Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2)

by Kristen Painter

  I sighed as Corette locked the door behind us.

  Birdie grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. She had a very respectable grip. It sure got my attention. “Corette, this is Princess Jayne.”

  Corette curtseyed. “Your Highness.”

  “Oh, wow, no need for that.” I almost rolled my eyes at Birdie and her princess business. “Please, just call me Jayne. I’m sorry about your shop. And thank you so much for the cover story about the signs being reversed. That was so nice of you.”

  “This is Nocturne Falls, my dear.” Her smile was warm and welcoming. “Things happen. Granted, those things aren’t always this drastic, but we learn to deal with such occurrences. And we watch out for each other.” Corette clasped her hands in front of her. “Now, let’s see what we can do about getting this magic back in its box, shall we? Come into my office.”

  Birdie and I followed her back and settled into the chairs in front of her desk. I took the box out and placed it in front of Corette.

  She examined it as I told her what I’d recently found out. “It held a chaos imp and was intended for one of Francine Gresham’s clients.”

  “Sentient magic,” Corette answered. She shook her head. “Often considered a gray area for most witches. And sometimes, darker than that.”

  “Meaning?”

  She pursed her lips. “Sentient magic is anything that can think for itself. Of course, thinking is a broad term. Most imps don’t process much thought beyond what havoc they can wreak and where to get the energy they need. They’re part of the jinn family and within that family are various levels of creatures. Genies being the most advanced.”

  Like Imari. “Where do imps fall in those levels?”

  “Closer to the bottom of that list. Which is beneficial in our case. As I said, they’re not deep thinkers and, with some skill, should be relatively easy to catch. Well, perhaps easy isn’t the right word, but it did end up in this box at some point, didn’t it? Recapturing it won’t be a walk in the park, but it’s definitely doable.”

  “So what do you suggest?”

  She frowned apologetically. “Nothing immediately. Because this is gray magic, it’s not something I’m very familiar with. I’m sure you have gifts that could easily allow you to circumvent certain laws, but doing so would be wrong. Therefore, you don’t. Which means you understand what’s possible, but most likely not how to put such things into practice.”

  I tried to keep my expression neutral, but thoughts of my previous breaking-and-entering escapades popped into my head.

  She continued. “For me, that means while I know about gray and black magic, I don’t practice it, so I’m not well versed in the peculiarities of it. I’ll have to do some research.”

  Birdie sighed. “I guess we’ll have to come back.”

  Corette held up a finger. “Give me a moment.” She moved the box toward the edge of the desk, then took out a key, unlocked a drawer in a cabinet behind her and, with some effort, removed a large book bound in scarred leather and adorned with unusual gold markings and metal corners. A title was scrolled across the front, but it seemed to be Latin and in that fancy script, so I couldn’t read it upside down.

  She placed the book carefully in the space she’d cleared and gave it a little pat. “One of my daughters returned this grimoire to me yesterday thinking it might contain something that would help me restore my dresses to their rightful color. Unfortunately, not all of the imp’s spells can be undone as easily as lifting a fire truck off of a building.”

  “Oh, did you help with that? Thank you so much. Cooper was so upset by that. Cooper Sullivan, that is. He’s a fireman. And an old friend. He’s a summer elf.” And I was rambling. I smiled. “Sorry. You were saying?”

  Her mouth bent in an understanding way. “Is Cooper also your beau?”

  “My—oh no. Well. Not exactly. It’s complicated.”

  Her grin widened. “Love often is.”

  Love? Was she snowing me? I shook my head. “I wouldn’t say it’s love.”

  She just nodded. “When you’re ready for a wedding dress, let me know. I would be honored to assist you with that. If your dress isn’t already chosen, of course. I know things can be different with royalty.”

  “No, I don’t have a dress yet. And I think it’s going to be a while before I need one.” A long while. Like years. Wow. Talk about changing the conversation. “If we could go back to the imp problem…”

  “Of course.” She opened the book and began turning pages. “If you’ll just give me a moment.”

  I squinted at the book, then glanced at Birdie and frowned. Birdie frowned back and shrugged. I couldn’t keep quiet. “Pardon me for saying anything, Corette, but those pages look blank to me. Is that some kind of spell doing that?”

  Corette glanced up, amusement in her gaze. “Very good. Yes, it’s a protection spell, meant to keep our secrets from the uninitiated.”

  “Nicely done.” I nodded and sat back to wait. Protective magic was what kept the North Pole hidden from humans. And it kept my uncle safe on Christmas Eve. If anyone could appreciate protective magic, it was me.

  After a few minutes of flipping through the book and making small sounds of consternation, she stopped at a page and tapped it. “This mentions imps briefly, but it’s mostly about how to avoid accidentally summoning one since that spell is very similar to another spell used to entice ladybugs and fireflies into one’s yard.”

  My brows lifted. “Is that done very often? Calling ladybugs and fireflies?”

  Corette gave a little shrug. “For green witches, like my daughter Marigold, yes, I imagine it would be.”

  “Does it say anything else about imps?”

  “Let me read a little further.” She went quiet for a few moments as her finger underlined words I couldn’t see. “Mostly it says that they’re attracted to the sugar used in the insect spell. It seems sugar is their main source of energy.”

  It was kind of mine, too. “So…maybe I could put sugar in the box and the imp would come back?”

  She loosened the ribbon attached to the book’s spine and laid it over the page before closing the book. “I don’t think it will be that easy, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that.” I picked up the box and put it back in the tote bag. “Any thoughts on how to do this? Should I really just put sugar in the box?”

  Birdie piped up. “You’ll probably need to leave the window open.”

  Corette nodded. “Could be. Was your window open when the lid got knocked off?”

  I tried to remember. “No. But I opened it right after it happened. Spider, my cat, started talking because of the imp and when I first heard his voice, I pushed the window up to see if someone was fooling around on the fire escape.”

  “That’s how the imp got out of your apartment, then,” Corette said. “And you didn’t see anything?”

  “Nothing other than the green stuff left inside.”

  “So the imp can become invisible. Or perhaps that’s its natural state.” Corette peered into the distance, clearly thinking something over. Then she looked at me again. “I may not be able to counteract all of its magic, but I believe I can come up with a spell to make it permanently visible. I’ll need a sample of the residue in the box, if that’s all right with you.”

  I took the box out again and handed it over. “Absolutely.”

  She took the lid off, then used a bone letter opener from her pen cup to scrape a bit of the green stuff onto a sheet of paper. She folded the paper neatly and tucked it into her handbag. “That ought to do.”

  “You sure that’s enough?”

  “Yes.” She put the lid back on and handed the box to me. “Tonight, leave your window open. Doesn’t have to be much, a half inch should be plenty. I have a feeling an imp such as this could slip through a much smaller opening. Put a small dish of sugar in the box. A thimble would work.”

  “How about a bottle cap?”

  “Perfect. The
n, first thing in the morning, if the sugar’s gone, even if you don’t see anything in the box, close the lid carefully and quietly.”

  “Why do I have to wait until tonight?”

  “You don’t, but I think that’s your best chance. Imps are mostly nocturnal. And according to the grimoire, the imp should sleep for a bit after feeding so when you put the lid on, be careful not to wake it. Just remember that even if you don’t see it in the box, with its ability to be invisible, it could very well be in there.”

  “But if it’s invisible, how will I know if I’ve caught it?”

  She smiled. “Bring the box back to me. Or I’ll come to you. Either way, I’ll be able to tell. Any witch would. The presence of that much magic would be hard to ignore.”

  A thought popped into my head. “Do you think Francine’s client could be a witch? Maybe one not powerful enough to summon an imp on her own but someone who has a need for that kind of magic?”

  Corette tipped her head. “It’s possible, but as I mentioned, imps are gray magic at best. We don’t allow dabbling in such arts in our coven, so if the imp was for someone local, they certainly aren’t going to talk about it. However, it’s a possibility. I’ll ask around and see what I can find out.”

  “That would be great. I’ll give you my number.” I fished out a business card from my purse and handed it over.

  “And I’ll give you mine.” Corette took my card, then lifted one of the shop’s from the holder on her desk and offered it in exchange. “Call me anytime, night or day.”

  I took the card. “Likewise. And thank you. That’s very kind of you. And I appreciate your time. Which reminds me that I need to get back to work.”

  “I imagine we all do.” She stood and extended her hand. “We’re all in this together, Jayne. Don’t forget that.”

  Birdie and I got to our feet, and I took Corette’s hand. “I’m glad to hear that, because this imp stuff is so not my area.”

  “Well, Birdie was right to bring you here.” She walked us to the door and unlocked it. “If all goes well, I’ll be talking to you soon.”

  “I hope you’re right. And again, I’m sorry about your dresses.”

  Her smile was patient and kind. “A new order came in last night. I’ll make do with those until this is all sorted out. It’s just life in Nocturne Falls.”

  We said good-bye, then Birdie walked as far with me as the police station, where she thanked me again for breakfast and made me promise to keep her updated, which I did.

  From the sheriff’s department, I went straight to my office. I was fifteen minutes late as it was. I hung the tote bag on the coat rack and tossed my purse in a drawer. I was about to head into the store to let Juniper and Kip know I was in when I noticed the snow globe on my desk had a full-on raging blizzard inside it.

  I sat down at my desk, picked up the globe, and pushed the button to accept the call. My dad’s face appeared. His dark blue brows were knit together in an unhappy expression.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “What’s going on? Are you all right? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. It’s times like this the inability to use electronics in the North Pole really irks me. Has something happened?” Wisps of icy vapor curled up around him, further evidence of his mood. He wasn’t always the most patient of people.

  “I’m fine, Dad. I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch, but…” I hadn’t wanted to tell him about the imp, but I sort of had to now. “There’s been a little development.” I spilled the whole miserable story, making sure to bring him up to date so that he knew progress was being made toward fixing things.

  His expression shifted to one of concern. “Sorry to hear that, Jay, but it wasn’t your fault, and it sounds like you’ve got a good group of people helping you out. Is there anything I can do?”

  “I don’t think so. If Corette can work up a spell to make the imp visible, that will help a lot.”

  He looked unconvinced. “Maybe I should come down there when she does. I could freeze the whole town, then we could send out a troop of elves to search for the imp. Once we find it, we can just chip it free from wherever it’s frozen and contain it.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think the Ellinghams would be too keen on that kind of climate change in August. A deep freeze like that could really hurt the tourist industry.”

  He hmphed. “I suppose so. But if you change your mind, let me know.”

  “I will.” But that was not going to happen. The last thing I wanted to do was give the Ellinghams another reason to dislike me. “So…what were you trying to reach me about?”

  “Hmm? Oh, yes. I just wanted to let you know there’s a new shipment of toys coming to you today, and in some very exciting news, your uncle and I have decided that your store would be the perfect place to debut a new thing we have in the works. Won’t be for a couple months, but we’re going to make a big splash.”

  “Really? That’s pretty cool.” Especially considering that they’d almost shut down the Nocturne Falls location after so many employees had gone missing. They’d changed their minds after that mystery had been solved and I’d insisted on taking this store over, but this felt like a major vote of confidence. “What’s the new toy?”

  He winked at me. “This is all still in the final stages of development, but we’re working with Sanders to come up with something incredible.”

  I stared at him. “Wow. That is big.” Tempus Sanders, aka the Sandman, worked with my uncle Kris on Christmas Eve to assure that children across the world stayed asleep so that he could leave their presents undetected. Yes, I’m talking about the Sandman. The guy in charge of sleep. The Dream Maker. The King of Slumber. The Night Manager. The—well, you get the idea. “What’s the toy?”

  My dad’s eyes twinkled. “Here’s the thing. It’s not a toy. It’s a book. And it’s unlike any book ever written. When a parent reads the book to their child, it guarantees the child will fall asleep before the end and they’ll sleep peacefully the whole night. It’s revolutionary. And it will only be available at our stores. At least initially.”

  “Revolutionary is right. That’s going to create a huge buzz.” I could only imagine how many parents were going to want a book like that.

  “I’m glad you think so, because we’re sending Sanders to Nocturne Falls for the week of the launch. He’ll do signings and readings in the store.”

  “Oh.” I swallowed. That was more than I could instantly process. I mean, Sanders here? At my store? With me in charge? That was huge.

  A little of the joy melted off my father’s face. “We just thought if anything unusual happened, Nocturne Falls would be the perfect town to handle it. After all, they have that bespelled water that keeps humans from noticing odd things.” He shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea.”

  “No, it’s a great idea. You’re absolutely right.” So long as that bespelled water wasn’t still Dr Pepper in a couple months. “The store will be crazy busy when word about that book gets out.”

  “We think so too, which is why we’ve already discussed sending you extra help for that week. In fact, we’re probably going to pull a few top employees from other locations. That way you won’t have to train anyone new and those employees will get the reward of being part of the launch. And he’ll have his assistant with him most likely, so you’re not going to have to cater to him. It’s a win-win.”

  I nodded. It was also a lot of responsibility. The Sandman was kind of a rock star in the elf world. Not as big as my dad or my uncle, but a close second, definitely. And even with an assistant to help him, I had no doubt it was going to be an intense week. “It’ll be great.”

  “I’ll let you know more details as we get closer, honey.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I hope you catch the imp soon.”

  I sighed as his words brought me back to my immediate problem. “Me too.”

  We hung up. I put the globe back on the desk corner, then pulled out the container of snickerdo
odle toffee cookies my mother had sent and powered down three of them. Okay, maybe it was five, but let’s not get hung up on numbers. Buoyed by the sugar, I put the cookies away, my dad’s news behind me, and headed into the shop.

  Kip was at the register, and Juniper was fixing a display of Magic Eight Balls by the door.

  “How’s it going? Any fires to put out?” I really hoped the answer to that last question was no.

  Kip shook his head. “Easy day so far. But then, we haven’t been open that long.”

  “Right.” I looked at Juniper.

  She shrugged. “Nothing to report here either.” Then her eyes narrowed. “You okay? You look…stressed.”

  “Can’t imagine why.” I laughed. A little hysterically. “No, I’m good. It’s just this whole imp thing.”

  “Imp?” Juniper’s eyes widened. “Is that what was in the box?”

  “Yes. Crazy right?”

  Kip made a face. “I’m not even sure what an imp is.”

  “I wasn’t either until this happened. It’s a kind of mischievous magical creature, sentient magic, I’ve been told. Anyway, it’s what’s causing all the weird stuff happening in town.”

  He nodded. “Like the fountain in the center of town? Or was that a store promotion?”

  My stomach dropped. “What happened to the fountain?”

  “It’s spraying snow instead of water. I went down to the Hallowed Bean to get coffees for Juniper and me before work this morning and walked right past it. The gargoyle on duty didn’t seem too happy about it, but the tourists were loving it. Especially the kids!”

  Sure they were. Because who wouldn’t like a little snow in the middle of summer in Georgia? At least this prank wasn’t so bad. But just like with the falls turning into Dr Pepper, this trick definitely looked connected to me. I was surprised I hadn’t had a call from Hugh Ellingham yet. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”

  I started to leave, then stopped and turned around. “Forgot to mention, we’re getting a shipment of toys today. I haven’t looked to see if they’re in yet so they could be. They’ll need to be checked in and put on display.”