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CHAPTER EIGHT

Crystal popped through the door in less than five minutes. I turned the sign to ‘closed’ and motioned for her to sit next to Devon.

“We have a situation, and you were the only one I could think of, besides Astra.”

I explained to Crystal what was going on with Devon.

“We need to find her a safe place to stay. I’m going to call my aunt and ask her if she can come home early. She said that Teran went to the chiropractor, and while that’s not a cure, it may have helped enough to where Astra can get free. If there is a psychic vampire in town preying on women, then we need to do something about it.”

Crystal frowned. She glanced at Devon, and then said, “Honestly? I wouldn’t suggest going to a hotel. For one thing, it’s too easy to figure out where someone is in this town. We don’t have to many hotels, and it wouldn’t take long to find out where Devon was staying. I do have another idea, though. I know the coordinator at the Midnight Point Women’s Shelter. They’re very low-key, and I can ask her if they have an open bed, so that Devon can stay there and safety. They have plenty of wards, and a few security guards on site.”

“Is he really that dangerous?” Devon asked.

I nodded. “From what I saw in the cards, he won’t hesitate to drain you dry, and that’s a death sentence. And then, he’ll go find his next mark. Psychic vamps live off of life force.”

“Really? What about food?” Devon’s eyes grew wide.

Crystal answered her. “Just like typical vampires need blood to exist, psychic vampires need life force to exist. No matter how much food he eats, it can only maintain him to a marginal degree. Psychic vampires usually don’t drain their prey, unless they’re in great need. They tend to keep them in a half-life state, exhausted and burned out.”

“I feel tired all the time,” Devon said.

“In some cases, that energy drain can be mistaken for something like fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue. I’m not saying there aren’t any physical markers for those cases. There are plenty of people who actually have those conditions. But the symptoms of being under attack from a psychic vampire can easily mimic them. If you continue on with him, it won’t be long before you’ll be dragging through the day, barely able to handle your work.”

Crystal put in a call to her friend, and then — in a few minutes — turned back to us. “There’s a free bed at the shelter. The key is to get you over there without being noticed. I’m not going to tell you where it is, because we don’t want — what’s his name? Your attacker?”

Devon cleared her throat. “Marcus. His name is Marcus.”

“We don’t want Marcus to know where you are. And until you’re safe there, we don’t want him knowing where a bunch of…Well, what are essentially sitting ducks…are. Psychic vampires are charismatic as hell. They can charm info out of just about anybody.”

“Crystal is right,” I said. “Where is he now? Do you know?”

“He should be at work. He’s a customer service rep for Justine’s Employment Service. That’s how we met. I was looking for a job, and he matched me with Ever After.”

I glanced at Crystal. “Well, that’s a good place for him to work if he’s looking for victims. With unemployment so rampant, he’ll have a steady supply of victims who are too desperate to notice him infiltrating their lives. And he would see them week after week.”

“That’s true,” Crystal said. “All right, now we have to figure out how to get Devon to the shelter. We can’t chance that he might show up next door in the next hour.”

“While you think about that,” I said, “I’m going to call my aunt.” I put in a call to Astra and a moment later she answered.

“Is anything wrong? I haven’t had a chance to call Ona Sera yet.”

“Auntie, I know I said not to worry about coming home early, but if there’s a chance you can, it would be helpful. We have another problem, and this time it doesn’t involve me, but it involves someone I know.” I quickly ran down the situation. “We could use your guidance.”

“Teran is feeling better, and January is home from her trip. She and Killian said that Teran can stay with them until she’s better. They have plenty of room. I’ll pack up and come home this afternoon. I’ll text you once I’m on the road.”

As I hung up and turned back to Crystal in Devon, I said, “the cavalry is on the way.”

An alley ran behind our line of shops, so Crystal decided she would pull up to the back door of Married At First Bite. That way we could sneak Devon into her car. She could hide in the backseat with a coat thrown over her. As she went to get her car, I turned back to Devon.

“I’ll tell Kevin that you can’t come in for a day or two. I’ll make sure he understands it’s an emergency. And I’ll also warn him not to say anything if asked. Meanwhile, the moment my aunt gets home, we’ll get to work on what to do about Marcus.” I folded the cards, shaking my head. “Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking he’s out for your best interests. He’s dangerous, Devon. And I’d rather see you stay alive.”

Devon paled, looking sick to her stomach. I offered her a bottle of sparkling water and she sipped on it. A moment later I got a text from Crystal that she was waiting out back. Making sure no one was watching us from the front window, I escorted Devon back to the break room, where the door to the alley was.

Crystal opened the back door. She had a thin blanket in there. Devon hurried into the back seat and laid down, with Crystal covering her up with the blanket. She shut the door, and turned back to me.

“I’ll let you know when I’ve dropped Devon off at the shelter. Ping me when your aunt gets home. Psychic vampires are far more dangerous than traditional vampires,” she said. “Their natural predators. At least the traditional vampire has been human at one time, and sometimes they retain some of their humanity.”

“I’ll text you. Meanwhile, I’m going to do some research on this guy and see if I can find anything on the net. Maybe I’ll call Stuart and ask him if he has any record.”

“Stuart?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I met Stuart Waterline at the supermarket. We haven’t seen each other in years. And now that he’s the sheriff, well, he can be a valuable contact.” I shut the door as Crystal slid behind the wheel, and waved to her as she drove off. Then, shivering as a gust of wind blew past, I headed back inside.

A few moments later, I went next door, managing to catch Kevin between clients.

“Kevin, are we alone?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Two of my consultants have clients right now. Why?”

“Can you come over to my shop for a moment? It’s important.”

A quizzical look on his face, he followed me out the door and back to my shop. When we were inside, I locked the door and turned back to him. “Devon’s not going to be at work for a few days. At least, I hope it won’t be longer than that.”

“What’s going on?” He asked. “Is she okay?”

“This is important. Promise me that you won’t say a word.”

One look at my face and he sobered. “What’s going on, Maisy?”

“Her boyfriend is a psychic vampire. My aunt’s coming home early so that we can try and do something about him. He’s got his cords into Devon, and we’re trying to remove them as best as we can. Until then, she needs to stay someplace safe and warded against his eyes. Don’t ask me where she is, because I can’t tell you.”

“Psychic vampire?” He sat down with a thud. “I didn’t know we had any in town. At least, if you’re talking about —”

“I’m talking about the real deal. This isn’t some guy who’s leeching off of her. I’m talking full out psychic vampire whose draining her dry. Don’t tell anybody anything if they ask about her. You don’t know where she is, you don’t know why she left, all you know is that she hasn’t been into work. Can you do that?”

“Of course I can,” he said. “You can count on me. And Devon doesn’t have to worry about her job. It’s here when this is over.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d better get back, I have a client coming in in 20 minutes. And we are talking bridezilla here. I’m not looking forward to this.” He waved and left my shop.

Astra texted me. I’m catching the 4 o’clock ferry. I’ll be home at about four forty-five.

I’ll see you then.”

I glanced at the clock. It was quarter to four. I closed up early and decided to head home. Auntie had her car, so she wouldn’t need me to pick her up at the dock. But as I got into my car, a thought occurred to me. I pulled out my phone and searched on directions to Justine’s Employment Service. It wasn’t far from here, on Ferry Street. Deciding on a quick drive-by, I headed out.

Ferry Street led from the center of town all the way down to the shore. Not only were the docks for the ferry there, but running to one side of the ferry was Shorestar Park, a long and narrow strip that was at least 20 acres. Behind the park was a thickly wooded copse at the base of one of the island’s hills. With nature trails, and a self-guided estuary tour, Shorestar Park was a peaceful place to walk or sit while you were thinking. It had a magical feel to it, one that was hard to ignore. Sometimes it could feel dark and menacing—like you might turn the corner and meet a troll.

I parked in the lot next door. The parking lot served both the ferry and the park. I buttoned my jacket, then headed down the trailhead, through the snow shower, toward the shore. The beach—the merging of water and earth—seemed to be the best place to clear my thoughts.

There were few people in the park today, given how cold it was, and I found myself slowing down, walking next to the guardrail that kept hikers from dropping over the edge down to the beach, about an ten foot drop. Every so often there was a gate, with a staircase leading down to the shore. I took the first one, walking out on the sand as I stared at the rolling water.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca fed into the Salish sea, and the wind kept up a perpetual moaning. I walked over to one of the large driftwood logs that sat on the shore. It had been chained, embedded in cement buried deep in the sand.

People who weren’t from our area didn’t understand how dangerous these driftwood logs could be. Formed from tall timber that crashed into the ocean, they’d been stripped bare of bark, and weathered as they bounced through the waters. Periodically the logs would wash up on shore. If you were in the way when timber-laden tides came in, you could easily be pinned or knocked down and dragged under. But the logs made for good benches, and so the city would cement them down so they wouldn’t float away in the high tide. I sat on the nearest one, staring out at the rolling waters.

The waters on the Pacific coast were icy, seldom temperate for swimming, even in summer. But they were a goldmine of seaweed forests and fish and crabs. As the wind caught my hair, tossing it around my shoulders, I turned my face to the ocean, and closed my eyes.

I needed to do this more often. It helped me ground, and focus on what I needed to think about. I leaned back, resting my hands on the log behind me. It was at least five feet in diameter, and here and there I could see sand fleas hopping around. I let out a long breath, trying to clear some of my tension with the breeze.

Sure enough, a few moments later my mind felt clearer, and I felt calmer. “Well, at least life here isn’t going to be boring,” I said to myself.

Y ou can say that again.

I jumped. The voice felt like it was coming from beside me, but no one was there. I reached out, trying to feel whether a ghost was near me, but I couldn’t sense anything. Maybe it was a guide, or maybe it was simply my inner self.

“I’m not sure what to do about Devon,” I said. “Or even Brenda. This isn’t working out the way that I hoped it would. I thought I come back home, open my business, and be a heroine for finding so many people there matches. Come to find out, I can’t even find a simple star witch for my first client.”

Maybe you’re looking in the wrong place.

I jumped again. Now I really did want to know who was nearby, because that wasn’t me thinking—I could tell that much. And while I wasn’t proficient with death magic, I was used to ghosts and spirits. And this didn’t feel like either one.

“Who are you? What are you doing here? Why don’t you show yourself?”

Again, there was no answer.

I stood, and began to walk along the water’s edge, keeping my eyes on the rolling waves so a rogue surge didn’t catch me up and drag me away. The rip tides were dangerous, and the undertow, deep. If I happened to get knocked down, I might not make it back to my feet in time to keep from being swept out to sea. I was a proficient swimmer, but with riptides that didn’t matter all that much. People died in them.

I picked up a rock, rubbing my fingers over the smooth surface, and tossed it out into the ocean. It skipped across the water before sinking.

Do you ever ask yourself why you really came home?

I let out a sigh. Whoever it was, they were determined to make me think. “I came home because my house burned down.”

Are you sure?

“Of course I’m sure,” I said. But inside, something stirred. Had I really come home because of that? I wasn’t entirely sure, now that I thought of it.

For a long time, I had been restless. Ever since Dan died, everything had changed. Even my job. Of course I had been unhappy without him, missing him greatly, but when I really thought about it, I sensed there was more to it than that. I had felt adrift, without a real purpose. Oh, I loved matchmaking, but it didn’t feel like enough . I didn’t feel like I was making that much of a difference in the world.

“So, if I came back for reason, can you tell me what it is?” I waited.

The wind ruffled through my hair, as the waves crashed against the shore. The frothy whitecaps inched higher up the beach each time they rolled in. The tide was coming in, and soon the driftwood log I had been sitting on would be covered. The water would go right up to the cliff, leaving no sign of the shore. I decided that it might be time to turn back.

As I headed back to the staircase leading up to the walkway, I noticed signs on the beach warning against loitering during high tide. In fact, the tide tables were posted every 10 feet or so near the cliff, on waterproof signs. I glanced at one. High tide would crest in about two hours, so I sat on the steps, watching as the waters inched in.

The Pacific was a wild ocean, she was, and I could feel her energy as I sat there, watching her froth and spit as her waves rolled past. My matchmaking magic and love magic connected me to the ocean. To all water, actually, for the element represented emotion and the hidden depths of the psyche. While I wasn’t a water witch, my energies were perhaps most similar when it came to the elements.

Seek inside your heart, ask yourself why you’re here. Again the voice whispered in my ear. This time, it took on a distinctly female since, low and sultry — the voice of seduction.

A thought crossed my mind, but it seemed ridiculous at first thought. Still…

“Are you Aphrodite? Are you speaking to me?”

A faint hint of laughter peeled in the wind, almost delighted, and then it faded away. A cold mist hit me, seeping through the layers of my coat. The skies were glistening silver as the snowfall thickened. When I turned back to the ocean, she had become tumultuous, rolling dark waves that rushed toward the shore. I darted up the stairs as the first wave of breakers hit the cliff and began to rise.

Finally, I was standing on the trail again, leaning on the railing as I looked down at the waters swirling beneath me. It was hard to imagine there was a beach down there, and that I had been sitting on a log an hour before.

I glanced up at the sky, shivering as a bright flash jumped from cloud to cloud and a roll of thunder echoed through the air.

Thunder snow , I thought.

The hairs on my neck stood on end as the icy hot flash of lightning seared against the snowflakes. Electricity and water didn’t mix well, and so I turned, jogging back to the parking lot and to my car.

I reached the lot and turned toward the water once more. For a moment I thought I could see elementals playing in the waves, rising up to clash against each other, or perhaps they were playing chase or tag. Shivering, I slipped in my car and slammed the door, then turned on the heat. As I pulled away from the parking, I glanced at the clock. It was almost time for my aunt to arrive. I headed home, longing to get out of the wild weather, back to someplace safe and secure.