Cursed Lines (A Peg Darrow Novel Book 2)

by Camille Douglass

  “I am not saying you are unaided Pammy. My mother expressly advised me to offer any assistance we can, but as this is a witch matter, there are limits to what we are able to do, as you well know from the mutual agreements we have in place. We have no wish for any altercations.”

  “Well, then, let me make myself clear with two witnesses present.”

  “Two witch witnesses.”

  “Really, Deval?” Pammy asked glancing briefly at me.

  My mouth dropped, but I shut it quickly. Deval gave me a hard stare. I glared right back at him. He inclined his head slightly, which I took to be the question as to whether I’d told Pammy about my goblin heritage. I rolled my eyes in return, which he apparently took as a “no” because he refocused on Pammy.

  “She is still yours.”

  “She is, but as you’ve gotten to know her; you should know she would betray any agreements. It would not be wise for the witches to go to war, Deval.”

  “I’m surprised you would admit as much.”

  I’d held my tongue too long. “Quit being such a pompous jackass. Nobody wants war. She said it wouldn’t be wise, not that we wouldn’t do it.”

  “Thank you, Margaret.” Pammy said with a dry tone.

  “Yes, Pamela.” I responded curtly. See how she enjoyed the full name shtick.

  She took a moment to turn, giving me one hard look, making me swallow, before returning her gaze to Deval. “Back to my associate’s so appropriately phrased it ‘pompous’ remarks. My witches are ready and able to go to war, but war would be foolish. Weakening both of our families and opening the way for the vampires to come and usurp both of our seats. Yes, other states would eventually come to reclaim the land, but not before we’d all been used as a buffet. So, whereas I know you’re posturing, we both know you and your mother want war even less. Now stop goading, Peg.”

  “What do I have to do with him being an ass?” Apparently my diplomacy skills were waning.

  “Good lord, woman, exactly what I meant. Dorothy, have I not had dozens of these types of meetings with Deval sitting in for his mother over the years?”

  “Yes, Pammy.”

  “Have you ever seen Deval act quite this antagonistic?”

  “No, he’s usually pretty charming. Even funny occasionally.”

  “So, what I mean, Peg, is I think you two have unresolved issues because although he knows that witnesses usually remain quiet unless asked a question, and you know that, he decided to get under your skin. You fell for it, and we’ll need to work on that.”

  I felt my cheeks heat but kept my mouth shut. My only joy was that Deval, too, looked chastised.

  “I’m not going to verify your accusations, Pammy. Let’s get back to the business at hand,” Deval said in a more casual tone. “Please tell me more about this family and how you believe the goblins might be of assistance.”

  “The McAllisters are a witch family we believe to be drainers and general practitioners of the darker sides of magic.”

  “Yes, I would also classify draining to be on the darker side,” he deadpanned.

  Pammy ignored him and continued on explaining their history in Arizona, their whispered reputation through other regions of the U.S., along with Millicent’s recount of her traumatic childhood experience and the threats used to make her betray him. Once she finished, we all sat in silence for a moment.

  “It saddens me that Millicent did not come to either of our houses. I would have gladly protected her, as I know you would have.”

  Pammy nodded. “I would have done everything in my power to do so. Sadly, I realize now that it would have been too late for her. The curse set to her was instantaneous. I’ve only witnessed it one other time in my lifetime as a child. Had I not, both Peg and I would have also fallen victim to these monsters.”

  He sat forward in the chair looking between Pammy and me. “I’m sorry I hadn’t realized that harm had come to either of you.”

  “Yep, as a survivor of Reaper, I bet I can even raise my rates.” I cut in.

  I expected a chastisement from Pammy at interrupting yet again but instead I got a full belly laugh. “That’s my girl. Damn right we’ll raise your rates.”

  “I don’t see how this is funny.” Deval studied me.

  “She’s fine Deval, and you’re right, getting the blowback from a death curse isn’t funny, but profiting from taking a potion that guarantees a certain death for a small while to circumvent a permanent one and then getting paid extra for a necessity because it offers the illusion that you’re a hard ass is hilarious.”

  I leaned forward and looked over at Dorothy, who’d remained quiet this whole time. “Please don’t mention to anyone that I’m more of a self preservationist than a hard ass.”

  She didn’t speak, but she did grin before closing her mouth a miming zipping it and locking it.

  “Ladies, we’ve gotten off track again. Pardon me, I’m going to go and get a coffee while you compose yourselves.” He stood abruptly, his stride sharp as he marched over to the counter.

  “He certainly has a bee in his bonnet,” Dorothy commented now that we were alone.

  “Boy’s upset. He didn’t protect his healer, and now his girl is out gallivanting around getting herself killed. It’s not a comfortable place for him.”

  “I’m not his girl,” I felt the need to point out.

  “That’s to be decided, but even if you’re not ‘his girl,’ you’re a friend, and that’s just as bad. We all want to protect our friends.”

  Lola flashed in my mind. I pulled my phone out to send her a quick text, asking her to call me again.

  Pammy gave me a questioning look.

  I shook my head negative.

  She sighed. “I’ve changed my mind about Lola. We may need to do an extraction, willing or not. I assumed she would keep at least a minimum amount of contact with you.”

  “Nope, she’s been ignoring me all together.”

  “That is concerning,” Deval sat down, holding a mug that looked like regular ol’ black coffee. “Are her foster parents aware that she’s involved with this family?”

  “We haven’t made any notifications because she is an adult. Plus, we don’t have many connections in your community, Peg excluded of course. We’d hoped that she would come to her senses, but it’s gotten serious. Is she still going to work?”

  Deval took out his sleek phone and dialed out. “Good morning, I had hoped to speak with Miss Fahl, is she in today? On vacation? How lovely. How much of this vacation has she taken? All right then I’ll stop by in a week.” He hit “end” on his phone. “She’s using some vacation time to get away. Apparently she’s had some stockpiled for a while now.”

  “That is unfortunate. Please check with her family to see if she’s been in touch.”

  “You don’t want to flat out tell them? They could likely lure her away.”

  “I have no doubt that Lola would respond to her adopted mother’s request, but after what happened with Millicent, I believe an extraction would best be done by myself or Alice, who is unfortunately on a road trip at the moment evading vampires.” Deval went to interrupt but Pammy placed her hand up. She had no qualms shushing anyone. “That, young man, is a story for another day.”

  “You do realize that I’m older than you are, right?”

  “No shit? I really must know what moisturizer you use,” Pammy snapped. “Now, given that you’ve brought up your age, and I’m guessing that you were asked for input when deciding about adopting Lola into your fold, I’m going to ask you to think back. The McAllisters were around just prior to her parents’ deaths. In that time, do you recall if there were any odd comings and goings with strange witch families and your family. There has to be a connection.”

  “Why would you say there has to be a connection?”

  “I really doubt the family had Millicent set a scrying spell exclusively for them. They would have found no value in stealing your chest,” she empathized. “Unless of course they
either had a buyer or they were assisting the actual persons responsible.”

  “That is logical. Give me moment.” He sat back in his chair with his eyes closed.

  We sat in silence for several minutes. I used those minutes to drink my latte, becoming more antsy the closer to the bottom of the cup I came. I went to stand to get another, but Pammy grabbed my hand and gave me a hard stare. So, that was a “no” on the refill.

  I looked at Deval, whose eyes were now open, looking at our interaction with amusement. “Let her get another drink, Pammy. Reaper won’t kill her, but surely caffeine deprivation will.”

  My cheeks heated but not enough to stop me from standing. “Anyone else want another?”

  “Yep, and you’re buying.” Pammy accepted ungraciously.

  Turned out everyone did, so I was twenty dollars poorer. Worth it. After handing out the assorted tray the barista provided, I grabbed my latte and listened. It had turned out Deval’s meditative state had jarred loose an old memory.

  “Two decades ago, Gregar did have a friendship with a young blond man whom I believed to be a witch. In centuries past, this would not have been that odd, but as you know, our kind have drifted apart in recent years. So, it was unusual.”

  “Did you ever meet this witch personally or ask Gregar about it.”

  “As I’m sure you know, my cousin and I are not close. The only reason I knew about it is I remember going to dinner one night and Gregar happened to be at the bar with said witch. I went to say hello, and when introduced, the twit couldn’t resist zapping me like a juvenile; otherwise, I’d have never even known his heritage.”

  “Do you remember the name he gave you?”

  “I do not. I asked Gregar about him at a formal dinner soon after that. I believe he told me to mind my own business or something along those lines. I, of course, mentioned that an unknown witch fraternizing with my cousin was my business.”

  “Let me guess, that got you the middle finger?” Pammy asked drily.

  Deval inclined his head. “I’m sure that was his desired response; however, there is still an illusion of respect shown. He simply said that the witch’s family were travelers and would soon move on so not to worry myself. I should have followed up on it, but frankly it was a busy time, and relations weren’t quite as hostile, so I took his word for it.”

  “Blond, cocky witch with a family that moves frequently. Sounds like our guy,” Pammy said.

  I hesitated but cut in to the conversation yet again. “It sounds like him, Pammy, but Michael was Lola’s childhood friend, not a grown adult twenty years ago.”

  Deval and Pammy looked at each other for a moment before he began to speak. “If my memory serves me, I do recall learning a bit about drainers during my studies. Life sources can be stolen to return youth to whatever point you wish as long as you’re willing to use multiple victims. The other side of the coin is that the stolen youth can also be leeched from the practitioner to add years as necessary. If I recall correctly this is thought to be an effective way to lure child prey.”

  Pammy nodded solemnly.

  Horrified didn’t begin to express what I thought of that, but I managed to keep my face blank.

  “Gregar has apparently stooped to unimaginable levels to associate with the darkest side of magic.” Deval’s mouth thinned.

  “Everyone walks the line, Deval. Don’t be so shocked, but if he’s assisted this family at all with their anti-aging regime, you had better bet that we will expect a resolution.”

  “Of course. That is if it’s not moisturizer. Ladies.” Deval stood and then looked over at me. “Peg, would you be so kind as to walk me to my car?”

  “Uh, sure,” I said, standing. I looked over at Pammy. “Don’t let them clear my drink.”

  I walked with Deval but distinctively heard Pammy muttering behind me, “Off to have a tête-à-tête with the goblin prince, and she’s worried about a half-finished coffee.”

  Damn straight I was. Deval held open the door, and I went out into the crisp, bright morning. I raised one hand, blocking the sunlight a bit to look for something black and luxurious. I’d started to step toward a sedan I’d seen him drive before he grabbed my hand and placed it through his own arm in an old fashioned gesture. I looked up at him.

  “You are becoming quite adept at your job. I would however like to be notified when you literally have to kill yourself temporarily to beat back a curse.”

  “Yeah, I should have called, since it was in relation to the job for your mom, but since the meeting was this morning, I didn’t see the need.”

  “I am your—friend. As a friend, I would like to be made aware.”

  “Well, friend, I appreciate your concern, and I will consider it, but I don’t call up every friend I have when I’ve been in a dangerous situation. That’s just my job, and that feels really time consuming for someone who can’t decide what he wants.” I removed my hand from his arm, turned, and walked back into the coffee shop. Pammy held up my latte and mimed drinking it. The scowl on my face broke into a smile as I rushed forward for my sugar and caffeine.

  13

  Pammy and Dorothy didn’t say anything while I gulped down the now cold latte. I set the mug on the table and turned to look at the two women. “Don’t say anything.”

  “Damn, Sug, you gotta go ruin my little ray of sunshine in this shit storm,” Pammy grumbled but didn’t ask about my conversation with Deval.

  “I’m more of a spectator than a commenter,” Dorothy added.

  “I appreciate your restraint. So, Pammy, I’m going to pop over to the rental house for a little B&E. Care to join me?”

  “That’s my girl, right back into the fire. Don’t mind if I do.” She stood up, leaving her half-finished cup. Sacrilege in my book, but I refrained from commenting. “Dorothy, would you mind staying here this afternoon? I would like a presence available if someone wanders in. Your usual fee.”

  Dorothy grinned at us. “But of course.”

  The two-story house I’d watched looked much the same except for the lack of vehicles. If they’d been home, I was feeling ballsy enough to walk up to the front door and ask to speak with Lola, it was what I secretly hoped for, but this might be better. Pammy drove around the block twice before we parked a couple of streets down. The house looked empty, but we couldn’t be certain.

  The street itself didn’t have any pedestrians on it. In the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday that wasn’t unheard of, and it lent to our plans. We stood on the sidewalk outside the house.

  “You wanna knock?” I asked.

  “Scan the aura, Sug. See if there’s anyone inside.”

  I pulled my magic front and center. It surged forward, no wards stopping it. My own wouldn’t have allowed for this intrusion, but whereas there had been wards, all that were left now were shreds of what remained. No life forces in the house.

  “It’s odd,” I said to Pammy pulling my magic back to me.

  “What’s odd?”

  “There are shreds of wards, but they’re inactive. Even if they had deserted this house, I would expect them to leave them intact. Why go through the trouble to begin with if they aren’t going to leave them up?”

  I felt a tickle of magic as Pammy sent out her own less thorough feeler. “Huh, that does seem wasteful. Peg, why would a person with a devious mind leave a house wide open like that.”

  “A trap?” I responded hesitantly.

  “Yep, they knew someone would come back to this house once the shit hit the fan. I sat in there with their matriarch and had tea. Lola surely told them, or at least her boy toy, that you had been watching the house. They’ve gone, but they’re hoping to hit us with a surprise.”

  “Should we even go in then?”

  “Hell yeah, we’re going in. They are not more powerful than us. They’re just dirty players. Be careful though. I have a few vials left, but Reaper doesn’t grow on trees, and frankly I’ve never heard of anyone taking it in such rapid succession. No nee
d to pull on Death’s whiskers.”

  We walked up to the front door, and I tried the knob, locked. Couldn’t make it too easy. We looked around the street again, still empty of prying eyes. I followed Pammy around to the side gate. Like its neighbors, the house had a six-foot block wall with a sturdy wood door, also locked. Pammy interlocked her hands and bent over. I looked at her.

  “I’m too old to be boosted over fences but not too old to boost. Get over the damn fence.”

  No need to tell me twice. I put my booted foot in her hands and on the count of three felt myself projected into the air with more force than I expected. My palms scraped across the concrete blocks, and I winced but managed to scramble over the fence and shimmy down the other side. The lock consisted of a deadbolt rather than a padlock, convenient. I threw the bolt and Pammy stepped swiftly inside locking the gate behind her.

  We walked along the cement pathway on the side yard to the back, which contained more cement, some gravel and a fenced-in pool that looked green from misuse. If it had been someplace with colder climate, the seventy-degree weather during the afternoon would have been enough to upkeep the pool, but Arizonans needed a cool ninety degrees to dip their toes in the “frigid” water.

  The back porch held some cheap patio chairs. It wasn’t dusty, so there had been some recent upkeep. We passed the furniture to the sliding glass door. Pammy reached for the handle and it slid open without protest. She entered through the long vertical blinds.

  “What are you waiting for?” she called back at me.

  “I don’t know, the all clear?” I mumbled as I pushed aside the blinds and entered.

  “It’s all clear,” she snarked at me.

  “Thank you, oh mighty leader,” I snarked right back.

  The lights were off, but the Arizona sunshine peeked through blinds on the many windows, so we were able to see the open kitchen and family room of the tastefully but sparsely decorated home, a common look for regular rentals.

  “You take upstairs while I search down?”