Loti focused on her hands as they slid cautiously across the table and circled her half-full coffee mug. “I…” she glanced up at Roger as he shoved his hands in his pants pockets and walked with a cautious gait back to her. “We are willing to work together. The enemy of my enemy is my ally.” Roger opened his mouth, but she held up a finger. “And I can keep a closer eye on the Ring.”
Roger shook his head. “We are not your enemy, I assure you.”
She lifted one eyebrow, not amused. “Then someone should have told that to the shape shifter who attacked me.”
Roger’s mouth thinned into a hard line. “That was not my call. The previous director gave that order, and…” He gestured around the spacious veranda, “As you can see, he is no longer here.” Roger’s steps were calculated as he circled the table; his chin lifted. “It’s not my place to second guess my predecessor’s decisions.” His fingers trailed over the iron scrollwork. “But it is my place to clean up after him.” He stood still and sighed, “Unfortunately.”
“So your threat to kill her earlier if we didn’t join in your crusade?” Wolf was suddenly standing beside Loti’s chair, grinding his back teeth, his eyes honing in on Roger like a target. The expression on Roger’s face was laughable as it contorted in sheer amazement. Loti’s face was calm and serene because she had felt him wake up. She reached a hand out to squeeze Wolf’s and his eyes flicked to her.
Roger’s face twisted as he must have struggled with what issue to address first: a vampire walking in daylight or the accusation against him. “You have to understand our position. If Modore had your abilities at his disposal we would be at a grave disadvantage.”
Wolf’s nostrils flared as the thought occurred to both him and Loti at the same time that he had just tipped their hand in his haste to protect her. Damn it. “Not a good way to win friends and influence people.”
Roger’s laugh spoke of bitterness and regret. “What would you have us do? You know our directive. Hell, you helped write it.” He cracked his neck and shrugged inside his tailored jacket, settling it around his shoulders. Sitting down, he tugged at his cuffs. Wolf stared down at the man, his eyes black holes and Roger glared back at him. “In a way, you gave the orders.”
Wolf turned to stone, and Loti was swamped with an urge to bite the man’s head off, quite literally.
“Wolf, please.” She gripped his hand as hard as she could, her neck tensing. She closed her eyes and wondered how he stood it—the crazy rush of blood in her head made her want to leap on the man. Or was it the other way around? Wolf disappeared and there was a loud booming sound, like the air was sucked out of the space all at once. Loti threw up a shield to block the angry sizzle in her chest, catching her breath as she fell back in the chair. The relief was immediate.
“Wolf,” she yelled. She leapt out of her chair and tugged uselessly at his arm. Roger Wheaton’s eyes bulged as Wolf pinned his neck to the table, but he wasn’t choking him. Wolf had simply clamped his neck to the cold metal and held it there.
Through clenched teeth, he hissed, “Mr. Wheaton needs to learn some manners.”
“Wolf, please.” Loti covered her eyes with one hand. “Just let him up.”
“Yes, Wolf, let him up, please.”
Loti twisted around at the woman’s voice. It held a threat, and not an idle one. A tall brunette stood with one hand on her hip, anything but relaxed. A petite vein throbbed in her neck.
“Maria. I see you’re still the head of security.” Wolf eased his grip, straightened up and turned carefully around. The Hispanic woman shifted her weight, her hand falling from her hip. Her face sluiced from hard to happy. “Good to see you, again, Wolf.” She extended her hand and Wolf grinned as he slap-grabbed it, and then yanked her into a bear hug. “But I never thought I’d see you in the light of day.”
Roger coughed and gagged as he stood. He put himself back together in measured tugs as he glared at the two. Having let her shields slip in the excitement, she was dizzy with Wolf’s whip-sawing emotions. She slumped forward in the chair, holding her stomach. Wolf and the brunette separated and his eyes sparkled.
“When you two are done with the happy reunion,” Roger growled. He cleared his throat and Maria’s eyes snapped to him.
“You must have really put on your best impersonation of a dick, Roger,” Maria said. She winked at Wolf as she stepped around him. With a bizarrely loving smile, she daintily set her derrière on the edge of the table and crossed her ankles. She wore an impressive pair of grey stilettos. Loti wondered how she managed not to break her neck in those when she realized the woman was not human.
Maria’s eyes danced with a sinister glee and Loti had to consciously stop herself from inching away. This was one of the things she disliked about her growing Light Walker abilities—they made her aware of things she did not want to know. For example, Loti knew this woman was something nasty that scared the hell out of lessor demons.
“I think we may have gone off track, Wolf.” Roger made a point of angling his body away from Maria. Maria rolled her eyes, and then settled them on Loti like she was inspecting a bug.
Roger sat down in his chair and folded his hands on top of the table. “The computer in your suite has access to all the current intelligence we have on Modore. Do your research. We will have a briefing tomorrow evening with the rest of the team.”
Maria shifted her perfect ass off the table and held out an elbow to Wolf. He narrowed his eyes at it before linking his arm in hers. He practically drug Loti from her chair, lukewarm coffee sloshing as she nabbed the mug from the table. Once inside, Maria turned on Wolf, poking a finger in his chest. “So, you can’t do that anymore, you know that, right?” But she smiled as she said it. “I’m supposed to keep the director safe and it would look bad if I had to whip your butt.”
Wolf grinned. “Give it your best shot, kali.” He hunkered down, as if ready to spring. Maria considered him, looking him up and down, and then her features relaxed into a pretty face.
“I wouldn’t want to break a nail on you.” Her cheeks dimpled as she dismissed him, leading the way across the hall to their suite. Holding the door open for them, she whispered, “Things have changed around here since you abandoned us.”
Wolf looked down at the floor and then back up to meet her now wary gaze. “I hope for the better.”
She half-smiled, “I like to think so.”
Chapter Fourteen
Katie twisted the diamond stud in her ear, her eyes empty as she stared at nothing. The meeting room filled one and two people at a time with quiet murmurs and the rustle of fabric on upholstered folding chairs. This was a relatively small contingent of the American Witches Association: one person from each Virginia district, as well as the national board members. If matters progressed, the representatives from all over the country would be called in. Katie unsnapped her clutch purse and dug out a pink package.
Her wrinkled hands shook as she fumbled for a tissue. Rachel reached over but Katie jerked her hands away. Rachel hesitated, her hand floating in the air, but it drifted back to her lap. She watched her grandmother with a sick twist in her gut. Nan’s worried. Why? She turned with the small crowd as the side door opened and the board members filed in quietly. Small murmurs, shuffling feet and contained coughs filled the room. The chairman in his rumpled suit stood in the center of the board of directors.
“This hearing of the American Witches Association to discuss the need for an investigation into the possible complicit behavior of Katie Irene Brown in regards to the crimes and misconduct of association member Patrick Lynch, deceased, will now come to order.” He rapped his gavel and cleared his throat, his eyes shifting to Katie’s grey-blonde bob. “The Chair calls on Board Member Augustus Sheirling to present the charges.”
A middle-aged man stood with a single sheet of paper in his hands. He didn’t look up as he read, “It has come to our attention through reliable, non-disclosed sources that there is reason to believe that Senior Ass
ociation Member Katie Irene Brown did knowingly and with deliberate intent conspire to conceal criminal action and misconduct by Senior Association Member Patrick Lynch, deceased.”
A great murmur arose, but Augustus Sheirling marshaled on, “Specific behavior and actions were undertaken by Member Brown that contributed to the injury and death of others. Furthermore, witnesses to such behavior have been identified. It is therefore motioned that an investigation into such actions by Member Brown be undertaken to determine if this Association needs to take punitive measures.”
The Chair cleared his throat, “Is there a second to the motion?”
The board member to his right clutched her hands stiffly in front of her. “I second the motion.” Her mouth was set in a grim line, but it twitched. Rachel’s mouth opened in shock. Eva Magruder? How could she?
“It is moved and seconded that an investigation shall be undertaken.” He held his hands out as if pleading with the crowd. “Is there any discussion? Board Member Sheirling?” The Chair turned towards him.
“It should be noted that this board did not take these accusations lightly nor did we rush to judgment. The earlier investigation into Patrick Lynch’s crimes and misconduct seemed thorough and above reproach.” Member Sheirling ran a hand through his salt and pepper wavy hair. “However, considering this report presented new information we did not have knowledge of before, we feel we have no choice in the matter.”
Gasps and rumbling from the audience drowned out his voice. “Please. Order. Please. Will the meeting come to order?” The Chair banged his gavel over and over in rapid succession.
The crowd reluctantly settled down. “Is there any further discussion?” The Chair scanned the room with nervous eyes. Rachel jumped up out of her seat, but Katie grabbed her arm and pulled. Rachel shot her an angry and bewildered look, but Nan turned her head slowly from side to side. Richard sat on Katie’s other side turning several shades of red and purple.
Rachel’s eyes pleaded with the rest of the coven lined up in the folding chairs and they all looked back at her with grim faces. Not a single one of them rose up, because Katie had asked them not to. She didn’t want the coven filleted and pinned wide open for the whole world to gawk at and pick apart. Rachel’s chest burned with the injustice of it. After all we’ve been through, now this.
She sank into her cushioned folding chair, because it was what her Nan wanted. Despite her arguing and cajoling over the last few days, she had known it would come down to honoring her grand-mother’s wishes. Rachel was raised to respect her elders, even if they were wrong.
“Mr. Chairman, if you please.” An elderly man with credentials pinned to his lapel, stood up.
“The Chair calls on Member Douglas Fischer, representing District Nine.” That was their district and Rachel knew Mr. Fischer well from the university events she attended with Nan and Patrick.
The man gazed sorrowfully at Katie before turning back to the board. “It seems to me that we have already completed the investigation into Patrick’s crimes and nothing we uncovered would lead me to believe that our Katie did anything of the sort.” He held his hat in his hands, but lifted his chest and chin. “She is a well-respected member of this community and the AWA. I think before we vote on this motion, we deserve to know the source of this new information, at the very least.”
“I’m not sure that is the best—” Member Sheirling began.
“Augustus, he’s right.” A grim-faced Eva untangled her hands and laid them palm down on the podium.
The Chair looked around at each board member and nodded. “Member Sheirling, I agree with Member Magruder. I think it will shed light on this situation and the members deserve to know why we have called for this investigation, despite our misgivings and Katie’s stellar reputation.”
Sheirling closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. “This is unorthodox. It puts the source in a difficult position.”
“I don’t care, Augustus,” Eva snapped. “If she is so sure of herself that she would write such accusations, then she should be proud to stand before this board and the Virginia contingent.”
Augustus gave her a withering look, but Eva didn’t flinch. “Very well, the reason we have presented this motion despite our many misgivings is because we received a very detailed letter from a member of Katie’s coven.”
The room went dead silent. Katie blanched and Rachel turned on the coven, her hands clenched as if ready to one-two punch the accuser. Every member of Katie’s coven tensed, eyes wide in dis-belief, except for one. Theresa lifted her gaze from the folded hands in her lap to an aghast Rachel. She tried a hard, self-righteous tilt to her chin, but couldn’t pull it off because her bottom lip quivered.
“Theresa Miller sent us an official letter three weeks ago.” Augustus sighed and drooped into his seat. “We took so long because we weren’t sure how to proceed. It was most unprecedented-ed.”
“To say the least,” Eva grumbled. If the crowd wasn’t sure whether she disapproved from her tone, it couldn’t mistake her feelings from the contemptuous glare she gave Theresa. Rachel stared at Eva, wondering what the woman was up to. She had seconded the motion for the investigation, and yet she appeared to be angry about the whole thing. Although Rachel didn’t know all the ins and outs of Eva and her Nan’s relationship, she did know they were close. It did not make any sense that she would want to hurt Katie.
Theresa sat rigid in her lipstick red Castleberry suit and pearls, her face frozen like a rabbit paused in fright. The coven gazed on her in shock, all but Katie whose face reflected a broken heart and a tender devotion. Rachel realized with sudden clarity that Katie in no way blamed Theresa; if anything, her demeanor spoke of resignation and understanding.
It pissed Rachel off, but she turned back to her seat and sat down. Her eyebrows knit together as she dared the room to make a move with her eyes. No one was free from guilt, as far as Rachel was concerned. Everyone at that moment had hidden agendas and was capable of treachery. What other conclusion could she come to? Why else would this be happening to her Nan?
The Chair cleared his throat, “Is there any further discussion?” The room stayed silent. “Are you ready for the question?” Rachel wasn’t ready at all. This was all a bad dream and she would wake up at any moment. “The question is on the adoption of the motion to investigate the possible complicit behavior of Katie Irene Brown in regards to the crimes and misconduct of association member Patrick Lynch, deceased.” No one fidgeted. No one seemed to breathe. Would he please stop repeating that ridiculous sentence? Rachel ground her teeth until her jaw throbbed.
“Those in favor, say aye.” In almost perfect unison, the room responded with a resounding, “Aye.”
The Chair did a double-take. “Those opposed, say no.” Katie’s coven said not a word, although quite a few representatives said, “No.” In the end, however, there was no doubt.
“The affirmative has it and the motion is adopted. We will appoint a committee to investigate…” But Rachel wasn’t listening anymore. She was lost in the implications of a coven member bearing witness against another member. It was more than the taboo nature of Theresa’s actions. It just wasn’t done—ever. For as long as there had been witches, the coven was considered sacred and all indiscretions were dealt with by the coven. One simply did not go outside the coven to resolve matters, and for good reason.
It was not an old canon blindly followed. It existed because witches were metaphysically linked—that’s what defined them as a coven. Coven was not to witches as gaggle was to geese or a murder to crows. The link between them bound them, much like a bond between a vampire and a healer or a witch in a profound way. How would this affect them? Rachel wracked her brain for a story or information about members betraying each other. What would happen to their bond?
“Theresa, dear. Listen to me,” Katie was saying. A tear trickled down Katie’s weathered face. “I’m not mad at you, dear. You did what you thought you needed to do.” Katie leaned
over Richard to place her shaking hand on Theresa’s. The tears welled in Theresa’s eyes but didn’t fall. Katie patted her hands. “It’s going to be okay, dear. I promise.”
Theresa didn’t respond and Rachel wanted to slap her for it. She glanced over at a shell-shocked Heather looking lost and fragile on the other side of Daniel. What a mess they had brought her into, but nobody saw it coming. It was all settled already. Why? Rachel’s mind was riddled with the word like it had been blasted from a Gatlin gun.
* * *
Loti moaned in her sleep. She rolled to her back in the over-sized bed, waking with a start and then drifting off. She did it several times, and each time she dreamt of a woman in a dark wool suit looming over her as she slept. The woman’s eyes were sad, heavy with some regret and her arms hugged herself.
Loti curled around the extra pillow, squeezing her eyes tight. This is ridiculous. Even if it is a ghost, it hasn’t hurt me. What am I so afraid of? Her face relaxed as she dared a peek and for a second the ghostly imprint of the dream lingered in the air. Loti thought her heart would slam through her sternum. The pale hallway light seeped over the walls and antique furniture turning everything into a thousand shades of grey.
Loti closed her eyes and fell back asleep. The back of her neck tingled in her dream and she thought the sun must be rising, but that made no sense. A nagging pull in her chest urged her to roll over again and open her eyes. The portrait of a revolutionary war Colonel leered down at her from the plaster wall.
Her mouth went dry and her fists balled around the fringed coverlet. Her vision fluctuated in the half-dark while her eyes attempted to adjust to the low light. The Colonel’s face reddened and his grim mouth turned down into a vicious sneer. He seemed to morph into some sort of demon and Loti sat up in a cold sweat. His skin paled in degrees as his mouth relaxed back into the grim portrait line it had been before, but his eyes never left her.
Shattered Page 14