“I’m going to have to shoot you,” the deputy said. “Cephas thinks he can heal you, but we need you to be unconscious.”
Alec’s sigh was barely audible. “I understand. Do what you must.”
“I’m right here,” I said, careful not to knock the leprechaun off the step stool. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t pull any funny business.”
Deputy Bolan glared at me. “What kind of funny business do you think I would pull in this situation?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “This is all new to me.”
“Aim for the chest,” Alec said, and I heard a rustle of movement. “The effect will be quicker.”
“Thank you,” Deputy Bolan said. He aimed and fired off the tranquilizer.
I held my breath, waiting to hear the thud as his body hit the ground. I winced when it happened.
“He didn’t hurt himself, did he?” I asked.
“He’s a vampire,” Deputy Bolan said. “He’ll heal quickly from any physical injuries.” The deputy unlocked the cell and Cephas moved inside to work his druid magic.
Deputy Bolan grabbed the door to close it, but I stopped him.
“We don’t want to lock Cephas in,” I said. “What if there’s a problem?”
“Fine,” the deputy huffed. “I’m going to check on the sheriff. Bring Alec upstairs when it’s done, assuming he’s conscious and healed.”
I nodded, my gaze fixed on the druid. What an amazing skill to have. I had no idea what Cephas was doing, but it looked impressive. When Alec stirred, my body stiffened. What if he was still in his heightened state and grabbed Cephas? How would I be able to help him?
My fears were unnecessary. When Alec finally sat up, I recognized the polished editor-in-chief I’d come to know. He immediately straightened his cuff links and my body relaxed.
“My utmost gratitude,” he said to the healer.
“I’m glad to be of service,” Cephas replied. “How do you feel?”
“Like myself,” Alec said. He rose to his feet and his gaze met mine. “Miss Rose, I am deeply sorry for what I’ve put you through.”
“You didn’t put me through anything,” I said. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Let’s go upstairs and show Deputy Bolan that you’re back to normal.”
We reached the top of the staircase. “You speak to the deputy. I’ve been gone far too long and have much to take care of.” Alec flinched. “I…I’m dreadfully embarrassed by my behavior. You must have been very frightened.”
“I was,” I admitted. “But I knew you were lurking in there and that something was wrong.”
He glanced away, unable to look me in the eye. “Yet another reason it’s best to keep a safe distance. My capacity to hurt you is far too great.”
“Alec,” I said. I wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous, but was he? I mean, he was right—he could have killed me. One slip and I’d have been his next meal.
He shook his head. “Trust me. It is for the best, Miss Rose.” He brushed past me and strode down the corridor without a backward glance.
I watched him go, fighting back tears. Why did his decision bother me so much? How could I cry over the loss of something I never had in the first place?
“You okay, Rose?”
I blinked. The sheriff stood in the corridor, fully dressed and looking back to his usual swaggering self.
“Thank goodness,” I said, heaving a sigh.
He grinned. “Aw shucks. Don’t tell me you were worried about me.”
“Of course I was worried. This town needs a sheriff,” I said. “In case you haven’t noticed, there always seems to be something bad happening.”
His grin vanished. “Right. Well, I’m back now. No cause for alarm.”
“You should go home and rest,” I said.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Rose,” he replied. “As you said, I’m the sheriff and I’ll decide what’s best.”
“Typical male,” I said hotly. “Fine, you decide what’s best, even though you were shaking violently on the floor less than half an hour ago.” I waved my hands in the air. “Never mind that I saw you turn in front of me and eye me like I was the prey you’d been stalking.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. Sorry about that. It isn’t typical behavior for me. Part of the curse.” He cocked his head. “Deputy Bolan says you two have been tracking leads.”
“Unsuccessfully,” I said. “We needed to go broader. We were too busy trying to tie the victims together, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening.”
“You think it’s someone wanting to cause general chaos?” he queried.
“Not chaos,” I said. “Maybe directing their anger at the town in general. More random. You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, same as the others.”
He peered at me. “What about you? You were in all these wrong places at all the wrong times. Why weren’t you cursed?”
“Trust me. I’ve been trying to figure that out.” Along with the Round Table of Old Folks.
The sheriff shifted his stance, like he was trying to decide whether to say something. “So, thanks for coming to visit me when I was…unwell. The conscious part of me knew you were there…and appreciated it.”
“It was no trouble,” I said. “Alec was here, too. I was able to keep tabs on both of you.”
He grunted. “Right. Of course.” He gave me a wave. “See you around, Rose.”
“Take care of yourself, Sheriff.”
Chapter 16
Now that the sheriff and Alec were back to their usual selves, I decided to make good on my promise to show up at the Starry Hollow tourism office. On my way up the steps, a man pushed past me and I nearly fell over. Back in the human world, I would have taken him to task for his rude behavior, but in a paranormal town, I worried that I’d piss off the wrong magic user and end up a frog.
Thaddeus, a centaur that worked in the tourism office, awaited me at the top of the steps.
“Who was that?” I asked.
Thaddeus wiped the steam from his glasses. “Noah Sturgeon. Don’t mind him. He was recently let go from his job at the Starry Hollow Power Plant. He’s been raging at everyone he comes in contact with.”
I followed Thaddeus into the charming building.
“Is he a magic user?”
Thaddeus frowned. “Noah? He’s a berserker.”
“A ber-what-er?”
“A berserker. A descendants of the warriors that once served Odin.”
I hated to ask my next question. “Who’s Odin?”
Thaddeus rubbed his forehead. “I just have to remind myself that it’s not your fault. You’re from New Jersey.”
I held out my hands in an innocent gesture. “That’s right. I am completely blameless for my ignorance.”
“Odin is a Norse god. His warriors were lunatics on the battlefield. They were well known for their wild natures.”
I glanced at the door where Noah had just departed. “So Noah may have inherited an insanity gene?”
“Apparently, he was fired for insubordination. His manager had had enough of Noah’s outbursts on the job.”
“Can he do magic?” I asked.
“If he can, I’ve never seen any evidence of it,” Thaddeus said.
Hmm. If someone was cursing residents out of anger or frustration, it was unlikely he’d hire someone to perform the magic. That would be too calculated, too premeditated. As much as I hated to end up with another dead end, I ruled out Noah.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” I asked, ready to get to work.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “We received the final entries for the artwork to match the new town slogan.”
“Do you have a favorite?” I asked.
“I do.” He beckoned me to his desk, where three papers had been placed side by side. Each one incorporated the slogan—Come to Starry Hollow, where spells were made to be broken. The first image was of a wand broken in half and surrounded by glitter
. The middle one was a picture of the Painted Pixies, the famous row of colorful houses. The third one was an image of the ocean in front of the old pub, the Whitethorn.
“This is so cool,” I said. “I can’t believe you’re actually going ahead with my slogan idea.”
“It took a fair amount of cajoling to convince Aster,” he admitted, “but thankfully she’s not as stubborn as her mother.”
I bit back a smile. My aunt had referred to both my father and me as stubborn and had made it clear it wasn’t a compliment.
“It’s worth a try,” I said. “If it doesn’t catch on, there’s no real harm.”
“If nothing else, it gave Florian something to do.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Florian drew these?”
Thaddeus nodded. “He’s been very busy on our behalf. I think that’s the main reason Aster decided to go ahead with your slogan idea. She could see that Florian was enthusiastic about it.”
Good for Florian. Of course, I knew his real motivation was the boat he was promised, but still. He was making a genuine effort and that was all his mother really wanted.
“What else has he been doing?” I pictured him turning up to flirt with any unsuspecting tourists who happened by.
“He went through our entire inventory and made suggestions on what he thought was missing, based on his own travel experience.”
“Anything worthwhile?”
Thaddeus tilted his head. “As a matter of fact, there were several gems and Aster approved them.” He chuckled. “Naturally, one of his ideas involved women’s clothing. More skimpy tops with the new slogan across the chest.”
I rolled my eyes. “His mother will have a fit. She’ll shred a kaftan at the thought of Starry Hollow being seen as low brow.”
“His mother isn’t privy to the details here,” Thaddeus said. “Which is probably for the best.”
The door flew open and Aster came in, looking every inch the Targaryen supermodel witch that she was. “Sorry I’m late. I had to make an unexpected pit stop to console a friend.”
“It’s no hair off my tail,” Thaddeus said. “Ember and I were just discussing the artwork Florian provided for the slogan.”
Aster smiled at me. “Can you believe it? I’m so pleased he’s taking a genuine interest in something.”
It was nice to see her happy about her brother’s involvement for a change. Usually, she was grumbling about him under her breath.
“I’m amazed he can draw so well,” I said. “I didn’t realize he had any hidden talents.”
“That’s partly what’s so frustrating about him,” Aster said. “Florian is good at so many things. He could close his eyes, pluck an activity out of the air, and master it with little effort. It causes him to lose interest quickly.”
“He likes a challenge,” I said. That explained the heavy rotation of women. “You know, I hadn’t thought of it before, but he and Marley are alike in many ways. She doesn’t have her magic yet, but she’s good at everything. I can see over time how that might take its toll.”
Aster adjusted her pearl earring. “We should have them spend more time together. Maybe they can challenge each other.”
“Marley is very fond of Florian,” I said. She was horrified when he was trapped in frog form. At the memory of the frog spell, my thoughts turned to Alec. “You know what else we should have in here? A section with Alec Hale’s books. We should celebrate the fact that a famous author lives and works here.”
Aster scrunched her perfect nose. “Do you think Alec would like that, though? I’ve always been under the impression that he prefers his anonymity.”
“I’ll ask him now that he’s on the mend,” I said.
Aster smiled. “You look so relieved that he’s recovered. I think Mother is concerned about your obvious affection for one another.”
Thaddeus glanced at me in surprise. “Affection? Alec Hale? Surely not.”
“He’s a very nice vampire,” I said. “Let’s not make more out of this than it is.”
“Of course, Mother is far more concerned about Sheriff Nash,” Aster said. “She has very little tolerance for werewolves and the Nash brothers in particular. She would have been perfectly content to see him remain a werewolf and have the council appoint a new sheriff.”
“I, for one, am glad he’s back in human form,” I said. I’d seen a side of both men recently that unnerved me. Even though I knew that the sheriff was a werewolf and Alec was a vampire, they’d seemed entirely human until the curse revealed otherwise.
Aster’s phone buzzed and she fished it out of her handbag to glance at the screen. “Oh no. It’s Everly again.”
“Who’s Everly?” I asked.
“The fairy friend I had to console on the way in,” Aster said. “I told her to call me anytime. She must be seriously out of sorts to think I meant it.”
“I have a bad habit of taking things at face value, too,” I said. “Why is she out of sorts?”
“Her fiancé called off their wedding two weeks ago,” Aster said. “She’s been spiraling down toward rock bottom ever since.”
A fairy off her rocker? That sounded promising. “You know, Aster. I’d be happy to talk to her if you’re too busy.”
Aster studied me. “Why would you do that? It’s draining to talk about other people’s problems.”
“When Karl died, I didn’t have any close friends to talk to about it,” I said. “You tend to lose your peer group when you get pregnant and married light-years ahead of everyone else.” I was always too busy struggling to make a living to care. When your priority was feeding your child, there was little energy left over for self-pity.
“So you think helping Everly will somehow help you?” Aster queried.
Sure, let’s go with that. “Let me take something off your plate,” I said, appealing to her ego. “You already do so much for the community.”
“Okay then. She lives over in the White Oak neighborhood,” Aster said. “The pink house with the turquoise door.”
“She’s not at work at this hour?”
Aster shook her white-blond head. “She took a leave of absence. She’s been struggling to function. Very depressed. Cephas tried to offer her some herbal remedies to take the edge off her dark mood, but she refused.”
A fairy with a lot of time on her hands and a depressed attitude. Very promising, indeed.
“I’ll report back later,” I said.
“Good luck,” Thaddeus called.
“Thanks,” I yelled. If I couldn’t get to the bottom of this nightmare curse soon, we were going to need all the luck we could get.
I stood in front of the pink house with the turquoise door, marveling at the sight. If ever there was a house designed for a fairy, this was it. There was an actual rainbow arched over the house and the flowers and bushes were covered in glitter.
I knocked on the door, still mesmerized by my surroundings. It was like driving through New Jersey neighborhoods at Christmastime when everyone’s houses were decorated with lights and garish plastic Santas.
The door opened and Everly fluttered before me, a hot pink eye mask pulled up like a headband.
She squinted when she saw me. “Who are you?” She sucked in a dramatic breath. “Oh sweet sugar plums, you’re not his new girlfriend, are you?”
“I’m Aster’s cousin, Ember,” I said. “She asked me to check on you.”
Everly relaxed. “I guess she had something more important to do. She always has something important to do.”
A chip on her shoulder. Everly was looking better and better.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
“Sure. What do I care? My life is over anyway.” She fluttered into the house and I followed.
The interior was in stark contrast to the outside. The blinds were drawn and there were dirty cups and plates scattered throughout the room. She and Montague were a match made in messy heaven.
“You don’t know Scott, do you?” she asked, sprawling across the
sofa. She plumped the pillow under her head. “If you ever meet him, run in the opposite direction. He’s a filthy piece of minotaur shit.”
I sat in the recliner opposite her. “Aster said he broke off your engagement two weeks ago. What happened?”
Everly pulled down her eye mask. “It was so unexpected. Everything was fine. We were both excited about the wedding. We’d booked the honeymoon.”
“And he just called off the wedding out of the blue?” I queried.
“He didn’t call it off explicitly,” she said. “He just didn’t show up for the final fitting for his tux. I called and texted, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t answer the door at home. I thought he was hurt. I even called the healer’s office.” Tears streamed out from under the eye mask, staining her cheeks.
“So what happened?”
“He finally replied to my frantic text where I threatened bodily harm if he didn’t respond.”
Ah. A fairy after my own heart. “Did he explain what was going on?”
“Not really. He only said he was sorry and that it wasn’t going to work.”
My heart went out to her. What a crappy way to be dumped. “He didn’t even have the gonads to tell you to your face?”
She wiped her cheeks free of tears. “No. I couldn’t even get him to elaborate. As far as I knew, we were really happy. I didn’t even realize he was having second thoughts.”
“I’m sorry, Everly. That’s rough.”
“I had to cancel the wedding plans by myself. Try and explain to my friends.” She gulped for air. “How could I explain something that I didn’t understand myself?”
“Have you seen him since the text?” I asked.
“No, he refuses to see me.” She started to cry again. “I think it’s too hard for him. He doesn’t deal with emotions very well.”
“Yours or his own?”
“Both. It took forever for me to break down his wall.” She paused. “I guess I didn’t do as good of a job as I thought.”
“You couldn’t know what was happening in his head if he didn’t share it with you, Everly,” I said. “You’re not a mind reader.” That was one advantage some witches had over fairies. They had glitter. We had psychic skills. I knew which one I preferred.
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