I pushed back my chair. “Can we keep this between us? I don’t want people to panic.”
“I take it your family doesn’t know,” she said.
I shook my head. “And I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t need their messy wand prints all over this.”
“Understood.”
“See you in thirty,” I said.
I exited the coffee shop and sped home to retrieve the fox. I turned on Munster Lane, hoping to avoid any family members. My goal was to sneak in and out without interference. As I reached the end of the cul-de-sac, I noticed John Maclaren’s truck parked in front of the house. The carpenter had been working on the barn renovations so that I would finally have a place of my own. The mattress in the attic was wearing thin in more ways than one.
The driver’s side door opened and I realized that he’d only just arrived. I pulled into the driveway and jumped out to intercept him.
“Hey, John.”
He held up his toolbox. “Not to worry. I’m getting to work. See?”
“I’m not worried. I know you’ve suffered a few setbacks.” Some magical. Some not.
“I’m sorry it’s taking me so long,” he said. “I know you must be anxious to move into your own space.”
“You have no idea,” I said.
“If it’s any consolation, I could be finished as early as the end of this week.”
I bit my lip. “Please do not get my hopes up with a statement like that. I’m going to pretend you didn’t tell me.”
John patted my shoulder. “It can’t be that bad living in a nice farmhouse like this one. The Wentworths knew what they were doing when they built this place.”
“It’s not the building that’s suffocating me.”
He chuckled. “Feel free to hang out with me in the barn if you want to vent.”
I smiled. “As much as I’d love to take any opportunity to complain about my family, I have work to do.”
“If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” John said. He only came to that revelation after he’d won the lottery thanks to a wish-granting demon.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I love apprehending bad guys, but it still feels like work.”
“Suit yourself.” He ambled around the side of the house and disappeared.
I bolted into the house and nearly tripped over Princess Buttercup. The hellhound was sprawled across the floor on the way to the attic. I realized she was monopolizing a patch of sunlight that was shining through the window.
“John’s here,” I told her. “Want to go outside?”
She leaped to her feet and panted, so I went to the back door and opened it. I made sure the coast was clear in the house before running upstairs to grab the fox. He was asleep on my pillow, which would have been adorable if I weren’t so panicked about sneaking him out. It occurred to me that I should have brought the invisibility locket that Neville had made for me.
“Hey, buddy,” I whispered. “Time to take a little trip.” I scooped him into my arms and crept downstairs, listening for any sounds of family members. So far, so good.
“Eden, is that you?”
Merciful gods. Grandma was lurking somewhere. I’d hoped she was walking around town playing Little Critters.
“Eden?” she called again. “Is that you?”
“No,” I yelled. I ran from the house like it was on fire and cradled the fox against my chest. To his credit, he remained perfectly still and quiet. He probably sensed my distress. I slid into the car and dumped him on the passenger seat. I didn’t wait to buckle myself in before setting off. A quick glance told me that Grandma was on the front porch with her hands on her hips.
I hit the gas pedal and didn’t slow down until I reached the stop sign, where I paused to click my seatbelt. The fox placed a paw on my arm and I realized he was looking for reassurance.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “I’m taking you to the LeRoux witches to see if they can undo whatever’s been done to you.”
The fox sat straight in his seat and I buckled him in. Then I cracked open the window for fresh air. The attic had to be stuffy for him. Whether in fox form or human form, he was accustomed to spending a lot of time outdoors.
“Any opinion on music?” I asked. I flicked on the radio and Shake It Off blasted through the speakers. The fox wasted no time in stretching his seatbelt so that he could tap the button with his paw and change the channel. I suppressed a laugh. Even in fox form, he wasn’t going to resign himself to listening to Taylor Swift.
The old mill was officially known as Brie Mill. It was situated beside the disused canal that ran alongside the Susquehanna River. Once owned by the de Valettes, one of the few French families in Chipping Cheddar, Brie Mill flourished during the nineteenth century. The four-story tall building had served as a merchant mill where wheat was ground into flour and sold as far as the Caribbean. According to Alice, the mill had acted as a commercial center in its prime. Locals would flock here to trade goods and services. Whereas the market downtown primarily catered to cheesemakers, the mill served a broader purpose. For the LeRoux witches, I suspected that purpose was to harness the elemental energy that emanated from the moving water.
Sure enough, when I arrived with the fox, the trio of witches were preparing their magic circle on the land in front of the rotating wheel. Adele was the first one to spot me. Wearing a pearl necklace, a ruffled blouse, and a long skirt that swirled around her ankles, the older witch exuded grace and style. She greeted me with a kiss on each cheek.
“Thank you for agreeing to help,” I said.
“Don’t mention it,” Adele said. “We can’t afford to lose another chief so soon after Chief O’Neill.”
My stomach churned. I hadn’t even considered the prospect of actually losing Sawyer to the spell.
Adele peeled back to observe the fox in my arms. “Well, now. Good to see you, Chief Fox.” She scratched the animal’s head. “If you don’t mind me saying, you make a sweet fox.”
“Makes a sweet man, too,” Rosalie said. “Too bad my daughter couldn’t hold his interest.”
Corinne shot her mother a warning glance. “It wasn’t like that and you know it.”
Rosalie ignored her. Instead, she snapped her fingers at me. “Bring him to the circle.”
I walked to the white chalk circle and held the fox up over my head, singing Circle of Life from The Lion King until Adele silenced me with a look.
“He’s cuter than Simba,” Rosalie said. She set different-colored candles around the perimeter of the circle. “You’ll have to leave him alone in the circle for the spell. Do you think he’ll stay or do we need to conjure a ward to keep him inside?”
I placed the fox in the middle of the circle and crouched down to address him. “Chief, it’s important that you stay put in the circle during the spell. These lovely ladies are going to try to reverse whatever’s been done to you.”
“If it’s a witch’s spell, we should be able to undo it,” Corinne said.
“Not necessarily,” Adele countered. “It depends on the type of magic and the specific spell that was used.”
“Come on, coven,” Rosalie said. “Are we LeRoux witches or not? We’ve got this.” She shook her hands to loosen the muscles.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” I said.
“Stand clear, girl,” Rosalie said. “Be a real shame if you accidentally got zapped by our spell.” She didn’t look remotely bothered by the prospect.
“Wouldn’t I just remain intact?” I asked. “If you’re trying to turn a fox into a human, I don’t think I’m in any danger.”
Rosalie clapped a hand onto her hip. “So it would be perfectly okay with you if you turned into Chief Fox and the fox stayed a fox?”
“I see your point.” I took a long step backward toward the canal.
“Join hands, witches,” Adele said.
The witches began to chant, channeling the energy around them. As the wi
nd blew harder, the water wheel began to turn faster and the sound of rushing water filled the air.
“We present to you Sawyer Fox,” they said. “This flame draws health and strength back to his body.”
I watched as the orange candles lit up.
“This flame draws peace and tranquility to keep his troubled mind at ease.”
Flames lit the wicks of the blue candles.
“This flame returns Sawyer Fox to himself, steady and true.”
I watched the red candles expectantly, but no light came to them. Disappointment flooded me as I realized the ritual was over and it had failed. The same fox sat in the circle. He observed me with sad eyes and I blinked away tears. The witches broke the circle.
“Why didn’t it work?” Corinne asked.
Adele clasped her hands in front of her and studied the fox. “As I said, it could be the type of magic or it could be that it isn’t magic at all.”
“What do you mean?” Rosalie asked. “He’s some kind of shifter?”
“I mean that if another type of supernatural is responsible for this, then our magic will have no effect.” Adele shifted her gaze to me. “Perhaps a demon of some sort?”
“My father insists that it’s not the work of a vengeance demon,” I said. But it could still be the work of another demon. My schedule was going to be busy tomorrow.
Corinne kneeled next to the chief and patted his back reassuringly. “What if we try a different spell? One that doesn’t require undoing the underlying one?”
“And what good would that do?” Rosalie asked.
“If we can conjure a spell that allows him to talk,” Corinne replied, “then maybe he can tell us what happened.”
I wasn’t convinced that he would know anything given that I was kissing him on his sofa when it happened, but I couldn’t divulge this fact to the LeRoux trio. The potential ramifications were too far-reaching.
“It’s worth a try,” Adele agreed. She took her place at the circle and wiggled her fingers. The other two joined her and they began a new chant. This spell was less dramatic.
“Magic of the river. Magic of the creek. Grant this fox the power to speak.”
“Chief Fox?” Adele said, bending toward him.
The fox opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Corinne’s face fell. “Why is our magic so weak?”
Adele draped an arm along her granddaughter’s shoulders. “Our magic is not weak, dearest. It’s simply not the right magic for whatever ails him. The wrong shaped key for this hole, if you will.”
“I really appreciate that you tried,” I said.
“Sorry it didn’t work out,” Corinne said. “I thought we’d be able to help.”
“And what of the chief?” Adele asked.
“Our secret is safe with him,” I assured her. “I think it’s good to have the head of law enforcement on our side.”
“Just because he knows about us doesn’t mean he’s on our side,” Rosalie snapped.
“I agree with Eden,” Adele said. “I would have loved for Mick O’Neill to be connected to our community, but he was not the right choice for that bridge.” The former chief had been golfing buddies with my father, but the human had no clue that he’d been playing with a vengeance demon.
I faced her. “But you think Chief Fox is?”
She nodded. “I’m willing to entertain the notion.”
That made me feel better. It would be helpful to have Adele LeRoux in my corner should my family ever find out about the chief and attempt to ruin his life. I hated that our relationship put him at risk, but the choice was his to make and I respected it.
“I’ll see you at the council meeting tomorrow night, Eden,” Adele said. “I suppose we’ll have a lot to discuss with the others.”
She was right. I was going to have to spend tomorrow at the office with Neville, researching demons. I’d been hopeful that I’d have the chief back to normal tonight, and not only for selfish reasons. Worry creeped up my spine.
“You’d better keep searching for an answer,” Rosalie said.
I gathered the fox into my arms. “Of course. I’m not going to let him stay like this. It’s bad for the town.”
Rosalie snorted. “The town. Right. Anyway, the longer this goes on, the greater the chance that he’s stuck like this.”
I thought of the premature aging spell on my mother. Knowing Grandma, it was the type that would wear off on its own…eventually. She’d just torture my mother with the knowledge that she could make my mother younger again at any time.
“Stuck as in permanently?” I asked.
Rosalie inspected the fox in my arms. “Good thing he supports adoption efforts for stray animals. If we can’t find a solution, the chief might need someone to adopt him soon enough.”
I couldn’t fathom that outcome. I held the fox tightly.
“Rosalie, there’s no need to scare the poor girl,” Adele said. “We’ll work together and find another solution.”
“He’s not going to be stuck like this. I won’t let him,” I said. What good was being a fury for the FBM if I couldn’t fix a situation like this one? I hurried to the car with the fox in my arms.
“Eden, if you think you can do this alone, you’re crazy,” Rosalie called after me.
“I sure am,” I yelled over my shoulder.
Crazy like a fox.
Chapter Eight
I pressed my hands on the stone walls inside the mound and let the energy wash over me. It felt the same as always, no reason to believe that the dormant portal was now active. My butt began to vibrate. I retrieved the phone from my pocket.
“What’s up, Neville?”
“I thought you’d be in the office by now.”
“I’m on my way. I decided to stop and check on the portal on my way in. Make sure I didn’t miss a leak or something.”
“Ah, very well then. Carry on.”
“Is Achilles with you?” I asked.
“Yes, we just came back from a walk,” the wizard said.
“Okay.” I’d have to figure out where to leave the fox if I didn’t want to drive all the way home first. The shoebox-sized office was too small to keep both a pug and a fox.
“No need to stop for a latte on your way in,” he said. “I’ve popped in to Holes on the way back from our walk and Paige was kind enough to bestow freebies upon us. She even gave Achilles a puppuccino.”
“Yum, I love the taste of freebies.”
“He did as well,” Neville said. “He had a white mustache and beard until he finally licked it off. I think he was trying to save it for later.”
“Sounds adorable. I’ll see you soon,” I said, and put away the phone. I looked down at the fox. “What do you think? Where should I bring you for safekeeping?”
The fox swished his tail but said nothing.
Who would be crazy enough to want to babysit a fox with no questions asked? A name popped into my head and I smiled. “Let’s go, Sawyer. I know a nice room with a view.”
The lighthouse was close enough to walk to, so I let the fox trot beside me.
“Cool dog,” a little boy said, as we passed by. “Can I pet him?”
“He’s not always friendly,” I said. “But thanks for asking.” Once we were out of earshot, I bent toward the chief. “You’re the friendliest guy I know. I just had to say that.”
The fox seemed to be smiling as we entered the lighthouse and began the spiraling climb to the top.
“Ted,” I called. His name bounced off the cold, hard walls. “It’s Eden Fury.” I poked my head in the doorway at the top. “Is your cat around because I have a fox with me?”
The older man looked startled. “A fox?”
I angled my head toward the floor, where the fox stood beside me. “This little guy.” I cleared my throat. “Sorry, this big guy.”
Ted peered at the fox. “Oh, I see. You’re in luck. There are no other animals with me at the moment.”
“Perfect.�
�� I stepped into the round room with its impressive vista of the Chesapeake Bay. “Can I ask a huge favor? I need someone I trust to look after him for me, only for a little while.”
The slender man broke into a proud smile. “I’d be honored, Eden. I take it Thora was busy?”
“My house is kind of in chaos right now,” I said. “My mom and Grandma are fighting. I don’t think it’s the best environment for a fox.”
Ted slid his hands into his pockets and offered a regretful sigh. “Yes, they do seem to wreak havoc when they argue, don’t they?” He leaned down to address the fox. “I’m happy to look after you, sir.”
“Thank you so much,” I said. “If you wouldn’t mind keeping it to yourself, I’d appreciate it. People act weird when they see what they consider to be a wild animal.”
“I completely understand,” Ted said. “What’s his name?”
“Chi…Chicago, but with a hard Ch sound.” Inwardly, I cringed. How had I managed to lie my way through my youth? I was woefully out of practice.
“Chicago. Got it.” Ted scratched his head. “Does he need anything special to eat?”
“Fruits and raw vegetables are fine, and plenty of water.”
“Do I need to walk him outside so he can do his business?”
“No, he can hold it,” I said. “I just need to do some work at the office and then I’ll collect him.”
“Sounds good.” Ted shifted his attention to the fox. “Now, Mr. Chicago. I have a few activities to occupy our time. How do you feel about checkers?”
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