by Amy Boyles
“Wolf’s bane,” Jacques announced.
I reached for one.
He brushed my hand away. “Oh, don’t touch it. It’s poison through and through. Dangerous to anyone.”
“Especially werewolves,” I said.
Jacques twirled a little bone threaded into his hair. “One of the few substances that can kill them. The poison of the plant has been known for centuries, going back to the ancient Greeks. The whole flower is deadly, from the roots to the petals. You must be careful when handling it.”
“Why do you keep it?” I said. “Why possess something that can be so harmful?”
Jacques smiled, his gold tooth glinting like a pirate’s. “Because there’s something about owning a thing so powerful. I keep it, watch it, grow it. I only touch it with gloves and rarely show it to anyone.”
I noticed a bare spot in the growing flowers. “Did you cultivate some recently?”
“No, I haven’t cultivated it in ages,” Jacques said. He glanced at the spot I was pointing to.
“There,” Stone said. “It looks like some of it’s missing.”
Jacques shook his head. “That’s because some of it is missing. Dastardly affair.”
“Dastardly?” I said.
“Exactly, right. No, I didn’t prune any of those lovelies.” Jacques walked over and inspected the patch of grass. “Someone stole them right from under my nose.”
SIXTEEN
Stone took the lead. “Any idea who took the wolf’s bane?”
Jacques spread his hands wide. “Who would do such a thing? How could someone do it? I haven’t invited anyone over. The person who took those flowers either flew or scaled the wall.”
Stone shot me a knowing look. “Who else knew about your wolf’s bane?”
Jacques shook his head. “I don’t tell people about it. Patsy knew because we’ve become friends. But no, I don’t regularly tell anyone I keep a poisonous flower on my roof. Though I did throw a party last week.”
I frowned. “I thought you said you hadn’t invited anyone over?”
Jacques cocked his head. “Parties are different. You don’t really invite people; they just show up.”
Stone shifted his weight. “How many people?”
Jacques wiggled his fingers. “Maybe thirty or so.”
I quirked a brow. “That sounds like quite a list. Can you give me names?”
Jacques nodded. “Love, I can give you more than names. I can give you hairstyles.”
I chuckled. “Pretty sure all I need are names and we’re good.”
“Then I’ll do that.”
We returned to the apartment, where Jacques penned out a list of pretty much every supernatural in town. It wasn’t exactly helpful. I did notice one name was missing, however.
“Do you know a werewolf named Antonio?”
Jacques steepled his fingers and pressed them to his lips. “Antonio? I can’t say I know him by name, but I may know him by his hair.”
I shook my head. “No. I need you to know him know him, not by his hairstyle. He’s a werewolf. Related to Cal, his cousin.”
Jacques shook his head. “No, I can’t say that I do. But if I run into him, I’ll give you a call.”
“Thank you for your help,” Stone said.
We walked back to the car. Stone placed a hand on the small of my back. Warmth curled around me. His touch always ignited me, pulling me to him, and it was definitely part of the attraction between us, yet when I was with Dex, his touch always made me feel secure, comforted.
I bit down on my lip. I was drawn to Stone, no doubt about it, but I had to focus on the reality of the situation between us, not give in to my own desires.
Though I darn sure wanted to.
“So who’s this mysterious Antonio?” Stone said.
“Oh, Dex took me over to meet Cal’s brothers, and they said something about him.”
Stone arched a brow. “Dex took you? You seem to be spending a lot of time with him.”
I rubbed his arm. “I didn’t have a choice. He had a lead and wouldn’t let me go by myself.”
“Sounds a little controlling.”
I felt the need to defend Dex. “It wasn’t that kind of thing. Believe me. And should you be judging? I didn’t think angels got jealous.”
He smirked. “I’m not jealous. I’ve never felt that emotion in my entire life. No idea what it is.”
I nudged him playfully. “I think you’re learning.”
He shrugged. “I’m not ready to label my feelings as that emotion.”
I nodded. “Whatever. Anyway, Cal’s brothers pointed out that their cousin, Antonio, had said he needed to find something. What if whatever he’s looking for is connected to Cal somehow?”
“How?”
“What if he didn’t lose it? What if Cal had stolen it or something? I don’t know, I’m just thinking out loud.”
Stone crossed his arms. “If Antonio had lost something, he wouldn’t necessarily be breaking and entering to find it. But if it had been hidden?”
I nodded. “Then he would. And was that something worth killing for?”
I found Dot in her bedroom taking a nap with Gabby. It was so cute, both of them cuddling, I almost didn’t want to wake Dot.
But I did.
Stone and I corralled my great-aunt and Vordrid in the kitchen. “I need to catch a werewolf,” I said.
Dot dabbed a tissue around each eye. “How exciting! Tell me when you’ve caught it, and I’ll come poke it to see if it growls.”
“That’s not funny,” I said.
“Andie,” Vordrid started, “werewolves aren’t easy to catch.”
“I know. Yesterday’s attempt landed me in the slammer.”
“How did I miss that?” Stone said.
I waved him away. “I’ll tell you about my adventures later. Trust me, you’re not missing much.”
He winked at me. “Sounds like I’m missing a lot.”
I turned to Vordrid. “But are there means of containing them? There’s one breaking into businesses downtown. Dex created a magical cage, and it might’ve worked, I don’t know, but the werewolf shoved me inside it.”
Vordrid swiveled side to side. He made a clicking sound as if he was thinking. “Interesting. But you want a foolproof method for capturing the beast?”
I nodded. “Right. I don’t want there to be any escape.”
Vordrid paused. “Let me think about it. We need to set a trap that is surefire. This will take research.”
I shot Dot a look. “Right. And we need bait that is one hundred percent guaranteed to work. I’m almost afraid to even ask this of you, considering how the magics in a can went.”
A few weeks ago Dot had promised that she had been canning her magic and that once the canisters were opened, I could draw on the power and use it to fuel my magic. Well, the containers turned out to be empty, hence my trepidation at relying on Dot when it came to incredibly important situations. Still, she was a hunter by trade, and it was worth a shot asking.
I took a few minutes to explain about Antonio, the break-ins, and my theory about the mysterious werewolf.
Dot chewed the inside of her cheek. “Guaranteed bait for a werewolf. Now, I’ll need to think on that for a while. If we were talking about a starving beast that would be easy—throw a chicken in a cage and wait. But you want something sophisticated, something that will lure them in.” She thought. “You don’t know what this Antonio is looking for, do you?”
I shook my head. “That’s the thing—I don’t. No clue. But he’s ripping the town apart for it.”
Stone shrugged. “If you were a werewolf, what’s the one thing you would want?”
Little feet pounded on the floor as Gabby ran into the room. “Mommy!”
I scooped her up for a hug. “Hi, sweetheart.”
“Mommy went to work.”
I nodded. “Yep,” I lied. “Mommy’s home now.”
“Gabby go play.”
�
��Okay.” I sat her down, and Gabby picked up a dolly and proceeded to cradle and cuddle it.
“If I were a werewolf,” I mused. “If I were a werewolf, what would I want? Cal wanted to be able to be free of the confines of his life. He wanted the world to know what he was. He was loud and proud about it.”
Dot filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove. “If I were a werewolf, I’d want to be able to control when I shifted. Most of them can, but what if that’s what this Antonio is looking for?”
Vordrid bobbed up and down. “That’s a good point. But can you take that from someone? If the wolf can control when they transform, can it so easily be burgled?”
I clicked my tongue. “I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out.”
Stone caught my gaze. “And how’s that?”
I smiled at him. “We ask the expert. We go to Edith.”
Edith was a town witch who specialized in amulet creation. When a supernatural needed a specific aspect of themselves fixed, like, say, a vampire wanted to hang out during the day, they visited Edith. She would then whip up something so that the vampire could venture out into the sunshine. Basically Edith specialized in arcane magic to help supers.
She agreed to meet Stone and me that afternoon. I hadn’t seen her in a few weeks, not since she’d admitted to making amulets for a vampire and his daughter. Amulets that never should have been created, if you wanted my opinion on the matter.
Slumped on Edith’s front porch lay a scarecrow on a stack of hay. I nodded at the inanimate figure.
“Did you just nod at that thing?” Stone said.
I cringed. “Yeah. Its name is Jack. Thing was here last time I visited. She has it spelled to tell her when someone’s on her front porch.”
“So you were greeting it?”
I cocked my head from side to side in embarrassment. “Yeah, I guess I kind of did. I mean, it has eyes and it tells her things, so I kinda figured I’d say hello.”
Stone smiled. “Don’t worry. I still care about you, even with all your quirks.”
“I guess that’s what makes me human.”
Stone’s gaze trailed to my lips. “That and other things.”
Thank goodness Edith opened the door right then. She was a large woman with chocolate-colored skin that was as flawless as cream, full lips, a round belly, and a raspy voice that was as welcoming as it was booming.
“Welcome! Come on in. I just made a fresh batch of pumpkin spice cookies. Would you like one?”
“Yes, please.”
We entered the small yet welcoming house. It smelled just like the holidays—spice, cinnamon and wonderful other scents filled the space. It made me want to curl up on her couch and watch It’s a Wonderful Life, but clearly I had other things to do.
We sat and munched on a cookie.
Edith wedged into her recliner. “Andie, what have you been up to?”
“We’ve got a supernatural overload in town.”
Edith smiled. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. You wouldn’t be talking about that foolish werewolf eating that Thanksgiving turkey, would you?”
“Heard about that?”
She swatted the air. “Girl, I saw it. Witnessed the disaster. It’s a wonder the townsfolk aren’t trying to run our kind out of town. Luckily they don’t know about us—yet.”
“Oh, they know about me,” I said, bitterness filling my voice.
“I saw the slips of paper. Don’t worry about it. Things like this always blow over. It’s not like you committed murder.”
I grimaced. “That’s another thing. Some of the supers think I did.”
“Well, this is all kinds of three ways twisted to Sunday.”
“What?” I said.
“It’s just an expression I use.” Edith crossed her legs. “Now, tell me what I can do for you two.”
“We’ve come for your expertise,” Stone said.
“Oh, the handsome man talks,” Edith said to me, giving a mischievous smile. “But you’re not exactly a man, are you?”
I groaned. “It’s a long story.”
Edith picked up a cookie. “You know, I really shouldn’t have these. Gets my blood sugar up. But they’re just so hard to resist.”
“They are delicious,” I said. “Ever considered putting chocolate chips in them?”
Edith shook her head. “No, but I make a wonderful coffee and chocolate chip cookie that you’d love.”
My eyebrows shot to the ceiling. Edith was speaking my language now. “Yes! Let me know next time you make them. I’ll happily be your official taste tester.”
“You got it, darling. But anyway, back to business.”
Stone cleared his throat. Poor angel, we girls weren’t giving him a way into the conversation. “I understand you’ve made amulets before for species requiring special abilities.”
“That’s right,” Edith said between chews.
“We have a werewolf situation. One is dead, and from what we understand, another one is looking for something that was stolen from him. Something very important. Have you had many dealings with that sort of supernatural?”
“Some,” Edith said slowly.
I jumped in. “We’re trying to figure out what a werewolf might be looking for—what would be important to him?”
Edith inhaled deeply. “Back in the days when I had many dealings with shifters of that sort, the one thing that was important to them would be controlling the change. Many times I’ve known grown men and women who had to be chained up, locked away when the full moon rose. That’s evolved for some of them. Many of them aren’t true werewolves anymore. They’re more like shifters, where they can control when they change—like our friend who ate the Thanksgiving turkey. A lot of that primal werewolf blood has been bred out.”
I frowned. “So you’re saying that the werewolves we know aren’t true werewolves anymore.”
“Right,” Edith said. “They’re more like half-breeds. Though that’s not a nice word, so I wouldn’t use it. Many of them consider themselves to be werewolves even though they’re more shifter. The difference is that a werewolf changes at the full moon; a shifter transforms whenever they want.”
“Okay,” I said. “So then this wolf who’s been breaking and entering isn’t a full-fledged werewolf.”
“Again, correct,” Edith said. “So you need to look at things in the opposite light, but still with the exact same needs.”
“The wolf is trying to control when he shifts,” Stone said.
Edith rose. “That’s what all shifters want. Most of the time they can control the shifting, but what your dead friend may have done was break this wolf’s ability to control it.”
“Is that possible?” I said.
“With the right tools, sure. I’ve heard of some shifters who never learn how to truly control their powers. Most can, but when a rare case occurs, they need a little help. I’ve been asked to do that before, but not for years.”
Edith opened a drawer from a china cabinet in the corner and pulled out a red crystal. “This crystal can be infused with power that will stop the change. This one isn’t, but it’s the vehicle for such a thing. This is what your wolf is most likely looking for. Find it and you’ll have what it wants.”
I looked at Stone, who slid his palms down his thighs. “Thank you for your time. You’ve been very helpful.”
Edith smiled at me. “Would you like a plate of cookies for the road?”
I shook my head. As much as I wanted them, it was best not to take what would add ten pounds to my waistline in half a day. “No thanks.”
When we were back in the SUV, Stone turned to me. “So what do you think we should do next?”
I folded my arms. “We need to talk to Cal’s brothers.”
“Why?” Stone said.
I tightened my jaw. “To find out why they lied.”
SEVENTEEN
“What makes you think they lied?” Stone said. “I mean, I wasn’t invited to that little soiree, so I
wouldn’t know.”
I nudged his shoulder. “Don’t be jealous. They were Dex’s contact.”
He shrugged. “I’m not jealous.”
I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration. “Stone, you’re leaving in a few months, as soon as everything is set with Gabby. You’re gone. Out of my life to go back to being an angel in heaven or New Jersey or wherever. I’m confused; I’m a knot of emotions; I don’t know where to place you in my life because we kiss but our relationship can’t go past that. Like, at all. I feel a pull to you that is very real, and to be honest, it hurts that I know we can only get so close.” I threw up my hands. “So what am I supposed to do? Sit here and yearn for you for the rest of my life? Be sad for what could have been but can never be? This is torture.” My voice sank to a murmur. “I’ve realized it’s not something I enjoy.”
All of that was true. Stone had been sent to earth to guard Gabby from something that was supposed to happen, but none of us knew what. We wanted to be together, but if we consummated our relationship, Stone would become mortal, therefore lose his place in heaven and his ability to help other people, which was what he loved doing. Being a guardian was as much a part of him as being a hunter—though I hated to admit it—was a part of me.
Stone was quiet. When he finally spoke, his voice was dark, low. “It’s not easy for me, either. I can’t stay away from you, Andie, and to be honest, I don’t want to.” He turned toward me, and his silver eyes cut straight into my spine, sending a shudder flooding down my back. “I’m trying to live through this the same as you. I’ve been alive a very long time, done lots of jobs for the big guy, but I’ve never met someone I’ve been as drawn to before. This is all new for me, and I’m trying to find my way through the confusion as well.”
He raked his fingers through the dark bangs hanging in his eyes. Wow. Sometimes he really reminded me of a rock star. Like, heartthrob style. You know, like when you were a teenager and plastered your walls in posters of your favorite teen idol. That’s exactly what Stone reminded me of—the stars I loved as a teen.
But now I was all grown up and dealing with adult-sized emotions.
“Maybe it’s just better if we focus on Gabby and we take a break from each other.”