Magic & Mythos Read online

  “No, but you may as well have been,” he replied. “Once you’re ten miles over the speed limit, it doesn’t much matter.”

  “It’s an emergency,” I told him, injecting the necessary sense of urgency into my voice.

  He rested his chin on the open window. “Is that so? On a mission to break another man’s heart?”

  I sucked in a breath and tried to bite my tongue. “I would think you’d be thrilled with that particular outcome.”

  “Oh, I may have danced a little jig with my husband when I heard the news.”

  “Figures.”

  “That I’d dance? Hell’s bells, yes.”

  “No, that you’d dance a jig. You probably don’t know any other moves.”

  He scowled again. “Speeding tickets aren’t cheap, you know.”

  “Just hurry up and write it then. I need to get to Tanya’s. Something’s happened.”

  Deputy Bolan peered at me. “There’s really an emergency?”

  “Yes!”

  “What are you waiting for then?” he said, slapping the door. “Start your engine. I’ll follow you.”

  The leprechaun scurried back to his car and kept the lights flashing. I pulled out in front of him and continued my race to Tanya’s house. It suddenly occurred to me that Tanya’s emergency had something to do with Alec. My fingers tightened on the wheel as I drove. I finally pulled to a stop in the driveway and hopped out. Deputy Bolan was behind me in a flash.

  “What kind of driving was that?” he yelled.

  “We call that offensive driving in New Jersey,” I said.

  “I call it crazy,” he shot back. “You almost killed that Gorgon on the side of the road. How could you miss all those snakes?” He gesticulated wildly around his tiny head to indicate a mass of snakes.

  “I was nowhere near her,” I argued. I hurried to the front step and rang the bell. There was no answer. I rang it again.

  The deputy gave me a solemn look. “Let’s check the back.”

  I nodded. My pulse was throbbing. I hoped Tanya was okay. I hoped Alec was okay.

  “Any chance you have your wand?” Deputy Bolan asked quietly.

  “You think you need backup?” I asked, as we crept around the side of the house. I unlatched the gate and we rounded the corner. Tanya quickly came into view. She paced the length of the pool, her wings moving rapidly. She stopped when she saw me.

  “Oh, Ember. Thank the gods.” She didn’t seem to register the deputy’s presence. I wondered whether she could see him over the bushes.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked. “You sounded really upset.” As I drew closer, the problem became glaringly obvious. Something had happened. Something terrible.

  A body floated facedown in the pool. A set of crushed wings spread across her back and her long hair swirled around her, forming a hauntingly beautiful design. My hand flew to cover my mouth.

  Deputy Bolan walked to the edge of the water and peered into the water. “Is that…?” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.

  “Yes,” Tanya croaked. “It’s my niece. It’s Tatiana.”

  Chapter Four

  Tanya began to cry. “I came home to drop off ingredients for a recipe Tatiana wanted to try later and found her like this.”

  Deputy Bolan fixed his attention on the older fairy. “Why did you call Miss Rose instead of the sheriff’s office?”

  “You know why,” Tanya said without flinching.

  The leprechaun rubbed his hands over his greenish face. “You can’t be serious. You think Sheriff Nash is capable of something like this?”

  “I have no idea,” Tanya said. “But I know that he’s nursing a deep wound right now and a traumatic blast from his past just blew into town. Tatiana isn’t easy on others. She wouldn’t have been gentle with him no matter what state he was in.”

  “Is that also why you called me instead of Alec?” I asked. Alec was the more logical choice to call in a crisis.

  Tanya barely nodded. “I didn’t want Bentley to know either. He’s too loyal to Alec. Doesn’t miss an opportunity to brown nose him either.”

  “You think I’m not loyal to Alec?” I asked.

  She met my gaze. “I know you would do what’s best for him.” She looked at the deputy. “For both of them.”

  The leprechaun stared at the body in the water. “How’s your magic, Rose? Can you help me get her out?”

  I pulled out my wand and held it over the water. I had no idea what kind of spell to use to remove a dead body from a swimming pool.

  Deputy Bolan nudged my arm. “Come on, Rose. What are you waiting for? Inspiration?”

  “Pardon me. They don’t exactly teach me this kind of thing in magic lessons.” I focused my will the way I’d been taught and imagined the body rising. “Consurgo.” Tatiana lifted about a half foot out of the water and then dropped back in with a huge splash that soaked us both. The leprechaun turned slowly to glower at me.

  “Maybe put a little more muscle into it,” he suggested tersely.

  “Hey! I don’t see you diving in there and dragging her out.”

  Out of nowhere, a black object zipped past us and used her teeth to grab Tatiana’s dress by the back of the neck. The winged cat pulled the body out of the water and laid her to rest on the concrete. Tanya fluttered over and kneeled by her side.

  “Bonkers?” I looked at my daughter’s familiar. “What are you doing here?” I didn’t know why I bothered to ask because I wouldn’t understand the answer. I didn’t have a psychic connection with the winged cat, only Marley did.

  “Meow,” Bonkers replied and flew off.

  Deputy Bolan rolled the fairy onto her back. Her skin was blue and her eyes and mouth were open. Not an attractive look. Tanya turned away.

  “She’s definitely dead,” the leprechaun said.

  “Really, Captain Obvious? Are you sure you don’t want to hedge your bets and go for a prognosis of mostly dead?”

  He contemplated the body, ignoring my remark. “I won’t call the sheriff. I think you were right to keep him out of this, Tanya. You and I can handle this, Rose. We’ve done it plenty of times before.”

  “Without Sheriff Nash?” I queried.

  “That’s an idea you need to get used to anyway,” the deputy said.

  While he continued to examine the body, I placed a comforting arm around Tanya. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I know how much you cared about her.”

  Tanya wiped the tears from her cheeks. “She was never easy, but she was family. I guess I can’t say it’s a shock that someone would want to hurt her.”

  “You don’t think this was an accident?” I said. “Maybe she fell in and drowned?”

  Tanya sniffed and fished a tissue from her pocket. “Tatiana was a strong swimmer. She spent the warmer days in her youth either here or at the beach.”

  “How do fairies swim?” I asked. “Don’t your wings drag you down?”

  “If we don’t remove them or spell them first, they can make it complicated,” she replied. “I don’t often use the pool. It’s mostly for guests. It was here when I bought the house years ago and I didn’t feel right about filling it in.”

  Deputy Bolan stood and dusted off his knees. “We’ll need to close this area off as a crime scene until we remove the body and gather all the evidence.”

  Tanya sucked in a shaky breath. “Not a problem. I’ll get out of your hair.” She moved forward to smooth back Tatiana’s wet hair, but Deputy Bolan cleared his throat in protest.

  “I’m sorry, Tanya, but I can’t let you touch her,” he said.

  Tanya’s eyes grew round. “Am I a suspect?”

  “That’s not what I’m implying,” the deputy said. “I can’t let you touch her because we risk disturbing the evidence.”

  “You moved her out of the pool!” Tanya said, her voice rising sharply. “I’d say that might disturb some evidence.”

  “I had to make sure she was dead,” he explained. “If there was
a chance to resuscitate her, I needed to know.”

  I squeezed Tanya’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Why don’t you go inside until we’re done here?”

  The fairy’s wings flapped, forcing her into the air. “That’s probably for the best. I can’t bear to see her like this anyway.” She flew in through the back patio door and closed it behind her.

  Deputy Bolan looked at me. “You sure about her?”

  “She has no motive,” I said. “In fact, she’s probably the only one who would welcome Tatiana back to town. That’s why she came to stay here.”

  “Except for whoever named Tatiana as a beneficiary,” he replied. “Apparently, that paranormal didn’t have a problem with her.”

  “If this is murder, then Tanya will be able to help us with the suspect list,” I said. “She kept updated on all her niece’s mischief. I think she felt a sense of responsibility just because they were related.”

  “You can’t choose your relatives,” Deputy Bolan said. “The gods know I’d trade my cousin Brent in a heartbeat.”

  “Trade him for what?” I asked.

  The leprechaun shrugged. “A pack of gum. A deck of cards. Anything really.”

  I laughed. “That bad, huh?”

  “The worst. He threw up at our wedding and claimed it was because the sight of us made him sick.”

  “Wow. He’s that awful yet you still invited him?”

  “Like I said, he’s family.” The deputy bent down to examine Tatiana more closely. “I hate to break the news to the sheriff. He’s had a helluva time recently.”

  My stomach knotted. Poor Granger.

  “Are you sure this wasn’t an accident?” I asked.

  “No, we’re looking at murder,” he said. He lifted Tatiana’s head and pointed. “Blunt force trauma to the back of the head, yet she was found facedown in the pool.”

  “I see what you mean.”

  “Somebody either whacked her on the back of the head and carried her to the pool unconscious or knocked her in the back of the head while she was standing close to the edge and she fell in. Either way, she drowned.” Deputy Bolan scanned the pool area. “See anything here that could’ve been used as a weapon?”

  I surveyed the concrete area around the pool but saw nothing obvious. “I’ll check the other side of the fence.” I searched the entire backyard but came up empty-handed. It was only when I headed back to the deputy that I noticed it.

  A broken chair leg.

  It was only slightly bent so that the chair was still upright but I could tell it was tilted. “Could someone have hit her with the chair?” I pointed at the furniture.

  Deputy Bolan went over to inspect the chair leg. “I’ll have the examiner confirm, but I bet the condition of the chair is consistent with her head injury. I should seal off the area now. Let the sheriff know, too.”

  I glanced uneasily at Deputy Bolan. “If you’re going to call him, I should probably get out of earshot.” If the deputy mentioned my name, I didn’t want to accidentally overhear the sheriff’s response.

  “Good thinking,” the leprechaun replied. “Before you go, here.” He took a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

  I glanced down at it. “What’s this?”

  “Your speeding ticket. You didn’t think I’d let you off the hook, did you?”

  I shook the paper at him. “What do you think the sheriff will say when he finds out? He’ll assume you targeted me. Is that what you want? To get on your boss’s bad side after a horrible breakup? After this.” I waved my arm in Tatiana’s direction.

  The deputy pressed his tiny lips together. Finally, he reached out and snatched the ticket. “Fine, but you’re on my list, Rose.”

  “The only list we should be concerned with right now is the one with Tatiana’s murder suspects,” I said. “I’ll go and talk to Tanya on my way out.”

  The deputy hesitated. “You’ll help me with this case, won’t you, Rose? We’re going to have to treat the sheriff as a suspect. Avoid any appearance of impropriety.”

  “And you think I’m the best person for the job? I appear improper all the time. It’s practically my job.”

  “This is Tatiana,” the deputy said. “She left destruction in her wake whenever she went to the grocery store. I can do this without help, but it’ll take a lot longer and that means extended misery for Sheriff Nash.” He gave me a pointed look. “Don’t you think the poor guy has suffered enough?”

  “Fine,” I said, relenting. “I’ll help.”

  “Great,” Deputy Bolan said. “I’ll expect you at the office tomorrow afternoon. Bring coffee. Lots of cream.”

  I folded my arms. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Not at all,” the deputy replied. “The coffee at the sheriff’s office is terrible.”

  I groaned and stomped off toward the house to talk to Tanya. This day had turned out to be a terrible time to decide to rejoin the land of the living.

  I flipped through a recipe book trying to prepare a healthy dinner for Marley. I ended up staying later with Tanya than I anticipated because she was too upset to leave by herself. Marley was relaxing in her bedroom after spending time after school with friends in honor of her last day at the middle school. I hoped to prepare a special meal to celebrate and, by special, I meant not burned, mutilated, or inedible.

  I rushed around the kitchen, gathering ingredients or substitutes for ingredients I didn’t have, which was most items. I was about to break an egg on the side of a bowl when PP3’s bark jolted me. I missed the bowl completely and smashed the egg into the counter.

  Fantastic.

  I rinsed off my hands and hurried to the door to see what set off the dog. Before I reached the door, it flew open and Raoul staggered into the cottage. He looked filthy—even filthier than usual for a dumpster diving trash panda.

  “Raoul, what happened to you?” Marley asked, hurrying down the steps.

  I examined the raccoon’s messy fur and spotted a few pieces of trash stuck to his fur. “You look like you went swimming in Garbage Lake.”

  His expression grew wistful. There’s a Garbage Lake?

  I groaned in disgust. “No, it’s just an expression. Why do you look like you lost a toaster in a brawl at the dump?”

  Because I did, Raoul said glumly. Except it was a crockpot, not a toaster. There’s a new guy hanging around the dump and he’s decided I’m the one he wants to keep out. Some of the pea-brained animals have chosen to gang up with him.

  I stared at him. “Wait. You’re being bullied at the dump?”

  He tapped his claws together. I tried to fight him today. It didn’t go well.

  “What kind of animal is he?” I asked.

  Raoul’s gaze dropped to the floor. A big one. Huge.

  “A bear?” I asked.

  Not that big, but more vicious. He’s like an Orc with wings.

  “Did you just make a Lord of the Rings reference?” I asked.

  What? I love Gandalf, Raoul said. He’s my spirit animal.

  “Technically, you’re my spirit animal,” I said.

  No, I’m your familiar, he said. It’s different.

  “So what’s the animal? A junkyard dog?”

  He mumbled something unintelligible.

  I strained to listen. “Did you say a coyote?”

  A crow.

  I thought I’d misheard him. “Did you just say a crow? As in the bird?”

  He nodded. This one is a nasty piece of work. Wears a red rubber band around his leg. Thinks it makes him look tough, but it just makes him look like he fell into the pile of discarded school supplies.

  I laughed. “Raoul, you have to be bigger than this guy.”

  He has wings. Raoul flapped his front legs. He uses them to stay out of reach and then swoops down to attack.

  “Not even a raven, huh? Just an ordinary crow?”

  Raoul huffed. Don’t make me feel worse about it. I’ve completely lost my street cred.

  “What
about Bonkers?” I suggested. “She has wings. She could give the crow a hard time from the air.”

  “Bonkers would be happy to help,” Marley interjected. “I’ll call to her now.”

  Raoul scoffed. Bonkers is adorable. The crow won’t be worried about a flying cat.

  “Crows are afraid of cats, aren’t they?” I asked.

  Not ones that you want to snuggle with, Raoul objected.

  “Bonkers is tougher than she looks,” Marley said. “She won’t let you down.” The gray and white winged cat appeared in the window and Marley opened the door to let her in. The flying kitten swooped through the room and perched on the top of the sofa. My heart melted a little. Darn. Raoul wasn’t wrong. Bonkers was adorable. Maybe we did need a fiercer opponent.

  What’s the plan? Raoul asked. Have Bonkers escort me to the dump like she’s my bodyguard? Purr and meow in his direction?

  “You have to stand up to a bully or they’ll just keep pushing,” I said.

  Sounds like you have experience, Raoul said. How many people had to stand up to you before you stopped?

  “Hey!” I swatted at him with a dishtowel. “I was never a bully.”

  You’re from New Jersey, Raoul said. I thought it was part of the package. I’ve seen The Sopranos.

  “How do you have all this time to watch television?” I asked.

  It’s lessened considerably since I met you, Raoul said.

  “All right, let me know the next time you decide to go to the dump and we’ll send you with Bonkers,” I said. I had enough on my plate right now. I didn’t need to add ‘throwdown at the trash heap’ to my list.

  “I’ve told Bonkers the story,” Marley said. “She’s totally on board. She said crows are known as dumpster dive bombers in the trash world.”

  There’s a trash world? Raoul asked wistfully.

  “Only in your dreams,” I replied.

  The raccoon sniffed the air. Do I smell food?

  I heaved a sigh, remembering my dinner attempt. “You smell a cracked egg.”

  That counts as food, he said.

  “I’m making a special dinner for Marley,” I said. Or trying.

  What is it?

  “Pancakes,” I blurted. Because, at this point, that was the only meal I’d be capable of.