Cursed: St. Croix Falls #2

by Melody Personette

  Lilac shot her a nasty smirk. “What are you going to do about it?”

  Mia ground her teeth. It was in a moment like this that Mia sort of wished she had more control over her magic. She could show Lilac off then. Instead though, Mia reached down and pulled her sword from where it was propped against her chair. She set it down on the table between her and Lilac.

  “Nothing,” Mia said, her hand gripping her sword. All of Lilac’s friends’ faces paled. “Absolutely nothing. But, if you even try to send your lackeys to threaten me again, I promise you, they won’t have such an easy time scaring me. And don’t worry, I have no plans to usurp your little power trip you’re on. So back off and leave us alone.”

  Lilac’s lips parted in surprise and for a second Mia thought she had actually stolen her ability to say words. But then Lilac recovered, plastering a withering glare onto her face. “You should have stayed away from this town. No one will ever accept you. You ruined our lives all to protect a bunch of mortals who are going to die anyways. And,” she added, a sly smirk on her lips as if what she said next brought her immense pleasure. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the deaths going around town are your fault.”

  A hush fell over the whole diner, proving that everyone in there had been eavesdropping. Why did the Fae have to be so nosy? Mia glanced around to find a few humans not so subtly watching too.

  Angie shifted in her seat, casting an uneasy look around the diner. “Why would you say something like that?” she hissed.

  Lilac’s evil little smirk widened. Her girlfriends behind her grinned at each other. “Because it’s true, isn’t it? There hasn’t been any deaths until Mia showed up. She’s causing them somehow, I know it.”

  “That’s a lie,” Mia snapped, jaw clenched. How dare she blame any deaths on Mia. “I would never kill anyone.”

  “Maybe not intentionally, but maybe St. Croix Falls doesn’t want you here anymore. Maybe the land wants you gone.”

  Mia snorted. “The land wants me gone? That’s ridiculous.”

  Lilac wrinkled her nose at her. “How ignorantly spoken. The land knows what it wants and what it doesn’t want, and it seems, it does not want the halfling who shut the door between Faerie and this world coming back to town. I only want what’s best for my people. You don’t think I care about them, that I don’t care about anyone but myself,” Lilac said, pressing a hand over her heart. “But you’re wrong. Every Fae in this town means the world to me and if anything happens to any of them because of you…”

  Mia waited for her to finish that threat. Despite it being a threat at all, she did see true sincerity in Lilac’s eyes. She really did care for every Fae in town. Mia… could kind of respect that. She could tell how loyal Lilac was to her people.

  Instead of finishing her sentence though, all Lilac said was, “Maybe if you left, people would stop dying.”

  Low murmurs echoed through the diner. Mia pressed her lips together and glanced around. Everyone was either glaring at her or nodding. They all agreed with Lilac... This was not how Mia had thought this conversation would go.

  “You should go,” Mia said at last, leaving no room for question in her steely tone.

  Lilac opened her mouth to snap at her, but Mia beat her to it. “I said,” she repeated. “You should go. You don’t have any proof. All you’re doing is spreading nasty rumors. Is that the sort of queen the Fae want? Someone who’s petty and jealous and too afraid to assert herself outright, so instead she makes up dangerous rumors to get rid of those she’s scared of?”

  Someone whistled near the back of the diner. Mia had to resist the urge to smirk as she watched Lilac’s face scrunch up with so much fury Mia wouldn’t have been surprised if steam came out of her ears. She huffed and snarled at her, showing off pointed teeth. “You’ll get what’s coming to you,” Lilac sneered. She pivoted on her heels and marched back out the door with her court of girls following behind her.

  Seemed she had decided eating in the same space as Mia wasn’t worth it. When Mia glanced around the diner, everyone had gone back to their conversations and food, though she could hear Lilac and her name mentioned more than once.

  Mia sat back down and find Angie gaping at her. “Wow, you are awesome.”

  Mia grinned and shrugged, taking a sip of her milkshake and trying not to let Lilac’s words get to her. She pushed them to the back of her mind. It wasn’t her fault they were trapped. She had done the right thing by closing the barrier... didn’t she? Maybe if she remembered her reasoning, Mia wouldn’t feel so guilty or conflicted about the choice. “I know,” she said. “Hopefully Lilac learned her lesson.”

  “One can hope,” Angie agreed. “You know... her dad wasn’t even second to the king. He was a part of the court sure, but he wasn’t like his adviser or anything like that. Lilac thinks she’s all that, but her family doesn’t have the same social standing as most of the other lords.”

  “Then how did she end up taking charge or whatever? It seems like she considers herself everyone’s new princess.”

  Angie plopped another fry into her mouth and shrugged, leaning back. “After you were... sent away, Rhett receded in on himself. He barely left his house. Everyone hated him for what happened, but they also looked to him for answers. He never gave them any though, stopped wearing his crown and stopped coming out of his house all together. Someone had to take charge... I tried, but they didn’t want a nymph. They wanted a Sidhe. Even if she was a half Sidhe, Lilac apparently was still better than a full-blooded nymph. So she took over. Because Rhett didn’t have the guts to face his people and own up to his mistakes.”

  Mia grimaced. She knew where Angie was coming from and she knew her opinion was bias but... did she really have to act so callous toward him? Mia had seen-heard-how much it hurt Rhett that his people wanted nothing to do with him. He was racked with guilt over what had happened. Did Angie have to rub it in?

  “That was ten years ago,” Mia said slowly, staring down at her fries. “I think Rhett deserves a second chance.”

  Angie let out a sigh. “Look, we can agree to disagree, OK? You weren’t there. Rhett abandoned us.”

  “Because he was hurting too.”

  “I know this sounds callous and mean and wrong, but royals don’t have the luxury to hurt too. They have to put their people first above all else.”

  Mia glanced up sharply at Angie who was now staring at her milkshake. “You’re right. That does sound callous and mean and wrong. I know what you’re saying and maybe Rhett could have made some different choices, but he didn’t... I think people need to stop living in the past and move on. Including you.”

  Angie shot her a sharp look. “If you think me and him are going to be friends again, I’m sorry Mia but you’re going to be disappointed.”

  Mia shrugged. “I’m just saying, I think it all happened a long time ago.”

  “So does that mean you’re going to forgive him, and accept you still have feelings for him?”

  Mia made a face.

  Angie held her hands up, eyebrows raised in innocence. “Just saying.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t just say. I guess you have a point... But I didn’t have ten years to get over what happened. I’ve only known for a few weeks.”

  “You’re right but still...” Angie sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. “Can we talk about something else? I’m sick of all this political talk. We aren’t in Faerie anymore. I think everyone needs to get over the whole royal thing anyways.”

  Mia grinned and pointed a french fry at her. “That we can agree on.”

  They both sat for a little while longer and finished off their fries and shakes chatting about plans that didn’t involve training, monsters or politics of any kind. Angie said Rue, a nymph – turned out there were quite a few nymphs in town – was throwing a party in two weeks that had something to do with the moon cycle. Mia had never paid much attention to the moon, but it was a big deal in Faerie. Or scratch that, more just a big deal to nymphs than anyt
hing else. Angie said non-nymphs would show up for the free drinks, dancing and food.

  Once they had finished their food, Angie said she’d throw everything away while Mia decided to go grab a shake to take her mom. She didn’t see her as much as she used to, which was saying something. Her mom used to work as a nurse in the city, which made for some pretty whacky schedules. But turned out running a bookstore took up a lot of time too.

  Mia finished ordering her shake and headed back outside. She found Angie waiting for her by the front door. “You good?”

  “Yep. Let’s get out of here before these things melt.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Back at home after visiting her mom, Mia was halfway up her driveway when Ryker appeared out of nowhere. He stepped in her way, folding his arms and planting his feet. Making it obvious Mia wasn’t going to get through without a fight. Mia scowled and came to a sudden stop. “What are you doing? Were you waiting outside my house for me to get home?”

  He scrutinized her. “That’s beside the point. You aren’t magic training. Rhett’s told me that you’ve decided not to. Why?”

  Mia folded her arms too. “Because I think it’s pointless. I haven’t learned anything, and I’ve gotten nowhere. My magic isn’t even working. I’m totally blocked.”

  “Then we need to get you unblocked,” Ryker insisted.

  Mia threw her hands up in exasperation. Was he serious? “And how are we supposed to do that? It’s been five weeks. We’ve tried everything, and nothing has happened!”

  Ryker ran a hand through his hair. “Well maybe we just need to try harder.”

  “Is that your answer to everything? Try harder? Push harder? Well that doesn’t work with me. I can’t be forced into doing something. It doesn’t work like that. What’s the thing Rhett always says? Magic is instinctive. Just FYI instincts can’t be pushed or forced.”

  Ryker shot her a glare. “Why can’t you at least try?”

  “I have been,” Mia shouted. “For five weeks. I just said that! And nothing is working. So I’m sorry, but I’m done.”

  She started to push past him. When their shoulders brushed though, Ryker’s hand reached out and grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her so they were shoulder to shoulder. His glare had turned dark and sinister, reminding Mia of how he had looked at the Falls a few weeks ago. More like a villain than a hero. His hand had gone hot against her skin. Like a stove top warming up. “This isn’t a request Mia,” he said slowly. “I didn’t come here to ask you to do something. I came here to do a job, and it will get done.”

  Mia’s eyes narrowed. Her heart pounded in her chest. She managed to keep steady and calm despite his hand going from uncomfortably warm to hot enough to make her want to squirm. “Is that a threat?”

  Not a bit of regret shown in Ryker’s eyes. “Yes.”

  Mia resisted the urge to swallow. She’d been waiting for this. Ryker was too determined to just let her quit. But how far would he take this? Mia shrugged out of his grip and Ryker let his hand fall to his side. “Do what you want, but it won’t change the fact that my magic sucks,” she hissed before walking the rest of the way up to her house.

  Without glancing back, Mia shut the front door behind her. She let out the breath she’d been holding and glanced down at her arm. There was a slight imprint of his hand. Not quite a burn, but almost. Mia clenched her teeth. She’d forgotten what he was capable of. Ryker used his magic so rarely that Mia had almost forgotten he had any at all.

  Mia couldn’t believe she’d stood up to Ryker like that. She had pretty much just told him to do his worst. Now she really would find out what Ryker was willing to do to get back to Faerie. Just as Mia opened her eyes and tossed her flip flops off, her phone buzzed. Mia dug it out of her pocket and frowned at the Caller ID. Her phone didn’t recognize it.

  “Hello?” she asked, walking through the hallway to the kitchen.

  “Miss Avery?”

  Mia’s eyebrows shot up. “Sheriff Sing?”

  “Yes. I’m relieved it’s you. I wasn’t sure if Rhett really gave me your number or if it was a joke. I have some... disturbing news. I tried to call Rhett, but he wasn’t answering so I assumed you were the next best person. You will pass this on to him, right?”

  Mia leaned against the kitchen counter still frowning. This was weird. The sheriff of the town had her cell number and was just... calling her. “Uh, yeah, I will,” she said when she realized he was still waiting for an answer.

  “Alright. There’s been another death... The same MO and everything. It was a nymph this time. Found in the woods near a trail.”

  Mia’s hand went to her mouth. Another death? A nymph? Mia’s heart sped up to an alarming rate as a horrifying thought crossed her mind. “Who?” she whispered. “Who was it?”

  There was a pause. Mia’s breaths caught in her throat. Those three seconds of silence felt like an eternity.

  “Rue...” Sing said at last. “The nymph’s name was Rue”

  Mia touched her hand to her forehead. She let out a heavy breath. Was it awful that she felt so much relief that some other poor nymph had died instead of her best friend? “OK,” she said at last when she realized he was waiting for her to say something. “Thank you... I’ll tell him.”

  “Thank you. I have my best guys on this. We’ll find out who’s behind these deaths, I promise,” the sheriff said, iron determination in his voice.

  Mia nodded. “OK thanks... I should... go find Rhett.”

  With that, Mia hung up. She leaned against the counter for a few seconds. A third death. The pookas had been pretty adamant that there wasn’t a monster in the woods, and despite Rhett’s mistrust of them, she believed them. Who knew the woods better than the pookas who lived out there? Which meant... this was something else.

  And if the sheriff didn’t know, and Ryker didn’t know, and the pookas didn’t know... then there was only one other person Mia could think of who might know what was going on.

  Shoving her phone into her pocket, she strode back to the front door with a renewed sense of purpose. Mia was going to get to the bottom of this before another person died.

  ***

  “What do I owe this impromptu meeting?” Cillian asked behind his desk as he shined the largest diamond Mia had ever seen in her life. It was about the size of her fist.

  “What is that?” she couldn’t help but ask.

  Cillian continued shining without looking up at her. “A very special diamond. It captures light.”

  Mia’s eyebrows shot up. “It captures light? What does it do with the light when it captures it?”

  Cillian quirked an eyebrow at her. “It shines of course. Simply put... it’s like a big shiny flashlight.”

  “Ahh... that probably costs a few million dollars.”

  He shrugged like the money was of no consequence. “So, are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

  “You’ve heard about the two deaths, right? One a few weeks ago and then one a day ago,” Mia said, folding her arms.

  Cillian nodded, still preoccupied with his flashlight diamond.

  “Well the sheriff just called and said another body has turned up. We went hunting for a monster yesterday, and the sheriff has his best guys on it, but we’ve come up with nothing and I just... I was wondering if you might know something,” Mia finished.

  This finally got Cillian’s attention. He looked up from his diamond, eyebrows raised. “I heard of the two deaths but not the third. What was it? Sidhe, shifter, nymph?”

  “Nymph.”

  Cillian frowned, setting down his diamond. “That’s very peculiar. I saw pictures of the first death in the newspaper... But what did the second look like?”

  “Like the person had the life sucked out of them. Their eyes were all black, and their skin was pale...”

  Cillian nodded, rubbing at his chin. “Hmm...”

  Mia rocked back on the balls of her feet. “Any ideas?”

  “I may have a few, but I’l
l need to confirm it.”

  “The sooner the better.”

  “Yes... I agree...” Cillian got to his feet, pulling his phone out. “But I’m going to need Angie’s help. We’ll meet her at the Falls.”

  He walked around his desk and to the front door without looking up from his phone as he texted. Mia followed him out, confused as to what the Falls had to do with the deaths. “Why do we need Angie’s...?” she trailed off when they both bumped right into a rather big and burly green chest.

  Mia scowled when she looked up and came face to face with one of Kai’s cousins. Not just one, but several, all towering over them and looking quite unhappy.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cillian raised his eyebrows as he shoved his phone into his pocket and faced the goblins. “Can we help you with something?”

  The largest goblin who stood in the middle of the group folded his big beefy arms and glared down at Mia. She recognized him as the goblin who had been there when they threw her into the lake.

  Mia held her ground, despite wanting to back up and give him some space. Without any magic... she was acutely aware of how defenseless she was. “We’re here to put a stop to these deaths. A nymph died today. Because of her,” he growled, jutting a finger at Mia.

  Mia scowled, her hands balling into fists. “I’m not going around killing people.”

  “People didn’t start dying till you got here, though, which means this is somehow your fault. You’re causing it,” he snarled back, showing off sharp white teeth.

  “Great logic. It’s coincidental,” Mia snapped back.

  One of the other goblins stepped forward, dark green eyes narrowed on her. “Mighty big coincidence.”

  “It might be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Who’s been saying this? Did Lilac tell you this is all my fault?”

  The goblin sneered at her. “Does it matter who says it’s you? All I care about is that the Fae in this town stop dying.”

  The smaller of the two goblins stepped forward, looking ready to grab Mia, when Cillian stepped in front of her. He flashed them all a dangerous smile. “Let’s not start something we can’t finish. Anyways, this will get us nowhere. Mia and I were just headed to the Falls to figure out what is causing these deaths. If you want to know, you can come along. But only if you behave yourselves.”