That wasn’t exactly sane was it, wanting to stay split in two? She almost laughed at the irony, of course it was crazy, and so was she.
She whispered, “Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
She left then, not waiting for a reply, and jogged home to her store. She’d worked up quite a sweat so she took a quick shower before getting in bed. Silva was extremely quiet, and she didn’t know what to say to Silva either, so she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her.
Chapter 13
She woke up for the first time without a nightmare, which after the day she’d had yesterday probably meant she really was nuts. It was just after six, so she even got a full seven hours sleep. Despite her supposed insanity she felt really good, the soreness in her muscles from last night was gone and she had a deep well of energy.
She popped on the coffee maker and went to her ritual room, the candles all lit with a thought, and for once she wasn’t startled at all at how easy it was. She sat down and crossed her legs. She focused on the candle in front of her, and the goddess. She almost lost it when she slipped easily into a meditative state, simply at the surprise at how easy it was.
She could sense Silva in the back of her mind. The great cat was calm, and quite determined not to disrupt Celia’s thoughts. She sent an internal smile of thanks and started to review everything that happened, both inside her own body, and externally in the world.
In the end, she decided what went on out in the world, was mostly out of her control. All she could really do was control herself. She also determined, though she was forced by circumstances, the investigative work she’d been doing was something she was interested in.
It wasn’t all bad. There weren’t many who truly controlled everything in their lives after all.
She was determined however, that whatever she might be turning into would be someone she could be proud of. She would learn to fight, and she would find a way to reclaim the limit of her magic. The magic part was a little more complicated, Silva’s fear of it was much like a phobia, there was just no using logic to try and defeat it. So what options did that leave?
It also made sense she could use a small amount of magic. Someone afraid of heights would be nervous on the bottom step of a ladder, but probably wouldn’t freak out. However, climb that ladder to the roof and all bets were off, that’s what it must be like for Silva when she tried something requiring too much magical power. It would take time to figure it out.
As far as the rest, she would claim the pieces of her life she could control, and hope the rest worked out. Really, she didn’t have any other choice. It was either that or lie down and die. Her split soul? She didn’t even know where to start.
Lastly, she went over what she had to do… besides fix her magic and soul that is. Learning to fight was on the list, but wasn’t something she could do on her own. She needed to find someone else for the store, and she also needed to read that file on Bruce’s murder. She would need to study up on investigative work; a curious imagination and watching cop shows on television wouldn’t swing it.
She sighed and came out of the meditative state. One thing was for sure, her life was a mess.
She grabbed a coffee and sat at the kitchen table and started to thumb through the file. She skimmed through Berny and Mira’s testimony, it was much like Berny had told her the other day. Bruce was a total man slut. The weird thing was it didn’t bother her at all, she really thought it should have.
But then she wanted to have her way with Paul and then run him out of town after, so she was hardly one to talk now was she? Luckily those desires were easy to suppress.
The truth was that Paul and Ed didn’t have all that much yet, and she knew that was partially her fault by distracting them from the investigation. She did learn the shifter in the alley that Bruce got to know was Jennie. She hadn’t met her yet, but according to the file she was part of Tony’s pack. She also had an alibi for the time Bruce died according to the alpha but hadn’t been interviewed yet.
That was it really, the rest were interviews with the coven that didn’t reveal anything. It was right around seven and she was feeling… restless. She got up and threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and went out for a jog. This was new for her, she hadn’t been very athletic while she was bound, but it felt good to get out and run, stretch her muscles. She got the idea it would be even better if she shifted.
She didn’t have time to run out to Kelly’s, and she was afraid to do it anywhere else, in case she somehow trespassed again. So she just jogged a couple of miles down the road, turned around and went back to the store. After a quick shower she ate an alarmingly large breakfast, she definitely added that to the plus column of being a shifter. She grabbed her second cup of coffee which she probably didn’t need any more, went downstairs, and she opened the store.
Berny looked thoughtful, “Mia?”
She didn’t know Mia as well, but she was the youngest in the coven, only a couple of months younger than Berny.
She asked, “Do you think she’d be interested? I’m not going to be around much I don’t think. Enough to train you on the potions and salves we sell, as well as help with the store a little and get paperwork done, but some days I’ll be very scarce.”
Berny nodded, “I know she’s looking for a part time job, how much will you pay her?”
Celia considered that for a minute, “I’ll pay her what you make now, and give you a two dollar raise and put you in charge when I’m not here.”
Berny’s lips twitched, “Like an assistant manager?”
She nodded, “Exactly. If you’re willing to do it, I know you’re mostly here to learn the magic, but it would really help me. I’m sure we’ll figure it out, things might be a little hectic until I figure out exactly what my schedule will look like.”
Berny shook her head, “You trust me that much?” then blushed, “I mean, most people just look at me and see a kid.”
She grinned, “Of course I do. I’d have given you a key, but you don’t really need one.”
She left it at that. Berny had a great work ethic and she did trust her, but she didn’t want to ruin it by letting her know just how good she thought Berny was. Berny was still young enough it might spoil the water so to speak.
The front door opened and the detectives came in. Crap. She’d forgotten about last night.
“Hello detectives, what can I do for you?”
Brett asked in a sour voice, “Where were you last night, we told you not to leave town.”
Huh. Apparently he wasn’t going to admit he’d been following her, and lost her.
She snorted, “I had errands to run, and then I was at the gym. You told me not to flee town, not that I couldn’t live my life. Why are you even here?”
She realized of course, he was here to shake the tree and see what fell out, but that wouldn’t help him much since she didn’t kill Bruce. But it was still an exposure risk.
Jim answered taking over bad cop role, “Did you find out he was stepping out on you? Sleeping around and treating you like a fool? Is that when you did it?”
Her mouth dropped open a moment, and then she shook her head, “You really think I did it? No, of course not,” she said evenly.
It was strange, she knew they were looking for a reaction, but she wasn’t sure what one. She was sure her surprise and shock looked genuine, but again, she wasn’t really sad about it. She wondered why they hadn’t taken her down to the station though, was that just in television shows? That couldn’t be right. She found out the answer to her thoughts a moment later.
Brett held out a piece of paper, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to search the premises.”
Except he didn’t look afraid, or sorry, at all.
They searched the back, and then ordered her to take them upstairs to search the apartment. As soon as she opened the door she released a glamour spell which would cover up her ritual room and the loose board above the floor safe. Then she let th
em search everything else. They didn’t toss her stuff or anything, but she still felt violated as they went from drawer to drawer in her dresser and looked inside everything.
Then she saw Jim searching through her hamper and she froze. Crap.
Jim said smugly, “Found something, got a shirt covered in blood.”
Brett looked at me with bright eyes, “Well, imagine that. Care to explain?”
Celia nodded, “It’s my blood, I was camping and fell.”
Jim said flatly in disbelief, “You fell?”
Her lips twitched knowing just how unlikely that sounded.
“Yes, I climbed a tree after hearing wolves, but I slipped and fell.”
It was hard to stick to the truth, but not really tell them anything.
Brett shared a doubtful look with Jim and then they continued the search. Of course, they didn’t find anything else so they bagged the shirt.
Jim repeated, “Don’t leave town, if you’re telling the truth there shouldn’t be a problem.”
She nodded numbly, no doubt they’d be watching to see if she ran, or did anything stupid. It was dumb, she should’ve done something about the shirt, but it hadn’t even occurred to her. Still, it wasn’t the end of the world. The tests would show her blood, not Bruce’s, but it still made life more complicated than she was happy with.
When she got back downstairs Ed and Paul were in the store, after the detectives left they asked what happened. When she got done recounting the events Berny looked horrified, Ed looked annoyed as usual, and Paul… well he couldn’t stop laughing.
Ed snapped at Paul, “It’s not funny, what if they plant evidence?”
She sat there stunned, “Is that a possibility? As if I didn’t have enough to worry about.”
Ed shrugged, “Most cops won’t, but some will plant if they’re convinced of the guilty party but can’t find solid evidence. You’re the ex girlfriend, don’t have a solid alibi, and definitely had motive. In most cases it’s always the ex.”
She asked softly, “So what do we do?”
Paul snickered, “Find the real killer, plant our own evidence, and make it look like a suicide.”
Ed snorted, but he didn’t disagree. Justice was brutal in their world she knew. Human jails wouldn’t hold a witch or shifter, so generally the cost for crime was either a fine or death. Harsh, but it also works. It was simple she knew, murder, rape, kidnapping, and risking magical exposure to normals carelessly were all death penalty offenses. Anything else was generally fined, or simply ignored.
She gulped down the last of her coffee and made a face, it’d gone cold.
“So what’s next?” she asked, trying to redirect the conversation.
Ed replied, “We finished interviewing the coven, time to visit the packs.”
I asked, “Wolf and Bear?”
Paul nodded, “There are no packs for us darling, and as far as I know us two and my older sister are the only tigers in the area.”
She shook her head but couldn’t suppress the smile at the pet names, “Okay snookums, enough with the pet names.”
He just grinned impishly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Berny asked, “What happens if all the shifters are cleared too, what if it was a human?”
Ed frowned at the young witch asking a question, but answered anyway, “We’ll make sure the cops find the bastard and that he gets put in jail. But don’t mistake interviewed for cleared, it could still end up being a witch.”
She caught the slight movement of Paul shaking his head. Of course, that’s going to be a pain in the rear. Paul already knew none of the coven did it based on his ability to tell if someone was lying, but couldn’t even tell his partner, which meant they needed something to indicate whoever was guilty before declaring it. She frowned as they headed toward the door, it seemed every time she turned around a new complication occurred to her.
It seemed ridiculous that shifters could read the truth and witches didn’t know, shouldn’t it be obvious? Well, it should, but she realized she was brought up to avoid shifters at all costs and never trust them. It was hard to learn the truth when she had been taught not to look her whole life. Things that were obvious to her just… weren’t to anyone else.
Chapter 14
The first time she was on pack lands, she’d been too worried about dying to really look around. They must have had a lot of land since the driveway was about three miles long off the main road, twisting and turning through trees that would afford them a lot of privacy. The house itself was large enough for at least twenty people, and they didn’t have that many.
She wondered why for a moment, and then realized the truth. The war of course, the witches hadn’t been the only ones to die.
The landscape wasn’t artificial at all. They were simply surrounded by the natural world. Natalie, a short pretty woman with long raven hair let them in the house. She was Tony’s, the alpha’s, mate and led them into a comfortable living room and offered them something to drink.
Paul and Ed were extremely polite when Tony joined us, and she was reminded that he was technically one of Paul’s, and her boss, so they had to be somewhat cautious about questioning him and his mate.
She wasn’t feeling intimidated, but she also knew she should follow their lead for a while, until she learned exactly what they did.
It was clear quickly that Tony and Natalie really didn’t even know who Bruce was until after the murder. They gave their okay to interview the rest of the pack, but noted that not everyone was here.
Ed asked, “Who isn’t here? And do you know when they’ll be available?”
Tony nodded, “Jim and Tina aren’t around, but I know they were on their honeymoon trip when the murder happened. Jim should be here later tonight, Tina as well although she might be back sooner than that, she’s doing some prenatal checkups in the area. Tom and Sarah are also out on a job, but should be back tonight.”
She wasn’t sure if she met Sarah yet, but Tom’s name was familiar. He was the one that had wanted to kill her, and asked to do so more than once.
Paul asked, “So that leaves just Brice and Jennie?”
Tony agreed, “Yes, Natalie round them up for us.”
There was silence for a while as we waited.
Tony remarked, “Celia, Joe tells me he gave you running rights on his land. I’m afraid I can’t do the same.”
She looked up questioningly.
Tony shrugged, “Young wolves can get… overexcited when shifted. I have nothing against you, and I’m happy to allow you to visit here, and even pursue a friendship with my pack. I understand Tina has taken a liking to you, but I just won’t risk an incident during a run. You have to understand, you’re a cat, you’ll never submit. Submission is important between wolves, and the young ones won’t be able to help it, they’ll want to know where you fit in.”
She nodded, “Thanks for explaining, and for the welcome.”
She thought it made sense, but was still mulling it over as Brice and Jennie walked in. They were holding hands, and when their scents reached her she blushed. Celia realized it was beyond obvious by the scent they’d been… busy behind closed doors.
Brice was familiar of course, he’d given her the water and sandwich while she was in the cell. Big, hot, blond hair and green eyes, and for some reason not even remotely attractive to her. He looked uncomfortable for some reason and that set of flags in her mind. Jennie was cute, a few years younger than she was. She had blonde hair as well, just a bit darker and down to her shoulder blade, and her blue eyes were a few shades brighter than Brice.
Jennie had been the girl in the alley, the one that Bruce had gotten with recently. Did shifters sleep around a lot? Or was it just Jennie.
Celia didn’t really see anything wrong with it, she just didn’t see herself doing that. She wasn’t frigid, just choosy who she let into her bed. If she was honest with herself, it was probably why she hadn’t thrown herself at Paul yet.
Pa
ul said to the couple, “Why don’t you sit down, try and relax.”
Jennie and Brice took a seat together on a couch, they both looked a little nervous.
Paul asked Jennie, “Jennie, we were told you were with Bruce before he died?”
Jennie said, “Yes, I was. But I couldn’t tell you why, as I’d never been attracted to a witch before.”
Ed frowned, “Are you saying Bruce used magic on you?”
After blurting out the question he gave an apologetic look to Paul, apparently they were supposed to defer the questions based on race.
Celia wondered if that meant she could ask questions of anyone, or no one.
Jennie shrugged, “I honestly don’t know, I just know I’ve never been attracted to a witch before. I could have said no, I don’t think I was compelled or anything, but he was unbelievably hot, I didn’t want to say no, you know?”
She couldn’t help but notice Brice’s clenched jaw. It seemed to her that Brice wasn’t happy about her sleeping around at all. She wasn’t sure what to think though, since she didn’t have a solid knowledge of pack politics and relationships.
Paul’s eyes looked Celia’s way and he said, “I think I do understand.”
She frowned at the byplay, did Paul feel the same way she did? Instinctually?
Paul continued, “And did you see him again after that?”
She shook her head no and said it out loud. She noticed Ed was taking notes, and wondered if she should have brought something along with her. Not that she needed it, she had perfect recall, at least she did when she went into a trance. The mind was a perfect recorder, but recall was flawed. Witches in a meditative state or trance were much akin to a human under hypnosis in that they could access memories almost perfectly.
Of course, that was the only similarity; in a trance the witch still maintained full conscious control.
Witch's Moon: A Celia Winters Novel Book 1 Page 9