Lucy at Peace

by Mary E. Twomey

  Tucker tipped his hat and exited with a blown kiss that made me wince. I wasn’t so sure I liked him.

  Twenty-Two.

  Talking and Stalking

  After poking around the dollhouse a little longer, I left the childhood toy and returned to the living room. I decided to veg out and decompress after the trauma of Tucker’s nudity, becoming homeless and squatting on Jens’s friend’s couch. I curled up in a cozy knitted pink afghan that made me wish I knew how to knit. I flipped through the basic cable before my eyes landed on Jamie’s phone, which he’d left out on the doily-covered coffee table. I recalled that I’d told Foss I’d touch base with him and dialed him up as I lay on my side on the couch.

  Foss answered on the first ring. “Took you long enough! Where is she?”

  I smiled at the surly greeting. “Good morning, cupcake.”

  “Lucy? Where are you? What happened? Do you know who’s after you?”

  “Jens and Tucker are trying to figure that out right now. Are you and Britta alright?”

  “Are you joking? Of course we’re not alright! Where are you?” He was shouting into the phone, but I spoke Foss’s language better than most. He was pissed, which meant he cared about me. I could hear his obnoxiously loud truck’s engine growling in time with his snarls.

  “I actually don’t really know where we are, so I couldn’t answer you if I wanted, which I don’t. Best you stay where you are.”

  “Give me a landmark. Cross streets. Something!” His bark was a low rumble in his chest, and I was grateful to be a safe distance away from his surely clenched fists. “So help me, you’ll tell me where you are, or I’ll search every house until I find you!”

  “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry. I didn’t call so you could yell at me like a fool. I called to let you know we’re okay.”

  “Lucy, let me come get you. You’re not okay. If they found you once, they’ll find you again. You’re being reckless.”

  I missed him. It had been a long month of him distancing himself from me after the divorce. Just the sound of his voice was comforting, though I wished it wasn’t. “Go about your day and do your thing. Tell Britta that Jamie and I are working things out. Tell her he’s torturing himself over what he did to her.”

  “Whatever. Can you really picture me delivering that message?”

  Frowning, I shifted on my side, burrowing deeper into the springy couch cushion and snuggling the afghan around my chin. It smelled like a perfume made up of old potpourri. “I guess not. You can deliver this message, then. We think Jeneve poisoned Jamie, and that’s why he’s been a different person. It all started after we visited her, and he’s the only one who drank the Gar she brought. I can feel when the darkness hits him, and it’s like it’s invading him. Like polluted psychic air or something. He’s literally becoming a different person.”

  Foss’s reply came back slow. “How do you mean?”

  “He’s Jamie one minute, and then a vicious stranger who tortures my brain the next. When he snaps out of it, he’s more horrified than I am about what he did.”

  I could tell Foss was trying to come up with a plan, but each avenue presented a roadblock. Every course-correction to Jamie affected me, so there was precious little we could do. “You think it was liquid, the poison?”

  I snuggled further under the blanket. “That’s my guess. I think it was in the Gar Jeneve gave him. He’s the only one who drank it.”

  “Let me do some thinking.” He paused for half a minute, mulling over the information. “I mean, if it’s a curse, it could be delivered in a drink. Or a poison, come to think of it.”

  “So we’re still at square one?”

  “What? A square?” He sounded confused. “Lucy, stay focused. We’re talking about poisons and curses, not squares. Is Jens getting any rogivande?”

  I smiled at his adorable confusion. “I don’t know what that is, but no. No one’s got a plan yet. They’re trying to figure out who’s behind the hit on me. Jamie’s locked in a bedroom, vacillating from crazy to morose. It’s intense.”

  “I’ll get my hands on some rogivande and bring it to him. If what we’re dealing with is a poison, that could flush it out, if it hasn’t already taken root. But it’s been a few days, and it’s still not taken over completely?” Foss was thinking out loud, so I contented myself with listening to his deeper voice work out the problems. “Then I think what you’ve got isn’t a poison, but a curse. A poison would have killed him by now. Curses take longer to set in, and it sounds like Jamie isn’t completely gone yet. My money’s on a curse.”

  “Um, is that good or bad?”

  His tone changed to the condescending one he used when he talked down to me. “They’re both bad. Poisoning is bad. Curses are bad. Honestly, what kind of schooling do humans get out here?”

  I rolled my eyes and stared at the bookcase across the room. It had one row of encyclopedias, another housing collections of Impressionist paintings, and the third row had nothing but historical biographies. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re the most precious of all the princesses?” I asked my surly husband. “Every time you open your mouth, birds and daffodils fall out of it. You’re like a walking hug.”

  Foss grumbled at my teasing. “Be serious. Since you know nothing about anything, you should know that a curse only gets stronger over time, so you have to do something to hold it off before it sets in for good.”

  At this, I sat up straight. “Sets in for good? You mean this could be permanent?” Visions of Jamie tormenting my mind scared me more than my house on fire had.

  “Jens coddles you, or he would’ve told you what you’re dealing with. Unless he’s a moron and hasn’t figured it out. I can’t decide which is worse.”

  “Foss, what do I do? How do I fend it off and keep it from setting in?”

  Foss’s voice calmed. “Your elf boy can do it. Elsa can do the rest.” He paused, and then his tone turned wary. “But that kind of curse is typically brewed by a Huldra. It’s complicated work. Where would Jeneve get her hands on a Huldra? She doesn’t cross over to the Other Side.”

  Dread forced a groan from my lips. “Stina! They’ve talked to each other over the gate before. You know how Stina waits at the gate to catch conversations with the few who go back and forth. She even sent over a shopping bag with bras and whatnot from our side as a gift!” I held my forehead, feeling so stupid. “The Gar was from Stina! I remember now! Jeneve wanted to do a toast with Gar from Jamie’s new homeland to show her support or whatever.”

  “Well, there you go. It’s that Huldra woman. She cursed the Gar to give to Jamie.” He paused, and I could almost hear the wheels turning in his mind. “This is a good thing. It means it can all be undone by Elsa. She’s far more powerful than Stina. Just tell Tucker to do whatever he can to slow down the curse to keep it from putting down roots in Jamie.”

  I swallowed, wishing for any life other than this one. “Okay. I’ll tell him as soon as he gets back.”

  “Lucy?” Foss’s voice dropped to just above a whisper. “We’ll get Jamie help. Just wait it out as best you can.”

  I was scared, but kept my voice light to try and appear cooperative. “Are you being nice to Britta?” My eyes closed as I bathed in the sound of his deep cadence.

  “I’ll never understand your high value on being nice. Nice doesn’t put food on the table. Nice doesn’t pay the bills. Nice isn’t always a good thing.”

  There was a comfort in his perpetual grouchiness that somehow only worked its charm on me. “Good thing you’re still you. I can tell your body hasn’t been inhabited by aliens or undergone some new curse. Still as alluring as you ever were.”

  “Lucy, come home.” He was earnest, and I was tempted.

  I bit my lip to keep from shooting back that I didn’t have a home. I curled my knees to my chest, the phone cradled to my ear. “You know I can’t do that. Half my home’s been barbecued.”

  He lowered his voice, and I had to really listen
hard to hear him. “Come to my home.”

  It was a dangerous game I played, and I hated every second I allowed myself to feel torn.

  It’s because you’re a selfish cow, Jamie shot at me. Dark Jamie was in full swing, so I did my best to ignore him. Give Foss a heart only to rip it out? Typical woman. Foss and Jens would both be better off dead than with you.

  Go back to your side, Jamie. I wished I’d drank more than a few swigs of the cooking sherry.

  You’re short, too. And when you laugh too loud, it’s annoying. When you bite your nails, it makes me want to rip them off your hands to stop the bad habit. You’re disgusting.

  I knew it was stupid. I should have ignored him, but I obstinately put my finger in my mouth and bit at the nail just to show him that his words had no effect on me. Like this? Is this what bothers you?

  I watched you in the shower yesterday.

  Jamie! I balked, truly hurt and violated that he would break our “be cool” agreement so wholly. This isn’t you, Jamie. You don’t want to say these things. You don’t want to be this guy.

  So you can be selfish with Foss and Jens, but I can’t look at what’s right in front of me, ripe for the taking? I’ll teach you what happens to selfish girls! Get over here! Jamie pounded both fists on the wall to my psyche, so I made sure the imaginary door was fastened tight. Then above me, I heard him break out of his room, running down the very real hall upstairs and barrel down toward where I was.

  “Lucy?” Foss called.

  Heart pounding, I scrambled out the front door and ran around the house to the shed in the backyard, fear scrambling my chances at making a good decision. My head whipped around from side to side until I had a decent enough glimpse to be able to run with my eyes focused only on the grass under my shoes. I ran toward the edge of the property, shutting my eyes when I got close to the hedges so Jamie couldn’t tell for certain where I was. There was so much greenery.

  I started sweating when I heard the front door open and Jamie emerge, calling out for me with such anger, it sent ice through my veins. I dropped to the ground and conjured up images of the inside of the house to give as little clues as possible to where I was.

  Foss had been shouting into the phone, but I only just now heard him. “Lucy, answer me!”

  My panic came out in a whisper. “Jamie’s turned again! He’s coming after me! Tell Jens I love him. Tell Britta I’m sorry.” My voice broke into the phone. “Foss?”

  “Lucy, tell me anything about where you are! Help me find you!” Foss roared.

  “I love you, Foss.” And with that, I hung up.

  I know you’re out here! Jamie raged as I tried to operate the phone without opening my eyes for more than a second to stare only at the screen. I felt his violent urges and caught mental images from his mind of him throttling me, and then hitting me over the head with a garden tool he’d stumbled across. Then I caught a graphic image of something that made me wince with its dreadfulness.

  No, real Jamie would never do that to me! He doesn’t think of me in that way. Jamie loves me, I assured myself. Of course, my Jamie wasn’t here anymore. Dark Jamie would do whatever made me scream the most, so I vowed to keep my fear to myself when he hit the bull’s-eye on my dartboard of mental anguish.

  The yard was vast, so when I heard Jamie’s stomps heading in the wrong direction, I knew my choked whisper wouldn’t give me away. I sent messages through the bond of fear to make Jamie think he was close, to buy me more time.

  When Jens answered his phone, it was with an air of irritation. “What part about covert ops makes you think calling me in the middle of it is a solid idea?”

  “It’s Jamie!” I whispered. “Jamie’s turned and he’s trying to find me! Hurry, Jens! Can you get back here?”

  “Huh? What do you mean? Can you two try to get along until I finish? I’m almost done.”

  Jens can’t save you, Jamie scolded me.

  “Jamie’s trying to kill me! He’s totally flipped and has no idea who he is anymore! It’s a curse, and Tucker needs to stave it off somehow. But none of that’ll matter if he kills me first! Hurry, Jens! I don’t know how long I can hide before he finds me!”

  Oh, I’ll find you, and when I do, you’ll be sorry you ever set foot in Undraland.

  Jens was talking, but I didn’t hear it. “Just get back here, or I’m dead! I can’t overpower Jamie!” I hung up quickly before my desperate whispers gave me away. I sent images of me running back around the house and in through the front door to throw him off. I breathed a gust of relief when he took the bait. I kept him on the trail, showing him different places in the big house I could try to escape to.

  Oh, Lucy! It’s your big brother! Let’s play together, liten syster. Have I got a surprise for you.

  I looked through his eyes and saw him holding the poker from the fireplace. I whimpered, devastated that a curse could make my prince turn on me so viciously. It’s not really Jamie. It’s not Jamie. Jamie would never hurt me, I reassured myself.

  Watching through Jamie’s eyes, I saw Tucker appear in front of him, just as shocked as I had been to see Jamie in full-on attack mode. Without warning or reason, Jamie took a swing at Tucker, who ducked and responded with a punch to the gut that knocked the breath from me. I sobbed on the grass, still hidden behind the bushes as Tucker wrestled Jamie to the ground using a mixture of strength and fire magic. He lit a circle around Jamie, keeping the heaving man in place while Tucker leapt out of the enclosure, coming back with a healthy pinch of lavender powder that he cupped over Jamie’s nose. Jamie struggled, but he wasn’t recovered from the gut punch enough to stand up straight yet. Tucker shoved Jamie’s head into his hand, forcing him to inhale the powder, and by proxy, me.

  The pain in my stomach and my heart began to fade with every breath. Jamie’s psychotic intent and all the bad memories were swept away, like twinkling snowflakes caught in a swirling breeze.

  Twenty-Three.

  Fluffernutter Fox

  I awoke in the late afternoon, my body moist from the grass I’d passed out on.

  “Lucy? Baby, are you alright? Talk to me!”

  Everything was so pretty. The grass was greener, the shrubs seemed like they deserved a more glorious name, and the handsome face staring down at me was the only one I’d been wanting to see. “Jens?”

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t know what Jamie was capable of! I didn’t understand you meant he was actually attacking you. I sent Tucker to check on you because he can just port, and that’s much quicker. But we didn’t expect this!”

  I was sitting up, but only because Jens had me propped up. I felt oddly boneless, which wasn’t unpleasant at all. “You’re so pretty,” I commented, unaffected by his upset.

  “And now you’re high as a kite. You’re not getting a word of this, are you?”

  “Seven words,” I said, beginning a game of charades. “I love you. That’s seven.” I rock so hard at charades.

  “Yep. You’re gone. Love you, too, Mox.” He hefted me off the ground and carried me like a bride through the yard and over the threshold of Gladys’s home.

  “Tucker sleeps with old ladies,” I told him, resting my head on his firm shoulder. “You have strong shoulders, like a couch.”

  “Keep the crazy coming, baby. So long as you’re okay, I’ll take it.” He carried me up the stairs and laid me on the bed we shared. He unlaced my shoes and pulled off my socks, kissing the arches of my feet in a way that made me squirm. “Tucker’s been talking to Foss, and he’s working on holding off the curse, though it seems like part of it’s rooted in deep. Elsa’s on her way.”

  “Oh, good. I was hoping for another seizure. It’s like being electrocuted. Fun stuff. I’ve always said one can’t be electrocuted too many times.” I gazed up at the ceiling and giggled. “Fluffernutter’s a funny word.”

  Jens shook his head. “I’ll keep you up here. Trust me, she’ll be on her best behavior. She’s just coming to try her hand at reversing the curse Stin
a put on Jamie.” He sat down on the side of the bed and brushed his fingers through my hair, his gaze hard, but at the same time incredibly soft for me. “I keep replaying that night. Jeneve offered it to all four of us. She’s never liked Britta, so I kind of see why she tried poisoning her with the curse. I mean, if not for Britta, Jamie would still be in Tonttu, in their eyes. So that makes a little sense. I know she was offended by me turning her down, but why did she offer the poison to you? And to poison her own brother? I knew they didn’t get along, but usually the death threats only come to me from that family. Obviously she didn’t know you two were laplanded. What motivation could she have for killing you? And how could she do that to her own brother?”

  “She wants me for me Lucky Charms,” I guessed, rolling my head from side to side on the bed. “They’re magically delicious.”

  Jens sighed. “Yes. I’m sure that’s exactly it. Elsa’s coven is searching for Stina now. They’ll find her, bring her in and we’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of it.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” I echoed. “Tucker punched my Jamie gut, but I don’t even feel it anymore.”

  Jens groaned. “I know. He drugged Jamie, and it hit you. Of all the things I deserve a good beating for, that’s at the top of the list. I’m sorry, sweetheart. That’s what too much lavender powder feels like. Takes away your pain, and for the next few days, you might be itching for more if you’re anything like me. It’ll pass, but I’m sorry all the same.”

  “You’re Sorry. I’m Monopoly.”

  Jens sighed, tugging on my big toe. “Yes. You’re Monopoly. Tucker’s going to stay with you tonight so I can go back to the office and try figuring out who took out the hit on you. If it’s Stina, case closed, but I have to be sure. I’ll be back before Elsa gets here, so you don’t have to worry.”