The Witch's Key

by Sarra Cannon

  “Miss Thorne?” the detective asked again.

  “Oh, um. Just a minor accident,” I said attempting to laugh it off. “It looks worse than it is. Just a scratch, really, but my uncle tends to go overboard on the bandages.”

  Detective Lancaster didn’t look convinced, but he apparently decided to let it go for now.

  He pulled a small spiral notebook from the pocket of his jacket.

  “I looked for you at school yesterday, but the office said you’d been checked out by Julie Peterson. Are you close to the Peterson family? From what I understand you’ve just moved to the area recently.”

  “Lenny moved here just before summer,” Uncle Martin said, stepping in. “She had my permission to leave school yesterday, but I wasn’t able to pick her up myself.”

  The detective narrowed his eyes.

  “I’d like to hear Lenny’s answers, if you don’t mind,” he said. “In fact, I’d love to speak to her in private.”

  “That’s not acceptable to me,” Uncle Martin said. “If you wish to continue your questions, you may only do so in my presence.”

  Detective Lancaster cleared his throat.

  “Okay, so then Lenny. Are you good friends with the Peterson family?”

  I looked to Martin, and he gave a slight shrug.

  “Not really,” I said. “I only just met Olive and her mom the other day.”

  “And what about Peyton?” he asked, leaning forward. “How long have you been friends with her?”

  “About the same amount of time,” I said. “I only just started school last week, so I met Peyton on Monday a week ago.”

  He made a few notes and seemed to chew on the inside of his cheek for a moment.

  “From what some of the other girls have told me, you had an afternoon swim at Peyton’s home yesterday. Is that correct?”

  God, was that really just yesterday?

  “Yes.”

  He went through all the basic questions with me. Who was there. What we did. Whether I noticed anything unusual about Peyton’s behavior.

  He spent a good deal of time asking various questions about my ride home, too, and what time Peyton drove off, but it all seemed pretty standard.

  “And what about those bandages?” he asked, giving me a once-over. “Did you sustain your injuries before or after Peyton dropped you off at your house the other night?”

  I glanced at Martin again, which I realized must look a little suspicious. I couldn’t help myself, though. How was I going to explain this?

  “After,” I said. “After I left school yesterday.”

  “So, if I ask around, some of your friends from school will verify that you had no injuries when you showed up yesterday?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happened?” he asked. “Did someone hurt you?”

  He glanced toward Kai and then back to me.

  “Nothing like that,” I said. “It’s no big deal, really. Besides, it has nothing to do with Peyton.”

  “Do you feel safe, Miss Thorne?”

  His question caught me a bit by surprise.

  Safe? How could any girl feel safe in this town?

  But I had a feeling he was talking about my present company. Did I feel safe around Kai and Uncle Martin?

  “As safe as I can with what’s going on in this town,” I said. “But if you mean here at home, then yes. I am perfectly safe here.”

  He sighed, slapped his notebook shut, and stood.

  “Okay, thank you very much, Miss Thorne,” he said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

  He walked toward the door, so I stood and followed him out. Martin and Kai were close behind.

  He may have been done with me, but I was definitely not finished with him.

  “Detective, is there anything you can tell me about what happened to Peyton?” I asked. “Was there a struggle in her home? Did the kidnapper leave anything behind? Is there anything that points to who took these girls?”

  He turned and tilted his head, studying me.

  “I can assure you that our department is doing everything we can to find your friend.”

  In other words, he didn’t want to tell me. But Brandy knew something about what happened. Yesterday morning, she’d said the police had told her not to talk about how they knew Peyton had been kidnapped. I wanted to know, too.

  “I understand,” I said. “But I’m just wondering how you know she was taken and not just visiting a boyfriend or something like that. Besides, the more I know about what happened, the more I can protect myself from having it happen to me.”

  That last bit must have gotten to him, because he turned around, a look of concern on his face.

  “Every girl who’s been taken has been alone at home when it happened.” He glanced at Martin. “One of the best things you can do for yourself is to make sure you’re not alone here at the house or out walking alone in the dark.”

  This time, he looked at Kai, and he didn’t even try to conceal his feelings about him. His expression could have been categorized as a glare.

  “I’d also advise you to be careful who you decide to spend time with,” he said. “Not everyone who acts like a friend is a friend.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  It was obvious we weren’t going to get any real answers from this detective, and I sadly had the feeling he didn’t have any real answers, either.

  “Thank you for stopping by, Detective,” Martin said, opening the front door and ushering him outside. “If there’s any other way we can be of service, please let us know. We would do anything to help find those poor girls.”

  Detective Lancaster turned, his brow furrowed.

  “You know, there is one thing I’d like to ask you,” he said. “Did Peyton ever mention anything to you about using lavender? Like keeping it in her house or receiving some as a gift from anyone? Did you notice any in her home yesterday when you were there?”

  My eyes widened, and my stomach flipped with nerves.

  “No, why?” I asked. “Did you find lavender in her room? Maybe under her pillow?”

  He stepped closer to me, grabbing his notebook again.

  “What do you know about lavender under someone’s pillow?” he asked. “Does that mean something to you?”

  Now, we were trading questions, but what I needed was answers.

  “I know sometimes people use lavender to help them fall asleep at night,” I said, trying to remain casual so he didn’t start to suspect I had something to do with this. But I needed more details. This could be the kind of clue I’d been hoping for.

  “There was a small bundle of dried lavender under her pillow,” he said, lowering his voice as if he was afraid someone in the neighborhood might hear. “But that wasn’t the strangest part.”

  He hesitated and glanced toward Kai and Martin, as if he just didn’t trust them.

  I couldn’t risk him not telling me about the lavender, so I quickly slipped around Martin to join the detective on the front porch. I shut the door behind me, closing us off from the other two.

  They could add it to the list of reasons to be mad at me later.

  “What else was strange?” I asked.

  He seemed to think it over before finally leaning in.

  “The lavender was wrapped in poison ivy,” he said. “Does that have any significance to you? Did Peyton ever mention being allergic to poison ivy?”

  I sucked in a breath. It definitely had significance to me but nothing I was going to talk to this guy about.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “She never mentioned anything like that to me. It seems like a weird thing to have in your house, though.”

  He looked away and nodded.

  “You know, this case has really been hard on all of us,” he said. “I would hate to see another girl go missing. Did you happen to see Kai the night Peyton dropped you off? Did she mention having a relationship with him? Or having any kind of run-in with him in the past?”

 
; I wondered what this guy’s past was with Kai and why he didn’t trust him, but I wanted to tell him he was barking up the wrong tree. And none of us had time for following false leads right now.

  “No. I don’t think she really ever talked to Kai,” I said.

  “And how did you come to know him?” he asked. “It seems the two of you are close.”

  “We’re old friends from a really long time ago,” I said. “Our parents used to work together.”

  This news really threw him for a loop. “I didn’t realize Kai had connections to anyone in town,” he said. “Other than his grandmother, who no one seems to have heard from in a while. Have you seen her or had any interaction with her since you arrived in town?”

  I had to stifle a giggle at this. I was quite certain Kai was not living in his grandmother’s house, even if that was the story he’d been giving people. I would have to ask him more about that later.

  “I just saw her yesterday, actually,” I said, hoping to steer the detective away from his suspicions about Kai. “I think she’s been travelling a lot, though, which is probably why no one’s heard from her.”

  “Hmm,” Detective Lancaster said, glancing at the door and jotting something in his notebook before putting it away. “And you’re sure you feel safe at home?”

  “If you’re referring to Martin, everything is fine here,” I said. “But thank you for being concerned about me. I’m just worried about Peyton and the others.”

  “We all are, Miss Thorne.”

  He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to me.

  “If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to call me. Night or day,” he said. “That goes for anytime you don’t feel safe. I hope you’re having someone treat you for those injuries. You sure you won’t tell me what happened there? That doesn’t look like a minor accident to me.”

  I looked down and realized some blood had soaked through the bandage on my arm.

  “It’s nothing,” I said quickly, pulling my arm behind my back. “Martin was a medic in the military, and he tends to go nuts when he gets the chance to use some of his old supplies. I promise, it’s not as bad as it looks.”

  He didn’t look convinced, but he seemed to realize he wasn’t going to get anything else out of me today.

  “Well, you take care, Miss Thorne. You know how to reach me.”

  He started toward his car.

  “Thank you,” I said. “And Detective?”

  He turned back again, squinting against the harsh morning sun. “Yes?”

  “Did you happen to find those same lavender and poison ivy bundles under all the girls’ pillows?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid that’s classified information right now, but if someone does give you a gift of lavender or tries to sell you something like that as a sleep remedy, you’ll give me a call?” he asked.

  “Of course,” I said.

  He nodded and got into his car.

  He hadn’t verbally confirmed the lavender bundles, but I saw the answer in his eyes, which meant we had our first real clue from the crime scenes.

  Any witch knew lavender was a natural sleep aid, but when it was wrapped in poison ivy, it became a dangerous drug. The moment Peyton’s head hit that pillow, she would have instantly gone into a deep sleep.

  Deep enough that someone could have easily kidnapped her without a fight.

  I went back inside to find Martin and Kai peeking out the window. They quickly moved away, trying to pretend they hadn’t been spying on me. I smiled.

  It was sweet that they both seemed to care so much. It felt good to be looked after.

  “What did he tell you?” Kai asked.

  “He gave us our next clue,” I said and then looked at Uncle Martin. “I know I can help find Peyton and the others. I understand why you don’t want me to be a part of it. I know the death of my parents is still fresh for both of us. But you and me, we’re a family now. And family sticks together. Besides, you know I can’t just let this go. So, what do you say? Can we work together to find them?”

  Uncle Martin studied me for a very long moment before finally allowing his serious expression to break into a partial smile.

  “Okay, Lenora,” he said. “We’ll do this together. But if you’re going to be ready to face a demon of this level, you’re going to need some real training.”

  His eyes flickered toward Kai.

  “Both of you,” he said. “You’ll also be putting yourselves in danger from the Witch’s Council if you go against their orders to leave this alone. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

  Kai and I looked at each other, both of us holding back smiles.

  “Yes,” we both said at the same time.

  “Well, then,” Martin said, straightening his shoulders. “Lenny, get dressed and join us in the kitchen for a cup of coffee. If you’re going to be a part of this now, there’s a lot more you need to know about this demon.”

  He turned to walk back toward the kitchen, but I ran after him.

  “Wait a second. Are you saying you know things about this demon that you haven’t been telling us?” I asked. “After just one day of looking into it?”

  Martin turned his head just enough so I could see his profile and the gleam in his ancient eyes.

  “Dear girl,” he said with a snicker, “I’ve been looking into this particular demon since before you were born.”

  With that, he calmly made his way to the kitchen, leaving both Kai and me standing in the foyer with matching looks of surprise frozen on our faces.

  Uncle Martin, apparently, had been keeping some major secrets of his own.

  The Final Piece

  I had never gotten dressed so quickly in my life. I was dying to find out what Uncle Martin knew about this demon.

  I winced as I pulled my loose sweatpants off and tried to wriggle into a pair of tight jeans. It just wasn’t going to happen. Martin had done a great job healing what he could, but the rest was going to take some time.

  Instead, I threw on a pair of stretchy black leggings and a black tank top with my black and white converse high-tops.

  Perfect demon investigating clothes, but more importantly, not too painful against my fresh burns.

  Nothing I couldn’t handle, though, and nothing compared to what Peyton and the others were facing.

  I practically ran all the way to the kitchen to find Martin casually listing the qualities of his new French press. How Kai could be this patient, I had no idea. There wasn’t a calm bone in my body.

  “Pour me a cup and let’s do this,” I said. “I can’t believe you’ve been looking for this demon so long. You have to tell us everything you know as quickly as possible.”

  Martin smiled and slowly poured a cup of coffee, fixing it up exactly the way I liked it.

  I fidgeted in my seat as I waited.

  “Thank you,” I said when he finally sat down and pushed the steaming mug toward me. “Now, spill it. What have you been keeping from us?”

  “Patience is a virtue, dear girl.”

  “No, right now, it’s a luxury we don’t have,” I said. “We’re running out of time.”

  “Yes, yes,” Martin said. “So we are.”

  He sighed and shook his head.

  “I’m not certain where to begin, so I’ll just go back to the first time I met this particular demon,” he said. “His name, by the way, is Algrath. That might come in handy next time you encounter him.”

  I nodded and quickly repeated the name in my head several times. Speaking a demon’s name could give you some level of power over it under the right circumstances.

  “About fifty years ago, I was working with a Slayer named Renee,” he said. There was a hint of sadness as he said her name that tugged at something deep inside me. “She was very talented. Together, we hunted down a particularly nasty demon named Regmothean. He was ancient and had grown greedy over the years, taking more and more until it was impossible for the Council to ignore his actions. It took many years,
but Renee and I managed to capture Regmothean and imprison him in a series of mirrors.”

  I shook my head. A series of mirrors? I’d never heard of something like that before.

  “Why not just a single mirror? I don’t understand how you would imprison a single demon in multiple mirrors,” I said.

  “It’s true that it isn’t done very often. The process is complicated and time consuming, but in this case, quite necessary,” Martin said. “We essentially fragmented the demon’s soul into five different pieces and imprisoned them in five separate mirrors. The Council then hid those mirrors in five different secret locations.”

  “Okay, so what does this demon, Regmothean, have to do with the demon here in Newcastle? I don’t understand.”

  Kai made a strange sound and ran a hand through his hair. “I think I do,” he said. “But I don’t want to believe it.”

  “I’m afraid you’re probably right,” Martin said. “But I’ll explain it as concisely as I can. Algrath is Regmothean’s brother. I met him shortly after I helped to imprison Regmothean, and let’s just say he was quite angry. He killed Renee and very nearly took my life, as well.”

  Martin was quiet for a long moment before he was able to continue.

  “He vowed that he would someday locate his brother’s five prisons and set him free.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I said, rubbing my forehead with my hand. “That’s what these rituals are all about, then? Setting Regmothean free?”

  Martin nodded.

  “I’m afraid so,” he said. “And what’s worse, the mirror here in Newcastle is the final piece of Regmothean’s prison. If Algrath successfully completes his ritual tomorrow night, one of the most sadistic demons to walk the earth will go free once again.”

  My eyes widened. I didn’t want to believe it could be true.

  “Why hasn’t the Council stepped in before now?” I asked, outraged. “This is the reason the Council exists in the first place. To keep the balance and exact justice. How can they just turn a blind eye to what’s happening? They can’t seriously want this demon to go free.”

  Martin touched my hand, instantly bringing a sense of calm to my heart.