Chapter 18
Mattie’s eyes widened, telling Gunnar she’d misinterpreted his meaning. “I’m not going to hurt him,” he clarified. “I’m just not in a very good mood. Certainly not any kind of mood to deal with him.”
She exhaled. “I get it. In the early days of adopting Blueberry, things weren’t easy.
There was a real learning curve. He can be a real menace, which I know you know.
I can’t tell you how many times I accidentally trapped and released him.
I think at one time, I had something like thirteen wishes to use up. ”
“And you kept him?”
“What was I going to do? Release him into the world to fend for himself? You see the way he eats.”
Gunnar snorted. “True.”
“Besides, my bees love him. Since he showed up, they’re happier than they’ve ever been, and they produce honey like crazy. Doesn’t hurt that he’s very sweet to them. Never once has he done anything to harm them or trick them. In fact, he’s protective of them.”
“Probably because he knows they’d hunt him down and sting him to death.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I think it’s more that he knows they’re innocent beings.”
Gunnar shot her a look. “Are you saying we aren’t?”
She snorted. “Not hardly. Humans create a lot of chaos in this world. A lot of good too, but we’re not the most peaceful of beings.”
He thought about that. She wasn’t wrong. “You seem pretty peaceful.”
“I do my best.”
“What kind of witch are you? Like an earth witch or something?”
She laughed softly. “I’m a Celtic witch, from a long line of Celtic witches. Beyond that, I’m nothing special.”
That was obviously not true. She was very special. “You’ve got some kind of power, though, right?”
“I do. I grew up with bees. My grandmother kept them, my mother kept them, and now I do too. I guess you could say our affinity for them and the honey they produce is our special power.”
He turned onto Main Street and slowed, watching for anything that seemed unusual. Then again, the sidewalks were filled with tourists, and most of what they did seemed unusual to him.
Mattie was peering through her window. “I’ve got this side covered.”
“Anything?”
“I mean, they’re tourists, so …”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Maybe we should park and walk around, try to listen in on some conversations. See if any of them are talking about seeing things they can’t explain.”
“Good idea.” He parked on Black Cat Boulevard.
She had an amused look on her face.
“What?”
“Are we getting chocolates?”
“No, I just—”
“I was teasing you. But actually, I owe you some.”
He didn’t understand that. “Why?”
“Because Blueberry ate part of your order in that original box.” She opened her door. “Come on. Let’s go get you a box to make up for that.”
“You don’t have to—” But she was already out of the truck, door shut, waiting for him on the sidewalk.
He didn’t want to go into Delaney’s shop. Delaney was married to Hugh Ellingham, and his grandmother, Elenora, was not going to be happy when she found out what Gunnar had done. Being seen by Delaney, who knew about Gunnar and Blueberry, felt like tempting fate.
More than it had already been tempted, that was.
He got out and joined Mattie on the sidewalk. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
“Yes.” She moved past him to peer in the truck windows. After a moment, she turned back to Gunnar. “I’m pretty sure Blueberry is still in your truck. I was hoping we might be able to spot him if we got out. Plus, I really do owe you some chocolates.”
“I’m all for leaving the imp behind, but I’m not so sure Delaney is going to want to see me.”
“You’re assuming something has already happened.” Mattie looked up at him and shook her head like he should know better. “Don’t borrow trouble.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying …” Two women came out of Delaney’s shop and walked toward them, their heads together. He pulled Mattie closer, but the two women paid them no mind, lost in their conversation.
“I swear those were fangs,” the one woman said.
“I didn’t notice,” the other woman said. “I was too busy looking at the glowing eyes on the woman behind the register. How do you think they do that?”
“Beats me. Some kind of contacts, maybe,” the first woman said as they passed. “But talk about commitment to a theme.”
Gunnar exhaled. “Sounds like so far, nothing too awful’s happened.”
“See?” Mattie gazed up at him. “People are so programmed to believe everything in this town’s a show, that’s what they default to. And don’t forget, Alice’s magic is still at work.”
“I know, but the wish was for visitors’ eyes to be opened. To me that sounds like it would counteract Alice’s spell.”
“Maybe. I guess we just need to have a closer look around.” She smiled. “After we get some chocolates and talk to Delaney.” She turned toward the shop.
“You really don’t have to buy me any.”
She lifted her chin slightly. “Okay, I won’t. Now I’m just getting them for myself.”
He caught up with her in time to open the door. The place was busy, but that was nothing new. He couldn’t stop himself from inhaling the sugary aroma, but even that didn’t lighten his mood.
There was no sign of Delaney, but Ivy was at the register ringing someone up. She glanced at him, her expression wary, then finished with her customer. As soon as the customer stepped away, Ivy waved him and Mattie over.
“Something’s going on, and I’m freaked out,” she whispered. A flash of wolf shone in her eyes. “It’s like the tourists can see us.”
His heart sank. This was exactly what he’d been afraid of. “Yeah, about that …” He wasn’t sure where to start or how to explain.
Mattie leaned in. “Wish gone wrong. How bad is it?”
Ivy’s brows went up. “It’s not good. No one’s run out screaming yet, but …” She shrugged.
“Mattie?” He and Mattie turned to see Delaney coming out of the back office. Her look said she had a pretty good idea of why they were there. “You guys want to come back to the office?”
Gunnar didn’t hear it as a question so much as a firmly worded instruction.
“Coming,” Mattie said softly. She looked at him.
“Right behind you.”
Delaney’s office wasn’t large, and crowding into it made him feel like he wasn’t supposed to be there. Which he wasn’t. This was Blueberry’s fault.
“Okay,” Delaney said. “What happened? Because I’ve been getting calls from all over town telling me the tourists don’t seem nearly as blind to us as usual.
Bridget’s got people complaining that Howler’s smells like wet dog, there’s an Instagram post gaining steam that shows a blurry photo of a pixie walking through the Shop-n-Save, wings fully visible, and at least half a dozen people have called the welcome center to report that they believe the gargoyles at the fountain are real.
Which we all know they are. But the tourists aren’t supposed to know that. So what gives?”
“It’s my fault,” Mattie said before Gunnar could get a word out. “This is all because I left Blueberry here. If I’d just woken him up and taken him home, none of this would be happening.”
“No,” Gunnar said quietly. He wasn’t about to let Mattie take the fall for this. “It’s my fault. I made the wish. Even if I didn’t mean to, I did.”
Delaney let out a deep sigh. “Dare I ask what you wished for?”
He really didn’t want to tell her that. “For the tourists’ eyes to be opened.”
She winced.
“Yeah, I know. In my defense, I didn’t really wish for it so much as agree to the idea, and Blueberry ran with it.”
Delaney nodded. “I get it. I understand wishes can be very tricky business. And look, you deal with the worst of the tourists. The ones who get lost in the woods, the ones who fall into the water, who decide to camp during a …a …” She blinked. “Oh no.”
“What?” Mattie asked.
“Tonight’s a full moon.”
Gunnar’s stomach dropped. “I’ve been so preoccupied with the imp, I completely lost track of what day it was.”
Concern filled Delaney’s eyes. “What are the chances that you two can have this wish overturned in”—she looked at the clock—“four hours and thirty-five minutes?”
Gunnar checked on Mattie, who looked like she might cry. He put his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll do our best.”
“No offense, but your best isn’t good enough,” Delaney said. “The wolf pack is scheduled to run through the woods tonight. And I imagine at some point tonight, you and every other shifter in this town won’t exactly look human. We can’t have thousands of tourists seeing that.”
Mattie pressed her hands together. “I’ll talk to Corette about seeing what the witches can do.”
“I can do that,” Delaney said. “You need to be looking for Blueberry and figuring out the next wish.”
Gunnar grimaced. “About that. I’m pretty sure I’m out of wishes.”
“Then find a way to get more,” Delaney said.
Mattie shook her head. “You have one left.”
“Okay, good.” Gunnar was glad she’d been keeping track. “I’ll go to the sheriff’s department first and talk to Hank. Maybe the pack can take some extra precautions. Go a little deeper into the woods. Not run as long. We can spread the word that everyone needs to be out of sight when they shift.”
“I’m sure that will help,” Delaney said. “But this feels like a very risky situation. We do not need national attention, and the way things go viral …”
“I hear that,” Mattie said. She chewed the side of her thumb. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
Gunnar wanted that to be true, but he had a feeling this downward spiral wasn’t going to be easy to get out of.
Delaney’s eyes glittered with the hard gleam of vampire power. “Well, you’d better figure it out fast.”