A Witch's Trial (Witch's Path Series: Book 3)
Page 24
Elron pointed at the ground. "Conveniently placed patches of grass."
I rolled my eyes and turned my back to him. "How bad is it?"
"Are you going to scold me for looking?"
"No, I'm asking you to tell me the extent of the damage."
"If you want to save your car, you are going to need a towel."
Chapter 23: Michelle
Elron was asleep on the sofa, and I didn't have the heart to wake him, so I left the diary on the dining room table and went into my workroom to disenchant a few items. Maybe if I kept busy, I could forget about Sylvia's last warning.
After setting up recycle, trash, and crush bins, I started working my way through the backlog of items from Union County. Two doorbells, three door knockers, a book, cup, and a lamp later, my mood hadn't improved. After ruthlessly ripping the magic out of a dog's chew toy, I flopped into my chair.
Sylvia had yet to bring tidings of comfort and joy, and there was no doubt in my mind that whatever other secrets were in her diary would follow the trend. If the information didn't sound so important, I'd toss the Narzel-blasted book in a shredder just to get it out of my life.
A gentle rap on the doorframe drew my attention away from my grump fest. Elron was leaning against the doorjamb, diary in one hand, medallion in the other.
"Shall we see what secrets they left us?" Elron asked.
"I guess so. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be good news." Not likely, but a girl could hope.
"Perhaps, and perhaps pigs will fly." Elron walked out of my office shaking his head.
I trailed him, puzzled. "I don't get it."
"What is there to understand? It is as likely as a flying pig. It was a common saying for many years."
"Not anymore. Flying pigs have been around all my life. I remember going into their aviary at the petting zoo as a kid." Though, looking back, my mom had had a particularly amused look on her face. I'd have to look up the history of the flying pig later.
"Is nothing sacred?" Elron muttered as he set the book and medallion on the table before marching into the kitchen and making tea.
"Not a thing." The knot in my stomach eased. If the humor and teasing were coming back, we were on the right path.
He muttered to himself as he measured the tea and poured the hot water. The cups of tea went on a tray with sugar bowl and creamer, which he carried over to the table. I sat down next to him and sniffed the tea. It was a sturdy black. Taking the hint, I gave it a quick taste before adding a bit of sugar and cream.
"Thank you for the tea."
Elron smiled. "My pleasure."
"Let's start with the medallions." I pulled mine out of my pocket and set it on the table. It wasn't that I wanted to look at hunks of metal so much as a lack of desire to get more bad news from Sylvia.
Having looked over mine in great detail and being unable to read any of it, I snagged Elron's crescent-shaped medallion. It was made of brass, just like mine, and covered in the same indecipherable markings interspersed with pictures.
Elron took his time inspecting mine but ended up shrugging. He set it down, then set mine in the circle. They fit together but were still nonsensical. We tried looking at both sides and rotating one or the other, but whatever secrets they held were not going to be easily discovered.
"I give up."
"Perhaps they were simply a gift, something to help us remember Varro, or we will discover their meaning when it becomes pertinent." Elron gave a one-shouldered shrug.
"I hope they were a gift. I don't need any other inanimate objects with important information." Really, the book was enough. "He did spend that afternoon dictating information; maybe the medallions are mentioned."
"Have you read it?"
I shook my head.
"Me either. We should revisit the medallions when we have more information."
"Sounds good to me. On to the diary?" I asked.
Elron fixed his eyes on the book. "If you do not mind, I have an idea as to what Sylvia meant when she told us to disassemble the book."
Nudging the diary closer to him, I said, "By all means, go for it."
He pulled a short-bladed knife out of his pocket and started cutting the leather off the book. Once he'd separated the main piece of leather from the glued edges, it peeled off the book in one sheet. Scribed in simple, blocky letters were the words, "Gremory was not the last."
I pushed back from the table and said some nasty words as I marched across the room. Of all the things I needed in my life, more demons weren't on the list. Maybe killing them would get easier with practice, but I didn't want to be in a position to find out. My family and friends had been safe this time, but there was no guarantee that future demons would leave them alone.
The view out the widows did nothing to soothe me, and I spun around to stomp back to the table. I made it two steps before Elron pulled me into his arms.
"I don't need more demons in my life," I said into his shirt.
"No one does."
Tipping my head back, I studied him. "I don't want to go demon hunting, and I don't want them here where they could hurt my friends and family."
"As long as we preserve and pass on Varro's knowledge, we have done our part. We do not have to seek out these demons, and there is no reason to think they will come after us."
"We killed Gremory. That's a reason."
"Perhaps, if they know about it. It is also a good reason to avoid us." He sighed. "Do not borrow trouble."
I opened my mouth but never got a chance to voice my protest. His lips met mine and I was pleasantly distracted. Breaking the kiss, he tucked me against his chest.
"Demons or no demons, I will be by your side, Michelle."
"Demons aren't my only problem," I muttered.
"What is the other problem?"
I took a step back and locked gazes with him. "The clans."
"We will deal with them too," he said, his tone cutting off any argument.
Elron pulled me back into his arms, and I kept my thoughts to myself. Those hags weren't going away without a fight, though calling them hags might be a disservice to hags in general. Hags have better manners.
With that, I gave up on worrying about tomorrow and just enjoyed the moment.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read A Witch's Trial. If you enjoyed Michelle and Elron's story, please post a review. Reviews are a valuable way for authors to connect with readers. If you're interested, the following pages contain information on upcoming books and my contact information.
Also by N. E. Conneely
A Witch's Path Series:
Witch for Hire (Book 1)
A Witch's Path (Book 2)
A Witch's Trial (Book 3)
Coming Summer 2015
A Witch's Concern (A Witch's Path Book 4)
About the Author
I live in Oregon with my dog and a mountain of books. It rains from October until June, and everyone rushes outside when it's sunny.
For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I didn't get the sea monkeys, because I couldn't figure out where to put them in my new place.
I'm currently working on A Witch's Path Book 4.
Connect with N. E. Conneely
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NEConneely
Website: www.neconneely.com
If you'd like to e-mail me: author@neconneely.com