by M J Hutto
He bobbed. “S’true.”
“So, Thibbs, do you know if that could be a thing? And could she get stuck in one of those forms if it is?”
“‘Fraid not, cher. I don’t know nothing about that part of things. I haven’t had a lot of dealings with ghosts over the years. A few of my witches were mediums but they contacted ghosts on more of a one-time per contact deal. They didn’t let em linger much and they didn’t get chummy with em either.”
“Maybe we’re doing something against the rules. Whatcha think?”
He whistled and Jaylin paced. “They sent you here, so I don’t think we’re doing anything wrong. I think we’ll just have to figure it out as it happens. If my centuries-old familiar doesn’t know then we just have to muddle through and hope for the best.
“We should know soon, right? The other clothes lasted a few trips, and these probably will too, or…this is your new look. Maybe you subconsciously chose this.”
Her aloof and doubtful expression showed me how she felt about that answer. I flopped down onto the couch and grabbed my favorite throw pillow to hug to my chest.
“You want to hear about last night? I think I might’ve accidentally be-spelled Detective Hottie.”
They both exclaimed loudly and came over to listen. Jaylin sat on the other end of the couch facing me with her feet drawn up under her and Thibbs rests on the arm of the couch beside her. I had their full attention.
I relayed the night, including all of the weird compliments and Jim’s escalating behavior. I sort of glossed over the almost kiss with the detective but neither looked ready to let it go. When I reached the end of the story Jaylin raised her hand.
“You don’t have to raise your hand, go ahead.”
“So, you almost kissed Detective Hottie but the shrew who keeps trying to fuck your cousin smacked you in the head and then you LEFT before he could talk to you again or more likely kiss the pants off you!” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “What the hell!! AND you got assaulted by a customer, not once but twice in one day and he’s not in jail!”
Thibbs came over and touched my nose. My eyes crossed trying to keep sight of him. A tear was falling from his eye.
“Oh, cher! I’m so sorry. Dat man need to be castrated!! Maybe I call dat crossroads demon and let dem talk to him? He make a bad deal to end up wit more trouble dan he worth.”
“I’m fine Thibbs. But yes, all that happened, and I think it was that damn dress. I know it isn’t my boots and the gloves are from a boutique my mother shops at, no magic in sight there. It has to be the dress,” I said, bewildered.
“So, I’m trying to give it a day or so, let things settle, let the charm wear off and then, I’ll talk to him,” I grimaced. “I don’t want to embarrass him or make him think I’m using magic on him. I don’t want to go to jail or worse get neutralized for the greater good.”
Jaylin was about to speak when there was a knock at the front door. I peeked through the peep hole and speak of the devil, the very man is standing on my doorstep. I thought seriously about pretending I didn’t hear.
“I heard you talking. And your footsteps. I brought Dorian along as an escort. I also brought a gift.”
I sighed, still contemplating not letting them in. I wasn’t wearing the dress so the charm should be gone. Jaylin was standing behind me. “Let them in. Stop being weird. Dorian won’t let him attack you with his beautiful mouth, but I think you should let him. Detective Hottie, not Dorian obviously.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed louder. “I heard that too. Please let me in. I want to apologize for my behavior last night.” His behavior? He’d been a gentleman the entire time.
“Just a second,” I said as I reached out to turn the lock, “step back until either Dorian or I am touching you to come inside.”
“I’ve got him,” came Dorian’s voice. He sounded annoyed. I wondered if Ms. Davies was already pushing her luck.
They walked inside and Dorian met Jaylin’s eyes. Apparently, he could see her today; she was standing almost touching me. Thibbs was resting in his bed. I reminded myself to find a suitable domicile for him, somewhere he could go if he wanted privacy or a place to keep his things. I showed them to the kitchen, and they sat around the bar.
“And why did I need to have my hand held to come inside your home?” He asked smiling. “Not that holding your hand wasn’t glorious, Dorian.”
Dorian grimaced at him and went to my refrigerator to find something to eat, drink or both.
“Stay away from the cherries, they aren’t ready yet and you’re, I presume, on duty since you’re in a uniform.”
He grunted at me. I heard rustling inside the refrigerator before he turned with orange juice, eggs, avocados, and butter. He also pulled the bread from the bread box. I guess he was having breakfast. He looked in askance at both of us and we nodded.
“How many eggs do I have? It’s scrambled egg day for the pups, I might need to go shopping today if its not many.”
He showed me the full carton. “I’ll bring fresh over tomorrow. This should be enough for us and them.”
I pulled glasses out of the cupboard for each of us and poured orange juice. When I handed the detective his glass I answered. “My wards only recognize people I tell them to. They are in place to help guard against intruders. I’ve been at the violent end of hate a few times and I don’t like it much. It’s a little late once its already happened. I don’t like shooting people, so I use this. Most people won’t even want to come close to my house. If they are determined enough to get past that and try to come inside there’s a little surprise in store.”
He raised his eyes in question. I put my glass down and fumbled with my Babushka’s ruby necklace. I guess I’d forgotten to take it off last night. It didn’t really fit in with my sweatshirt and joggers but who cared. It brought Babushka’s warm, understanding hugs back to me.
His eyes dropped to the necklace, and he leaned forward slightly. He shook his head once and then again. When he looked up his eyes were shining and full of intensity. I looked down at the ruby necklace and wondered what my Babushka had done to it. I bet she’d worn it while she danced, and she had gotten mad tips.
I unclasped the necklace and placed it on the counter. His eyes cleared and the dramatic, single minded intensity lessened. I felt a little sad about that loss but better if it wasn’t a real feeling anyway. He took a deep cleansing breath, blinked a couple times, and shook his head a few times before his face cleared.
He looked on questioningly. “Surprise? What kind of surprise?”
I spun my glass around in slow circles. “Oh, just a little electricity.”
His face exploded into a burst of abrupt laughter. “Just a little electricity, huh. And it doesn’t affect Dorian over there?”
Dorian smiled and turned to show off his St. Christopher medal. A confused frown pulled at Achlys’s brows. “I have one of those too. Is that all I need? Hell, I can get one of those off the internet in a few hours.”
I was already shaking my head before he finished. “No, his medal is blessed and charmed. Blessed to help keep him safe when he isn’t here and charmed to get him into my house and also to keep him safe. The blessings last a lifetime or more, the charm has to be renewed every so often.
“It kinda depends how often he visits and how much trouble he gets into. Right Dorian?”
He poured the cooked eggs onto three plates, placed the avocado slices, and pulled the toast from the toasters to plate them too. He pushed plates in front of each of us and sat down.
“Yeah, the week after I graduated the police academy was kinda rough. I had to have the damn thing recharged after only a week.”
“Whoa, what the heck happened?”
“My partner wasn’t happy about training a rookie. I got sent into a domestic alone, I separated them but focused on the aggressor. The other party shot me in the back, I was wearing my vest. When she went to shoot me in the head, the gun jammed. The charm flared
so bright it left a nice burn of St. Christopher imprinted on my chest.” He moved his shirt aside to show it off.
“We talked about switching to wooden charms, but he wanted to keep that one. Since it already saved his life once.”
I patted him on the shoulder and thanked him for the breakfast. I made a sandwich and added provolone cheese from the refrigerator. They both looked at me expectantly, so I gave them cheese as well.
We ate in silence. I poured more orange juice for us all and enjoyed the company. Once we finished Dorian, went off to clean up and I collected the dishes to put in the sink.
“I’ll do them,” Achlys said, rolling up his sleeves and gently moving me out of the way.
“That isn’t necessary.”
“Least I can do after my actions last night. And after you provided breakfast today.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong last night. What are you remembering that I’m not?”
“Well, I tried to kiss you and we barely know each other. I’m not usually that forward. I don’t know why I did that.”
He was frowning and shaking his head. I debated on what to say and how much of an explanation would help. I shrugged. Why not the truth?
“I think the necklace I was wearing might’ve been charmed. I thought it was the dress but after your reaction today, I think it’s the necklace.”
He turned, leaning his backside against the counter. He dried his hands on the dish towel and looked much to comfortable standing there with his arms crossed and his rather lovely body in repose. I blinked, maybe the damn necklace had affected me too. Yeah, that’s definitely it.
“Go on.”
“I started noticing I was getting a lot of compliments last night, even when we were around much more beautiful people,” I looked away and shrugged. “Then Jim showed up…”
“Hold on, what do you mean Jim showed up? When? And why didn’t you say anything? What happened?”
“He was a little more forceful last night. I managed to get him off me without breaking any chaos rules. Come to think of it that might be why I slept so long today and don’t really remember much about the end of the night. He banged my head into the wall a few times and I got a little loopy after that.”
His face was stormy and dark suddenly. I almost backed up a step but changed my mind. Fuck that. I hadn’t done anything wrong, why was he pissed?
“Dude, what?”
He stepped forward and I drew back slightly. His face smoothed and concern swam over his features. His moods changed quickly and often.
“I just want to look at your head and your eyes. You might have a concussion. In fact, you probably do. Why didn’t you tell us last night? Did you tell Dorian this already?”
“Tell me what?”
“Jim assaulted her last night.”
“What?!? What the fuck, Kable? He assaulted you? Why the fuck am I just now hearing about this?”
I turned on them both angrily. My hands were on my hips. Who the hell were they to be pissed at me? “He just shook me and kissed me and banged my head against the wall a few times. I then rotated his man parts for him, and he let me go. I ran into Victor and cleaned up,” my face was on fire from anger and embarrassment.
“I assumed he said something when he went back to y’all. But honestly, I don’t really remember much else about the night.”
“Kable,” Dorian and Achlys began talking at once.
I slashed my hand through the air. “I know. I should’ve said something, but I didn’t. I guess I got a little scrambled. I need to press charges. Is that something either of you can handle for me?”
“Yeah, I’ll bring the paperwork by later. I have to go back out, I’m on shift and not supposed to be away this long. I have to go patrol and write a ticket or two.
“Don’t you need some help in your Chaos Investigation Division, bud? I’m available.”
He laughed but Detective Hottie got a speculative gleam in his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do. Another murder and I’ll definitely need you.”
“Any chance you can stay with Kable? She shouldn’t be alone for the next forty-eight hours.”
He stared me down when I attempted to say something. “You should’ve said something last night. I understand you were loopy, but I wouldn’t have left you alone if I’d known. Now I’m stuck at work until tonight so you’ll stay with whomever we can get.
“Sorry, Achlys. Also, why are you apologizing? What happened?”
We glanced at each other. “Nothing happened. We’re fine and if you insist someone stay with me, I’ll call Karmine or Kent. The good detective shouldn’t have to be stuck with me. I’m sure he has things to do.
I looked up at him. “Aren’t you trying to solve a murder? Surely you don’t have time to babysit a grown ass adult?”
“Nothing happened,” he said eyeing me and frowning. “I currently have nothing going on. We are waiting for everything. And I wanted to ask you some questions about the homeless Orokkian community in this area. See if you can help me figure out who might know my guy and would be willing to talk to me.”
His eyes never left my face. “And if your sister or brother can come, I’ll leave you to them. If not, I’ll be here until someone can stay with you.”
I scowled darkly at Dorian. “Who do you think you are to dictate to me?”
“Right now, the only adult taking an interest in you. Your parents are still out of the country, at least until tonight,” he said in exasperation. “Kent is in City 4 and Karmine...I don’t know where she is. You might be able to get her. And you aren’t looking out for yourself, so someone has to.”
He walked over and his voice became gentler. “Now, let us look at you to make sure your eyes are okay and there isn’t like some huge gash under all that hair.”
“As if you wouldn’t see blood in this white hair,” I allowed them to look me over and check my eyes. Once I was deemed stable Dorian was off to work. He promised to bring the assault paperwork when he came back. I was instructed to write a statement when I was able.
I took the ruby necklace off the counter and found Detective Hottie watching me. I should probably stop calling him that. It was rather rude and objectifying but it fit so well it was hard to stop. Plus, it allowed me to hold him a little apart, so I didn’t get attached. It was going to have to stay for now.
“May I?” he asked.
I handed it over gently. I wasn’t sure how it would react to him. It sparkled and glowed at his touch. He looked over at me, the light reflected in his eyes, making them shine.
He took a step toward me, and I held my breath. I would not take advantage of him. His lips curled into a small smile that made his eyes look intoxicating. His lips parted and he shifted toward me. My eyes widened and my breath slipped out.
“While that dress was delightful, I don’t think it was the dress.” He looked down at the necklace. “I don’t know that it’s all the necklace either. Shouldn’t it make me more desirable when I’m holding it, not you?”
I laughed nervously and stepped back taking the necklace with me by the chain. The glow intensified as it slipped through his fingers and then faded. I didn’t remember it glowing when I was wearing it last night.
“I honestly don’t know. Babushka didn’t really talk about it; she just gave it to me. I thought it was just a really nice ruby necklace. I’m going to put this away. Feel free to look in the fridge for whatever you want. I’ll meet you in the living room. Don’t leave the house without me unless you don’t want to come back inside.”
He pointed and grimaced. “Right, electricity. How much electricity?”
I bit my lip, scrunched my nose and looked down. “It’s kind of exponential. The jolt when you come in is enough to hurt and each doorway you enter ups the voltage.”
He made an a-ha face and nodded. “Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Mmm,” you should.
He opened the refrigerator to look around and I went to put Babu
shka’s apparently charmed necklace away. I’d change into something else, at least put on a bra before I came back out.
Now, where to put this thing so it doesn’t get me into any more trouble?
16 But, No
Jaylin met me in my room. The gleeful look in her eyes coupled with the demented grin made me laugh.
“What?”
“You have Detective Hottie to yourself all afternoon. And I’m pretty sure he likes you, with or without the charmed necklace. You know those things only amplify what’s already there.”
“I don’t think so. I’m not looking for anything right now. I have a murder plot to disrupt, a stupid birthday party to endure and, and Jaylin…”
“Yeah but look at him. He’s sin made real, I bet he can do things with that mouth that…”
“Jaylin!” She giggled and it sounded way sultrier than a ghost giggle had any right to.
“Jaylin, were you taking an experimental drug?” I asked. I’d finally remembered to talk to her about it.
“What?”
“I know you heard me,” I demanded. “Were you taking experimental drugs to reverse our gene mutation? To block your ability to use your Chaos?”
“What. The. Fuck. Are You. Talking. About?”
I was puzzled. If her name as on the list then it seemed likely she was taking the drug, right? I wondered what was up with that situation.
“So, you weren’t in an experimental study?”
“NO!! Why are you asking me that?”
I shook my head, disgusted. “Jon, formerly known as Troy Boltin, is investigating people who died while taking an experimental treatment for the Orokkian gene mutation. He came across your name. I guess it was a misprint or something. You think about why your name might’ve been on there and we’ll talk again later.”
I pulled on a sports bra and then a tee shirt. I left the joggers and pulled on a zippered hoodie sweatshirt. I decided to keep my slippers, they were fluffy, soft, and magenta with silver moons and stars on them. I grabbed a fluffy blanket and looked in on Thibbs. He was sleeping soundly.