Part 7

I prepared my own tea. I may be a basket case but I could do something that simple, especially since Trish did have an unopened box of my favorite chamomile tea in the grocery bag she brought inside. No way was I eating or drinking anything Krys had here, and she knew that. I even washed the cups and tea pot with the little bottle of unopened Dawn dish soap that was also in the grocery bag. The only thing I was sure of was that Krys couldn’t put anything in stuff she hasn’t touched yet.
Last time I had been here, when Trish had brought me home with her for Thanksgiving our freshman year, Krys and Trish’s mother Annabell had tried to get me to go on a vision quest thing, to remember my past lives and unlock my magical potential and all that garbage. When I said no they gave me mushroom tea, the psychedelic kind, without telling me and to say I had a bad trip would be the understatement of the century. I still get nightmares from it. I had sworn to never come back, but we all have our price, even me. I would deal with the Boogywoman if it meant being saved from the devil.
Trish sat at the island, a can of Dr. Pepper in front of her, as she scowled at me. “Really? In the lawn? What is wrong with you, Jimmy? You don’t lose your cool in public. You don’t lose you’re cool in private! Did someone drug you?”
“Worse. Sure your aunt wants to play with my brain or whatever, but she won’t stalk, rape, torture, and murder me.”
“Of course I do not wish such harm on you, Jeemyma. I have never wished to harm you.” Krys smiled as she entered the kitchen. “I knew you’d come to me when Puremount found you. Fear drove you from me, and fear brings you back. Do you think you could pour me a cup of that, deary?”
I set my cup down a little too forcefully as I glared at her. “What is the deal with everyone suddenly knowing my real f*****g name? For Christ’s sake I don’t even have a copy of my real birth certificate or social security card in this country! My official passport is even in my fake name! You know it, that homicidal a*****e knows it, and his too perfect supermodel grandmother knows it! Who else knows? That thief I caught last year? What about the guy who threatened to kill me for telling his wife about his cheating? Do they know my favorite tea and birth name and least favorite TV show?”
“Of course not. You are overreacting. Sit, sip your tea, and calm yourself. These outbursts may make you feel better but they will not save you from Puremount and her Majesty.” Krys sat next to Trish. The man I had met in my dream came in from the backdoor and stood behind her.
“You are safe here, Jimmy, no one here wants to hurt you.” He made Krys's tea and handed it to her. He looked like a hero from a movie, sounded like honor personified, and I believed every word. Call me a sucker for a pretty face but I couldn't look this man in the eye and call him a liar. I could call Krys all sorts of things, but not this guy. “I did not know who you were when I was in your dream. I swear on the sun and savanna that I was not trying to lure you here into a trap. I only wanted to save an innocent from evil.”
“Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?” asked Trish, throwing her hands in the air. “You mentioned the vampire queen and dream walking but that's about all I got here. Are you talking about the Puremount I've heard of or another one?”
“There is only one Puremount, Trish,” Krys replied as she sipped her tea.
“Of course you know all about that demon. I should make a list of how my day can get worse so I know what to expect.” I sat at the island and put my head down on the counter.
“I know you do not trust me, and I am sorry for what I did to you. You will never listen to or understand my reasoning, but this is an extremely dangerous situation, Jimmy.” Krys's hand on my arm made me jerk my head up. She was a beautiful lady, a tricky, pretty lady and strangely motherly. “There is a very high chance you will not live to see your next birthday. I certainly have my own agenda, but above all else I do not let innocents be punished for crimes not their own. Let me help you. I am your only chance to survive this, and together we will save the dozens of people being targeted by the serial killer loose in London. I will swear on whatever you wish me to if it makes you feel better.”
“What?!?” squawked Trish. “Those fanged f***s are after Jimmy Dee?”
“The Russian lady wants me to catch the serial killer in Old Town. Puremount wants to rape and murder me for some a*s backwards personal reason I don't know. Oh yeah and he's been stalking my dreams, which has been so not fun. I swear if I have another dream about a party we're both at I am going to commit myself to a looney bin.” I sighed heavily, emotionally crushed by my impending doom. I put my head back down, ignoring my tea and I really came to like the smooth, cool counter. It smelled like bleach and lemons.
“Hey, I can help with the murders. Gordan and I have been looking in to them the past week. We actually have some leads. I am glad you're looking into it. You know I'm no good at this stuff.” Trish grinned. “You are a lot better at getting people to talk. So that's one off the list. Between us we can get it no problem.”
“You would know my boss on a first name basis. Let me guess, he's part of your coven or whatever.”
“No, but you are not ready to know how we are connected to the Alister-Daniels family. Let us focus on something we can take care of right now.” Krys touched Kiet's arm and he left the room, returning with a satin pouch. “The heart charm is for Orango's collar. It will protect him from any harm that could come to him. The dream catcher needs to be hung over the head of your bed. It will keep everyone, even me, from your dreams. The necklace you do not have to use, but it is much like the charm and will protect you from most danger, but more importantly, it will help you stay focused. You have always been a clever and stubborn girl, Jeemyma. Those will be the traits that will save you, but your fear will only hurt you.”
I took the bag, carefully looking at the items the Witch of Crowthorne had listed. They looked like things I would pick out at a gift shop; harmless, kinda pretty, my sort of thing. I'm sure that's why she had used them. I didn't trust her with my mind and soul, but if she was going to go out of her way to make me as comfortable as possible I could trust her with my dreams and life. It’s not like I had much of a choice.
“Trish I wanna go home.” I rubbed my right temple where a sharp ache was starting. “Tonight we can get dinner with Gordan and we can crack open the file the Ice Queen gave me, but I wanna go home.”
“We can speak again later if you need me. My number is in there for you. You are not alone in this, Jimmy Nore.” Krys and Kiet inclined their heads to us in farewell as we left. Orango was waiting on the car and we were back on the road in ten minutes.
Trish didn't say much and I worked at putting the cat charm on my fireball's collar. The drive was long and quiet; Trish knowing chatter would only drive me to crash her car into the zoo. She dropped me off, promising to come get me for dinner later that evening. There was a message on my machine, a man who identified himself as the vampire queen's assistant Timothy reminded me that I had a lunch date on Wednesday at, you guessed it, her manor in West End. I should have known she'd live next to the largest shopping district in London.
My morning had gone a long way to making grandmother dear seem like the least of my worries. She was just another customer, paying for my time and expertise. I was damn good at being a private eye, and as long as I kept thinking of her as just a rich corrupt politician like others I've met the less scary she became. So long as I did what I was paid for, she wouldn't be anything more than a client. I could do that, easy, in my sleep even.
No, my concern was Puremount. Something about him chilled me to the bone, shutting my brain down like throwing water on a fire. The only warmth in him was his hatred of me that was a twisted sort of obsessive and oppressive love. Nothing creeped me out more than knowing the person I feared would kill me and have sex with my dead body. Maybe the necklace Krys gave me was a good idea. I had to pull a miracle out of thin air and I couldn't do that if I froze up in terror every time I needed to be ready to save my a*s. What I needed most of all was a nap, and soon as I hung the dream catcher where Krys had said to I hit the pillows and slept all afternoon without dreams.

Author's Note

Same as always enjoy.