Dead and dusted, p.7
Dead and Dusted, page 7
“This sounds terrible already,” Jadis said with a grimace.
“It gets worse. So much worse,” I said, suppressing another shudder. “So, I was in this narrow area between two outcroppings of the mountain, and I walked to the end. I saw Kindred Spirits and Starfall Valley way, way further down, so I must’ve been on Mount Starcrest again. But then I heard a voice. It called my name.”
Jadis’ eyes widened. “That’s never a good sign in dreams,” she said, and I couldn’t help laughing because she was right. As cliché as it was, it was still terrifying.
“It kept saying weird things to me and—”
“Wait, what kind of weird things?” she interrupted.
“That it wanted to cleanse Starfall Valley, and that it was nature incarnate and everyone needed to suffer. You get the idea.”
Jadis hugged herself and rubbed her arms as goosebumps swept her body too. “That’s not creepy or anything.”
“Not at all. Anyway, it kept calling me, and I figured out it was on top of the outcropping, so I started climbing to meet it. When I got to the top, our hands linked, and that’s when I saw it: This terrifying creature that literally looked like it was born from the mountain. And then I fell, and that’s when you woke me up,” I finished, and stared out the window as I tried to re-process it all — until I realized that the sun had just come up outside. “Wait… What time is it?”
Jadis cringed and pulled her phone from her robes to show me the screen. 6:40 AM. “We were all looking for you yesterday, but when I found you passed out in here in your bed, Blair thought it was a good idea to just let you sleep.”
My head reeled as I tried to piece everything together. I’d come back to our room after taking Zadie to hers, but I must’ve fallen asleep while brainstorming a way into Leland’s quarters. But what time was that? It couldn’t have been much past noon, if that, which scared me. How had I slept so much?
“I would’ve let you keep sleeping, but you were screaming and thrashing around, so I figured you were having another nightmare,” Jadis said, her eyes drifting away from mine. “This is freaking me out. I’m worried about you, Selena…”
“So am I, but I dunno… I think these dreams are trying to tell me something, as terrible as they are.”
“Like what?”
“No clue. They feel like warnings. Blair said she hasn’t seen an avalanche in Starfall Valley for as long as she’s lived here. But what if the avalanche in my dreams is metaphorical? Like a symbol for something else?”
“Maybe, but I think you should definitely talk to Blair about this. I don’t know if there’s anything she can do to help, but she should know.”
“Agreed,” I said, though I wasn’t looking forward to telling her. As much as everyone had been doting on me since I’d passed out a few weeks ago, once they found out I was coming unglued from the inside out, they’d never let me out of their sights again. Then again, was I really going crazy? Or was this just some weird side effect of a new set of powers developing? It wasn’t like I had any real clue, as new as I was to everything to do with magic.
“Good luck getting Blair alone long enough today, though,” Jadis said.
“Why?”
Jadis stared at me like she was worried I really was losing it. “The FBI agent’s coming, remember?”
“OH MY GOD!” I shouted and bolted out of my bed. “It’s almost seven! They’re going to be here, like, any minute!”
“Calm down, Selena. I don’t think they’re going to show up that early,” Jadis said, but she’d no sooner gotten the words out than a series of thunderous booms echoed throughout the inn — the sound of someone pounding on the building’s large, wooden double doors. Jadis winced. “Guess I spoke too soon.”
“Oh my god, oh my god, OH. MY. GOD!” I shouted and tore off to the bathroom to wet my wild hair and make it look like I hadn’t actually just rolled out of bed from a twenty-four-hour coma. I didn’t know what to expect of the FBI agent, or what I’d learn from them about what happened to Leland, but I knew I didn’t want to miss a single minute of this.
By the time I’d soaked my hair and run my fingers through it enough to get out most of the tangles, Jadis had changed from her pajamas into her robes — which reminded me I’d slept in mine and, of course, they’d gotten completely wrinkled, but I didn’t have time to care. “Come on, hurry!” I said and headed for the door without waiting for her.
Just my luck, the elevator was already in use, probably by another eager eavesdropper, so I ran as fast as I could to the stairs and took them two at a time, nearly breaking my ankle on more than one occasion, until I clattered to the ground floor with a stitch in my side and barely a wisp of air in my lungs.
“Well, I’m glad to see you’re up and at them again, Selena,” Blair said from the front desk, startling me. As always, she looked like she’d not only gotten a full night’s sleep but also had more than enough time to make herself look flawless. Where she normally preferred more loud, eccentric clothing and accessories, today she’d toned it down to a simple set of black robes, an understated matching headscarf, and a decorative but professional wing drawn on the edges of her eyes. “Sleep well?”
“Not exactly,” I said, and left it at that. Instead of continuing the conversation, I glanced toward the door that Brady had just heaved open. The morning’s light streamed in, casting the short visitor in silhouette and making their four — yes, four — translucent wings prismatic. Sparkling reds, greens, yellows, and blues danced across the foyer’s floor as Brady conversed with the fairy in hushed tones. Finally, he stepped aside to welcome the agent in, and as the door closed behind them and their face came into view, I gasped.
“Good morning. I’m Agent Flora Gemwood with the FBI,” she introduced herself in a wispy, featherlight voice and gave a graceful, gentle wave of her spindly fingers, but I couldn’t find the words to answer. All I could do was stare. I’d never seen anyone so ethereal, so beautiful. White-blonde locks of hair tumbled from her head to her shoulder, and two pointed ears jutted out from within.
“Good morning, Agent Gemwood,” Blair said as she stepped out from behind the front desk and greeted the fairy with a handshake as if she were any other guest. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but I’m happy you’re here.”
“We’ll figure all this out. I promise,” Agent Gemwood said with a warm smile.
“Then let’s get to it, shall we?” Brady asked. “There will be plenty of time for introductions and chit-chat later. Right now, we’ve got a case to solve.”
“Of course. Lead the way, Mr. Payne,” Agent Gemwood said with a teasing wink, but Brady didn’t seem to catch it. Instead, he gestured down the east wing of the inn and headed for the restroom where Leland’s body lay. Agent Gemwood had no trouble keeping up; she seemed to float in the air behind him. I took one step after them before Blair cleared her throat to stop me.
“Going somewhere so early, Selena?”
“Come on, Blair,” I groaned and turned to face her. “I need to know what’s going on!”
“Judging by how much you slept, I’m not sure you do. But I know I can’t stop you, so please just stay out of their way,” she said with a smile, and if I’d had time, I would’ve hugged her.
“Thank you!” I said before darting down the hall after Brady and Agent Gemwood.
“I assigned an agent to keep guard while I stepped away, but by the time I came back, Mr. Marth was dead. Jorah, the agent on guard, swears he didn’t see anyone or anything enter,” Brady said, explaining the case to the FBI agent as they walked. “But we found this surrounding him,” he continued and produced his phone from his pocket to show her the same photo he’d shown Blair and me.
“Fairy dust,” Agent Gemwood said instantly, jolting me.
“Exactly. Now you know why I called you,” Brady said as they came to a stop outside the bathroom where two of Leland’s security warlocks stood sentry outside the door, which relieved me. I didn’t think they’d be stupid enough not to keep watch over the scene, but then again, I didn’t think Leland would die in our bathroom, either. “I should warn you, it’s not a pretty sight,” Brady said, but Agent Gemwood shrugged.
“I’m sure I’ve seen worse, Brady. I can handle it,” she said.
“Suit yourself,” he said and pushed the door open for her without looking inside — maybe he couldn’t handle seeing it again — but Agent Gemwood didn’t move. I watched her expression twist and her eyes narrow like she was searching for something, but I didn’t expect the look of pure confusion on her face when she turned back to Brady.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“What do you mean?” Brady asked, puzzled.
“There’s nothing here, Brady.”
Chapter 8
Brady’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish out of water. “W-what do you mean?” he stammered as he edged his way around Agent Gemwood to verify what she’d said. He froze when he found nothing inside the room. “I swear to you, it was all here yesterday! I mean, you saw the picture I took!”
“Yes, well, it’s not here anymore. So, where did it go?”
That was one spell of a question, and one I desperately wanted the answer to myself. I hadn’t gotten a first-hand look at the scene, but I never doubted what Brady had seen inside the restroom; after all, he’d shown Blair and me the photo he’d taken of the fairy dust on the floor. But Leland’s security had been guarding the entrance overnight, so how could anyone have gotten in there — unless it was a guard?
“I need Jorah,” Brady whispered, coming to the same conclusion. All the color had drained from his face. He stood staring at the empty restroom for a moment until something switched inside him, and he whirled on the guard that he’d posted outside the door. “Where’s Jorah?” he demanded.
“He’s gone to rest, sir. He was here overni—”
“I know that!” Brady interrupted with a snap. “Why do you think I asked?”
The guard opened his mouth to answer, but never got the chance as Brady stormed off toward the foyer with Agent Gemwood and me trailing. I didn’t have a clue what’d happened, but I wouldn’t miss out on any of this. As we all stormed into the foyer, Blair’s eyes shot up from the front desk, and instantly her expression twisted. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything’s gone. Leland, the dust, everything,” Brady explained without stopping as he strode into the open elevator. Thankfully, no one tried to stop me as I boarded along with Agent Gemwood. While I closed the grate, Brady smashed his fist into the button for the fourth floor where the security guards were all staying, and we rode upward in silence. “I don’t understand this. There were two guards outside those doors at all times,” Brady said, mostly to himself, before hurling his gaze at me. “There aren’t any other entrances into that restroom, are there?”
“No. There aren’t even any windows or anything.”
“That’s what I thought. So, the only way someone could’ve gotten into that room was through the door — but there were two guards on duty all night.”
“Then you might just have a weak link on your hands,” I said, and Brady scowled at me.
“I’ve personally vetted every single agent on Mr. Marth’s security team, and I’m meticulous. There are no weak links, I assure you,” he said, so intense that I had to look away. I wanted to believe him, but what other explanation could there be? “Besides, there were always two guards around as a failsafe, so both would have to be compromised — which is impossible.”
“Or is it?” Agent Gemwood chimed in, and when Brady turned his burning eyes on her, she shrugged. “The attacker might have incapacitated the other guard somehow. We have to consider all the possibilities.”
“I agree, but that’s not one of them. Jorah is alive, albeit sound asleep, in his bed — at least for a little longer — and there haven’t been any reports of injury among the other guards,” he said, which made a turncoat all the more likely to me, even if I couldn’t come up with a reason for any of Leland’s guards to betray him in life and in death.
We arrived at the fourth floor a few moments later, and Brady charged out of the elevator first. Thanks to her four wings, Agent Gemwood had no difficulty keeping up, but I struggled to match their pace. Brady stopped outside room 432 and hammered on the door so hard that dust shook from its frame. “Jorah!” Brady bellowed and pounded the wood with another triplet from his fist. A beat later, the door flew open, revealing a disheveled, red-eyed Jorah, who in his undershirt and boxers looked very much like he’d just gone to bed.
“Boss? What’s wrong?” Jorah asked, his voice croaking with sleep, but instead of answering, Brady shouldered past his colleague. Bewildered, Jorah’s bloodshot eyes darted from Agent Gemwood to me to Brady. “Boss?” he repeated desperately.
“Mr. Marth’s gone, along with the evidence in the restroom,” Brady explained as he paced the room. He wrinkled his nose at Jorah’s work robes that dangled from the back of the single chair in the corner where he’d thrown them. Realizing he wasn’t decent for his guests, Jorah hurried to throw the robes over his head.
“I can explain, I swear—”
“Explain what?!” Brady thundered, making all of us jump. “There shouldn’t be anything to explain, Jorah!”
“I know, it’s just, I was exhausted, and I wasn’t thinking clearly, and this woman, she was so beautiful, boss, you have no idea—”
“What woman?!”
“The really tall one. You know, the one who used to work for Mr. Marth.”
“Zadie Chamberlain?” I asked, and Jorah’s eyes shot to mine. He flashed me an appreciative look, though I didn’t think he was out of the fire just yet — and might never be, depending on what he said next.
“Yeah, her! She came down there last night insisting that we let her in to see Mr. Marth one last time. She said she wanted to pay her respects and say a last goodbye before she left—”
“YOU LET HER LEAVE?!” Brady roared like a wild animal. The vein I’d noticed throbbing above his temple before now threatened to explode from the side of his head.
Jorah stuck his hands out at Brady as if he were afraid the man might attack him. “Well, I wouldn’t say I let her, exactly. She was leaving regardless.”
“So, you just watched her waltz out of the inn and didn’t think I might need to know about that?”
“I’m telling you, boss, she did something to me!” Jorah objected. “I swear, the woman cast a spell on me. One minute, I’m arguing with her about how I can’t let her into the restroom, and then the next thing I know, I’m watching her walk out the front door. I remember nothing in between.”
“A spell on you, huh? Wouldn’t that have required a wand or an incantation?” Brady asked quietly, clearly trying to keep himself from losing it.
“Not necessarily,” Agent Gemwood said. “Fairies are living proof that not all magic requires a piece of wood or a special word.”
“Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying? Could Zadie be a fairy?” I asked Agent Gemwood, who beamed at me. “I mean, she doesn’t have wings or pointy ears or anything, though. Erm, no offense.”
“None taken,” Agent Gemwood said, and her smile widened. “It’s certainly possible. Fairies have access to powerful magic, which could include disguising themselves. My species can be quite mischievous like that sometimes.”
“It would also explain where the fairy dust came from!” I said as the pieces fell into place.
“I think if Zadie Chamberlain were really a fairy, we would’ve figured that out before now,” Brady countered. “She worked with Mr. Marth for years, and I know fairies live basically forever, but I doubt even a fairy would have the patience to pull off such a long con.”
He had a good point. If Zadie really was behind this, then she would’ve had plenty of other opportunities to go after Leland — and I couldn’t piece together how she might’ve gotten the letter that ultimately killed Leland into his room. But if it wasn’t Zadie, then how could we explain her bizarre visit to Jorah?
“It was definitely Zadie,” Jorah said. “I’d bet my life on it. She had this pull, this magic, magnetic thing that I couldn’t resist, even though I knew I should’ve. She stared me in the eyes, got close to me all flirty like, and kissed me on the cheek, and that’s the last thing I remember before I came to again in the foyer. I watched her walk out, and I wanted to stop her, but I couldn’t make my mouth move. I felt like something had frozen me in place.”
Brady’s eyes flashed. “That sounds an awful lot like a vampire’s glamour.”
“No, not that. Her lips were as warm and alive as the sun when she kissed me.”
With his brows furrowed, Brady turned to Agent Gemwood. “Any ideas then?”
“There are a few possibilities, but I can’t be sure yet,” she answered, then turned to me. “Could you take me to Ms. Chamberlain’s room? I’d like to search it.”
“Uh, sure, but I don’t have the key, so I don’t know if—”
“Not to worry; I can take care of that,” Agent Gemwood said with a wink. “Besides, if she’s really gone, I don’t think she’ll mind.”
“Oh, uh, okay then. Follow me,” I said and led her and Brady back to the elevator, leaving Jorah standing slack jawed in his room. When we’d all piled inside, I pressed the button for the third floor and slumped back against the elevator’s wall. Though I believed Jorah, I couldn’t make a lick of sense out of what he’d shared. What reason could Zadie have to tamper with the evidence in the restroom? Did that mean she was the one who’d killed Leland and was trying to cover it up? And if so, how in Lilith’s name had she gotten that dust-laden letter in his room? She’d been sitting with the rest of us in the reception room the entire time, so unless she had another secret power of being in two places at once, I didn’t see how she could’ve pulled it off.
