A Breath of Witchy Air

by Amanda M. Lee

  They nodded in unison.

  “Did you ever cross paths with one another?”

  “No.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “We would’ve remembered each other,” Abby answered simply. “Also, there were nowhere near as many girls playing as boys. For every woman there were at least three to four men. We were outnumbered.”

  “If we knew about each other we would’ve formed a group,” Jennifer added. “We’ve had plenty of time to talk to one another since we woke up together. We talked a lot about that.”

  I didn’t point out that seemed like a stupid thing to discuss given their traumatizing murders. It would be a wasted effort. “So you went to play the game. Was anyone else there? Did you see someone?”

  “It is difficult to remember,” Laura replied. “I can only remember brief flashes, like images from a life that wasn’t really mine.”

  “Tell me what you remember.”

  “I was at the resort.”

  I stilled. “The ski resort?”

  Laura nodded. “I was there because they often have a lot of items to collect and no one questions you if you’re walking around. Other places have people watching out for players now and they kick us out if they realize what we’re doing.”

  “Businesses don’t like it,” Abby added. “They think we’re distracting to guests and customers.”

  I could definitely see that. “Okay. You were gathering items. Then what happened?”

  “Something unique popped up … and in a place it had no business being. It was in a spot behind the main chalet. In the woods.”

  I was confused. “Are the items only supposed to show up in populated areas?”

  “Not populated so much,” Abby corrected. “The items are in areas with landmarks. Areas that it makes sense for people to go.”

  “Like the mall,” Heather added, speaking for the first time. She appeared to be the shyest of the group. “There are always a lot at the mall.”

  That made sense. There were a lot of claimable items at Call of the Wild, too. That was a public place. “So you’re saying an item popped up in a place it shouldn’t have been,” I mused, my mind busy. “You obviously went after the item.”

  “I did,” Laura confirmed.

  “Did you get it?”

  “I … don’t know.” Laura looked close to tears even though that was impossible for a ghost. “I just remember realizing something was very wrong … and then I was trapped in the darkness for a very long time.”

  I pursed my lips. “What do you mean? The darkness? What darkness?”

  “I know of no other way to describe it.”

  “Were you still alive?”

  “I thought so at the time, but now I don’t know. My living and death have turned into the same thing and I can’t distinguish either reality. When I woke, it was dark.”

  “Except for the glowing red things,” Abby added. “I don’t know what they were, but my story is similar. I was behind the restaurant by the freeway entrance. I wasn’t far from the parking lot, but the area was secluded. That’s when I saw the Mace of Unrelenting Fury.”

  Whoever thought of names for these game pieces needed to be smacked around. They kept getting more and more ridiculous. “So you were tempted by a rare item in an isolated place, too.” I glanced at the other girls. “Was it the same for you?”

  They nodded and gave short versions of their stories.

  “So it should be easy enough to figure out who was close to you at the time of your deaths,” I said when they finished. “All we have to do is get the developers to help us.”

  “What if they won’t?” Clove asked, moving to my side and handing over the camera. “What if they don’t want to help and hide behind lawyers?”

  “Why would they do that?” I challenged. “They should want to help find a murderer.”

  “Because if they do open the inner workings of the game to investigators they’re opening themselves up to lawsuits,” Thistle noted. “You know how it works. If they admit a killer used their game to find victims, they’ll go broke from the payouts. It’s far more likely they’ll stonewall.”

  I wanted to argue, but I’d seen it done that way too many times. “You’re right,” I muttered, frustrated. “They will hide.”

  “Which means we have to figure a different way to get answers,” Thistle said. “I hate to say it … .”

  I cut her off with a curt headshake. “Don’t say it!”

  “I hate to say it,” Thistle repeated, her tone firm. “Upchuck Ashton might be our best chance at figuring out who was close to the girls when they died. He might be our only hope.”

  “I told you not to say it.” I rubbed the tender spot between my eyebrows, taking a moment for myself before looking up to find the girls staring at me. They didn’t appear worried or in a hurry to motivate me to solve their murders. More than anything, they merely seemed curious. “I’ll do my best by you.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Laura smiled. “I believe you’re sincere.”

  I should’ve taken it as a compliment, but I couldn’t. “You don’t have to stay here. There’s nothing for you here now. You know that, right?”

  “This is all we know now.”

  I absolutely hated the way they regarded one another, as if they all shared in the decision, and personal freedom and choice were matters from their pasts. “You could move on if you wanted. I know your murders haven’t been solved yet, but you could still move on.”

  “We’ll know when it’s time to move on,” Abby countered. “We’re not there yet.”

  “When will you be there?”

  “I don’t know. But we’ll know.”

  That, at least, was something.

  I DROPPED CLOVE and Thistle at Hypnotic and took the camera back to The Whistler while I debated how I wanted to break the news to Landon and Chief Terry that not only was I right, but that we’d need to utilize Ashton’s expertise if we expected to get anywhere.

  I was halfway up the front walk to the newspaper when an approaching shadow caught me off guard and I instinctively tensed for a blow that never came.

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Steven held up his hands in mock surrender, his face a mask of worry and amusement.

  “You didn’t frighten me,” I said hurriedly, straightening my shoulders. “I was just … um … working through some stuff in my head and I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “So I did technically frighten you.”

  Steven’s grin was charming, but the fact that he approached from the wooded side of the building rather than the parking lot irritated me enough to pique my suspicious nature. I was also bothered by the fact that he seemed to favor his right side, the same side the spell hit our shadowed assailant the night before. “Not really. You caught me off guard. What were you doing in the woods?”

  Now it was Steven’s turn to be caught off guard. “What do you mean?”

  “You came from the woods.” I pointed toward his footprints, which very clearly disappeared into the trees. “That doesn’t seem normal in the middle of winter.”

  “We’re playing a game,” Steven reminded me. “I go where the pieces take me.”

  That sounded reasonable enough, although the stories the girls told me remained close enough to the surface to keep me edgy. “Let me ask you a question. Have any unique game pieces popped up in Hemlock Cove since you arrived?”

  Always eager to talk about the game, Steven brightened considerably. “I’ve managed to capture the Hammer of Hurting, one of the lesser mermen, and found an enchanted toad left by the Witch of the Wails.”

  I pursed my lips. “Who is the Witch of the Wails?”

  “She was created by the developers just for Hemlock Cove.” Steven was so excited his eyes sparkled. “She’s supposed to be an evil witch who lives in a cottage in the woods, and she’s so powerful she can curse players with various things.

  “She’s running around the game and she’s sup
posed to be almost impossible to take down,” he continued. “It will take everyone working together in the battle to beat her, and even then only one of us will get to take her home.”

  “Huh. That sounds really interesting.” It sounded like a big pile of horse manure, but I didn’t want to crush the kid’s spirits if he was innocent. He was friendly enough, if a bit dull and overenthusiastic about computer-generated people and belongings. I had no reason to dislike him … other than the fact that he kept putting his hand over the spot the stranger grabbed when I unleashed the burning spell on him.

  Trust was another thing entirely, though.

  “That still doesn’t explain what you were doing in the woods,” I pointed out. “My understanding is that all the game pieces are supposed to be at businesses and downtown park areas. Why would you go into the woods when nothing is supposed to be there?”

  “That’s the thing.” Steven conspiratorially leaned forward. “We’re all here for the Witch of Wails. She can do some really great things, like control the weather and talk to ghosts. I mean … is there anything cooler than that?”

  He said it so matter-of-factly it took everything I had not to flinch. Now he was getting a little too close to my truth. Even though I had no doubt he wasn’t aware of the witchy whisperings about my family – as far as I could tell, the new tourists were more interested in their phones than town gossip – the way he offered up the tidbits seemed pointed. Of course, I was on edge after the attack and a conversation with four creepy ghosts. I could be reading more into the conversation than what was there.

  “It sounds very cool,” I lied.

  “Anyway, if you believe the notice the developers posted on the message board, the Witch of the Wails is supposed to be running around town for the duration of our stay,” he continued. “That means she’s always out there, waiting.”

  “That sounds like a bad Friday the 13th movie.”

  “Or an awesome game aspect,” Steven countered. “Anyway, the thing is, if the witch were downtown I think people would’ve seen her by now. The same with all the inns. Everyone is spread out and staying in different places. No one has seen the witch yet.”

  I was at a loss. “And that led you to the woods?”

  Steven shrugged. “Where else? I mean, I don’t know if the developers would go far enough to hide her in the middle of the forest, but I figured they might put her just far enough out of reach that we couldn’t see her while sticking to the marked spots in town.”

  Realization dawned. “So you hopped into the woods to see if she suddenly showed up.”

  “Basically.” Steven beamed. “Good idea, huh?”

  “Sure. Sounds fabulous.” I dug into my pocket until I came up with my keyring. “I wish you luck on your search for the Witch of the Wails.”

  Steven’s smile slipped as I began moving away. “You think it’s stupid, don’t you?”

  “What? The Witch of the Wails? She sounds like a neat friend.”

  “Not that.” Steven made a face. “The game. You think the game is stupid even though everyone in your family is playing it.”

  “That’s a gross exaggeration. Three members of my family play, and one of them is only in it for a tiara.”

  “I think it’s more than three family members.”

  “No. Two cousins and a great-aunt who is often mistaken for a child.”

  “Isn’t that one of your other aunts?”

  I followed Steven’s finger and scowled when I caught sight of Twila standing in front of the police station with a phone in her hand. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “I’m pretty sure she’s TiddlyWitch27. She’s been collecting rocks all day.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Rocks?”

  “Sometimes they turn into diamonds and rubies.”

  I shook my head. “Fine. Four members of my family are playing the game. That leaves plenty who aren’t.”

  “By my count only three of you aren’t playing.”

  I stilled as his tone shifted. There was something chilly about his demeanor that wasn’t there a few moments before. “You seem to know a lot about my family,” I offered, uncomfortably shifting from one foot to the other. “How is it that you know who I’m related to?”

  Steven shrugged. “Everyone in this town talks about you guys. I asked one question about you and the lady in the unicorn shop couldn’t shut up. Speaking of witches … .”

  I cut him off before he could ask the obvious question. “Mrs. Little has been in a feud with Aunt Tillie since they were in high school. I’d think long and hard before believing any gossip she spreads.”

  Steven took a step closer, making my heart rate pick up a notch. “What about the woman at the post office? And the one at the bakery? And the one at the grocery store? Oh, and the one at that shop where they sell cauldrons? Are they all feuding with your great-aunt, too?”

  “Oddly enough, they are.” That wasn’t a lie. Aunt Tillie made enemies faster than most people changed shoes. “My aunt is an acquired taste.”

  “Uh-huh.” Steven took another step. Only about six feet separated us.

  “I don’t want to come off as an alarmist, but you’re starting to make me uncomfortable,” I volunteered. “I think you should go off in search of your witch thing and leave me to my work.”

  “I’m just hanging out.” Steven took another step. “I’m not doing anything.”

  I ran my tongue over my teeth, frustration bubbling up. “Listen, I’ve had a really rough couple of days and I’m on edge. I can’t decide if you’re a threat or merely stupid. Heck, you could be both.

  “The simple fact of the matter is this is my business and I don’t want you hanging around it,” I continued, my tone firm. “It would be best if you go.”

  “See, I don’t want to go.” Steven’s smile turned sinister. “I think that the rumors about your family are being spread for a reason. That means you know where the witch is. I want you to tell me.”

  There were so many places I could go with that statement I had no idea where to start. Ultimately I merely shook my head. “I’m busy. You’ll have to look for your witch elsewhere.”

  “I think I’ve already found her.”

  “And I think if you take one more step toward me you won’t like what happens.”

  “And why is that?” Steven had suddenly turned menacing. “What are you going to do? Are you going to cast a spell on me?”

  I shook my head. “No. I will do this, though.” I timed my punch to the exact second when he began to move his foot and slammed him hard in the face, making contact with his nose and grimacing at the sickening crunch.

  For one brief moment Steven’s eyes widened to comical proportions. Then he dropped like a really heavy cauldron, unmoving, to the pavement.

  “Well, crap.” I shook my hand to alleviate the pain and glanced around to see if anyone else was watching. “Now what am I supposed to do?”

  Twenty-Four

  I did what I do best and called Chief Terry. He arrived with a furious Landon in tow three minutes later. He took one look at the dope on the sidewalk, who was breathing but still out, and shook his head.

  “What were you thinking?”

  That was an interesting question. “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It seemed a good idea at the time.”

  Landon moved to my right side and glanced down at the kid before focusing on me. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “No. I reacted out of instinct. Sue me.”

  “Ugh.” Landon growled low and deep in his throat, muttering something just out of earshot. It sounded suspiciously like “going to give me an ulcer,” but I couldn’t be sure.

  “Well, first things first.” Chief Terry squared his shoulders and met my gaze. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “He didn’t touch me.”

  Landon slid me a sidelong look. “What did he do?”

  “He asked me questions about witches.” That response seemed rather inane, so I correc
ted myself quickly. “He also said weird things about witches and suggested that I might be a witch.”

  “You are a witch,” Chief Terry pointed out. “Is that why you hit him?”

  “No.” Well, not entirely. “Maybe a little,” I hedged. “I don’t know. I had a lot of things on my mind and he started invading my personal space. He also acted as if he might have been injured in the same spot that guy grabbed when I hurt him last night. Although now I’m starting to wonder if I imagined that. I just … hit him. I’m not even a little bit sorry about it.”

  “Injured, huh?” Landon crouched down and used his good arm to lift Steven’s T-shirt. The boy’s abdomen was unnaturally pale. “I don’t see any marks.”

  I deflated a bit. “So I guess I imagined that.”

  Steven picked that moment to stir, making a slurred groaning as he rubbed his forehead and shifted on the cold pavement.

  “Okay, maybe I’m a little bit sorry,” I hedged. “He freaked me out.”

  Chief Terry’s expression was hard to read. “So you hit him?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. He was making me nervous.”

  Landon and Chief Terry stared at each other for a long beat before Chief Terry shrugged and leaned over to help Steven to his feet. “That’s good enough for me. I’m sure he had it coming.”

  That wasn’t the response I’d expected. “You’re not angry?”

  “Nope. You protected yourself. That’s all that matters.”

  I looked to Landon for confirmation. “What about you?”

  Landon shook his head. “I’d much rather see you do this then got tossed into the trunk of a car or smacked over the head with a tree branch. You took care of yourself. That’s the most important thing.”

  I started to feel a bit better. “Whew. I thought you were going to yell.”

  “Not yet.” Landon grinned. “Of course, I haven’t heard the entire story. I reserve the right to change my mind.”

  “I told you everything that’s important.”

  “We need to fill out a report, which means we’ll need more than that.”

  My smiled dipped. “I should’ve known it wouldn’t be this easy.”