Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

" D oes this say what I think it says?"

Dewey fluttered above her, rubbing his chin with a stubby finger.

"Dewey!" she cried.

"Huh? What?"

"Are you reading this? Does it say what I think it says? The words are so big, I can't really read them."

"Uh, it says your name at the top…can you make out that part?"

"Stop stalling. Read it." She jabbed a finger at the paper before she slid her eyes closed and listened to confirm the words she thought she saw scrawled on the white sheet.

Dewey frowned at her before he flicked his gaze back to the note. "Paige–"

The clicking heels of Drucinda interrupted him. He whipped around to face the door as the brunette strode in. "Look, it's Drucinda. Oh, good."

She placed a hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow. "Have you found something? "

"There's a note here. I can barely make it out, but I don't think it's good. Help me read it," Paige said.

Drucinda stalked over to them and glanced down at the paper at Paige's feet. Her expression betrayed the note's contents even without her speaking the words.

Paige's stomach somersaulted as she stared at the worry etching itself into the woman's nearly perfect features.

She lifted her gaze to the dragon floating at her side before her eyes settled on Paige.

"What does it say?" Paige asked, clinging to any shred of hope that she'd misunderstood the message.

"Paige-"

"Read it!" she demanded.

"What's going on? Did you find something?" Devon asked as he joined them.

Paige clicked her tongue. "Yes, we did. And no one will read it to me and tell me what it says!"

Tears burned her eyes again as she struggled to hold in her emotions.

Devon skimmed the note and exchanged a glance with Drucinda before he lifted a shoulder into a half-shrug. "It's not important. What matters is that your mom was here. Let's focus on that and see if we can find any clues about where they went."

"I beg to differ," Paige snapped. "Because I think that note is the clue about what happened to her."

Devon shook his head, the corners of his lips turning down. "No. These people…you can't trust anything they say. They've been hiding her for over three decades. We just need to move on."

He reached for her, and she scurried backward. "I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's on that paper."

"She has a right to know," Drucinda said with a sigh .

Devon waved a hand in the air before he stuck his hands on his hips. "Fine."

Drucinda licked her lips as she flicked the paper open again and read from it. "To Paige Turner. Your mother was alive and living here until recently. You were warned to stay away, but you wouldn't. And that has cost your mother her life. Keep pushing and you're next."

Drucinda's eyes fell as she closed the note and pressed it against her chest.

Paige let the words sink into her brain, allowing her mind to repeat them on an endless loop. She had cost her mother her life. Her mother would still be alive if she'd not meddled in the situation.

She bit her lower lip until she tasted blood as she struggled not to cry.

"Paige…" Devon began.

"Don't." She held a hand up as she squeezed her eyes closed tightly.

"This note could be a fake," Drucinda said.

"I'm convinced it is."

"Really? Why would they leave it?" Paige asked through sobs.

Drucinda shrugged. "To throw us off the trail."

Paige flexed her jaw as she considered it. "What trail? The nonexistent one where we don't know who has her or why?"

"Why would they kill her now?" Devon asked.

"Because they were finished with her," Paige answered. "Maybe they were a while ago and they were letting her live out her days, and we ruined it when we came searching for her."

Drucinda tapped the corner of the folded paper against her lips. "No, these people aren't the kind type to let her live out her days."

Paige threw her hands out to her sides, her frustration building in the form of a knot between her shoulders and a thumping at her temples. "What people? We have no idea who took her and why?"

Drucinda slid her phone out of her pocket and dialed. The trilling line echoed off the walls as she set it to speakerphone.

"Dru, did you find something? Please tell me the news is good," Rochelle's French accent answered.

"Afraid not, Ro. There is evidence people were here." She picked up the brush and studied the red hairs. "Even evidence that Reed could have been here."

"That's excellent news."

"There is some not-so-good news, too."

"Okay," Rochelle answered.

"Is Ronnie with you?" Drucinda asked.

"She is. Do you want her in on this conversation?"

"I do."

A shuffling noise escaped the phone's speaker before Rochelle spoke again. "You're on speaker with Ronnie."

"Drucinda? What did you find? Is there anything actionable?"

"We have evidence someone was here. We need to dig a little deeper to determine what it means and see if there are any clues. But I wonder if you've been able to pinpoint anything on your end?"

"Concerning?" Rochelle asked.

"Concerning the persons who may have been holding Reed here. Do we know what faction or factions we can associate with this?"

"No," Rochelle answered, "we're still digging but so far, the paper trail has been useless. It's one shell corporation after another."

Drcuinda chewed her lower lip as she balanced her chin on the phone. "Damn. "

"Why?" Rochelle asked. "Do you have some evidence as to who we're dealing with that we could dig into?"

"No. Unfortunately, it's the other way around. We've got a note suggesting something ominous, and I'd like to know if this is a threat typical of the author or not."

"What does it say?"

Drucinda pressed her lips into a thin line before she spoke. "That Reed is dead."

Silence filled the air as no one reacted to the comment. Paige hung her head, emotions swirling through her again.

"Could be false," Rochelle said.

Drucinda set her sights on Paige, giving her a knowing glance. "I said the same. It would be nice to know who we're dealing with. Some factions are notorious for this and others are relatively truthful."

"We're trying to trace ownership, but so far no luck. We'll keep at it," Rochelle answered.

"As will we. Maybe there is something in the house that can point to whoever is doing this or give us a new direction to work."

"Do you need a forensic team?"

"I'd like to do a sweep on my own, but it may be prudent to send them in. I'm not certain they'll find anything. I'm sure the place has been cleaned, but you never know."

"I'll arrange for it. Keep me informed if you do come across anything," Rochelle said.

"Hey, Rochelle and Ronnie," Dewey said as he flew closer to the phone. "Can I ask for something, too?"

"Is it a plane with an opulent bathroom?" Ronnie asked.

"No, I already asked for that. It's something else."

"Shoot," Ronnie answered.

"I had another idea for a lead to track. It's vague at best, but when we slipped back in time to 1897, we saw Higgins with Paige's ancestor, Claire. "

"Really? Was this the dead Higgins or the live one?"

"I'm not sure. At the time, I didn't know Higgins had resurrected himself so I assumed he'd time-traveled, but now…well, I suppose it could have been dead Higgins back there."

"So, did dead Higgins time travel, or is transcending time a new feat for him?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it's a coincidence that he was there. I think he's been after Paige's family for a long time."

"But why?" Ronnie asked.

"Well, we have some idea about that," Dewey answered as he swung around to the other side of the phone. "I think Paige's family is magical."

Ronnie paused a moment before she said, "Magical?"

"Yeah."

"What's the evidence?" Rochelle questioned.

"Well, the charm bracelet is the first piece. The second is her great-great-grandmother, Claire. The woman was known as a seer."

"Could be false," Rochelle answered. "No offense, Paige, but in those times, seances were all the rage. She could have been capitalizing on that."

"Maybe, but she seemed to have a sixth sense. She sensed us when we went back using the Time Turner."

"Maybe that's because the Turner was cursed," Ronnie suggested. "You appeared in the other times in full, not as a shimmer, so maybe everyone could see you."

"Higgins never let on, but we were quiet then." Dewey rubbed his chin. "Anyway, that's only the one piece of evidence. The last one is definitely more conclusive."

"What is it?" Rochelle asked.

"When we were bouncing through time, we ended up in Mystic's Corner." Dewey paused for a moment before he continued his story. "And we met Liam McKellan."

"No," Ronnie said. "Really? You met Liam McKellan."

"We did. The man himself. And he was just as cool as you would think he was. Just a super cool, low-key awesome guy."

Drucinda knitted her eyebrows as he spoke.

"How does Liam McKellan feed into Paige's family's magical abilities?"

"According to Liam, Paige's bracelet represents the coven her family belonged to. They were known for premonitions, aura reading, and…wait for it…beast control."

"Beast control. As in the creatures who attack you, then run away with no reason?" Ronnie asked.

"Yep. Same thing I thought. Apparently, Paige's family consists of witches. Must have gotten lost over the years, but I think she may be magical. Which would explain why Higgins may be interested in them."

"Yes, it does. Particularly given his new abilities. We'll look into it further," Rochelle said.

"Liam mentioned the name Maura. He said he'd seen the bracelet or something similar on a woman named Maura."

"Maura, got it." Rochelle paused before she spoke again. "We'll do some digging in all directions and see what we hit."

"Thanks," Paige called.

"How are you holding up, Paige?" Ronnie asked.

"I've been better," she answered. "This is hard. Maybe it'd be easier if I was more than six inches tall and could actually help, but oh well."

"She's having fun riding on my back," Dewey said with a grin.

Ronnie chuckled. "Well, enjoy your dragon-riding and try not to get too upset over what you found. That could all be a lie, Paige. "

"I'm trying to hold on to that."

"Good," Ronnie answered. "You hold on to that hard. We're working on our end. Finish your search, and then we'll go over every angle we can when you get back to Paris."

Paige bobbed her head up and down, blinking away her tears. "Will do."

"Hang in there, Paige," Ronnie said.

"Let us know if you find anything else. See you back in Paris," Rochelle answered.

"Thanks, Ro." Drucinda ended the call and slid her phone into her pocket. "We've got our work cut out for us. Especially with only two normal-sized humans."

"Maybe we should split up with one small and one normal-sized," Devon said.

"Good idea," Drucinda said.

"Hey, just a minute, Dewey and I are doing just fine and we're the ones who found something," Paige said.

"Fine, if you want to continue on your own, I won't stop you."

Dewey landed on the vanity next to Paige and nodded. "We do. I'm not going with Abs over there."

"I'll take Paige," Devon said. "You can go with Drucinda."

"No," Paige said. "Dewey and I are a team. We stick together."

"If you find something, anything, let someone know. Even the smallest thing could give us a clue about our next move."

Paige nodded as she climbed onto Dewey's back. "Right. We should take the brush. Maybe we can test the hairs against mine."

Drucinda nodded as she grabbed the item and slipped it into her bag. As she zipped it closed, she whipped around to face the door. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," Devon said.

"I didn't hear anything. "

"You wouldn't. Humans are bad at hearing. And with those tiny ear canals, I'm not surprised," Dewey said. "I heard a faint thud."

"So did I," Drucinda said, taking a few steps toward the door.

The next noise was unmistakable. Even Paige, with her now-tiny ears, heard it. A loud bang echoed throughout the house. "What is that?"

Drucinda pulled her weapon from her waistband. "I think someone is still here."