Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

P aige held her breath as Ellie shifted more of the wood pieces away, revealing a small, rusty metal box. Her heart thudded hard against her ribs as Ellie freed it from the remains of the keg.

She glanced up at Paige with a grin. "Wow, do you think there are some long-lost mob secrets in here?"

"Open it and let's find out."

"Yeah, I don't think this is going to pop open. It's pretty rusted. I'll have to pry it open with the chisel.

Ellie set the box on the table and wedged the chisel under the lid. With a few taps on the hammer, the top popped open.

Paige shined her flashlight inside, finding an object wrapped in blue fabric.

"Doesn't look like a gun," Ellie answered as she extracted it.

She unraveled the fabric, exposing the object inside. Paige's jaw dropped open as she gasped. "It's the key piece."

Ellie snapped her gaze to Paige. "Really? The one you were searching for? "

"Yep," Paige said, her heart racing as she grinned at it. "That's it. It's the key. Oh, I can't believe we found it."

"Me either, but boy, am I glad we came down here. What luck, huh?"

Paige nodded, her smile broadening. "Yeah. At least we won't have to tear your house apart to find it."

"Oh, I don't mind about that," Ellie said with a dismissive wave as she wrapped the object in the fabric again. "And at the very least, you get to stay at a nice B&B right?"

"The place is great," Paige said with a bob of her head. "Thank you so much for accommodating us on short notice."

"Oh, anything for friends." Ellie smiled at her as she poked a finger at the wrapped key. "Let's go give everyone the good news."

Paige waved it in the air with a nod. "Yes."

They left the speakeasy behind, climbing the stairs to the diner and crossing to the table.

"You'll never guess what happened down there," Ellie said as she plopped into her seat.

"You time traveled to 1920 and saw a gangster?" Lily asked.

"Close," Ellie answered before she flicked her gaze to Paige. "Show ‘em."

Paige waved the fabric in the air. "We found the key inside an old keg down there."

Lily's jaw dropped open as Paige unwrapped it for the table to see. "Wow, that's amazing."

"Yeah, and now we won't need to rip apart Ellie's home to find it." Paige wrapped the object up again before attempting a high five with Dewey that missed its mark.

"On to Midnight Hollow!" Dewey exclaimed.

"After some sleep, if you don't mind," Lily answered as she rose.

"I don't…I'm ready to pass out for a few hours after that me al," Dewey said, patting his belly. "Then we'll hit the road fresh in the morning."

Val flitted over with a bag of to-go food, handing it to Ellie.

"Oh, that's mine," Paige said with a wince as she grabbed it. "Thanks."

She gave Ellie a nervous grin as Ellie nodded, and they left the diner behind. The warm summer air broadened Paige's smile. They'd found three of the keys. They only needed one more to unlock the serum they needed to save her mother.

"Well, one more to go," Cassie said as she ambled along next to her.

"I know. I'm…excited. I hope we find it quickly. Not that I want to get away from you. You and your mom have been great, but…"

"You want to save your mom. I get it," Cassie said with a nod. "With any luck, Althea will know what you're talking about, and you can move on with the next steps soon."

"My fingers are crossed," Paige answered as they turned onto Ellie's street.

They returned to the house with Ellie telling them they were welcome to store their goodies in the refrigerator.

"Thanks," Paige said with a nod as she stuffed the bag inside before they climbed up to their rooms.

After changing, Dewey banged at her door before letting himself in. "Good going finding that key, Paige. We'll be out of this place in no time."

"I sure hope so…although…" Paige eased onto the edge of the mattress with a sigh.

"Yeah?"

"I'll miss these people. Lily and Cassie have been really nice. "

Before Dewey could answer a hissing sound drew their attention to the door.

A black paw slid under the door. "Hey, open up."

Paige dragged herself from the bed, crossing the room to open the door. The cat and dog paraded in.

Cleo narrowed her eyes at Paige. "You got the stuff?"

"Yeah, I got the stuff. Hold on, I'll go get it."

She left the bedroom behind, sneaking downstairs to grab the hamburger and milkshake. She returned upstairs and eased the door closed behind her before she withdrew the items from the bag.

"Put it down and back away," Cleo said.

Paige wrinkled her nose. "Seriously? Back away?"

"I don't trust you. Do you know many times humans lure pets with treats? Next thing you know, you're manhandled into a carrier and tossed into a car. You scream and yell for help, but all that happens is some idiot pulls you out and tells you how nice of a kitty you are then proceeds to assault you and stab you with a needle."

"That's the vet. They're only doing it for your own good." Paige popped open the plain burger's container and set it down before she removed the lid from the milkshake cup and set it on the floor. She slowly backed away.

"Own good, my foot. I don't need those shots."

Paige returned to her seat on the edge of the bed next to Dewey. "You do. You don't want to get sick, do you?"

Cleo licked at the whipped cream before pausing to speak. "When I see Ellie thrown into a cage and forcibly held down and jabbed so she doesn't get sick, I'll buy into this."

Paige shot Dewey a glance as she lifted a shoulder.

Lola polished off the burger and raced over to Paige. "Mmm, that was good. Thank you."

Paige ruffled her ears. "You're welcome."

"She didn't do it out of the goodness of her heart, dummy. It was a shake down." Cleo licked her chops before diving back into the milkshake.

"What's a shake down?" Lola asked.

"Never mind," Paige said. "I'm glad you enjoyed the burger."

"Ohhhh," the cat cried from across the room, stumbling around.

Paige's heart stopped as she leapt from her seat. "What's wrong?"

If she had killed someone's cat by bringing them a restricted treat, she'd never forgive herself.

"Ohhh." The cat flopped onto the floor, panting a little.

Paige raced toward the furry creature and dropped to her knees. "What is it? Are you sick? What's wrong?"

"Brain freeze," Cleo answered. "Wooo, that hurts."

Paige's shoulders slumped. "Are you joking? I thought something was seriously wrong."

"It is. Have you ever had brain freeze? Probably not, Ginger."

"Hey, there's no need for name-calling."

Dewey chuckled, slapping his thighs. "Hahaha, Paige, she's making fun of your red hair."

"I wouldn't laugh, dragon. You're so tiny, I could eat you as a snack."

The amusement left his face as he glared at her. "I'm not that small."

"Small enough that I could easily pop a claw in your a– "

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Paige interrupted. "Look, here's the thing, no one needs to make fun of anyone."

"Actually," Cleo said with a thump of her tail, "I do. It's a requirement of being a cat."

"It's not. It's so not. I was part cat once, so I know."

"What?" Cleo stared at Paige, her brow furrowing .

Paige slid her eyes closed and shook her head. "Never mind."

"No, I want to hear this," Cleo insisted.

"Dewey accidentally turned me into a half-panther, half-human while curing me of a werepanther scratch. I was not mean when I was a cat."

"You must have not gotten that part since you were only half. I assure you, whole cats must make fun of others."

"Okay, whatever. Could you just finish the milkshake and go take a nap? I'd like to get some sleep before we have to find the next key." Paige rose and crossed to the bed.

"Oh, yeah. Funny, you finding that key in the speakeasy. You know, my great-great-great-great-great…how many greats was that? Never mind. My ancestor used to hang around that speakeasy back in the day. Of course, she was the cat of a gangster, so that's why."

"Wow," Dewey said, "you're descended from a gangster's cat?"

Cleo raised her chin. "Why do you think I'm so good at shake downs?"

"I thought that was inherent to being a cat, too," Paige answered.

"Anyway, Ellie said you have one more to find. In Midnight Hollow," the cat said. "I knew a cat who knew cat who knew a cat from there. Lived with a lady named Althea."

"Okay?" Paige crinkled her brow.

"She said find the pixie, find the key."

"Find the pixie, find the key?" Paige repeated.

"That's what she said. Maybe it'll help you, maybe it won't. Doesn't matter to me," Cleo answered. "But I thought I'd pass it along."

"Thanks," Paige answered with a nod.

Cleo stared down at the vanilla ice cream in the cup. With a shake of her paw, she stalked away. "I don't want anymore. Get rid of it."

"Right," Paige said with a sigh as the dog and cat scurried from the room. "Well, at least that's over with, and we have a clue."

"Yeah. A pixie. That ought to be easy to find," Dewey said as Paige retrieved the containers from the floor.

"I'll get rid of these, and then we can get some sleep."

Paige cleared the clutter, dumping it in the kitchen trash before she climbed upstairs to crawl between the covers. With the door safely locked, Dewey returned to dragon form.

She spent most of the night tossing and turning, wondering how quickly they could find the pixie. When she did sleep, she dreamt of a house, shifting in shape and size as they raced through the halls in search of a pixie.

She awoke before they ever found it, her stomach twisted into a knot. What if they fell short after finding three of the four keys?

Dewey flopped onto his back, his eyes fluttering open. He stretched and yawned, sliding his gaze to her. "Oh, you're up already."

"I couldn't sleep anymore," she said with a groan. "I barely could sleep at all."

"Too excited to sleep, huh?"

"Something like that," she said as she swung her legs over the bed and hung her head.

Dewey climbed to his feet and buzzed into the air. "Don't be depressed, Paige. We have one more to find."

"But what if we can't find it. It doesn't matter if we found three of the four. It only matters if we find four of the four."

"We'll find it. That cat gave us the clue."

"Yeah, I wonder about that. We'll probably be running all over the house looking for a pixie while she's here laughing about how we'll never find the key because it has nothing to do with the pixie."

Dewey narrowed his eyes. "Do you think Lily would drive us back to put the screws to the cat if she's lying?"

Paige wrinkled her nose. "No. They'll probably put us in jail for animal cruelty."

"Animal cruelty?" Dewey exclaimed. "That cat is the cruel one. I can't believe she blackmailed us."

"No one is going to believe it. No one can hear her talk but us."

"And supposedly Ellie."

"If that's true," Paige said, "we could get into a lot of trouble if the cat blabs about you being a dragon."

"Let's hope she doesn't." Dewey popped his ring on and turned back into a human. "We only have to get through breakfast. I wonder if Lily knows where we're stopping for lunch."

"Ugh, let the poor woman get through one meal," Paige said, rising and sorting through her duffel bag for a set of clothes.

"She said she's used to it."

Paige shut herself in the bathroom for her morning routine. When she emerged, she found Dewey passed out on the bed. Her heart skipped a beat as she raced to his side. "Dewey? Dewey! Are you okay?"

"Huh, what?" His eyes fluttered open again. "Oh, sorry, fell asleep."

"How can you sleep this much?"

"I'm relaxed here. It's got a nice vibe. This is a great bed and breakfast. Well, wait. It's a great bed. Still waiting to form my opinion on the breakfast part."

"Well, let's go do that. Maybe you can leave them a review while we drive to Midnight Hollow."

"Oh, good idea, Paige," Dewey said as he rose .

They left their bedroom behind and joined the others in the kitchen.

"Breakfast is all ready," Ellie said with a grin. "You can eat here, dining room, or the sun porch. Although, the dog may beg you for bacon."

"I'll bet," Paige said with a smile as she loaded her plate.

Ellie crossed to the counter, uncovering the buttered toast for them. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough," Paige said. "I had the last key on my mind, so any insomnia wasn't from your bed."

"That's good to hear."

"Oh, yeah," Dewey said, "I slept great. And this breakfast looks promising."

"I hope you enjoy it," Ellie answered as they settled at the table.

Cassie entered from the sun porch with Cleo in her arms. "Poor kitty."

"What's wrong with her?" Paige asked, her stomach clenching.

Ellie collapsed in her chair with a shrug. "She was sick overnight. Threw up all over my area rug."

Paige's eyes went wide as her lips tugged back in a wince. "Oh, no. Is that normal?"

"She doesn't get sick very often," Ellie answered. "Of course, last night she did, and she wouldn't get off the rug, so cleaning was an entire process."

Paige shot Dewey a guilty glance. "Yikes. Sorry to hear that."

Ellie waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Ah, I'm used to it. That's life with animals."

"I'm sick because you gave me that milkshake," Cleo hissed at her.

Cassie swayed back and forth with the cat. "Poor kitty. I hope you're feeling better. "

"It was awful," Cleo said to her. "The redhead gave me ice cream. Dairy makes cats sick. What's wrong with her?"

"Maybe it was something she ate," Paige answered.

"Probably got into something she shouldn't have. She's always begging for some food. Anyway, it's not a tragedy. How far of a drive do you have today?"

"Just a few hours," Cassie answered as she set Cleo down on the floor. "Midnight Hollow isn't too far."

"Will you keep me updated? I'd love to know if you find them all."

"Definitely. What a weird coincidence that you found that key last night." Cassie grabbed another piece of bacon from the plate and bit into it as the cat leapt to her hind legs, pawing at her.

"See what I mean about begging for food?" Ellie asked. "And yeah, although, I'm not surprised. I think that old speakeasy has a lot of secrets."

"I'll bet," Cassie answered as Lily shuffled into the room. "All ready, Mom?"

"Yep. We just need your bags and we'll be set. Damien's got us all packed up."

"Oh, I can run up–"Paige started to stand.

Lily waved her down. "It's fine. We can run up and grab them from your room, and then as soon as you're finished eating, we'll get on the road."

"Great. I can't wait to find this last key. Gosh, I hope it's as easy as the last three have been."

"We really have been hitting it lucky. Someone upstairs must like you," Lily said with a wink. "Now, finish your breakfast, and we'll get on the road and see if we can't find that last key today."

Paige grinned at her as she shoveled more eggs onto her fork. "Sorry to want to race out of here, but– "

"It's okay," Ellie said with a dismissive wave, "I completely understand. I hope you find it."

"Thanks."

They finished their breakfast, said their goodbyes, and piled into the car for the drive to Midnight Hollow.

The time went quickly as the miles passed them by and before long, they were bouncing down a gravel drive toward a house hidden by towering trees.

"Whoa," Paige said as she ducked her head to stare at the sprawling structure. "That's…"

"Creepy," Dewey finished for her.

"It's actually beautiful inside." Lily pulled the car to a stop and threw the shifter into park before she climbed from behind the wheel to greet a dark-haired woman with a shock of gray hair framing her face.

Dewey twisted in his seat, a wince on his face. Before he could speak, the ghost next to Paige uttered one chilling word. "Death."