This Strange Addiction by Julie Steimle (e book free reading .txt) 📕

Before she started off, Audry texted Hogan in the parking lot.

Hogan. I am so so so so so sorry, but I can’t go ring shopping with you today. An emergency came up and I need go help Silvia. I’ll explain later. Love you.

“What’s that?” Daniel peered over at her phone.

Tucking it away, Audry shrugged and turned the key to the ignition to start the car. “Nothing. I just needed to text my boyfriend to cancel…” she shook her head. “We were going to go ring shopping. I’m engaged.”

Daniel looked shocked as if she had just kicked him in the groin. “Boyfriend? Silvia hadn’t mentioned him.”

Glancing at him, Audry wondered why Silvia would have told her brother about her roommate’s love life. But Daniel’s expression quickly focused back on their trip and not another word was said about it. Audry wondered why it mattered to him. He wasn’t shipping Breacon also, was he?

Daniel was a nice guy. He was kind and thoughtful—a good brother. And though he and Silvia had a tense relationship full of cautious distrust, at the same time Audry could tell he cared a great deal about his half-sister. And whenever he visited, he made sure Audry was faring well while living with Silvia. In many ways, Audry knew Daniel better than she did Rick. They actually talked.

And what did they talk about? Life. Family. Anything to help Audry understand Silvia to make life easier for them both. And their family had lots of issues. Daniel’s father had married three times. Daniel’s own mother had died in childbirth, and his father had married Silvia’s mother almost right after, having been convinced that baby Daniel desperately needed a mom. And though his stepmother—Silvia’s mother—had never harmed him, there had always been a secret animosity between them. She disliked Daniel as he was favored over her in his father’s eyes and their marriage hinged on how well she treated his precious son. Daniel had three half-siblings from that woman—Silvia and two brothers. But Silvia’s mother had divorced their dad almost a year after her third son was born, and then she later married the town mechanic whom Silvia was indifferent to. Daniel’s current stepmother was a stern but good woman who had given his father two other children—dear little girls whom Silvia was jealous of and Daniel was fiercely protective of. It was a complicated family situation which Audry did not envy.

But they stopped talking about that stuff ages ago. That was old news. As they drove through New York City toward police headquarters, Audry brought up a conversation about his study, which she found fascinating yet rather impractical. Daniel’s official major was History—though he mostly focused on medieval mysticism, ancient legends around the world, and folklore. He had every intention of becoming a professor in a university—though he said he also planned to run an occult book shop one day. Audry always wondered if that last part was a joke. Daniel had a quick yet wry sense of humor. On top of that, his father worked as an accountant within Deacon Enterprises, and Daniel had a well-organized mind. It didn’t fit. He really didn’t seem the occult type despite his love for medieval weaponry—not the way Silvia was surrounded by pagan stuff. But he had openly joked he would have the shop so he could spy on witch covens. His ex-stepmother was a professed witch, after all. As were his two half-brothers… and Silvia.

“So… how’s your research going?” Audry said, glancing to him in the passenger side seat. “You’ve been searching catacombs, I believe?”

Daniel weakly laughed, too tense to openly smile. The sinews in his neck seemed taut, like he was ready to spring into a fight with a sword in hand. “Uh yeah. And old tombs and graveyards. Crusty Celtic monuments. Castles also. And sewers, which are gross.”

Audry nodded, wondering if he was climbing in the sewers like Jean Valjean or digging through tunnels like the Count of Monte Cristo. “And what is it you are searching for again?”

He angled his head, his eyes holding back his criticism with how sincere her question was. Though Daniel had a great sense of humor, he did not always like her cynicism. He was kind of a Galahad—a knight in whom mockery was seen as an affront to his virtue.

…Which was funny because Audry had also seen him hit on older women. Silvia once jokingly said he was interested in cougars—not the animal, but mature women—those in their thirties and forties. He found most young women ‘silly’. And yet, that quirk aside, Audry could hardly believe he was actually lecherous. He gave off an aura of a man of honor.

“We’re searching out a legend about a particular elf,” Daniel said, his mind occupied. “She’s powerful and ancient in legend, and she has gone by many names. Peter and I are trying to find the origins of the stories, specifically looking for an historical figure who may have been the source of the tales.”

“An historical figure?” Audry glanced at him as she signaled to change lanes. “Are you kidding me?”

Nodding, he said, “Yeah. The legends of King Arthur, for example, are based in history. He might not have had Excalibur or really sought the Holy Grail, but we have proof that such a king of legend—including a Merlin figure—existed. The legend of Merlin spans back a long time, and their origins are more pagan than Christian. The very tales have been rewritten by different authors. But most legends have root in reality somewhere.”

That was intriguing. Audry had never really thought about it. Though she said, “Like the legendary Troy.”

“Exactly.” Daniel nodded. He then gazed out the passenger side window. “And our elf has roots in Glastonbury. We think her original name was Brigidt.” He said those words as if they had eternal significance. But to Audry it just sounded weird. Why bother looking for a mythical elf?

But she asked, “And this Brigidt was an historical… what? Queen?”

Turning his eyes on her, the gravity in his thoughts seemed to weigh on his tongue what ought to be said to her. She could tell he did not think she would understand. For a moment she got the inkling of ‘pearls before swine’ in his look. It was a little insulting. Yet he answered with none of that disdain. “Brigidt was a Celtic goddess, an aspect of Danu, the daughter of Dagda. She was a triple goddess in the old pagan witch sense. Only instead of the maiden, mother, and crone, she had three aspects which were all parts of the same ageless goddess. Pagans worship her. She was a goddess of fire, smithing, fertility, feminine arts and crafts, the hearth, and martial arts. She was a warrior, and her name meant ‘fiery arrow’. It is even said that Groundhog Day is one of her holy days. She also invented whistling to get people’s attention.”

Audry tried not to chuckle. He was taking this so seriously.

“She was a fire goddess whom we believe has a connection with Wadjet in Egypt—the Lady of Flame. Also known as the eye of Ra,” Daniel said, more to himself than to Audry, “who is also connected to Bastet, the cat goddess. But we lost track of her from that point on. Rumor has it she had returned to England to Glastonbury where she has gone by different names since. And we need to find her.”

None of that made sense. Did he actually believe that goddess was a real person? Or was he just looking for weird connections to the legend in old texts? And why was he calling the goddess an elf? It made her wonder if he also looked for giants in his spare time, along with yetis and chupacabras. To be honest, Audry worried about Daniel’s sanity sometimes. It wasn’t practical to focus on mythology as if it were real. They were all imaginary.

“Glastonbury is quite beautiful,” Daniel murmured. “I would have stayed longer, but Peter had to go to Manchester for a week of ‘football’ training, and I wasn’t able to make the connection we were looking for. But Pete said he thought he had found an account of….” He then glanced to her. “I know I sound nuts. Look. Audry,” he took a breath as if asking this question was difficult for him, “when living with Silvia, did she ever try to share her views on magic with you?”

Rolling her eyes, Audry nodded. “Sure….” She recalled those creepy conversations way too well. “But then I told her to stop. She knows I don’t buy into—”

“Got it.” Daniel snorted. He shook it off. “So anyway, our research spans a lot of centuries in records, and we were at a dead end—until recently. But then I got that text from Silvia and I had to hurry back.” His voice had returned to his more academic tone. It was a mite annoying. Once more ‘pearls before swine’. She didn’t appreciate the feeling, and yet she knew he had been about to share something really creepy with her and had wisely decided against it. Audry didn’t tolerate too much of the ‘creepy’.

When they arrived at the police station, Audry recognized Danna’s car in the parking lot. She got out and pointed to it.

Daniel nodded, recognizing it. “Ok. So Danna is here.”

Audry nodded.

They hurried inside the station.

Matthew Calamori was in the lobby. When he saw them, Matthew greeted them both with whispers. “Good. Nice to see you Audry. We’ve got a situation. Please come with me.”

He quickly marched into the depths of the station as they followed closely behind. Matthew didn’t say anything until they started to enter the cell blocks.

“She turned herself in claiming to have committed a crime, but uh, I think she made it all up,” Matthew said. His face was rigid, grimmer that Audry had ever seen with him. “However, once one of our officers got her into an interrogation room, your sister said she was a witness to a crime, and she had been on the run since.”

“A crime?” Daniel rushed to be at Matthew’s side rather than behind him. “What do you mean?”

Cringing, Matthew whispered, “JJ—uh, Officer Joshua Johnson and I have been investigating a series of murders around New York involving the death of two women and a cat.”

Daniel paled.

“Both women killed look at lot like your sister,” Matthew said.

Audry drew in a breath.

“I didn’t notice the similarity until just recently. But Dan, I have to tell you, she looks guilty.” Matthew shook his head. “Now I don’t think your sister did it—but she may have done something that led to those two deaths.”

“How?” Daniel went pale, going breathless.

Peeking to Audry, Matthew said, “There are things I overheard. Things she did not say that so it couldn’t be recorded. But it has to do with those witches that are stalking Audry.”

Audry paled. “Are they still stalking me?”

Matthew shot her a smirking look and shrugged. “In a manner of speaking.” He shook his head. “Uh… I can’t give you the details, but after you texted Jessica about who was at your apartment—a wise move by the way—she contacted me and Rick.”

“Rick?” Audry’s face went hot in embarrassment. “Why Rick?”

Chuckling, his cheeks going pink, Matthew replied, “Because, he wants to get you a bodyguard. He’s worried that…” He shook his head.

Groaning, Audry snapped, “My boyfriend Hogan Orwell is NOT a sexual predator. My gosh! I told Bobo this!”

Matthew lifted up his hands, silently protesting it wasn’t his fault.

“And Hogan proposed yesterday,” she added. Waving her arm around angrily, she said, “And we were going to go ring shopping before all this happened.”

This time Matthew pulled back. “Really?”

She nodded hard. “Yes!”

He glanced to Daniel who nodded as he had just been told. “Well then, congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Audry then turned. However, she realized there was nowhere to go. She looked to Matthew again. “Well anyway, how am I still