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My phone buzzed impatiently, jerking me out of a sound sleep. I grabbed for it, silencing the ring tone as I stumbled out of the room, hoping the damn thing hadn't wakened Cole. I looked back, taking in the long, naked line of his back, tapering to a slim waist before stopping at the blanket line.
The memory of running my fingers below that line the night before brought heat curling into my core, and I shivered in the cool morning air.
I closed the door and lifted the still vibrating phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Char? I need help." Zel's voice was trembling and my heart rate kicked up a notch.
"What's happened?" I asked.
Breathless, Zel answered. "I don't want to talk about it on the phone. I know it's Saturday, and that it's early..."
My eyes widened as I glanced at my watch. Early was an understatement. It was five am.
“But this can't wait,” she continued. “It's about Ryleigh."
A chill ran through me at the desperation in her tone. "I'll put the coffee on. It will be ready when you get here." I headed for the kitchen.
"Thank you, Char. You have no idea how much I—" Her voice caught on a sob, cutting her off.
"Zel, take a breath. Do you want me to come to you?"
"No, I'm halfway there already."
"All right. Just be careful. I'll see you soon."
I WELCOMED ZEL AT THE front door and led her up the spiral staircase in the sunroom to the second floor. The stairs emptied directly into the kitchen. The open floor plan held a family room beyond and left of the kitchen, with a game room-slash-library directly across and a bathroom in the far-right corner. A breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the game room, and each area had a large window, allowing natural light to flood the space. Another staircase on the back wall offered access to the first and third floors.
Offering her a seat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, I poured a cup of the tea I'd brewed and set it before her. She was still wearing the skirt and top she'd had on the day before, but they were wrinkled now, with a small, brown stain on the shirt's ruffled collar.
She settled into a chair, her usually neat bun messy, with long curls straggling down her neck as if she'd been in too much of a hurry when she styled it — or like she'd slept in it.
After her initial, faint greeting, she hadn't said a word, and I let it lay. Her pale features and tight expression told me something was wrong — something big and probably ugly. Something I might not want to know.
But she'd called me for help, and I wasn't going to turn her away.
As I sat down next to her, Cole came down the back stairs from the third floor. Our eyes met across the room, and a swirl of happiness curled inside me. "There's tea in the pot, but the coffeemaker is on, if you'd rather," I told him.
"You must be Cole," Zel said, her tone gracious and hollow at the same time. There was a vacant look in her eyes that I didn't like. I'd never known her to be less than completely focused on whatever she was doing. But right then, she had the look of someone straddling two worlds, not fully present in either.
Cole held out his hand, and she took it. "Cole Delaney. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms...?" He glanced at me.
"Zelmara O'Connor, an old friend of the family," I supplied hastily. Cole nodded and went over to make himself a cup of coffee.
He joined us at the breakfast bar a moment later and we sipped in a steadily heavier silence.
Finally, Zel took a deep breath, releasing it in a slow, unsteady whoosh. "I'm sorry to wake you so early. I wouldn't have, except..." Her voice trailed off as unshed tears brightened her eyes and she pulled a dull yellow stone from her pocket to lay it on the counter. She cleared her throat in a harsh rattle of sound. "It's Ryleigh. I can't find her and I think she's in danger."
Ryleigh O'Connor was Zel's only child, and like most parents, Zel worried about her, especially since she’d moved to Ireland a while back. Now in her mid-twenties, Ryleigh hadn't lived at home in several years. I knew because I'd gone to high school with her. She'd been a junior when I was a freshmen, graduating my sophomore year.
She and Zel had always been close. Ryleigh wasn't my best friend or anything, but she'd been kind. Nice in a way that wasn't superficial. She'd also been a truly talented witch, even back then. Watching her and Zelmara together had made me miss my own mother even more than I already did. Maybe that was why I'd never tried to deepen our friendship.
"What makes you think she's in danger?" Cole asked.
Zel pointed to the stone. “That is a talisman I made for her. Well, for me, really, to keep me up to date on Ryleigh’s wellbeing.”
Other than the ugly yellow color, I couldn’t see anything wrong with the crystal. “And?”
“That is green jade.”
I stared at the heart shaped rock. “I didn’t think they came in yellow.” In fact, I knew they didn’t, and I waited for Zel to explain.
“They don’t. It was a lovely shade of pale green on Thursday morning. It has grown steadily more jaundiced since.”
“Have you tried to contact her?” Cole asked.
"How long since you last spoke to her?" I asked. Our questions clashed and Zel looked from me to Cole and back again before replying.
"I talked to her on FaceTalk a week ago Wednesday. We try to do that every Wednesday, but last week she had a meeting for Trócaire House's board, so we moved it to Thursday."
"Trócaire House?" I asked.
"Yes, that's the parahuman children's home she and Imogen run. It's been quite a success. They're even building a second site in the country so they can take in more kids." She took a sip of her tea and set it in the cup with a clink of china. "Like I said, we were set to talk Thursday, but with the trial and everything... I... forgot." Guilt weighted the words and Zel took a moment to regain control. "I rarely forget, but I was so tired, and it had been such a hard day..."
I glanced at the jade and put my hand on her arm. "Totally understandable. She didn't call you, I take it?"
"No, which is unlike her. On the few occasions when I miss a call, she calls me and we talk then, or schedule a time."
"Have you spoken to Imogen?" Cole asked.
Zel nodded, twisting a napkin between her fingers until it shredded. "That's what led to me calling you this morning. Imogen rang me up this morning, nearly hysterical. Ryleigh has been missing for two days now. Thursday afternoon, she went to look for one of their kids — a boy named Nate who has sticky fingers and a habit of running away. That's why Ryleigh didn't call me. She hasn't been home since."
"And she hasn't contacted Imogen either?" Cole asked.
"She did text Imogen on Thursday evening, and again on Friday. But the messages don't tell us anything. Not where she is, or why she hasn't been home. They just say she's OK and not to worry." For the first time, a trace of irritation showed up in Zel's voice. "As if that were even possible."
"And there's been nothing since?" I asked.
"No. And no response to Imogen's texts and calls, either. Everything goes straight to voice mail."
"Sounds like she’s turned her phone off. Maybe to save the battery. Has Ryleigh ever done this before?" Cole asked. I glanced at him, already knowing the answer, but acknowledging that it was a reasonable question.
Zel shook her head. "Never. Ryleigh has always been a responsible person, very considerate of those she loves. Imogen is expecting their first child. Ryleigh would never worry her like this, let alone leave her alone for several days without explanation."
"Has Imogen called the police?" I asked.
"She has, but since Ryleigh has been in contact and stated she's all right, they won't do anything. I think they are assuming it was some kind of lover's quarrel, and Ryleigh is just taking a time out."
I hesitated, but it needed to be said. "Isn't that a possibility?"
Zel ran her thumb over the dull jade’s smooth surface. "They do not know my daughter. Running off in a snit is not her style. She is the most direct person I know."
I accepted the statement silently, wondering when she'd last looked in the mirror. If Ryleigh was direct, she hadn't had to go far to learn how, but I wasn't going to voice that observation out loud. "I wish there was some way I could help," I said instead. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake.
"You can," Zel said. "You can cover for me while I go over there and find out what is going on."
"I can — What?" Shock washed through me, weakening my knees and rising back up to curdle in my belly. "You can't leave Hawthorne, Zel. It will look like you're running away. With Ben missing, the judge might even issue a warrant for your arrest."
"I don't see how that is relevant." Zel picked up the jade and gripped it tight. "My daughter is obviously in trouble. She needs me."
"She doesn't need you in jail. They'll stop you before you board the plane."
"Not if you help me."
I sat back, shaking my head in disbelief. "I just got my license to practice law, Zel. I will not risk disbarment for aiding and abetting. You don't even know for sure she's in trouble. We could be turning a summer squall into a hurricane here."
Desperation darkened her eyes. "It's more than that. I can feel it. I can't just sit here and do nothing."
"You can't do anything from jail either," Cole said. "Char's right. You can't leave town when the judge just told you not to."
"Exactly. Not only will the judge find you in contempt, but it makes you look guilty as hell." I picked up my tea, then put it down without tasting it, wishing I'd brought out a bottle of something stronger, five a.m. or not. "You do this and then they find Ben’s body. You're liable to have a murder charge slapped on you, even if they have no other proof."
“Ben Kennedy is probably perfectly fine. And if not...” Her mouth closed, jaw clenched. "I did not kill him. His wife might have, but—"
"I know that, but running off like this makes it look like you did something wrong." Exasperated, I took a swig of coffee before setting it down on the counter with a hard clunk. "It doesn't take much of a leap, given the court case, to link you to Ben's disappearance. And if he turns up, dead, undead, or alive, while you're gone, it will about seal the deal. You'd be playing right into Dahlia's hands, whether she killed him or not."
"Then you go. Find out what's going on; help her if she needs it."
"I can't do that," I exclaimed.
"Why not?" The question came from the head of the stairs where Lena stood, still in pajamas and fuzzy kitty slippers.
She and Marcus had stayed up after Cole and I had gone to bed, and I couldn’t believe she was awake this early. I wondered for a moment if Marcus was awake too, and whether he was upstairs in my sister’s bed.
"Hop over to Ireland, check things out, be back in a few days. Easy peasy." Lena pulled the chocolate turtle dark roast from the cupboard and filled the single cup filter, popped it into the coffee maker and stuck a mug under the spigot, yawning the whole time.
She wasn't wrong. Cole probably could use Solcruth to open a portal or something between here and Belfast, but doing so carried its own risks. Magick never came without a cost. The bigger the magick, the more expensive it was.
"It's a little more complicated than that," I said, putting as much warning into my voice as possible without, I hoped, cluing Zel in that there was a secret in the mix.
The last thing we needed was the leader of Hawthorne's largest coven finding out about Cole's soul stone, Solcruth. She didn't know about Doirsain either, and I'd just as soon keep it that way. Grandma Shawn had been very clear about keeping the nature of the stones to myself. With that kind of power in play, even the best people could be tempted, she'd said. And I didn't doubt it.
"She's right, Lena love," Zel said, apparently too caught up in her own worry to notice the sudden tension in the air as Lena turned, her eyes wide with the realization of what she'd almost done. "The flight alone takes around eight hours, depending on where you're flying in to."
"And I don't have any place to stay," I said. "Not to mention, who's going to keep my office open? I can't really afford to close up shop for a week." Shame tugged at me. Ryleigh was almost certainly missing and here I was, trying to figure out a way to turn down the job of going to look for her.
"You think this can be resolved that quickly?" Zel looked at me, the first, faint glimmer of hope in her eyes. "It’s just... Ryleigh has never done anything like this before. She must be in terrible trouble, I know it."
Lena blinked. "Ryleigh's in trouble?"
I closed my eyes and covered them with my hand. "Drink your coffee, Lena."
"Rude," Lena snorted, but obediently took a sip of coffee without saying anything more.
Turning back to Zel, I continued. "I'm a lawyer, Zel. Not a private investigator, which is what you need if the police won't help."
"Paranormal PIs are few and far between." Zel sat up straight, pulling on the invisible title of coven leader as if it were a cloak. "I wouldn't even know where to begin to look for one."
"Gigable search?" I said hopefully.
She ignored the suggestion. "You showed yourself to be more than capable, this past winter, in finding your parent's murderer and bringing him to justice. All I'm asking is that you find Ryleigh and make sure she's all right. Surely, this is a lesser task than your previous exploits."
"A task that involves international travel and considerable expense, plus time away from the practice I just opened."
"I will cover your expenses." She glanced at Cole. "Both of you. You made a good team last time, and two heads are often more effective than one."
I fully expected Cole to throw up his hands and explain that he couldn't leave his studio on such short notice. To my surprise, he nodded. "If Char goes, I'll go."
"I'll man the office," Lena said, and I glared at her. This kind of help I didn't need.
Zel put her hand on mine, startling me. "Char, I'll understand if you say no. I know I have no claim on your help, no right to even ask for it, really. I won't tell you what I'm going to do. That way you'll have... What do they call it? Plausible deniability? Yes, that's it. You can say you don't know where I went, and you won't be lying, because I didn't say I was going. In fact..." She stood up, pushing stray bits of hair back into her bun. "I've decided to let the whole matter rest. I'm going home now. I'll try to call Ryleigh again in a bit, and if she doesn't answer, I'll call the Belfast police."
Her tone was so false it made my teeth hurt like crunching ice. "Yeah, because the judge will believe I had no prior knowledge of any of this. Of course she will."
Zel stuffed the jade into her purse. "There is no need for sarcasm, young lady. I am only trying to—"
"I know, Zel. I know." I sighed. "All right. I'll go."
"Thank you," Zel said regally. But I noticed the tension in her shoulders easing, and the sheen of tears in her eyes.
I was going to regret this. I just knew it.
