by T K Eldridge
“Well, you’re off to a good start. A bunny, car, and a basket full of goodies,” Mira teased.
“And flowers,” I said. “Don’t forget the flowers.”
“I won’t forget the flowers,” she said, then leaned in to kiss my cheek.
My eyes closed, and I rose to my feet. “I should get going. I still have a job to do.”
Mira rose and stepped into my embrace, her arms wound around my waist. Her head rested just beneath my chin and I hesitated before I wrapped my arms around her in return. It felt too good.
“I have to go,” I whispered, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Stay safe, a chuisle.”
She was the pulse in my chest, and I wanted her to know it. I tousled Ethan’s hair as I passed him and stepped out the door.
* * *
I met up with Sid at Bubba’s Burgers. It was our favorite place for lunch and a good comfort food spot. I ordered her usual as well as mine. I got a chocolate shake and pulled off the top to dip my fries into it. I knew if Sid saw me do this it’d make her gag, so I enjoyed a few before I saw her pull up outside. The lid got snapped back on and I took a sip while I watched my sister fend off an admirer by flipping him the bird. He clutched his heart as his friends laughed. She shook her head, pulled the door open and made her way to the booth.
“What is it with men and their inability to hear the word no – and process it?” Sid said as she reached for her shake.
“Testosterone poisoning?” I said and picked up my burger.
“Haha, very funny,” Sid quipped and dug into the fries. “Thanks for getting me lunch. I spent some time talking to Grampa Walsh. How’d it go with Mira?”
“Promising,” I said. “She was happy with the basket, Ethan liked the toys, and she agreed to see me again. She knows we’re Chosen.”
“Holy crap, Sin,” Sid said, eyes wide. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yeah, Sid. I’m sure. That feeling, when we touch – there’s nothing I’ve ever experienced like it.”
“Grampa said he and Bridie were Chosen, as were Dad and Mom.”
“Wait…Dad and Mom?” That surprised me. “Even with the…”
“Yeah, Grampa said that the mix of two each might have something to do with it.”
Sid interrupted me so we wouldn’t have to say it out loud, in public. Something we’d been taught never to do. “That’s kind of amazing,” I said.
“How’s Ethan doing?”
“He’s acting as if nothing happened. Mira thinks it’s because we got him back so quickly. I think Daren’s care of him helped, too.” I picked up a couple of fries. “What else did Grampa say?”
“He told me that there were four other times that kids were taken, and he’d managed to interrupt them most of the times. The one time that they didn’t get all of the kids back was in 1883. He didn’t spell it all out, but I’m pretty sure Grandma Fortin was one of the kids then. There were four they rescued, and five that stayed missing.”
“Well, hell. That explains why he’s been so intense on this.”
“That, and he’s got a thing for Grandma now.” Sid kept her gaze on my face when she told me that.
I tossed the french fry in my hand down onto the paper. “Okay, now I’m not hungry any longer. Thanks, sis.”
“As he explained, it would be as if he were only ten years older if they were both humans. Which wouldn’t be weird.”
“Yeah, but they’re not humans. There’s a whole generation between them.”
“And they’ve been alone for a long time. If they find some joy with each other, that’s not our business,” Sid said.
“You’ve got a point. They both deserve whatever happiness they can find. I need to get that particular stick out of my butt.”
“Yeah, you do. Just because Lord James was a prick doesn’t mean the rest of our family has the same issues.”
I still had residual issues from our other grandfather’s behavior. Our father’s father, James Boudreau, had nearly killed me, our parents, and had been behind the killing of a few others. He and his girlfriend had been sowing chaos in the area for decades. He was dead now, but I still had stuff to work through.
“I know you’re right, Sid. I just have to keep working through it. You done? We’ve got three kids to find still.”
“And an unsub to stop before they take the last six kids.”
Chapter Six
Sid
It had been three days since we found Ethan and Daren, and the case was growing cold. There were absolutely no leads on Samantha, Peyton, or Timothy. There were no new reports of missing kids either, so at least we had that going for us. My frustration levels were through the roof, so I went for an early run and as I was headed back, I spotted Grams in her front yard when she waved me down.
“Siddie, come here, please,” Grams called out and I slowed my run to a jog, then started to walk my cool down as I approached.
“You okay, Grandma?” I asked.
“I need to talk to you. Could you come back after your shower? I’ll make you breakfast.”
“Sure, Grams. I’ll be back in about a half hour, okay?”
“Sounds good, my girl. See you then.”
I picked up my pace to a slow jog and headed down the road to the cottage I shared with Sin.
There were three cottages on the Fortin Herb Farm. One that our Aunt Sett lived in, one that was the main house where Grandma now lived alone, and the one that had been our mother’s place, then a guest cottage, and now where Sin and I lived. The house we’d grown up in had burned to the ground, thanks to Grandpa Boudreau. Now, our parents had the old Boudreau Manor as their home, and wanted us to live with them there – but they were on a long vacation trip, the manor was being remodeled and updated, and the last time Sin and I were there, our grandfather was killed before he could kill Sin. So, yeah – we had a few reasons to not want to move into the manor right now. Maybe after the folks were done making it over, we could consider it. For now? The cottage was good. It was close to work, close to Grams, and about as secure a place as we could ever find. The wards on the farm were centuries old and sunk deep into the soil.
A shower and change of clothes, and I was headed back over to Gram’s on one of the ATVs everyone used for getting around the farm. It was a very large farm, so they came in handy.
“Grandma, I’m here,” I called out as I pushed open the back door. We hardly ever used the front – that was for guests. Family and friends always used the back door.
“In here, Siddie,” Grams called back and I followed the sound – and the smell of bacon – through the mud room and laundry room into the kitchen.
Grandma had set the table for just the two of us, which was unusual. I snitched a piece of bacon from the plate and pulled my favorite mug from the cabinet to fill with coffee. A noisy kiss to Grandma’s cheek as she started to dish up eggs scrambled with mushrooms and peppers earned me a chuckle as I sat down.
“So why did you need to talk, Grams?”
“I have been having some strange dreams since you all started this missing kids case and I wanted to talk to you about them. Remember when you had that precognition dream a couple of months ago? About the house? It was my mother who had the gift, and I’ve only felt flickers of it now and again.”
I had taken a few bites of my food, but put the fork down to reach over and touch Grams’ hand. “Some just call it gut instinct, Grams. It’s not something to get upset over.”
She smiled at me and patted my hand in return before eating a bit more of her own food. Then she spoke again. “It’s not that I’m upset, Siddie. It’s that I keep feeling like I know exactly how those stolen children are feeling. That I know their fear and confusion.”
I hesitated, then sighed. “Grams, you know because you were almost taken when you were a child.”
“No, I wasn’t. That’s absurd. What makes you say something like that?”
“Grandma, Grampa Walsh told me. He didn’t get
into specifics about your part of the incident. Said that it was not his story to tell. Just that your parents were badass and took out a couple of the kidnappers with arrows and a sword. That they rescued four kids that day, including you.”
“No, stop. Stop.” Grandma got to her feet, the chair clattering as it fell backwards.
“Grams, easy.” I watched Grandma struggle until I could get around the table and wrap her in my arms.
“Grams, please. Grandma…” She was shaking, eyes locked on the table, saying ‘no, no, no’ over and over again.
“Alicia Fortin,” I said in my sternest tone. “Stop and take a breath. You are safe and unharmed.”
Grandma sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then another breath. “I’m safe and unharmed.”
“Yes, Grandma. You’re safe and unharmed. Please, sit down. I’ll get you some water.”
Grandma sat and I got her some water, and I texted Sett. ~Grams had some kind of episode about the kidnappings. Please come help ASAP.~
~On my way.~ Sett replied almost instantly.
I put the glass of water into Grams hands and made sure she got a sip before I sat down beside her. “I’m so sorry, Grams. I’m an idiot.”
“No, I’m fine, Siddie,” Grams said.
Sett came into the house and right over to Grandma. “Mama, are you okay?”
Grandma rested her palm against Sett’s cheek. “I’m alright, Cosette. Siddie didn’t know what she was doing.”
I felt like a child. Like absolute shit. “Grandma, I’m so sorry,” I whispered and Sett gave me a look that curled my insides.
“I think you need to go for now, Sidonie,” Sett said.
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered and raced for the door. I could feel the hot tears on my cheeks as I got on the ATV and roared back to the cottage. My stupidity hurt my Grams and Grampa told me to keep my mouth shut. I thought I knew better.
I had no clue.
* * *
I got into work, went to my desk, and just stared at the screen. I still felt like absolute shit.
Officer Corby paused at my desk, then tapped my shoulder. “What’s wrong, kid?”
I looked up at Corby and gave her a wry smile. “Just my stupidity making itself known.”
Prudence Corby had been in the SPD forever. She was known as a good cop, but always danced on the edge of propriety and found herself consistently passed over for promotions. Pru was a solid cop but not a solid choice for a higher rank. I honestly didn’t know how I’d feel about being in Pru’s shoes, but it wasn’t something I had to worry about. Yet.
“Anything I can help with?” Corby asked.
I sighed and shook my head. “Not unless you’ve got some new information or clues on those missing kids.”
Corby leaned against my desk and quirked a brow. “I might have something.”
“Like what?”
“Well, this isn’t the first one of these cases I’ve worked. I’m wondering about not only who is grabbing the kids, but why they’re grabbing them and where they’re keeping them. I’m also wondering what other kids in the area fit the profile of the kind of kids being taken. If we can watch them, we might catch the guy in the act,” Corby said.
“Tracking every Fae kid in Belle Cove is impossible,” I said.
“Fae kid?”
I had a moment where I couldn’t remember if that was something we were supposed to keep quiet or not – and didn’t think it was. We had put that in the reports, so I mentally shrugged and kept going. “Yeah, the kids are Fae, being raised as witches since no one’s supposed to know about Fae or Mythics.”
“Yeah, we don’t need the supes getting all wound up about different species again. The last time that happened, they blew up half the town and killed a bunch of people.”
I held my tongue. The Species War was a lot more than what she said, but she was around for it and I was not, so yeah, not going to step into that one.
“So, what do you propose?” I asked.
“Well, we don’t have the resources to follow every Fae child, but we do know where most of the Belle Cove witch children go to school.”
There were three schools in Belle Cove. The public lower grades and then higher grades, and the private school, Cove Collegiate Academy, that served kindergarten through grade twelve. It, too, was free for the students and paid for by the taxes collected just like the other two schools, but only supernaturals went to Collegiate. Supernaturals were not welcome at the other schools, and there were a couple of staff members at the Normal schools that scanned kids to make sure they weren’t ‘special’. If they tested as supes, they were moved to Collegiate. It sounds a bit harsh and controlling, I know, but when you have a bunch of kids who are already stressed out about school and the social hierarchy, then you add powers and shifter traits and puberty – it can get deadly.
“You want to stake out Collegiate? See if anyone that doesn’t belong is scoping out kids?” I asked.
“You got a better idea?” Corby said.
“How are we going to know who doesn’t belong?”
“Didn’t you take any behavioral classes in the Academy?”
I felt insulted and stupid, again, so I just shrugged and grabbed my things and followed Corby out.
We took her truck and I texted Sin to let him know where I was and what we were doing. He sent back that he’d bring coffee in about an hour. Sounded good to me, so I sat back and kept my gaze out the window.
“What do you suggest we look for?” I finally said after ten minutes of absolute silence from Corby.
“Vulnerable kids,” Corby said.
“What do you mean? All kids are vulnerable.”
“Some kids don’t fit in. Some are too smart or not smart enough, too short or too fat. Pretty or ugly. And then someone treats them special, and they go off with that person.”
Something in her words spoke of personal experience, but I really really didn’t want to go there with Corby. I didn’t like her much. I respected her, sure, but she was kind of a dick.
“I don’t see how sitting outside the school and watching the kids is going to tell us who’s at risk. It seems to me we’d be better off going into the school and talking to the guidance counselors and teachers. They’ll know who is most vulnerable. The school also keeps records of what species the child is from when they register,” I said.
Corby pulled the truck over to the side of the road and slammed the shift into park. “What the hell do you mean? Are you saying that you, a newbie who rode in to the SPD on her family’s tail feathers, knows better than a cop who’s been on the force since before you were born?”
I slid my hand into my pocket and hit the speed dial for Sin, then muted it so he could hear but no one would hear him.
“Yeah, Corby, I believe I am. See, it’s not about how many years you’ve been a cop, it’s about being smart. Experience is a great teacher, but intellect is important, too,” I said.
“How would you know? You have no experience. You barely have any training. If it wasn’t for your grandfather and auntie, you wouldn’t be in the SPD at all.”
“Wow, Corby, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”
“You and your brother are liabilities to the force. It doesn’t surprise me, being that you’re genetically damaged.”
“Well, thanks for the illuminating discussion, Corby, but I’m going to get out now. Have yourself a fantastic day, hmm?” I pulled the door open with one hand and released the seat belt with the other. Corby slammed the shift into drive and I leaped out. I landed in a roll on the grass and flipped my middle finger at the psycho as she drove away. I took my phone out of my pocket and cleared the mute. “I’m okay, Sin. She tore off in a mood. What a fucking psycho. Jeeze.”
“Where are you? I’m on the road. I’ll come get you,” Sin said.
“I’m about a mile from Collegiate.”
“What about Corby?” Sin asked.
“She took off with her passen
ger door half-open. I jumped out and rolled. I’m fine, she’s gone.”
“Does this feel familiar?” Sin said.
“Yeah, it kind of does. Feels a lot like school. And the hazing at the academy. And any other time we got shit on for not being pure one thing or another.”
It wasn’t much later when Sin pulled up and I climbed in. “I recorded what she said to you when you called me,” Sin said. “So we can cover our asses if she pulls anything.”
“You’re thinking more like a lawyer than I am. That’s discouraging.”
“Why were you two going to Collegiate?”
“She wanted to watch for her idea of vulnerable kids. While she had the right qualities, she didn’t have the right idea of how to find them. Sit in a truck and watch? That’s not going to tell us anything. I told her we should go into the school and talk to the guidance counselors and teachers. We’d find out which kids were the most likely targets much faster. We’d also be able to narrow it down to witch or fae kids.”
“And then what?”
“Then she flipped out on me and started saying we only got into SPD because of our family and that we were a risk to the department.”
“Well, we’re used to that kind of bullshit. What made you call me?”
“I don’t know,” I said, and looked out the window. “Gut feeling, I guess. She seemed to really hate us, beyond just our family ties. It felt strong.”
“I’m glad you called, sis,” Sin said and reached out to squeeze my knee.
“What have you been up to today?”
“I went by Mira’s, then did some paperwork at the office. I had stepped out to grab lunch when your call came in. I ordered Chinese food. That’s why we’re about to pull up to Little Ming’s. I’ll pick up extra egg rolls. Now, where do you want to eat? In the car, at the office, or outside the school?”
“Office. I want to do some research on Corby.” That rabid twat wasn’t going to talk about my family like that and not get a deep dive into everything and anything about her life.