by Elle Adams
Aveline huffed. “They don’t make familiars like they used to, do they? Right, Vanessa, we’re going to search this whole sorry dump of a house.”
The instant they left our flat, Alissa and I got to work returning the furniture to where it belonged. I won ten minutes in the bathroom to take a quick shower and change into my work clothes. They were covered in cat hair, but that was nothing new. Why did she have to insult Sky? He might not be a typical witch familiar, but that didn’t make him disloyal. Or disrespectful. Aveline hadn’t done a thing to deserve anyone’s respect, besides.
If Sky thought we were in danger from whoever had broken into the flat, he’d find a way to tell me. For now, I’d figure out how to make it up to him after the week was over. Maybe I’d buy him a small mountain of bubble wrap to destroy.
I left the bathroom and went into the living room to find Nina and Alissa, the former still wearing her pink dressing gown.
“She turned my flat upside-down, too,” said Nina. “How has she stayed head of the region’s witches for so long without someone ousting her?”
“Better keep it down,” Alissa added. “I’m so glad I’m working from midday until midnight. I’ll be able to avoid her.”
“I don’t like to imagine what she’ll do to the place while we’re at work, though,” I said. “And how did the thief break in? I was outside for ten minutes, if that, and I was wide awake before then. I don’t know how you slept through her snoring.”
“Earplug charm,” she said. “I’ll teach you that one.”
“If I want to get any sleep all week, I’ll need it.” I sank onto the sofa. “Have we definitely checked every corner?”
A crash came from overhead, followed by a scraping noise that sounded like a bed being dragged across a hardwood floor.
“I hope so,” Nina said morosely. “Maybe if I offer her a free haircut, she’ll leave my flat alone.”
“You’re out at work all day?” Nina worked at the local hairdresser’s, specialising in giving fancy haircuts to local witches and wizards. Given the tangled state of the Head Witch’s grey curly hair—which she’d left all over the inside of the shower—I doubted she particularly cared about fancy hairdos.
“Yes, luckily,” she said. “I swear there should have been a clause in our tenancy agreement about this sort of thing. Watch out for Head Witches. Bring earplugs and a shedload of patience.”
“She’s impossible,” I agreed. “Maybe one of the other witches did steal the sceptre, but you’d think they’d have waited until after the ceremony. It makes no sense to steal it beforehand, does it?”
“Good point,” said Alissa. “Either they didn’t expect to be chosen, or they needed it now. Who knows why, though?”
“Do either of you know what the sceptre actually does?” I asked. “Because all I know is that it’s like a wand, but more powerful.”
“Haven’t a clue.” Nina winced at another crashing noise. “Most people don’t, I imagine. The sceptre’s supposed to keep the balance between the covens. That’s what my mum said, anyway.”
“Balance?” Another crash shook the whole room, and I lunged to catch my coffee mug before it fell off the table. “She didn’t have any trouble climbing the stairs this time around.”
“Oh, she got her mother to levitate her,” said Alissa. “I should probably make sure she doesn’t fall on the way down. It’s bad enough that the sceptre’s missing—we don’t need to lose its owner, too.”
“Even if she’s completely bonkers.” The thief had some serious nerve. “I’m going to see if the others escaped her rampage.”
I got to my feet and headed for the flat opposite ours. Only Shannon was left, occupying the sofa in front of the stolen fireplace.
“Aren’t you going to help Aveline stop her from turning everyone’s rooms inside out?” I asked her.
“Not until she finds it,” said Shannon. “Aveline has been Head Witch for decades. She won’t give up until that sceptre is back in her hands. If one of you stole it, it’s best to own up.”
“None of us did,” I said. “We don’t even know what the sceptre can do.”
“Her poor daughter,” said Shannon. “I’d accuse her of wanting it for herself, but she knows better than to cross her old mother.”
“She wanted the sceptre?” I asked, surprised. Maybe I shouldn’t have been, since Aveline had mentioned that her daughter had come with her because she’d hoped to be chosen as Head Witch if her mother wasn’t.
“She wants the title of Head Witch,” Shannon corrected. “Word has it she’s been waiting for years, but Aveline has clung onto the title every single year. If I were her, I’d be desperate, too.”
“Vanessa’s been waiting to take her mother’s place?” asked Alissa. “That doesn’t give her good reason to steal the sceptre from her mother’s room a week before Samhain. She’d know she was disqualifying herself from ever being chosen if she was caught.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t,” said Shannon. “If anything, it’s a sign that someone else should have been put in charge long ago. If we didn’t have to follow this ridiculous farce of carting the sceptre around, then it would never have gone missing.”
“Why do you have to do it, then?” I asked.
“Tradition,” she said. “The sceptre is more powerful on Samhain, so the ceremony can only take place in certain locations. When the veil is thin, the sceptre can even assist in parting it.”
“Parting… the veil?” My heart stuttered. “You mean, like… death?”
“Of course,” said Shannon. “Have you never experienced Samhain in a witches’ community before?”
Well… no. But if the sceptre was needed for me to contact the dead, then as long as it was missing, I could say goodbye to the possibility of ever seeing my mother. And I’d bet Aveline wouldn’t be open to discussing her history with Tanith Wildflower at all if she thought me a thief. I had to try to find the real culprit if I wanted her cooperation.
“Did you hear anyone come into the house?” I asked Shannon.
“No. I sleep like the dead. Woke up pretty quickly when she started yelling, though.”
True. So she wasn’t the thief. That left the three witches upstairs, Vanessa… and Aveline herself.
Loud footsteps came from above. Then the Head Witch ordered, “Go on, levitate me down.”
Vanessa’s long-suffering voice said, “Please keep still this time.”
“I hope she drops her,” muttered Shannon. “I feel awful for you two, having to put up with her. She’ll make our lives a misery until that sceptre shows up, make no mistake. I’m surprised she let someone steal it from right under her nose to begin with.”
Aveline sailed downstairs, landed in the hall, and hobbled into the room. “What’re you all meeting in here for, then? Having a good laugh at my expense?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, mother,” said Vanessa from behind her. “You turfed them out of their rooms.”
“The sceptre,” she said, “was stolen. A crime like that is worth more than a life sentence. And without it, the region’s magic will weaken until we’re vulnerable to threats from all angles.”
My phone buzzed. A message from Nathan: How’s it going?
I’d texted him the details of Aveline’s ridiculous demands last night, since I couldn’t express them verbally.
Not great. Talk later?
Come to the Troll’s Tavern tonight. I’ll pick you up after work. x
Sure thing. x
Sorted. One thing to look forward to among a pile of horrors.
Aveline tapped her foot on the floor. “Who are you talking to? Not speaking with your partner-in-crime who helped you steal the sceptre, are you?”
“No.” I looked up from the phone. “Trust me, if I was going to steal it, I’d have handed it back to you by now.”
Nothing, not even a powerful object which might enable me to talk to my dead mother, was worth this much hassle.
Aveline scowled as
though sensing my thoughts. I put my phone away and made for the door. “I have to go to work. If you have any leads on the thief, let me know when I’m back.”
“I have to go to work, too,” said Alissa, whose shift didn’t start for another two hours. “I’ll be back at midnight.”
Aveline tutted. “Midnight? Where do you work?”
“The hospital,” said Alissa.
“Ah, yes, healing magic,” said Aveline. “That’ll be why you’re not running for the position of Head Witch. You’d rather play it safe.”
“Actually, I like my job,” Alissa said. “I find I get to meet much more pleasant people than I would as a coven leader.”
I held back a grin. Like her, I’d much rather deal with drunken elves and mischief-causing old seers than spend another minute in Aveline’s company.
“And you, Blair?” she said. “Where do you work? I imagine being able to sense lies has proven advantageous for your employment in the magical world, otherwise it’s not worth having.”
“I work for Eldritch & Co,” I said. “It’s a magical recruitment firm.”
She sniffed. “Maybe not, then. What a waste.”
Knowing her, she’d have made a derisive comment even if I’d said I saved orphans for a living. “What do you think I should be doing with my talent, then?”
“Putting it to use against the forces of evil,” she said. “Your police force has a shoddy record, from what I’ve heard.”
“I have helped the police before.” I approached the door, having had about enough. “But I prefer to keep a low profile.”
Not that I’d ever been successful at it. By the day’s end, the entire town would know the sceptre had been stolen from my bedroom. As for fighting the forces of evil, the cantankerous Head Witch was more than enough to deal with at the moment.
“See you later.” Alissa waved goodbye to the others with a false smile fixed on her face, and the two of us left the flat.
“Are you going out with Nathan after work?” asked Alissa.
“Yes,” I said. “I didn’t want to mention him in front of Aveline in case she tries to chase him off like she did to Sky.”
I looked under every bush in the front garden for Sky, but found no sign of him.
“He’s probably asleep in the back garden,” said Alissa. “Sky has the right idea. If I had anywhere else to go, I would. Why not go to Nathan’s?”
“He promised to rescue me from Aveline after work, but knowing my luck, he’ll get called out on the night shift again.” I’d all but ruled out having any chance to spend longer than a couple of hours with him this week. Especially with a thief on the loose. “Or he’ll get assigned to guard the house in case someone else comes in to rob us.”
“Fair point,” she said. “I’m going to talk to my grandmother and see if I can’t persuade her to make other arrangements for Aveline.”
“Haven’t you told her about the missing sceptre?” I asked.
“I have. No reply yet.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Madame Grey will probably want to search the house in person. Nothing gets past her.”
“The thief got past the rest of us,” I reminded her. “I swear, I didn’t see or hear another person when I went outside. Then again, the Head Witch was snoring like a jackhammer. There could have been a live jazz band playing upstairs and I wouldn’t have heard.”
“The pixie got in, though.”
“He’s a fairy.” When my phone buzzed again, I sent Nathan a quick text explaining the sceptre’s theft. Maybe I should have asked him to guard the house last night, but you’d think any thief would think twice before robbing a house full of the most powerful witches in the region. “And he’d have no reason to steal a sceptre.”
“Did he bring a message from your dad?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said. “According to my dad, the walls between worlds are thin around this time of year, so it’s easier to talk to fairies. And ghosts.”
“Whoa, Blair. Does he mean there might be other fairies who might want to meet you?”
“I don’t know, but I hope they don’t invite themselves into our house, too.” I turned down the road that led to my workplace and eventually, the lake. “The Head Witch would turn me into a grapefruit.”
“I’d pay to see her face if they did,” said Alissa. “She seems to get a kick out of being unpleasant. I never thought I’d say this, but I’d rather deal with that drunken elf for an extra two hours than spend them at home.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, I would, too. I guess we’ll have to find creative reasons to stay away from the house every day until Samhain.”
Or until we found the sceptre. Whichever came first. The theft aside, I never should have pinned any hopes on learning the truth about my mother from Aveline. Considering how the Head Witch spoke about the living, I was better off not knowing what she thought of the dead.
4
I’d almost reached the office when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see my boss, Veronica Eldritch, approaching with her long-legged stride. She was tall and willowy with sleek, silvery hair grown past her shoulders. “You’re early this morning.”
“Ah, we had visitors staying in our house last night,” I said, unsure whether she’d heard about the theft yet. Considering Madame Grey had yet to respond, I’d guess not, and I doubted she’d want me to spread word around town.
“Oh, that Aveline Hollyhock,” said Veronica. “I heard she’s held onto the position of Head Witch with a steel grip for years, but she’s starting to slip. I hope security is tight at the Samhain ceremony.”
So do I, especially if the sceptre doesn’t show up by then. “You aren’t going?”
“I never did have much patience for ceremonies.” She strode ahead of me through the automatic doors into Dritch & Co’s office. “That Head Witch position is a prime example of a tradition which should be left in the past.”
I blinked, somewhat surprised. Though maybe I shouldn’t have been. Veronica Eldritch and her company were modern, through and through, down to the computers fitted with paranormal technology and her personal office which redecorated itself according to her mood. I couldn’t picture her striding around a muddy field waving a sceptre around.
“I’m a bit lost on what the title actually represents,” I admitted. “Of Head Witch, I mean.”
“Stability,” she said. “The town’s reputation doubtless needs it. I, however, have no interest whatsoever.”
We entered the reception area, where Callie the blond werewolf sat behind the front desk. She waved at me as I walked past, reaching the door which led into the main office. Bethan, the boss’s daughter, already sat at her desk. She and her mother were both tall and lean, but she had black hair where her mother’s was white.
“Hi, Blair,” she said. “You have a sock sticking out of your shirt, did you know?”
Oops. Either Veronica hadn’t looked closely, or she thought I was trying to make a fashion statement. Feeling my face heat, I extracted the sock and slipped it into my bag. “My cat messed up my clothes this morning. We have a bunch of local coven representatives staying in our house and I had to give up my room, so I’m not completely with it today.”
“Are you ever?” said Lizzie, the dark-skinned witch who sat at the desk opposite mine. She wore her hair in barrettes today.
“Very funny.” I sat down in my swivel chair, finding a mug on my desk. “Who made me coffee?”
“I did.” Rob stuck his blond head over the computer beside Lizzie’s. “Morning, Blair.”
I picked up the mug. “You’re a lifesaver.”
When Callie’s cousin had first applied to work at the office, I’d been less than thrilled, since his uncle wasn’t my biggest fan, but Rob was a dream employee. He arrived to work two hours early to tidy the place almost every day and had a gift for calming down the most agitated clients. As a result, it was hard to dislike the guy. I sat down and took a huge sip of coffee, wincing as it took a l
ayer of skin off the roof of my mouth.
“I should have warned you it’s hot,” he said. “Rough night?”
“An elderly witch who snores is sleeping in my room.” I put down the mug and turned to today’s list of tasks.
“Not Aveline Hollyhock?” said Bethan, her brows rising. “I heard Madame Grey made you play host to the potential Head Witches, but I didn’t know you had to give up your room.”
“Aveline can’t climb stairs and the other rooms had the wrong plants outside the window.” I stifled a yawn. “She strong-armed me into giving her my room, rearranged my furniture, and chased off my cat.”
“I’d have set my familiar on her if she’d done it to me,” said Lizzie.
“Me, too,” Bethan said. “Didn’t Madame Grey consult you first?”
“She doesn’t know I gave up my room,” I said. “I’ll be giving her an earful the next time I see her, believe me.” Somewhat difficult, considering we now had a thief to find as well as a half-dozen witches to accommodate.
Bethan’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out. “Huh. Is it true that the sceptre was stolen?”
So much for keeping it quiet. “Did Alissa tell you? I wasn’t sure I was allowed to tell anyone yet.”
Of course, Aveline was probably shouting from the rooftops. If the sceptre’s absence continued, everyone on this side of the lake would be aware of it by the end of the morning.
“It was taken from your room?” said Bethan. “Do you have any idea who might have done it?”
I shook my head. “Either one of the other potential Head Witches, or someone with really good timing. Or bad, depending on how you look at it.”
“What do you mean?” asked Rob.
“I wasn’t inside the house when it happened,” I explained. “I went for a walk to get away from Aveline’s snoring. I was barely gone ten minutes and the thief would have had to move fast to get through the back door without me seeing them. The front door was locked. Anyway, the Head Witch is blaming everyone else in the house, since they were all hoping to claim the sceptre on Samhain.”