"I'll ask." Hannah turned again to the chair. "Answer the lady. What do you mean, gerbils?"
The door chimed as it opened, startling us. Hannah and I both jumped and turned to the door.
Hannah’s boyfriend Barry walked in, his ginger hair mussed from the wind, his freckled face punctuated by his pale blue eyes. Barry worked for a pharmaceutical company. Was he paranormal? This would drive me crazy, trying to guess what everyone was while keeping the secret from non-paranormals.
"I have to go," Hannah said to me, quickly gathering her purse and phone.
"But… I have more questions! What gerbils?"
"Gerbils?" Barry chuckled. "First a cat and now you're getting a rodent? What's wrong with you, Sadie? Is your biological clock ticking too loud? Tick tock. Tick tock."
"Nothing's wrong with me. Hannah…"
But she'd already shut down and turned to Barry. "Tomorrow morning coffee?" Hannah grabbed her sweater.
"Can you call me later?" I asked.
"I'll try."
I needed to find out more from Monty. But at least he had confirmed that he knew Leo and asking him for help was a good idea.
"Ready?" Barry asked Hannah.
She nodded. "That was my last appointment for today. I don’t know if you want to stay open for walk-ins. I was just going to close for the rest of the day."
"I'll take care of it and close up. No worries," I said. "See you tomorrow."
Hannah nodded. She breezed out the door with Barry.
After locking up the Shaggy Puppy, I walked home with Pudgie. I was alone.
"You still have me," Steve said.
"Stop reading my mind."
"Stop thinking about me as Pudgie."
I was alone. Except for a talking cat. Named Steve.
I scooped him up.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" He nuzzled my chin.
"Hey," I pulled back. "As long as I couldn't hear your voice, this whole cuddly kitten thing worked."
"Okay, I'll be quiet." And he was.
Chapter 5
Sadie
After a quick dinner of pasta and broccoli, I sat down on my sofa to contact Mrs. G.
The last time we'd spoken, she'd told me that she and Mr. G would be traveling for quite a while, starting with the upper atmosphere so Mr. G could gain back the strength he'd depleted living on Earth.
He was an angel and had lived on earth for twenty years so Mrs. G could watch over me.
Mrs. G was a Firestarter—and she could breathe out flames despite looking like a little senior lady. She told me she was my fairy godmother. In books, characters just call out and their fairy godmothers hear them.
"Mrs. G?" I called to the ceiling, feeling a little foolish. "It's Sadie! I need to talk with you!"
Nothing happened. I waited a few moments then tried again. "Mrs. G? Mr. G? I need you!"
"Maybe she can't hear you hollering at her from Earth, if she's all the way in Heaven. Did you think of that?" Steve meowed.
"Did you ever consider helping me instead of criticizing?"
"Well did you?"
"I just need to talk to her. Maybe instead of grumbling you can think of some helpful way to contact her."
"Have you thought of going to her apartment and seeing if she's there? Maybe she left a forwarding number. Imagine she's a person who went on a holiday. Because she is."
That wasn't a bad idea. "Come on," I said, jumping off the couch.
Mrs. G's apartment was in The Enchanted Shores Center for Senior Folks, right across the street from the Shaggy Puppy. It looked like an apartment building, but each floor supported senior folks in various stages of health and wellness. Mrs. G had lived on the second floor for full independence, but Mr. G. had lived on the tenth floor—which housed only people with dementia.
I scooped up Steve and jogged back downtown. The night was cooling off, and a breeze kicked up.
I knocked on Mrs. G's door and waited a few minutes before rattling the door knob to see if it would open.
It didn't.
Had she given up her apartment?
"Can I help you, young lady?" A tall, thin man with snow white hair and kind eyes hurried down the hall towards me.
"Do you know if Mrs. G is around?" I asked. "I'm her god daughter."
"She's not around. No. She's very far away at the moment."
"Right, but. Do you know how I can contact her?"
"You can't." He shook his head. "But I can. If you give me a message."
"It's kind of complicated…"
"I'm sure I can handle it," he said, his eyes twinkling. The man reached towards me with his wrinkled hand and pet Steve's head. The kitten purred, but said nothing.
I shrugged. Might as well give it a shot. "Okay, thanks. Tell Mrs. G that Monty has died and Leonardo is accused of murdering him. Cormac needs to know about Monty's past so he can release Leo."
"Oh, dear! Certainly!" The man's eyebrows dropped. "That's very concerning."
"Thank you," I said. "I'm Sadie, by the way."
"Oh yes. I know, dear," the man said. "And you can call me Kris."
We shook hands. As he hurried back up the hall, I noticed that he was wearing running shoes.
Before going home, I stopped at the jail cell to talk with Leo.
He swooshed out of the jail cell again and we sat on the wet grass, leaning against the back of the station.
It struck me suddenly that although I was in the dark with a vampire, I felt safe. Wasn't that how vampires lured people to their deaths? By making them feel safe?
I shivered, but then remembered I had strong powers too. I could protect myself. I lifted my shoulders and sighed.
"I sent a message for Mrs. G but I don't know when she'll get it. Also, I got a message from Monty today. He said something about you."
"Someone has roused him from death?" The vampire lifted his eyebrows and shook his head. "That's not a good idea, believe me."
"No, not roused him. He roused himself to give me a message to tell you to find his gerbils."
"His gerbils?"
"I don't understand it either."
"Gerbils? Like rats?"
"I think gerbils are more like big hamsters."
"You're thinking of guinea pigs."
"No. That's another animal. Hamsters are like teddy bear mice."
"Still. Rodents." He shuddered, hunching his shoulders.
"Got a thing against rodents?"
"No comment."
"That sounds like a comment."
Silence.
"Did Monty have pets?" I asked.
"Not that I ever saw. We can go to his encampment and look around."
"Didn't he live at the park?" That's the only place I'd seen him. Sitting or sleeping on a park bench or down by the water.
"He had a small campsite in the woods with a tent and a grill. It actually wasn't a terrible place."
"Can't you turn into a bat or something? Wait a minute. A bat is a rodent with wings."
"No, it isn’t," he deadpanned.
"Let's go to Monty's campsite. You're already out of jail, let's just do it now."
"I can leave obviously, but I've given my word not to."
"We can come right back."
Leo stood and lifted his arms. "Just give me a moment." He swooshed back into the cell.
"Impressive," Steve said, stretching his back in an arch.
"Are you being sarcastic?"
He glanced up at me and raised a kitten eyebrow. "Not impressed? Wouldn't you like to be able to swoosh around like that?"
"Of course." Flying had always been the superpower I'd most like to have. To be able to soar though the clouds, above everything, travel anywhere. It sounded like heaven.
I heard a great rustling and with a small fluttering near my ears, Leo stood before me again.
"You don't look like a vampire," I said without thinking. He was tall and handsome but also hearty, as if he spent a lot of time outside. In the sun.
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"You don't look like a sea witch." He raised an eyebrow.
"Have you met one before?"
"I'm very old. I've met one of everything. The last sea witch I met was named Gloria, and she was very short and seal-like."
"Here? In Enchanted Shores?" Was she my mother?
"This was off the coast of Australia in the 15th Century."
"At least that was something." I pointed to the cell windows. "What did you do in there?"
"I bought us some time. I arranged my pillows to look like a body under my blankets. Should give us time to go to Monty's campsite and back if we hurry."
"Is Eddie asleep?"
"They came and took him a few hours ago."
Had Eddie already left? "Where did they take him?"
"You think they tell me?"
"Did they take him away to magic jail? Is he gone for good?"
"I don't think so. His belongings are still here. A little comb. His toothbrush. Come on, we've got to be quick."
I turned to start walking, but Leo shook his head. "Too slow."
"What then?"
"This won't hurt a bit," Leo said, picking up Steve. "Just don't make a sound."
"Why?"
But before I could move, he grabbed me too, and carrying both of us, ran up a tree, across the tree tops, and into a small clearing in the woods. It took about five seconds.
He placed us gently in the grass.
Steve hissed and dove under a bush.
I dropped to a fighting stance, lifting my hands in front of my face. "Never do that again."
Leo sighed and glanced around the camp. "If we'd talked about it, we'd still be back at the police station. Let's find the rodents. Would there be a cage?" He shuddered.
I took a look around. Monty's campsite consisted of a tent, two camp chairs, a fire pit and metal cabinet. A peace banner hung between two trees. It was actually pretty nice. I turned back to Leo. "Didn't you ever hear about talking something out? Asking for permission?"
He shrugged. "Sometimes it's faster my way. Would you have agreed to it?"
"With time."
"Exactly. Those pillows on my jail bed won't fool anyone for long."
I tried to open the cabinet. Locked. "Doesn't look like the police know about Monty's camp," I said. "When they searched the Shaggy Puppy, it showed. Nothing was in the right place afterward. This doesn't look searched."
"I don't think anyone knew about the camp besides me," Leo said. He unzipped the tent. "Monty told me I was his only visitor."
I peeked inside the tent. A stack of books and a small solar powered lamp were neatly placed beside a zipped sleeping bag. Everything was clean and tidy. No cages. No rodents.
"I don't see gerbils anywhere," I said.
"Let's get out of here," Leo said as he reached for me.
I held up my hands to stop him. "Woah," I said.
"Wouldn't you like a ride back to town?" he asked.
I pointed to an opening in the woods. "Does this trail lead to the park?"
Leo nodded. "It meets the north loop behind the great oak tree."
We weren't that far from my house. I scooped up Steve. "We'll walk," I said.
"Speak for yourself," Steve meowed. "I've had enough for one day. I want to get back home."
"See? Even your kitten wants to fly home."
"You really can understand him?"
"Of course, why?"
"Nothing." I petted Steve's head. Only vampires and sea witches can hear the kitten's words. Interesting. I took a deep breath and held it.
"Let's go," I said, clutching my arms around my chest
"You can relax," Leo said as he took my hands and we lifted off, gently floating above the trees before swooshing back to the jail. It was almost as good as flying, now that I knew what to expect.
We landed gently. It wasn't a terrible way to travel.
Before Leo went back in the jail I said, "Can you look through Eddie's belongings for me? See if he made a note about where my family lives?"
"Are you sure he knows?"
"Why?"
"Well, if he knew, why didn't he just go there to get his revenge. It seems to me that by kidnapping you, he was trying to lure them out of the woodwork."
"Good point."
The sound of heavy footsteps came through the window.
"Shhhh!" Leo told me. "Get down!"
He wooshed into a bat and flew back in.
I heard the cell door open.
Cormac spoke, "We're releasing you, Leonardo. On the condition that you don't leave town."
"Agreed," Leo said.
Their voices drifted as I heard them both walk away.
Steve and I quietly made our way into the woods and around to the front of the police station where we stood waiting.
"What do you think?" I asked Steve. "Can we trust him?"
"You'll figure it out," he said.
"I know, but why don't you just tell me?"
"Some places we need to travel to on our own." He glanced up at me.
"Does that mean you're leaving?"
"No. It means that I know you'll figure everything out. With time."
Eventually, Leo walked out.
I gave him a minute then caught up. "You should not be seen with me," Leo cautioned. "I'll be in touch after I find Monty's gerbils."
"When?"
He gave me an exasperated look. "Soon."
The vampire swooshed and disappeared into the night.
Chapter 6
Sadie
"Now what?" Steve asked.
"While Leo follows the clue Monty left and Jake follows up with Cormac, the only thing for us to do is try to find my family."
"I like it. Where do you want to look?" Steve meowed.
In the gathering darkness, his black fur was disappearing into the blackness of night and his little white paws were visible.
I had a growing feeling that my family was close, closer than anyone realized. But where? I didn't have a clue! "Do you know where my family lives?" I asked Steve.
"What makes you think I would know?"
I stopped and looked down at him. He didn't meet my gaze. "You didn't answer my question," I said.
He meowed at me but kept racing ahead. "What I know or don't know is irrelevant. What matters is what you feel and what you know."
I stopped under a street lamp. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Steve pounced around to face me. "Did it ever occur to you that the power you've discovered—the ability to move water—is only one of your supernatural gifts?"
"Steve," I ordered, "Tell me what you know. Now. The truth."
"The truth?" He padded over to me. "The truth is that it's only with challenges that our deepest gifts are revealed."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
I glared down at him. "Could you be any less helpful?"
"Pay attention," he hissed. "If you hadn't nearly drowned, would you have discovered you can command water? How about Eddie? If he hadn't kidnapped you, you never would have discovered your ability to move the water inside people's bodies. Now, with that one discovery, you know you're safe to go anywhere and do anything. No one can hurt you. In fact, you're so powerful that the chief of police is afraid of you. Think about that. And then stop whining!"
"I wasn't whining," I complained, continuing along the sidewalk. "So what you're saying is you don't want to tell me where my family is because you want me to use adversity to discover more hidden talents?"
"Bingo. So you can think. Your mind does work!" He turned and trotted towards home. "What a relief."
"That's not very helpful, you know." I had more powers? What could they be? "Especially since the powers I originally received have disappeared."
"Have they?" he asked.
"What does that mean? Of course they have."
My phone alerted. It was a text from Jake. "Come on," I told Steve. "Jake is meeting us at home.
"
I ran. By now we were only a block away from my house, which was a squat craftsman with a blue porch and rose bushes in the front garden. I could smell the scent of roses and jasmine in the gentle night breeze.
Jake's truck was on the street in front of my house. His car alarm beeped as he walked towards us.
"Jake!" I ran over to him and jumped into his arms. "I'm so glad to see you!"
He held me tenderly, his hands strong and warm on my back.
"I can't tell you how good it feels to hold you in my arms," he murmured.
"Probably as good as it feels for me to hold you." I didn't want to let go.
"That's enough of that," Steve yowled from the sidewalk. "Don't we have a few things to do?"
I glanced down at the kitten and sighed.
He sat on his haunches, looking up at us.
"Don't you sometimes wish you couldn’t understand what he said?" Jake asked. "Tell the truth."
I took Jake by the hand and walked towards my front door. "Did you make any progress with Cormac?"
Jake nodded. "Yes, but you're not going to like it."
"We'd better go inside then." I unlocked the door.
My living room was small and neat, and it was filled with mementos from my life before I knew I was magical.
It felt like ages ago, but I reminded myself again of all that changed in a week.
On the piano, framed photos showed the story of my life with my foster mother. There was Gwen and me together on the first day she fostered me as a toddler. My blonde hair stuck out all over my head and although I looked scared, my little pudgy fingers held tightly to Gwen's hand. I felt safe with Gwen, from the very beginning. She looked happy. Later photos showed my so-called normal childhood: soccer, camping trips, choir performances, graduations. The last photo of Gwen was in the garden, before cancer had taken her. I'd thought that when she passed, I would be alone for the rest of my life. If only I'd known that an entire new world would open up to me.
A magical world.
Would I have photos of my real parents on this piano someday?
Would I find ever see them again?
Jake glanced around the living room. "This is nice," he said. "You live here alone?"
"Hardly," Steve hissed.
"Don't you want to eat kibble or use the litter box?" I asked the kitten, lifting an eyebrow.
Vamping and Glamping (Enchanted Shores Book 2) Page 4