Gloria, silent until now, gave a small, plaintive whine and my aunt looked up. “I haven’t forgotten you, Gloria. Come and give me a hug goodbye.” Gloria sprang forward and wrapped her arms around Stella. “There, there,” Stella soothed, patting the back of the poodle shifter’s head. “I’ll be back for another visit soon enough, I’m sure.” She stepped away, giving Gloria’s hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it. “Send me back, Roxanne.”
With little more than a thought, I did.
Chapter 10
Tracking devices found
Sam stood up, and the rest of the group followed suit. “It’s almost dinner time and we’re still not any closer to finding those children than when we started this morning. I’m going to put a team on these Paragons and see what we find if we dig deeper. Holler if you need me.” She gave the kit in her hands one last scratch under its chin and carefully placed it back in the ‘nest.’ Her phone was already at her ear as she headed for the office.
“I’ve never heard of them before,” Danai said. “Believe me, we’ve kept close track of any groups with known witch hunter affiliations throughout the years. We have a section in the hall’s library dedicated to them. I’ll call and let the rest of my family know what’s going on. They should be warned if a dangerous faction is on the rise again.”
I nodded my thanks. “Clarissa should be warned, also. I guess we really do need some sort of official witchy round robin.”
“I’ll call her next, Roxanne.” She started to leave the room, then paused. “You know, your aunt probably has a section on them in her library, too.”
She does. Zara jumped down from the chair and joined the kits.
“Cool. I’m on it.” Tess reluctantly placed the two kits she held next to the other three, and stretched as she straightened. “I’ll let you know what I find.” With that, she followed Danai from the room, Sebastian trailing after them.
Gloria looked after them, but remained behind. “I’m going to go see to dinner. It should be ready by now, so I hope you're all hungry. Want me to just set it up in the kitchen and everyone can simply grab a plate when they’re ready?”
“Thanks, Gloria, that would be great.”
“Should I let the guys know what’s going on?” she asked this almost hesitantly, as if she wasn’t sure if she was overstepping her bounds.
“Oh, Gods yes. You are a lifesaver!” I hated repeating everything over and over again. She brightened and hurried out. That left just Rand and I.
Ahem.
And my familiar and her five kits.
Sorry, Zara.
If this is going to turn PG thirteen or worse, please leave now. And don’t get too caught up in each other, there are still three children missing.
On that sobering note, I held my hand out to Rand. “Want to go down to the river with me? I need to update the water fae and see if they’ve found trackers on anything.”
“How are you going to reach them?” he asked, taking my hand.
I paused. “I’m . . . not sure. Zara?”
They will see you and send someone to meet you. There is always someone on watch near where you met them this morning.
Good to know. Thanks.
Anytime.
We left the house through the back and made our way in silence to the river. How had it only been this morning that we’d met Olen for the first time? It felt like forever ago.
When we reached the bank, I went to the edge, called out, “Hello?” and then moved further back to sit down, pulling Rand down next to me.
“Listen, I really am sorry about not introducing you this morning. I don’t know if I was just nervous, or what.”
“It wasn’t a big deal, Rox.” His attention was on the river. Was he avoiding looking at me? His body language didn’t seem angry, but maybe I wasn’t reading him all that well.
“Still . . . I feel bad.”
He turned to me, reaching out to tip my chin up to meet his eyes. “Don’t. I was invisible for a long time. I get it, and I’m not upset about what happened. Any of it.”
We both turned as a loud splash sounded from the water. Seconds later, a tall figure walked out of the river, making its way up the small incline of the bank. It was Dorn.
Standing to meet him, I saw he carried a clear plastic bag similar to the Ziploc one he’d left Jeremy’s with earlier. With a small bow, he held it out to me.
I took it and gave it a little shake. It was full of tiny black squares. “Are these . . . ?”
Rand nodded. “Yes. Trackers.” He reached out to take the bag from me and turned it sideways, trying to separate the squares. “How many are in here? It looks like a couple dozen, at least.”
Dorn’s jaw tightened and I could see a tic in his cheek. His stiff-legged stance and ramrod straight back radiated anger. “We are still going through everything, but there are thirty-seven in that bag. We found them inside toys, sewn into clothing, as you mentioned,” he nodded to Rand, “and there were several that were glued under the covers or in the spines of books.”
Books? How would that work in water? Before I could ask, Rand said, “We need a metal box.”
Zara? Do we have anything?
A small metal box appeared on the ground in front of me. It looked like an old cookie tin.
I picked it up and handed it to him. “Will this work?”
He opened it, put the entire bag in, and put the lid back on. “Yes. Any metal that conducts electricity will be enough to interfere with the signal being sent out. Any more that you come across, put them in something like this.”
Dorn reached out for the box, examining it and tapping on the lid. “We have several that should work. Are you sure this will stop them?”
“Yes. We found it was a pretty effective way to deal with them when I was in the service. You wouldn’t believe how many of these little buggers we’d come across in a week’s time.” He gave a dark laugh. “We’d send the enemy off on a wild goose chase more often than not by slipping their own trackers into things at the local market or vehicles we knew belonged to the enemy. Once, my commanding officer even managed to attach one to a semi-tame rock pigeon. That was quite entertaining, watching them chase that signal around.”
I stared at him. “Rand! That’s it!”
Both Dorn and Rand visibly started at the excitement in my voice. “What is?” Rand asked.
I pointed at the tin. “We use these trackers and set a trap for whoever took the children! We’ll use trackers of our own and they’ll lead us back to where the others are.”
“Rox, the kids might not be together. We’re not even sure who took them,” he said cautiously. I felt my face fall. He held up a hand. “But . . . we can try. Just don’t get your hopes up. Jeremy has his people on Harris and I still think that will be our best lead, right now.”
Dorn growled with frustration. “We’ve found no signs of those that stole our children or that have given us any real direction of where to search. If this will give us any chance at all, we need to pursue it.”
Rand ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. There’s also a good chance the estate is compromised. The Draftmans and the pixies can handle most of the property. Can your people take the river and any other waterways leading to it?”
“We’ve already got extra patrols out because of the missing children, but we’ll do our part.”
“Good,” he said. “Let’s get back and see what the guys found in their search.”
The mood felt tense when Rand and I walked into the kitchen. Everyone else was there ahead of us. From the mouthwatering smell, Gloria had outdone herself with dinner once again.
“Hey, Roxie. You’ve got to taste this.” Tess shoved a plate piled high with pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and a generous helping of steamed vegetables drowning in butter at me. Was she trying to distract me?
Balancing the plate in one hand and picking up the fork with the other, I took a bite of the baked macaroni and cheese. It was melt-in-your-mo
uth amazing. Before I could take another bite, Rand took the fork from me. I seriously thought about telling him to get his own, then caved and watched as he tasted it. His brows went up. He handed my fork back and headed straight for the food laid out on the counter.
“I think he likes it.” I waited while he got a plate together. Off to one side of the kitchen, I saw Sam slip Toby a bit of pulled pork. “Hey, if he gets gassy from that, he’s sleeping in your room tonight.” Tess snickered. When Rand finished filling his plate and rejoined us, I told everyone about our talk with Dorn between bites of food. When I’d finished, Clyde cast a dark look at his brother and reached for something in his pocket.
“We found these.” He held up two small black discs. “They’re magnetic. There was one on the Charger and one on the Hummer.” That must explain the atmosphere in the room.
“I think we were pretty much expecting it at this point,” Sam said, setting her plate down. “Here’s what we’ve found on this Paragon group so far. The delivery service is new and it’s only a small part of their holdings. The research team is still digging, but it would appear the company itself has been around for a long time, in one form or another. A very long time. They have their own symbol on the stock exchange and their holdings are strong, which means they’re probably extremely well funded. The only address they could find associated with the group is a P.O. Box in Massachusetts.”
“Ooh, let me guess,” Tess volunteered. “Salem?”
“You got it. Other than that, there’s not much information floating around about them.”
I took another bite, chewing slowly while I thought about that. “Okay, so they’re old, they’ve got money, and they’re going after fae children. We still don’t know why.”
“It doesn’t matter why. They’ve got them; we need to get them back.” Up until now Dutch had been quiet. The vehemence in his voice was mirrored by the determination on his face.
“Sam, is there any information about how dangerous they might be?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Pointing at the discs Clyde still held, Rand said, “Trackers that small and that sophisticated aren’t cheap. They must mean business if they’re willing to spend so much money on the off chance that one of them might lead them to those kids. We still don’t even know if the kids were the targets or not. They might have been after one of the adults or even you, for that matter, Roxie. Why else would they have tracked your vehicles?”
I wondered if that was true. Could I have been the original target? “What would they want with me? I’m new to all of this.”
“Maybe that’s why they would want you,” Tess said, pointing her fork at me before taking another bite. “You’re new, you weren’t raised by witches, therefore, you might not have the same outlook when it comes to your own kind. You’ve given a couple of pretty impressive magickal shows over the past few months. If they got wind of you and did a little research, maybe watched you . . . She shrugged. “It’s totally possible.”
I pondered her words. There was no way this group could possibly know I hadn’t been raised knowing about any of this, was there? Paulette hadn’t been able to dig anything up on me in relation to Stella, but she hadn’t really had anything to go on, either. With most of the legalities involved when I’d inherited Stella’s estate, maybe they could have found all of that out, though I knew Mr. Lido would have kept as much of it as he could private. I’d have to find out just how much was public about me now. The thought of being watched without realizing it just plain pissed me off, pushing any fear I’d initially felt away. “Okay, so how do Margo and Harris tie in to all of it?”
“Maybe they don’t.” She gave another shrug. “Or maybe they do. Margo might want you out of the way and she pointed these Paragon goons in your direction when she saw an opportunity. The kids could have been just collateral damage or a bonus or something.” At Dutch’s glower, she put her hands up. “Hey, I don’t have any answers here. I’m just guessing.”
Gloria nudged Dutch and he calmed. “Well, if any of what you just said is true, they picked a fight with the wrong witch.” Dutch looked confused at his girlfriend’s words. “What?” she asked, lifting her chin. When she got this worked up, her New York upbringing came out. “I mean it. They don’t know who they’re messin’ with. They’re not just messin’ with her, they’re messin’ with all of us. Roxie’s going to wipe the street with them and bring those kids back safe and sound. And we’ll be right by her side to help.” She practically glowed as he put his arm around her and pulled her tight to his side, kissing the top of her head.
“She’s right, Roxie. Even if the kids weren’t involved, we’d have your back.” Clyde's words were echoed by everyone in the kitchen.
How I had come to deserve these people in my life, I didn’t know. But I would do everything in my power to make sure I continued to earn their friendship, respect—and kept them safe—no matter what.
Chapter 11
Turnabout is fair play
We helped Gloria clean up the kitchen as we hashed and rehashed everything we knew so far. By the time we were done, we still weren’t any closer to knowing where the missing children were or who took them. I started to rub the cuff of my bracelet, then caught myself. When Zara joined us just as a fresh pot of coffee finished brewing, I fixed a plate for her and sat it on the counter. A glance around the room told me Sebastian must have left to watch over their kits. Once again, I worried about what would happen when he and Danai left us to go home. How attached had my familiar become to him?
She met my eyes over her plate. I understand the way of things, Roxanne. I have you and I have five healthy kits who will usher in a new generation of powerful witches. I will be fine.
Still, my heart hurt for her. Gods, I was such a sap. Zara winked at me and returned to her meal.
Someone’s throat cleared, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m going to touch base with Jeremy and see if he’s gotten anywhere with either Margo or that Harris guy,” Clyde said, pulling his phone out as he left the room. Dutch and Gloria excused themselves minutes later to go for a walk as the sun began to set, the Louisiana skyline showing off an impressive canvas of reds, purples, pinks, and oranges.
Sam and Tess were quietly discussing something over near the dining room, and I had no idea where Danai had disappeared to.
She is with Sebastian and the kits, Zara supplied. She wanted to weigh and measure them again.
Ah, yes. The healer was keeping a log of everything to do with the kits. This was such an unprecedented event, she felt it needed to be recorded.
I decided to forego coffee and poured myself a glass of ice water. “Where’s Jake?”
“He went back to the grey, I think. Maybe halfway through our workout this morning. Why?”
“He’s spending a lot of time there lately, it seems.” I wondered if he would cross over soon and wasn’t sure how I felt about that. He had become as much a fixture in my life as Rand, Toby, and even Zara. My familiar let out an indignant huff, but continued eating. She needed a lot of extra calories these days to feed her babies.
Rand nodded. “He is. I think he’s spending more time with the wraiths these days, since I can’t.”
“Do you miss that? Being able to go over there?” This was something we hadn’t discussed since his change.
“Not really. It wasn’t so much that I was able to go over there, it was that I had to, to recharge. Now, well, let’s just say the trade off is more than acceptable.” He’d moved close enough that I could feel the faint energy and warmth coming off him. It made me want nothing more than to lean against him, turn my face up to his, and begin working my way across his jawline with my lips. He must have felt it, too, because his blue eyes darkened to a stormy grey. He took a step closer.
“Hey, you two.” Sam’s amused voice snapped us out of . . . whatever this was. Guiltily, I began to step back then stopped myself. I was a forty-one year old woman, not some lovestruck teenager. A
nd this was my house. Sheesh. Zara sneezed and I thought I heard a whispered mental ‘get a grip.’
“What’s up?” Thankfully, my voice was steady.
Sam and Tess looked at me, then at each other. Tess rolled her eyes so hard, I was surprised she didn’t strain something.
Sam held up her phone. “The people I sent up to Michigan to check on things just reported in.”
Wait, hadn’t that just been this morning? At my look of confusion, she explained. “I sent them out on the private jet retained by the firm. It was a straight flight, so they arrived a couple of hours ago.”
I blinked. “Lido Law has a private jet on retainer?”
Grinning, she said, “Among other things, yes. So if any of us want to head up to Michigan or anyplace else, it’s not a problem.”
My thoughts went to Annie. Both she and Cammie could be here in a matter of hours. I tried to remember if Cammie’s condition would restrict her from being able to fly or not. With an effort, I pulled my attention back to the matter at hand. “So? What’s the news?”
“I ended up sending two teams. They’re set up to keep an eye on both Annie and Leo. One team is also looking into the witch we think is controlling Leo. All but one of them is a paranormal of one kind or another, but they’re so low on the magickal scale they shouldn’t show up on her radar. So far, it’s all quiet.”
“No news is good news, right?” Tess said softly.
It was Rand who answered. “We can only hope, but it’s still early in the game. What are you going to do if any of them are in danger?” Trust Rand to get straight to the point.
Sam sighed. “I’m not sure. I’d like to pack Annie, Cammie, and Leo up and just bring them all down here, where it’s, well, not actually safe, but where we can at least protect them.”
MAKING MAGICKAL ALLIANCES: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel Page 13