Hex on the Beach (The Magic & Mixology Mystery Series Book 1) (22 page)

I’m sorry
.

Who’s sorry?

Where am I?

Aarik.

Aarik. This was all because of Aarik. But that didn’t make sense…

My brain fought to piece together the snippets of puzzle that didn’t connect, made more difficult by the lingering grogginess from unconsciousness. I kept my eyes tightly closed, testing out various body parts. Tugging on my arms, I realized they were bound behind my back. My legs were heavy as sandbags, probably still suffering from the aftereffects of the spell that’d knocked me out cold.

I kept my eyes firmly shut, giving my mind as much time as possible to recuperate before Aarik—or whoever was now holding me captive—noticed I was awake.

My stomach churned uncomfortably, and I prayed I wouldn’t puke and give away my consciousness.
What sort of spell had he used?
My body was so wobbly it was almost as if I were…

Wait.

It wasn’t my body trembling—it was the entire floor. They’d brought me to a boat. I relaxed my limbs completely, listening, waiting. Sure enough, the slight
thwap
of water against the edge of the boat drifted through the air, and I licked my lips, tasting salt.

We were at sea.

Unfortunately, the discovery didn’t give me a sense of accomplishment, only trepidation. If we were on a boat traveling away from The Isle, we were heading in the exact opposite direction from everything and everyone who might be able to help me.

“You understand what these do?” Aarik’s voice startled me.

He must not have been looking in my direction, however, because he didn’t acknowledge my reflexive twitch. At least not yet. But as I focused on his words, I heard something else—the sound of a second body moving. Two people were on this boat besides me.

“Kenny, talk to me,” Aarik said. “You understand these?”

Silence ensued.

I wondered if Aarik
knew
Kenny didn’t talk and was trying to convince him to answer, or if Aarik was oblivious. I found myself hoping that if Kenny could speak, he would. I couldn’t help feeling somewhat responsible for what happened to the non-speaking man. Maybe if he’d just pipe up and offer Aarik information, he’d be let go, unharmed.
Speak, Kenny. Speak.

Still nothing.

“How on earth did those witches think it was a good idea to give someone as stupid as you responsibility for the boat?” Aarik mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. “Well, you probably can’t understand me, you oaf, but in case you can… these handcuffs are magic resistant. You try anything, and the spell backfires, got it? So the harder you struggle, the more you hurt yourself.”

The clink of handcuffs followed, but not a peep from Kenny.

“Guess you’ll figure it out soon enough if you’re tempted to try something on me.” Aarik’s toe nudged my leg. “You awake?”

I also didn’t respond.

“Quiet bunch tonight, huh?” Aarik murmured. “Fine by me.”

A
thud
like rope hitting the floor sent tremors through the bottom of the dinky boat, and the next thing I knew, the waves intensified. We were off.

I tried to feel for the Comm band around my wrist, but I couldn’t tell if Aarik had left it intact. The bindings around my arms were too tight for me to tell a difference between the Comm band and the rope. Even if the Comm band was still functioning, it wouldn’t help me now. The thing needed my breath and my voice to work. Since my hands were bound behind my back, unless I could twist my head halfway around my body, I was stuck.

Minutes passed, the silence accompanied only by the light
huffs
of Aarik and Kenny breathing, the
ping
of
water slicing against the boat, and the occasional
splash
in the distance.

My mind raced with escape plans, none of them particularly promising. But then again, nothing really made sense at the moment. If Aarik was out to get me, then why had he saved me from Harpin? Were they working together? And if not, was Aarik the one who’d made the tea shop owner vanish?

I couldn’t connect the dots no matter how hard I tried. My biggest problem was a motive. Or rather, a
lack
of motive. What linked me to Harpin? And more importantly, why was I worth kidnapping?

I had no idea how much time had passed when a foot nudged me in the stomach.

“How long have you been faking it?” Aarik’s voice sounded more curious than anything. “You had me fooled for a while, but no one breathes that evenly in sleep. Nice try.”

“Thanks for the insight,” I said wryly. “I’ll remember that for the next time I’m kidnapped.”

“Look, I knew you’d be angry with me,” Aarik said. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” My voice cracked. “
Sorry?
Apologizing doesn’t make everything right in the world, you know.”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.” I opened my eyes just in time to see Aarik’s shrug. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Your job is kidnapping people?”

“Not usually.” Aarik had the grace to look uncomfortable. “You’re a special case.”

“Should I be thanking you?” Sarcasm dripped from my voice. “At least have the nerve to tell me what’s going on—who you work for, what they want with me.”

Aarik fell silent, glancing over toward Kenny.

“What do you care if he hears?” I said. “You put those magical cuffs on him, and you already said you think he’s stupid. Plus, after kidnapping me, it’s not like you can just return to The Isle.”

“Of course I can.” Aarik looked annoyed. “No one’s going to know I did it. I’ll be back in time to report you missing.”

“My aunts know I walked you out of the cottage just before I disappeared. They’re bound to put two and two together.”

“Not if they find me knocked out at the edge of The Twist,” Aarik said. “I’ll hit your little doorbell then give myself an injection of the same stuff I gave you. When they show up, they’ll find me unconscious. Genius, huh?”

I didn’t answer.

“They’ll think I’m a hero for remembering to hit the doorbell before passing out. I’ll be the first person warning everyone you’re gone.” Aarik looked at me with renewed interest. “I can say someone knocked me out from behind, and I didn’t see a thing. Or better yet, I can say the figure looked like Harpin. That’ll work better. He’s disappeared, so everyone will assume he made off with you—not hard to believe after the scene in the tea shop yesterday.”

“Why’d you rescue me if you were just going to kidnap me anyway?”

“Same reason I had to get rid of Harpin. I needed you alive.” Aarik looked at me. “Nothing personal. It’s just… if I don’t bring you in alive, I don’t get paid.”

“What do you need the money for?” I asked, my voice heated. “That stuff you’re smoking all the time?”

“Of course not.” Aarik’s eyes shifted from mine to focus on the water. I’d hit the nail on the head. “Living expenses.”

“Sure. Right. What are you gonna do with Kenny?”

Aarik bit his lip. “Hadn’t really factored the oaf in, so I don’t know yet. None of your business anyway—you’ll be gone before I have to deal with him.”

“I’ll make
you
a deal. Let him go free, and I’ll go peacefully with you.”

Kenny gave no sign he heard anything happening on the boat, staring serenely into the sky.

“You’re already going peacefully with me.” Aarik nodded toward my bindings. “And if you struggle against those, I’ll just knock you out again. I’m being real nice letting you stay conscious right now.”

“Where are we going?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Who do you work for?”

“Same answer as above.” Aarik’s face pinched, however.

“Why are you doing this, Aarik?”

With each of my questions, he shifted a bit in his seat. It was obvious he didn’t like the rapid-fire questions. If I could just push him over the edge…

“You don’t know what it’s like.”

“I don’t know what…
what
is like?” I asked. “Try me.”

“Shut up.”

“Why are you doing this, Aarik? Did you kill Harpin?”

“I never meant to kill anyone!” Aarik leapt to his feet, and the boat rocked so precariously, my nerves rattled and my body tensed. If we tipped over, there was no way I’d survive without the use of my hands.

“Who did you kill, Aarik?” I asked once the boat had settled, my voice so quiet the sound of the waves nearly swallowed it. “Harpin?”

“Harpin’s not dead. But that’s all I’m saying.”

My glance traveled briefly toward Kenny, who sat silently at the rear of the boat, his gaze almost eerily locked on my face. At the front, Aarik stood with his arms crossed, watching as the Great Lake picked up momentum.

“How do you know Harpin’s not dead?” I asked.

Aarik’s back stiffened, though he pretended he hadn’t heard anything. He hugged his arms tighter, and from my spot on the floor, I could see his face harden with anger. I guessed it was mostly anger at himself, anger that he’d already shared too much information.

“Who’d you kill? If it’s not Harpin, who else could it be—Leonard? Was he involved somehow?” I wriggled, trying a new tactic when he didn’t respond. I lowered my voice, infusing sympathy into my words. “It’s not your fault, you know. Are they blackmailing you? Who do you work for?”

Aarik’s jaw worked up and down on that last part. He didn’t confirm or deny my theory, but his nervous tic gave me enough to suspect I might be onto something.

“Just tell me, Aarik. We can get you help. We can keep you safe, protect you.”

“You can’t. Nobody can.” Aarik turned, his arms flying up in protest, his eyes flashing with anger. “Not you, not your stupid boyfriend, not anyone else. You’re no match for these people.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Aarik’s eyes blazed, first in anger then in a mocking disbelief. “Right.”

“I swear to you! I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“That’s not what it looked like the other day.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, my own anger building. “If you’re talking about Ranger X, he was just doing his job. And apparently his intuition is better than mine, because he didn’t trust you, unlike
me
. I stuck up for you, Aarik.”

That pained expression creeped back across his face, making me suspect that just maybe he
wasn’t
lying. Maybe he was just the messenger, some sort of a pawn in a much larger game. Maybe he was scared for his own life. Maybe he was a decent person who’d been sucked into a bad situation.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person, Aarik. Just tell me who you’re working for, and maybe we can work out a deal.”

“
Shut up!
” Aarik turned to me, extending a hand in my direction. A bright glow surrounded his fingers, and though I didn’t have much experience with magic of any sort, my gut twisted, and something told me he wasn’t doing anything
nice
. His spell was meant to harm, not to help.

“I’m sorry,” I said, backtracking quickly. “I’ll be quiet from here on out under one condition.”

The glow surrounding Aarik’s fingers wavered a bit. “What’s that?”

“Can I please sit on a seat instead of the floor?”

Aarik took a deep breath, dropping his hand to his side, the glow fading as he scanned the boat. He glanced at Kenny, who was still cuffed by magic.

“Sit in front of him. Any funny business, and one of you is going over the side of the boat.” His gaze flicked between us quickly. “The water is cold this time of year. Understood?”

“Yes,” I murmured.

Aarik waited a moment for Kenny’s response, but unsurprisingly, there was none.

“Get up.” Aarik flicked his wrist in my direction. “You’ve got thirty seconds to get situated.”

Sitting up with bound hands and wobbly legs was more difficult than I’d anticipated. Thirty seconds wasn’t long enough.

“Better hurry,” Aarik said, his voice lazy again.

Something about the shift in his voice gave me the idea there were two sides to Aarik. One version spoke too much and let his anger get the best of him. The other version of Aarik was relaxed, indifferent, and spoke with a flat, emotionless tone. The latter was far more frightening.

All at once, Kenny stood, his big form rocking the boat. Aarik watched the silent man, another spell burning on his fingertips. However, Kenny ignored Aarik, instead bending over and hauling me up as if I were a sack of feathers. Even though his arms were cuffed before him, he hooked his hands onto my clothes and gave me a lift onto the seat in front of him. Then he sat right back down.

“Looks like you made yourself a friend.” Aarik’s lips curled up, eying my new spot on the boat bench. “Aren’t you Little Miss Social Butterfly.”

“That’s what happens when you don’t kidnap people,” I said, unable to help myself. “You make
friends
. I liked you, Aarik. My family trusted you.”

The flash of uncertainty in his eyes was back, but just for a passing moment. The calm, collected Aarik took over in a second. “Like you said, that was a mistake.”

“What about your family, Aarik? Where are they?”

Aarik looked away.

“Are they in trouble?” Then I threw my next question out of left field. “Who did you kill, Aarik?”

Aarik, the controlled version of himself, turned his back to me.

My shoulders sagged. I wasn’t getting any answers. We also couldn’t see either shore anymore, which meant we were too far away to get help from The Isle. My options were running out.

Just as I was considering contortionist ways to get my mouth near the Comm device in order to call for help, a light touch surprised me.

I twitched but didn’t look back. I sensed Kenny had leaned forward, and I felt his proximity without seeing him. His hands worked at my bindings, his fingers delicate and nimble in a way I’d never expected. Then again, he worked on boats for a living and probably tied endless knots. My heart rate sped up. Maybe he could free me—maybe Kenny was my only hope.

My heart sank just as fast when I realized that even if Kenny did free me, my options still weren’t rosy. My captor had much more powerful magic than I did, along with years of experience. The best I could hope for would be to call for help before it was too late.

Kenny then pressed something into my hand, and I realized he hadn’t been working at my bindings—he’d been working at the Comm device. Which was unfortunate, because I couldn’t use it until he untied my wrists. Without my breath on the device, it would be in a constant
Off
state. But I couldn’t exactly turn around and explain…

Thankfully, his hands went back to work on the bindings, pausing only for a second as Aarik looked back. But as soon as our captor’s gaze turned forward again, focusing on the waves, Kenny was back at it.

Until Aarik whirled about, his hand accusingly held out while magic danced at his fingertips. “I warned you,” he growled. “No funny business.”

Aarik had been just a second too slow to catch Kenny in the act, but something—our expressions, the situation of our bodies, the shuffling in our seats—had put him on edge.

“What do you have in your hand?” Aarik asked quietly, stepping toward us.

I scrunched the Comm device tight in my palm.

But Aarik wasn’t taking silence for an answer. His fingers closed on the outside of my fist. His touch burned hot, sizzling, and I dropped the device. Aarik scooped it up, looked at it for a moment, then tossed it into the waves.

My last shred of hope disappeared as the Comm device sank below the water.

“Shame on you,” Aarik said, shaking his finger in Kenny’s direction. “I warned you…”

“Don’t! It’s my fault,” I said. “Leave Kenny be. If you’re going to throw someone overboard, let it be me.”

“I don’t think that’d be a smart decision, since my employer would like you alive.” The cold gaze had returned. “Which leaves me with only one option.”

“You’ve already killed one person,” I said, struggling to hide the panic in my voice. “Don’t make it another. Kenny is innocent.”

“You’re not?” Aarik raised an amused eyebrow.

“Yes, I am, but Kenny has even less to do with all this than me. He’s just collateral damage. I have no idea why you’re after me, but I’m assuming it has something to do with Mixology…
oh my gosh!
” My head shot up so fast I nearly cricked my neck. “You murdered Leonard. Or the last Mixologist. Gus was right—it wasn’t an accident!”

Judging by Aarik’s surprised expression, I’d caught him off guard. In that second of uncertainty, he was unable to mask the twinge of guilt in his expression, the twitch of a muscle in his jaw.

“I didn’t kill either,” Aarik said. “It was an accident.”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t. Stop lying to me, Aarik. It’s too late. I’m probably as good as dead now anyway. Ranger X found residue on the glass that Leonard drank from, a poison, and I didn’t put it there.”

Aarik looked as if he wanted to argue, but he met my gaze, and the fight whooshed
right out of him—his face sagged, his lips turned down, his eyes focused on the bottom of the boat. “It wasn’t supposed to kill him. The last Mixologist. I didn’t have anything to do with Leonard.”