by Molly Harper
“Are you going to spoon feed me next?” Dani asked, raising her eyebrows.
Zed nodded. “If that’s what it takes.”
Clarissa shooed him away. “Here, let me fuss over her. You go talk to Bael. He’s about to chew through his desk.”
Bael was, indeed, sitting at his desk, wearing his official uniform, including the hat. Zed supposed this was meant to convey that he was acting officially as sheriff of Mystic Bayou, not as Zed’s friend. Jillian was wringing her hands in her lap, struggling to keep her cool. It took Dani shuffling into Bael’s office, still wrapped in the quilt, to get Jillian to stop glancing across the complex anxiously.
“I thought I told you to rest,” Zed said.
“It’s cute you thought that would work,” Dani replied.
Zed grumbled, but settled Dani on his lap.
“If you’ll recall, I was semi-conscious for most of this, and I’d like to know what happened,” Dani said, then she went through what she remembered, starting with her abduction from Zed’s house and concluding with Lara’s snarky gloating over her murder of Maureen and tampering with the rift. Zed carefully relayed his version of events from that afternoon, including Dani’s heroics with her lightning ball and Zed’s throwing Lara into the rift, and then he waited for Bael to hand him his ass for taking justice into his own hands.
“So you tossed her into the rift and she just—ttthhhp—disappeared?” Bael asked.
“Yes,” Zed said. “I don’t regret it. She was a danger to our community and to my mate.”
“Last time I checked, you were elected mayor, not judge, jury, and executioner,” Bael reminded her.
“When Simon Malfater took Jillian, you attacked him in dragon form and tried to burn him alive,” Zed said.
Bael shrugged. “Yeah, but I missed, so it doesn’t count.”
“So am I going to be charged with murder? That’s probably going to get me impeached,” Zed muttered.
“Not if our current political climate is any indication,” Dani said.
“Technically, we can’t determine that you committed murder,” Dani told him. “I mean, we don’t know what’s on the other side of that rift. Sure, her very cells could have been ripped apart into nothing because people were not meant to be thrown through interdimensional tears. But it’s also possible that she’s stuck in a dimension where dinosaurs are in charge of the government or the only fruit available is kiwi.”
“I think no cells is better than the ‘kiwi only’ thing,” Zed stated.
Clarissa, who had been hanging on every word from the doorway, shot a curious look at Zed. He shrugged. “I don’t like the seeds.”
Bael pinched the bridge of his nose, and seemed to be praying.
“So am I in trouble or not?” Zed asked. “Keeping in mind that if I end up serving time and get separated from Dani for an extended period of time, I will tell her where you got the stone for her engagement ring.”
Jillian frowned. “What?”
“I’m going to list Lara’s disappearance as an ‘unknown accident,’” Bael said, glaring at Zed. “But this is a one-time pass. You cannot use the rift as your go-to disposal for people who piss you off.”
“Fine,” Zed mumbled, though he was smiling.
“Can we go back to the engagement ring thing?” Jillian asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Bael promised.
“You’ll tell me now. Am I wearing some sort of murder diamond on my finger?”
“Only if you consider burning books ‘murder,’” Zed said as Bael made threatening faces at him.
“I kind of do,” Jillian said.
“Oh, good grief,” Bael sighed. “Jillian, I took the ashes from burning your report and compressed them into a diamond. I thought it would appeal to your love of books and my love of dragon fire. It was meant to be a thoughtful gesture. If you hate it, we can go through the hoard and find something you like better.”
Jillian’s expression was a strange mix of touched and horrified. “No one in the world will have a ring like it?” she squeaked.
Bael’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Exactly.”
“And it is very pretty,” Jillian admitted. “Thank you for making me something . . . special.”
Bael gave her a quick kiss. “You’re welcome.”
“Do me a favor, don’t burn something I love to make me a present,” Dani whispered to Zed.
Zed nodded.
Jillian sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face. “So there’s a mysterious outside group who is hiring whackaloons to infiltrate my staff and mess with the very thing that brought me to Mystic Bayou, potentially bringing about some mass magique transition.”
“That was what I gathered from Lara’s rantings, yes,” Dani agreed.
“That is going to mean so much paperwork,” Jillian said, turning to Dani. “And I think your assignment just got long-term. We’re going to need you to watch the rift, repair it and keep us updated on any changes.”
Dani nodded. “That works for me. I don’t feel like leaving anytime anyway.”
“I’ll throw in a raise,” Jillian offered.
“That will be nice.” Dani chuckled a little. “Why are you sweetening the pot? I already said ‘yes.’”
“And a bonus for discovering the sabotage.”
Dani threw up her hands. “Seriously, I’m already agreeing to it.”
“And you only have to bake apple crumble for me once a week,” Jillian added, her tone suspiciously casual.
Dani scrunched her face into a scowl. “This is starting to feel like a trick.”
17
Dani
Dani sat on the gazebo swing on the town square, watching her new neighbors mill about, going on with their daily lives. None of them seemed to know how close they’d come to losing everything. They hadn’t seen the rift, felt its intent. They didn’t know what Lara had planned. The knowledge in her head made her feel isolated and separate from almost every man, woman and child in Mystic Bayou.
And yet, it was much better that way, she knew. The last thing the League wanted to do was cause a panic, and there was wisdom in that.
Still she feared what was to come. She was going to be staying in Mystic Bayou for the foreseeable future. She couldn’t leave until she determined what sort of damage Lara had done to the rift. She didn’t know how much energy was leaking through to their side. Not to mention, Lara hadn’t been working alone and whoever had directed her to the bayou was out there somewhere, waiting for another opportunity to tear at the rift. And the scary part was that Dani had no idea why someone would want to do that. It certainly didn’t strike her as something someone would do if they were remotely interested in people being safe or healthy. It seemed about as smart as using a nuclear warhead as a hammer.
Dani couldn’t leave, knowing that what was on the other side of la faille was bleeding through to Mystic Bayou, changing its citizens, spreading to other areas. She definitely couldn’t leave knowing some mystery dynakinetic could come along and rip open the repairs she made.
She was going to be the self-appointed Guardian of La Faille.
She should definitely get some sort of name tag made up.
“You look like you’re thinking some pretty heavy thoughts.”
Dani grinned up at Zed. He leaned down and butted his head gently against hers. She pressed a warm kiss to his mouth.
“So, since you’re going to be here for a while, I was thinking that you might bring some things over to my cave for when you stay over. Toothbrush, extra socks, your whole body,” he said.
Dani snickered. “Subtle.”
“I will not rush you. But I want to love you and be with you for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, good, thanks, no pressure.”
He added, “Also, my maman says you can’t leave until you make her, oh, a dozen or so apple crumbles.”
Dani grinned, and pulled Zed toward her by his belt loops. “If you’re very nice to me, I’ll g
ive her the recipe.”
“Wait, if I’m nice to you, she gets the recipe? What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll be nice to you.” Dani kissed his mouth soundly and then gave him a little peck on the end of his nose.
“Zed, I’m really glad you found your mate and all.” Bael scrubbed his hand over his face. “It’s still gross to see you do that. Like watching your siblings make out.”
Zed winkled his nose. “Ew.”
“You’re telling me,” Bael retorted.
Dani peered around Zed’s massive form to see Bael and Jillian standing on the steps of the gazebo. Jillian was holding a small gift box wrapped in silver and blue paper.
“Sorry your satellite phone got smashed,” Jillian said, handing her the gift box. Smiling, Dani ripped open the box to find a smart phone model she’d never seen before. She turned it on and saw that a picture of Zed grinning at the camera, shirtless, was her wallpaper.
“It’s a satellite-powered smart phone,” Jillian explained. “You’ll have all the range of your old phone, but with all the same functions as a smart phone, email, FaceTime, internet and all that. It’s the newest perk for League higher-ups. I only just got one this month. So I pulled some strings and got one for you too, as a ‘sorry you almost got drained of all your life-force because I made a bad hiring decision.’”
“Forgiven.” Dani scrolled her thumb across the screen and saw that her email, social media and contacts were already logged in and ready to go on the new phone. “I don’t want to know how the IT department knew all of my usernames and passwords, do I?”
“No, you do not,” Jillian said. “But you should be able to use all of the functions no matter where you are, which is maybe enough to make up for the creep factor, there.”
Pursing her lips, Dani opened her Facetime account and dialed Trudy’s number. Zed opened his mouth as if to object, but Trudy picked up on the first ring. Tru’s rounded face appeared on the screen with her youngest son, Jackson, dancing around like a monkey behind her shoulder.
“Oh, hey hon! This is a surprise!” Trudy exclaimed.
“Hi, Trudy! It’s really good to see your face.”
Dani thought maybe she might tear up for a second. When she’d thought she was dying, Trudy’s was among the faces she knew she’d miss the most. Sensing her distress, Zed ran his hand along Dani’s thigh, squeezing it gently. Dani sniffed and gave Trudy a watery smile.
“Oh, hon, don’t be upset. I got the transfer you sent and started the payments. We should have everything taken care of within a week.” Trudy practically yelled over the sound of Jackson’s monkey noises. “Cheese and rice, Jack, go find your grandpa and tell him Aunt Dani’s calling before I lose my ever-loving mind.”
Zed laughed and that made Trudy’s face freeze on screen. “We’re not alone, are we?”
“No.” Dani glanced at Zed. He leaned into the camera’s frame and waggled one of his ham-sized hands at Dani’s aunt. “Trudy Gustafsson, this is Zed Berend. Zed, this is my aunt-but-more-like-a-sister-but-basically-my-best-friend, Trudy.”
Zed waved. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
“Oh good gosh! That’s the guy you’ve been ‘not dating’ this whole time? You could have mentioned he was—” Trudy’s green eyes went even wider and her cheeks turned pink.
Dani asked cheekily, “Could have mentioned what?”
Trudy shot her an annoyed look, though there was no real heat in it. “So tall.”
“But we’re sitting down, Tru,” Dani said, her tone too innocent to be genuine.
Trudy slapped a hand over her face.
“And if makes you feel any better, I finally got her to admit that we’re dating.” Zed piped in.
“That’s amazing progress. You have no idea.”
Jillian snickered, but tried to cover the sound with a cough.
“Oh, come on, are there other people there, too? Just show me to everybody so I know what I’m dealing with and stop sticking my foot in my mouth,” Trudy cried.
Dani motioned for Jillian to move around the back of the swing. Bael hesitated slightly, but followed along when Jillian pulled on his uniform shirt.
“Trudy, this is Jillian Ramsay, who is uh, head of the tourist commission here, but has become a really good friend. And this is Bael Boone, who is the sheriff in these parts. Guys, this is my aunt Trudy.”
“It’s really lovely to put a face to the name,” said Jillian.
Bael followed Zed’s example and waved. “Hi, there.”
If it was possible, Trudy’s cheeks got even more red. “Are all of the men in Mystic Bayou so…”
“Tall?” Jillian supplied helpfully. “Not quite, but we do have a higher than average rate of ‘really tall’ men around here.”
Trudy chewed on her lip. “The kids get out of school for two weeks in December. We could probably come down for a holiday visit…”
Grandad’s voice boomed off camera. “Why’s your face so red, Trudy?”
Trudy was now fanning said cheeks. “Dani called, Dad. She wanted to talk to you.”
“Well, hot dog! Hand me the phone.” Suddenly, the image on the screen blurred and the four of them were presented with a picture of a wrinkled ear, complete with a little tuft of white hair on the lobe.
They could hear the muffled voice of Trudy saying, “No, Dad, it’s just like calling on the laptop. You hold the phone in front of your face.”
“This is why we never introduce my farfar to technology,” Bael muttered to Jillian.
Dani nodded. “Probably the right idea.”
Trudy must have pulled the phone out of Grandad’s ear and positioned it in front of his face. His eyes lit up at the sight of his granddaughter. “Well, hey there, Dani-Girl! . . . And a bunch of other folks. Who are your friends?”
“Dani-Girl?” Zed whispered, only to have Dani elbow him in the belly.
The introductions were made again, and once Grandad realized that Zed had his arm around Dani’s shoulders, the questions began.
Grandad asked, “How old are you, son?”
Jillian grimaced, glancing at the two shifters, who sometimes forgot that humans didn’t live well into their two hundreds. But Zed answered smoothly, “Just a few years older than Dani.”
“And how long have you been dating my Dani?”
Zed, suddenly realizing this was the equivalent to a relationship job interview straightened up his posture and began speaking in a much more serious tone of voice. “Long enough to know I’m not going to let her go any time soon.”
Grandad nodded in what could be mistaken for approval, but his eyes narrowed and he asked, “Do you have a job, with all that hair flying everywhere?”
“Yes, sir, I’m the mayor of Mystic Bayou, have been for almost two years. Our budget is small, but balanced. Our high school graduation rates are high and we keep our taxes low.”
Grandad raised a fluffy gray eyebrow. “The mayor? With a beard that long?”
“You should have seen the other guy,” Zed offered.
Grandad stared at the screen incredulously for a half a beat, threw his head back and laughed. “That’s a good one. All right, boy, good for you for not letting an old man push you around. So I take it that you might be staying on in this town for a while, Dani?”
“For the foreseeable future. I’m thinking about taking a permanent job with the,” Dani paused and added, “tourist commission here in town.”
“Well, it will be nice to know where we can find you for a while. Even if it is far away, at least it’s in the same country.”
Dani checked the surrounding sidewalks to make sure everybody was in human form and behaving relatively “normal” for Mystic Bayou. “Do you want to see it?”
Grandad nodded. “Sure!”
Dani hit the button to turn the camera around, panning slowly across the town square to show him Main Street, the shops, the fountain, the parish hall.
Grandad whistled. “Well, lookee there.”
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Trudy exclaimed, “What a cute little town! No wonder you’re pushing tourism. People should be lining up in droves to visit.”
Bael shuddered, visibly.
“Is that a dragon on your city hall?” Grandad asked.
“Our town founders were really…whimsical.” Zed answered.
“Well, it’s nice that you keep up the traditions then. Dani-Girl, I’m glad you found a nice place to live for a while. And it seems like you’ve found some good friends, too. I’m really happy for you, that you’ve found home.”
Rather than protesting, Dani just smiled at her grandfather. “Yes, I did. Thank you, Grandad.”
Just then, a white unmarked van parked in front of the parish hall and entered into the camera’s frame. The panel door opened and Jillian shrieked like a banshee, making Grandad startle. Jillian took off running toward a tall, dark-haired woman climbing out of the van. The newcomer was wearing a sleek black suit and heels with red soles and yet, she was knocking over several League personnel to get to the anthropologist.
Dani turned the camera so it was focused on her face again.
“Is your friend all right?” Grandad asked.
Dani said, “I’m not entirely sure.”
“Sonja!” Jillian screeched, practically scooping the woman off her feet with a hug. Sonja squealed, wrapping her arms around Jillian’s neck and sobbing.
“I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that she only showed that much enthusiasm for my coming home when I brought her Siobhan’s cherry blondies,” Bael commented.
Zed shrugged. “It’s kinda hot.”
Grandad snorted on the other end of the line. “Son, if I’ve learned anything about female friendships, it’s that you better just sit back and try not to get in the way. Women can be downright terrifying when crossed.”
“Trust me when I say I’m familiar with the concept,” Bael said.
“Dani, you bring that boy up to the farm sometime, for me to meet him proper.”