At that moment, Delia shouted and I looked up to see Ralph on his cycle heading toward the second merman. He revved his engine and swerved around in front of the man, cutting it so that the merman ran straight into the bike.
Ralph leaped off, grabbing him by the throat and holding him up, off the pavement. Delia and her men raced over, along with a doctor. As they arrested the mermen, the chaos rumbled thick around us. We had caught the men who tried to kill Sandy. But where was Max? And was he all right?
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Delia had squad cars racing to the residence where Roger and Link were living. They found the dark blue sedan that the men had run Sandy down with. There was damage on the front where they had hit her, as well as fibers of her clothing caught in the grill. They also found several ghost snails, and pictures of Sandy, Max, and Jenna pinned to a bulletin board. Delia arrested both mermen on attempted murder charges, arson, and assault.
Ralph helped me into the hospital. I was limping from my tussle with the merman, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that Sandy was okay.
As I sat there, catching my breath, I remembered that I had my Friend-Finder app on my phone. I opened it and looked for Max’s position. The GPS pointed to a winding road near Sandy’s place. I showed it to Delia and she dispatched a unit out to check. I wanted to go with them, but she wouldn’t let me.
Ten minutes later, they radioed back to say they had found his car. He had been run off the road and was injured, but alive. He had been trapped when the driver’s door slammed against a tree and he was too hurt to climb out the passenger side. Another hour and the fire department was able to bring him in. Max had a broken leg, two broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder. Like all cats—big or small—he really didn’t enjoy going to the doctor, and as they wheeled him in on the stretcher, he was swearing up a blue streak.
“Roger and Link must have wanted to stop you from interfering with their plans to kill Sandy, so they tried to make certain you wouldn’t be able to get to the hospital,” Delia said. “They thought they killed Max. So getting to Sandy would be much easier.”
“What stopped them from smothering her?”
“Just then, a nurse brought in her meds for the morning and found them. They shoved her out of the way and ran.”
I let out a long sigh. Thank gods for nurses and their rounds. “Are you going to contact King Leonal?”
“Yes, but it will take time to sort out. If Gillymack was right and the prince is behind this, we’ll have to walk very softly or risk a nasty confrontation.”
“I want to talk to Sandy. To make certain she’s okay.”
Delia walked me to her door.
Sandy was sitting on the bed, wearing her clothes. She was rocking back and forth. “They got the Meré?”
I nodded. “Yes. Both of them. But…” I didn’t want to rein in her relief, but I felt she had to know. “You’ll have to be cautious until we find out who’s really behind all this. I think you should sell the piece of the Strand you bought. Find another place for the Oyster Bar. Sometimes, it’s safer to walk away than keep on fighting. We think that perhaps there are higher-ups in the Meré community behind this.”
She shivered. “I think for once it’s not worth the fight. And Max? Are they telling me the truth? Will he be all right?”
“He’s bruised and a little broken, but nothing that won’t heal. Looks like they ran him off the road.”
“His wife was killed in a car accident. I hope this doesn’t bring up bad memories for him.”
“Me too.” I sat there, holding her hand, saying nothing. It was over, but it didn’t feel done. Not till we had talked to the Meré king. And even then, who knew what the fallout would be for relations between Bedlam and Ocana, the merfolk city? Unraveling all of this was going to take a very long time, I had the feeling.
After a while, the nurse came to tell us Max was fine, and we went to see him. But I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that while Sandy was safe now, especially if she gave up that strip of land, a storm was coming that would affect us all.
Chapter 18
THE NEXT NIGHT, we went through with the party for Sandy. Even though we had caught the merfolk who tried to kill her, we had already invited at least sixty people and it was easier just to go through with it.
Chively Manor sat on an estate that overlooked the water on the west side of the island. With over two hundred acres that was open as a county park, the manor itself was stately, hearkening back to a time of gracious living.
I was standing outside of the house, looking down at the water under the nearly full moon. At the next city council meeting, we would have to decide how to approach the king of Ocana. Even though I was grateful that Delia was mayor and not me, I still wasn’t looking forward to the debate. The Meré were strong. Even if they couldn’t declare open war on Bedlam, there were a thousand ways they could hassle us.
I turned to gaze through the wide bay window. The lights were blazing inside, people were dancing, and food and booze was flowing. I caught a glimpse of Sandy and Max, near the window, talking. Her ankle had healed up, but now Max was in a wheelchair for at least a week or two, and his good hand was entwined with hers. She was gazing at him with a look that I fully understood. She was in love. Grateful that she had finally found someone, I shook my head softly, just watching.
Delia joined me. We walked over to one of the wide stone benches and sat down.
“So, Link and Roger admitted they did it. They insist nobody else was behind it and I don’t think we’ll get anywhere with talking to the king. If his son was really the one in charge of trying to kill Sandy, then he’s going to get away with it.”
I nodded. “Royalty almost always has a way of getting out of scrapes. At least Sandy’s already sold that plot of land, so they should leave her alone. I haven’t had a chance to ask who bought it, though.”
“Auntie Tautau,” Delia said. “I’d like to see the merfolk go up against her. She showed up at Sandy’s this morning with a check, told her to shut up and sell her the land. Of course Sandy did as she was told. Auntie Tautau told her not to worry anymore, but to find a better spot to build the Oyster Bar.”
I laughed. Auntie Tautau was quite the force. But then, sobering, I thought about what she had told me. That I had already paid the price for her help. I knew that whatever that price was, I’d find out soon. I let out a soft sigh and gazed up at the moon.
“Something’s coming to Bedlam, Delia. I can feel it.”
“I feel a stirring too, but I don’t know what it is. Oh, there’s Aegis. I’ll leave you two alone, but I just wanted you to know what happened. Since they’ve pleaded guilty already, Link and his buddy will go before the judge next week for sentencing. You know they’re taking the fall for this. Yes, they did it, but somebody else masterminded it.”
“Better to pay the price to us than pay the price to the piper, I guess.”
“True enough.” She gave me a little wave and then headed back toward the manor.
Aegis had graciously waited without interrupting, but now he joined me and sat on the bench beside me. “What are you thinking about? You look pensive.”
“I’m not sure—hold on.” My phone vibrated. I glanced at the text. It was from Zara.
neither treatment worked. doc says i probably have six weeks. remember, when it’s all said and done, you promised to contact your brother and tell him about me. i won’t be coming back. i want to leave our relationship in a good space—the first time we’ve had that. i love you, my daughter. you’ll get notice when everything is over. if you want to call, wait until tomorrow. we both need time to process. love, mother.
Without a word, I showed Aegis the text. He gathered me in his arms and we sat there for what felt like an eternity, me resting against his chest, feeling so numb and so mute that I couldn’t even open my mouth. The moon rose higher in the sky and the party began to wind down before I was able to take a deep breat
h.
“I’ll call her tomorrow.” I stood, feeling suddenly restless. “I’m going to walk down to the water.”
“Can I come with you?” Sandy appeared, Max by her side in his wheelchair.
“Go on,” Max said. “You two have way too much to catch up on. Aegis and I’ll wait here.”
Aegis gave me a questioning look and I nodded, kissing him gently.
He wheeled Max over to another bench, where they began talking about cars. Max was going to have to buy a new one. His had been totaled.
Sandy and I walked down the winding path that led to the shore. The tide was washing in, and the water was filled with luminescent sparkles. They reminded me of the mysterious lights in my yard earlier, and I shuddered. I told Sandy about them, and about Zara.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s not much to say. I’ve never had much to do with my mother because she was such a horrible woman, and now that I find out why she acted that way, I’m losing her. I don’t know what to think except sometimes, life sucks.”
At that moment, the owl I had seen several times came gliding down from a nearby tree to land on my shoulder. I looked at it for a moment, and it settled in, seeming comfortable. I didn’t want to break the spell by speaking. But as I gazed out at the water, a long tremor rumbled beneath my feet. The owl stayed put.
Sandy gasped. “Did you feel that? Earthquake?”
I tuned in, listening carefully to the rush of the wind, to the roar of the waves as they rolled in on the shore. They were like wild horses, like stallions in the surf.
And then I saw them. The dancing lights, hovering over the waves out in the distance. They lit up the night, darting and dancing, and I remembered where I had first seen them. I knew what they foretold.
“She’s coming.”
“What?” Sandy turned to me.
“That was no quake. That was a shift in the magical aura around this island. I know those lights. I saw them the first time I saw her. She came roaring in off the ocean, riding the waves, her arms wide, face bared to the wind as her red hair streamed behind her. Her dress was black, like rotting seaweed.”
“You can’t mean…” Sandy shook her head.
“Remember when she left? We quarreled, and she brought up a storm like we had never seen before. She drove it out to the depths, disappearing into the mists that rose with it. But do you remember what she said to us before she left?”
“ ‘Look for me when the ocean sparkles like fireflies. I’ll return someday. You know that I will.’ ” Sandy’s face went white, and she caught her breath, as she listened to the wind.
I took her hand and we stood there, focusing on the twinkling lights that were dancing against the distant horizon. Somewhere out there, a water spirit was headed toward shore, bringing with her a storm like Bedlam had never before seen. When she would arrive, I had no clue. What she wanted, I had no clue. And whether she would leave Bedlam intact was another mystery. All I knew was that, after two hundred and fifty years, Fata Morgana was coming home to us.
“I’m frightened,” I whispered. “What will she be like? Will she be totally mad? Or has she had time to calm down and return to some form of humanity?”
The owl let loose with a long hoot, mournful and haunting, and he spiraled up into the air, then back down to once again land on my shoulder, where he settled in.
But there was no answer to my question. The wind caught my words and tossed them into the blustery sky as the waves crashed around our feet.
Maddy, Aegis, and Bubba are back in WITCHES WILD, available for preorder now:
Can you ever really trust ghosts from your past?
As the mist rolls off the ocean and into Bedlam, October brings with it all manner of haunts and spooks. But the mist doesn’t arrive alone. Fata Morgana returns from the depths of the ocean, bringing with her a message. One of the ancient vampires has risen. He’s coming for Maddy, and he’ll eliminate anybody who stands in his way. Now, the witches wild must band together one more time, if they can keep from destroying each other first.
Check out all the fun adventures of the wild and magical residents of Bedlam. Series reading order: BLOOD MUSIC, BEWITCHING BEDLAM, BLOOD VENGEANCE, TIGER TAILS, MAUDLIN’S MAYHEM, SIREN’S SONG and WITCHES WILD.
If you prefer a grittier series, try my post-apocalyptic romance—the Fury Unbound Series: FURY RISING, FURY’S MAGIC, FURY AWAKENED and FURY CALLING.
If you like cozies with an edge, try my Chintz ‘n China paranormal mysteries. The series is complete with: GHOST OF A CHANCE, LEGEND OF THE JADE DRAGON, MURDER UNDER A MYSTIC MOON, A HARVEST OF BONES, ONE HEX OF A WEDDING, and a wrap-up novella: HOLIDAY SPIRITS.
The newest Otherworld book—MOON SHIMMERS—is available now, and the next, HARVEST SONG, will be available in May 2018.
For information about all of my work, including upcoming releases, see the Bibliography at the end of this book, or check out my website at Galenorn.com and be sure and sign up for my newsletter to receive news about all my new releases.
Playlist
I often write to music, and here’s the playlist I used for this book.
A.J. Roach: Devil May Dance
Al Stewart: Life in Dark Water
The Alan Parsons Project: Breakdown; Can’t Take it With You
Alice in Chains: Man in the Box
Amanda Blank: Make It Take It; Something Bigger, Something Better
Android Lust: Here and Now; Saint Over
Arch Leaves: Nowhere to Go
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour: Hurricane; X; Around the Bend; Out of Frequency
AWOLNATION: Sail
Beck: Loser; Sweet Sunshine; Broken Train; Devils Haircut
The Black Angels: Indigo Meadow; Don’t Play With Guns; Always Maybe; Young Men Dead; Phosphene Dream
Black Mountain: Queens Will Play
Black Sabbath: Lady Evil
The Bloodhound Gang: Take the Long Way Home; The Bad Touch
Boom! Bap! Pow!: Suit
Broken Bells: The Ghost Inside
Charlie Murphy: Burning Times
Clannad: I See Red; Newgrange
Cobra Verde: Play With Fire
David & Steve Gordon: Shaman’s Drum Dance
Donovan: Sunshine Superman; Season of the Witch
Eastern Sun: Beautiful Being (original edit)
Eels: Souljacker Part 1
Elektrisk Gonner: Uknowhatiwant
Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
FC Kahuna: Hayling
The Feeling: Sewn
Fluke: Absurd
Foster The People: Pumped Up Kicks
Gary Numan: Down in the Park; Cars; Bridge? What Bridge?; My Shadow In Vain; Soul Protection; My World Storm; Dream Killer; Outland; Remember I Was Vapour; Are ‘Friends’ Electric?; Praying to the Aliens; My Breathing; Telekon; Petals
Godsmack: Voodoo
The Gospel Whiskey Runners: Muddy Waters
Gotye: Somebody That I Used To Know
Gypsy Soul: Who?
Hedningarna: Ukkonen; Juopolle Joutunut; Gorrlaus
The Hollies: Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)
Huldrelokkk: Kirstin; Huldrehalling
In Strict Confidence: Forbidden Fruit; Snow White; Tiefer
Kerstin Blodig & Ian Melrose: Kråka
Jessica Bates: The Hanging Tree
Jethro Tull: Overhang; Kelpie; Rare and Precious Chain; Something’s on the Move; Old Ghosts; Dun Ringill
Julian Cope: Charlotte Anne
The Kills: Future Starts Slow; Nail in My Coffin; DNA; Sour Cherry
Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker; The Future
Lorde: Yellow Flicker Beat; Royals
Low with Tom and Andy: Half Light
M.I.A.: Bad Girls
Marilyn Manson: Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon; Personal Jesus; Tainted Love
Matt Corby: Breathe
r /> Motherdrum: Stomp
Orgy: Social Enemies; Blue Monday
People in Planes: Vampire
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake; In the Dark Places; The Colour of the Earth
R.E.M.: Drive
Rob Zombie: Mars Needs Women; Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy); Living Dead Girl
Saliva: Ladies and Gentlemen
Seether: Remedy
Shriekback: Running On The Rocks; The Shining Path; Underwaterboys; Shark Walk; Over the Wire; Dust and a Shadow; This Big Hush; Nemesis; Now These Days Are Kong; The King in the Tree
Spiral Dance: Boys of Bedlam; Tarry Trousers
Steeleye Span: Blackleg Miner; Rogues in a Nation; Cam Ye O’er Frae France
Sweet Talk Radio: We All Fall Down
Tamaryn: While You’re Sleeping, I’m Dreaming; Violet’s in a Pool
Tempest: Raggle Taggle Gypsy; Mad Tom of Bedlam; Queen of Argyll; Nottamun Town; Black Jack Davey
Thomas Dolby: She Blinded Me With Science
Tom Petty: Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Tuatha Dea: Kilts And Corsets; Morgan La Fey; Tuatha De Danaan; The Hum and the Shiver; Wisp Of A Thing (Part 1); Long Black Curl
The Verve: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Wendy Rule: Let the Wind Blow; The Circle Song; Elemental Chant
Woodland: Roots; First Melt; Witch’s Cross; The Dragon; Morgana Moon; Mermaid
Yoko Kanno: Lithium Flower
Zero 7: In the Waiting Line
Biography
New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and is the author of over fifty books, including the Otherworld Series, the Fury Unbound Series, the Bewitching Bedlam Series, and many more. She’s also written nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine.