by Candra Kylar
I went back to bed and escaped into my dreams which had become erratic as of late. Haunting passages of twisting dark vines and forbidden whispers chased me. There was no end to my flight and I couldn’t shift. My wolf form was faster on four paws but something had held me back. A figure was at the end of the tunnel, practically overpowered by the vines, and I leapt to save them. To save him. Before I could reach the vines and tear them away, I woke up in a cold sweat. Daylight had crept into my bedroom and I had work to do. No use thinking about something that was beyond control. If Frankie didn’t have more important things to worry about, then I would have given her a crack at dream analysis. As it was, there were bigger fish to fry on the end of a wand.
At the bookstore, my mother and Frankie poured over some old volumes. It was nice to see my mother making friends. She had been at her breaking point when my father sold the mansion from under her. Now she had a purpose and she was enjoying the chase of saving Dimples. Frankie took notes as my mother read passages aloud. Tippler bristled and jumped down from my arms. He sniffed around Boots, Frankie’s cat, and then took a vantage point by the register. He had been quiet all morning. I knew the dark fox was thinking about the friends he left behind at the circus. They had been family to him in a way, protective and caring, despite the cruelty that Vander Voldini tried to soak into them.
“That narrows the list of possibilities down to nine”, Frankie said in exasperation, “which is much better than fifty-three.”
“With the information Abbie gathered, along with that Seer’s performance, I think we could even shorten the list to six. Should we call Ethan?”, my mother asked.
Frankie nodded, “He needs a break from werewolf territory. Liam and Braeden keep going at it. The poor kid could use something else to ruminate over.”
“Oh how I love your way with words. Ruminate!”, my mother shut the large book on the counter.
“Am I interrupting a fruitful study session?”, I asked.
My mother turned in my direction, “Nothing that we can’t handle. You know, despite our age, we can be a real asset to your private investigation business. It could use a mother’s touch! I saw how barren your office is.”
“How did you get in?”
She brushed that off, “The locking runes you used are the ones I taught you. I wanted a look around and didn’t feel like waiting for an official tour. You and your sister are so perturbed about anyone visiting your private spaces. Privacy! So overrated!”
Frankie had tea ready, “Drink up and let me analyze those dreams, Abbie. I can see the bags under your eyes.”
“I use an expensive concealer!”
“Well it isn’t working now, is it dear?”, my mother purred.
I swiped up the mug of tea, “Are you living with Frankie now?”
“Only temporarily”, my mother glanced in the direction of my new familiar, “that mangy fox and your fast paced life don’t make for relaxing down time.”
“Try and peek at a lady when she gets outta the shower once and she’s havin’ a fit”, Tippler said from his seat near the register.
“We won’t go into your internet search history”, my mother argued to him, “or how a fox can even use a laptop that my daughter has for business reasons only.”
“Can’t magic out my love of a good lookin’ woman”, Tippler buried his head in his paws, “now quit yammerin’ so I can get some sleep already. Abbie’s been keepin’ me up with her spooky dreams.”
“You stay up when I have them?”, I asked.
Tippler swished his tail, “Would be a trash familiar if I didn’t. Take my duty seriously.”
It was touching to think that I had a small guardian in him. I remembered how Rynna said that she was happy he was being taken care of, that we could take care of each other’s best friends. I knew she wouldn’t shy out on that responsibility. I saw it in the gentle care she gave to Max when he was on spectacle in that ring. She had a deeply loving side that couldn’t come out for fear of being hurt. Tippler must have been close to her. She must have had similar dreams. The thing was, I didn’t have Fae blood in me and nature didn’t scream in that way outside of the dream world. I couldn’t explain why it was haunting me now. I took a gulp of hot tea to distract myself. Frankie would figure it out anyway. She was a human fortune teller of the highest degree.
Outside, it had started to rain. A light drizzle covered my car and sloshed along the cobblestone sidewalks. I had always become elated whenever it rained, when the skies became gray and the colors vividly popped around me. Everything was beautiful in that low lighting. Today, however, I had too much on my mind. I finished my tea and put my mug down in front of Frankie. She took to studying it while my mother went to retrieve another volume. They would only find so much in books that were edited by the Council. I had a thought that Rynna was even made bias in her assumptions based on the tailored history we were given. So much of the truth was hidden away from the public. If anyone could find it, then Ethan could on the internet. He had become quite savvy with it.
Ethan arrived quickly once Frankie sent out the text. He was dropped off by Liam who gave us a quick wave, his mate a quick kiss, and then peeled out of there to get to work. Ethan had his laptop and had set it up near Tippler. The two got along well. My newfound familiar slowly crawled his way over to where Ethan was set up and put his head on the boy’s arm. Ethan scratched behind Tip’s ears and that tail swished again. It was funny to see how two very different people could form such a close bond. Already typing faster than I could think, Ethan consulted the list my mother gave him.
“I can actually narrow it down to three beings who harness elements and have been known to possess non-sentient objects”, Ethan stopped typing, “but it’s a dead end from there. Dimples could be any of these things. According to the back web, which I happen to have an access point to, all three have the capability of total destruction. Feared in myth all over Iverli.”
I rubbed my temples, “Could any of those narratives be biased?”
“They could be”, Ethan checked over the list again, “but this is the back web. The Council doesn’t have a leg in this and it’s technically illegal to surf. No worries, I have a private channel and won’t get caught. The Council has worse issues to stress over. Their expense report was recently leaked here and people are having a field day.”
“How much is my husband being paid to do governmental dirty work?”, my mother asked.
Ethan typed away and came up with an answer, “Double what everyone else is currently sitting on the Council. Wasn’t he newly elected? Why would he make more than even the most senior in the field?”
“Grant has a way with persuasion”, my mother said dismally.
“That can’t be it”, Ethan clicked a few times, “double the rate is more than a slight increase based on experience. He’s got a serious leg up on the rest of the Council. This is a red flag. Grant Everlaine is trending on the back web.”
“Don’t dig a grave trying to prove that my father is inherently wicked”, I told Ethan, “we already know that and it isn’t worth getting on that radar. Can you tell me about the three beings you narrowed Dimples down to originating from?”
“An Icon has never held a human form and was used to police the high populated areas of human activity during the prime of the Elder Fae’s reign”, Ethan read off, “and they could turn people into trees. Temporarily, of course. It was used as punishment and the effects would follow a victim through life. Minor paralysis, loss of sensation, sensitivity to weather. Icons were serious enforcers and were invisible. They could be anywhere. Still could. Some say they possess trees. They can also manipulate weather to a small degree.”
“Well Dimples has a green thumb but has turned nothing into flora that I’ve known about”, Frankie dismissed the option, “and she can’t go invisible. If she could, we’d all be in trouble with her pranks.”
“Right. So that brings us to the Netherweaves who still exist after the fall of
the Elder Fae. They haunt the spirit world and use old fashioned contracts of debt to chase their victims down”, Ethan clicked once more, “and there have been sightings of them lately. Recently, they have possessed animals without said animal knowing. They have an affinity to fire and water elements. Some are more evil than others.”
“Dimples wouldn’t need to hide if they are still around. She would have just wound up in the spirit world getting to work there”, my mother crossed it off the list.
“The third is something called a Titan”, Ethan narrowed his eyes, “and there isn’t much to say about them. Tall and hulking, the Titans possessed human beings and relayed what we know of Elder Fae history. They have all died out and only their writings exist.”
“Unless they transferred their spirit into a statue!”, I followed the lead, “Then they could essentially live forever. Dimples has a thirst for knowledge and she is always reading. Her magic is unlike any I’ve seen from a caster. She could be a Titan.”
“But she distinctly said that she was a demon, right?”, Ethan asked.
“Well they all could be considered such by modern standards”, I pressed.
Ethan scratched Tip again and then clicked away, “Negative. Titans were never considered demons even in older Fae lore. Unless your psychic was lying, which I don’t think is the case, Dimples can’t be a Titan. Plus, they weren’t that powerful with magic. They were like guardians of the original creators.”
“The original creators?”
My mother flipped a page of the book, “The Elementals. Before the Elder Fae, our world was governed by a higher power that went through shaping the nature we see. They kept balance in the world and purged what was unnatural. Disease was minimal, the soil thrived, commerce and society was built.”
“I remember my high school history teacher talking about that in ancient mythology”, Frankie recalled, “they were once seen as gods. Like a spiritual Council that existed through belief and the nuances of nature. Of course, when the Elder Fae came, they were all destroyed. The unnatural magic was like a poison to them.”
“Not even the gods could stand up to that magic”, I said.
Ethan pulled Tippler into his lap, “So this brings us to another dead end. You could try asking that psychic lady about the Titans and maybe the Icons. We already know the Netherweaves are a bust. Unless another being exists all together outside of history, then those are our only options.”
Tippler pawed at Ethan’s hoodie, “Help me find a book of erotic art history? One with lotsa pictures.”
Ethan sighed and got up, “Let’s look in the arts and entertainment section. Are you drunk again?”
“Calm down and hold the judgment, kid. I know how loud and emotional ya can get”, Tip said with a small yip.
Frankie had become quiet. I knew it had nothing to do with my tea leaves. She had already come up with a summary of my dreams and formulated a meaning that didn’t surprise her. The fortune teller worked quickly with her readings. It was our conversation about Dimples, about her origin, that had her so lost now. When the small animated garden gnome had nowhere to turn, Frankie accepted her and took her in. They were truly family. This had to hit her harder than anyone else, even me he considered the garden gnome my best friend. Frankie had lost a daughter in many ways. I sat next to her and put my hand over her own.
“I’m not giving up until I bring Dimples home”, I asserted, “no matter what she is. No matter where she came from.”
“Not all battles can be won”, she held back tears.
“This one can. I’m exceptionally stubborn and have a group of friends to help me”, I squeezed her hand, “Dimples will be coming home and Vander Voldini will pay for what he’s done.”
“I wish I could get my hands on that slime.”
I winked, “Maybe I can string him up so you can.”
“We should contact someone in the news to do a story about his circus”, my mother suggested, “put a spotlight on his operation. We can even talk about the Council investing in it. They’ll have to pull funding after that. The Council couldn’t weather a scandal of that magnitude.”
“Dimples has this binding stone attached to her that could completely damage her body, kill her, if Vander gets a whim to do it. A full exposure of this circus will just light the fuse for him”, I said.
“Plus, the back web already knows about the circus and a lot of people support it. They want to cage up anyone that’s different so they can feel safe”, Ethan said while scanning through art books.
“The internet is full of cruel intentions”, my mother huffed.
“You don’t know the half of it”, Ethan responded.
Tippler pawed at a book, “Oh this one! I think the dames spread out across the ol’ stairway are real...artistic!”
“If this gets weird, I’m dropping you on the ground”, Ethan warned.
Tippler chuckled, “Already has, buddy. Drop away!”
Ethan cried out and let the book fall with the fox on the ground. Tip didn’t seem to mind and glanced all over the open pages. I had to hide a smile at this interaction. You could take the fox out of the cowboy, but you could never take the cowboy out of the fox. He was still raging with testosterone and fondly transitioning back into his days as a rancher with an appetite for women. Tip wasn’t my first choice for a familiar but he had started to fulfill that duty without me having to ask. Frankie drew my attention to the mug where she had swished through the remaining tea leaves. I knew that I wouldn’t like her explanation.
“You fear losing the one you love to a corruption that you can’t control”, she ran her finger through the mush at the bottom of the mug, “a voice that calls him that you can’t hear on your own. A danger you couldn’t protect him from.”
“Loud and clear”, I replied.
“He isn’t lost to you in this. If you reach out, if you help him through it, you two can navigate a way forward together. Stronger”, she insisted.
“Even though getting close to him seems like a bad idea right now”, I explained, “being close to anyone romantically, really, I know that we have this connection. I don’t understand it. I can’t explain it.”
“Look inside yourself, into your nature, and you will.”
My mother grabbed the mug, “Is he handsome? Rich? Successful?”
I pulled the mug out of her grasp, “Mind your own business, mother. Stick to investigating ancient demons and trying to sleep with janitors at a circus.”
“I wouldn’t have slept with him!”, she flushed.
“Well I’m going back there with Braeden tonight. Just promise me that you’ll lay low or stay home. Elizar isn’t going and we won’t need a distraction because Rynna arranged a meeting.”
“She did?”, Tippler perked up, “Guess ya caught her at a real sentimental time. Usually she’d never think of crossing wires with Vander. He’s a small-dicked prick and can’t handle a woman taking control of anything. Shit bag.”
“I think I really drove home how much I care about Dimples. She seems convinced that talking to Dimples will change my mind on her inclusion in the circus. Won’t happen”, I promised.
“People join up or stick around fer their own reasons. I always wanted to escape and find a way to reverse this fox mess. I miss standing up to piss, ridin’ a horse in an open field, playin’ pool at a bar and takin’ someone’s girlfriend home”, Tip’s ears flattened at the memory, “things I can’t do like this. Figured I’d team up with a witch and let her switch me back. Met Cecilia, realized you’re all messed up, decided I was safer as a fox.”
“You just like getting taken care of and being free of responsibility”, my mother judged loudly.
“Ain’t wrong there”, he agreed.
“Dimples couldn’t be happy in a place like that when she has us”, I said defensively, “and she was kidnapped. Whatever Vander has hanging over her head, I’m going to challenge it. I’ll convince her to come home and make sense of her origins.”
<
br /> “Ain’t always that easy”, Tippler replied to me.
It wasn’t. I couldn’t fathom why Dimples would willingly stay enslaved to a shrewd businessman that wanted to exploit her differences in his very own freak show. Why would she want that kind of attention? She had stayed in Crestwood because Frankie gave her a quiet life, a cottage on the roof of the store, a bevy of books she could lose herself in. Anything Vander could offer would be worthless to her. It had to be the binding stone. My mother already admitted that she couldn’t undo a spell of that magnitude. Rynna had said that each stone had it’s own unbinding formula and it was stuck inside Vander’s office. There was no way he would let me inside or put his guard down so I could snoop around for it. I might not even know that kind of morally-gray magic if I saw it. As sinister as my father was, he never taught me those lessons.
I was at a loss on a way to solve that problem when the answer became painfully simple to me. An avenue I shouldn’t cross and something that none of my friends would approve of. Still, it was a way to find out and get that formula. If I had it in my hands, then I could figure it out with Elizar’s help and undo the stone that bonded to Dimples. I could free her of any worry and run with her out of that circus. Then I would come back to finish the job. I just needed a way into his office, a way to get his trust and find him off guard. I knew just the way to solve that problem. I hid the cringe in my expression as I knocked on the door, painted boldly red, and waited for the answer. The one face I didn’t want to see willingly yet was subjected to every so often. The one person I definitely couldn’t trust but needed.
“It’s everyone’s least favorite unemployed investigator”, came the condescendingly sweet voice of Cecilia Blaine, “what brings you to my modest town house? Eviction have you looking for a roommate? Sorry sweetie, I can’t bring your aura of failure into my energy field.”