Family Feud: The Witching Hour Series Book 5

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  It's only a matter of time, so live your perfect life for as long as you can. I'm a patient creature.

  One day you will wake up and I will be standing next to you.

  Yours always.

  S.H.

  I re-read the letter a few times, trying to understand its content. My mum and Aunt Dorothy were still downstairs. Dad hadn't come back yet. It was clear the letter was about me, and about some kind of contract. I wondered if I should show it to my parents. They would probably explain more—but then I heard a loud thump and a crash from downstairs.

  I took the stairs at a run, charging into the living room to see that the front window had been smashed. Someone had thrown a brick through it, a brick that my aunt was now holding in her hand.

  “What's going on?"

  "They just drove off. Two men. They threw the brick. I don't think they were paranormals," my aunt replied, nearly out of breath.

  "I'll call Dad."

  "Yes, good idea."

  Dad arrived within fifteen minutes. He didn't want to call the police. Apparently, he didn't trust them anymore, and after another argument I kind of gave up. Mum looked worried, but we managed to fix the window with magic.

  "I think we should go. Let's lock up and go back to London," I said, after the clock announced midnight—the witching hour.

  "Fine, I'll deal with whoever was trying to scare us,” Dad muttered. “Don't you worry about that."

  I didn't like the sound of that, but I was tired. I kept thinking about the letter, but when I climbed into the back seat, I decided not to tell him about it. He was already so stressed about everything that was going on. I needed to investigate it myself first before telling him what I’d discovered. I fell asleep in the back seat, not realising that this was just the beginning, because the shit was about to hit the fan.

  Chapter 10

  Void engagement.

  I was depressed, completely stressed and consumed by worry as I drove through the busy London traffic at rush hour a day later. The reporters weren’t giving up, remaining outside the agency, hoping I would give them an exclusive. I slammed the door while they continued snapping my picture and asking me to make a comment about the latest story—my ex.

  Jasper had told them we used to go out and that tripped me over the edge. After the circus he’d created at the funeral, I guessed he was most likely behind the stories that were leaked to the press. Nathaniel was a highly respected businessman and the fact that we were together was making this story even more sensational. My grandmother had supposedly committed fraud and the press was desperate to find more facts about her past. I hated Jasper with a vengeance now.

  My excess magic had been active from the moment I opened my eyes this morning, and since I didn't have anyone to cuddle with last night, it only grew stronger. Nathaniel still hadn't called. I thought he would feel guilty and try to reach out. There was something really wrong with him. That behaviour wasn't normal. For months and months, he kept telling me that he couldn't imagine his life without me. Then yesterday he acted like I meant nothing to him. I was hurt and worried. Maybe my grandmother’s magic had influenced him to hurt me; she always hated him.

  I picked up my phone a few times during the day, wanting to speak to him, but every time I thought about what he said at the funeral, I changed my mind, knowing I’d done nothing wrong. Vampires were complex creatures and my grandmother always insisted they were influenced by darkness. Maybe she was right; maybe Nathaniel’s vampire instinct was finally taking over.

  "Hey, Julia, I'm sorry, but you look terrible. I can use a deterrent spell to tell the paparazzi to go to hell," Kate offered, placing a cup of fresh coffee in front of me, pulling me out of my twisted thoughts.

  "Thank you. Coffee is definitely what I need. I don't think the deterrent spell will help. Actually, it might make everything worse." I moved the mouse to make the screen come on. It was an early morning and I sort of knew it was going to be a long day. Someone had been playing with illegal spells on the west side of the bridge, and according to my smart phone app, the police had arrested a few shifters. Magic evolved with the technology of the day and even witches were organising their Sabbath through Twitter these days.

  Kate was still standing in front of my desk, probably wanting to know if my fiancé had been in touch.

  "Julia Taylor, get your shit together. I understand that asshole hurt you yet again, and I get that you’re grieving, but today is a new day," she said unexpectedly leaning over my desk.

  I looked at her a little surprised and a little scared. I needed to stop thinking about pointless shit and concentrate on what was important. There was a possibility that my grandmother had died because of me. The letter I found last night was now in my bag. Whoever wrote it made it clear I was the key to an agreement, which could be why my grandmother had paid with her life—because she was trying to protect me.

  "I'm going to be fine, Kate, but we need to talk later. Call Kelsie if you can, please. I have something I need to show you both."

  "I don't like the sound of that," Kate said, shaking her head. She didn't like me getting involved any more than was absolutely necessary. "Why don't you leave all this to the police? Dannika knows what she's doing. Every time you try to fix something you end up getting in trouble."

  "I guess that’s just my nature, getting into trouble," I muttered. "Please, this is important."

  She sighed loudly, grumbled to herself and went back to her desk. Kate was a good person, and a bloody skilled witch. I needed to know what Kate and Kelsie thought about that damn letter. I needed to find out who S.H was and what his or her role was in my grandma’s murder—and do it before my dad lost his job over this investigation.

  A few minutes later my first client showed up. Sara came in late and I didn't have any strength in me to remind her that she started work at nine in the morning, not ten. We had five fairies for inductions an hour later, and I had tons of paperwork. I liked being busy, because then I didn't have to think about Nathaniel. My heart squeezed tight in my chest every time his name popped on the screen, which was more times than I could handle.

  I spent two hours, going through the material about a job in a contact centre with fairies who didn't look particularly interested. When I flopped back at my desk it was a quarter to twelve, and my head was hurting. The phone rang. Kate and Sarah were busy with a few clients, so it was my turn to pick it up.

  "Paranormal Personnel."

  "Julia." I heard the deep voice on the other side of the phone, the one that made my toes curl. I reminded myself he was a cold motherfucker who didn't deserve any kind thoughts.

  "What the fuck do you want? Why are you calling here?" I asked, shaking with anger. Kate was with a client, but she glanced at me, probably wondering who I was cursing.

  "I'm leaving the country. I have a meeting in Geneva," he said in a perfectly calm voice.

  I tried to breathe. At the same time, I started to smell that odd burning odour. My power was probably melting the cables. "I don't care, Nathaniel. The way you acted at the funeral was the last straw for me. There’s nothing you can say to me that would fix this or us. I’ve had enough of being treated like garbage, like I mean nothing to you."

  "I don't understand why you’re angry. I’ve done nothing wrong. I just wanted to let you know that you have to stay in Canary Wharf—"

  "Nothing wrong? Are you kidding me? I don't fucking need your charity, Mr. La Caz. Consider our engagement void. We are done!" I shouted into the phone and then slammed it back on the receiver, breathing hard and covering my face with my hands.

  I needed to calm down; otherwise I was going to burn my work station. The energy flew through me. I took long deep breaths. When I lifted my head, I realised that everyone in the agency was staring at me. Clearing my throat, I started to get busy. I didn't need his shit today. I couldn't deal with it. He sounded like he didn't even remember what happened at the funeral. What was wrong with him?

  "Okay
, Mrs. Corrick, please sign here, so we can complete the paperwork," Kate said, getting back to work.

  My heart was jackhammering between my ribs, and I forced my power to obey me. This time Nathaniel had crossed a line that he couldn't come back from, humiliating me in front of friends and family at the funeral. And now he was leaving. I couldn't believe it. I was completely in love him, but lately he’d begun to treat me badly. I didn't understand it, but I didn't have the energy to go over the same crap again. Nathaniel La Caz wasn't important anymore.

  We continued to register people until about one o’clock. Then I had to deal with a smelly troll who had issues with his holiday pay. At half past two when the agency was finally deserted, Kate dragged me to the interview room. I couldn't argue; she used her magic to get me away from work and Sara.

  Kelsie was sitting in a chair, correcting her makeup. I didn't even see her come in.

  "Hey, Julia, you look like crap," Kelsie greeted me with a smile.

  "Put that crap away and focus. We have a situation," Kate barked at her.

  "Kate, you need—"

  "You asked me to call Kelsie, so I did. Now tell us what you’re planning. We want to help you, Julia. I owe you. You saved my life and Kelsie’s, too. You know well enough that you need us. You can't do this on your own."

  "Yes, listen to her. This shit is real. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten the job with the whale and I wouldn't have met Michael. We know everything is falling apart, but we want to help. Tell us what you want us to do," Kelsie demanded, looking determined.

  The letter was an important clue and I needed to show it to them. I should have talked to Dad about it last night, but I knew he would’ve immediately started looking for the sender. He was already playing with fire, so I had to solve this myself.

  I went to get my bag, took the letter out and put it on the table so they could read it.

  Part of me felt relieved that they didn't bring up my shouting match with my now-ex-fiancé. I guessed after so many breakups no one believed we would actually get married anyway.

  "I found this letter in my grandmother’s study under the sofa," I said, watching as their eyes widened once they read it.

  "S.H. That doesn’t tell us much," Kelsie said, looking at the signature.

  “I've been trying to figure it out since I found the letter, but no one I know has these initials."

  "Okay, but you finally have a suspect. The sender threatened your grandma," Kate said. "The content is very clear to me. Your grandmother breached some sort of contract."

  "Yes, a contract that had something to do with me. Grandma was a businesswoman and this letter doesn’t make sense. Besides, the sender talks about me like I'm important."

  "And that’s what’s concerning me the most. This isn't the first time someone has implied that you’re more special than being an ordinary half elf."

  "I know, but I still don't know what to think or where to start."

  "First off, we need to get in touch with the Elves Association or your grandma’s old friends. That should shed some light on a few things. Find out possible names with these initials," Kate said and looked at Kelsie.

  "All right, I'm up for whatever. Just tell me what you want me to do." Kelsie was wearing ridiculously high heels today with a very short skirt. She liked dressing provocatively and showing off her good figure. My mind wandered off to Nathaniel for a bit, but I told myself this wasn't the time or place.

  I remembered that Grandma had always talked about Dolores, her business partner from years ago. It only dawned on me now that Dolores hadn't come to the funeral. As far as I knew, they were close. I should have paid more attention to things like that.

  Grandma had been harsh, but always with good intentions. We had our differences and now it was time to forget about the arguments and family drama. I needed to know why I was mentioned in the letter and what the contract was about.

  "Meet us after work," I said to Kelsie. "I’ll see if I can find out more about my grandmother’s business associates." I had a few more hours in the office before my shift was over. "Anyway, why aren’t you at work today?"

  "I called in sick."

  Kelsie was employed directly by Nathaniel’s factory. I didn't want to worry about her job, too.

  "Dolores Morris; she lives in Essex. I’ll get the address," I said, scrolling through my phone, remembering that I had my grandmother’s contact book with me.

  "I’ll prepare all the necessary spells," Kate offered, obviously aware that we needed to be ready for anything.

  I didn't want to admit it, but I worried about what we were getting into by searching for S.H. Eight months ago, I nearly died when one of the powerful Norwegian witches had almost killed me. I’d broken into her house, thinking I could find out who she really was, not realising it was a trap.

  "I think it's better if you go, Kel. Rufus said he was popping in today and I don't want him to suspect anything at all."

  "Is he your hot regional manager? Oh, I could talk to him for you to reassu—"

  "Kelsie, he’s married and you’re with Michael," I reminded her, more firmly than I intended to.

  "We get it, Julia. Your vampire is an arse, but you don't need to be so uptight. I'll fix you up with someone else," Kelsie said, opening the door.

  "Please, just go," I said, not wanting to get into that discussion right now. The truth was, that I couldn't imagine being with anyone other than Nathaniel. I needed to do some research about vampires and their dark magic. In the past month Nathaniel had done a lot more business with other full-blooded vampires and maybe they’d influenced him somehow. Maybe someone was trying to turn him against me. I did care about him, but I was emotionally torn over his sudden indifferent attitude.

  Rufus did indeed show up half an hour later, looking good. We’d been working together for years and as my boss he was very understanding.

  "Julia, how are you?" he asked.

  "Coping, I guess."

  "Maybe you should take some more time off?"

  "No, I need to stay busy. You know I couldn't stand sitting at home," I responded. "All the files you asked for are in the box."

  "Thanks, hon, I need to get on with the audits before my meeting at five," he said, sighing loudly. We didn't have time for a proper catch up like we usually did. The phones were ringing off the hook and we had clients waiting to be registered.

  I went back to my emails and finally, two hours later, I was able to jump into Kelsie’s car with Kate without any delays. My life was a rollercoaster of emotions, and things hadn’t always gone the way I’d planned, but I had to admit, I liked the adrenaline rush and the thrill of being in dangerous situations. Maybe there was something seriously wrong with me. Thankfully, there were only a few remaining reporters outside. They started snapping my picture as we were driving off.

  "Where to, ladies?" Kelsie asked.

  "Head to Canterbury, and in the meantime, Kate will use her magic to direct us to the right address."

  "Julia, have you used your cover charm today or any other spells?" Kate asked all of a sudden.

  "No, I didn't need to, why?"

  She didn't answer straight away, moving her magic wand around in her hand.

  "I don't know how to explain this, but you seem much stronger than a few days ago. Your aura is changing," Kate said, looking concerned.

  My hands were shaking a little, but other than that I was all right. She probably felt my excess magic. When Nathaniel wasn't around, sometimes my energy seemed to have a life of its own.

  "I haven't had any outbursts of my magic since that time with Elvira, if that’s what you’re sensing. It's the excess. Tron’s formulas for controlling it aren’t working anymore," I explained. More often than not I could use charms to feel better.

  "No, this is different. I’ve felt it since the funeral. It's like your power is connected to another source. I can't really explain it."

  "I think you’re worrying too much about me. I'm
fine, just filled with too much excess magic," I added. "I'm looking forward to speaking with Dolores. She knew Grandma well, so she’s probably aware of my trouble with magic."

  "She didn't come for the funeral, Julia. Don't you find that a bit strange?" Kelsie chipped in, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

  "Yes, I do. That’s why we need to talk to her."

  Kate and Kelsie didn't make any other comments. We all knew that everyone knew each other in the magical community, and the fact that Dolores hadn't shown up at the funeral was alarming. As we were driving towards her village, my gut feeling told me this wasn't going to be straightforward. Someone had found Dolores before us, and she was most likely already dead.

  Chapter 11

  Dannika.

  It took us over an hour to get to Littlebourne, a small village in Canterbury, about an hour and a half from my grandparents’ estate. Dolores lived in a magnificent country cottage, old, with beautiful gardens and impressive views of the countryside. Kelsie parked the car, and I could tell my friends felt the fading magic. Something was very wrong with that house. I was right. My gut feelings had never disappointed me.

  Kate’s wand was vibrating and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I was certain that if any humans were near the estate even they would have stopped and looked, wondering what was wrong with Dolores’s house.

  Gloomy, dark and gritty currents of magic surrounded the estate. Kelsie swallowed hard and looked at both of us. I felt death, chilling air spreading deep into my bones. It felt like the same spells that had killed my grandmother, but the atmosphere around Dolores’s house was different, much calmer. There was no sign of any fighting.

  "I guess she won't be telling us anything," Kate said, breaking the silence.

  "I should have thought about her sooner," I said, as my pulse raced away. "She lived alone, so there probably hasn't been anyone else inside."