A Breath of Witchy Air

by Amanda M. Lee

  Landon stilled. “She has a magical elixir for hangovers?”

  “Yes, and it’s glorious.”

  “Why haven’t we used this elixir before?”

  “Because the price she makes us pay for it is often too steep,” I replied. “The only thing she wanted from me today was to tag along. I was fine with that, because I was still a bit nervous about the office thing – plus I didn’t want to be alone because of what Chief Terry said – so it seemed a good idea.”

  “I’m not arguing that,” Landon said. “I’m glad you brought her with you. Someone would have to be an absolute moron to approach the two of you with designs of murder and mayhem. I’m just surprised you agreed to bring her. She’s not usually your preferred cohort in crime.”

  “I didn’t consider questioning students a crime.”

  “No, but you often get to that level relatively quickly.” Landon flipped over my hand so he could run his fingers over my palm. “If you expect me to yell at you for investigating, it’s not going to happen.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “It’s not?”

  “No, it’s not. You have insight that most people don’t have. On top of that, you have a sort of sixth sense that often leads you to answers. I want to put this one to bed as soon as possible, so if you want to lend me that sixth sense I’m all for it.”

  I didn’t bother to hide my grin. “Are you saying I have an inherent trait that makes me a stellar investigator?”

  Landon barked out a laugh. “I’m saying you have something inside you that always leads to the correct answer – sometimes before we know which question to ask. As long as you’re not lazy about your safety, I’m okay with you asking questions.”

  That seemed far too easy. “What aren’t you okay with?”

  “Don’t go anywhere alone. You brought Aunt Tillie. While most people would think she was a poor choice to protect you should things turn ugly and you question the wrong person, I know otherwise.”

  I pursed my lips. “That’s not why I brought her.”

  “I know. You said you were nervous about something that happened at the office. What was that?”

  I told him about the way I’d found Brian’s office, shrinking at the furious frown that crossed his face.

  “I think he was just blowing off steam,” I offered lamely. “He didn’t come back or anything, so … um … there’s nothing to worry about.”

  Landon stared into my eyes so long I felt mildly uncomfortable. “We’re changing the locks as soon as you close on that newspaper. In fact, I’m buying locks before I leave Gaylord tonight. You have just the two doors, right?”

  “Technically three,” I said. “There’s the one by that side hallway, although no one ever uses it.”

  “Three.” Landon nodded. “I’ll be over there the second you close to change them out.”

  “Do you think that’s really necessary?”

  “I think he’s out of control and if he comes near you we’re going to have a talk. In fact, I think we’re going to have a talk regardless. It’s not okay to trash that building because he didn’t get his way.”

  “I think he was just upset.” I felt ridiculous delivering excuses on Brian’s behalf, but I didn’t want Landon to risk trouble for himself on the professional front because he picked a fight with my former boss. “I think we should just let it go.”

  “No.”

  Landon was so calmly agreeable I wasn’t sure I heard him at first. “No?”

  “That’s what I said. Brian and I are going to have a talk. That’s an inevitability.”

  “Okay … well … .” I had no idea where I was going to take the conversation, but I lost my train of thought when Aunt Tillie returned. Her eyes sparkled as she held up a brochure and it took me a moment to realize what she had thanks to the dim lighting. “What is that?”

  Aunt Tillie bubbled with excitement as she practically danced next to the table. “Call of the Wild!”

  I immediately started shaking my head. “No way!”

  Aunt Tillie jutted out her lower lip. “Call of the Wild!” She was insistent as she folded her arms over her chest.

  “Aunt Tillie, I’m not sure we have time for that.” I wasn’t keen on pushing her to fight, but the idea of hitting Call of the Wild on our way back held little appeal. “I’ll bring you back in the summer.”

  Aunt Tillie narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “Call of the Wild.”

  I sighed, resigned. “Fine. I’ll take you to Call of the Wild. We can’t spend all day there. I have other things to do.”

  “What’s Call of the Wild?” Landon asked, legitimately curious.

  “It’s this weird museum containing stuffed animals – and I’m talking real animals that died and then were stuffed … like by taxidermists. And there are projectors and a few other attractions. It’s kind of a kitschy tourist thing.”

  “And it has the best gift shop ever,” Aunt Tillie enthused.

  “It does have a really cool gift shop,” I agreed. “We don’t have a lot of museums up here. Aunt Tillie used to take us to Call of the Wild at least once a year. It’s … hard to explain.”

  Landon arched an eyebrow as he smirked. “So it’s basically a museum of dead animals. That’s what you’re saying?”

  “There’s historical stuff, too,” Aunt Tillie shot back. “It’s a learning experience.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “If she doesn’t get to go she’ll be a menace,” I explained. “I know you have work to do, but I’m taking her there before heading home.”

  “I do have work,” Landon agreed. “I also have time to see this museum.”

  I couldn’t have been more shocked if he told me he’d decided to quit the FBI and become a professional bowler. “You want to see Call of the Wild?”

  “More than anything.”

  “See. Even ‘The Man’ knows when he’s got a chance at a good thing.” Aunt Tillie rubbed her hands together. “We should totally get going. You know how I feel about hitting the museum first and the gift shop second, right? Well, those rules still apply.”

  I heaved out a sigh as I stood. “Right. We’ll follow your rules. That’s what we always do.”

  “Oh, puh-leez.” Aunt Tillie’s snort was derisive. “If you always followed my rules the world would be a better place. You only follow my rules when you feel you have no other choice.”

  “Like when we visit Call of the Wild?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay.” I pasted what I hoped passed for a conciliatory smile on my face. “Let’s go to Call of the Wild.”

  “I hate to admit it, but I’m a little excited,” Landon said, dropping several bills on the table before falling into step with me. “I love dead animal museums.”

  “Have you seen one before?”

  “No, but that won’t stop me from loving this one.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “We definitely will.”

  LANDON’S ENTHUSIASM DIDN’T wane, not even when he stepped into the cool faux cave that started off the Call of the Wild experience.

  “Look at this.” He ran his hands over the walls and frowned. “This isn’t rock.”

  “No, it’s something else,” I agreed. “I don’t even know what you would call the material. It was built in 1965, so maybe no one knows. Maybe the material they used back then is extinct.”

  Landon grinned as he linked his fingers with mine and we moved through the wide cave that housed the museum. “This is so … wacky.”

  “You’re from the big city,” I reminded him. “You don’t get things like this in the big city. That’s why you’re so amused.”

  “I’m amused because this is the wackiest thing I’ve ever seen” Landon countered, stopping between two stuffed moose that appeared to be locked in combat. “I mean … look at this. Those animals were once alive and now they’re dead.”

  I pursed my lips. I couldn’t decide if he was enjoying himself or making fun of me. I guess he could�
�ve been doing both. When he turned, though, his eyes were lit with genuine awe. “Wait … you’re having fun.”

  Landon bobbed his head. “Who wouldn’t have fun here? This place is awesome.”

  “But … .”

  “And, by the way, I didn’t grow up in the big city,” Landon reminded me, tapping my chin. “I grew up in mid-Michigan. That’s not even remotely the same thing.”

  “It’s bigger than here.”

  “Maybe, but this place has its own charm.” He glanced over his shoulder when he heard Aunt Tillie shouting. “We shouldn’t let her get too far ahead of us. I’m afraid she’ll try to reanimate the animals and then we’ll have our hands full for another reason.”

  “She can’t reanimate the animals,” I said, sidestepping a twentysomething female who stared at her phone screen and ignored the moose display. I risked a glance at her screen and, sure enough, she was playing Infinity Echo. “Even her power has limits.”

  “Part of me would like to see her try,” Landon admitted, dragging me down the corridor toward the next display. “This place is all kinds of neat. When my mother and father come for their next visit I totally want to bring them here.”

  I involuntarily shuddered. “Your mom and dad are coming back? When? Shouldn’t I have known about this?”

  Landon snorted. “Of course they’re coming back. They had a good time their last visit.”

  That wasn’t exactly how I remembered things. “That’s when I got thrown from the horse.”

  Landon’s expression darkened. “I remember. That won’t happen again no matter what. In fact, if you never ride a horse again I’ll be fine with it.”

  “Yeah. Um … .” I tilted my head to the side and lost my train of thought as another young person who looked to be in his twenties strolled by, phone in hand. He didn’t so much as look at the display to our left – which featured a huge wolf – and instead stared at his tiny phone screen. “They’re all playing that game.”

  Landon flicked his eyes to the distracted guy. “What game?”

  “It’s some new and great thing. Those boys at the coffee shop told us about it.”

  “You mean the guys who wanted to romance you until I got in the way?”

  “Only one of them. The other three were more interested in their phones than an actual flesh-and-blood woman.”

  “How sad for them,” Landon intoned, squeezing my hand. “I know the woman in question, so I feel comfortable saying they missed out on a great deal of fun.”

  I snorted, amused. “I just think this game thing is weird. I didn’t notice anyone playing it until we came here, and now I can’t get away from it.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “If you find it odd, I’m sure I will, too.”

  “Okay, but it’s a long and boring story.”

  “I happen to love long and boring stories as long as you’re the one telling them.” Landon fell into step next to me and smiled. “Go ahead.”

  “This is why people think we’re sappy,” I pointed out.

  “I’m fine with that. In fact … holy crap! Is that a polar bear? I freaking love this place.”

  Nine

  By the time we hit the gift shop I counted seven other college-aged people playing the game. I asked the girl behind one of the display counters about it a few minutes after Landon and Aunt Tillie disappeared to peruse the odd mix of merchandise.

  “Apparently this is a hot spot for finding items,” she replied, shrugging. “It’s annoying but they pay for entry so we don’t do anything to stop them.”

  “No. I guess not.” I thanked her for the information and wandered through the shop in search of Landon and Aunt Tillie. I found them next to the raccoon tail hats. In fact, they were both wearing hats and looking at themselves in mirrors, distracted to the point that they didn’t even notice me approaching. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you think?” Landon beamed as he swiveled. “I think it looks good on me.”

  “It looks great on you,” Aunt Tillie enthused, moving her raccoon tail so it didn’t cover her eyes. “This is the sort of hat that looks good on everybody. It’s a classic for a reason.”

  “You have that on backward,” I pointed out.

  “Or has everyone else been wearing them wrong since the times of Davy Crockett?”

  Hmm. “I’m pretty sure you’re wearing it wrong.”

  “And I’m pretty sure you’re being absolutely no fun,” Aunt Tillie complained. She didn’t remove the hat. “You know this is my favorite part of the visit. Don’t ruin it for me.”

  I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to refrain from pointing out you look like an idiot.”

  “That would be awesome.”

  Landon arched an eyebrow as he followed me toward the jewelry counter. “I don’t want to be the one to agree with Aunt Tillie – in fact I make that a hard and fast rule for everything in life – but you do seem a little grouchy, sweetie. What’s wrong?”

  The question caught me off guard. “I’m not grouchy.”

  “You are.”

  “I don’t mean to be.” I was contrite. “It’s just … look at that.” I gestured across the aisle to where a game player almost crashed into a display of stuffed animals in his zest to capture something on his screen. “Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

  Landon followed my gaze and shrugged. “It’s a game, Bay. From what you told me, it’s the new hot thing. I don’t think it’s something to get worked up about.”

  “I know. It’s just … weird. I have no idea why it bothers me.”

  “I think it bothers you because the people playing are being rude to the point they almost ruined our dead animal experience.” Landon’s smile was sly. “I, of course, am far too mature to let that happen. You’re the sensitive sort, so you can’t help yourself.”

  I shot him a withering look. “You’re wearing a hat with a tail.”

  “So?”

  “How is that mature?”

  “I look dashing.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “You’re not buying that, are you?”

  Landon shrugged. “I might. I think we could have fun in front of the fire if we decided to play games with my new hat.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “What kind of games?”

  “I don’t know. I was picturing something along the lines of mountain man saves school marm trapped in blizzard and warms her in front of the fire while wearing his awesome new hat. This, of course, is a naked game.”

  I didn’t want to laugh – it would only encourage him – but I couldn’t stop myself. “That’s not a real raccoon, is it?” I reached up to touch the fur and was relieved to find synthetic materials under my fingertips. “I guess you can get the hat if you’re feeling adventurous.”

  “I think I just might.” Landon smacked a quick kiss against my cheek. “You should find something to play the game, too. Tonight is our first night together alone in our new home. You should embrace the fun of the evening.”

  He had a point. “Okay. I’ll look around. I’m not dressing up in a cavewoman costume to appease you, though, so don’t get your hopes up.”

  Landon rolled his eyes. “Davy Crockett wasn’t a caveman. He was a … um … old west settler. Wait, is that right?”

  “Maybe you should get a book so you can play the game correctly.”

  “You jest, but I’m on it.”

  I watched him go with a smile. He really was cute. He thought I was being a grouch, though, so I opted to change my attitude and focus on finding something to prove I was up for playing whatever game he had on tap for the night.

  The first thing I found were fringed moccasins – which I genuinely liked – but ultimately I landed on a funny nightshirt that reminded me of Little House on the Prairie. That was the second time in less than twenty-four hours I’d been reminded of the show, so I thought it was a sign.

  I grabbed the night
gown and headed toward the counter, stopping long enough to stare at a sun catcher that caught my eye. It featured a cozy entwined sun and moon, two faces on different sides, with pretty stars littering the sky on either side. I reached up to touch the glass but was interrupted when a girl barreled into me from behind and caused me to pitch forward.

  I managed – barely – to keep myself from careening into the sun catcher display and fixed the girl with a dark look. She was, of course, fixated on her phone and barely glanced at me.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, tapping her fingers against the screen before offering up a solid fist pump. “I got the Ring of Illusion. Nice.”

  I rolled my eyes as I squared my shoulders. “You should pay attention to where you’re walking.”

  The girl reluctantly tore her gaze from the screen and tucked a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. “I said I was sorry.”

  The fact that she could muster that amount of attitude was dumbfounding. “Pay attention to where you’re walking.”

  “You don’t understand.” The girl’s voice was petulant. “I got the Ring of Illusion. Do you know how rare that is?”

  “No. I don’t really care either. I live in the real world.”

  The young woman’s annoyance was evident. “The game is real. That’s what makes it so great. You can have fun in the virtual world with people you meet and then, if you like them enough, you can arrange to meet them in the real world. It doesn’t get better than that.”

  I could think of a million things better than that. Something about the girl’s description caught my attention, though, and I decided to focus on that rather than her apparent lack of manners. “How do you meet with people in the game? I mean … how does it work?”

  The girl didn’t bother to hide her eye roll. I was clearly boring her, but she ran into me – and almost caused a huge mess – so she must have felt answering my question was something of a reparation. “You can see all the icons here.” She held up her phone by way of evidence. “All these dots are players – and they’re close.”

  I counted at least twenty moving bursts of light. “But how do you know who is who?”