“Stop looking at me,” she spoke so softly he almost didn’t hear the words.
“I can’t help it.”
She grimaced as she ducked her head. She slipped off her bed and walked over to the bathroom door.
“Tell the others I’ll be right out. It’s time we took some action.” She closed the door in his face.
Trev remained in the same spot, grinning when he heard Horace’s plaintive plea.
“Could someone please take this cover off me?”
“No.”
“I promise not to watch you get dressed. You spoil all my fun!”
His grin widened. “I know the feeling, gargoyle,” he whispered, returning to the family room, where he heard the others talking fast and furious. Nick stood in a corner, his head bent as he spoke into his cell phone.
“Krebs and Letiticia are still up at the resort. They can’t get anywhere near the town,” Nick announced, closing up his cell phone. “Letiticia said they could only drive so far on the road and the car just stops. They even tried walking and all of a sudden they couldn’t take another step. She said whatever is doing it is targeting mortals and the supernatural alike. People up at the resort are agitated because they can’t get down the road. She said she sensed that same disturbance that she and Krebs had.”
“Even more spells,” Jazz groaned.
“Stasi has a plan,” Trev declared.
Jazz eyed Trev as he settled in a chair. “Tell me something, wizard, why are you helping us? Your client has developed a nasty dislike for Stasi and it’s pretty much spilled over onto the rest of us. She wouldn’t like it if she knew you were here.”
His usually easygoing nature was gone and something cold and hard replaced it. “I don’t like bullies.”
“Then we agree on two things.”
“Two?”
Jazz nodded. “Stasi and disliking bullies.”
Trev stilled. He knew his feelings had been growing more jumbled where Stasi was concerned. He was already aware he could no longer blame it on Cupid. Not after the night they’d shared. A night he was hoping to repeat very soon.
“Why don’t we figure out what’s happening here first, then we can decide what to do with Caustic Carrie,” Blair suggested.
“We might be able to do something about the situation here once we do some research. The problem is we don’t know what we’re dealing with.” Stasi walked in wearing a pair of navy yoga pants that rested on her hips and a pink t-shirt that stopped short of her navel. Her feet were bare and her broom anklet sparkled when she walked.
She chose to sit on the arm of Trev’s chair. He rested his hand just above the waistband of her pants, savoring the warmth of her bare skin.
Jazz buried her face in her hands. “There must be another way.”
“There’s no better place to look for answers,” Stasi pointed out. “Who’s with me?”
“Correction, there’s no better place to be humiliated and receive more questions than answers,” the red-haired witch argued. “The last time I had to go there I was directed to the middle of the La Brea Tar Pits. That damn realm was literally in the middle of the pits! Even magick couldn’t easily peel that nasty gunk off my skin. The time before that he sent me to a swamp.”
“There aren’t any swamps in LA,” Blair said.
“He found one.” Her lip curled up in a snarl.
“Maybe if you returned your books on time you wouldn’t be in so much trouble there,” Stasi pointed out. “Fine, then don’t go with us.”
“Oh, I’m going. Maybe with you asking for the entrance, I’ll see something nicer.”
“Are you talking about The Library?” Trev asked.
Stasi nodded. “Jazz and The Librarian,” she pronounced “the” with a long e, “don’t get along.” She ignored Jazz’s mutterings about a smarmy pompous egotistical ass disguised as a lowly librarian.
Trev grinned. He looked up, missing the warmth of Stasi’s skin when she rose to her feet.
Jazz and Blair stood up while Nick remained seated. Since vampires weren’t welcome at The Library, he was content to stay behind.
“I’m going too.” Trev stood up, remaining standing behind Stasi. “Wizards are allowed there,” he reminded her. “I can help you. With more of us there, we could find answers faster.”
“I could go,” Irma volunteered.
“The Librarian doesn’t like ghosts any more than he likes vampires,” Nick spoke up. “We’ll sit here and watch the snowfall.”
“Maybe we can find something good on cable.”
Stasi looked down at her clothing. “I’d better put on some warmer clothes. I’ll be right back.” True to her word, she returned in less than five minutes now dressed in jeans, a sky-blue wool sweater, and hiking boots. She turned to Nick. “We’ll set the wards to protect the building from intruders, but they’ll allow you and Irma to come and go if you need to.”
He nodded. “Safe journey. If anyone does try anything I know what to do.” His eyes abruptly glowed a dark reddish black and his fangs extended.
“This is why I love my bad boy.” Jazz wound a dark red wool scarf around her neck and reached for her coat.
Stasi, Trev, Blair, and Jazz bundled up and walked out to the corner of the yard behind the building where they couldn’t be seen by anyone on the street. Just to be safe, the witches set up a ward that screened them from view. Stasi knew watching them perform magick would endear them even less to the residents.
“Your idea. Your request,” Jazz said. “If I ask, we could end up in the middle of a volcano. Although right now, that might not be such a bad idea.” She stamped her feet against the cold ground.
Stasi closed her eyes and centered herself. She opened them and held her palm up. “I humbly request entrance to the realm that will offer me guidance that I can find nowhere else. We wish to visit The Library.”
Within seconds a tiny golden glowing ball of light hovered in front of her face.
“Hello.” She smiled. “Will you take us to the door, please?”
The ball pulsed twice then floated around the side of the building.
“At least it’s late, so there shouldn’t be too many people out.” Stasi stuck her hands in her pockets and trudged down the wooden sidewalk. “So you use The Library too?” she asked Trev who walked beside her.
He nodded. “There’s an excellent legal archive there.”
“Wow, quick trip and nothing disgusting around,” Jazz commented when the ball stopped in front of a shop halfway down the street. “The candy shop? From now on you can ask for The Library realm every time.”
Stasi stood before the shop, the other three behind her. “I seek The Library,” she spoke in a clear voice. The windows divided in half and slid backwards, revealing a massive, ornately carved wooden door. Stasi stepped forward, gently palmed the large bronze griffin-shaped doorknocker, and rapped it three times against the door.
The griffin opened its citrine colored eyes and peered closely at Stasi and the others. For a moment, his gaze centered on the red hearts floating over Stasi and Trev’s heads. “What is your purpose here, wizard and witchlings?”
“I require counsel I can find only here. May we be allowed to enter?” Stasi waited, knowing it was up to the guardian of The Library’s door whether they would be admitted or not.
The griffin smiled. “You may all enter.” The door slowly swung open with nary a creak or groan.
“No password? You always make me give you a damn password,” Jazz grumbled.
The griffin cocked his head to one side. “When it’s just you, you require one, as does the other witchling.“
“Don’t provoke him,” Stasi said under her breath as she practically pushed the others inside.
After the winter cold outside, the warmth inside The Library caused them to slip off their jackets.
Stasi closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of ages—old dust, paper, and materials that fairly screamed the magick embedded in them. At one time, she had thought of applying to be a Library Matron—she loved the history the realm held. But her banishment cancelled that dream. After all these centuries, she suddenly felt it didn’t matter, because she had found something even more worthwhile. She glanced at Trev, who smiled back at her. Oh yes, very worthwhile.
As they walked through the dim vestibule, torches adorning the wall burst into flame, lighting their way until they reached the end of a passage that expanded into a room that seemed to go on for miles. Rows of intricately carved shelves held ancient grimoires, books, scrolls, and parchments. Stasi recalled a rumor that a portion of Alexander’s library was back among the stacks, but in all her visits here she hadn’t discovered them and her questions about the scrolls was only met with silence.
Stasi stopped at the front counter and smiled at the man seated on a stool behind it. In all the times she’d been here over the decades, she had never seen him wear anything other than bottle green, old-fashioned knee britches with off-white stockings, a faded green brocade waistcoat over a linen shirt the color of old parchment, and a bottle green, long-tailed coat. Just as he always had stacks of ancient scrolls, leather bound books, and even a few stone tablets carefully arranged on the counter near his spot of power.
Narrowed black eyes peered at her over the rim of ancient half-spectacles perched on his beak-like nose. His thinning brown hair was pulled back into a queue neatly tied with a black grosgrain ribbon, and he appeared ageless even though she had seen him from time to time over the last seven hundred years. Stasi didn’t mind his constant lectures on the “do’s” and “don’ts” that he made sound like law.
His lips pursed tightly as his gaze swept over them. Like the griffin, he stared at the red hearts but said nothing about them, to Stasi’s great relief. “You did not consider dressing appropriately?”
Stasi inwardly winced. The (pronounced with a long e, thank you very much) Librarian had rules that were unbreakable. His idea of proper decorum and dress headed the list.
“This was an emergency, sir,” she said respectfully. “I hope you will understand.”
He inclined his head in barely a nod before he turned to Trev. “And you, young wizard, what are you doing in the company of these witches?” A faint curl of the lip appeared when he gazed at Jazz, who merely smiled back and, for once, kept her mouth shut.
Trev smiled and bowed. “I am helping them solve a mystery in their town, Uncle Peredur.”
Uncle Peredur? The two words rang in Stasi’s head and, judging by the shocked expressions on Blair and Jazz’s faces, they felt the same.
“He’s your uncle?” Jazz may as well have asked if the wizard Librarian was Hades, Lord of the Underworld.
“On my mother’s side.”
“Unfortunately, the upstart took after his father.” The Librarian swung back to Stasi. “What do you wish?”
“We believe there is a type of water magick harming our town and we hoped to find materials that would help us discover a way to combat it,” Stasi replied.
He peered at her over his spectacles. “And why do you believe that, witchling, when you left the Witches’ Academy before you even finished your advanced classes on other magicks?”
“It’s all up to you,” Blair whispered.
Stasi took a deep breath and began to tell the story of the barrier around the lake, the shifts in energy in the town, and the sense of unease that had been moving through the area.
“One of my human clients is suing Stasi, and I am beginning to think that the lawsuit is also part of this,” Trev spoke up.
“The barrier around the lake is able to defend itself, so that we can’t take it down,” Jazz chimed in.
The Librarian’s bony shoulders rose and fell in a deep sigh. “I would suppose you used witchflame.” His attention swung to Blair. “And you?”
“I was ready to take down the human who has made Stasi’s life a living hell,” she freely admitted.
He turned away and consulted a stone tablet, then a scroll. “I do not believe this is merely water magick, but Fae. Try section 8,000,038.”
The Librarian snapped his fingers, and a two-foot-high green marble hourglass appeared on the counter. He turned it over, the white sand flowing downward.
“Stennert will guide you.” He flicked his fingers to the right.
The nine-foot-tall creature standing at the head of the passage could have doubled as Sasquatch’s brother.
“I can’t believe he’s your uncle,” Stasi muttered when Trev stepped up the pace to walk beside her.
“Could he have been adopted?” Jazz asked. “I see absolutely no family resemblance. I mean, he’s so… and you’re so…”
“Quiet.” Stennert’s voice rumbled in the passage like rolling thunder. His monster-size feet created mini-earthquakes on the floor every time he took a step, and they grabbed hold of each other to remain upright.
Stasi was positive they’d walked miles, but she knew the various realms The Library resided in were deceptive since they spanned time and space in a way she doubted she would ever understand.
Any time she visited The Library she was used to seeing visitors from various time periods using the facility, and this occasion was no different. She noticed a wizard dressed in the form fitting pants, elegant black coat, and elaborately knotted cravat made famous by Beau Brummel.
She was so engrossed in looking through the portals to see who was there that if Trev hadn’t taken hold of her arm she would have slammed into the furry Stennert when he halted.
“In here,” he growled, throwing out a long arm ending in dark talons. “I will return.”
Jazz turned to Blair. “Didn’t Arnie say that?”
Blair shook her head. “‘I’ll be back’ was his.”
The four stepped through the portal, feeling a tremendous shift of power as they crossed through.
Stasi smelled herbs used to keep the fragile contents of the library from crumbling into dust. While they didn’t smell bad, she could still feel her nose tickling. The sheer size of the cavernous room caused her hopes to plummet.
“I guess our best bet is to each take a section,” she said as they looked around.
“This is definitely better than some of the sections I’ve been sent to,” Jazz said. “No having to wear special gloves, no disgusting smells. I told you The Librarian doesn’t like me.”
“I don’t recognize this language,” Blair said, perusing a scroll.
Trev moved to her side and glanced over her shoulder. “It’s a healing spell for rashes,” he said.
“Really? I wonder if Lili knows about this one.” Their fellow witch had always been a healer and now worked as a doctor.
“According to the scroll that particular rash was prevalent back in the fifth century.” Trev moved on. “And if you’re not careful in handling those kinds of scrolls, the rash can transfer itself to you.”
Blair dropped the scroll as if it was on fire and wiped her hands on the back of her pants as she moved on. “Note to self. Don’t touch anything unless it’s been translated first.”
“I’ll second that motion. Since The Librarian feels it’s Fae, we need to check that out first.” Stasi headed for shelves carved in the stone walls and gingerly fingered a book. She stared at the fine leather binding for a moment before she carefully pulled it out. She staggered under the weight and would have fallen backwards if Trev hadn’t taken the book out of her hands and carried it over to a table. “It didn’t look all that heavy,” she said, following him. She perched on a stool that waddled up to her and edged its way under her bottom.
Trev was breathing hard by the time he set the book down. “I think it gained twenty or thirty pounds just from the shelf to here.”
“It’s probably one of those books that will provide what you need once you speak your needs,” Jazz told them. “You gave a general subject, so it added more to its memory.”
An “eek!” escaped Stasi’s lips as she watched the book nearly triple in size. “I’ll never get through all of this!” She carefully lifted the cover. “Maybe it has a search feature.” She lifted the first few pages.
“Ask.”
They all jumped as a voice with an upper crust British accent reverberated around them.
“I wish to know about Fae magick,” Stasi said, crossing her fingers.
“What country?”
“United States.” Blair gestured for a stool and sat down across from them.
“California forests,” Jazz added, hopping up onto the table.
“No sitting on the table.” The edge of the table dipped down, dropping Jazz onto her feet. She sighed and nabbed another stool.
“And water and magickal barriers,” Stasi said. “Human behavior out of the ordinary. Fear. Mercury retrograde and a lunar eclipse.”
“Do you prefer to study forest Fae or water Fae?” the book asked, ignoring the last part of her request, as the pages drifted back and forth.
“We need both,” Stasi explained.
“There is no both. There is one or the other.”
Stasi looked at the others. “Could both be involved?”
“I know my uncle said Fae, but we still don’t know if they are behind what’s going on in the town,” Trev said.
“And early snowstorms,” Jazz said.
“One subject at a time, please,” the tome pleaded as the pages fanned back and forth. “I’m only one book.”
“Would you have an idea where we could start?” Stasi asked.
“Not without more information. But you are in a large section and I may not have what you’re looking for.”
“I’ll look around and see if there’s anything more.” Blair got up and headed back to the shelves while Jazz did the same.
“What if we narrow it down to forest Fae that have the power to control water?” Trev suggested.
“Forest Fae have no power over water unless water sprites allow them to,” the hardbound book stated in its stiff upper lip accent.
Stasi shook her head. “I’ve never heard of water sprites in the area. They would have made themselves known to us.”
“Then you are in a sticky situation, aren’t you?” intoned the book.
“Fine, then what about water Fae?”
The book’s pages began to turn. Trev narrowed his cobalt eyes. “No,” he said slowly, “I’ve worked on cases involving water Fae. It’s been a couple hundred years, and I don’t remember all the details, but even if they were at the lake, I don’t think they could have the kind of influence on the townspeople that we’re seeing.”
“Please, book, can’t you even point us in the right direction?” she pleaded.
“Not without a place to start.” The pages started flipping back at light speed then the cover slammed shut.
Stasi sighed and looked around the room, recalling the many times she’d come to The Library seeking answers and finding them here. This time wasn’t proving as easy as in the past. She mentally ran through the list that seemed to be growing every second. “Forest Fae,” she said firmly.
“Righto.” The cover opened again, the pages fanning until it reached about a third of the way through.
Trev patted her shoulder and moved off to examine a section of shelves.
Stasi stumbled her way through the archaic writing and wished she could ask the book to update the language, but she knew it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t the first time she’d read the works of someone from ages ago. Except now time was short, and she needed fast answers. But she couldn’t find anything to indicate that forest Fae were capable of creating all the phenomenon they had been witnessing.
Trev walked up waving a scroll. “Okay, here’s something on water Fae. The good news is that they are definitely capable of wreaking havoc on a given body of water.” He sighed. “The bad news is that from what I just read, the only thing less likely than finding water Fae on a mountaintop in California is to find water Fae and forest Fae working together.
Stasi sneezed from the dust. A headache from the herbs was starting to pound its way through her head. It seemed everything they read could answer one question but never connect it to the whole scenario. It wasn’t just the lake that was disturbed; it was the town, the people, even the weather.
“We know water sprites don’t inhabit the lake, but what if it’s something else?” Jazz brought up. “There’s always been the rumor that a monster lives in the lake. What if it’s true?”
“Then it has to be a monster that can also exist on land,” Blair reminded her.
“The Librarian said Fae and that feels right,” Stasi insisted.
Trev stood behind Stasi and began massaging her shoulders. She felt the warmth of his hands ease the tension that had been building up. She reached up and covered one of his hands with hers. The contact gave her hope, along with a good dose of warm fuzzies.
He bent down and whispered in her ear, punctuated with a soft kiss. “We’ll find an answer.”
“I hope so.” She scooted back and stood up. “The Librarian must feel the answer is here, or he wouldn’t send us here,” she murmured.
“The Librarian also has a twisted sense of humor,” Jazz said. “I know you’re related to him, Trevor, but please, the wizard doesn’t even like us witches.”
“Uncle Peredur is happiest working here alone and doesn’t like interruptions,” Trev explained, grunting as he pulled out a heavy stone tablet, frowned as he read the contents, then pushed it back in.
“Uncle Peredur. Who knew The Librarian had relatives. He’s not married, is he?” Blair asked. “No offense, but I can’t see him having little Librarians running underfoot.”
“There’s no room for a wife in his life.”
“Understandable, when he didn’t make room for a personality.” Jazz whistled under her breath as she scanned her section of shelves.
“You two are so mean about him,” Stasi chided them as she watched Trev struggle with the large and heavy hardbound book and return it to its spot.
“I have something!” Blair ran back to the table with a tiny book that fit in the palm of her hand. “Forest Fae who worked with water spells.”
Stasi grabbed the book and used her fingertips to carefully turn the fragile pages. “So it has happened in the past. But those Fae were punished for uniting forces with water sprites and banished from the world—where does that leave us? How were they stopped?”
“You must go.” Stennert’s thunderous voice startled them so much Stasi dropped a book and Jazz almost fell backwards.
“Sheesh, give us some warning, will you?” the red-haired witch snapped.
Stasi looked at the book in her hands. “We need more time.”
The furry monster shook its head. “You must go.” It flexed its talons as if it was ready to step inside and carry them out.
Stasi knew that was an option she didn’t want to consider. “Then we have some materials here we need to check out.”
The monster shook its head. “You must go. They must remain.”
“He’s your uncle. Won’t he let Stasi take what she needs?” Jazz asked Trev.
“Most of the older materials can’t be checked out, and Uncle Peredur never breaks a rule he personally set up,” he said.
They trudged out of the section, again feeling the power of the portal they passed through. Behind them, the portal shimmered briefly, then winked out of existence.
Stasi felt the chill of the stone walls as they walked up the passageway. Trev moved up and slid his arm around her shoulders. She was upset and frustrated and it was tempting to shrug off his touch. But she wasn’t a fool and his embrace felt comforting.
The Librarian eyed the hourglass as the last grains of sand trickled downward. When the final grain fell, the hourglass disappeared in a wink of light.
“You barely made it back in time.”
“Don’t ask what would have happened if we were late,” Jazz whispered.
The wizard frowned at her then turned to Stasi. “You did not find the answers you sought.”
She nodded, not bothering to ask how he knew. It was common knowledge he knew everything because he was quick to remind everyone of that fact.
“It appears what we seek is a combination of things that shouldn’t be connected.”
The Librarian set down his plumed pen next to the inkstand. “You must think from all sides, witchling. Look at what is within and what is beyond. And you would do well to learn to respect time, young witch,” he added, glancing at Jazz. “Good day.” He picked up his pen, dipped it into the inkpot, and began writing.
“Good-bye, thank you for coming, and don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out,” Blair muttered.
“Thank you, The Librarian,” Stasi said politely, even though she didn’t feel he deserved any thanks, because she was more confused than ever.
The wizard glanced at Trev. “Give your mother my regards.”
“I will, Uncle Peredur.” Trev bowed again before following the three witches to the door.
“Good-bye,” the griffin called after them before the door disappeared and the store’s windows slid back into place.
“Wait a minute.” Blair reached out to clutch Stasi’s arm as they stood huddled together on the sidewalk. “How could all of this snow have fallen in the time we were gone?”
As they looked around, one by one the streetlamps along the street dimmed, then winked out, leaving them in complete darkness. The same happened with the pumpkin-shaped twinkling lights ringing every shop window.
“It’s as if someone is individually turning off each light,” Stasi whispered. She held up her hand. “Listen.”
“To what?” Trev asked, turning in a tight circle.
“That’s the thing. Usually you can faintly hear Grady’s jukebox this far up the street. Or someone’s TV from one of the cabins nearby. There’s always an electrical hum, but now it’s gone,” she whispered in keeping with the silence around them. She felt the cold seep through her jacket and settle in her bones. She began to hear the faint sound of voices in the distance and see bobbing lights that she assumed were flashlights, but she had no idea why they were out there.
The pristine snow was so deep it covered the road and piled up onto the sidewalks. It was falling heavily around them, and the air was so cold their noses and cheeks rapidly turned red from the icy wind that assaulted them.
Stasi felt her breath freeze in her lungs, and she labored to breathe, but it started to hurt. She noticed the others had the same problem. She opened her mouth to suggest they use some witchflame to warm their hands, when she noticed a heavily bundled figure struggling toward them through the snow.
“Ginny?”
The café owner stopped, keeping her distance from the group. Stasi felt that the distance was more than physical and the knowledge hurt.
“I looked out and saw you out here. Why are you doing this to us?” Ginny asked, her voice breaking. “We know you and Carrie are quarreling.”
“Talk about an understatement!” Stasi cried out. “That’s not even close to what Carrie wants to do to me.”
“But you’re hurting all of us.” Frost punctuated her words.
“I’m not doing this! I don’t know what’s going on,” Stasi said, anguished because she knew her friend was upset. But she had no idea why Ginny was blaming her now when she had been her biggest ally since the beginning of her troubles with Carrie. She felt the reassuring pressure of Trev’s hand slipped into hers and she took strength from his touch.
“What do you mean you don’t know? Look around!” She threw her arms out. “The power went out yesterday morning. The highway is blocked by the snowstorm, and even our men can’t go down the road far enough to clear it. And now Carrie’s youngest is missing. Everyone is out looking for him, and they think you had something to do with it.” She started to back up. “I don’t know you anymore, Stasi.” She continued to back up. “Please don’t come to the café anymore. You’re not welcome. Just please go away.”
“Wait! Why are you saying this? This isn’t you, Ginny!” Stasi cried.
But Ginny didn’t answer her.
“I haven’t changed! I didn’t do this,” Stasi protested, starting after her then halting when Ginny’s face flashed with fear.
The woman shook her head. “This is all wrong. We all loved you two, and now you do this.” She wiped her eyes with her gloved fingers. She turned around and returned the way she had come.
Stasi wanted to cry, but she knew her tears would only freeze on her face.
“Come on, Stasi, we need to get inside and get warm.” Trev took her hand and led her around the back of their building.
The foursome was quiet as they climbed the rear stairs and stepped inside the kitchen. They were surprised to find the room dark and as cold as the outdoors.
“It’s about time you got back,” Nick greeted them in a voice taut with worry. “All hell’s been breaking loose around here.” He hugged Jazz tightly.
“It must have started snowing this hard right after we left in order for it to pile up this much,” Stasi said, pausing to allow a frenzied Bogie to float into her arms. The dog whined as he licked her face and brushed his paws against her shoulders. “Did the snowstorm cause a blackout? We were outside and watched the streetlamps go out one at a time, but the power had to have been out for some time to get this cold inside. We have a generator for emergencies.”
Nick’s expression was grim as he surveyed the small group. “You’ve been gone for two days.”