by Tegan Maher
He winked, and it was all I could do not to giggle. If he leaned that way, Eli would have been married a dozen times over. For some reason, daddies loved him.
Rather than correct him, Eli just smiled. "I'm sure she's a peach and has no problem finding dates all on her own."
Rob laughed at that and nodded. "You're not wrong there. Just finding one strong enough to stand with her is my concern. I'm sure she'll figure it out, though. Good luck to all of you. I hope you find it before it can hurt anybody else like it did Carl."
The smile slipped off my face as the reason for this get-together settled back on my shoulders. "Me, too, Mr. Thompson, and I think you've offered a great deal of help. I'm sorry for your loss. Good luck to you."
Chapter Ten
We said our goodbyes, and I pulled out my phone to check the time. Like Axel, Stony played poker at the Jolly Roger on Saturday nights, so he didn't start work until nine on Sundays. Like many locals, he worked weekends and took his time off through the week when tourists and other folks were less likely to need him.
"Stony doesn't open for another forty-five minutes," I said. "We may as well look around."
I loved looking at all the wares, and it wasn't uncommon to find a few pieces that would make for nice souvenirs in the gallery. We didn't make much money off them, but they drew people in so that we could sell them bigger items.
Parker's was known for having a wide variety of antiques, and it was rare that we couldn't match a customer with something they didn't even know they wanted until they saw it. That was sort of Willow's superpower, though it had nothing to do with her magic, or at least not much to do with it. She was just excellent at reading people, which is why she ran the gallery.
We took our time strolling through the market, and I was so engrossed in people watching that I ran right into Luther's back when he stopped suddenly.
"Look at these," he said, pointing to a small crate that held six small glass apothecary bottles in different colors and shapes. He plucked a purple one from the box and held it up.
I stepped closer to get a better look, my professional eye automatically scanning it for chips or imperfections. "Nice find. It's in mint condition and hand-blown."
He smiled. "Sybil loves glass, and her birthday's coming up. These will be perfect." He paid the vendor for them and we waited while she wrapped them up for him.
She smiled as she did it and flirted with him a little. "Sorry to take so long. I'd just hate for them to break on you before you can get them home to your ... wife?"
It was all I could do not to roll my eyes at her not-so-subtle fishing expedition, but Luther rolled with it, keeping it cool, but not giving her any false hopes.
"They're for a special friend. Thank you for taking the time to wrap them."
Her expression changed to a knowing look and all hints of flirting fell away as she handed him the bag. "Ah, of course. Well, I hope you impress your special friend with them. I'm sure he'll be delighted."
Eli laughed and then coughed, and I giggled when I saw the lemonade shoot out his nose.
"What?" Luther asked, confused as we moved away from the table.
"For somebody who's lived so long, you're not very good at keeping up with the vernacular," he said, wiping his nose with the napkin he'd wrapped around his cup.
"What do you mean?" Luther still didn't have a clue.
"You sorta told her you were gay." Eli's eyes were still watering, but now it was as much from amusement as it was from the disturbance his sinuses got when he back-flushed them with the tart drink.
It was comical watching him replay the conversation in his head then nod. "Yeah, I can see how that played out now." He shrugged. "That's fine, though. I wasn't interested in her, and if that's what it takes to keep her from feeling rejected, I'm okay with it."
Sometimes the guy gave me whiplash from how quickly he swerved between kindness and arrogance. He was, as always, an enigma.
We picked through a few more tables. I managed to find some fresh strawberries for Maris, who I knew we'd see later, and a little basket of sea glass that would go over well with tourists. They loved it, though I couldn't blame them. I had quite a nice collection myself.
Finally, it was time to head to Stoney's, and we were almost out of the market when a familiar voice called my name. I stopped in my tracks—it was familiar because I'd been hearing it since three minutes after I was born. I turned to find Jake trotting toward us from the direction of the parking lot, pulling a laughing Michelle along behind him.
"Did you guys find anything good?" He glanced at the bags Luther and I were carrying. "I thought I'd bring Michelle down for a cinnamon roll."
I did my best not to let my hurt feelings shine through, especially considering he hadn't answered my text earlier. Mary Sue's cinnamon rolls were sort of our thing. Whenever we'd come, that was the first place we'd head. It was immature, I know, but I couldn't help the little jolt of vindictive satisfaction that shot through me when I remembered the sign that had been hanging on her regular table.
I felt even worse when I couldn't help wanting to deliver the news myself. "Aww, that's too bad. She's closed today."
He knew me inside out and tilted his head at me, studying me. He knew something was off but didn't quite know what.
Before he could ask, or say another word, for that matter, I decided to end the conversation. "You two enjoy the market. We have someplace to be."
Since Michelle wasn't magical, I couldn't come out and say what, but somewhere deep inside me, the part that loved him warred with the part that was pissed at him right now. I didn't know which of them would win, so I gave a little wave, turned on my heel, and headed toward Stony's.
"Shmoo, you okay?" Eli's use of his childhood pet name for me almost made me cry.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, swiping at my eyes. "Let's just go see if Stoney's done with the boat so we can get out of here."
Though concern clouded his features, he let it go. That wouldn't last forever, but I didn't need it to. As soon as we were alone, I'd spill all my stupid emotions to him, even though he no doubt already knew at least the gist of them. I just didn't want to do it in public, and especially not in front of Luther.
A few seconds later, the man of mystery spoke up. "Did I ever tell you I'm a twin?"
My gaze shot toward him and I threw out my feelers to see if he was lying. If he was, I had every intention of turning him back into a pig just like I had the last time he'd said something completely asinine. I didn't detect a hint of deception, though.
I shook my head as we passed in front of the marina office. "No, you didn't."
"I am. I had a twin sister, and we were as close as two people can be."
I chanced a glance at him and was surprised to see pain flicker across his face.
"When our father arranged her marriage to a man who lived hundreds of miles away, it broke my heart. Then, five years later, we got word that she'd died in childbirth." His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. "I already knew that, though. I felt it when she went."
I couldn't even imagine how that must have felt. Jake was like a piece of me, and a pang of regret shot through me at the way I'd just treated him.
Eli's jaw was locked, and he swiped at his eye. I turned to Luther.
"I'm so sorry. That must have been terrible."
Luther nodded. "It was one of the worst things that's ever happened to me, and that's saying a lot considering what I've lived through. I still think about her all the time." He cast me a sideways glance. "So I know what you're feeling, but just remember that you're as much a part of him as he is of you. Nobody can ever take your place."
I sniffed and swerved to bump him with my shoulder. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."
He smiled. "I know you did. Now, let's go find a lantern."
We'd come to an aluminum warehouse with Stoney's painted on the outside in huge yellow letters, then underneath it in smaller letters, Boat Repair, Haul Outs, & Eme
rgency Towing.
In addition to cleaning boats—which often required the boats to be put on a lift so he could clean the barnacles off the hulls, he also did emergency towing and repair. Between the two, he made a nice income.
We pushed through the door into a small office, and I was grateful for the blast of cold air produced by a large window unit. Nobody was there, so I opened the door leading to the rear where he worked. Sure enough, he had a cabin cruiser up on a lift scraping the barnacles off the hull.
He saw us and waved, then strode toward us, his bowlegged stride something I'd recognize anywhere.
"Hey, y'all! Long time, no see!" He wiped his hands down the front of a grubby tee-shirt that hung off his lean frame, then held it out to Luther and gave him a gap-toothed grin. "I'm Stoney. This here's my shop. I might warn you though, if you're hangin' out with these two scallywags, you're probably headed for trouble."
"Don't I know it," Luther responded, taking his hand.
"Funny you should mention trouble," I said after the meet-and-greet was over. "We're here because we think a cursed artifact might have ended up on a boat you're working on."
He took off his greasy Tom Petty hat and scratched his head, then slapped it back on. "You don't say. Which boat?"
Eli shook his head. "We don't know her name, but it belongs to Carl Emerson."
"Oh, that feller that died in his own fountain yesterday." He bobbed his head. "I heard about that at the bar last night. Durned shame, that. I love his Paleo meals. Real meat and potatoes stuff. Best thing since sliced bread, except, you know, bread ain't Paleo."
I grinned and shook my head. The man was always full of surprises. "Do you have his boat here, though?"
"Yup. She's right there. The one I'm workin' on now." He strode back toward it and lowered the lift. "You'll have to be careful, but no more'n you weight, it'll be fine as long as you don't do jumpin' jacks whilst you're up there."
Eli gave me a boost, and I pulled myself aboard without causing so much as a wobble. The boat was a nice one, and it was obvious he'd spent a ton of money on it. I opened the doors to go below and wasn't surprised to find it was finished in teak and decorated with furniture that made me scratch my head trying to figure out how they'd gotten it down there.
The lantern was easy enough to find, except for one thing. There were six. I sent my feelers out and did my thing, but not a one of them had so much as a trace of magic on it. I bit my lip, studying them. That didn't make any sense. I turned the rest of the boat inside out looking for another, but it seemed he'd felt four was enough.
Rather than try to suss it out in the hot, stuffy space, I found a large tote and stuffed them all into it. I had to scramble a bit to get them back above, but when I did, I sucked in a lungful of cool air.
'Did you get it?" Eli called as I popped my head over.
I sighed as I handed the tote overboard. "I'm not sure. There were four of them, and none of them seem to have any magic attached to them."
Luther reached up and took the bag from me, frustration etched on his face. "That can't be. If not here, then where?"
Eli kept me from breaking my neck with I hopped over.
"No idea, but I snagged them just in case. It may be time to call in Sybil and Charity." I hated to call in the big guns when we didn't have the item, but I was at my wits' end.
Chapter Eleven
Since Stoney was a shifter, it didn't much matter that Luther opted to change back into his bird form in order to go tell Sybil we needed help. She had a cell phone but left it by her bed more often than not when she was working outside.
"Just go ahead and head that direction," Luther said before he stepped behind the boat to shift. "I'll try to get Charity there if she's not already."
Before I could even nod, he'd disappeared behind the boat, and after a flash of bright light, a raven flew out and threw the open back of the warehouse.
"I wonder why he didn't just teleport." Eli scratched his head as he watched Luther fly away.
Stony grinned. "Because flyin' is peaceful. There's something about losing yourself to the animal part of yerself that just puts everything into perspective."
Considering I had no idea what that was like, I couldn't argue. It made sense, though. With the shape my mind was in lately, it sounded like a marvelous thing, and I found myself a little jealous. It would be nice to just escape and float above everything for a while.
Eli laid his hand on my arm, snapping me back to reality. "Okay, Shmoo. You ready?"
"Yep." I turned to Stoney and gave him a hug. "Thanks a ton. You're awesome as always."
His ears turned a little red and he gave me a shy grin. "Go on, now. It weren't nothin'. You ever need help with anything again, you just let me know."
"Will do."
As we headed back toward the car, I enjoyed the smell of sea air and the sound of water lapping against the hulls of the boats that floated in the marina just a couple hundred yards away. I wished we had time to stop and check in on Larry, but that wasn't in the cards. I felt like I probably needed to apologize for Axel, but I also wanted to tactfully ask some questions of my own. He was a grown man, though, and ultimately, it was his life.
We were skirting the edge of the market when I caught sight of Jake and Michelle holding hands strolling past the tables. "Wait here a second."
I hustled over and pulled him into a hug.
Laughing, he hugged me back. "What was that for?"
I grinned up at him. "Just because you're my little brother."
"Only by three minutes."
"Still, younger." I winked at him then smiled at Michelle. "You two have fun. Maybe we can all come next weekend."
"I'd like that," she said, smiling back.
"Care to tell me what that was all about?" Eli asked. "A half hour ago, you were ready to drown him." He raised a brow as he looped his arm through mine. "That story Luther told got to you, didn't it?"
I nodded. "Yes, it did. She's not my competition, and I'm gonna work hard to remember that."
"If you forget, I'll remind you," he said, unhooking his arm and slinging it around my shoulders to give me a squeeze. "You're our main girl and always will be."
Despite how silly it felt, it did make me feel better.
When we pulled up in front of Sybil's beachfront house, I was surprised to see her and Luther sitting on the porch with Charity. He'd made good on his word to have them both there. I pulled the bag of lanterns from the backseat and carried them with me to the porch, setting them down gently as I took a seat in one of the two empty rockers. I'd stopped by the shop and grabbed the two I'd collected from the office, too.
"So this is what you found, huh?" Sybil asked, bending forward and pulling the bag toward her. As always, she looked spectacular in a form-fitting white sundress that had little pink flowers down the skirt. Charity was elegant in her own self-possessed way in a flowy yellow mumu that accented her dark skin. Her board-straight raven hair was so smooth it gleamed, and the turquoise ring and necklace she wore lent an air of earthiness to her. She was, after all, Romani, and they were known for their closeness with the Earth.
Sybil muttered a few words to protect her hands, then pulled the lanterns out one at a time, examining each one before handing them to Charity, who did the same.
Brows furrowed, the women took their time with each of them. While we waited for Charity to finish checking out the last one, we just leaned back and watched. I assumed that since they'd made it through all six that the first five had yielded nothing.
Charity sat the last lantern down and sighed. "None of these are the one you're searching for."
I ran my hand over my face. "I was afraid of that, but I was hoping it had some sort cloaking spell on it that I couldn't see through.
Charity shook her head. "Not that you couldn't have been right, but you weren't this time. It is possible that you won't be able to detect all the magic yet, but these six are all clean."
"So where d
oes that leave us, then?" I leaned back in my chair and thought about it.
Charity uncrossed her legs, then crossed them the other direction. "Are you sure these are the most recent ones? Maybe he bought one a while back and just now got around to messing with it."
That hadn't even occurred to me because he just started developing symptoms, but it could be that the lantern had been packed away until he had time to mess with it.
"Or maybe the partner still has it," Eli suggested.
Luther shook his head. "He seemed perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with him at all."
I held up a finger. "But would the curse have affected him? He seems to have a solid work-life balance. He spends time with his family and takes time to do things with friends. This curse only takes root in people who've lost sight of what's important to them."
Eli raised a brow. "So it's entirely possible that he could have it and not even know it."
Charity nodded. "It is. I think we should probably check Emerson house again, though. That seems to be the most obvious place that he'd have come into contact with it, and that's where the curse seems to have kicked in. He couldn't see his watch on his nightstand. Did you ask what he'd done the night before?"
I was embarrassed to admit that we hadn't, though James probably had when he'd interviewed her the first time.
My phone rang, and I dug it out of my back pocket. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Or call. I reflexively debated not answering, but history had taught me that would just irritate him. Besides, I needed to find out if he knew what Carl had been doing the night before his death.
"Hey. James. Anything new?"
"I was calling to ask you the same thing," he said, and I could tell he was driving because it sounded like he was inside a wind tunnel.
I stuffed my finger in my ear and scowled. "Can you roll up your window? I can barely hear you."
"What?"
"Roll up your window!" I shouted. I hated it when people did that crap. That level of tech's been around long enough now that everybody should know you can't use the wireless voice in your car with the window down.