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

Annoyed over the intrusion and
theft, I removed the huge apron – wrapped in sarong fashion around my body –
and slapped it on the counter before I stamped up the stairs to take stock of
the gift shop.

The room wasn’t as bad as I
expected. It seemed McMurphy had concentrated on small areas and those could be
cleaned in no time flat.
A good job for one of my help staff.
After Stan
helped cover the gaping hole in the window, he took his leave and I checked the
time. Good grief, I had to finish embellishing the last of the cakes before my
two workers showed up.

Readying filled trays for their
ride up to the main floor in the dumbwaiter, I added the last thin chocolate
crown when a thought struck me. How would I explain the loss of the fairy ware
to Arianna? I rushed upstairs and out onto the back porch. The sun had risen
and sparkled off moisture-laden shrubs.

“Faeries, are you there?” I
called softly and glanced around the yard with my palms outstretched.

A whisper of faerie wings
brushed against my hand when a petite blue faerie fluttered to a stop and
perched there lightly.

“Called us, you did.” She
folded her diaphanous wings against her body.

“Good morning, sweet faerie. A
theft occurred during the night. I wondered if any one of you saw a stranger
lurking about.”

“Ask, I will. Fine, you are?”
she asked in her sing-song manner.

“I’m well, thank you, but upset
over the intrusion and the things that were taken. Please tell me if the others
saw anything unusual take place.”

“No sides, we take,” she said
as her wings spread, fluttered, and in mid-air held her in place.

“I understand,” I assured her.

With a sweet smile, she flapped
her translucent wings, butterfly-like, and flew away, drifting gently on the
breeze. I returned indoors.

A few moments later, the back
door opened. Annie, my number-one helper and friend – a tall, raw-boned woman
with an odd sense of humor laced with a no-nonsense attitude – stepped into the
hallway. Her smile died when she saw my expression. I guess my anguish over the
theft was plainly stamped on my face.

“What’s the matter, Luna?”
Annie asked, tossing her coat onto a hook in the hall closet.

“We’ve had an intruder.”
Describing the stolen merchandise, I watched her somber expression.

“Gee whiz, we just got over a
weird summer, and now this.” Annie shook her head. “I don’t know if I can
handle another bout of shenanigans.”

I’d had similar thoughts while
baking the cupcakes, but I’d managed to shove the unwanted and worrisome notion
aside. It was time to face the fact that we might be on our way to another
mystery. A mystery I hoped didn’t include death, danger, or a crazy sheriff.

“If Dilly could clean the
fingerprint residue from the gift shop before customers arrive, I’d appreciate
it,” I said. “Let’s bring the cupcakes upstairs before I get dressed for work
and then run over to Ari’s to give her the bad news.”

With a nod, Annie settled at
the dumbwaiter door while I bustled downstairs to load tray after tray of
scrumptious cakes onto the shelves inside the small elevator.

Once the last batch was on its
way, I went to help Annie place the luscious tidbits into the huge, chilled,
glass cases. We’d finished the job when Dilly scurried in through the back
door, followed by a gust of wind.

“Good mornin’. Sorry I’m so
late. I couldn’t get my car started. Had to have Harve, my next door neighbor,
come over and give the old beast a jumpstart.” With a disgusted expression,
Dilly shook her head.

“Good thing you have such a
nice neighbor, Dilly,” I said and when she headed for the shop I hastened
upstairs to change clothes. Once that was done, I pulled a pashmina wrap from
the downstairs hall closet, swathed it around my shoulders, and headed into the
kitchen. “Annie will explain the job I have for you this morning. I have to run
out for a little while.”

Darting a glance at each woman,
I requested they open as usual and promised I’d be back soon. Annie nodded as
Dilly opened her mouth to ask a question. Of the two women, I considered her to
be a major gossip. If gritty news was floating around, she shared it with
anyone who’d listen. While the gossip wasn’t always accurate, the woman did
manage to insert a truthful nugget of information into each story, and it was
up to the listener to ferret the tidbit out. I quickly escaped her curiosity
with a wave and left by the back entrance.

I was certain Dilly never meant
to be unkind, but quite often she spoke without thinking of the consequences.
The reason I kept her on staff was up for grabs at the best of times, and I
couldn’t figure out why she was still an employee, though, I guessed it was
because I was plainly softhearted.

The well-trodden path to my
neighbor’s veered right and left at sharp angles. Thick tree roots protruded
from soft, spongy greenish moss that cuddled around them along the route, as if
placed there to trip the unknowing traveler. I’d stumbled more than once in the
past.

Forging ahead, I avoided the
roots and wondered if the trees laughed, when, in the past, I’d stumbled and
landed on the ground with a resounding thud. I smiled, knowing my imagination
was hard at work.
Trees didn’t laugh, did they?

The worn track opened onto a
clearing bordered by lilac bushes that had gone to bed for the fall season.
Absent of flowers, they looked forlorn.

I stepped onto the grounds
behind Ari’s house and listened to the wind sigh through the pine trees near
her studio. The whisper of faerie wings tickled my skin when one of the dainty
creatures hovered close to my face. I sneaked a sideways glance, taking in her
wide, almond-shaped eyes, and sweet-faced beauty.

“Come here troubled, you do,”
the creature sang in a lilting voice.

I smiled at her and said, “Bad
news, I’m afraid. Is Arianna about?”

I met her gaze as she winged in
place, a foot from my nose. She beckoned me toward Ari’s glassmaking studio.
Thanking her, I knocked on the wide plank door. I glanced back before entering,
but the faerie had disappeared.

“Come in, come in,” Ari called.
She handled the long metal rod with care as she rolled molten glass around and
around, dripping it in puddles on top of itself with the dexterity of a person
used to handling such material. Adept at her craft, Arianna was well aware of
the dangers of hot glass from her furnace.

Waiting until she’d finished, I
absorbed the heat of the room while enjoying her artistic creativity. Cupcakes
were my masterpiece, while glassworks were hers. Ari’s works lasted longer than
mine did, but both were art forms in their own right. I smiled at the thought,
while at the same time I dreaded having to tell her of the loss. I would gladly
compensate her for the pieces stolen, but the theft was still a disaster for
both of us.

She settled the tool next to
the furnace, turned to me, and removed her goggles. A thick, long, braided
ponytail lay tucked inside her shirt, and hung down her back, where it peeked
from the bottom of her shirttail. Ari wore it this in an effort to save her
hair from being toasted by flames should any wayward strand of her hair flop
into the furnace or come in contact with the blistering heated glass.

She tossed her fireproof gloves
onto a nearby table. “What brings you over so early?”

“I have something to tell you.
I didn’t want to call, so I just popped through the woods.”

She stared at me in silence,
her expression one of surprise.

“There was a theft at the
Junction last night. Your new inventory was stolen. I discovered the
merchandise was gone when I came downstairs. I’m sorry, Ari. I know how much
effort you put into your work,” I said. I dropped my gaze and glanced around. A
sense of not being alone skittered over me. Shadows branched outward from the
corners of the studio. The low-slung roof of the small barn that housed Ari’s
furnace and glass supplies made the place spooky.

“Are we alone?” I whispered.

Ari hesitated. Her glance
flicked toward a dark corner before she ushered me outside. Once we were in the
sunshine, she pointed to the back door of her kitchen in silence. My
imagination took off at incredible speed and I even wondered if my intruder now
hid in her studio. Alarm pulsed through my bloodstream.

We entered her kitchen by way
of the back door. Ari peeked out the window before she took a seat at the
table. In a chair opposite hers, I waited for her to explain.

“There’ve been some problems
with the faerie glass lately. The mysticism isn’t working right. Now that some
of the newest pieces have been stolen, I’m wondering if there might be a bad
faerie among the group.”

Dumbfounded, I gawked at her,
trying with all my might to take in her words. What mysticism? A bad faerie?
Had Ari lost her mind? Had I lost mine? What the heck was going on? Unable to
process the information, I asked, “Would you clarify that for me?”

Arianna gave me a sudden smile.
“I know you’re in touch with the faeries, Luna, you needn’t hide it from me.
I’m also their friend, and have been all my life. As a matter of fact, I was
born under a faerie sign and have some faerie blood. That’s why I know trouble
is brewing.” She rose and put on the kettle to boil.

Watching her sure movements, I wondered
if I’d lost my mind instead. I was troubled by her words.
Faerie signs?
What faerie signs? I was unaware there were such things.
And faerie blood? Ouch
…
I shivered.

Over tea, Ari explained her
reluctance to speak further when we’d been in the workshop. The aura, she said,
wasn’t right at the moment, which she explained meant mysticism was out of
whack. It sounded fantastical to me and I realized there was much I didn’t know
about the faerie realm. Worse, I was left to wonder where I should go from
here. If the thief was a rotten fairie, the police would never believe stories
about mysticism, auras, or things of that nature. I’d be crazy again…

With a slight headshake, I
considered how I’d make sense of it to officers of the law who dealt in facts,
not all of
this
.

With a glance at my watch, I
knew I had to leave. The Junction was open, and fall leaf-peepers, those who
ride the countryside to see the colorful autumn leaves, would be swamping the
help. I made my apologies and promised I’d come back after the shop closed,
when we’d be able to talk longer. Ari nodded and walked me to the gate then
left me at the path. I turned, waved, and took a left turn away from her line
of vision.

Chapter
2

Underbrush rustled noisily. I paused to
peer around me now and again as I traveled back to the Junction. The
continuation and proximity of the sounds prompted me to increase my pace. By
the time I reached the Junction’s back porch, I was breathing hard and was nearly
moving at a gallop. One step from the porch landing, I glanced over my shoulder
and instead of some evil fairie apparition it was Riddles who trotted into view
from the very place I had just assessed.

Giddiness, followed by a sense
of foolishness, gave way to self-admonishment for allowing Riddles to frighten
me to death. When he headed my way and was within reach, I snatched him up and
tucked him firmly under my arm. It was time he went upstairs to our living
quarters for the day.

The door swung open as I topped
the last step and I met Annie face to face. She stepped outside and gave me a
small grin. Holding a bag of trash in one hand, she held the door open for me.

“Glad you’re back. We’re packed
to the door and have people in line at the cases.” She snorted her laughter. “A
hungry bunch of tourists arrived minutes ago. We may need more cakes before the
day is over. Do you have any in the freezer?”

I nodded. “I’ll take them out
to thaw so they’ll be ready to frost if we need them.”

“Great. We’re down to eight
dozen of the little darlings and it isn’t even lunchtime.” Annie tossed the bag
of trash into the bin and closed the container’s lid before she rejoined me.

In the corridor, we went our
separate ways. She rushed into the galley kitchen, and I scooted down to the
creation station after depositing Riddles in our small upstairs living
quarters. I removed huge, plastic-covered containers filled with flavored
cupcakes from the enormous freezer and set the cakes on the counter to defrost.
Frosting whipped in the huge mixer, creating a blend of light, fluffy froth
while I took stock of the choices of toppers to make the cakes more delectable
and eye-catching.

Jewel-toned candies in sealed
packages lay ready for addition to the buttercream-frosted cupcakes. I pulled
several other bags from the shelf and checked the flavors. Tutti-frutti,
Bavarian crème, butterscotch, raspberry, and chocolate flavored gems would do.
Along with fine, colored sugar crystals, the creations would be perfect.

It didn’t take long for the
cupcakes to thaw out and once they were frosted, I strode back and forth,
sorting and placing a flavored jewel on top to match the cake flavor. Lastly, I
sprinkled fine sugar crystals, which reminded me of faerie dust, over the
frosting. With trays of cakes at the ready, I would hand them off to Annie, by
way of the dumbwaiter when needed.

Annie stepped down a few
stairs, leaned over the handrail and whispered loudly, “Is that it, or do you
have more?”

“I have some, but this will
have to do. If you need them now, I’ll send them up. You can handle unloading,
can’t you?”

Annie nodded and disappeared
from view. After the last cakes went up, I raced to the first floor and heard
Annie tell Dilly to add the new cupcakes to the cases and make sure the flavors
were noted correctly on the tray signs. Dilly grumbled that she knew what she
was doing.