Chapter 8
The doorbell rang at exactly eight-thirty. Liam glanced up from the small table where he’d been double-checking his notes and strode to the door. He could guess who it was. He scented another lion, and family.
Rich stood on the front walk, casual in jeans and a Henley, his expression warm but watchful. Beside him, Meg carried herself with quiet confidence, her long hair pulled back and a bright smile on her pretty face.
“Morning,” Rich said, clasping Liam’s hand in a firm shake before glancing past him. “We came to say hi and walk you over to Mrs. P’s.”
Liam stepped aside. “Come in for a moment. Meet our FBI partner.”
Meg entered first, her eyes finding Lina where she stood near the table, a file folder open in front of her.
“You must be Agent Goodwell,” Meg said warmly. “I’m Meg Kinkaid. It’s so good to meet you.”
Lina straightened, offering a professional handshake. “Call me Lina. And thank you for stocking the house and arranging everything.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure,” Meg replied, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Anything to see that woman stopped.”
Rich moved forward, shaking Lina’s hand as well. “She caused a lot of trouble around here. We appreciate you being willing to assist with finding her. She’s proving to be a very skilled adversary.”
“Happy to help,” Lina said evenly. Her green eyes met Rich’s gaze without hesitation, though Liam caught the subtle flicker of her lynx sizing him up.
“Shall we?” Meg asked, shifting her tote on her shoulder. “Mrs. Peabody’s expecting you, and you really don’t want to keep her waiting. Being a little early is actually better. It’ll make you look prompt and polite, which counts a lot with most of these ladies.”
Liam retrieved the evidence box and tucked it under his arm. Then, the four of them stepped outside together, the morning air warming up noticeably.
As they walked the short distance around the corner, Meg kept close to Lina, filling her in on neighborhood details.
She talked about the way the coven women looked out for one another, and the quiet strength of the community that had been recovering since Mrs. E’s defection and the attack on them all.
Lina listened intently, asking a few questions, her usual probing style softened by Meg’s easy warmth.
Behind them, Liam and Rich walked in step. “She’s sharp,” Rich murmured, jerking his chin toward Lina.
Liam’s mouth curved. “Sharper than most. And she’s got guts.”
Rich gave him a sidelong look but didn’t comment further. By the time they reached Mrs. Peabody’s tidy house, with its clipped hedges and neat garden, Lina had relaxed enough to smile at something Meg said. It wasn’t much, but Liam’s lion purred at the sight.
Rich rapped once on the door. “Here we go. Ready?”
Liam tightened his grip on the box. “Let’s see what Mrs. Peabody makes of this.”
The door opened, and a tall woman with silvery gray hair looked out at them. She smiled at Meg and opened the screen door, stepping down onto the porch.
“Good to see you both,” she said briskly. “Meg, do pop over later for tea. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Yes, Mrs. P. I’ll bring some of the banana muffins I baked yesterday,” Meg promised.
“You do that, dear. I’ll look forward to it.” She smiled at Meg, then turned her attention to Rich. “Good to see you as well, Richard. Now please introduce me, if you will.” Her shrewd eyes turned to regard Liam and Lina.
“Certainly.” Liam was sure that Rich’s lips twitched, but he managed not to grin.
“Mrs. Peabody, this is my cousin, Liam Kinkaid. You spoke on the phone earlier, and I believe you met briefly during the attack on the coven, though there wasn’t much time for proper introductions in all that chaos.
The lovely lady with him is an ally of our Clan, FBI Agent Lina Goodwell.
She’s helping track down Mrs. E, as I’m sure you’re aware.
Her investigative skills are proving to be very helpful. ”
“It’s good to see you in person once again, young Liam. And you, Agent Goodwell. It’s very nice to make your acquaintance,” Mrs. P said formally.
“Please call me Lina. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us this morning,” Lina said politely, clearly humoring the old lady and turning on the charm.
“Liam and Lina,” Mrs. Peabody mused, looking at them both, then shaking her head.
“That’s not confusing at all,” she muttered then sighed.
“You might as well come in. I’ve got a pot of tea brewing.
” She opened the screen door and ushered them inside, then turned to say farewell to Rich and Meg, who had apparently accomplished their mission in delivering the newcomers to Mrs. P’s door and were now being dismissed.
Liam and Lina stood in the entryway, waiting to see where Mrs. P wanted them to go. They didn’t have to wait long. She breezed past them after closing her front door and gestured for them to follow her down the hall of her Cape Cod-style home and into one of the back rooms.
The moment he crossed the threshold, Liam felt a flicker of magic licking out as if to taste him.
It felt like it was brushing over his lion’s fur and passing judgment, then it let him go, and he was free to move deeper into the room.
He’d noticed Lina also slowing her step as she entered and wondered if she’d felt the same thing.
The room itself was unlike any workspace Liam had ever seen.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined two walls, crammed with leather-bound volumes whose spines bore no titles.
A worktable sat in one corner, its scarred surface etched with symbols that seemed to pulse faintly in his peripheral vision.
Bundles of dried herbs hung here and there, their scent earthy and sharp.
He smelled sage, rosemary, lavender and other things he couldn’t place in the cacophony of fragrance.
Crystals of various sizes caught the morning light from a single window, casting rainbow fragments across the worn wooden floor.
The air hummed with residual magic, raising the fine hairs on his arms.
“Never mind the ward. Obviously, you both pass muster,” Mrs. P said absently as she moved to the other side of the room and took a seat at the table. “I figured it would be safer to look at whatever you’ve brought me here, inside my wards, just in case. Let’s see that box, Liam.”
Following orders, Liam lifted the wooden box onto the table and placed it in front of Mrs. P. She didn’t move to open it. Instead, she rubbed her palms together a few times, then held them outward and moved them around the box, as if testing it in some way.
“Describe to me in as much detail as you can, what the page looked like to you. Lina, you go first,” Mrs. Peabody ordered, her eyes on the box, not on either of her guests.
Lina described what she could remember of the page, including remarking on the way some of the letters and symbols seemed to move around as she looked at them.
Mrs. Peabody asked probing questions, some of which Lina was unable to answer.
Then, she turned her attention to Liam, repeating the process.
“Did you suffer any ill effects from handling the page?” she asked them both.
“Lina was the only one who actually touched it. I scooped it up, using another piece of paper as a buffer,” Liam admitted.
Mrs. Peabody looked surprised, as if she hadn’t given him enough credit to have thought of that. “Very wise, young man,” was her only comment before she turned the full force of her attention back to Lina. “And you, Lina? Did you feel woozy or ill after touching the page?”
“No, not anything like that. It just felt sort of heavy, and a little evil. It felt bad, but I don’t think it was actively trying to hurt me or anyone.
It seemed like it was just the place where the information was kept, and that information wasn’t in the least benevolent.
It felt dangerous and oppressive, I guess. Malevolent, but not actively so.”
“Hm.” Mrs. Peabody finished her examination of the box and seemed to come to a decision. “Very well. Let’s see what it is, then.”
With a flick of her finger in the air, the latch opened, and the box lid rose on its hinges to reveal the paper within.
She hadn’t touched the box at all. She’d used her magic to open it.
Such a casual use of magic was out of Liam’s experience.
Shifters didn’t usually mix with magic users, and he had to admit that Mrs. Peabody’s parlor tricks were damned impressive.
The paper floated out of the box and settled on the table in front of Mrs. Peabody, all without her touching it. Then, the box slid to one side, out of the way, but Mrs. Peabody’s attention was fully on the document. Her eyes scanned the paper, and Liam saw a definite glimmer of recognition.
“Now, isn’t that interesting?” Mrs. Peabody said, almost as if she was speaking to herself.
“What is it?” Lina breathed, seemingly unable to keep herself from prompting the old lady.