Cover Spell (18 page)

“How long do we have to wait? What if he doesn’t show up?”

I paced inside the foyer of Magnolia Plantation with my eyes fixed on the oak- and moss-laden drive. The grand entrance of the house was large enough to be its own ballroom. Two billowing staircases, connected by a second-floor balcony dominated the space. French doors on each side of the main door led visitors into either the parlor on the right or the dining room on the left. The plantation was now a popular tourist destination, wedding venue, and would be a part of movie set history, if
Masquerade
were ever filmed.

My fingers traced the carvings of the banister. The house was quiet. The studio’s rental contract still had a few days left on it, and with the movie production on indefinite hiatus, neither the staff of the plantation nor the studio crew were on site. When we arrived, Finn
Open Spelled
the back door for us, and we searched the entire house before settling on the foyer as our waiting room.

“He’ll show.”

He fidgeted with the blue jasper again. His back was to the front door, so I kept surveying the road through the windows.

“What does it do?” I crossed the foyer and tapped the pocket over his heart where the stone was hidden. “Why do you need it?”

I held my breath. I didn’t know if asking those two questions was too much, but I wanted to understand. I needed to understand how that little rock could turn my world upside down again.

Finn laughed and tried to swoop in for a kiss instead of giving me an answer, but I put my hand up to shield my lips from his. “All right, all right.” He hung his head and pulled the rock from his pocket. “The blue jasper is one of the only ways to talk to the other side.”

I tried to contain my shock, but I felt my mouth form a big O and my eyes widen.

“The
other side
, other side? No, you can’t be serious. That is dark magic. The other side is…we don’t…that’s not who we are.”

“No, Ivy, it’s not who
you
are. You don’t know what I’m capable of. I need this. I need answers. I didn’t want to tell you and I still don’t want to talk about it.” He dropped the rock back in his pocket. “Let’s forget about it, ok? We’re hunting a serial kidnapper and we don’t need to worry about my quest right now.”

I felt another one of the threads break. He was fading away, back into the Shadow Quest. Maybe I didn’t know what he was capable of doing.
Change the subject, Ivy. Talk about anything but the jasper
.

I looked around the foyer and peeked into the dining room. The house was eerily quiet. Through the silence, I put together a plan. Why hadn’t I tried this earlier?

“There’s no one here, just you and me. I can
Time Spell
. I can go back to a few days ago and follow Emmy.”

I realized I might have to follow the star’s steps for a few hours. No one was sure when she was taken, or exactly where the kidnapping happened. The last time anyone saw Emmy was when she stormed inside the house after arguing with Evan on the porch.

I could easily form the seam inside the hall closet, like I did at the bed and breakfast. Finn could watch the seam for me, and I could start tracking her from inside the house. This could work. I was getting excited about the plan I was devising.

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary.” Finn’s eyes were piercing. He looked over my shoulder.

The foyer felt tainted with darkness. It prickled my skin.

“Why? You want to
Time Spell
too or something.” I wanted to handle this spell on my own. “Really, I can handle a quick tracking detail. We’re running out of options.”

“No. That’s not it.” His eyes were almost like narrow slits. “He’s already here.”

I rotated in the direction of Finn’s stare. His blue eyes hadn’t blinked. Standing in front of us, under the towering balcony, was a tall man wearing a khaki coat. He must have entered through the back of the house while our eyes were peeled on the front drive. His skin was pale, almost translucent, and paper-thin, and just above his right cheekbone was a dark blue bruise. Finn had been right. He did follow us.

I squinted at him, and stepped past Finn to get a closer glimpse of the man. My witchy tingle shot in all directions. He was the source of the evil energy I kept feeling. It was so much stronger with him standing in front of me.

I took in the emotionless eyes, the vapid expression. I couldn’t believe it. I knew how I recognized him. Why didn’t I see it before? The posture. The tilted chin. But how was it even possible? It was Consulate Henri’s butler. It was Meyers.

“I
VY, STEP
back,” Finn called out, and the words echoed in the foyer.

I ignored his command and edged closer to the man I had seen in the consulate general’s house in 1945.

How could he be here? How could he look like he did almost seventy years ago? I mean he looked like the man I saw holding coats and hats and opening doors, but he was pale. His skin was almost hollow, and I imagined if I touched it, the layers would disintegrate under my fingers. I recoiled at the thought.

Meyers cleared his throat. “I’m not here to hurt anyone.” He stood with his shoulders back and his chin forward. “If anyone should be concerned, it’s me.”

Finn walked next to me and slid his arm around my waist. “Yeah, you should be concerned.”

“You two, you’re witches. Am I correct?” The man still hadn’t moved.

“Considering we don’t know who’s asking, I don’t think we’re going to be doling out any kind of answers to you.” Finn had retrieved his arm and stepped closer to the butler.

I needed to shuttle Finn into the next room so I could tell him who Meyers was, but things were unraveling too quickly. I would have to give him the backstory later.

“Point taken, sir. But, I’m assuming you found the jasper?”

Finn stopped. The question caught him off guard. We both knew it was laced with more than a simple inquiry.

“What do you know about it? How do you know anything about it?” He sounded defensive.

Meyers cleared his throat again. I wondered if he was ill. “It’s one of the reasons I’m here. It’s why I’ve been following you. I think we can help each other.”

Finn and I exchanged puzzled looks. Time travel did come in handy, but sometimes I wished I had a mind-reading spell. This was one of those times when I needed to know exactly what Finn was thinking.

If I could pull him aside and talk to him about Meyers, would he remember the details from my story last night? I was afraid he wasn’t focused enough on my
Time Spell
, and now the butler had thrown the blue jasper into the equation.

I was amazed Meyers remained in his statuesque stance. For someone who was well over a hundred years old and possibly sick, he had excellent posture.

He inched forward. “Why don’t we step into the parlor? I think it would be a bit more comfortable, and what I have to say is going to take a few minutes.”

Finn and I backed up to let the butler pass in front of us. He drew open the parlor’s sliding doors and stood in front of one of the nineteenth century chairs situated in front of the fireplace. “After you.” He gestured for me to take a seat.

Finn nodded at me, and I sat first. The love seat was a replica of one of the early pieces of furniture that was in the house in the mid-1850s. I felt like I was sitting on a museum display, and wiggled to the edge of the furniture. The two men sat almost simultaneously.

“I realize this is most unusual. I haven’t even properly introduced myself. I’m Meyers…” His voice trailed off. “Why don’t we just leave it at Meyers?” He looked at us. “First, before we go any further, I need your word that you will help me.”

“Excuse me?” Finn questioned the man sitting before us. “And why would we do that?”

“Because, I know where Emmy Harper is, and I’ve already delivered the jasper to you. I’m sure you can appreciate the difficulty of getting it into your hands.” He was calm.

My eyes widened, and I fidgeted on the love seat, plucking at the velvet piping. Finn placed his hand on my knee.

Meyers continued. “If you promise to help me, I’ll tell you where to find her.”

Finn waited. “Is she alive?”

“Of course. She is fine.” He said it as if all victims of random kidnappings would be perfectly alive and well in captivity.

“How do we know we can trust what you’re saying?” Finn’s words were sharp and clipped.

“You don’t. But I’m the one who left the jasper for you. That rock is something important to you, Detective Delano. Am I correct?”

Finn didn’t budge. I expected him to reach for the jasper again, but he sat coolly and stared at the old man before us.

“You know there are only a few jaspers in the world. I’ve tracked one to Beijing and the other to Rome. The one you now have arrived recently from Rio. You may keep it, Detective, but I’m asking for your help in exchange for Ms. Harper. Please, I think you’re the only ones who can help.” The prideful man looked defeated and desperate. His posture sagged, and there was a brief quiver in his voice.

“How did you know?” Finn’s voice was sharp.

“What do you mean?”

“How did you know I was looking for a blue jasper? Then you so conveniently left it for us to find. This doesn’t add up.”

I didn’t appreciate Finn’s approach, but I was anxious to hear Meyers’s response. Maybe I would finally get some answers too.

Finn argued with the man. “I’m not helping you do anything until you answer. And I need specifics.”

“Specifics, you say? Hmm.” Meyers licked his pale lips and avoided the direct stare. “I paid a great deal of money for that particular jasper. It came from Rio.”

“You already said that. You’re stalling. Skip to the part where you know about my interest in jaspers.”

“Right, right. Certainly.” He took his time. “I was looking for a jasper before any of this madness with Miss Harper began. I thought maybe if I had one, I could find some answers. That is why people use the jasper, isn’t it, Detective? They seek answers this world can’t provide.”

Finn shot back. “Keep going. I’m not the one being questioned.”

“Of course, sir. It’s quite simple. I saw you in Prague when I was on a trip to pick up one of the stones.”

For the first time, Finn’s eyes broke their fierce hold on Meyers, and he stared straight ahead.

“Finn, when were you in Prague?” As soon as I asked, I realized how ridiculous it was to question it. We had been apart for two years. I had stopped keeping track of his travel plans. He didn’t owe me an explanation. “I’m sorry, never mind. Mr. Meyers, please continue.”

I reached for Finn’s hand, but his elbows now rested on his knees and his hands were clasped together.

The old man continued. “It was about a year ago. I tracked another jasper to Prague. A gentleman there claimed to have one, and he was selling it to the highest bidder. Although, by the time I reached the seller he had already sold it to someone. On my way out of his office, a fellow brushed past me, walking rather quickly. He seemed even more determined than I did. That fellow was you, Detective.”

I turned toward Finn to try to gauge the accuracy of the account, but he was like a statue.

“Ok, so you saw me in Prague. What about dropping the jasper off and involving Ivy?”