Devious Magic (#3 Stella Mayweather Paranormal Series)

by Camilla Chafer

  “Étoile, we were ambushed in that tunnel,” I said softly, not knowing who was in the house and if anyone would take it upon themselves to eavesdrop. “Someone knew we were going to escape that way and they were waiting for us.”

  She considered that, asking, “You think Daniel double-crossed us?”

  It was an obvious suggestion, so I wasn’t surprised. It had crossed my mind too, but I quickly discounted it. “No, I don’t think he would do that. He’s frightened of the Brotherhood.”

  “Frightened enough to set us up to save himself?”

  “No.” I thought that too, but Daniel seemed so genuine, so afraid of his father and he’d been thinking about escape for so long, it was unlikely that he would try to save his own hide. “He could have stayed behind if that were the case. No, I think this was someone in Anders’ coven.”

  “What reason would they have to set us up?”

  “Bribery? Blackmail? Fear?” I shot off the most obvious motives.

  “Anders wouldn’t have betrayed us. Not after what they did to his sister, surely?” pondered Étoile. Ahh, so she knew about that. She sat on the edge of the bathtub while I washed my face in the sink and brushed my teeth using a squirt of toothpaste on my finger.

  “I don’t think so. Who else knew we would use the tunnels to exit the house?”

  “Gage, but we can rule him out obviously. Bree. She was with us, but I can’t see why she would try and hurt us either.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want them in her woods?”

  “I don’t see how ambushing us would stop them going in her woods.”

  “Was anyone with you when I sent the message? Or maybe came to the tunnels with you?”

  “Only Rachel. She was there for both. Her team were supposed to guard that section of the grounds until we came out.”

  “Then where the hell were they?” I asked. The woods seemed completely empty until the point when we were encircled and made to shimmer.

  “Anders has been trying to find out. He’s worried something happened to Rachel. Evan said he would look for them while he’s out.”

  “I don’t like this. If there’s a traitor and we’re all here together, we’re...”

  “Sitting ducks,” finished Étoile. “I don’t like it either.”

  I heard a door bang downstairs and we both looked over to the bathroom door. Étoile, being a little faster than I right now, and closer to the door, poked her head outside. “Evan’s back,” she said, returning her eyes to me.

  My heart thumped with relief.

  “What should we do about the, uh, problem?”

  “A spell would bring the traitor, if any to us,” she suggested. “But it would be polite to ask Anders first, seeing as this is his territory.”

  Étoile made to leave but I grabbed her forearm, stopping her. Pushing the door closed, she sat back on the tub again. “What is it?” she asked, her eyes searching my face as I gulped. There was only one small thing I hadn’t told her yet.

  “There’s something else I need to tell you. About the Brotherhood... and Daniel.”

  “Go on.”

  “Daniel and I are related. Cousins, actually.” Étoile raised an eyebrow, waving a hand for me to continue. “Auberon Morgan is my mother’s brother, my uncle.”

  “No shit?” she breathed.

  “When all the killings were happening a year ago, when you came for me... Auberon told me that they weren’t going to kill me that night. Instead, they were supposed to bring me here, recruit me, even though I wasn’t much of a witch.”

  “Funny way of ‘rescuing’ you.” Étoile waggled her fingers for air quotes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “The fire and the axe in the door made me think they wanted to hurt you.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

  “Good job I got to you first, huh?”

  I nodded, thinking about what Daniel had to put up with. The fear, the coercion, the co-habiting with people who simultaneously hated and needed him, knowing that the things he was forced to do put us all in danger. “You saved me from a hell of a lot worse than death.”

  Étoile shrugged. “So, you think Daniel is okay? Trustworthy?”

  “I really do. He’s practically been a prisoner there. His dad made him locate the witches so that they could attack them. Daniel didn’t know at first, but when he realised, they forced him anyway.”

  “So he says. Let’s keep our cautious heads on here, okay, Stella? We can’t just blithely trust because we want to.”

  “I know that. That’s why I told you who he was, how we’re related.”

  “Stella?” Evan’s voice floated up the stairs.

  I cupped my hands to my mouth. “Be right there,” I called back, softening my voice to speak to Étoile again. “But can we at least give Daniel the benefit of the doubt? The Council might be interested in what he has to say. What he knows could help all of us.”

  “I’ll contact them.” Étoile brightened. “We have very little intelligence on the Brotherhood. Daniel’s knowledge will be welcome, I’m sure. Perhaps give them something to actually talk about, rather than squabbling until the summit. Now, there’s a man down there who needs to know you’re okay. Go. I’ll clean up here.”

  “Thanks.” I hugged her quickly and ran down the stairs as fast as my aching body would let me.

  It didn’t take me long to find Evan standing in the kitchen, talking to Anders. I caught the tail end of the conversation: that Rachel was nowhere to be found, but some of her team hadn’t fared too well and that Hawkscroft had sustained a lot of damage. When he heard me at the door, he pulled me over and hugged me, quickly releasing me to check me out, seemingly pleased with what he saw. He ran his hands over my hair and I felt it dry immediately in the braid, which was a good thing. I didn’t want to trouble Anders for a blow dryer. Evan’s hands paused to cup my face as he looked at me with absolute relief. “Nearly lost you there,” he murmured.

  “Never gonna happen,” I whispered back.

  “Not on my watch. Been awake long?”

  “Not long, just enough to start getting cleaned up. Can you do anything about my clothes?” I asked, knowing his skills would come in very handy right now and wishing I’d had the foresight to have him teach me. That would be the first thing on my agenda when I got home. “I’m pretty grubby.”

  “Sure.” My clothes melted away, immediately replaced with black jeans and a fleece top – warm, clean and practical. It’s amazing how being fresh can make you feel more capable, more ready to face the day and I had an inkling that the coming dawn was going to be the start of a very long one.

  “Do you take requests?” asked Anders, looking down at his own mud-spattered clothes. He looked tired, dark circles smudging his eyes.

  Evan eyed him sceptically. “This is not ‘Daemon Eye for the Magic Guy’.”

  “Fair enough.” Anders seemed jovial enough. He picked up the teapot he’d been filling with hot water from the kettle and left the narrow room, leaving the two of us alone.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, taking Evan’s hand, winding my fingers through his. He didn’t look out of breath, or exerted, or angry. He looked calm.

  “I found the man who shot you.”

  “Okay.”

  Evan said it in such a calm, disinterested way that I wasn’t sure how to take his news. I felt certain nothing good resulted from their encounter, but I was hard pressed to feel bad for whoever was on the receiving end of it. They shot me, after all, trying to kill me. Perhaps I was wrong to be glad I was the one standing. Perhaps I was losing my morality, but I knew one thing: if it were a choice between the Brotherhood and me, I’d pick me every time.

  Evan watched me while I came to my own conclusions. Slowly, he asked, “Do you want to know what happened to him?”

  “Yes... and no,” I replied as honestly as I could. After seeing what Evan was capable of, and his explanation of what his lineage could do, I could imagine, which was a lot different from knowing
. I didn’t know which would be worse. Part of me didn’t want my high regard for Evan coloured in any way. Another part of me told me that was stupid, and that to love someone, you have to know them completely. For a moment, we stood in an uncomfortable silence while I tried to make my mind up if ignorance were bliss, or just foolhardy.

  “I have some things to report on. Let’s find the others,” said Evan, making the decision for me. I had no illusions that this was the end of the conversation, just a reprieve. When he turned to leave the kitchen, I slipped my hand into his nevertheless, and he gave it a little squeeze before pulling me along after him.

  Étoile had rejoined our small group in the living room, and a couple more people I didn’t know were also added to the assembly. The small room was getting crowded, so, after Daniel made room for me on the armchair, with him perching on the arm, Evan stood by the door, arms folded.

  “I circled the perimeter first,” Evan told us when all eyes were on him. “I found three of Rachel’s group. As some of you know, they were supposed to watch the area around the entrance after we entered the secret tunnels into Hawkscroft. I’m sorry, I don’t have good news. Two were dead, one was unconscious.”

  “Who?” asked Anders, his fingers digging into his palms, the only sign that he was worried about his girlfriend.

  “I don’t know. Three men.”

  Étoile and I exchanged a look as Anders asked, “But not Rachel?”

  “No. I found the one who shot Stella,” Evan added, but he didn’t elaborate on that, beyond, “He won’t be troubling anyone again.”

  “What about the Brotherhood?” asked Gage, looking brighter and more alert now. Unlike the rest of us, the moonlit run seemed to have invigorated him, despite everything else. I’d never seen him change back so quickly after a full moon, though, come to think of it. He and Annalise always slept in late after the moon’s cycle ended. “What’s the damage?”

  “It’s chaos there, right now. The fire is under control but they’re scattering. I saw a convoy of around six cars leave, but there’s plenty of other people there.”

  “What about the police or fire engines?” I asked.

  “Yes to the fire trucks, no to the police,” Evan replied. “I heard one of the fire officers say there was a gas explosion, so I guess that’s the official cause.”

  I asked the question everyone else wanted to ask. “What about Auberon Morgan?” Beside me, Daniel stiffened and I wondered if he’d told anyone in the room about his parentage yet.

  “I’m sorry, I couldn’t find out. He might have left with the convoy or he might be one of the dead.”

  “How many died?” I pressed.

  “A few. Most of the Brotherhood’s patrols were drawn out of the house through Anders’ interference, so when the fire went up, there weren’t many inside.”

  Someone muttered, “Pity.” Several people echoed the sentiment.

  “What about the tunnels?” Daniel asked, clearing his throat slightly. I knew he was wondering what happened to the men who were waiting to ambush us there.

  Evan shrugged. “Some of the stable yard area caved in. I don’t know if anyone was still down there, or if they got out that way. I couldn’t hear anything.”

  “What are the chances any of them are going to come here?” I asked, thinking about the traitor in our midst and the conclusion Étoile and I had come to: we were still targets. It was hard not to look at any of Anders’ coven without suspicion. Bree was still here, the only face known to me, and a few others had drifted in while we were talking, but not Rachel. Not yet.

  “This house is protected, and we have their witch.” Anders darted a glance at Daniel who seemed to try to shrink a little lower, except I was occupying the chair and he was in full view of everyone. I gave his arm a quick squeeze and he flashed a small smile at me. “My guess is if Morgan is alive, he’s made a break for it. He’ll go somewhere he feels safe.”

  Daniel’s voice was small now. “You think he’ll ever come back?”

  “Hope not. Hawkscroft will be a safer place without that bastard,” said Anders firmly and there was a chorus of agreement.

  “Not so great for the rest of the world,” pointed out Étoile, spoiling the brief moment of victory. “At least, by knowing where he was, we could have kept an eye on him.”

  “What do you think we’ve been doing these past months?” said Anders, his voice growing hard. “While your precious Council have been flapping around doing nothing? We’re the ones who’ve been risking our lives to keep track of them, to get intelligence, to try and get the police to take us seriously.”

  “Okay, okay, guys.” I raised my hands, waving at them to calm down, wincing as the movement pulled at my side. Étoile and Anders glowered at each other, but not with any real anger, seeing as they both had a point. We were all tense. It had been a long, dramatic night and it still wasn’t over. The clock on the bookcase behind Anders signalled it was six in the morning and the sun would rise soon. “We can figure all this stuff out later,” I finished and, after a moment or two, where it looked like an argument might erupt, both Étoile and Anders shrugged.

  Once conversations had started up in smaller groups, and some people left, fanning out through the house, I crossed to the window and looked out. It was still dark, but there were the faint fingers of light now signalling the sun was ready to rise. I could see a few people sitting around in the garden, the occasional beam of a flashlight illuminating one of them. Whether they were wolves or witches, I didn’t know; but it seemed comforting that there were so many people here, on our side.

  Far in the distance, I saw smoke rising as Hawkscroft smouldered. Looking back at Daniel, he looked completely beaten and I felt a rush of sympathy for him. I wondered if we would ever interact like we were family; maybe we’d call each other and email and he would come stay with me? I’d seen how my foster families interacted with their wide arrays of children, siblings, as well as past foster children and extended families, but I had no idea if that would work for me. Perhaps it took practice and I was just at a disadvantage? I could learn the family stuff, especially as Daniel was now alone. Perhaps he’d always been alone, just like I had.

  “Stella?”

  I realised someone had repeated my name a couple of times, and I looked around. “Yes?”

  It was Étoile, beckoning me away from the window. I followed her into the small hallway where Anders was waiting. For once, Étoile looked nervous. Then Evan and Daniel joined us, and Anders signalled us to follow him into another room, some kind of study where he could shut the door and face us. “What is it you’re not telling me?” he asked astutely.

  “Anders, we think there...” Étoile started again, picking her words carefully. “We think there is a traitor, someone who is double-crossing us.”

  “What makes you think that?” Anders frowned.

  “Because someone knew we were going to take that tunnel out, and they made sure the Brotherhood were waiting for us,” replied Evan.

  “There were patrols everywhere,” Anders said cautiously. “They were on alert.”

  Daniel looked from Evan to me, then to Anders, as he thought about it. “Not in the tunnels,” he said, his voice strong and clear, more assured now there were only five of us. “No one goes in them. Only me. I’m not even sure Morgan knew about them; not all of them anyway.”

  “Maybe he just never used them?” Anders suggested.

  “I’ve been using them for over ten years. I swear, I never once saw Morgan use them, or saw any sign that he or anyone else had. I used to leave markers, pieces of string stretched across the passages, things that would have been broken or moved if anyone else passed through, and they were never broken.”

  “That’s not all though,” interjected Étoile. “What about the group supposed to be watching the tunnels, ready for when we came out? They should have been ready for us if anything happened. Instead, we were forced out the wrong exit, right into the Brotherhood’s hands agai
n.”

  “I don’t need to point out that I only found three of them,” added Evan.

  “They were ambushed,” said Anders, but his voice betrayed a lack of conviction. “The others will turn up.”

  “And what if one of them is a traitor?” I asked, studiously avoiding mentioning any names. “I know it’s horrible, but we’ve got to consider that possibility.”

  Anders turned on me, his face drawn with tiredness. “Why would any of our witches help a member of the Brotherhood? That’s not just being a traitor; that’s tantamount to murder.”

  “Anders, we can go in circles talking about this for ages, or we could perform a spell.” Étoile looked around the room, at the nodding heads. Sure, none of us liked the idea that someone here would betray us, but if a simple spell provided an answer, that seemed preferable.

  Anders thought about it. Finally he said, “Do it.”

  “Wait,” I said, as they turned, starting to leave. I grabbed Daniel’s arm, pulling him to stand next to me and, for a moment, he looked panic-stricken. “I need to tell you something. Daniel and I need to tell you something.” And I spilled. I told Anders and Evan what Étoile already knew, that Daniel was my cousin and that Auberon had wanted to recruit me too. I told them about Auberon and my mother being siblings and of the rift that had sprang between them, of the magic that had apparently skipped Auberon but was strong and clear in the rest of our family line.

  When I finished, Daniel chipped in his version, telling us of Auberon’s growing dissatisfaction with magic, of his conviction that witches needed to be eradicated. In a cool voice, he told us about the punishments he’d received for performing magic, for the times he’d been punished when he’d done nothing. But there was something that could not be explained. He told us about losing his mother, and how Auberon’s madness got worse after that, and he began recruiting. The Brotherhood seemed like a cult to him at times. He told us what happened the day Auberon realised he could harness Daniel’s magic and use it against us. Finally, exhausted, he collapsed into the chair by Anders’ desk, his head in his hands and I stroked his back softly, the way a mother would a child.