Killian turned to me. “Peggin seems like a nice woman.”
“Yeah, she does.” I paused, then said, “I’m sorry, I feel like an idiot, but I have to tell you something. When I saw you talking to her—”
“You were jealous. You were afraid I’d make a play for her?” Killian said.
I nodded, blushing. “I don’t usually act so insecure. I’m not sure why she affected me so much, except that Ari told me that Peggin embodies Aphrodite’s energy.”
“Well, rest your mind. She’s pretty, yes, and I like my women with a little more meat on their bones, but she’s not you, January. Not only that, but she’s mated to someone else, and I don’t make a play for women who are in a committed relationship. In my Pack, when you make a vow to someone, be it for the short term or long term, you keep it.” He pulled me into his embrace, holding me closely.
“I promise you this, January Jaxson. So long as we’re together, I will never cheat on you. I’m open-minded in terms of men and women being friends—some in my Pack are not—but I will never cross the line. If for some reason we don’t work out, then I will end our alliance before I ever look at another woman. I give you my word of honor. Do you understand? You’re my mate, and even though we don’t know where this is going yet, I take that seriously.”
I nodded. “I understand, and I promise you the same thing. After Ellison, it’s hard to trust, but I know you enough to know that you take your honor seriously.” And then I took a shaky breath and said the hardest words for me to say. “I believe you.”
He kissed me then, low and deep, long and hard, and our bodies fit together snuggly, as though we were meant for one another.
“Do you want to stay the night?” I whispered, feeling him harden as he was pressed against me.
“I want to stay the night, yes, but I have to get up early for work tomorrow. I need a good night’s sleep because I’m running a livestock clinic tomorrow, and that’s hard physical labor, taking care of equines and bovines.” He sighed, resting his forehead against mine. “But as soon as we have the chance, I will carry you off to bed and cover you with kisses.”
Feeling absolutely cared for and adored, I nodded. I wanted to burst out with an “I love you,” but this wasn’t the time or place. It would keep, and hopefully I wouldn’t just blurt it out without warning until we had more time to talk about it. I wanted to make certain I wasn’t pushing things too fast, regardless of my feelings.
“All right then, Dr. O’Connell. Go home, and leave me alone in my bed,” I murmured, teasing him.
“As long as nobody else but the cats shares it with you,” he said. Giving me one more kiss, he gathered his coat and headed out the front door, over to his house.
As I locked up before going to bed, once again I stepped out onto the back porch. The Mystic Wood was lit up like a carnival, and as I watched the glowing aura of the trees, it occurred to me that I lived on the border to another world. And right now, it felt like something in that world was trying to creep out into mine.
Chapter Six
I was running about fifteen minutes late by the time I got to work the next morning. First, my hair dryer had shorted out, then I had burned my breakfast—in the microwave, no less—and when I stopped for coffee and a replacement breakfast, I ended up behind a woman who couldn’t make up her mind what she wanted. Her order seemed to take forever, and by the time I pulled through to pay for my sausage muffin sandwich and triple-shot mocha, I knew I’d never make it on time. So I parked in the coffee shop’s parking lot and wolfed down my breakfast, licked my fingers before wiping them with a wet-wipe, and headed out at a sensible speed. Tad wouldn’t care if I was a little late. He would mind if I got in an accident.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” I said. Everyone was gathered around the main table where we held our morning meetings.
“Sleep through the alarm?” Caitlin said.
I laughed, shaking my head. “No, hairdryer conked out, I burned my breakfast in the microwave, and then got caught behind the slowest person in the world at the Java Junkie.” I settled in at the table. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”
In the few months since I had come to work for Conjure Ink, I’d become an integral part of the team, and I had found my niche. I got along with my coworkers and I enjoyed my job. That combination was rare in the work world.
“We’re still on the hunt for sasquatch,” Hank muttered, staring at a printout. “There have been new reports from up on Mount Baker. I’d like to schedule a trip up there so we can take a look around, but it’s a little cold unless we take an RV.”
Thinking back on my talk with Killian, I shifted uncomfortably. “Dude, I’m not thrilled about chasing the creature down, but Killian has quite a story, if you want to interview him. He got chased by one in the woods.”
“Oh, sasquatch is volatile, for sure,” Hank said, still staring at the photograph he had printed out. “But…” He shook his head. “Anyway, I’d like to schedule a trip up to Baker in May, when it’s a little warmer.”
“Go ahead and put it on the calendar. Three days, two nights. That’s enough time to check out some of the reported areas.” Tad glanced at me. “How’s your spooky child case coming? Do you still need equipment?”
“To be honest,” I admitted, “I’ve been thinking this may be more than Ari and I can handle.”
“What’s going on?” Wren asked.
I told them about Tabitha Sweet and her daughter. “There’s definitely something odd going on, but whether it’s caused by some kind of psychosis, or a possession, or…Tad suggested a changeling…I don’t know. Ari and I wanted to go in there with a FLIR, an EMF, and a camera to see if we could catch anything on film.” I paused. “I doubt if Tabitha can afford our fee, let alone Conjure Ink’s fee, though.”
“Why don’t we do it as a pro bono case?” Tad said. “We’re not doing anything else right now, except for the sasquatch hunt.”
“You’d do that?” I asked.
Tad, who was the brains of Conjure Ink, had also built the company from scratch, funding it from the massive trust fund his parents had given him. When he came of age and in control of the funds, the first thing he did was to create the business and also started Urban Legends Inc., an umbrella group linking a number of paranormal investigations companies. All of the organizations worked together and shared information.
“Of course,” he said, glancing at his calendar. “My family is noted for charity work, and I might as well continue on the tradition in the realm that I like to play in. Why don’t you call her and ask if we can come out and check out the nursery.”
I texted Ari, asking if she minded if Conjure Ink joined in the investigation, and she texted back that she was fine with that—she was feeling trepidatious about the case anyway, given how wary Tabitha was of the child.
“Ari is good with CI coming in, so let me give Tabitha a call,” I said, moving away from the table where we were all gathered.
“Hello? January?” She sounded relieved. “I wasn’t sure if you’d call me back.”
“Hey, my company that I work for—Conjure Ink—would like to come investigate what’s going on in your house. We have the equipment to do so, and Ari and I feel you’d benefit from a bigger crew coming in. We’ll do it pro bono, no worry about a fee.”
She hesitated, then in a burst of relief that was tangible in her voice, said, “Yes, thank you. Can you come over today? I’m getting more and more creeped out by that…thing. It’s becoming harder to force myself to feed her when I know in my heart she’s not Zoey. I just… It’s hard for me to touch her.”
“We’ll be out today,” I said. “I’ll text you when I know what time.” I hung up, shuddering. If she stopped feeding the baby, she was on slippery ground. We’d have to keep a close eye on the case and bring in Millie at the first sign of neglect.
I turned to the others. “Tabitha is grateful for our help. But I can’t emphasize enough that we’re on dangerous ground. Sh
e’s convinced that the baby isn’t her child—that Zoey is…some sort of replacement. I’m worried that she’ll neglect the baby if this goes on much longer. She just told me she’s finding it difficult to even feed the child, so we’re near the edge of neglect and endangerment already.”
“Do you feel she’s mentally unstable?” Tad asked.
I thought for a moment, wanting to make sure that I had a handle on my instincts. “As crazy as she sounds, I think there is something going on with the child. There is something creepy about Zoey, but I’m not sure why or what.”
“Hank, what should we take with us?” Tad asked.
Hank frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. “Well, a FLIR, EMF, security cameras just like January was going to. So, did the child test out as human?”
“As far as the doctor could see, but maybe we should bring in Dr. Fairsight,” I said. Dr. Fairsight specialized in treating Otherkin, so there was the chance she might find something a human doctor couldn’t.
“Good idea.” Tad glanced at the clock. “Wren, call her and ask her if she can meet us today over at Tabitha’s house. Do that now while we wait.”
I felt a little odd, handing one of my first cases that Ari and I had taken on over to Conjure Ink, but it wasn’t a simple haunting and it just felt wiser to bring in a team when the problem was bigger than expected.
Wren put in a call to the doctor and within ten minutes, she agreed to meet us at one p.m. over at Tabitha’s. I called Tabitha back and told her we’d be there a little after noon. That would give us some time to set up before Dr. Fairsight arrived.
The rest of the morning we returned to cataloguing bigfoot reports, though Tad asked me to check out the equipment to make certain it was charged and ready. I actually didn’t mind. It meant they trusted me, and that I was actually part of the team instead of just the “new employee.” I went through the store room, wiping dust off cameras and testing the batteries to see if anything needed to be charged.
Twenty minutes later, I had gathered what we needed, made sure it was all in working order, and packed it up in the equipment bag. I returned to the main office. “We’re set to go. I had to put three of the cameras to charge, but everything else was full of juice.”
Tad glanced at the clock. “We’ll leave in an hour. We’ll probably miss lunch, so why don’t you run over to Jacko-Burger. Everybody, what do you want?”
I pulled up the Jacko-Burger app and began entering orders for pickup. When everybody had finished placing their orders—except for Wren, who unfailingly brought her lunch—I grabbed the company credit card and headed across the parking lot to the fast food joint.
Our orders were waiting. I paid for the food and then, stuffing the bags in two large canvas food totes, I returned to the office. As I handed out the food, we settled around the main table. Wren put up the “Ring the bell” sign at the reception desk and joined us.
“Say, have any of you ever heard of Whisper Hollow?” I unfolded the foil on my double cheeseburger. I had a strawberry shake to go with that, and a small side of fries.
Tad swiveled to stare at me. “Whisper Hollow? Why?”
“Because I met someone from there this weekend. She’s apparently the best friend of the local spirit shaman. She told me a little about Whisper Hollow and it seems like it would be just the place for us to explore—”
“Before you go further,” Tad said, “My parents were born in Whisper Hollow. They left shortly after they got married. My father had several run-ins with the Lady and she marked him. He doesn’t dare go back.”
I stared at him. “No wonder you grew up so fascinated by things like urban legends. So, have you ever been over there?”
He shook his head. “I want to, but my father’s afraid that I inherited his mark. Until I know for sure, they asked me to stay away.” He paused, then met my gaze and I could see the warring emotions there. “I want to go. I feel sometimes like the town is calling to me, but there’s part of me that’s worried that I’d be walking into my own death.”
“Does the Lady really kill?” I hadn’t had time to do any research on everything that Peggin had told me about.
“Oh, she claims whoever she wants. Most often, she doesn’t give them back. But now that you mention it, it would be helpful to have a contact over there, in case we ever get called in on a case.” Tad went back to his burger.
Hank glanced at Tad, then back at me. “It’s better we stay in Moonshadow Bay. While the Mystic Wood can be dangerous, it’s a different kind of danger than Whisper Hollow, and Moonshadow Bay is an easier place to stay alive.” He gave me a slight shake of the head that warned me to change the subject.
With one last glance at Tad, I shifted gears, telling them everything I could remember about what Tabitha had told me.
“Tad, you mentioned a changeling. How does that happen?” I asked.
He cleared his throat. “Well, first, it means that the Fae exchanges one of their own children for a human child. Their baby is given a glamour to where they are essentially a replicant of a human child down to the very DNA. They swap the children, and steal the human child away to their realm.”
“Why do they do this?” I asked.
“I don’t think anybody really knows,” he said. “Usually the duplicates are really identical. I don’t know how they do it other than glamour, but…”
“Possession?” Caitlin asked.
Hank shook his head. “No, possession is usually limited to spirits. Changelings are physically swapped out. The replica is unidentifiable from the original except for the hatred of iron. Touch iron to the child’s skin. If it’s Fae, if it’s from their world, it should scream.”
I frowned. That sounded cruel. “Do you have to touch them with it, or can you just bring it near them?”
“That I don’t know. I have an iron chain in my truck I can bring,” Hank said.
“You’re not hitting the child, and with a chain no less!” Caitlin jumped up, staring at Hank with a look of horror on her face.
“Of course not,” he said, snorting. “You just lightly touch the iron against their skin. In fact, if they’re extremely sensitive, just bringing the chain inches away might produce a reaction. And with the Fae, there’s no way to describe their revulsion to the metal.”
We finished up lunch and Hank glanced over the equipment. He gave me a thumbs-up and we stopped at his truck to gather the chain, then everybody piled in the van to head over to Tabitha’s.
As we approached the small bungalow, my mood began to sink. I still had the premonition that somehow, this was going to end up badly, and I didn’t want to be witness to the fallout I could foresee happening.
“What’s wrong?” Caitlin asked. We were sitting together in the back of the van, near the surveillance equipment. Hank rode shotgun with Tad. Wren, of course, stayed at the office. Given she was the receptionist, she seldom went out on investigations.
“I don’t know. Since Ari and I went there yesterday, I’ve felt gloomy and moody.” I glanced back at the men, then lowered my voice. “I think that I’m afraid Tabitha is just mentally disturbed and that she’s going to hurt the baby. I know there’s something odd there—and Zoey did make me uneasy, but sometimes people just do that. And suggestibility can go a long way.”
Caitlin sighed. “I know what you mean. Sometimes people think they’re being psychically attacked, but they’re just having a run of bad luck. It’s easier to have someone to blame than face the fact that you might be causing the problems yourself. Or that…well…shit just happens sometimes.”
“Tabitha’s pediatrician told her that Zoey’s fine. The child looks like she’s in the picture of health. I mean, if the baby was ailing, maybe Tabitha would be looking for something to blame. But Zoey’s strong and healthy.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about this case just doesn’t sit well with me.” I shrugged, leaning back in my seat. Caitlin had a moody look of her own. “Are you okay?”
“Well, I can tel
l you, this weekend didn’t sit well with me, either.” Caitlin stared down at her hands. “Arlo came out point-blank and demanded we set a date for the wedding.” She pressed her lips together, shaking her head.
Arlo was Caitlin’s fiancé. When she was young, her parents had arranged a marriage to Arlo Wondersong, another bobcat shifter who was near Caitlin’s age. She liked the guy, but she wasn’t in love with him. If she broke the engagement, her family would be dishonored among their Pride, and she would be the reason. So Caitlin had kept the engagement going as long as she could in hopes that something would intervene, but there was no deus ex machina reaching its hand down from the heavens. If she didn’t do something soon, she’d either have to marry him or run away at the altar. Neither option seemed preferable to defying her family while she had the chance to get out.
“You have to do something, Caitlin.” I knew that Caitlin had fallen hard for Tad, and I suspected he felt something for her too, but he was a standup guy and he wouldn’t go after her while she was engaged.
“Seriously, you’re telling me? I know I have to do something. When he told me last night that we had to set the date and that his mother was getting concerned, all I could see was a string of years and kids stretching out in front of me. Arlo’s nice, but the thought of…” She blushed, then lowered her voice even more. “The thought of letting him touch me makes me queasy. I want my first time to be with someone I’m attracted to.”
I stared at her, not quite grasping what she was saying, but then it hit home. “You’re…a virgin? You and Arlo haven’t…”
“No, we haven’t. Thank gods my shifter Pride is old-fashioned, so I could get away with telling him I wanted to wait until marriage. But now he’s getting impatient and his mother’s getting pushy and his family is getting together with my family to discuss the wedding this week. I can’t, January.” She glanced furtively toward Tad, who was oblivious to our conversation as he drove the van toward Tabitha’s. “I just… I can’t.”
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