Did she think that Reg was being held hostage? Or did she have some other scenario in mind?
Reg just shook her head. “Of course. I’m fine, but if I need anyone, I know who to call.”
Francesca gave her one more perplexed look, and then walked out of the cottage.
Chapter Thirteen
Reg watched Francesca walk away. She shut the door and locked the two locks.
“I wonder what that was all about.” She spoke to Starlight, though the words weren’t really meant for anyone but herself. “Why did she come over here? Just to gossip? To see if Sarah was right and I am… whatever Sarah said?”
Reg looked toward the big house. That was, she knew, where Sarah lived. She searched her memory for any fragments. Sarah Bishop. A witch so old she might have lived in Salem during the great witch furors. Reg didn’t think Sarah had ever told her whether she was part of that situation, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
What had Sarah told Francesca about Reg? Reg didn’t like being out of the loop. But Francesca had been too cagey, not wanting to declare out loud what they were talking about. That Reg was part… what? Part of a group Francesca or Sarah had a low opinion of? Or the opposite, of a group they admired? And what had that comment about eggs been about? Reg didn’t know if she had been hinting at a desire for eggs for breakfast? Or was it something else?
No eggs. No eggs today.
Maybe she meant that she only wanted toast and not any eggs. It was impossible to guess.
“People should say what they mean,” Reg told Starlight. “They shouldn’t come over here hinting and acting like they know what they’re talking about. Or like I know what they’re talking about.”
The first thing to do was to go out and get a newspaper. Reg could read up on what was going on in the community and around the world. It would trigger memories, and from that, she would be able to reconstruct her life. No one would have to know that there was anything wrong. Francesca might have some lingering doubts for a few days, but when everything went back to normal with Reg, she would soon forget that she’d ever had anything to worry about. In Reg’s experience, people were very quick to forget things that didn’t fit properly. They would rather believe that everything was just the way it had always been, ignoring any minor differences that might have given it away.
That was what allowed people like Reg to hide in plain sight.
She should have guessed that it wouldn’t be long before that busybody Sarah Bishop got involved. She had always been a thorn in Reg’s side. Instead of reassuring Francesca that everything was fine with Reg, she had apparently bought into Francesca’s concerns. Now there were two of them Reg would have to convince that everything was fine. And just the way it always had been.
Almost as soon as Reg stepped onto the pathway outside the cottage, Sarah popped out of the back door of the big house. “Oh, Reg!” she greeted, as if she were surprised to see her there and it was only coincidence that they both went out at the same time. “How are you doing this morning? Going out already?”
“Yes, lovely,” Reg agreed. “Just thought I’d pop out and pick up a newspaper.”
Sarah frowned and cocked her head to the side. “A newspaper. Well, why don’t you come in? I get it delivered every day.”
Reg hadn’t been expecting the offer. She could still go out to find her own, but then it would probably look even more suspicious. If Reg weren’t the type of person who usually read the paper, then going out to get her own when there was already one available would be strange. Unless she needed a copy of her own because she wanted to save a clipping. But of what? She wasn’t quick enough on her feet to come up with something, so she nodded acquiescence and followed Sarah into her large, comfortable kitchen.
“I’ll just get today’s, why don’t I?” Sarah offered. She disappeared down the hall for a moment and returned with the local rag.
Reg spread it out on the table, glancing through headlines, trying to get up to speed on what had been happening in Black Sands lately and if she’d had anything to do with it. There were a few articles on the Spring Games and saying goodbye to the many visitors who had brought tourist dollars into the town. It had been a good boost to the economy.
There were some local happenings around spring equinox. Nothing specifically about Reg or about psychics. Whatever the gossip was about Reg around town, it apparently hadn’t made its way to the news.
“Are you looking for something in particular?” Sarah asked. “I thought you would find it on your phone…”
Her phone again. Reg ran her fingers through her red box braids. “It’s not working right now. I’m not looking for anything in particular… just seeing what’s going on.”
“Oh. Well, it’s all been pretty quiet since the end of the Spring Games. You know how it is; unusual things always happen during Ostara, and when you throw the Games and all of the visitors in, it does cause a certain amount of… disruption in the magical balance.”
“Yes.” Obviously, Reg would be familiar with that. “Yes, it looks like things have quieted down. Gone… back to normal.”
“No unwanted intruders last night,” Sarah said. “It looks like the wards are holding. Or what I said at coven had some impact.”
Intruders? Reg’s ears perked up at that. What kind of intruders?
“You slept well?” Sarah asked, when Reg didn’t contribute anything of interest.
“Yes. I slept just fine.” Reg thought about that after she said it. “Well… other than dreams, I mean. But I felt reasonably well-rested this morning.”
Sarah scratched her ear. “That’s good to hear. You are up early, that’s why I wondered. I thought maybe you weren’t able to sleep and were still up from last night.”
“No. I slept. I guess I was just ready to get up earlier today.”
“Can I get you a coffee? Tea?”
Reg shook her head and looked around the kitchen. Reg might be friendly with this witch, but that didn’t mean eating and drinking with her. Not when Sarah could slip something into her coffee that could affect her. A truth serum or something to calm her nerves.
She looked back down at the newspaper, paging through it more slowly. She even paused to skim classified ads, looking for any unusual patterns or coded messages. But everything seemed normal. Boring, even.
“Thank you for the use of your paper,” she said finally, closing it. “That was very nice of you.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“I’m not looking for anything particular,” Reg told her. “Just seeing what’s going on.”
Walking back through the yard, Reg had an uneasy feeling that someone else was there, watching her covertly. She looked around a few times, trying to catch them at it, but she couldn’t see anyone. Shifting shadows under the trees, but no person.
She looked down just in time to avoid stepping on a snake. She halted abruptly, foot still in the air. The snake’s head bobbed up and down, watching her with wary eyes,
“Well, hello,” Reg greeted in a low, even voice.
She put her foot down carefully. The snake’s head weaved back and forth. She half expected it to strike, but it did not. She bent closer to it, staring into its black, empty eyes.
“Reg Rawlins!”
She startled, just a small muscle twitch, nothing big enough to trigger the snake. A little old man hurried toward her. He held a spade, and when he got close, he moved it cautiously toward the snake, trying to move it off the pathway. The snake struck once and, finding its way blocked by the man with the shovel, it eventually uncoiled and slithered off into the grass, disappearing into the bushes.
The little man looked up at Reg expectantly.
“Thank you,” Reg acknowledged, but she really hadn’t been worried about the snake, so she wasn’t sure why he had acted the way he had.
He stood there for a minute looking at her and not saying anything, then eventually, he said tersely: “Poison.”
His eyes rounded. He cocked his head to the side as if expecting her to say more, but she didn’t have anything else to say. She had thanked him for his perceived good deed. What else did he want?
“You can’t hear Forst?” he asked finally.
Forst was, she assumed his name.
“I can hear you just fine.”
He looked doubtful. “But inside words?”
Reg blinked at him, uncertain what this meant. She shrugged. “I need to get back into the house. I think I might have left the stove on when I went to see Sarah.”
His forehead wrinkled in consternation. Clearly, he expected her to stay outside chatting with him for longer. They were friends, and he was used to more attention.
“Sorry. We’ll talk later.”
He nodded his head, pointed red cap bobbing, and he turned to go back the way he had come. Reg looked into the bushes to see if she could find the snake again, but it was gone.
Chapter Fourteen
Maybe because Reg had gotten up so early, she hit a wall shortly after noon, finding herself exhausted and hardly able to keep her eyes open. After resisting for a little while, she finally decided she wasn’t going to get through the day without a nap. Though she had felt good when she had woken up in the morning, she had not had enough sleep to make it through the day.
Starlight was curled up sleeping on her bed. He raised his head to look at her, making an inquiring purr-meowing noise. Reg scratched his head and crawled onto the bed, curling up in the middle to close her eyes. Starlight got up and stretched, his whole body trembling with the effort. Then he made his way over to her, curling up against her leg and purring contentedly. It was nice to have the warm, soft form fitted against her.
While she had only intended to lie down for twenty minutes or so, just long enough to get her engine going again, but she knew when she woke up that several hours had passed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. They were sticky and her vision blurry. She blinked and petted Starlight, who rubbed against her and head-butted her.
“Yes, I had a good nap. How about you? Did you have a nice one?” She asked.
Starlight seemed to be happy; she assumed his nap had gone well. He jumped off the bed and made a noise for her to follow him. Reg grabbed her phone from the bedside table and followed.
She rubbed the back of her head and neck. She turned her neck, cracking it several times and trying to work out the kinks and the stiffness. That was one of the problems with sleeping in the afternoon. Headaches, grogginess, and a stiff neck were common side effects. She wandered out to the kitchen and put some food in Starlight’s bowl without really paying much attention. She tried to remember what she had done during the morning, but wasn’t sure what she had done that had made her so tired. It had just been a regular day. Other than the fact that she had gotten up too early.
There were still no appointments on her calendar. Sarah hadn’t been by, or if she had, she hadn’t added any more appointments for that week. Reg didn’t look any farther ahead than that.
“What should we do for the rest of the day?” Reg inquired. “I should probably go for a walk, stretch my legs. Sitting around at home all day isn’t good, and I haven’t exactly been keeping up my activity level. If I’m going to eat more, like I have been, then I’d better step things up a bit.”
She could even start exercise classes at the community center or a nearby gym. She knew they did yoga classes. Maybe spin and some kind of aerobics, though she knew they called it by a different name now. She’d never been a member of a gym before, but then, she’d never had any leisure time either. Now that she had the one, she might need to balance it out.
Reg decided she should just take the bull by the horns instead of debating it with herself. She didn’t want to talk herself out of going for a walk and end up just spending the rest of the day in front of the TV and phone screen. She put on what she hoped were good walking shoes and a hat, and set out. She walked around the path to the front of the big house and saw Forst watering the garden. He looked just like one of the ceramic gnomes people posed in their gardens as decorations. She smiled at his studious look and reached out to him in her mind.
How’s the garden coming along?
He looked around, startled. He frowned for a moment. Is Reg Rawlins feeling better?
Reg stopped. She had intended to just call out to him as she passed, but his question gave her pause. Better? I suppose. I had a nap this afternoon, and I’m feeling pretty good. A little groggy, but I figured a walk and the fresh air would do me good.
Forst stroked his long white beard. That is good. I was worried this morning…
Reg tried to remember what he would have had to be concerned about. Had she even seen him in the morning? She was getting her days mixed up. Umm… this morning? Why?
Forst pulled the curvy pipe out of his pocket and fiddled for a few minutes, preparing the tobacco and lighting it, then puffing rings of smoke.
The snake, he reminded her eventually. You did not heed my warnings… When I chased it away, you seemed… disappointed.
Reg’s mouth fell open. She looked for words but couldn’t find them, even though she only needed to form them in her head and not have to explain herself to Forst out loud. She shook her head slightly, trying to understand what he was talking about.
The snake?
Forst raised his bushy gray eyebrows and nodded, puffing on the pipe. Very dangerous. Most humans would panic. But not Reg Rawlins.
I don’t like snakes.
He didn’t seem to believe this. And also, you did not… hear me. When I spoke the inside words, you did not answer. Only outside words.
Knowing how difficult it was for Forst to express himself out loud, Reg would never have demanded he speak to her audibly. It was baffling.
I don’t… I don’t even remember what you’re talking about. There was a snake? And I couldn’t hear your telepathy? Are you sure… this wasn’t a dream? It sounds like one of my dreams. I’ve been having a lot of nightmares about snakes lately.
She remembered before when she had been dreaming about spiders. There had been a reason for that. She considered whether there was a psychic explanation as to why she had been dreaming about snakes. And why Reg could not remember it.
Not a dream, Forst insisted, shaking his head. This morning, on the pathway. He pointed back the way Reg had come. A diamondback.
Reg didn’t know a lot about venomous snakes, having grown up in the north where they were rarer, and usually in the city where snakes did not venture, at least not in the areas where she had lived. But she knew that a diamondback rattler was one of the most deadly snakes in Florida.
In the yard here? She gestured at Sarah’s back yard. There can’t be one here, in the yard!
Forst nodded seriously. Snakes come and go. In the garden, there are places to hide. They do not usually bother humans, so noisy and clumsy are they.
And did I see it? I must not have seen it.
You saw, he insisted. You were looking at it. Talking to it. But you heard not my words. I had to run over, he made a gesture, chase it away. Could have been hurt if I didn’t have my shovel. Reg Rawlins could have been hurt.
Yes… well, thank you so much for doing that. I’m so sorry that I don’t… Reg shook her head. That I don’t even remember it. It’s very strange.
Forst nodded, smoking and considering the strange occurrence. Things have been bad lately for Reg Rawlins? he asked. First, the eggs and the broken window? And now…
But this isn’t something that the witches did. This is… just a coincidence, right? They couldn’t have had anything to do with this.
He took the pipe stem out of his mouth, tapped the bowl, and put it back in his mouth. Talk to Sarah Bishop about the spell they cast. What kind of spell? He shook his head grimly.
Well… I don’t know. It was just supposed to protect them from harm. That’s what Sar
ah said.
Forst shook his head doubtfully. Other magic going on here. Strange happenings.
Reg swallowed. I’m going for a walk now, she told him. But I will ask Sarah about it later. She said she was going to put wards outside to keep us safe… so there shouldn’t have been anything dangerous in the garden, should there? That diamondback… I just don’t understand it.
Wards against witches are not wards against snakes.
No. I guess not.
He nodded meditatively, and Reg left him there smoking his funny-looking pipe.
Chapter Fifteen
Reg had never been big on walking. When she was a kid, she had walked or ridden her bike a lot, because as a kid, it was the only way to get around. But as an adult, she’d avoided extra physical exertion. She was often counting her pennies to be able to eat, so less activity was better if she were to be able to afford enough food to keep her healthy.
All of which was to say that she didn’t enjoy her walk around her Black Sands neighborhood nearly as much as she had imagined she would. She tired quickly and the walking shoes were rubbing where they shouldn’t, making her worry she would get blisters. There were a lot of elegant houses like Sarah’s with beautifully tended grounds. No gardens quite as nice as Sarah’s had been since she had hired the garden gnome, but that was to be expected. Reg had thought she would enjoy looking at the architecture and at the bright greens that abounded in Florida, but she had quickly become more concerned about her feet than anything around her.
So she was back before she had traveled as far or as long as she had planned to.
Reg looked at the house and tried to decide whether to talk to Sarah about what was going on. There were too many strange things happening for her to figure it out, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Sarah everything. Some things a person just wanted to keep to herself.
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