Shadows in the Mist

by Jeri Westerson

  “Well, that may be. But might it have more to do with the presence of…” She nodded toward Erasmus, who was standing in front of the fire, brooding.

  A regretful pang jarred my chest. “That’s probably got a little to do with it, but I’m a free agent, Seraphina. I never told him we were exclusive.”

  She sipped her white wine, dark purple lipstick staining the glass. “Here in Moody Bog, we’re a little on the old-fashioned side. Very traditional.” She laughed a little. “Coming from me, I know that’s something!” She was dressed in her usual boho-chic garb, with layers of patterned chiffon over linen and velvet and four belts around her waist. Her eyes were made up with a smoky liner, and the usual panoply of African necklaces and bracelets adorned her limbs.

  “I’m not that out there,” I said morosely.

  She put her arm around me. “You’re not. But I suppose you’re also fresh blood to this little community. I’m surprised more young men haven’t come knocking on your door.”

  “What would I do with them?”

  She raised a brow.

  “You know what I mean. With all this other stuff going on.”

  “I know,” she said softly. “I suppose, all things considered, Sheriff Ed is taking it well.”

  “We need him.”

  She gave me a particularly pertinent look. “Yes, we do.”

  I slurped my wine and was about to check on the pot roast when a knock on the door stopped us all. Through the window, I saw Ruth standing on my porch, looking perturbed. I scrambled to the door and greeted her with a warm smile.

  She glanced at the coven inside the shop with pruned lips. “I had no idea it was a dinner party with your…friends.”

  “It was a last-minute decision. Come in, Ruth. Would you like some wine?”

  Doc made a beeline to take her fur-trimmed coat. “It’s nice to see you, Ruth.”

  “Fred,” she said to Doc. “You do keep some unusual company these days.”

  He laid her coat over his arm. “Well, I don’t believe in stagnating, Ruth. I find it rather invigorating to make new friends and have new experiences.”

  “Yes, that sounds very you.”

  There was a second knock on the door.

  Ruth seemed relieved. “Reverend Howard,” she said.

  “Ruth. Good to see you.”

  Erasmus was hovering, so Reverend Howard smiled and put out his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Howard Cleveland. Please call me Howard. Are you one of Kylie’s friends from out of town?”

  Erasmus stared at his outstretched hand but didn’t deign to take it. “Yes.”

  Reverend Howard waited for an introduction that was never going to come. I intervened and shoved Erasmus closer. “This is my old friend Erasmus Dark, from California.”

  “Erasmus Dark? That’s quite a name, isn’t it?”

  “Do you get many people questioning the substance of your name, mundane as it is?”

  “Erasmus!”

  But Reverend Howard laughed, even as Erasmus turned away from him. “Well, he sure told me!”

  “I do apologize for Erasmus. He’s sort of…quirky.”

  “You don’t have to apologize. People are so insidiously polite to me all the time it’s rather refreshing getting the cold shoulder.” Still chuckling, he excused himself to talk to Ed.

  Besides on opening day for the store, I was hosting my first party, and I suddenly felt bad that it wasn’t under better circumstances.

  I felt a presence at my elbow and was surprised to see that it was Nick. “The fly is in the web,” he said dramatically in my ear.

  “True. Let’s just observe for now, then spring a few traps. Carefully.”

  He nodded and crept away, like some cartoon detective.

  I was beginning to wonder if inviting the coven was a good idea.

  Reverend Howard sidled up to me once he’d gotten a chance to get away from Ruth. “I applaud your attempt at offering an olive branch.”

  “Let’s just hope it doesn’t blow up in my face.”

  “Ruth isn’t really a bad sort. She wants good things for this village. And she gives generously.”

  “I’m trying to appeal to her better nature.”

  He smiled diplomatically and sipped his wine.

  I glanced over toward Jolene, who was walking around with a tray of appetizers. When her tray was empty, she came up next to me. “I don’t know why you thought this would be boring for me. I’m learning a lot by listening.”

  “There’s a word for that, you know.”

  “But isn’t that why you invited everyone?”

  She had a point.

  It wasn’t long before I called everyone to the table. Erasmus, for propriety’s sake, took a seat too. In fact, he was on one side of me with Ed on the other. It couldn’t have been more awkward, except for Jolene grinning at me from across the table. I used passing the vegetables to Ed as an excuse to ignore her.

  Ed leaned toward me. “I don’t know that this was such a great idea.”

  “I have to know what she knows. And I’m hoping she’ll break down if she’s around people she’s acquainted with.”

  “Well, Doc seems to be trying his best.”

  If I didn’t know better, I’d think Doc was flirting with her. He was certainly turning on the charm. Of course, he’d known her the longest.

  I was also glad Reverend Howard was there as moderator, if we needed one. And I had a feeling we might.

  “Listen, Ed,” I said quietly, “have you found out anything about Dan Parker from Doug? I assume you talked to him.”

  Unconsciously, he touched his left eye, and it was then that I noticed a little bruising under it. I assumed they’d had a very heated conversation. “Let’s say I’m not entirely convinced he had anything to do with it.”

  “Then that does leave Ruth.”

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself, Kylie,” he said, cutting a chunk of meat with the side of his fork.

  “But it has to be her. I don’t know anyone else in town so intimately entwined with all this.”

  He chewed, made a yummy sound deep in his throat, and then swallowed. “Are you sure it wasn’t that Shabiri person? I should probably talk to her.”

  “I mean it, Ed. Be very careful when dealing with her.”

  A shadow passed over me, but it was only Erasmus leaning in. “I’m curious as to all the whispering coming from this quarter.”

  “None of your business,” Ed snarled.

  Erasmus smiled as he dabbed his napkin into the corners of his mouth, even though he hadn’t eaten anything. “Why, Constable Bradbury. That sounded suspiciously like jealousy.”

  I elbowed Erasmus hard. He coughed before he recovered. “Knock it off,” I said out of the side of my mouth. “We’re concentrating on Ruth, remember?”

  I watched her. She ate as if each morsel were an exercise in patience, cutting her roast into miniscule pieces, sticking them with the tines of her fork, and slowly putting the fork between her teeth. Boy, did I ever want to spill hot gravy in her lap.

  “More gravy, Ruth?” I asked, offering the sauceboat.

  “No, thank you. It’s delicious.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Yes, Kylie is a wonderful cook,” said Ed, eating his food with relish.

  “I’m certain she is,” muttered Erasmus, looking down at his full plate forlornly. He pushed the food around but of course wouldn’t touch it.

  “Salt?” asked Reverend Howard, offering the cellar to Erasmus.

  He shied back, scowling.

  I reached across him to take it. “Erasmus is cutting down on salt,” I said hastily. Salt was a good way to cage a demon. There was no way he could even touch it.

  I sprinkled it over my own food and set the container down in front of Ed.

  Something glinted at me under the chandelier light, and I looked up. Ruth’s gold locket. When I thought about it, she seemed to wear that locket a lot. “That’s a lovely lo
cket, Ruth. Family heirloom?”

  Her hand went to it immediately, protectively, just as mine did to the demon amulet around my own neck. The one I had snatched from Erasmus. “Yes. A very old family heirloom.”

  “A Founder’s heirloom?” I asked as innocently as I could.

  “Why yes. It belonged to my…to our mutual ancestor, as a matter of fact. Constance Howland.”

  Doc’s cutlery clattered to his plate. He shook himself and picked them up. “Forgive me,” he said. “I’ve…well, I’ve just never heard you voluntarily mention her name, Ruth.”

  She picked up her wine glass and twirled it a bit, until the red wine caught the light and sent shards of ruby across the tablecloth. “Yes, well. It seems the thing to do nowadays. What with Ms. Strange in town and all.”

  “I never realized before that my people were from Moody Bog,” I said. “It was so long ago that I used to spend summers here. With my grandfather.”

  “Is that so?” said Reverend Howard, leaning on the table. “I’ll be darned. Whereabouts was that? I know pretty much everyone in this village, and I would’ve thought I’d know your grandfather’s name. Strange, I assume?”

  “Yes. Apparently, they were Founders as well.”

  Reverend Howard blinked dumbly at me. “Is that right?” He scratched his head. “I…I can’t seem to recall ever seeing that name…”

  “It must have been some sort of conspiracy,” I said with a forced laugh, “keeping our family name out of the archives. But I did some digging at the library, and sure enough, they were there.”

  Giving Ruth a surprised look, he turned back to me. “I’ll be darned. Well! What a wonderful thing. Welcome back, Kylie.”

  He hiked his glass in a toast, and I raised mine in response.

  Erasmus poured more wine in my glass when I set it down.

  “So Ruth, what’s inside the locket?” I asked then took a sip of wine.

  “I don’t know,” she said, carefully encouraging a white potato slice onto her fork with her knife. “I’ve never been able to open it. Jewelers have tried but they were concerned with damaging it.”

  “Well, what a mystery,” I said. “I’d be dying to know.”

  “Some of us have the patience and endurance not to worry over it.”

  I picked up the gravy boat again with a clenched hand, but Ed plucked it out of my fingers and set it aside. He frowned at me. I would have stuck my tongue out at him if we had been alone.

  It was now my fondest desire to get that locket in my hands and pry it open. Because I was sure there was a powerful hex inside it. When I glanced at Doc, he was staring at her locket thoughtfully.

  * * *

  Everyone was enjoying the iced cherry cake I had made with their coffee in the main room. “It’s so warm and homey in here,” said Ruth, looking around. “I suppose if one had to have a shop, this would be a good one to have.”

  As backhanded a compliment as I had ever received. I smiled as if her words hadn’t been slightly insulting. “Why thank you, Ruth. What sort of shop would you have…if you had to?”

  She looked around again. “Oh, I don’t know. An antique shop, I should think.”

  “I do have a lot of antiques. They came with the building. Funny, I would have thought the owner would have gotten them all out of here before they sold the place.” I paused. “Wouldn’t you have been the owner, Ruth? I mean…this was Constance Howland’s house.”

  She fiddled with her locket. “I believe my holding company was in charge of the sale. To tell you the truth, I hadn’t thought about this place in years.”

  The truth? I doubted there was much truth in that statement. “Well, I found some lovely things that I incorporated into the design. This buffet, for instance. It makes a great shop counter, and the cubby holes in this hutch are perfect for the herbs.”

  “Yes. I had little use for most of it. It was left on purpose.”

  I just bet you did. Which got me to wondering about the Booke. Had she known it was there all along?

  I suddenly felt its presence in a strong flush of heat. I hoped it would behave itself and not suddenly appear in the middle of our cake and coffee. I concentrated on it, willing it to stay where it was.

  “You’re thinking about the book,” said Erasmus in my ear, startling me.

  “How could you tell?”

  “I am its Guardian. I am connected to it.”

  “I know I’ve got to get that ghoul and I will, but there are other more pressing matters right now. For one, we’ve got to get Ruth’s locket. I think it might prove interesting.”

  “I’ll hold her down, and you snatch it from her neck.”

  I stared at him. “No! We will not be doing that.”

  “No?” He looked disappointed. “You always insist on doing things the hard way.”

  “It’s the human way, I guess.”

  Jolene was waving at me. I gave her a nod. Time for plan B.

  Jolene grabbed the coffee pot and made a beeline for Ruth. “Mrs. Russell, would you like more coffee?”

  “Yes, I would. Thank you…Jolene, is it?”

  “Yes. Say, I was wondering. I was studying designs in Hindu culture, and I was sure I noticed a mandala on your porch…”

  Ruth studied her over the rim of her coffee cup. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Jolene kept shooting uncertain glances my way and began to stutter. “I…I was certain you had one. It’s in glass tiles? But usually there’s a mat covering it.”

  “Oh, that! That was something my husband had put in. A decorative thing for the entry. I always thought it was called a medallion. You call it a—what was that?”

  “Mandala. If it’s for decoration, why do you cover it with a mat?”

  “You’re an unusual girl, aren’t you? In high school? Why would you be so absorbed with a design element on my front porch?”

  Smooth, Ruth. I had to hand it to her. Deflection. So I took it up.

  “I’m afraid it’s my fault,” I said. “I told Jolene about it. She’s studying different cultural motifs in design, and I thought it might have some sort of meaning.”

  She squared on me. “Why?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. People put things, like design elements, in certain places for a reason.”

  “Do they? As I said, I’m afraid that was my husband’s idea, and we can’t ask him now, rest his soul.”

  Well, that shut it down. I gave a tiny shrug to Jolene.

  I put my coffee cup and plate aside, then moved next to Ruth on the sofa. Gesturing toward her locket, I said, “I just can’t get this locket out of my mind. Would you mind if I took a look at it?”

  “I wish you wouldn’t. It’s very old and very valuable…and very dear to me.”

  “It must be. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you when you weren’t wearing it.”

  “How very observant of you.” She clutched it for a moment before slipping it inside her sweater. Damn.

  This was getting us nowhere.

  Erasmus leaned down over the sofa and said in my ear, “I still think my way is better.”

  Everyone started at a bang at my back door.

  I looked to Ed. Both he and Erasmus stilled and then, at the same time, stalked toward the back.

  I followed. My hand itched for the crossbow, but I kept reminding myself that we had mixed company.

  We three went through the kitchen where I could see shadowy shapes through the dark windows. “Draugr!” I hissed.

  “I’ll take care of it,” said Ed and Erasmus at the same time.

  Ed grabbed the doorknob, but Erasmus covered his hand. “Don’t. Not yet. Let me lure them away.”

  Heavy brows furrowed over Ed’s eyes. “But you can’t get out either.”

  Erasmus grinned…and vanished.

  Startled, Ed blew out a breath. “Ass,” he muttered.

  I saw a shadowy figure at the door swing back their arms—surely to knock an axe through it—when
they jerked to a halt and turned around. Erasmus was as good as his word—he was luring them away.

  “Now what?” I glanced at the closed kitchen door. “You can’t be firing your gun while Ruth and Reverend Howard are here.”

  “Well…get them out.”

  “How am I supposed to do that? ‘Evening’s over everyone. Out!’ Not quite neighborly.”

  “You’re going to have to do something.” He lifted up his sweater and grabbed the gun out of his shoulder holster.

  “You’ve been packing all night?”

  “Of course. With all the weirdness going on around here, I’m never going out unarmed again.”

  “Oh. I guess I didn’t expect—”

  “Said the lady with the crossbow.”

  “I’m not getting it out now.” I took another nervous glance toward the closed kitchen door, when Nick pushed it open.

  “What’s going on? Do we have ‘company’?” He added air quotes.

  “I’m afraid so. But I’m trying to convince the sheriff to not go all Wild West on it.”

  Nick looked at the gun. “Yeah, maybe the gun is not the best idea.”

  Ed seemed to be losing patience. “I don’t suppose you have a better suggestion.”

  “Well…as a matter of fact, I do. Do you have any hair spray?” Nick asked me. “Anything in a compressed air container?”

  “No hairspray. Will non-stick cooking spray do?”

  “Yeah.” We rummaged in the pantry together until I found it and handed it to him.

  “Have you got a match?”

  “I see where you’re going with this,” said Ed. “I’ve got a lighter.”

  Nick handed the can to Ed, who readied himself at the door.

  I looked curiously from one to the other. “Are you trying to make a flamethrower?”

  Nick nodded. “I think it will work. I mean, if bullets only stop them temporarily, then fire might do a more permanent job. At least until we can figure out a spell. And fire is a basic element. I’m pretty sure it’ll work to take down a zombie.”

  The kitchen door opened again. I was about to lose it.

  Jeff this time. “I smell them.” He lifted his chin and sniffed the air. It was uncomfortably close to what Erasmus did. “I’ve got an itch to go after them. I can help.”

  Ed glanced at him sidelong. “You mean…” He made a vague gesture. “Do that…wolf thing? I thought you had to wait for a full moon?”