns supreme here,” Neville said cheerfully. “We must preserve our secrets from the human population, all the while protecting them from creatures they’re unaware of.”

  “Is that why our office is in the worst part of town?” I asked.

  “No, that’s for budgetary reasons. The Bureau doesn’t earmark much money for Chipping Cheddar. With the portal here dormant, we don’t have as much need as places like New York and Los Angeles.”

  “But the existence of the portal still draws Otherworld beings here,” I said. “Chipping Cheddar’s mystical energy is pretty strong for a small town.”

  “Agreed. And that’s why we’re here.” He flashed a smile and I noticed a small gap between his front teeth. It was slightly endearing.

  “So do you work regular hours?” I asked.

  “I make them regular,” Neville said. “I prefer this place to my apartment.”

  I glanced around the cramped office and felt a pang of sympathy for him.

  Neville placed a plastic container on my desk. “Here is your FBM badge and your phone.”

  I stared at the two objects. “Anything special about them?”

  “The FBM badge looks like a normal FBI badge to humans, but our kind can see that it’s the Federal Bureau of Magic.”

  I held up the phone. “And this?”

  “I’ve fitted it with a locator charm that I can activate,” he said. “That’s standard. My number is programmed in, as well as headquarters and the local chief of police.”

  I aimed it at him. “Does it also double as a gun?”

  He blocked the phone and gently moved my hand aside. “No, but it has other capabilities. Wield it carefully, my infernal goddess.”

  “Agent Fury will do.” I hoped Neville got over his shock and awe. I didn’t want to be worshipped, certainly not by a guy I wasn’t sleeping with. I needed a little fresh air and exercise. “I think I’ll take a stroll down the promenade and drop in at The Daily Grind. Can I get you anything?”

  “No, thank you,” he said. “When you get back, I’ll give you a demonstration of some of my inventions. I have some wonderful creations here just begging for the right opportunity.”

  “That sounds great,” I said. I was interested to see what the FBM paid Neville to do. At this rate, I was interested to see what they paid me to do. So far, the office appeared just as sleepy as I imagined it would be. If I didn’t get fresh air now, I’d be ready for a goat nap.

  It wasn’t the best route from Asiago Street to the promenade, but at least it meant I’d get more steps in. I tried to log my daily steps and hit at least ten thousand a day. It was easy enough in San Francisco. Lots of hilly streets.

  As I walked down Roquefort Road, I admired the row of brightly painted buildings. Chipping Cheddar loved pops of color in unexpected places. In many ways, San Francisco reminded me of a bigger, better version of my hometown. Maybe that was the reason I’d subconsciously chosen it. And here I’d always thought it was because any further would land me in the Pacific Ocean.

  I reached the promenade that trailed alongside the Chesapeake Bay. With the warm sunshine and gentle breeze, it was a refreshing walk. The boats beckoned me, so I decided to take a quick detour before heading for coffee. I could never live too far from water. My mother used to accuse me of having mermaid genes, as though I could choose my own DNA. If I could, I wouldn’t be in this predicament right now. I’d be a normal twenty-six year old woman. One hundred percent human, with no obligation to reap vengeance or seek justice. My ancestors lived in the underworld and tortured the souls of the damned. They punished their victims by driving them mad, among other things. That’s not really how I picture my life. It was no wonder my family was so infuriating. They came by it honestly. Unfortunately, I was the only one who inherited the specific fury gene.

  The gentle splash of the water against the side of the promenade drew me to the water’s edge. Maybe I’d spot a seal in the distance, or a selkie. Thanks to the powerful mystical energy here, supernatural water creatures were just as drawn to Chipping Cheddar as land-based beings.

  I stood on the edge of the promenade and peered at the water. A smile spread across my face when I spotted a—no, wait. Not a seal at all.

  Sweet Hecate.

  It was a body.

  Chapter Four

  My feet remained cemented to the promenade as I gaped at the body. Was it possible the person was still alive? I could swim, but I knew it would be faster to fly. I glanced around furtively and made sure no one was watching before I allowed the black wings to sprout from my back.

  “Here goes nothing,” I said, and vaulted over the water. I had no experience with the wings. I’d kept them hidden since the day I obtained them. It was such a short distance to the body, though, I figured I could manage it.

  I figured wrong.

  An unexpected gust of wind blew me off course and further away from the body.

  Great balls of fury! There were boats within shouting distance. I couldn’t risk being seen flying through the air. I had no choice but to extinguish the wings.

  I plunged into the water and swam to the body. He was fully clothed and facedown in the water. I hooked an arm around him and used my free arm to paddle us to shore. It wasn’t easy, but we made it.

  I rolled him over, ready to attempt resuscitation, when I realized who it was.

  Chief O’Neill.

  My stomach plummeted. I did all manner of CPR in an effort to revive him, but his bloated body told me he was already dead. I stared at him in disbelief. I’d known the chief my whole life and now he was gone. How did this happen?

  I pulled out my phone to call 9-1-1. After that, I dried off and sat beside the chief to wait. I took his hand and talked to him, just to keep my mind occupied. I talked about topics that would have interested him—golf, beer at the Cheese Wheel, cards with my dad. Anything to prevent my emotions from getting the best of me. I was a federal agent—I had to act like one.

  Ten minutes later, help arrived—and I use the term loosely.

  “Eden Fury? You’ve got be kidding me. I heard you were back, but I didn’t believe it.”

  Oh, terrific.

  I sprang to my feet as Deputy Sean Guthrie approached. Sean and I graduated high school together. He was the kind of kid that basked in others’ discomfort and never missed an opportunity to make you feel stupid, even though he was as dumb as a sack of potatoes. It was a good thing he was all human. The last thing someone like Sean should have is power—a gun and a badge were bad enough.

  “Hey, Sean.” I managed what I hoped was a sad yet friendly smile. Sean was the deputy, which meant that he and I would be rubbing elbows on occasion—occasions that I h
oped were few and far between.

  “I thought I recognized that dark head of hair,” Sean said. “It was either you or a wicked witch.” He cackled at his own remark. Even as a kid, Sean seemed to be under the misguided belief that witches had black hair. Of course, his knowledge came from movies and television. He knew nothing of my family’s true nature, though. He was just a moron whose jabs hit too close to home.

  “At least my hair color comes with a soul,” I said, drawing attention to Sean’s bright red hair.

  Sean made a disapproving noise at the back of his throat. “So only recently back in town and you already found a body, huh? Sounds about right.”

  “It’s worse than you think.” I stepped out of the way so that he had a better view of the deceased.

  Sean’s expression shifted from smug bastard to horror. “Oh my Gouda. Is that the chief?”

  “I saw him in the water,” I said, pointing to the spot in the bay where I noticed him. “I jumped in and dragged him to shore, but it was too late to revive him.”

  Sean’s gaze lingered on the chief and I saw sadness reflected in his eyes. “I don’t understand. How did he get in the water?”

  “No idea,” I said. “I’m not sure there are any witnesses either. No one was around when I came along. Only those boats in the distance.” And if they didn’t see me and my giant wings, it was doubtful they saw what happened to the chief.

  Sean seemed frozen in place. “I can’t…I don’t understand how this happened.”

  “I’m sorry, Sean. I know you two worked closely together.”

  Sean kneeled down beside the chief’s lifeless body. “This doesn’t make sense. Why would someone murder the chief?”

  I snapped to attention. “Murder? What makes you think it was murder?”

  Sean twisted to look at me. “The chief never went near the water, not voluntarily. He always assigned me to the waterfront beat.”

  “Why?”

  Sean hesitated. “He’d kill me for telling you this, but the truth is he couldn’t swim.”

  Oh. That was surprising. “Is it possible he was out here for another reason and stumbled into the water?” I didn’t want to say it out loud, but Chief O’Neill was known for his fondness for beer. He spent ample time at the Cheese Wheel in his off hours, especially following his divorce.

  Sean seemed to catch on to my meaning. “We’ll have the lab run tests, but I don’t think so. He must’ve drowned early this morning.” He cut a glance back at the chief. “He wouldn’t be drinking that early. When he would say it’s five o’clock somewhere, he meant p.m., not a.m.”

  “It is the breakfast of champions,” I said, though I didn’t really believe it myself.

  Sean rose to his feet. “I’ll have to catch up with you later, Eden. I have a murder to solve.”

  I blinked. “By yourself? At least let me help you.” It wasn’t like the FBM was overflowing with assignments.

  “No way,” Sean said. “You’re not on the force. You’re not even a real FBI agent. I heard you handle IT or something.”

  “I do not handle IT,” I said.

  “You do,” he insisted. “You’re the one who tells real FBI agents to turn their computers off and on again.”

  My cheeks grew warm. “I don’t know where you heard that, but it isn’t true.” Sean would pee his pants if he knew my real job. He was oblivious to the world of vampires and werewolves.

  “You don’t have to be ashamed, Eden,” he said. “I know you left here to be a big shot. Must be hard to come back with your tail between your legs.”

  If I weren’t so upset about the chief, I would’ve clocked Sean.

  “Come on, Guthrie,” I said. “You’re too close to this and who knows how long it will take to bring another chief to town? You need immediate help.”

  “Another chief? I should be appointed chief,” Sean said, lifting his chin a fraction. “I’m next in line.”

  “It’s not a throne.”

  “I deserve to be chief,” he said firmly. “Nobody knows this town better than I do.”

  That was unlikely, considering Sean knew nothing of the dormant portal or the supernaturals here.

  “You don’t have the experience to be chief,” I said. “Besides, you need someone with distance to head up the investigation.”

  “And you would have distance?” he scoffed. “Your dad and the chief go way back.” Sean pulled out his phone. “I’m in charge, Eden. Now do as I say.”

  I folded my arms. “Maybe you just want to get rid of me so you can destroy evidence.”

  He squinted at me. “Evidence of what?”

  “Maybe you wanted to be chief so badly that you were willing to kill for it. You said yourself that you knew he couldn’t swim. Maybe you lured him down here on purpose.”

  Sean reeled back. “I’m not a suspect. I would never…”

  “Why not? You had motive and opportunity. I think I might have to pull out my badge and make it official.” I pretended to reach for my badge.

  Sean waved his hands. “Stop it, Eden. You have no jurisdiction here. You’re not helping and that’s final.”

  “He was found in the bay,” I said. “Technically, that makes it the Bureau’s jurisdiction.” I wasn’t even sure if that was true, but I knew Sean wasn’t smart enough to realize that.

  Sean’s cheeks colored to match his hair. “That’s a low blow, Eden, and exactly what I’d expect from you.”

  I cast a quick glance at the chief. “I’m offering to help you, Sean. The chief of police is dead and we have no idea what happened. Too heads are better than one.”

  Sean kicked a stray pebble off the pavement, considering my offer. “I’ll tell you what. How about we work together, at least until the new chief is named?”

  “Fine with me. I only want to help, Sean. Chief O’Neill was a family friend. My dad is going to be devastated.” And I had no idea how he’d react to news that his good friend was murdered. Scratch that—I knew exactly how he’d react. He’d want to run out the door and hunt the culprit down to exact revenge. I had to make sure I got involved to prevent any shenanigans from the supernaturals in town.

  Sean stared at the chief’s lifeless body. “I’m sure we can work together in the chief’s honor, but I’m the one calling the shots.”

  “Sure you are, Sean. I wouldn’t dream of undermining your authority.” I didn’t bother to cross my fingers behind my back. There was no way Sean could believe I meant any part of that statement. We’d known each other too long.

  Sean extended a hand. “Deal?”

  I decided to shake it. I’d wash off the ginger cooties later. “Deal.”

  After I broke the news of the chief’s death to my family, I felt compelled to seek out Clara Riley. I had an overwhelming urge to apologize for the way I’d treated her. There’s nothing like the death of someone you know well to make you think hard about past choices, and I’d definitely made a poor choice concerning Clara. I knew she’d be less than thrilled to see me. We’d been joined at the hip from kindergarten until I left for college. Since then, our communications slowed dramatically, mainly because I was trying to wedge a gap between Chipping Cheddar and me. Although it wasn’t fair to Clara, I’d believed I was doing what I could to protect myself from my evil inclinations. A lot of good it did me in the end because here I was, back in Chipping Cheddar. After the day I’d had, I figured I could take whatever she dished out. I deserved it.

  I asked Aunt Thora to do a locator spell using a photo Clara had given me before I moved away. I’d kept it on my dresser in San Francisco and it was on a pedestal table in the attic now. The spell pinpointed Clara’s location. She was at the Gouda Nuff diner over on Pecorino Place.

  It only took ten minutes to drive and park. Downtown was rarely jammed with cars. It was the pedestrians you had to watch out for. They had a tendency to forget that cars existed in Chipping Cheddar, until one ran over their toes.

  I stopped in front of the diner, mentally
preparing myself for the reunion. Would she ignore me? Throw a drink in my face? No, not Clara, though I deserved it.

  When I glanced in the double bay window, I was shocked to see Clara in a booth, laughing with Sassafras Persimmons. ‘Sassy,’ as she was known by locals, was our nemesis in high school. The blond cheerleader delighted in making everyone’s lives a misery around her, especially ours. As an empath, Clara couldn’t handle too much misery. Sassy was also forever making moves on my boyfriend at the time, Tanner Hughes. One move eventually worked our senior year because I found them together in a compromising situation on prom night. It had taken all my strength not to go full fury on them, not that they would have known what I was capable of. They were both human. Clara was, too, except as an empath, she possessed the Sight. She knew all my family’s secrets and had kept them, even after we drifted apart. Although seeing her now with Sassy, I wondered whether my secrets were safe after all.

  Before I had a chance to escape, the two left the diner and Sassy practically bowled me over on the pavement. With her silky hair and perfect complexion, Sassy didn’t appear to have aged a day and she wasn’t even a vampire. Completely unfair. Clara looked good, too. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and, thanks to time in the sun, she’d gained a few new freckles across the bridge of her nose.

  “Eden Fury? Are you serious?” Sassy’s eyes blazed with annoyance.

  “I have every right to breathe oxygen in this town, Sassy, same as you.” My gaze shifted to my former best friend. “Hi, Clara. I was coming to find you.”

  Clara’s expression was inscrutable. “Why?”

  “To tell you I was here,” I said, feeling awkward.

  “You have my number,” she said pointedly. “You could have called.”

  She wasn’t going to make this easy on me, nor should she. I’d been a horrible friend and she deserved better. Not that I’d describe Sassy Persimmons as better. If Sassy had been a witch, I might be convinced she’d spelled Clara to be her friend.