by Bianca D’Arc
Dialing the number, Jack waited patiently for someone to pick up on the other end. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Harper Sagtikos?” Jack asked by way of greeting. “This is Jack Bishop. I think maybe our mutual friend, Ezra, might’ve warned you I’d be calling.”
“Actually, I’m friends with Gus, but he connected me with Ezra, and I’m happy to offer any counsel I can provide,” came the reply over the phone. The man’s voice was deep and rich. Warm, somehow, and…filled with power. Even over the phone, Jack could feel it.
“Gus, huh? So, does that mean you’re a shaman?” Jack asked, adding up the evidence. Gus was Grizzly Cove’s resident shaman and a rare spirit bear.
“I was Gus’s teacher, though I still have much to learn myself,” the powerful voice replied. It wasn’t so much volume, but intensity. This man had that in plenty. Just like Gus.
“Well, then.” Jack had a lot of questions he’d like to ask and wasn’t sure where to start. “I’m in the middle of a situation here, and I need some magical advice.”
Jack went on to explain everything he’d found so far. He told Harper about the potion witch and the brew in the woods the night before. He talked about the fey garden and the star on Kiki’s house. He revealed everything he knew about the situation. Truth be told, it was far more than he’d wanted to reveal, but even by phone, this shaman’s power was potent. He had a way of eliciting information with subtle questions until he knew everything Jack knew about the situation here.
Chapter Eleven
Harper was full of practical advice about how to deal with a potion witch. He also gave Jack an unexpected primer on the old-time knowledge of the Amish and Germanic people who settled in Pennsylvania long ago. Jack was a bit surprised by how much stock the shaman put in the old folklore that had come along with those people to this new land.
“You can use some of that protective magic. I know you bears have a lot of natural resistance to most things, but if you’re dealing with black magic, it’s always what you can’t see that you need to be wary of,” Harper told him. “Ask your friend, Kiki, about those hex signs. They’re not just pretty decorations. Some of them hold true power. Like symbolic wards rather than the salt barriers you told me about that she put around her home.”
“I had no idea,” Jack admitted, feeling a bit slow as Harper revealed knowledge of things Jack had never even thought about before. Harper was in teaching mode, and Jack recognized the value of his words. He listened avidly.
“The old ways aren’t just old wives’ tales,” Harper went on. “The belief persists in simple things because there often is power in them. Like throwing a pinch of salt over your shoulder for luck. You’ll even see famous chefs doing it on television these days. But why? They may think it’s a quaint custom, or part of their act, but the truth is salt forms a powerful protective barrier against evil. Like the star on Kiki’s cottage and the fey garden around it. These are powerful protections that hide in plain sight. Unlike the dark magic you’re fighting, these things can be seen but not always recognized by those who think magic is just a fairytale.”
Harper went on with his practical advice for longer than Jack expected, but Jack hung on every word. Here was a man who knew his stuff, and Jack recognized the expertise Harper held. Thankfully, the shaman was willing to share his knowledge, and Jack knew he would need every bit of it to prevail against this enemy. Black magic was something he’d come across, but not all that often, and never in such a potent form.
Carol had had years to learn her craft and had likely been planning whatever it was she’d been doing at the paper plant for a long, long time. She’d managed to send the last investigator Ezra had sent here away with his head spinning in confusion. Jack vowed the same would not happen to him. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it.
Thanks to the long phone call, Jack was a bit late getting to the office, but Kiki was sitting serenely behind her desk as he passed her office door, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t think the potion witch would move overtly against Kiki—and whatever few others who hadn’t already fallen under her spell. Not just yet. If nothing else, Carol had already proven that she was able to bide her time until she could catch her prey in her very evil trap.
Harper had been of the opinion that Carol had been setting up that very special luncheon for months, slowly upping the dose of whatever potion it was she had been feeding everyone. Little by little, she’d been casting a long-term spell that bound the people who ate the poisoned food to her. Such things, Harper had said, took time. Often, lots of time. Subverting a human being’s free will wasn’t as easy with black magic as it was with more overt spells.
Now that Harper had told Jack specifically what to look for, he noticed the way each person he passed in the hall behaved. He could easily spot Carol’s influence on pretty much everyone who had been at the plant long-term. Only Kiki was new and completely untainted. Thanks be to the Mother of All.
When Jack’s work took him down to the accounting area later in the morning, he kept his eyes open. He was deep into a filing cabinet in a back corner when Carol swanned into the office area from the direction of her lab. She had an entourage following her around, like she was some sort of rock star. Jack kept still and went unnoticed, but he watched all with interest while pretending to be absorbed in the file he was holding.
He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until Carol and her bevy of followers exited through a side door that led to one of the smaller production areas. Though what business she could possibly have in that section, he had no idea. As far as he knew, that production area wasn’t tested at all by her lab. They supposedly had their own, much simpler testing section, since their product didn’t come under federal or even local regulation.
Jack made his way back to his office, stopping at Kiki’s on his way. He leaned in the doorframe and just watched her until she looked up and saw him standing there. She really was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever met. She had a radiant innocence about her, as if her spirit were shining through from the inside out.
Harper had laid Jack’s last doubts about Kiki to rest. Jack still wasn’t as familiar with her brand of folk magic, but Harper’s words had gone a long way toward reassuring Jack that it was all good, not something he’d have to be concerned about as they worked together.
“Jack,” she gasped, smiling even as he startled her. “You’re like a cat, you’re so quiet.”
Jack shook his head as he walked a couple of steps into her office. “Not a cat, but I’ll try not to startle you in the future.” His inner bear wanted to growl at the comparison to an inferior feline. Although, he had to admit, some of the bigger cats weren’t that bad.
“Do you mind working through lunch with me? I could use your help deciphering some files I’ve been looking at this morning.” His voice was pitched loud enough that Bob Boehm, who was rather conveniently lurking in the hall just outside the door, could hear.
“Not at all. I packed a lunch,” she said. Did she also realize they were being spied on? Jack couldn’t be sure. Either way, he was certain their words would be reported back to Carol, one way or another, so having a secure story was all to the good. “I have enough for two, if you like schnitzel and noodles.”
“I love schnitzel,” he told her heartily. He wasn’t exactly sure what schnitzel was, but he figured, if Kiki made it, it had to be good. Her beaming smile was well worth the risk. “I brought some deli sandwiches with me because I don’t want to waste any more time going all the way down to the cafeteria. My boss called this morning, wanting an update, which is why I was a bit late getting in.” There. Let good ol’ Bob report that to Carol.
“Isn’t SeaLife’s headquarters on the West Coast?” she asked.
Jack nodded. “He got up very early to catch me before I came in.” Jack tried to inject the right amount of concern into his voice for Bob’s sake. “He wants results, and he’s starting to lose patience.”<
br />
Kiki reached into a bottom drawer and took out a sort of covered pot-thing with a cord attached. “I’ll start warming this up and clear a space on my desk. Bring in your files, and we’ll go over them while we eat.”
“What is that?” he asked, gesturing toward the colorful contraption.
“My mother sent this to me last week. It’s a lunch box that plugs in and heats up the food. Isn’t it great? Mom saw it online and had it sent to me as a gift.” She stretched to plug in the cord.
Jack started to wonder if maybe Kiki’s mother wasn’t a tad clairvoyant. Otherwise, why send such an…appropriate gift to her daughter right before she needed it. The only microwaves were in the cafeteria, and for all Jack knew, they were contaminated, too. That’s why he’d opted for stopping at a deli to get sandwiches. But Kiki had a way to heat her own food, which was perfect.
“I’ll just get the files and my sandwiches, and be right back,” Jack said, listening for Bob’s scrambling footsteps as the man backpedaled down the hall so as not to be caught eavesdropping. Kiki probably hadn’t heard it, but Jack’s shifter senses made Bob’s inexpert stealth moves easily heard.
Jack pretended not to notice Bob as he slipped into his own office, farther down the long hall. Jack just went about his business, doing as he’d said. He retrieved his bag of sandwiches and the files and headed back to Kiki’s office. They sat together across her desk and shared the meal.
It turned out he hadn’t been lying. He loved Kiki’s schnitzel, which was basically breaded and fried meat served over a bed of noodles. It was delicious, and Jack insisted on giving her one of his sandwiches to make up for taking half her lunch. They ate and looked over the financial documents he’d snagged earlier.
He didn’t really need her help with the files, but it was a handy excuse to share lunch with her. As they worked, ate, and chatted, he realized just how comfortable she was to be around. He also began to understand that she saw patterns where others might not. Her mind was quick, and her grasp of the numbers they were examining was better than he’d expected. Better than his own, in fact.
Of course, he was more a man of action than a desk jockey. Jack could do paper-based investigation when he had to, but he was better at field-work.
“There’s definitely something a little off with these numbers,” Kiki said in a low voice, turning the sheaf of papers she was looking at toward him across the desk. Jack looked where she was pointing with her pencil. “See how this doesn’t add up?” She flipped through the pages to another section. “This doesn’t either. The numbers don’t tally with the totals in several spots like this.”
“Can you mark them all for me with a sticky note or something? I’m going to need to send a copy of the pertinent parts to headquarters so they can dig into the official reporting. I’m willing to bet that the numbers we see here aren’t the numbers that were reported to the home office,” Jack said, his inner bear hot on the trail, right alongside his human half.
“Sure,” Kiki agreed easily, already reaching into her desk for a pad of sticky notes. “And I think you’re probably right.”
They worked on finding the parts of various financial reports that didn’t add up for the rest of the day. When quitting time arrived, Jack was sure to walk Kiki out to her car.
“My bike is just over there,” he told her. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to follow you home. I just want to be sure you get there safely.”
She looked relieved. “Thank you. I don’t mind one bit. In fact, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Good. I’ll hang back until we’re out of sight of this place then move up behind your car. Don’t worry if you don’t see me at first,” he warned her. “I’m going to be stealthy.” His grin sparked a responding one on her lovely face.
He stood there like a goof, basking in her smile a tad longer than he probably should have, but when he realized the silence had dragged on a bit, he just shrugged and headed for his bike. He watched Kiki out of the corner of his eye as she got into her car and backed the little vehicle out of the spot.
He followed at a distance until they were clear of the plant, but he kept a close eye on the little car. Once he was sure they weren’t followed, he moved up so she could see him in her rearview mirror. He hoped that made her feel a bit safer as she made her way to her little cottage.
When she pulled into the driveway at the side of the house, she rolled down her window and motioned for him to stop. Jack was glad. He’d been prepared to leave her once he was sure she was safely home, but another part of him—the more basic part—wanted to spend more time with her. They’d been together all afternoon, but somehow, that wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
He rolled his bike to a stop beside her car in the driveway, tucking it in beside the house where it wouldn’t easily be seen from the road. He then went to close the gate that she had opened on her way in. The driveway separated her cottage from its nearest neighbor, as did the green picket fence that ran around the circumference of the property, including the gravel drive and fey garden inside.
Jack had sensed the magic of the place as he’d driven through the gate. Once inside the boundary of the fence, it was as if he was within a benevolent ward that brought with it peace, calm and security. He looked at the little house, noting again, its whimsical design and décor. It really was a magical little place in the best possible ways. He sensed benevolent, protective magic from the house.
It was a sleepy sort of protection, though. As if the spells had been laid long ago, and the house was well settled into its role as haven and hidey-hole for those within its walls. As if the house had a rudimentary awareness of the people who came and went while the house and its magic…remained.
“Do you want to sit in the garden for a bit or would you like to come inside?” Kiki asked, coming up beside him once she retrieved her purse and sweater from the car.
“I guess we should go inside, just in case anybody drives by. There was something I wanted to ask you about that I didn’t want to bring up at work.” Jack followed her into the house, noting the small living room at the front of the house. She led him into that room, inviting him to sit while she kicked off her shoes and went into the kitchen to get soft drinks for them both.
“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” she asked as she brought in two cold cans of soda, handing him one as she took a seat opposite him on the wide sofa.
“Hex signs.” He blurted the words out without thought, momentarily distracted by how close she was…and yet how far. It wouldn’t take much to breach the measly amount of space between them and take her into his arms. Nope. It wouldn’t take much at all.
But he had to stay on topic here. Harper Sagtikos, the shaman teacher, had told Jack to ask Kiki about hex signs, and he would do so. Even if having Kiki sitting so close, with no desk between them, was a little more than just distracting. He’d had a hard enough time keeping his mind on work all afternoon while they’d been in her little office. It had been all he could do to stop himself, at the time, from climbing over that little desk and pinning her into her office chair, only to kiss her breathless.
He’d had a taste of her now, and he wanted so much more. Impossibly more. Which was something he couldn’t act on until he was certain she was safe. To do that, he had to finish the job and end the threat posed by the potion witch. He just wasn’t sure where to start.
At least he knew who the enemy was. He’d uncovered that much information. He still had to do some more verification and investigation to see just how far Carol’s influence went. Black magic was tricky. Like an iceberg, it was never just what was visible on the surface. By its nature, most of it was concealed below the surface, ready to shift and spring at any moment. Jack knew he had to be ultra-cautious, but he was pleased with the progress he’d made so far. Another few days and he should be about ready to plan Carol’s take-down.
“What about hex signs?” She was looking at him with a puzzled expression on his face, and
he knew he’d let the silence go on a bit too long.
“I’ve been reading up,” he said, unwilling to discuss Harper’s existence with anyone other than Ezra. “I was just thinking maybe we could get a few more for your house, maybe even your car or office. A little added layer of protection.”
“Funny you should mention that,” Kiki said, rising. She moved toward the little table by the door, where she picked up a large padded envelope and brought it over to the couch.
“Patches?” he read the name from the envelope, surprised it was addressed to someone called Patches and not Kiki.
Kiki blushed. “It’s a nickname my family calls me.”
“I sense a story behind that,” Jack teased her just a bit.
Her blush deepened, and she sat down, busily re-opening the package. “It may have had something to do with my years as a scout and my desire to earn as many of the merit badges as possible. I admit, I was a little obsessed by the whole thing. It got so there was little room on my sash for any more patches, so my siblings thought it was cute to start calling me that.”
As she opened the package, out tumbled a stack of disks of various sizes from a few inches in diameter to about a foot. Painted on one side, the wooden disks had all sorts of arcane symbols on their surfaces. Hex signs. Potent magic he could feel wafting from the pile of disks in a subtle, comforting wave. Protective. Loving. Family.
“My brother sent all this. It arrived this morning,” Kiki told him.
Jack shook his head, marveling. “Is anybody in your family clairvoyant, by any chance?”
“Well…” Kiki lowered her eyes. “Mom has an uncanny way of knowing things sometimes,” she finally said.