by Kimbra Swain
“Grace, the crops are diseased,” she said showing me the basket. Aydan stirred in his crib. My eyes flicked over to him instinctively. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I replied as Levi went to soothe him. “Is Deacon out there looking at it?”
“I called him. He is on his way. He said I should show them to you,” she replied.
“Grace,” Levi said, looking at the basket from across the room. I switched to my sight and saw the same murky green haze surrounding the vegetables.
“It’s the Evil Eye,” I said. “Definitely. It can affect crops, livestock, and people. This is very bad because it could be anyone in town doing this.”
“We have the usual suspects,” Levi said.
“That’s just it. It could be you or me. There’s no way to know who cast it,” I said.
“I didn’t cast it,” Levi responded. “I’ve got nothing to do with the dead guy.”
“True. Perhaps, he’s not related,” I said.
“Same haze,” Levi said.
“Someone is doing this on purpose,” Mrs. Santiago said.
“’Fraid so,” I responded. I might as well admit that one of my own had cast this. “We will figure it out. I’m sure Deacon and the Lads know some protection spells. That is the one good thing about the Evil Eye. There are a lot of protections for the curse like the necklace that Wendy wore. There are other warding symbols that are phallic in shape.”
The Latino woman blushed. “Phallic?” Levi asked.
“Yeah, go google that one,” I said.
“I know what phallic is,” he grumbled. “Not that I remember how to use it.”
Ah! There it was. My bard hadn’t forgotten his sexual frustrations. He just was burying it. Well, he wasn’t burying it. That was the problem.
“The Romans especially used the symbol. Usually, the talisman had wings,” I said.
“When penises fly,” Levi quipped.
“No,” I said with a grin. “There are also others like giant blue eyes that the Turks use.”
“We should tell everyone. Make sure we are all wearing a talisman. It hasn’t hit either of us though,” Levi said.
“Even more reason to think it was one of us,” I replied.
“Based on what?” he said.
“Jealousy,” I said. “Usually it’s cast because you covet something that isn’t yours or you wish you had. Just like what triggered it in Astor or when Caleb came after you.”
“No, Grace. It’s neither one of us because we don’t think like that,” Levi said.
I paused for a moment realizing that he thought I meant that he wanted me and couldn’t have me. I just meant in general, but he was right in that it hadn’t happened to either of us. Therefore, it was proof that Levi was here with me because he wanted to be here. Not because he had to be here or was waiting for his moment. He accepted things as they were and lived his life. It was highly attractive. Well, shit.
It was also true that I didn’t want things that weren’t mine. I just wanted the one thing that was.
“I’m sorry. You are right,” I said.
He looked confused. It wasn’t every day I apologized and admitted he was right. A wide smile crossed his face, but he didn’t say a word. Probably better that he didn’t.
“Aye. We call it mal ojo. I know the protections of my people. I will go home and protect my family. You should tell everyone about it, Grace. Until we find out who cast it,” Mrs. Santiago suggested.
“You are right. Levi and I will head into town,” I said.
Levi escorted her to the door. She must have shifted to her bear form because she disappeared at the edge of the tree line heading toward the stone circle that called to me. I hadn’t talked to my father. I wanted to talk to him, but then again, I didn’t. It could wait. The curse was more important.
“Where did Astor go?” I asked.
“He went to his room. I think he’s supposed to meet with Troy today about the job,” Levi said.
“Alright. Aydan goes with us. I’m going to take a quick shower,” I said.
“Get the ink. I want to go get that tattoo,” Levi said.
“Why don’t you take the ink and I’ll meet you at the bar later,” I said.
“No!” he said. “You aren’t going off with the baby without me. Especially with this curse.”
“Levi, I’m pretty sure I can protect myself,” I said.
“And I don’t care,” he replied. “Go shower. I’ll watch Aydan until you get done.”
I started to open my mouth to protest again, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good.
After taking a quick shower, I grabbed a long scarf so I could carry Aydan. With his rapid growth, I wouldn’t be able to carry him much longer. I also tucked the velvet bag with the magical ink into the pocket of my jeans. Levi had him in his carrier as I came down the steps.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
He carried Aydan down the steps but stopped dead in his tracks at the bottom of the steps. His eyes were focused on my truck. I followed his line of sight to the hood of my truck. A blue glass mason jar sat on the hood. Sprinting to the jar, I heard Levi call behind me to wait. Fuck that.
“Dylan!” I said as I grabbed the jar. I threw it hard down on the walk leading up to the house. It shattered and a puff of ash covered the ground. My heart pounded waiting to see what would happen.
Levi put Aydan in the back of the truck, then walked up to me slowly. “There is no power in it, Grace,” he muttered.
“I know,” I said shaking my head. Tears pooled in my eyes as I forced down a sob. It stuck in my chest like an overfilled balloon waiting to pop. “Who would do that?”
He reached around me to turn me around. I looked up into his dark blue eyes. “I don’t know, but you need to be careful about things like that. Even Robin wouldn’t leave the jar sitting on your truck. You know that. What if it were something else that rose from that ash?”
One traitorous tear rolled down my cheek. Levi brushed it away with his thumb. “I know. I just wanted it to be him,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “You still want to go to town? I can go for you. It won’t take long, and we can do the tattoo some other time.”
“No. I have to keep going. If I stop…,” I said without finishing my sentence.
“You need to let all of that out before it eats you alive,” he said. “I’m here. Astor is here. We can get Nestor. Whoever you want, but you aren’t and won’t be alone, Grace.”
“I can’t give up on him,” I said.
“It’s not giving up to grieve. It’s just accepting the way things are,” he said.
I buried my face in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me. No other tears escaped because I wasn’t ready to accept the way things were. I just couldn’t. Dylan and I had taken too long to find each other, and it just couldn’t be over.
“You saw the jar in Winter,” I said.
“Yes,” he replied.
“It looked like that one?” I asked.
“Exactly like it,” he said.
“She is taunting me,” I said.
“It’s possible. Either way, you can’t let it get to you,” Levi said. “Whoever did it wanted you distracted which means, if you are, you should stay here, and let me take care of spreading the word.”
“Maybe some coffee,” I said, still leaning on him.
“Brilliant idea,” he replied. He pulled away from me but took my hand. He led me to the passenger side then closed the door for me. I watched him walk back around the car. The pink scar on his face reminded me that my bard had experienced the evil in the world. He wasn’t the immature boy that plopped down on my couch last year. I hated the way he’d grown up, but when I looked at the scar, I was thankful that he had. He was exactly what I needed him to be right now.
Pink glitter swirled around in my coffee as I stirred it. Levi was telling Nestor about our morning. He had more tales of fairy fol
k fighting over nonsense. Nestor had taken Aydan upstairs to the portable crib he’d purchased for his great-grandson. When he came back downstairs, we talked about the curse and spreading the word to the town.
“I’ll get on the horn and give the council a call. We can spread the word pretty quickly,” Nestor said.
“I called Troy on the way over here,” Levi said. “He’s getting together a group of wolves to start canvassing the farms. We have to hope everyone has a talisman of some sort to protect themselves, if not perhaps there is something in the book.”
“I have something you could use,” a man across the bar said to us.
I looked up to meet the intense eyes of Mike, the Vaping Dragon Rider. “Hi, Mike,” I said.
“Grace. How are ya?” he asked.
“Been better,” I replied.
“I’ve got a liquid that I can reproduce. As you know it doesn’t have to be vaped, but it does need to be burned. You can drop it in a candle or a diffuser,” he said.
“What’s it called?” I asked.
“Penis envy,” he said.
I spit coffee across the bar, and Nestor died laughing. Levi shook his head trying not to laugh.
“Good grief. I’m sorry, Nestor,” I said, grabbing a towel to wipe up my mess. “I thought I was the only one with lines like that.”
“That was better than your lines,” Levi teased.
“It was pretty good,” I said.
“That’s really what it’s called,” Mike said.
“Well, then. Let the whole town have Penis Envy,” I replied.
“I don’t need it,” Levi said. Nestor snorted, then elbowed him.
I ignored it outwardly, but he was right. That tidbit of information was not something I needed to dwell on. It would become a distraction that I didn’t need.
“Hold up,” I said looking up from my laptop.
“What?” she grinned.
“How did you know anything about that?” I asked, waving in the general direction over my crotch.
“Levi, we had been around each other for almost a year. It doesn’t take much to get a good idea of what’s going on down there,” she explained twirling her finger around in the air to mimic my movement.
“So, you were creeping my package?” I asked. She hesitated, closing her eyes trying to hold back her faux wrath. She was embarrassed. I don’t think she meant to let that slip as she told her story. At this point, I knew she hadn’t seen me naked. Well, at least, that’s what I thought. Granted I had been aroused more than once around her, so it was entirely possible that she had seen or felt something. I had never thought about it until just now. I was almost embarrassed, too. She picked up on my thoughts.
“Can we continue?” she asked.
For both of our sakes, I agreed, “Yes. Continue on, my Queen.”
“How long does it take you to produce it?” I asked.
“Just a couple of hours. I’ll get started now,” he said as he downed the last of his beer. “Thanks for the chat, Nestor. I’ll see y’all in a bit.” We watched him saunter out the door.
“He’s awfully handy to have around,” I said.
“Even better that we have a caster like that who isn’t a wizard. Wizards can be troublesome,” Nestor said.
“They are arrogant bastards,” I added.
“I’ve not met any, I guess,” Levi said.
“Lucky you,” I said finally meeting his eyes after what he said. He winked at me. The thing about blushing was you couldn’t really control that kind of thing. No matter what state my mind was in because of Dylan, my cheeks flared red. I put my fists on my cheeks, planting my elbows on the bar. I stared into the coffee willing the heat to go away.
“Gandalf wasn’t arrogant,” Levi said.
“Oh really? He stood on a bridge and yelled at a demon. Like he was going to win that confrontation,” I said.
“He did win it. He came out a more powerful wizard,” Levi said.
“He fucking died,” I replied.
“Still. It seems that everyone gets second chances around here,” Levi replied.
“Speaking of second chances, have you talked to your father?” Nestor asked.
“No,” I muttered. I took a long drag off the coffee to calm my spirit.
“You should. He probably knows that you know by now,” Nestor said.
“Well, then I shouldn’t have to go see him. Why talk to him about it?” I asked.
“Perhaps he will be willing to give you some insight on all of it,” Nestor offered.
“I get it. He failed twice at monarchy, now he hopes that I can do it better. It seems pretty simple,” I said.
“But not,” Levi added.
“But not,” I agreed.
“I’ll be right back,” Nestor said, as he took off up the stairs into his apartment over the bar. He was very nimble for an “old” man. When he returned, he had a large blue disc hanging from a crocheted sling. In the center of the blue glass was a white circle with a black dot in the center.
“Where did you get that?” I asked.
“Mable had it in her things,” he said.
“Do you think Mable cast the spell?” Levi asked.
“No. She worked for my father. Now she works for me technically speaking. It would mean certain death if she did anything like that,” I said.
“Are you prepared to end your grandfather’s girlfriend? You have to admit it’s a possibility,” Levi asked cautiously.
“I will do what I have to do. I’ve proven that,” I said too harshly.
“I know,” he said. I saw the contrition in his eyes. He hadn’t meant it to question my abilities. He was more concerned about the aftermath.
“She wouldn’t,” Nestor said as if he were reading our thoughts.
“I agree,” I said.
Nestor’s forehead wrinkled and he poured himself a cup of coffee. “What’s wrong?” Levi asked.
“She isn’t here,” Nestor said.
“What?” I asked. “Where is she?”
“We had an argument last night. I suppose it was the curse. She stayed with Luther and Betty. I haven’t heard from her today,” Nestor said.
“What did you argue about?” I asked.
“Something stupid,” he replied. This time he took a long drag of the magical coffee ending the sip with a long sigh. “She will come back.”
I thought back over my experiences with Mable. She was the town gossip, but it stemmed from her job as a spy for my father. She was always in everyone’s business. Especially mine. To be honest, I never really liked her. However, I had never questioned her relationship with my grandfather. I just assumed it was a healthy co-existence much like Betty and Luther’s. You never knew what went on behind closed doors. Perhaps Mable and Nestor’s relationship was something I should pay more attention to in the future. Nestor was my blood. I trusted him, but his girlfriend could take a long walk off a short pier for all I cared.
Feeling a familiar aura outside, I swung around in my chair to wait for the couple to enter. As the door opened letting the sunshine roll into the darkened bar, the Star Child, Remington Blake and his Summer Queen girlfriend, Tabitha Mistborne walked in arm in arm.
“Good day to all of you,” Remy called out. He had been out of town since we got back from Summer. It was good to see his smiling face. “Grace, you look lovely today.”
“You always say that, Remy,” I said. “But thank you.”
“It’s the glow of motherhood. It suits you,” he replied.
“How is he today?” Tab asked.
“Too big. He’s upstairs sleeping,” I said.
“I’ll go check on him,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” Remy pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. He was smooth. Very smooth. She giggled then rushed up the stairs to check Aydan.
“Well, Levi, that’s a right handsome scar you have there,” he said.
“Courtesy of Brockton,” Levi said.
“He is a bastard
, for sure. Grace when do you plan on killing him?” Remy asked.
“As soon as I can get some information on what is going on down there. We can’t rush in,” I said.
“I was joking, honey. You shouldn’t go down there,” he said. “You wouldn’t come out alive.”
“He has Dylan,” I said.
“Well, that changes it, doesn’t it?” he said.
“It does,” I replied. “But I’m still not rushing down there. Dylan can hold his own. I hope.”
“Of course, he can. Don’t worry your pretty head,” Remy said as Nestor poured him a glass of brandy. Remy took a couple of sips, then set the glass on the counter. “Have you heard from Tennyson?”
“No, but Levi talked to him,” I said.
“He’s out of town,” Levi offered.
“I see,” Remy replied. “Grace, I meant to tell you that we started a new trailer park about a mile past Neverland Estates. It’s on some nice high ground. Of course, with your new house, I assume you won’t need a lot.”
“No, the house is better for my children,” I replied. It was almost as if the trailer park was calling my name. There’s no place like home in a double-wide.
“She will take a lot,” Levi said. “One in the front.”
“What?” I questioned.
“You need an office,” he said. “You said so yourself this morning.”
“That’s a damn good idea, Bard,” Remy smiled. “You can manage the park too, if you want. I can’t seem to get Niles to come back up here. He was supposed to hire a park manager. He’s planted himself back in the bustle of N’awlins. Don’t know when he will be back.”
“I like it,” I said. “I’ll need a trailer. Nothing big. Just so I can have an office and maybe a side room for Aydan to sleep in. There are people going in and out of my house all the time. Maybe I can establish some semblance of a business life. I mean, I know there will be emergencies, but at least this way, I can keep it separate from my home. Thank you, Levi.”