Part Four

“Hi, I booked a cabin,” she said to the woman working in the vegetable garden. She smiled at the woman who was completely gray and her face showed kindness.

“Oh, hello dear, what’s your name?” The old woman looked like a grandmother with her garden gloves on her hands and her hair trimmed short. She had wrinkles but Dezrael could see that she had been pretty in her younger days.

“Dezrael Danielsson,” she answered and looked towards the beach. The view was breathtakingly beautiful and for a moment she forgot the cold as she got lost in the thundering waves that broke onto the beach.

“What a beautiful name! You can call me Addie. Let’s go get you settled in. Where are you from, dear?” Dezrael liked this older woman and hoped that she could be a source of information for her.

“I’m from Sweden, on a retreat as I write my thesis. I’m studying Environmental Psychology.” Dezrael lied easily and she could see that the woman was confused.

“What’s that, dear?” Addie asked her.

“It’s the study of transactions between individuals and their physical settings, like influential families in a small town and so forth.” Dezrael really hoped that her explanation was sufficient for Addie because she hadn’t really studied up on Environmental Psychology. It was the first thing she could think of to explain her interest in the Sinclair family.

“Oh! Then you will definitely want to meet the Grant family! Very influential here in Seward and also the Sinclair family!” Addie told her excitedly. Dezrael made mental notes. The Sinclair family, this might just be how she could meet Kiran and cast her spell of deceit.

“What do you know about the families?” Dezrael asked and Addie smiled at her.

“Well, the Grant family is very rich, they have a son, Sam is his name. If there’s a party in Seward, Sam is the host. Johnathan Grant inherited rich, and he travels frequently with his wife, Shawna. He owns a few businesses across the country. I’m not sure if you’ll ever get an appointment with that man.” Dezrael got the sense that Addie didn’t really care for them but was too polite to say it outright.

“And the other family you mentioned?” Dezrael guided her to what she actually wanted to know.

“Ah, the Sinclairs! What nice people! Malachi Sinclair is a lawyer and he has an office right here in town. He recently lost his wife in a terrible car accident and we haven’t seen much of him in town. His son, Kiran, just like his father that one, well-mannered, quite the catch under the girls. He’s very involved with almost everything that goes on in Seward, especially the charity work his mother did. They own the hotel up on Lowell Canyon Drive. Although, it’s also been a while since I’ve seen him down this way.” Addie talked as Dezrael filled in the form she had received from Addie and took the keys she handed to her.

“Thank you so much, I will definitely consider interviewing them,” Dezrael said as Addie walked outside with her and showed her which cabin was hers.

“Enjoy your stay dear and please ask me if there’s anything you want to know about Seward,” she said and smiled at Dezrael.

Dezrael unpacked her suitcase and sent a text to Sean saying that she was safe and where to send her books. She blessed the cabin and took out her amulets and crystals and placed them where they would recharge with the sun’s light.

She opened her laptop and plugged the charger in since it was dead and made tea while she waited for it to hum to life. She searched online for Malachi Sinclair’s law office and phoned the number listed there.

“Sinclair Law Office, how may I assist you today?” A woman answered after the third ring.

“Hi, I want to make an appointment to see Mr. Sinclair please,” Dezrael said to the woman.

“Unfortunately Mr. Sinclair isn’t taking on any new clients at this time. He will consider new appointments next month. Can I refer you to another lawyer in Seward?” The woman’s voice was very professional and she doubted that she’d get any information from her over the telephone.

“Does he come into the office at all? I actually just have a package that I need to deliver to him,” Dezrael said.

“No, I’m sorry, he will be at the office again in the new month. You can leave the package at reception and I’ll make sure that he gets it,” she replied again and Dezrael thought of another plan.

“Thanks,” Dezrael said and disconnected the line. Good, he wasn’t there. That worked perfectly. She would visit his office tomorrow. She went to the Safeway she saw on her way into Seward and bought groceries.

She cooked dinner and then took a hot shower. She slept easily and awoke refreshed the following morning. She dressed casually and headed to Malachi’s law office. She smiled brightly at the receptionist she had spoken to the previous day and looked around.

The reception area was tastefully decorated and she saw that Malachi’s office was just a one man show, not a firm. This was better, currently only the receptionist was there and she could use less magic to enchant the receptionist.

“Hi, sorry what’s your name?” Dezrael asked her.

“Hi, I’m Lynne, how can I assist you today?” She smiled at Dezrael.

Dezrael took a hold of the woman’s hand and chanted softly while she held onto her gambanteinn. The gambanteinn was a smallish staff and hers were carved from wood, with her ancestral symbols carved into it.

“I strike thee, Lynne with my gambanteinn, to tame thy mind and heart, to work my will.” She touched Lynne’s hand three times with the gambanteinn and then promptly let her hand go. Lynne had been entranced easily as the spell took effect.

“What would you like to know?” Lynne asked her and Dezrael smiled. It had been too easy.

“I want to know everything about Kiran Sinclair,” she said as she sat down on a chair and Lynne started talking.

She told Dezrael where they lived, but she knew almost nothing about Kiran’s daily routines, though she could tell her a whole lot of Malachi’s comings and goings. He had taken some time off and Kiran worked half-day at their hotel. She also told Dezrael about Kiran’s fiancé, Adara, and that they all lived together.

She left Lynne still entranced; she might need more information later and every time she cast a spell from the dark side it took more energy from her than normal magic did. She would make her forget everything later.

The fact that they all lived together could prove to be a problem. She would need to get into that house, to get something personal that belonged to Kiran. She wasn’t dissuaded by the idea that he was engaged and happy. She was happily married too but she needed to get pregnant and it had to be Kiran who did it.

Now she would have to wait for Sean to send her the boxes, her tarnkappe was in there. She would need to restore all her energies for that spell anyway. A tarnkappe looked like a normal cloak but you could call upon the magic of Loki to enchant it and the wearer would become invisible.

It would be the easiest way to enter the house, whether they were there or not, though she would prefer it if they weren’t. They were just lowly wolves and had no magic at their disposal. Any and all spells Karani had cast would have died with her and Dezrael smiled. She could almost taste the victory.

They would never even know that anything had happened.