Hekla set Oliver down and ruffled his wavy hair. “Good work.”
The boy smiled up at her before dashing off to his father.
Voices carried from the front room along with the clang of the old cash register as customers purchased their morning goodies.
“Everything going okay?” I tossed my jacket beside a stack of Tupperware that held cake decorating tools and dry ingredients.
Hekla nodded then donned her enormous oven mitts. “Aurelio is helping Ami. It’s pretty hilarious.” She grinned at Lucus. “You Renaissance guys know zero about taking food orders.”
“Good morning, Binder,” Lucus said as we walked past and headed for the front of the bakery.
The powerful mage who’d helped me learn how to portal and harness my magic merely nodded, his eyes unblinking.
“We need to get him some therapy,” I said.
Lucus frowned, more modern talk confusing him.
“He needs to talk to someone who knows about his kind of troubles. But he’d have to keep the magic talk to himself somehow.”
“Ah. Yes. Do you know of a wise woman?”
A wise woman? “Nancy Striffer crows about her therapist on the regular. I’ll ask her about it.”
“She is the loud one who wears far too much perfume, yes?”
“That’s the one.”
A little growl came from Lucus’s throat.
“Not a fan?”
“A fan. No, I’m not. She is a slant mouth.”
“It’s my turn to be confused.”
“She speaks but doesn’t say what she means.”
“Like all you fae do?” I whispered teasingly as Ami ran at me.
She hugged me hard and snapped her gum in my ear. “Oh Lord, I am so glad you’re here.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I was here yesterday.”
“Yes, but since you and Hekla went on that climbing trip, I’m just freaked out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s these crazy earthquakes. Did you hear that a woman is missing?”
Crap. “Someone from here?”
“Yeah. Well she’s a local’s sister-in-law. They were hanging out in town, then she forgot her coat in a booth at Mellow Mushroom. When she ran back to get it, she never returned.”
Lucus’s gaze said it all. This disappearance most likely had something to do with his psychic vampire fae brother, Baccio, or with Kaippa, resident rogue and actual vampire. Where were they hiding out? Not together, certainly, because they hated one another, but the two had set up shop somewhere, likely enjoying their newfound freedom to feed on the auras and blood of the local population. Lucus and I had tried to find them.
Since we’d broken the curse, the dark magic of the casting had become entirely unpredictable. So far, the castle remained where it had landed off Hillsboro Road last New Moon. Since it seemed stationary, Lucus, Aurelio, and I had searched the Mage Duke’s old residence for Kaippa and Baccio, wondering if they’d gone back to the place they’d lived for centuries under the curse. But the rooms had been empty except for the area that Corliss had claimed. She'd decided the treed courtyard felt more like home than anything the modern world could provide. She absolutely refused to leave, feeding on the trees that Lucus kindly poured his energy into after feeding from me or from other older trees in the nearby countryside.
At least Corliss was safely away from her mother’s court. I’d offered to portal her back, since my unicorn of darkness informed me her evil mother, Queen Arleigh, was dead, but Corliss said she’d rather stay for a while.
As for seeking out Baccio and Kaippa, I’d called hotels and rentals galore to check for men of their description, but there hadn’t been any leads. I was surprised that more people hadn’t turned up missing, honestly. They must have been careful until now, until this missing woman. That was good at least.
Most likely they hadn’t killed anyone yet. Franklin wasn’t a huge place, and it would be tough to get away with murder without causing a pretty big fuss. Of course, they might have moved on. It was just fifteen minutes to Nashville where the crowds were far bigger and it was easier to disappear into a crowd.
“It’s nice you’re glad to see me,” I said to Ami, forcing a smile. “I might have to be gone the second half of today and part of tomorrow though. Just so you know. Lucus and I have some business downtown.”
Lucus sighed, his worried gaze on the bakery’s front windows like he hoped Baccio would waltz right in.
Looking like a Michelangelo painting come to life, Aurelio stood at the end of the counter past the register. He handed a bearded tourist a to-go bag. “The lute depicted on your clothing is a strange shape. Do you play the instrument?”
The tourist frowned and glanced at us. Ami and I gave him big smiles like it was all okey-dokey. He shook his head and walked away, muttering as he left.
Aurelio cocked his head at the departing tourist. “Did I offend the human?”
I slapped my forehead and hurried over. “Just say man or woman,” I whispered in his ear as Ami rang up an order of croissants and coffee for a knot of Vandy students. “Okay? Let’s not get the town freaking out over you all more than they already are.”
The Vandy students stared at Aurelio with unmasked adoration.
“How can I help?” Lucus said to Ami.
The college students’ heads swiveled to stare at Lucus. They were clearly torn on who was hotter.
I clapped my hands together. “All righty, folks. Who is next?”
The students frowned, pouting, and moved aside for none other than the ever-vigilant Nancy Striffer. The Daily Noser blog mistress wore a sweater set in a shade of yellow that a sweater set should never be.
“Good morning, Nancy,” I said, already opening the case to get her usual. “Lucus, will you pour a cup of coffee?
