Defensive Magic: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Tale (Lost Library Book 3) (20 page)

“There’s no good answer. Up to now, we’ve made do with resources within the Pack. But if we look at modeling ourselves on IPPC, I think there is a world of opportunity. Pooling the resources of the different talent groups and creating a more cohesive magic-using community would give us access to a larger group of experts. Medical care and counseling would be only one small gain.”

Lizzie’s voice reflected her surprise. “That’s a little bigger picture than I realized you were thinking. I know you want more cooperation between the Packs, but an official organization? Do you think that could work?”

“I’m sure of it. I’m just not sure when. Damn. That reminds me I need to call Clark and let him know how deeply his witches are involved.”

“I guess two of three challenges can’t be a coincidence.”

“Agreed,” John said as he pulled into the drive. He let out a pent-up breath. “I’m glad to be home.”

“About that.” Lizzie peered at him from under her lashes. “The Pack seems to think I’m moving in. As in, immediately.”

“They do,” John agreed. “We
did
talk about it.”

“As something we’d do in the indefinite future. Not this very second.” Lizzie gnawed on her lower lip. “My parents don’t even know about magic, let alone about my magic. That’s a whole can of worms, because then we have to get into whose side of the family is to blame for hiding this great big secret. And that doesn’t even touch on the drama of ‘hey, my boyfriend’s occasionally furry.’”

“Thought about this a little, have you?” He couldn’t help but tease her. She was so stressed out about something that would probably be about half as traumatic as she was envisioning. The anticipation of telling her parents was surely worse than the telling itself.

“You can laugh. They’re not your parents.” As soon as the words left her mouth, he could tell she was wishing them back. “I’m sorry.”

His parents may have died years ago and in unsavory circumstances, but he was the better for their deaths. Logan had been a great father. Still was, in fact.

“I know exactly what you meant. I just don’t think it will be as bad as you expect. Come on. Let’s go inside. I need to make that call, and maybe you can get us something to eat.”

With Lizzie busy in the kitchen, John placed the call to Clark. He wasn’t sure what to expect, since he hadn’t yet heard from David regarding his application to join the Texas Pack. Didn’t even know if David had broached the subject with his father. So he was pleasantly surprised at the warm welcome he received.

“Good to hear from you. I’d planned to give you a call in the next day or two.” Clark’s tone was cordial but not overly familiar.

“I’m glad I caught you, then.” John continued to the back of the house. He didn’t want Lizzie to overhear the conversation. Not that he planned to keep the contents of the conversation from her. More that he really thought she needed a break. Focusing on something mundane, like making dinner, might help her take a mental break from all the Pack drama.

John brought Clark up to date on the involvement of the Pacific Northwest Coven in the most recent challenge. “And the most important point is that they brought a witch in to bolster Gregor’s speed and healing ability. I wanted to be the one to tell you, in case there are additional rumors about the outcome of the challenge. I need it circulated that Gregor cheated.”

“Is there a particular reason that’s so vital?”

“After Lizzie detected the witch aiding Gregor, she intervened. It’s possible I wouldn’t have survived the challenge without her interference.” No need for Clark to know he’d have certainly died.

“I see,” Clark said thoughtfully. “So if they don’t come out looking like they cheated, then your reputation suffers as the one who failed to abide by pack challenge tradition.”

“Allied pack leaders know me too well to believe it. But those who think my politics are too modern—I think they’ll gladly latch onto the rumor, if it ever gets legs.”

“Agreed. So these witches, you think they’ve been paid for their participation?” Clark asked.

“It does sound that way—but I also think they’re not particularly concerned with running afoul of Texas. Do you have any thoughts as to why that might be? They seem interested enough in staying on the right side of the Idaho Pack.”

“Geography? We’re in their backyard and you’re a world away. At least in terms of magic. It’s also possible they think whoever hired them is big and bad enough to make Texas appear less of a threat.”

“And if there are some sympathetic politics at play, you haven’t been as vocal about cooperation among the packs.”

Clark immediately picked up on that topic—which was John’s hope. “And that’s what I’ve been meaning to speak with you about. David says you’d consider a petition to join the Texas Pack. That you encouraged him to apply. What does your Council have to say about that?”

“You doubt my authority to make such an offer?” He kept his tone quiet, but there could be no mistaking the coolness. As much of an ally as Clark could be, John couldn’t let himself forget that Clark would always place his own pack first. He couldn’t allow too much familiarity to develop between them.

“Of course not. I’d just like to know if the Council is as supportive as you have been.” Clark paused. “He’s my only child, Braxton. I won’t let him go if he’s not truly welcome.”

Fair enough. “The Council supports his membership in the pack.”

“We’ve discussed it at length. I’d like to send him. But the timing…”

John laughed without humor. “Oh, the timing could be better. He’s welcome now, but if you prefer he delay the move until we’ve cleared up this…”

This what? Attack on the Texas Pack? Plot to discredit Texas? It would be helpful if he even knew what the end goal of his adversary was. Or better yet,
who
his adversary was.

“Mess?” Clark supplied.

“Yeah. Just let me know.” John tried to convey the sincerity of his feelings when he said, “We’ll be glad to have David and Anna join us.”

He would. And not just because they’d make a nice addition to the Pack. Because it would be a first step in opening up the rigid pack structure that he so strongly believed had outlived its usefulness.

Chapter 26

S
itting down to dinner, John reminded Lizzie of the thumb drive that Chris had given her.

“I was thinking that if it had information about Matylda, specifically a family tree, then you might find out where exactly the secret began. Someone made the choice to cut your family off from its history.” John inhaled another bite of his hamburger.

Lizzie was glad she’d made a few extras. It looked like John would finish them off.

“I’ve been thinking about that. I’d forgotten the whole Kovar-Smith connection. If that’s true, then the magic is certainly on my dad’s side of the family. And there was some speculation that it was my grandma who put my magic to sleep when I was young. She was the only one who fit the criteria described to me: there when I was young and died very unexpectedly.” She shook her head. She really didn’t need to be worrying about her roots when the here and now was pressing in so urgently. “No—I haven’t had a look at it yet. But I will—when things slow down a little.”

“That seems to be the general consensus on about everything. Once we get this crazy-ass attack under control, life will go on. I really hope it’s as simple as that.” John rubbed the back of his neck. “The problem is, I’m not sure where to go from here. The only strong lead we have is the coven, and we can hardly interrogate them. We know nothing about witches. We don’t even know where exactly the coven is located or how it operates. And on top of that, it looks like the force behind these attacks isn’t even a witch.”

“We follow the lead we do have.” Lizzie thought that was pretty practical advice—but the how was a little harder. “Isn’t there some way to reach out to the local community? I mean, the witches can’t all be connected, can they?” At his doubtful look, she conceded, “Okay. They
could.
But it’s not likely, is it?”

She could see he was considering the argument, so she added, “You don’t even need a friendly contact—just a neutral one.”

“James knows a healer or two in Dallas. But he left the country suddenly to rejoin Doctors Without Borders. He might be difficult to reach.”

“Who’s James?” Lizzie racked her brain, but she couldn’t remember having met a Lycan named James.

“James Alexander. He’s a pack member, but he doesn’t live locally. He and Ben went to Arkansas to look for you.”

“And then he disappeared?” Lizzie asked. She hadn’t heard boo about this guy, which seemed strange.

“It’s a long story, and I still don’t have all of the details. It has something to do with Ben’s side adventure in Arkansas. You may not have realized, but while Max and I were chasing you around the world, Ben and James got caught up in some local politics in Arkansas while pursuing a lead we had about you.”

“Oh, wow. I had no idea. How did I miss that?” Lizzie winced. What if Ben and this James guy had gotten into some kind of trouble because of her? She really hoped not.

“Because the few conversations I had with Ben were while we were in the midst of finding of you.” John shoved his now empty plate away and leaned his forearms on the table. “We’ve been buried with one disaster after another, so I haven’t pushed Ben for an explanation. And James has always traveled a lot. My primary concern was our relationship with Arkansas, but Ben says that’s no problem. Yeah, James definitely is our best bet for some connection to a local contact.”

They shared a look and both said, “Max.”

Lizzie laughed. “It’s almost like that’s his superpower. Getting information out of people. Maintaining contacts and connections. If he weren’t a friend, it might be disturbing.”

“Oh, it’s a superpower, all right,” John agreed.

He picked up his phone and made a call to Max. From this end of the phone, it sounded like Max was skeptical he could find James’s location quickly, but he said he’d try.

After he’d ended the call, John said, “It’s worth a shot. I wouldn’t mind brainstorming to see what other avenues we can follow. Max didn’t seem too certain he could get the information quickly.”

As they tidied away the remnants of dinner and washed up dirty dishes, Lizzie strained her brain for something useful they could do.

They were just finishing up when John said, “I can at least have Scott or Ben check the local motels, hotels, and B&Bs for the scent of either the healer or the witch. If they stayed locally, maybe we can get some contact or payment information.”

“Scott and Ben can do that? If they stayed locally, it’s been at least twelve hours by now since they’ve been there.”

“If their scent is still there, yes. And human scent can linger much longer than twelve hours.”

Lizzie shook her head. “I’m like a walking beacon, shedding little bits of myself wherever I go, and you guys can just sniff and point which way. That’s just unnerving.”

“But close to accurate. You have your mad skills, don’t forget.” He gave her a wicked grin. “Now you know that you can capture scent in a bubble. You just have to work out the small details.”

“Like breathing? Yep—I’ll work on that,” she said wryly.

Dishes and cleanup done, they were about to head into the living room when John’s phone rang.

After looking at the caller ID, John immediately answered. “Hey—I thought your phone wasn’t supposed to work over there?”

John mouthed “James,” but Lizzie had already reached that conclusion.

“I’m trying to find some local contacts in the magic-using community,” John said.

Lizzie listened to the one-sided conversation for a few minutes, but when they moved to a more personal conversation, she quietly left the room.

John found her a few minutes later. “Max will never let me live this down. He called James first, just on the off chance his cell was up or there was forwarding information. James is scheduled to check in monthly, exactly because he’s not supposed to have cell service where he’s located.” He shook his head in annoyance.

Lizzie hid her grin. He was right. Max wouldn’t let him live it down easily. “So what did he have to say?”

“He’s going to make a few calls and see if he can find someone who might be willing to talk to us. He knows a few healers and he’s sure at least one of them has to have further contact with magic-users in either Dallas or Austin.”

“So we just wait?”

“For now. I’ll go ahead and get Ben and Scott on the local hotel angle, just in case Gregor’s people were careless. But for now, that’s it.”

Lizzie sat down on the edge of the bed. She could actually do laundry. Or check her e-mail. Oh, goodness—her clients. She should really check her e-mail.

She managed to get through half of her work e-mail before her phone rang. And shockingly, there had been no emergencies, just the usual questions and requests for updates on ongoing projects. She hadn’t blown any deadlines since her life had taken a turn towards the bizarre, but she’d come awfully close. She’d have to reevaluate her business plan in the near future.

She glanced at the ID and frowned when she saw Kenna’s mom, Gwen McIntyre, pop up on the display.

“Hi, Gwen. Is everything okay?” Worry edged into her voice.

She hadn’t spoken with Kenna in a few days. Had something happened to her? Or maybe she had a question about the dogs. Kenna’s mom always looked after them when Lizzie traveled. And she’d been doing nothing but traveling lately.

“I’m not sure, honey. I heard your Alpha might need to chat with me.”

The phone fell from her nerveless fingers.

“Lizzie? Lizzie, honey? Are you there?”

Sweet, dog-loving, over-indulgent Gwen McIntyre. Her best friend’s mom, a lady she’d known for more than twenty years, was talking about the Alpha of the Texas Pack like it was no big deal. Like the Alpha was just that guy in charge of the local pack. Lizzie was losing her mind.

She picked up the phone. “So sorry, Mrs. McIntyre. I just dropped the phone. How can I help you?”

She could hear Gwen’s sigh all the way down the phone line. “Lizzie, how many times do I have to tell you that you’re too old to call me that? Call me Gwen.”