23. Chapter 23
Bec
The moment I got out of the car, I saw Ysabelle and Muggsie leaving their condo.
Hugo went a little crazy, wiggling and whining in my arms. I walked over to her and set him down.
He barked and jumped at Muggsie, eager to play.
The other dog gave him a fond look, then looked up at Ysabelle, as if asking to play with Hugo.
Ysabella laughed. “Of course. Let’s go over to the grass first.”
I swore Muggsie nodded. He was a short-haired dog that reminded me a little of a beagle, but with smaller ears and almost no white.
Cora told me that the dog had looked like a cross between a yorkie and a zombie when she’d first met Ysabelle and Muggsie.
The dog wasn’t the only thing that looked different then.
Ysabella had appeared to be an elderly woman for years.
When Ysabella intervened to save Cora and Pike, she’d remade herself into the young, gorgeous woman I knew. I guess Muggsie had done the same.
When Muggsie trotted to a nearby grassy area with Hugo on his heels, we followed them and watched. Muggsie laid down and let Hugo jump all around him. I laughed at both Hugo’s enthusiasm and Muggsie’s patience.
“Muggsie is selective about which dogs he’ll let get close,” Ysabelle said. Hugo managed to trip himself and went tumbling over to Muggsie. The other dog jumped up with a whine, obviously worried about Hugo.
He seemed relieved when Hugo scrambled to his feet, panting and happy.
“It must be lovely to be so joyful,” Ysabelle said. Hugo ran up to us, as if checking in with me. Ysabella leaned over to give Hugo a pet. “You’re the most cheerful little soul, aren’t you?”
Hugo wiggled his rump at her words, but the moment she straightened back up, he went back to harassing Muggsie.
I met her gaze, only to see her head tilted and her narrowed eyes looking at me. “We should talk.”
She took my hand and turned to lead me to a nearby bench, and we sat down while I kept my eyes on Hugo.
“Tell me why your aura is troubled.”
It was disconcerting to know that there were a lot of people out there that could see my emotions through my aura. I guess the poker face I’d perfected for dealing with clients over the years was useless now.
“I’ve upset you further,” Ysabella said. “That wasn’t my intention. We don’t need to talk, but I’m knowledgeable, and I’ll be honest with you.”
“I’m not upset with you,” I assured her. “It’s just weird for me to find out that you can tell what I’m feeling because of something I don’t have any control over.”
She waved a hand. “I can only see vague things. I can’t tell why you’re feeling them. None of us can. Some are better at reading auras than others, but it often comes down to practice. Think of it like those observant people who are good at reading body language.”
Her words made me feel better. “Um, I’m not sure I can talk about it.”
Her mouth turned down. “Are you in trouble? I’m sure I can help you. If it’s an issue with the human authorities, there are several shifters that might be able to assist you. I’ve also heard that Tobias’s human, Briar, can do amazing things with a computer.”
I chuckled. “I’m not in trouble. Not yet anyway.”
“Not yet?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
I let out a long breath, focusing on where Hugo had laid on his side in some shade, panting and happy. Muggsie laid down next to him.
“We were all on a stakeout today,” I said. “And we, uh, might’ve started making out.”
“That was upsetting?” she asked with a teasing lilt to her voice.
“No, but a cop showed up and that wasn’t fun,” I said, keeping my eyes on Hugo. “He didn’t do anything but ask us to move. But it started making me think.”
“Think about being a police officer?” Ysabella asked. When I looked at her, I could see that she was making a joke. I tried to grin.
“It made me think about breaking laws,” I said.
“I’ve been so focused on finding Gale, then figuring out what was going on, that I didn’t consider other things.
I haven’t studied since this all started, which means I’m not going to be ready to take the bar when the next test is administered.
If I get caught breaking into someone’s house, or with a dead body, I could lose my license before I even take the test.”
“Does that bother you?” Ysabella asked. “Or would it be a relief that you have an excuse to not be a lawyer again?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what I'm struggling with.”
“Do you really have to decide right now?” Ysabella asked. “Does anything need to be done right away?”
“I guess not,” I said slowly. “But I don’t like being in limbo.”
“But you’re not in limbo,” Ysabella said. “You’re exploring.”
Her answer sounded like an excuse. “I’m too old to be exploring. I should know what I want to do by now.”
Ysabella burst out laughing. “What does age have to do with it? If anything, the older we get, the more we should see the value in exploring. Exploring the world, your options, and yourself. It’s fine to feel passionate about something, but if you don’t, the only answer is to try everything until you find your passion. ”
The thought that I could spend time doing anything I wanted, even if it wasn’t practical, was counter to everything I’d lived by. My immediate reaction was to dismiss her words as ridiculous, but I made myself sit with them for a moment.
“You should think about what you value,” Ysabella continued.
“What does success look like to you? When you picture yourself happy, what are you doing and who are you with? Those are the questions you can answer while exploring. Amara is a good example to follow. She’s made a lot of positive impact in the world in many different ways.
She’s also spent time purely having fun.
There’s no reason you can’t do one and then the other. ”
“You know Amara?” I asked.
“When it comes to creatures that live as long as us, it’s a small world,” she said. “I was the only one there when she laid the boys’ egg. I was so happy for her.”
“Was it in a nest or a house?” I asked.
“I think you should ask Amara about it,” Ysabella said. “She’d enjoy telling you the whole story.
I nodded, and returned to the earlier topic. “Exploring sounds fun, but even if I’m careful, my savings won't last. I’m going to have to go back to work eventually. And I don’t have the capital to start a company!”
“Was I mistaken or haven’t the world serpent twins claimed you as their mate?” she asked.
“I guess so,” I said, feeling confused and a little uncomfortable by her question. “But we aren’t, um, official. I mean, I haven’t done that mating bite thing yet.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Ysabella said. “The bite simply connects you to them with magic. You could wait for years to take the bite, but you’d still be their mate.”
Her words made a strange feeling build in my chest. I’d been so hung up on the bite being what defined us as official that I hadn’t considered that it was peripheral to our relationship. I didn’t want to examine how I felt about this, so I focused on money.
“What do Marduk and Danzig have to do with my career?” I asked.
“They work for fun,” Ysabella said. “Like many long-lived creatures, they have wealth stockpiled everywhere. You could decide to never work again, and they could happily support you.”
“No, that’s—”
Ysabella held up a hand to stop my words.
“I need you to leave that human concept behind. In your world, there is separation or divorce. In our world, we are bound by love and magic. There might be the occasional fights or disagreements, but you’ll always work it out.” She smirked. “And make-up sex is the best sex.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure. But I can’t ask them to pay for my lifestyle without contributing.”
“You’re still thinking as a human. Your happiness is theirs. Their wealth is yours. They won’t know how to think any other way.”
She was right, that was a foreign concept to a modern American human woman. I wasn’t sure that would ever sit right with me, but it was worth talking to them about. Maybe we could work out a deal where we took turns working, that way we all contributed but also got to have fun.
While I was thinking about that, my phone rang, and I had to stand up to pull it out of my back pocket. I felt a little fear at the sight of Jim's number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Bec,” Cheryle said.
“Is Jim okay?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “He’s awake and talking but confused. He doesn’t remember anything, but the doctors say that’s normal.”
“I’m so relieved,” I said. “When I didn't hear back when I texted Jim’s phone, I thought the worst.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “His family has been calling and texting me nonstop for updates. I didn’t check Jim’s phone until I needed to call you for a favor, but that’s no excuse. You left several messages and I should’ve texted you. I feel horrible that I made you worry!”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m so happy he’s going to be okay. What favor can I do?”
“The silent alarm at Jim’s office is sending his phone an alert,” she said. “He doesn’t want me to call the police, but I can tell he’s concerned.”
“I can go over there and check,” I said. “If anything is wrong, I’ll call you first before calling the cops.”
“That’s perfect,” she said, her voice heavy with relief.
“He’s got a lot of sensitive information in that office.
He’s worried that one of his client’s ex-husbands might’ve broken in to find her current address.
He wants to warn her if necessary, but he doesn’t want to scare her if it’s just some teenagers being dumb. ”
“I’ll go over there right now,” I said, urgency making me pace a tight circle while I talked. “I’ll call as soon as I know something.”
“Thank you, Bec,” Cheryle said. “Could you visit the hospital tomorrow? I think talking to you would make Jim feel better.”
“Of course,” I said. We talked a little longer about what time was best and then I ended the call and looked at Ysabella. “Can you take Hugo back to my place after he and Muggsie are done playing?”
After a short rest, Hugo had found a stick and talked Muggsie into playing tug-of-war.
She nodded. “Certainly. Is everything okay?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said. “But I really need to go check”
“Certainly,” she said, waving me off.
Focused on doing something that would make Jim feel better, I rushed to my car. It was only when I was halfway there that I realized I didn’t have a purse and I hadn’t told the guys I was leaving. I always carried a little cash in the car, so I’d pick up Bear Buns on the way back to apologize.
Thankfully traffic was light, and I was there in fifteen minutes. The front door was closed but when I pushed, it opened. I knew I’d locked it, so this wasn’t good.
I eased it open and poked my head inside. There were some papers on the floor, but nothing else looked out of place. The place reeked of pot. There was a head shop next door that had heavy bars on the window. I bet some stupid kids thought they could get in there through our office.
Both annoyed and relieved, I walked all the way inside. “Whoever’s in here, please leave now, and I won’t press any charges.”
As the front door closed behind me, I expected some sullen teenagers to walk out of Jim’s office. The person who stepped into view shocked the hell out of me.
“Gale!” I exclaimed.
“Finally the person I’ve been looking for!” she said. “Did you find Hugo? I need him!”
“I called you,” I said. Now wasn’t the time to tell her that I knew about her illegal activities. I needed to get her to my condo, then the twins could help me.
“My phone account got hacked,” she said. “I haven’t been able to do anything. Damn hackers! They want crypto currency to release my account. Can you believe that?”
Apparently the casket druid hadn’t been lying. At least not about the phone. That was a surprise.
“Why didn’t you call here?” I asked.
Her expression went from calm and friendly to angry. “I have! I called repeatedly but I got your boss every time. He told me you dropped the case and to stop calling. He refused to give me your number. Rude fucker!”
He must’ve realized quickly that Gale was mixed up in something and was trying to protect me. It’s amusing that every time she called she got Jim. It was simply bad timing that I was never the person who answered the phone.
“Anyway, I think you have Hugo, don’t you?”
I nodded and tried to smile. “He’s back at my condo. We should go there. You can follow me.”
She frowned. “I saw pictures of a big guy holding him. Does that man live with you?”
“No, he’s only a friend,” I said.
“She’s lying,” a man said, emerging from Jim’s office. I realized two things, this guy was the source of the pot smell and I was meeting Gale’s partner in crime, Lars.
“What do you mean she’s lying?” Gale asked.
“There’s two guys, not one, and they live with her, look,” he said, handing his phone to her. I caught a glimpse of the PixUs app open on his screen.
I felt dumb. If I could use social media to find out things, so could other people.
Gale moved too fast for me to react. She grabbed hold of me and wrapped what looked like a dog collar around my wrist. Suddenly my body was frozen and I couldn’t move at all.
“Where is the dog?”
To my horror my mouth opened and started speaking without my permission. “At my condo.”
“Is he there alone?”
“No, Danzig and Marduk will be there.” Whatever she’d put around my wrist was hurting me. Sharp, stabbing pain was radiating up my arm and making it hard to focus on anything, including fighting this magic.
“Are they human?” she asked.
“No. They are J?rmungandr.”
“What the fuck is a jurgmander?” Lars asked, doing a very poor job of repeating the word.
“They are snake shifters,” I said.
This spell made me answer any question asked, not just Gale’s. Goddamn it!
“Snake shifters aren’t so tough,” Lars said. “I saw Lomis smoke a couple once.”
“Lomis might be able to destroy them, but we aren’t druid,” Gale snapped. “We have access to some of his magic, but not a lot of it. We can’t take a risk.”
Now I had a name for the casket druid. That would be great if I wasn’t in agony and unable to run. The pain had moved up to my shoulder and was spreading across my chest. It was getting hard to breathe.
“Then how do we get the dog back?” Lars asked.
“We use her,” Gale said. “If they’re all living together then she’s probably a mate or flock or something. That means they’ll do anything to get her back.”
“Oh, yeah, good point!” Lars said. “How do we….”
The spell spread up my neck. My body couldn’t take it any longer and I didn’t hear the rest of Lars' question as everything went black.