by Bonnie Gill
Her brows rose.
She shivered, and it was then she realized the worst of it.
She was naked.
No wonder she had a case of the shakes. The cement floor was freezing. She dragged a fingertip threw the sludge-like gel that covered her backside. The cold gloppy gunk wasn’t helping matters at all.
“You couldn’t even dress me?” Her gaze shot over to the handsome but tired looking sheriff. Now she was pissed. At least he could have given her a blanket to cover up with.
Shoot. She was hogtied. What threat was she to him now?
“You changed back just before you woke up. Besides, your clothes are shredded.”
She let out a deep exhausted and frustrated breath. “Pepper could have brought me some.”
“She’s in enough trouble.”
“Is she okay?”
He gave a tight nod.
“What happened? I don’t remember.”
“First let’s start with the curse. I want to know everything.” River grabbed a red and black plaid blanket from a filing cabinet drawer. He unlocked the cell door, bent down and covered her with the scratchy wool before scooping her into his arms and depositing her on the small cot in the corner.
“Thank you.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, River leaned against the wall a good five feet away from her. “The curse?”
“Okay. A genie popped out of a tampon box and said that on the first day I get my period after I turned twenty-five, I would turn into a beast.” Jeez, it sounded ridiculous even when she said it. She rolled her eyes and dropped her head. Could this get any more embarrassing?
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.” She wished she was.
He chuckled one of those this-is-just-great laughs, but his eyes still bore condemnation when he shook his head.
“What?” she asked, in defiance of his cold laughter. “It’s not my fault.”
River’s beautiful but frosty blue eyes were aimed straight at her soul. No joy. No adoration. Just disgust. “Why did the genie choose you?”
“Growing up my grandmother used to say that our family was cursed. Only every other generation was affected.”
“So, your grandmother was a Jersey Devil also?”
“I have no idea. She died when I was young. My mother’s neighbor sent me her journal and I should get it today.” She wiggled in her ropes and tried to stretch her aching neck.
His gaze narrowed. “What’s in the journal?”
“My mom said my grandmother had found a cure or something so she wouldn’t be cursed.”
“So we may be able to lift the curse?” River’s eyebrow rose and his face softened just a touch. She felt a flea size flutter at his first words of hope.
“Yes. Maybe? I don’t know. I have to read the journal first. Can you untie me now?” She thrashed against her bindings.
River slowly shook his head. “Not so fast. What if you can’t remove the curse? What do you plan on doing?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
He dropped his arms and inched closer. “You should have told me.”
She eased back. “Why? So you could laugh at me, and then lock me up in your secret agency’s laboratory? Why should I trust you? Why should I trust any man, ever?”
River stared at her with an intense puzzled look for five minutes, which seemed like an eternity. Finally, he blew out a long breath and shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was about to do. “I’ll cut your ropes free if you can assure me you won’t change back.”
“I won’t be able to change for a few more weeks.”
He pulled out a huge knife that meant business and sawed the ropes off her wrists and ankles.
As the bindings fell away, Abby moved her hands and straightened her legs. “Can you call Pepper and ask her to bring me some clothes?”
“She’s already on her way.”
Shivering, Abby wrapped the warm blanket around herself. “I can’t believe you left me on that filthy floor, naked, for even an instant. Do you know how many germs could have accumulated on it from the drunks and criminals over the years? I hope I don’t catch anything.”
A flash of guilt crossed River’s face.
She glanced over to the Gnome in the cell next to her. His hat lay on the floor out of his reach. He scrunched his elflike features into a scowl.
“How did you catch him?”
“Pepper and Ottar were monitoring you on the computer. Ottar found a landmark and joined me. When we got close, you were dive-bombing the Gnome. It was easy to net him with you as a distraction.”
She helped him catch the gnome? Score one for Abby the flying beast. “How about me? How did you catch me?”
“I was given orders to kill the Jersey Devil. You’re lucky I switched the bullets to the darts. I shot you with the tranq gun.”
“Thanks.” Her voice spooed sarcasm. No wonder she hurt. “You shot me in the chest?” She rubbed the throbbing spot between her breasts.
“Yep.”
“How about my head?”
He nudged his chin in the direction of the Gnome. “You have your little buddy over there to thank for that.”
Her eyes flew wide open at the insult. “Seriously? Great, just great. You know you’re a real jerk.”
River flinched and bowed his head.
Pepper walked in with a tote bag of clothes and a package. River led Abby into his office to sit in a chair next to his desk, the blanket still wrapped around her body.
“Look what just came.” Pepper waved the US mail package in front of her and grinned like it was Christmas. “It’s from Florida.”
“Oh, let me see.” Abby eagerly took the bundle and tore the brown paper off. “It’s two journals.”
She flipped through the pages of the first one. “Most of this one contains high school drama.” She set that journal aside and grabbed the next one and started scanning the weathered pages.
Bingo. This one talked about the curse, only her grandmother’s curse came on the full moon. “At least her genie hadn’t been a total ass.” She skipped through the pages to the back of the book.
Abby cleared her throat. “It says here, the genie has to be summoned before he can be banished.”
“At least you were on the right track,” River said, his words lifted in an optimistic way.
She flashed him a you-shot-me-you-jackass glare, then returned her attention to the journal. “My grandmother wrote we have to do the banishment spell on a full moon so that we can tap into the lunar energy. Oh, and we have to find a strong airtight container.”
“That’s easy. I’ve got loads of Tupperware.” Pepper let out a snort.
Abby glanced around the room.
“What are you looking for?” River asked.
“A calendar. I need to find out when the next full moon is.”
Pepper pulled her smart phone out. “The Farmer’s Almanac says the next full moon will be in eight days.”
“Okay. Make sure you have everything ready by then,” River said.
A huge weight lifted off her chest. Only eight more days and this nightmare might possibly be over. Ignoring River, she ran to the bathroom to get dressed and noticed a shower stall. She jumped in, and the warm pulsing water felt like pure bliss, except when it hit her chest.
He shouldn’t have shot her. Especially not right between the boobs.
River’s heart softened with relief when Abby read that her curse could be lifted.
The way the light had shown through her deep brown eyes made his heart beat at hummingbird speed. So what, she turned into the Jersey Devil and trashed his cop car? The agency would probably end up buying the town a new one. He could real
ly care less about that.
She wasn’t a monster, just a cursed woman that needed his help. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was flying around eating people. His precious, sweet Abby was just a woman with a major case of PMS. Which could be cured. Still. She’d hid the whole truth from him even though she knew he searched for the Jersey Devil. And that didn’t sit well.
Pepper sat down at his desk. “May I?” she asked and pointed to his computer.
He nodded.
Her fingers typed on the keyboard with lightning strokes. “Hey, do you want to see what Abby was doing as the Jersey Devil? She was wearing the camera collar I gave her the whole time. Check this out.”
“So you’re the one responsible for the collar.” He had taken it off her neck before she woke. “Hell yes. I want to see what she was up to during those hours I searched for her.”
They both focused on the screen.
The footage was clear, but jiggled up and down quite a bit. There were branches and more branches. She perched out on an unsteady limb, and faced a darkened cave. Two people walked out of the black mouth in the rock, a man and an older woman with their arms loaded down with golden cups, crowns, and coins. “Well I’ll be damned. That’s Mrs. Livingston and Thomas. I should have figured it out.”
“Wow. Where did they find all that money?” Pepper asked.
River cocked his head. “I’d heard that pirates had buried treasures along the East Coast but would have never believed it.”
Ottar walked in as if River had called him via ESP. “I’ve finished the iron reinforced cage for transporting the Gnome. The girls should leave now.”
River nodded, and looked to Pepper who stared at Ottar as if he were visiting from another planet. Of course Ottar would want the girls to leave. He couldn’t wait to interrogate the Gnome before they took him to L.A.M.P.S. Headquarters.
“We may not have to question the Gnome. The girls found out who’s responsible for bringing him over. Take a look.” River rewound and played the footage for his Aussie boss.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Ottar’s face went rigid. “Let’s go pick them up, then, right?”
“In a bit. I want to watch the rest of the footage.” River moved closer to the laptop and clicked the play arrow. Every once in a while a leathery wing would show up in the screen. Even as a monster, Abby flew with grace.
“Hey. I hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed your shower.” Abby strode out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a light baby blue T-shirt, rubbing her wet auburn curls with a towel.
“Not at all.” River turned to look at her and smiled. She smelled like clean sheets on a fresh spring day. He looked back to the computer with the footage.
“What’re you watching?” She leaned over River’s and Pepper’s shoulders.
“The footage of when you were flying around, terrorizing the town. Oh, and the cop car scene—you have to watch this—simply priceless.” Pepper nudged Abby with her elbow.
“Rewind it. This, I’ve got to see.” Ottar pushed his way in front of the screen.
“Maybe we should charge admission.” Abby’s sarcasm spilled through her words.
The scene played, only it looked different to River than he remembered. Small hands grabbed the dash, frantic, as if they hung on for life. She had been terrified. He could see it now in her motions. Hair sprouted on her arms and then her hands shifted into talons. The way the bones grew, snapped, and rearranged, it must have hurt like hell. He shifted in his chair and tugged on his collar.
“Abby, what does it feel like to shift into the monster?” River softened his tone, but his eyes searched for any indication of deceit.
“I never want to go through that again. Think of every bone in your body breaking and then moving and then breaking again. The most pain I’ve ever experienced. But this time it didn’t hurt as much.”
“Maybe the more you shift your body gets used to it,” Ottar added.
“Well, too bad we won’t find out, because in a few days the curse will be gone.” Abby’s gaze held steady on the footage, and she raised her chin. One side of her mouth formed a smirk.
“Will it be tough to find the ingredients?” River had never performed a spell before, and he was kind of curious. He also wanted to help her just in case something happened.
“I need a candle, but I don’t want to go to that same store that sold me the faulty candle last time.” Abby had her palm up and picked at her thumbnail with her ring finger.
River frowned for a moment. “Oh, I have to tell you something. Ottar and I watched the recording of when you performed your first spell. When you were dancing, I saw your foot break the circle of salt.”
Abby looked like someone ripped the head off her favorite toy and tossed it into a fire. “You’re freaking kidding me?”
“Nope. I got that one saved if you want to see it,” Ottar offered too eagerly.
“No. I take your word.” She sat in a chair and her bottom lip jutted out before she composed herself and picked up the journal.
His boss leaned against the file cabinet. “I remember a strange mist hovering around the circle. What was that all about?”
“I bet it was that damn tampon genie,” Abby said, and crossed her arms.
Ottar looked to River.
“It’s a long story.” He waved him off.
Abby reached out and touched his arm. “Am I free to go? I want to try to read the whole book before we try anything. I can’t screw it up this time. There’s too much at stake.”
“Sure. Just don’t leave town.” River gave her his best almost kidding smile. If she couldn’t remove the curse, he would have to turn her over to L.A.M.P.S. His stomach knotted and crashed at the thought.
“Fine,” Abby said and collected her books.
She and Pepper left the station.
“I’m going to leave in a few hours for the Eastern Headquarters. So, any questions you have for him, you better ask now.” Ottar walked over the Gnome’s cell.
“We need to find the cave where he stored the treasure.”
“Well, hell this could be fun.” Ottar pulled out a knife and a pipe cutter.
Chapter 30
Abby sat on the couch in Pepper’s living room. Kazoo jumped on her lap and licked her face with his soft tongue.
“I missed you too.” She laughed and rubbed his belly.
“I’m so glad you’re all right.” Pepper sat down next to her.
“My chest is sore where River shot me.” Pain sliced between her boobs when she rubbed her breastbone.
“He shot you?”
“Yes. With his tranquilizer gun. Didn’t you see it on the footage?”
“Not really. I did see him raise his gun but there was a lot of commotion.”
“Yeah, well I don’t remember any of it. All I know is this spot hurts and he confessed.”
“I can’t say I blame him. But still, thanks for wearing the collar. For me, getting to see a Jersey Devil’s view of the woods and flying in the sky was awesome.” Pepper gave her a small hug.
“Thanks for getting it for me.” She patted Pepper on the back.
Pepper pulled away. “I have a major list of things I need to do. I’ll see you later.” She kissed Kazoo’s head. “You too, little one.”
Abby picked up her grandmother’s journal with the details of the spell in it and started reading from the beginning. This is going to be an interesting read.
The journal started out like any everyday normal young girl’s diary would. David is so handsome. Her grandmother’s first line was etched in ink, in perfect cursive.
“My gosh. Was she twelve when she wrote this?” She flipped through the next few pages until she found the date of her grandmother’s twenty-fifth birthday. She let out a l
ong deep exhale from her nose.
The legend lived on from one of my ancestors about a man named Ethan Davenport who succumbed to the wiles of a vixen named Audrey. My great-great-great-grandmother couldn’t help herself—it was true love, after all. But the woman who he’d betrayed apparently didn’t appreciate Ethan, a fine catch of the day, being snatched away from her. She visited some gypsies and paid them to place a curse on her. She asked that every female and future female in the family to be cursed, but when the gypsy summoned the genie to hex her, he refused. He would only curse the first female born in every other generation. All the women changed into the hideous devil monsters. Most were able to keep it hidden. Most would change on the full moon, which I have done, her grandmother had written. But some changed on the first day of her menstruation.
Abby sighed. “At least I wasn’t singled out,” she said to Kazoo.
According to the journal, the genies thrived on causing trouble for the women they were assigned to curse. The bad luck curse often followed her ancestors from birth.
She huffed. Kazoo growled beside her. She rubbed her furry friend on the head. “Well that explains a lot. Our genie likes to work overtime.” Kazoo howled a concerned whine, and Abby scratched under his chin.
According to her grandmother’s journal most of her relatives lived in secluded areas. The women dealt nobly with their curse until they died.
Her grandmother, on the other hand, refused to live with the curse of morphing into a monster. She befriended a witch and they worked together for years to banish the family curse.