by Nicole Hall
“Hi guys. Nice to see you again. Yes, I’m fine after you disappeared on me and I had to convince an apex predator to follow my ass. I was literally chased out of the woods by a damn wolf.”
Sera scowled at him. “Poor you. My grandmother is trapped in a tree with a sadistic fairy, how do you think she feels?”
Ryan laughed. “Probably rested. She’s not exactly trapped with Torix. It’s more like she’s trapped near him. Zee put her in an enchanted sleep when she figured out what had happened.”
“But I saw her. She was in pain.”
Ryan hesitated. “How did you see her?”
“Torix showed me in my head. She was bent over and clearly in pain.”
“He had to be messing with you. It was probably from some other time. Torix can’t interact with her at all. Think of Han Solo trapped in carbonite but with less space slugs. Extremely unfair, by the way, that the bad guy gets mind powers. Worst superhero story ever.”
“So he lied? I thought Fae couldn’t lie?”
“They can’t. They also can’t break bargains, for good or ill. He manipulated the truth so you’d see what you saw.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You called me.” Ryan shrugged and grabbed a beer from the fridge, twisting off the top. “Look, believe what you want. I’ve been dealing with Zee and her kind for a long time, and even I don’t know what they’re up to most of the time.”
“He’s right. He’s known Zee the longest out of everyone, as far as I know. Except maybe Evie… ” Jake trailed off.
Sera turned on him. “Why didn’t we call him in the first place then?”
Jake shrugged. “You said you had questions for me. Figured I was special.”
Sera dropped her head. She’d been on an emotional roller-coaster for the past couple of days, strike that, the past couple of years, and the panic attack tonight hadn’t helped. Although, if Ryan was right, then Evie was safe for the moment.
“Are you sure Torix can’t touch my grandmother?” she asked quietly.
The smile slid off Ryan’s face. “Yes. Evie is as safe as she can be while trapped in stasis. She’s probably safer than we are if Torix is on the verge of breaking free.” Sera appreciated the reassurance without the snark. Good to know he took some things seriously, even if it was few and far between. She could see why he and Jake were friends.
She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the next thing. “What is Samhain?”
Ryan tilted his head. “What?”
“Sah-ween. Samhain. It was something Torix said.”
Ryan closed his eyes, so she looked to Jake. He shrugged, shaking his head.
“Ryan, buddy? What’re you doing?”
“Hold on, I’m trying to figure out where I’ve heard that before.”
“Something Zee said, maybe?”
“Yeah…” Ryan was silent long moments more while they waited. Then he opened his eyes. “Something to do with Halloween, I think.”
Sera’s head was starting to pound, so she abandoned her beer for a glass of water. When she got back to the table, Ryan had his phone out. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m Googling it.”
“Of course you are,” said Jake.
Sera cocked her head. “Why didn’t we think of that?”
“He’s smarter than we are.”
It didn’t take Ryan long to smirk in triumph. “Found it. Of course, it’s spelled all funky, it’s a Celtic word. You’d think we’d be used to that here, but it still trips me up. S-A-M-H-A-I-N. How do you get a W from a M-H?”
Jake threw a wadded-up napkin at him. “Focus, dude.”
“Fine. It’s a pagan holiday in October that celebrates dead people, apparently Halloween was based off it or something.”
“Or something?”
“I’m speed reading as I talk. I know the washboard abs and dorky good looks can fool you, but it’s harder than it looks.”
Sera rolled her eyes. “Uh huh. So what day is it?”
“It’s on Halloween, ooh and get this, that night, supposedly the veils between worlds are weakened. Want to bet that includes the Fae barriers keeping Torix in place?”
Sera exchanged a look with Jake. It seemed really convenient that there was a day of the year that made shields or veils or whatever thin. “Does this happen every year?”
“Looks like it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. If this thinning happens every year, then why hasn’t he used it to escape before? It seemed like he’d been in that tree a long time.”
Ryan shrugged. “That’s a question for Zee. And she probably won’t answer it straight.”
“What did Torix say to you?” asked Jake.
Sera had never been a good liar, but she was going to give it her best. If Jake knew the context, he was going to become overbearing. She could take care of herself, but the guys deserved to know Torix planned to use Samhain somehow. A half-lie then.
“He said he would be free on Samhain.” It was really close to the truth.
Jake leaned back from the table. “Well, at least now we know how long we have.”
“What do you mean we?” said Ryan.
Jake scoffed. “You think Torix doesn’t know about you and your close personal relationship with the Fae?”
“Hey, you guys were the ones who went and got yourselves bound and in their service.”
Sera held up a hand to stop the back and forth. “Torix is a threat to all of us, and last I remember, Zee owned your ass.”
Ryan looked away and took a long swig of his beer. Sera understood. She’d much rather be dealing with her mundane problems. On the surface, the whole situation should be absurd, but it felt real in a way much of her life hadn’t.
Jake’s leg brushed hers under the table as he stretched out, and warmth erupted from the contact. She tried to calm the flush, but judging from the way Ryan was looking at her, she’d failed. Maybe it was fifty-fifty which problem she’d less like to deal with.
Sera tapped on her water glass and both guys looked at her. “I’m a firm believer that information is power—”
“Says the girl literally brimming with power,” muttered Ryan.
She glared at him. “—so I think we should combine all our information.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” said Jake.
“A little at a time. We’re supposed to find Torix’s minion or servant or whatever to cut off that source of power in some way we haven’t figured out yet. How do we do that? Is there a tattoo or a code word that would mark that person?”
Jake raised a brow at Ryan. “I’m out of my element here, but I think that’s more of a Hollywood thing. Torix knows who his person is, and as far as I know, there isn’t a cult out there waiting for his resurrection.”
Ryan shrugged. “I don’t think so. There’s a lot Zee doesn’t tell me, but I think something like that would make it on the list.”
“Just great.” Jake’s phone rang. He checked the number then got up. “It’s work. Excuse me a minute.”
Sera tried not to watch him walk out of the room. When she focused on Ryan, he flashed a knowing smile. Screw him and his knowing smiles. “Okay, so we’re looking for an individual person doing… what? What benefit does Torix get from this person?”
“This answer, I do know. The minion creates chaos which produces negative emotions. The more anger, fear, hate, bad stuff his minion can capture for him, the stronger he becomes. Eventually, once they’ve gathered enough power, they’ll have to call a circle to release him, like a magical place out of time.”
“Like that place in the woods with the stones?”
“Like that, but it would have to be near or around his tree. It’s not enough to make a circle physically. The person would have to have enough power to call it into existence.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Enough belief backed by enough whatever is inside you to make the circle real instead
of using a collection of stones.”
Sera glanced after Jake. “Have you ever met anyone else with power? A human I mean?”
“In Mulligan, yes. Other places, not so much. It’s unusual but not impossible. We have more than our share in town. Zee says like calls like. I say we’re more forgiving here when people get freaky.”
Their eyes met and held. It felt like Ryan was trying to tell her something. She remembered Jake mentioning there were some things they physically couldn’t say.
Sera shook her head. It would have to wait for another time. “We’re looking for someone with power then.”
“That’s the only way I can see this working, but like I said, there are a lot of people here with varying degrees of power. I don’t know how much it would take to make the circle for Torix. I don’t know what else they would have to do. I don’t know if they can suck up some of his power like a demented sponge. That’s one of my theories, not Zee’s. I don’t know—”
“Sounds like you don’t know much,” Jake had returned and was leaning against the doorway. “but I bet you have a spreadsheet.”
Sera glanced at Ryan in time to see him blush. “A spreadsheet?”
Ryan flipped Jake off but explained, “I may or may not be tracking the people with power in town, levels of ability, skills, how they’re connected… That kind of thing.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“That seems really…useful right now.”
Ryan shrugged. “It’s also probably morally questionable since I’m doing it without anyone’s permission. I wasn’t aware anyone even knew about it.” Another glare at Jake. “Zee asked me to start it years ago. She didn’t tell me why, but I suspect it was so she could keep tabs on anyone who might pose a threat. She takes her responsibility to her people seriously.”
Sera sensed a tone. He sounded admiring maybe? And his blush hadn’t faded yet. Something else to untangle later. “Sounds like we have the beginnings of a game plan. Ryan can bring over the list of all the people in town with power, but then how are we supposed to figure out which one it is?”
“It might not be someone from town.” Jake pushed away from the wall and ran his hand through his hair. “That call was from the job site on Magnolia. Someone was messing with the equipment. The guys were closing it up for the night, and one of the trucks got loose.”
“What do you mean ‘got loose’?” Sera asked.
“It was switched to neutral and pushed from the front so it rolled backward down a hill toward the site. Jimmy noticed in time and managed to get it stopped before it could do any damage, but it could’ve been a lot worse.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone forgetting to put it in park?” Ryan asked.
“No way. My guys know their jobs, and the truck was there for most of the afternoon before it started rolling. They said there was a new guy hanging around the site. He was asking questions about me, trying to be all casual, but he stuck out because he was wearing a suit. You know there’s nothing over on that side of Magnolia where you’d need a suit.”
A sinking feeling invaded Sera’s gut. “You’re thinking it was Will?”
“I think we need to consider all the possibilities.”
Ryan raised his hand. “Who’s Will?”
“My asshole ex-husband.”
Ryan blinked. “Is it possible he could be the one working with Torix?”
Sera shook her head no as Jake nodded. “He’s a dick, he’s self-centered, and he’s stubborn.”
Jake’s jaw tightened. “Don’t forget abusive.”
Sera ignored him. “But he’s never shown any signs of power.”
“He could be hiding it.”
“He tried to convince me, and the court, that I was unstable because I saw little golden lights that no one else did.”
Jake gritted his teeth. “I knew I should have punched that guy.”
“It’s easy to look back and see what was happening now, but at the time, I seriously questioned my sanity.” Sera cleared her throat. “We can talk about that part later.”
“You can bet your sweet ass we will.”
Warmth filled her, and she had to question how low her bar had sunk for compliments. “The point is that I don’t think it’s him.”
“Well, I find it hard to believe that one of my neighbors would try to flatten my guys for fun all of a sudden. Who else could it be?”
Frustration coursed through her. Sera had lived most of her life with people not believing her, sometimes even herself. Jake held her gaze from across the room, and Sera pressed her lips together. The best response was always to stop trying to convince them and do what she was going to do anyway. Jake could believe what he wanted, but Sera knew Will didn’t have any power.
Ryan glanced back and forth between them. “I wasn’t going to bring this up, but since we’re talking about vandalism… Someone broke into the school today.”
Jake finally broke eye contact to stare at Ryan. “Wasn’t school open today? How do you break in when the doors aren’t locked?”
“The science lab was locked. The 4H kids let the science classes borrow their prize rabbits to study genetics, but there weren’t any labs scheduled today. When the kids went in there to feed them, all but one of the rabbit cages were open.”
“I have a bad feeling about where this is going,” said Sera.
Ryan shook his head. “That’s the thing. Nothing bad really happened. There were three missing rabbits, but nothing else. And there was some valuable stuff in that lab. As far as anyone can tell, someone picked the lock and could have helped themselves but didn’t. Just let the rabbits go. Or took them.”
“What about security cams?”
“You’ve been to the school, Jake. Do you think we have money for security cams on the rabbits?”
“What does the administration think?” Sera asked.
“That it was probably the student club that keeps protesting the use of the rabbits in the labs, but they seem more likely to start a petition than to pick a lock, especially since they were borrowed from the 4H kids.”
Sera held up a couple of fingers and ticked them off. “We have a trapped evil fairy, his servant slash minion, a runaway truck, three missing rabbits, an entirely useless magic-user, and a not very forthcoming fairy queen.”
Jake held up a finger. “You forgot an asshole ex.”
“Can’t forget him. And a list of most of the people in town with power. I’m going to be honest, a few of these don’t sound like they’re connected.”
Ryan chimed in. “There’s something else we’re not talking about.”
“I’m considering my grandmother a whole different issue.”
Ryan flashed her a quick smile. “Probably for the best, but that’s not what I was talking about. I’ve been watching the people in this town for a long time, and I’ve never seen or heard of anyone who could do what you did in the woods.”
Sera looked down at her hands. “I don’t even know what that was.”
Ryan looked serious. “You’ve never had full access to your power before, so that makes sense, but no one else has ever needed an anchor. And definitely not strong enough to need to be bound to it.”
“Hey,” Jake protested.
“Sorry Jake, but for the purposes of this conversation you’re an it. Why you, Sera?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have to know something.”
“I don’t.” Sera pushed away from the table and paced to the back door. “I don’t know anything about anything. I came here because I don’t know how to be a normal functioning adult. Turns out I’m not, so that’s a relief, but I’m still just fumbling around in the dark. I don’t know why I am the way I am.”
Both guys were staring at her hands, so Sera looked down to see herself glowing. Again. Dammit! She shook them, but the glow remained, so she held them up. “See, what is this? I can’t even be upset without weird stuff happening on accident.”
Ryan didn’t move, bu
t Jake came closer and wrapped his hands around hers. “Take a deep breath. It’s going to take practice like any other skill.”
Sera stared at his shirt and breathed in and out a few times. The scent of pizza mixed faintly with grass and sawdust. The combination was a comforting reminder of better times in that kitchen. When she peeked at their hands, the glow had faded. Her hands looked strangely tan, but she wasn’t creating her own light source anymore.
“Thanks.”
His hands slid away and he returned to his side of the room. “Anytime.”
Ryan stood and threw his bottle in the recycling. “That was thrilling, but I need to head home. I’ve got a super exciting pop quiz for my 9th graders to prep for tomorrow. Think about it, Sera.” He looked pointedly at Sera’s hands, and she got the feeling again that he was saying more than she understood. “Why did Zee pick you? I’ll send Jake the list and get back to you guys if I hear anything. Try not to blow anything up in the meantime.”
“Ha ha. Wait, is that possible?” Sera looked at Ryan in alarm, but he rolled his eyes. “Jerk.” She moved out of the way so he could leave.
“Later,” he called. They both waved, and the door closed behind him.
Sera blew out a breath. “I should get home too. I’m beat, and I still have to unpack the moving container tomorrow.”
Jake grinned. “Are you sure? You could try doing something useful with your power.”
Sera smiled. “So far all I do is make a great night light, but that’s not a bad idea. I may mess around with it, but not until tomorrow. I really am beat.”
Jake lost his teasing tone. “Okay, but wait until the afternoon. I have to visit the job site and work for a while tomorrow, but I should be free by then.”
Sera stiffened. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Please, Sera. I’m your anchor for a reason. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Well maybe I should just sleep until you come to get me like a good little princess. I’ll for sure be safe then.” She didn’t wait for a response, but she did refrain from slamming the door behind her.
The cool night air was a welcome respite from her anger. How dare he treat her like she was incompetent. This was all new to her, sure, but she was an adult. Last time she checked, she’d gotten married, divorced, and moved back to Mulligan all on her own. Jake and Will and her mother could all kiss her magical ass, and if she wanted to learn how to shoot flaming energy arrows from her eyes, by god she’d do it her-damn-self.