Page 22 of Sweetwater and the Witch

She reached the bottom of the steps and paused to look back at him, bewildered by the question. In the dim light it was impossible to see his face clearly, but she could read his mood.

“Why would I tell you?” she asked. “You’re a client, not a close friend.”

He didn’t respond immediately. She realized the question had caught him off guard. When he reached the bottom of the steps, he spoke again.

“Have you told anyone?” he asked.

“Just my friend Sybil Banks.”

“The proprietor of your matchmaking agency?”

“Right. We’ve talked about it, but neither of us knew what to do. The first thing I found on my doorstep was one of those little burner devices that chemists use to heat up the contents of a beaker or a test tube. The second was a chef’s torch.”

“Chefs use torches?”

“Sure, and so do home cooks. They make fancy desserts with them. The third item arrived yesterday. It was a barbecue grill fire starter. That was on my doorstep when I left for the office.”

“No wonder you were a little tense during our meeting.”

She shot him what she hoped was a withering look. “I was tense because you are a very difficult client. As I was saying, I was trying to figure out what, exactly, was going on. None of the gifts rose to the level of the sort of thing you can report to the police. All of the items were left on the doorstep. There was no indication that anyone had entered my home.”

“And you knew that if you did go to the cops you might end up having to explain just why you found the items so intimidating.”

“The last thing I wanted to do was tell the Illusion Town police that I have a talent for starting fires. Every time there’s a case of arson I would pop up on their suspect list. The word would get out. I would have attracted the attention of all the wackos who are attracted to fire and fire witches.”

“Okay, I get why you didn’t go to the police.”

“At least the mystery of who was leaving the fire stuff on my doorstep has been solved. Willis told me he was responsible.”

“How did he find out about your talent?”

“I have no idea. But as you just said, he’s a pretty strong talent. Maybe he figured it out.”

“What made you think he would be a good match for you?”

“I had my doubts from the start,” Ravenna admitted. “The casino business is a flashy, over-the-top world, and I am not the flashy, over-the-top type, but Sybil insisted I give Willis a try because I’d already had thirty-five failures. She thinks I’m being too choosy.”

“Like me?” Ethan asked, a little too politely.

Ravenna let that go without comment. “Sybil suggested that I start dating out of my comfort zone.”

“Which is exactly what you’re doing with me,” Ethan pointed out. “Have you considered that your matchmaker might be right?”

She was about to argue but thought better of it. Ethan was hauling her unconscious attacker into the tunnels in an effort to help her avoid the police and the possibility of being arrested for assaulting one of the pillars of the community. When you examined the situation from a certain point of view you could say that Ethan was being downright gallant, not to mention probably a lot more gracious and understanding than any of her previous thirty-six dates would have been under similar circumstances.

She owed Ethan Sweetwater. Big-time.

“It’s possible my matchmaker is right,” she said.

She knew she sounded grudging, but it was the best she could do. She was not in the mood to take dating advice from someone who was not a professional.

She led the way across the dingy basement and stopped in front of the old vault door that concealed the entrance to the Underworld. Tunnel energy leaked around the edges. She rezzed the lock.

“That door looks like it was installed a long time ago,” Ethan said.

“The real estate agent told me that at some point in the past a previous owner had it put in as a security measure to protect against possible intruders entering the house from the tunnels.”

“Smart. I’ve got a hole-in-the-wall in my basement, too. One of the reasons I bought the house. First thing I did was install a good vault door. You never know who might be wandering around the tunnels. The lock on yours is old tech, though. You should have it upgraded.”

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