A Kind of Magic (8 page)

“Yeah, I’m afraid so. I wanted to get your take. Kelpie on the lake, with at least one victim. Selkies showing themselves around the shore. Nixie in the park. And more than the usual number of missing persons, including kids. Normal people are starting to notice.”

She stopped swinging her leg and leaned against the piano to look at him. “Oh, that’s really not good, especially not now.”

“Yeah, Athena said something about the enchantresses maybe getting edgy.” Her mismatched eyes, one gray and one blue, were a little unnerving when gazing at him so closely and intently, so he glanced down at the sheet music on the piano and absently started playing the right-hand part. As the rust fell away, he added the left hand.

“I didn’t know you played,” she remarked.

“It’s not like we know each other that well, outside our respective professional capacities,” he said with a smile. “I imagine there’s a lot we don’t know about each other. But my mom’s a church organist, so I had to start learning from the time I could reach the keyboard. I just haven’t played in a long time.”

“And yet you’re sight-reading Tchaikovsky. How are you feeling? Are you particularly tired?”

“I’m always tired. You think one of these leanan things is after me?”

“Your association with me might draw their attention, so stay alert. Look for the symptoms you’d usually associate with depression.”

He stopped playing, suddenly feeling oddly self-conscious. “Is there something you can do—not about me, but about this other stuff?”

“I really don’t have that much power. I suppose I could wander by the affected areas and flash enough aura to let them know they need to back off, but I’m a little worried about doing so while there’s an outsider enchantress in town. Enchantresses see the fae as enemies, so they probably wouldn’t be too keen on me being what I am.”

It was hard to sit at a piano and not play, so he began playing softly again. “Which would be worse, her knowing that stuff is happening, or her knowing that you’re part fae?”

“The selkies are odd but benign. The nixie, kelpie, and abductions are bigger problems, but enchantresses shouldn’t be surprised about them. I don’t know what the consequences would be if she found out I was fae, but I’m sure it would make things awkward.” She rubbed her temples. “And this is a really bad time for all this to come up.”

“I guess you have a lot of work to do.”

“I’m mostly getting used to dancing in a tutu again.”

“And the tiara?”

“I am a queen,” she said with a sly grin. “But having something on my head takes some getting used to, as well.” She began dancing along with what he was playing, rising on her toes and taking little steps. “And the fun thing is that I’m more or less the villain in this production.”

“Really? That’s a twist.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Not according to most people who know me.” More seriously, she went on. “This is a ballet notably lacking in conflict after the first act, when they defeat the Rat King. The rest of the ballet is basically a reward for that triumph. But in this version, the Snow Queen stirs up a blizzard that nearly traps Clara until her prince rescues her.” She spun around and glanced back at him over her shoulder. “It’s not the first time I’ve been accused of being an ice queen.”

He’d seen her being truly terrifying, staring down enemies that would make the toughest cop flee, but in that moment he had a hard time imagining anyone fearing her. She looked like the girl next door. “Just remember that creating a real snowstorm on stage would give you away,” he warned.

 “That takes all the fun out of it.” She stopped dancing and leaned on the piano again. “Now, what about all these missing people? The enchantresses should be doing something about that.”

He stopped playing and took his list out of his pocket. She came around and sat next to him on the piano bench. “These addresses are where children have been taken out of their beds, no evidence of break-in.”

She frowned as she looked at the list. “Do you have a sense of exactly where these addresses lie?”

He got out his phone, opened a map app, and entered an address. “Here’s the first one.” He entered the rest and showed her.

“You’re not dealing with fae.”

“You sound pretty sure.”

“They’re too deep into the city and in high rises that would have steel support structures.”

“I thought the fact that they were high rises with no sign of a break-in was a pretty good clue.”

“I’m not saying magic wasn’t involved, but it wasn’t fae. There aren’t many fae who’d make it that deep into the city and back out again, and no one’s leaving food offerings to them these days that would give them the strength to try something like this. Besides, the fae usually leave changelings when taking children. The parents wouldn’t know they’ve lost their kids. They’d just have kids who suddenly seemed to be ill.”

“Then if not fae, who? Are there other magical beings I need to know about?”

“I have no idea. I just learned about enchantresses, and I am one.”

“So I’m back to talking to Amelia and Athena.” He couldn’t help but sigh wearily.

“It almost sounds like someone’s trying to frame the fae because they’re the only magical beings I know of with a reputation for kidnapping children.”

“Why would someone want to make the fae look bad?”

“It would give the enchantresses something to do, wouldn’t it? The first step toward getting people to listen to you is giving them a problem that you can solve.”

“So I
shouldn’t
talk to Amelia and Athena?”

She stood and did a few fast turns around the room before coming back to the piano. “Not yet. I suppose I’ll have to look into it, but I’ll have to be careful.”

“I’d appreciate anything you can do. I hate for these families to have to go through this, and it’s even worse at Christmas.”

Her face softened with empathy. “And how are you doing? I didn’t get a chance to ask yesterday.”

He normally didn’t like talking about it, but he suddenly found himself wanting to discuss everything with Sophie. He doubted she was putting the whammy on him. It was just that she was the only one who knew the entire story, so she was the only one he could discuss it with honestly. “I don’t know. There are good days and bad days, I guess. Most of the time, nothing feels any different, but then suddenly I’ll remember that I know for sure she’s not coming back and I feel like my whole life has changed. Sometimes that’s good, almost liberating, but most often it’s devastating.”

“I could always give it one more try. Jen may change her mind.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. She told me to move on, and she knew her own mind then, so I can’t disregard it. The holidays may be rough. That’s always when I missed her the most when I thought she might be coming back. But I think the closure is helping. This year may not be any worse than other years have been. I suppose I should look at it as the first Christmas of the rest of my life.” He hadn’t even realized he was feeling all that until he started saying it, and after getting it off his chest, he felt a ton lighter.

“Well, if you need anything—company, food, whatever—let me know. I may be crazy for the next week or so, but after that, my days should be mostly free except when there’s a matinee. If you don’t want to be alone, you don’t have to be.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The prospect was actually pretty cheering. It felt good to not have to pretend about anything.

“Let me know if you notice anything else that’s odd. You’re getting good at recognizing it, and you’re on the front lines if things are getting weirder than normal in the city.”

He removed his hands from the keys and stood. “Now I’d better let you get back to your practice, and I’ll go back to making the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. Good day, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes and followed him to the door. “You get out there and do that.”

As he headed down the hallway, he heard the music start again and had to restrain himself to keep from turning back to watch. Instead, he headed outside, where he kept his senses on high alert. The problem was that just about everything in this city could be considered odd, even when it was entirely normal. There was a woman who made amazing music on a saw in a subway station, for crying out loud.

Case in point, the violinist playing near the entrance to the nearest station entrance. The only thing that kept him from being of Carnegie Hall caliber was the fact that the ones playing at Carnegie Hall were even better.

Then again, this guy was rather amazingly good, and the usually jaded New Yorkers who normally wouldn’t have so much as given him a passing glance as they went about their shopping were stopping to gape. Even he seemed a little surprised by the crowd he’d gathered as he played lightning-fast notes that struck Michael as being perfectly pitched.

Another case of fairy magic coming to life? And if so, was it such a bad thing?

The Antique Shop

5:00 p.m.

Sophie was surprised to find customers in the shop when she stopped by on her way back from rehearsing. She’d seen maybe two at the most in all the time she’d spent there. The shop had seemed to be little more than a front for the sisters’ other operations, and they had to have another source of income to live in a prewar Upper West Side apartment.

Then again, she wasn’t sure how old they were. Amelia could have been living in that apartment since before the war. There were signs that the maid’s room where Sophie was staying had once been the home of a teenager, and it hadn’t been within the past forty years.

Now, though, there were people shopping for antique china, probably to fill out sets before Thanksgiving or to give as gifts. Athena acknowledged Sophie’s entrance with a nod as she wrapped a plate in paper, then tilted her head in the direction of the table in the rear.

Josephine sat there, tapping one expensively shod toe in tangible impatience. Amelia gave every indication of pointedly ignoring her while she answered a patron’s extensive questions about the history of a particular china pattern. Sophie remembered her discussion with Michael about enchantresses possibly looking for relevance and was suddenly suspicious of the timing of Josephine’s visit. She had no evidence, but she had a feeling Josephine wasn’t a friend. She would have ducked out of the shop, but Josephine had already seen her and was beckoning to her. Amelia gave Sophie the slightest of nods, indicating that she should obey, which irked Sophie even more. Reluctantly, she made her way to the back table.

“You don’t work here as well, do you?” Josephine asked when Sophie was in range, her slight sneer suggesting that a shop like this would be beneath her.

“Oh, no, I just dropped by on my way home from a dance rehearsal. Can I help you with something while they’re busy?”

“We can hardly discuss that now.” Josephine’s gesture in the general direction of the customers made the diamonds on her fingers glitter. Sophie figured that either she’d married very well, she had a lucrative second career, or being an enchantress paid well. She’d have to ask Amelia and Athena when she could expect her first paycheck.

Amelia finished advising her customer and sent her to Athena at the counter. She then joined Sophie and Josephine. “You must be finished with rehearsal,” she said to Sophie.

Sophie thought she detected wisps of steam coming from Josephine’s ears at not being first in line for attention. “Yes. I was just about to head home and thought I’d stop by to see if you wanted me to pick up anything or get dinner started.”

Only then did Amelia acknowledge Josephine, turning to her to ask, “Josephine, would you care to join us for dinner this evening?” That wasn’t what Sophie had planned, especially not after such a long day, but since it wasn’t her home, she could hardly protest the invitation, no matter how much the thought of dinner with Josephine made her whimper inside.

Josephine pushed her chair back, picked up her handbag, and stood. “I was hoping to talk with you this afternoon, but I currently have no dinner plans.”

“Excellent. You know where we live. We’ll eat at eight.”

“I will see you then. Good day.” The atmosphere in the shop lightened considerably at Josephine’s departure. It was like the calm in the aftermath of a thunderstorm. Sophie would bet that sales were about to increase dramatically.

“I hope you don’t mind getting some dinner started,” Amelia said to Sophie. “Use whatever you find in the refrigerator. Make anything that sounds good to you.”

“I’d be happy to help.” Sophie hoped she wouldn’t be struck down for lying. Actually, she was glad of something she could do for the sisters, considering they were letting her live rent-free until she made a decision about whether to stay in New York and find her own place. She just wasn’t too happy about this particular task. “No preferences?”

Amelia sighed wearily. “Just resist the urge to throw in some rat poison. If that becomes necessary, I have a few things that are less traceable that we can put in her drink.”

The scary thing was, Sophie wasn’t entirely sure she was joking.

The Theater

6:45 p.m.

Emily arrived at the theater a little early, hoping to catch Will before he got into costume and makeup. When he hadn’t yet shown up by the time she needed to get herself ready, she started to worry. She was slightly more tired than normal after her adventure the night before, so she could imagine what state he’d be in, especially if nighttime dancing had become a habit for him.

She found him backstage after she was through with hair, makeup, and costume. He’d apparently arrived in time to be ready, but he looked haggard, in spite of the makeup. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You look tired.”

“I took a nap this afternoon and overslept, so I guess I’m still a little groggy.”

She wished she had one of those herbal bundles handy, but this was hardly an appropriate time to give him one. “Late night last night?” she asked.

“No, that’s what’s weird. I was
dead
last night. I must have crashed as soon as I got home because I woke up at about five this morning on the sofa, still dressed. Then I went to bed, slept until ten, took a class around noon, and couldn’t keep my eyes open.”