30. Chapter 30
Chapter 30
It was time to move things along. After Ben had his morning coffee, he went in search of Megan and found her on the phone in the office. She held up her finger, and he nodded and walked over to the painting hanging above the fireplace that John’s grandmother had painted.
Death of Magic.
Such a terrible name for a terrible event. According to what Megan had told him from her studies, at one point in time witches and dragons lived in harmony. And something sent them down a hateful path where they became enemies. Could it be the death of the sentries? He wasn’t sure they would ever know.
He reached for the necklace around his neck and rubbed the pendant, willing it to unleash his memories. But the longer he wore the damn charm, the more he wondered if it would ever work. Which was why they needed to up the ante.
Megan hung up the phone.
He turned to her. “Sorry for interrupting.”
“No worries. This is your office anyway.”
Not anymore, but he didn’t say that out loud.
“I just talked to John. He’s been stewing ever since he found out Ben Wells—well, you —were impersonating his PI. So I told him we would explain everything if he agreed to meet.”
“You didn’t tell him who I am?” he said.
Megan shook her head. “No. Eric and Marcus have wanted us to keep you under wraps, but I don’t think that will work when we see John.”
“That’s fine if he can help us.” He was fine with everyone knowing he was alive. He couldn’t hide forever. “I hope he has an idea of how I can get my memories back. Or in the very least, maybe he has some information that could help me understand what I was doing before I lost my memory. Why I had his name, address, and phone number?”
“I can provide some info on that. We believe that you reached out to John and asked to buy the Death of Magic painting.”
“So I met him?” If that was the case, Ben definitely needed to speak with him.
“I don’t think so. John told us you called him on the phone. You used an alias, but it was the same alias you used at the museum to gain access to see the painting when it was on display there.”
Why had he felt the need to use an alias back then? “He’s been alive for four hundred years because of this curse. It can’t hurt to meet with him even though I know Eric isn’t his biggest fan.”
Megan nodded. “Eric thinks he has an agenda.”
“What do you think?”
She stood. “I think he has spent his very long life trying to end the curse, and we’ve actually uncovered some evidence of it. It’s a heavy burden to carry.”
Ben knew something about heavy burdens.
“Did you ask about Tessa coming too?”
Megan’s eyes widened. “Oh, I asked. And he said ‘no’ quite loudly. And before you ask, we should not tell Tessa where we’re going.”
“Ask for forgiveness later?” Megan should know better than anyone how Tessa would handle this.
Megan smiled. “Yes. I don’t know who would come out on top in their grudge match, so we’ll fill her in afterward. Tessa should be at work today, so we’re going to leave soon to see John.”
Within the hour Eric was driving them to John’s cabin. Ben sat in the back seat listening to Eric and Megan gear up for their talk with John.
“I want to tell John about what we know so far,” Megan said.
“We don’t need to tell him everything,” Eric argued.
“You don’t think he’s going to question where Ben came from? And I want to talk about the oracle powers with him too.”
“I agree with Megan,” Ben chimed in.
Eric looked at him in the rearview mirror. “I don’t trust him.”
They needed to move past this. “And from what Megan said, he doesn’t trust people either. We can’t ignore him. He’s directly linked to the curse. I can’t believe he won’t play a part in breaking it.”
Eric growled lightly.
Megan rested her hand on his shoulder. “It will be fine.”
Eric turned to her, and they shared a moment. Ben couldn’t help feeling like he was intruding. He was happy his brother had found Megan. He wished he had someone as well—denim eyes flashed to mind—and even though his heart was on board, he couldn’t move forward with anyone until he figured out his past.
Megan’s phone rang. She clicked on the speaker. “Hello, Sienna.”
“Megan. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Tessa called on the office line and spoke to Marcus and he panicked.”
“I did not panic,” Marcus barked.
Eric groaned. “What did you say?”
“She asked for Megan, and I told her she was out with you running errands.”
“That’s not too bad,” Megan said.
“And then she asked for Ben. And I thought if I told her he was sleeping, she would think he wasn’t feeling well and come over, so I told her he was with you.”
“See, he panicked,” Sienna said.
“And what should I have said?” Marcus growled.
“That he was in a meeting with me and you would have him call her back? Instead of telling her that our resurrected brother, who we have been hiding, is out with Megan and Eric picking up dry cleaning!”
Ben coughed to cover up his laugh. Seemed like Tessa wasn’t the only female force in this family.
“Hey!” Eric interrupted. “What was Tessa’s response?”
“She said, ‘Okay.’”
Eric cursed under his breath before blurting, “That was it?”
“Yes,” Marcus said in a tone that meant everything was far from okay.
“I give her less than an hour and she’ll be at John’s cabin,” Eric said.
Megan shook her head. “You really think she’ll jump to that conclusion?”
Sienna started laughing.
“You’re no help,” Megan said. “We’ll talk to you both later.”
“I want to hear all the details,” Sienna said between chuckles.
Megan clicked on her phone.
“She’s on her way. Where else would we be taking Ben? Do you want to place a bet?” Eric pushed.
“Sure.” Megan bit her lip. “Should I text her and tell her not to come?”
Eric chuckled. “On the slight off chance she hasn’t figured out where we’re going, you telling her not to come is going to cause the opposite reaction.”
“What do you think, Ben?” Megan said.
He very much agreed with Eric. “I’m wondering if she’ll bring her Taser.”
“Crap. I forgot about that. She’s upgraded from the golf club.” Eric sped up. “We better get most of our conversation done with John before Tessa shows up.”
A few minutes later they pulled onto the familiar long path that led to John’s cabin. When they came to a stop, the front door opened and a large male came outside. Finally, the elusive John Baker was home. Ben climbed out of the car. He wasn’t sure what he expected a four-hundred-year-old to look like, but it wasn’t what he saw in front of him. John looked forty at the most. Ben didn’t feel bad about giving him a once-over since John was doing the same to him.
“So this is Ben Wells, our make-believe PI?” John said.
“Yes,” Megan said. “We’re here to explain what’s going on.”
“I’m waiting on pins and needles,” John deadpanned.
Tessa hadn’t exaggerated about his crankiness.
Eric did some scowling of his own. “This is my brother, Adam.”
John blinked. Otherwise he kept any reaction off his face. “Your dead brother. Let’s sit down. I have a feeling this is going to take a while.”
John and Ben sat on the rough-hewn front porch chairs while Megan and Eric sat on the swing. And they brought John up to speed with what had happened since he’d stumbled through the woods.
When they stopped for a moment, John sat back. “Well, I don’t have much that shocks me any longer, but you just did it.” He focused on Ben. “And you haven’t been able to remember anything?”
“No.” He took a breath to keep his frustration in check. “The necklace that helped Eric hasn’t done anything for me.”
“I’m not surprised. The spell on that would have to be damn powerful to give you all your memories back. In Eric’s case it helped him recollect a couple of events, correct?”
Eric nodded. “Yes. And Megan talked me through most of them so that they came back to me.”
Ben’s hands curled into fists. “Well, we can’t talk through every event in my life.”
“No. And I have no way of knowing what the witch used to cast the spell,” John said. “And even if I did, I don’t have the power to reverse it,” John admitted rather reluctantly.
Ben wanted to scream. “Can you think of any way for me to get my memories back?”
John thought for a moment before responding. “I would say the more time you spend around your family, the better. The spell may break down on its own after time, or some trigger event might unleash your memories.”
Before Ben could respond, a car sped down the dirt drive.
“Were you expecting someone else?” John asked.
“Yes,” Eric said.
“No,” Megan said at the same time.
The familiar car came to a stop, dust billowing up around the tires. The car door squeaked open, and Tessa popped out in all her fearless glory. “Sorry I’m late. My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.”
What was it about this woman that made his nerves thrum in the best way. He’d thought her eyes were his kryptonite, but on second thought it might be her smart mouth.