by Linda Wisdom
Jake barked to let her know that wasn’t an option.
“Okay, let’s get downstairs, then.”
With Blair on one side and Stasi on the other, they helped the dog limp downstairs where he issued them a “don’t follow me” look as he slowly made his way to the trees. After a few minutes he limped back to them and they helped him up the stairs.
Blair finally curled up on the bed with Jake lying with his head in her lap, pulling her quilt, with its splashes of vivid cobalt, emerald green, and hot pink, over them for warmth. She put on the TV for him while she read. She was grateful that Ashley and Jordan were reliable and she didn’t have to worry about her shop. Worrying about Jake was about all she could handle for now.
“What the hell were you thinking, Stasi?” Trev’s roar was heard a second after the door opened. “Do you realize how many mortal laws you two broke?”
“What we were thinking was that we were saving someone important. Take a look and you’ll see exactly why we did it.”
A moment later they stood in the doorway and Trev, face still flushed with anger, looked down at the dog, who tried feebly to get to his feet then sank back into Blair’s arms.
“They tranqued Jake last night, somehow manufactured a story that he was dangerous, and found a way to dump him at a shelter that wasted no time in putting him on a list to be destroyed,” Blair said from her spot on the bed. It took all her willpower not to burst into tears at the thought of what could have happened. Jake lifted his head momentarily then returned it to its place on her lap. “That they left their shit all over our yard is the least of our worries, but I figured it didn’t hurt that Horace was willing to return it to the owners, so to speak. I used a location spell to find Jake, and then Stasi and I broke him out of the shelter. Whatever was in that tranq dart is still in his system, and I’d say they gave him one nasty beating before they left him at the shelter. He’s also wearing a collar that prevents him from shifting back to human form and from healing while he’s a collie.”
“I looked in our spell books and can’t find anything to help us,” Stasi added. “Can you come up with something?”
Trev pulled off his coat and walked toward them, holding out his hands. He skimmed them lightly over Jake and stepped back.
“The collar is providing a blanket spell. It’s preventing any reversal magick to be used to help him.” He frowned in thought. “Are you sure Thorpe did this?”
“Great, the lawyer using the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ defense. What do you need, Trev? Paw prints? Yes, they did it!” Blair insisted, along with Jake’s soft whine. “They were in the yard just last night. I know it was them who left the piles of wolf shit out there, they were the ones who hurt Jake, and they were the ones who tried to have him destroyed without them doing it directly. To give them clean paws, so to speak.”
Jake pawed at her, but it didn’t stop her temper from sparking around her.
Trev breathed heavily through his nose. “If that’s the case—” He held up his hand before the two witches started in on him. “Hey, I’m a lawyer! Let me do this my way. If they are behind this, then the case needs to be brought before the Alpha, who will determine punishment.” He winced as both Blair and Stasi shouted him down. “I’m trying to keep you two out of trouble! You already vandalized the resort. If they report you to the Witches’ Council, you’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
“Actually, that was me who left the burning bags of shit up there.” A smug Horace sauntered in with Blair’s iTouch in one claw. “And I did a really good job of it, too.”
Trev looked pained. “And who told you to do it?”
“What? I can’t think it up myself?” Horace drew himself up, looking as offended as a gargoyle could. “I have a brain, ya know.”
Trev closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose with his fingertips.
“Mae said I should have read my horoscope today.”
Chapter 13
“So what do you think we should do?” Blair asked, gently stroking Jake’s muzzle but keeping a safe distance from the collar to avoid inflicting further pain.
“Other than going up to the resort and turning Roan into a pile of slugs?” Stasi added.
“Too clichéd. I’d rather go for something more gross.” Blair continued to stroke Jake’s silky fur.
“Fine, let me make a call.” Trev pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and left the room.
“When did you stop being the voice of reason?” Blair asked her best friend. “Usually you’re the one trying to talk me out of getting into trouble.”
“When I realized creating trouble was more fun.” Stasi went to the door in hopes of eavesdropping. “He’s talking to Roan,” she whispered. “He’s using his lawyer voice and sounding not too happy. I’m not sure if the ‘not happy’ has to do with us or with them.”
“Probably us,” Blair sighed. As soon as Trev returned, she spoke before he could say a word. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this, Trev. This is my problem, not Stasi’s and not yours. Right now, Jake is my priority. He has no Pack to protect him, so I hereby vote myself a part of his Pack. He’ll never be alone again.”
“And me,” Stasi chimed in.
Trev looked at Jake. “You are one lucky dog to have Pack members like these two.” He heaved a deep sigh. “Actually, make it we three. We’ll get this settled without any backlash.” He took Stasi’s hand and tugged on it. “Come on. We need to talk.”
“I’m part of this Pack too, aren’t I?” Horace asked. “I did my part to revenge what was done to Jake.”
Blair wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, so she settled for a bit of both. She leaned over and buried her face in Jake’s ruff, wincing when the collar zapped her and backing off before it could hurt him again. “You’re probably thinking you were better off without us,” she whispered. He pawed at her hand reassuringly.
For the rest of the day Blair left Stasi and Trev alone as they sat in the family room and conversed in whispers. She watched Jake sleeping, hoping his slumber would allow the drug to run its course and he’d be more like himself. Visualizing Roan as something covered with warts or pustules occupied her as she did laundry and stopped in the shop once to check on things. Assured everything was fine, she left Jordan to his work and returned to finish up the household chores.
Too bad a domestic routine couldn’t take her mind off Jake.
But then, her mind hadn’t been off the subject of Jake for some time now.
***
This totally sucked.
Jake never minded shifting to dog shape and exploring the woods at night or sometimes even during the day, but to be trapped in this form without a way of shifting back was pure hell.
He had been under the effects of the tranquilizer dart when the blows rained down on him. It wasn’t the wolves that attacked him, although they hadn’t minded taking a couple of chunks out of him, but those in human form who had their own form of punishment. Boots kicked him, fists struck him, and wooden sticks beat him. Silver burned the pads of his feet. They were still tender and luckily, Blair hadn’t seen the burns yet, or he knew she’d be after Roan in a witchy second with no holds barred.
The spelled collar felt like a noose around his neck. He imagined it gradually tightening with each breath he took. For all he knew, it actually was meant to do that. He didn’t completely recall the collar being fastened around his neck, but then the last twenty-four hours had been pretty much a blur for him. All that mattered was that Blair had found him and used her hexy wiles to rescue him.
What if the collar can’t be removed?
“You’re going to behave when we go up there tomorrow, right?” Trev was asking Blair, including Stasi in his request as they all gathered in the family room after Trev carried the still weak dog out to one of the large oversized chairs.
“Of course we are.” Stasi wrinkled her nose at him.
“Witch’s honor.” Blair held up her hand.
&nb
sp; Jake wished he could chuckle, because from his vantage point he could see that Blair had her other hand behind her back and her fingers were crossed.
“If she’s anything like Jazz, she doesn’t mean it,” Irma said from her perch on the loveseat with Phinneas seated beside her.
“They hurt Jake,” Blair pointed out. “If we can’t find out what to do, he could end up as a dog forever! Sorry sweetie.” She patted Jake’s head then turned back to Trev. “Roan did this on purpose. He realized he can’t scare us, so he’s using Jake as a pawn to force Stasi and me into selling our land to him.”
“Can you prove that?”
“Stop acting like a lawyer, Trev!” she snapped. “We should send the elves back up there, but as their grungy selves, not the cleaned-up elves they are now.”
“The carnival’s almost here,” Stasi said. “We can’t have this battle going on then. We have to settle it now or at least avert any disasters.”
Trev closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I used to have this calm life. And now Mae is laughing herself silly.” He stood up and grabbed Stasi’s hand. “Come on, witch o’ mine. You’re going to have to make this up to me big time.”
Jake whined his own form of apology and looked up at Blair.
She smiled and leaned down to ruffle his ears. “Hey, I’m going to fix this,” she assured him. “And you know I never break a promise.” She groaned as the phone rang, but got out of her chair and snagged the cordless phone lying nearby.
Jake rested his head on his paws, cocking an ear to listen in. He could hear Ginny’s voice as easily as if she was in the room. And she was asking for Blair’s help.
“No, it’s fine. Come on over,” she told the tearful woman.
She looked down at Jake. “Since I can’t go after Roan tonight, I’ll settle for second best.” She glanced at Irma and Phinneas, who had their heads together, whispering Fates-know-what between them. She was afraid to ask. “Ginny can’t see you two; you can stay here, but please, no trying to interfere.”
“Ginny’s that sweet girl who owns the café, isn’t she?” Irma asked. “If someone’s hurt her, you’ll fix it. You always do.” She beamed at Blair as if she was a beloved granddaughter.
“I’ll fix it, all right.” She headed to the kitchen.
Jake slowly got climbed down off the chair and followed her.
Barely five minutes had passed before there was a knock on the door and Blair got up to answer it.
Jake looked up at a Ginny he’d never seen before.
Gone was the lovely Asian woman’s usual smile and sunny nature he saw every time he went into the Sit ’N Eat. Tonight, her face was splotchy from tears and her eyes were swollen and black from smudged mascara. She walked into Blair’s arms for a hug.
“Hey puppy.” Ginny stroked Jake’s head as he nudged her, offering comfort in his own way. “When did you get a dog?”
“He’s visiting,” Blair explained. She steered Ginny to the table and sat her down before moving to the stove to fix tea.
“I can’t believe he did this to me,” Ginny sniffed, pulling out a crumpled tissue, blowing her nose and wiping her eyes. “Why?” she asked, the age old question every woman asks when a man does her wrong. Blair sent a box of tissues over to the table to sit by Ginny’s elbow.
With a spurt of magick, Blair had the tea ready faster than a microwave and brought two cups to the table along with a plate of peanut butter cookies. Jake stretched out under the table. He had always been curious about Blair’s side business of creating revenge spells, and he had an idea he’d learn a lot tonight.
“Drink your tea, then tell me exactly what happened,” Blair urged her, knowing the calming herbs she had slipped in would help her friend.
Ginny sipped the tea. “You know Dave and I have been dating for the past year.”
Blair nodded, silently urging her to continue.
“He was even talking about moving up here, since all his business is conducted online.” One tear escaped and trailed down her cheek while her nose dripped.
“I never had any reason to think he wasn’t what he portrayed himself to be,” she whispered, continuing to sip her tea. “I even met some of his friends. We went away a few times for really nice, long weekends at these gorgeous resort hotels.”
“Which your mother still doesn’t know about, right?”
“She still thinks I’m a virgin, and it’s safer to have her thinking that. He even hinted at marriage.” Her cheeks bloomed a bright pink.
Blair could easily see and feel her friend’s pain, but she knew the worst was yet to come. And she already knew she’d do all she could to help her friend to feel better and see that justice was served. “So what happened?”
Ginny stared at the tabletop as if she couldn’t bear to look at Blair.
“Dave and I talked about my ideas for expanding the café when Lyle’s lease runs out next year.” She mentioned the shop that was next door to her café. “Lyle doesn’t plan on renewing it, because he wants to retire and see the country in his RV. Dave’s always been very lucky with his investments, and he suggested I set up a portfolio.”
“Oh Ginny.” Blair knew exactly where this was going, but she knew Ginny had to be the one to say the words.
“It was a sure thing. I would double my investment and have more than enough to expand the café. Except now Dave is gone. Both his phone and email are no good and when I went to his house, I was told it was a rental and he moved out owing six months rent.” Ginny buried her face in her hands, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook. “And all my money is gone.”
“How much?” When Blair heard the amount she almost fell off her chair. She mentally amped up what she’d need for the spell. “Did you go to the police?”
Ginny nodded. “I used to watch those shows where women said they were too embarrassed to go to the police because they felt stupid at being scammed. I always thought they were crazy to get taken in, and now I’m one of those stupid women!”
“No, you’re not. It’s all Dave’s fault and you remember that. What did the police say?”
“I filed a report and it turns out that he ran the same scam with three other women. The detective I spoke with said if Dave is found I can sue him for my money, which I bet he’s now spending on another woman before he cons her out of her money.” Ginny sighed. “That’s why I called you.”
Blair studied her hopeful expression. “You want vengeance.”
Ginny nodded. “And not just for me, but for the other women, too. At least I have the café. I didn’t take out an extra mortgage or borrow money I couldn’t afford to pay back. One of the women did that and she’s losing her house. I just can’t tell my mother what happened or I’d never hear the end of it.”
“How are you going to explain not having any savings?”
“Hope she doesn’t ask?” Ginny’s sniff held a hint of laughter.
Blair tapped her fingers against the table as she thought for several moments. Ginny remained quiet, only getting up to fix herself another cup of tea and this time taking a cookie along with sneaking one under the table to Jake.
“I can’t get your money back,” Blair said finally. “That’s beyond my capabilities, but I can make sure that no one will be scammed by him again. And maybe even make it easier for him to be caught. And I’ll make a charm for you to keep in the café to help increase business, even if it’s only that everyone will decide they want dessert or an appetizer at dinner. But I really think you need to tell your mother. Mrs. Chao will probably lecture you for the next ten years, but she’ll also be grateful that you and Dave didn’t get married, and you can remind her of your narrow escape.”
“She’ll probably just remind me it would have been nice if he’d given me children first. So you can help me?” She reached inside her jacket pocket and pulled out a bag. “Luckily, I kept something of his when I tossed everything else out.” She handed Blair a key fob with a key still attached. “The key is for the hous
e I thought he owned.”
“I’ll work on it tonight. Stasi and I have to be somewhere in the morning, but I’ll come by tomorrow afternoon.”
“Make him suffer.” Now that Ginny had shared her tale of woe, she was ready for bloody retribution. “Make all his teeth fall out, or make his face break out in massive acne—or how about he develops crabs? And I don’t mean those little ones either, but real ones!”
“Okay Ginny, now that you’re starting to bounce back, let’s not bounce back too hard.” Blair followed her to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
Ginny hugged her tightly. “You are the best. Thank you.”
“No thanks are necessary. I’m just glad I can help.”
Once Ginny was gone, Blair crossed the kitchen to a bare wall. She pressed her fingers against the surface and whispered words under her breath. A moment later, a click revealed a cabinet door that she slid open.
“Can’t have the magickal goodies getting mixed up with the flour and sugar.” She looked through the contents of the shelves, pulling out several bottles, and a small stone bowl and pestle. She moved everything off the kitchen table and laid out a cloth before setting out her materials.
Jake moved out from under the table and took up a spot near the pantry.
“And I liked Dave, too,” Blair told Jake. “I can’t believe that something negative about him didn’t tickle Stasi’s or my senses. I didn’t sense any magick, so he’s just a regular conman who needs to be brought down a few pegs.” She returned to the hidden cabinet and pulled out a spell book. The leather cover was cracked and worn, many of the pages yellowed and curling. No wonder it was in such battered condition—Blair had started writing her spells in the book when she attended the Witches’ Academy in the early fourteenth century. “The key fob will be perfect for directing the spell toward him. Let’s see what will provide the best effects.” She carefully leafed through her book.
By the time Blair finished with her tasks, Jake had been dozing for some time. She cleaned up the kitchen, then went to her bedroom for some much needed sleep.