Shadow Web Page 4

  As I walked into my office, I stopped. There was a strange scent in the air—like something burning. Frantic, I ditched the sandwich and soda on the nearest table and began hunting for the source of the scent. It was then that I saw a whiff of smoke coming from my laptop.

  “No!” Without thinking, I pulled the cord out of the socket, but thank gods it didn’t electrocute me. I knelt by the outlet. There weren’t any char marks on it, but I was still uncomfortable. I pulled out my phone and called 911.

  “911, what’s your emergency?”

  “I smell something burning. I think it was from my computer, which I unplugged, but I’m worried that maybe there’s a short circuit in the wall. I don’t want to wake up with the house in flames.” I waited, hoping I hadn’t bothered them unnecessarily.

  But she assured me that it was better to be safe than sorry and that she would dispatch a unit to my house immediately. She recommended I wait outside.

  “I have to get my cats,” I said.

  Even though the 911 operator tried to dissuade me, I managed to scoop up Xi. Klaus came running up, thinking I was giving out treats, and I lured him into the foyer area of the dining room, where I popped both of them into the carriers. I usually kept the cat carriers within reach, in case of an emergency. I slung my purse over my shoulder and grabbed the cat carriers. Outside, I tucked them inside my car and leaned against the side of the vehicle, waiting. Within five minutes, a fire engine pulled up to the curb.

  I greeted the firemen, both of whom were pretty fine-looking dudes. “Hey, let me show you the office.”

  The two men followed me in, and I showed them my laptop. The cord had melted down, but when they examined the room and felt the walls and checked the outlet, they couldn’t find anything that might have caused the smell or the melting cord.

  “I think it may be a defective power cord on your computer. I’d take it into the shop to see if there’s been any damage before you attempt to use it again.” The taller man, with short scruffy blond hair and the brightest smile I’d seen in a long time, gave me a nod.

  “I’m sorry to bring you out for nothing,” I said.

  “Not at all,” the other man said. He was dark-skinned with sparkling eyes, and I could swear he was a shifter of some kind. “We’d rather you be safe than sorry. You did as you should have. If there was a fire in your wall, it could have smoldered until you were asleep before breaking out. As it is, everything but your computer looks safe.”

  They waved good-bye and took off. I watched them go, grateful Killian hadn’t been home to see the firemen show up. I didn’t like worrying him. As I turned to go back inside, I had a sudden spurt of adrenaline, and nervously eyed the door. Nothing looked different, and so I chalked it up to being spooked by the cord melting down. Picking up the carriers, I went back inside and shut the door.

  By seven p.m., I was struggling to muster the energy to attend the coven meeting. The fear of fire had worn me out, especially after the court case. I felt like I’d done more than enough for one day.

  I yawned. Maybe I should make myself another latte, but that would up my caffeine consumption to…holy crap, I’d had about ten shots of espresso that day. That was a little over my usual, and while I felt I could handle it, any more might be pushing the envelope. But there was no help for it. If I was going to make it to the meeting, I’d have to indulge myself.

  So I marched into the kitchen and flipped on my espresso machine. While waiting for it to heat up, I emptied two cans of Feastables beef chunks, sweet potato, and gravy into the cat dishes. I set them down and called Xi and Klaus, who came running. I had ordered special containers for them—they were metal bowls that were wide enough so they prevented what was called whisker fatigue. When I first heard about it, it sounded like the perfect thing to prey on gullible cat fanatics, but after a little research, I realized it was a very real thing. Narrow dishes meant that cats had to hold their whiskers back and it caused stress on their cheek and jaw muscles.

  Xi looked up at me and let out a mew. She stared at me until I knelt and held out my hand. She paused her eating, then walked over to me, sniffed my hand and stood up with her front paws on my knee. Another meow made it clear that she was concerned about something.

  I gathered her up and set her on the counter, stroking her back. “Is something wrong?”

  She brushed her head against my hand and then meowed again. I closed my eyes and put my hand on her side, trying to feel out what she was attempting to tell me. I got a sense of vague unease, followed by a faint alarm.

  “There is something wrong, isn’t there?” I couldn’t see anything out of place. I set her back on the ground. “You eat, and I’ll take a look around.”

  As she settled into her dinner, I began my patrol around the house. First, I checked the crystal grids that I had placed by each door leading outside. Neither the wards at the front door nor the kitchen door seemed to have been triggered. I held my hands over them but there was no spark indicating that anything was wrong. Nothing had tried to come through either door.

  My next thought was to check down in the basement. I hadn’t realized I even had a basement until a few months back, when I found a hidden room in my house, and then the basement under that room. I had made the no-longer-hidden room into a reading nook, and as I walked into the nook, I paused, closing my eyes.

  There was a charge in the air, like the feeling before a thunderstorm broke. But again, I couldn’t pinpoint the source. I turned on the light to the basement and headed downstairs. My contractor had done a good job replacing the rickety staircase with one that was sturdy with firm railings. He had also wired in a light that a switch in the reading nook would turn on, so the stairs were well-lighted.

  Downstairs, I looked around. I had made the basement into my magical studio after we had closed and sealed the portal. Since that time, I’d had absolutely no trouble with any ghostly apparitions or anything else of that nature.

  I sat down at the table. My crystal ball was on it, and I pulled it toward me, cradling it in my hands. Closing my eyes, I began to scry, searching for anything that might be out of place.

  My brain felt caught in a fog and I tried to wave it aside so I could see what I needed to see, but it wouldn’t budge. I caught the sense of something trying to cloak itself, but there seemed to be nothing destructive behind it. Whatever it was felt almost contrived, like something was deliberately trying to cloak itself, but I couldn’t sense any danger.

  I opened my eyes and sat back, thinking. Even if it didn’t feel malign, I knew that something was hanging around. And if it could cloak my vision, maybe it could cloud my other senses, too.

  But then again, wouldn’t the wards have gone off if something evil had entered my house? Still confused, I went back upstairs. I searched through the rest of the house quickly, looking for any sign that there was something sneaking around, but everything seemed in its place, even though I looked in every closet and even under my bed.

  Troubled, I headed back downstairs to the kitchen. My espresso machine was fully heated by then, so I made myself a double latte, and stirring it with a tall spoon, I sat down at the kitchen nook. Xi jumped on the table. She meowed loudly in my face and I stroked her side.

  “I can’t find anything, baby. I don’t know what it is. I wish you could tell me.”

  Xi was my familiar, and while we could communicate in rudimentary ways, she wasn’t like some talking cat out of the movies. All she could give me were vague warnings. I glanced at the clock again. Shit. It was eight o’clock, and I had to get ready for the meeting.

  Hurrying, I dashed back down to my ritual room.

  I’d had the contractor install a wardrobe. Pulling out my ritual dress—the functional one for our regular meetings—I quickly changed clothes. Tonight was the full moon—one of our esbats. Hustling my ass, I shoved my athame, my book of shadows, and a notebook into my tote bag. I swung my ankle-length black cloak over the top of my dress, and slipped my arm
s through the slits. As I hurried back upstairs, I decided that it was safe to leave the cats. I just couldn’t tap into anything negative, and if I missed the meeting, Rowan would be on my ass about it.

  Worrying my lip, I gathered my purse and keys and headed out to my grandmother’s house.

  My grandmother, Rowan Firesong, was the oldest and most powerful witch in Moonshadow Bay. She was also the leader of the Crystal Cauldron coven, which was dedicated to protecting Moonshadow Bay from the machinations of the Covenant of Chaos, another magical organization that was dedicated to unleashing the powers of Chaos and the ancient gods of that realm. Part of the Court Magika, the Crystal Cauldron was an official law enforcement organization. There were other covens like it throughout the world, mostly in shadow towns.

  Shadow towns were heavily steeped in magic, and they existed in a realm of their own. While they were still part of the state or country in which they were located, there was a shadow over them—a cloak that allowed them to escape the notice of passersby. Oh, sometimes tourists visited, and sometimes one of the shadow towns would summon someone in. Mostly, the shadow towns seemed, on the surface, benign and fairly boring. But below the surface, magical politics simmered and world shaking events were either prevented or set into motion.

  My grandmother’s house, like mine, bordered the Mystic Wood. She lived in a one-story house that looked as old as the town. While it was weathered, it wasn’t shabby. It had the feel of one of the old cottages in Ireland with mullioned windows spaced along the walls, and shutters that closed over them to keep out the storms.

  Boxes beneath the windows were a cascade of color in spring and summer, with pansies and primroses blossoming out. A trellis arched over the sidewalk leading up to the house, covered with ivy and the barren boughs of climbing roses. They were moss roses, and I had fallen in love with them over the summer, begging my grandmother to give me clippings so that I could grow them on my own property.

  Like my yard, Rowan’s house was surrounded by trees with cedars and firs, and a weeping sequoia that reached out like some enchanted creature, its trunk twisted and bent. Hydrangeas lined the walkway, and also mums that were still in full flower. The entire lot felt like it guarded a mystical entrance to Faerieland, and in some senses, that was very true.

  As I pulled into the driveway, I saw that the others were already there. I recognized their cars. Hustling up to the porch, I rapped the gargoyle doorknocker once, then entered the house.

  “I’m here!” I called out. I could hear them in the living room, and I took off my cape and hung it in the closet before following their voices.

  Rowan’s living room was spacious, as was her kitchen. In fact, the one-story house was far larger than most ranches, built for a family instead of a single person. I estimated it to be about 2300 square feet or more.

  Rowan sat in a rocking chair next to the gas fireplace, which was crackling merrily. The living room was more of a square than a rectangle. A sofa was set against one wall, and a big-screen TV hung on the wall opposite. There was a china curio, which held figurines and crystals of various sorts, and large quartz crystals were tucked into each corner of the room, the spikes at least two feet long and a foot wide. They pointed inward toward the center of the room, and as I walked past them, they hummed with energy.

  Kitty-corner to the sofa sat a loveseat, and three recliners spread throughout the room. A coffee table had been pushed out of the way so we could conduct our meeting, and on it sat a plate of lemon iced sugar cookies, a bottle of wine, and a number of goblets.

  Despite the furniture and crystals, the room felt uncluttered. There were a few pieces of art on the walls, but no real knickknacks or bric-a-brac.

  “I’m glad you decided to join us,” Rowan said, giving me a pointed look. “You’re late.”

  “Be glad I’m here. Today’s been…eventful.” I set my bag down by the sofa.

  “Well, you’re here and that’s what counts. All right,” my grandmother said, calling the meeting to order. “Let’s get busy.”

  Chapter Five

  The Crystal Cauldron had nine members in it. My grandmother was the high priestess, and her word was law. The other members varied in age from Daya, who was slightly younger than Ari and me, to May and Berta, who were closer in true age to Rowan. Nerium and Yolen were sisters, as different as the sun and moon. I had no clue how old they were. Nerium had long raven hair, and reminded me of Morticia Addams. Yolen’s hair was as bright as spun platinum, and she wore her lightness like a crown. Fraternal twins, it was obvious that they cared for each other deeply, but whereas Nerium worked in the shadows, Yolen worked with the light.

  We took our seats as my grandmother stepped into the center of the room. “Court Magika has asked us to look into a case, so we start with that tonight. There’s a relatively new resident of Moonshadow Bay. Her name is Sheryl Brown and she’s in from a shadow town called Grand Deros, which hails out of Utah. The town is a hotbed for the Covenant of Chaos, so we’re leery about anyone coming in from there. We have reason to believe that Sheryl’s looking to expand on a magical scam she started, one that could be highly dangerous for the members of our community.”

  “Are we going to be doing ritual tonight?” Nerium asked. “If not, do you mind if I bring out some cheese and crackers?”

  Rowan stared at her for a moment. My grandmother hated being interrupted. “You should have eaten at home if you were hungry. Yes, we will be doing an esbat ritual, though it will be short, just to honor the full moon. But if you can’t wait, grab the cheddar and some water crackers. Be quick about it.”

  Nerium dashed into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a Tupperware container filled with cheddar squares and a package of water crackers. She opened them and I held out my hand, stifling a yawn while I was at it.

  Rowan stared at both of us for a moment and then shook her head. “Scratch the ritual for tonight. Neither one of you are in the right space for it. But we do have to discuss what I have found out.”

  It wasn’t wise to do magic when you were tired, stressed, or sick.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “As I said, it’s been a long day and so much has happened that I can barely keep my eyes open. If it weren’t for the meeting tonight, I’d be in bed.”

  “What happened?” Teran asked.

  I glanced at my grandmother, who sniffed and waved her hand. “Go ahead.”

  As she settled into the rocking chair I told everyone what had happened. “So, Ellison was sentenced to two years of house arrest and thanks to that anklet he won’t be able to bother me. But then something odd happened. While I was downloading a zip file, my laptop cord melted. I smelled something burning and ended up calling the fire department because I wasn’t sure if something had sparked off inside the walls or not. They came out and said everything was okay, but I have an odd feeling about all of it. I’m not sure what to think.”

  Rowan straightened her shoulders. “Have you checked your wards?”

  “Yes, that’s the first thing I did. And then I checked the basement to see if anything had happened. You know, where the portal was.”

  “Did you find anything?” Nerium asked.

  I took a couple more crackers and pieces of cheese. “No, everything seemed normal. But Xi was uneasy. She alerted me to something. What that something is, I dunno. I couldn’t figure out what she was worried about.”

  “Do you want me to come home with you, just in case?” Teran asked.

  I thought about it for a moment. “I’d appreciate that. Ari, can you drop by too?”

  Ari gave me a thumbs-up. “Of course I can. Meagan left on a visit to her cousin this morning. She won’t be back for a couple days.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I turned back to my grandmother. “So what was it that you wanted to discuss with us? You said you’re concerned about Sheryl somebody who moved into town?”

  Rowan pulled a notepad out of her purse. “The Court Magika asked me to check into Sheryl Br
own—a new witch in town who appears to be running some sort of multilevel marketing scheme called Majikoil. I can’t show up on her doorstep. She’d recognize who I am and would hide what she’s doing.”

  “What does the Court Magika suspect?” Nerium asked.

  “Well, for one thing, there appears to be an expensive buy-in, which automatically makes the company shady. For another, there’s an emphasis on recruitment over sales—another pyramid scheme trick. And third, there’s something…wrong about this. It’s growing too fast, too quickly, and the Court is thinking there might be coercion magic involved.”

  “So you think one of us should visit her instead?” May asked.

  “Yes, simply put.” Rowan swiveled to stare at Ari and me. “But it can’t be Berta or you, May. Or even Nerium or Yolen. All of us are too experienced and we radiate too much energy. Anyone who is running some sort of a scam is going to pick up on that. Teran, I don’t want you going in because you’re the worst liar I’ve ever met. So I’m thinking Ari and January should take a gander.”

  I didn’t want to take a gander at anything, but I kept my mouth shut. Once my grandmother’s mind was made up, that was that.

  “What do we do? Show up at her door?” Ari asked.

  Rowan shook her head. “No. Look up Majikoil on the net, find out what you can. Call her from the number on her website. Tell her you have a friend in Terameth Lake who raved to you about the oils—I checked and there are two consultants there. Tell her how much you loved them and that you’d like to buy some.”

  “What should we ask about? What is Majikoil?” I asked.

  “Quite simply, a line of magical oils. Sheryl also has some tinctures as well. I don’t know if the oils are fake, or if they are truly enchanted. I know the buy-in is way more than it should be. And there’s something else about the company but so far, the Court Magika has to walk slowly. If Sheryl catches wind they’re onto her, she’ll vanish and pop up somewhere else. We want to put a stop to this as soon as possible. Justice, from the Court Magika, has warned me to move slowly. I also talked to Starlight Williams, who runs the Crescent Moon Society in Whisper Hollow. She’s trying to investigate as well, given there’s a rep who moved over there, too.”