Page 31 of Eye on the Ball
I figured we wouldn’t get to the bottom of it soon, and I had more important things to do than try. I rushed over to Rose, who was looking pale.
“Hi, Rose! I’m Tess Callahan. I’m so happy to finally meet you. I think maybe you need to sit down?”
Her smile was genuine but strained, and she rested a hand on her enormous belly. Twins, Alejandro had told us. “I really need to rest. Didn’t expect to be casting spells the minute I got here. The babies are overexcited.”
She rubbed her belly, and the grass at her feet trembled. I took a startled step back, and looked down to see stalks of flowers poke up out of the ground, grow several inches in seconds, and burst into colorful bloom.
“That’s … beautiful!”
She groaned. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t me. The babies are excited.”
The babies?
Nigel, Dead End’s only resident ogre, ambled closer. Nigel was small for an ogre, he’d confided in my dance class when Molly and I were kids. (He’d bestowed the award of Best Pirouette in the five-to-seven-year’s class on me, and I’d been delighted. Uncle Mike and Aunt Ruby took me out to a special dinner to celebrate.)
However, size was relative, and being small for an ogre still meant being huge for a Dead Ender. Nigel was nearly nine feet tall and proportionally wide. His long, slightly pointed ears poked out of corn-silk blond hair, and his lovely violet eyes were wide and curious. (His skin was tanned golden brown, not green.Shrekwas spoken of with hatred in ogre circles.)
Alejandro, probably not accustomed to ogres, put his hand back on his gun. Jack motioned for him to stand down, which he did, I was glad to see. I didn’t want the scary special agent to frighten my friend.
Rose, though, held out her hands to Nigel, her eyes widening with wonder. “Oh! Brother Ogre! May the wind dance through the hills of your ancestors.”
Nigel beamed and took her hands. “And may the gardens of yours bloom with fertility and delight,” he rumbled, and then he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead before releasing her hands and stepping back.
She laughed and patted her stomach. “I think I’ve had enough fertility.”
“The little witchlings are playing,” Nigel said, pointing to the flowers continuing to sprout and bloom in an ever-widening circle around Rose. “Their magic shines like twin stars in your aura.”
“My granny foretold that they’d be the most powerful witches of their generation,” she confided in a lowered voice. “That’s pretty scary, as you can imagine.”
“May I offer a blessing?”
“We would be honored, Sir Ogre,” Alejandro said, reaching out for his wife’s hand. I didn’t know if it was natural talent or his P-Ops training, but he was excellent at reading a situation.
Rose nodded. “Yes. Thank you. We will take all the blessings we can get for these two.”
Nigel lightly touched her belly and murmured a few words in a language I had never heard before. The sound of it was like nothing I can describe … but the rumble of an avalanche crossed with the whisper of wind over water comes closest.
When he finished, evenIcould see the aura shining around Rose, and so could everyone else, from the sound of theoohsandahhsthat surrounded us. A halo of golden light, shot through with silver shimmers, spun and danced around her—especially around her belly.
“Wow,” I murmured.
“Thank you for the blessing, Brother Ogre. I’m Rose Cardinal, and if you ever have need of a garden witch, please call on me.”
“Nigel,” he said, his purple eyes twinkling. “If you have time, please have Tess bring you to visit. My wife is a Naiad and would offer the blessing of her water nymph kind to the babies.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. His wife Phaedra had once bemoaned the fact that Nigel wouldn’t let her drown ungrateful children.
Rose suddenly stumbled, and Jack was there to catch her. Alejandro reached for his wife, but Jack nodded his head toward the parking lot.
“I’ve got her. Grab your bag? Tess can lead the way to the truck, and we’ll get you to our place so Rose can rest.”
Susan tapped my shoulder. “I’m going to figure out this poisoned popcorn/bad-luck charm thing, and I’ll call you. Alejandro, it’s good to see you again. I hope to get to spend some time with you and Rose. Congratulations on the babies.”
He shook her hand but then, distracted, gave me an obvious hurry-up glance. I called goodbye to everyone and started for the truck, but then I stopped.
“Lorraine, would you mind overseeing the distribution of the new uniforms?” They were in the back seat of the truck, and we’d need the room. Plus, having something to do might help her feel better, since she was clearly still upset about how the bad-luck charm had affected her.
By the time we reached the truck, Jack had already placed Rose in the front passenger seat, having first moved the seat back as far as it would go to make room for her belly. I handed over the package, hugged Lorraine, and squeezed into the seat behind Rose. Alejandro took the seat behind Jack, and we were off.