2. Emma

TWO

Emma

Later that morning, I sat with Carol and Beth at the little table in the kitchen watching Deva move around her kitchen with calm movements as she hummed. As always, I was amazed by absolutely everything involving Deva and Deva’s Delights. The place was literally speckless, so pristine and clean it sparkled. Everything had its place and was put in it, and she moved about the kitchen like a queen in her castle, even after a long day of work.

"She’s kind of amazing, isn’t she?” Carol said from her seat next to me. Her knitting needles, that hovered above her knitting basket on the floor, even paused their work with her words.

Beth laughed. "She is! Henry is so lucky she’s going to be making his wedding cake. Whatever we choose, it’ll be good. No matter what, because Deva made it.”

As if on cue, Deva laid out small plates in front of us, each with a square piece of cake so perfect it looked like it belonged in a magazine. There was vanilla cake, a yellow cake with something red in it, a pale orange cake, and a bright orange cake with off-white frosting. All decorated like someone important was going to be trying them today instead of us. My gaze jumped between them as I licked my lips, wondering which one we’d get to start with.

There were only a few things Henry and Alice cared about for their wedding, and they’d made those things clear. Other than that, they’d begged me to make the rest of the decisions. They didn’t care about all the small details, just that they were together, so I’d readily agreed to help them out. The cake tasting was easily the best job they’d given me though.

"Okay, ladies," Deva said, placing the last plate on the counter. "Let's start with the classic vanilla bean."

Vanilla? Heck yeah! It might not be everyone’s favorite, but I loved me a good vanilla cake.

Carol leaned in, her nose twitching slightly as she smelled the cake. "Oh, that's lovely," she murmured, using her powers to cut a small piece without touching the knife.

Beth dug in the regular way, with a fork clenched in her hand. Closing her eyes, she chewed really slowly. Her cheeks moved like she was swirling the piece of cake around inside her mouth. Apparently, she’d decided to take her role helping me pick the perfect cake really seriously.

"Too plain," Beth declared after her first bite. She jotted something down on her notepad.

Deva glanced at me, waiting. I took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. The vanilla was heavenly, but Beth was right. It was plain, and Henry and Alice wanted anything but plain. It would pair well with a fruity ice cream, though, but wasn’t meant for this event. "It's excellent, but let's try the next one."

"All right, here we go." Deva presented the next option. "Lemon zest with raspberry filling."

Everyone dug in, and the room went silent as we chewed and tasted. Deva’s fingers stapled together, and she regarded us thoughtfully as each swallowed. Then, all eyes were on me.

"Ooh, Henry might really like this one," I said. The tangy lemon made my taste buds tingle in the best possible way.

"Too tart for my liking," Carol commented, pushing her glasses up her nose with a flick of her finger and pulling a sour face.

Beth laughed, crumbs dusting her chin. "Your face, Carol!"

"Your face!” Carol said, pointing to the crumbs.

Beth laughed again and wiped them off.

"Next, we have almond with apricot." Deva slid the plate forward.

We all took a bite, and there was a collective silence as we savored it.

"Deva, this is divine," I said finally, unable to hide my smile.

"Agreed," Carol nodded, her eyes lighting up.

"Perfect." Beth gave a thumbs up.

"Carrot's next," Deva said, a hint of pride in her voice.

The carrot cake was dense, moist, and the cream cheese frosting was just the right amount of sweet. We all knew without saying a word; this was the one.

"Deva, you've outdone yourself," I said, reaching for another bite despite being almost too full.

"Absolutely," Carol agreed, her smile genuine.

"Hands down, the winner," Beth concluded, and we all nodded in agreement.

"Let's wrap this up," I said, wiping my fingers on a napkin. "Henry and Alice won't mind as long as it isn't chocolate."

"Carrot cake it is, then?" Deva asked, already covering the remaining samples.

"Yep, carrot cake. They'll love it," I confirmed, standing up from the table.

"Flowers next door?" Beth suggested, checking her watch.

"Sure thing. Henry only asked for some pink and white in the mix," I said as we headed out. "Alice said she didn’t care.”

"Typical." Carol chuckled, holding the door open for us.

"Hey, at least they're easy to please." I shrugged, stepping into the cool evening air.

We all waited together as Deva locked up the place, and then we almost immediately went back inside to the flower shop.

The place was quiet this late in the evening, the scent of blooms greeting us like a fragrant wave. We wandered through aisles of roses, lilies, and daisies, trying to really look at everything, to figure out what would suit Alice and Henry the best. There were lots of big, fancy flowers. There were really colorful ones too, but I passed all those by.

"Something simple, right?" Beth picked up a white rose, inspecting it closely.

"Exactly. Pink and white, nothing too fancy," I replied, eyeing a bunch of pale pink tulips.

"White daisies would be cute, too," Carol added, touching a petal gently. "Look at this one." Carol laughed, holding up a sample bouquet with neon-dyed flowers with a flourish. "Can you imagine Henry's face?"

"Too much," Beth agreed, grinning.

I couldn't help but join in. The joy of our little adventure was infectious. Outside, the first of the streetlights flickered to life, casting a warm glow on the sidewalk.

Together, we gathered a variety of pink and white flowers together, adding some, taking away others. Carol and Deva had the best eyes for colors and the arrangement. I mostly threw in my two cents and let them work until we had different ones picked out… flowers to go on the tables, flowers for the bride, the bridesmaids, etc.

"Have you girls picked your poison yet?" The flower shop lady, Sam, approached us, wringing her hands.

"Maybe all of them?" I said, still chuckling.

"Hard to choose when they're all beautiful," Deva chimed in, but her smile faded as she caught the worried look on the lady's face.

"Something on your mind?" Deva's voice softened, concern edging in.

Sam glanced outside, then back at us. "It's getting late, and we've been closing early these past few days. With the robberies happening only at night, it's not safe."

A chill settled over us, the laughter dying on our lips.

"Has it gotten that bad?" My voice sounded small, out of place in the suddenly tense air.

"Almost every evening now." Sam’s eyes darted toward the door. "Are you nearly done here?" Her voice held an urgency that pulled us from our mirth.

"We are," Beth said quickly, her smile gone. "This is what we think." She gestured to the pink and white flowers we had chosen.

"Good choice," Sam replied, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she hurried to make notes about what flowers we’d chosen for the wedding, how many we’d need, and when we’d need them by.

"Thank you,” I told Sam.

She gave a tense smile. "Of course. We’ll make their special day even more special with just the perfect flowers.” She glanced down at the flowers that looked pale compared to the big, bright ones around most of the shop. "And these are a great choice.”

"Simple is best," I said. "Henry and Alice would prefer it."

"Agreed," Carol nodded, her blue eyes serious now.

I put the down payment for the flowers, and she wrapped up a sample bouquet for us to take with us to show the bride and groom. Her movements were rushed, and her gaze kept moving back to the street. I honestly felt bad for keeping her.

"Let's pack up." Deva tucked the box of cake samples under her arm, and we grabbed the flowers.

We stepped out into the evening, the streetlights casting long shadows on the pavement. The usual hum of the town was replaced by an eerie quiet. Doors slammed in haste as people shuffled to their cars, heads down, quickening their steps.

"This is so much worse than just a few nights ago. What happened?" I frowned, looking around at the deserted streets.

"Didn't you hear?" Deva asked. "Another attack, just a couple of days ago."

"How did I not know?" My voice was laced with disbelief. I hadn’t heard about this latest attack.

Carol clutched her purse close. "It's gotten everyone spooked."

"Let's not linger then," I urged, ushering them to my car.

"Good idea," Deva said, glancing over her shoulder as we hurried and climbed into the car.

As I turned the car on and started driving, Carol gripped the door handle and glanced out the window. "It happened right outside the flower shop.”

I pressed my foot a bit more firmly on the gas pedal.

"Right in front of Sam's place," Deva confirmed, her voice low. "He was closing up for the night. The person was mauled this time. Not just attacked. Like some giant dog tore into him."

"Mauled?" Beth's lips parted slightly, shock written across her face. "You're kidding! I hadn’t heard that part. Just that there was an attack."

"No kidding here. Broad daylight turned into a nightmare," Deva said.

We exchanged glances, the light-heartedness of our earlier cake tasting and flower selecting faded away. Mystic Hollow wasn’t the kind of town where people had to be afraid to walk on the street. I was pretty sure no one knew what to do with this kind of uncertainty and fear, including us.

"Could it be supernatural?" I asked, the question heavy on my tongue. "Or was it a human thing?”

"Could be," Deva said, not meeting my eyes. "This isn't normal, even for Mystic Hollow."

More supernatural trouble? No, it was more likely just a normal human thing. A normal, human psychopath attacking people. Yeah, that was better.

"Let's not jump to conclusions." I tried to sound more convincing than I felt. "But let's also not take any chances."

"Home sounds real good right now," Carol murmured, and I caught the flicker of agreement in Deva's eyes through the rearview mirror.

"Home it is," I confirmed, steering us away from the darkening streets and towards the promise of safety and light.