Chapter 13
Griselda
“I think Faux Hobo is back,” I said, peering out my window. “There’s the U-Haul.”
“Faux Hobo?” Penny asked.
I got her and Lily caught up with the Arcane saga, clarifying that I wasn’t sure if the man was a wizard or simply spotting for one. They both went to the window. My wards made my windows quite reflective, and I was sure no one could see in.
“I see him,” Penny said.
“Want me to take care of him?” Prax asked, popping into existence next to her.
I frowned. He was supposed to be downstairs enjoying some coffee. “Prax, what was our agreement on nonphysical locomotion while at my place? My wards let you pop in and out because you’re on the whitelist, but it’s still annoying.”
He sighed exaggeratedly. “Fine. I’ll walk like a boring human.”
“And doors. Use doors,” I added.
“Yes, yes, doors.” He rolled his eyes and then turned back to his mate. “Just say the word, and I’ll make sure our little friend there can’t see a goddamn thing.
Penny looked at me, and I nodded. “But don’t make it too obvious, and be careful.”
Prax scoffed. “Did you hear that? She told me to be careful.” He looked directly at me. “You clearly don’t know how I work.”
“Oh, I have an idea,” I said.
Penny had told me how he’d disguised himself as an old lady to discourage buyers looking at her house when her parents had tried to sell it from under her. He’d also turned himself into a large woman in lingerie once.
“You like to play dress up,” I finished.
That earned a titter from Lily.
“It doesn’t sound as cool if you say it like that,” Prax grumped. “I like to call it ‘going undercover.’ Every good spy needs a disguise.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, glad that Prax was Penny’s incubus and not mine. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle the constant jokes. The incubus in question concentrated, and soon, he stood there in a cop’s uniform.
“Ooh!” Penny exclaimed. “Uniforms are a good look on you.”
“Isn’t it illegal to impersonate an officer?” Lily asked.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m not going to get caught. Duh!”
Prax strolled toward one of the walls, and I realized he planned on phasing right through it using his demonly abilities despite our extremely recent conversation about using the door. I focused on the patch he was about to disappear through, telling my ward not to let anything through. Prax smashed into the wall and swore. I tried my damnedest not to burst out laughing. He deserved it.
I tossed him the keys and then pointed to the door with my best straight face. “The door’s that way. Exit through the back so he doesn’t see you.”
He grumbled something about bitchy witches as he left.
We all went to the windows to watch the Prax Police approach the U-Haul, looking real serious. I had no idea what story he planned on using to get the guy to move, but after a while, the truck drove away.
Prax made his way back, looking smug.
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“I told him that several people called in complaining about a strange man hanging out in a rental truck being suspicious and pervy. Of course, he denied it was him. So I started asking him what he was doing here and how long he’d been parked there. When he couldn’t answer me, I said if he didn’t leave, I’d have to take him in, so he left. Easy, peasy.” He looked too proud of himself.
“You should meet Declan,” I said. “The guy pulled a muscleman photoshoot out of his ass yesterday, complete with backdrops and lights—pointed at the U-Haul—to distract our spotter.”
“Impressive!”
With that out of the way, Penny, Lily, and I worked on the ward while Prax entertained Triscuit with games of peek-a-boo. We were able to completely fix the ward and make it much stronger to cover the entire building and the immediate area around it. We were now magically secure. Individually we weren’t particularly strong, but together we were formidable, mostly because we’d worked together for so long, and our magic complimented each other.
“You’re magically safe now,” Penny said. “But what’s to stop Arcane from sending thugs?”
“They already have.” I told them of my destroyed shipment of beans and Marcus’s mirrors, which was a mistake because now they didn’t want to leave me alone. I assured them I would call them at the first sign of trouble.
“Maybe you should invite Marcus over again,” Lily suggested, keeping a straight face. “Until you know you’re safe. He seems like he could take care of himself.”
“I have him on speed dial.” I assured her. And I did because this time, we had each other’s number.
By the time I thanked my friends for being amazing and headed back downstairs, it was well into the afternoon. I sent them off with some coffee and baked goods and a promise that I’d keep them updated if anything happened.
I suddenly noticed Elise sitting in the corner of my café as I was seeing my friends out the door. What was Marcus’s mother doing here?
I sent him a quick message letting him know of her presence before quietly asking Nick how long she’d been nursing that coffee.
“Hours,” he whispered back.
I reached out to see if she was casting any spells but didn’t feel anything. I was tempted to call Penny and Prax back and send Prax in undercover, but that would entail telling them Marcus’s secret, and it wasn’t mine to tell.
A few minutes later, Declan showed up. “The usual, please,” he said.
“We gotcha!” Nick said, starting on the café mocha.
As we made his drinks, Declan sat a table over from the woman, pretending to watch something on his phone. Every so often, he looked up like he was trying to memorize her face.
“Here you go,” I said, handing him both drinks in a cardboard tray.
He was on his way out when the woman cleared her throat. “Excuse me, monsieur,” she said with a strong French accent. “You work in the gym next door, no?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Have you seen this man?” She showed him her screen.
“Oh, yeah. That’s Martin. He worked with us at the old location, but he moved a few months ago. I don’t remember where he said he was going, I think maybe Brazil?”
“I see.”
Then Declan was leaving, and Marcus’s mother was walking out after him.
“Oh fuck. I think I fucked up,” Nick said the moment the door closed behind them.
“Why?”
“She showed me a picture of Marcus, and I told her he works next door. Declan must have a reason to lie.”
“Shit.”
“I didn’t know he was in hiding or anything. Oh! Was that why he was all covered up this morning with that scarf and the hood and…”
I nodded. “That is exactly why.”
The door chimed again and a couple—regulars I hadn’t seen for at least a week—walked in. I put my customer service face on and got them served quickly before stepping into the back room to give Marcus a call.
“We have a problem,” I said the moment he picked up.
I repeated what Nick told me and waited for a response. “I knew that was too easy. Fuck. Does she know I live here? Or just work here?” I motioned Nick in and handed him the phone.
He already knew anyway, considering he just watched Declan lie to the woman’s face.
“I didn’t say you lived there, only that you work next door,” Nick clarified.
Okay. She knew there was something amiss but not the full story.
“Are you running away from like an arranged marriage or something?”
I didn’t hear Marcus’s response, but I could guess by Nick’s victorious, “I knew it!”
The rest of the day went by as usual, and with the Faux Hobo gone, I got more walk-ins from the street. It wasn’t long before 6 p.m. rolled around, and we were closing for the day.
The first thing I did when I got back upstairs was let Triscuit out. He was cross with me because I’d moved him back upstairs when my friends arrived, and he didn’t get to greet any customers. But with everything that had been happening, I felt it was safest with him at home.
“I promise, Triscuit, once everything settles down again, you can come to work with me and greet everyone.”
His response was to toss his toys on the floor one by one. When he started on some of my things, I reacted.
“No, Triscuit.”
He glared back at me and then tried to shove the antique crystal candy dish one more time. I concentrated on it, making the bottom of the dish magically sticky so it wouldn’t budge. This was how I’d trained him not to touch my things. I simply made them impossible to move, and over time, he just thought they were unmovable and left them alone.
Tired of shoving at the immovable crystal dish, he went for the foil-wrapped candy inside, picking each one up and flinging it across the room. He punctuated each flung candy with a maniacal laugh. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on.
But I knew better than to yell at him because if I did, he’d just fling them faster and louder. At least this kept him occupied and not causing any more chaos. I quickly made up his dinner, defrosting some of his pre-cut fruit and vegetable mix in the microwave and adding his evening ration of pellets.
I eyed his frozen fruits and veggies, then decided to defrost some for myself in a bowl and consider it a strange salad. I still hadn’t gone grocery shopping this week. Responsible me should go do that right now. But I was tired, and I also felt guilty for spending so little time with Triscuit lately.
African greys were like toddlers. They needed a lot of attention, or else they became angry toddlers. His time on my shoulder while we were working on the ward didn’t count. That was work, not fun, and my cutie pie needed fun. So I decided that today was a stay-in-and-play kind of day; I’d get groceries tomorrow.
My eyes landed on the wall separating Marcus and me. I wondered how he was doing. I wanted to call him, maybe ask if he wanted to hang out, but I also didn’t want to come off as being too clingy. Besides, he had a lot more to worry about right now. We really should’ve told Nick what was going on, even if it was just a made-up version of the story like the one he’d made up himself—that Marcus was trying to escape an arranged marriage.
Scrounging up some crackers and jam to eat with my makeshift salad, I settled down for a night of hanging out with—and cleaning up after—Triscuit.