Chapter 6
Another series of yips and barks from Mona was followed by Arthur translating. “Mona says the man smells sad.”
“And dirty,” Chewy added.
“Mostly from dirt, but also from the ashes and soot of the fire,” Otis chimed in.
“Boys,” I warned.
“Sorry.” Arthur tilted his head to the side.
“Yeah,” Chewy and Otis added, along with a Bark from Mona.
Looking at the newest member of our little pack, I smiled. “I know you were only trying to help. Thank you.” Then to my boys, I repeated, “Thank y’all, too.”
And with that, I changed directions. Heading down the stairs, I got to the bottom, got one foot on the floor, and damn near ran right into Zelda.
“No,” she deadpanned.
“Yes,” I countered.
“No,” she repeated.
“Come on, Zelda. Kai is down there.”
And if he were standing here right now, what would he say?” She was getting sassy.
“He’d say, don't do anything stupid."
“Exactly.” She looked way too satisfied with herself.
“Too late,” I snickered before scooting past her and making a beeline for the hole in the floor.
Getting to the edge of the hole, I was trying to figure out how to get my badacious booty down there without breaking every bone in my body when Theresa appeared at my side.
Well, I thought she was going to stop, but instead, she got down on her hands and knees and started crawling.
Every three or four feet, she stopped, pulled out her phone, and took a photo.
After that, she pulled a pair of light green plastic tweezers from a pocket in her uniform, picked up whatever she’d photographed, and put it into an evidence bag.
Watching her with rapt attention, I nearly jumped out of my skin and right into the hole when Theresa pointed and said, “These are burn marks.”
“What? Wait. What?” Just barely catching my breath, I looked where she was pointing and immediately scoffed, “Well, duh, there was a fire here.”
Looking up at me and rolling her eyes, the White Tigress sucked her teeth in exasperation and sighed, “Alright, Smartass. I know that, but look closer.” She pointed again. These are not from a fire. They are from something, or someone who can breathe fire.”
Before I could answer, she was crawling away and yelling over her shoulder, “And these are drag marks.”
“What are you…?”
“And here is…” Gasping, she stopped, turned to sit on her butt, and looked up at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Nice try,” I countered in the sternest tone I could muster. “Move or I’ll move you.”
“Okay.” She held up her hands in mock surrender. “Just don’t overreact and don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know…”
“Will. You. Move.” I demanded.
“I’m movin’. I’m movin’.”
The minute she lifted her happy heinie, my heart dropped to my stomach. I saw spots before my eyes. I’m pretty sure the room was spinning.
The only word I could get out of my mouth was, “Blood.”
“Yes,” Theresa confirmed as she jumped to her feet, closed the distance between us, and wrapped me up in a hug. Patting my back, she continued, “We don’t know who the blood belongs to. We need to…”
Lifting my head off her shoulder, I took a step back and turned my head the other way so I didn’t make her ears ring. Then I let out a scream that I am sure they heard all the way in the middle of downtown Dragoon Bootay. “Zelda!”
Appearing in a puff of Magic, she looked ready for action. Her hands were up, her feet were shoulder-length apart, and I could feel a spell of epic proportions brewing in that petite body of hers.
“No. Wait,” I quickly said. Then, pointing to the crimson stain on the scorched floorboard, I added, “Is that Kai’s blood?”
“Do I look like a phlebotomist?”
“No, she does not,” Maeve snapped as she walked to the spot with her black leather bag under her arm. “And neither do I because I am a…”
“Doctor,” I grunted. “We know.”
“Then let me do my thing.” Squatting down, Maeve set her bag on the ground beside her left foot and took out a clear, but thick-walled, plastic bag and a small, silver knife.
Scraping the blade across the crimson stain, she dumped some flecks into the tiny Ziploc bag. Dropping the knife back into the leather bag, she pulled out a bottle of aqua liquid, took off the cap, and added three drops to the specks of dried blood.
Closing it tight, she shook the bag for exactly ten seconds. Holding it up, using the light from a broken window, she nodded. “Yep, it’s Fairy blood.”
“WHAT?!” I roared. I could feel the fireballs coming. There was nothing I could do to stop them. All my worst fears rushed through my mind. What was I going to do without…
“You’re gonna stop that shit right now,” Aideen demanded with a mental slap of Magic that made my ears ring. “Now, shut up and listen to Maeve. She’s explaining something you need to hear.”
Biting my tongue and accepting the calming Enchantment that the Dragon Queen, with whom I shared my soul, was pushing my way, I focused on my sister. Thank the Goddess I had good people in my life.
“Are you done screaming?” Maeve griped. “If not, I’m gonna need some more ibuprofen.”
“I’m done.”
“Good.” Pointing toward the bag still clutched between her thumb and forefinger, she explained, “This is just a tiny bit of blood. No more than a person loses when they remove a splinter.”
“But you said it was Fairy.”
“Did I say it was Royal Fairy?”
“No.”
“Okay, so, it could be any Fairy, right? Like one of Kai’s Frolick, one of the other firefighters?”
“Umm, well…” I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it could be.”
“Good.” Maeve nodded. Can we agree that there will be no more jumping to conclusions?”
“Can we agree that you’re an asshole?”
“Only if we can agree that being an asshole is a family trait.”
“Alright, Girls!” Zelda yelled before putting her thumb and forefinger between her lips and whistling so loud that small pieces of broken glass fell from the cracked window frames. “That’s enough,” she added. “No more fighting, or I’ll put you both in a time-out you can’t escape.”
“Yes, ma’am,” my sister and I sniffed. Turning away, I added, “I’m going over here anyway.”
Conducting my own investigation with three Wolfhounds and a Shih Tzu, I went to the farthest corner of the decimated ballroom. Eyes on the ground, I inched along the wall, conducting my own grid search, looking for more of Kai’s blood.
Walking past the largest oil painting I’d ever seen, the little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Stopping, I put it in reserve and took three steps backward.
Staring up at the massive piece of artwork and the ornate, golden frame it was in, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was sure, as sure as my name was Martha Dellencourt, that one of the people moved.
Moving so close that the tip of my nose almost touched the canvas, I looked up at the gorgeous Dragon flying over the town. Looking down from its lofty heights, it was obvious to see how very much the Winged Warrior adored not only the village but the people in it.
Dismissing all thoughts of people moving in very old paintings, I was just about to get back to my grid search when I saw more movement. Back at attention and even closer to the painting, I held out my fingers and slowly pushed it forward.
The instant the tip of my finger hit the canvas, a supernatural shock shot up my arm, and I shrieked, “Zelda!”
Right beside me, in the blink of an eye, my amazing bestie was out of breath and frowning. “What’s this?” She motioned towards the painting before I could explain. “You know there’s something behind it, right?”
“No! I mean, yes. I mean…”
“What do you mean, Martha, my dear?”
Giving her a look that I hoped expressed how irritated I was at her tone, I huffed, “I mean that I was walking past here and it was as if the painting called to me.”
“Paintings don’t talk.”
“I didn’t say it talked. I said it called to me.”
“Same thing.”
“No, it’s not. Talking is… Oh, who gives a shit?” I ended up snarling. “I walked past the damn thing. The hair at the nape of my neck stood on end.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t just a draft?”
Ignoring her, I kept going. “I came back. I thought I saw something move. Then I thought it was all in my head.”
“Which it probably was.”
“I am not stopping until I tell you everything. So, you might as well button it up, okay.”
“Well, color me excited.”
No longer willing to banter, I emphasized every word as I continued. “Then it happened again. I saw something move. So, I touched the painting. The damn thing shocked me, and…
“And you yelled for me.”
“Yes.”
“You just could have said, ‘the painting shocked me’. You know that, right?”
“Just tell me what’s up with the painting. You can lecture me later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“Lucky me.”
Looking on as the Witch, the one next in line to be the Baba Yaga, examined the painting every way possible without touching it, I was just about to tell her to forget it when she breathed, “Well, shit,” and waved her hand.
Blue bubbles, sparkles, and smoke filled the air. It wafted around the painting, completely covering it. Counting to three, Zelda pursed her lips and blew out a breath as if she were blowing out candles on a birthday cake.
In the blink of an eye, the artwork was gone. The wall behind it was gone, and in its place was an opening the size of the gilded frame with a set of stone steps leading into the darkness.
“Well,” I chirped, suddenly hopeful. “That’s convenient."
“No,” Zelda disagreed. “That's horrifying.”
“No way,” I disputed. “It’s another place I can search for Kai.”
Stepping onto the first step, I was stretching my foot to reach the second when Theresa showed up with her gun drawn and the safety off.
Maeve was right behind her with a new pair of sterile gloves on her hands and the medical bag back under her arm.
Coming right behind me was Zelda, silver Magic fired up and at the ready to take out anyone or anything she deemed a threat.
Of course, my boys and Mona were there too. Chewy complained, “Why does no one ever listen to me? I suggested tacos, and instead, we’re heading into a scary hole in the wall of a smoldering mansion. Talk about the wrong day to be without opposable thumbs.”