Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Moira skipped out of work at five on the dot, moving so quickly I didn’t get the chance to pin her down before she skedaddled out the door. I sent her a text bitching at her, and she left me on unread.
Once I finished sweeping up the shop, I planned to stop by her house and bang on the door until she let me in.
If she didn’t let me in, she was going to get a yardful of nettles and fire ants. On that note, Ash stopped by my worktable on his way out.
“Need anything else?”
“No.” I waved him away. “When are you due back?”
“Next week. I waited too long to go this time and need an extra couple of days.”
Ash was a dryad who needed to return to his tree periodically to recharge his magic.
If he failed to do so, his innate power would slowly drain away, eventually leading to his death.
Dryads were sticklers about their time with their trees, but Ash had stuck around for longer than normal.
After my own foray into a greedy fae tree, every one of my friends was worried I’d disappear again.
It made them antsy and reluctant to leave me alone.
I smiled at him when he lingered. “Statistically, the odds of me getting kidnapped and drained by a fae tree for a second time are nil.”
Ash scoffed. “Don’t joke about such things. With your luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if a comet not seen in 10,000 years hit the shop because you somehow affected the earth’s orbit.”
“Funny.” I shooed him away. “Go have fun in your naked grove.”
If Moira were here, she’d have a field day. She was the one who assumed every time Ash went off for “tree time” that it was code for a three-day orgy in hippie territory.
Ash trying to dissuade her had only made her double down.
“Tess is still in the back. Don’t forget about her.”
He was only warning me because we had forgotten about her a few times over the years. Tess was so quiet and unobtrusive that if she wasn’t in the front with me, it was easy to forget she still lingered about when it was closing time.
“Got it.” I lowered my voice. “How are things with you two?”
He shrugged. “They’ll never be back to normal, but we’re figuring out how to set a new normal.”
My heart warmed. “That’s really good, Ash. She cares about you.”
His eyes flickered. “I still feel like such an idiot over everything.”
I shook my head. “You’ve made your amends with her. Don’t keep punishing yourself.”
“Easy for you to say.” He sighed and straightened his shoulders. “But I’ll try.”
“See you next week,” I said as he grabbed his tote bag from the hook.
He lifted a hand in farewell and headed out of the shop.
An hour later, Tess had left, and I was finishing the sweeping when my phone rang.
Caelan.
“Hey. I’m just finishing up. Did your meeting end early?”
“Ben is missing.”
I stilled. “How long?”
“No idea. He was supposed to attend our meeting and didn’t show up. We’ve been here for two hours trying to track him down. He’s not answering his phone, and he’s not at any of the places anyone thought to look.”
“Can you send someone into his territory to check his home?” With all the sensitive hearing around, I didn’t mention Ethan or Donovan. Was it possible the same thing had happened to Ben?
The new Lord had replaced Halvar after Finn had murdered him and took his form to infiltrate the Lord’s inner sanctums. Ben and I had a tangled history, but I didn’t want him dead. Or harmed.
“How can I help?”
“Is there any way you can get your hands on one of those…”
His voice trailed off, and the murmur of another voice came through.
“I’ll have to ask Moira. I might be able to get one, though it’s a longshot. Two is probably asking too much.”
“See what you can do, please.” He sighed. “I love you.”
“Love you back. Give me a bit. I’ll let you know.”
We hung up, and I texted Moira again.
After a few minutes of her ignoring me, I snorted and yanked my coat from the rack.
She could ignore me all she wanted on a normal day. This was too important to play petty games.
The drive over was short. Her car was parked in the drive, and Moira never had wards up, claiming if anyone wanted to get to her, they’d get what was coming to them.
I marched up to the porch, banged on the door, and screamed her name.
She answered right away, her brows lifting to her hairline. “I’m not ready to discuss this.”
I pushed my way inside. “Good. I’m not here for that anyway. Ben is missing.”
Moira blinked in surprise. “The Lord?”
“Yes. Any chance of getting our hands on two of those transportation potions or whatever the hell those were?”
She stared at me for a long moment and sighed. “Okay. You can’t get mad.”
“That’s a bad way to start a conversation. Why would I get mad? I figured getting more would be a long shot.”
She winced. “I can make them.”
I froze. That should be far outside of her capabilities. Or it used to be. Unless she’d been lying to me for the past seven or so years.
We had other things to worry about, but I had one burning question. “How long have you been able to make them?”
“Erm. About six months.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Alright. We can worry about it later. Can you spare two?”
“Can Caelan pay me for the ingredients? They’re expensive, and I work at a flower shop.”
“Assuming you don’t want me to tell him you can make those, I’d charge more.”
Relief filled her eyes. “Good. I will.” She wiped her hands down the front of the yoga pants. “Do you need to get to him?”
“Shit. Yes.” I sighed. “Can you spare three?”
“I can, but that’s all I have on hand right now. They take two weeks to make.”
I hated to take all of them.
Seeing my look, she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. As long as you don’t tell anyone I can make these, I’m not worried about people bugging me for my stock.” She paused.
“But if you don’t mind, can you tell Caelan these are the only ones I can get my hands on? He shouldn’t rely on me for these.”
I nodded. “It won’t be an issue. He’s not pushy with that kind of stuff.”
A sly look slithered over her face. “Unless you’re married. Then he can raid my stock whenever he wants.”
I snorted. “Straight to jail for that.”
Moira laughed and headed to the back. “Follow me. One will take you to him and should last long enough to take you to Ben’s territory and back.” Her brow furrowed. “Maybe. Depends on how long you stay searching for him.”
“No idea. We’re trying to narrow down his location. They have someone trying to hack into Ben’s phone right now.”
“I’ll start a new batch when you leave.” She led me to her small library room and headed straight for the small fridge.
Painted bookshelves crammed to the brim lined every wall.
A brightly colored woven rug lay over the hardwood floor.
A small table scattered with various herbs and tiny bottles sat beside an oversized recliner with a blanket carelessly tossed over the back.
The room smelled of herbs, incense, and Moira.
A pair of slippers sat beside the chair, along with an open book lying beside a cup of still steaming tea.
I’d interrupted some R&R time. “Sorry to yank you out of your relaxation.”
She waved a hand at me and didn’t peek up from the fridge. “This is more important.”
When she rose, she held three small bottles. “Do you remember everything from last time?”
“Two-hour time limit.”
Moira nodded. “Never take more than two of these together in less than twenty-four hours.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
“You’ll hurl. Everywhere. All the time.” She nodded, and I didn’t ask her if she knew that tidbit from personal experience.
“Got it.” I tucked the bottles into my purse. “Thank you for these. What can I do for you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Let me get back to my reading.”
“Moira. This was a huge favor.”
She shrugged. “Caelan will reimburse me. If you can hide these from the other Lords, that would be helpful. I don’t need any of them coming to my door.”
“Like Soren?” I teased.
She snorted. “Get out of here. Go find your hot healer.”
I scooted out the door after a quick kiss on her cheek and got into my car. Before pulling out, I texted Caelan.
Got three. Where are you? I’ll come to you. Don’t tell the others about these.
THREE?
Yup. You’re lucky to be so well connected. But it’s going to cost you.
I’ll pay in handcuffs and ropes.
I swallowed hard.
Sorry. Money this time. These are not cheap.
As long as the handcuffs and ropes come later.
We’ll see.
The next message was an address. I drove home and hurried inside to pack the potions in a small towel to keep them from breaking in case I landed hard again when I used the first one.
Then I changed my clothes because Midwest territory had a far different climate than Joy Springs. Thermal underwear under my jeans and sweater, and a pair of thick wool socks and waterproof boots topped with a bulky jacket completed my outfit.
Send me a picture of where you are, away from everyone, preferably, I texted. The faster we can leave, the better chance we have of finding him.
Less than a minute later, Caelan sent a selfie of himself close to a copse of trees with an identifiable landmark. He was still around the hotel area, but no one would see me pop in.
Unless I had extremely bad luck, which was possible.
Shaking those worries off, I uncapped the first potion and drank it down, thinking of Caelan and those trees.
The world fell out from underneath my feet.