We began to shuffle along. The things parted, and we were making our way through them when suddenly there was a loud snap. I jumped, opening my eyes as I lost my connection. We weren’t quite through the crowd, and were very close to the edge of the alley.
One came at me, snapping its teeth like a rabid dog. I jumped back into Eric.
I stared the thing in the eyes and screamed as loud as I could. “No!”
My scream erupted like a shock wave, sending bodies flying like blowing leaves. Eric took that as an opening, and with one hand firmly around my wrist, we ran all the way back to Millie’s SUV. We got in without another word and drove off.
“You got a vehicle somewhere?” Millie asked Eric after we had been on the road for a minute.
“No, I took public transit. Parking downtown is a bitch,” he replied. “I’m Eric Sadler by the way. Sorry we had to meet like this. I wanted to introduce myself in a different way but—”
“But that’s a weird conversation. ‘Hey, you’re a le Fay and I’m a Merlin. Whoopie’.” I tried not to sound too sarcastic. “It’s cool. Thank you for saving our asses.”
“I should be thanking you. What exactly did you just do back there?”
I felt myself blush. “I’m not sure. This is all pretty new to me.”
“We’ll figure it out, Cas. One thing at a time. First, we have to find Lilly Darling,” Millie said. I looked at her face in the rear-view mirror. I could tell she was getting frustrated.
“Did you go to Madam Vo’s?” Eric asked.
“Yep. Last night. They have no clue where she is.”
“My guess is that she is hiding at The Matador.”
Millie exhaled loudly. “Of course she is. Out of all the god forsaken places she had to go.”
“What’s The Matador?” I asked.
“I think we should all sit down and have a little chat. Eric, do you mind coming to my place? I will take you wherever you need once we’re done.” Millie said, her tone was stern enough that it was clear she was trying to be friendly but meant business.
Eric smiled and nodded. “Absolutely.”
Millie lived in a little house by the lake that looked like a cottage. Red bricks and a slate roof gave it a rustic feel. The outside was well maintained, with what would have been a very lush garden in the warmer weather surrounding the outside. The backyard was probably beautiful. She clearly took great pride in her home.
Inside was much larger than it looked from the outside. The 1950s style bungalow had large windows that would let in a lot of light during the day. Dark hardwood floors ran throughout, with a mix of some antique furniture and clearly well-loved pieces. Millie directed us to the front room that had a large fireplace, leather couches, and a worn Persian rug. The dark blue paint on the walls gave the room a very soothing feeling.
“I will go make some tea,” Millie said, and she and Nya fluttered out of the room, leaving Eric and I sitting on one of the couches.
“So, this is weird, right?” I said, and we both laughed. My cheeks flushed.
“Yeah. It’s weird.” He chuckled. “But I’m glad it happened. We needed to have this conversation. We should have after that first day with the….” He gestured awkwardly with his amazing, strong hand.
“The weird shock thing when we shook hands? That was strange.”
“It was, and I didn’t know how to bring it up. Even though tonight sucked, it answered a lot of questions.”
I smiled. “So, you’re a Merlin?”
“Yeah. The other candidates for the title are still around. They kind of work for me I guess. They’re sort of like....”
“Disciples?”
“Yeah, kind of. They have similar powers, but there is no guarantee they will ever take my place. It’s hard to explain. In a generation, there are seven or so candidates, and we go through a ritual to select the Merlin. The ones who are not chosen are trained by the one who is in a variety of ways. We’re like brothers. I like having them around.”
“Wow. Sounds like a lot of pressure.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes. That’s not even getting into being a deity to a certain group of druids.”
“I thought being the prophecy girl was nuts.”
“About that. I have some questions,” he began. “Your parents were killed when you were young, right? That never brought out any of your powers?”
“No. My mother bound my powers. I have been told that it’s a surprise that the spell held up after she died.”
“If she used blood magic to bind you, no it’s not a surprise. Given the circumstances, I am not surprised she bound you. So when your boyfriend—”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend at the time. But my grandfather Harold LeFaye and his group killed Jesse to jump start my prophecy. I went to Harold’s house under the ruse that his wife, my grandmother, was dying. She was, but he took it as an opportunity to unbind my powers.”
“Wow, that’s heavy.”
“You have no idea. I did some things after that that I’m not proud of. But they won’t bother me anymore.”
He smiled and put his hand on my knee. I instantly felt better. “I wish I could say that would be the last time that will happen in your life. But as someone who has lived this life being one of the ‘chosen’ so to speak, I can’t make any promises.”
“Thank you for even thinking of it. I appreciate that.”
“Why are you looking for Lilly Darling?” Eric asked. Millie and Nya reappeared with a tray of tea and cookies.
“My friend, Bliss, was kidnapped by the Kinkaid’s.”
“Okay. Why?”
“They think she knows something about what happened to Lucia Kinkaid.”
“What happened to Lucia Kinkaid?”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? I don’t know! But they think my friend knows something so they kidnapped her. When Tobias Kinkaid decided to claim her during this process, I have no idea. But I knew he had a thing for Bliss beforehand, maybe he figured this was a good time to act on it.”
“And you need Lilly Darling because?”
Millie answered Eric as she handed us our mugs of tea. “Lilly works for the Kinkaid’s. She will know how to find Bliss.”
“We were told she ghosted because she had a premonition about the rise of Blanchmains,” I said, and he raised his eyebrows.
“Oh. So it’s not common knowledge?” he asked.
“Absolutely not. And we will be keeping it that way,” Millie said, giving him a look that could have cut him in half. I hid my smile behind my tea cup.
He raised his hands in defeat. “Your secret is safe with me. Like Camille said, she has a file on me at the office. I am legit. I just want to be friends.”
“I believe you,” Nya said, grinning as she twisted a strand of hair around her finger.
I wondered in that moment if he was actually good looking or if this was part of his magic. Or if it was just the fact that he looked an awful lot like a certain crossbow wielding zombie hunter. He turned his eyes to me and something inside me responded. Whatever it was, I liked him. I couldn’t deny it.
We talked a little while longer. I noticed Millie relax and grow more comfortable as time went on, and I knew then that he was okay. Eric was charming and friendly, and I caught Nya batting her eyelashes a few times.
After I yawned more than once, we all deemed it was time to wrap it up and head home. We made a plan to go to The Matador the next night.
When I finally got home and was drifting off to sleep, my phone beeped.
It was a text from an unknown number, but I knew immediately it was Eric.
Really happy everything is out in the open now. See you in the morning.
5.
I rode with Ted to the office in the morning. By the time we got there, I was on my third cup of coffee. With coming back late and not much sleep, I needed to caffeinate. I wasn’t used to having such an active social life.
I sat in my office and stared at my computer for a
while. I had no idea what we were walking into tonight, not just in dealing with The Matador, but also Lilly Darling. I was new to this world when everyone else wasn’t, so I thought I should educate myself the only way I knew how. Staring at my computer like an idiot didn’t help at all.
It was time for me to vet Lilly Darling and do some digging into The Matador.
Lilly had an active social media presence that stopped around the time Bliss went missing. Premonition implied seeing something happen before the actual event, so I had no clue how long she had been gone for.
Maybe she got premonition confused with vision.
Lilly was cute. Small. She easily could have passed for thirteen years old, and she was ten years older, according to her Facebook profile. With long black hair and big blue eyes, she had an elfish quality. She was so pale she almost glowed like she had a candle lit somewhere inside her.
She had a lot of friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter and Instagram. There were no signs of magic. No mention of Peter Pan or anything. Not that I expected her to have, like, a detailed blog about her life or a YouTube confessional. Frankly, after what had happened with Jane Lowry, I didn’t know what to expect.
I read a little into Peter Pan. There was a lot about the fiction and nothing that could even be considered logically plausible. Trying to piece together what, if any of it, was truthful would take more time than I had at the moment. But I was curious. Maybe she would tell me one day.
The Matador was down a small side street in Little Italy and had been in business for decades. It was originally a salsa club and dance hall, and when that went out of fashion, it became a venue that hosted a variety of different types of events, ranging from wedding receptions to christenings to wakes.
That was what was public record. A quick peek at their financials showed they weren’t hurting for business. They were booked solid every Friday and Saturday night for the foreseeable future, with the only explanation on their online calendar being ‘booked for an owner’s event’. Trying to find the name of the current owner was a totally different story.
While I was digging, there was a knock at my door. I was so zoned out, I had totally forgotten that I was at work. I probably had clients today.
“Come in!” I called out, smoothing my hair and lightly slapping my cheeks to try to wake myself up, hoping a little colour made me look less tired.
The door opened a crack, and Eric stuck his head in. “Good morning.”
“Hey,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was just doing some digging on Lilly Darling and The Matador.”
He came into my office, holding two coffee mugs, and closed the door behind him with his elbow.
He handed me a mug across the desk and said, “You didn’t have to do that. I would have told you…wait, never mind. I would have done my own digging too. What do you want to know? Maybe I can help you.”
“You’ve got to understand, this is all new to me. All of it. I don’t deal well walking into situations that I don’t have a plan A through K for. Especially without my people.”
“Millie and Nya?”
“Millie and Nya are my mom’s people. That’s the major part about all of this. I may be the ‘prophecy girl’ and whatever, but I don’t feel like I am one of them.” I examined his expression. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to pile my shit on you.”
“It’s cool. I get it. I can’t imagine what all this is like for you. I was raised knowing exactly what this world is, and what I am. My mother always believed that I was the Merlin.”
My eyes lowered. “I wish I could talk to my mom.”
“Has no one talked to you about that?”
“Not really.”
“Well, we will. Soon, I promise. But one thing at a time.”
“Fine. Now, what can you tell me about Lilly Darling?”
“I don’t follow.”
“You do know her, don’t you? Or did I read that wrong? You had a lot of suggestions of where she could be. The likely explanation, considering you wouldn’t know where she would be if you only vetted her, is that you know her. So, what can you tell me about Lilly Darling?”
His face remained expressionless for a few minutes as we stared at one another, like two dogs watching each other, waiting to see if the other would advance.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re good at this?”
“It’s my Spidey sense. Stop trying to distract me.”
“She dated one of the others for a bit.”
“Your disciples?”
“I hate that word, but yes. I believe she thought he would be number two and broke up with him when he wasn’t.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
He shrugged. “Some call her a traitor. I call her an opportunist. If she sees a way to advance herself and her cause, she will take it. And he is very naive when it comes to women. Girls like Lilly chew threw him on a regular basis.”
“Her ‘cause’?”
“Lilly is big on trying to prove that her Pan claim is not only legitimate but real. She has powers, I have seen them. But the idea that they are one of the noble magical families…lots of people aren’t going for it. Hooking herself up with the Kinkaid’s is just another way for her to, in her mind, prove her point.”
“Do her powers involve premonitions or visions? We were told she had one about the rise of Blanchmains and that’s why she ghosted.”
“I don’t know. But you may hear stories like that from a lot of people. It’s a bit of a thing, the rise of Blanchmains, as you call it.”
I blushed, and before I could ask questions, there was a knock at my door.
“Right! We’re at work!” He jumped up, grabbed his coffee, and headed for the door. I was surprised, when he opened it, to find Q and Lemme with large Frappuccino’s in hand, including one for me.
“Shit! Hi, guys! This is Eric, Lewis’s new protégée. Eric, this is Q and Lemme.” I stood up and smiled, motioning for them to come in. “They’re tech support…among other things.”
“Nice to meet you both. Camille, we’ll talk more later.” He smiled and winked at me as he walked out the door.
“Holy shitballs, dude! Do you know who he looks like?” Q said as she came in. She was grinning ear to ear, her long black hair was half braided back in cornrows and the other half hung loose past her shoulders. She was wearing a green Adidas tracksuit and white sneakers.
“Yeah, I know who he looks like,” I replied, sitting back down.
“Are you into that? Because if you’re not, I am totally down. Just give me ten minutes.” Q stared at my door like she was ready to run out and pounce on Eric.
“Fuck! I totally forgot!” I grabbed my purse and dug around for the kit Lemme had given me. I found the samples Bliss and I had taken from Lucia Kinkaid and handed them to her.
“Another one?” Lemme asked.
“Possibly a…what’s the word…host?”
Lemme smiled happily. “Cool. Thanks, brah.”
Q finally turned her attention to me. “So, what’s his deal?”
I laughed. “Not a clue. I have only talked to him a handful of times. But if Lewis is bringing him in, he must be solid.”
“True. Maybe we will cruise by his office when we are done. You got that phone for me?” Q asked.
I handed her Jesse’s phone out of my bag. “You can’t leave the building with it, Q. My cousin said her higher ups are bugging out. If it’s not here when she comes to get it, she’ll probably write us all up for obstruction or withholding or some shit.”
“No problemo.” Q put down her drink and pulled her laptop out of her bag. She snapped off the back of Jesse’s phone. Using her own phone, she took a photo of it and Jesse’s SIM card before plugging his phone into her laptop.
“So, what’s on the docket right now?” Lemme asked. Her dark brown hair was piled high in a bun on top of her head. Judging from its overall size, I would say her hair was almost to her waist. I envied them both with their long dark lux
urious locks.
“Nothing at the moment. I don’t think, anyways.” I reached over and took a sip of my Frappuccino. “I am not fully awake yet.”
“You feeling alright?”
“Yeah, just not sleeping so well.”
Q chuckled. “You know what helps me sleep? Smoking a bowl before bed.”
“Pot makes me paranoid, dude,” I replied.
“Me too. That shit does not solve everyone’s problems, dummy.” Lemme punched Q in the shoulder lightly. The silver rings she had on each finger sparkled, looking an awful lot like not-brass brass knuckles.
“You just don’t have the right shit, I’m telling you.” Something beeped, and Q unplugged Jesse’s phone from her laptop and handed it back to me. “I will let you know if I find anything worthwhile, Bond. How are you dealing with all of this?”
“All of what?” I asked, taking another sip of my drink. As they both stared at me a little dumbfounded, I noticed that they were in coordinating tracksuits, only Lemme’s was blue.
“Dude. You don’t have to do that. Jesse went from just being dead to possibly murdered. It’s okay if you’re not dealing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why do people assume that? I’m good. Maybe it’s wrong that I’m good, but I am. When you’re involved with a junkie, death is always on the table. I know it sounds a little fucky, but I was kind of prepared.”
“Alright. I get it. How are things with your rock star?” Q asked.
“Not a clue. He’s been a ghost for a few days. I’m going to call him.”
“Well, we’ll leave you to it,” she said, and they packed up their stuff.
“Thanks for the caffeine, by the way.” I said as they were walking out the door.
“Anytime. We’ll let you know if we find anything.”
As soon as my door closed, I picked up my phone and called Fray. I hadn’t spoken to him in a few days, and I wanted to hear his voice.
The phone rang a bunch of times, then someone finally picked up.
“Hello?” The female voice was surprisingly chipper. My heart began to feel like a beating mass of dead weight, and I had a flash of who I had thought was a girl that Fray was sneaking out of his apartment the last time I was there.
Believer Page 6
