Episode #31: Stories from the Archives: "Blood, Stone, and Shadow (The Broomwood Saga) Chapter 2 and 3"

Tonight's "Stories from the Archives" brings you more of my new series: The Broomwood Saga: Blood, Stone, and Shadow Chapter 1.

This is a Dark Romantasy series (and slightly smutty at times), something a little different from my 667: Children of the Beast series. But don't worry, you will be getting more 667 and this new series as well as others as I roll along. I know it's hard for a lot of us to find time to sit down and read a book, so now you can listen to what I have to offer with my worlds.

Synopsis for Blood, Stone, and Shadow:

(This is a serial series. Books are episodic.)

I thought I was just another basic witch in New York City trying to establish myself as an occult business owner, but I never realized just how wrong I'd be...

Even though I grew up in England, New York City was my family's home and when my Nan took ill, I moved back to be with her, inheriting the family brownstone when she passed. One of my dreams was to open up my own witchcraft store, Broom Hollow Apothecary, along with my best friend Sabrina, but things were never as simple as that.
I was unaware that the city was full of more than just your average human and I was part of a lineage that helped protect those that were forced to live in the shadows of human kind.
My life was about to change in the most unbelievable of ways and I had to decide on whether or not I wanted to be part of my ancestor's story or continue to just be another witch in New York City.
Little did I know that I really wouldn't have a choice.

You can also read this Blood, Stone, and Shadow in its entirety (as well as the next 4 episodes with more coming) on my Inkitt at Inkitt.com/emmoon

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Transcript

Chapter 2: "The Necklace"

“Coffee, coffee, coffee.” I muttered to myself as I walked briskly down the sidewalk towards the Breakfast Bean.

 I had gotten up fairly early, having barely slept, and made sure to call Sabrina first thing and tell her about what happened. She was understandingly freaked out and concerned for me, but I assured her that I had everything handled and we would hopefully be back up and running soon. 

 She then informed me that her mother had called and was going out of town last minute for some business trip, meaning that Sabrina had to drive out to Jersey and stay at her place to watch all four of her little dogs: two pomeranians, a yorkshire terrior, and an old, chubby dachshund. This meant that I was most likely going to be cleaning up shop on my own, but there was nothing I could do about it. And besides, my focus was currently on reporting the crime that had occurred at my business.

 “Can I get a Chai coffee latte, please.” I gave my order to the barista at the Bean.

 “Sure thing. Anything else?” She asked and I shook my head before I gave her a name and she wrote it down on the cup and passed it off to another employee.

 I stepped aside to wait patiently and as I looked around the semi-crowded restaurant, I spotted none other than Cian on the opposite side, sitting at a small table with an open laptop and a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. As if he knew I was looking at him, he lifted his eyes from the screen and spotted me, a smile creeping across his face before he waved me over.

 “Fancy meeting you here.” He greeted me, offering me a seat, but I declined.

 “I should be saying that to you. This is my morning coffee place, although I have missed a few mornings this week.” I replied, making sure to train my ears for my name being called.

 “My coffee maker went belly up this morning, so I figured I would give this place a try. So far, it has strong coffee and WiFi, so it’s at least a solid four and a half stars from me.” He chatted, closing his laptop.

 “No WiFi at your place?” I made idle talk with my question.

 “It’s supposed to get installed Monday. Until then, I’ll do my work from here.” He smiled at me before taking a sip of his coffee.

 I found myself interested, “Oh, what do you do for work?”

 “I’m a private contractor. I do a lot of repair work, construction, building, landscape. I’m really just a glorified handy-man, but it pays well and my clients are always happy.” He explained and now his offer to fix the window made more sense.

 “Then I would definitely like for you to fix my window since you obviously know what you’re doing.” I informally accepted his offer.

 “Good, because I was going to do it either way.” He winked at me just as I heard my name being called by the barista.

 “That’s my coffee. I’ll call you?” I held my hand up to my ear like a phone as I started to back towards the counter.

 Cian laughed, the most perfect grin on his face that I had ever seen, sort of mischievous, before he replied, “You want my number or are you just going to guess?”

 Oh. That.

 “You know, I’m glad one of us has a working brain.” I scoffed as I walked back to the table and Cian handed me a business card from his wallet.

 “That’s my cell. I might be on a job, so you can always text me.” He informed me and I took the card with a sheepish smile and a nod before I told him I would see him later, got my coffee, and left before I said or did anything else that was stupid.

 The police station was too far for me to walk to, so I had to venture out on the subway to get there. I wasn’t a fan of the subway when I was alone, it made me feel trapped, but I had no one to go with me and I needed to get this done. The trip was fairly uneventful save for the half-dressed bloke preaching about the end of the world and the screaming match that broke out between a woman and a belligerent older man.

 I got off at my stop and when I came street-side, I noticed that it looked like rain and kicked myself over not having my umbrella. To keep myself as dry as possible, I hurried across the street to the precinct and stepped inside, greeted by a woman at the front desk. After I told her why I was there, she sent me up to the sixth floor with a visitor badge and I made my leave to the lift.

 The sixth floor was a madhouse and after trying to flag down several people to help me, I gave up, and decided to take it upon myself to find someone to report the crime to, hoping that I wasn’t going to get in trouble for just walking through like I did. I found a desk that was actually occupied with someone who was on the phone, sat down in a chair across from them, and then waited patiently till they were done with their call.

 “Uh, can I help you with something, miss?” The man finally got off the phone and eyed me with curiosity.

 “I need to report a crime and the officers called to my home last night did jack all and I couldn’t get anyone in here to talk to me even though reception sent me up here, so I figured you looked like someone who might listen to me.” I replied boldly, taking a deep breath.

 “Sure. Tell me what happened. I might not be able to help you directly, but I should be able to steer you in the right direction. I’m Detective Hudson.” He extended his hand over the desk for me to shake and I did so gratefully.

 “My security alarm was set off last night. The security company alerted the police for me, but they did nothing but check to see if anyone was still there in the shop, which they weren’t. Told me I would need to make a report of my own and then maybe something would be done, which I find rather ridiculous in general, let alone the fact that they clearly saw the circular hole cut out of the shop door window and made mention that was the M.O. of the Cookie Cutter. You know, the one breaking into all the New Age stores.” I rambled a bit, now nervous and trying to make sure I got my facts straight.

 “Oh, we know him. I’m actually the lead detective on that case, but we haven’t got much to go one.” He admitted and I let out an exasperated sound.

 “Exactly why they should have dusted for fingerprints or something. They did nothing but clear the place and then left.” I reiterated, trying to not let myself get so heated.

 “Well, they’re clearly not doing their jobs and if you got their names, I would like to have them. But I would like more information on where your business is located.” Hudson returned, readying his hands on the keyboard of his computer to type.

 “It’s on Moonlight Avenue near the Breakfast Bean.” I answered, watching his fingers move swiftly across the keys before he turned to look at me.

 “Wait, I think I know the place. An old brownstone that used to be an antique shop?” He queried and I nodded.

 “Over twenty years ago, but yes: Just in Time. It was a family business, but I inherited the building about three years ago.”

 “I remember the place. One of my mother’s favorites...anyway, what condition is the shop in? And I noted that you mentioned the circular piece cut out of the window.” Hudson pulled himself away from a nostalgic thought and tried to keep things on topic.

 “It looks like someone unleashed a heard of elephants in there. Just—a mess. Things tossed all over, but I can’t tell if anything was taken. I checked my safe and it hadn’t been touched.” I replied, knowing that so far, there really wasn’t any new evidence that could be used.

 Hudson gave a thoughtful nod before he spoke, “Alright, well, I am going to send the proper unit down there myself to check for fingerprints and investigate the perimeter, but it’s going to take a few hours; all of our units are currently busy elsewhere. But you can take my card and I will get your phone number so I can call you before we arrive. I’ll make sure this is taken care of properly, Miss Broomwood.”

 He stood from his desk and I followed suit, another handshake, and then I gave him a business card and made my leave from the sixth floor, back down to the lobby where I thanked the receptionist and then stepped out onto the street. It had indeed begun to rain, but it didn’t look too bad—yet. I really didn’t want to have to take the subway and decided to pull up a ride-sharing app on my phone and see who was close by looking for riders.

 I wasn’t fully paying attention to my surroundings and didn’t see him at first until he tapped my shoulder and I jerked away reflexively.

 “Ma’am, could you possibly spare a dollar.”

This sort of thing wasn’t uncommon in the city and even though he had scared the living crap out of me, something that seemed to be a trend with me the last twenty-four hours, I always felt terrible for those who had no roof over their heads or good food in their bellies.

 “Uh, I don’t usually carry cash with me, but let me see.” I replied, watching him carefully as I reached into my bag that sat snugly at my hip.

 I doubt he would try anything crazy since we were literally standing in front of the police station, but people do crazy things when they are desperate.

 I was able to find a five dollar bill that a customer had given to me as a tip for how helpful I had been, so I pulled that out and offered it to him.

 “I’ve got five. Wish I had more.” I told him as he took the five, his eyes falling to my chest.

 I would have thought him to just be a bit of a pervert, but I was wearing a hooded coat and a high necked blouse so he had to be looking at…

 “That necklace you have there is really beautiful. Is that ruby?” He pointed at the antique copper necklace that draped my neck.

 I shook my head, “No, not ruby. It’s glass from what I’m told; an old family heirloom.”

 I palmed the necklace out of protection. It was very special to me and I didn’t need anyone trying to take it. I was paranoid, but with good reason.

 “It’s nice. Very nice. Bless you, ma’am. You have a real nice day.” He replied, turned, and then walked away.

 I was thankful for the end of that interaction because the rain was picking up and I needed to find a ride back to Moonlight.

 It was much later in the afternoon when I got a call from Detective Hudson. I had spent the majority of the day just waiting around the flat nervously, wanting to get this over with so I could clean things up. I knew I would have to file a claim with my insurance too and this whole thing was going to turn into a nightmare of a waiting game, but it had to be done.

 It was almost four when the crime scene crew showed up to give everything a once over and dust for prints of any kind. I gave Hudson a more detailed explanation of what happened the night prior before I showed him the circle cut out of the window, where the back room was, and my alarm panel.

 He then made a good, but strange, point about the fact that the alarm went off, it didn’t take me long to get down there to turn it off, and I never heard any of the destruction going on in between. The alarm should have sounded the minute the door was breached and the would-be robber shouldn’t have had enough time to make a mess of anything.

 The unit finished up everything, having documented the crime scene with pictures, and Hudson told me that I could use all their information for my insurance claims and gave me the go-ahead to clean the place up.

 But I just didn’t have the strength, not right then anyway. Instead, I went back up to the flat and took a nap face down on the sofa, Katastrophe purring atop my back. When I woke up several hours later, it was already dark and the rain was coming down fairly hard, a soothing song to my now pounding head.

 I got up, took some pain killers for my headache, and ate two breakfast pastries straight out of the pack without toasting them. I then threw my shoes on, kissed the cat on the head, and decided that since I wouldn’t be going back to sleep for a while, I should try and clean up for a little bit. The shop was just as I left it, still in total disarray and in dire need of my attention.

 I didn’t know where to begin, so after putting on some music at a low volume, I started with sorting all the crystals that I could find, which was no easy task due to the variety and variability in color, striation, facet—it was a lot. Eventually, I gave up on that task and moved on to righting the fallen tables and setting them with their proper product, hoping to clear away a lot of the mess that was cluttering the walk-through.

 “Jasper, jasper, jasper. Onyx, onyx, o—wait, you’re obsidian.” I spoke to myself as I hung bracelets back up on their display.

 I turned quickly to grab another set, when my necklace caught on the display and somewhere, a link on the chain broke and it started to fall from my neck. Luckily, I was able to catch it before it hit the ground and with a huff, stuffed it in my pocket and went back to working.

 It was starting to get warm in the shop from all my moving around and despite my better judgment, instead of turning the air on, I opened the front door to the sound of steadily beating rain, even though it seemed to have let up a bit. A cool breeze blew in and I inhaled sharply, savoring its welcome chill as my body came down to a more comfortable temperature.

 I went back to rearranging the racks and placing things back in their approximate place as I hummed along to a song that was playing. It was one of my favorites, one that always sent my mind to good, far away places, but it had been a distraction. I wasn’t expecting what I heard.

 There was a jingle of bells and the sound caused me to whirl around, just in time to see someone slipping into the shop before they slammed the door closed. I wasn’t sure what was going, who this person was, but they turned around and immediately came at me with bare hands.

 I was able to dodge their advances with a startled squeal, but I backed into one of the tables I had just been arranging and lost my balance, falling hard on my backside as I let out a groan. I was momentarily incapacitated, and that was all this man needed. He was on me so fast, yanking me up in the air as my feet dangled and he rushed me across the store, slamming me into the wall adjacent the front door.

 “Where is it?” He hissed, shaking me.

 Of course, he had rattled my brain in my skull bad enough that I was in a daze and not able to respond. This seemed to anger him and he shook me again, this time bringing me to reality long enough for me to get a good look at his face that he stupidly didn’t cover.

 It was the man I had given the five dollars to earlier.

 “What are you talking about?” I choked out, my head lolling as I tried to consciously keep myself from passing out.

 “The necklace. The fucking necklace!” He practically spit in my face and I turned my head away and winced.

 “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lied, knowing exactly what he was asking for and thankful that it had broken on me only shortly before he came crashing in here.

 “Listen here, bitch. I know you have the necklace; I saw it on you earlier. Give it to me.” He snarled back, but I wasn’t giving in, which was not very smart on my part.

 “You’ve got the wrong person.” I replied, struggling in his grip. This caused him to shove me rather roughly against the exposed brick wall, but I was quick enough with my movements to avoid hitting my head. He released me with one hand and sent a back-handed blow across my face, having me instantly tasting blood.

 I didn’t know what to do. I was panicking. I should have just given him the necklace, no heirloom was worth my life, but there was something deep inside me that just wouldn’t allow it. It was mine, not his, and it had been my mother’s before that and hers before that. I wasn’t going to just hand it over to some psychopath because he demanded it.

 “I won’t hesitate to kill you. Give me the necklace and I’ll let you live.” He hissed at me, his lips peeled back from his teeth in a snarl.

 If he was smart, he would. I had seen his face and if he was thinking logically, letting me go wouldn’t be a good option for him. I could describe him perfectly to the police. This traumatic event was going to be in the forefront of my mind for a long time.

 I was trying to think of something to say, something to stall him while I worked out a plan to get to the back door into the stairwell and lock myself inside. But apparently, I didn’t need to.

 The front door opened again, hard and fast, and in walked Cian, a baseball bat in hand. It was all so quick, but he marched right up to the man that had me pinned against the wall and swung the bat right into his back. The guy instantly dropped me to defend himself, spinning around where he stood to grab the bat. Cian struggled with him for a moment before he was able to regain his weapon and swung for the man again.

 But the guy dodged it and with such speed, I thought I was seeing things. This gave Cian a window, however, and he rushed to my side, placing me behind him as he brandished the bat, waiting for the other man to attack again.

 “Enough, Jasper. You’re getting nowhere.”

 Another voice joined the group, but I couldn’t see who it was with Cian’s broad frame blocking me.

 “Who the fuck are you?” I heard Cian ask and decided to peek around him to see who had joined this unwanted party.

 “That is none of your concern, mongrel. I’ve come here for something and I believe you are hiding it.” The voice spoke and I was finally able to get a good look at them.

 Or as good as I could with the fact they were shrouded in a long, dark duster, a deep hood obscuring their features.

 “I’m not hiding anything but this bat in your throat. Don’t even think of trying me.” Cian spit back as I felt him press his body into mine.

 “Give us the necklace.” The voice demanded and it had me shaking.

 I expected Cian to argue, but instead he stepped out of the way, exposing me to this new stranger who had a hand held out, waiting for what he thought was his.

 “Give us the necklace.” He repeated, flicking his fingers at me, but I wasn’t budging.

 I wiped the blood from my face defiantly before I shoved my hand in my pocket to hold the necklace tight and replied firmly, “No.”

 There was a sound from this stranger and a gasp from Jasper, who I assumed was the man I had run into earlier.

 “No? Give us the necklace or I’ll tear your little boyfriend apart.” The stranger changed tactics, now beckoning to Cian with his hand.

 And for whatever reason, Cian stepped forward and right up to him, letting this cloaked man wrap a long arm around his shoulders.

 “Last chance, witch. Give me the necklace and I’ll let him go.”

 I knew there was no way Cian and I were going to make it out of this alive by giving in and there was something deep within talking to me, voices of the past telling me that I had the upper hand and I shouldn’t show my cards. I had a royal flush in my pocket and I knew it.

 I withdrew the necklace from my pocket and held it tight, holding it up for them to see, “You mean this one?”

 It felt like the copper was heating up in my hand, vibrating in tune with the anger I was feeling in the moment. That vibration seemed to translate to the room and the furniture began to rumble as the glass of the windows shook and the sensation intensified.

 I watched the man in the hood falter, his grip on Cian slacking as I assumed his eyes were focused on me, even though I couldn’t see them. As the electric sensation in the air rose, the man pulled his arm away from Cian and covered his ears, Jasper doing the same as he started to side-step towards the door.

 “Let’s go.” I heard him command Jasper and as I blinked, the two were gone, the bell above the door was tinkling again, and all the rumbling vibrations, like a small earthquake in the shop, had ceased.

 “What just happened?” Cian asked, looking around him wildly for the other two.

 I should have lied, made something up, but I was so dumbfounded myself, that I couldn’t come up with a story.

 “I don’t know. I have no clue.” I whispered and then crumpled to the floor in shock and exhaustion.

 “Hey, let’s get you somewhere safe, okay?” Cian was on me with purpose as he scooped me up off the floor and carried me to the door in the back; thankfully it was still unlocked.

 He took me into the stairwell and shut the door behind him, locking the deadbolt before he sat me on the stairs that led up to my flat.

 “We need to call the cops, unfortunately.” He informed me, but I vehemently shook my head.

 “And say what? You don’t even remember part of it and how are you going to explain that? Also, do you think they are going to believe that some gremlin of a man and Death just waltzed right into my shop and demanded a necklace that means not a damn thing to anyone but me? No, it would just make things worse.”

 “Wait, how do you know there’s parts that I don’t remember? I never mentioned that.” Cian returned, eyeing me suspiciously.

 “Because for a second there, you fed me to the wolves and then almost gave yourself up as a snack. You had this weird look in your eyes, like you weren’t even there. It was almost as if that man had you hypnotized or something.” I explained, wrapping my arms around myself because the shakes had set in.

 I watched Cian’s brow furrow as his eyes darted about in thought, “What necklace were they talking about?”

 “This one,” I opened my hand to show that I was still holding it, “I ran into the one called Jasper earlier today while I was at the police station. He asked me for a dollar and I thought he was unhoused, so I gave him what I had. He made a comment about how beautiful my necklace was, asked if it was ruby. It’s just tumbled sea glass.”

 I let Cian take it from my hand and inspect it in his before he handed it back and spoke, “So, he stalked you back here somehow. But that’s a lot of work for a random necklace you just saw around a woman’s neck. It seems like they were looking for it specifically. And where the hell does the hooded guy play into this?”

 I shrugged, “No idea. Couldn’t see him so I can’t recognize him, but I haven’t got a clue about anything. Speaking of which, where the hell did you swoop in from, Captain America? How did you know I was in trouble?”

 Cian glanced down at his feet rather sheepishly before he looked up at me and replied.

 “I happened to look out the window in my living room and can see your shop from there. The lights were on, the shades were down, but I saw the shadows of two people in here and I thought it weird considering the late hour. I brought the bat just in case and when I got closer, I could hear ole’ Jasper screaming at you, so I took a chance.”

 “Thank fuck you did. Man was trying to make a hole in the wall with my head.” I chuckled wryly as I reached back to rub where my head had smacked violently into the brick.

 “Do you need me to take you to the hospital?” Cian asked so kindly, but again, I declined.

 “Nope. Then we’ll have to make a report and there are just some things not making sense to me about all of this and I want to think on it.”

 “Okay, but you should let me check you for a concussion.” He insisted and I reluctantly let him as he asked, “Double vision or ringing in the ears?”

 “No double vision, but there is a slight ringing. I had a headache when I got up from my nap earlier, though.” I answered.

 “Nausea?”

 “Nope,” I shook my head, but gently, “Head hurts, my shoulders are sore and everything aches, but that’s about it.”

 “Well, at the moment, it doesn’t seem like you have one, but I wouldn’t feel right leaving you alone without knowing.” Cian admitted, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he looked down at me.

 I wanted to argue, but I was also curious about what he was implying and so I asked, “Then what do we do? Stay up all night playing cards and drinking beer?”

 He laughed at my sarcastic joke and then came that smirk before he replied, “Or you can come home with me and I can keep an eye on you.”

 Oh. That was not where I thought this was going.

 I barely knew the man, but he had saved my ass tonight and been nothing but kind since I met him...which was not even twenty-four hours ago. But there was also a part of me that was afraid to stay here by myself with what had just transpired. Katastrophe would be fine on her own with plenty of places to hide; me, not so much.

 “I guess. It might make me feel better considering.” I gave in.

 “That’s the real reason I don’t think you should be alone. And you have to make sure you lock your door better.” He chastised me and I found myself being snarky back.

 “Yes, sir. I’ll try better next time.”

 For whatever reason, my choice of words seem to have Cian feeling some sort of way because he drew in a sharp breath and exhaled loudly before he instructed me, “Go get whatever you need; I’ll wait right here for you.”

 I did as I was told, kind of liking how he was taking control of things. I went up to the flat and fed and watered the cat, grabbed a few extra clothing items, my toothbrush, and my phone. I returned shortly with it all neatly tucked into my bag. I set the alarm and the two of us made a speedy exit from the shop while it was still counting down to arm.

Chapter 3: "Inheritance"

 “Make yourself at home. I’m still unpacking, so things are kind of a mess.” Cian spoke as we opened the door to his flat and he let us inside.

 “No judgment here; I understand how it is.” I responded, following him as he led us to the living area.

 There was a nice, plush sofa, an older coffee table, and a big, flat screen television attached to the wall. The space was open concept, very much like my own flat, but smaller, with a narrow kitchen and attached bar, a hall that led to my left where I assumed the bathroom and bedroom was, and an office type setup near the front windows where you could indeed see my shop.

 “Uh, are you hungry? Need something to drink? Bathroom is at the end of the hall and you’re welcome to anything in the fridge, which isn’t much.” Cian rambled as he walked into the kitchen, setting the bat on the counter before he opened the refrigerator.

 “Some water would be nice...and maybe some aspirin.” I replied, sitting down on the sofa with my bag in my lap, “And thank you again. You don’t know how grateful I am for your help.”

 “No need to thank me. I told you; it’s good to have community and you’re part of mine now.” Cian reappeared with a glass of ice water and two small, white pills in his hand.

 I took the drink and quickly downed the pills before taking a few more gulps from the glass and then deflated into the couch.

 “If you want, you can have my room for the night. The couch isn’t exactly comfortable for more than a nap.” He commented, walking into the hall before he returned with a few blankets and an extra pillow.

 “Oh, I don’t want to impose like that; the sofa is just fine.” I returned, feeling quite shy in the moment for some reason.

 But Cian wasn’t satisfied with my response, “You’re my guest and I want you to be comfortable. I just changed the sheets this morning and you can have a fresh blanket and pillow. I actually have a guest room, but it’s cluttered with stuff or I’d let you stay in there.”

 Was this man even real? I’d never met anyone this hospitable or nice in my entire life. Granted, I hadn’t the greatest track record with people, men in particular, so my opinion of things was a little tainted. Regardless, it felt like the whole day had been a damn dream at that point.

 So, I gave in, “Okay, if you insist. I just don’t want to inconvenience you.”

 I couldn’t help but tack that last bit on and it got a frown and knitted brow from Cian as he crossed his arms and scowled at me, “Just let me be nice to you, Briar. You’ve had a hard day, I’m sure, and you’re not in the comfort of your home, so I would at least like you to feel comfortable here. You need to rest or I will be forced to drag you to the hospital whether you like it or not. Are we on the same page now?”

 Yes—sir.

 I nodded, my lips pursed before I spoke, “Sorry; force of habit. I just don’t ever want to be in anyone’s way.”

 Cian sighed, “Trust me; you’re not in my way at all. If anything, I am the one that inserted myself into your situation.”

 “But I’m glad you did. I could have been dead right now, because for the life of me, I couldn’t hand this necklace over.”

 It was still in my hand; I just didn’t want to let it go.

 “Means a lot to you, huh?” He asked, coming to sit next to me on the sofa.

 “Yeah. Passed down for generations. But the way I came into it wasn’t great.” I found myself admitting things to this guy that took me forever to feel safe enough even to tell Sabrina.

 “With inheritances, it rarely is.” He commented, but there was more to it than that and I decided to tell him if he was willing to listen.

 “But my mom didn’t die—she disappeared.” I spoke softly, reliving the trauma of that night all over again.

 My mother had been given the necklace by my grandmother when she moved from the states over to the UK. Normally, it would have gone to my mum on her passing, but something told my grandmother that she needed to have it then to, I quote, “Keep you safe from the shadows.” My mum wore it every day of my life with her, never without it. She even slept with it on and I think only removed it to shower. That necklace was her lifeline to my grandmother and her protection, one that expanded to me.

 The story between my mother and grandmother was complicated, but apparently my mother had fallen for a man who had been in New York on business, however, he lived in the UK. They got serious, he proposed, and my mother accepted. But my grandmother didn’t like it. She didn’t like that her daughter would be so far away, but my mother believed her to just be the overprotective woman she had always been.

 My mum moved to England, got married, and had me within a year of their union. And then not even six months passed before my “father” decided that he didn’t actually want to be married or have a kid and that his work was too important to be tied down...so he left. This leaving my mother with the only option she could think of and that was to raise me on her own and not tell my grandmother about her missteps. My mother was head-strong and stubborn and she raised me to be the same way.

 We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, even with mum working a full time job and trying to take care of me at the same time. When I was old enough, I started working too, but kept my promise to stay in school although when I graduated, I continued to work instead of going to university at first, much to my mother’s dismay. She needed me and just like she had always done with me, I needed to take care of her too. The two of us ended up finding fairly decent jobs and worked opposite hours with small windows of time in between to spend together while we saved to get a better place.

 I won’t go into the details of my grandmother figuring out our situation fairly quickly after my father left; she was always so intuitive. Even though I didn’t meet her till I was much older, I talked with her on the phone quite a bit and she tried to stay in touch with my mother as best she could. She wanted us to come home, to come back to New York City, but my mother and her stubborn ways—she wanted to prove she could make it on her own. 

 So, we stayed.

 I remember the night she disappeared so vividly. I was twenty five and had just gotten home from my shift. It was late at night and I knew in a couple hours, mum would go in for her own shift. We sat and ate a supper of breakfast foods, talked a bit about the most frivolous things, and then I kissed her goodnight, but she stopped me before I could head to bed. 

 “I love you, Briar. Out of all the things I took care of on my own, you are the best. No matter what happens to us, just know that. My love for you will always be a protective spell covering you. You will do so brilliantly in this life.” She touched my cheek as she spoke and I remember thinking that what she said was so incredibly odd and unlike her, but I shook it off as maybe she was tired from working so much and just expressing herself.

 “I love you too, mum. And know that I always have my protections set up for you too. We are in this together.” I told her before I gave her tight a hug and then took myself to bed finally.

 I don’t know how long I had been asleep, but it wasn’t very long. My mind had told me that I needed to get up, that something was wrong and I needed to investigate. Of course, I just wanted to sleep, but I was wide awake and decided to go see what had my intuition sounding the alarm. I walked from room to room, finding nothing as I should, considering my mother was at work, and then I came down the kitchen. As I passed the dining table, I saw a piece of stationary folded over with my name written on top.

 My hand shook as I reached for the note and opened it up to see a cryptic message in my mother’s handwriting.

If you’re reading this, I’m gone and most likely won’t be coming back. Under the bed in a red metal box is what you seek. Find it; protect it and keep it well-hidden. They will try and come for you, but you need to be gone after it is safely in your hands.

 I love you forever and ever,

Mum

 I couldn’t figure out what she meant by gone and what had she left me? Where did she go and why? What the hell was going on? All these questions were rushing through my mind, but there was this sense of urgency that was bubbling even faster.

 I folded the paper and stuffed it in my shirt before I ran up the stairs and into my mother’s room, dropping to my knees beside the bed to look underneath. I had to clear out a few things, but eventually I found a red, metal utility box and pulled it out, setting it up on the bed. I had just popped the top open and pulled out a small safe when I thought I heard a knock at the front door.

 I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was well after three in the morning; no one in their right mind would be at my door at that hour. Because of this, I hurriedly tried to figure out how to open the safe, a number lock combo being what I needed. But she hadn’t left me that. All that she had given me was a note with instructions, but no way to unlock the damn safe.

 The knocking had now grown in volume and sounded more like banging as I fiddled with the key pad and tried my luck with my birthday. This had done it, and the door swung open to reveal a red velvet bag. By this time, it sounded like the door had been busted down and I took the velvet bag and scrambled under the bed, willing myself to breathe shallowly and for whoever had just broken into my house, to go away.

 Their footsteps came plodding up the stairs and I felt at least two bodies enter the room, but for some reason, they never looked under the bed.

 “No one’s here and I can’t smell it. She’s hiding it elsewhere.” A voice sounded and then footsteps retreated.

 I waited for what felt like forever until I was sure that they had gone. Like I was on auto-pilot, I then packed what little things that I could and fled the house, sleeping at the leisure centre until I could go to the police in the morning.

 Everything that came after that was a blur for a while, but my mother was never found and my whole life had been upended in just a few short hours while I slept one summer night.

 “And there were no leads? Nothing to go off of?” Cian asked in bewilderment after I had recounted everything to him.

 He was surprisingly a very good listener.

 “Nothing. My mother just ceased to exist and they never figured out who broke into the house either. I moved not long after that, cities over, and tried to keep a low profile. I still have no idea who they were, but I think maybe they wanted this necklace too.” I held it up, studying it in the dim light of the room.

 It was just a twisted copper necklace with a tear drop of red glass at the end set in more copper. It was beach glass according to my mother, something that had been found on holiday generations ago and polished into a pendant then attached to a necklace. What was so special about it?

 “You don’t think—I mean, those guy from tonight aren’t the same ones that broke in then, are they? It sounds pretty far-fetched and a little conspiracy theoryish, but is that a possibility somehow?” Cian asked a question that I hadn’t even thought about.

 “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s so damn important about this necklace that it would cause men to attempt murder just to get their hands on it. And how does my mum’s disappearance tie into it? Questions I have asked myself a million times, but have never gotten an answer.” I deflated with a sigh, now suddenly exhausted.

 Cian got up from the sofa and held his hand out to me, “You need to get some sleep, Briar. Thank you for trusting me with your story. It will definitely give me something to think about.”

 I nodded with a half smile as I took his hand and let him lead me to his bedroom.

 He cleared his blankets and pillows from the bedspread and returned with the fresh blanket and pillow for me. I was surprised when he actually made the bed up and brought me my glass of water from the living room, setting it on the bedside table along with my bag.

 “I’ll leave you to it.” Cian started to back out of the room before he stopped, “Oh, and I put in an order with my glass guy to replace your door windows. I figured I would just do them all so that it’s uniform, if that’s okay with you. Should be ready for pick-up tomorrow.”

 Jesus, Cian. Maybe he really was straight out of a romance novel because he was giving me big time fictional man vibes. No one real was like this.

 “That’s more than okay; thank you.” I replied sleepily, but with a smile on my face to show gratitude.

 “Good, good. Now go to bed.” He threw me a smile of his own before he left the room and shut the door.

 This left me laying flat on my back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling as I contemplated the sheer nonsense of the day. I wondered if when I awoke in the morning, I would be back in my own flat, ready to start another day of work. None of this having happened and everything back to normal…