Chapter 7 #2
“Damn straight, she’s evil,” Bridgette chimed in to Tams' train of thought. “Everyone knows she had something to do with her momma’s disappearance.”
“Oh, hell, yeah,” Peaches adamantly agreed. “One day, the sweet, but broken, woman was walkin’ around beautiful downtown Defiance and the next she was gone.”
“We still don’t know what happened to her,” Tams sadly sighed.
Looking up, she found Donna Jean, the Luna of the Ripberger Red Wolves and owner of Mt.
Serenity Foodland, in the crowd. Forcing a smile, she waved while continuing to talk to her sister and the Bobcat Queen with whom she shared her soul.
“Patti Jo Zanderghast picked up her usual order, plus a few extra snacks that morning.”
“Yeah,” Peaches concurred. “But she declined their usual cup of coffee and cinnamon roll. Said she had to get home but would be back the next day.”
“And she never showed,” Bridgette hissed. “Donna Jean went to the Sheriff the very next morning.”
“And they launched the best investigation a three-hundred-year-old Whitetail Buck and two Deputies, who just happen to be his sons could,” Peaches added.
“Other Leaders of Defiance came forward without even being asked, and everybody said the same thing,” Tamsyn recounted.
“Three days in, the Elders and Leaders from other Paranormal Contingencies here on Mt Serenity swore she was killed because she dared to defy her husband,” Peaches sadly breathed.
“But just like all the other times…” Tamsyn paused, pushing the all-too-familiar memories of her parents’ disappearance to the back of her mind.
There just wasn’t time for that specific trip in the dark and dreary side of Memory Lane.
Swallowing hard, she kept going, “There was no evidence. She hadn’t left a note.
Hadn’t taken any clothes. Most importantly, hadn’t taken her beloved daughter with her.
” Shaking her head, the Bobcat Queen huffed, “Goddess knows Patti Jo wouldn’t have left Hettie with Boss Hogg.
She saw the writing on the wall. If the bastard had his way, their daughter would be as nasty and evil as he was. ”
Tucking the hair that had fallen from her braid behind her ear, she added, “It truly was the beginning of the end of sweet, little Hettie.”
“Nah, she was tainted by her daddy’s evil from the moment she was conceived,” Bridgette scoffed. “She’d never been anything but an evil bitch.”
Struck by a rather poignant memory, Tams slowly nodded, “You know, you might be right.”
Even though Hettie was older, the girls had been thrown together when the Zanderghast Wild Boars were still part of the Council of Others.
Since Virgil Ryder was the Leader of the Council, Tamsyn had to always be on her best behavior and play nice with all the children, even when they were nasty little shits.
Enter Hettie Zanderghast with her designer jeans, expensive tennis shoes, and mean streak a mile wide. That very same day, the Sow Princess had pushed Tamsyn into the creek, put ants in her Jell-O, and set fire to the ribbons tied at the bottom of her long braids.
And things got worse from there…
On Hettie’s twenty-fifth birthday, she wed Milton, a Sorcerer she said was her Fated Mate.
Six days later, Boss Hogg was dead. Karma?
Well, maybe, because the very next day, the Zanderghast Herd left the Council of Others, and less than a month after that, the Leaders of smaller contingencies of Supes on Mt. Serenity began disappearing.
One such Leader, the female Alpha, or Jill, of the Hoopengarner Opossum Passel, escaped Hettie’s goons as they were breaking into her home.
The brave Opossum came to the Council looking for protection.
She and her family told their story of intimidation and fear, and the loss of their Alpha Jack, or Male, at the hands of Sorcerers.
The entire family was willing to give evidence.
Then, the night before they were supposed to testify, they disappeared into thin air, from a Council Safe House in Southern Texas, known to be the safest in the country.
And the stories didn’t end there.
Across the state and slithering into Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia, the reign of terror of the Zanderghast Wild Boars and the Luchd-Brathaidh–Scavenger in Scots Gaelic–Cabal gobbled up all the land, resources, and Supernatural Beings they could in one of the most strategic and devious invasions Tamsyn had ever seen.
So, when her parents disappeared, she knew where to start looking.
“And I will never stop…”
The sound of rustling feet and the increasing buzz of chatter as the growing congregation of Paranormals greeted one another snapped Tamsyn out of her revelry.
Plastering on a smile, she winked at Peaches and mentally whispered, “Hit it, Bridge. I need the same volume you gave me when our boys won state.”
“Oh, I do love it when we get to have fun.”
Before she could thank the Bobcat Queen with whom she shared her soul, a burst of warm, fresh, Earthen Magic filled every fiber of her being. Clearing her throat, the sound was as loud as any stadium sound system and infinitely clearer.
“Hey y’all,” Tamsyn called out, sure to add all the gratitude and true affection she felt for everyone in attendance.
“First of all, I, along with my sister, Peaches, and every single one of us who call Defiance and Mt. Serenity home, want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. When I sent out that email, I thought I might get ten, maybe fifteen responses, but looking out here at all of you…”
She paused right before her voice cracked and took a quick breath. Widening her smile, she jumped right back to what she was saying before the attention span of those in attendance was lost.
“Well, all I can say is, damn, you sure know how to prove me wrong.”
As a roar of laughter filled the pasture, the nerves that made Tamsyn’s tummy do flips settled with the love and acceptance she felt. She felt more like herself–stronger, clearer, and ready to make sure all the people of Defiance and Mt. Serenity were safe and sound.
“As you can see and feel, the winds are picking up and the black clouds are rolling in. It won’t be long now. It appears the weatherman was off by about eight hours.”
“Nothing new there,” Peaches laughed. “That’s why we’re always ready for anything, am I right?”
Whooping and hollering, cheers and ‘hell yeahs’ rang out loud and clear for anyone within earshot to hear. The clapping was like thunder, and the stomping of feet shook the ground. It was the biggest and most profound show of solidarity Tamsyn had ever seen.
Feeling as if she could move mountains with her own bare hands, Tamsyn opened her mouth to continue when the first raindrop touched her cheek.
From one beat of her heart to the next, it was as if the Heavens had opened up.
Sheets of water fell from the sky only to be caught by the wind and thrown in every direction.
As it struck the exposed flesh of her arms and legs, it felt like millions of tiny blades.
“Well, shit, I guess Mother Nature didn’t like what I had to say.
” The renewed laughter of the crowd before her was reassuring and exactly what she needed.
“So, since this rain isn’t going anywhere, y’all get with your Team Leaders for maps and assignments.
Just look for the flag that matches the color of your badge, and you’ll be on the right track. ”
In unison, all heads fell forward and all eyes went to the badges Peaches had carefully printed, laminated, and hung on lanyards.
Before they had a chance to move, Tamsyn added, “Once again, thank y’all so very much, and don’t be in a hurry to leave when this is all over and we’re all safe.
I plan on enlisting the help of Miss Bonnie Sampson to cook up a feast unlike any other! ”
“You know I’m ready,” the Alpha She-Wolf cheered. “I’ve always got your back!”
More whoops and hollers and the clapping of hands filled the pasture, their loud appreciation only overshadowed by the howling winds and pounding rain. “Now, let’s get to gettin’! Holler if you need anything at all and I’ll come runnin’!”
Knowing she could travel to the highest peak of Mt. Serenity way quicker on four feet as opposed to two, Tamsyn mentally beamed, “It’s all about you, Bridge. Let’s show Mother Nature what we’re made of.”
“Oh, girl, that’s music to my ears.”
Blanketed in wonderfully warm Magic, the brush of fur against the inside of her flesh was the only warning she got before she was standing on four paws.
In her mind’s eye, Tamsyn saw Bridgette in her gloriously gorgeous Bobcat form.
Reddish-brown fur started at the crown of her head, flowed down her spine, and ended at the tip of her beautifully fluffy tail.
Light brown and tawny fur swept down both of her sides, gradually lightening to a snowy white that covered her underbelly.
Shaking to fluff her fur, Tamsyn padded towards Peaches, who was also fully Shifted and looking ready for action.
“Let’s do this, Sis,” she mentally chuckled. “It’s just you and me and the peak of Mt. Serenity.”
“’Cause Bridgette and I just chopped liver, right?” Bethany, the Bobcat Princess with whom Peaches shared her soul, sniped. “Can you believe that crap, Sis?”
“Oh, puhlease,” Peaches groaned. “Get over yourself, Bethany. It’s not Tams’ fault you’ve been on silent mode for a month of Sundays.”
“Why, I never,” Bethany griped.
“Don’t even try that bullshit,” Bridgette chimed in. “And don’t push your luck. There are a few embarrassing stories about your shenanigans I haven’t told Tamsyn yet. Don’t make me go there.”
“Whatever,” Bethany hissed. “I can see I’m outnumbered.”
“But you’re loved,” Tamsyn chimed in with a chuckle that had everyone joining in. “Now, that’s better. So, let’s head out.”