“Do you really think Essie would turn Linda’s daughter? It seems like such a cruel thing to do.” Sandy pushed back her dishes. “I know vampires can be nasty. I’m the first to caution people about them. But that’s downright ruthless.”
“I think Essie’s about as ruthless as they come. Sandy, what the hell are we going to do about Linda? Not only is she our High Priestess, she’s also the mayor. I understand her reasoning, but the fact is, she turned traitor to the coven and to Bedlam. This is a lot more complicated than I ever expected it to be.”
I was struggling to sort out my feelings on the subject. We couldn’t just leave things alone. Sure, if we went after Rachel as the main culprit, it would appease Essie, and remove the worry that she might strike out at Linda’s daughter. But that wasn’t an answer. The vampires would increase their control over Bedlam. Being a party to that was as good as actively working with them to destroy the town. Once they got their fangs hooked into running this island, it meant that all the Otherkin would be at their beck and call.
“We can’t let it go,” I said, making up my mind. “I don’t know if Bubba will help us, but one way or another, we have to drive them back. Linda has to resign. She can’t ever approach this objectively. Not with Patty’s life at stake.”
“Accept collateral damage?” Sandy asked. When I gave her a scathing look, she added, “I’m not judging your decision. I agree. But you know as well as I do that we’re going to be blamed for any fallout.”
“We’ve been blamed for far worse in the past.” I quieted down as Aegis returned, Delia following him. “Delia, I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk.”
She glanced at Aegis, who motioned to a chair. He looked about as happy as I felt.
“We have a problem,” she said, sitting down and resting one elbow on the table. “Did either of you know that Linda has a daughter?”
“Yeah, we just found out tonight, in fact. Why?” I shifted, suddenly chilled. Had Essie already gotten to Patty? Was the girl already dead?
“I got the strangest call twenty minutes ago from a police station down in Georgia. They told me that Linda’s daughter is in jail. They tried to contact Linda, but when they dialed the phone number the girl gave them, it rang my private line.”
Bubba meandered by, stopping to stare at us and let out a loud “’Row?”
“Yeah, I see, Bub. Thank you, buddy.” I bent down to rub his ears. “Is she safe? Patty?”
“Pa—oh, the girl. Patricia. Yes, actually. I don’t know why, but I felt compelled to tell them to keep a watch out for vampires.”
“I know why, but I’ll explain in a moment. What happened then?”
“First, I had no idea that Linda had a daughter. But when I went over to her house to tell her about the phone call, she was tossing clothes into a carry-on. She told me she already knew that Patty was in trouble. It seems somebody contacted her shortly before I arrived. Linda is heading to Georgia immediately. When I asked how she was going to get to the airport—I was planning on offering her a ride—she said she didn’t need a plane.” Delia tapped her fingers on the table. “She can’t fly, can she?”
I shook my head. “No witch I know can. Spells like that? Along with teleportation? Those are abilities only the most ancient and powerful witches have. Invisibility is a different matter. I don’t know how she’s planning to get there, but you can bet that she’ll find a way.”
“Did the Georgia police say why Patty was in jail?” Sandy broke in.
“Yes. Somehow the girl managed to get away from her caretaker. Patricia was picked up on the street after a man called the police to report that he was with a confused woman who kept telling him she had been kidnapped and needed to call her mother. But when she gave the cops Linda’s name and phone number, the phone number was mine. I have no idea how the mix up occurred, but I told the cops I’d contact Linda.”
Bubba jumped up on the table and flopped on his side next to one of the empty plates. He started to purr so loudly that the rumble echoed through the air. I reached over to give him another ear rub. Sandy let out a muffled snort.
“I wonder how Linda found out. Do you know?” Aegis began to clear the table.
Delia caught my attention and held it for a moment, her dark eyes flashing. “Actually, yes. She told me that Rachel called her and told her. Now, how would Rachel know about that?”
How indeed, unless Essie had gotten a call from Kali, and Rachel had managed to listen in somehow. As in possibly a bug planted in Essie’s lair? That was my best guess.
I turned to Sandy. “I wonder if Linda can make it before Essie’s goons can get there?”
Sandy rubbed her chin. “Who in Bedlam is capable of casting a teleportation spell? That’s the only way Linda can make it down there that fast. If she can manage that, she can get there faster than Essie can send her hit squad.”
“ ‘Essie’s hit squad’? What’s Essie got to do with this?” Delia cleared her throat. “If you know something about this, I’d appreciate it if you would enlighten me.”
“We’ll tell you in a minute.” I turned to Sandy. “So who in Bedlam is capable of casting that potent a spell? Nobody in our coven, for sure.”
Sandy jumped up. “I know who. You’ve never met her. She moved to Bedlam a few years back and she keeps to herself. I doubt if hardly anybody on the island knows who she is.” She grabbed her coat. “She refuses to even have a telephone in the house, so we’re going to have to drive out there.”
“You’re talking about Auntie Tautau, aren’t you?” Delia asked.
I stared at them. “Auntie? We have an Auntie living in the town?”
Aunties were incredibly powerful witches. In fact, we weren’t even sure if they belonged to our kind. But they were all extremely old, and extremely irreverent, and they belonged to no coven or circle or any other group.
“Right.” Sandy motioned to Aegis and me. “Come on, we need to head over there. Aegis, you come with us. We’ll want the protection in case Essie’s on the prowl tonight. Or Rachel, for that matter.”
“We really need to change clothes first. Aegis, you run out to Sandy’s car and get her other things while we head upstairs to change. Delia, we’ll tell you everything, I promise. But we have to make certain Linda’s safely away first.”
Delia looked ready to grumble, but finally just shrugged. “Hurry up, then.”
Sandy and I dashed upstairs. I was halfway through changing when Aegis peeked in the door and tossed Sandy her tote bag with her regular clothes in it. He vanished again before we could say anything.
“How come you never told me about Auntie Tautau? Since when did an Auntie move to Bedlam?”
Sandy shimmied into her jeans and shirt. “Oh, some time ago. She’s so old that she could have easily known Merlin. I don’t know where she’s originally from, but she’s lived all over. She moved into a cottage on the outskirts of Bedlam and though she makes regular trips into town, she cloaks up. She’s one of those people nobody seems to see unless she’s got a good reason. I’m not sure Essie even knows she exists.”
I had never met an Auntie before, but I had known other people like that during my life. They glided through life, making massive impressions on select groups of people, but to the rest of the world, they remained unknown and uncounted.
“If anybody on the island could cast a teleportation spell, it would be her. And Linda spent a lot of time out at Auntie Tautau’s place.” Sandy buckled her belt and we headed downstairs.
Aegis was waiting, leather jacket on, holding our coats for us.
Delia held up her keys. “We can all fit in the squad car, so let’s take that. I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s safety in numbers and if Essie has anything to do with this—it’s dark, and there are vampires roaming.” Delia paused. “No offense, Aegis. It’s just not all of your kind wish us as much good fortune as you do.”
He shrugged it off. “Not a problem. I’m certainly not going to argue the point with you. Not with Rachel and Essie on the loose.”