Faerie Dust Dead (The Luna Devere Series Book 2) (17 page)

“You may be right, Leslie took
her husband’s death very hard.” Devin tucked me tight to his body and said,
“You’ve done a good thing by hiring her, Luna.”

We walked the beach for a time,
watching the moon as it slowly made its journey across the night sky. The
golden reflection bounced off the water and gave us just enough light to make
progress over the sand. We turned back, drove home and into the lot in time to
see a figure disappear past the edge of Faerie Cake Junction.

My breath caught in my throat
as I gasped. “D-did you see that?”

“Sure did. Stay in the car,”
Devin ordered as he shut the motor down and left me alone in the front seat.

I clicked the door locks,
waiting in fear that something horrible would happen to him while I sat safe
and sound. A few moments later, Devin crossed the grounds and I breathed a sigh
of relief when he got back to the car.

“Whoever was prowling is gone
now. You’ll be safe and secure tonight anyway, because I plan to stay with
you.” His sheepish smile gave me a chuckle.

“As if you hadn’t planned that
all along, Devin Radford,” I admonished with a laugh.

He put his hands up and said,
“True enough. I’ve been away from you way too long. Let’s go inside. Riddles is
likely yowling his brains out.”

Lights blazed after we entered
the building and I’d flipped electrical switches as we walked through the door
and up the stairs. Devin said he’d check the shop and left me to deal with a
noisy, unhappy sounding cat. Riddles unhappiness was likely due to being closed
into the loft and not left to roam the shops.

We met again at the bottom of
the stairs as I let Riddles scoot out into the night. Worried, I asked,
“Everything okay in there?”

With a nod, Devin closed the
door and held me close. “Nothing’s amiss. All is well, Luna.” His eyes sparkled
as he asked, “Would you like to have your way with me, or what?”

Laughing, I yanked him by the
hand and we ran up the stairs.

Later, while Devin slept
deeply, I donned a robe and barefoot, I shuffled from the loft to the first
floor. Peering out the window of the rear door, I noted Riddles had plunked
himself on the doorstep, awaiting entrance. When I greeted him, he offered a
look of disdain that I took as silent complaint about being kept waiting.

Snickering, I watched the
beasty scamper toward the loft. I swung the door to close it when a quick flicker
of light caught my eye. Statue-like, I stared into the darkness beyond, hoping
I’d imagined it, when the light flicked again. The season for fireflies had
long since ended, which left me to wonder if tricksters were up to no good
again, or if someone was out there in search of something?

I stepped back, opened the hall
closet and pulled a pair of gardening shoes from inside it. It would be folly
to go out barefoot, though I didn’t take a second to consider the folly of going
out at all. Call me foolish, unprepared, a marble short of a full bag, or
whatever. I simply had to know what, or who, was poking around on my land in
the dark.

In stealth mode, I snuck along
the path with nothing but soft moonlight as illumination to show the way. Upon
reaching the end of the brick-cobbled path, I hesitated. The path now led to
the woods, a step or two away…and into the dark. Sounds of branches snapping
and brush rustling up ahead chilled me, tensed my nerves and gave me the
heebie-jeebies. Raging nerves urged me to flee, and I decided to follow the warning
and return to the house when wings fluttered softly near my face.

“Run, you must, now. Go, you
should,” the faerie ordered with urgency in her lilting voice.

I’d taken a backward step as
she loomed close to my face, when she was abruptly whisked aside. I leaned back
when, beyond the light, a tall figure loomed before of me. He stretched out a
hand as I turned to escape and grabbed a fistful of my hair, bringing me to an immediate
halt. The rubber-soles of my shoes skidded on the paved walk and my scalp
screamed in pain as I slipped sideways.

Afraid for my life, I balanced
awkwardly as would a marionette on tangled strings. Pain shot through my head –
the stranger held on tight. When I tried to scream, I heard him say, “Don’t
make a sound, or I’ll break your neck. Understand?”

Momentarily awed by the threat,
a realization struck me, the voice held a familiar ring.

“Just let the hell go,” I
ground out between clenched teeth.

As suddenly as he’d grabbed my
hair, he took hold of my collar and hauled me onto the shadowy path at the edge
of the wooded path. While I struggled against his strength as he held tight to my
hair and collar – I could feel strands wrenched from my scalp. I shoved at his
hands and arms without gaining an inch, though, now I faced him as awkwardly as
before. My head tilted to the side, my robe hung open haphazardly, and my naked
body was there for show and tell. Thankfully, it was dark and I hoped he
couldn’t see too well.

“I said, let go,” I hissed.

The hand he had entwined in my
hair loosened, but he still held on. He’d let go of my collar long enough for
me to yank my robe closed. Without a word, I stood as calm as I could and took
in my surroundings. I dashed glances from side to side hoping to see a faerie
or pixie lingering nearby. No such luck, though I was sure Devin might awaken
and come in search of me, since I’d left the doors open and a cool draft would
make its way into the loft.

“You’ve become a liability,
Luna Devere. The cops have been all over the farm, searching for me everywhere.
I’ve had luck enough to stay hidden from them, though how long that will last
is unknown at this point.” He tightened his grip on my hair and shook me like a
rag doll.

Tears of pain ran down my face.
When I grabbed his hand to pry his fingers open, he slapped me hard enough that
my head bobbled back and forth a bit and my skin stung.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I wanted what Carlos had. Now
I’ll never get it because you and that Arianna whacko have put a stop to it. I
should have known she couldn’t be fooled, even though Carlos and I look a lot
alike. She was too smart for her own good.”

“Is that why you killed her?” I
whispered.

“It is, and it’s also why I’m
going to kill you. The man in your house can’t save you, Devere, nobody can.”

Over his shoulder, I caught a
glimmer of light, an enormous shadow, darker than any darkness in the wood.
Then I heard a playful voice “Here you are, we meet again.”

He stiffened, eased his grip,
and turned toward the pixie. “It’s been a while, where have you been?” he
asked.

Stunned, I waited. Later, I’d
wonder why I wasn’t smart enough to run away as fast as my feet would carry me,
but I was astonished to see the pixie appear at the man’s feet. Though the
pixie had sounded playful, was he really? I wondered and shook with fear.

I was certain the pixie would
let his wrath fly at any second. Why did I know this? I didn’t have a clue and
couldn’t have cared less. I simply knew this trickster liked me and had taken
my side in this.

A swath of light glowed as he illuminated
the path, his small feet shuffling in a soft whisper. The pixie ignored me completely
and said, “I’ve waited for you for some time, now. You’ve been up to no good.”

“Leave now,” my attacker
grunted.

“Let Luna be. She has no share
in this affair. Mind your manners and set her free.” His slanted pixie eyes
blazed, the colors flashing from iridescent blue, to gold, and then to fiery
red.

My heart pounded as I watched
the two of them square off. The small creature hadn’t struck me as particularly
powerful, but I tended to underestimate faeries and pixies and the power they
had. While he watched the small fellow, the stranger disengaged his fingers
from my hair and laughed.

“You can’t save her, neither
can her lover. I shall kill her as I killed Arianna Gentile, and you shan’t do
a thing about it.” He’d spoke with such confidence, that I began to move away,
one tiny step at a time, fearful that he meant what he said.
Who would save
me?
If I turned to run away, would I be struck down from behind? Did he
have magic on his side? Did he have the ability to disappear once he’d killed
me?

Whispers spread through the
trees, clinging to every branch, draping each tree with musical sounds and the
blur of faeries reached my line of sight.

“Come forth,” the blue faerie
urged.

I looked around in fear that
she spoke to me. No way could I begin to go up against this enigma who’d
dragged me into the woods. A rustle blew in on a breeze followed by fluttering
that turned to a hum of wings flapping in unison. To my left, so many faeries
gathered, I lost count of them all. To my right, pixies stood shoulder to
shoulder, hip to hip, their expressions intense. Surrounded by fae, I found it
impossible to move. With a deep breath, I stood amidst them and waited.

The stranger I knew as Carlos,
gave a cold laugh, his eyes fierce in the light that had spread its glow ever wider.
“I shall have my way. You will all be banished from this land, and I will own
it all,” he said assuredly.

Footsteps sounded on the path.
I glanced over my shoulder and found Calis off to my side and one step behind.

With his gaze fixed on Carlos, Calis
said with certainty, “You shall never change this place.” His eyes went from
blue to black and in a flash of light, Carlos was frozen to the spot where he
stood, his arm raised to ward off what he must have known was coming.

Amazed by what had just
happened, I held my breath and watched faeries lift Carlos’ form and disappear
into the night with it. The leader of the pixie group gave me a bow, and was
gone in a twinkle as were the other pixies.

Alone with Calis, who I thought
smelled of smoking brimstone for some reason, I said, “Thanks for the save. I
thought for sure that I’d be killed. Did he really think he could take over
this land and its inhabitants?”

With a nod, Calis said, “He’s
quite dangerous and wily – and that’s on a good day. He’d been around for some
time, but I couldn’t catch him. As for saving you, that’s what I was sent to
do.”

Surprised, I uttered, “I
thought you were here to prevent a war?”

“There is no war, I lied,” he
said with a half grin. “Go home, live with your man, and be happy, Luna. You,
and all those who live around you, will be watched over to ensure this never
happens again. I was too late to save Arianna, and I was determined not to let
what happened to her become your fate as well. I failed her, and for that, I’m
sorry.”

“Ari honestly believed she
wasn’t harming the faeries, you know, and she knew she was being watched,” I
said as I shivered from the cold, and tugged my robe closer to my body.

“I understand, and it was
unfair to think Arianna was draining them without their permission.” Calis
glanced around. “This will be our last meeting, you won’t see me again. The
faeries will continue to visit – as will the pixies, I’m sure. Take care, and
promise me that you’ll be good to these creatures, Luna.”

The instant he issued the
words, I nodded. “You have my word, Calis.” I crossed my heart with two fingers
and held them up.

He smiled and walked into the
darkness, his steps growing softer until they were gone completely.

On a sigh, I rubbed my scalp
and hurried indoors. My gardening shoes left at the back door, I tiptoed into
the loft, disrobed and slouched beneath the covers when Devin murmured, “You
were gone a long time. I missed you.”

“I had the urge for something
sweet, so I came back to bed to be with you.”

Sleepily, he said, “We’re
getting married tomorrow.”

I snuggled into his arms and
smiled as I glanced at the clock. It already was tomorrow and nearly time to
make cupcakes for Faerie Cake Junction.

About the Author

(click
to visit the J.M. Griffin Amazon page)

With her books sold worldwide, J.M. Griffin is one of today's
most popular women sleuth’s authors.

Best known for her
Vinnie
Esposito series
, J.M. has set the series in Rhode Island, the
smallest state in the USA, and brings to life a colorful cast of characters.
Every novel has a blend of humor, mystery, and romance. Her latest novel in the
series,
Season for Murder
,
is the fifth book featuring Vinnie Esposito and her usual cast of pals and bad
guys. Her new venture,
The Deadly Bakery
Series
, also takes place in Rhode Island, and features a Scot, a
bread maker, and lots of interesting characters who help figure out
who-done-it.

Stepping away from Rhode Island's scenery, J.M. set
Faerie Cake Dead
on the coast
of Maine. Filled with humor, faeries, sweet cupcakes, murder and a yummy hero,
the villain is someone you’ll least expect.

J.M.'s release,
Murder
on Spyglass Lane
, takes place on the west coast of Florida in the
Sarasota area. This cozy mystery has a unique and hilarious blend of
characters, a sexy hero, and a psychic heroine.

Tangled to Death
was a mystery inspired by J.M.’s favorite art style, Zentangle. She set the
story in New Hampshire with an unexpected corpse in the first scene. Wit and
fun fill the pages of this novel.

J.M., her husband, and two mysterious cats reside in a rural
village in western Rhode Island, where life is anything but mundane.

Catch J.M. on her blog:
http://mycozymysteries.blogspot.com

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