I looked at the time. Four o’clock. Had Olivia woken yet? What if she was still angry? What if she never returned to her normal happy self? My leg bounced up and down under the table, and I crossed my fingers. Please be okay, Liv. I looked at my phone sitting on the desk and resisted the urge to call Angelica to see how things were going at home. She needed sleep. I’d just have to be patient. Gah. I bit a fingernail.
“Ugh, disgusting habit.”
I looked up at Piranha whose expression said, “I just ate someone else’s snot, and I did not like it.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t the best habit in the world, but it was far better than eating snot.
“I have a job for you, petal.” She snorted. Ha ha, I got it. Lily was a flower, and she was also using petal as a term of anti-endearment, or would that be en-hatement? Whatever. I was not going to react.
“Yes, Agent Laaaam. What can I do for you?” I smiled innocently, as if I hadn’t just bleated her name. Okay, so I wasn’t meeting my goals today. What could you do? I was happy I’d found a new name for her though, one that made her seem less menacing. Piranha was so last week.
Her nostrils flared, but then she smiled almost as sweetly as I had. “I need you to collect a large envelope from the front desk and bring it back to me.”
“Why don’t you just magic it here?”
She rolled her eyes. “This room is warded against magic use for security purposes. Food can be magicked down, but that’s the only allowance in the protective wards. If you had half a brain, you’d know that. Anyway, don’t worry. Collecting the envelope is a job even a child could do, so you should be able to manage. It will have my name on it: Agent Dana Lam.” Condescending much?
“Is that one ‘a’ in Laaam or three?” I gave her a closed-mouth smile.
She narrowed her eyes and bent to get in my face. Her clenched jaw was only inches from my ear. “You’d better watch yourself around here, petal. Like I told you before: I’ll find out your little secret, and then I’m going to use it against you. The PIB is no place for losers with no talent. And guess who agrees with me?”
I kept my face impassive because she was surely going to bring up Will, and I wasn’t going to give her any satisfaction by reacting, for real this time.
“That’s right, child: Will. He wants you out of here just as much as I do. I’ve seen the way you look at him. I feel embarrassed for you, and so does he. You’re pathetic. Now, go and get my envelope like a good little girl, and maybe I’ll give you a lollipop when you return. Tell anyone I threatened you, and I’ll deny it. I’m very good at persuasion—it’s one of my talents. And if that’s not enough to discourage you…” She smiled and half closed her eyes, as if she was going to tell me a delightful secret. When she spoke, her breath feathered my ear, and I shuddered. “I will hurt those you love in ways you can’t imagine. Again, warning anyone won’t get you anywhere. I’m respected around here, and no one will believe your word against mine once I explain my side of the story.” She stood straight and looked down at me, her gaze hard, menace oozing from her perfectly made-up pores. Her fake eyelashes probably doubled as poison-tipped mini throwing weapons—rip them off, fling, and Bob’s your uncle.
Wow, she really wanted to get rid of me. But why? Did she see me as some kind of threat to her job or for Will’s affection? I knew I should feel scared, and I did a tiny bit, but I’d never let anyone intimidate me before, and I wasn’t about to start. It was time to call her bluff.
I stood and met her stare.
“Hmm, someone got up on the wrong side of the field this morning. But don’t worry, I’ll be happy to get your envelope. I’ll be baaack soon.” I walked out and left Agent Laaam glaring at the back of my head. It felt good to stand up for myself. Bullies sucked, and they loved an easy target. The best way to deal with them was to give as good as you got.
It wasn’t till I reached the lift that I realised I may have made a huge miscalculation. Agent Lam wasn’t just a bully: she was a sociopathic narcissist who could use magic.
Oops.
When would I ever learn?
Chapter 3
After returning with Dana’s envelope, I stayed out of her way for the rest of the afternoon. Antagonising her was just asking for trouble, and I couldn’t help it. Best to avoid the opportunity altogether. I was not to be trusted.
At 6:00 p.m., Ma’am returned and took over. She had some good news too—Olivia was back to her normal, sweet self. “It’s safe for you to return home, Lily. You’ve worked a long day here, and we may need you tomorrow. We still have no idea how this all came about, and once everyone’s been processed and released, it may happen again.”
My eyes widened. “Again? Can the police handle that? I mean, according to the news, and a couple of the calls I took today, there were murders as well as assaults and general bad behaviour. What if this isn’t the end of it? And if magic is somehow to blame, will those people be held accountable? Because I know Liv would never have acted that way if she were in her right mind.”
“We have yet to work out the details. Let’s figure out where this is coming from before we worry about the rest. From all the tests we’ve done, we haven’t found any magic, and no viruses so far. It’s rather puzzling. We’re having to interview everyone. Once the police do their interviews, we’re going to collate the information and see what similarities emerge.” Ma’am’s phone rang.
“I guess I’ll let you get back to it. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hello. Agent DuPree speaking.”
I waved and made my way into the corridor before conjuring my doorway to Angelica’s. Even though Ma’am had given me the all-clear, I was still worried. Maybe the violent people were only violent with the first person they came across who annoyed them? Seeing me might set her off again for all I knew.
I unlocked the reception-room door and opened it just enough to look out. Maybe I should call out to her, and if she screamed she wanted to kill me, I could just shut and lock the door again. I swallowed, licked my lips, and called out, “Olivia. I’m back. Hello. Olivia?”
“Lily? Where are you?” Footsteps hurriedly clomped down the stairs, but her voice sounded normal enough.
I stepped out, my heart thumping. “I just got home.”
She reached the bottom of the stairs and met me in the hallway. My shoulders relaxed, and I sighed out a relieved breath. “How are you feeling?”
She bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, Lil. Angelica told me what I did. I mean, I vaguely remember what happened, but it didn’t feel real. I can’t believe I tried to kill you, and I slapped you. I’m so, so sorry.” She shook her head, and her eyes filled with tears. “Can you forgive me? I’ll understand if you don’t want to hang around with me for a while.” Her brow wrinkled as she watched for my reaction.
I smiled and stepped towards her. “I won’t lie—you scared the absolute crap out of me, but I knew it wasn’t you. I will admit I’m worried it’ll happen again. Do you have any idea what set you off?”
“I would’ve said the stress of seeing my mother flip out, but Angelica explained what’s been going on. We went through everything I did that day, but nothing stood out as unusual.”
“Maybe your mum had finally had enough?” I shrugged.
She vigorously shook her head. “No. My mother vents to me if she gets angry with Dad. She never even spanked me when I was a kid. She hates violence.”
“Well, that is weird then. Do you want to sit down?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We shuffled to the sitting room and each sat in an armchair by the fireplace. The worry lines in Olivia’s forehead hadn’t budged.
“Have you heard anything about how your mum’s doing?”
“Dad called a couple of hours ago. Mum’s fine now and back home. She’s as mortified as I am about what she did. I really am so sorry. You’re the last person I’d want to attack.” She gave me a wan smile, then stared into the empty fireplace.
“Well, let’s figure out what happened so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.” I pictured my notebook and felt-tipped pen that were currently sitting on my closed laptop in my bedroom. Then I dipped into the golden river of power and imagined them in my lap. They arrived. Magic was so cool. I grinned and took the cap off the pen. I opened my notebook. “I know you’ve already gone through this with Angelica, but maybe we’ll figure something out she couldn't. Do you mind telling me everything that happened when you left here? And don’t leave anything out. The smallest thing might have significance.”
“Well, I went straight to my parents’. Nothing happened on the way. By the time I got there, Dad had managed to escape the bedroom. He let me in, and together we…” She blew out a heavy breath. “She wouldn’t listen to reason, and she was still trying to attack Dad, so we forced her into the car. It was horrible. She was screaming the whole time and trying to hurt Dad. I almost copped a fist to the face a couple of times. I still can’t believe that was my mum.”
I placed my hand on her arm. “It wasn’t really her, just like it wasn’t really you. I truly believe that. Something sinister is going on, Liv. It’s pretty obvious. I mean, for half of Westerham to go psycho on the same day?”
She nodded and told me the rest of the story. They’d taken her straight to hospital to have her sedated and had to wait since there were so many other people in the same situation or injured. After three hours, she was admitted and sedated. Once sure she was okay, they’d gone to the hospital cafeteria for tea and pudding.
“Did the food or tea taste weird? Did you feel any different after having it?”
“No. And I spoke to Dad this afternoon. He was fine.”
“And you came straight home afterwards?”
She nodded. Wow, that wasn’t much to go on. If it were a virus, how come her dad didn’t get it? And if it had been the food, he would have gotten it too, unless it was someone working at the cafeteria, and they only put something in every other meal? But then, before this started, I doubted half of Westerham had just been to the hospital and eaten there. It’s not like it was the place to eat. I snorted. Things would have to be pretty bad on the restaurant scene for people to be seeking to dine at a hospital cafeteria.
“So, what do you think?” Olivia looked at me and bit her bottom lip. “Will it happen again? What if it’s not safe for you to be around me?” Her brows drew together.
I shut my notebook. “I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll have more answers when Angelica collects all the data from everyone who was arrested. Maybe we should go talk to your parents, see what your mum did yesterday.”
She shook her head vigorously. “No way. I’m sorry, Lily, but there’s no way my parents would want anyone to know what happened yesterday. I told them that I told you that Mum came down with a twenty-four-hour vomiting thing, and we had to take her to hospital. They’re very private people, and Mum would be mortified if anyone we knew found out what happened.”
“Do you think you could ask her, see what you can find out? You don’t have to tell her why you’re asking. Tell her what happened with us last night and that you want to get to the bottom of it so it doesn’t happen again.” I laid my hand on her arm again because her hesitation in answering wasn’t a good sign. “Please, Liv. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t ask. Surely you don’t want this continuing?”
She snatched her arm from under my hand and hugged herself. “Of course not! It’s just… what if we find out it’s permanent? What then?” Her pupils were huge, almost engulfing all the brown of her irises. I took a deep breath to calm the voice in my head that agreed with her. It wasn’t time to consider the worst-case scenario just yet.
“I don’t know, Liv. But let’s not worry about that yet. My gut tells me it’s not permanent. Surely you’d still be enraged if it was?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I’m like a werewolf now, and once a month, I’ll turn into a stark-raving-mad killer?” One corner of her mouth quirked up. “You know that’s not such a crazy idea, considering witches exist, right?”
“I know. I’ve had to keep a very open mind lately. But I’m pretty sure this is an anomaly. And if it is a once-a-month thing, we’ll just chain you to your bed when it happens.” I grinned.
Olivia laughed. “Okay, I’ll talk to Mum, but I don’t know how it’ll go. She may not want to talk about it. I’ll do my best.”
“And don’t go anywhere else. It’s still dangerous out there. Some of the phone calls I got today were… horrifying. Our little part of the world has gone mad. Maybe I should come with you and just sit in the car?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you if anything happens. And I won’t eat anything while I’m out, just in case.”
“Okay. But be careful.”
We stood and hugged. After she left, I turned on the TV. It was more of the same as yesterday, although the violence had slowed because so many people had been arrested, but it was still over the top. I was just about to turn the TV off when I came across a breaking news bulletin. A young male reporter wearing a blue shirt stood outside Tonbridge Police Station. “Kent residents are urged to stay in their homes tonight as the recent scourge of violence spreads to the police department itself. One policeman assaulted another, hitting the victim’s leg with his baton this afternoon after an argument about who had to write an arrest report. We've spoken to some of the recently released offenders who claim there have been physical fights inside the Tonbridge Police Station between other officers. Four officers have been arrested by their colleagues, pending further investigation.”
“Oh, crap.” What would happen if more police were affected? Who was going to arrest everyone and get things under some semblance of control? Would they call the army in now? The PIB couldn’t be expected to handle everything without magic, which was our agreement with the government—witches weren’t to use magic on non-witches unless you had their permission, or it was in a non-harmful way to aid an investigation. Since most non-witches didn’t know about us, using magic to restrain thousands of people was out of the question.
I wanted to call Angelica and see what was going on, but she didn’t need my interruption, and what could I do anyway? I was just one little witch, one with limited experience at magic or law enforcement. Argh. I turned the TV off and looked out the window at the front garden. What was happening out there? Was Olivia okay? Sitting here doing nothing was going to make me crazy, but I couldn’t go anywhere without an escort, and all the agents were occupied with far more important things.
I wandered aimlessly around the ground floor a couple of times, going into every room, doing a lap, then coming out again. At the end of two laps, I found myself in the kitchen staring at the freezer. Well, it was apparent what I wanted, and since there was nothing else to do, I may as well.
I sat at the table and magicked myself a spoon and a bowl of the ice cream that had caused so much trouble. When life went to hell, at least food still tasted good.
After the stresses of the day and getting up so early, I was shattered and in bed by ten thirty. Olivia hadn’t gotten home yet. I texted her to make sure she was okay. Then I went to sleep. We’d agreed to go through her mum’s information in the morning. Besides, my brain was much smarter when it wasn’t half-asleep.
I got up at 8:00 a.m. to find a note on the floor next to the door. It was from Olivia. She’d written down everything her mum had told her. I dressed and took the note with me downstairs. I’d need coffee before I went through it. Angelica was already sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, dressed in her PIB suit.
“Good morning, Lily. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thanks. What time did you get in?”
“Just after three. We had quite the evening. How was Olivia when you got home?”
“Back to her normal self, from what I could tell.” I smiled. “I saw that thing on the news, about the police being affected.”
“It was bound to happen, since wh
atever this is affects non-witches. Drake, James, Dana, and I had a meeting with Chief Constable Alan Miller of the Kent police and Major Ronald Cromwell last night. We’ve drawn up a plan that will begin this afternoon. I’ve arranged a briefing for this morning. I’d like it if you came.”
“But I’m not an agent. Will Dana be there?” I wasn’t scared of her, exactly, but I didn’t feel like dealing with her snide looks and derogatory comments today.
“Yes, she will, Lily. She’s an integral part of our team. You really need to get along with her. I’m not sure what your problem is.” She raised her brows.
My mouth dropped open. Had Dana already been in Angelica’s ear, turning her against me? That evil witch. Maybe it was better if I was there, so I could make sure she didn’t bad-mouth me to everyone else. “Okay. I’ll go. What time?”
“In thirty minutes.” Angelica finished her tea and stood. “I’m off now. See you in the conference room shortly.” She popped her cup away, and then she disappeared.
I magicked the coffee machine into making me a cappuccino, and when it was done, it floated to the table and set itself down in front of me. I grinned. It was like having a servant, but I didn’t have to feel guilty for asking someone else to do it for me. I called my notebook and pen from upstairs. They appeared on the table. I opened the notebook and read through my scribblings from last night. Then I read the note Olivia had slipped under my door. Her mother had gone out that morning to a local teahouse to meet a friend. She’d eaten scones and had tea. After that, she went to a doctor’s appointment, then home. The aggression started about an hour later. Unfortunately, there was nothing about the friend she’d met. Had that woman come down with violence too? That sounded funny, but that’s what made sense to me. It was as if they’d caught it.
Witchslapped in Westerham Page 4