Faerie Dust Dead (The Luna Devere Series Book 2) (16 page)

Dilly’s eyes widened with what
appeared to be surprise. Annie, on the other hand, stood with her hands on her
hips and stated, “He’s due back mid-week, and frankly, I can hardly wait.”

Calis had stepped back from the
tableau we made. I reached out, grabbed his shirt sleeve and dragged him
forward. “Inside. Every one of you, right now,” I barked, and pointed at the
stairs.

Soldier-like, the trio marched
up the stairs and in through the back door. In the corridor, Calis stopped,
turned to me and opened his mouth to speak. Saying nothing, I pointed to the
dining room and he abruptly made his way toward the table where Dilly and Annie
were seated.

The last patron of the day bid
us all a good day and walked out the front door. We all smiled, waved and
watched her leave, kiddies in tow. As the door closed, I rushed forward,
flipped the window sign to
closed
and rounded on the group. With my hands
on my hips, I stared at a Dilly, Annie, and nearly snarled when I looked at
Calis.

“I haven’t the faintest idea of
what’s going on here lately, but I’ll say this only once, I better get some
answers or there’ll be hell to pay, Calis.”

Anger roiled in my stomach. I
shook with it, fighting for calm. When I had my wits together, I asked if
anyone else had seen the ogre.

“I didn’t,” Calis offered and
glanced at the others.

“What do you two have to say?”
I asked Dilly and Annie.

“All we saw was you falling to
the ground,” Dilly remarked with a nod toward Annie. “You scared the bejeepers
out of me, Luna.”

Annie interrupted when Dilly
looked like she would question me. “She’s right, Luna. I think you’re exhausted
and shocked over what’s happened to Ari. These past days have been filled to
the brim for all of us and,” she tipped her head toward Calis, “he hasn’t made
it any easier for you. Such shenanigans, it’s ridiculous.” Annie gave a loud
sniff, and would have risen from her chair if I hadn’t put a hand out to stop
her.

“I want answers, and I’d like
you to stay.” I slanted a look at Calis and said, “Answers, especially from
you.”

Annie gave Dilly a nudge with
her elbow. “As you wish, Luna.”

Dilly nodded and said, “You’ve
been distracted, and working harder than ever. I worry about you and the toll
it’s taken.”

They cared, I knew it, and
guilt rolled over me at the way I’d just treated my two helpers. When it got
crazy busy, these women could be counted on more than anyone else.

“Sorry, I’m really sorry for pushing
my responsibilities onto both of you. I know you’ve both strive to keep up with
the pace here at the Junction, and more so lately.” I tipped my head toward the
door and said, “Never mind staying here with me while I question Calis. Go home
for the night, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Get some rest and be back here
at the usual time in the morning.”

She scrambled across the room
and along the corridor so fast, it was a wonder Dilly hadn’t lost her footing
and tripped in her haste to get away. Annie was less inclined to leave me alone
with Calis. She lingered in the kitchen, made a pot of tea, added cupcakes to a
plate and brought the tray to the table where I had sat opposite Calis.

“Have a snack and calm down,
Luna. Stress isn’t good for any of us, especially you.” Annie’s meaningful
stare went from me to Calis. “Don’t upset her, understand?” she ordered him in
a stern tone.

All she got was a silent nod,
which must have been enough to satisfy Annie, because she walked away without
another word. I sipped tea, chose a cupcake, and watched her walk down the
corridor closing the door behind her. When both cars were gone from the lot, I
gave Calis a shrewd look.

“There was an ogre behind you,
that’s why I fainted. He’d reached out to grab you, and that’s all I remember.”

“There was no one there when I
glanced over my shoulder, Luna. The fear on your face was incredible, and I
knew something had frightened out of you. Sorry that happened, but, honestly, I
didn’t see a thing. You’re sure it was an ogre?”

I dipped my head and said, “It
was large and disgusting, like those in my father’s journals. You were about to
be attacked, and I froze on the spot just before fainting. You really didn’t
see, or smell, him? He had an awful odor.”

A chuckle met my words. “No, I
have a poor sense of smell. What else has you on edge? Let me help, Luna.
That’s what I’m here for.”

A shrug, followed by a tired
sigh, was all I could give him as I strove to make sense of what had happened
in the past week.
Had it only been a week?
Silently, I ticked off the
days since Calis had walked into my life, realized it was indeed a mere week,
and said, “Something has gone wrong, seriously wrong, Calis. It began with the
break-in and continued on from there. When you showed up on the doorstep, my
life became crazier than usual. Now Arianna is dead, and Stephanie thinks I’ve
gone round the bend. I haven’t, you know – gone round the bend, I mean.”

“I know. If you’ll just listen,
I’ll make sense of it for you,” he said.

“The faeries and pixies have
been brewing trouble. Every now and then they go to war using the simplest of
excuses. This time, the pixies were jealous of the dust offered to Arianna by
the faeries. In turn, the faeries gave more and more dust to Arianna in order
to increase the pixies’ anger and jealousy. That is how wars begin in the fae world.”
Calis slumped back in the chair, sipped tea that had cooled in his cup, and
proceeded to pick at a cake.

“Let’s get some things straight.
First, Arianna was taking dust from the fae, secondly, a pixie or something stood
watch in the studio, and now Arianna is dead because of it?” I asked.

Calis leaned forward, his
elbows resting on the table. “Not quite. The dust played a part in her demise,
but not the way you think. I believe Arianna was killed by this Carlos person.
She knew he wasn’t really Carlos, but an imposter. Since I’ve never met him, I
wouldn’t have known. The Blue Faerie saw him strike Arianna down. She said he
then went to the studio, took the jar of dust Arianna had stored and slimed it
over Ari’s body. When dust sits too long it becomes a slimy, a bit faded, yet
it still sparkles. The faerie said this Carlos fellow left Arianna near the
woods.”

“I’m surprised the faerie told
you anything. They aren’t very forthcoming with me. Besides,
what would
he have to gain by killing Arianna? Unless it was because she would know he
wasn’t the real Carlos and he worried she might tell someone?”

“He’s got an agenda I can’t
figure out. My concern is the war that’s coming.” Calis toyed with the spoon
next to his teacup. “Has Devin mentioned the fae when you two have spoken?”

“He has. It’s possible he may
have been dusted, because one time when we spoke he wasn’t his usual self. Devin
was all about moving to Massachusetts, living with the faeries there, and it
didn’t make any sense. He enjoys living here and has never considered living
elsewhere. It was Annie who brought his actions to light. She’s not a believer,
but doesn’t dismiss fae as nonexistent either. She mentioned Devin might have
been dusted into silliness, which in turn is what happened, I’m sure of it.
Regardless, he’s back on track and is his sensible self once again. Devin never
mentioned trouble was brewing there, so maybe it’s just the fae here that are
acting up.”

“Faeries are precocious little
devils, as are the pixies. It doesn’t take much to stir them up, but once that
happens, all hell breaks loose and humans are fair game for them. I was
mistaken when I said the faeries were being drained of their dust. I think they
might give it up freely,” Calis said with self-disgust and a shake of his head.

I smirked at his actions. “The
blue faerie said as much. She was most adamant that the pixies were well aware
of the faeries behavior. It seems pixies and faeries live co-exist with one
another, but there is tension between them. I’ve come to realize they don’t
trust one another very much. Honestly, the whole affair has been stressful for me,
beginning with the robbery, Ari’s weird ideas and then her death tops off the
stress.”

I thought of Arianna, her
bright smile, peculiarities, and tears rolled down my cheeks. “Ari should be
alive and designing lovely glass pieces, not lying dead and alone with nobody
to mourn her.”

As Calis reached out and
covered my hand with his, he murmured, “She had a good friend in you, Luna. She
was very fortunate, in that. I’m sure she never felt a thing when she was killed
by this stranger, or she’d have fought for her life. While I think she was
wrong to use faerie dust, she was a true friend of the fae and appreciated by
them, too. She made her allegiance to them clear when we first met, remember?”

I agreed. I was at a loss for
words, and wished to be alone even though there were still unanswered
questions. I withdrew my hand from his, poured tea in my cup, and offered to do
the same for him. He shook his head, pushed the chair back and stepped away
from the table.

“Should you need me, I won’t be
far away. Besides, you have the beasty to protect you,” Calis said with a wry snicker.

“Wait a minute, I have a couple
more things I’d like to know.”

“Not now, Luna. Rest… We’ll
talk tomorrow.”

Calis strode away, the rear
door shut with a snap, and I was alone. The beasty could be heard yowling
upstairs, and I scampered upward to let him loose.

Riddles gave me a haughty
glare, pranced past, and imperiously waited to be let outdoors as if he were
royalty. He swept through the open door and pounced on an unsuspecting leaf
skittering in the breeze across the walkway. I chuckled, left the inside door ajar,
and locked the screen door. The shop would get its nightly airing, and I would
hear Riddles if he wanted to come inside after his hunting energy ran out.

The Junction needed
straightening, table cloths had to be laundered, and I could use a decent meal.
Cupcakes alone didn’t satisfy me like a good meal did. It wasn’t long before I’d
started the washer, pulled the next day’s cupcake ideas from the notebook I
kept handy, and then began to set the dining area to rights. Awaiting Riddles’
return, though he was nowhere to be seen or heard while I worked, I kept going
until I’d nearly finished.

His mew called me as I set the
last table cloth in place. I’d let Riddles in, scrambled up the steps behind
him into the loft, when a loud knock sounded on the rear door. “I’ll be right
back, Riddles,” I murmured and scooted downstairs.

Another knock came as I reached
the rear door. Devin stood on the porch, looking around and then at me with a
wide smile. In a flash, I unlocked the door and threw myself at him, adding
kisses and hugs aplenty as I welcomed him home.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back
until next week,” I said.

“The days grew longer and
longer, I couldn’t wait, so here I am. Whatever needs doing at Ida’s will have
to be done by someone else.” Devin kissed me soundly and held me tight.

Having him in my arms was the
best feeling ever, the only way I wanted to live my life, and I silently vowed
never to let him wander that far away from me again. I giggled at the thought,
and then said, “It’s about damn time you came home, mister.”

His laughter rang out, bounced
off the dining room walls and he nodded in agreement. “I think I’ve been
misused by the faeries. Dusted, if you will.” Devin chuckled. “So tell me,
what’s been going on here? You sounded pretty desperate when we spoke last.”

“Can we go get some dinner
before I launch into all that’s come about while you were away?”

“Sure thing. Grab a sweater and
we’ll be off.”

When I joined Devin on the
porch, he asked, “What’s happening with the faeries?”

I snorted and said, “You’re not
going to believe it. I’ll be right back with a sweater and I’ll tell you
everything.”

Chapter 13

Stars dangled in the night sky as we stood
on the deck of the local clam shack overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Snuggled
close against Devin’s body, I relished being in his embrace as the wind blew in
off the water. The lights that hung from the porch danced in the breeze.

Our dinner had been filled with
good food, stories of western Massachusetts, and the situation that had taken
over my life and Arianna’s this past week. Aghast, when he learned about Ari’s
death could have been by the hand of the Carlos imposter, though there was no proof
of it, Devin stared at me.

“I had my own issues with
Arianna, but I know she was your friend, Luna.” Devin held my hands in his.
“Ari had many problems. Her parents’ deaths, then Carlos leaving her for a new
life, and rebuilding the new house over the ashes of the old one – it was quite
trying for her. I always believed she’d somehow been involved in my wife’s
death, but there was no proof. She wasn’t always herself, you know, so it was
hard to believe most of what she said.”

“I’m told she had another
personality, even though I never witnessed that side of her. She was an admirer
of the faeries, and would never have harmed them – of that much I’m certain.
The faeries and pixies have been misbehaving lately, and I’ve heard there’s a possible
war coming between them if they aren’t taken to task over their actions. They
like to fight with each other and over silly things, as well. Maybe Arianna’s
death will put a stop to this foolishness and I can back on a reasonable track.
Ari would call at the busiest time of day and ask that I run over to her house.
The help was left on their own more times than they should have been which I’m
ashamed of, but it won’t happen anymore.”

We talked of life with Ida and
Charles, Calis and his worries over the fae and pixie problems, before I
mentioned hiring Leslie Jones. “She’s quite wonderful at the Junction.
Stephanie said it’s exactly what Leslie needed after her husband’s death, and
by the way, he died in the forest between Ari’s place and here. If I can give
her more hours, I will, but right now, I think she’s happy with those she’s
working.”