by J L Collins
Uncle Gardner huffed. “Just because she found a way to get around giving you the full truth—”
“You and I both know she can’t do that. The Fae don’t lie. They can’t. I mean sure, there are ways for her to get around it, but she honestly believes what she said at the very least.”
“But the short sword you found . . .” Aunt Bedelia began.
I waved her off. “I know, I know. It’s weird. But she thinks it was a weird coincidence. And honestly? I kind of have to agree with her. She seems to know a lot more than we give her and the Fairy Court credit for.”
“The Fae are masters at finding the truth within words. Everyone knows that,” Uncle Gardner said as the transport lurched to life.
“I think she understands a little more than maybe even we do. She somehow knew that with Rourke gone, the Athenaeum is defenseless until we appoint a new Keeper.”
He shrugged, not at all surprised. “The elders of each land know much more than the people, even about one another’s dominions. The Queen does know that a Keeper is needed in Spell Haven to guard our history and artifacts.”
I sat on this, mulling it over, figuring out how I could make him understand without totally dragging up my past with Adam and bringing up the bad blood that it caused between me and Uncle Gardner specifically.
But I didn’t need to think too hard on it before Aunt Bedelia sighed. “Gard, I think the Queen’s knowledge runs deeper than that. There are things she knew about Gwen that hardly anyone else knew. With this being the case, I think the only conclusion we can draw from it is that Queen Mabily has a wider net in Spell Haven than we realized.”
Uncle Gardner stared straight ahead, the muscle in his jaw twitching. He wasn’t someone who spoke freely but rather, waited until he had the exact words he needed before proceeding. Me on the other hand… sometimes the filter didn’t do its job between my brain and my mouth.
“I just think it’s something we should be aware of is all. And if you want me to be a true part of this investigation, I’m going to need to fully understand how the Keeper’s magic works. I know how important it is to keep it under lock, and you know me, sir. I won’t fail you there,” I said softly. I held back from placing my hand over his. It was more of a comfort for me than him, anyway. And I didn’t want him to see just how vulnerable I was feeling after the brutally honest conversation with the Queen.
Passing back through into Spell Haven let some of the tension out of my shoulders. Had I really been breathing that shallowly? Even still, it was crazy to feel the difference between the two lands, and a familiar comfort settled into my bones and anchored me. I couldn’t imagine trying to live anywhere else… well, with the exception of Midnight Pitch, of course.
Waiting until we’d made it back to the manor house, Uncle Gardner finally acknowledged me. “I believe you, Gwen. And you’re right,” he sighed, sliding the holoscope away. “I should trust you with the information about the Athenaeum. But I have a lot of work waiting for me at the office, and to be perfectly frank with you I need a break after holding back all that Arcadian magic.” His face soured at the mention of the Fairy lands. “I will discuss this further with you later. I hope that is acceptable.”
I quickly nodded, that old familiarity of wanting to follow my uncle’s orders stretching out inside my mind. “Of course. I look forward to being briefed on it.”
On the outside it probably seemed a little stiff and formal considering we’re family, but at one point I’d known him better than almost anyone else aside from his sister and wife. This was his way of compromise and there really wasn’t room for much else.
12
Back in the Real World
The look on Erie’s face was priceless. She stood on the sidewalk facing the house, her eyes wide.
“This is your home?”
I smiled, brushing past her with keys in hand. “Yep. This is it. Welcome to Chez Brady.”
“Oh, you’ve named your home as well?” she asked, falling into step behind me.
“Ah, no. It’s just the French term . . . I was being sarcastic. Anyway.” Unlocking the door, I pushed inside, fully expecting to see my house completely torn apart by Jax. And even more likely, Oisín.
One pillow shredded to bits. A pile of half-eaten kibble on the floor. It was the best I could ask for, really.
“Sorry for the mess,” I said, throwing my bag onto the sofa. “Between the dog and Oisín, I’m lucky this place isn’t on fire.”
Erie squealed with delight as she flopped onto the sofa. “This is so cute, Gwennie! It’s like one of those little cottages in those old storybooks! Don’t tell me, you have an adorable garden in the back full of beautiful birds and all sorts of furry little creatures.”
“Not unless you count the fat raccoon that occasionally tries to go through our garbage at night. And I’m not much of a gardener.”
“Though her boyfriend has quite the green thumb,” a voice drawled from in the kitchen.
Erie peeked over the arm of the sofa, grinning as Oisín made his way into the living room, fluffy black tail swishing back and forth. “Hello, stranger. It’s been a while.”
His yellow eyes flickered at her. “Indeed. Tortured any more animals lately?” The corner of his mouth quirked, revealing sharp teeth.
“Just because I wanted to do a little research into your transformation . . .” she groaned, sitting back up. “Look, I was only trying to help! Cait sidhe are very rare! And to see one at its final stage is remarkable.”
Rolling his eyes, Oisín jumped up to the coffee table to sit in front of her. “As unique and stunning a specimen as I am, I hardly appreciate being poked and prodded in the name of research.” He licked his paw slowly, still staring her down.
“What kind of research are we talking, here?” I asked, curious.
Oisín had mentioned something about it before, but with his dramatics who knew how much of it was real?
This time Erie rolled her eyes. “I literally took one vial of his blood via a summoning spell we use at the Menagerie. It doesn’t hurt the animals. I studied his blood to see the differences between humanoid blood—from when he was in his Witch form—and his current feline form. I checked it against mine, made some notes, looked through dozens of books at the Athenaeum . . .” her voice trailed off. “Rourke helped me find what I needed. Anyway,” she said, standing back up. “I barely touched him. He’s just a big baby.”
“Pfft! I was dizzy for several minutes afterward. Despite what you may think of animals, we too, have feelings you know.”
Big baby, indeed. “I think if anyone knows that, Osh, it’s Erie. She runs the Mystical Menagerie now.”
He let out a soft hiss before jumping back down from the table and padding down the hallway. “Those poor creatures.”
“So nice to see him in such good spirits,” Erie said, glancing around the room again. “This is a really cute place though. What’s in there?”
“Just our bedrooms. Nothing too special, and I’m sure Fi’s room is a wreck. Even though I sprung for new furniture and repainted the walls how she wanted it, she still treats it like her own personal dumpster.” I shook my head. There was no way I was that messy when I was fourteen.
“And your kitchen is in there? You mentioned a dog, right?”
“Oh yeah, Jax. He’s our little mutt, but he’s the sweetest. Fi probably scooped him up this morning. We don’t like to leave him alone for very long without anyone here. Even with Osh.”
She smiled. Animals were definitely Erie’s calling.
I pulled her into the kitchen, giving her a quick little tour of modern human appliances. Never before had I seen someone so amazed by the stacked-up washer and dryer hidden away behind a curtain.
She threw open the dryer door, looking inside. “So, it just soaks the clothes and they’re magically clean? Where does the water come from? And how does this dryer thing work, exactly?”
Once I got us settled with some breakfast at the tabl
e, I dug into my omelet, savoring it after not eating since early yesterday evening. Something about going between realms always left me starving.
“I really don’t like the fact that Queen Mabily knew so much about you. What did my dad say when you told him all this?” Erie rinsed her plate off in the sink, glancing back at me. “You did tell him, right?”
I sighed. “In a way. I mean, I told him about her knowing the stuff about the Athenaeum.”
“Sounds to me like she knows more about the library than she’s letting on,” she muttered.
“I got the same impression. So, I don’t know whether to be worried or not. Uncle Gardner didn’t seem as surprised, but I think he caught on about the Queen having more than one source for her information. It’s no secret the Royal Court deals in information.”
She leaned up against the counter, drumming her fingers along it. “Maybe. But her knowing about Adam is something else entirely. I don’t get why she’d keep tabs on you like that. I’d be cautious about her wanting to snoop around in your personal life.”
Not that Adam Pecora had been around much in my personal life since before Fiona-Leigh was born. Knowing that I’d left Spell Haven hadn’t surprised me. But the Queen knowing about what happened to Adam… my skin crawled as I pushed back against the thought.
Washing the pan and plates, I busied my hands in the water. Erie was quiet though I could feel her eyes on me.
“Now I know you’ve seen a sink full of dishes,” I smiled. “We may not have magic here to help speed up the process but I seem to remember many a time where your mom made us wash dishes by hand as punishment.”
“Mmhm. That’s true. But I was just waiting to see when you’d finally tell me about this boyfriend business Osh was talking about earlier. What? You thought I’d just let that one go?”
I flicked the sudsy water on my hands at her. “He’s not my boyfriend! And since when do you listen to that furball?”
Shoving her hand in the sink, Erie laughed and splashed the entire front of my shirt. I shrieked, returning the favor, both of us going back and forth until we were pretty much drenched from the waist up.
“Good going,” I said, wiping away the tears that had sprung up in my eyes from laughing so hard.
“What? All we have to do is—”
I flung the nearby dish towel at her. “Dry ourselves off without magic?”
Erie groaned. “Ugh. Being a human sucks. We really can’t even do a simple drying incantation?”
“Really. You know as well as I do that magic doesn’t work here. At least it’s not supposed to.”
I reminded her of the magical leaks Fiona-Leigh and I had dealt with recently. Erie seemed just as mystified as I was.
“That doesn’t sound good. Especially if a human witnesses it. I can just see Dad’s eyes bugging out of his head, can’t you?” she said, wringing the hem of her shirt out.
I dried off my arms, glad that there was a leftover clean load of laundry in the dryer. “Here, take this,” I said as I handed her a t-shirt. “I’ll just throw our shirts in and they should be done in about twenty minutes.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled, peeling her own shirt off to toss it to me. “But I haven’t forgotten about the whole not-boyfriend thing. Spill the cauldron.”
“There’s really nothing to spill. He’s just my neighbor. Who happens to be incredibly handsome, incredibly kind, funny, and a fantastic cook,” I finished off, the smile on my face making my cheeks burn.
Erie chuckled, shaking her head at me. “Wow. You’ve got it bad.”
“No way. I mean, he’s all those things, but I don’t have time for dating. I’ve got a job and a kid. Not to mention the investigation in a completely different realm. How can I have a relationship with a human, anyway?”
It was something I’d laid in bed at night and thought about more times than I cared to admit. Even if Sully felt any kind of romantic way about me, there was the whole magic thing to consider. I refused to put another human in a potentially harmful position—it was bad enough that Fiona-Leigh was already involved.
But she just waved me off. “Who says you have to have some epic romance? It could just be some fun on the side, right? I’m not saying you have to marry the guy.”
I chose to ignore her, hoping the conversation would end right there. Though I didn’t begrudge anyone else for wanting to hook up with other people in a casual way, that wasn’t really my cup of tea.
Sunlight broke through the patchy clouds and filtered into the kitchen window, warming my skin. How late was it, anyway?
“Shoot. I meant to come here and check up on Fi.” I narrowed my eyes at Erie. “You can come with, but you are not going to embarrass me. Deal?”
She held up her hands in false surrender. “Me? Embarrass you? I would never . . . Where are we going, again?”
I blew damp lilac hair out of my face. “To her best friend’s uncle’s. Who may or may not happen to be my hot neighbor.”
To say Erie was excited to meet Sully was an understatement—I practically had to hold her back as we crossed the street. Glancing around to see if he was maybe working in his garden again, I walked up to the front door and knocked.
“Act natural,” I whispered to her, giving her the look.
She pretended to zip her mouth shut, still grinning from ear to ear.
The door opened, and it was Marina standing inside, her short blonde hair peeking out from under her usual beanie. “Hi, Ms. Brady. And Ms. Brady’s lady friend.”
I coughed, doing my best to cover up Erie’s indignant noise. “She’s ah, actually my cousin, Erie. Erie, this is Marina—Fiona-Leigh’s best friend.”
Marina nodded, looking about as interested as her first period teacher at school. “Mmkay. Fi’s in my room. Y’all can come in. I think Uncle Sully is in the garage or something.”
She moved past to let us in and I shut the screen door behind us, nervously assessing the look on Erie’s face. I didn’t know why I was anxious to see what she thought of Sully or his house, because it wasn’t like it mattered or made a difference.
“Gwen, hey!” Sully’s deep voice yanked a tight knot in my stomach. He came out of the door that led to his garage. From the grease smudges on his cheek and hands, he was tinkering with his truck.
He smiled sheepishly, smearing at the grease even more. “Sorry. Was putting in a new timing belt. I’m Sully, by the way,” he said, acknowledging Erie by giving a little wave. “I swear this place is usually cleaner. And me too.”
She threw her arm around me, squeezing me a bit too hard and grinning a bit too widely. “I’m Erie, her cousin. It’s nice to finally meet you. Gwen’s told me so much about you.”
I jerked away from her, stammering, “Fiona-Leigh too. We’ve told her how nice it is to have a great neighbor like you!” My cheeks were burning hot. So much for her not embarrassing me.
I could just make out the dimples under his beard as he smiled. There was a tinge of pink in his cheeks, though it was probably just a reaction from the oil on them.
“If you two haven’t eaten, I was just getting ready to get some brunch going for us. The girls got up pretty late this morning. Right, Marina?” he said, raising a brow in her direction.
“It was an all-nighter. Mainly working on our projects . . .” she squinted. “There may have been an anime and some late-night fridge raids involved as well.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, Erie and Sully too. Of course my kid was up late working on schoolwork and stuffing her face. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in that instance.
“And on that note, I’ll go grab her,” Marina said, trudging away.
Erie placed her hands on her thin hips, smiling sweetly at Sully who was now turning on the faucet in the kitchen sink. “So, Sully. I hear you’re an excellent cook. Have you had a chance to give Gwendolyn here any tips? She can use all the help she can get in that department.”
I grit my teeth together.
“Act
ually yeah,” he chuckled over the rushing water, scrubbing away at his hands. “I’ve offered to give her some more cooking lessons just to kind of help out. Her cookies are pretty good though.”
“Cooking lessons, hm?” Erie looked between the two of us. “How generous.”
“Mom? Erie!” Fiona-Leigh burst into the room, making a beeline not to me, but to Erie. Naturally ignoring me like chopped liver.
“Yep, I’m here too,” Erie laughed, hugging her back. “I thought I’d come for a visit.”
Fiona-Leigh accidentally bumped into me as she pulled away, nearly sending me toppling over the sectional marking the space between the dining room area and the open living room. “Sorry, Mama.” She leaned over and gave me a quick hug, giving me an exaggerated smile as I rolled my eyes at her.
“Hey. What’s that thing?” Marina asked, coming back out from her room.
I looked down and my heart caught in my throat. My wand was lying on the floor for everyone to see.
Fiona-Leigh, Erie and I all started at once. “Uh . . .”
“Well that’s just . . . um,”
“—it’s mine! Actually, um, I wanted to show it to you but I left it at my house. Thanks Mom, for bringing it over,” Fiona-Leigh shouted a little too loudly to be all that believable. She bent down, very carefully picking it up by the handle.
Marina snorted. “A wand? Were you planning on doing some cosplay or something?” She held her hand out. “Let me see.”
Reflexively I wanted to reach out and grab it, but I kept my hands to my side, watching the curious look on Sully’s face as he dried his hands and edged around the kitchen counter to see what we were talking about.
“It’s just, you know, wood or whatever. Nothing too crazy.” Fi nervously looked at Marina’s waiting open palm. “Maybe I should just keep it in its case . . .”