He looked at her for an instant too long, leaving the query Will you? floating in her head. She blinked and looked away from him. She needed space and to catch up on her sleep. He’d eaten and now he needed to go back to Black Sands and act as if everything were normal and he didn’t know where Reg had gone.
Chapter Thirty-One
Despite her exhaustion, sleep eluded Reg. She lay in the bed in the brightly-lit B&B and couldn’t stop thinking about Julian and his investigation, Tybalt, the Spring Games, Davyn… and everything else that was whirling around her head.
She wished she could sit in the garden and look at the greenery and budding flowers that Forst had planted and cultivated and babied. Even if Reg had never had a green thumb or an appreciation for the great outdoors, it was relaxing there.
There were gardens around the B&B. It had been very nicely landscaped. But she didn’t exactly want to be seen there, and it wouldn’t be the same as being in the garden cared for by a gnome. They had even been visited by elves during winter solstice when Starlight had been sick.
Eventually, she got sick of trying to sleep and of being cooped up in that one room. She needed to be able to get out and get a feel for the place. She could gas up the car so that she was ready to go anywhere at a moment’s notice. She should know where the various stores were and her escape routes out of town. Despite everything she had told herself about staying in and under cover, she just couldn’t stay there anymore.
“Oh, hello, there,” Mrs. Agnes greeted, nodding to Reg as she put in an appearance. “And how is this lovely day going for you?”
“Uh… just fine. Thought I’d get out and see the sights, get a breath of fresh air.”
“Of course,” Mrs. Agnes agreed. “Anything in particular? I can make recommendations, give you directions.”
“No… I am fine. Just going to wander.”
Reg could feel the woman’s eyes on her. She was self-conscious as she walked away, feeling like she couldn’t remember the right way to walk anymore. Very awkward.
“Where did you say you came from?” Mrs. Agnes asked before she could escape the room.
“I’ve been all over,” Reg said truthfully. She kept going, then paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Northeastern seaboard, mostly,” she said. “The ocean is a lot colder there than it is here!”
“I could never live in such a place,” the older woman said with a shudder. “If you follow that path behind the house,” she gestured in the direction she spoke of, “it leads you right down to the ocean. As warm as any bath.”
Reg looked in that direction, feeling the ocean’s pull on her, even though she couldn’t see it through the walls. It was there, waves lapping, salt in the air, something she could sense even if she couldn’t see it.
“I’ll see it later,” she said lightly. She had told herself she was going out to reconnoiter, and she would stick to that plan. She didn’t need to put her feet in the warm water. She could do that back in Black Sands anytime she wanted to.
“You like the ocean, do you?” Mrs. Agnes asked, her voice a little sharp.
“Yes. Of course I do. I love the ocean, especially with how warm it is here. I’ll go down later.”
Reg could feel Mrs. Agnes’s eyes on her all the way down the sidewalk to her car.
The little town had a different feeling from Black Sands. Maybe because Reg already knew Black Sands and everything in Sandy Cove was still new and foreign to her. But there did not seem to be nearly as many magical practitioners there as in Black Sands. They were only a couple of hours apart; what was it about Black Sands that attracted the magical community’s attention? Was it just chance, that one family had moved there and then had invited their friends? And then they had invited others, had used each other’s services, living separate and apart from the non-magical community?
Or maybe both towns had once had large magical communities and then a threat of some sort had scared the townspeople away, or some disease or curse had wiped them out. There were a lot of possibilities when Reg thought about it.
She drove through the small downtown. None of the stores she saw had the cute double-meanings that she was used to in Black Sands. The Crystal Bowl. Witch’s Brew. Instead, they all seemed to be boring and empty, not enough people to keep the little town’s economy going. It would be a ghost town if things kept progressing as they were. And not the kind of ghost town that Reg had seen in the Everglades. It would be empty and sad, and there wouldn’t even be any ghosts there for Reg to visit with.
She filled her car’s tank at the gas station, eyes alert for anyone who shouldn’t be there. Anyone paying her too much attention. Even with her red box braids and a head-dress and flowing, colorful fortune-teller skirt, they should only give her a cursory look. The kind of look that took her in, then discounted her as just another crazy person they didn’t want to acknowledge. She might ask them for money. Offer to tell their fortunes. Say crazy things. People didn’t like crazy.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Reg returned to the B&B feeling out of sorts. She had hoped that getting away from the house again would clear her head and settle her down, but she felt like the B&B was a prison instead of a safe house. She didn’t want to go back in her room to watch videos on her phone to pass the time. She felt like she had left her whole life behind in Black Sands. She had never felt that way when running away before. She’d always had a sense of excitement and adventure. Escaping from trouble and starting a new life was always a thrill.
This time, it seemed like she was giving up. She had begun to build a life in Black Sands and had just given up on it, denying the person she had become.
Rather than going back into the house, she decided to take Mrs. Agnes’s advice and go down to the ocean. She liked the water. She could just sit there and watch the waves and, like watching a fire, it would calm her and help her focus and relax and know what she should do next.
She wandered down the cobblestone path behind the house through Mrs. Agnes’s garden. She didn’t have a gnome so it was not nearly as nice as Sarah’s. Reg would have to remember to tell Forst that and compliment his work when she got back to the cottage.
The thought gave her a pang. When? Would she ever go back to the cottage? She might never be able to go back there, even once the investigation had cooled down.
The cobbled path led to steps going down the back of the hill to a sheltered beach. Reg descended and walked through the sand, as white and soft as baby powder. The sun in the clear blue sky warmed her skin. It was perfect. She should be happy there. It was a great place for a vacation, or even to stay longer-term. She was sure Mrs. Agnes wouldn’t mind if she decided to stay more than a few days. It would be good for her pocketbook.
But her heart wasn’t in it. As much as she liked the perfect little beach, she didn’t want to stay there. She walked to the water’s edge, scanning the sand for a shell or rock to throw into the water. But there wasn’t even a piece of driftwood.
Sand was getting into Reg’s sandals, so she slipped them off. Looking at the water lapping against the shore, she had conflicting feelings. She knew that the water might trigger her siren instincts. But there wasn’t anyone with her; she wouldn’t be putting anyone in danger. She was by herself and could just let the warm water cover her toes and bring her comfort.
Why not?
She stepped into the water and let it cover her foot. Mrs. Agnes was right. It was like stepping into a warm bath. She could luxuriate there all day. Forget hiding in her room watching YouTube videos. She could just float in the warm, clear water in the little cove and let time wash over her.
She took a couple more steps into the water until it was nearly up to her knees. She took a long breath in and released it. That was where she belonged. She didn’t want to go anywhere else. Maybe she had left her life behind in Black Sands, but she could start again. She didn’t need friends or her own house or anything else that she’d experienced there. She could soak in the ocean al
l day. With the gems, she had all of the money she needed. She didn’t have to work. She didn’t need any clients. She could just rest and meditate and feel the wonderful warm water around her every day.
But as Reg took another step into the water, her dress starting to float around her, she realized that she had miscalculated.
She was hungry.
She hadn’t been able to eat much of anything at breakfast, but time had passed since then, and hunger gnawed in her belly. She couldn’t just laze around in the water all day. She needed food.
She closed her eyes, trying to push it out of her mind. She had skipped plenty of meals. It was just a matter of will. If she ignored the hunger, it would go away. But when she closed her eyes, she saw Julian. She remembered his being in the grocery store when she was picking up snacks. She hadn’t been able to get her snacks. She’d had to run home and then had packed her bags and left. She was still hungry. She wanted that ice cream.
She hadn’t bought ice cream in Black Sands, but she had purchased some when she had picked up Starlight’s food and kitty litter. She hadn’t even touched it yet. That’s what she would have.
She regretted having to leave the water, but she could go back later. She needed to take care of her physical needs. Reg grabbed her sandals and pulled them on, then mounted the wooden steps and hurried up to the house. She followed the path and, in a moment, was at the front door again. She didn’t bother to knock, but went straight in. Mrs. Agnes was in the living room doing a cross-stitch picture on a hoop. She looked up as Reg entered, giving a reserved smile.
“Hello, Reg, dear. Did you have a nice time?”
Reg could barely stand to answer her. She was on a mission. She needed that ice cream, and nothing was getting in her way.
“Yes, very nice,” she agreed.
Mrs. Agnes followed her into the kitchen. She looked down at the wet border of Reg’s dress clinging to her legs. “You went down to the water.”
“It was really nice,” Reg said. “You were right.”
She opened the freezer and pulled out her pint of ice cream. She opened and closed several drawers before Mrs. Agnes pointed out the one for the cutlery. Reg grabbed a spoon, ripped the top off of her ice cream, and started to eat.
“You’re hungry.”
“Starving.”
“If you’re starving, ice cream isn’t going to satisfy you.”
Reg had already noticed that the chocolate and caramel were not giving her the usual rush. She could barely taste them. It was like eating sawdust. If sawdust were an ice cream flavor.
“Ugh.” She took a few more bites of the ice cream, then looked down at it, disgusted. “What’s wrong with this?”
“There isn’t anything wrong with the ice cream.”
“You didn’t taste it.”
“You don’t want ice cream.”
Reg thought about it. Her stomach was still practically turning itself inside out, a deep ache, almost like when Corvin had forced her to feel his hunger. Hunger that made her so desperate she wanted to cry. But it wasn’t ice cream she wanted. It was something else. Back in the Black Sands grocery store. There had been something else that she wanted, but she couldn’t think of what it was.
“You have to go,” Mrs. Agnes said.
Reg nodded. She did. She had to go back to Black Sands to get… what it was that she wanted. She couldn’t understand why she had left in the first place. There had been no reason to leave. It was her home. Her territory, not anyone else’s.
“I’d better pack.”
“Do you even need to pack? You could just leave everything here.” Mrs. Agnes’s eyes were blurry behind her thick lenses, but she was studying Reg intently.
“No. I have my cat. And my… things. I have all of my necessities with me. I need to take them.”
“Maybe you could come back for everything else another time.”
“No.” Reg shook her head. No matter how hungry she was, she couldn’t leave Starlight behind. She couldn’t leave her gemstones or the few other things that she really needed to survive. “I’ll pack and then I’ll go.”
She shoved the remaining ice cream back into the freezer. She fumbled at the door of her bedroom with the key, her hand shaking in her impatience to get in. Starlight jumped down from the bed and made an inquiring noise. Maybe wondering where she had been for so long. Or maybe he sensed the change in her and wondered what was going on.
“We’re going home,” Reg told him. “Back to Black Sands.” She grabbed her bag and started throwing things into it. “I’m sorry for the change in plans. I know this is crazy, but I can’t stay here. I have to go back.”
She hadn’t worked out why she needed to go back in a satisfyingly logical way. There was no way she could tell Sarah or Corvin or one of the others why it was suddenly so important that she get back to Black Sands. She just knew that she had to.
She was hungry. She needed to get back to the grocery store in Black Sands.
She couldn’t explain it; she just knew that things had not ended the right way in the grocery store. Leaving her groceries there and running away to Sandy Cove was not the way it was supposed to turn out.
Starlight sat down and watched her curiously, his ears pointing forward and his head cocked to the side.
“I’m not crazy,” Reg muttered.
When she had gathered all of her possessions, she opened the door to the cat carrier for Starlight. She hoped it wouldn’t be a fight to get him inside.
But he seemed amenable to her plan and when she swung the door open, he walked in and lay down as if it were his royal coach.
“Good boy. Let’s go home.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The trip back to Black Sands sped past. Looking back at it later, Reg had no recollection of actually being on the road. She didn’t know what route she had taken or how fast she had driven. She had gotten into the car, intent on getting home, and the next thing she remembered, was rolling into town.
She smiled at the friendly lights of the little town. The sky was just twilight, but people were turning on their lights and the streetlights were starting to come on as well. She felt happy returning to Black Sands. It was home, in a way that no other place had ever been home to her. She felt warm. She felt possessive. It was her town. It was where she belonged.
Reg waffled over what order to do things in. She wanted to get over to the grocery store right away before it closed. But she also wanted to get Starlight home and check on everything at the cottage. It really wasn’t a good idea to leave him in the car. He could get too hot or too cold, or someone could snatch him. He might think that she had abandoned him, or someone walking by might think her a negligent owner and call the police or animal control.
So leaving Starlight in the car was a non-starter. She would have to go home first. The grocery store would be open when she was done. Lots of places in Black Sands were open late or at odd hours because so many of the residents were night owls, practicing their magic or holding seances after dark or around midnight, the witching hour.
She zipped over to the house. She would be quick. She could drop her stuff there with Starlight and be on her way in five minutes. As long as she didn’t get interrupted.
But of course, as soon as she opened the door and turned on the lights, Sarah knew she was there and hurried out to talk to her.
“Reg, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Is everything okay?” Sarah peered in the door, unsure whether to enter. Reg nodded, setting down the cat carrier and releasing the catch on the door so Starlight could get out. She put down her bag on the kitchen floor, but then decided she couldn’t leave it there. If Sarah decided to help her by putting away her things, she would know that the box of gems was still in the cottage. Reg should have put them in a safety deposit box or somewhere else they would be less accessible, but harder to steal. Sarah wouldn’t want Reg to keep them in the cottage where something could happen to them
.
But Sarah was one to talk. Reg had seen the big emerald pendant that Sarah kept in her house. She had to be near it to reap its health benefits. So she couldn’t put all of her valuables away where they were safe either.
Sarah had Frostling, her African Gray parrot to help guard her precious jewel. Well, Reg had an animal too. Starlight could help to guard her gemstones and keep them safe.
“I’m fine,” Reg said, carrying her bag into the bedroom and depositing it in the closet. She shut the closet doors and returned to the front room, where Sarah hovered, wondering what Reg was doing back.
“I just wondered, because you said that you weren’t going to come back until this investigation had gone away, and… well, of course they are still asking questions. It’s going to be a while before it’s safe to come back without having to worry about it…”
“I’m not worried. I had to come back here to…”
Reg had been about to say “to eat,” but that sounded kind of weird. Sarah would point out that she could eat wherever she went. There was plenty to eat no matter what town she hid herself in.
“You just had to settle things?” Sarah filled in her own thought.
Reg nodded in agreement.
She looked at her phone, wondering again what time the grocery store would be open until.
“Are you expecting someone?” Sarah asked.
“No.”
“There she is! You’re back!” Julian appeared in the doorway, flanked by a couple of other men in cloaks. “I thought you had left town.”
“I had some things to do,” Reg said vaguely. Suddenly, her impetus to go back to the grocery store was gone. It wasn’t the groceries she wanted. It was to see Julian. To settle things with him properly.
“You can’t come here without an appointment,” Sarah objected, holding up her hand to stop Julian and his cronies from entering. “If you want to ask Reg more questions, you will have to set up a time.”
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