As for me, I made my way home hoping I’d figure out a way to help.
I pulled out my phone as I walked toward Bloodyhood, to see if Bjorn and Lennart might want help with their camera-spying spells.
And there she was, looking up at me from my phone’s home screen with her arms around my wayward dog. Ellie Jones, the woman I only remembered as the woman I couldn’t remember but had vowed to find.
I almost threw my phone across the parking lot. I almost smashed it against the asphalt and stomped on it as if it were a bug wearing St. Martin’s carapace of ugly phoned-in magic.
But I did remember that I should at least check my notes first.
Associate tangentially, the first note said. Not that it seemed to be helping. I scrolled through the rest about finding my way inside the enchantments, and about Chihiro Hatanaka, Ellie’s friend in Tokyo. And about the bike in my garage.
There were several more about how she seemed sad when we talked, and how I needed to think through what I was doing with my need to find her.
And the one that said Ellie knows Benta stayed. I didn’t remember Ellie, not consciously, but deep down some part of me did, and I knew I’d hurt her. Ellie, the beautiful woman who was obviously caring for my dog. And, it seemed, could have been my girlfriend if I hadn’t been an ass.
My girlfriend.
And all those little twinges and pokes of attraction—all the magnetic-like pulls and the sensory focus and the energetic need to move—hit me hard. I had no memory of being with her. No memory of kisses or quiet moments or gentle caresses. No memory of acknowledgments of the attraction, much less intimacy. I had no reason at all to think such things were possible, much less shared.
Yet I did.
I did, and I’d let the wrong woman stay on a night I needed company.
I leaned against Bloodyhood’s fender and stared at my notes. What had I done? The past was as big of a menace as the future St. Martin promised.
I scrolled down to the notes I’d added over the last few days: Ellie Jones was a seer, and I’d given her a phone.
Did I dare call after what I’d done? I watched the crew chatter happily as they walked out the Admin door and toward their van. Whatever the elves had done had fixed, at least for the moment, one small corner of our St. Martin problem. But he was random. Would he attack the wolves while they ran? Axlam seemed to think so. Were the cameras only for blackmail? Would he come after me while the elves and wolves were out in the blizzard?
Or would he go after Ed and his family, as Ed feared and Axlam wanted to halt?
He had said he would kill us all.
I called the number I had listed as Ellie’s phone. It rang and rang, and went to voicemail. “Um, hi Ellie,” I said. “I need your help.” I inhaled. “My notes say you’re a seer. We have someone in town who’s…”
I rubbed at my cheek. Talking about magical things on the phone was discouraged, but something told me that I should be as clear as possible, especially since the odds of my remembering the call were thin at best. “His name is Bastien-Laurent St. Martin. He’s the founder and CEO of Mednidyne Pharmaceuticals out of Paris. He’s also the son of the wolf who changed one of our alphas. He’s here to cause harm.”
The sun spread warmth over my cold skin. “He’s carrying access to a non-present magic. That’s why we can’t find it, and why I can’t see it. Only its shadow is here. We don’t know who is powering him, or what St. Martin will do next, and I was wondering if you could look and maybe give me a call back.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled again. “I’m…” What should I say? “I found a couple other notes in my phone and I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. If you want me to erase what I have—if you want me to send them to Chihiro or do something else—just let me know. I won’t…”
Could I let her go?
“I won’t bother you again. But if you could help this one time, I’d appreciate it. It’s not for me. I’ll survive whatever he does. It’s for Axlam. For all the wolves. For the elves. And he might go after Ed’s family. I don’t know. So if you could call back, or text, it would help. Thanks.”
I hung up.
All I could do was try.
Chapter 19
Ellie did not call back.
When the clouds rolled in, I figured I’d better go home and regroup with the elves. It sounded as if Ed and the city police had issued the weather warning asking that parents keep their kids in rather than trick-or-treating, so at least the blizzard had one beneficial effect. But there would be diehards, so Ed and the entire force would be in town tonight.
The sky had turned a steel gray by the time I pulled into my driveway, and the first snowflakes had started to slowly drift down. The air was deceptively still, as if the storm’s icy humidity forced the winds to blow over our heads and not through the town proper.
The storm tugged at my bones and made my entire body ache, and I knew we were in for another Storm of the Century.
I set Sal against the wall just inside the door as I came in. The house was as quiet as the air outside, surprising since a second school bag also leaned against the wall. This one wasn’t Jax’s navy blue backpack, but a bright green with several charms hanging from the zippers.
Sophia must be here. Akeyla must have decided that she was going to be
