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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Cripes,” Crystal said, grabbing my arm and leading me back to the table. Bee quickly handed me my sparkling water and I drank it, shaken.

The gateway will open again. Chaos is dancing, and once it finds you, there’s no escape.

The Wandering Eye had appeared enough that everybody knew she was real, but I’d forgotten all about her during my time away. Children were taught to run if they saw her. In fact, there were several entities who made their home in Midnight Point that I’d managed to push out of my mind.

“What the hell is she talking about?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t know, and I really don’t want to find out,” I said. “I’m nervous enough as it is, with the accident, and now this happens? I should never have come tonight,” I added.

Bee turned to me. “When one of the speretas comes calling, it doesn’t matter where you’re at. They’ll find you.”

“What’s a speretas?” Crystal asked.

“One of the spirit folk—the entities who make their homes in the shadow towns. Every shadow town has its own group, and sometimes they may overlap. That’s another reason I’m on the town council. I keep watch for what the speretas are up to.” Bee said it like she might rattle off a duty like filing or answering phones.

“Who hires you for that?” I asked.

Bee pressed her lips together and looked away. Finally, she turned back. “My people. We keep an eye on them. And the shadow towns would do well to follow our suit.”

I glanced at Crystal. “I gather we don’t?”

“I don’t know. You should ask your aunt,” she said.

I didn’t feel like sticking around after that. Everybody was gawking at me, and though a few people came over to introduce themselves, most people acted like I was Typhoid Mary. Crystal and I left early, after Bee and I exchanged numbers.

“I like her,” I said, fastening my seat belt. “I didn’t think I’d like any of the Fae that much. They can be arrogant assholes, from what I understand.”

“They can,” Crystal said. “Bealissa is mostly a straight-shooter, but I never fully trust her. The Fae are crafty and it’s an innate trait, not simply an affect.” She was trying to keep her voice steady, but I could tell she was rocked by everything that had happened over the past week.

“Right.” I stared out the window, watching the falling snow, thinking about my life and choices. If I had stayed in Midnight Point to begin with, all of this might still have happened. And, if my house hadn’t burned down, maybe something else might have driven me back to Midnight Point.

Crystal pulled into the driveway. “Ask your aunt about Skula, and give me a call tomorrow?”

“I will,” I said, but my mind was a thousand miles away. What had happened frightened me, and I had no clue how to react. “I’ll call you tomorrow, probably in the evening.” Waving, I hurried into the house, shutting out the winter.

Astra was curled up on the sofa, watching a show. Miss P. was stretched out on the back of the sofa above her, and Dahlia was snoozing at her feet, at the end of the sofa. As I entered the house, I didn’t want to interrupt my aunt’s peaceful evening, but I knew I had to talk to her.

“Any chance you could turn off the TV for a little bit?” I asked, shrugging out of my jacket and tossing it on the Ottoman. I sat down in the recliner, leaning down to unzip my boots and pulled them off.

“You’re back early,” Astra said. But then, she took one look at my face and turned off the television, straightening up. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Something happened at the mixer tonight. I have no idea what it means.”

Auntie paled. “Are you all right? Is Crystal okay?”

“I think we’re okay. But I’m not sure, after how the evening ended.” I told her what happened. “And at the very end, the Wandering Eye vanished. It has to be important, for her to appear and give me that cryptic message. At least, I think so.”

“First,” Astra said, “don’t panic. The creature brings messages, yes. But they don’t all mean gloom and doom. I admit, this one doesn’t sound incredibly positive, but we’ll get to the heart of it. I promise you that.” She stood, pacing. “ The Gateway will open again. Chaos is dancing, and once it finds you, there’s no escape. That was it, correct?”

I nodded. “Yes, in fact I wrote it down as soon as I came out of the shock. I gather the Fae call them speretas. So I learned my first Fae word today, as well. Do you know Bealissa?”

“Vaguely,” Astra said. “I’ve met her before, but it was with a group of witches from the Dark Moon Society. It was several years ago, when she first was appointed to the town Council. There was an uproar, and a few stray idiots protesting. But she’s been a good thing for our town, and I think it helps Fae/human relations.”

“Good, because I like her.”

“I wonder why Skula visited you . I’d expect her to show up at Nightshade’s, or the mayor’s. But this is definitely a message. We need to figure it out though, because I’m pretty sure she was talking about the Covenant of Chaos.”

“I wondered about that, although I seem like an unlikely recipient. Can you check my cords and wards? I do really like to make sure that I’m not being drained or followed or whatever they can do energetically.”

Astra motioned for me follow her into the kitchen, and then she retrieved her supplies from the ritual room: war water, protection powder, her dagger, and a white pillar candle that smelled like lemongrass and lavender. She set them on the counter, then retrieved a chair from the dining room, sitting it so that she could traverse around it. She motioned for me to take my seat, and then she began to cast a circle.

“Maiden cast the circle strong, keep is free from those at odds.

Mother cast the circle bright, protect us now, the ancient gods.

Old Crone cast the circle wise, calling on the frozen stars.”

She paused as the energy settled around us. Then, once again she held up her dagger she stood facing the north. “Spirits of earth, spirits of might, anchor now this magic rite.”

Turning to the east, she said, “Spirits of air, spirits of flight, cleanse now this magic rite.”

Next, she turned to the south. “Spirits of flame, spirits of fire, infuse the spell so it might spire.”

And lastly, she turned to the west. “Spirits of water, ocean’s daughter, seal the spell with waves and water.”

The energy tumbled around us in waves, first the circle of pure energy, infused by the gods. And then each element added its own power, spiraling around us, creating a sphere so that we were protected. Astra set down her dagger, and turned to me. She held out a small orange-sized crystal ball, flickering with energy from within. She walked around me, and I could feel her probing my aura, examining it to make sure that there was nothing there that shouldn’t be.

“It looks like you’re secure. I can see Skula’s energy around you, but it hasn’t latched on. She’s so strong that I’m not surprised to read an imprint. I don’t see anything like a curse or anything else, for that matter. I suspect she gave you this message for reason, but you’re not under a spell or curse. I’m going to leave the circle up, and press the energy out to surround the house tonight. We don’t need anything else happening, especially while we sleep.”

Feeling reassured, I stood up and helped her roll the waves of energy out toward the parameters of the yard. It wasn’t all that hard.

Astra and Sara had taught me well when I was young.

You placed your hands on the bubble of energy and imagined it expanding, essentially growing it out to the size that you wanted it to be. As we encompassed the entire lot, I suddenly felt calm, my worry draining away.

Magic was like that, it could take away worry, even if for a little while.

After we finished, I decided to raid the refrigerator. I hadn’t gotten a chance to eat at the mixer, and I realized I was hungry.

“So, what do you think this all means?” I asked.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Astra said. Maybe it’s a message that you’re supposed to deliver. Remember, we were talking about you joining the Dark Moon Society? Maybe it’s a message for Nightshade and the Order of the Moon? I think I’ll call her tomorrow and see if she can come visit.”

“That’s fine with me, except I have lunch plans. Brenda is coming over around noon. So it needs to be later than two.” I sighed. “I went to the mixer tonight hoping to find a match for Brenda. I sure didn’t expect to end up like this.”

“Sometimes, life throws us into the deep end and we just have to learn to swim.” Astra joined me in raiding the fridge. We pulled out left over fried chicken and pie from the other night, and settled ourselves in the kitchen booth.

“Crystal seems to think that if my house hadn’t burned down, something else would have happened to drive me back home,” I said.

“Remember, shadow towns call those whom they want. And they get rid of the people that they don’t want. Oh, not necessarily through any ominous means, although Whisper Hollow’s really good about making people disappear.”

I snorted. “Whisper Hollow’s like… The shadow town of shadow towns. That’s one of the most dangerous places around.”

“Correct. However, all shadow towns are selective. Midnight Point, Moonshadow Bay, Terameth Lake, and Crescent Falls… All of them call their people to them.”

I bit into a crispy drumstick, savoring the flavor in my mouth. Astra was right. I could feel it in my bones. Midnight Point needed me. And I needed her.

Morning arrived and Astra was waiting for me as I padded down the stairs. The “snow event” had turned into a full-blown winter storm, and we had accumulated seven inches of snow in the yard so far. That was, seven inches of new snow, bringing us to a total of ten.

“Well, we always seem to get the most snow here in January and February,” I said, yawning as I turned on the espresso machine. Astra had made breakfast—oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar and raisins, and sausage on the side. “So this is par for the course.”

“True that. Listen, I already called Nightshade. She asked if we could come over later this afternoon. My car’s good for the drive, so I told her yes.”

“Sounds good to me.” I fitted the portafilter into the machine after tamping down the coffee, then pulled three shots for a steaming hot mocha. “Want some?”

Astra nodded. “That sounds lovely. Triple shot for me, as well. It’s a cold morning out there, and even though I had double-pane windows installed, they only stand up to so much cold weather. I had to turn up the heat again this morning.”

I settled at the table with my oatmeal. “So, if we have the kitchen widened, when do you think it might happen?”

Astra smiled, then. She handed me a bowl filled with oatmeal, and set a platter of sausage links on the table. I added a little half and half, and a little milk to my porridge, then some butter and stirred it all together. One big bowl of cozy carbs, I thought. Perfect for an icy morning. I took a long sip of my mocha, then settled back as the heat flooded through me.

Miss P. jumped on the table, sniffing at the sausages, and I shooed her down. “I’ll feed you later,” I said.

“She ate. I fed her at the same time I fed Dahlia. She was knocking against my legs, threatening to topple me. That girl has muscle on her.” But Astra laughed.

She had come to love Miss P. and lately, had taken to trying to teach her how to stand up and dance. If I tried it, Miss P. would have given me the evil eye, but she seemed to dote on my aunt, and the two had bonded in a way that almost made me jealous. Almost, because Miss P. and I were already best buddies.

“Well, then, you’re lying,” I said, leaning down to scritch her behind the ears. Miss P. gazed up at me and let out a purp, then pranced away, her tail unfurling like a feathered wand.

Astra opened her tablet and brought up the local news. “Hmm…one of the Henderson boys has gone missing,” she said, frowning. “He was last seen three days ago. At first the deputies thought he ran away, but they found his phone and tablet, and his wallet. No kid would ever leave those things behind. At least, no teenager.”

I frowned. “Is there anything to indicate what might have happened?”

“No,” Astra said. “And even worse, they checked all the security cameras on the ferries for the past three days and there was no sign of him. They film every single person and car that enters the ferry, so if he was in a car, he’d have to be lying down in the back seat.”

My stomach twitched. “I don’t think they’re going to find him alive,” I said, glancing up. “I just…I have a really bad feeling about this. I wish we could do something. Are the search parties looking for him? There are a lot of wild places on this island, even though it’s fairly small.”

Midnight Point wasn’t just the name of the town, it was also the name of the whole island. And while the town covered a sizable amount of the island, that still left a lot of forested land. There were also sea caves that flooded during high tide. If he’d been mucking around in one of them, there was a chance he could have drowned.

“It says the search and rescue parties are out in full-force. He might have fallen and hit his head. Hypothermia wouldn’t take long to set in during this storm.” She sighed and moved on to the next article. “Oh, Stuart’s up for reelection this year.”

“Do people like him? I mean, he’s a nice guy, but what’s the general consensus on his performance as sheriff?” Since I had moved back to town, I needed to catch up on local politics. I wasn’t an activist, but I did my best to keep abreast of current events on both a local and national level.

“They do. His approval rating in several polls runs higher than seventy-five percent, which is almost unheard of. But Stuart’s made a name for himself as sheriff. I suspect he may eventually run for governor.” Astra glanced at me. “Fancy yourself a politician’s wife?”

I sputtered, almost spitting out my oatmeal.

“I do not, and I’ll thank you not to start rumors. I told you, he has a girlfriend and I have no designs on becoming the other woman . I like Stuart, but I don’t know if I’d date him, even if he was free. I think we’ll do better as friends.”

Astra handed me the tray of sausages. “Well, you know best. And truth be, I think you might be more than Stuart could handle. He’s a very by-the-book person, and I don’t think that he’s a wolf shifter who would date far out of the Pack.”

“Oh, I think he’ll date out of the Pack. He dated me, if you’ll remember. But as far as marriage and settling down? Stuart needs a wolf shifter who will wait for her man at the door when he gets home, and who will raise the kids and take care of the house. He’s not a chauvinist, but he likes his traditions.” I laughed, then. “I can’t believe we’re even talking about this. It still seems so surreal.”

“Sometimes life is like that—one change causes a ripple effect, a cascade of shifts.” She paused to eat some of her oatmeal, then said, “I’ll stop teasing you about Stuart. I know you and he aren’t meant for each other, but I can’t help but remember the nights when he’d show up on the doorstep and you’d race out to meet him.”

“I thought I loved him,” I said, remembering those days. “I thought I knew what love really was. I guess I did, for my age. But I’ve learned along the way that there are so many kinds of love, and very few of them lead to the altar. In some ways, I don’t know if I want to ever get married again. The pain of Dan’s death still haunts me…but then I’ll think about all the good times we had, and I’ll wonder if maybe I can have that again.”

I set down my spoon and picked up my latte mug. The mocha had a slightly bitter taste to it, enough to give me a nice jolt, but then the sugar hit and the peppermint, and smoothed it out.

“Why didn’t you ever get married?” I asked. “Haven’t you ever met anybody you wanted to marry, here in Midnight Point?”

“Well, there have been a couple of men who caught my eye, but then I found out they were married, or confirmed bachelors. One was a teacher at the Midnight Manor Academy, but after we went on a couple dates, I realized that he was gay.”

“Was he looking for a beard?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’m convinced that he didn’t even know his sexual orientation. You’d think someone who’s witchblood would be more self-aware, but apparently, he wasn’t ready to face his reality. I got out before I got hurt. He later went on to marry the love of his life—a man who owns a small neighborhood grocery store, and I went to their tenth anniversary party last year.”

“Well, I’m glad he found his match,” I said. Love was love was love, and love between any consenting adults made me happy, as long as they didn’t hurt anybody else in the process. I had always been a hopeless romantic, reading romances from the time I was in middle school. The world seemed a bleak and scary place, and love made it so much more bearable.

“I am too,” Astra said. “I like to think that when he dated me, he found his way to his true self. We were great friends, and we had fun, but there was no chemistry there, and I like to think that, after dating me, he finally realized what he’d been running from and began to seek out who he really was. If I helped him on his journey, then I’m glad. I wasn’t heartbroken—I knew we weren’t a match. But we did have some fun times together, though never with more than a kiss here or there.”

“Well, I’m done with breakfast,” I said. “I’ll wash dishes this morning. I’ve been slacking off a bit lately.”

“I don’t mind,” Astra said. “Oh, by the way, I put some chicken in to marinate. All we need to do is bread it and fry it. I figure that, along with a green salad and some rolls might make for a nice lunch for you and Brenda.”

I hugged her. “Thanks. Now scoot. I’ll clean the kitchen, then maybe I’ll chill until she gets here. Oh,” I added, stopping her before she left the room. “What should I wear to meet Nightshade later today?”

“Something nice. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but when you meet the high priestess, it’s better to show up in clean, mended clothing. Don’t wear flowing sleeves, in case she decides to light a bunch of candles.” She laughed, then waved as she headed out the door. “I’ll be in the greenhouse, if you need me.”

I turned back to the sink full of dishes and began to rinse them and stack them in the dishwasher. Outside, the snow continued to fall.