Witch Swindled in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  A wound so bloody and painful had opened, spilling my insides onto the shiny gallery tiles. Olivia led me out, and I wondered how they were going to clean my blood off the floor.

  There was no way I was ever using magic again.

  Ever.

  Chapter 6

  We caught the train back, and Olivia drove me home from the station. I’d tried to perk up, but it was no use. Seeing my parents was too much of a shock. Guilt jumped onto the fresh grief that was just as bad as it had been way back when. Olivia had shown me such a lovely time, and then I stuffed everything up.

  I’d ruined our day in London.

  We arrived at Angelica’s. I pushed the car door open and got out. “I’m so, so sorry, Olivia. Thanks for taking me. I really appreciate it.”

  “Hey, Lily, it’s okay. I’m just sorry you’re so sick. Call me tomorrow. Let me know if you’re feeling better.” Sympathy shone from her eyes.

  “I will. Drive safe.” I shut the car door and made my way to the house. When I walked in, Angelica, James, and Millicent were waiting in the living room.

  Millicent ran to me. “Are you okay, Lily? Oh goodness. You’re so pale. Sit down.” She grabbed my arm and steered me to one of the Chesterfields.

  I couldn’t even manage a half smile. “What are you guys doing here?”

  James stared at me. “Waiting for you. Millicent picked up on your feelings. She said it was serious, so we came here.”

  How had she sensed my thoughts? “But I shielded myself this morning.”

  Millicent answered. “Your emotions send off a different signal to your thoughts. The mind-protection spell doesn’t cover feelings.”

  “Oh.” Well, what difference did it make, since I wasn’t going to do magic anymore? “I suggest you all sit down, and then look at my photos.” James frowned, probably at the look on my face. “Olivia took me to the National Gallery today. I’m sorry.”

  What else could I say? I was about to put my brother and Angelica through a world of hell. But they would want me to show them. I was sure of it.

  I sat and put my head in my hands and cried. I’d held it in as much as I could on the train, but I couldn’t hold back now. My parents. My beautiful, loving, giving parents. The ones I’d never hug, never talk to, never celebrate birthdays or Christmas with. Ever again. They’d been right there. I could have touched them. But I couldn’t. They were phantasms. As ephemeral as a dream.

  Millicent gasped, and Angelica said, “Oh, my God.” I looked up. James sat in the middle, and they all stared at the screen. James looked as sick as I felt, his skin white, eyes glassy. Tears ran down his cheeks. Millicent threw her arms around him and squeezed. Angelica looked up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Then she did something I’d never have expected. She stood, came over, and wrapped her arms around me.

  “Oh, Lily. I'm so sorry.” We sobbed together.

  After we’d cried enough to exhaust ourselves, I stood. I enclosed James’s hands in mine. “Time to turn that off. I’ll put it on my laptop tomorrow, and we can see it more clearly, but for now, I think we should talk.” He let me pry the camera from his hands, and I turned it off. His forlorn eyes met mine, and I struggled not to start weeping all over again.

  He shook his head, his shoulders dropping. “How could you handle seeing them? Right there? Are you going to be okay?”

  “I lost it and threw up in a bin, and I didn’t care. Olivia must have thought I was a nut. To be honest, I can’t remember much except staring at them, wanting to touch them so bad. I'm surprised at how many photos I took. I was on automatic pilot.” I took a shuddering breath. “I feel like I’ve lost them all over again.”

  James nodded. “Me too.”

  I sat next to him and held his hand. “I don’t want to be a witch anymore. I don’t think I can handle seeing them again.”

  Angelica’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry, Lily, but you don’t have that option. You can’t stop being a witch. You can stop using your magic, but it will always call to you. And the more you don’t use it, the greater the need will be.”

  Noooooo! It felt like my heart was being squeezed into oblivion. “Can I at least turn it off, so I can’t see things when I take photos?” My one passion was turning into a freaking nightmare.

  She thought for a moment. “I do believe that’s possible. James, you can turn off your lie detecting, can’t you?”

  “If I try hard enough, yes. Sometimes I need a break from knowing everything, or I just want to relax with friends, and I don’t want to be judging every conversation.”

  She turned to Millicent. “What about you, dear?”

  “Yes. I can stop picking up on what everyone else is feeling, but I don’t like to, because I feel isolated. But it’s possible. I also have to cut myself off from all magic. It’s a bit scary, to be honest. I worry I’ll lose it forever when I do that. It’s like stepping into a lifeless void. Lily, don’t make any rash decisions while you’re upset, although you can’t run from your powers anyway. Just hang in there. We’ll be here for you, I promise.” She gave me an encouraging smile, then took a deep breath. “I'm not sure if this is the right time to tell you, but we have some news.”

  A ghost of a smile touched James’s lips before sadness swept it away. “You can tell them, Mill.”

  Happiness shone from her eyes. “You know how I was sick the other day?” I nodded. “It turns out that I’m pregnant. We’re having a baby.” Her smile of pure joy cheered me up. My parents would have loved this, but they would never get to hold their grandbabies. Bittersweet sucked. Couldn’t we just do away with the bitter?

  My no-hugs policy went out the window as I bear hugged both Millicent and James. “You guys, that’s awesome. I’m so happy for you.” And then I was crying again, but this time, they were happy tears.

  “My, what a day!” Angelica clapped her hands once. “I think this calls for a cup of tea.”

  “And a coffee?”

  “Of course, Lily. I’ll magic you up a cappuccino from your favourite investigator’s coffee machine.”

  I laughed. “Very funny, Ma’am.”

  Two teacups on saucers and filled with water and a teabag appeared on the table that sat between the Chesterfields. Angelica waved her hand over them until steam rose. The screaming hiss of milk frothing came from the kitchen. Two cappuccinos appeared on the table. Both had chocolate on the top in the shape of a heart. Aw, that was so sweet. “Thank you, Ma’am. I think you’re my favourite witch ever.”

  “Hey, what about me?” asked James.

  “And me!” Millicent pouted.

  “Stuff it. You’re all my favourites.” Because, really, how could I choose? They’d all been there for me, and would always be. No matter how many meltdowns I had, they’d be here to help me pick up the pieces. “Thanks, guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Millicent raised her teacup, her pinkie finger elegantly sticking out.

  “Here’s to babies and family.” I raised my coffee, and we all clinked our cups together.

  I hated having to stay the witch course, but if what they all said was true, I didn’t have a choice. “Ma’am, since it seems like I’m stuck with being a witch, can you start teaching me tomorrow how to cut off the power?”

  She turned a resigned gaze on me. “If you insist. We can start tomorrow.”

  “Thank you.” Relief stormed through my body, leaving exhaustion in its wake. Even the smell and taste of coffee wasn’t enough to hold it at bay. I mustered up enough energy to finish the coffee—this was me we were talking about—and I hugged everyone again.

  “Can I borrow the memory card?” James asked.

  “Of course.”

  “I don’t want you to send me the photos, because anyone could intercept them, and then your secret will be out.”

  “But how will anyone know when they were taken?”

  “True, but best to be safe rather than sorry.”

&n
bsp; Angelica magicked everyone’s empty cups away. “I’ll need a copy too, for the file. But I can do that here. It’s too risky to take into the PIB.”

  That surprised me. I thought I was the only one who didn’t trust that organisation. Looked like I was in good company.

  “I’ll back this up on a memory stick and give this back to you tomorrow. Okay?”

  “Yep, that’s fine. But please be careful with it. I don’t want to go through getting those photos again. As much as it hurts to see them, it would hurt to lose that extra little piece we’ve got.”

  He gave me a sad smile. “I know. I’ll be careful.”

  “Well, today’s beaten me, so I’m off to bed. And congrats again.” I left them with a smile. From now on, I would try and focus on what I had rather than what I didn’t. Hopefully it wouldn’t be as hard as I feared.

  Chapter 7

  It was Friday night. I sat in my favourite chair next to the fireplace, even though there was no fire, in my fleecy tracksuit and Ugg boots. My iPod was turned up while I read a cosy mystery on my iPad. I loved those books, and this author was particularly funny.

  Was that a voice? I could never hear much with the earphones in. I took one out.

  “Lily, dear, are you home?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. In here!” It was about time for her to come home from work. She usually worked until at least 7:00 p.m., sometimes later.

  I looked around the back of my chair. She came in, William and Beren on her heels. I took the other earphone out, turned my iPod off, and stood. “Are we having a party or something?” I frowned. “Where’s the cake?”

  Beren grinned, and William shook his head. Yes, I was kidding, but my lack of social life was no joke. I totally needed to sign up to a local art class to meet more people.

  Angelica sat on one of the Chesterfields. “Come over here, dear. We need to have a chat.” Why do people say that? Everyone knows that’s interchangeable with I know you won’t want to have this conversation, and you’re going to hate what I have to say, but we’re going to anyway. This is supposed to soften the blow, but it actually won’t.

  William sat next to her, and Beren sat on the opposite lounge. I sat next to him.

  Angelica smiled, as if she were trying to butter me up for something. She held out her hand, and a frothy cappuccino appeared. She handed it to me. Here we go. I could smell manipulation a mile away, especially when it was sprinkled with chocolate and full of caffeine.

  “Lily, you’ve got your first photography job tomorrow. Is that right?”

  Okay, this had something to do with Ernest, but what? I took the coffee—I wasn’t that disgusted. “Yes. But if you want me to do something, please don’t beat around the bush. Just ask.” I hated bullshit. I didn’t dish it out, and I sure as hell didn’t like being on the other end of it. Honesty could hurt, but I was a rip-the-Band-Aid-off kind of person. Face the pain, and get it over with.

  Her smile was genuine this time. “That’s my Lily. Sorry. I’m used to dealing with… different people. We still need to find out if Camilla spelled her employee to help her, and we’re short of evidence linking her directly with the crimes. We’ve tried a couple of different ways, but with no success. The only thing that’ll work is us getting close enough to put hands on him and find out if he’s been spelled. Then we can figure out a new approach from there. Our research has indicated he’s engaged to your new friend from the coffee shop, the one you’re photographing for this weekend. Am I right?”

  My eyes widened. Of course they’d find out. So much for giving myself some space to decide how I was going to keep my connection with Olivia out of it. I sighed. “Yes, you’re right.”

  She pressed her lips together. “How long have you known, dear?”

  “Since I went out with them the other Friday night. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was just figuring out how it would work. Me being friends with Olivia complicates things. Maybe I should step aside from this investigation?”

  She shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Lily. We need your help, and those poor people they’ve stolen from deserve a resolution and justice. You’re our best chance at getting close to him without having to resort to being obvious.”

  How was it, even when I was treading carefully, I still ended up knee deep in a cowpat? “You want me to put my hands on him? I can’t do that. How would I explain that to Olivia if someone walked in? Not to mention, I have no idea how to find out if a spell’s been cast on someone.”

  Angelica put her hand up. “Not you, Lily. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t ask you to do something I hadn’t taught you. I’d like you to take an assistant to your photo shoot.”

  She closed her mouth, like she was holding her breath. I narrowed my eyes, then looked at Beren. He smiled. I looked at William, who attempted a smile. It was kind of lame, but the fact that he’d tried meant something was going on. Oh no. “No, no, no, no, no. I’m not taking William as my assistant. Nope.” I shook my head.

  Angelica dug deep and found her poker face. “Now, Lily, don’t say no without thinking about it. You want to help all those people who were swindled, don’t you? Also, what if we arrest him when it wasn’t even his fault. How would you feel? I’m sure your friend wouldn’t be happy if he wrongfully ended up in jail.”

  Ooh, that was a low blow, bringing my loyalty to Olivia into it. Not only did I hate going behind her back to potentially get her fiancé arrested, but there was also no way William and I could get along for a few hours. It was hard enough not to argue with him when we spent five minutes together. I took a deep breath. “You’re putting me in a crappy position, but I hate knowing Camilla stole from people, and I suppose if he’s guilty, he deserves to be charged, and if he’s innocent, he deserves to be exonerated.” I glanced at William before looking back at Angelica. “Are you sure this is the only way?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay. I’ll do it, under duress, mind you. But I have one condition: Beren can be my assistant, not William.”

  William folded his arms, his face smug. “Sorry, Lily. No can do. Beren can’t wipe memories. It takes a minute or two to cast a detect spell and decipher the results, so, unless you can come up with a good reason for Beren having his hands on Ernest for one minute, feel free to tell me now. I’m just as keen as you to avoid being your assistant, so I’m open to suggestions.”

  “James can wipe memories. Can’t he come instead?”

  Angelica shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. He’s investigating another case, and we can’t take him off it. Surely you’re adult enough to get along nicely for three or four hours?”

  William and I looked at each other. I folded my arms, imitating him, then raised one brow. He raised one brow. Gah. “Okay. You all win. But if one of us doesn’t make it out alive, I’m not taking any responsibility.”

  Angelica smiled, no doubt because she’d gotten her way. “Don’t be so dramatic. All you have to do is your job and let William decide when and where he gets his information.”

  Easy for her to say. They thought they’d had the last laugh. I smirked. “Fine.” They’d totally underestimated me.

  Game on.

  All my camera equipment was packed… in three bags. I had four different lenses, two cameras, spare batteries, tripod, reflector, dropdown background, and lighting. I wouldn’t normally take all that stuff, but if William wanted to be my helper, he was going to help until it hurt.

  I magicked it all downstairs before I joined it, the normal way. William was waiting in the vestibule, looking way too sexy in denim jeans and a navy polo neck that gave entirely too much information on how built his chest was. The colour also brought out the blue in his eyes. I slapped myself across the cheek. Bad, Lily. You don’t like him, remember? He looked at me like he was worried about my mental health—and he was probably right to be concerned. That was a crazy thing to do, but I was beyond caring. He looked me up and down. “I thought this was an engagement, not a funeral.”

  Smart ars
e. “I happen to like wearing black. Plus it singles me out as someone no one should talk to. When I'm working, I don’t like to make small talk.” Well, I rarely liked to any time, but more so when I was concentrating on getting the right shot.

  His eyes widened slightly, and his mouth turned up on one side. Crap. I’d basically just told him how to annoy me. But then he eyed all the equipment on the floor, and his small smile vanished.

  “What’s wrong, helper?”

  He ignored me and waved his hand. My stuff vanished. “Car’s packed. Let’s go.” He turned, and I followed him out to the Range Rover.

  I hopped into the front passenger seat. This was different. I was normally in the back exchanging angry glances in the mirror. Now I could shut him out by looking out the window. I turned to check the back, and my equipment was there, peeking over the top of the back seats.

  I’d written the address on a piece of paper, which I handed to William. “Okay, Lily. Should take about ten minutes.”

  As he drove, I got the lecture. “Rule number one: don’t do anything witchy in front of anyone. Rule two: let me do what I need to and don’t get upset. Rule three: don’t interfere. Rule four: if I ask you to do something, don’t argue. Just do it.”

  “Um, shouldn’t rule four be the other way around? You’re my assistant. If you don’t act the part, people are going to wonder why the hell you’re there. And I don’t want anyone thinking I pay you to do nothing.”

  “Why would that be?”

  I rolled my eyes. He knew why. “Some people, not me mind, but some people, probably think you’re good-looking. I don’t want those people thinking I’d employ someone just so I could hang out with them and perv. I’m not a sucker.” I gave him my I-hate-you face, just so we were clear.

  He sniggered. “Yeah, some people. I’m pretty sure, you’re some people.”