by Nhys Glover
It was the only explanation I had for my over-emotional display, so I played it, even though it was only part of the truth.
He cupped my cheek in his palm, in a gesture that was becoming all-too-familiar. His dark eyes met mine and they were filled with an emotion I couldn’t interpret.
“This is what the curse that bitch put on me was all about. Not the ghosts whispering in my ears. This. You. She wanted me to know what it felt like.
“It guts me. It feels like someone’s tearing off my skin an inch at a time. I want to fight every one of your demons for you, but I don’t know where they are. Or even how to do it. Fuck it, Alfie, you’ve burrowed under my defences and I don’t know how to get you out again. I don’t want to get you out.”
The words tumbled over me in a meaningless jumble. All I got was that he was hurting because of me. That I had got to him and he didn’t know what to do about it.
Well, he could just join the club. My membership card was only good for one person.
“I’m not trying—” I started to say.
“You don’t have to. You burrow deeper in every time you do or say anything. Even when you’re getting jealous of your dead aunt, you burrow deeper. I don’t understand it. Maybe the spell...”
“I haven’t done anything,” I rushed to assure him.
He laughed and held me tight for a moment. “I know. I know. You wouldn’t, even if you could. Which only digs you in deeper. But Alfie, I’m no good for you. I’m a dangerous man who’s been to prison and beats people up for a living. I’m a bad man. I didn’t start out to be bad, but that’s what I’ve become. I’m no good for someone like you.”
“I know. I know,” I assured him. “Well, I don’t really know. I have no idea what your other life in Leeds is like. But I understand what you’re saying. And I won’t expect you to marry me and have my babies and all that. I... I just need you to see this through with me. I can’t do it without you. Somewhere deep inside me, I know I can’t do it without you.”
He sighed and kissed my forehead gently. “I’ll make you that promise. I’ll see this through with you. Johnno and Squib be damned, I’ll see this through with you, awright?”
I sniffed back more tears threatening to fall. This was what I wanted, wasn’t it? Jake wouldn’t leave me unprotected. Had I just used my so-called beauty to bind this man to me for my own ends? It felt a little like that. But I couldn’t bring myself to feel guilty about it.
“But I don’t think I can have your babies. And about your aunt. Even if she was a flesh and blood woman, I wouldn’t fancy her beyond a fast hook-up. She’s like all the women in my life. I flirt with her because that’s what I do with women like her. But she means nothing. Just like all the others mean nothing. You’re the only one who’s meant anything to me since... since me mam died. I swore back then I’d never care about nought again. And I haven’t. Till now. You really are a witch!” He grinned at me.
I felt my eyelids flutter as my heart took flight. I meant something to him. Burrowing was a good thing, then.
But his mother wasn’t the only one he’d cared for.
“What about the dog you loved?” I asked.
He grunted another laugh. “That happened before she died. Not long before. So, it kind of all piled up. My heart was ripped out by that stupid mutt and then by Mam dying. It seemed that everyone I cared about I lost. It was better not to care.”
“H... How did she die?”
“Her pimp killed ‘er for tryin’ to leave ‘im,” His voice was hard, his accent thick, and it hurt to hear him. Like he was dead inside.
“But ‘e got ‘is. I made sure o’ it.”
“What did you do?” I knew he hadn’t killed him, because he’d said Squib was the first he’d ever killed. And he was only a child at the time.
“He was dealin’. That’s ‘ow ‘e kept his lasses ‘appy. But ‘e was greedy, and I knew ‘e was skimmin’ off the profits ‘e owed to ‘is dealer. In with the Serbs, he was. They don’t take kindly to that sorta thing. So I grassed on ‘im. When ‘e turned up dead in a gutter a few days later I thought I’d feel better. I didn’t.”
“They put you in a home?” I pressed.
He chuckled humourlessly. “Why am I tellin’ you all this, lass? I don’t spill my guts to anybody.”
I kept silent, watching him with my heart in my eyes. Eventually he went on.
“Aye, a group home where one o’ the older lads tried it on. When I fought back I was sent to juvenile detention. When I got out I ran. The streets at least were fair.”
I didn’t quite know what tried it on meant, but I had an inkling. I supposed, as the son of a prostitute, he would have seen pretty much every bad thing there was.
“You weren’t ever...” I started, my cheeks flaming. I couldn’t finish the question
“Did me mam ever sell me? Is that what you’re askin’? No. She kept me away from all that as best she could. Maybe she wasn’t the best mother in the world, but I knew she loved me and she did the best she could for me. That was all that mattered back then, that I felt safe and loved.”
I couldn’t imagine what living that kind of life would be like. No wonder he had all that rage he had to work off in a cage.
“You make me feel safe,” I said finally, reaching up to stroke his unshaven cheek.
He swallowed a few times and nodded. “Good. It’s good to feel safe. Now what was that about power times for monster-catchin’?”
Chapter Nine
“A farmhouse further up the Dales was gutted last night,” Jason told me on the phone not long after Mason had arrived to start his day. “The old couple who lived there were killed.”
I moaned. Daphne, who could hear his side of the call, let out a cry.
Squib suddenly appeared at her side, looking concerned. “What’s up, pretty lady?”
“More people dead,” she answered him stiffly, before redirecting her questions to me “Who are they? Do I know them?”
Squib took the hint and disappeared. He was coming and going a lot these days. Of his own free will.
“What were their names?” I asked, though I really didn’t want to know.
“Fletcher. Outsiders who retired here. The farmhouse is about two miles away from where the bodies of the walkers were found.”
“It’s moving slowly then. Do you think its movements are random or is it heading somewhere specific?” I asked.
“It has to be random. The creatures that come from lower densities don’t know how to navigate our world.”
“Like a bull in a dark china shop,” I said, remembering that very vivid description.
“Aye, pretty much. Of course, the fire is being blamed on a firebug. If Watkins hadn’t admitted to setting your car alight it would have been added to the list. A serial arsonist who’s escalating.”
“But it isn’t. You know it isn’t.”
“I do. But everyone’s ignoring the evidence. Or they think someone’s built a massive flamethrower using plans off the internet. A troubled teen. Maybe a gang.”
“That’s crazy!”
“More crazy than a fire-breathing dragon on the loose from the underworld?” came the disgusted reply.
I sighed. “Have you any idea how we can capture this thing?”
“I’ve been talking to some of the others. We have a few ideas. If you have the right spells for it.”
“You’ve been busy,” I complimented him with a small laugh. It sounded like he’d been up most of the night.
“Won’t be sleeping much till this thing is gone.”
I nodded, though he couldn’t see me. “No. I suppose not. I’ll try to get Mason looking for the correct spell. So far it seems to be more about background information. The significance of the stars and moon to the potency of any spell cast.”
“Don’t get caught up with that. Sure, that matters. But intention carries more sway, especially if you have a powerful spell to wield and the people to wield it.”
&
nbsp; I nodded. Maybe Jason was right. Maybe I was letting Mason sidetrack me with details that didn’t matter. That was the difference between a theoretical knowledge of a subject and a working knowledge of it.
“Any word on Mr Andrews’ murder?” I asked, knowing Jason must be in a hurry to get on with his day.
“Not yet. I’m going to go back through eyewitness accounts in the neighbourhood, looking for our man. Someone must have seen him. The trouble is, a well-dressed older man in that area isn’t an unusual sight. A couple on the back of a powerful motorcycle, now that’s unusual.”
Again, I nodded. “I’ve never seen myself as much of an unusual sight around town. But I suppose being a fat biker chick does make me stand out.” I laughed at the image I had in my head of me decked out in black leathers and studs, my hair teased up like Sandy in Grease. Let’s face it, Olivia Newton John I wasn’t!
“Not fat, curvy.”
That brought me up sharp. Had DC Jason Smith just paid me a compliment? No, he was probably just being polite.
“Sorry, that was inappropriate,” Jason said, a little uncertainly, as he picked up the silence on my end.
“No... No, it was kind of you. I tend to be very self-critical. When you’ve been called a fat cow for a lot of years you sort of start believing it.”
“My sister’s skinny and she’s always on about being fat. You women are do-lally, you know. Give me a bit of flesh on a woman’s bones any day.” He coughed. “Sorry, out of line again. I better go. I’ll keep you posted about what’s happening.”
I nodded again. “Yes, please do. We’ll keep doing what we can on this end.”
I hung up and stood staring at the wall for a few moments as I tried to get my thoughts in order. Not about the compliment. That was irrelevant, although rather nice. No, it was more about the fact that I had the pagan families putting their heads together to help me. For the first time I felt like I was part of the town. Part of something bigger than just me, my house, and my pets. I was building a community, and it felt good.
Mason came out to see what was going on. His brown hair was mussed as if he’d been running his fingers through it. Up until the phone call, he and I had been going over the possible times and dates for our underworld intervention. Of course, to him it was an academic exercise, not a practical one. After all, there was no fire-breathing dragon on the loose in the Yorkshire Dales. The idea was ludicrous.
A week ago, I would have said the same thing. Now... Now I knew that we hunted something that was far too real.
“DC Smith. There was another fire last night. This time a farmhouse with two people in it went up in flames.”
“It could have been an accident. Someone smoking in bed,” he offered distractedly.
“They’re calling it arson. The police think they have a serial arsonist on the loose with a home-made flamethrower.”
Mason laughed. “Really? Country police haven’t got a clue. Maybe if it’s declared a serial crime they’ll call in the big boys from down south. People with more experience to deal with it.”
I looked at Daphne who rolled her eyes in reply.
“Jason doesn’t think we need to get too caught up on when to hold our intervention, but on the how of it. Can you focus your attentions on that today?” I asked Mason, ignoring his pretentions.
“I think I know a little more than the good detective about Celtic matters. Why are you all of a sudden paying attention to him?” Mason sniffed out his irritation.
“Not him. The families. This is their heritage, Mason. They should know a little bit about it. Anyway, what do you care if I’m paying attention to the wrong information? You don’t believe there is a monster.”
“I just think things should be done the proper way, if they’re to be done at all. But if that’s what you want, Alfie, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll look for the ways to capture a creature from another dimension. Anything for you.”
The way he looked at me made me uncomfortable. After the closeness I’d been developing with Jake, this flirtation with Mason seemed wrong. I couldn’t lead him on when my heart was given to someone else.
I was about to say something, when the image of him seeing right through me, as if I was a ghost, came to me again. Any feelings Mason had for me were for someone who didn’t exist. The dream might have just been a dream, but it had told me what I knew on a deep level. Mason didn’t know me. Didn’t see me. And telling him how I felt wouldn’t make a bit of difference. Because he couldn’t hear me either.
I headed for the back door, Daphne at my side. “I’m sorry I tried to poach. It’s just that Jake is so... alive. I find it hard to stay away from him. But he doesn’t have feelings for me. Even someone as self-centred as I am can see where his heart is.”
I nodded, accepting her apology. “I’m sorry I got jealous. I just saw you both in the kitchen and... and it hurt. It was silly.”
“Not silly. Normal for a woman in love. Just like the pissing contest between Jake and Mason is normal for men after the same woman.”
My knee-jerk reaction was to deny the stallions were after the mare in heat. Instead, I gave it more attention. I now knew Jake cared for me, although what that entailed I wasn’t quite sure. But it was certainly more than he was used to feeling for anyone. And Mason seemed to think he cared for me, or what he thought was me. And I was aroused. Jake had woken more than my taste buds.
Jake was busy repairing some guttering when I entered the tool shed for my class. He had a face guard on as he worked the blowtorch on the metal, welding one piece to the next. I wondered where the equipment and guttering had come from. There seemed to be more stuff around the place than I’d known about. Luckily. Or I would have sold the equipment in the estate sale.
When he turned off the torch I made my presence known. Jake smiled slowly, as if not sure what to expect after our earlier sharing.
“Our dragon struck again last night. A farmhouse and two people gone.”
“Bryce or Jason?”
“Jason. He’s been up most of the night making plans with the families. I think he’s a great resource. It’s hard to believe I saw nothing but a junior detective before.”
“Aye, I feel the same. He’s a likeable character, for all his job.”
We both laughed a little at that.
“We’re all more than what we do for a living, aren’t we?” I said with a flirtatious note to my voice.
“Like you. Artist by day, dragon-slayer and ghost whisperer by night.”
“Don’t forget kick-arse fighter,” I joked, assuming a kung fu pose.
“The only way you’d cause damage with that move is by causing ‘em to die laughing,” he threw back, putting away his equipment.
“Hey, I’m trying, all right? I’ve learned to fall down, haven’t I?”
“You have definitely learned to fall down. Now all we have to do is teach you how to stay up.”
For the next hour we practiced both the falling down and the staying up parts. And if I enjoyed the closeness of some of the holds a little too much, well it made up for all the pain I felt from the rest of it.
When Jake called our training session to an end, I sighed with relief and wiped the sweat from my brow.
“Not bad, Princess. You’re starting to really get the hang of it.”
“So, I can add kick-arse fighter to my CV?”
He playfully pulled a face as if considering the idea. “Maybe not quite yet. But you’re getting there. You have more confidence, which is always useful.”
We walked together into the house, both sweaty and dirty. It felt good, way too good.
Squib and Daphne were in the kitchen arguing. The sound of their voices reached us as soon as I opened the back door.
“No, I will not help you! You only want to learn so you can hurt Jake!” Daphne screamed.
“Why do you care? Having a crush on that big bastard is all kinds of wrong!” he yelled back at her.
“I don’t have a crush
. I just like being close to someone who’s a real man. Not like you!”
“You wouldn’t know a real man if he bit you on the butt.”
“More than one real man has done just that, and I have certainly known it!”
“Okay, okay, time out!” Jake yelled over them both, furious that his ear drums were being challenged yet again.
Daphne shut up immediately, looking contrite. Squib just laughed.
“Oh, lass, that pretty pout wouldn’t fool nobody,” he said snidely.
Before she could fire back, I stepped in to smooth things over. “If you agree to work with me, Squib, maybe Daphne will agree to work with you.”
“I don’t think—” Jake said.
“I thought you didn’t want—” Daphne started at the same time.
I spoke over them both. “Clearly Squib needs more encouragement than just a stick. Therefore, we’ll use a carrot as well.”
Squib looked at me like I’d lost the plot. “What are you on about?”
“Motivation. There are two ways to motivate. One is by punishment, that’s a stick; the other is by offering an incentive, that’s the carrot. Therefore, if you want to learn how to throw things at Jake you will have to work with me. And I mean really work with me. Not throwing a tantrum and storming off when I ask questions you don’t want to answer.”
Jake looked ready to disagree, but I silenced him with a slight shake of my head. Squib looked between me and Daphne. I was starting the think the main reason Squib wanted to work with Daphne was to spend quality time with her, rather than honing skills to fight Jake. Either way, I knew I had the carrot I needed.
“Fine! I’ll do it. But you better make sure she does her part...” he indicated Daphne with his head.
“She will, won’t you Daphne?”
“Of course. If that’s what you want, niece. Whatever I can do to help. You know me.” She smiled angelically.
I had to smother the laugh that bubbled up inside me. Angelic was not my wild child aunt’s authentic look.
