Arcane Magic (Stella Mayweather Series)

by Camilla Chafer

  "How can I not? There's a dead man on my porch," I said with a very pointed look.

  "And the sheriff is one of ours, so he'll look into the relatives too. Maybe he'll get a hit on one of those police databases."

  "You think this man is a criminal?"

  "I don't know what to think, except you said yourself, he didn’t intend to do you any harm, otherwise he wouldn't have been on your porch. Your wards wouldn't have allowed him."

  "It's the dead bit that really worries me. How did he die?"

  "Asphyxiation, but it’s not obvious how. There're no ligature marks, but his eyes show the usual symptoms. He's a big guy. I don't see anyone overpowering him, unless he was already incapacitated somehow."

  "You are really, really bad at giving reassurances."

  "I made you hot chocolate though."

  "And I appreciate it."

  "Do you want to take Annalise's room for the night? Her bed isn't made up, but it will only take me a minute. It's no trouble," Gage asked, waving away my objection. "Or I can stay at yours if you want someone in the house. Annalise made me promise to watch over you, and for you to call if you needed anything, but I told her I had you covered."

  "Well..." Funnily enough, I wasn't happy about the idea of going home alone anymore than I was about staying the night at Gage's house. What if another messenger dropped dead on my doorstep? Even worse, what if the elusive assailant planned to return? There were too many worrying “what ifs” for me to feel comfortable enough to sleep soundly. "Can you stay in my spare room?" I asked quickly, before I talked myself out of it and into a fitful night. "Étoile and Kitty's rooms are both free; so you can take your pick."

  "Done deal," said Gage. "Truth was, I'd have slept on your porch if you said no, so this just works out better for me. Drink your hot chocolate while I grab a change of clothes and we'll go over there and think nothing more of this until morning." Gage was halfway up the stairs when he leaned over the rail and added, "Grab a DVD, okay? No reason why we can't enjoy the rest of the evening. Can't get any weirder."

  "Don't you have to go back to your meeting?" I replied as I checked his DVD collection. Action, adventure, comedy... a few horror movies. I skipped those and pulled out an adventure film that I'd seen in the movie theatre last year and enjoyed. "It sounded important."

  "Nope," Gage yelled back. I heard doors open and shut as footsteps crossed the floor and the drawers thumped shut before finding Gage downstairs again, a bag slung over his shoulder. He dropped the bag by the front door, grabbed his cup, taking mine too, and returning them to the kitchen. "We’re all done. Come on. Let's go."

  On the way towards the door, I picked up the bath towel Gage borrowed, which was now folded, slipping past him while he flipped off the lights and locked up. It took us less than a minute to cross the space between our homes and enter my living room. I shivered as I stepped onto the porch where the body had lain — where it was now, I didn't know — and closed the curtains to avoid having to look out on the porch. It wasn’t like I could see much besides our reflections in the glass now that night had truly fallen. Gage asked for beer, and I brought him one, along with my wine, as we settled on the couch to watch the movie, the evening cosily reminiscent of many we had enjoyed since our friendship was rekindled. For a long time, we didn't talk.

  Just as the movie ended, Gage got a call. Instead of eavesdropping, which was tempting under the circumstances, I took our glasses into the kitchen to rinse. When I returned, he was waiting for me, looking thoroughly unconcerned as he sipped from the bottleneck.

  "Any news?" I asked.

  "No. The scent trail went cold so we think maybe he came by car. It's easy to lose a scent that way."

  "Did they find a car?"

  "No. This would be easier if we had a name so we could check the DMV records or local rental agencies. Maybe it got towed or..."

  "Someone else moved it," I finished.

  "Right. There weren't any keys on the body, so that's a definite possibility."

  I took a sip of wine, feeling warmer and more relaxed. The absence of identification and keys was puzzling. I rarely went anywhere without one or the other, and usually both. "Maybe someone doesn't want us to find out who he is."

  "They might not have wanted us to find him in the first place. I don't want you to worry again, but maybe your coming home early scared someone away." Gage ejected the DVD and was busy returning it to the box when he added, "There's nothing more we can do today. I'm ready to hit the sack. We'll try again in the morning."

  "Okay," I agreed, knowing it was true, but wishing something could have been done. Something, anything, that could have made me more comfortable. "Étoile's room is already made up. I put towels in there too. If you need anything else, help yourself."

  "Thanks." Gage moved closer to me, wrapping his arms around me and giving me a squeeze. It seemed so natural to rest my head on his chest and hug him back. I could have stayed there longer, safe and warm as I leached his heat while my eyelids drooped, and his hand rested on my hair, but after he dropped a kiss atop my head, and wished me goodnight, he was gone.

  ~

  Despite Gage's presence in the house, I still had a restless night. No matter which way I lay, whether I had the covers drawn to my chin or thrown off, and regardless of the amount of stars I conjured to twinkle on the ceiling, I couldn't seem to find a way to stay asleep. All I could think about was the lifeless body, the strange scrap of envelope with my name ripped in half, and the danger that clearly lurked not so far away. I should have been comforted with Gage in the house, but if the powerfully built dead werewolf could be vanquished by a means we didn't yet know, so could my friend.

  Of course, I had another layer of protection. My ring from Evan. It was a gift that came with its own special level of magic, a system that was supposed to help me if ever I was in trouble. I could use it... but... would Evan come? The ring, an old custom amongst demonkind, marked me as his, but I wasn't his anymore. So, with all this on my mind, I drifted in and out of sleep, until all of a sudden, it was morning and daylight streamed through the windows. I could hear a one-sided conversation somewhere, and clattering of pans in the kitchen, so I figured Gage was making breakfast and talking on the phone. My suspicions were confirmed when I found him seated at the table, in jeans and a t-shirt, but barefoot, talking as he ate a bowl of cereal. He hung up abruptly and smiled as I entered.

  "Any news?" I asked, trying to hide a yawn behind my fist.

  "No, not yet. I was talking to work. Won a big project."

  "That's great!"

  "It's not exactly the ideal time, but the deadline is long so it's no problem; and they're more than happy for me to work from home. Being area packmaster and holding down a job is no easy feat."

  "That's good," I smiled, opening the refrigerator and extracting a bottle of juice. Someone packed my groceries away, which I thought was a nice gesture, especially since I had forgotten all about them. "I'm glad work is going so well for you."

  "Speaking of work... can you call your contacts and see if they have heard anything about this missing werewolf? He might have some kind of connection to the witches. If this guy doesn't turn up home soon, someone is surely going to miss him. Maybe someone you know might recall meeting him."

  "I can ask. Should I say why?"

  Gage paused, his eyes thoughtful. "I'm not sure it should be common knowledge until we know exactly what he was doing here."

  "I can't lie to Étoile. Not just because she's my friend, but also because she's telepathic," I added. "Besides, she's way too smart not to notice something going on."

  "You can tell her," Gage decided, "but just so long as she doesn't say anything. Let's try and keep this known to as few people as possible."

  I wondered if "as few as possible" included his entire pack, but decided not to call him on it.

  Instead, I said, "I'll call her right after breakfast. I should have called her last night, but I didn't think to." />
  "It was probably the shock. No one thinks straight after finding a corpse," said Gage in a gentle way as he returned to his breakfast.

  "All the same, it should have been mentioned."

  "She can't get mad at you for it."

  "No, I know. I don't have a duty to report this. We're not as organised as your packs. Part of my job is to disperse information like this, but I guess I always assumed it would be alerting witches to witch hunter movements, not this. We haven't even discussed coordinating news with other supes, but maybe we should. So, I'll call Étoile and ask her to listen out for any information about a missing werewolf."

  "I appreciate it. She's got my number. She can call me if she needs anymore details. Or Jay, if it's not too awkward."

  I privately thought it might have been. Étoile hadn't mentioned Jay in a long time, and I noticed he studiously avoided bringing up her name last night too. "I'll mention that, thanks."

  I waited for Gage to finish his breakfast before we agreed that he would go home and work from across the street, staying on hand if I needed him. Since his house looked over at mine, he would also be able to keep an unobtrusive eye on the place. In return, I agreed to let him know if I planned on going out. Even though I was uncomfortable with the possibility of danger not so far away, and a big part of me wanted not to be alone, I had to remind myself that I was as safe as could be within my ward-protected home, and didn't need a babysitter. If I needed looking after when anything bad happened to me, I'd be permanently attached to someone else. I couldn't have that kind of life. I wanted my life to be as normal as I could get. With my college classes finished, and still not due back to work at Seren and David's online shop, I could read the Council documents entrusted to me. Some semblance of working would give me the normalcy I craved. I might even learn something pertinent about the demons, or my ancestors.

  So, after clearing away our breakfast things and seeing Gage out, I meticulously checked every door was locked and every window secured before moving into the sunroom, which doubled as my office, where I placed a call to Étoile.

  "Stella?" Étoile's voice came down the line, snappy and clear.

  "Yes, hi, it's me. I need to ask you something." I leaned back in my chair, spinning it around so I could look out onto the still tree line. It seemed so peaceful.

  "Now isn't it a good time."

  "It's really important..."

  "I'll pass you to Kitty. I'm sorry, I'm in the middle of..." Étoile disappeared before she could say what; and a moment later, Kitty's voice came on the line.

  "Hey, Stella, Étoile just gave me the phone. Did you call for me?"

  "No, I called for Étoile. She sounds..." I searched for a word and came up blank.

  "Freaked out?" supplied Kitty.

  "That. What's going on?"

  "Big to-do with the High Council. Some kind of crucial meeting is going ahead, and they're taking a break. Hang on..." When Kitty returned to the phone, the background was quieter. "I don't really know what's going on, but when Étoile came out, they'd been in there three hours already. Apparently, there's been a lot of yelling. Like, death threat yelling."

  "Why?"

  "Beats me. I tried asking but... well, you heard Étoile. What's up with you anyway?"

  I gulped. Whatever was going on with Étoile, I didn't want to add to her stress, but I promised I would ask. "I just wondered if there was any mention of a missing werewolf?" I asked as casually as I could.

  "A missing werewolf?" Kitty repeated, pausing to think. "I don't think I heard anything about it. Why?"

  "I thought maybe someone might have mentioned..."

  "Cut the bull, babe, why are you really asking?"

  I sighed. It would have been easier to come clean and ask for Kitty's advice than to not. "I found a dead werewolf on my porch last night. He didn't have any identification or car keys and he had this..."

  "You found what?" screeched Kitty.

  "Don't yell it out!" I said just as hurriedly. "Please, Kitty. Yes, there was a dead guy and he's werewolf, and I need to know who he is, where he came from, and what he was doing at my house."

  "What was he doing at your house? Why is he dead?" Kitty asked, true concern etched in every word.

  "It looks like he had a letter for me, but it was missing. It looks like he was killed too. Gage said asphyxiated, but he couldn't find any visible signs as to what caused it. Have you heard anything? Someone must have noticed him missing and maybe mentioned it?"

  "No, nothing has been mentioned or reported. Did you ask Gage?"

  "Yes, his pack followed his scent, but lost it. Gage is asking around."

  Kitty paused. "This is bad."

  "Tell me about it. Poor guy."

  "No, for you! You only got acquitted of murder recently."

  "Please don't remind me," I said, shuddering at the memory. That was one event I was very happy to forget. Not least because the wicked witch, Georgia Thomas, tried to have me excommunicated in her feeble attempt to pay me back, but also, as a means to discredit Étoile while they both ran for the Council presidency. Georgia failed on every count. Unfortunately, she wasn't punished in any way, since no one could prove a thing. When she simply slipped away in the ensuing days, we assumed she was lying low. But having her pop into my consciousness again reminded me of the witches Étoile asked me to investigate.

  "What if someone thinks you did it?" Kitty persisted.

  "I didn't! I went to the grocery store, shopped, and when I came home, there he was. I'm probably on a bunch of security cameras, and I said hello to at least three people."

  "Good enough for me, but all those things can be manipulated. Not that I ever suggested you did anything! Oh, God, Stella, this is awful. I have to tell Étoile. She's here now. Wait..." I could hear Kitty explaining the situation before Étoile came back on the line.

  "How do you get yourself into these situations?" was the first thing Étoile said.

  "I really don't know. He was just there. Dead."

  "Who else knows?"

  "Gage and his whole pack." I thought about the phone calls Gage made. "Maybe more," I added, wincing.

  "You've been home two days and already a... a you know what," hissed Étoile, but she didn't sound angry at me. Instead, she seemed confounded. Given that she was almost certainly at The Amethyst's offices, and her reticence to say what I'd found, I could only assume someone else was listening. "Is your friend helping? What do you need?"

  "Yes, he is. And all I need you to do is listen for any information on a missing werewolf," I told her, giving the description of the man. I heard Étoile's footsteps while she walked out of earshot. After I heard a door banging shut, she announced she was in her office with Kitty.

  "There's nothing else on this piece of paper?" Étoile asked.

  "No, nothing. Just my name torn in half, and I think it was an envelope. The letter, or whatever was in it, is gone. I have no idea what he could have wanted with me. I've thought and thought. I definitely don't know him. I'm positive I've never met him."

  "My guess is it's not so much who you are, but who you are," said Étoile.

  I frowned. "I don't follow."

  "Sure, you're Stella Mayweather, witch, so maybe someone would be interested in your skills," said Étoile. "But you're also my close friend. You're also the close friend of a powerful werewolf, Gage Garoul, and the ex-girlfriend of a high level demon. Out of everyone in our supernatural community, you're the only one who's connected to all of us in a major and very personal way. Don't you think that is a curious coincidence?"

  "Could this have something to do with the High Council?" I wondered out loud.

  "My guess is yes. Perhaps it's also no coincidence this werewolf arrived yesterday when the meeting is today."

  "What is the meeting about?" I had to ask.

  "We're finalising the treaty for the High Council, a code of conduct for us all to abide by so we can co-exist. It's the most important meeting before we all swear
it into practice."

  I sat upright, intrigued, and pleased that Étoile's big plan was so close to completion. "That's great!"

  "If everyone were on board, yeah. Some of us are invested in it in a major way, but there are always others who want to derail it."

  "So this werewolf..."

  "This very dead werewolf," Étoile interjected.

  "Might have been trying to get a message to one of you, through me?"

  "Or all of us. Let's think of it this way: for a member of the supernatural community to get a message to one or all of us at the highest levels, and to make sure it's heard, you'd be a damn good mailbox. You've met most, if not all, the higher echelons of the wolf species, so for you not to recognise him must mean he's probably low level. Maybe, by murdering him, the message changed." Étoile went quiet, which was just as well, because in that moment, all I could think about was how unsafe I felt. So much for reassurance. In finding the body, a door had opened to something that I might not ever be able to shut. "I know I gave you a task to do, but I need you to come back to the city. If my theory is correct, I need for you to do something for me."

  "Now?"

  "No, I have to get back to the meeting; but as soon as possible. I need a favour before word gets out about this werewolf."

  "What happens when word gets out?"

  "Your guess is as good as mine. How soon can you be here?"

  "Tomorrow."

  "Until then. Stay safe, Stella. Be careful whom you trust." And with that, Étoile was gone, and Kitty was back on the line. She was simultaneously exclaiming about the awfulness of the situation and offering platitudes while asking for all the details again of the night before. I kicked up my heels and settled in for a long conversation.

  Chapter Five

  "It's all going to hell." Étoile stopped pacing to spin around. Running a hand through her short crop of black hair, she sighed in exasperation before turning to the window, and looking out at the late afternoon light falling across the city. I arrived at The Amethyst a couple of hours earlier, but not until now did Étoile seek me out, later inviting me to return to her apartment with her.