by Blythe Baker
His smile grew. “Well, let me say on behalf of the entire community, thank you for working so hard for Mr. Cromwell. This shop is a gem in this town, and I, for one, am so pleased that it is back up and running thanks to you.”
My face couldn’t blush any harder. “I’m happy to be helping,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “Shall I send a car to pick you up this evening, say…six o’clock?”
“Sure, that’s fine,” I said almost robotically.
He turned and glanced back at me over his shoulder. “Wonderful. I look forward to it.”
I spent the rest of the afternoon debating about whether or not to tell Bliss and Aunt Candace that I was going to Dr. Valerio’s home for dinner that night. In the end, I decided to tell them after the fact. I was so nervous already, and knew that speaking with them would only make it worse.
I tried not to think of it as a date. That wasn’t what it was. Even still, I couldn’t help but dress up nicely that night, in a breezy summer dress, cute black flats, and I tied my hair in a loose braid.
It had been a long time since I’d dressed up for a man, but that wasn’t really what this was, was it?
It wasn’t a date.
The car, which happened to be a luxury car that I’d never be able to afford, pulled up in front of my cabin at six o’clock on the nose. The man who stepped out of the car was dressed in a dark suit and looked more like secret service than a typical driver. He held the door open for me, and closed it after me as I slid into the back seat.
There was a divider between me and the driver, and so we drove in silence. My mind was racing, and we arrived at what must have been Dr. Valerio’s home a lot sooner than I expected.
Though, just like with the Blackburn estate, house seemed like a bit of an understatement. Unlike the Blackburn castle or Delilah’s modern mansion, Dr. Valerio had chosen a log cabin aesthetic. But log cabin was a weak word for a house that was easily as big as a resort hotel. Windows were set into the enormous log walls, and a green roof capped off the vaulted ceilings. Three chimneys arched into the sky, but none of them were spewing smoke. It was too hot, after all.
The driver pulled up right next to the front door, which was flanked with windows and iron lanterns.
He opened the door and helped me out of the back seat. He gestured toward the front door wordlessly…where Dr. Valerio was waiting for me.
“Good evening, Marianne,” he said in his lilting tone. He spread his arms wide. “Welcome, welcome. I am honored to have you here this evening.”
My throat was tight as I started up the wide stone steps toward him. I was staring around me in awe. “Your home is just stunning…” I said.
His smile widened. “Why thank you. I designed it myself, after all.”
“You did?” I asked.
He nodded. “I was once an architect.”
“That’s amazing,” I said.
“Come along inside. I’ll give you the tour before dinner,” he said.
We walked in through the front door and my jaw hung open. It was even more magnificent inside. It looked like the interior of a magazine. A glorious spiral staircase filled the foyer. Polished wooden floors spanned the length of the open space, and on the far side of the room, an enormous stone fireplace was surrounded by huge windows, comfortable looking couches, and paintings that must’ve been as large as my whole cabin.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I’m…speechless,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a soft chuckle.
He showed me around the rest of the house, which was equipped with ten guest rooms, a professional sized kitchen, and in-ground swimming pool both inside and out.
“And my prized possession would probably have to be the observatory, which is where we are having dinner this evening,” he said, gesturing through a pair of French doors at the end of one of the halls.
I stepped inside and just stared around in awe.
The room was entirely made of windows. The ceiling came together in a glass dome, which was letting in the last of the sunlight of the day. The sky above was filled with wispy blue clouds, in shades of purple and orange.
A wooden edge table that could easily seat twenty was set for two at the far end. Planters and vases were scattered around the room, tucked in around flower boxes and terrariums.
Butterflies fluttered between budding flowers, which filled the room with a sweet scent.
“Please, sit down,” Dr. Valerio said, pulling out one of the chairs at the end of the table.
I sat, worried I might fall off the seat since my eyes were glued on the room around me.
Dr. Valerio took the seat at the head of the table beside me. He smiled at me as he unfolded his napkin and stretched it across his lap.
“You must have a hundred different kinds of plants growing in here,” I said, staring at what looked like a vine stretching up the side of the wall.
“Indeed,” he said. “One hundred and fifty-two, to be exact.”
“Do you take care of all this yourself?” I asked.
He nodded. “I have some help, but it gives me great peace to spend time in nature. And during those cold winter months, this is the best I can get when I crave the warmth and sunlight.”
Two men appeared in all black with white aprons, carrying ceramic platters and bowls. They set them down in front of us, bowing to Dr. Valerio before they left.
“Some of my apprentices,” Dr. Valerio said. “I’ve found that wolves who have only transformed a half dozen times or less flourish when given the opportunity to serve others. They’ve taken on various tasks, such as cleaning, cooking, working with me at the bank…giving them responsibility helps them to control their emotions during transformation.”
“That’s fascinating,” I said, also somewhat amazed that he was speaking about them being werewolves so openly. I guessed I still had a lot to get used to.
“And I’m sure you noticed that there is not a touch of silver in this entire house,” he said, picking up his knife, the metal gleaming in the light from the candlesticks all lined in a neat row down the length of the table.
My eyes wandered to the serving plates. “I guess I would have expected real silver in a home like this, yeah,” I said.
He smiled. “Unfortunately, silver has the capacity to leave burns on our flesh,” he said, laying the knife back down. “Even in our human forms, I feel it always best to be wise. I’ve had more than one accident here where a werewolf has been injured, and decided it was best to take all our silver and donate it to Mr. Cromwell’s shop.”
I nodded, but couldn’t bring myself to voice anything. There was still so much I didn’t know about him, or werewolves for that matter. I felt like I’d stepped into a fairy tale, except this was real life. And it always brought my mind back to the fact that I also was one of these mythical beings.
A faery. Me. Even though the blood within my veins sang with the trees here in Faerywood Falls, I could’ve easily lived the rest of my life never knowing the truth.
I guessed Aunt Candace was right, though. She and Bliss had told me that the magic in this place, one of the few pockets of magic left in the world, would always call me home.
And it did. And I knew I couldn’t ever leave again.
“But I’m sure you didn’t come to hear me talk about the hierarchy of the lycanthropes or our trivial personality quirks,” he said with a genuine smile. “So, Miss Marianne…what was it that you needed to speak with me about?”
“Well, what I came for does, in fact, have something to do with wolves,” I said.
“Oh?” he asked. “That is interesting. Alright, tell me.”
I took a deep breath and looked down at my stunningly clean plate. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the woman who was found in the cemetery. Olivia Foster?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. How tragic for a woman to die so young,” he said. “What of her?”
“Well, I was the one
who found her that night…” I said, and told him about hearing her scream and finding her already dead just minutes later.
He sat back in his seat, his topaz eyes fixed on me in a curious stare, as he scratched his beard along his chin.
“How very interesting,” he said. “So you believe there was some sort of foul play?”
“Yes,” I said. “And I think I might know who did it, but…I need to know more about him first.”
“And who might that be?” he asked.
“Her husband,” I said. “Evan Foster.”
Dr. Valerio nodded his head, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. “I know the man,” he said. “But why do you suspect him?”
“He’s hiding something,” I said. “He played the part of the grieving husband well enough when I first met him at the mortuary – ”
I watched his eyebrows rise at the mention of my being in a place like that.
“But then at the funeral, he seemed almost bored. Put out. He didn’t seem troubled at all. He was lying about something, and my cousin who was with me was convinced that he’d just pretended to be a miserable man when I’d met him to garner my sympathy and play the part so that everyone in the community wouldn’t suspect him.”
“Perhaps the funeral was too hard for the man,” Dr. Valerio said. “Some do not handle those situations well, and instead of grieving, they retreat into themselves and become numb to the world around them, even cold.”
“That’s what I suspected, too,” I said. “But…I don’t know. As much as I wanted to believe it, something was just off about him. He was so flippant about his late wife and showed no remorse…why would a man who loved his wife act that way?” I shifted in my chair, my heart racing. “And not to mention that a spell weaver I’ve spoken with told me that if anyone was capable of murdering his wife, it was him.”
“Really?” Dr. Valerio said, his eyes narrowing. I could see the interest in his gaze, the way he searched my face to discover exactly who it was I’d spoken with. I didn’t think it would be wise for me to tell him that I was associating with the sister of someone who’d tried to kill me, especially since he’d witnessed the whole thing himself.
“That, and he made this comment about me making a name for myself in the community, and the only people who I’ve really done a lot of interacting with are all Gifted.”
“I see,” Dr. Valerio said. “So you think that he is Gifted?”
“I think so, yeah,” I said. “Why else would he say something like that?”
“Not entirely sure,” Dr. Valerio said, shaking his head. “Well, regardless, he does seem like a suspicious person.”
“So…this brings me to why I called you in the first place. I wanted to know…is he…” I said, my heart skipping. “Is he – ”
“One of us?” he asked, pointing to himself. He tilted his head thoughtfully. “That, I’m afraid, I cannot tell you.”
My heart plummeted to the floor. “Why not?” I asked.
“I am not at liberty to disclose the identities of any of the town’s shape shifters or beast whisperers. It is my duty to protect them, and I would not be doing that duty if I were to share that with you,” he said.
I sighed, my shoulders slumping a little.
“I am sorry,” he said. “But much of this goes far beyond a mere murder. Still, take comfort in this; I will do what I can, in my own power, to discover the root of this.”
He leaned closer to me, and I caught the scent of him. Warm and comforting.
“If I were to be very honest with you, Marianne, I would admit that I am rather troubled by a darkness that seems to be permeating our cozy sanctuary of Faerywood Falls,” he said. “For many, many years, this place has been relatively safe for those Gifted seeking shelter and knowledge. But lately…it’s as if the magic itself is working against us. Or perhaps warning us. Something is amiss…and I will be doing all I can to find the source of it all.”
I blinked at him, reveling in the same feeling that had passed over me when Cain Blackburn had expressed similar thoughts.
“Which is why I must tell you, Marianne, that my invitation to you here was not entirely selfless,” he said.
My eyes widened as I looked at him. “What do you mean by that?”
He folded his hands together, and his gaze became piercing as if he could see straight into the very soul of me.
“Much of what’s been occurring has coincided with your arrival here. It’s as if some sort of ancient power is awakening slowly. I know there is something different about you, as I witnessed it the day that you and Silvia Griffin dueled on the mountain.”
I swallowed hard, a hum in my ears.
“This makes me very interested in you, and I know that I’m not the only one. There is something special about you,” he said. “And let me be very clear. I do not believe that you are responsible for the things going wrong here in Faerywood Falls. No…I rather believe that your existence will be integral in facing whatever is to come. I may not know what you are, exactly, and I’m not asking you to tell me…” he said, his voice fading. “But I certainly want to figure it out someday.”
His words settled over me like the first winter’s frost. My skin prickled.
Had he secretly already figured out what I was? I had been so careful to keep my identity as a faery a secret, but I guessed it was possible for others to work it out. And he was right; he’d seen my powers when I fought with Silvia. Was that enough for him to go on?
“Well, we’ve spent far too long in difficult conversation, and we shouldn’t let this dinner get cold,” he said, his warm smile returning. “Would you care for some roasted pheasant?” he asked, pulling one of the covered ceramic dishes toward himself.
We ate dinner together, and it really was nice. I probably would’ve been on cloud nine and completely enraptured by him if we hadn’t had the conversation about Evan Foster and the growing disturbances in Faerywood Falls. Since we did, I kept myself at somewhat of a distance from him the rest of the evening.
Nevertheless, I found myself staring at him for longer moments, catching myself thinking how I liked the way the reddish tones in his hair looked like spun copper in the light of the candles, or how his smile seemed to warm me from the inside like a hot cup of cocoa on a cold, stormy night.
At the end of our meal, he offered to walk me to the door so his driver could take me home.
“Thank you very much for having me,” I said, smiling up at him. “The meal was lovely.”
“I’m pleased that you gave me a reason to have you over for dinner,” he said as we stood in the foyer together.
Darkness had fallen long before, and he’d pointed out the first stars and named each one in the observatory. It was hard not to see this as a date, but his words kept bobbing around inside my head.
…my invitation to you here was not entirely selfless. He was curious about what I was. And that was enough to keep my feelings in check…
At least for the time being.
“I do apologize for some of the somber conversations we had,” he said. “There have just been a great deal of strange things happening lately, and I can’t seem to get my mind off any of it. Deaths, fights among friends, sightings of bizarre things…”
My heart skipped. “Sightings like ghosts?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at me. “How did you know?”
“I’ve heard a rumor going around that there’s a violent ghost hanging around in the forest,” I said. “Some guests staying at my aunt’s lodge even saw it.”
“It’s very rare for Ungifted humans to see ghosts,” he said. “But they were not wrong. There is indeed a specter that has been trailing back and forth from the cemetery to the forest and back again. A patrol of wolves spotted it, and were troubled as they’d never seen it before.”
He rubbed the side of his face, exhaustion suddenly obvious on his face.
“What’s more troubling is that this
specter doesn’t seem to have any connection to the beast that was attacking hunters in the forest just a few months ago. And believe me, I wish it had. I’m still trying to solve that mystery,” he said. “I would be wary of this ghost, Marianne, and everything else that’s happening around here. If I were you, I would drop this whole investigation about Olivia Foster. I appreciate your desire to see justice for her, especially since you were the one to discover her. But please…this seems to have danger written all over it, and I would be very displeased if something were to happen to you.”
“I will be careful,” I said. “And thank you for your concern and advice. I really do take it to heart.”
He waved goodbye from the front steps as the car he’d sent for me headed back toward my cabin.
I watched him out the window as I went, and found my mind a mix of emotions.
His words of warning were so strangely similar to Cain Blackburn’s that I was beginning to wonder if I really was in over my head. Two powerful men, completely separate from one another, had told me to step back.
So why was it that I just wanted to pursue the whole investigation further? Why was I determined to learn the truth despite their fears?
It was simple. As much as I found myself attracted to both men, I didn’t trust them.
And they didn’t trust me. Not yet.
So why should I listen to them unquestioningly?
I wasn’t going to. It was that simple.
I was going to learn the truth with or without their help.
9
Learning the truth about what happened to Olivia Foster meant that I needed more information without speaking to anyone else. Not even my cousin and my aunt. I hated keeping anything from them, but there were a lot of things that I still needed to work out in my own mind.
For one, Dr. Valerio. I kept going back and forth about him. One moment, I felt he was on my side; he had been since that day on the mountain with Silvia Griffin. The next moment would then have me asking why he hadn’t come to help me that day if he really was on my side. Was he just keeping his distance to figure me out?