Hex Type Thing

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I love you.” He leaned in and kissed me with everything he had. I sank into the kiss, enjoying the way his arms automatically went around me. As much as I wanted the cake, this was nice, too.

  And then I heard it. The whispering was back.

  She thinks she’s so special. I’ll show her special.

  She needs to keep her nose out of other people’s business.

  Why do they always have to be together? If I could just separate them.

  I jerked back my head and stared into the bushes to our left. There was no rustling or shadows. But I felt evil permeating the air, and the source was close.

  “What is it?” Galen asked, instantly alert.

  “Someone’s watching us.”

  He didn’t ask how I knew. He didn’t request more details. He stood, pulling me with him.

  “We’ll go together.” He was firm. “I’m not splitting up from you at this cemetery again, not after what happened with the incubus.”

  I nodded without hesitation. “We’ll go together.”

  “Stick close ... and have that magic you’ve become so good at ready in case we need it.”

  He didn’t have to ask. I was already prepared for a battle. “Let’s do this.”

  25

  Twenty-Five

  Galen’s legs were longer than mine and he was sprinting before I realized it. I couldn’t keep up and almost stumbled, giving him a push to keep going when he looked over his shoulder.

  “I can’t keep up. Go.”

  “No.” He immediately started shaking his head as a twig snapped in the underbrush ahead of us. The look of longing on his face when he turned back in that direction would’ve been comical under different circumstances. He was like a dog kept from chasing the Frisbee that was obviously thrown for him.

  “You have to go.” I was insistent when I pushed him this time. “I’ll be right behind you. Don’t worry. I just can’t run as fast as you.”

  The sound of another twig breaking, this time deeper in the trees, helped him make up his mind. “Don’t die on me,” he barked as he took off. It was obvious he was torn, but if this was our only chance to catch the bad guy he didn’t want to miss out.

  I followed him, but he was athletic and vaulted over a bench at one point. I, of course, had to go around it. Had I tried to jump it I would’ve fallen on my face. By the time I hit the trail, he was out of sight.

  I pulled up short, cocking my head as I tried to listen for the sound of footsteps. It wasn’t easy given the way the wind rustled the leaves. Despite his size — and he was a big guy — Galen was light on his feet. I couldn’t hear the echo of his footsteps and was reticent to keep going in case we couldn’t find each other.

  I sucked in a breath, stared for another full minute, and then turned on my heel to head back to the picnic blanket. That’s where he would look for me if he lost track of his quarry. If he didn’t, he would still return to update me on taking someone into custody.

  Everything was exactly as we left it, and I dropped to a sitting position. As much as I wanted to dig into the cake — I’m a stress eater and could’ve inhaled the entire thing in ten minutes — I knew I had to wait. It was a celebratory cake. It wouldn’t be much of a celebration if Galen didn’t even get a bite.

  To protect it, as much as give me something to do with my hands, I put the box back together and gathered the leftover wrappers and containers from our sandwiches and potato salad. When he still wasn’t back, I let myself start imagining the worst. I like to think I’m an optimist, but as a realist I recognize that pessimism smacks me across the face at least three times a day.

  I was feeling low, worried to the point of distraction, when the whispering started again.

  She’s alone.

  Why is she alone?

  Where is the sheriff?

  Is he still out there?

  Should I move on her?

  Because the questions were driving me crazy — and making my palms sweat — I heaved out a breath and lifted my chin.

  “I know you’re out there.” I didn’t make a move to seek out the source of the chatter. I wasn’t dumb enough to let whoever it was draw me into the foliage, where he or she could attack and I might not even see it coming. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know why you’ve done all of this. But we will find you.”

  She thinks she’s going to find me?

  How did she know I was here?

  Perhaps she’s as powerful as the others have been whispering.

  I furrowed my brow and glanced from left to right. Something occurred to me as I was listening, and now that I’d gotten the notion in my head it was hard to dislodge.

  “I know there’s more than one of you.”

  That did it. The whispers started in earnest.

  She knows. We have to kill her.

  Now isn’t the time. The sheriff is coming. He’s almost here. We have to run.

  We can’t just leave her. She knows.

  She knows nothing. She’s only guessing.

  “I’m doing more than guessing,” I called out, hoping to unnerve the voices. “I can hear you. Every thought you have, every word you try to whisper, I can hear you.”

  The silence that followed was deafening. Then, clear as dawn on a cloudless day, one of the voices spoke. Of course, it was only in my head, but I felt the malevolent fury laced through the words.

  We’re not afraid of you.

  “You should be. I’m coming for you. All of us are coming for you.”

  We’ll be waiting.

  I thought about pushing harder, trying to bait the voices to attack, but they were gone. I could feel it the second they disappeared. Less than a minute later, Galen burst through the bushes. He was sweating profusely, there was a scratch on his cheek, and he gasped for breath.

  “You’re okay.” He looked so relieved as he leaned over to rest his hands on his knees that my heart gave a little tug. “I was worried when I realized you were no longer behind me. Where did I lose you?”

  “When you jumped the bench. Not all of us were track stars.”

  He smiled. “I could catch him ... or her. I guess it could be a her. It was weird. I thought I heard noises from two different directions. I think whoever it was tried to throw me off the scent. They were good at it, because I couldn’t find a trail.”

  “I don’t think that we’re dealing with one genius,” I countered. “I think we’re dealing with at least two people.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I can hear voices ... and they’re talking to one another. I mean ... like in their heads. I think that’s the way they communicate. I somehow picked up on it because of what I can do.”

  “Well ... that’s interesting.” He didn’t put up much argument as he moved back to the blanket. “Do you think they’re gone?”

  I nodded. “I know they are. They knew you were coming back and took off. I thought about trying to track them down but figured it was safer to stay here.”

  “It definitely was.” He swooped in and gave me a soft kiss, his hand pushing my hair from my forehead so he could study my face. “Well, if they’re gone we won’t find them tonight. It will be weird to stay here after that.”

  “You’ve got that right.”

  The smile he sent me was genuine. “How about we take the cake home and eat it in bed?”

  “Now that sounds like the highlight of my day.”

  “I thought you would like that.”

  GALEN WAS STILL ASLEEP WHEN I woke the next morning. Usually he was up a good twenty minutes before me. He would then proceed to stare until I woke up. At first I thought it was creepy, but it didn’t take long for me to get used to it. This morning, however, I was thrown when I realized he was still down for the count when I opened my eyes.

  To make sure he got as much sleep as he needed, I left him in bed and padded out of the bedroom. I didn’t bother changing my clothes — a shower could wait — but did brush my teeth before hitting t
he kitchen for coffee. I found my ghostly grandmother trying to load the dishwasher. Her hands were ethereal, so she had to constantly practice, and sometimes she didn’t have as much luck as other times. That didn’t stop her from trying, of course.

  “You’re finally up.” May’s eyes flashed with impatience as she turned to me. “You left a mess in the kitchen.”

  She was finicky in a lot of ways — something I found endlessly amusing — but my mind was too weary to mess with her today. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long couple of days.” I added water to the coffee machine and set it to percolate. “I’ll do the dishes in a bit.”

  May’s eyes widened when she got a better look at me. “You don’t look as if you feel very well, dear. Are you sick?”

  “No. I just didn’t sleep well. I kept having these weird dreams. I could hear voices but didn’t know who they belonged to, and when I went looking all I found were these giant snakes. It was ridiculously creepy.”

  Instead of commiserating with me, May looked amused.

  “It’s not funny,” I groused, moving around her to grab the glasses from the sink and shove them in the dishwasher. If she was going to continue looking at me that way I was going to have to get the chores done before I started contemplating breakfast. “I’m tired ... and a little cranky.”

  “I can see that.” May’s smile was so wide it almost encompassed her entire face. “Late night with Galen?”

  “Yes, but not for the reasons you think.” I did my best to ignore the horrified look on May’s face when she realized I was shoving the glasses in without rinsing them. “It’s a dishwasher,” I reminded her. “It’s supposed to wash dishes. There’s no reason to do it twice.”

  May rolled her eyes. “It’s more sanitary.”

  “Well, I’m not in the mood to be sanitary.” I finished loading the dishes and rinsed my hands before adding detergent and pressing the button. “Something has been happening to me.”

  “If this is about the games you’ve been playing with Galen, I’m sorry, but I can’t listen. You may be an adult, but I’m still your grandmother. As adorable as you two are, there are still lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”

  The look I shot her was withering. “Listen, I’m never going to want to talk to you about my sex life. You needn’t worry about that. I wasn’t talking about Galen. Things between us are good.”

  “Is that why there’s frosting all over the upstairs sheets?”

  My cheeks burned under her careful scrutiny. “He bought cake last night. We were celebrating.”

  “Oh, yeah? What?”

  It was probably best this came out when Galen wasn’t around to bear witness. “He’s going to move in here. Once this investigation is settled and we have our murderer behind bars, we’ve decided to live together.”

  Instead of chiding me — as I suspected most grandmothers would under similar circumstances — May chuckled. “I figured that was coming. You two practically live on top of each other as it is. It’s not practical to keep a second place when you want to spend all of your time together.”

  I was flabbergasted. “Aren’t you supposed to give me a lecture about giving the milk away for free or something? I seem to remember my college friends getting that diatribe when they tried to live with boyfriends.”

  “You’re an adult.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re allowed to live with your boyfriend.” May looked absolutely delighted. “You two belong together. I’ve seen the way you look at one another. This is good.”

  I was relieved ... though I wouldn’t have minded the lecture. I never got one when she was living. Once, even though she was now dead, might’ve been nice for my memory book. Still, I wasn’t about to complain. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” She made a show of trying to pat my hand, but all I felt was a soft fluttering. “If Galen isn’t the reason you didn’t sleep, what’s the problem?”

  I sank onto one of the open stools and rested my elbows on the counter. “It’s a long story.”

  “I’m dead. I have nothing but time.”

  “That’s true.” I grinned and then launched into the tale. It had been days since we’d touched base. She wasn’t even aware that Alastair had gone to that great scammers convention in the sky. When I was finished, she seemed more concerned than surprised.

  “I knew you would be powerful. I think I always knew that. You’re manifesting so fast, though, I don’t know what to think.”

  “I don’t either. Some of it’s fun. Like, yesterday, one of the witches staying at the Cabana Clutch hotel with June showed me how to conduct glamour spells. I’m not very good at them yet, but she said I caught on faster than most. And I did make myself look like Beyoncé. Sort of. She’s a performer, by the way. She’s awesome.”

  “I know who Beyoncé is.”

  “Just checking.”

  “And I’m thrilled you’re learning new skills,” May insisted. “You’re a strong girl, Hadley. You’re going to be an amazing witch. You just need to make sure that you don’t get ahead of yourself. Eventually, your powers will be something you can always rely on. You’re so new at this that you can’t yet put your faith in them because you’re not always aware of exactly how you’re doing something at any given time.”

  “I’m well aware that I’m capable of confusing myself.” I rolled my neck and blew out a sigh. “I don’t know what to make out of any of it. It’s giving me a headache, so I’ve decided to think about something else ... at least for the time being.”

  “That’s a good thought. Think about Galen.”

  “Actually, I was thinking about June. Did you know she was a lesbian?”

  May was good at covering her emotions most days, but she couldn’t quite shutter fast enough this time. I didn’t miss the mischievous grin that flitted across her face before she shut it down.

  “You did know!” I couldn’t hide my annoyance. “Why didn’t you say something? I mentioned I wanted to set her up with Wesley and everything.”

  “I told you that wouldn’t work.”

  “Yeah, but ... I thought you were just saying that because you wanted to keep Wesley for yourself. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. I just ... well ... I don’t want him to be lonely.”

  “And you think I do?” May turned stern. “Listen here, young lady, I’m not in charge of Wesley. I wasn’t his boss in life and I’m certainly not his keeper in death. I love him with my whole heart. I always have. If I thought there was a chance he might move on with someone else and find some modicum of happiness I would leave him to it. But I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “Because he feels the same way about you?”

  May nodded. “Sometimes people mate for life. Wesley and I were those sorts of people ... even though we often needed breathing room from one another. We did the absolute best we could. We’re still doing that.”

  “Yeah.” I felt mildly guilty for intruding in their relationship. “It’s just ... I didn’t want June to be lonely either. It turns out that I was barking up the wrong tree. She and Bronwen have some sort of long-term relationship.”

  “She and Bronwen?” Galen stepped into the doorway, bare-chested, and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. He looked as if he’d slept hard. “Are you kidding me? Bronwen looks like she could be her granddaughter.”

  “I told you already she was using glamours. We talked about it at the cemetery. You were more interested in the food.”

  “Yeah, but … .” He trailed off.

  “Bronwen is in her late sixties,” I offered.

  Galen immediately started shaking his head as he headed for the coffee pot. “No, she’s not. There’s no way. She’s in her twenties.”

  “It turns out that’s part of the glamour thing she does. She showed me how to do it yesterday, but I’m not good at it yet. My Beyoncé is pathetic.”

  He slid me a sidelong look and I could tell the potential for fun wasn’t lost on him.
“We’ll get back to that,” he said after a beat. “I don’t understand. The woman we saw at the docks was young. I’ve seen her several times since and she was young those times.”

  “It’s a mask. I thought I noticed her looking more tired some days, as if she hadn’t slept well. Turns out she doesn’t always apply the glamour uniformly. She says it takes a lot of power to do it. She gave me some lessons.”

  “That sounds fun.” He slipped a strand of hair behind my ear as he moved to stand by the stool. “I think we need to have some ground rules if you’re going to run around making yourself look like someone else. Like ... no trying to fool me. You can mess with everyone else, but not me.”

  I thought about arguing — the power was a new toy I wanted to practice with — but I understood his worry. “I will only put on a glamour around you if we’re both aware.”

  “Thank you.” He kissed my forehead and went back to the coffee machine. “As for June, I knew she was into women … and men, but mostly women. She didn’t talk about it when we were kids, but Booker and I were fairly certain that was the case. She dated men throughout the years, but I’m pretty sure that was to get people off her case.”

  “Well, it doesn’t seem fair that she would have to do that,” I said. “I don’t know whether things are going to work out with her and Bronwen. They don’t seem to know either despite being in contact off and on for years. June is the sort of person who knows exactly who she is. Bronwen seems to be three different people.”

  “And they all have different faces,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Well, I don’t know what to make of it. I just want June happy. If she wants to spend her golden years with this Bronwen person, it’s none of my business. I’ll stand behind her no matter what.”

  He was good that way. Still ... . “You could’ve told me she was a lesbian so I didn’t look like such an idiot when I tried to set her up with Wesley.”

  “I happen to like it when you look like an idiot. Besides, it wasn’t my secret to tell.”

  And he had another point. “I’m still annoyed.”

  “I’ll make you breakfast this morning to make up for it. After that, we need to hop in the shower and get going. Dirk should have the warrant by nine, which means I want to be there five minutes later to start grilling him.”