I glanced at Ronnie, but she only shrugged at me. When I turned to look at Abidan again, I watched as the gold of his eyes flared to life again, lighting his brown skin until it shimmered in shades of copper, willing me to understand.
“The lottery,” I whispered, hearing the faint voice of the DJ chattering on in my head as the memory surfaced.
“Shut up,” Ronnie said, turning to me.
“Thank you, Abidan,” I said, pushing away from the table, urging Ronnie to get up. I moved around the table until I was close enough to grab the ring, but not so close that I would accidentally touch the psychic.
“What do I owe you?” I asked, bringing my purse around to dig for my wallet.
“Blessings be with you both,” Abidan said, holding up a hand to stop me.
“No,” I said, shaking my head as I pulled out a few folded bills and tossed them onto the table, remembering what Whelan had said to me. “We all gotta eat.”
Chapter 15
“How the hell are we supposed to figure out who won the lottery?” Ronnie asked.
“Go to the lottery office?” I offered as I locked the door to my apartment before peeling off the layers of clothing until I was down to my T-shirt and jeans.
“They claimed it anonymously,” Ronnie said with a shake of her head.
“How do you know that?” I asked, dropping my hands after pulling the necklace with the crystal vial over my head.
“Saw it on the news when I got up tonight,” she said casually. “Tea?” I nodded and she moved into the kitchen and started the kettle, moving as comfortably as if she were in her own kitchen.
“Frogs on toast,” I muttered, gathering up my sweater and scarf. “I take it that’s not public record then, huh?”
“Huh, no,” Ronnie said with a chuckle.
“Guess I’ll have to use a little witchy trickery then.” I shrugged as I moved into the bedroom to deposit my clothes into the hamper. I realized, after leaving Abidan’s and getting back into the car, that the combined smells of the opium and incense had clung to my clothing. I made a face as I closed the hamper. I tried to grab a handful of hair and pull it around to smell, but only managed to get the tips close enough to my nose. Yep, it smelled. That was just awesome.
I could hear the building whistle of the kettle as the water boiled and walked out to see Ronnie adding a spoonful of sugar to each cup before pouring in the steaming water.
“Girl, I stink,” I said as I collapsed into a kitchen chair, accepting the hot cup of tea.
“I probably do too,” she agreed. “I’ll have Joey do my laundry tomorrow. Want her to do yours?”
“What?” I sputtered, nearly burning my tongue.
“Oh yeah, she never left,” Ronnie said. “When she woke up, we realized she’d cracked a couple of ribs, so I told her to stay and gave her a couple of healing potions. Then, when she was feeling better, you know how pixies’ systems are so much faster than ours, well, she just didn’t want to go.”
“So she’s living with you?”
“Yeah, but it’s been kinda nice,” Ronnie said, stirring her tea to cool it. “She’s been, like, an assistant for me. She’s helping at the shop too. That’s how I could go with you to Noir; Joey was running the shop for me.”
“Wow, you trust her to do that?”
“Eh, it was only a couple of hours,” Ronnie said. “I didn’t have her count out the register or anything; I went ahead and did that myself, so if there’s anything in the drawer now, it’s not much.”
“An assistant huh?” I said, mulling over that idea. It would be nice to have someone around to clean up for me, take care of the little things that got in the way of actual work. Might even get some sleep occasionally.
“I’m sure she’d be happy to help you out too,” Ronnie said over the rim of her cup. “You know, since you saved her ass and all. But, uh, I’m paying her.”
“Huh.” I glanced up at Ronnie, almost not hearing her over the thoughts of clean laundry, cooked food, and a decent night’s sleep running through my head.
“If you wanted Joey to help you out too, you can’t expect her to do it for free,” Ronnie said, hitting each word carefully so I would follow along.
“Right, sure,” I said, waving a hand in the air. “Obviously.” Ronnie cocked an eyebrow at me, but let the subject drop.
“So what are you gonna do about the lottery office?”
“I think a little Persuasion is in order,” I said with a grin, and Ronnie nodded.
“Gotta be careful. That’s easily traced.”
“I know. I just need a name, that’s all,” I said. “Just one little name, and I can find the dirty son of a bridge dweller.” I felt power singing through my arms, fueled by my anger. I took one hand off my mug to let the power snap freely at my fingertips in sparks of white and purple. Ronnie nodded at me again. Yeah, just one little name, and I’d have the bastard that had tried to ruin my life.
***
It took me three tries to turn the alarm off on my phone when it blared to life to wake me. I hardly ever set my alarm since I worked for myself, so it was a little disconcerting. The lottery office was a human run business, so I needed to get up early enough to make it there before they closed. But I wanted to be careful to get there late enough that most of the people who worked there were either already gone or focused on leaving. I just needed one person to help me anyway, so the fewer people around, the better.
I was standing on my kitchen counter, digging through the jars on top of my fridge, when I heard a faint knock at the door. There were no muttered curses, smells of burning flesh, or explosions, so whoever was knocking was welcome and meant me no harm.
“Hang on!” I called out, shoving another dusty jar out of my way until I finally found the tiny canister I was looking for. With a swipe of my thumb, I wiped away the dust covering the fading label that read Persuasion. It was the last that my mother had made, and I had managed to save it all these years. Persuasion dust was particularly powerful, possibly because of the poppy seeds ground up in there, so you really didn’t want to have a lot lying around. I held the canister to my chest as I jumped off the counter, hearing the powder inside shift against the metal container.
I clapped my hands to dust them off as I went to answer the door, making sure to turn the canister so the label wasn’t facing out when I set it down on the counter.
“Joey,” I said with a smile when I opened the door. Her bright pink hair was back to normal, dancing around her head in soft spikes, framing her pretty lavender eyes the way it should. Her skin was bright again, almost luminescent, and when she smiled back at me, there was no hint of fear in her face.
“Mattie,” she said as she flung herself at me, wrapping her thin arms around my neck.
“Ooff!” My breath rushed out of me when her body hit mine and I took a step backward, nearly stepping on Artemis’s tail before I caught my balance.
“Thank you so much,” Joey gushed, her fingers curling into me. I chuckled and returned the hug, reaching out with a foot to catch the edge of the door and kick it closed.
“It’s okay,” I said, patting her on the back before gently prying her arms away from me.
“No,” she said, shaking her head, and I could see the tears already shimmering in her eyes.
“Yes, yes it is,” I said, squeezing her shoulder. “Now, stop that. I’m tired of tears.”
“Right,” she said quickly, wiping her face, “sorry.”
“You gotta stop apologizing so much,” I said. I glanced at the clock on my bookshelf and realized I was pushing it, so I turned and rushed into the kitchen. I rummaged through my drawers until I found a small, empty vial and a lanyard, just like the one my single dose of knockout powder was on.
“What are you doing?” Joey asked, joining me in the kitchen.
“Gotta run an errand,” I said as I took a teaspoon and carefully filled the vial from the black and silver powder inside the canister. I held my brea
th until the dust settled.
“Oh, the lottery office,” Joey said. I snapped my head up, my eyes going wide as I stared at her. “Ronnie told me,” she said quickly, holding her hands up as if to ward me off.
“Way to keep a secret, Ron,” I said with a shake of my head as I corked the vial before screwing the lid back onto the canister and shoving it deep into a cabinet. I would put it back on the fridge later. Right then I had to get out of there.
“Listen, Mattie,” Joey said, hot on my heels as I dashed around the apartment, getting my things so I could get out of there. “I really owe you one, so if you need any help with anything, I’m gonna be around working for Ronnie.”
“Yeah, she told me. That’s great,” I said absentmindedly, tucking the vial under my shirt before grabbing my messenger bag.
“But she doesn’t need my help until later. You guys sleep really late, you know,” Joey said, following so closely I nearly stepped on her when I turned around to grab my keys. “Anyway, want me to come with you? Maybe I can help you?”
That stopped me. I turned around and stared at her. Could I use her help? She was seriously fast. Maybe she could sneak into the lottery office for me and find out what I needed to know if I couldn’t slip someone the persuasion powder.
“Joey,” I said, taking a second to slow down and talk to her, “do you understand why I’m going to the lottery office?”
“Sure, Ronnie told me,” she said with a small shrug. “You think the people who won that mega jackpot are the ones who have Roane, so you’re gonna try to find out their name.”
“You know that’s private information and I’m gonna have to do something humans consider illegal to get it, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re cool with that?”
“Sure.” She shrugged again, like it really was no big deal to her.
“And you want to help me if you can?”
“Sure!” She rocked up onto her toes and bounced in place, her lavender eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Well, all right then,” I said. “Let’s go.”
***
Joey couldn’t have been more at ease unless she was asleep. The entire way to the lottery place she sang at the top of her lungs to whatever song was on the radio, for good or bad, earning quite a few looks at red lights while we waited. At first it was a little annoying, but after a couple of miles, I found myself relaxing, enjoying her pure excitement and abandon. By the time I pulled into the parking lot of the office building, I realized I wasn’t the least bit nervous. Maybe that was the pixie magic in her – adventures and mystery were the spice of life for their kind.
The parking lot wasn’t very full, and a glance at the clock told me they were only going to be open for another ten minutes. We had to hurry. I touched the vial hanging from my neck as I stared at the glass door.
“You okay?” Joey asked, furrowing her pink brows at me. “Want me to do it?” She bounced in her seat, clapping her hands quietly. “I could do it, Mattie, really.”
“Joey, I’m not going to let you commit a crime for me. You don’t owe me that much,” I said, keeping my eyes on the door as two more employees walked out, chatting with each other. When they didn’t lock the door behind them, I breathed a sigh of relief.
She made a dismissive sound, waving her hand. “Bet I could get the name without that,” she said, pointing at the vial in my hand.
“You think so, do you?” I arched a brow at her and realized she was more than a little excited about the challenge. It seemed her relationship with Malachi had changed her, kept her from being herself, and now she was free. Free to fly and play like a pixie was meant to.
“All right,” I said, “if you think you can—” She was gone before I could finish, the passenger door slamming shut and cutting me off. I barely saw the office door move after she darted through. I turned off the car, not wanting to listen to the radio or miss anything under the sound of the idling engine.
Minutes stretched on, and I felt a trickle of sweat form in the small of my back, slipping down to soak into the waistband of my jeans. How humans lived in full sun, I would never understand. I was seriously regretting not rolling down the windows before turning the car off. I was just reaching for the door handle when the office door opened and Joey came strolling out. She caught the door before it closed and waggled her fingers at someone inside, blowing them a kiss.
She was giggling uncontrollably when she dropped back into the passenger seat. She wiped a tear from her eye, trying to catch her breath before she handed me a slip of white paper.
“Jackson Racanelli,” I read out loud. “Whoa, you got an address? Seriously?”
Joey just grinned at me and nodded frantically. Her eyes were actually twinkling with magic, almost twirling. If I stared long enough, she would pull me into them. I blinked and tore my gaze away.
“How did you do this?”
“Pixie dust,” she said casually.
“Oh, you cheat!”
“What? You were gonna use that powder.” She pointed a finger at my necklace.
“I know, but you said…” I closed my mouth and shook my head. “Never mind. Thank you.”
“Welcome!” she sang, bouncing in her seat. When I turned the car on, she cranked up the volume on the radio. I reached and pushed the button until it was at a tolerable level for my ears. I punched the address into my phone, got the directions, and got the hell out of there.
It was a relatively short drive, though I wasn’t really surprised the directions kept us in the human side of the city. But I was surprised when we pulled up to an industrial park full of self-storage units.
“Uh, is this right?” Joey asked, staring out the window.
“You’re the one who got the address.” I chewed my bottom lip, driving slowly through the entrance, pulling up alongside a bank of mailboxes, all with addresses affixed to them with sticker numbers.
“There’s the number.” Joey pointed at the second row, third box in.
“Somehow I don’t think he lives here though,” I said, feeling my body deflate right where I was sitting.
“I’m sorry,” Joey said, turning her sad face toward me. The light in her eyes faded, leaving them a dark purple.
“Well, let’s not give up yet,” I said, hitting the accelerator. “If they listed this as their mailing address, then that storage unit belongs to them.”
“You think?”
“I do,” I said with a nod, “and if they have a unit here, then they probably keep some stuff in it. I might find something to make a seeking spell with and we’ll get ‘em that way.”
The place was set up with perfectly straight rows, but after a few left and right turns looking for the right number, I felt a little lost. The sun was sinking in the sky, sending long dark shadows stretching through the alleyways, making it that much harder to read the numbers above the roll up doors.
“There!” Joey said and pointed a finger in front of my face, making me hit the brakes hard enough to throw us both against our seatbelts. We stopped right in front of the metal roll up door, the address barely visible above it.
I glanced around when we got out of the car, Joey at my side in the blink of an eye, making sure we were alone. When no one jumped out of the shadows at us, I turned to the lock on the door.
“You keep an eye out,” I whispered at Joey as I took the lock in hand, looking away from her when she nodded. The lock wasn’t anything special, it wasn’t even a combination lock. But it wasn’t even made of iron or something else that might keep the Fae from tampering with it. This guy really was reckless. Blowing a lock of hair out of my face, I set my finger to the key hole and zapped it with a bolt of power, feeling the zing of energy shoot through my hand, and was rewarded with the sound of the mechanism inside snapping.
The door screeched loud and angry when I pulled at the handle to roll it up. I froze, cringing at the noise. Joey hissed behind me, watching both ways down the alley. When no on
e came running out, guns blazing, I pulled on the door, stopping when it was just high enough for us to slip through without crawling on our hands and knees. I tucked the damaged lock into my jacket pocket.
“Think we should leave the car out there?” Joey whispered.
“Not planning on staying long,” I said back in a hushed voice. “And in that vein, let’s hurry up.”
I started to reach for the light switch, but Joey’s hand on my wrist stopped me. She shook her head, only the bright pink of her hair making it possible for me to see her in the darkened room. I twitched my nose, considering her caution. She was probably right.
“Aduro,” I whispered into my hand, causing a blue flame to burst into life, hovering over my palm. A circle of light grew around us, softer than the florescent lights would have been. Joey reached for the door, pushed it closed, and blew on the flame, sending it from my hand to the middle of the ceiling where it burst into a dozen tiny flames and spread out, lighting the room in a dim blue glow.
It wasn’t so much as a place of storage as it was an empty, wide room that would be better suited as a workshop. There were boxes piled high, taking up one full corner, and a long workbench took up the length of another wall. I walked over to the workbench to examine the clutter left there.
There was a couple of Bunsen burners with stained potion bottles set over them. I eyed the stains, a queasy feeling settling in my stomach; no witch worth her salt would ever use dirty and stained tools when casting. It was just asking for trouble, and explosions. There was a pile of bird wings, ravens from the looks of them, with crusted blood on the exposed hinges. A dingy paring knife was left on a cutting board covered in clippings of various herbs. This guy just didn’t care about mixing ingredients. I sniffed and caught the aroma of mint, rosemary, and mistletoe.
“Not good,” I whispered. Mistletoe was often used in poisons, and the fae stayed away from that particular plant like the plague.
Wytchcraft: A Matilda Kavanagh Novel Page 23