“That is also a very real possibility,” Amy admitted.
“Did you find out anything else about the coven?” Ellie asked.
“Not very much,” Amy said, her brow furrowed. “The coven is very much linked to water, and they’re a very spiritual coven. Prophecies, fortune-telling, and listening to spirits play a very heavy role in their culture. I couldn’t find any spells from their coven at all, or any real history or information about any famous people from the coven of Titan. And I looked all over the library. Seriously.”
“Oh, trust me, we believe you,” Ellie said with a smile. “Did you come across anything that might let you know why Karen Voda looked like she saw a ghost and ran off as soon as she saw Tina?”
Amy raised her eyebrows. “Nothing beyond the fact that they’re apparently identical. Maybe she just got spooked?”
“That’s what Sara thinks, but I think it’s more than that,” Ellie said. “She didn’t just get spooked. She ran out of the bar and didn’t come back at all. It was like she was legitimately terrified of Tina.”
“Well, in that case, I’m afraid I don’t have a clue.”
“That’s okay, thanks for all the information,” I said to Amy, flashing her a smile. “I appreciate you spending all night in the library looking for information for me.”
“Of course, it was my pleasure. But I am going to go to bed now; tonight really did take a whole lot out of me.”
“Sounds good,” Ellie said. “The three of us are going to go back to Desert Plains, since we need to talk to the Chief Enforcer there.”
“Oh?” Amy asked, and I realized that in the rush to find out everything about my coven, I had completely forgotten about the dead body we had found the other night. Ellie motioned for Amy to grab a waffle while the two of us filled her in on the previous night’s events.
Chapter 7
“This is certainly a lot to think about,” I said as Ellie, Sara, and I climbed into one of the chariots, ready to be taken to the Desert Plains City Hall, which I assumed was where the Chief Enforcers worked from. After all, the city hall in Western Woods was where our Chief Enforcer King had her office.
“Hey, don’t do this just yet, ok?” Ellie said. “You still don’t know for sure you’re from that coven. And I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that stuff about people from Titan being evil.”
“No, you were being honest. And I think that’s better, honestly.”
“If it helps, I don’t think you’re evil,” Sara said to me with a smile.
“I really don’t think that’s helpful,” Ellie replied.
“No, it is,” I said. “When I heard the stories, I started to wonder myself. I don’t think I’m evil, but doesn’t everyone justify everything to themselves anyway? Are there really people out there who understand that they are evil, accept it, and keep doing what they’re doing all the same? Or do even the evil people understand that they’re on the right side of things?”
“You are absolutely not evil,” Ellie said. “No matter what, no matter what coven you’re from, no matter who you’re related to, you are not an evil person, Tina. Trust me. I have known some evil people in my time, and you’re not one of them.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “To both of you. It would be nice to get confirmation, though.”
“Why don’t we try to visit Kilokilo?” Ellie said.
“I thought it was closed to visitors?”
“Well, you have to apply and be given a special permit to get there. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I imagine it’s easy enough to apply for one, and if you say that you might be one of their coven, they might let you come in and have a look around.”
“Are you sure? That sounds ridiculous, especially for a coven that seems to be so secretive.”
Ellie shrugged. “I’m not sure, of course. But I mean, I think it’s worth a shot. How else are you going to find out if you’re one of them for sure?”
“We need to find one of their spells,” Sara said.
“How will that help?” Ellie asked. “We already know that she reacts better to spells from water covens.”
“No, but while we know that, we don’t know which specific water coven Tina is from. But now that we’ve narrowed it down, if we could find out one spell from the coven of Titan, then we could have Tina do that, and then do the same spell from a different water coven. Two water covens, one spell. If the one from Titan is stronger, she’s from there. If they’re equally strong, then she isn’t.”
“Sara, you’re a genius,” Ellie exclaimed. “That’s absolutely brilliant. We need to do that.”
“Only one problem,” I pointed out. “Amy told us this morning that one of the things she wasn’t able to find was any of the spells from the coven of Titan. I guess they keep those pretty secret, too.”
“Well, we’re just going to have to find one out somehow,” Ellie said.
“You can come up with this master plan of yours after we give our interview to Chief Enforcer Hound,” Sara said pointedly as the chariot came to a stop. We were here.
The three of us climbed out of the chariot and found ourselves in front of the Old West style building made of wood, same as almost all of the others in town, only this one had an almost comically large sheriff’s badge on the top.
“Do the Enforcers here get the whole building then?” Sara asked, looking up at the huge badge.
“Certainly do,” Chief Enforcer Hound said, coming out of the front door. I really disliked his habit of eavesdropping on our conversations. “After all, Desert Plains is one of the safest parts of the country, thanks mainly to the hard work done here by the Enforcers, and the grateful citizens of this town decided that we were worthy of our own building from which to fight crime.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at what sounded incredibly like a rehearsed speech. Chief Enforcer Hound obviously thought that his was one of the better-run Enforcers’ offices in the magical world, but this was bordering on straight-up propaganda.
“We are here to give our statements,” Ellie said.
“Right. And what might that be about?” Chief Enforcer Hound asked. The three of us looked at each other, wondering if he was joking or not, but the expression on his face showed that he obviously wasn’t.
“Um, we were the ones who found the body of that broom competition competitor yesterday? In the bar bathroom?” Ellie said.
“Of course, of course, right,” Chief Enforcer Hound said, flashing us what he probably thought was a charming smile, but it came off as just kind of awkward instead. “Sorry. Long night; I’m sure you can understand. Please, go on in, find yourselves a seat, and I’ll be there in a couple of minutes to take your statements.”
Sara and I shared a look as the three of us made our way into the station, which, to my surprise, did not match the exterior at all. In fact, the inside looked more like what I would have expected from some kind of big-city, rich-neighborhood police station, or something in one of those glossy crime dramas.
The floors, walls, and ceiling were all pure white, made of some sort of glossy plastic material. The lights were fluorescent but surrounded by dark frames, which broke up the white just enough to be classy. The room was large and open concept, with various Enforcers sitting at desks or standing at the small kitchen in the corner with a microwave, a water cooler, and a coffee machine.
The desks were also white, with round legs, and they looked new rather than the old, stuffy desks I had expected to see in an Enforcer’s station. The Enforcers here all wore the same uniforms, also white, each with a patch that looked like the giant sheriff star on the front of the building.
All that said, my first impression of this place hadn’t exactly been stunning. After all, it still seemed fairly strange that Chief Enforcer Hound had completely forgotten who Ellie, Sara, and I were. And while Chief Enforcer King might have run a slightly more casual ship on the outside, I was very aware that she and the Enforcers in Western Woods were extrem
ely capable.
One Enforcer, a lion shifter who didn’t look unlike Chief Enforcer King, sat behind the reception desk, across from which sat about half a dozen white plastic chairs that looked horribly uncomfortable but were obviously our only option. The three of us made our way to them and sat down, looking around.
“It all seems very professional, doesn’t it?” Sara eventually said, motioning at all the commotion around us. “We’re definitely not in Western Woods anymore.”
“Well, I guess it comes with the territory here,” Ellie replied. “After all, while there might not be that many inhabitants in Desert Plains, it’s primarily a tourist-based economy, and let’s be honest, there’s a lot of gambling and drinking going on—plus other, well, probably unsavory or questionably legal activities from visitors who think it won’t get back home.”
“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” I muttered.
“What’s that?”
“Just a slogan from Las Vegas, a human-world city that in a lot of ways is exactly like Desert Plains,” I replied.
“Yes, it’s not far from here, and it’s what Desert Plains was based on,” Ellie said. “I had never heard that slogan, but it fits. People come here and they think what they do here will never get reported back home, so they go nuts. And sometimes, going nuts isn’t entirely legal, so I guess they need a pretty high-powered police force here.”
“It is true that you never really hear about bad things happening here, isn’t it?” Sara mused.
“Do you get paranormal news from the other towns?” I asked, and Ellie nodded.
“Sure. There are paranormal-only websites that we use. Same as the human world, it’s the easiest way to get information.”
“Oh,” I said, nodding, suddenly feeling a little bit dumb that I hadn’t thought of that before.
“But don’t worry,” Ellie said with a grin, as if sensing my embarrassment. “A lot of witches and wizards don’t really read the news. Either they think they don’t need to know what’s going on in the wider world when they never leave Western Woods, or they think it’s all a giant sack of lies, anyway.”
I smiled. “That sounds a lot like the human world.”
Just then, Chief Enforcer Hound made his way back inside.
“Good, follow me, if you will. Let’s get your statements from last night then.”
Chapter 8
The three of us followed him through the groups of Enforcers. Some were on their phones, some were looking at paperwork. We passed by a more private section and looked through the window. I saw a picture of Jack stuck to a whiteboard, with Enforcers surrounding it, discussing something. Suspects, most likely.
“So have you found out who did it yet?” Ellie asked as Chief Enforcer Hound led us into a small office that looked exactly the same in design and style as the main part of the building.
“We’ve yet to make an arrest, but we have some promising leads that I’m sure you can understand I can’t talk to you about.”
“Of course,” Sara said quickly. “But as long as you know who did it, and you’re going to bring them to justice soon.”
“Absolutely,” Chief Enforcer Hound said. “But for now, I still need to take your statements. So which one of you found the body, exactly?”
“That would be me,” Ellie said. “I went to the bathroom for a moment, and it was when I was making my way to the witches’ room that I spotted him lying there, propping open the door to the wizards.’”
“Did the three of you know him well at all?”
All three of us shook our heads. “I knew him better than the others,” Sara explained. “We’re both in the broom competition, after all. But I didn’t know him well. I’d just spoken a few sentences with him earlier that evening. There was another wizard at the bar, though; they seemed to go back a while.”
“Oh yes?” Chief Enforcer Hound said, looking expectant.
“Derek. Derek something. I can’t remember his last name. From the coven of Tethys, I think.”
“Right. I suppose I’ll have to hunt him down, then, before any of this gets out. Listen, witches, I was hoping you’d be able to do me a bit of a favor and keep what you know about this death quiet. We don’t like to alarm people coming to Desert Plains, you see.” He smiled at us, that same smile with the fangs that was just so unnerving. “We want our guests to think this is a safe place to come and visit.”
“And spend their money, you mean,” Ellie said, crossing her arms. “Is that to say that this isn’t a safe place to visit?”
“No, no, of course not. Nothing like that,” Chief Enforcer Hound quickly stammered, going back on his words. “It’s just that, well, I know we don’t always get people to come here on their best behavior, but it’s better for everyone if things like this don’t get out. We want people to know that they can come here and let off a bit of steam, but that nothing too…permanent…is going to happen.”
“Permanent like being poisoned to death?” Ellie asked. Evidently, she didn’t think very much of Chief Enforcer Hound trying to protect his turf. She received a bit of a glare for her trouble.
“I’ll have you know, young witch, that Desert Plains is one of the safest paranormal towns there is. We work hard to maintain our reputation, and your slanderous words mean nothing compared to the paranormal community’s knowledge that everything here is fine and it’s a safe place to come and let off a bit of steam.”
“Right,” Ellie replied, and I could practically feel her resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m sure it is.”
“Now, thank you for coming in. I want to assure you that this is not what normally happens in Desert Plains, and we will find the culprit quickly and efficiently, as we always do on the rare occasion that violent crime takes place here.”
Chief Enforcer Hound stood up, and the three of us took the hint, following suit and leaving.
As soon as we found ourselves back outside, Sara, Ellie, and I all turned to each other. “Do you get the feeling he was more interested in protecting his town’s reputation than he was actually finding the killer?” I asked. “I mean, he barely asked us anything at all. Maybe he knows all about Jack from his investigation, but I know if this had happened in Western Woods, Chief Enforcer King would have been asking all sorts of questions to try and get to the bottom of this.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I could definitely use a coffee,” Sara said. “This whole thing has been just so stressful. Not only was Jack killed and we have no idea why, but tomorrow I have to compete in my first ever broom flying competition.”
“Of course,” I said, my eyes widening. I felt badly all of a sudden that I had completely forgotten that the next night was the night of the first competition.
“I wonder what’s going to happen with the schedule now,” Ellie mused.
“Eli will have had some other witches and wizards on standby, surely,” I said. “He’ll just pick one of them to take over Jack’s spot, I imagine.”
A chariot pulled up next to us and the three of us jumped in. “Take us to the best coffee shop in Desert Plains!” I announced, and Ellie began to giggle.
“You don’t actually need to tell them where to go,” she said. “The chariots already know.”
“I know that,” I said, sticking my tongue out at Ellie. “I just wanted to be sure that the chariot knows we want to go to the best coffee shop in town, not just any old one.”
The chariot we were riding in jerked suddenly, as if it were telling me that it knew perfectly well that we wanted the best coffee shop in Desert Plains.
“Now you’ve done it,” Sara said with a smile. “You’ve insulted the chariot by making it think it doesn’t know what we want, so we are going to end up at the worst place in town.”
“Great,” I said with a laugh, putting my face in my hands. “At least that couldn’t have backfired more horribly. Sorry, Mr. Chariot. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
My friends teased me for a few more minut
es as the chariot made its way through town before finally stopping, and the three of us hopped out. I really hoped that wherever we were was decent, and not the sort of place where the less desirable elements of town liked to hang out.
I had to admit, my initial impressions were not positive. The wooden façade of the building we were standing in front of was crumbling and peeling away, and there were virtually no signs whatsoever that this was a coffee shop at all.
“Great,” Sara said. “We’re probably going to get stabbed just by trying to drink here.”
“Don’t say stuff like that,” Ellie said with a grin. “Remember what Chief Enforcer Hound said? Nothing like that ever happens here in Desert Plains.”
“We could always wait for another chariot to come by,” I suggested.
“Oh, both of you stop it,” Ellie said. “You can’t judge a place by its exterior.” She made her way up the steps toward the front door, and Sara and I followed after her. To my surprise, when we entered, the place was actually packed with people, mostly locals by the looks of things.
“See? The chariot didn’t take too much offense to Tina. If this is where all the locals hang out, then it’s obviously a very good coffee shop.”
I had to admit, Ellie had a point. The inside looked a lot more inviting and comfortable than the exterior. Huge tinted windows lined the front wall, which gave all of the customers a great view of the outside without letting people walking past look in. Against the far wall, a huge counter with two coffee machines and a cabinet full of pastries had a lineup of people ready to order as the milk frothing machine squealed over the din of conversation.
Small wooden tables dotted the entire floor space, each surrounded by a number of comfortable-looking upholstered chairs. It was public, but a little bit private at the same time.
“I’ll go grab a table if you order me something,” I said, making a beeline toward an empty table I had spotted right by the window. It looked like the perfect spot for Sara to relax ahead of her broom competition the next day.
Five Charm Fire Page 4