I was certain Dilly never meant to be unkind, but quite often she spoke without thinking of the consequences. The reason I kept her on staff was up for grabs at the best of times, and I couldn’t figure out why she was still an employee, though, I guessed it was because I was plainly softhearted.
The well-trodden path to my neighbor’s veered right and left at sharp angles. Thick tree roots protruded from soft, spongy greenish moss that cuddled around them along the route, as if placed there to trip the unknowing traveler. I’d stumbled more than once in the past.
Forging ahead, I avoided the roots and wondered if the trees laughed, when, in the past, I’d stumbled and landed on the ground with a resounding thud. I smiled, knowing my imagination was hard at work. Trees didn’t laugh, did they?
The worn track opened onto a clearing bordered by lilac bushes that had gone to bed for the fall season. Absent of flowers, they looked forlorn.
I stepped onto the grounds behind Ari’s house and listened to the wind sigh through the pine trees near her studio. The whisper of faerie wings tickled my skin when one of the dainty creatures hovered close to my face. I sneaked a sideways glance, taking in her wide, almond-shaped eyes, and sweet-faced beauty.
“Come here troubled, you do,” the creature sang in a lilting voice.
I smiled at her and said, “Bad news, I’m afraid. Is Arianna about?”
I met her gaze as she winged in place, a foot from my nose. She beckoned me toward Ari’s glassmaking studio. Thanking her, I knocked on the wide plank door. I glanced back before entering, but the faerie had disappeared.
“Come in, come in,” Ari called. She handled the long metal rod with care as she rolled molten glass around and around, dripping it in puddles on top of itself with the dexterity of a person used to handling such material. Adept at her craft, Arianna was well aware of the dangers of hot glass from her furnace.
Waiting until she’d finished, I absorbed the heat of the room while enjoying her artistic creativity. Cupcakes were my masterpiece, while glassworks were hers. Ari’s works lasted longer than mine did, but both were art forms in their own right. I smiled at the thought, while at the same time I dreaded having to tell her of the loss. I would gladly compensate her for the pieces stolen, but the theft was still a disaster for both of us.
She settled the tool next to the furnace, turned to me, and removed her goggles. A thick, long, braided ponytail lay tucked inside her shirt, and hung down her back, where it peeked from the bottom of her shirttail. Ari wore it this in an effort to save her hair from being toasted by flames should any wayward strand of her hair flop into the furnace or come in contact with the blistering heated glass.
She tossed her fireproof gloves onto a nearby table. “What brings you over so early?”
“I have something to tell you. I didn’t want to call, so I just popped through the woods.”
She stared at me in silence, her expression one of surprise.
“There was a theft at the Junction last night. Your new inventory was stolen. I discovered the merchandise was gone when I came downstairs. I’m sorry, Ari. I know how much effort you put into your work,” I said. I dropped my gaze and glanced around. A sense of not being alone skittered over me. Shadows branched outward from the corners of the studio. The low-slung roof of the small barn that housed Ari’s furnace and glass supplies made the place spooky.
“Are we alone?” I whispered.
Ari hesitated. Her glance flicked toward a dark corner before she ushered me outside. Once we were in the sunshine, she pointed to the back door of her kitchen in silence. My imagination took off at incredible speed and I even wondered if my intruder now hid in her studio. Alarm pulsed through my bloodstream.
We entered her kitchen by way of the back door. Ari peeked out the window before she took a seat at the table. In a chair opposite hers, I waited for her to explain.
“There’ve been some problems with the faerie glass lately. The mysticism isn’t working right. Now that some of the newest pieces have been stolen, I’m wondering if there might be a bad faerie among the group.”
Dumbfounded, I gawked at her, trying with all my might to take in her words. What mysticism? A bad faerie? Had Ari lost her mind? Had I lost mine? What the heck was going on? Unable to process the information, I asked, “Would you clarify that for me?”
Arianna gave me a sudden smile. “I know you’re in touch with the faeries, Luna, you needn’t hide it from me. I’m also their friend, and have been all my life. As a matter of fact, I was born under a faerie sign and have some faerie blood. That’s why I know trouble is brewing.” She rose and put on the kettle to boil.
Watching her sure movements, I wondered if I’d lost my mind instead. I was troubled by her words. Faerie signs? What faerie signs? I was unaware there were such things. And faerie blood? Ouch… I shivered.
Over tea, Ari explained her reluctance to speak further when we’d been in the workshop. The aura, she said, wasn’t right at the moment, which she explained meant mysticism was out of whack. It sounded fantastical to me and I realized there was much I didn’t know about the faerie realm. Worse, I was left to wonder where I should go from here. If the thief was a rotten fairie, the police would never believe stories about mysticism, auras, or things of that nature. I’d be crazy again…
With a slight headshake, I considered how I’d make sense of it to officers of the law who dealt in facts, not all of this.
With a glance at my watch, I knew I had to leave. The Junction was open, and fall leaf-peepers, those who ride the countryside to see the colorful autumn leaves, would be swamping the help. I made my apologies and promised I’d come back after the shop closed, when we’d be able to talk longer. Ari nodded and walked me to the gate then left me at the path. I turned, waved, and took a left turn away from her line of vision.
Chapter 2
Underbrush rustled noisily. I paused to peer around me now and again as I traveled back to the Junction. The continuation and proximity of the sounds prompted me to increase my pace. By the time I reached the Junction’s back porch, I was breathing hard and was nearly moving at a gallop. One step from the porch landing, I glanced over my shoulder and instead of some evil fairie apparition it was Riddles who trotted into view from the very place I had just assessed.
Giddiness, followed by a sense of foolishness, gave way to self-admonishment for allowing Riddles to frighten me to death. When he headed my way and was within reach, I snatched him up and tucked him firmly under my arm. It was time he went upstairs to our living quarters for the day.
The door swung open as I topped the last step and I met Annie face to face. She stepped outside and gave me a small grin. Holding a bag of trash in one hand, she held the door open for me.
“Glad you’re back. We’re packed to the door and have people in line at the cases.” She snorted her laughter. “A hungry bunch of tourists arrived minutes ago. We may need more cakes before the day is over. Do you have any in the freezer?”
I nodded. “I’ll take them out to thaw so they’ll be ready to frost if we need them.”
“Great. We’re down to eight dozen of the little darlings and it isn’t even lunchtime.” Annie tossed the bag of trash into the bin and closed the container’s lid before she rejoined me.
In the corridor, we went our separate ways. She rushed into the galley kitchen, and I scooted down to the creation station after depositing Riddles in our small upstairs living quarters. I removed huge, plastic-covered containers filled with flavored cupcakes from the enormous freezer and set the cakes on the counter to defrost. Frosting whipped in the huge mixer, creating a blend of light, fluffy froth while I took stock of the choices of toppers to make the cakes more delectable and eye-catching.
Jewel-toned candies in sealed packages lay ready for addition to the buttercream-frosted cupcakes. I pulled several other bags from the shelf and checked the flavors. Tutti-frutti, Bavarian crème, butterscotch, raspberry, and chocolate flavored gems would do. Alo
ng with fine, colored sugar crystals, the creations would be perfect.
It didn’t take long for the cupcakes to thaw out and once they were frosted, I strode back and forth, sorting and placing a flavored jewel on top to match the cake flavor. Lastly, I sprinkled fine sugar crystals, which reminded me of faerie dust, over the frosting. With trays of cakes at the ready, I would hand them off to Annie, by way of the dumbwaiter when needed.
Annie stepped down a few stairs, leaned over the handrail and whispered loudly, “Is that it, or do you have more?”
“I have some, but this will have to do. If you need them now, I’ll send them up. You can handle unloading, can’t you?”
Annie nodded and disappeared from view. After the last cakes went up, I raced to the first floor and heard Annie tell Dilly to add the new cupcakes to the cases and make sure the flavors were noted correctly on the tray signs. Dilly grumbled that she knew what she was doing.
I’d no sooner walked into the dining room when I was bombarded with questions and compliments from the tourists. I smiled, made the right remarks, and answered questions until the bus driver reminded the group it was time to move on. The crowd took their boxed and bagged cakes, along with treasures purchased from the gift shop, and headed for the bus.
Several people turned and waved before they climbed aboard. As the bus lumbered onto the road, I stacked cups, saucers and plates from tables onto trays and brought them to the kitchen for a pass through the dishwasher.
The dining room faerie clock struck the hour. I encouraged the two women to break for lunch while I cleaned the rest of the room. As per usual, both women gave me a thumbs-up sign and took seats at a corner table to share their lunch.
By the time I’d finished sweeping crumbs, straightening tablecloths, restocking napkins, and making another urn of tea, Annie and Dilly had finished eating.
The lone cucumber sandwich in the refrigerator was mine. I sank into the chair nearest Annie and chewed thoughtfully. The morning’s discussion at Arianna’s skipped through my mind. I pushed the thoughts aside and glanced at the women.
“Whew! That was quite a nonstop morning. How are we doing with cakes?” I asked.
With her elbows resting on the table, Dilly said, “We’re in good shape. Those extra ones you had downstairs should do the trick for the rest of the day.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe we had such a crowd, and so early, too. Customers asked a lot of questions about the faerie gifts, and bought a slew of them. I’m afraid the shelves need to be restocked, Luna. We just didn’t have time to do that.”
I grinned at her, and said I’d take care of it while they managed the next round of cupcake fans that had just arrived. Passengers exited a mini-bus that had rolled to a stop out front. The portly driver chatted alongside his passengers as they began their trek inside.
In unison, Annie and Dilly offered sighs, quickly packed up their lunch debris, and headed for the kitchen. I replaced gift stock while listening to Annie order Dilly around while Dilly groused about the crowd. Annie’s remark hit home as she said, “No crowds, no job. Be thankful, Dilly.”
Noting that Dilly had slid the storm window down to stop the wind from blowing through the missing pane, I gazed at the interior window and wondered how to fix it. A handywoman, I am not. Thank goodness for Devin, he could do practically anything when it came to repairs.
I thought about him as I filled the remaining empty spots with merchandise. As much as I disliked having him away, Devin had promised to do some work on a home that his former mother-in-law and my attorney had purchased after they’d gotten married last summer. Even though Devin’s wife had passed away in a car accident several years ago, Devin and his former mother-in-law remained close friends. Interestingly enough, I adored the woman too.
With giftware artfully arranged, I stood behind the counter and rang up sales. Hand-carved wooden toads, faeries alighting on toadstools, and faerie imprinted journals neatly wrapped, tied with a bow, and bagged for convenience, were carried out the door by customers.
Most merchandise had a faerie, or nature motif to it, which tended to lift my spirits. And because the shop was so close to my heart it bothered me that someone had broken in and stolen artwork. I’d never heard a thing, other than the sound of glass breaking, and that bugged me even more. Why did they steal that particular art? For what purpose was it taken? Who was the perpetrator? Without any answers, the questions continued to nag at me.
The day swept by as swiftly as clouds scudding across the sky on a windy day. Stragglers left the shop with fond farewells, combined with laughter, some fairie ware, and boxed cupcakes. I smiled wearily, waved as they drove away, and hoped to lock the door and hang the closed sign before one more person stepped onto the porch.
“Go ahead, go home you two,” I ordered Dilly and Annie as I flipped the sign over. “It’s been a day of days. I can handle it from here, the closed sign is in the door, and I’ve locked up. Just be here on time tomorrow in case we have another day like this one.” I sent the women on their way with a sigh of relief.
Loud meows from the upper level let me know Riddles waited impatiently to be set free to chase birds, or whatever else he found outside to catch his interest. I hiked the stairs and opened the door. A yellow blur sped past without so much as a glance in my direction and I raced down to where Riddles stood scratching and yowling to open the back door for his escape.
The cat leapt off the top step of the porch, landing flat out on a bush where titters of laughter arose. Faeries winged away from him. He was no match for their speed though. Seconds later, dust sprinkled and glittered across the cat’s face – faerie dust to be exact. I rushed to rescue Riddles, but not before he had a nose full of the glamour dust. He closed his eyes, and then opened them slowly, a Cheshire smile seeming to form on his lips. The beast lolled in my arms, a fat mound of mystified fluff. Thinking it served him right for chasing the faeries, I chuckled as I set him on the porch.
The cat sprawled in place, at least that’s what he was doing when I left him. There was work to be done before I went back to Ari’s. I set about straightening the Junction and within an hour or more I finished, just as the sun dipped toward the horizon, leaving an early dusk following in its wake.
I shrugged into a jacket, then retrieved a flashlight and tucked house keys into my pocket. When the phone rang, the Caller ID offered up Devin’s name. Pleasure swept over me at the rich sound of his voice when I answered the call.
“Hey, beautiful, how was your day?” he asked.
“Busy – and yours? I really miss you. When will you be back?”
A chuckle filtered over the line and I melted on the spot.
“Unfortunately, I won’t finish here for another few weeks. I can’t wait to get my hands on you, by the way.”
“I was hoping you’d be done sooner than that.”
“Me, too. Are you all right?” Devin’s voice held a curious tone.
“There was a minor mishap this morning.”
“That doesn’t sound good. What kind of mishap?”
“Someone broke in and stole Ari’s work.”
“Arianna Gentile?” Devin asked. I heard a tense note in the timbre of his voice.
Curious, I asked, “Yes, why?”
“Just wondered if that’s who you meant by Ari,” Devin said. “Have you spoken to Arianna?”
“Briefly this morning. I couldn’t stay long, since I knew we were likely to have a busy day, what with all the leaf-peepers we’ve had of late.”
“How’d she take the news?”
“I went over to her studio to break the news to her myself. I felt like we weren’t alone in the studio, and when I asked her about it, she rushed me into the house to talk. She rambled on about auras not being right, and mysticism being off. Do you know her very well?”
His lengthy silence alarmed me. “Hello? Are you still there?” I asked.
“Yes, yes, I am,” he said, and then he murmured, “Just be careful, Lu
na. Promise me.”
“Careful of what? Or of whom?”
“I’m not sure, just do as I ask.”
“Okay, fine. It would be easier if I knew what you were concerned about, and what Ari was talking about.”
“I can’t explain, but Ari is a bit strange. Take care, and don’t do anything rash,” Devin said.
“You’re scaring me. I’ll consider taking your advice but are you sure there’s nothing you’d like to share with me?” I asked sensing he was holding back something important.
He didn’t answer the question, but said good-bye with a promise to come home as soon as he could. I set the phone in its charger, let Riddles in, and locked the back door on my way out. By this time, the sun had set.
Chapter 3
With only a flashlight as a guide through the soft blanket of darkness, I walked the wooded path toward Ari’s house. Bushes rustled and gave me the willies again as I hurried along through the tiny lights flickering here and there. The faeries were about, but was there someone else with them? Uneasy, I tried to keep my panic at bay.
It was unusual for me to enter the forest at this hour, and I wondered if I was asking for trouble. I couldn’t tell so was nervous as hell.
When I saw the welcoming glow pouring out from Ari’s kitchen window, I was reminded of a Thomas Kinkade painting. The only thing missing was a thatched roof, to replace her wood shingles. Through the window, I saw her moving busily back and forth. Relieved to have left the forest behind, I took the two stairs to her front door in one stride and rapped on the windowpane.
When she peered through the window and saw me, Ari smiled and swung the door wide open in invitation.
“I worried that you lost your way,” she remarked. “You didn’t have difficulty keeping to the path in the dark, did you?” Ari glanced nervously over my shoulder.
Who or what was she looking for? I shook my head in answer and smiled. “No, no, I brought a flashlight, but still, the undergrowth has taken over, making the path a challenge.” I tossed my jacket onto the nearest chair and stood in front of the fireplace, stretching my hands toward the warmth of the flames.
Faerie Dust Dead (The Luna Devere Series Book 2) Page 2
