The Light Who Shines (23 page)

Bluebell Kildare: May 29, 2022, Red Ages

I glare at the last set of stair treads leading to my floor.
Only a few more steps till home. I think longingly of my soft comforter and
pillows. It’s been a long, exhausting, emotionally trying day.

When I ascend the stairs, Varg and I proceed down the hall to
my apartment. The hallway is spacious with little receiving tables outside each
door. A dark brown bench seat is comfortably situated next to a large, healthy
jade plant under the window at the far end. The walls are plaster and painted
in a pleasant taupe. A multicolored Persian rug stretches out in front of the
bench, lending a welcome splash of color to the warm oak floors. The ceilings in
this building are high and set off with elegant white crown molding. Alexis’
apartment door is at the beginning of the hall and is painted with what used to
be a bright red. The door across from my apartment is a vivid blue, but that apartment
has lain vacant since my arrival. I assume it must be large because there are
no other doors on that side. The years have taken their toll on the door paint
while the rest of the hallway is kept in great condition. I wonder if the doors
have been left to age as a style decision.

As we approach my worn and scuffed emerald painted door, Varg
starts growling viciously, baring his fangs. Thus warned, I push my sixth sense
through the door, searching for life in the apartment. I sense no living souls,
but still Varg snaps and growls. A growing sense of unease fills me.

I insert my key in the deadbolt without turning it, then pull
out my Glock. I turn the key very softly until I hear the click. I give a quick
twist at the knob and a kick to the heavy oak door, which slams into the wall
behind it. A furiously snarling Varg charges in and disappears within the
darkness. I put my back against the solid door and hold my gun forward, tense
and afraid. I extend my arm and flip the light switch on.

Holy cripes! My apartment is completely trashed. I tentatively
step inside and turn to deadbolt the door behind me. Varg is doing a perimeter
check, growling every step of the way. I join him with my Glock, ready for
action. As far as I’m aware, the only being that would not register a soul is a
Dark Vampire since their souls have already joined Lilith. I try to leap over
the sofa cushions that have been thrown on the floor, but when my foot hits the
floor it goes flying out from under me. I land with a thump right on my butt. Stunned,
I sit there quietly until the stinging recedes, reflecting on the fact that ballet
lessons as a child might have served me well. With a glance around, I surmise
that my foot landed on a book that slid forward when I put my weight on it. Dozens
of my precious books, with pages torn and spines split, litter the floor under
the sofa cushions by my feet.

Holy smokes! I realize I’m still holding my Glock. Luckily I
didn’t accidentally set it off when I went flying. Reasoning that if someone were
going to jump out at me, they would have done it already, I carefully slide it
back in its holster. With considerable stiffness I stand up and gingerly rub my
jean-clad left butt cheek. Cripes! I’m going to have a whopping bruise
tomorrow. I carefully step over the remaining books and cushions until I make
it safely to the other side of the living room. Checking the remainder of the
apartment yields nothing—nothing but a big, fat, huge, monolithic mess.

My couch is tipped over on its front as though someone had
been examining the spring works underneath. I flip it on its feet, throw the
cushions back on, and collapse in an exhausted heap. I drop my head to my hands
and absorb the disaster. Piles of my beloved books lie around me in various
stages of destruction. I absolutely love those books. They are my treasures,
found at garage sales and picked neatly out of resale shops, fragile with age.
Exhaustion threatens to overtake me. I’m tempted to ignore the mess and bury
myself in sleep. Inviting as it sounds, the mattresses are upended and the
pillows torn to shreds. I have to deal with this now.

I stare at my chimerator with reluctance, knowing I must
inform Jack. He would be furious if I didn’t call. On the bright side, perhaps
he can arrange for an earlier appointment with the ward specialist. I bite my
lower lip in consternation. Ugh, this is not a call I want to make. With a sigh,
I flip open my chimerator and chime his line.

Jack’s handsome visage comes into view. “What’s wrong?”

I let the words tumble out of me, the quicker the better. “Jack,
my apartment was ransacked with no sign of entry. Is the ward specialist available
tonight? My apartment is becoming a public thoroughfare, and the novelty is
wearing thin.”

Jack’s eyes narrow, and even through the tiny chimerator I
can see that he’s furious. He finally speaks in a low, hard voice. “I’ll see,”
he says, and he closes the line.

I sigh at his abruptness and then force myself to stand and start
putting things to rights. My books come first. I pick them up one by one,
straightening their covers and unbending their pages to place them back in the
bookcase as carefully as I can. Three heartbreaking shelves and eleven
unsalvageable books later, I hear a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” I call.

Alexis’ strong voice answers through the door, “It’s me.
I’ve got the deworming meds for Varg.”

I jump over the piles of books still remaining to open the
door. Varg butts his head through before I can even get it fully open. Alexis’
eyes open wide at the sight of the apartment behind me. Stepping back, I allow
her entrance, waving my arm at the mess. “Welcome to my very, very humble
abode.”

Alexis demands, “Now what in God’s green Earth took place in
this apartment?”

“I won a contest and got a free home makeover.”

Alexis tilts her head at me and squints her eyes in
disbelief.

“I had a huge party, and it got a little out of hand?”

Alexis raises one perfectly arched eyebrow at me while
pursing her lips and plants a hand on her curvy and cocked hip.

“Okay, it’s the case I’m working on. I think one of the
perpetrators did this. They’re looking for something.”

Alexis looks at me questioningly. “Did they find it?”

“There’s nothing here they’d want.”

She looks around and squares her shoulders. “Well, let’s get
to it. This mess isn’t going to clean itself.”

“You don’t have to help me!”

Alexis gives me a sideways glance, and this time she raises both
of her eyebrows, clearly meaning that I have no say in this. How could I
possibly say no to a pair of arched eyebrows? Obviously I lost this battle
before it even began.

She smacks the bottle of dewormer on the table and says,
“Give him a tablespoon with his food once a day for two weeks.”

I nod obediently.

She plops a bag on the table. “I also brought you some banana
bread and some peanut butter canine cookies for Varg.”

I break into a grin. I love banana bread! Suddenly things
are looking a bit brighter. “Thank you so much!”

Alexis takes a deep breath and says, “I’ll take care of the
kitchen since you probably don’t even know what you have in there anyway.” She
forges off and starts washing the pots and pans and silverware that are all
over the floor. Self-cleaning dishes would be great right now.

I turn back to the bookshelf to continue trying to rescue my
books. After a few minutes I glance over and see that she’s filled up an entire
trash bag with broken cups, plates, and glasses. On the top of the pile I see
the remains of a broken ceramic cheese and cracker dish shaped and painted like
a penguin. Yep, I definitely don’t recall having that.

It is amazing how much easier it is to tackle this work when
a friend helps. Before Alexis finishes the kitchen, I complete the living room,
and I move on to the bathroom. Just as I’m done in the bathroom, I hear another
knock at the door. As I approach the door I feel a roll of intense rage flowing
through it. I ask, “Who’s there?”

A deep, growling voice yells through the door, “Jack.”

My heart does a little flip, and I open the door. It’s very
unusual for me to feel Jack’s feelings at all, so I’m surprised by the amount
of rage coming from him. He pushes past me and without preamble does a
perimeter check. His nostrils are flaring and his gaze is thunderous as he sees
the mess still in the bedroom. He turns to me. “Was anything taken?”

I shake my head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

Jack gestures toward the bedroom and asks, “Was it all like
that?”

I nod.

Still staring at the bedroom, Jack spits out, “They were
looking for something small.”

I look at the ripped open pillows and the feathers littering
the floor and have to agree. However, his statement makes me nervous that he’s
going to say something in front of Alexis that he shouldn’t. I quickly
intercede. “Jack, please meet my good friend Alexis.”

At that, Alexis steps into the living room, which is all of five
steps away from where she was. She smiles slyly and gives a little wave.

Jack nods and greets her shortly, hardly giving her a
glance.

I could kick him for his abrupt rudeness. He is such a
Neanderthal sometimes.

Jack looks back at me with narrowed eyes and somehow manages
to spit out between his clenched jaw, “The ward specialist can’t come until
tomorrow morning. That’s the best he can do. He has another big job right now.
I’ll sleep on the couch.”

I start to protest, but at the look of steel in Jack’s eyes
I can see it’s useless. I sigh and move to the kitchen to help Alexis finish up.

Alexis nods toward the other room where Jack is still
examining the damage and mouths, “Hot!”

I nod back and mouth, “Neanderthal!”

When we’ve finished cleaning up the last few things Alexis
announces loudly, but with a sly wink my way, “Well, I need to get going. I
have some prep work that I need to do for tomorrow.”

It’s clear she’s purposefully leaving me alone with Jack. I’m
not sure if I should smile at her or kick her. I settle on giving her a hug. After
all, you can’t really be mad at the bearer of banana bread. That outweighs most
evils.

“Thanks for the dewormer and the banana bread and the
cookies for Varg. And a big, huge thank you for helping me out.”

Alexis hugs me back. “I really approve,” she says, shifting her
eyes toward Jack, “of the name Varg, of course. Excellent choice.”

I quirk a smile, and Varg and I see her to the door, dead-bolting
it behind her.

“I need a break!” I announce to Jack. I plop down on the
sofa, stretch my legs out, and pat the sofa next to me. “Come sit with me and I’ll
give you my updates.”

Jack sits down at the far end of the sofa, stretching his
long legs out in front of him. His body is deceptively languorous, but his eyes
are the deep shadowed green of a rainforest at dusk and are filled with a gleaming,
hard glint. His face looks steely and distant. He reminds me of a panther,
savage and silent, waiting to spring. Jack gets so angry he scares people
sometimes, but for an unexplainable reason I trust unequivocally that he will
never hurt me.

“We caught the guy who hit the boy with his car. He’s at the
precinct signing a confession now.”

A little brightness returns to Jack’s eyes. I can see the
thoughts flickering behind his eyes as he works out what this means. He says,
“So a different man is looking for the amulet or they were working together.”

I shake my head. “I felt this guy. He’s a drunk who has
likely made a string of mistakes in his life, but his soul doesn’t have the
capacity for the sort of evil the torturer must have.”

Jack accepts my judgment without question and replies, “A
second man, then.”

I nod.

“I have another lead. Jason’s best friend remembered that
Jason was going to an interview to volunteer for the Sun Flare Celebration
Fireworks and Magic Show. His friend said that Jason’s gift was one of amplification.
He could make any magic stronger by multiples just by being present.”

Jack whistles and shakes his head, making his gold curls shimmer
slightly with the movement. “That is a powerful gift!”

I nod in agreement. “Fire Chief Mack leads the Fireworks and
Magic Show committee that organizes that part of the festival. He was there for
part of the interview and remembers seeing Jason there. So that makes the
interview the last place Jason was seen alive.”

Jack nods slightly at this, the implications clear.

“Chief Mack is getting me a list of everyone who was at the
interview, both the committee members and the candidates.”

Jack says, “Excellent news.”

I consider how nice it would be to just reach over and run
my fingers across the hard, angular planes of Jack’s face. Instead I launch
myself off the sofa and declare “Back to work!” as I head to the bedroom.

I pull back the curtains that separate the bedroom alcove
from the rest of the apartment. When Jack steps through the doorway to help me,
it suddenly feels very intimate to be in my bedroom with him. Thankfully I have
a huge disaster to distract me. First, Jack and I right the mattresses. Then I
get a large garbage bag and start stuffing the torn pillows and feathers in it.
I look over and see Jack dubiously eying the pile of clothes on my floor,
particularly my lacy, pink, black, satin, bowed, and animal print underthings.

I laugh and say, “Why don’t you get the feathers and I’ll
get that.”

Jack looks slightly embarrassed but very relieved as we
switch spots. I chuckle to myself because finally someone saw my fantastic
underwear, but not in quite the way I imagined.

I heap handfuls of my frilly underthings on the dresser and start
folding them one at a time. After finishing a few, I suddenly feel Jack behind
me, only inches away. His emotions are much more muted now, but I still feel
them softly. Waves of concern radiate out from him, intertwined with lust and
rage and some other subtle emotion. I can feel the heat of his body behind me. I’m
in the middle of folding a pair of red satin panties with lace side panels, but
I pause and slowly lower my arms. Is he going to kiss me? What will he do?