by Nova Nelson
As soon as Tanner’s eyes found me from his spot at the parlor table, he hurried to his feet. He was still in full uniform, duty belt and all, but I’d fix that soon enough.
“Okay,” I said, “you can come up now.”
Epilogue
When I walked into Medium Rare before sunrise, motioning wordlessly for Bryant to call it a night and go home, I immediately set out to make a fresh pot of coffee.
“You think I could switch to evenings soon?” he asked.
The question seemed out of left field. “Why?”
He grimaced. “Last night was … um, a little weird. I mean, nights are always weird, but this one was extra weird. Also, I don’t actually know where Cassandra went. She just took off. You should probably fire her.”
I reached past him behind the counter and grabbed a coffee mug for myself, finishing off the last of the coffee in one of the pots while the other brewed. “Already did. I’ll keep your schedule request in mind, but it probably won’t be until I can hire someone to fill Cassandra’s spot.”
He nodded then added, “I mean, it was weird, Nora.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Do you?” There was a hint of desperation in his voice. “It was like we were running a cheaters-eat-free special or something. They were all over each other, and then they just … stopped.”
“Makes sense.”
He looked at me sideways. “If you say so.”
“Just read the paper. I’m sure it’ll cover it. Actually”—I held up a finger—“don’t read the paper. Never read the paper. The paper is awful.” I shook my head, trying to think straight. “Long story short, there was a love spell, but it’s fixed now.” I held up a firm hand to keep his follow-up questions at bay. “Just go home, and I’ll take it from here.”
He nodded uncertainly. “Whatever you say, Boss. One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Whenever everyone stopped making out, they sort of, um … well, there were like fifteen walked tabs. Everyone just split.” He forced a placating grin. “Have a good shift.” Then he yanked off his apron and hurried into the kitchen.
Eva was five minutes late, which was fine, considering she was doing me a huge favor just by being there.
“You look like you got about as much sleep as I did,” I said as she dragged her feet into the dining room, struggling to tie her apron in the back. “Here.” I waved her over and she let me assist with the bow.
“How much sleep did you get?” she said.
“None.”
She nodded. “I got less.”
“As long as you had fun, that’s what counts.”
She braced a hand on her hip, chewing her lip briefly before saying, “Hmm … The first part where I had to help take down an archetype wasn’t super awesome, but afterward … yeah, worth it.” She grinned.
“Same.” I held up my hand and we high-fived. “Now down some coffee before Ted mistakenly shows up to collect you.”
Stu lumbered in only an hour later to get some grub before his shift. “Morning, Ms. Ashcroft.” When he rocked gingerly onto a stool at the counter, I recoiled before I could stop myself. “Holy spirit, Deputy. That’s one serious shiner you got there.”
“Oh, this old thing?” he said, pointing at his right eye, which was swollen shut. “Hardly feel it. Someone ought to teach Fontaine how to punch.”
“He’s not in trouble, is he?” I asked.
“Nah. Bloom issued a blanket dismissal of all complaints related to the spell. Truth be told, I think she just wants to forget that it ever happened.”
“Can’t blame her.”
He adjusted his belt with a grunt. “Your boy says you managed to rid us of the thing. That right?”
“It was a group effort.”
He narrowed his non-swollen eye at me. “Out of curiosity, did it happen to take five witches?”
I checked to make sure no one was listening in, then said, “You know? Crazy thing. I didn’t count. Could have been five.”
When I set a cup of coffee down in front of him and went for the pie, he stopped me with, “Not today, Ms. Ashcroft.”
I cocked my head to the side, inspecting him. “Black eye make you lose your appetite?”
“No, no. I’ve just been thinking … nah, it’s nothing.”
I swooped down on him like a hawk. “Oh no, no, no. You’re not getting away with that. I can sense something juicy. You’ve been thinking about what?”
He rolled his good eye and sighed. Stirring sugar into his mug, he explained. “Well, you know, maybe it’s about time I start taking better care of myself.”
“True,” I said. “Go on …”
“And maybe I’ve been using this job as an excuse to avoid the catastrophe that is romance.”
I struggled not to smile. “Uh-huh …”
“You and Culpepper are making it work, so I just wonder if I couldn’t manage to do the same. You know, now that I’m not the only deputy on the job.”
“Heck, Stu, even Bloom found time for a little side action.”
He winced and held up his hands for me to stop. “Please don’t ever say that again. It only reminds me how little I understand about women.”
“Fair enough,” I said, grabbing a rag and wiping off the counter at the vacant seat next to his. “What can I get you, then? A … breakfast salad?”
His eye opened wide. “Is that a thing?”
I laughed. “No, that’s not a thing.”
His relief was obvious as he sucked in air through his nose and nodded his head. “Okay. How about we start with some bacon and eggs, then?”
“I’ll add a side of sliced tomatoes no charge, how about that?”
His eyes traveled longingly to the cherry pie in its glass case, and he sighed like a deflating balloon. “Yeah, that’ll work.”
Despite the number of walked tabs the night before, the cost of which Medium Rare would have to eat, when Ted entered the diner, I hurried to his table and immediately assured him the meal was on the house.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“I know, I know. The only thing I ever have to do is die,” I said.
He cocked his head to the side. “That’s morbid. True, but morbid. Heh.”
When he ordered three sides of bacon, I grew suspicious and bent over to look under the table. Yep.
I straightened. “Ted, come on. Grim doesn’t need that much bacon.”
“So says you!” Grim hollered telepathically from his hiding place among Ted’s black robe.
“But he’s just such a good boy.” Ted patted Grim’s head.
“Not only did I save your life last night, I had to listen to you and Deputy No Pants—”
“Yeah, all right,” I said. “You have a point, Ted. Grim Goodboy lives up to his name, yet again.” And then to Grim, I added, “Not another word from you.”
“I take it things are back to usual?” Ted asked.
“Yeah, pretty much. How could you tell? Wait, are the Winds of Change—”
“Still blowing strong,” he said. “Like I said, you can’t stop them. But I did notice that they’ve changed direction.”
“You think what we did last night has anything to do with it?”
Grim scoffed. “You really hold your feminine prowess in high esteem, don’t you?”
“Not talking about that, Grim. I’m talking about fighting the archetype.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Hmm … Very likely,” said Ted, and I had to remember what he was referring to. Right. The Winds of Change. “There are rumors going around about what happened. Lots of people saw you and three other witches leave the pub and then poof! The spell was lifted. For the time being, I suspect everyone’s a little too groggy from the last few days to put together what kind of witches left together.”
I nodded. “Let’s hope they forget all about it by the time the mental fog lifts.”
“I wouldn’t
count on it. More likely, everyone in this town will turn into an amateur sleuth like you until it’s discovered who the North Wind was. You should be prepared for that. And once they figure it out …”
He didn’t need to say what would happen. I already knew. No one in Eastwind would be thrilled to know a complete witches’ circle had been created. “Noted.” I needed to have a little chat with Liberty and the rest, it seemed. So long as no one knew about Landon, we might not have a major problem on our hands. We’d already agreed to keep it secret, but now I felt the need to reiterate how important it was.
“They already don’t trust you,” he said. “And when they find out it was Cassandra, there will be even less trust for witches.”
“But she wasn’t a witch,” I said, leaning forward so the Jabari brothers in the booth next to Ted’s wouldn’t overhear. “She was an archetype. Just like you said.”
“No one’s going to believe that.”
“Liberty can back us up on it.”
“No.” Ted shook his head firmly. “I think it’s best if you leave him out of this. If people discover the truth, that he was the reason this came to pass, it will discredit him. He needs to stay squeaky clean because you need all the allies you can get on the High Council.”
I paused, leaning back and looking at Ted through new eyes. “You’re way more calculating than I’ve given you credit for.”
He shrugged, his bones crackling under his robes. “I don’t mean to be. I just see a lot and I know how these things work out. As bad as things will get for you when some of the truth gets out, it would be a whole lot worse if all of the truth got out and you didn’t have any powerful allies.”
“What about Esperia? She does seem interested in protecting witches … as misguided as her approach may be.”
“Heh. Sorry, but you’re wrong. The mayor wants to protect her power, not witches. And if she finds out that you formed … well, you know. If she finds out about that, she’s going to do what she can to put an end to it.”
“Great,” I said, feeling the effects of my third cup of coffee dwindling quickly. “So, if the swirls hit the fan, who else can we rely on in the High Council? Octavia?”
“Maybe,” Ted said, slowly. “But I would be more inclined to bet my gold coins on Sebastian.”
“Malavic?” I said, cackling. Franklin Jabari paused midway through a sentence to gawk at me. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “More coffee?” I held up the pot, but he declined, so I returned to Ted. “You think Sebastian Malavic would have our backs on the High Council?”
“I know he would.”
I sighed. “You must know something I don’t.”
“Loads.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “One of these days, I hope to learn some of that, but I’d better go put in your order before Grim starts eating your toes.”
The crowd had thinned to almost nothing by the time Jane arrived. She was there to grab a bite to eat before her shift, but I was so dead on my feet, I wasn’t sure I could last a minute longer. “You mind if I cut out early?” I said.
She surveyed the tables. “I don’t know … would you mind comping my meal?”
“Might as well. I’ve comped more meals than I’ve sold today. Add it to the heap.”
She nodded and sat on the stool Stu had vacated only a couple hours before. “You look like you had as rough a night as I did. You and Tanner get into it?”
I cleared my throat. “Um … sort of.”
She sighed. “Yeah, Ansel’s not happy about how things went down.”
“I don’t think anyone is.”
“I tried to tell him he should just be glad Sheriff Bloom is excusing all related incidents, but …” She sighed again.
“What is it?”
“He heard a witch was behind it. The idiot thinks I should quit working here and take a job at the restaurant in Darius’s lodge up on Fluke Mountain.”
My jaw fell open. “He what?”
She waved away my concern. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna do it. His delusion that he can tell me what to do would be cute if it weren’t so annoying.”
“No, back up,” I said. “Why doesn’t he want you to work here? Because of me? Because a witch owns it?”
She nodded quickly. “Stupid, I know.”
Oof. I tried not to let on how much that stung. “But Ansel knows me. I thought we were friends.”
“Don’t take it personally. It’s clearly not personal. It’s just prejudice, which is the opposite of personal. I’m sure he’ll change his mind soon enough. He’s just in a temper. To be honest, I suspect that this being Stu Manchester’s favorite place to eat played a part in it, too. He’s being irrational and cranky, but he’ll come around.”
“I hope so.”
“Oh, and in the meantime, Greta wanted me to let you know she quits.”
I groaned. “Are you serious?”
Jane nodded. “Yeah. But do me a favor and hire her back whenever her mom stops listening to Ansel. Maybe a week or so. It’s not Greta’s fault.”
I nodded, trying to wrap my head around it. I’d always known I was a bit of an outsider in this town, but to have people who I thought trusted me suddenly stop was a new level of ouch.
“Double sunrise burger with sweet potato fries?” I asked.
“That’s the stuff.”
I put in the order for her and made myself a coffee to-go. Jane was still sitting at the counter, and I slid a fresh cup her way. “Thanks,” she said. “Where you off to?”
“Bed.”
“Whose?”
I shot her a sharp glare. “Mine.”
She rolled her eyes. “Does Tanner know who’s waiting for you there?”
“He does,” I said. “It’s nobody.”
Now she was interested. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I banished him.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Nora. Couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t. But you know as well as I do that—”
“I certainly do. No need to explain yourself. Go get some sleep in your own bed.”
Grim followed me out the door as I made for home. But when I reached Fulcrum Park at the center of town, I paused.
“Where are you going?” asked Grim. “Home is that way. Don’t you want to get a little shut-eye before you go chasing trouble again?”
“I’m not chasing trouble. And I just need to check in on something.”
Grim lumbered after me. “That’s a euphemism for ‘chasing trouble’ if I ever heard one.”
Minutes later, as I stood on Landon Hawker’s doorstep, holding my breath, wondering if he’d answer, the door knob turned and there he was. He appeared surprised to see me.
“I owe you an apology,” I said.
Landon shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
“I absolutely do. I put you in a terrible position, and now you might be in big trouble if word gets out about last night.”
To my bewilderment, the uptight paper pusher laughed. “Who cares?”
“Who cares?” Then it dawned on me. “Ah. She’s still here.”
He nodded, a boyish grin brightening his face. “Yeah. She’s still here.”
“Of course she is.”
“Of course?”
“Well, it’s like Tanner said. Where was she when the spell was first cast?”
He thought about it. “Wisconsin.”
“Wisconsin?!” I put a hand to my mouth to silence myself after the eruption.
My limited knowledge of that realm indicated that it was not, in fact, the place any non-were would want to be. But then again, she was pregnant by a werewolf, so if she suspected the baby might take after its father, Wisconsin would be a good place to start fresh.
“Keep it down,” Landon said.
“Sorry. But if she was in Wisconsin when the spell was cast, she came back here on her own.”
He rolled his eyes. �
�Yeah, yeah. That’s what she told me, too. I just didn’t believe her. Maybe I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But I should have listened to her.”
“Absolutely. And one more thing,” I said, “then I’ll leave you to it. I know we discussed not talking about the circle, but if anyone asks, you simply were not there last night, okay?”
“O-kay,” he said hesitantly. “Where was I?”
“Anywhere that was not there. It doesn’t matter. Everyone saw the rest of us leave together, and they’ll assume that we combined powers somehow, but so long as they can’t confirm we had a North Wind helping us, we might not end up facing a literal witch hunt.”
He nodded and rubbed his hands together absentmindedly. “Yeah, the mayor and high priestess wouldn’t be happy about that at all.”
“Exactly. There’s that conspiratorial mind I know and love.” I ruffled his hair and he swatted my arm away. “That being said, people are going to be looking for a North Wind. That’s pretty much guaranteed. And you’ll likely be the first place they stop since we’re friends. You’ll need an alibi.”
“Like what? All I ever do on a normal night is stay home.”
But I’d already thought of the solution on my walk over. “Liberty. He needs an alibi, too. If you two can say you were together. People will believe him, and he has just as much to lose if it gets out that the town was a mess because of his horrible taste in women.”
“True,” Landon said. “Okay, I’ll talk to him about it and we’ll come up with something air-tight.”
I stepped forward and pulled him into a hug before he could fend me off. When I pulled away, the color in his cheeks had traveled down to his neck. “I’d better not leave her waiting,” he said.
I laughed. “No, you’d better not.”
* * *
I pushed open the door to Ruby’s house, the to-go cup of coffee already empty, and I paused in the threshold when I saw we had a visitor.
Tanner and Ruby sat at the parlor table making light conversation.
“There she is,” Ruby said jovially. “The worst thing to happen to Eastwind in three hundred years!”