Chapter 20
DERYN, DéJà VU & FIRE MAGIC
CROW’S A NEST OF CRIME!
With the mayoral election less than two weeks away, the Crow’s Nest break-ins do not seem to be over. With at least four reported and one ending in severe bodily injury, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight for the criminal activity on the island.
Sheriff Redding has issued a statement asking all residents to lock their doors and report any suspicious activity, but his efforts so far have failed at putting a stop to the misdeeds.
For the record, these incidents already constitute a 200% increase in crime on the island in comparison with its worst year, and that one broke all records due to the Dragons School for Girls burning down.
Do we really need another arson to trigger some change?
Hasn’t the Crow & Cat been sacrificed enough?
Watch this space and watch your back on the island.
—Crow’s Caw
Deryn opened her eyes. This was one hell of a déjà vu. Hadn’t she sat by Rhiannon’s bed just a couple of months ago?
Just like back then, the room was dark, but not scarily so. And the sheets had a high thread count, something or other. Was she at Ceridwen’s? She couldn’t tell if the bedding was green, as that would’ve been her biggest clue.
“Are you appraising my linen, Deryn?”
Ah, no, not at Ceridwen’s after all.
“I take it I’m in really bad shape since you are calling me by my first name.
” Deryn tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness made her drop her head back on the pillow, which, in turn, made it throb.
She whimpered, and Paloma was by her side in an instant with a compress of some sort.
It smelled of herbs Deryn couldn’t name even when clearheaded, which, right now, felt like never.
“Ouch, mmh, damn. Why is the room doing somersaults?”
Paloma placed the compress firmly on her temple.
“It’s not, you just have a concussion. Vertigo is a normal side effect. Well, not normal. Nothing about this is normal, Deryn. Nothing and I… I can’t…”
Deryn slowly turned her throbbing head and watched tears twitch and fall down Paloma’s cheeks. She reached out a shaky, unsteady hand and cupped the pale face.
“I’m okay. I mean, concussion aside. I’m all right. I promise.”
Paloma pressed the cloth tighter, painfully so, but Deryn held in her yelp.
“You’re not all right, you’re impaired, you almost bled out on my rug—”
“I’ll pay for cleaning?” Deryn ventured, but Paloma gave her one of those “Oh my god, why are you speaking?” looks, and she just smiled as Paloma barreled on. She was so beautiful…
“Fuck the carpet, Deryn. There was so much blood, so much, I can’t… When I found you, and you were just lying in your own blood. Why were you even in my suite? Why were you there? Why didn’t you wait for me at the town hall?”
Paloma went on and on, and Deryn watched her, eyes glazing with tears.
“Oh no, you’re crying, why? Are you hurt? I’ll call Franz and your sister. Deryn, please, tell me—”
“You’re so beautiful… So beautiful.” Deryn tried to lift her hand again to touch Paloma’s hair, but failed, completely spent. Paloma did it for her, her eyes going soft, warm, the amber molten, as she picked up Deryn’s hand and held it to her cheek, leaning fully into the touch.
“I guess you’re still high on painkillers.”
Deryn wanted to shake her head, remembered how painful it was, and stopped mid-gesture. Then, she slowly turned to watch Paloma’s face in her own hand. She brushed her thumb back and forth on soft skin.
“I’m high on you,” she mumbled, and Paloma’s eyes went even softer, almost impossibly so. Dark and tender. And so beautiful.
“You’ve already said that.”
“Can you hear my thoughts?” Deryn said dumbfoundedly. What kind of magic was this?
Paloma’s quiet laughter was the most beautiful sound ever. So beautiful. Really, really beautiful.
“This is how I know you are completely drugged out of your mind on the pain medication. I can’t hear your thoughts, Deryn, but I think you’re saying out loud everything you’re thinking.”
“Hmm, that’s weird. Well, I don’t know what I’m thinking or saying. You’re beautiful.”
“I believe we’ve established that fact already.”
“I hear she’s awake.” Ceridwen popped her head in the doorway.
“She’s awake and delirious,” Paloma whispered, but did not move Deryn’s hand, still holding it close to her face. Deryn grinned. She must look like a fool, but she didn’t care. Paloma was holding her hand.
“Ah, I see the predicament. I think the combination of medication and herbs deprived her of her filter.” Ceridwen drew closer and touched Deryn’s temple. It throbbed, but in a second the pain diminished, turning into a manageable dull ache.
Magic… Ceridwen must’ve been healing…
Deryn saw her sister and Paloma exchange looks and suddenly realized that she had indeed said that out loud. She gripped the sheets tighter, panic clawing at her chest.
Fuck, fuck, what have I done?
“No, no, you’re okay, Deryn, lie still.” Ceridwen laid both hands on her chest to hold her down. “Your fake girlfriend here apparently was fully in the loop from the get-go about…the gift.”
“Huh?”
Paloma smirked and finally let go of Deryn’s hand, gently placing it on the bed.
“You’ve said that already. And yes, I was the first person at the site of the arson in October. I don’t think any one of you actually realized that, but I arrived just as you were closing the circle and Rhiannon finished unleashing her…storm? I think that’s what I saw.”
“Not many people would’ve realized what was happening, Ms. Allende.”
Ceridwen’s reply was devoid of all intonation. Deryn tried very hard to keep her mind blank, to just listen, to not say anything totally inappropriate, or worse, spill more beans.
“There are no more beans to spill, Deryn. Ceridwen knows that I know about your gift, and she apparently has figured out our…arrangement.”
“She has?” Deryn almost rolled out of bed in shock.
“You aren’t as stealthy in your love life as you think you are, baby sister.”
Victoria chose that moment to enter the room, and Deryn almost dissolved into the mattress from relief.
“There is a Goddess! Thank you! Can we change the subject now that she’s here?” Deryn looked at her aunt hopefully.
“Oh, please! Like we need to know anything about your sex life anyway,” Victoria said and made herself comfortable on the bed, giving Deryn a long, appraising look.
“You scared everybody, little one.” The words were barely a whisper, and if not for the tears in Victoria’s eyes, Deryn would’ve thought she had hallucinated them.
“As scary as Deryn’s sex life might be—no offense, Ms. Allende—we have bigger trouble.” Seren stood in the doorway, her fire chief uniform on, helmet under her arm.
“Don’t tell me,” Victoria almost shouted. “Don’t fucking tell me it’s my place. I have worked my whole life—”
“Pru and Rhiannon’s flat, and no, not fire.
We were called, but ended up just helping with the side door to the shop.
And before you all start screaming, your Viking boy is okay.
He woke up in the middle of it, and the person fled.
He didn’t see them. It was dark, and the lights in the flat were disabled at the breaker.
He tried giving chase once he assured himself that both Patches and Boleyn were safe and sound in their basket, but the intruder was gone.
” Seren set the helmet down and took a few steps into the room.
Paloma slowly got up and brought another chair from the kitchenette.
“Thank you, Ms. Allende.”
“I think, under the circumstances, we can drop the courtesies.” Paloma handed Seren a bottle of water and glanced at Deryn before slowly offering her a straw. Deryn smiled at the care.
It feels so right, so wonderful.
When she caught all eyes in the room on herself, she took a huge sip, choked, coughed, and promptly shut up.
Damn it.
“Is lovergirl here feeling okay?” Seren set down the drained bottle and looked at Paloma, who took Deryn’s hand gently.
“She’s better, coordination is still dubious, and she’s clearly high from those pain meds. Her vision might be slightly impaired, we will have to speak to Dr. Franz about it—”
“I said you’re beautiful—” Deryn pouted.
“Nothing wrong with her vision, then.” Victoria patted Deryn’s shoulder not too gently, jostling her on the mattress. Paloma held her hand more firmly, her thumb caressing the back of her hand in languid strokes, making her feel a little dizzy with affection.
Before she thought or said anything else, Deryn shoved the straw back in her mouth and looked questioningly at Seren.
“Redding is there with his squad, but from what I saw, it’s very similar to what was done to Ceri’s place. On the surface, it looks like a regular break-in, but it’s clear they were looking for something. We won’t know if anything was taken till Pru and Rhiannon come back—”
Victoria lifted her phone, showing a text.
“They’re on their way. Should be arriving with the first ferry tomorrow.”
“Good.” Seren nodded and reached for Deryn’s bottle, removing the straw and draining it in three gulps.
Deryn wanted to protest, but before she could, Paloma was pushing a new bottle into her fingers and then kept their hands intertwined. Deryn closed her mouth immediately and enjoyed the warmth.
“Here’s the bad part, though—”
“Oh, good, ’cause before it was all amazing parts.” Victoria’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she grasped Deryn’s other hand.
Seren shook her head at the interruption but went on.
“Redding has no leads. Nothing. No fingerprints, no trace evidence of any kind. No footprints, tire tracks, not a damn thing. And he thinks the attack on Deryn was either a mistake or a hastily covered-up break-in, just like the ones at Ceridwen’s house and shop, and now at Pru’s.”
“Bullshit.”
Paloma’s tone was so vehement that every eye in the room snapped to her.
Deryn wanted to think how sexy and hot she looked, all worked up like that, then reconsidered.