Cursed Web

We were sitting on the bed, talking. My grandmother Naomi was due in tomorrow, and we were slated to drive over to Bellingham International Airport to pick her up. It would be the first time I’d seen her since I was eight. We’d kept in touch, but face to face? That had been thirty-four years ago.

“I hope she’s proud of me.” I adjusted my wrap top over my jeans. It was low cut, a gorgeous cobalt blue, and it fit my curves nicely. “My parents are dead, and Aunt Teran loves me no matter what. But Nonny’s no-nonsense. She doesn’t put up with any bullshit or slackers.”

“From what she sounds like on the phone, I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Killian said. “Are you ready? We’re due at our appointment with Carrie in twenty minutes.”

Carrie Oshner ran Carrie’s Bakery & Wedding Cakes, one of the best bakeries in town. She was as skilled with a piping bag as Monet had been with a paintbrush. And we had an eleven-thirty appointment with her to discuss our wedding cake. We had originally planned to go with Sirus Barker, who owned Violet’s Tea Dreams Shop—a tea shop he named after his wife—but he and Violet had decided on a trip to Europe, and they would be gone during our wedding. He had recommended Carrie to us with glowing reviews.

So far we had booked the venue—we were getting married at Mulberry Farm’s Clydesdale Mansion. London Mulberry, a local heiress, owned a hundred acres on the outskirts of town. There were several venues for rent there, including the most prominent setting—the Clydesdale Mansion, which was on a ten-acre patch of land. With a large hall, ten bedroom suites, two large main bathrooms, a kitchen, and a spacious garden, it was the perfect place for a winter wedding. If it was raining or snowing, we’d get married in the hall. If it was clear and not too cold, we were planning an outdoor ceremony in the main gazebo. Either way, the venue was perfect.

I was still debating on whether to wear my dress. I’d unknowingly bought a haunted wedding dress that had belonged to a bride murdered by a demon. While I loved the dress and had broken the curse holding her spirit to it, every time I looked at it, I shivered. The thought of wearing a murder-dress, as I’d taken to calling it, bothered me more and more as the autumn deepened. I didn’t have much time to find a new one, but since I wasn’t planning on a traditional wedding dress, I figured the odds were with me, especially since we were headed into the holiday season when fancy clothes abounded.

Other than the dress and venue, we’d locked my grandmother Rowan into officiating. As the high priestess of the Crystal Cauldron coven, she couldn’t very well say no. We’d also taken care of the invitations and booked a caterer, and the wedding cake was the biggest decision we had left to make.

I touched up my makeup and grabbed my purse, making sure my keys were inside. Killian was driving but I never left home without keys and phone.

Xi and Klaus were sprawled out across the bed, napping. No longer kittens but still playful, they had graduated to the point where they spent a lot of their time asleep.

My gorgeous tortie and I were growing closer. Xi was growing in her power, but I wasn’t pushing her. Familiars evolved at their own pace and there was absolutely nothing you could do to speed up their development. I loved my cats like some people loved their children, but Xi and I had a special connection and now and then, when I had bad dreams, she would show up in them to protect me. Klaus seemed absolutely content with his lot in life. While he couldn’t talk to me the way Xi could, he was happy and healthy, and that was all that mattered.

At Carrie’s, we spent half an hour discussing the wedding cake and tasting samples. She had ten choices, with everything from chocolate hazelnut to honey vanilla to gingerbread to carrot cake. But Killian and I both knew what we wanted and we agreed on a three-tier dark chocolate cake with raspberry filling and Swiss meringue buttercream. Carrie would cover the cake in white fondant, wrap each tier around the bottom with a blue ribbon, and then cascade a curtain of blue roses down the sides. The design was beautiful, elegant, and magical.

Carrie boxed up the rest of the samples for us. I wanted to pay for them but she shook her head. “I’d just throw them away. I always make new samples for each client. And since you’ve already given me a deposit on the cake, you might as well take these home and enjoy them.”

It occurred to me that since we’d put down a non-refundable deposit, we might as well accept them. The cake was costing us six hundred and change.

“They’ll be gone in a couple days. Trust me,” I said, staring at the ten mini-cakes that were half-intact. Each sampler equaled about four cupcakes. Which meant we had about thirty cupcakes worth of dessert left. Really good dessert.

As we were leaving the shop, Killian’s phone rang. I took the bags from him while he answered.

“Hello?” At first he looked puzzled, but then he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and the smile slid off his face. “What? When did this happen?” His voice dipped and he caught his breath. “When?… Yes, I can make it. Where’s the funeral going to be held?”

Funeral?

Praying it wasn’t someone in his family, I watched the sky. The clouds were socking in, dark and heavy with rain. We were due for a windstorm, and I still had chores to finish in order to prepare for it. Western Washington had wild storms almost every November, and sometimes they came as early as October. High winds and heavy downpours led to trees crashing down, power outages, landslides, and urban flooding.

“Listen, Ken, can you text me the details? This is a lot to take in… Thanks, I appreciate it… Yeah, it’s going to be odd without him. I agree with you on that.” Killian pocketed his phone and reached for the bags. “Come on,” he said. “I don’t want to get soaked.”

I wanted to ask him who had died, but he seemed lost in thought. I wasn’t sure if it was grief or just shock, but whoever the news was about, it was obvious that it wasn’t some stranger or mere acquaintance. I handed him the bags and we returned to the car in silence.

***

On the way home, Killian finally spoke. “That was Ken. Remember I told you I used to go camping with a group of guys in California?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, Darby was…you might call him a frenemy. We got along for a long time, but then things changed. He was jealous of everybody about something. He wasn’t a bad-looking fellow, but he didn’t have a personality that attracted women. He was moody and passive. And then he blamed the women for not noticing him. He wasn’t exactly an incel, but he never had a second date with anybody.”

“And he was jealous of you because…?”

“He had a thing for a woman who had a crush on me. She made it abundantly clear that she was interested in me. I never asked her out because of the code. You know—you don’t date someone your friend is interested in, unless there’s an unavoidable chemistry there. And even then, you talk to your buddy first.”

I nodded. “My friends and I all had the same code, too.”

“Right. And I wasn’t interested in her. She was nice, but she wasn’t my type. But all Darby could see was that she wanted me and not him. He pretended that everything was all right, but I knew it wasn’t. After that, Darby started taking potshots at me. It was obvious that he was still bitter. It’s really a shame because he started out a good guy, but he ended up drinking too much and then, shortly before I moved up here, Darby ended up hooked on apnaeads—a similar drug to opioids for the shifter community. He got…twitchy. I wish I would have said something. Tried to get him into a facility, or something like that.”

“You can’t make somebody do something unless they’re ready.” I hesitated, then asked the question to which I already knew the answer. “How did he die?”

“He overdosed four days ago. His folks live here in Moonshadow Bay, actually. So they’ve shipped his body back here to be buried. The funeral is tonight. I know it’s short notice, but do you mind if I bail on dinner tonight?”

I got the impression that he really didn’t want to attend, but I also knew that he needed to say good-bye. Given his comment about wishing he could have helped Darby, I suspected Killian might be feeling some sort of survivor’s guilt. Or maybe he was just in shock. Either way, the funeral would probably be difficult, but my guess was that it would help in the long run.

“Better than that, I’m coming with you. I’m your fiancée, and we help each other like this.” Although I kept my thoughts to myself, it occurred to me that I might be able to sense whether Darby’s spirit was hanging around the funeral home. If so, there would be a chance I could talk to him and find some closure for both him and Killian.

Killian glanced at me as he pulled into the driveway. “Are you sure? You never met him.”

“I didn’t have to meet him. He was part of your life, and it sounds like he was a complicated part of your life. And our lives are joined together now so what affects you, affects me. Just ask his parents if you can bring your fiancée, so that they don’t feel awkward with me showing up unannounced.” I slid out of the SUV and darted up the stairs to unlock the door as the rain began to pour down. Killian followed me carrying the sample cakes.

***

“Darby’s folks don’t mind if you come to the funeral with me,” Killian said, peeking inside the kitchen where I was making dinner. “They sound grateful that anybody wants to come at all, which is sad.”

“Yeah, that is sad,” I said, staring into the fridge. “Do you want to eat before or after? We have an hour before we should leave.”

“Let’s have a snack before, and then we’ll pick up a pizza on the way home. Or chicken. Whatever you want.” Killian paused, then added, “Are you sure about this, January? I don’t want you to feel obligated. Darby and I haven’t really been friends for years. I’m going because I want to pay my respects to his family, not because I considered him a good buddy.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned over my shoulder.

I was chopping tomatoes, onion, and basil for the slow cooker. After mincing chives and tossing in some pepper, thyme, and oregano, I added sausage that I had precooked, drained, and crumbled, and turned the slow cooker to low. I was making sauce for tomorrow night’s spaghetti dinner. Nonny would be here by then, and she always talked about spaghetti being her favorite during our email chats.

“Yes, I’m sure. As long as you don’t mind me going. Now, make yourself useful and put the vegetable peelings in the compost bucket, if you would.” I washed my hands, then began washing the counter with a soapy sponge.

“When does Nonny get here?” Killian asked. “And is Teran coming over tomorrow? Given that Nonny’s her mother.”

“Yeah, Teran’s coming over in the morning, although I know they have a strained relationship. I’m not sure what happened, but every time Teran talks about her, I sense the tension. Nonny should be here by four pm, so we need to be at the airport by then.” I finished stirring the sauce and settled the lid on it. “There. The sauce will be done by the time we get home, I think. It should be safe. The slow cooker is new. Tomorrow morning, we need to finish making up the guestroom.”

“I’ll help. I promise.” Killian had volunteered to clean the guestroom and put new sheets on the bed. While he did that, I would clean the bathroom and tidy up the house.

To be honest, I was nervous about Nonny’s visit. It had been so long since I had last seen her, and while we had talked throughout the years, there was a big difference in seeing someone in person. And Nonny was stern, sometimes scary stern.

I was putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher when a flash of lightning lit up the sky. The lights flickered and I shivered as the rumble of thunder echoed through the night.

“I hope the storm doesn’t get too bad. At least not till we get home.” I wiped my hands on a tea towel, untied my apron, and glanced at the clock. “We should change clothes.”

***

As we dressed, I asked Killian about his sister.

“Have you heard from Tally lately?”

Killian’s sister had finally had her twins in July, and we had been spending a lot of time over at her house. We babysat to give Tally and Les time off. Little Victoria and Leanna were adorable. They hadn’t shifted yet—that wouldn’t come until they began to walk—but their eyes shimmered like Killian’s when he was about to shift, and they had the aura of wolf shifters.

Killian was good with the babies and, as long as he pulled diaper duty, I was fine with watching them. But babysitting had definitely reinforced my realization that I wasn’t cut out for motherhood, and even Killian mentioned how exhausting taking care of them was.

He had the patience of a saint, but then again, he worked with animals on a regular basis and that helped. By the end of our babysitting jaunts we were always relieved to head home. But we wanted to help out. We loved Tally, and Les was a nice guy, and while one baby was hard, two babies were double the trouble. So we gave them time away when we could.

“Actually, yes. Apparently my mother decided to show up on her doorstep the other day and she’s staying for a month to help out. Since my father is on a road trip with his buddies, Mom took a leave of absence from work for a few weeks and is immersing herself in being a grandmama. Tally hasn’t called the past week since she knows that your grandmother’s coming to town and we’re busy getting ready for her.”

I loved Killian’s mother almost as much as I loved his sister. Serena had welcomed me in, despite the fact that I wasn’t a shifter. In fact, a lot of wolf shifters had problems with those of us who were witchblood, but Serena and William O’Connell had taken me in as one of theirs the moment they heard we were engaged.

“We’ll invite them both over to meet Nonny. I love your mother. In fact, she spoils the mean mother-in-law cliché.” I turned. “How do I look? Properly attired for a funeral?”

I chose a black wrap dress with the silver belt for the funeral. As a nod to the weather, I was wearing knee-high boots, but I made sure they were a sedate black leather with minimal hardware.

Killian was buttoning the jacket for his black suit. “You look beautifully understated.” He glanced at the clock. “I guess we should go.”

As we headed down the stairs, I hoped the funeral wouldn’t take too long. I had a list a mile long of things I still had to do before Nonny arrived.