Secrets & Shadows

Over the next few days things were more-or-less back to normal. I attempted to tell Puck his life debt had been repaid with the effort he put in to seal away the Abyss Walker and help free Cassandra.

“Puck, seriously. You don’t need to stay here any longer. You can go back to the summer side of Faewild.” However, he didn’t see it that way.

“I could never leave Sir’s side! What if you need me for some dangerous mission again?” Puck gasped. “What if the dust bunnies begin their attack?” So as a compromise, rather than argue with him, and believe me I was not going to win that argument, I gave him permission to wander about the town as he would like without me to learn more about humans on his own. That is, as long as he stayed out of trouble.

“Where would you like to go for your educational outing on your own for the first time in a few decades, Puck?” I asked. How much trouble could one little faery get into any way? Puck sat on my desk and thought for a minute; or thirty.

“Oh, I know!” he exclaimed, finally. “I want to check out one of those human dwellings that houses only females. I forget what they’re called, but I saw on that human mating channel on the TV that those places could be very interesting.”

My forehead hit my palm at supersonic speeds. Gods dammit. Already, I began to regret this deal.

Later on that day, I stopped by the police station. I made my usual way to Detective Green’s desk and reported that everything was taken care of.

“The creature has been taken away to be dealt with properly,” I explained. “Do I need to file paperwork or anything like that for this whole ordeal?”

The detective laughed. “Nah, don’t you worry about that,” he said. “But you never know, things may change. By the way, what ever happened to that Faery girl that wanted to jump on you? Is she still around?”

“Leanan Sidhe?” I confirmed. “She was behind the whole mess to start. She set everything up to make it look like Siren was the culprit, even had some convoluted, comic book villain-type plan to make me seek refuge in her home at Faewild forever as a refugee.”

“How would she have made you a refugee exactly?” he inquired.

“Magic users aren’t permitted to kill anyone for any reason whatsoever. It’s a rule that came from the old days when anyone would find any excuse to burn a witch. So if I had killed Siren like she wanted, I would have to go with her in exile so my Magic Council couldn’t find me.”

“Wow,” Green mused. “Bitch was crazy, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed. “Psycho-bitch crazy.” After that we laughed a bit and talked about spooky stuff that had happened to the Detective in his youth, a time when his lack of skepticism on the paranormal began. I traded with him stories of my own youth on the eccentricities of magic families. How traditional wizard houses are always composed of strange features due to random magic flying around. Luckily those were few and far between now.

“Hang on,” he said, when I was in the middle of a story about how my third cousin (once removed) had once turned a goldfish into actual gold and made a small fortune. “Hold that thought. I just remembered.” He left and went around the corner and down a nearby hall. Detective Green came back a few minutes later and handed me a check from the KCPD that, to me, seemed like an obscene amount of money for the small amount of actual work I did. “I don’t think I can accept this Detective.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t really do anything. I just got lucky and had a lot of help,” I admitted.

“Doesn’t matter, Frost,” Green said, handing me the check again. “Even when I was in the service, you were told to get the job done. Even if that means you have to have help. That doesn’t make any less of a job well done. Asking for help when you’re in over your head is not a sign of weakness.”

I suppose he was right. I mean, I did get the job done like he said and I couldn’t have done it without help from my friends. I grabbed the check and shook his hand and he gave me a slap on the back in return. “It was good working with you, Frost. Kinda hope we get to do it again soon.”

“Is that kind of like a mortician saying, ‘hope to see you again’?” I snickered.

“Something like that,” He said with a giant smile. “Maybe you take me with you on the next adventure?”

“We’ll see,” I said. We shook hands again and went our separate ways for the time being.

Due to Siren’s hotel room being a crime scene, I had suggested to Mara that she stay somewhere at Prana Studios, assuming it wasn’t any trouble. To which, Mara was more than happy to accommodate.

Puck and I met Siren at the city park to finally talk about everything that had happened over the last week. She told me she had gotten a call from the police that Thorn’s body was recovered shortly after the events in the maze of alleyways. Siren also came clean about the ouija board and how she had used it one time prior to being on the tour bus, just like Leanan Sidhe said. Apparently she had been in a depressive state for the last few months leading up to their musical tour.

“I was having a lot of doubts along with the stress coming from the label. And that faery woman, said so many wonderful things to help, and offered me a way to never feel that way again. I had no idea what the consequences would be in dealing with faeries,” she said. The look on her face made it apparent that she was racked with guilt.

“I’m really sorry for not telling you everything.”

“Again,” I added.

“Yes, again,” she agreed, giving a half-hearted snicker. “I feel awful. So many horrific things happened because I couldn’t bring myself to tell you about my failings.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” I advised. “Yes, bad things happened, but you were trying to protect everyone you could, yourself included. When you’re stressed, depressed, desperate and full of anxiety your brain doesn’t think right. Mistakes get made. What matters is that you learn from them and do your best to not repeat them.” If only my brain allowed me to think that all the time.

“I guess you’re right,” Siren said. “I mean, I might be a vampire but that doesn’t mean I’m some perfect, super intelligent being. We make mistakes and that’s okay.” She seemed to stand a little taller then. Siren, at that moment, seemed to exude more confidence now then when I first met her. And that’s saying something.

“So what happens with everything now?” I asked. “Must be tricky trying to figure out what to do.”

“Not as much as you think,” Siren said, enlightening me. “I had everyone cremated. I had Eddy sent back to his family. Since Ghost, Thorn and Grunt all came from very broken homes they didn’t have any family. They had all been disowned for one reason or another. They all found each other and that’s why we grew so close. We were the only ones that cared for each other. So, since they are my family, I’m keeping them with me.” She added that she was going to hold a ceremony back home for everyone.

“Wow,” I said. “You were kind of the glue that held everyone together. I’ll admit I was a pretty big super fan of Sexy Little Voodoo Dolls and had no idea about any of that.”

Siren giggled. “Sometimes I felt more like their mother than their girlfriend,” she said while wrapping her arms around herself.

“So you’re just going to go back home and get with a new band to keep singing?” I asked, changing the subject. “Like I said I’ve always been a fan of yours. It would be awesome to see you do other projects!” I could see her mind shift gears, moving away from the negative thoughts that would weigh the heaviest on her.

“Kind of,” she replied. “I’m going home, but I already told the label that I quit. Instead I’m going to work with Mara remotely from California to help bring the rest of the Bard Order out of hiding. What few of us there are anyway. She said the elders are willing to forgive past transgressions as long as we don’t do what we did before.”

“Seems reasonable to me,” I said. “Just behave and don’t go creating armies and oppressive aristocracies.” Siren let out a genuine laugh. The first I’ve ever heard from her. The sound was more beautiful than anything I had heard before. “I assume you probably need to go and catch your tour bus back home then, huh?”

“It had already left,” she explained. “It had been fixed since early in the week apparently. Eddy must have been too stressed out and forgotten. I told them to leave without me. I didn’t want to be surrounded by so many memories from that bus, so Mara helped me get a plane ticket back home. I leave this evening.”

“I hope you get a little closure,” I said. We turned towards each other locked eyes at that moment. I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before; her eyes told of a myriad of feelings swirling around inside her like a tempest. It was clear as crystal that she was on the edge and ready to burst with emotion at a minute’s notice. She hugged me then. But not like before at my place when she snuck in. More like when she held my hand the evening we got rid of the Abyss Walker. It was the embrace of someone who was frightened about what came next. Someone who feared change. She needed an anchor.

I held her too and could feel her weeping into my shirt. We held each other for a while, just letting our hearts be close to each other and share in a platonic love. She let go and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry about that,” she sniffled.

“Don’t mention it,” I said while wiping my shirt dry.

“Hey! Don’t forget me!” squealed Puck. He flew in from nowhere, colliding with Siren’s chest and burying his face in her cleavage.

“Puck, Sweetie,” she said, prying him off of her chest and looking him in the eye. “I love you, but not that way.” Puck began to wear a long face. “However, you’re still the most wonderful Summer faery I’ve ever met.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. Puck went wide eyed and his wings faltered for the first time since I’ve known him. He then flew up in the air and did loops back and forth in excitement. He then floated back down like a dry leaf off of a tree and gently laid on the grass wearing a grin from ear to ear.

We spent the next couple hours laughing and reminiscing about her childhood, before the French Revolution, and about the antics of my family as I did with the Detective. Seeing how late it was getting in the day, I offered to drive Siren to her temporary quarters at Prana Studios. Taking my offer we arrived in good time where she mournfully placed what was left of her family, all of which were placed lovingly and carefully into three beautiful black ornate boxes lined with a deep red velvet fabric, into her suitcase.

She packed the rest of her belongings into a separate case and we drove off to the airport. After arriving we parked in front of the airport terminal and I helped unload her bags. She hugged me once more and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Just like Puck earlier my knees weakened and I almost fell dumbstruck.

“Goodbye, Lance,” Siren said with a sad smile. “You are such a great friend. I’ll never forget you.”

The next day I went and finally visited Cassandra. She had put her bar back in order with a number of new improvements. The walls were all decorated with various runes and rotating magic circles in a rainbow of color. All the table tops had been replaced with slabs of old oak tree trucks to disrupt any magics flowing around the place. The door had been fixed as well. She had placed Pagen protection wards on the bottom of each table, as well as around and on the door.

“Go a little overboard on the protection spells?” I snickered. Cassandra was wiping down the bar top to get it ready for tonight’s customers. As she moved down the bar she gave a gesture with her hand and a cocktail menu manifested on the bar top.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said sarcastically as she served Puck his usual as he fluttered over to the bar. “It’s not like I had someone possessed by a monster in my bar that went on a mini rampage or anything. But, call me silly for wanting to keep my place safe.”

I sat down at the bar and checked out one of the new cocktail menus. On the front was her new specialty drink, ‘Green Apple Shock’. It advertised it came with a “magic shock to knock off your socks”.

“Do you really use magic for this drink? It has a pretty bold claim,” I said teasingly. Cassandra gave another wave of her hand and materialized a rocks glass in front of me with an emerald colored liquid that smelled like its name.

“Aside from the ‘slight of hand’ I used to make it? No, it’s just a little sour. But I’ll tell you what,” she said. “If that drink doesn’t make you pucker like a fish, then you get to make one wish for anything.” She leaned across the bar close to me and whispered with emphasis. “Anything.” She winked and smiled.

“You’re on,” I took a little more than a sip of the emerald drink and immediately it felt like my face wanted to implode. It was the most sour thing I had ever tasted! Cassandra busted a gut laughing while I attempted to regain my composure. Once the sour effect died down, about ten minutes later, the drink actually tasted quite good.

“That was a dirty trick,” I said coughing. She gave me a glass of water to help, and I drank it greedily. “So enlighten me, Cassandra,” I said after she and I had both calmed down. “About that tarot reading you did for me and then later for yourself and found it to be exactly the same?”

“Yeah,” she said. “What about it?”

“What exactly did our cards mean?”

“Well,” she said, dragging out her answer. “I did tell the truth last week that the future was unwritten and that it was ultimately your choice in finding the Abyss Walker. And a few days ago, it really did mean that our fates were intertwined, that it could end up good or bad. What I didn’t tell you was what the final card meant.”

“The Death card you mean?” I clarified.

“Right,” she confirmed. “That part meant: ‘new beginnings’.”

“New beginnings, huh?” I said, cocking my eyebrow. It was then that I started to pay attention to what Cassandra was wearing just then. I realized her clothes were more casual and comfortable. She also wore her make up a little differently. It was a more natural look for her. From head to toe, she looked much more relaxed and looked more beautiful than I had ever remembered before.

“You know,” I started. “I remember a promise you made a few days ago in the alleyway.” Cassandra began to smile and blush lightly. “Something about seeing what happens after that kiss if we made it out alive?”

Cassandra went from smiling with her lips to smiling with her eyes. It was a devilish look that guaranteed a fun time whether you wanted it or not.

“How about I don’t open the bar today and we head to your place instead?”

“Uh, w-wha?” I stammered stupidly. “M-my place?” My heart began to pound in my chest and I started to panic a bit. I was sure that Cassandra could hear it beating like a drum.

“Yeah, sure!” I said downing the rest of the Green Apple Shock, forgetting the painful sour taste. Cassandra erupted in laughter again at my own stupidity.

“Gods you’re cute when you’re stupid,” she said kissing me from across the bar after the pucker effect wore off.

“Let’s go,” she suggested. We walked out the front door together with Puck following close behind. Cassandra closed the door behind her and placed both hands upon it and closed her eyes. A series of clicks and slides of locks and deadbolts, both physical and magical, moved themselves into place, securing the entrance tighter than Fort Knox.

We moved to my car as I moronically attempted to start it. Not realizing exactly how much magical power there was between the both of us. I attempted to turn the engine over, again and again, until Cassandra placed her hand on mine. “Lance, it’s okay. We can walk. It’s not too far, right?”

I looked up at the witch, her green eyes calming my frustration immediately. “Right,” I agreed. We got out and began to walk down the street hand-in-hand, our fingers intertwined. Puck flew and twirled around our joined hands humming a happy sounding tune.

Once we got to my apartment, which didn’t seem like any time at all, I advised Puck to try out his newly given freedoms; to explore where he wanted without restriction. He looked a bit nervous at this proposal.

“Sir, are you sure I can? What if I get lost?” he said worryingly.

“I trust you, Puck. I know you can find your way back,” I said. Puck twirled as a blur of orange in place jovially and flew out the window that I held open for him.

Immediately after Puck left Cassandra wrapped herself around me and began to kiss me deeply. Clothing began to fly and fall making a trail towards my bedroom, where we began to get to know each other more intimately than we ever have before. Claw marks, love bites, and pleasurable punishments were traded over the course of the night.

While we were laying in the afterglow of the throws of passion the next morning, not having slept, a knock came at the door.

“Who the hell could that be?” I said. Cassandra sat up covering herself with a thin blanket while I got out and grabbed a pair of pants. Cassandra gave a playful slap to my ass as I pulled them on. “I’ll deal with you in a minute,” I said playfully with a wink. “Don’t you worry.” The witch giggled like a schoolgirl who was anticipating her first kiss.

I walked over to the door only to find no one there. Intuition drew my gaze downward where I found an envelope. Closing the door I brought the envelope in and tore it open to find my Mother’s invention, her isolation ring along with a letter. It read:

We have dispatched the contents of the sphere. Those two will no longer be of any bother or concern. Please do not question their whereabouts.

We have returned the aforementioned item to you. Your mother would have wanted you to keep it. Please keep it well and safe. You have done a great service to the magical community.

Your mother is missed by us all at the Council. Her death was untimely and unjust. She was a magnificent mage and we all recognize that within you as well. You are very much like her; resourceful and cunning, with friends in the most unlikely of places.

Years ago, we failed in finding out the cause of her demise, but we hope that you have the determination and drive to find the truth we could not.

Good luck.

Sincerely,

The Magic Council of Wizards and Sorcerers

“Lance?” called Cassandra from the other room. “Who was it?”

“Just a letter from The Council,” I called back. “Nothing super important right now.” I placed the letter and trinket on my desk. I thought about my Mother briefly. How strong and determined she was, just as the letter said. It really was unjust and unfair how early she was taken from my life. Perhaps it was time I did my own digging into the matter. I’ve left it idle for too long fearing what might be waiting in my search.

I pushed the thought aside as I returned to the bedroom. Cassandra was kneeling on the bed, naked, holding a long length of finger width thick, hemp rope, which she apparently manifested from thin air with magic.

“If it wasn’t too important,” she said. “Wanna go again?” she looked at me with anticipation of what was to come.

I looked at her and gave a crooked smile. “You really are a wicked witch, aren’t you?” I stalked over and took the rope from her delicate hands and began to wrap it around her body in intricate patterns. The quest for vengeance would have to wait for another day. Afterall, I had an evil witch in front of me that needed to be dealt with.

About the Author

M. Keating was born in fall of 1987 in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. He didn’t get into writing until his late twenties after finding a love of contemporary fantasy and other fantasy novels. He wrote some mediocre short stories that he attempted to get published in magazines but to no avail. He then wrote his first novel “Secrets & Shadows” which he tried to get traditionally published with an agent for over a year, but again, that went nowhere fast.

He enjoys hard-rock and metal music, and gaming. His hobbies include crochet, writing, and training in various martial arts whenever he is able to get away from his day job. Currently he lives in Manhattan, Kansas with his spouse, son and dog.