A Witch's Journey Read online

  Red patches bloomed on Tammy’s cheeks. “Oh, I didn’t mean to imply…We did receive the change of ownership papers from Mr. Fairbanks. And of course, we can handle the transfer. Do you have the account numbers and identification?”

  “I do.” Pepper handed Tammy a driver’s license and the account transfer form.

  The woman reviewed the documents. “Oh, this will be easy. I’ll give your bank a call and get the ball rolling.” Tammy walked to the back counter, conferred with another woman, then made a phone call. The other woman glanced in Pepper’s direction and returned to the first teller window.

  Tammy came back to the counter. “All set. The bank will wire the money tomorrow morning. Your funds will be available by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Great. Thanks.” Pepper turned to leave.

  “Are you going to turn the McKay property into a wildlife refuge?”

  Pepper’s eyebrows shot up to almost her hairline. She whirled around and stared at Tammy. “Where’d you hear that?”

  “It’s on the council’s agenda next Friday,” she said wincing. “The whole town is talking about it. Most like the idea, but some…don’t like change.”

  “The main focus is a wildlife rescue and rehab. But there are always a few animals, due to their injuries, that can’t be released back into the wild. For them, I have a network of sanctuaries to contact for permanent placement. Under special conditions, I will have accommodations for those who have special needs and can’t be handled elsewhere. So they’ll live out their lives with me at the center, but that’s a small percentage.”

  “Well, I think it’s a wonderful idea. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” She shook her head. Boy, news does travel fast around here. As she pulled out her cell phone, it chimed in her hand.

  “Hi, Lathen.”

  “Hi, yourself. Ready for lunch? I can pick you and the bike up at town square in ten minutes. That way you don’t have to bike across town to Mariner’s.”

  “How’d you know where my bike is?”

  Lathen chucked over the phone. “You can’t do anything in this town, without someone noticing. Especially, if you’re new.”

  “So I’ve noticed. The teller at Morgan’s asked me about the wildlife center. I guess if it’s on the agenda, the whole town knows.”

  “Yep. That’s about it. But it’s a good little town.”

  “Meet you at the town square.” She shoved the phone in her pocket, waved to Tammy, and pushed out the door. Sprinting across Pine Avenue and up Main Street, Pepper nearly collided with Kate on the corner of Maple, next to Maggie’s. Kate sent her a scathing look as Pepper hot-footed it across the street. At the gazebo, she turned to see that Kate was still standing on the corner, sucked in a breath, and unlocked the bike lock, in time to see Lathen’s truck stop on Main. Pepper hopped on the bike and coasted to the truck. Lathen tossed the bike in the bed and helped Pepper into the truck, then ambled to his side of the truck, climbed in, and headed to Mariner’s.

  “Is Kate going to be a problem?”

  “No, she won’t,” he said firmly.

  Upon their arrival, Lathen waved to Roark, one of the owners of Mariner’s, and pointed to the back deck with the picnic tables. “Okay if we just head out there? Like the view.”

  “Sure. Might be a bit breezy,” Roark said picking up two menus and following Lathen. “Rain’s supposed to move in later this evening.”

  “Those clouds been hanging on the horizon all morning. It’s actually warming up nicely…for now.” Lathen grinned and inclined his head toward Pepper. “Roark, I’d like you to meet Pepper. She inherited the McKay place from Ashling. Pepper, Roark Sullivan owns this place with his wife, Dawn. Their daughter Malinda works here too.”

  “Roark, it’s a pleasure,” Pepper said extending her hand.

  He clasped her hand and said, “Nice to meet you too, Pepper. You’re the marine biologist turned wildlife rehab specialist. Right?”

  “Yes, but…”

  Roark waved his hand. “Oh, Ashling used to talk about you quite a bit, before she passed, then Colleen kept us up to date on your adventures. They were very proud of your accomplishments.” He started to hand the menus to Lathen. “Malinda will be by to take your orders when you decide.”

  Lathen held up his hand and waved the menus aside. “We don’t need menus.” He glanced at Pepper and winked. “Tell Malinda, we’ll have two lobster dinners, iced teas, and a couple slices of your famous blueberry pie with ice cream for dessert. Mind if we wander over to the lighthouse for a few?”

  “Not at all. But don’t be long.”

  After they checked out the lighthouse and the ocean view from the second story deck, Pepper picked out a picnic table in the center of the Mariner’s outside area next to the railing. The sun reflected off the waves as the light breeze carried with it a heavy scent of brine. Pepper watched the harbor seals frolic in the water, then crawl out of the ocean to sun themselves on boulders. Closer to the deck, seagulls squawked at each other and shoved one another off the tall, jagged rocks protruding from the sea.

  A waitress stopped by the table with two tall glasses of iced tea with slices of lemons on the rim. “Lunch will out in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks,” he said emptying a couple of sugar packets into the tea, squeezed the lemon over the glass, stirred, and tasted the refreshing liquid. “Mmmm…that’s good.”

  Pepper picked up her glass and took a sip. “After you left yesterday afternoon, Ember wandered onto the porch and ate. I was sitting not more than two feet from the bowl the whole time. She’s making good progress.”

  “You’ve named her. Sure it’s a female?”

  “Pretty much. She’s going to fit right in, I can tell.”

  Lathen raised a brow. “If you say so.” He slid the half-full iced tea glass to the center of the table as he saw Malinda heading in their direction with a tray full of food.

  On the table, she slipped the plates with steaming lobster, small dishes of melted butter, and a basket of rolls in front of Pepper and Lathen. “I’ll be back to refill your glasses. Need anything else?”

  “Nope, we’re good,” he said forking up a piece of lobster, dipped in the butter, and popped it in his mouth. “Mmmmm, hits the spot.”

  Pepper slid a bite dripping with butter into her mouth. “Oh yeah, this is heaven. I worked up an appetite wandering around town. I’ll need to bike back home to work off the calories.”

  “Calorie-free today only,” he teased.

  Malinda brought two large pieces of pie and ice cream to the table. “Figured since your meal was calorie free, I’d upsize the pieces of pie.” She grinned and picked up the empty dinner plates.

  Peppers eyes rounded as she stared at the dessert. “I can’t eat all this.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll take what’s left home with me.” He reached for her plate.

  “Like hell you will.” She slapped his hand. “I’ll have the pie put in a small box and stuff it in my backpack.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  After they had finished eating, Lathen stood and extended a hand to help Pepper to her feet. “I gotta get back to work, but tomorrow, I’ve planned a surprise for you. If you’re free. Pick you up in the morning around eight o’clock?”

  She nodded slowly. “Sure, but I’m not really fond of surprises.”

  “Oh, you’ll love this one. Trust me.”

  “Will we be gone long? I need to plan for Kaylee’s food. I’m not comfortable leaving her out all day, yet.”

  “Yep, we’ll be gone all day. Is that a problem?”

  “No, just need to prepare for it. Make sure Ember’s bowl is full before we leave. Things like that.”

  Lathen took the bike out of the back of his truck. “You sure you don’t want me to drive you home? That hill is a lot easier coasting down than peddling up.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. After that lunch, I need the exercise.”

  His gaze meandered over every inch of he
r body. “You look fine to me. In fact, more than fine, downright delectable,” he said nibbling at the base of her throat.

  “Stop that. You’ll have the whole town talking about us.” She pushed him away but not before planting a smacking kiss on his lips.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. They already are.”

  She slapped at him before mounting her bike. “See you tomorrow morning.”

  “Yep.”

  In the lowest gear of her mountain bike pumping hard up the steep incline to her cabin, her legs ached, sweat dripped off her chin, as she gulped in air. Hell, I’m not even sure I’m going to make it all the way. Why didn’t I listen to Lathen? After a few more minutes, Pepper jumped off the bike and stumbled over to a boulder beside the road, nearly toppling over. That was it. She plopped down to rest. She wiped her face and neck with the bottom of her shirt and waited for her breathing to return to normal, then pushed the bike up the road. The cabin was a welcome sight as she trudged up the driveway.

  Once inside, she opened the door to the aviary, then padded back to the living room and collapsed on the sofa. With a whistle and the beat of wings, Kaylee entered the room, landed on her perch next to the couch, and tilted her head at Pepper, as if to say, what’s the matter with you?

  Pepper relayed her day’s adventures to the bird. After she had finished, Kaylee whistled and flew back to the aviary. Within a few minutes, Kaylee returned, this time her whistle shrill and impatient. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re hungry.” Pepper hobbled to the aviary, pulled out fresh fish from the fridge, and tossed a large one in the air. Kaylee swooped, caught it, and landed on a branch to pick at the fish.

  “Soon, you’ll be able to hunt for yourself. Won’t that be fun?” Pepper sat on the chair inside the aviary to watch Kaylee tear at the fish and gobble the meat. Thinking back years ago when she had to hand feed the young osprey to keep it alive.

  Exhausted, Pepper returned to the living room, stretched out on the couch, and flipped on the TV, tuning into a detective program she liked.

  ****

  Outside a dog’s menacing growls, followed by a man’s cursing and screaming, then a squeal and thud had Pepper on her feet running for the door. As she skidded to a stop with her hand on the door handle, she remembered what happened the last time she opened the door without looking first. She flipped on the security lights and pulled the edge of the curtain aside. The barking, snarling dog had someone pinned to the ground with its front paws, teeth bared, its muzzle only inches from the man’s face. She swiped a log from the woodpile and stepped out onto the porch. Right away, she recognized Mr. Green as he squirmed from under the dog who had a deep gash above its right eye. A thick iron rod lay on the ground a few feet above Mr. Green’s head.

  “What the hell are you doing here, and what have you done to my dog?” Pepper shouted flinging the log to the ground and yanking her cell phone out of her pocket. She tapped in 9-1-1, the operator answered on the first ring. “This is Pepper McKay.” That was all she had time to say, so she left the line open. When she circled her arm above her head, the wind picked up. As she spread her fingers wide, the rain came down in sheets, lightning streaked through the night sky, and thunder shook the ground. The dog glanced up at Pepper, blood clouding its eye, barked once, and barreled into the woods. Mr. Green started to get up off the ground, and Pepper shoved her foot on top his chest. “Don’t move. Or I’ll…”

  “You’ll what?” Mr. Green rolled to the side and grabbed Pepper’s leg. Slick due to the rain, he couldn’t hold on and Pepper kicked his side and jumped out of reach.

  She sliced her arm through the air. Unseen forces slammed Mr. Green to the ground. His eyes glowed an eerie green. Pain erupted in Pepper’s head. He was drawing on her magic. Suddenly, a rainbow shower of knife-sharp feathers zoomed out of the cabin door, across the air, and sliced through the man’s clothes, pinning him to the ground. Red and blue flashing lights reflected against the cabin’s wet exterior. The sirens’ wail echoed all around her, and Kaylee’s scream broke through the chaos, then everything went black.

  Chapter Eight

  Seeing Is Believing—But Not Always

  Lathen slammed on the brakes as he turned into the driveway behind the police vehicle. A rainbow of slivers rose from the ground and streaked into the cabin. He rubbed his eyes, shook his head, and jumped to the ground searching for Pepper. The 9-1-1 call came in at the police station as he’d finished the wiring and was testing the computers. When he arrived, she was lying on the ground, and Kaylee circled above her screeching. As he knelt over her, she bolted upright.

  “She’s hurt, Ember’s hurt. She tried to protect me. We gotta find her.” Pepper struggled to her feet, pushing Lathen aside. He grabbed her arm, and she wobbled righting herself against his massive chest.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” he said firmly.

  She twisted out of his arms. “Yes, I am, and you’re going to help me. Don’t you understand, she tried to protect me. Green swung at her with that metal pry bar, connecting above her eye. She was bleeding profusely and may have a head injury. She’ll die without our help,” Pepper wailed. Still woozy, she staggered forward, then fell against Lathen’s shoulder, looking toward the trees.

  Officer Harris frowned and shot Lathen a look. “Everything all right over here?”

  Lathen nodded. “Yes, we’re good. Apparently, Mr. Green hurt her dog.”

  Nate Harris hauled Mr. Green to his feet and propped him against the huge tree in the front yard. “What is going on here?”

  Mr. Green mumbled something about being attacked by a huge black monster and a flying demon from hell. Once the paramedics cleaned him up and determined his injuries were not life-threatening, he refused treatment, and Office Harris placed him in the back of the squad car.

  Lathen took hold of Pepper’s shoulders. “Okay. Okay. Calm down. Do you know where she ran off too?” Leaning toward her, he whispered, “You know she won’t let anyone near her.”

  “She will. Things changed the instant she tried to protect me and he hit her with the bar. I felt it, heard her whimper, yet she still kept him pinned to the ground. Ember only ran away when the police got here, Kaylee showed up, and the feathers—oh, never mind.”

  Lathen blew out a breath and slid an arm around her waist. “Oh, there’s going to be a lot of explaining about those feathers. They look like the ones hanging on your wall. I hope I’m the only one that saw them returning to the cabin. What the hell, Pepper?”

  Officer Harris strode back to where they stood interrupting the conversation. “Can I get a statement, Ms. McKay?”

  She hurriedly relayed what happened, leaving out a few hard to explain details as a paramedic joined them.

  “I need to get you checked out.”

  Frustrated, she blew out a breath. “I’m fine. But my dog is going to die if I don’t get her some help.” She glanced pleadingly at Lathen and shifted her eyes to the paramedic. “Please, I’m fine. A little wobbly on my feet.” She acknowledged, not telling them out the pounding headache. “Let me find my dog, then you can check me out.”

  “No, ma’am, it doesn’t work like that.” He flicked a tiny flashlight across her eyes, checked her vitals. “Your pulse is racing.”

  “No shit. Just had an altercation with a mad man. And my dog…”

  “I understand. You seem to be all right, but if you…”

  “I won’t. Now pplleassse.” She begged.

  “Okay, sign this release indicating you declined medical treatment, and you’re free to go.” The paramedic shook his head.

  She took a deep breath, signed the damned release, handed it back to the paramedic, and turned her attention to Lathen. “I’m not sure what’s going on myself. But right now”—Pepper tugged him toward the edge of the forest—“we gotta find Ember. She’s this way.”

  They stumbled across the clearing lit by the crescent moon and flashlight beams sweeping in front of the cabin. Lathen’s preternatural vis
ion located Ember lying in the tall grass, a few yards inside the forested area.

  Pepper knelt down beside her. “Can you walk?”

  The dog struggled to its feet only to collapse on the ground with a howl. Its pleading eyes turned on Pepper, then Lathen, as its head slumped to the ground.

  She looked across the field to where the emergency vehicles were still parked. “I’ll stay here with Ember. There is a sling harness with leashes attached at either side and a canvas body carrier in a cardboard box in the spare room at the end of the hall. The box is labeled rehab and emergency supplies. It’s on top of several containers stacked in the corner. Would you get it?”

  “Sure.” Lathen hurried across the clearing and into the cabin, emerging a short time later with the box. “Couldn’t tell what you wanted, so I brought it all.”

  “Thanks. She’s drifting in and out of consciousness, so we’ll use the carry sling.” Pepper unfolded a large piece of canvas with cloth handles, rolled the dog onto the material.

  Lathen grabbed both sides of the sling and hefted Ember from the ground. “Pepper, you hold on to my waist, and we’ll all make it back to the cabin safely.”

  By the time they reached the cabin, only Chief Johnson remained. “I’ve called the vet. Dylan Foster was on call. She should be here soon.”

  “Call her back, don’t want to bother her. I can handle it,” Pepper said, her hand tingling as she caressed the dog, soothing it into a relaxed state.

  “No. After what you’ve been through tonight, you can’t,” Lathen growled. He’d seen the toll magic took on a practitioner and knew Pepper wasn’t up to it.

  The chief glanced from Lathen to Pepper, cell phone still to his ear. “Already done. She’s on her way. Lathen, you got things here?”

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  “In the morning, I’ll need you both at the station for additional statements to help clear up this mess. Mr. Green will spend the night in jail.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  By the time Pepper spread a blanket over the coffee table and Lathen eased the dog on it, Dr. Foster strode through the open door. After a thorough exam, she determined that it was a glancing blow that split the skin above the Ember’s eye. It took fourteen stitches to close the wound.