The guard reappeared and then six robed figures followed. Teddy shot to his feet, dragging me up with him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harvey hop down from his seat on the bench to stand. The robed council members filed quietly to their seats at the long, elevated desk across the room and took their seats. “The high and honorable Haven Council will now hear case number 45268b.”
The guard turned about-face and stood like a sentry at the side of the desk. I worked down the line, examining each face. There were three wizards and three witches. Other types of supernaturals were able to hold places within the SPA and other areas of law enforcement but were prohibited from actually serving as council members. It was controversial within the havens system. An old—some would say archaic—law.
None of the six faces staring at me seemed particularly friendly. They were mostly older, with white or graying hair, with the exception of the woman at the very end of the table. She looked to be closer to my age, with long, dark curls, a porcelain complexion, and piercing eyes that reminded me of Flurry, Evangeline’s falcon familiar. While the others looked at their notes, she kept those dark eyes locked on mine without blinking. A shiver ran down my spine.
The wizard in the middle cleared his throat and all eyes swiveled toward him. “Holly Boldt, according to your petition, you are present before the council to waive your apprenticeship requirements and acquire your master potion license. Is this correct?”
“Yes, uh, your honor?”
Teddy frowned. Apparently I’d been watching too many human cop shows. “Ms. Boldt is indeed here to pursue her master potion license. A right that was unjustly stripped from her one year ago after a series of misunderstandings.”
The council members all snapped to attention and stared at Teddy. He remained cool, his expression firm but not aggressive. “And you are?” the wizard in the center spat at Teddy.
“Theodore Trevail, a member of the Los Angeles Haven Justice Department. I am here to present Ms. Boldt’s case.”
None of the council members seemed too impressed with Teddy’s credentials. In fact, all six of them looked like they’d collectively swallowed a lemon.
“Well,” the young witch at the end started, her voice a sickly sweet purr. “As impressed as I’m sure we all are, this case seems very straightforward based on what we’ve reviewed in the file. Ms. Boldt was arrested in connection to Gabriel Willows circle. I’m sure no one present needs be to reminded just what that particular merry band of misfits was up to.” She smiled at her fellow council members.
Teddy bristled beside me and I felt the flicker of hope inside my chest start to sputter. “Ms. Boldt was cleared of any connection to the ring’s violent plans or the dark magic they were harnessing. She was an innocent bystander, mistakenly lumped in with a dangerous group. An accident that has been remedied.”
The young witch scoffed. “An accident? That’s your best defense?” she asked, her dark eyes boring into me.
I straightened, dropping my shoulders back. “The charges were dropped. I’m not on trial.”
Teddy flexed his jaw and held up a hand. “Ms. Boldt is correct. This petition has nothing to do with those unfortunate events of the past. She is here, as a citizen of the Seattle haven, to petition for her right to acquire her master potion license.”
The witch tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m not sure how you expect us to untangle the two things. If Ms. Boldt shares these ideologies, the last thing this council wants to do is allow her access to dangerous—and potentially dark—magic. In any form.”
I sighed. I should have known it would come down to the past. I cast a glance at Harvey, hoping he could swoop in and argue on my behalf. He’d promised to testify to my intentions as well as my skill level as a potion witch. To my dismay, he remained seated, his long fingers folded together in his lap, and even though I knew he must have felt my gaze on him, he refused to look my way.
“There are no charges against her. No evidence linking her to Willow’s circle,” Teddy stressed.
“Then why do I see that she was once again arrested in connection to the group, even after Mr. Willows was in an SPA prison?” the witch asked, her teeth flashing like a victorious wolf about to devour a meal. “In fact, it looks like following that arrest, she was banished from all of haven society. Yet we are supposed to believe that she is harmless? Her own assigned SPA agent ordered her unfit for haven life.”
My eyes flashed to Harvey. That arrest was supposed to have been scrubbed from my record. How in the Otherworld had the council ended up with that information? Had Harvey betrayed me?
Harvey still refused to meet my eyes and I bit back the urge to shout his name.
Teddy tensed his jaw. “She was questioned in regards to a situation. That is not the same as an arrest. As to the banishment, that was a temporary, and unofficial order that bears no weight in this hearing.”
The witch clasped her slender fingers together and rested them on the table. “Perhaps I need to put this in other terms, seeing as how Ms. Boldt has been living among the humans for such a long time. Let’s see … how does that expression go? Ah, yes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And simply put, Ms. Boldt, there is simply too much smoke hovering over your head for this council to feel it wise to grant you permission to attain a master potion license or be able to sell your creations within the havens. In fact, I’m not sure why we aren’t making this banishment a permanent order. It certainly seems to be working. The Willows gang hasn’t so much as crossed my radar in the past year since you’ve been gone.” She cast a sidelong glance at the other council members, silently confirming her statement.
Anger and despair surged up inside me and clashed together in an explosion of emotion. Tears sprang to my eyes even as my hands fisted into tight balls at my sides. “This is outrageous!” I cried. “Why am I being punished for things I didn’t do?”
Teddy reached out and grasped my forearm. “Holly, please,” he whispered. I slammed my mouth shut and ground my teeth as he turned back to address the council. “At this time, to clear up the issue of the banishment, I would like to call for a testimony. An esteemed member of the SPA and Ms. Boldt’s assigned agent, Harvey Colepepper.”
Teddy turned, waving a hand to present our key witness, only to find the bench empty.
Harvey was gone.
“No,” the plea, a whisper, slipped from my lips.
“Guess he had something else to do?” the young witch cooed.
I stared, transfixed on the empty bench as the wizard who’d started the proceedings asked Teddy if there was anything else.
“Ms. Boldt is a noble witch who has worked to move past this stigma that is inexplicably still clinging to her following the unfortunate events cited here today. She’s followed the law of the haven to the letter and deserves to use her natural gifts to not only provide a living for herself, but to also help other supernaturals inside the haven community as well as outside. I would ask that the council considers this issue thoroughly before dismissing it based on loose, circumstantial footnotes in her case files. As to the banishment, Mr. Colepepper never intended that to be a permanent order and I am confident that he will clear up any concerns just as soon as he is available.”
The council members looked from Teddy to me. They hadn’t proclaimed their final decision yet, but I knew it was over all the same.
My eyes slid closed. I drew in a long, slow breath and willed the room to no longer be spinning when I opened my eyes again.
“We will call you forth when we have had a chance to examine the evidence. Please, Reginald, escort Mr. Trevail and Ms. Boldt from the chamber.”
The stocky guard swept forward and ushered us back to the hall. When the door closed, Teddy ripped his phone from the pocket of his jacket and furiously dialed. “Where in the Otherworld is that little troll? Someone better be bleeding.”
I didn’t bother correcting him as to Harvey’s species. I was too busy cooking up insu
lts of my own to hurl at him when he was back in my sights. Why had he bothered to make me promises, show up for the hearing, and then vanish midway through? On top of that, somehow the council had gotten their hands on the files he supposedly buried. That was the arrangement we’d made. Well, that he’d made and I’d been forced to agree to. He’d buried the arrest in exchange for me going peacefully to Beechwood Harbor and never stepping foot back inside the Seattle haven. If he hadn’t tipped off the council then who had?
Teddy snapped his phone shut. “His calls are going to his assistant, Harriet. She claims that she doesn’t know where he is.”
I sighed deeply and dropped my head back to rest on the cool wall behind me. “I’m sorry that I wasted your time, Teddy.”
Teddy softened and sat beside me. “It’s not your fault, Holly. Harvey is the one who should be apologizing. I didn’t quite expect the council to put so much weight on the past seeing as how none of the charges stuck. But even still, one word from Harvey and this all could have been cleared away.”
I nodded. “I don’t know what I expected to have happen here today but I thought they would at least listen. At first, it seemed like it, but then that woman. That witch. Who is she?”
Teddy shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not familiar with the Seattle branch of the council. My guess? She’s some youngblood who was added to the council so they didn’t have to cancel the proceedings. See, most of the higher-up council members are tangled up in this Praxle mess,” he gestured across the expansive lobby. The crowds were dispelled now, but I remembered what Harvey and Teddy had said about it before our case was called. “She’s obviously trying to make an impression.”
“Well she certainly managed that,” I deadpanned. “She blew a hole right through my entire case.”
Teddy pushed up from the bench. “Wait here; I’ll be right back.”
He didn’t wait for me to agree before scurrying off around the corner.
“Great,” I said, heaving a sigh. “Even better. Total abandonment.”
All I wanted to do was go back to my hotel room, grab a bag of Lemon Clouds, bury myself under the covers with Boots, and read a book. I’d go back to Beechwood Harbor in the morning and start over. Again.
Minutes ticked by as I waited alone outside the chamber’s door. Teddy came back, his expression even more grim than when he’d left. “Harvey’s still not answering. His voicemail message says he’s out on official business. But who knows what that means.”
“And without him?”
Teddy nodded and sat back down beside me. “I’m sorry, Holly. I truly thought this would be an open and closed kind of case.”
“It’s not your fault, Teddy.” I squeezed my eyes closed, desperate to hide the hot tears that were welling up. “Thanks for trying.”
“Well hold on.” He patted my shoulder. “It’s not over yet.”
“It sure seems like it. Especially if that witch has anything to say about it.”
Before Teddy could assuage my fears, the door swung open and the same guard appeared. He jerked his chin in the direction of the doorway. “They’ve reached their final decision.”
That was fast.
Teddy gulped.
I scanned the hall, looking for any sign that Harvey was on his way back, but the corridor was empty in both directions. A final glance at the reception desk confirmed that he wasn’t going to make it. After a moment, I gave up and let Teddy usher me back into the chamber where the robed council members sat behind their table. As we walked in, I noticed that most of them refused to meet my eyes. All except for one … the witch at the end offered a wide smile as we took our places at the smaller table.
The wizard who’d opened the proceedings cleared his throat. “Ms. Boldt, we’ve reviewed the notes in the case file and had a lengthy discussion in regards to your request. Unfortunately, we’ve ruled against your petition. At this time, we cannot grant your request.”
Teddy started to object but the wizard snapped his fingers and a red ribbon, sparkling with magic, moved in a mesmerizing dance through the air as the petition was rolled like a scroll and bound with the magic ribbon. When the bow formed, a hissing sound echoed through the chamber, signaling that the bond was permanent. Bonded. Final.
“This is outrageous!” Teddy shouted.
“Silence!” the wizard shouted, his voice booming like thunder. “The Haven Council has ruled. Reginald, see them out at once.”
Reginald raced forward, his face set with determination. He pulled his wand as the council members stood and filed from the room until only the raven-haired witch remained. “Enjoy the human world, Holly,” she purred before turning to follow her fellow council members from the room.
Only when the heavy wooden door shut behind them with a solid thud did I release a curse and a blast of magic that slammed into a chair, blasting it into a hundred splintered pieces.
Reginald let his own spell fly and I was thrown to the floor, my wrists instantly bound together. Teddy hurried forward and collected me, holding up a hand toward the guard. “Let her go.”
“Out!” came Reginald’s gruff reply. The spell released and I sprang from the floor like a boxer in the ring. Magic pulsed at my fingers, straining to be released, but Teddy wrapped one arm around my shoulder and steered me from the room before I had a chance to fire off another spell.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Are you going to be okay?”
Considering the circumstances we’d just walked away from, I found Teddy’s question a little odd. I’d shrugged out of his reach and stalked out of the pristine building that housed the council and made it three blocks before I finally slowed enough that he’d managed to catch up. Thoughts raced through my mind faster than I could process them. Part of me wanted to sink down onto the curb and cry and the other part wanted to let out a blast powerful enough to rattle the entire haven and the city of Seattle that concealed it.
I stopped walking and spun on the heels of my black boots to face Teddy. Deep lines were etched around his eyes, erasing his boyish look, and I realized he was nearly as angry at the farce of a hearing as I was. “I’ll be fine, Teddy. I’m sorry that I lost control back there.” I flapped a hand in the direction we’d come from.
“I understand,” Teddy replied evenly. He slipped his hands deep in his pockets. “As soon as I get back to the hotel I’m going to file an appeal and a formal complaint.”
I shook my head. “Don’t bother.”
“Holly, we can’t give up.”
My eyes drifted over his shoulder and followed the row of shops that lined the main street through the haven. The dull ache in my chest pounded as I drank it all in. The quaint shops, shiny marquee signs that glittered and sparkled; each one competing for the attention of the supernatural patrons wandering the streets.
My gaze settled on a family as they wandered down the sidewalk. A blonde girl clung to her mother’s and father’s hands while a small white dog raced ahead of them. The fluffy pup stopped at the end of the sidewalk and suddenly shifted into a black cat. The blonde girl giggled and cheered. She slipped from her parent’s grip and bounced in place, clapping her hands. The cat swished its tail and then transformed again, this time into a green lizard with a forked tongue. The girl darted back and grabbed her mother’s leg. The father scooped her up and called out to the shape-shifter who promptly turned into a small boy. The mother raced forward and wrapped a blanket around the boy, who’d shifted back to human form without clothing. She smiled at her son and then scooped him into her arms as they continued down the street.
The ache grew sharper as I watched the small family. I dragged my eyes back to Teddy’s. “I need some time.”
Teddy gave a slight nod. “I’ll walk you back to the hotel.”
“No. That’s all right. I know the way.”
He frowned but didn’t argue with me. I tried to offer a smile but it fell flat. I hurried away, moving in the opposite direction as the little family of four. I
couldn’t watch them anymore.
Back in the hotel, Boots greeted me at the door with a series of yowls, only stopping when I gathered him into my arms. I squeezed him as tightly as I knew I could get away with and then set him down on the couch. As my familiar, he had the innate ability to pick up on my moods and emotions, and as his amber eyes shifted to follow me as I paced the suite, I could almost hear the question rolling around his fuzzy little head.
“It didn’t go so well, Bootsie. Looks like I’m going to have to come up with an alternate career plan.”
His whiskers twitched.
“Don’t worry,” I said with a smile. “I’ll find a way to buy your kibble.”
My cell phone was on the small entry-way table and I grabbed it up on my way back to the couch. I sat down beside Boots and he burrowed into my side. “Time to call Adam and tell him the news,” I said with a heavy sigh. On the one hand, I desperately wanted to hear Adam’s voice and have him tell me everything was going to turn out all right, but on the other, I dreaded having to tell him all the details of the disastrous hearing.
He picked up after the second ring and sounded like he’s just finished running a mile. Which, considering it was barely noon, wasn’t likely. Adam liked to run through the woods behind the Beechwood Manor but only after dark, when he could shift into his beast form and terrorize the forest as a huge shaggy dog that, size-wise, was more on par with a grizzly bear than a canine. “Hey, Gorgeous!” he panted into the phone. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you. How’d it go?”
“Are you all right?”
“Me? Uh—yeah, yeah. I’m good. Just been running around getting stuff done.”
I frowned. “That sounds … vague.”
“Holls, come on, tell me what’s going on.”
Witch Way Home: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 4) Page 3