Caught in Forbidden

by Keira Blackwood

  “Having any luck?”

  Daphne’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t realized she was there.

  “Something weird,” I said pointing to the light. I forced myself to look away and took a step back.

  “What kind of weird?” Daphne narrowed her eyes. “Forbidden weird or regular weird?”

  I took another step away and turned to Daphne.

  But I could still feel the pulse of the light. I could feel it there with every beat of my heart.

  Realizing I hadn’t answered her question, I ran a hand over my face. “I don’t know.”

  “It’s not worth taking any chances,” she said. “Come on. You carry the salt and iron shavings. Pour a line around the box.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, unsure.

  “This is Forbidden, after all. Better to be safe.” She gave me a warm smile. “I’ll get the flamethrower.”

  Chapter 7

  Cordelia

  I woke up shivering. Being on the run in October was poor planning. If only the Redemption Pack had come after me in June, this would be so much easier. I should contact their customer support and tell them so.

  I’m sure Kelson would get a good laugh out of that.

  At least I had four walls and a roof around me. I’d found this old barn at the end of the day, when the sun was falling. All day long, I’d hidden behind groups of people. I’d gone into the general store and doused myself in three different kinds of cheap perfume samples, hoping to disguise my scent. I was sad to lose the eucalyptus aroma of Matt’s shampoo.

  I should have taken his shampoo instead of his cash.

  It was sometime around noon if the sunlight streaming through the boards of the barn was any indication. It illuminated my surroundings, so as I got up, I looked around.

  Bodies.

  I was surrounded by human bodies. Small ones. Little people? Children?

  Stifling a scream of horror and dismay, I backed up and knocked into something. I turned around as a stack of boxes began to fall. In each one, there was another body. As they clattered to the ground, skulls broke and plastic arms splayed out at awkward angles. Their cartoon faces kept their grins despite the abuse.

  These weren’t real bodies. They were giant dolls, some of them three feet tall. I started to laugh, but it came out as a sob.

  After I’d gotten my heart rate down from sheer panic and hysteria to dull panic and revulsion, I took a closer look at the dolls. One of the crushed heads revealed a mechanism within. These weren’t normal toys, but rather ventriloquist dummies.

  I wrinkled my nose, recalling a creepy movie Mom had watched on TV one night. I couldn’t remember any real details, but there had been a dummy in the movie.

  I shuddered—I’d slept in a nest of ventriloquist dummies.

  Get over your fears, I told myself. They’re just lifeless toys. Performance props. The broken heads and awkward limbs should be proof enough that they were harmless.

  Turning my back on the dummies was difficult, but I managed to make my way over to the door of the barn. It was propped against the frame crookedly, just the way I’d left it last night, so I peeked around the edge to see outside. I had made myself a promise, last night when I’d found the barn. This wasn’t a home. It was a temporary stop, like Matt’s house. I’d get the hell out of Forbidden as soon as it was light and I could see my way around the woods.

  The field beyond the barn was clear, although a low fog played on the ground. Strange for fog at this time of day, but no stranger than anything else lately. The fog rolled closer, like it was carried on a wind that didn’t exist.

  I lifted the door to move it to the side when a stench filled my nostrils…all over again. It was overpowering, and my eyes watered. It smelled like something out here had rolled in poop and died, then come back to life so it could do that all over again.

  The fog surrounded me, suffocated me. My tattoo even throbbed, a pulsing ache. If my tattoo reacted to the stench, it had to be bad.

  The scent was familiar, but I immediately covered my nose, not interested in searching my memories for something so horrible. I’d taken one step outside of the barn when I heard movement behind me.

  I turned, expecting to see a stray cat in the faint light streaming from the opening of the door.

  Instead, there stood a dummy.

  It hadn’t been there a moment ago. All the dummies were piled off to the side, or stacked in boxes, or tumbled where I’d knocked them over. On my way to the door, I’d walked right through the place where the dummy now stood.

  “How…?” I said to myself.

  “How?” the dummy mimicked in a garbled, high-pitched voice.

  I hadn’t really heard that, I told myself. I hadn’t seen its boxy mouth move.

  As I watched, the dummy took a step forward.

  “Holy fuck,” I gasped.

  “Ho-ly fuck,” the dummy repeated. Then it took another step toward me.

  I backed away and nearly tripped on the raised threshold of the doorway. Catching myself just in time, I turned and ran.

  I didn’t look behind me to see if the dummy chased me until I’d crossed the field. I climbed up on the wooden fence and looked back. The dummy remained in the doorway of the barn, collapsed on its side.

  Had I imagined the dummy? The streets of downtown Forbidden were sunny and warm for October, and it was easy to convince myself I’d imagined the whole thing. Because I believed in magic, but dummies coming to life wasn’t magic. That was hell.

  I had to get out of this town.

  The nights were getting colder, and if I was going to be hunkering down in the forest while I waited for the Redemption Pack to give up on me, then I’d need supplies. Food, a tent, warmer clothes. Thankfully, I still had some of Matt’s cash left over after purchasing the wasted bus ticket.

  I stood in the shadows of the awning in front of Eden Groceries, pretending to examine the apples stacked in a neat pyramid. I smiled at the handwritten note assuring customers that none of the apples had come from the Forbidden Tree. No pretending otherwise, I liked this town with its cheesy references to all things “forbidden.”

  A glance across the street revealed Ian. He sat on the bench outside of a bakery. A book was open in his hands, but his gaze moved around constantly and he didn’t even look at the pages.

  I shrank back into the shadows behind the apple pyramid, then ducked into the grocery store.

  The place was well-lit and had a homey touch, with handwritten signs declaring sales and what looked like local art on the walls, several of which were paintings of a woman walking out a door. As much as I wanted fresh fruits and veggies, I needed non-perishables, so I hurried past the produce and into the belly of the store.

  A man stood in the cereal aisle. He looked well-built, like Matt and just about every other shifter man I’d ever met. He had light hair and golden-brown eyes, and he wore the khakis and polo of a store uniform. I didn’t take the time to see if it was this store. He wasn’t from Redemption, but better safe than sorry—I turned around and walked the other way. I could get some almonds first and come back for granola bars. And chocolate. I would definitely need chocolate out there in the woods.

  “Hey,” he called.

  I kept going.

  “Hey, did you drop this?”

  Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I saw him pick up a wad of cash. It had fallen right out of my back pocket.

  “Yes, thank you,” I said, holding out my hand.

  He didn’t immediately hand over the cash, and I frowned.

  “Do I know you?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “I’m just passing through town.”

  A smile spread across his face. “Need somewhere to stay?”

  What a douche. “You know, I’m not in the habit of flirting with guys who hold my money ransom.”

  “Good point,” he said, passing the cash to me. “What about drinks with me before you leave town?”

  He had to be the local tomcat.
There was no way I was saying yes to drinks, but I suspected he was well-connected, since he’d probably slept with more than half of the town’s female population. Maybe he knew about Victoria, where I could find her.

  “So?” he said. “Drinks?”

  “That depends,” I said, putting on a flirtatious smile of my own. I couldn’t ask outright about a witch, not without knowing for sure that he was a shifter. “Do you know anyone here who practices nontraditional medicine?”

  His nose wrinkled. “Going out for drinks depends on nontraditional medicine?”

  “No,” I said with a breathy laugh. “I’m looking for someone. If I find them, it means I can free up my schedule to go out for drinks.”

  I was careful not to say anything untrue; if he was a shifter, he’d sense a lie.

  “Yeah, I can’t think of anyone right now,” he said, angling his body toward mine and stretching one of his arms up so he could lean on the shelves next to my head. “But I bet a beer or two with you could jog my memory.”

  Smooth. Real smooth. I was going to write this off as a loss.

  “Thanks for finding my money,” I said, “but I should—”

  “Holy fuck, what is that stench?” he asked. “Is that you?”

  “What?” I sniffed the air. “What are you talking about?”

  And then it hit me. Like hot garbage rotting in the sun had a baby with a port-a-potty. The guy bent over and gagged. He was definitely a shifter, for him to smell it so keenly. Only now was it getting strong enough to be very noticeable to me.

  He was distracted, which meant it was the perfect time for me to take off.

  I nodded. “Yep, that’s me. That’s how I smell. I can understand why you don’t want to grab a beer anymore. See you around.”

  Then I hurried up to the front of the store. It would be better to walk to another town and get whatever I needed. As cute and friendly as Forbidden was, there were way too many shifters.

  Still, the candy bars next to the register beckoned. There was no line, so I snagged as many Snickers as I could wrap a hand around and dropped them onto the little conveyer belt. The woman ringing up my purchase gave me a smile but ignored me in favor of another guy who’d gotten in line behind me.

  “Declan,” she said with a bigger smile. “I see you’re shopping for the B&B again.”

  “Guilty as charged, Penelope.”

  She beeped another Snickers and added it to the pile. Three more bars to go. I wondered why she didn’t just count them and beep a single bar. I’d worked in a grocery store in Redemption as a checker, and that’s how I always did it.

  “What’s Daphne cooking up tonight?” Penelope asked.

  “Pork loin with a brown sugar glaze,” he said.

  My mouth watered. Damn them for talking about good food when all I could get was Snickers. I thought of Matt, and the big breakfast he’d made for me.

  Beep. Another Snickers went across the scanner.

  “Sounds delicious,” Penelope said. “I’d add a side of Brussels sprouts, maybe with some Old Bay seasoning?”

  Declan made a noncommittal noise. “Daphne would probably like that.”

  I turned to see his expression.

  Beep. Another Snickers.

  He whispered to me, “Daphne might like Brussels sprouts, but I wish the damned things had stayed where they belonged. In Brussels.”

  I grinned.

  He cocked his head. “Do I know you?”

  I was getting that from everyone today. “Nope. I’m just passing through.”

  “I could swear you look familiar…” He stared at me thoughtfully.

  I turned back to Penelope, who scanned the final Snickers and recited the total. I handed over a ten and waited for my change. If I scurried away without my money, it would look suspicious.

  Penelope handed it over after what felt like an eternity. I shoved it into my pocket, careful to make sure it was all the way in so I wouldn’t drop it again.

  Declan said, “Hold on. You’re the chick from Redemption.”

  “Huh?” I pretended ignorance and gathered up my Snickers before stuffing them in the big pocket of my hoodie.

  “Wait,” a feeble voice called from aisle four. “Stop her…”

  “Caleb?” Declan said.

  The guy I’d been talking to—Caleb, I guessed—approached on shuffling feet. I stared at him in shock. He looked completely different. All of his muscle mass seemed to have melted away. His hair was white, his eyebrows had doubled in size, and huge bushes of hair stuck out of his ears.

  My tattoo started throbbing.

  “She did it,” Caleb said, pointing to me.

  “I didn’t,” I said. I felt stuck to the floor. My tattoo pulsed against my chest like a second heart.

  Caleb fell against Declan, who caught him.

  “Don’t move,” Declan said to me. All friendliness was gone from his voice, and now he sounded gruff and powerful. He sounded like an alpha.

  Holy shit, had I just been making small talk with the freaking alpha of Forbidden?

  Fear gripped me, and my fingers felt funny. This was the stirrings of magic. The Snickers in my pocket started to wiggle. The rest of the candy by the register did, too. Then the shelves began to rattle.

  “Everybody, get down!” I shouted.

  The pork loin launched off the belt and flew across the room.

  I was trying to warn them, because I had no control over the things flying in the air, but Declan’s glare told me all I needed to know: my warning had come across like an ultimatum. I sounded like some kind of bank robber.

  “I just mean, be careful. It’ll die down in a second!” With that, I ran to the back of the store, to the door marked Emergency Exit.

  If I could just get out of this fucking town, would my problems go away?

  Chapter 8

  Matt

  I said goodbye to Daphne and dropped my toolbox into the trunk of my cruiser just in time for my phone to ring.

  It was Declan.

  “Just leaving your place,” I said. “Everything okay?”

  “No.”

  He sounded furious. Rip-someone’s-head-off furious.

  I sat in the driver’s seat and waited for him to tell me what he needed.

  “The witch from Redemption just tried to kill me,” he growled.

  Cordelia.

  My chest tightened like it was caught in a vice. “Where?” I asked, somehow keeping my voice even.

  “Eden Groceries. I need you here, now.”

  “On my way.”

  Dispatch started on the radio before I set my phone back down. “I need someone down at Eden Groceries. Hare, Schneider’s on lunch.”

  “I got it,” I said, and started driving. Lunch didn’t matter, not when Declan needed me somewhere, and definitely not when something could be happening with Cordelia.

  “Let me know if you need backup,” Hare said.

  “Will do,” I replied.

  The drive seemed to take forever and no time at all. Images of worst-case scenarios ran through my head on repeat. That was my job, as an officer—to always be prepared for the worst. But what if the worst meant Cordelia was hurt? I kept seeing that, over and over, and it made me sick inside.

  Finally, I was standing in the lot outside the supermarket, my hands shaking and sweaty.

  Let her be okay. Please.

  I sucked in a deep breath and headed in to meet Declan. He was speaking to an old man who looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place.

  Candy and magazines from the registers were scattered all over the place, like a tornado had ripped through the front of the store. Cordelia had been here, all right. Her jasmine scent still lingered in the air. There was a strange mix of cheap perfume masking it, but she was unmistakable. I breathed in slowly, the bear inside of me wanting nothing more than to chase after her. Which way had she gone?

  “You expect me to stand around waiting? My legs are tired, asshole. Let me sit down somewh
ere,” the elderly man said to Declan.

  Declan grumbled. “Fine. Over on that bench. Don’t leave my sight.”

  The older man grumbled right back and headed toward the bench. He nodded at me as we crossed paths like he knew me. Why did he look so familiar?

  “You know I always hated you, right?” the man said as he walked away from me.

  I couldn’t even recall his name. How could he hate me?

  Declan met me halfway, looking as pissed as he’d sounded on the phone. Cordelia’s scent was still fresh. She’d headed toward the back of the store. I could catch her. I could help her.

  “Who—” I nodded toward the bench.

  “Caleb.”

  “Caleb who?”

  Declan shook his head. “That woman the Redemption Pack is looking for—she was here. No question what they said about her is true.”

  “What happened?” I asked, the tightness in my chest growing tighter by the second.

  “She smelled like fear. When I tried to talk to her, she made the air move, threw everything around.”

  “So Redemption is pissed about telekinesis?”

  “No.” Declan pointed to the old man on the bench. “They’re pissed she did that to members of their pack, including their alpha.”

  I looked closer at the man sitting on the bench. His hair was white, his skin was shriveled, but he wore jeans and a polo from Forbidden Hardware. I stared at his wrinkled face, the sense of familiarity finally settling. Caleb—my cousin Caleb.

  “No.” I shook my head. “She couldn’t—”

  “I saw her do it with my own eyes,” Declan said.

  Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Cordelia was beyond any help that I could give her. I’d believed her, and trusted her. But this…

  “I need to find her. Talk to her,” Declan said.

  There was nothing but sincerity on his face.

  “I have to know how she did this so we can make it right,” he said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  “Take Caleb back to the B&B. We don’t know anything about what she did to him. It could be contagious and we can’t take any chances. Have Daphne set him up with a room away from the guests and everyone else.”