Halo Effect

by Annabel Chase

  The sheriff laughed. “This is Spellbound, Emma. Everyone’s strange. My sister probably tops the list.”

  “Permission to rephrase the question, Your Honor. Have you noticed anyone acting out of character?”

  “Well, I issued a citation to an ogre after he tossed a dwarf across the academy lawn this morning.”

  “Is that out of character?” I asked. Ogres didn’t have the most glowing of reputations. My current client was proof of this.

  “He insisted that the dwarf asked him to do it. When I questioned the dwarf, he said he could tell the ogre was stressed and wanted to help him alleviate the tension.”

  “That doesn’t count as a violent crime?”

  She shook her head. “Don’t think it qualifies based on their explanation.”

  “That’s definitely odd, but I’m thinking more along the lines of good behavior from residents that are typically…not so good.”

  The sheriff drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair in a steady beat. “Now that you mention it, Rue Halloran held the door open for me at Brew-Ha-Ha.”

  “And that’s odd?” Who was I kidding? Of course it was odd. That nymph was crankier than Agnes when she loses a fierce game of tiddlywinks.

  “It is for me,” Sheriff Astrid said. “Rue has never forgiven me for having her jalopy towed on her birthday. Every time she sees me, her face contorts like this.” The Valkyrie scrunched up her features.

  “That’s it? She held open the door?”

  “And she didn’t make this face either. That part is crucial.”

  It didn’t quite rise to the level of the harpies and Dr. Hall, but it was worth checking out. “Thanks. I’ll swing by and feel her out. She was angry about the festival, so I’ll be interested to see if she’s still disgruntled.”

  The sheriff eyed me curiously. “You want to investigate paranormals being too nice? I’d let sleeping werewolves lie.”

  “Noted.”

  She exhaled and pushed herself to her feet. “I can tell you’re going to ignore my input. If there’s anything I need to know, loop me in.”

  “Of course.”

  She arched a pale eyebrow. “Do you promise? The Emma I know has a tendency to try to take care of everything on her own and that sometimes gets you into trouble.”

  I held up my hand. “I solemnly swear I won’t handle a dangerous situation on my own.”

  Sheriff Astrid snorted. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

  “Let sleeping werewolves lie,” I muttered to myself. “As if.” My head snapped to attention.

  Werewolves.

  The adjacent door opened and Althea appeared in my office.

  “Alex,” I said.

  She pointed to herself. “No, Althea.”

  I gave my head a tiny shake. “I need to see Alex.” If anyone else would’ve noticed the change in the harpies’ behavior, it was the alpha of the werewolf pack. He spent more time with Darcy’s family than anyone.

  “Okay,” Althea said slowly. “Do you mind if I use your office while you’re gone? I need to study for an exam.”

  “What’s wrong with your office?”

  “I already have notecards all over my floor. It’s basically become a game of the-floor-is-lava except the-floor-is-law.”

  I motioned to the floor on my way out. “Mi suelo es su suelo.”

  Chapter Eleven

  I parked in the driveway at Alex’s house and noticed the double doors to the workshop were wide open. Loud music from the workshop caused the whole car to reverberate.

  I walked across the lawn to the workshop and poked my head inside. The werewolf stood at a high table wearing protective goggles and a white smock. His head continued to bob in time to the heavy metal music.

  “Alex,” I yelled.

  He was too intent on his project and the music to hear me.

  I waved both hands in an attempt to get his attention. The last thing I wanted to do was surprise a werewolf on his own turf.

  I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled his name again.

  His head paused midway through a bob and he looked at me. “Hey, Emma.” He reached over and turned down the music. “Welcome to my science lab.”

  I approached the table and saw that it was covered in bottles, bowls, and pieces of bark. “Since when?”

  “Since I became alpha and needed a distraction to lower my stress level. I never knew how much Lorenzo had to deal with on a daily basis.” Lorenzo Mancini’s death had been a shocking blow to the werewolf community and Spellbound at large.

  “So you’ve turned to science?”

  His grin was infectious. “Well, it didn’t start that way, but that’s how it ended up. Darcy and I are working on a secret project together.”

  I smiled back. “So secret that you can’t tell me?”

  He shifted the goggles to the top of his head, leaving red lines around his eyes and along his forehead. “I’m sure she won’t mind if I tell you. We just don’t want to get too excited in case it doesn’t pan out, so we’re keeping it to ourselves.”

  I picked up a piece of bark and examined it. “Now I’m intrigued.”

  “It all started with hiking in the woods.”

  “Darcy likes to hike?” The harpy favored pencil skirts and kitten heels and wore her blond hair in a bun worthy of a librarian. Hiking didn’t seem to be in her repertoire.

  “It’s something I convinced her to try earlier in our relationship and she really took to it. Obviously the woods are important to me and I wanted her to feel comfortable in what I consider to be my safe space.”

  “That’s understandable.” I thought about Daniel wanting me to be comfortable in the air because flying was such a natural component of his life. Heights fanned the flames of my anxiety, which usually hit my vomit button unless I’d taken my anti-anxiety potion.

  “It’s nice to share something you love with the paranormal you love.”

  “I wholeheartedly agree.” There seemed to be no limit to the number of activities Daniel and I enjoyed doing together—even cooking had become a task to look forward to when Daniel was involved.

  “Darcy suggested more frequent hikes to help get my stress level under control. One day we passed a willow tree and started talking about the medicinal properties of the bark.”

  “It treats headaches, right?” The coven would be proud of me for remembering a fact from my lessons.

  “Among other things. It’s a pain reliever. The key ingredient is called salicin.”

  I sniffed the bark and tried to identify the scent. “This isn’t willow tree bark, though.”

  “No.” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “No, it’s from a purusha tree.”

  I vaguely recalled learning about purusha trees in one of Lady Weatherby’s classes. “They’re only found in the paranormal realm.”

  “Yes, they’re distinctive because of their many branches.”

  A lightbulb went off in my head. “That’s right. It’s also known as the tree of a thousand branches.” I returned the bark to the table. “And what? You’ve discovered it acts as a pain reliever, too?”

  His grin broadened. “Even more exciting, at least for werewolves.”

  I tried to think of an issue specific to werewolves. “It’s flea resistant?”

  “Close. We think it treats mange,” he said. “It’s one of those embarrassing issues werewolves don’t talk about. We embrace our primitive side, but not all the downsides that come with it.”

  “How did you figure this out?” I asked.

  “Purely by accident.”

  “Like all the best inventions,” I said. “Let me guess—you were sitting under a purusha tree and a branch fell on your head.”

  He chuckled. “Not quite. We’d been hiking in the woods behind Darcy’s house and my coat was itchy. I scratched the side of my body on the nearest tree, which happened to be a purusha tree and I felt an immediate sense of relief.”

  “Isn’t that what alw
ays happens when you scratch an itch?”

  He shook his head. “This was different. The need to itch resolved completely, even hours later. Anyway, Darcy and I decided to do some testing, so we set up this workshop and have been collecting bark samples.”

  “That’s terrific,” I said. “What an amazing discovery if it works.”

  “I think I’m as excited about this as I am about our wedding.” He cringed. “I probably shouldn’t say that out loud. One of the Minors might swoop down from the treetops and smite me.”

  “Not this week,” I said. “They seem to be on their best behavior.” I watched the werewolf closely to gauge his reaction.

  “Believe me, I’ve noticed,” Alex said. He removed the goggles from his head and set them on the table.

  I felt a sense of relief, probably similar to Alex rubbing himself on the tree trunk. “It’s weird, right?”

  “Extremely,” he agreed. “At first I thought it was a prank, but then I realized they were staying in character, or should I say ‘out of.’”

  “Have you mentioned it to Darcy?”

  “She seems to think they’re acting normal, like they always greet me with a chaste kiss on the cheek without grabbing my butt.” He shook his head. “Part of me freaked out, but the other part of me rolled with it. Honestly, it’s a dream come true. I half-jokingly asked Darcy to move up the wedding date so we could marry before they decide to revert to their regular selves. I’ll feel a lot better about mixing the pack with her family in a social setting when the harpies aren’t verbally attacking or harassing anyone.”

  I could understand why Alex wanted to embrace the new harpies. Still, something about their behavior unsettled me. It didn’t feel fake or forced, but it still felt too out of character to be genuine. Paranormals didn’t simply turn good overnight.

  “They’re not the only ones being unusually nice. Dr. Hall was acting strangely, too. Like a better version of herself.”

  Alex dragged a hand through his thick hair. “Huh. That is unusual.”

  I started to think. “You’re Mr. Scientific Hypothesis now. Help me out. What do they have in common?”

  Alex gave me a helpless look. “They’re all women with strong personalities?”

  ‘Strong’ was putting it mildly. “What about Darcy? Does she seem the same to you?”

  “Now that you mention it, she’s been a little kinder—going out of her way to do things for me—but she’s never been downright scary like other members of her family.”

  “What about Callie?” I’d always considered Callie to be the most pleasant of the harpies.

  “I haven’t seen enough of her to say.” He scratched his head. “Do you think it’s a coincidence?”

  I gave him a wry look. “When is anything strange in this town ever a coincidence?”

  “Fair point. I guess it could be a spell, but why?”

  I shrugged. “Could be someone targeting strong women.”

  “Like who? A man they insulted?”

  “I don’t know, but they’re known in Spellbound as strong and aggressive women. Maybe some guy felt threatened by them after a confrontation and decided to do something about it.”

  It was a stretch but not out of the realm of possibility.

  “I’ll keep an eye on Darcy’s family,” he said. “Let you know if things get weirder.”

  “Thanks.” I tapped the table. “This is great work, Alex. I hope the experiment is a success.”

  “I never thought I’d be spending my free time boiling bark in water, but I guess we have to be open to whatever path reveals itself.”

  “Absolutely,” I agreed.

  I knew that more than just about anybody. One glimpse of Daniel on a cliff overlooking Swan Lake and I veered onto an entirely new path. It had been impossible to predict and yet I wouldn’t change a thing.

  “Want to stay a bit and be my lab assistant?” he asked. “It’s more fun than it looks.”

  “I would, but I need to stop by Stems and see Rue Halloran.”

  He laughed. “You can’t possibly need more flowers.”

  “No, but I need to see whether the bloom is on the rose.”

  He frowned. “Don’t you mean off the rose?”

  I smiled. “Not in this case.”

  As I drove to the heart of town, I passed Ember walking on the side of the road. I pulled over and rolled down my window.

  “Want some candy, little witch?”

  Ember smiled when she realized it was me. “How’s it going?”

  “I’m heading into town. Do you need a ride?”

  “Sure. Why not?” She climbed into the passenger seat. “I’m taking a break from writing my article. Thought fresh air might do the trick.”

  I pulled back onto the road. “I assumed you’d write it when you got back to Starry Hollow.”

  She cut a sideways glance at me. “I might be dragging my heels a little.”

  “About going back?”

  “I need a longer break,” Ember said.

  “Relationship trouble?”

  She sighed and closed her eyes. “Nailed it. I thought taking a trip would help, but I can’t clear my head when I’m traveling with an entourage.”

  “Don’t feel like you have to hang out with me. I won’t be insulted.”

  “No, you’re fine. I’m feeling pressure to handle things a certain way because of Marley and…” She trailed off. “Never mind. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “If you need a distraction, I’m checking out a possible situation.”

  She arched an eyebrow at me. “What kind of situation?”

  I pulled in front of Stems and parked. “The weird kind.”

  “Ooh, I love a weird situation. I’m in.”

  I nodded toward the flower shop. “We’re going inside to see whether the owner got hit with the good stick.”

  Ember looked at me askance. “Is that different from the ugly stick?”

  “I believe they are unrelated sticks.”

  I pushed open the door and inhaled the fragrant scent of roses. Rue Halloran stood at a waist-high table creating a floral arrangement.

  “That looks beautiful,” I said. “Is that for a customer?”

  “No, it’s for me,” Rue said. “I wanted something different for the window display.”

  “It needs more red,” Ember said.

  I shot her a quick look. Only when the witch smiled did I understand. She was testing the waters.

  “I agree,” Rue said, “but these two were the only ones I could scrounge up after the festival. The roses were very popular.”

  “They’re not from your own stock?” I asked.

  “No, I found them on the ground after the festival and decided not to waste them,” Rue said. “The whole experience tickled my creative muse.”

  Her creative muse? That was…surprising. I decided to push a little harder. “How’s business? Did your fears about the festival come true?”

  “Oh, I was being silly, wasn’t I? Business is booming, just as your husband predicted.”

  I smiled proudly. “Daniel has his moments.”

  “A lot of that going around, apparently,” Rue said.

  “How do you mean?” I asked.

  “One of my regular customers was in earlier and she bought a custom wreath for her former daughter-in-law.”

  “Is that unusual?” Ember asked.

  “Well, yes. They loathe each other. I’m talking epic battles. It’s part of the reason the marriage didn’t last.”

  “Maybe the wreath was a peace offering,” I suggested.

  “No, it was a pick-me-up,” Rue said. “My customer is donating one of her organs to her former daughter-in-law.”

  I balked. “Even though the marriage dissolved and they hate each other?”

  “That would make a great story for a personal interest article,” Ember interjected. “Would you mind giving me your customer’s name? I’d love to interview her while I’m in town.”
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br />   “Ooh, how exciting,” Rue said. “Her name is Stefany Trello.” She reeled off the address.

  “How would you describe Stefany?” I asked.

  Rue appeared thoughtful. “Well, she’s a troll, about five feet…”

  “No,” I cut her off. “I mean, how would you describe her personality? Is she the type to cut in line at the shop or let you go ahead of her?”

  Rue shifted one of the roses to another spot. “What a strange question, Emma. Stefany and I have similar personalities, I would say. It’s why we get along so well. We understand each other.”

  In other words, Stefany was normally a grumpy old woman.

  “Tell that husband of yours I’m sorry I doubted him,” Rue continued. “And I’d definitely like to take part in the next festival. I feel like I missed out on a golden opportunity.”

  “I’ll be sure to let him know,” I said. “He’ll appreciate it.”

  Rue stepped back to admire her arrangement. “Looks beautiful, doesn’t it?”

  I looked at the display of multi-colored roses and poppies. “It does. You have a knack, Rue.”

  The nymph smiled. “Thank you. Have a wonderful day, you two.”

  Ember and I left the shop and she gave me a knowing look. “The good stick.”

  “Yeah, I think so. Would you mind if I went with you to see Stefany?” I asked. If the troll was another woman with a personality transplant, then I needed to speak with her.

  “You know this town better than I do,” Ember said. “I’d appreciate the company.”

  Sheriff Astrid was right. Rue was being as sweet as burstberry pie and it was entirely out of character. If Stefany Trello was also affected, then this situation was more complex than I thought. One or two revenge spells were believable, but an entire group of women seemingly unconnected to each other? Something else was afoot and I needed to get to the bottom of it. I had the sinking feeling that, despite appearances, whoever or whatever had caused this good behavior was up to no good.

  Chapter Twelve

  Stefany Trello lived in a residential neighborhood not far from Elsa Knightsbridge’s house. I shuddered at the memories of Daniel’s former girlfriend. The fairy had used a spell to make him believe he was madly in love with her and had caused me a lot of pain in the process.