“Well, I'm impressed.” she promised. “The house is quirky, too. Never seen anything like it, and believe me when I say that's a compliment. It's more you than I expected.”
“I made a few additions – the water fountain is one of them. My parents were all about me making it more 'me'. They planned to have another place built for themselves now that I'm eighteen.” Troy admitted, unlocking the door as they spoke. The others around them were busy peering in the windows, which were shaded to some extent. “Reaction glass – it's kinda bright out here, so it's harder to see in.”
Once the door was open, Troy was immediately intercepted by a man wearing a black suit and white gloves. He seemed to be in his mid forties, with black hair which was slicked back. His physique was lean, obviously well cared for. It had to be Lynch, and Lila had to bite her lip to avoid chuckling. The man clearly took traditionalism to the max, and it made sense why he didn't want Troy to call him by his first name.
“Hi, Graham!” Sadie chirped, and Lila swore she could see a tic in the man's cheek.
“Good morning, Miss. Please, call me Lynch.” he answered, holding out his arm to take her coat.
Sadie handed hers over, obviously amused. Troy took a moment to introduce them all, and Lynch listened very intently. They all handed over their jackets, Lynch helping Troy out of his and scolding him for his injury. When he found out how it had happened, however, he paled and began to treat his master with kid gloves.
There was something odd about Lynch which Lila hadn't been able to pinpoint, but at that moment it all became clear. “You're not a witch.” she exclaimed, surprised and looking mildly confused. Troy shook his head, and Lynch smiled.
“No, Miss Raegan. My family has, however, been aware of your existence for hundreds of years. Originally, our purpose was to help mask magick usage during the trials – we trained your ancestors to hide your more subtle magick acts we could still see. Thus, your families survived.” he answered, obviously proud of his history and happy to be in the job.
“Well, in that case, thank you. Are there many of you? Humans who know about us?” Lila asked. Lynch nodded, though it was hesitant.
“There are fewer than you would think, Miss Raegan. In the past, some humans have had to be... eliminated... due to their knowledge, as they posed a risk. Now, however, a spirit user is brought in to wipe their memories. Occasionally, it doesn't work, and humans are left aware and often bitter.”
“Witch hunters.” Elsie interjected.
“Yes, Miss MacKay.” Lynch answered, and Lila realised it was the first time she'd ever heard the girl's surname, and she she was fairly certain that Troy hadn't mentioned them.
“How do you know our last names?” she asked, intrigued by the older man, this civilian who seemed to know even more than she did.
“I've met your parents, and in some cases, your grandparents.” Lynch answered. “Your leadership passes from parent to child, and your births are documented. There are books upstairs. Would you like to see, Miss Raegan?”
Lila nodded quickly – it wasn't really what they were here for, but she couldn't pass up the chance to find out about her family. It seemed that everyone else was in agreement, as they all nodded and added words of assent. Lynch gave her one look over, then promptly took her arm.
“The elevator, Miss. I insist.” he told her. Lila wondered how he knew about her injury, but she was starting to realise that perhaps there was more to the butler than met the eye.
As they entered the main house, several of them gasped, and Troy blushed, launching into explanations of why his parents had included this feature or that. The floors were covered in a soft cream carpet, meticulous despite its light colour. There was a spiral staircase off to one side, which looked like bed slats rolled out in a curve which never looked quite even. To the side of it was a reception area which differed from the main room,the floor coated in a marble-like coating which reminded her of her high school's floors. This was where Lynch led them, to a metal-surrounded elevator. Pressing the button, he waited until the doors rolled open then escorted them in. Near the door was a panel marking the ground floor, which they were currently on, the first floor where they were heading, and a basement level.
“That's where I throw my parties.” Troy informed her with a grin. “I'll show you all later.” he added, reaching over to press the 1 before Lynch had a chance, giving him an innocent look as the older man looked like he was just about done with the blonde witch. It almost made Lila laugh out loud – as much as Troy claimed the man was over the top, she could see that their relationship was more realistic in a parental fashion than the one Troy had described with his own parents. She felt glad that at least Troy hadn't grown up without that influence.
“By the way, Lynch, I'm gay.” he informed him cheerfully, surprising Lila; he hadn't told him already? No wonder he'd acted out so much.
“I have known that since you were five years old, Master Wayd.” Lynch answered, a smirk building on his lips.
Anticipating the reaction from Adam, Troy held up his hand. “Ah! Shut it.” he warned. Adam looked like he was about to burst. Troy did his best to glare at him until the other gave up, but it was inevitable, really.
“Wayd? Seriously? A butler, a party lair, rich orphan... could you be any more Batman?” Adam burst out. Troy slapped his hand to his own forehead, groaning loudly and lingeringly.
“Oh God. I knew that was coming.” he huffed. “I'm not Batman, it's Wayd, not Wayne, and Lynch is way too much of a pain in the ass to be Albert.” Troy answered, speaking from behind his hands, which had made their way over his face just before he spoke.
Everyone laughed, even Lynch, the sound spilling out on to the landing as the elevator doors opened on to a carpeted room with a coffee table and sofa. There was an impressive floor-to-ceiling fireplace to one side, so big that they could have all climbed inside it and had plenty of room.
Lynch kept hold of her as he led them through to the study, impressively high ceilings making them all feel tiny in comparison, with imposing bookcases around three of the walls. Releasing her arm, he moved over to one of the desks and unlocked it, pulling out a gigantic book. Laying it on the desk in the centre of the room, he opened it, the pages spilling to either side of the cover until he tipped them further, to the back page. Tapping a large tree diagram, he let them look.
Lila's eyes were instantly drawn to the Raegan tree, seeking out ancestors whose names her parents may have mentioned. The others, aside from Troy, each searched out their own tree branch. After a long moment of silence, there was an uncomfortable squeak. Everyone turned to look at Elsie, who looked as white as Rose had in her coma. A flutter of panic flooded Lila's stomach.
“Elsie? What's wrong?” she asked. Elsie didn't answer, so she averted her gaze to Elsie's family tree, noting what had made her go pale – beside her name was another, a brother named Liam, whose birthday was dated as eight years before the girl. Elsie was twenty, making her brother twenty-eight. By rights, he should have been the new coven leader. There was no death date beside his birth date, so that meant he was alive.
“I have a brother?!” Elsie exclaimed, looking up at Lynch, who seemed suddenly uncomfortable. “He's only eight years older than me. Why did I never know this?”
Lynch seemed to battle a decision in his mind, tense as he finally spoke. “Your brother became extremely overprotective when you were born, Miss MacKay. He attacked anyone who came near you, including your parents. They had no choice but to send him off to a civilian hospital for... attention.”
“A psych ward? Why didn't he come back?” It was obvious that this news had rocked Elsie to the core.
“He... didn't recover as planned. His urges changed.” Lynch answered evasively.
“Lynch!” Elsie yelled, her frustration obvious; she wanted answers. “I have family left. This is important! Tell me!”
After a brief pause, Lynch gave a short nod, his eyes burning with regret. “He switched
sides, became protective of the civilians.” he answered. Everyone, including Lila, gasped. Elsie paled further, sitting down in the wooden desk chair abruptly.
“He's a witch hunter?” Lila asked for her, for everyone. Lynch nodded, and Lila instinctively moved over to Elsie, resting a hand on her shoulder. She tried to imagine that she had a brother who wanted to kill her and her kind, but the feeling was so horrendous, she had to let go of it, squeezing the girl's shoulder. There was no empathy in this moment. A witch switching sides was something absolutely unheard of.
“I... need a moment.” Elsie admitted, reaching up to touch Lila's hand in thanks before standing and leaving the room. No one followed.
Chapter Fourteen
Curse words followed, and Adam broke the stream. “Lynch... why did you let her see that? Why now? I know Troy's kept you informed of everything going on, so why?”
Lynch's face was hardened, emulating strength Lila somehow knew wasn't real. “Because he's been sighted. Your activities haven't gone unnoticed. Windows in a house exploding inwards, a girl waking from a coma and talking to thin air, a car crash softened with a wall of water and spirit... though I had no idea the last one was you two.” Lynch scolded. Lila hadn't even realised she'd done that,but Troy's guilty face said it all. There was no way their misfortunes had gone unnoticed by the witch hunters, who had the added bonus of a witch at their service. How many times had this happened? How many witches had defected to their side?
“Why don't they kill them?” she asked, suddenly.
“Their grievance isn't with witches – only witches who have lost control, can't hide their powers. Your misfortune with the car will be forgiven; life or death situations always are, but they've noticed the concentration of incidents in Ontario, I assume.” Lynch answered.
For a long time, everyone was silent, no doubt lost in thought over what would happen if the witch hunters joined the fray. Everyone looked anxious, so Lila couldn't even decipher who might be the target of the hunter's ire. She was tired of not knowing, of having to trust everyone whilst knowing that one of them was betraying them every single day. “We need to step up the schedule.” she insisted. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, and she knew they were on the same page as her. Almost as one, they rose from the seats they'd found, either at the benches around the room or leaning against the wall so far that they seemed seated. Heading out of the room, Lila promised she'd find Elsie and bring her to the elevator. The others informed her that they'd wait in the downstairs reception area.
Moving off alone, Lila searched around the huge first floor of Troy's mansion, passing a bathroom with two jacuzzi baths and a huge glass walk in shower. The baths were pink, which made Lila chuckle; they looked so out of place in the building, but she could tell that it was Troy's mother's input; another bedroom she'd visited had pink accents everywhere.
Finally entering a room with a huge, brown leather bed, a wall-mounted television and brown curtains covering a door to a small balcony with seats and a table. Sitting on the floor next to the bed, Elsie had a toilet roll and was wiping her eyes with wads of it furiously.
“Hey.” Lila tested the waters carefully, the girl's head snapping up. She didn't speak, but Lila moved over to sit beside her, picking up the toilet roll and winding it round her hand once before snapping some off and holding it out to Elsie, who took it, gratitude replacing the sadness in her eyes. It was a small move, but Lila could tell that it meant everything that she wasn't alone. “Want to talk about it?” she asked.
Elsie shrugged, looking completely lost. “What is there to talk about? I have a brother, but meeting him could be a f-... a mistake.” she resisted swearing, which was another quirk Lila had noticed.
“You're quitting swearing?” she changed the subject, trying to take Elsie's mind off of it.
“My parents hated swearing.” she answered. “Not sure why it matters now since I never stopped when they were alive.. I guess I'm just a hypocrite.” Elsie answered, before breaking down in fresh tears. Drat, that really hadn't been what she was going for. Wrapping an arm around Elsie, she kept quiet, aware now that nothing she said could make it better. Elsie cried on her shoulder, somewhat soothed by the touch of Lila's hand on her hair, stroking along the burnt red locks, bright under the spotlights.
After around forty-five minutes of this, Elsie took a deep breath, wiping her face. She discarded the tissues in the nearby waste basket and got up, straightening her clothes. “Okay. We've gotta go back.” she spoke quietly, and Lila recognised the determined look in her eyes; everything had to be pushed aside.
She had to tell her, of course. “We might run into him, Elsie. Apparently we've garnered some interest from the hunters. It's not really a surprise.”
To her credit, Elsie simply nodded, refusing to answer. Lila rose to her feet, limping once on her leg. Elsie looked at her and frowned. “Okay. Whatever you're doing isn't working for your leg. Lie on the bed.” she ordered. Lila hesitated, confusion and a hint of fear hindering her decision. What if Elsie were the traitor and this was where she'd end her? It was risky. “You can stay in pain or let me help you.” Elsie continued.
She had to take the chance; Elsie might be the traitor, but she herself was useless like this. Her magick was weak while she recovered from the accident, focused on her healing, but she needed it now. Climbing on to the bed, she lay down, and Elsie peeled the bandage from the wound, wincing at the sight of it. Throwing the bandage in the bin, she placed her hand over the wound, an inch or so away from skin, and closed her eyes.
At first, it was agony. Lila yelled, thinking at first that Elsie was going to kill her. Soft words soothed her, convincing her to relax, and suddenly, the pain eased. Struggling through a few more minutes in discomfort, everything stopped moments later, and she could feel her magick flooding back to her. Looking down, she saw that her wound had been reduced to a long, thick scar, reddened but completely healed over. She flexed her leg, surprised to feel that it no longer hurt – at all. Looking up at Elsie, wide-eyed, she noted that the girl looked exhausted. It was obvious that the reason she hadn't offered before was the lack of sleep, somewhat remedied by the night before.
“Sorry about the scar... it's the best I can do.” she panted, sounding like she'd just run a marathon. Lila felt guilty, and sat up, throwing her arms around her.
“It's incredible. Seriously. Thanks, Elsie, you're the best.” she smiled, and Elsie looked like a huge weight had been lifted from her. At that point, Lila realised that what Elsie needed most was validation. “You're gonna be a fab coven leader, you know.”
Elsie gave an awkward shrug, chuckling. “C'mon, let's get back to the others.” she suggested, and Lila nodded, relishing the moment she stood up without pain. As if to test it out, she jumped up and down. “Wow, you're amazing Elsie.” she complimented.
“OK, enough compliments and stuff, I'm as red as my hair.” Elsie chuckled. “You know, I'm surprised no one's made ginger jokes yet.”
“Why would anyone do that? Your hair is gorgeous. Redheads for life.” Lila grinned. “I have red in my hair. You can't see it very well, but it's there. My dad's fault.” she smiled.
Elsie gave a surprisingly gentle smile for the normally brash girl, letting Lila lead them out of the room and to the elevator – she hadn't been paying much attention thanks to her state of distress. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they were accosted by everyone, who cuddled them both. The news of Elsie healing Lila's leg earned her extra hugs and exclamations of how impressed they were.
Lynch moved to guide them back into the elevator, but Lila stopped them, begging to go down the spiral staircase. No one objected, so they headed to the marble and glass railed staircase. Lila looked up and down, marvelling at how she could literally see to every floor in the house. The upstairs looked taller than one floor.
“There's an attic.” Troy answered her unspoken question. “The elevator doesn't go up that far, it was added after.”
/> “Oh.” Lila answered. Looking down, she mapped out her route carefully, still lairy of her leg despite the fact it felt absolutely fine. Walking down the stairs gave her a sense of vertigo, but not so much that it was unpleasant, merely exhilarating. Eventually, she reached the bottom, and her eyes widened. This was clearly Troy's domain. To one side, there was a bedroom, the door cracked open, the room swathed in red. The rest of the basement was dedicated to what appeared to be a polished wooden dance floor with a bar next to it, and a gym just off of that, through glass windows.
“Holy crap.” Sadie gasped, looking around, and Troy looked smug.
“This is where I have parties – It's also where my coven meets. It's kind of hard to do anything round here without being seen, so we do it indoors. “
“Well, that makes it simple.” Lila answered, sounding awestruck.
Almost on impulse, they all made their way to the dance floor and drew the circle. They then took each others hands, chanting the incantation they had memorised by now. Pricking their ring fingers since the others were already done, they gave the blood offering before closing the circle and cleaning up after themselves. At that point, Lynch moved over to the bar and made them all a red bull, orange and cranberry combination. It was odd, but rather tasty, and it gave them all the energy boost they needed after a ritual.
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