by Zoe Arden
"On finding a way to enslave the human and paranormal population."
"I think I'd still say you were crazy." Her fingers started twitching. Her head twitched with them.
I nodded and tried to smile. "Don't worry, Luce. It's just hypotheticals." I could see she was freaked out and didn't want to keep going down this line of conversation. My phone rang just then, giving me an easy out. I picked up.
"Hello?"
"Ava, it's me." Colt's voice rang through the line. Until I heard it, I didn't realize how much I'd missed him. It had only been a few days, but so much had happened in that time and I missed not being able to share it with him. Especially since so much of it concerned him.
"Thanks for calling me back," I said.
He grunted. "It sounded important."
"It is."
We sat on the line in silence. Lucy was mouthing words at me, asking me who it was and what was going on. I told her it was Colt.
"Um, I just... I was hoping we could get together. Maybe this evening?"
"Just tell me what it is that's so life and death important."
"I can't talk about it over the phone," I said.
He paused, considering. "Is it to do with Melbourne?"
"Yes."
He sighed. "Okay, fine. Meet me at Riggin's Ice Cream Shop at seven."
"Great, thanks, I will." Melbourne's cuckoo clock went off just then, blasting my ear drums.
"What is that?" Colt asked.
"Nothing," I said, "just a cuckoo clock."
I could hear him breathing. "Are you at Melbourne's?" he asked angrily.
"No," I lied. The cuckoo clock went off again, repeating its first warning that it was three o'clock.
"Yes, you are." He waited for me to respond.
"All right, I am. Look, I know you didn't want me coming down here, but it's important."
"I can't believe you. You're calling me from a break-in. I gave you a chance, Ava, you just blew it."
"What does that mean?" I asked, alarmed.
"It means forget about the ice cream shop. I don't have anything to say to you and don't care what you want to say to me. Goodbye."
He hung up. The cuckoo clock chimed a third time.
"Oh, shut up!" I yelled at it and stormed out of the house.
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
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So far, everything I was doing seemed to be wrong. I had a continuing list in my head of all the things I'd messed up as of late. At the top of it was Colt. Just beneath that was trusting Melbourne. And below that was not finding that darned book.
I stood behind the cash register at Mystic, trying to keep my eyes open. I'd barely slept through the night. Snowball came running into the bakery, followed by Rocky and Tootsie. They sat staring at me. It was just after ten and our morning rush had dipped down for a bit. Eleanor and Trixie had taken the opportunity to run out and pick up some new baking sheets, leaving me alone out front and my father in back frosting cupcakes.
"Can I help you three with something?" I asked them. They looked awfully cute and fluffy this morning, which only made me suspicious. Tootsie looked at Snowball and nudged her forward. Snowball was basically a full-grown cat now, at least physically. Mentally, I suspected she would always behave like the kitten she was when I found her.
Snowball stepped forward, looking around to make sure we were alone. "Snowball, Tootsie, and Rocky smell vampire," she said, then settled back on her haunches as if this covered everything.
I looked from one to the other of them. They were nodding in agreement.
"Well," I finally said, "there are vampires around Heavenly Haven. You three know that."
Snowball stood up and started wagging her tail. "Yes, but we smell them on Mama. Snowball smells Melbourne. Mama has been near vampires. And the town talks of vampires as bad. Snowball is worried."
She nodded her head emphatically, and I realized that this was a sort of an intervention. The three familiars in my life had banded together to make sure I wasn't doing anything stupid.
"Mama is fine," I told Snowball, coming out from behind the counter and scratching behind her ears. She purred loudly. I went down the line and scratched each of their heads. Rocky, Eleanor's wolfhound, let out a surprisingly loud "yip!" and thumped his tail on the floor.
Tootsie arched her back. "Tootsie loves Ava. Tootsie smells Melbourne on Trixie, too. They have been together." Tootsie's eyes widened questioningly. There was no putting anything past these guys.
"You don't have to worry," I told them.
Rocky's deep voice cut me off. "Sweetland wants to kill vampires. Will witches with vampires be hurt, too?"
"Sweetland is not going to kill any vampires," I said. "Well, not all vampires. Trixie and I will be fine. You guys are sweet to worry, but you don't have to. I promise you that Trixie and I will be safe."
Snowball looked at the others. "Snowball said so. A witch's promise is binding." With that, the three of them turned to go.
"Just don't mention this to anyone else," I told them before they were out the door. "Please."
"Familiars will say nothing," Snowball assured me. Eleanor and Trixie came through the front door just as the three of them were walking out. They said hello and Tootsie informed Trixie she would be having tuna for lunch today. Snowball informed me of the same. Rocky told Eleanor that he was still working on his bone from breakfast and did not need tuna. Yuck.
They stepped outside and a tourist nearly tripped over them. "Sorry," Tootsie said and carried on. The tourist, a large woman in a muumuu, watched them walk together down the sidewalk with her jaw hanging open. She blinked, shook her head, then continued on her way, certain that she was imagining things. There were no such things as talking cats.
Sheriff Knoxx was with Eleanor when they came in. They were discussing wedding plans.
"I hope Mayor Thomas's new plan doesn't affect ours," Eleanor said. She seemed upset.
"Now, Eleanor," the sheriff said, laying one hand gently on her arm. "Mayor Thomas is just blowing a lot of smoke. That's all."
"Tell that to Mistmoor." Trixie laughed.
"Are people still talking about his Mayor-for-All Rule?" I asked them.
"That's right," Eleanor said. "The word around town is that Mistmoor is as unhappy about it as you might have predicted. They're talking about war."
"War?" For some reason, I just couldn't take the threat seriously. People went to war over dictatorships and crazed religious beliefs, not who was or wasn't going to be mayor of a small island off the coast of Florida.
"It's not funny," Eleanor said, eyeing Trixie who was shaking her head and trying to keep a straight face.
"I'm sorry," Trixie said. "The whole thing seems ridiculous."
"I agree," I told them. "Can't Mistmoor just let Tazzie Singer stay mayor, if worse comes to worst?"
Sheriff Knoxx shook his head. "Tazzie Singer is currently acting mayor. The only way to make it official is to run an election."
"So why haven't they yet?"
The door to the bakery chimed and Natalie Vargas stepped inside. Her kids weren't with her today, and I was grateful not to have to try and talk them out of each buying their own cake.
"Did I hear someone mention Mistmoor?" Natalie asked brightly. How she could have heard that from outside the bakery boggled my mind, unless she'd been listening in.
I looked around for a voice bumper. The higher end models were as tiny as an ant and could easily be used to listen to conversations without anyone ever finding out. But why would Natalie be listening to our conversations?
"Hello, Natalie," Trixie said, cutting off Eleanor before she could say something she might regret. Eleanor didn't care much for Natalie. "We were just discussing Mayor Thomas's plan to rule Mistmoor."
"Oh, I think it's a great idea," Natalie said. "It's about time thi
s island of ours come under one rule, don't you think?"
Eleanor gritted her teeth together. Sheriff Knoxx grabbed ahold of her hand and squeezed. "I think that part of what makes Heavenly Haven so great is that we have two distinct and diverse towns."
Natalie nodded. "Well, that's certainly one opinion." She turned to me. "Ava, I hear your friend's sister has applied for Rachel Sessler's old position. I hope she knows what she's getting herself into. Things didn't work out so well for Rachel."
I cocked my head to the side. "My friend's sister?" My mind shot into overdrive trying to figure out who she was referring to. "You don't mean Megan Lockwood."
"But of course. I assumed you knew."
"No. I didn't."
Natalie looked momentarily disappointed, and I realized she'd been hoping she could pump me for information. She brightened again when she realized that meant she got to fill me in on the gossip. "Megan applied for the position a few days ago. She's been hounding Mayor Thomas's office ever since then, from what I hear. She seems quite intent on getting what she wants."
I wondered what could have possibly made Megan decided she wanted to work for the mayor. She had a perfectly decent job at Coffee Cove, but maybe she didn't want to work there forever. "When you see Lucy later, make sure you tell her to keep an eye on Megan, especially if Mayor Thomas selects her as his new aide. I wouldn't want to see her get hurt."
"Thanks. I'll tell her," I said, already wanting to run in back and grab my phone so I could call Lucy. Since when was Megan interested in politics? Did Lucy know about this? Why hadn't she said anything?
Natalie bought a dozen bagels and headed back to wherever she'd come from and declared her next stop was Coffee Cove. She had a craving for a latte. I was pretty sure her real craving was gossip.
The afternoon rush hit us soon after Natalie left, followed by the afternoon lull. My father had gone home early to get ready for a date with Sadie. Sheriff Lincoln Maxwell came into the shop around three. Felicity Redfern was with him.
"Felicity!" I said, giving her a hug. Her red hair hung well past her shoulders now. It was getting really long. "Hi, Lincoln," I said, turning to him.
He smiled politely.
"Is Sheriff Knoxx around?"
Eleanor answered, "He was here earlier but left some time ago. I think he's at the station."
"Just checked there," Lincoln said. "He must be out making the rounds. I know how that goes."
"Something we can do for you?" Trixie asked. She made up a plate of chocolate chip comfort cookies and handed them out.
"Thanks," Lincoln and Felicity said, each taking one.
"Is everything all right?" Eleanor inquired.
"Sure, nothing to worry about."
Eleanor and I exchanged a look.
Felicity sighed and shook her head. "When you say it like that, it makes it sound like you have bad news," Felicity told Lincoln.
"Why? I said it wasn't anything to worry about."
"Precisely." She looked at me and my aunts. "We just wanted to let Sheriff Knoxx know that Mistmoor is running its mayoral race this week."
"Oh? That's great news!" Trixie cried. "Maybe now Mayor Thomas will settle down about this silly rule of his."
"Well, that's why we're here," Lincoln said. "There's only a few days left before the Mayor-for-All Rule is supposed to go into effect. We should have our new mayor elected before then, but he should know that if something were to happen, well... Mistmoor won't go quietly."
"What do you mean?" Trixie asked, alarm apparent on her face.
"Just that Mistmoor does not relish in the idea of being taken over by Mayor Thomas. It's an ancient law and the people of Mistmoor feel that it's no longer valid for today's times. They..."
"What Lincoln's trying to say," Felicity spoke up, "is that if Mistmoor gets mad or feels threatened, things between our towns might never be the same. They're prepared to fight to keep Mistmoor separate from Sweetland."
"Fight?" I gulped. "You mean like war."
Felicity nodded gravely. "That's exactly what I mean."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
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"So, what should I do?"
I sat in the kitchen, looking at Snowball. Snowy scrunched her face up. Her whiskers twitched. She licked one paw and wiped her face with it.
"Detective man is nice to Snowball. He gives tuna and scratches good under Snowball's chin. Detective man should know his papa is alive."
I couldn't believe that I was sitting here having this conversation with Snowball. I was desperate. At least I knew that Snowball wouldn't tell anyone. Familiars couldn't do anything to hurt the witch they were attached to, which meant my secrets would always be safe with her.
Snowball jumped off her chair and rubbed her head on my ankle. I pet her head and she purred loudly. "Thanks, Snowy." I gave her some tuna and she scarfed it down, then ran off in search of Tootsie, who, Snowball informed me, was once again 'it.'
I sat staring into my coffee cup. Trixie came wandering in. She looked at me and yawned.
"Everything okay?" she asked. I nodded. "Then why are you drinking coffee at eleven o'clock at night?"
"I'm not tired," I told her.
"Not if you keep drinking that stuff, you won't be."
I shrugged. Trixie took the seat opposite me. "Ava, honey, what's wrong? Does it have anything to do with Melbourne?" She whispered his name, careful not to let anyone overhear her. I hadn't had the heart to tell her that Melbourne was working with Vlaski, not against him. I knew I'd have to sooner or later, but I just wanted to let her have a little peace for as long as she could.
Still, if anyone could understand what I was going through, it was Trixie.
"Colt's father is still alive," I blurted. Trixie's eyes widened. "He came to see me. He's been hiding out all these years, tracking Vlaski's movements." I left out the part that included him tracking Melbourne's movements as well.
Trixie licked her lips and scrunched her face. She reminded me a lot of Snowball. "Are you positive it's him?" she finally asked. I nodded. "Then you need to tell Colt.”
"I know, but how can I? What am I supposed to say? By the way, your dad's alive, he's also a..."
"A what?" Trixie prompted.
I hesitated then figured I might as well tell her the rest. At least about Russell. "He's a vampire."
Trixie expelled an audible gasp.
"See?" I said. "It's not that easy to tell the truth."
She grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and took a bite, then set it aside. "When I thought Melbourne was dead, my life was... incomplete. It was hard for me. I understand why he hid from me, but I would have rather known. Despite whatever danger it put me in."
"But what if Melbourne wasn't the same man you once knew? What if he'd changed?"
"I'd still want to know. I'd want to make up my own mind whether the new Melbourne was still someone I could be friends with or not. I wouldn't want anyone else making up my mind for me."
I nodded. Trixie was right. I looked at her, wondering if now was the time to tell her the truth about Melbourne. She seemed more composed than I'd ever seen her. I just couldn't bring myself to say the words though. Melbourne is a traitor. It would probably have been better if he'd stayed dead.
"If you were going to tell Colt about his dad, how would you do it?" I asked her. "He's still not talking to me."
"I'd ambush him," Trixie said. "Get him alone somewhere when he's not expecting it and just tell him. Don't beat around the bush."
I considered it.
"If I were you, Ava, I'd tell him as quickly as possible. You don't want him finding out from someone else."
"Thanks, Trixie."
She went up to bed. I stayed downstairs another ten minutes then followed her up. In the morning, I told her that I was going to be late to the bakery. Elean
or asked why but Trixie just winked at me.
It wasn't even ten yet when I got to Colt's apartment. I knew he wasn't home because his car was gone, so I waited. I kept taking my phone out, thinking I should call or text him, then put it away. If he knew I was here, he might not come back until he was sure I was gone.
I had to wait two hours for him to show up. He got out of his car and started toward the outside stairs of his building.
"Colt!" I yelled, coming up behind him. He spun around. His first reaction was to smile. The smile quickly disappeared, though.
"Ava, what are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you."
He shook his head. "I have nothing to say."
"Well, I do."
Trixie's words came back to me. Don't beat around the bush.
"You're father's alive."
His face turned white.
"That's not funny," he said.
"It's not meant to be." He stared at me hard. His looks alternated between incredulous and irate.
"Ava, I don't know what you think you're playing at but—"
"I swear to you I'm not making this up. Let me come inside and explain. Please."
A thin film of sweat broke out across Colt's brow. "Fine," he said. "You have two minutes." He led me upstairs and opened his door. I almost tripped over a box as I entered. There were boxes everywhere.
"What's going on?" I asked. "Are you moving?"
"I have no reason to stay here," he said. "Dean fired me, so I'm not stationed in Sweetland anymore. I have nothing tying me here."
My mouth automatically clicked open. Tears began to well in the back of my eyes. I fought them off.
"Where's your mom?"
"She went back a couple days ago. I'll be joining her in another week or two." He turned and stared at me.
"You have one minute left. Do you want to spend it discussing my move or did you have something else you wanted to tell me?"
One tear fell down my cheek, and I quickly brushed it away. "Your father is alive. He's been in hiding the last fifteen years. He was undercover when Vlaski discovered his true identity. He got away and has been tracking him ever since."
