by Nova Nelson
“Oh, are they okay?” I asked.
He rubbed at one of his shoulders. “Yeah, yeah. They’re fine. I owe Stella Lytefoot a major favor now, though.”
“Seems like Sheehan’s Pub might be a better place to wind down after a day like that,” I said looking him up and down. “You were already in here early this morning before your shift.” I raised a brow at him.
He sighed and motioned for me to get inside already. “Can’t a guy get two pieces of pie in a day without being hassled?”
“Sorry, sorry,” I said, entering into the bright lights of the diner.
Stu and I grabbed seats next to each other at the counter, and Grim trotted over to the Hellsing family at a booth a ways off. The youngest Hellsing daughter got an extreme thrill from sneaking him scraps.
Jane was joking with a table of werewolves as we settled in. She glanced over absentmindedly, and I caught her eye and waved. She nodded back, then something in her expression changed, as her smile faded.
Oh no, had I done something wrong?
She tossed a few final words to the table and then slowly approached me at the counter.
But mine weren’t the only eyes locked onto her. When I glanced behind me at Stu, he was staring at Jane with the same expression she was giving me.
Or wait, maybe she wasn’t giving it to me.
Once she was closer, I confirmed my suspicion.
“Hi, Stu,” she said softly.
“Jane. You look … you’re looking well.”
She sauntered past him, and on her way, her hand grazed on his shoulder, her fingertips skimming across his back, to his opposite shoulder before she rounded the counter and came to stand across from us over the counter.
“What can I get you, Nora?” As she addressed me, she snuck a heavy-lidded glance at Stu.
I looked back and forth between her and the deputy. No way. Not them, surely?
“I need to talk with you privately,” I said, standing up.
“Sure thing,” she said. Then she winked at Stu. “Cherry pie?”
He grinned. “Yes, please.”
“You want it warmed up?” she asked.
“You know I like it hot, Jane.”
Oh for fang’s sake. I scurried around the counter and grabbed her arm. “His pie can wait and he can eat it cold like everyone else.” She put up just a small fight as I dragged her into the kitchen and out of view from Stu.
“What’s wrong?” Jane asked when I stopped short and glared at her. She appeared to genuinely not know.
“What’s wrong? You and Stu Manchester used to … you two had a thing?”
She shrugged coyly. “Yeah, but don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t have to,” I said firmly, “if you two keep up the blatant innuendos.” I reeled it in. It wasn’t Jane’s fault she was suddenly having impure thoughts about Stu Manchester. “Look, whatever you’re thinking about when you look at him, it’s not real.”
“It feels real,” she said. “And it used to be real. So real. You know what they say about the male prowess of were-elks …” She grinned slyly.
“Ew. I don’t, actually, and please, if you care about me as a friend, you won’t tell me.”
Jane stared vaguely over my shoulder with dreamy eyes that were completely out of character for the intense woman I knew. “I understand what it must be like for you, now,” she said wistfully.
“What in the spell are you talking about?”
She looked at me then. “To be in love with two men. It’s like, when I’m around one, he’s all I can think about. Then I see the other, and he’s all I can think about. It’s not that I don’t want to be faithful, it’s just that it doesn’t seem that important. I mean, surely he’d understand if I told him about Stu.”
“Uh, no,” I said. “I don’t think Ansel will understand if you tell him you’re in love with Stu Manchester.”
She blinked like she was waking from a dream. “Ansel? Oh right. Ansel. Then three men. I’m in love with three men. Wow …”
I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “Jane, you’re not in love with three men. You’re in love with one, and that’s Ansel. You know, the big gorgeous werebear who looks like he drank two other werebears in a protein shake? The one who you went to Wisconsin with on your honeymoon? Your husband?”
She cleared her throat. “Right. Of course. I don’t know why I keep thinking about Bruce and now Stu …”
“Luckily, I do,” I said. “You asked me to look into why Bruce is back. I think I’ve figured it out. Or at least part of it. Someone must have cast a love spell over Eastwind that causes people to fall for past lovers again. It was something so powerful that it managed to pull Bruce and Heather back from the other side of the veil.”
Her brows pinched together and she stared at the floor a few feet ahead of her. “Oh. That makes a lot more sense than … But wait. Why was Heather back?”
Rather than answering, I gave her a moment. She was smart, and she’d land on the answer herself, and if I let that happen, I could avoid being the messenger that everyone likes to shoot, despite common wisdom.
“Ansel never told me he had a thing with Heather Lovelace.” Her nostrils flared minutely, and I knew that danger signal.
“Did you ever tell him about you and Stu Manchester?”
She avoided my eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, no, it just didn’t seem relevant.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t go throwing rocks in glass houses.”
She cocked her head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean? Is that another weird saying from your world?”
“I guess so. The point I’m trying to make is that whatever you feel for Stu right now isn’t real. It’s manufactured by magic, and if you act on it, the thing that is real could be ruined.”
She sighed and her shoulders sagged, but she seemed to agree. “I suppose you would know about that.”
“Yes, I would. I just got lucky with Tanner taking me back, and Ansel might do the same for you, but do you really want to test it out?” She shook her head. “Last question before I take off: do you know of anyone who would want to ruin your marriage?”
She chuckled. “Well, now I do. Heather Lovelace.”
“And Stu and Bruce,” I added. She might have been my best friend, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with acting like her past wasn’t an equal factor to Ansel’s.
She would have done the same for me.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “But that’s just two werewolves and a were-elk. None of them have the magic needed to cast spells.”
That was a solid point. If none of those with a motive to split up Ansel and Jane had the ability to do so, then more than likely, they weren’t the intended targets of the spell.
“You telling me you don’t have any leads?” she asked.
“No, I have one, but I don’t want to say it yet.”
She nodded. “Probably for the best. Easier to release a flock of phoenixes than to catch them.”
We headed back into the dining room, and the moment Jane laid eyes on Stu and her shoulders softened and her head tilted slightly to the right, it was obvious our conversation had gone in one ear and out the other.
I couldn’t babysit them all day, though. I had more pressing matters to attend. So, I grabbed Greta as she passed by and asked her, “Do you like your aunt Jane?”
Greta looked surprised and said, “Yeah, of course.”
“Great. If you want her to remain your aunt by marriage, I need you to do something. And I need you to not tell anyone about it.”
She tilted her head back, her expression throwing daggers of incredulity the way only a teenager’s could.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out three silvers, holding them in front of her in an open palm. She eyed the coins for a moment before snatching them up. Figured. That was more money than she’d earn in two full shifts. “Okay, what do you need?”
“Three things.” I counted
them off on my fingers. “Keep your aunt from making out with Stu Manchester, don’t judge her if she tries it because it’s not her fault, and this conversation never happened.”
Greta took the strange instructions in stride, slipping the coins into her apron pocket. “Got it. But if I have to fight him and he tries to stun me—”
“You’ll be compensated,” I assured her.
She pressed her lips together, narrowing her eyes at me. “Better be.”
I took a detour on my way out and leaned close to Stu’s ear, whispering, “She’s married. To a werebear. One with a temper. I suggest you don’t try it unless you want Ted manhandling your corpse.”
The words hardly seemed to register as I patted Stu firmly on the shoulder and hoped Greta was as savvy as I thought.
Chapter Eleven
For obvious trauma-related reasons, I was hesitant about going home for the night.
I paused on the doorstep, considered it, and went ahead and knocked before entering the front door. Who knew if Ruby and Ezra might have decided that the bedroom was too mundane of a setting to express themselves?
They were both in the parlor when I entered, but thankfully fully clothed. They were at the table where a large stack of pancakes towered in the center next to a small pile of bacon, and they helped themselves to it enthusiastically.
Grim rushed past me, and, without preamble, put his front paws onto the table, going straight for the bacon.
Not exactly subtle, but also not the worst strategy if one cared more about a mouthful of bacon than a harsh reprimand. And I knew that to be the case for Grim.
He almost got away with it, but Ezra was too quick with his wand, which he drew out of nowhere, shooting a small spark at my familiar.
Grim yelped as the spark hit his nose. He slinked off to his spot by the fireplace, grumbling, “This guy just comes in here out of nowhere and acts like he owns the place.”
“No need to linger by the door, dear. We won’t bite,” said Ruby.
“Not you, at least,” Ezra said, winking. Ruby giggled and swatted his shoulder playfully.
“Pancakes?” Ruby said, gesturing to the stack.
I stared longingly at it. I’d only grabbed a baguette on my way from Tanner’s place to the library (I’d ended up giving most of it to Grim), and I was hungry, but did I want to commit to hanging around those two for the time it took to eat?
“Oh, come on,” Ruby said. “No need to be shy. Yes, you caught Ezra and I in the throes of passion, and yes, it was a rowdy reunion that will likely leave my out-of-shape body so sore I need to drop by the Pixie Mixie tomorrow, but in the end, it was natural and beautiful.”
Ezra put his arm around her, resting his head on her shoulder. “Two souls uniting as one. You can’t tell me you and Tanner don’t—”
I held up a hand to stop him. “Let’s not bring him into this. I’m happy for you two, really I am. But if you could just not flaunt it around, that would be much appreciated.”
They shared a knowing look, then Ruby turned to me and said, “One day, Nora, you’ll be my age, and I hope you don’t feel disgusted by your own experiences.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s not the age. It’s … ” I looked back up at them, and they were both staring at me like I might be crazy. “It’s a spell, okay? There’s some sort of love spell over Eastwind that’s making everyone get back together with past loves.”
Ruby laughed. “Oh, that’s ridiculous. I think I’d know if someone put a spell on me.”
“Same here,” said Ezra. “Between the two of us, we probably have more magic than any piddly witch’s circle in Eastwind.”
Wow. Okay. I hadn’t expected them to simply contradict me. Were they really so blind to this? “I don’t think it was a witch or a witch’s circle that did this. Think about it.” I closed my eyes and a moment later, Heather and Bruce appeared in the parlor. Only Ruby reacted by tilting her head slightly to the side as she eyed the visitors. “Something brought them back,” I continued. “And you know as well as I do that whatever could bring back a spirit that has already found peace has to be something pretty dang powerful.”
Heather yawned. “Have you seen Ansel lately? I miss him so much I think I might die.”
“You’re already dead,” I snapped.
“I was speaking figuratively. Sheesh. No appreciation for the poetic, this one,” she said to Bruce, who nodded.
Ruby chewed her lip for a second and when Ezra asked what was going on, Ruby shushed him then said, “It seems you’re telling the truth, Nora. Someone has been tampering with love magic in Eastwind. Love is about the only thing powerful enough to disrupt the peace of the dead.”
Finally. I was starting to doubt I’d get through to her.
Then she sighed. “I just don’t know what that has to do with Ezra and me. What we rediscovered in each other is real and pure, not a magic-drunk fantasy.”
“Wow,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “You really think it’s everyone but you. That you’re the exception to the trend.”
Ezra answered. “I know we are.”
“Just let them have it,” Grim said. “Have you ever seen Ruby this happy? I know I haven’t. Invest in some ear plugs and let it go, woman!”
Grim had a point, even as I knew he was brainstorming ways to exploit Ruby’s happiness into more scraps for himself. It wasn’t like Ruby and Ezra were in a relationship with anyone else. Maybe what was happening between them was only temporary, but so much of love was.
Besides, I’d heard the “but we’re not like all the others” argument as it pertained to romance so many times, and I knew there was no reasoning with it. You just had to let people learn the hard way sometimes.
“Fine. You two enjoy your pancakes,” I said. “I’m not hungry, but Grim is, and you have him to thank for me leaving you in peace. He’s welcome to my share.” I crossed the parlor, heading for the stairs, ready to fall face-first onto the mattress and go lights-out. And hopefully this time I could get some real sleep.
But as soon as I opened my bedroom door and saw him standing there, I knew that wouldn’t be the case.
It was like a cord connected the two of us, Roland and me, and I made for him directly without thinking twice.
“Nora, my gorgeous love,” he breathed. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
I stopped just short of him, hungering to touch, needing him to be real, needing so much from him, and not simply in my dreams. I closed my eyes, trying to will him into existence. Up from the past came a memory so clear, I tasted the salty air and felt the warmth of the sun on my skin.
I could hear his voice, too, echoing from deep inside me …
We were at the top of a tower, overlooking the ocean, both sitting on a wool blanket with bread and cheese on a plate between us. He held out a piece of bread to me, and I took a bite, savoring the freshness and texture. “Someday,” he said, “we won’t have to sneak up here to eat together. Once my father passes, no one will be able to deny me who I want to spend my days with. It will be you, Diana, just you. Everyone else can burn, for all I care, so long as I have you by my side.”
Sunbeams reflected dazzlingly off his rich brown hair as he leaned forward and placed a hand on my face, tucking my hair behind my ear as he leaned forward for the kiss.
I opened my eyes to the dim bedroom, and found a similar scene taking place: Roland leaning forward, that same yearning inside of me to be close to him, his warm hand on my cheek—
Wait, what the hellhound? His warm hand?
I jerked back, staring at him in shock.
Sure enough, his hand was solid, living, warm, while the rest of him remained translucent and untouchable.
He stared at it in utter confusion, too. “What in the seven stones …?” He looked at me. “Did you do that? Can you do that? To all of me?”
I stammered, and took another step back, and as I did so, his hand faded to match the rest of him. “I don’t k
now what just happened,” I finally managed. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
He moved closer. “But you did. It’s possible, then! If you can do that without trying, there’s some way to make it happen for all of me, maybe even make it permanent!” His excitement at the prospect far exceeded mine.
Did I really possess the power to give him back his body just by imagining it? That was insane.
Wasn’t it?
“Maybe it’s just the love spell,” I said. “Maybe it has some strange side effect, and if I can get rid of it—”
“Why would you do that?” he asked, staring at me like I’d stabbed him. “We could have everything we’ve ever wanted. Don’t you remember? Don’t you remember what it was like?”
I backed up again until my legs found the foot of my bed. “I do. I do remember, and I … I don’t know what to do.”
He nodded but allowed me my space. “That’s understandable. Why don’t you get some rest? Might help you clear your head.”
I glared at him. “You know it won’t.”
“Aye, you’re right,” he smiled greedily. “I know it won’t. But it might help you make up your mind.”
I didn’t have great options. I was utterly exhausted. I had to go to sleep, and I knew that once I was under, I stood little chance of refusing him. Not while I was under a love spell, so engrossed in his world—our world—and couldn’t even remember Tanner’s name.
So long as Roland remained a ghost and the love spell hovered over Eastwind, I was doomed to fall into his arms night after night.
Well, doomed might be too strong of a word, considering how much I enjoyed it in the moment.
But that did mean that if I wanted to have a little privacy in my dreams, one of two things had to happen. Either I had to find a way to reverse the spell, or I had to make Roland not a ghost. And that could be done either by banishing or by giving him a physical body.
Was that something I could do? It certainly seemed so. Had the shock not temporarily wrestled me free from the hold of the spell, who knows how far that transformation would have gone.
I may not have been a South Wind, but I clearly had a propensity for playing with fire.