Chapter 23
Emma dropped me off at the cabin after school with a promise to return after her shift at the veterinary clinic. She warned that she might run a bit late due to an emergency outpatient visit to a local zoo, but she was obviously excited at the possibility. Emma may have ethical arguments against zoos, but that didn’t mean she’d miss a chance to work with rare and exotic animals. Calm, cool Emma was nearly squealing with enthusiasm.
In my rush to see Cal, and get in from the rain, I ran headlong into a wall of leather and chains. Not good. Pulling back I looked up, and up and up, into the scarred face of a giant. I couldn’t tell if he was grinning or snarling. The ropes of shiny scar tissue pulled his face in myriad directions, forming Picassoesque geometric shapes, and his eyes were shadowed by the brim of a leather hat.
His leather pants and jacket were getting wet and I remembered how much a leather skirt chafed when it got a teensy bit damp from dancing in a hot club. I made that mistake, once, and vowed never to do it again. This guy was standing there with rivers of rain water running down leather clothing from head to toe. That could not be comfortable.
He was standing beside a shining Harley, one hand resting possessively on the handlebars. Who rides a motorcycle in the rain, in October, in Maine? Maybe he thought it made him look cool, but I couldn’t help but wince. There was not enough salve in the world to help the chafing he was going to have later. The thought made me laugh out loud, laughing into the face of a giant.
“You must be one of Simon’s friends,” he said, offering his hand to shake.
“Yeah,” I said. Way to be eloquent Yuki.
“He always did run with some wild ones,” he said, winking. He swung one tree trunk leg over his bike and nodded. “Catchya later.” He revved the engine and was gone.
Did that just happen? Weird. Simon was standing in the cabin doorway as I trudged inside. He was grinning and clapping his hands.
“Very impressive,” Simon said.
“What?” I asked. I wasn’t in the mood for his games. I was soaking wet, freezing cold, and just wanted a cup of tea and some time with Cal.
“You just laughed in the face of one of the scariest black market couriers I know,” Simon said. “Impressive for a wisp of a girl who’s only a hundred pounds…soaking wet. I believe you gained his respect.”
Cal walked over from the kitchen, steaming mug in hand, scanning my face in concern.
“Great,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I now have the scary guy’s respect. Just what I always wanted. Whatever shall I ask Santa to bring me for Christmas?”
“It’s not something to take lightly,” Simon said, looking more serious. “You and Cal are a pair and he is our alpha. There will be times when others will make a play for power within the pack and the ability to look someone meaner and larger in the face and laugh may well save you from a fight.” Oh great, he was serious. “Plus, the respect of someone three times your size is never something to shrug off.”
“Okay thanks I guess, for the advice, but did you say he was a black market courier?” I asked.
“Yes love, I was getting to that,” Simon said, grinning. He held up a small black velvet case with a flourish. “Your amulet has arrived.”
My amulet.
Cal came to stand beside me, leaning his weight against the wall. “Hey,” he said. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling breathless. I had missed him so much today knowing he was here and awake, yet out of my reach.
“So you stared down some scary dude and laughed in his face?” Cal asked.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling.
“I don’t know if I should be worried or salute you,” Cal said, smiling.
“I’ll settle for a hug,” I said.
“That I can do,” Cal said, reaching for me and pulling me close.
“Ahem,” Simon said, letting out an exaggerated sigh. “Hello. Amulet. Simon saving the day here. Don’t I get a hug?”
“No!” Cal and I said in unison. We both started giggling and even Simon laughed low in his throat.
“Well, can we at least do something to celebrate?” Simon asked. “We’ve been cooped up here for days.”
“Sure, what were you guys thinking?” I asked.
“Steak!” Cal and Simon said. They high fived and whooped. Ugh, boys.
“Okay, I guess we can go out for steak,” I said. “Emma’s working a long shift at the veterinary hospital so you both lucked out. There’s no way she’d go along with a trip to the steakhouse.” I looked back and forth from Cal, who was barely standing on his feet, to Simon. “So who’s driving?”
“That would be me,” Simon said, jingling Cal’s keys.
“You’re going to let him drive your truck?” I asked.
“It’s his first official job as my second in command,” Cal said, smiling.
“No way!” I exclaimed. “Really?”
“See kitten, we have much to celebrate,” Simon said, smiling smugly.
Cal put his arm around me and we all hurried, smiling, to the truck. The rain continued to fall in icy sheets, but I didn’t feel a single drop.
*****
We returned from our celebration dinner just as Emma drove down the cabin driveway. Simon and Cal retreated to comfy chairs where they rubbed their full bellies in werewolf bliss. I had skimmed the menu for any non-sneeze guard vegetarian food options and settled on the chocolate lover’s brownie topped with ice cream and hot fudge. It was that or the baked potato. I chose well.
Emma walked in a moment later, tossing her umbrella on the kitchen table. “Where did you guys go?” she asked.
“We went for a celebration dinner,” I said, feeling a little guilty. “To a steakhouse.”
“We ate steak,” Cal said. “Lots and lots of steak.”
“There was a veritable steak mountain,” Simon said, dreamily. “With rivers of blood and gravy.”
“Okay, glad I missed the gagfest,” Emma said. “Thanks to Simon’s lovely imagery I am now in need of some serious brain bleach. So why the celebration?”
“Simon is my new second in command,” Cal said, smiling.
“We were celebrating my promotion and the acquisition of this,” Simon said.
He held up the replica amulet he had received from the leather clad giant courier. The amulet shone as the light reflected off its gold surface. It was a perfect copy of the Gallows Amulet now sitting in a glass case in Salem. Nera’s amulet.
Now we just had to come up with a plan for getting inside the occult shop and swapping out the replica in Simon’s hand for the real thing. My stomach felt queasy and I suddenly regretted eating the entire chocolate lover’s dessert. I started to fidget and pick at my chipped nail polish, red flakes falling away like dried blood, until Cal slipped his warm hand into mine. He squeezed my hand reassuringly and I immediately felt better. We can do this. We just need a plan.
Emma raised an eyebrow at Simon, but turned to Cal. “You chose Simon as your second?” she asked.
“He’s proven himself and I need someone solid as my backup,” Cal said.
“I’ve proven my worth, doc,” Simon said, gloating. “What have you done today?”
“Talked to a room full of snakes,” Emma said, not missing a beat. “Funny, they weren’t quite as slippery as you.”
“Ouch,” Simon said, grasping his chest. “You wound me deeply.”
“Snakes?” I asked. “I thought you were making a run to the zoo.”
“I did,” Emma said. “It was the zoo at York’s Wild Kingdom and I took the opportunity to visit their reptile house.”
“Why?” I asked.
Emma had seemed shaken after her past encounters with talking snakes, but she sought them out on purpose this time. Maybe her work with Simon had helped her gain a sense of control over the whole spirit animal thing.
“We have a crazy B&E mission coming up and a spirit storm on its way,” Emma said. “I thought it would be good to get some ins
ide information. When I heard we’d be working at the zoo I knew it was my chance to find out what the snakes had to say.”
“Did they have any advice?” Cal asked.
“Kind of,” Emma said. “Problem is these spirit guides seem really fond of riddles.”
I groaned from my perch on the arm of Cal’s chair. “Tell me about it,” I said.
“Let’s hear it,” Simon said. “Perhaps our combined intellect can unravel this great mystery.” Leave it to Simon to actually like riddles.
Emma’s voice shifted low and sibilant as she recited:
You seek the Gallows Amulet
Once torn from Nera's hand
Your friend must acquire it
before the spirits haunt the land
Go to the village of witches
enter Cauldron and Noose
access the amulet
before the spirits are let loose
If you wish to save your good friend
go with her to this store
protect her from harm’s way
recite this warding at the door
Slither silently and softly
moving small and unseen
curious eyes slide past
minds left untroubled and serene
You seek the Gallows Amulet
Once torn from Nera's hand
Your friend must acquire it
before the spirits haunt the land
“That’s all they would say,” Emma said, her normal voice returning. “I just wish they would have elaborated a bit. I’d feel better knowing that warding was good to go, but for all I know there’s a ritual involved.”
“We could do an Internet search on the words they said to recite,” I said. “Maybe it’s an old warding spell. If so, then someone has probably posted it.”
“Seems rather straightforward,” Simon said, yawning.
“Sorry to bore you,” Emma said, rolling her eyes.
“I have a belly full of meat at the end of a productive day,” Simon said. He closed his eyes and was immediately asleep.
“I want what he’s having,” Cal said, sleepily.
“As your doctor, I highly recommend it,” Emma said. “Yuki, I’ll meet you outside.”
The door closed behind her with a thump and I leaned in to pull Cal up and out of the chair.
“Okay time for bed,” I said. “I’ll give you a kiss if you go willingly. That chair can’t possibly be comfortable enough to sleep in all night.”
“Mmm, comfy,” Cal said. “Sleep here.”
“Then no goodnight kiss,” I said, slyly.
“You drive a hard bargain,” Cal said, smiling.
I wasn’t strong enough to lift him up, but the promise of a goodnight kiss gave him the extra motivation. Cal stumbled up out of the chair to the bed and crawled under the nest of covers. I bent down and kissed him on the forehead, his eyes already closed.
“Not fair,” Cal mumbled.
Smiling wider I teasingly kissed his cheek, nose, and jaw line then let our lips meet in a slow tender kiss.
“Goodnight Cal,” I whispered. I love you.
Chapter 24
October 28
After a fabulously uninterrupted night’s sleep I raced around my room gathering my things for school. Not only was I well rested, but I felt completely energized like the time Cal and I ate an entire bag of chocolate covered espresso beans while waiting to see a passing comet last summer. I was vibrating around the room like a hummingbird when I heard my cell phone chirp. I extricated my phone from the laundry hamper, rescuing it from certain watery death, and flipped it open. Cal had sent me a text message.
“Love you and miss you,” the text said.
I messaged him back, fingers flying over the keypad, promising to visit after school. Slipping the phone into my backpack’s front pocket I smiled at the memory of Cal’s sleepy face. He looked so adorable as I was leaving last night. I couldn’t wait for the school day to be over and to be back in his arms. Planning an amulet heist. No one ever said my life was boring.
I tried on numerous outfits before settling on my long black and silver panel skirt and black rock star t-shirt with the letters outlined in metal studs. Silver Doc Martens and a handful of thin silver chains slung low on my hips completed the ensemble. I checked my appearance in the mirror. Not too shabby.
On impulse I tipped my head upside down and shook like I was at the Headbangers Ball. Standing upright, and slightly dizzy, I added a safety pin to one ear. Oh yeah, total rock star.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so I left my umbrella on the floor to dry. I pulled on a cropped leather jacket and grabbed my backpack just as Emma pulled into the driveway. Time to roll.
I had my first surprise of the day as we walked toward the school main entrance. Jay and Jared were primping and preening, obsessively checking their reflections in the dark, side window panels. They would then strut themselves in front of a group of giggling cheerleaders. I was reminded of the displays male turkeys put on when trying to attract a desirable female. Two turkeys and a gaggle of clucking cheerleaders. Oh the horror.
Looking back and forth from the J-team to Emma I tried to stifle a giggle, but the dam broke with a hysterical laugh. Emma looked back at me, eyebrow raised, face and brow twitching.
“Oh my God,” I said, gasping. “They still think the virility tonic is for real.”
“Of course they do,” Emma said, smiling. “They’re the J-team; big on muscle not on brains.”
I raised my hand and we bumped knuckles. “So how long do you think they’ll keep this up?” I asked.
I was blinking my eyes rapidly trying to keep my mascara from running. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t stop laughing at the Jay and Jared show. Someone should be taping this. It was a total YouTube moment.
“We let them steal six bottles,” Emma said. “This could last awhile.”
“This really is the gift that keeps on giving,” I said. I gave up trying to save my makeup and settled in for the show.
*****
I met back up with Emma in the school parking lot after the last bell.
“I want the last hour of my life back,” Emma grumbled.
“It’s high school,” I said. “I want the entire semester back.”
“But it was horrible,” Emma said.
“In what way?” I asked. “Barry Manilow horrible or biology dissections horrible.”
“I have to pass health class to graduate, but it’s disgusting,” Emma whined.
“Ironic,” I said. Emma was pre-med, but she couldn’t handle health class. Go figure.
“But they were doing obscene things with…with a banana!” Emma said. She looked totally scandalized.
“Wait,” I said. “Back up. What’s this about a banana?”
“The teacher put a condom…on a banana,” Emma said. “Do you know how big a deal this is? She totally ruined bananas for me, forever. I eat bananas like three times a week. I’m a vegan. This is a travesty!”
“I had that happen once,” I said.
“You saw a teacher put a condom on a banana?” Emma asked.
“No!” I said. “My grandmother told me a story of how she was eating a banana and when she got to the last bite a yellow caterpillar wriggled up the center of the piece. Now every time I eat a banana I worry that it’s infested with caterpillars.”
“Yuki, you’re not helping,” Emma said. She started to laugh.
“Sorry,” I said. “Too much information.”
“Way, way, way too much information,” Emma said.
“So I take it you don’t want to hear about the garbage disposal?” I said, teasingly.
“No!” Emma said, squeezing her eyes shut.
Funny, no one ever wants to hear the rest of that story.
*****
Emma and I went to the cabin after a brief stop at my house for supplies. We spent the evening working with Cal and Simon to formulate our master plan of attack for mi
ssion amulet swap.
“I think we should do this Friday night,” I said. “I know it’s the night before Samhain, but it’s also when they’re having the annual Salem Witches’ Halloween Ball. Everyone in Salem will be there.”
“I like it,” Emma said. “It’s not a school night, so definitely easier to stay out late.”
“I wish I could be there,” Cal said, squeezing my hand.
“You’re sitting this one out,” Simon said. “We’ll be too close to the full moon and you’re still recovering from your injuries.”
“It’s cool,” I said. “And you’re only a phone call away.”
“I’ll try not to shift,” Cal said, eyes darkening. “I want to be here for you. I’ll have my phone and laptop, so anything you need just call.”
“Do I get to be the getaway driver?” Emma asked, positively bouncing in her chair.
“Can you parallel park?” Simon asked.
“Does the earth revolve around the sun?” Emma asked.
“Okay, you’re our driver,” Simon said.
“I have the perfect hat to wear,” Emma said.
“Hat?” I asked.
“You know how in the movies the criminals wear those black knit skullcaps?” Emma asked. “I bought one at the craft fair and have been dying to wear it.”
“Okay, so Emma you study the maps and put Cal on speed dial,” I said. “If there’s a detour or something he can look online for an alternate route.”
“Simon, are you coming with me?” I asked.
Originally I had planned to do this myself, but my friends convinced me how impossible that was. We were going to do this together.
“Aye love, I’ll be your lookout,” Simon said. He looked almost eager to participate. “I’ll make sure you remain unseen. If someone attempts to enter the Cauldron and Noose while you’re inside, I’ll create a diversion.”
“A diversion?” I asked. “Like what?” Oh hey, don’t go in that shop. There’s a burglar inside. Oh yeah, that would work.