Witching Ways

by T K Eldridge

  “Thursday,” Linc rasped. “Because tomorrow’s my birthday.”

  “That’s right, man. How old are you going to be?” I asked as I checked him over.

  “Sixteen. What happened?” Linc said.

  “Looks like you had a bad reaction to the spell ingredients,” Grizz said. “The ambulance is almost here, and we’d like them to check you out, okay?”

  “Okay,” Linc said and closed his eyes. “I’ve got the worst headache.”

  “Could you go get him some water?” I asked Kaylee. She nodded and ran into the house, then came back with a bottle of water. “Thanks. Here, Kevin. Make sure he only takes small sips for now.”

  Kevin held the bottle and fed Linc little bits of water as the color came back to his face.

  “Are any of your parents here?” I asked.

  “No, they’re not home until later. Kevin and Linc live here, I live over there, and Kaylee lives on the other side. Homework was to practice some of the Path spells, so we were on our fourth spell when this happened,” Lira said. “Maybe it was too much magic or something? Because with the ley lines acting up, it’s hard to keep the levels balanced.”

  “Yeah, we know. I don’t think it was anything you did. Maybe he just got a backlash of magic from the lines being whacked or something,” I said.

  We left the kids when the medics took over, and headed back to the vehicle. I wrote up the report while Grizz called it in, and we pulled down the street then stopped in front of a park to finish our food.

  “Have you spoken to Sid lately?” Grizz asked.

  “Not in a few days, why?”

  “Well, that kid, Lira, reminds me of Sid. And Sid figured out what was going on, and then King Fionn met with her, answered her questions, and confirmed it all.”

  “He what? She did? That’s amazing. So, what is it all?”

  “It’s a long, tangled, messy story, is what it is. And you’re related to it all. Lucky you.”

  “Screw you, Grizz,” I said with a laugh. “You just wish you were a prince like me.”

  He made this odd snorting sound and I looked over as he lost himself in laughter. “I really do like you, Sin. You’re a smart ass, and that’s not a bad thing.”

  “So, how am I related to the tangled mess?” I asked.

  “Nuh uh, you’ll have to get all the details from Sid. Let’s just say that Queen Maggie’s half sister is an evil twat and needs to be put down, shall we?”

  “Oh, goodie. Evil bitch enemy for the win. Guess that means we’ll have to come up with a plan of attack?”

  “First, we’ve got to find her. The Commander is going to get your Grams and Aunt Sett to do a locator spell. Then we can come up with a plan of attack.”

  “Well, if anyone can find her, those two can. I don’t care how powerful Evil Grand-Auntie thinks she is. And I guess I should text Sid and see about stopping by. Thanks for the heads up,” I said.

  “You’re welcome. Princeling.”

  I rolled my eyes so hard you could almost hear it as we both laughed.

  * * *

  Grizz’s words about checking in with Sid to get the details had prompted me to send her a text to see if I could come by after my shift and catch up. I told her I’d bring subs for dinner if she’d let me come hang out for a bit.

  “You’ve got it. I want a meatball sub with extra cheese,” Sid replied.

  Then I let Mira know I would be having dinner with Sid, but I wouldn’t be too late. Mira replied with, “Good. I’ll just eat here with Amelia and we can get a little more work done. Love you.”

  That’s how I ended up waiting as a car pulled out of Sid’s driveway before I could pull in. I got out with the bag of sandwiches and headed up to knock on the door.

  “Did you forget something, Jesse?” Sid called from inside.

  “No, it’s your brother, with food,” I replied.

  “Oh, come on in. I’ll be down in a minute,” Sid said.

  I headed into the kitchen and heard the shower come on. I unpacked the sandwiches onto plates, dumped chips into a bowl and found a bottle of cola in the fridge. By the time Sid came downstairs, dinner was on the table.

  “Jesse, huh?” I asked.

  “Yes, Jesse. He’s a bartender at Ruby’s. I’m enjoying my freedom, Sin – and yes, I’m careful. Thanks for dinner,” Sid said.

  “Well, Grizz told me just enough that I had to come get the details. He said King Fionn had been here and helped you figure out some stuff – and that we were related to the mess?”

  Sid chewed her mouthful and nodded. “Yeah, turns out Grandma Maggie is one of five kids. Oh, and I’m not supposed to be sharing this secret - but I told the Commander, and now you. Secrets are going to get us all killed. Two of the kids were her mother’s from her first marriage, and two were her father’s from his first marriage. She’s the only one that’s all theirs – and she’s half witch, half fae. One of her mother’s daughters, Iona, is a nasty, vindictive bitch and she took on the title of the Macha. She’s been working to get witches to abandon traditions in order to destabilize the ley lines for over three centuries.”

  “Why? Doesn’t that mess with her own powers?” I asked.

  “You’d think so, right? But apparently Auntie Iona plays the ridiculously long game. Destabilize things enough to cause another war, remove Faery from the pocket realm, cause chaos, violence, and hatred between species – and put her baby sister’s throne in peril.”

  “How come we’re always related to the evil assholes? Lord James, Micah’s in laws, and now our great-grand aunt? Doesn’t that make you worry about what kinds of behaviors we’ve inherited?”

  “No, because we’ve got a lot of relatives and we’re tied to the upper echelons of our supernatural society in more than one way. Power can seriously corrupt, and when a lot of your family holds power, there are a lot of chances for corruption,” Sid said.

  “There are also a lot of chances to improve people’s lives,” I said.

  “And that’s why we’re not evil,” Sid said and lifted her glass of cola for a toast.

  We clicked glasses, then Sid’s phone rang.

  “It’s Auntie Sett,” Sid said and answered the call on speaker. “Hello, Auntie. Sin’s here with me so you’re on speaker.”

  “Hello, you two. We’re going to be doing the locator spell tonight. You two want to come lend your power?”

  “When are you going to do it?” I asked.

  “In about an hour and a half. Be here in an hour if you’re coming.”

  “I can do that,” I said.

  “We’ll be there,” Sid added. “Need us to bring anything?”

  “Nope, just yourselves. See you out behind the main house in an hour.”

  “Got it,” Sid said and disconnected the call.

  “I wonder what they’re using to tie to the target,” I said.

  “They’re looking for a person, and we all have a blood tie to her, so the more of us that are related, the stronger the focus,” Sid said.

  “That makes sense. I just remember how we needed Ethan’s toy to help find him. I don’t think the Macha is going to give us her favorite dolly to help us find her,” I said.

  “There are location spells for urgent, must find now kinds of situations – and there are spells for this bitch is gonna be throwing up spells to hide from us and we need to bring it all to the table.”

  “The one for Ethan was the first kind, and the one for tonight is the second kind, right?”

  “Right. Oh, I ran it by Mom, so she’ll probably work with you and Mira, but Grampa Fionn would like to meet the family and I suggested a dinner party. The estate is the only place large enough for the whole crew to gather inside these days, so…”

  “Will Grandma Maggie be coming, too?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. He wasn’t keen on letting her know he was out and about.”

  “Oh boy, that could get messy. Well, you guys figure it out and I’ll talk to the Commander about
scheduling,” I said.

  “You done? We should get going,” Sid said as she started to clean up our mess.

  “Yeah, let me go wash up and I’ll be ready,” I said and headed to the bathroom.

  A few minutes later, I drove my SUV over to Grams while Sid took one of the ATVs. We parked and followed the crushed seashell path around the side of the house and past the vegetable garden to the ritual space out back. More crushed shell made a circle around a large, flat-topped chunk of granite that served as an altar. Mom, Aunt Sett, Grams, Micah, and the two of us, made up the group gathered. Grams lit the last of the candles and called us into the circle, spaced out around the stone. Because we all were mixed fae and witch blood, and because we expected the variances, the power shifts in the ley lines didn’t adversely impact the spell.

  I think we were all stunned when the locator spell showed us where we could find the Macha. Once the spell was over, I got on my cell and called Stumpy, and asked Mom to let Mira know I would be later than I had intended. Sid and I had one more stop to make.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sid

  Sin and I drove separate vehicles so he could head home when we were done without having to backtrack across Belle Cove. Yeah, we’d discovered one of the major downsides of his living at the Estate and me at the Farm. Anyway, we met up at the all-night coffee shop, Books & Beans, in downtown Belle Cove, a popular place with students and those cops who worked the late shift. It wouldn’t look odd at all for the two of us to be having coffee with Stumpy at the Beaner’s. I was the last to arrive, and found Sin and Stumpy in the back corner booth that probably should have Stumpy’s name embossed on the table, since that was ‘his’ spot.

  “Already ordered you a coffee,” Stumpy said as I slid into the seat. “Sin got us a plate of cheese fries to share. So, why are the two of you dragging me out here when I could be at home with a beer, watching the game?”

  “Well, we’re wondering if you hired any older women at the PD lately. Not as cops, but as support staff,” Sin asked.

  “I wouldn’t know. I don’t pay much attention to support staff, to be honest,” Stumpy said. “Why?”

  “Well, we’re looking for a perp that is an older woman, and our locator spell had her at the Belle Cove police station as of about an hour ago,” I said.

  “It was shift change an hour ago. It could be someone leaving or someone coming in. That’s not going to help you guys narrow down who it is,” Stumpy said.

  “She’s a witch, but she could easily be masquerading as a norm,” Sin said.

  “Yeah, that narrows things down. Not. Do you have a picture or something?” Stumpy asked.

  “No, we just did the spell based on bloodline. Besides, she’s powerful enough, she could hide her appearance and look like anyone. That’s why we need to know who might have been hired since the fae returned that feels wrong somehow. She’s a nasty, evil piece of work and I doubt any masquerade spell could hide her true nature,” I said. “Can you help us?”

  Stumpy sighed, rubbed a hand over his face, then grumbled. “You two don’t ever ask for anything easy, do you?”

  “Hey, we’re sorry things weren’t more clear – but this is the closest we’ve come to finding the person that’s responsible for the trouble we’re all dealing with right now. I know you’re tired. We are too,” I said.

  “I know that for myself – and probably Grizz, too – we’re tired of getting calls where kids nearly die before their sixteenth birthday because a spell went wrong. Calls where a witch drinks himself into oblivion because he just can’t deal, then plows into a car full of teenagers and kills himself,” Sin said. “Or how about domestics where one or the other has gone off the rails because their magic is all screwy. I would love to go back to regular breaking and entering or vandalism calls, thank you very much.”

  “I get it. You SPD guys have been getting hammered a lot harder than we have. I’m just cranky because I’m hungry,” Stumpy said as the fries were delivered.

  “You want some wings or something, too? Sin and I just had subs before we did the casting,” I asked.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind?” Stumpy replied.

  Sin called the server back and said, “Whatever he wants.” The Beaner’s did bar food after ten at night until they did breakfast sandwiches, pastries, lunch soups or sandwiches, or burgers and sandwiches for dinner.

  Stumpy asked for a double order of wings to go with the fries, then we all dug in. The cheesy fries were really good, but since Sin and I had both eaten, they were more of a snack for us while Stumpy enjoyed a good helping.

  “How are you and the family doing after the move?” Stumpy asked Sin. “And do you like your new place?” he asked me.

  “I like my space, and the fact I don’t know when Grams and the Commander are having sleepovers anymore,” I said and he laughed.

  “We’re adjusting to the new space,” Sin said. “It still echoes because we’re in the process of getting more furniture, but Ethan loves that he can ride his bike outside and not worry about traffic like we had at the farm, and Reina seems to enjoy the playroom while Mira’s working in the kitchen. Having Mom and Dad around to help take some of the strain off of Mira has been great, and Mira and Mom are really growing Boudreau Botanicals together.”

  “I ran into Sett and Lucia the other day,” Stumpy said. “That little Rosie is adorable, and the two of them together seem happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sett look so relaxed and content with her life.”

  “I think Lucia is still adjusting to having so much family around, always in their business – so we’ve all made a concerted effort to give them their space and let them come to us. They’re in a honeymoon period right now, and if Sett asks, we’re there. I get that this family can be too much if you’re used to being alone,” I said.

  “I do miss having Sett on the SPD team, though,” Sin said. “She was a good counterpoint to the Commander’s assumptions that we all know what he’s saying when he says it.”

  I laughed and nodded. “He forgets that we don’t all know all the things like he does. So, Stumpy, how are the updates on the cabin coming along?” I asked.

  “They’re good. It’s mostly done, just need to haul some furniture out there. Your father has been beyond generous with his time and resources.”

  “He’s grateful that you let him stay there when he was in hiding. You saved his life, Stumpy,” Sin said.

  “He’s my best friend. It was what he needed, so I did it. No questions asked,” Stumpy said. “You kids know that the same goes for you two, right?”

  I leaned over and hugged Stumpy’s arm. “We know, and we love you for it.”

  “You two are exceeding everyone’s expectations. I couldn’t be more proud of the cops you’ve become,” he added.

  “That means a lot, coming from you,” Sin said.

  “I agree. It does. So, back to our reason for keeping you away from beer-game-thirty. Can you help us?” I asked.

  “What do you need?”

  “Get a list of all of the new hires since the fae realm landed and send it to me? I can work with Tino and the others to narrow down which ones we need to be watching. Then we might need you to get the schedules of those we think are potential evil aunties,” I said.

  “I can do that,” Stumpy said. “Let me know when you’re ready to take this one down, will ya? Someone pretending to be a cop, that is hurting other cops? That’s unacceptable. And in my house? That’s an insult.”

  “We’ll let you know,” Sin said. “And as much as I love hanging out with you two, I need to get home. Early shift tomorrow. See you both later.”

  “Stay safe,” Stumpy said.

  “Give Mira my love,” I added and when Sin left, I slid around to face Stumpy and asked for a refill of my coffee.

  “So, how are you really doing?” I asked him.

  “I’m looking forward to retirement,” Stumpy said. “For a couple of decades at least. I need a break. I wan
t to live in my cabin, read, watch movies, maybe find a girlfriend to spend some time with. I told Benny I’d help with the teenagers once I left the PD for a while. Take them on camping trips and let them howl at the moon without their parents in their business.”

  “That sounds really good,” I said. “And you’ve been on the job for, what, sixty years now? Forty with the SPD, then a couple of years at the Academy before you signed up for the Belle Cove PD?”

  “Something like that. The last few years have been particularly rough, so I put in my papers and I’ll be out before Thanksgiving.”

  “We’ll have to have a party for you,” I said.

  “No, I don’t need one.”

  “Maybe not, but any excuse to celebrate a good friend deserves a party. I’ll talk to Dad and we’ll set it up.”

  “Okay, if you insist,” Stumpy said and sighed. His shoulders sagged and he lifted a hand to signal the server. “Could you box this up for me, please? I’m gonna take the rest home.” He looked up at me after the server left, then reached over and gave my hand a pat. “You stay safe, Siddie. The world needs more people like you.”

  I got up and leaned over to give him a hug. “We need people like you, too,” I whispered in his ear, then headed to the register to pay.

  “The other guy already took care of it,” the clerk said, so I left a generous tip, and gave Stumpy a wave as I left.

  When I got home, there were more lights on inside than when I had left, so I pulled my spare gun from the gun safe in my SUV, and approached the house from the side. Grams had had some trouble the other day when some kid slashed the tires on her two delivery vans parked behind the store. That was outside the wards, but one could never be too careful.

  I heard Grampa Walsh’s voice from inside the house. “It’s me, Siddie.”

  Damned shifter hearing saved his ass again. I opened the door and put the gun in the closet safe before I stomped into the kitchen. “What the hell, Grampa?”

  “Your Grams let me in. We have a problem.”

  “Oh, gods, what now?” I grumbled, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. Grampa may have made a pot of coffee, but I’d had about enough caffeine if I had any hope of sleeping at all tonight.