by Blythe Baker
“Well…nothing we can do about it now, I guess,” Abe said. “We should get back to work. I think I might grab some more coffee. Would you like me to make you a cup?”
“Please,” I said. “I sort of accidentally spilled my coffee beans all over my floor this morning…”
He smiled, but I noticed how it wasn’t quite genuine. There was a tightness in his face as he turned away from me.
I climbed down off the stepladder and moved it to another shelf.
I heard a rustle of fur and looked down to see Athena staring up at me from around the corner of the shelf.
“He didn’t really seem to want to talk about Ruth’s death…” I said. “And he seemed more upset about the police poking around here.”
I noticed that, too, Athena said, sniffing at a stack of lacey pillows beside her in a basket. Strange for someone who is so compassionate all the time.
“Yeah…” I said. “Strange…”
I froze as another thought passed through my mind unsolicited.
I’d originally thought that Cain was the only person who knew Ruth had stolen the box, but with a sudden jolt of fear, I realized that wasn’t true.
Abe also knew about the box…and I’d told him before Ruth ended up dead.
I shook my head.
No. No, no, no, no. There was no way. Absolutely no way.
What’s wrong? Athena asked.
“You don’t think…” I said, dropping my voice so Abe wouldn’t hear me in the next room. “You don’t think that Abe could’ve been responsible…?”
Athena’s ears went back slightly. You can’t be serious…Abe? I think you were closer with your theory about Cain being the one who killed Ruth…
My heart was in my throat. “I know, but…both Cain and Abe knew about Ruth stealing the box.”
That still seems like a stretch…Athena said.
“Maybe he’s not as ignorant of magic as I thought…” I said. “Did he maybe just pretend to not care about the box, but actually knew that it was magical and valuable?”
Then why would he have left it on the shelf for anyone to find? Athena asked. He left that magic book out, too. If he knew they were magical and valuable, don’t you think he would have kept that stuff off the shelves?
My frantic heart started to slow. “You’re right…” I said. “It just…seems strange, you know? He does a lot of dealing with Gifted, and there are people in town who aren’t Gifted but are aware of those with special abilities. My aunt, for instance. It wouldn’t be that weird to think Abe also knew about magic…”
Even still…Athena said. I really don’t see Abe being that sort of man. Not at all.
I glanced over my shoulder out into the shop. I could just see Abe in the shadows, pouring some coffee into two mismatched mugs for us.
“You’re right…” I said. “It couldn’t be Abe.”
It wasn’t that I liked the idea of Cain being responsible any more than Abe, but Athena was right, Cain certainly seemed more capable.
I still wondered how that box ended up in the shop, and Abe either was honest and just didn’t remember, or he was hiding something.
I didn’t like the idea of so many people hiding things from me.
9
I couldn’t stop punishing myself for thinking that somehow Abe Cromwell had been responsible for Ruth Cunningham’s death. The longer I thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed. How could someone who so obviously needed help getting up and down the stairs find the means to drive all the way over to her house and then take her out?
The darker parts of my mind told me that it was possible he’d been lying to everyone for a long time, and was committed to keeping up the image of the crippled old man, for a time like this so that he’d never be discovered. But even after I’d passed the theory along to Athena, we both agreed it was farfetched.
I was glad Mr. Cromwell agreed to watch the shop for me so I could look for the candlesticks for Cain. I didn’t think I’d be all that great at customer service today, being so caught up in my own thoughts.
Was it possible I had feelings for someone who could be a murderer? Cain may be a mysterious sort of man, but I didn’t like to think he was capable of killing someone, no matter how much he disliked her.
He is a vampire, after all…Athena said at one point that afternoon. Ruth was technically a human, even if she possessed some magical abilities.
“Yeah, but he told me flat out that he majorly frowned upon looking at humans like nothing more than food,” I said. “He didn’t like the idea of members of his clan bringing humans home for personal feeding or anything.”
Yes, but that doesn’t mean he really thinks humans are his equals, Athena said. He has to work with humans, so maybe he just tolerates them.
I didn’t like thinking that, but maybe Athena was right…
I closed up the shop early that day at Abe’s request. He was tired, and so was I. He said there was no point in keeping the place open when it was already so late in the day and we’d had so few customers.
“Thank you for finding these,” Abe said, pointing at the set of six candlesticks on the counter. The silver was tarnished, but they were beautiful; thin, smooth, and had a lovely filigree design of ivy around their heavy bases. “I know it was somewhat of a pain to dig them up.”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course they were in the last box I looked in,” I said with a smirk.
He laughed. “Well, I called Mr. Blackburn, and he said he’d be by tomorrow to pick them up. That and the necklace.”
“Sounds good,” I said, turning away to hide my worried expression. I was going to have to face Cain tomorrow?
Athena and I packed up a short time later and as we were driving back to the cabin, I got a call from Aunt Candace.
“Hi, sweetheart, I know you probably just left work, but would you be able to come over here and help me take care of some stuff? Bliss has somewhere to be tonight, guild duties or something.”
“Oh, sure,” I said. “I can come over for a bit to help.”
“I’m really sorry,” Aunt Candace said. “I know things have been stressful for you the past few days, but I really need some help. We had a group of fifteen guests show up last night looking for rooms, and none of them had reservations…” she said.
“Oh, dear…” I said. “Yeah, I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes, okay?”
“Thank you so much,” Aunt Candace said. “You’re a life saver!”
Athena looked up at me, blinking. I think it’s good you’re going over there. It will help you keep your mind off everything.
“I don’t know what you mean…” I said. “Keep my mind off what things?”
Athena’s eyes narrowed. Cain. I know you don’t want to think about him being the killer…
“Do you blame me?” I asked.
You can’t let your feelings get in the way of the truth, Athena said.
“I know, I know,” I said. “But we don’t have proof.”
He’s the most promising suspect thus far…Athena said.
I frowned in response, knowing full well that she was totally right.
The Lodge was indeed packed. The sun was starting to descend toward the horizon, the early evening rays of light shining through the branches of the trees around the mountains. A group of people were gathered around the fire pit out back, and when I got out of the SUV, I heard laughter and the crackling of dry wood. The smell of smoke probably would’ve been comforting if I wasn’t chewing on my thoughts and worrying about what was coming the next day.
Athena rustled in the backpack, and I stopped on the top step. “You okay?” I whispered.
Fine, she said. But there are a lot of people here. It’s making me uncomfortable.
“There were just as many here yesterday,” I said.
Yes, but they were all sleeping…Athena said. Now any of them could see me.
We walked inside and I saw the lobby was busy. There were some people with their lug
gage standing at the check-in counter. A family stood at the far end, talking to Aunt Candace.
I caught her eye with a small wave, and her face brightened. She held up her hand, telling me to wait one minute.
She passed a room key across the counter to the family, and they walked away.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Aunt Candace said as I walked up to the counter. “I just have to get these people checked in, alright? Then I’ll be able to show you what I need help with.”
“Yeah, no problem,” I said. “I’ll just go drop my bag off in Bliss’s room, okay?”
“Sure, sure,” Aunt Candace said, smiling at one of the other families waiting to check in. “I’ll see you soon.”
I turned and headed away from the counter, giving the family behind me the chance to speak with Aunt Candace.
I walked down the hall toward Bliss’s room at the far side of the lodge. Some guests dressed in swim suits passed by, including a young girl skipping in delight. I thought they were crazy, since the air was so cold, but the pool was heated and therefore must have been nice enough to take advantage of. That, and there was a fantastic hot tub out back, too.
I suddenly wished I’d brought my own swimsuit…
I pushed open the door to Bliss’s room and stopped.
“Marianne!”
Bliss was standing in front of her wall, her wand in her hand. She wasn’t alone, either. Another young woman, maybe a few years older than I was, was standing beside her. She was shorter than Bliss, with straight, violet hair that reached her shoulders. She gazed at me with wide, dark eyes from behind her round, golden glasses.
“What are you doing here?” Bliss asked, lowering her wand, which was pressed against her wallpaper.
“Your Mom called me…” I said, gently shrugging off my backpack and setting it down on her bed. “She said she needed some help because you were going to be out tonight.”
Bliss rolled her eyes, her dark hair swinging as she shook her head. “Oh, for Pete’s sake…I told her not to call you because you needed rest…”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t mind.”
“She’s just overwhelmed because of the big group that showed up…” she said. “And it all got handled. We had the space, and they didn’t mind squeezing more people into their rooms. I don’t know why she got all worked up about it.”
The girl beside her shrugged. “I don’t know; I’d be pretty upset if fifteen people just showed up out of nowhere like that.”
“Yeah, but she always gets worked up about everything,” Bliss said. She glanced over at me. “Oh, right. Politeness and stuff. Marianne, this is Kaylie. Kaylie, this is my cousin Marianne.”
“Oh, so you’re Marianne,” Kaylie said, her eyes narrowing and her smile growing.
“What does that mean?” I asked. “Why do people keep saying that about me?”
“You’re making a name for yourself in Faerywood Falls, aren’t you?” Kaylie said. “The newcomer who captured the eye and heart of Dr. Valerio?”
I looked pleadingly at Bliss.
Bliss held up her hands in defense. “Don’t look at me.”
“Oh, don’t play innocent,” Kaylie said. “You were the one talking about Dr. Valerio’s crush on her just the other night.”
“Bliss!” I said, glaring at her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Bliss said, shaking her head. “He does like you, though.”
“I knew it,” Kaylie said, folding her arms, a smug look passing over her face.
“What else does everyone know about me?” I asked, my eyes narrowing as I stared at my cousin.
Bliss’s face turned pink. “I just told them that you’re a below novice spell weaver,” Bliss said. “Which is why you haven’t presented yourself to the council of eleven.”
I blinked at her. I guessed it probably wasn’t hard to figure out that I did indeed have some sort of magical prowess. I knew Dr. Valerio and Cain both seemed to have suspicions that I had some kind of Gifted ability, even though I’d never told anyone I was actually a faery.
I supposed because I did know some basic spells, including some song spells, that calling me a less than novice spell weaver wasn’t all that far from the truth. I knew faeries used magic differently, but I definitely seemed to be able to use the same sort of spells that Bliss could use.
“Kaylie here is also a spell weaver,” Bliss said when I didn’t respond. “She and I are both apprentices.”
Kaylie nodded. “Yeah, but I’m definitely going to be a full-fledged weaver before you are,” she said.
“Don’t say that,” Bliss said. “I did just as well as you on our last test, and you know it – ”
“When you take on a mentor, Marianne, maybe I’ll be a weaver and can train you myself,” Kaylie said with a wink.
“Wow, rude,” Bliss said, glaring at her friend.
“Okay, enough about me,” I said. “What in the world are you two wearing?”
Both Bliss and Kaylie were wearing long cloaks. Bliss’s cloak was a rich burgundy, while Kaylie’s was mossy green. They were both wearing golden pins with what looked like a sun on them surrounded by golden rings.
“We’re going to an honoring,” Kaylie said.
“An honoring?” I asked. “What is that, like some kind of celebration ceremony?”
“Kind of,” Bliss said. “For weavers, it’s more like a funeral.”
“Oh…” I said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It’s for Ruth Cunningham, actually…” Bliss said.
My stomach clenched. “Wait…she just died yesterday.”
Kaylie nodded. “That’s true. But spell weavers mourn the loss of their own as soon as they can all get together. I know it’s normal for non-Gifted to wait three days or whatever, but we try to make sure as her closest friends, we take time to honor her life as soon as possible, sacrificing our time if we must so that we can show her the respect she deserves.”
“That’s nice…” I said honestly.
Bliss nodded. “It’s definitely different, but it’s a less formal way for us to figure out what to do next,” she said. “Someone is going to have to pick up her responsibilities and apprentices…”
“And we share stories about her life and how she impacted us,” Kaylie said.
“Did you know her well?” I asked Kaylie, not wanting to pry too much but finding myself incredibly curious.
Kaylie shook her head. “No, I didn’t. But she was at the guild hall often enough, and everyone seemed to really like her. The spell weavers were her family. I heard her say that more than once.”
I looked at Bliss. “She was really talented, I know that much.”
“Yes, she was…” Kaylie said. “I think she is going to be really missed. And not just by us, either.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, she just got engaged recently,” Kaylie said. “Some really rich guy fell totally in love with her. Not like that was hard. Did you ever see her? She was the kind of pretty that all women wish they could be…”
I remembered seeing a glittering diamond on Ruth’s finger. She wore it proudly. And after what Cain had said, this must have been the man that he knew. Richard something. He was the man Cain wasn’t entirely sure Ruth even loved in the first place.
But if Cain was the one who had killed Ruth…could I really take anything he said seriously?
“Can you imagine being her fiancé? Or her son?” Kaylie asked Bliss.
“Son?” I asked. My heart sank. “Wow…that must be really hard for him. How old is he?”
“He’s in his early forties, I think,” Kaylie said.
It was like I’d been kicked in the ribs.
“No, way…” Bliss said. “There is no way someone her age has a son that age.”
“It’s true,” Kaylie said. “River told me – ”
“River?” Bliss said. She shook her head. “You’re joking, right? There’s no way she was right.”
“Well, she was,” Kaylie said.
“Ruth looked so young…” I said.
Kaylie shrugged. “I know, but that’s the truth. She was really good at hiding her age.”
“Like she didn’t use magic to deceive us all,” Bliss said with a glower.
“It’s not wise to speak ill of the dead…” Kaylie said, turning a glare of her own on Bliss.
“Yeah, well, you started it,” Bliss said.
“It’s gotta be really hard on David…” Kaylie said. “Her son. I guess they used to be really close. But I think a few years ago, they had some kind of falling out. I wonder if he’ll even come to the funeral…”
“What kind of falling out?” I asked.
“Oh, River said it had something to do with money,” Kaylie said. “I guess she decided to stop supporting him financially. I wonder if it had anything to do with her retiring? Or maybe meeting her fiancée? He’s super business savvy.”
“Was her son a slacker or something?” I asked.
Kaylie shrugged. “Must’ve been, because I guess he got really mad that she decided to cut him off.”
“Wow…” I said.
“I heard they hadn’t spoken since…” Kaylie said with a shrug. “I hope they were able to make up before she died…
“I hope so too,” I said.
Bliss checked her watch. “Oh, shoot…Kaylie, we’ve gotta go if we don’t want the council to scold us for being late,” she said. She smiled at me. “Sorry, Marianne. I’ll be home later.”
“That’s totally fine,” I said. “You guys go on ahead.”
Bliss nodded and lifted her long, thin wooden wand toward the wall again. She pressed the end of it against the wallpaper, and it began to glow.
Bliss said something under her breath, her voice echoing like we were inside a cave, and a doorway appeared in the wall. It looked like it had always been there.
“Bye, Marianne,” Kaylie said with a small wave and a smile. “It was nice to meet you. I hope to see you around the guild hall someday.”
I waved at her, too. “Yeah, it was nice to meet you too, Kaylie.”
Kaylie stepped through the doorway, leaving Bliss and I in the room.