by Zoe Arden
"I'm sorry," I said, trying not to lose my breath as I jogged down the street toward Colt's. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, not at all. Betsey was just making us some dinner."
I groaned. If Damon didn't wise up, he wouldn't have a girlfriend for very long. "You do know that when a woman is cooking you a meal, she doesn't much like it when you leave her to talk on the phone to another woman. Especially an ex-girlfriend."
"Oh," Damon said and I could hear the anxiety creep into his voice. "Maybe I'd better keep this short."
I let out my own groan because I knew that if he agreed to what I was about to ask, he would be facing a full-out argument with Betsey. But he was the only one who could help me.
"I need a favor," I told him.
"Sure," he said. "I told you before that I'd help with anything you needed."
I let out a breath and braced myself for his response. "Do you know who Warden Banks is?" I asked.
"The warden of Swords and Bones," he said promptly.
"Right. Well... I need you to follow him for me."
I heard a slight chuckle when he thought I was joking. "Wait, you're serious," he said after a minute.
"I'm afraid so."
There was a long silence. "I would do it myself but I'm afraid he'll be looking for me now. I just left his office and once the cupcake I gave him wears off, he'll realize what I did. And he's gonna be mad."
"What do you mean 'once the cupcake wears off?' Did you slip him something?"
"Never mind that," I said. I didn't want to get him into a hole deeper than the one I was already asking him to climb down into. The less he knew, the better, at least when it came to things of questionable legality. "I just need you to keep tabs on him for me. Just for a few hours."
"Starting when?" he asked.
"As soon as possible."
The door to the room he was in opened and I heard Betsey say, "All ready." Damon told her he'd be there in a minute.
"You're gonna get me into a heap of trouble, you know that, right?" he said.
"I know, and feel free to blame me. Tell Betsey I'm making you help me."
He laughed. "I'm not gonna tell her anything except maybe that I'm not feeling well and need to go home. I rented an apartment not far from here."
"That's nice," I told him, holding my breath, afraid he'd tell me to shove off any minute now.
"Where's the warden at now?" he asked.
"At Swords and Bones but I doubt he'll be there for much longer. He's been waiting for Polly to get the all clear from Dr. Dunne to leave Sweetland Hospital. I bet he'll go there and try to hurry things up."
"And why exactly am I following him?" Damon asked.
"Because... I think he's the one who conjured the trickster."
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CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
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Damon wasn't particularly fond of the idea of following Warden Banks, especially once I told him I thought it was the warden controlling the trickster who'd killed Trevor. But when I'd assured him that tricksters could not inhabit humans, his worries had eased. At least somewhat. He'd agreed to help me and, for that, I was grateful. It wasn't every ex-boyfriend who would put himself in this type of situation. I hoped Betsey knew how lucky she was.
Russell opened the door on the first knock. I was relieved I didn't have to worry about him being involved in all this anymore. The goblins had said that one of the few things they knew for sure was that no vampires were involved in summoning the trickster. Whatever problems had existed between Russell and Trevor, I knew that Russell had nothing to do with Trevor's death.
Colt was reclining on the couch. I gave him a hello hug and a kiss. He kissed me back. The dopey grin that had been on his face last time I'd seen him was gone. He was off the meds Dr. Dunne had had him on and his eyes looked clear. I was relieved to find him this way, considering the information I had to tell him.
"It's good to see you," he said, kissing me again. He took my hand and squeezed it tightly but I pulled it away. I needed it at the moment.
"Let's see if you still feel that way in a few minutes," I said and pulled out the picture of Warden Banks with Anastasia Peacock. His grin dropped away.
"What is this?" he asked.
"What does it look like?"
"It looks like a photograph of Anastasia Peacock with Warden Banks."
"One point for you," I said, trying to make a joke.
He frowned at me.
"Where did you get this?"
"The warden's office. He told me that there was only one woman he'd ever loved and that Polly was responsible for her death."
"He told you that?" Colt asked, his eyebrows raising with skepticism.
"Yes."
"But Polly didn't kill her mother."
"No, but the warden blames her for Anastasia's death."
Colt narrowed his eyes. "And the warden just happened to share this information with you?"
"Well, yes, sort of." I began absently twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "For a small bribe, that is."
"Ava—"
"Relax, it was just a cupcake."
His frown deepened. "He gave up all this information to you for a cupcake?"
"It was a really good cupcake," I told him, hoping he would drop it.
Russell chuckled from his chair. He was so quiet I'd almost forgotten he was there. "Must've been one heck of a cupcake. What was in it? Gold? Diamonds?"
I bit my lip. "Something like that," I muttered. Colt's eyes were on me. "Well, I didn't actually make it myself, so I can't say for sure what was in it, only what the baker told me was in it."
"And what baker was that?" Colt asked. He was starting to look mad.
"I got it from Blossom Woodruff," I muttered.
Colt's mouth opened. "You didn't."
"Didn't what?" I asked innocently.
"Ava, everyone knows what sort of cupcakes Blossom and her mother sell." He took a deep breath. "Did you give the warden of Swords and Bones a spiked cupcake?"
I shot Colt a look from the side of my eyes. "What if I did?"
"Then you could go to jail," he said, his face serious.
"Even if I got us proof?" I demanded.
"Proof of what?" Colt asked, irritation showing even through his fatigue.
"Proof that Warden Banks had a motive for killing Trevor Baily."
"What does Trevor's death have to do with Anastasia?"
"Nothing but it has everything to do with Polly. From the moment she was released, he's been trying to get her back in. He'd do anything to have her behind bars again, including framing her for Trevor's murder. He didn't even really have to frame her, as it turns out, just send the trickster to inhabit her and let it do the dirty work."
I caught Colt exchange a look with his dad.
"It actually makes sense," Russell said. "In a way, at least."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Colt said. He looked back at me. "Who else have you told this to?"
"No one," I replied. "Except Damon." Colt's face turned red. "Humans can't be inhabited by tricksters," I reminded him. "I needed his help."
Colt pursed his lips then stood up and walked into his bedroom. He moved slowly but I could tell that he was feeling better. "Come on," he said when he returned. He'd put on one of his many sports coats and donned his superwand. He was looking like his old detective self again.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"The sheriff's station. Lizzie and Sean might be there. Maybe they can tell us something."
I thought of Lizzie kissing the warden when I'd walked in. "I'm not so sure about that," I said. "Something tells me Lizzie is pretty loyal to the warden."
"Loyalty vanishes when the threat of jail time is on the line," Colt said, sounding very detective. Looking at him, I'd never have guessed he just got out of a hospital. "Trust me," he said
, "if there's something to spill, I'll find a way to make them spill it."
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CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
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My phone rang just as we reached the sheriff's station. I looked at the caller ID.
"It's Damon," I said.
Colt groaned and rolled his eyes.
"I'll meet you inside," he said and entered through the front doors. I'd told him about walking in on Warden Banks and Lizzie kissing but he hadn't put quite as much weight on that as I had. He still thought that Lizzie would help us if he just put things to her in the right way.
I hung back from the entrance, finding an open spot on a nearby bench.
"Hey," I said, answering my phone before it rang again. It was too soon for Damon to be calling with anything to report, unless he'd gotten lucky. "What's up?"
"He's gone," Damon said, panting.
My chest tightened.
"What? Who's gone?"
"The warden," Damon said, the fine lilt of irritation in his voice. "I had him in my sight and he just disappeared."
I tried to clear my head and pull back my temper. I reminded myself that Damon was doing me a favor. "How could you lose him?" I demanded and realized I was doing a poor job of holding back my annoyance. "I mean, you were following him for like an hour, tops."
"Yeah, well, he's paranoid. He kept looking behind him like he knew I was there. I ran after him when he started to speed up but he's just gone. I can't find him anywhere."
I sighed. "Shoot. He's not dumb. He must've figured out that I gave him a tainted cupcake. It probably made him extra paranoid."
Damon scoffed. "Tainted? Don't you mean poisoned?"
My nostrils flared. "It's not poison if you buy it in a bakery," I yelled. "Besides, it's perfectly legal." I realized with horror that I was echoing everything Blossom had told me. I hated the idea that I might be taking sides with someone who worked with dark magic. Although I was beginning to think that maybe Blossom had a point. She wasn't working with dark magic so much as she was finessing it. And sometimes, even the darker elements really could be used for good.
"Look, where was he going the last time you had eyes on him?"
I could almost hear him shrug through the phone.
"It looked like he was headed toward Sweetland but I can't say for sure."
"The east end or the west end?" I asked him, licking my lips. I realized suddenly that sometime during our conversation, I'd stood up and begun to pace.
"I don't know," he said. "I thought I heard him muttering something about William somebody but I couldn't' quite catch it."
I stopped pacing. "William," I asked, "or Wilma?"
There was a pause and then, "It might have been Wilma."
"He's going to Sweets n' Treats," I said, rushing my words. "I've gotta go. Thanks, Damon, I owe you one."
I hung up and turned to run into the sheriff's station and tell Colt what I'd learned but he was already outside. Lizzie wasn't there but Sean was. He hovered a few feet behind Colt.
"A fight's broken out in Whisper Crossing," Colt said, rushing up to me.
"Wait, what? A fight?"
"Yeah. Some witches from Mistmoor got into it with some witches from Sweetland. Now the cemetery up there is opening up left and right. Ghosts are spilling out of the place. Sean and I have to go and take care of it before it gets any worse."
"Wait, did you find out anything about the warden?"
He shook his head. "There was no time. The call just came in." He kissed me quickly. "I'm sorry, I've gotta go."
"But don't you want to know what Damon said? I think the warden's on his way to get Wilma."
"Wilma Trueheart? What do you mean 'get' her?"
"He said before that Dr. Dunne is stalling the process of returning Polly to Swords and Bones. If that's true, then Warden Banks might have thought of a way to use Wilma to speed things up. She's Polly's aunt, after all."
Sean cleared his throat from behind us.
"Ava, this is all getting too complicated. I don't have the time right now. I'll call you when I'm done, all right? I promise." He kissed me goodbye and hurried to Sean's car. Suddenly, they looked like they were best buddies.
I debated going inside and talking to Sheriff Knoxx about all this but he was probably getting ready to follow Sean and Colt out there. I sighed and headed for Sweets n' Treats on my own. If Warden Banks was really on his way there, Wilma might need a little help.
I sprinted across town, ignoring the looks I was getting from tourists and witches alike. I saw two figures standing outside Sweets n' Treats when I arrived, peering in through the windows.
"Eleanor? Trixie?"
They turned to look at me.
"There you are," Eleanor said.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked.
"Damon called," Trixie said. "He told us some crazy story about you going to confront Warden Banks about his conjuring a trickster."
"It's not a crazy story," I snapped. "It's the truth." I gave them a brief rundown on everything I'd discovered, including the picture of the warden and Anastasia. They didn't look entirely convinced but at least they stopped referring to everything I said as crazy.
"Well, it makes sense from a certain perspective," Eleanor said, scratching her head much like Sheriff Knoxx did when he was thinking. They'd only been married a few months and already they were rubbing off on each other.
"Let's assume for a second that I'm right," I said. "About everything."
"A long shot," said Trixie, "but okay."
I ignored her remark. "What would I need to defeat the trickster and send it back to wherever it came from?"
"Well, it's not really the trickster you'd need to defeat," said Eleanor, "it's the warden."
"Yes, but he's controlling the trickster," said Trixie, " so it's the same principle."
Eleanor nodded. "True. Well, you wouldn't need much, really. You just need to know the proper spell."
"And you need to be able to hold it in its true form," Trixie added.
"It's true form?" I asked.
"Yes," said Eleanor. "If the creature is bouncing from person to person, then it's currently residing in its ethereal form. You need to find some way of bringing out its corporeal form, though, and then keep it there. Don't let it transform back or else you'll miss your chance."
"And what's the spell to send it back, then?" I asked. "Where do tricksters come from, anyway?"
"No, one's entirely sure but there's a solid working theory they come from the realm of elves. They're just much more vicious."
"Elves," I muttered, picturing the North Pole. There was no time to ask them for clarification.
"Did you see anything through the window?" I asked them.
"Oh, yes, Warden Banks is in there now."
"He is?" I cried, then lowered my voice. "Why didn't you say something?"
Eleanor and Trixie shrugged. "Why don't we blame your father?" Trixie asked jokingly. "He's not here. If he were, he would have known to say something."
I sighed and peered through the glass door. I couldn't see either Wilma or the warden. "Come on," I muttered and opened the door. The stench of sulfur was overpowering as we stepped inside. All three of us gagged on it. It felt like I was choking on it.
"Oh, my roses," Eleanor said. "Where are they?"
The lights flickered and, for a second, none of us saw a thing. The bakery looked much larger than normal. Wilma must've used an expansion charm on it. Maybe she was thinking of redecorating or adding more tables. A figure moved behind the counter. It must have been kneeling before but now it stood up.
"Warden Banks," I said, stepping closer. I spotted Wilma lying motionless on the floor. Her hair was sprawled out around her head, creating a halo. "I think he killed Wilma," I shouted to my aunts, who gasped.
The warden's head swiveled toward me, an
d, in that moment, I realized how wrong I'd been. About everything. Warden Banks' eyes were entirely black. He wasn't the one controlling the trickster; he was being controlled by it.
* * *
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
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"I don't understand," I said, stepping back toward my aunts. "His eyes..."
"They're black," Eleanor said, searching the pockets of her green gypsy skirt, looking for something that might help us. The only thing she found was a gum wrapper.
"Ava, I thought you said the warden was controlling the trickster." Trixie was also searching her pockets, coming back with even less than Eleanor. Unless you counted a lint ball the size of Texas as helpful. I supposed we could try to make him choke on it.
"I thought he was," I told them. My throat was going dry again. I couldn't seem to keep myself hydrated. I tapped my tongue against the back of my teeth, nervously trying to think of some way out of this. Eleanor and Trixie were both accomplished witches but I didn't know how much I'd be able to help them. They knew far more spells than I did.
The warden was smiling at us, only it was like no smile I'd ever seen. His lips were curled tightly on either end, like someone had painted little curly-cues on his face. His nose flared. I could see black nose hair creeping out from his nostrils. His eyes glistened like black water. If they'd been any bigger, I'd have thought I could go swimming in them.
Suddenly, the smile flattened out and the warden made a moaning noise that sounded like he was in pain. For a second, I thought maybe he was. The warden was a strong man who abhorred anything below the law. I had the feeling he was trying to push the trickster out of him. Alone. I had no idea whether he could do it but I didn't doubt his motivation.