Titus laughed. “And here I was worried how you’d fit in.”
They went back to their seats and finished their breakfast. When it was over, Frank, Brenden, and Sam went to work on cleanup, leaving Titus and Jenna free. The other guys disappeared into different parts of the station.
Titus had his hands on his hips. “I’m headed to my office. I have about an hour’s worth of work to get done. A hundred feet won’t get you full roam of the firehouse, but it’ll get you to the meeting room next door if you want some private space.”
She folded her arms and looked up at him. “Is that your way of telling me you don’t want me in your office?”
“No. I just thought you’d be bored in there. I have some paperwork to do. It’s not going to be very exciting. Unless you find field reports and acquisition forms thrilling stuff.”
“Not really.” Being near him was exciting enough, thanks to the spell. “I have some things I can do. Birdie’s sending over the case file on the bomb. But maybe later, after your paperwork, we could have a look at the race details? Make sure nothing’s fallen through the cracks?”
“That would be great. We really should make sure we’re all set for race day. It’s only five days off. Maybe we could do that after we run by Bell, Book & Candle? We could pick up pizzas at Salvatore’s for lunch.”
“Sure. Sounds like a plan. One more thing…”
“Yes?”
“Would you be up for Howler’s this evening? I was thinking I could set up dinner with Ingvar there tonight, and you could have your usual spot at the bar. We could both be there in such a way that no one would be the wiser that anything’s going on.”
“I can do that. In fact, let me know what time, and I’ll have Bridget reserve a booth for you guys near the end of the bar where I usually sit.”
“Thank you.” He really was a good guy. She was glad they were giving each other a chance and trying out this teamwork thing. Which also meant there might be more kissing. Nope, not an appropriate thought for the middle of the fire station. Thank you, stupid magic spell.
If Ingvar could do anything to help with this, Jenna would be eternally grateful. Being friendly with Titus was great, but it was unsettling to know that something she couldn’t control was influencing her thoughts and feelings.
She’d much rather know those thoughts and feelings were hers and hers alone.
Kurt came back into the kitchen with a large envelope that had the sheriff’s department seal on it. “Deputy Blythe? This just came for you.”
“Thanks.” She took it from him, sticking it under her arm. Birdie never failed to deliver. Literally and figuratively.
“I guess that’s our cue to get to work.” Titus showed her to the conference room, which was actually one door away from his office, separated by a storage closet. It was perfect. She settled in and immediately texted the number Birdie had sent her.
Ingvar, it’s Jenna. Just heard you were in town and looking for me. Can’t wait to see you! Can you do dinner tonight?
She sat back to wait, wondering how much Ingvar had changed. What she was doing these days?
Ingvar’s response came quickly. Hey, great to hear back. Where are you now? I could come there.
Jenna glanced toward Titus’s office. As much as she wanted to see Ingvar, the firehouse didn’t seem like the right place for that. She and Ingvar were going to want to hang out and talk. Titus had work to do, too, and she didn’t want to be in the way of it.
Not to mention, she was dying to dig into this file to see if she could come up with anything new that might help them.
She texted back, Tonight is better. Just so much going on. Let’s meet for dinner in town. Place called Howler’s right on Main. Seven OK?
Sounds great. If anything changes, let me know. Can’t wait to see you!
Same here. See you tonight! Jenna smiled at the screen. That was something to look forward to.
Until then, maybe she could make some headway on the case. She opened the envelope Birdie had sent. Besides the case file, there was a legal pad and two sharpened pencils inside. Jenna grinned. Birdie was on the case.
She spread out all the scene photographs and notes to give herself an overview of everything that had been gathered. Then she read through the notes, focusing on the interview Deputy May had done with Pandora.
On a whim, she picked up her phone and called the real estate agent.
She answered before the second ring. “Pandora Williams, how can I get you home?”
“Hi, Pandora. Deputy Jenna Blythe here.”
“Hi, Jenna. Are you calling in an official capacity?”
“I am. I know you already answered some questions about the incident yesterday at one of your listings, but do you have time for a few more?”
“Sure. How are you doing, by the way? I know there was magic in that bomb. I did a walk-through with Deputy Cruz to make sure there wasn’t any other damage to the home, and I could just sense it.”
“There was. Alice is working on figuring out just exactly what kind of magic. And I’m doing fine. The physical effects weren’t really lasting.”
“That’s not what I heard.” She laughed. “Sorry, you know how word spreads in this town, and being a witch and all, anyway, it’s been all the buzz in the coven.”
Jenna paused for a breath. She shouldn’t be surprised. “What do you know?”
“That you and Titus Merrow were both the victims of a love spell that apparently had a binding agent in it.” Pandora’s voice went from amused to serious. “Word has it that you can’t get too far away from each other without experiencing some pain.”
Jenna sighed. “That would be accurate.”
“You don’t sound thrilled.”
“It has its ups and downs, I’ll say that. But it would be great to have our freedom back.”
“I’m sure. Well, the good news is Alice is calling a special meeting of the coven tonight to share her findings and put us all to work on a solution.”
“That is good news.”
“No kidding! I mean, I don’t need to remind you what happens when the moon turns full.”
Jenna paused. “Um, I think you do, because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh. Did you not speak to Alice yet today? She just sent out an email letting us know time is of the essence because if the full moon rises before this spell is broken, the effects become permanent.”
Titus hung up his phone but sat staring at it, letting what he’d just heard sink in.
His door burst open, and Jenna stood there, looking like she’d been slapped. “We’re in trouble.”
He nodded. “Yeah, we are.”
She frowned. “Wait. Why do you think we’re in trouble?”
“Because Alice just called me and—”
“This spell becomes permanent on the full moon? Yeah, I know.”
“No, that’s not what she—hang on, what?”
Jenna came in, closed the door, and sat in the chair across from his desk. “I just got off the phone with Pandora. Which reminds me, I never did ask her about the Lemmons.”
“What do you need lemons for?”
“Not the fruit. The people who own the house. Listen, Pandora said Alice is calling a special coven meeting to try to help us, which is great, but Pandora also said she heard it’s urgent because this spell becomes permanent when the full moon rises. That’s not what Alice told you?”
“No. She said she’d like samples of our blood and a few strands of our hair to help her diagnose a solution to the spell. She thinks if she can’t break it, she might be able to counterspell it. Enough to free us.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “The full-moon thing is not good.”
“No, it’s not,” Jenna said. “Maybe she didn’t tell you because she didn’t want to freak us out. That’s only a few days away, right?”
“Yes.” He rocked back in his chair. “Three days, actually.”
“And the race is two days
after that.”
“It’s going to be hard to run that if we can’t be apart.” He sat forward. “We need to get Alice these blood and hair samples immediately.”
Jenna stood. “Let’s go.”
He got up. “Just need to grab my keys. We’ll deliver the stand to Agnes at Bell, Book & Candle after we leave the Ellingham estate. Meet you at the truck? It’s unlocked.”
She nodded and headed in that direction.
He went toward the kitchen to get his keys off the rack. His head was spinning. It was one thing to be temporarily under this love spell, but to have it be permanent? To spend the rest of his life never being able to be more than a hundred feet away from another person? Even if you loved that person, that would be an incredibly limiting way to live.
Especially when those two people were first responders, like he and Jenna were. How would Jenna ever chase down another suspect? Or hunt for a lost child? Or drive street patrols?
How would he run into a burning building to rescue those trapped inside? How could he do school visits to talk to kids about fire safety? Or teach CPR at the senior center?
Both of their lives would be severely impacted. They had to work this out. Alice had to work this out.
He snatched his keys off the rack and went straight to his truck. Jenna was already inside, staring through the windshield like she was having a lot of the same thoughts he’d just had. He climbed in and put his seat belt on. “I know. It’s not good.”
“It’s not good at all,” she muttered. She looked at him, the slightest bit of panic tightening the skin around her eyes. “This isn’t personal, but I do not want to be tethered to you the rest of my life. Not with only a hundred feet of line between us.”
“I agree.” He started the engine and threw the truck into reverse to back out. “For the next three days, our new job is the same one. Get free of this spell.”
He drove with a heavier foot than usual, but he figured he could get away with it with a cop in the truck.
They didn’t get pulled over, thankfully, and they made it to Elenora Ellingham’s estate in about three minutes less than it usually took.
They got out and headed up to the big front doors.
“Nice driving,” Jenna said.
He looked at her. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“No. That was genuinely nice driving.” She grinned. “It’s a good thing I was with you, though. Otherwise, I would have had to give you a ticket.”
“Yeah, well, I know people at the department, so…”
She snickered.
He laughed. This was nice. But not nice enough to give up a lifetime of freedom for. He rang the bell.
Alice answered so quickly he wondered if she’d been waiting on the other side. “Chief. Deputy. Please come in.”
They followed her through the house. She was a small, prim woman, at least compared with Jenna, who had the kind of athletic build and blazing good looks perfect for a woman with a magical sword tattooed on her back.
But there was no mistaking the power Alice wielded. He couldn’t point to one thing, but taken as a whole—the glint in her eyes, the straightness of her posture, the set of her jaw—everything about her pointed to a force to be reckoned with. And she was.
After all, she was the woman who’d created the magic that made Nocturne Falls a safe place for the supernaturals who lived here.
She led them to her quarters. As they went through the double doors, Titus realized her quarters were one whole wing of the estate. He’d always known Elenora treated Alice well. He just hadn’t known how well. The furnishings weren’t as grand or opulent, but Titus imagined Alice wouldn’t have wanted them that way.
Instead, her space was much simpler. It almost felt like they’d entered a different building. This was definitely Alice’s style.
Crisp lines, quiet fabrics, with a lot of walnut, cherry, and stone. There was a serenity to it that he liked very much. He looked around for photos or touches of memorabilia but found very little. That also seemed to match Alice’s style. She was a very private person.
No one knew much about her beyond her brush with death at the Salem witch trials, where Elenora saved her. Alice seemed intent on keeping it that way. The power she wielded had earned her great respect in town, but she was also feared because of it. Outside of Elenora, no one really knew Alice Bishop.
They went straight through and into a room that felt very private and very personal. He didn’t know what witches called the space they practiced their magic in, but to him this was Alice’s inner sanctum.
A thick woven rug covered most of the slate flooring, and Gothic arched windows let in natural light. At one end, a mammoth fieldstone fireplace took up a good span of the wall. Close by was a comfortable chair and small table.
The remaining walls held shelves stuffed with books and the trappings of her craft, which seemed to be more books, bottles, and boxes. There were a few ceramic and glass jars, as well.
What he focused on, however, was Alice’s large, simple, wood worktable. It sat in front of one of the tall, arched windows so that it was bathed in light. Clusters of beeswax candles flickered on each corner, perfuming the air with the sweet scent of honey.
Old books lay scattered over the scarred and stained top, most of them open. The words he saw looked like Latin. Here and there, a few drawings broke up the chunks of text. Magic books, no doubt.
But that wasn’t what interested him most.
He touched the edge of the table. “I think I made this.”
Alice nodded as she came to a stop beside it. “You did. I bought it at one of the first charity auctions the firehouse ever had.” She patted it lovingly. “It’s served me well.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” He’d had no idea who’d ended up with the table all those years ago. And to think it’d been Alice, of all people. He liked that, actually.
She faced them both. “Thank you for coming so quickly. Of course, it benefits you to get my help, but it also benefits the town to have you both returned to full service. Such is the role of first responders.”
“Thanks for working on this.” Jenna glanced at Titus, a question in her eyes.
Did she want him to ask about the metaphorical ticking clock they’d recently discovered? He went with that. If only to get confirmation for himself and Jenna. “Is it true that the spell becomes permanent when the full moon rises?”
Alice flicked her eyes at him. Mad? Amused? Indifferent? The woman was so hard to read. “Nothing stays secret in this town, does it?”
“Not for long,” he answered. “But that’s a detail we deserve to know.”
“I agree. However, I was hoping not to have to tell you at all. I’m sure you also know I’ve convened a coven meeting for this evening, specifically to discuss your spell.”
They both nodded.
“I apologize for not telling you about the full moon, but I truly think that after tonight’s meeting, it will no longer be an issue. I hope that will be the case, anyway.”
“Us too,” Jenna said. She pushed up the sleeve of her cardigan. “How much blood do you need?”
Alice smiled. “Not that much. A few drops from a fingertip will suffice. As will a few strands of your hair.”
“I’m ready,” Jenna said. She reached back and pulled a few pins out of her hair as well as an elastic, then shook her head.
Titus had never seen her hair down. Or how much of it there was. It fell to the middle of her back in sun-streaked blond waves.
Suddenly, he had an image of her, sword in hand, hair blowing in the wind, the smoke of the battlefield billowing around her. The warrior. The valkyrie.
The woman he was rapidly falling in love with.
He shook himself and looked away. It was just the spell, he knew that. But why did it feel so real?
Jenna ran her hands through her hair and pulled out a few loose strands. She held them up. “Is this enough?”
“Yes.” Alice took the str
ands and laid them on a square of muslin. “Titus?”
He did the same thing Jenna had, running his hands through his hair. He came up with a few strands. “Mine are a lot shorter.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Alice said. She added them to the muslin.
She went to a shelf and took down a few things, coming back with a couple of empty glass vials and a narrow metal case. She put all of it on the table, then uncorked both vials. Next, she opened the case and took out a long, thin gold pin.
“Your finger, Deputy.”
Jenna held out her hand.
Alice pricked a finger, then squeezed several drops into one of the vials. When she had enough, she corked it, then ran the end of the needle through one of several beeswax candles burning on the table. She wiped the end on a different piece of muslin before gesturing to Titus. “Chief?”
He took a few steps forward, hand out.
She repeated the process, pricking his finger, then squeezing blood into a vial. This time when she cleaned the pin in the flame, she put it back in the case.
“How long before you can tell us something?” Jenna asked.
“One moment,” Alice answered.
Jenna gave Titus a skeptical look. “So fast? I didn’t know magic could work that quickly.”
Titus didn’t either, but then, he’d never been so close to magic like this.
Alice lit a new candle, different from the ones already on the table. It was a thick, squat, black beeswax stump with a red center. She looked at Jenna. “I’m going to test your blood first to see how deeply the spell has sunk into you. Once I know that, I can adjust the counterspell. I will know how strong to make it.”
“I see. How do you test our blood?”
“Watch.” Alice gathered a few more things. Long, thin metal rods. They were dark, so maybe iron. Then two small boxes, one with a crystalline substance in it. Salt? Sugar? Something else? The second held a waxy yellow powder that smelled of eggs. Sulfur. The same thing he’d smelled at the house where they’d encountered the magic bomb.
Maybe she had to use the same ingredients to do the test? He didn’t know. Witchcraft was a foreign language to him.
She dipped one of the rods in Jenna’s blood first, then sprinkled a little of the white and yellow powders on the end. She ran it through the black candle’s flame. It sparked white and blue before turning the flame a brilliant green.
The Werewolf Dates the Deputy Page 12