Three sets of eyebrows rose slightly.
“Go on,” Chloe said.
“Well, a lot has happened, actually. First, there’s the stones in the Tour exhibit. Three of them, they’re all carved—”
“We know about the stones,” Aria said gently.
“What about them?” Francis asked.
“One of them was stolen.”
The three women were silent for a moment. They looked at one another, and then back at Bailey. Chloe spoke up. “You think it had to do with Aiden?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Bailey said. “He didn’t seem to be aware of them at first. The tour office was burglarized, or seemed to be, but nothing was apparently missing. That is, until I told Aiden we should check the exhibit. Is there some magic in the stones? Something that keeps them hidden?”
Aria nodded. “From anyone that might do the Coven harm, yes. Aiden wasn’t aware of them, you say?”
“Not at first,” Bailey said. “But then he was. What does that mean?”
“Could mean lots of things,” Francis huffed. “Go on, girl.”
“Right,” Bailey sighed. More riddles. “Well after that, tonight in fact, I went back there”—Chloe narrowed her eyes, but didn’t say anything—“and saw Aiden… well, he’d taken one of the other stones and—”
“Taken a stone?” Aria interrupted. “He picked it up?”
Bailey nodded. “Yes. And, presumably whoever stole the other one did as well. Should he not have been able to?”
“What else did you see?” Chloe urged.
Frustrated, but determined, Bailey related the scene from the cave.
“Oh, dear,” Chloe said quietly. Aria looked nervous; Francis looked like she might storm out and have words with Aiden right then and there.
“What does it mean?” Bailey asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Francis said.
Bailey stood from her chair. Not this time. “No. I’m not asking for spells, or for you to explain the deeper mysteries of our tradition that I’m not ready for, or something; this is about the Caves, and the Coven, and the man that I’m working for, and I need answers. I need to know what decisions to make and how to act around him, and I need to know what’s coming and why someone would want to steal one of these stones in the first place; and how they would, if they aren’t supposed to be able to. Tell me what I need to know. I’m a part of this Coven, aren’t I? It’s not fair for you all to keep secrets, and anyway none of you even knew the stone was gone, did you?”
The three women looked a mix of affronted and troubled. Whether they were mortified, Bailey couldn’t really tell, but she held her ground anyway.
At length, Chloe sighed. “She isn’t entirely wrong.”
“And it is true she might be able to help,” Aria reasoned. “If this is about them; probably they don’t know Bailey is one of us yet.”
“If they find out,” Francis said grimly, “she could be in danger. And she’s got a track record for breaking the rules already.”
Chloe met Bailey’s eyes. She knew. Their bond, their mutual ability, gave her a direct line if not to Bailey’s thoughts, then at least her feelings; and she could tell there was a weight missing that had been there before. Chloe knew that Bailey had told someone her secret. She didn’t say anything about it just now, at least. But there was a promise in her eyes that they would talk about it later, privately.
Why she should keep it to herself now, Bailey didn’t know but she was grateful, and she hoped Chloe could feel that, too.
Bailey was patient while the witches talked about her like she wasn’t in the room, but she could only take so much. “Who is ‘they’,” she asked, “and what does all of this mean?”
“You do it,” Francis said to Chloe. “She listens to you.” Then she folded her arms and sat back to watch, her lips pursed in a sour face.
Chloe nodded once, and then sighed as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Sit down, Bailey,” she said softly. Bailey did. Chloe took a breath. “We—witches, that is—aren’t the only people with magic. Once upon a time, there were many, many people who could use it, and like anything else they had a lot of different ideas about the how and the why.”
“Our magic is tied to the Earth, and to natural forces, and to the living essence of things,” she went on. “But that’s not the only way magic works. There are enchantresses who work magic by dealing with the beings of Faerie; warlocks who deal with infernal beings; sorcerers whose magic is elemental; shamans, who walk the dream worlds and do their magic from the other side of the veil; and wizards, who manipulate magical forces with calculations and geometry.”
“Witches and wizards are the most common these days,” Aria said. “Although, there aren’t that many of either of us anymore. You almost never encounter an enchantress; Faerie has been closed to our world for a long time now. There are shamans, still, we think; but they live in isolation, mostly.”
“Warlocks and sorcerers tend to have short lives,” Francis grunted. “Natural selection pretty much took care of them ages ago.”
“So,” Bailey said, “Aiden is probably one of those?”
“It is incredibly rare for a man to become a witch,” Chloe said. “It hasn’t happened in memory, but it’s not impossible.”
“You’ve got to be particularly receptive to be a witch,” Francis said. “Being a witch is all about listening. Wizards are different—their magic is all about telling.” She shook her head in disapproval.
“If you saw Aiden using a wand,” Chloe said, patient about the interruptions, “then he is most likely a wizard.”
Bailey frowned, and then drew her phone from her pocket to show them the pictures she’d taken. “They almost look like equations,” she told them. “But the lines look like some of the spell diagrams from the book.”
Chloe examined them, and then passed them to Aria, who peered at them carefully. Francis didn’t show an interest in seeing them.
“This is definitely wizard’s magic,” Aria muttered. “Can’t see the variables clearly, but based on the pattern… I’d say he was trying to reverse engineer the cryptographic magic in the cave spells.” She whistled as she swiped through them. “It’s good work. I don’t think he’s on the right track, exactly, but he seems to have an idea of the principles.”
“He’s just trying to decipher the spells on the cave wall?” Bailey asked, in case she didn’t understand. She glanced at each of the witches to gauge their reactions. They weren’t taking it lightly, so she didn’t either. “Alright… so, what has that got to do with the stones.”
“The stones are like keys,” Chloe said. “Each one has one third of the necessary formula for awakening a place of power.”
“They’re more than that, though,” Francis said sharply. “They also represent the Coven’s contract with the Genius Loci.”
Bailey waited.
“If someone had the means and the inclination,” Aria said. “They could use the stones to make their own contract. Or break ours. It would be difficult, especially for someone not versed in witch’s magic.”
Bailey shook her head in bewilderment. “Why were these just laying around?” She asked.
Francis barked a derisive laugh. “That’s an excellent question. Chloe?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “When I was a girl, I stumbled upon one of the stones inside the caves. I didn’t know what it was at the time, and I brought it out. Poppy’s father thought it was interesting… a big deal was made about it, and he put it in the exhibit room and it was forgotten about. I was excited for the attention, but because of the magic of the stones it was short lived. So I went looking for others. I looked for a fourth stone for years before my magic blossomed and I was initiated. By that point, what with all the foot traffic in the caves, everyone began to think that maybe having the stones kept safe somewhere else wasn’t a bad idea.”
“Clearly, our foremothers were mistaken,” Francis said. “Ju
st like I said.”
“But once they were there, we couldn’t exactly just take them back,” Aria said, leveling a look at Francis that suggested she might mend her tone. “Not without anyone noticing. So we left them. The thing is… unless the caves wanted it, no one should have been able to take them.”
“But they did,” Bailey said. “So, what’s changed?”
“Could be Aiden’s own magic interfering,” Aria suggested.
“It could be the Caves are shopping around for new caretakers,” Francis said.
Chloe’s eyebrows knit together, and she shook her head. “No. I think it makes more sense that it has to do with Martha. That has to have been disruptive, and think about it—she died carrying the intention to expose the caves.”
“You think she might have inadvertently altered the resonance in the Caves’ magic?” Aria asked. She pondered this.
Francis nodded slowly as she sat forward. “Yes. That makes sense. It has to be that. We should have considered it before now and taken it to the Mothers.”
“The Mothers?” Bailey asked. “Resonance?” All three witches gave her a familiar look, so Bailey sighed and put her hands up. “I know, I know. Later. Fine, but… look how do we get the missing stone back, and what do we do about Aiden?”
“Aiden Rivers owns the tour business as well as the land the caves are on,” Chloe said. “We can’t simply oust him. But, he can’t know about us, or he wouldn’t dare go messing with the caves. Not if he’s had proper training.”
“You need to get close to him,” Francis said. “And keep an eye on him. That’s your job.”
“And do what?” Bailey asked.
“Report back,” Francis snapped. “What else? No spells, either. Any wizard worth his salt keeps himself well defended against magic. Wizards are always offing one another; it’s a wonder there are any left.”
“And the missing stone?” Bailey asked.
“We’ll look into it,” Francis told her sharply. “You just keep your eye on the wizard boy.”
“Alright,” Bailey sighed. There was a certain atmosphere of dismissal in the room then, as the three women began to chat back and forth about the possibilities. Bailey swallowed her consternation, but left them to it.
Guard duty. The most boring possible way she could help. She’d been half hoping they would have some spell to do, and want her help with it. Then again, the last spells she’d attempted had been more trouble than it was worth. Maybe the ladies did know best. Now, the only question was how to get closer to Aiden and stay there.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long for an in road. Her phone rang when she was nearly home; Aiden calling. For a heartbeat she panicked. Had he seen her there? Or had he noticed his papers had been moved slightly? She’d been careful to put them back in order…
On the third ring, she answered it, smoothing over her voice as though nothing at all was wrong. “This is Bailey,” she said, professionally.
“Hi, Bailey,” Aiden’s voice gave no hint of suspicion. “I’m wrapping up here; kind of a whirl wind day. I realized I was a little sad I didn’t get to see more of you.”
“Uh… oh,” Bailey said. Was that so?
Aiden sounded somewhat embarrassed; it was unusual for him. “Yes, well… I don’t know many people here, so… I was wondering—I think I may go out for dinner again. And last time, well, I was a bit lonely and… well I wondered if you might like to… I don’t know… uh, join me?”
Bailey took the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Really? After keeping that kind of a secret, he was asking her out? Or, was he?
“You mean, to talk about the business?” She asked, putting the phone back to her ear.
“Well, yes, if you like,” Aiden said. “But to be perhaps just a bit clearer… well there is a personal, social aspect to the invitation as well. Though, there certainly doesn’t have to be. If you don’t want there to be, I mean.”
She did need to keep an eye on him, and an opportunity to ask a few questions would be useful… and besides, it wasn’t like she didn’t have secrets of her own, so maybe she couldn’t entirely fault him for having his. And if she was entirely honest, well… he was just the least bit adorable at the moment. “I suppose,” Bailey said, “I could eat.”
“With me?” Aiden asked, amused. “Just to be clear.”
“With you, Aiden,” Bailey said, smiling despite herself. Keep it focused; there’s a mission in this. “Where and when?”
“Sandbar?” Aiden ventured. “Half an hour or so?”
“I’ll see you there,” Bailey confirmed.
“Excellent! I will… see you soon then.”
They hung up, and Bailey chewed her lip as she changed course and headed back toward town. A date with the wizard was probably not what the ladies had in mind. Not that it was a date. People had dinner all the time and it wasn’t always a date.
People also mussed with their hair and checked their outfit, even when it wasn’t a date, so she did that too.
Purely in the interest of lowering Aiden’s defenses, of course.
Chapter 15
The first five minutes were awkward. All Bailey wanted to say was that she’d seen him doing magic and demand an explanation. But that seemed like a bad direction to go. So, she let him do most of the talking at first.
To her surprise, the awkwardness faded a bit.
“I’ve always been a bit of an archaeology nerd,” Aiden said, a bit self conscious at the admission. “My peers were mostly hard-science types; math, physics, chemistry. But to me the traditions and culture of the ancient world was always more interesting.”
“Your peers?” Bailey asked. Other wizards, perhaps?
“In college,” Aiden said. “I got my master’s degree officially in mathematics—theoretical math. Also fascinating, and I was kind of following in my father’s footsteps on that count. And it has served me well; but the Seven Caves, and other places like it, have always held my interest a bit more. When I heard what happened, I approached Ms. Winters’ attorneys the first chance I got. I was actually a bit surprised she sold it to me, but then… I suppose she won’t be returning any time soon.”
“Where did you study?” Bailey asked. Smart and handsome. A dangerous combination.
“Cambridge,” he said. “Back in the old country. My father was an alumni there, so… in a way it was something of a means of being close to him. Silly, I know.”
“Not at all,” Bailey said. “I understand entirely. Having something that gives you a connection to your past… it helps to make it feel like it isn’t really lost.”
“Precisely,” he said. “I’m sorry to hear you understand so keenly, though. I take it you’ve also lost someone.” His bright eyes were sympathetic and honest.
For a moment, it almost made Bailey angry. In a way, he was lying to her, and lying well. Why did he have to do that? Why couldn’t he just be what he appeared to be?
She recovered herself by sipping her water and nodding slowly. “Yes. My mother. Both of them, actually… I was adopted. I lost my first mother when I was born, and my second a few years ago.”
Aiden’s face fell; he looked like he might cry at any moment. “I’m so very sorry, Bailey,” he said. He reached across the table for her hand and to Bailey’s surprise she let him take it. It was warm, and soft and surprisingly comforting. Aiden understood, personally, what her loss felt like. Perhaps both of them; he had mentioned his step mother, but not his first mother. At least he’d had his father.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She didn’t withdraw her hand, and didn’t have to. Aiden drew it back to his side of the table.
“So,” Bailey said, intent on changing the subject, “you’ve been here almost a week. How is life in Coven Grove treating you?”
“Quite well,” Aiden said. “Other than the burglary.”
“Insurance is going to cover the loss?” She asked.
Aiden nodded. “The repairs, yes.”
&
nbsp; “And your PI?” She pressed.
“Beg pardon?” Aiden quirked his head a bit in question, and then seemed to recall suddenly having mentioned the subject before. “Oh, yes, the Private Investigator… they won’t cover that. I’ve been… quietly doing my own investigation for now.”
“Of course, if someone took it… there’s a good chance they’re gone by now, don’t you think?”
Aiden shrugged. “I’m not so certain of that.”
“Really,” Bailey said, trying to rouse her suspicions again through the haze of comfort she was beginning to feel. At that particular moment, however, their food arrived, and for now at least they were distracted by the meal.
She didn’t forget, though. “So what makes you think that the stone is still in Coven Grove,” she asked, and popped a chunk of crab meat into her mouth. It was savory, buttered, and salty with the ocean. Sandbar wasn’t widely famous, but it was locally revered, and with good reason.
Aiden finished chewing and swallowing a bite, and even dabbed his mouth with his napkin afterward. “History,” he said. “Do you know, even though the caves have been under periodic scrutiny for a good long time now—the first documented grant was given in 1902—not a single relic or artifact, or even so much as a core sample, is housed anywhere outside Coven Grove?”
Bailey didn’t know that, but it made sense. Still, that might have changed recently; but she couldn’t tell him that and anyway if he was the cause then he already knew it. “So, what; you think there’s some trend that’s in effect?”
“A trend,” Aiden said thoughtfully, “yes. That’s a good way to put it. You’ll think me a bit daft, I imagine, but I can’t help thinking that there’s something at play here. Something that perhaps transcends our every day experience. Something that will keep the stone nearby.” He chuckled a little, and shrugged. “Perhaps it’s the romantic in me. I’m not terribly superstitious, most of the time. But still—you must admit there is an air of impenetrable mystery and almost mystical allure around the Caves. You of all people must feel it.”
It felt like a probing question, so Bailey deflected it as best she could. “Old things are like that, aren’t they? Even old antiques have a certain gravity to them.”
A Witching Well of Magic: A Cozy Mystery (Witchy Women of Coven Grove Book 2) Page 10