The workday was uneventful, but afterwards Nicky was waiting for me at the ticket counter. Michael had sent him to take me home. Of course he did not mean my own apartment. Nicky was very friendly and nice, just as he’d been the night before. As far as I could tell, he was Michael’s closest confidant outside of his family. He was loyal to Michael, who valued his opinion because he pointed out any problem or contradiction unadorned. Nicky drove me to Michael’s house and said that he would be home any moment. But why had Michael sent an escort to pick me up? Did he merely want me to sleep over at his place or were there new dangers to protect me from? When he came back, I confronted him with my question, but I felt sheepish when he answered me. He explained that the werewolves from Salzburg had not committed any of the murders, and the Peris were not responsible for the murders of the werewolf kin either. And yet all those people had been killed, and Jeremeia had been put under a spell. That meant that there was somebody pulling the strings and playing a macabre game. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Nikelaus seemed to be obsessed with getting me. Michael had come to this conclusion following the bizarre and brazen appearance of his uncle, who’d demanded me in return for my demolition of his cars and his garage door. The whole operation amounted to an admission of guilt, at least in Michael’s eyes. In any case, Nikelaus’ claim had raised a number of questions, such as: How had I ended up on his property, if I was supposed to have been killed by a werewolf? How come he knew about my abilities all of a sudden? How could I even have known where he lived? Everyone was convinced that I was scared of him, so why would I go there and risk meeting him at all? None of it was sufficient to prove that he was lying, but tied together, those points significantly undermined the credibility of his story. After he’d related his thoughts on the matter, Michael assured me that Nikelaus would no longer be able to cross the threshold and set foot in his house. I gave in to his renewed urging that I stay at his place, at least until the danger had passed and the problems had been resolved. We talked for another hour or two, before I went to bed. We made a lunch date for the following day, which was Sunday, even though he didn’t have a lot of time.
I headed for the hospital in the morning, because I had seen that there was a store close by that was open on Sundays. Back at Michael’s house I had inspected the fridge and the cabinets, so I knew I needed milk, ground meat, chopped nuts, and butter. Together with what he had in his kitchen, I would then have everything I needed to make lasagna and bake some cookies. It was already December, and cookies were thus overdue. When the lasagna was prepared and ready for the oven, I mixed the dough for the chocolate cookies, the recipe courtesy of my father. I had brought a special spice from my spellbound parental home, just to be able to make these. It looked similar to saffron, only that it wasn’t bright red, but blue. My father used to call it ‘the secret ingredient’ or ‘blue saffron.’ I formed small balls from the dough, flattening them on the cookie sheet before I pushed it in the oven. Fifteen minutes later the entire house smelled of cookies. I reveled in the sweet aroma and tried to hold on to the fleeting nostalgia that was shivering through my body. I was reminded of all the Christmases before Elke’s death. The upcoming holiday would be the fifth season without my sister. For the first time I managed not to cry at the smell of Papa’s chocolate cookies. I would give a lot to be able to celebrate Christmas with her and my parents just once more, but this year I wouldn’t even have my parents around. A dull ache came creeping into my chest, and I felt the tears sting my eyes after all. I wiped them away with the sleeve of my shirt, resolving to make the most of the upcoming holiday season, with or without Mama and Papa. My family would have wanted me to.
A kitchen that contained two ovens was really efficient. At eleven thirty I put the lasagna into one of them, while the other was already browning the third sheet of cookies. Then I heard the front door open. Had Michael come home? I rushed into the entrance hall, but it was Nicky and Phillipe, two of his Peris. I stopped, looking disappointed. “I thought it was Michael.”
Phillipe patted me on the shoulder as he passed me, and Nicky said: “He should be here any moment. What’s that delicious smell?”
“Cookies. Chocolate cookies; go ahead and try them!” They didn’t need another invitation, but dug right in, explaining that Michael had rescheduled their meeting to the house, so he didn’t have to stand me up. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to exchange my romantic lunch for a sit-in with his entire senior management: A few minutes later, Anastasia, Alessandro, and Michael’s father Martellius showed up. The latter kissed me on the cheek in greeting. They all wolfed down my cookies and it didn’t take long before the mood in the kitchen turned boisterous – a little too wild for an imminent business meeting, or was that just me? I went upstairs to change, and when I came back down, the Peris behaved strangely. They were leaning on each other, laughing about meaningless nonsense, and professing their deep friendship for each other. Alessandro and Phillipe, who did spend the bulk of their spare time together, were hugging like little boys and suddenly began to sing. Then Phillipe gave Alessandro’s shoulder a playful slap. “I love you, man.” Bemused by the whole scene, I took a cookie and nibbled on it, sitting in a chair as far away from the rest as possible. When supernatural creatures were being weird, a human had better maintain her distance. At least that was my reasoning. I had never seen the Peris more sentimental. They were cheerful and endearing, I concluded after a while, shaking off my wariness and joining them around the table. Their unusual behavior was beginning to feel appealing. Soon I was sitting between Anastasia and Phillipe. The two of them put their arms around me and started prattling. It was funny, even though I barely understood half of what they were saying. The attitude of the Peris towards me had changed drastically. I was no longer Michael’s little human or some disposable toy. It was as if they had adopted me, as if I was the youngest and most vulnerable member of their brood.
“Honey, I’m home,” I heard Michael’s voice from the hall. The Peris all giggled exaggeratedly when I jumped up and hurried to meet him. We literally ran into each other in the entrance hall. He lifted me up and twirled me around with a happy chuckle. He was still laughing when he said: “I could get used to this kind of welcome. Have my people all arrived and gotten ready for the meeting?”
“If you guys were planning on a Woodstock reenactment, the answer is yes.”
“What? What are you talking about? Is my father here?”
“Yes, he and Alessandro were just telling each other repeatedly how much they love each other. It seems that Sandro is his favorite great-grandson.”Michael gave me a confused and questioning look, before he and Stefan headed into the kitchen. I followed a few steps behind. For at least a minute, Michael just stood there, analyzing the situation. Then he turned to me and tried not to sound too reproachful: “Melanie, why are my people high?”
Did he blame me for their antics? He couldn’t be serious. Considering their immunity to alcohol, none of the drugs I was familiar with would have any such effect on them. Offended by the insinuation, I shrugged my shoulders and bit off a chunk of the cookie I had been holding in my hand. “Why do you ask me that? Do I appear high to you?”
Michael took the cookie from my hand and sniffed it. “Where did you get these?”
Was he blaming it on my cookies? It was impossible; they were just cookies. “I made them. You don’t have to eat them if you don’t like them. They don’t contain anything weird: Just Nuts, butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, chocolate, and blue saffron.” I took the small plastic bag with the spice from the kitchen counter and dangled it in front of his face, waiting for an apology. Meanwhile Stefan made a phone call, sitting down between his son Alessandro and his grandfather Martellius, and munching on three of my cookies with a blissful expression on his face. The normally extremely poised Peri, whom I had never seen perform magic just for the fun of it, took a burning candle from the table and turned it upside down. He influenced the dripping wax, causing it to form a heart
-shaped blob in the air, which he then sent across to Anastasia. When she thanked him with a smile, he clapped his hands, and the wax splattered in every direction. Stefan giggled like a little boy, not realizing that Anastasia was already working magic of her own. The splatters gathered into a blob, floated through the air and into his hair, distributing itself there to create a spiky Mohawk look on his head. Maybe their behavior had something to do with the cookies after all?
Michael tilted his head in reproach. “Melanie, where did you get the blue saffron?”
“Our earthen cellar is very dark, and it grows like a weed in there. When I went into the house yesterday, I gathered some.”
“But how did you manage to handle it? It should have at least burned your hands.” Perplexed, I put my hand into the plastic bag, took out a pinch of spice, and put it in my mouth. I gave him a blank look and raised my hands in a show of cluelessness. He nodded his head from side to side, clearly baffled. “I think you have realized by now what effect the blue saffron has on us.” He was still looking at me, but spoke to Stefan now: “Cancel everything on the agenda for today. We’ll have to postpone it to tomorrow. Stefan?” He finally realized that his son had joined the others and was just as high as they were. “Already done that. I called your secretary. Tanja and her gang are going to show up here any minute. If need be, we can sober up quickly with the help of their energy. Come it with us,” his son invited him between giggles.
Michael gave him an exasperated look. I put my arms around him, feeling a little guilty. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that.” He pushed me aside, clearly still unhappy about the whole situation, so I ramped up my energy and gave him a sheepish smile. “Melanie, that’s blackmail. Just so you know: blue saffron is very precious and valuable in our world. It’s difficult to handle, and few people manage to grow it. We have to follow a protocol of rituals if we don‘t want to get hurt when we process or use it. It’s obvious that none of that applies to you. Peris and elves love its taste and its effect, but it’s too precious to waste it like that. We need it for magical purposes.”
“Oh, then I guess my Christmas present would annoy you instead of making you happy. I wanted to give you a bottle of our home-made liquor distilled from blue saffron blossoms. Father used to claim that it works wonders for little ailments and that it tastes excellent.”
Michael looked at me as if I was an alien. He sat down heavily with the others. “I think I need one of those cookies now,” he said and started munching. If he weren’t more than a thousand years old, I’d believe that I had just shattered his world view.
I had almost forgotten my lasagna in all this confusion. I hurriedly opened the oven door and saved it from getting burned. I had made too much for two, but not enough for eight, so Michael ordered a few pizzas. My cookies had done their best; his mood was mellow and joking now: “Next time you think that I’m working too hard, you can just tell me. No need to drug my entire executive staff.” After two more cookies he graciously had forgiven me for the derangement.
I had to ask the Peris a question before Tanja and her crazy friends arrived. “Why did Michael smell the blue saffron and you didn’t?” They avoided my eyes and nobody answered. Just as I’d begun to suspect, they had overlooked its aroma on purpose. Michael had just explained to me that they loved its taste and effect.
A few minutes later the groupies arrived. Annette made a beeline for me. “I see you’re here again. You’re calling us crazy, but this just goes to show that you’re no better than us.”
“Do you want to know the difference between me and you? I’m interested in the actual person, while you just worship the big boss, which is pathetic. Do us both a favor and stay away from my boyfriend!” Michael didn’t interfere; he enjoyed it when I became all territorial and defended my status as his girlfriend. Plus he was still under the influence of my cookies. He sat next to me wearing a satisfied smile, hugged me and kissed me on the neck.
Martellius was sitting on his other side. He put a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Son, your mother and I would be happy if you came to celebrate Christmas at our place this year. You know how much we love and appreciate you.” There it was again, the effect of my cookies. He looked at Stefan and Alessandro. “Of course the same goes for you.”
There was a question that had been on my mind for quite a while now: “Martellius, do we have a date for the test yet? You know, you wanted me to come again and–”
To my surprise, Michael cut me off and explained: “That won’t be necessary anymore. But I think we should spend the holidays with my beloved parents. What do you think?”
I didn’t have any other offer. “I’d love to.”
Next to us, Annette cleared her throat. Maybe she thought that we weren’t supposed to ignore her. I think she may even have said something, but I ignored her and went over to sit with Tanja. She started the conversation by apologizing for her friend’s behavior. She was curious whether I had moved in with Michael for good. I told her that it was temporary, gushed about my beautiful den, and asked how things were going with Stefan. Apparently these days, he rarely ever called her. She had barely spoken those words, when he stood behind her and pulled her into his arms. She promptly lost any interest in me. I looked back over my shoulder, my eyes met Michael’s, and I nodded in the direction of the door that led to the basement. He immediately understood and followed me downstairs to the spa area. I locked us in with a smile full of promise. Then I dropped my clothes and dove into the pool naked. Under the influence of my cookies, Michael seemed so gentle and loving that you wouldn’t believe he could hurt a fly. He joined me in the water and shook his head, his expression virtually besotted. “You have no idea how much more fun and interesting my life has become since I have you.” He wanted to say more, but I stopped him with a kiss.
We were lying together on a lounge chair, limbs entwined, when Michael raised his head, listened, and then said, “Gotcha.” Any lingering aftereffect of my cookies was gone, and he was back to his normal self. A shame, really. “Melanie, I’m sorry, but now we really have to get some work done. Jeremeia will arrive in about fifteen minutes. The others are sending their humans home. Maybe you would like to go see a movie with Tanja?”
I knew when someone was giving me a hint as broad as a picket, so I said: “I could go to my place and come back tomorrow, if you want me to.”
“No, I want you to sleep here in my house. You’re safe here.” His logic didn’t add up. If someone wanted to kill me, they could easily take me out in the cinema. I nodded, put my clothes back on, and then headed for the stairs. He grabbed me by my arm. “Melanie, it’s a dangerous time. Whatever you do, be careful and trust your instincts.”
Tanja was already waiting for me in the kitchen. I decided that I spent enough time in the cinema already, so we’d go to the Christmas market on the cathedral square. I loved the holiday season and the market in Salzburg. Dusk was falling, so the many string lights of the booths and vendors were greeting us from afar, and then a horse-drawn carriage crossed the street in front of us. I liked Tanja’s company. I didn’t have to keep secrets from her, even though she was human. Suddenly she stopped mid-step, knitting her brows. “Wait a minute, why did Michael send you away just now?”
“An important business meeting. I’m not supposed to hear what they’re discussing. In other words, the grown-ups are talking.”
“Why doesn’t he use magic to ensure that you don’t hear them? They do that all the time.”
Should I lie to her or tell her the truth? I decided to lie. “Maybe he didn’t think of that.”
“Melanie, I might be a little too fond of everything supernatural, but I’m not stupid.”
I debated in my head, but then told her the truth anyway: “What I’m going to tell you now has to stay between you and me, okay?” She nodded enthusiastically. “He doesn’t put these spells on me because they don’t work. He can’t camouflage their conversation from me. I’m immune.”
“B
ut they can prevent other Peris from listening.” I raised my hands in a gesture that said, so what? She stared at me with her mouth wide open, before asking the expected question: “What are you?”
“I have no idea. The only thing I know is that I am less of a human than Annette.”
“Cool.” She dragged the word in awe.
“Trust me, it’s not that cool. So far, all it has meant for me is trouble.”
I headed for the booth with the best mulled apple wine, which was in the same spot as last year, next to the arched passageway to the cathedral square. Andreas and his university buddies, as he liked to call them, were there as well. He approached me with quick steps and studied me closely. “Is everything okay; are you alright?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “I don’t know,” his voice grew louder, “maybe because a woman was mauled to death in your apartment?”
“How do you know she was mauled?”
“I watch the news.”
“The news never mentioned that. They always say that they’re looking for a person with a large dog.”
“Why else would they look for someone with a large dog?” He said it as if I was overlooking the obvious. “If you‘re scared to stay in your apartment, you can always sleep at my place.” He sounded very sympathetic all of a sudden.
“Oh, I’m sure Michael would love that,” Tanja commented in a sarcastic voice. I hadn’t even introduced her yet. Where had my manners gone? Andreas’ friends had never been particularly fond of me, but they took an instant fancy on Tanja. She was downright besieged by them. At some point she started snapping photos with her phone. Andreas put an arm around me and asked her to take a picture of us. When she pressed the button, he kissed me on the cheek. He could be so darned annoying. Tanja refused to delete the picture, and even sent it to Andreas. I spied a caricaturist, pointed at him, and told Tanja about the summer before, when I had made some extra money drawing caricatures of tourists. Although Andreas was talking to his pals, he perked up at our conversation and demanded that I draw him right then and there. None of us had any paper or pens with us however, so it didn’t happen.
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 24
