"Roxanne was a tease, not to mention a complete snooty fucking bitch, and she deserved every bit of what she got," Collin said. "Girls who really don't want a guy's attention don't wear a white bra to a rainy away game and change out of their soaking-wet flag corps uniform on a bus. The slut wanted to be seen, and those hard-as-a-rock nipples were practically begging to be touched. When I had the balls to give her what I knew she wanted, she got pissed and said she wouldn't want anything to do with me even if I looked like you. It wasn't hard to put two and two together and figure out she was your so-called secret admirer. So, I told Blair and I'm not even a little bit sorry for what we—"
"Get the hell out of my office, Collin," Ray snapped. "But before you go, I want you to know I recorded this entire conversation, and if you ever so much as breathe in Roxanne's general direction again, I'll send the entire conversation to your wife and her daddy. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure even the minister might consider justifiable homicide if he ever finds out what kind of scumbag asshole his daughter really married."
"You're really going to throw away years of friendship over that stupid, hateful bitch? I haven’t even messed with her in the last seven years." Collin's voice was shrill and cracking with terror.
"Oh, you can bet your sorry ass on it." Smug and victorious sounded completely different on Ray, and at least a million times more attractive.
“I don’t know what possessed you to dig this shit up now, but I’ll promise you one thing,” Collin growled. “One way or another, no matter what kind of threats you make, it’ll be my life’s mission to make that little bitch pay for turning you against me.”
The sound of a fist striking flesh and bone boomed through the vent and I scrambled away from the sound. A scuffle broke out, and a desk chair clattered noisily to the floor.
“Screw you, Ray! Roxanne Cole deserves every bit of misery that comes her way, and I hope she never finds her punk-ass little sister.”
A chill ripped through me, and all the hair on my body stood on end as one question gripped my mind.
Did Collin have something to do with Kat’s disappearance?
Ray's office door slammed so hard the vent I was listening through vibrated. Everything I held in while Ray had been talking to Collin erupted at once in a primal scream that dissolved into a weary sob. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, letting the tears flow unchecked.
The closet door swung open and I flinched away from the light flooding the room.
"Roxy, I—"
"Don't," I said, holding up a hand to stay his advance into the room. "I can't right now, Ray."
Shoving to my feet, I charged past him into the hall, scrubbing the tears off my cheeks as I went.
Behind me, faltering footsteps started, and then paused. I walked faster.
I just need to get the hell out of here.
The words played in my mind like a broken record as I burst into the lobby and jerked open the bottom drawer of my desk. I snatched up my purse and dug through it in a blind frenzy until my fingers closed around my car keys.
My heart pounded and my breath came in short, quick gasps. Hating myself for choosing to stay and hear what Collin had to say, I whirled around, keys in hand, and barreled back through the open hall door.
I slammed into Ray. Judging by his breathless grunt, I knocked the wind out of him, but I didn't stop to apologize. I had to get the hell out of that building. I could feel Shadow straining against the remnants of Misty's spoken band-aid of a spell from the day before, and the last thing I wanted was all my hard work on the office to be destroyed when she managed to break through.
I stumbled out the back door into the employee lot, squinting and shielding my raw, aching eyes from the piercing afternoon sunlight. Clutching my keys in a trembling, white-knuckle grip, I used the fob to unlock the car and then collapsed behind the wheel.
"Fuck Collin Tyrell." Slamming the door shut behind me, I cranked the car and connected my phone to the sound system. "I never wanted to feel like this again, and damn Ray for pushing the issue, despite his good intentions."
I scrolled through my music until I found something loud and powerful to get lost in. Cranking the volume dial all the way up, I focused on using the sounds and vibrations to drown out every single thought in my head.
Everything in the car rattled, from the windows to my teeth, but I drank in the sensation. Better to be a hollow automaton than keep losing my shit over things I don’t want to relive in the first place, right?
I swung the car into my driveway and shuddered when I realized I didn't remember anything about the details of the drive home.
I could have run every red light between here and the office for all I know.
Rubbing my eyes, I groaned and turned off the car. Every cell in my body ached with a bone-deep hollow feeling. As if compelled, I opened the social media apps on my phone and scoured what I could see of Collin’s posts for any hint that he might have had something to do with Kat’s disappearance. After almost an hour of scrolling, I hadn’t found anything that felt like evidence. I took notes on the geolocation tags, just in case, but there was nothing to go on in the posts.
Once I was done, it took me a few minutes to work up the energy to drag myself out of the car and amble up the stairs. Still, anything was better than the raw, searing pain I felt when I was trapped in the same building with Collin and his arrogant, entitled attitude. There were very few things that could have been worse.
The instant I let myself inside my house, Logan rushed to me with a loud meow. What happened? He stood up on his back legs and stretched his front paws up toward me like a toddler who wanted to be picked up. I did it without thinking and cradled him against my chest as I explained about Ray’s plan and Collin’s sickening admission.
Seriously? Logan groaned and rubbed his forehead against my chin. I know I said you should tell him about his best friend, but I swear I never thought it would go so badly. I'm sorry.
I shook my head and rested my cheek on the cat's back, slumping into the comfort of my couch cushions. "It's not your fault Ray is physically incapable of letting things go, Logan. Also not your fault that he didn't want to believe the truth about Collin."
I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed, hugging the cat a little tighter against my chest.
Want me to bite him? Scratch him? Hex him? I'll gladly do any of the above if it makes you feel better.
I laughed out loud and scratched between his ears. "As hurt as I am, I really don't think what Ray did was ill-intended. It's like he can't help it when he senses a barrier between him and the truth. He doesn't have the ability to leave it alone."
What, like it's a compulsion? Logan leaned back to study my face, his luminous eyes set in a focused squint.
"Exactly." I stood and hoisted Logan up so he could perch on my shoulder while I trudged to the bathroom and took some headache medicine to ease the dull, post-cry throbbing in my eyes and sinuses.
Do you think there's a chance he has some kind of magical ancestry he's unaware of?
My brows pinched together as I got lost in thought. "Judging by his general aversion to magic, my guess would be no, but it's not completely outside the realm of possibility. What kind of heritage would make him an obsessive bloodhound for the truth?"
He could be descended from an Aletheian Sentinel. It's not uncommon for a goddess to bestow gifts on her most devoted followers. Maybe the truth is a source of power for him in the same way the sea is for Bayshore witches.
I chewed on my bottom lip and padded back into the kitchen. I pulled a bottled water out of the fridge as I contemplated the possibility. "You may be right, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that knowledge. We have no way of knowing if it's even true or not."
Maybe understanding his unearthly drive to seek out the truth, no matter the cost, is the purpose of the exercise. It’s my job as your familiar to expand your understanding of those who are important to you.
&nbs
p; I didn't know how to respond, so I just shrugged. "We have other things to focus on right now anyway. We need to get ready for the séance."
Misty arrived just a few minutes later with neat spell and séance instructions written on pale lavender stationery with a monogram of Misty’s initials at the center top. While she meditated to make herself ready, I sprinkled blessed seawater around every door and window in the house and recited the spell Misty had written out for me.
"Spirits of the ocean wide, keep us under watchful eyes. In your depths you hold the truth, and with your tides our vision transduce. In your breadth, your daughters protect, bless this home with every speck. No evil can abide your light, may you carry away our fearful plight. Cleanse this house of spite and lies, and with your vastness clear our eyes."
I saved a small amount of the water for one of the five stone bowls set in the center of the dining room table, filling the only empty one. I studied the other bowls, recalling the small amount of training I received before I was expelled from Hecate Academy because they couldn't fix me. One bowl held cinnamon incense, waiting to be lit and represent fire. Next there was a pelican feather for air, and a mimosa blossom from the tree in the back yard for earth. Finally, a clear quartz crystal for clarity of spirit.
In the center of the cluster of small stone bowls stood a white taper candle to attract Granny's spirit with its light and warmth.
"Almost ready." Misty's voice was carefully neutral. "We just need a picture of your granny, an item that belonged to her, your chosen communication medium, and your list of questions. I don't know how long we'll be able to communicate with her, but try to keep the questions simple, direct, and easy to answer."
"I don't think we're going to have problems getting her to talk unless she's sulking." I strode into my bedroom and nudged a pile of dirty clothes away from the small, narrow bookshelf so I could reach the bottom. My old amethyst pendulum, stand, and mat lay within the cedar box I’d hidden away ever since I came home from the Academy. I closed the door behind me and set up the pendulum, and then anointed it with some of the blessed seawater from the bowl at the center of the table.
"Has your Granny been speaking to you a lot lately?" Misty raised her eyebrows as she passed me the family album.
"She's been very vocal since Kat's disappearance. She says she wants me to stop looking for Kat, but that isn’t what she would really want…if she was herself." I flipped through the album until I found a picture just of Granny, standing on the fishing pier with windblown white hair and a sunny smile, and pulled it out of its little plastic pocket, setting it on the table to the left of the pendulum. I pulled her favorite pair of knitting needles out of the top drawer of an end table wedged between the couch and the wall, and placed them to the right of the pendulum.
"Hey, Logan, are you willing to be the other sitter in the séance since Ray refuses to be involved in these things?" I called.
Of course. Logan jumped off the top of the TV armoire and trotted over to rub against my leg.
Misty sat down at the head of the table and motioned for Logan and me to sit across from each other, on her right and left.
The temperature in the room plummeted even before we closed the circle, and Granny’s seething spirit materialized beside us, hovering at the head of the table, without Misty having to call out to her. Rather than watching her, I kept my gaze locked on the pendulum.
“Why do you summon me?” Her harsh tone was even colder than the frosty air, and I shuddered in response.
"You do not seem yourself, and we'd like to ask you some questions. Will you answer honestly?" Misty dove in without preamble, her voice steady and self-assured.
"Of course I will! How dare you ask such a thing?" Her outrage blazed through the room and I winced, but it was the pendulum's decisive movement that stole my breath.
I nudged Misty's shin with my foot under the table and stared pointedly at the amethyst crystal swinging steadily over the pendulum mat line labeled "no."
Misty followed my gaze and her breath caught, too. She snapped her attention back to Granny, her dark eyes narrowing. "Do you speak your own mind of your own free will?"
"Why shouldn't I?" My skin prickled at Granny’s haughty sniff. The pendulum swung no again, harder this time.
"Do you want me to do everything in my power to bring Kat home safe and sound?" My voice trembled, but my gaze never wavered from the pendulum. It paused and my heart skipped a beat.
"I've already told you to stop looking before another witch dies,” Granny said. “Why would you ask such a foolish question?"
I pressed my lips together and took a shaking breath in through my nose as the pendulum started moving again, this time swinging loud and clear over the line labeled "yes."
My scalp prickled and an uneasy, slithering sensation wormed its way into my stomach. Suddenly, a vision of Kat's notes on necromancy, resurrection spells, and other spells to do with the dead—the ones I burned the day she went to stay with Sylvia—flickered through my mind. A chill of apprehension followed.
I shifted in my chair, trying to relieve the tension thrumming through every cell in my body. "Are you under the influence of a spell?"
Granny's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Do you really think I could be overpowered so easily?"
Her words barely even registered because the pendulum was swinging so hard over the "yes" line, I thought it was going to fly off the stand.
My heart stuttered and the squirming feeling in my gut intensified. I licked my lips and winced at the awful idea that started forming in the back of my mind.
No. How can you even think something like that?
Still, the words spilled out of me of their own accord. "Is Kat the one who bespelled you?"
I tightened my grip on Misty's hand and Logan leaned harder into my touch as if sensing my stroke-level heart rate.
The pendulum stilled for an excruciating moment that felt as if it might stretch into infinity. My hands grew clammy and slick with cold sweat before the amethyst finally started moving again.
No.
I blew out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding and slumped back against the seat rest, still careful not to break the circle.
I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment. "If Kat isn't the one who put a spell on you, then who is?"
The pendulum swung again, following the perimeter of the circle labeled, I don't know.
Granny’s ghost faded from view, signaling the end of the séance. I should have been relieved to finally have some answers regarding Granny’s strange request that I stop looking for Kat. Instead, a hollow, gnawing feeling boiling in my gut was all that remained in the wake of the ritual.
I walked Misty to her car, waving goodbye as she backed out of the driveway, and then trudged up the stairs to retrieve my silenced phone from my bedroom. I cringed when I saw the slew of missed texts from Ray.
I'm really sorry about today, Rox.
Are you still doing the séance with Misty tonight?
How's it going?
Are you angry and ignoring me? It's okay if you are. I deserve it after what I put you through today...I'd just kind of like to know if that's the situation or not.
I'm gonna take that as a yes. I can't say I'm sorry enough times. :(
I hope you can forgive me.
Did you do the séance? What happened? Did you learn anything from it?
You said you'd call after the séance was over so I could come back. Did you change your mind? Do I need to look for somewhere else to crash tonight?
I have some news I really think you're going to want to hear. Can I come over, or do you want me to just call?
I laughed and stared up at the ceiling for a second, shaking my head.
What's up? Logan purred and rubbed against my calf, accenting his question with a trilling, curious meow.
I read the texts aloud, the corners of my mouth tugging up into a grin despite my post-séance exhaustion. "I was angry when I left
the office, but is it just me or is this level of anxiety from him over what happened kind of...cute?"
He's not exactly my type, you know. Logan's snort made me giggle.
I unlocked my phone and tapped the call button beside Ray's name in my contacts.
"Roxy?" I couldn't tell if Ray's sigh was one of irritation or relief.
"Sorry I freaked you out," I said. "I had my phone silenced and in the other room during the seance, to avoid potential distractions. We just finished up if you want to come home now." My cheeks heated at how intimate it sounded and I stared down at the floor, kicking at a bubble in the linoleum.
"And I'm sorry I blew your phone up." Ray laughed and I chuckled in response.
"It's fine, really. How long before you get here? What's the news?" I started clearing away the tools from the séance, putting up the things that could be reused while disposing of the others.
"I'm pretty much already at your place." The flash of headlights against the living room blinds confirmed that he was turning into the driveway. "See you in a sec."
I hung up the phone.
His hurried footfalls on the stairs awakened a storm of butterflies in my stomach. Without thinking about it, I rushed over and opened the door for him. His hand was extended like he was already reaching for the knob.
"What's your news?" The words tumbled out of my mouth in a breathless rush and I grabbed his wrist, tugging him across the threshold.
He paused to close the door and then eyed me with a frown. "You seem a lot less upset than I thought you'd be...under the circumstances."
I thought about voicing my new suspicions regarding Collin, but decided against it. I didn’t have any information to support it, so I chose to focus on the séance instead. “I kind of have some interesting news of my own about the séance." I bounced on the balls of my feet.
Shadow was still strangely quiet, lurking out of sight and out of mind. I studied Ray for a second. The worry lines bracketing his frown and the way his forehead pinched set my world slightly off its axis, and my heart skipped a couple beats. I chewed on my bottom lip before continuing to speak because he was still strangely quiet and wary.
Coven of Lies (The Bayshore Witch Legacy Book 2) Page 8