by Raven Snow
“Every little bit helps,” Lydia insisted, but she didn’t press the matter. Margo was Norm’s daughter. She wasn’t going to insinuate that he wasn’t concerned enough about her well-being. It was obvious that he was as sleep-deprived as any of them.
It took a while for everyone to arrive. Ben managed to carve out some time from work, but he was constantly looking down at his phone. More than once, he stepped into another room to take a phone call while they waited.
Jasper arrived while they were still waiting on Margo. He was wearing the same clothes Rowen had seen him in last. He still looked tired, like he hadn’t managed to get that nap in.
“Need some coffee?” Rowen asked as she took his coat to hang up near the door.
“Hmm?” Jasper shook his head as if to clear some of the fogginess from his brain. “Yeah. Please. I would appreciate that.”
Rowen went to the kitchen. She was relieved to see Ben was already there. He was looking down at his phone, thumbs moving as he typed something. “He’s here,” Rowen said quietly.
Ben looked up from his phone. He looked confused at first, but it didn’t take him long to realize who she was talking about. “How does he look?”
“Tired.” Rowen had already told him about their meeting earlier, not that there was a whole lot to say about all that. She hadn’t discovered much that was definitive proof of anything one way or the other.
Ben nodded and went back to his phone. It wasn’t like there was a whole lot he could do aside from keeping an eye on the guy and listening in while he was there. He had to be discreet about it. Jasper already thought he had it out for him, after all.
Margo was the last to arrive. No one was surprised. It was a ritual for her. It figured that she would be late anyway. Sutton was with her. Rowen wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wondered if he had talked this over with Ben, if Ben had approved it. He didn’t pull him aside for a talk, so it was probably all right. Maybe he had even done it on purpose to see what kind of a reaction it got out of Jasper. He certainly looked uncomfortable. He went to greet Margo, but his eyes kept darting to Sutton.
It didn’t help that the reception Margo gave him was a little frosty. Her smile was strained, and the hug she gave him looked tense. It was easy to chalk up to her nerves after all that had happened. It was also easy to assume it had something to do with the growing rift in their relationship.
Margo went to the kitchen to get her own cup of coffee. Jasper put as much distance between Sutton and himself as possible without outright leaving the room. Rowen went after her cousin. It felt like the only chance she would have to get her alone for a while. “Hey,” Rowen said quietly, sidling up beside her and leaning against the counter.
Margo glanced up from filling her coffee cup. “Hey yourself.”
“How are you doing?”
Margo shrugged. “Oh, you know. I’m hanging in there.” She shot Rowen a pointed look. “I really wish you would have stayed for the interview.”
Rowen had heard that from her already. “I told you. Something came up.”
“You probably could have made it back in time if you’d hurried. Julia wanted you there.”
“Well, she didn’t see fit to tell me that herself. Besides, this means more screen time for you, right?”
Margo hummed and turned her attention back to her coffee. She clearly didn’t care much for that excuse. “You should have been there.”
Rowen decided to change the subject before they were interrupted. “Are you still mad at Jasper?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I said. Are you still mad at Jasper?” Rowen inclined her head in the direction of the living room. “When you came in, you didn’t look too thrilled to see him.”
Margo shrugged. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Is that all it is?”
“What are you getting at?”
It was Rowen’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know. He seems worried about you.”
“Well, he should be. I’m in a lot of danger.”
“But you don’t want him around you right now. It seems that way, at least.”
“Does it?” Margo glanced in the direction of the living room as well. “I haven’t noticed.”
“I think he has.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“I talked to him.” Rowen hoped Margo wouldn’t ask when, hoped that she would assume that they had talked before she had arrived. She didn’t feel like admitting to Margo that they had met for coffee earlier. “He’s worried you two are drifting apart.”
“And who gave him that idea?” Margo glared at Rowen like she was accusing her.
Rowen held up her hands. “You did, I would think.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You’ve been keeping him at arm’s length. He thinks maybe you and Sutton have a thing going.”
“You said something to him.”
“I really didn’t.” Rowen tried to give Margo an earnest look. “I’m serious. I didn’t say anything to him. If anything, I tried to reassure him that, you know, like you said. You just have a lot on your mind.”
Margo sighed, her shoulders relaxing some. She turned to the cabinets and rifled through them for some low-calorie creamer. “I don’t know. All of this has put a lot of things into perspective.”
“Like what?” asked Rowen. She didn’t point out that, from her point of view all of this had started way before that.
Margo tapped some creamer into her drink. “I don’t know. Maybe we are sort of drifting apart. It was fun for a while, but… Life is too short not to chase your bliss, right?”
“And being with Sutton makes you feel… blissful?” Rowen tried not to let her doubt be audible. It wasn’t her place to lecture Margo.
“I don’t know.” Margo huffed and stirred her coffee, turning it a lighter shade of brown. “I like Jasper, but… I don’t know. I kind of like Sutton too.”
“Are you sure it’ll last? Maybe this thing between the two of you is still new, so it’s exciting. Are you sure you won’t still want to be with Jasper after all that wears off?”
Margo glared at Rowen like she wanted to snap at her. Instead, her posture sagged a bit. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I like them both, but obviously that’s not viable… Is it?”
Rowen couldn’t help but notice the hopeful look Margo gave her then, like maybe she would sanction dating two guys at once. “No,” Rowen said plainly. “That’s not viable.” She moved closer and lowered her voice even more. “You should really talk to them. Both of them.”
“Really?” Margo turned her body, giving Rowen her full attention. She leaned against the counter. “I’m not sure now is really the right time. I don’t think I can deal with the extra drama right now. I mean, you’re probably right… You’re definitely right. I can admit it. I need to say something, but… I think it should wait until all of this is settled.”
“You’re staying with Detective Sutton right now, though.”
“And?” Margo’s mood was quickly turning back to annoyance. “You really think that of me? You think I’m choosing right now to make a move?”
“Are you?” Rowen regretted the words as soon as she had said them. “I know tensions are running high right now,” she added quickly. “I’ve seen enough action movies to know that the hero finds comfort where they can get it. Heck, I’ve been in your situation more than once. It’s nice having someone else when that happens, and… I know how things are between you and Jasper right now, so…”
It took a while for Margo to say something after Rowen trailed off. Finally, she sighed. “Maybe we almost kissed last night,” she admitted. “But we didn’t! Sutton didn’t think it was right, thought he might be taking advantage of me in my delicate state.”
“Delicate?”
“Maybe he didn’t use those exact words, but that’s what he meant. Either way, we didn’t do anything.”
“So you’re pretending like nothing
happened?”
“We don’t have to pretend anything. Nothing happened.”
“I’m not sure that’s what Jasper thinks.”
“And we’ll have a talk about that. Just not right now.”
“I think…” Rowen wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t tell Margo about Ben’s suspicions. She wasn’t supposed to, and Margo would probably just get mad anyway. “I think maybe you should check in with him. Just while he’s here. I think it’s best if you stay with Sutton. Don’t go off alone with Jasper or anything. That might make things awkward. He might bring up a question you don’t want to answer, and it might escalate from there.” She didn’t want those two alone for other reasons, but she kept those to herself.
Margo considered what she was saying in silence for a few seconds. Finally, she shrugged. “All right. It’s not like I’ve meant to give him the cold shoulder. It’s just felt awkward. At first, I was annoyed with him, but now it feels mean. I do like him, you know. I hope we can still be friends after this.”
“I hope so too.” That would mean that Jasper wasn’t responsible for everything. “Now, let’s go see what our aunts have planned, shall we?”
The ritual they were doing didn’t sound promising. It was a ritual to find the origin of someone’s misfortune. Lydia and Nadine felt that, perhaps, this would lead them to where the individual who was after Margo lived. If magic was that precise, Rowen wouldn’t have any trouble solving mysteries. She doubted it would be that easy.
“Something like that will take time,” Norm pointed out. “It probably won’t come to any of us immediately. We might get a prophetic dream at some point, but there’s no telling when that’ll be. Even then, it’ll likely only be the ballpark location of—”
“Hush.” Lydia shushed her brother. “Don’t put ideas in everyone’s heads. Don’t go discouraging everyone before they even have a chance to begin. You don’t know that this won’t work, and saying as much just disturbs everyone’s state of mind.”
“It’s worth a try,” said Nadine with a nod. “It can’t hurt.”
“I guess not,” said Norm, and it sounded like he meant that. There was no point in not trying. Every little bit helped.
It was Detective Sutton that didn’t look overly convinced by any of this. He was sitting on the sofa, his arms crossed over his chest. One of his eyebrows was raised as he watched them ready things. Rose had ordered pizza for everyone. They were clearing it off the coffee table now to make room for candles and an altar cloth.
“If you’re not going to take this seriously, you should probably go outside,” said Jasper. His tone was none too kind.
Sutton picked up on the way Jasper was speaking to him. It was difficult not to. “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe in…” He made a vague motion toward the coffee table. “Whatever it is all this is. I don’t believe in magic. I believe in solid detective work. That’s just me, though. If this makes everyone feel better, far be it from me to tell you to stop. A good outlook is important. Whatever lifts everyone’s spirits.”
Every head in the room turned toward Sutton. He was the only nonbeliever in the room. Rowen wasn’t too bothered by people not believing in what she and her family did. She knew that now probably wasn’t a good time for Sutton to make his beliefs known, though. She wished that Jasper hadn’t said anything, that he had just let Sutton be judgmental in silence. Maybe not as many people would have noticed.
“I need everyone to stay in the right frame of mind,” Lydia said firmly. “Belief is key in making this work.”
“Which is why you need to leave,” said Jasper, his gaze still fixed on Sutton. “You’re going to ruin everything.” Rowen wondered if he was still talking about the ritual.
Sutton looked like he wanted to say something. He sucked in a breath and looked around the room. “Does everyone else want me to go wait outside?”
“That might be for the best,” said Ben.
“You don’t have to,” said Margo. She seemed to rethink that when Rowen shot her a look. “You can wait in the next room if you want.”
Sutton looked back to Jasper as he stood. Rowen couldn’t quite read the look that passed between them, but it didn’t look good. God, why did men have to act like this? She waited until Sutton had disappeared down the hallway before going back to helping with the candles.
“All right,” said Aunt Lydia, speaking loudly to draw everyone’s attention back to her. “Are you all ready?”
***
The ritual was a long one, but it mostly involved meditating. The candles were all that lit the room while they sat there in silence. Rowen closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of the oil she had been anointed with. It smelled minty and burned something awful. She fought the urge to wipe it away. She didn’t think it would have any effect on the ritual, but if someone saw her do it, she would definitely get a talking to later.
Instead, Rowen did her best to focus on the spell’s objective. She let her mind wander while keeping that goal in mind. She did her best not to get discouraged, but it felt like Norm had been right. She wasn’t getting much of anything. Answers would probably come later. When precisely that would happen was up in the air.
Rowen opened her eyes and waited for everyone else. It was difficult to tell how much time had passed. It felt like another thirty minutes before Lydia and Nadine raised their heads and looked out at everyone else.
The circle was broken and the candles were extinguished. The overhead lights were turned back on while Nadine and Lydia took offerings of food and wine outside. Well, pizza and beer. They didn’t have any of the former. Lydia complained, but there wasn’t a whole lot to do about it without someone running to the store. Her aunts both agreed that there wasn’t time for that. Offerings needed to be made sooner.
“You can come back in here!” Margo called, raising her voice instead of going to get Sutton herself. She had seated herself next to Jasper. Rowen saw him flinch, either at the idea of Sutton returning or Margo’s volume.
A few seconds later, Sutton appeared from the hallway. He was looking down at his phone with a frown. He pocketed it as he came to a stop in front of the sofa. “How did it go?”
“Well…” Margo didn’t sound like she knew how to answer that. She looked around at everyone else. “It went about as well as it could, I think.”
“She means it went about as well as it could with you here throwing everyone off,” said Jasper. Rowen held her breath.
“Is that what she meant?” Sutton raised his eyebrows. “You really think you need to clarify what she meant for her?”
“Guys-” began Margo, raising a hand.
Jasper continued like he hadn’t heard her. “I just don’t understand why you’re here.”
“I’m here because I was invited here and because I’m making sure Margo is safe.”
“Like you made sure she was safe the last time she got shot at,” Jasper countered.
“Okay.” Ben raised his voice and stepped forward. “Sutton, why don’t you wait outside? I think we’re just about finished here. Will you call the station for me and tell them we’ll be back shortly?”
Sutton didn’t answer immediately. Slowly, he looked back at Ben. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but Ben was his boss. Even off the clock, there were certain things you just shouldn’t do around people you worked under. Getting into a fight in their home was one of them. Instead, he nodded and removed his phone from his pocket. “Let me know when you’re ready to leave,” he said to Margo as he walked past.
The room was silent until the front door closed. It was awkward. Lydia was the first to speak again. “Well, I think that went well.”
Aunt Nadine nodded in agreement. “It felt right to me.” She looked to her brother. “What do you think?”
Norm was distracted, still looking in the direction of the front door. “Hmm?” He looked back to Nadine. “Oh, I think it went fine. I didn’t get any clear results from it, but that doesn�
��t mean it didn’t work.” He scanned the faces in the room. “Did anyone pick up anything?”
Everyone shook their heads. “I thought…” Peony started to say something but stopped herself.
Nadine perked up and looked to her daughter. “You sensed something? What did you sense?”
“I sensed Peony fall asleep,” Willow muttered.
Peony elbowed her sister. “I didn’t fall asleep.”
“She totally fell asleep.”
“If I did, it was just for a second.”
“That’s okay,” Nadine said quickly. “Sometimes that’s even better. It means your mind was relaxed and open. Sometimes we’re more receptive to information from the universe when we’re sleeping.”
Peony shot her sister an ‘I told you so’ sort of look. “Well, I don’t know if I saw anything helpful. I just got the impression that… maybe I was being drawn in more than one direction.”
“What do you mean?” asked Margo.
“I mean, the spell is supposed to lead you to where the source of all this originates, right? So where they spend most of their time, like their home or something? I felt like I was being pulled in more than one direction.”
“So you think multiple people are responsible for all of this?” Margo paled at the very idea. Rowen had to admit that she was troubled by that possibility as well.
“Maybe?” Peony shifted where she sat, looking uncomfortable with being the bearer of that news.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lydia said quickly. “There are other things it could mean.”
“Like what?” asked Margo. Lydia didn’t seem to have an answer for her.
“It might be something to go on,” said Norm, looking on the bright side. “It’s better than no information at all.” He looked to Ben. “It’s something to consider, right?”
“Sure.” Ben knew that magic was real. Rowen got the impression that he leaned more towards Sutton’s line of thinking, though. If it came down between good police work and magical prowess, he would pick police work every time. Rowen didn’t fault him for that. It balanced them out. He didn’t completely discount the work they did. He valued their input. That was all she could really ask for. “I’ll keep that in mind. Right now, I really do need to get back to the station, though.”
