Cauldrons and Cat Tails (Moonvale Matches #2)

9. Tandor

CHAPTER 9

Tandor

M y bandaged hands hung uselessly by my sides as I stared at the situation in front of me with absolute bewilderment.

Linc, the human man that was always fluttering around town, was standing outside Kizzi’s door, in the dim light of the gleaming dual moons, grinning at the witch with his arms thrown out wide and a manic gleam in his eye. His cheeks were flushed to an alarming degree, and I could hear his heart thudding from where I was standing. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Kizzi and… Linc? I hadn’t seen that coming. Sure, the man was handsome, but he was sort of… odd. And not necessarily in a good way.

Lead settled deep in my gut. I swallowed, trying to ease the tension that was growing inside me.

Part of me wanted to punch the human. My knuckles wouldn’t even split with how neatly they were wrapped with bandages.

I stepped forward, just once. The floor creaked beneath my feet. The sound seemed to break Kizzi from whatever stupor she had fallen into, and she looked around frantically.

“Linc, what in the realms do you mean? You came to see me? It’s nighttime!”

“I couldn’t wait any longer,” he said, still holding his arms out.

“Do you need a potion or something? I’m not going to make anything else tonight?—”

“No, not a potion. I just need you.” He stepped forward, reaching his hands toward Kizzi’s shoulders. She hastily stepped back.

“Hey there, Linc. What’s going on?” I asked.

His glossy eyes fixed on me. “Oh, hey, Tandor. Were you just leaving?”

I crossed my arms. “Not anymore.”

Kizzi glanced at me strangely. “I can’t do this right now, Linc. You’re probably drunk. If you still need something tomorrow, you can ask me about it then, when you’ve sobered up.”

His eyes widened. “No! But?—”

The witch slammed the door in his face. She locked it, tested the knob, and then tested it again. It held.

Linc knocked on the door again, more gently this time. “Please, honey, let’s just talk.”

“Go home, Linc,” she gritted through clenched teeth.

“Not before we talk.”

“We can talk tomorrow.”

He paused for a long moment. “You promise?” he finally asked, quieter this time. He sounded forlorn. Sad.

Kizzi let out a heavy sigh. “I promise.”

It took a while, but eventually, the sound of light footfalls heading into the distance could be heard, breaking the weighted silence of the night.

I just stared at Kizzi. She stared back. I thought again about earlier, how close she had been to me, how every muscle in my body ached to lean in, to kiss her, to capture her lips with mine. I could have sworn she leaned in, too. That must have been my hopeful imagination.

Eventually, she broke the tense silence. “So, that was weird.”

Which part? The almost kiss or the interruption? I almost asked, but I stopped myself. Instead, I said, “It was. Does he do that often?”

She scoffed. “No! Never. Linc and I aren’t even really friends. He helped me hand out chili today, maybe I gave him the wrong idea? I hardly spoke two words to the guy!”

The knot in my stomach loosened slightly. Kizzi didn’t belong to Linc, after all. I still had a chance.

Deep down, I pitied the human. He was ensnared in Kizzi’s web just as I was.

“I think he was just drunk, and he’ll probably forget all about it come the rise of the suns,” I offered.

“One can only dream.”

I held my right hand out to her, where the final ties dangled loosely. “Would you mind fastening this last knot? Then I’ll get out of your hair and let you get to bed. You must be tired.”

“Oh! Right, of course,” she said hastily. She fumbled with the strips of fabric for a moment before she found a secure grip, and then she tied the knot with impressive speed. She retreated to the other side of the room. “You must be more tired than me, after slinging drinks all day. I saw how crowded your table was.”

I shrugged, admiring the neat, secure bandages on my hands. They really felt so much better. It was miraculous how much of a difference a little magical salve could make. “I have more energy at night, usually. The mornings are when I really struggle with being tired.”

“That’s backwards.”

“I guess I’m a night owl.”

“Right. Well, sorry again about the hands. If you need another round of healing salve, just let me know.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Kizzi, for this.” I held my hands out as an explanation. “This really is incredible.”

She brushed me off. “It’s just a quick enchantment and a few herbs. Nothing special.”

“Still, thank you.”

Her cheeks darkened slightly, but she said nothing else. With a nod in her direction, I unlocked the door and stepped out into the night. I resisted the urge to peek over my shoulder to catch another glimpse of the woman in her dressing gown. I heard the glide of metal on metal as the lock clicked into place behind me.

The cool night air was pleasant against my warm ears. I let out a deep breath, allowing the tension to drain from my shoulders, my forearms, my wrists.

The walk to my cabin would be a much-needed distraction.

Surprisingly, a few folk were still out and about, even though the moons were high in the sky, and it was far past the time when most of Moonvale settled down for sleep. I even saw a fluffy white cat scurrying around the corner, chasing something I couldn’t see. I thought it might’ve been the same cat from earlier, the one that rubbed against Kizzi’s ankles.

I took a slight detour to pass through the park in town square, checking for any heavy items that still needed to be returned to their proper homes. The park benches were all that remained.

On the closest bench sat Linc, hunched in on himself, staring at his shoes. His gaze was fixed but not focused, and his eyes still held a strange, glossy sheen. His eyebrows were pinched as though he was upset, but his mouth was lax.

Was he… waiting for something?

A glance around the park showed nobody else looking at him or heading in his direction. He was on his own, it seemed.

My jaw clenched. Was he waiting for Kizzi?

Absolutely not.

“Hey, Linc!” I called out as I approached the man. “What are you up to?”

He didn’t look at me when I stepped closer. “Oh, nothing, really.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“You don’t look okay, man. Are you going to sit here all night?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.” His gaze remained unfixed, pointed at the ground.

“You should really get home,” I said hesitantly. “Can you walk?”

He nodded. “I can. But no, thank you.”

“I’ll help you,” I insisted. I placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch. His muscles were loose and relaxed. “Would that be alright?”

He simply shrugged again. Nervously, slowly, I grabbed Linc’s arm and pulled it over my head, around my shoulders. He let me. “I’m going to help you stand, okay?”

I secured my arm around his middle, grasped his wrist, and gently hoisted him to his feet. He was not very heavy, but I had to crouch to keep his feet from hovering above the ground.

“Do you still live over by the river?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay, then. I’ll take you there.” I began walking in that direction. He walked with me—clumsily but willingly. His feet moved as though commanded by an external force.

The human was silent the entire way, gazing off into the distance with glossy eyes and pinprick pupils. He didn’t seem drunk.

Mirthroot, maybe? Linc really didn’t seem like the recreational drug type, but folk could be surprising.

Luckily, the door to his small, tidy cabin was unlocked. I pushed it open and led the human inside. He allowed me to place him onto his bed, where he clumsily crawled under the covers. He was still fully dressed with his boots on, but there was no way in Hell’s Realm I was going to undress him while he was acting so strange.

“Are you good here, Linc?”

He didn’t answer—he just stared at the ceiling above him.

“Okay then… I’m going to leave. Just go to sleep. Don’t go anywhere else. You’ll feel better tomorrow.” Hopefully .

Silence.

Feeling confused and vaguely concerned, I left Linc in his bed, marched out of his cottage, and pulled the door closed behind me.

The walk to my own cottage was less eventful. Chirping insects, scurrying critters, and my own thoughts were all that kept me company.

My cottage was uncomfortably quiet. Stiflingly so. I tossed my windows open wide, welcoming the sounds of the lively forest a few paces away.

It helped. A little.

My mind couldn’t decide where to settle, flitting back and forth between Kizzi, her soft hands and kind treatment of my wounds, and Linc, and his baffling behavior. Both were enough to scramble my brains.

Was Linc really interested in Kizzi, or was it just a drug making him act that way? It didn’t seem like she returned his affections but… she didn’t return mine either. I wasn’t in a position to care, but I couldn’t help myself.

Maybe tomorrow will be more normal…