Chapter Seventeen

Allen absolutely couldn't be the one Bev was looking for. For one, Bev had seen him in his bakery when Alice's barn had collapsed. But Vicky?

Vicky was another story.

Bev lay in her bed, Biscuit's quiet snores echoing against the walls, as she thought about the potentially dangerous creature sleeping three doors down. Could Vicky really be a monster in disguise?

If it even was a monster. But that roar had been pretty monstrous-sounding.

The evidence was starting to pile up. She'd been inside Apolinary's shop when it collapsed and saw no one else. Perhaps even handling Bathilda's magic-infused fabric as she cut and sewed the pattern. And ever since, she'd taken ill. Had she come out of the inn, intending on coming to the town meeting, but instead transformed into a monster that had stomped out the schoolhouse?

It wasn't the first sign of Vicky's magical abilities, either. She was in tune with nature, having a preternatural obsession with trees, plants, and the delicate balance of the environment. Was that a precursor to her transformation, or something else?

There were holes in the theory, of course. By all accounts, she was nowhere near Alice's barn when it collapsed. She didn't have any reason to be, either. But Bev had been surprised to hear about Hendry being at Bathilda's, so perhaps Vicky had another reason to be out that way, too.

When morning broke, and the inn hadn't been destroyed by something magical and fierce, Bev set to her chores, keeping the kitchen door propped open to hear from Allen. There hadn't been any lights on at the bakery when Bev had returned after the town meeting, but that didn't mean he hadn't come back sometime in the night. Bev did have a few scones left over, so she placed those out for anyone who might want one.

Apolinary arrived bright and early to retrieve her fabric, along with a heartfelt thank you to Bev for allowing her to work in the inn.

"I didn't do a thing, but glad I could help." She nodded toward the stairs. "Is Vicky coming to work today?"

"Who knows?" Apolinary sighed. "She looked so miserable yesterday. I'm sure she's still moping today. But sooner or later, she's going to have to drag herself out of bed and come back to work."

She sounded much less sympathetic than the day before. Bev couldn't really blame her; there seemed to be a lot of work to get done, and if Vicky's only ailment was a broken heart…

Or was it?

"Say, Apolinary," Bev began, "Vicky hasn't been acting strangely, has she?"

"Other than the usual?" Apolinary chuckled. "No. If anything, she's been less flighty than her normal self. Hasn't been on about the birds and trees and the way the plants talk to one another."

"I see." Bev straightened the log book on the counter. "Speaking of that flightiness, any clue what it might—"

"Oh, Bev. You don't think Vicky's the one terrorizing the town, do you?" Apolinary said with a chuckle. "I mean, I can't say I believe anyone is doing that, but Vicky? Come now."

"It's possible," Bev said. "Especially with her lying about."

"I haven't been lying about. And I'm certainly not transforming into a giant monster." Vicky appeared at the top of the stairs wearing an actual shirt and pants, for once. She still seemed pale and miserable as she slowly walked down the stairs. She grimaced as she sat, as if her head hurt.

"Good to see you up and about," Apolinary said.

"Suppose I should get back to work, hm?" Vicky said with a sad sigh as she pulled the fabric toward her. "These dresses aren't going to make themselves."

"Would be nice if they could," Apolinary said with a small smile. She reached across and patted Vicky on the knee. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"I'm not, really," Vicky said. "But it wouldn't be right to leave you to all this by yourself."

"Why don't I put on a kettle for the two of you?" Bev said, eager to keep Vicky at the inn a little longer. "If the shop's not quite ready yet, you can stay and get a little work done this morning. There's no rush to leave."

"Don't trouble yourself, Bev," Vicky said. "You've done enough for my brother and me. Even if you think I'm turning into something…what was it? Monstrous?"

"You missed the town meeting," Bev said.

"I was asleep," Vicky replied.

"Well, you also missed that another building got destroyed," Apolinary said.

Vicky furrowed her brow. "Which one?"

"The schoolhouse," Bev said, walking to the window and pulling back the curtain. "Which means we should be getting a gaggle of schoolchildren any moment now."

"Perhaps we should leave, then," Apolinary said.

"Nonsense." Bev waved her off. "Plenty of room for everybody."

"I might actually take you up on that tea, then," Vicky said, touching her head. "Got something of an ache."

"I'll get right on that," Bev said, walking into the kitchen.

The kettle went over the fire, and Bev put two cups and the teapot on a tray. She went to her stores of teas and found her usual batch was running low. Another trip to Etheldra's would be in order.

Unless… Bev turned to the bag of magical lavender she'd been given the day before. There was plenty for a full pot, but she didn't want to risk giving either woman more than a small taste. She'd already had to rebuild the inn once in the past year.

The kettle whistled, startling Bev. She pulled it off the fire and set it beside her trusty teapot. She filled the pot with the last of her normal tea, plus a small sprinkle of Etheldra's special blend.

She put the top on the teapot and walked out from the kitchen, stopping short. Vicky was chomping down on a scone from the night before, marveling to Apolinary, who was also nibbling on a piece, about how delicious it was.

"Bev, I don't know what you put in these," she said, her mouth full. "But I can't get enough!"

Bev held her breath, watching Vicky for what felt like an eternity. The other woman was oblivious, enjoying the delectable scone with the sweet topping while working on a vibrant green skirt.

"What is it?" Apolinary asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Oh, clearly not," Bev said with a nervous chuckle as she placed the tea down. The more time passed without either of them spewing fire or growing wings or some other horrible appendage, the easier she breathed. So much for that theory.

The door flew open, and Bev once again almost jumped out of her skin. This time, a parade of kids came marching in, followed by Bardoff. He was carrying a thick stack of books and kicked the door closed behind him.

"Ah, Bev! So glad you're here," he said. "Oh, I didn't realize you'd be here, too, Apolinary. Suppose this is the repository for all the poor folks who are waiting for their houses to be rebuilt."

"Good thing it's the quiet season," Bev said. Now that she'd tested Vicky and Apolinary, there didn't seem a reason to keep them in earshot. "Room five is empty if you two want a quiet place to work."

"I think I'd rather sit and listen," Apolinary said.

"Yes, me, too," Vicky said, watching her brother with a wary expression. "Might help the day go faster."

"Well, happy to oblige," Bardoff said, dropping the books on the table with a loud bang. "Find a seat, children, and we'll get started."

There seemed to be even fewer kids than before, only seven today. They pulled the chairs out, loudly scraping the floor, and sat with various stages of interest.

Bev kept to the kitchen, but left the door open to watch. Bardoff really was quite bright, jumping from astronomy to mathematics to history to literature with ease. The children of Pigsend were getting quite an education from him, but as much as she hated to admit it, most of what he was teaching them seemed inapplicable to the life of a farmer. She'd probably never use the knowledge of how to chart the stars or the importance of such-and-such duke to the history of the kingdom. But it was interesting to know, and it did help the morning's chores go faster.

"Now, children," Bardoff said with a bright tone. "Yesterday, we were discussing the finer points of astronomy. Who can give me the name of one of the constellations we learned about?"

No one raised their hands, so Vicky cleared her throat. "I'm sure Grant knows the answer."

"Guh, Vicky." Grant grunted. "Why are you here?"

"Because our home was destroyed," she replied with a raised brow. "Well? Go on. Answer him."

Grant muttered something that Bev didn't catch, earning a pleased sound from his teacher. "Great work. And PJ, what's another constellation nearby?"

He shrugged, and Apolinary hissed at him. "Don't be rude, PJ."

"Not being rude," he shot back. "And mind your own business, Auntie."

"I'll tell your mother," she said.

"Ah, ladies," Bardoff said lightly. "Perhaps it might be best if you left the questioning up to me. I'm sure PJ and Grant would learn better without the added pressure of their families watching."

Apolinary stabbed the fabric with her sewing needle, watching her nephew warily. Vicky, too, seemed a little too interested in her brother. But both remained quiet.

"Now." Bardoff cleared his throat. "Where were we?"

A loud gasp echoed through the room, catching everyone's attention. Bev's gaze flew to Vicky, whose whole body had gone as stiff and rigid as if she'd been dunked in cold water. The blood drained from her face as she slowly put down the tunic she was working on.

"Vicky?" Bev asked, walking out into the front room, fearing the worst. How long would it take the grannies to rebuild an entire inn?

"What is it?" Apolinary asked.

"That little…" The blood returned to Vicky's face with a vengeance as her cheeks turned dark. She angrily threw aside her half-finished tunic and stormed toward the door.

"She's gonna murder him," Apolinary said, putting aside her tunic (albeit much more gently than Vicky).

"Murder…" Bev followed Apolinary's gaze to the open door and the figure in the bakery across the street. "Oh, goodness."

The two hurried across the street just as Vicky exploded.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here!"

Allen abruptly dropped the cupcake pan he was holding, and the white batter flew across the floor. He put his hand to his heart, taking a step back. "Vicky, you scared the daylights out of me."

Vicky's chest went up and down as Apolinary gently took her by the arm. "Now, Vicky, why don't we see if there's a logical explanation for—"

But Vicky wasn't having that. "It's been days since I nearly died, and you haven't even bothered to come see me."

"Wait, what?" Allen caught Bev's expression, his eyes widening. "What happened? You almost died?"

"You don't even care!" Vicky cried, walking right up to the counter and grabbing a roll out of the basket. She chucked it at her (perhaps former?) boyfriend's head then chucked another, and would've gone for a third had Apolinary not snatched the basket out of arm's reach.

"Why don't we head back to the inn?" she said, pulling Vicky away from the artillery. "I think you've made your point."

"Vicky, I didn't know—I've been out of town!" Allen said. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"What's going on is we're done, Allen," Vicky said, large tears leaking down her face. "I never want to see you again!"

And with that, she turned on her heel and ran back toward the inn, her face buried in her hands. Apolinary looked between Bev and a dumbfounded Allen for a moment before following her assistant.

Allen jumped as the door closed, turning to Bev with confusion plain on his face. "What did I do?"

"I think it's what you didn't do," Bev said. "You should go talk with her."

"Best to let her cool off," he said. To Bev's curious expression, he added, "This isn't the first time she's threatened to break up with me. Or lobbed baked goods at my head."

"Might be the last time, Allen," Bev said. "Where in the world have you been?"

"That's, uh…" His face reddened. "That's my business, Bev."

Bev pursed her lips.

"It's nothing bad, I promise. And I'll tell you eventually, just not… Not now," he said, holding up his hands. "Now will you please tell me what tried to kill my girlfriend while I was gone? And why she's somehow upset with me about it?"

"Put on a kettle," Bev said with a sigh. "You've got a lot to catch up on."

~

Bev told Allen about the two latest incidents and about serving magical pastries to the town with no results (along with an apology for breaking into his home and snagging his mother's card). To his credit, Allen listened without reacting, though he clicked his tongue when she told him that Vicky was staying across the street.

"No wonder she's so cross with me. Suppose nobody told her I was out of town?"

"The better question is why didn't you?" Bev asked.

His cheeks reddened. "Well, I didn't think I'd be gone that long… Besides that, I passed by the seamstress shop early this morning on my way back into town, and it looked…" He let out a sigh. "The grannies got to it, didn't they?"

Bev nodded. "Had it back up in two days."

"Well, she can hardly expect me to have known that," Allen said.

"I think she expected you to tell her you were leaving town," Bev said. "Why all the secrecy?"

"I promise, as soon as I'm ready to share, I will."

"Doesn't involve you turning into a giant beast and stomping on buildings, does it?" Bev asked.

"Are you…?" He stared at her. "You don't possibly think…"

"I think that someone who wasn't sitting in the town meeting last night destroyed the schoolhouse," Bev said. "And to my count, that number is just you and Vicky."

He swallowed. "It's not me, I can assure you of that. I wasn't even in town until early this morning."

"Then perhaps your hotheaded girlfriend is the one doing it," Bev said. "She was in the seamstress shop, and ever since has been moping around the inn. Looks pale, miserable, peaky. I thought it was just a broken heart, but now I'm not so sure."

"It's not Vicky," Allen said. "I know for a fact that she was with me when Earl's shop went up in flames."

"What about Alice's barn? The schoolhouse?" Bev tilted her head. "Maybe Earl's shop was the damn kids and—"

"Were there kids at the town meeting?" Allen asked.

"Well, no, but—"

"Then who's to say it wasn't one of them?"

Bev opened and closed her mouth. She hadn't considered that. "But what would the kids be doing near Alice's barn?"

"You know they get into all sorts of trouble," Allen said. "Roam the town like a bunch of thieves. I see Grant all the time when he's told Vicky's he's in school. Wouldn't surprise me if one of them is turning into a building-smashing monster."

"I don't think we should pin this on a moral failing," Bev said. "Whoever this is happening to…they probably either don't know or they're scared."

"And what do you propose to do once you find this…thing?" Allen asked. "You're not the sort of person who's equipped to handle a creature capable of smashing a barn."

Bev didn't know the answer to that, but she felt compelled to see this through to the end. "I think it's more important to find them first. It seems the transformation is triggered by magic—lots of it. If we find the person, we could tell them what to look out for. Help them keep from turning into a monster."

"And what if it isn't triggered by magic, but something else? What if this is all building up to some giant creature who'll destroy the town? What then?"

"I don't know," Bev said. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."