by Molly Fitz
“But she knew.” Connie pointed at Greta accusingly. Her growled words sent a shiver right through me. They didn’t exactly sound human, but what else could they be? “What does this decision even have to do with her department? Nothing, that’s what!”
The cat’s patience had now worn thin. He sighed and rubbed at his forehead with a paw. “You know very well, indeed, that as the liaison of Schools, Greta is the most equipped to handle situations that impact the future. Besides, Melony is young, still a student herself. At least once this summer is over, she is expected to head to the Academy and begin—”
“That’s not happening now, obviously,” Greta interjected with a sullen expression.
“And Parker was informed,” Fluffikins continued as he directed an unhappy glare at Connie, “because the impending crime fell directly into his role as liaison to the Force.”
“Still, Commerce would have liked to be notified,” Connie pouted, refusing to back down.
“Agriculture, too,” the plain-looking middle-aged man beside her chimed in. Excluding me and Parker, he appeared to be the youngest in the group by at least two decades.
Everyone’s eyes sought out the centenarian in the business suit.
“Nah,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Cemetery is good. We prefer not to handle them until they need us to.”
“Cemeteries?” I whispered to Greta.
“Yes, it’s one of the five essential regional departments.”
Now having heard a few new departments mentioned in rapid succession, I started a mental checklist. The PTA board had Police, Schools, Commerce, Agriculture, and Cemeteries—then there was the Town Witch and Fluffikins, of course. Whatever he did.
I decided to come right out and ask him. “Everybody here has a job, even me, although I’m just a temp. What’s your role, Mr. Fluffikins?” I used the Mr. assuming he’d be more likely to answer my question if I showed him some respect in asking it.
“Why, I’m the Diplomat, of course. It is me who is in charge of this region as a whole.” Well, I guessed that made sense. Little by little, I was starting to get it, but…
“I just have one question, though. Actually two. Wait, it’s three.”
He rolled his paw to signal for me to go ahead.
“Okay, so first, where’s Parker? Also, how do we stop Melony? And if you have time, please explain why this place is called the Paranormal Temp Agency. It seems like nobody here is a temp except for me.”
“Parker will be here as soon as he can if he can, and once we have him here, Melony will no doubt come to us. It’s the best-case scenario since we have the global magic source to protect us.”
I glanced up toward the ceiling where the glittering atmospheric magic had settled in like a heavy pink fog.
Fluffikins continued, “You’re our only temp currently, but make no mistake, we have quite the revolving door of helpers.”
“If that’s the case, why not hire more people to your board on a full-time basis? Is it because you don’t want to pay benefits?”
Across the table Connie chuckled, making her over-sized bosom bounce. I couldn’t tell if she liked me or not, but I could definitely tell she wasn’t a fan of Fluffikins.
The cat rolled his eyes before fixing them back on me. “The magical balance is in constant flux, and thus our needs change. A majority of magic users keep their abilities discreet and go about to live a mostly normal human life.”
“So it’s only you guys who are supercharged?”
“We’re the strongest,” Greta said, “because we’re able to use our abilities regularly. Practice makes perfect, after all.” Now she finally sounded like a teacher. As I got to know everyone better, it was easier to understand how they fit into their roles.
“Okay, so let me see if I’m understanding this correctly,” I said. “Most people don’t have magic, and most of the people who do have magic don’t really use it.”
“Yes, other than instinctively as you saw during our orientation last night,” the cat supplied.
Had that startling display of elemental wrath really only happened last night? Wow. It took me a second to process that before moving on.
“The liaisons are the strongest magic users because they use their powers regularly,” I surmised.
“Yes, that’s right,” Greta encouraged.
“Okay, so then why are we all so afraid of this Melony chick? She’s only—what?—eighteen?” I shuddered at the realization that I could practically be her mother. Thank goodness, I wasn’t.
Everyone watched and waited for me to push forward with my train of thought, and so I did.
“She’s not a liaison, which means she is not a regular magic practitioner. We know she has some, because of the confrontation Greta and I had with her, but—can someone please explain this next part—why is a room full of the region’s most powerful magic folk hiding from a little girl?”
21
Nobody spoke until at last Fluffikins took a deep breath and said, “That’s not a bad question. We could easily overpower Melony, but just because we can doesn’t mean we should.”
I threw my hands up in the air—something I was doing a lot of lately, quite frankly. “Seriously, guys? One second you present yourselves as these noble defenders of the balance, and the next you talk yourselves out of easily solving a very simple problem. You do realize it’s only going to turn into a much bigger problem, right? I mean, what happened to that whole noble balance spiel you just gave me like three minutes ago?”
Greta placed both hands flat on the table in front of her. The whitish eyebrows framing bright blue eyes gave her an almost lupine appearance. “I understand there’s much about our world you can’t yet grasp, but there are nuances, which however small and seemingly inconsistent are important to uphold, especially for those in positions of power.”
“So you’re not dealing with Melony because—what?—it would look bad? Greta, you’re the one who told me magic always comes to a violent end. Melony’s the instigator here, so why aren’t you taking action?” Whether or not I’d ended up with the PTA by some stupid fluke, I was here now and I would make my opinions known. Namely that their attempt at an explanation made little to no sense.
When Greta shook her head, one of her tight blonde curls fell out of place. “It’s not our place to end a life.”
“Are you kidding me?” I exploded. I couldn’t help it. “You’re the one who ended Mrs. Haberdash’s!”
“At her request, yes. She made a sacrifice to protect this town, but also to protect her next of kin.” Greta looked tired but not any less steadfast in her explanation. Even though their supposed logic wasn’t making much sense to me, it clearly held up with her.
I softened my voice. Greta wasn’t the enemy here. Flawed thinking aside, nobody in this room presented a threat to me or this town. Melony on the other hand… “Why would she want to save somebody who wanted to kill her? And what exactly do you plan to do when Melony shows up with the goal of offing Parker? And for the last time where’s Parker? Because he certainly isn’t here, and it seems plain old stupid to sit around waiting for whatever happens next when we can get out there and control the future!”
Fluffikins tsked. “Spoken like a true normie. Have you been listening to anything Greta or I have tried to explain?”
I turned all my frustration on the small black cat. “Yes, I’m listening, but all I hear is words and excuses. You have the power to end this, but instead you’re sitting here helpless. You’re not helpless, and you should be out there helping Parker!”
Fluffikins flexed his paws and the claws shout out menacingly. “I’ve never been so—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down.” Parker’s familiar voice floated down from above as he drifted toward his seat. “I’m right here.”
The pink magic in the air shimmered briefly, then whooshed back to the ceiling. Now that everyone was accounted for, the glass ceiling closed in on itself, shutting out the larger world.
Greta placed a hand on my side and leaned toward me like she wanted to say something to me in private, but I didn’t care to find out what that was.
Parker was here! He was okay!
I leaped out of my chair and ran over to hug him. It didn’t matter that I hardly knew him—he was alive and quite possibly a hero. The fact that he’d been in uncertain danger made me realize just how much I instinctively liked him, right from the beginning.
He stood to meet me and winced as I wrapped both arms around him, but then settled into the embrace.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, pulling back to look into his eyes.
The sharp gray appeared dulled, but his smile appeared genuine. “I’m okay,” he confirmed with a relieved sigh.
Fresh cuts and scrapes covered his face, neck, and arms, but none of them appeared too serious. What had held him back? Had he gone ahead and acted while the rest of the board sat here twiddling their thumbs?
I wouldn’t put that past him.
Parker was one of them, but he was also different.
More human somehow.
Maybe it was because as a policeman, he was accustomed to seeing things in black and white—right or wrong. And what Melony wanted to do was wrong. Clearly, he saw that.
But despite these convictions, would he act against the boss cat’s wishes? Had he already? I knew I was assuming a lot, but a part of me just knew Parker was one of the good guys. Maybe the best guy.
“I was so worried,” I murmured, tightening my hold. I wanted him to be that hero, but even more than that I just wanted him to be safe and here with me. That crush I’d tried to prevent from taking hold had definitely wrapped its vise grip around my heart. Stupid feelings.
“Where were you?” Fluffikins demanded, stalking over to us. “Why the delay?”
Parker let me go. For a moment, he hung his head as if too tired to answer. But then he picked himself back up and said, “Melony came to see me.”
Melony.
22
I put a hand on Parker’s shoulder.
He flinched before glancing away. The smile that followed came a couple seconds too late to be natural.
Ugh. I was really worried about him now. Had something terrible already happened? Was he merely putting on a strong front for me and the others?
“What do you mean she came to see you?” I pressed, willing—begging—him to tell me the truth. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He pressed his lips in a straight line, then pulled out the chair in front of him and took a seat. “I’m here. Aren’t I?”
“What happened?” I asked, refusing to leave his side even though it seemed I’d been dismissed.
“Enough, Tawny. Take your seat,” Fluffikins commanded as he paced back to the head of the table, then plopped onto his rear. “Now. Give us the full report, Barnes.”
I kept my eyes glued on Parker as I trudged back to my seat beside Greta.
Everyone waited with bated breath.
Parker folded his hands in front of him and sighed. “She caught up with me while I was on my way into the station. There were too many normies around, so I led her to an empty lot on the outskirts of town. I expected her to jump straight into an assault once we were both out of our cars, but instead she wanted to talk. Said the Town Witch job was hers, that it was bad enough her great aunt Lila had stolen it right out from under her grandfather, that she wasn’t going to let the wrong person have the job for even a second longer.”
“But you’re here now, and you say you’re okay,” I said, dumbfounded. “So, what happened?”
“Tawny, silence!” Fluffikins bellowed and followed it up with a low, threatening growl. “I realize you have a lot of questions, but you are not the one who’s in charge here.”
Parker frowned. “She told me to surrender, but I refused. That was when she attacked. I tried not to hurt her, but she came at me so fast, I couldn’t avoid…” His voice cracked, and he stopped speaking.
“We promised Lila she would remain unharmed,” Greta interjected, popping to her feet so fast, her chair fell back behind her.
Parker ran his hands through his hair and let out a choked sob. “I know. I’m so sorry. It’s the magic. With Lila’s plus my own, it’s too much. I couldn’t control it.”
“This is very worrying, indeed,” Fluffikins said with a flick of his sleek black tail.
“I would have gotten here sooner, but I didn’t want to lead Melony right to our HQ. That is, if she even managed to survive,” Parker offered meekly. “I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry if I’ve complicated matters for the board.”
“So what happens now?” I asked when no one else moved to speak. “The threat is gone, right? So everything goes back to normal?”
“But at what cost?” Greta bit out, wrapping her arms around herself as she swayed on her feet. “You’ve defied Lila’s last wish. Melony was the only remaining heir to the Haberdash legacy. Other than her grandfather, of course.”
What was going on here? None of these explanations were making things any clearer, so I asked a question even though Fluffikins had ordered me to stay silent. “So Melony would have become the Town Witch eventually, anyway? If that’s the case, why would she kill her aunt? Just to make it happen a little sooner?”
“She wasn’t ready,” Greta said, reaching down to rub my shoulder but I ripped it away. “Melony still has a lot of growing up to do first, and Lila had already become so ill. She wouldn’t have been able to fight off an attack if it had come.”
“But Parker has the powers now. Whether or not Melony is okay, the Haberdash legacy is dead.”
“That doesn’t mean the people need to be,” Greta countered.
Connie, the well-dressed head of Commerce, spoke up next. “By appointing someone outside of her family, Lila knowingly destroyed her own line.”
Greta’s bright blue eyes flashed red. It startled me so much, I kept my mouth clamped shut as the others fought. “What choice did she have? People are more important than power.”
“The girl could have grown into the role,” the middle-aged guy who headed up Agriculture said.
“Or it could have destroyed her,” Greta shot back, eyes still aflame.
“Enough!” Fluffikins shouted, and the fire in Greta’s eyes disappeared. She took her seat beside me, and I moved to the opposite edge of mine, still completely unsettled.
“What now?” she asked calmly, sweetly—but I no longer took her good nature for granted. “Beech Grove needs its Town Witch.”
All eyes turned to me. “I can’t…” I sputtered.
“The magic we gave you was only temporary,” the cat pointed out. “To become the official Town Witch, you’d need to kill your predecessor.”
Parker’s eyes found mine, and he stared at me as if seeing me for the first time.
“But Parker…” I mumbled.
“Yes, we’re in a bad spot,” Fluffikins admitted. “One person can’t fill two roles indefinitely. It leaves the region too vulnerable.”
“Then what are we going to do?” I cried, feeling beyond helpless. Rather than being resolved, things were only going to get worse. Would that mean more lives lost? I hated this.
“We’ll have to find a new liaison to the Force, but the process takes a while, unfortunately,” Fluffikins said. “Usually we are better prepared for transitions, but Lila requested that we act fast and figure out the other details once the immediate threat had been mitigated.”
“Can I help? You don’t need me as a temp witch, anymore. Right? I can do the double cop thing.” As scared as I was to be a part of this, it would be even worse to turn my back on them now.
“But you’re not an officer,” Parker said with a deadpan expression as he clenched his jaw.
“Can’t you wave your magic wand and change the records?” I asked Greta since she was closest to me.
It was Fluffikins who answered for all of them. “We’d be even more vulnerable to have
someone who hasn’t been properly trained in either magic or policing in such a vital role.”
“Then what? There must be something we can do!” I was on the verge of tears now. I hated that it made me look weak, but I was weak. Then again, if the strong ones weren’t willing or able to fix the situation, doing so fell to me.
Parker stood suddenly, commanding everyone’s attention. “Actually, I believe there is something. If you’ll just hear me out…”
23
Parker barely spoke above a whisper. “I think there’s a chance Melony could still be alive—badly injured and perhaps permanently wounded, but alive and well enough to call for reinforcements.”
A memory swam to the front of my mind. While certainly menacing in our confrontation, Melony had also appeared frightened and desperate. If she’d wanted to hurt me or Greta, she could have easily done so while we were frozen in place.
But she hadn’t.
She’d simply taken what she came for—the old hat—and left. She’d also asked Parker to surrender before mounting an attack, but what if he’d misread the situation? What if she hadn’t meant to hurt him, either? What if we’d all gotten it wrong?
I bit my lip to keep from speaking out. Melony was already injured and possibly dead. It may be too late for anyone to help her, and there was also a very reasonable chance I was giving her way too much credit in this situation.
“You said she mentioned her grandfather when the two of you spoke,” Fluffikins pointed out with a thoughtful tilt of his head. “Do you think they could be working together?”
My head spun with all the possibilities. Melony could be evil or she could be a scared kid, trying to impress the only family she had left. I certainly hadn’t expected Parker to be Mrs. Haberdash’s murderer—nor had I anticipated the fact that she’d been the architect of her own demise.
“Anything’s possible, I suppose,” Parker said in response to the boss cat, although his words felt as if they were specifically intended for me. Did he also suspect there was something more hidden just beneath the surface?
