O Fortuna
Chapter 16
-/-/-/-/-/-
The kitchen and bathroom smelled fresh and clean. The crib and changing area were neat and tidy, and all the laundry was washed and folded. Adalind had cherished her peace and quiet prior to Nick, and there was no reason she wouldn't enjoy a few days of momma and baby time.
Until dinner.
Then the loft felt strange and empty, which made no sense. Nick was late or working several nights every week. She sent Rosalee a text asking how she was enjoying the company of Monroe's clocks and got a reply: Driving me crazy!
Fifteen minutes later, the teeny red Fiat pulled into a space in the loft's massive garage beside Juliette's Subaru. Adalind met her at the service elevator's door with a plate full of dried salami and cheese while Rosalee wiggled a bottle of wine.
-/-/-/-/-
Two days passed more or less to plan, assuming the plan was staying busy while trying to ignore the gnaw of missing Nick. No news was provisionally good news. Theoretically, at least. If she had more time to prepare, she would have bought one of those international prepaid cellphones instead of his department issue model. At least that way, the call couldn't instantly be traced back and he could change SIM cards to conceal the number.
Police cars had been putting slowly past since Nick left. She swore they were all over the place when she was out and about. She decided to cast it in the best possible light: Nick's friends were checking up to make sure everything was going ok. There was an itch in the back of her throat, though. She would be a fool to expect Renard, Hank, and Wu to completely trust her, so there was that too. Shocker, she was stocking shelves and prepping orders in the spice shop when she wasn't in the law library or the store.
On the third day, she picked up their mail, got groceries, and snuck over to the pizza place to grab a few slices and join Rosalee in the spice shop for an early lunch. She probably would have gone solo, except Kelly's smiles and giggles cheered her friend up so much. She's got the baby bug bad but there's no telling if a Fuchsbau and a Bludbad can successfully have children. Adalind stroked through Kelly's soft hair. I guess anything is possible.
Her thoughts were still flip-flopping between the upcoming interview with Berman and Nick's eventual return when Rosalee rushed to her side.
Andrew Dixon had been assassinated at a political rally!
The idea was so absolutely outlandish that she couldn't believe it was real, so she checked the news feed on her phone. The Portland news outlets were running wall to wall with the breaking news, airing replays of the assassination. Her mind reeled. Why in the world would anybody go after an insurance agent at an election rally? The man wasn't even the mayor! She watched replay after replay of Dixon staggering across the stage and Renard rushing in, trying to save him.
It was such a big, nasty killing, in public no less. I mean, its not like the old mayor could do it, he was in prison. The Acting Mayor pro-temp was his former administrative assistant, and she wasn't even running for office. And if the ex-mayor's organization went after anybody, it would probably be her friend Leslie, the reporter who broke all the scandals and got him sent to prison. She had been covering the rally and was one of the many reporters crowing about the shooting.
The pieces shifted into place and the lightbulb turned on. This is what Trubel was worried about. Nick had taken her information to the police. The police weren't checking on her, they were looking for the suspect.
Now it made even less sense. Terrorists don't go after random insurance agents or even local city council members... If there was an endgame, she sure didn't see it, unless one of the local candidates had really dangerous ties...
Soon, they were discussing Monroe's research into the candidates. From the information he compiled, it seemed extremely unlikely any were tied to the sort of groups that would murder their way into office. Mostly, they were a bunch of weird cranks and disorganized do-gooders. Gallagher was the only one who seemed slimy enough and had some actual initiative. The man allegedly had ties to crime, but this would be too obvious. He would be the first suspect in every investigation.
The phone's ringing interrupted their theorizing. Rosalee was soon tied up with call after call from local Wesen, so Adalind headed into the back to dive into the next pile of shipments.
The Spice Shop's door jingled a cheerful welcome. Adalind was hunched over a workbench with her nose stuffed in a stack of packing slips when Rosalee's angry voice cut through the quiet.
A bottle smashed, then a second, and a third. A man was yelling. She rushed out front as a loud crack echoed and Rosalee clattered to the floor. Adalind went straight for the phone when the man collared her. "How much money you got, bitch!"
She jerked away. "I'm calling the police!"
He snarled and twisted his head. The red blotched skin hiding under his unruly brown scruff of hair and beard transformed into a bulbous insect forum with mouth full of pointy teeth.
Kelly! All her thoughts went straight to her baby, but Adalind's stomach cramped. Her blood was boiling with the hatred of being helpless. Her mouth drew open as her insides clawed towards her teeth. Nausea washed over her and she stumbled backwards, hemmed in by the Wesen threatening the safety of her baby while she fought to control her knotting abdomen. The bug man gnashed his teeth and cursed her with a dozen threats while shoving her back against the post. White rage rippled through her body as she fought the weakness in her knees and stomach. He snatched a handful of hair and slammed her against a column again.
Suddenly, the whole world slowed as her eyes locked on the calloused hand hurtling towards her cheek.
And the screaming started.
Terror rippled across the man's face as the fingers on his right hand folded backwards, crackle-popping into balls behind his knuckles.
He was frozen in pain, green faced and cradling the wreckage of his hand when the world snapped back to normal. Her hands came up but the door crashed open and he scrabbled off, shambling down the street before she could rip his lungs out through his mouth.
The stench of fear filled the room, blasting Adalind's senses.
Rosalee's face was chalk white as her brain processed the thug's bones shattering without a single touch. Adalind's vision locked on her eyes, burrowing into a mind overflowing with a thousand terrors of mummified corpses snarling at her. Visions of bones rattling against countertop as the old hags drummed cracked remains of fingertips. Shrunken eyeballs wobbled loose in rotting eye sockets and chipped, brown teeth snarled behind desiccated lips.
I'm not a monster.
Adalind's mind screamed forward, front running Rosalee. While she dared not utter the words, her friend wanted the witch gone. After that reaction, she knew she would be sold out within the hour.
If that happened, the one man in the whole world who cared about her would never return.
Just like her father.
But we have something real. She needed him, craved him, and she had grown to rely on Rosalee's friendship.
She trembled like a scared child from the prospect of everything she loved and cherished burning to the ground again. She could not lose another child. She could not wander the streets alone. Her words spilled out, "Oh my God! Oh my God, it can't back, it can't be back!"
Rosalee paused as if surprised by Adalind's reaction. Her expression shifted to concern as she tentatively laid shaking hands on Adalind's shoulders and escorted her to the cot. Rosalee spoke carefully. "Maybe it's just temporary."
Tears rolled down Adalind's cheeks as visions flashed. Her father, gone without even giving her a hug. Chained to a stone floor in a black dungeon. Renard shuffling her off without so much as a second thought. The empty street yawning before her as she screamed for her lost daughter. Finally, thoughts of Nick rejecting her a thousand different ways blasted through her mind. "No, it can't be back! I don't want it back. He'll kick us out! Please! I don't have anywhere to go. Please promise me you won't tell Nick."
The words blubbered out as she melted down, sniffing out worries. Rosalee paused a second as that reality soaked in.
The room was awash with a noisy clutter of Rosalee's feelings and emotions, so Adalind plucked one thread and found the memory of a despondent Grimm and his marching dumpster fire engulfing everything around it. Rosalee and her husband were trapped inside Nick's inferno of chaos and violence that kept pouring straight into her spice shop and marching in and out of up her guest bedroom at all hours of day and night.
Adalind focused into her eyes and followed the stream of thoughts: No. You can't let that happen. Remember how she calmed Nick's hurricane with one touch? The last six months have been glorious. I know I need the witch on our side, handling him, so I won't have to. She thanked God every day that Adalind didn't have a thing for Monroe. The Wesen community needed Adalind with Nick, and they were all counting on her to make it happen. Never mind that she's been a good friend, and she has sorted out mountains of legal work for us. And Kelly was the sweetest and most adorable thing ever.
Rosalee's expression softened to measured concern and she carefully reached out and gingerly touched Adalind's shoulder. Once sure Adalind wouldn't hex her, the cautious touch turned to consolation, reminding her about how much she cared for Nick, and that they really were a good couple. Sure, Rosalee was concerned about this new turn, but she was a lot more worried about a replay of the mess that poured into her lap last time.
They talked a bit more, but Adalind was drained. She needed time alone to process the afternoon. There was way too much to think about. She also needed get back into to practice blocking it all so her brain wasn't constantly swamped by everyone's thoughts and feelings. Having the power to pry when she needed to was one thing, but any more of this would wreck her with migraines so she locked down her mental shields and shut the whole world out.
The baby bag strap had just looped over Adalind's shoulder when the phone rang. Rosalee's face lit as she mouthed, It's them! Butterflies crawled through Adalind's stomach as a thousand things ran through her mind from the assassination to the assault to her powers, but now wasn't right. She wanted to run away but when his voice rumbled through the phone, all she wanted to do was snuggle into his shoulder on the couch. The news was good: He was coming home. His voice was cheerful but guarded. The last thing she wanted was jeopardizing his return with hasty words. Less was more, but her heart ached when Rosalee told Monroe, "I love you too."
She was now officially on her way out this time, for sure, when The Spice Shop's door swung open with a welcoming jingle. Rosalee's face went pale an instant before she disappeared into the back room. An older woman dressed in a comfortable but expensive purple and yellow floral pattern dress sauntered up to the counter, looked around for a minute, and tapped the bell.
Adalind laid her purse and the baby carrier down on the counter. "Let me go get Rosalee for you."
The woman's polite nod answered.
Adalind found Rosalee huddled in the corner of the back room, shaking. She inhaled, focused her powers, and gently touched Rosalee's shoulder, washing calm through her. "There's a customer out front."
Rosalee's lips quivered. "That's Ms. Lipscomb. Can you...?"
Adalind's gaze searched the depths of Rosalee's thoughts. The woman was a Hexenbiest and Rosalee was completely shot. Rosalee's hand caught hers and her eyes begged. "Please. I can't right now."
Adalind nodded, put up her mental shields, and headed back out front. "Rosalee stepped into the restroom. Can I help you?"
The woman's bored nod answered. "Evangeline Lipscomb. I'm picking up an order."
The words came out of her mouth before she thought about the toddler intently watching from his carrier seat. "Do you have some identification?"
The corner of the woman's lip perked, revealing pearly white teeth. "Of course." With that, she twisted her head. Matted gray hair replaced her bottle brown hair and her botox smile transformed into the broken corpse of her Hexenbiest form. The woman's shriveled eyes wobbled loose in their hollow sockets as the bleached bones of her fingertips drummed the countertop. "Satisfied?"
Adalind's head twisted as her own body transformed into her Hexenbiest form, revealing exposed muscles, withered flesh, and lifeless gray eyes. "Of course."
Her stomach knotted when she remembered Kelly, but he was giggling, clapping, and craning for her. "Ma ma ma ma!"
The woman's cracked, brown teeth ground behind a patchwork of holes in her leathery cheeks. "Well, he surely is a cute little one."
Adalind's own smile bloomed through her decayed lips. "Yes. He's been a little fussy. Do you mind if I pick him up?"
"Of course not."
Kelly pulled into her arms and reached straight for her face, giggling as he ran chubby fingers into the fissures, and babbling as his fingertips inspected lumps of gristle clinging to the exposed bones.
The woman quirked the scarred knot where an eyebrow once lived. "Can he see you?"
"I guess so. This is the first time I've done this in front of him."
The woman reached out with the bones sticking through the dried flesh on her hands and touched his cheek. He giggled and ran his fingertips over the brown cartilage and tendons. "That's remarkable. My daughter was terrified the first time she saw me woge. She kept screaming and cried when I tried to touch her ."
Adalind nodded, sending loose mats of hair flopping around the frayed tendons in her neck. "I was so scared the first time I saw my mother woge. Let me get your order."
The woman nodded and transformed back into her manicured human form. Adalind transformed back as well, but Kelly grumped and patted her face. In the empty back room, a box marked E. Lipscomb laid on the workbench. A quick perusal showed everything was ready, so she took it back out and rang the woman up. The woman grumbled about the prices, but Adalind opened a bag of scarab beetle shells. The dung beetles musty aroma drifted past her. "We had to special order these out of Tunisia. I'm sure you've heard about Egypt's political situation. You can't get their scarabs without robbing a tomb."
The woman chuckled as her painted nails caught one of the shimmery blue and purple shells. She slid it between her teeth and gave it a crunch. "Mmm, yes, these are considerably fresher than the ones I got from La Sorciere in New Orleans last year."
Adalind nodded. "I think that place is mostly for tourists."
The woman wrinkled her nose. "Kehrsite girls playing witch. You just wouldn't believe the sort of trouble the stupid little things get into. I had to sort one out after she put big, lumpy warts all over her breasts."
Adalind quirked an eyebrow. The woman continued. "She was trying to make her breasts bigger. Oh, they got bigger all right. She's fairer than you and her breasts were like lumpy, brown cauliflowers. The little fool didn't understand the consequences of arsenic poisoning. It's a miracle she didn't die."
"She must have used some sort of surfactant?"
The old witch rolled her eyes. "She made up a lotion full of DMSO."
Adalind gasped. The industrial solvent was fabled for its ability to carry nasties straight through the skin.
The woman nodded. "It's a wonder the girl even has breasts. I had to remove all the contaminated tissue and put her on massive calcium citrate supplements. Worst of all, the stupid thing was whining, going on and on about being some sort of vegan who doesn't eat any meat or animal products, but that sort of a diet won't provide enough protein or fat to regrow breast tissue or new skin, now will it."
Adalind nodded. This woman was a breath of fresh air. The complete opposite of her mother. "Have you tried baby formula?" She slid a can out of her swollen momma bag and passed it across the counter. "Most of the protein packages are synthetic and digest almost instantly."
The woman fished a pair of leopard print reading glasses out of her purse and ran her fingers past the tiny writing on the bottom of the orange label. Her eyes lit. "This is exactly what I need." She slid a pink cellphone out of her matching purse and clicked a picture. "I had to witch the little thing completely sideways just so she would drink the liver and sweetbreads puree."
"And it's shelf stable." Adalind drew a bottle of nasal spray out of the bag. "You can get most of the steroids between this and prednisone."
The woman peered at the bottle. "And to think, all this time, I've been extracting animal testicles and lymph glands. You can buy this in the supermarket!" The woman's smile bloomed. "I'm glad Rosalee finally got some good help in here."
"Oh, I don't work here. She's a close friend of mine. His father and her husband are best friends."
"I'll have to tell my friends about this. Of course, the store always carried such good things, but I don't often come here. They always seem put out by our kind."
Adalind let a long sigh drift out. "Between the two of us, I think my mother took advantage of Freddy and Rosalee."
"I was meaning to ask. Who is your mother?"
"Catherine Schade."
The woman nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss. Yes, she was that sort, loved to command the fear in their eyes. Shame what happened to her. Should have known better than to tangle with a Grimm. The word was, she refused to teach her daughter any magic."
"I didn't even know how to open her spellbook."
A warm buzz permeated her arm from the woman's touch. The woman quirked an eyebrow at her. "She didn't exactly keep her affairs with The Prince secret. She always claimed her daughter was part royal, but you're the one who has born royal blood." The woman glanced around the room and lowered her voice. "It's true, then?"
Adalind waited, but the woman continued, "I've never seen a Hexenbiest carrying Grimm blood, or...". Her eyes turned to Kelly and drifted back to hers. "I thought it was just some dusty legend."
Now, it was Adalind's turn to quirk her eyebrow. Add one more legend to the list of things Adalind Schade had not learned from her mother. The door swung open with a welcoming jingle, cutting their conversation short. One of Rosalee's regulars was in for his weekly refill of ear drops.
Adalind printed out the credit card receipt and bagged the items. The woman scratched her name and phone number on a slip of paper and pushed it into Adalind's hand. "Well, this has been delightful. Please, call me. I'd love to chat some more, and perhaps teach you a few remedies which may prove... Beneficial."
She took care of a dozen more customers before the store emptied out. The million nagging nits evaporated as she stilled her mind, focused her powers, and woged her eyes. Layer after layer of drywall, boards, wiring, and wood flooring melted away as she peered. A red and white glowing figure was hunched on a stack of calcium carbonate bags, wiping her eyes in the corner of the basement.
Adalind gently opened the basement door and rapped. "Rosalee? Are you down there?"
A minute later, Rosalee's voice answered. "Sorry to leave you with customers. I had to prepare an emergency order."
"I'm making a cup of tea. Do you want some?"
Rosalee's shaky voice echoed back up the stairs. "Sure."
It was time to mix up Rosalee's secret calming tea. Adalind measured a tablespoon of chamomile, a teaspoon of dried coca leaf, a thin slice of fresh ginger, and a dollop of wildflower honey. The steam from the boiling water carried the herbal aromas. Her nose wrinkled at the distinct grassiness. She quirked an eyebrow and then smashed a raspberry into it. The fruity essence and tang of acid gently masked the aftertaste of lawn clippings without turning the tea into hot Kool-aid.
It took Rosalee a few minutes to work her way back upstairs. The cup rattled as her jittery fingers carried it to her lips. Her trembling stilled with the second cup. "Thank you for this."
Adalind nodded and Rosalee continued. "I'm sorry I freaked out. I shouldn't have. You've helped me out so much, and you have done so much with Nick. He used to wake us up at all hours to pester us with questions. Now, he seems more normal? I guess like an actual friend."
Adalind nodded. "You've been such a good friend. I should probably get going. Kelly needs a nap."
Rosalee bit her lip. Her mouth dropped open to a question that hung without words. She inhaled and then exhaled hard. "Now that you have your powers back... Monroe and I need some... Help. We want a baby, but so far, fertility treatments haven't worked."
Adalind waited. Rosalee climbed the ladder behind the counter and slid a dog eared book out of it's place high on the shelf. She flipped through, laid the book open, and tapped a page.
Adalind scanned it. The center of the page bore an illustration of a bony hand caressing a woman's smooth stomach. Under it, the caption read, Traditionally, a Hexenbiest would be sought out to stimulate successful pregnancy when other options proved unfruitful. "My mother never taught me anything about this."
Adalind exhaled hard at Rosalee's pleading eyes. She remembered the old Hexenbiest's phone number in her bag. "Let me see if I can find some information about how this procedure works."
Rosalee nodded but her fingers started to shake again. She was clearly fried. Adalind focused her powers, reached over, and laid a gentle hand on her friend's shaking arm. "I'm game if you are."
Rosalee's glassy eyes drooped. Her trembling settled as a soft smile bubbled up. "I would appreciate it. I just don't know where else to go."