by Maeve Hart
“The subject of marriage just hasn’t come up between us,” Abbie said, now looking a little sad.
“Why did you and Jacques choose to get married rather than live together?” Granny asked me.
I never had been comfortable answering any of my grandmother’s questions, more so now that I was a shifter. “I guess we’re just old-fashioned.”
Granny burst out laughing. “Oh, the kettle.” She stood up and popped the cat into my lap.
The cat stared at me before he jumped away from me, following my grandmother into the kitchen.
Abbie whispered, “It sounds like she knows you’re a shifter and know an Alpha.”
“No, she couldn’t possibly.”
“The cat doesn’t like you,” Abbie said.
“I noticed.”
“Who does she think broke in and stole her stuff?”
“I’ll tell you all about it later. It’s a long story.”
My grandmother came back into the room with a tray of tea and placed it down on the coffee table.
“I’ll pour,” I said, then I looked down and noticed my diamond, or rather my tychrid, glowing. I tried to hide it while working out where the danger was coming from.
Granny looked annoyed. “You don’t pour it now.”
“I know, I’ve got to let it steep.”
“I just use tea bags at home,” Abbie said, which made my grandmother’s face twinge with disapproval.
“You’ve got a lovely house here, Mrs. Stephens.”
“I like it. It’s very old.”
“I can see that.” Abbie stared at the roses on the pressed metal ceiling.
“I’ll take you on a tour after our tea if you’d like.”
Abbie nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Yes, and you’d like Granny’s doll collection in the spare room.”
Granny laughed. “Destiny always thought the dolls were possessed.”
“Are they?” Abbie asked.
“Yes,” I insisted.
“They are not, Destiny. They’re just dolls. I like them.”
“And she’s got clown dolls,” I added. “And they’re much creepier than the regular dolls.”
Abbie giggled when my grandmother berated me again.
I ignored her and the cat sitting by Granny’s feet while I poured the tea. The cat was glaring at me. I could tell the cat knew my secrets. Now I knew that Milford, Jacques’ uncle, had been getting close to Granny so he could steal his father’s remains.
“Drink your tea, Destiny, and tell me if you like it. It’s a special blend.” I brought the teacup to my lips while Granny told Abbie more about the tea, but my glowing ring disturbed me. After I had placed the teacup down, I walked to the window.
Police cars were outside the house and police were getting out of their cars. Looking further up the street, I saw the car we’d driven there in slowly moving away. Lewis was saving himself. He’d been outnumbered, so I didn’t blame him.
“Come back and drink your tea, Destiny,” Granny said.
“It’s the police and they’re coming here.” I glanced around at Abbie and didn’t know whether we should run, but with Lewis and the car gone where would we go?
Abbie jumped up just as the police bashed on the door.
“Ignore them, girls, and just drink your tea. I’ll answer the door, Destiny! Drink your tea before it gets cold.” Granny stared at me. “Sit down, Destiny!”
I quickly sat.
“Have you had your tea?” She was scaring me, so I nodded and then she turned her attention to Abbie.
“Abbie, sit down!” When both of us were seated, she ordered, “Now drink your tea, girls!”
My diamond was glowing furiously and it was then I knew Granny had poisoned the tea.
CHAPTER 22
“Don’t drink the tea!” I whispered to Abbie.
Granny was halfway to the door while the banging on the door got louder.
“Police. Open up!”
“I drank my tea, Granny,” I lied and then saw an evil smile light up her face as she turned around. “Quickly, Granny. I just want to know what this means: Under the full moon the walls are the ninth week.”
“Ah, well, I suppose it won’t matter if you know now. Since even a mouthful of what you just drank will kill a shifter or a human.” She cackled and I was surprised she’d admitted it.
I ignored her confession as though I’d never heard it. “What does it mean?”
The knocking got louder. Any second, they’d kick the door in. I’d seen them do that on TV.
“The walls between the worlds come down on the ninth week of the full moon. Creatures like you can leave their shadowy graves, but only for one week if they so choose. By the end of the week, they return to the dust of their dark graves.”
“And they can do that every time—every ninth week of the lunar year?”
“Only if it coincides with the full moon.” She peered into my face. “How are you feeling?”
I doubled over and held my stomach as though I’d been poisoned.
“I’m coming!” Granny called out to the police who had just warned they were going to kick the door down.
“What shall we do?” Abbie asked while Granny went to let them in.
“You didn’t drink any tea?”
“Only a sip.”
I sat with her, hoping that the small amount she’d had wouldn’t affect her.
“We know nothing. Don’t tell them anything,” I whispered to Abbie when the police burst through the door.
After she took a sharp intake of breath, Abbie nodded.
One of the four police that had burst into the house announced they had a warrant.
“A warrant for what?” Granny asked, blocking their way as she held up the sides of her long flowing dress to form wings.
“We have reason to believe there are narcotics on the premises.”
“Look all you want.” Granny put her hands to her sides as the police piled into the house. “You won’t find anything like that here. Although, you can’t go in there.” Granny followed two men who dared to venture into her spell room.
“Who are you?” an officer asked Abbie and myself.
“I’m Esmeralda’s granddaughter and this is my friend. Who told you there are narcotics here?”
“We can’t say, Ma’am, but the evidence was strong enough for a warrant to be granted.”
I looked out the window and saw Detective Andrews standing near his car. My ring was still glowing. Was that keeping him away from us just as it had at Abbie’s house?
While the officer in the same room as us was searching, I motioned to Abbie to join me in the kitchen. Abbie looked weird. “Are you okay?”
Just as we stepped into the kitchen, Abbie went into some kind of seizure and froth came out of her mouth. Not knowing what to do, I held her upright. Then the seizure ended.
“I’ve got to get you out of here. I don’t think Lewis would’ve gone too far. He’s probably only a few streets away.”
“He left?”
“Yes. Follow me,” I said to Abbie.
The officers didn’t see us leave and we managed to climb over the back fence and cut through a neighbor’s yard. Soon we were in the street parallel to Granny’s.
“Told you. There’s the car,” I said to Abbie with great relief. We walked quickly to the car since I didn’t want anyone to see us running. I knocked on the car window and saw Lewis jump. He hadn’t seen us coming. Once he released the central locking, we jumped into the car.
“What happened?” he asked as the car softly rumbled into action.
My heart was still pounding. “Quick! Abbie’s been poisoned. She had a sip of tea and Granny had poisoned it. We’ve got to get her to a doctor.”
He picked up his phone and made a call. Once he reached the doctor, he gave me the phone and I had to describe Abbie’s symptoms. When I was done, I gave the phone back to Lewis and he told the doctor to meet us at the plane.
“They had a warrant to search the place for narcotics.”
“That’s odd.”
Abbie had another episode and I held her upright, not knowing what else to do. She complained of a constriction in her throat and aching muscles. I didn’t want Abbie to die because of me. Tears ran down my cheeks and I could do nothing to stop them. When the episode ended, I told Lewis everything Granny had told me about the Alpha shifter’s remains going missing and who she suspected of taking them. “Are we taking her to a doctor right now?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Jacques’ uncle must be with The Light, along with Andrews,” Lewis said. “He’s got some evil intentions and that’s why he stole his father’s remains.”
“But he’s Jacques’ uncle. Jacques trusts him.”
“We thought there was a leak in the information somewhere. Now we know.”
“How do you figure that?”
Lewis said, “Jacques has been suspicious of him for some time.”
“Yes, but Jacques doesn’t know for sure, does he? And he might be in trouble. Since the police don’t have Jacques do you have any idea where he is?”
When Lewis kept silent and continued staring at the road, I knew that he knew exactly where Jacques was.
“Lewis, if you know, we have to get word to him not to trust his uncle.”
“Just look after Abbie. He told me to keep you safe. Now that includes Abbie, and that’s what I’m going to do. Jacques can look after himself.”
“Is the pack all in one place?”
He nodded. “Most of them, anyway. We’ll find out more when we get there.”
“Where are we going?” Abbie asked.
“We’re going to an island. And a doctor will be meeting us at the plane.”
I stared open-mouthed at Abbie and she looked just as surprised. Jacques had mentioned an island and moving the pack there, but the way he talked I assumed it was a vague plan for the future.
Everything was going horribly wrong. My eyes were sore from crying so much and my head ached and I felt as though everything was spinning. The sensation was the same as when I’d gone on a fast carnival ride when I was a kid. They didn’t stop when I wanted to get off. Having no control over things was the worst feeling of all.
“Neither one of you are afraid of flying, are you?” Lewis asked.
“In a plane?” Abbie asked.
“Of course, in a plane.”
“A plane’s fine. We’re going in a plane?” I asked.
“I did say it was an island.”
“But I thought there might be a bridge from the mainland or something.” I sniffed back tears. All I wanted was Jacques’ arms around me and then everything would be alright.
Lewis didn’t answer. Abbie put her head on my shoulder and I stroked her hair, trying my best to comfort her. “I can’t believe she tried to kill us.” Tears streamed down my face, as I remembered it was only days ago Granny had asked me to pass on her Book of Shadows to my children. Since then, she must’ve found out about me somehow.
When I felt Abbie’s body stiffen, I looked at her face to see it crumpled in pain.
“We’re not far now,” Lewis said.
“How long before we get to the island?”
“Around two hours in the plane.”
When we stopped the car, he grabbed our bags and ushered us into the small aircraft. There was only one pilot. I was hoping like hell the pilot wouldn’t have a heart attack or something awful. I didn’t know how to fly a plane and I only hoped Lewis could fly one as a backup plan.
I looked at Abbie. “How are you feeling?”
“Not good.” She lay down across two seats. If Abbie died because of me I’d never forgive myself. I looked around and couldn’t see a doctor. Lewis got into the plane behind us. “Where’s the doctor?”
“We’re waiting for him. He’s not far away,” Lewis said.
“Is he one of us?”
“Yes. He’s moving to the island with us soon.”
I stared out the window, waiting for a car to show up. If the doctor didn’t hurry, Abbie could die. Then I saw a black car in the distance. “Is this him?”
Lewis looked out the open door of the plane. “I think so.” He ran down the steps away from us.
“I don’t want to die, Destiny.” Abbie lifted her hand and I clasped onto it.
“I won’t let you. Everything will be okay. Just hang on. The doctor’s here now.”
A flustered looking gray-haired man stepped onto the plane holding two bags, and Lewis was right behind him. Lewis then secured the door and we started moving.
“There she is,” I said to the doctor.
Immediately, he went to work making Abbie swallow various things. I sat there helpless. I could tell from Lewis’ face he felt as bad as me.
The plane ride was dreadful. I was worried about Abbie the whole time and she was complaining of her neck being stiff and I was afraid she was going to be paralyzed. When the plane landed on the airstrip, the door opened and there were two men waiting to whisk Abbie and the doctor away. They placed her in a wheelchair and as they wheeled her to a waiting white van, I grabbed the doctor’s arm.
“Will she live?”
“We’re doing everything to save her. I’d like to say yes, but I can’t guarantee it. I’d say she has a sixty percent chance of recovery.”
“Sixty, so that’s better than fifty fifty?”
He nodded and then turned and hurried to the van.
“I should go with her,” I said to Lewis.
“No, she won’t be far. I’ll take you to your new home and then we can see her later.”
We walked over to what looked like a golf cart and then we drove about a mile.
“Are we on a tropical island?” I could smell the sea air, but couldn’t see the water from where we were.
“Yes.”
There were palm trees and jungle-like undergrowth. When the trees thinned, I saw cabins—thatched-roofed cabins that suited the area perfectly.
“This looks nice. Where will Abbie be? Will she live?”
“The doctor knows what he’s doing. Don’t worry—I’ll take you to see her.”
There were people walking around. Some I knew and some I didn’t. “So, this is more than just our pack?”
“This is all of us. The pack from the mainland and there were more of us who’d gathered here. All the families chose to come here.”
That wasn’t how Jacques had told me things. “I wonder why Jacques didn’t tell me about this. He mentioned the island but I pictured it as an uninhabited island.”
“He tells you things when you’re ready to hear them, in my experience. Here we are.” He stopped at a cabin that looked like the same as the others.
“So everyone here’s a shifter?”
“Yes. We’re free to run around the island every night if we want.”
I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. It sounded perfect. If Abbie lived and Jacques was safe, it’d be perfect.
Walking into the cabin, I saw big open windows and a high-pitched ceiling with polished bamboo flooring underfoot. I walked into the rooms to find out there were two bathrooms and two bedrooms. I was impressed. It looked like high-class tropical island resort accommodation. “It’s beautiful. Rustic, but with all the mod cons.”
“Look in the cupboard,” Lewis said.
I went to open the kitchen cupboard.
“No, the wardrobe in the bedroom, I meant.”
I walked into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe. It was full of clothes, from shoes to everything else I’d need. I pulled out a blouse and then a T-shirt—everything was my size.
“Jacques got it all ready for you.”
“Wow, everything’s here.”
“Jacques was hoping you’d like it.”
“I do. I love it, but can we go back to Abbie? I can’t concentrate on anything until I know she’ll be okay.”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
I didn’t have a good feeling about Abbie. Jacques was right—I should’ve listened to him about Granny.
We drove to a white brick building that looked out of place from what I’d seen so far of the island.
The doctor met us at the door. “She’s taken a turn for the worse,” he told us.
“I’d say she’s ingested a small amount of strychnine.”
I recalled the detective telling me a long time ago that strychnine tastes bitter. It made me wonder if Granny had killed Don after all. A million scenarios ran through my head. Perhaps Jennifer only admitted to killing Don because she was overwhelmed when Peter had been killed. She might have been too weak to fight for her innocence.
The doctor continued, “I’ve given her an infusion of activated charcoal, which will work on absorbing the poison, and I’ve given her other medication that should help, but the next attack she has could be her last. The patient can only have about ten of them, from this kind of poisoning, before death. What happens is that the tissue paralyzes—”
I put my hands over my ears.
Lewis pulled on my arm. “There is a solution.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“She becomes one of us. We heal ourselves and then she’ll never die.”
“We couldn’t.”
“Ask her,” Lewis suggested.
“Can we see her?” I asked the doctor.
“She’s right through that door.”
I burst through the door to see her lying down. She had dark circles under her eyes and she was pale and looked exhausted. I grabbed her limp, clammy hand. “Abbie.”
“Am I going to die?” Abbie asked before I could ask her anything.
“There is a chance you could die,” I said, willing myself to hold it together. “Or you could become one of us. We don’t die. Well, we can die if we’re killed in specific ways, but we don’t die of natural causes. That could save you, Abbie. You need to make the choice and make it now.” I sensed Lewis behind me, but I didn’t take my eyes off Abbie.
“Yes. I don’t want to die. Yes, I will become one of you.”
Lewis stepped forward. “Are you sure?” He reached out and took her hand from me.