Barbecue & Brooms (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 4)
Page 10
“I think I might be able to help with that,” a deep voice boomed. Dash approached the four of us with Georgia and her sister in tow.
He flashed a slight grin at me and tipped his head to Lucky and Henry. The detective earned a low grunt of recognition. After he introduced the two sisters, he pointed at them to explain.
Georgia cleared her throat. “Our friend has done his best to explain why you might need our services. He thinks that our psychic abilities might be useful, but without knowing what we’re looking for, I’m not sure what we can really do for you.”
I recalled what she’d revealed about my parents last night and wondered if they still remained close to me. She caught me looking to my left and right, and shook her head for a brief second. “No, I can’t see them now, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. Most of the time, I have to have some big shields up, otherwise, I can get a bit overwhelmed. It’s why I usually don’t drink alcohol, even from our family business.”
Henry gazed at her with respect. “So you can see spirits? It’s been a long time since we’ve had a decent medium around these parts. You’re right to throw up your shields here in Honeysuckle.”
I made a mental note to question my assistant more about his cryptic statement later. “What about you?” I asked the younger sister.
She held up her hands. “I’m only here to observe.” After having heard her talk a mile a minute last night, her short response stunned me.
“Come on, Ginny. Dash says it’s important.” Georgia touched her sister’s arm.
Ginny pulled away from her. “You know even if I try to help it always goes wrong. I can’t risk doing that here. They don’t even know us.”
Dash addressed the younger sister, moving until he stood behind Lucky. “I can vouch for these people. I know what you’ve been through, and I keep telling you, nothing that happened was your fault. But you could at least try and use your magic here. It could make all the difference.”
Ginny’s face reddened with frustration and embarrassment. Georgia leaned in to her and whispered something in her ear. The two sisters quietly argued between themselves until the younger one pushed her older sister away.
“Fine,” Ginny conceded. “I’ll do what I can, but don’t hold it against me in the end.” She stepped forward and held out her hands with impatience.
Lucky approached her with caution. “And what is your particular talent, miss?”
“I can read people’s fortunes. Well, sort of. Most of the time, I can see how things are supposed to be, but it’s not always straightforward and it doesn’t always come true,” Ginny explained. “Knowing that what I tell you might not be easy to interpret, do you want to proceed?”
Lucky placed his hands in hers. “I don’t have much of a choice. Do what ye can and I’ll owe ye my gratitude. I’ll not be holdin’ you responsible no matter the outcome.”
His kind words melted her reluctance, and she offered him a more confident grin. “Okay, then.” She closed her eyes and concentrated. In a dreamy tone, she spoke, “You come from somewhere far away from here. The weight of your life is heavy. You are not who you once were.”
Dash met my surprised gaze at the strength of her abilities. Pride filled his face, and he indicated I should keep watching.
Ginny shook her head. “You have hidden who you are for a long time. There are words and names that do not belong to you today.”
“I thought she was a fortune teller?” I wondered out loud.
Georgia crossed her arms. “Just wait. In order to see beyond right now, she has to get a sense of a person’s whole life. And don’t worry, Dash already warned her about being careful about what she says out loud.”
The relationship between the shifter and these two witch sisters baffled me. If we’d had enough time to talk last night, I might have understood how they all came to be friends. And I might believe his words that there was nothing between him and either one of the attractive girls.
Ginny threw her head back. “Someone has been tampering with your lifeline. I can see the thread of where it is supposed to be, but someone plucked it. Cut you wide open.”
Lucky grimaced. “You’re hurtin’ me, girl.” He tried to pull away, but the young witch held him tighter.
“Somebody has changed your fortune,” she continued. “I can see…can see…” Ginny threw back her head and uttered strange words.
“What once was given was stripped away.
Your future bright has now turned gray.
Away it floats into the sky.
To bring it back, you have to fly.
Your future is unraveling thread.
Without the wind, you’ll soon be—”
Drawing in a long rattled breath, Ginny slumped forward and dropped the leprechaun’s hands. Georgia rushed to catch her sister, and Henry brought over a red plastic cup most likely filled with sweet tea.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught my brother Matt staring at our scene with his mouth wide open. “What do y’all think you’re doing? I don’t think this qualifies as keeping things quiet and following Nana’s edict to keep things under wraps.”
“Where’ve you been?” I approached him and threw an arm around his side, needing a hug to ground myself and stop shaking.
“Between TJ being a little over a month away from having our little girl and the ramped up warden presence for the races, I haven’t had time to participate in a seance,” he admonished, kissing the top of my head. “There was enough power emanating from here to attract attention from the next town over.”
Mason waved at Matt. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but yeah, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Can y’all shut up and give my sister a second?” Georgia commanded.
We all stopped talking and watched the poor girl try to recover. Deep, ragged breaths shook Ginny’s body, and she bent over, grabbing her knees for balance.
When she composed herself enough to talk, she lifted her head, revealing her tear-stained cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she uttered. Sniffing over and over, she did her best to stop crying.
Lucky lifted her chin with his fingers. “Tis nothin’ I didn’t already know, girlie. Don’t ye worry your pretty head with what’s to come.”
The weight of her sudden prediction dawned on me. The one word that had stopped Ginny cold hung in the air. If we didn’t find the leprechaun’s luck, the girl predicted Lucky’s death. For a man who only heard the news a few seconds ago, he remained a little too calm.
“Did you know?” I asked Lucky, ignoring that not everybody in the circle understood.
His cold, wry grin chilled me. “Ye cannae expect me to reveal all o’ me ol’ blarney. What good would it have done for me to tell that me life might be forfeit?” He winked at me. “Always a price, Charli.”
Only Dash and I understood Lucky’s full meaning. Somehow, when the leprechaun met with the sea god to leave Ireland, part of the cost must have been fusing his luck together with his life. Without one, the other couldn’t survive.
Ginny raised her hand and cleared her throat. “I don’t understand whatever’s being said right now, and I’m pretty sure nobody gets what spilled out of my mouth. Even me. But I do know one thing.” She pointed a finger at Lucky. “Somebody’s been messing around inside his head.”
Georgia touched her sister’s shoulder. “What do you mean?”
Her younger sister shivered and addressed Lucky. “When I was connecting with you, I could see your past and your present because I needed both to get to your future. I can’t really explain it other than to say that for me, there’s almost a flavor to a person’s life. And there’s a bitter taste to what should be your present.”
“Everyone’s talking in code and riddles,” complained Matt.
Ginny ignored him and finished, “Someone has been inside his head and taken away his recent memories. Changed things and left a big gaping, spellbound hole.” She tapped the side of her head to emphasize her point.
“And whoever it is, I think they’re still here,” suggested Mason. “We need to come up with a plan. And I think we have to involve more people whether your grandmother likes it or not. Sorry, Matt and Charli.”
Matt nodded in agreement and waved his arms wide, ushering us all to step into a huddle. He spoke in a low, purposeful tone. “Actually, Nana already told me to select a few to bring in and help try and fix things before it got too big. So I’ll need someone to bring me up to speed. Charli, you let our grandmother know what she—I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
The young witch pointed at herself. “Ginny.”
“Right, Ginny,” Matt continued. “Tell Nana what Ginny suspects so she can figure out what to do next on that end. Lucky, you’re gonna have to decide how much information you want shared. There’s clearly something that not all of us are privy, too. But we may need to know more if we’re gonna maximize our strengths.”
It was my turn to be proud. I rubbed Matt’s back, encouraging him.
“Mason, you should take point on all this. With TJ experiencing false contractions, I can’t be the one in charge. But I’ll help in any way I can.” My brother’s ability to delegate increased my admiration.
“Right,” breathed out the detective. “First things first, Dash, have Henry bring you up to speed about a potential betting ring. See if you can help him find out who’s running it.”
The wolf shifter nodded. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll get my brother in on this, too. He has a way of discovering the underbelly of things.”
“Who’ll watch our barbecue?” Georgia asked.
“We’ll take turns, don’t worry. Plus, the two of you shouldn’t be seen trying to run around with the rest of us or it might draw attention from the locals. You two have helped more than enough.” Waves of alpha authority poured out of Dash.
I bounded on my feet, ready to use my magic to help. Except, I had no powers to use. My heart sank, and I backed away from the group.
“I’m going to need Charli with me,” instructed Mason.
Dash scoffed. “I’m sure you do.” His response ruffled the detective’s feathers.
I didn’t need the two to challenge each other right now, here in front of everyone. “There are good reasons,” I admitted, hoping to stop both of them before anything started.
Matt pointed at each person and repeated their task. When he finished he clapped his hands in dismissal. “Everybody keep your spell phones on you in case we need to communicate or change the game.”
Georgia raised her hand. “Uh, we don’t have one.”
Henry tossed her his. “I’ll get you both one. In the meantime, you can use mine.”
The group scattered, and left me standing with Mason and Lucky again. “I feel like we’re almost exactly where we started. Except now I know how big the stakes are.” I threw my arms around the leprechaun and hugged him tight.
Lucky patted me on the back. “There, there, child. No need to shed tears for me yet.”
I chuckled into his shoulder. “I should be comforting you, not the other way around.” With a sniff, I let him go. An idea occurred to me when I caught Mason watching us. “Lucky, do you have an object that we could use?”
“What kind of object?” the leprechaun asked.
“Something precious to you. A thing you wouldn’t part with because your connection to it is so dear.” An idea of what I could do to help blossomed.
“I’ll have to go back to the bar. If I find something to use, where should I bring it?” Lucky asked.
Mason shot me a questioning gaze. My brother may have put him in charge, but I still remained the authority of the most important element we had to help the leprechaun.
“Bring whatever it is to my house,” I exclaimed. “Mason and I have work to do.”
Chapter Eleven
No amount of instruction or dragging him through a bootcamp of learning my magic would bring Mason completely up to speed. I just needed to get him to a place where he could hone in on whoever held the fate of Lucky’s fortune and life. Luckily, my favorite test subject didn’t have anything better to do.
“Could you hurry up,” Beau whined from the front porch. “I’ve only eaten a fraction of the barbecue I intend to.” He patted his generous stomach.
“Wait there,” I instructed the vampire, waving Mason over to me. I handed the detective a small gold amulet that belonged to Beau, the glittering chain falling between my fingers. “Hold this and go touch him.”
Mason’s efforts had been hit or miss for the past hour. I’d put him through the paces of all my abilities, but his skills matched where mine were long before I left Honeysuckle to improve them. His desire to succeed pushed him harder than any of my expectations for him.
Mason trudged up the steps. “You ready?” he asked Beau.
My roommate flashed a fangy grin. “As a starvin’ flea ridin’ on the back of a hound dog, Detective,” he drawled in exaggeration.
With a steady hand, Mason reached out and touched the vampire. He paused for a beat and asked me over his shoulder, “Now what?”
Calling on all my patience, I bounded up the old wooden stairs of the porch, ignoring the sharp creaks under my steps. “Concentrate on the object in your hand. Do you feel any sense of connection between it and Beau?”
The detective focused, furrowing his eyebrows. “Now that you mention it.” He pursed his lips, focusing harder. “Yeah, I get that.”
“Okay, let go of him and return to where we were just standing,” I instructed. When he got to the right place, I called out, “Can you sense that the amulet is connected to Beau in some way?”
Mason held the piece of jewelry between his fingers and let it dangle. He scrunched up his nose. “It’s faint, but if I’m looking for it, I can sense it. I don’t think I’d be able to detect that on my own.”
Uncontrolled laughter burst from my roommate. He sat down in one of the rocking chairs and slapped his knee.
“Beau, stop that,” I scolded.
“But it’s too funny, seeing the two of you with your magic swapped. It’s like that movie where the mother and daughter switch places. Freaky something.” The vampire chuckled behind his hand after I shot him my best imitation of Nana’s searing glare.
“It’s freaky all right,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my head.
“So if he got your special powers, what did you get?” Beau asked.
Huh. With everything going on and Lucky’s life now hanging in the balance, I hadn’t given it much thought. I recalled Nana’s brief but important roasting of Mason and me about the last spell we cast together. “If I had to guess, then think I have his ability to fly on a broom.”
Unable to stop himself, Beau broke into loud guffaws. “Doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.”
Mason came back to the porch. “Trust me, I’d rather the skill remained with Charli. I don’t think anybody else in the world could understand how powerful and yet frustrating it all is.”
I sat on the porch railing. “Only others with similar abilities might. But I haven’t crossed paths with anyone like me since I’ve been back.”
I’d been told my magic was special, rare, desired by both good and horrible people. More than once, I’d wished it to be gone or to only have normal powers. Now that I no longer possessed them, I wanted them back. A little jealousy slithered through my veins.
“Do you think my magic will return?” I asked in a quieter voice.
Mason took my hand in his. “I don’t know. Maybe your grandmother can help us, but understand that I will do everything I can to make sure you get it back.”
Slipping out of his touch, I paced a few steps away, not wanting him to see the weakness of a few stray tears. The grind of a loud motor approaching in the near distance grabbed my attention. After the engine c
ut off, Dash and Lucky appeared at the edge of my field, bringing my pity party to a quick end. Concern for my friend replaced the worry for myself when I caught sight of the leprechaun.
“Is it me or does the color of Lucky’s skin tone look more like mine?” Beau whispered into my ear.
“He doesn’t look good,” I replied out of the corner of my mouth.
Dash shook his head in warning, his shifter hearing catching my whisper. “I hope what Lucky has will work for your purposes.”
The leprechaun glared at all of us. “Me fate might be up in the air but I ain’t dead yet. Stop lookin’ like you’re already at me funeral. Here, Charli. I hope this’ll do.” He took out a lump wrapped in old cloth.
Jogging down my steps, I joined my friend and took the offered object. With great care, I unfolded the fabric until the sun shone on a medium-sized stone that sparkled a brilliant blue.
Mason and Beau joined me at my side, and my roommate whistled long and low. “Is that what I think it is? It must be worth a fortune.”
A desire to curl my fingers around the jewel and run for the hills ran through my body for a quick second. “It’s not real a real sapphire, is it?”
“That it is. It was to be made into a pendant for a special lady.” Lucky stopped himself from revealing more.
Dash and I shot each other knowing glances. “You’ve kept it for a long time,” I said, my thumb stroking the glittering face of the gem.
“Aye, and please be gentle with it. If at all possible, I’d like it to come back to me.” The leprechaun grinned with deep emotion. “Tis a precious reminder.”
It didn’t matter if Lucky meant a reminder of Queen Medb or to not trust so easily. Either way, we needed to see if it would work.
“Since Lucky’s here, we might as well test it out. Take and hold this in your dominant hand,” I commanded to Mason. “Focus on it and repeat what you did with Beau.”
The detective did as he was asked, touching the leprechaun, nodding once and letting go. He breathed out a relieved sigh. “The connection is definitely present and strong.”