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  A smile of relief spread across Delia’s face when she saw me.

  “Thank gods you’re here. I’m about at my wits’ end. This is the fourth bizarre call we’ve had today.” She wiped her forehead.

  “Are you feeling okay?” I asked, ignoring the gnomes for a moment.

  They were gathered on the concrete bench that ran around the fountain, chattering to each other in a language I couldn’t understand. Two of them were arguing so loudly that I expected a fistfight to break out any moment.

  Delia shrugged. “I don’t know, to tell you the truth. I’m just so tired of all these weird incidents. This morning, old Mrs. Nassau was caught streaking in the snow in front of Temples Assisted Living Facility. At dawn, there was a major row over at the East Coast Marina. Your friend Gillymack decided to borrow a kayak without paying for it. Ryan, of Ryan’s Kayak Rental, caught him. Gillymack is now in jail, with a broken nose and a broken arm. And Ryan is in jail for assault.”

  “Wow. You have had a busy morning.” I glanced at the gnomes.

  “Oh, I’m not done. Not in the least. Let me see,” she said, shaking her head. “Myrtle Woods had a meltdown when somebody chopped down her holly tree. Considering she’s one of the Winter Fae, and that holly tree is sacred to her, she’s threatening bodily harm if she finds out who did it.”

  I groaned, easing myself onto the edge of the fountain. “Anything else?”

  “Hmm, is there anything? No, I guess not, unless you count the call I received from Auntie Tautau. She warned me that something is askew in the web surrounding Bedlam. She said that the energy’s shifted and chaos is flooding the island. She’s not sure what’s going on, but she wanted to give me a heads-up.”

  As Delia finished talking, she slumped back against the bench next to the gnomes and crossed her arms. She let out an exhausted sound, and looked up at me.

  “If Auntie Tautau called you, then there’s something seriously askew.”

  The Aunties were a group of incredibly powerful witches. Nobody was sure what race they were, although they looked human enough. They were ancient, irreverent, sometimes raunchy, and they belonged to no group, coven, or organization. Sometimes they worked with the Society Magicka, and I knew that Auntie Tautau also worked with the WPP, the Witches’ Protection Program. But other than that, nobody knew where they came from, or who they answered to.

  “I’d appreciate it if you would talk to her, if you can. If she’s home. She does have a way of disappearing when she doesn’t want company. Anyway, what about the gnomes?”

  “Let’s see what I can do.” I walked over and took a seat on the other side of the gnomes.

  They stopped what they were doing and stared at me suspiciously. The two gnomes on the brink of an argument also paused. Finally, one of the gnomes—a stout little man with ruddy cheeks and a bright red nose—sauntered toward me, hands on his hips. He let out a loud belch and I could smell whiskey on his breath.

  “Are you in charge?” His voice seemed way too loud for his size.

  “In a way. Who are you?”

  “Digger,” he said. “And who are you, sweet cheeks?”

  I suppressed the desire to knock him over. “Address me like that again and I’ll toss you in the fountain. I’m Maudlin Gallowglass, and I’m the High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven. Where are you from? And how did you get here?”

  “That’s the same thing the sheriff asked. And I’ll tell you what we told her. We were in Summer Rise, and the next minute, we were here. We were hiking up to Mount Jubilee.”

  Even though he smelled like he’d bathed in booze, he sounded as sober as I was. But something he said rang a bell. I closed my eyes, trying to remember where I had heard of Mount Jubilee. Then, I knew.

  “Hold on a second.” I pulled out my phone, and pulled up my E-reader app. I thumbed through the library until I came to a book. Sure enough, the title was The Tales Of Summer Rise. I opened the book and skimmed through until I found a story titled “Digger’s Big Adventure on Mount Jubilee.”

  “Delia, can I talk to you in private?”

  She followed me far enough away so the gnomes couldn’t hear us.

  I showed her my phone. “Summer Rise is a town in a kids’ book. These gnomes are straight out of the book. So the question is, who gated them in?” I stared at the children’s book, frowning. “It wasn’t Ralph. I’m sure of it. He’s kept his nose clean lately, thanks to Ivy.”

  “Well, if Ralph didn’t bring them here, who did? And why?” She glanced over her shoulder. “What do I do with them?”

  I wasn’t going to take them home, that was for sure. I’d made that mistake with Snow White and things had turned into one big mess. “Find them a hotel?”

  “There are ten men on the fountain who can barely scramble up on a stepstool, let alone a bed or sofa. A hotel room would be useless. A bed would be like a football field.”

  I tried to think. If we asked Sandy, she’d do it, but Mr. Peabody, her skunk, would probably terrorize the poor gnomes. Ralph and his brothers were out of the question. And just about everybody else that I knew wouldn’t have the right facilities to help the gnomes manage.

  “I guess we’ll have to ask Sandy. Her assistant, Alex, can rig up something. Let me call her.”

  When Sandy answered, she was breathing hard. I could hear a whir in the background that told me she was on her treadmill. She took three yoga classes a week, four cardio classes, and she met with her personal trainer twice a week to lift weights. I had tried to join her for a while, but I just wasn’t cut out for that level of exercise.

  “Hey Sandy, do you have a room that we can store some gnomes in?”

  She paused, then sputtered. “Who’s got gnome trouble?”

  “Delia. Somehow, ten gnomes were transported out of a storybook and ended up in the town square. We’re talking the red-capped little men, not forest gnomes. They don’t know how they got here and we have no idea of what to do with them. But we need a safe place to keep them until we can figure out how to send them back.”

  “This isn’t Ralph’s fault, is it?” Sandy asked suspiciously. She had been right by my side during the whole Snow White incident.

  “I don’t think so.” I paused, then added, “I got another letter, by the way.”

  “Have you told Aegis yet?”

  “Yes, I showed him the letters. He asked if I thought it might be Fata Morgana, but I told him no. For one thing, if she went off the deep end I think we’d know it in a big way.”

  “You’re probably right. I don’t think it’s her, either. But who is behind it? Craig’s dead. Do you have any other unrequited crushes?”

  “ I have no clue. But back to the gnomes. Do you have room in your house to fix up a space for them?”

  “If they’ll accept being locked in a room. I’m not about to let them roam free around my house. Bring them over when you’re ready. I’ll have Alex prepare a space for them.” And with that, she signed off.

  “Sandy says bring the gnomes over to her place. How are you going to round them up?” I kept my voice low as I stared at the gnomes.

  “I have no clue. What kind of carrots do gnomes like? Gnome women? Food? I have no clue,” Delia said.

  “I know what they’ll jump at. Leave it to me.” I strode over to the gnomes, wincing as my hip twinged. “Hey, fellows? How would you like some ale?” My hunch was correct. They turned as one, staring at me with hungry looks.

  “You got food, too?” one of them asked.

  I nodded. “Plenty of it. So, up for a ride?” I pointed to one of the passing cars. “Have you ever been in a car before?”

  They shook their heads.

  I turned Delia. “Maybe you should take them in the back of the squad car.” It occurred to me that even storybook gnomes weren’t very nice. They seemed to fight a lot.

  Delia slowly pulled the patrol car up to the curb, got out, and opened the back door. The gnomes started to argue who was getting in first.

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; “All right, knock it off with the fighting!” I shouted.

  The gnomes stopped their bickering and turned to stare at me.

  “We’re taking you somewhere safe where you can eat and drink. And then we’ll try to figure out how to send you back to where you came from. But you have to promise to behave. No fighting, understand? And no messing about with stuff that’s none of your business.”

  One by one, the gnomes agreed, grumbling all the while. When Delia went to pick one up, though, he smacked her hand.

  “Let her do it.” He pointed to me. “The one with the boobs.”

  Rolling her eyes, Delia stepped back, making way for me. I lifted the gnomes, one at a time, and placed them in the back seat, shutting the door so they couldn’t scramble out again.

  Finally, I was finished. “Sandy will be waiting. Alex is there and he’ll help.”

  At that moment, sounds of a shouting match interrupted me. We turned around, looking into the crowd, only to see two women going at it in front of one of the department stores. They were next to an outdoor sales table. It looked as though one had found a scarf she liked and the other had grabbed hold of the other end. They were playing tug-of-war with it, while the shopkeeper was yelling at them to stop.

  With an irritated look, Delia pushed through the crowd. “Break it up! Seriously, what the hell are you fighting about, Madge?”

  I recognized Madge Henney on one end of the scarf. The other woman, I didn’t know.

  “Can’t you make them stop? They’re ruining my merchandise,” the shopkeeper said.

  “Hold your horses. I’ll do what I can.” Delia took hold of the scarf, yanking it out of both women’s hands. “Act your age! You’re adult women and not a couple of whining teenagers. You’re fighting over a stupid scarf that isn’t even that attractive. What started it?”

  Madge Henney stared at the ground, her face flushing. “I don’t know. I just wanted it and she grabbed it out of my hands.”

  “I did not! I saw it before you did.”

  Thoroughly disgusted, Delia handed the scarf back to the store manager.

  “They stretched it out! Who’s going to pay for this?” the clerk said.

  “Why don’t you bill them both, and each can pay half of the cost.” She glared at the women. “And they will pay it, won’t they?”

  As the women grudgingly nodded, Delia let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ve got to go. And I don’t want to have to come back here, you understand?” Once again, she turned to Madge and the other woman. Again they both nodded. Delia made her way back through the crowd to me. She gave me a long, frustrated look.

  “Some days, this job is just not worth it. I’m heading over to Sandy’s. Do you want to meet me there?” I could tell she was hoping I’d say yes, but the truth was, I had no interest in dealing with a group of rowdy gnomes.

  “Sorry,” I said with a grin. “I have other things to do. But I’ll check on how they are later today, and I’ll start trying to figure out how they got here. I’ll call Auntie Tautau and see if she’ll talk to me.” With that, I hightailed it back to my rented sedan before Delia could ask me for another favor.

  Chapter Six

  By the time I got home, I was exhausted—more sore than tired. I glanced at the clock, and saw that it was almost four. That meant Aegis would wake up in another twenty minutes. I slumped down at the table, wanting nothing more than a long massage and a hot bath.

  “You look like something the cat dragged in,” Kelson said, setting a tall mug of mocha in front of me, along with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

  “Bless you,” I said, taking a sip. I wiped the whipped cream off my lips, grateful as the warmth slid down my throat. “I love the holidays, but why do they always seem so stressful? I just realized I haven’t finished my shopping, and I’m usually on top of things like that.”

  “You’re not just celebrating the holidays. The bed-and-breakfast is full, and you’re planning a wedding.” Kelson sat across from me, a cup of tea in hand. “Don’t beat yourself up. Craig already did that for you. Your body’s still recuperating and you have every reason to be tired.”

  I stifled a yawn. Finally, I attempted a very small stretch, grimacing as the pain hit. After another yawn, I picked up one of the cookies and bit into it.

  “How’s everybody doing today? I wish I had time to be a better hostess.”

  “Nobody’s complaining, and everybody seems to be out and about a lot. Except, of course, Henry. And he’s keeping to himself. He seems to be in a reclusive mood lately. Ever since he and Franny had that blowup, I think they’ve been trying to avoid each other.”

  Henry Mosswood was a semi-permanent resident at the Bewitching Bedlam. He was writing the history of Bedlam, although I had my doubts whether he would actually manage to finish the book. He’d been cursed long ago when he had broken the heart of a witch. She had hexed him to live an extremely long life but to never find love. When Franny had developed a crush on him and thought he reciprocated her feelings, things had become tense. Now, Henry kept to his room and the two seldom spoke.

  “That was an unfortunate incident. I do blame him for leading her on. He’s old enough to know how women take things.” By now I had eaten five of the cookies and I pushed the plate away. “Take this away or I’ll eat all of them.”

  “And that’s a problem?” Kelson asked, picking up the plate and returning it to the counter.

  “If I want to fit my wedding dress, it’s a problem. Otherwise I wouldn’t care. But it’s too late to do any more adjustments on the dress, and I’ve been stress-eating too much.”

  The door to the basement opened and Aegis entered the room.

  Every time I looked at him, the world became a little bit brighter.

  “Good evening, love,” he said, leaning down to give me a long kiss.

  I sighed, melting into his arms. “It’s been a day, I’ll tell you that.” I gazed into his eyes. At one time I would have killed him without question, without knowing anything about his life before he was turned.

  “Oh, my Maddy. I’m sorry. I wish you didn’t hurt,” he whispered. “I’d take you up to your bed and make love to every inch of you. But for now, we’ll settle for kisses and cuddles until you heal. Come on, let’s eat an early dinner.” Aegis kissed me again. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

  “Lasagna,” Kelson said from over by the oven. “But it won’t be ready for ninety minutes. I can make you something simple, if you like.”

  I thought about it, then shook my head. “We’ll wait for the lasagna.”

  While Kelson made the salad and assigned the intern who was helping her to set the main dining table for all our guests, I told Aegis about what had happened with the gnomes.

  “Have you tried to call Auntie Tautau yet?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I suppose I should.” I pulled out my phone and called her number, but I got voice mail, asking me to leave a message. Ten to one, she was screening, but I went ahead and asked her to call me when she got the chance.

  Aegis and I went into the office and looked over the books while waiting for Kelson to call us to dinner, and by the time we were done, I was even more grateful I had waited for the lasagna because it was perfect. As we passed by the dining table, going into the kitchen to eat, it seemed that all our guests, including Henry, were eating in again. I waved to them, leaving them to talk among themselves, and Aegis and I closed the door between the dining room and the kitchen to give ourselves some privacy.

  I sat at the table while he brought over our plates, thinking how lucky I was. I might be injured, but I had a man who treated me like a queen, I owned a beautiful old bed-and-breakfast, I had wonderful friends, and I had a cjinn who was my closest buddy. Life was good.

  “What is it?” Aegis asked as he sat down next to me.

  “I was just thinking how much I have to be grateful for,” I said, picking up my fork and digging in. The lasagna was hot and full of flavor, the salad, cool and c
risp, and the pie tasted like a cool autumn night by the fire.

  “That’s always a good thing to do.” Kelson carried the pie into the living room on a tray. When she returned, her tray full of dishes, she set them down, dished up a plate for herself, and joined us. “I’m so tired. Even with the interns, this many guests on a regular basis is taxing.”

  I winced. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help out more.”

  “I saw the baskets sitting next to the laundry room. I can wash all the sheets tonight while you’re asleep,” Aegis said.

  Kelson wiped a stray hair back from her forehead where it had gotten loose from her braid. “Thank you. I was busy cooking all day, and Sera and Jeff—the interns—were cleaning, and shoveling snow so the guests can get their cars out of the driveway.”

  We ate in a comfortable silence, the food creating a cushion against all of the outside problems. By the time we finished our pie, I leaned back and smiled, patting my stomach.

  “Good food goes a long ways, doesn’t it?”

  Aegis nodded. “Yeah, it’s one of life’s joys—”

  My phone jangled, cutting him off. It was Sandy’s ringtone.

  A sudden premonition swept over me, and I sobered. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Maddy, Jenna’s gone. The school called. She missed her Magickal Chants class this afternoon. Her roommate Lara thought she might be cutting class, but when Jenna didn’t show up for dinner, Lara got worried and went to the RA. They’re searching the school and grounds right now.” Sandy’s voice trembled. She had gone from unsure guardian to doting mother over the past months.

  I frowned. “Could she be on her way home? Maybe she decided to come visit you and got on the wrong bus. Did you call her phone?”

  “Yes, and so did the school. It just goes straight to voice mail. She’s disabled her Find Friends app. I don’t know what to do.”

  I thought back to what she had told me earlier. “You said you were worried that Jenna’s hanging around with a bad crowd. Could she be with them?”

  Sandy hesitated for a moment. “Maybe. I wish I could remember the names of those kids. Maybe Lara knows. I know I’m asking a lot, but could you go with me to Neverfall? I don’t want to go alone. Somebody needs to be here in case she shows up, so Max is staying home.”