“I’m better now that oppressive feeling isn’t as bad. I was worried, you two were zoning out there for a bit.”
“Shit, Emmy, I’m sorry. We should have been better prepared for the possibility they might be actual Magi, and not just lackeys.”
“How much longer is that woman going to take?” Clayton growled.
“She should be back any minute now. It’s been almost 15 minutes.” I answer, taking another peak at the clock. “Well that’s assuming she is coming back…”
“Maybe it’s time for an alternate plan…” Ian finally said, pulling out his phone.
“What do you suggest?”
“I think we need the rest of the guys,” Ian whispers, not looking up from his texting.
“I agree,” Clayton rumbles.
“Wow, who’d a thought we’d need an exit strategy for an office visit.”
“Alright, they are on the way. Once the guys get here we’ll ask again for the file. If they don’t have it ready, we’ll have to switch to Plan B.”
“What is Plan B?” I ask quietly.
“Give me a minute,” Ian grimaces. “I’m still working on it.”
The front door opened and we all turned.
Instead of the guys, a vaguely familiar man strolls through the door. I try to place him, taking in his slicked back dark brown hair, smart grey double breasted suit, and the briefcase tucked under his arm. He’s got an air of privilege about him, even though he can’t be much older than us. I try to picture all the guys I’ve seen at school, but I can’t place him there. Damn, this is going to drive me crazy.
He glances over at us as he walks to the vacant receptionist desk. Setting the briefcase on the floor, he scans the desk.
“Are you kidding me? If you’re not going to have someone here to greet people, you should at least have a bell or something,” he mutters under his breath. With an irritated sigh, he turns, taking in the rest of the room, before finally settling his gaze back on us.
“Any idea where the receptionist is?” He asks, his velvety voice sending a shock of recognition through me. Oh my god, it’s the Voodoo Priest from the Halloween Ball. E something or other.
“She’s in the back, allegedly making copies,” Ian answers with a shrug.
“The world's longest set of copies,” I complain under my breath.
“Maybe she’s making the paper too,” Clayton whispers back. “Growing the trees… Mashing the wood pulp…” I stifle a giggle as Clayton winks at me.
“Huh, is that so?” The Voodoo Priest muses. His eyes linger on me for a moment longer, before going back to looking at the desk. Grabbing the phone, he turns it around. Picking up the receiver, he works his way through each of the programmable buttons. The silence stretches on, and then he suddenly straightens.
“Ms. Blackmore?... Yes, this is your 4:30 appointment… I’ve been waiting here in the lobby, but your Receptionist is strangely absent... Apparently she may have gotten lost while attempting to make some copies… Mmmhmm… I see… Well I’m afraid I don’t have all day, so if you wouldn’t mind sending her up so I can be on my way… Uh huh… Well that’s really not my problem, Ms. Blackmore… If you prefer to call my Father and resche… Of course, I’ll see you shortly then.” He hangs up the photo and turns to look at us, his lips curling into the same knowing smirk he wore at the Ball.
“Someone should be up in a minute,” he winks, leaning back against the desk.
“Thanks for your help,” Ian says, stepping forward and offering his hand.
“It wasn’t intentional, but I’m happy to be of service,” the Voodoo Priest answered, taking his hand. “Elijah Harris.”
“I don’t remember seeing you around here before, Elijah,” Clayton rumbles, releasing my hand to wrap a protective arm around my shoulders.
“That’s because we just moved here...”
“Mr. Harris?” Ms. Congeniality interrupts, emerging from the hallway with a stack of thick files in her arms. “Ms. Blackmore will see you now, please follow me.”
“Hold on a moment. These nice people have been waiting for you. Please take a moment to finish your business with them first. I’m happy to give you a few more minutes if you need to finish your copying.”
Ms. Congeniality’s lips tighten into an angry frown, but before she can say a word, Ian intercepts her.
“Let me help you. Is this Ms.Langmore’s paperwork?” Ian asks as he deftly removes the files from her arms. Quickly looking through the paperwork, he finally nods. “Excellent. It appears you already have everything prepared and here. We’ll be on our way now, and you can assist Mr. Harris.”
The front door opens, and I glance over to see Sebastian, Jared and Samil pour inside. They wear matching concerned expressions as the survey the scene. Clayton jumps to his feet, pulling me up with him.
“That’s right,” Clayton echoes. “We’ve taken up enough of your time today.”
“B..b..but…” Ms. Congeniality stammers, reaching for the files as Ian deftly steps out of her reach and passes them to Clayton. The Voodoo Priest catches her hand, drawing her attention back to him.
“How excellent,” he says with a surprisingly charming smile. “Since your business with them is finished, please show me back for my appointment.”
“Oh, um, yes,” she says, clearly flustered. Who’d have thought the Voodoo Priest would have the power to make Ms. Congenitally blush. “Of course, Mr. Harris. Right this way.” With a final glare at us, she ushers him down the hall.
“Shall we?” Samil asks, raising an eyebrow as he opens the door. We all exchange looks, then quickly file out of the office. Sebastian’s SUV is waiting outside, parked behind the twins' Cadillac.
Ian heads over to the driver’s side of the Dragon Mobile and unlocks the door.
“Meet at the cottage?” Jared asks as he takes the files from Clayton and puts them in the back seat of the SUV. “It’s closer.”
“Sounds like a plan, we can regroup and debrief there,” Ian agrees, climbing into the driver’s seat.
“See you soon,” I call, slipping into the back before Clayton can get there. I lock the door and wave to him.
“Trouble…” Clayton groans pulling the door handle.
“Sorry, Papa Bear. You’ll have to sit up front,” I laugh as Clayton opens the front door, and sticks his head in.
“It’s really hard to act like a gentleman, when you insist on sitting in the back.”
“I got it, Papa Bear, you’re a gentleman. You’re also the size of a truck, and don’t belong squished back here.”
“Just get in the car, Clay,” Ian sighs, cranking the ignition. “We need to get going.”
“Fine, but I’m doing this under duress,” Clayton grumbles as he climbs in and closes the door.
“We know, we know,” Ian says, pulling away from the building. “You can argue with Emmy another time about who should sit where. We need to get back to the cottage and fill in the guys. Today was proof we need to come up with better defenses against Magi attacks. If Emmy hadn’t kept it together back there, who knows what would have happened.”
I sigh, happy to put some distance between us and that office. Relaxing into my seat, I drop the last of the shield and release my hold on Ian and Clayton’s energy. As it dissipates, a sudden wave of exhaustion hits me and I can barely keep my eyes open.
“Guys, I’m really beat. Is there any way you could do this without me?”
“You are looking a bit pale, Emmy.” Ian acknowledges, meeting my eyes in the rear view mirror. “Let's head out to your place instead. Clayton, text everyone and let them know about the change of plans.”
“Thanks Ian,” I sigh, closing my eyes.
“Of course, Emmy. You just rest. Clayton and I handling filling them in on the appointment. Anything the two of us can’t answer, we can discuss tomorrow.”
“Mmmk, you da bestest,” I murmur, letting sleep overtake me.
∞
Ding
&n
bsp; Ugh, where am I and what horrible person is texting me.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I fumble around for my phone. My fingers brush against the slick metal and I manage to grab it. Unlocking the screen, I’m blinded by the light and quickly turn the screen away. With the light shining the other direction, it’s clear I’m back at my house, in my bedroom. One of the guys must have carried me up here.
My eyes finally accustom to the light, I flip the phone around so I can see the text messages.
The group text flashed with new messages.
Tank Clayton: Hey change of plans, met up at Emily’s house.
Vampire Jared: Got it.
Rock Star Samil: Everything ok?
Tank Clayton: We’re fine, but Trouble is crashing hard, she’s asleep in the back seat.
Rock Star Samil: Gotcha, see ya soon.
Nerd Ian: Hey Emmy. Sleep well, we’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Angel Sebastian: Night night Sprite.
Well no point answering them now, not if I want to go back to sleep tonight.
I back out of the thread and open the other new text
Prince Charming: Nice seeing you again Princess.
I stare at the message, frowning. Damn, I meant to block this guy. Hovering over the block option, I hesitate. He did help us out this afternoon… Even if it was an accident.
Me: Hey there. Thanks for your help at the lawyers office. I thought we were going to be stuck sitting there all day.
Prince Charming: Of course. Riding to the rescue is my job after all.
I roll my eyes and suppress a groan. This guy is SO cheesy.
Me: Right... What were you doing there anyways?
Prince Charming: Helping my Dad deliver some paperwork.
Me: Oh? Is Ms. Blackmore his lawyer?
Prince Charming: Nah, he just needed someone local to handle some paperwork. How about you? Why were you and your friends visiting the uptight and unpleasant offices of Ms. Blackmore?
Me: Pretty much, the same, but we were picking up files rather than dropping them off. I think they were trying to bore us into giving up. You arrived at the perfect time.
Prince Charming: Clearly they underestimated your determination.
Me: Yes. Well anyways, we appreciated the distraction. I’ve got to go. Have a good night.
Prince Charming: Talk to you later. Sweet dreams, Princess.
Turning off the volume, I slip the phone on to the night stand. Pull the blanket up, I close my eyes and fall into sleep’s embrace.
Wednesday, November 8th
∞
OMG this is the worst mystery ever. The main character thinks she’s better at being a detective than her boyfriend, the police chief. Instead of talking to him, she goes behind his back, breaking into crime scenes and suspects’ homes, and inevitably gets caught. Soooo irritating. I definitely won’t be reading any more books from this series.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of movement. Curious, I look over at the stacks, expecting to see one of the guys. Instead a dark haired guy is slowly moving down the aisle, his head tilted to the side so he can better read the titles. Half way down, he pulls a book and flips through the pages, then returns it to the shelf. He grabs another and repeats the same steps. Three or four books later, he must have finally found what he was looking for, as he tucks a book under his arm. He turns towards me and our eyes lock. It’s him again, the Voodoo Priest… E something or other. A long moment passes, and I half expect him to come over and try some more cheesy pickup lines. Instead, he shocks me by turning and walking away. For the first time, I wonder if I’ve been too hasty by blowing off his offers of friendship. Maybe he’s right; maybe you can’t have too many friends.
“Hey, Emmy.” I jump, my heart pounding, as Ian’s voice breaks the stillness, and he slips into the seat next to me.
“Jesus, Ian! You scared me!” I laugh, shoving the horrible mystery in my bag. I can’t believe I was so preoccupied thinking about the Voodoo Priest that I didn’t hear Ian, Pushing aside thoughts on new friendships and terrible books, I focus on Ian. “Were you in stealth mode or something? I didn’t hear you come up.”
“Sorry, no stealth mode, Emmy,” Ian chuckles.
“Damn, that would have been cool. Maybe we should work on that project next,” I suggest with a wink. “Anyways, I was starting to worry no one was coming. Do you think the Librarian will mind us spending our lunch here?”
“As long as we’re quiet and don’t make a mess, she said it was fine,” he assures me.
“Wait, really? How did you manage that?”
“I just asked her, Silly. Ms. Crowe is cool. And I spend a lot of time here, you know,” he explains. “Plus, I told her you had a phobia of crowds.”
“Oh great,” I groan, burying my head in my hands. “Now she’s going to think I’m crazy.”
“What? Don’t be silly, Emmy. There are plenty of people that have crowd related phobias.”
“Except that my issue really isn’t with crowds,” I drop my voice to a whisper. “It's the energy and emotions that come with them.”
“I know,” Ian says, patting my hand.
“Where are the rest of the guys, anyways?”
“They went to the cafeteria to grab some sandwiches and stuff. But since we’ve got a minute… Well there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Well, umm… I don’t want to upset you... “
“Hey, Ian, it’s ok. I know you’d never purposely upset me,” I assure him, curious what could be so bad, that he’s scared to tell me. “Whatever it is, I promise not to be upset with you or shoot the messenger.” Ian relaxes and nods.
“Ok, well when I was doing that background research on your Father… It was difficult to locate information about him… So I created an algorithm to search the web for any references to him and left it running…”
“Alright, so I’m guessing you found something?”
“I did…” He confirms. “A new article came up last night…”
“What did it say?” I ask, cautiously.
“I don’t know how to say this Emmy… But… The article reported that they went missing last week while sailing.”
“What? That can’t be right. Why would they be sailing?”
“That’s what the news article said. Apparently your parents were sailing off the coast of Mexico with some of your Father’s clients. There was a sudden storm and the boat capsized. No bodies have been recovered at this point, but everyone on board is presumed dead.”
“Wait, what???” I gasp, trying to process. “That doesn’t make sense. My Father couldn’t be bothered to come home for dinner. How did he find time to go sailing? Even if it was with clients… I don’t know. It just doesn’t sound right...”
“Look Emmy, I don’t want to sound harsh…” Ian pauses, taking my hand. “But… How well did you really know your parents? What with the… the “incident” and all… I mean it’s possible, right? They might be involved in things you’re not aware of.”
“When you put it like that, I guess you’re right… I don’t really know either of them. It’s just hard to imagine that they’re dead. Even if they didn’t want to be part of my life, or were involved with the Magi... I never wished for anything bad to happen to them.” Tears well up in my eyes, and I brush them away. Ian’s warm hand squeezes mine, his cool comforting energy flowing over me.
“Hey, Emily. They might not be dead. I mean… They haven’t recovered any bodies. Maybe they faked their own deaths to get out from under whatever Magi connection they had.”
“I guess that’s possible…” I sigh, staring down at our hands.
“And think of it this way… Maybe they didn’t leave you. Maybe they were trying to set you free. Either way, I didn’t want to keep this from you… But I also don’t think you should spend time worrying about them.”
“I suppose you’re right…”
“Hey, what are you two talking about so intensely?” Sebastian asks, plopping down across the table.
Ian shrugs, clearly waiting for me to decide what I want to share.
“Nothing important,” I say, forcing a smile. “Ian found some information about my parents, but they’re part of my past… So it’s not something we need to worry about.”
“Alright,” Sebastian grins. “In that case, let's talk about something that is important. Our plans for this weekend's Harvest Festival!”
“What’s the Harvest Festival?”
“Are you kidding, Sprite?!?! The Harvest Festival is the other major tradition here!” Sebastian explains excitedly. “The Festival has a little bit of everything. There are booths selling arts and crafts, games, food, they even open some of the historic homes for tours. After dark there will be live entertainment in the park. It’s awesome!”
“Live entertainment? Are you guys going to be playing?” I ask, smiling at the memory of their performance at the Halloween Ball.
“They asked us to,” Samil replies, sitting down. Jared passes wrapped sandwiches around as Samil continues. “But we said no. There are plenty of other local groups happy to play, and we’d rather spend time hanging out with you.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I protest. “I love hearing you play.”
“No worries Sprite, there will be plenty of other opportunities for us to play for you,” Sebastian winks. “But escorting you to your first Harvest Festival? Well that only happens once. Trust me; this will be a day to remember.”
Saturday, November 21st
∞
Ding
Angel Sebastian: Reminder! We’re meeting up at Sprite’s place at 10!
Vampire Jared: Ian and I are heading out now, be there in 15
Angel Sebastian: Don’t forget to dress warm, it’s going to be in the mid-50s today
Rock Star Samil: Got it
Me: Ugh, that sounds horrible! Can’t we stay inside where it’s warm?
Angel Sebastian: No way! This is going to be great! :) You’re going to love it!!!!! Promise.
Nerd Ian: It won't be that cold Emmy.
Tank Clayton: Ya Trouble. The sun is shining and we’re going to be walking around all day. You won’t even feel it.
Wave of Truth (The Magic Catalyst Chronicles Book 4) Page 7
