Amuletto Kiss

by Gina LaManna

  “Why now?” I suspected I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from the mouth of an islander. “What’s making everyone so nervous, Chuck?”

  “The article,” he said simply. “Surely you saw it. You were there with The Faction, weren’t you?”

  “For a bit. The article—”

  “There’s more,” Chuck said, heaving a sigh. “You haven’t heard the latest?”

  “No.”

  Though he feigned disappointment, underneath was a tremor of excitement at his being the first to deliver the news. “There’s a rumor floating around that it’s a Ranger pulling all the local hijinks.”

  “That’s insane. What sort of Ranger would do that? I assume you’re talking about the tomatoes, and the—er, Betty’s things missing, and the soap.”

  Chuck nodded, no longer bothering to hide his glee at being the bearer of bad news. “Betty Baumgarten said she saw him.”

  “Him?” My heart sank like a rock. “Who’s him?”

  The gnome had the presence of mind to look ashamed. “I-I’m sure it’s not true, but...”

  “Spit it out.”

  “Your, uh...beloved.”

  “Ranger X?” I gave a short laugh of disbelief. “Yeah, right. He wishes he had enough spare time to steal all the tomatoes from a grocery store. That sounds like a high school prank.”

  “A high—what?”

  I’d forgotten the gnome had likely never been to the mainland, let alone integrated into modern human society. “Forget it. I promise you it’s not him.”

  “The clerk at the grocery store...” Chuck hesitated, surveying my face. “Er—never mind. I should shut up now.”

  “I’m sorry for snapping,” I said quickly. “Please tell me the truth. If I’m to help protect this island, I need to know the truth.”

  “The clerk at the grocery store described seeing a figure as he came to open the store. The man was wearing all black.”

  “Okay, I’m sure plenty of men wear all black,” I said, telling myself the first flutterings in my stomach meant nothing. “Let’s think about the big picture. What would ever be gained by Ranger X—or any Ranger, for that matter—pulling these stunts?”

  Chuck had an answer. It came lightning quick, so quickly it told me he hadn’t come up with it on his own. “Maybe he’s trying to drum up business for the Rangers. You know, make sure he keeps his hero status.”

  Another bark of laughter. “I’m sorry, but he’s Superman enough without drumming up his own business.”

  “Super—who?”

  “Forget it.” I shook my head. “What do you think, Chuck?”

  “Er—I don’t know.”

  “Obviously, you think something, or else you wouldn’t be knocking on my door.”

  “Attempting to knock on your door,” he corrected with a gleam in his eye. “You really need to install a second knocker for us shorter folks.”

  “Can we put that on the to do list?” I called over my shoulder. “Thanks, Gus.”

  I could feel Gus’s unhappiness at the task, but he didn’t question me. Not in front of guests, though I’d most certainly hear about it later.

  “Well?” I prompted. “What do you think is going on?”

  “I think...” Chuck’s eyes flicked toward the ground. He toed at the wooden boards there for a long moment, likely weighing the pros and cons of lying. “We don’t know who to trust.”

  I swallowed back a retort. “I understand.”

  “You do?”

  “I don’t know if I agree with you,” I said. “But if you’re feeling unsafe, that’s a problem. I’m going to do my best to help rectify the situation.”

  “Rectal-what?”

  “To help you. I want to help, Chuck. You’re worried about your safety, and I want to put your minds at ease.”

  “Right.” He nodded, sinking into a rhythm. “The Grove of Gnomes has always been close enough to The Forest where we don’t get random wanderers strolling through. We normally don’t need protection from outsiders, but times are changing.”

  I pictured the little valley of homes built into the side of hills, of the stream trickling through it, a little palm tree filled oasis just north of Hettie’s house. “What has changed?”

  “Well, normally we call the Rangers to handle anything that requires magical protection,” Chuck said. “But if we can’t trust them, who do we have?”

  “You’re here because you want to set up your own shields.”

  “What good is a lock on the door if the thief has his own key?” Chuck lamented, raising his shoulders. “We have to look after our own, Lily. Please, I don’t mean any ill will toward your beloved—”

  “You can say his name,” I said. “He’s called Ranger X.”

  “Ranger...er, X.” He tested the words out, looking as if he didn’t like them much. “I don’t personally have any reason to doubt him, but if the other islanders are convinced he’s not doing his job, who am I to disagree?”

  “Would you jump off the Lower Bridge if everyone else did it?” Gus mumbled. At my sharp glance, he shrugged. “Just saying.”

  “It’s different,” Chuck argued, giving a dirty look past my shoulder to Gus. “We’re trying to be proactive.”

  “Thanks, Chuck,” I said, assuring him again that I’d help. “I’ll be over to set up a few shields for you this week.”

  “This week?” He leaned forward, ready to argue, but must have seen my expression. “Right. Thanks. I’ll, uh, be going, then. We’ll be expecting you.”

  With that, Chuck turned and hopped down the stairs, waddling in his uneven gait down the path. I watched until he vanished from sight.

  By the time I turned around, I realized Gus hadn’t moved a centimeter; it was so quiet in the storeroom, I wondered if he’d even exhaled.

  “It wasn’t X,” Gus said softly. “You know it. I know it.”

  “You’d heard the rumors already.” It wasn’t an accusation; I merely stated a fact. “You heard about the culprit being a Ranger—allegedly—before Chuck got here, and you didn’t say a word.”

  “I had heard things.”

  I clenched my fingers at my sides. “You didn’t think it was imperative to pass along the news?”

  “You don’t need more on your plate.”

  “I think I should decide what’s on my plate and what’s garbage for myself.”

  “You’ve been busy all morning.”

  “Not busy enough to ignore news like that,” I snapped, feeling tears pool in my eyes. “I’m sorry, I just...” I took a deep, settling breath. “It’s not him, is it?”

  “Of course it’s not. We all know that.”

  I nodded, hardly hearing him. “X has been acting off lately. I don’t know if it’s me or something else.”

  “He’s juggling an entire island’s safety. We’re in the fog, Lily, the morning mist just before daybreak. Everyone is confused.”

  “What does daybreak bring?”

  His silence was enough.

  “War,” I whispered. “It’s really happening.”

  “We’re trying to avoid it. We don’t want to confront The Faction, but if they need dealing with, who will stand up for The Isle if not us?”

  I could only offer a succinct nod. “I’ll be back after lunch sometime. Can you hold down the fort until then? I know I told you to take a break, but there’s something I need to take care of.”

  “If Magic & Mixology doesn’t open this afternoon, it’s not the end of the world,” Gus said in a rare showing of sympathy. “Do what you need to do.”

  I straightened my sweater, tucked the charm underneath the thick fabric, and headed outside. As I closed the door behind me, I surveyed the list of things that needed care.

  The most pressing was also the most intimidating.

  My feet pulled me away from the bungalow, past The Twist, toward the entrance to The Forest. As I entered the shadowy piece of island home to the stuff of nightmares, my footsteps fell softly against
the pine needle laden floor. After another few steps, I found two trees with a muted lightning burst between them—the entrance to Ranger HQ. Interesting, seeing as I hadn’t alerted anyone to my plans aside from Gus and Poppy.

  Someone on the inside was expecting me.

  Chapter 4

  “LILY!” ELLE, A BEAUTIFUL, centuries-old woman of Elfin blood, trilled her greeting in a pleasant voice. “Welcome.”

  “Did you let me in?” I asked, sidling over to the front desk. “I was going to Comm Zin, but the portal was open already when I got to The Forest.”

  Elle winked. “I had a feeling you’d be needing an entrance. That, and Gus gave me the heads up.”

  “Of course, he did,” I said with a sigh. None of my movements stayed a mystery for long on the island. “I assume you know why I’m here?”

  “Ranger X?” she chirped. Then, she hesitated. “Or maybe you’d like to talk to Zin, first?”

  “Why?” I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes. “Is X busy?”

  She raised a thin shoulder, then tapped long, meticulously manicured golden fingernails against the counter. “Er—he’s indisposed at the moment. Meetings,” she added hurriedly. “But I can call him down here if it’s urgent.”

  I struggled to hold onto my composure. “Of course, I understand. Is Zin around? I was actually looking for her, too.”

  Elle glanced down at a ledger on her desk. A blush crept onto her pale cheeks, making her look much younger than her several hundred years of age. “My mistake, Lily, apologies. It appears Zin is out on a mission.”

  “You wouldn’t know where—”

  “It’s confidential,” she offered, and reading the disappointed look on my face, she continued. “I don’t even know where she is. I’m sorry. It looks like she’s on The Isle, but...tracking our Rangers gets a bit wonky when they’re checked out on a confidential task.”

  “No, I understand,” I said, my shoulders feeling suddenly weary. I needed to talk to Zin, to find out if she’d gotten news from the Wicked Weekly on the leak for the article. “The bungalow has been busy, anyway. I should get back. The Rangers are probably keeping busy, too?”

  Elle’s look of sympathy was almost too much. My futile grab for information wasn’t lost on her.

  “It’s a difficult time for all of us,” Elle said. “Are you sure there’s not something wrong? If it’s urgent, I can call him for you.”

  “Is something wrong?” A deep, thundering voice echoed the question behind me. “Lily, what are you doing here?”

  I turned to find my broad-shouldered, tall and gorgeous boyfriend standing before me looking positively ragged. Despite the dark circles under his eyes and the unusually messy mop of hair on his head, he was a breath of fresh air. If Gus had predicted correctly that we were all in the dawn before war, Ranger X was the dew that sparkled in the new morning light.

  I moved to him, rested a hand on his shoulder. To my surprise, he flinched. Elle looked away, and I didn’t blame her.

  “I’ll, uh—” I tried to excuse myself, but the words felt like swallowing peanut butter.

  “Let’s talk in private.” Ranger X recovered, linking his arm through mine and marching us away from the desk. “Elle, cancel my next meeting.”

  The click of her nails against the ledger was the only confirmation Elle dared to give him.

  I kept silent until we reached a small room different than any I’d been in before at HQ. While the rest of the building had been outfitted in sharp black lines, shiny silver casings, and glistening marble slabs, this room looked like the misfit breakroom. A nook meant for relaxation, for meetings unrelated to official Ranger business, for a brush with a book over lunch.

  With unusual caution, I took a seat in one of the squashy, yellow-flower patterned armchairs while Ranger X sat across from me on a lumpy brown couch. He gestured toward the small fridge, silently offering me a beverage. I shook my head.

  “Lily...” he started. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  He shied away from the question, looking pained at my response. “Everything, I suppose. I’m on edge. I’m not myself, I’m...well, look at me.”

  Sure enough, when I looked closer, I noticed an unusual phenomenon: Ranger X glowed. A small halo outlined his entire body, latent magic sizzling to escape.

  “But, we just camped last weekend.” I struggled to understand. “I thought you wouldn’t have to worry about Lumiette if you released your magic once a month. How is this possible?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t exactly have a doctor’s note on the subject.”

  We shared a small smile.

  “I imagine it’s a natural defense mechanism.” His face lost its smile and grew somber. “Now that I’ve cracked open the magical reserves, my powers are itching to protect me. I can’t seem to get rid of it—it’s a natural body response, like my heart beating or my lungs breathing.”

  “That’s good!” I hoped to sound calm and collected instead of revealing the bumbling mess of nerves jumbled inside my stomach. “I’m glad you have it as a tool to use if you need it.”

  “Did you need something?”

  Ranger X’s abrupt change of subject had me reeling for a moment. “Yes, actually, I came to talk to you about a few things.”

  “If it’s about the article...”

  “It is. X, I didn’t—”

  “I’m over it, Lily,” he said shortly. “I love you. We’re dealing with the fallout from it, and that’s all. It’s in the past.”

  His words felt like a slap to the face. I took a sharp breath. Piecing the sweet, sensitive man who shared my heart with this edgy professional had my head spinning.

  “No, X. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant—”

  “I know you didn’t mean it,” he said, softer, more soothing. “It’s done and over with. There’s nothing more to discuss.”

  A wave of horror washed through me. He didn’t understand. Somehow, he still believed I’d gone behind his back and purposely released the article before we were ready. We’d known publication would send a rustle of panic across The Isle—that part wasn’t the surprise. The surprise was that he actually believed I’d done it.

  It took me a moment to process. My chest constricted, and I felt drowned. My lungs were strained, wheezing to take in enough oxygen. Spots danced before my eyes, and I finally raised myself to stand on shaky legs.

  “I’m glad that’s settled, then,” I said, knowing in the back of my brain that I should fight harder to correct him. But I couldn’t. The hurt was too strong, too sharp. He should know I’d never do that. “There’s one more thing. I heard a piece of news today that I wanted to pass along.”

  X raised his eyebrows, waiting.

  “There’s a rumor—I heard it from the gnomes—that the person responsible for the random events around the island is a Ranger.”

  Judging by his unsurprised expression, I realized that he, too, had already heard the news. My shoulders inched lower still, the weariness turning to a dull numbness.

  “I see I’m late on that uptake, too,” I said, resigned. “I’m going to get going. This is clearly a bad time.”

  “I didn’t do any of those things,” Ranger X said evenly, ignoring my attempt to leave. “You have to know that I would never turn my back on The Isle for any reason.”

  I swallowed, and it felt like a knife slid down my throat. The words burned as I whispered them. “I know that. I trust you.”

  He nodded once, oblivious to my double meaning. The childlike part of me wanted to scream, to throw a tantrum and demand he listen, demand he trust me as much as I trusted him, but the more adult side of me refrained. It would help nothing.

  I couldn’t make him trust me, just like I hadn’t forced him fall in love with me. Just like he couldn’t make me accept his marriage proposal. These things, these feelings, emotions, choices—they had to come freely. There was just no other way.

  He’d fallen in love with me all on his own.
I thought we’d had the trust, too. Though I couldn’t put my finger on where it’d gone, I could feel the hollow emptiness in my chest.

  “I need to ask a favor of you,” he said, rising to join me. His posture was unnaturally tight, bringing his already tall figure to impressive heights. He appeared positively giant in the small room—broad and strong and unrelenting.

  Normally, I’d swoon being this close to him. I’d melt into his steel arms, rest my face against his rock-hard chest, and know the softness I’d find in his gaze.

  This time, I couldn’t find the softness.

  Ranger X took my silence as a path to continue. “I have a press conference scheduled for this week, and I’d like you to be there with me.”

  “Why?”

  For the first time all day, Ranger X looked surprised. “As a show of solidarity. The Rangers, the Mixologist—together we can inspire confidence in the community. We have to fight the backlash from...” He hesitated, leaving the article’s name unspoken. “We have to show we’re capable of defending ourselves.”

  “Are you saying people don’t trust us to protect this island any longer?”

  Ranger X leveled his gaze on me. “Yes.”

  The word sliced out, killing him inside. I could read it across his face, and despite my own selfish frustrations, my personal hurts, a crush of sympathy for Ranger X melted my resolves. I still loved him more than anything in this world, and I had no doubt he reciprocated it. I reached for him and rested a hand on his wrist.

  It was the lightest touch, but I could feel him trembling, and suddenly, I understood. Ranger X had given his life, his very existence, to the Ranger program, and the community was letting him down. The trust he’d worked to gain over the years, that of the islanders, of his fellow Rangers, of himself, was crumbling before his eyes.

  “I’ll be at the conference.” Easing onto my tip toes, I planted the softest of kisses against Ranger X’s cheek, the action more difficult than I would’ve liked. He didn’t recoil, but he didn’t respond either, and that tore me to pieces.

  Feeling the sting of tears on the backs of my eyes, I reached past him and opened the door. I barreled through, down the hallway, toward the front desk, choking out a request to Elle to get me out of here before I collapsed into a weepy mess right on the spiffy marble floors.