"Cicely Waters. And I"m fine, thank you."
Anadey was at the table immediately with menus and coffee. I was the only one who turned over my mug and I noticed she"d brought cream with her.
"You just take your time looking over the menu," she said, "unless you already know what you want. Cicely, it"s good to see you again. I was worried last night when those two ruffians left right after you, but I watched and made sure you got to your motel room safely enough."
"You know who I am, then?" Surprised, I wondered why she hadn"t introduced herself the night before if she"d recognized me.
"Of course, but you were so tired last night, I didn"t want to push you into a long talk. Now then, what can I get you all?" She held up her order pad.
I handed the menu back to her. "Chicken soup, and grilled cheese. Plain-make sure nothing with fish comes near either, please."
Leo and Rhiannon asked for hamburgers and fries, and Anadey ran the order over to Peyton, who glanced out from the kitchen and waved.
"She"s had a hard life, that girl," Rhiannon said.
"Why? Her mother seems nice enough."
"Marta"s daughter is is nice, Cicely," Jim said. "But Peyton"s father was a werepuma. And some of the Weres-lycanthropes especially-don"t see magical Weres as true to their nature. Peyton was teased unmercifully as a child by the werewolves, especially the Lupa Clan." nice, Cicely," Jim said. "But Peyton"s father was a werepuma. And some of the Weres-lycanthropes especially-don"t see magical Weres as true to their nature. Peyton was teased unmercifully as a child by the werewolves, especially the Lupa Clan."
"So you"re Marta"s lawyer? You seem kind of young." I"d expected some elderly family retainer.
"Marta transferred her business to me ten years ago, when I first took up practice. She never would say why, and I learned not to question. Anadey is Marta"s oldest child. She also had a younger son, who died a few years ago. The mother left town, but Marta"s grandson-Tyne-is a member of the Thirteen Moons Society."
"That much, I know."
"Jim"s right," Anadey said, overhearing our conversation as she returned to pour more coffee, and bring Leo and Rhiannon their c.o.kes. "Unfortunately, Tyne and Mother never saw eye to eye, and she left him out of the family inheritance. He"s stubborn, and he b.u.t.ted heads with every woman in the coterie."
"But he"s still part of the Society?"
"Yes, and he always ended up deferring to Mother, as is proper, but only after an argument. Mother used to say they wasted more time bickering than they did actually getting the work done."
It occurred to me that if he didn"t like women in the Society, then maybe he saw his chance to ascend to power after his grandmother died, and might somehow be tied to the disappearance of my aunt, but I discreetly kept that thought to myself. I"d talk to Rhiannon about it later.
"I asked Jim to meet you here because I wanted to rea.s.sure you ahead of time that I"m fine with you taking over Mother"s business." Anadey held up her hand. "Just a second." She called back to the other waitress, "Jenny, fill in for me, and have Rob man the grill. Peyton and I will be taking a couple hours off this afternoon."
I stared at Anadey. Nothing but sincerity seemed to flow from her. "Are you sure sure? I don"t want to horn in on something you wanted from your mother. h.e.l.l, I never even really knew her, more than just a pa.s.sing h.e.l.lo on one of my few visits back to New Forest."
Anadey laughed. "Don"t worry. I get the house, and G.o.ds only know, Peyton and I need it, but honestly, I have no no interest in running Mother"s business. You may come get her supplies any time you like. Besides, she was adamant about you being the one to carry on for her. I trust her. I always did, even if we didn"t see eye to eye. And so now, on her word, I"ll trust you to do right by her. You know, of course, that means you are automatically a member of the Society, though not much remains of the local membership. I suggest you begin building it back up from scratch. You"ll need every sc.r.a.p of what she left to you, I"m afraid. What with the way things are going in this town." Her expression told me she knew more about it than I did. interest in running Mother"s business. You may come get her supplies any time you like. Besides, she was adamant about you being the one to carry on for her. I trust her. I always did, even if we didn"t see eye to eye. And so now, on her word, I"ll trust you to do right by her. You know, of course, that means you are automatically a member of the Society, though not much remains of the local membership. I suggest you begin building it back up from scratch. You"ll need every sc.r.a.p of what she left to you, I"m afraid. What with the way things are going in this town." Her expression told me she knew more about it than I did.
"How much do you know?"
"I know your aunt has vanished. I know the Society is being systematically eradicated." Anadey frowned. "The energy of the town has changed, people are disappearing, and I have a really bad feeling about what the wind"s blowing our way. Now if you"ll excuse me, I"ll just run some last-minute instructions by my staff and then Peyton and I will be right back."
She excused herself. As soon as she was out of ear-shot, I said, "I"m confused. Why didn"t Marta leave her daughter the business? Or her grandson? They"re both magic-born. It doesn"t make sense."
Jim spoke up. "Oh, yes it does, Cicely. Marta knew something. We"re not sure what, but she changed her will about two months ago. Anadey was with her and agreed to all the changes. Tyne was p.i.s.sy about it, but since he"s not her closest of kin, he can"t very well challenge what Marta"s daughter won"t."
He pulled out a sheath of doc.u.ments. "Here are all the legalities. Marta left enough money for me to change the ownership and file new papers for you. All you have to do is take possession of the a.s.sets and supplies. I"ll put in for a business license for you as soon as you give me your information."
Pulling out a checkbook from the briefcase, he handed it to me. "Here"s the business checkbook-I"ve made all the necessary changes to move it to your name. I just need you to sign this form for the name change and proof of signature, and I"ll turn it in to the bank today. Then you can take over the business account." He placed a sheath of papers in front of me and handed me a pen.
As Anadey returned with our meals, I glanced over the doc.u.ments and was shocked to see a balance of four thousand dollars in the checkbook. h.e.l.l, Marta did pretty good for being the town witch. I still felt odd accepting the gift, but everything seemed in order. At least as far as I could tell.
"What next?"
"You sign those papers, give them to me, then get your things from Marta"s house. I"ll file all the pertinent doc.u.ments."
Anadey paused. "Jim, I"m going to run over to the house with them and start sorting out things." She looked at me. "There"s a lot of stuff, it may take you a little while to go through it, but you can get an idea of how much there is today, and take a load home with you."
She wiped a strand of hair out of her eyes and at that moment, I saw the exhaustion and sorrow hiding behind her smile. It occurred to me that since her mother had recently died, I should say something comforting, but I honestly had no idea what would be right. I didn"t have much practice at cushioning the blows of life for others. Or for myself, either, for that matter.
Anadey seemed to sense my hesitation. "It"s okay, truly. Mother wanted you to have these things. I"m a powerful witch in my own right, but I never had any desire to work with the Society, or to hire myself out. I"ve always been the solitary type when it comes to magic. But if you ever need me, I"m here to help."
"I don"t know what to say." I bit my lip. "I"m just sorry . . ."
Placing a hand on my shoulder, she smiled down at me. "Cicely, my mother had faith in you. I"m not sure what she expected you to do, but she was waiting for you to return. Don"t let her down."
We finished up quietly, then Anadey removed her ap.r.o.n and called to Peyton while Jim paid the bill. Over my protest, he paid for all of us.
Once out on the street, Leo excused himself. "My employers are going to wake up soon for the night. I have work to do before then."
Rhiannon frowned. "It doesn"t do to keep Geoffrey waiting, does it?"
Leo shook his head. "No. No, it doesn"t. I have to change before I make my daily report. They require more formal clothes than Windbreakers and torn jeans." He gave Rhiannon a kiss and jogged down the street.
"Call me if you need anything. I"ll get the paperwork started and let you know when things are ready for you to officially open the business. It will probably take about a week or so for everything to go through." Jim headed toward a silver Beemer.
As Peyton and her mother got in the backseat, and Rhiannon and I climbed in the front of Favonis, I couldn"t help but wonder just how much Marta had known about what we were facing. And if there was any way of contacting her spirit to find out.
Marta"s house had to be a hundred if it was a day. One of those wonderful places with a wide veranda, it included the requisite swing, and if we had warmer summers here in western Washington, I could imagine the parties that porch would have seen. As it was, Marta appeared to have used most of the s.p.a.ce to store various bags and boxes-rock salt, sulfur, and potting soil; what looked like a huge box of short, white taper candles; crystals and other odd-looking rocks; pieces of wood that I guessed were for wands and short staves.
A sign was tacked on one of the newel posts. It read: BEWITCHERY GARDENS: FOR ALL YOUR MAGICAL NEEDS. Well, I knew I"d be changing that that name. Just not my style. name. Just not my style.
"All of this stuff is yours. Well, maybe not the potting soil, but I won"t begrudge you that if you want it."
Anadey unlocked the door and we followed her through the foyer into the living room, which totally upset my expectations. The furniture was sleek, not heavy and upholstered. A lot of chrome and gla.s.s, a gray leather sofa, bookshelves stained with ebony rather than a dark mahogany. Modern, with a minimalist bent. Not at all what I"d been expecting. A few scattered pictures of Anadey and Peyton ornamented the walls, and there were even fewer doilies and tchotchkes.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable while I find my list here . . ."
She hunted through a desk in the corner as I wandered around the living room. Marta had been tidy, that was obvious. Meticulous, in fact. Everything pointed the same direction, everything was lined up perfectly. As I moved over to the DVD shelf, I noticed all the movies were in alphabetical order by t.i.tle.
Peyton wandered up beside me. "My grandmother was one of those everything-in-its-place people. I used to drive her nuts when I was little by dragging things off the shelves or out of drawers and putting them back wrong."
I glanced at her. Peyton was tall, taller than either Rhiannon or me, and she looked part Native American, with long, brown hair and a slightly flat nose, and eyes that were the color of dark chocolate. She wasn"t cla.s.sically beautiful, but something shone through that gave her a smoldering, s.e.xy feel.
"Do you like working with your mother?"
She shrugged. "She started the diner a few years back and needed me to cook. We"re getting to the point where she"ll be able to hire someone new, soon, and I can do what I really want to do."
"What"s that?"
"I want to open a shop called Magical Investigations Magical Investigations. I"d like to work as a psychic investigator. I"m half-Were, but also half-magic-born, and I have a real knack with the cards. I"ve also got martial arts training. I moonlight now, taking a few private clients, but I"d love to do it full-time."
That gave me an idea. "Hmm. That sounds interesting. And it might be even more fun if you had another witch attached to the business. What do you think about working out of my shop once I get it going? We could team up if needed, especially since I know nothing about running a business. Our first case can be finding out where the h.e.l.l my aunt is."
Peyton grinned. "My grandma was right-you"re a go-getter. I"ll think about it. Seriously, it might be a perfect match."
A moment later, Anadey had spread out several sheets of paper on the old oak dining table. "Come on over. She motioned to Peyton, Rhiannon, and me. "Sit down, please. There"s a room upstairs with my mother"s magical tools, but I"d like to wait on those. There may be something I want-for sentimental value."
"Of course," I said, once again not wanting to overstep my bounds.
"Then there are the supplies on the front porch, another room filled with supplies, and the books. On that shelf over there"-she pointed to one of the wide wall-to-wall built-in bookshelves-"the entire middle section is yours. Why don"t you start with them? We"ve got some boxes and can easily pack them up this afternoon."
Rhiannon and I wandered over to the bookshelves while Peyton ran to get boxes for us. Tome after tome of magical work lined up, all for the taking. I was practically drooling by the time I had scanned two shelves.
Anadey let out a long sigh as she wearily rubbed her feet and leaned back in the rocking chair.
Peyton returned with a half dozen boxes for us, and then dropped by her mother"s side. "Let me rub your feet, you"ve been on them too long today."
Sighing with relief, Anadey sat back. "So, tell me," she said after a moment. "Tell me about Heather."
Rhiannon put down the book she"d been looking at. "Not much to tell. I came home from work and she was gone." She crossed over to Anadey and held out the necklace. "This was all we found. Well, this and some blood."
"We think whatever"s . . . in the woods . . . got her," I said.
Anadey looked at us, holding each of our gazes in turn. When she came to me, she smiled softly. "I don"t think Marta expected everything to s...o...b..ll so soon. Tell me, Cicely, whatever happened to your mother? I knew her when we were teenagers, before she got pregnant. We drifted apart after that."
I swallowed. "She couldn"t handle her powers and ran, taking me with her. She died a couple years ago, killed by a vampire."
Rhiannon jerked her head up, and she turned to me. "You didn"t tell me that that. All you said was that your mother was dead."
"Not much to be proud of in her death, is there? Krystal was strung out. A crack addict. That"s how she got the money for her drugs-she was a bloodwh.o.r.e. Her last trick went apes.h.i.t on her and drained her. I found her bathed in her own blood and urine." I shrugged. "I don"t have a whole lot of love for vampires. Or pushers."
Rhiannon glanced at me. "Does it bother you that Leo"s a day runner?"
I shrugged. "I haven"t really had time to even think about it. I don"t know how I feel about his job. But I do like him him."
Anadey interrupted. "I"m sorry to hear that. Krystal had so much promise. Let"s focus on Heather. Tell me everything. Maybe I can help."
Rhiannon looked at me and I nodded. We couldn"t keep our secret any longer. We were no longer children, but women, long past our childhood.
I took a deep breath. "Everything started when Rhiannon and I were barely six . . . and first stumbled into the spiders" wood . . ."
Rhiannon followed me into the wood, glancing over her shoulder to make sure we weren"t followed. The path was shady. It was always always shady regardless of how much sunlight beamed through the branches. Aunt Heather had warned us time and again to stay out of the copse, but my own mother didn"t care-she was always off at a party or away on some trip. And so I had persuaded Rhiannon to join me in my explorations. And now, we had a precious secret. shady regardless of how much sunlight beamed through the branches. Aunt Heather had warned us time and again to stay out of the copse, but my own mother didn"t care-she was always off at a party or away on some trip. And so I had persuaded Rhiannon to join me in my explorations. And now, we had a precious secret.
At six years old, the trees towered so high they were growing into the heavens. Maybe if we climbed them, we"d find Valhalla. Heather called it the home of the G.o.ds. My mother said it didn"t exist. But either way, I wasn"t afraid, and after a few times of sneaking into the wood, neither was Rhiannon. We were magic-born, the daughters of witches, and nothing could hurt us.
Even though my mother isn"t happy about being a witch, I thought. I"d heard the arguments late at night, when I was supposed to be asleep. I thought. I"d heard the arguments late at night, when I was supposed to be asleep.
"Krystal, you keep denying your birthright and the power"s going to destroy you. You can"t repress it forever. Not to mention, you have an obligation to the family. To the Thirteen Moons Society. And most of all, you have a responsibility to your daughter to see she gets the training she needs." Heather"s accusations echoed up the stairs.
"f.u.c.k you and f.u.c.k the Society," my mother would counter. "I don"t give a c.r.a.p c.r.a.p about family tradition or magical powers. I never asked to be born with this f.u.c.king ability, and I wish somebody would just rip it out of my head. Do you know what it"s like, being able to hear voices all the time? The voices of people who laugh at you? Who think you"re a s.l.u.t just because you want to have a little fun? about family tradition or magical powers. I never asked to be born with this f.u.c.king ability, and I wish somebody would just rip it out of my head. Do you know what it"s like, being able to hear voices all the time? The voices of people who laugh at you? Who think you"re a s.l.u.t just because you want to have a little fun? Do you? Do you?"
A murmured whisper from Heather.
Then, Krystal"s voice again. "Well, that"s what I hear every day every day when I go out. The only things that help drown them out are booze and pills, and let me tell you, I"ll bow down in front of a jug of Gallo faster than I"ll ever kneel at the feet of that sorry-a.s.sed Society or that priggish, self-righteous old biddy." when I go out. The only things that help drown them out are booze and pills, and let me tell you, I"ll bow down in front of a jug of Gallo faster than I"ll ever kneel at the feet of that sorry-a.s.sed Society or that priggish, self-righteous old biddy."
"Marta"s just worried about you-"
"Tell her not to bother!"
And Krystal would stomp out of the house-the door slamming behind her-and my aunt would cry. Sometimes Heather didn"t cry, though. Sometimes she just remained silent but I could hear her grumbling, all the way up in my room. Her words filtered in on the breeze.
"Hurry up," I urged Rhiannon as she lagged behind. "Grieve and Chatter are waiting for us."
"How do you know?" she asked, but she quickened her pace. I could run faster and play rougher than she could, but Rhiannon was the graceful one. She could be a dancer, I thought. When she grew up, she could be a ballerina, she was so tall and lithe.
"They"re waiting. I can hear them. Now come on."
I started to run and she followed me. We came to a skidding halt in front of one of the huge old cedars and I bit my lip. Every time we came out here, a little voice whispered that this was a dangerous thing to do, that we could get hurt. But overriding my aunt"s orders and common sense was the absolute need need to visit with our odd friends. to visit with our odd friends.
I reached out and knocked on the tree trunk three times. The third time, there was a noise to the left of the path and we turned to see Grieve and Chatter slipping out from behind a bush. They were older-grown-up, but they"d always been polite and nice and never did anything to make us uncomfortable.
I never thought of them as boys boys. Boys were loud and obnoxious and only wanted to follow their girlfriends around. Grieve and Chatter never said anything about girls, and they were . . . well . . . different different. They weren"t human, we knew that, or magic-born. They were Fae and seemed so very exotic and dangerously strange. We knew all about other Supes in the area, but mostly met others like us.
Grieve motioned for us to follow them and held the bushes aside as we slipped off the path and into the woods, avoiding the ravine as he led us into a clearing to the left.
Another moment and we were sitting by a small pond where the trees opened up and the sun actually shone down, scattering light through the branches. I clambered up onto a tree trunk and took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of mushrooms and moss. Rhiannon shyly hopped up beside me. She liked Chatter better than Grieve. He made her laugh.
"Our time together is coming to an end," Grieve said, kneeling beside the tree trunk. He had a sad smile on his face and looked like he was going to cry.
"How come?" I didn"t want our visits to stop. Grieve and Chatter had taught us how to make friends with the Elementals and coax them out to play. At least, sometimes. It didn"t always work, but he said that the more we practiced, the better we"d get at it.
"Cicely, your mother-" Chatter started to say, but Grieve held up his hand and shook his head.
"Stop. We"re not allowed to tell her," he said. "Cicely, everything will be all right. It"s just that we won"t be able to talk to you much longer. Not for a very long time. Years, maybe. And Lainule-you remember the beautiful woman who came with us to talk to you last time?"
I nodded, proud of my memory. "She"s the Queen of Rivers and Rushes."
"That"s right, you"ve done well. Anyway, Lainule wants to make sure you have a friend who can help you send messages along the wind. She says this is very important very important. Do you understand? And you must remember: You can always contact our people through the wind and someone will be there to help you, even if you don"t see them."
I stared at him, my lower lip trembling. Somehow, even at my young age, I knew he was saying good-bye and it made me want to cry. But I forced my tears back because when Grieve said something was important, he meant it. He was a prince-he"d told me so. And I"d seen him get angry before-not so much at us, but at Chatter. An angry Grieve was fierce and unpredictable.
After a moment, I nodded. "You need to teach me to talk to the wind, right?"
"Right. You can already hear it speak, but you need to learn to talk back, to send information on what we call the slipstream slipstream. And at your age, to do that, you need to befriend a wind Elemental. I know some of this won"t make any sense for a while, but I"ll try to teach you the easy way to communicate with the creature. She"ll always be there to help you. You have to promise me something, though."
"What?" I would have promised him anything.