Suicide Pier was part of the East Cove Marina—a city-owned marina that rented out slips for boats, including houseboats. While the ferry landed at the Ice Cove, along the northeastern part of the island, and shipping docked over at Sunset Cove, East Cove Marina was for noncommercial use. Besides slips for boats and houseboats, there were boat launches, kayak rentals, and a roped-off enclosure for swimming well away from the water traffic.
I found Suicide Pier and strolled down the wooden path until I was almost at the end. Finally, in the tangle of houseboats, I saw Slip 15 ahead. Sure enough, the boat moored at the dock was blue with white trim. It was a tidy little boat, looking just big enough for one person to live in. I squinted, shading my eyes, but it was impossible to tell if Gillymack was home from the dock.
The houseboat was cute, looking very much like a long rectangular box. The back end was two stories, so he probably had a loft up there, and a tall window opened out onto the rest of the roof to patio chairs and table. The houseboat wasn’t level with the walkway. The tide was coming in, but it wouldn’t be at full strength for a number of hours yet. A metal ladder was fastened to the side of the dock, hanging down far enough to reach the boat at low tide.
I grimaced. I didn’t care for ladders, but it was the only way I was going to get down on that boat. I took hold of the handles, testing it to make certain it was firmly attached to the pilings, then cautiously lowered my foot onto the first rung. As I began my way down, I heard a voice coming from below.
“Lovely sight, Maddy!”
Gillymack. He was looking right up my dress.
“Keep your eyes to yourself, dude. Either I come down or you come up.”
“Oh, come on down. I’ll show you my new digs.” He sounded a little too jovial. I had a feeling he’d been nipping at a bottle of something.
I grunted, working my way down the rungs. If I thought he was sober, I would have insisted he climb up to meet me on the walkway, but I didn’t want to be responsible for him falling into the water. Granted, he could shift into his merfolk form, but I wasn’t sure how easy it was when he was drunk. I finally reached the houseboat and, avoiding his all-too-eager helping hands, I landed on the edge of the boat without a problem.
The tide smelled of brine and decay and I wrinkled my nose. I appreciated the scent when I wasn’t right next to it, but here it was strong and I smelled dead fish. Wondering if that had something to do with Gillymack, or it was just some poor fish that had gone belly up in the harbor, I turned around.
He was tall—all of the merfolk were tall when in human form—and lean, with a swimmer’s body. His hair was long, blond, and wavy, and his face clean-shaven. None of the mermen ever grew beards. I didn’t even know if they had facial hair at all. His eyes were piercing blue, and his smile, infectious. It was easy to see how they convinced humans to join in their fun, but they were notorious about spreading STDs—brine-itch, fishrot, and kelprash were the most common.
“Hey, Maddy doll, what are you doing here?” He made it sound sexy. Like an invitation. But Gillymack didn’t have a thing for me. He was that way with all women. Merfolk had voracious sexual appetites and were the unsavory waterborne counterparts to satyrs. But satyrs were more fun. At least they paid attention to their partners’ needs.
“I have a few questions for you.” I slid around behind him, keeping out of reach. Gillymack wasn’t above getting grabby.
“How about if I give you some answers?” He swung in toward me, closing the distance between us. Granted, there wasn’t far to go on this boat, but he was getting too up close and personal. I reached out and firmly put my hand against his chest.
“Hold on there, dude. I’m not here to play. I need some information.”
He tilted his head, winking. “You need lessons? I can give you lessons.” He was close enough that I could smell the beer on his breath. It was overpowering. Merfolk had a love for alcohol, but very little tolerance for it. A few beers and they were weaving around drunk. I could have drunk him under the table and probably into the grave.
“Gillymack, I swear, you back up a step or I’ll smack you a good one and that’s not an innuendo. Listen to me, it’s important. I need to pick your brain.”
With a sigh, he backed off. “You’re no fun. I’d love to take you for a spin, girl. You’ve got the best boobs.” He was staring at my chest.
While my breasts were big—a G cup—I wasn’t interested in what Gillymack wanted right now. I peered into the houseboat. It looked like a pigsty. He probably hadn’t cleaned up in weeks. Deciding against going in, I shoved him into one of the chairs on the deck of the boat and sat in the other that was far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to paw at me. He sneezed, then wiped his nose on his arm.
“All right, all right. What do you want?”
“What I want is to ask you about King Leonal. Do you remember when the Strand was owned by your people?”
Gillymack’s eyes widened. “Oh, yeah. I remember some kickass parties there. We had a high old time until the city council shut us down. That was when Bedlam was starting to expand.”
I tried to think about how to phrase my next question. “Do you think that if somebody in the Meré community was still upset about the sale of the Strand, they might attack Sandy? Somebody burned down her restaurant the other day. And they hid a ghost snail in her van.”
Gillymack’s expression went from lecherous to startled. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No. I wish I was. She’s in a coma right now.”
“Holy Mother of Pearl. I had no idea.” Now upset, he leaned forward, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I know you two are BFFs. Listen, you know that I got kicked out of Ocana a few years back.” He paused as I looked confused.
“Ocana? Is that the name of your pod?”
Blinking, Gillymack laughed. “Pod? I’m not a selkie. Ocana is the merfolk city.”
I blinked. “I know, but I thought merfolk also lived in pods like selkies.”
“Nah. The selkies don’t actually have a home base under the water, but we do. While there are a number of merfolk cities throughout the oceans, most of them are bigger than Ocana, but size doesn’t always matter.”
That was also news to me. I realized that there was a whole lot about the Pretcom that I didn’t know, but then again, humans weren’t always up on the goings-on of all their peoples, either. “So, you can’t go back to your city?”
“Right. I mostly hang out in the waters around here, and I finally rented myself a land-pad, as you can see. The job at Bouncing Goats is pretty dope and I like having something to do, even though you wouldn’t think so. So if you’re thinking I might have done it, lose that thought immediately.”
“I don’t believe you did this, Gillymack. You’re many things, but you’re no killer. And yeah, I know that you are at odds with your people.” I took a slow breath. “While I know you can’t go back home, is there any way you could find out anything about any merfolk in town? We don’t keep detailed records on who’s living here in Bedlam, except for vamps. I figure that whoever did this has to have some connection to the town, or they wouldn’t have known that Sandy was building a restaurant on the Strand.”
He shivered, then, and I had never seen Gillymack afraid of anything, but right at this moment, he looked fearful. “I dunno, Mad. But I’ll try. My people have long memories, though, including against our own. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know, but please don’t tell anyone where you got the information or I could be fish bait. But I’ll nose around and see if I can find out anything. Give me your digits and I’ll ring you when I know anything.”
I blinked. Gillymack agreeing to help was more than I expected. I gave him my phone number. “Do not make obscene phone calls to me, get it?”
“Yeah, I get it.” He winked at me, a faint smile returning to his lips. “But if you’d give me a chance, I think you’d come back for seconds.”
“If I gave yo
u a chance, I’d have to go in for meds. And my boyfriend would decide to test just how red your blood is. You know he’s a vampire.” With a snort, I turned back to the ladder. “And Gillymack, don’t stare up my dress as I climb back up, all right? It’s rude.”
He shrugged, but waved as I headed back to the ladder and began to climb up to the walkway. He really wasn’t a bad lout, for a horny merman.
THE DRIVE TO Garret’s house took me toward the northwest side of the island. Garret James lived in the seedy section of Bedlam, where some of the shadier members of the Pretcom lived. Every small town has its darker side, and we were no exception. Walking in the neighborhood in the Balefrost section could result in getting mugged or worse. While most violent crime rates were low, occasionally we’d get a scumbag move into town, and there wasn’t much that could be done about it until they committed a crime. But violence—other than the drunken bar brawl—was met with swift and harsh punishment.
As I eased into the parking spot in front of his house, I stared up at the shack that Garret called home. Or at least, it appeared to be a shack. He had a strong glamour spell covering the facade of his house. From the street, it looked weathered and falling apart, with broken siding and a patchy roof. But once you crossed through the veil, it was well tended and tidy.
Garret lived next to a graveyard and the area was thick with ghosts, so I tended to narrow my focus. Sometimes when ghosts realized a witch was around, they got pushy about trying to communicate and it was hard to filter them out. So I cloaked my energy so they couldn’t sense me. As I dashed up the two flights of steep stone steps, the grunge began to fade and, as I passed through the waves of illusion, the house came into full view. It was really a prim cottage with flowers surrounding it, and a well-tended lawn, and now the vibe was cozy and welcoming.
I knocked on the screen door and, waiting, stared out over the yard, arms folded. A moment later, the door opened and I turned. Garret stood there. He had dark skin—a deep brown—and long silver hair caught up in dreads. His eyes were a welcoming hazel, and they were so clear you could almost see yourself in their reflection. Garret moved with a fluid grace that belied his snakeshifter heritage. He was from the Blue Diamond Copperhead clan.
“Maddy! What a surprise, come on in.” He sounded truly happy to see me. We had kept in touch since he had helped me with a magical problem a few months back, but we hadn’t had a chance to talk in the past few weeks. He came over to dinner now and then, and Aegis and I had met him for coffee. He was uncomfortable around vampires, though polite, so we avoided visiting his house as a couple.
“Garret, I’m so glad you’re home. I need your advice.”
He opened the door and ushered me in, offering me a lemonade. I accepted and sat down on the sofa in the small, tidy living room that also served as his magical space. His workbench was covered with jars containing herbs and roots, and several large books were stacked precariously on the edge of the bench.
“What can I do for you?”
“You can come over for dinner soon, for one thing. But I do have a serious problem. Sandy’s been attacked and I think the Meré are behind it.” I told him everything that had happened. “I think that somebody in the merfolk community is angry because she built a restaurant on the Strand, which they used to own.”
He sat in a rocking chair opposite me, and crossed his right leg over his left. He was a trim man, and he was wearing form-fitting jeans and a tank top, his muscles gleaming under the diffused light coming through the windows.
“The Meré are nothing to mess around with. They’re dangerous and treacherous in a way few other Pretcom are. I wouldn’t trust them even if they gave me their word of honor on their life. Seriously, they’re crafty and cunning and out for themselves.”
“You don’t have any strong opinions on them, do you?” I laughed, but then my humor faded. “I may have made a mistake. I stopped by Gillymack’s to ask him about this.”
“Oh good gods. Well, I hope for your sake he’s too drunk to start spreading rumors. Listen, as far as the herbs go, I can help you. I may not have them, but I can probably find them. Give me the list.”
I handed him the list that Jordan had given me. He carried it over to his workbench and began going through his jars, sorting out a few. Then he ran his finger over his reference books, stopping at one in particular, which he pulled off the shelf. He set the massive book on the bench and began flipping through it, finally tapping a page in particular.
“All right, I have seven of the twelve herbs needed, and I can get my hands on four of the ones that have to be fresh—I know where they grow and I can swim and dive without too much of a problem. But Maddy—getting the last one will be extremely difficult.” He looked up at me with a bleak expression.
“Why?”
“Because thistlestar has to be absolutely fresh for it to work. And the one place I know where to harvest it is in the garden of a siren I know. Getting her to agree to part with it isn’t going to be easy, because she hates me with a passion.”
I stared at him. “Wonderful. Just the news I need. I take it you happen to know her?”
He grimaced. “Yeah. I’m the only man to ever walk away from her willingly. She’s never forgiven me for breaking it off. I’m afraid that I’m more of a liability than an asset when it comes to this one.”
I groaned, leaning back against the cushion. “Then we’d better hope that Gillymack knows her too, and will be willing to help me.”
“You’re out of luck there,” Garret said. “Sirens and merfolk are mortal enemies.”
And with that piece of bad news, he began to bag up the rest of the herbs.
Chapter 12
I LEFT GARRET’S with the herbs he had at his disposal, and a promise from him that he would try to gather the others and also approach Irena, the siren.
A text came through from Jenna, begging me to stop and buy her some tampons because she was too embarrassed to ask Alex or Max, and she wasn’t sure where Sandy kept hers. I smiled softly. That age was so prone to embarrassment. Texting her back, I asked what kind she preferred and said I’d run them over as soon as I could.
By the time I stopped at the store, it was quarter to seven and I was feeling the wear of the day. I normally didn’t tire easily but with worrying over my mother and Sandy, and now everything else that I found myself entangled in, I just wanted to climb into bed and go to sleep. But sometimes life didn’t offer a lot of choices. We did what we had to do because there wasn’t any other option available.
I bought what Jenna needed, added two big chocolate bars, and delivered the bag to her. She threw her arms around me in a giant hug. I stroked her hair back from her face and told her she could call me whenever she needed and I’d try to be there.
Max peeked out from Sandy’s office. “Hey, find out any good news?”
“Yes and no.” I filled him in on the day.
“You want to stay to dinner?” Jenna asked.
I hugged her again. “Thanks, hon, but no. I’m exhausted. I just want to go home and relax until Aegis wakes up.” And then, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Mostly, I was just tired. “Before I go, let me grab the spellbook that I left with Sandy. You never know, there might be something helpful in it.” I would have to figure out a memory spell to jog my rusty German, but that wasn’t a problem.
Max found it and, carrying the book under my arm, I returned to my CR-V and slowly drove home extra cautiously because I realized due to exhaustion, my reactions were running slow.
DELIA’S COUSINS WERE in the living room, chatting with the newlyweds, and I quietly snuck past, heading up to my room. Kelson could keep them entertained. I started to close the door behind me, but Bubba came dashing in, followed by Luna, and I waited till they were inside.
The night was warm outside, and the moon was waxing, though it wouldn’t rise till around one a.m. But I opened the French doors leading to my balcony to let in the evening air. I ha
d installed a sliding screen door so that Bubba couldn’t dart outside without my permission. It also served to keep the mosquitoes out.
There were no other houses behind mine, just the three acres of woodland, so I stripped naked and slipped out onto the balcony, stretching in the warm rush of evening air. The sky was clear and we were nearing sunset. I stood there, leaning against the railing, looking over the flower garden below. It had been a pool when I first moved in, and at one point I had careened off the balcony when the rotten railing gave way. Now the deck and railing were brand-new, and the empty pool had been turned into a rose bed.
After a few minutes, I began to relax. I returned inside and drew a bubble bath, closing my eyes as I slid into the warm soapy water and leaning my head back. I heard something and cracked open my eyes. Luna and Bubba were standing at the door to the bathroom, staring at me.
“You can jump in if you want but I really don’t think you’d like it,” I told them.
Bubba sneezed. “Mrrf.”
Luna let out a mew and he turned to her, licking her behind the ears. They padded off and I heard a soft thump. They were bouncing on the bed, no doubt. Speaking of beds, I remembered that I needed to take Luna to the vet to make sure she had been spayed. The last thing I wanted was a litter of baby kitjins running around. In fact, could cjinns even interbreed with house cats? And if so, which side held dominance?
Pushing away my scattered thoughts, I leaned back and closed my eyes again, drifting in the warmth of the bubbles. As I lowered myself deeper and deeper into trance, I suddenly felt a gust and opened my eyes.
I was on the edge of the ocean, staring out into the dark brilliance of the waters. A wave was coming in, swathed in sparkling magic, and something stirred that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. I tensed, raising my arms to greet the approaching force, wary and yet hopeful. But before the wave could reach me, I was startled out of my reverie when a pair of cool lips met mine and fingers gently stroked my breast.
Siren's Song (Bewitching Bedlam Book 3) Page 16