by Livia Quinn
"Why did Conor agree to let you tell me about the Isle?" Tempe asked.
"Because you're going to be visiting soon as well, Tempe. He said with Jack and Dylan not—Good Frejya, goddess of Valhalla, and all that is just!—I forgot to tell you what I just saw! Dylan…with Kat."
"So?" she asked obviously tired. Then her mouth dropped open, "Oh, you mean—Dylan?"
"Yep, tall, dark and mysterious is back, and apparently, Katerina made it happen. At least I saw them all cuddly-like before they shifted and ran off together."
"You saw the grizzly and the lion together?"
"No, his grizzly is probably gone forever. He shifted into the black wolf," I said.
Tempe smiled. "Well, at least he's got his human form back. Maybe he can return to work." She sighed and it wasn't a happy sound. "I guess Aurora's right, Montana. Things happen as they are meant to."
I shook my head, "Tempest Pomeroy, what's wrong with you? The one thing your man said he loved about you was your feistiness and yet you let him get away with ignoring you. Ditch the zen attitude and light a fire under his ass."
Chapter 30
"Me, attend a witchcraft class? Uhh…no??"
Tempe
My eyes narrowed as Montana's words finally got through. She was right. I'd turned into a doormat, lying down and letting another man just walk away from me without a fight Hadn't I resolved not to let that happen after the last time? My heart accelerated; even menori stirred as I considered how I could rattle Jack's cage. After all, my responsible, non-confrontational, understanding approach was getting me nowhere.
"Tempe, what's goin' in that storm-witchy brain?" Montana leaned forward squinting into my eyes like she was hoping to divine my thoughts. Then, she grinned, "Ah, she's baaack. What are you going to do?"
My shoulders relaxed. "I love you, Montana. I know you probably thought I wasn't listening but I was, and it's time. Jack Lang needs a little shakeup. And I'm just the woman to make it happen. Now, I need to get dressed. Before I go to the mail center I need to talk to someone about a schedule.
Montana's arm shot out, "Ho, wait a minute. What was that you said before about Elvis? You know I don't like him. Look at that deal he forced you into for River's new genie bottle." Elvis had taken advantage of my desperation to save my brother. Knowing I was in a bind for money, he'd weaseled a future wish out of me to "help" me make up the difference. The family would be bound by it.
I sighed, "I didn't have a choice. Without that amphora, River would have died, Montana. Regardless, Elvis knows about spirits and he says he can help me with Harmony." I turned, placing the cups in the sink. "I have to get ready for work but I'm glad you came by. Dylan's return is going to give me the one thing I needed for the ceremony. I have to find him, too.
"By the way, I've been fooling around with the tarot cards I picked up for the class tonight." I pointed to the spread of cards on the tablecloth. Each card held the image of a strange black robed figure with an upside down pentacle hanging from the cord around his neck.
Montana reached for the card in the center, which was face up. The label read Death. "You picked this card?" The face that stared back at me was bone white. Symbols were carved into its skin and blood dripped from fresh wounds. "It's creepy as hell."
"The instruction manual said death didn't always mean, you know, actual death. It could be the death of a relationship…" I said.
"Right, and you can also make them fit whatever you're worried about at the time, Tempe, so be careful, okay? Leave it to professionals. I'm sure our instructor will tell you the same thing."
I wiped my mouth and threw the napkin at the trashcan. "You're probably right. It was just making me feel worse about everything anyway. Your visit helped a bunch. I have a lot to do."
Montana's phone vibrated and her eyes lit up as a chorus of, "I loved you before I met you" filled the room. Had to be Conor.
She grinned. "What can I say… he says, 'jump', I say, 'let's fly'. Gotta go." Obviously, something mega big had happened between her and the black dragon but she wasn't sharing.
Wednesday was the slowest day of the week but even so, the heat brought out some crazies. There was a bad dog, which I took great pleasure in sic’ing Marty on. He loves playing weenie dog and the sight of him on the heels of the Lemoines' bad tempered Doberman had me standing in the middle of the street laughing my head off.
The female customer who'd requested I alphabetize her mail a few months back had a new request, one she'd left on a note inside her box:
Mail person. Please sort my mail by first class, bulk, and junk mail and set everything in a neat line against the right interior wall of my box.
I left her my response—When pigs fly—and fist pumped in the direction of her house.
When I got to Newcastle, the neighborhood watch leader had set up a tent to raise money for a local child who had cancer. I volunteered to drop off flyers at a few businesses and packed several sacks of aluminum tabs to their drop off point. The tabs would be used to trade at St. Jude’s for the little girl's chemo treatments.
I wondered if Dylan had visited the mail center to get his old job back and if not, what he was doing now that he had his mojo back. I tried his phone but got no answer. He may not even have the same number.
A mile later, I spotted him, looking like a silhouette of one of those black wooden yard statues, leaning against the box marking the halfway point of my route, chewing on a piece of Johnson grass. His handsome face split in a grin. He hadn't lost any of his charisma in the interim months with the loss of his Finrir. He was the same Dylan, which he proved when he said, "Running late as usual, I see. You rang?"
Chapter 31
“Let me know if I need to challenge him for you.”
Tempe
The urge to throw my arms around him was strong and frankly surprised me. I did still care. "I'm happy to see you, Dylan." Then I blurted, "I need you, tonight."
He tssked and shook his head, never uncrossing his arms. How could a man be so ready to take on whatever bad guy came along and yet look so friggin' casual? "Aw, sorry, babe, I'm afraid I'm taken." Words I'd never expected to hear from Dylan, which made me unexpectedly happy for him and Kat.
"I know that, smart ass." I lost the smile. "River showed up at Harmony yesterday."
His brows rose and his expression turned serious as he unfolded his arms and leaned on my roof to peer in the window at me. "I'm listening," he said, with that focused intensity I was used to.
I told him about River, the house, my visit to the House of Blues and about what Montana had seen. The information about the Isle wasn't new to him. Go figure. He was four hundred years old and in on all kinds of secrets.
He frowned. "So an Elvis impersonator told you to have someone on hand that's connected to River for this so called cleansing."
"Yes, and who better than you, his mentor?" except our parents who were once again AWOL. I paused, realizing how I sounded. I hadn't even asked how he was doing. "I'm sorry Dylan, uhm, it's so good to see you here… like this."
"Like this?" His eyebrow arched and one side of his mouth curved.
"You know, in your human form."
"Thanks."
"Now that you've gotten your human form back, will your Finrir be tagging along?" Knowing this would be something of supreme importance to the old Dylan.
"Things are looking bad for my Finrir." He didn't seem disappointed or even hesitant when he continued, "But after listening to Conor say, 'Ach! Be patient, mutt,' for months," Dylan mimicked the Scot perfectly, "just being able to walk and talk and make love—" He stopped suddenly looking down at his feet.
I rolled my eyes. "It's alright, Dylan. Kat and I have discussed this ad nauseum. I'm happy for both of you. You know as well as I do, there was nothing real between us." He knew what I meant. "Are you going to get your job back?"
"At the mail service? I don't know. I'm still working with Arabella and Peter though." He meant as a Paramortal i
nvestigator.
I nodded. "So will you help me?"
"Sure. What time?"
"Around 9:25. I'll be home from class by then and Elvis is supposed to be there at 9:30. I'll skip Bons Amis." A favorite part of SOAPS night was our after-class party at the local pub, Bons Amis.
He gave me a little sign-off style salute. "I'll see you then. I've got to pay a visit to the Fairie Inn." He glided across the blacktop to his SUV but turned around just before he got there. "Things okay between you and Lang?"
I said, "It's fixin' to be, or else." I wasn't mistaken about the dangerous glint in the dark eyes of my former lover—friend, whatever.
"Let me know if I need to challenge him for you."
I gaped at the prospect and the fact that he still cared that much. "You do know he's a dragon, right?"
"Yeah, I know," he said, "but I have a feeling he'd fight fair." Whatever fair meant between two battle-hardened warriors like Jack and Dylan.
"See you tonight," I said. He nodded, loaded his long black clothed limbs into his vehicle and pulled away.
I looked at my phone as Jack's ringtone sang to me. I'd started personalizing my ringtones after Jordie showed me how to make my own. She was always changing Jack's behind his back just to irritate him. When I’d first chosen Aerosmith's "Crazy" for his, he'd looked at me, eyebrows raised and asked if that was because I was crazy or because I'd just about driven him crazy during his investigation into the murder in the clubhouse.
My new one was "Take These Broken Wings" but I was going to change it today because it made me sad when it rang. Still, my heart skipped a beat and I shoved the excitement down as I answered, "Hello."
"Tempe, hi… it's Jack. Is this a good time?"
I surprised myself by feeling mad. He apparently thought he could just call me anytime and I'd melt and agree to whatever he wanted.
"I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes." His voice sounded normal but not especially intimate. I was too curious, as usual, and I was still parked… "Now is as good a time as any."
I heard him let out a breath. Was he afraid I wouldn't speak to him? I couldn't help it; I smiled. "Jordie says there's a class tonight and she wants to go. Do you know anything about it?"
Huh. This would be good. "Yes, it's on witchcraft and tarot reading," I said not hesitating a bit.
Silence. I grinned imagining him pinching the bridge of his nose. "Jack?" I got the feeling he was trying really hard not to make a disparaging comment. A positive step. I asked, "Are you coming?" and held back a snicker.
He snorted. Now that sounded like Jack. "Me, attend a Witchcraft class? Uhhh…no?"
"Wicca."
"Whatever. Jordie's set on it so I guess if you're going to be there, she can go."
"Gee, thanks for the rousing endorsement," I said and this time there was a definite 'tude in my voice.
"I'm sorry, Tempe. Look, I want to talk you but I can't right now. I'm meeting a realtor at my house."
"You're moving?" That caught me off guard. After everything we'd been through, everything that had happened and now that he'd gone through his own change, I couldn't believe he was leaving Destiny.
"Sweet—" He slipped and almost called me sweetheart. Ha! I couldn't help the warm fuzzy feeling that gave me even after all these months. Don't give in that easily not before you give him a little payback.
"Tempe, did you fix my house?"
I opened my mouth to lie, then shrugged though he couldn't see it through the phone. "I… didn't have anything better to do."
"Thank you, very much. I wouldn't be in a position to sell it if you hadn't done that. But look, you know better than anyone, I can't live in that house. It's too small for a dragon."
I blew out a relieved breath and said, "I see what you mean. Have you got somewhere in mind?"
"No. Jordie and I could stay at my parents—" he paused.
"What is it? Is something wrong with your parents?"
"Not wrong, exactly, but I'll have to explain later." He sounded like he was in a hurry. "Okay." Then before I knew I was going to say anything, I blurted, "River's b-back."
He paused probably thinking about places he might have seen him. "He's back on the job?"
"Hardly. There's something really wrong with him, Jack. He's…not my little brother anymore."
His harsh laugh had me rethinking bringing the subject up. "We all change, don't we?"
"That's not what I mean. And there's something like him—dark and scary—at Harmony."
His voice was more urgent now. "Do you need me to come over there and get it out."
My mouth fell open at his immediate response. He wanted to come to my rescue! was my first thought, and It was his job to rescue people, was the second. "Thanks, but I'm having Elvis Presley come in tonight to do a cleansing ritual. I don't know what to do about River. I talked to Dylan about it earlier."
"Elvis who? No. Don’t tell me. I don’t even want to know. So, Dylan’s human again. When did that happen… I mean, how is he?" He seemed genuinely concerned, perhaps because of his own situation.
I laughed. "He's so much the same, Jack. Diablo has returned but apparently his Finrir is gone. He's going to help me with the ceremony tonight."
Another pause, then, "What can he do that I can't?" Uuh, boy. Maybe I shouldn't have told him. On second thought maybe it had been just the thing to do.
"The cleansing requires two people who have a connection to River, and to each other." Okay so I made that part up. "I felt this sense of wrongness before River came to see me and when he left, it got stronger." A whole lot stronger.
"I…see," he said, though obviously he didn't. "Hmph. Well, just don't let Jordie get into any trouble tonight, okay? I've got a lot going on today and I know she's safe in your hands."
You're a fine one to talk, Mr. Absentiastan. Jane hadn't entirely off-base. "Yes, she is. Hope everything goes well with the listing."
"Thanks, I'll see you later," he said, absently and hung up.
“Maybe you will and maybe you won’t,” I said to myself as I headed over to Timmie's house to put my plan in motion.
Chapter 32
The words, "Watch my toes" were on my dragon tongue as the blade came down.
Jack
I called my parents' while I waited for the realtor to arrive, but all I got was their standard message. I wondered if they'd been called away.
As I surveyed the living room with its dark green interior, I was assailed by memories—the night Tempe and I found Jordie ill, the fairy dog curled up protectively on her bed; making love after the Mardi Gras ball culminating in Tempe's spectacular fireworks above the bed. And just minutes later, Georgeanne showed up on my doorstep and Tempe took off.
A deep ache returned to my chest, one that had been absent in recent months, a reminder of my feelings for her and what she'd been through with Jordie and me.
Fresh on the heels of those memories was the last night we'd been together, when it seemed I'd finally found my place, known I could handle anything as long as she was standing beside me. Then, my life had gone FUBAR.
The man staring back at me now in the hallway mirror had my face, but I knew I was different. When I'd seen myself morphing in the bathroom that night, I had no way of knowing how much my life would change. Who was I now? A screwed-up dragon with defective wings? A man who'd lost his purpose?
Conor was right; the problem was in my head. I was the one with unrealistic expectations and a dream I'd never completely given up on, being able to fly again. Jordie had actually been thrilled with my dragon as is. So had Tempe, who hadn't walked away from me due to my defect, but may yet if I didn't get my ass on the stick.
It was time I put that dream aside and dealt with reality. This might be all there was. Could I live with that?
Hell, yes. Not only that, I was grateful that Jordie and I had finally found a home, and that I knew the truth about my life. Hopefully, I hadn't waited too long to convince my sweet
heart that I needed, yes, needed her. The realization hit me like a Tempe bolt of lightning.
Tempe was what my life was missing. If I hadn't shut her out, she would never have let me get away with this escapism for so long. Amazing what some old-fashioned jealousy could do to clear a man's head.
I heard a noise outside and parted the curtain to see a big F-250 with a sign that read, West End Realty. A hulking figure got out of the truck and I wondered if he was going to fit through my front door. As he lumbered up the sidewalk I spotted Ryan's car turning at the end of the street.
I opened the front door and as soon as the realtor stepped onto the porch I knew he wasn't human. He must have been using some kind of glamour, and not very well if this form is what he'd chosen. Maybe he thought he was a handsome young professional or a beautiful female real estate salesperson. Either way, he'd missed it. His thick gray green skin was growing, like a Chia pet, and as the glamour failed I saw his bulging eyeball wobble at the top of his fleshy face.
Concerned about Ryan's arrival, I invited the creature in and shut the door, pretending to fall for the creature's ruse and stalled for time. "Would you mind showing me your credentials?"
He grunted. Exploring my options, and knowing shifting wasn't a good one in this small space, I was relieved to see him reach for his wallet. Hell, who's to say there weren't supernatural real estate agents around, even big ugly ones. Just because he was inept at covering his looks…but then he shoved me with one plate-sized hand. I staggered down the hall as he launched himself forward, that pupil glowing with what I took as glee. "Arggh," he said as he stomped toward me. Or maybe it was anger.
The thing did a Hulk impression exploding out of its clothes and growing toward the ceiling until all eleven feet of it was looking down at me.
