The Kotahi Bay Quartet

by J. C. Hart

  "I'm...okay with that. What's her number? I'll call her ASAP. Is there a particular time you need us down before?"

  "Just as soon as possible. I'll text you more details later."

  "Consider it done." The smile in Kelly's voice was infectious, until Alyssa reminded herself that she was still mad. No, not mad. Sad. She knew she'd get over this, but she didn't think the two of them could ever be as close as they had been before.

  "Thanks, Kelly. I appreciate it." Alyssa recited the number and waited as Kelly read it back before ending the call. She stared at her phone for a little longer before pushing it into her pocket and wiping the tears from her eyes.

  "All set?" Alyssa asked Brandon as she entered the house. He was at the kitchen bench stirring two mugs of coffee simultaneously. The scent hit her nose and she closed her eyes and moaned a little.

  "Sounds like my coffee is as good as my loving," Brandon quipped as he lifted one and passed it to her.

  "Gag! That's gross. But…" She took a sip. "You might be right. Thank you."

  "Esther is on board. She's got a paramedic friend who will bring them down. I think they’re going to have to sneak him out of the hospital, but she knows it's Michael's best chance. Worth the risk." He grimaced, and Alyssa reached out, rubbed her hand up his bare arm.

  "I know this is hard. It sucks when someone you love is sick. Dying," she said, a lump forming in her throat. She hadn't even known Gran was dying, so she could barely claim she knew what it felt like.

  "He's not dead yet though. And, if all goes to plan, he won't be." Brandon sat at the table, and Alyssa slid into the seat opposite.

  "What are we going to do about Mrs Nolan?"

  Brandon reached a hand across the table and she returned the gesture, feeling the warmth of his skin on hers sent a flush through her body.

  "We'll go and see her together. This is what she wanted, she can't say no."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The office was cool from the small army of fans placed on the desks, and as much as he hated to admit, it was a welcome reprieve from the heat outside. It would be far easier to face Mrs Nolan if they weren't sweating up a storm.

  Alyssa squeezed his hand and glanced up at him. He smiled, hoping it would help bolster her determination, because without that, this was going nowhere. The door to Mrs Nolan's private office stood closed, but he crossed the room and turned the handle, pushing into the room with Alyssa in tow.

  Mrs Nolan kicked her feet off the desk and turned to them. Her phone was pressed to her ear and she continued to speak as she appraised them, a gleam of triumph in her eyes. "I'm going to have to call you back. Something has just come up." She dropped the cell to her desk and smiled. "Well, look who the cat dragged in. I take it this means you've been successful." She eyed him up.

  "Alyssa has made the decision to take over her grandmother’s role in the town. She'll become a witch and help to strengthen the barrier."

  "Very good! You didn't have to drag Constance back from beyond the grave after all. Probably a good thing, really, I doubt that would have gone down well with your grandmother either."

  "Excuse me?" Brandon asked.

  "What about his grandmother?" Alyssa piped in.

  "Oh, you remember Angela, don't you Alyssa?" Mrs Nolan quirked an eyebrow.

  Brandon saw Alyssa's jaw drop open, but couldn't fathom why. A frown creased his brow. "What about her?"

  "She's your grandmother?" Alyssa whispered the question.

  "Yeah. Why?" From the look on her face, he knew it was something bad.

  "She killed my cat," Alyssa squeaked out.

  "Well, not just that. She also quickened your grandmother’s demise, put the moves on your house, tried to steal your ghost and could potentially have killed you too."

  "She what? I mean, I knew she was nasty, but that sounds kind of... Did you..." He took a deep breath, trying to piece together the puzzle. "Did you hurt her? She was brought back to the city comatose, and she's not much better now."

  Alyssa shook her head, her face pale. "No, that was the ghost. And even if it was me, I was just defending myself. You heard Mrs Nolan. She tried to kill me!"

  Brandon's face fell. "I'm so sorry." He reached for her arm, but she shrugged him off and took a step away. "Alyssa, I've been straight with you, haven't I? I told you who I was, and why I was here. I told you why it was important. You believe me right?" He couldn't lose her like this. He'd had no idea that their grandmothers had even known each other, let alone that Angela had been involved in this much bad shit in the town she loved.

  Alyssa held up a hand, stopping him from coming any closer. "As far as I know, you have. But I just need a little space. I'll still do what I said I would, but I'm going to go now." She shook her head and muttered an apology before dashing out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

  Brandon rounded on Mrs Nolan. "Now what the hell was that about? We were handing you what you wanted on a silver fucking platter, and you go and throw me under a bus? If this is how you treat those you employ then I'll be damned sure everyone knows it."

  Mrs Nolan shrugged. "Think of it as payback."

  "What have I ever done to you?" He threw his hands up in the air, so pissed off he wanted to punch someone.

  "Well, nothing directly."

  "It's Angela again, isn't it? Who else did she piss off in this town? Can I expect any shit from other aggrieved parties?"

  Mrs Nolan let out a soft huff of laughter. "There are bound to be a few, but none of them know who you are. You didn't think it was odd that I came to you? There are plenty of necromancers around. Hell if I dug deep enough I'm sure I could have found someone local to do the job. And if I'd really wanted, don't you think I could have found someone at the very least to convince Alyssa to go along with what I wanted? I know someone who can do that. It would have been easy."

  "But you chose me."

  "Yes. Because your grandmother took something from us. Something precious. No matter how strong Alyssa is, she's never going to replace Constance, and that poor woman who suffered at the hands of Angela wouldn't be as strong as she was in death as she was in life. That's just not how it works."

  Brandon exhaled slowly. "And what about Alyssa? You just played around with her, harassing her and getting her riled up for no reason?"

  Mrs Nolan licked her lips, but not in the weird predatory way she had in the past. She seemed almost...nervous. Brandon took a deep breath and pushed his rage down a notch, waiting for her to answer.

  "Things aren't quite what they seem in the Bay."

  "When the fuck is anything ever what it seems? This is the birth place of the gods. A town where magical people thrive. A town secluded from the rest of the country, and the world, in order to protect its foundations. What am I missing?"

  Mrs Nolan twined her fingers together, steepling them as she rested her wrists on the edge of the desk. "Change is coming, and we all have to choose a side."

  A chill ran down his spine. He wanted to protest because he didn't have a side, but then he realized that regardless of that, he cared about Alyssa, and so he was inevitably on her side—whichever one that turned out to be. "And which side are you on?"

  She glanced at the door, terror filling her eyes. "My own," she whispered, but her fingers untangled and reached across the desk, grasping paper and pen. She jotted something down, her handwriting small and hard to fathom from where he stood. She pushed the paper toward him and nodded minutely. "Perhaps you should go and see someone down at the curio store. I hear they have excellent trinkets. Pick one up and tell Samantha to charge it to my account. A parting gift." She forced a smile and nodded toward the door.

  Brandon reached down and picked the paper up, shoving it into his pocket before heading out the door and onto the street. He exhaled heavily, brow creasing in confusion. Just what the hell was going on here? Mrs Nolan was all over the place with her behaviour, but perhaps the note would explain—and failing that, a trip to the curio sh
op. And Samantha, Alyssa's friend.

  He pushed through the door and surveyed the shop, eyes coming to rest on a slim woman with long blonde hair who was stocking a shelf in the back corner.

  "Samantha, I'm going to guess?" he asked, moving toward her.

  "Yeah, that's me. What can I help you with?" She set her ornaments down and turned to face him.

  "I'm new in town, and, I'm a little confused about things. Was told you could help me out."

  She cocked an eyebrow. "I'll give it a shot."

  He pulled the note from his pocket and moved toward the counter, smoothing it out on top. "Mrs Nolan hired me to get Alyssa to help strengthen the barrier, but she's been doing a bunch of random shit that seems to go against that goal. I guess I just figured she was a weird bitch, until today."

  Samantha's features had closed off a bit and she'd pressed her lips together so tightly that they disappeared into her mouth. "Uh huh. And what happened today?"

  "Take a look for yourself." He nudged the note, recalling it's slightly cryptic words. Tū's child is coming, and she wants the Bay. Threatened me. Want to help, but been told to stall.

  He knew that Tū probably referred to Tūmatauenga, but beyond that... Well, he had no idea.

  "Oh." Samantha's voice was high pitched when she spoke. "Well, I knew something was off, but I didn't have any idea what it was. Where's Alyssa? Is she still going to-"

  "Yeah, despite the fact that Mrs Nolan dropped the bombshell that I'm Angela's grandson."

  "You're what? Wow. Yeah that wouldn't have gone down well." She seemed to realize what she'd said and put a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry. Alyssa's a smart girl and she's been thinking things through more lately. She'll get over it."

  "I bloody well hope so. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason Mrs Nolan hired me. What is she, anyway? She told me she could cure my nephew, but now I don't even know if that's true."

  "What do you mean 'what is she?'" Samantha's brow furrowed.

  "What kind of magical being."

  "She's not. Can't you feel it?"

  It felt like he'd swallowed molten lead. "She was just feeding me lies to get me here. She promised access to Angie's relics and a way to cure my nephew—he's going to die without it. Whatever the fuck they have over her, it must be pretty big." He grabbed the counter for balance, struggling to get to grips with the fact that his chance to save his nephew was slipping away. It didn't matter what Alyssa did, he had no cure.

  Samantha looked concerned, but she didn't say anything.

  "What does she mean, about Tū? He's one of the Gods isn't he, so this is his home too."

  Samantha's brow furrowed deeper. "He is one of the Gods, yes, but, the Gods have battled over many years, with most of them coming home, staying safe, and carrying on their lines here. They are all but gone now, unable to really affect the world. But Tū... Tū is the god of humans, mortals, non-magical beings. He's also the God of war and he's never forgiven his siblings. We think he's encouraging his child to come and finish the job."

  "Holy shit." Brandon ran a hand through his hair, not sure what to say to that.

  "You're not wrong. This is worse than I thought it was. I knew she was going outside the norm but I didn't think it mattered because Alyssa was leaning toward it anyway. She can feel the magic in her blood, she feels that connection to the Bay. I knew it would only be a matter of time before she made the decision. I was just planning on fending off Mrs Nolan until then."

  "But she went and brought me into it..."

  Samantha sighed. "And then Alyssa fell for you. That wasn't something that Mrs Nolan could predict."

  "So what do we do now? Have you seen Alyssa?"

  "No, I haven't, but we're meeting later." Sam chewed her nail, avoiding Brandon's gaze. Then her expression changed suddenly. "If Tū has people inside the town working for him, then it's even more important that we get this barrier back up to full strength. Or stronger than before."

  He couldn't get over the feeling that she was hiding something about the ceremony. "Is there something you're not telling me? Or, Alyssa, more importantly. Because no one seems to have told her anything about what’s going to go down and if you're holding back—"

  "Okay. Yes. Yes there is, but I don't know how to tell her." Sam sighed, her shoulders slumping. "She can't have babies, but I have a feeling that when she goes through this process of change... It might be one of the things that is a result of it, like a way of tying her to the Bay."

  "Holy shit, and you didn't think to mention this to her earlier?"

  "I don't know for sure! It's just... it's a theory I have, and I wanted to try and be sure before I told her."

  The doorbell tinkled, but he couldn't switch his focus, he was so mad at this woman right now. He leaned in, could feel parts of his darkness quivering on the edge of his vision. "You say that you care about her, that you're her friend, and yet you’re holding on to important information. Were you planning to tell her before tonight?"

  "Yes. Of course." Sam shrank back.

  "Back off a bit, man. I don't know who you are, but Sam's a good person."

  Brandon spun to see another guy standing in the door of the store. He looked like he could murder someone as he stalked towards them.

  "Noah. It's okay. Really." Samantha took a step towards Noah. "This is Brandon. Alyssa's boyfriend."

  Brandon didn't miss the fact that Samantha had left out that he was Angela's grandson. Perhaps she really did have Alyssa's interests in mind.

  "I'm sorry if I came over a bit strong, I just... I really care about her and she needs to know. Before tonight."

  "I'll see if I can find her now okay? You're right." She gave him an apologetic smile. "I feel like I've been giving her information she doesn't want to hear ever since she got to town. It's a wonder she still talks to me at all."

  Brandon felt guilty for being so heavy handed with her, she was obviously feeling a bit fragile herself. "I know you care, and trust me, she considers you her only friend in town. I don't think you'll see the back of her any time soon."

  Samantha sighed, her relief easing the tension on her face. "Thanks. I'll go and find her. Noah, can you lock up? And maybe you and Brandon should check in on Mrs Nolan—it seems like she might have been working with Tū's child, so there's every chance there are others in town doing the same."

  "On it," Noah said with a nod.

  "Thank you Samantha, and when you do see Alyssa, let her know I'm worried about her, okay?"

  "Of course." Samantha grabbed her bag and headed for the door, leaving him alone with Noah.

  Brandon stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, even if I didn't make a good impression."

  Noah gripped his hand, shook it firmly. "Dude, you're sticking up for your girl, I think that means we have more in common than not." He looked Brandon up and down. "Necromancer huh?"

  Brandon shrugged, not sure what the appropriate response was.

  "Come on, let’s get this out of the way. The less time I have to spend thinking about that woman, let alone talking to her, the better."

  Brandon couldn't agree more.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Alyssa paced in the front room of her house. She couldn't believe that Brandon was Angie's grandson, but it made so much sense! He was living in her bloody house! Wasn't that the first giveaway? How could she not have realized it? What was it about his family that attracted the women of hers? This was just ridiculous.

  On the one hand, she knew she could trust him. He was right, he HAD been honest with her. He'd told her what he was, and why he was there—it wasn't his fault that he didn't know about the thing between Constance and Angie. And it wasn't like it was something she was keen to think about that often—let alone share with new lovers.

  Mrs Nolan was a bloody whack job. She could not figure out what game she was playing, but it didn't make any sense. Either way, she needed to calm the fuck down before heading out to meet the others. She was nervous
enough about that, without everything that was going on with Brandon.

  Alyssa headed to the bathroom, Socks and Buttons both following behind her. The two of them seemed to get along okay, probably helped by the fact that every time Socks launched himself at Buttons he went sailing through the ghost cat. She had to wonder how long it would be before he stopped trying.

  Her phone started ringing in her pocket so she slipped it out. Kelly. "Hey, how’s it going?" Almost like old times, really.

  "I just wanted to let you know that we're leaving here in an hour."

  Alyssa sighed. "Thank goodness. It was looking a little dire there for a bit, but I'm pleased you've got it sorted."

  "I'll always have your back," Kelly replied, the smile in her voice apparent.

  Alyssa wasn't sure whether she felt relieved or angry about it. This one deed did not mean she'd forget what had gone on, but at least it would mean she could keep her end of the bargain and help save Michael. "Well, thanks. We'll see you then. Flick me a text when you're on the road."

  "Will do! Hey—"

  Alyssa hung up. She didn't want to talk about anything else right now. She had preparations to make because tonight, like it or not, she was going to meet the mother goddess and that was a pretty big fucking deal.

  She glanced in the mirror above the fireplace, checking her makeup.

  "You should try the red," Magnus whispered to her, a chill creeping up her spine.

  Alyssa whipped around, trying to spot him, but he was invisible, just his laugh bouncing around the room. Lucky this didn't creepy her out anymore.

  "Red what?"

  "Lipstick. It's powerful, and I think right now you need to look like you're in control."

  "Good thinking. Thanks Mag."

  "Mag?" He snorted and then she could feel that he'd left the room.

  "I'll call you whatever I like! It's a step up from Mr Ghost don't you think?"

  "I quite liked that name," his voice came back, though it was so faint that she could have been imagining it.