by Amy Boyles
“Not really. It’s one thing to be invisible. It’s another to be soundless.”
“We’re soundless, okay? He can’t hear us.”
“Good. Because you’re really shouting.”
Axel turned his head and scowled. “You sure I’m the only one being loud?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Pretty sure.”
We raced on until CJ finally lowered to the ground. Axel brought us down about half a block away, in a hedge of overgrown azaleas that offered a wall to hide behind.
I lightly padded onto the grass and stared as CJ entered a house. “What’s he doing here? At Mr. Albod’s?”
Axel rubbed his jaw. “That’s the million-dollar question.”
From behind the hedge we had a perfect view of the home. A couple of seconds later another witch on a cast-iron skillet landed on the sidewalk.
“It’s Della,” I whispered.
Sure enough, Mr. Albod’s daughter disappeared inside the house with CJ.
“Now why would they both be here?” I said.
“That’s what I’m about to find out,” Axel said. He grabbed my shoulders. “Stay here.”
“What? I’m not going to stay here. If you’re going over there, then so am I.”
Axel shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Take me with you,” I said sharply.
He sighed. “Come on.”
Axel grasped my hand tightly and led me toward the Albod house. Peaches scampered in front of us, dashing up the porch and vanishing inside. Literally vanishing.
I rolled my eyes. “Great. How’re we supposed to get him back?”
“Don’t worry about him,” Axel growled. “Let’s see what we can find out.”
All the downstairs lights were on. The windows were high, so high I couldn’t see into them.
“Give me a lift,” I whispered.
Axel’s eyes widened. “No way.”
“Yes,” I hissed. “I can’t see.”
Axel flipped his palms. His feet lifted off the ground. He floated upward toward the window.
That sneaky wizard was going to peek into the windows without me. I was tempted to yank him down and bring him back to earth.
Turned out I didn’t have to. Axel’s power sputtered and died. He lowered back to the ground.
I smirked. “Use up all your power on the skillet?”
He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “Maybe.”
We stared at each other. Finally he threaded his fingers into a step. “Climb up.” He practically growled it.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“Just don’t make any noise.”
“You’re the one making noise.”
“Only because you keep talking.”
I placed a finger over his lips. “Stop talking.”
Axel mumbled something incoherent and pushed me up. I grasped the window frame.
“If you’d learn your magic, you could do this yourself,” he mumbled.
I peered at the top of his head. “My magic works best when I’m afraid. You know that.”
He grunted. “Easy out.”
I pointed my focus back on the house. Peaches stalked the hallway. Voices filled the silence.
My eyes flared as CJ and Della came into view.
“They know about us,” CJ said. “About our plan.”
Della folded her arms. “It was the only thing we could do. We had to. In order to save my father, we had to go through with that.”
CJ rubbed her shoulders. “I know. We didn’t have any choice. But I’m worried. That investigator is stalking around asking questions.”
Della raked her fingers through her hair. Boy, did she look nervous. “What sort of questions?”
“About your father being afraid of me.”
“My father? Afraid of you?”
CJ nodded. “The investigator knew all about it. Della, I would never—”
Right then, Peaches apparently decided he’d heard enough. The cat raced toward the couple and threw himself on them.
I had underestimated Peaches something fierce. Like, I’m not even kidding.
Peaches spat and clawed, and for the briefest of seconds he was solid.
Peaches sank his claws into Della’s back.
“Ow!” Della whirled around, trying to flip the cat from her.
CJ took one look at Peaches and threw up his arms. “It’s his cat! His dead cat!”
Peaches took the opportunity to jump from Della. The cat leaped onto CJ’s chest. CJ threw up his hands and squealed like a girl.
He wrestled and wriggled. Della swatted at Peaches, and the cat dislodged himself from CJ and ran down the hall, vanishing out the back door.
CJ and Della stared at each other. The back of Della’s shirt hung in shreds. CJ’s front didn’t look much better, plus Peaches had slashed his claws over CJ’s cheek, spilling blood.
“Pepper,” CJ said. “She owns the familiar holder. She must’ve sent the cat this way. Where is she?”
That was all I needed to hear. “Get me down.” Axel released me to the ground. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Why?”
I sprinted down the yard, calling to him over my shoulder. “Because Peaches attacked them and they know about us.”
Axel caught up to me. “What did they say?”
I hightailed it to the skillet and hiked one leg over. “They said they’re guilty.”
“What?”
“Would you get on? They’re mad and know we’re on to them.”
Axel rested his hands on his hips. “I can take them.”
“You can? You used up all your power on the ride over. I know you’re strong, but evil witches and wizards are evil, if I need to remind you. They’re bad, bad, bad. Look, we’ve got to go.”
Peaches burst through the hedges. “Let’s go.”
I tipped my head toward the cat. “See? Even he’s smart enough to know we need to leave.”
The front door of Mr. Albod’s house slammed open. “Miss Dunn?” CJ called in his innocent Boy Scout voice. “Would you happen to be out here?”
I motioned for Axel to get on. “Hurry.”
Axel shook his head and reluctantly hiked one leg over the skillet. “Fine. But as soon as I get you home, you’re telling me everything.”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? By the way, do you have enough magic to fly this thing?”
“I may need some help,” he grunted.
“I’ll be happy to do that.”
Axel pointed the skillet toward home and we lifted off. Peaches rested on the tip of the skillet, in front of Axel.
I looked behind to see CJ and Della rush into overgrown azaleas and get tangled within the branches.
The two fell over one another. By the time they were gazing into the sky, darkness had surrounded us.
We were scot-free.
Or so I thought.
TWENTY-ONE
I told Axel about CJ and Della’s conversation. “So they really didn’t say anything,” he said.
I stretched my legs. We were in his Land Rover, rumbling down the road back to my house.
“They said stuff. They said you were on to them.”
“But that could mean anything.”
I shot him a hard look.
He shrugged. “Did they say what happened to Mr. Albod?”
“No,” I said. “But they seem guilty to me.”
Axel shook his head. “I don’t know what it means.” We reached Betty’s cottage, and Axel popped his door open to walk me in.
I pressed a hand to his chest. “It’s okay. You don’t have to see me inside.”
He frowned. “What if I want to?”
I kissed him. “You can do it next time. I’m tired, and now I’ve got to come up with a great excuse as to why Peaches attacked CJ and where was I during that?”
“It’ll be fine,” Peaches said.
“Okay.” Axel relented and started the truck back up. “I’ll watch to mak
e sure you get in safely.”
I hopped out. Peaches sprinted forward. I petted Jennie and opened the front door. Peaches charged inside. I turned and waved to Axel. He drove off.
A scraping sound off the side of the house caught my attention. I crossed to the edge of the porch and peered over.
I couldn’t see anything, but the scraping sound started up again.
Figuring it would be best to investigate—after all, I might as well make sure it was just a raccoon in the trash can or something similar—I tiptoed down the steps and quietly made my way to the side.
The house cast a long shadow under the moon. I glanced up. A ladder had been placed beneath my bedroom window.
I stepped closer and saw a dark figure fiddling with the ladder.
Clearly I was not in my right mind because I said, “Stop right there!”
I mean, this could’ve been anyone ready and willing to kill me, and here I was playing cop.
Great job, Pepper.
The dark figure whirled toward me. Before I could register a face, they lunged forward, knocking me to the ground.
I hit the grass hard. Pain radiated into my shoulder and down my arm. My teeth clanged shut, and I groaned.
I rolled over in time to see the dark shadow running away, down the road and out of reach.
I rose and brushed myself off. “Ugh,” I groaned and limped over to the ladder.
It sat directly beneath my window. I noticed something glinting on the ground under the moonlight. I peered closer and gasped.
With trembling fingers, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Axel’s number.
“Miss me already, babe?”
“Yes. No. It’s not that. I can’t explain it all to you right now, but I’ve found something.”
“What?”
I pulled a tissue from my purse and lifted the object from the ground. The metal reflected the lamplight, and the silver shone bright and shiny.
“Well.” I sighed. “I think I may have found the knife that killed Willow Dean Gar.”
Axel paused. “How? Where?”
I glanced up at my window. “It was left beside a ladder leading to my bedroom.” The next part came out shaky. “Axel, I think the murderer was going to use it on me.”
TWENTY-TWO
Axel returned immediately of course. I had gone inside and told Betty and my cousins what had happened.
Cordelia called Garrick, who arrived just after Axel.
“And this someone,” Garrick said, “you didn’t get a look at them?”
I shook my head. “No. They whizzed past. I couldn’t see them.”
“And you found a weapon?”
“She found this.” Betty pointed to the knife. My grandmother had magically wrapped it in plastic to preserve whatever prints had been left on it.
Garrick rubbed his chin. “No one touched it, I hope.”
“Not with our fingers,” I said.
Betty scoffed. “We know better than to tamper with evidence, Sheriff Young.”
He quirked a brow. “You sure about that?”
She scowled. “Yes, I’m sure about that.”
I wondered if Garrick knew about all the times Betty had actually stolen evidence. My guess is that he must’ve. Not that we didn’t have good reasons for doing that. We did. Great reasons, in fact.
Awesome reasons.
But I digress.
“There’s another thing you should know,” I said.
Garrick glanced from the knife to me. “What’s that?”
My gaze darted to Axel. “Earlier in the evening we had sort of a run-in with CJ Hix and Della Frost. I’m afraid the person who attacked me might’ve been one of them.”
The sheriff shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “And in this altercation, did something bad happen? Did they threaten you?”
“Well, no. Not really. But sort of. I guess.” I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “It seemed like they were angry, and well, if someone was going to attack me, it would’ve been one of them, I think. I just thought you should check into it seeing as how you’re the sheriff and all.”
“Thanks for the lead.” Garrick crossed to me and squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll find out who this was, Pepper. Don’t worry. You’ll be safe.”
“Thanks, Garrick.”
Betty’s eyes narrowed to slitty wedges of death. “You’d better make sure of that, Garrick. That my granddaughter is okay.”
Garrick nodded. “I will. Don’t you worry.”
Garrick and his men inspected the area around the ladder and took the ladder itself as evidence. Once they were gone, my family retreated upstairs while I sat with Axel.
Something I’d been thinking about, something that tickled the back of my brain, bothered me.
“Do you think I was too hard on Rufus?”
Axel scowled.
I spoke before anything negative could come out of his mouth. “Listen, you told me the amulet was a tracker, fine. But he ever only helped us.”
“Not true.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you think it’s possible that you became a little overprotective around him because you needed to tell me about the mating thing?”
Axel sighed. He tipped his head back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. “Maybe.”
I took his hand. “You know I’m yours. There’s no doubt in my mind, but I do like helping people. Sometimes you have to trust folks when that happens.” And Rufus was someone who’d put his trust in me by telling me things about him—secret things that I didn’t think many other people knew. “We were friends, Axel. Was I too hard on him?”
Axel raked his fingers down his face. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. Maybe the beast was too much a part of me then. Maybe I let it control too much of me.” He threaded his fingers through mine and shot me a wobbly smile. “I trust you. I do. Do I trust him? There are times when I have. Times when I haven’t. But when he left, he promised to return and harm you. I can’t have that.”
I nodded. “I understand, but with everything going on, Rufus might be the least of our worries. Someone just placed a ladder under my window. We know someone wants the critterling and probably has Mr. Albod—they’re just waiting for their chance to steal the familiar vessel and have him explain how to use it. What if, once word gets out that Mr. Albod is alive, what if they kill him?”
“I know,” Axel said.
“What I mean is, who are the really bad people here? Is it Rufus, who tried to be better? Or someone who’s been hiding as a friend all along?”
“That’s a no-brainer, right?”
I bit my bottom lip. Here went nothing. “You don’t have the right to tell me who my friends are. Unless of course literally the spawn of Satan is trying to woo me away from you. Rufus isn’t that. I don’t believe it.”
Axel inhaled a deep breath and stared at the wall. A troubled look flashed across his face before he tucked it away where I wouldn’t see it.
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I guess the alpha wolf in me took too much control.”
I cupped his chin in my hand and tilted his face until our gazes locked. “There are times when I love that alpha, but there are times when I need space. If our relationship continues, you need to know that. The wolf in you will have to back down sometimes. You can’t control everything.”
Axel took my hand and brought it to his chest. “I know. I don’t want to control you, and I don’t want to dominate you.”
I tipped my head until a slash of bang fell in my eyes. I brushed the cinnamon and honey colored tendrils from my face. “Remember you said that. Because I can’t have that. You didn’t want me to have any contact with someone who had helped us for no other reason than jealousy. Am I right?”
He scowled. “Do I have to admit that?”
I laughed and threw my arms around him. “You have no reason to doubt me. None. In the future, trust me when it comes to my friends?”
Axel pulled
back and smiled. His blue eyes lit up my life. “Like you said, I’ll trust you unless you befriend the spawn of Satan. But I still have a feeling you’d have a hard time believing me if I pointed that out to you.”
I cocked my head. “I might. I might not. You might have to be pushy, but still allow me to make my own mistakes.”
“You are an adult,” he said slyly.
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for pointing that out.”
I sighed and leaned against the couch, studying him. I pinched the protection locket that hung on its chain around my neck and slid it from side to side. Axel had gifted it to me at Christmas. It was the best present I’d ever received.
“So, anyway. Now that we’re finished talking about Rufus, how do I use this?”
Axel smiled. “When you truly need it, you’ll know how to use it.”
“That doesn’t help me.”
He shrugged. “It’s not supposed to be cryptic. Your instincts will tell you how to use it. For the most part it should keep you safe, but if you find yourself in a bad situation and must use it to stop someone from doing real harm, you’ll know how to use it then.”
I quirked a brow. “You promise?”
He sat up and kissed me. “I promise.”
Axel left a few minutes later, and I resolved to reach out to Rufus and make amends. Would it work? I doubt it. He was probably still so angry with me that he was plotting how to steal my power.
Great.
But at least I would say that I tried, right? It was better to try than to sit around and do nothing. It was the least Rufus deserved for all he’d done for me—which included saving my butt more than once and my life at least once.
I padded upstairs to my room and crawled onto my bed. I lay there, staring at Rufus’s number for several minutes. Finally I dialed. It rang several times.
No answer.
Crap. Now I’d have to decide whether or not to leave a message. I opted against it and pillowed my head with my hands. I stared up at the ceiling, thinking about that vision of the trees and the hooded figure.
As I replayed it in my mind, I saw something at the far corner of the trees. Something I’d forgotten about. Something that I should’ve realized ages ago.
I bolted up.
Mattie, who sat perched on the window seat, blinked at me. “Everything okay, sugar?”