by Bella Falls
Some people nodded at us as they passed. Unwilling to share with the whole town, I grabbed the detective and dragged him across the street and down an alley. Before telling him anything, I checked around us for company.
With the coast clear, my theory could be presented in a low voice. “You know, Flint was right. Tipper drinking was his default status.”
Mason stepped in closer. “So you think he drank himself to death? Plausible, but wouldn’t Doc have determined that?”
I shook my head. “Not if it wasn’t the alcohol that killed him, but—”
“—something in the alcohol,” Mason finished.
Adrenaline raced through me. “Exactly. So if you test Tipper’s flask, maybe there might be something in it to tell you whether or not I’m right. That Tipper was—”
“—poisoned,” we both finished at the same time, breathing hard and staring wide-eyed at each other.
It took me too long to realize that our fingers were entangled as we clasped hands in shared shock. Withdrawing mine, I backed away from him.
Mason frowned. “You know, if you’re right, we’ve got a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve gone through everything we collected that night. Twice. More than that. And I’m pretty sure we never logged in a flask.”
Excitement shifted into smugness. I cracked my knuckles in self-satisfaction. “Well, Detective. Looks like we’ve got something to go find.”
Chapter Nine
The slight pressure of the protective ward around the area where I’d found Tipper’s body pressed into me. Sadness and anger threatened to crash against the wall I needed in order to work my magic. Still, the tears pooling in my eyes threatened to fall at any second.
Mason closed the space between us, his presence a surprising comfort. “The tracker I worked with before used objects from the people he was hired to find. Is that the same way your talent works?”
His words stirred me from my reverie of sorrow. “For the most part. I’m better at finding objects than people. And then my magic is strongest if I can touch the person who wants me to find whatever it is. When I was growing up, it was more trial and error, or rather more error than success sometimes.”
“That’s not the way your grandmother tells it.”
A welcome smile lifted my spirits for a moment. “Well, she’s not an impartial storyteller. Matt used to hide things for me to find when I was little. He spent more time with me than an annoying little sister deserved.”
“So he helped you develop your skills? Sounds like a good brother to me.” Mason’s warm tone turned my insides gooey. Too much of a distraction. Shaking my head, I breathed out a sigh. “But I get where you’re going with this. I’m not gonna be much of a help finding the flask if I don’t have something of Tipper’s.”
A flap of feathers and a familiar squawk alerted us to Biddy’s presence as she circled overhead. How the bird always knew was beyond me, but I couldn’t say her instant appearance didn’t fill me with relief.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Mason watched the crow break through the ward and land on the bench. “Okay, how did it do that?”
“Hello, old girl,” I called out to her, testing the ward protection with my finger and still finding it impenetrable. “I don’t know. Maybe because of her deep link to Tipper?”
Pursing his lips and furrowing his brow, Mason held up his hand and murmured a few words. The pressure of the ward dissipated and he stepped forward. Biddy hopped on the back of the bench, tilting her head to get a better look at the two of us.
With careful deliberation, I approached the bird and addressed her. “Biddy, we could definitely use your help.”
“What are you doing?”
“Talking to her.”
Mason’s face soured. “It’s a bird. It’s not like it can understand you.” He flinched when the crow beat her wings and chastised him with an annoyed squawk.
I stifled a chuckle at his naive big-city assumptions. “Didn’t anybody you encountered before have a bird for a familiar? Or at least a pet? Of course, she understands me. Besides, you need to learn that old Southern saying. You definitely get more flies with honey.”
Before I could talk to Tipper’s crow again, she hopped off the bench and in a flutter of dark feathers perched herself on my shoulder. A squeal of surprise rose in my throat, but I did my best not to scream out loud since she’d cut to the chase.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Mason uttered in awe. “Can she really help you find the flask?”
Since we were shooting from the hip with no plan in place, my brain hadn’t made it that far. Normally, I’d hold an object or person with my hand, but that didn’t seem like a viable option.
With a shift in her weight, the crow squeezed my shoulder and sunk her talons into me, just piercing the skin with a sting. A gasp of shock and pain stuck in my throat as my arm ached and my vision blurred. A buzz of recognition and intent bound me to the bird. Before I could stop myself, my body turned to the right, and I took a faltered step in that direction.
“Whoa, hold on there. Wait for me,” insisted Mason. He reached out to help me from stumbling.
“Don’t touch me,” I warned. “Whatever’s happening, I don’t want it to break. Just make sure I don’t hurt myself.”
My right arm throbbed, and the distinct line of connection to an object somewhere nearby fizzled a little bit. Biddy tightened her grip, the intentional pricking pain refocusing me. Wanting to use the advantage while I had it, I quickened my steps.
The allure of the desired object beckoned me forward. Never before had the link been as potent in all of my childhood nor the past year or so of learning and practicing. Nothing else existed except the pot of gold at the end of the golden tether that drew me forward. Closing my eyes, I gave in, allowing myself to be pulled forward like a piece of metal unable to resist the draw of a magnet.
An unknown force in the dark stopped my trajectory. I pushed against it, the need to keep going outweighing anything else. A violent yank on my body caused the glowing tether to waver. With a piercing screech that shocked me out of my semi-trance, Biddy released me. Flapping her wings, she launched herself into the air, and the connection completely died.
“Why’d you do that?” I blinked my eyes, adjusting to the real world. With a jerk, I wrenched my sore arm out of Mason’s grip.
A pained look passed over his face before he shook it off. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe to save you from smashing your face into that.” He pointed at something behind me.
When I turned in defiance, my body stood inches away from a large metal lamppost that definitely would have taken out my nose without Mason’s help. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh. I tried calling out your name, but you ignored me.”
The connection had taken hold of me more than I thought. “I didn’t even hear you,” I marveled.
“Which is why I had to grab you. You’re stronger than you look.”
“You were getting in my way, and I needed not to stop.” My brain did its best to figure out why. “It’s never been like that before.”
Mason stared at me, and heat rose in my cheeks. “What? You think I’m a freak, don’t you?” I could add him to the list of people in my life that barely understood my magic. Myself included.
“Not at all. I told you, I’ve worked with other trackers up North. There was one guy who was like a bullet out of a gun. Much like you just were. We had an entire team devoted to keep him from killing himself in pursuit of his mark.”
Hearing about someone with talent like mine reassured me. “So he was successful?”
“Yes.” Mason’s tone darkened. “But it always came at a price.”
I frowned. “What price?”
He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“No, don’t wimp out. I can take it. What price?”
He glanced into the distance, avoiding my glare. I reached out and brushed the back of his hand
with mine. “Mason,” I insisted in a quieter tone.
Looking at our hands, he frowned. “You have to understand, he was incredibly powerful. One of the best trackers, from all accounts. But ultimately, his power consumed him. The more he succeeded, the more he needed to use it. The more he used it, the more it ate him up. And if he didn’t find what he was looking for?” Mason looked up at me, his eyes boring into mine. “I don’t ever want to see that hollow expression on your face. Ever.”
The silence stretched between us as we both weighed his words. Before I could come up with some joke to lighten the moment, the sounds of conversation interrupted us. Two people rounded the park path and made their way in our direction. I stifled a smirk as I recognized my aunt walking with the guy who claimed to be Tucker’s best friend.
“Detective Clairmont, what a pleasant surprise. I see you’re keeping very busy doing your job, investigating the untimely demise of my uncle.” Aunt Nora’s resting witch face looked extra puckered with her sarcastic remark.
Mason stood up straighter and adopted a more professional tone. “Of course. We’re following every lead we’ve found so far.”
“I wouldn’t think you’d have very far to look, considering that the last person a victim sees tends to be the one who committed the crime.” My aunt eyed me up and down with outright contempt.
To his credit, Mason recovered faster than I did and placed a hand on my back to stop me from mouthing off at my aunt.
I shrugged out of his touch and flashed my biggest bless your heart smile. “And a happy good morning to you, too, Aunt Nora.”
Her unlikely companion shifted in his stance, trying his best not to show his discomfort. He studied my face for a long enough beat that my ears burned. As if suddenly aware of his rudeness, he smiled and presented his hand to shake. “My deepest apologies. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Ashton Sharpe.”
Aunt Nora touched his arm. “This is my niece, Charlotte Goodwin. Ashton here is one of the up and coming bright stars of Honeysuckle. He and Tucker will be making this town into a place to be reckoned with. A rival to other cities like ours, if it’s allowed to grow the way that it should.” She batted her eyes at him, and I was pretty sure that if she could switch places with her daughter, she’d have chosen the man currently at her side.
“Pleased to meet you.” Relying on deep-rooted politeness, I gripped Ashton’s offered hand.
A lightning shock of pain bolted down my arm. Gritting my teeth, I ignored it. “Friends usually call me Charli.”
Ashton furrowed his brow, but his annoyingly perfect smile remained plastered on his face. “A beautiful girl like you deserves a prettier name than Charli.”
I let go first. The desire to punch him in his perfect teeth rose to the surface. “Thanks.”
Aunt Nora cleared her throat. “Don’t let us keep you from your thorough investigation, detective.” She shot me one last glare.
Mason’s curt nod spoke volumes. “Thank you.”
With a smug smile spreading on her lips, Aunt Nora slipped her hand through the crook of Ashton’s arm. “Excellent. We have other business to attend to, if y’all will excuse us.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Charlotte. Detective.” He nodded at Mason, and I watched a bead of sweat trickle down his temple. Ashton did his best to hide the quick swipe of his hand to wipe it away. As he and Aunt Nora walked away, the words incompetent and flake were spoken loud enough to hear.
Mason whistled. “That aunt of yours is a real—”
“I know. As my brother has said many times, she puts the B in witch.” Placing my hands on my hips, I bit my lip. “And as per usual, she’s interrupted something important. How in the world am I ever going to find the flask now?” I searched the sky for Biddy but couldn’t see her.
“Is your connection to the object completely gone?” Mason asked.
Closing my eyes, I checked. When my arm throbbed again, I rubbed it in irritation. For a brief second, the golden thread presented itself again, wavering, its connection thinner than before.
I gasped in shock. “I’ve got it.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “I think so. But let me try something first.” Concentrating, I reached out with my will to access my one last sure connection to Uncle Tipper.
“If I can use it, then I bet I can find the flask,” I muttered out loud.
“Use what, Charli?”
With determination, I pointed my finger at Mason. “Whatever you do, whatever happens, do not touch me or stop me.” My death curse could finally be of use instead of a hindrance. “Here goes nothing.”
Like plugging my will into an overcharged socket, a dark and murky power surged through me, almost blowing all my circuits. The pain I’d grown far too used to crept over me until my head threatened to explode from each painful pound. I moaned in agony but found the golden tether back to full strength.
“Charli, stop this. Whatever it is you’re doing, you have to stop,” demanded Mason.
The object lay somewhere nearby. If I could concentrate hard enough to get my feet to work, I could find it. Taking stumbling steps, I made my way forward. The closer I got, the more everything hurt. From somewhere far away, I heard my name being called. But I couldn’t be distracted. Not until I completed the task. Not until I found it.
The golden tether buzzed and beckoned, but the curse muddied my mind. Pain racked my entire body. My knees buckled, and I fell to the ground. So close. Almost there. I crawled inch by inch on the ground, grasping at clumps of grass and dirt to pull myself forward. Darkness threatened to swallow me whole, and I wanted to give in. Just as soon as…If I could just reach…
The tips of my fingers brushed metal, and the connection shattered. I collapsed on the ground in a sweating, gasping heap. Voices repeated my name over and over again, but a cloud swallowed me whole and pulled me under.
Chapter Ten
My body floated in midair, carried by a strong current. No, not a current. Something with arms, hands, and fingers held me up like a life preserver.
Opening my eyes, I adjusted to the scene around me and stared straight up into amber eyes glaring at me.
“She's awake,” Dash commented, a slight hint of a growl rolling at the end of his observation.
“Then you can put her down now.” Mason glared at the man holding me, hovering close by.
When I tried to speak, my lips, moved but nothing came out of my mouth. I cleared my throat. “Hey, guys, you know I can hear you, right?”
Dash’s chest rose up and down against me as his breath quickened. “I think that I should take her back home now. Her grandmother sent me to find her at just the right time. If I hadn't shown up when I did, there's no telling what you would have allowed to happen to her.”
Mason shuffled even closer. “She was fine up until that last point. I had no clue what she was going to do until it had already happened.”
“That doesn't mean you're not culpable in hurting her. If I didn't have to take care of her, you can bet I'd take care of you,” snarled the wolf shifter.
“That sounds like a threat to me, Mr. Channing.” The detective leaned in. “I could take you in just for threatening a warden. Especially with your record.”
“Leave my history out of this.” The growl in Dash’s voice reverberated through me.
Rolling my eyes at the two testosterone-filled cavemen, I pushed against the rock-solid body of the shifter. “You can put me down now. Hey!” I yelled with as much strength as I could muster, kicking my legs. Both men stopped and stared at me.
Dash blinked, emotions warring in his eyes. “I don't think that's a good idea, Charli. Your grandmother would kill me where I stood if I let any more harm come to you. As it is, your current condition may get my furry butt zapped anyway.”
I gave him my best I’m not kidding glare right back. “Yeah, well, I'll hex your hiney right here and now if you don't drop me. That goes for both of you.” I shot a similar threa
tening glance at Mason.
“I don’t think she’s bluffing,” the detective said, taking a step back.
Dash snarled his displeasure and set me down with gentle care. As soon as my feet hit solid ground, my head swam, and the world tilted. Both men reached out to catch me, and their immediate reaction tickled me. My laughter stunned them both.
“Do you think that she's in shock?” Dash asked Mason.
The detective eyed me a little too personally. “I don't know. Maybe we should take her to the doc first?”
While they conversed with each other and ignored me, I placed my hands on my knees and leaned over, doing my best not to faint. “My ears and my brain are still functioning. I think I can decide what needs to happen on my own.”
With determination, I straightened and took a few steps. The world blinked out of existence again, and when I finally opened my eyes back to reality, I stared up into two very differing faces.
Disheveled scruff covered a rugged face, and the eyes that regarded me could not hide the animal inside. The other hovering person was a clean cut guy who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders that lifted in rare moments to show a real person with real emotions hidden underneath. Taking them both in, I broke into uncontrolled chuckles.
Mason’s lips pursed in frustration. “See, I told you. She’s in shock. We need to get her to the healer now.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and gave into the giggle fit, the burst of giddy merriment shaking my entire body. “I’m fine,” I choked out between laughter. “The problem is that I feel a little like the fairytale princess who has not one but two princes determined to rescue her.”
“Well, I could have told you that I'm no royalty.” Dash winked, adding a brief moment of levity.
“No kidding,” taunted Mason.
Before Dash’s snarl could return, I held up my hand between the two. “That's enough. I think it's clear that I’m no princess, and I can save myself.”
Taking my time, I rolled over onto my side and pushed myself into a sitting position. Even on my behind, the world still spun around me too fast. As much as I wanted to be my own hero, my body had other plans. The final efforts to find the flask had burned up all the energy in my body. By my guess, there'd be no way I could make it home on my own.