by Mara Webb
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much,” Miller said. “I have been speaking with a few family members about the… you know…”
“Werewolf thing?” Fitz interrupted.
“Yes, the werewolf thing. The fact that I am your guardian makes this hard, I just can’t risk being around you if I am a danger to you. I know that I would never harm you, but I don’t know the wolf well enough yet,” Miller uttered. I could hear the pain in his voice. He finally looked up at me and I felt my heart pounding in my chest.
“Animals love me, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I said, trying to make light of it. “But why don’t we focus on something else to take our minds off it?”
“Sure, like what?” he grinned.
“How about the fact that this boat is rapidly taking on water?” I said. He looked down and saw that the puddle by our feet had grown. We were quite a way out from the main island and this boat wasn’t going to make it back, or to our destination.
“Oh shoot!” Miller cried, letting go of the oars to plug the hole with his hands. The oars slipped loose and within seconds were floating away from us.
“You’ve gotta laugh,” I chuckled. “I’ve just been dragged out of bed for you to have me drown within eyesight of my house.”
“Yeah, weird way to flirt Sheriff Miller,” Fitz added.
“Calm down everyone,” Miller replied. “Look, Wilmore is close enough for us to swim to. The current is taking us that way anyway, it would be too hard to swim back home.”
“What about the swordfish, Miller?” Fitz hissed.
“I’d be more concerned about the sharks if I were you,” Miller said. He winked at me to let me know that he was just teasing, but I’d rather he hadn’t mentioned sharks at all. “Any chance you can use your magic to get us there?”
“To Wilmore?” Fitz shrieked. “You can’t use magic to get there, it’s protected!”
“Of course it is,” Miller sighed, rolling his eyes. “All right, let’s go. Follow me.” At that, Miller dived into the water and the boat rocked violently from his departure. Fitz jumped after him, shifting into human form in midair while screaming. It was quite a sight.
There I was, in the middle of the water in a rapidly sinking boat. My options were to swim back to the house or swim after a werewolf and a talkative shapeshifter. I stood up and jumped into the sea. Miller hadn’t gone far, so swam back to check I was okay. I was making it obvious that open water swimming wasn’t one of my strong suits.
“Do you need me to help?” he asked. His sheriff’s uniform was clinging to his wet skin along his shoulders and chest. I stammered for a moment before I was able to speak.
“I’m fine,” I managed. “Just lead the way.”
We swam for a few minutes in the warm water, the glugging sound of the sinking boat growing more distant as we approached the island of Wilmore. Among the thick, dense trees I could see a house. Was this the house my uncle lived in?
Miller was the first to reach the shallows and stood up to finish the journey on foot. As his feet hit the sand, the lights in the house flickered on. Whoever was inside the building knew we were here. Why had we been invited?
3
“I am soaked to the bone. I may never emotionally recover from this,” Fitz complained. He was back in his cat form and shaking his body from side to side like a wet dog. Miller was standing close enough that he was getting sprayed with the sea water flying from Fitz. I laughed and Miller whipped his head round to look at me in mock disgust.
“Can’t you control him?” Miller laughed.
“I’m not a pet!” Fitz cried.
“It’s out of my hands, sorry,” I smiled. “The lights came on when we came ashore,” I said, pointing up at a house window.
“Yeah, they must be waiting for us inside.”
“Do you know why they wanted us to come here?” I asked.
Miller shrugged. “I was just told that they wanted a meeting with the peacekeeper as soon as possible and that means that I come to, I have to make sure you’re safe.”
“So having us swim through shark infested water was part of your safety plan?” I teased.
“Listen, that’s only happened to me twice before. Who gets that unlucky with a rowboat three times, it’s unheard of!”
“Enough flirting, jeez. You are making me feel like a real third-wheel here!” Fitz said. I felt myself blush and suddenly couldn’t look over at Miller out of embarrassment. We were both dripping wet and our ride home was somewhere at the bottom of the water. I started walking in the direction of the house and Miller followed. Fitz bounded ahead and was sitting on the top step by the front door when we arrived.
“Did you open that?” I asked. The door was open just enough for us to peak into the hallway.
“No, it was like that when I got here. It is gonna be draft-city in there,” Fitz said.
“Hello?” I called out, knocking on the door loudly to attract the attention of anyone inside. “Can you hear anything?” I asked Miller. He shook his head.
“This doesn’t feel right to me,” he whispered back.
“Are your werewolf senses tingling?” Fitz asked. “If you are getting some sort of fifth sense about this place then I’m out. As your familiar, I strongly recommend that we get back to the mainland and eat a grilled cheese.”
“Fifth sense? Do you mean sixth sense?” I asked.
“No, fifth. Touch, taste, earth and fire… so werewolf tingles would be number five,” Fitz replied matter-of-factly.
“How are you also a dentist?” Miller mumbled.
I pushed the door open a little wider, but the wind blowing in from the beach rushed from behind me and pushed the door all the way open. I could see right through to a dining room and the curtains were waving wildly, like battle flags.
I stepped forward and felt a hand on my wrist.
“I should go first,” Miller said. He was pulling me back, away from the door. “We were called here, but now the place is deserted. It could be a trap.”
“He’s right,” a voice said. It was the ghostly form of my dead cousin, Greta.
“Greta! I swam in the sea!” Fitz shouted.
“Good job buddy,” she smiled. “Hey Miller.”
“It’s still weird that you’re a ghost,” he replied. “But hello to you too.”
“You think ghosts are weirder than werewolves?” she scoffed.
“Let’s not get into that debate right now,” I sighed. “What’s going on here, Greta? Isn’t this your parent’s house? Where is everyone?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like my dad to leave the house unlocked. My mom is usually out back gardening, maybe she’s the one that called you,” Greta replied.
“We should look there then,” I announced. “Lead the way.”
Greta floated along the paved path that wound around the outside of the house. I followed, peering through every window I passed to see if there was any sign of activity inside. The only movement was from the curtains.
“This house is huge!” Fitz gasped.
“You’ve been here before!” Greta replied.
“I know, but it still takes me by surprise. How many people even live here?” he said.
“Well, my parents obviously, and then—” Greta was cut off by the sound of a deep rumble of thunder. The sky was blue directly above us, but a dark storm was racing in our direction. The rain was drumming against the ocean in the distance.
“We should get inside,” Miller said. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Me?” Greta laughed. “I don’t live here anymore, I don’t live!” No one else thought her joke merited so much as a chuckle. “Wow, really? Tough crowd. Yeah, sure. Go on in. They are your family too!”
I let the thought wash over me as I was still coming to terms with the idea that I had any family at all. The idea that I might bump into some relatives in this building was too much to think about.
“There’s a spare key for the back door under t
hat rock,” Greta pointed out. Miller lifted it up, grabbed the key and unlocked the door. We raced inside as the rain hit the island and by the time it was beating down on the roof of the house, we were safely indoors.
“Why is the universe out to get me today, I just want to stay dry!” Fitz complained.
“Yeah, it’s all about you,” Greta said sarcastically. “Oh shoot, the front door!”
The back door had opened into the kitchen, but I could hear the rain hitting the wooden floor of the hallway so followed the sound until I saw the open front entrance. The water was pooling where the rain was hitting the house at an angle and coming in. I ran over to shut the door and turned back to face Greta.
“So… is it normal to leave your door open like this? I know people in small communities usually feel safe and all, but I spent most of my life in Virginia and we lock doors over there,” I said.
“We do too. My dad has never left the house without checking the locks. My mom would have come in by now if she was gardening, she wouldn’t have stayed out in the rain,” Greta frowned.
“Hello?” a feeble voice called from upstairs. “Who’s there?”
“Say you’re the peacekeeper,” Greta urged. She reached over to give me a nudge with her elbow, but obviously didn’t make any physical contact as her arm simply passed through me.
“I’m the peacekeeper, Sadie Alden!” I shouted back. “Who are you?”
There was no reply.
“I’m going up,” I said to Greta. Miller had appeared at the sound of my voice and looked at me with a furrowed brow.
“Who is up there? What is up there?” he asked Greta. She shrugged.
“I didn’t come here all that much over the last few years. They could have a talking horse up there for all I know,” she laughed.
“I’m new to the whole witch/werewolf/ghost life, so you are gonna have to tell me if it is actually a possibility that I might find a talking horse up there,” I said.
“I was joking! It’s not impossible, obviously…” she trailed off.
I took a step onto the staircase, then quickly started to jog up the stairs until I was facing a woman in a black dress. She had grey curls, pale skin and a broom in her hands.
“Oh! It’s just Meredith,” Greta laughed. “She won’t be able to see me… I don’t think. Or at least I’m not trying to appear to her, I don’t have a firm grip on this yet.”
“I can see you, dear,” Meredith grinned. “Surely you didn’t think I could have gotten to such a grand old age without seeing a ghost or two on this island.”
“Well blow me down!” Greta explained. “How are you? I really wish I’d visited more when I was alive, but I have all the time in the world now! How’s the dog?”
“Hold up, can we make some introductions?” I interrupted. “Are you Greta’s mom?”
“I’m the housekeeper, dear. Don’t you remember?” Meredith asked.
“Mer, she hasn’t seen you since she was a baby. Before she left Hallow Haven,” Greta said.
“Do people not remember things from the first eight weeks of their life anymore? I remember everything!” Meredith chuckled. “But I suppose you had a lot to deal with at the time. Who sends death threats to a newborn baby, huh?”
“What?” I gasped.
“Not now, Meredith,” Greta chastised. “Where is everyone?”
“I was rather hoping you could tell me! That’s why I called the sheriff’s office. My oh my, what a tall drink of water you’ve blossomed into,” Meredith grinned, setting her sights on Miller.
“Hands off,” Greta laughed.
“Are you saying you called us because everyone is missing?” Miller asked, trying to ignore the look Meredith was giving him.
“Yes. They went out somewhere a few days ago and were due back last night. When my alarm went off this morning I set about preparing breakfast, but no one came down to the table. All the beds are still made, and the suitcases are still gone. They haven’t come back.”
“Where did they go?” Greta asked.
“Well if I could remember that then we wouldn’t be in so much trouble, would we,” Meredith answered. “Although I find your handsome friend here to be soothing my worries. Have you ever considered modelling?”
“Meredith,” I said, trying to refocus her attention. “You must have called us because you were worried. Do you have any reason to believe that they are in trouble?”
“The Alden family is always in trouble, dear. Rarely a day goes by without your uncle receiving concerning news. I think the nature of the letters has changed recently though,” Meredith said. She seemed to be thinking about something that caused her face to betray her fear.
“Where are the letters?” Greta asked.
“This way,” Meredith answered. We followed her along the hallway from the top of the stairs to a door that had three keyholes. One by one, Meredith unlocked them.
“What letters is she talking about?” I asked quietly.
“You’ll see,” Greta replied.
Meredith pushed open the door to reveal a room with a giant pile of letters on the floor. There was no furniture, and the blinds were drawn over the windows.
“What am I looking at?” I asked.
“Well, dear. This is every threatening letter that has been sent to the Alden family over the last thirty years. Walter, Greta’s father, had a habit of keeping them all just in case he needed to refer back to them. I think he was hoping that the police would get involved at some point,” Meredith explained.
“Wait, why didn’t they?” I asked. I was looking at both Miller and Greta.
“We thought they were just letters,” Greta explained. “My dad was so paranoid about everything going wrong all the time that he hardly let me have a life. I appreciate that the reason I got killed was because I ignored his advice and got myself into a dangerous situation, but that doesn’t mean he was right about everything.”
“I wanted to at least look into it,” Miller said, trying to defend himself. “I guess I didn’t have all the facts. I didn’t know how long it had been going on for.”
“We actually got a new one a few days ago,” Meredith said. “It’s right here.” She picked up the letter on the top of the paper mountain on the ground and handed it to me.
“So a new letter was sent and now they are all missing?” I said.
“Seems that way. We actually hadn’t had one for about a year, but it looks like they got started again,” Meredith sighed. “Do you think there’s a connection between the letter and their disappearance?”
“Er, yeah…” I sighed. I pulled the note out of the envelope and began to read it. Now I could see why Meredith needed our help.
4
I re-read the letter again. Miller was pulling out letters from other envelopes and I could see his lips moving as he read the words on the page. It was cute, if you ignored the fact that he was reading threats that had been sent to my family.
“This sounds familiar,” Miller said aloud. “I can’t place it, but the words are giving me déjà vu.”
“What does it say?” I asked.
“Don’t think that I’ll forget, that binding choice you will regret, I’ll do whatever it takes because I know what’s at stake,” Miller read.
“That’s it?” Fitz remarked.
“What else do you want there to be? A scary drawing in the corner of the page? Because it has one of those!” Miller said, turning the letter around to show us.
“Do all of these threats rhyme?” I asked, looking to Meredith.
“I have only read a few. I shouldn’t have read any of them really but I’m a nosy old thing,” she laughed. “The ones I have read are all like that, just a few lines and they rhyme.”
“Do you have any idea who they are from?” I asked.
“I think your father had his suspicions,” Meredith said to Greta. “But, again, I was kept out of the loop. If he were here then obviously we could ask him.”
“S
hould we get the rest of the police department to set out looking for them?” I asked Miller.
“I can call them. I need to arrange a pickup from the island anyway, unless you want to use the tunnel network?” he said.
“You know about that?” Meredith chuckled. “The tunnels flood quickly in storms like this. Unless you can turn yourselves into a couple of fish, you’re stuck here until a boat comes for you.”
“Could you show me to a phone?” Miller asked.
“Anything for some time alone with you, handsome,” Meredith smirked. Miller shot me a look of alarm and I laughed as he was pulled out of the room by his not-so-secret admirer.
“What are you thinking?” Greta asked me.
“Yeah, penny for your thoughts! Not a real penny though obviously. Don’t get me started on what a waste of time pennies are. They cost more than a penny to make, so it is actually adding to the national debt and—” Fitz rambled. He briefly paused to inhale and I seized my opportunity to speak.
“I’m thinking,” I began, noticing the disgruntled look on Fitz’s face. “That these letters don’t seem all that bad to me. I mean, they are sinister and weird, sure. But I’m not reading these and thinking that the whole family needs to pack their bags and leave the island.”
“Well something in this pile of letters must have spooked them,” Greta replied. “You have the most recent one, what does it say?”
I unfolded the letter once more. “It’s almost time, I’ve checked my clock. I told you that I’d never stop. You have set off false alarms, the one’s you love have caused you harm. They’ll learn to lose you; I can’t afford to.”
“Urgh, sounds like a soppy poem from a middle-schooler,” Fitz scoffed.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I don’t know what to think.” Miller walked back into the room with Meredith clinging to his left arm.
“I’ve made the call, they are out looking for your family,” he said, looking at Greta and then me. I kept losing track of the fact that this was my family too. “They are tracking down the police boat and then they will send someone over. We probably have a long wait.”