“Did Jason know he was the first alternate?” I asked. “Or was there simply a list, and you chose the one that you thought was most suitable?”
“No, Jason knew,” Eli said. “The list of alternates is fixed, and there is an order in which the witches and wizards on it are being chosen.”
So this Jason character did know that all he had to do was get rid of one witch or wizard who was competing, and he would be invited to participate as well. That was certainly interesting, and while I still thought Derek was our main suspect, I definitely added Jason to my mental list of people to consider having committed the crime.
“Okay, thanks for your time, Eli,” Ellie said. “We won’t keep you any longer.”
The two of us left the stadium and began walking toward town, opting not to take the chariots.
“I know Sara ate four of those scones, but I only had one and I have to admit I’m pretty hungry,” I confessed as we walked down the street. As if on cue, my stomach growled, and Ellie laughed.
“I can hear that. I can definitely have a bite to eat as well; I heard there’s a good little place not far from here that we could go check out. They do some good sandwiches and stuff, and we can grab one for Sara on our way out.”
That sounded good, and I let Ellie lead the way toward the small little sandwich shop. Sure enough, it was absolutely tiny, not much bigger than a hole in the wall, but it seemed to do pretty good business. Take-out sandwiches seemed to be their main thing, although there were a couple of tiny two-person tables scattered here and there along the far wall.
I ordered a chicken Caesar wrap while Ellie got a classic BLT, and we ordered a classic Italian sandwich for Sara. We grabbed some homemade chips and a couple of bottles of dragonberry juice, then left the shop and began walking down the street.
“There’s a little park not far from here,” Ellie suggested. “I like to eat there when I’m around. It can get pretty busy around lunch time, but it’s still a lot nicer than the arid desert in the rest of this place.”
Five minutes later we reached the park in question. It certainly did feel like an oasis in the middle of the desert, with palm trees casting shade, a few picnic tables here and there, and even a small lake whose water cooled the gentle breeze that passed over us.
“You’re right, this is pretty nice,” I said as Ellie and I found an empty picnic table and settled ourselves in. I unwrapped my lunch and took a big bite, closing my eyes to savor the flavors.
“You’re supposed to eat the sandwich, not make love to it,” Ellie teased, and I opened up one eye as I stuck my tongue out at her.
“Sorry for appreciating the flavor of something that didn’t get made by your own two hands,” I retorted. “Other people are allowed to make food that tastes delicious, too.”
Ellie laughed and took a bite of her own sandwich, and the two of us ate in silence for a few minutes until finally I broke it with a question I had been asking myself for quite a while.
“How do you think Sara’s going to do tonight?” I asked. “I mean, I know that she is excellent on the broom, and I know that I’ve never seen anybody quite like her, but I also recognize that given my history in the town, I don’t exactly have a lot to compare her to.”
Ellie thought for a minute before answering. “Sara does have a really natural skill on the broom, and she truly is exceptional, by magical world standards as a whole and not just Western Woods. She wasn’t picked for this competition by accident, and she certainly wasn’t picked to be some sort of comic relief. I think as long as she doesn’t think too hard about the competition, and I think as long as she just manages to relax and fly the way she normally flies, she will be completely fine. I would even venture to say that she has a chance at winning the overall title.”
“Wow, so she really is that good, then.”
“Yeah, she is,” Ellie nodded.
Before I had a chance to reply, I suddenly noticed somebody a little bit familiar sitting at one of the tables nearby.
“Hey, isn’t that Derek?” I asked.
He was sitting by himself, completely away from everybody else. He had found a table and was leaning with his chin on his hands, looking out at the water, a thoughtful expression on his face. He definitely didn’t look like the kind of guy who was getting pumped up for a competition that night, and I kind of wondered what was going on. Maybe Jack’s death had hit him harder than he had expected.
I motioned for Ellie to follow me, and I got up and made my way toward the table where Derek was sitting.
“Hey, Derek?” I said gently as I made my way toward him. He jumped slightly, but he jumped slightly, like he had been so lost in thought he had completely forgotten that there could have been people nearby.
“You’re one of Sara’s friends,” he said matter-of-factly.
“That’s right,” I said, slipping onto the picnic table bench across from him. “And this is Ellie. We just wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing. After all, we know that you have known Jack for a long time.”
“Yeah,” Derek replied, staring down at the wood of the picnic table. “I’ve known him since we were kids.”
“We heard there was a little bit of bad blood between you two.”
Derek shrugged. “We had stupid fights, the way kids do. And sure, our relationship was a little bit strained sometimes, but it was only because we were both so competitive. I never actually had anything against him, and I’m sure he felt the same way about me. Things between us were fine.”
“I’m sorry about your friend,” Ellie said. “It must be tough for you being here today, knowing you have to compete, knowing you were supposed to compete against Jack.”
“It doesn’t really make a difference to me, in reality,” Derek said. “I would’ve beaten him if I had fought him, and we both knew it. He might not have admitted it, but he knew that I was the better flyer.”
Ellie and I shared a look. That certainly didn’t sound like the kind of guy who was mourning his friend. But then, people grieved in different ways. I was all too aware of that fact.
“Do you know Jason, the guy who’s going to be taking Jack’s spot in the competition?” I asked. After all, if Jack knew Jason, I figured there was a chance that Derek would have known him as well. For the first time, Derek looked up from the table at the two of us.
“Jason? Jason Rhoyal, from the coven of Rhea?”
“That’s right,” I nodded. “Eli told us that he’s the one taking over Jack’s spot in the competition.”
Derek laughed, but there was absolutely no humor to the sound. “Jason is a hack, an idiot with no natural skill who only figured out how to ride a broom because his mommy and daddy, the leaders of the coven of Rhea, paid to have all of the best broom riders in the world come over and personally teach their son. He’s a spoiled brat who probably had a temper tantrum when he found out that he was only selected as an alternate for the competition.”
“Do you think he’s the type of person who would have killed Jack to take his spot?” Ellie asked. I was glad she did; I had just had exactly the same thought.
“Sure,” Derek replied. “That sort of kid thinks the whole world owes them, and will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve. Who cares, anyway? Finding out who killed Jack won’t bring him back. Nothing’s going to bring him back.”
“You were probably one of the last people to see him alive,” I said. “The waitress at the bar said that you followed Jack into the bathroom. Did he seem fine to you then?”
“What is this, twenty questions?” Derek asked, suddenly looking a bit angry.
“We’re trying to figure out what happened to your friend, because Chief Enforcer Hound is an incompetent idiot more concerned with keeping his town’s reputation intact than getting justice for your friend. So if you care about him at all, you’ll answer our questions, so we can do our best to find out what happened,” Ellie snapped.
“What if I don’t care?” Derek snapped b
ack. “What if I had to pretend to be friends with him, but I knew that he was secretly an awful human being? What if I think he deserved what he got, and that whoever did this to him deserves to get away with it?”
With that, Derek stood up and stormed off, leaving a surprised-looking me and Ellie standing in the park looking after him. That certainly hadn’t been the reaction that I had expected.
Chapter 15
Ellie and I finished our lunches, then made our way back to the stadium to bring Sara her sandwich before it was time for the competition to begin.
As we made our way down the hall, we ran into a tall, somewhat lanky-looking guy with brown hair who looked to be in his early twenties.
“Out of the way, athlete coming through,” he said to us, striding through the hallway like he was some kind of god. He held his shoulders out, like he was trying to make himself seem as big and as important as possible, and it most definitely was not working. I giggled as I stepped aside as he walked past, and he glared at me, which meant he didn’t see that Ellie made absolutely no effort to get out of his way. In fact, I was pretty sure that she made a conscious effort to contract her muscles in her shoulder so when he went by, they collided, and the man fell to the floor with a yelp.
It certainly wasn’t the macho alpha male type of reaction he was obviously going for.
“What on earth is wrong with you?” he howled at Ellie. “Didn’t you see that I was coming? You should have gotten out of my way. I’m one of the athletes here. I’m much more important than someone like you.”
“You must be Jason, the alternate who only got picked because somebody else was killed,” Ellie said, standing over him with her hands on her hips. “I don’t recognize you from the official announcement where all of the real competitors got to go on TV and introduce themselves.” Ellie didn’t take it well when people acted like they were completely full of themselves.
“I’ll let Eli know about this,” Jason said, getting to his feet and wagging a finger at Ellie. “You shouldn’t get to treat an athlete like this. I’m more skilled on a broom than you could ever hope to be.”
“And I’m more skilled with this than you could ever hope to be,” Ellie said, pulling out her wand. “So instead of trying to lord over me how important you are, I recommend you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you into something even Eli won’t be able to rescue you from.”
A smile crept up my face as Jason’s face went pale at Ellie’s threat. “You can’t do this! This isn’t over, witch!” He stumbled down the hall, and as soon as he was out of sight, Ellie and I both burst out laughing.
“Wow, Derek is not wrong about him being spoiled,” I laughed. “I can’t believe he thought we should move out of the way just because we’re not athletes like he is.”
“I know, right? He looks young. Reality is going to be a punch in the face for that kid one day.”
“I hope Sara destroys him in the competition tonight.”
“Me too.”
We got to the door of her dressing room and knocked, and a moment later Sara slipped the door open, her face bursting into a smile when she saw us, and an even bigger one when she saw the sandwich and chips we were holding.
“Boy, am I glad to see the two of you. I can’t believe it’s almost time for me to go out there and battle.”
“You’re going to be great, I promise,” Ellie said, giving her a quick hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Good, actually. Amy, in true Amy fashion, give me a few books about the psychology of sports and how to handle the pressure, and I’ve been using some of the strategies I read in those to try and keep things under control, and I think it’s working.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Ellie said. “Are you okay if Tina and I go to find our seats in the crowd, then?”
Sara nodded. “Absolutely, go for it. Thanks for being here. I really appreciate having the support of my best friends in the crowd for my debut.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I smiled.
Ellie and I made our way back into the main stadium area, took out our tickets, and took our seats in the special area reserved for friends and family of the competitors. It was very much like a corporate box area, with an open area for friends and families to mingle and chat while enjoying finger foods and watching the competition on one of the many television screens in the area. Those who wanted could also leave the box and go to their seats to watch what was happening live.
Once Ellie and I settled ourselves in a little bit, we got back up and made our way into the box area. After all, nothing had started yet, and the boxes were where all of the comfortable couches—and the food—were.
Ellie begged away to go to the bathroom, and I was at a table full of delicious goodies, trying to tell myself that I wasn’t hungry at all, seeing as I had just finished a sandwich less than an hour earlier.
“They do look delicious, don’t they?” A voice next to me said, and I turned to find Savanna, Sean’s mom, standing next to me holding a napkin full of hors d’oeuvres.
“They certainly do,” I said with a smile. “Are you excited for Sean to be competing tonight?”
Savanna gave me a sad smile. “I’m excited, but I’m also nervous. You don’t have children, do you?” I shook my head, and she continued. “It’s always a double-edged sword when it’s your kids competing. On the one hand, you want to watch, and you want to see them be successful. But at the same time, you’re worried. A part of you just wants them to be safe, and to go back onto the ground. Because you’ve had a lifetime of picking them up and doing spells on the scrapes and broken bones they’ve gotten from flying around on their brooms all the time.”
“Did Sean hurt himself a lot as a kid, then?”
“Oh yes, quite a bit. I know boys will be boys and all that, but it’s difficult as a mother. He once fell off his broom when he was about thirty feet up and landed in a pile of bushes; I can’t imagine what might’ve happened if he’d been just a few feet over when he fell. But of course, that one wasn’t his fault; one of the other kids he had been playing with knocked him off his broom.”
“I know what that’s like,” I said. “The very first time I was on a broom I was knocked over by a dragon shifter, and Sara saved my life by turning the entire backyard into a giant pool that I landed into.”
Savanna shook her head slowly. “I really do wish they would build brooms with more built-in safety features. I know the manufacturers insist that broom riding is natural to witches and wizards, and that we don’t need to be babied all the time, and I can understand that, but there really are too many accidents.”
“At least here it’s in somewhat of a controlled environment,” I said. “I know Eli has Healers on standby ready to take anybody who needs it to the local hospital.”
“That is good, although I do hope no one needs it.”
“Did you hear what happened to Jack, one of the other competitors?” I asked, and Savanna nodded sadly.
“Yes, what an absolute tragedy.”
“I heard that your son knew Jack before this competition began?”
“That’s right,” she replied. “Back when they were children, I sent Sean to a camp for children who enjoyed riding brooms, and that was where he met Jack. I didn’t realize that they had kept in touch over the years, and in fact, I didn’t realize at all that it was the same Jack who was also in the competition until Sean told me when we were at the bar. He certainly has grown up a lot since the boys were eight years old.”
“So Sean and Jack were friends?” I asked, and Savanna nodded.
“For a while, yes. I didn’t really realize how close they were until the other night. I thought they had drifted away over the years, but no. They were closer than ever.”
“What do you think of Jack?” I asked, and Savanna gave a slow shrug.
“I can tell you that I thought eight-year-old Jack could have used a little bit more parenting. But boys change, and they grow up. Still, I don
’t think I’m saying anything extremely controversial if I say that I’m not too surprised that out of everybody who was at the bar that night, Jack was the one who ended up murdered.”
“So you didn’t like him very much?”
“I thought he was a bad influence on my son, but that was fifteen years ago. Really, so much time has passed since then, I couldn’t say that I have that much of an opinion anymore. But regardless of my personal thoughts about him, his death is sad, and no one deserved to have their light extinguished that young. I really do hope the Enforcers here find whoever did it and bring them to justice.”
I nodded slowly. It was interesting; the impression I had had of Jack was of somebody who was loved by everybody and who got along with everybody, but the more people I spoke to, the more it seemed he was fairly alone. He didn’t really seem to have that many close friends. I wondered if Sean would maybe be able to shed some light on who killed his friend.
“Do you know who might have wanted to kill him?” I asked Savanna, and she shook her head.
“I wouldn’t have a clue. I don’t like to think that anybody we were drinking with could have been a murderer.”
Just then, Ellie came over excitedly. “They’re about to get started. Come on, let’s grab our seats.”
Chapter 16
“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to ride!” Eli’s voice rang out over an invisible loudspeaker, and it was like I had been instantly transported back into the nineties all over again. All this was missing was 2 Unlimited’s Get Ready for This as Eli introduced tonight’s competitors. The stadium was completely dark, the floor pitch black, with only a single spotlight that followed Eli as he floated around the stadium, giving him a very ethereal look.
“Tonight, we celebrate the most skilled broom riders in the entire magical world. We pit them against one another in the first of many matches that will help us crown a world champion. Who will succeed? Who will bring glory and pride to their coven? Who will win millions of abras and experience fame like no other broom rider ever has?”
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