Spirited Blend

by Kennedy Layne

  “You should know that this incantation will only temporarily block your allergies,” I informed him, not surprised when I caught sight of our so-called cousin crossing the graveyard. Rye must have parked back by the old family crypts that lined the edge of the property. “If you’d like to continue to invite Leo to your weekly get-togethers, I can let Rye know what the brief verbal component is to cast the spell.”

  If? What in the Hades are you suggesting? Why would you even contemplate that my good friend here wouldn’t want me to have a permanent seat at his weekly poker game? I’ll be the life of the party with all my war stories of how I’m stopping the forthcoming squirrelpocalypse, Raven.

  “I look forward to hearing your plans, Mr. Leo,” Ivan said, giving Leo the reassurance he needed in regard to joining his super-secret supernatural group. As I quickly cast the spell, he did say something that was rather odd and looked at my mother in the process. Honestly, it made absolutely no sense to me. “It should be noted that although this body may be spelled, that of my entity may not.”

  Why would Ivan warn me about something like that? Did he think that I would actually try and use magic on a grim reaper? Had my mother? Let’s face it. Ivan had the ability to escort us through the veil. I wasn’t even close to being ready in joining the afterlife.

  I’m not letting this ruin my evening, Raven. My good friend might simply have wanted to state a simple fact without there being any untoward meaning behind it. As for you, resident warlock, prepare to lose the shirt off your back. Ted, keep your shirt on…I’ll just want the jacket to sleep on.

  “Let’s do this then,” Rye said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Oh, I was definitely going to hear all the scuttlebutt about this poker game. Leo was about to have the time of his life. “And don’t think for a second that your premium catnip can replace the Benjamins. Not going to happen.”

  Leo happily fell beside Rye as the two continued to banter about what was acceptable to put into the pot, with Ted following behind in his methodical manner. I then met Ivan’s gaze, nodding my appreciation for his time. I’m not sure how a grim reaper went about blocking out a few hours every Wednesday to host a poker game, and it was best not to ask.

  “Good luck, Miss Marigold,” Ivan said with a slight nod in return. “As for you, Miss Connolly, you’ll be happy to know that you are not on my list for this evening, either.”

  The black lines of grease on Heidi’s cheeks made her blue eyes stand out even more. It made her blinking in astonishment easier to see as she digested Ivan’s meaning.

  “If I may ask, what about tomorrow? I mean, do you receive a list hourly? Daily? Weekly? I’m not admitting to being Heidi Connolly, but is there a way for you to glance at a calendar for the next couple of decades on her behalf? I can totally relay that message for you. I’m sure the two of you can even come to some sort arrangement in exchange for that information. I mean, Ivan—the body you borrowed—still has to pay taxes. I’m sure that I could—I mean, Heidi—give you free tax services for as long as you’d like. What do you say, Ivan?”

  My mother rolled her eyes at Heidi’s ability to speak three times as fast in stressful situations and took her by the arm with every intention of leading her to the front of the graveyard where we’d parked our vehicles. Ivan was able to relay one more piece of advice that I did believe we should all take to heart…that was, if there wasn’t some object in Paramour Bay causing long-lost loved ones to somehow cross through the veil.

  “Miss Connolly, each day is a gift. Live each second to the fullest, leaving behind no regrets. This is true should I be your escort tomorrow or when you are ninety-two, three months, and two days old. You must always remember that there are no guarantees.”

  The sound of those cards being shuffled in Ivan’s hand was the only thing carrying through the chilly night air as he walked off into the darkness, following the others to whatever secret place they’d set aside for a night of supernatural poker.

  “Heidi, dear,” my mother began, her green eyes shimmering with mischief now that the three of us were alone. As a matter of fact, she seemed very happy at the moment. “Did the grim reaper just tell you when it will be your time to be escorted into the afterlife?”

  “Maybe,” Heidi replied cautiously, seeming to be breathing a little bit easier now that we weren’t standing directly in front of Death. “What did the no guarantee thing mean, though? Did that mean my death wasn’t carved in stone? Could that change? Or do you think he was just toying with me?”

  “Our local grim reaper did seem the type to have a dark sense of humor, did he not?” My mother had linked her arm with Heidi’s, turning her to face the front of the cemetery so they could begin their walk through the tombstones. “I think Leo might have met his match. Did you notice that…”

  I let the two of them go ahead of me, needing a moment to sort through the conversation we’d just had with a grim reaper. Dealing personally with Death certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence, so my fear might have prevented me from analyzing the entire discussion. One thing stood out, though, and that was the fact that I was to look close to home for whatever magical item could be responsible for allowing spirits to cross through the veil.

  First thing tomorrow, I was going to stop by the antique shop and convince Lydia that I needed to take a quick look around the storage room. I wasn’t quite sure what explanation I could give her that wouldn’t make me seem like I was a bit off my rocker or one of those people obsessed with the occult, but I would figure it out over a cup of coffee in the morning. My cup of sanity had a way of making everything right in the world.

  In the meantime, I was going to have to ask my mother not to keep Beetle out too late tonight since I needed him to open the shop tomorrow. I cringed just thinking about having that awkward chat. My mother seemed to delight in my awkwardness, but it must be done…for the sake of the residents in Paramour Bay.

  Something flickered in my peripheral vision, giving me pause. It must have been my imagination, because Mom and Heidi didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. I still slowed my pace to carefully look around the graveyard, noticing that the patches of fog had become quite thick in our short time talking to Ivan. Upon arriving, the palm of my right hand had begun to harness a bit of heat. Even though I could now sense piercing tingles, I couldn’t make out any sign of a threat to our safety.

  Was I just stressing over the fact that All Hallows’ Eve or my birthday celebration might not quite go as planned? Tomorrow was my favorite time of the year, and this was the first time that I would be able to celebrate it with the man who’d swept me off my feet, my best friend, and the new ones I’d made in a town I now called home. I had a lot to be thankful for, and I wanted the day to go off without a hitch. I should probably rephrase that, because first thing tomorrow would find me at the antique shop.

  I had an easy task in front of me, right?

  All I had to do was locate the occult object that was somehow allowing spirits to slip through the veil between us and the afterlife.

  Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.

  Chapter Eight

  “Isn’t this crossing some line that you’re going to be uncomfortable with?” I asked Liam, keeping my voice low so that Eileen couldn’t overhear us. His dispatcher was the official eyes and ears of this town, but thankfully the supernatural events that had occurred recently had all flown under the radar. “I didn’t stop by with the intention to talk you into going over to the antique shop with me. I just wanted to keep you informed of what I intended to do, and maybe entice a kiss of encouragement from you this morning.”

  Oddly enough, the bell hadn’t rung once after I’d returned to the cottage. I’d spent a couple of hours before bed waiting for the inevitable toll, but all had been silent. Maybe whatever object was still at the antique shop had been depleted of its magic. Heidi had agreed and driven home in her “new” used car, acquired since her move from New York City, still mulling over Ivan’
s riddle. My mother had chosen to stay the night with Beetle, that slight edge to her evaporating into the chilly night air.

  As for Leo, I’m pretty sure I heard him and Ted return home at around two o’clock this morning, having overindulged in whatever supernatural companionship they all shared. I wasn’t sure what types of drinks were served at an otherworldly poker game, but I’m relatively certain from the knick-knacks hitting the floor one by one that Leo had snuck in some of his premium organic catnip edibles. If it were possible, he was even less graceful when he’d consumed too much of his treat of choice.

  Would you mind lowering the volume of your thoughts, birthday girl? My head is pounding like a jackhammer, the glaring sunlight coming through the window hurts my left eye, and the smell of that crazy dispatcher’s perfume makes me want to hurl. My plan to stop the squirrelpocalypse will have to wait a day while I try to figure out who spiked my edibles. My bet is on our resident warlock. He seemed to turn up with one full boat after another at just the right times to rake the larger pots.

  “I’m not crossing any lines if finding that object and casting a warding spell on it keeps this town safe,” Liam replied, freezing in place before he stood up from his chair. “Wow. I never thought I’d catch myself saying something like that in the line of duty.”

  “You did say that I kept your life exciting,” I teased, tilting my face for a kiss when he finally made his way around his desk. “I’ll take that kiss now.”

  Leo purposefully gagged in that dramatic flair of his, though he still remained invisible due to Eileen’s presence in the outer area. Liam was fully aware of Leo and all of his idiosyncrasies.

  Between the heavy dose of perfume wafting in the air and your so-called public displays of affection, I’m not responsible for the hairball that I’m about to produce. You might call it the mother of all hairballs. You know, it just hit me—Ted has been known to surprise us a time or two. Maybe he was the one who spiked my edibles, wanting to change his luck at the table. It’s always the quiet ones we have to watch out for, you know.

  Liam drew me into the warmth of his embrace, pressing his soft lips to mine as his woodsy scent surrounded me. Going in search of a magical item that was literally turning Paramour Bay into a ghost town wasn’t exactly how I’d planned on getting a head start on my birthday. I’d needed this little private time for reassurance that today would end on a positive note.

  A positive note would be you doing me a huge favor to make this catnip hangover disappear. Did you get a chance to look up a spell for hangovers like I asked? I don’t think I can get through the day with this raging case of cottonmouth. It’s like someone shoved a ball of the stuff down my throat and wired my jaw shut. Hey, you don’t think my good friend would have done such a thing as to spike my edibles, do you? I was sitting to Mr. Ivan’s left, and he is left-handed.

  I pulled away from Liam with a sigh, resting my forehead against his chest for just another second of sanity. Leo had been complaining all morning about how someone had done something to his treats, because that was the only way to ensure that he wouldn’t rake in all the chips last night.

  “Leo, we talked about this,” I muttered, looking over my shoulder at one of the guest chairs. I had no doubt it was the one that Leo had plopped on when I’d made him come with me this morning. He was well-rounded in occult objects, so he might be able to identify some of the inventory at the antique shop that I might accidentally overlook. “We shouldn’t use magic for self-gain. We must suffer the consequences of our actions.”

  “Do I even want to know what that’s about?” Liam asked with a chuckle, reaching behind him for his badge. He’d changed from having the pinned badge on his khaki shirt to the leather backed flip model with an attached chain to hang it around his neck. It made it easier to see when he wore his bomber jacket due to the colder weather this time of year. He could just pull it out and wear it at a scene, if needed. “Don’t answer that. There are some things that I just shouldn’t know.”

  You throwing my words back at me isn’t going to work this time, Raven. Think of it as being for the greater good of this town. How am I supposed to be on my game in searching for this alleged object in question you think is still at the antique shop when I can’t even open my eyes to look for it?

  “You’re bound to find out,” I answer Liam wryly, still ignoring Leo’s request. It was his own fault that he’d consumed too much premium organic catnip at last night’s poker game. It was a lesson learned, and he would absolutely be saying the same thing to me had I hit the wine bottle too hard. “Leo was invited to stay for last night’s game. Let’s just say that he lost track of time and hit the catnip a bit too hard, and he’s now paying the price.”

  “Ahhh, the infamous poker game hangover,” Liam said in commiseration. He dropped a kiss on my forehead, surprising me with a request. “Would you mind keeping Eileen busy while I have a moment alone with Leo?”

  Wait just a squirrel’s chatter. Did the good ol’ sheriff just request to speak with me in private? I don’t know about this, Raven. I’m not in the proper frame of mind to be dealing with some sort of intervention…or asking for your hand in marriage. Neither subject is going to work for me. I’m forewarning you now. My answer is a resounding no to both. N. O. No. Oh, my nausea is returning full force. Why is the room spinning?

  “Good luck,” I said, wondering what in the world Liam had in mind. Although we’ve known each other for a year, we’d only been dating ten months. We weren’t anywhere near ready for marriage, so that thought hadn’t even entered my mind. I did think it was sweet that Leo would want to give approval for my hand in marriage, though. “Leo, show yourself so that Liam isn’t talking to a chair.”

  I held back a laugh when Leo materialized, looking a lot worse for wear than he had when I’d woken up this morning. I’m not sure how I missed it earlier, but I’m pretty sure there was leftover catnip stuck to his face. He’d risen up to sit on his haunches, and there was now a slight sway to his upper body.

  “I’ve got this,” Liam reassured me, though I wasn’t too sure what he meant by that. It wasn’t like he could understand a word Leo said, so it was pretty much going to be a one-sided conversation. “Don’t worry, Raven. We’ll only be a minute.”

  I wasn’t going to say that I wasn’t curious as to why Liam wanted a moment alone with Leo, but I wasn’t going to deny him this request. After how he’d handled the big supernatural reveal, I could give him this small appeal.

  “Are you two off to a birthday breakfast?” Eileen asked with a twinkle in her eye. She leaned forward so that the pumpkin’s green tassel on her shirt rested on the desk. Everyone knew of her propensity to wear outrageous holiday sweaters, but it was still shocking to the eye to actually be in the room with one of her favorites. “I can’t wait to hear what you think of your birthday present, dear. Liam was so excited that he had to show me earlier this week. I’m surprised you didn’t hear my squeal of delight all the way over at the tea shop.”

  I couldn’t stop the faint flush of my cheeks upon hearing that Liam had bought me a birthday present. I mean, I figured he would, especially considering that he was the one who was technically throwing me the small get-together at the pub after the town’s trick or treating extravaganza. But it still warmed my heart to hear that he was excited about whatever it was he’d gotten me.

  “You wouldn’t want to give me a small hint, now would you?” I whispered in earnest, leaning in close just in case Eileen couldn’t contain herself. After all, Liam had instructed me to keep Eileen distracted while he had a brief conversation with Leo. “Did he say where he was when he—”

  “Do I want to know why the two of you have your heads together as if you’re devising a plan to abscond with all the kids’ candy tonight?” Liam asked, having come out of his office a lot quicker than I’d anticipated. He couldn’t have said more than ten words to Leo, who had yet to utter a word. I tried to stifle the guilt that slid over my emotions. “Just
so you know, the Payday candy bars are all mine.”

  “You mean you’re offering a quarter to each child who sneaks you one when their parents aren’t looking.” Eileen laughed until the eyes of the pumpkins lit up on her sweater. When Leo didn’t comment on such an outlandish display, I worried that he might have actually choked on that hairball he kept claiming was stuck in the back of his throat. “You didn’t hear this from me, but I heard Monty was handing out Paydays over at his shop this year.”

  “He might already be a few bags shy of those treats,” Liam confessed with a grin, resting his hand on my lower back. “Listen, we’re heading over to the antique shop. There’s a rare artifact that went missing in New Haven, and I told Sergeant Kiernan that I’d check in with the local shops to see if anyone tried to pawn it off as an old family heirloom.”

  “Ah, I get it.” Eileen nodded in approval, though I think I missed something unspoken that had occurred between the two of them. “You’re dragging Raven along so that Lydia doesn’t keep asking you about Kathleen’s case.”

  Technically, there really wasn’t a case against Kathleen Reynolds. Long story short, she co-owned the antique shop across the street. Believing that her brother-in-law had been cheating on her sister, Kathleen had put a few drops of licorice oil into his tea. That particular component was rumored to be a truth serum of sorts. She’d had no idea that her brother-in-law had been allergic to it, causing him to drop dead in the middle of town square.

  Liam had been in close contact with one of the prosecutors, and everyone was in agreement that it had been nothing short of a tragic accident. There would probably be no charges against Kathleen seeing as she had no intent to harm anyone, but Lydia was a worrier nonetheless. With that said, Eileen had jumped to a conclusion as to why I was tagging along with Liam.

  “Something like that,” Liam said vaguely, but with a smile. He didn’t like to stretch the truth, but instead preferred to be honest and upfront. Unfortunately, the truth about my lineage and my gift were causing him to have to alter his approach ever so slightly. We both agreed it was for the greater good. Besides, we did believe that there was an artifact that didn’t belong at the antique shop, and it could very well have come from New Haven. “I’ll be back soon.”