Arcane Magic (Stella Mayweather Series) (12 page)

"Which would you prefer?" I blurted out before I had a chance to censor my words.

Gage looked down at me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Stella Mayweather, did you just have a jealous moment?"

"No! Hell, no. No. Me? No." Inside my chest, my heart thumped.

Whatever Gage thought to that, he didn't say, so we carried on walking for a bit; first another block, then we took a left, then a right, then another right. We returned to the street we first exited. Next, we crossed the road, waiting for the lights before walking into a couple of stores, browsing through books, and entering a gift store. "What are we doing?" I asked Gage as he stopped to pick up a newspaper.

"Hanging out," he said. "Getting the feel of Rockford."

"You think someone's following us," I said, careful not to turn around as I voiced the feeling that was niggling me on our last turn, a turn that seemed one too many.

Gage shook out the newspaper. "I don't just think it, I know it. Check out the reflection in the wing mirror of that car. See the guy in jeans and a black sweater?"

I glanced into the mirror, seeing the small reflection of a broad man with hair shaved close to his head. "I see him."

"He came in the diner with the party after us."

"I remember. What's he doing following us?"

"Now that is a very interesting question. C'mon. I think we should head back to the motel."

"Shouldn't we go to that address?"

"Let's go when we don't have company." Gage tucked the newspaper under his arm, slung his free arm around my shoulders, leaving me no option, but to hug him around the waist as we walked back to his truck. The man following us appeared to be looking in a store as we drove past, and no one seemed to pick up his cold lead and follow us. Gage took a few wrong turns, just to be certain, and when he was sure no one followed, we headed back to the motel.

"I'd like to know why Rebecca didn't want to say she knew him," I said as we let ourselves into the room.

"Me too, but I guess it had something to do with that group. She got jumpy when they arrived."

"Do you think she tipped them off about us? That would make sense why one of them followed us."

"Without a doubt."

"Then she probably told them my name."

"Probably," agreed Gage, which wasn't reassuring.

"I really thought this would be easier." I took off my jacket and draped it over the desk chair. I propped my boots beside the chair and tried not to think about what to do next. Should I throw off my clothes? Or run into the bathroom with my PJs and be prim? Did it really matter now Gage had seen me naked? More to the point, did I want to see Gage naked again? While I thought about it, I pretended to study the note. When I looked up, Gage was shucking his shirt, leaving his chest bare. I gulped. Then he walked past me, and a moment later, the shower switched on. The door swung almost shut and I heard the sound of jeans hitting the floor, followed by a couple of other items. I closed my eyes and sighed. It would have been pretty easy to rip my own clothes off, and join him under the water, but I didn't want to surprise him. I didn't want to be politely asked to leave either.

So I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances. I grabbed the TV remote, flipped it on and surfed the channels until I found something semi-bearable to watch, before
leaning my back on the bed atop a mound of pillows. I kept my eyes fixed on the screen when the water turned off, and was really intently watching it when Gage wandered out with just a thin, white towel wrapped around his waist. "Hope you brought towels," he mentioned. "These fail on the fluffy side. As well as the size scale."

"Yup," I mumbled, but it might have come out as more of a gurgling sound. I glanced at him while his back was turned, noting the extra definition in his muscles when he leaned over and grabbed items from his bag. A few dr
ops of water fell from his hair and trickled down his back. For a long moment, I considered licking it... but what if it tasted of shampoo?

"You okay there? You want the shower?" Gage asked, his back still toward me.

"I think I'll take mine in the morning?" I said. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, all that sleeping today will do that to a person. Hey, is that the new movie with... oh, what's his name? The action guy?"

I glanced at the screen. The credits were rolling while I'd been distracted. "I guess. Do you want to watch it?"

"Sure. Give me a sec to dress."

I did and Gage returned to the bathroom, reappearing in a t-shirt and shorts. He grabbed a couple of pillows from the second bed and dropped them next to my headboard, joining me. "Make anything of that note?" he asked.

"Hmmm?"

"You were studying it pretty intently back there? I thought maybe you thought of something?"

"Just that we could look it up on your smartphone," I said, quickly jumping on an idea as it popped into my head. "We could see if there is a hybrid map? The one with photos of the area?"

Gage smiled. "Good thinking, Stell."

"Then maybe we could check up on the waitress?"

"I thought we agreed there was nothing different... nothing supernatural about her."

"Yeah, we did, but I don't get it. She still knows something. I'd like to know what. And those guys? The ones who followed us? I didn't catch anything supe about them either as they walked past us, but they made her jumpy. I'd like to know who they are."

"Sounds like you planned a busy day for us tomorrow."

I made a murmur of agreement, while looking at his long leg stretched out next to my jeaned one. His was thickly muscled, and his calves were twice the size of mine. "When
did you get so muscular?" I asked.

"It's a genetic thing," he said, like it wasn't too significant. "Have you noticed when male wolves get to a certain age, they start getting bigger?"

"Not really. You all look big to me."

"I think it originated as a dominance thing. Look at Annalise; she hasn't changed much. The men get far bigger than the women, and I've ascended the ranks, so I guess that kicked in as well as the aging. Plus, I've been training regularly in addition to the extra gain," he added with a note of pride.

"I don't see much aging." I glanced up at him, feeling shy all of a sudden. Here we were, sitting on the bed together, friendly, comfortable, but there was that extra frisson that I couldn't quite place. That tickle of chemistry, which always existed between us, seemed magnified. Was he preparing to make a move? Was I? Was something holding us both back? Or had we experienced enough of each other? Somehow, I thought not, but I was too confused to voice any of my thoughts.

"We age as slowly as your kind." Gage stifled a yawn. "Another thing we have in common. Hey, this is the good bit. That car chase! Oh, man!"

Gage was asleep before the end of the movie. I tried not to notice him sliding further down the bed, but now, as the credits rolled, he was flat out and breathing softly. Under my blanket, I was warm and cosy. One glance at the untouched, cold, empty bed on the other side of Gage was enough to ensure I didn't want to move. So, shifting as little as I could, to avoid disturbing him, I shucked my jeans and sweater and burrowed under the covers, almost tying myself in knots to remove my bra while keeping my t-shirt on. Using the remote, I switched off the TV set, leaving the room in darkness.

Lying awake, staring at the beads of light on the ceiling as they peeked through the curtains, I thought about Gage some more, realising that he had been on my mind all day. I was also becoming acutely aware that he lay inches away. When I couldn't confuse myself anymore, and decided I didn't want Gage to get cold during the night, I tucked my blanket over him too and turned away, yawning.

Sometime in the night, Gage's arms went around me; and instead of lying awake while worrying about the choices I was making, I slept a deep, contented sleep.

Chapter Eleven

"It doesn't look the secret lair of a crime overlord." We were watching the address the waitress slipped to us for more than an hour; but so far, nothing had happened. The house looked innocuous enough. A single storey with a plain lawn and driveway at the front. There was an empty carport on the side closest to us. A chain-link fence separated it on both sides from the neighbouring houses. Most of the neighbours had departed for work
— or so I guessed — before we arrived, but there was no visible movement from the house we observed. We hadn't even seen a single shadow cross a window. My guess was that it was empty.

"Maybe it’s the portal to another dimension," said Gage. He had his arms crossed over his checked shirt and was sitting straight in the seat. For a moment, I wondered if such a thing were possible. After all, once you've seen more witches, werewolves, demons, and vampires than you could possibly count, living in another dimension didn't exactly seem too far out.

"Could that..." I started to ask, but he swatted me with his magazine.

"Just playing with you. There's no such thing as another dimension. We're all stuck in this one."

"Oh."

"We can sit here and watch all day; or do you want to go check this place out?"

"Can't we do it from here? I can send my magic out to scan the area if I know what I'm looking for?"

"People, I guess. Can you see if the house is empty? Maybe detect a signature from any supes?"

I nodded and set about focusing my energy toward the house. I sent my magic out like a creeping vine, whooshing and swirling around the house. Though my magic was invisible to everyone, I could feel it as clearly as the cloth of my jacket. I sent it around the house first, confirming there were no wards in place, and when I was sure there weren't, I sent it inside. I couldn't get a picture of the house in my mind, but my magic looped and swirled its way through, eventually withdrawing when I confirmed the house was empty. "There's no one there," I told Gage, and he nodded thoughtfully. "Nothing supernatural either."

"Let's go look. Do you want to wait here?"

I thought about the man who followed us the day before. We hadn't seen him since, but there was no telling when someone else would show up. "Nope," I decided, thinking of the safety in numbers. "I'm coming with you."

We strolled from the car to the house, as though we were supposed to be there. Instead of knocking at the front door, we bypassed it, heading around the house and through the carport, peeking in all the windows as we passed. At the back of the carport was a low gate, which we passed through, entering the rear garden. It was a little larger than the front lawn, and had a circular, paved terrace set out with a small table and chairs and a big barbecue grill. The garden was bordered on all sides by a low fence and appeared to back onto a wooded area.

"This is nice," remarked Gage, looking over to the woods. "Just the type of place a werewolf would choose. Plenty of open spaces and easy access to them." He turned away to peer through the door that led into an open living area. It was neutrally decorated, though calling it “decorated” was probably stretching it. There was a single couch, a cheap-looking coffee table, and a widescreen TV. A games console sat on the floor with a stack of game boxes. Off to the left was a small kitchen, divided from the rest of the room by a breakfast bar. Twin stools were positioned on the living space side. I didn't see any plates or mugs on the countertops; and it didn't look very used at all.

"Let's go ask the neighbour with the car parked out front and find out if this is Kevin Wyatt's place."

"It looks like a single guy's house," I agreed, taking a last glance inside before we turned away.

"That widescreen TV and nothing else is a dead giveaway. We might be on the right track. Follow my lead with the neighbour, okay?"

"Okay."

The neighbouring house was the identical twin of our mystery address, except the atmosphere was a whole lot different. It seemed like they both preferred the opposite ends of living. Where this one was sterile and empty, the neighbour’s house was full and loud. I could hear the sound of a baby crying as we approached the front door and Gage knocked.

The door was answered by a woman in her thirties. She wore an apron over her jeans and t-shirt, and a red-faced baby sat on her hip. A toddler, his little legs and arms wrapped around her calf, appeared to be riding her foot.

"Hi," she said, looking up at Gage, then down at me. "I don't buy at the door."

"We're not selling anything. I was just looking for Kevin and noticed his house seems empty and his car's gone. Did he go somewhere?"

The woman ducked her head out the door and looked next door. "Is that his name?"

"Yeah. About six foot, thickly set, with hair down to about here." I tapped my shoulder, indicating the length I thought his hair fell to. "Kind of unkempt," I added as Gage produced the photo he showed the waitress earlier.

"Yeah, that's him." She nodded, moving the baby to her other hip. "I haven't seen him in a few days, but now I think about it, I don't recall seeing his car in a little while."

"We must have missed him," said Gage, nudging me. I sighed and gave the woman a smile, attempting not to look as awkward as I felt while Gage spun his little lie. "He didn't say where he was going?"

"No, sorry. I don't know him except to wave to. Sorry, I can't be more help." She stepped back, lugging the toddler with her as she held the door.

"No problem. Sorry to have bothered you."

The woman nodded, already distracted by the baby grabbing at her collar as the door banged shut. I started towards the path we entered by, but Gage caught my arm. In a low voice, he said, "Someone just parked up at that house. Take a look over my shoulder and tell me who you see."

"I can't see over your shoulder!" I leaned just far enough that I could see around Gage and took in the rusty pickup that had drawn up to the house. "Two white guys. I think one of them was at the diner yesterday," I told him. "Not the guy who followed us. Though... maybe. I don't know."

"Okay. Either they just happened by or someone noticed us snooping."

"They got here quickly if it was to check up on us."

"Maybe they were on standby as soon as we arrived. What are they doing now?"

"One just unlocked the door to the house and now they're going in."

"That's our cue to get out of here." Gage caught me by the elbow and propelled me towards the family's driveway. Once we exited the property, we jogged across the road and climbed into Gage's car.

"You know, I didn't get the impression of anything werewolf about Kevin Wyatt's home," I said, "and I tried."

"Can you tell if a supernatural lives somewhere?"

"No, not exactly. It's the person that I recognise; but I thought something might have lingered. Like at a witch’s home, I can feel magic wards if they're present. Demons, too," I added. "They ward their homes."

"What about at my house?"

I thought about it. Had I ever picked up on anything about his residence? I didn't recall and I said so. "When I'm with you, I know what you are, but your house doesn't retain any kind of marker," I explained.

"You couldn't sense anything ‘other’ about the group in the diner yesterday, or the waitress," Gage mused and I nodded. "Did you know Kevin Wyatt was a werewolf as soon as you found him?"

"No, not right away." I frowned. That was odd. Even in death, there was usually a strong sense of what supernatural breed the person was. "It didn't hit me straightaway like usual. Maybe it was the shock or because he was already dead."

"Maybe." Gage switched the engine on and was silent as we passed by the recently arrived car, continuing along the road. As he took the next right, he said, "Could anyone disguise what they are?"

"Sure, but I know how to see through a disguise."

"Do you think someone could fool you?"

"I think so, if they were smart. It's happened before," I recalled, remembering the time a shapeshifter took on a friend's form. "It takes a powerful spell to hide the true nature and it's easy to slip."

"I'm thinking of something on a grander scale."

"What kind of scale?"

"I've scented everywhere we've been and I haven't yet caught a whiff of werewolf anywhere."

"Maybe there aren't any? Maybe only Kevin Wyatt lived here and his pack is elsewhere? Maybe he didn't have a pack?"

"That's a lot of 'maybes,' plus, Sheriff Johansson seemed sure there was a pack here."

"You think they're making sure they can't be recognised?" I enquired, Gage's line of questioning making sense. "You think they’re covering up their true natures, but why?"

"That's what I want to know. Maybe they're in danger."

"They could have sent their pack member to me for help," I mused. "So what now?"

"Now we make sure we've been noticed," said Gage, his face stern as he concentrated on the twisting road. "We don't have enough time to search for this guy's
pack, especially if they are making a real effort to ensure they can't be seen for what they are. If we can't find whom we want to talk to, let's make them come to us."

~

It took little more than an hour for us to draw enough attention to ourselves. Gage's idea was very simple. We started by ordering takeout coffees from the Number One Diner, then visiting every store and eatery in the near vicinity. For the first ten, Gage took out the photo and asked if the servers or store assistants knew Kevin Wyatt. From the eleventh store, he shook things up a little by asking if anyone recognised the "murdered Kevin Wyatt." Each time, we were turned away with shakes of heads and a profound lack of recognition. By the time we stepped out of the twentieth store, our coffees were long gone and so was our enthusiasm. In return, we discovered two vehicles waiting for us. Each one had a driver behind the wheel, but a man also waited, leaning against the car, flanked by a couple of goons standing with their arms crossed. Clearly, they'd been waiting for us.

"Come with us," said the man I recalled as the one who followed us the day before. He was taller and broader than I remembered, but I only got a brief look at his reflection. Now, as I looked him over, I noted he was almost as tall as Gage, and broad, his chest straining beneath the thinly-knit sweater.

"Not without knowing your name," said Gage, sizing him up, and glancing over to the other cars. "Or what you want."

"I think you know what I want," said the man. "You've disturbed half the town looking for Kevin Wyatt. And the name is Hal Hoag."

"Gage Garoul," said Gage, stepping forward and extending his hand. After a moment, Hal took it, his muscles flexing as they both squeezed. "This is Stella Mayweather."

"We know who she is," said Hal, pulling open the rear door of the first vehicle. "And we know who you are. Get in. Someone wants to talk to you."

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me who it is?" asked Gage.

"I don't suppose I am," replied Hal, without even a hint of amusement.

Gage shrugged as he slid into the car, and Hal slammed the door shut just as I stepped forward. "You're in that car," he said, pointing behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know I was now flanked on both sides by the other waiting men. Gage thumped the window and yelled something, but my attention was fixed on Hal, and Hal’s on me. Separating us seemed a hostile thing to do, but I'd met plenty of hostile people and came out each time okay. I could handle myself. Plus, it seemed like arguing would be a waste of my breath. I thought the driver of Gage's car was saying the same thing as he glanced over his shoulder, his lips moving. "You're going to the same destination," Hal continued, "We'd just like to talk to Mr. Garoul alone en route."

"Okay," I agreed, turning away. I nodded at Gage to show him I was confident that I would be okay and the two men followed me to the car. One got in the front with the driver, and the second opened the rear door, waiting until I slid in before getting in the back with me. The locks clicked shut and our car moved into the traffic, right behind the first.

We drove out of town and I tried to keep track of our direction, but with the unfamiliar roads and numerous turns, I knew I didn't have much hope of finding my way back. However, if they planned to keep us wherever they were taking us against our will, they would be in for a surprise once I shimmered us away. Having said that, the man named Hal said they knew me. Perhaps they knew what I could do too; and without another witch to counteract my magic, I was confident of my abilities. I didn't let my confidence lull me into relaxing. Instead, I made sure I stayed alert throughout the silent drive.

Where I lacked confidence was regarding the intentions of the man next to me as his large hand landed on my thigh, right next to my knee before he slid closer. I looked at the hand, then up at its owner, and he grinned at me. I clasped my hand over it and returned it to his own leg, trying not to roll my eyes as he and the driver smirked at each other. I ignored them both, turning to look out the window and the long line of trees we passed on the winding road.