“So you’re aware of the incident going on now. We need all the assistance we can get. Will you come?”
I cocked an eyebrow and studied him a moment before speaking. “They aren’t my MAUCs.”
He mimicked my expression, one thin, sharp brow raising high above his eye. “You’re under no obligation, Miss Lincoln. I only thought perhaps you cared enough about our existence that you might wish to assist.”
There was a pull coming from somewhere in the center of my chest. For a reason I couldn’t fathom, I wanted to get closer to Prieto. Before I could even begin to figure that out, my body moved of its own accord, and I took a step closer to him. “Fine. I’ll come.”
He inched forward. “Thank you, Miss Lincoln.”
At this point, I could actually feel the warmth of his breath tickling my forehead. My fingers itched and felt restless, yearning for something to touch. Or someone. With a deep breath I sucked in some resolve. “What’s going on here? What are you doing to me?”
He looked alarmed, but I was starting to feel a little caged in by his closeness and wanted to get as far from him as possible. I pointed a single finger into his chest, intending to push him away from me.
That plan immediately backfired because the touch of my finger to his breastbone sent a ribbon of electricity from his body to mine. And that shock hit all the right places. My nipples tightened and a spasm of yearning struck me between my legs. My mind went just as haywire as my body, an image playing forth behind my eyes that I couldn’t prevent.
It was me, naked. My back was arched, and Vincent’s hands were cupped beneath my breasts, his thumbs teasing me. I watched as my mouth dropped open and I heard myself moan.
Blinking my eyes to clear away the vision, I stumbled back to get away from him. The stunned look on Prieto’s face made me wonder if I’d actually moaned aloud or just in the vision.
He took two steps to the side, putting even more distance between us and almost tripping over Patch, who’d curled up for another nap on the floor. She yelped and ran to me, hiding between my legs. Needing something, anything to distract me from what had just happened, I reached down and scratched my hand from her neck all the way down her body a few times. She relaxed and sat down.
“We should go,” Prieto advised with a gruff voice, his foreign accent stronger now.
Slamming down my mental walls, I tried to focus on the task before us. Prieto reached into his pocket and then dropped a little bottle onto my floor between the two of us. A cloud of purple smoke enveloped me as he used his magic to transport us.
When the smoke cleared, Prieto and I were in a room crowded with MAUCs. I recognized a few of them as Neutralizers, and I quickly surmised that everyone there must be a Neutralizer/Enforcer on some level. They really were pulling out all the stops for this incident.
“Each of us could take twenty, maybe even thirty. That should let us wipe the minds of everyone here,” a woman said.
“What about the video? This is probably being recorded on tapes and digitally all around the world.”
“Send the trackers,” the woman spoke again, pointing to a group of Leprechauns.
Side note: Many people don’t realize it, but Leprechauns can actually help people find all sorts of things, not just a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Their help always comes with a price, and usually one that’s much higher than the item you need them to locate.
As I listened haphazardly to the chatter, I pulled out my phone and began searching online. I liked to shoot from the hip most of the time as a Neutralizer, and an idea had sprouted in my mind in the second or two before Prieto brought us here.
Just that thought made my eye dart to look for him. He had walked away from me to stand against a wall on the far side of the room. He had his arms crossed over his chest in a way that made him appear bigger and stronger than he really was. I licked my lips and turned back to my screen.
It took a bit of searching, but I finally came up with the information I needed. Now that I had it, what would I do with it? I bit my lip and surveyed the room. Many of the MAUCs were probably Enforcers, and a sudden wave of insecurity made my legs go tingly.
“What’s the plan, Lynlee? I can see it in your eyes, you’ve got something.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Tig standing beside me. I glanced down at him and grinned from one corner of my mouth. “They called you in too, huh?”
He only shrugged and waited for me to answer his question.
“Yeah, I’ve got something. But they seem to like their plan.”
“Bah, donkey dust!” Before I could even roll my eyes at him in frustration, he was rushing into the throng of people and thumbing in my direction, “Hey, I think this gal’s got something to say.”
Waves of uncertainty washed over me, and I was sure my cheeks were flaming red. Still I swallowed and raised my cell phone. “Max Humber,” I said, appalled that my voice broke a little.
“He’s crazy. A sensationalist.” The woman who had been speaking earlier lifted her chin and sniffed at me.
When Prieto’s voice piped in next, it was all I could do not to look at him as he spoke. “Allow her to explain her proposal.”
“He makes his living debunking magic. He has hundreds of YouTube videos where he gives away the secrets to magicians’ tricks. And people love him. They follow him like crazy on Facebook, Twitter. All someone has to do is dare him to ‘disprove,’” I hooked my fingers in the shape of apostrophes, “what’s happening here today and he’ll do the rest. He’ll jump at the chance.”
“Miss Lincoln, just because he has all of these followers doesn’t mean the world will believe him. There are people who don’t live on social media.”
Annoyance bubbled up from my belly, but I swallowed it back and took a few steps forward. “There’s no way you’ll be able to charm each and every person who’s watching this right now. The numbers are multiplying as we speak. It’s nearly impossible. But all people really need is a reason to doubt what they’re seeing. They’ll welcome the reality of it. Sure, there will still be those who will believe something truly paranormal happened here, but there are still people who believe in alien autopsies at Roswell. Let them go on believing it and the rest of the world will go on their merry way.”
“Brilliant.” Prieto spoke again, only somehow he’d managed to sneak up on me and was now standing directly to my left. I ignored the desire to look into those grey eyes and instead focused on Tig who had come to flank me on my right.
“Well, Miss Lincoln, I suppose you’d better find Humber now and get the ball rolling, hadn’t you?”
“You want me to convince him?”
His eyes narrowed just a fraction, but his stare was enough to answer my question. I inclined my head in understanding.
Everyone around us began moving as if they all understood some sort of unspoken instruction. I saw a little gang of men morph into policemen and nudged Tig to get his attention. “Who are they?”
“Heavies. They’ll extract the Elementals so they don’t cause any more damage. You better get moving, girl. We need Max to get started on this like yesterday.”
Max Humber wasn’t hard to get to, but then with my amulet and grotto, it wasn’t hard to get to any location within a matter of moments. I appeared in the front yard of his home/shop. Unfortunately, he happened to be standing right there when I did. His eyes widened in alarm, then narrowed in suspicion.
“You think I don’t know how you did that? There’s not a magic trick in the book that I can’t crack, and the one you just pulled is one of the easiest in that book.”
His words stopped my natural instinct, which was to wave my wand, say a spell and wipe, say, thirty seconds of memory out of his mind. Instead, I decided to play on his train of thought. I shrugged and crossed my arms in front of me. “You think you’re that good?”
Max was a short, wrinkled man who was clearly older than he liked to make out. His hair was dyed black, with not a
single highlight to soften the thinning waved locks, so that it looked a little like he’d just spray-painted his head. He pointed a bony finger and circled it in front of me. “Don’t mock me, little girl. I make fools of people like you.”
I swatted his hand away and proceeded to walk past him towards the front door of his house. “I’m already being made a fool of, so you can’t do any worse. What I want is for you to make a fool of someone else.”
I could sense his hesitation, but I hedged my bets and simply waited at his front door, not even looking in his direction. After a few moments, I heard movements, and before long, he was standing there beside me. “I assume this is a paying proposition?”
I wasn’t surprised. He had a reputation for this sort of dealing. “That depends. Do you deliver?”
He opened the door and motioned me inside. I followed and stepped into a steam-punker’s dream home. There were gadgets and gizmos in just about every nook and cranny. My eyes flicked from one fantastical object to the other. He grinned and smacked his lips at me. “Impressive, right?”
“Sure.”
“So can I offer you a drink?” he asked casually, as if he had just invited me in for a social call.
“No, Mr. Humber. I’d rather not. Have you seen the news today?”
He grabbed a bottle of water and shook his head while he drank it. “Nah, been out there pulling weeds. Good for the psyche, you know?”
I forced a smile, but the plastic pull of the corners of my lips felt so fake I quickly dropped the act. “Maybe you should take a look.”
There was a small television on the counter in his kitchen. He grabbed the remote and only had to flip a few channels before he found an image of the Elementals raining freezing water onto the wildfires. He whistled through his teeth as he examined them.
“You know these fakers?”
“Competitor.”
“Ahhhh. I don’t normally like to help people in this business. I don’t believe in preying on gullible people.”
I chuckled dryly as I mentally switched directions in dealing with him. “Not business competitors. See the one on the left? The curvy one?”
He squinted as he eyed the screen. The truth was, all of the Elementals were voluptuous. Still, after a moment, Max nodded with a sly smile. “I see. She’s got your man’s eye?”
I licked my lips and tried to look annoyed. That wasn’t hard to do under the circumstances. “Not my man yet. But he will be when she’s proven a fraud anyway.”
“You are in the business though, aren’t you? I mean, you pulled that stunt when you arrived here.”
I shrugged. “Well, I’m with a circus. It’s not exactly the same thing as her kind of grandstanding. And I was just trying to get your attention when I got here. Wanted to be sure you’d help me.”
He studied me for a bit, then put out his hand. “All right. You’ve got a deal. In fact, I’ll even give you a discount. Consider it my soft nature.”
It was all I could do not to snort in derision. It only took us a few minutes to resolve the financial details. I wasn’t happy about the amount of money I’d be out of pocket, but I planned to demand at least a partial reimbursement from the Enforcers. I thought that was the least they could do to compensate me for sticking my neck out for “the cause.”
While I’d talked with Max, my phone had dinged a few times, and I’d ignored it, needing all of my attention on convincing him to do his part. As I walked about a mile away from his house, looking for a safe place from which to orb, I glanced at the screen. It was a text from an unknown number, but I wasn’t shocked when I tapped it and saw that it was Prieto.
Any luck with the human?
Got it covered. He plans to start posting tonight.
A second or two later, I was stepping out of the grotto, and the phone announced another message.
Media is already looking for reasons to discount the scene. Good job.
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. I didn’t like condescension.
Humber is going to cost. I’ll send you details later. Are we in the clear? I have plans.
I entered my home and grabbed some water from the fridge. I was so thirsty I tipped the bottle back and started chugging. I almost choked when I felt something rub against my leg. It took only a few seconds to remember Patch was still here. She gazed up at me with glistening eyes, a happy grin on her puppy face. I felt bad that I’d left her alone so long, so I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and poured her some water. Taking a moment to rub her ears, I placed the bowl in front of her and smiled when she began lapping it up.
“Good girl. I hope you haven’t made any messes. Do you need to go outside?”
She finished drinking and then peered up at me again, her tail wagging. Taking this as a yes, I opened the back door. When I did, Patch ran outside and immediately squatted in the grass behind the house. After she was finished, she took two steps, then stopped and kicked her back legs, throwing dirt and grass out behind her and over the spot in which she’d just pottied.
Finished with her business, Patch burst around with puppy excitement, trotting in circles with exuberance. I watched her trip over a little indentation in the yard, but before I could give it an inspection she was back at my feet, her tail wagging as if I was the center of her universe.
“You really are just too cute, you know that?” I asked as I opened the door to let her back into the house. She ran in, but stopped for me just inside the door. I patted her and moved in the direction of my office. The clock on my wall told me it was probably about time for Beck and the kids to get home after school and work. I could probably have found some work to do, but I was more interested in seeing them. Digging my phone back out of my pocket, I dialed his number.
“You read my mind, gorgeous. I was just about to call you.”
“Sure, that’s what all the guys tell me.”
Beck’s rumble of laughter made me smile as I plopped onto the couch and motioned for Patch to join me. She jumped, didn’t quite span the distance to make it, then backed up and made a second, running leap. This time I grabbed her behind the head and helped her get there. She favored me with a lick on my chin.
“We were thinking about pizza, but we could be persuaded to try something else if you’re hungry for anything specific.”
My belly rumbled. “Pizza sounds really good.”
“Good. We’re starving, so grab your things and get over here before one of us passes out.”
I could hear Jilly squealing in the background. “Yeah, you guys sound pretty desperate.” It was the weekend, so normally I’d be staying with them. I paused and took a deep breath. “First I have a question.”
Beck sighed, waiting for me.
“How do you feel about dogs?”
He laughed a little. “Have you been talking to Justin?”
“I seem to have acquired another stray.”
“Another one? Is he better looking than me?”
It was a joke between us from the days when we first got together when I had taken my werewolf client Teddy into my home over Christmas. I pulled the phone away from my ear, took a picture of Patch and then messaged it to him. “She’s pretty damn cute. Check your email.”
There was the sound of shuffling on his end of the phone, then I heard him whistle. Patch’s ears perked up, and she tilted her head to the side, hearing the sound even from the phone. “You’re right. She’s a cutie. But you know the kids are gonna fall in love with her, right? Once she’s here, there’s no turning back. You’ll have to keep her.”
Patch panted and then nuzzled my hand, eager for me to rub her ears. I complied, and she melted into me. My chest felt all tight and warm. I inhaled and exhaled deep, nodding even though Beck couldn’t see it. “Yup, but I’m going to have to keep her anyway.”
My favorite candle scent was called clean cotton. I wasn’t a flowery type of girl, and ones that smelled like baked goods tended to make me nauseous in high doses. As I walked into Beck’s kitch
en, I saw candles lined up all along the counter, all of them the familiar light blue color that I recognized as my favorite.
But as I approached the candles and inhaled, my nostrils were instead assailed by a hodgepodge of scents, none of them pleasant. Cookies, lavender, coconut, orange… and bacon? My gag reflex nearly overcame me, and I swallowed a few times to tamp down the nausea.
“Beck! Beck, what in the heck are you trying to do? Kill me?”
But instead of my boyfriend, a hoard of teeny little men and women marched into the room, all of them dressed in forest colors. I frowned so hard it hurt, then crouched down in front of them. “I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?”
“Left, left, left, right, left.” They chanted the cadence. “If Lynlee doesn’t heed the call, she’ll have not one thing left. Left, left, left, right left. Better get her act in gear or suffer with the rest.”
“What are you people trying to tell me? Why can’t you just say what you mean?”
“Left, left, left, right left…”
The smells were getting the better of me so I huffed over to the candles and began blowing at them to put them out. The flames flickered and the wax sputtered, but not a one of them went out. I licked my fingers and began pinching each wick in turn, the hot fire burning the tips.
“… the danger underneath her feet isn’t just a jest.”
“Would you stop singing!” My patience was wearing thin, and I turned, conjuring my wand as I did. But when I faced in the direction of their voices, I found them all gone. The room was empty, and sleep was sucking me back into blackness.
~oOo~
The next morning after breakfast, Jilly and I snuggled on the couch, watching television with a thick blanket over our legs and Patch curled up between us asleep. A news reporter was discussing the previous day’s events and lauding the mysterious women for helping with the wildfires, which were now almost eighty percent contained. Beck had taken Justin to a friend’s house for the weekend, and so it was just us girls for the moment.
A Bundle of Trouble (The Lynlee Lincoln Sets Book 1) Page 23