Hex Appeal (28 page)

“I told you to look to your past,” he reminded her.

“Yeah, yeah, but I have a lot of past to consider.” She froze as she considered what had been going on the past few weeks. None of them good. “Except some things seem to...”

“Show up unexpected?” Coby said drily.

“What do you know?”

“No more than you. Only hunches. And my hunch says what's going on in your life has to do with your past.” He busied himself fixing fresh pots of coffee.

“Except why are you concerned about l'il ole witchy me?”

His sudden grin lightened up his harsh features so much that Jazz thought he was pretty darn cute. Not her type even if she knew he'd have a blast up at Moonstone Lake with all the mountain trails to explore. Still, anyone who shed fur, could end up with fleas, and saw nothing wrong in licking their privates wasn't her idea of a fun companion.

“Why? Because Weres and witches have that old feud?” he said.

“We're the misunderstood race.” She picked up the sugar packets and laid them out in a row. No artificial sweeteners found here. “Come on, Coby, be a pal and give me a few hints on what and where to look.” She had an idea who he was talking about, but she wanted to see if they were talking about the same one.

Coby poured himself a cup of coffee and walked around the counter to take the stool next to her. “There are a lot of changes going on in our worlds. Some good. A lot of them not so good.”

“I can think of a few of the latter,” she muttered, remembering dreams that were better left unrecalled.

When he looked up at her his eyes revealed the yellow of the wolf and teeth elongated as he exposed the predator side his soul revered. “Let this old wolf give you a piece of advice.”

“I'm open to anything.” Oh boy, was she! There were days she felt as if she was flying without a broom.

“There's a funny thing about dreams created by strong magick. Some night you just might land in a nightmare that turns into reality with no hope of waking up.”

“You're free, guys. I'm just sorry I didn't let you out sooner.” Jazz sat on the floor and released the spell holding the cage closed. She laughed as Fluff and Puff scampered out of the cage and slid up her body to smother her with bunny slipper kisses along with their chattered thanks. “I knew you didn't kill Willie and now everyone knows it.” She decided she wouldn't tell them that in a sense she was the one who killed him. No reason to get into that. “Just do me a favor. Don't wander off on the boardwalk anymore. At least not for a long while.” She knew their promises were pretty empty. The slippers loved exploring the area too much, but she hoped they'd at least keep a low profile.

Some night you just might land in a nightmare that turns into reality with no hope of waking up.

Coby's words replayed through her mind too many times since the previous night. She had been hesitant to go to sleep the night before and tonight was even worse. She wore her favorite pajamas for the comfort factor, a cup of steaming hot chocolate flavored with peppermint syrup sat on the night table, and
I Married A Witch
with Veronica Lake played on the TV.

Croc and Delilah huddled together as the slippers raced all over the room, reacquainting themselves with every corner. Fluff found a bit of licorice root under the bed and hauled out his booty. Puff scooted over to try to steal a taste, but Fluff wasn't having any of it. Things were back to normal.

Jazz sat cross-legged on the floor, pleased to see her babies so happy and glad that she was able to prove their innocence.

She would have felt downright content if it hadn't been for Coby's words haunting her thoughts. She'd left the diner feeling more uneasy than she had before.

“I settled the problems between Dweezil and Mindy. I solved the case of the missing Willie. Oh wait, that doesn't sound right, does it,” she said to the slippers. “I didn't even go ballistic when I found out Krebs is dating Leticia. So if I'm on a roll, why can't I prove that Angelica is behind the nightmares? I know it has to be her.”

Think about it, dummy! You're not fighting her on her turf.
Her mental gargoyle smacked her upside the head
.

When the truth hit her, it hit with a vengeance.

“That's it. Why didn't I think of it before?” She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and raised her hands over her head. The air thickened and swirled around her with magick sparkling through her aura. “Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Bring Irma, Nick, and Krebs to where I sleep. Because I say so, damn it!” She clapped her hands so hard they stung from the contact. When she opened her eyes, she found the three in front of her, one of them in all his freshly showered glory. “Not good! Not good!” She waved her hand, providing Krebs with a pair of pajama pants and even making sure he was dried off.

“How the hell did I get here?” he demanded, looking around.

“I was getting ready for bed,” Irma groused. The spirit was dressed in a floral print flannel nightgown and had old-fashioned curlers in her hair. A smidge of cleansing cream dotted her nose. “Although it would be easier if I had an actual bed.”

Krebs turned at the sound of Irma's voice. “And how come I can see her when I couldn't before? Hey! Boundaries!” he barked, when Irma's gaze centered on his lower half.

“I fixed it so you can see her and the dog from now on,” Jazz explained.

“Why do I get the sense you have a spell up your sleeve,” Nick muttered, looking just as disgruntled as the other two.

“Because I do.” She gestured for them to be seated. “And I need all of you to help me.”

“Even non-magickal me?” Krebs looked pleased. “Wow, I'm part of the Scooby gang.”

“I could have told you long ago I was necessary,” Irma stated. “After all, you couldn't have defeated that horrible Reeves person without me.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, broke the curse, did your thing, we all survived.” Jazz waved it off.

“But this is a lot more dangerous,” Nick said, seeing the intent in Jazz's eyes.

She nodded. “I've gone about this the wrong way. I tried to find the person when all I had to do was backtrack through the dream realm.”

“Do you realize how stupid that is?” Nick exploded with a force that had the vase on a nearby table teeter back and forth until Jazz sent out a protection spell to keep it from falling off. “The dream realm is made up of trails and paths that can lead to nowhere. It's meant to mislead anyone who enters it. Once you're there there's no guarantee you can leave.”

“Wait a minute, there's a dream realm?” Krebs piped up. “And it can trap you? That doesn't sound good.” He backed up a step then halted when Fluff and Puff slid around behind him, snarling and nipping at his ankles.

“None of that,” Jazz admonished the slippers. “This is all new to him.” They backed off but stayed within nibbling range.

Nick shook his head. “There are too many disparate energies here. It will create a chaos that won't be easy to manage.”

“A chaos that had already begun when someone messed with our dreams,” she argued. “All we'll do is unravel those threads and make them right. At the same time, we'll confirm Angelica is behind this...” she ignored Nick's shake of the head, “and take care of her at the same time.”

“And you need me for this, why?” Krebs looked over his shoulder to find Fluff and Puff still on bunny slipper duty.

“Because you're human. Which means I have witch, vampire, ghost, and human energy.” She gave a
voila
gesture.

“This sounds like fun to me,” Irma said, rubbing her hands with glee. “I do love getting involved.”

“Sure, you do. You're already dead, so you don't have to worry about biting the dust. Neither do you.” Krebs's gaze slid past Nick.

“You'll be protected,” Jazz assured him.

“Says the witch who almost ended up as some monster's sex toy,” he muttered.

“If Jazz said you'll be protected, you will be,” Nick said quietly.

“Says the vampire who only worries about silver, wooden stakes to the heart, and bright sunlight. Okay. Okay.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I've wanted to be a part of all this, so if it means putting my life on the line, so be it.”

“Since you brought us here, I gather you intend to do this now,” Nick said.

“No time better than the present. Plus, if there's a nightmare in the offing for any, or all, of us, we'll be safer this way.” Jazz jumped to her feet and rummaged through the hidden room in her closet. The four stones she carried glowed from within.

“We'll sit in a circle,” she instructed, pointing to where she wanted them and placing a crystal in front of each and the fourth crystal in front of the empty spot she would occupy. Each crystal picked up a different color. “The crystal will hold your energy. When we return the crystals will dissolve.”

“And?” Krebs stared at his crystal as if it was a snake ready to strike.

Jazz tapped the top of his head with her fingertips. “You're dating a vampire, Krebs. Get used to the strange and unusual.” She took her place between Nick and Irma, grabbing hold of their hands, although it was apparent she couldn't hold onto Irma firmly. She closed her eyes and visualized the shadowy realm they would be entering and hoping to find a place safe enough for them all. “Between here and there, we sleep the slumber of innocence. Between here and there we dream what we wish for. We ask to leave here for there. To venture to that place that offers us what we wish for. Because I say so, damn it!”

She felt Nick's grip tighten as the air around them darkened and swirled in a funnel cloud worthy of Dorothy leaving Kansas for Munchkin Land.

“What is it with you and all this dust and dirt?” Irma cried out, her words lost in the wind that shrieked in their ears.

Just as quickly, the magickal tornado stilled and the silence was as deafening as the screeching wind had been.

Jazz opened one eye and then slowly opened the other. The first thing she noticed was that Irma's hand that had only been a mist through hers was now as solid as her own.

“I'm real here!” Irma squealed. “Oh, I like this realm.”

“You wouldn't if you stayed here too long,” Jazz said.

Their surroundings were layers of shifting colors, blues sliding to lavender and deep purple, reds with orange on the edges, and greens moving into yellow. What they sat on looked, and felt, like jagged stone.

“What is this?” Krebs whispered.

“The dream realm,” Nick whispered. He flinched as a golden orb appeared in the distance then slowly rose to hover over them. “What we wish for.” He looked upward at the image of a noonday sun.

“Oh my.” Irma looked around her with interest then giggled when a pie with cherry juice leaking through the latticed crust raced past her.

“At least she dreams of pie,” Krebs muttered, even as the shadowy figure of a shapely woman sauntered past him.

“We don't need this.” Jazz concentrated on keeping her mind blank even as the image of Hugh Jackman floated in front of her.

“Yes, we don't.” Nick stood up slowly, reaching down to help Jazz and Irma to their feet.

“So what do we do now?” Krebs turned in a tight circle.

“We look for the right realm.” Jazz held up a small purple crystal. “Good dreams. Bad dreams. Scattered sleep for all. We seek the one who brings darkness and fear to our slumber.” The crystal uttered a tiny peep and floated off her palm. “No matter what happens, don't wander off,” she warned. “Stay together and if something flies in your face, ignore it. If what looks like a face stares at you, don't look in its eyes and don't speak to anything but one of us.”

“Oh yeah, this is getting better all the time.” Krebs sidled up to Nick.

“Follow the bouncing crystal.” Jazz headed off with Irma behind her, Krebs and Nick taking up the rear position.

What with having no point of reference, Jazz felt as if they were walking in circles even if she knew they were walking in a straight line. She knew they were going in the right direction when the peaceful pastel layers of color surrounding them started to darken in color.

“Something's following me,” Krebs whispered.

“It can't hurt you as long as you don't look at it and make it real.”

“Do me a favor and next time you do something like this, find another human.” Krebs started to bat at something flying around his head, but Nick reached forward and stayed his hand.

“Not a good idea,” he advised. “You never know where they've been.”

“It's getting darker,” Irma observed.

“Keep your eyes on the crystal.” Jazz not only saw the darkness descending on them but sensed another kind of darkness in the air itself. The air around them turned shades of black, purple, and deep blue. “We're entering the nightmare realm. It can get dicey.”

“Dicey she says,” Krebs muttered.

Voices sounded around them. Curses at the world in general. Pleas for mercy. Groans of pain and worse rent the air.

They all jumped when screams surrounded them.

“We're close to our destination.” Jazz had no solid evidence where they were other than her intuition.

“Jazz, look to the right,” Nick said suddenly.

When she did, she saw an arc of a deep mustard color that appeared to be an entrance.

“Wagons ho,” she murmured, veering off to the right. As they reached the arc they could hear the faint sound of chanting and the smell of sulfur and nasty-smelling herbs permeated the air. “This is it.”

“What do we do, dear?” Irma whispered. Anticipation lit up her face. “I don't think hitting whatever is in there with my purse will work. Plus, I don't have my handbag with me.”

Jazz reached out, allowing only her fingertips to graze the shades of yellow. She wasn't surprised to find the entrance unprotected. After all, who of their own free will would dare cross into the nightmare realm?

“Protect us and shield us from what is inside.” She looked back at her little band. She in her
café au lait
thermal pajamas, Irma in her flannel nightgown and curlers, Krebs in his soft flannel pajama pants, and Nick, the dark and brooding vampire, in a black T-shirt and matching jeans since he literally belonged to the night. She really wished she'd worn a pair of slippers because the rock strewn floor was hell on her bare feet. Not that she would have brought Fluff and Puff here.

“What do you mean you can't sense her?” A familiar voice bounced around the rocky interior. “I thought you have always been able to keep tabs on her.”

Jazz looked back and shot Nick an
I told you so
look.

“She isn't in her quarters.” Another familiar voice to Jazz's ears and one she hadn't expected to hear.

“Did you try the vampire's lair? She's probably fucking him,” Angelica sneered.

“I find nothing.”

“You are no good to me unless you can finish the job!”

“I'll finish you, you fangy bitch,” Jazz growled under her breath, starting to move forward then stopped. It didn't take a brain to know that barging into the cave wouldn't do much other than probably end her life and those with her.

She led the way as they crept their way along the rock walls.

What we have ahead of us is not good.
Nick's voice echoed inside her head.

Nothing new there, but I'm not letting either one of them win.

Why doesn't that surprise me?
She heard his chuckle.

I'll do my part, but can you make sure that Krebs is safe?

You shouldn't have brought him.

I needed a mortal to ground the spell and he was the closest one.

Don't tell him that or he'll pout for a month.