“All right, I’ll call a couple of the cops I know in Bellingham and ask them to sit down with him and explain why he shouldn’t set foot in Moonshadow Bay again.” She stood. “By the way, please tell me that you aren’t ever going back to him. I’m so tired of seeing women going back to their scumbag husbands and boyfriends who treat them like dirt.”
I laughed then, relieved to have something to laugh about. “Oh Millie, if I never see him again, it will be too soon.”
Satisfied with my answer, she excused herself and I shut the door behind her, locking it tightly.
Killian was waiting in the kitchen. He had brought Chinese food for dinner from Heavenly Garden Palace, one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. It was actually Chinese-American cuisine, but it was good. I loved their pot stickers and eggrolls.
“Millie’s gone?” he asked, watching me closely.
I nodded, sitting down at the table and taking a long sip of the cold water he had poured. “Yeah. She recommends I file a restraining order and talk to the Court Magika to see what else can be done.”
“What did you do to him? I could smell the ozone on his shirt.” Killian sat down, dishing up a plateful of chicken fried rice and egg rolls and orange chicken.
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. I really need to set up that appointment with the Aseer to find out just what I’m capable of. I meant to, back around my birthday, but one thing and then another got in the way. But tonight when I was trying to defend myself, I got really angry and a ball of energy flew out of my fingers and hit him, knocking him back. It didn’t feel like fire energy, but more…like I threw a rock at him. I’m not sure. I need to talk to Rowan. I wish she’d get back from her trip.”
Killian nodded soberly. “Call the Aseer tomorrow, and also file for a restraining order and talk to the Court Magika. You can’t let this slide. If Ellison’s over the edge enough to try to hit you, then he’s dangerous and it doesn’t do to let danger go unanswered.”
I promised. “Thank you for coming to help. Thank you for taking my side.”
“I keep telling you, you’re my mate. I don’t think you realize what that means.”
“Maybe I don’t,” I said slowly. I glanced around.
He mopped up some sauce on his plate with some of the rice. “Listen…I know we haven’t officially talked about it, though I’ve already told you that I’m a one-woman man, but I’d like to clarify the state of our relationship. I don’t want you seeing—dating—anybody else. Man, woman…either…I want exclusive rights to your bed. At least when it comes to sex and romance. Slumber parties with your girlfriends are none of my business.”
I leaned back in my chair, smiling. “I thought we already agreed on that. At least tacitly.”
“Ah,” he said with a smile. “You never really answered me on that.”
“Then let me put your mind to rest. I don’t want to think of you kissing another woman—not like you kiss me. I want you all to myself, and I promise to be faithful to you as long as we’re together.” I leaned across the table and took his hand. “I didn’t plan on a relationship so soon, but I’ve learned that sometimes fate has other ideas and it’s usually wise to listen to them.”
“Smart woman,” he said, tenderly stroking my fingers. “Then it’s settled. We’re a couple, exclusive, and mated to one another.”
“You keep using the word ‘mated’…I know that’s standard in shifter groups, but what exactly does it mean?”
He shrugged, a playful look on his face. “You’re my love. My lover. My chosen one. I share my bed with you and you alone. And vice versa.” Then, still holding my hand, he looked at me and, in a soft but serious voice, said, “I love you, January. I’ve fallen hard for you. I don’t know where we’re going, but I know that I want to walk on the path beside you.”
I caught my breath. He had said the words—and he wasn’t running away. “I love you, too,” I said. “I’ve wanted to say that for a few weeks now, but I’ve been afraid that I’d scare you off.”
“Oh, love. Never fear. If I run, it will be for other reasons. But I’m not planning on running away, and I don’t plan on letting you get away, either, unless you’re unhappy. I’ll never try to force you to stay, but I hope you will.” He brought my hand to his lips, kissing it.
And that was it—a quiet declaration that changed the nature of our relationship, and made me both break out in a cold sweat and sigh in relief.
Killian stayed the night just in case Ellison came back, and we celebrated saying “I love you” in the best way possible—a hot round of sex, and then Ben & Jerry’s while we watched late-night TV. I didn’t care about having to get up early. It wasn’t every day that the person you had fallen in love with said it back to you.
Before going to sleep, I slipped into the bathroom to take a quick shower and while I was there, I texted Ari. he said he loves me. and ellison tried to clobber me.
That got an immediate response. do you want me to call?
no, but i’ll call you tomorrow. millie wants me to file a restraining order and then i need to contact the court magika and ask for an audience. he’s not getting away with it.
okay, but you’d better call me first thing. by the way, thank you for talking to meagan. she told me you spoke to her, and she told me what happened…we’re okay. we are keeping plans on the quiet side until she gets the seal of autonomy, which effectively severs her bonds with her family. we’ll get married. then, if her mother tries anything, i can sue her ass off and she’ll be a laughingstock in her pride.
good. i’m glad you worked things out. i’ll call you tomorrow.
And with that, I finished taking off my makeup and joined Killian in bed. He was already snoring away, and for a long time, I just sat on my side of the bed, watching him, wondering how we managed to find each other in such a large, frightening world.
First thing come morning, I texted Tad that I’d be late and I’d tell him why when I got there. Then I headed down to City Central after feeding the cats. Killian was on his way to work, and he suggested that I ask the cops to drive by a couple times during the day to make sure the house looked fine.
It was pouring rain, a real gully-washer, and the drops pelted the ground, welling up on the pavement and shimmering under the streetlights. Daylight saving time guaranteed waking up in dark, at least at this time of year, which I hated. I always felt like I was scrambling to find that hour that had disappeared. I had signed every petition I could find asking the courts to abolish daylight saving time for good because it threw off my natural rhythms, but it looked like we were stuck with it for the foreseeable future.
I found the courthouse and filed for a DVOP like Millie had told me. I signed the forms, staring at the papers for a moment before turning them in. What I was doing would seal things between Ellison and me. But then again, him swinging at me had been the final straw. This was just the aftermath and he was the one who had brought it upon himself.
I stopped in to see Millie before I left City Central.
She was busy, but she smiled when she saw me and asked me back to her office. I declined to take up her time, but asked her if she could have an officer swing past my house a couple times during the day to check on things. They had Ellison’s car make and model, and his license plate number, so they could see if it was anywhere along the block.
“Sure thing,” she said. “I’m glad you took my advice. Too many women don’t. They’re afraid of making waves, or they don’t want to hurt the guy’s reputation, but that’s just an invitation for him to try it again.”
“I know,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t believe it came to this, though. You know, I really thought that everything would be okay. I mean, yeah, he swindled me and he cheated on me, but I thought we could at least keep things on a semi-civil level.”
She shrugged. “My guess is that when he had to sell the house, he decided to fix the blame on you. If you had taken him back, he would have made you miserabl
e and punished you for everything he was angry over. Men like that are leeches. Well, I’ve also met some women like that, too, to be fair. Some people just can’t shoulder the responsibility for taking care of themselves. They aren’t stupid or incapable, they’re just lazy and feel entitled. Ten to one, Ellison feels like you owe him the world.”
“I already know he blames me for his misfortune. I don’t know how he lives with himself.”
“I’ll bet he sleeps just fine at night. People like that do, until you rub their noses in their own piss, so to speak.” She waved as I headed for the door. “I’ll make sure to have a patrol car pass by your house a couple times today.”
My next stop was the Court Magika building, which was located in a small brick building that had once been a house, on the corner of Elkwood and Hart streets. There was a parking strip in back of the building with enough room for about ten cars.
I parked, trying to dash between the raindrops around to the front where the entrance was. Though the sidewalk was partly covered by the eaves, by the time I made it to the door, my hair was wet through. I pushed through the front door of the renovated house, finding myself in a small reception room. It had probably been the living room at one time, but now it reeked of magic—in a good way—and all the furniture was utilitarian.
A woman was sitting behind the main desk, and she looked up from the magazine she was reading—SpellCasters Monthly—and motioned for me to approach the desk.
“May I help you?”
I licked my lips, not sure how to proceed. “I live in Moonshadow Bay, and the chief of police suggested I talk to you about something that happened last night.”
“Civil or legal?” she asked, turning to her computer. Her hair was light brown, down to her shoulders, and she looked about twenty, though chances were good she was older than that. She was stick-thin and had a nasal voice, reminding me of those cartoon secretaries with New Jersey accents and confetti for brains.
“Legal, I guess.”
“All right, have a seat and please tell me what your concern is. If the police suggested you come here, then we’ll need to start with Form 10-B, which we’ll need to fill out and then I’ll fax it over for a signature from the officer who recommended you seek our help.” She suddenly turned no-nonsense.
I explained to her what happened, and that Millie, the chief of police, had suggested I come talk to the Court Magika. “I’m not sure why, given my ex is human, but I thought I would take her advice, just on the chance that you can help somehow.”
“We take threats against our witchblood members of the community seriously, Ms. Jaxson, so you did right to approach us. Whether we can do anything or not, I don’t know. But it’s always a good idea to check in with us when threats like this are bandied around.”
I told her everything that happened, including striking back at him. “By the way, do you know how I can contact the Aseer? I was never tested when I was younger—my mother expected I would after I reached eighteen, but I had moved away for college by then and never got around to it.”
The Aseer was a member of the witchblood community who was the formal authority on what type of magic that individuals with witchblood were proficient in. Most witches were tested during childhood, but my mother wanted to give me a chance to develop my magical path fully. However, when I met Ellison, I stopped most of my practice, since it made him nervous.
If I had known he was like that at the beginning, I never would have married him—or I liked to think that I wouldn’t have. But who knew? Young and stupid was often just young and stupid, no matter how we liked to think we were on top of things.
Melody—the receptionist—wrote a name and number down for me. “Here, this is the Aseer’s email address. Just email her and ask for an appointment.” She glanced over the form that we had filled out—her typing in the information as I gave it to her. “Is everything on this form true to your knowledge?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’ll swear to it, if you need.”
“No, just making certain we didn’t miss anything,” she said. She printed the pages and had me sign them, then filed her copy of the form away under a case number, to send to Millie for a signature.
“Is that everything?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes, that’s all. We’ll be in touch as soon as the Council meets next month.”
With that, I thanked her and left, wondering just what was going to come of this, if anything. Already more than an hour late for work, I stopped by an espresso stand for another latte, and headed out for Conjure Ink.
Chapter Thirteen
By the time I got to work, Tad and the others were deep in conversation. They looked up as I entered the room. “Thank gods you’ve made it in,” Wren said, jumping up. She, Caitlin, and Tad were sitting at the table. Hank was nowhere to be seen.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Tabitha called. She’s panicking. The baby vanished.”
“What?” I shrugged out of my coat and sat down at the table.
“Zoey—or Zoey-replicant—has vanished. The window was open when Tabitha went in to check on her this morning and the baby was gone,” Caitlin said. “She called us an hour ago. We would have called you but Tad said that you were taking care of important business. We sent Hank over to Tabitha’s to see what he can find out.”
“Crap, if it isn’t one thing, it’s another. I’m sorry I’m late, but my ex tried to take a swing at me last night and I needed to talk to the police and to the Court Magika this morning.”
“Took a swing at you? Are you all right?” Tad asked.
I nodded. “Luckily, I managed to knock him back…and then Killian did the rest. But it was disconcerting, to say the least. But never mind that for now. Zoey is gone?”
Tad nodded. “She just seems to have vanished from the house. Tabitha thought she had locked all the windows and doors, but…”
I bit my lip. “The mother. The baby’s mother—I’ll bet you she came to get the baby.” I looked over at the carousel. “I should have taken that over to Tabitha’s yesterday instead of leaving it here.”
“You don’t know that it would have done anything,” Caitlin said.
Wren shook her head. “Caitlin is right. But the problem now is, where is Zoey—the real Zoey? That’s what we need to focus on.”
I picked up the carousel, winding it and watching as the crystal unicorns danced around in circles. “I know the mother gave this to me for a reason. I wonder…” I paused, setting it down and closing my eyes while my hand was still touching the base. The toy was vibrating. It felt like it was almost singing against my fingers. “I think there’s something…”
“What?” Caitlin asked, softly prompting me.
There was an idea forming in my head, but I couldn’t quite pin it down.
“I don’t know. I just believe that the mother of that baby didn’t want to make the exchange. She missed her child, and…maybe she knows how much Tabitha misses her baby? Maybe she was trying to help us out?”
Sometimes, when an idea falls into place, there’s a click, an instinct that yes, things finally make sense. And that was what I was feeling now.
“I know that I’m on the right track,” I continued. “The mother didn’t want the exchange to happen. She’s given us a key to finding Zoey. I think, given how much she loves her own child, that she recognized how upset Tabitha was.”
“Why do you think she approached you and not Tabitha?” Tad asked.
I thought about it for a moment. “My great-grandmother… She thought she lost a child to the Woodlings. Maybe it has something to do with that? I don’t know.”
“Then how do you think we should go about this?” Caitlin asked.
I thought for a moment. “I think I need to take the carousel into the woods near my home. The mother figured out how to contact me, so she might be watching. I need to make contact with the Woodling and maybe she’ll lead me to Zoey.”
“That could be dangerous,”
Tad said. “The Woodlings aren’t known to be all that friendly to people. You aren’t going alone.”
“I could take Killian, but I have the feeling that the mother might show herself to women easier.” I turned to Caitlin. “Would you go with me? The guys can wait on the lawn at the edge of the forest.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go. When do you want to head out?”
“This evening? Afternoon?” I glanced out the window. “We should talk to Tabitha first. I’m wondering, is there any information about when the Woodlings are more likely to show themselves?”
“The person who would probably know best about them is Rowan. But since she’s out of town…let me think…” Tad walked over to his desk and pulled out an old-fashioned physical Rolodex. He began flipping through it, glancing at the names.
I turned to Caitlin. “So, how are you doing?”
She shrugged. “My parents officially disowned me today. Arlo’s family is suing them for a severance dowry, even though Arlo asked them not to. He and I had a chance to talk and he told me that he respects my wishes—that he’d rather have a wife who is eager for marriage. It’s a big mess, but there’s not much I can do about it now.”
I nodded, glancing over at Tad, who was still puzzling over the list of names. “Let me ask my aunt,” I suggested. “She’s been busy with spring planting, but she might know something about the Woodlings.”
“Call her, please,” he said. “I’m drawing a blank.”
I called Teran. She answered on the second ring. “Hey sweetie, how are you?” She sounded a little out of breath.
“It’s been a week. Say, do you know anything about the Woodlings? We’ve run into a problem…”
I could feel her mood shift, even over the phone. “You’re mixed up with Woodlings now?”
“Yeah, and we could use some advice. Can you come down to the office, if you know anything about them that might help?”
She didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be right there.”
I told the others she was on the way. “Call Hank and tell him to get back here. Do you think he should bring Tabitha?”
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