Cursed: St. Croix Falls #2 Page 6

  “Joelin will continue to patrol,” Ryker said, glancing at his friend.

  Joelin didn’t look happy about that, but he nodded anyways. “I’m one of the best trackers,” he said in his deep voice.

  Rhett stepped forward, his jaw clenched. “Not to downplay your tracker skills, but I don’t think that’s good enough,” he said.

  All eyes turned on him. Ryker’s eyes narrowed. Joelin folded his big, beefy arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means, there’s a town full of humans and Fae who are at the mercy of the Farr Darrig until it is stopped.”

  “And you think it’s a good idea to tell everyone about a creature who kills with fear is running around the town?” Ryker asked with a snap to his voice.

  Rhett scowled. “Of course not. But I do think we need to get the proper authorities involved.”

  Angie’s eyes widened and she raised her hands. “Yes! Chief Sing will know what to do.”

  “Wait a second,” Mia said, making everyone’s attention turn to her. “Do you really think the police have the power to stop a Farr Darrig?”

  “There are quite a few Fae on the force Mia,” Rhett explained. “Chief Sing is Fae himself. Before the border between worlds closed, Sing had a lot of friends in town and very few enemies, so when we got locked in this town, he has a level head in bad situations and is a peacemaker. Everyone has elected him as police chief ever since. They trust him. If anyone can help deal with this while keeping it under the radar, it’s him.”

  “So you suggest we go to him?” Ryker asked, not sounding happy about it.

  Rhett faced him, arms folded. “Yes, I do. I think the more people combing the town for this thing the better.”

  Ryker seemed to consider it, the two locked in a staring contest. Mia held her breath, waiting for one of them to crack. Ryker was the first to glance away. His jaw clenched as he nodded, relenting. “Very well, but I still want Joelin on this. If anyone can find this creature, it’s him. As for the rest of us we should get back and continue training. The sooner we open the portal the better.”

  “Maybe not,” Mia muttered.

  Everyone turned to glance at her. Mia’s face heated. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that out loud.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Ryker asked, eyes narrowing.

  “Just that if a Farr Darrig can get through with a few seconds to spare then what else will come through and terrorize the town when the portal is open for good? This may be in your best interest, and the Fae in the town’s best interest, but the humans would be defenseless.”

  Rhett stepped forward, arms folded. “Once the door is open and we get across, we’ll be sure to implement some new rules and spells to make sure no unnecessary visitors can get through.”

  Mia still wasn’t so sure about that but instead of saying it out loud she kept that thought to herself. “Sorry if that doesn’t inspire confidence in me but fine, whatever. I just hope you know what you’re doing in opening a portal to a bunch of dangerous Fae who could come in and do anything they want to the humans of this town.”

  Ryker scowled. “I do.”

  “I hope so,” she murmured before letting out a heavy sigh and turning to the others. “I guess we should get back to training then.”

  They all started back toward the car. Half way to his car though, Kai pulled his phone out. He grimaced down at the screen. Angie and Mia frowned, pausing. Mia glanced back. “What’s wrong?”

  Kai rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head. “I got a text... from my family. There’s a meeting. I can’t miss it. Sorry Mia.”

  Angie’s lips turned down and she wrapped her arms tighter around his arm, leaning into him. “We understand,” she murmured, leaning up on her tip toes to peck him on the cheek. “You go ahead.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to, but... I should...”

  “Of course,” Angie said, perking up with a bright smile. She was putting on a good face for him. She was a good girlfriend. “You go. I know how important your family is to you.”

  “OK... Sorry Mia. Wish I didn’t have to go.”

  Mia waved his apology away. “It’s fine Kai. The less people there to watch my humiliation, the better.”

  That awarded her a small smile. “You’re not that bad.”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “Oh whatever. Just go already before I smack you.”

  He snickered and glanced at Angie, clasping her hand with his. “Will you give me a ride there since you picked me up?”

  “Of course! I’ll be back as soon as I drop him off Mia, I hope that’s OK,” Angie said, glancing over Mia’s shoulder at Rhett. Her smile turned down into a disapproving frown.

  Mia forced a smile. Like she said, the less people to witness her humiliating training sessions the better. “Sure, no problem.”

  “Alright, and then we can go out to lunch or something? I have another box of books to donate to your mom’s so we can stop by there too,” she said.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Great! See ya in a bit.” She wiggled her fingers at Mia and followed Kai to her car.

  Kai waved too and Mia grinned, waving back. She watched the two of them get in Angie’s hot pink car and drive away. When she turned around, she realized she was stuck with Ryker and Rhett for the rest of the evening.

  Meeting back at Rhett’s house, Ryker had wanted her to go three hours, but Mia had said she needed to eat lunch, or she would pass out from starvation. Ryker had seemed skeptical but didn’t argue with her. For once.

  When they got back to Rhett’s backyard, Ryker said he was going to get something to drink –presumably only for himself because he was nice like that – and left Rhett and Mia alone. Rhett raised his eyebrows at her when Ryker shut the back door behind him. “So, before we start training, how’s about we go say hi to the police chief?”

  Mia raised her eyebrows. She folded her arms as she glanced over his shoulder at the back door where Ryker had gone. “I don’t think Ryker would like that very much.”

  Rhett smirked, winking. “All the more reason to do it. You in? I’m sure you could use a break from training.”

  He had a point there. The last thing Mia wanted to do after a morning of running around the woods trying to find a monster, was coming home and do more training. She could use a break. Plus, like she said, Ryker wouldn’t like it very much. So why not?

  “Sure,” she said at last.

  Rhett grinned back and grabbed her hand, leading her back around the side of his house to the driveway. They got into his car and before Ryker could stop them, they sped away toward the police station. Mia just hoped Chief Sing would be able to help as much as Rhett thought he could.

  Chapter Ten

  Turns out half the police force was Fae. Mia wouldn’t have ever predicted that they would integrate Fae with humans in the police department. The Fae couldn’t stand the humans in this town and vice versa. Though now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen any human’s hostile toward Fae. It was always the other way around.

  Mia followed Rhett inside where he tapped his knuckles against the front counter where a handsome Fae with a chiseled jaw and sparkling green eyes sat behind the glass. He glanced up and when he saw Rhett, his lips split into a wide grin. “Rhett, what brings you down here?” he asked. “Long time no see.”

  Rhett smirked and leaned both forearms on the counter. “I need to see Sing. It’s very important.”

  The Fae officer quirked an eyebrow. “I’m sure. Well, you’re in luck. He’s in his office. You can go right in.”

  “Thanks Lark.” Rhett spun around and gestured for Mia to follow him. Mia gave the officer a small smile and wave when she caught him staring. He gave her a sarcastic salute. Mia grinned as she turned to follow Rhett through the busy station. Fae and human officers alike sat at desks typing on computers and writing reports. Others were headed in or out of the precinct. Rhett seemed to know his way around, heading for the back of the r
oom.

  Mia fell into step beside him as more than a few eyes turned to stare at her. “Seems you know your way around here,” she muttered.

  Rhett flashed her a grin. “I come around every once in a while. Sing’s a good friend.”

  “You said that before, when Ryker attacked me.”

  “He’s a loyal guy. Dependable, justice-oriented. He was commander of my father’s guard in Faerie, so I guess it should be no surprise he ended up in charge of the guardians of this town,” Rhett explained as they stopped in front of a fogged glass door with a plaque that said Chief Sing on it.

  Rhett knocked as he opened the door and peeked his head in. “Anyone home?” he called.

  “Rhett, come in,” a warm voice said from inside.

  Rhett smirked, opening the door wider so Mia could enter first. He shut the door behind him as they entered a small but cozy office. A desk sat in front of them, a book case to the right and a wall filled with a cork board on the left. Chief Sing’s sky-blue eyes glanced between the two of them as he smiled and shut a file he had been looking over. “Rhett, what brings you here?”

  “You know, Lark just asks me the same question. Apparently, I need to make a habit of coming down here more if people are going to act all shocked when I visit,” Rhett said with a teasing twist to his voice.

  Chief Sing grinned as he got to his feet and shook Rhett’s hand warmly. The police chief had the Fae’s youthful good looks with a disarming smile, tousled blond hair and a smooth, tan complexion. Everything about his facial features was smooth and calming, not a single sharp angle or edge to be seen. Even his pointed ears seemed less pointy than the others.

  His gaze flitted to Mia and his eyes widened as he held his hand out to her. “Amelia Avery. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, taking her hand.

  Mia smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “All good things I hope,” he said, giving Rhett a wink.

  “Rhett sings your praises,” Mia confirmed.

  “Of course he does,” Sing said with a wink. He folded his arms and glanced between the two of them.

  “So what brings you two to my precinct?”

  Rhett glanced over his shoulder at the door. Mia couldn’t blame him for wanting to be careful with this information. He turned back to Chief Sing and let out a sigh. “Seems we have a killer on the loose.”

  The Fae chief’s eyes narrowed. His expression darkened as he nodded grimly. “I’m aware. First the Fae a few weeks ago and now the girl in the woods.”

  “Pookas have also been going missing,” Mia added, leaning forward on her feet. “We ran into some, and they seemed pretty concerned about their siblings.”

  Chief Sing rubbed at his jaw, his lips forming a thin line. “I see. I’m afraid the pooka are hard to track and they don’t accept our help, so I had no idea. We’ll keep a look out in the woods.”

  “It’s more than that,” Rhett interjected, catching the chief’s attention. “We think we know what it is. You are aware of our two, ah, new guests who managed to pry open the door to Faerie long enough to get through?”

  “I’ve heard some rumors,” the chief confirmed.

  “Well seemed they weren’t the only ones that got through. They think a Farr Darrig snuck by when they weren’t looking.”

  Chief Sing’s eyes hardened. He glanced between the two of them. “You’re sure? That’s a pretty heavy accusation.”

  Rhett nodded. “Positive. Check the autopsies yourself, I’m sure the deaths will fit a Farr Darrig’s MO.”

  Chief Sing nodded, folding his arms. “I’ll do that. If it is one of those disgusting creatures, then we need to get on this as soon as possible.”

  “That’s why we came,” Mia said, grimacing. “We didn’t think we could hunt it down by ourselves and we thought you might be able to help.”

  “We also didn’t think it wise to go broadcasting it to the whole town,” Rhett added.

  The chief nodded. “That was a smart move on your part. I’ll check the autopsies and have some of my best officers on this immediately. If there is a Farr Darrig in town again, we’ll make sure to get rid of it. I don’t need another murder spree on my hands.”

  “Another?” Mia asked, glancing between the two of them with wide eyes. No one had told her there had been a murder spree before this.

  “It was a long time ago,” Rhett assured her.

  “When we first arrived in town. A few of the nastier creatures we were fighting against got stuck here too, and decided to make the most of it... It took quite a while, but we eventually got rid of all of them. If another is back in town, we need to get this taken care of before anyone finds out.”

  “I knew we could trust you to get the job done. We’ll also be keeping our eyes, and ears open as well,” Rhett promised.

  The chief nodded. “Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I suppose I have some investigating to do.”

  “Sure thing. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Sing,” Rhett said, raising a hand in a wave.

  The chief gave a small nod at him. “Of course. You’re welcome here any time Rhett. You too, Miss. Avery.”

  Mia smiled. “Thanks for the help.”

  With that, she followed Rhett out of the room. They wound their way out of the busy precinct out into the parking lot to his car. “You were right,” Mia said as she got into the passenger seat. “He is really nice.”

  Rhett grinned. “Not all Fae are two-faced. Some are too honest for their own good. Sing is one of them.”

  “I don’t think it’s possible to be too honest,” Mia argued as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  Rhett quirked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, trust me. It is. Anyways, why don’t we go get some training done. I know the perfect place.”

  Mia gave him a look as he turned away from town and headed toward the woods. “I can’t. I told Angie I’d meet up with her for lunch... So if you drop me off back at home that would be much appreciated.”

  For a second Mia thought he would keep driving, but then he sighed and did a U-turn. “Fine. Another time then.”

  “Another time,” Mia promised. For now, though, she needed some time with Angie.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I’m just worried about him,” Angie said, plopping a fry into her mouth as they sat down in a booth at Connie’s that evening. Connie’s Corner Diner was a quaint little restaurant on a corner in the middle of town and was run by Connie, of course, a nymph with a true gift at imbuing her food with addictingly yummy magical flavors. Mia could eat her fries and milkshakes every day for the rest of her life and never get tired of them. She felt bad having not spent a lot of time with Angie or Kai in the past week. Mia had gotten so caught up in her training she’d been spending way too much time with Rhett and Ryker.

  Mia hadn’t even known Kai was having trouble with his family until now... She needed to do a better job at paying more attention to her friends and not throwing them to the way side just because of her training.

  “His family needs to chill out,” Mia agreed, sipping her vanilla shake. “I know he feels responsible for what his stupid cousin did to me at the lake, but I wish he’d realize it’s not his fault.”

  Angie nodded with a frown as the door to the diner opened and shut. Her eyes darkened when she glanced over Mia’s shoulder. “Don’t look now, but your arch enemy is here.”

  Mia tensed. Lilac. Her grip on her Styrofoam cup tightened as she turned in her seat to glare at the half shifter-half-Sidhe-Unseelie. Lilac was beautiful like every other Fae with smooth caramel skin and amethyst hair that were now styled in long dreadlocks that fell down to the middle of her back and were woven with ribbons and beads. She looked ethereal and wholly gorgeous in a leopard print maxi skirt, and a knotted white t-shirt.

  Lilac’s plum-hued eyes caught Mia staring and her perfect pink lips twisted up into a smile. Her posse of girls followed her as she strutted over to their table and stopped in front of
them, hand on hip. “Well, well, well, have a nice swim?” she asked, eyes dancing with malicious mischief.

  Mia scowled, her anger bubbling to the surface. “You’re going to regret that,” she threatened.

  Lilac’s eyes hardened. She planted a hand on the table between her and Angie, leaning down to get all up in Mia’s face. “You and Rhett made a big mistake at the dance. If he thinks he can throw on his old crown and parade you around in a circlet and everyone will bow down to him again he has another thing coming. I’m in charge now. Everyone looks to me. My father was a lord in Faerie, second to the king. No one respects Rhett or acknowledges him as prince anymore and no one will ever bow down to you. You will never be princess or queen.”

  Mia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Was that what all of this was about? Old fashioned fairy-tale jealousy? Mia had known Lilac had it out for her since the moment she arrived in St. Croix Falls, but she had assumed it was because Mia had shut the barrier and locked them all out of Faerie. Or maybe because she had helped to give Rhett his confidence back. Or both. But this? This was ridiculous.

  Mia grinned. “Are you serious right now? You’re jealous of me because you think I’m going to become queen? What are you going to do? Murder me in my sleep to secure your chances at royalty? Well, you don’t have to worry Lilac. Rhett and I aren’t even together anymore. I have no plans to steal the crown or whatever and if you think you’re going to be the queen one day? Let me tell you a secret: Rhett doesn’t like you. At all. So, queen? Never going to happen.”

  Lilac turned her nose up at her. “I don’t want anything to do with Rhett,” she sniffed. “You would both make horrible rulers, especially you. None of the people would ever accept a half-breed human Seelie as their princess anyways.”

  “Says the half-breed nymph,” Angie interjected.

  Lilac shot her a venomous glare. “You’re nothing.”

  Mia’s anger surfaced and she got to her feet, getting all up in Lilac’s face now. “Don’t talk to her like that,” she growled.