by Amy Boyles
“Reggie, I don’t know how to spell an alarm.”
“I may or may not have an idea about the code,” the book said.
“I hope you do.”
“Try 1218.”
“What’s that?” Reid asked.
“His birthday,” Book said.
I took the key from Sera and unlocked the door. As soon as I pushed it open, the alarm chirped. I punched in 1218, and it bleeped off.
“Good going, Reg. You saved us scrambling.”
“That’s what I’m here for, Just Dylan.”
Since there weren’t any neighbors nearby, I didn’t see any reason not to switch on some lights. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
“Looks normal enough,” Reid said.
She was right. It looked like a simple country cottage with regular furnishings—couch, table, bookcases. Very tidy. “Let’s check the bedroom. If I were him, that’s where I’d keep the good stuff.”
We ambled toward the back. The bed was neatly made. A thin layer of dust rested on the surfaces. We checked all the basic places—under the bed, the closet, the drawers.
“I don’t see anything interesting,” Reid said.
“Maybe Roman would have a better idea of where to check,” Sera said. “Did you ever get ahold of him?”
“No. He never answered.”
Sera gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m sure he’ll call as soon as he can.”
“Sure. Well, this looks like a complete waste of time. Y’all ready to go?”
Reid shrugged. “I think so.”
We headed back to the living room. “I’ll tell Roman about this place so he can comb over it and find whatever it was that we didn’t.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Sera said.
The front door opened. I jerked back, instinctively shielding my sisters. No one was there. All I could see was my car and the skeletons of trees surrounding us.
A gray metal ball flew into the room and bounced on the floor.
“What’s that?” I said.
The orb settled to a stop. A hatch on top opened with a snick. Smoke flooded from it. A cloud of toxic fumes fogged the air, burning my lungs.
“Everyone out,” Sera yelled.
I barged toward the door. A hooded figure appeared, cutting us off.
Well, that’s what he thought, anyway. “Oh no you don’t,” I said.
I gestured toward the ball. It zoomed straight at the figure, hitting him square in the chest.
“Oomph,” he said. He raised a hand. A stream of magic zipped into the house. Something shattered behind me.
He coughed and fled from the door. We followed. I held my hand over my mouth. My eyes burned; my lungs ached. Whatever acrid stuff had been in that ball, I hadn’t gotten it out of the house soon enough.
I ran into the black, trailing after the attacker. He reached a grove of trees, snapped his fingers and vanished in a plume of streaking smoke.
I stopped, hunched over and coughed up both my lungs. Sera and Reid collapsed on either side of me.
“Reid, your butt’s on fire,” Sera said between hacks.
“Not again,” Reid whined. She wiggled her rear end into a pile of leaves until the sparks subsided.
“You need a new phone.” I gagged.
“You need to not put us in danger,” Reid countered.
“He must’ve followed us. Either that or Reggie set us up.” I glared at the backpack. “Pull him out.”
Reid fished Reggie from her backpack and presented him to me. As soon as my coughing stopped, I crossed to my old sedan and pushed in the cigarette lighter. Yes, it was that old. When it was orange hot, I held it to one of Reggie’s edges.
“I swear I will turn you into kindling if you don’t tell me the truth. Did you lead that man here?”
Reggie curled back his cover. “No, I most certainly did not. I do not play more than one side. I’m on yours. But I suggest you call someone in case he returns.”
I found my phone and called Roman. This time he answered. I told him where to find us and went back inside. The place was a mess. The intruder’s magic had shattered a porcelain lamp and ripped up the couch.
“What’s this?” Sera said. She lifted a small black box from the floor. It was no bigger than a ring case.
“I don’t know.” I opened my palm, and she handed it to me. I flipped the lid off the case and found a white marble.
“Do you think this was hidden in the lamp?” I said.
“Must’ve been. I didn’t see it before.”
I took it between my thumb and forefinger, lifting it so I could see into the glass. It looked like an ordinary marble, filled with a mass of white swirls.
“Do you think it’s important?” Reid said.
“He hid it in the lamp, so it must be.”
“But what is it?” Reid said.
“No clue. But it’s gotta be important.”
Roman rolled onto the driveway about an hour later. Gravel crunched under the tires of his SUV. I felt super useful, what with the marble and all. I couldn’t wait to tell him.
The vehicle lurched as Roman shifted into PARK. He killed the engine and got out. I sped over to him and was about to throw my arms around his waist when the passenger door groaned open.
“I totally hope this doesn’t ruin my beauty sleep, what with it being so late and all. Mmm hmm.”
I stopped dead. Roman had brought Dewy Dewberry?
“Are you okay?” Roman asked gently.
I shrank. “Fine. We’re fine. We were attacked, but it’s okay now.”
Concern washed over his face. “What are you doing out here?”
“This is Edgar Norwood’s house. We were looking for clues.”
“Norwood? How did you find it?”
I wasn’t sure Dewy knew about Reggie, so I opted not to mention that part. “Um, we did some of our own detectiving.”
Dewy walked up, tapped Roman on the shoulder. “I’m totally going inside to start looking.”
Roman nodded as she walked away.
Sera rose. “Reid and I will help.”
They all exited into the house.
“What happened?”
I told him about the attack. His concern turned into frustration the more I explained.
“You couldn’t wait for me?” Roman said. “You could’ve been killed.”
I crossed my arms. “I called you before we came. I called a couple of times. I guess you were too busy with your new partner.”
His expression darkened. “I was catching Dewy up to speed.”
“Or was she catching you up to speed?”
“What does that mean?”
My heart knew what Titus had told me—that Roman’s heart knew Dewy’s was tainted. But my brain thought otherwise—Dewy had a habit of screwing with me. She was a self-proclaimed seductress who’d appeared out of nowhere with Colten and she’d gotten me arrested. So all rational thoughts and knowings didn’t hold a candle to the twisted knot that Dewy had turned my head into.
“I don’t know what it means,” I said, defeated. “What are you even doing here with her?”
“She’s supposed to be my partner in this, remember?”
“You had Jonathan Pearbottom as a partner before, and I didn’t see you riding around with him.”
Roman sighed. “You’re not giving me a hard time about this, are you? She has useful information.”
“Where? In her bra?”
Roman frowned. He rocked back on his heels and stared up into the night sky. “I’m only working with her, Dylan. There’s nothing else going on.” He stroked my arm. “Don’t you trust me?”
I didn’t answer.
Roman leveled his gaze on me. “Darlin’, you’ve got to trust me.”
“It’s not you I don’t trust,” I hissed. “It’s her.”
“She’s not going to seduce me.”
“That’s her special power,” I screeched.
“Do you know what mine is?” Rom
an said. “It’s being true to those I love.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
Roman tapped his fingers against his hips. “Well, I do know. I can’t help you figure this out. This is yours.”
I stepped back.
Roman gave me a tight smile. “Sometimes you have to want to trust more than you want to be hurt.” He kissed the top of my head and walked past me. “I need to investigate this scene.”
He walked inside. I stood in the cold, hugging my arms to my chest. After about twenty minutes everyone came outside.
Roman glanced at me. “We’ll come back tomorrow and comb over the place. On first look I don’t see anything.”
Reid sidled up to me. “What about—”
I stamped her foot. “Ouch!”
“What was that?” Roman said.
“She was going to ask about the man that attacked us? If you found any evidence of him?”
Roman drummed his fingers on the hood of his car. “No. Nothing. But we’ll come back tomorrow. Maybe in the daylight we’ll find something more substantial.”
“All right. Sounds like a plan,” I said.
He stared at me. I stared at him. Neither of us made a move to say anything else. Me and my sisters piled into my car and drove away.
“That was weird,” Sera said. “Did you and Roman have a fight?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what happened?”
I gripped the steering wheel until my fingers stretched as far as they would go. “I think we just broke up.”
FOURTEEN
The next couple of days were a blur. Basically I went through the motions of life, trying to not think about Roman. He hadn’t called me, and I hadn’t called him. I tried to tell myself that he was busy, but I mean, he could’ve found ten minutes, right?
By the time the middle of the week hit, I was zombified.
Sera popped her head in my door. “Are you getting up?”
“Do I have to?” I said, still in bed with the covers up to my eyebrows.
“Yes.”
“Then I guess I am. What time is it?”
“Six.”
I squinted at her. “What are you doing here? You should be at the bakery.”
She crossed and sat on my bed. The mattress squeaked under her slight weight. “Reid’s watching it. She’s only got an evening class tonight. I came to check on you. Make sure you’re okay. You haven’t said much the past couple of days.”
“There hasn’t been much to say.” I knuckled up to a sitting position. My body felt stiff. “Why can’t I move?”
“Because you slept in your jeans.”
I sniffed. “That has nothing to do with it.”
“Right.” Sera threw me a towel. “Go and shower.”
I showered and crept into the living room. The scent of cinnamon welcomed me. I peeked my head into the kitchen. Grandma and Nan stood at the stove icing cinnamon rolls.
“So you’ve decided to join Sera in her own personal bake-off?” I said, eyeing the stack of cakes on the kitchen island. Apparently, she still didn’t have control of her emotions. Some people stress eat. My sister stress bakes. Not good for my waistline.
Grandma frowned. “No one’s having a bake-off, Dylan.”
“Well, they smell and look delicious.”
“They should,” Grandma said. “It’s an old family recipe.”
I quirked a brow. “Whose family? Ours? I’ve never even seen you make those before.”
Nan dusted flour from her hands. “My family’s recipe. These cinnamon rolls will make you forget all your worries.”
I slumped into a chair. “Not even Sera’s food can do that.”
Sera entered. “Trust me. They can. I tried one. I don’t have a care in the world now.”
I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t have any to begin with.”
She nodded. “Seriously. Not one worry. I might actually stop baking so many extra cakes.”
“Then why are you sifting flour into a bowl?”
Sera shot me a dark look. “Just keeping my skills sharp.”
“Right,” I said.
She tsked. “Listen, aside from being attacked by random witches, I have other things to worry about—like making the bakery’s rent, keeping Reid employed, and getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of water.”
I gestured toward Nan and Grandma. “See? I rest my case. No worries.”
Nan plated a roll and slid it across the table. “Try one.”
Grandma handed me a mug of coffee. “If you have one care in the world after a bite of that, I’ll be a monkey’s mother.”
I tipped my head. “You’re already a monkey king’s godmother.” That was true. My grandma was, in fact, godmother to Brock the Monkey King. Something she didn’t bother to tell us until a few months ago.
“It shouldn’t be a far jump, should it?”
“Okay, I’ll try it. But what makes you think I have any worries?” All three women shot each other looks. “So Sera told you. It’s not a big deal. It was bound to end, right?” I said, meaning Roman. “I mean, nothing lasts forever.”
“Sure,” Nan said. “Eat now.”
So I stopped grumbling and forced myself to take a bite. Cinnamon with a hint of orange slid over my tongue. Icing melted down my throat. I shivered. An immediate calm washed over me. I felt better. Great, actually, as if nothing else mattered. Nothing except this giant cinnamon roll and my mouth.
“Wow,” Reid said, popping her head through the door. “These’ll make you forget you broke up with your boyfriend.”
Sera threw a streak of flour at her. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d get some good food, too. You can’t expect me to stay at work by myself.”
Sera quirked a brow. “Yes, actually I can. We should be opening soon.” She tossed another shot of flour at Reid. It landed squarely on her chest. Reid glanced at the smeared stain.
“This is my best coat,” Reid whined. She dashed across the small kitchen, grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it at Sera. It hit her in the face. Sera palmed it off as Reid giggled.
“Gotcha!”
“You little crab apple,” Sera said. “I got you in the chest, not the face.”
Reid grinned. “Sorry. Fog of war. Makes things get all wonky.”
“I’ll show you the fog of war.” Sera scooped up a handful of flour and aimed at Reid. She threw. Reid ducked. The flour sailed through the kitchen, landing on my shirt.
“Hey. I don’t want any part of this. Y’all’s fight has nothing to do with me.”
“Oops,” Sera said. “You’re a casualty.”
“Yeah, Dylan,” Reid said. “A casualty.”
Sera scooped up some more and tossed it at me. It landed in my hair.
I rose. “Hey.”
Both of them laughed. If war was what they wanted, that’s what I’d give them. I raced to the counter, grabbed two handfuls of flour and threw it at both their faces.
“Hey,” Reid said.
“Stop,” Sera said.
“Fog of war, ladies. You’re both casualties in the great flour battle.”
Grandma fluffed her hair. “This isn’t the Great Flour Battle. That occurred in the sixties during the Witch War. A herd of witches got into a baking factory. That’s when another cluster of witches met up with them. It was a messy, messy battle from what I understand. No casualties, which is remarkable.”
A glob of flour landed on her head. Grandma glanced at Reid and Sera, who both stood looking totally innocent. They were pointing to each other, each one placing the blame on the other sister.
“It wasn’t me,” Reid said.
“Not me,” Sera said.
Grandma smirked. She lifted her hands, and the bag of flour rose from the counter. It sailed over her head straight for Sera and Reid, where it ceremoniously dumped half its contents on both of them in the blink of an eye.
Both my sisters stood covered in white from
head to toe. They stared at Grandma. I started to laugh. They looked at each other. Next thing I knew all the extra flour on their arms was being rubbed on me.
“Hey,” I said.
“Sorry,” Reid said, “the confusion of war and all that.”
When they stopped, I glanced down at the fine dust covering me. I looked at Reid and Sera and we all burst into laughter.
“We’d better get cleaned up,” Sera said. “My doors should open in ten minutes.”
I let them go on ahead of me for the showers. I finished eating my cinnamon roll and washed it down with another cup of coffee.
“So what about your problems?” Nan said. “All gone?”
I drained my cup and set it down with a thud. I felt kinda warm and fuzzy inside as if yes, all my problems were gone. I didn’t have anything to bother me at all.
Had something been bothering me? I cleaned up my plate, took a shower and got ready to face the day. My heart felt full. By the time I was ready to head out, it was nine o’clock. Perfect. Right on time.
I slapped on some pink lip gloss and draped a scarf around my neck. Someone knocked on the front door. I heard Grandma go over to answer it. I shouldered my purse and headed for the kitchen, thinking I’d go out the back.
“Dylan,” Grandma called. “Are you still here?”
I toward the living room. “Yeah, I’m here.”
She pulled me aside. “There’s someone at the door for you.”
I raised a brow. “Oh? Who is it?”
“It’s the agent. I think she said her name was Dewy Dewbetty.”
“That’s Dewberry.”
“Yes, that’s the one. She’s here.”
My good mood deflated. All the worries and butterflies in my stomach returned.
Great. I reached the front door and found Dewy waiting for me. “Hey, Dewy. What’s going on?”
Her big blue eyes were all deer-in-headlights wide open. “Yeah, mmm hmm. Well, it’s about the other night.”
“What about it?”
“Yeah, well. My boss wants to talk to you.”
“Okay. I’ll be at my store at ten.”
“Yeah. Mmm hmm. So that’s where you’ll be?”
“Where’s Roman?”
She cleared her throat. It kinda sounded like Snow White calling birds and creatures to her. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a herd of tiny animals showed up to help Dewy do something—like exist.