"Please, put her down. I can make this better."
"You aren't fae," Cooper said, sniffing the air around him.
"And I don't have time to explain. I can't do this if she's touching anyone. So just put her down, then we'll go."
One quick glance from Ethan to Cooper was all it took to get them to do as I asked, moving swiftly to place the body back into the same position as we'd first found it. We'd already disturbed the crime scene, but there wasn't much I could do about that now.
Instead, once the werewolves had stepped away, I reached out with my magick to find the target I was looking for. The fae girl felt strange, far different than any human I'd ever glamoured before, both in species and, well, aliveness.
For an instant, I feared I wouldn't be able to do it and that my hubris had damned us all. But a second later, her face subtly shifted, morphing to mask anything inhuman from the world. There was no time for finesse, but I did take a spare moment to heal the surface wounds on the body.
This wouldn't look like an animal attack or anything else that could be traced back to the supernatural. Just a tragic accident.
Cooper's gaze of disbelief shifted between me and the body and back again. Yeah, I was going to have a lot of explaining to do later, but at least it wouldn't be happening from inside a jail cell.
Ethan spoke before he had the chance to ask the dozen or so questions that seemed to be plaguing him. "Time's up. The car just pulled up at front, sounds like two officers."
On the verge of hyperventilating, I followed both Ethan and Cooper to the back of the barn where a few panels had started to rot away. With a finesse I wouldn't have guessed was possible with the brutal strength of the wolves, they worked together to knock out several panels, giving us just enough space to escape the fae girl's tomb and sneak back outside as the sound of human voices billowed in behind us.
Chapter 9
Stepping back into the sunlight, Cooper, Ethan, and I all pressed our bodies tight to the back wall of the barn. I couldn't see much at all beyond the overgrown grass in the field beyond, but Ethan moved without hesitation, shifting silently along the wooden panels until we reached the far corner of the structure.
"Stay back," a voice called from somewhere behind me. I tensed immediately, certain I was about to be arrested. "This is a police investigation."
A rumbling of voices answered back in the distance, but I couldn't make out much of what was being said. In that moment, there wasn't much I wouldn't have given for the ability to hear everything the wolves around me could.
"It seems like we weren't the only ones who were tipped off that a body had been found out here," Ethan said, his voice barely a whisper. "There are a few different groups converging on the property, and some cars have stopped nearby. Wait for my signal, then we move."
I opened my mouth to ask what the signal would be. Or where exactly we were supposed to go, but Cooper reached over and squeezed my shoulder before I had the chance. He shook his head, prompting me to snap my mouth shut again.
We waited for what felt like forever, though it was probably just a few minutes. Inside, two voices took in the same scene we had, and from the sounds of it were just as horrified by what they'd found as I still was. This kind of thing didn't happen much in Galway. We weren't a crime-free utopia by any stretch, but a girl being murdered ...
My body went rigid as one of the two voices from inside drew closer, punctuated by the sound of boots on cement. Clunk, clunk, clunk. He came closer second by second, still chatting with his partner, oblivious to the heart attack he was about to give me.
I was only a few moments away from going rogue and just sprinting into the nearby field and hoping for the best, when a new sound pierced the morning air, haunting and raw—a wolf, howling off in the distance.
"Now." Ethan moved, leaving no time for me to think before Cooper nudged me to follow. We moved slowly, quietly, doing our best not to draw any attention at all.
"Try and look natural," Cooper whispered from behind me. I must have looked anything but.
Following Ethan's lead, the three of us moved quickly through the clearing beside the barn, headed toward a small group of locals gathered just inside the fence, all turned toward the sound coming from off in the distance, on the opposite side of the road.
Sean, I realized slower than I probably should have, was our distraction.
Once I'd settled in beside the wolves, I did my best to look as perplexed by the sound as the others were, looking around as though searching for the offending animal but really taking in the police car and quickly growing crowd that had surrounded the barn without my knowing. The wolves must have realized what was up, and hadn't said anything to warn me.
How close had I come to ending up in a jail cell? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
But Ethan had gotten us out safely, and for now that would need to be enough. Sean's call cut off abruptly, as though he'd been given a signal to stop.
"Downright unnatural," an older woman said beside me, speaking to a silver-haired man in overalls I assumed was her husband. "Those creatures must be able to sense that something's not right." The man only nodded in response, prompting his wife to take another look around her, tutting her disapproval until her eyes locked on mine, causing her to jump a little in place. Probably because there hadn't been anyone standing where we were just a moment ago.
I offered my best I've been here all along smile, forcing myself not to look away until she did.
Yup, nothing to see here.
The group we'd joined was one of two who'd managed to make it onto the property, all craning their necks to get a better look inside without risking taking a step too close.
"How long do we have to stay here for?" I asked, doing my best not to be overheard
Ethan only shook his head, never taking his eyes off everything going on around us.
"We're probably stuck here for a while now, unless the garda send us home," Cooper said, referencing the Irish police force as a second and third squad car pulled onto the property. "Looks like word travels fast," he added, turning to look at the other cars who had stopped across the road now.
"Don't these people have anything better to do than to gawk at some poor girl ..."
"A girl?" The woman beside me asked, her head snapping toward me. "How do you know it was a girl?"
Shit. I guess I wasn't being as quiet as I'd thought I was. Either that, or this woman's ears were built for gossip.
"My brother is with the police force, ma'am," Cooper said, recovering quickly while shooting me a look that strongly suggested I shut the hell up.
With a nod, I pressed my lips together right before the woman beside me held her hand to her heart. "My lord, that is just awful. Do you know what happened? This is all just so hard to believe."
Cooper shook his head. “I don't know much, but when we heard something had happened nearby," he tilted his head toward Ethan, "we had to come by in case there was some way we could help."
"That's so sweet. Of course, of course. I know ..."
Whatever the woman said next, I didn't take it in. Across the way, was a familiar form approaching the crowd of a dozen or so people on the other side of the driveway.
Taya! I waved my arm without thinking, trying to draw her attention, but she was still intent on the scene unfolding in front of us. One of the officers began taping off the immediate area surrounding the barn.
I'd sent my roommate a text shortly before sitting down for breakfast, letting her know I was okay but wouldn't be coming home right away, and I hadn't heard anything back. I assumed she'd fallen asleep.
Instead, it looked like somehow, she'd managed to make her way across the city to end up in the same place I did. I tried to push the coincidence out of my mind. Moments like these were part of the magick of Galway—figurative magick, that is—where even though we weren't remotely a small town, not by Irish standards, big moments still managed to pull people from all over, bringing every
one together. Usually it was for a festival or exciting local event of some kind.
This was easily the bleakest gathering I'd been to since moving to Galway.
My focus was pulled away from Taya, back to our little corner of the field when one of the officer's passed by. He looked to be in his mid-twenties with coppery blonde hair, a long forehead, and a strong jaw that somehow matched his boxy build.
"You'll have to move along now," he said, locking eyes with everyone in our group other than Cooper as he strung along a line of police tape. "This is a crime scene, and deserves to be treated with respect."
"We deserve to know what happened," the woman beside me said, her voice near a chirp. "How can we trust that we're safe if we don't know what all of the commotion is about? They're saying there's a body inside."
"Unfortunately, ma'am, yes. But I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. We'll release more information as soon as possible."
If there had been any doubt in my mind about who this guy was, it was long gone. Both Cooper and Bryan had used the same intonation when addressing the nosy, older woman. Their parents had raised them right, just not to get along with one another.
"That's our cue to get out of here," Ethan said from behind me. Without a word to his brother, Cooper turned to follow.
"I'll catch up later," I said, once we'd managed to get away from the bulk of the crowd. "My roommate is over there, I just wanted to say hi."
"The witch?" Ethan asked. I nodded, glancing over to make sure Taya was where I'd last seen her. Not only had she not left, but she was staring right at me. When my eyes caught hers, a smile jumped awkwardly onto her face. "That wasn't our arrangement."
"I won't be long," I said, trying to make it as clear as possible that where I went or who I was with wasn't up for debate. Turning my back, I took a few steps along the edge of the property, toward Taya, whose group had managed to merely shift backward from the police line rather than letting themselves be sent away.
The crunch of Ethan's boots on the ground followed me immediately.
"Taya," I said toward the back of my friend's head. She'd turned back around and was currently standing on tiptoe trying to see beyond the man in front of her to the barn beyond. Shifting around a few other nearby people, she turned to face me, expression unreadable.
"Hey."
"Uh, hey. What are you doing out here?"
Taya shrugged, something I wasn't sure I'd ever seen her do before. Her eyes flicked upward, to the space somewhere beside my right ear. To Ethan.
"Right. This is Ethan, the, uh, guy we talked about earlier. Did you get my text?"
"Yeah."
"So, what are you doing here?"
Taya took a long breath, keeping her eyes on mine. Making me a little uncomfortable in the process. "I heard about the body and knew you were up in this area."
"So, you wanted to ..."
"She's lying," Ethan said from behind me. There was no hint of the animalistic rumbling from earlier, but there was still no denying the aggression in his voice. Not cool.
I turned to look at him. "Hey, leave her be. I told you I'd catch up with you later." Ethan's eyebrows shot up in response, but he didn't say anything. He also didn't leave.
Or explain what he'd meant.
Ready to apologize, I turned back to Taya, finding her cheeks flushed red. Trying my best to smile, I grabbed her by the hand, leading her back toward the road. Even if Ethan hadn't been following right behind us, we wouldn't be able to escape his hearing range, but at least we could get away from everyone else, who was distinctly nonmagickal.
"Hey!" A woman's voice snapped at me as I maneuvered past her shoulder, accidentally knocking against her. She had long brown hair, pulled up into a tight ponytail, and was wearing a long-sleeved periwinkle blue sweater. She also had her phone pointed directly at the barn, holding it in landscape.
"Sorry," I answered.
Creep. I was willing to bet she was banking on all kinds of imaginary internet points all for filming a crime scene. Some people really needed to find better ways to spend their time.
Like me.
It was still hard to follow along with how exactly I'd ended up here.
"Is everything okay?" I asked once we managed to make our way back off the property to stand by Taya's generations-old gray hatchback. Ethan stood a respectable distance away, but a quick glance over my shoulder revealed that he wasn't even trying to pretend he wasn't watching us. Watching me.
I couldn't begin to decipher how I felt about the way his eyes lingered on me, not until I sorted a million other things out first.
"What are you doing here?" Taya asked, not bothering to answer my question.
"I know," I answered with a sigh. "Coming to a crime scene probably wasn't my best idea ever. But it looked like someone was trying to frame the wolves, and I wasn't sure if this was connected to what happened to me." I cut myself off abruptly, well aware that I was doing a horrible job of explaining myself.
"No, what are you doing with the werewolves? Didn't you just tell me this morning that you were trying to avoid all of the greater magicks. Then you end up, what, exactly? Solving crimes with a wolf pack? What is this?"
I stepped back, surprised at the harshness behind her words. "Ethan was worried about his kid, and thought I could help. And since I wanted some kind of reassurance I wasn't about to be snatched off the street again, it seemed like a good idea to help."
"You should have just come right home, Mel." Taya shook her head, leaving me more confused than ever.
"Why?"
"It's safer."
Now it was my turn to shake my head. This wasn't the Taya I knew. Something was definitely up. "Ethan said you were lying before. That's the kind of thing a werewolf can tell, right?"
Okay, maybe this wasn't the subtlest way to shift the conversation off me and back to her, but it was all I could come up with.
"They're able to smell certain physiological changes ..."
That was all I needed to know. I would have probably been a little grossed out by the particulars. "What are you doing here, Taya?" I asked again. "Just tell me what's going on."
"We heard the wolves might have been involved in a murder, so I came to check it out."
"Who is ‘we’ exactly?" Taya had plenty of friends, but there was no one local who would have known the first thing about werewolves, murder, or anything in between.
"The Circle of Seven." Taya continued before I had to pretend like I didn't know who they were. I'd been searching through Taya's phone and laptop for as long as I'd known her, searching out any references to the greater magicks, or any connection at all to the supernatural world. The Circle of Seven was one of Ireland's more powerful covens, based out of Belfast. Taya's great-aunt had been a member once upon a time, and she'd spent countless hours trying to convince them to let her join their ranks. They'd never outright told her she didn't have enough power to qualify, but their meaning had always been clear. She wasn't welcome.
"They heard about the body? How? News travels fast, but not that fast. Why would they care about one random girl being killed in Galway?"
Maybe because she was fae, but suddenly, I was a lot less inclined to volunteer that information to Taya or anyone else.
Taya's eyes darted from place to place, looking anywhere but at me as she chewed her lower lip. Uncomfortable, I turned again to see if Ethan was still there and found him glowering in my direction. Either he wasn't pleased with having to wait for me, or there was something about this conversation he wasn't happy about.
He had said she'd been lying when she first told me that she was here because she heard about the body.
"Fine. You know what? I don't have time for this. I'll call you later."
As soon as I turned to go, Taya caught my wrist. "You can't leave." I tried to flinch away, my mind immediately going to the night before, to the last time someone had grabbed me.
Moments later, Ethan was beside me. Taya's h
old on me broke at once. "Please, Mel. Just come home with me. We'll talk there."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you're doing here."
Shoulders slumping downward, Taya grimaced like whatever she was going to say next had already left a bad taste in her mouth. "I was tracking you."
Tracking? At first my mind went to some kind of GPS device, until I remembered the more obvious answer. Magick. Taya's powers were limited, but not nonexistent. The question was why she'd done it.
"I'd already told you where I was."
"Not really. Not exactly. And I needed to find you right away. I needed to be sure you wouldn't run before ..."
"Before what, Tay. What did you do?" My eyes widened a little as I tried not to imagine the worst.
"Before the Circle arrived. To meet you."
"You ratted me out? Not one day after promising you'd keep my secret." Ethan shifted beside me and I cut myself off. He didn't need to know anything more about me than he already did.
"I didn't promise. I couldn't. You're important, Melanie. People have been looking for you."
"And let me guess, being the one to tell the witches where I am won you some bonus points."
Taya's gaze fell from my face down to her shoes. But she didn't deny it.
Fuck.
In the length of a day, everything I'd spent my life trying to protect had been exposed to the world. And now there was no going back. "I can't believe you ..." I trailed off, unable to muster up an insult worthy of the moment.
"Look, everything is already out in the open," Taya said. My heart continued to sink with every word. "Just come back with me, meet them. They can protect you." Tears started to fill Taya's eyes, but I looked away before a single one could fall. I'd trusted her with everything and she'd betrayed me without a second thought.
"You're the one I need protecting from. I'm not going anywhere with you."
Chapter 10
Not a minute after I'd started my heartbroken and self-righteous walk away from Taya, Cooper reappeared behind the wheel of a black truck I hadn't seen before.
Magic in my Bones (Lesser Magicks Book 1) Page 7