by Sonia Parin
“They’re trying to take preventative measures… I think, I’m not sure. We bumped into one trying to locate a possible crime scene.”
She told him about the missing person who’d been found dead and the O’Rourke detectives’ concern for other possible victims.
Lexie brushed both hands across her face. “I want to help but I don’t know how.”
“You think you found a crime scene.” Jonathan leaned against the counter. “And you think there might be more.”
“Maybe.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “It looks like he uses old abandoned warehouses to keep his victims captive and then he burns them.” She had magical skills and she seemed to acquire more skills on a need to know basis. Could she, somehow, procure the necessary skills to track down the killer? “There must be a way to home in on the victims before they’re killed.”
Jonathan stopped wiping the counter.
“Do you know of a way?”
“I’m your chronicler and guardian not your magical advisor. Also… It’s not my job to interfere with your decisions.”
Lifting the edge of her lip, she said, “Now that’s out of the way… Do you have any suggestions?”
He gave a reluctant shrug. “Maybe.” He stepped back from the counter and brushed his hands across his face. “Okay. Fine. Follow me.”
Chapter Three
Lexie jumped off her barstool and followed Jonathan down to the cellar.
Along the way, she thought she heard him say, “I shouldn’t interfere.”
“This is an interesting development,” Luna mused. “He doesn’t like you going into his inner sanctum but that’s where we appear to be headed.” Looking over her shoulder at Rebel, she said, “Watch your head. There’s a low beam coming up.”
When they reached the small door, Jonathan pressed his hand to it and it eased opened.
Lexie tilted her head in thought. The last time he’d brought them down here, he’d produced a large key. Had that been for show? Had he… Had he been trying to hide something from her? As far as she knew, Jonathan O’Connor didn’t have any powers.
“Hide something?” Luna asked. “Oh… Do you think he might have abilities he doesn’t want you to know about?”
Lexie remembered to duck and barely avoided hitting her head on the low hanging ceiling. As they strode into the dark space, a candle came alive and lit the room.
“If anyone asks, I did not do this,” Jonathan warned. He placed his hand on the large tome sitting on a lectern.
When the book opened, Lexie scurried to stand beside him. Luna clambered onto her shoulder and Rebel hovered above the book.
Lexie and Luna had recently had a peek inside the book and seen images of her drawn in great detail. She’d lost track of the number of times she’d asked about the book. Jonathan had always refused to talk about it so she and Luna had snuck in…
To her surprise, Jonathan didn’t just write about her deeds and or misdeeds. He also drew her in action.
He turned the pages. When he reached a blank page, Jonathan drew in a deep breath and looked at it. After a moment, he turned another page and another.
“I don’t see anything,” Luna complained.
“That’s because you’re looking but not seeing,” Rebel said.
“Are you saying you can actually see something?” Lexie asked her.
Rebel gave a small nod.
Luna leaned closer and sniffed the book. Lexie could feel her little body tensing with frustration. “I guess you can’t see anything either.”
Luna emitted a soft kitty growl. “I don’t care to be excluded.”
Rebel hummed and then her little mouth gaped open as if surprised.
“What?” Luna demanded.
Rebel pointed to the page. “I see a forest. A dark forest.”
Frowning, Lexie leaned down and narrowed her eyes. “I can’t see anything.”
Rebel flew close to Lexie and said in an awed tone, “You have access to that realm.”
Lexie swallowed. A while back, she and Luna had gone through the tiny door in the corner of the room and they had stepped into a realm beyond the door…
The Crone’s realm.
Jonathan pushed out a breath and nudged his head toward the small door. “You’ll have to go through it again.”
“Are you actually encouraging me? Last time you nearly bit my head off.”
He hitched his hands on his hips. “Last time, you broke into my inner sanctum without my permission. Anything could have happened. And… You still haven’t told me how you managed to get through the door.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I can still see your footprints,” he growled softly.
Lexie looked toward the corner at the small door that looked like a prop from a fairy tale story with iron hinges in the shape of a fleur-de-lis.
When she’d asked Jonathan where the door led to, he’d told her, “Anywhere and everywhere.”
Jonathan had then explained the door had been put there to keep the other realm contained. “Everything you can ever imagine dwells within there,” she murmured under her breath. Lexie clicked her fingers as she tried to remember what one of the O’Rourke detectives had said.
Hearing her thoughts, Luna murmured, “Indiana O’Rourke. He said the door is charmed to keep certain individuals locked within their realm.”
Jonathan frowned. “You two are behaving as if you’ve never been through it.”
Luna gave a kitty shrug. “We have selective memories.” Turning to Lexie, she asked, “Did we go through?”
“The Crone,” Lexie whispered.
“Oh, yes. I remember her. Yikes. I also remember the fairy.”
Rebel flew over to the door. Looking over her little shoulder, she said in a small voice, “Home.”
They all looked at each other, their eyebrows raised.
Lexie stepped forward. “Um… Rebel? Are you homesick?”
Rebel turned her back and dropped her head.
“Oh, this is a strange feeling and rather awkward,” Luna murmured. “She’s tugging at my heart strings. I’ve never heard a voice so full of yearning.”
And hopelessness, Lexie thought. Rebel had to know she couldn’t go home again. They didn’t want her. Stepping back, Lexie frowned at Luna. “You could try to be a little nicer to her.”
Luna’s eyes widened. “Me? She’s taken up one third of the apartment and she’s the smallest one of us. Actually, she’s taken over more space because she commands all the air space, what with all that flying around she does. What more do you want? How many more concessions do I need to make for her?”
Lexie firmed her lips.
“Fine. I’ll be nicer.”
Turning to Jonathan, Lexie said, “Okay. So, would you mind telling me what all this is about? You opened the book but I didn’t see anything.”
“Rebel did,” Jonathan said. “And… So did I. You’re going to go through the door and visit The Crone.”
“What else? I mean, am I likely to run into any trouble?” And would she have to say goodbye to Rebel?
“That depends on what The Crone says.”
“I guess you’re not going to open the door for us.”
He shook his head. “That door has to remain locked and warded.”
Luna stepped up to the door and put her paw through it. “It’s easy. You’ve done it a couple of times.”
Yes, and she’d gone through without a glitch, but there was always a first time to get a splinter…
“What else can you see?” Lexie asked Rebel.
The fairy flew over to the book and shook her head. “You and Luna walking along a path.”
Lexie took a deep swallow. “What about you?”
“I’m not sure. I see two lights.”
Lexie knew she and Luna would be able to go through the door, but what about Rebel?
She put on her best smile. “Are you up for a little adventure?” She watch
ed Rebel hover over to the door. Her little shoulders rose and fell. Hovering back, she held still for a moment and, before Lexie could blink, Rebel shot through the door.
“She’s gone.” Luna yelped and leaped through the door after her.
“I guess that just leaves you,” Jonathan said.
Lexie grinned. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah, not a chance. Someone has to stay behind and…” he raked his fingers through his hair. “I couldn’t even if I tried.”
“Okay. See you later.” Squaring her shoulders, Lexie emptied her mind and strode toward the door. With each step she took the door became bigger, either that, or she became smaller. Keeping her mind empty of all thoughts and preconceived ideas about doors being solid, she walked right through it.
On the other side, she told herself to open her eyes but they were already open. Then she remembered the forest’s perpetual darkness.
“We’re over here,” Luna said.
Lexie saw a tiny light glowing above Luna. As she drew closer, she recognized Rebel. “Can you do something about this lack of light?”
“I don’t dare,” Rebel said, her voice cautious. “There is ancient magic here. We’ll be your eyes and ears.”
“Luna, remember the fairy we met here told us to stay on the path.” Lexie couldn’t tell how long they walked before she began to wonder about The Crone’s cottage. It had to be around here somewhere. She didn’t recall having to walk so far. The first time they’d come through the door, they’d been met by a fairy who’d guided them to the cottage and the couple of times Lexie had visited again, the fairy had been waiting for her.
“This is ridiculous. Are we going around in circles?” Lexie asked. “Luna?”
“Well… When we didn’t find the cottage, Rebel and I thought it would be safer to circle around.”
Lexie cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, “Hello. Is anyone home?”
“Are you mad? You have no idea what’s out there,” Luna screeched and nearly made Lexie jump out of her skin when she clambered up to her shoulder. As for Rebel…
“Coming in for a hard landing,” Rebel hollered as she shot through the air. Diving for cover, she landed in Lexie’s hair.
“My fearless companions? Hiding?”
“I’m rather fond of my nine lives,” Luna whispered just as a light came on.
“There’s the cottage. We must have walked past it several times.” Lexie saw a small light meandering its way toward them. As it drew nearer, she recognized the Crone’s fairy.
“I think you woke her up,” Luna whispered. “She’s yawning.”
“Who goes there?” The voice boomed in the darkness. Anyone else hearing it would have run for their lives.
Lexie waved. “It’s me.”
The Crone’s fairy raked her hair out of her eyes. “The Mackenzie witch. Do you have any idea what time it is? People are sleeping.”
“I thought it was always nighttime here.”
“And your point is?”
“Sorry. This is an emergency.”
“Oh, you should have started with that.” The fairy snorted. “What does your emergency have to do with us. Last time I checked, there was a door between our worlds put there for a reason.”
“Who is making all this racket?” a familiar voice bellowed from within the cottage.
“See what you’ve done now. You woke the Crone.” The fairy sniffed the air. “I can smell you and the cat and something else. Blueberries… Why do you smell of blueberries?”
Luna took a swipe at the fairy who got too close. “I am not a cat. I am a feline companion.”
“Fairy,” the Crone bellowed. “Where are you?”
The Crone didn’t sound at all pleased. Belatedly, Lexie realized she might have been presumptuous coming here without an invitation.
“She doesn’t have a name,” Luna whispered.
The fairy blew her a raspberry. “I do so have a name.”
“Then why doesn’t the Crone use it?” Luna asked in a whisper, almost as if she didn’t intend for the fairy to hear her.
“Because she is ancient and thinks I’m inconsequential.”
“So, what is your name?”
Lexie gave Luna brownie points for asking.
“Trouble.”
Lexie heard a gasp coming from somewhere inside her mop of hair and then a small voice asking, “Trouble?”
The fairy gaped and hovered over to Lexie. “Who said that?”
A moment later, Rebel emerged. “It’s me. Rebel.”
The fairy snorted. “Rebel. Yeah, as if. I heard she got kicked out of the herd.”
“Herd?” Luna sounded perplexed.
Rebel flew out of Lexie’s hair. “It is me and… they gifted me to a High Chair.”
Another snort. “They gave you away? To a witch?” The fairy sniffed the air. Her eyebrows drew down. “Rebel? It is you. I can smell the blueberries.”
“Told you,” Luna murmured.
Rebel and Trouble circled around each other.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see another one of my kind,” Rebel said. “How did you ever end up here? Did they give you away too?”
“With a name like Trouble, what do you think? Come on, I’ll tell you all about it.”
Lexie waited until they’d put some distance between them to whisper, “Would it kill you to be a little nicer to Rebel? Can’t you see she’s homesick?”
“I already said I’d be nicer. What more do you want from me?”
“Less sarcasm, please.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Fine, even if it means going against my nature.”
“Luna, I heard you roll your eyes.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t possibly have heard me. No one can hear someone rolling their eyes. And, for the record, you don’t hear me grumbling about being torn away from my family.”
“Your family? Oh, you mean the sisters who tormented you when you were young?”
Luna put her nose in the air. “They called it tough love. I never get to see them.”
“And I’ve never heard you complain about that.”
“Is it any wonder I don’t complain? Being independent is ingrained in our DNA or, in my case, it was beaten into me.”
“Would it make you feel better if I give you a scratch under the chin.”
Luna looked up at her. “It would, but this is neither the time nor the place. I’ll take a raincheck.”
The Crone stood at the door, her arms crossed, her foot tapping. “Well, well. The Mackenzie witch. I should have known.”
Lexie apologized profusely.
“I see you’ve brought your own fairy. Leave the cat at the door.”
***
When Lexie finished telling the Crone about her hunt for possible victims, the Crone gave a distracted nod. “The Well of Tortured Souls.”
Lexie leaned forward. “Yes… well, I actually wanted to find live victims… You know, before they’re actually killed.”
The Crone nodded again, her attention shifting to Rebel and Trouble who hovered in a corner. “They’re talking about me. I hope your fairy isn’t giving Trouble ideas. Fairies are hard to come by.”
“I’m sure they’re only talking. Rebel doesn’t know any other fairies.” Lexie shifted to the edge of her seat. “You were about to say something about the well…”
“The Well of Tortured Souls. It funnels all the fear from victims.” She waved her hand. “Think of it as a magnet. Someone is captured, held against their will. They’re afraid and in a state of panic and hopelessness. All those feelings escape into the ether and they are sucked into the Well.”
“Great. So, how do I find this well?”
“It’s not just any well, it’s the Well. Your emotions will lead you to it.”
Lexie must have looked confused enough for the Crone to clarify.
“You’ll need to tap into your emotions.”
“Okay. What do I do when I find the Well
?”
The Crone dug inside her pocket and drew out a small flask. “Fill this up with the emotions and then you’ll have the main ingredient for a location spell.”
“A spell.”
The Crone huffed out a breath. “Let me guess, you haven’t been practicing them.”
“I’m actually more of a take action type of witch.” Lexie smiled. “I can do fireballs.”
The Crone surged to her feet and shuffled toward the fireplace. Next to it hung a bunch of rosemary. “Rosemary is used for memory spells. You can also use it for a shortcut potion. Once you have the water from the Well, swirl it in there. It should guide you to those you wish to find.” She held up a finger. “I should warn you, emotions can be tricky. If you wallow in them, they can eat you alive.”
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“Just follow your emotions and be careful what you take from the Well. It doesn’t take kindly to strangers taking from it. Now, go and take that fairy with you. I don’t want her giving Trouble any ideas.”
“What do you mean?”
“She looks crestfallen and that can only mean she’s homesick.”
Lexie glanced over at Rebel. “Maybe she needs a friend. Someone of her own kind.”
“I can’t have my gatekeeper going soft on me. She needs her snarky edge. Now, leave.”
Chapter Four
“Rebel, are you okay?” Lexie asked as they set off along the path in search of the Well. Lexie noticed the fairy had lost her perkiness… and sparkle. Despite flapping her wings, the edges had curled slightly and had lost their shine and her small pointy ears flopped. She’d never seen Rebel looking so morose.
The fairy gave a small nod. Sighing, she lifted the light orb she held and led the way.
“I’m sure if we ask nicely, the Crone will let us visit,” Lexie said. “And you can catch up with Trouble.”
“That would be nice.” Rebel stopped. “I believe we’ve reached a fork in the path, it splits up here. Which way do we go?”
The Crone had told her to tap into her emotions. But the only emotions Lexie had been experiencing since her cousins had ambushed her and tricked her into accepting her role as incoming High Chair had been frustration.