Winds of Change

by Nova Nelson

My head pinballed back and forth between Stu and Tanner. What? Interest in law enforcement? I’d never heard about this. Maybe he was talking to someone else.

  Tanner chuckled. “Why, you finally retiring? ’Bout time.”

  While Gabby bit back a laugh, Stu said, “Not yet. But we’re hiring another deputy soon. Thought I’d do a little scouting.”

  “Ah.” Tanner nodded slowly.

  “He already has a job, Stu,” I said. “And it’s a little safer than police work.”

  “Not as fun, though,” the deputy replied, and I noticed Tanner nod subtly. “And with two of us, the work load will be less for everyone and we’ll get to do a whole heck of a lot more of the fun stuff.”

  Tanner tucked the empty tray underneath his arm and stared at the far wall. A small grin crept across his face. Then he blinked and that dazed disinterest returned. “Dunno. I’ve worked pretty hard to build Medium Rare into what it is today. Well, not as hard as Nora.” He laughed uncomfortably. “Now that I think about it, I guess the increase of business is pretty much entirely her doing, what with the changes to the menu and the introduction of the queso.” His voice trailed off, then he quickly added, “I’d have to think about it.”

  The fact that he would even consider it left me reeling.

  “Fair enough,” said Stu, slapping Tanner on the shoulder. “I’ll let you know when we open up for applications.” Then Deputy Manchester turned to me. “What about you, Ms. Ashcroft? You seem to enjoy being neck-deep in unsolved mysteries. Ever considered getting paid for it?”

  “God no,” I snapped. Whoops. Rein it in, Nora. “I just mean, I love working here. And, to be honest, I’ve been thinking that solving mysteries is more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “Hear! Hear!” said Stu, raising his coffee mug.

  “I’m glad you’re hiring someone soon,” I added. “Hopefully, I can stay as far away from solving crimes as possible.”

  Stu nodded. “Understood. If you change your mind though, either of you, you let us know.”

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically.

  “Thanks,” Tanner said genuinely.

  “And there’s even better news,” said Sheriff Bloom. “We were able to find the gold. Or what was left after Seamus went on his spending spree. Malavic is happy, which makes me happy.”

  Stu nodded somberly. “Last thing we need right now it a vigilante vampire mucking about this town.”

  “So, the three of them are in jail?” I said.

  Gabby nodded. “Yep. Awaiting trial.”

  “And then they’ll be sent to Ironhelm Penitentiary?”

  “If they’re found guilty.”

  “For how long?”

  She shrugged. “Probably only a few years. Ironhelm is overcrowded as it is. If it isn’t a murderer, it usually doesn’t stick around there long.”

  A few years.

  I’d have to take it.

  But the reality was, I needed to stop putting Eastwinders in Ironhelm. As time went by, they’d start to be released, and if they were upset about being sent to the notorious prison, who did I think they would come after for revenge, if not me?

  If that wasn’t motivation to learn some serious defensive spells, I didn’t know what was.

  As Tanner headed back into the fray and Sheriff Bloom and Deputy Manchester committed their full attention to the food in front of them while Grim snored noisily at my feet, I took in the scenery of the dining room. Hyacinth Bouquet chatted away to her husband who nodded while keeping his eyes glued to a copy of today’s Eastwind Watch. Ted sipped his coffee in the corner booth, his sickle leaning against the wall next to him as he puzzled over a crossword. Everywhere I looked were happy customers. Maybe they had complications in their personal lives, but you couldn’t tell by looking at them now. I’d played a role in making that possible for them. We’d played a role, Tanner and I.

  A question that I’d been puzzling over off and on for the last week rose to the forefront of my mind. Would I be happy if I vowed not to get wrapped up in another investigation? If, instead, I focused all my energy on running Medium Rare the best I could to serve the community that had welcomed me in when I had nowhere else to go?

  I chuckled softly to myself because I knew the answer in an instant.

  Psych-Out (Book 5)

  Chapter One

  While I was determined to give up the extracurricular sleuthing, that didn’t mean I could pretend I didn’t have powers and they would simply go away. No, I’d accidentally used magic I didn’t know I had one too many times for that to seem like a safe approach. My plan, then, was to explore my Fifth Wind abilities until I could control them.

  And then I would go about pretending I didn’t have them.

  Grim and I returned home to Ruby True’s attached cottage, wedged in a long row of homes. It was a good thing each was painted a different color, transitioning with a clear vertical line between properties to indicate where one stopped and the next started, because otherwise, they looked identical. The cottage to the left of hers even had the same porch swing.

  When I climbed the painted blue stairs of her porch, I had certain expectations for the night. I figured I would go inside, take one of the magical water-free showers that still fascinated me, slip into some pajama pants, and then subject myself to an hour of Ruby’s grueling Fifth Wind witchery lessons before heading to bed.

  I’d found that her practicums weren’t quite so hard to endure if I was wearing comfy pants and no bra. But then again, most things in life are easier to handle in comfy pants and no bra.

  But when I opened the front door, I realized the bra should probably stay on. At least for a little while.

  Ruby sat at the parlor table, staring directly at the front door, and in the chair next to her sat Oliver Bridgewater, West Wind witch, charming geek, and my Coven-assigned tutor. Why was he here? We weren’t scheduled for tonight. He and Ruby tag-teamed with my lessons, alternating evenings. He took the basics, and she covered Fifth Wind-specific skills. While his lessons had begun to shift away from reading ancient history from leather-bound textbooks and toward wand practicum, I preferred my nights with him over the grueling hide tannings Ruby gave me.

  The two of them stared at me, Oliver smiling, Ruby sipping a cup of tea without saying a word.

  I felt like a teenager who’d snuck out hours ago only to return to discover my parents waiting up, not bothering to speak a word of reprimand because it was just that obvious how wrong my actions were.

  Except, I had no idea what I’d done. Why were they looking at me like that? I was a grown woman, for fang’s sake.

  I closed the door behind me once Grim had entered, and my gaze ping-ponged between my two tutors. “How’s it going?” I asked cautiously.

  “Wonderful,” said Ruby.

  Okay, that gave me little to work with insofar as understanding what was in store. Her mouth may have said “wonderful,” but her eyes said, “you’re going to hate this.”

  “And why are you here?” I asked Oliver. “We’re not scheduled tonight.”

  Oliver opened his mouth to continue, but Ruby stood abruptly and cut him off. “We’re joining forces for a while.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. Have a seat, dear. You’re not in trouble.”

  “You’re definitely in trouble,” said Grim, plopping himself down by the fireplace next to Ruby’s familiar, Clifford. “I could smell it on the air the second I walked in.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” I snapped.

  Regardless of Grim’s grim assessment, I took a seat at the circular parlor table across from Ruby.

  “Hallow’s Eve is just around the corner,” she said. “Less than three months, now.”

  I snuck a glance at Oliver who was nodding, eyes wide, hands folded politely in his lap.

  “And that’s important, why?” I asked.

  “Hallow’s Eve is a powerful time for magic. Everything is heightened, especially for witches, and that goes double for
Fifth Wind witches.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, but Oliver spared me of the task by jumping in himself. “Historically speaking, it’s the day when most death occurs in this town, but more importantly, it’s a day when the veil is lifted between our world and the spirit realm.”

  I asked, “What happens when the veil is lifted?”

  “The living and the dead intermingle.”

  I held out a hand to keep anyone from speaking. I needed a second to collect myself. “You mean I won’t be the only one who can see spirits?”

  “Right,” he replied.

  I shrugged. “Great. Let some other folks around here feel like they’re going slowly insane over the course of a day. I don’t see how that changes anything for me.”

  Ruby’s quick, forced smile reminded me of the pose gymnasts strike after sticking a landing. “Of course you don’t, dear, which is why you’re lucky to have us around to teach you.”

  “You sure Ruby isn’t a pyromancer?” Grim asked from the floor. “Because she sure can deliver some sick burns.”

  And this was what happened when I taught Grim slang from my old world. He turned around and used it against me.

  It felt like everyone in this room, except Clifford, who slept on his back with his tongue lolling out, was teaming up against me.

  “Okay, fine,” I said. “I’ll bite. How do you think I’m going to get myself and others around me killed on Halloween?”

  Oliver’s mouth turned into a small round O. “We don’t think you’re—”

  “Any number of ways,” Ruby cut in. “Especially since we have reason to believe that we have thus far underestimated your powers.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Do what you must,” Ruby continued. “Oliver and I have decided that you would be best served by more of a direct team effort, so, for the time being, we will both attend each of your nightly lessons until we feel certain your chances of surviving Halloween have increased by a few percentage points.”

  “Mind if I overachieve a bit and shoot for more than a few percentage points?” I asked.

  “Please do,” said Ruby. Then she stood, and so did Oliver, so I followed suit. And I was glad I did, because a moment later, Oliver flicked his wand, and the parlor table and chairs vanished to make room for our lessons.

  Ruby shot him a pointed glare.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, then with a quick swish of the wand, her teacup appeared in the air in front of her, and she snatched it up and took a sip.

  “Let’s start with a warm up,” she said. “How about the summoning and banishing of aimless spirits?”

  I nodded. “Sure.” This was a slow pitch, and I didn’t mind. We’d been practicing this for a while now, and I’d almost mastered it. Summoning lingering and benign spirits was easy. Most of them had lived aimless lives, and when they’d passed on, that aimlessness had kept them from taking decisive action. They remained in the limbo where ghosts lingered, not alive, not beyond the veil, and not moving into their next life. It was into that veritable Purgatorio that I would reach.

  Weeks earlier, when we’re first started this training, Ruby had asked me to think of a familiar public place, one I could visualize without too much trouble and one where, when I imagined it, it was full of people. That would be the place I traveled to when I needed to find a roaming spirit to summon.

  I used that approach here, and, after slipping off the staurolite amulet that I wore as an anchor to the world of the living, I imagined myself on the grassy hillside of Zilker Park in Austin, the skyline of downtown ahead of me, peaking over the trees, and below the hill a huge green space where people played pick-up games of soccer and snapped selfies and threw tennis balls for their dogs.

  “How come we never play fetch?”

  I turned quickly to see Grim sitting on the hillside next to me. “Because there’s zero chance of you fetching.”

  “True.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “To prove that this skill you mastered isn’t especially hard. After all, a dog can do it.” A giant standard poodle wandered up to us, wagging its goofy tail, and Grim took a few steps toward it before engaging in the ritualistic butt-sniffing circle dance.

  Whatever. Let him have his fun with phantom smells from ghost dogs.

  I had more important things to do.

  Scanning the passersby, who I happened to know were no more real than they were my imagination, I spotted one that looked easy enough to bring back with me.

  And he was kinda hot.

  “Hey, you,” I called out to him.

  He paused on his way past me and stared down at where I sat. “Hey,” he said, pleasantly, though he sounded a bit confused. Whether that was because a random woman had just spoken to him or because he was dead and wandering the spirit realm aimlessly, wondering why he couldn’t just move on already, I wasn’t sure.

  “Come here.” I waved him closer, and when he was near, I held out my hands. “Help me up?”

  As soon as my hands slipped into his, which felt firm, warm, and not at all ghostly, I yanked him toward me.

  And when I opened my eyes in Ruby’s parlor, there he was, hovering in front of me. I pulled my hands away from the frigid air of his semi-transparent hands.

  “What in the six seas?” he said, looking around.

  I cringed. “Sorry.”

  Ruby nodded, stepping forward. “Very good. Took a little longer than usual, but I’m glad to see you managed to summon the whole form and not just parts.”

  “You and me, both,” I said.

  There’d been a steep learning curve with summoning, and in the first few lessons, I’d developed a knack for only managing to bring back random ghost body parts that wriggled in midair until I could figure out how to banish them back to their owner.

  I had yet to figure out how to banish those images from my memory, though.

  “The ghost is here?” Oliver asked, starting vaguely at the air in front of Ruby and me.

  “He can’t see me?” asked the handsome spirit.

  “Nope,” I replied.

  Then he shook his head and took a quick step back from me. “Wait, you can see me?”

  “Yep.”

  “How did I get here? I was just at a park, and then you were there, and I saw you from a few feet off and you smiled and called out, and I figured you weren’t entirely uncomely, and you were probably easy, so I approached and—”

  I cleared my throat. “Okay, enough talking.” Typical aimless spirit. I grabbed the freezing air where his hands were and closed my eyes, then suddenly we were back at the park, standing on the hillside.

  “Whoa,” he said, staring into my eyes. “That’s wild. Say, you want to stick around for a bit? I have a condo just a few blocks away…”

  “No, you don’t,” I said. “You’re not really here. Well, you are, but … it’s complicated. I’m not going home with you is all I’m saying. Not into ghosts. Sorry. I’d better—” My eyes landed on Grim farther down the hillside with the standard poodle.

  “Grim!” I shouted, clapping to get his attention. “For fang’s sake! Get off her!”

  “It’s not what you think!” he protested. “It’s just a show of dominance!”

  Wonderful. He’d managed to embarrass me in a made-up place in front of a bunch of ghosts. Definitely time to go.

  I shut my eyes at the park, and when I opened them again, I was back in the parlor, sans sleazy spirit.

  “Something the matter?” Ruby asked. “Your cheeks are flushed.”

  I waved it off. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little sunny where I went.”

  “Not too bad,” Ruby said. “You feel ready to move onto something more difficult?”

  “Yep. What’s next on the agenda?”

  Oliver spoke up. “Hallow’s Eve is a bit notorious for possessions. When the veil is lifted, spirits are able to come into our world with little resistance, and when they do, the population is
unprepared for the level of spiritual power. The average Eastwinder is an easy target.”

  Ruby added, “The spirits are walking into a Macy’s full of meat suits, and they can pick whichever one makes them feel good. They usually try on a few before settling in.”

  My mouth was hanging open. Whoops. I shut it, trying to put words to what I was feeling. I thought I had something close enough, “That is … nightmarish. You say this happens every year?”

  “Oh yes,” Ruby said. “It can get pretty ugly. But it’s worse for people like us, because we’re the ones called on to fix the mess. Most of the victims of such things don’t remember what happened to them, which spares them the trauma but also deprives them of learning an important lesson. Anywho, today we will discuss how to identify signs of possession, because it’s not always obvious.”

  “No head spinning three hundred and sixty degrees and pea soup shooting from the mouth?” I asked.

  Ruby sometimes got my earth references, but this one was after her time. “No,” she said, staring at me through narrowed eyes as if checking to make sure I wasn’t possessed. “No pea soup.”

  “It’s from a— Forget it. Go on.”

  She did. “I figure the best way for you to identify the signs is to allow you to observe them firsthand.”

  Oliver nodded along pleasantly; this was clearly something they had discussed before I’d arrived home.

  “Which is why,” Ruby continued, “I’m glad we have Oliver here. He will allow himself to become possessed so that you can better identify the symptoms.”

  Oliver jerked his head around toward Ruby; this was clearly not something they’d discussed before I’d arrived home.

  “You’re joking,” he said. “I-I thought you were going to do it! You’re the expert at this.”

  She nodded. “Precisely. I’m the expert. If I’m possessed, which is nearly impossible with my level of mastery, I can’t very well walk Nora through the outward signs, can I?”

  “But—” He turned his attention toward me, his eyes pleading, but what was I going to say? Ruby had a darn good point.

  “You’ll be fine,” I assured him. “Ruby can exorcise you.”