Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

" A h fuck," Ashworth said. "Our resident vamp is not going to take this well."

"No," Monty said, "but if there's something to salvage out of this, it's the fact we won't have to tell her it's happened. She'll already know."

"And didn't bother warning us," Belle said. "I wonder why?"

"Given everything else she didn't warn us about, it's pretty obvious she's treating us all as nothing more than pawns in her game" came Aiden's grim comment. "It's definitely past time we had a serious chat to the council about revoking her trading license."

By "we'" he meant he, because it was doubtful the council would take too much notice of anything us witches said.

"I suspect our resident vampire will not only use anyone and everyone in an effort to survive, but also unleash every nasty trick in her repertoire to remain here if she does," Monty said. "If it wasn't for the fact both sides are taking out innocent bystanders, I'd be voting for the ‘stand back and let the bitches erase each other' option."

"You wouldn't be the only one," I muttered.

I walked on cautiously, studiously keeping my gaze away from the larger body of water and the death that lay within it. I couldn't so easily erase the scent, however, and my stomach was twisting with ever increasing intensity.

Aiden reached into his pocket and held out a small blue tub. "Use this."

I accepted it gratefully. It was basically an extra strong mentholated ointment that was dabbed under the nose to counter the worst odors. I'd used it before, and it was pretty damn good for cutting the foulness down to an acceptable level. I dabbed some on, then offered it to the others before giving it back to Aiden.

He applied some then tucked it back into his pocket. "I'll start recording the scene while you deal with that demon."

I nodded and motioned Ashworth and Monty to precede me. The demon snarled and growled, but its leash—magical, not physical—was relatively short, and its agitated movements were restricted to little more than a six-foot circle around Roger's leg. It remained pinned by white ash, the stake not only driving through Roger's flesh but also deep into the stone. Either the ash had been magically strengthened or they'd used a spell to anchor it. I couldn't tell because I simply wasn't seeing any spell threads.

And that was scary, if only because if they could so easily hide this spell, what other types of spells could they hide? I really, really, didn't want to think about that, though I also suspected we might find out sooner rather than later.

"Will we need to use multiple protection circles?" I asked. "Or do you think a weave of mine and Belle's will suffice?"

"I honestly don't think it will be necessary, given the nature of this demon and the fact banishment works in its favor," Ashworth said, "but I would also never advise doing any sort of banishment spell without a protective circle, especially when we're dealing with a beastie connected to a dark mage."

I nodded and tugged my spell stones free from my pack. After ensuring I was well out of the demon's reach, I began to spell, placing each stone on the ground and attaching the threads before moving on. Belle interwove her spell through mine and, once we'd both finished, we simultaneously activated them. A wall of power rose, shimmering softly and running with glittering luminous threads.

"Well, that's a new development," Monty said, surprise evident. "Has it anything to do with the wild magic you've leashed around your wrist?"

The threads around my wrist pulsed, and the voices briefly rose. It wasn't a confirmation, but it wasn't a denial, either. I wrinkled my nose. "Possibly? They want this place cleansed, and that would definitely include sending this demon back to whatever hell it came from."

"Which suggests the Fenna might be far more than mere advisory spectators," Ashworth said. "It makes me wonder what the future holds for your little one. It'll be interesting watching her grow and develop."

Worry briefly flitted through me again. "I wish we knew more. I wish so much hadn't been forgotten."

Wished I could jump into the future, if only in my dreams, and see what might lie ahead for her. But my dreams, while precognitive in nature, just weren't playing ball.

"Indeed, lassie, indeed." Ashworth grimaced and moved to the far side of the circle. Monty went right, Belle left, and I remained where I was, opposite Ashworth. The demon paced and growled, its anger stinging the air and its short tentacles darting in and out of its flesh, an agitated movement that made me wonder if it was trying to taste our intent.

I took a deep breath to steady nerves that never were by such an action and began to spell. A few lines into it, the demon stilled, and an almost anticipatory gleam shone in its golden eyes. It knew what we were doing. Wanted it, if the wave of satisfaction that swiftly replaced the anger rolling from it was anything to go by.

Once I'd finished, I guided Belle through her section, then Ashworth did his, and Monty finished off.

A deep void swirled into existence behind the demon, and its body began to vibrate, its tentacles becoming translucent smoke that was swiftly sucked into the void. As its body began to disintegrate, its gaze came to mine, and it bowed, either in acknowledgement or gratitude. Then it was swept away, and the void closed with an audible snap.

The ring in my pocket pulsed, and from deep in the distance came an infuriated scream. Maelle. She knew she'd just lost her demon.

Trepidation shivered through me, but I did my best to ignore it. Right now, we had bigger problems, like moving the ghosts on and cleansing this place.

"Well," Monty said, once we'd dismantled the spell. "That was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be."

"Aye," Ashworth agreed. "But I dare say it was only because it recognized what we were doing. That beastie was a very old and powerful one."

"Maelle likely made her deal with it just before she destroyed her coven, which means it has had centuries of feasting to grow in strength and power." I collected my spell stones and tucked them away. "She felt it go. I heard her scream via the ring."

"Well, she's only herself to blame," Belle said. "If she'd been semi-honest about what awaited, we might have killed rather than banished it."

"I don't understand the bitch's motivations at all ," Monty growled. "How does she benefit from us erasing what is basically her backup battery?"

"Said bitch is in an unstable state of mind," I said mildly. "I'd avoid calling her that anywhere near her, otherwise she might just unleash."

"And we have a future wedding to plan," Belle added dryly. "I'd really appreciate you not getting unleashed upon."

He laughed and blew her a kiss. "That doesn't answer my question."

"It's possible she hoped that the release of centuries of angst and darkness her demon had collected would erase Marie as well as the reservation," Ashworth said. "Or perhaps she simply hoped it would affect Marie enough to ensure an easier kill."

"An emotional tsunami would also take out Jaqueline, though," I replied, "And she's stated numerous times she doesn't want her daughter harmed."

"As you noted, she unstable and obviously not thinking clearly." Belle motioned toward Roger's leg. "Do we remove the stake and give her back his leg or what?"

Given how ungenerous I was feeling toward Maelle right now, I was tempted to vote for "or what" and just leave the fucking thing exactly where it was and let her suffer.

That, of course, wasn't a practical or even safe thing to do, given her tenuous hold on sanity.

"If we remove the stake, it will at least ease some of the pain Roger is backwashing to Maelle," Monty said.

"Not when there are three other stakes in him," I muttered. And it wouldn't be the last limb he'd lose, either, if Jaqueline's comment was anything to go by.

"Three is better than four, lass. As for the leg—" Ashworth shrugged. "If we can remove the white ash and preserve what is left of his leg, it's possible we can use it to find him."

I blinked. "There's a spell that allows you to track someone through severed bits of flesh?"

He nodded. "It's not one I know personally, but I know Heretic Investigations have used it. I've already contacted someone I know and requested access to the relevant information as a matter of urgency."

" That suggests you believed we'd be finding bits of Roger strewn about long before we actually did." Belle rubbed her arms, her skin littered with goose bumps, though I suspected its source was the increasing intensity of the ghosts' grief rather than anything else.

"This is not my first vampire rodeo, and they do have a tendency to inflict bodily harm on each other's servants." He motioned to the limb. "Monty and I will deal with this. You two best tend to the ghosts and the cleansing."

I nodded and glanced at Belle. "Is there anything I can do to help you with the ceremony?"

She shook her head. "Thankfully, the bulk of them are clustered in the alcove area between the two lakes."

"And the ones that aren't?" There were at least three that I was aware of roaming through the far shadows, and there was likely more I wasn't sensing.

She thrust a hand through her sweaty hair, pulling several strands from its ponytail. "There're only five. From the wisps I'm getting, I think they feel safer apart from the main group. If I haven't got the strength to deal with them after the main, I'll come back tomorrow. Their presence won't be adding much weight to the darkness of this place."

Given her weariness was already humming down the line between us, there was no doubt we'd be coming back here tomorrow.

"Yell if you do need anything."

She nodded, though I knew she would never yell or draw on my strength unless she absolutely had to.

Yeah, and I wonder where I got that bad habit from?

Her mental tone was wry. I smiled, touched her arm, then headed over to Aiden, who was recording the area behind the larger lake. I stopped a few yards away from the shoreline opposite him, still making every effort to avoid looking at the water and its gruesome contents.

"Aiden, is it okay if I begin the cleansing ritual?"

He glanced up, his expression neutral but his blue eyes furious. At Marie and her crew for committing such atrocities, at Maelle for doing nothing to stop them or help us. "What will it involve?"

"A mix of burning sage, sprinkling holy water, and spells to erase the weight of evil that might linger."

I'd never actually performed the spell before and only knew of its existence thanks to the library Belle had inherited from her gran. And given I'd read said spell several years ago now, I could only hope I remembered it correctly.

"Try not to contaminate any hard evidence, and just be careful where you're placing your feet, as there're bits of bone and flesh scattered about everywhere," he said. "I'm going to be here awhile yet, so avoid that section over near the ledge to your right, because I haven't recorded the bones and body fragments over there yet."

I motioned to the bodies in the water without actually looking at them. "If they haven't been reduced to bone, why would those in the tunnel or over near that ledge have been? Water doesn't preserve; it bloats and increases the decomposition rate, doesn't it?"

"In warmer, shallower waters, yes. But in this particular case, I would think the bones and skin scraps in both the tunnel and near the ridge have been here much longer."

"But it can take years—decades, even—for a body to break down that thoroughly, can't it?"

"Normally, yes" came Ashworth's comment from the other side of the cavern. "But it's possible to enhance the rate of putrefaction and decay through a variety of different means, including magic."

"By how much, though?"

He half shrugged, his concentration more on the magical shovel he was helping Monty create than me. "It could reduce it from years to months, at best."

I stared at him for a second and swallowed heavily. "Then that has to mean this is Maelle's charnel cave. Marie and her crew simply made use of what already existed."

"Even if that is true, I doubt we'll ever find evidence to confirm it." Aiden's voice was grim. "Not that we actually need evidence to revoke Maelle's trading license and escort her out of the reservation."

"The chances of her allowing anyone to escort her anywhere she didn't want to go are exactly zero," I said. "But surely so many people could not have gone missing?—"

I cut the rest off. It was highly unlikely that any of these bodies had originated from within the reservation. In fact, perhaps part of her fury over Roger's absence was the fact that he could no longer gather suitable dining options from beyond the reservation and bring them back for her and her demon to enjoy.

Bile rose up my throat, and I swallowed heavily, managing to control the surge. But if I got through the rest of this day without losing the contents of my stomach, it would be an utter miracle.

I think what made this whole situation far worse was the fact she'd fooled me. Totally and utterly pulled the wool over my eyes. I'd always known she was dangerous, always known she could not be entirely trusted, but even after what she'd done to Clayton, even after knowing she'd bathed in human remains up in her aerie, I still hadn't grasped the true depths of her depravity. Her evil.

I wasn't alone in that, of course, but that didn't ease the guilt and the "should have known" refrain already running through my brain. I was the psychic. I was the one with the nose for evil. I should have picked up the depths of hers.

Of course, she'd had centuries to build her fa?ade and hone her lies, but that didn't help ease the guilt.

I guess the deeper question was, how could I maintain any sort of calm in her presence now, knowing what I knew? I couldn't kill her—aside from the fact it would probably take the wellspring's magic to counter hers, and that was something I really couldn't risk, there was Jaqueline's warning to consider.

I closed my eyes and scrubbed them wearily. Maybe I simply needed to avoid her—though that would, undoubtedly, bring its own set of problems, given she still needed us to find Roger.

Or, at least, whatever remained of him.

Light footsteps echoed, but before I had a chance to look up, Aiden wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I pressed the side of my face against the muscular planes of his chest and breathed in the warm, musky smoke scent of him. And felt safer than I ever had in my entire life, even if it was nothing more than an illusion that could so easily be shattered if we didn't find a way to stop Marie and Maelle from unleashing hell on the reservation.

"Perhaps you should leave," he said softly. "These deaths have stained the earth for some time now—one more day will not make a difference."

"The Fenna beg to differ." I pulled back and kissed him tenderly. "I'll be fine."

He smiled and gently skimmed my cheek with a knuckle. "No, you won't, but you also won't admit it."

"That's a truth I cannot deny."

"Will you at least go home once the cleansing ceremony is done?"

I hesitated and then nodded. "Belle won't be in any state to hang around. I'll have to take her home and ply her with energy potions."

Though she was deep in the midst of her spell, I heard a faint, Oh no, you fucking won't.

As a smile teased my lips, Aiden tugged the truck's keys from his pocket and gave them to me. "The team should be here in fifteen minutes, so I can catch a lift back to the café with one of them."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. Why?"

"Just wondering if I need to plan something for dinner or not."

"I'm hoping we'll be finished well before then, but if we're not, I'll be ordering everyone out at five. There's no way I'll be leaving anyone in a place like this when there're vampires roaming about using the reservation as a diner."

"Can a curfew be placed?"

"I'll issue an order for restricted movement, but with summer on us and a multitude of tourists in the area, it's going to be next to impossible to enforce. Especially when we can't explain why without causing widespread panic."

"Perhaps you could use that smoke we smelled to your advantage and?—"

"And the first thing anyone with a bit of nous will be doing is checking the emergency services app for warnings."

I grimaced. "Then at the very least, we'll have to supply all your rangers with stronger charms."

"Deal with the vampires, and we won't have to worry about the charms."

"Yeah," I said with a smile. "But creating the charms will probably be far easier than dealing with the vampires."

"Another truth that cannot be denied." He kissed me, his lips lingering on mine, as if reluctant to give them up. Eventually, he murmured, "I can taste your tiredness. And yes, I know, you're fine."

I laughed, pulled out of his arms, and moved across to the other side of the cavern. I pulled out everything I needed from the pack and then shoved the ring into it—the last thing I wanted to be doing was carrying an item that reeked of foulness when I was attempting to cleanse the area—then lit the first smudge stick. After encouraging it to smoke with a gentle spell, I walked around in a large square, being careful to avoid the darker stains and slivers of bone as I gently wafted the smoke through the area and murmured the cleansing spell. Once I'd scattered the ashes across the inner part of my imaginary square, I repeated the process with the holy water. Even though I was wearing boots, I could feel the warm thrumming that ran through the sanctified ground; a heartbeat later, the air shimmered and a dark veil lifted from the stone then faded away.

The cleansing had worked. The heavy weight of death and darkness no longer sat on this section of stone.

But this was just one small area. There was a ton more to do.

I drew in a deeper breath, then began the next section. As Belle continued to work with the ghosts, gently ushering them toward the softly glowing light, I continued to perform the ritual. Once Monty and Ashworth had removed Roger's leg and bagged both it and the stake, they retrieved the sage sticks from Belle's pack and helped me. Aiden's team finally arrived, their shock echoing through the vastness of this place in a way their voices didn't. I suspected the horror of what had happened here would linger here for a very long time, despite the ghosts being moved on and the cavern cleansed. Sometimes, there was simply nothing that could be done about the residue weight of emotion that remained after such a tragedy. Time might eventually strip its potency, but I suspected this place, like many others, would become an area anyone with any degree of psi sensitivity would avoid for some time to come.

With three of us performing the cleansing ritual, it took just under an hour to cover the rest of the cavern. Aiden and his team were now working on retrieving the bodies from the water, so it was impossible to do anything about the two lakes, but the Fenna were apparently satisfied with our efforts, as the wild magic unleashed itself from my wrist and floated away.

It left me feeling bone-tired, though it was nothing compared to Belle's. Her exhaustion was a pulse that beat inside me as loudly as a heartbeat, though she was still refusing to draw on my strength.

I sat down on a rock and rested my arms on my knees. The veil of ghosts being moved on was down to just a couple of wisps now, and I could only see one lingering beyond the area she was working. Perhaps Belle—or rather, her spirit guides—had altered the spell to draw them in and give them the choice.

Monty sat next to me and slung an arm around my shoulders. "You should go home once Belle has finished up. You look like shit."

A wry smile touched my lips. "I can always count on you to boost my ego."

He laughed. "Would it help if I said my one true love looks even worse than you do?"

"No, it would not." I sniffed. "Will you and Ashworth stay here? I doubt Marie or Jaqueline will attack now they've gotten what they wanted, but?—"

I stopped and shrugged.

"I'm not leaving until Aiden and his people do." He stared at the dark water for a second, his expression contemplative. "If Maelle has always known Roger's location, why didn't she simply tell us? Why make us faff around like that? It makes no sense whatsoever, given the more he's tortured, the more it drains her."

"Because she's well aware Roger is bait."

"Yes, obviously, but it's not like she cares about us. Hell, she sent us here to confront her demon without any sort of warning. If it had killed us, where would she be?"

"Probably receiving a power boost right now as her demon swims in our flesh and our agony."

"Well, that image will haunt me for the rest of my life." He half waved a hand. "I just get this bad feeling we're missing something."

"Yeah, the truth." Because right now, I didn't think either side was being completely honest.

He nudged me lightly with his shoulder, his gaze on Belle. There were only two more souls to go, and one of them was little more than a wisp of fractured air, which to me suggested he or she was far older than most of those here. Perhaps it wasn't a vampire victim at all, but rather a soul who'd lost his life in some mining disaster…

My mind froze on that last word, and instincts leapt.

Disaster.

It was coming to the reservation. To the O'Connors. To all of us.

I sucked in air and tried to chase the insight down, desperate to get more information. But it was moonlight quick and just as impossible to catch.

"Monty," I said abruptly, "you and Belle need to come stay at the café until all of this is over. You can even bring that wretched cat of yours with you."

His gaze swung to mine. "I can protect?—"

"I know, but thanks to Roger, Marie knows how vital Belle is to me. She will go through you to get to Belle if things go bad."

Or if we didn't back off.

A shiver stole through my soul. I'd come close to losing Belle once before. I did not want to go through that ever again.

Monty studied me for a second. "A premonition? Or just being extra cautious?"

I hesitated. "Both? I mean, I've seen nothing definite, but destruction is coming, and I can't risk losing either of you."

A smile tugged at his lips. "I'm glad to be included in that."

I nudged him far harder than he had me, sending him sideways with enough force that he had to throw a hand down onto the rock to steady himself. "Idiot. You know that you're the one family member aside from Mom that I can stand."

"Speaking of your mother, it might be worth talking to her about what is happening here. Not with the vampires. With you and the wellspring."

I frowned. "We can't risk the high council?—"

"She already knows about the wild magic, Liz, and she has contacts that we don't. There must be information about the Fenna somewhere in this damn world. She wants to help you. Wants to help her granddaughter. I think you should let her."

"I don't know, Monty?—"

"It takes a village to raise a child," he cut in softly. "And you have that village here, with all of us. But your child will never be ordinary, and we all need to know what we might be facing—what she might be facing—in the future."

I drew in a deeper breath and released it slowly. He was right. I knew he was right. But I'd spent well over ten years running from my family and relying on no one else except Belle. The habit was so ingrained it remained hard to break.

But I also wanted—maybe even needed—to mend more bridges with Mom. This might be a good way of doing that.

"When did you get so damn smart?"

He laughed. "I'll grab some clothes once we finish here and then drive over to the café." He paused, and though his voice retained its seriousness, there was a twinkle in his eyes. "Just as well Red is safely tucked away in off-site storage. I'd hate for something to happen to her if they hit our place."

I rolled my eyes. Red was his classic Mustang and, according to Belle, he was so in love with the damn thing he crooned to it when he polished it. Monty denied loving it more than Belle, of course, but it was a pretty close thing in my opinion.

The caress of Belle's spell faded, and she turned, walking toward us. Her face was drawn and her silvery eyes flat, without their usual sparkle—both a sign of just how much energy she'd used. Monty immediately jumped up and went to her side, catching her elbow and helping her up the slight slope to where we'd been sitting.

I rose. "We need to get you back to the café?—"

She raised an eyebrow. "So you can feed me one of your terrible potions? No way."

"The poor woman is so weary she's getting confused," I said to Monty. "It's her potions that are foul. Mine at least contain honey to sweeten the experience."

"Sorry, my love," Monty said, his grip on her tightening a little as she briefly wavered. "But I've tasted your energizing concoctions and, trust me, she's underselling their hideousness."

"Ungrateful, the pair of you." She reached for her pack, but I picked it up before she could. She sniffed but didn't otherwise object. "I take it we're going back to the café because of the portents of doom you had moments ago?"

I nodded. "I just … need to be sure you're both safe."

"And Aiden?"

"After the whole not-really-a-dream confrontation with Marie this morning, we'd already decided to temporarily relocate."

"And won't that please his fucking mother," she said. "I daresay she'll use it as more ammunition against you."

"Yeah, but she can't do anything about my presence there now."

"She can still make your life there unpleasant, and remember, not all the pack was behind the decision to approve you living amongst them."

"No, but enough did to matter. Time will take care of the rest."

Presuming we all had time.

Goose bumps stole across my skin again. I picked up my pack, slung both over my shoulders, and then said, "Let's get going before you can't."

A smile ghosted her lips. "To quote a phrase used all too often by someone else here, I'm fine. I'm not going to collapse on you."

And I will draw on your strength if I feel that might happen.

And absolutely not a heartbeat before , I returned wryly.

Absolutely.

I chuckled softly, then turned and led the way toward the main exit tunnel. Ashworth was just making his way back down.

"All safe up there?" Monty asked.

Ashworth nodded. "That vibration we sensed was a proximity spell. Nothing dangerous and easy enough to disable. I've also dismissed our caging spell, given the beastie is no longer a problem."

"When you get home," I said, "can you and Eli ramp up the protection spells around your house?"

His gaze narrowed. "You've seen something?"

"Nothing definite, and it might turn out to be nothing at all?—"

"When has that ever been the case?" he cut in. "I'll call Eli immediately and get him to start. With what we're facing, it's probably prudent, even without your instincts twitching."

"Thanks."

As he pulled out his phone to make the call, we continued on. Monty escorted us all the way down to the truck, kissed Belle, and then watched us leave before retreating.

"Hope he finds his way back," she said, amused. "His trail craft is not the best."

I grinned. "No, which is why he was sprinkling magical markers about the place."

Her eyebrows rose. "He was?"

"That right there is evidence of the fact you're almost out on your feet."

She laughed, though it was a pale echo of its usual robust self. By the time I'd driven through the forest and back onto the road, she was asleep and didn't stir until I'd parked at the rear of the café. Once I'd stored the ring in the glove compartment, I gently prodded her awake, then helped her into the café and up the stairs leading to the first-floor accommodation. There wasn't a whole lot of floor space up here, but it had two decent-sized bedrooms, as well as a separate toilet and bathroom. The living room was tiny, but had enough room for a kitchenette, an under-bench refrigerator, a small coffee machine to save us heading downstairs all the time, and a microwave, as well as a two-person sofa and a TV stand. Double glass doors led out to a balcony that extended out over the footpath, providing us with enough space for a table and four chairs while giving those in the café who wished to have their coffee and cake in the fresh air some form of weather protection.

It was perfect for two people, but with four of us, it was going to be tight.

"Bathroom rather than the bed," she said as we reached the top landing. "I can smell the dead on me."

I could smell it on us both.

And it wouldn't be the last time, either.

I shivered but shoved the premonition aside and helped her into the bathroom. Once I was sure she wasn't going to fall asleep or fall down, I ran back downstairs to tuck the backpacks away and make an energizing potion for her. The café was open and relatively busy, but Penny, Celia, and Ari—the twenty-year-old part-timer we'd very recently employed for the summer period—had things running smoothly.

"We're out of salted caramel and chocolate tart again," Penny said as she scooted past me and over to the coffee machine.

I blinked. "We only made it yesterday, and it's barely past one—how the hell could we have gone through two tarts so fast?"

She grinned. "The gossip brigade came in a day early, and apparently it's the new favorite."

I groaned. I loved the ladies—well, most of them—and their business was part of the reason we'd stayed afloat when we'd first opened, but damn, their appetites were ferocious when it came to desserts.

My expression must have been … interesting, because Penny laughed. "I told them they've cleaned us out and not to expect another batch to be baked for tomorrow. They said they'd settle for the baked buttermilk donuts with whisky chocolate glaze instead. Which, I might add, they'd all but demolished by Friday last week."

Which was pretty good going, given the standing order with the specialist bakery over in Lyttleton Street was for fifty to come in on Thursday.

"Good, because I'm really not going to have the time to bake another batch of tarts tonight."

Penny made a face as she steamed the milk for the coffee. "Might be time to start ordering a few more commercial cakes in. I know we've a rep for home baked, but you haven't the kitchen space or time to keep up with demand at the moment."

I switched off the blender and poured the green concoction into a glass. "We're already buying in enough. If push comes to shove, Belle will swing full-time to baking."

"Which might need to happen sooner than you think." She swirled the milk into the coffee cups, spooned in the foam, then carefully decorated the top. "Oh, before I forget, there's a woman who's been waiting here a while for you. Says she has to talk to you. Privately."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced past the counter, but couldn't see anyone who looked like a rep of some kind. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"Nope, but I have seen her around. I told her I wasn't sure when you'd be in, but she said she could wait. I tucked her in the nook."

The nook was a table tucked behind the kitchen wall, right next to the line of windows that ran along the lane section of the café, and it was the only table not visible from the counter.

"Tell her I'll be there in fifteen," I said. "I've got to run this up to Belle, and I desperately need to shower."

She wrinkled her nose. "I wasn't going to say anything, but…"

I laughed. "Yeah. Not the best way to meet a rep."

"Unless you want to run them off, never to see them again."

"Depends on what they're trying to sell us this time, I suppose."

"Indeed, it would." With a grin, she picked up the two coffees and whisked them away.

I headed back up the stairs to find Belle out of the shower and stumbling toward her bedroom. I slipped my free hand around her waist, guiding her the rest of the rest of the way before handing her the drink. I didn't move until she'd finished the lot.

"See you in a couple of hours," she mumbled, and she slipped down under the blankets.

"If you wake any sooner than six, I will be cross."

"You're such a bossy witch sometimes."

"Wonder where I learned that from?"

She didn't reply. She was already asleep. I smiled, padded lightly from the room, and closed the door. After I grabbed a shower, I tugged on shorts and a singlet top and put my hair into a ponytail. Then, feeling cleaner if not more awake, I headed back down the stairs.

Only to discover the woman who waited wasn't a rep, and she certainly wasn't trying to sell me something.

It was Karleen fucking O'Connor.