“What can happen is the mother doesn’t loosen that control over the body enough to allow full dilation, not only preventing a shift, but trying to prevent any body modifications, even the natural one for human females during birth.”
Celia thought about that for a minute, “That makes a lot of sense, and I can’t think of any way to improve the current potion either, thank you for indulging my curiosity. I’m sure you get it as a midwife, it was driving me crazy not knowing.”
Celia gave Tina a card, “Whenever you have an order, just call that number. Do you want some of them now? I have a few made up…”
Tina asked, “How long do they last?”
She replied, “About six months before the magic starts to fade.”
Tina nodded, “I’ll call then in about a month. The rest of my women are all in the first trimester right now. And thank you, I didn’t think you’d help, but Joe was so sure you would.”
Tina paused for a second and with a look of confusion asked, “Why are you helping?”
Tina hadn’t sounded accusing, more curious and slightly baffled.
Celia made a face but her voice was thoughtful, “I’m a midwife and gave oaths before the goddess. But it’s not even really that, I want to help. All I saw in Kelly was a pregnant woman who needed help with her baby, it just didn’t… matter what she was,” or what I am she silently added to herself.
Celia bit her lip, she was tempted to say she had a good feeling about Tina as well, but she thought that might be counterproductive. She did think of something to ask though, it would save her a wasted trip if no one was home.
“Can I ask, do you have Kelly’s number?”
Before Tina could answer the door opened and two more people came in. Celia groaned, they didn’t look like customers either…
Both of them were tall with short blond hair, and incredibly attractive. Other than that they were completely different. She knew who they were though, the councils’ representatives. They just put off that vibe, might as well have been wearing name tags.
The one who walked in first swaggered with a kind of graceful arrogance that immediately set Celia on edge. He was dressed in blue jeans and a shirt that was just a little too tight. When he got closer she could see his incredibly vivid blue eyes and gripped underneath the counter to stop herself from standing.
She had felt something rise up in her as if in challenge to his arrogance, but ended up just feeling confused, it had been a strange new sensation.
The second man looked annoyed at the first, or possibly just plain annoyed. He was dressed in black slacks, shoes, and a blue button down shirt. He had storm gray eyes as he walked up. She kept his gaze on him, because she was a little freaked out by the shifter and she noticed Tina looked very uncomfortable. Almost like a kid getting caught by her parents playing with the bad kids.
There was an awkward silence for a moment and Celia took the initiative, “Can you write that information down? I look forward to your business.”
Celia gave her a business card, and placed a second one face down with a pen on the counter.
She felt a little sad when Tina wrote out the numbers nervously and took off toward the door as if to flee a fire without saying a word. It was strange, but she liked the wolf shifter already. She’d never had a shifter in here before yesterday, now three in just over twenty four hours. It also illustrated she sat somewhere in the middle, though neither the mages nor the shifters knew that.
Goddess knew how she’d keep it a secret if she didn’t bind her powers.
She looked back up after picking up the card and putting it in the business contact Rolodex.
“Can I help you gentlemen?”
The witch raised his eyes, “I’m Ed Hanson from the witch council, and this is my partner…”
He was cut off by his partner’s tenor voice, “Paul, from the shifter council. You keep interesting company, and I have to say I’m gratified I didn’t walk into one of those damn spells.”
Celia reluctantly looked his way and said carefully, “Both Tina and I are midwives, it’s actually the first time we met. There was… a unique situation yesterday.”
Ed raised an eyebrow, “Did you get permission from the council?”
Celia frowned. She should have but she didn’t think about it at the time. Yes, for her and her oath it was important to help a mother give birth, no matter the race. But if her ignorance, or even in circumstances out of her hands, the woman or baby had died… it could have caused an incident, maybe even reprisals.
“I had planned on telling them about it, and getting permission to proceed with limited contact.”
Ed looked pissed, like she’d suggested drowning puppies or something.
“Of what nature,” he snapped.
She suppressed her rising anger; she had to be in control of herself. She had thought to be questioned about Bruce’s death, but it was her own big mouth that had caused her to walk right into this. She should have not said anything about Tina being here; it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own.
Celia shrugged, “There is a common problem with shifter births that one of our potions fixes quite easily.”
Ed rolled his eyes, “What problem?”
Celia replied coldly as her anger got the better of her sense, “That isn’t your business. Suffice it to say it was an emergency and Tina was out of town. They contacted me in desperation.”
Ed looked like he might explode, but Paul cut him off, “Shouldn’t we get to the reason we’re here? The witch is quite right anyway, medical issues and matters relating to racial health are not open for sharing.”
Ed looked like he couldn’t decide which of us to strangle, but eventually got a hold of himself.
She suppressed an amused smile, she normally didn’t like confrontations but she was starting to enjoy herself. Ed definitely had major anger issues. It was ironic that it was the shifter that was calm and the witch that was losing control.
Ed asked, “What do you know about the witch Bruce and his death?”
She replied, “I know a lot about him, or I thought I did, but I know nothing about his death.”
Paul asked, “Thought you did?”
She nodded reluctantly, “I’m sure you already know we used to date. He cheated on me and I dumped him for it a couple of weeks ago. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. I have no idea who could have done it, he didn’t have any enemies I’m aware of. Do you know how he died?”
Ed frowned at her asking a question but Paul answered, “He was beaten badly, then set on fire. There was an accelerant on the body.”
She blew out a breath, sorry she’d asked. She had the idea there may be a clue in the cause of his death, but really it didn’t narrow it down very much. Most witches couldn’t control fire so even the accelerant wasn’t a clue. She wasn’t sure why she cared so much, but she was close to him once.
Ed asked, “Has he been acting any different before his death. Worried about anything?”
Celia shook her head, “Not that I noticed no. When I saw him yesterday he was his normal self. I can’t really say for sure though, I threw him out as soon as I got back to the store, and I hadn’t seen him for a couple of weeks before that.”
The door opened and they all turned to look. Dan and Berny walked in coming back from lunch. They were so absorbed in each other they failed to notice Celia, Ed, and Paul until they separated after a brief kiss.
Dan froze in the process of turning toward the door to leave, and Berny’s smile was unsure as she came toward us. Dan wound up following her over to the desk. Ed looked annoyed by this interruption and Paul was quite obviously checking out Berny.
For some reason she couldn’t place that last thing really bothered Celia.
She cleared her throat to regain their attention and asked, “Was there anything else you needed?”
Paul answered, “Not from you, for now. But we have a few questions for Bernadette. Can you give us a few minutes honey?”
She
felt a rumble in her chest, and stopped as soon as she realized she was growling. She shook her head and bit her tongue. Damn shifter, how dare he call her that.
She smiled coldly, “Sure thing sugar cakes, I’ll be in the back.”
Paul snickered as she got up in moved into the back. Dan didn’t look as if he was willing to go anywhere but it really wasn’t any of her business what he did so she just ignored it. She worked on a few orders that had come in so far today and boxed them up as her mind whirled. She usually waited to do them all at the end of the day, it was more efficient that way, but she needed something familiar to calm her racing mind.
Paul was attractive but there was something else there that confused her, almost a possessive feeling that made her feel crazy. He was dangerous to her and she knew she needed to stay away. It wasn’t that the feeling was so strong it made her feel out of control, it was that she was having it at all. She was sure this was a shifter thing and just didn’t know what to do about it.
This to her was the worst part of everything that had happened this last month. She no longer recognized herself, or who she was inside. Oh, she still loved the store, and liked her place as a midwife, she just wasn’t quite so willing to bend to make others happy. It was also confusing which parts were due to the shifter part of her coming out, and what related to her grief.
She was fairly sure now that her feelings and intuition were right without even talking to Kelly. The shifter, her tiger, was an integral part of her personality, and for her whole life outside of the first two years she’d only been half the person she was meant to be.
Her greatest fear was that even beyond being a part of her, is that her tiger was a separate awareness, which is what she really needed to know. The idea that her mother had trapped a thinking creature behind walls of magic for most of her life horrified her, but she couldn’t deny her dreams, the fear of being caged, and the bursts of emotions that felt like hers but were separate somehow.
If that were true would that half of her even be sane anymore? What would happen when the tiger got out? Would she lash out? Celia only had until tomorrow night to figure it out, and decide what to do about it. Still, the more she thought about the consequences the less she was convinced she should talk to Kelly. She had no doubt her very protective mate would object to leaving Kelly alone with a witch. And really, the woman was a stranger, wasn’t she?
“Hey Berny, how’d it go?”
She’d made the decision to hold off on calling Kelly. She had thought of a spell she’d seen last night that might help her make a decision. If it didn’t work she could always see the bear shifter tomorrow morning. She went back out front and saw everyone was gone.
Berny shrugged, “Depressing. I don’t like talking ill of the dead. Like I said earlier, the fact I didn’t like Bruce at all makes it worse. Still, they needed to know if they’re going to catch the killer.”
Celia asked, “What did you know? I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer. It’s strange, I hated him at the end, but I feel the need to know, to make sense of it. Although I couldn’t tell you why.”
Berny replied, “You’re stronger than you were, I know you think you’re a mess, but I can feel it.”
She asked, “What’s that got to do with it?”
Berny smiled, “Because you still care. The old you cared the same way but wouldn’t have been brave enough to question a council member, or try and figure out a murder. You’re the same person, just… stronger.”
Celia pondered that for a moment. She would have picked more psychotic, or emotionally unbalanced, but she wouldn’t argue with her.
She teased, “That’s kind of wise for a high school graduate.”
Berny snorted a laugh and said, “Of course I am, why else do you think I’d be here learning from you…” her lips twitched.
Celia snickered, clever too. If she teased any farther she’d be insulting herself by deflection.
Berny sighed, “Do you really want to know? I’ll tell you but it won’t be easy to hear.”
She closed her eyes and nodded, “Might as well, I imagine this means his activities weren’t as limited as I believe them to be?”
Berny nodded, “I found out a couple of days ago from talking with Mira. Mira and Bruce didn’t last very long, she caught him with another woman and confronted him. He was… cruel to her. Explained he hadn’t made any promises to be faithful and loved women too much to settle for just one. She got the impression that she wasn’t the first woman he walked out on you with.
“Sorry, getting off track, the point is, she caught him kissing a woman in an alley behind the bar. It looked like things were moving to a major public display if you know what I mean.”
Celia was frozen, she was angry, but more at herself. How much of a fool did he play her for and how long? She reluctantly admitted it wouldn’t have been that hard for him. She had barely left the store to go out nights. It was her store along with her mother’s and she had taken her responsibility seriously, who knows what he had been getting up to all the nights they weren’t together.
“What does that have to do with…”
Berny held up a hand for patience and said, “I was getting to that. The woman in the alley was a shifter. Mira said he got a thrill out of the danger of it, and the taboo. But I’m not sure how she knew that.”
Celia blew out a breath, “Well, that’s a good motive, but it still doesn’t narrow it down any. It could’ve been a jealous ex girlfriend, or any witch that hated shifters enough might kill him, same with the shifters, a jealous wolf, or prejudice.”
Berny nodded, “But it’s a lead, they took off out of here to track down Mira. There’s another option as well, it could have been the shifter getting kicks.”
She supposed it was possible, but not very likely. It could also be a wild goose chase.
She changed the subject, “So tell me about Dan, you had a good time?”
Berny’s skin flushed slightly, “He’s wonderful…”
As Celia listened to Berny’s story, she realized she was happy for the young woman and not jealous at all. She was surprised when she found herself laughing at one point in the story and she only felt a small flash of guilt. Maybe she was really starting to move on now. She still missed her mother so much it hurt, but she was starting to realize she needed to start living again.
Chapter 6
Without really knowing why Celia started to stock up on potions and salves, spending the entire afternoon on it. It was only when she sat down at the table with writing paper that it all solidified in her mind. She’d been easily able to pick out shifters, but so far they hadn’t recognized her. She figured that was only because of the binding, and that would only last one more day.
She supposed there was the possibility that it might be her mixed nature, but she kind of doubted it. She thought of Lily and Tina and wondered if she would start walking with that same confident grace they displayed when the binding was finally gone.
She shook her head to dismiss the wandering thoughts and wrote out two letters. One to Berny and one to Fran, asking both to look over her shop while she was gone, and that if she was gone for more than a month she was probably… not coming back.
She wasn’t even sure she would leave, but the spell she was contemplating would be dangerous, and may even break the binding a day early, she wasn’t sure. She had no clue what would happen at that point, so she’d leave the letters out where they’d be found, and collect them before the morning if she was still here.
She thought about telling Berny, she did trust the young witch and felt guilty harboring this secret. Something held her back however, probably fear, and when it came time she merely told Berny she’d see her tomorrow. She couldn’t help but wonder how her mother had lived with it for twenty six years. It had only been a day and she was already finding it hard to keep the secret to herself. She made and packaged the rest of the day’s orders, and then bided her time until closing.
She had chosen a month, because the witch farthest along her pregnancy on her list was at six months. She wanted a two month buffer. She closed her eyes and tried to look within, it was almost like she knew she was going somewhere. She could feel it… almost as if she stood at the beginning of a long road and felt the journey stretched out before her.
The feelings she’d gotten to guide her in the past were never this strong or sure, and she couldn’t bring herself to doubt it. When it was time for closing she walked up and locked the door. She almost rolled her eyes when she saw the older detective, Brett, sitting across the street in an unmarked car. Well, if he was staking her out at least that meant the human police didn’t have a clue who did it. It would be best for everyone if the councils figured it out first. Of course, that didn’t make her life any easier.
She shut off the lights on her way upstairs and pulled out the family’s book of magic. She’d been flipping through the book looking for the weather magic when she saw it, so it took her a while to find it again. The spell was designed to read someone’s aura, their mind, and their soul. It was supposed to be used on another, not on the person casting the spell. But she thought if she read herself, she’d be able to figure out exactly what the shifter half of herself was. Be it a part of her personality, a separate or split personality, or a separate being with its own soul.
If it was the latter, she’d never be able to bring herself to bind her shifter magic again, no matter the circumstances. It was risky modifying a spell, hopefully nothing went wrong and her friends didn’t find her a vegetable, stuck in her own mind. She said the spell over and over in her mind before putting the book back in her floor safe. She went into the altar room, lit the candles, and closed her eyes and tried to focus. She chanted the spell aloud and could feel her magic respond, the last few words she modified to target herself and she released the spell.
She could feel the magic around her and opened her eyes. She could make out the colors of her aura out of her peripheral vision and realized her mistake. She jumped up and ran to the full size mirror on the bathroom door and gasped at what she saw.
Witch's Moon: A Celia Winters Novel Book 1 Page 4