Page 56 of Cursed By Fate

Louise turned to the side, blocking my reach. “Sorry. These are for my new friend, Keith.”

“Your new friend, huh?”

Keith gave me the kind of shit-eating grin that made me want to launch his lounge chair into the pool with him still on it.

“Louise is great, isn’t she? Did she tell you the story of why she wears an eye patch?”

“I’ve heard it many times.” And many different versions. I doubted Keith knew enough about her reputation to wrangle the truth out of her. He struck me as the type of man who talked through an entire date without asking the other person a single question and then was baffled by the lack of a second date.

Louise fed him another grape. His lips narrowly missed brushing her fingers. I fought the urge to gag. I had to put a stop to this, but I needed to handle this carefully, in a way that didn’t provoke Keith.

I could try to siphon energy from him, but without knowing exactly what I was dealing with, physical contact with him was a risk. For now, I only hoped to sever his influence over the surrounding Neighbors. They’d come to enjoy the pool, not to unwittingly become his servant.

Smirking, Keith folded his hands behind his head. “Maybe Maya would like a turn with the grapes, Louise.”

He was testing me to see whether he’d managed to push through my barriers. Fat chance, Keith.

Louise scowled. “I’m not very good at sharing.”

“And I’m not very good at feeding grapes,” I said. “I don’t have Louise’s gentle touch. Wouldn’t want one to get stuck in your throat.”

Keith’s smirk died. That’s right, buddy. You can’t exert any magical influence over me.

“The pool’s closed, I’m afraid,” I announced to the small crowd. “There’s a maintenance issue.”

“Why is security handling a maintenance issue?” Edith asked, still directing the fan at Keith.

“Because maintenance is shorthanded at the moment.” A realistic response. The Neighborhood was in a constant battle to stay on top of maintenance issues. I clapped my hands. “Let’s go. Everybody back to your homes.”

“We can party at my place before the flag football game starts,” Keith said, rising to his feet. “Bring the grapes, Louise. I haven’t had my fill yet.”

I should’ve realized he’d have a Plan B. Shit. Now I had to implement my own Plan B.

As Keith walked beside the pool toward the gate, I “accidentally” bumped into him, knocking him into the deep end. The shock of the cool water broke the tether. I watched the light return to Louise’s eyes, then Edith’s.

It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was the best I could do until I had enough information to take decisive action.

Louise glanced at the bunch of grapes in her hands. “Where did I get these? Good grief, my memory gets worse every day.” She passed the grapes to Edith without a word and left the pool area.

“Gods above, I am so sorry,” I told Keith, as his head surfaced. “My equilibrium is off.”

Keith swam to the ladder and climbed out of the pool. “No harm done.” He looked at Edith, as though expecting her to be ready and waiting with a towel. I heard a soft growl when he realized his “spell” had been broken.

Edith stared at the fan and grapes in her hands, perplexed. “I think these might belong to you.” She thrust both items at Keith and scampered out of the pool area.

As much as I wanted to explain to the women what happened, I couldn’t. Not yet. The information might incite a riot, and the last thing this island needed was all-out supernatural warfare. For better or worse, I had to exercise patience.

More intel was required and I knew just where to gather it.

I wasn’t the only one eager to speak to Knox Harrison. Based on the golf cart with the Dogs of War flag parked outside, his buddy Chaz was already here.

“Two visitors in one day?” Knox grumbled, turning away from me at the door. “Is the island on fire?”

I followed him into the cramped living room. Chaz sat on a wooden chair that Knox had likely carved himself. He didn’t like to socialize, but he kept busy in his own way. With his white beard and grumpy demeanor, some Neighbors referred to him as Santa Claws. Apart from me, he had the best nose for tracking and bullshit on the island.

“I’m guessing you’re here to talk to me about our mutual friend, Keith Irwin,” Knox said in his low, rumbly voice.

“Chaz says you both know Keith from the mainland.”