Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam #2)(57)

She wrinkled her nose, then turned away. Naia glanced at her retreating form, then walked over to me. “I know Summer and Winter are always at odds, but I heard what she said and I agree. Garret’s not so bad. I met him some time back and while his root magic is rudimentary compared to what we work with, it’s effective enough when it needs to be. He makes no pretenses to be anything other than he is. I like his honesty.”

I paused, then headed over to congratulate Delia before I left. She was just finishing a sweet bun, and was already on a second cup of coffee. Werewolves seemed to have an uncanny nature for assimilating caffeine. I drank a lot of it, but she swam in it.

“So Garret’s helping you?” She glanced at me, a question in her eyes.

I nodded. “Dirt Magic, yes.” I debated telling her what I had found out about Thornton’s journal. And then, I realized I hadn’t even told her about Thornton. I motioned for her to join me in the corner where we wouldn’t be overheard. “Last night, Thornton showed up.”

“What? But…” Delia stiffened. “Vampire?”

“Vampire, yes. And now, dust. Delia, I know why Essie’s so damned insistent on getting his things back. I dropped them off earlier today, but she’s not going to be happy.” I was struggling with the decision what to tell her about the journal. It wasn’t information to be passed out lightly, and yet, she was both the sheriff and the mayor. She deserved to know what was going on in Bedlam. And I had already warned her about the Arcānus Nocturni.

“You look like you’re about to throw up,” she said.

“That’s because…listen. There are two suitcases. When you give them to Essie or her lapdog Shar-Shar, tell her that’s all I found in his room. That I scoured it, and that’s all that was there.”

Delia regarded me. “What aren’t you telling me?”

I shook my head. “All you need to know for now is that I made certain everything Thornton left at my house is in those bags. And if they ask, all we know is that Thornton is dead, that he died in the crash, and that’s it. Get it?”

“In other words, the last we saw of him was on the morgue table before Essie came to claim the body.”

“Exactly. There are things that I need to talk to Aegis about, but I can’t till after tomorrow when I get the hex-breaker and can release him from being stuck in his bat form. After that, I’ll tell you what’s going on and we’ll talk about what we can do about it. I’ve already talked to Auntie Tautau.” I paused, shrugging. “I’ve done what she suggested. I hope it’s enough.”

She froze. “Whatever it is, was important enough to talk to Auntie Tautau? Are you sure that you’re all right, Maddy?”

“Yes…no. I don’t know. That all depends on what happens over the next twenty-four hours. If the hex-breaker works, then I can figure out what to do next. If not, then I’ll have to start looking into another avenue to handle matters.” I gave her a mirthless smile. “I’m glad we voted you in. At least I feel secure in the fact that you are running the show in Bedlam. I’m going home, Delia. I have a headache and I think I just want to crawl into bed.”

“All right. Text me when you get home, all right? I just have…I just want to make certain you get there all right.”

I promised her and headed out to my car.





THE NIGHT WAS cool, the scent of rain heavy on the incoming clouds. I let out a slow breath as I walked across the parking lot. A number of cars were there still—not only had the town council had its meeting tonight, but as I had passed by the library, I saw that there was some sort of talk or presentation going on there.

I approached my car slowly, not wanting to hurry. I was tired, and the thought of the lonely house with just Aegis in bat form waiting for me wasn’t at all beckoning. Franny was fine to talk to for a while, but I missed my sweetie’s voice and touch. But then, I kicked myself for the thought. He had it worse, stuck in that form, unable to communicate. He also needed to drink, so I would have to let him out because in bat form, he needed fresh blood and would have to visit one of the nearby farms and drink off a cow or something.

A black van was parked next to my CR-V on the driver’s side, and on the other, a large sedan. I would have to squeeze through in order to open my door unless I crawled in through the back. As I stared at the space between the van and my SUV, a sudden noise from behind startled me. I turned to see who was there, and the next thing I knew, my arm stung and I realized that somebody had jabbed a needle into me.

Crap! What the hell is going on?

I thought about yelling, but everything suddenly began to swim. As I opened my mouth, only a few scattered words came slurring out. Apparently, my tongue had forgotten how to form complete sentences, and I couldn’t muster enough breath to try to shout.

I staggered forward, trying to open my SUV, thinking if I could just get in and lock it, I could call for help. My purse strap slid off my shoulder and I distantly felt it fall to the ground. The next moment, whoever had stabbed me with the needle was trying to support me.

“He…hel…yo…need…” I realized I sounded drunk. I knew what I wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. Everything was becoming blurry, and I squinted as the van next to me started pulling out. Maybe they could help me?