I should never wake up with that kind of attitude. It’s terribly dangerous.
I spent a reasonably quiet day with my daughter. We Christmas shopped and hung out with Mia around the store. Strangely, Sven was nowhere to be found. Mia and I made plans for that night and our Hammer hunting. Vickie had her own plans. Being a weekend, she wanted to go to her friend Jordan’s house with a couple of other girlfriends.
“So, Carmen, Justice, Jordan, and I are going to rent that vampire movie and it should be awesome. Mom, he sparkles. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
I smiled a little. Actually, I liked my vampires to smell medium rare, but that was just me. I exchanged a knowing glance with Mia. There were some things we were not telling the kid yet.
As night fell on the county, I watched the lift bridge rise and lower and thought the lights lovely when Chance popped into my bedroom.
I turned to him with a smile.
“What, no screams? No arguments? I had gotten used to the girlish squeals of ‘what are you doing here?’”
I shrugged. “You’re growing on me.” I walked to him and yanked on his shirt to pull his face down to my level.
When we were face to face, he rubbed noses with me. “Like mold.”
I nodded with a grin. “Like mold.”
“I smell better than mold.”
I smiled more. “Slightly.”
“Feeding before or after you go out?”
He had given me options. He sounded reasonable and treated me like an adult. His skin felt feverish with the need for me to feed, and I could sense it. I stroked a hand down his chest. “Both?” He wasn’t the only one who could be a grown up.
He ran hands down my arms, and I repressed a shiver of reaction. “Both?”
“A little now, enough to get by.” I tried my hand at being a tease.
He nuzzled at my neck and emitted a growl. In his head, he thought a little wasn’t enough to hold either of us for long.
“After we go out maybe you could come back and…” I faltered and got shy, which was stupid. The man practically lived in my head. I had no reason to be insecure or doubt him. One would think I would get over the divorce issues sometime soon. Apparently not.
“I could come back and give us both what we are hungry for.” He finished the thought I hadn’t been brave enough to voice, but I heard a hesitation in his voice.
Did I make him insecure, too?
“Or we could feed and get it over with.” I became frustrated with us both and waved an arm. At the same time, I backed away both physically and mentally.
He wasn’t having either. He took my mouth in a long hard kiss. When he stopped, I sagged a little and had to drag my eyes open to meet his gaze. “Nah, I liked your plan.” His voice roughened and his face challenged me to revoke the offer.
A wave of his power came when his lips dropped to sear mine again. It tasted of him, but he cut it off after the briefest of moments. I clung to him, and he pressed my forehead tightly to his, his fingers holding my face in place. “Do we have to hunt your Hammer?”
I nodded. That taste had not been enough.
“Okay. Well, then, let’s do it now while I still have the willpower to let you go.”
I smiled, “You are not in charge. I am.”
He nudged me with those lips and sent another sizzle of power that made my knees go weak. “Do you think so?”
Argument seemed not in my best interest. Ripe with power, like some big, juicy fruit, he tempted me, and I was too hungry to resist taking a bite out of him.
We headed out to find ourselves a ghost. We went downstairs in the traditional manner. I spent far too much time with him lately. To walk seemed a slow mode of transport when Chance had the ability to zap us in and out of wherever we wanted to go. He should teach me that neat little trick. It would be handy for when Vickie missed the bus.
“About that.” He grinned a sheepish grin, and the expression seemed awkward on Chance. We had gotten into the store and Mia had shut down the shop early. Her head popped up when we entered.
“About what?” I took a step away from him, creating distance between us.
“Vickie.” He stopped with the mind-to-mind talk, so I assumed the topic wasn’t personal. Yet his expression said he walked on eggshells. “Do I get to meet her?”
I studied him and then glanced to Mia in askance. “You met her the other day didn’t you?”
“Not actually. I know it will be awkward for you after what I did. But, well, she was never in harm’s way. And you know now that I would never hurt her. You can see in my head.” And he stopped and brushed a hand through his hair in a gesture as uncharacteristic as I had seen. He seemed nervous.
“You want to meet Vickie? Why?” I stopped dead and stared at him.
“Because she’s yours and because she means so much to you and, well that is it really. In your head, she’s huge. And, well, I thought—” Again he stopped and in a gesture that mirrored one I used often, he waved a hand in the air helplessly.
I stared at him. “I wasn’t keeping her from you. You pop in so much—I guess I figured you had met her.”
“No. I was very careful. I knew it would upset you. The only times she saw me were when I was too distracted to pay attention to where she was. I am still sorry about her being here after I brought you back from Peaches.” He reached out a hand to trace across my face, moving a lock of my hair from my forehead.
I stared at him. “So you only came when she wasn’t around. So you wouldn’t upset me? Everything else you have done has upset me, but that you avoided so you wouldn’t upset me?”
Mia quirked a brow and put on her coat when I turned to her. I had hoped she had some sage advice as to what to say but her expression claimed her at a loss, too.
“You would have found it a deal breaker.”
“You put thought into this?” I bit my lip as he continued to wait for my verdict.
“Yeah.” He still seemed patient.
“I’m never that considerate of how you feel and probably won’t be. Just so you know in advance.” I figured I should get the warning out there.
“I picked up on that pretty quick.”
I took his hand. “Yeah, you can meet her. At least you gave me the option.” I thought of Vance then I reminded myself I couldn’t do that anymore. “And I have a feeling you’re going to be hard to get rid of anyway.”
“You have no idea.” His words were soft and, with that, we headed out onto the street.
Frank waited on the sidewalk. I have no clue why this did not strike me as a surprise. “Let me guess.” I laced my tone with bitterness. “You are going to inspire us to find the Hammer?”
“Sure.” Frank’s smile was amiable. “We’ll go with that.”
“I think we should go find Julia and go from there.” I waved a hand to the assemblage.
“I think we should go that way.” Frank pointed toward the lift bridge. That was the direction I had gotten attacked by the weird monster with Avery as well as the direction my eyes had wandered only a few minutes ago before Chance had showed up in my room. It wasn’t the first direction I would have chosen.
“I think you shouldn’t lead.” My lips were drawn in a tight line.
“I vote Frank picks the plan.”
I glared at Mia. Loss of ten best friend points for disloyalty.
“I vote Janie.” Chance touched my shoulder as he spoke in my favor. Gain ten hottie points for the creature who supported me.
Vance appeared on the scene right then.
“Hate to sway the vote against you, Janie, but I have to vote with Frank.”
I hadn’t heard him approach. We really had to get him a bell or something.
“Where is Sven when I need him?” I grumbled the question more to myself than anything. As I had just been outvoted, I didn’t really expect a reply.
“Excellent question, siren. Off we go!” The muse chirped cheerfully and off we went.
We made, as
usual, a strange procession down Main Street of Ashtabula. We trotted across the lift bridge. Too much snow slowed our progress and the temperature hovered below freezing. Why had I decided to move here rather than, for instance, Miami? I debated the logistics of a move to someplace warmer against staying close to friends and family when I saw something move. I, again, had slacked at the back of the pack. I hate snow, and I hate the cold. Frank seemed good at distraction for the group. Except for me. He sucked at distracting me.
When I saw the movement down the alley, I glanced at everyone else and realized I was probably the only one who saw it. I had a moment to decide. Investigate or call out? If I investigated and it was nothing, I would seem less stupid if I did not draw attention to myself. If it turned out to be a valid lead, well, I would call for help. Chance would follow either way.
I darted down the alley. At the end of it, I came to a parking lot that opened to a series of docks. At the end of one dock, something moved. I shot down that direction without thought. Aside from an innate ability to see the obscure, I was also great at not thinking before acting. Two of my character traits, or flaws, as the case may be.
I had forgotten how much faster than normal I could move. I had not really adjusted to the fact I could run at a pace that would make the regular Janie look like a snail. I arrived at the end of the dock at the same time as a stranger did. Then I saw Sven. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing because it had to be Sven—no one else that big hung out in the harbor or had a leopard print blazer that they would pair with a pink scarf—when I saw the hammer.
Like a child’s toy, it dangled from Sven’s huge hand. Sven, our gentle giant. I closed my mouth and screeched to a halt, my arms seesawed for a moment. I slid to my butt on the ice, sat there, and stared before my mind caught up with my vision. Then I scrambled to my feet. “Sven!”
Sven did not turn around, but I guess that made sense. As he was about to bash a man’s head in, this was obviously not our Sven. This was Harold, a ghost who had taken over poor Sven, and I had been too dumb to read the signs and see it and help.
“Harold!” I shouted the ghost’s name and hoped for a better response.
Sven turned around and his face held none of Sven’s genial or gentle expression. Harold, if I were to judge him by the look on his face, was a much harder man than Sven had ever been, and hopefully would ever be.
I moved toward Harold-Sven and held out a hand. Here was my moment. Here was my chance to save the day.
I sang.
Old Mother said I would save the day so the key had to be me. I sang at full blast. I sang of the sea, the Van Morrison that my dad had sung, and Sven stared at me and his mouth came open and after only a moment he went slack jawed and blurry eyed and fell under my spell.
Singing the ghost out seemed easy. I began to draw him down. I pulled on the very electricity that made his mind function, the synapses that wired his brain. I sang and used my gift, if you want to call it that, to call the ghost out of him. I wondered how much I had to take to get the ghost out and wished that kind of thing came with a manual.
“Janie, No!” Chance yelled in stereo, in my head and out loud.
I stopped singing abruptly and both the dockworker and Sven fell to their knees. Had it worked?
“What are you doing?” Chance touched my arm as he spoke and everyone else landed with a thud on the dock, making me turn in surprise away from him.
“Did you pop everyone here?” My voice echoed my awe.
He seemed winded.
“Yeah, I did.” He placed his hands on his knees and fought to catch his breath.
“Have you ever carried that many people before?”
“No, and please don’t do something that requires me to do it again. Why are you trying to kill Sven?”
“I’m saving him. Found the Hammer.” I waved my hand to signify the dockworker, Sven, and the hammer, all neatly laid out on the dock, if anyone would pay attention to the hefty evidence.
“Harold.” Harold dressed in a big Sven suit interjected, and I smiled at the ghost for being helpful.
“Yeah.” I turned back to Chance. “Harold was cursed with bad luck when Leticia asked him to get married and he said ‘no’ on leap year a really long time ago. He tried to earn money to marry her but then there was an accident with a hammer. Since then he has hit people on the head every leap year and taken their money for a wedding he can’t have to get his luck back. Does that sum it up, Harold?”
Sven-Harold still didn’t look so good since I had drained him. But he nodded.
“And you found all this out how?” Mia took a step toward us, then paused, thinking better of it.
My eyes sought Vance. “The book you gave me.”
He smiled at me and we shared a moment.
“And you sang at him why?” Chance was not deterred from his line of questioning.
I sighed dramatically. Did I have to explain everything? “Because Old Mother said I was the key and I would fix it. She was right, it’s a ghost. So if I am the key and a siren, well, this is pretty much all I do.” I looked at him and around at the group as if this were obvious.
“Not exactly.” Frank clapped his hands, drawing my attention. “You also brought together a wonderful cast of supernatural creatures that otherwise would never hang out together, especially not in a spirit of friendship. I think perhaps what she may have meant by ‘key’ could be that you brought together the needed pieces of the puzzle. Chancellor, if you would be so kind as to bring the last pieces of the puzzle here, we can perhaps solve this mystery?”
“Which pieces?” I was the hero, darn it. Not some supernatural bridge. I did not want the role of worldwide weirdo who brought freaks together at the speed of light.
“Your mother, for one.”
I glared at Frank. “What could my mom possibly do to help us?”
But with a pop and shift of the air, my mother, Queen Mab of the Fairies, stood there with an unhappy expression.
“And why am I at the lake?” Her tone held regal command.
“We seem to have an issue, and this muse thinks you can help us.” My tone held irony but no regal command.
“Almost done.” Frank rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Chance, could you call one last person?”
Chance didn’t appear fond of the muse now either. I moved to wrap my arms around him from behind.
Chance placed a hand over my arms, nonverbal thanks for my support. “What do you mean ‘call’?”
“I believe you know a friend of mine. Fate?”
“You want me to call Fate?” Chance laughed abruptly. “You think she will come?”
Frank nodded.
Chance shrugged, and then threw back his head. A spear of light came out of his mouth and shot to the sky.
I tilted my head back to stare at the beam of light then backed away from Chance.
When he closed his mouth, the light disappeared and silence fell over the dock.
Everyone stared at Chance, who seemed as calm as he had a moment ago.
“What?” He quirked a brow as if nothing unusual had happened.
I shivered. Okay, maybe he was my soul mate, but the guy was one odd potato.
A sound like a bell chimed across the water to echo on the dock in a dull, low fashion. I recognized it, and Chance did too because I heard him mutter, “I’ll be damned.”
A figure began to materialize in a foggy way. Nothing like how Chance appeared in one fantastic blast, it was more a slow building of light and then she was there. Tiny, short like an elf, she couldn’t have been more than five feet tall. Black with shoulder length hair, she had laughter on her face and a friendly expression. Her smile seemed to be for me and me alone. She was beautiful.
I smiled back before I really thought it through.
Then the fact that I smiled back at Fate herself occurred to me and I reconsidered. Was it wise to smile in the face of Fate? Hmm. Probably so long as I did not laugh, it would
be okay.
As if she knew the train of my thoughts, she laughed a merry sounding titter. Again, it put one in the mind of the peal of bells.
I wanted to join her because it seemed that kind of sound, but as mentioned, to laugh in the face of Fate seemed like an awful idea. I bit my lip instead.
And besides, merry looking or not, Chance had claimed Fate to be a bitch. There had to be a reason for him to think that.
Chance reached out, took my hand, and gave it a tug. I moved closer to him as he looked at the woman. Her smile widened.
“I can’t believe she came. She only comes when she wants to.” Chance spoke the words into my hair.
Frank’s voice was loud enough to carry out over the water. “Now that we are all here, Fate do you want to take it from here?”
The woman gave a slight nod.
“Why am I here?” My mother did not seem pleased at all.
Sven and the dockworker were still weakly kneeling, and the rest of the Odd Stuff crew ganged around Frank like a crowd of spectators at a show. Chance and I somehow ended up off by ourselves. Fate glittered between Sven and the dockworker, my mom, Chance and I, and the group who watched. She appeared the center of a hub.
I bit my tongue and kept my own snarky remarks to myself. Since I thought I had the hero bit in the bag on this one and now it seemed my job got demoted to watching, well, I probably should not irritate Fate, so maintaining silence seemed the brightest thing for me to do.
“Harold, you came again to this place to break the curse that has bound you to this earthly plane. Have you found your luck yet?”
Sven stood, a bit shakily, but he stood. “No. As a matter of fact it got worse. Now I am attacked by sirens. I can’t even do what I have done for years anymore. Can you believe I got attacked in ghostly form?”
He turned using Sven’s face, and it seemed odd because somehow when he spoke with Sven’s voice it did not even sound quite like our Sven. He also looked genuinely puzzled. Like, can you believe the rotten luck to get attacked while I minded my own business killing people?
Odd Melody (Odd Series Book 2) Page 22