by Kathy Dexter
Ally snorted. “You’re not an attorney. Besides, she’s a witness, not a suspect.”
Miranda dripped ice into her words. “We must be prudent where the police are concerned.”
Logan stopped at the doorway. “How about a ride home, Clarissa?”
“I’ll join you in a few minutes.” She placed a palm on Hunter’s cheek. “Your aura has returned to normal. You should be fine.”
“Aura?”
Clarissa’s eyes twinkled. “You’ll have to excuse an old woman’s eccentricities. Besides brewing herbal potions, I sense magnetic energies flowing around people. Healers in many cultures read auras to identify the source of illness and restore health.”
That’s what auras were? Magnetic energies? Even though she’d sensed such a shift at the ball, Hunter hadn’t really believed in the ability to read emanations from a person’s body, or even accepted that mystical energy fields truly existed. Why not? Did she think she was the only one who had peculiar, out-of-the-ordinary, capabilities? “You know which potion to use by doing that? And that’s why my arm is all better?”
“Yes.” Clarissa pointed to the book still clutched in Hunter’s hands. “Take good care of that. You have to wonder why Mary Hawthorne would hide her journal inside another book.”
Hunter tightened her grip. Secrets her grandmother had to protect from prying eyes? “You knew my grandmother?”
Clarissa tilted her head. “Do you remember her, child?”
“No.” Hunter paused a moment. How should she answer? “I've lost some memories.”
“You’ve come to Mystic Lake to find them?” Clarissa asked. “Your grandmother’s journal and her museum might provide some answers.”
“Not likely.” Miranda helped Hunter to her feet. “Psychologists have tried to help my niece and not succeeded. Too painful. It's been ten years, and she's done well without dredging up the past.”
“Maybe the past isn't done with me.” Hunter had grown tired of her aunt’s constant meddling and didn't keep her feelings to herself as she normally did. “Otherwise, the nightmares would have ended by now.”
“Why didn't you tell me they had returned?”
“Because you’d insist on dragging me to more doctors and their pills.” Hunter lifted her chin. “I’m done with that.”
“Of course you are.” Ally came to her side. “And I’m here to help you find answers to clear up those nasty headaches and learn about your family.”
Miranda tapped a glittering shoe against the floor. “Don’t you have clients to represent?”
“Which I can do from my trusty computer for the next couple of weeks.” Ally’s eyes glinted with her usual mischief. “That means I can keep tabs on Hunter for you. So relax.”
“With you around? Not likely,” Miranda’s tone altered from sarcasm to ultimatum. “You’d better let me know if any more trouble arises.”
“Naturally, my good woman.” Ally gave an exaggerated bow. “In the meantime, we’ll start searching for Hunter’s past. The journal is as good a place as any to start.”
“The ink is faded and smudged. It'll be slow going trying to figure out the words,” Hunter said. Or decipher the code.
“Let’s make some copies which we can mark up with possible translations without damaging the original,” Ally suggested.
“Good idea,” Hunter said. “And we must have more space than a hotel room. Some place to spread out and work without being disturbed, out of the way and quiet.” Where she could experiment with the dragon amulet without anyone watching as well.
Clarissa picked up the wicker basket. “I know of a lovely cottage on the side of the lake that might work for you.”
“It's not safe, my dear.” Miranda sounded like she was chiding an errant child again.
Annoyed, Hunter spoke with a crisp edge to her voice. “The cottage, or me looking into my past?”
Miranda stiffened. “You're the only family I have left, Hunter. I don't want to lose you, too.”
Ah! More guilt for Hunter attempting to revolt against Miranda’s control. The sad part was that Hunter did feel guilty. After all, Aunt Miranda had upended her life in order to give her orphaned niece a decent one. Hunter hugged her. “That won’t happen. Don’t worry about me.”
“As though I haven’t over the years?” Miranda’s sigh had a forlorn quality.
Okay, that wasn’t quite so subtle. But Hunter saw her aunt’s point. Digging into the past could bring a whole mess of trouble. But the nightmares and headaches hadn’t gone away, had even become more intense over the past year. Finding out what happened ten years ago seemed the only way to be free of the torment.
“You’ve done a wonderful job taking care of me, giving me a home. You and I have been a family. But isn’t it time for me to learn about the ones we both lost? What better place than here in Mystic Lake where we all lived and shared memories.” She kissed her aunt on the cheek. “I've been sleepwalking through life. Time to wake up.”
CHAPTER 4
T HE NEXT MORNING, Hunter woke refreshed. No nightmares. Because she’d made the decision to rip down the curtain obscuring her memories? She hoped so.
After breakfast in the hotel dining room, she checked with the desk clerk about the location of the police station. Only two blocks away. She certainly didn’t have to drive that distance and she’d have a chance to check out the town on her own.
Both Aunt Miranda and Ally insisted on going with her. So much for independence. Her insides bubbled with laughter. Guess sometimes she had to gracefully accept the support of family and friends. Just not allow them to take charge.
Logan showed them into a small interview room where Theo sat at a table writing, his tongue licking the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on the words. He grinned at Hunter and patted the chair next to him. “They want us to write down everything that happened last night. I had to start over a couple of times.” He slid some paper to her and gave her a pen.
Logan brought in extra chairs for Ally and Miranda and placed them near the wall. “It will help my two witnesses concentrate if you sit back here where they can’t see you.” He took a seat across from Hunter and Theo. “Take your time, close your eyes if necessary, and let the scene play back in your mind in slow motion. You should find yourselves remembering details you forgot in last night’s confusion.”
Logan’s unflappable voice helped Hunter focus. She relived the encounter with the thieves and wrote down each pulse-quickening moment. When she came to the part where she’d used the dragon to fling the men into the trees, she had to stop. What on earth could she say? Who, besides Theo, would believe what she’d done? The police will think I’m crazy.
Theo put a hand on her arm. I wrote down I bit the man holding me and when he let go, you shoved him so I could escape.
Hunter slowly released a long breath. She scribbled a few more words and handed two pages to Logan. “Anything else?”
Logan looked over the papers from both Hunter and Theo. “Seems pretty clear. I’ll have the sergeant type these up and you can sign them.” He tucked the papers into a folder and exited the room.
When he returned a few minutes later, he had bottles of water for everyone. Hunter chugged down almost half of hers. “Whew! Giving a statement is thirsty work.”
“One more chore.” Logan swiveled a computer screen so she could read it. “I scanned the drawing you made and ran a comparison with other tattoos we’ve kept on file. Three possibilities popped up.” He hit a button. “Do any of these match what you saw on the burglar’s neck?”
After studying the three designs carefully, Hunter pointed to the second. “That one.”
“What an odd pattern.” Miranda’s voice grated in Hunter’s ear and made her flinch.
She turned to see that her aunt stood right behind her, staring at the screen. “Do you recognize it?” Hunter asked.
Miranda straightened and sniffed. “I’m not likely to be associated with the kind of people who ma
rk up their bodies like that.”
Leaning to one side, Ally had an unobstructed view. “Reminds me of a spider’s web.”
“Surely more than one person wears such a tattoo.” Miranda waved a dismissive hand.
A policeman entered, handed Logan a folder, then departed. Logan removed typed sheets and handed a set to Theo and Hunter. “Look these over. If everything’s correct according to what you saw, sign at the end.”
Hunter followed his directions. “I wish I could type my books as fast and accurately as your sergeant did these.”
“He’s invaluable.” Logan gathered the signed documents. “We’re done for now. I’ll show you out.”
When they neared the front door, Hunter told Logan, “Ally and I are on our way to meet Clarissa. She’s going to show us a place we might rent for the next couple of weeks.”
“Let me know what you decide.” Logan held her hand longer than necessary. “And if I can assist you in any way.”
Her skin tingled from his touch and the warmth of his look. Hunter decided she could use a diversion and turned to Miranda. “Why don’t you come with us? Check out the cottage. Use your expertise to make sure it measures up.” A little flattery might smooth the feathers Hunter had ruffled lately. She owed her aunt a great deal and shouldn’t get irritated with her so often.
Miranda arched an eyebrow. “What if I don’t think it’s suitable?”
“We can look around for something else,” Ally said and winked at Hunter from behind Miranda’s back. “You know Mystic Lake and can direct us to the right side of town.”
Miranda glanced over her shoulder at Ally. “I’m not fooled, young lady. But I’ll accept the invitation. Better I know where you’re going so I don’t worry when I’m back in the city. All by myself.”
Blocking irritability before it could take hold, Hunter looked at her watch. “We better get going. I don’t want to be late, and we still have to get my car from the hotel’s garage.”
“Do you need directions?” Logan asked.
“I can show them the way,” Theo volunteered. “Then you don’t have to drive me home.”
Seeing the eagerness in Theo’s eyes, Hunter chimed in. “That would be lovely. You can identify landmarks along the way and places we should visit while we’re here.”
“A tour guide like they have at the museum?” Theo grinned, his ears oddly wiggling.
Hunter returned the grin. “Exactly.”
Logan gave his permission. “But make sure you’re at the house no later than noon. Dad will be expecting you.”
In the car, Theo chattered without appearing to take a breath. As they headed toward the lake, he pointed out which direction would take them to the mall, where they could find a couple of grocery stores, and the streets Hunter should take to the house on Wyvern Way.
Clarissa waited in the driveway. “Come take a look at the water before we go inside.”
A grassy lawn covered a space a couple yards from the back porch to the shoreline. A huge maple guarded the entrance to thick woods on their left. In the opposite direction, a small beach merged into rocky outcroppings.
“I don’t see a lot of neighbors,” Hunter said. Most suitable for practicing with a dragon amulet.
“Several homes on both sides, but you have privacy for your work.” Clarissa led the way to the porch, which held two white rocking chairs. She unlocked the door and waved them in. Aunt Miranda swept through first, a delicate whiff of her usual lotus and sandalwood scent floating behind her.
“How charming!” Ally moved to one of the two huge windows facing the lake. “Can’t beat this fantastic view. Better than anything at the hotel.”
Miranda frowned. “You’ll have to make your own meals and clean up after yourselves instead of a hotel staff providing the amenities.”
“True, but I won’t be interrupted by the maids while I’m working, either,” Hunter said. “I think Ally and I can handle a few domestic chores. What do you think of the kitchen?”
Aunt Miranda opened cupboard doors and drawers. “A small space, but updated and seems to have all the basics,” she conceded.
Ally sniffed. “Smells so clean and fresh, like pine trees.”
“With a little eucalyptus added,” Clarissa said.
“Something special?” Hunter asked.
“When you manage to decipher your grandmother’s journal, the section on essential oils should mention pine providing protection and strength, while eucalyptus contains healing properties.”
Miranda crinkled her nose.“Superstitious nonsense.”
The mirror hanging on the wall between the kitchen and the staircase drew Hunter. Her fingers brushed against the unicorns with hoofs raised in a perpetual gallop around the frame. The purple fairies at the four corners seemed ready to flutter their wings. “Lovely.” she murmured.
“There’s a stone fireplace with an ample supply of wood stacked on the side.” Ally clapped her hands. “We can have a cozy fire on chilly nights.”
Aunt Miranda twitched an eyebrow. “You know how to build a fire? Safely?”
“Girl Scout training.” Ally tapped her chest like a female version of Tarzan. “I can handle it.”
The group climbed the stairs to inspect the two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.
“The bedroom facing the lake has a desk in a little nook. Perfect for your research and writing,” Ally said.
Hunter consulted her aunt. “Does the cottage get your okay?”
“I still believe returning to the city the best course of action for you,” Miranda said. “But if you insist on staying in Mystic Lake, this place will do.”
Thrilled her aunt had given what passed as her blessing, Hunter discussed arrangements with Clarissa.
Ally whipped out her checkbook. “Will a personal check be okay?”
“Put that away,” Hunter said. “You’re my guest.”
“I can pay my own expenses,” Ally insisted.
“You buy the groceries. Besides, you’ll be doing a lot of research for me. A paid position.” Hunter put on a fake frown. “No arguing or I’ll send you home.”
“Okay, boss.” Ally saluted three times.
“Who gets the rental fee?” Hunter asked Clarissa.
“Riley Delaney.”
“She owns the place?” Ally looked around. “How could she not live in these beautiful surroundings? It’s a lovely home.”
“Riley inherited the home from her mother,” Clarissa said. “When she married about a year ago, she gave me permission to select temporary renters.”
“She must trust you,” Hunter said.
Clarissa smiled as she took the check. “I’m her grandmother. Call me if you have any questions. You have my cell number.”
“Can we give you a lift home?” Hunter asked.
“Thank you, my dear, but no. I’ll accompany Theo. His home is a short walk away. From there I have a few errands to run.”
Ally and Hunter returned to the hotel to pack their things and say goodbye to Miranda.
“I’d like to stay a little longer,” she said, “but I must handle urgent business in the city.”
After seeing her off, Hunter and Ally decided to stop at the mall and pick up a few extras for their extended stay, including t-shirts, a couple of sweaters, and jeans.
After returning to the cottage and unloading their purchases, Ally borrowed the car to buy some kitchen staples at the closest grocery store. Hunter begged off from that chore to explore the grounds around the cottage.
She breathed deeply. The scent of freedom and independence smelled remarkably of Mother Earth, lake water, and murmuring breezes. Strolling into the woods, she discovered a small clearing among the tall trees. Only a few birds twittered among the top branches, and some squirrels scurried about. No sign of neighbors or hikers.
A great place to practice.
Ever since hurling the thieves into the air, Hunter had been unnerved. If she didn’t gain control of the dragon�
�s capabilities, she could seriously hurt someone unintentionally. She couldn’t let that happen.
Hunter spotted a dead branch that had fallen against the trunk of a red maple. She touched her pendant and waved a hand, as she had against the burglars at the museum. The limb shot upward and banged tree after tree. The explosive contact of wood on wood induced shudder after shudder along her back and up to her neck. Leaves fluttered to the ground; birds flapped and screeched into the air.
Yikes! She had to do better than that.
The whispering wind reminded her of Theo’s mind linking. Why not try the same technique with the dragon? Hunter focused, funneling her thoughts. Something sparked inside her, leaped outward, and joined with the force inside her amulet. She could actually sense an intertwining!
Hesitant at first, Hunter practiced until she wielded her magic with techniques she’d never used before. Soon, she skipped stones across the water and stirred light breezes in the air, even propelled clouds across the sky. Boosting the strength of her abilities, Hunter curled the wind through the woods until small saplings flexed their limbs, bending low to sweep the ground.
“Yowza! That’s some kind of super power you got there,” Ally said behind her.
Losing concentration and control, Hunter spun around. A tornado-like wind swirled Ally high into the air and directly toward a massive tree.
CHAPTER 5
S AVE ALLY! HUNTER CLUTCHED the dragon amulet. Her fingers trembled as she launched a blue beam into the maple tree in front of the girl’s flying body. The shaft of light shifted and reshaped into a gigantic blue pillow. When Ally landed in the center, the pillow dissolved, leaving her sprawled on a large branch.
Heart thumping in erratic rhythms, Hunter rushed to the bottom of the tree. “Oh, my god! Are you okay?”
Ally peered down, eyes wide, and gave a small yelp. “Whoa! It's about a twenty-foot drop.” Seconds later, she giggled. “Whee! What a ride!”
Hunter released a shuddery breath. She buried the jitters deep inside and grasped the strength to mind link with the dragon. Together, they generated a balmy blue breeze to lift Ally and float her to the ground, just like a magic carpet. She jumped up and whirled around, then flung herself at Hunter and gave her a big hug.