Resting Witch Face (Not Your Basic Witch Book 2)

by A. J. Macey

  “No, but this isn’t exactly a vacation,” Drayce said nervously, glancing around at the humans and officers milling around the lobby.

  “I’m not implying it is, but I’m not going to be miserable. If anything, it’s another experience, right?” I hedged, giving them my best reassuring smile, hoping they’d believe me. The guys were smart. They’d find us.

  They wouldn't hurt the innocent animals, and Tor would be here before long, so I was content to just look around and take it all in. Several people had smaller Witches Glasses and were tapping away at them or holding them to their ears and talking like someone was inside of the device. Human tech is so weird.

  The officer walked back, grabbing my elbow roughly and leading me forward. Both Drayce and Caspian made distressed noises behind me at the treatment, but I shook my head firmly, and they stopped. I was a big girl, and we were out of our element here. We needed to blend in, not stand out, and getting upset and showing off our magic would be the opposite of helpful.

  “Alright, name?” the officer asked me as he started to fill out paperwork.

  “Aris Calisto,” I offered without thinking, wincing at the use of my real name.

  “That's not a real name,” he accused, narrowing his eyes at me. “Let me see your ID.”

  “I don't have one.”

  “Mack, run an Aris Calisto through the system,” he barked into a small device strapped to his chest.

  “Nothing's popping up,” a voice crackled through the device. Is that a walkie-talkie?! We never had a chance to check ours out, and I was excited to see one working.

  “You have a walkie-talkie? That's so cool!” I said cheerfully, but my smile dropped at his glare. It was full of anger, the tension making me cringe back.

  “She has no ID?” the crackling voice came through again.

  “Nope, of course not. Because this is my life tonight.”

  “Jane Doe, it is.” With that, the officer glared back down at me before running through a list of questions I didn't have answers for. The guys and I were starting to panic when the officers took off our cuffs, shoved us in front of a camera, and handed us boards to hold up. Cas and Drayce's officers were equally annoyed by our lack of answers, barking orders for us to turn as their cameras flashed lights at us. The bright light caught me off guard, and I threw my hands up instinctively. That one earned me an even angrier officer, who led us through the jail and opened up a giant holding cell, practically tossing us inside and grumbling to each other about their ‘night from hell.’

  Looking around, my eyes went wide, and I scooted closer to Caspian, who was at my side. It was packed with people. Some looked normal, others glared, and another licked his lips as he looked me over. We eventually found solace near a group of huge guys with leather jackets. They reminded me of a motorcycle gang I had read about in an Aureus comic I got from a market a few years back.

  Drayce dragged Cas and me down with him onto a bench, not looking happy when I took the seat closest to a stranger. After some tense moments, they eventually fell into easy conversation about the familiars and our other guys. I was content getting to know our friends in the holding cell. The bar downtown I had overheard the guards complaining about apparently served something as strong as Witches Brew. Over half of the people inside were clearly drunk or on something close to the pastry Caspian had. Thankfully, Caspian had sobered up fairly quickly once he woke up, his eyes wide as he glanced around.

  “I like your pink hair; it reminds me of my daughter's favorite color!” the guy next to me slurred. His smile was goofy and endearing, lifting up the edges of his mustache and ruining the scary biker vibe. His black leather jacket was covered in dirt like he’d fallen over outside, but he didn’t seem otherwise affected.

  “Thanks!” I said, twisting a pink strand to inspect it in the new, harsher light. “I like your long hair!”

  “Aw, thank you. My little girl loves to braid it when I'm home,” he said, frowning for a second as his eyes grew wistful. I had a feeling he had been away from her for longer than he preferred.

  “Oh! I always wanted to learn how to braid someone's hair! Can I practice on yours?” I asked, the night already looking a lot more fun. He nodded eagerly, wobbling a bit more before twisting, so his back was to me.

  “I can help! I'm an amazing hair braider!” a lady in a short black dress and insanely tall heels gushed. Swaying on unsteady legs, she walked over and plopped down on the bench between us. She leaned toward me and pulled out a bottle of spray, trying to whisper but desperately failing as her voice projected to everyone in the cell with us. “I even have detangler just in case. Motorcycles can be hell on hair.”

  “You're telling me,” he grumbled, shaking out the long black locks. The moment I reached forward, a hand clamped down gently on my wrist to stop me. Confused, I looked back to see Caspian and Drayce, horrified.

  “Angel, this might not be the best idea,” he hissed, trying to gently pull me back toward them. I understood where he was coming from, but the fact I had magic on my side made me feel pretty confident.

  “Oh, you worrywart! This is...” I trailed off, realizing I didn't know his actual name. “I'm so sorry, how rude of me. What's your name, sir?”

  He chuckled and peeked over his shoulder as the girl positioned him for us. “I'm Dale!” His loud laugh echoed in the room, causing the girl to burst into giggles.

  “I'm Stevie!” she said, already focused on spraying the guy’s hair.

  “See, it's just Dale and Stevie,” I teased, turning back and helping her easily finger-comb his long hair.

  “Aris!” I supplied cheerfully. “These two are Caspian and Drayce.” I motioned to the guys behind me absently, ignoring their unspoken protests for now.

  “Alright, Aris. Watch and learn,” Stevie said confidently, her fingers deftly twisting the man's hair until she had the long waves platted down over his shoulders. “Your turn, pinky!”

  I spent the next few hours learning how to braid hair, laughing and joking with Stevie as we took advantage of Dale being the perfect model. It was nice to forget about the council and our problems. And thanks to the amount number of people around us, we’d be here a while. May as well make the most of it!

  November 27th

  Wednesday Night

  Torryn

  “We can't go to the police station yet. We need to get those identification cards and drop off our familiars first,” Xan reminded me as I started hurrying off in the direction our map showed. Panic swelled in my chest, and I stopped in my tracks, realizing he was right.

  “True. Cover them with your jackets,” I ordered. Kye gently argued with Raptor to keep quiet. The scene lifted the tension enough to think clearly, and I felt myself regaining some of the calm I needed to try to keep my composure from slipping. Well, at least for the next few minutes.

  “We need a human Witches Glass,” Kye said as he looked up and started walking, pointing to the store nearby that had them on display. “They're called cell phones, here.”

  “Do they do similar things here a Witches Glass does back home? Communication, surfing the ScryNet?” I asked, hoping that was the case. We needed any help we could get to learn the nuances of Aureus.

  “Yeah, it seems like everyone here has one, so if we want to blend in, it would be best to get some. We can figure out how to use them on the way. Hopefully,” Kye murmured the last word, his head tilting as he scanned the poster in the window.

  “Okay, Kye, stay with Raptor; they don't let animals inside,” I said, pointing to a sign on the door and turning to Xan. “Xan, let's hurry.” They didn't argue, so I rushed into the store and felt instantly overwhelmed. I was so far out of my element, and I hated it. I was always in control. Clearly, things were changing because my girl was in jail, and I was a mess.

  “Prepaid?” Xan asked. “It says here that it's pay and go.”

  “Grab three. We need to do some research,” I confirmed, taking the boxes he handed me up to the
front to pay. Thankfully, we had enough money to cover it. After we left the store, we crossed the street and walked back to the hotel. Following the directions the lady at the front desk gave me, we took what we now knew was an elevator upstairs to the fifth floor, stopping in front of the door with a weird handle. What the fuck am I supposed to do to unlock it? Before I could draw my magic out and spell it open, Xan spoke up.

  “That card she gave you,” he said, apparently already figuring it out. I pulled the card from my pocket and held it up. He snatched it and slid it into a thin slit in the top of the handle, a small light turning green as there was a quiet, audible click. We rushed in, Kye spotting a do not disturb sign and popping it on our handle like we had seen on other doors while locating our own. Last thing we needed was someone coming in and seeing our familiars. As much as I hated leaving them alone, it was better for them to stay here, where they didn’t make us stand out, or someone tried to take them away—again.

  “They must share premises; this is pretty much a Witches Glass, just more primitive,” Xan mused like he made the discovery of a century. It only took me five minutes of dealing with the tiny contraption before I wanted to throw it at a wall and scream. The tiny keypad on the screen was awful, and I eventually gave up.

  “Alright, I'm working on IDs. I can't work this thing,” I grunted in frustration. I was used to being the knowledgeable one, the professor, the one they looked to for answers. Yet here I was, barely able to work a magicless device. Stop, this isn’t helping, think of something I can do, instead. “Can someone pull me up an ID for this place?” Kye's fingers moved easily over the keypad, quickly figuring out the technology before he flipped the screen, showing me a driver's license for Washington D.C. Focusing my mind on the image and melding it with my face, I pushed my magic into my hand, murmuring a copy spell I hoped would work. When a soft weight fell into my open palm, I grinned and opened my eyes, taking in the rectangular card.

  “How does this look?” I asked, showing him the front and back. They both grinned as they inspected it, hope in their eyes for the first time in what felt like weeks. I repeated the process five more times, using our real names because the council wouldn't exactly be reading them.

  With a fresh stack of IDs in my pocket and our familiars somewhat happily tucked away with the last of the snacks that had been packed, we hurried out of the room. Xan used his cellphone to guide us. He had sworn the device wasn't magical, but when it talked to us the entire way, I had my doubts.

  When we walked into the police station, we were forced to wait in a ridiculously long line. It took over an hour to even speak to someone. The lady behind the desk looked so frazzled, I felt bad for her.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice as weary as she looked.

  “Uh, yes. My family was picked up by the police.”

  “Names.” I froze for a moment, unsure if they would have given their rightful names or fake ones. Broomsticks, what do I say?! Though, if they gave fake ones, they’d have to know we wouldn’t be able to guess them. No… Aris was smart; she’d have come to the same conclusion.

  “Aris Calisto, Caspian Kersey, and Drayce Nodin,” I said confidently. She didn't even look up as she flicked through a stack of papers and letting out a frustrated breath.

  “Not in our system it seems,” she said dismissively like that was it. I started to panic, knowing Aris, Cas, and Drayce could be anywhere, but Xan’s hand came to rest on my shoulder, his comforting gesture helped silence the panic. Taking a quick, steadying breath, I forced the rest of the worry away.

  “She has pink hair and probably didn’t have her ID because I have it here,” I tried again, my voice brokering no arguments as I held up Aris' card for the woman to see.

  “Ahh, the group that caused trouble. Let me call back for an officer,” she said quickly. “You boys go wait over there.” She waved us off, and Xan stopped me.

  “I was raised on diplomacy. Let me handle this,” he said quickly before an officer could interrupt us.

  “Alright,” I said, part of my instincts fighting the loss of even more control, but I trusted Xan and had seen him handle a councilman without issue. He'd be fine. “Here.” With cards in his grip now, the matter was out of my hands... for now.

  “You here for the pink-haired girl?” an officer asked, his voice full of venom. Kye and I both let out a low growl at the threat, but Xan stood tall, cool as ever.

  “Yes, we're here for Aris Calisto. They left their IDs at the hotel, and when we got back from grabbing them, they were gone,” he explained smoothly, his voice holding a soothing lilt to it.

  “And were you aware they were holding illegal animals?” he challenged Xan, his eyes narrowing.

  “We weren't aware,” he said, his voice full of fake shock. “What happened to the animals? Was anyone hurt?” I was impressed at the level of manipulation. Xan was a damn good actor and way more levelheaded than I was.

  “Ah, animal control picked them up, so they're safe next door. No harm done,” the man said, his demeanor changing easily with Xan's soothing tones.

  “I'm glad to hear it,” Xan said. “I'm sorry, they got a little carried away with drinks at the bar.” He let a hint of disappointment drip into his tone, making him sound like a frustrated dad, mirroring the words the crowd was chattering away about in line. It was honestly the perfect excuse.

  “We had a feeling,” he agreed, shaking his head and leading us off to the side. Now that we were out of the way, I muttered a spell under my breath, making him compliant, pushing my intentions into his mind gently. This time when he spoke, his voice was almost dazed. “Let me gather them for you, and we'll let them go with a warning this time. Wait here.”

  “I'm incredibly impressed, Xan,” Kye snorted, watching the officer disappear down the hall.

  “It comes with the territory.” He shrugged, his cheeks heating lightly with the praise. I grinned at seeing him so embarrassed, and as much as I wanted to, I didn't tease him.

  “So, no animals at all outside in Aureus,” I laughed, shaking my head. “Once we have these three wrangled, we need to make a pit stop next door. I'll handle the talking there.” I threw a wink at them, and they laughed, likely knowing I was going to be using magic to get them out.

  “Here you go. No more animal escapades,” the officer lectured, and the three looked properly contrite until they saw us, matching grins of relief spreading across their faces.

  “There you are. This nice officer is giving you a warning. No more animals!” Xan lectured as the officer nodded in agreement before waving us out with one last signature on his paperwork.

  “The familiars!” Drayce hissed as soon as we stepped outside.

  Caspian spoke up at the same time with a rushed, “They took them away and locked us up in a cell with all these crazy drunk people!”

  “Well, you were one of those people not long before this,” Kye pointed out, snorting when Caspian glared at him.

  “I'll admit it wasn't my finest moment. Let's not dwell on the past,” he huffed, crossing his arms and looking away.

  “It wasn't bad in there. I made friends,” Aris reassured us, which only made me cringe. I saw the type of people they led back.

  “That scares me a bit, Gorgeous,” I admitted, and she openly pouted.

  “Dale was a nice biker who let me braid his hair!” she countered as if that explained it all.

  “Of course, he did,” Xan said, sounding amused and exasperated. “Come on, let's go save your familiars. They're going to be so mad at us.”

  “Speaking of, where are Hedgie and Raptor?” she asked, looking around the sidewalk as if they were going to walk up any second.

  “Back in our hotel room, where I'd really like to be. Let's do this thing,” Kye said, ushering us to the smaller brick building next door that said animal control.

  “I'll go in alone,” I said quickly, pausing to give them a chance to disagree. In a testament to how fucking tired we all were, no on
e did.

  Loud barks echoed through the halls, the level nearly deafening as I opened the door. The guy behind the desk looked concerned, brows furrowed as he gazed into the glass wall behind him, showing row after row of kennels.

  “Hello!” I called over the noise. The guy jumped, clearly not hearing me enter. He spun around and walked over, his eyes studying me shrewdly.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I'm from the exotic animals’ unit. We had reports that an otter, a red panda, a miniature pig, and a lemur made their way here. The animals in question are part of a case I'm working, so I came to take them off of your hands. I have my badge right here,” I said confidently, pulling out one of the fake IDs, creating a bogus badge that resembled the ones I saw the officers flashing. A simple change of details wouldn’t be enough, though, so I sent a coercion spell his way. Thank the Gods, I'd perfected magical multitasking.

  “Good. They're well-behaved, but they're freaking out my other charges,” he said, shaking his head. “You got kennels?”

  “Nope. I was just in the area; the superiors told me you'd allow us to borrow one?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow and keeping authority in my tone. He nodded, handing over an empty crate on a rolling cart. “You parked out front?”

  “Yes. I can take it from here,” I said, sending him back to his desk. When he was out of earshot, I hurriedly got our familiars to follow me, shrouding us so I could just walk them out. The moment I was outside, the familiars ambushed their witches. Ruby tugged at my pants until I scooped her up and buried my face in her red fur. “I'm so sorry, baby,” I cooed, snuggling her close.

  “Hey, you forgot your kennel!” the control officer said as he came back out, his mouth falling open when he took us in. “Hey!”

  “What? We were just walking our dogs,” I countered, sending an illusion spell over the familiars, so the man only saw a group of cute, fluffy puppies.

  “Dogs? No, they're exotic pets!” he said, fighting off the original spell and bringing his mind back online. His eyes narrowed, and he spun on me, mouth frozen in a gasp. “I'm going to call an officer. This is some kind of scam!” he thundered, his eyes darting from one pup to the next, clearly questioning his own sanity.