Secret Worlds (123 page)

“I can’t believe you think so little of me.”

Kheelan went to the door and turned. “It’s dawn. You should be safe until tonight. I’ll be back then to make sure the Unseelie don’t catch you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

The door closed and she hugged her arms. Yes, she could take care of herself, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be alone. It would have been heaven if Kheelan had stayed with her and held her through the night.

“I don’t see you for a couple of months and now you’re a totally different creature,” Callie said after a prolonged silence.

Finding her best friend on the doorstep only minutes after Kheelan stormed out was a goddess-send. No one else would believe everything that had happened the last couple of weeks, let alone have advice. Talking over all the weirdness with Callie was a huge relief. Skye told her everything, from seeing the first black speck to being able to fly.

Had it really been a mere two weeks? Her world had been shaken like a miniature snow globe, a blizzard of strange events. Callie remained silent, a concerned look in her eyes. She lifted the metal pendant from Skye’s chest and stroked it thoughtfully.

“That iron medallion isn’t enough protection.”

“Tell me about it,” Skye agreed, rolling her eyes. “The same night he gave it to me, I was attacked by elves.”

“How much do you trust this Kheelan guy?” Callie asked.

“Completely,” Skye answered at once. “Well, at least I did until a few minutes ago. Now I’m not so sure. Is there a way to know? If anybody can figure this out, it’s you.”

“You overestimate my abilities.”

“C’mon, Callie. I’ve seen you in action.” Her friend had amazing witchy talent.

Callie tapped an index finger against her lips, deep in thought. “Still wanting to open your own crystal jewelry store one day?”

“It’s why I went to work at The Green Fairy. Got more than I bargained for though. Wish I had your magic abilities.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. I’ve never seen anyone manipulate energy with crystals like you do. It makes perfect sense though.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re half-fairy and that means you have a special connection to earth magic. Do you still have the obsidian you found in the store’s basement?”

“Sure. Think you might be able to see anything with it?”

“I’ll try.”

Skye hurried to get the obsidian from her bedroom and they sat across from each other and lit candles and incense. Just like old times. The heavy scent of the dragon’s blood incense and the hypnotic flicker of the candle flames put Skye in a drowsy trance.

Callie reverently held the stone in her open palm and chanted.

Wisps of grayish-green smoke arose from the stone’s center, leaving its surface looking like melted black glass.

There was the carafe of absinthe with pixies glowing above the green fluid. As before, the black gloved hand came into view, placing a metal tray over the top of the bottle, trapping the pixies where they would die by drowning after a prolonged period of exhaustion and lack of oxygen.

Callie moved her hand over the obsidian, manipulating the angle of the image so that a bit more of the glove came into focus. A dainty silver bracelet shone at the edge of the glove where it met a wrist.

“Definitely a woman,” Skye whispered. So much for her theory the killer was the guy who came in for the after-hours tarot readings. “Can you zoom any closer on the bracelet?”

Callie moved her open left palm so it hovered only an inch above the stone. The bracelet came into view with its silver chain links and a tiny heart inscribed with
G & M
.

“Glenna!” Skye jumped up, breaking the trance. “It stands for Glenna and Mickey. She showed it to me a couple of weeks ago. I should have known it was her from the beginning. Wait until I get my hand on that psycho bitch.”

Callie sat back and began frantically blowing on her left palm. “Get me some ice. Quick!”

Skye ran to the kitchen, flipping on lights as she went from one room to the next. “Here.” She shoved an ice cube over the one inch round burn on Callie’s hand. “Sorry, Callie. How bad is it?”

“Stings, but I’ll live.”

Skye poked at the obsidian and saw it had singed a hole in the altar cloth and blackened a bit of the coffee table’s wood. “Wow, it didn’t burn like that when I used it.”

“Because you’re gifted with elemental earth magic.”

Skye laughed.

“Stop it.” Callie banged her non-injured hand on the table. “Listen to me. You have more power than you suspect. I feel it in you. There’s a time coming when you are going to have to dig down deep and draw on that power. You can do it.”

Skye rolled her eyes at the pep talk but when Callie glared, she held up her hands in mock defense. “Okay, all right. Whatever you say.”

Callie nodded. “Do you suspect this Glenna acted alone in the killings?”

Skye cocked her head to one side, considering. She’d never liked her co-worker and couldn’t imagine anyone else at the store with a dark side. “No, I really think it’s just her. But what surprises me about Glenna is that I thought she was too stupid to pull off some kind of elaborate scheme. That, and the fact she’s a total fake. If she’s a true psychic, I’m the tooth fairy.” Skye winced at her own analogy.

Callie’s brow creased and she again tapped a finger over her lips. “There must be something else I can do to help.”

“I know. You could do a binding spell on Glenna to make her stop killing the fairies.” Skye leaned forward in excitement.

“I will. But I still think there’s something we’re missing here.”

Skye grinned. “Did you bring your crystal ball when you flew in on your broomstick tonight?”

“Hardly. My Dixie doodlebug is still going strong- even with over 200,000 miles on it.” Callie delicately blew on the burn, her rosebud lips puckering in an absolutely adorable way. Even when injured she managed to look as graceful as a ballerina. Skye mentally contrasted her own appearance – tangled, purple hair, dirty and sweaty from the night fly, and still wearing red sweat pant bottoms with her sweatshirt all scrunched up at a weird angle, wings poking out.

She yawned and stretched her arms. The smell of incense lingered and that, combined with the ebb of her adrenaline rush, made Skye drowsy. “I don’t know how well I can sleep with these wings in my way. Plus, the last two times I woke up either in a treetop or found a fairy invasion in my bathroom.”

“Go to sleep,” Callie said. “I’ll be here to keep an eye out. No fairies allowed. I’ll light some sage and do a protection ritual.”

Skye grabbed a pillow and sank on the couch. “While you’re at it, how about doing some magic to get rid of my wings? Very inconvenient. Don’t know how I’m supposed to hide them.” She sat upright and smacked her forehead. “I’m supposed to go into work later.”

“I’ll wake you up at the last minute and you can call in sick.” Callie walked clockwise around the room with a burning smudge stick. “As for your wings, that’s for you to work out with the fairies at Samhain.”

Skye was silent, watching Callie’s deliberate protection ceremony. Callie was right, this was something she had to figure out herself. But first she needed some sleep to come up with a game plan.

Callie continued sweeping the room with the sage.

“No fairy beings great or small

May enter by door, window or wall.”

Her friend’s familiar voice was a soft, soothing lullaby and Skye shut her eyes. Her words seemed to come from a great distance, instead of across the room.

“Be ye good, or evil, or in between

Keep away this day, stay out of her dreams.”

As I will, so mote it be
, Skye mentally added, allowing the peace of sleep to shut down her mind.

She awoke to a hand gently nudging her shoulder.

“Wake up, Skye.”

She bolted up from the sofa, disoriented and drowsy from sleep deprivation. She saw Callie’s face and groaned. “It can’t time for work already.”

“No, sorry, but I have to go.”

Her sleep haze lifted at Callie’s agitation.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s trouble with the coven. They need me.”

Skye nodded. Callie was indispensable in protecting the coven members from dangers that roamed the Appalachian hills. “Call me later and let me know you made it home safe.”

They hugged goodbye and Callie got in her car. “Remember what I told you Skye, you have the ability to get through this.”

“Yeah, I know the drill. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

***

At exactly 4:00 p.m. Callie walked in The Green Fairy, determined not to sit at home and wait for Kheelan or Annwynn to show up with their dubious offers of protection.

“You look awful,” Glenna said in greeting.

Skye didn’t trust herself to even look at Glenna, afraid her contempt would be written plainly on her face. She would make sure Glenna didn’t go down in the basement to set out anymore fairy traps. Easy enough to handle for tonight. Samhain was tomorrow. She could do her thing for the good fairies and life could go back to normal.

Normal. Back to being ditzy, pitiful un-witchy Skye with no magic and no boyfriend. Unless the fairies didn’t help her get rid of the ridiculous wings. Then she’d just be Freaky Skye. And what would happen to Kheelan? Even if he wanted to stay here in Tuscaloosa with her, he was at the mercy of the fairies as to where he lived and what he could do.

She put her pocketbook in Claribel’s office, stashed her cell phone in her pocket, and made her way to the coffee shop. She patted the phone. She’d called Kheelan over an hour ago and left him a message to call her about the pixie case. No word from him yet.

“Rosemary.” Kyle sidled up next to her.

“You think I need some rosemary tea?” she asked. Skye noted his brown hair, slightly shorter and curlier than Kheelan’s and his nervous hands always plucking or touching or drumming. No tattoo. She wondered who had come out on the better end of this fairy deal – Kyle or Kheelan.

“Energy.” Kyle nodded and pointed to her eyes. “Sleepy.”

“Okay, I’ll get some rosemary tea but I’m going to need my Diet Coke too.”

Kyle didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence before he turned around. Impulsively, she touched his arm. “Are you happy, Kyle?”

Startled, he faced her directly. She glimpsed his confusion before he shifted his eyes to the ceiling. “Yeah.”

She wasn’t sure he understood the question. He answered everything ‘yeah’ when he didn’t understand what was being asked.

“Do you like picture books?”

“Yeah.”

“Is your name Thomas?”

“Yeah.” He cocked his head to the side as if he heard an invisible, distant melody.

Skye stopped her pointless interrogation and let him walk away. If Kyle was returned to the fairy realm – would he be able to talk to the fairies? Could he be one of them again?

She poured the tea, added some stevia and took a sip. It really was refreshing, not as much as her diet soda, but every little bit of strength she could get after last night, she’d take. Maybe tomorrow night she could ask the Fae about accepting Kyle back in their world.

Or maybe not. He could get entrapped there and be worse off than he was right now. She rubbed a hand over her face. Too confusing.

Skye made her way back to the retail area, helping customers and restocking shelves. She ignored Glenna, perched on a chair by the cash register as usual. The shadows deepened in the store, and when Skye looked out the window, the blood moon was full in the encroaching darkness, the stars strewn like rare red diamonds.

There were more customers than usual tonight. People came in looking for something spooky for Halloween, black cat figurines, séance books and spell kits. A gaggle of giggling girls approached Skye and after much elbow poking, a petite brunette, dressed all in black was made spokeswoman.

“Do you have any Ouija Boards?”

Skye stifled a sigh. “This way.” She led them to the right shelf. “Have you ever used one before?” she asked.

Two of them shook their heads ‘no’ while the tallest one shrugged and answered. “A couple of times. It gave nonsense answers. I got nothing out of it, but Molly and Amber thought it would be fun at our Halloween party.”

Skye handed them the box, torn between making a sale and cautioning the girls. “It’s really not a toy. Be careful, okay? Light some candles for protection and if anything unusual happens, be sure to send it away before you put the board up.”

“Oooh…spooky,” one of them mocked.

“What do you mean by ‘send it away’?” asked the Molly girl. She twirled a blonde curl and shuffled her feet.

“Some say the board calls Spirits; others say it’s your subconscious directing the answers. Either way, it can be a bit creepy,” she explained.

Molly rubbed her arms. “I don’t know Amber, maybe we shouldn’t.”

“You’re such a wuss.” Amber took the box from Skye. “We’ll take some black and orange candles too so we can like, set the mood, ya know?”

Skye was about to send them to Glenna when she noticed her coworker wasn’t plopped in her usual spot at the counter. A shiver of unease crept up her spine.
It’s okay. Glenna’s probably getting a drink at the coffeehouse
.

Drink. She thought of the absinthe, aka fairy crack, downstairs. Before closing up, she’d have to go in the basement and make sure no absinthe was poured in the carafe as a fairy lure. She pulled the cell phone out of her coat pocket to check the time. Only eight o’clock, another hour to go before closing. And still no message from Kheelan. She frowned, checking the bars to make sure it was fully charged.

“Uh . . . we’re ready to leave,” one of the girls said.