Jinx & Tonic (The Magic & Mixology Mystery Series Book 3)

by Gina LaManna

“You’re not understanding. Someone broke in to my storeroom. They must have wanted me to see the flower badly since the bungalow was locked. Everyone was at the Trials. After Raymon. . . ” I cleared my throat. “When I returned home, I found the flower.”

  “Are you sure there’s not a simpler explanation?” Liam shook his head. “Maybe Gus left it out, or Ranger X left you a romantic surprise.”

  “Nope. Gus came into the bungalow to find the flower, and he seemed genuinely confused. Ranger X came with us in the morning, and he stayed in the public eye until the evening. It couldn’t have been him.”

  “What if it’s not a threat? What if someone is trying to send you a message?”

  “Could be. But what?”

  “Well, I’m not a mind reader.”

  “I need to pay a quick visit to Trinket,” I said. “The lilies were fresh. And on the second time…” I paused. “Trinket picked up the lily from Hettie’s doorstep.”

  “It’s none of my clients,” Liam said. “Someone either went to Trinket privately or stole from her. The last person requesting fresh lilies was over a year ago. If it’s important, we can swing by Trinket’s on the way to the lagoon.”

  I nodded and took the lead, realizing that Liam had stopped walking. We were still in The Twist, and he’d never be able to find his way out. So I picked up my pace, leading him through the foliage.

  “You know, I’ve never been inside Trinket’s house,” I said once we reached the edge of the labyrinth. “She’s not the inviting type.”

  “Neither have I,” Liam said. “And I’ve known her a lot longer than you.”

  “I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”

  CHAPTER 31

  Both Mimsey and Trinket lived relatively close to The Twist, their houses forming a neat little triangle.

  The house was tidy on the outside, reminding me of mainland suburbia, without the cookie cutter–style of housing. Trinket’s home was built from stone, the windows lit from the inside as carefully pruned flowerbeds added a pop of color to the exterior. A wooden picket fence formed a perfect square around the home, the yard carefully trimmed.

  Though seven children lived in this house, there was no real sign of life anywhere. No trucks littering the yard or toys strewn on the path leading to the arched wooden doorway.

  The two-level house itself was long, built wide instead of tall. There were clear dividers between sections, as if a new addition had been tacked on every time a child had joined the family.

  “Do I just knock?” I looked at Liam. “This is very Anne of Green Gables.”

  “I suppose so,” Liam said. “That seems to be the normal way of announcing oneself.”

  I gave Liam the eye. “Are you coming with me or waiting here?”

  “It’s not my business,” Liam said. “I’ll be waiting here if you need anything.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Chicken.”

  “Me?”

  “You just don’t want to face Trinket.”

  “That, too.” Liam exhaled. “Go on, Lily. Ten minutes, or I’m leaving without you.”

  I swallowed. “Yes, of course. I’ll be quick.”

  With a feeble wave, I turned and approached the dainty house. I raised my hand and knocked. It took three tries before someone opened the door. The figure in the entryway was small, one of Zin’s younger siblings. The male half of “the twins.”

  “Mom!” he yelled, before I could say anything. “Company!”

  Then he ran off, leaving me standing in the doorway, my hands clasped awkwardly in front of me.

  Trinket yelled a few things about cleaning up to her children. Then she appeared around the corner, wiping her hands on a towel. “Lily,” she said, unsurprised to see me. “Hello.”

  “Hi,” I said, not making a move to step inside. “Beautiful. . . entryway.”

  “Thank you.” Trinket took a few steps closer. “What brings you around?”

  Indeed, the entryway was nice; clean, and well kept. Warmer than I expected, likely due to the shadows of firelight licking up the walls. Wooden floors gleamed, highlighting the sitting areas while richly colored rugs spruced up the space.

  Seven jackets lined hooks on the wall, and a small mahogany table held a bowl of keys next to the door. A small bouquet of flowers added a dash of welcome.

  I swallowed, taking a tentative step forward. Trinket set her towel on the table, placing one hand on her hip. She still didn’t invite me inside.

  “The lilies,” I said. “What do you know about them?”

  “What lilies?” Trinket’s voice came out monotone, and it was difficult to tell if she was completely clueless or pretending.

  I cleared my throat. “You brought me one the night Zin. . . at Hettie’s.”

  “I gave it to you,” she said. “It was on the front steps.”

  “Yes, but who put it there?”

  Trinket’s eyebrows shot up. “Good question.”

  “Do you know the answer?” I hadn’t meant to accuse my aunt of anything, but her dodginess was wearing on me. “Before you deny it, I’ve been talking to people. You’re the only person on this island who’s managed to successfully grow lilies. Either someone is stealing from you, or—”

  “Nobody is stealing from me.”

  The sureness of her words took me by surprise. “Oh, then. . . ” I blinked, gathering my thoughts. “That means. . . ”

  “Why are you here, Lily?”

  “Why are you leaving me flowers? What are you trying to tell me?”

  Trinket’s mouth pursed as she sized me up. She watched me for a long, long time. “I thought you were ready. You’re not.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “I’m sorry, Lily.”

  “What are you talking about?” My anger began to flare up. “You’ve been sending me messages, worrying me that something was wrong—breaking into my house! And now I’m not ready to hear what you have to say?”

  “Yes.” Trinket’s mouth was in a firm line. “I was wrong.”

  “Wrong? You sent me those flowers for a reason. What are you trying to tell me?”

  “I’ll explain one day. Good evening, Lily.”

  “No!” I flung my arm out as Trinket tried to shepherd me. “I want to know.”

  Trinket moved so close to me I could smell a light, spicy scent coming from her apron, as if she’d just baked cinnamon rolls. “As I said, you’re not ready.”

  I held my ground. “That’s not a good enough answer.”

  Trinket held my gaze, her eyes burning with knowledge that she’d held secret for a long, long time.

  “You owe me this at least,” I said. “Why did you send me the flowers?”

  A light flickered on in Trinket’s gaze, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it was some sort of approval. She took a step back. “I see now that if I tell you, it will destroy you.”

  My stomach sank to my knees, my blood chilling. “Why would you want to ruin me?”

  “I don’t.”

  “If it’s so horrible, I need to know.”

  “And you will—when you’re ready, Lily, I won’t tell you again.”

  “How will you—how will I—know when I’m ready?”

  Trinket bit her lip, flicking a glance over her shoulder. The hallway was empty. “You’ll be ready when you trust yourself.”

  “But—”

  “No.” Trinket blinked, and then to my surprise, she took a step back and ran a hand across her eyes. “Your past is difficult, Lily. You’re strong. You’re intelligent and talented. But it’s too soon. I’m sorry. I promised your mother I’d wait for the right moment.”

  “Please!”

  “Go,” Trinket said. “Now.”

  At a loss for words, I turned and took lethargic steps down the front path. Trinket watched me go, her gaze burning into the skin of my back. I moved like a sleepwalker, ready to be woken from my nightmare.

  Liam wrapped his arm through mine, and the door behind us closed. “It’ll
be okay.”

  CHAPTER 32

  “It’s cruel,” I concluded thirty minutes later as we crossed through The Forest. “I can’t believe my own aunt could do such a thing to her niece.”

  Liam remained silent. I’d awoken from my shocked haze, digesting all that had happened as we followed an invisible path through the brush. Liam had clearly been this way hundreds of times before. Like muscle memory, he maneuvered the path without hardly paying attention.

  “What did she mean?” I said, more to myself than to Liam. “If I’m not ready, she should’ve just kept quiet. Of course I’m ready. I’m part of. . . ” I trailed off, remembering just in time that Liam had no knowledge about The Core. I sighed, reining in my frustration before I said something I shouldn’t.

  Liam hadn’t said anything for the entire journey so far. He pushed back branches from a weeping willow and formed his words carefully as he spoke. “Have you considered that she might be right?”

  “Right?” I reached a hand out, grabbed the branches of the willow, and stood still. “What are you talking about?”

  “Maybe you aren’t ready to hear whatever it is she has to say.”

  “Fine! Then why’d she tell me in the first place? What’s the deal with the flowers?”

  “Maybe she was testing you, maybe she didn’t expect you to figure things out so quickly,” Liam said. “I don’t know. But I think you need to consider that she’s got your best interests at heart. Maybe she’s right, and now’s not the time.”

  I let the branches droop as I pushed past, staring at the ground and fighting not to snarl at my one friend who was around to listen. “I have seen murder. I’ve experienced blood magic. I’ve navigated The Forest and fought The Faction. If anything, I need to know all that I can before it’s too late.”

  Liam raised a hand in surrender. “I’m not arguing with you, and I’m not trying to pick a fight.”

  I sullenly stomped behind him, aware I was acting childish. “You’re on her side.”

  “I’m saying she might be right, that’s all. Maybe she made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, and maybe you’re being a little harsh toward her.”

  “But—”

  “I didn’t say she handled it well, and Trinket is a tough pill to swallow on a good day. She’s probably not happy with how things went either.”

  I considered it, wondering if Trinket was back at her cottage having the exact same thoughts. “Maybe,” I finally relented. “I’m sorry. I’m frustrated and I’m stressed. And I’m nervous about what’s so horrible that she has to hide it from me.”

  Liam faced me, darkness surrounding us as the sun slid behind the tree branches. “The lagoon is just ahead. We have to put this behind us for now and focus on the present.”

  “I understand.”

  “That’s the spirit.” Liam gave me a smile, his lips tight, the light not shining in his eyes. “Last warning. I doubt that we’ll see any of the mermaids; they avoid the surface when there are visitors. But should you hear any music, plug your ears as quickly as possible, and don’t let up until I give the all clear.”

  “Music, like singing?”

  “Music of any sort. Singing, or shells. They make instruments from seashells, and the effect can be just as powerful.”

  “Powerful in what way?”

  “They lull a person into a dreamlike state, easily influenced by outside suggestions.”

  “Like hypnotism?”

  “A mild form,” Liam said, hesitation lacing his words. “It’s in the same family of magic as mind bending, though not technically illegal. It’s their best defense. As with all weapons, it can be misused.”

  “Do you think. . . ” I turned the question over in my mind before I finished it. “Do you think that’s why people assumed she was behind it? Because she has a natural inclination for it?”

  “Those are the rumors.”

  Before I could ask any more questions, he led the way through a twisty, narrow path under a row of low-hanging branches. We scaled a monstrous pile of rocks, then picked our way down the other side. After taking tiny steps across a flimsy log over a rushing river, we finally made a steep descent across a sandy beach and came upon the lagoon.

  The place was even more beautiful than Liam had described.

  He must have heard my gasp. “Don’t forget, Lily. For every inch of beauty, there is an inch of danger. Pay close attention to everything.”

  I nodded, too busy absorbing the scenery to respond. We stood in The Forest where, for a breath of time, the world fell quiet. Before us sat a lagoon filled with water so blue, it was as if the sky had pooled together to form liquid.

  Hills leaned high above us, the water trickling down the slopes and forming divots in the sand as it rolled into the lagoon. Through the water, rocks glimmered—deep reds and blacks with a glint of gold.

  Though achingly beautiful, an air of something darker hung over us, something looming beyond the brilliant blues and vibrant greens. Flowers hung from branches, just a little too bright. The air was chilled, just a little too pure. The calmness was quiet, and just a little too still.

  At the center of the lagoon was a dark swirl of water. I pointed, and turned to Liam. “What’s that?”

  “It’s deep—very, very deep,” he said. “Don’t go near it.”

  The warning in his voice told me there was more to the story, a lot more, but I didn’t press.

  Liam moved briskly toward the water. I followed, my eyes darting between every little detail.

  “Do you hear that?” I asked as we reached the edge of the pool. I held out a hand to touch the water. “What is that noise? It’s not singing, but it’s—”

  Liam caught my arm just before my fingers brushed the water’s surface. He pulled me back so hard I let out a cry of pain.

  “Don’t touch anything!”

  I rubbed my elbow. “Don’t you hear. . . ”

  I stopped as Liam tilted his head. We both heard it now; the sound grew steadily louder.

  “Over there.” I pointed toward one of the thin falls trickling over the edge of a rocky cliff high above us. The sheet of water was almost transparent, a curtain masking us from the darkness behind it.

  “It’s. . . ” he hesitated, taking a few tentative steps forward, his eyes razor sharp in their focus. “It’s her.”

  “Liam,” I called, rushing after him. “Wait!”

  He didn’t listen, and I wasn’t fast enough. Liam had been here many times before, it was evident in the way his body moved over the rocks. Though years might have passed, his legs remembered the path, his feet steady on the uneven ground. When he sprang, it was graceful, quick, and I had no chance of keeping up.

  I scrambled over the rocks behind him, swearing under my breath as I skinned a knee, scraped an elbow, bashed a hip into the sharp stones. He might move like a jaguar, but I moved like a drunken elephant.

  “Ilinia,” Liam called, his voice hoarse as he landed on the sandy beach next to the waterfall. “Is that you?”

  A soft response came from the shadows. It must have been the right response because Liam moved forward despite my cries. He took one step straight through the shimmering sheet of water and disappeared.

  By the time I reached the beach, I was bleeding from at least three different locations. I pushed through the falls, my scrapes stinging from the crush of water on my shoulders. When I stopped on the other side, I was drenched.

  My breath caught in my throat. Liam had fallen to his knees, his arms wrapped around a stick-thin figure. Her hair was a tangled black mess, her clothing ragged and torn. She’d closed her eyes, her skeletal fingers digging into Liam’s back as they hugged.

  I stepped away, hiding myself in the shadows. Have I been wrong about everything?

  Liam must have sensed my presence because he broke the embrace, keeping one hand on her shoulder. “Lily,” he said, turning around. “Meet Ilinia, my… my fiancée.”

  My heart nearly stopped in my chest as
she looked up at me. Her eyes were blue, the color of the lagoon—big and bright, just as Liam had said. She stared up at me with a wild sort of hunger, and it was then I realized the cut rope around her hands and feet. Liam must have freed her from a set of bindings.

  “Hi,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I’m Lily.”

  She smiled, a shy smile, and despite her bedraggled appearance, I could see the signs of former beauty. Her hair, stringy and clinging to her cheeks, might’ve been rich and shiny once upon a time. She was hungry, too, I could see it in her face, her eyes. Her waiflike figure might have been curvy once, back before she’d been locked away.

  “Ilinia,” she said in a raspy voice. She tried the name on for size, a wan smile crossing her face. “I haven’t been called that in forever.”

  Liam ran his hand up and down her arm, clearly in a daze. He looked into her eyes, and I could feel him trying to draw out a semblance of the woman he’d once known. Liam had come here expecting to find his fiancée, and judging by the look of shock on his face, he’d found another person entirely.

  “I’m sorry you have to see me like this. . . ” She interrupted herself with a coughing fit. “So very sorry, Liam.”

  “How long have you been here?” I stepped closer, pulling off my shawl and handing it to Liam so he could warm her. “You’ve got to be freezing. Who kept you here? You probably have pneumonia, or worse, sitting around in the water for so long.”

  Liam wrapped my shawl around her shoulders, rubbed his hands up and down her biceps to warm her.

  “You need to leave—we need to leave,” she said, ignoring my questions. “He’ll be back.”

  “Who will be back?” I scanned the lagoon, but it appeared empty. “Who took you?”

  “It was. . . he works for The Faction,” she said. “I don’t remember his name—I don’t think he told it to me.”

  “Start from the beginning,” I said, trying to sound encouraging. “Quickly. We need to know who we might run into as we get you out of here.”

  I hadn’t made up my mind whether I believed her story. She looked tired, worn, distraught. Even so, the image of Raymon flashed through my mind, and a whiff of anger pointed me toward caution. Liam clearly wasn’t thinking straight, so I needed to think for both of us.