Edna came past us and opened a set of double doors to our left. “Why don’t you folks use the parlor? You won’t be disturbed. Can I get you some tea? Or coffee?”
“No, we’re fine.” And I hoped we’d stay that way. Greyson and I went in.
Luna followed, closing the doors behind her. “What do you want?”
Her tone was smooth with almost no inflection. The lack of menace made it menacing. I wish I could understand how that worked, but her cool, even temperament almost made me feel like any reaction I had would be too much.
I sat. No one else was, but I didn’t want to stand there and face down this tall, willowy creature on my feet. You know, just in case my knees locked up, the blood stopped flowing to my brain, and I passed out.
Greyson took the seat next to me, instantly earning boyfriend points.
Luna frowned, then also sat.
That was my cue to begin. “I appreciate you speaking to us. I wanted to come by and see you because frankly, I’m a little concerned about your visit to the store today. I think being honest with you is only fair. And there’s no point in dancing around the awkwardness of this situation. So there it is.”
She lifted her chin. Her eyes were so black I couldn’t see where her pupils ended and irises began. For an average person, that would have been very off-putting. For a reaper who was also the Mistress of Nightmares, it was perfect. Creepy and weird, but perfect. “Why are you concerned? Why is it awkward?”
“I can give you the same answer to both of those questions. You’re Tempus Sanders’ ex-wife. Don’t you think that’s enough to make this situation a little tense?”
She shrugged and I swear something black scurried through the plaits of her braid. So much for the spiders being gone. “You saw Tempus and me together last night. How friendly we were. What are you worried about?”
“Honestly, that maybe things won’t be so friendly today.” I didn’t want to tell her about what had happened this morning. I wasn’t going to be the reason she got mad at him. “I’m the manager of the store. It’s my responsibility to make sure things go smoothly, not just for Tempus as my guest, but for the customers who will be attending and for my employees who will be working. I don’t want any disruptions anywhere. That’s it. That’s why I’m here.”
She leaned forward and I definitely saw movement at her hairline. I tamped down the urge to grimace. “I understand. You’re just doing your job. I commend that, actually.”
“Thank you.” And I meant it. I hadn’t expected a compliment from her. Didn’t mean we were best friends or anything, but it was a start. “So can you promise me that your visit today will be just as friendly as last night’s?”
She smiled. “No.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that.
She tipped her head. “That is as much up to Tempus as it is me, isn’t it?”
“I suppose.” Which meant I was going to have to talk to him too. Snowballs.
Then Luna waved her hand at Greyson. “Could I speak to you alone?”
I could sense Greyson tense up, but I felt differently about Luna than I had a few minutes ago. And if I could survive being alone with Lucien, I could certainly survive Luna. “Sure.” I looked at him. “Give us a sec?”
He nodded, but sent Luna a sharp glance. “I’ll be in the hall.”
When he left, Luna spoke again. “You are not just a winter elf, are you?”
I played dumb. Partly because I really wasn’t sure what she was headed for. And partly because I wasn’t going to volunteer any more personal info than I had to. “No. I’m also the Winter Princess, heir to the Winter Throne.”
She laughed, a breathy sound like wind through bare branches. “That’s not what I meant. You have some elemental in you, don’t you?”
Oh, that. “Yes, I do. Not much, though. Not enough to give me any kind of power advantage.” Best to confess that up front in case she thought she needed to show off her skills to make a point. Also, I’d rather she underestimate me. Just in case.
She sat back and smoothed her dress over her thin legs. “But enough to make us kin. In the way that all elementals are kin to one another.”
I’d never felt that way, but then I was a winter elf through and through, despite my bloodlines. And really, arguing with her wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I just nodded and said, “Uh-huh.”
“That’s why I’m going to tell you why I’m really here.”
I was getting all kinds of special info today. I suppressed a groan. “Oh? Why’s that?”
Her chest rose and fell with a sudden breath. “I’m here…to get Tempus back.”
I blinked a few times before words came to me. I hadn’t expected that. “Really?”
Her mouth bent into an expression of sadness. “I miss him. I know he can be an acquired taste, but I still love him. I thought if I came to town to see him at his book signing, he’d see that things could still be good between us. And they were last night. But now I don’t know.”
All of a sudden, I felt for her. And I still didn’t want to tell her what had happened this morning, but it didn’t seem to me that Tempus was in any rush to reunite. “Maybe the book signing isn’t the best place. Maybe you should try to get some alone time with him, you know? Like after it’s all said and done. Then he can concentrate on you.”
She flattened her hands on her lap and stared at them. “I know you don’t want me there, but I need to see him. I need him to know I support him. And I promise I won’t make trouble.” She lifted her head to look at me again. “Unless you try to stop me from being there.”
I knew a threat when I heard one. I wasn’t about to be bullied. I dropped the temperature in the room about thirty degrees to underline my words. “Miss Nyx, I won’t stop you from being there.” Ice vapor followed my words out of my mouth. “But I will have you escorted out if you do anything to disrupt the event.”
She snorted, like she didn’t believe I’d do any such thing.
“Does that amuse you?” I let the temp creep down a few more degrees. A crackling sound filled the room as fingers of frost inched across the windows. I stood up, doing my best to keep my eyes off the scythe hanging at her waist. “Because I can guarantee it won’t amuse Tempus. You do anything to ruin this book signing for him and your chances of a reunion are definitely over.”
Her expression sobered.
I hoped that meant I’d gotten through to her. “Thank you for your time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a very busy day ahead of me.”
I walked out without waiting for a reply, head up, shoulders straight. It was a walk I’d seen my mother do many times. But it was harder than it looked to turn my back on Luna.
I grabbed hold of Greyson’s arm as I joined him in the hall. “Car,” I said.
He nodded and went ahead of me, getting the door to the D&B.
We were half a block away before I exhaled. “That was not fun.” I lifted my hands. They were visibly trembling. “She’s a scary individual.”
“Two reapers in one day.” Greyson shook his head. “I wish you could take the rest of it off.”
“Me, too. But work will be good. It’ll give me something to focus on. And if it’s anything like yesterday, it’ll go by fast.”
“You should try to rest for a few minutes when you get back to your apartment. Lie down, give yourself some time with your eyes closed to just mellow out. That sort of thing. You have time, right?”
“I do. In theory. I just don’t know if I should.”
“Jayne.” He looked at me. “I can hear your pulse thumping. Give the stress a chance to leave. Promise me you’ll at least try.”
I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “I’ll try.”
“Thank you.”
A couple of minutes later, he dropped me off with a kiss. I checked in at the shop and found everything going smoothly. I stood behind the counter with Juniper. “Anything from upstairs?”
“Olive came down to ask where to get more of th
e chocolates that were in the apartment. I gave her the directions for Delaney’s Delectables and she called a Ryde to take her there, although I did offer her use of a company bike. She came back with two big shopping bags, so I guess Sanders is soothing himself with sweets.”
“Those would be the ones I’d pick to soothe myself with. Anything else?”
“Nope. It’s been quiet since then. I guess they’re resting up until the big event at three.”
“Speaking of resting up, I’m going to head up to my apartment to decompress for an hour and then I’ll be back down to do whatever needs doing.”
“After the morning you had? Take two,” she said.
“No way. That’s too long. Too much to do. The hour will be fine.” I didn’t mention it was at Greyson’s insistence I was having a nap at all.
She waved me off. “Kip and I have it covered if you decide you want longer.” She grinned. “We work well together.”
I smacked my hand lightly on the counter. “I knew it.” I lowered my voice and leaned closer. “You like him. And he likes you. Have you broken it to Pete yet that he’s got competition?”
“No, and I’m not going to. I do like Kip, but it’s only as a friend. Besides, he’s got a girlfriend in the NP.” She sighed a little sadly. “He said something about her this morning.”
“Huh. Well, that’s a bummer. I like Pete and everything, but you and Kip seem—”
“We seem what?” Kip came out of one of the rows, a feather duster in his hand.
I spun to face him, feeling a little caught. “I was just saying what a great job you and Juniper are doing. You guys seem like you work well together and you’ve picked up the shop business like an old hand.”
He smiled. At Juniper. “Thanks.”
Sure, he might have a girlfriend, but I’d bet she wasn’t going to last long. I shot Juniper a look. “Be back in a bit.”
“Take as long as you need,” she hollered after me.
I just shook my head and kept walking.
I love my bed. It’s a big comfy nest of a thing. I also love sleep. I mean, what elf doesn’t? We work hard, play hard, sleep hard. It’s kind of an elf thing.
But the idea of napping, or resting, or whatever you wanted to call it while the shop was open didn’t go down so easy with me. At least not on a day when there was a big event about to happen. Yes, I know I’d napped yesterday, but I’d had the party at Elenora’s to deal with on top of everything else.
After today’s signing, we were essentially done. Sanders would be leaving tomorrow morning so tonight had purposely been left free. It was his chance to explore the town if he so desired. And unless he requested my presence, which he hadn’t, I was free.
So really, there wasn’t anything to rest up for. Other than a slightly busier day at work than normal.
Sure, my morning had been hectic, but was that really enough to warrant a nap?
Apparently it was, because here I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling with a happy little black cat licking his foot next to me.
I wasn’t going to actually sleep. I could feel that much. I was too restless. Then what was I doing here? Certainly not decompressing the way Greyson had hoped, because all I could think about was Luna’s impending visit.
And the fact that she’d threatened me.
I rested my arm across my eyes, blocking out the light. I couldn’t take the threat lightly, but then again, I couldn’t exactly do anything about it until she acted on it. And then what? I grabbed for her scythe and did my best ninja moves on her?
I’d been trained to fight with the magic I had. Ice, cold, snow. I could create all kinds of weapons and defenses and distractions with the stuff. But none of that would work against a reaper. Freezing her solid was a temporary measure at best. Nothing would really defeat a reaper but their own blade, according to Lucien.
And the real kicker was I couldn’t tell anyone. It would have been so nice to turn Lucien’s info over to Greyson and let him handle it. After all, Luna couldn’t hurt him. He was already dead. For her purposes, anyway.
I moved my arm, squinting at the light to look at Spider. He was cleaning his ear now, licking his paw and rubbing it over his head. So cute. “I have to keep my word, don’t I?”
He stopped to look at me. “What’s word?”
“It’s the same as a promise. I told someone I would do something. I gave them my word I would do what I said.” And I’d just answered my own question.
He stood, suddenly excited. “Like feed Spider?”
“Silly cat, I fed you ten minutes ago when I came in. And that’s more than my word, that’s a given. Now lay down and take a nap.”
He turned his head this way and that as if he couldn’t quite understand why he wasn’t getting more food. “Spider likes Chicken Party.”
“I know. But it’s nap time, not Chicken Party time.”
He curled up next to me, heaving out a big sigh.
I grinned and went back to staring at the ceiling.
Then I must have taken my own advice, because the next thing I knew I was back in the store, but it wasn’t exactly the store. It was a dark, swampy version of it. A dream version. And in that dream the store was now outside and it was night. Drifting clouds gave an occasional glimpse of a crescent moon.
Clumps of Spanish moss hung from the rows of toys. In the distance an owl hooted. I walked through the aisles and mud sucked at my feet. I glanced down. I was definitely outside. What the snow was going on?
“Juniper? Buttercup? Pete?” Pete didn’t work here. Why was I calling for him?
A grunting noise came from behind me. I turned around to see Juniper standing there. Except she wasn’t the Juniper I knew and loved, but zombie Juniper. Her teeth were all rotten and black and her eyes were sunken in like she’d already begun decomposing.
I jerked back, horrified, and a shriek ripped from my throat. Hands clutched at me from behind. I spun to see Kip reaching for me. His lower jaw hung loose off his face. He was a zombie too.
I screamed as he grabbed me again. For a dead guy, he was surprisingly strong. He was shaking me, pulling at me. I tried to shove him away, tried to—
“Jayne, wake up.”
I blinked, sucked in a big gulp of air and stared up at Buttercup. My heart pounded. Was she a zombie? No. I was awake.
Tell that to my thumping pulse.
“You okay?” She sat on the side of my bed, looking very concerned. “I heard you scream from across the hall. Good thing you gave me a spare key. I thought you were getting murdered in here.”
I sat up, my breath still coming in deep swallows, but I wasn’t scared anymore. I was angry. I knew exactly what had just happened. And what had been happening. “That woman did this on purpose. She’s been doing it.”
Buttercup shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” I gave her the rundown about Luna, my visit to her and what her powers were.
Buttercup’s brows shot up. “Mistress of Nightmares, huh? She’s definitely got your number then.”
I nodded. “And she’s done it three times now.”
“Wow.”
“Exactly. Enough is enough.”
Buttercup got off the bed and stood beside it. “What are you going to do?”
“I have an idea.” I pushed to my feet. I was charged up and ready to act. If Luna showed up now, I’d have no problem going for her scythe. Still not sure I could use it, but I’d at least get my hands on it. Maybe that would be enough to get her to behave.
“You need me to do anything? Help in any way?”
“Nope. I know exactly what I need to do and I can handle it on my own.”
I biked to Ever After in record time. I’d texted Corette before I’d left, but had yet to get a response. I hoped that didn’t mean this was a lost cause. I left the bike at the curb and walked into the shop. There was something soothing about that sea of white dresses. Remin
ded me of the snow drifts back home. I looked around for Corette, hoping I wasn’t disturbing her.
I didn’t have to look long.
She walked toward me, phone in hand. “I just got your message. Come on back to my office.”
“Thanks.” We walked together, her in a pretty navy suit and pearls, me in a Howler’s T-shirt and yoga pants. I probably could have changed, but time had been of the essence. “I appreciate you giving me a few minutes.”
“You caught me at the right moment.” We went into her office and she closed the door. “I have an hour between appointments. But your text didn’t say much.”
It hadn’t. All I’d sent was Urgently need your help.
She gestured for me to sit as she took the chair behind her desk. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m being targeted by someone very powerful. And I need your help to keep them out of my head.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “I’m going to need a few more details.”
I told her everything I could. About Luna, about the nightmares, about her desire to get Sanders back. The info about the scythe and elementals I held onto since it wasn’t mine to share. “What do you think? Can you help?”
She didn’t exactly smile, but there was a determined light in her eyes. “Preventing nightmares is an easy enough thing, but this is more than that. It’s going to take more than a simple spell.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“Maybe for ordinary witches, but not for the Williams women.” She lifted a finger. “Let me make a few calls…”
Less than half an hour later, I stood in Pandora Williams’ spell room. It was in the well-stocked attic of her boyfriend’s house, a gorgeous restored Victorian that I’d visited very briefly a few months ago. I’d been worried about getting arrested then.
Now I was worried that I might lose my life. But Pandora had cast a spell of protection on me then, so I imagined that whatever spell she, her sister Marigold, and their mother Corette were about to create would be three times as effective.
I hoped so. I didn’t have a lot of other options.
Miss Frost Saves The Sandman: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 3) Page 10
