by Candra Kylar
No one would forget the raw emotion he showcased in that living room, regardless of how loud and rough he tried to be. Something told me that Braeden would be roaring around on his motorcycle soon just to gain back a bit of that image. As for Ethan and Liam, I was happy that they could be together under one roof. It was a good way for them to feel committed without taking that giant step of marriage. I helped Gina clean up and prepared to leave the Stedwell house feeling a little better about the way things would go in Crestwood. It wasn’t my ideal, but it was something good. Dimples could always change her mind now that she was free of the binding stone. She could come back to where I felt she belonged. Stranger twists had happened in the past.
“Miss Everlaine!”, Ethan cried out from the stairway, “I almost forgot!”
I stopped in my tracks, “More research you dug out of the back web? No one is thrilled that
you’re accessing that dangerous part of the net, you know. You should ease up on it.”
“Once we stop Voldini then I will. I have a little morsel of something that an acquaintance online found about the circus owner in his childhood days. Just read this”, he handed me a print out.
I couldn’t believe what I saw. Vander Voldini was gifted most of his artifacts by several key investors sitting on the Council. They had been guiding him for years! The magic had increased in the past few years at the pushing of investors to liven up the circus. His parents were dead or estranged. No one knew where they had went. As a human that forcefully absorbed magic, he was spiraling out of control. The magic would take over and the human with no arcane aptitude would be something all together inhuman. It trickled down to gold and a giant spectacle for entertainment’s sake.
“A lot of his background never made sense. Even with the ancient relics given to him, how would he know the right way to absorb their essence? Someone had to teach him. So many casters have attempted the same thing in the past and were unsuccessful. Normally, the Council would throw him in prison for it”, I remarked.
Ethan shrugged, “I don’t have much faith in our ruling government these days. Seems like gold paves the way for a lot of bad people. Is this useful info at all?”
I folded up the paper, “It just might be. Thank you for finding this and be careful in the future. I promised Cecilia that I would get you to stop surfing the back web.”
He wrinkled his nose, “I’m unsure why she would care about me. Either way, I have a ping set up for when the circus goes live again or is spotted by anyone. I’ll know when they’re up and running. Pet Tip for me tonight!”
I had forgotten about my familiar all day and promised that I would head over to Frankie’s to retrieve him. He had lost a lot when he escaped from the circus and would want to know how Rynna was doing. Before I could head home, however, I got a text from Livia. She sent me a place and a time which, although ominous, was located right in downtown Crestwood. Amaris must have kicked her out to continue on with her solidarity. I went to the restaurant where the young vampire once decided to try a new life at the Court of Amethyst. It was fitting that we met here in the setting darkness. Livia was gothed up in a corner with shades on, filing her nails as was a habit taken on from my sister.
“I wanted to give you the deets on my whole drug ring affiliation and small infatuation with another guy who wanted to use me. Boy can I pick them”, she put down her nail file, “hopefully, you don’t hate me over the club thing. I know you and Andros are tight.”
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved in manufacturing Portal Dust. The cops were on to you but Amaris was clever enough to pin it all on Talan. He was your leader, right?”
“And nailing every vamp chick that fell in line with him. He looked good in vinyl but had a terrible personality. I gave him my heart and we had a falling out once the fire started”, she said.
“Which you didn’t start”, I concluded.
“Nope. The club was our main spot of business and there’s lots of junked out rich people who go there looking for a thrill. My clothing tastes were expensive and it was better than Lysander’s stuffy court”, Livia elaborated.
“Selling drugs is a trashy way to expand your wardrobe. Lysander has tons of money and could have gotten you anything.”
“For a price”, Livia flipped through the menu, “I had to comply to all of their rituals and boring routines. They sit around and reminisce half the time, go shopping the other, and everything feels stagnant. Vintage isn’t always cool.”
“You’ll get there one day when you’re older”, I said to her, “and then you’ll understand why Lysander is the way he is.”
“That’s the thing. I won’t ever mature to his age. I was frozen as a teenager. I didn’t get the luxury of becoming an adult before Valiant had sired me”, she spoke with anger in her voice, “I was cheated out of adulthood.”
“That doesn’t mean that time won’t give you experience and make you grow in some ways.”
“Sorry if I’m not hopeful. That’s not why you’re here buying me dinner anyway”, she signaled for the server to come by, “I need your help on a thing. A caster thing.”
I was left wondering what she meant when the bubbly server came by to take our orders. Knowing I was footing the bill, Livia ordered whatever she wanted regardless of her ability to digest it. I was always shocked by how much vampires loved to dine out. It must have been the feeling of being human in a world that reminded them that they weren’t. Elizar’s credit card might have to come out for this bill. I ordered myself and then we were left alone. Livia could no longer beat around the proverbial bush.
“I figure that your daddy taught you some useful, less ethical things while he raised you. Sorry he’s such a terrible person but his lessons must have some point. Your sister couldn’t help me but I was thinking you could. You had more time with him”, she shuffled nervously in her seat.
“Spit it out before it’s sunrise”, I ordered.
She paled in the candlelight, “I want to reverse my condition. I don’t want to live like a freak anymore.”
“Your condition? Being a vampire isn’t something that you can reverse to my knowledge”, I held my position, “and you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are. Why did this all come about? Because of Lysander? Talan?”
“I’ve been thinking about it since I headed back to school. I can only go on stormy days or take night classes. It’s like I’m always missing out on what everyone else does because I’m not normal. I’m this thing that shouldn’t even exist”, she gripped the table, voice on edge.
I had enough, “This...thing? You’re a vampire! You’ll live long after we’re all dead and have a life full of parties and support. Some people chase after them to become one. Who are you to decide that your existence is somehow unnatural? You can’t make that call! You exist just like casters and werewolves do.”
“It’s not the same!”, she yelled.
“Yes it is. With your reasoning, we should all just be humans sitting on our hands and building our lives in an automatic routine. There are plenty of humans who are different and experience a great wealth of things because of it. If we were all the same, then the world would accomplish nothing”, I kept going so I would drive my point home, “you exist because you’re supposed to. Maybe the Court of Amethyst isn’t a good fit but you have a purpose that can’t be escaped. No magic in the world should change that!”
She sank into her chair, “I knew you wouldn’t understand. It’s probably the same with Dimples. She doesn’t want to be who she is, she hates it as much as I do.”
“And you’re both wrong. Get this out of your head and stay away from drugs”, I said with extra force.
“I want to go back to Amaris and her necromancy. She’s working on something really good and the spirit world feels so serene”, Livia whined.
“Give me time to work on that. For now, just hang out at Lysander’s place and start an angsty blog like every other teenager.”
It was harsh advice but I
was all together flummoxed by everyone’s sudden desire to change who they were. We had went from a town full of different origins to some insane desire to all be the same. I was fighting a bigger, social, battle that had no clear ending in sight. At least I could sway Livia, even if Dimples wasn’t effected by my advice. Livia was young enough to really make a different in the vampire world if she her mind to it. Valiant had made the choice to turn her with stories of grandeur he had no intention to deliver on. She was still young and impressionable. Amaris could really give her a sense of direction.
I took the long way back to my office downtown and planned to check my mail. Business had been slow and I didn’t expect to receive any new tasks in the lull. On my way there, I passed the bookstore where Frankie had closed up early. She was still dealing with the loss of Dimples in her life and had been balancing a new roommate in the process of it. My mother had a good heart but she could be pretty demanding in her newfound independence. I stopped in front of the windows and saw a Meredith Marble book in the glass. It was one of the first in the series and had the blonde character, clad in a blue dress and dysfunctionally high heels, run from a dragon. She clutched a magnifying glass in her hand which must have served as a weapon. Even though the stories took place decades ago, Meredith still had a glamor about her. I could see why Dimples was so drawn to the stories.
Hesitantly, I made my way up the stairs to her cottage. Frankie had an outside fire escape stairwell built that would give us access to the rooftop so we could visit Dimples at any hour. She had once had a “pink polka dot emergency” at two in the morning that I came running for. I wished to have one of her voicemails again. With her cottage quietly abandoned, I knew there was nothing but heartache inside. Still, I knew she had a copy of the book that featured Meredith Marble and the Bog Queen. She kept referring to it as her main drive to stay at the circus. Perhaps if I read it, saw things through her eyes, then I would gleam some understanding from it all. It was worth a shot. With a heavy heart, I removed the charms on the door to her cottage, and went inside. What I found would change everything.
Fifteen
In my hands, I held a copy of “Meredith Marble and the Bog Queen” which was still bookmarked at the halfway point by a formerly emphatic Dimples. This one book had somehow convinced her to stay with a circus that kidnapped her and spun a narrative that had her relating to the villain of the story. I didn’t know enough about this new release to comment on whether the portrayal was in any way symbolic or more of a scream fest for the heroine to get through. Meredith wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. The synopsis on the back told me that the Duke was on vacation and Meredith was on her own to investigate a small town tormented by the frightening Bog Queen of the local swamps. It wasn’t her most page-turning adventure, but I was looking for clues. The case wasn’t over as far as I was concerned.
I gazed around the small living room of the cottage where I had no choice but to sit on the ground. Hunched over a bit, I was less than comfortable and had trouble maneuvering the sharp turns inside. This place was built for Dimples and had her size in mind. The lighting didn’t adequately shower the book pages in light so I had to illuminate my wand to supplement. It wasn’t the most comfortable way to skim through a book. Though I’d rather be cramped up there then outside where I couldn’t feel the presence of Dimples. She was in everything inside the cottage, her style and her life on display. Outside felt so empty without her in it.
My fingers turned the first few pages with disinterest. There was no use in reading the entirety of the book. I’d just focus on the scenes with the Bog Queen and then rush through to the ending. Dimples hadn’t read the second half of the book and there had to be something there that she missed. Sadly, Ethan hadn’t read the latest addition to the series because of all of his schoolwork. He and Dimples had a habit of going to online forums and arguing over the series with naysayers. Neither had completed the tale and I could only guess that the series’ author was running out of steam.
From what I could tell, Meredith was hired by the community of a small backwoods town to rid them of the Bog Queen that caused strange disturbances wherever she went. The small fee - because we investigators have to eat – was paid for by a lovely heiress who lived atop a hillside and was beloved by all. She was the de facto mayor of the common folk and had once been rumored to be spurned royalty. She was popular, always looked striking wherever she went, and completely boring. I figured the author had some serious wish fulfillment going on. I was glad to not be reading this in front of Dimples who would treat the slightest form of judgment on her favorite fandom with a whack of the book.
I stopped reading as I remembered the original reason Dimples had agreed to work with me. It brought me together with Elizar who could harness the chrono magic required to retrieve a book from the future. I had so much to thank her for and could never tell her. It made my chest tighten to think about it. When it came down to it, all I would have of her were memories. These books were the closest connection now. Whether I enjoyed the lackluster pulp adventure of Meredith Marble or not, they reminded me of Dimples. I could picture her hopping along with the titular character to help solve a mystery. Is that why she had always been so eager to help me with my investigations?
I went back to the book and got to the halfway point where Dimples had stopped. Her bookmark was painted with her own fingers into small flower stems all over the cardboard. On the back, I noticed it was from Frankie’s bookstore. I brought the bookmark to my lips as I scanned through the rest of the book. Meredith finds the Bog Queen, goes on a chase through the swamp and manages to never sully her powder blue dress, and never once gets stuck in the mud with her kitten heels. Her luck was the most unbelievable part of the whole story. What little social interaction she had with the Bog Queen was fruitless. Though, when cornered, the Bog Queen let her escape through a safe passage above the murky water. It was a surprising turn of events.
Meredith, befuddled by a monster’s mercy, went back to tell the townsfolk who didn’t believe her. The heiress had once been attacked, they said, and the Bog Queen had spirited away her former husband to parts unknown. Whether he was killed or now lived in the swamp a prisoner, none of them knew. They also blamed the Bog Queen for precious jewelry and family heirlooms spirited away by morning. She was a caustic reaction to the town’s own innocence. Her only drive was to terrifying them into hiding away when the sky became dark. Once a week, they held parties to light the pathways so the Bog Queen couldn’t ensnare another. Meredith accepted this as perfectly natural. No one had a wand or a gun.
Cut to a party held in her honor and the story got juicy. The heiress appeared, still nameless, and offered Meredith the position of constable if she promised to stay. A room at the revered mansion on the hillside was offered to her and Meredith declined. After all, she was being romanced by a Duke and the heiress couldn’t compete with that kind of setup. The town was shocked that anyone would deny such a wealthy and esteemed woman anything. They snubbed Meredith and, finally, she started looking into their stories. It took her to the swamp again to hunt down the Bog Queen armed only with a magnifying glass. She once fought a three headed beast with the same weapon of choice and somehow lived to tell the tale. The Duke wasn’t around to help her this time!
Inside the vine adorned lair of the mysterious monster, Meredith was apt to notice there was no jewelry or ex husbands laying around. There was only a cauldron, some rather primitive paintings, and the Bog Queen herself. This was it! Meredith raised her magnifying glass and inspected the face of the monster that had a town begging for mercy. She found a perfectly shaped nose, large green eyes, and something akin to elvish ears. This was no abomination of the swamp lands! Meredith recognized instantly that she was in the company of a Mer Guardian who lived above water to secure entry points into the magic world of glimmering sirens below. The guardians never got the looks in these stories. Best of all, the Bog Queen was an herbivore and had a knack for art.
> Knowing with her infinite knowledge that a Mer Guardian would never commit a dishonest act – Merfolk Honor Code and all that – she decided someone was lying! On the wings of this discovery, Meredith Marble went back to the town and told them the truth. It fell on deaf ears. I had to pause in my reading when that scene triggered the memory of performing in Voldini’s circus. Everyone attending knew it was wrong to laugh and gawk at me for my differences, at the performers for their own, but they still did it. A story that keeps getting drilled in their head turned from myth to reality. The poor townspeople were as swindled as the circus attendees had been.
If Dimples had only read this far, she would have come to a different understanding of her past. The title of Bog Queen that she likened herself to wouldn’t pack the same punch. In this story, the author showed that a learned prejudice could blind even the most logical minds. People needed a villain so had blamed their problems on a perceived monster rather than look elsewhere for the answers. I had to hand it to the author, this turned out to be a good read. With only two chapters left, I followed Meredith to the mansion of the heiress. She planned to accept her offer to be the town’s constable! A ceremony commenced, Meredith was given her proper medal and position, and a small jail was built. Meredith would walk around the mansion at night, her actions not reflecting the confrontation with the Bog Queen. Then it happened...the big showdown!
I squinted in the low light to read the words. At a public party, hosted inside of the mansion, Meredith brought a trunk as a gift to the townspeople for hiring her. Inside were all of the missing jewels and family heirlooms! The townsfolk applauded her for stealing them away from the evil Bog Queen but Meredith had one more string to pull. My fingers stopped on the text below and I took in a deep breath. I could almost feel Dimples sitting in my lap, willing me to turn the page, excitement in her eyes. She never felt more real than right there, in her living room, with a pulp mystery in my hands. The showdown went as follows:
