Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1)(15)
She cursed quietly under her breath in Russian, the sound blending in unnoticed amid the rising murmur of tense voices, as the woman swiveled her head and caught Baba’s eyes with a steely-eyed gaze. Something malignant stirred behind those gray orbs, sending a shiver up Baba’s spine.
“Who is that woman?” she asked Belinda, using one sharp elbow to get the deputy’s attention. “The one down there with the platinum blond hair in a chignon, wearing a yellow dress?”
Belinda looked surprised, although whether it was because she hadn’t expected the question or because she was amazed Baba knew the term chignon, it was impossible to say.
“That’s Peter Callahan’s assistant,” Belinda said, peering across the room to be sure they were talking about the same person. “Maya something or other. Although, if you ask me, she might actually be a bodyguard. Apparently he started getting death threats about six months ago; she showed up not long after that, and since then, I haven’t seen him without her by his side.” She shrugged. “I don’t know why the company didn’t hire some big muscle-bound guy. Maybe they didn’t want to be obvious about it.”
Baba pressed her lips together, not wanting to let what popped into her mind slip out of her mouth. Not to Belinda anyway. Six months ago. Right before children started disappearing. A coincidence? Possibly. Or . . . possibly not. But something in that glance said she was trouble. It just remained to be seen what kind.
The prickliness under her skin intensified almost to the point of pain, and Baba straightened, giving Belinda a shove in the direction of her parents. “Get your parents out of this room. Now.” Belinda gave her a startled look out of wide eyes but didn’t argue, setting off toward where the old couple sat. Around the space, arguments were erupting into raised voices, like a hornet’s nest disturbed by a thrown rock. Baba headed toward Liam, whose attention was divided between the profanity-spouting farmer and two of the men at the front table who were screaming at each other, dueling charts in upraised hands.
He spared her a frustrated glance as she appeared at his shoulder; the two-inch heels on her boots made them almost the same height, but the irate citizen he was confronting dwarfed them both.
“I don’t know what the hell is wrong with these people tonight,” Liam said, shaking his head. “It’s like they’ve all lost their minds.” He glared at the large fat man in overalls, who finally slumped back into his seat. Baba could sense the anger and frustration coming off him in waves.
“I think they had some help,” Baba said, stomping on one particularly loud argument with her heavy boots. The people involved stopped yelling at each other and clutched their feet instead. “This isn’t normal.” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the increased volume surrounding them; clearly things were heading rapidly from Not Good to Worse Than Not Good.
Liam separated a couple who were shoving at each other in the middle of the aisle and said, only a little disbelief in his voice, “You mean you think someone put something in the coffee?” He glanced around at the spreading mayhem. “Or the ventilation system? But why would anyone do such a thing? What would they have to gain?”
Sure. Or cast a spell that ramped up everyone’s preexisting anger. Baba decided it would be better to just nod. “Maybe someone doesn’t want rational discussion about the issue,” she said. And then added, “Duck.”
He ducked, and a chair came whistling through the air where his head had been. Baba vaulted over his crouched form and threw a roundhouse punch into the face of the man who had thrown it, dropping him like a stone. She grinned. This was more like it.
But Liam spoiled her fun by saying, “Damn it, someone is going to get hurt. I’ve got to figure out some way to calm these people down.” He cast a slightly desperate look at Clive Matthews, whose eyes were narrowed as he searched for someone to hold responsible for the chaos, and said through clenched teeth, “The county board has been looking for an excuse to replace me. This ought to just about do it.”
Baba sighed and looked around in resignation for a solution that didn’t involve cracking heads together while cackling gleefully. The sight of a sprinkler system set into the dingy ceiling gave her an idea, and she wiggled two fingers behind her back. Water sprayed down over the crowd, instantly soaking everyone in the room. People squealed and ran for the exits, most of them looking equal parts baffled and annoyed as they returned to their senses.
She nodded at Belinda where she stood next to the control panel, elderly parents nowhere in sight. Liam gusted out a sigh of relief, spotting his deputy at the same time.
“That was quick thinking. Cooled everyone down anyway. Although no doubt the board will have something to say about the mess and the expensive water damage.” His face looked grim under its wet coating.
Also, running water short-circuits magic, Baba thought. She said out loud instead, “Oh, I think you’ll find that the sprinklers went off by themselves. Some kind of malfunction, no doubt. From the look of the rust on that panel, it hasn’t been opened in years.” She gave Liam a bracing thump on the shoulder. “And I’m sure there won’t be any lasting damage.” Another finger flick turned the water back off. The woman called Maya had disappeared, making her exit with the rest of the crowd. Too bad—Baba had a sudden urge to have a chat with the mysterious blonde.